Dominium - Sin Ch. 02

Marie Hellene de Saint Clair, youngest daughter of the Count and Countess of Saint Claire, was always a fragile girl, yet her heart was bigger than all of France and its provinces combined.

Spending most of her years in a nunnery, as was normal for the daughters of the nobles in 17th century France, she grew up from a shy little girl to a beautiful 15 year old, the age she left the sisters to return home. Her parents had arranged a marriage for her eldest sister Valentine with a Scottish duke, and now wished to find her a proper suitor. At her age she was already more than old enough to marry, but her oldest sister took precedence and due to their wealth, influence and power being rivaled only by that of King Louis XIV, it had been hard to find someone that was not beneath her in any way possible.

She had never seen the man, but her sister had written to her praising his beauty, fine manners and gentle touch. And yet she also spoke of strength of his arms, and the way she sometimes appeared more like a knight of the tales their nurses spoke of when they were but little children, strong and misterious and hardened by battle. She told Marie that he was an old friend of her mother's family and that his was rather wealthy and not at all like a savage like they often imagined Scots to be.

Her return to Saint Genevieve, the family home, had been bittersweet has she had hoped her parents would allow her to take the vows. She had never been as happy as when she lived with the Sisters of the Sacred Heart.

A devout catholic girl, she strived to be humble and good. She hoped nothing more than to spend the rest of her days praying and performing her duties and strict routine, but since that was not to be, she took solace in the knowledge that she would be reunited with her family, most of all with her beloved sister Valentine.

Fate had other plans though. Her sister was away upon the time of her arrival and her frail health began to take a toll a few days after her arrival. It was the small signs at first... feeling so tired... the paleness of her skin... the fever... the coughing... the difficulty breathing... When she began coughing blood her family realized that consumption had taken hold of poor Marie and steps were taken to make sure she would survive.

It was around that time that she began to have strange dreams... In her dreams her mother would come to her at night and sing a sweet lullaby to her in a foreign language that she did not know, her voice so hypnotic that she felt she almost levitated and the pain in her body left her.

Then her mother would place her wrist over Marie's lips and she would feel something warm and metallic go down her throat. But every time she woke up from such strange dreams there was no one in her room. Still... the taste somehow lingered upon her soft lips as did her mother's scent upon her chambers.

And in her sickness she became even more beautiful somehow. Her long auburn hair seemed brighter and softer, her skin, though still so pale, seemed to have a strange radiance, as if she were an angel come to earth. Her green eyes, legacy of her mother, Countess Rebecca de Saint Clair, seem lit up from within and her lips, her soft, sweet lips, those had a tinge of red to them that made them so desirable that they could bring even Christ himself to his knees.

The servants whispered in secret that the girl had been kissed by death and death itself had lent her such grace just to make her its beautiful bride.

Someone else shared that same opinion as he gazed her sitting there in her pale blue silk dress that was embroided with flowers in silver, reading, blissfully unaware of his presence, her slender neck adorned with pearls and diamonds, her hair caught up yet with little adornment, unlike the women at court. When she became aware of his presence she was startled.

In front of her was this red haired male, tall, statuesque, dressed almost like a king and yet with an aura more dominant than one, his eyes two emeralds, though she felt somehow that they were endless pools in which she would happily drown forever. For more than a few moments she was unable to speak, to breath, she just sat there, gazing at what had to be, in her mind, a creature of the divine.

It was he that broke that awkward silence and quasi spell that had set in between them, one of utter adoration. He had never been one to believe in love, much less one at first sight but there he was, completely spellbound by the mortal before him, one so close to death that he could almost taste it, smell it surrounding her. Kissed by death indeed, closer to the fall and yet with immortal blood keeping her there, alive, suspended in time somehow.

-I am sorry to disturb you, I am Lord Gabriel, your humble servant. You must be Mademoiselle Marie Hellene de Saint Clair, no?

She blinked a couple of times, trying to find the words. His French was perfect, as if he were not a foreign. He kept on introducing himself, a friend of the family spending a few days at their home. His voice... His voice made her heart race within her chest, made her feel her blood boil within her. Her lips parted as if she were to speak at long last, but all she could do was dig her nails into her bible and struggle to control her breath. In front of her, the most beautiful man in all of creation, looking at her as if he could see into her very soul, stirring desires she knew not she had.

-I-I... I... Yes... - she rose to her feet and then made a graceful courtesy, though she shook almost uncontrollably - I am sorry... I was unaware we had any visitors; I thought I was by myself in the garden.

-By all means, I was the one that interrupted your reading. - he looked at the book and found it amusing and yet so appropriate that she chose such... light reading. And the original sin no less, was what she read about. In his mind he could see all sorts of sins they could commit and it took great will not to let his body show them. He could read her mind easily and confirmed what her body language already told him. Though that she would consider him an angel was quite amusing. And yet... such innocence as she gazed at him, her mind at conflict with her body, such purity the likes he had rarely seen. He gazed at her luscious lips and suddenly felt the urge to kiss them, a desire only fueled by knowledge of how much she wished to be kissed by him.

A couple of steps took him closer to her, until they could feel each other's warmth coming from their bodies, the scent of her perfume capturing him. As their lips met he felt her shake and gently held her.

Her first kiss and oh heaven above her heart was about to burst, her body to combust! What was wrong with her, she had never done such a thing before but it felt so right, so perfect... An angel... he had to be an angel. Only an angel could kiss this way, making her feel touched by the divine.

So frail, so delicious, so... his. She had to be his, no matter what agreement had been made with Rebecca, this was the one she wanted, the one he craved for. The vampire lore spoke of mates, those predestined to be together forever but he had never believed it until he had met such lovely a creature as the mortal before him.

-Gabriel! - the voice that shrieked in his mind was one too familiar. She had been careful not to be seen nor heard and he was far too distracted to realize they were being watched the entire time. - Leave my daughter this instance! - Marie could not hear the voice of her mother as she spoke to him alone.

He pulled back all of the sudden and she felt as if someone had taken the sun away all of the sudden. She wanted more of that warmth, more of his taste. As she gazed him confusedly she realized she had that same metallic taste upon her lips and tongue.

-My apologies Mademoiselle de Saint Clair, I do not know what came over me.

She could not even reply to him, all she managed to do was run back inside and up the stairs into her room, where she locked herself, panting.

**************

She gazed at the jet that had just landed as she leaned against the door of her vintage car in a cherry red shade. In fact, everything around her whispered vintage, from the way that pencil skirt clinged to her curves and the white blouse emphasized her breasts, her high heeled stiletto shoes, accessories, the way her hair was done... even her very stance.

Marlene was the epitome of French class and elegance, while at the same time she seemed displaced, she seemed to fit in, an odd yet dazzling contradiction.

She took off one of her driving gloves and gazed at her nails idly, while she waited for Rose to exit and her luggage to be brought over.

Rose could not be more different from her as she walked down the stairs in her jeans, t-shirt, leather jacket and boots, her shoulder length blond curly hair wild in the wind, her cheeks slightly red, minimal make up and an independent air about her.

-You know, you could have just sent a car, Lene, despite what you might think I do know how to drive. - Rose told her as she approached, a smile playing upon her lips as she took off her sun glasses and hugged the immortal.

-Yes and you would likely stop in all your friends' houses and we might not see you for a couple of weeks... again. - retorted Marlene, raising a brow - Besides, that way you get to tell me all the juicy gossip on our way home without us having to care about being overheard by anyone!

-You... and gossip?! What have you done to Marlene, or are you finally so bored with your immortality that you crave anything to distract you? Because, honestly, you are asking the wrong person. I do not kiss and tell.

-Well I meant more about your mother, Queen Marian. Yes, yes, it is well known throughout our little community that the illustrious princess went home for a visit. How fares Avalon? And by the way, kiss and tell?! Do tell!! - She put her glove back on as they got into the car, the top down of course. With a scarf around hair and neck, she truly looked out of place as they left the airfield.

-Boring, I must admit. - The blond replied, rolling her eyes before putting her sunglasses back on. - Though it was good to finally meet my mother, it is a bit... strange to call mother to someone that is younger than you! Come to think of it, you are, technically younger than me and should not be allowed to drive such a beauty, when did you get this baby? - She pet the car and whistled.

-An auction, 2 weeks ago. A small fortune, used to belong to a movie star. I love it. Matches my lipstick. - She said calmly, though Rose knew she jested. - And stop skimping out on the details. I have never been to Avalon, tell me about it.

-Well, I can tell you it is stuck in time in what comes to decor... My mother's time. And there is a strict no feeding of humans for all of those that chose to live there. Willing donors excluded of course. I like that part, since... well... human right here you know. Oh and met Socrates there and ton of other people that are supposed to be dead, but that was not that odd. The gardens are a work of art. Oh and learned never to talk about my father because she will go into a massive rage. Other than that it was pretty normal. Also, the car matches your lips each time you drink blood too. - she added with a grin

***********

-Are you insane Gabrielius?! - Rebecca was absolutely livid - You can't just break a vow like that and you owe me that much after you and the others were the cause of Rowan's capture and death at the hands of the enemy!

-Rebecca I am not breaking my vow! I wish simply to change the arrangement. I wish to marry Hellene and not Valentine; your daughters will still be protected by me and my name.

-You truly must be insane to propose such a thing! The marriage will proceed with Valentine as your bride. She can handle the likes of you, she takes after me, and she is resourceful, beautiful and rather witty. Marie Hellene is too sweet and delicate and her health is far too frail.

-Then I can turn her! You have been feeding her your blood anyway.

-To keep her alive, not to condemn her to this!

-Oh stop being so melodramatic, Rebecca! You are an immortal, you have power and time and everything you could ever desire and right now the biggest power you have is to save your daughter's life and still you act as if you are sending her to the scaffold! Let me make her happy, let me give her life and joy and love.

-What was agreed between you, me, and my mother and father was that you were to marry Valentine. You will leave Marie Hellene alone and that is the end of it! - Rebecca was so furious that the wind began to pick up. - And you know that Alessandro will not let you out of that vow. Besides it will but for a few years and then you can just fake your death like the rest of us, leaving my daughter a very wealthy and well connected widow and you a happy womanizer again that can go on with his life!

-Why do you have no quarrels with sacrificing your eldest daughter to that kind of life?! What is so wrong about being an immortal to you, being a vampire? Being like you are?

-I had no choice, I was sacrificed like a lamb and trust me I wish it was not so, so I will not condemn my offspring to this... this half life that turns us into monsters!

-We are not monsters! We kill to feed, not for sport! How many mortals can say the same?!

-Enough!! Stay away from Marie Hellene or I swear I will bring down my father's rage upon you quicker than the plagues of Egypt. - And with that she left, moving fast like the wind.

But he never did. Even though all his appeals, both to Marian and Alessandro, were denied, he kept seeing Marie in secret, hiding her memories so Rebecca did not know what was going on.

And she loved their secret encounters, even if she did not know much about him, loved his kisses and how happy and healthy she felt after being with her angel.

They made promises, vows of eternal love, without her knowing how much he meant the eternal part...

That was, until the day Valentine returned home. On that very night there was an engagement party... They were to be married in a month, her beloved sister... And the man she loved.

When they saw her faint as she found out who he really was, they assumed it had been her medical condition. But she took to bed, refused to come out of her chambers, see anyone or speak. She barely ate as it was. All she did was pray and cry in secret. She was unable to attend her sister's wedding, but that was a good thing. She could not face him, could not look him in the eyes. The pain cut too deep and soon she was begging to be sent back to the nunnery, a plea that was never heard.

Marie Hellene never told her mother about her secret meetings, though eventually Rebecca was able to find that particular memory. She could have killed Gabriel on the spot, had him not been far away with her daughter, living in his Manor in Scotland. And in the back of her mind she began to regret her decision of marrying Valentine to him.