Chapter 4
Nikola slept very soundly and quite happily. He muttered incoherently and his lips curled into a slight smile.
He was dreaming, a rare occurrence for him. He was dreaming of a certain two blondes and him in a certainly compromising position.
He let out a small chuckle sound as he snuggled deeper into the pillows.
It was just past 7 am and the sun was just rising to its full height.
Two small feet walked up the length of the bed, making its way up to Nikola slowly but surely.
It stared him straight in the face before puffing up its chest and opening its beak.
"Cock-a-doodle doo!" it cried and Nikola jolted awake, coming face to face with the largest rooster he'd ever seen in his life.
"Agh!" he cried.
"Bah-kah!" the rooster seemed to cry in response.
It pecked his face defensively.
"Oh you!" he lunged to grab the massive chicken.
The rooster jumped off the bed and evaded his grasp.
"Get back here!" cried Nikola.
"Bawk!" shrieked the rooster.
Nikola's feet were entangled in the sheets and he fell hard on the stone floor. The rooster stood above him and pecked him again.
"Ow! Gah!" he glared at it.
It looked at him inquisitively.
In a moment of frustration Nikola vamped out and snarled at it.
The rooster shrieked and scrambled out through the open window and away from him.
Nikola groaned and rested his head against the cold stone.
She did this on purpose.
Laren happily hummed to herself in the shower, having heard the commotion going on at the other end of the hall.
She ran her head under the water, feeling quite proud of herself, if a little juvenile.
Nikola managed to dress himself and straighten himself out before stepping out of his room, being sure to close the window securely before leaving, and walking down the hall.
He heard the telltale sound of water shooting out of a shower head and paused. A curious and evil grin crossed his face. He leaned close to the door, hearing her hum a tune.
Perfect.
He extended a talon and picked the lock on the door. Carefully and quietly entering the bathroom. He walked through the thick layer of steam and eyed the layout of the room. Modern plumbing. Probably one water line between the two of them. He grinned. He sat himself down on the toilet, crossed his legs and pulled out the newspaper from the reading rack.
She stopped humming.
"Who's there?" she called out.
Nikola didn't answer her but leaned against the back of the toilet leisurely.
"It's occupied!" Laren said again.
Again, Nikola made no reply, just opened the paper and began reading.
Laren pulled back the shower curtain and peeked out.
"Tesla," she growled, her eyes falling on him instantly. "Get out."
"That was a lovely surprise you left me this morning," said Nikola, not looking up from the paper.
"Ah, you met Murray," she smirked.
"Yes, him and I had a great bonding moment," said Nikola.
"I heard," she couldn't help but chuckle. "But this is my time in the bathroom. Out."
Nikola stood up and smiled at her.
"I'm done here anyway," he said calmly.
"But you didn't go," she remarked, then suddenly her eyes widened as she saw his finger gingerly resting on the toilet handle.
"I know," he smirked even more evilly.
"No, Tesla, don't you dare!" she threatened.
"Payback Laren. Toodles," he waved and pressed down on the handle. Walking out of the bathroom as she shrieked.
He snickered and sauntered down the stairs. She got him good but he got her back even better.
"I heard screaming, is everything all right?" one of the maids came running up to Nikola.
"Screaming? I have no idea what you're talking about. You must be hearing things," Nikola batted his eyes innocently.
Suddenly the bathroom door from the upstairs floor shot open and a drenched and towel wrapped Laren emerged and glared at Nikola from the landing.
"This is so not over Tesla!" she cried.
"On the contrary lassie," he mocked her Scottish decent then switched back to his normal accent. "This has only just begun."
He grinned and then whistled happily as he sauntered away.
He won this round.
~~~~Later~~~~
Nikola escorted Fei Yin into town that afternoon. There was no car at the castle so they were forced to walk but they made it to the markets in quick time. Fei Yin had a list of stuff she needed to get for the castle.
They started off in the farmers market looking at their selection of produce for the cook. Nikola was already holding two full bags of groceries.
"So, this McGinnis fellow. He fell for you in one fell swoop did he?" asked Nikola.
Fei Yin shook her head and blushed slightly.
"I visited him three times before he asked me to dinner, after I refused he started running into me at the market where he'd ask again. First it was with flowers and little trinkets, then when I kept refusing him he began threatening," Fei Yin said nervously.
"Why not just go out with him. I mean you couldn't have known he'd be like this at the start, could you?" asked Nikola.
"He was sweet, but..."
"But what?"
"I'm already in love with someone else," she said shyly.
"It's not me is it?" Nikola joked.
Fei Yin looked at him absolutely horrified.
"I was kidding, please, stop looking at me like that before you permanently damage my ego," he sighed.
"No, it's nothing," she shook her head. "He barely even knows I exist."
"I find that hard to imagine," Nikola smiled at her. "You are a very sweet and pretty girl, he'd be a fool not to notice at least partially."
"I'm not so sure about that," she shook her head. "Have you ever been in love with something you knew you could never have."
Nikola's mind immediately flashed to a certain woman that had toyed with his heart for almost a century.
"Yes, believe it or not," he said sadly.
"What do you do?" she asked.
"Well, you can't let fear stop you from pursuing what you want, and if what you want is truly unattainable, you have to let it go, or it'll consume you," Nikola answered, knowing it was advice he probably should take himself. "You aren't doing yourself any favors by being helplessly in love with a man who doesn't even know you exist."
Fei Yin took his words in carefully.
"So, I should make my feelings known?" she asked.
"Unless he's married, or something like that, yah." Nikola nodded.
"What do I say?" she asked.
"Well don't go all out and say I love you, get to know him, talk with him, I don't know make up plausible excuses to be around him, maybe he likes you just as well, you never know, but wishing and praying only does so much," Nikola sighed. Like he was the expert on finding true love.
"I don't know if I could..." Fei Yin stopped mid-sentence and averted her gaze down.
"What? What is it?" asked Nikola, noticing the sudden change in her demeanor.
"Ralph...he's watching us," she mumbled.
Nikola looked up.
"Where? Where is he Fei Yin?" Nikola stood protectively in front of her.
He saw someone dart into an alleyway.
"We should keep moving," said Fei Yin.
Nikola grasped her arm gently.
"No, we should go...back to the castle," Nikola definitely felt the hair at the back of his neck tingle with alarm.
"But Ms. Hayward..." protested Fei Yin.
"I'll deal with Ms. Hayward. My job here is to make sure no harm comes to you and I'm going to do it, and right now I don't think we should be here out in the open, she can send another maid out for the rest," he led her out of the market cautiously. Making sure he was not following them.
"Is there a less common route back to the castle that he might not know of?" asked Nikola.
"Uh, yes, there is a path...by the river," said Fei Yin.
"All right, we'll take that route, lead the way," Nikola gestured keeping her in arms reach ahead of him as they walked out of the city.
~~~~That Evening~~~~
The sun was fading by the time Nikola and Fei Yin got back to McKinley Castle.
The secondary route back turned out to be a lot longer and indirect than the normal one.
To say Nikola was grumpy was an understatement. He was downright irritable, but he was careful not to direct his foul mood towards Fei Yin.
He knew exactly who he wanted to direct his anger at.
Laren ran down the stairs the moment they entered through the front door.
"Where have you been?" she cried, running straight to Fei Yin.
"Ralph was there...following us in the market," said Fei Yin.
"Did he?" Laren checked Fei Yin for injuries.
"We're fine, it seems he was just spying," explained Nikola. "I recommend that Fei Yin's duties be limited to around the castle."
Laren nodded.
"I agree," she patted Fei Yin on the back. "Go to the kitchen, you must be starved. You can drop of the purchases there."
Laren turned to Nikola with a sharp eye as soon as Fei Yin curtly left.
"What took you so long?" she growled.
"For Fei Yin's safety I recommended we take an alternate route home, it took a little longer than we both thought, I'm sorry, I was thinking of her before you," he snipped at her.
"I'm sorry, you're right I was just worried that's all," Laren relented.
"I'm touched, now I have something to ask of you," he stepped up to her, eye to eye.
She steeled herself, ready for the flurry on insults.
"What is it?" she said sharply.
"Do you have a phone I could use?" he asked just as sharply. The question took her by surprise.
"In the upstairs corridor," she pointed upwards.
"Thank you," he spat and walked past her and up the stairs.
Laren shrugged. That was odd, she was expecting a lecture or at the very least a slurry of complaints, not him to ask for the telephone.
She shrugged again and headed to the kitchen.
~~~~Elsewhere~~~~
"Hello," the familiar voice came over the line.
"Are you some kind of harpy sent from hell to torture me?" Nikola whispered harshly into the phone.
"Excuse me?" said the voice. "Nikola is that you?"
"Of course it's me, trapped in the hell you left me in, Helen!" he barked, somehow managing to keep his voice down.
"It can't possibly be that bad," she sighed.
"Yeah it can. I've been here barely 48 hours and already I've been shot at with flaming arrows, chased in the rain, attacked by super chicken, and I think my soul is slowly being sucked dry by the Scottish banshee!" he whimpered. "Seriously, I think my hair is turning grey because of her."
"Super chicken?"
"Yes, super chicken, like what the hell is she feeding them they are the size of bear cubs," he whined.
"It sound like you're having fun," teased Helen.
"Well I'm not! This is the last, and I mean the very last time I do any favors for you, you hear me?" he growled.
"It's only a few months, you'll survive," Helen sighed. "Look Nikola, I'd love to stay and chat but I'm a little busy at the moment...I'll see you in a month or so, have fun."
"No Helen, don't you dare hang up on me, Helen don't you...no Helen. You make me miserable you calculating manipulative English bit-"
Click.
"Damn!" Nikola cried and hung up the phone. "I hate her, I hate them both, I hate them all," he grumbled as he headed to the bathroom and decided to have a long soak and at least pretend he was somewhere else.
He used all of Laren's shampoo to make bubbles. Snickering to himself as he poured all but a tiny squirt into the tub.
He lowered himself into the tub and felt instantly cleaner and relaxed.
He closed his eyes then heard the sound of a handle being turned. He opened his eyes just in time to see Laren enter.
She stopped and smiled at him.
"Thought you might want a towel," she held up the neatly folded towel up for him to see.
"Why thank you," he smiled, not intimidated at all by her being there, he had nothing to hide or be ashamed of.
"You know that was a very clever trick you pulled this morning," she sat on the edge of the tub. "I've been thinking all day about how to counter it."
"Well, I am a genius,"Nikola said smugly.
"Sure you are," she said condescendingly.
He frowned at her.
"But it looks like fortune is on my side," she held up a small bottle of blue food coloring.
Nikola looked at it skeptically.
"That will stain the tub," he warned.
"And anything in the tub," she clarified. "It's easier to scrub dye off of porcelain than it is on skin."
She dumped a healthy amount into the end of the tub near Nikola's feet and he instantly folded his legs to keep his feet from being stained.
"Oh ho ho, you like playing with fire don't you, Ms. Hayward?" he chuckled.
"Only because I know I can win," she grinned. She stood up and placed a hand on his head, ruffling his hair slightly before pushing him down. The slickness of the porcelain had him easily squeaking all the way into the water and flailing. She giggled and left before he could get a good enough grip to pull himself up.
He got out of the tub. Grabbing the towel and wrapping it around his waist. He had blue streaks from his waist all the way down to his feet.
He growled slightly. He wouldn't lose his cool, it wasn't permanent.
He looked down to where he had neatly folded his clothes but they were gone.
He realized that Laren must've taken them.
He ran out of the bathroom. He heard her laugh from downstairs.
"Better hurry, Nikola, dinner's almost ready," she singsonged.
He growled again and headed to his room. He'd just have to change.
He reached his room and was shocked to see that both his suitcases were gone, leaving him in only the towel she had provided. God knows what booby traps she had laid in there.
He removed the towel and shook it. Nothing came out. He sniffed it, there was no strange or funky smell.
He stared at it closely, there were no bugs or anything unpleasant in it.
It was just a normal towel.
He tossed it aside. Too risky.
"Tesla! Dinner!" called Laren.
He shrugged.
Well, if he must, he must.
Laren sat at the dinner table feeling quite smug of herself. She had won this round.
Fei Yin sat beside her patiently.
Suddenly they heard a slight shriek coming from outside the hall.
"Mr. Tesla! What the hell are you doing?" cried the head maid.
Laren chuckled.
Fei Yin looked confused.
"Carry on," Nikola's voice said cheerily.
This deflated Laren a little bit. He sounded way too smug for all that she'd put him through.
"You can't go to dinner like that!" cried the maid.
"But I've been called," he said innocently.
He opened the door.
Fei Yin squeaked and averted her gaze away and covered her eyes.
Laren sat looking slightly mortified.
There he was, Nikola Tesla, stark raving naked.
Laren brought her hand up to cover her blush.
"Oh dear," she tried to look away.
"Sorry for the wait, I just didn't know what to wear," Nikola shrugged innocently and strutted towards the table. "What's cooking?"
"I left you a towel for a reason," Laren said trying to glare at him but she just couldn't take him seriously in his current state.
"Couldn't take any chances, less you laced it with itching powder or something," he pulled out his chair and promptly sat down.
"Damn, that would've been good," Laren smirked at him. "The blue really looks good on you."
"Matches my eyes," he grinned sardonically back.
Fei Yin coughed awkwardly.
"Excuse me, Ms. Hayward, may I be excused?" she asked still keeping her gaze blocked from Nikola.
"Yes, you may," Laren again tried not to laugh.
Fei Yin quickly got up, her eyes darting up for just a second before she squeaked and ran out of the room.
"You know, you probably traumatized her," Laren smirked.
"You confiscate my clothes this is what you get?" he gestured to himself. "You mistook me for a modest man."
"I at least hoped you'd have the modesty to wrap something around your..."
"Impressive isn't it...they forgot my wine," he muttered.
"Oh let me," Laren quickly tried to get up.
"Oh no, I'll get it," he stood up and stretched and strutted to the kitchen.
Laren covered her face again.
He got to the door.
"Ooh a penny," he bent over to retrieve it.
"Oh god, your clothes are in the parlor under the couch, just put something on!" she cried.
"Thank you, and if you don't mind, red wine, full glass, chop chop!" he clapped his hands and strode out of the dining hall to retrieve his suitcases.
Laren groaned and rubbed her eyes slightly. That was partially her fault.
Nikola returned fully dressed in one of his suits with Fei Yin travelling behind him.
"Don't worry I apologized for the display," he said as he went back to his seat.
"I'm sorry too, Fei Yin, you didn't need to see that. No one needed to see that," Laren looked at him sharply.
"But don't tell me you didn't enjoy it...not you Fei Yin," he smiled cheekily back at Laren.
"Now, if we still have our appetites, can we eat?" Laren changed the subject.
They all nodded and dinner went on pretty pleasantly after that.
~~~~Later~~~~
Nikola ascended the stairs walking side by side with Laren.
They walked silently.
Nikola smirked slightly.
This evening, aside from the small clothes debacle, had been almost civil. He and Laren had joked at dinner and Fei Yin even chatted lightly. It wasn't half bad.
But aside from maybe not hating the woman as much as he thought he did he knew he had to even the score.
"You aren't going to let what happened tonight go are you?" Laren said, breaking the silence.
"Definitely not," he chuckled.
"So I'm to expect something worse?" she clarified.
"I wouldn't say that exactly, but I tell you, what I have in mind you won't be able to expect," he grinned at her. "Good night Laren."
Laren eyed him suspiciously and smiled back.
"Good night, Nikola," she shook his hand and he began waltzing away.
"Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!" he chorused as he headed to his room.
"Bugs?" Laren froze. "What do you mean by..."
The question went mute by the sound of his door slamming shut.
"Crap," she muttered. She wasn't going to sleep as early as she thought she was.
~~~~Author's Notes~~~~
See! Helen's still in this fic..sort of. Laughing a little bit?
Hope you guys are having a wonderful Christmas. Almost done writing the last chaps for Troublemakers :) Exciting? I think so! It's almost been...like two years in the making, almost three...holy moles! And i'm only finishing it now...wow i'm lazy. Well, it's finish shall hopefully spread some warmth to your toesies. For now you will just have to settle with this fic as I finish up my the chapters so I can upload them in a descent fashion so you guys don't have to sit there biting your nails. Happy Holidays lovelies!