Shadowed Beginning: Daughters of the Vieux Carré Prequel

by Rhys Rowlyn

  “I hope you’re right. Knowing she wants the bond will ease my mind.” Both Gabriel and Alastair have stated neither of us will be able to resist the bond. For myself, I know it to be true, but I’m still unconvinced about Giselle.

  “Don’t worry. All will be well.” Gabriel gives me a knowing look. I wonder how he can be so sure but choose not to question him further. Instead, I leave to take care of my needs quickly so I can return to the house as soon as possible.

  Giselle

  Where am I? It’s beautiful. The field is covered with thick green grass and an occasional cluster of wildflowers. Rolling hills are in the distance, and the sun is shining in a cloudless blue sky. I hear the trickle of water from a nearby stream.

  I look around, confused. The last thing I remember is going to bed in a lovely room Mrs. Hopkins had prepared for me. I don’t understand how I ended up in this lovely countryside. I’ve never seen a place like this; all I’ve ever known is the city. I’m a bit concerned about traveling to a new, wild country, but I’m excited too.

  Looking down, I see I’m wearing the white night rail Mrs. Hopkins provided me. It was so soft and pretty, I didn’t want to put it on. I’ve never worn anything so lovely. I walk along, holding up the hem to keep it from getting soiled, and see a man in the distance. The closer I get to him, the more familiar he looks. I gasp when I realize it’s Phillipe. He is only in breeches and a white shirt open at the throat. I’ve never seen a man dressed so casually. I feel my cheeks heat but can’t look away. His dark hair flows freely around his shoulders in the breeze, and his dark eyes brighten when he sees me. Phillipe is tall, well over six feet, with strong, lean muscles. His skin looks as if he spends much time in the sun. He has a strong jaw with a cleft in its center.

  I stop a short distance away from him and tilt my head slightly to the side. “Phillipe? Where are we?”

  “I don’t know.” Shrugging, he looks around. “This looks like the field I played in as a child. The last thing I remember is going to bed, so I believe we are dreaming.”

  “Together?” Shared dreams, I’ve never heard of such. The last two days, or I should say the last week, have been full of changes. Some have been good and others not so much.

  “Oui, maybe this has something to do with us being mates?” He crosses his arms over his chest, giving me a small smile. He is so handsome, and when he smiles, even more so.

  Tapping my chin with my finger, I think back to everything said earlier, and I know no one said anything about sharing dreams. “Monsieur Alastair didn’t mention this.”

  “He may not have known. He did say he was a young man the last time he saw a mated pair, so I’m sure there are lots of things he doesn’t know. Unfortunately, we are going to have to find our own way in this, but know I’m here with you for the entire journey.” He drops his arms to his side and doesn’t move any closer.

  I know he wants to show me I don’t have to fear him. After everything he’s told me about what he is, I should be running the other direction, but I know he would never cause me any harm. I have never felt I had a home, a place I truly belonged, but with Phillipe and Gabriel, I do. It’s strange after such a short time, but I know it’s true.

  “What are we supposed to do during this time?” Dreams aren’t real, so I’m wondering about the purpose of this.

  “It’s a dream; we can do anything you want. We don’t have to worry about anyone seeing us or what society expects.” Phillipe winks at me, and I laugh.

  Smiling, I skip toward him and take his hand. All I want to do is touch him, but I don’t know where to begin. The nuns never talked to us about men, and it was forbidden to speak of it with others. We did have animals, and I knew what they did was something people did also, but I wasn’t very sure about the how. I knew that awful Louis had evil plans to turn me over to a brothel, and I know those women do things I can’t imagine behind closed doors.

  Phillipe links our fingers together and brings my hand to his lips. “Sweet girl, you are such a treasure.”

  “Why?” My eyes widen, and I lean back slightly to meet his gaze. “I know nothing of anything. The nuns kept us hidden from the world.”

  Phillipe furrows his brow. “How did that man find you?”

  “Usually we stayed away from visitors, but the day before I was taken, I was in the kitchen, helping with the baking, when he arrived with a delivery. He caught sight of me, and the look in his eye frightened me.” I shiver, remembering the way Louis’s eyes roved over me. “Sister Agnes shooed me out of the kitchen and told me to go to my room. I ran as if the devil himself were after me.”

  “What happened next?” Phillipe rubs his thumb along my wrist, tightening his grip on my hand.

  “The next day, Sister Clementine ordered me to go milk the goat. I thought it was a strange time for milking, but you didn’t question a sister when she told you to do something. Sister Agnes tried to speak up, but she was quickly quieted, and I did as I was told. The moment I entered the barn, someone grabbed me from behind, gagging my mouth and covering my head. I was taken to a basement and left tied up.” It pains me to think one of the women that helped to raise me would do something so awful, but it appears she did.

  Phillipe brings my hand to his lips and brushes them across the back. “How did you escape?”

  “I found a sharp piece of metal on the floor, and I sawed the ropes. It took hours, but I was determined.” My hands would cramp from the odd angle, but I knew it was my only chance. I didn’t want to face whatever he had planned for me. “He had to either bring me food or come to take me to wherever he planned to sell me. I hid behind the door until he came in and hit him with a piece of broken lumber. My hit only made him stumble into the room and I slammed the door shut, which gave me enough time to run. I found my way out of the basement into an old house and had no idea where I was. I managed to make it to the alley where Gabriel found me. It’s a miracle Louis didn’t find me. I knew I was in a wealthier area from the houses and stares from people I passed, but no one pointed him in my direction.”

  His face pales at my retelling of what happened. “Thank heavens Gabriel found you.” Phillipe cups my chin in his palm and kisses my forehead. “How long were you in the basement? Gabriel said you looked as if you had been there for some time.”

  “It was only a few days, but my dress was ripped in the scuffle when I was first captured, and I landed on the floor of the barn a few times before he finally subdued me enough to take me to the basement. It wasn’t the cleanest of places.” I would imagine I did look horrible. My hair was a knotted mess, and I had dirt smudged everywhere.

  “Alastair is going to check into what happened. He wants to make sure the nuns aren’t behind any other girls disappearing and being sold.” Phillipe tugs my hand, leading me toward the sound of running water.

  “For the most part, we didn’t come into contact with anyone. Louis only saw me by accident, but I do believe Sister Clementine was behind me being taken.” Breathing in deeply, I lift my face to the sun, loving the feel of it on my face. The air is so fresh and clean.

  Phillipe finds a spot near the stream with lush green grass and assists me to sit. “I’ll send a message to Alastair. How long have you lived there?”

  “I don’t remember anywhere else. I was left as a baby.” I tuck the night rail around my legs, burying my toes into the cool grass.

  “You don’t know who your parents were?” Phillipe lies beside me, propping his head on his hand and grabbing a long piece of grass to chew on.

  “No, I was simply left on the doorstep with only a note stating my name was Giselle Vernier.” I wrap my arms around my knees and lean my head on them, facing him.

  Phillipe frowns. “Did the nuns try to find out who you were?”

  “I believe they made some inquiries but came up with nothing.” I shrug my shoulders. There was a time I wondered about my family but knew it would be a waste of time to try to find them. Besides, they obviously didn’t want me.
“What about you?”

  “I grew up in the small village of Gordes. It was beautiful. My father was the blacksmith in town, but I wasn’t happy to simply follow in his footsteps. I chose to come to Paris, where I soon found life was harsher than I had expected.” He lies on his back, squinting up at the sun.

  “What happened?” I ask.

  “I wasn’t in town long when I met with some criminals who thought to take my purse. I didn’t have much and fought them. Back then, I wasn’t the best of fighters and I may have been a bit thick in the middle area.” Phillipe rubs his hard stomach, laughing. “They overtook me without much difficulty, and one of them stabbed me. I don’t think he actually meant to because he was as shocked as me. They left me to bleed to death in the alley. Gabriel was drawn to the scent of blood and was compelled to turn me. When I woke up, I looked a bit different. Through the years him and Bram have taught me much in the way of defending myself.”

  “In other words, you can now fight, and you’re definitely not thick in the middle.” I grin, somewhat surprised with how comfortable I feel with him. It’s as if we’ve known each other much longer than we actually have. I wonder if I’ll remember this when I awaken.

  He grins back at me, winking. “No, I’m not.”

  “What of your family?” I want to know everything about him. He is much more interesting than I am, having experienced so much, whereas I’ve spent my entire life locked away.

  “I once went back to my village and found my parents dead and my brothers running the blacksmith shop. They were living simple but happy lives. Even though things turned out much different than I would have planned, I know I wouldn’t have been satisfied with that life.” He lets out a disparaging laugh, propping his hands behind his head.

  “What made Gabriel know to change you?” I don’t want to admit it, but I know eventually Phillipe will most likely want to change me. Part of me fears it, but another part of me is curious.

  He scowls at the sky, biting his lower lip. “I’m unsure. We believe it is fate that guides us. It’s the only thing we can come up with.”

  “Fate must have been guiding him to find me then.” It’s surprising how quickly I’m turning to their way of thinking. Only a few days ago, I would have said God was the one guiding him. Maybe they are one and the same.

  “I believe it was, and I’m most thankful.” Phillipe sits up and meets my gaze, covering my hands with his. “Giselle, I never want you to fear me.”

  “I’ve never had a family or anyone. I’m unsure how I’m supposed to feel or act.” Oui, I had the nuns and there were other girls I grew up with, but I was never close to any of them. I was always either in class or doing chores. Thinking back, I’ve had a rather isolated existence.

  He runs his hands along my arms from my shoulders to my elbows, the heat from his skin seeping into me and warming me. “Now you do. I am your famille and so are my brothers. You are now a part of us.”

  “But I’m not like you.” I shake my head, not wanting to hope I may belong with these men.

  “One day I hope you will choose to be.” Phillipe dips his chin, his demeanor serious. “I do not want to lose you to death.”

  “What is it like? Becoming what you are?” If I hadn’t been told these men were different, I would have thought they were nothing more than a group of wealthy gentlemen. They appear perfectly normal.

  “Different but the same. Your soul doesn’t change. You are either a good person or you’re not. You either do what is right or you don’t. We are the same.” He smirks, squeezing my upper arms. “The only things that change are we don’t age, our physical attributes are highly desirable, and we must have blood to survive.”

  “Do you kill the person when you take their blood?” I know I wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone. Phillipe and Gabriel both seem like good, generous men, and the Hopkinses had nothing but good to say about them. They don’t act like murderers—not that I would know what a murderer acts like.

  Phillipe sits back and shakes his head vehemently. “No, never, to kill a person would result in us losing our sense of what is right or wrong. We become what we call feral, and blood is all we think about. The only thing we can kill are feral vampires because they have lost their souls.”

  “Are there vampires who are evil but have never killed?” As soon as I ask this question, I wish I hadn’t. If they are evil, surely they have killed.

  “Oui, and only their creator can kill them. If we were to do that, we would become feral ourselves. It’s as if murder of a being with a soul is the unforgivable sin,” Phillipe explains.

  “You know such a creature?” Fear skates through me at the thought of such a creature existing.

  “Minerva, she is Alastair’s daughter. I guess you would say she is not right in the head. She became obsessed with my brother Jean Pierre. She kidnapped him and tried to starve him into losing his mind and killing.” His body tenses, and he runs his hands through his hair.

  “What happened?” I take his hand between mine and squeeze it.

  “Alastair saved him, and Minerva escaped. We have not seen her in many years.” It may have been many years ago, but I know it still bothers him.

  “Alastair did not kill her?” I ask.

  “No, I think he may have threatened her, but I don’t believe he could bring himself to kill her. From what Gabriel says, it’s akin to killing your child. It’s another reason you only create vampires you are compelled to.” He waves his hand in front of us. “Now, let’s talk about more pleasant things.”

  “Such as?” I want to know more, but I let it go.

  Phillipe moves closer until his mouth is almost touching mine. “I desire to kiss you. Would you allow me to?”

  “I’ve never been kissed, but I would like to kiss you.” I don’t move away from him, and I find I want him to kiss me more than anything.

  Phillipe wraps his hand around the back of my neck, cupping my head, and lowers his mouth to brush mine gently. I lean closer to him, and he runs his tongue along the seam of my lips. “Open for me, ma chérie.”

  I gasp and he deepens the kiss. His tongue enters my mouth, and I get my first taste of him. I open more and rise onto my knees, gripping his forearms. He angles my head to give him better access, his tongue dancing with mine, and I respond by following his lead. I need to be closer.

  “Miss, wake up.” My eyes pop open and find Mrs. Hopkins leaning over me. “Sorry, miss, but Master Gabriel wanted me to wake you and help you dress. He thought you may want to eat before it’s time to board the ship.”

  My cheeks heat as I remember what was happening before Mrs. Hopkins woke me. I sit up, touching my mouth. “Oui, I would love to eat. I’ll get up and get dressed. Thank you.”

  Smiling, I remember my dream and wonder if it was as real as it seemed.

  Giselle

  We have been at sea for a week now, and I feel as if I’m living in a dream. Phillipe is the most caring, attentive, and wonderful man. He treats me as if I’m a rare treasure to be kept safe and protected. We have spent the nights he’s awake together, talking and getting to know each other. We have also found quiet, secret places to kiss, and he has taught me much about my body. Thinking about him makes my body buzz with desire. The longer we are together, the more attuned we are becoming to each other. I can sense when he is worried, happy, or at times sad. He also picks up on my emotions. Although we have never made love while awake, we have in our dreams. I seem to lose my inhibitions while I sleep. Phillipe finds it most amusing. The last two nights, I have run into his arms and attacked him, initiating our lovemaking.

  Waking up before any of the men, I feel the need for some fresh air. I leave our private area and go through the galley. Suddenly, I am surrounded by the other women traveling with us.

  “If it isn’t the little bird they keep in the cage, not having to do anything.” Simone steps in front of me, her hands on her hips.

  “What do you mean? I have to care for Phillipe same as
you care for your men.” I try to pass her, but she moves into my path, sneering at me.

  “You mean our monsters. Oh, don’t look so surprised. We know what they are.” She pushes my shoulder back, and I stumble into Bridgette, who helps take care of Sasha. The woman pushes me back into the center of the circle.

  “They are not monsters, and they have done a lot to help you get to the New World.” I straighten my spine, determined to defend my mate. “If it weren’t for them, you wouldn’t be allowed to make this journey.”

  “But at what cost? Will we be forever bound to these demons? Be their blood slaves forever?” Francine lifts her chin, glaring at me. I don’t know why she’s so upset. I have seen Marc feeding from her, and she seemed to be loving the attention.

  Opening my arms wide at my sides, I shake my head, denying what they are saying. “No, Gabriel says as soon as possible they will help you to make new lives for yourselves, help you find husbands or whatever you desire to do. You will have the lives you could never have in the old country.”

  “What I want to know is why you’re getting special treatment.” Simone walks around me, looking me up and down. “What are you doing for that big strapping one that is always at your side?”

  “I don’t know what you mean.” I narrow my eyes, anger coursing through me.

  Simone slaps my cheek, and my head twists to the side. Tears well in my eyes at the sting, and I know it will leave a mark. “You know what I mean. Are you paying your way across the ocean on your back?”

  My eyes widen, and I gasp at the thought of mine and Phillipe’s relationship being made to sound so dirty. What we have is pure and right. “No, it’s not like that.”

  “What if I’ve decided I like your man—Phillipe, is it?—better than mine.” She lifts a brow, smiling evilly.

  “Well, that’s not the way it works. He’s mine.” I want to tear into her. I poke my finger into her chest, ignoring the pain in my cheek.

  “Ah, possessive, aren’t we?” She laughs coyly, sneering.