Immortal Beauty (46 page)

Claire knew the land better than anyone. Whenever she could manage it, she would sneak away and spend the days outside with the trees and flowers and the animals of the countryside. Never once was she bothered by any dangerous animals that terrified most of the peasants. In fact, the animals seemed to like this quiet girl who would visit them often, and they would follow her faithfully as she wandered aimlessly through the fields and woods. Even the birds would flitter about her head as she walked, singing one of the hymns she knew so well from her religious schooling and from church. People remarked more than once that Claire was a special child with special gifts. Such talk was whispered in circles far from the ears of her powerful parents. They would frown at such talk. It was too close to heresy and they could not afford tales springing up that their only daughter was a witch. Their fears were unfounded as everyone who knew Claire said only the kindest things about this beautiful and obedient girl. She was loved by the servants who waited on her as well as the other girls in school and the priest who gave her communion. Claire was oblivious to all the gossip. She had no interest in the affairs of people and as she walked away into the immense meadows her thoughts were only of escape. She sang lightly to shade off the feeling of doom that felt so real to this young woman of sixteen years. Her light hair fairly glowed in the sunlight and the scent of lavender rose from her warmed skin. She walked to the first little lake she came upon and this one was her favorite. She called it “Claire’s Pond” to herself. It was a small little thing, maybe two acres at most and the water was the coolest green color and was always the perfect temperature. She undressed lazily and slowly stepped into the refreshing water. She swam for a while to calm her hectic thoughts. This was truly the only place she felt happy and free and the thought of leaving all of this behind was too sad to think about. No doubt she would have no time for such idle luxuries once she became the Marquise de Voulon. She swam until her arms ached and finally emerged from the cooling lake to stand in the sunlight. She noticed the black bird that always accompanied her on her travels through the sweeping landscape. She had named the bird Magdalene and the bird was her only true friend out here in the wild. The bird would fly ahead of her and land somewhere close by to watch the curious girl. Claire found that if she concentrated long enough, the bird would land on her arm or her shoulder. It seemed that the black bird could hear her very thoughts. She smiled at Magdalene and willed her to come closer. The bird obeyed with a large caw and Claire noticed the strange intelligence behind the dark and sparkling eyes. It landed on her pile of clothes and began to pull at one of the bright shiny buttons on her dress. Claire laughed at the bird and wondered if Magdalene would follow her on her new journey. She began to dress and was startled to see a man standing by the lake with the strangest expression on his face. She was horrified to be seen this way and hurried to get the rest of her clothing on. The man walked over to her staring silently. He did not speak. He did not smile. Claire became afraid and the moment her fear was palpable, Magdalene started screaming raucously as if she too sensed danger. The man still said nothing but he had the same lewd look on his face that Claire knew all too well from the Marquis when he came to visit. She knew what it meant and she hurried to get the last of her buttons fastened. She was blushing furiously and the more she blushed, the more the man smiled. Claire knew she was in danger and forgetting the rest of her belongings, she broke into a run. The man was too fast for her and grabbed her small frame in his large gruff hands. He smelled disgusting. Claire screamed as loudly as she could. It sounded strangely like the call of the black bird. She continued yelling as the man tried to force her to the ground. They both stopped in the struggle when they heard the overwhelming scream of a thousand birds and Claire looked up to see that the sky was darkening with the winged forms. They swiftly descended on the man and began pecking at him with a vengeance. He yelled and fell off of Claire and onto the ground as Claire stood up and began stepping backwards away from her attacker. She saw Magdalene in the swirl of madness fly right into the man’s face and the bird poked at his eyes with a large beak. The man was in a frenzy trying to fight off the birds he could no longer see. His screams filled the air and Claire saw that blood was gushing out of his eyes. In that moment she fainted.

She was dancing in the forest with a group of women clad all in white, flowing garments. They were singing and dancing around a fire on a hot summer night. The ocean was nearby and she could smell the salt everywhere. They were singing in a foreign tongue but Claire knew the meaning of the words. They were singing to Diana, the goddess of the hunt. The goddess who watched over all animals. These women were Diana’s priestesses. They were a group of virgins who devoted their lives to the goddess and learned the ancient secrets of the forest. She could see deer and rabbits and even a wild cat outside of the circle watching them all complacently. They were part of the ceremony. Tonight, she would no longer be an apprentice but a priestess in the religion of Diana. She had been looking forward to this night for as long as she could remember. They told her that she was special. She had powers handed down from Diana herself and that one day she would lead the group of women who worshipped all that existed in Nature. She sang with a sense of joy knowing that from this night forward, her life would be different. She would live mostly in the woods now and people would come and seek her out to appease the goddess on their behalf. She would teach them how to love and respect all creatures of this world. She knew that it was all connected and that each living thing had a purpose for being here and a destiny to fulfill. This was her destiny and she embraced it with joy.

Claire came to suddenly. The man was gone and the air was quiet. She looked up to see Magdalene staring down at her.

“Thank you Magdalene. I owe you my life.” Claire held out her hand for the bird to come. She remembered so many things now. She remembered who she was. She remembered being in Rome so very long ago with her brother and their friends and how they all drank the sacred and stolen waters. None of them knew what it meant at the time but they could all feel the power surging though their veins as they laughed and drank and joked. She got the rest of her clothing on and smoothed her dress and hair. She walked back to her house with a new stature and her head was held strangely high and proud for such a meek thing. At that moment she began to plan her escape. She would gather as much jewelry and money as possible and in the middle of the night, sometime before the wedding she would leave this little town and head north. She wasn’t exactly sure where the waters of immortality were, but she knew she would find them. She was no longer the quiet little girl who was so agreeable to everyone. She was so much more than that now and she had to find out what her new destiny was.

She told the story to Marcel over time when his sadness threatened to swallow him whole. She stayed with him for a few years in the big house after the horrific massacre in the great room. She stayed with Marcel because she had no place to go. She was introduced to society but had no interest in that whatsoever. She and Marcel lived the life of the idle rich. She only wished that she could have made it back in time to save her friends. Her brother from Rome was already dead before she even arrived. She never got the chance to see him again. More than anything else, she had wanted to see him again and laugh with him the way they used to an eternity ago. She mourned in her own quiet way and as the years rolled by, she found herself bored with this life. There was no purpose or meaning to any of it. She wanted to return to the wilderness. It was the only place she ever truly felt at home. Marcel could feel her slipping away from him even though she was amiable and attentive. He knew that her thoughts were elsewhere. Walking in the gardens, Claire decided it was time to let Marcel know that she was leaving. With Celine gone and the others dead, she felt there was really no reason to stay. Now that she had access to the waters she was stronger than ever and felt the pull of foreign lands and exotic sunsets. She wanted to find the forest near the ocean where she had worshipped Diana. She wanted to climb the mountains and live with the creatures of the earth like she once did. She knew it would be hard for Marcel but it would be harder if she stayed and let the resentments of their bloody bond turn into hatred. She could always return. They had forever. This was nothing at all really. She walked in from the terrace and saw Marcel sitting before the fireplace as usual. She stood behind him and stroked his black hair innocently; lovingly.

“I’m leaving Marcel.” That was all she said. Without moving, Marcel answered her quietly.

“I know.” He didn’t want her to see the tears falling from his eyes. He knew that he could not keep her against her will and unlike him, she would not be willing to sit by the fire night after night for twenty or thirty years and wait for them to return as someone else. His loneliness was his punishment and his prison. It was actually a man who had opened Pandora’s box and unleashed the evils into the world. It was this man who fell in love with the red haired demon. Marcel could not be convinced otherwise. God was letting him know that He had not forgotten all the bodies that lay in Celine’s wake and that Marcel was just as guilty as the ancient Celtic Priestess gone mad.

Claire was kind and waited a full week before departing. She was heading south in search of the sun and the sea. She knew that Diana’s woods were below France and most likely in Greece or Italy. She would let her instincts guide her. She wondered if the cult existed after so much time. On the day she left the sun was shining brilliantly and as the light fell on her hair it gave her the appearance of a halo. The angel was fleeing this dark and lonely place. Marcel could not beg her to stay even though he could not bear the thought of being alone in the chateau. They were both oddly quiet as Claire took her leave. They did not speak but held each other tightly for a very long time. His beard scratched her sensitive white skin and her tears fell without a sound onto his dark woolen coat. Finally Claire ended the embrace and kissed him tenderly on each cheek. She smiled at him, hoping that he would find a way out of his dark thoughts sometime soon. She agreed to contact him from time to time and he would send her the water whenever she requested. She liked the feeling of power she had after drinking from the fountain so freely for so long. She knew she would never stop. She never wanted to be that timid and agreeable little girl who ran away from her riches to discover a world far grander than even they could imagine. She now had possession of Celine’s white mare and jumped on her back without effort. The light was beginning to be so bright it looked to Marcel as if Claire and the horse were becoming the light itself. It was the most spectacular illusion and held him breathless for a moment. The only contrast at all was black Magdalene perched atop Claire’s shoulder and the bird stared indifferently at his breaking heart. He could barely see Claire now as she rode off into the brilliance, but he heard her words very clearly:

“Let me know when they come back.” And she was gone.

Marcus stood there a very long time. He did not want to face going in the house alone. It is impossible to say how long he would have remained there when one of his servants interrupted his dark thoughts.

“Ah, Monsieur! Is your cousin gone?” The motherly woman could sense his sadness. The entire household had fallen in love with the little angel who could talk to the animals. They saw her as a sort of saint.

“Yes. She is gone.” He smiled at her kindness.

“Don’t worry Monsieur. Here is something that might cheer you up.” She handed him a piece of paper. It was an invitation written in gold ink. He wanted to throw the paper onto the ground for he was seized with foreboding. It was an invitation to a grand salon in Orleans. It was for one week from this day. It was the introduction to society and the court of a Mademoiselle Sandrine Le Ragois. A new discovery of the Marquise Hallay of Orleans. Marcel tried to still the growing terror in his chest. He grabbed the naïve servant by the arm rather roughly which completely surprised her as she gave out a small cry.

“Who is this Sandrine? Do we know her?” Marcel looked at the woman who was in shock. Her employer seemed unpleased, even angry and she thought he would happy to have a diversion. Now he looked as if he were going to be sick. She had to get him inside.

“Nobody knows her Monsieur, but the stories are already spreading around Paris quickly. She was discovered floating in the Seine and the Marquise rescued her quite valiantly. They say she is a red haired beauty with the creamiest skin in all of France. They say she bathes in goats milk!” She stopped suddenly and thought of the former mistress of this house. They used to say the same thing about her in whispered circles. She suddenly felt completely insensitive to Monsieur D’Aumont.

“I am so sorry Monsieur. I did not even think of the resemblance to your wife. I am so stupid at times.” She felt his arm on her own as if they were comrades instead of master and servant. If any of the staff saw this, they would talk about it for weeks!

“It’s alright Theophile. Don’t even think about it. Celine isn’t the only woman in the world with red hair. It’s quite alright.” The woman stood there for a moment waiting for his reply to the invitation. He simply stood there staring at the golden ink.

“Would you like me to reply that you are unavailable?” She was trying to make it easier for him.

“No, that’s quite alright. I’ll go. I’d like to see this new discovery myself. She sounds like she has a fascinating story. Besides, it would do me good to get out of the house. I haven’t really left since Celine…” He couldn’t go on.

“I couldn’t agree more sir!” This news seemed to brighten up the simple woman who cared so much for her kind and sad master. The smile on her face did not go unnoticed by Marcel. She felt he deserved a little fun and a great deal of happiness. She excused herself to have the reply sent immediately. She didn’t want him to have the time to change his mind. She excused herself and went to find the other servants to fill them in on the bit of news. Gossip was all they had for entertainment in their lives and already the story of the mysterious Sandrine had kept them entertained for a few days now as her incredible tale traveled through the lips of the servants of all the great houses of France. Theophile was excited that the Count was going to attend. He would be able to give her a first hand account of the woman from the river.