I watched Luc sitting on the gym mat in his crumpled designer suit staring vacantly at the same spot in the room. The light in his brown eyes had disappeared into an absent glossy, and although he was physically here in the room with me, I could tell that mentally he was somewhere else- somewhere awful.
News outlets love to latch onto stories that exploit the misery of others. Why we find the misery of other’s interesting is hard to understand, but the fact remains that when a story of a family murder surfaces, it has a tendency to create a morbid kind of intrigue. Questions are raised like who killed who, why did they kill them, and could the killing have been prevented? And perhaps for a few seconds we feel sorry for the people involved, but then we close the magazine or turn off the TV and continue with our lives.
We get to leave the horror behind.
I reached out and gently placed my hand on his, offering the only words I could think of, “I am so sorry Luc, I had no idea,” I said.
Luc looked down at my hand on his and smiled sadly, “I tried to warn you that my family was fucked up,” he then paused and then said in a broken voice, "No one saw it coming. No one knew about the sickness in his head- perhaps if I had known then she might have lived-”
“Luc,” I said interrupting him softly, “That is one monkey you do not want on your back. You did not know.”
“Maybe…” Luc said.
Somewhere outside a crack of thunder sent a booming echo down into the basement making me jump. Luc’s fingers immediately tightened around mine and he quickly apologized, “Forgive me Mia, I should not off load my family problems onto you- especially when you are in distress.”
He was trying to make me feel better, yet somehow Luc was making me feel worse. My own silly phobia paled into insignificance when compared to Luc’s family problems. I did not want him to switch the focus back on me when he was in pain.
Stroking the back of my hand he said softly, “I know this sounds crazy even when I was going through that hell, the mere thought of your existence brought me so much joy. You have no idea how long I have been waiting to meet you Mia..”
“I must be some disappointment,” I replied bitterly.
Luc shook his head and said, “You could never be a disappointment to me. You are everything I hoped for, and more.”
He said it with such sincerity it made my heart turn over.
“Finding you has been such an eye opener… I can finally understand a fraction of the pain Louis went through when Celia was murdered,” Luc explained.
“Was Celia your brother’s mate?” I asked.
“Yes, Celia was Louis bride’s and the future Queen. It’s hard to imagine how anyone would want to hurt someone as gentle as Celia… But Casper did. He was obsessed with Celia and couldn’t stand her being happy with another man that wasn’t him,” Luc said.
“That is awful,” I replied.
“Celia and Louis were destined to be together, they were so happy together. Celia was human like you, and she had the most loving and kind nature. If she was alive today I am sure you two would have been friends,” Luc said.
“What happened to your brother?” I asked.
“Louis could not bring himself to pass the death sentence on his own brother, so he ordered that Casper was to be taken away and locked deep beneath the earth in a concrete cell,” Luc paused and raked his finger through his hair, “I’m sorry Mia- but can we talk about something different… There are too many bad memories floating around in my head right now.”
"Of course, I'm so sorry you had to go through that Luc," I whispered trying to think of something else to talk about. Then it hit me, “Henrietta,” I blurted out excitedly.
Luc blinked then smiled, “Ah Henrietta, Louis’ suffering second wife. She is a nice girl but can be little silly at times. Henrietta loves royal functions and I suspect she has begun stalking you in anticipation for the Yule-time Ball.”
"Oh crap, someone is going to have to break it to her that I can’t dance…" I said.
“Henrietta does not care if you can dance or not. If she wants you for her ball then she will have you for her ball. There is nothing you or I can do to stop her,” Luc grimaced.
“Why not?!” I asked.
"We can do nothing because Henrietta is Queen," Luc replied soberly, “To disobey her would be considered a slight to the King- and trust me ever since Celia died my older brother has become a miserable bastard. Believe me when I say you do not want to be on Louis’ bad side.”
“That’s awful,” I said.
“That is what happens when a vampire loses their mate,” Luc said, “The connection we share with our mates is so deep and so strong that most vampires would prefer to follow their mate to the grave rather than carry on living without them.”
“That is crazy, I mean your brother lost his wife but he remarried. He found love again,” I said.
A humourless smile crept across Luc’s face and he said, “Louis does not love Henrietta, he only married her because he wanted to make a statement to the court.”
“Why would you marry someone you didn’t love just to make a statement?” I asked.
“Louis’ crown was at stake. If the court thought he was unfit to rule then the crown would have passed to me. So he needed a Queen to show everyone that he had moved on from the loss of his mate, and that is why he married Henrietta. Love never fell into the equation, it was purely a political move on Louis’ part to ensure he would be crowned King instead of me,” Luc said.
“Did you want to be King?” I asked.
Luc shot me a dark look and said in a serious tone, “No, and do not ever ask me that again. Those types of questions can land you in serious trouble. You do not live in a democracy anymore Mia. Louis is our King, and that is that.”
The finality in Luc’s voice scared me and made me nervous about the kind of world I was being dragged into. The way Luc spoke about his brother and sister-in-law was so cold and distant. It made me wonder if it had always been like that between the two brothers, or whether this was something new.
Luc stood up from the gym mat and straightened his shirt, “You need to get some sleep,” he said.
Once again Luc was living up to his Prince of Darkness nickname. He had suddenly become withdrawn and moody again. He left the mat and walked over to the basement door. I think he was checking for sounds of thunder although I could not be sure.
“The storm is still passing over,” He said, “But you can nap on the mat until it passes. I will wake you the moment it drifts over and then I will escort you back to your dorm room.”
“Okay,” I said lying back against the old gym mat.
Luc watched in surprise as I curled up on the mat and pulled his jacket around me. I think he was expecting an argument from me but I was too tired to argue and my head felt strange. Snuggling into his jacket I closed my eyes and listened to the soft sounds of my breath. I feel myself drifting off to sleep.
“Mia…”
I hearda female voice in the distance.
I opened my eye and saw Luc standing over me.
“Luc, what are you doing?” I asked.
Luc said nothing and continued to stand over me, so I decide to sit up. As I sit up one of Luc’s arms suddenly moves and slams something sharp into my chest. Confused I look down and see a wooden stake poking out between my ribs. Blood is seeping from the wound and I can feel myself getting weaker. Oh God- I am dying.
“I am sorry Celia,” He says, “I am so sorry.”