Chapter 46

The secret side of me

"Dammit!" Klaus snapped. "Be careful!"

"My apologies, sir", Maura replied calmly. "I am almost there."

Klaus was lying on a table shirtless. Maura was digging the bullets out from his chest with pincers.

"Wooden bullets… That son of a bitch."

Klaus cursed when the pincers sank deeper.

"There, this is the last one", Maura said when she dropped the bullet into a small bowl.

"Finally", Klaus murmured and took a long sup from his bottle. "What's the situation?"

"The coffins have been relocated and everyone is looking for your wife. Vincent is in charge."

"Good. We are leaving as soon as Anna is here."

"Yes sir", Maura replied and started to clean Klaus' wounds.

They were in a warehouse where Klaus had kept the coffins. It wasn't safe to go back to the house after Mikael's appearance. The thought of running made Klaus angry. He truly hated his "father". Maura handed him a clean shirt and a jacket. Klaus stood up and got dressed. He was worried about Anna. Rebekah had seen her running out with a group of other people. Anna was smart so she would find a safe place where she could wait for him but she was still out there by herself. That was intolerable thought. If anything would happen to her…

"Nik", Rebekah's voice said.

Klaus turned and saw her and Stefan walking towards him. Neither of them had been injured.

"Good, you are here. We are leaving as soon as Anna is found…"

"Nik", Rebekah interrupted him. She looked serious. "We are not leaving with you."

Klaus stared at both of them.

"What?"

"Stefan and I are leaving together. Just the two of us."

"What are you talking about?" Klaus asked annoyed. "Anna is missing and you are going to leave me?"

"Yes", Rebekah replied. "I hope that you will find Anna but maybe you should consider the possibility that she doesn't want to be found."

"Excuse me?" Klaus asked icily.

Rebekah rolled her eyes.

"You might be my brother but I'm not blind for your faults. I don't think that you deserve her, you never had but for some reason she had stayed with you. Maybe she finally had enough. If she doesn't want to come back, you shouldn't force her."

Klaus was too angry to say anything. Rebekah's eyes softened a little.

"I'm not saying these things to hurt you, I just think that you need to for once hear the truth."

Stefan looked uncomfortable.

"We should go", he murmured. "Take care Nik."

"Goodbye", Rebekah said and turned around.

In that moment Klaus lost it. He always kept a dagger in hand. In the next second he had run it through his sister's heart. Stefan didn't have time to do anything before Klaus made an eye contact.

"You will forget me and Rebekah and all this time you have spent with us. Now leave."

He obeyed without saying a word. Klaus lifted Rebekah's body gently in his arms.

"Maura!"

The witch had kept her distance but now she approached him quickly.

"Yes sir?"

"I need another coffin", Klaus said emotionlessly. "And burn this damn city into ashes if you have to, I don't care, but bring me my wife!"

...

I couldn't believe that I had actually fallen asleep. I was fully awake when I felt Damon snuggling his face in my hair.

"Katherine…"

I tried to get up but he kept his arms tightly around me.

"Oh…" he murmured. "Good morning, River."

I tried again to get up and this time he let me. Apparently he wasn't feeling very good.

"My head…I have to stop drinking…"

Then he noticed his bottle on the floor and picked it up.

"Oh well, I can do that tomorrow."

I felt very uncomfortable standing there wearing just a blanket. He seemed to be feeling better after his first drink.

"Listen, I'm sorry if I scared you last night. It wasn't exactly my finest moment."

I backed away when he stood up.

"Ok, I should get you something to eat", he murmured.

I pointed at the blanket.

"Right, right and clothes."

He rubbed his temple.

"I should take a bath and shave…No, your food first. I don't think that I have anything…What do you eat?"

I tried to think a way to tell him that I really needed to go home. I started to sign but obviously he couldn't understand me. I felt frustrated.

"Ok, I'm just going to…Wait here, I'll be right back", he said and walked out the door.

Was he serious? I sighed. What should I do? I had no idea where I was and it probably wouldn't be very good idea to go out like this. Maybe I could borrow some of his clothes. I went to the bedroom and opened the drawers of the dresser. I found some more scotch and a pile of old letters. Where were all his clothes? When I opened the bottom drawer I saw some kind of cloth. White lace. That didn't seem like a men's cloth. I picked it up and saw that it was a nightgown. A very old nightgown. I used to have similar ones but that was at least a century ago. I looked at it so closely that I didn't notice Damon standing behind me.

"Don't touch that", he snapped.

I startled and placed the nightgown quickly back into the drawer.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked angrily.

I swallowed and tried to sign to him that I was sorry. He was looking at me emotionlessly.

"That is Katherine's nightgown. The only thing I have left from her."

Oh no. I looked at him shaking my head. He forced me to back away. There was no expression on his face. He took a step closer, shoving me against the wall. He was staring at me very oddly. I was terrified. In the next second, he was kissing me. That surprised me completely. I started to pound on his chest trying to make him stop. Suddenly he did. He looked confused.

"I am so sorry", he murmured and took a step back. "You are not Katherine."

It sounded that he said it more to himself than to me.

"Please, come, I have some food for you."

I tried my best to calm down. I couldn't understand what he wanted from me. Obviously he had problems but what did he want me to do? I followed him cautiously. He handed me a wooden basket. There was some bread and apples in it.

"I'm sorry but this is all I could find right now. I'll get you something else later."

I took a deep breath and looked at him. I placed my hand on my chest above my heart and pointed at him. I hoped that he would understand that I was grateful. Then I pointed myself and the door. He looked at me emotionlessly.

"Do you have any family, River? Someone who is waiting for you?"

I nodded quickly. I hoped that he would let me leave. He was quiet for a long while.

"Please take a seat and eat. After that…we'll see."

I didn't like that at all. But I didn't think arguing with him would help so I did as he said. I was hungry and I needed all my strength. He opened another bottle and sat next to me. I thought that he had drunk enough for this morning so I grabbed his bottle and yanked it from his hand. He looked stunned. I placed the bottle on the floor and shook my head.

"Yeah, you're probably right", he murmured. "I have to clear my head. And I definitely need a bath."

I nodded. Maybe if I would help him to sober up and tidy this place up a bit, he would let me leave. Apparently he needed some encouragement. I probably owed him that much. I just hoped that I wouldn't end up his dinner.