Warning, this chapter turned out a bit dark.

Chapter 33

Heart as cold as ice

London 2 weeks later

"Remember to stay close to me", Elijah said. "I mean it. And do not remove your cloak."

I nodded although I didn't completely understand why he was so tense. London seemed bigger than last time when I had seen it. I still couldn't believe I had slept so long. 1760. Almost a century had passed.

There were still many things I couldn't understand. Elijah had told me that Klaus was currently living in London but they hadn't seen each other for years. Klaus had been traveling a lot and Elijah preferred his nice and peaceful house in the countryside. He had told me many times that Klaus wasn't the same person anymore but somehow I found it hard to believe. Elijah had written to him but there had been no response so we didn't know if he had received that letter.

For some reason Elijah didn't want to take me straight to Klaus' house. He said he really needed to talk to him first. Finally the carriage stopped in front of the tavern where we would be staying. Elijah opened the door and hold out his hand for me. I was wearing a creamy gown and a long dark blue cloak. The hood covered my hair and face.

Elijah hadn't explained why it was so important for me to hide. He had just said that it could be very dangerous if wrong people would see me. I was confused. We walked to the tavern when the wind suddenly blew my hood off. Elijah took a nervous look around before I managed to cover myself again. There were some people walking on the street but I didn't think that anyone was looking at me oddly. We went inside and Elijah talked with the innkeeper.

"This way", Elijah said and led me upstairs.

When we got in our room, I asked him again to tell me why I had to hide. Elijah looked uncomfortable.

"It is…complicated. But like I said, I must speak with Niklaus before I can take you to him. And I really think you should reconsider this, you do not know what he had become."

A monster. That's what Elijah had said. But I had to see him. He had to know that I was alright.

"Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?" Elijah asked.

I nodded. He sighed.

"Alright then. I must make some arrangements first. I need you to stay in this room until I come back, do not open this door to anyone. Do you understand?"

I nodded and hugged him.

"I truly hope that seeing you will help…" Elijah murmured. "Remember, stay in this room", he added before he left.

I removed my cloak and washed my face. It had been a long day. I had no idea when Elijah would be back so I tried to do something useful. I needed to clear my thoughts. Things had felt so hazy after I had waked up. My body still didn't feel completely normal. Everything was different now. Elijah seemed more serious and tired all the time and apparently Klaus was a monster. It occurred to me that I hadn't even asked about Rebekah and Kol. This was a lot to handle.

I felt exhausted so I lied down for a minute. Unfortunately I fell asleep. I woke up when someone grabbed me and forced a piece of cloth in my mouth. I panicked but before I managed to do anything, my hands had been tied behind my back and there was a hood over my head.

"She is perfect", someone said. "It's payday boys!"

Someone threw me over his shoulder and started to carry me out. I tried to struggle but it was useless. There were at least three of these men. I think they were human. The man, who was carrying me, lifted me roughly into a carriage. The other two men climbed in as well.

"This girl is a fine merchandise", one of the men said. "Maybe they will even pay more than usually, what do you boys think?"

"Possibly. It's starting to get harder and harder to find girls like her."

"What do you think they are doing to these girls?" the third man asked.

"Who knows", the first man replied. "And who cares, as long as we get paid!"

This definitely didn't sound good. I tried desperately to think what to do. I couldn't think of anything. I was panicking when the carriage stopped. One of the men lifted me out and threw me over his shoulder again. I couldn't see anything under the hood. He took few steps and knocked. I heard someone opening a door.

"I have a special delivery", said the man who was carrying me.

"Let's take a look then", a man's voice replied. He sounded bored.

The man who was carrying me stepped inside and put me down.

"Young, pretty, dark hair, blue eyes, just how you like it."

I blinked when someone suddenly ripped the hood off. There was a tall young man standing in front of me. He had a light brown hair and brown eyes. He was looking at me from head to toes.

"Very good", he said and took few coins from his pocket. "Here."

"Thank you sir", my kidnapper said and left as quickly as he could.

I looked at the young man. There was no expression on his face.

"Move", he said coldly and dragged me with him.

I noticed that the house looked very luxurious. Obviously the person who owned it was rich. I tried desperately to free my hands but it was useless. I wished I could even get this cloth out of my mouth. Suddenly the young man stopped and put the hood back on. Great, now I didn't even see anything. He opened some door and dragged me with him. I heard music and laughing. There were many people in this room.

"Excuse me, master", the young man said. "Here is a new girl for you. She is just your type."

I heard some women giggling.

"Can't you see that I am busy?" an angry voice said. I recognized that voice immediately. Klaus. I started to struggle, trying to catch his attention.

"Stop that", the young man said squishing my arm. I didn't stop. I couldn't see anything but I could feel where he was standing so I kicked him as hard as I could. Judging by his cry of pain, I had kicked him between his legs. Everyone in the room started to laugh.

"Problems Andrew?" Klaus asked clearly amused.

"No, master", the young man replied tensely.

"Take the girl to my room, she can offer me some amusement later."

"Yes, master", Andrew replied and started to drag me out.

"You just wait", he mumbled into my ear. He was walking so fast that I couldn't keep up. He didn't care about that; he just dragged me after him. I felt my ankle spraining but he didn't stop. Finally he opened some door and threw me roughly on a bed. He grabbed my hands and untied them. Before I could even try to move, he started to twist my wrist until it snapped. The pain made me cry.

"That was for that kick you little whore", he said icily and tied my hands to the headboard. It hurt my wrist even more. "You have a good night now", he said laughing before he left.

I couldn't stop myself from crying. I felt like I couldn't breathe under the hood and the pain in my wrist was getting worse. But that wasn't the worst part. It was the coldness in Klaus' voice. I started to understand what Elijah had meant. He wasn't the same person anymore. He wasn't my husband. It broke my heart to even think about it. I had no idea how long I had been there when someone entered the room.

"Let's make one thing clear right now", Klaus' voice said. "You do not speak. You do not cry, you do not beg and you especially do not tell me how many little brats or other family members you have waiting for you in home. If you do that, I will hunt them all down and make you watch when I kill them. Nod if you understand."

I was too shocked to do anything. He grabbed my hair.

"Nod if you understand", he repeated coldly.

I forced myself to nod. Tears were falling down my cheeks.

"Good. For now on your only purpose on this world is to amuse me. As long as you do that, you can live. But if you make a sound, I will cut off your tongue." He paused and started to lift the hood.

"Now, let's see what you look like."