I've received few requests about writing the whole story about Kol and Cosette. Their story started in My Heart Will Go On, on the sinking Titanic and continued in Can't Fight the Moonlight. I haven't finished that one yet, but I'm writing the next chapter now. This story will entail all the Kol and Cosette scenes from the other stories and will continue after the events of Can't Fight the Moonlight.
Titanic, 15 April, 1912
"Rule Britannia! Britannia rule the waves! Britons never, never, never shall be slaves! Rule Britannia! Britannia rule the waves! Britons never, never, never shall be slaves!"
"One more time, lads!"
"Rule Britannia! Britannia rule the waves! Britons never, never, never shall be slaves! Rule Britannia! Britannia rule the waves! Britons never, never, never shall be slaves!"
Kol didn't really consider himself as British, but he had no problem joining the drunken choir. He was sitting in the Smoke Room with two young fellows, Tommy and Billy, who certainly weren't a First Class passengers and a middle-aged man called Charles. The atmosphere was much more cheerful here than at the Lounge where the doomed men were quietly drinking the finest liquors and preparing to die like gentlemen. Kol had found it odd how calm they had been, simply accepting their fate.
He himself wouldn't have to be here, he could have easily gotten into a lifeboat, but this was far more interesting, he had never experienced a shipwreck. The ship was already tilted slightly sideways, it would sink soon. The lights were still working but probably not for long. Kol had to admit that he had never seen anything like this.
"Gentlemen," Charles said and raised his glass. "It has been a pleasure to drink with you."
"Likewise, Charles," Tommy replied. "You're not so bad as far as a dandy goes."
"Thank you, Mr. Faraday, I appreciate that."
All the men emptied their glasses and poured themselves another drinks. They were quiet, lost in their thoughts.
"Are you afraid of death?" Kol asked, he was curious.
Charles shook his head.
"No. It's difficult to be afraid of death when you have not really lived in the first place."
"How so?"
Charles laughed humorlessly.
"For all my life I have been a coward, lived like other people have wanted me to. I never loved my wife, but still I stayed with her and let the true love of my life to slip away from me. Now she is dead and I hope to join her."
"At least you've loved, mate," Tommy muttered. "I haven't."
"Come on," Billy huffed. "You're wasting a good drinking time."
"I'm serious," Tommy muttered. "I've slept with many lasses, but I've never loved any of them. I always thought that someday… I don't know, I would find the right lass, settle down, have children. Oh well…"
Billy rolled his eyes and patted Tommy's shoulder.
"That kind of life is not for us, brother, deep down you know it. People like us die young, one way or another."
"True," Tommy sighed. "But still…"
"How about you?" Charles asked, he was looking at Kol.
"Am I afraid? No, death doesn't scare me. Been there, done that."
"No, I meant have you ever loved anyone?"
"No," Kol snorted. "I don't believe in love."
"I feel sorry for you," Charles muttered, he was staring at his glass. "Love makes the life worth living. Her smile, the smell of her hair, the sound of her laugh… I wouldn't give up a second with my Miriam for all the riches in the world."
Kol didn't comment on that, the whole conversation was ridiculous. Well, people who were about to die didn't have any reason to hold back. He emptied his glass and stood up; it was probably time to head to the deck. After all, he didn't want to miss the grand finale.
"Well, this has been interesting. Good luck, gentlemen," he said and walked out.
The best part was that he didn't have to worry about Nik, his brother probably had his hands full. Nik had no doubt taken the little peach into a lifeboat already. Kol hadn't meant to drop her and he would have helped Nik to save her if Elijah wouldn't have beaten him to it, but that wouldn't matter to Nik. No, his brother would no doubt come after him, but that wasn't anything new.
Kol walked across the long dead silent hallway when he noticed a small figure sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. It was a child, a girl. She couldn't be older than 4 or 5, tiny little creature with tangled auburn curls and dark brown eyes. Judging by her shabby clothes, she certainly wasn't a First Class passenger. Her legs were curled up against her chest and she hugged herself tightly. Kol bit his bottom lip; he should just walk past her. Yet he found himself bending down.
"Hey? Little girl?"
He didn't get any reply; she was just staring in front of her.
"What are you doing here by yourself?"
No reply. He sighed and took a quick look around; there was no one in sight.
"Fine," he snorted. "I'll take you to a lifeboat, but this stays between you and me."
She looked at him intently when he lifted her up, but she didn't seem scared. He frowned.
"What are you looking at?"
She didn't say anything; she simply wrapped her little arms tightly around him. Very tightly, like her life would depend on it. He rolled his eyes and started to carry her to the deck. Perhaps he wasn't completely heartless, but no one had to know that.
"You got to be kidding me," Kol snorted. "No lifeboats left?"
A very pale and absent looking steward shook his head.
"No lifeboats. No lifeboats. No lifeboats…"
"Alright, alright, I got it."
Kol huffed and looked at the small creature whose arms were still wrapped tightly around his neck.
"What am I supposed to do with this thing?" he complained.
The steward didn't even seem to hear him.
"No lifeboats. No lifeboats. No lifeboats."
Great… Well, there were other people on the deck; he could just leave the girl here, then she would become their problem. She would have no chances of surviving. So what? Why would he care if some human child would live or die? He could easily hear her frightened heartbeat; her tiny body was shivering against him. Damn it… He closed his eyes and sighed in surrender.
"Fine, but not a word about this, miniature human. I have a reputation."
She didn't say anything, but he could have sworn that her body relaxed a little. Apparently she trusted him to look after her. Foolish girl. Alright, he needed to think… Unfortunately there was no time left, the ship started to really tilt. Oh crap… People were screaming around him, trying to climb up. Kol didn't follow their example; instead he headed down, to the water. Fortunately he was wearing a life vest, he needed his arms to lift the girl over his head, she wouldn't survive for long if her clothes would get wet. He cursed when he reached the water, it was damn cold. The girl seemed to be panicking, her whole body was trembling and she was squirming.
"Stop that," he snapped. "Right now or I will drop you."
Quiet sobs were leaving her throat, but she stopped squirming. He sighed and started to swim away from the ship as fast as he could. It was completely sideways now; he didn't have much time to get far enough. To his surprise, he noticed Nik and Elijah ahead, they were both swimming. Elijah was dragging someone behind him and Nik was taking care of some kind of raft which was made of a table and life vests. Viola was on that raft, she was crying.
"Cover your ears, love," Nik said. "Everything is fine."
She wrapped her arms around her and cried even harder while the dying screams of the people on the ship were getting louder. The little girl was crying as well, she took a hold of Kol's wrist.
"There, there," he muttered. "You'll be fine."
Kol gritted his teeth and continued his very slow swimming. It was impossible to swim fast when you couldn't use your arms. Sure he could have tried to give the girl to Nik, but he figured that it was better to avoid his brother as long as he could. Besides, Nik had seemed to have his hands full comforting his crying toy.
Kol doubted that Nik would get any for a long time; this was probably quite a traumatic experience for Viola, even if she hadn't seen what had happened. He smirked; he could have taught his brother few tricks of how to calm the little peach down. Unfortunately he had to settle for the company of his unwanted passenger. He felt that the girl was shivering, she was probably cold.
"So… do you have a name, miniature human?" he asked carelessly.
She didn't say anything; her fingers were still squishing his wrist.
"How old are you?"
Still no reply.
"Fine," he huffed. "I don't really care anyway."
For a brief moment he tried to recall what he remembered about the development of children, could they already speak when they were her age? He had no idea and the matter really didn't interest him. Thankfully he would get rid of her soon. Well, he could get rid of her right now if he would want to.
"You know, you really ruined this whole shipwreck for me," he snorted. "Without you, I would have been on top of the stern when it went down. Now that would have been a unique experience, would you agree?"
She didn't say anything and he doubted if she could even understand him. According to his experience, children weren't very smart.
"The least you could do is offering me some kind of entertainment, unless you want me to get bored and drop you."
He had meant that as a joke, not that the girl understood him anyway… Or maybe she did. She reached down and her small fingers started to massage his head. He frowned and was just about to ask what she was doing, but to his surprise, it didn't feel too bad. On the contrary actually. In different circumstances it could have been quite relaxing.
"Who has taught you this?" he asked.
Surprisingly she didn't say anything. He could feel how much her fingers were shaking, she was really cold.
"You can stop," he huffed, although he would have liked her to continue. She obeyed, but her tiny body tensed and she took a hold of his wrist, she probably thought that she had failed.
"I'm not going to drop you," he snorted. "It was a joke; don't you have any sense of humor?"
Of course she didn't, she was a child. Why did he even bother to try? He sighed and continued swimming; fortunately he could finally see a lifeboat ahead.
"Hey! A little help here!"
He heard people gasping and suddenly a light hit his face.
"Dear Lord…" a male voice said. "Hold on, mate!"
"I'll do my best," he huffed and swam closer. Someone picked the girl up before helping him into the boat as well. 28 pairs of eyes were staring at him disbelievingly, most of them were women, but there were also few men in the boat. The First Class men, of course. Kol didn't have time to say anything when one of the men, who apparently was a purser, started to remove his life vest.
"We need to get you out of these wet clothes," the purser explained calmly. "Otherwise you will freeze to death."
"I'm fine," Kol huffed.
"No, no, you don't understand, you are in shock…"
Kol rolled his eyes, perhaps he should just play along.
"Fine then."
All the women looked away immediately when he started to undress, although it was so dark that they couldn't have seen much anyway. The purser wrapped two blankets around him and some man gave him his jacket. The girl was on some woman's lap, there was a blanket wrapped around her as well. She stared at Kol and started to squirm as soon as he had sat down. The woman tried to calm her down, but she couldn't.
"Let her come to her father," the purser said.
Kol's eyes widened, but he didn't have time to say anything when the girl ran straight to him and climbed onto his lap.
"What a… Get off me, you little leech!"
The people seemed shocked.
"What kind of a father are you?" some woman asked disapprovingly.
"I'm not…" Kol started angrily, but the girl was already snuggled against him. This was just perfect.
Two hours. Kol had never thought that two hours could feel so long. Being stuck in a small boat with a bunch of crying humans and a damn miniature human that had fallen asleep on his lap was certainly an unpleasant experience. She had curled up against his chest and she was sniffling in her sleep, she wasn't even slightly afraid of him. That was just…annoying. Even if he wouldn't be a deadly predator, he still wouldn't be the kind of person children felt safe with. Maybe he didn't kill children, but he certainly didn't like them either, he considered them quite useless creatures. And obviously the damn thing wasn't very smart; otherwise she wouldn't think that she was safe with him. When would this damn nightmare end…
"Look!" one of the women suddenly gasped. "A ship!"
Everyone turned to look at the direction she was pointing at, it really was a ship. Kol was the only one who was able to see its name in the darkness. Carpathia. Some of the women burst into tears and thanked The Lord. The noises woke the little girl up; she yawned and rubbed her eyes sleepily.
"We are saved," one of the women sobbed.
"Indeed," Kol muttered and glanced at the girl. She looked at him back with her dark brown eyes, blinking innocently. She trusted him. Why the hell would she trust him? Her arms were wrapped tighter around him and she leaned her head against his chest. Fortunately this would all be over soon. All the lifeboats were heading towards the ship; it had already started to pick the survivors up.
After a long wait, it was finally Kol's turn. He placed the girl on the deck as soon as they were lifted onboard, but she wasn't going to give up, she followed him when some crew member led him to a cabin to put some clothes on, he was wearing nothing except the blanket and the jacket. He slammed the cabin door shut in front of her, but she was waiting behind it when he came out after getting dressed.
"Shoo!" he snapped and waved his hand. "Go and bother someone else, you're not my problem."
She looked at him intently and followed him when he tried to walk away. He stopped and turned to look at her.
"I realize you're not very smart, but I suggest you leave me alone before I…"
He didn't have time to finish his sentence when he was suddenly thrown against the wall.
"Hello, brother," Nik snarled and grabbed him by the throat. "I believe we have some unfinished business to take care of."
"Come on, Nik," Kol snorted. "I gave you the little peach, didn't I? Rightfully she belongs to me, but I can let you keep her…"
"She belongs to me!" Nik growled, he sounded quite strange. "Only to me!"
"Fine, whatever you say. Now, if you really want to fight…"
Nik growled when the girl suddenly grabbed his leg and bit him.
"What…"
The girl started to scream at the top of her lungs, apparently she managed to surprise Nik, he let go of Kol and took a step back. Kol couldn't do anything except stare at the girl, his brother seemed very confused.
"What is this?" Nik muttered. The girl had let go of his leg, she moved in front of Kol and arched her back like a cat, apparently trying to protect Kol. He had to struggle for not to laugh, this was just hilarious. Perhaps the miniature human wasn't as useless as he had thought.
"She's my new pet," Kol replied casually. "Cute, isn't she? And quite loyal, as you can see."
Nik's eyebrows furrowed.
"A human child? Really, Kol?"
Kol shrugged and scooped the girl up.
"Why not?"
Nik didn't have time to reply when few crew members came running, apparently alarmed by the girl's screams.
"Is something wrong here?" one of them asked.
Kol grinned and looked at his brother over the girl's shoulder.
"No, the poor thing is still upset because of… you know."
The crew members nodded.
"Yes. Perhaps she would like something to eat?"
Kol glanced at the girl; the thought of her being hungry hadn't even crossed his mind.
"Yes, I believe she does. Lead the way."
He gave his brother a charming smile; he doubted that Nik would want to make a scene here. The look in his brother's eyes told him that they weren't done, but Kol wasn't too worried about that, not right now anyway.
"You did well, little human," he hummed while following the crew member across the hallway. "Perhaps I can find some use for you after all."
"Attention, people!" Kol announced and lifted the little human over his head. "Has anyone lost this?"
Some people in the dining room glanced at him, but no one said anything. They looked tired and apathetic; apparently they haven't gotten over with the whole shipwreck thing. Honestly, that had happened hours ago, Kol had already forgotten it. Besides, these people have survived; they had no reason to complain. Kol sighed and placed the miniature human on the floor, she took his hand immediately.
"What the hell am I going to do with you?" he muttered. The whole thing was becoming annoying. He didn't really want a pet; he had just said that to see the look on Nik's face. Sure the little human had been amusing, but he had no intention to keep her. Unfortunately he hadn't managed to find her real owners…parents.
"Alright," he huffed. "I think there were some people at the lounge, let's go and see…"
"Cosette!" some little boy said and pointed at the girl. "Look, mama, it's Cosette!"
Kol looked up and saw the boy who had just entered the dining room with a man and a woman who was holding a baby. Judging by their clothes, they were First Class passengers. The woman looked shocked and the man's face went blank when they noticed the girl.
"Let's go," the man said tensely and took the boy's hand.
"Hey!" Kol said and went after them. He didn't even notice that the girl tried to resist, he simply dragged her with him. He caught the couple in the hallway and stepped in front of them.
"You know her?" he asked.
"No," the man and the woman said simultaneously. Obviously they were lying. Kol frowned and looked at the boy, who couldn't be older than 6.
"How about you? You know her?"
The boy nodded.
"That's Cosette. You shouldn't touch her, she's filthy. And she smells bad."
"My son is mistaken, we have never seen that girl," the man said tensely. "Excuse us."
"I don't think so," Kol replied. "I need to know who this thing…child belongs to, so you better tell me."
"I'm afraid we can't help you," the man stated coldly.
Kol rolled his eyes and looked into the man's eyes.
"Tell me what you know about the girl."
"She is my bastard daughter," the man replied mechanically.
"Rupert!" the woman gasped, she looked shocked.
"Your daughter?" Kol repeated. "Is this her mother?"
"No!" the woman snapped before the man managed to reply.
"No, her mother was a French prostitute."
"What are you doing!" the woman shouted.
"Be quiet," Kol ordered, he didn't bother to use compulsion. "Not you," he added, looking at the man. "Why did you say that you don't know the girl?"
"Because we don't want her," the man replied. "That's why we left her behind; we thought that we had finally got rid of her."
Kol's eyes narrowed.
"You left her to die? Your own daughter?"
"I never wanted her," the man replied. "Her mother blackmailed me to take her in, but she has never been my daughter."
Kol glanced at the girl; finally he noticed that she was trying to hide behind his back. She was afraid of these people.
"Ugly Cosette, ugly Cosette!" the boy cheered and shoved her.
"Hey!" Kol snapped. "I should teach you manners…"
"Don't you talk to my son like that!" the man demanded. "We will take the girl."
"I don't think so," Kol heard himself saying.
"Fine," the woman snapped and cradled the baby who had started to cry. "You can keep her, good luck with that. She is dumb as a doornail, she can't even speak."
Kol didn't manage to say anything when the man lifted the boy up and walked away with the woman. For a moment he couldn't do anything except stare after them.
"Right…" he muttered and turned to look at the girl who was standing behind his back. "Cosette, is it? That's not so bad; I would have probably named you Kolette or maybe a snack. You wouldn't be much of a dinner."
She didn't say anything or look at him; obviously she couldn't understand his sense of humor. He sighed and held out his hand, she didn't hesitate to take it.
"Come on then."
He had no idea what the hell he was doing, but surely he could find some better place for the girl. Why he cared, he had no idea. Perhaps even a monster was capable of doing a decent thing for every now and then.
New York, 1 month after the sinking of Titanic
"Have she eaten?" Kol asked absentmindedly.
"Yes, sir," the bellboy replied. "I brought her dinner and I read her a story."
"Good," Kol huffed and gave the boy few bills.
"Thank you, sir. Shall I watch her again tomorrow night?"
"Yes, probably."
Kol stretched his arms after the boy had left; he had had a fun night. New York truly was his kind of city, there was always some action somewhere. Not to mention there were some great luxury hotels here, he was staying in the finest suite the Waldorf Astoria hotel had to offer. Nothing was too good for him, especially after his brother had ruined his fun in London. Nik had probably returned to New Orleans by now, Kol didn't think that he had stayed looking for him, not with the little peach and her vampire daddy.
The thought made Kol grin, hopefully Nik was having a lot of fun. He certainly was having fun, despite of the fact that he hadn't found any place for the girl yet. He had planned to simply drop her off to some orphanage, but for some reason that hadn't seemed like a good solution, not after he had seen those places. Not that he cared of course, but the girl hadn't caused him any trouble, except that she kept following him around like a puppy.
She didn't speak, but she seemed to understand what he said to her. He still didn't know much about children, but at least he knew now that he couldn't leave her alone for very long. That one he had learned right away when he had gone out and told the girl to wait for him in the suite. After returning few hours later, he had found the girl sobbing under the bed. Fortunately there was plenty of staff in the hotel; it wasn't difficult to find someone to watch over her.
He opened the door to her room and noticed that she was asleep, her little arms wrapped tightly around the doll he had given to her. It had been just a whim, he had recalled that miniature humans liked toys, but she had seemed completely stunned, like she would have never had a doll before. Apparently she hadn't had and now this one was her most valuable possession. Well, her only possession to be precise.
He sighed and closed the door, what was he supposed to do with her? Obviously she couldn't stay with him. After having a drink, he went to his bedroom and lied down. He didn't have time to fall asleep when he heard the quiet footsteps.
"No, Cosette," he huffed without opening his eyes. "Go to your bed."
He already knew that she wasn't going to obey and she wouldn't go anywhere before he would give up. He sighed before opening his eyes; she was standing next to his bed holding her doll.
"No. Shoo."
She didn't move, she simply stared at him with her sleepy dark brown eyes.
"I just don't get you," he muttered. "You should be scared of me; I'm not a nice man. I don't like children."
She yawned and tugged at his sleeve.
"Fine," he snorted. "But this is the last time."
He had said the same thing last night and the night before that, but this time he meant it. Definitely. She smiled at him when he lifted her next to him, she snuggled against him immediately.
"Yeah, yeah," he muttered and tapped her head. "Just go to sleep."
This was just great, if anyone would know about this… She sighed before falling asleep, her little body felt warm. For some incomprehensible reason, she actually trusted him. Foolish little human.
Kol had slept couple of hours when he opened his eyes, he didn't need much sleep, an hour or two for every now and then was enough. Cosette was still sleeping next to him, but she woke up when she felt him moving.
"Go back to sleep if you're tired," he said and got into a sitting position. His neck felt a bit tense, he tried to stretch it when he felt Cosette standing up on the bed behind him. Her small fingers started to immediately massage his shoulders. She was very good at that, clearly someone had taught her. He had asked about that few times, but obviously he hadn't got any answer.
Based on what he knew about her so called family, he wouldn't have been surprised if they had used her as some kind of maid. She was definitely more than eager to please him, like she would have tried to earn her right to be here. He sighed when she found the problem spot, as she always did and kept pressing it until all the tension was gone. Her fingers were surprisingly strong for someone so small. He still didn't know how old she was exactly, but somewhere between 4 and 6 was his best guess, he really couldn't estimate the age of children, they all looked pretty much the same to him.
"Good girl," he sighed when she jumped to the floor and hurried to the living room. It didn't take long when she returned with a glass of scotch, she knew that he liked to start his day with a drink.
"Thank you," he said and ruffled her auburn curls. Her face brightened, as always when she heard any kind words from him. He smiled; he couldn't deny that perhaps she had started to grow on him in a way, although he obviously wasn't planning to keep her. No, definitely not. The last four weeks had gone by fast; he hadn't even realized that she had been with him for so long. She climbed back on the bed and picked up her doll, she always kept it with her. He sat on the edge of the bed and had his drink; she moved next to him and gently cradled her doll while swinging her feet back and forth.
"You like that thing, do you?" he stated.
She nodded and kissed the doll, he couldn't help but to feel amused.
"Have you ever had any toys before?"
She lowered her head and shook it. Her arms wrapped tighter around the doll, like she would have been afraid that someone would take it from her.
"It's yours," he stated and tapped her head. "I gave it to you."
She looked up and smiled at him, the gratitude in her eyes made him feel uncomfortable. The doll hadn't cost much anything and it didn't look like much to him, some old woman had been selling those along with some other junk on a street corner. It certainly seemed to be valuable to Cosette. She moved even closer to him and leaned her head on his side.
"Alright, it's time to get up," he huffed. "I think I want to have my coffee downstairs this morning, go and get ready."
She nodded and jumped to the floor. So far she had spent most of her time in the suite, but he had taken her with him to a restaurant couple of times. The nightgown she was wearing seemed to be too big for her; he hadn't really paid attention to that before. He had sent one of the bellboys to buy her some clothes after arriving here; she had only had the shabby clothes she had been wearing when he had found her.
Fortunately she could get dressed by herself; he had no idea if all the children in her age could do that. Taking a bath was another matter; she had panicked and tried to run when a maid had tried to bathe her the first time, the bathtub had seemed to scare her. She hadn't calmed down before he had explained to her what she was supposed to do and why.
Eating had also seemed to be a problem for her, her hands had been shaking when she had tried to take as small bites as possible and eat quietly. Her table manners had been unnaturally flawless for someone so young, she had pretty much been afraid to eat. He imagined that whoever had taught her hadn't used very pleasant methods. She had started to relax a little when she ate with him after he had made it clear that he didn't care how she ate and he certainly wasn't going to punish her if she spilled something.
"Cosette?" he called after washing up and getting dressed. "Are you ready?"
She appeared from her room wearing a coral dress, a pair of white socks and red strap shoes. She had tried to make a hair bow out of a red ribbon, but she hadn't really succeeded. He raised his eyebrows.
"What's that?"
She blushed and lowered her head; clearly she was ashamed of her failure. He remembered that the last time they had been in the restaurant the other little girls have had bows in their hair; she had probably tried to copy them.
"Come here," he huffed and sat down on the armchair. She obeyed, but she kept her head down and held her doll's hand. He lifted her onto his lap and took the ribbon out.
"I'll show you how it's done. First cross the right piece over the left like this. Then pull the left piece under the right…"
He couldn't believe that he was actually doing this, not to mention that he knew how to make a hair bow. It was all thanks to a courtesan whose services he had used a lot few years ago, she had been obsessed with her hair. Well, he couldn't deny that she has had very nice hair and she had known how to also use her hair ribbons to more interesting purposes. The memory made him grin, he have had some very pleasant moments with her, although he had to admit that he couldn't recall her name. Not that it mattered.
"…and there, you have a perfect bow."
She had observed his every move intently and she smiled when he placed the bow in her hair.
"Cute as a button."
Dear Lord, had he just said that? Her smile grew wider; she looked at him like he would be some damn hero. The worst part was when she lifted her doll and pointed at its hair.
"No," he snapped. "Forget it."
She lowered her head and cradled the doll like it would have been a baby. No, there was no way in hell he would ever…
"Fine, but I swear, if you ever tell anyone about this…"
She shook her head and covered her mouth with her hand. He couldn't help but to burst into laughter when she covered the doll's mouth as well.
"You're a strange little human, Cosette. Alright…"
He didn't have another ribbon, but he had a handkerchief, he ripped a shred out of it and made a small bow for the doll. Cosette looked at him adoringly when he handed the bow to her; carefully she placed it in her doll's hair.
"Are we done?" he snorted. "I want a cup of coffee."
She nodded and kissed his cheek before jumping to the floor. For a moment he was unable to speak, what the hell was happening here? He, Kol Mikaelson, had just made a hair bow for a freaking doll. There had to be something seriously wrong with him.
"Mr. Smith!"
Kol was so concentrated on his coffee and the newspaper that he didn't pay any attention to the female voice, not before she was standing next to his table.
"Good morning, Mr. Smith."
Kol looked up when he finally realized that the woman was talking to him; he hadn't bothered to use much creativity with his fake name. He recognized the woman as Louise Lawrence, a wealthy heiress who was also staying at the Waldorf Astoria hotel. She was in her mid twenties, but she was already a widow after her much older and very rich husband had died in a tragic "accident". Apparently she wasn't very popular in the society of New York and her reputation was everything but flawless, but she was too rich to be ignored.
"Mrs. Lawrence," Kol greeted her and stood up, he was supposed to be a gentleman. "Good morning."
The woman was smiling at him; she had been flirting with him ever since they had met at the lounge few days ago. He hadn't really decided yet if he wanted to shag her or not. She wasn't unpleasant to look at and she was probably quite skilled in bed, but she also annoyed the hell out of him, so it was a tough call.
May I join you?" she asked smiling. "I don't like to eat by myself."
"Sure…"
He didn't have time to say anything else when she sat down, but a loud scream made her to jump back to her feet. Everyone in the restaurant turned to look at them. For a moment Kol had forgotten Cosette, Mrs. Lawrence had just sat on her doll. The woman's eyes widened when Cosette glared at her and carefully picked the doll up.
"Mine," Cosette said and cradled the doll in her arms.
"Who…who might this be?" Mrs. Lawrence managed to ask, but Kol barely heard her, this was the first time Cosette had said a word.
"Cosette…"
She jumped to the floor and moved next to him. Determinedly she took his hand and glared at Mrs. Lawrence. The woman didn't seem pleased, but her lips curved into a smile.
"Well… She is lovely. Is she your daughter?"
"No," Kol replied, he was staring at Cosette. "She's… It's complicated."
"I see."
The woman didn't even bother to pretend being interested, clearly she didn't like children.
"I'm afraid I must go, I just remembered something I need to do," she stated carelessly. "Excuse me."
Kol barely noticed her leaving, he was looking at Cosette. She was still squishing his hand and pressing the doll against her chest.
"Cosette? Say something to me."
She kept her head down and stayed quiet. Finally he gave up and sat down, he didn't resist when she climbed onto his lap. This wasn't good at all; apparently she had become more attached to him than he had realized. Damn it.
"Listen, Cosette, you need to understand something…"
"Bad lady," she muttered and cradled the doll. "She hurt Barb."
"Barb? That's the doll's name?"
She nodded.
"Why did you name it Barb?"
She didn't say anything; she just kept cradling the doll. He sighed and reached for his cup, but she misinterpreted his intentions and tried to cover her face. Her little body was shaking, expecting a hit or something.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he muttered.
"I'm sorry about the lady," she said quietly. "I'll be good and stay quiet, please let me stay."
He bit his bottom lip; there were tears in her eyes.
"Yes, yes, you can stay, but I don't want you to stay quiet, I want you to speak."
She hesitated a moment before looking at him.
"No one wants to hear me speak. I'm stupid."
For a moment he wasn't sure how to reply, clearly she believed what she said.
"No, you're not stupid, who told you something like that?"
She bowed her head and wrapped her arms around the doll. The whole situation made him very uncomfortable; he didn't know how to deal with something like this.
"Alright," he muttered after a moment of silence. "Finish your breakfast."
She nodded when he placed her on the floor.
"Thank you."
"It's just breakfast," he huffed. "There's no need to thank me."
"Useless little whores are not allowed to eat," she stated calmly.
His eyes widened, that had sounded very disturbing coming from a little child. He really had no idea how to handle something like this.
London, 2 years earlier
Barbara DeWitt, better known as Madam Barb, had never been a warm or sensitive woman. In the world she was living in, there was no room for warmth or sensitivity. Her world was a cold and tough place, only the strong ones survived. She wasn't sure if this bony little runt was a survivor, but for some reason Madam Barb had found herself almost liking her. Usually she didn't allow her girls to bring children with them, but this time she was glad that she had made an exception. She observed the girl's practicing approvingly while smoking her cigarette.
"That's good, Cosette," she said. "Very good."
The girl looked at her and smiled, her face always brightened when she heard kind words. Unfortunately she didn't get too many of those from her mother.
"Thank you, madam."
"Press harder right there, above her shoulder blade. How does that feel, Moll?"
"Like heaven," the young woman lying on her stomach on the sofa sighed. She was only wearing a pair of lace knickers and she seemed completely relaxed. "The little one is a natural."
Madam Barb thought so too, none of her girls had learned to locate the pressure points so quickly. The girl was only 4-years-old and she was so tiny that she needed to stand on a chair in order to reach Moll's back.
"Good, now a little lower."
Her tiny fingers pressed just the right spot, making Moll to sigh in content.
"That sounds like fun," one of the girls giggled, three of them were sitting at the table playing cards while waiting for their next clients. "Have she learned the most important pressure points already?"
The other girls burst into laughter, but they were very quiet when Madam Barb turned to look at them.
"Watch your mouth, Clara," she stated coolly. "The girl is just a child."
"Yes, of course," Clara muttered. "I apologize, madam."
"Good. And another thing, I know I said you can ask the girl to do some small chores for you, but unlike some of you seem to think, she's not your personal maid. Is that clear?"
"Yes, madam," all the girls said simultaneously.
Perhaps Madam Barb wasn't a sensitive woman, but she also wasn't unnecessary cruel and she didn't stand any disorder in her house, her girls needed to respect her or find another brothel. Despite of her line of work, Madam Barb took pride in her house, it was much safer place for the girls to work than most brothels and she expected the girl to appreciate that.
Most clients were wealthy and they expected certain standards. The girls needed to know how to behave; Madam Barb had trained most of them herself. Some clients wanted more than just the obvious service and the girls needed to be able to provide that. A conversation, an afternoon tea, some role-play, a seductive dance, a sensual massage, whatever the client wanted.
"I think that's enough for now," Madam Barb said. "Thank you, Moll."
"My pleasure," the girl sighed, her eyes were still closed.
"Is Amelie still with a client?"
Clara nodded.
"Yes, madam, with the Scot. He seems to really fancy her."
Apparently so, the man had been here every day for the last two weeks and he always requested Amelie. She was no doubt one of the most beautiful girls Madam Barb has ever had, but unfortunately her personality wasn't very pleasant and she certainly had no idea how to be a mother, Cosette was more like some kind of accessory or perhaps a pet to her. Most of the time, she didn't notice the girl at all.
"Come along, Cosette," Madam Barb huffed.
The girl jumped to the floor and followed her obediently. Madam Barb headed to her small study/tearoom; she had some paperwork to do. Even though she was the mistress of this house, she still knew that it wasn't safe for Cosette to wander around by herself, not with all kinds of men coming and going. Most of the clients probably wouldn't touch someone as young as her, but there was no guarantee that some of them wouldn't.
Madam Barb certainly didn't accept touching children and that wouldn't happen under her roof if she had anything to say about that. Not that she had any intention to be some kind of nanny, but the girl didn't bother her, on the contrary, she was always eager to help. Madam Barb sighed when she sat down at her desk, she hated paperwork. Cosette kneeled next to her, carefully removed her shoes and started to rub her feet. The girl truly was a natural, Madam Barb felt herself relaxing immediately.
"Good girl. You can surely make a good living when you are older. Hopefully not here or any place like this."
"I like it here, madam," the girl said quietly. "You are very kind to me and mama."
Madam Barb's eyes widened, no one had ever called her kind before.
"Don't be silly, girl," she huffed.
"I'm sorry, madam."
"Yes, yes."
She tried to concentrate on the papers lying on her desk while the girl continued rubbing her feet. She was a strange child; she never complained about anything, she simply tried her best to please. Sadly her efforts were never enough for her mother. Sometimes when Amelie was in a very good mood, she lifted the girl onto her lap and sang her some French song with her quite terrible singing voice or tickled the girl's belly.
It wasn't difficult to see that those short rare moments meant everything for the girl, but there wasn't too many of them, most of the time her mother couldn't have been less interested in the girl's wellbeing. Madam Barb was actually a little surprised that the girl had survived for this long; she had been badly undernourished when she and her mother had come here few months ago. Madam Barb opened the top drawer and picked up the box of chocolates she had received from one of her admirers.
"Here," she huffed and handed the box to Cosette. "Take one."
She looked stunned.
"For me, madam?"
"Yes, hurry up and take one, I don't have the whole day."
The girl didn't seem to know what to think; carefully she picked one chocolate up and licked it. Her eyes widened in wonder, she was truly excited. Madam Barb couldn't help but smile when the girl savored the chocolate and carefully licked her fingers clean. She looked up and smiled, her eyes were full of gratitude.
"Thank you, madam."
Madam Barb didn't have time to say anything when the door flew open and Amelie came in running.
"Madam Barb! You won't believe what just happened! Hamish proposed to me!"
Madam Barb frowned.
"What?"
Amelie was jumping up and down, excited like a little girl
"He wants me to come to Scotland with him! We are getting married!"
"I see. How nice for you and Cosette."
Amelie stopped jumping and bit her bottom lip.
"Right, Cosette… The thing is that I can't take her with me, Hamish doesn't like children and he said that he doesn't want some other man's bastard."
Amelie hadn't noticed Cosette under the desk; Madam Barb glanced at her and saw the hurt on her face. The girl was maybe young, but she wasn't stupid.
"She's your daughter…"
"Yes, but this is my life we are talking about," Amelie snorted. "I have already sacrificed more than enough for the brat."
"You can't simply leave her," Madam Barb stated harshly.
Amelie thought about it for a moment.
"I can sell her. I think she is worth at least…"
"Shut your mouth, girl," Madam Barb snapped and stood up. "Come here, Cosette."
Amelie didn't seem pleased to see her daughter, but Madam Barb shoved the girl in front of her.
"Look at her, are you honestly willing to condemn her to hell?"
Cosette looked at her mother silently, but Amelie turned her head away.
"Fine, what are you suggesting then? Do you want to keep her?"
For a moment Madam Barb actually hesitated, but she knew that the girl couldn't stay here; she deserved a chance for something better.
"No, but she has a father, does she not?"
"Rupert?" Amelie snorted. "He would never…"
"You told me that his father-in-law is a member of the parliament, right?"
"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything…"
"For heaven's sake, girl, do I have to draw you a picture?" Madam Barb huffed. "Go to this man and make him to take the girl in unless he wants a scandal. I doubt that his father-in-law would appreciate that."
Amelie seemed to finally understand what she was saying.
"Oh, I'll blackmail him. That sounds good; I suppose I can do that one last thing for the girl."
Madam Barb pressed her lips together; she hoped that she was doing the right thing. The girl gave her a sad look, like a puppy that had just been abandoned on the side of the road.
"Sorry, little one, but you can't stay here. This is no place for a child."
Be good. Be silent. Be useful. Be invisible. Don't cause any inconvenience. Then maybe you won't be cast out or something worse. That was all Cosette knew, the first thing she had ever learned. She had failed now and she needed to try her hardest to fix her mistake. She had displeased Mr. Kol. He hadn't said anything after they had returned to the very big hotel room. Why hadn't she stayed quiet?
She knew that she was stupid, Mr. Rupert's wife, madam Ivy, had told her that many times. She couldn't do anything right, she was clumsy and worthless. Filthy little whore. She couldn't understand what that meant exactly, but it was something bad. She had tried so hard, but she had always failed, she couldn't even eat right. Madam Ivy had forced her to stay at the table for hours and hit her with a strap every time she had failed. No one had ever taught her any table manners, but she had tried her hardest to learn as fast as she could, she had been afraid of Madam Ivy.
Cosette had done everything she could to earn a kind word from Mr. Rupert or Madam Ivy, but she had never worked hard enough. She had been so scared and alone on that big ship when he had suddenly appeared. He hadn't left her. Maybe he spoke all kinds of silly things, but she knew that she was safe with him. Her angel. Now he was displeased with her. He sat down on the armchair, he seemed tense. Quickly she poured him a drink and took the glass to him.
"Thank you," he muttered.
He wasn't pleased; she needed to try something else. She kneeled at his feet and took his shoes off.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
She didn't say anything; she simply started to rub his feet.
"No, Cosette, you don't have to do that."
She couldn't understand what she was doing wrong, even Madam Ivy had liked this, she had rubbed her feet almost every day. She kept trying, but he didn't relax.
"Stop," he said tensely and moved his feet.
She was desperate, there had to be something she could do.
"Please tell me what to do," she asked quietly. "I will do anything for you."
"No," he snapped and stood up. "I don't want you to do anything, I don't… You can't stay here."
Her eyes widened in terror, she had been afraid of hearing those words. No… She had failed again. Her eyes were filling with tears when she ran to her room and climbed onto the bed. At least Barb was here with her, but where would they go? She buried her face in the pillow and cried, why she wasn't ever good enough. Not to mama, not to Madam Barb, not to Mr. Rupert and Madam Ivy, not to Mr. Kol.
"Cosette?"
She kept her face buried in the pillow when she heard his voice; he would make her leave now. He waited a moment before sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Listen, Cosette… Could you look at me, please?"
She shook her head, she didn't want to leave.
"Right… The thing is that I don't know anything about children and as I have told you, I'm not a nice man."
"Yes, you are," she muttered and slowly turned her head towards him. "You are my angel, please I beg you, let me stay with you. I will be useful and I won't bother you, I swear."
His eyes widened.
"What? I'm your what?"
"My angel," she repeated quietly. "The kindest man I have ever met."
His mouth floundered open and closed before he was able to speak.
"Geez… How many men have you met?"
"I… I don't know, I can only count to five."
He burst into laughter; she hoped that was a good thing.
"Alright… I'm going to be honest with you, this is…weird." He paused and shook his head. "I suppose you can stay, but don't expect me to be a good… anything. I'll make sure you'll have food and clothes, but that's it. And this is only until we'll find some better solution."
She looked at him intently.
"I can stay?"
"Yes, that's what I said."
Her eyes were filling with tears again, but this time tears of joy. She practically pounced on him and wrapped her arms tightly around him.
"Thank you, Mr. Kol. You won't regret this, I promise."
"Yeah, yeah," he muttered. "You're welcome."
It was almost morning when Kol returned to the suite, he have had a very pleasant night. Still he had found himself thinking about the little human waiting for his return. He had no idea what he was doing and how it was possible that she actually considered him as a good person. He most definitely wasn't a good person and he didn't want to be. Yet there was something strange about this girl, he didn't want anything bad to happen to her. He didn't care nor certainly felt compassion, he just… What, he didn't know.
No one had ever looked at him like this girl did, like he would be the most important person in the world. He hadn't even done much anything and he had often snapped at her, but still she seemed to worship him. The thought was confusing, but he couldn't deny that maybe it wasn't completely unpleasant. Maybe keeping the girl wouldn't be the worst idea in the world, at least not right now.
She was trying so hard to please him, obviously she had got used to being mistreated. Somehow that felt wrong to him, the girl was so tiny and clearly she was smart. She deserved better than what she had got, her own father leaving her to die. Not that Kol thought that he could offer her something better, there was nothing paternal about him and he definitely didn't want to be paternal, but at least he could offer her something to eat and a roof over her head. Why not, she didn't cause him any inconvenience. The bellboy was sleeping on the armchair; he jumped to his feet when Kol marched in.
"Good evening…morning, sir," the boy muttered sleepily.
"Any problems with the girl?"
The boy shook his head.
"No, sir, she ate her dinner and went to sleep."
"Good."
Kol felt that he could lie down for a moment, the night had been long. He went to his bed and sighed, somehow the girl always knew when he came back. Soon he would hear her footsteps and she wouldn't leave before he would lift her next to him. He rolled his eyes and waited, this time he would most definitely refuse. Few minutes passed but there was no sight of her. He frowned, where was she? Was she alright? He stood up and zoomed to her room. She was in her bed under the covers, her arms wrapped around the doll. Her eyes were closed, but he could tell that she was awake. She opened her eyes when he cleared his throat.
"Hello, Mr. Kol," she said quietly. "Did…did I do something wrong?"
"No, you didn't," he muttered. "I just wanted to make sure that everything is alright. I mean… you usually come to my room."
"You have told me not to, I'm sorry for not obeying. I won't bother you anymore."
He bit his bottom lip, trying to decide what to say. This was what he had wanted.
"Alright, good… Carry on then."
She nodded.
"I will. Good night, Mr. Kol."
"Good night, Cosette."
He wasn't sure what to think when he returned to his room, he should be nothing but pleased. Yet for some incomprehensible reason he really wasn't. What the hell was wrong with him?
"Cosette?" he called after spending few minutes staring at the ceiling.
She appeared to his door quickly.
"Yes, Mr. Kol?"
He rolled on his side and tried to look careless.
"Fine," he snorted. "You can sleep in my bed, but don't expect any more favors."
She looked at him in wonder, but she walked over to his bed as quickly as she could.
"Did you understand, no more favors," he said while lifting her next to him.
"Yes, Mr. Kol," she muttered and snuggled against him. "Thank you."
"Yeah, yeah," he huffed, but he felt himself relaxing when she was next to him. For some reason she made him feel peaceful.
"I love you, Mr. Kol," she muttered before falling asleep.
His eyes widened, he was genuinely shocked. A human child had just said that she loved him. He had no idea what to think about that.
"You are filthy and disgusting… Rub harder…Little whore… You will stay there until you are clean… Rub harder! Crying won't do you any good! Filthy and disgusting…"
Cosette shivered when she looked at the bathtub, but she knew what she needed to do. It was her bath night and she wanted to show to Mr. Kol that she was a big girl, she could do this. She had been terrified of bathtubs ever since Madam Ivy had forced her to stay in a bathtub for hours after she had moved into their house. The water had been so cold that she had been shaking and the rubbing had made her skin bleed. Madam Ivy had called her filthy and disgusting; Cosette had thought that she must be right.
The baths had been terrible to Cosette, sometimes Madam Ivy had simply thrown her into a bathtub and pushed her roughly under the surface if she had thought that Cosette hadn't bathed well enough. Madam Ivy had thought that she was never clean and she smelled bad, she had also taught that to her son Edmund who was almost two years older than Cosette. He had always picked on her and pushed her around, calling her ugly and stupid, just like his mother did.
Mr. Rupert hadn't called her anything, he had simply ignored her. Cosette knew that he was her father and one time she had been foolish enough to call him that. He had been furious. That had been the first and only time when he had slapped her, but he had threatened to do much worse if she would ever dare to call him that again, especially in front of other people. She wasn't his daughter; she was nothing more than a whore's bastard. She hadn't understood what that meant, but she had been ashamed of herself.
Mr. Kol had never said mean things to her and she was more than grateful for that. All she wanted was to show him that she would do anything in order to repay his kindness. He wanted her to take a bath, so she would take a bath. She had done it many times after they had arrived to this nice hotel room, but it hadn't gotten any easier to her, she tried to bathe as quickly as she could. At first there had been some lady, who had helped her, but she was a big girl, she could bathe by herself.
"Alright," Mr. Kol huffed and touched the water with his hand. "This should be warm enough." He paused and turned to look at her. "Are you sure you can do this by yourself?"
She nodded determinedly and pressed Barb against her chest.
"Yes, Mr. Kol."
"Alright, good. Here's the soap, the sponge and your towel. Any questions?"
She shook her head.
"Right then. I'll go to my room to get changed, I'm going out."
She nodded; he went out almost every night. Today he had taken her with him to a restaurant, she had been very happy about that. She would have never complained, but she was secretly hoping that he would take her with him sometimes when he went out. The hotel room was very nice and she had everything she could have ever hoped for and more, but she would have liked to go out sometimes.
"Good girl," he muttered and tapped her head on his way out.
Yes, she needed to be a good girl. She could do this. Slowly she lifted her doll and looked at it.
"Will you do this with me?" she asked quietly.
Of course Barb agreed, she would always be there for Cosette, she was her best friend. Determinedly she undressed and took Barb's dress off as well. They were now ready to get into the bathtub. The problem was that there was no stool and the edge was very high. The lady who had helped her to bathe had always placed the stool next to the bathtub so Cosette could climb over the edge. How could she get into the bathtub now? She needed to try, she couldn't disappoint Mr. Kol. Carefully she placed Barb on the floor and struggled to climb over the edge of the bathtub. Unfortunately it was slippery; she fell headfirst into the water. The panic made her to inhale water, just like she had done when Madam Ivy had pushed her head under water. She was coughing and sobbing when her head was above the surface.
"Cosette?"
She was too shocked to hear someone calling her name; she simply picked up the sponge and started to rub herself as hard as she could.
"Filthy and disgusting," she muttered. "Filthy and disgusting…"
"Hey, Cosette…"
Someone took the sponge from her and wrapped a towel around her before scooping her up.
"It's alright…"
She sobbed quietly when someone tapped her back, she leaned her head on this person's shoulder.
"There, there," he muttered. "You are alright."
"I need to bathe," she sobbed. "I'm filthy."
"No, you're not. You are… a nice little human."
"I am?"
"Yes, you are," he muttered and tapped her head. "I am aware that you miniature humans like to cry, but I would appreciate if you could stop. I have no idea what I am supposed to do now."
Slowly she raised her head and looked at him; she swallowed when she realized that she was in Mr. Kol's arms.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "Are you angry at me?"
"What, no," he muttered, he seemed very uncomfortable. "Did you hurt yourself?"
She shook her head.
"I… There was no stool…"
It took few seconds before he understood what she meant.
"Damn it, I'm sorry, I didn't realize how short you are. Why didn't you just come to me and ask for a stool?"
She lowered her head, she felt embarrassed.
"I didn't want to disturb you."
"Alright," he sighed. "Now listen, Cosette. You are not disturbing me, I will let you know if you are, but if you need something, I want you to tell me. And whoever said those nasty things to you, ignore them. There is nothing wrong with you."
She looked at him intently and tilted her head; he cleared his throat and looked away.
"There, hopefully we understand each other now. Let's go and find you a clean nightgown."
Kol tried his best to hold still, although he was very uncomfortable. He was sitting on the armchair and Cosette had fallen asleep on his lap, her head was leaning against his chest. He had brushed her wet hair and tried to read her a story from the book the bellboy had left in her room. Sleeping Beauty. That story had certainly changed a lot since the 17th century when he had first come across it. Well, perhaps this version was more suitable for children, although Kol had preferred the original one.
Cosette sighed in her sleep; she was wearing one of her nightgowns. Apparently all three of them were too big for her. Perhaps he should buy her some new clothes tomorrow, she only had three dresses, one pair of shoes, two sweaters and few pairs of socks; those were the clothes the bellboy had bought for her when they had arrived here. Her doll was sitting on the armrest; she was holding its hand. At least she wasn't crying anymore; that had been very unpleasant.
He had certainly started to understand why she was so afraid of bathtubs. The thought made him to clench his fists in anger, who would treat someone like her so cruelly? Granted, he was the last person to say anything about cruelty, he had done all kinds of nasty things and he certainly was far from a decent person, but… But what? He wasn't anyone's savior, he didn't care about anyone. Would he have hurt her, no, but that didn't him make him a decent person.
Yet she seemed to trust him, perhaps even like him. She had said that she loved him, but she would have probably said that to anyone who treated her at least a little better than her so called family. What the hell was he doing with her; she would be better off with some normal human family who could offer her a real home. This whole thing was just ridiculous and…
"I'm sorry…" she murmured in her sleep, her whole body twitched. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry… Filthy… Disgusting…"
"Cosette?" he muttered and stroked her hair. "It's alright, you're safe."
She shivered, but her body started to relax, she curled up on his lap like a kitten. Honestly, what the hell was he doing? Humans meant less than nothing to him and they certainly didn't feel safe with him. Why did he feel the need to protect this miniature human? He would never admit it to anyone, but he wanted to make sure that no one would hurt her again.