Hey guys! I am finally back with an update :)
Enjoy!
They ran for what felt like hours and they eventually found solace behind a pair of cactuses.
"Where is the brothel located?" Caroline asked him as she tried to regain her breath from running so quickly.
"It is a couple of miles away. The brothel is located in town." He told her as he inhaled a deep breath and exhaled shortly after.
"It feels like we have been running for hours." Caroline admitted as she sat down on the sand and put her face in her hands in exhaustion.
"Are you alright?" Klaus questioned worriedly.
Caroline looked up at him and nodded.
"Yes, it is just that the sun is so strong and I am feeling quite warm."
"Oh… I understand… We can take a break if you would like." Klaus told her as he stood up and stretched his already aching legs.
"Oh no, it's quite alright. I am okay. Let us go and find a woman that could be mistaken for me." Caroline told him as she threw him a small smile.
Klaus nodded and outstretched his hand for the blonde to take. As their fingers met, an electric shock went through them both.
They ignored the feeling of the electric shock even though they knew that it was their bodies reacting to one another.
Caroline didn't know what to expect, considering that one single touch from him turned her into a pile of goo.
Shaking her head subtly, the two decided to walk towards the brothel together.
"Klaus?" Caroline said half an hour later.
They were approaching the town gates together. Caroline took in the metal gates that had guards on either side and she could hear the chatter and laughter coming from inside the town square.
"Yes, my lady?" Klaus questioned.
A blush crept onto the blonde's cheeks when she heard him call her my lady and she smiled.
"Won't the townspeople recognize you?" She asked him, genuinely curious.
"Damn…" The Egyptian Prince muttered under his breath. "Yes they will." He told her as he shut his eyes in annoyance.
"So, what shall we do?" Caroline asked him.
"I am not yet sure." He replied honestly as he looked down at what he wore.
He wore the royal robes and he quickly got an idea.
"I have an idea." Klaus told her as he reached for her hand and pulled her to the side.
"What is it?"
"I have to blend in which means that I have to discard my royal robes and look like a filthy peasant." He answered without giving it much thought.
Caroline's face fell and he looked over at her with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Is something wrong?" The Prince wondered.
"Is that what you call people that are not of your status?" She asked him as she placed her hands on her hips.
Caroline waited for him to answer and Klaus cussed under his breath for not thinking about what he should have said. He knew that the blonde that stood before him felt as if she was beneath him and he realized that calling the people that had so much more than the slaves would most definitely strike a chord with her.
"That is not what I meant." He immediately said.
"I know what you meant." She shrugged before she turned away from him and walked a bit further.
"Where are you going?" He asked as his voice took on a desperate tone.
"I am giving you privacy." She simply said as she crossed her arms over her chest and faced the cactus that stood near the gate doors.
"Oh…" He replied, dumbfounded.
Releasing a sigh of relief, he smiled. She isn't mad at me.
As Klaus shook out of his robes, Caroline kicked at the sand subtly.
She thought that Klaus was not one to discriminate because of a person's status, but apparently she was wrong. Shaking her head in sadness, she bit down on her bottom lip.
Why did he want her if she was nothing but a slave?
She was shaken out of her thoughts when she heard Klaus approach her from behind.
"I am ready." He told her.
Caroline nodded and she turned around to see Klaus looking completely different. He had dirt on his cheeks and it seemed as if he rolled in the sand with the brown patches that were on his chemise and overalls.
"Do you think the townspeople will notice me now?" Klaus asked her as he hid his robes behind a humongous cactus.
"No," she told him as she graced him with a small smile that she didn't necessarily mean.
"Good," he chuckled as he outstretched his hand for her to take.
"It will probably be best if we do not walk into the town square holding one another's hand." She told him.
"Oh... I guess that is true." He shrugged even though he felt that Caroline was growing distant from him.
"Do I have to change into something less expensive?" She asked him as she looked down at the green dress that she wore.
"No... It looks like something that people would wear." He told her carefully because he didn't want to upset her even further with his filter less words.
Caroline nodded and the two walked over to the gates.
The guards eyed them carefully, but said nothing.
Once inside the gates, Caroline smiled at the beauty of it.
On both sides of the town square, stood wooden stands.
They consisted of fruits, vegetables, pottery, jewelry, clothing, and more.
"This- this is incredible." She whispered as she walked over to the jewelry stand.
Her eyes roamed over the jewelry and she smiled at the beauty.
Caroline's eyes landed on a diamond bracelet and her jaw dropped slightly at it.
Shaking her head, she moved on to the clothing stand.
Klaus watched her as she ran her fingers through a velvet pink scarf.
He smiled at her and then looked back at the jewelry stand.
A couple of minutes later, Caroline turned back to him and they walked towards the brothel.
The blonde felt dirty as they entered the brothel and she heard noises coming from further inside.
"I know this isn't exactly appealing..." Klaus began.
"It is fine." She reassured him.
Klaus nodded and they walked further into the brothel. The brothel was old and there were drapes that covered the chaises.
Immediately, she felt uncomfortable and she bit down on her bottom lip.
A drunken man stalked over to Caroline and he pinned her against the nearest wall.
Caroline's eyes widened in horror as the drunken man began to touch her.
She looked for Klaus, but he was nowhere to be found.
"How much does it cost to spend a night with you, darling?" He asked her as his fingers grazed her most cherished area through the fabric of her dress.
Caroline shook her head and she tried to push him away, but wasn't successful.
"I see you play hard to get. Come on, dear. I promise that I will show you a good time." He purred into her ear.
Caroline didn't know what to do as he continued to touch her all over the place.
She felt his breath on her face and her eyes widened.
As she shut her eyes to try and muster all of the strength he had, the drunken man was being pulled off of her.
Caroline's eyes shot open and she watched in horror as Klaus tackled the man to the floor and threw a bunch of punches.
"Klaus!" Caroline cried out as the drunken man got the upper hand.
"You could have waited your turn, jackass." The man spat in Klaus's direction.
"She is not on sale." Klaus spat back as he pushed the man into the nearest wall.
Klaus straightened his clothing and grabbed Caroline's hand.
"I should not have left you alone." Klaus told her as he felt the anger rush through his blood.
"It is okay. I'm okay." She replied.
"Did he hurt you?" Klaus asked even though she already told him that she was okay.
"No. I'm good."
"Good." He smiled as he outstretched his hand for her to take.
Caroline looked down at his hand and took it because she didn't want to have to go through what she did again.
Klaus and Caroline were stopped when a woman came out of her study.
"You have caused a ruckus in this fine establishment." She told them.
The woman had black hair and blue eyes. She was in her mid-thirties and she wore a tight silk red gown. She was ounces of makeup on her face.
"And we apologize for that, but we need to borrow a woman for the day."
"I am sorry, sir, but we do not allow our artisans to do their jobs out of our establishment."
"I am sure that we can reach an agreement of some sort." He told her as he took out a leather pouch and shook it.
The woman's interest was piqued when she heard the sound of the gold coins jingling against one another.
"Please do follow me into my study." She told them as she pushed the mahogany double doors open.
Once inside her study, she showed them to their seats and they sat down.
"Do you have a type?" She asked them.
"I only have one type and that type is sitting beside me right now, but yes… I do need a woman who is blonde and has blue eyes."
"One that looks like the lady that sits beside you?" She questioned as she eyed Caroline.
"Yes," Klaus nodded.
"I believe that we have a few. Please do stay here and I will go and fetch them."
"Thank you." He thanked her as he got comfortable in his seat.
Once Klaus and Caroline were alone, Klaus turned to Caroline and he frowned when he noticed that she was in a completely different world.
"Caroline?"
"Huh?" She asked once she looked over at him.
"Are you alright?" He wondered.
"Yes, I'm good." She told him.
They sat in silence until the woman came back with the prostitutes in tow.
"These are the women that match what you need." She told him as they lined up.
All of the girls were half-naked and they had pounds of makeup on their faces. They looked exhausted and a shutter ran down Caroline's spine.
Klaus stood up and Caroline followed. They eyed the women and they both agreed on the one that looked most like Caroline.
She had bright blue eyes and blonde hair. She was shorter than Caroline, but it would do.
"What is your name?" Klaus asked her.
"Alexandra," she answered.
"Well, Alexandra, for the time being your name is Caroline." He told her. "Are we clear?" Klaus questioned as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Yes." She nodded.
"Good," Klaus smiled as he handed the leather pouch to the woman in charge.
"It was a pleasure doing business with you." She told him.
"Likewise," he shrugged before Klaus and Caroline walked towards the door.
Once outside, Klaus walked over to the clothing stand and purchased a blue dress for the prostitute. He couldn't exactly have her going into the palace looking like a strumpet.
Once she was dressed, they left the town square and Klaus pulled on his royal robes.
"Wait… You are the Prince?" She asked.
"Yes, I am." He nodded as he watched Caroline trail behind them. "Sweetheart?" He asked.
"I am just thinking. All is well." Caroline reassured him.
"Very well." He nodded.
"What am I supposed to do?"
"You are supposed to make my father believe that you are the woman that I have taken for myself. Do as he pleases, but do not show how experienced you are. We need it to believable, so for today you are but a girl that has had intimate relationships with one man and one man only. Understood?"
"Yes." She said.
"Good."
A while later, they were back in the secret passageway.
Alexandra stood off to the side as she waited for Klaus to tell her what to do.
"Caroline, I need you to stay in here for the time being, alright?"
"Sure." She shrugged as she sat down on the stone bench.
The Egyptian Prince nodded and then he walked over to Alexandra.
"Show time." He told her as they came out through the secret passageway.
"Remove your clothing and get into the bed."
"But…" She began.
"Now," he ordered, his voice filled with authority.
She nodded and removed the blue dress. Klaus didn't even spare her a glance as she got under the covers. Klaus removed his robes and chemise and got into bed with her.
He kept his distance and Alexandra looked the other way.
A short time later, Klaus heard a knock on his chamber door and he told whomever it was to come in, feigning that his breath was being cut short because of the activities that he has just done.
One of Mikael's guards entered and he eyed the woman that lay beside one of the Prince's.
"The King has ordered the presence of the slave that you have taken for yourself." He told him, not looking at the Prince, but at the naked woman.
"Well, then… Darling, go on ahead and show my father what it is you can do." Klaus said.
Alexandra nodded and she climbed out of the chaise and pulled on the blue dress.
The guard's eyes landed on her bum and Klaus chuckled subtly.
Once he was left alone, he stood up from the chaise and pulled on his chemise.
Walking into the passageway, he spotted Caroline standing there.
"Caroline?" He questioned.
"Why me?" She asked as she faced him.
"I beg your pardon?" Klaus wondered as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Why me?" She repeated.
"I do not understand…"
"Why did you choose me? I am but a slave and you are of royal blood. Why me? There is nothing special about me, so why did you choose me?"
"Caroline…"
"I am serious… You call those people in the town square filthy peasants and they have more than any of my people will ever have."
"Caroline, I did not mean what I said… I promise you, I just did not think about it. Please, you have to forgive me."
"I'm not mad at you, my Prince. I am just done." She said before she walked towards the passageway exit.
"Caroline!" Klaus called out.
She didn't dare to look back at him.
There you have it... I left this chapter on an angsty note, I know... Don't hate me, please!
Please Leave Feedback!
~Hana :p