Authors: Thomas McDermott
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Marcus asked Claire in the beautiful sunlight. They were seated around the table after breakfast and were enjoying yet another gorgeous day in Paris. Isis sat next to Claire and was feeding Magdalene little pieces of the croissant. There were changes in her as well. As her growth accelerated she looked more and more human. Her ears were still a little too pointy and she was runway model tall, but the eyes still had a little strange glow that were hard to explain. It would be hard to tell once she fully matured if she would have any animal traits left at all.
“Marcus, I am not going to have this conversation again. Of course I am sure.” Claire was smiling at him. Gone were the days of her self imposed rigidity. From now on she was going to be part of their lives and the icy exterior they had all known for so long seemed to thaw, if just a little.
“I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking to Frankie.” Marcus patted Frankie on the shoulder who coughed nervously. “I honestly don’t think you will be able to survive a place where there are no clubs and no shopping.” Marcus was teasing his friend. “You are going to miss the beautiful people. I know you!”
“Hey, if I can survive the crazy stuff that has gone on in this house, I can survive anything. Besides, I want to see what fascinates Claire so. He smiled at them all and was still glowing from the victory of the battle. They all were. Marcus was going to miss them, but he kenw they would be back. This was home now, for all of them. No matter where their new adventures took them, this would be home. He definitely expected everyone to be there for Christmas. There were a few newspapers on the table and they all had photos of Celine on them. Taylor’s article had done it’s work and even now government teams were storming the lab in Orleans and soon the scientific community as well as the world would know a little of the horror Celine had been dabbling in. Celgen was now under investigation by several agencies and an international debate had begun on just how far science was allowed to go before big business starts creating their own special brand of monsters behind closed doors. Of course the biggest mystery of all was the beautiful Celine D’Aumont herself. She had gone missing the day before the article hit the internet. The police believed she was tipped off and fled the country before she could be apprehended. They were confident she would be found. She wasn’t the first big shot to run away when the law came knocking at her door. Having money does not mean you can just ignore international laws and France would love nothing more than to make an example of her. As everyone began to research this woman it became even more of a mystery. She seemed to have no past. There was no birth certificate and no record at all of her existence. Every search for her origin led to a woman from the time of the French Revolution with the same name and the same creamy skin and wild red hair. They must be related but there was no proof of that either. There was speculation that rich people like Celine D’Aumont could have things like that disappear overnight and get buried forever somewhere. At any rate, Paris was all abuzz with the gossip and speculation about the beautiful woman who was creating illegal monstrosities in a laboratory all in the name of beauty. Frankie had been right after all and he laughed out loud when he read the headline on the copy of Le Monde. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. They had all laughed except Isis who had no interest in the matter. As each day passed she was becoming more and more the way Claire used to be, silent and withdrawn, always longing for the moment when everyone would just stop all this insane talking. She longed for the place Claire and Frankie told her all about. The place they were going to leave for in any moment. Virginie came out to the terrace to announce that the driver was ready for them. Isis wanted to cover her face in public, but Claire convinced her not to and showed her in the mirror each day that she was indeed the beautiful young woman she thought she would never be. She no longer looked monstrous, but exotic. She wore light colored sunglasses at all times to hide the strange yellow light that came from her pupils and found that she loved them and had fifty pair at least by now. Marcus spoiled her as if she were his own daughter. They all kissed and hugged noisily and clumsily for none of them wanted to admit that after the adventure they had just had, it truly was hard to say goodbye; even if just for a little while. Marcus walked with them up the long and beautiful stairs that had been a silent witness all these years before he said a final goodbye at the front door. He kissed Isis on both cheeks and held her hands in his.
“Isis. This is always your home. You will always have a room waiting for you. Remember, just because you’re different doesn’t mean that you don’t belong. We are all different in this house and we all belong here.” He looked at her lovingly. “This is your family. I wish you were my own daughter.” He had broken through her silence.
“Thank you Marcus. That means a lot to me. I will miss you.” She walked out the door without looking back. For the first time she was facing the world in the light of day without hiding from anyone or anything. She noticed a few people stare at her and had yet to realize they were drawn to her strange beauty. She stared right back at them and saw the smiles that greeted her honest stare and she found these people just as interesting and unusual as they found her. Claire was right. It wasn’t bad at all. Actually, it was good. She got into the car as the driver greeted her pleasantly.
“Merci.” She said gently and got in.
“Last chance Frankie. I know how much you hate mother nature!” Claire had her arm wrapped in his and they looked like a charming couple dressed so simply and elegantly. He was in black and Claire had on a silver mini dress with a tiny black sweater and she looked like an old movie star. Her hair done in waves from another life.
“No way! I want to see what you find so interesting out there in the prairie.” They got into the car and slid into the comfortable leather that surrounded them.
“Alright. But if you start bitching about every little thing I am going to feed you to the wolves myself.” She and Isis laughed at the idea.
“There are wolves?” He lurched back into his seat as the car jumped into the ceaseless traffic and carried them to the airport where Marcus’ jet was waiting to take them to Brazil.
On the terrace, Marcus sat at the table enjoying the sunlight and the silence. He had decided that now was the time to go to Greece. He coud use a vacation and he had purchased one of those white villas on the cliffs surrounded by impossible blue. He was taking Virginie with him. God knows she deserved a huge raise and a paid vacation after all she had been through. She gladly accepted his offer and in her eyes he saw something more than just loyalty and friendship. All of these years he had been to busy fighting Celine to notice. Now that she was dead he could finally breath. He knew that she would return someday but as somebody new and not nearly as powerful. He would deal with that when the time came. They would all deal with it together as a family with no more secrets. That dream died so long ago, but in it’s place a reality more vivid than any dream had taken its place. The house was full again and everyone was safe. He smiled to himself and sat back in his chair to read once more the articles written about the mysterious and infamous Celine D’Aumont.