Note : Thanks to InkNerd, the first three chapter are being corrected :D. If you're a native English speaker and you speak French and you want to translate the others chapters, please take a look at my profile.
For those who are searching for Nuada, I'm sorry to say he's not in the first part which ended at chapter five. He makes his apparition in chapter seven.
And I let every titles in French on purpose. French is good for you ;)

Reviews are welcome :D

Part 1

Place

Chapter 1

Cérémonie

It was raining. A day like this one, it had to rain. The depressing gray rain which fell on her crowned it all. All seemed so blurred... so dark... so black... The ceremony was finished. She stayed alone, standing in front of the new grave of her parents, lost in the grief which went with the death of all loved ones. Were they dear to her, those parents who were and will never be here anymore? From now on, who would answer the tons of questions of which they were the only ones who held the answers?

Once again, she was behaving capriciously. She was thinking only about herself and those stupid questions. She hated herself when she was behaving this way. Of course she loved them. Of course she will miss them. They were her parents. Even if they had forsaken her at the age of five, they'll always remain her parents.

When she was five... There were things she forgot instantaneously. But there were some she'd never forget: how her parents left her in her uncle Félix's and her aunt Clotilde's care; how she began to be tormented by a flood of questions which prevented her from sleeping; how her cousins Denis and Clémence were born with only one year of gap; how they began to make her life a living hell; how she loved going to the empty apartment on the slightest occasion, and even when there were none; how she finally moved in there alone; how she devoured the numerous old books of the library of her parents, for entertainment during her long sleepless nights; how the questions came back more and more abundantly and how she managed to soothe most of them by noting down her slightest though; then, finally, how she left France, her natal country, for the first time to attend the burial of her parents, here, in the United States, where they had continued their life without her...

When he got out of the car, he let out a heavy sigh. He would need courage. Fortunately, he was rarely faced with this kind of mission. Nevertheless, this day was an exception. He wanted to deal with this task personally. Not that it pleased him. No, on the contrary, he feared it. But he felt that it had to be this way, if only to demonstrate respect for the person who suffered the loss of her parents.

He quickly found the one, he was searching for, standing alone in front of a new grave, letting herself being inexorably soaked by the rain which fell without respite. This young girl with surprisingly long hair was certainly the one he had been searching for. She hadn't heard him arrive. Proof that she was still in shock. He coughed to manifest his presence, but without success. So, he put a hand on her shoulder. Only then did she turn slowly to face him. And what he saw took his breath away.

The teenager who had been drawn out of her thoughts wasn't offended by his reaction. She understood the reason. Her eyes were red and swollen after having cried so much without rest. She hadn't slept for three days, that is to say, since she had learned of her parents' death. She had heavy rings under her dark brown eyes. The rain didn't sort anything out of the nightmarish picture of her face. Having soaked her from head to foot, the rain stuck her long black hair to her face of which the complexion was more pallid than usual. She was almost sure that if she saw herself, her behavior would be similar. In vain, she tried to regain human form, putting her hair back in its place. She didn't even succeed in producing the faintest of smiles. Not even a forced one. Her heart wasn't in it. Her heart was close to death. Anyway, her thought interrupter seemed to pull himself together.

"Miss Meliell Lecomte, I suppose. I'm Manning. I worked with your parents."

As if to justify himself, though she knew not where her parents worked, the man in suit showed her an identification card of the... B.P.R.D., which she just had time to read before he quickly put it away in his jacket.

"All my condolences," he added, reaching out to shake her hand.

"Nice to meet you," she answer with a little voice, shaking his hand.

"I'd like to have a talk with you... I think I could... Answer some of your questions. May I?"

"Of course."

"We better get out of this rain, before we catch a cold. We could take my car and go to where your parents worked. I'll explain to you what it is on the way."

Meliell acquiesced out of curiosity to see what she could learn from him about her parents. When they got into a car with darkly tinted windows, Manning began his explanations. He informed her about the B.P.R.D., in other words the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, about what took place there and what was it used for. He tried not to shock her, but in view of the fact that the main subject was the paranormal and its fantasy creatures, enemies or even allies to mankind, it wouldn't have been easy for him if she were not that open minded.

Indeed, thanks to her parents' library, from which emanated a certain passion for the fantasy world, she had begun to accept this idea that trolls, dwarfs, elves, and other creatures actually existed. Thus, she learned that the job of her parents was to protect mankind from other kinds, and to impose order between the "real" world and the "fantasy" world. From what Manning told her of this job, she could deduce that it was not the best environment to bring up a child because of the constant danger level. Therefore, she began to guess some answers to her numerous questions.

However, the sketch faded away as the car came to a stop in front of the Bureau. It was plain to see that they arrived in a governmental area. Servicemen mounted guard outside with dogs, and inside Manning had to go through unnumbered controls of all kinds like in Hollywood movies. In short, a real assault course. But the worst in all that was...the air-conditioning. As Meliell was still soaked because of the shower she had taken right in the face, she was afraid she might catch a cold. Besides, it didn't take her long to sneeze. If the following day she woke up with a cold, her anger would be calmed only by a murder. There wasn't anything worst than catching a cold during summer.

Funnily, it seemed as if Manning reacted to her wordless threat, as he asked immediately someone to bring him dry clothes belonging to a certain Elizabeth. It was without doubt because of her face which was a little too much expressive and betrayed her slightest emotions and thoughts. It allowed everyone to read her like an open book. But never mind, at least for now, she'd have dry clothing, and that was a step ahead. It didn't matter to know who they belonged to, Meliell enjoyed swiping other's threads, particularly men's ones.

When they sat in his office, Manning resumed the discussion.

"If I led you here, it's because... I've a proposition to make to you."

"What kind of proposition?" she inquired, encouraging the civil servant who hesitated to go on.

"You know, if we want this place to stay a secret, the least people must know about it... and, hum, we'll have to tell you how your parents died... and... well, you're young, you may don't have a project for your future yet, so... I propose you a job here."

Her surprise was so great that Meliell felt her eyes opening immoderately wide.

"I'm sorry if I shocked you, it's so soon after your parent's death."

"Oh no. It's just that... I'm so surprised. It's...wonderful. I'd accept with joy," she reassured him.

"So, it's alright then. Well, let's see your file."

To her greatest astonishment, Meliell already had a file here at the B.P.R.D. Within the file there were information sheets, her school reports, the results of her baccalaureate, a paper version of a conversation with her aunt and her uncle from what she catch sight of among others papers. From those documents, they tried to find her a job which would suit to the newcomer. Immediately, it was apparent that she wasn't of the physical type like her parents, but rather, the intellectual type with a preference for the study of foreign languages. They were just beginning to talk about her problems of insomnia when an agent in a black suit, as so many she saw milling around in the hallways, came into the room. Just when he was about to explain his arrival, the cold wind produced by the opening door made the young girl sneeze.

"You should get dry and have a rest. We'll talk later. Here's your magnetic card to open the door of your room, and, if you lose it, the code is 73223. The agent behind you will lead you to your room." Then he added, speaking to the agent. "It's the room 65."

"Thanks for everything, Mr. Manning."

"You're welcome," he answered with a broad grin.

The way to her room together with the agent was icy. And not only because of the air-conditioning. It was fortunate for Meliell as she felt she was coming back to her usual taciturn nature after a so long talk. She was exhausted and much too busy picturing her future job. She only hoped they wouldn't use the fact she was under age as an excuse to stick her with the photocopier. She had already tried that job during work shadowing, and frankly, that machine didn't arouse the faintest hint of interest in her. Well, she didn't expect to be given an important employment which involved responsibilities. Still, she ardently hoped for something interesting that would have a connection with fantasy creatures. But maybe it was too much to ask? Anything but the photocopier. After that, she'd have to wait and see.

Outside the door of her future room, the agent finally opened his mouth, proof that he knew how to talk.

"Here's your room, use the card to open the door. And don't forget your clothes."

He gave the clothes to Meliell and left without the faintest form of politeness. Okay, people here, or at least the agents, were not warm (it was the least one could say), but did it really matter to her? For her, as long as she was left alone, she didn't mind. She like the quiet.

As soon as Meliell came into the room, without even detailing it, she collapsed onto her bed, totally drained of all her strength. The bed was a huge soft double whose colors matched the bedroom. Such a big bedroom for a single girl whom they didn't know what to do with. Moreover, it was already furnished. There was a wardrobe, a tall head-to-foot mirror, a desk and two wide bookcases, including one holding some books.

There were three doors, excluding the one leading to the hallway. One most probably communicated with the room next door, as for another one on the other side. The last door was ajar. Meliell deduced from the white tiled floor that it lead to a bathroom. The only thing missing was the mini bar, and she really would have thought she was in a five star hotel. Seriously, had the government really bought all that or was it the result of various seizures? Well, anyway, she didn't care that much, and it was given for free. She wouldn't grumble.

Meliell began to slip into the generously lent threads. She wanted to thank the person whom they belonged to. Was he an agent? So short? The clothes were a bit too small, hugging terribly her body. But complaining about it was quite simply out of the question. Of course she complained often, as the French were known for that, especially the Parisians. However, those were only empty comments, said wildly, never serious. She had slipped the t-shirt on and had taken off her black pants when she felt the sleep take her last strength. Suddenly, her head was spinning, sign that her body needed rest. So, she took off her other clothes and directly turned in, without paying attention to the fact that she was soaking her bed with her wet hair.

Morpheus, who usually had trouble to finding her, quickly took her to the land of dreams. Maybe it was thanks to the hope given by this new life, whose sad condition was the tragic death of her parents. Or maybe was it simply the exhaustion, which, after so much grief, finally produced its effect. Oh, and what was the use of finding a reason for the sleep? She was falling asleep, and that was all that mattered for the moment. Many things seemed to await her, but it would be better to be in form to face them.