Written in the Stars

Chapter Ten

He reconsidered this. He wasn't sure if he should be there. Or if he should just go home and pretend he had never been there. But he was there for the love of his life and he needed to be strong. He needed to be strong for Celeste. She was the reason he did everything. And that included being here. Facing her demon for her. He knew Celeste had been here already. Had tried to fight for herself already. But he was always looking out for her, how could he not. He knew what she had gone through with Izabela and now he was here to do the thing for her. He was prepared to stand up for her where she wasn't necessarily ready to. Or able to. He knew that it was the right thing to do.

But he also knew that she would not be happy to have him here on her behalf. That she would be worried and upset and angry. But that was why she was never going to find out. Not in this lifetime or the next. Maybe the one after that. Maybe by that point everything will have blown over and Celeste will be flourishing and will have forgotten about Izabela and everything she did to her.

If only Jean knew how to kill her. He knew it was possible. And he knew Celeste knew how. But he had never needed or wanted to know and so had never asked her to tell him. He was beginning to regret that now. It would solve all of their problems and there would be no more big bads for them to go up against. Also hopefully the thing they had done all those years ago wouldn't come back to bite them in the arse. Jean couldn't imagine anything better. He let himself live in his imagination for a moment where everything was perfect.

He knew he had been loitering outside the gray townhouse for too long when the door above him opened. Whilst Jean wasn't expecting Izabela to be the one to greet him, it would have made for a dramatic start to the meeting and so he was a small amount disappointed that the person who opened the door appeared to be male. Jean could not be entirely sure of course.

The person above him gestured for him to come in and that was when he knew that Izabela had been expecting a visit from him. It only infuriated him slightly that she was able to predict his actions. But maybe that came from knowing Celeste so well. She knew the sort of people that she attracted and how they treated her. He was still infuriated and perhaps rightfully so.

Jean chose to keep his coat on. It was a nice one and he didn't want to risk losing it to her if he had to storm out or make a quick exit at any point. Also Celeste had bought it for him and it smelt of her so there was perhaps a small amount of him that was just looking to rile the older vampire up.

He found it was hot in the house. Almost unbearably so. But he stood strong by his decision and simply put the coat over his lap after sitting down on the chair the person who had greeted him pointed to. And then he was left. He assumed that he was going to have to wait a while so that Izabela could make a point of her importance. But, much to his surprise he did not actually have very long to wait. Only around five minutes or so. If he could sweat he would have been by this point. The house really was very hot.

Izabela swept into the room. There was no other name for it. She had on a long, voluminous dress made from a white material. Jean refused to make eye contact or to greet her until she was sat opposite him. He did not even stand out of a show of respect. He simply had none for her and he wasn't about to insult her or himself by lying. That was not his style. He may have been a Frenchman but he was not a liar. His honor was worth that much.

It took Izabela a moment to settle herself. She was rearranging her dress as if her life depended on it. Which as she was very gay and sat in front of a very married man it decidedly did not. Neither were going to play the sexual interest card because neither of them liked to feel they were betraying someone. And in this case that someone was the same person. Celeste. Also Izabela didn't like to feel as if she was betraying herself by flirting with a man with the very very slim possibility of gaining something. She only pulled that card when it was definitely going to work with little to no consequence for her. And she wasn't sure that she was going to get anything.

It took a moment for the room to settle and for either of them to say anything. But they were both fine with that. It gave a moment to catch their breath. Not that either of them technically needed to breath what with being undead and all that. But it was a hold over neither had bothered to shake. It gave those who did have to breathe a small sense of comfort and stopped them from being so still all the time. Which tended to put the general public off a small amount and made doing business difficult. Hence the small breaths every now and then.

Izabela spoke first. "I know why you are here and it will not work. I have every intention of returning Celeste to where she belongs. With me." Her tone was unforgiving, not leaving any room for compromise. But Jean still had to try. He just had to.

"I understand that. But what you must understand is that Celeste is not the same person you once knew. She is a different woman and is capable of making her own decisions. And should not be forced to make a decision that suits you. I don't know why you think you own her-" Izabela went to interrupt him, but he held his hand up to stop her, "yes you may be her sire. But that does not give you ownership. She is not property. She is a person who is independent and capable of much." He knew that his words would have no impact on her, but for his own ability to sleep at night he knew he needed to say them. Just to say that he had. Just to say that he had done something.

"I appreciate you coming here and voicing your concerns. But as you yourself have said, Celeste is her own woman and if she choses to be with me then that is her decision. And it seems to me that by you coming here, let me guess, without her knowledge, you are trying to prevent her from being able to make this decision and therefore taking that power from her. So if you don't mind I think I'll just have to call you a hypocrite and leave it at that." Her tone was verging on icy. He had clearly hit a nerve. Perhaps she did have a conscience. He seriously doubted that though.

"I think you'll find that what doesn't make me a hypocrite is that if she decides she want's to be with you, I will let her go because I love her as a person and not an object. If you are the answer to the question you are posing, then of course I will let her go and follow her heart. Unlike you, I will not throw a tantrum over receiving an answer I do not like. Because I am an adult and understand that people are not here to do my bidding. Maybe it's because I wasn't raised spoilt." He kept his tone level, but made sure there was a challenge in his eyes. If he could even make the smallest difference in Celeste's future happiness - and his own - then he could rest happy. He had done something right.

It was as if her face had folded in on itself. He doubted she chose to have this reaction to his words and he wondered which had affected her the most so that he could use them again in the future. He hoped it was the spoilt thing, because that would be easy to bring up in everyday conversation.

"Interesting. Perhaps you are just lashing out because you see yourself losing in this scenario. You know I have a greater pull and history with her and that without me, she would be nothing. You are just something she has chosen to amuse herself with for the past few hundred years. Time means nothing when you were there at the beginning. And anyway. Who are you boy, to tell me what to do and not do. You have lived for only a fraction of my life and have not seen the things I have seen." With that she stood up and left. He knew he had gotten to her. He also knew that Izabela would not be telling Celeste of this meeting anytime soon. She hadn't exactly been the most gracious throughout and this could possibly show Celeste how deep his love for her ran. That he was willing to come to the house of the enemy and risk it all, for the woman he loved and would give anything up for.