#& rel.; monster in me. monster in you // klaus & elijah

[crimsonlyinglilly]

No. 8: SLEEP DEPRIVATION

Isolation Chamber | Forced to Stay Awake | "Leave the lights on." (Coldplay, Midnight)

Here's Day 8 of @whumptober 2024, also Whumptober Alt Prompts- Secrets Revealed/Regret

Inner Child- the oldest Mikaelson brothers prove why they're the worst team as things go badly before they even leave the bedroom.

follows on from Under the skin

----

Finn knows the moment the ‘itching under Elijah’s skin’ fades because his brother releases him and sits up all stiff posture as the return to their relative normal made any difference from any of this.

Mother had made Elijah unable to disobey Finn’s words, made keeping their distance from one another, as Finn’s short lived plan had been, impossible thank to the proximity enchantment, leaving Elijah is at the very least discomfort, but far more likely agony to drive Elijah to give in his stubbornness so quickly.

There was the possibility of him ordering Elijah away under the pretence of a task but it was far more likely that wouldn’t work, the enchantment would forced Elijah to complete the tasks quickly and have him return and ignoring his own discomfort of that, the empty eyed doll mother had show them, Klaus would not take that at all well.

So Mother had made Elijah into her puppet, a tool to manipulate the others and now Finn was left to clear or at least manage the mess she had made, while they still had Dahlia to deal with, something he still had find a way to explain and convince his siblings to deal with as the child was still alive and removing her was no longer on the table.

Briefly he thinks about ordering Elijah to deal with the child but he smothered the idea with horror, he wasn’t the monster Mother made them, Elijah would never forgive himself even if it wasn’t truly his fault and Finn wished to deal with Dahlia to get a chance to live.

Niklaus would no doubt make his death slow if he had a hand in the child's death, slower if he used Elijah.

Killing her Finn has to accept would be if mother had smothered Freya in her cradle and Finn would rather die and lose his few memories with his sister.

His first goal would be to find some way to lessen what mother had done. He was stuck working with them, the last thing he wanted was Klaus at his throat for every slip up or to say a poorly worded phase on his part and turn to see the empty doll mother had made of Elijah. 

“Elijah.” he called to get his attention as Elijah had started to fiddle with his clothes, uselessly as the state of them left it clear they were well past presentability, ceased, blood stained and torn at the edges.

An apt metaphor for their siblings currently.

“Can you let me into you mind?”

“Why?” he asked, eye narrowed with suspicion, Finn took a breath to remind himself Elijah was allowed it. He had had everything taken from him, they still had no idea how long mother had him after he had asked to be daggered.

“To see what effects mother’s spell had left, perhaps we can find a way to add to your mental shield, to give you more control against any accidental orders.” he explained, besides Elijah’s shield were impressive if they could find out how the spell got past them they would have a better idea of how to undo it.

“And those on purpose?” Elijah raised a brow at him.

“Elijah.” he sighed, “I didn’t want this, trust me.”

“It's not like I have a choice.” Elijah muttered after a moment before shifting to kneel in front of him 

“I am asking.” he reminded him.

“Fine.” Elijah conceded with a nod before placing two of his fingers to Finn’s temple.

He opened his eyes to a white hallway, he was familiar with Elijah’s mind, from waking in Mystic fall when Elijah had shared with him the basics of modern life, to spare him wasting his time re-learning everything.

It had spoken of Elijah’s talent to be able to do so without looking into Finn's mind at all, so he had never questioned why Finn already had a grasp of modern English, thanks to Klaus’ many rants to their coffins. The modern French, Spanish and Italian Elijah had placed in his mind could have been showing off but to Elijah it would have seemed necessary, especially given his plan of them travelling the world without Niklaus.

Finn refused to wonder what would have happened if mother hadn’t returned that night.

It quickly became clear the biggest difference was the complete absence of any doors; a few had the remains of them, broken pieces of wood hanging off swinging hinges.

White, pristine and utterly open.

It took him a moment to bring his open mental shield up to prevent himself being overwhelmed by centuries of Elijah’s memories and emotions. There was nothing to stop him from tearing through it all, forcing Elijah to relive his worst moments, finding his deepest secrets.

It was exactly what mother had wanted when she tortured him, like this it would have been so easy to push him to accept a new body. 

Finn could likely strip those memories Elijah held closest to his being, if he wanted with enough time and remade him anew. Suddenly he was relieved mother wanted a puppet to use against the others instead of her using her time with Elijah more creatively.

He reminded himself he was only able to have such access with Elijah’s help but mother could have gained the same by simply asking him, ordering him to let her into his mind where he would be just as powerless as she wiped-

Fear, terror and panic bloomed in his chest, cutting off his thoughts as familiar words carried across his mind.

“Let me out!”

He frown as he recognized it, his nightmare, his living hell alone trapped within the coffin, awake but-

“I’m here. Please!”

Desperate begging that was never heard, but what had cause it and why did it feel so distant like it wasn’t him-

“Brothers! Sister!”

Alone and in the dark as his siblings lived, in the early years clinging their shock visits for just a brief escape from the loneliness their voices brought, before he started to hate them, as those moments just made the isolation that followed worse.

“Let me out!” 

Finn flinched as he recognised Elijah’s voice even if he had never heard it in such as way and realises while it’s familiar but distance, it wasn’t his fear this time, it was Elijah living it because if he had needed to shield himself after Elijah’s mind then there was nothing shielding Elijah from his, the mind he had invited-brought into his mind. 

Centuries of being helpless and paralysed as the world moved on without outside the dark of his eyelids and the wood he was there but had never seen.

He should have questioned where Elijah was the moment he opened his eyes.

“I’m here, pl-”

“WAKE US UP NOW.” he ordered.

He opened his eyes to find them back on the bed in Elijah’s room, Elijah fingers were quickly pulled from him with a gasp.

“You have no mental shields.” He muttered faintly to himself, it was impressive given how strong Elijah’s shields had been, but then Mother had made Elijah himself the trigger of this mess, if he hadn’t shattered his younger self’s heart, it was likely they would have remained intact.

Still was it that bad because mother’s spell laid him open to her and Finn in particular or was it anyone. If it was at least just Finn and mother then once mother died it would be only one person Elijah was defenceless to.

As if being forced to obey them wasn’t bad enough, part of Finn was starting to wonder if this wasn’t just because of her longing for the innocent Elijah once was, but out of spite, to punish him for forcing her to go this far.

“You were awake.” Elijah’s horror forced him to look up from his musing, as the words were barely more than a whisper reminding him of the other issue he was trying not to delve on. “Alone, trapped, forced to be awake, all that time - if I-”

“-Had known, you would have freed me.” he finished disbelief clear.

“I’m sorry-“ Elijah apologised looking at him with wide eyes

“You’re only apologising because you felt it now,” he accused.

“No.” Elijah said, shaking his head, “you weren’t meant to be awake, if we knew we wouldn’t have left it.” Elijah reached out for his cuff sleeve as if that would make his words more credible.

“But you were fine before,” he replied, with an almost cafeless shug if not for the venom in his words “didn't care that I lost nine centuries of my life, alone in the dark.“

Elijah flinched curling inwards, likely at the fresh reminder of what he had just experienced, gutting Finn's anger, even as Elijah looked back at him trying to hide his reaction. He shouldn’t let his anger out of Elijah no matter how justified when he had helped mother strip him of most of his defences. 

And yet, the biting harsh words escaped him anyway,

“You mean it wasn’t easier to claim the role of oldest without me there?” he asked sardonically

“You were barely an older brother when you were there.” Elijah bit back, 

Finn pulled his sleeve from Elijah's grasp and kicked out, sending Elijah off balance and off the bed. He stood up from the bed and took a step back as Elijah sat up and glared at him from the other side of the bed.

“Why? Why did you leave me there, forgotten?” he demanded

“I never forgot you,” Elijah stood annoyingly gracefully as he raised himself up, “any of you, while you were in there I spent the last fifty years planning to kill Niklaus to avenge you.”

“Avenge?” he raised a brow

“He said he had thrown you all into the ocean, I had countless witches, search and found nothing.” Elijah explained, which finally answered why Finn hadn’t heard Elijah’s voice in the dark for so long until they were all undaggered in Mystic Falls, just Klaus and his complains of Elijah ‘getting close’ and ‘couldn’t he just give up’ 

“So that was the last fifty years, what about nine hundred years ago?”

Elijah’s lips thinned as he looked away, shoulders stiff.

“Tell me Elijah.” He ordered, ignoring the flash of guilt as Elijah shuddered for a moment before his body relaxed as he spoke, tone flat and empty.

“You were a comfort to Niklaus during the hunter's curse,” Elijah repeated the words he had said at the breakfast table, which felt so long ago now, “he was so paranoid and angry, expecting us to leave him every time. Kol fled to find a witch to break it, Rebekah was mourning her hunter and Niklaus blamed her.”

“How long was he cursed?” Finn asked

“52 years, 4 months, and 9 days.” Elijah recited.

“So why didn’t you undagger me then?”

“Niklaus-” Elijah started but Finn cut him off, noticing the twitch Elijah polite expression.

“Elijah, I want to know why you left me alone in that hell?”

“It was easier.” The words came out slowly as Finn watched Elijah break out of the almost trace his first demand had forced Elijah into.

“Easier?” he snapped,  “Why was I being out of the way easier for you if it wasn’t for your want of-”

“I was tired of your judging us,” Elijah spat the flat mild tone vanishing, “me for failing to control them, Klaus was worse after the curse, it broke something in him, Rebekah was angrier after her hunter’s betrayal,and Kol was mad he had been useless that there was a threat to us even his knowledge of magic couldn’t help.” Elijah paused for a moment clearly trying to think of what he needed to say to end the questions, “Finn, I wanted to undagger you, I wanted help protecting our family but we were never your first priority and I couldn't split my attention to watch over you self loathing everytime Sage wandered away.”

“So it was out of concern for me.” He snorted, as he realised Elijah hadn’t shaken the command and had managed to retaken some of his control by going along with it, “Don’t lie.” he added because he knew his brother if anyone found a loophole it would be Elijah.

“I’m not,” Elijah hissed, “you wanted the truth so I can't.” Elijah snapped harshly but Finn noticed something else appearing in his expression “You snide comments were little help when they only encouraged Kol to do worst and-” Elijah eyes widened as his hand flew to his mouth, making Finn realise it was panic that he had noticed “Finn stop this-” he pleaded making Finn freeze as he finally spotted the gathering wetness his his brother’s eyes, “I- I can’t- I even after so long I wanted my big brother, i-”

“Stop.” he ordered a moment too late leaving them both in a thick silence, Elijah glared at him as he stared back, he refused to give in, he had a right to his anger. The stiff way Elijah moved the hands he had tried to stifle himself to wipe his eyes made it very clear he had gone too far. “You can speak.” he added after several minutes when ELijah did nothing but glare.

“Our parents were terrible both, failed us in a numerous way, but you-”

“I was a child.”

“AS WAS I.” Elijah yelled, making them both jump slightly iat the volume before Elijah took a deep breath “after we were made into this, after mother death and we ran, I had hope.”

“Hope?” he asked, made into monsters fleeing from another what could Elijah have hope in that case he wondered.

“That without them, when it was just us, you could see beyond what you lost and see us.”

“You?” he huffed, “A bunch of glutton with little to no restraint”

“We were trying,” Elijah replied far to close to whining for his brother’s normal state, “that’s more than you ever did.”

“What?”

“You resented us,”Elijah accused, causing Finn to shut his mouth close, “for being born, for not being Freya, for replacing her. News for you brother, we didn’t have a choice in that.” Elijah finished letting the words hang.

The quiet stretched, the air appearing to grow heavier as it did.

“You can go.” he muttered as it got too much for him,  “just go, have a drink or shower, I know part of you needs to get changed.” he added as he noticed Elijah was still wearing the suit from that ‘breakfast’, dagger hole sitting centre of his chest beside those blood stains caused by his own fingers and mother’s blood on his collar. Those on Elijah’s face had dried and flaked off at some point, likely on his own shirt Finn thought disdainfully.

Looking down to find he was right saved him from Elijah’s eyes.

“Finn-”

“I don’t want to talk about this.” he said clearly, glancing up to catch Elijah’s eyes widened before he closed them

“Yes.” Elijah sighed before turning to leave.

Finn waited until Elijah’s footsteps faded before he flopped back onto the bed and picked up a pillow to scream into it.

It was too late for regret now he reminded himself but that did nothing to remove the weight of it.

Why was it always Elijah that managed to reduce him to feeling like a teenager, none of the others ever managed to get him back to snapping like a petulant child, he couldn't’;t even take solace with the fact Elijah had lost his composure as well this time either.  

This was the worst case, Finn hadn’t meant to cause any of that, he should have stopped the moment he realised he first commanded Elijah and yet he hadn’t, some part of him liked having the control.

Elijah had been a stubborn little brat, never listening to Finn, even when he was a toddler and Finn just wanted him to go away, to stop following him. Mother had made it worse when she placed looking after the younger ones on Ellijah’s shoulders and expected Finn to follow Elijah when it came to them.

Finn hadn’t cared at first, it saved him having to deal with them, the ones Mother and Father had to forget Freya.

At least Elijah, Freya had known about, had wanted.

I wanted my big brother.

When? When had he ever given Elijah enough of that idea to hold onto it? but then Elijah had always been stubborn, the toddler following him into snow higher than his legs proved that. 

He was stuck with them, even after the defeated Dahlia- if they defeated her, Elijah was stuck-trapped with him and Klaus would not be letting him leave with him.

Kol likely wouldn’t either when he discovered the full effect mother’s spell had placed on Elijah, even if he or Kol and his witch found a way to break the spell binding Elijah to him and his will, the damage to his mental shields was permanent.

Elijah had always had better mental defences even when they were human and Elijah barely noticed any of their attempts to get in his mind. Now it would take him decades to build up the most basic shields, even then any powerful witch could cripple him with little trouble. Finn was the only thing between that now.

I wanted my big brother.

It wasn’t right, Finn had just proved how unsuited for this he was, he was going to end up slipping up, either by honest accident or resentful spite, and yet 

‘Our parents were terrible both, failed us in a numerous way, but you-’ Elijah voice was persistent even without him there, he was right Esther and Mikael had failed all their children and countless ways.

‘You resented us,’ he couldn’t deny it, Elijah had been in his head without shields, it wasn’t just the coffin Elijah had seen and felt, he knew everything. 

‘we didn’t have a choice.’ he wanted to snap back that none of them had, Freya hadn’t had a choice when she was taken, he was four when Mother forced him to keep it quiet, what had Elijah wanted him to do? but he knew that, always had really.

Big brown eyes staring up at him from a messy mop of dark hair, Elijah had just wanted someone to see him, to care.

It wasn’t that hard to work out why Elijah was so foolishly entangled with Niklaus even if it was to both their detriment, Niklaus as a newborn had no expectations for Elijah, and the child that Elijah was would take anything for that attention.

The responsibility, the hardships, the punishments, back where father was still to attached to the idea of Niklaus to bring himself to punish him, Finn had been fine with it as it removed the shadow following him, left him alone as he had wanted.

A thousand years later and now Elijah had no idea what to be without it involving their siblings, and Finn was still  alone.

‘I wanted help protecting our family.’ Yet Elijah had still wanted to reach out, still hoped Finn could move past his grief to help them. He couldn’t forget Freya, couldn’t forget the day the monster had come for her and taken his other half, but now his siblings understood that fear, those feelings.

Elijah’s reaction to learning Finn had been awake was true horror, guilt and self hatred, even after everything Finn had done against his precious family. Yes mother’s spell had left Elijah far more emotional likely due to her wanting her little boy back, over the man she was the reason he grew into, but it hadn’t created those emotions it had simply stopped Elijah from hiding them.

‘You were barely an older brother when you were there.’ Elijah had snapped before Finn’s words stripped him of his defences.

Freya would have been so disappointed in him.

I can’t wait to meet him, Finn, we’re going to be the bestest big sister and brother. Freya confessed, eyes bright and grinning widely at him after mother sent them out days before She came and took her.

I wanted my big brother.

It was time Finn learnt to move on, for Freya, to beat the monster that stole her, save his niece from her fate and perhaps remembering the baby, born quiet in the shadow of her grief, he could step out of his parent’s failures.

The last thing he wanted was to join them as another familiar death caused by Klaus, and he would end up that way if he repeated anything like that where Klaus saw.

[hybriidklaus]

tag drop

[honestgrins]

I have a prompt for you if you can. Not sure if you watch Legacies, there’s an episode where Lizzie makes a wish to a Jinn that Hope is never born. In this alternate universe, Lizzie won the Merge, Klaus flipped his switch 2 years ago in grief and started a war with the humans leading to Triad publicly hunting all supernaturals. Enemy #1 is Klaus and his vampire wife Caroline Mikaelson. I’d like to see a Klaroline fic of this AU please.

Prompt part 2. I have some personal thoughts on this alternative universe but itS totally up to you if you go with them or if you come up with your own. No Hope means no Hayley, means no Elijah dying. So why was Klaus grieving? No Hope means back in TVD S4 the witches had no way of luring him to NO so he stayed in MF eventually wearing Caroline down into a relationship. Josie and Lizzie were like his daughters and when they merged he and Caroline both flipped the switch in grief of Josie.

 Tears Will Never Dry (angsty)

“I failed them.” Her voice was so small and defeated. Curled up as she was in the armchair, Caroline looked blankly out the window. Though she had a perfect view of Bonnie talking through some witchy herbs with a despondent Lizzie out in the courtyard, her eyes didn’t seem to register. It was like she wasn’t even there.

Klaus, who once proudly professed he had no heart, felt something break inside him for he knew nothing could truly comfort her. He had failed her. So he offered what little he could, what he held onto when she was so far away. “You love them so completely, you could never fail them,” he vowed, and he’d never meant something so much. It took all his strength not to pull her into his arms, to close the distance she wrapped around herself so tightly. “You will help Lizzie through this, and—” The lump in his throat made it hard to speak, not that he could bring himself to say the name she cried in her sleep. “—you loved her to the end.”

Tears trickled down her crumpled face. “It’s not supposed to happen that way,” she croaked. “Mom and Dad loved me to the end, too. Their ends. Now, I have to live with her being gone. Forever.”

It used to be a promise between them, sweet and tempting; on her tongue, the word sounded sour. Helpless and desperate, Klaus kneeled  at her feet. He pressed his mouth to her knee, hands wrapped around her legs like a lifeline. “Tell me what I can do. Please, sweetheart. Let me help.”

Blinking down at him, she let her fingers card through his hair. Her smile was sad, apologetic. “It just hurts so much.”

And he knew it was too late.

The club was a dangerous idea. They were meant to be in hiding, and it defied sense to flaunt their return to New Orleans in a favorite haunt. But the girls were having fun, and Klaus was loathe to break up the party with sense.

He was tucked into the quietest corner of the VIP lounge, high above the din. Lizzie and Caroline, meanwhile, danced in the crush of the crowd, the pounding beat far too much for even a vampire’s ears. They laughed as they bumped into each other, and a smile curled his lips. It was good to be home.

Their little family was still grieving Josie’s loss after two years, each in their own way. Caroline preferred enjoying the lighter side of life, aided by a lack of human sensibilities. Lizzie alternated between reveling in her magic and loathing it for the too dear cost, just as she hated her mother for flipping the switch and loved having her as more of a friend. Klaus...

Klaus was just trying to keep the game interesting.

“Careful, friend,” Marcel warned, offering him a fresh drink as he dropped into the next chair. “Your humanity is showing.”

“She’s not paying me any mind, we can speak freely.” He turned to his old friend, a son that was lost and found, then lost and found again. How he wished he could grant such a miracle to Caroline. “Tell me about Triad.”

Clenching his glass, Marcel looked grim. “My nightwalkers keep disappearing, and even the ones with the GIft,” he murmured with laden meaning, since vampires had learned to hoard the secret of lapis lazuli and the safety it provided, “have mentioned being followed. Davina hasn’t risen far in the ranks of the organization yet, but she thinks a big move is in the works.”

He grit his teeth. “And?”

“The ‘vampire wife’ is whispered around the place. Often.”

It was a fight to loosen the tension in his body, but a necessary one. He raised a toast to Caroline, who tried to coax him out to the dance floor. He shook his head, charming enough so as not to rouse her suspicion. “I assume a kidnapping then.”

“At the least,” Marcel agreed. “Whether they want information from her or to use her against you, torture is to be expected. The switch might be a benefit to her if it comes to that—”

"It won't." His tone was final, even as he held his smirk. The ladies were too busy laughing off those bold men trying to dance with them to read him from afar. "She's been through enough."

Noticeably quiet, Marcel just sipped his drink.

“What, Marcellus?” Klaus bit out.

With a measured glance toward him, he shrugged. “The switch... She’s not really going through anything, and she hasn’t for years now. And thinking you’ve flipped yours, too? You’ve created a comfortable little world for her to avoid the pain, maintaining it to keep her safe without her knowing. What happens when the illusion shatters?”

He gave a careless flip of his hand. “She can’t turn it off twice.”

“If you say so.”

It wasn’t a new argument to Klaus, not when Stefan, Bonnie, Elijah — even Rebekah — had implored him to rethink his grand strategy for Caroline to party away the worst of her pain. At the very least, he could be honest about his own, relatively intact humanity. Instead, he let her enjoy the lighter side of life without tempting a worse outcome should she feel the need to punish him for trying to fix her. After all, she’d done much the same when her mother died.

The subterfuge was messy but necessary, especially with credible threats against her in this war the humans insist upon waging. His ear was attuned to the array of heartbeats throughout the club, the loud music not enough to dull his hybrid senses. Vampires had a slow, dull throb when compared to the hearty pound of a werewolf, not that they’d find themselves in the Abattoir without some pressing business that was sure to involve him. Same with the witches, and only Lizzie’s let out the fast-paced thrum of both full blood and magic.

Humans, though, they seemed to be threading in from the edges of the crowd — and aiming for the blondes at the center. Feeling the world slow around him, Klaus launched himself down from the balcony, mindless to the vampires hurrying to get everyone out of his way. None of them caught the true danger, however, until the strobe light caught on the wooden stakes being pulled from jackets.

Klaus managed to snap three necks before they got close, but Caroline was too busy blocking access to Lizzie to notice the woman stretching a strong arm toward her. Feeling like he was underwater, he watched as Lizzie’s fear overwhelmed her, and the hand grasped around her mother’s wrist glowed red. Pain seemed to lance through Caroline, and she lost her focus to fend off the attack she still hadn’t seen coming.

The familiar scent of her blood filled the air, and all Klaus could see was red.

Later, he would confirm that the scratch down Caroline’s back healed perfectly, that she’d survived the bold offensive he hadn’t stopped. Even later than that, he would acknowledge his plan had been far from perfect, without even the veneer of success to defend it when her humanity was eventually restored.

But in the moment, the thought of losing her to his own carelessness was too much. Clearly, holding onto his humanity wasn’t working the way he’d envisioned; in fact, his rage at the sight of a stake piercing her skin felt like a liability. He processed this in the span of a second, and by the time the human’s bloody head hit the dance floor, his decision had been made.

The world already saw him as a ruthless monster. He might as well give it to them, and he’d make them bleed for daring to harm her. He didn’t need his humanity for that.

With his fangs bared and blood dripping from his hand, he certainly looked the part. When Caroline met his eyes, however, something must have alerted her to the change. Having torn the stake from her back and moved Lizzie to the safe space between them, her head tilted to the side as she appraised him with a new appreciation. She gave a sharp grin of joy and arousal, her tongue slipping from beneath her fangs to wet the corner of her lips. “It’s about time.”

[livlepretre]

This is prob a weird question, but do you wonder what a ‘typical vampire’s’ relationship to religion would be like in the tvd universe if it had been explored (&I get why it wasn’t), at least upon being turned, considering that most vampires would have been brought up in eras where religion (generally) played a comparatively more serious role in everybody’s lives? I mean, how would one BEGIN to grapple or fit in this critical aspect of one’s (prior??) worldview, with rising from the dead as what’s essentially a demon, w supernatural powers & preying on humans — what would be t implications of your existence? Were the Salvatores never believers? Plus, do u have any hc on the Originals’ faiths as humans?? Were they Pagans? Christians? Or… I guess not the latter/they would have believed in the spirits as their mother was a witch..? Thoughts? (Srry if I’m bothering you with this question btw, I appreciate that you’re probably busy)

No, not bothering me, I'm very interested in the intersection between religion and vampirism.

We have to assume that religion played a huge role in the lives of MOST vampires-- secularism is relatively recent, and even then all that's happened is that older gods have been replaced with newer gods. And I can't think of any religion where rising as a vampire would be anything other than, as you say, rising as essentially a demon, a night hag, an abomination. And also, to make a blanket statement here, many religions focus a lot on the progression from life into death-- on making sense and peace of the natural order of birth, life, death (and rebirth). Vampirism breaks a person from this cycle, forever divorcing them from the natural world, the natural order. The combination of becoming that demon, of fearing themselves, and of becoming trapped in the netherspace between life and death is a horror unto itself-- one of the main reasons I find tvd vampires in particular so fascinating is because it is not just that they are truly monstrous and frightening, but that the show delves into the way the vampires horrify themselves with their own monstrosity (at least, it used to). They can only be horrified by that monstrosity if they retain some sense of what it is to be human-- and therein is the key. TVD vampires don't lose their human souls, as the vampires in BTVS do-- they simply... transmute. They're cursed with that never ending bloodlust that turns them inevitably into monsters, and they go further and further down that road until they just give in. It's a very dark curse. I'm sure there are plenty of vampires who lose faith... but there are probably even more who don't lose their faith, but instead come to accept their role as the dark mirror in opposition to life. There are a lot of really profound psychological implications to all of this.

As for the specifics of the religions of the vampires-- Damon and Stefan would have almost certainly been raised Catholics-- and I've never thought they weren't still Catholic, although, being Catholic doesn't necessarily make one devout, as with any other sect of any religion. Damon obviously crossed a lot of lines as a human. Also, the show would never have gotten into the thick of us, but how much of Stefan's guilt and shame is tied up in an understanding of the world and morality based on his religious upbringing? We can talk about Humanist ideals all we want, but I think it would be stretching credulity that someone turned as a 17 year old in the 1800s would be feeling so much shame from pure philosophical ethics and not from a sense of morality built into the religion he was brought up in. (And how do we know that Damon isn't so furious with Stefan for forcing him to turn because Stefan has essentially damned him?)

The other vampires are interesting because they're medieval people, so their worldviews would have been even more strongly intwined with religion than the Salvatores.

Katerina I've always assumed would have been Bulgarian Orthodox (you could make an argument for other religious takes based on the Travelers-- but that came later and I tend to just blot that all out of my memory because frankly I think making Katherine exceptional at all other than as the doppelganger is stupid and actually robs her story of tragedy-- it's tragic for her to just be living her normal life and losing her baby the way she did and then to discover that no, she has this dark fate she had no idea about-- it's somehow less tragic if she also is from a family with superpowers and her daughter just gets vamped to track her down) -- nothing much to this other than that is a likely choice. Although I have ALWAYS wondered about Katerina's life in Bulgaria, since it was part of the Ottoman Empire at the time and of course, the show has no interest in history so there's nothing that even touches on this potentially fascinating detail.

Okay the Originals. I have a special place of loathing in my heart for the Viking!backstory and have basically decided to whole heartedly reject it. I think Elijah's "my father was a landowner in Eastern Europe" story was much more convincing and likely. I prefer the idea of Russian!Originals, for various reasons I've documented here on this blog, so I think they would also be Orthodox Christians. (But: potentially before the schism between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches? so perhaps they wouldn't really think of themselves as "orthodox," or perhaps they later started to think of themselves this way.) The Orthodox Christian thing also ties into Tatia Petrova, whose descendants I headcanon as Orthodox. (I'm also fond of the idea that the Originals were Jewish, or the idea that Esther was Jewish.) There are a lot of mystic arts buried in religious arcana, so I don't see there being a conflict between Esther's witchcraft and simultaneously practicing a religion. I think in a medieval context, framing the world in terms of religion would have been just so inevitable, so tied in to every other element of life. It's actually fascinating to consider what hold overs of this thinking medieval vampires would have. (And I think of the Originals as deeply medieval in outlook, in ways in which they are largely unaware)

At any rate, the Originals are by far the most monstrous of the vampires, and the ones that have slipped the furthest from their humanity. I wonder in what ways they developed such horrific tastes as a means of spitting in the eye of their faith? If some of their differences could pertain to who held on to faith (Finn) vs. who felt most abandoned by it (Klaus)? Food for thought!

[unmaskedagain]

Marinette: A legacy

           I really tried to make this angst but the story had a mind of it’s own by the end. It’s about 6,000 words so... Buckle in.

 Broken; that was what Marinette was. Broken was what the gods had deemed her. She was born wrong. She shouldn’t exist. She shouldn’t be alive. She shouldn’t be anything. But she did exist and she was very much alive… technically.

           How much could anyone like her ever really be considered alive? She had been born to death. Somehow death had created a life.

 It had done it once before with another girl; but that girl had been born right. From the moment she had come crying into the world, it was clear the girl had favored her grandmother’s heritage, and, in time, her mother’s as well. The girl was named Hope.

           Marinette favored her father’s; skin a little too pale, heart beat a little too slow, beauty a little too otherworldly. However, when it was clear that her small body craved blood to survive, only then did they fear the worst.

           By they, she meant her birthmother. A werewolf who had want power and powerful bloodline; a Hope of her own. Suffice to say, she didn’t get what she wanted. Instead of Mother Nature and moon in one being; they got blood and darkness, the moon would come later.

           They feared she’d become her father. A monster in human flesh. A boogieman that all other boogiemen feared. They couldn’t let that happen. They refused to let that happen. So they sent Marinette away. Sent her away before her father could find out; before his family could find out. She was given to a couple with magical knowledge; a man with a wolf’s heritage and a woman who had grown up with vampires; Tom and Sabine.

           Her birthmother died not long after.

           Marinette’s father had been locked away at the time of her birth. She never met him. Most days, she just wondered if he knew she existed. Last she heard him and his brother Elijah had nearly died defeating some great evil. They were alive and well, still ruling New Orleans. Only reason she knew about him was that she had saved a witch’s life, and in return, and a bit of blood, Marinette knew who her birth parents were; the lines she came from. The sister she had.

           Unfortunately the price was stiff. Marinette ten at the time when she came across a vicious looking man attacking a seemingly helpless woman. The man had been a werewolf. To save a life, Marinette accidently ended his in the process; awakening the curse of her mother’s bloodline.

           No longer just a child of death and blood but now of the moon as well.

           For a long time, Marinette had done everything she could to be normal despite her adopted parents assuring her that Normal was overrated. Never seeking out her own kind(s) out of fear. Fear of rejection as she was neither and yet both; alive and dead; werewolf and vampire. Fear that her father’s countless enemies would find her.

But while she could walk in the sunlight, she could also kill a man in the blink of an eye. While she did her absolute best not to hurt anyone, animals still avoided her. They sensed the predator inside her, lurking just beneath the surface. While Marinette loved designing and all things fashion and normal teen girl things, she still drank blood, howled at the moon, and had murdered someone.

           Meeting Tikki when she was twelve had been a blessing and a curse. Tikki help Marinette realize that she could be something; that she didn’t have to be a force of destruction, that she could create, protect. The curse; Tikki told her that her she’d stop aging soon; death would take hold of her. She gave Marinette a four or five year timeframe. At max five years before her ability age would slow decreasing until it stopped altogether. And who knows when exactly that would be.

           Maybe feared that she’d wake up at 30 and realized she still looked like nineteen-year-old.

           And what would that mean for her biologically? Could she still have kids? A life? Would she have to spend the rest of eternity alone?

           Now almost fourteen Marinette, outcasted by her friends over a liar, made guardian now that Fu had sadly passed away, she spent most of her nights with the Kwami. She had just been about to put the box away when… it happened.

           Suddenly, wind started to swirl around her room. She felt a slight tugging at her arms; then it was like her entire body was being sucked throw a tube. Finally a tornado like cloud appeared on ceiling and the next thing Marinette knew was she was being pulled into it.

           Marinette screamed and clutched the kwami box tightly to her chest. Wind and lightning swirled around her. She closed her eyes, and wondered just what type of kwami Hawkmoth had unleased on Paris now.

           Then with a hard thud, she landed on a hard surface. She peaked and saw sunlight peeking through a window; and a forest of trees behind it.

Well, she thought, this is definitely not my room.

“Are you alright?”

           Marinette looked up and saw a group of people; mostly teenagers and one adult looking down at her. The girl who had spoken had big brown eyes and dark, almost black, hair.

“I’m fine,” Marinette said hesitantly. “What’s going on? I was just in my room and now I’m here.”

“Great!” A blond girl snapped. “The ritual was supposed to summon one of your psycho family members. How’d you manage to blow that, Hope?”

“I didn’t!” A girl with long Auburn hair and light blue eyes. “I can’t have. It’s a simple ritual. It was supposed to summon my closest relative.”

           Marinette blinked. Because Crap. “Did you say Hope?” She asked. “As in Hope Mikaelson?” Her sister. Her actual sister. She had always wanted to meet her.

“My name is Alaric,” The adult, a man, said as he stepped forward a curious look on his face. “How do you know Hope?”

           Marinette decided to give them man her best scary vampire face, “I don’t. Not really,” She hissed, fangs bared. The she went wolf mode; not a full transformation. Her clothes ripped a little though. “I was born a vampire.” She answered. “And went werewolf later.”

“You’re hybrid,” Hope gasped. “A natural hybrid.”

“Yes,” Marinette nodded. “Now by closest relative; she did you mean proximity or by blood. Because…” She looked around. “Seeing as I am no longer in Paris. I’m guessing by blood.”

           There was stunned faces as understanding slowly crept in.

“The ritual worked,” The brunette who spoke first said. “Surprisingly well.”

           Marinette smiled, “I’m Marinette,” She introduced herself. “Your sister.”

“Another one!” The blond yelled. She tossed her hands up in the air. “Great. Just great!”  And with that she stomped off.

           Alaric pinched his nose, “Klaus is not going to be happy about this.”

“Oh he’s gonna lose his shit,” Said Kaleb; he’d met the original once and decided that was enough.

“No one is going to happy about this,” Hope yelled. She knew that none of her family knew about Marinette. They couldn’t have. Her father barely let her come to school. He wouldn’t have let her live in another freaking country. “How? Just how?”

Marinette took a quick step back; a dismayed feeling overtook her.

“Hey,” The brunette said softly, giving the younger girl a kind smile, “That’s not what they mean. They’re just a little shocked right now. I’m Josie; a witch. How about I show you around campus while everyone calms down a bit.” She held out her hand to Marinette.

           Marinette clutched the kwami box but nodded and let Josie lead her out of the room.

“We need a plan,” Mg suggested.

“Plan?” Kaleb scoffed. “Bro, we need the Avengers. And Batman. Hell the U.S army and the xmen too. Klaus is going to tear this bitch apart.”

           Alaric took a deep breath, “No, he won’t.” He looked to Hope. “Call Rebecca, Freyja, here. Don’t tell them why. They’re the sane ones. They won’t overreact. Then we deal with Elijah, once he’s handled. We go for the big fish.”

“Shark,” Kaleb corrected. “Great white sharks! Except more bloodthirsty.”

           Hope nodded, “I’ll call them now, and then,” She winced. “Talk to my sister. Kidnapping and freaking out on her probably wasn’t the best first impression.”

“Nah,” Mj shook his head. “You tanked that.”

                       Convincing her aunts to visit her, under the guise of girl talk and girls day was easier than she expected. Talking to her little sister, while not harder, was considerably more awkward. She found the girl drinking a smoothie with Josie, giggling about something.

“Hey,” Hope smiled. “Found you!”

“Kidnapped me!” Marinette corrected.

           Hope winced, “Yeah. I should apologize, right?” Marinette gave her a look. “I’m really sorry. But hey, I got to find out I have a little sister. That’s awesome.”

“I’m going to leave you two alone,” Jose said and gave them a thumbs up.

           After that Hope and Marinette told each other about their lives. Marinette lived in Paris all her life and loved fashion; about the bakery and her parents. She didn’t find out about her birth family until she was ten. Hope told her what their family was like and what it been like growing up in New Orleans; and the best Beignets in the world.

“You’ll dad,” Hope grinned. “He’s artists like you, like me. Uncle Kol’s a bit wild. Uncle Elijah a bit too gentlemanly. Aunt Rebecca and Aunt Freyja are amazing. They’ll be here tomorrow. They will love you. They all will,” she assured.

           Marinette called her parents not long after and assured them she was fine. It was a little magical accident. She was with her sister. And asked if she could please, please stay for a bit of the summer break. Reluctantly, after a long conversation with Headmaster Alaric, they agreed, on the condition that Marinette calls them once a day. They send her stuff as soon as they could.

           The next morning, Hope greeted her Aunts with the biggest, most charming smile that she could. The each pulled her into a hug.

           When Rebecca pulled away, she smirked. “Now what did you do?” Before Hope could protest, her aunt added, “That’s the smile Klaus’ uses whenever he did something wrong.”

“Me?” Hope denied. “No, I didn’t do anything. I merely found out something. Something I should be rewarded for; I should get a raise in my allowance.”

           Freyja crossed her arms, “uh huh, so it’s something good?”

“It’s great,” Hope smiled. “But I’m going to need you to stop Dad from murdering everyone here and… in Paris.”

“Paris?” The blonds chimed together.

“Paris.”

           Explaining that she accidently summoned her sister, a child no one ever knew about, had been complicated. Rebecca didn’t believe it at first. Neither did Freyja Until Freyja had Hope repeat the ritual and a little darkhaired girl fell from the ceiling.

“Hope, we talked about this,” Marinette complained. She wore some borrowed clothes; a red top and light blue skinny jeans. “You just can’t summon people. I could’ve been in the shower.”

“Sorry,” Hope quickly helped her sister up. “Aunt Freyja made me.”

“Wow,” Said blond tutted. “Sold me out pretty quick there, kiddo.”

           Marinette eyed the two beautiful blond women. Her aunts. “Hi,” She squeaked, her face red, and leaned closer to Hope.

“You’re adorable!” Rebecca squealed. Then she turned to Freyja, “Klaus is going to lose it.”

           After some insight into Marinette’s life, a shopping trip, some fro-yo, Rebecca sighed when they returned back to the school. “We have to call Elijah.”

           Elijah had been curious about why his sisters summoned him to Hope’s school with the clear request of: Do not tell Klaus. He knew it must be serious, and something Klaus would not like.

           His sisters and niece greeted him in entry way of the school, and promptly led him back outside to the courtyard.

“What is the meaning of this,” He asked. “What purpose did I need to rush here a moment’s notice?”    

           His sisters looked at Hope who glared back. It was Freyja who broke first, “Klaus has another child; a girl. Her name’s Marinette, and she’s thirteen-years-old. And before you say; she is most definitely Klaus’ daughter. We checked. Six times. Two times a blood inheritance spell.”

“Yeah,” Hope drawled. “We have got to stop randomly summoning Marinette. She’s getting testy.”

           He looked at the three women. Rage soared through him. “Excuse me,” Elijah said before promptly walking into the forest and ripping apart a tree. Multiple trees, in fact. When he returned, he straighten out his tie, and gave them a nod, “Where is she? Where’s Marinette? And while we locate her, you will explain to me how this occurred.”

           They found Marinette, sitting on a window seal, sketching; lost in her newest design, as a means to stop her worrying.

“She’s look like him,” Elijah murmured. “The eyes, the nose, the concentration when creating new artwork.” This was his brother’s daughter, of that there was no doubt.

           Marinette suddenly looked up at them, her blues eyes examining her newfound family. She chuckled, “At least you didn’t summon me this time.”

“I am your Uncle Elijah,” He prompted introduced himself with a small bow.

           Marinette stood up and gave a small curtesy, “Marinette.” She said quietly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

           Elijah fought urge to coo. His sisters did not. Hope laughed, went to Marinette, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and pulled her into a hug causing Mariette to laugh as well.

The resemblance was there for all to see. The blue eyes, the devilish smiles, the same noses, cheekbones; clearly sisters. Clearly Klaus’ daughters; his little girls.

Marinette turned out to be wonderful; a shy thing with impeccable manners and a softness to her that no one else in the family had.

“I can prevent half from being killed,” Elijah told his sisters when they brought up Klaus. “But this place will still be a blood bath.”

           Marinette looked confused, “But why. I just got here. Harming anyone wouldn’t be rational.”

“Rational,” Rebecca laughed. “Yes because that’s the first thing that comes to mind when people talk about Niklaus; that he’s rational.”

“Rebecca!” Elijah hissed. He shook his head, “We need Kol.”

“Oh fuck no!” Kol yelled upon meeting Marinette, thus confirming his siblings were pulling some sort of prank. “I shouldn’t be here. I don’t want to be. You shouldn’t be here!” He yelled at his older siblings. “Klaus should’ve been the first one told.” He looked at Marinette. “I’m sure your great, love. I’ll love you in no time. However, right we have to prevent Klaus from committing mass murder… again.”

The plan was supposed to be really simple. They’d all go to New Orleans, where less of Alaric’s students could be harmed. Davina and Marcellus would distract Klaus long enough to lead him into a trap; a room where chains would wrap around the hybrid’s arms securing in place; only then would they tell him the truth.

           When the Originals, Hope and Marinette arrived to the house they found Marcellus and Davina waiting.

“What the hell is about,” Marcellus asked. “Klaus is going to rip my head off, you know that right.”

“This had better be good,” Davina nodded. “He’s already threatening to wipe out my entire blood line.”

“Trying to prevent the massacre of Paris,” Freyja nodded, “You two girls,” She looked at her nieces. “Stay here. Davina wait with them please.” She looked at the vampires. “Elijah take lead. Let’s do this.”

           Marinette watched in wonder as her aunts and uncles went inside. They didn’t smell afraid. They smelled concerned; like her mom did when she thought she left the iron on when she left the house.

Davina asked the smaller girl with Hope. “Can I ask…?”

           Hope quickly shook her head. ‘Not now’, she mouthed and pointed inside.

           Davina nodded.

           Elijah kept his calm façade as he approached his furious brother.

“Brothers; sisters, my family,” Klaus drawled, fury in his eyes. “I thought we’ve grown past this. May I ask what I could’ve possible done to deserve? And what Paris have to do with anything?”

“You’ve done nothing,” Elijah assured.

“I wouldn’t say nothing,” Kol smirked. “It took two to tangle after all.”

“Release me!” Klaus demanded. “Now!”

           Rebecca took a breath, “You need to calm. We have to tell you something; something important. And we need you to listen because we are telling you truth.”

“I’m in chains!” Klaus growled. “And you expect me to listen to you?”

“It is a precaution should you overreact,” Elijah stated. “We are your family. We need you to trust us.”

“Honestly, just don’t go batshit crazy,” Kol shrugged. “And kill half of New Orleans.”

           Klaus bared his teeth, “I’ve changed. I’ve grown. I will not go back to that.”

           Freyja steeled herself, “It’s about your daughter.”

           Klaus’ entire body stiffened, “What?” Fear and anger coursed through him. Was Hope alright? Did someone harm her? Where was she?

“Klaus, you have another child,” Elijah said bluntly. “A girl named Marinette. She’s thirteen and a born vampire; a hybrid since the age of ten. She is yours.”  

           Klaus froze in shook. His mind processing his brother’s words. He had another child; another daughter.

“Hope called us,” Rebecca said. “All of us to her school. She informed us of Marinette then, brother. And we needed to secure you because we were worried about your reaction when you found out.” Marcellus scoffed. She turned to look at him, “Did we do the right thing?”

           The black man shook his head, “No.”

“What did we do wrong?” Rebecca glanced at him and then back at Klaus.

“Well, you used chains,” Marcellus explained.

“What should we have used?”

           Marcellus crossed his arms, “Ahh, it wouldn’t matter.”

           Klaus roared and with all his strength he ripped the chains from the ground, destroying the hardwood in the process. He calmly removed them from his wrists and walked past his siblings. He could hear Hope’s heartbeat, and Davina’s as well. But there was another with them.

           The siblings followed after.

           Once Klaus was outside, his eyes went automatically to his beloved Daughter, “Hope,” He greeted slowly. Hope gave him a weary smile. Then to Davina. And then finally to a girl younger than Hope but had the same blue eyes, nose, and cheek bones. All which both girls got from him.

“Marinette,” Klaus whispered.

           The girl gave him a shy smile.

           Marinette couldn’t believe she was finally meeting her birthfather.  It would definitely.

           The girl, his daughter, was smaller than he expected; smaller than Hope had been at that age. Her presence wasn’t as confident either. There was a look in her eyes that she tried to hide but he knew well; fear. She didn’t smell afraid, just worried and a little sad. She was afraid of rejection.

“I have been blessed with two beautiful daughters,” Klaus said soothingly. “You live in France, yes. I will started my revenge there.”       And there went the good mood.

           Everything was chaos after that.

           Klaus insisted that his daughter was stolen. Marinette insisted she had been adopted. Her mother had given her up.

“And the father has no rights?” Klaus asked. He tried his best to remain maintain his false calmness. He never liked to get angry in front of his children.

“Well, in her defense, technically you are dead, brother,” Kol smirked when Klaus hissed at him. “It would be rather complicated to prove otherwise.”

“My parents,” Marinette said. Klaus growled. She continued on. “My parents are wonderful. They’re bakers with a successful shop. They love me very much.”

“Bakers!” Klaus grumbled. “My daughter was raised by bakers!”

           Marinette was rather surprised just how long it took to convince her father that mass murder wasn’t a suitable response for missing out on his daughter’s formative years. Then again, he was Klaus Mikaelson.

           After her father did calm down, it was pleasant. She was formally introduced to Marcellus, Rebecca’s husband, and Davina, Kol’s wife. She learned more about her family’s story and became content. Marinette was given a room next to Hope, and they laughed as they immediately left to decorate; chaperoned by Klaus, who was more than happy to pay for his girls’ shopping spree.

           Marinette was able to get paints for her new room, different cloths for makings clothes, more sketchbooks, paintings, and posters. Klaus bought her whatever she wanted, it was a wonder Hope wasn’t spoiled.

           First week living with her family she cooked with Freyja, played Poker with Kol, painted with her father (which led to a paint war where Hope and Marinette ganged up on him). Elijah taught her to waltz and told her all the things history forgot. She designed dressed for Rebecca, and tended to follow her free spirited Aunt around whenever she could. The only difficult part was sneaking away whenever there was an Akuma alert. But luckily Freyja magic’d her room to be soundproof so Marinette could privacy. Trixx had no problem pretended to be her, should anyone knock.

           Everything was good. Everyone was happy. Except for two times. The first came when Hope mentioned during dinner about returning to school.

“Oh, I’ll go with you,” Marinette said brightly to her sister who sat next to her, not noticing how her words caused the room’s occupants to stiffened. “I can give Lizzie the dress I made her. She’ll love it.”

“I still don’t get why she likes you and not me,” Hope asked incredulously.

           Marinette stuck her tongue out, “Josie likes you well enough. And Raphael. And Landon. And…”

“Oh shut up,” Hope blushed.

           Klaus sat his cup down slowly, “You will not being anywhere. You will remain here where you are safe.

           Hope and Marinette shared a look. Marinette had learned quickly that Klaus was overprotected. Marinette wasn’t allowed to go anywhere without an escort; usually a member of the family. Hope raised an eyebrow ask to ask if Marinette wanted her to handle. Marinette tilted her head the side, with both eyebrows raised; a team up, maybe. Hope smirked; that was a yes.

“No,” Klaus chastised. “No silent conversation at the dinner table. Or at all.” As much as he loved that his daughters got along so well, they tended to unite against him to get what they wanted.

           Hope smiled sweetly, “We won’t gone long. School’s letting out. We’ll be gone A day or two at most.”

“I really like Hope’s school,” Marinette said earnestly. “I’ve never met so many kids like me before.”

Elijah decided to aid his brother. “A school full of barely trained vampires, witches, and werewolves. It is dangerous.”

“Oh come on,” Hope crossed hers. “I’m there most of the year.”

“That’s different,” Freyja said. “You’re older; more mature.”

“Well that’s hardly fair,” Kol narrowed his eyes. He used to get told the same thing when he was a child and still human. “Marinette is plenty mature. Age shouldn’t be a factor.”

           Klaus glared at his brother, “And yet it is. You will remain here with me. Hope will give Lizzie the dress you designed.”

           Hope and Marinette shared another look and then turned to their father with their ultimate weapon in full force; puppy-dog eyes sat to ultimate cuteness. “Please!” They chimed together.

           Klaus’ mouth dropped slightly. The adorableness of his daughter was nearly crippling. “No,” he said again. “I will not budge on my decision.”

           The girls frowned, and increased their puppy eyes to death level. Their lips wobbled, their eyes glistened with presence of potential tears.

“Stay strong, brother,” Elijah told him.

“Say the man who is doing his best to avoid looking directly at them,” Rebecca giggled.

           Klaus’ face softened. No, he told himself, we will not give in. “Never!”

“Pretty, pretty please,” The teenage girls pleaded.

“…Fine.”

           The next not so good time came a month later; when Marinette got an Akuma alert late at night. She had been getting a midnight snack when her phone beeped. Marinette had no choice but to rush upstairs, transform, and leave. Unfortunately for her, she hadn’t shut the door all the way, meaning that the silencing spell didn’t go into effect.

           It had been multiple Akumas; terrible ones that led to Marinette calling in Kagami, Chloe, and Luka to help her and Chat. It had taken a long time, a lot more than Marinette realized. When Marinette finally asked someone the time, she realized half the day had passed. She hoped Trixx had been able to keep up the illusion.

           Marinette portaled back to her room feeling more tired than she ever had before. Only to find Freyja waiting on her bed with the kwami box on her lap.

“Do you have any idea how much your trouble you’re in?” Her aunt asked.

           Turned out, her father had come to check on her after he returned home for the night only to find the room empty. However, it was only when his family confirmed they had no idea where his youngest daughter was, that he got angry. They all got angry; fear that someone had taken Marinette. They broke out in different search parties; trying to locate a scent to follow.

           Freyja, however, went to Marinette’s room, and to her surprise as soon as she touched the door, Marinette’s voice said she was busy. The blond woman opened the door to find a little fox creature looking frightened.

           The kwami had decided to explain a few things about themselves before the angry looking blond decided to try to smite them.

“Oops?” Marinette offered.

           Freyja raised an eyebrow, “Oops?” She shook her head. She handed Marinette the box. “Come on, guardian. You have some explaining to do.” Freyja opened the door for Marinette.

           Marinette, with the box in her hand, reluctantly followed her aunt to the living room where her family waited.

“Marinette!” Her father yelled, and before she knew it she was in a hug. “Where were you? Do you have any idea how worried I was? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” She promised, and pulled away. “I’m fine,” She said again to her worried looking family.

“What happened?” Hope asked; beyond emotionally exhausted and physically, from the nights events. “You just disappeared.”

           Freyja nodded, “It’s turned out our darling little Marinette is more magical than she led us to believe.”

           Marinette nodded and opened the box. The kwami flew out of it; setting everyone on guard. The kwami flew around the room introducing themselves. “So… Did I ever tell you I was a superhero?”

“No,” Marcellus chuckled, reaching out slowly for the floating Ox type creature.  “No. You didn’t. I’d remember that conversation.”

“Yeah… well it’s like this…”

           The Ladybug, magical guardian of little gods, and fighting a supernatural terrorist didn’t go over well. To close out her story, and to prove it, Marinette transformed into Ladybug, and transformed back.

           The room was silent.

“You are a child,” Elijah finally said, rage slowly growing inside him. “Children do not go to war. They are not sent to war!”

           Marinette winced, “It’s not really a war. More like a Batman versus the Joker.”

“But people have died,” Rebecca said, petting Pollen. “Sure, they’re brought back but they still died; you’re partner, Chat Noir died a few times.”

“What happens if you die, kiddo,” Davina asked. She played with Ziggy in her lap. “Only Ladybug can reverse what the akuma’s done. What happens if Ladybug dies before that happens? Who brings you back?”

           Marinette looked down, and remained silent because they all knew the answer to that. No one. If ladybug died, she died.

“So this dude’s possessing school children,” Marcellus said. “And everyone else is so much as feel a lick negative emotion. The only people trying to stop the psychopath is a thirteen-year-old who can do a magical girl transformation leading a bunch of other teenagers who can do the same trick? Really.”

“We’ve been hunting him,” Marinette sighed. “Hawkmoth is possible to find.”

“I’ll help!” Hope said.  Roaar was on her shoulder. “You have other Kwami. I can use Roaar. I’ll fight with you.” Her sister was a superhero. It was the coolest thing ever. Everyone knew who Ladybug was. Her posters covered a lot of her fellow students’ walls.

“No!” Half the room shouted.

           Klaus glared, “No more fighting. This ends.” Someone had been trying to kill his little girl since she first adorned her hero name. “I’ll find Hawkmoth. And I’ll rip him to pieces.”

“No, brother,” Kol stated. “We’ll rip him to pieces.”

           There were nods.

“How? I can’t find him,” Marinette asked. “I can’t even scent him.”

“Fear not, little one,” Elijah had a dark smile on his face. “No one can hide from The Originals.”

           Ziggy flew up and whispered in Davina’s ear. A dark look appeared on her lovely face, the room crackled with her power, “What’s this about you being bullied?”

“Bullied?” Hope shouted. “Who’s bullying you? I swear.”

           Klaus closed his eyes. On top of everything Marinette was going through, she was being bullied as well. “Explain.”

           And so Marinette did. She told about her Lila came to class; lied, turned everyone against her, and pretty much left her friendless in class apart from Adrien and Chloe. How her things were ripped up, the mean texts she got, all the dirty looks. She missed Alya, or rather she missed the Alya that had been her bestie. She missed hanging out with Kim and Alix. But she knew, even if the truth came out, they’d never be friends again. By the end of her story, Marinette had shed a few tears and looked very much like the thirteen-year-old she was.

“So Lila’s dead, right?” Kol said. “No objections? Good. I get dips.”

“You can’t kill her.” Marinette stated.

“Pretty sure I can,” Kol drawled.

           Hope narrowed her eyes, “Not kill her. We’re going to do something worse.” She promised. No one messed with her family and got away with it. “We’re going to make her tell the truth.”

“Compel her,” Rebecca nodded. “Make the little shrew learn a lesson or two.”

“Why haven’t you compelled her?” Freyja asked. “I would’ve had the little bitch take a long walk off a short ledge by now.”

“It’s not nice,” Marinette shrugged.

           Kol pinched his nose, “Oh we have so much to teach you.” He smirked. “Mikaelsons’ are not nice.”

“We’re not mean,” Hope added. “But we’re not nice.”

“And most importantly,” Klaus broke in. “If you mess with one us, you mess with all of us. We are family.”

“Always and forever,” Hope said.

           Marinette nodded. “Always and forever.”

           For the next few days, her family watched her like a hawk. Marinette didn’t know if Hawkmoth had been drained from the multiple akumas or what, but it took a week before another alert appeared.

           Luckily for her, Hope was on guard duty while the rest of the family either in town taking care of business or was in the woods, close by, perfecting their hunting skills. Marinette had been sketching with Hope in the living room when her phone chimed. She glanced at it and saw the Akuma Alert.

           She glanced at the stairs. Could she do it, she wondered. Could she make it up the stairs to her room and portal out before anyone caught her.

“Don’t even think about,” Hope said putting down her paint brush. She held up her own phone, and gave Marinette a look. “You’re not the only one who gets notified now. If you’re going, I’m going.”

           Marinette sighed, “Fine but if you’re going to fight; you’re suiting up.”

“Just one thing…” Hope trailed off. “It’s another multi-akuma alert. I think we’re going to need more help.”

“What are you thinking?”

           Hope grinned.

           Lizzie, Josie, Raphael, Landon, and MJ stood in front of Marinette and Hope looking stunned. After a few vows of secrecy, Marinette had transformed into Ladybug in front of them.

“You’re Ladybug,” Lizzie grinned. “And you want me, us, to do a superhero team up. I knew I liked you.”

“And you don’t like me,” Hope added. “What the hell?”

“That’s what’s up,” Kaleb said and gave MJ a low-five. “Free trip to Paris and I get to be superman for the day.  Let’s do this.”

“This is incredible,” Josie looked like her mind was processing a thousand thoughts a second, “I’ve heard of the Kwami and the guardian. But I just thought they were legends. Or that they’d died out. Dad’s going to flip.

           Landon looked concerned, “it’s safe, right. The transformation. Not fighting an evil terrorists. Because that’s obviously not safe.”

           Hope looked at Marinette who nodded. The older girl grinned, “Roaar, strips on!” And just like that, Hope was transformed into a tiger-themed hero; her hair was intricately braid back, she had ear and a tail; her custom was mostly black with orange stripes. She had long claws, and staff. “Easy as pie.”

“Oh I’m in,” Raphael said. “Try and stop me. Wait do who I get?”

           That started the request and arguments.

           In the end, Lizzie got Trixx. Kaleb got Stompp. Josie got Fluff. MJ got Barrk. Raphael got Wayzz. And Landon received Mullo.

           Marinette briefly briefed them about their powers and what to expect. She opened a portal.

           Hope ran to the window, “Hey, we’re going to fight an evil megalomaniac in Paris be home soon.” And then the kids were gone.

           Elijah and Kol who had been in the woods when they heard Hope yell raced back. However, by the time they arrived, the kids were gone.

“Ok, Marinette is just not making this easy on us,” Kol huffed. “She’s not even pretending to.”

           Hawkmoth didn’t see the new team of heroes coming. The akumas were quickly dismantled. The older teenagers had the time of their lives running around Paris, using superpowers in public, something they always had to avoid before; and just being their full awesome selves.

           When the battle was over, and the kids had transformed and retuned all phone call they’d missed. Alaric wasn’t happy about their spontaneous superhero trip. Klaus wasn’t happy they left without informing him, or taking him with them. He also wasn’t happy about Caroline calling just to yell at him for her daughters running off to Paris to become an Avenger.

           The kids promised they’d be home soon; said the kwami to transport had to recharge. Technically that was true. However, the kids took their sweet time roaming around Paris. Marinette introduced Hope to her parents, who easily took a shine to their daughter’s sister.

           Lizzie spent most of the time; spamming the online student website with pictures of herself in Paris.

           When the kids ran into Lila and Alya on the way out of a boutique. The girls had been nasty as soon as they saw Marinette, causing the older teens to glare. They had heard from Hope about Marinette’s bullying situation, and they were ready to raise hell. However before Marinette or even Hope could get involved, Lizzie Saltzman. She knew a bully when she saw one.

“You bad hair and awful clothes,” Lizzie pointed at Lila. “What’s your name?”

“Lila Rossi,” Alya snapped. Lila pretended to cry. “The Lila Rossi. The Nicest girl on the planet.

“Yeah whatever,” Lizzie pulled out her phone. She showed her phone screen. “Look at the type Lila Rossi in google, and nothing. Google doesn’t care. Don’t see why I should.”

           Alya blinked, “That’s not right,” She murmured and pulled out her phone. And sure enough, “Nothing. Just what I put on the Ladyblog.”

“You mean the blog Ladybug herself discredited?” Josie asked, with a raised eyebrow. “Because of lies. Maybe Lila’s why stopped trusting you.”

           Mj stepped forward and looked Lila in the eyes, “You are going to tell everyone in your class just how much a liar you really are,” He compelled her. “And for the next month, you are only going to tell the truth. You will not bother Marinette again.” He looked at Alya. “Both of you leave. Now.”

           With blank stares the girls departed.

           By the time Marinette got back to New Orleans and to her family, her phone had been flooded messages of apologies. She didn’t respond to a single one. Instead, she helped her family prepare for their trip to Paris.

           Hawkmoth wouldn’t know what hit him.

[handonshipper]

If I Knew Then What I Know Now: Chapter Four

After a while, Landon's eyes slowly opened, and he sat up, taking in his surroundings. He was on a bed. An  actual  clean, larger bed. He hadn't been in one of those for... a while. He felt drained of energy and a bit nauseous. Landon forced down the nausea and focused on everything. His backpack was leaning up against the nightstand on the ground near the bed. He clenched the sheets and looked down at his shirt. He had a different shirt on than before, one that wasn't bloody and torn.

"You're awake" A familiar voice spoke out from near the doorway. He didn't need to turn his head to know who was standing there, watching him.

"Hope" he greeted. "Yeah, I am. How long have I been out?"

"A little less than a day" Hope walked over and took a seat on the bed with Landon. "I shouldn't be here long. It's not safe for you to be around me, but I wanted to see you again. Before..." she fell quiet.  She cleared her throat. "You have a bit of a fever that spiked. Here. It's an herbal mixture. It should help finish up cooling you down more than what I've already done"  She offered him a small glass of a yellowish liquid.

Landon took the glass and drank the liquid inside. "Thank you" he said.

"You're welcome" the tribrid took the glass back from him. She tucked her hair behind her ear and focused on him. "Now what did you mean when you said 'not you'? That's different than refusing to drink blood at all"

Landon didn't answer her and instead pushed himself up. How could he possibly explain everything to her? It was crazy for him to believe, and he lived it. Hope stood up and moved closer to him, placing a hand on his  back to steady him. Her eyes showed concern as she watched him carefully.

"Take it easy. Landon. You seem exhausted"

"I'll be fine. I'm all healed, remember?  I can handle a fever and nausea and lightheadedness. It's mild. It could be worse"

Landon gave her a small smile as he  spoke, grateful it wasn't affecting him  worse. Being Malivore's son certainly came with problems, more than having Malivore constantly send monsters after him over and over again so that he could be possessed by his father. No, that wasn't all. He also had to react badly to hybrid and tribrid and probably regular vampire blood.

"Just get some rest" the tribrid said, looking at him. "My family doesn't mind." She gently nudged him back towards the bed. He sighed softly and sat down on the bed before laying on it and staring at the ceiling. "Good. Look, I'm sorry about... what I did to you. It was an accident. I was lashing out at my Uncle Elijah, and when you came in, I wasn't really paying attention to who you were. I just got caught up in anger. It's not an excuse though"

"It's fine, Hope. I forgive you. So is attacking relatives with super powers something you usually do?" he asked, looking up at her.

"No. No it's not. And what I did was... magic. Magic's real and so are vampires and werewolves but you don't need to worry about that. Just get rested and you can get back to your normal life"

She turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Landon sighed a little and stared at the ceiling, thinking about everything. He felt drained of energy, but he knew he could do what he needed to do to leave. He'd give himself a little longer here before leaving. However, his mind then drifted to what he knew about Hope during this time period. If she was attacking her uncle violently  like that, she had to have consumed the Hollow's magic by now. Which meant she was slowly dying, growing weaker with each passing moment.

He couldn't leave her like this, no matter how screwed up he was. He had to help her. And then he could worry about how he was handling things. How he wasn't the same Landon he had been when she gave him the page that listed how she viewed him. Though before he could do any of that, he needed to rest and recover from the vampire blood that had passed through his system. He sighed and closed his eyes, allowing himself to drift off to sleep a bit, hoping he would feel back to normal once he woke up again.

Eventually, Landon woke up again and sat up, still feeling a little off but better than before. Sunlight was streaming through his window. He put on his jacket that he saw folded on the dresser.  He grabbed his bag and opened it before pulling out one of blades and concealing it in his jacket. He zipped up his bag and headed downstairs with it. He suddenly heard muffled voices from a side room and looked towards it before looking away.

"Landon, is it?" questioned the mostly unfamiliar voice of Hope's father.

Landon turned his head to look at him. "Yes, that's me"

"Have you ever been to New Orleans before?" Klaus questioned, walking closer to him.

"Once briefly about a year and a half ago"

"Have you tried beignets before, Landon?"

"No, sir,  I haven't" Landon replied Klaus chuckled a little at the word sir being used. He certainly wasn't used to people who weren't full of fear and trying to please him. And even then, it had been a while. "Well, then, you should probably try them while you are here. Come on" he said and led Landon to the dining room. "Make yourself comfortable"

Landon looked at Klaus and took a seat at the long table, looking around a little curiously. He set his backpack down on the ground near him.  Klaus came back with two plates of beignets and set one down in front of Landon before taking a seat himself. Landon looked at the original hybrid curiously. He had read first hand in Dr. Saltzman's books all Klaus had done, but when he looked at him all he really saw was Hope's father. The man who would/had died for her.  But Landon did not want that to happen again. He did not want Hope to lose her family members again. Though he wished that he could have gone back in time soon enough to save her mother as well. Unfortunately, his luck never seemed to go that well.

"You seem unsurprised about the supernatural existing" Klaus  said "Well, you saving my life does help with my perspective" Landon said, looking at him.  "And I trust Hope. Even though she magically hurt me" He would never stop trusting her. Landon looked at the sugary breakfast in front of him. He picked up a beignet and took a bite, sugar falling a little on his shirt in the process.  "I didn't realize you  knew my daughter so well that you trust her. Or perhaps you simply trust easily" "I don't. Trust easily. However, I do trust her" Landon said, looking at Klaus, his expression serious.  "Did Hope tell you about her family when she went to check up on you?" "No, she didn't"  "Well, I am the Original hybrid, part vampire and part werewolf. The rest of my siblings are Original vampires, except Freya who is a witch. We are 1000 years old and are very protective of our family. Killing people that pose a threat to us. Do you have any family, Landon?" "My mother and brother died. Other than that, I have no one I consider family"  Landon said, taking another bite of a beignet.

Malivore certainly did not count. He wanted to use Landon as a vessel and consume all supernatural creatures, including his friends. And Clarke.... well... Clarke was the whole reason Malivore rose. He tossed the final artifact in and was the reason the vase was put in Malivore as well. He's the reason Hope had to sacrifice herself. And he was the reason Josie went dark, which resulted in several other problems.

"I have lost a mother and brother as well" Klaus said, "though I killed my mother. Twice. As well as my fathers. Both biological and not" Klaus said calmly, watching him as he ate as well, despite not needing to. "You seem very cautious, even before you knew what I was"  "I've been through  a lot recently" "Please, enlighten me" "It's something I don't want to talk about. Not because I don't trust you or Hope or anything but simply because I don't feel comfortable discussing it at all" "I noticed your scars and your burn marks" Klaus said, and Landon's hand subconsciously drifted to his arm, powder getting on his jacket. "What happened?" "My foster dad used to burn me with cigarettes"  Something shifted in Klaus' expression as he looked at Landon, the same way it had when he saw Marcel being abused so many years ago. It was something he could relate to very much. He was silent for a moment, his gaze lowering, and he took a bite of his beignet to fill the silence.

Landon was grateful for the silence, still not used to being around people. He continued eating, thinking about everything going on. He knew a lot happened in this time frame, and he wanted to be able to help.  Finally, he spoke up again "Is something... wrong with Hope? She seems to be... hurting, I don't know" "She's going through a lot right now after taking in some dark magic. But that is not your concern. Now finish eating" Landon continued eating and looked at him a bit. His head turned as he heard someone quietly approaching before they were in sight. It was Hope "Hey" Hope greeted, looking at the two. She didn't show it visibly but Landon could tell by the look in her eye that she was in pain. "I went to check on you, but you were already up"  "Yeah. I'm feeling better now. Mostly anyways. Better enough. Thank you for the.. herbal mixture that you gave me" Landon said, looking at her "You're welcome"  Hope said. Landon finished up his beignets, and Hope walked over to Landon. "It was really nice seeing you again." She looked at him and turned away as Klaus approached.

Klaus stepped in front of Landon, who slowly stood up, his bag in hand. "You do not remember anything unusual about Hope or the rest of the family. You saw nothing supernatural. You ran into Hope near our family home. It was getting late so we invited you in to stay the night. When you woke up, you had breakfast with me and are now leaving this city and are not going to think twice about what you could have had for Hope. You are going to find somewhere to live away from that foster dad you mentioned and have a happy human life, safe and away from New Orleans." "Are you out of your minds? How could I forget any of this?" Landon questioned. "Did you do it wrong?" Hope questioned.  "I'm a thousand years old. I am fairly certain I know how to compel people" Klaus replied "Well, it didn't work."  "Obviously it didn't work. He has been here so he couldn't have had vervain. If he can't be compelled, it can only mean one thing. That he is a supernatural being. Unless, of course, he had vervain with him that he took before coming downstairs." Klaus moved at vampire speed to grab the bag from Landon, who instinctively moved defensively but was too slow. Klaus tossed Hope the bag, and she opened it.

"Weapons?" Hope  questioned in confusion, her tone wary as she slowly looked back up at Landon, a wooden weapon in her hand. "You're a hunter?" Landon's lips parted open for a moment before he closed them. "No. Not in the way you are thinking. I swear. Look, we can talk about this. I wanted to when I first saw you, but I had no idea how to explain it"

Klaus moved at vampire speed, pinning Landon to the wall. Landon looked at Klaus, unafraid. "Is that so? Who are you?" he questioned, his grip tightening a bit. "Hope, keep looking"  "My name is Landon Kirby. I wasn't lying. I haven't lied to either of you. Except for why I came here. And that was only kind of a lie"

Hope shuffled through his bag. "I don't see any vervain. He couldn't be on it unless he hid it somewhere" "I can't be compelled"  "Well then I guess you have a lot of explaining to do" Hope said and waved a hand. "Ad somnum" Landon Kirby fell to the ground, unconscious.

[trustsalvatorewriting]

queendom || hope mikaelson - chapter eight

Summary: In which a tribrid falls in love with a human girl

Word Count: 2,411

Preface | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight

-

"SHE'S GONE." HOPE PACED across the room, her heart racing as she imagined what possible circumstances she had just put Angel in. She'd tried to fight against the monster, but regardless of what she did, it seemed as though nothing she did affected him. He was immune to every spell. Everything she did only served to exhaust her and stall him.

Unfortunately, Aunt Rebekah hadn't managed to compel Angel to stop acting calm. She'd simply stood there, quiet and accepting of what was happening in front of her. As if she'd known that the creature wasn't going to harm her. Hope had continued fighting after Rebekah had 'died,' but it was no use. He had managed to throw her across the room while she was doing a spell. By the time she had come to, Angel was gone, and the monster had gone with her.

There was a time when death was an unfamiliar concept to Originals. Hope's father, Klaus, had always gone out of his way to make it known that the Mikaelsons were immortal -- ironic, really. Simple death like the snapping of a neck or drowning, something that would usually kill an ordinary human being, would be an untimely nap for an Original vampire. As would a stake in the heart, or a beheading -- things that would ordinarily kill a regular vampire.

To be an Original was to be immortal. Though it seemed that even immortal beings can find a way to die eventually.

It had been about two or three hours since Aunt Rebekah's 'death.' She would be awake soon enough, and they would be able to search for Angel. Unfortunately, that would mean heading straight toward Statera, and the lack of supernatural beings in the town seemed to suggest some sort of magical border.

Or magical blockade of Unsullied Soldiers that would kill whatever supernatural being tried to enter the territory; but what was the difference?

A light began to glow from inside Rebekah's pocket. Hope sighed, reaching over and pulling the phone out of her pocket. She raised her eyebrows at the 'Salvatore School' contact name. How often did they reach out to Rebekah regarding Hope's grades or absences? Honestly, she was surprised that she had any emergency contacts left. Lately it seemed as though Dr. Saltzman was all she had in terms of an adult figure, though Josie and Lizzie were making that relationship particularly hard.

"Don't answer my phone," Rebekah choked out, weakly gasping for air. She held her hand out. "Give it to me. I don't trust you using a phone to speak to anyone except your Aunt Freya from now on."

Hope sighed, begrudgingly handing the phone back. "You just came back from the dead. Do you really think you're in the mood to be speaking to Dr. Saltzman right now?"

"Trust me, darling, we go way back." Rebekah slid the call button, holding the phone up to her ear. "Rebekah Mikaelson speaking... Yes, I have Hope with me right now... What's happening with that map?"

It was easy to forget that her own aunt had been a student of Dr. Saltzman's at one point. Hope sighed, reaching into her pocket for her own phone. Admittedly, she wasn't supposed to have one, but Uncle Kol had always enjoyed bending the rules.

"Yes, I understand," Rebekah responded. "We'll be there as soon as we can."

As Rebekah went to hang up the phone, Hope looked up. "I have to go back to the school, don't I?"

"Well, grand theft auto isn't as bad as turning a werewolf into a hybrid -- so yes, you'll be going back to your regularly scheduled classes," Rebekah responded. She reached for her purse before noticing the disappointed look on Hope's face. "What's wrong? When you were younger, all you wished for was to go to a school for supernaturals. Your father didn't donate three million dollars to the school out of the goodness of his heart."

Hope simply shrugged in response. "All I 'wished for,' was to have friends that knew what I was going through; but no one does. I thought I wanted to be surrounded by supernaturals because it would be where I fit in the most; but ever since Mom died, it's like I would give anything to be human for a day."

"Being a human doesn't protect you from death, love," Rebekah whispered, running a hand through Hope's auburn waves. Only a few shades darker than that of Rebekah's late mother, Esther. The Original Witch -- before she'd tried to slaughter half her family.

"My mom died because she was a hybrid. My father and my uncle died because they had to get rid of a supernatural being called the Hollow that had been preying on me since I was seven years old. Those aren't issues that normal humans go through, Aunt Rebekah." Hope swallowed back tears, stinging at the burning sensation of doing so. She pushed herself off the bed to avoid crying for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. "Let's go."

The ride back to Salvatore School was relatively silent if you didn't count the blaring Frank Sinatra music. Rebekah always said she never enjoyed modern day radio; likely due to the ninety year nap Hope's father had forced her into in the 1920's.

Hope bit her lip, scrolling through Instagram and waiting for a post from Angel's account. Any sign that she was alive and not eaten by the rabid beast that was all she could hope for at the moment -- she would even be glad if she found out that Angel had blocked her. A sign that Hope hadn't been the cause of another person's death.

'Due to her often disastrous past, she has resigned herself to isolation, considering it the path that will provide the least heartbreak in her life. She sees loneliness as less of a burden... than her formative experiences of loving so deeply and losing so terribly.'

A direct quote from her psychological assessments from earlier this year. Dr. Saltzman had the students do one at the beginning of every school year. This was the first time she'd managed to prove the files wrong.

"Is this the part where I apologize?" Hope raised her eyebrows, eyes flitting over to see her aunt's reaction.

"Hope, I was friends with your mother. She knew what it meant to apologize when she knew she was wrong," Rebekah responded, not taking her eyes off the road. "I would hope you didn't learn how to apologize from your father."

"How could I?" She muttered in response, despite knowing very well that Rebekah had supernatural hearing. "He died when I was fourteen and he only spoke to me for two years of my life."

"Your father never learned what it meant to love someone unconditionally." Rebekah seemed to spit the words out as if they were poison. For a brief moment, Rebekah's eyes become glassy, the street lights highlighting her tears.

Hope dropped the conversation before it became it became more intense. Unlike the rest of her family members, Rebekah had always been the person who defended Klaus in Hope's presence. Kol and Davina had never held back when it came to insulting him -- and though Hope couldn't blame them, that didn't mean she was happy about it.

As the gates of the Salvatore School began to open, Hope braced herself for the the endless judgement that came with what she had done. Even stepping inside of the school made her feel as though she were trespassing, entering somewhere she never felt like she belonged.

The Salvatore School: a school for witches, werewolves, and vampires, yet couldn't fit in a tribrid. On paper, it would've made sense.

The two girls were immediately greeted with Dr. Saltzman, his daughters, Raphael, and Kaleb. The diversity in greetings was almost comedic. Dr. Saltzman looked largely disappointed, and slightly shocked by Rebekah's presence. Clearly whatever past they had was complicated, to say the least.

As if reading Hope's mind, Dr. Saltzman stated, "You tried to kill me."

"Your friends killed my brothers and your attempts on Nik and Elijah's life were innumerable. I'm here for Hope's protection, not yours." Rebekah spat, almost disgusted by Dr. Saltzman's reaction. "I will apologize for nothing."

Josie stepped forward, shocked. "You tried to kill my dad?"

"Succeeded, really," Rebekah shrugged. An amused look comes to her face as Josie steps in front of her father protectively. "Love, please. All of my brothers are dead -- rest in peace -- and I am a step closer to becoming human. What would I gain from murdering this poor old man?"

"You're Rebekah Mikaelson," Kaleb stepped forward in awe. "I've read about you in the books -- you and your brother. You guys are, like, the founding fathers of vampirism. Why would you want to become human?"

A sad look crosses Rebekah's face, though it disappears as quickly as it comes. Before she can respond to Kaleb's school boy crush, Lizzie scoffs. "Really? So we're just gonna let Hope off the hook after she literally almost exposed an entire school forsupernatural? All because she brought her stupid aunt."

Hope's eyes began to glow gold, signaling her werewolf gene to step forward. She flashed them at Lizzie as she took a step forward. "Don't say that about my family."

"Guys, we have bigger issues to deal with right now," Raphael pointed out. He walked back the map, pointing toward the town Angel and Hope had met at. "I was watching the map earlier. Trying to figure out what was going on, and what those spots were. I saw a really bright light" -- he glanced up at Hope. The stronger the supernatural abilities, the brighter the light -- " leave Mystic Falls and head to this town. A couple hours later, I saw one of the darkened areas leave the border of Statera and followed you, Hope."

"It wasn't following me. It was following Angel," Hope explained.

"Yes, Kol, I was sure to check that she was human," Rebekah said into her phone. After a moment, she sighed, setting the phone on the table and turning the camera on. A group video chat appeared and Rebekah turned the camera to face Hope. "Say hello to your niece."

She turned her head to see the faces of her Aunt Davina, Aunt Freya and Uncle Kol. Hope's last living family members. She raised her eyebrows to greet them, putting on a tight smile. "Hi, everyone."

"There's our little troublemaker," Kol greeted. "Now, tell me, how exactly did you meet this girl? And why a human? There's always so dramatic."

"Don't mind him, Kol's just saying that because he eats every human he comes into contact with," Rebekah muttered. She turned to Hope for a brief moment. "It's one of the reasons Davina's died so many times."

"That was a fault of a hex, not I," He argued. "And if we're keeping track of dead body counts, exactly how many men did our befallen Niklaus kill on your behalf?"

Hope flinched at the mention of her father. "Her name was Angel. I met her through Instagram, I used the location tags."

Part of Hope felt guilty that Aunt Davina even had to hear this story. She had told Hope stories about a boy named Tim, who she'd met when she was around fifteen; a boy who Hope's father had killed because she had had the nerve to stand up to him. Davina had once told Hope that she regretted ever reaching out to Tim again -- how if she had just avoided going to one of his concerts in the French Quarter, he might've survived.

Yes, Hope had heard all of the horror stories that came with falling in love with a human; for a brief moment, she didn't care. All she wanted was to feel normal for once. To have someone that didn't look at her like a freak. The tribrid; the daughter of Klaus Mikaelson; granddaughter of the Original witch; the girl who was destined to never fit in, no matter how hard she tried.

"Would it be fair to consider her human?" Freya questioned, "If she's being protected by this creature, she may descend from witches."

"If there were supernaturals living in Statera, the map would've shown us," Hope responded. She bit her lip, staring down at the map and tracing the dark border that had grown, surrounding Statera and making it that of a fortress.

Lizzie shrugged. "Or you could've messed up the spell."

"This spell has worked every other time we've needed to track down a new recruit. Why would it be an issue now?" Hope sighed, covering her face. "Look, do you guys remember the Vietnamese legend about the Unsullied? The supernatural guards who were supposed to protect their people during the Dark Ages? It said that they disappeared, but their owners left on boats, right? Maybe they came here."

"But why Virginia?" Davina questioned. "If they wanted to protect their families from armies and supernatural species, why choose a town an hour away from the birthplace of the Original vampires? Why choose a place so close to the water that it could be attacked without a moments hesitation?"

"The logistics don't matter right now," Josie pointed out. "What matters is that we need to go to Statera and see what's going on."

"What? And risk your lives?" Rebekah raised her eyebrows. "No. My niece is not going to fight one of those beasts again."

"We kind of don't have a choice," Hope hissed. "I need to know she's still alive."

Kol cut in, his voice cold and harsh. "Hope. Your survivor's guilt is not an excuse for putting yourself in harm's way."

"Didn't we kill you?" Dr. Saltzman murmured before shaking his head. "Hope's right. Statera is an hour away from Salvatore School. We need to make sure we know what's going on there, and whether or not those monsters are a threat to us."

Lizzie scoffed. "Yeah, let's all listen to Hope. The reason we're in this position in the first place."

Hope grabbed the phone and hung up before her family members could retaliate. Rebekah bared her fangs at the blonde witch, as if daring her to keep going. Hope reached into her pocket, grabbing Dr. Saltzman's car keys, throwing them in his direction.

"Enough with the family drama. Let's go."

[writingwhywhywhy]

Derailed Chapter 4

5 and a half years ago.....

You and Dean had been gliding through a beautiful honeymoon phase. There were a few fights here and there. None of them were like the fight you were having right now. "Last time I checked I was an adult Dean!" You shouted

"Well as an adult you should have known how stupid it was to make that move was!" Dean shouted back

"THAT WAS THE ONLY MOVE I COULD HAVE MADE TO SAVE YOUR LIFE!" You screamed back

"THAT MOVE WAS THE WRONG GODDAMN MOVE AND YOU KNOW IT!" Dean screamed back

"YOU ARE ACTING LIKE I KILLED SOMEONE" You yelled

"YOU ALMOST DID!" Dean yelled back

"YOU KNOW WHAT I DON'T NEED THIS! I DO GREAT ON MY OWN!" You screamed as you ran to your room, leaving Dean stunned and silent

You started packing what little you owned into a duffel bag, ignoring any and all tears appearing in your eyes. "Don't go." Dean said causing you to jump

"Why should I stay if you're just going to second guess every single decision I make?" You asked wiping away a few tears while keeping your back to him

Dean wrapped himself around you. "You think I could live without you baby?" He asked

"You were doing just fine before I arrived." You said

"I was. Then you changed it all by walking into my life." He replied

"Then why were you fighting with me about my decision to save you?" You asked

"I told you. I really can't live without you." He said.

You turned around and kissed him. "Well your bag is packed, so I think you should change rooms." He said after you pulled apart

"What room should I move to?" You said trying to be coy

Dean picked you up and you wrapped your legs around him. "Let me show you." He said before carrying you to his room.

He laid you on his bed. "Too bad I have to get up and get my bag." You said

"That can wait." He said kissing you again.

Three years ago.....

You had spent a lovely day with Jackson and Hope at some park. Haley, Klaus, and Elijah had handled some vampires who thought that they were up and coming. Jackson didn't want to hunt and murder vampires, and Elijah had asked you to help protect Hope. He said you would know the signs of any vampires coming, but you knew he was being overprotective in a keep you out of danger way. So you let it slide. The last thing you wanted to do was remind the Mikaelsons that you use to be a hunter.

You were walking to the kitchen and your heart broke. You could hear Elijah and Haley laughing. You cursed yourself. They obviously were friends. Elijah would never send you away  just to spend alone time with Haley. You wouldn't have been a great distraction to keep Jackson busy. You knew all of this, but your brain screamed it all at you anyways/

You shook your head and entered the kitchen. Haley had her hand laying on Elijah's arm. Kill Bill sirens played in your head. You took a breath. It was probably explainable, but they were leaning too close together for your liking. The green eyed monster roared inside of you, but you were fighting it every single step of the way. "Hey" you said

"Hey." Elijah replied

You wished they had broken apart like two teenagers being caught making out. They had the nerve to stay exactly as they were. If you had been willing to stand there all day, you knew they would stay glued to each other. You felt a scream building inside of you. "Jackson and Hope were wonderful today! How was it here?" You asked in place of screaming.

"Great. The problem was handled relatively quickly." Haley said, still smiling from the joke, with her hand still on Elijah's arm.

At that moment you wished either Haley would disappear or that your jealousy would. Unfortunately for you neither would, so you did your best to ignore your jealousy. What to say? "Hope found the cutest butterfly and chased after it. She said something like she wanted her daddy to paint it. It's so hard to believe she is only three. I mean she seems to grow by three years each day." You decided to ramble on about everyone's favorite subject.

Haley smiled at the thought of Hope. Please continue this conversation you begged both of them silently. Yet again, today you were disappointed. They just let your ramble hang in the air for a minute before it fell. You didn't know what you wanted to happen, but you knew you wanted out of this moment. You were stuck watching two people perfectly made for each other glued together, and one of them happened to be your boyfriend.

You wished you had taken Jackson up on his offer of a beer. You had for some foolish reason missed Elijah, and you had forgotten he had Haley to keep him company. If you had taken the beer Jackson had offered, you would be laughing with a friend while Elijah and Haley had some alone time. Then you remembered that the base of your relationship with Elijah stemmed from sex as a moving on technique and it could end anytime. He could ask you to leave right now and you would have nothing to stand on.

The moment dragged on for what felt like eternity. Finally Haley decided to go home to Jackson and Hope. You finally felt like you could breathe again."So what was that?" Elijah started

"What was what?" You tried to play it off

"Y/N you know exactly what I meant." Elijah growled

You shrugged. The next thing you registered was Elijah pushing you against the wall and staring deep into your eyes. "You need to be honest with me. Haley was trying to be nice." Elijah said

"That was nice? I tried to start a conversation with her but both of you let it dry up. I understand that you guys were made for each other but you don't have to rub it in my face.  The fact that you sent me off to babysit her husband while the two of you had alone time. You could just tell me to leave. " You replied

Elijah stared into your eyes. You regretted being that honest. You could have lied. "You were jealous?" He asked almost shocked

"Well you two seem to complete each other." You said with a bit of anger

"So are you afraid I am just going to ask you to leave whenever Haley says she wants me?" He asked joking

Somehow he had managed to hit exactly what you felt on the head. "I will never ask you to leave. I promise." He said kissing you.

"Do you think you can keep that promise?" You asked once he pulled away

"You know what I don't know if I can, so I guess I should ask you to leave now." He said with a smile.

"Fine. I will leave." You said with a bigger smile

The two of you laughed a bit. A lot of your jealousy was put to rest. But a part of you had this nagging feeling that he might break his promise. He wouldn't be the first.

[sunshineandfangs]

Please tell me there’s a part 2 to end of the beginning I love it

Yes, it’s your lucky day! Happy Holidays! 

End of the Beginning Pt. 2

Warnings: Klaus being Klaus

Caroline sat stiff in her chair eyeing the Original across from her. It was amazing how she could feel more off balance and wary sitting at the gorgeous mahogany table in his dining room than hanging from chains in his literal dungeon/torture chamber.

She could acknowledge how diabolical it was; placing her in a setting that she knew was wrong but providing no physical reminders to justify the fear, nothing that told her to brace for pain or guard against manipulation. Even the cloak of power that surrounded him was somehow suppressed from a churning, endless abyss to a light fog.

Worst of all nothing about his body language or eyes suggested anything monstrous either, he was all charming geniality.

“Drink?” He asked, politely tipping a decanter in her direction.

She managed to refrain from pursing her lips, though she knew not even an ounce of tension had bled out of her.

“No. Thank you,” she replied with a short shake of her head.

His shoulders gave an elegant roll.

“Suit yourself, love.”

He poured himself a drink, setting the decanter aside, and took a sip. One swallow. Two. Lowering the glass to the table, Klaus eyed her with nothing but curiosity displayed.

“New Orleans is a gorgeous city isn’t it? Have you gotten the chance to see much of it? Food, music, art, culture; it has a bit of everything.”

Caroline couldn’t quite the control the way her brow twitched, though she did her best to smooth it out. Was this his idea of a joke?

“Its hospitality left a lot to be desire, I’m afraid.” Not the smartest response, though she did manage to keep all the venom from her tone, leaving it all sweet honey and Southern Belle.

She watched him carefully and yet nothing but mild amusement crossed his features. It wasn’t even the condescending or indulgent type. A chill crawled down her spine. No one spoke of control and the Original Hybrid in the same sentence, unless it was a comment on its lack. And yet here she sat before him utterly terrified because of it. There was nothing more frightening than the monster that thinks.

He interrupted the spiral of her thoughts. “That’s a shame. Perhaps, I can show you around? I am something of an expert after all.”

Klaus actually appeared genuine and politely unassuming. Friendly even. Like she said, terrifying.

“O-oh, that’s…kind of you to offer but-”

“Nonsense, sweetheart. I insist.”

And there it was, the most minuscule hint of an edge to his tone. It would almost be a relief if it didn’t send some part of her hindbrain squealing in primal fear. She swallowed.

“Well, if you insist.” She tried to infuse the tiniest bit of mocking into her tone, but it mostly fell flat.

“Wonderful-” Klaus cut off for a moment, flicking his eyes to a spot behind her. “Brother,” he nodded.

She didn’t think she could stiffen any further, but she managed. Craning her neck, she turned enough to make out the figure of Elijah, Klaus still looming in her peripheral.

“Niklaus. Miss Forbes.” With an elegant incline of his head, he acknowledged each of them. One hand in his slacks’ pocket he made a slight wave with the other, a casual gesture. “I couldn’t help but overhear my brother’s plans. Perhaps, Miss Forbes, you would like a second perspective on New Orleans?”

Well, fuck.

She darted her eyes between the two of them, but neither gave anything away. It was impossible to tell if this was part of the plan or if each brother had their own agenda. Considering the horror stories about the Originals, it could easily be both.

Two Originals were certainly scarier than one, but maybe they could distract one another? It seemed like a somewhat stupid thought, they were each a thousand years old after all, but who knew? Caroline would look for any advantage she could find.

That didn’t help her now though. However much she wanted only one Original, no Originals being the ideal, her choice would not be refusal. Sure, she could resist, but to what end? She’d only look belligerent and defensive and he’d force his way in one way or another. Either without her notice, definitely the worst option, or by overruling her decision.

Thankfully, the brothers indulged her pause, one just long enough to stray into awkward territory. Her lips curled into a tiny smile, as honest as she could manage.

“I’m sure you have much to offer.”

To the casual observer the trio appeared like a group of friends, perhaps more with the way Klaus kept a guiding hand on the small of her back. Of course, they were anything but.

So it was a shock when they snuck under her guard every so often. Elijah with his impressive repository of facts, history, and exploits. Klaus with his dry wit that was unexpectedly quite funny. They’d trade off every so often too. Elijah making a humorous quip while Klaus regaled her with some fascinating tale long lost to the annals of time.

They were disgustingly, disturbingly charming.

She understood now how so many could fall thrall to the Originals. Even as she rebuilt her walls every time they slipped, she still found her defenses faltering more often as the day progressed.

Later, when they returned to the compound, she was shown to a stunning guest room. With its intricately carved wooden furniture and attached bathroom with marble counters and giant tub, she could almost forget it was nothing but a beautiful cage.

“I will see you tomorrow, Caroline.” He must have sensed her confusion for he continued. “You did say you were here for Christmas, did you not? There’s much more for me to show you.”

“Then I shall see you tomorrow. Goodnight.” She all but shoved him from the room, which he obliged to her relief.

It was only she and Klaus this time, and he continued to guide her with his hand on her back. He brought her to some surprising locations, ones she would have gone to with her mom, but not ones she predicted he would bother with. Locations like Jackson Square for candlelight caroling and the levee for giant bonfires. Others were more expected, like the Orpheum to see the Nutcracker and a tour of St. Louis Cathedral.

Yet when evening fell, Caroline found herself standing before something relatively simple, but gorgeous all the same. It was one of the larger decorated trees, hundreds of feet of white-yellow lights wrapped around its trunk and branches until it seemed to be made of a sea of stars.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” He murmured in her ear.

“Yes,” she breathed softly, unwilling to disturb the odd peace of the moment.

Days passed in much the same vein. Though neither brother spent quite as much time with her as Klaus did on Christmas, they continued to be creepily nice and accommodating. Before she knew it, Caroline felt the first stirrings of fondness for the two brothers, particularly Klaus, and she knew she couldn’t let this go on. Frankly, it was frightening that she couldn’t even pinpoint the moment her guard fell.

Steeling herself, Caroline marched into the kitchen. Only Klaus sat there this morning, a relief if she was honest. As counterintuitive as it was, Klaus was the one she felt more comfortable confronting.

Banishing her wandering thoughts, she slammed her hand on the table, letting the mild sting ground her.

“Enough,” she snarled.

Klaus raised an eyebrow, looking completely unruffled.

“Is something wrong, sweetheart?”

Unlike the first time they were at this table, Caroline could actually read beneath the genial facade. Unfortunately, she couldn’t tell if he was just letting her do so. And she couldn’t afford the rabbit hole such pondering would take her down. It would only shake her confidence.

“Stop toying with me, she bit out. “Ask your questions and end this. Just kill me if that’s what you plan.”

Klaus leaned back in his seat, at least giving her the courtesy of dropping his overly polite mask.

“Do you really think that low of me?”

“Yes,” she hissed.

He chuckled, vanishing from his seat across the table and reappearing in front of her before she could even blink.

“Such a fierce, clever little vampire,” he muttered.

She just narrowed her eyes.

He took his face in his hand, stroked his thumb across her cheek.

“I’ve looked into you of course, Caroline Forbes. By all accounts you are a fairly normal young vampire. Born in Mystic Falls, and yet not a trace of you when I was there.”

“I left after I turned. You must have just missed me.” She said this with a deadpan tone more concerned with the sensation of his hand on her face. A large part of her was still wary, but a tiny portion was enjoying it. Had he managed to burrow under her skin so easily?

“And the compulsion? Your father was William Forbes.”

She nodded, skin brushing against his palm. “Yes, he taught me how to resist it.”

Klaus let out a thoughtful hum, clearly having inferred all of this over the past several days. His eyes bored into hers, dark and intense, but oddly not particularly threatening. 

She was sure that could change.

“Let’s try this again, love. What do you know of the Originals?” His pupils didn’t dilate in the telltale sign of compulsion, but she took a breath to answer all the same. Perhaps, he’d let her go after. One way or another.

“Not much. Only the details my mother managed to gather from the sidelines and the rumors all vampires eventually catch wind of.” As she spoke, Caroline monitored his expression carefully, hoping she could catch something should he decide to act. “You’re the first of your kind. Created by a spell and impossibly stronger and faster than any other vampires.” Caroline hesitated before daring to add one more thing. “You sacrificed one of my childhood friends to become a hybrid.”

Klaus had watched her impassively as she spoke, but a dark smirk curled his lips as she mentioned Elena.

“The doppelgänger? Oh, she’s very much alive, sweetheart.”

[white-queen-lacus]

The Originals 4x12

My God!! What an episode!! I’ve been missing for few weeks so I haven’t had the chance to comment the previous two episodes of The Originals, but now here I am. I’ve just finished watching 4x12 and, guys... really, this season has the potential of a final season well, I remember that the finale was thought like it was a series finale because the renewal was still uncertain, but the good news is that we now for sure that in the next season we’ll have a teenager Hope.

I want to say just a few things regarding this story: I ABSOLUTELY LOVE SUMMER FONTANA. She is a perfect, brilliant little child with an amazing talent. The way she portrays both Hope and the Hollow is extraordinary. I know that she won’t be in the next season and this makes me really sad because not only she has proven to be the core of the cast and a wonderful little actress, but also this will mean that, unless JP does the Academy spin-off with Hope, Lizzie and Josie as children, the only way we could see her will be by flashbacks. Anyway, there is still an episode left, but I really hope and wish our littlest wolf Summer a brilliant career after this experience! <3

Well, coming back IT, in this episode we have seen how the power of Inadu is beyond every expectation. I have already said that I don’t like her at all. She is PURE EVIL, no more no less. The way she didn’t even blink when Vincent announced her that her own mother had given him the spell to trap her eternally made my spine chill. This is the very first time in both The Vampire Diaries and The Originals that we see a character who is utterly evil. Because more or less all the villains in the show had a background story which explained their actions. Inadu is basically Kai Parker with the Devil’s power. And Kai was a self-admitted psycho who didn’t hesitate to slaughter his whole family, pregnant twin sister, siblings, almost killing her nieces, only because his mind was f?cked up. At least Kai was hilarious... Inadu is not funny. When I read the early scripts about her character, she, as Samir, told Vincent that she was a god. I was curious because after having had the Hell and the Devil in TVD, it seemed to me that in TO we would have had another kind of supernatural beings. Now, I am perfectly fine with the mythology of wolves, because we have finally known how the curse was created, but Inadu is a boring child with an insatiable hunger. She has not a definite goal like the other villains, she wanted to be reborn in the real world and being worshiped. Now, using the body and powers of Hope, who is the strongest witch ever seen, what? I don’t know the sense of her actions. Also, not that she has been saying something more about her motivations... Idk, like “Fine, I want to make my bloodline to pay for the sins of who killed me”, like Cade in TVD... no, she isn’t interested in this, she is madly fine with destroying everything, everyone, being worshiped and satisfying her endless hunger for power. Well, but dearie... what are your motivations?? She is only pure evil and she enjoys it. Well, this makes her a boring character, to me. I don’t know, I was expecting more... that’s why I am not satisfied with her character... and the only thing I want is her to be annihilated once for good, no matter what. 

Also... connected to this: I honestly thought that the Hollow’s existence was somehow related to Vincent’s unborn child, but this was a red herring. Perhaps originally her intention was to use the child to be reborn, but she failed because of Vincent... mh... anyway, Vincent’s character is amazing! I am not a huge fan of him, to be honest, but he is one hell of a witch, guys. The way he pronounces his spells, his posture and gestures... wow! My only regret is that he has never wanted to collaborate with Freya. But one thing I admire about him is his integrity. He is strong-willed and determined to do whatever has to be done in order to protect his city, scheming plans even risking his own life.

Speaking of which, I have absolutely adored seeing the Mikaelsons, Marcel and Sofya working together under Vincent’s orders. They have finally understood that the only way to face this danger is working together.  I am very happy for Sofya and Marcel (yes, the fact that Marcel and Rebekah are fantastic together doesn’t help but Marcel has become wiser and realistic and his words are foreseeing that Rebekah will always choose her family first). I’ve never been a great fan of Sofya, but I think that she and Marcel deserve happiness and they’re truly in love (I’ve never seen Marcel so determined *only for Davina* and Sofya’s tears when she awoke were really sincere ç_ç). Let’s pray this to be not a death flag... ç_ç JP, this is for you:

BTW, let’s talk about a story... WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO HAYLIJAH?????? Ok, I’ve read many Klayley comments happy with what happened to them, but guys... mh... I dare say to wait for another episode before talking. MN once said that Elijah and Hayley are crossed lovers (I’ve always said that they are the Yume of TO) and they would have been through many difficulties in this season but he never said that they aren’t one for each other. I’ve always liked thaet fact that both Klaus and Hayley share a very good relationship and go along well, but they are more very good friends. I can’t see tension between them, but more a mutual, silent understanding. Is this love? Perhaps it is a form of love, but we have seen Klaus in love and it was with Camille. Now, I’ve been Klaroline since season 2 of TVD, but Klamille was love. On Hayley’s side, she admitted that Jackson would have been better, nor Klaus. In her mind, she saw Jackson, not Klaus. But apart from this, Hayley said that she is not scared of Elijah, because she knew his nature, his impulses, she knew his dark nature and she loved him because/despite this. This is a very important fact to consider, because Hayley has never refused this side of Elijah. She knew what he was, she had always known. But seeing and feeling herself his true nature is another fact. She is not scared for herself, she is scared because she doesn’t want her daughter to feel that being in love with a monster capable of doing inenarrable atrocities is normal. To be honest, this sounds quite odd, especially when everybody in the Mikaelson family is that kind of person, and the fact that Klaus talked to Hope with his heart on his hand about his past is indicative of how Hayley hasn’t realized how strong her daughter is and how Elijah loves both.  Speaking of this... ç____ç My heart hurt so much when I saw Elijah’s attempts to talk to Hayley... and I really appreciated that both Klaus and Rebekah tried to persuade Hayley of his goodness. Because Elijah is good. And no matter what, if the situation requires him to step back, he is ready to do it, in order to let Hayley and Hope be happy. His discourse to Klaus about taking Hope and Hayley and going away from NoLa... ç___ç I wonder how and what will happen.... I have the feeling that the spell will require more than the end of Always and Forever... perhaps it will erase the memory of everybody? This is the only way I can imagine Hayley and Klaus let their daughter go to Mystic Falls and the four of them (hello Kol, I am happy with your happy ending but.. -_________-”) to forget who they are (in terms of being relatives)? OMG.

Anyway... final part: “Before you were born, I was a very different creature. I was cruel and I would revel in the terror which I inspired in others. But Hope, from the moment I saw you, I wanted nothing more than to be worthy of being your father. But I’m afraid, Hope, I am afraid without you I’ll return to the darkness. So I need you. I need you to fight”. This is Klaus Mikaelson and Hope is his heart and soul. I can’t say how much I was happy to hear these words... I bet that Camille would be proud of him. And I am quite sure that these words will help Hope (who seems totally lost in Inadu now) to re-awake and re-taking control of her body, mind and soul. Because she is connected to her parents and to the undying and infinite love that they have for her. ç_ç<3 

Let’s wait for the final episode!! >__<

[teamkaiforever]

MEET THE PARENTS 

                                     - PART II

Kai Parker x Reader    (x Klaus Mikaelson & Caroline Forbes) WORD COUNT : 2 098 AU : Kai is dating Klaus & Caroline’s daughter. ! PART I of the story … *not my gif _______________________________________________ It’s been a few months since Kai & Y/N had started dating. Her family was perfectly dis-functional as she always corrected him every time he called the Mikaelsons perfect’. They fought , turned on each other but when push come to shove - you could always trust a Mikaelson to back another Mikaelson.  Kai felt more at place with them than he had ever felt in his own family. Over the past few months he had become really good friends with her uncle Kol and her aunts Freya and Rebekah. Y/N other uncle Elijah wasn’t around as much lately but he was pretty cool too… the only one who didn’t like him at all was Y/N’s mother Caroline who she still didn’t trust him. Kai had spent the past few days out of town and could barely wait to see Y/N. They had never been away from each other for more than a day and he missed her more than he ever thought was possible to miss someone. He stopped by his apartment for a quick shower and a change of clothes before he headed for the Mikaelson’s. He fought the urge to sneak directly into Y/N’s room and surprise her. Instead he walked to the front door and rang the bell. A few moments later Caroline opened the door , reluctantly letting him in. “Hi.” Kai said a nervous smile on his face. Caroline rolled her eyes , clearly she still didn’t like him. “Y/N , your boyfriend is here.” Caroline called out and started to walk out of the room. Kai grabbed her hand and she turned around , an irritated look on her face. “What do you want Kai?” “To talk. Please… ?” he said , letting go of her hand. She didn’t say a word but didn’t back away either. Kai took that as a yes. “Look , I know you think I am a monster, I’ve done some awful things and I’m not proud of that. "he said , taking a breath , his hands slightly shaking. ”…  but I really DO care and love Y/N and I’d never do anything to hurt her. Why can’t you believe this ?“ Caroline started at him as if he had slapped her or something. "I don’t believe for a second that you’ve changed Kai. You are still the same sociopathic murder who killed his entire family. My daughter might’ve fallen for your ’good guy’ act, but I know who you are so don’t mistake me tolerating your presence for ‘liking’ or 'accepting’ you as a part of Y/N’s life.” Caroline said , a hint of anger in her voice. Ouch. he thought. Her words hurt him and he fought the urge to lash out , she was Y/N’s mother after all , even if she hated his guts. Kai looked at the ground , swallowing hard. “You love Y/N, I get it. She is your daughter after all ..and I don’t blame you for not liking me. Maybe you are right and deep down I am still the same person who did all those awful things , but I am trying to be a better person for Y/N. She is changing me…” he said trailing off. “I love her. I never thought I’d find love or someone who would accept and love me back… and I’d never let anything happen to her.” ***    continues after the cut      ***

Y/N had rushed towards the living room after her mother called out to tell her Kai was there , but when she got close to the door and heard them talking she stopped abruptly near the door , listening to every word and trying not to cry after hearing her mother’s words towards Kai. Y/N felt broken and she could only imagine how he felt… but instead of lashing out to her , he had stayed calm and tried to convince her once again that he is changing. The honestly in Kai’s voice was crushing her heart. After all this time her mother still couldn’t see there was good in Kai. Y/N felt a presence behind her and turned around to find her father Klaus looking at her with a worried expression on his face. She quickly wiped away the tears and put on a smile on her face before stepping into the room. Kai’s face lit up when he saw her , while her mother looked terrified , probably suspecting Y/N had listened in on the conversation. Y/N ran towards Kai and jumped into his arms. “Hey..” he said , a smile on his face. “I missed you so much !” she said pulling him into a kiss. He must’ve sensed something was wrong because after she pulled away , a worried expression had replaced his smile but didn’t say anything. Y/N didn’t even glance at her mother. At the moment she was so upset with her , it was better not to talk. Kai wrapped his arms around her , hugging her tight. She could see her dad standing at the end of the hallway watching them. “Come with me , I want to show you something …and you can tell me all about your trip.”  she said taking his hand , giving her dad a small smile.Was Kai imagining it or were Y/N’s eyes a little red ? She was happy to see him but clearly was upset about something… He realised she must’ve heard him talking to Caroline but said nothing. When Y/N was ready , she’d talk to him. Right now all he wanted was to be with her. He wrapped wrapped his arms around her from behind and gently kissed her neck. “ I love you .. ” he whispered in her ear.Y/N lead him upstairs down one of the long corridors , turning left then right then left again. She stopped in front of a double wooden door and spin around to face him. “This is my special place…” she said excitement in her yes , and wrapping her hand around the doorknob twisting it open , leading him inside. Kai looked around. The room was big , light pouring inside through the tall windows, the curtains open just enough for the right amount of light to enter. Paintings hung up on the walls - mostly scenery but also portraits of her relatives. On the left there was a large desk buried under parchment papers , sketch books and art supplies ; on the right was a large shelf , jars with paint in them - every color possible , also empty jars used to hold paintbrushes. A small sofa near the window with a couple of books on it and another sketchpad. He turned around a few times , taking it all in … Y/N ’s special place was her art studio. WOW he mouthed. Y/N watched Kai’s expression while he was looking around the room.He looked stunned. She followed his gaze , currently checking out the sketches on the desk. “Those are incredible!” he said , Y/N felt her cheeks blush. Kai suddenly spotted her open sketchpad , gently lifting it up “Is that … is that me?”   Y/N smiled , dropping her gaze for a moment before looking back at him , her cheeks rosey. “Yeah… I spent the past few days in here making them.” she said nervously. Kai knew Y/N loved art , a characteristic inherited by her father , but had no idea how good she really was. The drawings and paintings were so life like , almost like pictures. “That reminds me …” Kai said reaching into his jacket’s pocket. “I got you something.” He pulled out a small package and handed it to her. Y/N took it and unwrapped it carefully , her eyes litting up when she saw the set of oil paint brushes he had gotten her. “ Oh my .. Kai ! These are amazing ! Thank you ! ” Y/N said tracing her fingers across the brush hairs. Kai loved seeing her smile. For her it is worth trying to be better. he thought. He cupped her face and pressed his lips against hers kissing her deeply. “I love you.” he told her gently rubbing his nose with hers. Y/N smiled and pulled him into another kiss. “I love you too Kai…and nothing is ever going to change that.”  she said , her smile slowly falling away. Y/N started thinking about what her mother had said to Kai… Kai noticed and pulled her into a hug. “You heard me and Caroline earlier , didn’t you?” he asked , Y/N nodded. Suddenly she felt like her voice had gotten lost somewhere.  "She is just worried , that’s all. I don’t have the best track record …“ he trailed off. Y/N looked up , Kai’s expression was unreadable. She knew her mother’s words had hurt him more than he let on. "What she said … Kai , its not true. You are not that person anymore and even if you were - it’s not going to change the way I feel about you. Nothing is ever going to change that. ” she said , her hand on his cheek. “I love you and I will love you … always & forever.” Always & forever…  That was the family vow of the Mikaelsons and they stuck to it no matter what. Kai smiled. “Always & forever.”  he repeated. ***  *later on that night* Klaus knocked on Y/N’s bedroom door before walking in. “Just came to check up on you and say goodnight …” he said opening the door. Y/N had curled up on her bed , her eyes red and puffy. Klaus sighed and walked inside. He sat on the bed next to her gently rubbing her back. “Am I right to assume , you are crying because of  your mother’s conversation with Kai?” Y/N didn’t say anything , just nodded and sat on the bed unable to face her father. “Why does she hate him so much? She is not even willing to give him a chance…”  she said , tears streaming down her face. “I had doubts about him at first too , but in the end he won me over. We are not so different , Kai and I.” he said , brushing a tear away from her face. “Your mother will come around , it just will take time.” Klaus said , his voice reassuring. “How do you know?” “Because Caroline hated me when we first met. ” a smile flashing across his face. “I hurt a lot of her friends , more than once… but she eventually forgave me for all of it.” Y/N loved talking to her father. He understood her in a way no one else in their family did , somehow he always knew the right thing to say to her to make her feel better. “Thank you , dad.”  she said wrapping her hands around Klaus and pulling him into a hug. “Knock , knock …” Y/N turned towards the door to find her mom standing there. Caroline looked sad. “Can we talk ?” she asked , a nervous smile on her face. Y/N glanced at her dad and then at her mom unsure what to do. “I’ll leave you to it.” Klaus said , kissing her forehead. “Sleep well , love.” Klaus walked by Caroline and stopped for a moment , it looked as if he was telling her something. A few seconds later her mom her walked inside , sitting on her desk chair. At first none of them spoke , silence was hanging in the air. “I’m sorry.” Caroline said breaking the silence. “You are right , Kai deserves a chance , a real one …and I am willing to give it a shot. ” Y/N looked up , surprise on her face. She definitely hadn’t expected that , a part of her wondered if that’s what her dad had told Caroline before leaving. “Did dad put you up to this ?” she asked suspiciously. “It is possible that he had something to do with it , yes.” her mom replied. “You really will give Kai a chance ?” she asked wiping away the last tears off her face. Her mom simply nodded. “Yes. I can see he means a lot to you and that you love him …” Y/N got up and rushed to her mother , wrapping her hands around her without letting her finish. “Thank you so much , mom ! It really means more to me than you can imagine.” _____________________ MASTERLIST _____________________ ___________________________ NOTE : Yeah so , I might’ve gone all mushy with this one (I hate myself for it already) but I also have to admit I like how this one turned out. What do you guys think? Did you like it ? Tell me , I am literally dying to find out. :) Also apologies for any typos / grammar mistakes - english is my second language.

[crimsonlyinglilly]

Day 27“Please don’t go.” and 28 Fight/Flight/Freeze

I've fallen behind for whumpril so I'll be racing to finish the missing days before the month ends, so sorry as they'll be out of order, but here's Days 27 and 28.

Mother's son- Dahlia collects her son and scars three children in one go.

----

They would never have been left to go hunting on their own if they didn’t know what dangers to fight and which to run from. Finn was the oldest he had made sure both his brothers understood they had to follow his words before they left.

The woman that finds them in the woods doesn't look like a threat but Finn froze as he recognised her.

His nightmare, the monster that stole Freya, the witch, mother’s sister, his aunt, she smiled when her eyes met his and he shivered.

He was thankfully for Elijah’s too sharp eyes alway noticing a change in them for once, as he stopped and pulled Klaus behind him without a word from Finn, but Finn wanted to shout at them to run, to flee the monster that had already taken the best of them.

Instead he forced himself to move, to step in front of Elijah, to try and hide them, pointless as he felt both Elijah and Klaus lean around him to look.

“Wh-what are you doing here?” he stuttered as he forced himself to speak. 

“Ah you remembered me, that makes this easier.” She spoke like it was a normal meeting of a long missing relative as she kept smiling, looking more pleased than she did in his normal nightmares. 

“What easier?” Elijah had asked, reminding Finn this wasn’t a nightmare and his brothers were with him, Klaus who had Freya’s gold curls and was only a little younger than she had been.

Was she after him? His wondering is cut short when she speaks next and he feels a pit open beneath him.

“To claim what is mine.” she smiles at Elijah and Finn wants to scream as it hits him, the similarity between them, dark hair and eyes, the way Elijah’s features had been growing sharper as he aged; the memory of mother’s larger hands holding his to her belly, feeling the flicker of the baby underneath them and mother explained a desperate plan to get Freya back and Finn had helped with the tiny amount of magic he had, he hadn’t cared about losing the baby if he got Freya back. 

“Why shouldn’t I come for my son?” she added without looking away from Elijah.

He felt hand grab his arm as Elijah let out a whimper as he realised he was the one she apparently after, wasn’t a baby they would lose now.

Finn discovers he cares more than he thought as it hits him even if he would get Freya back that sound was going to haunt him.

“Finn?” Elijah's voice is quiet but the fear in it is loud.

Elijah had rarely spoken as a child enough that he had worried Mikael when he noticed; it wasn’t until Klaus was born that his brother’s voice bloomed, singing songs to settle the baby, telling him stories to entertain him, but Finn had rarely heard him sound scared. Angry, hurt, sad, Finn had heard and been the cause of most of them but fear was rare and around Klaus and Kol absence, Elijah never let any of his bad feelings appear on him around the babies, it was one of the many things he envied of his brother.

Finn didn’t like hearing it now.

Dahlia sighed loudly before Finn could even start to figure out how he could explain any of it.

“They wouldn’t have told you but before you were born your m- my sister cast a spell on the child within her, making you mine.” she explained simply in a way Finn couldn’t deny or soften. “My child, My son.”

There wasn’t a way to lessen it, to make what mother and Finn had done sound like anything other than the betrayal, just like Finn knew there wasn’t a way he could stop this, mother hadn’t been able to stop her taking Freya, how could Finn do anything to stop the same happening to Elijah.

But she couldn’t take him. Not now, why didn't she come when Elijah was born too small, when  Finn had needed to wake him as he forgot to breathe in his sleep, before he became the first one Klaus and Kol reached for.

Why come for him now when they would miss him?

Elijah who was always watching Finn, oh how Finn hated those dark eyes following but the idea of them being gone wasn’t acceptable.

“Now come with me.” She said without any room for argument, cutting through his spiralling thoughts, he had to do something but Finn was still frozen, stuck as it felt like Elijah’s hand was burning on his arm. Words, denials, threats lodged in his throat.

“NO!” a high voice shouted into the still air and Finn’s heart skipped a beat as he was remind of his other brother, the one who was the same age Finn was when he had watched Freya taken.

“Klaus!” Elijah yelped in surprise letting go of Finn to reach out to stop the youngest from moving but he slipped from his reach “Stop!

“YOU CAN’T TAKE HIM.” Klaus screamed at the witch as he stomped toward, doing what Finn hadn’t years ago, defending his favourite sibling.

“Why not he’s mine?” she said, clearly humouring the child.

Klaus didn’t pay any attention to her words and charged at her with a roar.

Short legs didn’t carry him far before she sweep her hand out in front of her and he was flung back with ease, yet landing oddly softly for the distance and rolling slightly.

Elijah left his side driving towards where Klaus landed, and Finn watched as Elijah was once again the brother Finn had failed to be, one that never let his own feeling get in the way of what his siblings needed, another reason she couldn’t take him, he decided to act.

He was a child last time when she stole Freya and hadn’t done anything, but here was Klaus the same age he had been fighting back.

He wasn’t a child now.

She turns from the scene of Elijah kneeling over Klaus to see him as he tightened his grip on his weapon, he just needed one hit and then he grab Klaus and run, Elijah was faster, he could get back to mother first and they could do something.

Mother had sworn to get stronger, surly in the last nine years she had grown strong enough to stop her sister this time. 

It never gets that far as pain suddenly blinds him, his hand leaving his weapon to grab at his head as he feels his knees hit the ground and the cold sink thought it, all he hears is his own screaming.

—-

Elijah’s checking over Klaus, trying not to think about the woman’s words, the way Finn had known her as soon as she appeared, the way his brother hadn’t said a thing against her.

It made sense, why mother treated him differently, why he didn’t look like mother, father and Finn. He had thought with Kol it was proof he was part of the family but he heard adults mention how Kol had father’s nose and mother looked at him in a way she didn’t look at Elijah.

Because Elijah wasn’t her son, because she had already given him away, because she didnt-hadn’t wanted Elijah at all.

He’s barely got Klaus back to his feet when the screaming starts.

He twists on his knees to see a sight that brings bile to his throat and he’ll never forget. Finn, his big brother on the ground curling in on himself as he clutched his head and screamed. It’s not hard to connect to the woman standing feet away with her hand outstretched.

“Stop!” he has to shout over Finn’s voice, “Stop it!”

“Only if you come with me.”

“Of course i’ll come,” he says as Finn’s screams die to a worst sound as he hears his brother crying from the pain, “just please,” he begs on his knees, “stop hurting him.”

He almost sobbed himself in relive as Finn’s cries stopped, Elijah tearing his eyes from the woman to watch his brother slowly recover, to make sure he was still breathing.

“Now” she beckoned, dragging his attention back to her.

He swallowed as looked between his brother before he closed his eyes and stood up. 

“Lijah, no!” Klaus' jumped to follow him from the ground, his tiny hands wrapping around to cling to his wrist as he shook his head “please don’t go.”

It hurt to pull his hand from Klaus but he had to, even if all he wanted to do was to pull his little brother into a hug and never let go.

“Elijah don’t.” Finn’s voice is rough, raw from the pain that he sounds older, but without meaning it offers Elijah reassurance that he’s doing the right thing.

Finn would be fine, he’d take Klaus back and mother would make it better for them, this was the right thing to do.

Elijah didn’t belong with them.

“Lijah, come back.” Klaus begs and Elijah curls his hand to stop the urge to reach out.

Elijah belonged with the woman, mother had made sure of that before he was born.

His hands shake curled at his side but he doesn’t turn back, he keeps his back straight as he reaches her side and her hand settles on the back of his neck.

He walks by her side, focusing on placing one foot in front of the other as he stepped further away from his brothers, from home, it was easier that way than pay any attention to the widening hole growing in his chest as he heard Klaus’ sobs and the knowledge he would never see them again, or the burning in his eyes.

“LIJAH!” Klaus’ cry pieces the air as the tears escape Elijah’s eyes but he refuses to look.

—

Klaus wakes with a gasp, the chest aching feeling following him from the dream to life.

He glares at the room around him, a world away from what that child could ever imagine.

But that child had one thing Klaus couldn’t get back, something being back in mystic falls just reminded him of it.

Even breaking the curse and making himself whole again, hadn’t fixed the empty space that had been made that day. 

Elijah had never stopped haunting him, being back in the place where he had lost him had just made the feeling stronger.

He always wonders what he would have grown to be with his brother at his side, someone who always looked at him with awe and love.

Warm dark eyes full of love, always there to give him all of his attention, the way he had never been able to upset him, never failed him in any way.

He tries to tell himself Elijah would have grown out of it, would have coldly stood by father or looked away, that he only hurts because of the memory of a kind brother who was only sweet in the easy way a child would be.

He would never know.

Sadly Elijah could only ever be that child, frozen as flawless, perfect and dead.

Klaus would take flaws and imperfection if he could have his older brother back.

[mon-amour-eternel]

Who D’ya Think You’re Kidding?

Title from I Won’t Say (I’m In Love) from Hercules, because it’s the ultimate Klaroline song.

AU/AH friends to lovers trope. Rated M, NSFW (I attempted smut...it’s only a few lines at the bottom).

In eleventh grade, Klaus’ crush on Caroline was the worst kept secret in the whole school. They were friends through the fact that they shared a locker (same one from freshman and sophomore year) and often were partners in class. He did lots of cute things and said lots of suggestive things.

But Caroline just didn’t feel the same about him as he felt about her.

So she confronted him about it.

“I’m too smart to be seduced by you.”

“Well, that’s what I like about you.”

She told him they weren’t going to be dating any time soon if ever, and let’s just stay friends, ‘kay? He’d agreed, and years later, junior year of college, they were still were.

So when Caroline got fed up with her building and asked to move into Klaus’ apartment, he agreed.

The only problem was that he kept doing cute things. She was falling for him, and she didn’t know what to do about it.

…:::....

The first time she noticed anything was the second day. She was unpacking her DVD and CD collection (adding to Klaus’ already impressive assortment).

Just as she was putting the Harry Potter series onto the shelf, her hair tie snapped and all of her hair fell around her shoulders. It was summer, hot as hell, and she was tired and sweaty from unpacking all day.

So she exclaimed, “really?” She made her tone as sarcastic and biting as she could.

Klaus’ head popped around the doorway that lead into the kitchen. “Something wrong?”

“My hair tie just broke and I don’t have any other ones,” she complained.

“Come on, don’t look so down. Have mine.” He pulled one off his wrist and waved it in the air.

“Why do you have one?” She asked as she snatched it. “Thanks.”

“No problem. I have one because I’m prepared for anything at this point.” Between her and his sisters, he would have to be.

“Oh...okay.” She smiled at him and they parted ways to what they were doing before, forgetting the encounter.

…:::.....

There were a few moments after that one, similarly forgotten.

Klaus cooked dinner, and rubbed her feet, and helped her with homework. Each little thing made her smile and wonder how she could repay him.

He wasn’t acting like he had in high school -- she hadn’t caught him sketching her, he wasn’t staring at her, and he didn’t stutter. He wasn’t walking the line between tolerable and stalker.

But he was acting like they were together, and she just didn’t understand why. He must’ve gotten over his crush at some point, right?

She wasn’t sure, and it scared her.

…:::...

Over a long weekend a month and a half after she moved in, they had a horror movie marathon. It was a tradition of theirs born from years of tormenting each other.

She insisted that some lights be kept on (even though the shadows would be freak her out.) It had gotten colder as September moved into October, so she also insisted on blankets. They sat close but not touching and she was determined to keep it that way.

Except, she hated jumpscares and every movie had one. She ended up practically in his lap, clutching his shirt and hiding her eyes. He wasn’t laughing at her -- he was just as scared. He’d always tensed up during horror movies, hating the feelings the music and suspense gave him. (She’d always had an inkling that he watched them with her to get her close. Why else would he watch them, when they scared him so much?)

“Is it gone?” She whispered. He never looked away, meaning she could count on him to not let her miss anything important.

“Yes,” he whispered back. She peeked over the blanket and saw it was just some hallway, bathed in green light.

They watched for a few more minutes until a loud clang onscreen led to a face on the screen, mouth open in a wide, disgusting grin and crazy eyes on full display. Caroline screamed and pulled the blanket over both their heads.

“I hate horror movies,” she groaned over the sound of someone being eaten.

“Honestly why are we even watching them,” he agreed. His arm was around her waist, making sure she didn’t fall, and their faces were relatively close. It was too dark to tell, but she thought he was staring at her.

She giggled. “The first time was because I triple dog dared you, and you couldn’t just say no.”

“You ended up punching me, remember that?” He laughed. “I had to wear a bag of frozen peas for almost the whole day.”

“Sorry,” she said, falling onto his chest tiredly. All of the jumping, screaming, and even scared-crying had exhausted her.

He relaxed, all tension leaving him. “Think we should turn this off and go to bed?”

Caroline asked shyly, “can we stay out here? I don’t want to be alone, or I’ll never get any sleep.”

He sighed but nodded. “Okay. Let me turn something else on real quick, though. What do we have that’s not scary?”

She knew exactly what they could turn on, but it was an embarrassing relic of her childhood. After a moment of indecision, she spoke. She trusted him not to make fun of her. She trusted him with a lot of things.

“...I brought Where’s Gary? from home.”

“The Spongebob movie?” She nodded sheepishly. He laughed. “Alright then.” He pulled the blanket off, and both were grateful that the screen was now some field where the main girl was crying and covered in blood. There was no monster, no face, and nothing scary except the girl’s crying face. (Caroline hated how Klaus’ eyes wandered over the girl's’ body, and she was feeling petty. Sue her.)

He stood up and stretched, and instantly she wished he would come back. The apartment was shadowy, and the blanket cold without him. He searched for a moment, then quickly changed the DVDs. The screen went from black to yellow, lighting up the room.

He moved back to the couch and asked, “how do you want to do this?” There was only the couch and the old man chair that didn’t recline.

“We can share,” she said, hoping she wasn’t going to do something she would regret. They were in sleep clothes (him a tee and boxer briefs, her in a tank and shorts, no bra in sight), and it would be way too easy to relive the horror stories she’d heard of friends sharing the bed. Or couch, in this case.

He raised an eyebrow but climbed in behind her. It was big enough to fit them both but small enough that they had to be moulded to each other like they were one. His arm went around her waist and held on tightly.

They laid there for a while, talking about the movies they’d seen. She was falling asleep pretty quickly though.

“You’re ridiculously comfortable,” she mumbled, snuggling backward. She didn’t even think about what her body was doing -- it had a mind of it’s own.

He said something back, but she was sleeping before it could register.

…:::....

Finals came and exhausted both of them.

They barely saw each other, just in passing. Caroline would come home to shower and eat, then go back to the library. Klaus was camped out at the table, and they’d only really waved to each other.

They’d gone summers without talking before, but it felt different that time. They’d been talking every day, whenever they both had free time, and now they weren’t.

She made it her job to talk to him, after that. Even if she didn’t really have time.

She refused to think about why, exactly, she had hated going so long not talking.

…:::....

The holidays came quick after that. Thanksgiving, they spent apart with their respective families. Caroline’s mom had stayed local, while only Elijah and Rebekah had stayed after the Mikaelson family moved to New Orleans.

But Christmas, they spent together. They’d gotten each other presents before, but always small ones.

That year was not the case.

Their tree had broken on the 22nd, leaving them without one, and all the big parts of the meal had spoiled.

It was shaping up to be a terrible Christmas. Caroline was on the verge on a mental breakdown, feeling the stress pile up more and more. She wanted a perfect Christmas, wanted everything to go to plan. (And maybe put up a mistletoe. But not for her and Klaus. Nope.)

Klaus made it all better, though. He told her they didn’t need to do things traditionally and paid for a nice meal of pizza.

When it came for exchanging presents, he’d gotten her a beautiful infinity bracelet and a pair of earring she’d seen his grandmother wear before she passed. (Which was a big deal considering his grandmother had been a rich, old-fashioned Norse lady who’d loved Caroline to bits.)

She’d gotten him a watch he’d been asking for, a set of Japanese Tombow Mono drawing pencils, and a Montblanc sketchbook (thankfully for sale). She’d wanted to get him things that were special, that he’d use. (And maybe she wanted him to sketch her, even though when he had in high school, she hadn’t liked it.)

He’d been so happy, he’d immediately started sketching and exaggeratedly checking the time every ten minutes.

She’d watched him do it and bugged him about what he was drawing for hours, heart swelling.

…:::....

In January, Klaus caught Caroline doing something she’d successfully hidden from him for years.

She was dancing, sliding around in knee high socks, and loudly singing ‘500 Miles’. All while trying to do the dishes.

She was only alerted to his presence when he slid up next to her and started drying. There was a strict no-shoes rule, so his sliding wasn’t the surprise. The surprise was that he was there at all. He was supposed to be out on a blind date (one that she’d helped him get ready for with a heavy heart and a lump in her throat that she was pretending weren’t there).

“Oh my god!” He quirked his lips, not bothered by her loud exclamation. She turned the music down so she could question him. “What are you doing here?”

“She wasn’t interested in me, so we left. What happened to you going out for the night?” He put a dish in the washer, then started on a new one.

She shrugged, also continuing her task. “Everyone cancelled. Bonnie is sick, Elena is fighting with Stefan and Damon again, and Matt had to work last minute. Wouldn’t have been fun going out by myself.”

“Well, there’s still time if you want to get dressed.”

She set the bowl down with a big smile on her face. “Really?” He was notorious for never going out to clubs. Tonight was her lucky night, if he was being serious.

“Really.”

“Oh my god, okay, hold on. I’ll be right down,” she shrieked and ran upstairs. As she was putting on her tightest dress, a small part of her brain told her she was going to have Klaus drooling before the night was over.

She forced it to shut up.

…:::....

When they came home that night, they were both drunk. Shoes were kicked off quickly, and the door accidentally slammed shut.

He stumbled into her just inside the doorway. “Sorry.”

She waved a hand. He laughed and moved to the kitchen. She followed after him, knowing if she didn’t drink some water, she’d hate herself in the morning.

He was leaning up against the counter when she finally got there. They really had too many freaking pieces of furniture for her to bump into.

She smiled at him and swayed her hips as she got a water bottle. She’d been teasing him all night.

She got a few gulps before he growled and moved closer. He pressed her up against the empty sink, arms on either side of her body. She set her bottle down, and rested her hands on his shoulders. “Are we doing a heart to heart?” She giggled.

He shook his head. Instead of saying anything, he leaned closer and kissed her. She gasped, and his tongue took advantage, sweeping into her mouth.

Their first kiss had been during a game of spin the bottle in ninth grade. There had been no tongue -- it had barely been a peck, and no effort on either side. Not the case for this kiss. She pulled his whole body so that it pressed right up against hers, and her fingers went to his hair. His arms wound around her waist, and he dominated the kiss.

After a long time, they broke for air. He whispered, “I love you.”

And the record in her brain scratched. She pushed him away before he could kiss her again. He licked his lips but didn’t try anything.

“We’re drunk, Klaus, we can’t….” She looked at him, feeling frantic.

“Oh. Oh, yeah. Okay.” He dragged a hand through his hair and threw a thumb over his shoulder. “I’m gonna go to bed then. We have all the time in the world to do this but I gotta -- “

“Okay, goodnight.” If she heard the end of that sentence, she was going to jump his bones.

“Night, love.”

As soon as he was gone, she downed the rest of the bottle and fled to her room.

…:::....

The next morning, it was revealed he remembered nothing except where they went and the first few rounds.

She breathed a sigh of relief and spent the whole day ignoring him. Every time he asked why, she deflected.

It went on like that for a few days before she could look him in the eye again without picturing all the filthy thoughts she had when she went to bed that night. He’d really opened her eyes to what she was doing. Living with the guy she was insanely attracted to, for one, and fantasizing about said guy (who was right next door), for two.

It made her back way off, try to get her head on straight.

Klaus took what he could get over those few days. So when Caroline finally opened back up, he pounced.

He was teasing her all morning, but she didn’t have it in her to give her usual snarky comments.

Eventually, he asked, “okay, what’s wrong? You ignored me for days and now you aren’t sassing me back. What happened?”

“It’s nothing, Klaus. I’m just tired.” And falling in love with you, she didn’t say.

She tried to walk away, but he moved swiftly and blocked her path. He held her upper arms to keep her from going anywhere, like she could get past him even if she wanted. “Caroline, something happened. Just tell me. Please.”

Caroline shook her head. She hated when he said please. He said it so rarely, it always meant he really wanted something when he did. She could never resist his please and he knew that. But if she told him, then he’d freak out, shut down, and push her away. She’d rather deal with awkwardness than not having him at all.

“Did someone do something to you?” She shrugged, not wanting to lie. He had done something to her -- he’d kissed her and made her face the feelings she wanted to ignore. “Who do I have to punch?” He demanded.

“No one! I’m just tired, okay?” She pried his fingers off and pushed past him. He let her, though she could tell he wasn’t happy with her answer.

“I’ll find out if it was one of the Salvatores or Enzo. Or Tyler!”

She turned around, pissed. “Don’t bother. It was you!” Then she locked herself away in her room and refused to answer his questions.

Hours later, she went downstairs, hungry. Klaus was in the kitchen, standing at the spot where they’d kissed. He watched her as she grabbed a granola bar and leaned on the opposite side.

They were silent for a while, thinking. Caroline hated it. She hated that it was so awkward, but what was she supposed to do? Tell Klaus that he’d kissed her and practically ruined her for any other guy? Tell Klaus that she was mostly in love with him and that every one of her thoughts had something to do with him? Hell no.

Eventually, he asked, “did I tell you I love you?” She nodded. “And I kissed you.” She nodded. “Caroline, I am so sorry. No wonder you didn’t tell me. I forced myself on you, I forced my feelings on you again, and -- “

“Wait, wait. What do you mean? You didn’t force your feelings on me. I kissed you back.”

“Because you felt forced to!” He grit his teeth, making her wince. It was one of her least favorite things about him.

She rubbed her temples. “Klaus, listen to me. I didn’t tell you because  you couldn’t remember and I didn’t want to make things awkward when you realized I kissed back.” She looked him in the eyes, overwhelmed with nerves. “I like you. Actually, I really like you. I knew you’d act all weird if you found out, which is exactly what’s happening. That’s why I didn’t say anything.”

He scowled. “You don’t have to lie, Caroline. I know you don’t like me like that. I don’t need you to spare my feelings by lying to me.”

She crossed her arms. “I’m not lying to you about anything. I do like you. I did kiss back, because I wanted to. And I ignored you for three days because I didn’t want it to get weird, not because I’m scared of you sticking your tongue down my throat or whatever.”

He stared at her. She stared back.

After a while, she broke. “So? Do you still like me back?”

He let out a breathy chuckle, like he just couldn’t believe her. Basically, their typical situation. “Yes.”

They smiled at each other, all the tension leaving the air. Caroline remarked to herself, it was literally a breath of fresh air.

She moved towards him, determined to make things as right as she could. She wrapped her arms around his middle, and sighed into his chest. His arms found their places (they were curled up together so often, she knew exactly where he would rest them now), and they stood there, content, for a while.

…:::...

Not too long after, Caroline pulled Klaus in between her bare legs and gently bit his bottom lip. She was trying to be sexy, but she wasn’t sure how she managed it after an all-nighter.

He laughed, pulling away slightly. His hair was in disarray and stuck up in all directions, but he’d never looked hotter to her. Though she was unsure about her own appearance, his was, without a doubt, one hundred percent sex god.

Not that he would get to know that. His ego didn’t need inflating after round three last night. Still, she was getting hot just looking at him. Her hand snuck down, under the blanket, not quite touching him where he wanted.

He shifted, trying to get her hand in the position he longed for. When he spoke, though, he told a different story. “Caroline, we need to sleep. We’ll miss class.”

She smiled at him, trying for coy. Her hand above the blankets rubbed from his pectoral to his shoulder blade. He shuddered. “One class each isn’t that bad. We can just get notes from someone.”

Her fingers wrapped around him, causing him to moan sexily. She didn’t have that much experience, truth be told, but it was still the hottest sound in the whole world. “Maybe you’re right….”

An hour later, they weren’t quite asleep yet. They were curled under the blankets, underwear on to make sure they got their required rest. (Caroline insisted. If she had access, she would do something about it, and Klaus was the same way. If they didn’t, they’d never sleep again.)

“Mm, you’re warm,” she told him, snuggling into his chest. Her toes were pressed between his calves and her fingers were tucked under her head and chin. He was wrapped around her like an octopus, fingers carding through her hair.

“Thank you,” he whispered back, content but alert. His smile turned wicked. “You’re very warm, too. And wet.” He pulled her closer, to whisper in her ear, “and inviting, too.” His last words oozed with a double entendre.

She squealed, pushing him away. She was exhausted, though, so he didn’t go very far. They both ended up laughing quietly.

They were quiet for a while, just laying together and soaking up the closeness. Rebekah had caught wind of their confessions, and was around 24/7 trying to get dirt on them.

She blinked and yawned, curling up a little more.

He grinned. “Are you part cat?”

“Shuddup,” she said back, lightly swatting at his arm. Her aim was wonky with her almost-sleeping state, but he didn’t comment.

Instead, he said to her sleeping form, “I’m going to marry you someday, you half-cat.”

(Spoiler alert: he did.)