Author's note: I do not own Glee nor it's characters. The idea of this fanfiction came from a roleplay group created by my friend Court where she plays the role of Puck & I play Quinn. I decided to turn it into a story because of how much I love the story and the emotion behind it. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. When visualizing Adrian, please keep Alex Pettyfer in mind because that is who his character is modeled after.
Paris, France – 1816
The streets were isolated, not a single carriage moved across the cobblestone streets of the shopping district where Quinn Fabray was trying on gowns for her 18th birthday party. It was said to be the party of the year, if not the century. Her father had reassured her that he would do everything he needed to do to make his little girl feel like a princess on her birthday. By now her friends had already been fitted for their dresses and returned home, but Quinn had stayed behind. She wanted to make sure that there absolutely nothing wrong with her dress. It was a dark green color that complimented her eyes with a corset that hugged her upper body, the skirt falling from her waist so that she could still dance. The corset made it difficult to breath but that didn't matter to her. Her eyes scanned her body in the mirror as her hands petted the soft fabric of the dress, she really did look like a princess. All that was missing was the tiara that her father was having made for her birthday. She was so distracted by her dress that she never realized the young man watching her through the store window from across the street.
Quinn thanked the owner of the shop for letting her stay late and took her dress in it's protective cover in her arms as she walked outside. She looked around the empty streets and realized her carriage was nowhere to be found, something very odd since she had seen it there only an hour ago. Her hand gripped her shawl around her shoulders to protect herself from the wind that started and she sighed out of frustration. This was unacceptable and she planned on having that driver fired the second she saw her father. She stepped out onto the side of the road and looked both ways yet there was still no sign of her carriage. Walking home wouldn't be so bad, it was quite a lovely evening and it wasn't as if her home was that far. Plus, she was sure that her carriage would come up along the road and take her the rest of the way home. Making her mind up, she turned and started walking down the cobblestone street in the direction of her home, completely unaware of the predator that stalked silently behind her.
The farther Quinn walked down the empty streets, the worse she felt. Everyone has those gut instincts that tell them when they are in danger or when something is about to terribly wrong. She had one when she was seven years old and chased her kitty cat up the willow tree in their backyard. She had fallen from one of the branches and broken her arm, lying helpless on the ground as her cat ran away, never to be seen again. She also had that feeling in the pit of her stomach the night of her mother's death when she was nine. The doctors had said the medicine would work, that she would be fine but Quinn knew better. Even at such a young age she knew that there was no such thing as a miracle. Her mother had died from pneumonia a few hours later, leaving her to be raised by only her father and the servants in their home.
So here she was, a young lady walking home alone through the city streets and she had yet to even reach the vicinity of her neighborhood. It felt like the wind had picked up even more and she wished that her carriage would just appear out of thin air but she heard nothing. There were no wooden wheels or the sound of hooves coming in any direction, in fact there was no noise at all. Quinn was a sensible girl, she didn't frighten easily and she never let her imagination get the best of her. But the entire scene around her felt like something out of a horror novel and that feeling in the pit of her stomach refused to vanish. It was no wonder that when she heard a voice shouting at her that she nearly screamed from shock.
'Excuse me, miss?"
Quinn turned around quickly, debating if she should just run instead. She may have been a lady but she spent plenty of hours running outside with her dogs at home. She could easily out run an attacker, could she not? Instead though, she ignored that feeling in her gut and turned around to be greeted by the sight of perhaps the most beautiful man she had ever seen. He couldn't have been much older than she was, maybe two or three more years? He face looked like it could have been chiseled from marble with his sharp features. Even with the distance between them she could see how flawless he was. She kept her distance though and held her chin up high, using the voice her father had taught her to use whenever she needed to negotiate or strike a deal with someone.
"Good evening, sir. Can I help you with something?"
She held her shoulders back, and kept her eyes on him, never breaking the eye contact. Her hands gripped her shawl tightly, one of her hands moving to push her curls away from her face as the wind howled along the empty street. The way he stalked towards her seemed predator like and it was in that second that she knew she had something to fear. Her eyes followed his as they looked over her and she felt her skin heat up from the intensity of his gaze.
"You can. In all my life, I have never seen a woman more beautiful than you. Won't you tell me your name?"
She heard his question but her mouth didn't open and she wasn't sure how long she stayed quiet. His compliment was bold and she wasn't sure if he was being truthful with his words but she needed to run. She knew that she had to get away and yet she found herself glued to the ground. Why couldn't she speak? Maybe if she screamed, someone would hear her. That was of course if this man intended on hurting her. Perhaps he was just someone who found her attractive, it wouldn't be the first time a stranger tried courting her.
She forced herself to think of the second option, to push away her paranoia and hope that he would leave her alone if she amused him enough. She brought her eyes to meet his and kept her head high as she spoke quietly.
"Quinn. I'm afraid that's all I will tell you since you are a stranger to me, sir. I must however be on my way, my father will be worried about my where bouts. He is going to be meeting me a block from here."
"Tsk tsk, Quinn. Lying isn't good for the soul." The mystery man approached her, keeping his gaze on hers as he inhaled deeply. "I'm Adrian Mellark, and you Quinn, you are what I've been searching for my entire life."
Quinn backed away slowly as he approached her, but no matter how many steps she took back, the distance between them stayed the same. However she felt the brick wall pressing into her back and she was cornered without even realizing it had happened. She couldn't tear her eyes away from him, fear clearly written all over her face. There was no point in hiding it anymore; this wasn't just someone who needed directions to a local pub. This was a man who had very bad intentions for her, intentions that she was not sure of. He called her bluff, he knew she was alone and the streets were empty. Even if she screamed, she wasn't sure anyone would hear her.
She pressed herself against the wall even more, desperate to get away but he closed the distance between them, his arms blocked any chance of that happening. Her hands held her shawl firmly around her shoulders as she looked up at him with wide eyes. Why would he bother introducing himself? Surely he was taunting her, playing the part of a gentleman before doing unspeakable things to her. The ideas of what may happen were creeping into her mind and she shuddered.
"Please, I have money..." Her voice was weak, she had intended it to sound stronger but she was too frightened. There was something about the way he was looking at her that made her feel like she was facing a lion or some beast. "I can get more, just please don't hurt me. I just want to get home." She was pleading for her life, giving her life a price. What else could she do?
"No, no, shush my bébé."Adrian's hand stroked her cheek and his fingertips felt so cold against her skin. "I don't want your money. Money does not matter my darling." Adrian whispered as he cupped her cheek in her hand.
"I have other things, jewels, art, horses..." She would give up anything just to get away from here, to escape the looks he was giving her. She wished that the wall would just crumble behind her so she could put more distance between them but it was sturdy, damn French craftsmanship. However, his words of comfort did settle her nerves slightly. Her eyes stayed on him, she had been right in assuming that he was just as handsome up close as he was from far away. There were no flaws that she could see and that unnerved her slightly, there was no such thing as flawless.
"Immortality is what I want and it's something I already have." He huffed out a sigh and dipped his head, his eyes on the ground for a moment. "I cannot allow you to return home ever again. I cannot allow for you to remain here in Nice after this." Adrian lifted his eyes upwards again, locking them onto hers. "I'm going to give you the gift of life, of eternal beauty. I have waited for you for so long."
His next words did strike up her curiosity though, speaking of immortality as if he was some sort of God. She was going to ask him what he meant but then he told her was she dreaded. She couldn't stop a single tear from rolling down her cheek as his words hit her. She would not leave this alley alive. They would find her mangled body and her father would be devastated. She closed her eyes and shook her head, not above begging for her life.
"I do not want your gift, I refuse it sir. Please let me go, I won't speak of this to anyone!" She whimpered slightly, taking a deep and shaky breath as she looked at him. "Please, Adrian..."
"The way you say my name, so gently, it makes me sure." Adrian whispered, his head inching closer to hers. His hand rested at the base of neck, right at her chest and laid it flat on her. "You are all I have waited for. The jewels and art you love now, it will never compare to the life I can give you. Don't you see Quinn? It was you who I was made for and now I will make you for me." Sighing softly, Adrian nuzzled his nose against her cheek, inhaling sharply.
Quinn cursed in her mind for speaking his name, for thinking that they were closer than two strangers. But as he started speaking, his words calmed her nerves. They were soothing and poetic. His hand felt cold against her chest and she had long forgotten to hold her shawl around her shoulders, the fine silk now lying on the cobblestones. Each of his touches felt like fire against her skin, despite the icy temperature of his fingertips. She closed her eyes, taking small breaths as she accepted her fate of death. She imagined her father, her mother, her friends and future husband that she had yet to even meet. Their images flooded her mind as she thought of the memories she shared with them.
"I'm going to turn you into a vampire Quinn." He whispered, his face traveling towards her ear, his hand pressing down on her chest slightly. "And it will pain me to hear the cease of your heartbeat but I know that when I taste you, when you taste me, you will feel it. The pain will go and instead it shall be you and I. Please, do not be afraid."
She ignored his words about vampires and pain, all nonsense to her now. She just wanted it to be over with, to let go of her life and just accept death. She didn't fight as he took her hand and his lips pressed against her porcelain like skin. She waited for the snap of her bone but it never came, instead she felt two small pinches in her wrist and the feeling of her life slowly slipping away. Quinn opened her eyes and looked down at his mouth on her wrist, realizing what was actually happening. The spell was broken. She struggled against the weight of his body, not wanting this to be the end of her life.
"No, stop it you monster! Let go of me!" She beat against his chest with her free hand but it never stopped. Her body slumped back against the brick wall, her eyelids feeling heavy as she became weaker. She begged, repeating his name over and over as she begged for mercy, his name being the last thing she ever spoke.