Chapter Three
Part Seven
Earlier...
Lumière awoke early and glanced out the window at the graying skies. It was possible she could move earlier than assumed in thanks to the overcast and coming storm. She breathed a sigh of relief. She wanted to go. The area around her felt unfamiliar and there was a creeping sensation that something bad was about to happen. She just needed to pass the border and everything would be okay. But that gave way to another problem.
The border was half a day by car, maybe less. She tracked the train and calculated that it would pass through the nearby town at 4:34 tomorrow morning. Sunrise wasn't until 5:18 so she had plenty of time to secure a dark place. The train would continue on until Crandon. Crandon wasn't far from the Michigan border but what to do about getting to Michigan and then across? Not to mention that it would still be daylight when the train came to her stop.
Lumière sighed. She would have to figure that part out when she got there. She wasn't keen on the idea of making plans on a whim but she had no other choice thanks to those other vampires. They ruined her schedule and now she was forced to improvise. She smiled, remembering that even as a child she preferred sticking to a well made plan rather than to deviate. The other kids her age always treated her strangely for doing such things. But, that was her way. The ability to control the outcome brought her peace of mind.
She began to move about the dirty room of the abandoned inn where she stayed the day. The town was not even a one-horse town and didn't have so much a streetlight to it's credit. It's sign had said population 430 but Lumière suspected it was much lower. At the very least, it was one lower now that she had stayed the night there. After awaking the following evening she happened across the handful of houses and tracked down an old woman living by herself. The house was a mile down the road from what was deemed 'town' and so she made quick work of the lady without any interference.
From the lack of activity in the town she figured that they hadn't found the body, yet. Lumière licked her lips. The woman hadn't tasted good but she wasn't interested in taste. She was certainly cleaner tasting than the pervert who hit on her on the bus but, not by much. Unlike wine, blood did not age well.
Lumière remembered the first time she drank blood. She was only 15 at that time. Her maker, a gentleman of forty, named Lewis, had guided her to the park after he changed her. He told her to sit and wait patiently. She had no problem with that. Even after becoming a vampire she remained just as patient, calm, and watchful as she ever was. To her, it was as if the transition into undead blood-sucker served to enhance her already particular personality traits rather than to replace them.
The bench, though it was cold (it was winter time), did not feel cold or warm. She felt nothing. Her receptors to cold and warmth were turned off. The longer she sat, however, the more her teeth began to hurt. And the more her teeth began to hurt the more her belly began to ache. She recognized this as hunger. But for what? Her maker had said be patient and so she continued to sit still.
Finally he returned with a young woman. Lumière had turned to her with cold, unfeeling eyes. The woman wasn't much over twenty and had very beautiful, long black hair. Her eyes were bright green and full of worry when they cast over Lumière on the bench. Perhaps the site of a 15 year old by herself in the dead of night would get anyone to worry. It did not help that Lumière often seemed younger than her age, either. The woman sat down on the bench and asked if she could help.
Behind her Lewis stayed in the shadows but watched with a rather disconcerting eye. He wanted to see how Lumière would react and she did not disappoint him. She had gestured for the strange woman to come closer, as though to whisper in her ear, and before she could stop herself she had bitten into the porcelain neck which was brightly contrasted against such dark hair.
The blood flowed through her like nectar to a bee, like hot chocolate on a cold day, like water to a thirsty camel. Although she guessed that it would be a rush she did not properly gauge how such a rush could affect her. Before she knew it she had drained the woman.
Her maker stepped forward and began to clap and together they disposed of her into a furnace of an empty factory. Lewis had greatly wished that Lumière was his one and only but it was not to be. Only after spending a year together did Lewis succumb to what she had supposed she would soon go through. She knew about the curse. She watched as her maker writhed in great pain and called out for someone, anyone to relieve him of it. She studied, without emotion, without regret, without loss, as his body was reduced to an ashen pile much like what happens when their kind goes out in the sun.
And assumed, maybe hoped, that she would be able to follow as well.
But here she still existed. Maybe not for much longer, based on the feeling within. This was different from her desire to feed. It was a feeling perhaps similar to someone on their death bed when they know their time grows near. The farther she moved north the more prominent the feeling became.
She checked out the window again. The skies had become dark enough and in the distance Lumière could see bits of lightning. She gathered her bags and walked out into the emptying street. The few trucks and cars were heading towards their respective homes. A man shouted to a group of kids that they ought to get on home because of the big storm. She walked down the street and out of town with little notice.
Soon enough the house with the deceased old lady came into view. If there was anything Lewis taught her it was to properly dispose of evidence. Sloppy vampires leave drained bodies for police to find. The police, not that bright, claim it's a creative killer. Do it often enough, however, and you'll draw suspicion to the area. And with that comes other vampires to kill the sloppy vampire. Her kind did not like attention. Especially the kind that proves they're real.
Inside the shed next to the woman's home was a can of gasoline. After several minutes inside the house giving the carpets and walls a new fragrance, Lumière returned outside with a box of matches. The inside the house glowed gently and by the time it became noticeable from down the street it would be too late for anyone to do anything.
She glanced towards the lightning in the distance.
Hopefully the rain would hold off until it burned to the ground.
Lumière set off through the forest. She had plenty of time to get to her destination but she wanted to be there early to scope the area out and choose the spot where she would enter the train from. The forest was much darker than the open sky which suited her vision. It was peaceful, even. She decided to enjoy herself since she could theoretically die at any moment. At a clearing the vampire dropped her shoulder bag and leaned her suitcase against a tree. She laid down in the grass and listened to the calm country air full of crickets, birds, and squirrel's chattering. This was probably a fraction of what Canada was like.
She could have stayed in that spot forever except she knew she needed to catch the train. Also, the clouds in the sky made her guess that it would begin raining soon, and traveling through mud was not fun. As she picked up her things she stopped. She could sense him. The vampire from back by the bus. He was not far from her and must have sensed that she knew he was there because he stepped out from behind a tree.
“Little girl,” he drawled, “You didn't get very far. I would have thought you in another state by now.”
His eyes were dark and menacing and the way he stalked towards her was like a hunter. He wants to hunt me. No, he's been hunting me. She resumed her movements acting as though the voice didn't bother her, even though it did. It sent a frightening chill down her spine. She was surprised he let her get this far.
“I like to travel like humans do,” she answered honestly, “it gives me time for reflection and thought. I didn't know you lived out here.”
He grinned, “This whole state is my hunting ground. Best never to stay in one spot too long, but, of course, you already know that.” He edged the circle of the clearing, “I know I made reference to it back there but you don't have a partner, do you?”
Lumière turned and looked him in the eye, “No. And I don't believe you and I are compatible.”
This made the vampire throw his head back in laughter, “I haven't any need of your companionship. Don't you feel her? She's waiting just ahead for you. Run to her, it'll give me the thrill.”
He was making it clear to her that he was hunting her and that his partner was helping. He had such supreme confidence that he would catch Lumière that he was telling her who was helping and where they were. She studied his dark eyes which were nothing but malice and thirsted for power.
“You didn't think I'd let you off that easy. You couldn't have thought that. A vampire so young and tasty as you. And with no partner? You're going to die anyways, why not just make it quick and give your power to us for a time?”
“I'll make my own choices about my life,” she may not be his equal in strength but she wasn't going to cow tow to some idiot who only wanted her blood. As she stepped forward he knocked her on her back.
“Stupid girl! You're not getting out of her alive!” His face twisted, “Or well, you know what I mean.” He laughed again. It was an idiot laugh. The type of maniacal laughter you might hear in an insane asylum by a killer. The sound made Lumière's ears ring.
“Get up!” he ordered.
She hesitated and got to her feet. He only needed to get close enough...
He practically hissed, “Now run.”
Lumière stared hard at him. She did not want to participate in a game of cat and mouse, especially with a second vampire out there ready to tackle her without warning. “What if I choose not to play your silly game?”
The other vampire threw his hands in the air, “Well, jeeze, I don't know, I suppose I could kill you right here and now, but then you wouldn't have a chance at freedom now would ya?”
“I don't have a chance if I run, either.”
He moved close, but not close enough, “You're telling me you're a weak vampire? Can't even run a few hundred yards? Pathetic,” he spit at her.
Lumière crossed her arms over her chest, “Even the strongest vampire hasn't much a chance against two intent on killing them. Your game is for your own benefit, not mine, and I refuse to play it.”
She watched as the vampire began to shake in anger. His eyes narrowed and he circled her and stomped the ground with each step, “Why are you being such a pain about this?” It was like he was throwing a fit, like a child.
“You're surprised that I'm being a pain about my own murder?”
“Keh!” he stopped and then moved forward, almost close enough. He must have seen the glance of Lumière's eyes because he began to laugh again, “Oh oh oh! I watched you! That move with the bus driver was as slick as oil! Too bad for you that my vampire clan has someone who can read minds and she heard you giving those orders in that man's head. You only have to touch someone, it seems, and you can make them do whatever you want.”
He was inside the clearing now. From a distance the two were like a lion cornering a lamb. But who was the lion and who the lamb?
“This is why, very much why I want to drink your blood. That and your age. Rather disgusting to make someone so young into a vampire. I ought to have killed you back at the bus. Your maker broke a cardinal rule. Since I don't know who your maker is I'll simply be rid of his work. I'll give you a proper death instead of that bullshit that comes from not being able to find your partner. And in order to have a proper death you must run—as hard as you can, like you're trying to save your own life—and I'll chase and maybe, just maybe you can get away,” he snorted and then added, “for a time.”
Lumière knew she didn't have much time. It wouldn't last very long and she would have to move fast. He was dead on about her not having much in the way of strength. She couldn't outrun him at this distance and if she ran into the other one she was certainly in a heap of trouble. She stared at him and he smirked. Her bag slipped off her shoulder and she knelt down next to it.
“What are you doing?” he was alarmed. His eyebrows raised and he made to step forward but caught himself. No matter.
She smiled, “You will at least let me collect myself before I go, right?”
He shrugged and rolled his eyes. She continued to smile at him as she peeled off her glove. She placed her stark white hand on the ground. Her eyes focused and sharpened while his dulled.
“Why don't you just lie down and not move for a day or two.” She didn't ask. This was a command and it would have to be a pretty powerful one. Human minds were easily susceptible to suggestions but vampires had some resistance. He followed her orders nevertheless and laid down in the lush grass. Above them the thunder cracked loudly. She quickly threw her bags under a thick brush and tore through the woods.
She only had an hour, maybe two, and then he would regain his senses and hunt her. She shuddered. The reading of his mind showed what a talented hunter he was. Certainly not the best, but, he was rather relentless. However, his desire for vampire blood clouded his senses. She could use that to her advantage.
She burst through the thick forest into the open. A quick check assured her that his partner was not anywhere near here. She bit her hand so that blood would drop and ran fast over the fields. She concentrated and listened for the sound of water. She could lose him at the water. He wouldn't be able to follow the scent of her blood if it were washed away. In no time flat she came upon a stream. As she crossed it she felt specks of water from above.
Lumière sighed. The rain would help and hinder. At the stream she licked her wound and watched it heal. She glanced back towards the forest. No one had yet emerged. With that motivation the young vampire resumed running across the open fields. She would double back for her bags after several miles. They, hopefully, wouldn't think to turn around and see if she had come back.
Around her thunder crashed and several flashes of lightning illuminated the open field. It would not do to be seen clearly under a flash of light and so Lumière darted into the thicket of another forest. She ran through the darkness with little effort. Although she rarely ran, especially in the past year, she found it came as naturally to her as reading minds or drinking blood. Her muscles were created for this, after all.
She ran with all her might through forest, then in open fields, across roads, and back into forests again. A half hour past, she judged, and she decided to give it a rest. The rain wasn't as bad here. Lumière judged by the direction of the wind and how the thunder was slightly behind her that she must have outrun the storm. But not by much. She sighed and pulled her hair back out of her eyes.
She looked around and noticed she wasn't in a field this time. Where there should be plowed rows of dirt instead was a pasture of grass surrounded by a fence. The paddock was large, too. She climbed through the fence and heard the grunting of what could only be horses coming from the barn over a hundred yards away. Farther on was a giant farmhouse. She stared at the farm house and dropped to a knee as the familiar aching came back.
“Is this where I'll die?” she gasped and held her side. The pain was spreading through her body like wildfire without the burning. Instead it was cold, freezing, and made her think of how when humans fall through the ice into a pond. This is what they must feel like. She gritted her teeth and shut her eyes. “Passing on in a field for horses is not very elegant,” she mumbled to herself as she tried to rise to her feet. She made to move towards the farm house in hopes of seeking shelter from the pelting rain, but only managed a few steps before falling back onto both knees.
“Poor little girl,” a woman's voice shouted from behind her. Lumière didn't have the strength to combat the pain and so she merely stayed in the same position. “Can't even stand, can you? Shoulda let Thor kill you. I've watched vamps go through this. Ain't no pleasure picnic.”
“Not elegant at all.”
The woman, clearly the other vampire's partner, strolled up next to Lumière. “What was that girly?” She kicked the young vampire in the stomach sending Lumière into the air and then onto her back. “Oh, that's what I thought it was.”
The female vampire stood above Lumière. Her dark black hair reminded her of a time long ago. Was this perhaps retribution? The story begins one way and ends in a similar way. Lumière whimpered as the pain increased.
“Well, I'd told Thor I'd wait for him to catch up, but if you go an' die before he gets here that won't be no fun for neither of us,” she grabbed Lumière by her shirt collar and pulled her up. Before the girl could get her hands on the woman her arms were bound to her sides by a crushing hug, “Ain't gonna fall for that. Thor already told me.”
Lumière was in no position now to protest. The pain had broken her last mental barrier and she felt herself falling into a deep abyss of loneliness. It hit her now how much she wanted someone by her side all those years. The emotions swept over her like a giant tidal wave but ceased to wash away all the fears which had accumulated on her beach of thought for this day. She was certain that the vampire which held her was drinking from her but she couldn't feel it. She couldn't feel anything other than an intense desire to want to kill herself. Why did she live this long? There was no purpose if she wasn't able to share it. She should have ended it sooner.
Part Eight
By the time Caprice got Éclair back to the house it had begun to rain. Éclair was slipping in and out of conscious like the flip of a coin and the brunette wasn't sure which side was going to come up. She was reaching for the doorknob when she felt them: vampires. Caprice squeezed Éclair tightly and emitted a soft growl. Her eyes scanned the immediate area and then beyond.
In the flash of lightning she saw, illuminated against the silhouettes of the darkened trees, two women in an embrace. At first Caprice blushed, but, as she looked closer, she saw that one indeed was drinking from the other. The young woman couldn't let that happen. She set Éclair down on the porch and hopped the fence into the paddock. As she ran towards the two she stripped her clothes and changed into a large, brown wolf. The vampire didn't have much time to react as Caprice's large beast form leaped into the air at her. She dropped the small girl, and dashed back.
Caprice growled and charged forward. Her speed far exceeded the vampire and so she managed to bite into the undead arm of the woman and tear a huge chunk out. She screamed and kicked Caprice in the jaw, sending the wolf stumbling back. Caprice shook her head and watched for a second as the vampire ran off into the woods. She paused and peered back towards the young girl on the ground. The girl was writhing—which she hoped was a good thing.
The werewolf Caprice howled and took the fence in an effortless jump deciding to chase down the vampire. Overhead, the storm had caught up, and was beginning to come down in full force.
Part Nine
Éclair was in her own hell. She was lost and desolate and wandered aimlessly through the corridors and halls. Sometimes she would come to a dead end and turn back, other times she would come to a door and open it to something far worse. She had thought that if she gave in it would mean the end. Death should have come and taken her. But if this is what death was like than she decided that she'd rather experience the pain.
At least with pain she felt something.
These corridors seemed dead and when in Rome, these dead things wanted other dead things, which meant that they wanted Éclair. They were doing their best to suck the life out of her. Their endless black walls, the unending maze, the doors filled with horrors much like the levels of hell she remembered reading about once in a class, all seemed design to constantly remind the redhead that she had no hope.
Indeed she did have no hope. Everything from her life, all the times her parents left her alone, all the times she had to leave friends to never see them again, all the times she was ostracized at a new school for being an outsider, all the times she felt loneliness and sorrow, they were brought to the forefront. The torment and anguish were molasses and they dripped through her veins slowly until she was certain that every part of her would ache beyond pain. What was beyond pain?
A netherworld which Éclair shuddered to think about.
What was the point? She had asked that girl, what was her name? The brown haired... or blonde? She couldn't remember. Was there ever a girl? Did she make her up? What was her life like before this? Why couldn't she remember? Better yet, was there even something to remember? Little by little she was losing herself in this maze. With every door opened a piece of her disappeared.
She slid down the side of the wall and stared lifelessly into the darkness that lay ahead. It would be like this for eternity, wouldn't it? She wanted to cry but she had no tears. She wanted to scream but she had no voice. She could feel her eyelids getting droopy. Would this sleep overtake her? She would allow it. Anything to escape.
Her eyes began to close, slowly. Everything around her was slipping away. She didn't want it anyways. Since there was no point. She had no one, she had nothing, and she was no one. In the distance, the darkness, there was a sudden, though barely noticeable, glow of light. Éclair paused. She stared at the glow. What was that? She tried to open her eyes better to see but found her lids like forty ton weights. The glow wasn't going away, though, and it intrigued Éclair.
She summoned all of what was left of her and lifted her lids. The light shone brighter now. It shone upon a door. She stared down the hall. What was the meaning of this? Was she meant to go to the door? She couldn't feel her body and had to look down to make certain it was still intact. When she saw that it indeed was intact, she looked back up to see the glow of light even brighter now. She used the light as a motivation and clawed her way up the wall and into a standing position. Her body felt like all the energy had left it. Whatever was forcing her to go was something beyond what Éclair could imagine.
Down the hall she went. Each step closer to the light become lighter and easier. By the time she reached the light she began to regain a sense of herself. Who was she? Éclair Muse. What was her life like? A somewhat ditsy teenager who loved lacrosse and had a killer shot. She had two loving parents and friends... Éclair felt her eyes open wide. Yes, she had friends. She had people she wanted to see again.
The door was in front of her now. The light was now also illuminating her. She felt warm, she felt love, she felt at peace. She reached for the knob and opened the door.
Part Ten
Reality came back for Éclair like a plane crash. The rain, the dark skies, the thunder, her cold, wet body. She shivered slightly and got to her feet. She was at her house. Donner came running out from the barn and greeted her with a bark. She smiled at him and then searched the yard in worry. “Caprice?”
Donner barked and ran into the pasture. She watched him, wondering for a moment what he was doing, and then it came to her that he wanted her to follow. She nodded and ran out into the heavy winds and rains. She hopped the fence easily and ran with Donner. The heavy rain made it difficult to see far in front of her and the mud slowed her a little. She watched the border collie in jealousy and idly wondered when she'd be able to master changing into a four legged animal.
She had been intent on watching and following Donner that she nearly overlooked a small girl lying on the ground. There was a bloody wound on her neck, but what worried Éclair the most, was that she was lying face down in mud. She ran over to the girl and pulled the small body into her arms. The body was cold and the girl wasn't moving.
“Hey! Are you okay?” Éclair checked a pulse and found none. She gasped and laid her back down on the ground. She wiped the mud away from her face and mouth and prepared to give CPR. She had her hands placed on the girl's ribcage when she heard a male's voice.
“I don't think that will help.” Éclair turned and glared at a man with sandy blonde hair. His smirk irritated her. She suddenly felt protective of the girl and turned so that she was shielding her with her body.
“What do you mean?”
The man rolled his eyes, “Stupid werewolves know nothing,” he licked his lips, “Your friend should be running into mine right about now. Don't think she'll last long. Meanwhile you'll hand that one over to me and we'll let your friend go, how's that sound?”
Donner growled at the strange man and made to attack him but stopped at Éclair's voice, “No! Donner!” She didn't feel right about this, she didn't want the border collie getting caught up in something that might hurt him, “Go home!” The dog seemed to hesitate and then ran, tail between his legs, back towards the house.
She watched him for a moment and then gasped. He was talking about Caprice. She must have run out here. But how did he know Éclair was...?
“I'm not handing her over. Caprice can handle herself,” unless these guys were werewolves, but then, why hadn't this one transformed. “Why do you want her anyway?” She glanced back to the unmoving form behind her and felt a sudden rush of worry that the girl had not moved.
He groaned, “Do not get in the way of vampire affairs or I shall bring others to kill your entire pack!”
She somehow knew he would say that, “I'm not giving you her! Just because you have to drink human blood to survive it doesn't mean you need to kill people, especially young girls like her!”
His laughter made Éclair cringe, “Her? Human? You're so stupid. I ought to kill you, too.”
Éclair opened her mouth but closed it. She turned back towards the blue haired girl on the ground. Though, because of the lightness of the blue, it was now stained in mud. A vampire? It couldn't be.
“You lie!” She growled at him.
He chuckled, “Like I said, stupid.” He paused and stared at her, “I bet you can't even change...”
Her eyes widened at this and he knew he had her. He ran forward and grabbed the redhead by her throat and held her up in the air. She struggled and grasped his wrists trying to pull herself up from being choked. Her legs kicked nothing but air.
“Now, die stupid. Die and save us all some time.”
She felt the blackness creeping up again and she felt her body stiffen. Not again! With the swing of her body she brought her feet up and connected them with the side of the vampire's head in a sickening crack. He dropped her and stumbled backwards.
“You bitch!” His voice was gargled.
Éclair coughed as she rubbed her throat. She was getting to her feet when she looked up at him. He removed his hand from his head and she could see the dent she made with the heel of her foot in the side of his forehead. He ran forward again but this time she dodged and pushed him forward sending him sliding through the mud. As he slowed he jumped to his feet and dashed back towards her.
He kicked, punched, and tried to grab Éclair again but her lacrosse skills and some powerful instincts made her fast enough that he couldn't connect. The frustration was growing in his dark eyes and he threw a particularly wild punch. Éclair easily dodged and countered with an elbow to his chest. The force of the blow threw him into the fence post. The post broke on impact and he tumbled over it. He laid a moment on the ground and then pushed his self to his feet.
Out of his left shoulder stuck a small, but long chunk of wood from the split post. He grabbed it and yelled. His dark eyes caught Éclair's calm violet eyes. “This isn't over!” And with that, he ran into the forest.
She dropped her shoulders and let out a breath of air. Her neck still ached from where he held her in the air but she felt it healing as she touched it and ceased to worry. She heard a small, pained moan and remembered the girl on the ground. Éclair moved back to her side and knelt down. How could this girl be a vampire? She looked so frail and so innocent.
Éclair pressed her hand against the girl's cheek and patted lightly. The other hand searched the girl's throat, checking the wound to see if it was still bleeding. She still couldn't find a pulse when the girl's eyes began to flutter. She paused her hand's movements and ceased breathing. A pair of vibrant ruby red eyes stared up from under a diffuse of dark lashes against pale lids. Éclair remembered that warmth from in the corridors as it seemed to flood over her again. She felt a smile draw over her lips and for maybe the first time ever, felt a sort of peace inside her heart.
“You're okay now, I've got you.” She spoke as she would to a child, her voice gentle and sweet.
The girl's eyes became even more wide and she struggled to speak. Éclair just soothed the soft cheek beneath her hand with her thumb and hushed the girl gently. She stopped trying to speak and simply relaxed into the actions. Her eyes slowly closed and her head tilted to the side. For some reason, though, Éclair knew she wasn't dead. She continued to smile and made a move to pick the girl up.
“Bitch, you'll get it now,” Éclair's head whipped around to see the familiar vampire from the fight standing above her. He held a long chunk of the post above his head like a sword and before she could blink, he swung downward.
The Next Day...
Lumière felt sore even before she opened her eyes. But beyond that, even stronger, she felt something she hadn't felt for years. Not since she was a human, actually. She felt warmth. Even more she felt comfort and softness and... something she couldn't define. She carefully opened her eyes—if this was a dream she did not want to spoil it. The first thing to grace her sight was a young woman.
She was on her side, facing Lumière, and fast asleep. Her breathing was shallow and quick but it seemed she was deep in sleep. She had deep red hair that was splayed out across the pillow and over parts of her face. Her skin was dirty, presumably having been caked with mud. Her arm was laid out in front of her and, to Lumière's embarrassment, her hand was intertwined with the vampire's. Lumière stared at the two hands, bare hands, both joined, in astonishment.
She carefully pulled her hand out of the light grasp and meant to pull it to her own body, but found herself moving it forward towards the young woman's face. She didn't even know what she was doing when she brushed the hair from the girl's face. The girl's eyes suddenly opened and Lumière halted her actions altogether; she couldn't even take her hand away.
The young woman blinked several times and then gave tired smile which in turn caused those unrecognizable, albeit, powerful feelings in Lumière. She felt like she could do nothing but stare into a pair of gentle violet eyes. Eyes that seemed to say everything was okay now and eyes that she immediately wanted to see everyday for the rest of her life. Her thoughts embarrassed her but she still continued to stared.
“Good Morning,” the other girl said in a voice deeper than Lumière's, but still richly sweet and definitely kind. “Well, afternoon, I think. Caprice said you're sensitive to sunlight, so I covered the windows.”
When the redhead's hand reached up and took her own in it, Lumière felt like she would burst from the warmth she felt. She felt the hand squeeze hers and what could she do but squeeze back. It was so soft, but strong and yet carried such an gentility that it put the young vampire at ease. But she was touching the girl and she couldn't hear anything... What was there to do? She couldn't fight this. No, she wouldn't fight this. Her face softened and she returned the smile, “This is...”
The woman across from her scooted a little closer, “This is?”
Lumière pulled the hand to her, shut her eyes, and pressed the girl's knuckles to her lips. All those years, all that loneliness, all that searching. It was done, finished. She somehow defied fate long enough to be rewarded by it.
“I'm Lumière,” she said against the knuckles. Her voice cracked, she wanted to cry in happiness, though she couldn't, but she didn't care, “I'm you're partner. Please treat me kindly.”
Thus ends the 10 part, 'Warmth of a Partner.'
Please stay tuned for more of the story “Flesh.”
We learn more about Lumière and Éclair's relationship
and what others will think about the taboo of a
vampire and werewolf being one another's
fulfillment and partner.
-Vexed Fusion-