REBEKAH
Ever since Nik had met with Mary, Gabriel, and me lo those many years ago, I had decided to travel with him. There were several thoughts which went into that decision, not the least of which being the way he had gazed at Mary so intently on their introduction. I told myself it was to stave off any unwarranted advances he may make towards her, but there was a small part of me that was jealous of her for attracting the attention of both of the men so important to me. I also did need to put some distance between myself and Gabriel. It was the only way I was to get beyond my feelings for him and perhaps find a love of my own.
Besides, few may have believed it, but Nik was a fabulous traveling companion when he wished to be. Charming and knowledgeable, each destination could hold adventure while he flashed his dimpled grin. That version of Nik was the one I embraced and most of our years were quite enjoyable as they flew by. Yes, even for an immortal it can seem as if time slips through your fingers if you have the right partner to share it with and Nik and I were more alike than I often wished to admit.
By pure happenstance we all arrived in Paris after the turn of the 21st century. Paris had always held a special place in my heart and as a pair of undying romantics, Mary and Gabriel gravitated to it as well. Nik always made it a point to be aware of the supernatural activity in any city we entered and it was with great joy, but a bit of misapprehension, the four of us agreed to meet up for drinks of a less plasmic nature. They came to our hotel suite bearing a gift of a sort. It seems in my hurry to pull Nik away from the most alluring Mary, I had left behind several articles they believed I would like to have again.
Besides the normal detritus that can be found in a woman’s trousseau – silver hair brush, diamond hat pins, embroidered handkerchiefs – there were also my diaries. I rolled my eyes imagining the dramatic lamentations they would hold and put the entire parcel aside to be combed through later. We had the City of Lights to explore together and a never-ending supply of money to do it with. I still cannot reconcile the beginnings of those weeks with how they ended.
I had spent several days in the company of Mary and Gabriel, it being my own folly to not realize the kinds of mischief Nik would get himself into if left to his own devices. I was returning from a particularly long picnic to discover my brother draped across my bed and reading aloud from the very writings I had forgotten were included in the box brought to me.
“My heart yearns for him with an ache even more deeply felt than a dagger.”
Nik laugh with an almost giddy air before moving onto even more salacious parts.
“I have never lain with him and yet the other men I bring to my bed as a proxy for his touch still manage to fall short of Gabriel.”
With a snort of derision, he looks up at me. “Oh, Bekah love, how could you have seriously written this? It is worse than the purple prose of that horrible romance novelist we ate in Prague. I’m almost embarrassed to call you kin!”
I fly across the room and grapple with him for the humiliating record of my unrequited love, but I have never been a match for Nik physically, soon finding myself pinned between his broad chest and the mattress.
“I never knew you were so infatuated with him, Bekah. I could see there was an attraction, but you speak here as if he was the love of your life that got away.”
“That’s because he was, Niklaus! I loved him as I have never loved another. I still love him!”
He freezes above me, seeing something in my visage that tells him I am speaking the truth and his hold on my wrists softens slightly.
“I know I am a fool, so there is no point in you saying it. He will always love Mary and any affection I may have for him is pointless, but I cannot do battle with my own heart, Nik. It wants what it wants.”
Nik brings his hand up to brush away the tears I had not even realized were falling. “I am very sorry, Rebekah. I had no idea you cared this deeply. I can see that he cares for you as well. It is apparent in the way he speaks to you and the soft glances whenever you in the room.”
“Yes, he cares for me, without a doubt. However, he loves Mary alone and there is no way I can compete with her for his devotion. It will always be Mary.”
With those words I would later realize, I had set in motion a series of events that would culminate in a more painful loss than Gabriel’s love.
More days passed until Nik proclaimed we should have a formal dinner in our suite before we all went our separate ways. It seemed an innocent enough request and I took great pride in organizing an elaborate feast for my best friends. I wanted them to remember me fondly as I had no intention of running into them again if it could be avoided. The previous weeks reminded me of how it felt to be second choice all over and I did not wish to repeat it as a Sisyphean curse every hundred years.
Just prior to the food being served while Gabriel and I argued over the perfect wine selection, Nik invited Mary out onto the veranda to see the lights, pointing out rightfully our amazing view. Not really finding it odd, just knowing how my brother still found Mary attractive, I decided to follow them out a moment later. I arrived in time to see Nik pulling something out of his jacket pocket and an urge caused me to act on instinct. I was out on the veranda and pushing Mary aside a second before the wooden stake plunged deep into my back, a blow that would have easily pierced Mary’s heart. Acting on sheer adrenaline, I was able to remove it and through it over the railing before looking up at my calculating sibling.
The commotion had brought Gabriel running outside to determine what the bloody hell was going on. The scene he stumbled into was not hard to decipher; Mary lying thrown to the side, me collapsed in a heap with a bleeding wound, and my brother hovering over the two of us in a rage at being thwarted.
“What the hell are you doing, Klaus?” A question born out of disbelief over what Gabriel was seeing and not necessary ignorance. Before this could devolve into even more bloodshed and tragedy, I pulled myself to my feet and stood between the alpha male and the archangel.
“I think it is quite obvious what almost happened here and I cannot even fathom what you were thinking, Nik! You know they are my friends and yet you attempt to end the one? Was Gabriel next? Were you that jealous of the attention they received from me this week that you wished to ensure I could never ignore you again? Did you think I could continue to be your traveling partner after murdering the only two people to ever unselfishly befriend me?!”
“I was doing this for you! You may lie to yourself, little sister, but you can never lie to me. I know you’ve dreamt of having her gone a thousand times over the years and harbored deep regret that you ever saved her! If you had just left her to bleed out on that birthing bed, you could have had the life you desired!”
A silence permeates the room as Mary and Gabriel attempt to suss out the meaning of Nik’s words, the intention of which sank in for me immediately. I didn’t know whether to continue on in my fury or be at least a little complimented that my brother determined the only thing keeping Gabriel from falling at my feet in amorous adulation was the existence of Mary. Nik would never understand the complexities of love no matter how deeply he felt it himself. We were all chess pieces to be positioned at his whim, performing in our proscribed manner. It always shocked him when people refused to cooperate in his machinations.
“Leave us, please. My brother and I have some closing words for each other.”
With a final look of concern for my safety, Mary and Gabriel reluctantly leave me with the only man to hurt me more emotionally than Gabriel ever did. It almost made me laugh that they believed a physical blow was the worst Nik could do to me.
“We cannot go on like this, Nik. Clawing and tearing at each other and then conversely lashing out at innocent bystanders in an attempt to buy peace for the other. Serenity cannot be bought thusly and it needs to stop here. Today. It is time we went our separate ways. I don’t believe we will ever cease inflicting torment if we continue down this path.”
“So you would choose them, two people you barely know in comparison, over me, your own blood? He will never love you like you wish to be loved.”
“And neither can you, Nik. It’s time for us to move on. I need to begin a life without you and see if there can be happiness for me out there somewhere.”
A slow, cynical smile begins to spread across his face, never quite reaching the darkness of his eyes. I have seen that look before and a chill courses through my veins even prior to him pulling out my well-worn diary from inside his breast pocket.
“Family above all, dearest sistah.” He gestured with the spine towards the door through which my only friends had exited. “Words I thought you understood will now have new meaning for them in there. This I vow.”
My mind raced to remember what else I had transcribed upon its pages to inspire my brother, my longest mutual obsession, to his next act of vengeance. I would find out soon enough.
Ever since Nik had met with Mary, Gabriel, and me lo those many years ago, I had decided to travel with him. There were several thoughts which went into that decision, not the least of which being the way he had gazed at Mary so intently on their introduction. I told myself it was to stave off any unwarranted advances he may make towards her, but there was a small part of me that was jealous of her for attracting the attention of both of the men so important to me. I also did need to put some distance between myself and Gabriel. It was the only way I was to get beyond my feelings for him and perhaps find a love of my own.
Besides, few may have believed it, but Nik was a fabulous traveling companion when he wished to be. Charming and knowledgeable, each destination could hold adventure while he flashed his dimpled grin. That version of Nik was the one I embraced and most of our years were quite enjoyable as they flew by. Yes, even for an immortal it can seem as if time slips through your fingers if you have the right partner to share it with and Nik and I were more alike than I often wished to admit.
By pure happenstance we all arrived in Paris after the turn of the 21st century. Paris had always held a special place in my heart and as a pair of undying romantics, Mary and Gabriel gravitated to it as well. Nik always made it a point to be aware of the supernatural activity in any city we entered and it was with great joy, but a bit of misapprehension, the four of us agreed to meet up for drinks of a less plasmic nature. They came to our hotel suite bearing a gift of a sort. It seems in my hurry to pull Nik away from the most alluring Mary, I had left behind several articles they believed I would like to have again.
Besides the normal detritus that can be found in a woman’s trousseau – silver hair brush, diamond hat pins, embroidered handkerchiefs – there were also my diaries. I rolled my eyes imagining the dramatic lamentations they would hold and put the entire parcel aside to be combed through later. We had the City of Lights to explore together and a never-ending supply of money to do it with. I still cannot reconcile the beginnings of those weeks with how they ended.
I had spent several days in the company of Mary and Gabriel, it being my own folly to not realize the kinds of mischief Nik would get himself into if left to his own devices. I was returning from a particularly long picnic to discover my brother draped across my bed and reading aloud from the very writings I had forgotten were included in the box brought to me.
“My heart yearns for him with an ache even more deeply felt than a dagger.”
Nik laugh with an almost giddy air before moving onto even more salacious parts.
“I have never lain with him and yet the other men I bring to my bed as a proxy for his touch still manage to fall short of Gabriel.”
With a snort of derision, he looks up at me. “Oh, Bekah love, how could you have seriously written this? It is worse than the purple prose of that horrible romance novelist we ate in Prague. I’m almost embarrassed to call you kin!”
I fly across the room and grapple with him for the humiliating record of my unrequited love, but I have never been a match for Nik physically, soon finding myself pinned between his broad chest and the mattress.
“I never knew you were so infatuated with him, Bekah. I could see there was an attraction, but you speak here as if he was the love of your life that got away.”
“That’s because he was, Niklaus! I loved him as I have never loved another. I still love him!”
He freezes above me, seeing something in my visage that tells him I am speaking the truth and his hold on my wrists softens slightly.
“I know I am a fool, so there is no point in you saying it. He will always love Mary and any affection I may have for him is pointless, but I cannot do battle with my own heart, Nik. It wants what it wants.”
Nik brings his hand up to brush away the tears I had not even realized were falling. “I am very sorry, Rebekah. I had no idea you cared this deeply. I can see that he cares for you as well. It is apparent in the way he speaks to you and the soft glances whenever you in the room.”
“Yes, he cares for me, without a doubt. However, he loves Mary alone and there is no way I can compete with her for his devotion. It will always be Mary.”
With those words I would later realize, I had set in motion a series of events that would culminate in a more painful loss than Gabriel’s love.
More days passed until Nik proclaimed we should have a formal dinner in our suite before we all went our separate ways. It seemed an innocent enough request and I took great pride in organizing an elaborate feast for my best friends. I wanted them to remember me fondly as I had no intention of running into them again if it could be avoided. The previous weeks reminded me of how it felt to be second choice all over and I did not wish to repeat it as a Sisyphean curse every hundred years.
Just prior to the food being served while Gabriel and I argued over the perfect wine selection, Nik invited Mary out onto the veranda to see the lights, pointing out rightfully our amazing view. Not really finding it odd, just knowing how my brother still found Mary attractive, I decided to follow them out a moment later. I arrived in time to see Nik pulling something out of his jacket pocket and an urge caused me to act on instinct. I was out on the veranda and pushing Mary aside a second before the wooden stake plunged deep into my back, a blow that would have easily pierced Mary’s heart. Acting on sheer adrenaline, I was able to remove it and through it over the railing before looking up at my calculating sibling.
The commotion had brought Gabriel running outside to determine what the bloody hell was going on. The scene he stumbled into was not hard to decipher; Mary lying thrown to the side, me collapsed in a heap with a bleeding wound, and my brother hovering over the two of us in a rage at being thwarted.
“What the hell are you doing, Klaus?” A question born out of disbelief over what Gabriel was seeing and not necessary ignorance. Before this could devolve into even more bloodshed and tragedy, I pulled myself to my feet and stood between the alpha male and the archangel.
“I think it is quite obvious what almost happened here and I cannot even fathom what you were thinking, Nik! You know they are my friends and yet you attempt to end the one? Was Gabriel next? Were you that jealous of the attention they received from me this week that you wished to ensure I could never ignore you again? Did you think I could continue to be your traveling partner after murdering the only two people to ever unselfishly befriend me?!”
“I was doing this for you! You may lie to yourself, little sister, but you can never lie to me. I know you’ve dreamt of having her gone a thousand times over the years and harbored deep regret that you ever saved her! If you had just left her to bleed out on that birthing bed, you could have had the life you desired!”
A silence permeates the room as Mary and Gabriel attempt to suss out the meaning of Nik’s words, the intention of which sank in for me immediately. I didn’t know whether to continue on in my fury or be at least a little complimented that my brother determined the only thing keeping Gabriel from falling at my feet in amorous adulation was the existence of Mary. Nik would never understand the complexities of love no matter how deeply he felt it himself. We were all chess pieces to be positioned at his whim, performing in our proscribed manner. It always shocked him when people refused to cooperate in his machinations.
“Leave us, please. My brother and I have some closing words for each other.”
With a final look of concern for my safety, Mary and Gabriel reluctantly leave me with the only man to hurt me more emotionally than Gabriel ever did. It almost made me laugh that they believed a physical blow was the worst Nik could do to me.
“We cannot go on like this, Nik. Clawing and tearing at each other and then conversely lashing out at innocent bystanders in an attempt to buy peace for the other. Serenity cannot be bought thusly and it needs to stop here. Today. It is time we went our separate ways. I don’t believe we will ever cease inflicting torment if we continue down this path.”
“So you would choose them, two people you barely know in comparison, over me, your own blood? He will never love you like you wish to be loved.”
“And neither can you, Nik. It’s time for us to move on. I need to begin a life without you and see if there can be happiness for me out there somewhere.”
A slow, cynical smile begins to spread across his face, never quite reaching the darkness of his eyes. I have seen that look before and a chill courses through my veins even prior to him pulling out my well-worn diary from inside his breast pocket.
“Family above all, dearest sistah.” He gestured with the spine towards the door through which my only friends had exited. “Words I thought you understood will now have new meaning for them in there. This I vow.”
My mind raced to remember what else I had transcribed upon its pages to inspire my brother, my longest mutual obsession, to his next act of vengeance. I would find out soon enough.