~1920~
Over the next five years, Kirielle’s talent and beauty had garnered her larger and larger roles in the shows performed nightly as Raven’s Loft. Now, at age twenty, and somehow even more beautiful than she was when she had first taken the stage, at fifteen, Kirielle was easily the undisputed star of the most popular Cabaret club in all of Los Angeles. Of course, that stardom did also attract quite a bit of attention to the girl, good and bad, which had been the original reason for Lucian’s initial misgivings about letting her take the job at all.
On that particular night, Lucian was there, giving her moral support for the premiere of the newest show that would be starting that night. He was often there though, also giving quite a bit of attention to Claire as Kirielle held the attention of the crowds.
In the middle of she and Lucian’s conversation before the curtain went up that night, Kirielle suddenly turned her eyes toward the door of the club. Of course most of the others who had arrived early also had their attention drawn there as well in that same moment.
“Oh my god, he’s here again!” she whispered to Lucian, whose eyes had now followed hers as well.
Lucian then almost visibly flinched as Claire entered the club that night, though not alone. She was on the arm of Sean himself as they stepped through the doors. It was not the first time in the last few years that Sean had made an appearance to watch this current brand of entertainment, and to admire the talent of the new star of the show. After all, before he was ever a Prince, or even a vampire, he himself had been an artist. And considering that he and Claire had been attempting to rekindle their closeness, and she often sang the praises of the tiny blonde with the voice of an angel, his curiosity easily got the better of him from time to time.
“Listen, darling, I hate to do this on the night of a premiere, but I think I may need to take my leave. But I know you’ll be amazing; you always are,” Lucian told Kirielle as he gently squeezed her arms.
“You’re leaving?” she asked, finally pulling her eyes from where Sean and Claire made their way to their seats for the night.
“Please don’t give me that look, little love. You know that sometimes I--” he began, though his words trailed off as she continued looking up at him with disappointment.
“Sometimes you just run out the door as fast as you can? At least when Sean shows up?” she finished for him, her beautiful voice easily conveying the accusation in her words.
“It’s hard to explain. It's not...” he shook his head again.
“Go ahead, finish whatever story you want to make up this time,” she told him with a scowl, making a half-hearted attempt to adjust part of her costume.
“Kirielle don’t do this,” he stated sadly, his eyes moving across the room again to where Sean and Claire now sat close together, speaking quietly.
“I just don’t understand. I mean, even though you’ve been trying to get back with her forever it seems, why should him being here even matter? Don’t they still have an open marriage?”
Lucian scoffed as he dragged his eyes from Sean and back to her, “It’s not about that,” he denied, though weakly.
“Then what is it about?” she asked coolly. She then just shook her head up at him, “Never mind, you won’t explain it anyway. You never do, when it comes to him.” And with that, she turned on her heel and disappeared backstage, leaving Lucian to only sigh with frustration. Though, he didn’t go after her. He looked back at Sean once more, then headed toward one of the side exits before either Sean or Claire, noted his presence at all.
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Without Lucian there to escort her home as he usually did, Kirielle exited the club with a sigh once the doors closed for the night. Despite how amazing the show had went, she was still a bit upset about him not having been there.
She had barely made it a block before turning at the sound of footsteps tentatively exiting an ally behind her. Swallowing hard, she narrowed her eyes to try and get a better look back at the figure that now stood at the edge of the ally’s shadows.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” a young woman’s melodic voice greeted her, her tone shallow, as though more than a bit nervous about talking to Kirielle at all that night.
Kirielle squinted again to get a better look as the woman stepped into the light of the nearby street lamp at last. Her tone didn’t make her seem like much of a threat. She was most likely just a member of the crowd who wanted a chance to speak to the show’s star. It had happened a few times since her stage debut, after all. But Lucian had raised her to be cautious, nonetheless.
Though it was hard to remember that caution as she took in the woman’s appearance. She was nearly as tiny as Kirielle herself, with the same long platinum blonde locks and pale blue eyes. It was an eeriness akin to looking into a mirror.
“Do I... know you?” Kirielle decided on, her own beautiful voice dropping to a tone just as soft as the other woman’s.
“Not... exactly,” the woman attempted a small smile as she took another step toward her. “But I do know you... in a way.”
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Kirielle looked a bit confused by that statement, but soon found a way to try and make sense of it, as she truly did not recognize the woman at all. Aside from their uncanny resemblance. “You mean, you’ve seen me perform?”
“I have, but that’s not exactly what I mean,” she stated as she took a few more cautious steps toward her.
“Then what exactly do you mean?” Kirielle responded with confusion.
“I’m sorry,” she managed another unsure smile. “He’s usually with you. I didn’t have time to think of what to even say to you. I mean, I’ve had time...” she shook her head at her own attempts to make sense that night, “I just didn’t know that I’d get to say any of it tonight.”
“Usually?” Kirielle latched onto that bit of the sentence, holding her bag protectively against her then, her blue eyes taking a quick glance around to determine if anyone else had been nearby at all, unlikely as that was at well past three A.M.
“I’m sorry... again,” the woman shook her head as she looked down once more, now shuffling her feet below her. “I must sound crazy or something, but it’s not like that.” She sighed softly as she looked back up at where Kirielle’s suspicious gaze was still pinned to her. “I suppose I should just tell you the truth, and get it out of the way, shouldn’t I?” she laughed uneasily.
“Yes, the truth would be good here,” Kirielle agreed, though honestly, not knowing what that truth was yet, she wasn’t sure she would want to hear whatever it was, after all.
“Well, firstly my name’s Penelope. And he cal—yours is Kirielle, right?”
“Your name doesn’t tell me anything, Penelope,” Kirielle returned, still regarding the other woman closely.
“I know, I’m sorry, I just...” she shook her head again, “I guess I should start at the beginning. Your beginning,” she added with another awkward smile.
“My beginning?” Kirielle returned, her expression only growing more wary of this strange woman.
“Yes, I---I was there, when you were, well, brought into this world,” Penelope began, her blue eyes quickly coming up to meet Kirielle’s, hoping to gauge any reaction the words would cause.
“Brought into this world?” Kirielle repeated, eyes narrowing again. “You mean when I was born?” she asked, taking a moment to think on what that would even mean to her.
“Well ‘born’ seems like a strange word, considering,” the woman stated softly, moving a step closer, which was now close enough for Kirielle to start feeling that strange affect she felt any time she first came into contact with any of Lucian’s kind.
“The word ‘born’ is the part of this that seems strange to you?” Kirielle managed, trying to push down the effect this odd woman’s presence was beginning to have on her.
Penelope let out another small laugh, “I suppose a lot of this is strange. I just mean that, well technically, you were cut out of me.”
Kirielle swallowed hard as she looked the woman up and down once more, her mind barely perceiving the ramifications of what she had just said, but she understood enough for their resemblance to now make much more sense, even if nothing else did in that moment.
“You're my...”
“Yes,” she smiled again, “nice to meet you, finally.”
Kirielle let out a sound of disbelief as she turned away. She was now the one looking down at the ground, shuffling her feet slightly, as she tried to take in everything that this now meant.
Penelope waited silently, not sure whether she should say anything at all while the girl tried to process this information. Finally, Kirielle looked back toward her, though only out of the side of her eyes. “And you’re one of them... too. Aren’t you?” was the first thought that came into her head.
Penelope looked down again, “I suppose it’s no surprise that you could tell that already. Having been raised by one of us, and all,” she stated softly.
Kirielle scoffed slightly, “Yes. I was raised by... one of you,” she agreed, her beautiful voice taking on a slightly harder tone. “And why is that? Something better you had to do for the last twenty years?”
“I know, I’m sorry... again. It’s just, hard to explain,” Penelope told her softly.
“How I’m so sick of hearing those words tonight,” Kirielle mumbled, looking off into the distance now rather than at Penelope, nay, her mother.
“I... I died,” Penelope attempted.
Kirielle looked back with another sound of disbelief, “And somehow that didn’t stop Lucian from raising me. And he’s not even my actual father.”
Penelope flinched slightly before continuing, “I mean, I died, that night.”
“What night?” Kirielle just shook her head angrily.
“The night you were... born. I was pregnant with you, and then I got attacked... and then... I died... having you,” she finished in a near whisper.
“But you’re...” Kirielle began, trying once again to make sense of this woman’s words. “You were turned, the night I was born, then?”
Penelope nodded and took another moment, “Yes, I died, and then my lover gave me their blood, and made me... into this.”
“My father?” Kirielle asked with further shock.
“What?” Penelope asked, her eyes shooting back up to Kirielle’s face.
“You said your lover turned you...” Kirielle explained, confused further by what almost seemed like anger in Penelope’s equally beautiful voice.
“Your father was not my lover. He was...” she couldn’t even finish the sentence, fury and rage overtaking her at the mere mention of the man who was apparently responsible for Kirielle’s existence.
Seeing her mother’s reaction, paired with her pained words and expression, Kirielle easily filled in those blanks. “I’m sorry,” she was now the one apologizing, the way Penelope had been doing throughout their entire conversation.
Penelope closed her eyes tightly to blink back red tears before making herself continue. “That woman, who pulled you out of me, she took you and gave you to... Lucian, you said. I suppose she knew...” her voice dropped again.
“Knew what?” Kirielle asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
“What would happen, when I woke up,” Penelope swallowed another lump in her throat at the memories.
“And what happened?” Kirielle was not able to stop the question from leaving her lips.
Penelope sniffled as she made herself give that answer. “I wasn’t me in those first moments when I came back. And no one was safe around me. Definitely not a newborn infant, and not my lover, either.”