Part 18

Lucien looked at his new scribe who had been working tirelessly for the last few days. She was sitting in the library, reading another pile of papers and making notes. He certainly couldn't deny that she was efficient. And she wasn't unpleasant to look at. He was starting to understand what the Originals had seen in her. Elijah was probably beating himself up right about now for letting her run away. Well, finders, keepers.

Lucien had first heard about this girl few centuries ago from Tristan who had met her in Venice. Tristan had originally planned to use the girl against Elijah, but instead he had come up with a better plan. He had slowly but surely started to turn the Strix against Elijah. As much as Lucien despised Tristan, he had to admit that Tristan knew how to manipulate people. That was something Lucien admired.

What was interesting about the girl was that apparently there was something special about her, but Tristan's seer hadn't been sure what that something was. Well, there had to be something special about her, she had after all managed to capture the attention of not one, but three Originals. According to Tristan, Elijah was very fond of her, Nik fed from her and Kol… Now that had been interesting.

One of Tristan's spies had heard the youngest Mikaelson to declare his love for the girl. One of the most brutal and ruthless vampire Lucien had ever met had actually told this pretty little thing that he loved her. Lucien hadn't believed that at first, but apparently it was true. Unfortunately for Kol, the girl had turned him down. She had said that her place was and always would be by Elijah's side.

Apparently Kol hadn't taken that well and he had said some quite nasty things to her before he had left Venice. There had been no sight of him after that, but according to some rumors, he had been seen in Africa, traveling with a group of witches. What Lucien would have liked to know right now was what had made her to leave Elijah?

Thankfully the Lord Bayle, who was annoying as hell, had mentioned his encounter with a blonde little female scribe. Lucien had never even heard of a female scribe, so he had immediately suspected that she could be Dafne, who had worked as Elijah's scribe. Lucien had managed to track her down relatively easy and just in time to be her knight in shining armor.

He hadn't been completely sure that she was who he thought she was, not before he had tasted few drops of her blood after she had passed out. He most definitely understood why Nik had enjoyed feeding from her. Yet Lucien had no intention to do that, he wanted her to be comfortable with him. He suspected that she could be very valuable to him.

"Well," he stated while entering the library. "Someone is working hard."

Dafne stood up and curtsied.

"Good evening, my lord."

Lucien smiled.

"As I said, there is no need to be so formal. You can call me Lucien."

"Thank you, but I would rather be a little formal, if you don't mind," she replied.

"No, of course not. How shall I address you then? Madam?"

She smiled too.

"Dafne is fine, my lord. People have always called me that."

"Alright, Dafne then. It is a lovely name."

"Thank you. It's good that you are here actually, I was hoping to have a word with you."

"Of course, what is it?"

She bit her bottom lip and glanced at her notes.

"Well, I have read some of the papers your previous scribe has archived and I hope this is not too bold, but I have few suggestions."

"Really? Feel free to share them."

"Alright…" She cleared her throat and started to explain to him what changes she would like to make. Clearly she was very organized and she knew what she was talking about. A very clever girl indeed. Well, she had done this for centuries. Served Elijah. Again Lucien wondered what had made her finally leave him. She was very reserved and she hadn't told Lucien much about herself.

However, there was something about her Lucien recognized. She had got used to serve people. If Lucien had understood correctly, she had been Elijah's servant when she had still been a normal mortal girl. Lucien suspected that she had been born as a servant. That had probably offered her the necessary skills to survive with the Mikaelsons. He had also seen a glimpse of the scars on her back after her dress had been torn. Obviously she had been flogged. That had certainly brought back some unpleasant memories.

"What do you think, my lord?" she asked after she was finished.

He smiled.

"I think you have some great ideas. Go ahead and make any changes you see fit."

"Alright, thank you."

She looked at the door as a maid entered with a tea tray.

"Do you wish to have your tea here, my lord?" the maid asked.

"Yes, I believe so." He paused and looked at Dafne. "Would you like to join me?"

"Thank you, but I still have plenty of work to do…"

"You do need to eat and sleep," he pointed out smiling. "But if you prefer to have a cup of tea in private, I can just leave you the tray and ask another one for myself…"

"No, no, it's your tea."

"Shall I ask another cup then?"

She hesitated for a moment before replying.

"Sure. Thank you."

Lucien told the maid to put the tray on the table and bring another cup.

"So, what do you think about your new work so far?" he asked after they had both sat down.

"It's interesting," Dafne replied.

"That's nice to hear. I am very glad you decided to accept my offer. How about your room? Do you have everything you need there?"

"Yes, my lord, everything is fine."

"Good. I think my staff knows how to behave, but if anyone bothers you, please let me know."

She was quiet for a moment before replying.

"My lord, you hired me as your scribe, did you not?"

Lucien raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I did."

She looked at him calmly.

"And you recall when I told you that I do not offer other services?"

"Yes, I recall. Why do you ask?"

She shrugged.

"I just wanted to make that clear."

"Did I somehow offend you?"

"No, but according to my experience, kindness is never free."

He observed her calm face curiously.

"Kindness? You mean when I told you to let me know if someone harasses you?"

"Yes."

"Oh my," he chuckled. "I would hardly call that kindness, but no need to worry; I do not expect any kind of payment from you. I simply do not want women to be harassed under my roof."

"I see. Thank you and I apologize if I offended you, my lord."

He shook his head.

"You didn't. I would guess that you have not lived the easiest life."

"I have no reason to complain," she replied rigidly.

He doubted that, but he didn't say anything. What a strange little creature she was.