The Fae [Faylinn #1]

Chapter 3: Hell-Bent

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          I looked at Francis and laughed, laughed so hard I snorted.

      "Yeah right! Ghosts?" I hollered and patted my leg, he just looked at me in disbelief. I wasn't sure how to handle the situation; sure I'd read camp-fire ghost stories, but I never believed in it. He just smiled and looked down.

     "Yes, mademoiselle, ghosts." He said with a stone hard expression. I straightened my spine and cleared my throat.

         "Look, Francis, I don't believe in that stuff, I am a mature young lady. I don't get scared of these little kid stories you are trying to pull on me," I said with a smug smile and then remembered something. The way the lamp went right through him, Beau. I gasped.

           Realization spread across my face, he can't be a ghost. He looked human, but the lamp... 

        "Are we getting somewhere, mademoiselle?" Francis asked, sternly. I gave a small nod as he continued, "but, he is not just any ghost, from what I've heard, he is your ghost-" 

        I interrupted him as soon as I heard that, "excuse me? My ghost?" I asked confused.

         "Oui, your ghost. Think of it like a soul mate, bound to each other. There is not much you can do about it, mademoiselle." He gave a small smile and lead me back to the hotel. This was a hell-bent day, I had a ghost. One that was waiting for me for all my life, and he was one that wouldn't leave me. He was arrogant, demanding, and handsome. Most of all, he was mine.

          "So, does everyone have a ghost?" I asked Francis as we approached the hotel doors. He paused and turned to look at me.

       "Ah, I could not answer zat. It depends on your bloodline," he smiled and continued, "your bloodline seems to be strong since your ghost is ze one and only, Beau."

           "Francis, what is so great about this damn guy? He just seems like he is here to piss me off." I sighed, stepping through the door.

           "In time, you will have ze answers," he said, simply. I didn't fully understand it, but I knew there would be more bullshit and more seeing Beau. I gasped and looked at him, wanting to know a little more about Francis.

          "Do you have a ghost?" I asked him as we walked to a fountain inside the hotel. I looked at his expression as he asked that, it looked like saddened happiness. He nodded and smiled.

          "Oui, her name is Celeste. She was my life..."

           I sat at the edge of the fountain looking down at the water as he continued talking.

         "Celeste..." He trailed off with a small chuckle then continued, "her and I met twenty years ago, we had the relationship like you and Beau are having. I remember first meeting her, I was thirty at the time. There was a small rodeo in town and it caught my attention because my family use to attend these when I was a teenager. My brother and my niece came along with me," he paused, giving a small laugh. "I was always the one to ride the mechanical bull." I gasped, Francis having fun and acting human didn't seem normal. "Anyways, I had just gotten off the bull, and I was full of adrenaline. I remember tilting my cowboy hat to some people congratulating me. And that's when I saw her, Celeste. She had a very light brown hair colour, that glowed. Pale skin that was flawless..." He trailed off again as I frowned sensing he was upset talking about this, he gave me a reassuring smile.

          "She had these amazing red lips, and these hypnotic eyes, they were," he paused and smiled, "intriguing." I smiled back, I was instantly fascinated with Celeste and Francis, and their story. "I remember looking at her for a long time before she smiled. She was wearing a red and white striped shirt and white jeans, she was... Beautiful. I walked away from her and later that day she kept appearing all over the rodeo. I felt as if I was being stalked so I wanted to confront her. We talked for a bit and made plans to meet up, she seemed like this fun woman. Little did I know she was a dead woman." Him saying that made me chuckle. "We hung out a lot, and I started developing feelings for her. I tried to hold them back, I didn't want to confess to her how I was starting to fall in love. It didn't seem like she was the type to fall in love either. We were a year into our playful relationship, and I was ready to give myself to her. By that I mean confess my love to her so we could start our lives together. We never touched each other, but whenever I was around her, she was as cold as death." Francis started to get emotional.