*Sacred Flower*

	LaCroix intensely studied the rose that he had in his hands. "Fleur." 
How he missed her. Love was such a sickening thing. It drove you to death, it 
could turn you into someone's cupcake, or honey.
	LaCroix knew he had promised himself never to think about Fleur 
anymore, but he couldn't help it. His beautiful flower. Nicholas has taken it all 
away from him, with what? A guilt trip? Yes. It was much too obvious now that 
Nick loved Natalie. He tried to take Natalie away from Nick that one Valentines 
Day, but now... "He is my son, and I should let him be happy," he thought out 
loud.
	He still had an eternity, and in that eternity, maybe his heart will soften 
again. "No." No one would ever take his heart like Fleur had. Only she had the 
power to do so. She was like a Greek Goddess, and now she was lost, how long 
ago she had died. He had seen her body be buried... how sad it was. He sighed at 
the thought of how long ago she had died. He could of let that precious flower 
bloom for an eternity. 

					*	*	*

	"Two stab wounds to the chest -- it looks as if it was a six or seven inch 
knife. The killer didn't waste *any* time." Natalie stared at the mangled body 
that lay on the floor. She and Nick had been called to the scene an hour ago. The 
house they were in was very classy, who would suspect that such a vicious 
murder would take place in it. The man who lived in the house was Edward Jones, 
and he was believed to be the victim.
	"Time of death?" Nick asked. Tracy was chatting with a witness, a petite 
young woman. Nick found her looks very strange, but he couldn't put his finger 
on why. He kept flashing a look her way, but she was never facing him.
	"Around an hour and a half ago. The killer was short and sweet. He 
must be experienced."
	"Or she."
	Natalie gave Nick a confused look, but it quickly turned to disbelief. 
"You don't think that..."
	"I'm not leaving any possibilities out of this."
	"You better talk to Tracy about this. Remember, I only examine the 
bodies, *you* do the investigation."
	"I'll remember that the next time I mention anything to you." He smiled 
at her, and walked towards Tracy, who was no longer talking with the witness.
	"And...?"
	"Her name's Rose Jennings. She lives next-door. She says she heard a 
scream, ran over, and saw Mr.
Jones dead, and called the police."
	"Did she know him well?"
	"She said she occasionally saw him when she was watering her garden. 
That's about it."
	"Did you tell her we have to take her in to get her testimony on tape?"
	"I did. One of the officers is taking her to the station now... we should 
get there too." 
	Nick and Tracy walked out of the house, and stepped into Nick's 
Cadillac. Nick revved up the engine, and began to drive away from the house.
	"So, do you have a hunch yet?"
	"Not yet. I don't know what to think, really. All of these murders... it's 
so sad. I sometimes wonder why I
do this." 
	"I wonder the same thing." 
	"Do *you* have a hunch?"
	"Rose Jennings. But I'm not going to say anything to Reese about it 
yet... besides, I don't even know the story. I just have this weird feeling."
	"Cop instinct?"
	"Yeah, that's it."
				*	*	*
	Nick and Tracy were back at the station, questioning Rose Jennings. 
	"Tell us exactly what happened tonight, and include every detail." 
Tracy walked over to Nick.
	"Okay. I was at my house, and at around ten p.m., I heard a yell for 
help."
	"But Miss Jennings... before you said you heard the scream... or yell... 
at 9:45." Tracy said. 
	"I don't know what time it was. I wasn't watching the clock. It was 
around then."
	"Go on...," Nick said.
	"So I raced out my front door. I heard another yell, and realized it was 
coming from next-door. So I ran to Mr. Jones' house --"
	"Which would be about how far?" Nick asked. 
	"I don't know. Five or six yards, I suppose. So... I got there, and went 
through the front door. I saw Mr. Jones laying on the floor dead, so I called the 
police. That's about all."
	"Did you know Mr. Jones well?"
	"I've talked to him a few times, seen him while watering my garden. Just 
a friendly neighbor kind of thing. I didn't know him very well." 
	"That'll be all, Miss Jennings. Thank you." Miss Jennings got up and 
walked out of the room. Nick turned to Tracy.
	"Her story's not making any sense. She said she went through the front 
door.... but the window was broken." 
	"Nick... maybe the killer went out the window."
	"True, true. But I still don't think she's out of the suspect list." 
	"I don't think it was her... I don't know. It's too early to tell."
	"I'm going to talk to Nat about it, see what she has to say." 
			*	*	*
	Nick snuck up behind Natalie, and whispered in her ear, "So, what'd 
you find?"
	Natalie jumped. "Don't do that! You scared me!"
	Nick grinned. "Sorry, sorry. Anything interesting?"
	"I'm sure the killer was left handed. I also found traces of blood *not* 
matching the victim's on the body. So I'm thinking the killer probably cut 
themselves when coming in." 
	"Cut themselves... on window glass?"
	"Yeah, that'd be possible. The window was broken, right?"
	"Yeah, it was. Hey, Nat, what type of blood didn't match the victim?"
	"B negative."
	"Thanks... I want to check up on something." Nick gave Natalie a kiss 
on the cheek, and was out of the room in a flash.
			*	*	*
	"O negative."
	"O negative?" Nick was talking to Tracy at the precinct. "Damn. I was 
hoping that I knew who the killer was... but I guess that hunch was wrong."
	"You mean the one about Rose Jennings?"
	"Yeah. There was B negative blood found on the body... so I was 
hoping that her blood would match... but I guess it didn't."
	"Hey, even good cops don't always have good hunches." Tracy smiled. 
	"Thanks. So do you have any?" 
	"No... not yet."
	"Hey, Nick!" Nick heard a familiar voice and spun around to see Natalie.
	"Nat... what are you doing here?"
	"I found something important on the body. O negative blood." 
	"O negative?" 
	"Yeah. Is that information very helpful?"
	"Yes, very. Excuse us for a moment." Nick walked Natalie into a small 
room just behind them.  
	"What is it, Nick?"
	"I think... I think Rose Jennings is a vampire."
	"A vampire?"
	"Yes. I've had a strange feeling about her all along. And if her blood is 
on the body... and so is B negative... I'm thinking --"
	"That was blood from her last kill?"
	"Exactly. And the reason her blood was on the victim is when she flew 
through the window."
	"Her wounds didn't heal?"	
	"That's what I can't figure out. But she could be a different breed. They 
vary. Sunlight, decapitation, stakes, those kill us all, but different breeds... 
generations.. can vary on healing speed, and things like that."
	"So how exactly are you going to explain this in terms of a non-vampire 
case?"
	Nick pondered the question. "I don't know. I don't want to worry about 
that right now. Nat -- I'll talk to you later." Nick was off out of the room before 
Natalie could question him. 
	Nick raced out of the precinct, and as he reached the front door, he 
could sense Rose. He knew she was somewhere near. He listened carefully, 
trying to pick her breathing out from the sounds of Toronto. He finally came to 
the conclusion that she was in an alley somewhere near, so he started to fly 
towards the breathing. He didn't get far before he found her standing in an alley -
- not hurt, not sad, just thinking. Her back was to him, so he landed, and walked 
up behind her. His fangs were fully extended now, and he wanted to keep them 
that way. He wanted to make sure she knew that he was, too, a vampire. 
	"Rose." His voice was almost lifted away, but she heard him. She turned 
around, and looked at him, her big blue eyes vacant. 
	"I've been waiting for you, Nicholas... I've been waiting for you to 
realize what I was. It was just a matter of time." Rose started towards him, but 
stopped about seven feet from him. She looked up, as if talking to the stars. "Do 
you know who I am?" Her gaze settled upon him.
	Nick gave her a confused look. He then retracted his fangs. "No... no, I 
don't."
	Rose gave a half-hearted laugh. "Has my immortality drained me of my 
soul so much that you do not remember me? Your beloved sister, Nicolaii?"
	"Fleur?" A rush of emotion came over Nick. He raced towards her and 
embraced her. "But Fleur, you're dead. I saw you buried!" 
	"So you did. But I'm sure you've also faked your death many times."
	"You... you've changed. You're not the Fleur I knew. You've lost your 
soul. You've lost who you are."
	"Let me see Lucien. He's the missing piece of my heart. I've been lost 
for so long... wondering where I'm going and why. Wondering why every 
passing day has been so hard for me."
	"You cannot live with --"
	"I know what I am. I am not like you... searching for mortality, but I do 
search for my inner self. I lost my grip on it when I was brought over, and I'm still 
searching for it. I think... I *know* that missing piece is Lucien. I'm going to go 
see him."
	"Why didn't you see him long ago?"
	"It wasn't time. I wasn't ready, and neither was he. I couldn't see him 
without waiting."
	"Seven hundred fifty years?"
	"It has only seemed like ten. The centuries slipped away."
	"I know what you mean."
	"I shall go see him now... please, Nicholas, I must see you again. We 
have too much to catch up on... so many years, so many stories. Please -- meet 
me again here tomorrow night?"
	"I will. I love you, Fleur." Nick gave Fleur a kiss on the cheek and 
watched her fly into the sky, in search
for LaCroix. 
				*		*		*
	LaCroix was sitting in his chair about to broadcast, when Fleur walked 
into the room. 
	"Who are you?" he asked, his voice rough.
	A tear fell off Fleur's cheek. "Do you not remember, Lucien? Has my 
immortality really drained me that much?" Her enormous blue eyes looked up at 
him. "Fleur, Lucien. Fleur." 
	"Fleur? But you're ---" 
	"I'm not."
	LaCroix was in a moment of shock, but managed to run up to her and 
kiss her. "But you -- I saw you --"
	"Almost everything you think about my life is untrue. I was brought 
across only a few years after you saw me... and I have been like this since."
	"You seem different."
	"I am... the centuries have changed me. But I need *you*, Lucien. How 
I've missed you so! I've waited so long for this moment to see you again. To feel 
you in my arms, to feel your gentle touch."
	"Why didn't you tell me earlier? Why did you not visit me? I love you, 
Fleur."
	"I had to wait... I had to leave ample time... to see how long you would 
remember me." 
	"Seven hundred fifty years is too long to break a heart."
	"I'm sorry." Fleur looked up at LaCroix, and gave him a long, gentle kiss. 
"I've missed you... I've never forgotten you." 
	"As I have never forgotten you." 
	"But I feel... I feel I have lost something. Is it my soul, or do I just need 
to look harder?"
	"You have a vampire's soul... " He looked at Fleur. His fangs were 
extended now, and he moved her head slightly to the side, to expose her neck. He 
bit into her, and let her blood flow into him. It coursed through his veins like no 
other had. She still had her innocence there, no matter if it had been trampled on 
after the many years. It was there, he could taste it. Finally, he stopped, breathing 
heavily. He took his finger and took the blood still on his lips into his mouth.
	Fleur looked panicked. "Lucien... I need to go now."
	LaCroix looked confused. "Will you be back?"
	Fleur looked back at him, but did not answer. She left the room, and left 
LaCroix standing there, confused and sad.
					*	*	*
	"Nick! What happened?" Nick had just walked into Natalie's lab. He 
had a smile on his face... he thought he'd never see Fleur again.
	"It was my sister -- Fleur. I thought she had died... but... I guess she was 
brought across." 
	Natalie smiled. "Siblings are great things." 
	"They are." Nick paused. "The sun's starting to rise, so I better get 
home." 
	"I'd like to come with you... to make *sure* you try to eat something."
	"You don't trust me?"
	Natalie laughed. "Come on...," she starting walking out of the lab, and 
Nick followed.
					*	*	*
	Natalie and Nick were in the elevator leading up to Nick's loft. Nick 
heard the elevator reach his loft, and opened up the door. At first he saw nothing 
out of the ordinary, but when get got closer to the couch, he gasped. 
	"Nick? What is it?" Natalie started walking towards him, and then she 
saw it too. There, on the couch, staked, lay Fleur. Her enormous blue eyes were 
filled with emptiness, not the sparkle they once had. Nick then saw a note laying 
on the table. He picked it up, and began to read it to himself:

  To my dearest brother Nicolaii and my eternal love Lucien: Once you find this 
note, I will be dead. I killed myself -  I didn't want anyone else to have to kill me 
for the burden   I have on myself.  I have been searching for my soul every  since 
I became a vampire. I thought I had lost it because I had  lost both of you. I was 
sure that once I found both of you, my  soul would be returned, and I would 
have the wholeness I had once  before. When I saw both of you, indeed, an 
empty space in my  heart was full again, but my soul was not there. I realize now 
that  it took me too long to find out what the vampire in me had did to my  soul. 
That is why I had to leave this earth for good... I cannot live like  this any longer. 

Nicholas, your quest for mortality means more than anything to me  now,   
wherever I am -- hell or heaven. I envy you, how you have the patience   
to wait for your soul to slowly come back. I've lived without mine for too long.  
Never forget me.

					Love,
					    Fleur

	"Nick?" Natalie's voice was almost a whisper. "What does it say, Nick? 
Who killed her?"
	"She did it. She staked herself." Nick looked at Fleur again, her lifeless 
body on the couch. How your life could change in one (k)night...  



Jessica Roop
OcelotLover@juno.com
http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/1480
Long Live The Knight!