Chapter 5
"It's alright," the small brunette assured quietly. "You can trust Niklaus, he is a good man."
Lucien stared at the young woman disbelievingly. A good man? He had no idea what kind of creatures Niklaus and his family were, but he had just witnessed them slaughtering five people. Sure, Niklaus had saved his life when they had voted whether to kill him or not, but Lucien still wouldn't have described him as a good man.
"You are not like them?" he stated cautiously.
The girl shook her head.
"No, I serve their family."
"I see."
There were several questions Lucien would have liked to ask, but he didn't dare. These creatures could still decide to kill him.
"I'm Fay," the girl added.
"Honor to meet you, my lady," Lucien murmured.
He wasn't sure what to make of this girl. She had kept her distance when Niklaus and his siblings had voted, and it seemed that she really wasn't their equal. She was pretty in a simple and modest way, but Lucien wouldn't have described her as stunningly beautiful. Brown hair, dark almond eyes, oval face, full lips, a petite body structure and an insecure body language. She likely was a servant, as she had said.
"Oh no, I'm no lady," she replied.
"Of course you are, darling," Kol said grinning.
His sudden appearance startled Lucien. As far as he could tell, Kol was the worst one of them.
"Thank you, master, but I don't really..."
"Nonsense," Kol hummed and waved his hand. "You are my lady, aren't you?"
"Knock it off, Kol," Niklaus snorted.
"What? I was complimenting her."
"She doesn't need your compliments," Niklaus replied firmly.
"Why don't you just..."
"Alright, enough," Elijah huffed. "You two need to behave, if we are really going to do this."
Kol rolled his eyes and glanced at Lucien.
"Fine. Show us that you can be useful then."
Lucien was very nervous, he had no idea if he could do this, but unfortunately, he had to try.
"Yes, my lord. Shall we start with some basic things?"
They didn't have nearly enough time to learn everything, but Lucien tried his best.
"What about Fay?" Rebekah asked when Lucien was just explaining them how to address other nobles.
"What do you mean?" Niklaus asked.
"Is she going to be a noblewoman?"
Everyone looked at Fay who was clearly uncomfortable.
"Of course," Niklaus replied firmly. "If she wants to. What do you think, Fay?"
"I... I don't know," she murmured.
Elijah looked at Lucien.
"What do you think? Can you teach her how to act like a noblewoman?"
His question surprised Lucien.
"I believe I can, my lord, but I need some time..."
"Maybe she should just be a maid," Rebekah cut in. "You have probably noticed how shy and timid she is."
"Don't talk about her like that," Niklaus snapped.
"Calm down, Nik, I wasn't trying to be mean," Rebekah huffed. "But honestly, can you imagine her talking to some lords?"
Niklaus pressed his lips together and looked at Fay.
"I want her to be safe."
"I think we all want that," Kol huffed. "She has served us well."
Lucien couldn't help but to notice how they talked about Fay like she wouldn't have been there at all. She didn't participate in the conversation, she simply stayed quiet and waited.
"Alright, how about we say that she is our family's ward?" Elijah suggested. "A distant relative or something like that."
"Is that customary here?" Rebekah asked.
"Most ladies have companions," Lucien replied. "Nursemaids, handmaidens, teachers, ladies in waiting..."
"Sounds good," Rebekah cut in and looked at Fay. "Is that alright with you?"
"Yes," the brunette replied quietly.
"Alright, good."
"Are you sure?" Niklaus asked.
Fay nodded.
"Yes."
Niklaus seemed to be quite protective of her. That was strange. According to Lucien's experience, masters rarely cared about their servants at all. Not to mention Niklaus and his siblings weren't humans. Why would a monster care about his servant?
"She shouldn't be here at all," Finn murmured.
He had been quiet for so long that Lucien had almost forgotten him.
"If any of you would care about her wellbeing..."
"Shut up," Niklaus snapped tensely. "I'm sick of having this same conversation over and over again."
"Then perhaps you should have acted like a decent man instead of some selfish beast..."
"I said shut up!" Niklaus shouted. "You don't know what you are talking about!"
Finn looked at him coldly.
"I believe I do. You have all treated her like she would be nothing more than cattle. She deserves her freedom. As far away from us as possible."
Niklaus took a threatening step towards Finn, but Elijah stepped between them.
"Must we do this again?" he sighed. "I thought this matter was settled already."
"So did I," Niklaus snapped. "And yet he has to bring it up again and again."
"She wants to stay with us," Rebekah stated. "She said that herself."
"Because she thinks she has no choice," Finn huffed.
"And how would you know what she thinks?" Kol snorted.
"Alright, enough..."
Lucien observed their argument quietly. Again, they were talking about Fay like she wouldn't be present at all. Couldn't they see that or didn't they just care? Fay was also observing them, but she seemed concerned. Her eyes were on Niklaus. Was there something between them? The whole thing seemed just strange to Lucien.