Meeting Lucien and Aurora
The night air was crisp with the scent of pine and blood. My siblings and I had slipped away from the village, the hunger in our veins demanding more than rabbits and deer. A pair of hapless travelers had crossed our path, and their throats had been our feast.
It was then that I heard a sharp gasp.
A young man stood frozen at the edge of the clearing, his eyes wide, his face pale as he watched us wipe the crimson from our mouths. He was no warrior — his clothing too fine, his stance too uncertain. A servant of nobility, perhaps.
For a heartbeat, I thought he would run.
Instead, he bowed.
"Forgive me," he said quickly, voice trembling but steadying as he forced himself to meet my gaze. "I saw nothing. Only nobles enjoying their… wine."
Rebekah arched a brow. Kol smirked. Elijah tilted his head, studying the boy with quiet interest.
But I stepped forward.
"You saw," I said, my tone sharp enough to cut. "Yet you do not scream. You do not run. Why?"
The young man swallowed, then straightened. "Because I know when a secret is worth keeping, my lord. And perhaps… when loyalty might be worth more than fear."
A slow smile tugged at my lips. "Your name?"
"Lucien," he answered. "Lucien Castle. Servant to the noble House de Martel."
The Noble Connection
It was through Lucien that the introductions were made.
The next evening, we were dressed as nobility — at least, as much as Mikael's lessons in etiquette and Elijah's insistence on formality would allow. Lucien led us through the gates of a grand estate, torches flickering against white stone walls.
Inside, Count de Martel greeted us with courtesy befitting foreign nobles. His son, Tristan, watched us with suspicion behind a veneer of charm. But it was his daughter who captured the room.
Aurora de Martel.
Her hair was fire under candlelight, her smile as sharp as it was disarming. When her eyes met mine, the world seemed to still.
"This is Aurora, my daughter," the Count said proudly.
Aurora curtsied with a mischievous tilt of her head. "Welcome to our home. It is rare to meet such… unusual guests."
Unusual. She already sensed something.
I inclined my head, smirking faintly. "The pleasure is mine, my lady."
Elijah gave the polite bow expected of him. Rebekah offered a graceful smile. Kol muttered something under his breath about "French girls being prettier than our village maidens."
But Aurora's gaze lingered only on me. And in that moment, I knew — this meeting would change much.
The Garden Conversation
The feast was lively, laughter echoing across the long oak table, goblets raised in toast. But I was restless. Surrounded by nobility and servants, the walls pressed in too tightly. Aurora must have felt the same, because when she slipped out through the side doors into the moonlit gardens, I followed.
She walked among the roses, her hand brushing gently over the petals, her crimson gown trailing behind her.
"You don't belong in there either, do you?" she asked without turning, her voice soft but edged with mischief.
I smirked. "Is it that obvious?"
She finally looked back at me, eyes gleaming in the moonlight. "Only to someone who feels the same. My father would have me spend my life smiling at courtiers, playing the role of a dutiful daughter. Tristan speaks of alliances, marriage, responsibilities. But me?" She spread her arms as if to embrace the night air. "I want more than this castle. More than noble duty. I want to see the world."
Her honesty surprised me. In my memories, Aurora had always been framed by tragedy, by manipulation. But here, now — she was still unbroken. Still full of fire.
"What would you see, if the world were yours to walk?" I asked.
Aurora's smile turned wistful. "Mountains beyond our borders. Oceans wider than I can imagine. Cities where no one knows my name." She hesitated, then added quietly, "Freedom."
I stepped closer, lowering my voice. "Then perhaps you and I are not so different. My father wishes to bind me, my mother to control me. But freedom…" I let the word linger, tasting it. "That is something I intend to claim for myself."
Aurora tilted her head, studying me as if seeing past my skin, past the mask of nobility. "And how will you claim it, Niklaus?"
I allowed myself a small smile. "One way or another, I will take it."
For a long moment, silence hung between us, filled only by the hum of crickets and the scent of roses. Then Aurora laughed softly, a sound like wind chimes in the night.
"You are dangerous," she said. "But perhaps danger is exactly what I've been waiting for."