The Paris Escapade

My first breath of fresh air upon exiting the plane actually stirred something inside of me. It was intense relief to be on solid ground, but it was the first positive feeling I had let myself feel for months now. It was painful and exhilarating at the same time.

I had gone through that ordeal not for the reasons Evangeline guessed. Let her think I merely wanted to entertain myself. It was in this city, more than two hundred years ago, that I had met Nora.

I had spent so much time and energy wallowing in despair and self pity, perhaps now it was time for me to start back at the beginning. I needed to remember Nora, the Nora that I loved, before she had become twisted by her ambitions. When I had realized what she had become, I ran away and hid from the truth. Now, I needed to know when and how it had changed.

“Well, we’ve arrived safely in Paris.” Evangeline interrupted my thoughts.

“The plane didn’t drop out of the sky. Yipee.” I replied dryly. Did she think that she was reassuring me? Everything was fine. Well, nearly. “Can we get somewhere that has walls now?” I was much too weak in this sunlight. It’s rays could not burn me through my clothes, but the heat of it sapped my strength.

Once the sun goes down, I could find a way to separate from Evangeline. I needed to track down some very old memories, and she would just get in the way with her annoying questions.

“Ms. Brun said she was sending a car to pick us up. The last time you were here was probably ages ago, right? We’ll never be able to navigate the streets on our own.” A car, of course. Let’s not appreciate one of the greatest cities in the world when we have a task at hand!

“Nonsense. My phone has GPS and I have google maps bookmarked.” My hand went to the package in my coat pocket. Why had I brought it with me? It had sat under the bed for over a month now. Why had I even bought it? Was it a thank you? I couldn’t be sure. I pushed it out of my mind.

“Well, a car sounds nice, better than renting one.”

“Whatever.” At this point, I just wanted to be out of the sun. My thoughts were turning into puffs of vapor at this point, cloudy and meaningless.

We approached the gaggle of humans waiting for their loved ones to get off the plane. Standing out among the smiling faces was one that just looked bored. He was taller than I was, but just barely. His hair was long, pulled back lazily. His clothes were worn and treated poorly. His jeans were faded and his boots were scuffed. His jacket probably hadn’t been washed in years. It was the unmistakable uniform of a hunter. Why care for something that’s just going to get bloodied anyway?

He held up a sign that said ‘Riley’. Or course, they were hoping for Katrina, weren’t they? “There he is.” I pointed.

“Where?” She looked where I pointed, but there was no spark of recognition on her face.

“Right there. ‘Riley’.” Was she blind? How could she not notice this man who stood out amongst all these tourists?

“Oh.” she said finally. We approached the man, and my eyes went automatically to his eye patch. I felt my eyes narrow in dislike instinctively. There was something wrong with this man, I could feel it in my core. Most people wore eye patches to cover a deformity, but by wearing a decoration, he was drawing attention to it.

His aura was unusual, both foreign and familiar. It was dark and twisting, and seemed to be coming from that missing eye. If the wound had been given to him by a vampire, it could explain the aura. It would have had to be recently, though, and the decorated eye patch suggested otherwise.

Evangeline greeted him. “I’m Angie Stanton, I’m here on behalf of Katrina Riley. Ms. Brun should have told you...”

“Mother did mention that, yes.” That strangeness was in his voice as well. I wished I could pinpoint exactly what it was. “Still, I had hoped...” He turned his eye on Evangeline, and tehre was a spark of interest there. “But, I lack manners, forgive me.” He held his hand out to her. Evangeline took his hand and he pulled her close, brushing his lips against hers. “Greetings, Miss Angie Stanton. My name is Kieran. Welcome to Paris.”

Evangeline looked as though she had been electrically shocked. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Who did he think he was in those clothes? Certainly not a great romancer.

“The car is parked this way.” he said, turning and walking away.

Evangeline was rooted to the floor. I shook my head, holding back a sigh. I leaned forward and spoke quietly in her ear. “Get over it, already. It’s just a greeting over here.”

She jumped and turned on me, I leaned back. “I’m fine.” she said sharply, then hurriedly followed Kieran.

I ran hand through my hair, then shrugged. “Whatever.” I muttered under my breath and followed behind.

I noticed right away that Kieran didn’t look at me. Not in a way that suggested he was doing it deliberately, by looking away from me, more like I was invisible to him. That was not the case, of course. I was not using any influence to shield my presence, only the minimal bit to hide my fangs.

When he looked in my direction, his eyes would settle on me for a brief moment, but I might as well been just another tourist in the background. This was unusual behavior for a hunter, who would normally watch me like a hawk. It had to be on purpose. I briefly had the impulse to wave my arms wildly, baring my fangs, but I restrained myself.

Thankfully the car was parked rather close to the airport, as Evangeline was engaging in meaningless small talk. The car was large and black, and new back before I had locked myself in Katrina’s attic, but kept in rather good condition.

Kieran held the door open for Evangeline, before opening his door and sitting behind the driver’s seat. I was forced to walk around to the other side. I chose the back seat with Evangeline, as at least she seemed to notice I was present.

The conversation quieted as Kieran focused on driving. One of the corners of the package in my coat pocket dug into my side. I leaned my elbow on the door’s armrest and looked out the window from under my hat.

“Earlier today, you mentioned something about a birthday.” I said at last.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Evangeline nod. “Yep. Today I’m twenty years old.” She thought for a moment. “That must seem really young to you.” she observed.

“Not really, I’ve been in my twenties for centuries.” I remarked. She let out a short laugh at that. I resisted the urge to smile myself, this was not the time for mirth. There was something I had to do, and now was the best time.

I kept my eyes on the buildings and people that whizzed by outside my window. “Last year...” I began, pausing to make sure she was listening. She turned her head to me curiously. “You did something you didn’t have to, that impacted you more negatively than if you had done nothing.”

“That was over six months ago, what are you trying to say?”

“You saved me, you may even have saved my life, and I’ve done nothing to repay that debt.”

I could feel the frown forming on her face. “Gabriel, I didn’t go there just to rescue you. A lot of people and vampires could have died that night. A lot more than did.”

“Regardless, I wouldn’t be sitting here if you had decided to stay home with Calypso.” and Nora might still be alive, but I couldn’t think like that. Evangeline did not kill Nora, I did, and I must not try to push that guilt off on someone else. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the package. It was wrapped in plain brown paper, looking completely unremarkable.

“What’s that?”

I half turned to her and held it out. “It’s yours.”

She didn’t take it. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her arch a brow. “You got me a present.” she said in frank disbelief. “I didn’t rescue you just so you could run out and buy me something.”

“Just take it, already.” I snapped. “Think of it as a birthday present.” If I held onto it any longer, it was going to drive me mad.

She took the package and placed it on her lap. “Thank you very much.” she said with stiff politeness.

I turned to her fully, looking at her, then down at the package. “Well, aren’t you going to open it?”

Her dark brow arched a fraction higher. “Do you want me to?”

“Open the damn present.” I growled irritably. Obediently, she hooked one finger under the flap, tearing the tape neatly. “You’d better like it, I actually spent time choosing it.” She nodded, not really paying attention as she tore next flap carefully.

“Give me that.” I grabbed the package from her and tore the paper off the box with one motion. I tossed the box back into her lap, crumpling the paper into a tiny ball in one hand.

She picked up the box and examined it carefully. She turned it over and read the back, her expression curious but otherwise unreadable. ‘She is doing this to me on purpose.’ I thought bitterly. "Well?” I snapped, my voice rising. Kieran glanced back at me briefly, but I kept my attention on Evangeline.

She put the box back down on her lap. “You got me a phone?” Her voice was half curious, half disbelieving.

“The one you have doesn’t work, right?”

“That’s because I don’t bother paying the bill.”

“Well, I’ve added you to mine and Calypso’s plan, you don’t have to bother with the bill anymore. Besides, this phone is much better than yours.”

“Oh, is it now?”

“Open the box and see.”

She lifted the lid easily. “Somebody’s already opened this.”

“I charged the battery. Everything else you can take care of yourself.”

She had already turned it on and was flipping through the menus. “Okay, I’ll put Calypso, Mom, and David in here. Oh, Steven and Ricky too.” She looked back up at me. “What’s your number?”

“Do you need it?” I didn’t really like the idea of her calling me at all hours, or keeping track of me.

“I suppose not.” The car stopped and we turned to the windows.

“We have arrived.” Kieran announced. He hopped out of the car and opened Evangeline’s door.

Evangeline dropped her new phone, the accessories, and it’s manual into her shoulder bag and stuck the empty box under her arm as she exited the car. I slid out behind her, straightening my coat and tightening my scarf.

Clouds had gathered over the area, draining some of the color from the surroundings. The dark spires that loomed overhead stood out against the light gray mass. The school grounds took up an entire corner of the street, surrounded on two sides by a tall, wrought iron fence.

The church was the smaller of the two buildings, taking the spot closest to the corner. It was positively ancient, with original gray stonework and steeples. The school was taller and wrapped around the church on two sides. It was the more functional building, all rectangular with straight edges, and clad in faded red brick.

“Garbage can.” I said, spotting one by the front gates. Evangeline tossed the empty phone box into it as she passed it.

As we neared the gates, they opened on their own. Kieran led us past the church, to the school building. He pulled out his own cell phone, pressed a button and put it to his ear. “Mother, we have arrived.” he said a second later, in French. Then “Yes. No. All right.”

We approached a large set of double doors, made from carved oak and bound in iron. There was something familiar about the doors that I couldn’t place. I was fairly certain I had never been here before, so perhaps they just reminded me of something else.

Set into one of the doors was a smaller door, sized exactly like a normal door. This opened for us as well. Kieran stood next to it, gesturing for Evangeline to enter.

I knew what was coming next, and it wouldn’t be pleasant. This was a school of future hunters, they would be prepared for us. I would have to play along if I not only wanted to get out of Paris alive, but be able to find the information I sought.

Evangeline was blissfully unaware of the danger ahead of us, so she was truly surprised to find two young women, one blond and one brunette, armed with crossbows just inside the doors. Silver glinted from the tips of the crossbow bolts.

Kieran stepped in after me and shut the door. I heard a click and felt a sharp pressure through the back of my hat. “Of course.” I muttered.

“Wait just a minute! What’s going on?” Evangeline asked indignantly.

“You told the Headmistress I was a vampire, didn’t you?”

Her cheeks reddened in embarrassment. “I had to be honest. They would have known as soon as they saw you, so lying would have made us look really bad.”

“This is merely a precaution.” A tall woman in the later part of her years stepped forward. Her frame was thin and she wore a simple, forest green dressing gown. Her face was sharp and angular, and her graying brown hair was pulled back in a severe bun.

Her eyes were deep sapphire, and they settled on me at once. I could see at once the similarities between her and Kieran. “You say he belongs to Katrina?” Her voice was clear, and I was impressed by her pronunciation. I couldn’t detect a hint of an accent.

Evangeline nodded. “He is here to help, just as much as I. You are Ms. Brun?”

Behind me, Kieran reached up and whipped my hat off my head. I wasn’t going to stand for that. Without looking, I reached behind me and relieved him of his gun. I had emptied the clip and discharged the bullet in the chamber before he realized what had happened.

The girls with the crossbows tensed. I quickly held up my hands, stepping slightly to the side so that Evangeline was shielding me fully. The silver gun hung from my gloved thumb. “He took my hat.” I said quickly in French. “Besides, I wouldn’t want his finger to slip.” I gave the pair my most winningly innocent smile. The brunette glanced at the blond, who rolled her eyes.

Ms. Brun ignored these proceedings, keeping her eyes on Evangeline. “You told me over the phone that you had proof of your claims. Let me see it now.”

“It’s right here.” Evangeline reached into her shoulder bag and pulled out a book bound in red leather. “This was my Great Aunt Katrina’s diary.” She held it up.

I stared at the book in her hands, my eyes widening. Katrina had kept a diary. All the things she had learned over the years fighting me would be there, as well as everything that had happened while I was locked away. That book surely had some of the answers I sought.

I reached out for it automatically, but she saw me coming and pulled it out of my reach. “Give that to me.” I reached for it again, trying not to expose too much of myself to the ladies with the crossbows. Evangeline stubbornly held the book out of my reach. “I really need to see that.”

“Tough.” she said simply. “You’re not getting it, there’s some very personal things written in here.”

“That’s why I want it.” I tossed Kieran’s gun to the side and reached around her on both sides, trying to snatch the book. She turned her face to mine, her usually soft eyes hard with stubbornness. I snarled at her then, exposing my fangs.

I sensed movement behind me as Kieran pulled another gun from his coat and jabbed it into my back. I ignored him, trying to stare Evangeline down, our faces only inches apart. She didn’t blink. “No.” she said, placing the book into Ms. Brun’s outstretched hands.

I straightened up, my eyes narrowed to slits. Evangeline turned away with a huff. Again, I reached behind me and took Kieran’s gun. He thought he was ready for me this time, but I was irritated now, which made my movements that much quicker. He muttered a swear word under his breath.

My eyes went back to the diary. Ms. Brun ran one hand gently over the cover. “Let me show you the page.” Evangeline stepped forward cautiously. She opened the book, hunting through the pages. When she found the right one, she pointed out a few lines of text.

I craned my neck, hoping to catch a glimpse of the words. What had Katrina written in there that would convince a large group of hunters NOT to kill me on sight? But it was no use, Ms. Brun tilted the book away from me.

“This is Katrina’s handwriting...” she mused. Her eyes scanned the lines carefully. She looked up and closed the book. “S'arrêter.” The girls lowered their crossbows, though reluctantly.

I relaxed, but only a little. I removed the clip from Kieran’s second gun and pocketed it. I handed the gun back to him. This young man still had a lot to learn about vampires.

“You are not safe yet, papillon.” Ms. Brun stepped forward. Evangeline stepped to the side, letting her pass. The Headmistress held herself perfectly poised. Her deep blue eyes piercing me. “Your geass is truth-telling, is it not?”

I glanced at Evangeline, who was finding the floor to be extremely interesting from the way she was staring at it, then back at Ms. Brun. “I am very upset you know that.” I answered calmly.

“Is it true, or are you merely trying to be clever?”

“It is the truth.”

She fixed her eyes on mine. “Prove it to me. Tell me what your intentions are while you visit Paris.”

“I am here to seek answers from my past. I am also willing to help the school, if I can.”

Her eyes were bottomless pools. I felt now that anything could be held within them. “And how would you describe Katrina?”

I hesitated, and silence fell over the room. “Katrina was my greatest enemy... and the only human I’ve ever respected.”

“I see.” Ms. Brun said simply, turning away from me. “You truly do belong to her.”

“You keep referring her in present tense.” I said. “Didn’t Evangeline explain that she has passed?”

The Headmistress nodded tightly. “She told me. But... Katrina has died many times over the years. Have you seen her body with your own eyes?”

Surprise jolted through me. “I visited her grave. Last year.”

“If it was me, I wouldn’t be satisfied until I had dug her up and saw her with my own eyes.” Ms. Brun glanced back at me, then walked to her two students. “Franziska, please get the box.” she told the brunette in French. The girl hurried away.

She turned again, facing Evangeline and I. “There will be one last test, so that this papillon can prove his intentions. The two of you will reside here for your entire stay, and while the papillon is here, he will be properly restrained.”

“Oh, I definitely don’t like the sound of this.” I muttered.

The brunette returned, carrying a large, flat, wooden box in both arms. She held it out to Ms. Brun, who flipped open the catches. The Headmistress then pulled out a set of silver manacles, the chain between them at least three feet in length.

“I object to this!” I said sharply. “How am I supposed to find any of my own answers if I am confined?”

“The safety of my students is my top priority, papillon.” Ms. Brun answered. “If you help us, then the entire school will assist you in finding the answers you seek. That is, if you truly wish to find them.”

“Only if I get Katrina’s diary as well.”

“We shall see.”

I mulled it over for a bit, but there was no point. I was backed into a corner and I hated it. If I declined their offer, then they would probably kill me, no matter how polite I was. And perhaps they really could help me with information on Nora. She had been born here, after all.

Something deep inside of me, some instinct, told me that I may find some answers from the ‘papillons’ currently terrorizing this school. If that was the case, then I should stick around to question them.

“Fine.” I said at last, through gritted teeth. I shrugged out of my coat, folding it over one arm. I held out my wrists.

Ms. Brun approached me, manacles in hand. “The chain is pure silver, so you will not be able to break it. I am not cruel though, the manacles are covered with leather on the inside. You will not burn yourself... if you are careful.”

She clapped one manacle onto my left wrist. I dropped that arm, still holding out my right, but she did not put the other manacle on it. Instead she turned to Evangeline and grabbed her right wrist. She closed the manacle over it and smiled softly. “There! Now you won’t be able to run off. I can’t think of a more perfect weight.”

Evangeline looked completely outraged, which was exactly how I felt. “I’m not a vampire!” she cried. “Why do I have to be punished?”

“You live with him, you could be corrupted by his influence.” she answered simply.

Evangeline tugged on the silver chain. My arm moved listlessly. I had given up, at this point the best I could hope for was that things wouldn’t get any worse. “Oh, I can’t believe this.” she groaned.

Ms. Brun checked a thin, gold watch on her wrist. “Now, if you will excuse me, I am going back to bed. I’m much too old to be staying up at all hours.” She turned and walked away, just like that.

“Wait a minute.” Evangeline started after her, but was held up by the chain. “What about your vampire problem? Aren’t you going to explain it to us?”

“That will be tonight, before classes start. We keep different hours than most schools. I also have to decide what help you can be. You are not Katrina, after all.”

“This isn’t fair! We came here to help you!” Evangeline shouted, but the Headmistress was already gone. Evangeline tugged on the manacle, but it was tight over her wrist. “This has to be one of the worst things that’s ever happened to me.”

“Please, don’t spare me from any insult.” I said dryly. “I can take it, really.”

“This is all your fault.” she seethed at me.

“How is this my fault?”

“You just had to come with me, didn’t you?”

I started to fold my arms across my chest, but thought better of it. “As a matter of fact, I did. You would be utterly useless here without me. You’re not a hunter.”

We both turned away from each other at the same time. Evangeline crossed her arms over her chest, rattling the chain.

Kieran took that opportunity to approach Evangeline. “I apologize for my Mother’s harshness. I will try to make you as comfortable as I can.”

Evangeline put a hand to her head. “Right now I am feeling seriously jet-lagged.”

“Then let’s find you a room.” He held out his forearm graciously. She shook her head politely, holding her hands behind her back. Her face was bright red. Together, they walked away, forcing me to follow them, or be dragged.

Even the fact that I was now physically chained to Evangeline did not deter Kieran from completely ignoring me. He kept his head bent down towards Evangeline’s, whispering in her ear and making her blush.

I could see quite plainly that I was being shown severe disrespect. That was going to change very soon.