Flawed Hearts

Chapter XIV: Bonjour Paris

Their plane landed in Charles De Gaulle Airport after a three and a half hour flight, making Najmah sigh in relief. She had held onto Aslan's hand when they were about to take off, clenching her eyes shut till they were finally in air and now wasn't any different.

As passengers scrambled off their seats, Najmah was busy doing breathing exercise while Aslan held her tightly. When she finally calmed down, they grabbed their luggage and exited the plane.

They went through the preliminaries at the airport with the immigration, and when their passports were stamped, they headed outside to find their ride sent from the hotel.

He held her hand in his as they scanned the crowd of chauffer’s with placards.

Aslan saw one that had his name on it and raised his hand to gain the chauffer’s attention to them. Once he sighted them, he dropped the placard and moved towards them. He shook Aslan's hand then introduced himself, welcoming them to Paris. He greeted Najmah who waved at him in a friendly manner.

They got into the car and the chauffeur Louis drove them to Le Burgundy Hotel which was located in the heart of the eminent fashion district of Rue Saint-Honoré, pointing to various tourist attractions as they passed by.

{••}

When they pulled over at the entrance of the hotel, the concierge greeted them and ushered them in. After they checked in, a bellboy was assigned to take them to their room.

"Bonjour," he greeted as he collected their luggage. "Bienvenueà Le burgundy." (Good morning, welcome to Le Burgundy)

"Mercí," Najmah replied, smiling at him.

"You speak French?" Aslan questioned, c*****g his eyebrow.

"Yeah," she smiled shrugging. "And Spanish and Arabic."

"Wonderful," he responded with a rakish grin. "The lady is amazing."

"The lady knows," she smirked, following the bellboy without a second glance at him. He shook his head then followed after her. The bellboy took them to the sixth floor, then gave Aslan the key.

"Nous voussouhaitons un bon séjour ici," he smiled then went on his way after getting their bags in. (We wish you a happy stay here.)

They thanked him then proceeded to settle in. Najmah went on to explore the room while Aslan began to unpack, setting his clothes in the closet. Knowing that Najmah wouldn't unpack, he unzipped her bag and arranged her clothes in the closet.

"The view is really amazing," she spoke, walking into the room. "I wish I could stay here forever."

"Forever's a really long time," he chuckled, placing the last piece of clothing on the shelf.

She stuck her tongue out at him then padded towards her bag, bobbing her head to a silent rhythm. Her face crinkled with confusion as she saw the contents of the bag.

"Please don't tell me we traveled with an empty bag," she groaned, whirling around to face him.

He pointed at the closet, stepping away so she could see her clothes.

"Wow," she uttered, walking towards him. "You are such a sweetheart. A girl could get used to this."

"Such a pity I'm gonna have to leave all these behind," she pouted, disappearing into the closet making Aslan freeze.

She stuck her head out of the closet a few moments later with a quizzical expression. She walked towards him, snapping a finger close to his face, "Hello, earth to Aslan."

"Sorry," he shook his head. "What were you saying?"

"I said how long are we staying here?"

"The weekend only, we return to Istanbul on Monday morning."

"Roger that," she grinned with a mock salute. "Can we go out then?"

"When?"

"Now?" she stated more like questioned.

"Aren't you tired? We could leave it till tomorrow."

"Nope," she replied flexing her tiny arm. "I'm hale."

"Alright, whatever the lady wants."

They walked out of the hotel and Aslan guided them through the streets of Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, pointing out the various shops that make up the street.

They took a cab and went around town, Aslan doing as much as he could to brief her on the history of the buildings they passed. They went back to the hotel earlier than Najmah wanted, but she didn't object as Aslan was complaining about a headache.

{••}

"Rise and shine sleepy head," Najmah sang, opening the curtains. "Rise and shine."

Aslan groaned, hiding his head under the pillow. Najmah chuckled then tugged the pillow away from his head.

"You promised me a wonderful day in Paris yet here you are," she pouted. "...sleeping."

"When did I?" he mumbled, drawing the comforter over his head.

"Yesterday night," her brows furrowed as she dragged the comforter away from him.

"Can't I sleep a little more?"

"Okay fine," she huffed then turned on her heels, heading towards the kitchen. Aslan cracked an eye open, staring at her retreating form. He sighed and went back to sleep, hoping to get an hour more of sleep before they head out but unbeknownst to him, Najmah had other ideas about letting him rest.

She came back to the bed with her laptop in hand and a pack of chocolate chip cookies she found in the refrigerator then sat down and punched in her password, munching on the cookies noisily.

She scrolled through her movie list and began to watch Madea's Halloween 2, laughing out loud occasionally then increasing the volume while munching the cookies noisily.

Aslan groaned and rolled over, covering his ears with the palm of his hands. She watched him from the corner of her eyes, smirking a little.

'That's what you get for keeping me waiting' she thought as she ignored him.

He sat up in bed rubbing at his eyes tiredly, glaring at her while she stifled her laughter.

"Oh I'm so sorry," she drawled feigning innocence. "Did I wake you up?" He glared at her again, throwing his feet off the bed.

"I'll go to the balcony and continue what I'm doing while you rest okay?" she closed her laptop, wiping away the remnants of the cookie off her face. "The view there is absolutely breathtaking."

"No, it's fine. I am awake anyway," he uttered, heading towards the bathroom.

She did a mental dance, applauding herself for waking him up.

A few minutes later, she heard a soft knock on the door. Her face crinkled as she slid off the bed, walking towards the door.

"Who could it be?" she questioned herself as she set her hand on the knob. She twisted it then thrust her head out to see who it was.

"Oh it's you," she smiled as recognition settled on her face.

"Oui, madmoissel. I brought you breakfast," the concierge gestured at the trolley he was pushing.

"Oh thank you," she replied, opening the door wider. "Come on in."

"Where shall I set the dishes?" he questioned as he wheeled the trolley in. 

"Don't worry about it, I'll take care of that."

"As you wish ma'am," he turned around and walked out of the room.

{••}

Aslan held his hand out to her as he helped her up to her feet, glancing at his wristwatch. She placed her hand in his, and they walked out of the room into the lobby of the hotel.

Louis was already waiting to take them out into town. They got into the car and Aslan told him to drive them to the Louvre museum.

Once they arrived, Aslan got the tickets and they spent a good deal of time studying the artwork. They stopped at the famous “Mona Lisa” painting by Leonardo da Vinci, the sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike which was called the “Winged Victory of Samothrace”, Venus de Milo, the statue of “Discobolus” by Myron and Lincoln and his sons, and other amazing artworks that Najmah had never seen in her life. As both appreciators and lovers of art, the two had a wonderful time at the museum.

"So where to next?" she asked as they drove through the streets of Paris.

"Notre Dame," Aslan replied.

"Behold the Gothic building," Louis uttered as he came to a stop in front of the building. "It is a relic to Gothic lovers with architectural interest."

"Impressive," Najmah uttered stepping out of the car. She pulled out her phone and snapped a couple pictures of the building before they went in, touring the Gothic cathedral as Louis told them about the history.

"It was built over 800 years ago by Maurice Sully who was the appointed Bishop in 1160. The church was built in the Gothic style, it was the rave then, and King Louis VII encouraged the project as the Bishop was his classmate. Many people contributed towards building the monument with money, labour and knowledge," he explained as they paused in front of a gargoyle structure.

"A gargoyle!" Najmah gasped, snapping a picture of it. "How cool."

"You know what it is?" Aslan queried.

"Of course," she rolled her eyes. "I've seen it before."

"It is so huge, it looks like one of the gargoyle warriors from I,Frankenstein. Maybe it's Ophir or..." she trailed off when she saw the quizzical expression on Aslan's face.

"It's a movie," she tried to explain sighing. "Never you mind, you won't get it." She took a selfie with the gargoyle with the caption 'finally met a gargoyle' then post it on her Snapchat story.

After their tour in the Notre Dame, they drove around town to other tourists attractions.

It was nighttime already, Aslan asked Louis to drive them to the Eiffel Tower where he made a dinner reservation at the 58 tour Eiffel located on the first floor of the tower.

They got out of the car and Aslan relieved Louis of his duties, saying that they shall meet the day after. Louis bade them goodnight then drove away. They walked into the building and Aslan guided them to the restaurant. As they got in, the Maitre 'd ushered them to there table. Their dinner arrived shortly and they dug in almost immediately, eating silently. Najmah gazed out into the night, enjoying the quietude of the place.

{••}

"Should we take a cab or would you like to walk back?" Aslan queried as they walked out of the restaurant.

"Let's walk," she responded. He nodded then took her hand in his as they began to walk back to the hotel.

Najmah shivered as the chilly cold got to her skin. She rubbed at her arms frantically, wishing she had chosen to take a cab instead.

"Here," Aslan stated, taking off his jacket. "Wear this."

She smiled at him then shrugged on the jacket, thanking him as the warmth enveloped her.

"Paris is beautiful," she uttered when they neared their hotel.

"You are beautiful," he replied, gazing into her brown

orbs.

Her jaw slackened and she stared at him absolutely mystified. He chuckled then grabbed her hand, walking into the lobby. The receptionist greeted them with a smile on her face then wished them goodnight.

***

"Thank you for today," Najmah uttered, handing Aslan a cup of coffee. "I enjoyed every part of it."

"No," he shook his head. "Thank you for today. Today was the most fun I've had in ages."

She nodded, sipping her cup of hot chocolate. They fell into complete silence as they gazed out into the night sky, watching the constellation of the stars. It was a beautiful night for them indeed.