Part 10

"Klaus hit her?" Tristan stated, struggling to keep his voice free from emotion. "And where was Elijah?"

"He was inside, sir," Dixon replied. He was one of Tristan's best spies, signed to especially keep an eye on Livia. Of course he wasn't the only one; there was a whole team of them.

Tristan squished his phone for a brief moment before he was able to continue.

"Was she injured?"

"Not badly. She and her brother talked after that and apparently they reached some kind of understanding."

"Hmm."

"Any new orders, sir?"

"No. Keep watching her."

"Yes, sir. I'll be in touch."

Tristan stared at the pictures on his desk for a moment after hanging up. Livia… She was standing in the garden barefoot, looking up at the night sky. She was wearing a short womanly nightgown. The picture had captured the vulnerable part of her so perfectly. Tristan felt guilty at the way he was violating her privacy, but he couldn't look away. She was perfect. She really was. If only…

No, he needed to get a grip and stop this. His only goal was to make sure that she would be safe, nothing else. Yes, he was one of eldest and the most powerful vampires in the world and he could never have what he wanted the most. It was pathetic really. Fortunately no one knew, he hadn't told even Aurora. Everyone saw him as nothing but cold and ruthless and he wanted to keep things like that. He couldn't have weaknesses. He didn't have weaknesses.

Angrily he brushed all the pictures off his desk. This would end right now. He had plenty of work to do; he was the leader of the Strix. There were many reports that required his undivided attention. Unfortunately he barely managed to get started as his phone rang. Dixon. Despite of his earlier decision, Tristan answered immediately. He had to; it could be some kind of an emergency.

"Yes?"

"Sir, it's Dixon. I have some news that I though you would like to hear right away."

"What news?"

"Kol Mikaelson is in New Orleans. One of my men just saw him."

Tristan took couple of seconds to process this information.

"I see. Where was he?"

"Near Marcel's place, he killed few local vampires who told him to… move along."

"Hmm, not very smart of them," Tristan murmured. "Kol Mikaelson has always been unstable and unpredictable."

"Yes, so I have heard," Dixon replied. "Your orders, sir?"

"Nothing new," Tristan replied. "Continue observing Livia Mikaelson."

"Yes, sir."

Tristan definitely couldn't concentrate on work anymore. Kol Mikaelson…. Just perfect. Like things wouldn't have been messy enough already. Once again Tristan hoped that Livia would have stayed in Canada. She had been happy there. Happy and safe. Away from the unstable members of her family. Klaus was a savage and wherever Kol went, chaos tended to follow. Tristan hadn't spoken with Kol after that night and he wanted to keep things like that. All he cared about was Livia's safety.

France, 1002

"We must do this," Elijah stated. "Will you help me?"

Kol looked at his older brother and nodded.

"Yes, I have no problem with this. I think it's a great idea."

Elijah pressed his lips together; Kol could tell that he wasn't completely comfortable doing this. Basically they would sacrifice Lucien, Aurora and Tristan in order to buy enough time to escape from Mikael. Kol really didn't have any kind of problem with that.

"Lucien and Aurora are out of control and Tristan…" Elijah started.

"You do not have to explain anything to me," Kol cut in. "But I have to ask… Why on Earth did you turn Tristan?"

Elijah's expression tensed, he looked kind of…guilty.

"I…" he murmured.

Kol's lips curved into a smirk as he understood what Elijah didn't want to say.

"You turned him so he could play the part of fake you. Well, well, brother, I must say that I am impressed…"

"We do not have much time," Elijah cut in tensely. "We need to find them and leave tonight."

"Alright, let's get started then. I will start with the premises; you go and check their chambers."

Elijah nodded.

"Sounds good. Meet me here as soon as you can."

Kol smirked as he noticed that Elijah had three horses ready for their decoy. Tristan would be a perfect Elijah and Lucien a perfect Nik. Aurora wasn't really anything like Bekah, but she would have to do. Kol didn't have to look for long when he spotted Tristan coming from the garden. There was something very strange about him. For the first time the arrogant lord didn't really look so arrogant. He looked shocked and he startled when Kol appeared in front of him.

"Lord Tristan," Kol greeted him smiling. "Good evening."

Tristan's mouth floundered open and closed, he was staring at Kol. There was blood on his face.

"I…" Tristan muttered. "I did not mean… I swear…"

Kol rolled his eyes, who would have known that "the merciless" lord would actually be so weak and pathetic.

"There, there," Kol huffed. "So you drained someone. That is completely normal…"

"No," Tristan muttered. "I… She… I did not mean…"

"Yes, yes, I am sure you didn't. Come with me."

Surprisingly Tristan actually followed him without arguing. For a moment Kol couldn't help but wonder what had happened. Not that it really mattered; he had more important things to worry about. Tristan's problems were the last thing he cared about.