Rebirth

Chapter 1

It was what drew him in in the very beginning, and it drew him from his rest now. A pair of piercing golden eyes were a beacon in the darkness that enveloped the room. Gabriel sat up, still in his sleepy stupor, and gazed back to the eyes. The eyes showed a look of concern, subtle but present enough for Gabriel to feel a slight pang of embarrassment at his laziness. A soft voice broke the silence. "Gabriel," the voice said, "It is dusk. Have you eaten?" Gabriel ignored the voice and his feeling of shame, and grabbed the blanket to roll back into bed. He grumbled something that he didn't even understand and huffed. The figure in the door, ever patient, repeated his question, "Gabriel, when is the last time you fed?" Gabriel again flung the blanket off of the bed and lazily replied, "I don't know, last week maybe? Just let me sleep, Lucien."

Lucien's expression remained calm, although internally he sighed in response to his companion's indifference at his own well being. He explained, "Gabriel, be done with this now. Rise, you must eat." He left the conversation there as he backed out of Gabriel's room. He shut the door, and reached for a lit candelabra hanging from the wall. He grabbed it with his slender fingers and made his way down the long hallway to his own room at the opposite end. He entered the room, and the first thing his eyes fell upon was the window in the corner, where the last rays of sunlight were dying as night approached. He then turned his eyes to the mirror in the opposite corner, and the ornate stool that sat in front of it. He went over the the stool, sat down, and quickly gazed at his reflection. His golden eyes matched the gold of the mirror frame, and his hair was the color of the sunlight he had observed just seconds ago. His skin was perfectly clear, almost that of glass. One could argue that Lucien was beautiful, but in the mirror he only saw a mangled monstrosity of what once was human.

He turned away from the mirror and looked toward a large wardrobe. He got up and made his way towards it, opening it. He lightly trailed the clothes with his fingertips, feeling all of the fabrics- silk, velvet, and even leather. His clothes were just as ancient as he was- garments that would have been left abandoned had he not kept them all these years. In a way, although he would never admit it, he felt exactly like these garments- old and forgotten. Beautiful, maybe, but past their prime and better off in the past.

He selected his outfit and dressed. He closed the wardrobe, left his room, and made his way to the kitchen. There, hunched over with his head in his arms, sat Gabriel. Lucien took advantage of Gabriel's position and let a small smile form on his lips, but quickly got rid of it. Just as he regained his cool demeanor, Gabriel looked up and offered him a muttered, "Mornin'" Lucien sat down beside him and replied, "Good evening." He scanned Gabriel, looking at his body language and expression. He said, "Gabriel, you look weak. Why haven't you been eating?" He only responded by shrugging and looking away. Lucien was all too familiar with that reaction- he was received it many times from Gabriel. He continued, "Never mind. Are you ready?" Gabriel nodded, as both men got up and made their way to the back door.

Gabriel led the way down the driveway of the shared home. He looked behind his shoulder and saw Lucien following behind him. He quickly moved his gaze to the large home they had just exited. It was a French style home, supposedly belonging to Lucien's family for many generations. It was typical of the garden district of New Orleans, Louisiana- the city both men had called home for most, if not all, of their lives. Gabriel turned back to face forward and continued walking down the street. The men were heading toward the hub of life in the city- the magnificent french quarter. It was about 4 miles away, which was nothing to the men. They felt no physical ache, and never feared any criminals that may be lurking the streets at night, just as they did.

They walked in silence, but it was not awkward. Rather, they simply enjoyed each other's presence in the calm night. It was a silence that the men had grown used to in their 5 years together, although the time had been wildly different from each perspective. To Lucien, all the days coalesced into a blur where time didn't exist. To Gabriel, time had become his worst enemy. Time was one of the only things that both the men had in common- an endless supply that had lost the meaning it had once had.