Chapter 43: Bonjour

I stepped off the plane in Champ les Sims, France and smiled widely. I made my way behind the rest of my fellow passengers through the tunnel that led to the main airport. I walked into the main part of the airport and stretched my arms. I found a coffee shop and ordered a caramel flavored mocha. Tennan had suggested I take a vacation to get away from everything. He said he'd watch Genevieve while I was gone. My family had emigrated from France a long time ago, and I wanted to see what it was like. I exited the airport and headed to the hotel.

There was a glowing bulletin board in front of the hotel that had papers pinned to it. I was curious so I looked at it. One of the notes caught my eye. It was posted by a man named Gustave Delven. His advertisement requested 'the assistance of a daring soul.' I thought it might be good to meet some new people here, perhaps they could show me around and tell me what I should see. I only had a three day visa, so I hoped to get as much out of this trip as I could.

I walked down the street to a cute little shop that was next to my hotel. I thought that might be a good place to start looking for Gustave. The shop seemed to sell camping supplies. There was a row of garden gnomes on display as well as some items on a shelf in the back. There was a man at the counter. His back was turned, but I thought I would go and inquire of Gustave's whereabouts.

When I caught the man's attention with the sound of my heels on the wooden floor, he turned around. He had brown eyes and dark hair. He looked like a nice guy. His shirt was crisply pressed and he had on a vest that hugged his body in all the right places.

"Bonjour, madame! Bienvenue!"

Oh my, I think my heart skipped a beat when he spoke. His accent was light and very smooth. The French words sounded so romantic flowing out of his lips.

"Ooh!"

I was surprised when he grabbed my arms and kissed me on each cheek. I was used to the Simerica handshake for greetings, but I liked this way of saying hello much better, especially when the person I was greeting looked like he did.

He must have felt my surprise because he laughed and asked, "You are not from France, hmm?"

I looked at the floor shyly, and replied, "No. I'm from Simerica."

"How can I help you?'

I tried to gather my bearings long enough to spit out a few words. I started nervously playing with a strand of my hair.

"Um, bonjour. I was looking for a man named Gustave Delven. I saw his ad on the bulletin board and I wanted to help."

The handsome, no, hot guy in front of me tilted his head and smiled at me. I felt my knees go weak and I just about fell on the floor. My heart almost jumped out of my chest when he spoke these words.

"Madame, I am Gustave. What is your name?"

How lucky am I? The first person I meet is the guy I'm looking for and he's a complete and total hottie.

"My name is Sicily."

"Ah, Sicilee, beautiful name for a beautiful woman."

My cheeks felt warm and I was fairly certain they were a bright shade of red.

"What is it that you needed help with, Gustave?"

"Ah, oui. I dropped a valuable object in the Celtic Ruins the other day. I need some help getting it back because I have to run the store. I can show you around the store and give you supplies so you will be prepared for your adventure. Do you still want to help me?"

I didn't know what I had expected when I decided to answer Gustave's ad, but it sounded exciting, so I accepted. Gustave said he would keep in touch with me while I was at the Celtic Ruins so that I would be safe. The Celtic Ruins were a group of rocks arranged in a circular pattern in an open field. I noticed several piles of items that looked like they had just been abandoned, so I thought I'd start my search there.

I didn't find Gustave's object in this pile of things, but I did find some ancient coins and an interesting French relic. I was on my way to look through the other piles when a hole in the ground caught my eye. I followed the rocks and noticed an opening with a set of stairs leading underground. It could be dangerous, but it looked like the opening had been purposely created. The stairs looked sturdy enough. I peeked into the hole, and it looked like it was held up pretty well by strong columns. After analyzing the situation, I decided to go down the stairs to see what lay beneath.