Part 3
The first rays of the morning sun were beginning to appear as Niklaus walked across the courtyard. He had woken up early and he was curious to get to know the surroundings of the castle. All the people he had ran into were either servants or soldiers, the nobles were probably still in bed. He suspected that Kol and Rebekah were still in bed as well, neither of them had ever enjoyed waking up early. Elijah and Finn on the other hand were probably awake already, but Niklaus hadn't asked either of them to join him, he had felt that he needed a moment by himself. He had a lot on his mind.
Everything had changed rather quickly after they had run into Lucien two days ago. Coming here, masquerading as nobles… Surprisingly all his siblings, even Kol, had managed to fit in. More or less. There was no chance they could have done this without Lucien's help. Niklaus liked the young servant and he felt sympathy for Lucien. Based on what Niklaus had seen here, the servants weren't treated very kindly. He couldn't really blame Lucien for despising the Count and the other nobles.
Niklaus stretched his arms as he reached the garden, the morning was truly beautiful. It seemed that he was alone; there was no one in sight. Except… There was someone walking by a pond. A woman. She was so far away that Niklaus could have barely seen her without his vampire's sight. She was wearing a modest light green gown and her dark brown hair was braided behind her head in a single long plait that reached almost to her waist.
At first Niklaus thought that she was a servant, but then he took a closer look and recognized her as the Lady Violette. Perhaps he should have wondered what she was doing here all by herself, but he was already walking towards her before managing to form any rational thoughts. He hadn't had a chance to introduce himself at the feast two nights ago and he hadn't seen her after that. There had been something about her that had caught his interest, but he had planned to follow Lucien's advice, clearly he had been serious when he had told Niklaus to avoid Lady Violette.
Although Lucien had refused to clarify the reason for his advice, Niklaus had read enough between the lines. The lady didn't have a husband, but apparently she was spoken for. Niklaus' family certainly didn't need any kind of trouble or unwanted attention; their safety was his first priority. Of course it was, but he didn't see any harm in introducing himself to the lady. That would only be a polite thing to do. She had knelt down when Niklaus reached her; it seemed that she was picking flowers.
"Good morning, my lady," Niklaus said, managing to really startle her. She almost jumped to her feet and turned quickly to look at him.
"Good…good morning," she stated and curtsied. She looked nervous and quickly hid the flowers she had been picking inside a handkerchief. That was a little strange.
"Forgive me, I did not mean to scare you."
"That's alright," she replied and looked up. Clearly she recognized him, she looked somewhat surprised. "I…I remember you from the feast, sir, but I am afraid I did not have the honor to make your acquaintance."
"My name is Niklaus, my lady," he responded and hesitated for a brief moment before taking her hand. According to Lucien, a kiss on the hand was a polite way for a nobleman to greet a lady, but somehow it felt quite intrusive to Niklaus. Touching a woman he had just met with his lips like this would have brought him some very unpleasant consequences back home. Lady Violette's hand felt warm and soft, he touched it carefully with his lips and couldn't help but to inhale her scent. She smelled very…pleasant.
"I am Violette de la Fontaine," she said and curtsied. "Pleasure to meet you, sir."
"The pleasure is all mine, I can assure you."
She blinked and gave him a polite smile.
"Are you a guest here, sir?"
Niklaus realized that his introduction hadn't been exactly formal.
"Yes, I am. My father is Count de Guise."
She was clearly surprised.
"Oh. Forgive me; I did not know that the Count has a son."
"Yes, there are five of us, myself, my three brothers and my sister."
"I see. Is this your first visit to Marseille?"
He nodded.
"Yes. Nice place. Especially this early. It's very peaceful here."
"Yes, it is, I enjoy the peace as well."
He noticed how tightly she squished the handkerchief, like she would have been afraid to drop it or something like that. She really seemed to like the flowers she had picked.
"Do you often come here all by yourself, my lady?" he asked before thinking how that sounded.
"No, my lord, not very often," she replied. If he wasn't mistaken, she sounded cautious; quickly she glanced at the castle. Apparently she had just realized that they were alone here; there was no one else in sight. Obviously the realization made her nervous.
"Forgive me," he said quickly. "I did not mean to sound rude…"
"No, no, you were not rude, my lord," she assured and smiled.
She truly had a beautiful smile…
"I am afraid I need to return to the castle, please excuse me, my lord."
"Yes, of course," he replied, although he would have liked to continue their conversation. He understood her cautiousness, they had just met. The last thing he wanted was to make her feel uncomfortable. She gave him another smile while curtsying.
"I hope you enjoy your visit here, my lord."
"I am sure that I will."
He sighed while watching her walking away, he really needed to… He didn't have time to properly formulate his thought when he turned and noticed the flowers she had picked. No, not flowers, herbs. Niklaus knew a thing or two about herbs, thanks to his mother. He had seen these ones before, he was sure of it. Esther had used them to some of her potions.
Niklaus frowned and looked up, catching a glimpse of Lady Violette's back before she was out of his sight. Was she a witch? What was she doing with these herbs? The problem was that Niklaus didn't know what they were used for. Kol would no doubt know, Esther had trained him since he had been a child. Niklaus wasn't sure if Kol would agree to even look at these herbs, losing his magic had been devastating to him. Still Niklaus picked few herbs and took them with him. It was just a precaution, nothing more.
