Of course I needn't have worried—by they time we got to the feast Nik was happily dancing, with Tatia. I felt my face harden into a glare as I watched the bitch laughing and joking with my husband. Of course my anger was irrational seeing as he didn't know he was my husband but that was beside the point.

'If she wasn't needed for the spell I would happily compel her to set herself on fire.' I growled in annoyance.

Katherine let out a surprised laugh from beside me, 'I wouldn't blame you if you did.'

I followed her gaze over to where she was staring at Elijah; surprisingly he was watching her too, instead of the bitch dancing with his brother. She seemed reluctant to leave me but I shooed her away assuring her I could take care of myself. I sat down on a nearby log and tried not to watch Nik conspicuously, but eventually he caught my eye. It was only for a split second, but it was enough. The light-hearted party atmosphere didn't match my mood and I decided that I'd had enough of torturing myself with Tatia's hands all over the man I loved. I told Katherine I was leaving and headed into the woods and just walked, fighting the unbearable sadness that was crushing me.

This isn't your Nik. This all happened before you were even born. He's a thousand years old of course he has been in love with others before you. This isn't your time and your Nik is waiting for you in the future.

I came to a stop when I reached a river. After a moments hesitation I stripped off my dress and shoes before stepping into the water, completely naked. I always found being in water was incredibly peaceful and serene. The water settled around me as I floated on top and I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of being completely weightless. My breathing levelled out and honestly, I could have fallen asleep with how relaxed I was, but my peaceful mood shattered when I heard a twig breaking not far from me. I jolted and fell underneath the water before my head broke through the surface and I scanned the trees for the culprit.

'Hello?' I said a little unsurely; I could hear a heartbeat but I didn't want to get out of the water to confront who it was because I was …naked.

'I'm sorry, I saw you leave and thought I would offer you an escort back to your hut, I didn't mean to impose on your privacy.' Nik answered, stepping out from behind one of the trees and looking more earnest than I had ever seen him, though his cheeks were tinted red, much to my amusement.

I smiled sincerely and bit my lip to hold back a chuckle. I was definitely going to tease him about this when I got home, but I couldn't bear myself to do that to him now—this Nik had the desire to be strong and sure of himself but thanks Mikael that belief was none existent. I refused to make him feel anything other than comfortable and confident.

'I'll forgive you under one condition.' I teased light heartedly; my smile grew when I saw him relax a little.

'What would that be?' he wondered, his eyes shining with curiosity.

'Join me.' I held my breath, suddenly nervous.

'Are you sure?' his surprise was clear, but so was his lust.

'I'm sure.'

The hesitation melted from his gaze and the hunger in his eyes lit my skin alight. He would always have this power over me, no matter what version of him it was. I felt my own gaze darken with desire as I watched him strip, leaving his clothes in a messy pile next to mine. He slowly waded into the water, his gaze never leaving mine and I hoped he could feel how much control he had over me in that moment. He stopped a few inches from me, leaning down so that his head was the only part of him above water, just like me. I gulped and tore my gaze away from his lips; that was when an idea formed in my mind and I grinned. Before he could voice the confusion on his face I bought my hand to the top of his head and dunked him underwater. When he came back up, I couldn't help but laugh at the surprise on his face and it only grew when he joined in on my amusement. I moved away from him before he could retaliate and I saw the glimmer of challenge in his eyes.

'Did you just start a game without telling me the rules?' Nik murmured a smirk on his lips and I felt my heart flutter at the sight.

'Perhaps.' I bit my lip and glided further away from him.

'That doesn't seem fair to me,' he pouted making me giggle.

'Okay how about we make a new game. If I can evade you, you accompany me to the next feast.' I smiled at the desire on his face.

'And if I catch you? What do I get then?'

'That's up to you.' I shrugged, the water around me rippled with the movement.

'You have yourself a deal, Arianna.' The sound of my name on his lips made me shiver but before I could respond, he inched under water leaving me helpless at seeing where he went.

Deciding not to tap into my supernatural abilities, to make it fair, I swam backwards idly wondering how long he could hold his breath for. I felt something stroke my calf but before he could grab me I yanked it back and swam forward and hopefully away from him. It was unsettling and exciting how he could move through the water as if he weren't there, he didn't disturb the surface and without using my supernatural hearing I had no way of knowing where he was. I was basically swimming in random directions, hoping I wouldn't get caught when I felt a hand firmly grip my wrist. I pulled on the hold and it led to him popping his head up and levelling me with a smug stare that made me smile in spite of myself.

'How did you hold your breath for that long?' I asked, a little peeved I'd lost.

'I've been playing a similar game with my siblings for years, love.' He murmured, standing properly and bringing me with him so our chests were now out of the water, 'I never lose.'

'So what is it you want?' I asked him, shivering as the air hit my wet skin.

'A kiss.' He said simply, despite trying to look confident I could detect his nerves.

'A kiss?' I smiled and stepped closer.

His hands came to my waist and mine went to his bare chest. I looked up into his eyes and I couldn't look away from the intensity in them. I knew that he didn't care for me, and that was okay. I assumed Tatia had rejected him and he wanted someone who wasn't interested in his brother. I was fine with that person being me, even if it was for the wrong reasons, because I loved him and was willing to take what he was happy to give. So without further hesitation I lifted my lips to his and I kissed him.

As soon as our lips connected it felt like a fuse inside of me exploded, heating my body with pure want. His hands wrapped around me, pulling my body flush against his. My hands went to his long blonde curls and fused his lips closer to mine, deepening the kiss. I felt his growing arousal and dropped my hold to his shoulders and used it as leverage to hoist myself up, wrapping my legs around his waist. I felt goose bumps rise on my skin as his hands went to my ass in order to support my weight. His lips came away from mine and went to my neck; when I heard his sporadic breathing I realised that he needed the air. My back arched when he found the special spot behind my ear and it was then I realised I was being placed onto something solid. My eyes snapped open and I registered that he had placed me on the bank, but the sight of him in between my legs with the stars shining above him was enough for me to not care where I was. I pulled him back to my lips, enjoying the way he groaned when I slipped my tongue into his mouth.

I almost growled when he pulled away but when I saw his earnest gaze, I smothered my frustration.

'Are you sure you want to do this?' he whispered and my heart fluttered again.

'I'm sure.' I answered instantly.

He smiled and I returned it before he pushed himself inside of me. His head fell to my shoulder as he tried to collect himself and I dug at the earth beneath me, not wanting to break his skin when I knew it wouldn't heal. His hips moved against mine at a pace that wasn't too fast or slow, wasn't too rough or gentle it was perfect. When his blunt teeth bit into the crook of my neck I was done for and falling over the edge whilst whispering his name. He followed closely behind and when he was done he collapsed beside me. We both lay there in silence for a moment, catching our breath. I waited for the regret or guilt to wash over me, but it never happened. I knew that was because this might not have technically been the Nik who loved me, but I loved him more than I could put into words, no matter what version I met. Although that didn't mean that it didn't sting knowing all this was to him was a distraction while Tatia went after his brother.

'You are exquisite.' Nik murmured so quietly, I wasn't sure if I was supposed to hear him or not.

I looked over, smiling shyly at the intense way he was looking at me, 'as are you, Niklaus.'

'Call me Nik.' He said softly, caressing the side of my face.

'Nik, as much as I wish I could stay here with you… I should get back before Katarina sends out a search party.' I sighed regretfully.

'When can I see you again?' He asked, his arm behind his head as he watched me get dressed.

'You know where I am,' I sent him a flirty smile over my shoulder before making my way back to Anaya's hut.

Living with the witch couldn't be a permanent solution; both Katherine and I knew that. All it would take is one touch for her to realise that we're not human and potentially what we were sent back here to stop. I would run the idea of building our own hut by Katherine later, but for now we'd have to be careful.

The next day Katherine and I left Anaya to work in peace and went to feed. We repeated the same process as yesterday before making our way to the main part of the village, wondering thorough the crowd and watching how happy and carefree everyone seemed to be. We talked about my suggestion and Katherine agreed that having our own space would be for the best. We managed to gather some supplies, but we still needed the wood for the structure. I offered to chop it down myself but Katherine pointed out how odd that would be seeing as men generally did the heavy lifting in this time—we would have to ask for help. She ended up corralling a few of her admirers and getting them to do it for us. I was surprised that we didn't have to use compulsion, but Katherine told me that they were more than likely getting a few favours in for us in case they decided to court one of us. The thought of that made me cringe, but otherwise I didn't comment.

The hut was finished within three days and after telling Anaya about it she assured us that if anyone asked she would explain that we were her acquaintances. In that time, we didn't see any of the Mikaelsons, well except for Kol. He came to us a few times as we watched the men work, complaining about his father refusing to let him practice witchcraft and pushing him into fighting like his other brothers. After venting he was back to his usual self, joking around, flirting and telling us about teasing his brothers and sister. Katherine and I were more than a little disappointed that a certain couple of Mikaelson's didn't come to see us, but then again we weren't all that surprised. I may have had an incredible night with Nik, but I knew at the time I was just a distraction from Tatia wondering over to Elijah. And if I hadn't realised it then, I would have now, thanks to the radio silence.

'I can't believe they're both chasing after that tramp.' Katherine grumbled from her stool.

'We only got here a few days ago and they've spoken to us once. They've been obsessed with her for a lot longer, Katy.' I told her, my voice a mixture of amused and annoyed.

'How much longer?' she rested her chin on her balled up fist.

'A thousand years, give or take.' I chuckled when she glared at me, but after a moment she relented and let out a small laugh.

'Well what are we supposed—,' her question was drowned out by the sound of a blood curdling scream.

I didn't even think about it and I was out of the door before Katherine could finish shouting my name. It was coming from the Mikaelson's hut and it wasn't letting up. My supernatural hearing made it echo in my ears and vibrate in my bones. I needed it to stop.

'Arianna?' I looked up to see Elijah walking over to me with Kol beside him. Both of their expressions were wrinkled with pain as if they were suffering with Nik.

'What's happening?' I whispered, already knowing the answer.

'Niklaus—he—,' Elijah seemed to be struggling for words and the scream that cut through the air made my temper flare up.

'He's being punished by our father.' Kol said blankly, but I could read the worry in his eyes.

'We need to stop him.' I took a step forward but Elijah gripped my wrist and pulled me to a standstill.

'I do not think that is wise—,' his jaw snapped shut when I yanked my arm out of his hold.

'You might be content to stand here and listen to this, Elijah, but I'm not.' I growled, fighting to keep my vampire face at bay.

'I'll help you.' I felt some of the tension ease out of my shoulders at the sound of Katherine's voice.

'I'll compel one of the villagers to be looking for Mikael. You just need to tell him that he's needed to discuss a hunting trip.' She whispered in my ear, preventing Kol and Elijah from overhearing.

I nodded and winced as another scream cut through the air. Katherine turned and ran at human speed until she was out of sight, then I heard the whoosh that assured me her task would soon be complete.

'Kol go to Anaya and ask her for herbs for pain and a salve for healing.' I said, pleased when he nodded and ran straight away, 'when I tell Ester Mikael is needed, I need you to distract her so I can get him back to my hut. Can you do that?' I couldn't have kept my hatred towards Elijah out of my tone if I tried.

'Yes.' He nodded solemnly, retreating out of sight as I walked up to the door and knocked.

I managed to control my expression so I appeared friendly rather than disdainful when Ester opened the door. Her indifferent expression only added to my anger and wasn't helping me keep up the charade.

'Hello, how can I help you?' she asked, looking me over critically.

'A man from the village, he was looking for Mikael. I was told he would be here?' I murmured, knowing anything louder would reveal my fury.

'He is. Do you know what it is about?' she glanced in the direction of the screaming, but the casualness behind it made me want to slap her. It was as if she was just checking on her children playing rather than if her husband was still torturing her child.

'Something about hunting. It sounded urgent.' I said, stepping back and gesturing over my shoulder, 'I should get back.'

'Of course. Thank you for the message.' Ester yelled after me but she didn't look in my direction.

I hid behind a nearby tree and waited. The screaming stopped a moment later and Mikael came storming from the hut, looking murderous but determined. I nodded to Elijah and he entered the house next, leaving with Ester. I didn't know what he said to get her out of the house, but I didn't care. As soon as my hearing assured me that everyone was far enough away I flashed to the back of the house and walked into the outhouse. I breathed a small sigh of relief that I didn't need an invitation but my breath left me at the sight I walked in on. Nik was kneeling on the ground with his back to me, revealing the long and deep gashes in his flesh. My hatred towards Mikael grew even more, reaching a completely new level that I couldn't even begin to put into words. But I pushed it to the back of my mind for the moment and went to kneel beside him, my hand gently enveloping his. When I felt the tremors I rubbed my thumb back and forth comfortingly.

'Arianna,' he whispered, tears in his eyes. I offered him a shaky smile and felt my own tears spill over when he looked away from my gaze, ashamed.

'We need to get you out of here, okay?' I said gently grabbing his forearm and lifting him to stand. He wobbled a little so I reached out and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, but was mindful not to wrap my arm around his waist.

'What are you doing?' he murmured, his voice weak.

'You're going to be okay.' I told him, walking out of the outhouse and groaning when he passed out from the pain. After I made sure no one was looking, I threw him over my shoulder and flashed to my hut. I gently laid him on the bed so that he was lying on his stomach, and tilted his face to the side to assure he could breathe. My hands tenderly moved through his hair, pulling it away from his face. After taking a breath, I looked again at the gashes on his back, my blood boiling all over again but when he winced, it faded into concern just as fast. I wished I could take his pain and I thought about giving him my blood, but I knew I couldn't. At least not from my wrist. An idea formed in my mind as Kol and Katherine came rushing into the hut. Kol handed me the salve and pain treatments before taking a seat at our table with Katy, trying not to look at the wounds on his brother's back.

'Thank you.' I smiled softly, kneeling back by Klaus and applying the salve to his skin.

'Shouldn't I be thanking you?' Kol murmured.

I didn't turn to face him, continuing with my task and hoping that it was making a difference.

'You don't need to,' I assured him and I was grateful when Katherine distracted him with idle chatter, preventing him from asking questions I couldn't answer.

I was just adding the last of the salve, having liberally covered every inch of his back, when Klaus started to stir. He groaned a little and I stopped him from moving with a gentle hand on his shoulder.

'Easy, I still need to cover them up.' I said, avoiding his inquisitive gaze as I covered up his back with some loose cloth seeing as bandages weren't a thing in the tenth century.

'Okay you can sit up now.' I told him, wincing as he cried out from the pain.

I grabbed the tea Anaya had sent over—it was supposed to help with pain and I figured it could help with healing as well. Discretely, I bit into the tip of my index finger and allowed a few drops to spill into the wooden cup. I wiped the blood on my dress and helped him drink all of the tea.

'What happened?' he croaked out when he had finished drinking, clearly not familiar with his surroundings.

'Father was punishing you again.' Kol told him, looking over to his brother with tears in his eyes, 'Katarina and Arianna were able to create a distraction to get you out.'

'Thank you.' His voice cracked and I took his cup and refilled it with water.

'Don't thank me yet.' I passed him his drink and started pacing—now I knew he was okay, well as okay as he could be, my rage was simmering again.

'Arianna.' Katherine's voice was firm but I didn't spare her a glance.

'What's wrong with her?' Kol asked.

'She's angry, if she doesn't get control of it soon…' She trailed off, already knowing how I would react. How I always reacted when someone hurt the man I loved.

'I'm going to kill him.' I growled, fighting to keep my vampire face under control.

For once, Kol didn't have anything sarcastic to say. His eyes widened, his jaw slacked and his eyebrows rose to his hairline. He looked shocked. Under any other circumstances I would have laughed, but I was beyond pissed off.

'You know you can't do that.' Katherine said calmly, standing from her seat and standing in front of me, bringing my pacing to a halt.

'Why not?' I huffed.

She just gave me a look that made me roll my eyes, only making my annoyance grow even more.

'Father will kill you if you try to oppose him. Especially if it is on Niklaus' behalf.' Kol said, almost flinching at the bitter laugh that escaped my mouth.

'Believe me, he won't know what hit him.' No one missed the promise behind my words, and just before I was about to bolt for the door, someone grabbed my wrist.

The touch came from the only person who could make the anger inside of me dissipate, at least for the time being. My gaze snapped over to Nik's and I was entranced by the gratitude and vulnerability I could see shining in his eyes. He tugged my wrist lightly and when I realised what he was trying to do I sat beside him.

'I appreciate you wanting to defend my honour, love.' He murmured, his hand releasing my wrist and brushing my hair back from my face, 'but I won't allow you to do this. My father cannot know about your involvement or he will come for you.'

'I hope he does.' I spat, my flare of hatred fading as he caressed my cheek.

'Promise me you won't make any moves against him, Arianna.' He whispered, his forehead resting against mine.

I wanted to ask him why he cared. If he would mourn me if Mikael did kill me for going after him. But the doppelgänger's place in his life stopped me from asking the questions out loud; I was afraid of the answer. So I simply nodded, silently promising him that I wouldn't interfere.

He stared into my eyes for a few more moments, most likely making sure I was being honest before he also nodded, apparently content with my response. He placed a tender kiss to my forehead before Kol and Katherine interrupted the moment. I hadn't even noticed they had stepped out.

'Are we attending the feast?' Kol asked, grinning cheekily at the moment he had walked in on.

I rolled my eyes, 'I'm not interested.'

'I'm going. I have a few choice words for Elijah that I would like him to hear.' Katherine said, casually studying her fingernails.

'I don't wish to go either.' Nik responded, taking another sip of his water.

'Well I'm going, the promise of drama is too sweet to ignore.' Kol rubbed his hands together happily and chuckled when we all rolled our eyes, not put out by his response.

After a hug from Katherine and Kol, they departed and headed for the village. For a brief moment it was almost as if we weren't in a different time. The sounds of Kol and Katherine laughing and joking while Nik and I sat in comfortable silence soothed me. My heart yearned to hear Rebekah join in and for Elijah and Marcel to try and play peacemakers. Nik would drop sarcastic one-liners that would add fuel to the fire just as it was about to be put out. Elijah and Marcel would send him a look of exasperation and my love would just smirk and sit back, watching the bickering's with amusement. Of course it was never over anything serious. Once there had been a two-hour argument over why the twenties were much better than the nineties. No joke.

'What are you thinking about, love?' Nik asked, breaking me out of my daze.

I cleared my throat, 'nothing. How is your back?'

'Surprisingly it feels fine. The salve and tea are working beautifully.' He smiled softly, 'thank you.'

'It's Anaya you should thank,' I shrugged, standing and not knowing what to do with myself.

There would normally be a million things I could do to occupy myself. Read, binge watch a new show, listen to music, go shopping, scroll through my phone… obviously those options weren't available here.

'You know what I'm referring to, love.' He insisted his gaze was burning into my skin as he observed me, not missing a thing.

'Don't mention it.' I forced a smile and busied myself with folding the clothes I had pulled in from the line not an hour ago. I needed him to stop mentioning it because he was making it harder for me to keep my promise with his constant desire to remind me.

I glanced up when I didn't receive a reply and smiled softly when I saw his eyelids drooping. I gently took the cup from his hands and corralled him into lying back down; I pulled the covers up over him and caressed the side of his face before pulling away. The closer I got to him, the harder it was getting to keep the truth from him. What was I going to do?