Hungary, 1114, the Bartos estate

Niklaus crossed his arms and smiled as he looked at the woman across the hall. Lady Delia Bartos, the daughter of their host, the Lord Konrad Bartos. He was a wealthy nobleman who had been delighted to have Niklaus and his siblings here. They had arrived few days ago after a very exhausting journey. They had been forced to leave their home in the north because Mikael had once again found their tracks.

Niklaus was aware that Elijah blamed him for it; he was drawing too much attention to them. The truth was that he didn't really care. Obviously he wasn't suicidal, but he had every intention to enjoy himself. He wasn't going to hide like a frightened little mouse. Speaking of a frightened little mouse…

Lady Delia noticed him looking at her and quickly turned her head away. She was very nervous around him; she had been ever since they had met. That was strange. Women loved him and sure some of them were shy, but Lady Delia wasn't shy. She was afraid of him. When they had met, she had stared at him and there had been terror in her large green eyes. He was almost sure that somehow she knew what he was. That was interesting. And amusing. He enjoyed the fear of his victims, but this was something different. Something even more fun.

"Niklaus," Elijah's calm voice said. He had appeared next to his brother, his pale blue eyes were observing Niklaus. Rebekah was having a conversation with a young lord, she was wearing a green gown and she had left her red curls down.

"Good evening, brother," Niklaus stated. "Are you enjoying the feast?"

"As long as you won't enjoy it too much," Elijah replied. "I trust that you will remember your manners."

"Of course."

Elijah sighed.

"Need I remind you that our father almost caught us? We must be careful."

"Yes, yes, I know," Niklaus huffed; he was bored with this conversation. Elijah had no idea how to have fun. Fortunately the young lord made the mistake of moving too close to Rebekah.

"Excuse me, brother," Elijah murmured and marched over to their sister.

Niklaus smiled, Elijah had always been a very overprotective brother. Of course Niklaus wanted to protect her too, but he was willing to give her some freedom. He turned his eyes back to Lady Delia and noticed that she was standing by herself at the moment. Perfect. He placed a charming smile on his face and approached her. She seemed to be lost in her thoughts and she didn't notice him coming before it was too late.

"Good evening, my lady," he greeted her.

She startled and swallowed before she was able to reply.

"Good…good evening, my lord," she muttered and curtsied. She wasn't looking at him. Fear. He could practically smell it. She knew what he was. But how?

"You look ravishing this evening," he hummed and took her small hand. She flinched as he kissed it.

"Thank you, my lord."

"What about me?" he asked after a moment of silence. "Do I look ravishing?"

"I am sure you do, my lord."

"Perhaps you would like to look at me?"

She swallowed again and forced herself to look up. She was a tiny and delicate creature, she reminded him of some kind of fairy. There was no doubt that her blood would taste delicious.

"Is everything alright, my lady?" he asked innocently. "You seem troubled."

"No… I mean yes, everything is fine."

He smiled and leaned towards her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am sure. Thank you for your concern, my lord. Excuse me."

She left as quickly as she could and hurried to her father. The Lord Konrad didn't pay much attention to her, she wasn't his favorite. On the contrary. According to what Niklaus had heard, the lord was more or less ashamed of her. Niklaus had asked about her and found out some interesting things. Many people seemed to think that there was something wrong with her. She was strange. That made her even more interesting. He had no doubt that this would be a lot of fun.