Part 6

Nadine didn't feel anything when she walked across the long hallway towards the great hall. She needed to be there before Lord Tristan, she had just helped him to get dressed. He had wanted her to look decent tonight, so she had plaited her hair and she was wearing her best light blue dress. Despite of being fully clothed, she felt naked. That moment when she had stood there completely exposed, expecting the worst… It had affected her more than she wanted to admit.

That was nothing but pathetic, she was weaker than she had thought. A part of her felt that she would have deserved it, she deserved to be punished, but another part, the coward in her, had silently prayed for mercy. She didn't deserve any mercy. She was so tired, all she wanted was to close her eyes and never wake up… Her thoughts were cut off when someone suddenly grabbed her from behind. She didn't startle, she was too numb for that.

"Hello, darling," Kol's voice whispered in her ear.

She made no attempt to fight him when he pulled her into a smaller hallway and pushed her up against the stone wall. He wasn't rough enough to hurt her, at least not yet. It didn't matter.

"I believe we have some unfinished business to take care of," he purred and touched her cheek. She didn't react in any way; she just stared in front of her with empty eyes. He said something else, but she couldn't hear him. So tired…

"Hey?"

He cupped her face, but she still didn't react.

"Hey? What's wrong with you?"

She closed her eyes and sighed tiredly, hoping that he would just do whatever he was going to do and get it over with.

"Come on," he huffed. "You are ruining my fun. What happened to that feisty little thing?"

Her hands were shaking, but she didn't notice that. All she wanted was for this torture to end. She didn't deserve to live; she should have died with her family two years ago. This was her chance to end her suffering. Slowly she tilted her head; she had noticed how these beasts liked to kill people.

"Come on, what are you doing?"

She opened her eyes and looked into his. If she wouldn't have known better, she would have thought that he looked kind of…confused? He didn't say anything; he just stared at her for a moment before taking a step back.

"Well…" he muttered and crossed his arms. "You are certainly no fun for me like this."

He was gone when she blinked. Oh great, she wasn't good enough even for a monster's supper. She leaned against the wall and took a deep breath; she needed to pull herself together. Wait… She brushed her cheek and felt a tear. Oh no… Had she actually cried in front of him? Perfect. She hadn't cried in two years and this was the time she chose to change that? Idiot. The celebration… She needed to get to the great hall, if Lord Tristan would be there first…. So what? So what if he would find some new ways to humiliate her?

What was the worst he could do, give her to his guards or something… She couldn't take that, she was too weak. It would break her. She gritted her teeth and slapped herself on the cheek; she needed to stop this right now. She hurried back to the long hallway and bumped into someone who was just coming behind a corner. This someone had a hard chest and muscular arms; they were wrapped around her when she almost lost her balance. All her mind was able to comprehend was that someone was touching her against her will. The fighter in her finally woke up, she started to struggle as fiercely as she could, her fists were banging on his chest.

"Hey, hey!" a male voice said. "It's alright; I'm not going to hurt you."

She stopped struggling and clenched her shaking fists. Finally she managed to look up and saw Niklaus' face; his blue eyes were observing her with a worried expression.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

No, she wasn't alright, she was a damn mess.

"Hey…" he muttered and placed his palms on her shoulders. "Have someone hurt you?"

She shook her head and took a deep breath. He was quiet for a moment, thankfully giving her some time to pull herself together. She had just attacked him… Cautiously she looked up and pointed at his chest.

"You mean did you hurt me? No, you didn't."

She nodded gratefully and curtsied.

"It's fine," he muttered. "I apologize if I scared you."

She shook her head; she was finally starting to regain her self-control.

"Listen, would you like me to find your brother…"

Quickly she shook her head; she certainly didn't want Lucien to know about this. She looked at Niklaus pleadingly, pointed at the hallway and shook her head.

"You don't want me to say anything to your brother?"

She nodded. He bit his bottom lip and observed her for a moment before replying.

"Alright, I won't."

She thanked him with a bow and left as quickly as she could, she had already humiliated herself more than enough for one day. What had that been? She couldn't understand what had made her to lose her self-control like that. Nothing had really happened; Lord Tristan hadn't even touched her. How pathetic was she for breaking down because a man had watched her bathe. After what her poor mother had been through before the soldiers had cut her throat, she actually dared to cry because of this? The thought made her to really hate herself.

She was her normal self again when she reached the great hall; fortunately Lord Tristan hadn't arrived yet. She noticed Count de Martel, he was talking to Elijah. Rebekah was talking to the Lady Cecile, one of the youngest ladies in the court. They seemed to be having an interesting conversation.

"Good evening," a male voice suddenly said from behind Nadine's back. Quickly she turned around and curtsied to Finn.

"Quite a celebration," he stated calmly.

She nodded, keeping her eyes on the floor.

"Too many uninteresting people for my taste, to be honest," he continued. "What do you think?"

She had no idea how to reply, so she simply shrugged.

"I hear you," he said, sounding amused. "By the way, you can look at me if you want, I feel foolish talking to you like this."

"My lord," Lucien's voice whispered, he had appeared next to them. "You shouldn't be talking to her; she is not your…equal."

Finn sighed.

"Yes, I am aware of your foolish rules, but she happens to be the only one I know here. And judging by what I have seen and heard, I don't feel much need to get to know the rest of these people."

Nadine could certainly understand him.

"My lord," Lucien whispered tensely. "There is etiquette in the court, I explained that to you."

"Yes, yes," Finn sighed. "It was nice to see you again, Miss Nadine."

"Is everything alright, sister?" Lucien asked after Finn had left. "Did Lord Tristan…"

She shook her head and touched Lucien's arm.

"He didn't hurt you? Are you sure?"

She nodded, hoping that he believed her. Lucien was clearly concerned; she took his hand and squished it. She tensed a little when she noticed Kol entering the hall, but fortunately he didn't pay attention to her.

"Oh no…" Lucien gasped. "The collar of his tunic…"

Nadine looked at Kol and saw immediately what Lucien meant. Blood. Not much, but enough for someone noticing it sooner or later. Quickly Nadine walked over to Kol and curtsied.

"Well, well, someone just can't stay away…"

Tensely she touched the collar of his tunic.

"Oh…" he murmured. "Oops. Thank you, darling."

She breathed a sigh of relief when he left, hopefully planning to get changed. Lucien seemed relieved as well, Niklaus had just appeared next to him. Apparently Niklaus asked him some question. Lucien's response made Niklaus to roll his eyes; he gave Nadine a grateful nod. She nodded too and moved next to the wall, waiting for Lord Tristan. Niklaus stayed next to Lucien, they were talking. Nadine noticed how tense her brother was; both men glanced at her few times during their conversation.

Nadine tensed too, had Niklaus told Lucien what had happened earlier? He had promised not to, but she had no idea if that meant anything. She didn't have time to ponder that for long when Lord Tristan arrived, arm in arm with his sister, the Lady Aurora. She was just as beautiful as always, all the men in the room were admiring her. So were Lucien and Niklaus. Of course they were. Nadine felt that she had just become invisible, until Lord Tristan glanced at her and crooked his finger, ordering her to come to him. Like she would have been a dog. She gritted her teeth and kept her head down when she went to him and curtsied.

"What say you, sister," he said and softly touched Nadine's hair. "Does my puppet not look cute tonight?"

"She does, brother," Lady Aurora replied.

"Yes, she is very…clean."

A flush was rising in Nadine's cheeks, she couldn't help it.

"Bring us some wine," Lord Tristan ordered and patted her bottom.

She was nothing but grateful for getting away from them, even for a brief moment. It seemed that this night was just getting better and better.