PART I

Chapter One

He said I'm the Devil Boy, come with me and we'll make many storms.

She belongs on pages of fairy tales, in crystal rooms of castles, in vast fields of beautiful flowers. He knows all too well how her story should end. It is a different matter altogether on how it will. She will belong in the pages of twisted fairy tales, in the dark rooms of his manor, in his rose garden that harbors more thorns than roses. She will fall from light, to be by his side in the dark and Klaus would have it no other way.

Had it been any other day, when the sun had not swelled with such exuberance or the sky had not glowed with the colours of siren songs, Aurelia would have gone on simply being. Her existence would have been lost somewhere in the forever restless dusts of the very ground that would have harboured her long after she had died.

Had it been any other day, Aurelia would have found herself waking up in the future to a sun that warmed her, to a day that did not shun her existence simply because she existed.

Had it been any other day.

Aurelia decided, with all ten years of wisdom fastened away in the rustles of her dress, that roses had to be the most dreadful of all flowers. Deceitful little creatures with such beauty and harbouring such pain. Roses could have one in awe of its enchanting and romantic beauty but in the same moment shatter all previous notions of innocence with one touch to the stem.

As far as her eyes could drink in the sight around her, Aurelia found nothing but roses. Roses were all there were in the space the garden possessed; they filled the emptiness of reclusive crevices, sheathed the grounds of pathways long forgotten and their thorns twisted into every space imaginable. It was as though the world existed only in the shades that the rose petals provided.

Aurelia stood awkwardly behind her mother, occasionally peering from behind her mother's towering figure to catch a glimpse of some other part of the garden hidden from view before, only to be disappointed at the mere sight of the insolent roses.

"Madame Seraphina, I am much pleased to see you here. Thank you for coming upon such short notice," a man's voice broke the silence.

Aurelia turned around to see a man around her mother's age staring at them both with a sense of wonderment and gratitude. His eyes swayed with sadness yet his face was adorned with a smile. Aurelia could not help but feel a tug of pity for the man.

"M'lord, there is no need to thank a peasant such as myself. I was only helping; I would have helped regardless of noble stature," Aurelia's mother responded.

Her mother's modesty was her most admirable trait and as Aurelia looked up at her mother, she felt warmth spread through her. The man nodded in respect to her mother's words, and believing she had found herself in the middle of a conversation she wasn't a required companion of, Aurelia looked away.

"And who is this heavenly creature? I am quite sure we have never met before," Aurelia heard the soft voice beckon, and Aurelia knew the man had spoken to her.

She looked at him again and blushed in embarrassment. She was a scrawny ten year old girl that felt no pride in parading around as a princess, like many of the village girls. Instead she sought to do what she found happiness in, helping her father around the farm. Standing before the noble and clean man, Aurelia's cheeks burned a furious red as she became well aware that her rustled and dirty dress gave her away.

She immediately focused on the ground below her, examining with feigned interest a dead leaf. She could hear the ground crumble beneath the man's feet as he walked closer to her until finally, she saw the black gleam of his boots.

"Oh, dear I did not mean any offence. I just find you to be quite exquisite. You see, it is very rare to come across a girl who does not pay heed to other's notions of what a prim and proper girl should be. Its quite refreshing, dare I say," the man's voice held no malice, and perhaps it was because of that fact, that Aurelia mustered up the courage to look at him.

He was kneeling before her, eyes levelled to her own and Aurelia saw that his eyes were the colour of the soil she had come to love. There was a warmth in his brown eyes that reminded Aurelia of the long summer days she spent in the lush soils of her farm. She smiled for the first time since he had joined her mother and her.

"You are quite remarkable my dear. I have seen how hard you work with your father on that farm of yours. You will be a remarkable woman. If nothing else, believe in what I have just said."

Aurelia's history with receiving compliments or kind words from people besides her parents wasn't a very rich one. She had never felt the need to be put on display with her achievements but somehow this man had managed to strike something within her. Aurelia felt a surge of pride and felt a strange sense of responsibility to prove this man right, to not disappoint him.

"Besides what man wants a wife that possesses only beauty? I'd rather have one that can work beside me," he winked at Aurelia before standing to face her mother once again.

"My son Elijah demands that you be repaid for what you have done, and I wholeheartedly concur with him. We are very much grateful to you Madame Seraphina; so it is out of respect and not debt, we grant your family a piece of our farmland, and your husband a job in our blacksmith shop."

"I-th- Lord this is-" Aurelia's mother struggled to find the words to thank the man.

The man raised his hand in a gesture of false protest and smiled, "You must not argue; I fear Elijah's stubborn nature will eventually force you to reconsider if you choose not to accept this token of our gratitude."

Seraphina's eyes filled with tears that expressed nothing but the highest order of respect for the man that stood before her.

"Since your husband shall start work tomorrow, I have some tools that he may require. If you could step inside for just a moment Madame Seraphina," the man held his arm out in a welcoming gesture.

"Yes of cours- oh! Aurelia?" Seraphina turned towards her daughter.

"I'll wait right here mama," she replied.

"The house won't bite you know," the man chuckled.

"Oh no, I jus- I like to be outside," Aurelia answered in a voice slightly louder than a whisper.

"Well alright then, Madame you follow me and Aurelia," the man paused slightly, then smiled and continued before turning away, "do behave yourself."

Once her mother was out of sight, Aurelia set about to explore the greenery around her. Flowers beyond the roses were yet to be discovered and Aurelia grew agitated with the rose filled state of the garden.

Had no one considered an orchid perhaps, even wild ivy is better than this, she thought.

As Aurelia passed by what seemed like a huge iron gate she stopped. There in the midst of the shrubberies was a dainty purple flower. Aurelia squealed in delight and made to reach for the flower. As her arm stretched into the bushes she abruptly stopped.

The only flower in this garden that isn't a rose and I'm attempting to steal it? That's not fair at all, Aurelia thought at once.

"Who are you and what are you doing sneaking about my home?" a voice rough and laced with venom hit Aurelia's ears like a sharp pain, and panic swept through her.

She pulled her arm out of the bushes so quickly, that Aurelia could not be bothered to notice she had cut her arm. A long cut ran from her elbow to her thin wrist, threatening to bleed.

Her mind raced quickly to various excuses but her voice sought none. She grasped the thick skirt of her dress and looked at the ground.

"What were you doing!" the man yelled; a shout nothing short of a command.

Panic bubbling inside her Aurelia fought to keep calm. The silence lasted only a mere seconds before Aurelia burst for fear of punishment.

"My mother was here, helped someone, father got a job at a blacksmith. I waited outside and the roses, so many roses! Why are there so many insolent roses? And one flower not a rose and I-" Aurelia caught herself.

She had just gone and vented to a complete and scary, stranger. She covered her mouth with her hands. Eyes turning wide, Aurelia looked up at the man who possessed such a terrifying voice.

Except it was no man. At least not the type she had suspected. It was instead a boy merely acting as a man. His hair glowed from the sunlight and was swept back; not a stray strand fell over his eyes. Aurelia met his gaze head on; having abandoned her fear of being punished.

Maybe it was then, in the dead heat of the afternoon sun that shone directly above their heads, that the earth shifted in silence. Not a flash of blinding light, nor thundering crack, nor trembling of ground to signal the change.

But there was.

A change.

Nothing moved, and everything moved all at once. There was no sound, and there was deafening noise.

Aurelia shivered in the scorching heat and the tremble racked her body and even then her gaze met his, unwavering. Should she have questioned the endless blues of his eyes? Should she have questioned the way his eyes seemed cold, distant and calculating? Should she have questioned the smile that slowly seemed to fill his face now and the lack of genuine compassion behind it?

In the end she should have, could have - but didn't.

"You are dear Seraphina's daughter aren't you? The girls in the village have much to say about your disposition," the boy chuckled to himself and Aurelia shivered again realizing that fear had seeped back into her trembling form.

There was something in the way he talked, chuckled and carried himself that set him apart from all the other people Aurelia had ever met. He wasn't right.

Aurelia wrinkled her nose at him in distaste, gathered her skirts and made to move past him but his hand shot out to grasp her arm. His hand brushed the whole of her arm, setting ablaze the cut on her arm, until it reached her frail wrist.

His hand stopped at her wrist and at once encircled it with his hand. Aurelia raised her gaze in anger and found that he was staring at her in a most bemused expression.

Helpless, scared and furious, Aurelia did the only thing she always did when she found herself stuck in a horrible position.

She screamed for her mother.

"MAMA!"

The scream surged through her and cracked through the air.

At once Seraphina was running into the garden; face white and breathing heavily, her eyes fell upon the discerning sight of a strange young man holding her screaming ten year old daughter.

Behind her stood the Lord of the house, whose anger reached immeasurable heights at seeing his youngest son holding a screaming young girl.

"NIKLAUS!"

And for the second time in a span of mere minutes the world fell in a deafening silence as the man's booming voice echoed in the garden.

He stalked towards his son and roughly grabbed him by the neck. The kind eyes that had regarded Aurelia with such warmth, were now cold and harsh. Niklaus unhanded Aurelia at once, and free of his touch Aurelia ran to her mother and hid behind her.

"What in the world DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?," his voice frightened Aurelia, she closed her eyes and buried her face in her mother's skirts.

"Madame Seraphina I apologize for his behaviour. I am truly very sorry, I will see to it that he receives a thorough punishment for this."

There was a moments silence until Aurelia heard the Lord speak again, this time to Aurelia.

"Aurelia," his voice was soft, gentle and much closer than she had expected it to be. She reluctantly opened her eyes and felt her mother's warm hand fall gently on her head. He was kneeling in front of her, and looking at her with those kind eyes of his.

"Don't worry about Klaus, I will ensure he is punished for frightening you. But you dear girl will be fine. You will always be fine. I'm right, aren't I?" he smiled slightly, hesitating; unsure of whether he had said the right thing.

Aurelia smiled at him and nodded. He straightened and moved towards his son once more, bid Seraphina a hasty goodbye before disappearing back inside. As Aurelia watched the Lord leave with his son, she shivered once again. The boy had twisted his head back to look at Aurelia and upon meeting her stare, smiled.

"Mama lets go home, I'm feeling absolutely famished!" Aurelia said in conjured enthusiasm.

Her mother looked down at her and feeling overwhelmed and restless, took Aurelia's hand and led her home. Whilst gathering her daughter's hand and walking out of the garden, Seraphina halted and looked back at the house. Her heart fell of no apparent reason and Seraphina felt an immediate rush of fear.

"Mama?" Aurelia's voice disguised as a blessing, pulled Seraphina back from her reverie. Seraphina bent to her knees and looked at her daughter's perplexed face.

She held Aurelia's face in her hands and said, "I don't want you ever walking into this place, even if it is by mistake. Do you understand Aurelia? I never ever want to find you here again."

Aurelia confused by her mother's new found disposition agreed and tugged their held together hands to indicate the continuity of their trek. Seraphina took one last look at the house and walked her daughter away from it. Far away.