Silver Coins PG-13 Cham Challenge 161

[cassysj]

I do not own any recognizable characters no copyright infringement is intended.

1624

Josef was determined not to cry out in pain. He would not drop the filthy item until his sire commanded.


“Good, very good. You may release.”

Josef dropped the coin and was rewarded with a glass of blood.

“Son, try to use gold coins but when silver is necessary you can’t show your….discomfort. Remember, there are those who watch for us. It could be the difference between life and death.”


1776

Coraline wanted to whimper, the pain in her hand was worse than a branding iron. She wanted to last longer than her younger brother. Finally she whispered..

“Please Master.”

“Ten more seconds……now drop.”

She let the coin fall to the floor. She was permitted to join the feast.

“You did well Cora. Even though it’s rare that a woman will have to handle something as vulgar as money you must be prepared just in case you are separated from your brothers. Your life could depend on it.


1887

Jonathan Anderson was watching his new fledgling Charles handle silver dollars with amazing ease.

“Hold it still Charles. Just keep it in the palm of your hand.”

Two minutes went by, then three. Charles could tell by his sire’s look that something was wrong. He noticed his sire only carried gold coins. He said. “Sir, I don’t want to hold it anymore.”

“Why not?”

“It’s…uncomfortable.”

‘Uncomfortable? Jonathan asked. “How? Hot? Painful? Cold?

“It’s a little warm and tingles a bit.”

Jonathan shook his head. “Tingles a bit? You should be screaming for mercy. Charles, how long have you been a jeweler?

“I was apprenticed at ten, that was forty years ago.”

“Worked with a lot of silver?

Charles laughed. ‘I’ve seen more silver than you can imagine.”

Jonathan nodded. “Charles, silver feels like your hand is on fire. It feels like a knife wound. It feels like being eaten alive. Remember that when you’re around your own kind. You have to learn to manage coinage but don’t look as comfortable as you do right now. Do you understand? Your life may depend on it.

His sire withheld blood for twelve hours so he wouldn’t forget how dangerous silver was.



1952

Mick winced at the silver dollar in his palm. “Coraline, let go of my hand.”

“No. You have to hold it for at least a minute.”

“It burns like hell.

“Mick, this is important.”

“You are such a bitch. First you kill me and then you torture me.”

“Mick, this is for your own good. Okay, you can release.

He wanted to burn the coin into her face but he just dropped it on the floor.

She offered her wrist and he drank greedily.

“Good. You’re lucky American currency isn’t pure. You have to be able to handle it though.”

“I’ll use paper dollars, not coin.”

Coraline shrugged. “You’ll have to be able to handle coins for at least a few seconds. It’s part of being a vampire. Your life could depend on it someday.

[allegrita]

Ooh, Carol, this is brilliant! I love this look at vampires and coins through the ages! Of course vampires would need to learn how to handle coins without acting as if the coins were hurting them... but I'd never thought about it before. And I love your theory that Charles became much more tolerant of silver by handling it so much when he was alive. It makes a lot of sense, especially since his appearing different would be dangerous among his own kind. Good for Jonathan for helping him learn how a vampire "should" feel when exposed to silver. Jonathan may be tough on Charles, but he is a dutiful sire. (And I suspect that his respect for Charles grew over the decades as he realized that many of those seeming "weaknesses" could be turned into real benefits.)

[MickLifeCrisis]

I really liked this! Very creative and a great answer to the challenge. Well done!

[Lucy]

Your mind is always on Moonlight....and you bring us into focus so well. Thank-you for sharing such a tale!

[cassysj]

Alle - I never thought about it either until yesterday. I saw something about the 1965 Coinage Act which eliminated silver from dimes and quarters and reduced the silver content in half dollars from 90% to 40% A vampire plan I'm sure. I'm sure Jonathan was freaked out by Charles reaction. I also imagine when Charles was dealing with Arthur in 1900 he handled it very differently. Arthur as a jeweler also has little to fear from silver. I wonder which one is more allergic. I'll have to get the boys to talk to me.

MLC - Thanks. Glad you liked it. It's fun when ideas just come.

Lucy -

[darkstarrising]

Very clever and creative story, Carol

Loved the notion of silver being a means not only of destruction, but of survival, if the vamp could hack it.

[Lilly]

Just catching up on this... Great response, Carol! And very clever, too. Each vampire had his/her own lesson to learn, but for all of them, survival was on the line. I love how you tied it all together.

[francis]

It's great how you show the differences in the centuries, and the similarities.
The one standing out is Mick. He doesn't want to learn how to be a vampire, but Coraline doesn't have a handle on this kind of student, either. She should have told him beforehand what it means. This isn't the 1700s when you just did what you were told without asking.