May 3rd…
May 3rd always weighed heavily upon Etienne's heart… It was 200 years ago this very day, Etienne Moreau, a fairly new and inexperienced vampire accidentally tore his whole world to shreds in a matter of minutes…
It was funny that many mortals claimed that time healed all wounds, but that wasn't true… his heart still ached, his agony was still as fresh as it was two centuries ago on that horrible night… sometimes he thought was he might be descending into madness with how much he thought about it… how much he thought about her…
Sometimes when he closed his eyes… he thought he could hear the sweet sound of his darling Colette's laughter… he could envision her smiling at him, her green eyes so full of love and joy… but when he would open them…
She was not there.
Of course she wouldn't be there.
He in his foolish arrogance had seen to that… he deserved this pain for what he did… he deserved this agony…
200 years and he couldn't forget about the only woman he'd ever truly loved in all his miserable existence… he mourned her still… he yearned for her forgiveness, yet did not have the audacity to ask for it.
Etienne kicked at a pebble on the sidewalk as he stalked along the quiet empty street with only the dingy struggling street lights for company… a few more hours now and it would be May 4th, this god awful anniversary would be behind him once more…
Not that it would really change anything. Colette was never often far from his mind.
Reaching into the pocket of his tailored black jacket, Etienne withdrew a slightly faded antique gold pocket watch… he pressed the trigger to pop it open and lifted it to let him gaze longingly at the inside of the lid… he recalled when Colette had painted this miniature self portrait for him and placed it in the lid of this watch…
A reminder, Colette had told him, to not forget to come back home to her when he got busy on business trips with his father.
Now it served as a reminder still, albeit a much more painful one of what could have been. What should have been.
Had he not tried to turn Colette into a vampire himself… she would be here beside him right now, enjoying the nights nocturnal serenade with him… but he was arrogant, cocky, too sure of himself and his ability to control himself…
Beautiful brave Colette… she had been so fearless when he told her what happened to him on that last business trip, when the architect he'd commissioned to design the home they would live in after they were married… turned out to be a vampire. The man attacked Etienne, claiming Etienne was destined for great things in the dark world of the vampires. Colette believed him straight away and never once was she ever afraid of him… she had trusted him when he suggested he turn her and the two of them leave the country together to see the world. They were both fools.
Etienne lost control. He drained her dry, leaving her a lifeless husk… his wails of agony had echoed throughout the halls of his father's stately mansion that night…
He knew he should have reached out to his vampire mentor to help him turn Colette… he knew this would have been the wisest and safest method, he was too new… and unfortunately, far too stupid.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Startled by a feminine voice ahead of him, Etienne snapped the pocket watch shut and returned it to his pocket, he looked up and immediately stopped walking… his expression frozen in stunned disbelief.
"Colette?" The name left his lips in a breathy whisper, as if he was almost too afraid to accept it could be somehow possible… yet, as he looked at her, he knew… somehow he just knew… the woman in front of him, looking at him with concern… it was without a doubt, Colette Dubois.
"I'm sorry, who?" The young woman asked, looking confused "Sir, are you alright? You look distressed"
Etienne was silent for a good couple moments "I… yes, I am quite well, dear lady. Thank you for your kind concern… my name is Etienne… might I ask yours?"
The young woman smiled gently "My name is Lily Wood, nice to meet you, Etienne. You sure you're alright?"
"I confess, I've had a difficult night… today is not an easy day for me" Etienne replied honestly, though a little glimmer of hope was flickered into existence within a heart that had been black and dead for over 200 years now "I wouldn't mind some pleasant conversation while I finish my walk… if you don't mind… I understand if that is much too forward coming from a stranger"
"I don't mind at all, my Gran always said a stranger is just a friend you haven't gotten to know yet" Lily replied, coming forward to stand alongside Etienne "Actually, I'm new around here. Maybe you might like to show me around a little?"
"I would like that…" Etienne replied softly, gesturing for Lily to accompany him along the sidewalk "Let's be off then"
He was certain Lily was Colette reborn, there was no doubt at all… the resemblance was uncanny, she even sounded exactly like Colette…
When the time was right… he wouldn't waste this second chance… he would get it right this time. He and his love would have the happy ending they deserved all along.