AN: I do not own TVD or TO.

Silence.

Silence was all encompassing.

It dropped from the sky to cover her in a thick blanket. The sounds that had been constant in the castle had dropped away the further into the garden she went.

For the first time in months she was alone. For the first time in months she did not feel the heavy stares of courtiers. For the first time in months she could not hear the whispers of gossiping servants.

Elena stopped on the other side of a copse of trees. The castle had disappeared when she pushed through the towering evergreens into a circular clearing. She watched her breath form steaming clouds in the frigid air and shivered.

Without the aid of her heavy petticoats and thick velvet gown the cold was nearly unbearable. It snaked through her cloak and clung to her legs, bare but for the black trousers and heavy boots.

The cold air filled her lungs and immediately brought her to attention. She needed to move before her body was incapable of it. Soon the cold wouldn't matter. Her hand grazed the jewels and closed around the glittering metal.

Soon the sound of steel slicing through the air drowned out the soft crunch of her footsteps in the snow. Her pulse quickened and warmed her until the cold was bearable enough for her to cast off the heavy cloak. When her arm grew tired she switched hands.

She was getting ready to call it a night when the image of Damon and Kat entered her mind. A momentary surge of aggression raced through her body.

She blinked in surprise when the steel lodged into the sturdy trunk of a tree. Elena grunted and pulled the heavy sword free. The sweat rapidly cooled as she finally sheathed the weapon and reached for her cloak.

Elijah rolled his eyes when his younger brother took his arm and pulled him against the wall beside the hall doors.

"Did you see her?" Kol peered past as if expecting to catch a glimpse of the woman.

"There was not much to see," Elijah shook his head. "Her face was covered."

"What?" Kol turned back to him. "Why was her face covered?"

"I don't know Kol. I did not ask," Elijah sighed. "Perhaps she was cold. She was born and raised in Sicily."

"Italy is quite warm from what I've heard," Rebekah approached. "She is unused to the cold. When the Petrovas arrived Lady Elena wore heavy scarves as well."

"Her sister did not?" Kol nodded towards Katerina.

"No," Rebekah shook her head. "Perhaps she is not bothered by the cold air."

"Will you require anything else princess?" Adelaide held her hands behind her back and watched the princess survey her new bed chambers.

There had been many foreign royals throughout the three years of Adelaide's service in the castle; many of them had been insufferable people. They would never bother to look at her and when they would it was with an expression that said she was next to nothing. She pulled her fingers and waited with baited breath for the princess to dismiss her.

Adelaide had been less than thrilled when she was selected to be the maid for the young woman. The young ones were always the worst. A lack of life experience made them believe they were entitled to everything; she supposed with their station they were entitled to so much, but their attitude was often horrible. Sometimes they were kind like and sometimes they were the most offensive people in the world. When they were like that things tended to move around in their chambers, and baths were colder than requested.

She had been surprised to find the Petrova sisters as opposite as night and day. Katerina held little to no regard for servants and would often bark at Adelaide when she entered their shared chamber. Elena was different: quiet and reserved but kind. Adelaide wondered what this princess would be like. She had spoken only one sentence since emerging from her carriage and that had been to ask after the identity of the prince in the corridor.

"Your highness?" Adelaide's voice lifted over the crackling fire. She couldn't leave until she was dismissed.

"Hmm," she turned from where her fingers had been tracing the smooth lines of the metal tub. The soft linen cloth draped over the copper to protect her back slipped to the floor when she moved.

"Do you require anything further Lady Alexandria?" Adelaide repeated her earlier question.

"Yes," her hands shifted the veil until her back was exposed, "can you help me with my laces please?"

Polite, Adelaide thought. She smiled and stepped around to untie the dress. "Of course. Do you need help with the veil as well Lady Alexandria?"

"No," she shook her head. "I can take care of that. Thank you for your help… umm… I'm sorry I've forgotten your name."

"Adelaide," she supplied and stepped back.

"Thank you Adelaide."

"You're welcome, Lady Alexandria," Adelaide retreated to the door having recognized the words as her dismissal.

She waited until the door closed on Adelaide before sliding the sleeves of her dress down her arms. A shiver traveled the length of her spine when she finished shedding her clothes. She lifted the veil from her head and watched it flutter to the floor as she slowly sank into the hot water.

She didn't think she would ever grow used to 'Alexandria'. It had been her name since birth but nobody had ever called her that. Would she always be known by her given name? For the first time since leaving her home she longed for the bright shore. Fingering the mark on her jaw her mind wandered; even if her engagement was not being sped along she knew she could not return to her father's kingdom.

"Papa," tears streamed down her face as she was ushered onto the carriage, "must I go?"

"Yes," her father climbed in to sit across from her and sealed off the windows. He wrapped on the hood of the carriage and they lurched forward. Reaching into his pocket he lifted a pale blue cloth and laid it in her hands. "It is not safe for you here, Lexa. I have been corresponding with the Queen and she has agreed to hasten your marriage."

Lexa fingered the smooth cloth and swiped at her damp cheeks. She didn't want to leave. She knew eventually she would have to make the long journey, but it should not have been in the middle of winter.

"You need to be more careful," she lifted her eyes to listen to her father. "There can't be another incident; I don't want to receive a letter saying my only daughter has been taken by hunters and condemned to death; which is what will happen if you remain here."

"I know Papa," Lexa's eyes fell to the soft blue in her hands.

"You cannot practice again," he reached out and took her hands. "Do you understand?"

"Yes," she nodded. There had been a time when it was safe to be what she was in their kingdom, but such times had passed with the rise of paranoia. "I'll be careful."

"And you'll keep that covered." He lifted his hand to finger the mark on her jaw that had been left behind by a hunter before one of her brothers had found her.

"Yes."

Her fingers traced the mark again as the water rapidly cooled around her. It had healed completely, but even with the use of poultices she had been left with razor thin white scars. Any hope she had of shedding the pale blue veil was disappearing the way her beloved Sicily had faded on the horizon.

Like home it was something she could only dream about.

Elijah paused by his window and peered out into the garden. He blinked tiredly and shook his head. He was about to turn away when he saw movement in the shadows again.

The figure was easier to see now that it had moved under the light of the moon. At first he thought it was a servant moving through the grounds, but he dismissed that when he noted the fine material of the cloak.

His eyes widened when the hood slipped to reveal a long dark braid over a slim shoulder. He just caught a glimpse of her flushed cheeks and bright eyes before she slipped into the castle.

Elena jumped a foot in the air when she slipped into her room and saw her sister.

Kat was standing beside the crumpled green velvet with crossed arms. She tapped her foot against the stone floor and leveled Elena with a cold stare.

"Where have you been?" She bent at the waist and picked up the gown.

"Out," Elena found her voice. There was no point in hiding her activities from Kat. They shared a room it would have been impossible to hide any coming and goings from her sister. With that in mind Elena hung her cloak on the hook by the door. She heard her sister's sharp intake of breath when she untied the leather scabbard from her gold belt.

"You brought that with you?" Kat strode forward and reached for the leather. She huffed when Elena pulled it out of her reach. "Are you insane? Do you know what would happen to you if you were caught with that?"

"Then it's a good thing I wasn't caught," Elena lifted the fabric at the bottom of her trunk. She buried the blade beneath several layers of wool.

"Elena," Kat slammed the trunk shut, "I'm serious. This is not Bulgaria; women are banned from wielding weapons here."

"Women were banned from wielding weapons there," Elena pointed out. She unfastened her belt and draped it over the edge of the trunk. Her earlier anxiety had disappeared with the adrenaline rush that came from the exercise. The only thing she could feel in that moment was the desire to take up the short sword again.

"There is nobody protecting you here," Kat hissed. She tore off her own gown and left it in a pile on the floor before tearing back the blankets on the bed. "Father and Jeremy taught you in case you ever had to defend yourself. You don't need to defend yourself here. There are sentries everywhere. The castle is perfectly safe."

"Maybe it's not about defending myself," Elena slid into her nightdress and slipped between the warm furs on the bed.

"Then what is it about?" Kat pulled the blankets up to her chin and shivered. Here in the room she shared with her sister she could admit she was cold; she could admit she was not immune to the weather as she would have the courtiers believe.

"It's about doing something for me," Elena chewed her lip and stared into the fireplace at the dying embers. Until she had been alone in that clearing she had felt like she was drowning. Going through the motions with her sword had felt like coming up for fresh air; for a moment she had been back in Bulgaria training with Jeremy.

Elena turned her doe eyes on her sister. She wanted to confide in her. She wanted to tell her everything, but there was a distance between them. Elena wasn't sure if they would ever be able to close it. Would she ever return to a place where they were on equal footing? They had been inseparable as children, but times changed.

"You're not going to stop are you?" Kat's eyes darted to the chest.

Elena knew what she should have done. She should have told Kat that she would never sneak out again. She should have told Kat she was going to rid herself of the sword before someone found it. She should have resolved herself to becoming the perfect courtier like her sister.

Elena couldn't do any of that. She had been given a brief taste of freedom that night, and she would be damned if she lost it.

Elena didn't answer which was answer enough for Kat. Instead she turned over and faced the wall.

"Is it true?" Nik's arm snaked over his wife's stomach beneath the heavy blankets.

"Is what true?" Caroline rolled over. Her fingers combed his hair back from his brow.

"What you wrote about Lady Elena," Nik clarified, "is it true she never smiles?"

"Not that I have seen," she shook her head.

"I was hoping you would say it wasn't," Nik sighed. "Kol might have given up on his quest to make her smile."

"He'll give up soon anyway," Caroline sighed.

"What makes you say that love?" Nik's hand ghosted down over her side.

"He'll be rather occupied with his wife," Caroline nodded. She shivered when the white linen was pushed up and his fingers grazed her thigh. "What do you think you're doing?" She gasped as her stomach was exposed.

"I find myself rather occupied with my wife," he smirked and lifted the nightgown over her head.

She shivered again when the night air hit her chest. "You're insatiable," she murmured between kisses.

"I haven't seen my wife in months," he kissed along her jaw and nipped at her ear. "I might keep you in bed for days."

"It's a little cold to be naked for days on end." Caroline's fingers closed over his shirt and lifted it over his head.

"We'll keep each other warm," Nik chuckled.

Caroline's laugh turned to a groan when he sucked on the skin of her neck.

There it is my lovelies: chapter two.

Drop a review and let me know what you are thinking so far.

I'm planning on some Elejah interactions next chapter.