Historical fiction based on actual historical events. And seeing that this is fanfiction, I thought of bringing in other fav vamps of mine from other series. Why the hell not... Mitchell from Being Human UK and Godric and Erik from True Blood. Just cameos...
Chapter Twelve: The New Century & The Third Reich.
San Francisco 1906.
I loved the West Coast and the Pacific. The beautiful ocean and how life was so different from one we had in the East Coast. The climate wasn't as cold. People seemed friendlier and maybe I just liked how it seemed like I was at the edge of the world. It was probably just silly talk. I told Klaus that I didn't want to return to New York. It was a new century, America was booming, Teddy Roosevelt was President. There was a youthful spirit of optimism and all kinds of possibilitis in this new era. We felt that we should start somewhere fresh and anew. Klaus had said Let's go to San Francisco and that was where we went.
We lived in a gorgeous three story Victorian house that was perched on a hill with a beautiful view of the bay and the city. Lexie had bought the mansion, thinking of turning it into a hotel but had decided to make it her residence. So Klaus and I moved in there, where Lexie and Aidan lived. I brought my Pomeranian Nikola with me and soon I had plenty of pets. Maybe about five cats, four dogs. A few rabbits, a parrot from Barbados and a small python. A menagerie of animals to keep me company.
I also loved walking down the steep cliff that would lead me to a small, idyllic, private beach. It was a good place to relax, to write in my thick leather journal while the I'd feel the sea breeze. I had such a huge collection with me. Klaus encouraged me to write. He said it was important that I wrote down what I feel, even though it could be gibberish or if it did not made sense to whoever who might read it. I fancied myself to be a great novelist one day, maybe as great as my favorite, Tolstoy.
My months spent in St Petersburg had made me into a lover of the Great Russian novelists, Tolstoy of course, Dostoyevsky, Chekhov and the poet Pushkin. I could just spend my afternoon, lazing on the chaise lounge and losing myself into the world of Russian romance and literature. The Edwardian era of the early years of 1900s had been quite uneventful until of course that fateful day on April 18th 1906. Just the night before, Klaus had brought me to the Grand Opera House where we watched Carmen being played. The famous tenor, Enrico Caruso had performed wonderfully.
We had supper in the luxurious Palace Hotel and I fell asleep in my husband's arms as we were driven back in our brand new automobile, the early version of Ford Model A. I was still sleeping when the Earth shook and it felt like I was in a boat at sea on a stormy day. I gasped in horror seeing the chandeliers shaking and the armoire falling down.
"Niklaus!" I screamed for Klaus, but he wasn't in the house.
I ran out of my bed and out the bedroom. The ground was still shaking as I ran down the hallway. "Elly!" I saw Aidan and Lexie coming towards me.
"What is happening?" I asked them.
"It's just an Earthquake…" Lexie spoke. "It's going to be over soon…"
"Come on…" Aidan said and led us down the staircase. We were out of the house and then the ground stopped shaking. I felt relieved and I turned to them. "Where is Klaus?"
I saw the look on Aidan's face. He didn't look like he wanted to tell me. I grew annoyed. "Where is he? Where is my husband?" I demanded. What were they hiding? What were they trying to cover up?
Aidan was hesitant. He grimaced and finally told me. Klaus was in one of the bordellos in town and I was annoyed. The sun was beginning to rise and Lexie dashed back inside. She could not be exposed to sunlight. Klaus did not get a daylight ring for her. Klaus came back hours later, unscathed of course. He sat in the drawing room of the bricked house and sighed. "The city is in rubbles…"
"We need to move out soon…" Aidan spoke and looked around the living room. "I don't know if the foundation of the house had been badly damaged or not but it is not safe here."
Klaus gave a nod. He looked at me standing by the window and smiled. "Come here Darling…let me hold you. I was worried sick…"
I only frowned and lashed out angrily. "Worried sick? You were with a whore the entire night Niklaus!"
He shot an irate look at me. Aidan and Lexie only kept quiet. "We should go and pack Aidan…" Lexie spoke. She knew it would be better to leave me and Klaus alone while we have our fights.
Klaus did not respond and both of them left the drawing room, heading up the rickety staircase. Klaus came to me and I tried to push him off but of course, he would not have it. He pulled me into his arms and kissed me. I pulled my lips away and turned to look out the window. He just held me in his arms as we watched out the windows. Seeing the distant flames and smoke engulfing the city.
"It's burning my Love…" Klaus sighed. "The city's burning…"
"I think the fire is beautiful…" I told him softly.
"Hmmm…maybe you're right Darling" He murmured and I felt his lips kissing my neck. Klaus bit into me and my blood flowed, flooding his mouth and throat.
We were all packed and ready to leave while the city burned about an hour later. There were at least 5 cars to carry the trunks containing our belongings and a truck for my beloved animal companions.
Klaus smiled at me and he gave me torch. "There you go Sweetheart, it's all yours…"
I grinned happily at Klaus and took the torch. He had his men pour kerosene all over the mansion and I lighted it. The mansion started to burn. Klaus told Lexie and Aidan to leave first. He didn't want Lexie to be outside when dawn came. So it was just me and him as we stood there at the front yard, watching as the Victorian mansion went up in flames. The fire grew big and soon it engulfed the mansion completely and then it started to collapse and the beams and upper floors came crashing down.
When it was all over, after the fire trucks came to put out the flames, thinking that the city fire had spread to the mansion. Klaus and I lied on the beach that night, watching the stars. He started to whistle that tune again.
"I find this very boring…" Klaus stopped whistling and breathed heavily. He looked at me. "Do you really think this is romantic Elly?" He asked me.
"Just look at the stars Niklaus. So small they look and so far away…They're beautiful." I sighed.
"I don't want to look at them," He smiled and touched my face. "I want to look at you. You are beautiful…"
I rolled my eyes at his attempts to placate me. I suddenly thought of the conversation I had with Anthony centuries ago, we were talking about life and death. "Do you think one day you'll die?" I asked Klaus. "Like really die?"
"I don't know…" Klaus shrugged. "Never really thought about my death much." He looked pensive. Klaus never had to face any doubts about his mortality before. He was an immortal, a powerful Original vampire with a Lycanthrope half. One who would never die. I wondered if he was ever bored of his immortal life.
"We've been alive for far too long Klaus…" I told him. "It's not natural."
"Do you want to die then?" Klaus asked me and looked closely at me.
I kept quiet for a while. "I don't know. I've attempted suicide many times. Never successful."
"I'll never let you leave me you know…" Klaus told me, his eyes looking deep into mine. "Even in death Eleanna…I will find a way to have your ghost haunt me the way your sister haunts you."
"She is my true half Klaus. Karina says she would never leave my side. That's why she haunts me." I said softly.
"No." Klaus said sternly and clutched my arm as he looked straight into me. "She is not your true half. I am. Only me Elly, no one else. Not even your sister. I don't accept that."
I thought it was humorous that Klaus would be so insecure and jealous of my own dead sister. I shook my head and held his face before I leaned in and kissed him sweetly.
"We will always be together Niklaus…" I said to him as I stroked his cheek.
"Promise me Elly." He said to me in a soft, firm tone.
"I promise." I said and Klaus kissed me again.
I was so sure of that, that regardless of what would happen, I would always be with him and him, me. The decade went on without much interruptions. We decided to move to Los Angeles for a while. The Titanic sank but Klaus was relieved that Bishop who had been on it, sailing back from Liverpool had gotten on a lifeboat without so much as a scar on him. Then the Archduke of Austria Hungary was shot and World War One broke out. It ended in four years. It was known as the Great War. The first one in the new century and in the modern era. Millions died and it was seen as a Catastrophe. Of course no one could predict that the next war would be larger with even more dire consequences.
The Third Reich
Pre War
Klaus had taken a new identity he was known as Klaus Von Wulfenberg. A name I thought he had coined for himself. Translated in German it meant, Wolf Mountain. We were in Europe, moving to Munich in the thirties. The Roaring twenties were our hey days. All the parties we had gone to during the flapper era. We'd still go back to New York in the summer, Paris and London too. Shanghai was one of our favorite places and it was such a buzz in the early thirties after The Depression. I had fallen in love with the fashion in Shanghai and found myself wearing slim Chinese silk dresses with high necked Mandarin collars that had a sexy long slit at the thigh. My hair was perfectly permed and coiffed and I wore bright red lipstick, make up that was pale as well as rouge blush on my cheeks.
Klaus would dress in well made, custom three piece suits. His hair had been short and slicked back with a gel. He looked very attractive and he had no shortage of female admirers, whether, in New York, London, Paris or Shanghai. When we moved to Munich it was 1935. The Fuhrer was ascending in power and Klaus just had to be where the excitement was, despite my protestations. I had wanted to stay in either Shanghai or return to San Francisco. I was not keen to return to Central Europe.
"It's a silly name…" I complained to Klaus as I smoked in the drawing room one afternoon. I was still dressed in my Chinois regalia. Wearing a silk kimono robe. I had became quite interested with all things Oriental, even reading the teachings of Buddha, drinking Chinese tea. I had Chinese lanterns and Japanese mats and silkscreens to adorn my private chambers where I would burn jasmine incense in the evenings.
"Von Wulfenberg?" I turned and stared at my husband. "I do not want to be Elly Von Wulfenberg. It sounds like a warship Klaus." I told him with a frown.
"Oh Sweetheart…" Klaus said and pulled me in his arms and kissed my lips lovingly. "It's a noble sounding name. In fact…" He smiled when he pulled his lips away. "That is my Lycanthrope's family name…"
"No…" I uttered as my eyes widened. It cannot be...
Klaus pinched my nose and smiled. "Didn't you know Darling? The Lycanthropes originated from the Black Forest of Germany…" He sighed.
"They moved down south to Hungary and later Transylvania…" Klaus continued. He sat down on the armchair and pulled me on his lap, where I cuddled close to him.
"But they came from the mountains…the Wolf Mountains…as the villagers would say…legend has it that a Lycanthrope male fell in love with a red hooded maiden when she was picking berries in the forest one day. He married her and that was how the first werewolves, a hybrid of humans and Lycanthropes came about…"
"Such an imaginative story teller you are my Love…" I smiled playfully and kissed his lips. Klaus chuckled and cradled me close. I heard him hummed that haunting lullaby and suddenly grew sleepy.
Germany 1939
Klaus had managed to move up the ranks of the Nazi Party with such breathless ease. He had no trouble convincing others, especially with his nordic Aryan looks, the wavy blonde hair and pale blue eyes. Klaus also spoke German like a native. Within a year he was a top commandant in the SS. Klaus charmed and compelled his way right up to the office of Hitler and his inner circle and was now a high ranking Nazi official. There was Goring, Himmler, Rommel, Rosenberg, Goebbels, many more names I could not remember and then my husband, Von Wulfenberg. Klaus brought me to Hitler's retreat in the mountains, Berghof near Berchtesgaden. It was like a ski chalet, except there was no skiing in the summer.
My German wasn't very fluent. I found the language a little monotonous and hard sounding and mostly conversed in French. Germany had just invaded Poland. It was 1939. The Third Reich and the conquest of Europe had just begun. A thousand year Reich they had boasted proudly. If only they knew it would all end in less than six years. Oh...but the tragedy those six years brought. The unimaginable cruelty, suffering and death. So much death…
"You should dye your hair blonde…" One of the women present whispered. I didn't know who she was. Quite a buxomly woman with a face that was too made up and dyed blonde hair she kept short and perm.
"I like my hair color the way it is." I said with a frown. The nerve of the woman asking me to bleach my hair.
"But you would look so much prettier as a blonde especially with the deep blue eyes you have…" She sighed. "What nice Aryan features you're born with..."
I wanted to roll my eyes hearing that. I later found out that the woman was Eva Braun, the Fuhrer's mistress. I wondered how she would react if I told her that my bloodline was Slavic. Slavs, who were considered inferior to the German Teutonic race. The Nazis had came up with this notion of racial supremacy, where they reigned supreme of course and the rest of the non Aryans were at the bottom. The worst reserved for the Jews who were made scapegoats for whatever ills in German society.
It was all poppycock as Klaus would say, this idea of racial supremacy. The only Master Race was the Supernaturals. Vampires, Lycanthropes, Witches, Werewolves and what not. And of course, Klaus being such an egotistical megalomaniac, saw himself as the so called Fuhrer of the Supernaturals, being an Original Vampire and half Lycanthrope. Klaus would one day rule them all…when he broke the curse that is.
I was surprised to see Bishop and Aidan dressed in their SS uniforms when I walked to the large terrace. Klaus had decided to call his own reinforcements. What he wanted was the gold Hitler had kept somewhere in some vault. Or so I thought.
"Guten Tag Duchess…" Aidan teased. I only smiled back and pulled him in a friendly hug. One that made Klaus shot me an irritated look.
"Schon dass sie hier zu sehen…It is nice to see you here..." I smiled at Aidan. I then gave Bishop a strange look. "You too I suppose…" I sighed almost breathless, almost snubbing him. I still did not like the man. Bishop ignored me and started conversing in fluent German with Klaus while I took Aidan's arm and decided to take a small walk about in the terrace.
"How is your stay here so far?" Aidan asked me.
"It's miserable…" I whispered. I looked out seeing the Bavarian Alps in the distant. "All this talk of war, invasion, race and division…" I then smiled at him. "You don't want to hear all that. Now what is new with you?"
"Bishop dragged me here…" Aidan shook his head, almost irritated.
"You don't sound pleased." I commented.
"Why would I?" Aidan said in an irate tone. I knew Aidan had no choice. Bishop was his Maker and he was therefore under Bishop's command.
"Anyway…we got someone new with us, remember Herrick?" Aidan asked.
"Oh Yes…" I gave a look of disgust.
He was a rather lewd man, William Herrick. Stocky and plump with ginger hair and pale blue eyes. An Englishman who spoke with a London accent and one who had always eyed at me as if I was a tasty morsel. Herrick was one of Klaus' loyal lackeys since our days in Regency England. Herrick had a tendency to sing Klaus' praises that sometimes it just seemed like blatant bootlicking but Klaus adored the old chap. Herrick could crack the funniest jokes with his witty ironic English humor and he made Klaus laughed.
"Herrick wants us to bring his little boy around…and Bishop agreed…" Aidan rolled his eyes as he continued. "So now I have to babysit…"
"How old is he?" I was curious of this new vamp.
"He was turned in the first war. Pretty young but a Ripper…" Aidan bared some of his fangs and grinned.
"Aaah…" I sighed. "I bet he's handsome…"
"You're gonna love him Duchess. He speaks with an Irish accent..." Aidan smiled. Aidan suddenly focused his eyes on two men who walked in. "More vampires…" He remarked seeing the two young SS officers. I turned and saw a tall officer and a shorter one. Both looked really young but were very handsome.
It was later in Klaus' study that I knew who they were. Old vampires that Klaus had called to join him. My husband wanted his own retreat in the mountains and built a French styled chateau not far from Hitler's place. A group of vampires in their Nazi uniforms were seated, gathering in his private study. He had our housekeeper pour blood for them in crystal cut glasses. Blood that was drained from some of Hitler's top SS guards.
"Pure Aryan blood gentlemen…let us taste this so called Master Race..." Klaus said and laughed and they all laughed as well.
"Glad you're all here…" Klaus smiled, he then looked at the tall officer. "Erik…you came all the way from Stockholm…"
"Yes I did." Erik said and smiled at him. "Godric told me you're an Original. Always wanted to see one myself."
"Yes I turned your Maker…when I was still quite new." Klaus sighed and looked at his vampire Childe.
"It turned out well…" Godric smiled.
"It's always important to choose who you turn gentlemen…Immortality is a gift, one not to be wasted on imbeciles." Klaus spoke in a rather lofty tone. He then smiled at all of them.
"I have on very good authority that Hitler will be planning a mass invasion on almost all of Europe…A very ambitious man, this human Fuhrer, rather foolish at times but ambitious. We are going to use that opportunity to recruit the vagrant vampires in Europe to our ranks or kill them of course if they refuse to join. And we would also kill whoever we see as a threat." Klaus spoke."That includes werewolves of course."
The vampires were pleased to hear that. Werewolf's bite was still deadly to them. By eliminating the werewolf threat, the vampires could ensure their survival.
"Blut und Ehre…" Klaus said as he lifted his glass of blooc and snickered.
"Blut und Ehre.." They chorused and laughed. It was a joke to the vampires present. Silly mortal humans and their dreams to conquer the world. Klaus smiled and drank his glass of Nazi blood. He shook his head. "Tastes the same to me..." I heard his comment.
I watched through the peep hole and stepped back. Blood and honor. One of the Nazi's many slogans, more specifically of the Hitler Jugend or Hitler Youth. I felt someone pulling my arms and in a quick whirl, I found myself standing in a dark corner. A handsome, dark haired man staring down at me. He was handsome, beautiful even. Such finely chiseled features like that of Greek marble statue. Wavy black hair gelled back and eyes as dark as midnight.
The man bared his fangs at me. "You shouldn't be here…" I heard his Irish brogue. So this must be him the young vampire Aidan had spoke about. Such a handsome man. "It's not safe spying on a group of vampires…" He said.
"You're not in uniform…" I said, it almost sound like a gasp. He was wearing a suit that was well cut to his frame, his tie was loose. He gave a sexy grin. "You're not afraid of me are ye?"
I moved and sniffed him. "You smell really good…" I told him. He really did. He shook his head and sighed. He let go of his grip on me and leaned against the wall. I watched as he light his cigarette.
"Do you want one?" He asked, again with his sexy brogue. It sounded like velvet to me. Smooth and lyrical. I nodded and he gave one to me.
I had the cigarette between my lips and the handsome vampire leaned and lighted it up. I breathed in and let out the smoke, smiling as teeny circles came out in puffs. Klaus had taught me a while ago how to make the rings of smoke come out. It was quite tricky but you need to purse your lips into an O and let it flow out.
"Herrick warned me about you…" The vampire said.
"He did?" I asked as my eyes went wide. I was amused by it. "And what did our dear William say?"
"Says you're a bit of a trouble maker…" The vampire said as he smoked. "He did mention you're a looker too…"
"You have such nice lips…" I said and sighed. He really did. He was such a beautiful specimen of a man, vampire. I wonder what it would be like to kiss him. And then it was as if he could read my mind.
"Would you like to kiss them?" He asked me flirtatiously and gave a wink. I almost blushed.
"Would you like to get your heart ripped out by my husband?" I asked him back. He laughed softly hearing that.
"Maybe…" He shrugged his shoulders. "If it is a good kiss. It could be worth it."
"You're such a fool…" I said with disdain. "No kiss is worth your life…"
"You'll be surprised…" He told me with a cheeky grin.
He suddenly stood up straight. "The meeting is over…" He said. I turned around and looked. The door was open and the vampires in their SS uniforms came out. I groaned. I wanted to talk more to this new Irish vamp.
"Why are you not in uniform?" I asked him.
"I don't like the Nazis or the German army in particular. Fought them in World War One. They killed many of my mates," He said casually and stubbed out his cigarette.
"To what do I interrupt?"
I heard Klaus' cheerful voice. I turned and saw my husband walking towards us. Klaus had walked to me and pulled straight into his arms. His hold was possessive and I saw the way he looked at the younger Irish vampire despite the smile on his face. Klaus was staking his claim, indirectly marking his territory. It was silly really.
"You've met my wife Mitchell." Klaus smiled at the Irish vampire.
He gave a grin. "We had quite a conversation."
"Oh...I'm sure you did," Klaus said and gave bright smile one I knew to be insincere. "My wife is quite the conversationalist."
Klaus then looked at me. "Come Darling. It's late and we need to retire."
He bent and kissed my lips and I sighed as Klaus held his arm around my waist. We walked away but I turned to look at the handsome, dark haired Irish vampire I had just met. Mitchell looked at me and gave a small wave and that devastating smile. There was just something about John Mitchell that made every woman who met him weak in the knees, me included.
Munich 1943
It grew even worse as the years gone by. The Nazis gained power as well as more territory. The Jews were treated horribly, they were ostracized and made to live like second class citizens by the Nazis. In Munich, I had a wonderful tutor to teach me the cello. He was a lovely old man, Herr Ira Schweitzer who was Jewish. He had the yellow star stitched on his coat and he would come into the house from the back door where it would be safer for him. Herr Schweitzer used to teach music in the conservatory and had played in the orchestra, but the Nazis would not let any non Aryan members and he lost his job.
Herr Schweitzer was quiet man. He didn't speak much but his eyes said a lot. Klaus was generous and paid him well but I had a feeling Herr Schweitzer was rather fearful of my husband. Klaus was an SS Obergruppenfuhrer, a Nazi General and the former cellist was a Jew.
"Oh Frau Von Wulfenberg..." Herr Schweitzer came crying one day. "They are moving us out from the city. I overheard some Nazis say that they're bringing us to Dachau..."
"What?" I stared at him shocked.
"My granddaughter Frau Von Wulfenberg...you have to help her...Please I beg you..." I was shocked when Herr Schweitzer dropped to his knees. "Your husband is a powerful man. And she is just a child. Only thirteen..."
"Calm down Herr Schweitzer...I will see what I can do..." I spoke to him gently.
"You are so kind Frau Von Wulfenberg..."
I told Klaus about it later that night in our bedroom and he gave me an adamant No.
"Niklaus Please..." I begged.
"We cannot save everyone Elly. Even I do not have such power..." He told me.
"I am not asking you to save everyone. Just Herr Schweitzer and his family." I spoke. "Surely you can write a letter to someone Klaus, or even compel a few guards…"
"It is too much of a hassle, I have my own vampire operations to think about..." He sounded irritated but I still pushed.
"Niklaus they are innocent. I do not want them to be separated."
"Elly. I do not care!" Klaus thundered and I saw the redness in his face. "And neither should you! They are just humans Elly. We use them and that is it. Their lives mean nothing! They are not our family or even friends."
"He is a friend to me Niklaus!" I told him angrily. "He is my teacher!"
"You are getting too emotionally attached to people." Klaus sighed wearily
"Klaus they will be shipped to Dachau."
I saw the distant, indifferent look on his face. "If they are going there...then it's over Elly..."
"What are you trying to say?" I asked and stared at my husband.
"Dachau is a prison camp. They will not survive there..."
"No..." I uttered. "Klaus. You have to stop them."
"I am no angel Elly or a savior." Klaus spoke coldly. "I've killed many, thousands even maybe more. It really does not matter to me."
"So you agree with this Nazi nonsense that the Jews are enemies."
"Elly! I don't care! Jews, Nazis, Germans, Poles and Gypsies. They are all humans, all mortals, dispensable, replaceable. Unworthy."
I was so upset that I just sat on the bed. I felt helpless but I had to do something.
"Darling humans have killed each other since time began..." Klaus breathed as he sat next to me. "It's what they do, what they've always done. For land, territory, wealth, for women, for God even. You have to accept that Elly. You know I never agreed on this notion of racial supremacy the Nazis believe."
"How can you be so cold?" I asked him.
Klaus gave a casual shrug. "I'm a vampire Elly, an Original. The only things that matter are me, you and breaking the curse. Anything else is of no importance and no consequence to me."
I watched as I lied in bed the next morning, Klaus was getting ready for his day, already dressed in the grey SS uniform, He looked smart in it, the red Nazi swastika band on his arm. Several insignias on the shoulder and chest. It was the uniform of death. Death and destruction, unimaginable cruelty and horror. He walked towards me and sat down on bed right next to me. Klaus gently stroked my hair and bent to kiss my lips softly.
"Wake up Darling…its morning…" He said to me. I gave him a smile and stretched my arms and legs in bed. I yawned loudly. Klaus laughed seeing that and I pulled him down so I could kiss him.
"I hate this uniform…" I sighed when I pulled my lips away and touched his starched shirt. The little badges on it. "You look so dour and stern in it Niklaus." I frowned.
"It's only temporary Sweetheart…" Klaus told me and kissed me again. "If the Allies win, we'll switch to the American GI uniforms or that of the Soviet Red Army…"
"You are not a loyal soldier." I told Klaus with a tease.
"I'm only loyal to myself." He smiled. Klaus moved from the bed but I held his hand.
"Do you really have to go?" I asked him, in my soft, gentle tone. I used that tone sometimes hoping to assuage my husband, maybe to make him more agreeable and therefore compliant. Klaus could not resist that sweet voice.
"I must Darling…" Klaus sighed as he held my face. "Meeting with top SS personnel, more people to compel or kill…" he said with such casual indifference. "I'm getting sick of this war…seeing all this destruction…senseless really."
"Klaus…" I called him softly. "What about Herr Schweitzer?"
Hearing that, his face immediately changed. He had gone stone cold in merely seconds. His pale blue eyes glaring sharply at me. "Enough Elly!" He snapped. "I've told you No and that's it! I hate to repeat my self!" He grounded in anger.
"Why can't you understand how important this is to me!" I cried. I got out of bed and stood right in front of him.
"You are getting too obsessed with these human pet projects of yours and I've tolerated them for far too long!" Klaus spoke hotly. "Put it out of mind Elly or I will do it for you!"
"I will not Niklaus!" I fumed. "I will not just stand here and watch while Herr Schweitzer and his family gets carted away all because of this crazy criminal ideology!"
Klaus only kept quiet and I decided to push it further, egging him on, pushing his buttons, aggravating him further. "And how can you allow this? How can you let yourself be commanded by a mere human Niklaus! A human. A mere human has more power than you…how can you even call yourself an Original! Your father would never let any human be above him! How can you let yourself be weak!"
His hand suddenly lashed at my face. Klaus had slapped me and I felt the force of his strength. I fell stumbling down onto the floor and I touched the side of my face. It hurt. The pain was stinging. Even my lips had split from that one slap and blood dripped on the floor. Klaus just stood there, shocked that he had hit me. He could not believed it himself. I held the side of my face and stared right up at him. I saw the guilt in his face, the remorse in his eyes. Nine hundred years together and he had never slapped or hit me before. What has happened?
"Elly…" He called my name and walked to me. His voice wavered for a while, trembling.
"No!" I screamed and moved away. "Do not touch me! Don't you touch me!" I struggled as Klaus pulled me in his grasp.
He bit his wrist and force fed me his blood. The pain was gone. My lips were healed but the wound festered in my heart. He had hit me. Klaus, my beloved Niklaus had hit me. I never thought he would ever do that. Klaus didn't apologize of course. It wasn't his style. He had too much hubris. Klaus just held me in his arms even as I tried to move myself away from him. Even when I struggled, he would not let go.
"I love you Elly…you must know that. Hurting you hurt me too. You have to believe me…" Klaus said softly as he kissed my hair and rocked me in his arms as if I was a crying child. I didn't cry though not one drop of tear. I refused to cry for him anymore.
Liar! I wanted to scream. You lie Niklaus! You are nothing but a sadistic, cruel liar! He was a monster who didn't really know the meaning of love. A cold, cruel monster whom I was married to. And what did that make me? I was complicit to everything Klaus did. His rank as a top SS commandant and all the atrocities it brought. It might as well be me wearing that grey uniform of death. It might as well be me who gave the orders.
Then I knew I would have to run away again. I sent Kael a telegram the next day when Klaus left and he said that his men who were covertly among the Nazis could render assistance. I went to Herr Schweitzer's apartment in the downtrodden part of town, eager to tell him that he could leave the country. I found from a neighbor that the Nazis took them the night before. The Jews in Munich had been rounded up and no one knew where they were brought to. Some said Dachau or to Buchenwald, and others said, Poland. It was too late. All too late. I did not manage to save Herr Schweitzer.
The city of Munich had been bombed extensively by Allied troops so Klaus had a strong bomb shelter build underneath the garden. It was more like a bunker. Every time the siren rang, I would rush down with the housekeeper, the cook and a few maids, even the driver. The bombing could last for hours in the night and sometimes during the day. I hated the sound of it. The deafening blasts and the earth shaking, it reminded me of San Francisco and that Great Earthquake.
The staff would sing German folk songs, sometimes anthems of the Nazi party. They were such loyal fans of Hitler. Those poor fools, if only they knew the crimes and atrocities committed by their Fatherland. They would be appalled. When we came out of the bomb shelter the next morning that day in 1944, we did not recognize the surroundings. The house had been reduced to rubble. In fact, much of the once ritzy neighborhood was in bad shape. I just stared at the destruction, almost awed by it. Everything was gone, within hours. The power and fury of modern warfare. It astounded me.
Klaus was in France that May in 1944. He was certain that the Nazis would lose, he had his vampires working in the Allied forces, a group of the Penn Dutch daywalkers. They were loyal to him, the Penn Dutch vamps. Grateful he had freed them from the controlling yoke of the coven. So he had secured safety for his vampire minions once the Germans surrendered.
Klaus wrote to me a short letter one afternoon. He wrote plenty of letters while he was away on his Nazi war efforts. I had never bothered to reply him. I never even kept any of them. I would light them up after reading and watched while the letters burn till it was ash floating away in the wind. I was still furious that he would not help Herr Schweitzer. Still angry that he would hit me, his own wife.
His letters were long and at times they bored me. All the silly details he would write about. Klaus would get romantic and nostalgic, telling me how the blue French sky reminded him of my eyes or that he had visited the old chateau where we used to live with the three concubines. He even carved our initials inside a heart on the tree by the river where we had a picnic all those years ago. He took a photograph of that and sent it to me. I burned it too. I opened the envelope and read the letter.
"My Dearest Beloved Wife,
It is obvious from the lack of correspondence at your end that you are still angry with me. Not even one letter Darling? Your anger has made you cold and cruel to me Elly and I do not like this cold, cruel version of you. I shall expect your anger to wane as the days go by and I look forward to have my beautiful, passionate wife back again.
The war is ending soon my Love. As you may well know, defeat is inevitable to the Nazis. The Third Reich and all it was, will end. Rest assured that everything will be fine Elly. I will come back for you soon. I urge you not to do anything stupid. And if you do try to escape, you know I will eventually find you Darling. Do not forget that you are always with me Eleanna. Always mine as I am always yours. Body and soul. Forever.
Your Immortal Husband,
Niklaus."
I rolled my eyes when I finished reading it and let the letter be burned by the candle. Oh how romantic his words and penmanship were… I had thought bitterly. A pity he didn't have a heart. He was just a cold, cruel monster.
With the house demolished and destroyed by air raids. Klaus had moved me to a new apartment further away from Munich's city centre. It was luxuriously furnished as all houses and apartments Klaus had. I had all the best foods. Norwegian salmon, and roast beef, fruits, bread, eggs, cream and milk. People were starving, hungry and rationing but I was well fed. Being the wife of a top SS officer had its privileges. Being the wife of an Original also had its privileges.
In June 1944, the Allied forces landed on Normandy and it was like a countdown to the end of the war. I had listened to BBC radio in secret, smiling as I heard the news breaking of Allied victories. The Americans had pushed forward and liberated France, moving to Belgium and then forward to Holland and then Germany. It was all over for the Nazis. The Third Reich fell down like dominoes and I knew it was my turn to escape.
I managed to bribe a few soldiers with my jewelry and gold. I crossed the border into Austria and later to France, beautiful France, liberated by the Allied Forces. I got myself an apartment in Montmarte and a new alias and I was ready to start my own life. I was walking along the Seine one day when I thought I heard a familiar tune being whistled. No…I thought to myself. I had probably imagined it. I walked as fast as I could.
I walked up the steps and crossed the bridge heading to the Tuileries Gardens. A black car pulled right beside me. The window pulled down. I saw Bishop staring at me. "Madamemoiselle… Bonjour…If you please…get in the car…" I rolled my eyes, Bishop still had that American accent when he tried speaking French.
The door opened and I frowned when I saw Klaus seated in side, a satisfied smile on his face. I went in and sat on the plush leather seats. I folded my arms and turned my head as I looked out the window, not wanting to look at him. I felt something on my hand. Klaus had placed an envelope in it. I saw the stamp. It was from New York. I looked at Klaus, my brows knitted curiously. He just gave a tired sigh.
I then took out the letter that was inside. It was written in German and I started reading.
"Dear Frau Von Wulfenberg,
I am writing on behalf of my grandfather and we owe both you and the Herr Von Wulfenberg our sincerest gratitude. You have saved our lives. We had arrived safely in New York, after escaping Munich via Sweden. Herr Von Wulfenberg had his men come get us in the middle of the night and transported us safely out of Germany. At first we thought they were soldiers sending us to Dachau. We are very much happy and settled here in Brooklyn and it would be wonderful if we could meet one day now that the war has ended. Grandfather has told me many times what a kind woman you are…."
I didn't finish reading the letter. I looked at the photograph enclosed. There was Herr Schweitzer, his wife and granddaughter standing in the harbor with the Statue of Liberty behind them. They were smiling. The back of the photograph was the date, taken about eleven months ago. I had tears running down my cheeks and I turned to look at Klaus. He had the cold mask on of course, barely a trace of emotion on his face. I embraced him and let my head rest on his chest. Klaus kept quiet, still as a statue. He did not say a word throughout the entire car journey.
"I love you…" I whispered fervently to Klaus and kissed his lips. He did it. He saved them. These humans he had deemed unworthy and nothing to him. Klaus had saved them for me. How could I not love him for that?
He never responded to my kiss but I snuggled close in his arms. Klaus only ignored me and stared out the window, probably giving me the same silent treatment I had given him. Klaus held me close in his arms though, as he whistled and hummed that haunting tune. I had found out from Aidan days later that Klaus and his vampires who had masqueraded as Nazi SS men massacred a village in France. Men, women, children. All dead, the entire village, killed indiscriminately, bodies drained of blood. Some had their hearts ripped out, heads torn apart. It was rumored that the most the villagers were werewolves, not all though, and that one of them had the moonstone that Klaus had been searching for.
He did not find the moonstone. It turned out to be just a rumor but Klaus didn't care. He'd burn down the entire forest for one tree. I watched my husband as he slept that night. He looked so perfect and peaceful like an angel. Was he really a monster? But he could be so sweet sometimes. What did it all really mean? Klaus had saved three Jews but slaughtered an entire village of innocents for a stupid moonstone. It was such a conundrum for me to understand. I would never know what really goes on in that head of his or what was in his thoughts. Klaus wasn't one to share. It occurred to me that I didn't really know who Klaus was and I had been married to him for nine hundred years. The only thing I was sure of, was that he loved me. Maybe even more than I loved him...
No…I shook my head and sighed softly. I kissed Klaus' lips before snuggling close in his arms. He stirred in his sleep and pulled me in his embrace. I love you so much Niklaus. It is just not possible that you could love me more…