Run From the King

"This is where you live?"

Klaus says, feigning disgust. Adrian stays silent as he turns off the car and steps out. His dark locks fall slightly over his glassy blue eyes as he keeps them low stepping out of the car. He shuts his door before opening the back for Eliza. She eagerly scoots her way towards the opening. Her long hair, billowing in the wind as she's welcomed by her forest hideaway. An owl hoots in the distance, echoing in the silence surrounding them.

The moon was out now. It’s light casting on Eliza's home. Eliza had come to love this home, it represented her newfound independence. Though she could see how Klaus and Adrian's faces were so stunned, it was small, run-down, and practically falling apart. She had felt similar when she first arrived. Yet over the years, it helped form the new her. She wondered if they felt so disgusted by this home, did that mean they would be disgusted by the new her? Eliza stood still and watched on as both of the boys took in the home, she felt a sadness she hadn't felt in a long time. Klaus slammed the car door shut before walking towards Eliza and hooking her elbow in his grasp, pulling her along behind him.

"I can't believe what I'm seeing."

Klaus shakes his head, smiling, but it masks rage. Here he had been losing his mind over this girl for the last 3 years and she was fine.

Just fine.

In her happy cabin in the forest.

He wanted to burn it all down.

He wanted to destroy the entire forest and bring death to everything that touched it. He'd blacken the soil, scorch every tree, and leave nothing, not even for the crows. He'd watch her little world be burned to ashes. Just as she had ruined his life, he would ruin this little one she created.

Adrian stood at the front door waiting for the other two to reach him. When they neared him he leaned forward and kicked at the front of the door before nodding at Eliza.

"Open it."

His voice is threatening and low. Eliza notices his anger is growing. She treads carefully. She looks at Klaus, nodding at her binds.

"You're dreaming if you think I'm going to untie you."

Adrian clears his throat.

Klaus sighs, frustrated. He turns her forcibly, causing her to wince. Klaus ignores her pains. He tugs at the rope and yanks it off. The rope burns Eliza's wrist as it pulls around her skin. She hides her pain this time, as best she can.

Eliza places the key from her pocket in the lock and turns it, opening the door to a warm, cozy log cabin. The fire was low and behind an enclosed screen with cushions snug around for resting and shelves filled with books. Aside, sat a coffee table stacked with papers of writings, journals, candles, and sketches of castles and what looked like images of her kingdom.

Beyond the coffee table sat a couch, perfect for two. Much of the small cabin seemed a perfect arrangement for two to live comfortably. Klaus looked over everything carefully. He seemed to be looking at her shoes, her coat rack, peaking even in the bathroom to check the toothbrushes.

Eliza watches him closely.

"Are you checking to see if someone's living with me?"

Eliza asks amused, her eyes watching his dart back at her. His eyes are terrifying but beautiful. She holds her breath. She curses herself. Why did he still give her these feelings?

"Of course I am. How else did you survive? Who was it? Hm? Who helped the distressed princess?"

He pushes doors open and makes a scene. He slams with so much force, pictures fall from the walls. Some of her papers on the coffee table slide and fall, landing on Adrian's shoe. He bends over, picking them up as Eliza moves to follow Klaus as he rummages through her things in her bedroom and bathroom.

Adrian ignores them as they begin to argue. He picks up a stack of the drawings and heads to the kitchen where he spots a plate of Chocolate Chip cookies. His stomach growls as he makes his way over, looking over his sister's hideaway. He stops seeing a drawing framed on the shelf over the fireplace. It was of him and Tess, arms over each other's shoulders like good friends.

His stomach started to hurt.

He shook it off and made his way to the cookies with the drawings in his hands.

"What? Is it a different person all the time? No strings? Is that what you like Eliza? Just flings, here and there? Is that what you wanted?"

Klaus starts slamming drawers going through her things, tossing them out on the floor rummaging through her cabinets, and tossing their contents on the floor as well.

"Will you stop! Stop that! No one lives with me!"

Eliza's cheeks flush as she gets worked up over Klaus' destruction. She tries her best to push him off but she does not affect him. She follows him as he makes his way to her bathroom. When she yells for him to stop he stands suddenly and shoves her against the bathroom door, slamming it shut.

"You swear to me right now. Swear to me right now that you haven’t been with anyone."

Klaus clenches his jaw. He nearly snarls, as he squeezes her shoulders picking her up and slamming her back against the door.

"SWEAR TO ME ELIZA!"

"Ow! Get-off! Let go of me!"

Eliza scrambles under Klaus' grip. She kicks, attempting to free herself from his lock. His grip becomes tighter. His fingers dug into her arms, he was getting desperate. His voice lowers, almost hopeful?

"Eliza...swear to me."

Eliza looks into his eyes, before confirming his greatest fear.

"I can't...I can't Klaus."

"No..no."

Klaus shakes his head and lets her go suddenly. He closes his eyes and turns from her, shaking his head, repeating to himself.

"No..cause you wouldn't do that to me. No..not my Eliza... She'd never do that to me."

He turns to look at her now.

"You'd never do that to me."

Klaus looks at her for a long time before grabbing onto the sink and taking a deep breath through his nose. Eliza watches him, nervously.

"Tell me his name."

"Uhm... I don't..remember it."

Klaus slams his fist on the sink countertop.

"What do you mean you don't remember?"

Eliza shrugs.

Klaus looks at her now. Disgusted. Betrayed.

"Who are you?"

He doesn't let her answer before moving her aside and walking out of the bathroom leaving her alone. He notices Adrian at the table and walks towards him. With a flick of his hand, Klaus sends the plate cookies flying off the table and crashes it against the wall.

"Hey, I was eating those-"

Adrian quickly drops his protests with one glance at Klaus's facial expression.

Adrian continues to look through Eliza's drawings. Meanwhile, Eliza makes her way to her bedroom and pulls a chest from under her bed. She unlocks it and takes the stone Tess had given her the night she ran away. As well as the hairpin she had in her hair that night. She takes them and walks over to the main room to meet the other two. Her stomach turning from the exchange with Klaus. He used to always know when she wasn't telling the truth. Maybe she'd gotten better at lying.

She watches as Adrian hand's Klaus one of her drawings. He doesn't give it a glance before burning it up in flames in his palm. The ashes fluttered on top of the other works Adrian had pulled out.

"I never knew you could draw."

Adrian ignored Klaus' reaction.

"I didn't know how, I learned over the winters..not much to do."

Eliza shrugged as Klaus stood abruptly.

"Let's go home already."

He walked over to the fireplace pulling down the framed mirror. He set it on the floor and looked at Eliza. She looked up at the two.

"How did you even get here?"

"Tess gave us a flower her mom saved from a field near here and she gave us the stone we needed. There are other portals scattered in the forest."

Adrian answered.

"Where's the flower?"

"Uhm.."

Adrian avoided Eliza's eyes.

"I burned it," Klaus interjects.

Eliza turned to Klaus.

"How could you? Her mother's dead."

"Same way you could let all of the people who love you believe you were dead. Without a second thought."

Eliza's hands clenched the stone tighter, but her words silent. He nods at the mirror.

"Do it."

Eliza bent down to her knees and hovered over the mirror. She carefully, but with enough pressure, pressed the stone onto the mirror and carved a circular shape around her reflection. Soon a black spinning vortex appeared, replacing her reflection.

She threw in the pin and looked down to see her old bedroom. Untouched, even after 3 years. It looked like a painting she thought, then she thought of once again being in that room. Excitement, fear, nausea, and a bit homesick tugged at her heart at once.

"You first."

Klaus nods at Adrian to go ahead.

Adrian nods and steps into the mirror and crawls through and out from Eliza's old vanity. Klaus turns to Eliza.

"Give me the stone."

"Why?"

Before she had time to react, he snatches it from her hand and pushes her to move along.

"Go."

Eliza huffs, annoyed, and crawls through to the other side. Immediately, she's hit with the smell of fresh roses in her old bedroom. Adrian helps her up as she stands to look and make sure Klaus walks through. That's when they see him bend down and pick up the mirror. He sets it against the back end of the couch and makes sure the two can see him well.

"What is he doing? Klaus?"

Klaus laughs to himself as he hears Eliza's worried tone. A violent roar soon rumbles out of his throat as fire ejects from his hands. Burning everything in the rooms, waves of heat down pouring on the curtains, furniture, and blasting the windows.

"No! KLAUS! NO STOP! STOP! NO!"

Adrian lunges for Eliza as she jumps for the mirror. He holds her back as she squirms to be freed.

"LET ME GO! STOP HIM!"

"Eliza stop! Just let it go, it's gone. It's done."

Eliza slumps back into Adrian as her legs go weak. It was gone. The little cabin she made into her home where she learned to survive..gone.

Klaus' eyes go black as he tears the entire cabin apart, parts of the roof started coming down. Of course, the heat from the flames doesn't affect Klaus. No, they only excited him. He made a show of destroying the rooms, scorching the furniture leaving nothing but ash and blackened soot.

The foundation was all that was left burning and Klaus decided it was time to come to their side. He crawled through as Eliza watched him, with hate-filled tears brimming her eyes. She was seething.

"I'll kill you. I'll kill you-you monster."

Adrian walked past her as the mirror reflected the cabin burning, crackling, and popping away at all her belongings.

"I'm already dead. Do what you will." Klaus responds under his breath.

He takes Adrian's place and grabs Eliza pushing her to sit in front of her vanity. He forces her to watch the cabin burn to nothing. He tells Adrian to leave them as he does so.

Tears stream down her face.

"Please...Klaus, stop..."

Satisfied, Klaus lets her go and she slumps down in her seat. She's drained. Her shoulders are sore from being held back and her little home was nothing now.

Tess's gift from her mother was gone. And it was her fault.

Klaus takes the stone from his pocket and smashes it against the mirror shattering it to pieces. Eliza lay motionless.

"Guards! Come in here. Take her away."

"What? Take me away?"

"To the dungeons."

The guards enter her room, look at her surprised before quickly obeying Klaus's orders. Eliza panics as the guards grab hold of her.

"No! Let me go! Stop! Klaus stop them!"

Klaus ignores her cries and leaves the room, walking in the opposite direction of where they were dragging her.