Chapter 17

Elijah was smiling as he headed to Niklaus' chamber. He was very pleased about Fay's decision, but he had no intention to show that to Niklaus. No, his brother deserved to feel bad after everything he had done to poor Fay. Just because Elijah wasn't going to abandon Niklaus, he still wasn't planning to simply forgive and forget right away. Right now, they had a lot to talk about.

He placed a harsh expression on his face before knocking on Niklaus' door. There was no reply. He knocked again, but still nothing. Apparently Niklaus had woken up early. Elijah decided to find his brother later and headed to his own chamber. On his way he ran into Kol who looked more than pleased with himself.

"Good morning, brother," Kol stated cheerfully.

Elijah crossed his arms and looked at his brother harshly.

"Have you seen Niklaus?"

"Not since yesterday. I spent the night in the village."

"Well, I need to have a word with you as well," Elijah stated firmly.

"Can it wait?" Kol huffed. "I have not slept at all."

"No, it cannot wait. Come on."

Kol rolled his eyes, but he followed Elijah to his chamber.

"What is it now?" he snorted as soon as Elijah had closed the door.

"I thought we agreed that we all need to be careful here," Elijah replied harshly. "Your careless actions have put us all in danger."

"What are you talking about…"

"Tristan de Martel knows what we are," Elijah snapped.

Kol shrugged carelessly.

"I can kill him then. Problem solved."

"You will do no such thing."

"Why not?"

Elijah frowned.

"First of all, do you honestly think that no one would notice his death? And second of all, he knows that we are hiding from someone and if something happens to him, his men will spread the information about our whereabouts."

"Then we kill all his men too," Kol huffed.

"Enough, Kol. Do I need to remind you that the Count has an army of men? An army of trained and experienced soldiers. We might be stronger than one man or even ten men, but we won't survive against an army. Even if we could escape, there would be no place for us to hide if people know what we are."

"You are just as dull as Finn," Kol snorted. "Fine, what do you want me to do then?"

"How about stop putting your whole family in danger," Elijah snapped.

"Fine, I can play nice. Happy now?"

"No, but fortunately for you, my morning has been too good for you to ruin it. Fay agreed to wed me."

Kol stared at him disbelievingly.

"What?"

"Fay agreed to…"

"I heard you. Why would she wed you when she is in love with Nik?"

"How did you…"

"Oh please," Kol snorted. "I am neither blind nor stupid. I saw how she looked at Nik even before mother's spell. The funny thing is that Nik was the one who lectured me about taking advantage of her." Kol paused and huffed. "A bit hypocrite, would you agree?"

Elijah's eyes darkened.

"You did something to her?"

"I kissed her," Kol replied. "But I stopped after I realized that my advances were unwanted. Maybe you should do the same."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well," Kol started smiling. "Perhaps I should tell you the same thing Nik told me. She is in no position to turn you down."

Elijah's eyes narrowed.

"You have no idea…"

"Think about it, does she really have a choice? I bet that if you would tell her that you changed your mind about wedding her and you want her to wed me, what would she say? Or let us put it this way, what could she say? Yes. The correct answer is yes."

"I am not forcing her into anything," Elijah snapped.

Kol shrugged.

"If you say so. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need my beauty sleep."

Elijah gritted his teeth after his brother had left. No, Kol was wrong. He wasn't forcing Fay. He would treat her well and try his best to give her a good life. She had agreed to wed him. Kol had no idea what he was talking about.

Niklaus blinked his eyes sleepily. A tree. Why was there a tree in his bed? What… Quickly he got into a sitting position. He was in the woods. How… Lucien. Lucien had somehow become like him and they had… They had killed two maids together. They had buried the bodies in the woods and then he had showed Lucien how fast they could move.

Then they had ran into few soldiers. Slowly Niklaus looked at his tunic. It was bloody. What had he done? And where was Lucien? There was no sign of him. Wait… The sun had risen. Quickly he got up and looked around him. No ashes. He had told Lucien that the sun burned their kind. Where was he?

3 hours earlier

Lucien had never in his life felt better. He felt strong. Powerful Invincible. Like a god. He had died and reborn into something magnificent. All his senses had sharpened, he could hear insects crawling on the ground. An owl catching a mouse somewhere far away. He could see the stars. Really see them for the first time. He had never felt more alive.

Unfortunately, the sun would rise soon. He had lost Niklaus in the woods and returned to the castle. He needed to seek shelter from the damn sun. Hopefully he would be able to get the same kind of ring Niklaus and his family had. Apart from that, everything was perfect. Almost everything. He moved silently across the dark hallways until he reached her door.

There she was, asleep in her bed. Curled up into a fetal position. Her pillow wet from her tears. So vulnerable and yet so strong. The only person who had truly fought for him. Stood up for him. Cried for him. Her face had been the last thing he had seen before his old life had ended. Her beautiful, caring face. Not Aurora's, hers.

Aurora hadn't even tried to defend him. She hadn't cared about him. He had been a fool for worshipping her all those years. This wonderful creature was the one he should worship. She was worthy of his affection. The true queen of his heart. Gently he touched her forehead with his lips and pulled a blanket over her.

"I will see you again very soon," he whispered in her ear.