Part 8

2 days later

Dafne was lost in her thoughts as she slowly made her way across the crowded market place. She had wanted a moment by herself. Elijah had some errands to run and he wouldn't be back before afternoon. Sure Dafne could have gone with him and normally she would have, just to avoid Klaus, although she hadn't seen him this morning. She hadn't seen Rebekah either. They weren't close, but at least Rebekah tolerated her these days.

Still it wasn't difficult to see why Rebekah had disliked Dafne ever since Elijah had started to become fond of her. To Rebekah, Dafne had been an intruder. All the attention Elijah gave to Dafne, had used to belong to Rebekah. Then there were Klaus and Kol… Thinking about them made Dafne to let out a sigh. It had been almost 70 years since she had last seen Kol. According to Elijah, he only stayed with him siblings occasionally; he liked to travel by himself. That however wasn't the reason why Kol had left.

Dafne had never talked about that night to anyone and she had no intention to. She had lived with the Mikaelson family long enough to understand their dynamics. Nothing was ever simple with them. She was loyal to Elijah, but that loyalty included many things he didn't know about. Handling Klaus was one of those things. It wasn't an easy task, but so far she had managed to do that. She had learned to understand how his mind worked. He was a very complex person, just like all his siblings, but despite of what he wanted everyone to believe, he wasn't a soulless beast.

Yes, he was ruthless, selfish, vicious and many other things, but there was also something very humane about him. He was afraid to be alone. Strangely that seemed to be the case with all the Mikaelsons. Rebekah wanted to be loved, Kol wanted to be accepted, Klaus wanted unconditional loyalty and Elijah… He wanted his family to be happy and hoped that he would deserve some happiness for himself as well. They were indeed a very complex family.

Dafne stopped as she noticed some very beautiful scarves and decided to buy one for herself. She was pretty sure that Rebekah would like these as well, so she chose one for her as well. She reached for the small bag on her belt, only to notice that it was gone. Oh great, pickpockets. How was it possible that she hadn't noticed anything?

"Do you take these?" the merchant asked impatiently, he had other more important customers waiting. Clearly he didn't see Dafne as someone who was worth his time. As usual, she was wearing a modest dress and a cloak.

"I…"

"Yes," a male voice cut in.

Dafne turned around and saw Tristan de Martel.

"Allow me," he said smiling and handed the merchant couple of coins.

Dafne didn't have time to protest when the merchant bowed quickly and gave the scarves to Tristan.

"Here you are, my lord," the merchant said, his tone of voice had changed significantly. "I hope they will do justice to your beautiful lady."

"I am sure they will," Tristan stated and smiled at Dafne. "Here."

"My lord is very generous, but I am afraid I cannot accept these," Dafne replied calmly.

Tristan raised an eyebrow.

"May I ask why not?"

"I do not think that my master would wish me to accept such expensive gifts."

"Expensive?" Tristan repeated, clearly amused. "I would hardly call these expensive."

"Perhaps you would not, my lord, but I would still wish to pay them myself."

"Alright, you can pay me back if you insist."

Dafne wouldn't have wanted to admit that she had been robbed; she was embarrassed by her own carelessness.

"I am afraid I have lost my bag."

"Someone stole it?"

"So it seems," Dafne replied, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Oh dear. I can have my men here to search the market place…"

"No, no, that won't be necessary; I did not have much money with me. And I doubt that the thief is anywhere near the market place anymore."

Tristan smiled.

"Yes, I suppose you are right. I hope you are not in trouble because of this?"

"What do you mean, my lord?"

"Well… I do not know what kind of a master Elijah is to you, but I hope he will not punish you for losing his money."

Dafne frowned.

"The money was mine, my lord," she stated, trying not to sound rude. She was proud of having her own money and possessions and she had worked hard for everything she had. Elijah knew how important this was to her, so instead of buying her things, he paid her a fair compensation for her work as his scribe. She was free to spend her own money however she wished.

"Oh. Well I think it is wonderful Elijah pays you for your service. He must truly value you."

"He is a good master," Dafne replied simply.

Tristan looked at her curiously.

"Yes… I am sure he is. But then again, what kind of a beast would mistreat someone like you?"

Dafne didn't reply to that, she didn't like where this was going.

"It was nice to see you again, my lord, but I am afraid I must go now."

"I see. Please allow me to escort you home."

"That won't be…"

"I insist. What kind of a gentleman would I be if I would simply abandon you after you have been robbed?"

"My lord…"

"I can walk behind you if that is what you wish."

Dafne suppressed a sigh; clearly he wasn't going to give up. Suddenly it occurred to her that she could use this opportunity to gather some information.

"Alright, my lord, I accept your kind offer."

"Wonderful. Shall we then?"

She smiled as he moved next to her. She needed to choose her words carefully.

"How long have you been in Venice, my lord?" she asked when they walked side by side.

"Few months," he replied.

"Oh. What brought you here?"

"Business."

"You did not come here to join the Strix?"

He glanced at her.

"Well, that was one of the reasons. As I told you, I admire Elijah's cause."

"Yes. Are you planning to stay for long?"

He smiled.

"Why do you ask?"

"No reason, I was merely curious."

He was quiet for a brief moment before replying.

"I must say that you speak very freely"

"I apologize if I offended you."

"No, not at all. In fact, I find you intriguing."

"I can assure you that nothing could be further from the truth."

"Hmm. Somehow I doubt that. Elijah has kept you for over a century already, has he not?"

So he did know about the spell. Dafne didn't see any reason to deny it.

"Yes, he has."

"Why is that?"

"You will have to ask him, my lord."

Tristan smiled.

"So modest."

Dafne needed to take back control, so she changed the subject.

"What do you think about Venice, my lord?"

"I like it. How about you?"

"It is a beautiful city, I love the canals. Where are you staying?"

"Do you wish to come and visit me?" he asked innocently.

She smiled as sweetly as she could.

"What kind of a question is that to a lady?"

"I thought you said you are not a lady."

She shrugged.

"I am complicated."

"Yes, you most certainly are."

They were almost in front of the villa when Tristan stopped and handed the scarves to Dafne.

"Please take these. Of course I could keep them, but I believe they will look better on you."

Dafne smiled.

"Are you sure about that, my lord?"

"Yes, I am."

She took the scarves and curtsied.

"Thank you, my lord."

"You are welcome. I hope to see you again."

He kissed her hand before he left. She bit her bottom lip, she hadn't found out anything useful. Perhaps it would be a good idea if she would indeed see Tristan again. She needed to talk to Elijah as soon as he would return and ask what he thought. Absentmindedly she headed inside when someone suddenly grabbed her from behind. She didn't have time to make a sound when a hand covered her mouth and a strong arm wrapped around her like a chain. She was trapped.