James' Coven - Laurent

NAME: Laurent DATE OF BIRTH: 1700s DATE OF TRANSFORMATION: 1740s, at approximately age 40 SOURCE OF TRANSFORMATION: Boris PLACE OF ORIGIN: Paris, France HAIR COLOR: Black EYE COLOR: Red/black (vampire) HEIGHT: 5‘9‖ PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Laurent had glossy black hair and pale skin with a slight

olive tone. He had a medium, slightly muscular frame and an easy smile. SPECIAL ABILITIES: He did not possess a quantifiable supernatural ability. FAMILY/COVEN RELATIONSHIPS: He was once part of a coven with James and

Victoria. He later formed an attachment to Irina in Denali.

PERSONAL HISTORY:

Laurent was born into an aristocratic but financially embarrassed family during the reign of King Louis XIV. He was the third son, and he had little in the way of prospects. Thanks to his older brother‘s marriage into a more prosperous family, Laurent was recommended for a minor position in the court of the Sun King. Laurent loved being a part of the court and had ambitions to rise. He was always attracted to people with power, and curried their favor. He had a knack for discerning who the most important person was in any given grouping, and then attaching himself to that person. There was a certain way about Laurent that made anyone he singled out feel more important. So he did well among the other aristocrats, and had a promising future.

His life changed when a mysterious ambassador, purportedly from the Romanov court in Russia, made a diplomatic visit to the French court. The ambassador‘s strange behavior was attributed to cultural differences. He came out of his quarters only at night, kept a retinue of mute servants and soldiers who were totally obedient, and always put off discussions of matters of state. He did seem to enjoy the entertainments of the French court immensely and was very interested in King Louis‘s art collection.

Laurent was irresistibly drawn to the Russian ambassador, who seemed to Laurent to exude true power.

Laurent was irresistibly drawn to the Russian ambassador, who seemed to Laurent to exude true power. More even than the king himself, the Russian ambassador had no fear of any man.

The ambassador—a fun-loving Russian vampire named Boris who enjoyed human revelry—was flattered by the eager and admiring Laurent. He struck up a friendship with the French boy. When it was time for the Russian ambassador to leave (the number of vanished serving men and women was beginning to alarm many), he invited Laurent to go with him. Laurent‘s love of the powerful made this an easy decision; his instincts told him that Boris was more powerful than anyone he‘d ever met.

Boris and Laurent became so close that eventually Boris told Laurent the truth about himself. Laurent begged to have the gift of power and immortality for himself. Boris was happy to comply.

For a while Boris and Laurent were companions, but Laurent quickly grew tired of Boris‘s jovial habits. Once Laurent was introduced to the vampire world, it was clear to him that there were others much more powerful than Boris.The next relationship that changed Laurent‘s life was with Vladimir, one of the surviving Romanians. Vladimir still radiated some of the power he had once held, and Laurent‘s reaction to that power was predictable. He did not follow Vladimir for long—Stefan was opposed to adding any new vampires to their number, favoring mobility and secrecy over everything else— but it was long enough. When he at last came in contact with the Volturi, he was already tainted. The Volturi were the epitome of vampire power, exactly the kind of vampires Laurent wanted to be with. But when he was brought to Aro as a prospective lesser-guard applicant, Aro saw the brief encounter with the Romanians and sent him away as untrustworthy. Laurent was unaware that members of the Volturi followed him for a few decades, hoping he would lead them to Vlad imir.

Laurent always hoped that someday he would get another chance to join the Volturi. Laurent always hoped that someday he would get another chance to join the Volturi. He

wandered the world, allying himself with anyone who seemed to have power until he found someone more powerful. In this way he joined James and Victoria: James‘s aura of invincibility was very attractive to Laurent.

Another change occurred in Laurent‘s life when he, James, and Victoria clashed with the Cullens. His instincts told him he was on the wrong side of that conflict, and he quickly jumped ship to ingratiate himself with the Cullens by warning them about James. Laurent was confused by Carlisle, who had a very different kind of authority than he was used to. He was happy to stay out of the way until James was no longer an issue, hoping to study Carlisle‘s strength later.

The Denali sisters proved an interesting distraction. Tanya had a similar kind of influence as Carlisle. Laurent let their peaceful life envelop him for a short while, and enjoyed a passing flirtation with Irina, though he did not take it as seriously as she did. When Victoria sought him out—and after he was sure she was not there to kill him—he was seduced anew by the old kind of command. He decided to keep the lines of communication open with her, and do her the one favor she asked of him.

FAMOUS QUOTES

“Nothing stops James when he gets started.” Twilight, Chapter 19

“I‟m surprised they left you behind. Weren‟t you sort of a pet of theirs?” New Moon, Chapter 10

“Sometimes I cheat.” New Moon, Chapter 10