Chapter 18
Hungary, 1114
Niklaus took a sip out of his wine goblet and hummed approvingly. The wine was excellent, just like the whole meal. He looked at Rebekah and smiled at her. She looked gorgeous in her new dark green gown. Her dark hair was up and the diamond necklace he had given to her highlighted her delicate neck perfectly.
He noticed that Elijah was also looking at her, smiling at her lovingly. She was the most important person in the world to both of her brothers. Keeping her safe, happy and loved was all that mattered to them. Niklaus enjoyed looking at her, admiring every little detail. She was perfect. His Bekah. Finally, she noticed her brothers looking at her and smiled at them both.
"You look beautiful," Niklaus said.
"Thank you, Nik," she replied smiling.
"More than beautiful," Elijah hummed. "You are perfect, sister."
"Stop it," she giggled. "You are flattering me."
"Never," Elijah argued. "You know how much I love you, Bekah."
"I love you too." She paused and looked at Niklaus. "You too, Nik."
Hearing those words from her made him just as happy as always. His life was perfect as long as he was close to her. His princess. His love. His goddess. He would have died for her. Killed for her. He had killed for her more times than he could remember. Any man who had come too close to her or even looked at her the wrong way had paid for it.
The only person he was willing to share her with was Elijah. His brother was the only one who understood how special Rebekah was. They both loved her and wanted to keep her safe. It was their duty and honor. They needed to keep her safe and happy. Love her more than anything.
They didn't allow her to go anywhere by herself, that would have been too dangerous. One of them or both were with her all the time, she needed to be guarded day and night. Sometimes she complained about it, but she understood that they were only trying to protect her. She was precious and she needed to be handled with care. Sweet, beautiful Rebekah.
"So, do you have any plans for tonight?" she asked.
"No," they both replied in unison. "We will stay home with you," Niklaus added.
"Is there something you would like to do?" Elijah asked.
She shrugged.
"Maybe we could dance?"
"Absolutely," Niklaus replied. "Do you want musicians here?"
She shook her head.
"No, you would just kill them like the last time."
Niklaus frowned.
"They were looking at you lustfully." He paused and looked at his brother. "Were they not, Elijah?"
"Yes, they were," Elijah confirmed. "No one looks at you like that."
"But I do not think that they were…"
"Rebekah, we know what we are doing," Niklaus cut in. "We want you to be safe."
"I know," she sighed. "Forgive me."
"Of course." Niklaus paused and kissed her hand. "You are everything to me, never forget that."
She smiled as she moved onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"You are everything to me too. Both of you."
He gave her a gentle kiss and rocked her on his lap like a child. That always made her feel better. She was smiling as she got up and started to dance.
"I do not need music," she cheered, spinning around and around.
They both looked at her, happy to see her having fun. Everything was perfect until suddenly something happened. Niklaus gasped in shock and fell on his knees. Images. Voices. His head was full of them. Strange images. His head was on fire. He screamed.
"Lucien! Where are you?"
"Here, mama!"
"Mama loves you…"
"Papa!"
"You will pay your father's debt with work…"
"Get up, boy!"
"She is the Lady Aurora…"
"Well, aren't you a handsome one."
"He looks like dessert to me."
"You've proven to be an immense help…"
"Lucien, my friend…"
"Fay… Fay…"
Lucien. His name was Lucien. Not Niklaus. Lucien. His mind was unable to understand. How… This couldn't be possible. It was. His name was Lucien. He had no idea how much time had passed when he was finally able to look at his "brother". Tristan was sitting on the floor, looking utterly shocked. Wait… Oh no… Lucien got up as quickly as he could and looked at her. Fay. Not Rebekah, Fay. She was laying on the floor, shaking.
"Hey…" he started cautiously.
Suddenly she started screaming at the top of her lungs.
"Fay! Fay, please try to calm down!"
She couldn't, she was hysterical. She screamed and started scratching her face.
"No! Please, Fay, you need to stop that!"
He zoomed beside her and tried to get a hold of her hands, but he failed. She was fighting him with all her strength.
"Come and help me!" he snapped at Tristan. "She is hurting herself!"
Tristan obeyed immediately and together they managed to pin her wrists to the floor.
"Shh, shh," Lucien murmured. "It's alright, sweetheart. Please, try to calm down."
It took a while before she stopped fighting and screaming. Her body went completely limp, and she started to sob.
"It's alright," Lucien murmured. "It's alright. I am going to make everything alright, sweetheart, I promise you."