A/N: There's so much to tell about Klaus and Iris' story, so I decided to make a sort of prequel to my season 4 story telling their story.
Enjoy! :)
France 2016
The early morning light shone through the large windows of the 16th century chateau. It was quiet, as was the most mornings on the country, a few miles outside Orleans. The sun reflected in the Loire River running at the edge of the chateau grounds.
The people of the house was slowly waking up, getting ready for the new day. Everyone had a role to play and a job to do.
Gardening, cooking, cleaning and serving the mistress of the house and their guests.
The morning went by as any other, until a scream suddenly broke the peace.
The house mistress was suddenly ripped out of her dreams, as a burning pain spread from her fingers throughout her body and cried out.
She wasn't a stranger to pain, however this was different than anything she had felt before.
It was as if something was slowly and painfully torn from her and no matter how hard she tried to hold on, it was slipping through her fingers.
She felt tears watering her eyes and closed them shut, clenching her teeth, desperate to hold on.
"No... no... please, don't..." she muttered as the pain reached her chest, "don't take him away..."
She screamed, collapsing on the bed, clutching her chest, as the burn reached her heart in an explosion of agony.
Then it was gone.
A silence fell in the chamber, only broken by a heavy breathing as she tried to calm herself. As she tried to comprehend what had just happened.
She felt empty, as if a big part of her had just been ripped out of her and she was left with nothing but a lingering pain from a gaping and bleeding wound.
Nothing.
A nothingness so terrifying.
Questions.
Questions which feed fear, uncertainty.
She heard them in the halls. Their footsteps rushed as they came to her. The door to her chamber burst open and she looked up to find three of her closest friends staring at her, out of breath, worry evident in their eyes.
"He's gone..." she choked out, as the tears started anew.
In two strides the where at her bedside, the brunette sat on the bed and pulled her into a soothing embrace.
"We know. We felt it."
She felt herself calm down a little in the safe embrace of her oldest friend, feeling a little of that nothingness being filled.
She wasn't alone.
He may be gone, however she still had them. She still had this family.
"What do you want us to do?" Her brunette friend asked, breaking the silence.
She pulled back a little to look at her friend and found a new strength deep within, knowing they would always support her.
"Do you want to go there?"
She shook her head and dried her eyes.
"No." she answered, "No, I believe they'll be able to manage this themselves, but let the watchers know what's going on and tell them to stay alert - for anything."
The brunette nodded and rose from the bed.
"I want to focus on how this affects us." She said and followed her friend of the bed, pulling on a silk rope, to cover her body, "messing with a spell this old, can't be without consequences. Let our research facilities know and set it up, so when something happens we'll know and we'll be ready."
The two nodded and left the room, leaving her alone with the brunette.
"Don't give me that look Anna, I'm fine."
The brunette rose a disbelieving eyebrow as she watched her friend walk to the window, fiddling with the golden locked which never left its position around the pale neck.
"Don't give me that attitude Iris, I know you, remember?"
She let out a deep sigh and rested her head against the cold glass of the window.
"He's still there." She said, clutching the locket, "it's not as clear as the sire link was, but I can somehow still feel him with the other... As long as this doesn't fade, I know he's safe and alive, so..."
"So you don't need to see him?" Anna asked to clarify, not hiding that she had a hard time believing her friend.
"No." She answered and released the locket, moving towards the bathroom, "It's hasn't even been a decade since the last time and I can't be selfish when we don't know how this will affect us. He's alive and safe. For now, that's all I need to know."
Iris closed the bathroom door behind her and leaned against the sink facing the mirror. Bloodshot turquoise eyes stared back at her with a tired look.
It had been awhile since she had thought about him. She had purposely kept herself busy with the Panthers, to avoid any thought passing through. Their last time together, although long, had had a rather abrupt ending, some seven years ago and while she did miss him, Iris didn't feel ready to see him again just yet, especially not when he was fawning over some blonde chick, in a way the Watchers had described. Finding out what had happened, would mean for their future, was a good excuse to not take a trip across the ocean.
Iris breathed out as she closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the cold mirror.
She could still feel a sense of loss and pain lingering in her body.
Something was still missing and Iris knew exactly what it was.
She curled her fingers into a fist and slammed it against the frail mirror, creating long cracks in the perfect blank surface.
Iris hadn't felt this incomplete in centuries. In fact, she hadn't felt like this since before that happened...
Holy Roman Empire, Duchy of Franconia 1116 A.D.
Klaus heard the screams, as they walked through the village street and stopped in his tracks. The screams themselves, weren't anything special, however something about them tore at him, making it impossible for the vampire to ignore. The sound of leather thongs against flesh, pieces of bone and metal ripping it, cut through Klaus painfully with every stroke. Rebekah turned and noticed her brother's sudden hold and called her other brothers to wait. She gave Klaus a questioning look. He returned the look with a quick glance before he turned and walked the other direction with a fast pace.
The convent was located a short distance from the village, which they had travelled through. It was your basic, Roman architecture convent, built to withhold time and bad weather. When Klaus reached the wooden gate, he slammed his fists against the old wood impatiently, as the screams became exhausted whimpers.
The heavy gate opened slowly and revealed a small brown hooded monk, wearing a long silver crucifix. The monk looked up at Klaus, as he tried catching his breath.
"Yes?" He asked gently, folding his hands, "Can I help you, my son?"
Klaus glared at the monk, resting one hand on the door frame, leaning in.
"For starters, you can invite me in." He told the small man, giving him a sharp look and felt his heart clench a little, as the sound of a distant heartbeat slowed down. The monk offered the vampire a smile and stepped aside.
"This is a house of God," He said and held out his hand in welcome, "everyone is welcome."
Klaus crooked a smirk and stepped over the threshold, into a humble courtyard, decorated with a small water fountain in the middle.
"Is that so?" The vampire asked and turned the face the monk, putting on his best smile, "Then do tell me, since when has a house of God become a place to torture the innocent?"
The monk blinked and gave Klaus a puzzled look.
"I'm sorry sir, I'm not sure that I understand...?"
Klaus was ready to flash forward and compel some answers out of the ignorant monk, but was stopped by the appearance of another. This one wearing an even bigger and golden crucifix.
"Brother Gunther," He greeted politely and gave a small nod of acknowledgement, "The afternoon mass are about to begin, what are you doing out here?"
"Father Ansilo," the monk called Gunther said and bowed, "this man knocked on our gate. He seems to have some questions."
Ansilo's gaze turned to Klaus, looking him up and down for a moment before he spoke again.
"Well, a man searching is always welcome in this house." He said and gave Klaus a court nod, "Thank you, Brother Gunther, you attend the mass and I'll serve our guest."
Gunther bowed again and left the two.
"Excuse me, Mr?" Ansilo asked and held out his hand.
"Mikaelson." Klaus replied and shook the other's hand, "Klaus Mikaelson."
The Father nodded with a smile.
"Mr. Mikaelson, if you would follow me."
Ansilo led Klaus into the convent and through some white chalked halls to a room, no doubt the Father's study. Klaus could hear song coming from the chapel, the heartbeat, whimpers and whipping drowned out.
"So tell me, Mr. Mikaelson," the Father said, placing himself in the chair behind the desk, "What is the questions that you might have?"
Klaus stood still, watching the man for a silent moment, wondering how he could smile so innocently, knowing what was going on under his roof. The vampire took a step forward.
"You can tell me where she is." He said coldly, not taking his eyes from the Father. The other stared back, unwavering.
"I'm sure I have no idea, as to whom you refer." He claimed and folded his hands, resting them on the desk. Klaus growled and slammed his hands in the desk, leaning over, closer to the Father.
"Don't play coy with me, Father." Klaus hissed, "I may not know who she is or why she's here, however I do recognise tortured screams when I hear them, having caused quite a few of such screams myself." He added, giving the Father a crooked smirk. The Father swallowed hard and moved away a little.
"She's a devil's spawn, a witch who have killed many in the name of evil." He said, giving Klaus a guarded look, "She was handed to us with the task of driving the devil out of her."
Klaus huffed and stood up straight, crossing his arms.
"I should have known." He said with a sigh, "So you're trying to drive out your devil by flogging her?" The vampire asked, raising a sceptic brow. The Father blinked a few times, before he let out a small cough, gathering his bearings.
"You're not a man of the faith, Mr. Mikaelson?" He asked and stood up, dusting off his garments.
"Oh I believe." Klaus replied and crooked a smirk, "Just not in the same as you."
The Father gave Klaus an apprehensive look and walked around the desk.
"Well, it's been a pleasure, Mr. Mikaelson, however, I'm afraid I have matters which demands my attention."
He said formally and opened the door, politely signalling Klaus to leave. The vampire let out a small laugh and stepped up to the Father.
"I am not leaving without her," Klaus insisted, giving the man a cold look, "so if you do not wish your entire convent and yourself, to have an early meeting with your God, I suggest you lead me to her."
Klaus' eyes landed on her the moment he entered the room.
A wooden post had been raised in the middle of the room, supported by three smaller stakes. Her wrists were tied together and hatched to the top of the post, her body stretched out, her feet barely touching the ground.
She had been stripped naked, head to toe as she was facing the post.
She was blindfolded, a piece of dirty cloth stealing her sight.
Her back, buttocks and legs were bloody. Skin was torn and ripped, revealing pink flesh underneath.
Red hair, dirty and destroyed, cut to barely covering her head.
Her heartbeat was faint, as she hung unconscious against the wooden post, smeared in her blood.
She didn't look to be older, than a girl in her mid- teens.
"It seems we were too late." Father Ansilo said next to Klaus and made a sign of the cross over his chest, "But we shall pray for God, to have mercy on her soul."
Klaus glanced from the Father to the other men in the room. Men dressed in black, the whips still in hand, dripping with blood and small pieces of flesh attached to the bones and metal.
Klaus clenched his fists and in a second he'd ripped the heads of the black coated men and slammed Father Ansilo against the nearest stonewalls.
"You people call us monsters." He hissed angrily, eyes flashing red and fangs exposed, "And yet, you're the ones to abuse, torture and kill a child without regret, in the name of your faith?!" The vampire tightened his grip on the Father and moved in closer, "You disgust me..." Klaus whispered and released the Father, taking a step back, "I changed my mind. You will have an early meeting with your God, but first..."
Klaus turned away from the Father and walked to the girl.
He tore the rope and removed the blindfold.
The vampire took off his coat and covered her small body, before he bit his wrist to give her some of his blood.
"Come on love..." He whispered gently, holding her, "don't die on me now."
Klaus smiled, as he felt a pull on his blood and heard the heartbeat growing stronger.
Cuts and wounds healed up as she regained some colour in her face.
"There we are... Good girl."
The vampire carefully removed his wrist as the girl moved a little.
Eyes flickered open and looked up at him.
Klaus' breath hitched and his heart jumped. Deep turquoise locked on shining blue and for one unreal second it seemed as if time stopped.
Then, the eyes suddenly hardened and Klaus' felt himself being thrown several meters back, slammed into a wall by a powerful force. As he was gathering himself, Klaus heard gagged screams and looked up to see the Father, flush against the wall, clutching his head, moaning and withering in pain. The girl stood before him, hand stretched out towards him, slightly crooked. Turquoise eyes were darkened as they looked at the Father coldly.
She didn't utter a word, as she slowly closed her hand into a fist, never looking away from the man.
The Father's screams grew louder and more agonizing by the second until they finally stopped abruptly with the sound of something cracking and a splash.
Klaus starred, slightly horrified, as the headless and very dead, Father dropped to the floor, leaving a trail of blood, flesh and bone on the white chalk wall behind him.
The girl lowered her hand and stood still for a moment as she starred down at the bizarre remains of the Father.
Then she slowly turned her head to look at Klaus.
It began as a small annoying prickling in the back of his neck.
Then it slowly grew more intense, as the pain spread throughout his head.
The girl walked towards him, slowly, as she raised her hand.
Klaus let out a pained groan before he flashed forward. He threw the girl against the chalked wall and were inches from her the next second. His fingers closed around her small throat and squeezed just a little.
"Not this one, little girl." He hissed, flashing his teeth, before he growled and sank them into her soft flesh.
The girl's cries soon faded as Klaus found himself getting lost in countless images invading his mind, all the while, distantly being aware of his own mind being exposed.
He could feel her inside his head. He knew she could see it all. His deepest secrets, feel his pain, exposed weaknesses - his darkness.
The things he saw made him sick to his stomach.
It was her memories, Klaus figured, as she seemed to be the center of everything happening.
Abuse, torture, death, blood and so much pain.
This explained the scars covering her young body.
No light. No hope. Not a single friendly soul reaching out to her.
A scream ripped Klaus out and he felt himself once again, forcefully being pushed backwards.
The vampire stumbled a bit but managed to hold his ground. He breathed heavily, trying to comprehend what he had just seen and even more so - how.
He glanced up to find the girl, in a state much like himself. She stood, leaned against the wall, breathing hard. Turquoise eyes bewildered, confused and slightly frightened, as she met his glance.
"You..." She stammered, trying to calm herself, "What was that...? I-I saw you, but..."
Klaus stood up with some difficulty. He whipped her blood from the corner of his mouth and stared at it for a moment, as it painted his fingertips red. Then he looked back up at her.
"It seems," Klaus began and slowly walked back to her, "That you have seen some things you shouldn't. Things that not even my siblings know about."
"What? The siblings, the family you don't even fully trust?" The girl asked with a raised brow, "Like how you've always-"
"You're right." Klaus said, his voice dangerously calm, "I don't trust them. I don't trust anyone."
They stared at each other for a long moment, none of them wanting to back down. The girl suddenly graphed Klaus' wrist and with a surprising strength, she moved his arm away from her.
"Neither do I." She said, not breaking their contact, "But I guess you already figured that out, didn't you, Niklaus Mikaelson, original vampire?"
Klaus recovered from his initial surprise and crooked a smirk.
"Indeed, little one." He replied, "It does seem like we're more alike than we might have thought."
"Because we're both distrusting killers?" The girl asked with a raised brow and pushed herself off the wall and past him.
"I was thinking more about the will to survive at any cost," The vampire said with a shrug and turned to her, "But yeah, I guess there's the killing and trust parts as well."
The girl gave him one look and walked to the remains of the Father.
"A hundred and thirty years huh?" She asked and kneeled down as she started to take the Father's clothes off, "Even though I fight death on a daily basis, I still couldn't phantom living in this nightmare of a world for so many years."
She dropped the coat and put on the clothes. With no regard of the male eyes watching her.
"But I guess it does make it easier when you have family with you, even if you can't trust them completely. At least, you're not alone."
Klaus watched her silently, as her petite figure drowned in clothes, at least two sizes too big for it. As she turned her back to him, the vampire noticed the rough painting of blood on her back, with long strokes of deep scars hidden beneath. Some of the scars were older than others and some even covered another.
"Thank you, for saving me." She said, turquoise eyes looking over her shoulder back at him, "However, I would have found a way out of it. I always do. I don't need anyone."
Klaus stared at her, slightly in awe.
This girl had fighting spirit.
She was a survivor. The girl had been able to crush a man without blinking. No doubt, she'd done the same to Klaus, if he hadn't managed to stop her. The original had never seen such deadly power before, not even from his mother who had been considered a very powerful witch.
The girl gave him a last nod of appreciation, before she threw Klaus' coat to him, muttering a thanks and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Klaus shouted and flashed forward, surprising her, as he suddenly stood in front of her. She looked up at him, head crooked and eyes curious. Klaus himself was surprised, feeling the need to stop her, however, something about this young girl, made it impossible for him to just let her leave. Something about her called out to him and Klaus would be damned, if he'd let her go, before knowing what it was. He held out his hand and offered a small bow.
"I never got your name?"
The girl smirked and buttoned up the black shirt, covering her bloody chest.
"That is because I never told you." She replied non-chalantly and crossed her arms defiantly.
Klaus chuckled and shook his head taking a step forward.
"You're quite the stubborn lady, aren't you, miss?" The vampire asked and gave the girl an amused look. She raised a brow in response.
"What?" The girl said with a small huff, "Just because I don't trust the mysterious stranger, who saved me unnecessarily, for whatever reason?"
Klaus grinned, finding the girl's stubborn valour utterly refreshing.
"Touché." He replied, offering her a little smile, "However, I do not mean to harm you in any way, quite the contrary actually." Klaus added and took a step back with a small bow, "I wish to offer you shelter and food, for as long as you may need."
"But why?" The girl asked, giving him a puzzled look, "You don't even know me."
"That may be so." Klaus said and looked up at her, "However, I have a feeling that you and I are not that different, little one. How do I say this? You are not like anyone I've come across before… you fascinate me." He admitted and shrugged. The girl gave him a calculating look, as if she was trying to figure him out.
"Alright." She finally said, "It just so happens, that I don't have any previous engagements and I'm starving, so I'll take you up on your word." She said and took a step towards him, "However, if you try something - anything-"
The girl reached out her hand and an agonizing scream erupted behind Klaus, followed by an intense heat. The vampire moved quickly and turned to see what had caused the abruption.
Klaus' eyes widened at what he saw.
A man, dressed in black, stumbled backwards, as flames emerged out of nowhere, eating it's way through his clothes to naked skin. A smell of burned flesh spread through the hall, as the man's screams died out and he dropped to the cold stone floor.
Despite the heat of the fire, Klaus felt a cold shiver running through his body, as his eyes locked with turquoise.
The girl tore her gaze from him and walked past the vampire to the hall. She stopped by the burning corpse and as she reached out, the flames faded and died out.
She turned her head, glancing back at him, a hint of uncertainty visible in the young orbs. Klaus stood still for a moment, before he smirked easily and took a step towards her.
"I told you," He said, voice low as he stopped inches from her, "Fascinating."
The girl looked up at him as a silence fell between them.
"You have to be the most absurd stranger I've ever met." She told him and shook her head with a small grin, before she turned away from him. Klaus returned the gesture with a crooked grin of his own.
"What are you just standing there for?" The girl asked and looked back at Klaus a few feet ahead, "I could easily make you tell me the location of your home, however, that would be considered rude. Or so I've heard."
"Oh little one, you're a hundred years too late, to think you can make me do anything." Klaus chuckled as he walked to her and put an arm around her shoulder, "But I did invite you, so let's go, shall we?"
"I won't tell anyone." The girl said suddenly, as they walked down the small hill, on which the convent stood. Klaus glanced sideways at her as they continued to walk. He didn't say anything, waiting for her to elaborate what she was talking about.
"About the things I saw." She finally continued, "I know we've only just met and I've seen you don't trust easily, but I'm still letting you know that I won't tell anyone about you. I understand."
Klaus couldn't help a small smile reach his lips as he gave her a nod and looked straight ahead.
"Same here and I am sorry."
"Yeah, me too..." She muttered as a comfortable silence feel between them. For now, that was enough. No more words needed to be spoken.
Iris glanced at the man walking next to her in silence. She thought about what had happened, what she had seen when he suddenly bit her.
Things had been a blur of blood and burning pain, ever since the villagers had handed her over to the monks. She had no idea how much time had gone by. It could have been hours, it could have been days, weeks...
Then it had all stopped as this man, this Niklaus Mikaelson, had appeared out of nowhere.
When he suddenly bit her it had stung at first but then she'd seen it.
She saw a family.
A boy.
Beasts. A tragedy.
Parents turning their children to creatures living off human blood.
Blood, betrayal, sibling disputes, love, pain, hunger...
She had felt his pain, his loneliness so strongly she had to push him away to stop it.
He was like no one she had ever met in her short life and even though she wasn't able to point it out, there was something about him that drew her in.
Something hidden in the darkness and the tragedy of it all.
What was the word he had used for her? Fascinating?
A/N: And this is how the two met!
How did you like it? Good? Bad?