"Break ties
But struggle with the chains in life
You'll always be the puppet wire
Stapled to my heart
I'm washed out
In sorrow and in glory
It's all the same old story
But this will be the time"
-"Pantomime" by Ben Hammersley
Maison du Vieux Amour
Chapter One
A/N: This is a Victor/OC fic. I know that seems really odd and this is probably the only one out there, but it's just an idea that came to me, and I hope you enjoy it! There will also be Fabina, Amfie, Peddie, and lots and lots of Jara! Please review to show your support! Ideas and suggestions are always welcome!
P.S. this takes place in season two!
I am trying to use English slang, so I apologize if it sounds fake!
Nina Martin clutched her suitcase tightly as stepped into the taxi. She'd just returned from her summer holidays in the States, and was eager to greet her school friends, particularly a certain boy she'd spent the last year solving mysteries with.
In spite of it all, Nina almost blushed, thinking about Fabian. The two hadn't exactly solidified their relationship since they'd last seen each other, but they certainly weren't just friends anymore…were they?
"Mind if I share with you?" A voice startled Nina out of her daydream. She looked up, to find that someone was standing outside the taxi window.
She was a young woman- maybe twenty years old, with dark curls and a vintage dress. Her tights were a bright turquoise colour, and she had an strong French accent.
"No, of course not," Nina smiled her most welcoming smile, and nudged over to the other seat.
The woman opened the door and sat down, placing her own suitcase at her feet.
"Where are you heading, love?" The taxi driver inquired.
"Amun Academic Boarding School?" The woman cooed, giving Nina a knowing looking, "You don't mind going all the way into Liverpool, do you?"
Nina raised her eyebrows in disbelief.
"Well this young lady is headin' there herself," the taxi driver explained, "no problem at all!"
"Excellent," the woman clicked her seatbelt into place and the taxi took off.
"I'm Marianne, by the way," the woman shook Nina's hand, "Marianne Bonnaire. And you are?"
Nina smiled through her discomfort. She was certain that this woman knew more about her than she appeared to.
"I'm Nina Martin," she slipped her hand out of Marianne's grip and folded her hands onto her lap. She looked out the window at the rainy English countryside, trying not to let this odd interaction ruin her anticipation of reuniting with her friends.
Victor Rodenmaaar was sitting in his office, wearily rubbing his temples. It wasn't even the first day of work, and he was already stressed out. He could hear the giggles and cries from downstairs, as the students arrived at the house.
House of Anubis had been a residence building at Amun Academic Boarding School since the 1900s, and here those children were…disrespecting it with their muddy wellies and loud pop music. He shuddered and shook his head, thinking of simpler times.
How had he ended up here? He was once a professor of Ancient History at a prestigious university, and now here he was, looking after a group of insolent brats, just so that he might have a chance at eternal life.
Did he even want eternal life anymore? What was there to live for anymore?
He heard more laughter, and found himself tutting affectionately. He couldn't help but feeling a little protective over those insolent brats, especially after all that had happened last year.
Victor took one last at Corbierre, his feathered companion, and pushed back from his desk. He adjusted the collar on his dress shirt, wondering why bothered. He used to have a reason to dress up, now he felt overly formal and not nearly intimidating as he wanted to.
He sighed and shuffled down the steps. It seemed that Trudy had ushered the children into the dining room for a hot meal. Though Trudy annoyed Victor to no end, she certainly could cook. And on a rainy day like this, that was appreciated.
It was then that the front door creaked open, and two figures stepped into the hall. The first was Nina Martin, the new American girl who had a habit of getting involved in things that weren't her business.
Victor reached the base of the staircase and was about to address Nina's tardiness, when he noticed the second figure. But it couldn't be…
The girl was slender, with soft brown curls and a winning smile. Her skin was porcelain-pale and her clothing rather outdated. She looked as though she'd stepped right out of a fashion catalogue in the 1950s. But she couldn't be…
Nina gave the woman a parting smile, and wandered into the kitchen to join her friends.
"Bonjour," the woman curtsied, and gave Victor a guilty glance, "my name is Marianne Bonnaire."
"Mari-," Victor stuttered the beginning of her name, but was silenced by the finger that Marianne placed on her lips.
"Eric Sweet told me I might find residence here. You see, I'm a student from Oxford, and I'm looking for somewhere to do my research project. I hear that Amun Academy has a rich history, and I'm excited to see what I can learn…," Marianne stopped to run a hand along the wood paneling near the window.
Victor felt sweat drip down his neck, and kept his mouth open in confusion, unable to find the words to express what he was feeling.
"Is that aright with you?" Marianne tilted her head in the charming way that Victor used to love.
"Y-yes of course, but Marianne-,"
"I have some paperwork that I need to finish" Marianne added, "I will get your help with that later, oui?I"
"Mais bien sûr," Victor replied, surprised when he spoke in French. Marianne gave him a warm smile, and walked into the dining room.
Victor felt nauseous.
Marianne had left her suitcase in the main hall, and walked into the dining room. All the children fell silent as she entered.
Nina turned around, and raised her eyebrows in greeting.
"I'm sorry…," Nina tried to put politely, "are you a student here?"
"It's alright," Marianne waved away her apology, "It is a little confusing. I am a student at Oxford University, and I'll be conducting my study on your school. I'm an Art History major, you see."
"I love your earrings," a blonde girl interrupted, eagerly eyeing Marianne's hoops, "but I'm not so crazy about your clothes. What are you, from the eighties?"
"Wrong decade, Amber," a tall blonde boy reprimanded, winking at Marianne.
"I'm Jerome, it's a pleasure to have someone so…lovely in our house," Jerome blatantly flirted, much to the discomfort of the girl behind him.
"And I'm Mara," the girl spoke up. She had a boy's hand draped around her shoulder, though she seemed invested in want Jerome was doing.
"Mick," Mara's boyfriend introduced himself.
"Well you already know I'm Nina," Nina offered Marianne a plate of brownies, which Marianne declined politely, "and this is Fabian," she nodded in the direction of the boy next to her.
Cute, Marianne thought, in a sort of naive way.
"I'm Joy," a dark-haired girl said.
"I'm Patricia and this is Alfie," a red-headed girl nudged a boy in a gorilla mask with her elbow.
"Wonderful to meet you all," Marianne curtsied yet again, "I hope I will not distract you from your studies or your social lives. I'm just here to stay for a short while. Please make no note of me."
"Will you be sharing my room?" Amber asked, though Marianne was uncertain whether this prospect upset her or delighted her.
"Well I don't know just yet," Marianne shrugged, "I still have some affairs to sort out. I'll be speaking with Victor now, I think."
"Oh," Nina put a comforting hand on Marianne's shoulder, "don't mind Victor. He isn't very friendly, but he means well."
Some of her companions nodded in agreement, while others seemed only to agree with the former description.
"That's aright, I can handle Victor."
Marianne left the children, noting their conflicted expressions, and hurried back up the stairs.
Victor was sitting in his office, leaning back on his chair.
"May I sit?" Marianne asked, gesturing to the seat on the opposite side of the desk.
"Yes, yes," Victor sounded impatient and annoyed; just how Marianne remembered him.
"Well?" Marianne prompted.
"Well what?" Victor nearly spat, "I thought that you've been dead for the last fifty years! And you show up here like nothing's happened?!"
Marianne bowed her head to her chest.
"I'm sorry Victor, you have to understand…this didn't just happen. I-It was Rufus."
"What about Rufus?" Victor thundered. Marianne widened her eyes, silently begging him to keep his voice down.
"I was his experiment, Victor. All along…," Marianne's eyes began to water.
Victor shook his head, and suddenly remembered another time when Marianne had been on the verge of tears.
It was 1965 and Victor was teaching at Oxford University. At the time, he was fifty years old, though with the help of the elixir, he didn't appear to be past forty. Little did he know, he wasn't about to age anytime soon.
Teaching at Oxford had been Victor's dream job since he was a boy. Though he wasn't socially adept, he certainly loved to talk about things that he was passionate about, and ancient history was his favourite topic.
His lecture room was teeming with students, though most of them young and male. Back then, it wasn't common for young women to be taking such classes, especially at a serious school such as Oxford.
But then there was Marianne. She sat in the back row by the window, blue eyeshadow and all. He hadn't noticed her at first, until he'd grown bored one day, while the students were writing supposed to be working on an assignment, and caught her daydreaming out the window, and doodling on her paper.
When the students filed out at the end of the day, she'd left her paper behind. On the paper was an elaborate but small sketch of the building across the courtyard. She must have been drawing it while looking out the window.
Though Victor would never verbally admit it, he was impressed. He stored the paper in his desk, and cleared his throat, wondering why he cared.
Then, it became a routine. Every day, after class, while Victor cleaned up, he would come across a sketch. It might be a bird, a bush, a fellow student, or even the desk she was sitting on.
For reasons beyond Victor's understanding, he stored each drawing in his desk.
One day, after class, Marianne had been taking her time getting her things. Victor couldn't help but be a little annoyed. After all, he was used to being alone at the end of class.
He cleared his throat, but still she stayed, struggling over getting all her books into her hands. Victor stood and walked over to her. Startled, Marianne looked up. Her eyes were tearful, though she looked to the floor.
"Je suis désolé," she rushed to collect her things, but dropped her sketch pad, "I'll be going."
Victor had never heard her speak before, and was taken aback by how lovely her accent was.
"Well…,"Victoria trailed off, "you can stay…if you want."
Marianne's doe eyes lit up.
"I only mean…if you need some time to collect yourself, my door is open," Victor clarified. He couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. It wasn't often that he associated with beautiful young women, particularly ones as special as Marianne.
The next day, Victor found a drawing left behind, just as usual. It was a drawing of him.
"Did he hurt you?" Victor demanded, stepping back into the present.
Marianne didn't answer.
"After I last saw you…, Rufus killed me."
"I suspected so," Victor said, "but I didn't expect you to come walking back into my life!"
"It's complicated," Marianne sighed, "why must you be angry with me?"
"Angry?!" Victor cried, "I've never been happier in my life. You don't know what I've been through lately, but it hasn't been pleasant. Of course, I'm overjoyed to see you again. But you can't blame me for being extremely confused when the love of my life shows up fifty years later, looking exactly the same."
"Speak for yourself," Marianne sniffed, "you haven't aged a day."
"I guess we both have some explaining to do," Victor cracked one of his rare smiles.
"And we will," Marianne agreed, "but we must be subtle about it. I can't let the students suspect anything about me. In fact, I should be heading downstairs now."
Marianne stood, and made for the door.
"We always were good and sneaking around, weren't we?" Victor asked.
Marianne stopped, and smiled to herself.
"We certainly were."
A/N: So I'm not sure what you guys thought of that. Please let me know! If I get positive feedback, I'd love to continue and see where this goes. There would be a lot more flashbacks, and looks into Victor, Sarah, Marianne, and Rufus' pasts, and just more information about the adults of Anubis. But I will also take a look at the main plots with the kids, especially the romantic ones. Anyway, please review!
*Mais bien sûr= "but of course".
*Je suis désolé= "I am sorry".