“You didn’t see him or talk to him before you left?”
“I didn’t. And now I feel like the pieces of my heart are scattered all over St. Jean de Luz. How am I ever going to get over him? I am so hurt and so angry I could scream.”
Gabrielle just looked at her friend, her eyes full of love and understanding. Arielle saw how bad Gabby felt for her, but there was nothing she, or anyone, could say to make her feel any better. She was glad Gabby was there, though, because she knew she needed to get this heartache off her chest. So she kept talking.
“He was romantic, beautiful, attentive. He said everything I was longing to hear, everything that made me fall in love with him. He said he was looking for the special girl that would make him happy for the rest of his life.” With these words she began once again to sob softly.
“How can I go on, Gabby? How can I concentrate in school? Why did this have to happen to me?” Tears were rolling down her face and she couldn’t stop.
Gabrielle put her arms around Arielle, and was silent. They stayed holding each other as she cried for a long time. Finally Gabby pushed her friend back softly and handed her a tissue.
“Pull yourself together, and let’s think about this, Arielle,” she said. “What do you know about him?”
“Not much at all. I found a book about his family but I didn’t purchase it.”
“Okay then, let’s start with that,” Gabrielle said, in a very matter-of-fact tone of voice.
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s go to a bookstore tomorrow and try to find the same book again.”
“But how would that give us any clue about Sebastian?”
“Sometimes family secrets say a lot about the family members,” Gabby said, looking at her significantly.
“Okay, let’s do it,” Arielle agreed. Then she continued with her story, telling Gabby all the details of her meetings with Sebastian, and the words that had been exchanged between them. She cried again as she remembered how wonderful it had been to be with him. Once again she could feel her emotions taking over her.
“Oh, Gabby!” she moaned through her hands, as she covered her mouth, trying to suppress the sound of her sobbing, “I’ll never be the same person again!”
“Arielle, you need to pull yourself together,” Gabrielle said, handing her a tissue. “There may be a very good explanation for why he didn’t show up. Please don’t cry any more.”
Then she waited for her friend to calm down and stop feeling sorry for herself. Arielle reached over and embraced her. How lucky she was to have a friend like Gabby!
It was late by the time Gabby finally left, promising Arielle to be there bright and early in the morning so they could go together to the bookstore. After Gabby had left, Arielle went right to bed, and to her surprise that night for the first time since her parents’ party, she slept soundly.
The next morning Gabrielle and Arielle drove downtown to one of the largest bookstores in Brighton. They went straight to the history section and started looking through all the books. “Okay, okay here we are,” Gabby, said, suddenly. “Look Arielle, this might be our ticket.” She picked up a book with the title “Gaulle 16th Century.” It was not exactly the same book Arielle had found in St. Jean de Luz, but it was about Sebastian’s family.
As they opened to the first page and started reading, thumbing through the pages slowly, Arielle’s heart was racing.
“The Gaulle family moved to Calais, a port city located on the North Atlantic with an active maritime trade with the English, the Dutch and other French ports. At the beginning of the sixteenth century Marcus Gaulle was a very successful merchant who had made a fortune. The Gaulles became a noble family with enormous wealth.
Marcus Gaulle had two sons, André and Gustave.
It was not acceptable for a nobleman to do much of anything except serve in the military, in the royal service, or in the church. Every prominent family made a point of placing at least one son into a lucrative church position, from which they often wielded a great deal of political influence; or they would offer themselves into military service. A number of such positions were essentially considered “hereditary” to certain families.
André became a cardinal. The church was the most powerful institution in France after the monarchy. It owned a third of the property and collected about 40% of the revenue.
Gustave offered himself to the King in military service. In those times nobility depended on wars to make money, so they created wars around the world. Tax exemption was given to those who served the King in a military position. Gustave offered the family the exemption from taxes, which increased their fortune.
Marcus became very successful, cultivating a following of noble clients. He appointed them to different jobs and they were expected to return his favors in wealth. He studied law and made enough money to buy large amounts of land.
In 1548 André married a wealthy noble and had two daughters, Marianne and Lavinia. Gustave married a Duchess in 1550 and had three sons, who he named after family ancestors: Anton, Marcus, and Sebastian.
Now Arielle’s heart started to pound furiously in her chest, and her breathing became laborious. Sebastian’s name had jumped right off the page and the sight of it made her jump too.
“What’s the matter? “ Gabrielle said. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing, nothing at all.”
She turned her eyes back to the book. She was sure that the Sebastian whose name had just jumped out at her must be one of her Sebastian’s great grandfathers; maybe there would be something about him as well, towards the end of the book. She kept skimming quickly through pages and pages, trying to get as much information as she could, moving through the centuries quickly.
She went through the whole book, reading about all the sons who were born and died, their wives and children, the lavish balls and expensive properties. Hungrily, she read about their close associations with kings, queens, dukes and duchesses, but there was not another Sebastian mentioned in the book, apart from the one who had been born in the sixteenth century.
But how could that be? Sebastian had to be the son or grandson of one of these Gaulles that she was reading about. He was the owner of the estate in St. Jean de Luz: he carried their glorious and noble name. She was becoming really puzzled when, toward the end of the book, a paragraph caught her eye.
“Toward the end of the 16th century it was a rumored that some of the nobles had more than money and power; that they were also hiding something from the rest of the world. This was something greater than money and fortune; it was the gift of living forever. It was said that the nobles with this gift lived for thousands of years, and that is how they made their fortunes. Sebastian Gaulle, born in 1555, was believed to be one of those nobles. It was said that he had eternal life, a timeless existence.
In 1577 at the age of 22, he married one of the most desirable women of the century, Annabel Draper. The marriage was annulled two years later.”
Her body went rigid and she dropped the book. “What? What?!” Gabrielle said. “Let me see! Did you find something juicy?”
Arielle bent down, picked up the book, and handed it to Gabby. “No, nothing,” she lied. “I think this is just a waste of time.” She smiled, stood up, leaving the book on the shelf, and began to head for the door.
“Arielle!” Gabrielle yelled. “Don’t you want to buy it?”
“No, I don’t think so. I didn’t see anything of importance in it,” Arielle replied.
Back in the car, she was quiet. She tried to listen to Gabrielle’s chatter, but it was hard to concentrate on anything other then the questions burning in her mind. “Where do I go from here, and what do I do with all this information?” she thought to herself.
What was the relationship between the Sebastian in the 16th century and the Sebastian in the 21st century? Could this possibly be about immortality? But that was just crazy. She didn’t believe that immortals existed, and anyway how would you find
out about something like that? How was immortality achieved? Was it inherited? Was it something that happened to you during your life to change you forever?
Then she shook herself: what was she thinking? It wasn’t real! There was no such thing!
Still, her head was filled with questions that she couldn’t answer. The questions she had were questions that she would have loved to be able to ask Sebastian, but she was sure she would never see him again, and even if she did she was not sure that she wanted to hear his explanations. She sighed a deep sigh.
“Thanks for being such a good friend, Gabby,” she said, as her friend dropped her off at home. “I can’t wait to meet Troy: I’m sure he’s wonderful.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” Gabrielle shouted out the window, blowing a kiss as she drove away.
Arielle went to her room and closed the door. Now that she was alone, she felt that the Gaulle book was coming to life for her, and that the new knowledge she had was pressing on her chest, making it hard to breathe.
She wasn’t hungry at all: she told her mum that she would just read for a while and go to sleep. Then she actually lay down and tried to watch the telly for a while.
But when she finally tried to sleep she would either dream about Sebastian and wake up crying, or have a nightmare about him, and either way she was awake again. She wanted to forget everything that happened to her in the past month. It was a long time before she fell asleep, only to be awakened by a man’s voice. Startled, she listened warily, not sure if she was hearing a real voice, or if it had come to her in a dream.
“Arielle…” It was a man’s voice full of torment, asking her to come back. She sat up on her bed and then she heard it again.
“Arielle, please come back.”
She was dumbfounded not because she heard someone calling her name but because there was such sadness and hurt in the voice.
She got up and went to open the window. It was dark outside, and the night breeze blew softly on her face. Her room was on the second floor, facing the ocean, which she loved. But the water was dark now and nothing about it brought her pleasure. The curtains moved as the breeze brushed against them and she thought she heard the same voice, now in a whisper. She could see that the rain had stopped, but there was still moisture in the air.
“I love you, Arielle.” Her heart sped up and she held her breath again. She thought she recognized Sebastian’s voice this time around, but she couldn’t be sure. How wild was that?
She looked around the room, but she was completely alone. She went back to bed and tried to sleep; eventually she dozed off, and when she opened her eyes her room was filled with sunshine.
She had only a week left until classes started, and here she was, planning to do nothing but lie around and think about Sebastian. How depressing was that? Why did she not get up and get going? She was sure this part of her life was over, but she just couldn’t accept it.
As she lay quietly, thinking about all that had happened, she realized that there was something very strange about Annabel and the way she had made it clear to Arielle that Sebastian was her husband. What a coincidence it was, that Sebastian of the 16th century had married an Annabel Draper, and the Sebastian in the 21st century was also married to an Annabel Draper. It was all just too strange! She started to think again about what she had read about immortals in the book, but every time she started to think about it, she would chase the thoughts away from her mind. It was just too weird to even think about it.
Finally she got up and dressed for breakfast. She was plenty hungry, and she could smell eggs and bacon cooking. As she came into the kitchen, she smiled at her mum and gave her a kiss. Her dad had already gone to work, so she sat in his place to eat her breakfast.
As she was finishing, the phone rang. “Arielle! It’s for you,” her mother called.
“Hey you’re home!!” Eva cried. Her voice sounded happy.
“We got back the day before yesterday and Gabby told me that you were coming home today. How is your mum?” Arielle asked.
“Oh, she’s great, and I’m so pleased,” Eva, said, with a relieved sigh. “We’re just getting ready to get on the plane and I can’t wait to see you! I need to talk to you. It’s very important,” she added.
“Okay, have a good flight,” Arielle said. She couldn’t wait to see Eva either.
“Call me when you get home,” she added.
She hung up smiling, wondering what was so important that Eva needed to talk to her about. “Maybe she met someone too,” she thought. “That would be so nice!” Arielle had missed Eva, and she was looking forward to having some time with both of her friends together at their flat. It was wonderful to be with her parents, and they did give her the privacy she needed. But it wasn’t the same as being in her flat with Gabrielle and Eva.
The only one she hadn’t spoken to since her return was Paul. She waited a couple of days and then gave him a ring. She was trying to keep as busy as she could; she was trying to forget about Sebastian.
Paul answered the phone in his deep voice, “Hello,” he said.
“Paul, its Arielle! I’m back and I thought you might want to go down to the coffee shop with me.”
“Arielle!” he said, clearly pleased to hear her voice. “Did you have a good holiday?”
“It was great, but I’m glad to be back.”
“Hey, I’ll come and pick you up in about a half an hour, will that be okay?”
“Yes, that will be great. I’ll be waiting for you.” She was hoping that Paul’s company might cheer her up.
As usual, he showed up right on time. She had forgotten how handsome he was, and she smiled with pleasure thinking how wonderful it was to see him again. He smiled as he pulled her into his arms and his lips met hers in a warm kiss. She could see that he was overwhelmed with excitement.
“Are you ready?” he said.
“Yes, I’m ready, let’s go!”
He opened the door for her and she slid into the car. He seemed perfectly at ease as he looked at her, and the corner of his mouth curved up into a bright smile.
“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you,” he said.
“I missed you too, Paul,” she said. She always felt so comfortable being with him.
The coffee shop was busy, and they took a table in the corner. He wanted to know all about her holiday and what she had done for the past two months. She started to talk without paying much attention to the details. She was mainly thinking about how good it felt to be with him. He watched her with fascination as she told him about her visit with Jane to the Gaulle home. Tears welled up in her eyes as the memory of Sebastian’s magical face took over her whole existence. Her own personal miracle was in front of her again, and she was unable to speak anymore.
Paul reached across the table, took her hand gently and held it tight, as though he could look into her head and feel what she saw there. She must have looked so miserable; he stood up, walked quietly toward her and without a word took her in his arms and pressed his lips on hers as he wiped her tears away. She didn’t pull away. His kiss was warm and comforting, and she needed to feel wanted.
It seemed to Arielle that Paul understood that something important had happened to her while she was away, but he didn’t want to ask. He was perhaps afraid of what she might say.
She was grateful that he didn’t ask her for details. Her heart felt like a heavy stone pressing on her chest. She couldn’t be in any more pain than she was right then and there.
She looked at Paul and felt sad that she had no control over how she was reacting. She knew now she should never have agreed to see him so soon. But she was here now, and she had to try to repair her mood. She looked at him and with a forced smile she whispered, “I’m so sorry, Paul, please forgive me. I missed you and I’m happy to be here with you. You always make me feel good. You are a wonderful friend and I love you so much! Please tell me about your summer. Did you have fun? I know that you went to a fascinating place but I don�
�t think you told me where that place was.”
They took their seats once again, and he started to talk. And as he talked, she finally was taken away from her sad thoughts, into another interesting world. He told her how he and his parents had gone to Alexandria, and from there to Cairo. He spoke with excitement about their journey across the desert and the fascinating people they had met along the way. He talked about Cairo, with the picturesque sunrises and the enchanted sunsets. He had visited fortresses and beautiful mosques. He chuckled as he added that while walking through the palaces, he had imagined beautiful, mysterious harem girls emerging through secret doors, just as they did in a movie he saw once, Arabian Nights.
“I really didn’t see any of those girls,” he said, laughing out loud. “But in the early morning hours, standing in front of my hotel window, I did see a mystical city that belonged in a mystery or a romance story.”
Paul kept talking and she kept listening with interest. She was happy he had taken her away from her troubled thoughts. She lay back on her chair and closed her eyes, smiling. There was silence for a short time and when she opened her eyes he was staring at her with a beautiful smile on his face.
“You look content,” he said.
“Thank you, Paul, I’m so happy to hear about your trip. It just took me away to a magical place, and I loved it.”
Three hours had gone by, but it felt as if they had just arrived. They got, ready to go and she thanked him for a wonderful time. He looked at her with his warm eyes and held her tight in his arms.
“Remember that I will always be here for you,” he said, his voice soft and comforting.
When they got to Arielle’s home, she leaned over and gave him a kiss.
“I love you, Paul. Thank you so much for everything.”
“We’ll talk soon,” he said, smiling, as she stood and watched him drive away.
A couple of days later, late in the afternoon, she was sitting in the garden reading Pride and Prejudice all over again. She was wondering why she kept punishing herself by thinking of Sebastian, but she couldn’t seem to help herself.
Arielle: Immortal Awakening Page 15
