The Montpierres

"You have a brother?!" Giselle exclaimed.

"Had," Louis said darkly.

"What happened?"

Louis went around and sat in his chair. Giselle carefully perched on the edge of his desk, waiting to hear the truth.

"My brother, Henri, became Vampire King back in 1310 A.D. He went to Memphis for the ceremony, per the custom. But when he got there, he was caught by seven other vampires. Even in vampire terms, that's not a good ratio. He fought long and hard, but eventually they overpowered him. The seven other vamps then took him, beaten and battered, to their leader. Bashar al Assam, their leader, tortured my brother before cutting his heart out and making him watch as Bashar staked his ripped-out heart."

Giselle shivered in fear.

"I wasn't there for any of this. I was in Paris with the rest of the family. We were just about to set out for Memphis when a messenger from Bashar came and delivered the news of Henri's brutal death. My parents and sister were mortified. I was furious."

Louis shook in anger as he recounted the story. Giselle placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her and gave a sad smile.

"Did you do anything to avenge him?" she asked.

Louis nodded.

"I went to Memphis on my own after having vowed to bring Bashar to justice. I killed all of his lackeys, even the ones who hadn't been involved in Henri's abduction. Then, I went after Bashar. But he had fled Memphis, like a coward. I tracked him and hunted him for the next twenty-five years, but nothing ever came of it."

Giselle hesitated, but then continued on.

"Yes, but you met me two years after that. We didn't meet until 1337," Giselle mentioned.

"Those two years in between were very dark for me. I don't really want to talk about it."

"Okay."

"Just know this, Giselle. You were a very bright ray of light in my dark world when I met you. And then you were so innocent, barely knowing anything about the world. It was a fresh perspective for me. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Giselle leaned down and wrapped her arms around Louis's shoulders.

"I love you, Louis."

"Oh, mon amour."

He returned the embrace and they remained like that for a moment. Eventually, Louis pulled away.

"I've got some work to do. But I feel better after having told you this. Thank you."

"I'll always be here for you, Louis."

She hopped down from desk and left his office. Giselle wandered around the house aimlessly. With nothing else to do, she went into her parlour room and grabbed her laptop. Deciding she needed to do something with her new life in New Orleans, Giselle began applying for jobs at the hospitals in town.

"I'm a doctor, for Heaven's sakes. I need to get back to work."

She spent the next hour searching for hospitals that were looking to hire neurologists. There were a couple hospitals that seemed okay to her. She put in for interviews at those hospitals. When she was done, Giselle closed her laptop and set it aside.

Feeling thirsty, she headed for the kitchen. There, Louis was on another phone call. She got a bag of B negative and poured it into a wine glass. Taking a sip, she turned around to Louis, who had just finished his call.

"Who was that?"

"Just someone from LeMonde Oil. Asking about Gabriel."

"And what did you tell them?"

"That I haven't seen him since last night."

Louis snickered. Giselle took another sip from her glass.

"Who was on the phone earlier? When you were yelling?"

"No one."

Louis turned to leave. "I've got some paperwork to take care of."

"Louis... please. Who was it?"

"It doesn't concern you. Don't fret about it, mon amour."

He patted her on the shoulders and then left. Giselle remained in the kitchen, saddened by the fact that Louis wouldn't talk or confide in her anymore.

He's grown even more distant than before, she thought. It's like he's not the Louis I knew before. New Orleans has changed him and I don't like it. What if... what if he has a mistress here? He told me that it was to keep an eye on Gabriel, but was that the whole truth?

Giselle worried and went to go find her friends. She found them just about to leave and posed her questions to them.

"I don't like how he's keeping secrets from you," René admitted.

"If you two are really partners, then there should not be any secrets between the two of you," Adelene added.

Giselle was about to speak when they all heard Louis roar.

"Giselle!!"