Chapter 3: La Défense

‘Colette’ stared out the window of the plane as she settled into her seat, watching as the landscape became smaller and smaller. She couldn’t believe she was doing this, it still felt like a dream for several reasons.

She leaned back in her seat and began to read the intermediate French book that she had bought just for the trip. She knew French at a childish conversational level, having taken classes in high school and a few in college, but not enough to have an adult conversation.

It was difficult, reading the complex language with rudimentary knowledge of it beforehand. But she had plenty of time to spare, so she read and read until it was all that she could think about.

It proved to be a great distraction, as the hours ticked by and the plane sailed smoothly over the ocean. Before she knew it, they were already beginning to touch down in Paris, and if she still had a heartbeat, it would be in her throat.

Paris was much different than anywhere she had ever been before, from the get-go. As she stepped off the plane and into the darkness, she felt oddly at home.

Maybe it was just the adrenalin still running through her body, or perhaps it was the darkness of the sky that fueled her as she stepped into a cab, asking the cabby to go downtown.

The lights, neon and colorful, stood out to her the most. She wasn’t exhausted after her flight like she would normally have been if she were human.. Tipping the driver extra with her new card, she took a step out into downtown Paris.

It was beautiful. Stunning, really, the view from la défense. She marveled at the sights and even took a little bit of a break atop the Eiffel tower, staring out at the vast city before her, wondering how she was meant to find Arabella in the vast ocean of city in front of her eyes.

As she leaned on the railing, Colette thought about how far she’d come, just for her new life. It was overwhelming, and she bit the inside of her cheek and drew a little blood as a result.

There was still so much she didn’t understand, nor seem to comprehend.

How was she going to find Arabella? WHERE was she going to find Arabella? And she had to feed soon too, as she felt the same hunger starting to rise in her throat. She had to find someone to feast on, and she had to seek out people she didn’t even know.

Colette groaned, putting her forehead in her hands as she leaned on the railing of the Eiffel tower. There was so much to do, and so far to go. She didn’t even have a car, let alone a change of clothes. Maybe she should apply for an apartment downtown, while she was ahead of herself.

It seemed like a better plan than wandering aimlessly, that much was for certain. And where was she going to find Nora Berry, for that matter? Something seemed to click in her mind, and she stood up straight again.

A name came back to her. A girl she knew in high school – Rosie Duvois. Maybe, by some stroke of luck, she would know either Nora or Arabella. But how to find her? She had to get to a phonebook, and quickly.

So she descended the tower, and made her way to the nearest hotel to begin planning her prolonged stay in Paris. She had to find shelter, a steady source of people to feed off of, and most importantly, Rosie’s current place of living.

She knew that she had moved to France after high school, but she wasn’t sure where, or how close she was to Paris, if at all. As she lay on the bed of the hotel room – in a brand new set of clothes she had bought after leaving the Effiel Tower, Arienne rolled over onto her stomach and grabbed the phone book, beginning to flip through it.

… but she could hardly concentrate on the names. The hunger was back, and it was stronger than before. She could feel her ears starting to ring by the time that she sat up, and quickly put her shoes on to exit the hotel yet again.

Her heart was beginning to beat in her throat yet again as she wandered the alleyways, searching for anyone drunk or passed out – it had worked last time, so perhaps it would this time as well. Colette spotted one such person, slumped over with a bottle in their hand.

She approached quietly, tilting his head to the side and exposing his neck. She leaned in to take a bite, the irises of her eyes narrowing into slits much like a cat’s. However, he woke a little and made a noise, slowly coming to.

Arienne stopped, brow furrowing as her mouth was inches from his neck. “Shh,” she found herself saying in a purr of a whisper, “Go back to sleep. You’re dreaming.”

She was surprised at herself, that her voice could sound so sultry, yet commanding at the same time.

“That’s right … back to rest.” Her thumb ran over his cheek as his eyes fluttered shut once more. Finally, unable to resist any longer, she drove her fangs into his neck, and began to drink. The ringing in her ears began to die as she drank, and drank of his blood.

She pulled away when he made another noise, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand as the blood dribbled down her chin. Her irises widened out again, giving her the appearance of a mostly human woman once more.

Her fangs retreated too, becoming shorter in her mouth as she licked the blood off her hand, hungry as ever. Did it ever become easier? She found herself wondering that as she returned to the street, running her tongue across her left fang in her mouth.

‘I have been alive for 100 years.’ She recalled Haneul saying, and the idea made her shiver. 100 years of feeding, drinking blood, and earning money. No wonder all the vampires in all the media she read were wealthy.

As she wandered back to the hotel to finish her research, she wondered if there were any more vampires in this area of Paris besides Arabella and Nora. Of course there were, she thought, shaking her head. Where one gathered, so too did so many others.

Was there really that much of a difference between vampires and humans, then?

Sure, vampires had to feed on humans and their blood to survive. But they worked, they loved, and they lived like humans. So really, why did Haneul warn her about the elites and their vitriol towards ‘lesser’ vampires, like herself?

Was it that much of an issue? Perhaps she was just a bit naive.

There was much to think about, in becoming a vampire. She thanked whatever God was listening to her that she wasn’t an elite – at least to her knowledge thus far. Sinking back into the bedsheets, Colette slowly closed her eyes.

It was time to get some rest before she did apartment touring tomorrow.

… little did she know, however, that she was being watched very, very closely.