Niklaus' POV

I stared across the lawn, watching my wife cuddle up beside another man. Exhaling angrily, I turned back to the wood carving in my hands, trying to take my frustrations out in a peaceful way. I believed I could trust Lisette, and here she was, acting like a common harlot.

Glancing up, I saw her and Lord Tristan locked together in a lengthy kiss. My knife slipped, slicing open a slit in my finger, but I did not feel the sting from the blade. Instead, I felt the pain of my heart being strangled as I watched my wife embraced intimately by another man in a way that only I should be able allowed to do.

Tristan released my wife, and after they spoke for a moment, she turned to walk away only to receive a smack on her bum as she made her way towards the food table. I clenched my jaw in fury at that scoundrel's actions. How dare he touch what belongs to me!

"That's impressive work, m'Lord," I heard beside me, drawing my fury away from Lisette and Tristan. I turned to see who had interrupted my thoughts, but pushed a smile onto my face when I saw that it was Lucien.

"It's a trifle, meant to pass a dull day, but I'll take it, along with the word of a friend" I said feeling my anger subside slightly at the compliment to my work.

"It is as a friend that I come to you now," Lucien said, a nervous smile on his face. "There is something I must ask of you." I stared at him questioningly as he pulled a letter out of his pocket, clutching it tightly in his hands. "For the Lady Aurora," he explained. "If you would deliver this to her in secret, I would be eternally grateful."

"Are these declarations of love," I questioned. "That's a bold move." I really did not want to become involved with Lucien and Aurora's love affair. I knew that things could never work between the two of them. Aurora would never be content with a servant and I did not want my friend to feel the painful sting of heartbreak that I was already suffering.

"We shared affection for one another when we were children, but since then, my station in life has prohibited me from declaring my intentions." Lucien's eyes were locked on the red haired beauty across the lawn, smiling slightly when she glanced up at him coyly before averting her gaze away. "If she would leave this place with me-"

"Not an idea I would advise," I interrupted, climbing to my feet. "Besides, my family needs you."

Lucien looked at the ground uncertainly before making eye contact with me again. "Your families stay here cannot last much longer anyhow, not given your brother Kol's decadence and the infatuation Tristan holds for your wife." I clenched my jaw at the mention of Lisette. "Soon, you will need to run," he insisted. "Aurora and I can run with you! Aid you in your endeavors! Niklaus, please," he pleaded, holding the letter out to my beseechingly. "I would give her the note myself but Tristan jealousy is tyrannical. I cannot go near her! But you, you need not fear him or anyone."

I stared down at the letter he held, before sighing and taking it. Lucien thanked me before returning quickly to his duties, fearing punishment if he slacked off. I sank back into my seat, tucking the note into my pocket to deliver later before I resumed my carving.

*TimeSkip*

I walked quietly through the halls of the castle, trying to find Aurora to deliver Lucien's pointless letter. I passed the hallway near Lisette's room and hearing a heartbeat, I wondered it Aurora and my wife were having another one of their evening chats. I walked towards her door and froze, my heart turning cold, when I saw who was actually with my Lisette.

Tristan had her pinned against the door, mouth locked on her and fingers tangled in her hair while his other hand rested suspiciously high on her waist. I locked my jaw out of fury before turning away angrily and storming loudly down the hallway.

"Nik!" I heard her voice call after me as she realized I was there. Tristan told her to be quiet and resumed kissing her just as I disappeared down the next corridor. I walked around angrily for a while before I came to a stop outside my own room. I leaned against the door, breathing angrily until a pair of footsteps caught my attention as they approached me.

"Oh, excuse me, Lord Niklaus," a feminine voice said. I looked down to see Lady Aurora standing in front of me. I felt my resolve harden. If Tristan took the woman who was most important to me, I would take the most important woman in his life as well. Aurora already found me very attractive and had on multiple occasions attempted to seduce me, but I had always rejected her advances out of respect for my wife. I seemed my wife no longer believed in the sanctity of our marriage vows however. It would not be hard to get Aurora in to my bed and then I could return the hurt that I was suffering to my dear wife and her new lover.

"Lady Aurora, might i just say that you are looking exquisite tonight?" I said, kissing her hand charmingly.

A smile graced her face happily as she brightened up under my attention. "Why thank you, Lord Niklaus. You are looking very handsome yourself." I smirked back at her, making her melt.

"I have been meaning to tell you for a while now, Lady Aurora, and I hope that I am not being too bold in my declaration," I began, hearing her heart speed up from excitement and anticipation. "I am in love with you, sweet Aurora, and I have been for some time. I have just been afraid of voicing my feelings for fear of rejection."

"I would not have rejected you, Niklaus!" She exclaimed, before leaping up and wrapping her arms around my neck and kissing me briefly. "I have held affections for you for a long while as well!"

I placed my lips upon hers, kissing her roughly. She was not as skilled as Lisette was, but it was not bad. Taking her hand, I pulled her into my room and towards my bed. She did not hesitate to fall into it with me.

Lisette's POV

After Tristan finally let me go, I went into my room and waited for a few minutes to give him time to reach his own rooms before hurrying down the hall to Nik's. I had to explain to him the situation that I was in. We had not had a chance to speak recently and I was afraid that he was getting the wrong idea about Tristan and I. Maybe he would convince the others to let us leave soon, so I did not have to deal with Tristan's unwanted advances any longer. As much as I despised running, at least it gave Nik and I time together where we did not have to hide our love and pretend to be siblings while an unsavory man tried to invade my space on a daily basis.

My feet were silent as I hurried along the corridor before I reached my husband's chambers. I did not bother with knocking. After all, we were married and I would not see anything I had not seen before if I interrupted him while he was indecent.

"Nik, I need to speak with y-" I said boldly as I opened the door, but cut off in horror at the sight that lay before me. In the bed, completely naked and frozen guiltily in an embrace were my husband and dear friend, Aurora. My mouth hung open in shock and I felt tears prick my eyes, the pain multiplying when I saw Nik's smug, unapologetic smirk. My husband was cheating on me!

"Lisette!" Aurora exclaimed in surprise. "Oh, please do not tell Tristan or my father!" She cried, oblivious to the anger that was brewing within me. "They would be livid!" She continued.

My furious brown eyes met Nik's smirking blue ones before I turned in my heel and walked out the door angrily. How dare he cheat on me! This whole time I have been rejecting Tristan's advances out of respect for my husband, dealing with a slightly insane man whose anger and frustration with my lack of response to him grew every day. Then I find my husband rolling around in the sheets with one of my closest friends! How low could Niklaus stoop!

I paced about my room angrily as I thought of a plan. It was obvious that Nik no longer cared for our marriage, and with Kol's increasing appetite, word of our presence here would soon spread. Mikael would be coming after us soon, and it would be easier to survive if I was on my own. I would not have to be afraid of Kol giving us away or Nik cheating on me again, because I would be alone.

I hurried around my room, picking up any small things I would need for my journey once my mind was made up. I stuffed my mother's grimoire, a spare set of clothing, a small knife, and my journal into a pillowcase from the bed before changing out of my nightgown and into an earth toned dress that was not too ornate and would blend well with the forest.

I scanned my room one last time to make sure I had everything of importance with me before I turned to open the door, only to be confronted with a disheveled Aurora standing poised to knock. I felt my anger flare up as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Lisette, I came to speak to you about what you saw between N-"

"Do not speak of the interlude between you and Niklaus," I spat angrily, glaring into her eyes. Aurora's face went blank before she repeated my instructions back to me. I furrowed my brow in confusion. What had just happened? Did I possess the ability to alter her actions with my words, so long as I maintained eye contact with her? I decided to test me theory.

"Stand on one leg," I ordered. She complied. "Hop up and down on your one leg." Aurora did as I ordered, a blank stare still on her face. I smiled happily at this new discovery. If I could control the minds of different people, then I could make everyone here forget about me. That way, if Mikael ever came here looking for us, he would not know that I had been here with his children and I would be much safer from him.

"You will forget everything you know about me. Now, go to bed," I ordered Aurora. She nodded stiffly before retreating down the hallway in the direction of her room. I tested my new gift on a few servants wandering the hallways before I went throughout the whole castle and erased the memory of my presence from every person's mind. It took the better part of three hours and dawn was fast approaching by the time I finished, but the time it took was worth the trouble.

Picking up my pillowcase of things, I slipped out of the castle door, speeding off as quickly as I could away from the castle and my old life with the Mikaelsons.

Rebekah's POV

It was around noon and Lisette had still not made an appearance in the court. We no longer got sick, so there was no reason for her to have to stay in her rooms unless she was avoiding confrontation of some sort. I decided to check with on of the ladies maids who sometimes attended her, to see if they had heard anything from her this morning.

I made my way towards the sleeping chambers and spotted one of the women I was searching for almost immediately. "Pardon me, have you seen my sister this morning," I asked the elderly woman as I approached her.

"Your sister, Lady Rebekah? Are you feeling ill?"

"Of course I'm not! Now, tell me where Lady Lisette is at once!"

"Lady Lisette? There has never been a guest here by that name in all the years I've worked here, Lady Rebekah," the woman insisted. "Are you feeling light headed? Or tired maybe? Sometimes hallucinations are brought on by a lack of sleep."

"I feel fine," I replied irritably. What sort of game was this old woman playing? I wanted to rip her throat out for her impudence. Maybe her brain was going out with her age.

I asked several more maids if they had seen Lisette, but all of them responded the same way, telling me they had never heard of a "Lady Lisette" before and asking if I was feeling ill. I was quite irritated with the lot of them.

Finally I decided to go check on Lisette myself. I burst into her rooms, calling for her but there was no response. Looking around, I saw that everything important to her was missing from the room, although the dress she had worn the night before lay in the corner in a heap. I felt confusion flood me before I hurried through the castle to find Elijah and ask him if he knew what was going on.

I found him outside with Lord Tristan. "Lord Tristan, may I steal my brother away for a moment?" I asked when I approached.

"Of course, gorgeous, but don't take him for too long," he said cheerfully. Elijah and I looked at each other, confused. Tristan had never flirted with me before, always too wrapped up in his infatuation towards Lisette. We walked a ways away from the human before I voiced my concerns to Elijah.

"Lisette is gone," I told him hurriedly.

"What do you mean she's gone?"

"I mean exactly what I said! All of her personal belongings are gone and it's like someone wiped her from the memories of everyone in this castle except us. None of the maids have any idea who she is. Tristan doesn't seem to remember her either, and he was basically in love her!"

"We will have to check with Niklaus to see if he knows her whereabouts," Elijah said gravely. He quickly explained to Tristan that there was an urgent family matter that he must attend to before he and Rebekah rushed off to find their blond brother.

After searching his usual haunts, Niklaus was nowhere to be found either. Elijah suggested trying Nik's chambers, so the siblings hurried to their brother's room. After some aggressive knocking, Nik opened the door, his ever present smirk visible upon his face.

"Brother, Sister! Come to talk to me about my dear little wife?"

"What do you know about Lisette?" I asked angrily.

"I know that she left my room in a rage last night after she caught me and my method of revenge together in my room," he said, his eyes twinkling.

"Method of revenge?" Elijah asked. "Revenge for what?"

"My wife's unfaithfulness to me, of course. I figured that if she could stray to another man's bed, than I should have the right to invite another woman into mine. Too bad it was her best friend though. I think that made the sting even stronger. What a pity."

"Unfaithfulness? You think Lisette was sleeping with Tristan?" I asked, shocked.

"It was obvious," Nik spat. "He treated her like a common strumpet in front of the entire court, kissing her lewdly and fondling her in the open for everyone to see. She is no better than a woman of the night!"

"Lisette was not sleeping with Tristan!" I fumed. Nik furrowed his brows in confusion. "She told me nearly every day how deeply disgusted she was by her relationship with him, because she felt that she should remain loyal to her husband! She had to play along with his treatment to convince the court that she was interested in him, but she would not have slept with him. She did not ever allow him to go beyond kissing her! And now she has disappeared without a trace. All of her personal items have vanished as well and no one in this castle remembers a thing about her. She may have gotten a witch to wipe their memories, but that would have been a very powerful spell. The details do not matter that much. All that really matters now is that she is gone because of your stupid, rash behavior!"

Nik's face slowly paled as the blood drained out of it. He swallowed thickly, eyes glossing up as the smirk faded from his lips. "I have made a grave mistake," he whispered quietly, running a hand anxiously through his hair.

"That, brother, is the understatement of the century," Elijah intoned mournfully.

Hey, dear readers! Sorry it's been so long since I last posted! Life has been crazy busy so I haven't had a chance to write much, so I delayed the posting of this for a while. I wanted to apologize for making you wait for so long, though. Hope you enjoyed, and I will try to get back to a semi-regular posting schedule soon! Please R&R if you have the time. I love to hear feedback from you all!

~Calli