"I'm sorry, Nik...I really am..." Kol whispered
"Thanks, Kol." Klaus replied
Then after a few more seconds, Kol released his hold on him
"Well," Kol said, clearing his throat as he pulled back from their hug, raising an eyebrow as the sudden awkwardness of the situation hit him, "I want you to know I only did this because you know—Caroline asked me—and...Look, I should get back downstairs, you know, my—my sauce might burn and—"
"Oh, sure…" Klaus added, shaking his head as he stepped back, "Of course. Because we don't normally hug…that would just be weird, right?"
"Right," Kol agreed, nervously shoving his hands in his pockets with a small smile, "Because we're Norwegian and Norwegian men don't hug."
"Nor do they kiss," Klaus added, narrowing his eyes with a smirk
"True. They don't do that either…" Kol chuckled and Klaus laughed, punching him playfully in the arm
"You!" Misha suddenly said with an excited smile, pointing toward Kol as he hung up the phone and walked back toward them from the other end of the hall, whipping his hand around his head as he headed down the stairs, "Come with me! I'm suddenly starving!"
"Hey, wait up!" Klaus called, "Who was that on the phone?"
"Kaspar," Misha said, turning back on the top of the stairs to face the original, "And there is good news! Which I will share over some pasta Bolognese…you coming?"
"I'm not really that hungry…" Klaus replied, looking over his shoulder towards Stefan's room, then back to his brother and the warlock
"Suit yourself," Misha shrugged sadly, turning to head back down the stairs, "We can talk about it more at length when Caroline and Kaspar get here, but until then…" he waved at Kol, "Come on, Emeril!"
"I hope that's a compliment…" Kol smirked, raising an eyebrow to his brother and giving him a pat on the shoulder before he followed Misha.
New World 1044 A.D.
"Take the back path into the woods…" Liliya encouraged, trying to keep her voice even as she guided the frightened women and children away from their homes, one by one, ignoring the chaos that had broken out behind them as the swift and brutal attackers finally broke through the front lines, forcing the archers to race out to protect the center of the village.
"Liliya!" Finn cried, catching sight of her as he moved among the throng of other archers, headed toward the fight, carrying a little girl in his arms whom he must have found on the way.
Liliya looked up, and seeing him, made her way through the crowd of women, running toward him.
"Kol's waiting on the far edge of the woods to help you get them to the caves!" Finn said, placing the little girl gently into her arms before removing his bow from his shoulder and taking it into his hands, arming himself.
Liliya nodded quickly, their eyes meeting for a few seconds before Finn smiled at her, then took off into the night.
"Here, I'll take her," a voice sounded nearby and Liliya turned to see Astrid Hangarr, one of the teenage girls from the village and Rebekah's best friend, step forward, the torch light illuminating her white-blonde hair as Liliya willingly handed the child over.
Just then, a loud cry sounded behind them and they turned back to see a blurred figure move through the line of archers as they anxiously tried to fire off shots.
Then Astrid screamed, clutching the little girl tighter, shielding her eyes from the sight, as a sword made contact with one of the archer's heads, severing it completely and causing it to roll onto the ground at their feet.
It was Edgar Rathengast, a village werewolf.
"Astrid, we have to go…go!" Liliya cried, trying to hold her emotions back as she pushed the still stunned girl in the direction the other women had already left and they took off.
But, something immediately caught Liliya by the arm, pulling her back.
And as she whirled around to face her captor, she found herself face to face with the last person she expected to see.
"Luka…" she whispered, struggling in his tight grasp, her eyes widening as they wandered down to the bloody sword sheathed on his hip.
Luka cocked his head for a moment as he studied her, with dark, almost inhuman eyes and it was then that Liliya realized that it wasn't Luka standing before her—it was someone else…something else. And that something was what was killing the men in the village.
Luka stepped forward and took in a breath, smelling her scent as she continued to struggle.
"Human," he said in resolved voice, loosening his grip as his eyes roamed her body.
But, when they suddenly fell upon the side of her neck, where Elijah had bitten her during their love making earlier that night, she immediately felt his hand tighten around her arm once more—harder, if that was even possible— as he pulled her to him and she winced, "You've been with a vampire and let it feed from you…"
Liliya flared her nostrils, her face turning defiant as she stared him straight in the eyes while she watched the wheels in his head work, seeming to pull memories from the real Luka forward in his mind.
"You love this vampire…" he said softly in realization of who she was, "you're betrothed to this vampire…will marry this vampire...will become a vampire..."
Liliya took in a deep breath and stiffened as she watched him pull a short knife from the strap on his back with his free hand and take a measured step back, ready to strike.
But, before he could deliver the final blow, a figure stepped quickly between them with the aide of vampire speed, taking the knife to the chest, that was meant for her, with a loud cry.
"Nik!" Liliya screamed as she watched her childhood friend let out a gasp, looking down to where the blade now stuck out of the center of his sternum.
A moment passed as the two adversaries stared stared angrily at each other, then Klaus viciously grabbed Luka's arm, pulling the blade out with it, and kicking him square in the chest with vampire strength that sent him flying two hundred feet back into the dirt.
"Are you alright?" Klaus groaned, falling to his knees and looking over his shoulder to Liliya as she immediately came to his side, applying pressure to his wound.
She opened her mouth to respond, but before she could say anything in response, she saw Klaus' head snap up and his hand immediately reach for his sword laying on the ground nearby.
When she followed his gaze, she saw what he did—that Luka was now coming back to his feet.
Klaus winced as he quickly struggled to his own feet, bringing his sword to the ready with one hand, while bringing his other hand to his bleeding chest.
"Liliya, run…" he breathed, his eyes focusing on his opponent
"But—" Liliya protested, her eyes filled with worry
"I'll be fine…" he reiterated, "Run…"
"Nik—"
"Just run!" Klaus said louder, watching Luka bring his own weapon to the ready and start walking quickly toward them, before looking back over his shoulder to Liliya, "Run!"
Finally with a whimper and a resigned sigh, Liliya turned and took off, just as she heard Klaus' sword collide with Luka's
# # # # #
Klaus exhaled as he closed the door to Stefan's room behind him, then turned to face his friend's body once more.
But, he immediately stopped in his tracks when he saw someone standing by the bed who he didn't expect.
"Liliya," he whispered, stepping forward
"Nik," she replied, a small smile crossing her face…
The smile that had warmed Niklaus Mikaelson's heart since he was boy.