Episode 3
'Vampire? You're joking, right? ' Renee wrote hastily in the notebook, her hand trembling slightly as she passed it over to Vincent.
Vincent's expression faltered for just a moment, his lips pressing into a thin line, before a smirk returned to his face. "I'm not joking, " he replied with a touch of mock hurt in his voice. "It's true. I'm a vampire. "
Renee simply rolled her eyes at him, clearly unconvinced. The idea seemed too far-fetched. After all, she had just seen Vincent devour an entire table of onion dishes, a food that vampires were supposedly supposed to despise.
Vincent pouted at her. He crossed his arms, looking genuinely upset for the first time. "How could you not believe me? You saw how much I ate! " he whined.
Renee just shook her head, not ready to entertain his words. She stood up and quietly excused herself from the dining room. Vincent stared at her retreating figure, his pout turning into a grumbling sigh, but he didn't try to stop her.
---
Back in her room, Renee took a moment to assess her surroundings. The large bed looked comfortable, almost too perfect for her. She walked over to the window, her fingers lightly brushing the glass as she gazed out into the night. The stars twinkled brightly in the sky, their steady gleam both mesmerizing and calming. She stared for a while, the coolness of the night seeping into her thoughts.
The sky felt so vast, like there was a hidden universe she knew nothing about. She sighed and turned away, ready for the peace of slumber.
---
The next morning, Renee woke up with the familiar smell of sunlight in the air. But when she opened her eyes, it wasn't Isaac standing by her side, but Vincent, grinning like a mischievous child.
"Good morning, Renee! " Vincent greeted enthusiastically, his voice ringing in her ears.
Renee's jaw dropped in surprise. She hadn't expected to see him first thing in the morning. Her eyes widened as she quickly mouthed to him, 'What are you doing here? '
Vincent didn't seem to notice the questioning look in her eyes. "Of course, I'm here to spend time with you! " he beamed, leaning closer as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
Before Renee could even respond, Isaac appeared at the doorway, his voice laced with authority. "Young master, you still have a meeting with Baron Cohen, the opening act for the Museum, and a diplomatic agreement with Count Cecil. Please, don't tell me that you forgot about all that. "
Vincent groaned in response. "Can I just have a day's rest? I want to spend time with Renee! " He seemed to completely disregard Isaac's warning, walking over to Renee and pulling her into a tight hug.
Isaac was not amused. His face remained impassive as he walked over and, with surprising strength, carried Vincent away from her, gently but firmly.
"Isaac, you're such a buzzkill! " Vincent pouted, but Isaac didn't falter. He gently placed Vincent back on his feet and turned to Renee with a formal bow.
"I apologize on behalf of our young master's behavior, " Isaac said softly, his voice ever-polite. "Please allow me to take him away. I hope you enjoy the rest of your morning."
Vincent shot a last playful look at Renee as Isaac ushered him out the door. "Wait for me, Renee! I'll be back later! " he called out, his voice filled with excitement.
Renee blinked, dumbfounded by the entire interaction. What just happened? She stood there, staring at the now-empty room. It had been quite a morning already, and it was barely past dawn.
Shaking her head, she forced herself out of bed and began her daily routine. She freshened up, took a moment to admire herself in the mirror, and then decided to go for a walk in the garden to clear her mind.
---
The garden was as beautiful as she remembered, with its neat rows of flowers and towering trees. Renee wandered, letting her mind wander too. That's when her eyes caught sight of a delicate flower. It was a Calla Lily, its white petals gleaming under the sunlight. There was something strangely familiar about it. Despite not knowing its name when she first laid eyes on it, it stirred a feeling of nostalgia deep inside her chest.
Two maids walked past her, stopping when they noticed her admiration for the flower.
"Is this flower to your liking, my lady? " one of them asked kindly.
Renee nodded, offering a polite smile.
"The young master also loves this flower, " the other maid added, smiling warmly. "He often gazes at them whenever he can. It's good to see someone else appreciates it. "
Renee blinked, startled by the revelation. 'Really? ' she mouthed, but the maids nodded in unison.
"That reminds me," the first maid continued, "It's getting a bit colder, my lady. We should head inside. We can bring the flower to your room. "
Reluctantly, Renee agreed, following the maids back inside the mansion. As she stepped through the doors, the air felt colder, a sign that rain was approaching. Looking out the window, she saw dark clouds rolling in, and it wouldn't be long before it began to pour.
Isaac had warned her the previous day that she was still in recovery and that she could easily fall ill if she wasn't careful. But as she stared out at the impending storm, Renee couldn't suppress the childish urge to go out into the rain. She wasn't a child anymore, but was it really so wrong to want to play in the rain for just a little while?
She quickly shook off the thought, though, and decided to head to the library instead. She was curious about vampires, and today seemed like the perfect day to do some research.
After a long search through the towering shelves, she finally found it: The Study of Vampires, a dusty old tome tucked away in a forgotten corner. She took it in her hands and made her way to the Observatory Room. She'd seen it earlier, and now, she was curious to see it up close.
---
When Renee opened the door to the Observatory, she was instantly taken by its beauty. The room was bathed in soft light, with a large telescope standing at the center, a focal point among the scattered star maps and bookshelves that lined the walls. There was also a staircase leading to a second floor filled with even more books.
She walked around, inspecting everything, but it wasn't until she approached the desk covered in papers that her eyes widened. Maps of constellations, some annotated with notes in a neat, unfamiliar handwriting. One star map in particular caught her attention—Cygnus, the Northern Cross.
She traced the shape of the constellation with her finger, the shape somehow feeling both familiar and distant, as if it had been a part of her life before, but she couldn't remember when.
Her concentration was broken by the sound of a voice from behind her.
"Yahoo! What are you doing, Renee? " Vincent's voice rang out, filled with enthusiasm as he stood beside her, his eyes immediately drawn to the telescope.
Renee turned around, surprised to see him. 'You're here again? ' she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course! I couldn't let you explore the stars without me, could I? " Vincent grinned, a playful glint in his eye. He turned to look at the star map. "Ah, you're looking at Cygnus. Did you know the story behind it? "
Renee, intrigued despite herself, nodded. 'Tell me. '
Vincent, now seated in front of her, leaned forward, his eyes sparkling as he began.
"Alright, let me tell you about Cygnus, " he said, his voice taking on a storytelling tone. "Cygnus was a friend of Phaethon, the son of Apollo. The two of them were racing across the sky, but things got out of control. They got too close to the sun, and their chariot came crashing to the earth. Cygnus woke up, but Phaethon was gone, his body lost at the bottom of the Eridanus River. "
Vincent paused for a moment, his eyes far away as if recalling something from his own past.
"He couldn't dive deep enough to bring Phaethon's body back, so he made a pact with Zeus. Cygnus would be turned into a swan, so that he could dive deep enough to retrieve his friend and give him a proper burial. But in exchange, he would live out the life of a swan, aging much faster than a human would. Zeus agreed, and Cygnus was allowed to perform the last act of love for his friend. Zeus, moved by his sacrifice, made sure that Cygnus was immortalized in the sky, as the Northern Cross. "
Renee listened intently, even though the names and stories were unfamiliar. There was something hauntingly beautiful about the tale.
'Do Cygnus and Phaethon meet again? ' she write on her notebook, looking at him expectedly.
Vincent paused. His smile faded, and a long silence followed. When he finally spoke, his tone was cryptic.
"Who knows? " he said, his voice distant. "Maybe they do...Maybe they don't. "
Renee felt an odd sense of finality in his words, as if the story had no clear ending, just like her own journey.
For a moment, all that remained was the quiet hum of the stars outside, watching over them both.