The Paris Escapade

A light tapping intruded on my sleep. I scrunched my eyes tightly, keeping them stubbornly closed. The tapping persisted, so I grabbed my pillow and covered my head with it.

“Gabriel,” I murmured. “go get the door.”

He didn’t answer. I reached out beside me, but the bed was empty. Gabriel had gotten up before me. Darn.

Muffled through the pillow, I heard the door open, and soft footsteps walk across the floor to the bed. There was a pressure on the mattress to my side, as of two elbows resting there. “Alas.” Kieran sighed. “The princess seems unable to rouse herself. Perhaps a kiss will break her spell.”

I pulled the pillow away and looked up at him. A few strands of my tousled hair fell over my now wide open eyes. He laughed and pushed them away. “I see you are awake, no need for a kiss.” There was a sparkle deep within his sapphire eye. I thought just then that if he had both of his eyes, his gaze would be truly devastating.

I briefly considered pretending to faint, just so I could get that kiss, but then thought against it. I hadn’t brushed my teeth yet, after all. “It’s time for breakfast?” I asked, my voice rough from sleep.

“Nearly. I came to rouse you, like I promised. There is some time for you to get ready. I brought your suitcase up with me.” He patted the handle of my black suitcase, where it lay on the floor next to him. “Also, I have a present.” He reached into his coat and pulled out a soft, flat package wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine.

I sat up, pushing my hair into some kind of order. “What is it?” I asked as he placed the package on my lap.

“Mother has decided that while you stay here, you will disguise yourself as a student, so as not to raise any suspicion from our neighbors.” He nodded to the package. “Here is your uniform. My apologies if it does not fit, I had to guess at your size.” He pulled out a pocket knife and cut the twine for me.

I pulled the twine away and unwrapped the paper. On top was a short, crimson sash, with a gold pin set into one end. The pin bore the school’s crest. Underneath was the shirt, a short-sleeved, button-down, blouse the soft color of pink roses. The skirt was next. It was pleated and deep maroon in color, with plaid accents in crimson. The stockings were crimson, and the jacket was maroon and bore the school’s crest embroidered over the front pocket.

“There are shoes as well.” Kieran handed me a box, pulling off the lid. I expected a cute pair of mary janes, or penny loafers. What I found were a pair of calf-high, black boots laced up in the front. The soles were thick, with deep ridges, perfect for running on questionable terrain.

“Wow.” I said slowly. “This is nice, really nice. But how can I pass as a student? I don’t know any French.”

He stood up, smiling cheerfully. “I shall teach you, if you like.”

I gave him a mock suspicious look. “You’re not going to have me saying any weird things, right? Like ‘the cheese is on top of the table’?”

“You have nothing to worry about, though the idea is tempting.” He placed a hand over his heart. “I promise I will behave myself.”

“Somehow, I believe that will be very difficult for you.”

He looked away. “Well, I shall let you get dressed. I will wait for you in the hall.”

“I’ll try to be quick.”

When he was gone, I headed for the bathroom. A quick, blisteringly hot shower was just what I needed to start my day, er, night.

The broken mirror startled me; I quickly looked around for an intruder. Nothing else was disturbed. Gabriel getting up first probably explained this.

After I showered and dressed, I retrieved my gun and glove from my suitcase. It seemed being armed was part of the dress code around here, and I might as well comply.

I exited the room, pulling the door closed behind me. Kieran was waiting as promised, his easy smile already on his lips. “Très mignon.” he complimented; at least I hoped it was a compliment.

“Uh... merci.” I replied, smiling tentatively.

“See? You’re learning already.” He held out his arm to me. Shyly, I slipped my hand under his arm, resting it on his bicep. It was like this that he led me to the Headmistress’ Offices.

The offices were two rooms, one large one, with bookshelves and filing cabinets lined up against the walls. Some of the filing cabinets were doubled up against the wall, hastily moved out of the way to make room in the center of the room. A few tables had been pushed together and covered with a large white tablecloth. Chairs were placed all around it, plates of food sat on the table next to various documents and maps.

Beyond a small doorway was a cramped inner office that held only a single desk piled high with papers, and a solitary chair.

The larger room was already crowded when we arrived, Teachers sitting at the table and all of them talking to each other. Gabriel stood next to Ms. Brun, who was also standing. They had their heads bent together over a large map of what I assumed was Paris. Gabriel was pointing to something on the map, speaking rapidly in French.

“Are we all here?” Kieran asked.

Ms. Brun and a few of the teachers looked over at us. She nodded at my attire approvingly. “We are still waiting for Professor Barnes.” she told us. They spoke in English, probably out of courtesy to me.

Kieran sighed. “We are eternally waiting for Professor Barnes. When he stands before the gates of heaven, he will tell Saint Peter to wait a moment so he can finish reading one more page.”

“Je suis ici!” A voice called behind us. I turned to see a man hurrying up the hallway, his arms overloaded with folders and books.

“There you are!” Kieran said impatiently. “Everyone else has already started.”

“My apologies.” the professor said breathlessly, coming to a stop next to Kieran. He switched to English automatically. “There was something important I wanted to bring up to the Headmistress, and I couldn’t find the right book...” He had a distinctly British accent. Not native to France, then. At least I wasn’t the only one.

“Just come in, already.” Kieran dropped my arm, placed one hand on the man’s back, and pushed him through the door. We followed behind him. He placed his heavy armful on the table, next to an empty plate.

Professor Barnes didn’t immediately strike me as a teacher. He was young, in his late twenties at least, and he wore faded blue jeans. He wasn’t very tall, and his hair was an unimaginative shade of brown, but he wasn’t unattractive either. He was very average, I decided.

His eyes fell on me and widened. “I didn’t know we were introducing a new student today.” he took my hand in his and covered it with his other one. His expression was sympathetic, his brown eyes soothing. “Pardonnez-moi.” he said in French, but even I could tell he wasn’t very good at speaking it. He spoke haltingly, and over emphasized. “Je suis désolé pour votre perte...”

“I don’t speak French.” I told him quickly.

“Ah, my apologies.” He continued to hold my hand consolingly. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

I gave him an alarmed look. “My... loss?”

Kieran decided to intercede then. “Professor Barnes, Miss Stanton here is not actually a student. She is disguising herself as one in order to help us against the Black Rose.”

Professor Barnes looked back at me, his face lighting with excitement. “Ah! Like a spy, very good.” He changed his grip on my hand, shaking it. “A pleasure to meet you.”

Ms. Brun cut in then. “You said you had something for me, Dexter?” she asked.

“Oh yes. It’s right here.” He dropped my hand and pulled an old tome from the bottom of his pile. He headed around the table to her and Gabriel.

Kieran held an empty chair out for me. I took it and he plopped down in the seat next to mine. “Are you hungry?”

My stomach roared at me. “Yes.” I said meekly.

He laughed and began filling up my plate with food. “Usually, the Professors eat in the cafeteria, with the students.” he informed me. “We have many plans to make today, so we are hiding in here.”

I started eating, but my attention was on Kieran and I barely noticed what I put in my mouth. “How come Professor Barnes looked so sad when he thought I was a new student?” I said around a mouthful of eggs.

Kieran paused in filling up his own plate. A shadow crossed his face briefly, then his expression turned light. “That is the way it is here. You do not come to this school unless you have had something taken away from you, by the papillons.”

I let that information sink in a bit. “So, all the girls here are victims of vampires?” I asked.

He nodded. “Two hundred students in all, each one lost one or both of their parents, and have very little family left. Some come from hunter’s families, some were random victims.” He smiled gently. “‘We take them in, and we make them whole again.’ That was what Katrina always said.”

A wave of sadness washed over me. I put down my fork and stared at my plate. “She didn’t want any other girls growing up the way she did.”

Kieran nodded, not having any trouble eating. “There is a great sense of community here, and love. We are all equals in our loss.”

“What about the boys?” I asked, picking at my food with my fork. “There have to be male victims as well.”

“This is a girl’s school.” Kieran replied. “Mother and Katrina felt that girls needed togetherness and understanding more than boys did. Statistically, boys tended to grow up to be hunters, while girls were more likely to end their lives themselves, or wind up in an institution somewhere.” He hesitated, then added. “Ten to one, though, there are more female survivors than male. For some reason, the papillons of the Black Rose rarely kill young girls.”

My stomach grumbled at me irritably, so I loaded up my fork again. After I had filled my stomach enough to stop it’s complaining, I looked over at Gabriel. He looked worse than ever, his skin had taken on the texture of parchment, but his eyes were focused and intent.

“Headmistress, if you will just look here.” Professor Barnes held the tome open under her nose. Ms. Brun retrieved a pair of glasses from her pocket and put them on in order to read the tiny print. “This book here catalogues hatching grounds, all over Paris. I found it stuffed into a storage bin in the 2nd library, not properly taken care of at all.”

“This book is ancient, Dexter. Hunters already cleared these hatcheries ages ago, that’s why they are recorded here. These are merely records.” Ms. Brun was giving him a patient look, like she would a small child.

“That’s the thing about vampires, Ma’am, they have much longer memories than we do. We cleared out the hatcheries years ago, then cross it off as good and done. Fifty years, a hundred years later, if it’s still a good location, they will come back.” Dexter’s face was positively alight with excitement. “I’ve been poring over centuries of documents and one thing is consistent: vampires don’t make attachments with living things. People, other vampires, it’s counter-intuitive seeing as they need blood to live. But, they do form attachments with places!”

Over Ms. Brun’s shoulder I could see Gabriel study Professor Barnes silently. I thought about how outraged Gabriel had been when he found that Katrina had been living in his home for the fifty years he had been imprisoned, and found myself nodding to what Professor Barnes was saying.

“That’s interesting.” Gabriel spoke up. “This theory of yours.”

Professor Barnes looked over at him. “Oh, I don’t believe we’ve met.” He held out a hand congenially to Gabriel.

Gabriel glanced at his outstretched hand, than looked back at Professor Barnes’ face. He didn’t take his hand, which started to make the professor self conscious. He didn’t lower his hand, but he looked to the side.

Ms. Brun hastily did the introductions. “Gabriel, this is Professor Dexter Barnes, our newest éducateur.” She smiled fondly. “I stole him from South Thames College, in London.”

“You’re the only male teacher here?” Gabriel asked quietly.

I took another look down the table and realized that was true. It hadn’t registered before, but the teachers were all female, save for Professor Barnes. Then again, it wasn’t that strange to me, most of my own teachers had been women. My first male teacher hadn’t been until High School.

Professor Barnes looked confused, and increasingly more nervous. He finally dropped his hand. “Ah yes, well, the Headmistress neglected to mention it wasn’t a co-ed school.”

“You wouldn’t have taken the post, when we so desperately needed you.” Ms. Brun said simply. “Professor Barnes here replaces our old History and Vampire Lore teacher, Miss Harriet, who sadly passed on last spring.” Everyone at the table paused in their eating and talking, and looked down as one.

Ms. Brun continued her introductions. “This is Gabriel. He and Miss Stanton are here on Katrina’s behalf.”

“Miss Riley will not be here, then?” Professor Barnes looked somewhat disappointed. “I was hoping to meet her, I believe I’m the only one of this lot that hasn’t.”

“You just might, one day.” Gabriel told him, softly. “Especially if you continue working here.”

“Let’s hope so.” Professor Barnes’ face lit up cheerfully.

I narrowed my eyes at Gabriel. As if he could feel my gaze, he glanced over at me. ‘Be good.’ I thought in my head. He looked away.

Kieran sat back in his chair, his meal finished. “So, what are our plans for today?”

“Right, we must be getting on, breakfast is almost over.” Ms. Brun turned her attention back to the table. She began speaking in French, the other teachers listened intently.

Kieran leaned over to me, talking quietly in my ear. “She’s saying ‘We cannot ignore what Professor Barnes has just uncovered, so today a team will be investigating several of the old Hatcheries. We will also do a sweep of the entire school, with the aim to uncover the origins of the creature that invaded us last night.’”

She turned to me, switching to English. “Miss Stanton, you and Gabriel will join Kieran in investigating the Hatcheries. Professor Barnes will give you a map detailing the most likely locations the papillons would use.”

“All right.” I acquiesced. “And, please call me Angie. Miss Stanton sounds too old.”

Kieran leaned forward. “Mother, perhaps Angie should stay behind. It could be dangerous, and she has told us that she is not a hunter.”

Ms. Brun was dismissive. “Nonsense, Kieran. It’s most likely that the Hatcheries will be abandoned. Besides, I’ve been told she can handle herself.”

“Really?” I asked in disbelief. Who would have told Ms. Brun that? I glanced over at Gabriel, but he was staring at the map on the table, upon which Professor Barnes was marking with a red pen.

“A few of these areas are near places I wish to investigate as well, so this works for me.” Gabriel said.

“Good, then it’s settled.” Ms. Brun turned to the teachers, switching back to French. She was most likely outlining the sweep of the school.

I stood up, stretching my arms up over my head. Breakfast had been rich, and it settled heavily in my stomach. Some exercise was just what I needed. I looked down at Kieran. “I’m all ready to go, if you are.”

His brows were pushed together in worry. He crossed his arms over his chest. “It will be dangerous.” he said. “Perhaps you should stay behind and help with the sweep.”

“I’ll be fine.” I reassured him, nudging his shoulder gently. “You’re not leaving me behind, to go traipsing around this gorgeous city. Besides, I’ll keep Gabriel in line.”

Kieran sighed and stood up. Though his brows were still pressed together, he looked resigned. “Let’s go, then.”

Professor Barnes finished marking the map. Gabriel took out his phone and quickly took a few pictures of it. Kieran rolled up the map, stowing it away inside his coat. The three of us said our goodbyes and departed.

The night was fresh, the newly blackened sky clear. The moon was just a sliver, hanging in the sky. “So.” I turned to Gabriel and Kieran. “Where to first? What is a Hatchery, exactly?”

“Exactly what it sounds like.” Gabriel answered. “It’s where vampires are born.”

Kieran leaned over to me. “We humans call them cimetières.”

That word sounded awfully familiar. My eyes widened. “We’re going to investigate a bunch of cemeteries? At night?” my voice climbed to a squeak.

Kieran laughed as he pulled open the gate. “You can always turn back.” he reminded me.

I glanced over at Gabriel, who was looking away. I set my jaw determinedly. “Oh, I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” I said stubbornly, marching out the gate.

“Very well.” Kieran teased. “I will be there for you, should you become frightened.”

“We’ll see who gets scared first.” I answered haughtily. I walked past him and his laughter followed close behind.