Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Diaries in any shape or form. But I do own my OC.
A/N: Alright, so I haven't updated since November, so I just wanted to say that I hope everyone had a great holiday season! This is By the Light of the Moon, at least the first part anyway. Be prepared for some Nikliyah flashback goodness!
Warnings: Sexual content, some actions that might qualify as domestic abuse, explicit violence, language, period-appropriate attitudes towards racism and sexism.
Stormdancer
Chapter 29
By the Light of the Moon: Part I
"And you're sure that I can't remove the spell from the moonstone?" Bonnie's eyes narrowed at the pale rock that was lying on the table, centred between the couches in which Aliyah, Caroline and she were seated.
"You're welcome to," Aliyah leaned back. "However, in your current state, I don't want you to overexert yourself." She said, sternly.
Bonnie rolled her eyes. "You're such a killjoy."
Aliyah held a hand to her heart, her black eyes going comically wide. "I am hurt, Bonnie. All I'm doing is trying to protect you, and you're here calling me names." She swiped at a fake tear away from her eye.
Bonnie couldn't help but crack a smile. "So, since you won't let me do anything with this thing, what do you suppose we do with it?" She asked, sighing.
"Nothing for now," Aliyah placed the moonstone in the pocket of her white shorts. "But I imagine that will all change when Niklaus reaches Mystic Falls."
Caroline pursed her lips. "You really think Klaus will listen to you when he comes?" She asked, as if not believing in the truth of her own words.
"Oh, no," Aliyah shook her head. "I believe even if Odin himself landed in front of Niklaus and told him to forgo the sacrifice, it would not move my husband." She sighed. "All I can pray for is that he will at least listen to me before doing anything drastic."
"Like killing Elena," Bonnie finished, sarcastically.
Aliyah frowned. "He won't just be able to kill her, Bonnie. The ritual is quite specific. It must be done on a full moon, and both the vampire and the werewolf must be killed before the doppelganger bleeds out onto the moonstone, while a witch chants to break the curse." She paused. "He won't just turn up and slaughter her needlessly. Petrova doppelgangers don't exactly come in dozens." She said, dryly.
"I'm assuming that you don't mean tomorrow's full moon, right?" Caroline winced. "Because I have a feeling that we'll be pretty swamped considering tomorrow is Tyler's first shift. Let alone having to stop a millennium-old vampire-werewolf hybrid break a curse he's been wanting to break as long as he's existed." She said, pointedly.
Aliyah chuckled. "No, if Nik was wanting to break the curse tomorrow, he'd have been in Mystic Falls weeks ago. We can safely assume that tomorrow's full moon will not be the night that he attempts to break his curse, and we can safely focus our attention on making sure Tyler gets through tomorrow night."
Bonnie went quiet. "Yeah, I'm sure we'll have our hands full." She murmured. "And we have a pseudo plan for tomorrow night, so…" She trailed off, running a hand through her hair.
"The wolfsbane will work, Bonnie," Aliyah said, cautiously. "It will make him weak enough for the chains down in the ruins to keep Tyler down. And I will be there the entire time. If something unexpected were to occur, I can stop it."
Bonnie grimaced. "In theory, I know that it should all go well, but I just can't help…"
"Worrying?" Aliyah said, knowingly, to which Bonnie nodded. "I understand. I was a wreck when Niklaus turned for the first time." She placed a hand on Bonnie's. "But, trust me, Bonnie. I won't let anything happen to Tyler." She paused, worriedly. "Bonnie, about you coming along tomorrow night-"
Bonnie shook her head. "Don't even try to convince me not to come with you, Aliyah. He's my boyfriend. I have to be there for him." She said, firmly.
"Bonnie," Aliyah shook her head. "I'm really not alright with this. You could get hurt. Werewolves are very volatile during the full moon. He may not recognise you as his girlfriend."
"My Grams said that there was always something tying me to Tyler," Bonnie murmured. "That he always seemed to be at home with me in a way he couldn't be with anyone else. I love him, Aliyah." She said, earnestly. "I really do. Don't I owe it to that love to be there when he goes through this?"
Aliyah dragged a palm down her face. "And if he tries to hurt you?" She raised an eyebrow.
"What did you do?" Bonnie asked, suddenly, her bright jade eyes fixed on her, intently. "With Klaus? The first time he shifted, it was after he was turned into a vampire, right? What did you do that night?"
Aliyah shoulder's slumped and she knew, at that moment, there would be no dissuading Bonnie from what she had decided to do.
"I stayed up in the trees because I was afraid he may bite me if he saw me, but I didn't let him out of my sight," Aliyah confessed. "I spent the entire time he was a wolf following him around the woods, just to make sure he was fine."
"So, don't tell me not to be there for Tyler." Bonnie pleaded. "Not when you understand what I'm going through here. You said, once, that Tyler and I reminded you so much of Klaus and you. Please, I need to help him through this. I may not be able to stop the transformation, but I can at least give him some comfort when it's all done."
"Is the transformation really that bad?" Caroline asked, hesitantly.
"Worse," Aliyah said, darkly.
"But I thought Klaus only turned the once," Bonnie pointed out.
"I've known other werewolves," Aliyah replied. "And I've even killed a few." Her brow furrowed. "When I was human, there was a treaty between our village and the werewolves that lived in the next village. There was something like resembling a boundary in the woods and any werewolf that stumbled over to our side was fair game, just like if any of our village stepped onto the other side of the boundary, the wolves had every right to kill us. But during the full moon, the men in their wolf form had no concept of treaties or contracts and they would cross over the boundary and there was nothing we could do. We were simply humans and they were these… beasts… that could do away with us with quick tear of their jaw." She bit her lip. "But the treaty between the two villages – Mikael was the one who negotiated it in the first place – provided that my mother and I could cross the boundary if any of the wolves needed a healer. So, I have met a few wolves and known them. None that I could call friends, but I have known them."
"But you killed a few?" Bonnie asked, worriedly.
Aliyah grimaced, guiltily. "It was…" She grimaced. "It was a very long time ago." She looked away. "I told you about Niklaus' daggers?" She asked, pointedly.
Bonnie and Caroline nodded, hesitantly.
"Yeah, the daggers that put you to sleep if you're stabbed in the heart."
"He'd never daggered me before," Aliyah mused. "But the first time… a hundred and…" She dragged a hand down her throat, remembering how helpless she had felt, her skin greying as he closed that coffin around her. "A hundred and twelve years, he kept me in that coffin. Dragged me around like doll on display. Like I was some flighty wife that he had to punish." She grinded her teeth. "I was so angry." She spat. "When I woke up, all I wanted to do was make him as miserable as I felt. So, I did. My humanity was off, you see." She chuckled, harshly. "So, I killed and killed and killed, just so he'd be as helpless as I had been. Why should he be happy when I was miserable?" She snarled.
"So, what did you do?"
Aliyah sighed. "I wanted to teach him a lesson. I wanted to teach him that he couldn't treat me like that, that I deserved better from him, that I wouldn't forgive him so easily just because he was my husband. I wanted him to know that I could hurt as much as he could hurt me." She whispered. "There was this girl." She heard Bonnie and Caroline intake a sharp breath and she gave them a reassuring look. "He wasn't bedding her. She was some werewolf girl, living in the woods near the house we had taken at the time. And Niklaus grew close to her. I think it was him searching for a part of himself that he had been… denied… his entire life. A chance to know and understand what his life might have been like, had Esther not cursed him to lock his wolf away." She paused. "At the time, I was not… as understanding… of his motives." She said, awkwardly. "I was-am the jealous type."
"What did you do?" Caroline asked, quietly, dreading what the answer would be.
"Believe me, you don't want to know."
1293 AD, Holy Island, Anglesey
"Brighid, what was so urgent that you sent your sister to come fetch me?" Klaus asked, unknowingly, as he walked through the doorway of the small ramshackle house.
"I believe that is my fault. You see, I had no idea that you had made all these new friends here," Aliyah drawled. "Is this why you don't want to leave Anglesea?" Her eyes roved over Brighid, seemingly in interest, but Klaus could tell something sinister in her scrutiny. "Now I understand why."
Klaus bit back an oath when he saw Aliyah simply sitting at the wooden table in the centre of their living space, surrounded by Brighid and the rest of her family. Upon the sight of him, she slid to her feet with all the grace of a cat and walked over to him, smoothing a hand over his arm. He wished with everything in him that he could lean into her touch, as was his instinct, but he was all too aware of what was about to occur. Aliyah had not decided to hound him today out of mere curiosity. She had not touched him to welcome him.
"Aliyah," His head dipped near her ear. He shot the onlooking family what he hoped was a reassuring look. "My love, what are you doing here?" He asked, quietly.
"Well, actually, I followed you here a few days ago," Aliyah explained, brightly, as if all were well between them and she were simply commenting on something inane. "You kept disappearing and you never told me where you were going, Nik. I will admit I am disappointed." She sighed. "So, I decided to take matters into my own hands." She giggled, a high-pitched tinkling sound that was enough to render any man useless, especially him. "A wolf, Niklaus? Truly?" Her nose scrunched up in distaste. "You could do better for a mistress." She said, pointedly.
Klaus gritted his teeth. "Don't be absurd." He growled. "You are playing some game here."
Aliyah rolled her eyes. "Naturally." She patted him, warningly, on the chest. "Now, I suggest you sit back and watch the fun." She cocked her head. "Unless you would like to remove me by force."
Klaus bit back a snarl. They both knew he wouldn't – since force had landed him here in the first place.
She slipped out of Klaus' grip with ease, her dress swishing about her ankles, as she approached Brighid.
"My lady, I-" The girl began, cautiously, shooting Klaus a nervous look, who remained steadfast, knowing there was nothing he could do to stop what was to happen.
Before she could finish, Aliyah turned her head to look back at Klaus, her black eyes skewering into his own tormented blue.
"Now, Niklaus, be polite. Introduce us," She ordered, her voice thinly veiled with significance.
"Brighid, my wife, Aliyah," Klaus said, shortly, sparing the concerned girl what he hoped was a reassuring, apologetic look, although knowing that if Aliyah chose to end this civility, she could do it with a single step. "Aliyah, Brighid."
Brighid paled with realisation, and she swallowed hard. She took a wary step backwards. She had spent enough time with Niklaus to know that his marriage was a complicated thing, and that Aliyah Mikaelson was hardly a pleasant woman, struggling with her own demons. But despite what went on between them behind closed doors, Niklaus loved his wife very much – truth be told, it had been a blow to her to see him so knotted by his wife – possibly, more than life itself. She twisted her hands, knowing how their relationship would appear to outsiders, especially Niklaus' wife. But, truthfully, nothing inappropriate had happened between her and Niklaus. She had seen an unhappy man and all she had wanted to do was offer him comfort. He was very handsome, of course, but he had never made it a secret of how devoted he was to his wife. It wouldn't have done well for her to get attached to a married man.
Aliyah's lip curled. "Yes, I gathered that by your first sentence." She said, mockingly. "I can imagine your conversation over the last century has not been particularly stimulating, but I assure you, I do actually possess more than whisper of intelligence."
"Century?" Brighid balked, her face aghast. "Niklaus, what is she-" She took a courageous step forward in Klaus' direction, a gesture that interested Aliyah greatly.
Aliyah smiled as if she were the cat who had caught the canary. "Oh, she calls you Niklaus." She said, slyly.
"Liya, don't-" Klaus began, warningly.
Aliyah turned to the bemused parents sitting at the table. "Hardly respectable for an unmarried girl to refer to a married man by her name. Whatever shall I think?"
"My lady, I-" Brighid interrupted, shooting her parents a terrified look.
Aliyah was amused. The girl seemed to fear her parents' reaction to her conduct more than what Aliyah was about to do.
She would soon regret that.
Klaus grimaced and reached out to hold Aliyah's forearm in a punishing grip, pulling her so that her back was pressed against his chest.
"Enough of this, Aliyah. Go home. We will speak later," Klaus said, sharply, too low for Brighid and her family to hear.
Even in his anger, he would not humiliate his wife in front of strangers.
Something changed in Aliyah's eyes. He would have thought it anger if he didn't know better.
"You insult me, husband," Aliyah said, lowly. "One would think you were embarrassed of me by your words. I am not some hysterical, wine-ridden wife making a scene that you can stow away in your home, while you amuse yourself with every peasant girl you find." Her voice was stern. "While the other lords may believe you keep me as your concubine, we both know better. Do not dishonour me, or it will be all the worse for you."
"Liya, don't do this," Klaus resorted to begging.
She had barely even spoken to him these two decades that had passed since he had faltered and pulled the dagger from her chest, if only to give him a snide remark, here and there. Instead, she had been content to gorge herself on everyone and anyone she came by, especially if it meant forcing him to leave a region for fear of Mikael catching onto their whereabouts. The thought of her, however indirectly, working with Mikael to ruin his life made him all the more desperate for her to recover her humanity.
"You brought this on yourself, dear husband," Aliyah soothed, mockingly. "You will not keep secrets from me. And I don't at all like the idea of you sending your siblings to distract me while you carry on with your little werewolf strumpet." She bared her teeth.
Brighid's father jumped to his feet, the insult warring against his adherence to courtesy. "I fear you are mistaken, my lady. There is nothing untoward between my daughter and your husband." He said, coldly.
Aliyah quirked an eyebrow. "Are you absolutely sure? A girl on the threshold of womanhood spends her days soothing the hurts-" She rolled her eyes. "-of a much older, aggrieved, married man, and you would have me believe there is nothing untoward?" She grimaced. She cleared her throat and shook her head. "Very well, perhaps I have misunderstood." She said, soberly, which Klaus didn't believe for a moment. "I am afraid we have begun wrongly. I shall remedy that. As my husband said, I am Aliyah Mikaelson." Her brow furrowed. "Come closer, girl. Let me take a look at you." She ordered.
Brighid chanced a look at Klaus, who simply stared back, his face devoid of emotion, which made her insides twist. She bit her lip and took hesitant steps forward until she was standing right in front of Aliyah, who smiled brightly when Brighid stopped, showing her white teeth. Brighid flushed right down her neck at the smile.
Aliyah reached out to brush a stray lock of blonde hair away from the girl's face. And, in a split second, her face changed and her hand, bared in a claw, wound its way into the girl's loose hair. She pulled her forwards, spinning her around, so that her back was pressed against Aliyah's front, one forearm closed around her throat and one hand pinning Brighid's arms behind her back.
"She's very pretty, Nik," Aliyah hummed, conspiratorially. "Then again, you always did like pretty things." She murmured.
The hand between their bodies reached up to snap her head back, baring her neck. Her fangs descended, and she ripped into the soft flesh of the girl's neck, who screamed in pain, as her skin ripped open and Aliyah's mouth flooded with warm, wet blood, which she swallowed happily. When she pulled away, her lips were crimson, a brighter, wetter shade than the colour of her own mouth, and she smiled, triumphantly, at Klaus. Klaus snarled under his breath and lunged for Aliyah, hoping to knock her away from Brighid before she could do the girl more damage. But Aliyah merely danced away gleefully, pulling the bleeding werewolf girl along with her.
"What-what?" Brighid stammered. Her head twisted, blood spilling down the front of her dress, and her eyes widened as she caught sign of Aliyah's transformed visage. "Oh, God," She whispered, horrified. "Vampire!" She stammered. "No! Let me go!"
With the remaining strength she had, she forced her sluggish body to struggle, which only made Aliyah laugh.
"Niklaus!" Brighid turned panicked eyes onto the man in the centre of everything. "She's-she's not human, she's a vampire! You must run. Now!"
Aliyah laughed and threw the girl away from her.
"Stupid little girl," She said, scornfully.
Brighid hit the wall, sliding down to her feet. Aliyah approached Klaus who took a wary step backwards, his eyes intent on her bloodstained hands. Before he could stop her, she was lunging for him, pressing her mouth viciously against his, in a mockery of a kiss. When she pulled back, the blood from her hands staining his golden hair and the blood from her mouth now dampening his own, his eyes bled black and he clawed at her, making her dance backwards, out of his reach, her face lit up with glee.
She had proven her point, to Klaus and to the werewolves, of what he truly was.
He was no wolf, no. He was as much a monster as she was.
Brighid simply stared at him, at the horrific visage that his face was now left in. She muffled a cry, turning her head into the wall and drawing Klaus' attention. The bloodlust in his eyes faded and his fangs withdrew. He started to approach her, lending a hand to bring her to her feet, but she flinched away from him, scrambling away.
"Stay away from me!" Brighid screamed. "You lied to me. You made me believe you were a wolf like myself, but you're just another one of those monsters."
"Brighid-"
"Did you come to me, hoping that I would make easy prey?" Brighid demanded, nails digging into her palm as tears sprung to her eyes.
"No, no, of course not. Let me explain," Klaus attempted to soothe, reaching out for her.
Brighid made an offended sound. "Don't touch me, you creature. There is nothing but lies in you, abomination!"
It was as if someone had reached up inside him and ripped his spine right out of his back.
Monster.
Creature.
Abomination.
Just like Mikael had named him.
For a brief second, anger curdled in his belly and he had the urge to grab her by the skull and smash it into the wall, over and over again, hating her for rejecting him, hating that she dared to have everything that he had wanted but scorned him as if he lived to insult her – like what had been left of the wolves in their village had after he had turned that very first time and his true parentage had been revealed. He remembered why he avoided the wolves in the centuries that had past – their very existence wounded him, for they did not understand what it was to live with this withering divide, living with something that he couldn't even begin to reach – knowing that it could be centuries before he would whole again. But with all the strength he had in him, he resisted the urge.
He had made a mistake in thinking that the girl was worthy, but in the name of the consolation she had offered, he would spare her life if he could. Although, he knew it was a futile effort. Even with her humanity intact, if Aliyah wished something, she did everything in her power to make it reality.
Before he could reach her, however, Aliyah had Brighid pinned up against the wall, a solid hand curled around the werewolf's throat, her feet dangling a metre or so above the ground.
"Isn't that sad?" Aliyah crooned. "You've disappointed yet another woman, Nik. It must be you." She said, kindly.
"Aliyah," Klaus growled, lowly. "You are testing my patience. Let her go."
"What have you done with her?" Aliyah asked, coldly. "Her continued existence is dependent on your answer. Tell me now and I may make her death less painful."
"Nothing!" Klaus snapped. "I have done nothing with her. She is merely a friend. Now, let her go-"
"Friends?" Aliyah laughed, sceptically. "You don't have friends, Nik. You have pets." Her hand tightened around Brighid's throat and fingers reached to brush the girl's hair away from her white, terrified face. "Now, I asked you not to lie to me. What have you done with her?"
"Nothing," Klaus gritted out.
Aliyah clucked her tongue before smiling, wickedly. "Well, then, now I know what I must do."
"Aliyah, don't you dare," Klaus warned.
She grabbed the girl and pulled her close, her fangs opening the werewolf's throat, and she gulped mouthful after mouthful, until the girl's heartbeat slowed to barely a thud, and she simply flicked her wrist. A loud snap echoed through the clearing and Brighid slumped to the ground, her neck twisted at an unnatural angle.
Klaus watched, helplessly, as the girl withered away and finally life was ripped away from her with a single snap. But there was nothing he could do. When he was forced to choose between Brighid's life and even the slight chance that he could redeem himself in Aliyah's eyes and gain her forgiveness and love – have her look at him the way she used to, like he was the only one in the world for her, like she couldn't imagine an existence where he wasn't with her –, he would always choose Aliyah.
Brighid's mother and father screamed when their daughter's corpse hit the ground.
Klaus shook his head, furiously. "Damn you, Aliyah. What have you done?" He asked, incredulously.
Brighid's parents raced for Aliyah, seeing red through their grief, but it was a trivial matter to send them careening into the walls, their spines snapping upon impact.
Aliyah twisted her hands together. "Well, that was all too dramatic." She commented, dryly.
Klaus cursed under his breath and he dove for Aliyah, wrapping his arms around her front and pinning her against him, her back held against his chest. She struggled against him, kicking her legs in the air, but to no avail. One moment, he was forcing her out of the ramshackle house in the woods and the next, he was bodily throwing her into their bedroom. She caught herself on the bedpost before she tumbled over.
She turned around, carefully, pulling her curls over her shoulder and leaning back against the bedpost.
She sighed. "You look angry."
The confidence in the way she carried herself made him regret that he couldn't just smack the humanity back into her. But, alas, she was his wife and he would cut off his own arm before he's actually harm her. Oh, he may shove that dagger into her heart again just to keep her mouth shut, but he knew that would only be a short-lived peace before his skin would begin to crawl with the need to have her beside him. After all, he had swallowed his guilt and fear at her reaction and pulled the dagger out of her, if it meant that, one day, he would finally see her eyes light up and her mouth tip upwards in one of her disarming smiles. For the memory of the true Aliyah, he would stomach this shrew.
She may be his hellcat, but even this was unwarranted.
He lunged for her, but she danced away, giggling to herself.
"You bitch. You hateful, vicious, black-hearted bitch," Klaus swore.
Aliyah rolled her eyes. "I believe you are acting irrationally."
"Acting-acting irrationally!" Klaus snapped, incredulously. "Do you even have any idea of what you just did? Or did that dagger addle your mind?"
Aliyah scowled. "Did it ever occur to you that this may be your fault?" She asked, blithely.
"My fault? How is it my fault?" Klaus demanded.
"All you had to do was tell me where you were going, Nik,"
Klaus seized her by the shoulders, barely able to stop himself from shaking her.
"Do not force my hand. You know what fate awaits you if you push me any further," He warned, coldly.
Aliyah arched herself against him, deliberately, and Klaus bit down, forcing himself not to react to her warm, supple curves pressed against him, after his century-long, self-imposed celibacy.
"I dare you," She bared her teeth in challenge. "If you think what I did today was hateful, watch what I will do in a century's time if you rip me away from this world again."
Klaus scowled and yanked himself away from her, finally rounding on her once more.
"What do you want from me? An apology? I've already given that, but you won't accept it. I don't know what you want from me," Klaus said, desperately.
"Your head," Aliyah retorted. "But, first, I will settle for your misery."
"You want me dead now, is that it?" Klaus scowled. He stormed over to her, crowding her against the wall. "Do you truly believe your vengeance will be sated if I am gone from this world? Could you live with yourself should that happen?"
"You believe I am incapable of existing without you?" Aliyah scoffed. "You are not that significant, Niklaus."
"Why did you kill that girl today?" Klaus gritted out, ignoring her goading.
Aliyah crossed her arms over her chest, cracking her neck where it had snapped back awkwardly when he shoved her up against the wall.
"You were lying to me. I told you not to lie," She said, simply. "And honestly, Nik," She rolled her eyes. "I have been shackled to you for over three hundred years and you still failed as my husband. You dishonoured me before marriage; I married your brother; we died and were brought back to life together; I may have even had your child inside me at one point, and yet you still proved unfit as my husband. What makes you think that your little… entanglement… with the mongrel would have worked out better in your favour?" She asked, curiously.
Klaus threw his hands up in the air. "On my life, on your life, I did nothing with her. She was just a friend. I swear it." He shook his head. "And you know that."
"I don't believe you," Aliyah said, coldly. "And as for why I killed her, if you are unable to make me happy, what makes you think I would allow you to make another happy?"
"I can make you happy, Aliyah. You just have to let me," Klaus said, soberly.
"I have no wish for you to," Aliyah retorted. "In fact, I can, I will make your heart wither in your chest, as mine did when I awakened in that coffin."
"You are hardly a victim, Aliyah," Klaus hissed. "Is this not a bit overdone?"
"You stole a century from me without blinking, you animal," Aliyah hissed. "If that is not a measure for victimhood, nothing else could be. I will show you no mercy. I owe you none. I have done nothing but stand by your side since I came into existence." She leaned in. "Perhaps you have cause for why you did what you did. That curse addled your mind and whatever you saw was frightful enough for you to drive that dagger into my heart and kill me. But I will not forgive you for leaving me like that. You condemned me to a life as a plaything in a box. I will show you no mercy."
He crowded into her, so close that she could feel the sharpness of his breath and the heat of his thigh pressed against her hip.
"I will not allow you to throw away what we have built for ourselves over three centuries all in the name of anger that will fade," Aliyah scoffed. "I am not japing. What you did today was wrong. It was cruel for your standards. You murdered an innocent girl and her family."
"Strange, you are lecturing me on reckless actions and the sanctity of human life," Aliyah said, dryly. "The universe itself must have tipped on its side."
"Do you have any idea what you have taken from me today?" Klaus growled.
"No more than you have taken from me over the centuries, my darling," Aliyah taunted. "And tell me, what exactly did some werewolf whore in the woods offer you for which you grieve now?"
"She was no whore," Klaus shook his head. "I just spoke to her from time to time. She offered me comfort-"
"I can only imagine what comfort the girl gave you," Aliyah said, dryly.
Her insinuation was clear.
"I grow weary of this, Aliyah," Klaus snapped. His shoulders finally slumped, and he turned pleading, cornflower-blue eyes onto her (in a different time, she would have done a great number of things just for those eyes). "I swear it, on the life of the child that you would have borne me, I was not unfaithful. I would not be. Not with her. Not with anyone."
"As I said before, I don't believe you," Aliyah said, coldly. "How many times do I have to say that before it dawns in your thick skull?"
"She offered me comfort only," Klaus stressed. "She was a friend."
"Gods, Nik," Aliyah rolled her eyes. "You don't have friends. You only use people, for some purpose or another. And I can imagine what purpose the girl served."
"Odin save me," Klaus looked up at the ceiling. "You killed the girl needlessly, because you thought I had strayed. This is foolishness."
"I only act from your example, my love," Aliyah said, slyly. "How often have you killed men who have lusted for me?"
"Those wastrels deserved death, and you approved!" Klaus retorted.
"That girl wanted you, fool. If you were blinded because she batted her eyelashes at you, that is hardly my doing," Aliyah growled.
"You ruined my one chance to understand that hollowed-out part of me that Mikael and Esther stole. You knew that, which is what I find so cruel," Klaus hissed.
"Perhaps I am weary of that hollowed-out part of you that you obsess over," Aliyah retorted, viciously, something sick and furious curdling low in her belly – for the first time since her eyes had snapped open in that coffin eight months ago, she could feel something. "You treat me like some simpleton treading on your heels, a dead weight that you are so eager to shed. Why would I honour your suffering, husband?"
"For that lone word, hellcat," Klaus said, coldly. "Because I have never treated you as less than my wife."
"Is that so? Is that why you look for family and affection and love everywhere but for the wife who followed you into death and murder and a thankless eternity? My oh-so beloved husband, who would rather find comfort in some backwoods werewolf harlot, searching for some cheap imitation of a family that couldn't have cared less when Mikael was beating him into the ground."
His face paled. "Aliyah-"
"Did you think I'd allow you to abandon me for her, all for your delusion?" Aliyah asked, calmly, as if she were discussing the weather. "After everything I have sacrificed for you and your broken family. Would she have done what I have done for you? Stomached you and your brother on top of her all because you were too much of a coward to confess that you were in love with me. Braved your anger and paranoia. Stayed by your side as you gorged your way through the world."
Klaus flinched.
"I killed her, yes. After everything you have cost me, I am owed you. If you try something like this again, if you dare attempt to leave me for anyone – be they werewolf or vampire or human –, I will put you into the ground myself."
Aliyah wanted to retch from all the emotion that had just rushed from her. She had wanted to him to hurt, to burn, as she had when she first herself out of that damnable coffin, but the thought of him leaving her, to the awaiting arms of a girl willing to complete him – match him, wolf for wolf, something that she never could. However, even if he found her love and acceptance false or lacking, he would never leave her. There was something irrevocable about them that she would not let perish, even if there came a time where he even truly wanted their severance.
Whatever that was left inside of her that was Aliyah – Niklaus' Aliyah – Aliyah, who had loved Niklaus and was loved by Niklaus more than life itself – would not allow him to leave her. Not for eternity.
That was unacceptable in her eyes.
"You're right," Klaus said, roughly, his hand cupping her cheek, much to her surprise. "No other woman would do what you have done for me."
He was right up against her, and she wondered if he were either debating whether to snap her neck or shove that dagger she knew he had tucked into the back of his trousers into her heart. Either one would give him respite.
But she doubted his resolve – he knew the consequences of his action should he dagger her again, or temporarily silence her by snapping her neck.
Much to her surprise, Klaus hauled her up against his body and crushed his mouth to hers.
Klaus growled against her mouth. "You, my darling, are maddening beyond anything I have seen, yet how could any other woman in this world compare? I want no other."
Aliyah made a muffled sound of pleasure as his tongue licked inside her mouth.
She had wanted to avoid this, but damn him and damn her.
She threw him away from her, bearing him down on the bed, and she descended, his skin hot on hers. His hands were suddenly on her thighs, rucking up the lengths of her dress to her hips, his mouth insistent at her neck. His fangs sank into her throat, as they were often wont to do during their couplings, drawing blood. The sting should have put her off, but something about the blunt action made her tip her head back.
Her fingers skated down his chest until she was unlacing his breeches, pulling his cock out. He made to rise, to get his hands on her and to take control, but a firm push to his shoulder sent him careening back. She settled herself over him, legs on the other side of his hips. She bored down, rocking against him urgently, taking from him whatever pleasure she wanted.
She brushed her mouth across the line of his throat, threatening a bite which she refused to deliver, much to Klaus' dismay. He cursed and thrust his hips upwards, trying to force her hand, which was of no use.
Aliyah did not want lovemaking; she did not want affection, nor did she want grace.
She wanted him to want her, so desperately that he could think of nothing else.
She wanted him to beg, until he owned that there was no other woman in the world for him.
She drew his cock inside her once she was ready herself, petting between her thighs until she was slick and open for him. With one hand gripping at the base of his cock, she shifted and pitched downwards, until the entire length of him was inside her as it had been some hundred-thousand times.
He swore her name and she tightened her thighs around his hips as she began her own rhythm. It had been decades since she had felt him hot and hard and uncompromising inside of her, and she had coveted this physical release.
They rutted together, base as one could be, but the way that Klaus' hand smoothed along her side betrayed his affection for her, even if she was reluctant to return it at this time.
One particular jut of his cock inside her made her cry out his name, unbidden, making him smile in triumph. Incensed, she dove down and kissed him viciously on the mouth, drawing blood where she nipped him in reproach. When she pulled away, she hit him hard across the face, making him growl and snap his teeth at her, to which she cackled.
He fisted his hands in her dress, tugging forcefully, until he was tipping her under him and removing his shirt. She waited for him, letting her sweat-dampened curls hang over the head of the bed, her skirts in a torn heap around her waist, bare thighs and cunt bared to his gaze. He descended, his hands winding in her hair and pulling to the point that she wondered if he would tear the locks from her scalp. In turn, she did the same, pulling his blonde curls out of the tie and wrenching at it so he could feel a similar burn. His hair was still stained with the blood of that werewolf girl she had put down, but there was no regret in her.
His mouth pitched onto hers and he pulled her hands away from his hair, pinning her arms above her head, her legs winding around his waist until her heels were locked together. As he moved over her, he lost grip over her wrists for a brief moment, but it was all she needed to claw her nails down his back, drawing rivulets of fresh blood that spilled onto her chest as he reared back from the abrupt pain. Her hand curled around his throat as she stared up at him, incredulously – as if she would allow him to win – and she used the leverage to swing them around, bearing down on him once more.
Her hand never left his throat as she surged over him, her head tipping back as she took her pleasure from him. His hands gripped at her corset, determined to tear it through the middle, to cup the soft curve of her breast, feel her warm skin and her heartbeat underneath supple flesh, but she shoved his arms away, pinning them beside his head as she rode him urgently. Finally, she allowed one of his hands to span the width of her hip, to press between her thighs and aid her to completion.
His orgasm was inconsequential, hers was definite.
Finally, something harsh and wild settle in her cunt and she felt herself convulse around him. Her limbs seized up and her eyes rolled back in her head. Klaus growled against her mouth, feeling her clench and tighten and spasm around her, slamming into her with a new, hurried vigour, determined to reach his end as she had hers.
His hand wound in her hair and he pulled, sharply, making her body arch backwards in the air. He took control in the middle of her orgasm, his hips jerking upwards until he found his own end approaching. Finally, he finished, his hips stuttering behind her as he spilled inside of her and a second orgasm rushed through him, unforgivingly. They stilled, and Aliyah's thighs wavered, dropping her onto his body unceremoniously. She had enough grace to roll to the side and Klaus took the chance to envelop her small frame in his much larger, weary one.
After a moment, she shoved Klaus off her and twisted onto her back, her skin flushed and damp, her thighs sore and slick with his seed, as her heartbeat slowed to a comfortable rhythm.
She knew he would try and plead with her again, ask her to be his Aliyah again – use her post-coupling softness against her. It would not happen. She had no great desire to be that Aliyah again, to follow him around as if she were some lashed dog, begging for something that she doubted he would ever be willing to give her.
Instead, she wordlessly slipped off the bed, ignoring his surprise, and walked shamelessly to her wardrobe, clad in nothing. She slid on her robe and walked out of the room, leaving him lying on the bed, staring after her with unfathomably sad eyes.
"I was a different person back then," Aliyah said, morosely. "Cruel, spiteful, inhuman – quite literally, as I had switched off my humanity at the time."
"That sounds pretty intense," Caroline remarked, quietly.
Aliyah shrugged. "It went on for a while after that, before I finally switched everything back on. I knew it wouldn't be permanent. As the years go by, it becomes more and more difficult for us to sustain that level of apathy. That lovely little switch becomes more and more beyond reach. I suppose it's for our own good. It wouldn't do well to be my age, have my strength and have the option of being without humanity. Even with his humanity, Niklaus is a force to be reckoned with. I shudder to think what he would do if he ever switched it off."
"Has he ever done it before?" Bonnie asked, curiously.
"Oh, no," Aliyah said, almost wistfully. "Emotions are something he considers a necessary burden. The true test is to exist with every awful feeling you have, you have ever had or will ever have. Switching everything off is the coward's choice, you see." Her voice lowered. "I was a coward."
"You're not a coward," Caroline argued, fiercely.
Aliyah shook her head. "At the time, I was. It was easier to stop feeling everything than to hold Nik responsible for what he had done to me. I was afraid of the real reason he had kept that dagger inside me for so long, long after the reasons why he had put it in me had disappeared. I feared that perhaps he had grown weary of me, that it was the easiest way of getting rid of me, as I couldn't be killed. I was the only Mikaelson not related by blood. There was nothing binding him to me but an eternity of promises and rings exchanged hastily in front of gods that I doubt watch over creatures as myself." She said, quietly. "And when I saw him with that girl, in the woods, smiling, content, I believed my fears had come true. So, I sought to keep him with by any means I had at my disposal."
"Do you still worry about that now?" Caroline asked, worriedly.
"Not so much for the same reasons," Aliyah explained. "I don't fear for my place in Niklaus' life. Too much has happened between us such that if he wanted to leave me, he would have done it already. Nowadays, I fear what our ill-fated love has done to us, whether it has made us more of a monster than we already were, to what extent he would go to reclaim me." She said, simply, her eyes conflicted.
"But he still loves you," Bonnie said, finally.
Aliyah couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, unfortunately, I doubt that will change anytime soon." She patted Bonnie's hand. "Something that I hope you never to have to learn, is that sometimes love isn't enough."
Caroline bit her lip. "Has he contacted you at all since the last time? Do you know when he'll reach Mystic Falls?"
"Honestly?" Bonnie and Caroline nodded. "While he hasn't contacted me, I can imagine that he'll be in Mystic Falls within the next moon. He needs a werewolf and a vampire to sacrifice, which means he needed to wait until Tyler broke the curse, otherwise he wouldn't be a viable sacrifice. And, as I said before, if he was already in Mystic Falls, I would know. So, I can only assume that he'll be here by next full moon, considering everything else he needs is falling into place."
"And you're going to make sure Tyler's not one of his sacrifices?" Bonnie asked, uncertainly.
Aliyah's lips twitched. "Are you doubting me, Bonnie?"
"No," Bonnie said, quickly. "But if you stop Klaus from using Tyler, what's the price?"
"I imagine I'd have to find another werewolf, and vampire-" Aliyah looked at Caroline, pointedly. "-to fill their places."
Caroline frowned. "I thought werewolves were hard to find."
Aliyah smirked. "Not if you know where to look." She said, loftily. "Sometimes you just have to be patient and everything you want just falls into your lap."
Tyler strode down the staircase, about to leave, when Carol approached him.
"Heading out?" She asked, curiously.
"Yeah… lunch at the Grill with Bonnie and Caroline," Tyler said, awkwardly. "I've got practice and I'll probably go out after. I'll be late."
Someone knocked on the door and Tyler frowned, opening it. Outside stood a pretty blonde woman, some years older than him, with sharp features, dressed in weathered clothes built for travel.
"Hi," She said, cheerfully.
Tyler frowned at the strange woman. "Hi." He replied, slowly.
The woman smiled, shyly. "Sorry. Rude. You have no idea who I am. I'm Jules, a friend of Mason's from Florida. You must be Tyler." She guessed.
Tyler nodded. "Yeah. Nice to meet you."
"So, I know it's weird for me to just stop by but I'm trying to track down Mason," Jules explained.
Carol approached them, appearing behind Tyler's shoulder. "Mason's back in Florida." She said, slowly, as if Jules should know this. "He has been for a while now." She looked at Tyler to see if he knew differently.
Jules frowned. "See... that's the thing... he's not." She finished, firmly.
Bonnie and Caroline sat at a table in the Grill, taking turns filling up a glass from a pitcher of iced tea, waiting for Tyler to join them. Aliyah had bowed out this morning, wanting to keep an eye on Elijah just in case, but had instructed them to give her a ring if they required her for anything.
After ten minutes or so, Tyler finally closed in on them, shooting a huddled Jenna and Alaric at the next table a wary look, and he joined them at the table, sneaking a gulp from Bonnie's glass. Alaric surreptitiously looked at them.
"Hey," Tyler greeted, leaning down and kissing Bonnie quickly on the mouth.
Bonnie patted him on the cheek and shifted to allow him to sit down beside her.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Caroline asked, worriedly.
"This girl Mason knows stopped by the house," Tyler said, lowly, leaning in. "She said he never made it back to Florida. My mom is freaking out and she was on the phone with your mom when I left." His eyes narrowed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Alaric continued to stare at them, probably eavesdropping on their conversation. "We should get going." He said, warningly.
Caroline frowned, looking over Tyler's shoulder to see Alaric's interested gaze. "Yeah."
The three slid out of the booth, knowing that Alaric would soon make contact with Damon and Stefan and alert him to the strange woman's presence in Mystic Falls, adding another couple of cooks to the broth.
Caroline parked the car, while Bonnie and Tyler moved out of the backseat and went over to the boot, opening it and pulling out a knapsack. Caroline joined them moments later and she and Bonnie watched with baited breath as Tyler's hands tightened around the straps of the knapsack, his face setting with determination and fear.
"You okay?" Bonnie asked, cautiously, her hand curving around his strained forearm.
Tyler closed his eyes briefly, his head ringing from the screams he heard from the video, dreading what was in store for him that night. But, alas, there was no point in complaining about his fate if there was nothing he could do about it.
"Let's do this."
A/N: I decided to do the episode in two parts, mainly because I didn't realise how long the actual flashback was. I hope you guys liked the glimpses of no-humanity, jealous Aliyah. It was really fun to write her like that, her emotions there but not quite there. And Klaus, desperate to get something out of her, but failing miserably and putting himself deeper in the doghouse. One thing I do want to say about the whole Klaus daggering Aliyah back in the twelfth century – Aliyah thinks that Klaus did it because he was bored of her or he was punishing her or something along those lines, but there's more to the story than that. So, don't judge Klaus too early.
And it occurred to me that I was being a little too unrealistic with Klaus and Aliyah's relationship, especially in the flashbacks. I mean, I imagine they would've gotten a lot of crap in the past because of Aliyah's colour and the fact that they claimed to be married, so I snuck in that whole comment about people thinking their marriage wasn't valid and Aliyah was just his concubine. You could probably even swing it in the Viking times, because Esther and Mikael seemed to be on pretty good terms with Ayanna, but I'm not quite sure they would have been very well-welcomed in 13th century England. Feel free to correct me if I've made a mistake though.
And I hope you guys liked the sex, that, as you can probably imagine, was just thrilling to put down. I imagine Klaus and Aliyah have had like angry sex thousands of times over the course of their relationship, just because they're both such passionate people and I could really see it coming out there, Aliyah jealous that Klaus may find another woman, Klaus upset that Aliyah killed his friend and frustrated with her lack of emotion. Plus, Aliyah can't always be in-control. She does have her moments of senseless murder and I'm glad I got a chance to explore that side of her.
Anyway, I guess I'll see you all next chapter!
Reviews:
Hotgirlnow: Well, it's Tyler's life on the line, so Bonnie's not prepared to take any chances with his safety. As for Aliyah and Elijah, let's just say the whole dynamic with Aliyah included makes it more complicated to get shit done for the Mystic Falls Gang, but I don't want to spoil anything, and you'll see it soon!
Guest: I mean, I've always had a problem with Damon, especially since, you know, he raped Caroline very early on in season 1 and then no one seemed to care because he established himself as Elena's love interest and as the anti-hero. I hope I will kill him off soon too. I haven't quite figured how it's going to go down, but it will happen. Thank you so much, I'm so glad you're enjoying it!
Lisa-chan15: Thank you so much! Neither can I!
Guest: Thank you so much!
NicoleR85: I'm so glad you're enjoying it!
LunaEvanna Longbottom: I think they could've done so much for Elena's character but then they wasted it with the love triangle bullshit, which just made her look very unfavourable. I am trying to do equal amounts of character development for Bonnie and Caroline otherwise it seems odd if I just randomly add it in, plus, they are pretty integral to the storyline. Don't worry though, Aliyah will get her spotlight back. As for The Last Dance, I don't want to spoil anything, but let's just say this isn't Klaus' first body-jumping rodeo.
CrystalVixen93: Thank you so much!
Arkytior's Song: I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
yasminasfeir1: Thank you so much!
jennyhale: I am sorry for the delay, but my life's been pretty hectic the last few months unfortunately. Don't worry, just writing Damon and Elena pisses me off. I can't promise you it won't get worse though, and Klaus will be showing up very soon.
kuppcake: Thank you so much!
AndrianaWarrior7: Yeah, it's almost as if they exist to be my punching bags here. But I have no mercy for their characters at all. Well, let's just say one Original will be getting daggered, but who knows which one? Thank you so much for your review!
Gigi103: I'm super excited for it too!
Jojo: Thank you so much! I hope you liked the flashback in this chapter! Hm, I don't quite know if I will have any more present-day ones, only because all the stuff with Klaus is actually like approaching very quickly. I'll have to see, but there might be like some indirect sneak peaks.
tvtaughtmehowtofeell: Fair. This story is still Aliyah-centric, but I also think the other two deserve some lone screen-time too. Funnily enough, I'm the opposite. I love Caroline's character, but Bonnie pisses me off in the show. And honestly, I was worried that it was becoming too sappy, which is why you'll probably be able to tell a shift in my writing style in the future. I do think there are some pretty interesting comparisons between Nikliyah and Tonnie, and Aliyah going out of her way to assault Damon is my new headcanon. I hope you liked the flashback in this chapter and thank you so much for your review!
Guest: I wasn't sure if it was the same guest who was replying, so I made all these replies separate. One, I've already written Caroline's scenes with her love interest and two, I'm actually very much anti-Steroline, sorry about that.
Guest: They meant it in the sense that Tyler, season 1, was very much a mess. He was doing drugs, promiscuous, in heavy need of anger management classes, not to mention he was practically a rapist in that first episode. As for Bonnie, well, she's way more wholesome and seemed above all of that normal teenager stuff, and that was the difference I was trying to portray.
Guest: I think the next time we'll get Klaus' POV is when he's actually in Mystic Falls, but I hope you liked this chapter!
Guest: Fair enough, my writing style isn't to everyone's tastes and I totally accept that. However, the long run-ons are actually a part of my writing style and that particular example you quoted to me, well, it was trying to convey just how much was happening at the same time and how she was being bombarded on all sides during that encounter.
Sarahburch: Thank you!
Don'tKillMyMockingjay: I know it can be frustrating when authors don't update, but I hope this chapter was good for you!
Guest: Unfortunately, knowing Aliyah's history with Elijah, I don't think Caroline would be particularly comfortable being with him. Not to mention, I'm actually very much anti-Kolvina, sorry about that!
Guest: I hope you liked this chapter!
