Chapter IV and Prologue

<b><u>Chapter IV</u>

 

1914

 

Lyle looked up from the dress he was working on as he heard the bell on the door jingle. His eyes widened as he saw a man walk in to the same description his brother had described: Dark hair pulled back and grey eyes. He wore bright attire; almost to an extent that Lyle had assumed he was in the circus. The man wore a dark red coat with gold embroidery and under the coat he wore a bright red shirt. His trousers were black (contrasting the coat and shirt) and knee high boots were on his feet. But the hat atop his head was something that caught Lyle’s attention the most: It was dark blue, although it was hard to tell at first glance whether it was blue or black, and a long white feather fading into a red color sticking from the hat hung lazily over his shoulder.

 

 The floorboards creaked as he stepped into the shop. He looked around as if the shop was something he had seen before too many times. His eyes then met with Lyle’s (who was sitting and staring at the man) and he smiled. Lyle blinked and quickly stood up, going to the man.

 

“W-Welcome,” He found himself very nervous. Whether or not this man was the same one Marcus had spoken of, this man seemed to be wealthy. The dyes for his clothing would have been expensive. Lyle calmed down before speaking again, telling himself everything was okay. “What can I get you, sir?”

 

“I was looking for a dress to be made.” He looked at Lyle with a calm expression, although his eyes sparkled. He took off his hat, holding it in his left hand. “My name is Aedan.” He held out his right hand to Lyle and Lyle clasped it and shook. Something peculiar about Aedan’s handshake was that he kept his thumb lifted. Lyle saw there was a fresh cut on his thumb, along with other faint scars. He tore his eyes away and looked up at him to smile.

 

“Lyle Quint.” Lyle forced a smile. “Who’s the dress for, if I may ask?” Aedan looked out the window and smiled at the carriage outside. Lyle followed his gaze and saw through the carriage window a girl with blonde hair. She turned her head, apparently feeling a gaze upon her, and she stared at Lyle with blue eyes. A faint smile crossed her face before she looked away again. Fair hair. The exact description that Marcus had given him. Lyle now knew that these people knew Marcus. “Your wife?” Aedan laughed, looking from the window at Lyle.

 

“No, no. Definitely not. She’s beautiful, though, isn’t she?” Aedan chuckled and looked to Lyle. “Do you mind if we close the curtains? I don’t want her to see anything of the dress. I want it to be a surprise.”

 

Lyle hesitated, but nodded and closed the curtains, the girl and carriage disappearing from view. He then turned to Aedan.

 

“What kind of dress do you want for her? And I need a fitting at some point…” Aedan reached inside his coat and took out a piece of paper, holding it out to Lyle.

 

“I’ve gotten her measured before. I’m sure she hasn’t changed much over time, so it still should be correct.” Aedan smiled as Lyle looked over the measurements. Lyle nodded and looked to Aedan. “I want a dark dress; maybe a dark blue…With silver ribbons.” Aedan smiled wide. “You know, down the rib cage.” He traced his index finger down his front. “Criss-crossed.”

 

“One moment, sir.” Lyle moved away, sitting and unfolding the paper Aedan had given him. He took a pen and dipped it in ink, scribbling down what Aedan requested. At this point, all suspicious thoughts had left Lyle. He looked up at Aedan, nodding for him to continue.

 

“Perhaps a bow on the back of the waist, long peasant sleeves…” He smiled as if imagining it. “Ah, it would look beautiful on her.”

 

“I’d imagine so.” Lyle said as he scribbled the last words.

 

“Perhaps a necklace with it too.” Aedan added, sighing quietly. “How long should the dress take to make?”

 

“About a week.” Lyle smiled up at him. “Come back next Wednesday.” </b>

 

When he arrived at Christelle’s home, he was amazed at how nice it was. It seemed like it was a Victorian home, and he could only guess it had originally belonged to Aedan. He followed her upstairs to an almost vacant room (a dresser, a bed, a mirror). She sat down on the bed and stared up at him.

 

“First, why do you want to know so much about Aedan? Do you care about your brother this much?”

 

Lyle nodded without hesitation.

 

“Aedan did a horrible thing to both of us. I want to at least know about him.”

 

She sighed, and then she began speaking again.

 

“I met Aedan before I was three. He stole me from my parents for reasons unknown and took care of me. In 1764, when I was seventeen, he changed me.” She smiled faintly at Lyle’s alarmed eyes and looked away from him before continuing. “He told me before he did it so there were no surprises. After he changed me, he taught me everything about being a vampire; how to feed, how to kill someone…everything. We traveled in a caravan with others, although Aedan and I often left and jumped onto another caravan when needed.” She smiled faintly, remembering. “Then we came to Luke.” She looked up at Lyle. “I still have that beautiful dress you made. I took good care of it.” Lyle smiled a little.

 

“Thank you. I worked very hard on it.” She sighed before continuing.

 

“Then around the 1920s, we stopped traveling. We settled here in this house. But later I found out that Aedan had stolen me, not adopted me as he told me. I planned to move out, but the depression came, and I knew it would be hard to live without Aedan’s help. After that, World war two came. Finally, in 1946, I asked Aedan to leave. And he did.”

 

“Why did he listen to you?”

 

“Because he grew tired of me also.” She looked into Lyle’s eyes as she answered this. “And Just because he’s cruel doesn’t mean he doesn’t listen.”

 

“But why did he change me?” He was almost begging for that answer. She looked at him with a confused look on her face. But then, she looked away, lowering her eyes and she responding quietly,

 

”I wouldn’t know that either.”

 

* * *

 

Of course, Lyle wasn’t the one to listen. He told himself this as he headed to Luke, a town he had told himself not to go to. He pushed away the thoughts about his past, and looked ahead to perhaps what he would see there now. When he finally arrived there in the cab, he was surprised to see that Luke still had the same structure.

 

And also, Lyle’s house was still there.

 

Of course, it was abandoned. The paint on the outside was peeling off, the wandering plants of the front yard had wandered onto the porch. The front door was ajar, but it only led to darkness of the house. Lyle saw no posted signs, so he walked up and carefully went up the steps, going inside.

 

The inside was empty and bare. The feeling inside made Lyle feel melancholy and guilty that he had even left in the first place. He moved around the house with careful footing since he wasn’t sure how well it had been taken care of. Then, he went to Marcus’s room, and saw a figure sitting in the corner.

 

“Marcus…” Lyle said slowly.

 

The figure turned and smiled faintly, revealing the tired face of Marcus.

 

“Brother.” He stated softly. “How good it is to see you again.” Lyle hadn’t seen his brother in twenty years; the last time of their meeting was in New York when Marcus moved away from there.

 

“Why are you here?” Marcus stood up, going towards Lyle.

 

“I was visiting Boston, and I came to Luke.” Lyle sighed, seeing how horrible his brother looked. Sunken eyes, pale skin, weary expression…He had been avoided feeding. “I met Aedan’s daughter.”

 

“His daughter?” Marcus thought for a moment. “Oh.” He stated flatly. “The girl.”

 

“She didn’t know much about Aedan. She was adopted by him and he hadn’t told anything to her about his past.”

 

“She had no idea why he had changed us?” Marcus asked in vain.

 

“No.”

 

Marcus sighed, looking away.

 

“I don’t know why I’m here anymore, Lyle.” He said softly. “I don’t know why I come back here and sit here, staring out the dirty window. I don’t know why I left France.” He sighed once again. “The least I could know is why I became this.”

 

“Aedan could be dead, Marcus.”

 

Marcus turned, looking at Lyle.

 

“And did you ask the girl that?”

 

Lyle stayed silent, knowing he should of. He shook his head and looked away. He had no proof of Aedan being alive or dead. It had them both doubting whether they’d ever find Aedan or not,

 

<b>Prologue. </b>

 

He went back to New York with Marcus, since Marcus hadn’t seen his brother in so long. But there was that uncomfortable silence that seemed to follow them when they were near each other now. And Lyle knew that Marcus may be unstable in controlling his hunger. On the train back, Lyle asked him quietly,

 

“When was the last time you fed?”

 

Marcus shook his head and smiled faintly.

 

“When? I don’t know. Whenever I drink I black out.”

 

Lyle knew this wasn’t very good. Marcus wasn’t eating whenever he was hungry; causing him to just allow his instincts to take over and feed on it’s own without thought.

 

“Marcus, that’s not good…”

 

“And?” He growled. “When did I allow you to be in the position to preach to me?”

 

Lyle went silent and looked away, moving his eyes to the window and not speaking to Marcus for the rest of the ride.

 

* * *

 

Back in New York, Lyle didn’t see Leslie at the bar again. He felt bad that he had perhaps ‘scared her off’. Marcus stayed at Lyle’s apartment while Lyle worked on the weekends, and he introduced Marcus to James.

 

James didn’t like Marcus, which was a surprise to Lyle. He thought that they would get along, but it seemed that James didn’t like the power that Marcus brought over him. Marcus definitely was the oldest vampire there, (even if he wasn’t much older than Lyle) and he did have an intimidating feel to him.

 

Lyle tried to talk to his brother more so they could get along and he could perhaps help Marcus, but it was harder than it seemed.

 

* * *

 

1914

 

Lyle’s vision was terribly blurred, and what he thought he saw was Aedan leaving. Aedan had…done something, something horribly painful to Lyle. He wasn’t sure if he was dying or not.

 

The blurred figure stopped in place and Lyle heard a chuckle.

 

“Don’t worry. The dress you made is wonderful, I’m sure she’ll love it.” Aedan came towards Lyle and stared down at him. “Perhaps I should keep you alive.”

 

“Marcus…You…” Lyle tried to speak a full sentence, but it was harder than he imagined.

 

“Marcus? Oh, you know him?” Aedan smiled. “Yes, I kept him alive too.” Aedan kneeled and lifted Lyle’s head so his eyes were with Aedan’s. Lyle could see Aedan much better. “If I leave you like this, you will surely die.” He smiled again and dropped his head. He left Lyle’s vision, especially after Lyle went unconscious.

 

Aedan brought Christelle into the shop, showing her Lyle on the floor.

 

“Why don’t you change him this time, dear? It would be your first.”

 

She stared at the man’s body, remembering when she had seen him through the window only about a week ago. She kneeled down beside Lyle and lifted pushed him over so he was on his back and examined his throat. There was still Aedan’s wound there, seeping a bit of blood. She bit her lip, restraining herself. She looked at Aedan and asked,

 

“How?”

 

Aedan smiled thinly and took her hand gently, touching the inside of her wrist with two fingers.

 

“Think on the contrary.”

 

          * * *