A/N – Okay, so I will never make an update promise ever again. But I can promise that one day I will finish this – it's too close to my heart to let go! There's me getting all sentimental… ;)
I want to thank everyone who reviewed, followed and favourited – I get silly smiles every time I find the notifications!
I'd also like to thank WestAnimeBrigade for basically giving me the idea for this chapter *cyberhug*
On with the story!
"…And she is a soul that will be remembered and in the hearts of many for evermore. And now we pray." I bowed my head and clasped my hands, but my mind began to wander – as per usual. Not that I had much I particularly wanted to think about. I hadn't spoken to Stefan or Damon since the ball, and to be perfectly honest, I didn't want to. I didn't want to be reminded of how close we once were, and how replaceable they made me feel.
I sort of felt sorry for Carlotta; she might have been a bitch, but I don't think she really wanted to marry Stefan either, and if I had been in her position, I would probably have been grouchy and stuck up too.
But something about her death didn't quite add up – at least, not in my head. She just happened to be attacked by an animal at a party when her fiancé had been dancing with someone who managed to wrap virtually the entire town around her little finger. But maybe I'm reading too deeply into things, and I just want Katherine to be at the root of all that's wrong so I have an excuse to hate her.
We were now leaving the cathedral and slowly making our way to the graveyard, where the final goodbyes would be said and the final bouquets placed. I trudged after my mother without really thinking about where I was walking, so it's not really surprising that my spacial awareness failed me again. I crashed into a large figure, and lifted my head wearily to apologise.
I was met with a tall, lean body, chestnut hair and aggressively raised eyebrows. I do not need another eyebrow-raising man in my life, thank you. Yet I was saved by a soft, accented voice saying, "Kol, apologise to this young lady." The new voice belonged to a man just as tall as Mr Eyebrows, and with extremely similar features, except his brown eyes were kinder. He glared at this 'Kol' until he grudgingly simpered, "I deeply regret my inexcusable clumsiness, and sincerely hope you can find it within your heart to forgive me."
The other man glared at him, then turned to me and said, "I think that is the best you are going to get, miss?"
"DiGrazio. Alicia. Alicia DiGrazio. Uh…thanks for – thank you for saving my dignity just then," I stuttered, still reeling from Mr Eyebrows' unfriendliness.
"It is a pleasure, Miss DiGrazio. My name is Elijah Mikaelson, and I am afraid the man who caused your little upset was my younger brother, Kol. Please forgive him; politeness is not…in his nature," Elijah said smoothly. I was still trying to place his accent, but to no avail. I suppose being trapped in between a relatively small town and finishing school doesn't exactly broaden your horizons.
"Where are you from?" I blurted before I could help myself.
He chuckled. "England. I suppose you haven't met an Englishman before, have you?"
"Um, no. Your Italian is faultless, though."
"As I would hope. I have spent an excessive length of time immersing myself in languages." He was quickly becoming the most unusual person I'd ever met – and it was a refreshing change. Damon is unusual, whispered the voice in my head that likes to cause me mental torment. Damon is out of both my mind and my life now, accept it, I chided myself.
"So you, uh, knew Carlotta, then?" What kind of stupid question is that?
"Not well, no. She was a dear friend of Kol's, though."
"I can see why," I muttered darkly.
"You can, can't you?" Elijah laughed softly. He offered his arm and I took it, gladly. We wandered towards a small gathering of people, all of whom I'd never seen before.
"May I introduce Miss Alicia DiGrazio," he announced, and they all turned to look at me, curiosity evident in their eyes. "Alicia, this is my brother, Finn." The dark haired man nodded his head gravely. "My sister Rebekah." A piercing gaze from the pretty blonde. "And my youngest brother, Niklaus." Niklaus took my free hand and kissed it gently, murmuring, "Pleasure."
I think my cheeks flushed a little, but then he was quite good looking and acted like a gentleman, so what do you expect?
"Was Carlotta a friend of yours, Miss DiGrazio?" the dark haired man, Finn, asked.
"Er… sort of. I was friends with her fiancé though, so that's how I know her. And just call me Alicia. I'm not really an airs and graces kind of girl."
"Why the past tense?" Niklaus asked thoughtfully. Wow, he was observant - I hadn't even noticed I'd referred to Stefan and I in the past tense.
"Um…it's…complicated…" I trailed off, cursing his perception, and hoping he'd drop the subject.
"You were in love with him and therefore jealous of his fiancée." Although Finn didn't pose it as a question, I felt the need to correct him.
"NO! Why does everyone think that? We were just best friends for years and…recently drifted apart, I suppose."
"Perhaps because it is unusual for women to have male friends. And I'm sorry you drifted, but these things happen. You grow and experience new things, changing – although you don't always realise it – and find yourself unable to connect to the person who once knew you best," Elijah commented. Wow, he was deep. It made sense though. Both Stefan and Damon experienced new things – in the form of Katherine – and I didn't understand why, which left us almost strangers to each other.
And he called me a woman! I always thought my immaturity would class me as a girl forever.
Well, I definitely wasn't a maiden… Merda – Damon thoughts.
I tried to blink them out of my head, which earned me strange glances from all the people before me. Oh stop acting like you know what I'm thinking.
Niklaus smirked. Oh merda, what if they actually can? Don't be ridiculous – no one can read minds. Then why is he smirking when I didn't say anything? Maybe I said it out loud. Maybe I'm saying all of this out loud. Double merda. Um…if you can hear me, hello… God, I'm insane. They're probably just wondering why you're staring at them saying nothing!
"Er...sorry about that, I just…spaced out. You gave me a lot to think about," I said, laughing nervously at Elijah.
"Don't worry about that, Elijah's full of wisdom," Niklaus said, grinning. Elijah threw him a look, somewhere between amusement and resentment.
"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Rebekah asked emphatically, her lapis lazuli eyes flashing with irritation.
"I..er…yeah. I'll just…" As soon as I think I've made some friends, their sister has to be a bitch. Typical.
"You are more than welcome to stay with us, Miss Alicia," Niklaus said smoothly.
"Nik!" Rebekah hissed, furious. I glanced between them, unsure of what to do or say.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, my mother came storming towards me, yelling, "ALICIA LORETTA DIGRAZIO HOW DARE YOU RUN OFF WHEN WE HAVE AN IMAGE TO MAINTAIN!"
"Great image you're creating there, Mother," I muttered. She glared icily at me. "What have you done with that bouquet I handed you?"
"Um…" I hastily glanced around me. "I must have left it inside…"
"Of course you did," she said, her tone verging on patronising. Grabbing my wrist, she dragged me away, and I called, "Nice to meet you all," behind me, offering a weak smile.
Rebekah stared pointedly in the opposite direction, Finn nodded, ever serious, whilst Elijah smiled slightly, and Nik full on grinned at me. The Mikaelsons, however bizarre, provided a welcome distraction, and I hoped they stayed in town for longer as I could do with keeping myself preoccupied.
The light of the moon trickled in through the window as I tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Sighing heavily, I climbed out and padded to the desk in the corner of my chamber. I felt around quietly, and grasped the candle holder I kept for emergencies. I stuck a candle on to it and tiptoed out of my room, keeping my eyes on the floor so as not to trip over. Once I reached the oil lantern, I lit my candle and made my way downstairs to the kitchens.
I searched around for a snack that I knew wouldn't be missed, but when I found the ginger snow cream, I snatched it up, not caring if its disappearance would be glaringly obvious. Feeling proud of myself – and pretty hungry – I carefully sneaked back to my bedchamber, pausing only when I though I heard a light thump. Just in case someone else heard and came to investigate, I blew out the candle and felt the way to my room.
I set the candle back down on my desk and was about to flop on my bed and shovel the snow cream in my mouth, when I saw there was already a figure stretched out on it. Terrified, I dropped the bowl and was about to scream, but a hand was clamped over my mouth instantly. My eyes widened, partly out of fear, but also so I could get a glimpse of my captor. However, the shadows cast by the moonlight meant I couldn't make out their face.
"Shh," a voice whispered in my ear huskily, "You don't want to scream, love, it's not like anyone will come and save you." My body was trembling uncontrollably; I was sure I knew the man, but I couldn't place his voice. "I'm going to take my hand off your mouth if you promise not to scream. And remember: I can snap your neck in an instant, so I wouldn't bother trying. Do you promise not to make a noise?" I shakily nodded my head. Just as promised, he removed his hand and murmured, "Good girl." I inched away from him, fumbling for the door knob, and all of a sudden he was behind me, trapping my hands in his. "I don't think you really want to do that, do you?"
Turning my head to face him, I gave him my most piercing glare, trying not to appear petrified. Judging by the smirk he gave in return, he wasn't convinced. In fact, the smirk was what finally clicked in my head.
"You!" I choked out.
"Yes, my lovely, me." A wolfish grin was spreading across his face.
"H-how did you get i-in?" The fact I managed to string a sentence together was quite incredible, although I really should have been trying to think up a way out of the situation instead.
"I don't think that's the most pressing matter, but since you asked… You invited me in," Niklaus said simply.
"I-I-I…what? N-no I d-didn't." How would I? Why would I? I didn't!
"Just because you might not remember it, doesn't mean you didn't," he whispered, tilting his head a little and quirking an eyebrow. He started leading me towards the bed, and in my semi-paralysed state, there wasn't much I could do about it.
"Now come and sit down, devour this…,"he hesitated, eying the bowl of snow cream that magically appeared on the end of my bed, "this froth you seemed so intent on eating." Niklaus dropped onto the bed and patted the spot next to him. I stared blankly at him; suddenly aware of how white and thin my nightgown was in the moonlight seeping through the open window. Open?
As if sensing my worries, Niklaus chuckled, "I'm not going to steal away your non-existent innocence." He dipped a finger into the snow cream bowl, wiped it lazily on my nose and waited for my reaction – blank as a clear slate. Rolling his mocking eyes, he licked his finger clean and grimaced the moment the 'froth' hit his tongue.
"Th-then what are you…?" I stuttered hopelessly.
"Just sit down," he said, eyes boring into me. I helplessly shuffled towards him and found myself stretched out in the space beside him.
"Now close your eyes…" he murmured, barely audibly. I did so instantly, and felt a sharp pain in the side of my neck.
Just as suddenly as it had appeared, the pain subsided, and was replaced by a warm, pleasant sensation tingling through my body. I had never felt anything like it in my life, and I couldn't help a few moans escape my lips. This seemed to please him as the feeling intensified, leaving me lightheaded and in pure bliss.
All too suddenly, his lips left my neck and the harsh awakening of reality transformed my cloud nine wooziness into nausea.
My eyelids flickered open and I inhaled deeply – trying to prevent myself from throwing up, and to focus on the blurry shapes moving around me. I caught low, threatening hisses and growls? as two figures whirled around my chamber, and my God, I must be hallucinating, one of the two went flying out the window. I sat bolt upright, frightened for what felt like the hundredth time tonight, but the remaining shape glided over to me and gently placed a finger on my lips.
"Shh, Miss Alicia, you are safe now." His other hand traced my neck, and I flinched uncontrollably when he touched a spot that burned like hell. I think he frowned, but in the darkness, I couldn't really tell. The finger on my trembling lip moved to my chin, which he tilted upwards slightly, and dark eyes burned into mine as he said, "I think it would not be amiss to wear scarves for several days, Miss." I found myself nodding. "Also, you will remember nothing of the events that transpired tonight, do you understand?" My head nodded up and down once more.
There was a sudden gust of wind coming from the window, and then it all went black.
A/N – Thank you for reading, and any guesses to who the man was who saved Allie from Klaus?
Also, regarding my description of Alicia being bitten, I know that it is always shown to be painful, but I imagined Klaus would make it pleasurable since her crying/screaming would cause him more trouble than he could be bothered to sort out. And, I think he is quite interested in her and wouldn't want to cause her pain, but whether or not he would have drained her is a different question altogether…
And on that note, I bid you farewell!
Please drop me a review as I love to hear your opinion!
Love Beth xxx
