Arielle Immortal Awakening (16 page)

Now Arielle’s heart started to pound furiously in her chest and her breathing became laborious. Sebastian’s name had jumped right off the page and the sight of it made her literally jump.

“What’s the matter?” Gabrielle asked. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing, nothing at all.”

She turned her eyes back to the book. She was sure that the Sebastian whose name had just jumped out at her must be one of her Sebastian’s great grandfathers. Maybe there would be something about him as well toward the end of the book. She kept skimming quickly through pages and pages, trying to get as much information as she could, moving through the centuries quickly.

She went through the whole book, reading about all the sons who were born and died, their wives and children, the lavish balls and expensive properties. Hungrily, she read about their close associations with kings, queens, dukes, and duchesses, but there was not another Sebastian mentioned in the book, apart from the one who had been born in the sixteenth century.

But how could that be? Sebastian
had
to be the son or grandson of one of these Gaulles that she was reading about. He was the owner of the estate in St. Jean de Luz, carrying on their glorious and noble name. She was becoming really puzzled when, toward the end of the book, a paragraph caught her eye.

“
Toward the end of the 16th century it was rumored that some of the nobles had more than money and power, that they were also hiding something from the rest of the world. This was something greater than money and fortune; it was the gift of living forever. It was said that the nobles with this gift lived for thousands of years and that was how they made their fortunes. Sebastian Gaulle, born in 1555, was believed to be one of those nobles. It was said that he had eternal life, a timeless existence.

In 1577 at the age of 22, he married one of the most desirable women of the century, Annabel Draper. The marriage was annulled two years later.”

Her body went rigid and she dropped the book. “What? What?!” Gabrielle said. “Let me see! Did you find something juicy?”

Arielle bent down, picked up the book, and handed it to Gabby. “No, nothing,” she lied. “I think this is just a waste of time.” She smiled, stood up and, leaving the book on the shelf, began to head for the door.

“Arielle!” Gabrielle yelled. “Don’t you want to buy it?”

“No, I don’t think so. I didn’t see anything of importance in it,” Arielle replied.

Back in the car, she was quiet. She tried to listen to Gabrielle’s chatter, but it was hard to concentrate on anything other than the questions burning in her mind.
Where do I go from here, and what do I do with all this information?
she thought to herself
.

What was the relationship between the Sebastian in the 16th century and the Sebastian in the 21st century? Could this possibly be about immortality? But that was just crazy. She didn’t believe that immortals existed, and anyway how would you find out about something like that? How was immortality achieved? Was it inherited? Was it something that happened to you during your life to change you forever?

Then she shook herself. What was she thinking?
It wasn’t real! There was no such thing!

Still, her head was filled with questions that she couldn’t answer. She would have loved to ask Sebastian these questions, but she was sure she would never see him again. Even if she did, she wasn’t sure that she wanted to hear his explanations. She sighed a deep sigh.

“Thanks for being such a good friend, Gabby,” she said as her friend dropped her off at home. “I can’t wait to meet Troy, I’m sure he’s wonderful.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” Gabrielle shouted out the window, blowing a kiss as she drove away.

Arielle went to her room and closed the door. Now that she was alone, she felt that the Gaulle book was coming to life for her, and that the new knowledge she had was pressing on her chest, making it hard to breathe.

She wasn’t hungry at all; she told her mum that she would just read for a while and go to sleep. Then she actually laid down and tried to watch the telly for a while.

But when she finally tried to sleep she would either dream about Sebastian and wake up crying, or have a nightmare about him, and either way she was awake again. She wanted to forget everything that happened to her in the past month. It was a long time before she really fell asleep, only to be awakened by a man’s voice. Startled, she listened warily, not sure if she was hearing a real voice or if it had come to her in a dream.

“
Arielle…”
It was a man’s voice full of torment, asking her to come back. She sat up on her bed and then she heard it again.

“
Arielle, please come back.”

She was dumbfounded not because she heard someone calling her name but because there was such sadness and pain in the voice.

She got up and opened the window. It was dark outside and the night breeze blew softly on her face. Her room was on the second floor facing the ocean, which she loved. But the water was dark now and nothing about it brought her pleasure. The curtains moved as the breeze brushed against them and she thought she heard the same voice, now in a whisper. She could see that the rain had stopped, but there was still moisture in the air.

“
I love you, Arielle.”
Her heart sped up and she held her breath again. She thought she recognized Sebastian’s voice this time around, but she couldn’t be sure. How wild was that?

She looked around the room, but she was completely alone. She went back to bed and tried to sleep. Eventually she dozed off, and when she opened her eyes her room was filled with sunshine.

She had only a week left until classes started, and here she was, planning to do nothing but lie around and think about Sebastian. How depressing was that? Why didn’t she get up and get going? She was sure this part of her life was over, but she just couldn’t accept it.

As she lay quietly, thinking about all that had happened, she realized that there was something very strange about Annabel and the way she had made it clear to Arielle that Sebastian was her husband. What a coincidence it was that Sebastian of the 16th century had married an Annabel Draper, and the Sebastian in the 21st century was also married to an Annabel Draper. It was all just too strange! She started to think again about what she had read about immortals in the book, but every time she started to think about it, she would chase the thoughts away from her mind. It was just too weird to even think about it.

Finally she got up and dressed for breakfast. She was plenty hungry, and she could smell eggs and bacon cooking. As she came into the kitchen, she smiled at her mum and gave her a kiss. Her dad had already gone to work, so she sat in his place to eat her breakfast.

As she was finishing, the phone rang. “Arielle! It’s for you,” her mother called.

“Hey, you’re home!!” Eva cried happily.

“We got back the day before yesterday and Gabby told me that you were coming home today. How is your mum?” Arielle asked.

“Oh, she’s great, and I’m so pleased,” Eva said with a relieved sigh. “We’re just getting ready to get on the plane and I can’t wait to see you! I
need
to talk to you. It’s very important,” she added.

“Okay, have a good flight,” Arielle said. She couldn’t wait to see Eva either.

“Call me when you get home,” she added.

She hung up smiling, wondering what was so important that Eva needed to talk to her about. “Maybe she met someone too,” she thought. “That would be so nice!” Arielle had missed Eva, and she was looking forward to having some time with both of her friends together at their flat. It was wonderful to be with her parents, and they did give her the privacy she needed. But it wasn’t the same as being in her flat with Gabrielle and Eva.

The only one she hadn’t spoken to since her return was Paul. She waited a couple of days and then gave him a ring. She was trying to keep as busy as she could; she was trying to forget about Sebastian.

Paul answered the phone in his deep voice. “Hello,” he said.

“Paul, its Arielle! I’m back and I thought you might want to go down to the coffee shop with me.”

“Arielle!” he said, clearly pleased to hear her voice. “Did you have a good holiday?”

“It was great, but I’m glad to be back.”

“I’ll come and pick you up in about a half an hour, will that be okay?”

“Yes, that will be great. I’ll be waiting for you.” She was hoping that Paul’s company might cheer her up.

As usual, he showed up right on time. She had forgotten how handsome he was, and she smiled with pleasure thinking how wonderful it was to see him again. He smiled as he pulled her into his arms and his lips met hers in a warm kiss. She could see that he was overwhelmed with excitement.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m ready, let’s go!”

He opened the door for her and she slid into the car. He seemed perfectly at ease as he looked at her, and the corner of his mouth curved up into a bright smile.

“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you,” he said.

“I missed you too, Paul,” she said. She always felt so comfortable being with him.

The coffee shop was busy, and they took a table in the corner. He wanted to know all about her holiday and what she had done for the past two months. She started to talk without paying much attention to the details. She was mainly thinking about how good it felt to be with him. He watched her with fascination as she told him about her visit with Jane to the Gaulle home. Tears welled up in her eyes as the memory of Sebastian’s magical face took over her whole existence. Her own personal miracle was in front of her again, and she was unable to speak anymore.

Paul reached across the table, took her hand gently and held it tight, as though he could look into her head and feel what she saw there. She must have looked so miserable. He stood up, walked quietly toward her and without a word took her in his arms and pressed his lips on hers as he wiped her tears away. She didn’t pull away. His kiss was warm and comforting, and she needed to feel wanted.

It seemed to Arielle that Paul understood that something important had happened to her while she was away, but he didn’t want to ask. He was perhaps afraid of what she might say.

She was grateful that he didn’t ask her for details. Her heart felt like a heavy stone pressing on her chest. She couldn’t be in any more pain than she was right then and there.

She looked at Paul and felt sad that she had no control over how she was reacting. She knew now she should never have agreed to see him so soon. But she was here now, and she had to try to repair her mood. She looked at him and with a forced smile she whispered, “I’m so sorry, Paul, please forgive me. I missed you and I’m happy to be here with you. You always make me feel good. You are a wonderful friend and I love you so much! Please tell me about your summer. Did you have fun? I know that you went to a fascinating place but I don’t think you told me where that place was.”

They took their seats once again, and he started to talk. And as he talked, she finally was taken away from her sad thoughts, into another interesting world. He told her how he and his parents had gone to Alexandria, and from there to Cairo. He spoke with excitement about their journey across the desert and the fascinating people they had met along the way. He talked about Cairo with its picturesque sunrises and the enchanted sunsets. He had visited fortresses and beautiful mosques. He chuckled as he added that while walking through the palaces, he had imagined beautiful, mysterious harem girls emerging through secret doors, just as they did in a movie he saw once, Arabian
Nights.

“I really didn’t see any of those girls,” he said, laughing out loud. “But in the early morning hours, standing in front of my hotel window, I did see a mystical city that belonged in a mystery or a romance story.”

Paul kept talking and she kept listening with interest. She was happy he had taken her away from her troubled thoughts. She sat back in her chair and closed her eyes, smiling. There was silence for a short time and when she opened her eyes he was staring at her with a beautiful smile on his face.

“You look content,” he said.

“Thank you, Paul. I’m so happy to hear about your trip. It just took me away to a magical place, and I loved it.”

Three hours had gone by, but it felt as if they had just arrived. They got ready to go and she thanked him for a wonderful time. He looked at her with his warm eyes and held her tight in his arms.

“Remember that I will always be here for you,” he said, his voice soft and comforting.

When they got to Arielle’s home, she leaned over and gave him a kiss.

“I love you, Paul. Thank you so much for everything.”

“We’ll talk soon,” he said, smiling. She stood and watched him drive away.

A couple of days later, late in the afternoon, she was sitting in the garden reading
Pride and Prejudice
all over again. She was wondering why she kept punishing herself by thinking of Sebastian, but she couldn’t seem to help herself.

Just then her mother came outside and called, “Arielle! Are you out there?”