Hi everyone,
First I'd like to apologie that it took so long to update. RL has been really busy and my muse, if you have seen my profile, has taken me somewhere else too. But since I promised that I will finish this story, I will!
Then this chapter is not betaed (Moonjat, I'm sorry I didn't send it to you, but I thought that it was better to post it first) so if you find errors, I'll be glad to correct them; just PM me :)
Thank you so much for reading this story! And I hope you'll like it!

A haunted past

She looked through the window and saw the plane waiting for her. She was nervous. She hadn't left her home for such a long time and she wasn't sure she was ready for what was expecting her. She knew she had to do this so she could be stronger, but now that she was standing in the hall waiting for the plane to be ready, she began to doubt about her own abilities.

"Beth! You coming?"

She turned around, smiled and nodded. She threw a last look at the plane then walked towards the gate that led her through a grey and beige corridor which smelled excitement from the tourists or sadness from those leaving their family.

She found her seat by the window and let her thoughts fly. Nine hours later the plane landed in Paris… Paris… the only sound of it was the promise of so many things but now she was trying to focus on reality. There were so many things she had to face. That was who she was… a serious young woman. She waited for her baggage and felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Beth, isn't that your luggage?"

She looked surprised then realized that she just missed it. She waited it to make the full round and took it.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes I am."

Her voice was determined and steady.

"Oh come on Beth, smile! We're in Paris!"

Beth looked at her girlfriends and smiled. She was finally in Paris.

They all sat in a cab which drove them to the promised city. When they arrived at the student rooms, all the girls felt tired but not Beth. She walked toward the window and discovered the strange life that made this capital so wonderful. She was going to learn so many things and hoped that her past would finally disappear from her memories.

Next day they all went to the famous museum Le Louvre. Beth looked around. It was bigger than she'd thought. There were so many things to see… so much History between those walls… so many things had happened there and she hardly believed that she was in the middle of them.

She left her friends and walked through the long galleries covered by great paintings. She knew she had to see at least once the famous Mona Lisa, but she felt that there was something else waiting for her. She stared at the paintings as she walked slowly, then she turned on her left to a room with no visitors, only her, the paintings… and a lonely woman sitting on a couch in the middle of the room.

Beth moved in silence when a painting caught her intention. It was the painting that the lonely woman was staring at. Beth stopped moving and recognized the portrait. She knew his face from so many histories she'd read about French History. The red cloth, the severe face and the power emanating from his eyes, there was no doubt; it was the famous Cardinal de Richelieu. There was something in that portrait that made her uncomfortable; it was like he was staring back at her with a mysterious smile on his lips like if he was alive, like if he wanted to tell her something, like if he knew her.

The lonely woman suddenly stood up and turned around. She noticed Beth who was staring back at her. It was a beautiful woman; she had dark black hair and a perfect white skin, with red lips that reminded her of Snow White. But Beth could see in the woman's eyes, that she wasn't that sweet.

They stood in silence for a short minute but it seemed longer. The woman made a few steps around the couch and before leaving Beth alone in the room, she smiled mysteriously.

Her breath got caught in her throat and she opened her eyes. She looked around and saw Du Plessis sitting on the other side of his private plane. She leant back in the chair and watched through the little window. She exhaled and was suddenly relieved it was only a dream. It had been such a long time since she had a real dream and not a vision. But even if it was a dream, Beth slowly realized that this one wasn't empty of significance. This was from the time she was in Paris a few years ago. She'd completely forgotten about that strange meeting in Le Louvre. She didn't know then the woman who'd smiled so strangely at her, but now she knew who it was. It was Coraline. She could clearly remember every feature from this beautiful face which hid the dangerous demon that'd kidnapped her.

Beth felt anger build deep inside her. How was it possible that she hadn't even recognized the woman who'd made her childhood into a nightmare? All the pieces from the puzzle of her past settled in her mind. Coraline might have recognized her scent in that room in the museum and that's how she'd found what Beth had become. Then it was easier for Coraline to follow her later in L.A. Coraline had time to think of her evil plan. She knew Beth was a grown up woman and she might even know that Mick was still taking care of her in his own way. Then years later, when Coraline was ready to act, she came back to L.A and managed all her little circus around Mick, Josef and Beth before turning her.

Tears fell slowly down her cheeks. Mick could have done nothing against her. She'd had time to plan every single detail so she could have her revenge. And now Beth was sitting in a plane which was flying above the Atlantic to finish Coraline's burden.

Beth looked through the window and saw the sea. She had a few hours before she would arrive in France. She smiled sadly. Last time she'd flight to France, she was going to discover a great city and learn all the things she needed to complete her studies in journalism. She was young and full of hope. Now she was a vampire and she was going to try everything to save the man she loved and free herself from her terrible past.

Du Plessis noticed that she was awake and sat beside her. He didn't say a word at first. He could feel something important and deep was happening in Beth's mind. She was slowly realizing the real stake of the whole situation. It was only when she looked back at him that he finally asked her.

"Are you ready?" His voice was soft.

She turned her head towards the window then back at him. She nodded silently then she felt the urge to say it aloud.

"Yes I am ready." Beth was determined to put an end to this story.

"Good."

After a few hours the plane landed and Beth followed Du Plessis to a car which was waiting for them.

Beth stared at the road as the car drove. It was already night but she could clearly see the long and brown fields along the road. She was lost in her thoughts, holding tight Mick's necklace in her hand. She was trying to imagine where he was at this same time. She was finally in the same country as him, but a long distance was still keeping them apart.

As she held Mick's necklace, thinking of him, she was suddenly hit by a terrible feeling of despair. Her whole body tensed by the sensation and Beth closed her eyes. She focused on the feeling. Was it Mick's? She concentrated and a deep sadness caught her, it wasn't hers, it was coming from someone else, someone who was also thinking of her and brought this sadness deep inside. She opened her eyes and looked at the fields. Mick was losing faith, she could feel it.

She held tighter the necklace and remembered the night he gave it to her on the roof. He'd promised to come back to her and she was determined to make him keep his word. There was no way she was going to let him die in a far country, without her. She closed her eyes again and thought back to all the good times she'd had with him. The very night everything began, when she saw him standing next to his car, watching her. Their first kiss, their second kiss, their first night together and those which followed that one. The way he looked at her, the way he kissed her, the way he made love to her, the way he whispered her name and how much she loved him and needed him. Slowly the sadness went down and she could feel all the energy send back to her.

She smiled then felt a hand on her knee. She turned her head and noticed that the car was stopped.

"Are you okay?" She could tell that Du Plessis was worried for her.

"I am now."

As she said those words, she saw the imposing castle behind Du Plessis. Her eyes went from the castle to Du Plessis who nodded to her. They were arrived.

Du Plessis went out of the car first and Beth took a deep breath before she followed him. The castle was nothing like she had imagined. But somehow this place felt strangely familiar, like she had been there before. Of course she hadn't but Coraline had.

Someone was waiting for them at the top of the stairs. All the rooms were plunged into darkness beside the entry hall and Beth could feel an evil energy emanate from the old stones of the castle and something stronger made the blood in her veins freeze. There was someone in the castle who was sharing a deep connection with her and she knew who it was. She could still see the terrible cold and evil eyes from the vampire in her vision and she was going to meet him tonight, she was going to comfront him just like Coraline did, years ago, and she was going to kill him.

As she walked upstairs, Beth felt old emotions which weren't hers. It was a strange situation; it was like she was walking through her dreams, and everything seemed so unreal and so real at the same time. She was Beth and Coraline, two personalities trapped in one body.

It was only when she arrived at the door that she realized who was waiting for them. It was the man from the very painting which had caught her attention years ago. The two brothers were together again, the good and the evil one; Du Plessis and Richelieu.

Du Plessis and Richelieu didn't say a word until Beth stood beside Du Plessis.

"So it's true, Coraline has really turned someone." His voice was cold and Beth was surprised by the strong French accent.

She stared at Du Plessis and noticed that the two brothers were very different from each other even if they were twins. Richelieu's face was already eaten up by pride, anger, jealousy and evil, when Du Plessis' was wiser and softer.

"Come inside, Father was waiting for you."

Du Plessis let Beth enter before him. Their steps echoed in the gallery as they went to the place where destiny was going to be decided. Beth stared at the walls and recognized each painting, every detail in the place. She felt like Coraline when she first arrived here, when she only was a human.

Then went downstairs and the air changed, it became heavier with humidity. The marble walls changed into old grey stones, covered with dust and dark memories. Candles were the only sad source of light in this long corridor. Beth felt like she was going straight to hell and only the hope of seeing Mick again was giving her all the strength she needed to face the terrible vampire that she was going to meet.

Richelieu opened a door and the energy that Beth felt made her bones freeze. She hesitated a brief second before entering but Du Plessis' hand on her shoulder reminded her that she would be safe.

Inside the tall and dark vampire was waiting for them and at Beth's surprise, he wasn't wearing his cloak. The face that she was looking at was nothing like she could have imagined. The skin was so thin that she could see through the cell and distinguish the muscles of his face. The colors were a terrible mixture of red and white and some places were even purple. Beth tried to focus on a good memory because she was starting to feel sick. The odor was too strong; she could tell that the vampire in front of her was very old. More than a thousand years at least.

His cold eyes were fixed upon her while Du Plessis talked to his Sire.

"This is Beth Turner. I brought her to you Father, because" He paused and looked at Richelieu "She's the one."

Richelieu looked at Beth with shock and disbelief while the old vampire was admiring Beth. He wasn't paying any attention to his two sons. There was a strange connection between Beth and the old vampire. Both knew that they had seen each other in a dream, that they were meant to meet one day, and today was that very day.

The old vampire walked towards Beth with hunger in his eyes.

"I have been waiting for you my child." His voice was colder than in her dream.

Beth could see him inhale her scent and as Du Plessis was arguing with his brother, trying to push him on a corner of the room, she came closer to the old vampire, holding tight onto Mick's necklace in her hand.

The eyes of the old vampire were shining like two iceblue flames.

"Come here my child. You smell delicious; I can feel the power of your blood running through your veins."

"Would you like to taste it?" Her voice was only a whisper and if she had been human, her heart would have beaten out of her chest.

His eyes grew wide as Beth showed him her wrist. He took out of his black dress a little knife which handle was covered by brown leather and thin strings of gold. The blade was surely made of silver and it shined like the sun in the dark room. His wrinkled hand shivered and slowly took the wrist that was waiting for him.

Beth stood silent and stared at the old vampire. It was like time had stopped and there were only them both in the room. Beth's eyes followed the silver blade of the little knife move to her skin and she gasped as it pierced her flesh.

Her blood flowed from her veins on her white skin and the old vampire stopped. His gaze was locked on the bright red color of her blood and Beth could almost see his iceblues eyes turning into the same color as her blood.

Richelieu and Du Plessis's voice were suddenly silent as the finger of the old vampire took some drops of blood on Beth's wrist. Then everything happened fast. Before Richelieu could make a move, Du Plessis grabbed his brother's shoulders firmly and watched his Sire lick Beth's blood.

The knife slowly fell on the floor and the old Sire covered his face with his hands, his mouth opened in a silent scream. Beth knelt down and grabbed the knife in vampire speed. She watched in horror the vampire's skin slowly burn from the effect of her blood in his system. Her hand circled tightly the blade of the knife and she grimaced with the pain from the silver cutting her skin. Her blood covered completely the silver and as she moved towards the agonizing vampire, she heard a violent growl.

It was coming from Richelieu who was desperately trying to push his brother away and save his Sire. But Du Plessis was stronger. He smiled at his brother and took a stake from his jacket.

"This is for my fledgling's death Brother." His voice was full of hate and his eyes were locked in his brother's as the stake slowly pierced Richelieu's flesh.

Beth's attention was back on the old Sire who was still standing in front of her, his skin burning. He pulled his hands from his face and Beth gasped as she saw the raw flesh and his eyes bleeding. But even in the most horrible pain, the Sire was smiling, enjoying the taste of the purest blood.

Beth didn't know what she should feel. Anger, pity, sadness, hate? All of them were deep in her blood from a long heritage. She closed her eyes and remembered who she really was. She wasn't Coraline, she wasn't like one of them. She had been once a young reporter and she was now a strong vampire who was deeply in love with the most wonderful man and she was decided to finally live in peace.

She stared at the vampire and opened the hand which had covered the blade with her blood. She looked at the knife then back at the vampire and plunged the knife into his heart.

A terrible scream, almost animal, broke the silence as Beth, still holding the knife deep in the Sire's heart, watched the Sire slowly fall on the floor. She could feel her blood fill his body, burning each veins pumped by the old heart. The poison turned each cell into rotten flesh until he slowly disintegrated. It was until his body was completely unanimated that Beth took back the knife from the dead heart and realized that her hand was covered by black blood.

She stared at her hand and suddenly felt a terrible pain on her skin. She dropped the knife and held her hand tight. The dark blood was slowly covering her injury made by the silver blade and she could feel it enter her system. The Sire was going to kill her the same way she had.

Du Plessis came beside her in vampire speed and looked at her hand.

"I'm going to die" She said in a scared voice.

"No you won't Beth. I made a promise to a man who love you."

Du Plessis brought her hand to his lips and sucked the dark blood. But only when he licked the last drops he realized that Beth had collapsed.

Sorry for the evil cliff... :(