Finally, a chapter that will explore the past. What indeed transpired between Beaux's father and mother? Not everything is as it seems...
Chapter 14: A Thing of the Past
Cecilia looked at Beaux tentatively through her long, brown lashes. He was sitting across from her at the table, but with terrible form. He slouched forward and was nearly collapsing unto the glossy finish of the oak. She wanted to make sure he was prepared to engage in a serious conversation, but judging from what she was seeing, she doubted it was good time.
Beaux let out another strangled sigh, and Cecilia winced. She had watched him grow up as an infant, and never had she seen him so vulnerable. It was shocking – the change that was brought over him. True, Beaux had always been a serious, firm child, but he was never brooding or sulking.
Cecilia was the one to break the silence. "Beaux, please, talk to me?"
"I apologize, Sisi," Beaux mumbled incoherently, "I'm not quite sure I have anything to say." He fell forward completely and rested his blonde head on the table. He groaned again and as though answering an internal question, shook his head hopelessly. His fingers tapped impatiently on the hard surface.
"You should," she retorted darkly. "Explain this!" Cecilia tossed a thin, cream-colored envelop at him.
Beaux groggily straightened himself and stared blankly at the address. "Did I send you this?" he asked.
Cecilia looked at him, first sympathetically, then irately. "Damn it, Beaux, yes!" she exclaimed as she tore the letter from its beige attire. It trembled in her hands as she read it aloud: "Dear Cecilia, I pray this note will find you in well-being. As for myself, even as I write, I can not claim the same peace of mind. I admit: I am afraid. Never have I been so disturbed, annoyed, petrified, infuriated - oh a million more adjectives come to mind! Can this flimsy sheet retain a pain that I can not begin to describe?
"I desired a confidence, and only you came to mind. I have tried to follow your explicit instructions, but nothing is successful. Meliah has passed somewhere beyond the realm that I can see. Cecilia, I fear for my life, my soul (if indeed I have one!), and my love. I see two options – both terrible and horrendous. I shall lose either way. The first is to let her go. My hand shakes as I write! I have faith that he will not be able to provide for her; he will surrender, and she will return to me. But how can I guarantee that my darling girl shall not already be destroyed? Broken in body and heart?
"I lean towards the second. I shall eradicate him myself. Murder is not necessary, but should the situation present itself, I do not plan to hesitate. Yet in this path, I risk Meliah's trust. How shall I be able to look into her eyes and speak naught but lies? I -"
"Stop!" Beaux cried. "Stop! I understand! I know! So stop!"
"Beaux!" Cecilia shouted back, "Don't pretend that you are the only one suffering! Have you any idea how painful it is for me? I've watched you grow up! You were such a sweet, optimistic child. And now look at you! Have you thought about your father? Can you imagine the pain that your father is undergoing for you?"
"My father?" Beaux interrupted sharply. His eyes snapped open before they narrowed testily. "What does he have anything to do with this?"
"Oh, Beaux," Cecilia sighed, "You can be so oblivious sometimes."
"Care to explain?" Beaux asked coldly. Cecilia glared at him with her golden eyes, but he was unfazed. Ever since Meliah had left a few hours ago, he seemed intent on avenging her by lashing out at Cecilia.
"Beaux," Cecilia began, "Do you honestly know what brought about your mother's death?"
"Of course," he answered heatedly, "The man you refer to as my father killed her after he found she had a human lover." Beaux's eyes glistened for moment. "Vincent hates humans," he added as an afterthought.
"Beaux," Cecilia started again, "Is that what you believe to have been Uncle's motivation? Some personal animosity against humans?"
"Sisi, if you don't stop beating about the bush, I'm not quite sure I would like to discuss this matter."
"Uncle Vincent loved Aunt Adeline-"
"Don't lie!" Beaux cut in viciously. There was a wild fury in his green eyes that shook Cecilia's resolve, but she was strong.
"Just listen!" Cecilia commanded stridently as she slammed her delicate palm against the table top with a violent smack! "Uncle Vincent loved her ever since he courted her, and he never stopped loving her through their entire marriage, even after he learned that she was secretly having an affair. Beaux, Aunt Adeline betrayed him – don't you dare try and insist otherwise – I was the one who tried to convince her to stay. I told her it wasn't right, that she was a wife and a mother. She didn't want to hear it."
Cecilia took a deep breath before continuing. She monitored Beaux's expressions carefully. "And then she left," Cecilia said gravely, "She abandoned you, her three-year-old son and her husband of seven years. Your father was devastated, and I saw him change. Oh Beaux, it frightens me so! It's the same change I see in you now!"
"What are you talking about?" Beaux asked in mock tranquility. He could not mask the horror he was feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Your father went insane," Cecilia breathed, her eyes widening drastically, "He could not accept it. He could not live in a world without Adeline. So out of his desperation, he tried to stop her by threatening the death of her lover. Beaux, you're doing that now!"
"I am not!" Beaux snapped.
"Yes you are!" she insisted as she grasped his cold pale hands in hers, "Think about it Beaux, really! Could you live without Meliah? Could you ever be satisfied without having her for yourself?"
Beaux fell silent, pulling his fingers from her hold. He could not respond…because it was true. Yet, surely he would not-
"Your father did not want to kill the other man; it was an accident. He regretted it, but your mother never believed him. She felt deceived, and she became self destructive. She continued to mar herself until Uncle Vincent could not withstand the pressure to relieve her… He killed her out of love."
"A bit oxymoronic wouldn't you agree?" Beaux hissed.
"Yes," Cecilia replied, "But your father loves you. Uncle Vincent is not fond of humans, but your love for that mortal girl is not what frightens him. What frightens him is that you will fall into oblivion as he had. Beaux, your recent behavior has only served to augment my point. You will hurt yourself trying to attain Miss Meliah."
"I don't care," Beaux said firmly.
"But, we do! If we assume that Meliah falls for you and the two of you desire union, how do you propose we stop the Coven from destroying her?"
"The Coven? I thought the Coven was dissociated thousands of years ago."
Cecilia shook her head. "No," she whispered, "You just have not been initiated yet. Take it from someone who is far older than you are, the Coven is strict. They do not believe in intermarriages Beaux. When you are initiated next year, they will research you. The discovery of a human love interest will stoke their anger. The Assembly will kill her."
It was Beaux's turn to shake his head. "I would never let that happen," he said confidently.
Cecilia looked at him sympathetically. "It's not a matter of ability Beaux. The Coven is terrible, necessary for the coexistence of vampires and humans, but terrible. Perhaps if you transfigure Meliah into one of us, we can undermine the system," she mused.
"I've bitten her once," Beaux said quietly, "I never want to do that again."
Cecilia choked and began coughing severely. "You bit her!" she nearly shouted.
"Yes," Beaux said, looking at her suspiciously, "Is that bad?"
Cecilia did not reply, but suddenly expressed her urgent need to use the restroom. Beaux, preoccupied with his plans to apologize to Meliah, forgot about Cecilia's behavior.