CHAPTER XXXIV
❝ Turns out destiny arranged a date for us itself. ❞
Niklaus Mikaelson was surprised, no he was astounded, when he received a phone call from his youngest brother stating an emergency and that he would advise his urgent presence at some sort of club whose name he recollected as 'Le More Club'?- or maybe no, it was 'L' Amore Club'.
His mind had gone to the worst case scenarios, varying from a hunter attack to daylight ring theft. Although, all those thoughts were flushed out of his mind when the youngest Mikaelson had welcomed him with open arms at the entrance of that club with a cheeky smile persistent on his face. And, those thoughts had run further away when Kol had made him come inside and had pointed at a certain someone dancing at the dance floor.
"Now, tell me how great I am." Kol had stated smugly and, frankly enough, for the first time Niklaus really felt proud of his brother.
"Well, that you are, for the first time." said Niklaus, thumping his brother on the back with distinct pride. "Although you might want to excuse me now, I've got a lady to impress."
"Hey, where?" Kol stopped him. "You would go there like this?"
"What's wrong with this?" shrugged Niklaus, looked down at the casual t-shirt, pants and jacket he was wearing.
"Well, come here. Look at her." he tilted his head towards her and then at him. "Now, look at you."
"And, yeah. There's nothing wrong."
"Oh, come on-"
"I'm eternally charming."
Kol nearly snorted, letting his big brother remain swelled in his ego as Niklaus left his side. However, he did shout one last thing after his retreating figure.
"At least do your hair, Nik! Trust me, they look hideous!"
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Lucy wasn't sure who she wanted to kill. Vaishali or Kol? The one who let out the fact that Niklaus is in Italy or the one who had read that message and is most probably planning something sneaky.
Nevertheless, she might very well kill both of them.
She has no idea why in the name of merlin have she started acting awkwardly all over again even though she and Niklaus had settled down everything the previous day only. But, let god be with her.
Her mind just said one thing right now.
'Niklaus can't be in Italy.'
And her heart said the exact opposite.
'Is Niklaus really in Italy?'
However, she instinctively settled down to the second, even receiving an answer to it, when her eyes fell on an approaching figure.
It was (obviously) Nik, who had just left Kol's side and was running a hand through his hair to tame it.
Lucy suddenly felt like a teenager, wanting to smile at this cute little movement, although she has enough brain to not do so.
But sometimes the heart wins.
She could practically sense the happiness radiating off him as soon as their eyes connected and when he very clearly saw that stupid smile on her face.
"Hello, love."
He was suddenly in front of her. Maybe it was the vampire speed or just a lapse of memory, but he, nevertheless, held his patented smirk, standing there right in front of her without an ounce of surprise as if he had expected to bump into her in a random club.
"Oh, hi, Nik. Fancy seeing you here."
Her words were simple, laced with a little surprise but maybe she really had expected this to happen when Kol had read that message, and well of course she saw Kol with him just now.
"Surprised?" He nearly shouted over the music, let alone the fact that they were currently standing still in the middle of a dance floor filled with wildly dancing people.
"Yeah. Didn't expect to see you here, in Italy."
"Same goes with you."
They paused for a moment, smiling at each other like idiots, until Niklaus offered his hand (not for marriage!) for a dance.
"May I have this dance, miss?"
"I would love to."
Her hand had held onto his even before these words had left her mouth.
They felt fit together, perfect, as if moulded specifically for each other.
The atmosphere around them changed (or maybe it was their imagination?) as they both took a step towards each other, their hands simultaneously moving to rest at the neck and waist respectively, as the increasing crowd of the dance floor pushed them closer.
The music felt something different, well so did each other's presence for the two of them at the moment.
"You look quite gorgeous today just like always, might I add." Niklaus said, this time opting to lean over and whisper these words in her ear rather than shouting over the blasting music.
"You look quite charming yourself." Her words weren't any louder, only said with her lips nearly touching his ear.
If someone else would look at them right now, then they could very clearly point out two things. First, the shining happiness on both of their faces. Second, that they were the only pair doing 'ball dance' on the dance floor.
"So, what brings you to this fine city?"
"I apologise, but that is an undisclosable matter." said Klaus, the pair still at the dance floor. "Although, I assure you I have no ill intents regarding this city."
"Well, yeah, your choice. I'm just gonna assume you missed this pretty little city." she chuckled.
"I assume the same in your case?"
"Yeah, although I actually came for holiday with Bonnie and her friend."
"Bonnie, Bonnie Bennett? She's here?"
"Yeah, but it's probably better if you two don't meet." she said, her voice laced with amusement.
"Yeah," he shrugged, "best choice."
[ Maybe somebody would bother telling them that a dance floor is not supposed for 'talking', it's supposed for 'dancing'. ]
The song changed, shifting their attention as the dance floor's inhabitants' demeanour changed, some whoops and cheers filling their ears momentarily before an energetic song replaced it.
It was as if the crowd's dancing style changed with the changing of the song. They felt somewhat compelled to follow, dropping behind the 'ball dance' they were doing, and getting into the usual mess of steps of club dancing - a foot here, a foot there, hands gliding (nearly hitting the very next person), hips swaying, body curving and what not.
Maybe it was the music or maybe it was the thick crowd around them, somehow they had managed to come closer than before, his chest pressed against her back as their steps synced. The music encaptivating their mind and body alike.
And that moment felt eternal.
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Bonnie wasn't too sure where Lucy was after she had left the dance floor, although she had received an assurance message a few minutes later stating her presence nearby with a few old friends of hers.
She wasn't sure who these friends were until half an hour later (she and Jamie had left the dance floor long ago to sit down for sometime) she spotted Lucy dancing with none other than 'The Klaus Mikaelson'. And above all was the fact that soon she noticed them heading away, not to the seating area, not to the drinking section, but to the freakin terrace.
"Hey, Bonnie, you okay?" Jamie snapped her out of her thought process as she shuffled in her seat.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
She might have said those words but her eyes had still travelled to the pair who could be seen heading upstairs by the narrow metallic stairs.
She would have tried to follow them or even stop them, however she knew that she was in no position to interfere in Lucy's life. Lucy helped her, supported her through dark times, arranged this tour for a mood refresher, but that's it. She can't and doesn't have the right to make any objections regarding her life decisions.
And Bonnie Bennett is smart and mature enough to understand all this.
◇◇◆◇◆◇◇
The terrace had a beautiful set-up. A stain covered round-table at a corner with two chairs, fresh flowers hanging overhead, as a medium-sized pool occupied the rest.
It wouldn't be wrong of Lucy to believe that this decoration is meant for a 'date night'.
"Woah, this is...... beautiful." Lucy complemented, eliciting a chuckle from Niklaus.
"That I agree, but who did this?"
"You didn't arrange this?" Lucy's brows furrowed.
"No. You also didn't get this done?" Niklaus questioned, taking brisk steps towards the table as Lucy followed shortly.
He picked up a fancy note lying on the upturned plate and read it aloud.
Thank me later. Now enjoy!
- Your favourite brother.
XOXO
"Kol. Definitely Kol." Lucy shook her head as they both rolled their eyes, although still, both held a persistent smile.
"I should have known it's him." chuckled Niklaus, pulling out a chair for Lucy with extreme politeness which she gratefully accepted.
"He texted me giving a sort of advice to explore other parts of the club." said Niklaus, taking the opposite seat to hers.
"That's real good of him to arrange all this." hummed Lucy but trailed off on uncovering the platter lying in the middle of the table. "But he forgot to order some food."
"Oh," he chuckled, shaking his head as Lucy re-covered the empty platter.
"So." began Lucy, nodding to herself slightly as if telling herself to-go-for-it. "Turns out destiny arranged a date for us itself."
"Quite a matchmaker, isn't it? The destiny."
"Yeah. So, um," she cleared her throat, "I don't want to hide anything of my long past from you."
"Me too."
"But, if there would be something you don't want to tell me, then just say 'it was nothing'. I'll know that you are not comfortable with telling me that, I won't take it to heart at all. And I'll just wish that maybe someday we'll reach to that part where you'll be finally ready for reliving that part of your life, recounting it to me. And if I feel that way, I'll say the same."
"And I'll wish the same." he smiled at her softly, a part of him glad of her for trying to keep the best possible understanding between them from the very beginning.
"My childhood has been the most glorious part of my whole life." said Klaus, taking the cue to begin. "Where there were no worries, no burden of survival. The only thing we used to desire was a normal perfect family.I liked a girl back then, well, so did my brother, Elijah. Her name was Tatia. Elena's ancestor."
"Doppelganger." nodded Lucy. "Her blood was used to turn you all."
"Yes. She died eventually, in fact my mother killed her to get her blood to bind my werewolf side. My mother cheated on my father with a werewolf villager, so I was born a hybrid. And, um," he shuffled slightly in his seat, "my youngest brother Henrik died the night I took him to watch werewolves turn. Our family was devastated. So in order to protect her children, my mother turned us all into vampires who were so much driven by the hunger that they tore apart the whole village feeding. When I had my first kill, I transitioned and everyone knew of my mother's betrayal. In his rage, my father killed mother's lover and his whole clan, starting the rivalry between werewolves and vampires. Then me and my siblings fled to Southern France, feeding, enjoying our new powers, but not without making sure to keep it hidden as my father was on our hunt."
"Why did he try to hunt you all?" asked Lucy, perplexed.
"Because we, as vampires, were going out of control. Killing whole villages in hours, eradicating countries. He thought we had to be stopped for the sake of humankind. Besides, he thinks I'm an abomination."
"He used to. He's dead now."
The way Lucy said the word 'dead' with so much spite, made Niklaus aware of her hatred towards his father, and brought back memories of the day Lucy told him the reason behind this.
"You're right. He's dead now." sighed Klaus, a slight uplifting smile coming to his lips. "So, yeah, we were in Southern France. Me and my siblings posed as a royal family whom we fed on and killed, who were heading to a castle. The escorter of the carriage, Lucien Castle, took us there and got us habituated. He later turned to be my first sireling. We both fell in love with the same princess in the castle. Aurora De Martel. Although, she reciprocated my feelings. Lucien caught us sneaking out one night. He was hurt. He lost his senses, blabbering everything and Aurora's brother, Tristan heard it all. We decided to flee, but Tristan caught up to Lucien and tortured him. Me and Elijah tried to rescue him and somehow he ended up with my blood in his system and he turned. We discovered that night that we could make others like us by feeding them our blood and killing them. Things changed then, but me and Aurora grew close, I told her all about our condition, and finally one day she got herself turned into a vampire by tricking Rebekah. Soon, Finn tells us about the spread of a rumour of 'demons feeding on human blood.' We knew it would draw Mikael here, so we decided to flee. However, Aurora refused to accompany me. I haven't heard from her since."
"You love her?"
Her words weren't twisted, or a beat 'round the bush, it was straight as a line.
No 'loved' or 'used to love'. It was 'love' : present tense.
"I did. Centuries ago. I don't even know if she's alive or not, not that I care."
Klaus then went on to the 1100s when the Mikaelsons resided in Italy and befriended Alexander, although he refrained from mentioning the word 'Brotherhood of Five'. He described them as normal hunters, and closed that century with a 'it was nothing'.
Then he recalled his revoked urge to break his curse and Katerina Petrova's story, how she was supposed to be for the sacrifice and how she ended up tricking them all. The 1700s were quite the same, running from their father, and the death of Klaus' favourite horse Theo.
"In the 1700s we went to New Orleans. Befriended the Governor and built the city from scratch. We lived in peace for a century, I mean as much peace as you can live with when you're a vampire."
"Yeah." chuckled Lucy, letting out a breath. "Shall we head to the pool, what do you say? My feet will go numb if I keep sitting in this same position any longer."
"Of course, why not?" he chuckled, as they got up from their chairs. "Hope I'm not boring you too much."
"Of course not." she shook her head with a smile, unbuckling her heels as Klaus removed his shoes. "It's nice to finally get to learn about you and your life. Not gonna lie, but I got really curious when Stefan first mentioned you on call, how you had body-jumped into Alaric Saltzman."
"Really?"
They were by the pool, their feets dangling, legs half-immersed in the cold water, as their shoulders kept brushing past each other and the fast wind ruffled their hair, basking in their immense exuberance.
"Yeah," she shrugged with a smile, "it was kinda after a long time that I heard of something witch-related. And most vampires don't even know anything witch-related."
"You weren't into practising at that time?"
"Uh.... Not the real stuff. Just some meagre daily use of teeny spells. Kinda felt refreshing to hear of a new witchy thing." she shrugged with a chuckle.
"Well, needless to say, you were intrigued by me from the beginning." said Klaus, a teasing smirk reaching his lips.
"Ha, no. I was not intrigued by you, I was intrigued by that body-jumping you did."
"Aw, come on. You can admit it. Nothing to be shy about." he said in a teasing voice, bumping into her shoulder lightly.
"I wasn't. Okay?" she laughed.
"You were."
"I wasn't."
"Was."
"Was not."
"Was."
"Was not."
"Was."
"Was not."
"Was."
"Was not."
"Was."
"Was not."
"Was."
"Was not."
"Was."
"Was."
"Ha! You admitted it!" he exclaimed loudly as she smacked her forehead.
"Yeah, fine. Whatever helps you sleep." she grumbled to herself, but still she can't stop that smile coming to her lips on seeing that intoxicating smile of his.
They don't know what their 'relationship' is going to be like, if it's a short fling or a life-long promise, if they're the right person for each other, but they both just want this to be a beautiful experience. Something worth remembering.
Because after all, there are no right people, there are just good memories.
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A/n:
Ahhhhhhh ..... so sorry guysssss... it's been 27 DAYS!!!
I got so wrapped up in school stuff that I just can't write. :(
I thought to make a 4k chapter as a treat for my absence, but then i thought better to give the upper half first, otherwise it would stretch to another month.
Welp.... So sorry.....
Anyway, the end of the chapter tho, that quote's my fav.
Also, Italy fun is NOT over yet! Another chapter on the way......
And, I got Tumblr recently. My acc is kinda empty (not too much there) but still if anyone wanna follow, then here's the link.
http://anna6307.tumblr.com/
Or just search Anna6307 (my username) coz I'm kinda sure that this link won't work.
Also, cheers for 29k !!! 😁😁😁🎉🎉🥂🥂
Until then,
Ripahhhhhhhhhh.
Word Count : 2791