Disclaimer: I own nothing

Author's Note: Okay, it's been a bit since I updated this, sorry! I got distracted by a lot of other stories and now I'm easing my way back into this. No beta, so I'll fix any mistakes later.

Enjoy!

Helen woke up to sunlight filling the room, which puzzled her for a moment, because her curtains were always drawn closed while she slept and she only opened them once she was awake.

Opening her eyes made where she was come rushing back, but the mystery was hardly solved, considering that she could not remember any sort of window being set in the castle walls now that she thought about it.

Helen blinked several times, straightening up and cringing at the pain in her neck that came from sleeping in a chair with her head bent at a ridiculous angle that had seemed comfortable when she had gone to sleep the night before.

She stared at the enclosure in front of her, thinking that she could almost convince herself that she had imagined the fire elemental and that she had communicated with it. It was sunk down very low on a pile of logs that had apparently been added to the enclosure while Helen had still been sleeping, looking almost completely like a normal fire.

Helen knew better than that, however. Everything that had happened was real.

Everything came slamming back and a surge of anger shot through her, her fingers flying to her face, to touch the scars that she still couldn't feel but she knew were there all the same.

"Who just comes into a clinic and slashes another person's face open? Even if they are a vampire! Oh, what I would do to the woman that sent him!"

Her anger had Helen on her feet, making her aware of her aching muscles, from the long trek across the hills and from sleeping in the chair, which she ignored, because her mind was more focused on the vampire's words about the queen that hadn't made much sense, but had scared her enough to run.

She was also distracted by the window, through which sunlight was streaming through. There had definitely been no windows on the outside. The dark might have concealed them, but Helen had spent time watching the castle and she had never seen any windows this low.

It was over the workbench and she walked across the room to it, bracing her hands against the edge of the bench and leaning forward to get a look. To Helen's astonishment, she could see a sea-side village. The houses were not in great repair and the road had seen far better days, but she could see masts beyond the roofs and the glimmer of the sea.

"What on earth?" she breathed, most fascinated than alarmed by this occurrence. "What sort of place is this? Fire elementals and windows to the sea? Perhaps Tesla truly is the wizard they say he is."

Helen snorted at her own words as soon as she said this, because she knew better than that. What people called magic was truly science and abnormals. There was no such thing as magic and she would do herself no favors in entertaining such thoughts, so she turned to look at the room by daylight.

It was smaller in the daylight than it had appeared last night, dark beams crossing the generously high ceiling. It was shockingly dirty, with patches of cleanliness here and there. The chair Helen had slept in was one of the clean spots, but the floor, particularly around the workbench, was stained and seemed to have a layer of grime, as if something had been spilled and the daily dirt had stuck to it.

The workbench's surface, with scratched and burned, was clean and so was the enclosure, but other than that, it was clear that whoever used this room didn't care much for cleanliness. Helen wrinkled her nose. They employed a maid, true, but even if they hadn't she never would have allowed any space she was in to remain or even become this way.

The sink was full of gray and pink slime and Helen recoiled from it in disgust. Just how unsanitary was this place? She understood that she had grown up in a very clean environment, partly because of her father's practice, but this was beyond ridiculous. It was clear that Tesla didn't care what state the people sharing his castle lived in.

The rest of the castle must have been beyond the other three doors-four, if you counted the one that she had come in through the night before-and Helen dearly hoped it was cleaner than this sorry room.

She opened the nearest door to discover a bathroom beyond. It was large, a definite luxury, but someone like Tesla could probably afford a luxury. But it was a filthy luxury.

Someone, at some point, had clearly at least tried to wipe down the bathroom, but what it really needed was a deep clean. The sink and bath were stained green, presumably from copper pipes-a definite luxury-and the shower stall must have been disused because plants were growing abundantly in the cracks. The floor was covered in dirty shoe-prints and mystery substances. The mirror was streaky.

Helen flinched in disgust at this. Having been raised in a very clean place and taught to keep it that way, this was downright repulsive to her. She wouldn't have been surprised if there were diseases breeding in this place and she truly wondered why Tesla allowed his servants to live like this.

There were bottles and things on a shelf by the bath, but Helen had no desire to step into the room and investigate them, though glass bottles on a tiled floor were also met with her disapproval.

Disgusted, Helen backed out of the room, closing the door firmly and opened the next door.

This one led to a flight of steep, narrow, wooden stairs that ascended up into darkness. Helen could hear someone moving around up there and she closed the door quickly, knowing that she was being nosy.

Another door opened into a high-walled garden that had been overgrown and filled with junk, metal and others materials heaped around so much it was hard to tell there was any grass there at all. The walls ended at the sky and Helen frowned, thinking that she hadn't seen any gaps in the castle walls before.

She shut this door as well and opened the last one. This one opened to a closet that was doubling as a pantry. A broom and dust pan leaned against one side, along with coats and a cloak, the shelves containing an assortment of food and a small icebox.

Puzzled, Helen softly shut the door and looked around.

The only other door was the one that she had come in through the night before. None of the doors on the outside of the castle opened. So how did one access the rest of the castle?

Puzzling over this, Helen opened the door she had come through just to be certain and was met with a gust of gentle wind that ruffled her hair. She spent a moment with the novelty of watching the moorland speed by and the views, then shut this door as well.

So there was no way to access the rest of the castle and the window looked out on something that wasn't there.

Musing on the oddities, she wandered back to the chair she had spent the night in and sat on the edge of the seat.

The fire elemental shot up, as if it had been waiting for her to come back, seeming downright cheerful as it touched at her mind again.

"Yes, yes, good morning." she muttered. "I know we have a bargain, I haven't forgotten."

The elemental flickered, rising and shrinking back down and Helen just watched it, everything really setting in.

It hadn't been a dream.

Up until this point she had been able to half convince herself that it had been, but it really wasn't. A vampire really had attacked her and she really had run away from home so that she wouldn't lose the only family that she had left.

Helen wasn't aware of when she had begun to cry, in anger and shock, but she sat there staring at a blurring and flickering fire elemental, not paying much attention to the sounds that were coming from upstairs, not noticing Nigel at all until he was standing beside her, looking awkward and exasperated and a little concerned.

"I'd hoped you had gone." he admitted. "Why are you crying?"

"I..." Helen didn't know what to say. she could not tell Nigel why she was here or anything leading up to that. The vampire's threat loomed large in her mind. "My face."

"None of us can help how we look." he said in a bright tone, as if he were attempting to make her feel better, because he could clearly see the fresh scars on her face. "Now, since you're still here, would you like some breakfast?"

Helen blinked, a little surprised by the offer, but the pang in her stomach old her that was a very good idea indeed. And if Nigel was going to feed her before turning her out, it would save what she had for when she was on her own again.

"Yes, please. Thank you."

He nodded irritably, as if her thanking him embarrassed him, and Helen trailed him to the pantry.

"I can help cook."

"There's only bread and cheese with water." Nigel said wearily, opening the pantry. "No one can cook."

"I can cook." Well, mostly. "Come on, I'll show you. Take a few of those eggs and find the kettle."

Helen found the kettle herself and plucked it from the shelf, then realized that there was no sign of a kitchen of any kind and looked at Nigel, puzzled.

"No, you do not understand. We use Vatreni, the elemental, for the cooking. He only lets Nikola get near him to do that."

"You force a Tunisian fire elemental to do your cooking?" Helen asked, aghast.

"No! No, we don't force him to do anything. He likes being useful. For Nikola."

Helen glanced at the fire elemental, feeling the press against her mind.

"So you just leave poor Nigel to fend for himself when your favorite person is not here? How rude!"

She could have sworn that the fire shrugged.

"It really is all right. I don't mind. And the water from the tap is fine unboiled."

"Your master really should have come up with a way for you to care for yourself when he's not here." Helen retorted, approaching the enclosure.

The elemental -Vatreni?- sulked around the bottom.

"Can you help, please?" she asked.

She felt sullen indifference against her mind.

"How long has Nikola been gone?"

Nigel didn't answer, but Vatreni did.

"Days! And you haven't let Nigel have a hot meal or drink in all that time? When he feeds you?"

Vatreni was definitely sulking now and Helen knew that if it -he?- had had a body, that body would have had its back to Helen and face hidden.

"Nigel should withhold your wood until you help him. You aren't in there against your will and you let some bloody idiotic man design his kitchen around you. You can't complain when he is not here."

Vatreni flickered around indignantly.

"No, I'm not on your side because you chose this. This was clearly a longstanding offer on your part and have to return your end of the deal. Nigel has been feeding you." she said patiently.

Vatreni was definitely pouting and clearly knew that Helen was in the right. While Helen had immediately been against this idea because of the use of the abnormal, this was something akin to the only person in the house capable of cooking refusing to do so just because a certain person wasn't there to share the meal, even though there were other people.

That was behavior Helen could not stand, whether it came from a human or an abnormal, especially considering that this abnormal was sentient and sulky at her calling them-him-out on it.

"How does Nikola usually cook with Vatreni?" she asked Nigel.

"Opens the hatch and sticks the pan or kettle in. Vatreni won't burn it unless he wants to."

"That makes this situation all the more worse. Here." Helen thrust the kettle to Nigel. "Fill that."

Helen fetched the heavy iron pan that had been hanging on a hook in the pantry, the eggs, and some bacon Nigel helpfully passed her.

"Now, Vatreni. All you have to do is not burn this, do you understand?" she said sternly.

She received no response.

"Vatreni."

The fire elemental was pointedly not touching her mind now, but sulked to the back of the enclosure, tightening himself into a condense ball that flickered moodily.

Helen took a deep breath and opened the enclosure. Heat blasted out over her, ruffling her hair, but it was something that she could withstand for the time it would take to make some breakfast. Provided she didn't burn it or Vatreni didn't become vengeful.

Nigel sidled up, looking wary as Helen put everything in the pan and slid in only slightly, because the stone was definitely hot enough for cooking. She took the kettle from him and placed it in as well, though her skin felt like it was on the verge of scorching off.

Vatreni touched her mind as the food started to sizzle.

"Burn it and I walk out the door." Helen said mildly.

That was enough to make the elemental behave, though Helen wasn't entirely certain that she would just walk away, considering that the abnormal had asked for her help. Even if she wasn't certain she would be able to accomplish what he wanted.

Vatreni must have reached out to Nigel, who had backed off seeming completely bewildered by this situation, because Nigel laughed a little, though it sounded as confused as he was.

"She barged her way in. What was I supposed to do?"

Helen hunched her shoulders a little at that, because it had been quite rude and she couldn't explain to Nigel why she was so desperate.

She was trying to adjust the pan and look around for something to protect her hands from the heat when the door opened.

"Hello, Nikola." Nigel said, loudly and sounding a tad desperate.

Helen started and twisted to look over her shoulder.

The young man that had just come in through the outside door had stopped in the act of removing his coat, which covered a stylish suit that was either black or a very deep blue. He brushed some of his brown hair off his forehead, staring at her with puzzled blue eyes.

"Who are you?" Tesla asked. "Where in the world have I seen you before?"

"No where." Helen said, voice firmer than she had thought it would be. It was hardly a lie-Tesla had only interacted with her long enough to laugh at her, call her something she didn't understand, and offer to drunkenly walk her to the square. She ought to have been thanking a God she wasn't certain she believed in that she had escaped that interaction.

She had always imagined Tesla, giving his reputation, must have at least been in his mid thirties, but he was at least a decade younger than that assumption.

Helen was also feeling hot and embarrassed being reminded of the interaction-she would rather die than tell him that she was the girl that he had singled out on May Day. The chances were he wouldn't even recognize her. After all, Helen's hair had been its natural blonde then, her face unscarred, and Tesla had been drinking. There was no reason for him to draw a conclusion.

"Her name is Helen." Nigel said, more helpful than Helen herself. "She came late last night."

"How did she convince Vatreni to allow her cook?" Tesla asked, still seeming puzzled as he came forward.

Vatreni reached out to all their minds this time and Helen gaped at the elemental.

"I did not bully you! I stated facts and pointed out you were being unreasonable! Someone needed to put their foot down."

"Vatreni doesn't listen to often people often." Tesla mused.

He slid his coat off, tossed it on a hook, and came over to the enclosure, the scent of lavender and oud filling Helen's nostrils as he firmly bumped her out of the way with his hip. "Vantreni does not like anyone but me opening his enclosure for extended periods of time." he explained, picking up a towel and wrapping it around the handle of the pan. "Pass me some more eggs, seeing as we're feeding more people than anticipated. And tell me why you're here."

Helen was reeling a little, because this interaction was not how she would have expected it to go, if she had taken the time to picture it at all. She had been planning on being gone before Tesla had returned. But she obeyed, handing him more eggs.

Tesla cracked them on the pan and tossed the shells to Vatreni, who burned them happily, his flames turning a different color as he did.

Helen was staring, trying to think of some answer that might be acceptable. She cast her eye around the castle a little desperately, trying to think of something.

"Why I came here?" she echoed, stalling. She licked her lips. "I'm here to clean."

Helen hadn't even though of that of that before she had seen it, but it was clear now that she had seen the inside of the castle. Her doctoring skills might not have been of much use here, but Helen knew how to clean and this place was in dire need of it. She was still rather close to home, but she doubted that the vampires would think to find er in Tesla's castle. James and John most likely wouldn't either, for that matter.

"Are you indeed?" Tesla asked, glancing at her. "Now, who says who are?"

"Just look at this place!" Helen said, screwing up some courage she wasn't sure that she really possessed. It would be just as easy to leave now and head to a village or town further away from here. "Even wicked men need a clean place to live, whether they can be turned from the wickedness or not."

That was probably laying it on a little thick, but Helen did not truly care whether it was or not. If she could stay here, she could help Vatreni and have a safe place to figure out what to do next.

Nigel laughed.

"Nikola isn't wicked." he said, drawing closer.

"How dare you, Nigel!" Tesla said, looking up. "I'm plenty wicked. You just forget because you're used to me and you're supposed to think good things about your master."

Nigel snorted. Tesla jerked his chin at Helen.

"Find some plates and cutlery."

Helen was startled by the direction, but it didn't seem that he was going to be turning her out just yet. So she trailed Nigel to the workbench as he cleaned off the surface and pulled stools out from underneath it.

Helen managed to find plates and cutlery that were actually clean in the closet and set them out. Her bag was still hanging on the chair near Tesla and she picked it up, deliberately making sure that he saw it and that she hung it on the hook next to the one that held his coat. He said nothing and she took this as a sign of encouragement, though he hadn't even truly agreed to let her stay for breakfast, let alone beyond that.

"You can take me on for a month's trial, if you would like." she offered to Tesla, more boldly than she felt most people would speak to this man.

Tesla removed the kettle and then the pan from the enclosure, setting them on hot pads, and shut the door carefully, fully sealing the enclosure once more. Vatreni surged out of the tight ball and shot up to the top, as if he were stretching.

"Plates and tea, if you would, Nigel." Tesla said.

Helen was staring at Vatreni, still a little fascinated by the fire elemental, even if some of that fascination had worn off with the attitude of the elemental itself.

Nigel gestured or her to sit with them at the workbench and Helen sat beside him, Tesla at the far end. She stared down at the meal and the steaming cup of steeping tea.

"Mr. Tesla-" she started.

"Nikola." he corrected, poking at one of the eggs with his fork and making it jiggle, which he apparently found satisfactory.

"Nikola." That was a little strange. "If I am to be cleaning here, I would like to know how to get to the rest of the castle."

To Helen's surprise, both Nigel and Nikola started laughing and even Vatreni seemed to find in amusement in her words. For the life of her, Helen couldn't figure out what she had said that was so funny and none of the males seemed inclined to tell her.

As they ate, Helen tried to corner Tesla-Nikola-into being straight forward, but he was amazingly hard to pin down. Indeed, he didn't seem to like questions in general and kept deflecting her inquiries to Nigel, which was infuriating, especially when the apprentice kept fumbling with what he was saying, as if he were afraid that he would be saying too much.

Finally, as they finished eating, Nikola sighed.

"Tell her, Nigel, it will stop her pestering."

"There is no rest of the castle." Nigel said, sobering a little. "Nothing other than what you've already seen and two bedrooms upstairs."

Helen stared.

"I beg your pardon?"

Both Nigel and Nikola laughed again.

"Nikola made this castle. It's really just a facade. Vatreni keeps it going. The inside is really Nikola's house in Kent."

Helen nearly toppled off her stool at this, shock running through her.

"Surely you are joking."

"Not at all."

"This room is in Kent."

"Yes."

"But that's on the other side of London from the castle!"

"And that, my lady, is why it is so brilliant." Nikola said, standing and putting his plate, fork, and knife in the filthy sink.

"But how is it even possible?" Helen spluttered. "What is the point of terrorizing villages with a giant hulking castle?"

She was pretty sure that her mind had skipped over a few questions there, but Helen was struggling to keep up here.

"You are quite the outspoken young woman, aren't you?" Nikola said, sitting back down. "The point is that I figured something out and my career benefits from me using it. Besides, I offended someone a tad more powerful, so I need to build my reputation."

Helen just stared, not certain what to make of this or even what she should really say. Her mind was reeling. This made no sense, but she had looked out the window. This was very much real.

As she sat there, trying to figure out a question that might actually get answered, Nigel took her plate and his to the sink. Nikola eyed her over the rip of his tea as he sipped it. A moment later, there was a heavy knock on the door.

Vatreni blazed up in his enclosure, reaching out to touch their minds.

"London?" Helen echoed the image that flew into her mind.

Nikola set his tea down and headed towards the door. In the daylight, Helen could now see that there was a wooden knob set above the doorframe. There was a precise circle of paint on each side. A green circle was on the bottom, but Nikola reached up and turned the knob twice, setting it on a red circle.

Then he opened the door and Helen gaped, because the street she could see beyond him was most definitely London. She would recognize those streets anywhere.

A well dressed man stood at the door, close to an age with Gregory, saying something that Helen couldn't catch over the clatter of Nigel attempting to wash the dishes, but the man handed Nikola a paper that seemed to have some seals on it, along with a purse of money.

Nikola and the man exchanged pleasantries and the man left, Nikola closing the door and slipping the money purse into his pocket. Helen saw Nigel's expression turn worried and his eyes follow it.

Nikola walked to the bathroom door, opening it.

"Heat the water, Vatreni!" he called over his shoulder before stepping in and firmly closing it.

Helen blinked, looking at the door.

"So the door goes to the moors, Kent, and London?" she asked Nigel.

"Yes. Don't ask me how, I don't bloody understand it all. I think that man worked for the Prime Minister. I do wish that he hadn't given Nikola all that money, though. It would have been better if he insisted I pick it up."

"Is Nikola going to allow me to stay here?" Helen asked, rubbing her arm nervously.

Nigel shrugged a little helplessly.

"If he is, he'll never say it directly. Nikola hates to be pinned down to anything."

That, Helen decided, was not the most comforting thing to hear, but it was all that she had at the moment.

Author's Note: Yay, Nikola is here!

Vatreni is the Serbian word for fiery.

Other than that, not much else for this chapter, I don't think. Let me know what you think!