Home | Fiction | Poetry | References | Essays | Links | Recommendations | New
|
The Fleur FAQ
by Amy R. original
in 1996; |
Frequently Asked Questions about Fleur:
- Who is Fleur?
- What is her full name?
- Who plays her?
- Is there a FORKNI-L affiliation for Fleur?
- In which episodes has Fleur appeared?
- How is Fleur's life dated?
- Who composes Fleur's known family?
- What are Fleur's other known relationships?
- What does Fleur look like?
- What kind of personality is Fleur?
- What did Fleur do in her life?
- Why is Fleur important to the story?
- Special Notes
- Fleur-focused Episode-descriptions
Fleur is a guest character on the syndicated
fantasy television program, Forever Knight (1992-1996). She is the younger
sister of the protagonist, Nick Knight, and a love-interest of the series
villain, Lacroix.
The
character Fleur would probably have been known as Fleur de Brabant before marriage, and Fleur of [husband's estate] after.
Nothing is known of her husband.
Claire Rankin
depicts Fleur. This actress has also appeared in Ed McBain's 87th Precinct: Ice (1996), Two if by Sea (1996), Death Wish V: The Face of Death (1994),
Janek: The Silent Betrayal (1994), Showtime's The Outer Limits, the syndicated
series Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, and in other projects.
"Fleur-Boosters" attempt to emphasize the importance of Fleur in Nick and Lacroix's lives, as well as the appeal of the character for her own sake.
"Faithfuls" are the Fleur/Lacroix couple-affiliation, which claims that Lacroix has been emotionally faithful to Fleur for eight centuries.
Fleur is always symbolized by a white rose; Faithfuls represent their opinion by a sword and rose entwined.
Fleur's only on-screen appearance is in the second-season episode "Be My Valentine"
(BMV), which is recalled in a flashback of "Last Knight"
(LK), the series finale. She is mentioned by name several times in "Fallen Idol"
(FI), however, and possibly symbolically invoked in "Dead of Night"
(DoN) and "Trophy Girl" (TG), and, retrospectively, perhaps even "Love You to Death."
Though nothing that does not appear on screen can be considered canonical, the script of BMV says that Fleur should be "a beautiful woman" in her "twenties." If accepted, this places Fleur at 20-25 in 1229 (BMV), 10-15 years younger than Nick (who is often taken to have been 35 when he became a vampire in 1228). She died in 1247 of unknown causes, at 38-43 (FI). Her son Andre, then, was born when she was 24-29. Andre was 14 in 1247.
(The "Fallen Idol" script actually says "1274," but as that is impossible unless Andre was born in Fleur's sixties, the date has universally been taken as a typo for "1247."
The "Be My Valentine" script says "1229."
The BMV script declares its location as "Castle Brabant." The FI script says merely "France.")
Unnamed
and unseen father (usually presumed dead in BMV); unnamed mother (seen in BMV); Nicholas de Brabant (Nick Knight), older brother; Andre, son (seen in FI); unnamed,
unseen, unmentioned husband (historically assumed to match canon).
Fleur has thick, wavy, dark-blond hair reaching just past her shoulders; some of it is caught back in a thin strap that trails down her back. She has large blue eyes. In BMV, she is perhaps 5'3", and perhaps 110 lbs. We see her first in a billowy, white nightgown and blue-patterned robe, with her hair loose; later she appears in a blue, satiny, princess-seamed dress with a wide, low neckline and gold/black-lace trim, with some of her hair pulled back. She wears small, round, gold earrings, but no other jewelry.
Her son Andre (FI) has dark
hair. Lacroix says of Andre that "He has her [Fleur's] eyes."
Fleur appears instinctively compassionate ("This gentleman's suffering is very great") in her initial reactions to Lacroix, supporting him when he falls.
She is careful to secure Nick as Andre's guardian -- whether for a good home, or social and political advantage, or both.
Her literacy and level of scholarship, while not impossible for a noblewoman of her time, still presume unusual determination.
She is curious; nearly the first thing she says is a demand for Nick's stories of the Crusades, and in discussing astronomy with Lacroix, she says, "I hunger for that knowledge!"
She twice defies her brother to choose Lacroix, "the one I love," even if that means vampirism and the end of their branch of the family line.
Nick is quite fierce about Fleur's "innocence," and Lacroix appears to allow that argument to affect him.
Her "innocence," however, must be tempered by the "sorrow" she has already seen ("There have been so many from my family.
My father . . . Nicholas to the Crusades once, and now again . . .") and
the fact that it is she who first kisses Lacroix, not vice versa.
She is a mother, an aristocrat and a scholar.
In BMV, Fleur reads a book on "the heavens," describing it as her "new passion."
Lacroix is enthralled by her scholarly curiosity -- stereotypically rare in that medieval era; certainly a great distance from that of Lacroix's Rome -- and when Nick gloats that Andre is doing well at his studies (FI), he ascribes this to the boy having "her spirit."
Fleur
falls in love with Lacroix, and her feelings do not change when she discovers him to be a vampire.
Nick convinces Lacroix to leave her, however, and hypnotizes away her memory.
Before she dies, she wishes Nick to become her son Andre's guardian. Lacroix still thinks of her, eight centuries after her death,
persists in a vow of vengeance for her loss, and has professed love for her -- in as many words -- on at least four occasions.
Fleur is one of only four characters the audience ever hears Nick say he loves.
- Names
- Fleur pronounces Nick's name "Nicolas," French-style as Janette does, and calls Lacroix, "Lucien."
- Obviously, Fleur's name means "flower" in French.
Lacroix did call Fleur "my precious flower" in English at one point, as at the end of BMV he mused over "a precious flower."
- Historical
Considerations
- A database of European royal genealogies can be found at: (http://www.dcs.hull.ac.uk/public/genealogy/royal/). The section for the Duchy of Brabant is at: (http://www.dcs.hull.ac.uk/cgi-bin/gedidex/n=royal?Brabant).
- Nick and Fleur have been hypothesized to be the fictional offspring of the second marriage of the historical Duke Henry I of Brabant, known as "the Warrior." This is historically plausible, in accordance with the laws of that time and place which deny inheritance to children of a second marriage (thus Nick's mercenary-like service in "Queen of Harps"), while allowing only legitimate children to be known as "of Place" (de Brabant), but it is not in the least canonical.
- In that time and place, Fleur, as a woman, would not have had the power to designate Andre's
guardian. Nick might have purchased the guardianship from whomever was their lord, or it might have been time for Andre to be fostered, and Nick might have seemed advantageous.
- Canonical
Analysis
- The incident with Sylvaine in "Love You To Death" (in which Lacroix tricks Nick into thinking that the mortal he adores is promiscuous, and Nick kills her), particularly Lacroix's derisive comments on purity and innocence, is interesting when taken in light of Fleur and BMV. What Nick seems to value in Sylvaine is precisely what Nick thought Lacroix valued in Fleur; goading Nick to kill Sylvaine, Lacroix may intend to demonstrate that his feelings for Fleur were deeper and more profound than those of which Nick seems capable at that point.
- The script of "Be My Valentine" calls for Fleur to be familiar with healing by "the laying on of hands," an art she and Lacroix allude to her having tried to apply to his injury. These lines do not appear on screen, and are therefore not canonical, but characterizing Fleur as a healer interestingly reinforces her parallel with the character of Doctor Natalie Lambert.
- In "Francesca," Nick tells Natalie: "You have to understand that every drop of blood has your whole life in it. It's not just our food; it's the way we feel life. Imagine if you could know someone's soul by sharing their blood. Everything you know, everything you are, transformed into touch and taste." Given this, it is important to note that Lacroix tasted Fleur's blood in the garden, after she pricked her finger on the rose. This scene directly precedes that in which an agitated Lacroix insists on his love for Fleur; his words were spoken in the full of blood-knowledge.
- Lacroix's modern characterization of his love and loss as "a hellish alchemy" may reference the poetry of John
Donne.
"Be My Valentine" -- 1229, Brabant and 1994, Toronto
In flashbacks, Nick, Janette and Lacroix arrive at Nick's family home. Lacroix was caught by the sun and burned as they ducked inside, and neither he nor Janette are pleased with Nick. Nick says that his "mother and sister" have not seen him since he "left for the Crusades." Fleur, just awakened, immediately recognizes Nick. Nick notes that she has grown up in his absence. When she sees Lacroix's injury, she reaches out to him and he flinches back. As everyone is exiting, Lacroix weakens and falls. Fleur, the only one paying attention to him, catches him. He looks into her eyes, and is disconcerted by what he sees there. Later, presumably the next night, he comes upon Fleur in the garden, staring up into the sky, an astronomy book open in her lap. They talk, and she expresses concern for him and his recent injury. She refuses to be put off by a compliment ("More accurately, my pain evaporated with the warmth of your touch") and this apparently leaves Lacroix speechless; he picks a white rose and hands it to her. It pricks her finger. Hesitating infinitesimally, Lacroix picks up her hand and tastes her blood. Nick and Janette see this exchange, but while Janette thinks "the attraction appears mutual" and they should be left to each other, Nick objects and interrupts. He confronts Lacroix, who insists: "My immortality has nothing to do with my feelings. Love!"
Either another night, or later that same night, Lacroix says to Fleur, "We seek the same revelations. If I could spend the rest of my days on this quest -- with you -- there's nothing more I would ask of life." Fleur replies, "I've never felt so close . . . this bond I seem to have with you." Lacroix concurs, "As if we've been together forever."
Fleur reaches up to kiss him, and at her touch he flinches back as if shocked, before leaning down to kiss her back, his embrace almost lifting her off her feet.
Later yet, Fleur asks him to take her with him, for she has "never felt such overwhelming sorrow" as this parting. Lacroix intends to bring her across, that they "will be together through all eternity," but Nick interrupts before Lacroix can bite her, and tries to turn her away from Lacroix by revealing his vampirism. That fails ("I am interested in so many things that are of another world; why should this be different?"), as does his attempt on her family loyalty ("When I chose this, the future of our family fell to you"). Seeing his sister's determination, Nick then changes tactics, and tells Lacroix that "It is the beauty of her innocence that you see . . . . If you truly love Fleur, Lacroix, you will not destroy that." And he does not. "It is a great irony, is it not, that such a cold, still heart can feel such pain?" He lets Nick hypnotize Fleur into forgetting, but demands "retribution" from Nick: "one day, when you have fallen in love, I will take from you what you have taken from me now." Nick agrees to this condition.
In the present, Lacroix reminisces bitterly about Fleur, as he sees Nick apparently falling in love with Natalie.
He sends Natalie white roses; he threatens to kill her, to make Nick feel "the torture I have felt every moment since I left your sister behind."
When Nick behaves as if he is willing to bring Natalie across, however, Lacroix concludes "No.
I will not trade Fleur for that. Your heart is still untouched. It has never quickened with such passion; it has never ached with such sorrow."
In the end, Lacroix crushes a white rose in his hand: "The silent scream of endless pain.
A 'hellish alchemy' indeed. Not death, not hell itself: but a precious, precious flower, long withered, and gone."
"Trophy Girl" -- 1995, Toronto
Lacroix's Internet alias is Rosebud, represented on his computer screen as a rose icon.
Some take this as an allusion to Fleur, as well as the more obvious, contemporary probability of a reference to Citizen Kane.
"Dead of Night" -- 1528, Linz, Austria
Lacroix holds a dead, white rose at Nick's wedding to Alyssa. This has been taken by some as an allusion to Fleur, and to the vengeance Lacroix promised if Nick "ever truly love[d] a mortal." A scene removed from the final cut of DoN -- the "missing sword-fight scene" -- has been interpreted by some as Lacroix testing the level of Nick's love for Alyssa in an attempt to determine if Alyssa's life would be a fit payment for Fleur's.
In that missing (and, thus, not canonical) scene, Lacroix, who has apparently returned to Linz after a short absence, tosses a sword to Nick.
Lacroix gives Nick a questioning look, inviting him to a sporting duel, and they face off and fence as they talk.
Defiantly, Nick says, "I know others of our kind who have relationships with mortals and take wives.
There's no reason I cannot have what I want." Lacroix responds, "I suppose you'll tell her the gruesome truth in due course."
Nick asserts, "She will accept me. She loves me without condition. In time, I will immortalize her."
Lacroix says, "You'll bring her across, will you? Imagine it, Nicholas: gone such a short time, yet I've missed so much: your whirlwind romance, your nuptials . . ."
And then, with an expert parry and thrust, Lacroix disarms Nick and warns him not to "take too much."
Lacroix and Nick watch Fleur's grave being covered.
Lacroix remarks pointedly to Nick, "The loss of a family member is never easy, especially when you had the power to prevent it," and says, "Goodbye, my love," in French.
Nick, however, is consistent in his belief that he "loved her too much to subject her to your hell."
Nick reveals that Fleur wrote to him before she died, and that he intends to take charge of her son.
Lacroix leaves Andre and his Uncle Nicholas alone for a time, but when he visits, he finds Nick smug in Andre's affection for him.
To make a point, Lacroix allows the horrified Andre to see Nick feeding on a comatose woman.
The boy runs from the sight, and no evidence exists of the rest of his life.
When Lacroix first sees Andre, he is presented as "an old friend of your mother's."
Andre responds that she never spoke of him; Lacroix almost flinches. Later, Lacroix remarks, with a catch in his voice, "He has her eyes."
Nick complacently replies, "And her spirit. His tutor says he is doing well."
"Last Knight" -- 1996, Toronto
As Nick cries over Natalie's drained body, Lacroix remonstrates with him at length, and Nick flashes back to Lacroix's relationship with Fleur during this part of the speech:
"For all the things that we are, there is a price to be paid.
Love may be tasted, but never savored. In our darkest moments, we may envy mortality, but we should never aspire to it.
Guilt is a poison, and staying past our time is death. But it need not be.
If we truly care for a mortal -- truly love one -- then we must go.
Isn't that something that you taught me? Leaving is the purest form of love."
FAQ created and maintained by: Knightie Amy R., Founding Fleur-Booster. Comments and constructive criticism are appreciated.
Home | Fiction | Poetry | References | Essays | Links | Recommendations | New