Aurora's outfit:
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Chapter Sixty-Six
🌒 Maid Of Gévaudan 🌘
"That letter would eventually find its way into the hands of a young woman. A skilled hunter who would later face the Beast armed with nothing but a steel-tipped pike. She would be known by history as the Maid of Gévaudan... But her real name was Marie-Jeanne."
Lydia, Aurora and the still-injured Jordan were still in the bunker where Gerard and Argent are telling them what they know about the Beast. Aurora glanced over at Jordan to see he looks discouraged and overwhelmed after everything that he has just learned about his nature as the Hellhound.
"Maybe someone should resurrect her." He said before turning to walk out the door, but Aurora grabbed his hand, "Hey- Where are you going?" She asked as he turned to her. "My dreams aren't like Lydia's, Aurora. I'm not just a harbinger of death- I'm the cause of it." He said then turned to leave again making Aurora go to follow him.
"Jordan!" She called out and went to leave but Gerard stopped her, "Let him go." He said making her turn to him an annoyed look as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Why?" She asked, "Because as much as we believe Parrish could take on the Beast... Neither of us think he's our only hope at stopping it." He said making both girls look at him confused.
"What do you mean?" Lydia asked, moving to stand next to Aurora, "We think there's another." He said as Gerard walked over. "You two." He said making Aurora and Lydia look at each other. "Marie-Jeanne was a lot like the two of you. Skeptical of her own abilities. And once, actually, just as skeptical of the supernatural..." Gerard said, starting to explain everything again.
"Why didn't he warn her?" Lydia asked a little while after Gerard told some of the story, "He told her about everything that they'd seen during the war. But, like I said... Marie-Jeanne was a skeptic. They searched from dawn 'til dusk, hoping to find the Beast where it slept. But, they knew they'd most likely only encounter it at nightfall. It was just after midnight when the first torch went out..."
All of the sudden, Aurora's necklace glowed and Aurora and Lydia both heard a loud banging noise along with the sound of the Beast roaring. To Lydia, it hit with such force that she gets woozy and nearly collapses. Aurora manages to catch her before she falls while Argent stepped forward, "Lydia?" Argent asked.
"Something's happening." Lydia said and Aurora nodded while Argent raised his eyebrows, "Now?" He asked and Aurora shook her head slightly. "I don't know... But something's wrong. We can't stay here." She said and her and Lydia were about to leave when Gerard stopped them.
"You should hear the rest of the story." He said making Aurora scoff and turn to him, "Why should we even be listening to you?" She asked and Argent gave her a stern look. "He knows it better than any of us." Argent said and Aurora chuckled sarcastically and nodded, "Yeah... He really knew how to manipulate and kill people." She said and Argent just sighed softly.
"Everything I've read says that the Beast was killed by Jean Chastel." Lydia said and Gerard scoffed, "Who told you that? The internet? If that's your most reliable source of information, then you might as well go." He said and Lydia and Aurora glanced at each other. Both of them clearly wanting to leave, but yet still wanted to know about the Beast.
"What happened next?"
"Henri brought Marie-Jeanne to his home... A place protected by a circle of mountain ash trees. Marie-Jeanne knew she couldn't just take out another hunting party armed with mistletoe and rowan berries. She needed an advantage. She needed to know her enemy... Marie-Jeanne confronted her brother the moment she walked back into the tavern. The skeptic became a full believer that night. So, Marie-Jeanne went back to Henri to figure out how to kill both a Beast and a brother. Marie-Jeanne hunted Sebastien for three years until she finally cornered him in 1767. Where she killed him..." Gerard said before walking up to Aurora.
"In the very spot this crystal was growing." Gerard said, picking up Aurora's necklace making her smack his hand away from her. "That's why your necklace is in the painting. That crystal can help permanently kill the Beast. All you need is a spell from a Necromancer book." Gerard said making Aurora and Lydia glance at each other.
Gerard started talking about how Marie-Jeanne telling her brother about how history would only remember him as a Beast making realization cross over Aurora's features. "Damnatio memoriae." She said and Argent nodded, "They erased every detail of him. Everything he signed, everything he owned..."
"They burned it all. The name Sebastien Valet has been forgotten for over 150 years, but when it's remembered." Gerard said, "When the Beast remembers, the teenager inside is forgotten." Argent continued.
"Gone. Forever." Gerard said and Lydia frowned slightly, "But Marie-Jeanne didn't do it alone. She was never alone. She had help from Henri, the Magistrate, the town... even Marcel." She said and Aurora took a deep breath.
"We need Jordan. I'm going to go find him." Aurora said and turned to leave but Argent stopped her, "Aurora, he's dangerous." He said making her scoff and turn to him with a dirty look. "He's still a shapeshifter- and one who's just beginning to understand his power." He said and Aurora scoffed before gesturing to herself and Lydia, "And we're not? Lydia has a scream that could blow your head to pieces and I have literally thousands of spells memorized. Half of them could kill you." She said and he sighed and shook his head.
"You're not the same. You access the supernatural- it works through you." He said, looking at Lydia before turning to Aurora, "And it works with you." He said. "But it doesn't control either of you." Gerard said making Aurora direct her glare to him, "Why the hell do you even care? Why are you suddenly on our side?" She asked.
Gerard picked up one of the Argent family's silver bars and slides it across the table toward Lydia and Aurora, "Because it's my name as well." He said as Lydia opened the book. "Marie-Jeanne never left Henri after the death of her brother. And their relationship became more than a partnership. They married, and she took his name."
Lydia picked up the silver bar, which has the Argent fleur-de-lis stamped onto it, and realization crossed over her features. "Argent." She said and Argent nodded, "Marie-Jeanne was the first hunter." He said and Gerard smiles smugly at the girls.
"Our name will be remembered as well, girls- for killing the Beast." He said and Aurora squinted at him. "But we're not Argents." She said and Lydia turned to Argent, "And I'm not Allison." She said before Aurora grabbed Lydia's shoulder and they both walked out the bunker.
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Aurora walked into Jordan's house to see him packing up a bag making her furrow his brows. "What are you doing?" Aurora asked making Jordan stop and sigh softly, "Leaving." He said making her eyes widen. "What- Hey, stop." She said, running over and grabbing the bag to make him stop, "Aurora-" He started to say but she cut him off.
"Why are you trying to leave?" She asked and he sighed, "I'm dangerous." He said making her scoff. "Everything is dangerous. What's your point?" She asked with a slight shrug, holding the bag farther away from him when he tried to grab it again, "My point is that I could hurt you or the twins or others. I need to leave... Aurora, I really don't want to hurt you or your kids." He said and she shook her head.
"I spent over a whole summer with you. I let you babysit my kids so Leah and I could hang out by ourselves. You never once hurt me or my kids. And there's never been a time that I was worried you would." She said and he sighed, "Aurora, I can't risk it. What if I'm with the twins and I lose control? What if we're together and I control and you get hurt?" He asked. "You wont!" She said and he shook his head, "If I stay theres always a possibility that I could seriously hurt you." He said.
"You can't keep running away from this, Jordan! When you found you were the one taking the bodies and you locked yourself in a cell. And now you know what you are and you're trying to leave! Running isn't going to help anyone. You leave, you'll meet new people and you're still gonna think that their at risk." She said and he sighed and shook his head.
"That's easy for you to say. You have control, you don't turn into some fiery beast." He said and she shook her head slight, glancing away from him for a second, "We need you here Jordan. I need you here." Aurora said and Jordan stared at her for a moment before shaking his head. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I hurt you or your family, or anyone." He said.
He sighed softly before gently cupping her face making her look up at him. "I'm sorry, I wish I could say goodbye to the twins." He said before kissing her forehead making her close her eyes. She didn't say anything as he pulled away before grabbing the back and walking away.
"Yeah... I'm sorry too... Because I'm not giving up that easily." Aurora mumbled to herself as she pulled her phone out.