Klaus's POV
The next day after throwing her into prison, I laid in bed staring at the ceiling as I questioned my method. Was I too harsh for doing that or was it necessary to show her who was in charge?
Maybe I had taken my leadership position to a very large extent. I was supposed to be a very kind leader and not a tyrant. What was I doing?
A knock on my door had me groaning a response as Gary entered with a smile on his face.
This old man was my friend, personal guard and a member of the elders council.
He was one I would usually come to for advice and he had trained me in all the right fighting styles of the west. He was a remarkable man who was good with his hands and his words.
"Are you here to gloat?" I sighed as the man stood by the window, looking out of it.
"I came to tell you that it has been two hours since your awakening time and you are still in bed. Not very befitting of a great leader."
"Sometimes great leaders just want to stay in bed and leave everything for the peasants to handle."
"Are you calling me a peasant?"
"The show does fit. I am a king and you are beneath me. So yes. You and the others are peasants."
I heard him inhale before sitting on a couch.
"What has got you in a tizzy?" He asked. "Is there anything you want to do? Is it because of the girl in your dungeon?"
"My dungeon? I can't believe you would say such a thing. She is a criminal."
"Who is given preferential treatment."
I sighed. "You don't expect me to drop her in a silver cage. She needs to be given some form of kindness. She is my mate after all."
"Your mate," he chuckled. "She murdered your mate. She doesn't deserve anything but wickedness and your rage. You need to be tearing through her insides torturing her until she gives you all the information you need to know before you can have her hung."
"She is my mate. Maybe you have forgotten that little bit."
"I don't believe in mates. I never did. We aren't wolves. We are vampires. We don't deal with mates. We deal with people who fit us. We deal with creatures who complete us and make us whole. That girl killed the one who was supposed to be your wife. She should be killed. And not pitied. I don't care for any mate nonsense. Whether you both were betrothed or not. Whether you were supposed to feel an electrical shock or not. I don't care. Just don't tell me anything concerning mate ritual or whatever. She killed your mate. That means you actually have to take out her head without thinking twice."
I hated how harsh he was with his tone.
To keep my mind off the entire subject I looked at the man.
"Has the place been built back?" I asked.
"If you mean the broken down training halls then no. But we could use the fields."
It was better than staying in my room all day doing nothing but staring at my ceiling while thinking of her. I don't want that to happen.
I shrugged off the feeling I was having as I zipped out with the man and sparred with him in the field of flowers.
We moved around in a blur, tearing through the ground as we were able to match each other's strength.
Even with that, I still felt terrible. I felt like I could do something to get my mind off this whole feeling I was having.
At least I had made sure she was being given VIP treatment. I didn't want her to go through any trouble even when I was too pissed at her.
After the spar, I headed back in the place to handle the cases of the day.
***
The next day, I sat at a bar with my friend as he was snickering while I recounted what she did to me.
"I'm sorry," he apologized when I shot him a dangerous look. "I just couldn't hold myself back. She really said that to you?"
"It's not like I'm making up stories, man. I just don't know what I did wrong. I did everything right. I tried being a good guy but instead I'm still the villain."
"You should know that it started after her powers were taken from her."
"I had the men punished for doing that to her. What else should I do?"
"Where is she now?" He sipped his beer as I told him.
"Back in prison," I said which had him choking on his beer as he had not expected that reply. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah," he said while smacking his chest as he looked at me. "Prison? Are you being serious? You kicked her out of the castle and had her back in prison? That's cruel."
"She killed her sister. You don't expect me to keep a murderer in my house."
"Alleged murderer." He corrected me. "You told me that she has been denying doing that for days now. At least shouldn't this be a sign that there are forces at play here? I mean, you told me you would convince her to get married to you and instead you resorted to violence and throwing her in prison. Doesn't seem like she would be falling in love with you anytime soon man."
I could see his point as I leaned over the table. I needed his expertise on this case. He seemed to know what to do and I was ready for his aid.
"So what do you want me to do?" I asked as the man shrugged.
"It's simple. Release her. That could help your chances of being with her. She is still mad at you for all you've done to her. Give her some time to warm into you.