Unlikely Friendships
Bonnie tightened her dress from behind, then turned her around and studied her critically.
"Your hair is an absolute mess, Elena." She said, disapprovingly, and sat her down on the stool of her dresser. Taking out a brush, she proceeded to vigorously untangle it.
"Ouch!" Elena complained, but Bonnie showed no mercy.
"Do you know how much trouble I'm in because of you?" Bonnie asked her, frowning. "I wasn't supposed to leave your side, and I was meant to make sure you were back here in time for lunch! Before Lord Klaus arrived."
"It wasn't your fault." Elena replied, looking down at the dress her mother had picked out for her. It was beautiful, she had to admit.
"I know it wasn't. I'm not blaming myself. I wasn't the one who ran away for absolutely no reason." Bonnie said, gritting her teeth.
Elena looked down again, this time guiltily. After a few moments of silence, Bonnie piped up again.
"So are you at least going to tell me the reason for your abrupt departure from the market this morning?" She asked, and when Elena looked up, she could see that behind the annoyance of her maid, Bonnie was dying of curiosity. She smiled secretively.
"I would, but as you told me about a hundred times, I'm late to lunch as it is." She replied, standing up. Bonnie couldn't hide her smile.
"Fine, later then. Now go show him what he could be missing out on." Bonnie pushed her towards the staircase, with a wink of encouragement.
Elena descended down into the living room, where Klaus and his mother were sitting.
"Ah, Elena, there you are." Miranda said, when she noticed her. At her name, Lady Esther and her son both stood up. When Klaus turned around, Elena couldn't keep in a tiny gasp. He was more handsome than she had thought! Previously, she had only ever seen him from afar. But now, up close, she could admire his dazzling blue eyes, and dark-blonde hair.
"Elena. A pleasure to meet you." He said, his voice smooth and confident. He took her hand, and placed a light, but firm kiss there.
"The pleasure is all mine, my lord." She replied, managing a small curtsey as her mother smiled approvingly.
Looking into his mesmerizing eyes, she found herself losing her train of thought, before her mother coughed discretely and she remembered where she was.
"My lady, welcome to our home." She said, turning to Lady Esther.
"It is quite beautiful, dear, as are you." Esther replied, nodding at her curtsey.
They all sat down, as Bonnie served them some drinks.
Over the next hour, they chatted happily, and Elena found herself forgetting any misgivings she'd had about Klaus. He was delightful, with his witty sense of humor and insightful observations about current society. Eventually, Lady Esther turned to Elena with a small smile.
"My dear, you seem like an intelligent, beautiful young woman, and we would be honored to have you join our family." She said, causing Miranda to beam with delight. "That is, if my son has no objections." Esther added.
Elena looked nervously at Klaus, but he just smiled. "I would count myself lucky to call you my wife." He said, and Miranda sighed with relief.
Esther stood up, and hugged her, then Elena.
"We need to go now, but we will surely meet again, sometime this week." She said, and Miranda nodded enthusiastically.
"Actually, could I get a glass of water before we go?" Klaus asked, and Elena's mother nodded.
"Bonnie?" Miranda called, but there was no reply.
"I think she's outside." Elena cut in. "I'll get it."
She went to the kitchen, her mind already full with thoughts of their wedding. It would be grand, she knew. When she was young, her father had taken her to another Lord's wedding, and she remembered thinking it was beautiful. The dresses, the flowers, it had been her dream since she was a little girl.
She poured the water, and turned to go back when she found herself face to face with Klaus.
"Oh, you startled me!" She told him, resting her hand over her heart which had briefly quickened in pace.
He smiled, but there was something different about him. Instead of the warm, dazzling smile she had seen over the last hour, this one was crueler, colder. He gripped her arm.
"You're going to be my wife, so there's some things you need to know." He said.
She frowned, confused. This man was nothing like the one she'd been talking to over lunch.
"Let go, Klaus. You're hurting me." She said, trying to remove his hand but his grip was tight.
"You will always do as I say. No questions asked." He stated. "You will not leave the house without my permission. Anyone you talk to, will be approved by me. And finally…" He said, his grip tightening even more. "If you ever betray me, you will know what true pain is. I will ruin you, and your family." With one last cold smile, he let go of her arm, spun around and walked out the kitchen. Stunned, she saw him kiss her mother on the cheek, once more the elegant, and charming young lord. After they had left, her mother came into the kitchen, gushing about the Mikaelsons, but she still couldn't get over the shock of what had just happened, so nothing her mother was saying was going in.
As soon as her mother stopped talking, she ran up the stairs, into her bedroom and threw herself onto her bed, shivering. Was that man really going to be her future husband?
"Elena?" Bonnie asked, gently. "What's wrong?"
Elena didn't reply, she didn't even know where to start. She couldn't even fully comprehend what had just happened, how was she supposed to explain it to Bonnie?
Bonnie tried asking a few more times, but when it was clear she wasn't going to get any answers from Elena, she gave up and left. Eventually, Elena fell asleep, her last thought of those enthralling eyes and that cruel, calculating smile.
A week passed, and Esther was at their house almost every day, with constant wedding discussions ongoing between her and Elena's mother. Fortunately, Klaus never accompanied her, Elena hadn't seen him since their discussion in the kitchen.
"Where is the butter?" Miranda asked, clearly frazzled. Esther was coming over for dinner again tonight, which meant another day of cooking a delicious meal, cleaning the house over and over again, and just in general, making sure everything was perfect.
"I don't think there's any left, ma'am." Bonnie said, opening and closing another cupboard, just to make sure.
Miranda sighed, clearly irritated. "Then go get some! What are you waiting for?"
"The wedding isn't for months. I don't understand why she needs to come over so often." Elena chipped in, while her mother rushed around the kitchen.
"It is not for us to question a lady." Miranda replied with her favorite phrase of the moment.
Elena rolled her eyes; her mother's desire to fulfill every wish of Lady Esther's was starting to get on her nerves.
"Wait! I'm coming with you." Elena called out to Bonnie, who was just leaving. Her mother didn't object, Elena doubted she was even listening.
"I thought you would be more excited." Bonnie said to her, as they made their way to the market. "This wedding is everything you've been wanting for years."
Elena sighed. "Be careful what you wish for."
Bonnie frowned in confusion, but Elena clearly wasn't willing to expand. They entered the small corner-shop, on the edge of the market, and joined the queue. Bonnie was idly chatting about something, but Elena wasn't even listening. Her eyes were roaming the small shop when they landed on a familiar face. Salvatore! He was clearly a worker, organizing some of the shelves. She was so surprised to see him, she didn't hear the elderly shopkeeper until Bonnie gently nudged her.
"I'm sorry?" Elena asked, having no idea what the question was.
"How may I help you?" The man repeated, with no sign of annoyance.
Elena asked for some butter, and then in the spur of the moment, asked for the biggest bag of flour she could see.
"How are we going to carry that?" Bonnie asked. "We don't even need flour! There's plenty at the house." She added, but Elena ignored her.
"Could we have some help?" She asked the shopkeeper. "I'll pay extra."
"No no, there's no need for that." The man replied, smiling kindly at her. "Damon! Carry this flour, for these two young ladies." He shouted over to Salvatore.
Damon Salvatore. Elena smiled triumphantly. Finally, a name.
He walked over, nodded to Bonnie, and then looked over at Elena. A surprised expression crossed his face, then he grinned, and heaved the flour onto his back.
"Where to?" The shopkeeper asked her.
"No need, I know the way." Damon cut in, with a cocky grin.
The elderly shop owner looked horrified. "Show some respect, young man!"
Elena smiled. "Yes, Damon, show some respect." She repeated, and Damon smirked.
"After you, my lady." He commented, sarcastically, but the shopkeeper remained oblivious and waved them goodbye. Throughout this encounter, Bonnie had been looking at Elena suspiciously, but she was avoiding meeting her questioning gaze.
"Bonnie, I need some soap. Could you go pick some up for me? I'll meet you at the house." She said, and Bonnie frowned again and opened her mouth to object.
"Please." Elena hurriedly added, finally making eye contact and trying to look as innocent as possible.
Bonnie bit her lip, clearly torn, and Elena rushed to take advantage of her hesitation.
"Let's go." She said, grabbing Damon's arm and half-dragging him down the street.
Once they had distanced themselves from the market, and Bonnie, Elena finally spoke.
"I know your name now." She said.
"So you bought this massively, heavy bag of flour for no other reason than to tell me that?" Damon asked, trying to hold back a smile.
"If you work there, how come that fruit stall owner has never caught you? That shop is right next to the market!" Elena asked him, instead of answering his own question.
"I guess I'm just that good." He said, with that cocky smirk he seemed to do so often.
"Or he's just that bad." Elena commented, causing him to chuckle.
"Or that." He agreed. "What about you? Shouldn't you be wedding-planning, instead of out buying flour?"
Elena's smile faded. "How did you..?" She started.
"Again, I can afford a newspaper. Lord Klaus is getting married, of course I heard."
Klaus's name caused Elena to tense, but Damon didn't seem to notice.
"Do you know him?" Elena asked, quietly.
Damon laughed, humorlessly. "No, he's a lord. I doubt he even sees people like me, let alone knows us. We're animals to him." Elena thought she heard a trace of bitterness in his voice.
"But you've seen him?"
"From very very far away, yes." Damon admitted. "Not by choice though."
"What did you think of him?" She didn't even know why she was asking so many questions about him, she guessed that she just wanted to hear from one person that he wasn't the kind, charming man everyone else saw.
He shrugged. "Not much really, seemed like every other person of that type. Only cares about themselves."
Elena didn't say anything, and there must have been something in her expression that he saw, because he stopped, and his expression softened slightly.
"I didn't mean you. You're…different." He said, hesitantly but she shook her head.
"It's not that." She said, trying to stop the tears that were threatening to fall.
"Hey, hey." He said turning her face towards his, and brushing away an escaping tear. He frowned, clearly confused. "What is it?"
She pulled away from him, and angrily wiped away the tears.
"Nothing." She said, stepping further away from him. She couldn't believe she had been about to tell him everything, this man, who was virtually a stranger to her.
"Thank you for the flour." She said, coldly. Still looking totally confused, he nodded and dropped the bag down onto the floor.
She dug out the small purse she kept on her, and took out a few coins, holding them out to Damon, but saying nothing.
He shook his head, gazed at her for a few moments, a clear look of disappointment on his face, then turned around and started to walk away, muttering something quietly.
But not quiet enough, she still heard it.
"They're all the same."
For some reason, the words stung more than she had expected.
(**)
A sharp knock on the door pierced Elena's thoughts, and she looked up, startled. She had been in the kitchen, attempting to read a book, but her thoughts kept drifting back to Damon, and the last thing he'd said to her, or about her.
"They're all the same."
Had he really said she was like Klaus? Like the rest of them? She couldn't get over it. Of course she wasn't going to be like him, what had he expected? They came from completely different worlds, had been brought up in totally different ways!
The sharp knock was repeated, and Elena sighed.
"Bonnie? Mum?" She called out, but there was no reply. It looked like no one was home.
Sighing again, she stood up and walked to the front door. Pulling it open, she found herself looking into those familiar, but unwelcome, deep-blue eyes.
"Klaus." She hadn't seen him since their conversation in the kitchen, and that had been over a week ago.
"Elena." He said, smiling chillingly.
He took her hand, and she forced herself not to recoil as he kissed it.
"Come. Accompany me on a walk." He said stepping back, and gesturing to the street outside.
"Actually, I'm quite busy at the moment." She said, trying her best to sound convincing.
"I don't believe it was a question." Klaus stated, his smile fading, and a dangerous look appearing in his eyes.
As her heartbeat started to quicken, she nodded, hurriedly.
"Of course." She took the arm he was offering, and shut the door behind her.
"How have you been? I don't think I've seen you since we settled our engagement." He asked, politely, returning to his role as a gracious, charming young lord.
"Just fine." She answered, before remembering her manners. "And you, my lord?"
"Now now, none of this 'my lord' business. We are to be married. Call me Klaus."
Elena nodded, but didn't say anything. She didn't think she could bring herself to say his name.
Over the next fifteen minutes, they chatted idly, about non-specific things. Klaus never brought up their wedding, or their future and Elena only answered his questions, offering none of her own. As they entered the market, Elena saw her mother, with Bonnie, to her immense relief, and she almost ran towards them. She was hugging Miranda tightly, as Klaus approached them. Her mother beamed, to see them together.
"Klaus! Elena, how lovely to see you both here, together."
Elena looked down, sadly, as Klaus made pleasant conversation with Miranda. Her mother was so happy about this wedding; she couldn't bring herself to reveal what Klaus was really like and break apart the wedding. Maybe marriage to him wouldn't be so bad, if she stuck to his rules of course. There was just one thing she had to first.
She moved close to Bonnie, Klaus was still chatting away to her mother.
"Cover for me." She whispered, and then darted away, before Bonnie even had a chance to object.
She ducked into the small corner-shop, where the elderly owner was helping out another customer. She waited until he had finished, and then went over to talk to him.
"Do you remember me? I was in here the other day." She asked, and the man nodded.
"Ah yes, the flour. How can I help you today?"
"You know the man who works here, Damon?" She asked, and he looked up, surprised.
"Uh-yes, I do."
"Do you know where he lives?" She said, and he frowned.
"Did he do something wrong? If you have a complaint…" He started, but she cut in quickly.
"No, no, nothing like that, quite the opposite, in fact. Could I just have his address please?"
He frowned again, clearly unsure what to say.
"Do you not know where he lives?" She said, feeling disappointed. This was all she knew about him, she would have no other way to find him.
"No, I do. I just don't think you should be going to that area of town." He said, looking concerned.
"I'll be fine." She said, trying to act confident. "I've been before, I just can't remember the way." She added a small, white lie. "Please."
He still looked hesitant, but he wrote out the address on a piece of paper, and handed it over.
"I really don't think you should go." He repeated again.
Ignoring him, she nodded her thanks and took the paper. She understood why he was being like that, though. People of her class would never step foot in that area, and she was actively looking to go there.
Alongside the address, he'd scribbled down some directions and she felt a rush of affection for the helpful, old man.
As she followed the directions into the dark side streets, she could feel people staring at her, and children pointing everywhere she went. She'd never felt more out of place. She remembered the man who had tried to rob her, he'd mentioned that he was just trying to feed his family. She wondered how many people here were in similar situations. Eventually she ended up in front of a small, run-down house. It was only one level, the paint was peeling and the roof looked like it was falling apart. She paused, wondering if this had been a bad idea. She was about to turn around, and leave when the door swung open and Damon stepped out. He hadn't seen her yet, so she watched as he put his head back, enjoying the feel of the sunshine on his face. Then he pulled the door shut, and jogged down the steps to where she was standing, almost running into her.
He stopped himself, realized who she was, and a ghost of a smile hovered on his face. He looked at his house, then back at her.
"Not exactly like yours, is it?" He said, but he was grinning slightly.
"What do you mean? I can't tell the difference." She replied, earning a chuckle from him.
"So what brings you to the dark side?" He asked, looking amused at how out of place she was.
"I came to apologize, for how I left things last time we spoke." She said sincerely.
He simply shrugged. "Not your fault. I should have felt honored you were even speaking to me."
She shook her head, rejecting his statement.
"Damon, I want to be friends."
At that, he looked surprised. She had finally caught him off-guard. "Why?" He asked, looking at her suspiciously.
"You know why." She said, repeating his words from before back to him. "I crave adventure. I'm to be married in a month, and then I will be confined to this life forever. For these last few weeks, I want to experience something different. And I want you to help me."
She repeated her carefully prepared speech to him, watching for a reaction, but his face was expressionless.
"And what do I get from this?" He asked.
"My friendship, of course." She replied, winking at him and he smirked.
A few meters away, two men stood huddled together, eavesdropping.
"Are you going to tell Klaus?" One man asked, and the other nodded vigorously.
"Of course. He asked us to keep an eye on her for a reason."
"He's not going to like it." The first man said, looking wary, but the other one just shrugged.
"That's her problem, not ours."
Review pleaseeeee! I love hearing what you guys think, and it's just useful to know if and when people start losing interest and I should stop! But yes, hearing you love it, would definitely not be a bad thing!