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Post by David I on Apr 5, 2013 1:41:04 GMT 1
I walked into the doors of the Motherhouse. The smells of polished wood and warm cinders hit my nostrils instantly. What a comforting mix of smells. I glanced around at the long brightly lit hallways. It struck me suddenly how fond I had been of this place at one time, in fact I still was to be honest. I raised my hand in greeting to the sandy blond haired, tall, hazel eyed man who came briskly toward me. Arthur had dealt with the paperwork at the Talamasca for about twenty years. "It's good to see you again my old friend." I greeted him pleasantly. He offered his hand and I shook it heartily. "Yes Mr. Talbot. It has been awhile." I smiled but secretly winced inside. Arthur had known me for years and he still couldn't stop addressing me as "Mr. Talbot". Arthur let go of my hand and turned. "Follow me please." He took me down a hallway and I stopped. "Why is the door to the parlor unlocked?" He gave me a look that said: "You'll see".
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Post by David I on Apr 5, 2013 1:52:22 GMT 1
(As Arthur)
I led Mr. Talbot into one of our smallest offices and signaled for him to sit in the chair opposite the desk. He obliged gratefully. I had two manila folders placed across the desk and I reached for the one on the left and began to spill its contents onto the desk. I started with the photo of my now deceased co-worker. I glanced at her smiling face and felt tears come into my eyes. Lucy...no, her real name was Gretchen wasn't it, had become a dear friend to me and now she was gone forever... I put the back of my hand to my eyelids and gave them a rough swipe. This was no time for sentiments. The twins needed their father...or was it fathers? I heard a sharp noise coming from Oliver Stirling's office. Monsieur de Lioncourt was probably being a pest again. Well, for once he had perfect timing. I turned to Mr. Talbot and shoved "Lucy's" photo toward him. "Does you recognize this woman , sir?"
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Post by David I on Apr 5, 2013 2:11:36 GMT 1
(As David)
I picked up the picture of a woman in about her forties, she was beautiful. She had large hazel eyes with a warm friendly gleam to them. Her light brown hair was full and framed her face wonderfully. I glanced up at Arthur puzzled. "I'm sorry," I began "I don't..." then I stopped. A memory came back to me of when Lestat, Louis, and I had been in Rio. Lestat had told the real me the story of a woman he had visited in French Guiana and the tragedy that had befallen her. A woman that, in the body I now possessed, he had relieved her burden of chastity, more than once if I recall correctly. I felt my face grow solemn. "Is this woman...named Gretchen, is it Lestat's Gretchen?" I watched Arthur nod his head gravely. It seemed he had been crying. I stiffened. "What's going on Arthur, has something happened to Gretchen?" I felt my words flow out of my mouth at a rapid speed that astonished me. I had never personally met this woman but Lestat had loved her at one point, I personally felt that he secretly still loved her. Arthur held up a hand to gesture for me to calm down. I took a few deep breathes, being a vampire they weren't really needed but they did calm me down. "I will tell you about her, but please let me start from the beginning and go from there." I nodded and then he began what I knew would be a long hard tale for me to hear..and even harder to retell to Lestat.
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Post by David I on Apr 5, 2013 2:52:44 GMT 1
(As Arthur)
"In 1994 a woman known as 'Sister Marguerite', to the religious masses, suffered a stigmata when a blond haired blue eyes 'demon' claimed to be a man she loved. This was in the last two weeks of winter and in spring the women of the convent who lived with the blessed 'Sister Marguerite' noticed her gaining weight as she sat in front of the altar all day and all night. The other nuns insisted that the sister take a pregnancy test. The results came back positive. The nuns feared that this revelation would cause poor Gretchen to descend further into religious fever but that luckily wasn't the case. Gretchen had taken the news of her pregnancy calmly and seemed almost happy about it. On October 12th of that same year Gretchen gave birth to twins Gabriel and Rosaleen." Here I paused my tale and pulled out of the folder on the right a picture of the children as infants. Once Mr. Talbot took the picture I continued steadily. "Gretchen and the twins stayed on with the covenant for about two weeks before Gretchen left them for Savannah, Georgia where she and her children lived the rest of their lives up until this point. Three years after the birth of the twins Gretchen came to us under the name Lucy Dawson. How she found out about us I don't know but she worked hard as a secretary with me as her mentor. As the years passed Gretchen got to travel to all of the other Talamasca houses to pick up files and documents for our superiors, all the while gaining more and more information about the mortal man she had loved and the vampire Lestat. Gretchen, in my opinion was obsessed with Lestat and how he had effected her. As our friendship grew and she finally trusted me with her real identity, I asked where the name Lucy Dawson came from. Apparently Dawson was the last name of her favorite piano instructor as a young girl and she told me that Lucy means light, which is what her children gave her...contrary to her darkness." Here I paused and took a shaky inhale of breath. David locked his eyes with mine. Shock written all over his face. "Are Rosaleen and Gabriel in that parlor, Arthur?" he asked slowly.
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Post by David I on Apr 5, 2013 3:20:07 GMT 1
(As David)
"Are Rosaleen and Gabriel in that parlor, Arthur?" I asked slowly. I couldn't help it. I just couldn't stay quiet anymore. I needed to say something. All of this information was a bit too much not to. Lestat, I....Lestat...both of us had gotten Gretchen pregnant with a young boy and girl that we may or may not have ever met if Gretchen hadn't allowed it. I was glad that she had though. I felt a sudden and alarming instinct to run into that parlor and hold all three of them, my daughter, my son, and their mother in my arms. I was sure that Lestat would want to do the same...if he even wanted to see Gretchen. I gulped. Would he want to see her? Would she want to see him? Perhaps it would be best if I talked to him before Arthur did. I stood up hurriedly. "Arthur, did Gretchen drop the children off here or is she in the parlor with them? Surely, she would stay with them to contain their anxieties." Arthur opened his eyes widely as a fresh stream of tears flowed steadily down his wan cheeks. "Mr. Talbot...the children are alone in the parlor because Lucy...Gretchen died an hour ago...." I felt my joyful illusion shatter instantly. "What!?" I demanded, feeling my face heat up with a sudden mixture of anger and sorrow. Arthur stood up and placed a firm hand on my right shoulder. "She got into a...car wreck and was...killed upon impact. I'm sorry...for all of you." His eyes filled with a fresh flood of tears and were beginning to look puffy and red around the edges. "Excuse me, sir." he waved me away and reached into a drawer in the desk full of what I assumed to be tissues. I walked toward the doorway thinking solely of those poor distraught children, stuck in the world without their mother and uncertain of what life would throw their way next. I stopped in the doorway and glanced back at Arthur who was wiping delicately at his eyes with a tissue, trying not to irritate them further. "Is Stirling...telling Lestat about Gretchen and the twins now?" I asked seriously. Arthur's head bolted upward. He had forgotten I was even there and had gotten stuck in his own thoughts. "No. I believe they are discussing something about Mr. Oliver and Monsieur de Lioncourt's...mother...I don't want to know. I will tell Monsieur de Lioncourt...after I've calmed down... a bit." I nodded and headed toward the parlor door. I knocked once. No answer but that was understandable they probably were lost in their own despair, poor darlings. I waited for about five minutes and then knocked again. Still nothing. This was concerning. I opened the door and gasped. There were no children in here! Panic filled me. Calm down Talbot! They probably went to find a restroom or perhaps one of the maids had taken them to the kitchen for a bite to eat. Yet, even with all of this reasoning the fear that my, Lestat's, our? children had been misplaced would not let up. I walked back down the hallway, Arthur had shut his office door, best not to worry him. He was under enough distress and would gain more when he had to tell Lestat about Gretchen's demise. I went by Stirling's office in which I could hear Lestat bellowing like a child and I imagined Stirling's smirking face as he rebuffed all of Lestat's protests. I would have laughed out loud but this was no time for laughing at Lestat and his antics...I needed to locate the twins! I toyed with the idea of informing Lestat but I decided it wouldn't make much sense to him until he knew the full story. Besides, I was perfectly capable of finding two children by myself, was I not? I glanced at the old grandfather clock and cracked a small smile. That clock had been a handy transport device back in the day. It didn't work any more except as a lovely piece of handiwork. I lovingly brushed my hand against it's dusty frame then frowned. The glass section of the clock was ajar. My words processed the inevitability of what must have happened before my brain did. "Oh God! They must have used it." I mumbled to myself. I wasted no time and edged my body into the tight fit of the inside of the clock and shut it tightly. A roaring noise filled my ears but I was used to that. I had forgotten about the spinning sensation though and felt my self grow dizzy. *thread continued in The French Quarter*
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