I'm sorry it took me so long to finish this chapter; I had some problems with it. Thank you so much for your reviews and a special thanks to Chowlseaa for pre-reading this and telling me what you think :)
Chapter 49
"It's alright…" Kol kept repeating while stroking my hair. I was completely numb; I had no idea what to think. Apparently we were in a bedchamber, but I couldn't remember coming here. Seeing Tatia, or someone who looked exactly like her, had affected me stronger than I could have ever imagined. That woman was my sister's descendant. Danica… She had got married and had children. For some reason the thought brought tears to my eyes.
"Hey…" Kol muttered sounding very uncomfortable. My tears always affected him like that; he couldn't bear to see me crying. His clumsy attempts to comfort me by tapping my back made me smile. Maybe he was ruthless and feared by even the others of our kind, but right now he looked completely helpless. I wrapped my arms tightly around him and leaned my head on his shoulder.
"What is Niklaus doing with her?" I asked quietly.
"I don't know, my sweet, but I promise to find out."
He sounded worried and that was never a good thing. I pulled away and looked at him.
"This woman is Tatia's descendant, isn't she?"
Kol bit his bottom lip.
"That would also be my guess."
"But…She looks exactly like Tatia, they could be twins. How is that possible?"
He shook his head.
"I am afraid I do not know."
"Well, someone knows," I murmured and stood up.
"Sonja…"
"Please do not try to stop me," I said firmly and zoomed out. I didn't know where Niklaus' chamber was, but I was going to find out. Facing him should have probably made me nervous, but right now I was simply determined to get some answers.
Elijah paced back and forth in his chamber, trying to clear his blurred thoughts. The night had been more than confusing and all he was able to think about right now was Tatia. He had never thought that he would see her beautiful face again. But that hadn't really been her face, this woman wasn't Tatia, she only looked like her. Along the years Elijah had found himself spending less and less time thinking about Tatia, the woman who he had loved. He was certainly thinking about her now, all the feelings he had thought were already lost, were now torturing him more than ever.
He knew what Niklaus was going to do to her; that was the reason why they had tried to track down Tatia's bloodline. A very powerful witch had told Niklaus that only Tatia's blood could break the curse their mother had placed on him. Tatia's blood… The thought made him to think about Sonja. Why had they had to come here right now? There was no way this could end well. What a mess… He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice Brianna who sneaked in as silently as a ghost. Elijah almost jumped when she suddenly nipped his ear.
"Don't be sad, my love," she whispered softly.
He turned to face her and placed his hands firmly on her shoulders.
"You knew… I need you to tell me what I am supposed to do now."
She looked at him calmly with her big hazel eyes.
"Come to bed with me. I can be her if you want."
Her words made him flinch.
"No, Bria, please tell me what to do."
She shook her head; her eyes were looking at something no one else could see. Elijah had never felt so frustrated in his life; before he managed to stop himself he was shaking her almost violently.
"Tell me!"
Her eyes widened before she closed them.
"Mary had a little lamb, whose fleece was white as snow. And everywhere that Mary went,
the lamb was sure to go. Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb…"
He had frightened her. Elijah yanked his hands away immediately, what was wrong with him? It wasn't her fault that her mind worked like it did, she was doing the best she could.
"Bria…I am so sorry, please forgive me."
She stopped singing and was quiet for a while before opening her eyes.
"Forgive me," he repeated and gently kissed her forehead.
He couldn't interpret her expression, she wasn't looking at him when she took his hand and placed his index finger on her lips. She ran his finger along the line of her lips before breaking his skin with one quick bite. He didn't move when she sucked his fingertip until the wound healed.
"I want to play," she said demandingly. "Too many tears… No…Go away, no tears…Bad, bad, bad! I want to play."
She pushed Elijah forcefully towards the bed and jumped on him, wrapping her legs around his waist. For a moment their eyes met, she looked at him almost desperately.
"Please…Don't go away," she pleaded heartbreakingly. "I am afraid of the dark."
She truly looked like a lost child, frightened and vulnerable.
"I am not going anywhere," he muttered and sat on the bed, cradling her calmingly. She belonged to him; she had ever since his blood had turned her.
"My Bria…"
He sat there for a long while holding her in his arms, whispering calming words in her ear.
"Am I a burden?" she asked quietly. The clarity of her voice made him to pull away and look at her.
"No, Bria, you are not a burden."
She looked at him attentively.
"Do you love me?"
"Yes," he replied without hesitation. "I do love you."
"Not like you love her." It was a statement, not a question. Elijah wasn't sure how to reply, he wasn't even sure who this "her" was. Probably Tatia. Yes, it had been a different kind of love; he had still been a human back then.
"I love you," he said and pulled her close again. Yet he found himself thinking about the human girl who was somewhere in the castle with Niklaus. He would have to let Tatia die again… No, she wasn't Tatia. If only his heart would have understood that as well as his mind.
"She must be guarded day and night," Klaus said looking at his second-in-command.
Brom nodded.
"Understood, sir, I shall take care of that myself."
The tall warrior bowed before walking out. Klaus picked up his wine goblet and looked at the flames in the fireplace. A maid had lighted few candles around his chamber, although he didn't really need them. He was far from relaxed; there were still several things to take care of. He had certainly been given the best birthday gift he could have ever asked for, but of course things couldn't be that easy. Tatia's doppelganger wouldn't cause him problems; she was merely a timid little human who was all alone in a foreign country. He had already arranged a bedchamber for her; he would definitely keep her close until the sacrifice. Finally after all these centuries he would get what he so desperately craved. There was no way in hell he would let anyone to stop him now….
"Niklaus!"
Klaus sighed before turning to his sister-in-law who seemed quite upset.
"Sonja, what a pleasant surprise. Do you wish to give me a birthday gift?"
She crossed her arms and glared at him.
"I want to know what is going on, why…why does that woman looks like Tatia and why is she here?"
Klaus took few seconds to consider his options, should he be nice or less nice. He could threaten her or even hurt her, but the truth was that he didn't really want to do that. It wasn't like she would mean something to him and he certainly didn't owe her anything. Yet seeing her standing there all determined and full of feelings almost amused him. She looked such a delicate little thing, but she certainly wasn't. She could surely cause him a lot of problems if she would find out what he was planning to do to the human. Normally he didn't care who he had to hurt in order to get what he wanted, but perhaps this time he could handle things differently. He gave the little wildcat a charming smile.
"Well, sweetheart, it is actually quite simple. That woman is under my protection."
Sonja's eyes widened.
"What?"
"Yes, one of my men found her and introduced her to me. As you can imagine, I was just as surprised as you are. Apparently she is related to Tatia, but I am afraid I do not know why she looks exactly like her."
Sonja seemed suspicious.
"What do you want from her?"
"Like I said, I wish to protect her." He paused and turned to look at the fireplace. "Perhaps you do not remember that I loved Tatia, I wished to marry her," he said quietly.
"Yes, I remember, but…"
"She has no one to turn to," he interrupted her calmly. "She was cast out by her family and now she is all alone. All I want is to help her."
He suppressed his smile and waited a moment, giving his words time to sink in before turning to face Sonja. She didn't seem entirely convinced about his good intentions.
"So…she is staying here?"
He nodded.
"Yes, I have already made all the arrangements, she has her own chamber."
"I want to get to know her," Sonja said firmly.
"By all means, she will be right here," he replied smiling.
Sonja was quiet for a moment, she seemed confused.
"Alright… I…Good night then. And happy birthday."
He gave her a smirk.
"Why, thank you. If you want to make it happier, you could give me a little dance."
Apparently that was a wrong thing to say, her face went blank and she clenched her fists. He frowned.
"I was joking, sweetheart, where is your sense of humor?"
"Forgive me for not finding that funny," she murmured in her teeth.
Was she honestly still mad about that little incident? Women…
"Sonja…"
"Good night," she stated and marched out.
Well, that had been easier than he had thought; he hadn't had to threaten her or anything. Who said that he couldn't be a gentleman?
