Stuart
Every person I loved stood inside that room. Miles had found a perfectly innocuous spot, hidden underneath our usual library. It wasn't exactly comfortable, the low ceiling making me feel a bit claustrophobic. However, it had served its purpose during a world war and it was indeed a rather safe place for our encounter.
The simple wooden table and small stools accommodated our entire crew, all of us looking at each other with care and perhaps a bit of concern when it came to Ayla.
"Thank you all for being here. I know this is unusual, uncomfortable, scary, but your presence here is greatly appreciated." They all nodded at my words, Oliver smiling a bit and Harry squeezing my hand in a reassuring way. Looking at him, I felt shivers run down my spine at the thought of our torrid night. I had barely slept but I hadn't felt so alive in many days.
"So, we all know a bit about our roles in this entire thing, but the plan must be flawless. Gaston is many things, but he is not dumb. If something in his gut tells him to run away, he'll do so in a heartbeat." I sighed, looking at Ayla and noticing she had something to say.
"I have a picture of him for you to see. It's important to recognise his face but don't demonstrate surprise or fear once you meet him. Just go on with your lives as if he's another guest. I'll be by his side too." She opened her bag and placed a paper atop the wooden table.
I wanted to ignore his image but I couldn't. There he stood, laughing, big bright smile facing the camera, arm around Ayla's shoulder. She didn't seem comfortable with the contact, her fake smile never reaching her eyes.
He looked different. His hair was styled to perfection, much shorter than the last time I saw it. His blue eyes were still vibrant and alluring. The only thing particularly new was the beard he decided to grow and it suited him. If I had seen him wear make up and far too much rouge on his cheeks, now he looked manly. I could see his muscles underneath the navy sweater he wore, and looking into his eyes, even from afar, felt surreal, scary.
I wouldn't have to feign surprise when I saw him, because I honestly was terrified. I thought about our first interactions, the first ball he attended at my palace. Back then I wanted to believe he was just a bit entitled but charming nevertheless. We danced all night long and he told me about his family, his French father and Spanish mother. We discussed politics, royal gossip and the impending alliance between our countries.
I thought we would have a mutually beneficial agreement, perhaps we could even be friends. The joke was on me after all, the centuries I had lived just proved how disturbed Gaston could be. I saw him beside Ayla and imagined how life had treated them. Had they found happiness or hatred and revenge were the only emotions fuelling them at this point?
I could feel multiple people staring at me. Ayla was probably assessing my reaction upon seeing my ex husband and my lying best friend together. I was still weary about trusting her, but I had no choice and I didn't have enough energy to fight about ancient subjects. When things were over, I probably would sit down inside her café and have a nice, mundane conversation about everything she had told me.
Harry was the other one staring. He looked between Gaston's picture and I and his thoughts were clear as day, even though I couldn't see his face properly. He was imagining something he hadn't witnessed and never would. As I stood beside him, it probably felt hard believing I once married that man. He seemed innocuous enough through picture, but everyone inside that small safe have knew how much he had damaged my life.
Harry was probably wondering what we both looked like beside each other. I could see his eyes lazily roaming my body, seeing simple jeans and sweater but imagining long dresses, a big hair and a crown atop my head. If I could, I would grant him a passport to go back in time and watch us all during our real period of time. He'd probably laugh at Oliver and Gaston, but I was certain he'd marvel at me, Ayla and Eleanor during social events. I believed that he would've loved to see why Oliver and I had such a bond, to understand how different things were, how many times we had to reinvent ourselves in order to survive.
"You're wondering what was it like, aren't you?" I mumbled in his ear. "The whole queen charlotte marries that man in the picture." I added.
Harry nodded, giving me a shy smile like a kid caught eating candy before dinner. "It's not that I don't believe you, but imagining you walking down the aisle towards that man, the thought seems surreal." He shrugged. In a very immature way, I loved knowing Harry felt bothered at the thought of me and another man.
"I think Miles has the painting of me in my wedding dress." I confessed, remembering the French lace around my body. It had been an incredibly beautiful and intricate dress, a gift from my mother in law.
"So, I believe we can proceed and talk about where the actual plan must take place." Oliver spoke up, startling me a bit. His eyes were a darker blue that day. They showed off how wounded he seemed whenever he looked between Harry and I. His hurt made my heart constrict for many reasons. I hadn't been fair; I had led him on even though I knew the intensity of our feelings was incomparable and during many of those moments I was just using him to remove Harry from my mind. I owed him a big apology, but I never seemed to find the perfect timing.
"It has to be upstairs. My dad has a sound proof office and it is the perfect place." Arthur said.
"Yes, we all agree on that. We just need to find something that will actually lure Gaston without raising suspicion. He needs to believe he's going there because he wants, not because we planned something." Miles spoke, tone aggravated.
"That's actually the easy part. He needs to see Harry and I sneaking away." I stated. "Not many things will motivate him, but possession, anger and perhaps a bit of jealousy certainly will." I answered, watching as Ayla nodded along.
"Yes, we need you to arrive a bit late at the ball, Harry." She talked to him; eyes tender as she pronounced his name. "Gaston must have the time to see the other guests mingling, to walk around and assess his escape routes. His plan is to have me drug Sienna during the party, abducting her and forcing Charlie to go upstairs during the party." Sienna gasped at Ayla's words. I expected that he'd try to use someone from my inner circle as leverage, but the audacity of his plan still angered me. Kidnapping my own sister, inside our home.
"He must have some insiders, perhaps caterers?" I questioned. Ayla nodded, sighing.
"He owns the catering company, he bought it once he found which one your mum chose." I widened my eyes and heard Arthur cussing loudly. When we thought things couldn't become more fucked up, they just did. "He wants to use their vans inconspicuously. He is a very smart man, do not underestimate him."
"What should we do if he approaches us?" Miles enquired.
"I really don't know. I'm afraid that he might lash out if we say something, but there is also the chance that he suspects something if we remain impassable." Arthur answered. I nodded along, wondering what Gaston truly expected.
"I believe you're not amazing liars, we should stick to the truth as much as possible. I mean, even if you didn't know his face, someone approaching you inside the party would raise suspicion pretty quickly," I said, earning an appreciative look from Ayla.
"He doesn't expect you to be oblivious, he just knows that you wouldn't risk the exposure in such a public environment. As far as Gaston is concerned, you don't know exactly what he has planned." She explained. "His mere presence inside that party will be reason for concern since you don't know the extent of his contacts, which people walking around work for him or not. I highly doubt he'll approach anyone but Charlie, Oliver and Sienna. He is very methodical, he won't take chances or risk his plan just to spite you."
"I hate this shit, feeling so powerless, always waiting for his next move." I confessed, rolling my eyes and huffing a bit. I just wanted to end all the suffering and the months of anxiety I had endured, all because of him. I needed peace, otherwise I'd face a mental breakdown quickly.
"You need to be absolutely calm, Charlie. You need to control your emotions, to own your fear and use it in your favour, in a deceitful way. Gaston is many things, but above all he is blinded by vanity. He thinks so highly of himself and his intellect that considering someone else might have the upper hand rarely crosses his mind." Ayla spoke, clearly annoyed at her companion. I still wondered how many lies he told her, how much money he gave her in order to eclipse his horrendous personality in her eyes.
"Everybody must keep their cool. It's imperative that we all control our feelings, we have lives at stake here." Oliver added, looking around and purposely skipping me. I wanted to apologise and talk about my reconciliation with Harry, but I knew we wouldn't be able to do so inside that cubicle.
"I need to go, I promised Niall I would be with him when his parents arrived today." Sienna spoke, clearly still shaken from what Ayla had mentioned before. She never dealt well with pressure and bad situations, which justified her desire to leave that place fast and return to something normal and ordinary in her life.
"I'm going to drive you there, your hands are shaking." Arthur pointed out, taking her hands inside his much bigger ones and squeezing Sienna's delicate fingers. I watched their small exchange with fondness. I loved both with all my heart, like my own flesh and blood. Before the party I needed to make small arrangements, considering what could happen to me.
Even though we believed we knew everything about the old curse Nostradamus casted, only Gaston had the exact knowledge. I was not sure what would happen to my body once the dagger was used again. Even though it was not a pleasant thought, I had to consider that perhaps time would catch up with us and something out of Oscar Wilde's universe would come true. I was afraid of dying but if it happened I knew it would be expected.
I had lived many lives, saw the entire world, witnessed families growing, children taking their first steps, couples fighting and making amends. I saw plenty of political changes, geographical rearrangements, things normal humans couldn't even begin to fathom. If I died I would go in peace, knowing I had brought some justice to the world by ridding it of Gaston.
Of course I wanted to keep living and be beside Harry at the end of the day, but considering my past and our current relationship, I felt as if the odds weren't in our favour. This subject didn't come up during our night together and it was not fit for that crowded place. I would write him a goodbye letter, just in case. I wanted him to know that it was ok to move on and find someone new in case I ceased to exist. I had also asked Miles for some digitalised paintings of me back in the day.
I wanted to give Harry something to remember me, every version of me. My black and white pictures, my regal paintings, my blonde phase and the time I visited Paris during the Eiffel tower's first week. It would be a trip down memory lane, but I knew those things would be safe with him.
"I'll leave in twenty minutes, just in case someone is watching us. We can't afford any carelessness, not this close to our goal." Miles spoke, earning appreciative nods.
"Before everyone leaves, I just want to express my gratitude." I said, looking around and feeling my eyes watering. "I know you all have varied motives to be here, inside this room, planning something so risky. I am the common link between six different people and you're all here because, to some extent, you want to help me." I struggled to keep myself composed, earning a small smile from Sienna and a delicate kiss on my hair from Harry.
"I'm sorry for all the horrible things you went through because of this fucked up story, if I could take back my wrongdoings, I would." Harry laced our fingers as if to tell me it was okay. "Even though things have been awful, I am eternally grateful for this time in my life."
"I have lived centuries and yet I had never felt this loved in my life. You all hold a special place in my heart and I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me. You showed me what true friendship looks like, broadened the meaning of family and taught me about my own worth." I sighed, cleaning my cheeks with a few tears that managed to escape.
"I love you all very much, more than you can comprehend and possibly more than I am expressing now. Thank you for embarking in this journey for me, I could never have done it without you." Sienna and Arthur took long strides towards me, going away from the door and embracing my body in a tight hug. Following their example, many other arms wrapped around me, until we were a tangled mess of limbs.
Inside that group hug, I felt renovated and ready to face anything life threw my way, simply because I knew that no matter what the outcome was, we'd be fine.