Still on the cusp between sleep and wake, Elena rolls over in bed. A gentle breeze is blowing in through the open port hole causing a loose strand of hair to fly in her mouth. Rolling over, she buries her face in the pillow and pulls her covers up. Unable to get comfortable, she shifts once more, the warm rays of the sun filter and shine in her eyes. They snap open and when the sun blinds her momentarily, she throws her forearm over her face to shield them. Several minutes pass before she finally sits up to get out of bed.
When she glances at the clock, she's beyond surprised at how well she slept. Since George obviously spent the night with Miss Pierce, she didn't have to deal with him. The rare moment of solitude is a welcome treat. Her thoughts drift to the kiss she initiated last night. Reflexively, her fingertips ghost her mouth, she can almost taste him, feel him. She doesn't want that magical moment to become a bad memory, not it or a single moment that she got to spend with him. He truly understands her, something that George has never been able to or has even tried. When she went outside last evening, she didn't want to think of the dismal state of her marriage or the fact that their voyage will be over in just a few days and that she will probably never see Damon again.
Damon...
He is the reason for the guilt that is eating at her insides now. She used him. As much as it hurts, there is nothing that she can offer him in return. Strangely enough though, she feels no guilt at all towards her husband. It's not because of his current or even any of the past lovers, it's because George has never loved her, she's never been more sure of anything. What she is certain of is that he will never love anyone more than he loves himself. The pompous boor that he is.
Elena closes her eyes and when she does, she can still feel Damon's soft yet firm lips massaging hers. How will she ever go back to her old life when she got a taste of something different? And beautiful.
Whoever is watching over Damon's well being, they rather assuredly are falling down on the job. He couldn't sleep last night no matter how hard he tried. He tossed and turned, even went into the kitchen to get some milk and still sleep eluded him.
Every time he closed his eyes, he would see Elena's eyes, hear Elena's voice, and feel Elena's fingers or smell her hair as it shimmered in the moonlight. It wasn't only her. As dawn was beginning to break over the horizon, he finally lapsed into a light sleep only to be awakened when one of the other crewmen came to tell him that the Captain was waiting to see him. It was the very last thing that Damon wanted to attend to at such an early hour. Wondering what else could possibly go wrong, he tells Charles that he needs to dress and then he'll go to the bridge. The young man nods and then takes his leave. Damon pushes the door shut and leans against it. Despite the beautiful sunrise, his thoughts are rather black.
The Captain is dismissing Charles just as Damon arrives. He looks at him unkindly and starts without any further delay. "It hasn't escaped my attention that someone, you might be unnecessarily worrying our guests. I can assure you, Mr. Salvatore, that despite that warning, this ship is perfectly safe as are our passengers. Do I need to remind you that spreading this kind of information is a serious violation of your duties...? One, I might add, that will not be tolerated. Are we clear?"
Somehow to his utter amazement Damon manages to stay calm and keep his voice low. He pauses for a moment when Elena's face pops into his mind. He latches on to it and uses it as an anchor to keep his temper in check. He takes a deep breath and then speaks. "Sir, the only person that I shared the information with is First Officer, Nicklaus Mikaleson. I only talked to his brother, Kol when he asked me about it directly. You should know, Sir, that he had already heard about how dangerous these waters can be from Officer Mikaelson himself. We discussed it but I didn't provide him with anything that he didn't already know ."
"If you took care of the Mikaelsons..."
Damon doesn't wait and starts a report on what the Mikaelson clan did the previous day, the list of their activities which is getting more and more ridiculous. "As you know, Sir, there was a tug of war on A deck, both Kol and Finn and even Mr. Mikaelson Sr, participated in. Then the men went to the gym while their women had tea with Mrs. Lockwood. After the gym, the men went to the smoking lounge to have cigars and brandy." When he finishes, the Captain is silent for a few minutes. Damon considers asking if he is dismissed when the older man starts talking again.
"I knew... I just knew you'd be trouble when I first saw your name on the manifest. Those parents of yours," he utters under his breath. "Just like you father, you lack discipline and respect for authority."
Stunned, Damon's mouth parts slightly at what he's hearing. Is the Captain really speaking about his parents? How does he even know them?" He tries to contemplate this new information but can come up with nothing. Damon has never been one to back down so he keeps his eyes firmly on the man. Damon's father was an officer himself, having navigated the ocean for most of his life. Many times when he was just a young boy, his dad would tell him the story about how he met his mother when she was crossing from England to become an American. "Sir?" he finally manages to blurt out.
Captain Forbes-Turner suddenly realizes the inappropriateness of the conversation and waves Damon off. Just after he steps out of the Captain's cabin, Damon catches a bitter sounding, "Your mother should never have left England." Too shocked to speak, Damon starts to walk back to his room. A million questions swirl inside of his head as he pauses at the railing to look down at the shimmering sea.
"I missed you at breakfast!" Kol greets him cheerfully back on the deck. The gregarious young Mikaelson gives Damon's shoulder a friendly squeeze. Looking up, Damon gives him a tight smile before turning away. "I'm sorry, the Captain needed me to report."
Kol grins at the lack of enthusiasm. "And you loved every minute of it, considering your happy face." Damon says nothing and follows alongside, the two easily aligning their steps as Kol leads the way to his cabin. He keeps the door open for the officer who he considers his friend. "I've got some 'leftovers' and we'll have bring the coffee?"
Damon gives him almost genuine smile. Never would he have expected Kol, the son of a prominent family who is swimming in wealth and opulence to be such a friendly guy. But when he thinks about it, First Officer Mikaelson is also quite congenial and down to earth as the saying goes. Kol steps out of his cabin and flags down a crew member to deliver a message to the kitchen and then shuts his cabin door. He gestures for Damon to take a seat and when he does, Kol turns a chair around and sits down, his arms resting across the back of the chair. "So what is it? The Captain, the warning or pretty Mrs. Lockwood?"
Damon sighs, "Sorry I'm not exactly a good companion this morning. I'll tell you about it later."
Kol nods in acceptance although he's quite curious about the young officer. "As you wish. I will tell you though that we had quite the view this morning when Mrs. Lockwood came without her husband again. She kept to herself, sitting all alone on a corner table. Dear George arrived when she was halfway through her breakfast and had the actual nerve to reproach her for something or other. He was discreet about it but I could tell by his facial expressions that he was none too pleased with her. There's something about that guy... I sort of don't buy his 'I'm so noble' attitude. I'm shocked that anyone does..."
He notices Damon's sour face and stops talking. "Alright Damon, between you and me, what's going on between you, Mrs. Lockwood and her bastard of a husband?" he pauses for a moment for effect before continuing, "Because you, officer Salvatore do not look like the type of guy who has fun and makes a profit off of married women. She isn't that kind of a lady either. So what is it?"
Damon looks at Kol unhappily, hesitating about how much he can say here. Somehow he knows that he can trust this man. He drops his eyes and shakes his head almost imperceptibly. Finally he raises his head. "I... like her. More than..."
Kol nods and rolls his eyes. "I can tell." Damon shakes his head no. "It doesn't matter, she's not that kind of lady and I don't seek fun. But I do want her happy and safe. I think her husband's abusing her."
Elena finishes up the last bite of her food. After dabbing the corners of her mouth with her napkin, she lays it on the table. She takes a drink of water, looking around as she does. He's nowhere to be seen so she quickly gets up to leave. With the scene he almost caused at breakfast still fresh in her mind, she decides to go for a walk on the promenade deck rather than risk running into him in their cabin. He may think otherwise but she's no fool. He wanted to play nice to cover up the fact that he wasn't at breakfast in time or that he wasn't with her at all.
"Mrs. Lockwood...," Elena hears as she's darting around the tables to get to the door. She turns around and sees Kelly Donovan. She likes the woman, she's been nothing but kind to her, no fake smiles, no exaggerated or phony displays of affection. With her, what you see is what you get and for that, Elena is grateful. The corners of her mouth lift, a genuine smile lights up her face. "Miss Donovan, how are you doing today?"
"I was wondering if you'd join me for a walk. I can give you a small tour of the backstage area if you'd like?"
"I would love to," Elena gushes, immediately liking the prospect of doing something new and different rather than walking around, unhappy thoughts plaguing her mind as she tries to avoid running into both her husband and the kind young man who doesn't deserve to be dragged into her misery.
The two women spend a nice sunny afternoon exploring the ship. They spend some time chatting on A deck while watching a pod of dolphins trying to keep up with the ship. Elena even dares to have a cigarette. Even though she coughed and sputtered, she liked being able to rebel just a little bit.
Kelly takes her into the kitchen where the head chef gives her a peek at what he's conjuring up for the evening meal. From there, she takes her to her own cabin where they chat for awhile before going back outside. As they walk along, she introduces Elena to different crew members, housekeepers, bartenders and others that help with her show. Kelly is a very congenial woman, she smiles and says a few words to everyone they pass. They're less formal and smile genuinely at Elena. If they're wondering why she's there, they aren't obvious about it. Meeting these nice people makes Elena wonder, and not for the first time, how different her life might be if she hadn't been born into money.
Later they return to the dining room but it's still too early for another meal. Elena asks the bartender to serve them a light and refreshing cocktail, insisting to Kelly that the drinks are on her. As soon as the man slides them over, Elena picks up her glass. After thanking Kelly for a nice walk, they clink them together and take a long sip.
"My pleasure, Mrs. Lockwood. Honestly, it's not often that I meet passengers who appreciate my performances. Usually it feels like I'm invisible up on that stage." She pauses to have another sip of her drink. "All of these people are too busy celebrating their own importance to pay attention to me." She smiles at Elena, "I'm sorry for being so forthright."
"Oh, I don't mind, it's a nice change," Elena smiles at her, although it doesn't reach her eyes.
Kelly considers her for a moment. "Well, you know where to find me if you need... help of any kind?"
Elena feels like this woman can see right through her. She's not sure what exactly she means but she's quite certain it's genuine. She stares at her for a moment and then takes the last swallow of her cocktail. Before setting off for her cabin, she inclines her head in gratitude and takes her leave.
Having spent most of the morning with Officer Salvatore and his family, Kol is relieved to have a little bit of alone time. He's lounging underneath a wide parasol on the promenade deck. When he hears a throat clearing noise he looks up, smiling when he sees it's one of the waiters. It's a warm day and he could use a little refreshment so he tells the young man to bring him a bourbon on the rocks. As soon as it's delivered, he takes a big pull, savoring the familiar burn as it goes down.
He leans back and with his feet up, he stretches out his leg and relaxes back into the chair. He looks around, watching, considering and thinking about his target. It's his specialty, manipulating people for fun, harmless fun really. But today, he has his sights on someone new but this time his ideas are more malevolent than harmless. He was shocked to hear what Damon told him about George Lockwood and his wife. Of course he doesn't have any proof that the man is a monster but he definitely believes what Damon told him. Even the thought of someone laying their hands on a woman, any woman burns like fire inside of him.
As he scans the crowd on this lovely afternoon, only one thought keeps repeating in his head. Water, water, and yes, more water. He is so deep in thought that he doesn't hear his brother's approach until Niklaus pulls a chair beside him. It's the dragging sound that awakens him from his reverie.
"I don't like this face of yours, brother?" He grins, chuckling when Kol greets him with an annoyed look.
"And why do you always think the worst about my intentions?" He stares at his older brother as he takes another swallow of his bourbon.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you're such an irresponsible boy, only thinking about fun, putting ladies' honor in jeopardy," he starts to say, an amused look on his face when Kol quirks his brows. "As I was saying, you also seem to enjoy ruining our parents' grievous efforts to settle you down?" Niklaus finishes, with air quotes, having mentioned their parents usual tirade.
"Ah, that," Kol feigns disinterest. He likes this brother of his, they usually get along well, both have a bit of a rebellious nature that drives their father crazy but earns him more freedom than their elder brothers, Finn and Elijah get.
"You're angry," Niklaus realizes surprised, sliding his chair even closer.
"I'm not," he raises his hand, aware that Niklaus can see right through him.
"Yes. You. Are."
"Brother, if I was, do you really think I would tell you? I can't have you ruining my plans now can I?"
Niklaus sighs and leans back in his own chair. He is well aware he won't be able to stop Kol when he's in this kind of mood. Still as the older brother, he has an obligation to try to talk some sense into him. "Listen, Kol, whatever you're up to, I'm begging you, please don't do anything stupid."
"What are you talking about, when have I ever done anything stupid?"
Niklaus snorts. "Yeah, whatever."
"Alright, brother, I won't do anything stupid. Are you happy now?"
First Officer Mikaelson stares at him for a good long time. He doesn't feel happy at all with his promise because he knows his younger brother all too well. But having no other recourse, it will have to do for now. He picks up Kol's drink and finishes what's left in the glass. Needing to return to duty, he points his finger at Kol then turns around and disappears among the crowd.
Having been told by George to dress to the nines this evening, Elena spends the better part of an hour trying to decide what to wear. After much debate, Elena chooses a yellow green dress with a silk floral motif. Green silk ribbon drapes around the sides and under her breasts and trims the edges of the skirt to form a bow in the back that sits at her knees. Her hair is styled loosely on her head with pretty hair combs to hold it up. While Elizabeth helps Elena to put the finishing touches on her attire and hair, she can't help but wonder about her husband.
She's not sure why George suddenly decided to put so much effort into dressing for dinner although she suspects it has something to do with the Mikaelson family. It's not hard to surmise that he'd like to earn their bank accounts. It would really be good for George's business if they were to transfer their considerable wealth in his bank. She also knows that it's all an act to gain points with his own father who is hesitant about making him a full partner.
"Tell Elizabeth to do something with your hair, this loose style doesn't look respectable enough. The Mikaelson family are traditionalists. I will not allow you to raise any eyebrows," he scolds, tucking a clean handkerchief into his front pocket.
Elena looks into the mirror, her eyes meeting the older woman's. She just smiles and tightens the style. It looks presentable but she hates it. It hurts her, not that George cares. He doesn't notice when her eyes drift to see him preening in front of his own mirror. There he is.. All he cares about is trying to impress potential business interests.
"Why are you so sure they'll expect us for dinner?" she says aloud.
"I ran into Kol Mikaelson on the promenade deck. We had drinks and then he invited us to join them." He adjusts his tie and speaks without bothering to look at her. "Frankly, Kol is the least important member of the family. He's sort of a black sheep but his word still carries some weight. Definitely his invitation."
Elena finishes up just in time so she doesn't have to listen to George's usual incessant tapping while he waits for her to finish.
The dining room is just beginning to fill when they arrive for dinner. Kol is already in place, standing next to his parents. As soon as Kol sees them, he waves them over to join them. Elena watches both the parents for any hint of disapproval, but there's none. They're both too much of classy, or is it possible they'd be truly kind people?
Not long after the Lockwood's arrive, the rest of the Mikaelson clan is in place. Esther is wearing a gold ivory silk charmeuse with pearl beaded lace trim. Her assymetrical skirt is hobbled on one side and trained at the rear. She looks quite regal, Elena thinks.
Sage, on the other hand, is wearing a sleeveless black satin number with a bead and fabric net overlay. The ruched cummerbund style waist accentuates her amble curves. It's really a rather risqué dress that compliments both her vibrant red hair and personality. She is also wearing a diamond choker with a ruby drop that draws attention to her cleavage. She looks quite lovely, her attire is a good fit for her flamboyant personality.
Sage tries to make Kol leave his seat so she can sit next to Elena but he has an attitude this evening and refuses to move. Rather than make a scene, Sage ends up opposite Elena, while Kol stays seated next to her and is opposite to Finn.
George gives his full attention to the head of the family. Kol is more than happy to ignore their boring business discussion and entertain the very lovely Mrs. Lockwood. She's truly sweet.
In a way, he's glad Damon isn't here because he's not exactly in the position to defend the lady's honor, it may just complicate things. The dinner is a pleasant event, surprisingly. Once again it's pretty late when they stand up to retire for the night.
"Sorry, Elena..." Kol apologizes to her in his thoughts for what he's about to do. When he helps her to stand, he deliberately brushes her shoulder and squeezes her arm in the process, immediately feeling guilty when she jerks violently and lets out a painful cry. Both Sage and his mother immediately jump to her defense but Kol doesn't release her until he manages to push the short sleeve of the dress a bit lower, revealing the angry purple marks that mar her skin.
"I'm so sorry Mrs. Lockwood, did I hurt you?"
Elena's horrified when she sees everyone looking at her shoulder. "No! No, it was..." She knows if she doesn't play this right, she'll have more bruises before the night is over. "The bed is poorly secured and planked. Between that and the movement of the ship, it seems I'm falling all the time."
"She's really quite clumsy," George remarks while walking over to his wife. Elena just nods, unsure of how to save the situation.
While his family makes a fuss about their new nice friend, Kol looks up, his eyes boring right into George's. George swallows thickly then places his hand against Elena's lower back to lead her out of the dining room.
Despite his anger at her, he suspects that he would be well off to keep his hands off of her tonight. Once she's inside of their stateroom, George hurries to Katherine's suite. After he's had his fill of her, he collapses onto the bed beside her. Katherine falls asleep almost immediately but sleep eludes George, he cannot get that cold and fierce warning gaze out of his mind.
I love Kol!
Thank you, Eva. You help me in so many ways. I am a loss to think about where I'd be without you.
Huge thanks to all of you as well. You're the very best. I so appreciate each and everyone of you.
I did post the dresses that Elena, Sage and Esther are wearing on my scarlett2112 fb page if you're interested.
"This Isn't What We Meant" will resume as soon as I post the final chapter of EOT. "Tomorrow" still has much left to tell.
I wrote this story for Salvatoreboys4ever. She's venture into the AU world with "Captive of Her Beauty". Delenadreams has a cute little o/s "The Crush".
This story still has a few chapters left to post.
Have a wonderful day everyone. Thank you all again.