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It’s a single chapter in Queen of the Damned. For the first time in the book series, we start jumping POVs (instead of having one narrator for the whole book, although technically Lestat writes everyone’s stories down for the book). I think DM is chapter 4? Told by Daniel, iirc.
I don’t remember how they met? Someone else will have to do that part.
The thing I remember most is Armand telling Daniel to go, travel the world, and Armand would follow and watch. So long as he found him interesting, he would let him live. (Or, he says, he might get so bored that he just goes off to do something else.) Armand tells him to “run”. So he does, terrified, all over the world, and every so often Armand is just there, waking him up at night, or behind him on a train, or in an alley. This goes on for five years, iirc. But after a while, when Armand catches up to him, they talk. A lot. Deep into the night, philosophy, the nature of life and death, Armand’s history. (It’s also at this time that Armand does all the cute tech stuff, getting obsessed with 1985 technology, like ordering a bunch of blenders.) And through those talks, they fell in love. They were together for (another five?) years after that, which catches us up to “present day” of QOTD (1985). The whole time, Daniel begs to become a vampire, but Armand won’t turn him, leading to epic fights, and Daniel leaving him over and over but always coming back. He describes it like an addiction. At the time he’s telling this story, Daniel doesn’t know where Armand is, and hopes to find him at Lestat’s concert.
Someone else will have to do their reunion, too, because I just remember the DM part. :)
Edit to add: this does not at all capture the breathless and terrifying way it’s written, almost feverish, as Daniel is desperate for Armand and his mind is a mess…
One more edit, bc I reread your question properly. Um, toxic. Well, “run or I’ll eat you” is pretty toxic, the screaming fights were very screamy, I seem to recall some furniture being thrown? But I don’t recall torture, per se, except for letting him drink a little of Armand’s blood but never enough for Daniel’s addiction. Maybe someone else remembers more. I’m always happy to find out more evil shit about Armand to get mad about (even tho I’m a Devil’s Minion shipper!).
They meet after Daniel interviews Louis, and then goes looking around in New Orleans for evidence of Lestat. Armand follows him and kidnaps him, and then lets him go.
I forget the *exact* circumstances of when they reunite. But Daniel’s paranoid and freaking out and semi-homeless. Armand finds him, realizes he’s sick and dying, and turns him. (That scene is really beautifully written)
Also I would say there’s definitely power play in the sense that Armand gets Daniel to have sex with random people while Armand watches.
OP, please do find a copy of Queen of the Damned (check your local library!) and at least read the Devil’s Minion chapter. No amount of spoiler info can do it justice.
I'm currently reading Devil's Minion and I got to the part where Daniel touches the locket(? that Armand gave him, (It is a small bottle that contains his blood). I'm confused and intrigued bc in Devil's Minion they only mentions that the locket exists, but at no point do they tell you when he gave it to him and I would really like to read that. Maybe it was from a previous book...?
adding to what others have said. armand finds daniel in loustat’s old house and keeps him locked in a cellar iirc for a few days before releasing him into the wild for a game of cat and mouse that lasts about 4 years. over those first initial years they slowly start talking more until daniel realizes armand isn’t gonna just kill him, which is a big relief bc you can imagine the duress he was under in those early years. armand tells daniel he loves him and gives him some blood in pompeii and that’s the beginning of their real “romance”. it’s important to note that armand has never given anyone his blood in quite some time, not even louis. he’s very picky with whom he gives it to, so it’s a very intimate moment. from then on out they do just about everything together. they get apartments and watch movies together, take night classes, conduct street interviews, go to operas, etc. (and bc the vampires can’t have sex in the books, armand makes daniel have sex with randos while he watches) armand essentially tells daniel that his nights belong to armand. but this takes a physical toll on daniel, he’s not sleeping enough. he drinks too much. armand oftentimes has to bathe and shave him. they get into horrible fights bc daniel wants to become a vampire but armand doesn’t want to turn him. eventually armand creates the night island, which is technically an island off miami owned by daniel. it’s a lavish hotel resort. they spend at least a decade together total but towards the end daniel leaves multiple times only to come crawling back every time. right before lestat’s concert daniel gets sick and armand has to make the choice to either let him die or change him, and opts to change him.
it’s not specified when or why they drift apart but they do, in later books daniel is living with marius under his care bc daniel can’t take care of himself. however, there is an off handed comment in the later books that they do get back together. in anne’s draft notes she said daniel initially left armand to be the companion of an ancient vampire in qotd named khayman, but it’s not technically canon so do with that what you will.
Basically, Armand becomes a stalker with a crush. He found Daniel interesting, and of course, beautiful so he chased him all over the world for about 4 yrs until Daniel became used to him and his fear lessened somewhat. They then started having conversations with each other and Armand let Daniel have small amounts of his blood and that officially marked them as lovers. Armand created the Night Island in Miami and threw every luxury at Daniel but what Daniel really wanted was immortality and Armand would not do it as he vowed to never make a vampire. Daniel became bitter and started drinking heavily wrecking his health so bad eventually Armand turned him because he did not want to let "Daniel go". They were together for a decade before he was turned. Was there elements of abuse? Well, Armand was very controlling and possessive of Daniel. Armand himself stated later that he was "viciously possessive of Daniel" but there was no mention of anything too physical other than one line in the DM chapter where after Daniel angered Armand, Daniel said "Don't hit me, you could kill me!" but that's it. Armand sometimes had Daniel sleep with people for his amusement which is fkd up, but normal to Armand I guess as Marius did the same shit to him, although he didn't watch like a pervy voyeur like Armand did. Anne Rice keeps a lot of details out so you have to read between the lines. I think both Louis and Daniel are Stockholm Syndrome victimish. I think there was also manipulation and exploitation of Daniel while he was "in the care of" Marius who took care of him when Daniel had a mental break down later on. Louis literally shared his misery with Daniel in more ways than one.
This thread is flaired "Book Spoilers Allowed." This means book spoilers **do not require** spoiler tags! If you are concerned about book spoilers you may want to exit this thread. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/InterviewVampire) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It’s a single chapter in Queen of the Damned. For the first time in the book series, we start jumping POVs (instead of having one narrator for the whole book, although technically Lestat writes everyone’s stories down for the book). I think DM is chapter 4? Told by Daniel, iirc. I don’t remember how they met? Someone else will have to do that part. The thing I remember most is Armand telling Daniel to go, travel the world, and Armand would follow and watch. So long as he found him interesting, he would let him live. (Or, he says, he might get so bored that he just goes off to do something else.) Armand tells him to “run”. So he does, terrified, all over the world, and every so often Armand is just there, waking him up at night, or behind him on a train, or in an alley. This goes on for five years, iirc. But after a while, when Armand catches up to him, they talk. A lot. Deep into the night, philosophy, the nature of life and death, Armand’s history. (It’s also at this time that Armand does all the cute tech stuff, getting obsessed with 1985 technology, like ordering a bunch of blenders.) And through those talks, they fell in love. They were together for (another five?) years after that, which catches us up to “present day” of QOTD (1985). The whole time, Daniel begs to become a vampire, but Armand won’t turn him, leading to epic fights, and Daniel leaving him over and over but always coming back. He describes it like an addiction. At the time he’s telling this story, Daniel doesn’t know where Armand is, and hopes to find him at Lestat’s concert. Someone else will have to do their reunion, too, because I just remember the DM part. :) Edit to add: this does not at all capture the breathless and terrifying way it’s written, almost feverish, as Daniel is desperate for Armand and his mind is a mess… One more edit, bc I reread your question properly. Um, toxic. Well, “run or I’ll eat you” is pretty toxic, the screaming fights were very screamy, I seem to recall some furniture being thrown? But I don’t recall torture, per se, except for letting him drink a little of Armand’s blood but never enough for Daniel’s addiction. Maybe someone else remembers more. I’m always happy to find out more evil shit about Armand to get mad about (even tho I’m a Devil’s Minion shipper!).
They meet after Daniel interviews Louis, and then goes looking around in New Orleans for evidence of Lestat. Armand follows him and kidnaps him, and then lets him go. I forget the *exact* circumstances of when they reunite. But Daniel’s paranoid and freaking out and semi-homeless. Armand finds him, realizes he’s sick and dying, and turns him. (That scene is really beautifully written) Also I would say there’s definitely power play in the sense that Armand gets Daniel to have sex with random people while Armand watches. OP, please do find a copy of Queen of the Damned (check your local library!) and at least read the Devil’s Minion chapter. No amount of spoiler info can do it justice.
I'm currently reading Devil's Minion and I got to the part where Daniel touches the locket(? that Armand gave him, (It is a small bottle that contains his blood). I'm confused and intrigued bc in Devil's Minion they only mentions that the locket exists, but at no point do they tell you when he gave it to him and I would really like to read that. Maybe it was from a previous book...?
It comes back to the locket. The chapter starts in the present and then has a lot of flashbacks.
Did you finish it? You left us on a cliffhanger there lol
adding to what others have said. armand finds daniel in loustat’s old house and keeps him locked in a cellar iirc for a few days before releasing him into the wild for a game of cat and mouse that lasts about 4 years. over those first initial years they slowly start talking more until daniel realizes armand isn’t gonna just kill him, which is a big relief bc you can imagine the duress he was under in those early years. armand tells daniel he loves him and gives him some blood in pompeii and that’s the beginning of their real “romance”. it’s important to note that armand has never given anyone his blood in quite some time, not even louis. he’s very picky with whom he gives it to, so it’s a very intimate moment. from then on out they do just about everything together. they get apartments and watch movies together, take night classes, conduct street interviews, go to operas, etc. (and bc the vampires can’t have sex in the books, armand makes daniel have sex with randos while he watches) armand essentially tells daniel that his nights belong to armand. but this takes a physical toll on daniel, he’s not sleeping enough. he drinks too much. armand oftentimes has to bathe and shave him. they get into horrible fights bc daniel wants to become a vampire but armand doesn’t want to turn him. eventually armand creates the night island, which is technically an island off miami owned by daniel. it’s a lavish hotel resort. they spend at least a decade together total but towards the end daniel leaves multiple times only to come crawling back every time. right before lestat’s concert daniel gets sick and armand has to make the choice to either let him die or change him, and opts to change him. it’s not specified when or why they drift apart but they do, in later books daniel is living with marius under his care bc daniel can’t take care of himself. however, there is an off handed comment in the later books that they do get back together. in anne’s draft notes she said daniel initially left armand to be the companion of an ancient vampire in qotd named khayman, but it’s not technically canon so do with that what you will.
Basically, Armand becomes a stalker with a crush. He found Daniel interesting, and of course, beautiful so he chased him all over the world for about 4 yrs until Daniel became used to him and his fear lessened somewhat. They then started having conversations with each other and Armand let Daniel have small amounts of his blood and that officially marked them as lovers. Armand created the Night Island in Miami and threw every luxury at Daniel but what Daniel really wanted was immortality and Armand would not do it as he vowed to never make a vampire. Daniel became bitter and started drinking heavily wrecking his health so bad eventually Armand turned him because he did not want to let "Daniel go". They were together for a decade before he was turned. Was there elements of abuse? Well, Armand was very controlling and possessive of Daniel. Armand himself stated later that he was "viciously possessive of Daniel" but there was no mention of anything too physical other than one line in the DM chapter where after Daniel angered Armand, Daniel said "Don't hit me, you could kill me!" but that's it. Armand sometimes had Daniel sleep with people for his amusement which is fkd up, but normal to Armand I guess as Marius did the same shit to him, although he didn't watch like a pervy voyeur like Armand did. Anne Rice keeps a lot of details out so you have to read between the lines. I think both Louis and Daniel are Stockholm Syndrome victimish. I think there was also manipulation and exploitation of Daniel while he was "in the care of" Marius who took care of him when Daniel had a mental break down later on. Louis literally shared his misery with Daniel in more ways than one.