Chapter Text
Hikari had almost given up on meeting her soulmate. At that point, she was only visiting museums because she enjoyed it, not because the mark on her arm told her this was where they would meet. Very few people would travel to Paris and miss a trip to the Louvre, and she wasn’t one of those.
The inscription on her pulse, that appeared there since her eighteenth birthday, simply said ‘museum’, as if that was a big clue. It was a bother, actually. There were so many museums in the world and, as a travel agent, Hikari had visited most of the famous ones, plus the smaller ones in her home city.
Many times Hikari wished it would disappear, but the only way for it to happen was if she fell in love with someone else - if it was true love from both parties, or so they said - or if her soulmate died.
Not that she had never dreamed of meeting the guy she was destined for. Receiving a soulmate clue or connection was a rare blessing, and the idea was almost like a fairytale.
In fact, many fairy tales talked about soulmates meeting. The way Snow White and Sleeping Beauty first happened upon their princes and how they fought for that love - although Hikari didn’t like how only the men were portrayed fighting and the women waiting on them in these; - Ariel, who fought for her dream before she fought for her love, but one ultimately led to the other; Belle, who was trapped with an unlikely soulmate and it was likely they would never get together, yet they did; how Peter Pan was a good representation of platonic soulmates…
Some modern stories, even fairy tale-like ones, were more realistic. Frozen, for example, where Ana and Hans were soulmates who didn’t love each other and also had a good portrayal of familial soulmates, that many people thought to be a myth.
But Hikari had been wondering whether those who met their soulmates, whether in fantasy or real life, were destined to or just lucky. Not everyone with a soulmate blessing met their other half but, there was also a pattern of those with a countdown always meeting.
There were various forms of soulmates’ marks and connections. Some were more useful than others. Like hers at least had a place as a clue, but one of her sisters only had half of a symbol. Some were more of a curse than a blessing, like that neighbor who could feel part of his soulmate’s pain. Others were just plain annoying, not painful but made life difficult, like people who were colorblind without their soulmate. Soul compasses and threads were very helpful, and a telepathic link made it easy to set up a meeting, and these were the rarest type of connections.
The question was: was it worth chasing that dream that not always ended up in happily ever after?
There were always soulmates who were just glad they met and went their separate ways, or ones that decided to remain platonic, even if that wasn’t their destined bond and, inevitably, those who didn’t get along at all or even, although rarely, news of soulmates who killed each other - usually because they thought their soulmate was in the way of their happiness with someone else wile, in fact, that love was actually one-sided or just misnamed passion. There was no guarantee, even if they were to meet.
Distracted by her thoughts, Hikari bumped into someone. They exchanged apologizes, and she walked away, but couldn’t resist a glance down at her wrist that was nearly instinctual whenever she touched a new person. The word was still there.
“Stop it. Just enjoy your trip, Kari.” She whispered to herself.
Focusing her attention back to the museum, Hikari observed the 'Coronation of Napoleon'.
It was such a large painting it took the entire wall, which made it look like you could step right through it and into another world, like in that Super Mario game her sister used to play.
Hikari didn’t know if she rolled her eyes or laughed at the silly comparison. Very dreamy, right? Maybe for some of her more nerdy friends. Amy probably would have laughed and said she wasn’t as clueless about the fun fantasy as she made herself to be.
Every new trip made Hikari miss her family and friends. Her group of platonic soulmates.
“Did you know, it’s the second largest painting in the Louvre.” A masculine voice spoke from behind her.
Hikari almost jumped in surprise and spun around.
The man had this aura about him, of elegance and maturity, but there was something else that she couldn’t name, alluring, almost otherworldly.
Otherworldly was the right word. He looked like someone who could have walked out of a painting, almost like he didn’t belong to that time and place.
A breath was caught in her throat and she gulped, feeling her heart speed up.
What was it that she was feeling? He was handsome and looked exactly her type, sure, but he wasn’t the first and she had never felt anything like that.
Hikari stiffened when the man drew closer, peering at her. She took a step back, gulping again.
“Pardon, Monsieur?” She meant to tell him that she wasn’t an art piece in the museum to be stared at, but these were all the words she managed to get out.
Hikari relaxed a little, although her heart was still hammering away when the man opened his hand to reveal what he was holding.
“I knew it. This earring belongs to you.” He spoke, at the same time that her hands reached for her ears, noticing one of them was indeed missing.
“Oh, thank you. When did I ever lose it?” Hikari managed a dry laugh.
“I believe it was when that patron bumped into you. I happened to spot it as it fell. I was looking for the chance to return it to you.”
That was what she got for being so distracted. Thank goodness he noticed it. But didn’t that mean he was watching her before?
“Thank you very much.” Hikari bowed, feeling embarrassed.
When she looked back up, her hazel eyes met his golden ones, and she was drawn to him again.
“It’s a shame there’s no mirror here to help you put it back on.” In fact, she could put it back without one, but she didn’t find her voice to tell him that. “Shall I help you restore it to its proper place? That way, you won’t lose it again.”
Hikari was nodding before she could think about his offer, almost like she was under some sort of spell. Had his old-world, noble manner enchanted her so easily?
“If you would hold still, Mademoiselle.”
Easy when her body was tensing again at his proximity. Only her eyes followed his every movement as he brushed her hair back to touch her ear.
Even in Paris, that was too amorous an act to be coming from a stranger. So why was she going along with it?
“That’s a lovely fragrance.” He commented, breath brushing her cheek and giving her goosebumps.
“T-thank you.” Hikari breathed out, hoping he didn’t notice her stutter. “I got that perfume here in Paris.”
“Oh… but I wasn’t talking about your perfume.”
Hikari gulped again, a different kind of tension invading her. Everything about that scene feeling stranger by the minute.
“There. I believe your earring is secured.”
The gentleman stepped away with a perfectly natural smile and Hikari relaxed, like the spell she was under had broken, and she held back a relieved sigh.
“My rogue earring is certain to behave itself now. Thank you.” The new bow she gave him was short, so he wouldn’t get out of her view.
“Not at all. It was thanks to the earring that I was granted the good fortune to meet you. Bon voyage.”
The gentlemen left, heading down a gallery Hikari assumed to lead to the Mona Lisa.
“There. Enough fairytale adventure for you, right, Kari?” She sighed, but her eyes never left the passage the man left thought, her first reaction to him still vivid in her mind.
Was it what people called love at first sight? Hikari always thought the idea was dreamy and ridiculous.
She knew nothing about that man. He had acted a little strange towards the end of their encounter and it had scared her. There was some hint of mystery in his eyes, like someone who was so much more than the facade led to believe, but she was still completely swept away by his charm.
His tailored three-piece suit was modern, but he wore it like a turn-of-the-century prince. Or a vampire from a gothic romance novel.
This last thought made her remember his casual comment on her scent, and a shiver ran down her spine.
“Don’t be silly.” Hikari shook her head. She could deny such fanciful notions, but not her temptation to follow him. “I know it’s foolish, I know it’s stupid, but, no doubt, I’ve been hit with Cupid’s arrow.” She recited the verses of a song. But the song lyrics were, in no way, happy. Was it what she had gotten herself into? A stupid, sudden, one-sided love that would break her?
No. She wasn’t following him. She was just going to see the Mona Lisa before she left. It was not her fault he had headed the same way.
She headed down the hallway he’d taken, only to find herself face-to-face with an old, carved wooden door.
“Is it some sort of exhibit?”
The door itself could be a work of art, but it was ajar, so it led somewhere. Where, though? Maybe a storage room? But there was no one watching and no protection of any kind. Through the gap, she could see clocks, vases, and paintings. Maybe it was a new exhibit?
The dark hallway beyond smelled of time forgotten. More like an old exhibit, then. And Hikari felt herself drawn to it the same way she was drawn to the gentleman from earlier.
She could take a quick look, right? Maybe add something to her travel blog about the forgotten treasure of the Louvre.
Her hand on the metal handle, she was ready to pull the door open when another hand pushed the wooden surface closed instead.
Once again, Hikari spun around to find herself looking into the mysterious golden eyes of the same man from earlier. This time, though, his clothes looked more century appropriate, although they still suggested a certain wealth and class.
But how did he change clothes? Was it one of these twin tricks Amy and Kia used to play on her when they were younger? But why trick a stranger? And she had a feeling that wasn’t the case, anyway.
Was he some kind of magician, instead? That didn’t explain why he was so fixed on her, though.
“Do you need something, Monsieur? I assure you, my earring is still in place.” She tried to act normal, but his hand was still resting on the door, with her between him and the wall.
“I am sorry if I surprised you.” He pulled back. “But you couldn’t cross that door.”
She was tempted to find an excuse and walk away but, at the same time, she didn’t want to, both for her attraction to him and her curiosity at the mystery lurking behind these words.
“Why?”
“You probably will not believe me if I tell you the truth, but look behind you.”
Hikari did cast a glance back from the corner of her eye, so she wouldn’t completely lose the man from her view, but ended up turning around when she found nothing but the wall there.
“What happened to that door? Who are you?”
He smiled at her, and Hikari’s heart skipped a beat. For him to have such an effect on her, it wasn’t fine?
“This is not an appropriate place for such a lengthy discussion. Would you give me the honor of your company?”
“Why would I? I don’t even know you. Why me? Can you answer at least that?”
“The mark on your wrist.” That answer was unexpected. Hikari looked at it, only to find the inscription had disappeared. “Meeting you was a coincidence, but I noticed it disappeared after I put your earring back. So did mine. Do you understand why?”
A soulmate mark would disappear the moment the two parties touched each other.
Was that why she was so suddenly attracted to him? But that couldn’t be it. Hikari couldn’t say if it was love or not, but even without knowing he was her soulmate, she’d been attracted to him.
“Did you know you would find me when you came here?”
“Not the first time. My mark had today’s date, but I didn’t know you would be nearby.”
“What do you mean by ‘the first time’?”
“Would you join me for tea? There is a lovely café not far from here. A public space where we can have a private conversation. I promise I’ll explain everything then. I would love to know you better…”
Should she? Even being her soulmate didn’t guarantee he was a safe person to be alone with.
Then her phone vibrated. She signaled him to wait, then looked at the message. It was from one of her younger sisters, Amy, scheduling for them to meet later. Her sister, who shouldn’t even be in Paris.
But if Amy was in the city, Hikari had nothing to fear and no reason to refuse going out with her soulmate. In the end, she didn’t want to.
“Hikari. The honor of joining you for tea and know you better would be mine. At least if I knew your name.”
“Pardon for my poor manners. Everyone calls me Comte de Saint-Germain.”
That wasn’t the level of intimacy she would have expected from the guy who approached her first, but it was fair. Soulmates or not, they were basically strangers. If it was in her country, she would have offered him no more than her last name. It was just that she grew used to many countries using first names freely while traveling. They didn’t even know if this would work.
“It will be a pleasure to get to meet you.” Hikari smiled as he offered her his arm.
She had woken up in the morning wishing she didn’t have a soulmate, and now their meeting was almost as much of a fairytale as it could be.
Hikari just hoped her fairytale didn’t include any evil witches, bad wolves, or curses at all.
A ridiculous thought. These things didn't exist. But neither did doors that disappeared.
What if it did, though?
Hikari thought for a moment, and decided that, despite fears or complaints, she would love that, as long as she had a happy ending.