Thank you for all the feedback. About Tristan's feelings towards Nadine, they're complicated, but there's more than physical attraction. It wasn't his choice to acknowledge these feelings, so he's confused and tries to handle things the only way he knows how.

Part 17

"Easy, easy," Lucien said while helping Nadine to lie down. "Is this good? Are you comfortable?"

Nadine nodded; she could see how worried Lucien was. She tried to reassure him by touching his cheek. It didn't really help; he looked tense to say the least.

"Nadine…" he muttered. "I… I have to ask… Are you…alright? I mean… I know you were hurt and I was told that you couldn't be moved. I tried to come and see you, but the guards didn't let me in." He paused and looked even tenser. "Did… Did Tristan…"

She shook her head and took Lucien's hand. He wasn't convinced.

"Nadine, please, you don't have to spare my feelings, please tell me the truth. Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head more firmly; she couldn't bear to see the distress in his eyes. The truth was that she didn't know what had happened, but she certainly wasn't going to tell that to Lucien. Thankfully he seemed to believe her, he looked relieved. He wrapped his arms gently around her and kissed her forehead. They stayed like that for a while, but he had to go to work.

"Will you be alright here?" he asked. "Is there anything you need?"

She shook her head; he had already brought her some water, bread and an apple and placed them on the small table next to her bed. They both actually had beds now. The room was very nice and cozy.

"I will come and see you as often as I can," he said.

She nodded and kissed his hand. After he left, she allowed herself to close her eyes and take a deep breath. Her head hurt, but that was the least of her worries. She really wanted to believe that Tristan had told the truth. He must have, surely she would feel some pain if… She tried to concentrate on listening to her body. Her head, back and elbow hurt, but there was no pain in her most private place. That was a relief. Maybe he really had some standards. He had sounded sincere when he had said that.

In fact, he had sounded repulsed, probably by the idea of sleeping with a servant. Still she really couldn't understand what had happened. Why had he… Well, why had he done any of it, most of all letting her sleep in his bed? It made no sense to her. And this room… Why? What did he want? To see her taking more baths? He could just order her to do that, he didn't have to give her anything in return. This sudden change in him made absolutely no sense. Why was he acting like this? Unless…

Maybe he was displeased with the Lady Giselle and did this to make some kind of point? It sounded far-fetched, but it actually made some sense. Nothing would be more humiliating to Lady Giselle than Tristan favoring someone else, especially a servant. The problem was that Lady Giselle would never simply take that kind of humiliation; she would no doubt do something unpleasant. Nadine sighed, her headache was getting worse. She prayed that she was wrong about the whole Lady Giselle thing. What was she supposed to do if she wasn't wrong? She sighed again and closed her eyes. Thankfully she was able to fall asleep. She had no idea how long she had slept when she felt someone touching her cheek.

"I'm sorry…"

Her eyes flew open; she was ready to defend herself. There was no one in the room with her. Carefully she got into a sitting position and noticed that the door was slightly open. Someone had been here. She swallowed and stood up, although her legs were shaking a little. Slowly she managed to make her way to the hallway. There was no one there either.

"Miss Nadine?"

She startled when she heard the voice from behind her back, quickly she turned around.

"I apologize," Finn said. "It was not my intention to scare you."

Her heart was still pounding, but somehow she managed to curtsy.

"I was sorry to hear that you are unwell," he continued. "Some kind of an accident?"

She nodded and looked at him; she really needed to ask him if he had seen someone coming from her room. She tried her best to form the question with her hands.

"Have I seen…?"

She nodded and continued. She had to try few times before he guessed right.

"There was someone in your room?"

She nodded.

"I did not see anyone," he said. "May I have your permission to take a look inside?"

She hesitated a brief moment before nodding, she really didn't think there was anyone hiding in there anymore.

"Thank you."

The room was quite small; he was able to inspect it quickly. It also seemed that he was sniffing the air. His expression didn't change, he looked just as calm as usual.

"Well, at least this person is gone now," he stated. "I apologize for not being able to help you more."

She shook her head and thanked him with a bow.

"Perhaps you should try to get some rest," he suggested. "It seems to me that the door can be bolted from the inside."

It could and she would definitely do that. At least that way no one could sneak in on her when she slept.

"Will you be alright by yourself?"

She nodded.

"Alright, if you are sure…"

She nodded and thanked him again with a bow.

"I really didn't do anything," he replied. "I hope you will get well soon."

Klaus stormed across the hallway, he really didn't know where he was going. He definitely didn't want to run into anyone right now. He had run into Lucien earlier and he had told Klaus about Nadine, how she had hit her head yesterday in the orchard. Klaus had been too much of a coward to take responsibility of his actions and confess to Lucien what he had done. He had hurt Nadine much worse than he had thought. No wonder, he had been too occupied to really notice anything else than her heartbeat and the smell of her blood. He was a monster, there was no point denying that. She probably never wanted to see him again and he really couldn't blame her…

"Niklaus!"

Reluctantly Klaus stopped when he heard Finn's voice and turned around.

"What is it?" Klaus asked tensely when Finn reached him.

"What were you doing in the mute servant girl's room?" Finn asked. "You scared her."

"What?" Klaus muttered.

"I smelled you," Finn replied.

Klaus frowned.

"What were you doing there?"

"I met her in the hallway and I offered my assistance. Now answer my question, what were you doing there?"

"That's none of your business," Klaus snapped.

Finn crossed his arms and looked at Klaus harshly. Klaus hated that judgmental look, especially now. Finn thought that he was so much better than the rest of them; he had never lost his self-control. Well good for him.

"Niklaus…"

"Stay out of this," Klaus snarled and marched away. He was in no mood to continue this conversation; he just needed to get away. He looked for a quiet place and eventually ended up in the chapel. He wasn't a Christian and he didn't really believe in anything, but he had nothing against the Christian worship places. The chapel was quiet and he could use a moment by himself, so he took a seat. There were candles burning in front of the altar. He stared at the flames and sighed. He needed to get a grip.

"Lord Niklaus?"

He stood up as quickly as he could and turned around to greet the Lady Aurora.

"My lady."

"You are here to pray?" she asked smiling.

"Not really," he muttered.

"Oh? I come here every day to pray. Perhaps you would like to join me?"

"I doubt that anyone would listen to my prayers," he huffed before he managed to stop himself.

"Why would you think that?" Aurora asked.

Klaus sighed and shook his head.

"Never mind. I should probably…"

"No, please stay. It seems to me that you could use someone to talk to. It helps, you know."

"Not in this case I'm afraid."

Aurora was quiet for a moment before replying.

"May I pray for you, my lord? Would you let me do that?"

Klaus didn't really know what to say, but he didn't think it would have been polite to refuse. Why wouldn't he stay for a moment? There was no way it could make things worse than they already were.