09-06-04
Takes place 2 years after A Trial
A Discovery
by LeoniaKat
Diana walked out of her once-a-week high school elective class and smiled. She had thought to take this silly course on learning how to do research for papers more efficiently, thinking it would be a couple of easy credits. Instead, it had given her a brainstorm. She realized that it was highly possibly that she could use these methods to find out about her father. Granted, she'd done some internet searches years ago on her last name. The only things of interest at the time were the charity foundation her mother ran and some references to the country of Brabant.
That was then, though. Now, as she went to the school's computer lab during her lunch break, she knew better how and where to look. She had learned that search engines didn't always pick up everything. With some of them, people had to register to be listed on them, and thus there were bound to be other pages which went unlisted.
First things first would be to plug the name back in to see if any new information had been listed. She pulled up a couple different search engines in separate windows. Plugging in her father's name, she plowed past the entries on the foundation. Those were all dead ends, as she knew from experience.
There were a couple of unfamiliar ones and she moved to open these before moving on to other things. One link she almost passed off as a dead end but decided to check it out anyways. It was a link to the Royal Ontario Art Museum. Opening the link, she saw that it was a picture of a family portrait on display. Curious, she wondered why a 13th century family portrait would have come up as a hit. She glanced at the title, 'Portrait of the de Brabant Family', then – year 1222. Interesting. She pulled out a disk and copied the webpage to it.
Another search engine brought her to an old textbook entitled 'The History of Brabant'. This contained a family tree for the Dukes of Brabant, which seemed to be incomplete, as well as information on the family. This was too big to place on the disk, but she wrote the website in her notebook, as well as the publishing information. She could try to get a copy at the city library. She glanced at the clock and realized she had to get to her next class.
She'd pushed all thoughts of her search for her father aside for the next couple of hours. The minute she got home, though, was another story. So far, she felt like she'd found nothing useful. She racked her brain for anything and everything her mother may have said directly or indirectly that might help. Nothing!
Diana booted up her computer and connected to the internet. What was it her electives teacher had said today – "When you think you're at a dead end, go right back to the beginning and try something slightly different." Typing her mother's name into the search engine, she came up with a dozen different Natalie Lamberts. Ok, narrow it down… She added Canada to her search – her mom having told her she'd worked there years ago – and suddenly she found her. She discovered that her mother worked for the Toronto coroner's office. She knew that at some point her mother had mentioned that she'd met Diana's godfather, Don Schanke, in Canada.
She typed in Don's name, along with Toronto PD. The first site she found brought her up short. It was an awards listing for the city of Toronto police department. She opened it and scrolled down the names until she came to an award for Partners of the Month, June 1995 – Don Schanke and Nicholas Knight. She clicked on their names, curious what it linked to. She quickly realized that it was a picture and waited as it loaded.
On the left was a younger version of her godfather. She didn't see him often, but he managed to visit them almost every Christmas. They'd flown to Montreal just last year to go to Jenny's wedding.
The man on the right was listed as Nicholas Knight. According to this, they were both homicide detectives. Why does he look familiar, she wondered. Ok, so her mom was working in Toronto at the same time that Don was working for the police department. Hmm… Was it possible that Nick Knight was really Nicholas de Brabant?
She typed Nick Knight into the search engine and found herself back at the Toronto PD site. Then she went to Canada's birth registry website. Looking for his birth records turned up nothing usable. Maybe he wasn't born in Canada. She pulled up the US site. Again nothing. That was getting her nowhere. She did find an obituary for him which stated that he died 8 months before she was born.
Go back to the beginning, she reminded herself. She popped her disk in the drive and pulled up the picture of the family portrait and studied it again. Wait a second… She studied the face of the young man in the portrait. How was it he looked almost identical to the picture of Nick Knight from 1995? She minimized that screen and pulled up the website of the history text. She searched the family tree around 1222. There was an Henri, but he would have been nearly 45. He must have been the older man in the portrait. There was a Nicolas who would have been about 29. That must have been him, then. There was no other it could be.
Ok, now to search the textbook for a Nicolas de Brabant. That part was easy. She found him quickly, skimming the text. According to this, he was a knight who was sent to fight in the Crusades. He was captured and eventually escaped and returned home. Then he simply disappeared and there was no further mention of him. She copied the text and pasted it into a word-processor.
Diana decided that it was simply an interesting coincidence that these two men born almost 800 years apart looked so similar. However, she was almost certain that they were related.
Curious as to what had happened to the Brabant lands when it became part of Belgium and France, she skimmed to the end of the textbook. "Although most of the lands of Brabant became part of France and Belgium, the title of the Duke of Brabant was continued as an honorary title. Also, only one of the land's many medieval castles survive to this day. It is maintained by the Canadian charity, the de Brabant Foundation." Her eyes widened. "Maybe this is a really old book," she mumbled quietly to herself as she scrolled back to the top to find the publication date – 1944. Ok, so maybe it was out of date. "I guess there's little hope of contacting the author, then," she said aloud, glancing at the author's name. Nick Girard.
What was with all of the people named Nick or Nicholas today? She almost laughed it off but typed Nick Girard into a search engine as a lark. She came up with a newspaper article about a college professor being fired after they claimed he was a socialist. She clicked on the link to a photo and she felt her heart fall to her stomach. What were the odds that three different people, from three different times, with three different surnames, could look exactly alike? Astronomical, she was sure.
She stood and paced across her room, mentally ordering what she knew. Ok, is there any way to find any more connections? She'd already searched her mother and found what she expected to find. Now what? Her uncle! She practically flew back to the computer and typed in – Lucien Lacroix.
The first hits were fan sites for a radio show he'd apparently done in – surprise – Toronto. Then she found an official site for his old program, surprised to find it still up until she saw that it had been syndicated and was still running across the US. Unfortunately, none of the stations that carried it could be picked up where she lived but she could get them online. She made notes of station call letters and the times, intending to listen to the show.
Back at the search engine, she found a couple of other links. One was to an old picture from World War I. There stood General Lucien Lacroix, and not looking a day younger than when she'd last seen him 2 years ago. She tried to reason with herself that this was possibly his grandfather.
Ok, back to the search engine. There was another link to another war photo, this one from the Second World War. Again, General Lucien Lacroix looked not a day older than the previous photo. Never mind that this was taken almost thirty years later… She did some quick mental math, trying to find a rational explanation, any explanation, to account for the eerie coincidence that again, three people from different times could look identical. It was possible that this was Lucien's father. They'd told her that Lucien and her father were stepbrothers. Maybe they'd had different fathers, then…
She printed out all of the photos she had found before going back to the search engine. She found another link under her uncle's name which led her to the passing of a deed for a nightclub in Toronto. The original owner was a Janette duCharme.
Plugging that name into the search engines, she found a total and complete dead end. That in and of itself was strange and Diana was puzzled by it. She wondered what the odds of coming up empty on a person these days were.
She glanced at the clock and realized her mother would be calling her for supper soon. She had one last thing that she'd just thought of trying. She found the official website for Belgium and clicked the link to have the page in English instead of French. Digging through pages of tourism info and political links, she finally found a buried link to the history of the area and a mention of Brabant. There, she found a link which brought up the history of the holders of the title Duke or Duchess of Brabant. She scrolled to the bottom and her jaw dropped. There, at the very bottom, sat her name with her birth date and the title Duchess. Just above that was listed Nicholas de Brabant, and what a coincidence, his death was the same year as Nicholas Knight.
She printed it out just as her mother called her down to supper. She left the papers in a drawer in her room and decided to wait to confront her mother with what she'd found. Instead, she needed to discover why her family was so secretive about him and why no one had told her she held a title!
The phone rang, slowly waking him from a deep slumber. He could tell it was early in the evening and the sun was still two hours from setting. He finally realized that whoever it was must have had a death wish as the phone kept ringing. He picked it up and growled a groggy but clearly angry, "Yes?"
"I'm sorry to wake you, Lacroix…"
"This had better be good, Aristotle."
"Depends on your idea of good," the other replied. "Someone's been looking up info on Nicholas, and I don't just mean his last incarnation. They also looked up your name and Janette's."
"How?" he growled, significantly more awake now.
"Simply using the internet," Aristotle replied. "I got rid of what I could as soon as I noticed, but I fear I was too late to get all of it."
"Damn," Lacroix growled. "Any idea who it was?"
"Well, that's the confusing part. You see, I knew you were in Ontario, but I traced this back to your stateside house."
"Damn that child!" he roared.
"Wait, you know who did this?" Aristotle asked.
"Do the Enforcers know yet?" Lacroix asked quickly, already moving to stand and dress.
"Probably. You know they flag many of the same files I do. If I noticed…"
"Aristotle, drop everything and get to my house. Now!"
"What? Who looked up those files, Lacroix?"
Knowing that only the whole truth would get the other to do as he'd commanded, he quickly stated, "Nicholas' mortal daughter, Diana de Brabant. Her mother is Natalie Lambert. Now go! They are both under my protection but I won't get there in time."
"I'm going," Aristotle said quickly before hanging up.
Lacroix swore and tried to dial his home in the states but he hit a busy signal.
Natalie set the table and hit the intercom button for Diana's room, "Time for dinner, sweetie." She moved to the fridge and grabbed a carton of orange juice. She'd just turned back to the table when she heard a crash of breaking glass. She dropped the carton on the counter and grabbed a knife. Running in the direction of the living room, she froze as she caught sight of two black figures gliding in through the broken window. She knew at once that these were the dreaded Enforcers Nick had often mentioned.
She turned to run when she saw Diana dashing down the stairs. Not sure if her daughter had heard the breaking glass or was just coming down for dinner, she shouted, "Diana, run!"
She saw her daughter turn and take two steps back upstairs before one of the dark figures flew past her and grabbed her daughter, the other restraining Natalie. "No, let her go! She knows nothing!" Nat pleaded as the knife was forced from her hand and thrown to the floor.
The one holding her from behind leaned down as her daughter was forcibly carried into the room, "I seriously doubt that."
"Mom!"
"We're under the protection of Lucien Lacroix," Nat said quietly, ignoring her daughter for the moment.
"As I see it," the one holding her replied, "You're the only one marked as such." He turned her around and released her, "I trust you know better than to try running?"
Natalie nodded, glancing back at her daughter to see that she was still restrained. "Why are you here?"
"Someone," he began, looking pointedly back at the girl, "Was looking into things she shouldn't be."
Nat turned to face her daughter, "Diana?"
"I was looking for information on my father on the internet. You wouldn't tell me anything! What did you expect me to do?" She struggled against the iron grip of her attacker.
"Don't struggle, Diana, you'll only hurt yourself," Nat said quietly. She turned back to the Enforcer who had spoken. "Now what?"
"You know the code. You know the three options, though as we are not here to add to our ranks, there are only two."
He moved past Natalie and she silently watched as he attempted to hypnotize her daughter and she prayed it would take.
A minute later, it was quite obvious that it wouldn't. "Natalie Lambert," he said, turning his head to face her, "There is only one option left." As Nat watched, his eyes yellowed and his fangs dropped.
"No!" The cry came from a new person who suddenly appeared next to Natalie. "Hold Enforcers!"
The changed Enforcer turned fully to face the other vampire, "Ah, Aristotle. A pleasure as always."
"Stow it Ian. I'm here at Lucien's request. They are under his personal protection."
"Ah," he made a show of licking one fang, "but as you yourself can see, only one of the two is marked. The girl is fair game."
"She may be unmarked, but she is his. She is the daughter of Nicholas de Brabant and therefore she belongs to Lucien," Aristotle replied calmly. He was well aware that if it came down to a physical fight, he was outclassed by the two Enforcers. He either had to talk them out of killing the girl or to delay them long enough that Lucien might have a chance to arrive.
Apparently that gave the Enforcer a moment's pause, "Yes, but Nicholas de Brabant is dead, is he not? With no claim left to the father, the daughter is still fair game."
"Fine," Aristotle said, "Then as the eldest here, I lay claim to her."
"We were here first," the Enforcer said lazily, turning to face Diana.
For the first time, Diana saw the altered features of the man before her. She gave a small cry and resumed her efforts to free herself.
"Aristotle, do something!" Nat cried, having recognized the name of the vampire next to her as that belonging to one of Nick's friends.
"I'm trying," he growled at her, his temper close to breaking. "Would you have me try to fight them?" he asked angrily.
"No," a new voice responded from behind Diana and the Enforcers.
"Nice of you to finally join us, Lacroix," Aristotle said, his temper back under control.
Nat breathed a sigh of relief. Never had she been so happy to see Lacroix as she was at this moment.
Diana froze as she heard her uncle's voice behind her. Most of what had been said had gone completely over her head, but the one thing that she did understand is that her uncle was somehow the key to things. "Uncle Lucien?"
"Release my granddaughter, Ian," Lacroix growled from behind her.
She saw Ian nod to the one holding her and she was suddenly free. She stayed where she was, though, sensing that this – whatever it was – wasn't over yet.
"She's unmarked, Lucien, making her fair game," Ian said with a smile which showed off his enlarged canines. His eyes were still a frightening shade of gold.
"I intend to remedy that situation immediately," Lucien said.
"Not so fast," Ian said quickly. "I believe that she is of the age of consent, is she not?" He turned to face Natalie for a moment, "I take back what I said before. I think she would enrich our ranks. It is her choice, Lucius," Ian growled, turning back to face Lucien.
"She doesn't know enough to make an informed decision," Natalie interjected fearfully.
"Neither did most of us," Ian said. "Choose, child."
"Choose what! I don't understand!" Diana turned to face her… uncle… grandfather... whatever, and realized his features were changed like Ian's. "What am I supposed to choose from?" she asked desperately. "What are my options? Live or die?"
"Something like that," he responded. "He would make you like us. You would be tied to him for eternity. Or, I can mark you as belonging to me. You will be as you are now, but you will be under my protection."
Diana tied what she'd just been told with what she'd heard earlier. "How would you mark me? I don't understand."
"I would bite you, feed from you without killing you. Then others will know that you are under my protection."
She chafed at the thought of 'belonging' to anyone, but although the thought of being a vampire intrigued her, she didn't want to be tied to Ian for eternity. They'd also said her mother had been 'marked' so it couldn't be that bad, right? "I choose that then," she said, forcing herself to meet and hold his gaze.
Ian sighed loudly, not that he'd expected her to accept his offer, "If you ever change your mind, child…" He approached and handed her a card, "The offer still stands. You would make a marvelous Enforcer." He took a step back and looked at Lucien, "We're waiting, by the way." He gave him a 'get on with it' gesture.
Diana froze as Lucien approached. He placed one arm around her back and with the other hand he gently tipped her neck to the side. "Relax," he said quietly, "I will not hurt you."
She forced herself to relax as she felt his fangs graze the skin of her neck. Then she felt a sharp sting as he slid his fangs into the vein. Instinctively, she raised her arms and held on to him as he drank from her. She grew dizzy and she felt him removing his fangs as he licked at the wounds. Her knees buckled and she felt him supporting her.
"It's done," he said as he led her to a chair.
"Indeed it is," Ian replied before he and his silent companion disappeared.
Diana sank gratefully into the overstuffed armchair. She dropped her head into her hands and she felt her mother's hand on her arm. "I hope someone will please explain what the hell just happened here," she said much more calmly than she felt.
"Your curiosity almost got you killed," Lucien said angrily.
She carefully looked up, glad that the dizziness had receded, and met his intense gaze, grateful his eyes were their more familiar blue. "No, your refusal to tell me about my father almost got me killed. If I had known what I was getting into, I wouldn't have." She smiled slightly, "Thanks, by the way, for rescuing me from my own stupidity."
"It was my decision not to tell you," her mother said, "And for that I am sorry. We should have trusted you." She turned to face the other man… vampire, "Thank you for helping us, Aristotle. If you hadn't come, she would surely have been killed."
"Yes," Diana said, "Thank you."
Aristotle shrugged nonchalantly, "Your father was a close friend," he said, addressing Diana directly. "Lacroix, if you'll excuse me? I have some things I must attend to."
Lucien nodded, "I owe you, Aristotle."
"I know you'll pay me back someday, Lucien, you always do." With that he exited through the front door instead of the broken window.
"Now, can someone please tell me what is going on? You're a vampire aren't you? And my father was too, wasn't he?"
"Yes," Lucien responded. "I made your father what he was."
"How long ago?"
The questions kept coming, each answer spurring her to ask a dozen more, until she knew the entire, sordid story of her family's past.
To be continued…