Part 14

Nadine wanted to drop the basket on the ground and kick it when she marched back to the orchard. Fresh ones… Sure, right away, your highness. What a great taste Tristan had. Oh well, if anyone deserved a woman like Lady Giselle, it was him. Nadine took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She tried her best not to think about what had happened with Niklaus. His face… It had changed for a brief moment when he had stared at her. It had been the face of a beast. It had startled her, she couldn't deny that.

She didn't think that she would have been scared if it would have been Kol, he didn't even try to hide his nature, but Niklaus had somehow managed to let her guard down for a moment. That had been a stupid thing to do. She couldn't help but to wonder what would have happened if they would have been alone. He had kept saying how sorry he was, but would he have let her go? He had looked so…hungry. Still a part of her wanted to believe that he would have been able to control himself. Maybe.

It suddenly occurred to her how little she actually knew about what Niklaus and his family were. They drank blood. They were faster and stronger than humans and could jump high. That was pretty much it. Was it foolish to think that despite of all of that he wasn't a bad man? She had met plenty of bad men and he didn't seem to be like that. Still she needed to be more cautious for now on.

She reached the orchard before she remembered that she didn't have the ladders. All she needed was few apples; she could just climb a tree. Her left side was a little sore and her elbow hurt because it had hit the ground when she had fallen down, but that didn't stop her from climbing. She was tired, hungry and her dress was dirty, she just wanted to get back to the castle. The climbing itself wasn't difficult, this certainly wasn't the first time when she climbed a tree, but unfortunately the branch cracked before she could reach the apples. She fell painfully on her back and let out a weak whimper. This really wasn't her day…

"Hey! Did you hurt yourself, darling?" a familiar voice asked.

Really, really not her day… She felt dizzy and she needed to blink few times before she could see Kol's face hovering over her.

"Hey," he said and cupped her chin. "Look at me. That's it. Are you hurt?"

She really wasn't sure; right now her whole body was hurting.

"Alright, let's take a look…"

She kicked him when he tried to pull the hem of her dress up.

"I was just trying to help, darling," he stated innocently. "I wouldn't take advantage of a lady's distress."

She glared at him and shook her head. He seemed amused.

"Alright, as you wish. Can I at least help you up? Do you think you can stand?"

She wasn't sure about that, but she nodded.

"Alright."

Carefully he wrapped an arm around her and helped her into a sitting position.

"How do you feel?" he asked. "Anything broken?"

She wasn't sure, but she didn't think so. He ran his finger over her cheek and observed her face.

"I apologize for not getting to you faster. Sadly I was too far away."

She had no idea why he would be sorry about that, but she still nodded weakly.

"You poor thing," he hummed and put his arms around her.

She was too weak to care; she leaned her head on his shoulder and actually allowed him to comfort her. For some incomprehensible reason he was very tender with her, his hands stroked her back calmingly.

"There, there," he hummed. "Do you want to try to stand up?"

She nodded. He stood up first and took both of her hands.

"Alright, easy now."

Her legs were shaking a little when he helped her up, but thankfully she could stand. He supported her when she took few insecure steps.

"Everything alright, darling?" he asked.

She nodded, there didn't seem to be any broken bones. She could also think clearer when she glanced at him. Why was he being so nice to her? He smiled and touched her hair.

"It seems to me that you have had a rough day," he stated. "Perhaps I can help you a little."

She didn't have time to react when he picked up her basket and jumped in a tree. No more than three seconds later he returned, the basket was full of apples.

"Here," he said and handed the basket to her.

She looked at him suspiciously.

"No price," he assured. "Call it a gift."

She hesitated a moment before taking the basket, there was no chance that she could climb herself right now. She thanked him with a cautious nod.

"You're welcome, darling," he said. "Do you want me to walk you back to the castle?"

She shook her head, but not rudely. She simply didn't need any more trouble and she would no doubt have them if someone would see her with Kol.

"Alright. I will see you later then." He paused and seemed to remember something. "Oh, I almost forgot the reason why I came to look for you. I assume you know the Lady Giselle?"

Nadine frowned and nodded.

"Well, apparently she suspects… How should I put this delicately… That you and Lord Tristan are sharing a bed."

Nadine's eyes widened, she stared at Kol disbelievingly.

"Yes and if I have understood correctly, she is not a very nice lady, so I thought I should warn you."

Nadine nodded gratefully, although she still couldn't understand why he was helping her.

"I'm not so bad you know," he stated. "I can be nice."

She didn't really think so, but she had to admit that he had just helped her a lot.

"My offer is still on the table," he added. "I would be more than happy to help you."

For a moment she felt so exhausted than she wanted to accept his offer, just to make all her problems to go away. If only things could have been so easy. She wasn't stupid enough to think that they could be. She sighed and shook her head.

"Alright, as you wish," he said smiling. "Let me know if you change your mind."

She felt even more exhausted when she headed back to the castle. Lady Giselle thought that Nadine was trying to take her place… That was just perfect, like she didn't have enough problems already. Nadine had seen her getting rid of some of her competitors and it certainly hadn't been pretty. How was she supposed to convince Lady Giselle that she wasn't any kind of threat to her?

Well, this was a good way to start, she probably looked terrible. Her dress wasn't just dirty anymore, it was also tattered. She was nothing but grateful when she was back in the castle, she really hoped to sit down. Maybe she could have a moment to wash up and change her dress after taking the apples to Tristan's chamber. Thankfully he wasn't there. She placed the basket on the table and headed to the door, but of course Tristan was standing in the doorway. Couldn't she ever have a break? Tiredly she curtsied, her legs were shaking.

"Puppet?" he said. "What have happened?"

She pointed at the basket and tried her best to mimic climbing.

"You fell from the tree?"

She nodded.

"Right… Let me see."

Cautiously she looked up.

"Undress," he stated calmly.

No… Please no. He had already made her do this twice today, was just a little mercy too much to ask? That was a stupid question, of course it was. Tiredly she tried to let him know that she was hurting, but she doubted that he understood. Not that he would care anyway.

"I will just take a look at your injuries," he said, he sounded a bit tense. "That's all."

She gave up; there was no point of fighting. Fine, not that this day could get much worse. She turned her back on him and took her dress off. He was quiet for a brief moment before she felt his fingers touching her back. His sudden touch made her flinch, she couldn't help it.

"Does it hurt so much?" he asked. "You have a big bruise here; do you think something is broken?"

She shook her head.

"Are you sure, puppet? This looks bad."

She nodded, she felt dizzy again. Her vision started to blur and her legs were shaking violently.

"Puppet?"

Her legs couldn't hold her anymore; his arms catching her were the last thing she felt before she lost consciousness.