Part 7

Klaus observed the girl who was standing next to the wall. She was a delicate little thing, but he had to admit that she could punch with her small fists. Clearly something had scared her; she had fought like a wild animal. Hopefully Kol didn't have anything to do with that. Klaus suppressed a sigh, they had just arrived and Kol had almost exposed them already. Thankfully Lucien had noticed the blood on Kol's tunic before anyone else had.

"Thank you," Klaus said. "For all your help."

"Of course, my lord," Lucien replied, he was looking at his sister. Her face was callous and she kept her eyes on the floor, there was no trace of the panic Klaus had seen in her eyes just moments ago.

"I must say that you don't seem at all disturbed by leading us into your master's home," Klaus stated after a brief silence.

Lucien pressed his lips together and crossed his arms.

"My master is a cruel tyrant and all these "noble" folks behind their silks and jewels are worse monsters than you can ever be. What do I care if you kill a lot of them?"

Klaus could easily pick up the bitterness and hatred in Lucien's voice.

"I see you're not very fond of your master."

"He amuses himself by tormenting his subjects for sport," Lucien snorted tensely. "Beggars who seek supper, vessels who cannot pay a debt, honest hardworking men who are being accused without any proof… Like my father."

"Ah. What happened to him? Your father?"

"He was killed by the count's soldiers," Lucien replied, he was clenching his fists. "So were my mother and my two brothers. Nadine was the only one who survived."

Klaus looked at the girl.

"She was there?"

Lucien nodded.

"Yes. She… It broke her; she hasn't spoken a word ever since."

"You mean she hasn't always been a mute?"

Lucien bit his bottom lip; it seemed that he thought he had made a mistake.

"She won't tell anyone about you, I swear…"

"Relax, I didn't mean that," Klaus cut in. "I have no intention to harm your sister."

"What about your brother?" Lucien asked. "I saw how he looked at Nadine and…" He paused and looked at Klaus. "She has suffered more than anyone deserves, if there is any way you can ask your brother to leave her alone…"

"Yes, I will take care of that," Klaus replied.

Lucien nodded gratefully.

"Thank you, my lord."

They were both quiet for a moment, Klaus found himself once again looking at the girl. The modest little servant girl. She looked out of place here, but that certainly wasn't a bad thing. It wasn't difficult to see that she wouldn't have wanted to be here. Where did she want to be? He was concentrated on looking at her until a man and a woman entered the hall arms linked. Klaus couldn't help but to stare at the woman, she was…stunning. She had beautiful face, green eyes and red hair; she was wearing a dark blue silk gown.

"Who are they?" he muttered.

"They…They're count's children," Lucien replied, he sounded tense. "The Lord Tristan and his sister, the Lady Aurora."

"Well… She is exquisite."

"Yes," Lucien murmured. "And as her brother is wicked. May I suggest that you avoid them? Completely."

Klaus smiled and stared at the Lady Aurora. She truly was beautiful. Nadine approached them and curtsied.

"What say you, sister?" Klaus heard Lord Tristan saying. "Does my puppet not look cute tonight?"

"She does, brother."

Lord Tristan was looking at Nadine like a predator looking at his prey.

"Yes, she is very…clean."

Klaus frowned when Nadine blushed. What was he talking about?

"Bring us some wine," Lord Tristan said and patted her bottom, like he would have patted a dog. Lucien tensed and looked away.

"He has no right to touch her like that," Klaus muttered.

"Unfortunately he does," Lucien replied bitterly. "He is her master; he has the right to do whatever he wants with her."

Klaus shook his head disbelievingly when Nadine went quickly to get two wine goblets.

"That's…"

"Yes, I know," Lucien murmured through clenched teeth.

"When you say whatever he wants, do you mean…"

"Yes, but Nadine has assured me that he has never done…that."

Klaus wasn't so sure about that, he doubted that Nadine would tell her brother the truth. Clearly she was willing to do anything to protect him. She served Lord Tristan and his sister the wine and took a step back. He didn't allow her to go far; she stayed behind him like a shadow. He didn't look at her when he gave her orders; she obeyed him as quickly as she could.

"This isn't right," Klaus murmured.

"Welcome to our world," Lucien replied. "I told you, servants mean nothing to the nobles, our only purpose is to serve them."

"I think I'll have a word with this Lord Tristan…"

"You would only cause Nadine trouble. Believe me, I know Lord Tristan. I hate this too, but unfortunately this is her life. She is a servant."

Klaus certainly didn't like this, but the last thing he wanted was to cause the poor girl any trouble. Not to mention he couldn't draw any unwanted attention to his family, they needed to fit in. Rebekah and Elijah seemed to be doing well and even Finn was talking to some nobleman. Kol's arrival didn't please Klaus; he truly hoped that his little brother would for once behave. Kol seemed to be in an excellent mood; he picked up a wine goblet from a servant and looked around. Of course he walked over to the Lord Tristan and introduced himself.

"Damn Kol…" Klaus muttered, but surprisingly his brother was acting like a real nobleman. Lord Tristan was reserved at first, but soon they actually seemed to be getting along fine. Lady Aurora was talking to couple of other ladies; she seemed to be enjoying herself. The same thing couldn't be said about Nadine, she looked tired. She served wine and food to Lord Tristan and Kol until her master finally told her to go and prepare his bedchamber. She curtsied and left as quickly as she could. Klaus was about to go after her, he wanted to have a word with her, but Elijah stopped him.

"Niklaus, what are you doing?" Elijah asked.

"What, nothing," Klaus replied.

Elijah frowned.

"Alright. His grace wishes you to join us since you were so interested in his hunting escapades."

"How wonderful."

Elijah seemed amused.

"Do I have to remind you that you were the one who wanted to be a nobleman? Come and be a nobleman then."

"Fine," Klaus huffed and glanced at Kol who was still talking to Tristan. Klaus hadn't bothered to really listen to their conversation, but everything seemed to be going well. Who knew, maybe Kol had actually decided to behave this time.

Nadine lit up a fire in the fireplace and yawned. It seemed that she needed to clean the fireplace tomorrow. Right now all she would have wanted was to go to sleep, but that wouldn't happen any time soon. She prepared Lord Tristan's bed, went to get some water for him to wash his face and hands, lit up candles and went to the kitchen to pick up his supper, in case he would want to eat before going to bed. She tried her best not to think about Kol, she preferred not to know what he was planning. The bastard had probably really enjoyed seeing her abasement. Not that it mattered, what dignity had she anyway.

She just couldn't understand, Kol could have killed her tonight if he would have wanted to. Why hadn't he? She didn't think for a second that her pathetic tears had affected him in any way. Then there was Niklaus, who hopefully had kept his promise, she didn't want Lucien to worry about her. But then again, she was probably the last thing on Niklaus' mind; surely he was drooling over the Lady Aurora, just like all the other men. Nadine yawned again, hoping that she could lie down. She barely managed to sit down on the armchair when the door opened, making her to jump to her feet. Lord Tristan marched inside, he seemed gloomy. He sat down and kicked his boots off.

"Grape," he stated carelessly.

Nadine picked up a bunch of grapes she had brought from the kitchen and fed him.

"My neck is tense," he said after eating few grapes.

She kept her face callous and started to massage him. She was so tired that she could barely keep her eyes open.

"That feels good, puppet," he hummed. "I was pleased with you tonight."

How wonderful, her life was complete now.

"Come here, I want to ask you something."

He stood up when she moved in front of him, his cold eyes were observing her intently.

"What did you think about Count de Quise's children?"

The question surprised her completely, she had no idea how he wanted her to reply.

"Did anything unusual happen on your way here?" he clarified.

She shook her head, praying that she was convincing. He kept staring at her and took a hold of her chin.

"Did any of them touch you?"

She shook her head again.

"Did Lord Kol touch you?"

Once again she shook her head.

"Tell me the truth, puppet, I promise I won't punish you. Did he touch you?"

She kept shaking her head and he kept asking her the same questions over and over again. She was sure that he knew she was lying, but finally he stopped. He still didn't let go of her chin.

"Who do you belong to, puppet?" he asked.

She forced herself to keep her face free from emotion and cocked her head towards him. Fortunately he was satisfied with that; he leaned so close to her that she felt his breath on her face.

"That's right. Don't ever forget that. And you will tell me if anyone touches you. Is that clear?"

She nodded and held still when he finally pulled away.

"You can undress me now."

She concentrated on her task and struggled to suppress her anger. What had Kol said to him?