Chapter 1 – The smokeless chimney

"Flight 042 with Avalon Airways for Paris will depart in 30 minutes, passengers are expected at the south gate"

Vincent clenched the handle of his luggage.

In only an hour he'd be flying away from everything he'd known to France. He'd be a foreigner there, for the first time in his life, no family, no hometown or familiar faces. The thought scared and thrilled him at the same time.

After all, he'd been accepted in his dream school in Paris, something that seemed impossible a few years ago.

"It'll be fine, honey" said a voice behind him, as a warm hand rested on his shoulder.

His grandmother's smile was warm and reassuring, she could sense his distress, he supposed. Not that It must have been very difficult, he tended to be easy to read, or so he'd been told.

"If the plane isn't late you'll get there in the morning, so try to get some sleep during the trip alright?"

Vincent nodded, although he wasn't sure if he'd manage to sleep at all. Flying made him anxious.

"I'll make sure to call you when I get there"

She smiled, then gestured him to hurry.

And so, he left, giving one last wave to his grandmother.

While he walked toward the gate, he couldn't help but think how he wished for his parents to be there. He didn't remember much about his father, he'd left when he was 5 for reasons his mother always avoided answering. She, however, had stayed for him, raising him with the help of his grandparents. He had leant french through his grandparents and english at home with his mother.

She was abroad now, some business stuff apparently. She'd sent a message wishing him a good trip along with a flow of motherly advice, but he simply wished she'd been there.

Seated on a bench in front of the departure gate, he unfolded the piece of paper where the address of his future home was written :

42 Dareau street, 75001 Paris

Just a name for now, he thought, but not a meaningless one. The flat belonged to his father, before he divorced Vincent's mother, that is. The divorce lawyer seemed to have done a good job of securing it for her, even though it had stayed virtually inhabited until then.

That, too, would change soon, he thought with a smile as he walked towards the gate.

It was cold in Paris that day.

Vincent shivered as he walked down the streets, luggage in one hand, paper in the other.

The city was very different from everything he'd known back in the US. The streets were narrower, crowded with people hurrying to their destination dodging the dog excrements that sometimes laid on the sidewalk. The morning sun reflected off the street's puddles making them spark like jewels, only disturbed by the passage of cars.

He found himself staring at every corner, every window, street lamp like a child in a candy store. It was exciting, after all, to discover a place brand new. He thought about venturing in the bigger streets, but for now, he had a flat to find.

Finally, the "Rue Dareau" sign showed up. It was a busy street at this time of the day, yet Vincent had no trouble spotting a few shops, and even a graveyard further away. Well, those weren't really his favourite thing to hang around but he supposed it would at least provide for a quiet neighbourhood.

He smiled at the thought.

He walked more slowly now, anxiously checking every building's number, until his showed up.

The building looked like most others in the street, a plain and pale facade with rectangular windows and white shutters. A bright red wooden door stood at the entrance, its paint worn down by weather and time.

He pushed open the door, revealing a dark hallway followed by a set of stairs.

He climbed the steep stairway up to the last floor, where his flat was situated.

A dark and heavy wooden door barred his way. Some symbols had been painted on its surface, which had been erased by the passage of time and years of use. That one looked like it had seen more than a few owners go through its doorstep.

Vincent produced a key from his pocket.

Now, that one looked like it had come out of some sort of souvenir shop.

The metal gave a golden shine, as if it had been polished seconds before being handed to him. The bow of the key displayed what looked like a winged lion with a snake tail. He had no clue where in heavens his father found this weird-looking key... He'd have to ask his mother about it. Maybe she'd know. She was the one that gave it to him, after all.

The lock clicked pleasantly as the cuts of the key pushed the mecanism inside.

Darkness.

He felt the wall in search of a switch.

Light invaded the place, revealing a snowfall of dust.

Vincent repressed a sneeze as he observed his surroundings. The room looked like it came from another era. And been hit by a hurricane. That, too.

The whole place was littered with newspapers, books and various objects as if his father had left one day and never come back.

The center of the room was covered by colourful carpets, upon which were arranged several armchairs around a glass table. Many framed photographs covered the walls.

He got closer and wiped away the layer of dust.

The picture showed his dad standing next to a black man with curly hair, the eiffel tower behind them. That person was unfamiliar to him, probably a distant family friend which he forgot about.

He spread the curtains, letting the outside's light in.

If one managed to look past the mess, the place looked like it was still in good shape. He continued exploring, spotting a bathroom, a small kitchen, and a bedroom with a ridiculously large bed. Not that he'd complain.

The flat was much better than anything he'd hoped for.

He rolled up his sleeves.

"Let's clean this mess up" he said out loud, a soft smile on his face.

His phone's ringtone woke him up.

What time was it? It felt like it was in the middle of the night.

The screen of phone shed light on his sleepy face.

05:42

Yep, that was still very much night as far as he was concerned.

He picked up the call anyway.

"Hey mom"

"Hi sweetheart, sorry for calling so late ! I just got out of my meeting, how are you doing ?"

At this point it'd be more accurate to say early, but he wasn't going to let tiredness get the best of him.

"Pretty good. The flat needed a lot of cleaning but it's inhabitable now. I haven't gotten time to go around the city yet, probably will do that today"

"That's a good idea, be careful not to get lost though. When do you start class ?"

He thought for a second.

"Well, tomorrow actually" The realisation made him slightly anxious. "I suppose I'll have to get everything ready by the end of the day, probably gonna do some grocery shopping for starters"

"Good idea, don't worry about tomorrow, you'll do great i'm sure of it"

He smiled "It's only a first day, I'm not afraid. Probably going to stick around english-speaking people at first to get used to the whole people-speak-french-here thing"

"As you prefer, but i'm not worried for you on that one, you'll fit in just fine"

"Well we'll see that soon. How's your trip going ?"

"As well as a business can go. All i want is to be back from it, unfortunately that won't happen until next week. Anyway, take care"

He wished her goodbye before hanging up the phone.

He looked through the dark, breathing silently. He found he didn't feel like going back to sleep.

"What is wrong with me" he moaned.

Oh well, might as well make the best of it.

He jumped out of bed, heading straight for the shower.

School didn't start until 08:00 and he'd take him around 15 minutes to get there.

Maybe he could grab some viennoiseries down at a bakery which would probably open soon.

He smiled at the thought. Baiting himself with promises of food, what a way to motivate oneself ! Well, he had time to kill after all, it'd be a good training for his rusty french, if nothing else.

Vincent dressed himself with warm clothes and exited the building, carefully locking the door behind him.

The day was fresh and new, the skies still a dark canvas pierced by the light of a hundred stars.

Hands in the pockets of his cloak, he made his way towards the bakery.

"How long do you think he'll be gone ?" said a hushed voice.

"Doesn't matter, enough"

The door clicked, letting the two strangers in the appartment.

"Check the chimney, that's where he left it, i reckon"

"Heh, chimney, right. That one has never seen smoke in its lifetime"

"Lucky us, that'd mean we were burning down there"

A pale hand felt the metallic pipe, finally finding the secret switch behind it.

"Aha, got it ! The ol' fool never thought of hiding it somewhere else !"

The other one crossed his arms. "Yeah... Or rather he wanted us to find it there. Why'd he hide it in the first place ? This guy was far from stupid"

"Whatever, not my business. So where do we leave it ? Somewhere that's not too suspicious yet findable..."

A pair of red eyes scanned the surroundings, not bothered by the lack of light in the room.

"How 'bout under the shelf ? If we leave the chain slightly protruding like so... Yeah, perfect !"

A sharp-teethed smile answered him. "Guess we're done here, let's go"

"The things we do for others..."

"Right ? Worst part is that they never put two and two together, those idiots"

The locked clicked anew, shut.

"Wanna go grab something to eat ? I've heard they've stored gallons of honey in a warehouse a few minutes from there with only a dumb lock on the door"

"Would be a shame if some of it would happen to vanish, eh ?" answered the other, laughing.

Vincent looked around, perplexed. He was pretty sure he'd seen a bakery soomewhere around here yesterday... except now he couldn't remember where.

He sighed, a small cloud of vapor forming as his breath met cold air.

He'd ask someone for directions, but the street was devoid of life at this time of the day.

A nearby voice caught his attention. He looked around, quickly spotting a group of three persons in their twenties walking side-by-side.

'Here's my chance' he thought.

They were one boy and 2 girls, probably his age. Happy to have found other people, Vincent didn't pause to wonder why they were walking around at this hour.

"Uhm, excuse me ?" he said after getting closer.

The guy turned his head. He was quite the massive one, probably around 2m tall (6' 6,7"), heavily muscled, wearing a simple shirt with some greek symbols on it despite the cold. The golden chain of a necklace ran around his neck, the pendant that hanged from it hidden under his shirt. He had metallic grey eyes, dark hair and a curved smile on his face, looking at him with a good-natured curiosity.

The two girls also stared at him. The one on his left had bright blue hairs cascading on her shoulders and a pair of striking green eyes above a cloud of freckles and a narow mouth.

The one on his right wore her golden hair in a ponytail, a pair of glasses barely hiding two deep-sea blue eyes.

Unlike the man, they were wearing warm clothes.

"Do you... happen to know where the nearest bakery is ? I... I'm kind of new here"

A big smile split the guy's face. "You bet we do, we were going there actually, come along !"

"Thanks" said Vincent, relieved. "I'm Vincent, by the way"

"Cool to meet you, Vincent, I'm Thomas Minoes the Legendary, and those are my loyal followers" he said, taping his shoulder.

The girl with blue hair laughed. "Don't listen to that babbling idiot, I'm Sarah, and this is Andrea" she said, pointing at the golden-haired girl, who simply waved.

Vincent smiled "Pleasure to meet you guys"

They sounded friendly.

"So you're from where ? I'm noticing an accent there" said Sarah

"Minnesota, uhm, in the US basically"

"Dude !" exclaimed Thomas "That rocks ! I've always wanted to go to the US !

"Me too !" added Sarah "Your french is really good, i'm impressed. You'll be able to have conversations with Andrea, she speaks a near-perfect english"

Andrea blushed "Hum... Well... I do okay"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "And... Don't listen to that one either, she's the smartest person I know. Kind of our 'Hermionne', but too humble for her own good"

Andrea shook her head, more amused than embarassed "And you'd be in Gryffindor, i'm willing to bet"

"I would !" Bellowed Thomas, laughing "Sarah fits better in the Hufflepuff house, and you, Ravenclaw !"

"Hope you don't expect me to become a Slytherin, though" joked Vincent. "I'm not too fond of snakes"

That brought a smile to Andrea's face. She was beautiful when she smiled, he noticed.

"The bakery's right there !" announced Thomas as if they were lost sailors spotting an island.

"Thomas, hush !" laughed Sarah, "You're going to wake up the entire town"

"So what do you do ?" Andrea asked Vincent.

"Hum, i study law... i mean, i'm going to, the school's name is H.E.A.D"

Her eyes widened a little "Really ? Me too !"

"Ooooh, that's fate right there !" said Sarah, nudging her friend with her elbow. "I'm in an art school, Thomas is studying history, he wants to be a teacher"

"Enough chatting, it's time for 'croissants' !" said Thomas dramatically, pretending to be holding a flag.

"And 'pains au chocolat' !" added Sarah, fist in the air.

Vincent found himself grinning.

This first day proved to be more enjoyable than he'd thought.

He wondered what else 'fate' had in store for him.

He couldn't wait.

End of chapter 1