A/N- So we're starting with a flashback and at the moment the story is going day by day with the perspective of the characters. I'm tempted to start listing the days at the beginning of the chapters, let me know if people are getting confused.
AA/N- I laughed at Freya's statement in TO that she alone mourned Mikael because she alone loved him. That's right honey, he had a wife, five children and one stepchild and you alone mourned him. What does that say about the man?
"Papa…Papa! Oh…"
Elijah's head shot up and he nearly clocked poor Dr Petrova in the jaw when the office door flew open and a pretty young girl burst in, paper in her hand and a surprised expression on her face when she sees him there.
For the quickest moment she doesn't recognise him and offers a friendly smile before her mind catches up with her and her eyes widen as she blushes deeply and curtsies.
He nods but doesn't speak, he doesn't quite know what to say and more importantly, he doesn't know which of Dr Petrova's daughters this is.
That question is cleared up in a matter of seconds however,
"Katerina!" Dr Petrova snapped, his hands on Elijah's arm to keep him from moving as he presses down the syringe,
"I am with a patient…you know better"
Etiquette now demands that the young lady apologise and withdraw but she- Katerina, the older one?- does neither, although she does close the door, which is greatly helpful because the Crown Prince of Valhalla is shirtless and would rather not be seen by whomever wished to walk past.
"You're in your office" she argues, "Not your clinic, how was I supposed to know you had anyone in here?"
"You still should have knocked" he grumbles, "What would you have done if the Crown Prince had been naked?"
Elijah grows redder at the idea that he could have been seen naked, gods, what if he'd been undergoing a prostate exam?
To have lost all his dignity, the humiliation would have killed him.
"Taken photos, sold them and become a billionaire?"
He finds himself chuckling and is as surprised as the other two occupants in the room. It's nearly on the tip of his tongue to apologise but he can't, after all, he is the Crown Prince, a fact impressed upon him daily by his father.
Still, Lady Katerina shares a guilty, albeit cheeky smile with him,
"Sorry" she mouths as her father is busying himself with the disposal of the syringe in his clinic next door and he enjoys this secretive moment of disobedience between the two of them. This feeling of comradeship.
"Is there a reason you're invading my office then?" Dr Petrova asks in defeat, wiping his hands as he comes back in, "Or did you simply decide to disrupt my day?"
She pouts at the annoyance in his tone and shifts, leaning her weight on one foot,
"Why should I tell you if you're mean to me?"
He gives her a fed up look and jerks his head towards Elijah,
"Perhaps because the Crown Prince has better things to do today than hear us argue"
In truth, the Crown Prince of Valhalla was enjoying every second of this family spectacle. It was entertaining to gain this insight into his usually reserved doctor's life.
And it was beyond refreshing to find himself interacting in a situation where the focus was not on him, he could be a part of something without being forced into the centre purely because of his standing.
Lady Katerina held up the papers in her hand, "I was ranked first in my class" she reveals with a proud smirk which becomes a full blown smile when Dr Petrova embraces her, holding her tightly as he praises her,
"Congratulations" Elijah offers quietly, so quietly that it's almost inaudible even to him but Katerina catches his eye and mouths "Thank-you"
"Go and tell your mother kitten" the doctor prompts as he releases his daughter, and she spins gracefully on her heel, her hand on the doorknob before she turns back,
"With your leave, Your Highness" she requests, dropping into a perfect curtsy.
Not with his leave actually. Elijah would much rather she stay and keep…keep allowing him to intrude upon her happiness, upon this moment.
But do make this request would be foolish and embarrassing so he only nods, "Good-bye"
Once again his voice is lost but she smiles and darts out, leaving the door wide open until the doctor pushes it closed.
"Please forgive my daughter Your Highness," Dr Petrova sighed, "Katerina is as wilful as the day is long, far too aware of her charm to accept the word 'no'"
Elijah accepts the man's apology even as he is distracted by the tone of love and pride with which Dr Petrova speaks of his daughter.
He's never heard his own father speak of him or any of his full-blood siblings that way and he has a moment of insane envy towards this family that displayed more love in a few moments than he has known in years.
But that is not their fault.
"She's intelligent" he prompted, "Ranked first in her class?"
Dr Petrova chuckles, "She's determined to be brilliant, to show her peers that it isn't a matter of inheritance or breeding, but then again" he winces theatrically, "Katerina is the best equestrian in our district"
For the second time that day the Crown Prince laughs.
When Elijah arrives back at the Palace it's barely six am and just the right moment before the changing of the guards. When the security personnel from the night shift are starting to feel every minute of their job and the day shift haven't arrived yet. He's waved through without any questions and pulls into the garage, shutting off the engine and leaning his head back against the head rest with a sigh.
The Royal Garage had been the Royal Carriage House until 1920 when they'd started storing more cars than carriages there but no modifications had been made. The interior of the room was pleasantly dark with a few windows spread out over the large space, the brown bricked floor and the chandelier that hung in the centre was rather modest by palace standards but ridiculous for the storing of cars. Still, the relative silence of the space allowed him to close his eyes and almost sink back into sleep.
He'd left Gia sitting on her couch, eating cereal and browsing social media on her i-pad. He knows she's just on her sites, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, she doesn't read gossip magazines and is still shaky enough in the fiery, complicated Viking tongue that she doesn't read the main newspapers of the country.
So Elijah has a small grace period before she'll hear about his fiancée having returned to Valhalla.
Not that she doesn't know about Katerina.
He told her before they ever became intimate, before she even learned who he was.
He'd told her Katerina's name and the fact that they were engaged but Gia had never asked for any more information and he'd never given it.
The two of them existed in a private world separate from everything else. Outside and away from their commitments and careers, their friends and family.
She hadn't told anyone she was seeing him and he had gone to great lengths to hide her away.
In fact the only person who knew about Gia…
Was the one tapping on his car window with his emerald ring, Elijah doesn't even have to open his eyes to see who is standing there.
There is really only one person who'd be awake at this hour and would disturb him like this,
"Good Morning, Your Majesty" Ansel says with his respectful tone almost covering up the disapproval.
"Enjoy your early morning drive?"
That was the story his head of security went with, often altering the reports so that it appeared that Elijah had taken the car from the garage only an hour before.
"Yes" Elijah replies with a clipped tone, he's not in the mood for an early morning lecture from the man about the dangers of him driving around unaccompanied by body guards or spending the night in a regular apartment. He's heard it all before.
Multiple times.
He climbs out of the car and stretches, reaching automatically for the coffee cup in Ansel's hand before the man moves it out of reach,
"Sorry, Your Majesty but this one is mine"
Elijah blinks in surprise, Ansel was the one who gave him his first espresso when he was ten years old and his first energy drink when he was fifteen. He was the sole reason there were coffee stations in every wing of the palace and mini-fridges fully stocked with caffeinated sodas hidden away underneath them.
"You wouldn't like the taste" the man offers as explanation and Elijah smirks in disbelief,
"Don't tell me Petrova finally has you on decaf?"
Ansel shakes his head and holds out an arm, gesturing to the entry way to the garage where he can see one of his suits hanging in a clear garment bag. He leads the man over and takes it off the rusty nail that had been there since the seventeen hundreds and nobody had bothered removing. The mechanics and valets that worked in the palace now rubbed it for luck.
The head mechanic, a man who'd been nicknamed Lou by the younger generation of courtiers and long since stopped answering to anything else, had an office right next to the garage, an overlooked room in the palace with a rather vulgar calendar hanging on the wall. Ansel bundles him into the room and waits with his back turned while Elijah begins changing,
"This coffee is essentially espresso and Turkish coffee brewed down to its most concentrated with some Adderall mixed in" he explains,
"I'm almost certain it would be attempted regicide to share this with you"
"I haven't been to bed yet" he continues when he sees Elijah's horrified expression,
"Ansel" he took a proper look at the man now and saw the red eyes, the pale face and the twitching hands,
"How much caffeine have you had since yesterday?"
His Head of Security took another sip and shuddered at the taste,
"I am personally overseeing the security for the funeral, coronation, vetting your staff so they can serve a monarch and picking new staff and security for both Prince Klaus and Lady Katerina" he declares in one breath, "I've scheduled myself for a nap after the funeral"
Elijah slips on his shirt and buttons it quickly, feeling caffeinated just by being in proximity to the man,
"Please switch to decaf before you start hearing colours and seeing sound"
Ansel gives him a tight smile, "I'll have a full report regarding current security measures on your desk by ten am, I already have a preliminary plan for the funeral and coronation but it's dependent on the final arrangements. I have to speak to the Communications Department later today informing them of these changes so they can field any questions from the press regarding security, otherwise- with your leave, Your Majesty?"
Elijah nodded as he reached for his clean tie, "What about my phone?"
Ansel cleared his throat, turning to the door, "You will be issued a new one by the end of today"
The King gripped the strip of silk in his hand, "Ansel" he called the man back, staring at his straight back,
"I know you disapprove of my relationship with Gia"
"Your affair?" Ansel retorted rudely, using the ruse of clarification to make the jab and Elijah felt his blood rise,
"Very well, my affair, the affair I indulged in during the five year separation from my fiancée. Should I have demanded Katerina remain in Valhalla or return at intermittent periods solely so that I could maintain a healthy sex life without being unfaithful?"
He hates the embarrassment he feels talking about his sex life with man who'd been serving his family as far back as he could remember. Who had known him his entire life and been a source of comfort, support and unending loyalty.
"No but the Lady Katerina has returned now" he continues and Elijah has to remind himself that this man had his reasons for being utterly devoted to his future queen.
"Yes and she has not even been back for twenty-four hours" he exhales and runs his tongue over his teeth,
"She'll need time to prepare for her role, to…get used to everything again. Having been trained for the position and experiencing everything first-hand are two rather different sensations, the last thing she will need is me demanding…well I don't suppose they're my conjugal rights yet but you understand the predicament"
Ansel nods but this time there's comprehension in his eyes and Elijah shifts uncomfortably, hoping that the list of people who gain this great an understanding of his relationship with Katerina remains as short as possible.
He leaves and Elijah waits three minutes before making his way back to his rooms. He walks casually, knowing that if he hurries people will think that he has something to hide, fortunately the cover story that he enjoyed taking early morning drives around the palace grounds meant that none of the palace staff who were already at work thought to question his presence, only greeting him respectfully as they went about their duties.
He made it all the way to his antechamber before being confronted.
"Little brother!"
He nearly jumps out of his skin and then closes his eyes, cursing.
There were only two people in the world who could call him 'Little brother' and coincidentally, the two people he would least prefer addressing him by that title.
He spins on his heel, "Your Majesty" he points out as they approach, his footman looking apologetic as he followed them,
Of course they would wait until now to approach him, the second day of his reign so that they weren't required to kneel to him.
Typical.
Finn feigns surprise and looks around the empty room,
"I didn't realise we had to stand on ceremony here" he chuckles, "After all, we're family are we not? What is etiquette when it comes to family?"
"A requirement when the greater part of the family is royalty and the nation's king stands before you" Elijah responds and Finn flinches at being outwitted.
"Your Majesty" Freya intones gravely and curtsies deeply and he offers her his hand to kiss. When Finn follows suit he yanks his hand away before his lips can touch his flesh,
"I assume there's a reason you're here this early in the morning?" he asks, nodding to his footman to open the curtains and let the morning sun in.
"Oh well…" Finn sighs, "We simply wanted a moment with you, before all your duties which I assume you have a great many today. Luckily for us we heard about your predilection for early morning drives"
Elijah struggled to maintain his composure, his jaw clenching and his muscles tensing.
Why had Finn said that? Had he emphasised those last three words? Did he know about Gia?
No. Surely not, if he did then he would have leaked the information to the media, he would have relished the chance to damage Elijah's reputation.
"I'll have to let Ansel know there's been a lapse in security, if word has spread this far" he strides to the window and contemplates sitting down in the armchair whilst forcing his older, illegitimate half-siblings to remain standing.
No, best not.
"Perhaps you should fire him?" Finn suggested lightly and Elijah raised his eyebrows, genuinely surprised that he had said that.
As Mikael's illegitimate children, the result of his affair with Dahlia Black- a theatre actress- Finn and Freya weren't considered worthy of any deference or place at Court or in their society. They were hybrids, on the one hand the children of the most powerful man in the country, on the other they didn't even warrant official titles or privileges.
However, when Ansel had become Head of Royal Security, he had assigned both children bodyguards. Not out of necessity but so they could feel less ostracised, less humiliated when in the presence of their royal siblings and friends.
He had always been kind and respectful to them.
Before Elijah can recall whether or not the vase on the table is an antique or has enough historical relevance that he can't lob it at Finn's head, there's a knock on the door and his harried footman comes in,
"His Royal Highness Prince Niklaus" he announces with more deference than strictly necessary and Elijah winks and nods at him.
Niklaus obviously had been warned that Finn and Freya were in the Palace because he was wearing his military uniform with medals pinned over his heart.
Finn colours with embarrassment, or perhaps envy?
He and Freya had both graduated from Kannedom University and were both capable of having careers but instead chose to live on the personal allowance that illegitimate children acknowledged by the King were granted for the duration of their lives.
If asked, Finn would say that he was a philanthropist or a lobbyist but it was a fun game for Elijah and his brothers to interrogate the bore in-depth about which charities or not-for-profits he supported and which causes he supposedly lobbied for and to whom.
"Oh Niklaus" Freya wept as she gathers him into her arms and buries her face in his neck,
"Oh poor brother, how sad you must be to have been orphaned. Poor Mikael…he was too good for this world"
That said a lot more about the current state of the world than it did about Mikael's virtues.
Elijah can see that Niklaus is thinking along the same lines as himself but manages to display remarkable strength in disentangling himself from their half-sister before he says anything inappropriate.
"You'll need us of course" Freya murmurs, her voice still thick and raspy with grief,
"We are a family and must stick together now more than ever, the younger children will need our support"
Elijah blinks and frowns, guilt stabbing him in the stomach when he realises that he hadn't even considered how Rebekah or Henrik would be coping with Mikael's death. He'd been caught up in his ascendancy to King and his duties that he'd only thought to comfort Niklaus and then, once he'd seen that Kol appeared to be fine…
He forgotten that not all his siblings had endured the same antagonistic relationship that he had with their father. Rebekah and Henrik could have even loved him.
And Kol.
But Elijah doesn't like to focus on his second brother, not when Katerina will be standing beside him with his engagement ring on her finger and his love bite on her neck.
"We'll need to be briefed about the funeral" Finn announces, straightening up and gazing around the room with his air of self-importance,
"Now that we are the siblings and not the children we'll have to know about our position in regards to precedence and honours"
"You aren't the siblings" Elijah corrects without thinking, his brain catching up a moment later and he flushes at the two pairs of scandalised eyes staring back at him,
"The title of Siblings to the King only applies to legitimate, full-blood siblings" he explains,
"According to custom, you aren't my siblings but the children of the late King"
And Elijah was rather certain that whilst that meant they maintained their current positions for the funeral, there was no obligation to invite them to his coronation. In fact, traditionally the royal bastards usually retired from Court following the death of their parent.
Finn gapes like a fish, "But…surely we will be standing in place of honour for Mikael's funeral"
"We loved him" Freya sobbed, "He was our beloved father"
So that was where all his positive parenting energy had gone.
"You should speak to the Master of Ceremonies" Niklaus suggested,
"I'm sure there's a guide for this sort of thing and he's still finalising everything so you should get an answer shortly after we do"
Neither of them seemed happy with this answer but there wasn't much more they could say, they took their leave with as much disgruntlement as they dared show in the palace and when they were gone Elijah sank down onto the couch with a sigh, covering his eyes with his hand,
"Remind me that it is wrong to exile or imprison people according to my whims" he instructed his brother who only laughed,
"Far be it from me to contradict my King" he replies jokingly before he glanced back at the door with a furrowed brow,
"Mikael's funeral" he muses aloud, "I'm not one hundred percent sure but wouldn't precedence be myself, Kol, Rebekah, Henrik and then…" he pauses and his eyes flicker up to the ceiling as he thinks it over, "Katerina will be beside you which means…"
"Petrova family, Salvatore family and then Genevieve and the triplets" Elijah finished his brother's thought,
"Maybe Genevieve and the triplets will go before the Petrova's but either way Finn and Freya will find themselves behind them"
"They will not be happy about that" he hisses and Elijah suddenly feels utterly exhausted,
"Well that's unfortunate" he decided, "Because there isn't anything they can do about it"
"You aren't concerned that they might cause trouble for the Petrova's?" Niklaus asked curiously but Elijah shrugged,
"For Finn and Freya's sake…I truly hope not"
Giuseppe Salvatore was a rare man.
One who knew that he had reached his full potential and could sit back in satisfaction as he continued to reap the benefits of his hard work.
During an age when most of his peers had been content to squander their natural gifts, to spend their lives unemployed, to let their family fortunes and prestige dwindle, believing they deserved to be rich and powerful without continuous effort to earn it, he had put his nose to the grindstone and striven to be known as more than Giuseppe, son of Zachariah Salvatore.
That was how his cousin had been referred to his entire life, Vincenzo, son of Roberto Salvatore and now his family fortune was gone. He'd been forced to send his son Lorenzo from Florence to Giuseppe and beg for him to find a place for the boy.
Which he had. Using the power and prestige he had earned, to get Lorenzo a position within the Royal Household and now, his cousin was Master of the Household and indebted to Giuseppe.
Giuseppe Salvatore, not Giuseppe, son of Zachariah Salvatore.
Who even remembered Zachariah Salvatore after Giuseppe had become one of the most skilled diplomats of the twentieth century?
A man who had dined with the greatest politicians of the age and matched them intellectually.
A man who had outwitted Stalin himself whilst conducting international affairs to the benefit of Valhalla and the praise of its King.
King Mikael.
The man had been a schemer himself and admired Giuseppe for his superior skill.
And when Giuseppe had brought word to him of the marriage between his son Stefan and Lady Elena Petrova, he had not only saved the Petrova's further shame but changed the mind of the angry king.
"Well…" His Majesty had drawled, "Perhaps there is something in this family after all"
A compliment from the man if ever there had been one.
Yet not entirely undeserved, even Giuseppe would begrudgingly admit that.
His family lineage and nobility went back five hundred years, the Petrova family had only just recently passed the five decade mark. A doctor, a former model and two daughters. Well-off but not particularly wealthy, nobody had expected much of them until Esther had appointed Alexander the Royal doctor. Some had raised an eyebrow then, muttered something about upstart gypsies and magic but the Petrova's had kept to themselves.
He remembered he'd first encountered the family at the 2007 Autumn ball. He and his two sons had arrived at Kattegat Palace in full ceremony only to be approached in the Reception Hall by the Master of the Ceremonies and informed that they were to be seated beside the Petrova family.
"Nonsense" he'd scoffed, "I am the Count of Mörkt trä, Earl of Skydda respectively, I do not sit with lowly Barons"
The man in front of him, whose name he had never even bothered learning, was weak and cowardly, quivering with humiliation and stuttering over his apologies.
"For…forgive me My lord, but there's been a…a shift of precedence and the Petrova's have been moved to the left table between you and Earl Rogbarth and as such…"
"Precedence does not shift" Giuseppe snapped, losing his patience with this prank,
"It has not shifted in thousands of years and it did not shift tonight. Sit them somewhere else"
"I can't your lordship" the man wailed, "Everyone ranked higher than yourself has already refused to be seated with them and the Queen has asked that the family be seated on the left table, the only option left is yourself or one of the other families swapping out with guests on the right table"
Giuseppe was about to demand that the man do just that when he caught the eye of the Russian Ambassador. The diplomat was clearly enjoying the spectacle and if another family, a lesser family was shifted to the right table, the spectacle would continue and perhaps even cause a scandal. So with a sharp inhale, Giuseppe had acquiesced and led his sons to their seats, deciding as he strode through the glittering room that he would absolutely not stand or greet the lowly family.
The smirks and taunting glances of those who ranked higher than him- those very few- infuriated the man and he kept his eyes straight in front of him, observing the room with a dignified air and burning inside.
Stefan was the first to notice the Petrova's arrival and Giuseppe observed them out of the corner of his eye.
Baron Petrova was nothing extraordinary, a regular albeit slightly handsome man. Baroness Petrova was still a beautiful woman, with her brunette hair cascading freely down her back and her grey eyes that seemed to see everything but betray nothing. She had been one of the most successful models in Valhalla and a minor celebrity across Europe, bobbing in and out of the upper class echelon on the arms of various titled men. Giuseppe himself had considered asking her out but his rank wouldn't allow a relationship with an untitled woman, even if she was independently wealthy. Still, he'd heard that she'd received marriage proposals from several counts, earls and even the Duke of Gynelle, a Royal Cousin himself which would have been quite the achievement for her. Yet the woman had refused them all and settled on Baron Petrova instead.
Poor woman had obviously chosen love instead of power.
A foolish mistake, love was fleeting but power was everything.
Still, she sweeps across the room as if it were a catwalk, flanked by her two daughters, not twins but close enough in appearance that those who did not interact with them didn't bother learning how to tell them apart. All three were equally beautiful and, while most of the ladies attending the ball tonight had dressed in shades of brown or orange in keeping with the theme, they were dressed far more subtly, so that one had to study their gowns to pick out the floral designs and as such, had to stare and find themselves admiring not only the dress but the wearer.
Stefan, stupidly not picking up on Giuseppe's fury, clumsily stands when the family reaches their seats and he glares at him, even as one of the Petrova girls smiles brilliantly and greets him casually as if there wasn't a vast distance between the two of them. Baron Petrova sees that Giuseppe isn't going to rise and settles for a curt nod, pulling out chairs for his wife and his daughters.
Stefan continues to display a- hopefully temporary- lapse in judgement and engages the family in conversation which Damon- obviously seeing Giuseppe's displeasure- joins.
Seeing that there is nothing to be done but maintain a dignified silence, Giuseppe sits back and observes the situation, pretending that he was at a diplomatic gathering and taking notes for future reference.
Baron Petrova was polite, well-spoken but made little contribution to the conversation, choosing to be a part of it but let others hold the spotlight. The Baroness made witty quips and clever remarks but it was the two daughters who shone. The one with curled hair was clearly the more intelligent of the two, the more mature and polished in her actions. The one with the straight hair was bubbly, excited and laughing often.
His idiotic sons were besotted. They barely even touched their food throughout the six courses and when dessert was cleared away and attention began to turn towards the ball room where the dancing would commence, the curled hair girl was called away by a footman and Damon- to Giuseppe's utmost shame- asked the straight haired girl if her sister was single.
"Oh" she laughed, "No, I'm single but Kat's not…actually that's why we're sitting here instead of our usual spot, Queen Esther said that now Kat and Kol are betrothed that we have to…"
"Elena!" Baron Petrova snapped quickly but too late. Only through long experience with being dealt shocking news was Giuseppe able to mask his reaction.
The daughter of a lowly baron was engaged to the Prince Kol, third-in-line, to the throne?
Interesting.
He caught the eye of Baroness Petrova as she raised her champagne flute and she winked at him over the glass. He might have been wrong about her, perhaps the woman had married for power after all.
Either way, the betrothal was not yet common knowledge and until that time, the Petrova's would continue to be ignored by the higher ranked nobles, whilst he- Giuseppe- could ingratiate himself with them and in turn, the Royal Family.
A knock on the door startles him from his reverie and he glances up from his desk, "Enter"
His butler sidles into the room, "Your daughter-in-law, Mrs Salvatore, Your Lordship"
He checks the antique clock on his desk, she was right on time.
Good.
"Send her in"
Giuseppe had been violently disappointed when his younger son- his heir since he'd disavowed Damon- had eloped with Elena when they were both sixteen and had been stupid enough to get her with child. If Giuseppe hadn't been out of potential heirs, he would have disowned Stefan in that very moment.
Elena was not the Petrova daughter he would have preferred to welcome into the family.
In fact, Giuseppe reckoned that she would have made a better queen than Katerina, she was smart but not intellectually brilliant, sweet instead of saucy, pretty but not seductively so. She would have been a lovely accompaniment to the King but otherwise would have settled into the background, content to be a mother and provide the Lothbrok's with their heirs.
Katerina on the other hand, if she had been paired with Stefan his son would have become a Duke before he was thirty. She was the right combination of clever, beautiful, charming and ambitious, she drew attention and made people fall in love with her.
Still, with Elena came a lasting connection to the Royal Family.
If all went to plan.
His daughter-in-law was dressed formally and curtsied, "Good morning father"
He sniffed and waved his hand, permitting her to sit which she did quickly and silently,
"How is the situation in the capital?" he asked brusquely, looking down at the papers in front of him as he did so,
"There are a few at the Court pretending to mourn the King but mostly people are relieved or eager to get in with Elijah"
Giuseppe winced at her casual use of the King's name and her disrespect of King Mikael but otherwise allows her to continue,
"My sister returned yesterday at Elijah's request and was at the address last night, he's also promised our family honours following the marriage" she smiles with pride, "Stefan and I are going to be the Marquis and Marchioness of Orelands and Nadia will be granted a Duchy when she turns eighteen"
His son will be a Marquis and his grand-daughter will be a Duchess. He allows himself the smallest of smiles at the thought but then remembered that a promise in the world of politics meant nothing.
And a royal promise very little more than that.
"All this is dependent on your sister marrying the King" he reminds her, "Your sister who has been away from Court for five years"
Elena tucked her hair behind her ear, "She's back now, Eli…the King" she corrects, finally noting his displeasure at the lack of formality in her speech,
"Sent for her personally and had her brought back with Prince Kol, she's staying in the Blue Rooms of the Cousin's Palace and was behind him during his address last night. They still love each other"
Giuseppe snorts and nearly rolls his eyes at that last foolish sentiment.
Love. Love had no place at Court or in their world, it weakened people, ruined them.
But if the Petrova's wished to disguise their ambitions as true love…well it suited him for the moment and there was always a way for him to cut them loose if they failed him.
Divorce for example.
He stands up and Elena rises gracefully with her head bowed,
"I will expect to be seated beside your father at the funeral and coronation" he informs her, "With Nadia beside me of course"
The silly simpleton frowns and opens her mouth to argue, "I don't think children will be invited to the events"
Giuseppe waves his hand impatiently, "Nonsense, Nadia will be perfectly well-behaved, besides both events will be attended by royalty and politicians from around the world so she will be one of the smartest people in attendance"
He pulls the bell on the wall and waits for his butler to appear, "Please escort Mrs Salvatore to the library, I will be in the Winter Salon and unavailable for the next two hours"
"Very Good, My Lord"
The Winter Salon was positioned, unlike the Summer Salon, to catch the sunlight from mid-morning onward. The room was decorated with silver plate and pale blue silk wallpaper that had been imported from China back at the turn of the twentieth century.
When he entered the room in ceremony, Nadia- adorned in a white dress with a robins blue bow at the back and her hair suitably curled and beribboned- spun around with a gasp and curtsied as neatly as a four year old girl is able.
Giuseppe walks forward, his gold cane clicking on the stone as he glances up at the clock that so enchants his grand-daughter. She was always enthralled when it struck midday and it played the second movement of Vivaldi's Winter Concerto for an entire minute while a figurine of the Snow Queen twirled gracefully and cast winter onto the world.
It had been a gift to his own grandfather by the Swedish Royal Family and when the time came it would be Nadia's.
"Good-day Grandfather" she comes forward now and slips her tiny hand into his own and despite the stiffening of old age, Giuseppe bends over and kisses it,
"Good-day granddaughter, I trust you are well?"
She nods carefully, "Very well thank-you"
He smiles and guides her to the silver table by the window, holding her chair out for her and clicking his fingers to summon the servants forward.
Despite her youth, Nadia maintains her composure as the cake tray is placed before them with delicacies made for them personally in Kattegat and delivered the night before. Tea is poured for them in expensive china and perfect sugar cubes added to Nadia's cup. Giuseppe couldn't stand the adding of sugar to tea, he considered it English and weak but Nadia was too young yet to have developed the necessary palate for luxury tea. So for her, they drank peppermint with sugar and occasionally…very rarely, they even had a spoon of milk.
Those who had met Giuseppe Salvatore were stunned to know that he had regular tea parties with his granddaughter. His peers, having known him all his life, had been shocked beyond belief that he had not disinherited Stefan as he had Damon, that he not only acknowledged his half-gypsy grandchild but showed every sign of actually liking her.
They didn't know the half of it.
For all her questionable heritage, Giuseppe adored his granddaughter, he loved her more than he had ever loved anyone before her who had born the Salvatore name.
So for her, he had tea parties where he wore his medals of honour and smiled as she recounted her life since they had last spoken and he explained his current activities to her, the running of his estate, the interesting people he had met with and the news of Valhalla.
"I met the King" she tells him with a proud smile, "He was at my Aunt's palace"
"The Cousin's Palace" he corrects gently, eyeing Nadia's cup like a hawk as she sips at it daintily.
Six months ago a servant had been foolish enough to pour hot tea into her cup and it had burnt her lip. The stupid man had been fired an hour later, his ears still ringing from the verbal and physical lashing Giuseppe had given him.
"You are aware of course that your Aunt Katerina is engaged to the King" he says, "That she will be Queen one day"
"My aunt will make a pretty queen" she decides and he smiles,
"How could she not with such a lovely niece to set such a good example?"
Yes. Nadia was the most perfect grandchild a man could possibly have.
Perhaps if Damon had sired such a child Giuseppe might yet have two sons instead of one.
And he might have known that at that very moment, in the heart of London in a private garden, Damon Salvatore was getting down on one knee and asking his girlfriend of three years, Bonnie Bennett to marry him.
A/N- I know there wasn't as much Kalijah as you all wanted but this is a slow moving story with a lot of characters that I maybe might publish as a story later but as per requests, Klaroline will only be a background ship.