In the doorway was a redheaded woman with a look on her face like she was half asleep. She leant against the frame, smiling at us.
"Lucien! No one told me you were here!"
"Good evening Aurora." Lucien greeted.
Tristan got to his feet, going over to the girl, his sister I presumed. He placed a hand on her arm and carefully ushered her into a spare seat.
"You really shouldn't be up, my dear. You need to rest."
"I feel fine." Her eyes turned to me and the girls and she cocked her head to the side. "Who are they?"
"Aurora, this is Elena. Lucien's wife. And her daughters, Lilah and Blair." Tristan said. Aurora's eyes swept over me and settled on the girls.
"They're so pretty." She reached out as if to touch them. Tristan intercepted her hand and squeezed it lightly. She frowned but settled back in her chair.
"It's getting late," I said. "I'm going to put the girls to bed."
I ushered them out of the room. I wasn't sure why but there was something unsettling about Aurora. The way she looked at the girls was just a little bit off. I wanted to get them out of the way, make sure that they were safe until I knew where she stood and what she was like.
Tristan had put aside a second room for the girls and I lead them inside. I got them into their pyjamas and tucked them into bed. Lilah wrapped her arms around my neck and held on, reluctant to let me go. I gave her a kiss and slipped free, heading back downstairs to the dining room. I took my seat.
"So Elena, how did you and Lucien meet?" Aurora asked.
"He kidnapped me."
"That's not true," Lucien said softly.
"No, I'm wrong. He kidnapped my children and blackmailed me into going with him."
Aurora laughed softly.
"Oh Lucien, you are bad."
"That's one word for it," murmured Tristan. Aurora laughed again.
"You'll have to ignore Tristan, Elena. He and Lucien have never got on. Even when we were children, they were always fighting."
"I'd hardly call it fighting," said Tristan.
"Neither would I," said Lucien. "It was more like being beaten up by a sadist."
"Well you'd know all about being a sadist," I said under my breath.
"You are should watch your tongue Elena," said Lucien. I fell silent, looking down at my plate. Tristan caught my eye and I glanced over. He gave me a small smile, almost conspiratorial in nature and I couldn't help but smile slightly back.
"How long are you joining us, Lucien?" Aurora asked.
"I'm not sure. A few days at least, until your dear brother's witches can help me with what I want."
"oooh, that sounds intriguing. What exactly are you after?"
"Something special." He smirked at me and I felt my smile vanish. Aurora looked like she was going to ask for more details so I decided to derail the conversation and redirect it to more appealing topics.
"You guys knew Lucien as children then? I mean, I know you mentioned that he used to work for you, right Tristan?"
"Yes. He was the son of a man who worked for our family. A very stupid man who ended up getting in a great deal of debt with our father. And he would come and play with us while his father worked. And then when he got older, he became a servant for our family. It was his job to greet our visitors and guide them to our castle."
"Castle?"
"Oh yes Elena. Our father was the Count de Martel." Aurora said with a smug tone to her voice.
"I don't know who that is."
"He was a man of great power, wealth and influence," she said, her tone a little colder.
"Clearly not enough to be noted in history books though." Aurora's eyes narrowed.
"And what about your life Elena? Before you became Lucien's wife?" She was trying to make me feel small and insignificant for snubbing her.
"Well, I was born in Mystic Falls, Virginia. I was adopted. I had a brother. And then I… met a group of very powerful vampires who took me in as one of their own. We moved to New Orleans."
"I hear New Orleans is a wonderful place," cut in Tristan. I guessed he was sensing the tension between his sister and myself.
"It is. Beautiful place, vibrant, alive… large supernatural community."
"I've heard the stories. They're not too friendly to outsiders, is that right?"
"It's true," said Lucien.
"Actually Lucien, I have to disagree with you. Most of them are quite friendly, it just depends on the outsider. But in your case, if you were to go back I doubt they'd treat you with much kindness. Given that you kidnapped their queen."
Both Aurora and Tristan looked over at me. I smiled sweetly.
"Queen?" Aurora asked, disbelief obvious in her voice.
"Yes. I am the queen of New Orleans. And I do hope you're not too attached to Lucien because he can't run forever and eventually my family will catch up with him. And he will suffer for what he has done." I knew as I said the words that I would be the one suffering that night, as soon as Lucien got his hands on me. He wouldn't do anything now. He liked to pretend, to play the nice guy even if no one actually believed it. He preferred to do his dark deeds where no one else would see them.
"I highly doubt any vampire would go up against one of the oldest in existence over a human. Queen or not," sneered Aurora. "It would be suicide."
"Actually, Aurora, I'm fairly sure that my family could handle it for one very simple reason."
"Which is?"
"Well, before Lucien abducted me and forced me to take his name as part of this ridiculous charade where I have to pretend that I actually care even the slightest bit about him, my name was not Elena Castle. It was Elena Mikaelson."
Aurora's glass slipped from her hand and smashed on the ground. I got to my feet.
"I'm going to bed. Good night Tristan. Aurora, it was nice meeting you."
I left the room and went up to mine. I stood in the middle of the room, looking out the window and waiting. I knew it wouldn't take long.
The door flew open and I heard Lucien's snarl. I sighed and turned.
"You couldn't just keep your mouth shut, could you? You had to go and fucking talk!" He stalked towards me and slapped me hard across the face, my head jerking to the side from the force of the blow. He grabbed me by the throat. "You wouldn't talk so much if I tore your tongue out."
I clawed at his hands, gasping for breath as he held me up, my feet skimming the ground. He threw me across the room, crashing into the side of the bed. I winced as my head slammed against the frame. I reached up and my hand came back red. He advanced, looming over me. He grabbed my arm, dragging me to my feet. His grasp was so tight I could feel it crushing the bone. I swung wildly, trying to remember what Aya had taught me. My fist made contact with the side of his face. A malicious smile spread across his features.
"You want to play rough do you Elena? Maybe I should go and invite Lilah to join us? Maybe I should make you watch as I tear your little girl's heart out?"
I kicked him hard, throwing my weight against him in an effort to knock him over. He twisted me in his arms so my back was against his chest, his arms ensnaring me, his nails clawing at any exposed flesh they could reach. He sank his fangs into my throat and I screamed. He pulled his head back, tearing a chunk from my neck. He pushed me away and I turned to face him, clutching my throat where the blood continued to flow. He took a step forward, hand raised to strike me once more.
"Go on! Beat me! Kill me if it makes you feel better! It won't change anything! It won't make you less of a coward!" I knew it was stupid but the words escaped my lips before I could stop them.
He hurled me into the mirror. It broke as my body made contact, the shards falling around me, cutting into my skin as I crumpled to a heap.
"YOU DO NOT GET TO TALK TO ME THAT WAY!"
He put his foot on my chest, pushing me further into the pile of glass splinters.
"I own you Elena. Every bit of you is mine. Your body, your mind, your very soul belong to me and it is by my grace only that you are alive. If I wanted to, I could kill you right now and you would be helpless to try and stop me." He pressed down with his foot and I whimpered, aware of how easily he could crush my ribcage. Instead, he lifted his foot and stamped down hard on my shoulder. I screamed as the bones shattered.
He knelt down and lifted me up once more. I tensed, ready for him to throw me at something hard again. Instead he put me onto the bed and climbed on top of me, straddling my waist and holding me down with his weight. I struggled, trying to throw him off even though I knew it was hopeless. He laughed and put a hand on my chest, pressing me lightly into the covers.
"I can feel your heart… that flutter… it's intoxicating." He pulled a knife from his pocket. My eyes widened in terror. He brushed the cool metal flat of the knife against my cheek, smirking as my heart beat picked up.
"Don't look so down Elena… let's put a smile on that face shall we?"
He smirked and gripped my chin with one hand. He placed the tip of the blade at the corner of my mouth.
"Open."
I kept my mouth shut tight.
"Open your mouth, Elena, or I will have to put this knife somewhere else and believe me that will be far more unpleasant."
Tears began to flow and my lips parted ever so slightly. He pushed a finger into my mouth, pulling my lip down further. He pushed the knife in, pressing it against the corner of my mouth. I begged him silently, my eyes wide and terrified. He grinned sadistically and jerked the knife sharply. Blood filled my mouth as he tore through the skin from my lip to the top of my cheek. I howled in pain, the sound distorted. He tightened his grip on my chin, repositioned the knife and repeated the process, cutting a twisted parody of a smile on my face. I thought I might pass out from the pain and I almost wished that I would. My tears mixed with the blood that was flowing from my face, dribbling down my chin and across my throat.
Lucien pulled back the knife and lowered his face until it was barely an inch from mine. He ran his tongue along the wound, lapping up the blood, before forcing it into my mouth. I struggled, legs thrashing, hitting out at him with everything I had.
He sat back, my blood staining his lips like garish lipstick. When he spoke, his voice was soft and that was more terrifying than his yelling. I felt woozy from the blood loss and everything was spinning around me.
"You've got all brave since we came here because you think you've found a friend? You think Tristan will save you?" He grabbed my hair, forcing me to look him in the eye. "Here's the truth Elena, he doesn't care about you. He's just like everyone else, he wants something from you. And yes, I'm not exactly angelic but this is the reality. I'm all you've got."