The Cruel Prince || Klena

09.

The first thing Elena was conscious of was the tingling in her fingertips. She wiggled them slowly and laboriously. She was back in her room. Alone. Moonlight shone through the balcony. She groaned. Why did this keep happening? Ever since the Bonding Ceremony, the attacks had not let up. And to be quite frank, she was sick of it.

She sat up and carefully got out of bed, then she grabbed a satin suitcase and filled it with clothes. She would not stay there another night. She tiptoed out into the hall and broke into a run, hoping her shaky breaths and shuddering heart would not be heard.

Elena slowed to a stop as she came upon a room with a cracked door. She frowned. She had not been in this part of the castle yet. Laughs drifted out and a slow melody floated in the air. She peeked in. The room was a small bedchamber. About five Vampyr's mocked and mimicked a person, which was chained to the ceiling, dripping blood from a multitude of cuts. It was a boy, and he whimpered. "Please let me go. I promise I won't tell."

"Now why would we do that?" The voice made her blood run cold. Niklaus came into the frame and she clapped a hand over her mouth. His face was contorted. Dark veins stretched from eyes, which glowed a strange shade of gold themselves. And his face. Two fangs were present, and his eyes were cold, unyielding. Blood matted his hair and stained his face. For the first time since she'd met him, Elena was truly afraid.

He deliberately took out a silver blade and watched as the boy began to squirm with what little energy he had left. He dragged it meticulously across his skin and the boy began to scream high-pitched. A tear escaped Elena's eye. She took the opportunity to run. Her chest and lungs were burning when she finally stopped at the large doors. She hesitated for approximately a second before bolting out into the cold exterior.

She panted and ran into the dark, damp, forest. Elena did not know how long it was before she broke into a clearing. She frowned. Her heart was thudding loudly in the vast silence, and the hair on the back of her neck stood, but she couldn't tell why. The moon shone brightly, illuminating the wheat stalks. Hesitantly, she resumed her run. A twig snapped behind her. She abruptly stopped and whirled around.

"Hello?" She called out, uncertainly. A low growling sound came from...somewhere. She gasped and spun around in a circle, looking for the source. Leave's crunched. She froze in place, trying to think rationally. Was it a mountain lion? Certainly not at this time of year. All went silent and not even a cricket was heard as Elena held her breath. From the stalks, a large animal snarled and jumped out at her.

She turned and bolted, beginning to severely regret her decision to leave in the dead of night. She could practically feel its foul breath on down the back of her neck as she raced as fast as she could. It nipped her ankle, and she yelped, falling. She turned over and began to crawl backwards in terror as it silently walked toward her.

It was pitch black, and huge. A wolf. It's teeth were bared menacingly in a sneer and it's eyes seemed to challenge her. It left paw prints in the dirt where it stepped. Looking beyond it, Elena could see the exact path she'd taken. She'd trampled stalks carelessly along the way. What a waste of food, she thought. Then : of course I'm still in Royal mode.

The moon seemed to glint off of it's abnormally sharp teeth. It drawled closer and closer until Elena couldn't back up anymore. She grabbed a nearby rock and threw it with as much force as she could. It bounced harmlessly off of it. It pounced on her and she screamed, throwing up her arms to shield her face, but no blind, searing, pain came. She put down her arms and stared in amazement as Niklaus wrestled the thing to the ground with ease.

She'd never seen Vampyr strength before. It radiated off him in waves. They tussled until he hurled the thing a good ten feet. It growled and ran away. He whipped around. "What were you thinking?! Wandering into Acerbus territory? At night?!" Her fear dissipated. Elena's eyes narrowed. "Running from you! I'd rather be eaten than be with someone who tortures innocent boys!"

"Innocent? That boy was a thief! We have zero tolerance for thieves here. Besides, he stole something very important from my personal library." He shot back. "What was so important that he had to be killed?" He sniffed. "That's none of your business. Now come on. We're expected at the Christening." He turned.

Christening? "You're injured." He stopped and looked down at his bleeding leg. "I've been infected." He sighed. "It'll burn out of my system in a few hours. But I suggest you walk faster." Elena did walk faster. She huffed the whole way, dragging her clothes along with her. He eyed her outfit. "And do change into something nicer." She looked down. She was still wearing the lavender dress.

As they approached the castle, Niklaus put a finger to his lips. "Quiet. We're late. Quick, follow me." She tiptoed not all that different in the manner that she'd left in. She rolled her eyes. Niklaus led her into a room. "This is my private bedchambers. I still have some dresses from...never mind." He avoided her eyes. She found it suspicious but complied nonetheless. He handed her a dress. "This looks like it'll fit. Here."

She nodded despite not wanting to accept anything from him. He shut the door behind him and she began to quickly put the dress on. However, her movements slowed when she noticed a name etched into the interior of the dress. So small, she almost missed it. It read Camille. Hmm. The name meant nothing to her.

She finished up, pulling the door open. For a second, when Niklaus laid eyes on her, she thought she saw something raw flicker in his eyes. And then it was gone. "Come on." He grabbed her arm and pulled her along. She didn't struggle against his grip. Elena's eyes met the ground as they pushed through the doors. Many people turned in their seats to look. Rebekah's eyebrows raised at Elena's dress.

But she said nothing. They took their place at the front of the room, next to Mikael and Esther. Mikael sent a heated glare toward Niklaus, which he shrunk under. Elena recognized the reaction. It was the same reaction her and Jeremy used to have when their father returned home drunk. He sat next to his mother, and pulled her down next to him. On the stage, at the front of the room, which was decorated with bows of garland, underneath an open window, stood Finn.

Elena was unprepared. She knew a Christening was to celebrate the birth of a Royal, but she also knew holy water burned Vampyrs. Finn and a pretty red-haired woman stood together, and proudly, they held a sleeping baby in their arms. Elena gasped. The baby looked so serene, it didn't make a sound. The moon shone through the circular window, illuminating the babies pale face. Finn reached into a gold plate sitting on a pedestal and dipped a finger in.

He with-drawled it and very gently dabbed the smudge on the babies forehead. Then he held it up to the crowd. "Finley Sage Mikaelson!" The crowd erupted in claps and cheers. Elena participated. As the sound died down, many people came up to Finn and his wife and kissed them both on the cheek. When it got to Elena and Niklaus, Finn frowned. "If it isn't my late little brother." His wife put a hand on his arm, and he sighed.

"I'm Sage. You must be Elena. It's so nice to see Nik have a second chance after Camille." She reached a hand out to Elena, and they shook. Elena just barely missed the tight strained smile on Niklaus's face.

Who's Camille?