Chapter Seven: The French Affair...Le Affaire D'Francaise
France 1772 – 1793
Versailles...Great beautiful Versailles, the grandest palace rebuilt by the Sun King, Louis XIV. We had lived in England throughout Elizabeth's reign and did went back to Eastern Europe for a while when Oliver Cromwell executed Charles I. Klaus had decided to head on to the grandeur of Versailles and the French royal court. His hair had grown long and tied it into a ponytail, refusing to wear wigs. It was the height of fashion. Everything just seemed so luxurious and grand. I was fitted for a gown or two almost every week. And Klaus too had grown rather indulgent and vain, dressed in the finest of fashion. Silk stockings, the softest leather shoes, suede jackets and shirts made of finest linen and silk.
My husband had managed to accumulate a large amount of wealth. All of his money was in the great Dutch banks in Amsterdam. Klaus managed to compel an old aging French Comte and have him believed that he was the Comte's nephew from England. So when the old fool died, Klaus inherited the vast wealth. He was Nicolas, Comte Nicolas De Wolfe and I was his Comtesse. It was such a silly name but he had coined it himself. Being part of the noblesse oblige, we were presented in Versailles in front of the old king, Louis XV his grandson, the Dauphin and the Dauphin's Austrian wife.
I curtsied in front of royalty and Klaus conversed in fluent French with the king. My French was still a little broken.
"Does your wife not speak French Nicolas?" The King spoke and look at Klaus.
"Not very fluent Majesty." Klaus smiled.
"Is she English?" The king looked at me closer. "She doesn't look English..." The King then laughed heartily. "Madame Du Barry tells me the English women are awkward and frigid, especially in bed are they not?"
Klaus started laughing and smiled at the King. "My wife is of Slavic descent Majesty. She was born in Bulgaria."
"Ah...how exotic..." The King spoke and smiled at me. He walked to me and took my hand bending down and kissed it.
"Enchante Madame..." The elderly king spoke and I almost blushed. I look at the Dauphin. He looked like a shy young man and then his beautiful blonde, Hapsburg wife, Marie Antoinette.
Klaus took my hand and we walked in the gardens, greeting and curtsying the French aristocrats as they walked. The ladies gave me cold smiles and began whispering in French covering their mouths with fans as they spoke. I did not feel welcome there. I frowned and looked at my husband. "Why can't we go back to England?"
"We are in Versailles my Love..." Klaus smiled. "The center of the world."
The court life in Versailles was filled with strict etiquette that I barely understood or complied. We would wake up early in the morning, watched as the royal couple ate breakfast. We attended musical recitals and performances in the theater and opera. In the evenings, we'd have dancing and merriment. We watched the fireworks if there were any. Some nobles would play cards and gamble. Engaged in gossips and have scandalous illicit affairs in dark, hidden corners. Klaus loved it. The grandeur and luxury and of course the debauchery. We had our own apartments there but I had pleaded with Klaus to have our own place and he acceded to my demands. We got ourselves a lovely grand chateau about a hundred miles south of Paris. It came complete with a large underground crypt where his three vampire concubines could sleep in the day.
They adored the French fashion of the times, dressed in luxurious gowns often too cleavage baring for me. Klaus gave them the freedom to do what they wished and they did. They bedded and drank blood from soldiers and aristocrats and caused quite a mess. Ripping some woman in shreds because of they wanted the fine jewels the noblewoman wore. They were quite vicious, these vampire mistresses of my husband. But they never harmed me. Klaus found them useful, they were his most loyal servants and I realized that they truly loved him. Klaus treated his concubines well of course, buying them the most beautiful of clothes and jewelry.
I was in the study that evening. Elijah had just came back from Portugal. There were news that Katerina might be there. He could find no evidence of that and reported it to Klaus. My husband was furious. Creating a mess in his study, throwing anything he could get his hands on. Elijah just sat there, staring as Klaus vented his frustrations.
Klaus turned and snapped. "How do I know if you're telling the truth? You could be lying to protect her."
"You know I never lie Niklaus." Elijah spoke calmly.
"Yes that is what you say." Klaus said, eyes glaring at Elijah. "But Katerina just keeps slipping away from your grasp Elijah..."
"You know I will find her. You have my word." Elijah vowed.
"That was what you told me three hundred year ago!" Klaus grounded angrily. He gripped Elijah by the throat and I watched in horror as he pulled Elijah against the wall.
"I gave my word too didn't I Brother? That you will be dead..." Klaus gritted right above Elijah's neck. I saw the silver dagger in Klaus' hand and I grew worried. I didn't want Elijah to be hurt. It wasn't really his fault. It was mine. All mine.
"Niklaus No!" I screamed as I pulled his arm away and tried to yank the dagger off him. I didn't know how it happened but Klaus flung me away and I fell to the floor. The silver dagger lodged right in my heart. I gasped. Klaus turned and stared at me, horrified that I was bleeding.
"Klaus..." I called him. Blood poured out of my mouth and I grew weak. I wondered if I could finally die.
"Elly No!" he screamed and leaped towards me, cradling me in his arms. I smiled weakly at him and my world turned dark.
I woke up and found myself in his bed. My husband smiled at me, his mistresses were there draped all over him fast asleep. "Hello Sweetheart..." Klaus smiled. He moved towards me pushing his sleeping concubines away and looked at me.
"What happened?" I asked. I looked down seeing that I was not wearing the blue gown but a thin silk nightgown. My wound had healed and there was no scar.
"You're alright now Darling..." He said and bend to kiss my lips. Klaus pulled me in his arms and I just lied there, nestled close as I rest my head on his chest.
"Elijah has gone..." Klaus whispered. "Left for good."
"But why?" I asked him.
"He thinks it's for the best. He knows I no longer trust him and he thinks I've gotten paranoid" Klaus said. He sounded sad and I grew worried. I knew how close he was to his brother. Elijah was his bestfriend. They were inseparable, even since childhood.
"Elijah betrayed me Elly. I knew it was him but I never said anything. He fell in love with Katerina and let her go. He's probably with her right now."
I kept quiet and snuggled close. Klaus gave a soft chuckle. "Guess its just you and me now Darling..." He then turned and look at the three sleeping beauties. "And them of course..."
"Your harem..." I said and shook my head.
"You are my family...The only family I've got now." Klaus smiled sadly. My husband kissed me again. "You're everything to me Elly."
"We should have a ball," Alonna the redhaired vampire concubine spoke one evening. We were at home playing card games in the drawing room. "It is so boring here." She said and looked at me. "Don't you think so Milady?"
"I don't like balls..." I sighed. "Just too many people. I don't like people."
I looked at Klaus who seemed distracted. I knew he was still affected by Elijah leaving him."Sweetheart..." I called him and touched his hand. Klaus only kept quiet and looked at his cards.
"A ball would be wonderful," Mariah the buxom blonde spoke. Letitia the other blonde agreed and nodded. She looked at Klaus. "What do you think Milord Klaus?"
"What?" Klaus asked and looked around the table. Loss of course. His mind far away. Thinking about Elijah probably.
"They want to have a ball Niklaus." I sighed.
"Go ahead then," Klaus smiled at his beauties. "Go have a ball, invite every delicious aristocrat and gentry you can find. We'll have a feast..."
"Ah...Splendid." Alonna spoke and went up to Klaus. She sat on his lap and kissed him deeply. "Thank you Lord Klaus...You are so kind to us...so wonderful..."
I sighed hearing that and rolled my eyes. They were always eager to worship him. Eager to please. His submissive, loyal, beautiful mistresses.
"Yes you are so kind Master..." Letitia spoke and kissed him as well. Klaus only snickered enjoying the lustful attentions of his concubines. "So kind...so great and generous..." Mariah said.
She pushed Alonna off of Klaus and the redhead didn't take it too kindly. She hissed and bared her fangs. Mariah did too. Alonna pulled the blonde's hair and Mariah pushed her. I watched, seeing both of them ready to fight and claw their way for my husband's attentions. It was silly really.
"Ladies enough..." Klaus said sharply and they stopped. Both of them were breathing heavily. He sighed and shook his head. "There's plenty of me to go around." He spoke and started to unbutton his shirt.
He was finally shirtless and the vampire concubines smiled gleefully, ready to please their Sire, their Master. He kissed each of them and he sat down on the sofa as they started to touch and caress and kiss him. I looked at my husband enjoying his pleasures of the flesh. Klaus gave me a smirk.
"Join us Elly..." He said and held out his hand.
"I'm tired Niklaus." I told him.
"It is an order..." Klaus said and glared at me.
I frowned and ignored him. I walked away. Klaus wouldn't have it. He stood up and pushed his concubines away. I turned around and saw as he stalked towards me. I knew I had to walk away fast. I ran but Klaus caught me. He pulled me up against the wall and smiled at me.
"You can't escape me Sweetheart," He grinned.
I looked up at him and smiled before leaning in to kiss him. "But I can still try..." We kissed passionately and he took off my clothes, taking me right there, against the wall. We came together, moaning in throes of passion. Klaus sighed and leaned his head against mine after it was over.
"We have to go back Elly...I don't want to hurt their feelings..." Klaus said and gave a frown. "You must know they are fond of you but I do not want them to be jealous."
"Well that's the problem when you have five people in a marriage Niklaus." I told my husband and kissed him.
Strange to be in menage a cinq. A big difference than a menage a trois. But it was the age of indulgence and Klaus really indulged in things. Wine, food, sex, clothes, jewels. He was having a ball of a time. Spoiling me and his three concubines. He got us the most beautiful gowns and jewelry and a grand carriage so that we could ride around. We went to Paris where he got a large house in the city, overlooking the Seine. His concubines loved the opera and he brought us there. We walked leisurely through the city and took rides around in the evening. What a fine group we made. Beautiful and well dressed. Everywhere we went people would stare. The Comte and Comtesse De Wolfe and their three beautiful courtesans. As scandalous an affair as that of the infamous Marquis De Sade
Klaus had tutors to teach his concubines French in the evenings. Tutors whose blood they drank dry. In the end Klaus had no choice but to employ a vampire to teach his precious concubines. They loved the Parisian life, Klaus let them wandered about and well, wandered about they did. They turned dozens of handsome men into vampires. And that enraged Klaus to no end. The three vampire concubines were crying that evening. Klaus had chastised them. I wondered what had happened.
"Niklaus..." I called him as I went in the room. All three of them were sobbing badly. "What happened Darling?"
Klaus shook his head and heaved angrily. "They turned a dozen men into vampires who had gone on a feeding frenzy! There are corpses throughout Paris drained of blood!" He turned and stared at the beautiful vampires.
"How many times have I told you! You feed! You do not turn!"
"But...but..." Letitia stammered as tears ran down her cheeks as she tried to explain.
"Silence!" Klaus roared. "One more word and I will stake you myself." She wept silently and the others embraced her. Trying to comfort her. Klaus breathed heavily and sat down. I went to my husband and took his hand.
"If Elijah was here...He'd know what to do..." Klaus groaned. He looked at me and I knew that he was lost, confused. For the first time in his life, Elijah wasn't there to clean up his mess but Klaus still had me and I couldn't let him down. I kissed his lips. "Let me handle it."
"What will you do Elly?" Klaus asked me.
"I want you to trust me Niklaus and let me handle it." I told him firmly. He just stared at me. "Do you trust me?"
"I don't know..." Klaus spoke. He was doubtful. Of course he was. I wasn't exactly the stable rock in the relationship. It had always been Elijah. He was the rock in Klaus' life. The one person he could really count on. Klaus sighed and pulled me in his arms. "Do what you must then Darling?"
I rode out in the morning when my husband was asleep with his three concubines in his dark chamber. He had heavy drapes to cover the windows. Klaus didn't want the sunlight to come in and hurt his precious beauties. I rode to an old abandoned monastery and there he was dressed in clothes that made him look like a peasant when he was the ruler of a powerful Empire. The Lycanthropes Alpha. Mikael smiled at me as I walked towards him. His men were there and they looked at me with suspicion. I could hear them growl.
"Easy..." Kael spoke. "She's alright. Let her pass."
I smiled and ran to him. He held out his arms and embraced me, kissing my head. "God...I missed you so much." Kael breathed. It had been a few years since we last met in Cornwall. He moved to kiss my lips and I just let him. We weren't really lovers but we weren't really friends either.
"I need to have you soon..." Kael growled under his breath.
"No Mikael..." I said and moved away from him. "Didn't you once say that you will not be like your father. You will not love another man's wife."
"I'm obsessed with you Eleanna..." He said and looked at me. "For seven hundred years I've waited."
I sighed and shook my head. "I told you not to wait for me Kael. Didn't I?" He took my hand and we walked down towards the river.
"Yes you did my Love...but I'm a stubborn man and I'm a patient man." He said.
"Find your mate Kael. She's out there. A beautiful Lycanthrope maybe." I said to him.
"None of them are you. I would know. I've bedded many brown haired blue eyed women and none of them are you."
I smiled at him. "So you did have women..."
"I'm a man Elly. I need to slake my lusts.." Kael grunted.
I laughed. "Did you imagine they were me Mikael?" I asked him. I was curious. He looked at me and nodded.
"I called them your name when I came." Kael spoke and gave a handsome smile. I gasped, horrified but pleased somewhat. To have a handsome, powerful Alpha obsessed with you was just too overwhelming.
"I always wanted to have an affair..." I sighed and smiled at Kael. He looked so handsome, so strong and so tempting. Kael gave a dark look. "No Eleanna. If you become mine I will not let you go. Wolves mate for life."
"Yes of course..." I said and frowned. "Maybe that's why Klaus would not let me go either. He's half Lycanthrope."
"You want my help Eleanna..." Kael spoke and stared at me. "You know I never refuse you..."
I blushed and leaned against him. Sweet, dear Kael. He would do anything and everything for me. "We have a problem...Klaus' concubines have turned young men in Paris and they in turn have been going on a killing spree..."
"Done." Kael snapped and gave a smile.
"I haven't even..." I stared at him. He kissed me again cutting me off.
"I will clean this up for you Eleanna. Only for you..."
I bit my lip hearing that. I felt bad he was always the one doing things for me. I should return the favor. I caressed Kael's face. "Maybe we can be together and no one will know."
"But I won't let you go back to him." Kael growled.
"Must you always be so possessive?" I sighed.
"It's in my blood Elly..." He smiled, his icy blue eyes shone.
Kael and his man went on a hunt staking the vampires. No more scores of blood drained bodies in Paris and I felt relieved. The concubines learned from their mistakes. They still feed but never turned any of their victims. Louis Auguste was crowned King and his Queen, the magnificent, indulgent Marie Antoinette. The Americans had gone to war, ready to overthrow their British Masters and claimed independence. Such upheavals in the world seemed so far away to me. I was in my protected bubble in the countryside with my husband and his concubines.
I was fanning myself one summer day. It seemed like a heat wave had hit the country and Ile de France province. I couldn't take it anymore and tore off my clothes. I went to Klaus' chamber where it was dark except for some candles almost burned at the wick's end. He was sleeping of course, a true vampire that he was, decided on a nocturnal life. Naked on the floor with sheets. His three concubines on his bed, naked as well, limbs tangled about. I lied on the floor and nestled close to Klaus. He stirred in his sleep and smiled at me when his eyes opened.
"It's hot out there Niklaus..." I complained. "Keep me cool."
I was still in my chemise and Klaus took it off as well. "Skin on skin..." He murmured and kissed my neck. He embraced me and fell to sleep and so did I. It wasn't so hot after all. My husband's cool body temperature that was at times freezing cooled me down.
We had a picnic one day, Klaus just wanted to spend some time with me, away from the three ladies. Our own private time together. We sat by the river, eating grapes, bread, cold cuts of meat, cheese and drinking wine. I hated corsets and wore a simple gown that didn't require one. Something in a style that peasants and servants would wear but I had it made from the finest silk when the tailor came to measure.
"The public is not happy with the king," Klaus spoke as he ate his grapes.
"Why is that?" I asked my husband. I wasn't really keeping up with the times.
"The people are hungry and the country is broke. The king promised too much to the Americans. Sending them armies and ships. It costs a fortune." Klaus sighed and shook his head.
"I told the nobles that the American colonists should just fend for themselves. They were the ones who got themselves in such a mess in the first place."
"They just want to be free that is all..." I said. "You can't fault them for that."
Klaus grinned and moved to kiss me. "Such a humanist you are my Love..."
I smiled and touched his hair, long curly locks they were. "You have beautiful hair..." I sighed. "Like that of Godiva..."
Klaus only frowned and used his speed and strength and pulled me down to the ground. I giggled at that and looked up at him, seeing his perfect angelic face and his hair. "You think I look like a lady don't you?"
"You're so beautiful Niklaus...I'm jealous of it." I said and gave an exaggerated sigh. "You're even more lovely than me."
"I am not beautiful." Klaus spoke sharply.
"You are..." I smiled. "My beautiful monster."
He shook his head and kissed my lips and I just held him close. We kissed sweetly and tenderly like young innocent lovers. I smiled as I lied nestled in his arms, both of us just lying there on the grass that afternoon. I stared up at the sky seeing how blue it was and the fluffy white clouds.
"Happy Anniversary Darling..." Klaus whispered in my ear. I turned and smiled at him. How I loved him so...There was no other whom I could love as much. Over seven hundred years we had been married. I found myself wondering about the future. What would it bring and what would it be like? Would I still love Klaus as much?
It happened like a gathering storm. I remembered it so clearly. The villagers and their torches and their pitchforks, standing in front of the gate of the chateau. All the rage pumping in their blood. Revolution...Revolution... They would chant. I grew afraid. I had never seen such an uproar in my life. Such anger. Such backlash. The masses were emboldened. The Bastille had been stormed and several aristocrats were dragged out of their grand homes, hung in front of the people while their estates were looted. The peasant commoners had had enough and they want blood. Not only blood, they wanted their rights. Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.
"What do we do?" I asked Klaus. I was panicking. I packed as much valuables as I could into a trunk. My favorite dresses and shoes, even my silk fans.
"We have to pack light!" Klaus snapped.
"Niklaus they want our heads..." I told him, gripping the front of his shirt in fear. He looked at me and kissed my forehead.
"Fear not Darling..." Klaus told me as he stared at my face. "I will rip their hearts out."
"There are three hundred people out there Klaus...I don't think we can outrun them." I cried.
I heard footsteps running up the stairs and I turned, looking at the three vampiresses heading towards Klaus. Beautiful, seductive and regal in their fine silk gowns. They were over three hundred years old, which meant they were pretty strong too. Klaus gave a smirk and looked at me. "My three goddesses can rip three hundred of them apart."
He caressed my face gently and kissed me as passionately as he could. "Stay here Darling. Do not get out until I come for you." He stared at me. "And I will come for you Elly." Klaus vowed.
I nodded and kissed my husband again. I stood by the window and watched as Klaus and his concubines dashed out to the gates in their vampiric speed. I didn't know what happened. I heard screams, plenty of screams and cries for help. I was clutching a crucifix the entire time, one Anthony had given me. It was so ironic that I was praying for Klaus' safety instead of the helpless villagers who were most likely about to be massacred.
They came back of course, bloated with blood but not a scratch on them. Klaus walked in front and I saw blood that still dripped from the sides of his mouth. I rushed to him and he held me in his arms. I never felt so relieved to be reunited with my husband. I breathed out heavily and leaned against his chest.
"They're all dead Elly," Klaus spoke in a triumphant tone. "I've killed them all."
I pulled away and smiled at my husband. Klaus bent down and kissed my lips. I could taste the blood in his mouth but I didn't care. My husband was safe. He had protected me. Many people had to die for that. The crowd of angry villagers. But it didn't matter. They were going to harm us after all. It was unprovoked and we had a right to defend ourselves. I then saw one of the blondes holding a little child's hand. She was a little girl, about three years old. A little human girl. Staring at us with her bright hazel eyes. She had golden wheat blonde hair and she was sucking her thumb.
"What is she doing here?" I asked Letitia. Letitia sighed. "She was just so adorable. I couldn't kill her."
I smiled at the girl and touched her face. She looked at me and I felt this maternal instinct rushing over me. I immediately lifted her up in my arms and cradled her close. She was to be mine and Klaus' child and I named her Alexandra. Klaus called her Lexie and soon we all did. For the first time, Klaus and I had a child that we could take care of. It gave some form of stability in our marriage. We had become a family. My husband, our adopted daughter and the three concubines. Lexie eventually became a vampire when she turned nineteen but it was not a future I had wanted for her.
Klaus had decided that we should return to England. He still held the title of the Duke of Knighton since Henry VIII. He would just assume one of the identities of Nicholas Alexander Smith the seventh or eighth, I wouldn't know, descendant of the original Duke, who strangely looked exactly like the rest of them. The estate and manor house in Wales and the grand house in London were still functioning. But before we returned to England and the British isles, Klaus wanted to witness the execution of Marie Antoinette and he brought Lexie and me along. He carried Lexie in his arms as we stood there. She had just turned five that year.
"What's going to happen Papa?" Lexie asked in her delightfully French accented English. She was always such an inquisitive girl.
"Oh Cherie," Klaus smiled and kissed her cheek. "See the blade there..." Klaus pointed to the guillotine. "The queen is going to be placed right underneath it and then blade will cut off her head when it is released."
"Will it hurt?" Lexie asked Klaus, who smiled and nodded. "Of course ma petite fille. "
"But what did she do Papa?" Lexie was curious.
"She was just unfortunate," Klaus said with a sigh. "Cest la vie. Kingdoms rise and fall. Cherie. That's how the world turns..."
They brought the queen out. She was transported in a common prison cart not befitting someone of her stature. The once grand royal Hapsburg princess and Queen of France, Marie Antoinette looked horrible. I had never seen anyone in such dire strait. She was so thin, emaciated, she had aged far beyond her thirty eight years. It was as if she was already dead and they were going to execute a corpse. She didn't care anymore. She had lost everything. Her children taken from her, her husband executed. I would never want to go through such horror. I didn't think I could ever survive it. I took Klaus' hand and held it tight. He looked at me and gave a smile
It was unfortunate really, how the Queen was made the easy scapegoat. A symbol of indulgence and indifference that the nobility had to the sufferings of the common folk. The sans cullotes needed someone to vent their anger and the Royals were the unlucky ones. They strapped her down on the board, securing her body with the tight leather belts and her name and charges were read out, accused of high treason. I saw the blade fell down and I shut my eyes, leaning against Klaus' chest. I opened them and the Queen was dead, headless, blood just flowing down the planks.
"Well that was interesting," Klaus commented. He had a penchant for beheadings. Klaus enjoyed watching public executions far too much. I looked at him and shook my head. We were dressed humbly in our bourgeois costumes, as Klaus would call them. The French would not tolerate the aristocracy and their fine, luxurious fashions and so it would be safer to blend in with the crowd.
"So how was it Cherie?" Klaus smiled and asked Lexie. She frowned and shook her head. "I do not like it Papa..."
"Alright." I sighed and kissed Lexie's cheek. "Off to England now."