The dark landscape blurred as rain and exhaustion played with her vision. The train ride was long and uncomfortable but familiar as they made their way back to Paris. It was the same train that brought her to the boarding school in London when she first started attending and brought her home during breaks to visit her family.
Elisabeth's grip tightened on her purse as an uneasy feeling settled in her, the disappearance of her mother had caused her to stay away from her father and brother who was what, fourteen or fifteen now? They were only about a year apart in age, but three years have gone by with little contact between them.
Elisabeth had just come back for a visit when they told her the news. She spent that week in her room or with her brother, refusing to come back home again until now, three years later.
It was a bit sudden and unexpected since her father hadn't bothered to pull her out earlier and may not have realized that she wasn't coming home anymore. But when the principal's voice from the intercom asked that Elisabeth Agreste come to their office, she was greeted by Nathalie sitting ramrod straight in the chair opposite the principal and she simply knew that she couldn't hide anymore. Without protest, she said her goodbyes and packed her bags.
After the train ride, they were met by a driver Elisabeth never seen before, but Nathalie acknowledged him with a firm nod before opening the door for Elisa to enter, following soon after as the gorilla built driver loaded her bags into the trunk.
They drove through the city with only the soft thumping of rain piercing the silence. As the car neared the mansion Elisa felt as if her head was going to drop off at any moment and was relieved when they reached the gates.
No one was there to greet them and it took Elisa a moment to realize that it was nearly midnight when she walked in, the only sound was coming from outside with the rain and 'Gorilla' carrying Elisa's suitcases. With a quick breath, she went back out into the shower and grabbed one of the smaller cases before rushing back in, worrying that within the delicate item was ruined.
Looking toward the marble stairs, Elisa felt that it would be impossible to climb them with the weight of the case adding to her tired body. Her cold, rain-soaked clothes now clung to her skin causing a tremble to come from her body.
"You can leave it next to the staircase for now. We can handle it in the morning after we all get some rest." Nathalie quickly wrote a note on her tablet and walked away.
"Good night and uh-thank you," Elisa said to the driver who simply nodded and left her suitcases before he wandered off.
Alone on the staircase, Elisa looked up one more time before setting one heavy foot in front of the other up the stairs. Once she made it into her room she looked for any warm clothes she could wear and took a quick hot shower before finally crawling onto her bed. The soft pillows felt like heaven and Elisa soon fell asleep.
Adrien walked out of his room early the next morning, making his way to the dining room for breakfast before heading to school. As he got to the end of the flight of stairs, Adrien's foot fell into a small puddle of water. 'Weird' he thought but ignored it and went on his way.
He sat down at his usual seat at the huge table and a yawn slipped out as a servant came out and put two plates on the table, one in front of Adrien and the other to his right.
'Is Father going to sit with me?' Adrien's body felt as though it was filled to the brim with sugar. The door next to him opened and Adrien turned his whole body to see who it was with a smile any photographer would want to capture.
But it turned out to be only Nathalie and his smile faltered as he turned back to his breakfast.
"Not here yet?" Natalie questioned, catching Adrien's disappointment and hoping to fix his smile, giving him a small one herself - telling herself that today was special.
Nathalie's smile, no matter how small, did the trick and he waited patiently with eyes practically glued to the door. The sound of footsteps on marble had Adrien on the edge of his seat and he tried regaining his composure.
The handle turned and Adrien first saw those icy blue eyes and pale yellow hair, but his breath was stuck in his throat as he saw who it was; his sister, Elisabeth.
"Lizzy?" Adrien choked out, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.
The smile that she gave him nearly broke his heart to see; it was a smile he hadn't seen in a long time, so much like their mother's. Then he realized who the plate was for, not for his father but his sister.
Elisa promptly took her seat and with the perfect etiquette that they were taught, silently ate her meal. Adrien was mostly confused as to why his sister was back but couldn't form the words he repeated in his mind.
"Did Father send for you?" Adrien finally managed out, staring at his plate, moving a piece of food from one side to the other.
"Yes, he did," Her voice was soft as she spoke as if scared to raise it louder than a whisper. "I suppose I had to come back sometime."
A deep pit opened in Adrien from her words. 'Would she have never come back if Father hadn't told her to?' And for a moment, Adrien was glad for his father's over-protectiveness.
"Did you like England?" An easy topic to talk about.
"I mostly stayed within the school," And Elisa hesitated for a moment, unsure if she wanted to know. "Did...did Father move on?"
Adrien was shocked for a second but let out a cough to mask his laughter. "Of course he did," his voice was serious and he swore Elisa stopped breathing. "Winter to spring, summer to autumn, fashion styles raising and growing old, he's always on a new collection."
"Don't tease me, I'm serious." Elisa's voice quivered and Adrien felt a little guilty for teasing her.
"From Mom? No, not that I know of, he's too busy with his work to even spend time with me." The fake smile he gave lasted only a second before he turned away.
Elisa felt sorry that her brother was stuck in the house with no one to be with and talk to and then felt worse as she realized that she had left him here alone when she should have been with him.
"What do you say about showing me around? It's been a while and we can say, go to the movies?"
"Sure! When do you want to go?"
"How about now? I'm sure Father won't mind,"
"I can't, I have to go to school..."
"School? Since when?"
"Last year, I finally got Dad to let me go. But not without a few rules and conditions," With a glance towards Nathalie, Adrien got up and squeezed Elisa's hand. "I have to go now, but I'll tell you all about it later, okay?"
Still, a bit shocked by Adrien's announcement of school, all Elisa could do was nod her head and he ran off with Nathalie striding after him.
As she got to the doorway Nathalie paused and looked at her tablet. "Your father is waiting for you in his office," and then disappeared.
As the door closed, Elisa got up and slowly went to her father's office, hesitating only a moment before knocking on the door. From inside a cool, clear voice sliced the silence in the mansion. "You may enter."
Elisa walked in, her hand grazing the door handle as she saw the abstract portrait of her mother. Her father had his back to her, looking longingly at the portrait before turning to his daughter.
"Elisabeth, it's been a while."
"Three years to be exact, Father. "
Gabriel stiffly gave a nod and indicated Elisa to stand next to him, gazing at all the details of the golden piece of work.
"Why have you called me back?" Elisa's voice clipped, her eyes averted to the wall beside the portrait.
"Ever since your mother got worse, I kept wanting to keep Adrien safe. But as kids are these days he became a bit rebellious." A sad smile flickered before he turned to his daughter. "It helps to have you back home, Elisabeth."
"What do you mean, 'since Mother got worse'? You told me that she disappeared," Elisa exclaimed, her face twisting in confusion.
"Everything will be explained soon, but I need you to keep this as a secret, do I have your word?" Her father looked both sad and frightening, but Elisa agrees, wanting to know what is so important that he had to pull her out of school.
With a heavy sigh and shaky hands, Gabriel pushes a few secret buttons in the portrait, causing the floor below Elisa to sink and her to almost jump away but her father steadied her. The platform descended quickly, small lights flicking past until she reached a large area. Just as she stepped off, the platform was called back up.
The space was enormous, a walkway leading across the water and to a lightened area with a few trees and what looked like a coffin.