I chased after Alexandre. Why did it feel like this was becoming a thing with him? He paused at the top of the stately marble staircase and waited for me, and then silently led me down the hall leading straight back from the top of the stairs. At the end was a pair of glass doors with intricate frames and panes of glass. I guess they would have been referred to as stained glass, but they weren't mosaic colored pieces of glass, rather a beautiful pattern of iron and wood and glass woven into a piece of artwork that I could only guess was inspired either by Alexandre's past, or his love of finer things. He smiled slightly at my expression of awe as I gazed at the doors.
"If you think this is impressive, wait until you see the gardens." Alexandre gleefully informed me, and threw open the doors dramatically. The smell hit me first, the most delicious mingling of flowering and growing things imaginable.
"Well that explains the other half of it. Do you still smell like flowers in winter?" I asked Alexandre, who looked at me with amusement.
"I guess you'll have to stick around to find out." He replied with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Don't think I won't!" I retorted, then gaped at him open mouthed as he grinned devilishly, "Hey, that is cheating, sir." I sniffed.
"You never said I couldn't play by my own rules, nor play dirty in the game to win your affections." He chuckled, escorting me out onto the balcony overlooking the gardens. I felt my jaw drop. There were more plants than I'd ever seen in my life, and definitely more than I could name, flowering trees, a path, I heard water trickling away somewhere, flowers galore, shrubbery, there was too much to look at. The balcony's view was obscured by the trees, but from what I could see, Alexandre had built himself, or at least had himself built, a little paradise; and even at night I could see the absolute beauty of the place. Both sides of the balcony fell away into trailing staircases, so I simply followed the railing to my right, gaping all the way. Below the tree canopies, the lightning bugs became evident and I felt my jaw should be dragging the ground at that point. Alexandre laughed a full, joyful laugh and when I glanced at him, his expression was as delighted as a child's on Christmas morning.
"What do you think?" He asked me, closing my mouth with a finger.
"It's... magical." I whispered breathlessly and Alexandre's face lit up. He presented me an arm.
"May I?" He offered politely, and I took his arm, still staring around me in wonder. A fountain nearby trickled water endlessly, and a weeping tree with purple flowers in bunches, was it a Wisteria?, leaned overhead.
"It's so beautiful here." I said in awe, and I could almost feel Alexandre bristle with pride next to me.
"It stretches on for a while, you're blessed with a good sense of smell now, so you should easily be able to find your way back." We walked in silence until we came to a stone bench and then Alexandre motioned for me to sit, which I did. He took a seat beside me and held my hand gently in his.
"I like to come out here to read sometimes." He told me and gazed up at the trees where lightning bugs twinkled like stars.
"I can understand why." I replied with a hushed voice, following Alexandre's gaze. He sighed and ran his lips over my fingers delicately.
"I wish I had planned this out a little better-this could have been a much better first date." Alexandre said and I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Excuse me, sir. I don't know about women from your century, but women from my century like to know they are on a date before going on one." I chided playfully, pulling my hand back and crossing my arms while sticking my nose in the air. "Besides, I thought you had work to do." I waved a hand at him dismissively, trying to shoo him away, but he caught it midair and ran a trail of kisses up the back of it making me blush, then squeal as he neared my face. He chuckled.
"I do, but you are infinitely more important to me." He answered and I blushed furiously.
"So cheesy." I sighed.
"Is that bad?" Alexandre asked curiously.
"No." I responded, too quickly and Alexandre laughed the full laugh again.
"Well since ladies of your century insist on being asked out, would you go on this date with me? Belatedly?" Alexandre asked with a flourish, still holding my hand, but getting off the bench onto one knee to sweep an arm out around him.
"Oh heavens, since you asked so nicely." I responded, pretending to fan myself. Alexandre stood with a grin and kissed me on the forehead.
"I do hate to cut it short then, especially since I had hoped our first date might have lasted a little longer, but sadly, I really must get to work. I hope you've been enjoying yourself, you're welcome to stay here or accompany me to my office, the house is at your disposal as well. Just remember: discretion until further notice, a lot hangs in the balance right now." He pulled me off the bench into a warm hug and kissed my forehead again, not waiting for my reply. Within a second he was gone and I was staring at the empty, perfect garden.
"Whew, mood swing much?" I mumbled under my breath and sat back down. Alexandre had created an oasis for vampire kind here. It was easy to close your eyes and lose yourself in your other senses. The wind had died down to a gentle breeze brushing scents across my face and teasing me with sounds from other parts of the garden. Somewhere was an almost imperceptible tinkling of wind chimes, and I could swear I heard water running in a small stream in addition to the fountain. I shook my head. Alexandre seriously had too much money.
I followed the sound of the stream just to see what it looked like and stumbled across a small stone waterfall with a koi pond at its base. I rolled my eyes, so cliche Alexandre. I sat at the edge of the small pond and trailed my fingers along the surface. The koi happily followed my hand, hoping for food.
"Well I guess that's another myth busted-animals aren't afraid of vampires." I laughed "I promise you guys, I'll check with Alexandre and his crazy library and see what kind of snacks I can bring you next time." The koi followed my hand for a few more minutes, then a few departed in boredom, or at least after deciding there wasn't going to be any food. However, some persisted, jostling my hand, mouths agape, searching. I withdrew my hand and watched them slowly disperse.
"Ugh, I've really gotta find a hobby." I groaned, staring at the the fish moving in slow, lazy circles. "How do you guys even stand it? Nowhere to go, nothing to do? Just waiting for the next person to drop food in for you..." Suddenly I felt the panic build, like I was trapped like the fish. I snapped to my feet. Hoping this garden was well shielded from prying eyes, I took off running down the winding path, bursting through shrubs and fields of flowers, crossing the stream and then the path as it doubled back on itself. It was like a freaking maze! Which only made my panic worse. I couldn't stop, so I just kept running. I found a lovely little area with a gazebo. Would have been a nice place for a picnic. Too bad I no longer ate. More trees, more fountains. I stopped, panting. Amazing fact-vampires could actually get winded. I recovered quickly, but realized the panic had disintegrated for the moment. However, I didn't trust it wouldn't return, so I turned back the way I had come and followed my own scent to the house, busting in through the doors and then racing to Alexandre's office as if being pursued by the devil himself. Alexandre stood, a look of alarm on his face, the phone in his hand forgotten as I panted in his doorway for a long minute.
"What's wrong?" He demanded sharply. "Are you hurt?" I shook my head at him and motioned at the phone where I could hear an agitated voice ringing forth. Alexandre held the phone receiver to his ear and responded in what I assumed was french and hung up. I blanched.
"Oh Alexandre, I wish you hadn't done that! I'm so embarrassed! I've ruined your phone call for nothing and that sounded like it was important!" I grimaced, regret tinging my voice.
"On the contrary, he was annoying me anyway, and it would never be for nothing if it concerns you. Now, what happened, you're as white as a sheet, your heart is thundering and you're out of breath. Is someone out there?" Alexandre stepped towards me in alarm and I groaned internally.
"Now I really, really feel like a fool! Listen, can we just pretend like this never happened? I don't want to make you angry, I just scared myself, ok? I just scared myself." I wrapped my arms around myself and flinched waiting for the explosion, but Alexandre's hands were gentle as he cupped my face.
"What happened Carys?" He asked me softly. So I told him and his expression grew sad and he pulled me into his arms.
"As I told you earlier, this happens eventually. I did not expect it so soon for you. I think it's possibly because we've had to delay our plans and are now trapped inside. It might be best if you decide what you want to do with your new free time Carys. I don't want to seem like I'm pushing you, but you seem to be having some difficulty adjusting." Alexandre murmured against my ear. "For now, would you like to stay with me while I finish working, so you don't have to be alone?" He asked gently, stroking my hair. I nodded and he tugged me into his office and into his lap at his desk. He made a few more phone calls, explained a little of his investments that went completely over my head, and then when he got into the more involved stuff I moved to the couch he had available and read a book until I found myself dozing off and sat up with a start. Looking around I realized it was already past dawn. As I walked by Alexandre on my out, I gave him a quick hug, whispering goodnight and he gently grasped my hand, kissing it and not letting go until I was out of arm's reach. I yawned my way all the way to my room, and barely managed to change into pajamas before collapsing on the bed.