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From KnightGal@aol.com Wed Apr  2 15:07:14 1997
Subject: Fwd: Not That! Anything but That! (1/1)

Sorry to inflict this on everyone, but I'm having a silliness attack.
Thanks, Mike, for the inspiration.

Not That!  Anything but That!
Copyright 1997

     Natalie climbed the few stairs of her Parisian townhouse, exhausted.
 She hadn't thought it was possible for vampires to get so tired, but she was
finding that there was something new to learn about her 'condition' with
every passing day.  She'd spent the evening making inquiries as to a possible
future with the Parisian police department's forensics team, but hadn't been
too successful.  Though her French had improved greatly over the last several
months, the French beauracracy was the model of government in all its glory -
that is, it was slow, slow, slow.
     She sighed and, turning her key in the front door, entered the foyer,
only to find a basket with a stuffed and rather large white rabbit in it,
along with some coloured straw and dyed eggs, sitting on the hall table.
 After placing her purse on the table and examining the basket, she turned
and spotted another egg - this one was green - on the second to the last step
near the bottom of the stairway.  Gingerly, she picked it up and put it in
the basket.  She poked her head into the library - no Lacroix, though she
felt him nearby - and spied a blue egg on the mantle of the fireplace.  Since
it looked as if this could turn into a rather long expedition, she picked up
the basket from its resting place before walking over and retrieving the
second egg.
     This scenario continued for about 20 minutes as Nat found eggs - and
more stuffed rabbits of all sizes and shapes - about the house.  She even
found one in the jacuzzi of the master bathroom, in what looked like a small
boat, as the jets of water made it buzz about the perimeter.  Removing boat
and bunny from the jacuzzi, she took the latter and placed it on the bed with
the rest of the items she had found, and realised she had a veritable
mountain of eggs and bunnies.  It was then, too, that she noticed Lacroix
came into view and leaned against the doorframe.
     "Having fun?" he asked, eyebrows raised.
     "Yes, actually," Nat said, smiling, as she removed her jacket and tossed
it over the settee which sat at the foot of the bed.  "So.  Easter's
arrived."
     "Not precisely."
     For a moment, Natalie gaped at Lacroix, then the horror of his words
struck her fully.  "Oh, no!  Not that!  Anything but that!  Puhleeeeeeze
don't tell me this is another Roman holiday!"
     "Alright.  It's not another Roman holiday," he said.  She could tell he
was being honest.
     "Thank *goodness*," she replied happily as she started picking up
individual bunnies to examine them.
     "Actually, it's a Babylonian holiday."
     Nat rolled her eyes and threw herself, back first, into the pile of
bunnies.  "Somebody save me," she whimpered.  "OK," she continued as she
placed one hand over her forehead in expectation of a headache brought on by
the destruction of another piece of her childhood, knowing there was no way
she'd get out of the history lesson, "what's *this* one about?"
     Lacroix walked over and sat on the settee and idly examined a bunny or
two.  "Well, it all started with the Chaldeans and the goddess, Beltis.  One
of her titles was Astarte or, if you examine some Assyrian monuments,
Ishtar."
     "And what was *her* purpose, may I ask?" Nat said in a long-suffering
tone.
     "She was a fertility goddess."
     "Oh, not *another* fertility goddess!" Nat cried.
     "'Fraid so," answered Lacroix.
     "And let me guess:  the Romans adopted the her."
     "In a manner of speaking," Lacroix said, "though it might be more
correct to say that we merely stole things and improved upon them.  Mind you,
at this particular moment I'm not sure if we stole it from the Babylonians or
the Celts."
     "There are those Celts again, always turning up when you least expect
them," Natalie chimed in.  "I can see I missed all the exciting stuff, what
with being born in the 20th century and all."  She really *did* feel a
headache coming on.
     "Yes, the Celts celebrated this day as the feast of Beltane - make
sense?" asked Lacroix.
     "Beltis, Beltane, whatever," she replied with a flourish of her hand.
     "Astarte, Ishtar, Easter," Lacroix finished for her.
     "So we've got another fertility festival on our hands," Natalie said as
a matter of fact.
     "Quite so."
     Nat contemplated the canopy over the bed for some minutes before she sat
up and began arranging bunnies according to size, then removing all the eggs
to the basket which she had also placed on the settee.  After the last egg
had gone into the basket, Lacroix grasped her hand and raised it to his lips.
 Natalie sat down next to him and drew her legs up under her.  It was
difficult to stay upset with someone who was so good at seducing you.  They
sat in silence for several minutes before Natalie finally spoke.
     "Hey," she began, "do you suppose some things are more possible on
certain days than others?"  He knew what she was referring to.
     "Not unless you believe in miracles," Lacroix said wrily.
     "Still," Natalie continued, "in the interest of science..."
     "In the interest of science," Lacroix continued for her, "I suppose we
should really put it to the test."
     "Absolutely," replied Nat.  "We really do have a moral obligation, I
think."
     "Quite right."
     "I mean, to the entire Community...You never know, do you?" she asked as
she covered his mouth with her own.
     "No, my dear," he told her when they came up for air, "you never know,"
and drew her closer to him.


Any comments???  Please send all, including Cadbury's Creme Eggs to
KnightGal@aol.com