Standing motionless with her back to the drunken thug, Reine surveyed her surroundings. There weren't any windows that looked onto the alley, and there was only one way out.

"You should have stayed on the main road," he continued, and she could tell by the volume of his voice that he was getting closer. "There were CCTVs everywhere out there. But here, well, here it's just you and me."

"That's exactly what I was counting on," she whispered before turning around and running at super speed behind him. He didn't even have a chance to face her before she kicked him in the crotch. Collapsing in pain, he drew his knees up and rolled onto his side.

"Aaagh! You crazy bint!" he screamed.

"That's for being a pain in the ass back in the pub." She kicked him in the stomach. "And that's for being stupid enough to follow me."

"You're going to pay for that!" he continued to yell, pushing himself up on his knees.

Not waiting for him to regain his footing, Reine punched him in the nose before he had a chance to stand. "You may want to wait with the commentary because I'm not done yet. Where was I? Oh, yeah. That was for all the times in the past that you harassed anyone. And this is for when you may want to do this again in the future."

She hit him squarely in the jaw.

Shaking his head, he spit a mouthful of blood to the ground before jumping to his feet. Raising his fists, the young man was now fuming. "Big mistake, darlin'. No woman is going to best me.

Reine smiled. "Wow, you really are thick, aren't ya'? Don't you see I'm a lot faster than you?"

In the blink of an eye, she was already behind him.

He continued to stare into the empty alley in front of him. "What the fuck?! How did you do that?" he asked in a daze.

"I'm a lot stronger than you, too," she said, picking him up from behind and raising him over her head.

"What in the . . . ?" His bewilderment left him speechless.

Reine laughed. "Wanna get down?"

"Yes! Yes! Put me down!" he pleaded.

"My pleasure." She threw him across the space and into the side of the adjacent building.

He was motionless for a few moments, but soon enough, his initial 'fight' reaction was replaced by the 'flight' urge instead. Unable to stand, he got on all fours and began to inch toward the street.

Reine knew she should stop, but the effects of the adrenaline flowing through her body were overwhelming. Following him, she delivered another sharp kick to the ribs and sent the thug back to rolling on the ground. He had stopped being one foolish man and had become a representation of all that was bad, instead.

"That was for all the times you've hurt me!"

She kicked again.

"For taking away my simple, wonderful life."

Two more kicks.

"For turning my best friend against me."

Another kick.

"And for killing the man that I loved!"

She raised her foot again, but seeing him cower made her reconsider. Slowly circling him, she finally took the time to catch her breath.

"Had enough yet?" she asked with disgust.

His only response was a muted wail.

"No? Not a problem." She grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him to his feet. "What's your name?"

He was visibly shaken up, not just by the beating but from it coming from a petite, young woman.

"J-John," he stuttered.

"Well, Johnny boy. You listen to me very carefully." Reine paused for effect. "If you ever as much as think about hurting anyone again, I will find you and I will finish kicking your pasty English ass. Got it?"

John nodded as feverishly as his head allowed.

"Good." Reine smirked before punching him in the nose again.

"What was that for?" the bloodied thug screamed.

She scoffed. "So you don't forget."

After running the remaining blocks home, Reine headed straight to her second floor bedroom. The rush was wearing off, and her body began to shake uncontrollably as she realized what had just happened.

Lashing out had felt good, but she'd been absolutely stupid. She could have easily killed that guy, and for what? He may have been a total creep, but he wasn't responsible for all of her troubles. Hiding from her pain obviously hadn't worked, so maybe it was time to accept it and move on.

For starters, she tried to collect her composure by getting back to her nightly routine.

Taking off her watch, Reine placed it on top of the dresser. She next tugged at her gold band on her left hand, but it didn't budge. After Gabe's death, she began wearing the ring again. It was somewhat useful for fending off men - although it didn't always save her as the night's events had obviously proven. The band, however, had recently become tighter than usual. Or rather, her hands were more swollen than before so that the metal cut into her flesh.

Trying to remove it didn't work, so she licked her finger around the jewelry to lubricate it. Pulling at it again, it slowly began to move upwards. As it got past her knuckle, the force became too strong, and the ring flew out of her hand. It landed with a quiet "clink" somewhere on the hardwood floor.

Estimating the flight trajectory, Reine guessed it came to rest somewhere under the bed. Getting on her hands and knees, she to start the search. Luckily, it took her just a few seconds to spot it. It was within arms' length, but something nearby also attracted her attention.

Built in the mid-1800s, the townhouse had very little storage space. When she moved in, Reine had thrown her travel bag under the bed. At the time, she didn't even unpack it completely. One of the things remaining in it was the gift from Max. The wooden container was now partially hanging out of the upturned bag. Reaching for the ring, Reine also grabbed this box.

Not even bothering to get up, she sat with her back against the mattress. Lifting the hinged lid revealed a necklace inside. Max had originally given it to her for their engagement in 1492. After their recent reunion, he had surprised her by returning the jewelry. They got into a fight soon afterwards and she never gave it a second thought. She hadn't even closely examined it until now.

The attention to detail for such an old piece was remarkable, even if the pearls were slightly irregular and yellowed, and the pendant's jasper face was cracked. Fiddling with the setting, she noticed a small clasp on the side that had previously eluded her. It seemed at first to be stuck, but after a few tries, it relented. As the hidden locket popped open, it revealed a tiny oil portrait of Massimo Baldovini.

Suddenly, a faint memory of standing in a dark courtyard looking at the same face overtook Reine's thoughts. Max had said she was wearing the necklace when she vanished into the Venetian lagoon, that much was true. But on the day she had become an immortal, she'd left it dangling on a clotheslines in exchange it for a blue dress hanging in that courtyard. The necklace in her hand obviously wasn't a copy, so how did Max get it back?

A shiver ran up her spine. She had to know the answer and only one person could provide it. Quickly finding her phone, Reine dialed the stored number. The US was five hours behind, but even there it was already past normal work hours.

After a few rings, the familiar voice of Max's assistant spoke on the voicemail greeting. Getting through the short introduction, Reine waited for the signal before speaking.

"Hey, Anna. It's Reine. I need to speak with Max. Please have him call me back as soon as he can. You've got my number. Thanks," she rushed through the message.

Hanging up, she hoped she wouldn't have to wait too long for a response. The messages were monitored even in off-hours and because she hadn't spoken to him in months, hopefully he'd be anxious to return her call. At least out of curiosity, if for nothing else.

She set the ringer on the highest volume, but it stayed quiet the entire night. However, she woke the next morning to the flashing light of a text message. It was from an unknown caller, but she knew it was him.

Pere Lachaise. 3pm Sat.

Reine pursed her lips and dialed the number immediately. Letting it ring ten times, she hung up and began texting: Call me back!

She continued this pattern through the next two days. By the time Saturday morning rolled around and she still hadn't received a call, she reluctantly headed to the train station and bought a ticket to Paris.