Ch. 78 - MAID OF GEVAUDAN

Sawyer's outfit:

โ–ช๏ธŽ ๐Ÿ–ค ๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€๐ŸŒˆ๐Ÿ•ฏโ–ช๏ธŽ

Chapter Seventy-Eight
๐ŸŒ’ Maid Of Gevaudan ๐ŸŒ˜


"That letter would eventually find its way into the hands of a young woman. A skilled hunter who would later face the Beast armed with nothing but a steel-tipped pike. She would be known by history as the Maid of Gรฉvaudan... But her real name was Marie-Jeanne."

Lydia, Sawyer, Anakin and the still-injured Parrish were still in the bunker where Gerard and Argent are telling them what they know about the Beast. Sawyer glanced over at Parrish to see he looks discouraged and overwhelmed after everything that he has just learned about his nature as the Hellhound.

"Maybe someone should resurrect her." He said before turning to walk out the door, but Sawyer grabbed his shoulder, "Where are you going?" She said and he turned to her. "My dreams aren't like Lydia's, you know this, we have the same dreams. I'm not just a harbinger of death- I'm the cause of it." He said then turned to leave again making Sawyer go to follow him.

"Jordan!" She called out and went to leave but Gerard stopped her, "Let him go." He said, making her turn to him an annoyed look as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Why?" She asked, "Because as much as we believe Parrish could take on the Beast... Neither of us think he's our only hope at stopping it." He said, making both girls look at him confused.

"What do you mean?" Lydia asked, moving to stand next to her girlfriend and Anakin, "We think there's another." He said as Gerard walked over. "You." He said, looking at Lydia making them look at each other. "Marie-Jeanne was a lot like you, Lydia. Skeptical of her own abilities. And once, actually, just as skeptical of the supernatural..." Gerard said, starting to explain everything again.

"Why didn't he warn her?" Lydia asked a little while after Gerard told some of the story, "He told her about everything that they'd seen during the war. But, like I said... Marie-Jeanne was a skeptic. They searched from dawn 'till dusk, hoping to find the Beast where it slept. But, they knew they'd most likely only encounter it at nightfall. It was just after midnight when the first torch went out..."

All of the sudden, Sawyer and Lydia both hear a loud banging noise along with the sound of the Beast roaring. To Sawyer it sounded like it was inside the bunker, but it hits Lydia with such force that she gets woozy and nearly collapses. Sawyer quickly catches her before she could fall while Argent stepped forward, "Lydia? Sawyer?" Argent asked.

"Something's happening." Lydia said and Sawyer nodded in agreement while Argent raised his eyebrows, "Now?" He asked and Sawyer nodded slightly. "Right now... At the school. We can't stay here." She said and grabbed Anakin's leash before she and Lydia were about to leave but Gerard stopped them.

"You should hear the rest of the story." He said, making Sawyer scoff and turn to him, "Why should we even be listening to you?" She asked and Argent gave her a stern look. "He knows it better than any of us." Argent said and Sawyer chuckled sarcastically and nodded. "Yeah... He knows a lot of things. Like how to kidnap and beat up a teenage girl. I still have a scar on my lip from it!" Sawyer said and Argent sighed softly.

"Everything I've read says that the Beast was killed by Jean Chastel." Lydia said after a moment and Gerard scoffed, "Who told you that? The internet? If that's your most reliable source of information, then you might as well go." He said and Lydia and Sawyer glanced at each other. Both of them clearly wanted to leave but yet, much to Sawyer's despise, still wanted to know about the Beast.

"What happened next?"

"Henri brought Marie-Jeanne to his home... A place protected by a circle of mountain ash trees. Marie-Jeanne knew she couldn't just take out another hunting party armed with mistletoe and rowan berries. She needed an advantage. She needed to know her enemy... Marie-Jeanne confronted her brother the moment she walked back into the tavern. The skeptic became a full believer that night." He explained.

"So, Marie-Jeanne went back to Henri to figure out how to kill both a Beast and a brother. Using a steel pike, forged out of wolfsbane, mountain ash and Marie-Jeanne's blood, under the light of a full moon. Marie-Jeanne hunted Sebastien for three years until she finally cornered him in 1767." He said.

Gerard started talking about how Marie-Jeanne telling her brother about how history would only remember him as a Beast making realization cross over Sawyer's features. "Damnatio memoriae." She said and Argent nodded, "They erased every detail of him. Everything he signed, everything he owned..."

"They burned it all. The name Sebastien Valet has been forgotten for over 150 years, but when it's remembered." Gerard said, "When the Beast remembers, the teenager inside is forgotten." Argent continued.

"Gone. Forever." Gerard said and Lydia frowned slightly, "But Marie-Jeanne didn't do it alone. She was never alone. She had help from Henri, the Magistrate, the town... even Marcel." She said and Sawyer took a deep breath and nodded slightly.

"We need Jordan. I'm going to go find him." Sawyer said and turned to leave, making Anakin stand up but Argent stopped her, "Sawyer, he's dangerous." He said, making her turn to him with a dirty look. "He's still a shapeshifter- and one who's just beginning to understand his power." He said and Sawyer scoffed before gesturing to herself and Lydia.

"And what about us? Lydia has a scream that can blow up your brain. I literally envision your death if I really wanted to, not to mention potentially drive you insane by putting voices in your head. But yeah, Jordan's the dangerous one." She said and he sighed and shook his head.

"You guys are not the same. You access the supernatural- it works through you, both of you." Argent said, glancing between the young couple, "But it doesn't control either of you." Gerard said, making Lydia shoot him a glare. "How would you know? Why do you even care? Why are you suddenly on our side?" She asked.

Gerard picked up one of the Argent family's silver bars and slid it across the table toward Lydia and Sawyer, "Because it's my name as well." He said as Lydia opened the book. "Marie-Jeanne never left Henri after the death of her brother. And their relationship became more than a partnership. They married, and she took his name."

Lydia picked up the silver bar, which has the Argent fleur-de-lis stamped onto it, and realization crossed over her features. "Argent." She said and Argent nodded, "Marie-Jeanne was the first hunter." He said and Gerard smiles smugly at the girls.

"Our name will be remembered as well, girls- for killing the Beast." He said and Sawyer squinted at him. "But we're not Argents." She said and Lydia turned to Argent, "And I'm not Allison." She said before Sawyer grabbed her hand and they and Anakin walked out the bunker.

Comment