Chapter 24

What's mine, is yours

Cold showers were great. Zora never felt really refreshed if she took a warm shower. And it had been a hot day. Not to mention she had cried like a little girl. Fortunately Elijah had been very understanding. Zora would have been embarrassed if she would have cried in front of someone else. Talking to someone had actually made her feel a little better. But Elijah had left and she was alone with Klaus again.

How long was he going to keep her here? She was so tired. She wanted to see Nathan. Elijah had told her that he was fine. Zora knew that Nathan was worried about her. She would probably have to ask Klaus as politely as possible if they could just go back to the house. Great. Being polite to Klaus was last thing Zora wanted to do but she knew that she had no choice if she ever wanted to get out of here.

Who knew what he was planning. She haven't seen him since Elijah had left. He hadn't even insisted her to come to dinner. That was strange but definitely not a bad thing. Participating to his grotesque show was the last thing she wanted right now. She just wanted to go to sleep. All that crying had exhausted her.

Zora turned the shower off and wrapped a towel around her body. As soon as she stepped out of the bathroom she saw that Klaus had been in her bedroom. Klaus had fortunately slept in the master bedroom. She hadn't heard him knocking. Zora looked around cautiously. He wasn't there anymore. He had left some paper on the bed. When Zora took a closer look, she couldn't believe her eyes. It was a drawing of her and Nathan. She picked it up carefully. It was so lifelike. Every single detail was perfect. Zora couldn't stop looking at it. She loved it. But how… Who had made it?

There was also another smaller paper on the bed. Please come by the pool. Zora hesitated. She wanted to ask Klaus about the drawing. But at the same time she was afraid. She wasn't sure why exactly. If he was going to hurt her he could do it here. There was no need to lure her anywhere. Still she had felt that fear every time she was alone with him. She had tried to hide it with anger and rudeness but it was always there. She never wanted to feel so helpless again.

Finally she managed to make a decision. She would go to him. Zora opened the closet and looked at all the clothes that were her size but wasn't really hers. Klaus had ordered someone to bought them and put them in this closet for her. It felt so strange. She couldn't help thinking that these clothes in this closet had probably cost more than all clothes she had ever owned combined.

It was still hot outside so she chose a baby blue summer dress. She thought for a moment should she also wear a sweater or something but it was too hot for that. And besides it wasn't like she was walking around naked or something although the dress was a little short. But then again, he had already saw her naked. That wasn't something she cared to think about right now so she just got dressed and headed outside. She didn't feel like wearing any shoes so she was barefoot. She stopped before she reached the pool. There were candles burning everywhere, some were even floating on the water. There wasn't any other light. The night sky looked amazing.

"Thank you for coming", Klaus said.

Zora startled. She hadn't seen him.

"And may I add that you look lovely this evening."

"Thank you", Zora said cautiously. "I wanted to ask you about the drawing. Who made it?"

"I did", Klaus said smiling.

Zora was surprised.

"You? I didn't know that you can draw."

"Well, it's just a hobby. I'm not very good at it."

"No, you did amazing work", Zora said sincerely. "I don't have any pictures of me and Nathan so thank you."

"You're welcome, love. I'm glad you liked it."

There was a moment of silence before Klaus continued.

"Would you like something to eat? I thought since it's such a beautiful night it would be fun to eat outside."

Zora saw a blanket that was on the ground next to the pool. There were all kinds of foods and a bottle of Champaign on it. She wasn't sure what to do. Klaus sat on the blanket and smiled at her. He waited patiently until she made her decision and sat next to him. She still kept her distance but he wasn't trying to move closer to her. Zora appreciated that. She looked at the sky. All those stars…

"Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?"Zora murmured.

"No I haven't", Klaus replied.

He wasn't looking at the sky, he was looking at her. Zora smiled.

"Seriously? Does that line ever work?"

Klaus was smiling too.

"I don't know. Does it?"

"Probably not, it's kind of cheesy."

"Cheesy? How about romantic?"

"No, not really."

They were both quiet for a while. It felt strange to sit here with him. Zora picked up a strawberry and took a bite. She loved strawberries. Finally Klaus broke the silence.

"I really am sorry about what happened. I'm sorry that I hurt you."

Zora looked at him. He seemed sincere.

"I believe you", she said quietly. "I'm just not ready…"

"I understand. Take all the time you need, we have a lot of it."

That made Zora remembered something.

"Actually there's something I've wanted to ask you. You don't age, right?"

Klaus looked surprised.

"No, since technically I'm… well, dead."

"Don't you think that is going to be a problem when I'm…I don't know, 50, 60?"

Klaus started to laugh.

"No my sweet, that's not going to be a problem."

"What do you mean? You like older women?"

"That ceremony made us one Zora, in every possible way."

Zora was confused.

"I don't understand…"

"Let me show you", Klaus said smiling and hold out his hand.

Zora backed away.

"It's ok, just take my hand."

Zora hesitated but her curiosity won. She took his hand cautiously. It felt so…right.

"That ceremony unleashed your true potential", Klaus explained. "All your abilities. You do know what you can do, right?"

"I… I'm not sure. Nathan told me about the natural energy but…"

"Perhaps we should try it."

"How?" Zora asked confused.

"Just relax, feel the energy. It is part of you, it always has been."

Zora closed her eyes. She could feel it. Her grip on Klaus' hand tightened. She felt the waves of energy flowing through her body. She opened her eyes slowly. All the candles were floating in air like some kind of fireflies. It was so beautiful. Then the water drops started to dance with them. Zora hadn't even realized that she had stood up and was squishing both of Klaus' hands. She felt a breeze on her face. Something felt strange.

Her feet weren't touching the ground. Wait, what? Zora looked down. She was floating in air. She almost panicked until she saw Klaus' face. He was right there, beside her, holding her hands. He was smiling. She smiled too. She wasn't afraid anymore. Somehow she knew she wouldn't fall. This was amazing. She felt like she could do anything. There was no gravity, no laws of nature. Zora didn't know how long they had been there when she noticed that they were above the pool. She looked at Klaus and she didn't have to say anything. Somehow he knew what she wanted. They both fell to the water. Zora was laughing. She had never felt so complete in her life.

"Now that was something, wasn't it?" Klaus said.

Zora was still holding his hand. She leaned towards him and kissed his cheek. He looked surprised. She didn't know why she had done that. She had never felt so close to anyone before. Zora knew that there was a lot she must learn and there was probably a bumpy ride ahead but in that moment she didn't care. She just felt completely happy.