Ethereal Kiss {Lesbian Vampire Romance} [ON HOLD]

Chapter Two

Wow! The feedback that I’ve got from the prologue and first chapter has been really good. Thank you all so much! Okay, so in Chapter Two, we now look at Adele’s past through her point of view (Gabriella’s as well as she is viewing Adele’s past through the telepathic link). I love history although I don’t know a much about France just before the French Revolution or Louisiana as well. So please bear with me. If I make a mistake with years or whatever, just ignore it or type me up a history lesson. Just don’t kill me please. I have two cats at home that need me to support them. Anyway, back to the point, I hope that you enjoy the next chapter and I will be posting up Chapter 3 as soon as humanly possible. Love you all!!!

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My eyes fluttered and the ball room swam before me. A wave of dizziness engulfed me and my hand reached out to the nearest thing for support. This support came from my brother, Francis, who rested my hand on his arm and hissed softly into my ear:

“Behave, Adele, the whole court is watching.” In a louder voice, he added. “Is all well, dear sister?”

“Apologies, brother, but the evening is too warm. Perhaps, I may be excused to talk a walk in the gardens?” I replied, plastering a fake smile on my lips to reassure the people watching us. Francis didn’t reply at first, he just continued to dance, holding onto my arm tightly, and glaring at me through the holes in his mask. Though I felt slightly less dizzy as time moved on, the desire to sit down and breathe in the cool evening breeze was just too much. Only as the musicians placed down their instruments after the song, did he let my arm go. His grip had been stupidly strong and I imagined the skin under my gloves would be bruised like a peach in the morning. Francis whispered me a small apology, before bowing formally and moving on to dance with the Duke of Lorraine’s youngest daughter. Resisting the temptation to hit him (as I would have done when we were children), I walked gracefully across the marble floor, past the couples in their finery and out of the large doors.

Even though the night was a masquerade ball, Francis and I did not need masks to disguise ourselves. We were known in the French Court as Les Jumeaux, the Twins. This was rather ironic as Francis was two years above my own seventeen years. As children of the Count Henri, we were regulars at Versailles and our strikingly fair looks were notorious. Francis and I shared the same pale blonde hair colour, bright blue eyes and, unfortunately in my case, the same height. Although this suited Francis perfectly, it left me standing half a foot above the other women at court. It took years of practice for me to walk gracefully with my willowy build. Unlike the other ladies, who all wore their hair extravagantly large hair styles, I kept mine in a simple hairstyle above my head. Wigs gave me headaches so I only used my natural hair. This, at first, intrigued most of the court as I was not following the fashion of the day. However, as time passed, several of the younger ladies took to wearing their hair as I did. I found this flattering but mostly annoying.

Even though I did not follow the fashion with my hair, I was still forced to dress fashionably. Corsets were especially popular and I cursed softly at whichever man decided to make women wear this device. I fought the temptation to return to my rooms and have my maid remove it. But only the uproar it would almost certainly cause stopped me. At least the evening was cool. The summer of 1775 was definitely a warm one and it was a common sight to see young ladies faint. I hated the thought of the embarrassment that would happen if I had fainted in the middle of the ballroom. No wonder, Francis had to cling onto me so tightly.

The gardens at the Palace of Versailles were glorious at this time of the year. The aroma of all the different flowers surrounded me and, as I sat down quietly on a hard, cold stone bench, I listened to the sound of birds calling after the sun had set. Removing my fan from my pocket, I began to fan myself, feeling the cool air embrace my face. A full moon hung overhead as the sky transformed into a dark, inky blue. The gardens were mostly quiet compared to the noise of the ballroom although every now and then, a couple would appear and sneak off into the many little alcoves. I sighed and allowed myself to relax against the bench, relishing the rare moment of being alone.