Blood Moon: Scene 1
A Vampire Diaries Special Edition Fanfiction By: Allyssa J. Watkins
Niklaus Mikaelson neared the shadows edge in the wood, wearing the misty eve as he would a heavy cloak around his broad shoulders, stepping so that only a part of his determined face, and one gleaming blue eye caught in the cast moonlight.
"You're late," He whispered to the swirling fog as it swept out over the clearing, his voice not altogether pleased, and yet not entirely angry either. "Of course you're late......." He whispered much more fond, a smirk curling in the corner of his amused lips. He straightened his black silk tie, the pinstripes on it leaving the slightest trace of red, and smoothed his black tuxedo jacket as well, his revealed eye fixated on the clearing, and the way the ruins of a stately mansion created phantom shapes in the night.
"You're angry with me........ I can feel it......... he breathed each word, his lips parted. "I feel........ The Fire. The fire that I love, the fire that you tempt me with, tease me with. That same transfixing flame you burn me with, even as I beckon it. That fire is yours yes, but unbeknownst to you, Love, it's also mine. I've coaxed it, controlled it, and it licks at my hand, and you think it's at your behest, but it's not. It comes because I've called it....... and so will you. You'll come, oh yes, you'll frustrate me with the waiting, being the flippant, smouldering thing you are. You'll curse me, you'll screw up that pretty face, set ablaze those lovely, lethal eyes, and you'll hate it, you'll deny it, fight it, but you will come, My Flame, because you can't resist the one who lit the spark of a dying blaze.
The sheen of red satin like a dancing flame emerged from the ruins, the ruffles trailing down her leg, catching the evening breeze as she ran, and the cool night air toyed with the ruffles across her bare back in an enticing and truly envious display. She wasn't using her vampire speed, and his thanks was resounding, for without it, she seemed to be running slowly, her human stride, making it far more able for him to admire her figure in motion. To blur such a watercolour vision through hasty acceleration, would be nothing short of sacrilege.
"Resplendent," Klaus managed breathily, drinking her in as hungrily as he did human blood, letting her drip down his throat and from his lips, warm and smooth, tasting the sweet with just the right hint of sting, all of it, primal in its pleasure. He watched the pale moonlight cling to her loose raven waves as they spilled down her bare shoulders like black ink, illuminated in a ghostly glow, light entwining with dark, a couplet of shine and shadow.
"Soft now...… For all my artistic prowess, every stroke of trying to capture you, commit your visage to my canvas, was utterly in vain...…. A shade, a shell, of the fiercely alive, force of a woman that torments me even now. Oh My Muse...… how I have failed you....…
"KLAUS!!!! KLAUS I KNOW YOU'RE HERE!!!! DAMN IT, KLAUS!!!"
Ah, and there it is...… the sting. Natalia, still running, screamed out his name in the dark, in full throated vexation, and he watched her open mouth wrap around the sound, as she cursed him openly. The silence had shattered with her fury, screaming across the foggy moor, but the fixating image of her crimson figure was made all the lovelier for it, her anger most becoming, and her eyes burned like stoked embers, searching for him in frenzy.
"KLAUS!!!"
"That's it, scream it, Tal, until your whole body trembles with the intensity of your breathless rage, until my name's affect consumes you. Burn me alive, suffocate me with the smoke in your eyes, set fire to the night, that we may succumb to it, and each other...…..
"KLAUS!!!! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!?!?"
"I'm everywhere," He whispered with an especially teasing smirk. "Come find me, My Flame. Your sire demands it."
"KLAUSSSSSSSS!!!!"
His eyes snapped shut, and he breathed in the prolonged piercing cry like a draught of elixir, his mouth falling slightly open, as he luxuriated in its sensual song. Brava, Natalia. Brava.
She hurtled more furiously towards him, daring the dark to reveal him, and he opened his eyes again, to see her scrunch her silken obsidian curls in cascading frustration, her cheeks red with both the exertion and aggravation. He waited for it, for his moment, and at last she stopped, just short of the edge of the clearing, out of breath, fuming. Her eyes were murderous, as he stepped out from the shadows into the waiting pool of moonlight with a whistled tune, the darkness falling away from his imperious face, his blue eyes positively striking.
"With lips devil red, and skin the colour of mocha," He taunted, circling her, and his burning lips smiled, though his eyes did not. "You're late." He hissed in accusation, the playful manner falling away.
Natalia's fine, dark eyes snapped back, though she seemed for a moment, distracted by his choice of dashing formal wear. Yes, I do look scrumptious, don't I, he thought, careful not to let his expression waver.
"Late? Are you kidding me!? You're LUCKY I came at all!!!! What the HELL, KLAUS? You're CRAZY, if you think you can summon me in the middle of the freaking night, tell me what to wear, where to meet, all because you decided on a whim I had to play whatever screwed up game this is!!! I have a LIFE, okay, outside of your spoiled, rich boy, over-indulgent theatrics!!! Her threatening eyes lingered for a moment on his silk tie, taking notice that the red pinstripes on it matched her dress to perfection. "Okay...... really, what is this......? Are we going to the Prom?"
Klaus moved closer, and his smile was more scornful than genuine. "Amusing, that you think I have any regard at all for your so called home life with those insufferable band gnats. Worried about missing morning practice, are we?" He chuckled, his haughty blue eyes becoming ice cold. "Too bad. I am your Sire, Tal, and you might recall this pesky little thing that has bound together our blood called The Sire Bond. Rage all you want, My Feisty Songstress, but you will wear what I tell you to wear, and you will appear when you are summoned. I might remind you that this Spoiled, Over-Indulgent Rich Boy, is the only reason you have this life you're so proud of. He closed the space between them swiftly with a slight blur, and he was impressed when she did not so much as flinch with the intrusion. "You're welcome." He whispered in a rasp, smoothing a rebellious curl off her forehead.
They stared at each other for a moment, and he could feel it, her anger softening, the raging fire beneath quelled, and she hated that Klaus' touch had that betraying effect, when any other man would have inspired the absolute opposite.
"As for the Prom...… I have never shared Rebekah's vehement desire for such raucous frivolity. Are you, by chance, having a particularly odd late night craving for finely dressed, probably drunk, pubescent teenagers?"
Klaus watched her fight her smile, knowing she would lose, and he smirked too, part of him hoping she'd even laugh, the other, far smarter, more realistic part of him, knowing she'd never give him the pleasure.
"Ughhh no, definitely not. I'm not that kind of girl."
Klaus grazed his fingers lightly down her shoulder, across the satin ruffle hanging pleasingly from it, and continued the length of her delicate arm, watching the bumps appear on the flawless latte skin, looking deep into her softened eyes as he spoke. "What kind of girl, are you, Natalia? Tell me. Whose Natalia are you?
Tal stared back, her eyes steady, her body betraying her attraction to his commanding presence, his masculine scruff, and even that damned suit. I'm not going to say it, you can't make me say it. Her eyes flickered with something dangerous just for a moment, something that gave Klaus hope, his eyes intensifying. No, she pleaded in her mind, sensing him searching the silence. Don't look at me like that.......
"You want me to say, yours, don't you?"
"Aren't you?"
He watched her struggle, felt the shift as she looked away from him, overcome with the fear of what he'd do with her hesitation.
"I-"
"Shhhhhhh," Klaus soothed, pressing his thumb to her lips to quiet her, bringing her gaze back to his. "I know, you can't answer, and I know why...…. It's because of him...….."
"Klaus....."
"The Irreverent Romeo, The Cavalier Casanova, the utterly more vexing of the two Salvatores," Klaus snickered cruelly.
"They're both pretty vexing...…." Tal answered, as Klaus withdrew his thumb from her lip, taking notice of an anxiety that hadn't been there before.
"Yes, I do agree with you, Darling. That's why my request should come as no surprise. I'm going to ask you to do something for me, that you're not going to want to do, but it is, shall we say, rather critical to our relationship. I need you to break up with the Salvatores. No, Sorry, let me be rudely transparent, and just bloody say it. I need you to break up with Damon Salvatore."
Natalia drew back sharply as if she had been struck, the softness that had overcome her with Klaus' cast spell, dissolved, and she glared hatefully at him, making his own features harden with the stunned slight.
"Are you kidding me!? What the HELL are you talking about!? I HATE Damon Salvatore, Klaus!!! You KNOW what he did to me, I can't STAND him, He- He RUINED me!!!! Is this a joke!? You can't be serious!!! You're JEALOUS, so you make light of my darkest moment, my deepest pain!? Unbelievable. So happy I got all dressed up for THIS!!!!"
Furious, Natalia whirled around to leave, and Klaus caught her arm, his fingers curling around it tightly, possessively, growling, feeling his own ire rising in his chest.
"Yes, how stupid of me, your precious Damon is in the past, how can I forget!? He LEFT you, caused you irreparable damage, hurt you most profound!!! You'd never betray me, your saviour, your sire, your damned saving grace with the likes of him, now would you!? You'd never have SEX with him in the street, but oh WAIT, that's right, you DID!!!!"
Natalia's lip furled, too enraged to even speak, recoiling at every sardonic word spat from Klaus' lips, and she yanked herself free, something inside of her breaking, cursing herself as the anguished tears rolled hot down her cheek her pained whisper, more cry than actual threat.
"Go to hell, Klaus."
Klaus' brow pulled back, knowing he'd taken it too far, knowing he was about to show undermining weakness in her eyes, but he didn't care, and his voice cracked on the words as they burst from his lips.
"I AM in HELL!!!" He cried out, his words and strange, manic manner such a shock to Tal, that she stopped dead, looking at him incredulous, and he took her arm again, this time with a rare tenderness that made a remnant part of her heart ache. "Don't you see? Natalia, I am in HELL, every time that man touches you, every time he says your name, every time he dares enter a room where you are...….."
Natalia's eyes looked frightened as the single tear escaped down his cheek. In all the years she'd known this dangerous, this notorious, this unrelenting, ruthless man, it was the only time she'd ever been this scared of him.
"The way he looks at you...…" Klaus uttered, his voice still broken, his teeth clenched as he stared at her through his released tears. "There is no greater weapon he possesses against me, even the white oak stake offers a fate preferable to that eternal torment. I can't survive it, Natalia...….."
Natalia couldn't help herself, she slowly turned around, her body moving of its own volition, defying her natural instinct, and reached for his face. With a shuddering breath, he closed his eyes, as she pressed her palm into his cheek. Now it was he who felt scared. It wasn't supposed to go like this. She- She wasn't supposed to see him this vulnerable, this fragile, this- this wasn't him! Oh what have you DONE to me, Tal? What is this- this affliction that makes me a fool?
"Klaus-"
"No," He managed unsteadily, fighting for his composure. "You will LISTEN to me!! I've let this go on too long, now, this disastrous folly!!!" He yelled, knocking her hand away, when everything in him screamed at being woefully denied her touch. "Enough!!! I've allowed you to keep him too close, I've endured your clandestine dalliances, because I know....….. I know what a comfort that can be had in faces that remind us of much happier times, memories of love, of bliss, of a transcendent togetherness. But he is poisoning us, Natalia. He uses you, he dares TRIFLE with you, he's confusing you, and I won't have it!"
"Are you...… forbidding me from seeing him?"
"I would prefer it be your choice," Klaus countered, an edge in his voice. "But, yes, I suppose I am. Cut him out of your life, Tal, remove this sword from your side!"
Natalia shook her raven tresses in disbelief. "No!! You can't do this, Klaus, you CAN'T tell me who, or who not to associate with!!! You don't get to decide who trifles with me. Those memories you speak of, the bliss, and transcendent togetherness? Ha! They're toxic, okay, tainted with his scathing betrayal. What once tasted so sweet has turned to ash in my mouth!!! I taste it every time I see him, Klaus, that vile rancor that chokes me, and GOD I want to stake him, myself!!!!!"
"If you think that's best, Love." Klaus simpered.
"No!! I mean, yeah, don't tempt me...… But whether I like it or not, as badly as I have suffered loving and losing him, we're always going to have a history. I hate it, but I can't undo the past, and since we're both going to live forever...…… I'm stuck with him."
Klaus scowled, shaking his light auburn curls, his lip protruding with his defiance. "NO. I do not accept that. I will not let that womanizing, leather clad, Lothario, use your history as an excuse to stay, and further injure you. Stop picking up the broken glass, Tal, and drop your Bad Salvatore Habit!!!"
"Klaus, I can't-" She insisted, watching him bristle at her resistance, his eyes narrowing, his sweet fragility from moments before, fallen away.
"You can...… and you WILL." He insisted through gritted teeth, his tone forceful. "As your Sire, I demand it."
"What happened? Did he say something to you? Why now? What could have possibly brought all of this on? Klaus, I don't understand-"
"Say it. Promise me, that you'll stay away from him." Klaus commanded, unflinchingly, his eyes hard.
Natalia felt the fire within her start to catch, not caring for the liberties Klaus was taking with her so carelessly. She leaned forward, her eyes smouldering, her red lips full of spite.
"No."
Klaus smiled, but it was an angry smile, his eyes still icy, and he raked his fingers through his hair, before resting them, tremulous against her temple, his voice soft, and somehow the most threatening she'd ever heard it.
"You know...…… I can make you...…."
Natalia breathed heavily, her obsidian eyes flashing, and she was sure she'd never despised Klaus more than in this moment.
"You promised...…… You PROMISED you'd never do that to me."
"You are not giving me a choice," he rasped back. The Sire Bond should be persuasion enough, but still you resist, still you refuse, because in some perversion of thought, you want him...…. You want him more than you want me, the man who has given you everything."
Klaus whispered that last word especially harsh as his lips brushed against her ear, his fingers holding steady, and he knew he could do it, compel her before her next breath, and by sheer force of will, make it so that Damon Salvatore never saw this exquisite face, never beheld the fire in her eyes, never lusted for her womanly, caramel figure ever again.
"I'd never forgive you...…." She hissed back, both of them poised, daring the other to move first, his fingers still fixed. Oh yes...….. There was that."
"Tal...…." He whispered delicately, feeling the ache ravage his heart, and her own expression gentled, as his two fingers caressed the side of her face, much like he'd done with the painting on the canvas. "My Spanish Rose, My Spirited Siren...…." He inhaled deeply as he buried his face into the dark, silken curls veiling her cheek. "Let me help you...…. Let me save you from his heartless treachery. I can make you forget him, free you from the pain of every memory. It would be a kindness....... I can make it so the two of you never met in Italy, never reconciled that night in Barcelona a hundred years hence, never kissed in the gondola in Venice, never splashed each other in the Trevi Fountain. Oh my Love, I know it hurts, but it doesn't have to. How much more lovely things await you, than those you leave behind. Let me do this, for you....…."
Natalia trembled violently, as he brought his full lips to her cheek, and her mettle-tested hard exterior that she had so tirelessly forged, broke with his kiss, as the much softer, more deep feeling and vulnerable Natalia from two hundred years ago emerged, silently crying. He pulled away, tasting the salt of her tears, moving to perform his compulsion, when she suddenly grasped both of his fingers on the side of her face, just as he leant down to lock his eyes with hers.
"Klaus, please...…"
Klaus hesitated, having never seen that look in her eyes, having never beheld this facet of hers, this beautiful fragility, this sweet, desperation.
"I don't want to forget...… not any of it. I was..... I was so happy, I was infinite, and unbroken, and I-I want to remember how it felt, even if it hurts now, knowing I'll never be that girl again. Never love that fearlessly. Klaus, I beg you...…. don't do this. Don't take it from me."
Klaus brought her to his chest, and she collapsed against him sobbing, as he enveloped her in his strong arms, resting his cheek atop her curly head, both palms pressed to the bare skin on her back, and he fought his own tears, so affected.
"I won't. I promise you...…. I could never do it, not now. Oh Natalia, My Darling Girl, forgive me, I-I am a selfish, cruel, jealous, insensitive menace, and I do not deserve such a fiery fairness to call mine."
Tal lifted her head to look at him, her eyes still glimmering, burning like candlelight with what he'd only caught a flicker of before. "You may be all of those things, Niklaus...…. but you are beautiful too. My Soulful Artist, My Sexy Sire."
Klaus shuddered, his lip curling around his next shallow breath, hurting as he drew it in, and he was sure he'd heard her wrong, though the euphoria coursing through his hybrid form heralded he had not.
"You...… think I'm sexy, do you?"
Natalia bit her lip, and while she should have been horrified with herself, cursing her weakness, she let that heaviness fall from her shoulders, casting off her armour, grinning like her former self, only this time her smile was indestructible.
"Sexy as HELL, Klaus! Please, like you didn't know!" Her dark eyelashes fluttered coquettishly, before she pointed her finger at him, fighting the smile that wouldn't die. You tell anybody though, that I said that, and I'll kill you."
"Fair enough," He chuckled, disarmed by her smile, his exhale sharp, breath drowning out useless speech, his cheeks hot, suddenly not trusting that this was in fact, reality. Sure he'd been praised before, mostly by insufficiently clad girls too drunk to know better, or otherwise flattered by feminine scheme in some nefarious attempt to abuse his family's power, but not by her...…. Never by her. In a thousand years, no words had ever affected him the way hers had. No woman had ever transfixed him like her, and nothing, not anything had ever terrified him more than siring this perfect creature, and craving her affection even more than her blood.
"You're ravishing to the point of madness," He rasped hungrily grabbing at her skirts to pull her up against him.
"Shut up, and kiss me already," She sassed, running her fingers through his curls, something she'd never done before, but hey, she would be lying if she said she never thought about it...…. among other things.
"As you wish...….." Klaus' smile was impish, the red satin positively sinful as it slipped through his fingers, his hands bunching it at her shapely hips, pulling her into the fevered kiss, pressing into her lips with a growl. But as he tasted the fire, as it burned on her lips, as it tempted him to devour her, the wolf inside fell silent. Instead of letting the heat rise, and work him up into an animalistic frenzy, instead of craving to control that beautiful blaze, stoke it relentless, he felt himself melt in it, the kiss softening, his lips succumbing to hers, as he sipped the exquisite wine instead of swallowing it whole, wanting to savour it more leisurely. His lips were delicate, as they moved over hers, lingering, breathing her in, overwhelmed with this strangely gentle sensation, something happening, something transcendent from the past stealing through him.
Natalia's lips trembled in the kiss, stunned as he painted his soulful passion in long, slow, careful strokes, ever the artist, their lips brushing against each other's over and over, uncommonly sweet, losing themselves to it, tasting the tenderness that they were both so afraid to feel. It had always been there...…. either masked in violent passions, or furiously fended off, but this time they were powerless. It flooded through the kiss, unyielding, and broke over Klaus like a wave smashing against a stubborn rock.
A thousand years of hardened anguish, of inescapable torment, and pent-up rage, fell away in one strike of an achingly soft kiss, as the Klaus hunted, the Klaus hated, the Klaus reviled, and corrupted by blood, dissolved, and transformed into the Klaus he never thought he'd be again. The noble, pure-hearted eleventh century boy stood in the ruthless Hybrid King's stead, and all he wanted in the world was to stay here, to keep kissing this mysterious raven-haired maiden with his shy, eager lips. This beauty out of time, the angel banishing his hell. His hold on her hips became more soothe than seize, clinging to her, needing her, delighting in her lips, kissing her seemingly for the first time.
Ridiculous. He'd kissed her before...… Fangs dripping with lust, ripping his shirt off, shoving her up against the wall, to have what was his, to take what the Sire Bond could not deny him. They'd kissed after killing, after feeding, blood smeared on both of their lips, sharing it between them, the victorious predators reveling, and GOD knows he'd kissed her just to shut her up when she was being impossible, difficult, captivating...… But this..... What the hell was this?
The boy felt the tears sting his crystal blue eyes, and while the Hybrid King would have railed against them, the human Niklaus let them fall, let them mingle with the sweetness of their dancing lips. The King marveled at the boy's answer to his wild-eyed quandary, his mouth falling open, paralyzed. No. No, it was........ impossible. But as Natalia's slender fingers brushed against his tidy, red blonde stubble, and disappeared into his crown of light curls, her lip lowering to retake his, he felt it truly, deeply, echoing like a forgotten song, reverberating through him, the sound frightfully pure. Innocence. This was the long absent taste of innocence, of a paradise lost, found.
They stayed that way for a heartbeat, perfectly still, lips still touching, but not moving, mouths slightly open, neither one of them wanting to be the first to break the kiss, but both knowing that they must. She pulled away, and he let her go, his trembling hands finding refuge in his tuxedo jacket pockets, her own lovely, lovely fingers flying to her lusciously red lips, and even as he watched them touch where he had kissed, he could still feel them on his face, in his hair, and she looked at him like the danger, the terror, the dire threat he truly was.
"Thank you," He rasped, still chasing his breath, and his chest broke inward as he saw the crystal trails glittering on her own bewildered face. She'd been crying too...….. Natalia almost never let him see her cry, and these weren't the tears he'd on occasion caught a glimpse of. You're crying...…. because you're happy...….. I made you happy. He brushed his lips against her wet cheek in one last ache of a final kiss, his palm cradling the back of her wildly curly head, and he felt a rush of fresh tears stream down his face, and though the king fought to keep his secret, the boy knew he was in love.
"Thank- Thank you," The words strangled in Natalia's throat, and she bit back her own tears, the shock, the anger, the enchantment, the emotional vulnerability all too much. What the hell was that? What- What did he think he was doing, kissing her like that, manipulating her, prying into the depths of her soul, all for what!? This is sick, this can't just be about Damon..... What was he playing at? But as she stared at him, the damning evidence of his own undoing painted in his broken expression, she wondered with a tenderly taken breath, if it all could be real. Do you- do you- love me, Klaus? God, could you love me?
"Thank you...… for tonight," She whispered in a different, much softer voice, crossing her arms over her chest, feeling naked, watching the warmth flood his eyes. "Thank you, Klaus, for letting me keep my memories, I know how hard it was for you, and you don't know what it means to me.
"I only let you keep them so I could outdo them, intending to create a new one with more drawing light, than that which has tarnished." Klaus' smile was playful, his voice still slightly breathless, cracking with his unleashed emotion, and he hastily rubbed his finger over the crest of his lip, to stop the tear that was resting precariously there. Get it together you blubbering fool, he cursed himself, but as he looked at her, at his Tal, his iron maiden, and saw her become as soft as water, his own eyes became sapphire pools, concealing no underlying menace, only drawing serenity, and his countenance became wholly innocent.
"Of course, always and forever, The Showman, Niklaus, but my, that you have done so, most dazzling." Natalia's smile was incredibly sweet, and so unlike her, her eyes dancing with an even more dangerous fire, that glowing candlelight that sought to warm instead of burn.
It sashayed over him in its beckoning shine, and he'd never felt less deadly, less immortal in his entire eternity, a dandelion blown to scatter, breathing in the sound of his full name, romanced by the scandalous way it rollicked, and rolled from her tongue, catching in her slight Spanish accent. She always said it the same way, spoke it aloud like a mantra. He'd told her his name when he first found her, amidst the remnants of the ruined house, trembling under a splintered table, her white dress covered in blood, taking her into his arms, and she'd said it then as if it named some mythic figure, some divine saviour. He'd never heard anyone speak it that way, and even after near two hundred years together, he still felt like that grand, miraculous rescuer, every time she said it.
"You are yourself, Dazzling, Natalia. I needed only provide the proper accoutrements." Klaus smirked, feeling himself returning, needing to take the power back, needing to be her Sire right now, and not...…. He sighed with the thought, though whether it was one of frustration or longing, he had yet to reconcile. Not........ Her peasant boy. As lovely as it had been to break with her, to be weak with her, to lose control..... He was still the king.....
"Klaus, this dress, it's-" Natalia laughed very girlishly, and he allowed himself one more moment of weakness, drawing back her ebony tresses to better see her face, knowing precisely what she wanted to say, and knowing full well why she couldn't say it...….
"Custom," He interjected for her with a handsome wink, and she smiled at him graciously. "I was painting one night, brushing the red against the white of the canvas, and let's just say I was...… inspired."
Natalia smiled again, and then gave him a teasing, knowing look, "So you're saying I'm in God-knows-where at midnight, as your Red Cinderella, because you had some artistic revelation?"
Klaus' grin widened, his eyes deviously sly. "Something like that, yes. However, our midnight won't break the spell, but rather cast a new one."
"Meaning?"
"The mystery awaits, and you're much smarter than Cinderella, so why don't you stick around and find out."
"You do realize, you're frustrating me by being cryptic, as we stand on the edge of a cliff, right? Hell yeah, I'm smarter than Cinderella, and much more dangerous in heels too." Natalia's laugh was full of mirth, even as she taunted him in that irresistible way of hers, and he smirked too, the sound surrounding him in its fleeting music. I'm much smarter than any clueless prince, My Fire. If he'd had any sense at all he never would have let you out of his sight...…."
"Well before you throw me over, and dash me on the rocks, why don't you wait until after our interlude. Come........"
He extended his arm to her, looking over his shoulder, with an arched eyebrow, and an insistent smirk.
Any other time she would have demanded an explanation, before she took one more step. He could be so infuriating with his flowery speeches, and his showy stunts, but God that kiss...… it was like a spell in itself, she couldn't shake it, and even more worrying, she wasn't sure if she wanted to...…. Damn you, Klaus Mikaelson.
She walked calmly up to him, and he smirked again, satisfied as she took his arm.
"This better be good."
"Oh My Darling...…. You'll never forget it...….. Not even if you are compelled to."
They glided through the ruins like elegant ghosts, transfixing, in their prim promenade, Natalia's crimson dress trailing behind her, passing the burned and worn down remains of what was once beautiful architecture.
"What is this place...…?" She wondered out loud, her voice hushed, the curiosity getting the better of her. Klaus smiled to himself as he looked out over the moor, the fog curling around the cliff's edge, and the bits and pieces of a fantastic colonial estate came together in his mind, flooding it with rich, oil painted memories.
"This used to be my favourite place in all of Mystic Falls. In fact...… it still is...... In the 1760's, in a glorious time before the stench of the Salvatores' arrival from Italia, isn't that a pretty thought?" He smiled mischievously, arching his eyebrow again. "This was the crown jewel of vampire society in the Americas. The lavish, extravagant parties, the reckless frolicking, all housing the collection of the most powerful creatures in existence, and we lived like kings. Mystic Falls was a cursed kingdom, a beautiful and terrible place under our spell, and it belonged to the vampires."
"What was it called?" Natalia asked stunned, this mysterious place holding such a draw for Klaus, as he stared mesmerized, his mind somewhere else, that far off look in his eye, centuries falling away, and she found it all so intriguing.
"Noirbloom Manor." The smile in Klaus' voice was pure, wicked pleasure, as the name formed on his lips, and lilted from his tongue. Even the very name...… the way it tastes on the tongue with such delicious menace...…. Such mysticism and infamy even still."
"I've heard of this place...…" Natalia said in a breathless gasp. I always thought it was a legend, a dark fairytale.
"It was a fairytale...…." Klaus' voice rasped with such profound awe, and Natalia watched him lean down in the grass, to brush his fingers against a beautiful, yet strange black flower, its center glowing the darkest of violet. "And yet fairytales almost never have happy endings."
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
