#and assures klaus that everything he does is for hope and that means it’ll all be all right

[kylermalloy]

#i’m going to chew my arm off #let me be your older brother for a moment so you can come back and be mine forever #let’s be monsters together but you have to be better than me #please love me because no one does it like you <-stealing my own gd tags because I said it perfectly the first time

The Originals 2.07 ‘Chasing the Devil’s Tail’

[vigilantesanonymous]

family gatherings - klaus hargreeves

You meet the family, and make a good impression. Diego is a little too overprotective over his brother. Hilarity and awkwardness ensue. 

Word Count: 2382

**********************************************************

You had been dating Klaus for 6 months before he brought up his family. Another month after that, he ventured the idea of possibly meeting them. 

After the awful childhood that he had shared with his siblings, he wasn’t keen on seeing them again. Well, the childhood, and then the stopping the apocalypse debacle. He was sober now, and had (relatively) gotten his life together. His siblings knew how to push his buttons, and even though he loved them, it was easy to fall into old habits. Habits that were particularly numbing.

As part of his sobriety, Klaus had tried to keep busy by becoming closer with Vanya. She was easy to talk to, seeing as he was allowed to do most of the talking and she wouldn’t become annoyed with him for being a chatterbox. He had proudly boasted to her that he met you in a normal way, at a book shop where you were flipping through volumes of Steinbeck, and Klaus happened to be there hoping to find some solace in a woowoo self-help book. After all of the secrets, the damage, the baggage, and the drama that he had relayed to you, you hadn’t run away. So he was sure now that meeting his family would really, truly not be that bad. At least he knew you could handle some of the more… Interesting members. 

“What if they don’t like me?” You ask, nervously trying to smooth down your hair. You had changed three times,  Klaus following behind to pick up your discarded garments and contemplate borrowing them for his outfit of the day.

“They’ll like you,” Klaus assures as he takes your fidgeting hand. “Besides, I know for a fact Vanya already likes you. She asks me about you whenever I talk about you to her, so that’s a good sign.” He presses a kiss to each fingertip before sliding his hand into yours. “Now any more fussing, and we’ll be late. And we wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

You can tell Klaus is just as nervous as you are, though. He pretends like he doesn’t care about his family and how they’ll act, but deep down it’s obvious that he does. Revisiting the shit show of the household he grew up in always brings back painful memories for him, and he would rather have this ordeal over sooner rather than later. 

The walk over to the Hargreeves household is incredibly long and strangely short at the same time. To say the mansion is huge is an understatement. It’s dark and imposing, certainly making you even more nervous than you were before. Klaus saunters in ahead of you, preparing to intercept any siblings before they can pounce on you. 

Allison is the first to greet you both, all smiles and smelling of expensive perfume. “Hi guys!” She pulls her brother into a hug, eliciting a confused glance your way. She’s definitely putting on a normal family act, he thinks to you. 

The one that you assume to be Diego emerges from the shadow behind a pillar, eyeing you warily while Klaus is occupied. “So you’re the girl my brother’s dating then, are you?”

“That’s me,” you agree, hoping you sound cool and collected. Klaus told you that Diego would be a bit much, standoffish and intimidating. “Which number are you; 1, 2, or 5?”

“2,” he says curtly. 

“Ah, so you’re the one with the knives. When someone has a problem, do you say you’ll take a stab at it? Or are you not that into puns?”

Diego’s hard exterior cracks as he grins. He shakes his head, laughing softly. 

At this point Vanya shuffles by, offering you a small wave and a timid smile. 

“Well come on in guys! I know Mom made lemonade.” Allison leads you into the sitting room, which is as large and regal as the rest of the house. The atmosphere changes, however, as you notice a giant man sitting on the corner of the couch. Another person, a small boy around the age of 13, has his back to you as he stares at the painting in front of him.

“Luther, Five. Our guests are here.” Allison motions towards you and Klaus. 

Five stays silent, pretending to not hear her. 

Luther also sits mute, glancing between you, Klaus, and Allison.

Vanya pipes up, attempting to cut some of the tension. “Mom made-”

“-Lemonade, yeah!” Allison perks up at the next possible solution to make the situation less awkward. “Diego, do you remember when we were younger, and Mom made-”

“Let’s cut the awkward small talk, alright Allison?” Diego sinks into a chair opposite you, inspecting one of the many knives on his person.

“Okay,” Allison says, exasperated. 

Luther is a bit gruff and awkward, obviously not used to socializing in really any capacity. He just keeps looking between you and Klaus, eyeing your intertwined hands. You wonder if he’s looking for a ring or something. 

“Chummy bunch, aren’t we?” Five smirks, finally turning around. “Welcome to the family, dear,” he says with a mock bow to you. He saunters over to the bar, rummaging around with various bottles of what must be incredibly expensive alcohol.  

“Five, don’t be rude,” Allison sighs. Her perfect posture wilts a bit under the awkward air in the room. 

“Drinks, anyone? At the risk of coming across as crass, I would have to admit I prefer a good martini to a lemonade.” Five smirks, twirling around martini glasses. “Just me? That’s fine. Really, you wouldn’t have noticed I was gone with all that tantalizing banter going on.”

“Five-” Allison starts again, looking apologetically at you. 

“Amazing family gathering guys! You can’t even pretend to be normal for five minutes,” Klaus chides bitterly. His hands twitch, gaze flickering back and forth to the bar in the corner. You squeeze his hand in yours, rubbing soothing circles. 

“Sorry, it’s just the last time one of our siblings brought their significant other over, they started the end of the world,” Diego deadpans. 

“Do you really need to bring that up?” Vanya huffs, eyes shooting daggers at him. 

“Fine,” Diego shrugs, turning to Luther. “What about you, big guy? Got anything to say?”

“I- I um…” Luther stutters, unsure. “I’m not the greatest at making conversation anymore. You know, being on the moon for so long and not talking to anyone…” he trails. 

“Oh, here we go with the moon again,” Diego huffs, earning an annoyed glance from Luther.

“No, start the fight! The sooner you two go at each other, the sooner we get to leave,” Klaus adds sarcastically. 

“Would you like to get a cup of coffee with me in the kitchen?” Allison asks, looking directly at you. You nod, getting up to follow her and leave the boys to their bickering. 

“I am so sorry,” Allison says as she hands a mug to you. “I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t usually like this. But, it’s just… It’s not appropriate.”

“It’s okay,” you say, understanding. “Klaus clued me into the dynamic between everyone. It’s just families. I don’t think I’ve ever met one that is actually 100% perfect and functioning before,” you chuckle, earning a giggle from Allison. “I wanted to meet you all though, because you’re important to Klaus. Even though he might not always express it. He really will do anything for you guys, and I really admire that about him.”

“Yeah, Klaus has always had a big heart, ever since he was a kid,” Allison agrees. “Sometimes I feel bad, and I wonder how he would have turned out-- how all of us would have turned out-- if we were able to just grow up together as normal kids instead of as a super unit.”

You shrug. “Powers or not, I love Klaus all the same. I’ll always be there for him, no matter what.”

As if on cue, Klaus saunters in. “Hey, you couple of chatty Kathy’s.” He snakes his arms around your waist, planting a small kiss on your cheek. “Five is starting to get sloshed, so I think that’s our cue to leave.” His exterior is relaxed and nonchalant, but you know him, and he seems stressed. It’s getting hard to resist temptation with all the booze here, he projects into your mind. 

“Okay,” you agree. “Wanna get some stuff for dinner on the way home? I can make that pasta that you like.” You give his hand a small squeeze, your way of letting him know you understand. God, is he so glad that you understand.

The two of you slip out with a goodbye from Allison and Vanya, and a watchful glare from Diego. 

After the large door has been shut, Allison turns to Diego. He watches the both of you walk away down the street with a small “Hm.”

“What, you don’t like her?” Allison asks.

Diego sighs, his shoulders falling. “No, I do like her. A lot, actually. She seems really good for Klaus. I mean, she managed our shit show pretty well.”

“So what’s the problem then?”

“That’s exactly the problem,” Diego emphasizes. “When has our brother ever dated someone who is sane? Who has their life together? Never! I care about our brother, and I want to see if there’s something up with this girl.”

Allison rolls her eyes. “Klaus is getting better. He’s sober now, for real, and is actually trying hard to move on. Maybe she’s part of that, of him getting better. Not everything about change is bad, Deegs.” She gives her brother’s arm a supportive squeeze. 

“Well, I don’t want it to be like another Harold Jenkins scenario.” Diego crosses his arms in front of his chest, his face set. It was clear that dropping the subject wasn’t an option. 

Allison sighs, knowing that she should come along to act as damage control when Diego inevitably does something stupid rather than let him go out on a limb himself. “Fine, I’ll help you. But it’ll just be me and you. We’re not getting Five or Luther involved in this. Got it?”

“Luther would just get in the way,” Diego huffs confidently. “Come on, I’ve got a plan.”

*

Diego’s master plan ended up being to break into your apartment to rummage around. 

“I can’t believe we’re doing this again,” Allison complains as she looks through your closet. “She’s got good taste though,” she notes as she passes by a particularly cute skirt. 

“There has to be something here,” Diego sighs, flipping through some papers on your desk. 

Sighing, Allison crosses her arms and emerges from the closet. “Diego, we’ve been here for an hour, and we haven’t found anything. When we went to Harold’s, we didn’t have to look far to find some incriminating stuff, but here there’s nothing. Do you think that maybe now you believe that she’s a normal person?”

Diego gets cut off by the sound of keys jingling and the door opening. Allison and Diego lock eyes, panicked. Quickly, Diego grabs his sister’s wrist and pulls her into the cramped closet with him. 

“Ohmygod, ohmygod,” Allison whispers. 

“Shut up,” Diego barks in a hushed tone. “Hopefully we can just ride this out.”

The pair sit in rigid anticipation, trying to make out the muffled conversation between you and Klaus. 

“I’m still sorry,” Klaus says, kicking the door shut behind him. 

“Klaus, really. It’s okay. I don’t love you any less because of your family. Besides, it really wasn’t that bad,” you chuckle. 

Klaus starts to protest, but you cut him off with a kiss. 

“Let’s put the debate to rest and start on dinner, yeah?”

Klaus grins at you mischievously, eyeing you. “Well, what if I want dessert before dinner?”

“Oh?” You question, playing along. “We didn’t get dessert Klaus.”

“I’m looking at it,” he says, his voice lowering with lust. He pushes you back against the counter, trapping you in a heated kiss. Not that you minded of course. 

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Ben tries to wave down his brother. 

“Not now,” Klaus mumbles through gritted teeth, preparing to strip you of your shirt. 

“Klaus, I think someone’s in the apartment,” Ben states, trying to look anywhere but the pair of you. 

“Fuck,” Klaus sighs, his hands slowing to a still at your waist. 

“What’s wrong?” You ask, catching your breath. 

“Ben seems to think there’s someone else here,” he says a bit loudly, looking into the slightly ajar bedroom door. It isn’t until now that you remember you shut it before you left for the Hargreeves mansion. “Stay here, I’ll go check it out.” He gives your hand a reassuring squeeze, beelining straight for the closet door. 

Opening the door with typical Klaus grandeur, the three Hargreeves stare at each other with wide eyes. 

“What the actual fuck, you two?!” Klaus laughs in disbelief, looking between his guilty sister and defiant brother. “Why are you in my girlfriend’s closet? Some kind of secret love affair you’re trying to hide from Luther, or is it that you think you can’t trust her?”

Allison opens her mouth to try to diffuse the situation, but Klaus just shakes his head. 

“She checks out, if you were curious,” Diego adds as he walks out. “No Harold Jenkins from what I could find.”

“Do I want to know why your siblings were hiding in my closet, or…?” You trail, looking at all three of them. 

“They thought you were shady, that’s all. They couldn’t believe that I could have a normal person in my life that isn’t trying to bring about the end of the world.”

You look between Allison and Diego and shake your head. “Why don’t you guys get out of here and we’ll just forget this all happened. Sound good?”

“Sounds amazing,” Klaus answers for them. “Now I don’t know about you two, but I’m excited to go back to getting my girlfriend in the mood to bang.” He shoos the both of them out the front door without any other comments, finally closing the door and turning back to you. “So, now that we’re alone… Want to pick up where we left off?”

[falcor-thee-luck-dragon]

What a Time to be Alive - Diego Hargreeves x reader Season I

Chapter 7- The Day That Was

Summary: Five has popped in from nowhere, yet again. Now you, Diego, Five, and Allison are on the hunt for an important file.

Masterlist - where all the other chapters are⚔️

Tagged: @sambucky8 @white-wolf-buckaroo @2cuteforyourlies @la-vie-en-amour1 @fandomoverlord221 @thatfandombitcch @alonewolfsblog @starrrybarnes @winterboobear11

“Who the hell is Harold Jenkins?” Questions Diego, bewildered at the random insignificant name Five just handed Allison on a folded piece of paper. Five glances up at the six of you, who are all gathered around Allison in various states of befuddlement. He lets out a short huff before taking one more sip of coffee, promptly chucking it behind him where it soars across the room forgotten and out of sight.

“I don’t know...yet. But I know that he’s responsible for the apocalypse. So we have to find him. And we have to do it now.” Explains Five, setting up a new plan of attack.

“How is he connected to what’s gonna happen?” Wonders Luther doubtfully.

 “I don’t know.” Answers Five, Diego cutting in with his own questions, “Wait so you just know his name? That’s it?”

“That’s enough.” Assures Five to the rest of you. You let out a snort, amused by his ready-to-go vagueness.

“There are probably dozens of Harold Jenkins in the city.” Adds Diego, making a compelling point, how are you guys supposed to find one guy within the giant populous of the city?

“Well, we better start looking, then.” You deadpan, not thrilled with the idea of playing a game of Where’s Waldo.

Five then goes on to fully explain the reasoning and valuable information about how he came to the conclusion of Harold Jenkins causing the apocalypse. Further diving more in depth about his former employer and what the Commission is, as well as what it does, which is to protect and maintain the timeline. It’s a large informational dump, but it does clear up more about who Hazel and Cha-Cha are. As well as what they do, so they’re timetraveling assassins who help keep the timeline in order. And you already thought your life was weird enough.

Five finishes his little rant, the rest of you all beginning to speak out at once, rambling on with more opinions and unnecessary questions. Allison commenting on how completely insane everything he just said sounds. Five’s head snaps up at that, “You know what else is insane? I look like a 13 year old boy. Klaus talks to the dead, Y/N can get shot in the head and come back to life, and Luther thinks he’s fooling everybody with that overcoat. Everything about us is insane. It always has been.” You nod at that, Klaus adding his two cents from his spot laying on the couch, “He’s got a point there.”

“We didn’t choose this life, we’re just living it. For the next three days, anyway.” Five ends with, hoping everyone will see the importance of sticking together. “But the last time we tried to stop it, we all died. Why is this time any different? Why shouldn’t I go home to my daughter?” Worries Allison.

“Because this time, I’m here. We have the name of the man responsible. Guys, we actually have the chance of saving the lives of billions of people. Including Claire.” Replies Five, a new determination pushing him forward. Allison’s eyebrows furrow in thought, “You know her name?”

“I do, and I’d like to live long enough to meet her.” Five tells her honestly.

“All right. Let’s get this bastard.” She agrees, walking closer to Five. “You had me at Gerald Jenkins.” Says Diego, you roll your eyes, Five correcting him “Harold Jenkins.”

“Whatever it is. Too many people have been killed his week, let’s not lose anyone else.” You add, walking towards the door.

“You, Luther?” Five says, surprised that Luther hasn’t joined the band wagon yet. “Yeah, you go. I’m gonna stay and go through Dad’s files. I still think this has something to do with why he sent me to the Moon.” Luther tells all of you, his mind still dead set on the Moon and why he was sent there. You roll your eyes, Diego speaking up at Luther’s unwillingness to help, “Seriously? Now you wanna make the end of the world about you and Dad?”

“No. “Watch for threats.” That’s what he told me. You think that’s a coincidence? This all has to be connected somehow.” Luther explains while looking to each of you expectantly. “No, we should all stick together.” Allison reasons, trying to get Luther to see the light. “We don’t have time for this.” You groan while reaching out to touch Diego’s arm, you just really want to leave and get on with things.

“Let’s roll. I know where we can find this asshole. Klaus, you’re with me and Y/N.” Beckons Diego, nodding for him to follow. 

“Yeah. I...I’m good. I think I’ll, uh...I think I’ll pass,” He says from the couch while waving him off, “I’m feeling a little under the weather, so..uh...” He trails off, getting up and walking past you, Diego, and Five.

 Diego and Five look to you for an answer as Klaus walks away and out of sight, you just shrug your shoulders, “The worlds a rainstorm and he’s but a tiny rain forest ant.....I don’t know, lets just leave.” You tell them with a sigh as you start walking towards the front door, the two of them following.

“When did you get all metaphorical?” Says Five.

“Since today.”

“That’s right my babes a smart one.”

“Someone has to be...and Diego it’s not gonna be you.” Five lets out a choked laugh at your teasing comment.

“I’ve missed you guys.”

——

Surprisingly enough, Diego had the right idea when it came to finding this Harold Jenkins guy at the police station. They have all the records of almost everyone in the whole city, so Jenkins record has to be here.

Diego pulls up to the side of the building, while you look out the window at the bustling city life, thinking to yourself about how none of these people could even begin to dream of the life you live. They’re all blissfully oblivious to that fact that the actual apocalypse is supposed to be coming in a couple days. None of them have a goddamn clue. They don’t know what it’s like to die, or what a heartbeat sounds like in the chest of a terrified teenage robber. They’ll never know what it feels like to look at their own reflection in a bullet, as it flies past their head. When it seems like time is rolling in slow motion, and you’re the only one fast enough to react. They have no idea, and they’ll never carry the memories of taking another humans life. But no life you have ended was ever innocent, and the world can sleep a little easier with the loss of another rapist or murderer gone from the streets.

You stay silent as Diego and Five start talking about this Jenkins guy. “I know this Jenkins dude has to have a record. We gotta get our hands on his file.” States Diego, but you do wonder how he’s gonna pull this off.

“And your plan is to what? Waltz in there and just ask for it?” Sasses Allison, doubtful about Diego’s confidence.

“I know the station like the back of my hand, sis. I’ve spent a lot of time inside.” You snort at that, “Behind bars or handcuffed.” He glares at you through the front mirror, you just smile sweetly at him.

“Whatever. Here’s the plan.”

“Plan? I’m just gonna blink in and get the file.” Five says matter-of-factly. Diego shakes his head, “No, that’s not...You don’t know the ins and outs of this place, okay?” Diego jabs defensively.

“I literally just did this yesterday.”

“What.”

“My yesterday, not your yesterday. It’ll take me two seconds. Why don’t I just go?” Argues Five clearly confused as to why Diego is being difficult about this simple task.

“Listen to me. You are not going in there. I made a call. That’s what a leader does. He leads.”

“Okay then Mr. Leader, get the damn file.” You grumble, wanting to get on with the day, considering there’s only three left. He gives you another fake mirror glare, before opening the door and getting out.

——

While Diego is off and away, getting that file, you’re currently leaned against a marble wall of some giant building, Five doing the same to your left. The both of you listening to Allison’s attempt at calling Vanya, who doesn’t appear to want to answer. Finally Diego walks around the corner, “So?” Asks Five pulling himself off the wall.

“You’re welcome.” He says while Allison snatches the file out of his hand. Suddenly her eyes go wide, “Holy shit.” She exclaims, taken aback by whatever she’s looking at.

“What?” You question, leaning in closer to see what the big deal is.

Allison turns the file around so the three of you can see the photograph of a man, “Harold Jenkins is Leonard Peabody.”

Your brows furrow in confusion, “Am I supposed to know who the fuck that is?” 

——

It feels like you’re playing a game of clue or something of that nature, the file leading the four of you to Harold/Leonard’s house in some suburban neighborhood. You all get out of the car, making your way up to the front porch. “Be careful, okay? We don’t know what Peabody’s capable of.” Warns Allison in that concerned motherly tone of hers, it’s almost comforting.

“Yeah, he didn’t seem dangerous when I first saw him. Looked kinda scrawny.” Replies Diego taking the lead up to the house.

“Yeah, well, so are most serial killers and mass murders.” Allison adds, you laugh at the irony. “Exactly, I mean look at Five.” You tell them, Five gives you a half offended look while muttering a short, “Thanks.”

Five and Diego continue their way up and onto the front porch, slowly walking towards the door. As they’re doing this, Allison goes to the right, heading for the back entrance. You pause on the sidewalk, right in front of the house, while looking up at the roof where you spot a window into the upstairs bedroom, bingo. Crouching down ever so slightly, you spring up, hurling your arms upwards for more momentum as you launch yourself onto the roof. And she lands a perfect 10, outstanding, you think chuckling to yourself. Both Diego and Five completely unaware of yours and Allison’s absence, you continue to the upstairs window. The window’s locked but like that’s going to stop you, you grip the bottom of it and push up, snapping off the lock as you lift it. Giving yourself access into the house, you stick a leg in, ducking under as you make your way inside. It’s clean enough, and best part, there’s no house alarm. You have a look around at your current surroundings, nothing seemingly out of the ordinary that would raise any alarm bells, in fact the place is kind of a bore if your being honest.

Walking down the wooden stairs you see Allison and Five making their way towards the front door to unlock it for Diego. A second later Diego comes bursting through the glass, crashing into the floor and making a nice mess in the process. “Subtle.” Comments Allison looking down at him. Five walks over to the door handle, turning the knob and opening it, “You know, the door was unlocked.” He tells him. You make it to the first step, watching in amusement as Diego picks himself up, “Dramatic, as per usual.” You quip, Five and Allison snickering as Diego just grumbles, “Yeah, well, my way works just fine.”

He stands up, flicking loose pieces of glass stuck to his jacket, “Spread out. Yell if you, uh.... you know, you’re in trouble.” He sighs, walking away and into the living room.

“Ah, inspiring leadership.” Comments Five bluntly. “One of the greats.” Adds Allison as the three of you watch him limp away.

“If we ever have kids, I hope they’re not that stupid.” You mutter, Allison lets out a loud laugh as she turns to you, her face breaking out into an amused smile. Five just shakes his head with a tiny smirk lacing his boyish features, he then moves to walk away and into another room.

You shrug, walking back up the stairs, Allison trailing behind you. She searches in some guest room, as you slowly walk down the short hallway, your nose catching the scent of something odd, you look up. The attic door, “Well this has never let me down in any horror movie. There’s gotta be some creepy shit up here.” You mumble to yourself, incredibly curious as to what you may find. Reaching your arm up, you grab the dangling handle, firmly pulling down the retractable steps. Letting curiosity take the better of you, you march up the wooden step-ladder, only for your eyes to land on the entirety of the Umbrella Academy in its prime. All your faces scratched where the eyes should be, plus a multitude of figurines, some of which are broken and melted. Definitely not weird or anything, totally normal.

“Guys, you’re not gonna believe the weird-ass shit I just found!” You shout down to them, excited about your creepy horror movie like find. You can hear the thumping of their shoes as they all race to where you are from their various spots in the house. Allison peaking her head up first, the others following suit. They all stand around behind you, taking in their peculiar new surroundings.

“All our faces are burnt off.” Says Allison, freaked out and bewildered by this wild discovery.

“Well, that’s not creepy. This guys got some serious issues.” Mumbles Diego, who’s leaning down to get a better view of the damage.

“I was hoping our breaking and entering would lead to something interesting, I didn’t exactly have weird-man-child-obsessed-with-childhood-heroes in mind.” You muse, picking up a half melted figurine of yourself. Your face scrunches up into a grimace at the ugly sight, you then turn to face the others, gaining their attention.

“Look. Mine even has orange eyes. Special Edition Number Eight.”

“That’s nice Y/N. Mine doesn’t have a head.” Retorts Diego.

“Five you still look like your figurine, it’s like a freaky spitting image.”

“My hair looks better.”

“Amen brother.”

“Y/N I can’t say the same for yours..ah don’t hit me I’m kidding.”

“This was never about Vanya. This was about us.” Exclaims Allison, getting more disgusted by the second as she quickly gathers the attention of the three of you. 

Without warning Five falls to the floor, making a loud thud. You all turn in concern, “Five. What...” Allison trails off, getting down on her knees to better assess the situation, you set your half melted Special Edition self down on the shelf, turning to do the same but on Five’s left. Your eyes catch a deep red stained to his fingers. A subtle whiff of blood dissipating off of Five.

You lift up his uniform shirt to better see the damage, he’s got a nasty piece of metal shrapnel stuck in his side. “Jesus, Five.” Whispers Diego, concern lacing every word.

“Five what the fuck, I was wondering why I could smell blood on the way here.” You glance at Allison for a fraction of a second, she thankfully doesn’t catch what that glance was implying, you’d be laughing at the thought if not for the current situation. Five just groans, “You have to keep going. So...close.” He whispers, passing out once again. 

“Five. Five!” Allison shouts as the both of you try and shake him awake. It’s no use, he’s to exhausted.

“Well, shit.” You add dryly, positioning yourself to lift Five’s unconscious body up.

——

Diego holds open the Academy’s door as you quickly make your way inside, holding a barely conscious Five in your strong arms. Allison and Diego right behind you, “We should have taken him to the hospital.” She whisper yells.

“A kid with a shrapnel wound might raise some questions.” Five mutters tiredly, as a stream of blood runs out the side of his mouth.

“Yeah, well, so does the murder shrine in Harold Jenkins’ attic.” Presses Allison, making a solid point. You finally reach the living room couch, laying Five down as gently as you possibly can.

“He’s still losing a lot of blood. What do we do? We gotta get the shrapnel out.” Worries Allison, looking to you for guidance. Diego randomly walks past the two of you, seemingly abandoning ship, nope he’s just found Grace who’s apparently fixed and about to walk up the stairs.

“Diego, where are you going?” Allison calls after him, but he completely ignores her.

“Fuck Diego, we don’t have time for this. I’ll get the medical stuff...just uh...keep the old guy awake. I’ll be right back.”

——

You’re leaning against Five’s wardrobe as Grace puts a fresh bandage on his wound. Your mind flashes to the times when she would have to do the same thing to you, after countless dangerous missions. Although she would actually just be painfully dislodging the shrapnel, doing her best to be as gentle as she possibly could. Those metal and glass pieces would have left you for dead, if not for your miraculous healing capabilities.

Diego leans against the door frame as Allison walks up behind him. “Anything?”

“There’s no answer at Vanya’s place. And the receptionist at her music school said she was a no-show for her lessons today.” Replies Allison, nervous as to where her sister could be.

You turn around to face them, as they both walk into the hallway. You keenly notice how Diego’s face looks almost slightly startled to see Grace up and active after what he did.

“D, you okay?” You whisper walking closer to him and Allison. “Yeah. I don’t know, it’s just surreal seeing her. I just wanna tell her that I’m s...” he doesn’t let himself finish, not wanting to reveal any important details that Allison is unaware about, “We don’t have enough time. We gotta go.” He says, turning for the stairs. “I don’t know, Diego. Five is laying there, unconscious. We need him.” Pleads Allison, holding Diego from taking off just yet.

“We can do this ourselves.” He says, his voice laced with determination. Crossing your arms you take a deep breath, “We did that already, remember? Long story short, we all died.” You sass, also wanting to stay and wait for Five.

“I’m thinking I should go back and see Claire before...” Starts Allison, Diego cutting her off, “You can’t run away from this, Allison. That’s what started this whole mess in the first place.” Diego pauses for a moment sighing, “Luther was right.” He admits, both you and Allison giving him a look. She scoffs, surprised, “I didn’t think I would ever hear you say those words.” He gives an apprehensive smile, “Yeah, well... we gotta stick together.”

You nod towards him, “Alright, hot stuff. Where do we start.” You ask him. He flashes you a small smile, “There’s no other addresses in the file, but there is another relation listed. Jenkins’ grandmother. She lived near Jackpine Road.” He explains turning to walk down the steps, you and Allison following suit. 

“You think he took her there?” She wonders.

 “I wouldn’t mind a late night drive, it’s a good enough place to start anyways.” You conclude as the three of you make your way through the Academy and out the front gate.

Continuing your way into the street, “Nope. Come on, this way.” Diego says, pulling you in the opposite direction of two police cars sitting further down the street. “Wait, but the cars back that way?” Allison says, troubled as to why Diego refuses to go in that direction.

 “Trust me, okay. Come on.” He quickly says, walking briskly away from the cruisers, you lightly touch his right arm, quickening your own steps.

 “What’s up with the cops?” You whisper, he doesn’t look at you.

“They think I killed Patch. Because of all the evidence and all my finger prints were on everything.” He mumbles, your brows furrow in frustration, “What the hell? But I was there too? Guess I didn’t touch anything.” You state puzzled, just as blue and red lights begin flashing behind the three of you.

“We’re gonna have to split up, okay. I’m in charge. Remember Vanya needs you two.” He tells you, his face showing deep worry. Why must things always go wrong?

You grab his hand, holding it tight, “Don’t say or do anything stupid, okay?” You warn him, as Allison turns to quickly flee the scene. You squeeze his hand, “I love you.” You whisper quickly, before jogging away from the cop cars, as you hustle after Allison. You can hear him mumble a quiet “Love you too” as the police cars speed into view. You glance back, your heart stinging when handcuffs are forcefully placed on his wrists. Guns drawn on him, you’d love to kick those pistols right out of their grasp. But alas, you push onward, getting into the passenger seat as Allison starts the engine, taking off down the avenue and towards this house out in buttfuck nowhere. This whole evening has had quit the turn of events.

[justatiredghost]

Fixes to the Timeline Ch6

Dave was alive, he was here in the future with him and Klaus couldn’t be happier. Unfortunately they still had plenty of obstacles they had to overcome. Including his nosy family.

-

“Well, someone’s in a good mood,” Ben said as Klaus sauntered into the kitchen with Dave, humming under his breath.

“It’s a good day,” Klaus said, dropping into his seat at the kitchen table.

“Hell yeah it is,” Dave said, joining him. 

Grace, with her usual perfect timing, already had their breakfasts prepared and brought it over for them. She ruffled both of their hair in response to their thanks and Klaus couldn’t help but grin at Dave’s slight blush. He looked flustered if flattered by the fond gesture. Apparently Klaus was doomed to get the warm fuzzies any time someone in his family was nice to Dave. 

“So,” Ben said, setting aside the book he’d been reading as Grace took away his own already empty plate. “Just to warn you, Diego dropped by last night after you guys went to bed.”

“Oh? Is he avoiding us?” Klaus asked.

“Maybe he figured you’d still be awake.”

“Fair, my sleep schedule is shit. What did he want?”

“Apparently he wants everyone to come over here for dinner so they can meet Dave. Tonight.”

“Are you kidding me?” Klaus threw his head back and groaned as he slumped into his chair. “They can’t even give us time to settle in?”

“Nope,” Ben said with a grin. “Sorry, Dave. Welcome to the Hargreeves’. We mean well but we’re all terrible.” 

“That’s all right, I’m up for the challenge,” Dave laughed. 

It was silly how grateful Klaus felt at that. He couldn’t help but shoot him a fond smile before he elbowed him playfully. “You did say you wanted to get to know my family.”

“Yeah, it's exciting,” Dave said with a grin. “I mean, terrifying, but exciting too!”

“Okay, fine, we’re down,” Klaus said to Ben, taking Dave’s hand and squeezing it. “But we reserve the right to bail if they start asking too many awkward questions.”

“That sounds reasonable,” Ben nodded. “I can always cover your escape. For a price, of course. Don’t worry, it won’t be too steep.”

“Oh you are quickly becoming my favorite,” Dave said, gesturing with his fork.

“Second favorite, I’d hope,” Klaus elbowed him again.

“Well, yeah, obviously,” Dave said, rubbing his ribs where he nudged him. “You get your own category.”

“Who all is coming, anyway?” Klaus asked. “Five? Allison?”

“No one knows about Five,” Ben said. “He’s probably busy with whatever it is he does. Allison’s still out of town with her daughter. Honestly it’s probably for the best.”

“What do you mean?” Dave asked.

“He means she and Luther would probably make it awkward,” Klaus said. “Things have been a bit tense between them since the apocalypse. He did some things to try to protect her even though she made it very clear she wanted him to stop, but ya know, she was hurt and he has super strength so there wasn’t really much she could do at the time.”

“I think Allison feels betrayed, understandably,” Ben said. “And while Luther is working on the whole ‘listening to other people and understanding their viewpoints’ thing, I think it’s gonna take a while to rebuild that trust. Doesn’t help that none of us are great at feelings or apologies or working through things like actual adults. Thankfully you don’t have to worry about that until tonight, so! It’s, what, your third day in the future? What do you want to do?”

“Wow, when you put it that way, it’s a bit intimidating,” Dave laughed. 

“Hey, we don’t have to do much, we can just chill,” Klaus said.

“You know, I haven’t been able to go on a proper casual non-life threatening walk in so long. It might be nice to see the sights and all that. I’ve been doing too much chilling.”

“I’m not exactly sure there’s any sights to be seen around here, but sure,” Klaus said. “So long as you’re up for it. And you tell me the moment you’re getting too tired.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Dave said, bumping his shoulder against Klaus’. “You wanna come, Ben? I’m not sure it’ll be all that interesting, but--”

“Sure, sounds fun.”

-

Klaus hadn’t actually seen the sky in quite some time. As he stepped outside, he took a deep breath, taking in that fresh air, and immediately started coughing. Ben patted him hard on the back.

“Guess I don’t know how to breathe air that isn’t smoke,” Klaus joked, not that he’d actually smoked anything in some time.

He turned, halfway to the gate to the street, expecting Dave to have some sort of funny reply to that, only to realize he wasn’t following. Dave was still standing just inside the doorway, looking out hesitantly as if the sky might fall on him the moment he crossed the threshold. 

“Dave? Everything okay?” he asked, concerned as he headed back to him

“Yeah, yeah, no, all good,” Dave said, waiving a hand with a nervous smile. “It’s just— I guess I know I’m in the future, I get that, but maybe I’m in denial a little bit? It’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s just that inside it was just us, I didn’t have to think about any of the rest of it But as soon as I step out there, it’ll be real. I’m gonna have to accept it and everything that implies.”

The sadness in his eyes told Klaus what he really meant. Dave would have to accept that his life, everyone he knew, everything he had, was gone. Klaus felt a pang of guilt, knowing this was his fault for taking him away from everything he knew and loved. Dave had sacrificed everything in their relationship and what did he have to show for it?

He knew Dave didn’t see it like that, although Klaus wasn’t sure why. There wasn’t much he could do or say to reassure, so instead he just reached out and took Dave’s hand, squeezing tightly. He wasn’t really sure if it would even really help, but he at least needed Dave to know he wasn’t in this alone. Apparently that was the right move because Dave smiled fondly at him before nodding as if he’d made a decision.

With a deep breath, Dave took a determined step outside. He paused a moment before letting out the breath again and looked around, all stiffness suddenly gone like he’d deflated with the breath and he was back to his usual self. Again Klaus felt like he couldn’t tell what he was thinking and he hated it. He knew everything was far from okay, but he could pretend he was fine too. And if that was what Dave wanted to do right now, he was fine with that. Anything to put off the possibility of everything falling apart between them. 

It used to be that, at the slightest sign that a relationship could go downhill, Klaus would cut and run, or at least begin putting distance between himself so that it wouldn’t hurt as much. But since he’d met Dave, he’d been trying to be different. To be better. He desperately didn’t want to run now, but those tendencies were still there. He wasn't proud of it, although maybe it was fine because this wasn’t exactly the time for it, but Klaus deflected.That was a serious conversation for future them to deal with. Present them were going to have some fun. 

There was still adventure to be had and if he could make Dave genuinely laugh while he still could, that was the priority. He tugged Dave along down the sidewalk, practically skipping. 

“So!” Klaus said. “You’ll have to tell me how different things look now.”

“It’s weird” Dave said, looking around with wide eyes. “It’s all pretty normal, and then I see that guy’s clothes over there, or the cars driving by and it all looks completely different.”

“It’s always the little things,” Ben chuckled, hands in his pockets. 

“What sorta rad stuff you got going on, then?” Dave asked, suddenly excited. “Like, flying cars? Klaus mentioned we made it to the moon, is it full on Star Trek with teleportation and all that?”

“Not even close,” Klaus said gravely.

“Wait, what?” Dave said, looking crestfallen “No flying cars or teleportation? Like, at all?”

“Afraid not,” Ben replied. 

“It really is a betrayal,” Klaus agreed. “Well, other than Five’s teleportation of course. But he’s too stingy to teleport us around everywhere.”

“And instead these are the cars designs people decided to go with?” Dave said. “I dunno, I thought they would be cooler in the future.”

“Bad news,” Klaus said. “That’s pretty much the future in a nutshell, only slightly different and mostly disappointing.”

“Come on now,” Ben said. “There’s been good improvements. Technology, medicine--”

“Fashion,” Klaus chimed in.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Dave gave him a high five. 

-

By the time they returned home, Dave was looking pretty worn out. He rubbed his chest with a wince and Klaus put a hand on his arm to steady him just in case.

“You sure you’re okay?” he asked. “Was that too much exercise?”

“All good, all good, just a bit winded,” Dave said, waving a hand dismissively, but he did lean against him when he moved closer. 

“People should be here in a couple hours,” Ben said. “Want me to get rid of them?”

“Nah, a nap and I should be right as rain,” Dave assured him.

“Fine, but if you still aren’t great when you wake up, I’m not letting you out of the bed,” Klaus said.

-

Klaus sighed heavily as he curled up next to Dave. He usually wasn’t one to fret, but between the dread of their little family get together coming up fast, as well as worrying about whatever it was Dave was worrying about, Klaus’ brain was spiralling a little too quickly. He could just talk to Dave, get it all out in the open, but he doubted either of them would particularly be in the mood to be around others after, so surviving the more immediate stuff first was probably a good idea. Klaus just hated waiting. 

“That was quite the sigh,” Dave said, putting his arm around him and pulling him closer. “Something on your mind?

“Nah, just wondering how much of a disaster tonight’s gonna be,” he said, because that at least was partly true. He threw his head back with a dramatic  groan. “They’re gonna interrogate you, you know that, right?”

“It’ll be fine,” Dave said, kissing his forehead. 

“I’m not so sure about that, they’ve never approved of anything I’ve ever done in my life. They’re gonna try to find a reason to hate you. I mean, that’s impossible, you’re irresistible, but tonight’ll still be miserable.”

“It’s worth it,” Dave said, kissing his temple. “Anything in particular I should look out for?”

“They’re probably gonna try to chase you off.”

“That’s impossible too,” Dave said, hugging him close.

“Love you,” Klaus said, trying to ignore the fears still hiding beneath the surface. 

“I love you too. We’re in this together. We’ll get through.”

Even after all this time, that was still something Klaus had trouble wrapping his mind around. He’d been alone for so long, there was still the reflexive fear that that was just how he was meant to be and eventually Dave would see it too. He hadn’t yet, though, and he kept assuring him that he had no intention of leaving. Klaus just tried to have faith in that as he burrowed down into the blankets a little further, pressing a little tighter against Dave. He just loved him so fucking much. He’d never wanted anything more than he wanted to be happy with Dave.

-

Thankfully, Dave did seem quite a bit better when it came time to head back downstairs. Not that Klaus was really sure either of them actually slept. Dave was obviously filled with nervous energy, standing there restlessly while they waited for the others to arrive. Klaus couldn’t help but feel for his state so as an excuse for some sort of contact, he placed his elbow on Dave’s shoulder, leaning against him. 

“I know I joked earlier about how I keep running into your siblings without warning, but I’m starting to think that was actually better. Less time to overthink and stress.”

“I wasn’t sure it was even possible to rattle you,” Klaus said, poking him in the arm teasingly.

“What can I say,” Dave said with a shaky laugh. “I’m meeting your family and I just want it to go okay.”

Klaus faltered a moment at the admission, a rush of warmth and fondness nearly overwhelming him. It was just so incredibly sweet and Klaus was surprised by how much that meant to him. He recovered quickly and decided to respond in his usual way; by joking.

“Aww, worried about making a good impression?” Klaus said, although he abandoned the teasing almost immediately, leaning in to kiss his cheek instead. “Come on, relax, it’s gonna be fine.”

“I’m just glad you’re here.”

They heard footsteps coming up to the door and suddenly Klaus realized he probably should have done a slightly better job preparing Dave for all of this. Sure, he’d told him all sorts of things about them, but not exactly everything.

“Oh and just a heads up,” he said, words tumbling out quickly. “Luther is kinda self conscious about his size so maybe try not to bring it up, even as a joke-y compliment.”

“Of course I won’t,” Dave said, offended. “You know me better than that, I’d never make fun of someone’s weight.”

“Not really what I meant but— oh look everyone’s here, hey guys!” Klaus said as the door swung open.

He could see the moment when Dave realized what he meant, but to his credit he recovered almost immediately, surprise covered with a friendly smile as Luther, Diego, and Vanya came in. The fact that they came in together was a bit worrying, they were probably talking about them, making a plan, but Klaus didn’t have time to  dwell on that.

“Hey,” Luther said a little awkwardly. 

“I assume you’ve all got the lowdown on Dave here?” Klaus asked. 

“Yeah, Five told us,” Luther said, stepping forward and extending a hand to him. “It’s good to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Dave said with his charming smile as he accepted his handshake. “Klaus has told me so much about all of you, I’m so glad to finally get to put faces to names.”

“And we're glad that you aren’t, you know,” Vanya said, trailing off awkwardly as she offered Dave her hand as well. 

“Dead?” Dave said with a laugh. “Yeah, I know I certainly prefer being alive.”

“Yeah, being a ghost isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” Ben said. “Now come on, mom’s already got dinner ready to go.”

[unfortunate-stranger-losers]

All Those Things They Couldn’t Say - A Runaway Baudelaires AU

{ao3} {tumblr} {masterlist}

Chapter Thirty-Three - We begin the hunt for the Bastard

“Esmé will have alerted Olaf to where we are by now, so the city’s not safe.” Violet said. 

They still sat on the dusty floor of the nursery, but this time they were all at full attention. They’d slept in the old master bedroom, taking turns keeping watch and spreading themselves out on the bed, Sunny curled up on a pillow and unaware that she was not to be awoken for a watch. Now, though, it was time to plan, and as Violet had wandered her way back to the nursery, almost in a trance whenever the music box was played, they’d decided to figure everything out there. 

“Klaus, map me.” Violet said. 

Klaus reached into his bag, handing out a map of the city they’d managed to grab upon entering the other day. He spread it out, and as Violet dropped coins onto the sides to weigh it down, he started charting the surrounding area. 

“If we’re going to find Olaf and not get caught,” Klaus said, “We need to figure out where he’s going to be, beat him there, and then kill him before he can kill us.” 

“Sounds good.” Isadora nodded. 

“Lousy Lane is here,” he said, “But Olaf won’t think we’d go back there, and VFD could be swarming the place.” 

“Could we get VFD’s help?” Duncan asked. “I know they suck, but they seem to hate Olaf, too. Maybe we could make a temporary alliance.” 

“You’re forgetting, dear Duncan,” Violet said, “That they don’t know we exist, they hate our parents, and you two are definitely targets for them. Any association with them will not end well.” 

“I guess.” Duncan said, considering. 

“But,” Klaus said carefully, staring at the corner of the map, “Duncan may have just given me an idea.” 

“What?” 

“How about he head this way?” 

He then pointed to a spot, several miles outside the city, literally marked VFD. 

“Seriously, Klaus?”  Violet asked. 

“They have their headquarters on a fucking map?” Isadora asked. 

“It’s probably not a headquarters,” Violet sighed, “But an outpost of some kind. They’re idiotic, but not that obvious.” 

“But,” Klaus said, “There are no surrounding towns. Looks like an isolated spot. So anything that happens there- well, we can be sure Olaf can’t run and hide.” 

“Neither could we.” 

“Which is why we get there first.” 

“Lure him there.” Isadora suggested. “Make sure he knows where we’re going and get there first. Then set a trap.” 

“And boom! He’s a dead son of a bitch.” Duncan said. 

“And likely he’ll bring our parents with him.” Klaus said. “Once they’re out, they can take care of you two.” 

“Could be risky.” Violet said. 

“Losi,” Sunny said, which meant, “And where’s the fun if there is no risk?” 

“This isn’t fun, Sunny,” Klaus said, “We have to go rescue our parents and kill Count Olaf.” 

“Yeye.” Sunny nodded. “Exactly; sounds like a blast.” 

“Listen to Sunny, Klaus,” Violet said, “Manhunts are fun. And oh…” she shook her head and smiled, “Will it be satisfying to stab that bastard.” 

“Kill!” Sunny agreed cheerily. 

“So, how do we make sure he follows us?” Isadora asked. 

“Easy. We go out in the fucking open, and he’ll spot us. He always seems to.” 

“So we just… don’t make an effort?” 

“Hell, we’ll find a bus station near Dark Avenue. Get to the city that way.” Violet said. “But make sure he doesn’t catch up to us until we’re on the bus. Everyone have your weapons?” 

Duncan and Isadora nodded, putting a hand on their knives. Sunny bit her finger, smiling and nodding as well. 

“Yeah, Sunny, you are staying the Sunnybag.” Violet ordered, and Sunny flipped her off. “Klaus, you stick with her. Quagmires, hand on one of us at all times unless we have to fight. We move off now.” 

They nodded, and stood up. Violet, though she just told everyone to leave, stopped a moment, looking back at the nursery. Then, slowly, she lifted the music box, and slid it into her bag. 

Nobody else said anything. 

When they left the house, the Baudelaires walked backwards for a bit, so they could look up at the mansion. It was still standing, and the outside didn’t quite look as rough as the inside. 

It might’ve been a nice place to live. 

“The bus station’s this way.” Duncan said, glancing at the map. He wasn’t quite as good as Quigley would’ve been, but he could figure out where the bus was from their position. 

“We haven’t been spotted yet.” Klaus said. 

“It’s no loss if we’re not. Just means it’ll take longer for him to catch up.” Violet whispered. “That’s fi- and boom goes the dynamite.” 

“What?” 

Violet gestured with her head, and Klaus looked over to see, in a doorway of a post office, that Henchperson of Indeterminate Gender, a confused look on their face, was staring right at them. 

“We run in five.” Violet said calmly, as she reached out and grabbed Duncan’s hand. “One, two…” 

The Henchperson slowly stepped out of the doorway, and Klaus said, “Five.” 

He grabbed onto Isadora, and the Baudelaires took off running, dragging their friends behind them as they rounded the bend. “Keep going, he needs to think we’re afraid or he’ll get suspicious.” Violet muttered as Duncan let out a startled noise, and Sunny helpfully let out a cry, just so the Henchperson knew which direction they were going in. They seemed to be a slow runner, so Violet even paused a second after rounding the second bend, just to make sure the Henchperson saw them enter the bus station. 

She raced up to the ticket counter, passed Duncan’s hand to Klaus’s, and reached into her pocket, slamming as much money as she could grab in front of the woman. “Five tickets to VFD, four children and one baby.” 

“Nota!” Sunny called. 

“Sorry, four children and one toddler. She’s been getting better at walking.” 

The ticket person glanced at the money, at a chart on the side and said, “You’re just in time, that bus is about to leave.” 

“Yeah, we hoped so.” Violet said. She pushed the money at the ticket salesperson and said, “Keep all the change and if someone comes by asking for us, tell them which bus we went on, but give them the wrong directions to the bus station.” 

The salesperson opened their mouth to question, looked down at the handful of cash, and then shrugged and nodded, handing over the tickets. “Station thirteen.” 

Violet directed Klaus to follow her and ran towards their station. Klaus trailed quickly behind her, Sunny still on his chest and with one hand gripping to each Quagmire. Isadora and Duncan kept their heads down, clinging to Klaus and trying not to be noticed by the crowd moving to and fro buses, muttering or laughing to themselves and not noticing the panicked, dirty group of children rushing for station thirteen. 

They reached the bus just after the last man in line boarded, and Violet raced in, throwing her tickets at the driver, waving at him, and then turning around, eyes darting between seats. She finally dragged her group over to the back seat, large enough for them all to squeeze into, and they settled down, breathing hard, shoving their bags off and glancing to each other to make sure they’d all made it.

Isadora was nearest to the window when the bus finally left the station, and she peered out, whispering, “Yeah, that Henchperson’s heading this way. Won’t make it in time, but they’ll know which bus we took.” 

“Good.” Violet says. “Gives us quite a bit of time, especially since they seem to be alone. Must be a scout ahead.” 

Isadora sighed and turned back, kicking her legs as Duncan leaned onto Klaus’s shoulder. Klaus jumped, and Duncan, not even noticing, muttered, “I’m going back to sleep. Wake me up when we get there.” 

“Srac,” Sunny said, which meant something like, “It might be a long drive.” 

“Good. Long nap.” Duncan said. He yawned, grabbing Klaus’s arm and curling up some more. 

Isadora smiled, and said, “What, Duncan, we’re not going to do the song?” 

Violet took a quick break from watching the roads pass by out the bus window to turn in confusion. “The what?” 

“We- when we were on long car trips, we’d do a song.” Isadora giggled. “Cause Quigley used to be scared of long car rides and Mother wanted him to stop crying all the damn time so we made a game of it…” 

She fell silent, staring down at her hands, and Violet shared a quick look with her siblings. Singing on a crowded bus would draw attention to them, and they already had Olaf’s attention, they didn’t need anyone else’s. It would probably be a bad idea. 

Klaus shrugged, and Sunny giggled, and Violet smiled over at Isadora. “How does it go?” 

“What?” 

“The song. How’s it go?” 

Isadora’s face lit up, and Duncan sat up a little, rubbing his eyes and smiling. She kicked her legs a little, and then sang, “Twas brillig, and the slithy toves, did gyre and gimble in the wabe!” 

Duncan smiled and sang the next line softly. “All mimsy were the borogoves, and the mome raths outgrabe.” 

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!” 

“Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun the frumious Bandersnatch…” 

When the bus stopped, and the driver called for departers at VFD, Violet looked out the window in confusion, signalled to the others to stay put, and then wandered down the aisle, over to the driver. 

“Where is it?” she asked. “This is just empty space.” 

“It’s over there.” the driver pointed out the window, and Violet squinted, seeing what looked like a dot on the horizon. “I don’t go any closer. That Council of Elders freaks me out.” 

Violet didn’t remember shit about a ‘Council of Elders’ in VFD, so she assumed that meant either this VFD was coincidentally named, or some weird shit had gone down in the cult since her parents left. She sighed, reached into her bag, and pulled out another fistful of cash. 

“You drop us off closer and then abandon us and you get this as a tip.” 

He considered, then shrugged. “So long as I don’t get burned at the stake.” 

“Won’t happen.” Violet assured him, shoved the money into his hands, and then walked back to the backseat. 

She glanced over the group; Duncan had fallen asleep on Klaus’s shoulder, and Klaus had fallen asleep on Isadora’s, while she stared out the window and bounced a snoring Sunny on her knee. She sat back as the bus started again, and said, “We’re almost there. We should wake them up.” 

Isadora nodded, and then absent-mindedly fixed Sunny’s ponytail. “What do we do when we get there?” 

“We find an abandoned building, wait for Olaf to come, and kill him.” Violet said simply. “Once Olaf is dead, we’ll either interrogate the troupe or search the town to find where he stashed our parents. We have weapons, we can set traps-” 

“What if he escapes?” 

“That’s a possibility, not gonna lie. We can also find an escape vehicle in case we have to retreat. We won’t split up, so that he can’t corner any of us. Sunny’s getting a bit big for her bag, but we can either extend the straps or make sure someone’s holding her at all times.” 

“What if he captures someone?” Isadora turned to Violet, pleading with her eyes. “What if he gets Duncan? I won’t let him take my brother away.” 

Violet took a deep breath, and took Isadora’s hand. 

“That won’t happen.” she promised. “If he takes someone, it’s kill on sight.” 

“Promise?” 

“Promise.” Violet said. “Keep your knife on you at all times.” 

Isadora nodded, and then moved to wake up Klaus. 

[saiilorstars]

The Girl in the Forest

Chapter 5: Down Memory Lane

// Story Masterlist //

Pairings: Klaus Mikaelson x Original Female Character

Summary: Maleny learns (or relearns) a few most important events in her original body, the ones that led to a closer relationship with Klaus.

Pronunciation of OC’s name: Ma-leh-nee

No real warnings for now!

Requested tag: @queenmj10

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

"He's what?" Maleny blinked in horror, the only thing she could do after hearing what Kieran was going through thanks to some resurrected witch.

Cami was both upset with the matter and angry for Maleny's lack of appearance lately. Last night, Maleny had finally decided to come back and was greeted with a cold shoulder by Cami. In the morning, Maleny had practically cornered Cami and forced her to at least say 'hello' and then explain why she and Kieran weren't answering her calls. That's when Cami decided to tell Maleny of the hex that had been placed on Kieran because she couldn't bring herself to plunge the blade of Papa Tunde into Klaus. She'd been given an ultimatum: use the blade on Klaus to save her uncle or disregard it and let her uncle die. At the end, Cami just couldn't do that to Klaus. So now she was there, telling Maleny how their uncle was hexed with limited amount of solutions. Maleny could not believe what she had heard and was a bit ignorant on the glare Cami was sending her at the moment.

"You would've known if you were around," the blonde snapped.

"I tried calling..." Maleny began. It pained her that she couldn't tell Cami anything of what was really going on. It made her look like the bad guy, and while she perhaps was she didn't mean to be.

"Fat lot of good that did," Cami scoffed and turned away, "I needed you, Mal, and you weren't here," the accusation punctured a wound in Maleny's heart.

"I was...I was stuck doing something else, I'm sorry," Maleny sighed, reaching to place her hand on Cami's shoulder, only to have the blonde shake her hand off, "Cami..."

"What was so important you blatantly ignored my calls and decided to skip sleeping here for two days?"

Maleny bit her lip, remaining absolutely silent. This only served to infuriate Cami even more, "We made a plan to save Davina and somehow that turned into an excuse for you to disappear!"

Maleny looked away, offended Cami thought she'd skipped out on their plan when in reality she had been in a sacrificial ritual thanks to some resurrected witch. Of course, Cami couldn't know that because then it would lead her to asking why she was still alive and...no, she couldn't know that.

"Do you know I was attacked by some deranged man in a white suit? I nearly died if it hadn't been for Marcel...and Klaus," Cami decided to add in the end, only to give gratitude. She wanted nothing to do with that man, not even to mention his name.

Maleny sighed, she'd heard that from Klaus himself. She felt awful because she hadn't been there for Cami due to her own issues. Now, she returned to find her uncle hexed and her cousin furious with her. On top of that, she had numerous calls from Elijah on the landline of Cami's house, only adding to the suspicions of Cami. She hadn't forgotten what Marcel had told her about Maleny back in the bar. She wouldn't accept it back then but now with all this and Maleny's strange behavior...perhaps it wouldn't hurt to look into it.

"Cami, I'm sorry," Maleny couldn't find other words to say except those.

Cami turned and opened her mouth to respond when the landline went off again. She marched over to the phone and picked it up, "WHAT!?" she half-shouted, making Maleny wince behind. After a moment, Cami seemed calm enough to answer, "No, Elijah, she's still here," she cast a hard look back at Maleny, "Sure, I'll send her off. But hey, in the meantime, have you or your brother found a way to help my hexed uncle?" she rubbed her temple and gritted her teeth, "Thank you," she muttered and hung up, more like slammed the phone back down.

Maleny carefully stepped closer, knowing just how bad Cami's temper could get at times from her implanted memories, "Hey..."

"Just go," she pointed to the door.

"But you clearly can't be-"

"Maleny, GO!" Cami shouted, making Maleny wince again, "I want to be alone. Go now. I don't need you so go!"

With a sigh, Maleny walked into her guest room to pick up some of her belongings should Cami not open the door for her when she returned tonight, because she would be returning in the night to clear everything with Cami. Half of her mind blamed Elijah and his insistent calls for Cami's attitude. Maleny could not understand what was so urgent that she was needed asap. With a huff, she left the house with an angry Cami inside.

Cami hurried towards the door and locked it before turning and leaning against it. She looked around and spotted her laptop...she had an idea. Marcel's words about Maleny were running through her head more and more, like it was on a loop. Quickly, she rushed for the laptop and plopped down at the table, beginning a search she never thought she'd do.

~ 0 ~

A very irritated Maleny entered the compound, almost stomping her feet with each step she took, "Elijah, there better be a hell of a good reason why I am here," she threatened once she saw the man in the suit up by the balcony, "I have very little patience today and certainly no room for wasting time," she went up the stairs to meet him.

Elijah remained completely calm despite everything that was going on, "My brother has a mystical torture device buried in his chest, and the mother of his child is inexplicably missing. So, I can assure you, I have no time to play any games, either."

"Haley's missing?" Maleny called just as she reached the second floor. Her mind immediately rushed to last night, when Haley mentioned something about having plans of her own. She never actually questioned just what those plans were.

"Yes, you wouldn't have anything to do or know about that, would you?"

"No, I left because I had to go see Cami and Kieran," Maleny shook her head as she followed Elijah, into a room "who is hexed by the way. Thank you very much for informing me of that little detail," she snapped with even more annoyance, "Was anyone ever planning on telling me about that? Because I'm pretty damn sure it was..." she stopped talking once she caught sight of Klaus in bed without a shirt and looking quite in pain, "...what's um...what's going on over there?" she frowned.

"While you dealt with an angry human I dealt with angry vampires," Elijah informed casually as he removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeve, "One of them had to be subdued with a mystical dagger."

Maleny blinked once she caught on what had been said, "Oh and you...you didn't..." she gave him a pointed look which was quickly reciprocated.

"I did."

"Elijah!" she cried, appalled, "How could you?"

"He was about to kill Rebekah," he moved towards Klaus, "I had to do what I had to do."

"He's that mad?"

"He's that mad."

"Wait a minute," Maleny shook her head fast, "It's my understanding that the blade was pretty powerful and...painful..." she eyed the hardly moving hybrid on the bed.

"Oh yes," Elijah nodded, "Every second it remains causes Niklaus untold suffering."

"But it's going to come out right?" she quickly asked, even realizing her haste to be assured it would. That was odd.

"It is," Elijah wiggled his fingers to motion what he was going to do, "Now you may want to step back."

"O-okay..." she did as told and backed away, "...but there's one thing I don't understand, apart from everything else anyways: why am I here? I mean, why so many damn calls? As you heard from Cami's tone, we're not doing so hot. I should be over there trying to fix things with her.

"Because of all the people that could be here, you're probably the only one Niklaus wouldn't immediately slaughter," he used a scalpel and sliced it along the angry red scar on Klaus's chest.

"Oh, that's reassuring," Maleny frowned, "Probably'," she mimicked his tone.

"Potential asset and..." he jammed his fist into the now-open wound, "...you're Maleny Rowan, that name used to do wonders for him."

Maleny looked away when Elijah took out the blade, flinching at the scream of pain Klaus gave as soon as it was out.

"And I due hope your name does wonders at this moment as well," Elijah finished rather calmly as was his nature apparently, "You see, Niklaus will be weak as he recovers. So, watch over him and feed him, if you would. But slowly, please, and from your wrist."

"I'm sorry?" Maleny backed away again, "I would assume there's blood bags in storage around here. Why does it have to come from me?" she held her hands to her chest.

"You said your blood was laced with vervain, yes?"

"Yeah, Haley put me on it."

"It'll burn him and therefore make him ingest it far slower. Perhaps you could use the time constructively? Persuade him not to murder his baby sister," he gave an offer before turning to Klaus, "Niklaus, it was not my desire to bring you pain, but I will not see you hurt Rebekah."

"Elijah. You will pay for this," Klaus warned in a weak voice, threatening nonetheless.

Elijah decided to ignore that and cleaned his hand before taking Maleny to the doorway, speaking quieter, "Now, I fear Sabine will be making a final move against us. I intend to find her and to end this."

"What am I supposed to do?" Maleny whispered, actually afraid of this plan.

"For starters, perhaps show him your necklace," Elijah gestured to the golden chain around her neck, "I wasn't going to mention it to him until I was sure but..."

Maleny put a hand over the locket, "But what?"

Elijah sighed, "Desperate times call for desperate measures. It's the only proof we need to know that you're telling the truth. He'll know it too. So please, just do what you used to do."

"I don't know what I used to do!" Maleny exclaimed, receiving a look to stay quiet. She sighed then spoke quieter, "Yes, I'm the girl, but...I don't remember how to be the girl."

"I don't think that's problem here," Elijah knowingly smiled at her, "Perhaps it's the fact you're scared to be that girl again. I don't blame you, the lives we all lived there weren't easy."

"Scared?" Maleny made a face but couldn't find it in her to defend herself against it.

"Don't refuse your identity. Believe it or not, there were good moments I knew of between you and others in the village. And, I assume, there were plenty more with my brother that none of us knew about," his smile turned into a smirk that had Maleny blushing within seconds.

"Elijah!" she scolded, hitting him on the arm.

"Just remember, alright? No matter how scared you might be, there were good, beautiful moments in your life," Elijah gave her a hug before taking his leave.

"This is great..." Maleny watched after him with a deep breath. She turned and let her bag drop on the floor, "We have some talking to do," she declared as she grabbed a chair and pulled to the side of the bed.

"Must we really?" Klaus could barely turn his head to look at her. Every part of his body was aching and the thirst he felt in his throat was skyrocketing...and she wanted to talk?

"Yes, we 'must really''," she mimicked him, "You are out of your psychotic mind, do you know that?"

At least her humor was still original, "And here I thought I'd be having a sweet little nurse," he gave a small smirk.

"Oh you'd like that," she rolled her eyes, though she did feel a small warmth in her face for some reason, "But no, I'm here to talk about your sister, apparently."

"I'm hungry," was his plain response.

"Okay," Maleny could see she was going to be dealing with an even more stubborn hybrid than usual, "This is how it's going to work: if you want good tasty blood, laced with vervain of course, you're going to listen and you're going to talk. And for once you're in no position to argue. So do as I say and we'll have a dandy ole day," she put on a sweet smile.

"I'd snap your neck right now if I could move properly," he rolled his eyes. Though the more he thought about the action the less he was sure he could actually go through it. That...bothered him.

"And I'd come back to life, apparently," Maleny shrugged, "So that would get you no where," she sighed, now growing serious, "Now, truthfully, how can you want to kill your own sister? You're not thinking straight."

Klaus opened his mouth and then thought of a better idea, "I'm hungry."

"Klaus," she scolded.

"You said I talk and I get blood, so hand it over, love," he smirked.

Maleny rolled her eyes and held her wrist out, "I swear to God if you bleed me out I'll come back and kill you...or haunt you."

"I like your sense of humor," Klaus commented as he grabbed her wrist, "That much hasn't changed, you know."

"Really?" Maleny barely had time to ponder on that when she felt the sharp jab on her wrist's skin, "Ah! Hey, that actually hurt. Slow down!"

"Okay," Klaus finally pulled away, only getting a small part of his strength back. It pained her and admittedly it did make him want to lessen his drinking.

"I'm pretty sure vervain is supposed to burn," Maleny took her wrist back, frowning.

"As you may have yet to realize, the line between what brings us pain and what sustains us is far thinner than one imagines."

"Are you talking about my blood or your senseless need to hunt down your own flesh and blood?"

"I'm too weak for these talks right now," Klaus turned his head away from her.

"I'm no psychologist like Cami but I know my fair share of losses as well. Implanted in my head, but losses nonetheless. How can you hate your own sister?"

"Because she betrayed me in a way I never thought my own 'flesh and blood'", he mimicked Maleny's tone, "would ever do."

"How?"

"Rebekah's always had a lack of judgement when it came to men. I always tried to keep her from a heartbreak, always," he made sure to emphasize that last word, "But she never understood. We were always on the run and the one moment, the one time I allowed her to finally live in freedom...she betrayed me. I let my guard down and given in to happiness, more fool, I."

"But that was a century ago, what could be so bad that you'd want to kill her for it now?" he pointed to her other wrist and when she caught his look she immediately shook her head, "No!" she cried and stood up, "I will decide when you get more," she walked around, "Back to business, you shouldn't take revenge, what would be the point now? Rebekah is your sister. One of the only siblings you have left because let's be honest, your other ones weren't in good contact with you."

"And how would you know that?"

Maleny blinked as she realized, "Oh...I think I remembered," she turned and headed for her bag on the floor.

"Have you been remembering lately?"

"Yes..." she pulled out a small journal, "...but I also have been listening to stories," she glanced over her shoulders, "Stories I'd rather not see..." she turned, "Rebekah told me what you did to my father," at that, Klaus turned his head away again, silent, "Care to elaborate on that?"

"I had no choice," was the answer.

"And isn't that what Rebekah may have thought during 1919? Hm?" she set the journal on the foot of the bed, "Perhaps what you did back then were for the same reasons Rebekah did what she did later on."

"No!" Klaus half shouted, "What I did was for safety! You were human back then and frail and you needed me!"

Maleny was quite unused to seeing that side of him directed towards the current her. For a second she almost forgot the point she was trying to make, "You acted out of love," she began quietly, finding it difficult to look him in the eye for the moment. She found Klaus's black shirt lying on the edge, nearly falling. She picked it up and moved to the side of the bed to hand it over, "Don't be so quick to forget your own past, Klaus," she whispered the warning.

He looked at her a moment, as if heeding her warning. But then he snatched his shirt from her hand, ignoring said warning, "I did not betray my family," he snapped as he sat up, "Rebekah brought to town the one thing I'd been running from for centuries... my father."

Maleny walked back to pick up her journal, suddenly quiet as she recalled Rebekah's story, "I'm sorry for that."

"Yeah, so was I," Klaus muttered.

"Rebekah told me a bit of my original self and in it was you...and a glimpse of your father," Maleny turned to face him as he laid back down, now with his shirt buttoned up, "I'm really sorry for what you had to endure. I heard mine was no better either."

"It was no wonder our father's got along so well," he shook his head, "But unlike me, you had no one to defend you. It was up to me and I made sure that changed."

Maleny didn't realize she'd let loose a smile for those words, but when she did she cleared her throat and scolded him, "That's not changing, that's murdering."

"No, that's not how you saw it back then. You have to see everything else that happened before you make your conclusion."

Maleny groaned in frustration, "How many times do I have to say this: I can't see the visions or dreams on command!"

"Perhaps you could go work on that right now..." he innocently suggested, making her scoff.

"Weak try by the way," she remarked.

"Well I am recovering from a nasty blade," he reminded.

"I'm not leaving and neither are you," she crossed her arms, "Besides, I would think Rebekah and Marcel would be anywhere in the world by now. It won't be that easy to find them."

"Oh, I'm not so sure about that," he gave her a sharp look, "To get away from me, they'll need a cloaking spell, and for that, they'll need a witch. There's only one place they can go..."

Maleny's eyes widened at the realization, "Oh no..." she breathed.

Klaus just smirked in victory, "Home," he finished.

"Don't do this," Maleny pleaded, seeing he had far better chances of finding them now, "She's your sister for goodness sake."

"For that same reason I'm doing this," Klaus snapped, "She should've known better! Now, she'll pay the price," he motioned with a hand for her wrist again.

Maleny reluctantly held her wrist again, "You'll regret it one day, you know," she spoke quietly, only wincing once that time, "I've seen you, remember? I know nearly everything about you. I know your huge paranoia of being left alone, or left out, and how much it troubles you. Well, look at yourself now, you're ready to kill your sister, god knows what you'll end up doing to Elijah. If you go through with all this...you'll really be alone."

Klaus finally let go of her wrist and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, "You may as well save your breath, love, no one can persuade me otherwise. My siblings have brought this upon their selves."

"I can," Maleny spoke up rather nervously, "I'm the one person who was able to make you do anything, apparently," she looked down at her necklace and suddenly pulled it off her, "Do you remember this?" she held it out to him.

Klaus's eyes widened, of course he recognized it. How could he not have seen that before!? Tentatively, he reached to touch the pendant, "You never let go of it..." he whispered, his eyes drifting up to Maleny's.

The image of the Maleny he knew, his Maleny, did not fit with the woman that sat beside him. And yet, she had the necklace that had been her prize possession back in the day.

"That girl you met all those centuries ago wouldn't want you to do this," Maleny swallowed the lump in her throat threatening to make her tear up, "Now I may not look like the girl in the forest you used to know, but she's in here," she gestured to herself, "and she doesn't want you to do this either. You won't listen to me just because I don't have pretty blonde hair anymore?"

For the first time since they'd began conversing, Klaus shared a laugh with her, "I didn't like you because you had 'pretty blonde hair'."

Maleny smiled, "That's good to hear. So why exactly did you like me back then?"

Klaus gave her a look for her question, "So now we're going to discuss the matters of our love life?"

Due to her blush, Maleny took a moment to herself and looked down, "Well, technically, it'd be your love life we're discussing. I can't remember mine."

"Somehow that sounds like a distraction so I don't harm my baby sister," Klaus handed her gold necklace back.

Maleny reluctantly took it back and sighed, "I really do mean it, though. I can't remember most of my life. At least tell me how I died. Because that's where it started."

"If I knew then perhaps you wouldn't be here today," Klaus leaned back on the headboard, "We had an...argument," it seemed he had trouble admitting that, "and you ran off. I was too frustrated so I let you go. I waited and waited for you to come back to the village but...you never did. You disappeared."

"And there were no clues as to why or how?"

"We searched for you, for one entire day we all looked for you and...nothing," Klaus sighed, balling his fists as the anger flourished in his blood, "You were gone. The last time I saw you you were so angry with me...that is the last memory I have of you."

Maleny rubbed the side of her neck, unsure of how to go about that topic. She didn't remember anything but he did, and he looked so...guilty. It was startling, honestly, and she felt compelled to make him feel better, "What ever happened I know it wasn't your fault," she reached to take his hand, uncaring of how he would react to it. She was just focused on making him better.

Klaus looked down at her hand but felt even worse. He had buried the disappearance of Maleny Rowan as deep as possible, his guilty conscience never allowing him peace for it. He gently took his hand from under hers, "I think you should wait to see your disappearance before you make statements like that."

"Well, since I can't command the visions, I guess we'll just have to wait," Maleny cleared her throat, "But listen, my body might be gone and technically, yeah, I'm still missing...but that doesn't matter anymore. I'm here, under the oddest circumstances, but I am here and I am trying to get my life back in order. And, believe it or not, you are part of this life. I've seen so many sides of you in my memories and right now I am looking at one that scares me. It scares me to the bone."

Klaus didn't take that so lightly, "Then leave," he snapped.

Maleny blinked, "No, don't take that the wrong way-"

"There is no other way to take it, love. You said what you want now I say what I want: this is me, and you don't have to be here to see me. In fact, I'm going to go do what I should have been doing all along, finding Rebekah and Marcel," and with that he tried getting up from the bed.

Maleny frantically tried to keep him down, "You're still weak! Did you forget that or something?"

"No, and I haven't forgotten my hunger," he cast a rather irritated look at her, "And unless you really want to become my lunch I suggest you move out of my way!"

"Aha, no," she shook her head, "You're not getting any of that. So, be a good little boy and get back into bed."

"If I had a quid for every time a woman has tried that line on me," Klaus smirked.

"Oh, he's hallucinating," she shook her head and stepped back with her own smirk, "Poor thing."

"I wouldn't be so quick to talk," Klaus pointed a finger at her, "If you are the Maleny I knew, then we had quite the nights..." he swayed his head, his smirk widening.

Maleny frowned and clapped her hand over his mouth, "Shut up, shut up right there and then," not a second later did she feel a prick on her palm, making her jerk it away with shock, "You bit me...with fangs."

"Be gracious I didn't go for the neck," was Klaus's simple response.

"Ever the gentleman," she rolled her eyes, "I don't know how you managed to get the women I've seen."

"I'm charming, did I forget to mention?"

This time, Maleny rolled her eyes with a playfulness in them, "Yes, did you also forget to mention how big of a show off you are?" she grabbed her journal and threw it to him, "I've got at least a full page for each women I've seen be shown off all your 'skills' and whatnot."

"You mean showing off my incredible charms," Klaus picked up the journal and started skimming through the pages, not even realizing that for a couple minutes he wasn't even thinking of Rebekah nor Marcel nor anything.

Maleny did.

She smiled genuinely and took a seat on the chair again, watching him read the pages she'd written. The murderous looks were gone momentarily as pensiveness took over, his attention seemingly captivated by what was written on the pages.

Out of the no where, Maleny blurted, "Do you think I could be them too?" Klaus raised his eyebrows as he looked up, "I mean, it makes sense why I see them all," they hadn't actually sat down to discuss that topic, even though it was pretty much unofficially believed.

"You'd jumped bodies longer than Celeste then," Klaus released a breath as he thought more, "But Celeste was a powerful witch and, no offense love, but..."

"I hadn't really mastered my powers yet, huh?" Maleny assumed by the look on his face.

"You were getting good at it," Klaus tried to ease down the truth, "but...you still needed more practice."

"So someone did this to me, for sure," Maleny bit her lip, "Who? And why?" she sighed, "I just don't understand why someone would do this to me."

"I promise you we are going to figure that out," a determination settled into Klaus's tone, "because that person made you disappear. I'll find them."

Maleny smiled, "How's about you promise me that you won't kill your sister instead, hm? I would really like that."

"Nice try."

Maleny groaned, "C'mon, we were doing so well for a short time. Can't we make that last a little longer?"

"Your attempts are full of genuine determination, admirable, but useless nonetheless," Klaus snatched the journal from her hands and opened it up to a page, "You wrote about Le Grand Guignol," he looked up with suspicious eyes, "What do you know about that?"

"That was part of Maya Sterling's life," Maleny shrugged, "You liked the play so you were going to take her there."

"I was..." he nodded with a small sigh, "...but my good ole father had other plans."

Maleny bit her lip as she considered her next words, "You know...I don't really know what happened to Maya. I mean, there's a lot of these women whose endings I don't know about. But, since we're already talking about 1919..."

"You want to know how she died...I don't think you do."

"Yes I do," Maleny assured, "I need to know everything those women did, what patterns they all shared, anything and everything to help me right now. There are some of the women who just...disappeared," her voice went into a whisper of fear, "Just like my first life. They just disappear and are never seen again. I don't want to disappear again. If you're going to murder Rebekah, can you at least do something good today?" she questioned before lightly gasping, "But don't tell Elijah I said that."

Klaus took a moment to consider the plead and decided to get something out of it as well. Next thing Maleny knew, her wrist was being asked for again.

"Are you serious?" she frowned.

"If I'm to get strength then I need blood, no matter how much yours burns," he motioned for her wrist.

"You're not looking so weak anymore," she remarked as she held her wrist again.

"You've turned out to be a good little nurse after all," he said as he took her wrist.

Maleny pretended to gasp, "Klaus Mikaelson, was that a compliment out of your sheer will?"

"Well if you are to be Maleny, the real Maleny I mean, I suppose I could be a tad nice. But don't get used to it," Klaus warned her.

"Why not?" Maleny earnestly questioned, "The night we had those drinks you were a bit nice," she reminded, "I think you even flirted with me."

"Mm, that wasn't flirting. Believe me, you'll know when I flirt."

"Right, so when I'm up against that wall," she jerked a thumb behind her, "and being snogged to death, I'll know," she rolled her eyes, "Look, this is interesting and all, but I really need you to listen: please don't kill your sister."

"Never going to let that go, are you?"

"This is your sister we're talking about! God, I can't believe this is man I saw talking for hours, and I do mean for hours, about a stupid play Maya couldn't care less about."

"Maya loved that play," he argued.

Maleny scoffed loudly, "Oh no, trust me, she did not give a damn about it. The only reason she listened was because it was you that was talking. Where is that man, hm?"

Klaus looked away from her, unsure of what he was more irritated of: the fact that the woman simply would not give up in her useless determinant efforts or that he couldn't seem to stay focused on how he was going to go after Rebekah and Marcel all because a simple brunette kept swaying him with words. What the hell was going on here?

~ 0 ~

Back at Cami's, there were dozens of papers around her bed with her laptop in the center. Cami had a frantic face on as she continuously searched through pile, "How is this possible?" she murmured, chewing on her nail as she read and read her aunt and uncle's letters they always wrote for her family from overseas.

It always happened like that, Cami remembered. Her family would receive letters from Maleny's parents who lived in England, and Cami always remembered there being pictures and even letters handwritten by Maleny herself. But now she physically went looking through them, Cami found herself coming up with nothing but pure letters from her aunt and uncle, no mention of any sort of Maleny - no daughter.

That couldn't be right...could it?

~ 0 ~

Maleny walked into the living room to find Klaus already pouring himself a drink, "Really?" she raised an eyebrow, "I leave for one minute and you go straight for the scotch?"

"It helps," he turned and raised the glass.

"No, it doesn't," Maleny shook her head, "Elijah never said anything about drinking scotch."

"Do not speak to me of Elijah," he snapped.

"You know he loves you, right?"

"Yes. He does, and he proves it time and again, even when my father enlisted him to kill me."

"Ah, see?" Maleny crossed her arms, "All the reason not to hurt him as well," she walked further inside the room, "And while you're at it, you should leave Rebekah too."

"Your tries are getting weak," Klaus remarked.

"Well, you keep feeding off me," she playfully snapped and took his glass, "It's bound to have some effects. Now c'mon, no more," she stepped back with his glass.

"What are you going to do exactly to prevent me?" Klaus raised an eyebrow. Maleny looked around in thought and resigned to drink down what was left, "That was your master plan?" Klaus actually laughed a genuine laughter.

Maleny set down the glass on the counter beside them and sighed, "If it's what I must, then I shall," she considered grabbing another drink but she remembered she'd have to return to Cami sooner or later and she'd rather do that in all her senses to patch things up with her 'cousin'. She looked up to find Klaus silently looking at her, "Why are you looking at me like that?" Maleny was quick to ask in alarm. For all she knew, Klaus could be plotting how to get her out of the way in order to find Rebekah and Marcel.

"For a split second, you looked...exactly like Maleny back in the day," Klaus explained in a quiet tone, seeming stunned at the fact.

"Okay," Maleny nodded, unsure of how to respond coherently. But as the silent minutes, that seemed more like hours to Maleny, dreadfully passed, she had a few words in her head, "Why are you looking at me like that now?" she sheepishly asked, now feeling a small blush on her face.

In the meantime of the silence, Klaus had been staring at her with an expression Maleny would have to classify as interest. Unbeknownst to her, Klaus was thinking, or wondering, how she might look like now if she were back in her original body. She was really that girl in the forest he used to meet all the time? In that moment he realized how much he missed her and wanted her back. He didn't care who he had to go through, he would find the person responsible for her disappearance and make them pay. Simultaneously he would find someone to break the spell and put her back in her original body. He wanted to see her pretty blonde hair again, and perhaps, even-

"You're still doing it," Maleny accused, unable to find peace with her balance. She shifted from one side to the other waiting for the hybrid to make a word or something.

Instead of answering, Klaus reached to touch her face, startling her. He wanted to see if she felt different. Being inside a body that wasn't yours had to feel odd but what about those around that person? If he caressed her, would she react the same way she did back in the old days? With all the other women he never knew it could have been his Maleny, and so he never paid attention to these kinds of things.

Suddenly, a phone beeped and seeing as Maleny's had been broken back at the plantation house she knew it had to be Klaus's. On cue, he stepped back and checked his phone, his eyebrows raising when he read the message, "Oh, I hate to be a know-it-all. My sister and her lover have been spotted in town. So, our time endeth here, I'm afraid."

Maleny watched him walk to a statue and promptly knocked it down. Out came an indestructible white oak stake from it, "What is that?" she pointed.

"A white oak stake, my own special version. And, unlike the one my father had, this one cannot be destroyed," Klaus waved the stake with a smirk and sped out of the room.

Maleny blinked, barely able to process what had happened. Such weird things happened...

She shook her head and dashed out of the room, she couldn't let anything distract her from the main problem.

~ 0 ~

"Hi, this is Camille O' Connell, I'm calling on behalf of my cousin, Maleny Woods," Cami had her landline phone pressed on her ear while she held yet another photo album of her family, "She just wanted to make sure her credits transferred to her English literature class for the semester."

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but there are no records of Maleny Woods in this college," the woman from the other line informed.

Cami stopped walking, "Oh really," by this point she wasn't as surprised to find yet another place missing a student Maleny Woods, "Not even a 'Maleny Woods O' Connell?" Cami gave the benefit of the doubt to Maleny in case she'd used her entire name that included Cami's aunt's maiden name.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but there's nothing here," the woman repeated.

"Thank you," Cami hung up and tossed the phone to the table. She sighed in frustration and shut the album in her hands. This was impossible. There was nothing...nothing of the woman Cami believed was her cousin.

She'd called the last community college to see about that credit transfer that Maleny had told her about over the phone the night she was to leave New Orleans with her. And yet, now Cami knew there was nothing of Maleny in said college. And it was not just that...it was everything else. There were no pictures of Maleny as a child, teen, adult, alone or with her family. But Cami could distinctly remember specific memories that Maleny was in. And yet...she wasn't there.

~ 0 ~

Maleny had found Klaus not too far from the compound, currently feeding on some poor man, "What are you doing?" she sighed.

Klaus let the man go and sent him on his way, all compelled of course, and looked at Maleny with half a sarcasm tone, "Well, if you have to ask, you obviously haven't been paying attention. I'm going to kill my sister, but first, I needed some sustenance with a little less vervain in it. No offense."

"Believe me, none taken," Maleny assured and shook her head, "You can't do this."

"Give me a couple minutes, I'll get strength back and then I'll prove you wrong."

Maleny put a hand on her head, "Take it from me," she began again, serious now, "I don't know what's going on with me, all I know is that I'm some girl from the old world that disappeared. I don't have any family anymore. The one person I did have...you killed. I'm alone now, in the 21st century, I've got nothing left. You do, you have your siblings and you're going to hunt them both down. Isn't that what your father did to you?"

Klaus stepped back and narrowed his eyes at her, "Are you calling me my father?" the accusation making it a deeper wound than he was willing to admit.

"Well...not really but kill Rebekah and I won't see any difference between you two at all," Maleny crossed her arms, "You'll be a senseless murderer like he was."

"You have no idea of the past, what happened, my reasons for doing what I did...come, let me show you an answer to one of your questions," and before Maleny could protest, Klaus sped up and grabbed her by the arm, speeding off to who knew where.

~ 0 ~

Maleny found herself in front of the ruins of an old opera house, the precise one that Mikael had burned down in 1919. Confused, she looked at Klaus, "What? I know, it burned down, so what?"

"You really don't remember what happened, do you?" he began considering the way in which he would tell her about her predecessor's death.

"Remember what?" Maleny shrugged, staring at the opera house again, "What's going on?"

"Maya Sterling, the same day the opera house was burnt down...she disappeared," Klaus began, ignoring the look Maleny was now giving him, "But she was found that same day...on the stage...staked to death and hung up like a prop," Maleny was frozen on her spot as she listened to his words, her eyes tearing up, unaware that were so Klaus's, "She wasn't the only one up on stage, there was Marcel, staked to a cross by the hands. Maya was...dead," Klaus swallowed hard, "There was nothing I could do for her so I tried to help Marcel but my father had other ideas. Rebekah attempted to intervene. And you know, all these years, I actually believed she was trying to save me..."

"Wouldn't you have tried saving Maya if she had still been alive?" Maleny softly questioned, making him think about it, "Rebekah was just doing what her heart was telling her to do."

"I had to run, beaten like the dog my father believed me to be," Klaus ignored the comment as he stared at the opera house, "And as we fled for our lives, he burnt it all to the ground. And with it, we assumed, Marcel. I lived, but all that we had built died, as did the last shred of me that felt human," he finally turned to Maleny, "I lost Maya because of those two."

"But...but I'm still here," Maleny gestured to herself, "I mean, it's weird but-"

"You're not her," Klaus interrupted, "You...you're afraid of me. You said it yourself. I scare you to the bone. So now, I'll go play the role I'm given, the one you've appropriated for me as well."

"No, Klaus, I-I didn't...I didn't mean to," Maleny tried to step closer to him but he sped away and left her on the street. She felt tears welling in her eyes as she realized she had unintentionally hurt him.

She looked at the opera house and shuddered a breath, hoping to God she would never remember the death she had went through as Maya. She shook her head and turned to head back to the compound where she'd left her things. She'd have to go find someone else who could help her now. On the turn of the street, she bumped into someone and heard a book drop to the ground. She bent down and picked up the blue book and handed it to the young man it belonged to, "Sorry."

"It's alright," the young man nodded with a smile that made Maleny sheepishly give one back. She went around him and continued down the sidewalk. She never looked back which allowed the young man to watch her go unnoticed.

~ 0 ~

Next Day

Maleny could not believe she was walking into Davina's old room in the attic of the church...where Davina herself now sat in, alive. She'd returned, apparently, by killing one of the resurrected witches. Marcel had called Cami's house where he'd requested not only her but Maleny as well. The two 'cousins' had been trying to talk once more, if Cami ignoring Maleny was 'talking' anyways, when Marcel had called in. What was worse was that Maleny found out the three Mikaelson siblings were currently stuck in the cemetery until nightfall tonight. Maleny feared for Rebekah's life, as well as Elijah's, for Klaus was in a state of utter fury. The only hope was for Davina to be able to lower down the boundary spell.

"Davina..." Maleny stood at the doorway of Davina's room, her heart breaking at the sight of the young girl. Cami had, begrudgingly remained downstairs for the moment with Marcel and Kieran after Marcel had specified that Davina wanted to see Maleny first for some reason.

"Maleny!" Davina gasped when she saw the brunette, "I...I know what happened to you..." she blinked with wide eyes, "...m-m-most of it anyways."

"You do?" Maleny could have nearly ran for the girl to get most of her answers but remembered the situation. As much as she wanted her answers she kept thinking about Klaus and the mistake he was about to commit, or could commit at any moment.

"It's a spell, you were tricked," Davina breathed heavily, her mind too exhausted from everything she'd endured in limbo to fully explain at the moment.

"Davina, I'd like to hear what you know but right now you're more important," Maleny slowly walked up to the bed and remained at the foot standing up, "Marcel mentioned something about being in limbo..."

"I was alone..." Davina began, pulling her knees to her chest, deciding it was best to talk to Maleny once her head was cleared, "...for a moment, anyways, but then I heard them. Voices, whispering to me."

"Who?"

"The ancestors. They're so angry with me. I used my power against my own, and they said they'd do horrible things to me if I misuse my magic again."

"Then all we have to do is just get you to start practicing magic like you used to," Maleny cautiously took a seat on the bed, "Before the Harvest."

"No, the witches don't want me anymore..."

"Yeah but if this Harvest thing is completed then bygones should be bygones," Maleny shrugged, "They got what they wanted in the end, after all."

"You're really a witch, you know that?" Davina surprised her with the confirmation of her powers, "I saw it, the ancestors, they know you. They've been watching you..."

"Oh goody," Maleny rolled her eyes, "Must be a hell of a freak-show for them. But right now, I don't matter, you do. Take my advise, try to start practicing magic like you used to before Marcel took you."

"You say that like it's so simple, but the witches aren't just gonna let me go. They're not done with me."

"No one can control you unless you let them."

"How do I even know who to trust? Should I trust Marcel? The first thing he did when I came back was try to use me again to help Rebekah. I'm sure Cami has something she wants from me too."

"And me too," Maleny sighed, "The curse resolved, to find my body-"

"But you're different, you're not asking me to fix you," Davina half-smiled, "You're telling me you don't matter...you're not like the others, that's why I only trust you."

Maleny smiled softly, "Then if you trust me, follow my advise. Look, if you want, we can go back to your coven and we can ask them for help."

"When I came back, the voices I heard, they said the only ones who could help me are the witches," Davina sighed, "But, after what I did to them, they hate me. So, how can I go back and ask for their help now?"

Maleny's heart broke all over again as the young girl broke into sobs again.

~ 0 ~

"Do you think there's any way of getting the witches to take Davina in again?" Maleny asked Marcel once Cami had taken her turn to see Davina, Kieran already gone to tend to the human fraction.

"Oh, like that's a possibility," Marcel scoffed in exasperation.

"Well until we haven't performed it, it is," Maleny crossed her arms, "You know the witches well, don't you think it'd be best for you to ask help?"

"Do you know why I know the witches so well?"

"You used to be a tyrant, yes I'm aware," Maleny nodded, "But you're not anymore and you want to get Rebekah out of that cemetery as much as I want to, so guess what? Talking to the witches is our best option."

"And do you really care Rebekah or Davina?"

"Excuse me?"

Marcel stalked up to her with a menacing look, "I know you don't exist, that you're a complete lie!" Maleny flinched at the loud tone that was being used against her, "I don't know how you did it, how you keep doing it, but you're nothing but a lie. Cami and Kieran think you're their family when the truth is all those thoughts were implanted in their heads!"

"Don't you yell at me!" Maleny snapped, raising her own voice back, "You think I like lying to Cami?"

"Seems like it to me! But your game ends here because I told Cami everything and I doubt it'll be long before the doubt really kicks in and she'll start digging, realizing that you're a lie."

With that, Maleny was left alone as Marcel sped out of the church to take her advise on the witches. She turned around and blinked with wide eyes as she saw Cami standing at the doorway of the staircase. Maleny swallowed hard as Cami came towards her, the intent of discussing that matter etched all over her face.

~ 0 ~

Night had fallen over the French Quarter and with good news for Davina. She'd been accepted back with the coven and the Harvest Girls. However, Maleny wasn't doing too hot at the moment. She and Cami had a very, very long 'discussion' about Maleny's past.

"This is when we went to camp, remember?" Cami held up a photograph of her younger self and her twin in a forest, "You and I learned how to swim in the coldest lake possible. And yet...you're not here."

Maleny tried taking the photograph but Cami stepped back, more furious than ever, "Cami, I'm sorry. But you really don't understand-"

"Of course I don't understand!" Cami exclaimed, "I don't understand anything! How you're not in any of our photo albums. How you're not even mentioned in the letters my aunt wrote for us...I don't get it."

"I didn't choose any of this, Cami. Davina says someone put a spell on me. It's all very complicated but I didn't want to lie to you."

"The fact is you didn't have sufficient trust in me to tell me what was going on," Cami pointed, "You had the chance and you decided to tell everyone else - even Davinawhom you'd only met for a couple hours, and not me, your family!" tears started to well up in her eyes as she kept going, "I'm human, yes, but I could still help you! I would've done anything to help you! But you didn't trust me..."

"No, that's not true," Maleny began to say but Cami had had enough with everything.

"Actions speak louder than words, Mal, and yours have screamed at me what you thought," with that, Cami went for the suitcase Maleny had left in the corner of her room, "And since you don't trust me, then I don't want you here."

"Cami..."

"I don't want you anywhere near me or uncle Kieran, my uncle Kieran," Cami brought the suitcase up to Maleny, "And don't you dare tell him the truth because that is the last thing he needs right now. Leave, I don't care where you go or what you do, just GO."

"Cami, please," Maleny pleaded but Cami wouldn't listen anymore.

"Get out, Mal," Cami spat the nickname and pushed past her, heading for her own room to await for her 'cousin' to leave her home.

~ 0 ~

Rebekah stood in front of Cami's house later in the night, awaiting for Maleny to come near the window or something to get her attention. She'd been making stops with everyone before she left the city and Maleny was her last one. She wasn't in the mood for a whole talk with Cami as she was sort of in a rush, she didn't want Klaus to have time to regret his deal with her and really come after her again.

Suddenly, she saw Maleny stepping out of the house and so went towards her, only to slowly come to a stop when she saw Maleny's suitcase in hand as well as her bag over her shoulders, "What's...what's going on?"

Maleny was startled to see the blonde at the spot, never really getting news afterwards on what kind of plan had struck between her and Klaus due to her arguments with Cami, "What are you doing here, Rebekah?" she rolled her suitcase behind her as she came up to Rebekah, "And Klaus? Is he okay?"

Rebekah caught the extra concern for her brother and smiled, "He's fine - under what fits," she answered for Maleny's sake, "I came to say goodbye but what are youdoing?" Rebekah's eyes were glued to the suitcase, "You're leaving?"

"Not by choice," Maleny sighed, "Cami found out I lied and, well...she wasn't too happy."

"Understatement, by the looks of it," Rebekah raised her eyebrows, "You got an idea where you're going, then?"

"Um, got a bit of money saved, going for a hotel nearby."

"So you're not leaving the city?"

"No, but apparently you are," Maleny was now staring at the bright red car Rebekah had parked in the street, "Why?"

"Klaus gave me my freedom," Rebekah shrugged, "Definitely took it. It's for the best, too much tension, and..." she sighed with resignation, "...this is the best for both of us."

"I'm sorry," Maleny said quietly, "I thought I could get him to change his mind but I guess I was only kidding myself if I thought I had that kind of power."

"Look, Maleny, I came to say goodbye and give you my number," Rebekah handed over the small piece of paper, "Heard you were caught in a fire and blah, blah, blah, so here's the number again. Give me a call here and then, like our old chats when we were human."

"Then you accept I'm really her?"

Rebekah smiled softly, "Yes, and because of that, I want us to have that friendship again, even if it's through long distance. You and I, we used to be like sisters back then..."

"I remember that," Maleny nodded again as she recalled the several visions she'd seen about them, "We used to share all our secrets with each other, all of them..." she flushed with embarrassment.

"Your biggest one being your love for my brother," Rebekah was sure to remind with a smirk.

"Oh, God," Maleny looked away, even more embarrassed.

"Do you remember what happened to you during that time?" Rebekah wondered genuinely, "Why or how you disappeared?"

Maleny shook her head, "No, it's all still fuzzy but I'm sure the more I work on it the more I'll begin to remember."

"I had suspicions that it could've been Klaus..."

Maleny's eyes widened, "N-n-n-no!" she immediately said, "I know it wasn't him! He...he can't have been," she grew quiet as she thought, "No...I refuse to believe that."

"Do you still love him?" Rebekah also wondered, curious to know if that true sentiment had prolonged throughout the course of time.

"What? I...I don't know," Maleny blushed deeply, one that even Rebekah could see through the dark night and even made her laugh, "It's all too confusing right now. Besides, I think I've hurt his feelings earlier in the day. I'll be lucky if I can walk the street without being cornered."

"Earlier, I'd wanted to start an investigation on your disappearance, my assumed culprit being my brother, but now I'm not so sure..." Rebekah honestly said, "...I think there's more to this than I realized, and perhaps I've judged my brother wrongly. If you've been the women he's repeatedly fell in love with over the centuries then make no doubt that the story will repeat itself again, only this time...try to stick around forever, yeah?"

"I'd love to, but I'm cursed, haven't you heard?" Maleny sighed while Rebekah's eyes widened, "Davina's going to help me, Klaus was going to help me too but now I don't know..."

"You know, I know a place you could stay in...maybe start on that plan," Rebekah smirked, Maleny dreading the plan she was in the dark about.

"Where...?"

"The one place you ought to be from now on," Rebekah declared then grabbed the handle of Maleny's suitcase, "Come along!"

~ 0 ~

Elijah stood in the courtyard of the compound, now a lonesome building without Marcel and his vampires lurking about. Even Hayley had decided to stay with her pack at least until the full moon next month to see if the curse would finally break, thanks to a conjuring of Celeste. He heard footsteps nearing the building which surprised him because, truthfully, she was the last person he expected to see for the night.

He turned to find Maleny standing at the threshold with an apologetic smile and a face stained with tears, "I-I'm sorry...Rebekah, she brought me here," Maleny rubbed the side of her face, "Cami and I, we had an argument...she knows I lied to her and her family so she kicked me out. Rebekah said I should come here and left before I could even say something..."

Elijah looked up to the second level, knowing Klaus was probably already beginning on the drinking and whatnot. He began forming an idea in his mind on just how to help Klaus. He walked up to Maleny with a smile, "I think Rebekah did right," he motioned for the suitcase Maleny held on to.

"But Klaus and I, he's upset with me..." Maleny felt the need to say before Klaus himself turned up to kick her out.

"Believe me, it'll be alright," Elijah assured as he took her suitcase.

Maleny had no choice but to believe him for the moment and began following him up the stairs, hoping to God everything would really work out fine. It had been a long, long time of living this cycle. She just wanted to break the spell and finally be free to live in her own body. Was that too much to ask?

[bucky-iss-bae]

The Word that made my World - Klaroline

Request: Klaroline Soulmate AU where you have your significant other's first words tattooed somewhere on your body in their handwriting and Klaus lost hope years ago that he would ever find his.

Fandom: TVD/TO

Pairing: Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikealson

Word Count: 1700ish

Warnings: Canon Divergence, Fluff I guess

A/N: So I hope you all enjoy a Lil Klaroline, might write some more in the future but I’m still watching The Originals, this is lowkey bad but still... Also, I wrote this a hella long time ago sorry it's so shit, and I since have realised I hate doing work in the first person.

Masterlist Fandom List

Klaus didn’t understand how or why his life had become so difficult when it came to love, and finding his significant other.  Sure over the thousands of years alive he constantly found women to bed, to have a good time with, to wear on his arm when attending ball’s or galas all in order to keep face.

For the majority of his life he believed he was too heartless to ever have a significant other, that someone out there knew of his selfishness and his ways that they believed he didn’t deserve someone, his father reminded him of this during his early years and maybe it was true, he wouldn’t ever find someone.

Gradually over time causing him to become more selfish, and more in love with himself rather than anyone. His siblings when they were around or alive gave attempted to give him hope, but he wasn’t sure what to believe. He gave up, he gave up and dated a new woman every week, every day, different women at once. He didn’t care if they found out about the other, his good looks, his charm, his compulsion would find a way around this. Anything that averted his attention, knowing that there wouldn’t ever be someone who would be his, a beautiful lady out there who he would love and care for, protect from the cruelties out there. The monsters, someone to change the monster within him. Ac

May ’94. He remembers the day he saw this tattoo appear one morning along his triceps. This change the course of his life, it changed everything, it meant he has someone. A beautiful someone out there. Someone who one day will be his.

But at the same time this still changed nothing, it didn’t mean that she was his yet, sure one day they would be destined to be together but how long until they find each other. How long until he meets his soul mate because until then it’ll be nearly impossible to find her. And he just hoped fate would be on his side for once.

He still went about his life the same, day in day out, each day staring at the tattoo, those words, her first words written there.

He rarely had mercy, on his victims, he was still the powerful and feared man all vampires knew him as and it still took another 15 maybe 16 years until he found her, though he had no clue.

Mystic Falls, once a small village in which he spent part of his childhood, being raised alongside his siblings, abused by his father, either manipulated or loved by his mother, but with loyal siblings, he was back. Building a home making new enemies, new friends.  

He was back in a town that was his before this town was even built before this town was known for its vampires. For its werewolves, witches, and now will be known for its hybrids.

The people of this town amused him, though one entranced him. The beautiful Caroline Forbes.

Her mother being the sheriff meant he had to try and get on her good terms, but something about her drew him to her. It made him wonder, is she the one who he’s been waiting for?

Getting on her good terms was more difficult than he would’ve imagined. She was a strong and powerful girl. She was smart, she believed in what was right, and she was a leader. A natural born leader. And she held so much about her that made me want to know more.

**

The house my siblings and I shared was complete, and furnished, now becoming our home. Once again in Mystic Falls. The others all out and I got to appreciate the hard work we put into making a new or old place as our home.

I heard a car pulling up and was downstairs by the front door within seconds. The sheriff’s cruiser was in my driveway.

I stood in the doorway, an attempt to look friendly, she got out of the car and walked towards me.

“Sheriff, well isn’t this a surprise”

She smiled, “Yes Klaus, I figured I should come and personally welcome our newest arrivals of the town.”

“Thank you, sheriff, much appreciated. I wasn’t sure if it would be because of our extra abilities, let’s say. If you understand”

“Oh I’m fully aware of what yourself and your siblings are. But as your brother Elijah explained, I believe there’ll be no harm right?”

“Of course not. I assume you’re also close to the Salvatore’s?”

“Yes, Damon becoming a better friend then I expected. Though he is the one who turned Caroline at first”

I nodded, “So I’ve heard. Caroline, she’s quite the girl you have”

She chuckled shaking her head, “You wouldn’t believe. But I have to ask Klaus, I didn’t interrupt you from doing anything did I?” She asked motioning towards what I was wearing or lack of. As I was stood here shirtless.

“Apologies Sheriff, I was painting, something I tend to do in my downtime”

“Wow, certainly what I least expected”

I smiled, “Full of surprises I am”

She nodded, “I can tell. You also have beautiful tattoos, what does that say if you don’t mind me asking?” She said pointing towards the first words uttered by my soul mate.

I smiled softly, a genuine smile, “Honestly, it took me a while to figure it out, but it reads, ‘momma, momma, ‘m go be, pwincess’. Eventually, it made sense”

The sheriffs face has a smile, “You know that’s funny because…” She paused for a moment and her face dropped into confusion.

“It’s impossible” She whispered.

My eyes widened, does she know? Does she know who said these words as their first? Someone who wanted to be a princess, but instead I’ll make them a queen.

“Sheriff?” I asked my eyes widening, “Please tell me, please, what is it you know?”

She averted her eyes from the tattoo up to my eyes, “Caroline. When she was 16 her tattoo appeared. Just as everyone does, ‘Eli Play’ was hers. And it’s confused her since. But, I remember the day my baby said her first words. I remember, she was 19 months and such a smart baby, she talked a lot but never clearly, until she tells me she wants to be a princess.”

As the sheriff spoke, and overwhelming feeling came over me. Caroline. It’s Caroline. My soulmate. The one woman who’s had me entranced since the day I moved here. Who’s not taken anything from me, who made me feel things no one else ever has done before. And now here her mother stands to confirm this. Telling me her daughter is the one woman who will make me feel whole.

“Where, where is she?” I asked unable to process what was happening. Thousands of years and this moment feels unreal right now.  

“She’s at the grill at the moment, with Elena and Bonnie”

“Sheriff please with all due respect. I need to go”

She nodded understanding with a small smile, “Look after my girl Klaus” She said walking out the house. I grinned at her, before going upstairs to change and leave.

I didn’t take the car instead ran to the grill getting there within minutes. I wasn’t sure of what I was feeling right now, but I can assure anyone that I have never felt this… alive in all my years.

I walked in keeping my composure, keeping calm, I saw one of my brothers charming a girl. Of course, he was, but I soon spotted Caroline, sat and talking with her best friends.

I smirked and walked towards her, she saw me, and I caught that small smile and twinkle in her eye before it was gone. Well the smile, not the small twinkle.

“What do you want Klaus?” She asked sounding bored.

“To talk to you love is all” I smirked. “you girls mind if I borrow her for a while?” I asked the other two.

“Of course not. Car’ would love to join you” Elena said a massive smile of her own. She tilted her head to the side and Caroline sent her friend a glare before begrudgingly getting up grabbing her bag and following me out of there.  

We both started walking through the town square, it was quite a beautiful day in mystic falls, “What do you want to talk about?” She asked, her fiery personality not afraid to ask questions and getting to the point.

I laughed, “I just spoke to your mother would you believe”

She rolled her eyes, “Yes, she told me she would be going to the new Mikealson mansion to give them a proper welcoming. But I assumed you would be throwing an extravagant party. One your sister would have no problem in organizing considering she’s probably the second best party planner in the town”

“Second best?” I asked amused.

“Of course, me being the first” She smirked,

“Well if you must know we will be having a party this weekend, and all I ask is to have the most beautiful girl in Mystic Falls as my date”

She scoffed, “Flattery will only get you so far Klaus”

“Of course, but you realize, you have my first words tattooed somewhere on this beautiful body of yours?” I asked looking her up and down.

Her eyebrows furrowed, “And how do you know this? You haven’t been perving have you”

I smirked, “Of course not Caroline, I know this because I also know that the first thing you ever said to your mother was how you want to be a princess”

Her cheeks reddened and realization dawned upon her though she was quick to recuperate herself, “Well you know this changes nothing. I won’t be yours just like that. It’s going to take a lot more than a nice accent and charming smile to get me to be yours”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less, love”

“And I’ll need to know the colour of your tie so I can coordinate for the party”

A grin formed on my face, “Don’t you worry about what you’re wearing it’ll be taken care of”

A small smile appeared on her face, “How did you know?”

“As I said your mother paid me a visit. She asked about my small amount of tattoos and figured it out. She told me about yours and well, here we are”

Nothing could wipe this smile off of my face, especially seeing the smile on her beautiful face made those years where I suffered and believed I would be alone for an eternity worth it. Knowing this strong-willed girl is my girl. And nothing will ever change that.

[thebennettdiaries]

a thousand souls crossed over (15/?)

Premise: Bonnie is finally settling into life as the bridge between the living and the dead. That is until Kol Mikaelson shows up and refuses to leave until she does him a favor: give a message to his family in New Orleans. Of course, that is just the beginning. Set in Season 5 with shades of AU, crossover with The Originals.

Characters: Bonnie Bennett, Elijah Mikaelson, Klaus Mikaelson, Sophie Deveraux, Enid Lacour, Cami O’Connell, and a few others. 

Author’s Note: Thank you, thank you, thank you for such a warm welcome back to this story.  It has really made me smile (not to mention get super excited about this little tale of mine once more).  I hope that this chapter might answer some of those lingering questions from the one before.  Enjoy! 

A table of contents and cast list can be found here

Part Fifteen

Every part of her feels heavy.  

It is like she is being pulled down towards the center of the earth and she is helpless to stop it.  

Bonnie manages to open her eyes. There are the blurred lines of figure looming over her.  She hears a voice, knows there are actual words but she can’t bring herself to hold on long enough to figure them out.

She lets herself fall instead.

X

The second time she opens her eyes she realizes she is on a bed.  It feels soft beneath her, a perfect contrast to the harsh brightness of the ceiling.  She turns her head to avoid being blinded.   As she does so, Bonnie hears that voice again.  Feminine, not entirely unfamiliar.

“Rest.”

She doesn’t bother to argue.  She doesn’t have it in her.

As she drifts off, she realizes there is the distinct smell of jasmine in the air.  Despite everything, she can’t help but smile.

X

She is able to hold on longer the third time she comes to.  

Bonnie realizes it is Enid that holds vigil by her bedside.  Seeing the witch is the equivalent to receiving an electric jolt.  Her whole body jerks automatically and she tries to say something.  Only there are far too many somethings trying to work their way out of her and she ends up jumbling it all together in a string of nonsense.

Enid stands over her, coming into focus as she moves.  She has a wet cloth in her hand.  When she brings it Bonnie’s forehead a combination of sage and rosemary nearly overpowers her.  Bonnie pushes back, trying to melt her body into the mattress to get away from it.  Enid clucks her tongue.  “It’ll do you good.”

Still, Bonnie loathes submitting to the warm cloth against her skin.  She realizes all her senses have gone into overdrive; she is far too sensitive to everything.  She moans, low in her throat at first and then the sound pushes out just as she blindly swings her arm.  Enid must be prepared (or Bonnie’s aim is truly off).  The cloth runs the length of her cheek and then she sighs, relaxing her muscles once more.  

“Told you,” Enid says, and has the good humor to sound smug despite everything.

“How is she?”

Bonnie blinks, for the first time realizing there is another in the room.  Her head lolls to the other side.  There are those blurred lines again, only now they come together to form Elijah.  He stands in the window and she finds the light that pours in behind him too much.  She shuts her eyes once more.  This time, however, she holds onto her consciousness.  

“As best as can be expected considering what trampled out of her,” Enid snips as if Elijah’s question is ridiculous in the first place.

Bonnie giggles.  Or tries to.  There is no sound.  Instead her body just shakes and Enid is back again, bathing her in warm water and herbs.  She finds herself stuck between hating how infantile she feels and enjoying how the concoction seems to soothe whatever riot is going on inside of her.  

“I mean --- is she aware of what is going on?”  Elijah sounds businesslike.  Bonnie wants to stick her tongue out at him.

“Honey, I don’t even think she is aware of her own name,” Enid shoots back.  “Trust me, we all want to get to the bottom of this but you’d do well to remember she is just as much a victim as the rest.”

As she is pulled peacefully back towards sleep, Bonnie decides Enid can do whatever the hell she wants.  

X

She dreams (or at least she thinks she dreams).  Kol is standing next to his brother now, both watching her as she twists in the bed.  She blinks up at Kol, noting the grave look on her face.  Then a thought hits her.

What if…

“Can you see him, Elijah?” She asks.  “Can you see Kol?”

Kol frowns and the action is repeated Elijah.  Bonnie realizes for the first time how much they look like one another.  

“No, Bonnie, I cannot,” Elijah answers and he doesn’t sound businesslike now.  He sounds broken.

She dreams that Kol sits on the edge of her bed and tells her he needs her to pull out of this.  

At least she thinks it is a dream.

It is normal to smell jasmine in dreams, right?

X

Bonnie finally remembers everything in the proper order when she wakes.  As the pieces click together with such an air of finality, she notes that the light no longer seems as bright.  She takes a deep breath as a new demon grips her: guilt.

She has failed Davina.

Enid appears once more and for the first time they make proper eye contact.  “You’re still a little green so no grand ideas.  Got it?”

Bonnie remembers this is the witch that flippantly told Elijah Mikaelson to cool his heels.  She is not about to argue with her.  She doesn’t have it in her anyway.  “Davina…”

Enid’s head bows.

She doesn’t need to ask.  The gesture is enough.  “I promised her.”

“You did,” Enid agreed.  “And you did everything you could to keep your promise. I have only known you inside of a week and I can already tell you’re big on self-flagellation.  I also know it’d be a waste of my breath to try and argue you out of it.” She heaves a sigh and sinks down on the edge of the bed.  “Of course, nothing about this is simple.  It’s not as easy as saying you broke your promise.  Your stubborn head just needs to wrap itself around that fact.”

Bonnie notes for the first time how tired Enid looks.  She has no idea how long she has been playing nursemaid.  “What time is it?”

Enid furrows her brows together as if she hasn’t considered the time in a while.  “Early evening,” she says but a shrug follows her answer.  “You’ve been dancing around waking up properly for the better part of a day now.”

It should be longer.  What happened in that cemetery feels like it is years in the past.  Her body aches with the same kind of phantom pain that comes with recalling an old injury but everything seems so distant. Yet she remembers everything leading up to her attack (she can call it that right?) with crystal clear precision.

Davina clinging to Marcel.  Sophie cutting Davina’s throat.  Davina standing before her and telling her she is beautiful --- then things fall apart.  Kol appears.  Elijah rallies the troops to find the rogue witch.  That woman with hate in her eyes thanks her.  Then there are so many of them.  Despite wanting to, Bonnie can’t see faces.  Only hands.

(so many hands)

“What did it look like?” She wonders aloud.  She realizes, rather ruefully, that she had the advantage of actually seeing the dead as they descended on her.

“Strange thing, really,” Enid begins.  Her fingers twist together in her lap.  “You were talking to the air for a while.  If I didn’t know better I would have been questioning your sanity.  Then Cassie...suddenly she’s there.”

Bonnie makes a face, as if she should know who Cassie is.  It dawns on her --- a girl with brown hair that covers her face; a girl with a white dress.  “She is one of Harvest girls, right?”

Enid nods.

“She made it back,” Bonnie is stating the obvious but she doesn’t care.  It doesn’t help knowing one came back.  At least not like it should.  She has stood in this very room and promised Davina that she would actually get to live her life.  

Instead…

“The coven swooped her up pretty quick,” Enid explains.  “Especially since it all turned upside down really.” She bows her head, finds a spot on the floor.  “It was like something pinned you down --- you fought though, fought like hell but they just...poured out of you.”

Bonnie swallows back something; anger, fear --- maybe it’s not an emotion, maybe she is going to throw up all the bile in her stomach.  “How many?”

Enid shakes her head.  “I don’t know.  They weren’t friendly.  I’m smart enough to know when a quick exit is the best idea.”

A new question slams hard into her chest.  “Sophie?”

“Fine.”  Enid then curls up her mouth.  “Well, physically.  Last I saw, Marcel was lifting her off the ground and getting her the hell out of there.”

Bonnie closes her eyes, trying to imagine how Sophie feels at this very moment.  For the past few months she had lived for that one moment.  She had come so close, only to be knocked away before she could finally grasp what she has sacrificed so much for (and her prize is supposed to be a living, breathing thing).  

“I might have run all night if Rebekah and that brother of hers hadn’t slid into my path,” Enid admits.  

She seems ashamed of that fact and Bonnie wants to tell her she understands.  There is something to be said to lying low until you truly know what you are facing --- and therefore there is no shame in running.  Instead of saying that, Bonnie only manages one word.  “Rebekah?”

“I was nearly back to the Jardin Gris and she is suddenly there with you in her arms,” Enid explains.  “Elijah was right behind me and for a moment I think I’m prey.  Then he’s laying it on thick with the manners, thinking you might need a witch’s help.  He didn’t even need to bother really.  I would have helped as soon as I saw you.  You looked...well, you were an unholy shade of grey.”

It is on the tip of her tongue to thank Enid for taking care of her (even in those moments where she had fought against it).  Instead their attention is pulled to the door where Elijah stands.  Bonnie wonders if he has heard his name being whispered from his corner of the compound.  

“You are awake,” he says.  “I trust you are feeling more yourself.”

“Less like I was stomped on by a horde of ghosts,” Bonnie assures him.

He frowns.  Perhaps it is not a good idea to make light of their very real crisis but she has spent nearly a day in bed caught between states of consciousness --- if anyone gets to poke fun at it all, she figures it is her.  

“In regards to that,” Elijah begins, sounding all business.  She supposes this is what he looks like as he strategizes for war.  “My siblings and I have questions.”

“Of course you do,” Bonnie says.  Enid mutters a few choice words under her breath (Bonnie wonders if she is aware how adept vampire hearing is).

“Not only for you,” Elijah says but it does not sound reassuring.  “For the witch that was found lurking outside the cemetery as well.”

Bonnie freezes.  “ --- you have her?”

He nods.  

She doesn’t hesitate.  She pulls back the covers that have pinned her in and twists her body so her legs dangle over the edge of the bed.  Her head clouds before she even stands but that doesn’t stop her from trying.  She might have hit the ground if he hadn’t been lightning quick.  She blinks, tilting her head to look up at him.  He feels solid. Warm.  “I’m good.”

“Are you certain?” He asks.

Bonnie nods and he takes a step back. Enid, who is still sitting on the bed, raises an eyebrow.  “I need to see, Elijah,” she states firmly.   He appears to be thinking it over.  “You never would have found her if it weren’t for me.”  

He inclines his head and then moves towards the door.  “You should know, she has been less than cooperative,” he tells her.  “Despite my brother’s attempts to discover the truth.”

Bonnie knows what he is trying to tell her.  She might not like what she is about to find but there is no way she is staying in this room a moment longer.  

She has questions too.

X

“Sabine.”

Enid has stuck close.  At first Bonnie thinks she is hovering in case there is a repeat performance of the near fall in the bedroom.  But then she realizes that Enid wants to get a good look at the witch that may have blown her coven’s ritual sky high.  She stands next to Bonnie, her face twisted in pure shock.  

Bonnie looks to the witch (Sabine) seated at the other end of the dining room table.  She appears calm, almost serene really.  This despite the blood that is caked at the corner of her mouth and neck and the shackles that twist around her wrists.  Bonnie takes a deep breath, attempting to push back at the immediate knee jerk reaction at seeing a witch beaten and in chains.  She knows suffering at the hands of vampires --- she knows suffering at the hands of these particular vampires.  

Elijah had been wise to warn her.

“Enid,” Sabine says and there is a hint of a smile on her face.  She then looks to Bonnie.  “Miss Bennett, I am glad that you are on your feet again.”

Strangely, those words of apparent kindness help alleviate her inborn desire to pull Sabine free of the Mikaelsons.  She doesn’t want pity --- not from the woman who no doubt is a cause of her misery in the first place.  She stands in the entrance to the dining room, eyeing Sabine with a newfound light.  That serene look takes on an almost manic quality, as if she is one smile away from cracking in half completely.

Bonnie tears her eyes from Sabine and finds herself looking at Klaus instead.  He is eyeing her in return and for a moment she shifts uncomfortably under his gaze.  He has that same look about him --- as if he is wondering just what in the hell she is.  She supposes after last night, she has upped the ante when it comes to being the Anchor.  She just doesn’t fully understand how yet.  She has to look back at Sabine.  “What did you do?”

Klaus laughs bitterly.  “She is not in the sharing mood.”

Bonnie has no doubt that he has tried to persuade her using the methods he knows best.  Given Sabine’s general disposition at the moment, she seems proud to wear the marks that prove she will not give into Klaus Mikaelson.  Bonnie pays him no mind, instead moving further into the dining room.  Sabine eyes her progress; leaning back in her chair (a frisson of pain is evident on her face as she does so).  Finally Bonnie sits herself down.  “You’re a French Quarter witch?”  Enid’s reaction is all the proof she needs of that.

“In name only,” Sabine answers.  “Our coven is not what it used to be.  It’s weak, kowtowing to vampires.”

Enid explodes.  “So you turn your back on it instead?  Destroy what hope we have left?” She might have said or done more but Elijah’s hand casually drops in front of her.  For the first time, Enid appears to heed to his quiet brand of authority.

Bonnie gets Enid’s anger.  Or she thinks she does.  She has always believed that in the world of the supernatural, witches should stick together.  This whole mess, between being cornered into working with the Mikaelsons and watching the Harvest fall to pieces, has her questioning if she has been far too naive in her approach.  

Sabine’s laugh sounds hollow.  “One day you’ll understand that what I did is much bigger than our coven. What I did is for all the witches, the humans...anyone who has been wronged by the Mikaelson family.”

Klaus moves swiftly, a growl erupting from his throat as he kicks Sabine’s chair.  She topples backwards, the sound of her head hitting the floor echoing throughout the room.  Bonnie stands and her eyes are wide as she looks from Sabine to Klaus, who appears every part the wild animal he is.  She feels a very real measure of fear as she steps forward.  “Obviously, that doesn’t work on her.”

Sabine laughs once more (albeit the sound is more subdued this time) as if to prove Bonnie’s point.  She looks dazed as she stares up at the ceiling.  

Klaus’s mouth tightens.  He raises his right hand, pointing a finger directly at Bonnie.  “Explain to me what happened last night.”

She can only tell him what she knows.  “Instead of the living crossing over to the land of the dead, the dead crossed over to the land of the living.”

He is clearly not happy with her answer.  “How?”

There are multiple answers to that question.  The idea of the dead coming back to life is not a new concept to either of them.  They have both seen it in action.  She just doesn’t fully know which answer to supply him with in this case.

“I hijacked the Reaping,” Sabine whispers from her position on the floor.  Despite her quiet tone, she sounds proud.

Both Bonnie and Klaus turn their heads to look at Sabine.  She is still staring at the ceiling.  Bonnie crouches down, her hands wrapping around the arm of the chair.  She gives it a fruitless tug and then glances up at Klaus.  He merely raises a brow.  She sighs.  “Elijah?”

Thankfully Elijah proves to be more agreeable than his brother.  Together they right Sabine’s chair and Bonnie once again takes her seat.  She presses her lips together, knowing she is not going to like what she is about to hear.  “Hijacked it --- what do you mean?”

Sabine somehow manages to twist her body into a more regal position.  “That magic was meant for one thing --- to bring those girls back.  I just...made sure to change the path a little that’s all.” She leans in and suddenly Bonnie feels like it is just the two of them in the room.  “Everyone who understands the Harvest knew Davina was going to die one way or another…” Bonnie flinches and Sabine seemingly ignores it.  “...so whether she let herself be sacrificed or she burnt out under this roof, all that magic in her was going to come pouring out for anyone to take advantage of.  Sophie wanted to use it to do right by her sister --- I was thinking about the bigger pictures, I wanted to do right by everyone so at just the right moment, I cast my own spell.”

Bonnie knows the spell Sabine is speaking of would have to be a powerful one to supersede the Harvest ritual.  But then she realizes that for the past few months, Sabine has been the one dabbling in sacrificial magic.  She has been killing vampires, wolves and witches alike and hoarding that all that power to use just as soon as Davina died.

“You stopped them from coming back,” Bonnie says and she feels the first inklings of the anger that Enid feels.  That Klaus feels.

Sabine shakes her head as if the loss of three young lives who were promised a second chance is no big deal.  “They could have come back.  They just had to be quick about it.  You see, that spell of mine --- it opened you up.  Swung the door the other way sort to speak.  As long as you were conscious, anyone could have come through.  Of course, there was a line up.  A plan in place to ensure that just the right people made it back.”

That army Kol has been talking about --- they were waiting for that spell to take hold and then they had descended on her.  

“For what it is worth, I am sorry that they didn’t make it back,” Sabine says.  

It is too bitter a pill to swallow.  She stands abruptly, wanting to put some space between her and Sabine.  For a split second, she is afraid that she too might lash out at the witch.  That desire is evident in her voice when she speaks.  “How the hell did you know a spell like that?”  She already knows the answer but part of her still needs to Sabine to speak the words, to confirm everything that Kol has been saying from the start.  

“From her,” Sabine answers simply.

It is Elijah that speaks now (fitting since Sabine has made a reference to a threat against his family).  “And who is her?”

Sabine turns her head, once more staring straight ahead.  She resumes the same peaceful look as before and Bonnie knows that she is done talking.  She has told them all she wanted to tell them; she will carry the rest of it with her for however long she has left.

Bonnie doesn’t want to hear it anyway (despite knowing that it would help in what is to come).  She is still shaking slightly, the anger rolling through her in muted waves.  She has been used, treated like nothing more than a means to some horrific end.  She has felt this way before --- it is not a foreign concept to her.  Each time has been far too personal.  Each time she has vowed not to let it happen again.  Yet, she finds herself right here in this moment time and time again.  

She doesn’t know how to break the cycle.

She does know that she no longer wants to be in the same room as Sabine.  She turns on her heels and moves towards Enid.  “Let’s find Sophie.”

X

Bonnie waits nearly two blocks before she decides to speak.  Enid has also been quiet, either out of respect or because she is dealing with her own inner monologue (it is probably a combination of them both).  “I suppose it is cold comfort in a way…”

Enid has her arms tucked over one another.  She glances Bonnie’s way.  “How you figure that?”

“At least I know what the hell happened to me,” she says.  “I could have been in my dorm room, studying for finals or something when Davina died.  All those people...I wouldn’t have had a clue.  At least I know.”

“At least you weren’t alone,” Enid adds.

That reminds Bonnie of something she had meant to say earlier.  “Thank you by the way.  For taking care of me.”

Enid shakes her head, a hint of a smile once again ghosting across her face.  “You needed help.  I could help.  It was as simple as that.”  Then she makes a face.  “Well, relatively simple --- would have been easier without that suited shadow lurking around.”

Elijah.  

���You must have made one hell of an impression on him,” Enid points out.  The words are not quite as playful as they would have been a few hours ago.  

“He owes me,” Bonnie answers simply.  “And not like you think.”  She wonders if she should just tell Elijah they are even now.  She doesn’t quite believe it of course.  A few days of him being a gentleman hardly make up for what has happened to Abby Bennett (and what could have happened to her).  But still, letting him off the hook meant that she can avoid future attempts to be gallant on his part.  

Enid doesn’t press any further.  Instead they focus on finding Sophie.  She isn’t answering her phone (Bonnie didn’t think she would).  Enid knows where she lives but there is no answer there either.   

“Rousseau’s?” Bonnie asks as she leans against the door frame while Enid knocks one final time.  

“It’s worth a shot.”

Turns out it is exactly where they need to be.  Bonnie pushes open the door to find the place moderately busy.  Cami is behind the bar, dishing out drinks but has time to give them both a look of relief.  She turns her gaze to the left and Bonnie follows it.  

There sits Sophie looking utterly devastated.

Bonnie moves with a sense of urgency, slipping into the seat across from her.  It doesn’t take her long to realize that Sophie is completely drunk.  The smell alone has her recoiling.  They stare at one another, although Sophie can’t quite focus properly.  Bonnie realizes she has no idea what to say.  Other than the obvious.  “I am so sorry, Sophie,”

Sophie’s mouth tightens and she sniffs.  The rims of her eyes are red, probably from a combination of the alcohol and copious amounts of crying.  “I know you are.”

Bonnie wishes she could say something more.  Instead she sits there, feeling stuck.  Enid has taken the other seat, sizing up Sophie and no doubt concocting some combination of herbs to at least temper the turmoil going on inside of her. “Look…”

“Whatever nice thing you are going to say, just...don’t,” Sophie says.  She waves off Bonnie’s words, her movements slow and clumsy.  In the end the palm of her hand slaps against the wood of the table.  She lurches forward a little.  “Cami already tried that.  She’s working on a psych degree.  Did you know that?  She tried to go up one side of my head and down the other.  I asked her for a bottle of whiskey instead.”

Bonnie supposes there is no sense in trying right now.  The grief is too fresh --- because that is exactly what this is.  Grief.  For all intents and purpose, Monique has ‘died’ again the previous night.  Sophie needs to have a moment like this before she can be reasoned with.  

As if she is trying to prove herself, Sophie thrusts the empty bottle of whiskey in the air.  “Another one.”

It takes Cami a moment or two to get to them.  When she does, she is empty handed.  She looks from Sophie to Bonnie.  “I’m not giving her anymore.  She’s cut off.”

Sophie’s features darken.  “Oh, you owe me, Cami.  After I helped you get free of Klaus’ compulsion, gave you vervain…”

Bonnie raises a brow.  Suddenly she gets why Cami all but spits in Klaus’ face every time he is around.

“I am paying you back,” Cami says calmly.  She does not look too pleased to have her ordeal with Klaus thrown in her face but perhaps she is cutting Sophie some slack given the circumstance.  “You’ll thank me tomorrow when you don’t feel like throwing up everything you have ever eaten in your life.”

Sophie tries to level Cami with her best stare but in the end, tears fill her eyes instead.  Bonnie feels her heartbreak and the guilt stirs inside of her once again.  She can’t help but reach out and cover Sophie’s hand with her own.  Just a little gesture to show her that she is not alone.  

“You know what the most ironic part of all this is?” Sophie asks.  Before anyone can venture a guess, Sophie answers.  “The Harvest worked.  The French Quarter Coven is fully recharged.” She proves it by simply flicking her wrist.  A row of tables topple over and the other patrons react the way anyone would when things fly without reason to.  There are murmurs of surprise and people bolting out of their seats.  Cami moves immediately to calm the crowd.  

Bonnie glances at Enid.  Both are thinking the same thing.  It is probably best to get Sophie out of here before she does something she truly regrets.  

“You and I,” Enid announces.  “We’re going back to the Jardin Gris.  I am going to stuff you full of thyme, ginger and peppermint tea so you won’t be sick as a dog tomorrow.  Before you even try, there’ll be no arguments, Sophie Devereaux.  I know you’re hurting but burning Rousseau’s down around your ears is not the solution.”

Bonnie helps get Sophie on her feet before she passes her over fully to Enid.  She figures that for now it is best for the two of them to be alone.  They are from the same coven; they have known one another longer --- they probably have some very serious things to discuss when Sophie’s head finally clears.  

As she leaves, Bonnie can hear Cami spinning some tall tale about haunted New Orleans to the bewildered customers.  

She is not that far off really.

X

Bonnie realizes as she criss-crosses the Quarter that this is the first time she has been alone in a while.  She should relish that fact but instead she is having trouble fully embracing it.  She has far too many thoughts running in her head.  With no one to talk to, she knows they’ll just take over.  

She finds herself wishing Kol were here.

Then she remembers --- a dream (or not a dream) of Kol sitting on her bed, urging her to wake up.  For a brief moment she had thought he had been one of the ones who had made it back through.  

She feels a knot form in her stomach.  She wishes she had asked Enid if that was real or not.  She can’t imagine asking Elijah if he could see his brother (it seemed so callous, even if she cared so little what Elijah thought of her).  Then again, she hadn’t been in her right mind when it happened.  She can’t be blamed.

She stops, looking around her.  There is something familiar about this place even though she knows she has never been here before.  She wonders if she has simply gotten used to the city, despite actively trying not to.  She presses her lips together.  “Kol?”  She wonders if he can hear her wherever he is.  She knows he can see her but does her voice carries the same way her ‘light’ does?  

Bonnie waits a beat or two, looking for any sign of him.  When he doesn’t appear, her shoulders slump.  She can see him being flung away from her moments before the Reaping went south.  She hopes that he is safe --- or as safe as he can be given that he is already dead.  She is going to need him.

Correction: his family is going to need him.  

She sighs, feeling like she has no other choice but to head back to the compound.  She has no idea what she will do when she gets there.  The past few days have been a whirlwind of searching for answers and trying to help Davina.  Since she has failed in both regards, she wonders what her next step is supposed to be.

She is about a block away when she hears the footsteps.  Something in her perks up and she turns, fully expecting to see Kol standing there.

She finds Sabine instead.

For a moment, Bonnie stands there, eyes firmly on Sabine.  There is more blood now and her left arm seems twisted at an odd angle.  Then reality hits her.  There is no way that Sabine could have escaped and there is no way that the Mikaelsons would have let her walk out the front door.  

Despite her obvious injury, Sabine holds her head up as she near Bonnie.

“You really think you did the right thing,” Bonnie says as Sabine comes to a stop in front of her.  Now that they are away from the prying eyes of the Mikaelsons, Bonnie lets her anger boil over the surface.  “You used me to do it.  You used those girls…”

Sabine doesn’t flinch, not that Bonnie has expected her to.  “I did say I was sorry.  But not everyone can survive.  In a war there has to be collateral damage.”

“That distinction now includes you,” Bonnie points out, her voice filled with the bitterness that has taken hold of her.  She loathes the phrase ‘collateral damage’.  It should never be applied to human life.  She has no desire to listen to Sabine wax poetically about the cause she has ‘martyred’ herself for.  For the first time since becoming the Anchor, she reaches for the newly deceased instead of letting Sabine reach for her.  Her fingers close tightly around Sabine’s arms.  

She feels it --- the searing pain in her neck.  She knows it too well.  She has felt fangs pierce her skin before.  This is more violent.  It almost feels as if some part of her flesh is going to be ripped away.  She won’t let it overtake her.  She has felt enough pain in the past few days.  She is determined to stay on her feet and not cower before Sabine.  Finally, the pain passes and so does Sabine.

Bonnie is left alone once more.

X

Klaus is splayed across a chair in the courtyard, a dark look on his face and a drink within his reach.  Bonnie debates walking right past him on her way to her room.  But only for a moment.  Before she can fully think things through she is standing in front of him.  “You killed her.”

It has to be him.  The attack she relived in the street had been frenzied, befitting of someone who is part beast.  

Klaus does not move an inch.  Instead he rolls his gaze from the drink on the table towards her.  Any sane human being would step back (but she often questions her sanity so she doesn’t).  “Come to shame me, little witch?”

For a brief moment, she wonders why he bothers to call her that anymore.  She hasn’t been a witch in a long time.  She worries that someday she will forget what it feels like to have power running through her veins.  In the end, she decides that it is no doubt much easier to call her that than the alternative. 

He is looking at her expectantly so she has to decide what her answer will be.  Does she want to shame him for killing Sabine?  “No,” she says, surprising even herself.  She should be saying just the opposite.  She should not be giving Klaus a free pass.  He has caused so much misery to her and the ones she loves.  She should never condone his actions.  

Yet there is part of her that does.

He sits up straight now, clearly having been expecting a lecture.  Maybe he would have sat there passively as she delivered it (she thinks back to that time when she was an idealistic teen, telling him he bothered her while he mockingly placed his hand over his wounded heart).  Maybe he would have done the opposite and stood toe to toe with her. She can see traces of Sabine’s blood on his skin, his clothes --- he is probably still coming down from the high of the kill.  Not an ideal time to deliver a speech on morals or doing the right thing.  

“Let me see if I understand this,” he muses.  “I kill a witch and you have nothing to say?”

Wrong.  She has plenty to say --- most of it making her uncomfortable.  In all her time, she has never felt that kind of bloodlust.  People have hurt her, pushed her down, twisted her to their own designs but she has never once killed someone in return.  That is not who she is.  

But if someone else does it for her…

She feels slightly dirty at the thought.  She has always felt that she has the moralistic high ground when it comes to people like him.  She fights for what is right.  Or at least that is what it says on paper.  In reality, she fights for those she loves.  How many times has she been willing to bend the laws of nature for her friends?  She doesn’t even question it.  She simply acts and in the end she tells herself it is the right thing to do (perhaps that idea is some kind of balm against opposing thoughts).

Bonnie finds herself looking at the floor.  

Like a predator, Klaus smells blood in the air.  He stands, moving close enough that she can practically feel him against her skin.  “She hurt you,” he begins.  “She practically helped rip you apart.  I was not there to witness it myself but my sister regaled me with the tale of how she found you lifeless, like you simply belonged to the cemetery.  Add to that, she stole Davina.” There is a hum of satisfaction when Bonnie jerks, her eyes darting back to clash with his.  “You led her to the slaughter with a promise that she would come out of it free.”  He pauses as if he is pondering a thought. “I would imagine the guilt….the pain of that loss is crushing.”

She hates how easily he reads her in this moment.

“Of course, you will never openly approve of my actions tonight,” he concludes.  “But you cannot stand there and rebuke me for them either.”

Bonnie decides that although she still has the high ground, she has slipped a little.  

Klaus steps back and reaches for his drink.  Bonnie fights the urge to simply climb the stairs and fall on her bed.  She has only been truly conscious for a few hours and already she can feel the exhaustion pulling at her once more.  She thinks she will never get rid of that feeling.  At least not while she is in this place surrounded by these people.  

A glass of amber liquid appears in her line of vision.  She blinks, realizing she has gone so far into her head that she did not even notice he had poured it.  Although she envisions letting the drink shatter at her feet, she can’t bring herself to follow through with the idea.  It seems petty and she has already given Klaus enough ammunition on this night.  

Her fingers curl around the chilled glass.  She has it to her lips before he speaks.

“For what it is worth, I am sorry,” he begins.  “About Davina.  Make no mistake, I did not care for her --- but she meant a great deal to Marcel.”

And you care for him, Bonnie finishes silently.

Her drink is gone more quickly than it should be.  She sets the glass next to his on the table.  A strange sort of silence falls over the two of them --- strange in that it is not uncomfortable.  She feels like she should say something but instead just looks at him instead.  

Maybe she would have thanked him for his attempt at kind words.  

Maybe not.

Either way, she’ll never know because the distinctive sound of footsteps draws their attention from one another to the door.  Bonnie immediately tenses.  Standing there, surveying the two of them with a look of curiosity is the woman from the night before.  The one who thanked her before stepping on her in order to live once again.  She no longer wears clothes that place her in the past.  Instead she stands before them in a red dress that is solely designed to catch the attention of everyone around her.

Klaus moves to stand next to Bonnie.  He has his eyebrows drawn together and his mouth is in a tight line.

“You don’t recognize me, do you?” There is a sigh.  “I should have expected this.  You often looked right through me.  I wonder if that made it easier in the end.”

Bonnie wants to ask the obvious question.  In the end she doesn’t need to.  Elijah appears on the balcony, his face wholly unreadable.  A guttural sound escapes him as his fingers curl tightly around the railing.  For a moment he stares at the woman in red and she only has eyes for him in return.  

Then he says it.

“Celeste.”

[mon-amour-eternel]

Kings and Queens Part Two

Idk how much I like this, but please enjoy, everybody. SFW for the most part.

Part One

“Listen, you inconsequential thing, borrow my shoes again, and you’ll think back on the days you had feet very fondly! “

Camille gulped and turned to where Klaus and Kol sat, paying the spat no mind. “Klaus! A little help?”

“What?” He looked up and saw Rebekah steaming. “I can’t control her, Camille. Maybe ask Elijah?”

Elijah, of course, would not be helping her, but did she know that? No, no she didn’t.

She narrowed her eyes and fled Rebekah’s ire, stomping to her room like a child. Rebekah laughed and flopped into the seat between her brothers. “Can you the believe the nerve of her? Snooping, texting, stealing?”

“All from her gracious hosts, too,” Kol added with a snort. They thought it was funny, but Klaus was far from amused. Caroline was coming the next morning and she was so angry, he was scared for Camille’s life. Though, it would be very sexy to see his queen rip someone’s head off…. Unfortunately, she was too moral for that, so he doubted he would ever get to see something so delectable.

On the other hand, Caroline had been saying some very werewolf-like things since Camille’s little game and he wasn’t sure she wouldn’t go off the deep end.

(“You’re mine.” Gods, it sent shivers down his spine and made his wolf howl.)

When he’d told his siblings what had happened, Kol had found the thought and image as amusing as he found most things, and assured he would tape it. Rebekah had made interested noises and wondered aloud what Caroline would do if she came face to face with Tatia, or Aurora.

Freya had been more concerned about what she would do to Camille. He couldn’t imagine her being happy about the human overstepping her bounds like she was.

“Are you going to tell our Carebear?” Kol questioned.

Klaus scowled at the nickname, though Caroline insisted she didn’t mind it. “Tell her what? That our dear sister is throwing another tantrum?”

“No, he was thinking telling her about Camille acting like a leech, or worse, an in-law,” Rebekah snapped.

“I don’t want to her kill Camille, you know. Just...gently maim.”

“And behead? My, I can picture it now, it would be better than all the carnage I left in my last one hundred waking years.” Kol licked his lips, a far away look in his eyes.

Rebekah and Klaus both grimaced, but for different reasons. Klaus stood, holding his sketchbook tightly. “I’m not sure if I’ll be telling her about Camille’s other mistakes, but I will be telling her that you’re acting like a sexual predator. Then you’ll never get back to your once legendary restraint.”

As he moved to his room, Kol responded, “please do! I hear she’s into guys with accents and that happen to be mass murderers.” Rebekah cackled, immediately going into a round of take-the-piss-out-of-Klaus. Kol responded in kind.

He sighed and tuned them out, hoping to make sure everything would be perfect for the next day.

                                                     …:::...

The plane touched down smoothly -- of course it did, Klaus made sure the pilot was safe -- and it wasn’t long before he was face to face with her once again.

She was just as beautiful as always, his very own model. The last time this happened, it was Klaus coming off a plane. Caroline had ran at him, a beaming smile on her face, and refused to stop touching him in some way until the next afternoon.

That time, they just moved into a hug, like they’d planned it. Klaus wasn’t all that affectionate with most people, and hugs were out of the question with literally everyone, but Caroline was his exception.

After a long moment, she leaned up and pecked him on the lips. (He became so fond around her. The thousand year old killer in him hates it, but the boy he’d been reveled in it.) “Hi.”

“Hello.”

She moved them toward the car, speaking about college and the gang back home. Evidently, she’d decided not to talk about the Camille debacle yet. The vampire with him grabbed her belongings while they settled into the vehicle. His hand was on her thigh the whole ride home.

He spoke about his siblings, and the sights she would be seeing. It was nice, a small moment together before other people intruded (as they always did).

It all went to hell when they pulled into the driveway.

Caroline gripped his wrist before he could open the door. “Is she here?”

He listened, but somewhere in the house, a sage candle was burning. It was either Elijah or Freya’s room -- neither would be a surprise. Freya liked privacy, and Elijah liked pretending no one knew he was entertaining a certain doppleganger in his room.

He couldn’t hear her anywhere, so he shook his head. “No.”

“Okay, good. When we go in, can we go to your room first? I want to talk about something.”

“Of course.”

A few minutes later, they were in his room, on opposite sides of his bed. “Okay, so half the closet and three drawers?” She said to herself. “Bras, panties, socks. Okay….” She rummaged around in his drawers for a moment, then moved to her own.

“Did you want to talk about where you’re putting your clothes, love?”

She gave him a look that meant she thought he was an idiot. “No, but I have to get this done now so that I don’t have to later.”

“You’ll only be here four days.”

“Four days of not living out of a suitcase. Four days of not having to wear your clothes because I can’t find mine.”

He pouted playfully. “I quite like you in my clothes.”

“Of course you do, you’re a caveman.” She held a dress up to her body. “Does this look good enough to slay this Camille bitch?”

He wasn’t sure what slay meant in this case (was she going to behead Cami like Kol had said?), but nodded. The dress was expensive, but well worth it. It didn’t show off too much, wasn’t too short or too long, and it was both cute and sexy. “Caroline, trust me, you don’t need a dress to slay.” The word came out obviously clunky, but he stood by his use of it. He thought, at least.

She laughed at him. “Aww, thanks. Same goes to you, though the figure you cut in a suit...mmm.”

He had missed their flirting. Texting just wasn’t the same.

“Thank you. Now that you’ve got your dress, what was it you wanted to talk about?”

She stood in front of his mirror, still holding the dress. “You know how you say you like the chase? Well, I was thinking. I’m going to break up with you tonight,” his whole body stiffened, undead heart stopping. He only lost the tension when she continued, “and make Camille think it’s because you’re a cheater. She’ll be happy, thinking I’m out of the picture, and then we can make up in front of her? Like, we agree to be more faithful, act like we never fought in the first place. Act like the disgusting couple that everyone hates. Or maybe we should act like nothing ever happened?” She glanced back at him. “I just want her to be completely disoriented and caught off guard. What do you think?”

“I like your first idea. It’s mean, giving her false hope.” He smiled wickedly, thoughts and plans formulating in his mind. He’d forced himself not to think about it, wanting Caroline to get her revenge on her own, but it was easy to imagine hundreds of scenarios.

Caroline let out a little snigger. “That’s what I was banking on. Now, you need to go invite her to dinner tonight. Everyone has to be there, and they need to be told now or they won’t have enough time to get ready.” She raised an eyebrow like, get to it, Mikaelson.

“Okay, okay. But what shall I do for food?”

“Taken care of,” she said sweetly, walking him backwards to the door. At his look, she explained, “lots of free time plus being a control freak means I’ve got it taken care of. Expect the caterer here in an hour or so.”

“Caterer? Love, it’ll only be us and a few others.”

“Yes, but take in consideration Kol’s appetite and the fact that it’s steak, and you need a lot. Oh! And tell them to look their best.” She gave him a coy smile. “The queen of the French Quarter is here ready to bust the heads of anyone who looks like a ragamuffin.”

He chuckled despite himself, pleased that she liked his nickname for her. “Of course, love.” They shared a quick kiss, and then he was pushed out of his own room.

He swiftly invited everyone, foregoing the guests around the house. He would’ve asked Marcel if not for the fact that Caroline didn’t seem to want to meet him.

Asking Camille was interesting.

Klaus: Dinner tonight at the manor? We’ll all be there, and I’ll make sure Rebekah isn’t too mean.

Camille: Omg thanks for inviting me! I’ll be there, work permitting. What time is it happening?

Klaus: Six.

Camille: I don’t get off until 5:45 :( I won’t be able to get there on time

Klaus: Well then we’ll wait for you.

Camille: Wow thanks Klaus. What’s the dress code?

Klaus: I’d say a nice dress is in order. Just don’t wear black.

Can’t have someone attempt to show up Caroline.

Camille: Alright. I’ll see you later

Klaus: See you later

He’d never thought about it before, but she was a bit of a perfectionist, wasn’t she? Or was that just her need to please him?

No matter.

                                                    …:::...

When Camille got there at 6:15, the only ones at the table were Klaus and Freya. Freya was sitting primly, twiddling her thumbs. Klaus’ chair was tilted onto the back legs. They both looked bored.

She looked around. She moved to take the seat next to Klaus, but on both sides, there were placemats -- one that said Rebekah, one that said guest. She found hers next to Elijah’s and across from Freya after noting Marcel, Davina and Lucien didn’t have seats. “Where is everybody?”

“Oh, I told them they had a few extra minutes before dinner. Guess they didn’t hear you come in.”

Freya smiled gently. “I think they’re just ignoring us, honestly.”

“Nonsense.” He’d told them to be late, actually. Yanking Camille’s chain was fun. “Elijah would never be so rude. Kol, yes, but not Elijah. And not our guest of honor, either.” She was waiting on the stairs for a perfect entrance. Not that Camille knew any of that.

“Guest of honor?” Camille questioned, looking around shiftily. Caroline had told her that she would be there that weekend, ready to tear out livers. She had reason to be scared.

“Yes,” Klaus said simply.

Freya expanded, “she’s a family friend. Well, a friend of Klaus’ that I’m eager to meet. Apparently, she’s pretty intimidating.”

A creak came from the stairs, and the siblings could barely contain their smug smirks. Camille’s eyes widened when Caroline stepped into the dining room. She stopped over Klaus’ shoulder, though she barely acknowledged him. Any other situation and she would’ve kissed his cheek or squeezed his shoulder, but she couldn’t if she wanted to pull this off.

“Talking about me?”

Freya stood gracefully and stuck a hand out. They’d met over the phone but never in person. “Freya Mikaelson. Nice to meet you.”

“Caroline Forbes. You too.” No harm in giving Camille the wrong idea, right? They’d be doing a lot of that, tonight. She turned to Camille, who watched her warily. “And you are?”

She stood shakily. “Camille O’Connell. I’m a family friend.”

All three repressed a snort. Just before Camille got there, Rebekah had been screeching about the little wench stealing her shoes again.

“Nice to meet you.”

Camille nodded in agreement and sat back down. Caroline took the spot next to Klaus. It was conveniently right next to Kol, who had added a part to their plan that she was excited to get started.

Freya immediately started talking to both blonde girls at the table, while Klaus watched. Caroline had told him not to sit her next to him, but he didn’t listen. In lieu of that, he had to act extra like he was hiding something.

Camille watched them like a hawk.

Elijah, Rebekah, and Kol came down after a few minutes. Elijah pretended to be surprised. “Oh. I apologize, I didn’t realize we were late.”

They sat down quickly, and Kol swung an arm over onto Caroline’s chair. No one said anything, though Klaus was very obviously glaring at Kol.

Dinner was awkward, but it was on purpose. Camille looked terribly uncomfortable, clearly wanting to be anywhere but there. Klaus tried to talk to Caroline a few times, but she ignored him for Kol, whose every word she hung onto.

Eventually he sat his utensils down heavily and said, “Caroline.”

“What?” She glared at him.

“Kol? Seriously?” He raised a judgemental eyebrow.

“What about him?”

“He’s the worst possible rebound in the whole world, sweetheart.” Kol made a hurt noise, but was ignored.

The rest of the table watched the interaction, unable to look away. Camille was both intensely uncomfortable and overjoyed. Clearly, Caroline had broken up with Klaus. That meant he was free of all ties now, and she could snatch him up once Caroline left.

“I don’t think so,” Caroline said, “I think he’s a great choice. He’s never lied to me since we met, like someone at this table.”

Kol grinned at his plate, but everyone else shifted appropriately.

“I didn’t lie to you, love, I never have.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but Elijah beat her to it. “Maybe you should take this somewhere else?” At the deadly looks they gave him, he added, “surely, this can be resolved with a discussion away from the table.”

Caroline shook her head. “No, it can’t. He cheated on me!”

The table hushed even more than it had been. Camille bit her lip.

“Yeah, that’s right. He found some two-bit, cheap, human who he only picked because she looks just like me.“ She didn’t look at Camille, but really, who else could she have been talking about?

“Now, love, I think that’s quite far enough.” He employed a tone he didn’t ever use on her. (He really hoped she wouldn’t be too mad at him for that. He was acting, after all.) It was one of his dangerous ones that she pretended to hate.

“Is it?” She hissed. “What happened to forever, Klaus?”

Camille shrunk into her seat, feeling like she’d stepped on a landmine. The others watched her from the corners of their eyes.

Klaus made his face fall. “It had a minor setback, love. I’m willing to work on it if you are.”

She stared at him. “Cute words won’t make this right.”

“Then what shall I do?”

Caroline gave a smile that reminded all of them of Klaus. “Devote yourself to me completely and wholly. And promise on your life that you won’t cheat again.”

“I never -- “ He stopped himself. “Of course. I swear on my life, if I am ever unfaithful to you, I shall burn in the pits of hell for the rest of eternity. You will be my last and only love, Caroline.”

She smiled. “Good. I promise the same.”

There was a moment of nonverbal communication, then they were gone.

Camille scoffed. “She seriously took him back? He deserves better than someone who’s only going to let him continue his bad habits.”

“Well that’s mighty presumptive of you,” Rebekah said, setting her wine glass down.

Camille looked affronted, but Kol interrupted her indignation. “You do realize they’re in love, right? Like, disgustingly so. You never had a snowball’s chance in hell of getting with Nik.”

“And they both know he never cheated,” Freya added, lightly circling her finger over the rim of her glass. Camille had said once it was intimidating, reminiscent of a big cat waiting to pounce.

“This was all an act, Camille. A way to teach you a lesson. You are our guest, a temporary one, and you overestimated your importance to us.” Elijah stated. “I suggest going to bed now before Caroline comes back down here and causes bodily harm.”

She gasped, and hurried to the stairs. Rebekah shouted after her, “return my shoes before dawn or you’ll be at my mercy as well!”

She ran to her room and locked herself inside. She sat heavily on the bed, feeling terrified.

There was noise from next door. She looked at the wall she shared with Klaus’ room, hoping beyond hope that it came from Freya’s room instead, on the other side. The noise came again, a familiar sounding thump.

When she looked around, she saw there were no sage candles burning anywhere, nor could she smell any.

The thump came again, only this time, it was accompanied by a moan. “Mine.”

Oh god, they were torturing her. She was going to have to listen to them all night, wasn’t she? She tried to escape, but even when she unlocked the door, it wouldn’t budge.

There was a shriek that turned into giggles, then moans from Klaus’ room.

Camille sat on her bed again, wondering exactly what the hell she was thinking when she texted Caroline.

[unfortunate-stranger-losers]

Six Baudelaires AU, Part One {AO3} {Read from the Beginning}

Chapter Seventeen → in which Aunt Josephine is no longer Fierce

“What do you remember about Aunt Jo, Lilac?” Nick asked.

“First of all, Nicholas,” Poe said, “You should call her by her full name unless she tells you to do otherwise.”

“You mean like how I tell you my name is Nick and not Nicholas?”

“Yes, exactly.”

Nick sighed, and stared at the Fickle Ferry they’d just stepped off of. He shared an annoyed look with Solitude, who was being carried by Violet, who was staring at the water, narrowing her eyes as if she wanted to tie her hair back and think of something. Klaus held Sunny with one hand and gripped onto Lilac’s arm with the other, as she carried two suitcases. Nick had two more, and Violet had another.

Lilac said, “Well, Nick, all I remember is her name. I think she might’ve babysat once? I just remember calling her Fierce Auntie Josephine.”

“She’s not really your Aunt.” Poe said. “She’s really your second cousin’s sister-in-law. Oh, children! Before I forget, I got you a little something!” He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small paper bag, awkwardly handing it to Sunny, the only one with free hands. “Peppermints!”

The siblings gave each other very tired looks, and Lilac said, “Thank you, Mr Poe.”

“That’s very kind of you.” Klaus said.

“You can eat them on your cab ride to Ms Anwhistle’s house.” Poe said. “Lilac, here’s some money for the cab- oh, your hands are full, someone take this? Thank you, Violet. She said over the phone that she couldn’t meet you at the dock, and I didn’t find it polite to ask why. I suspect it’s related to her husband’s death, and I should hope none of you are rude enough to ask how she became a dowager. Let me signal for a taxi.”

“What’s that?” Violet asked.

“Violet,” Poe said, “A girl your age should know that a taxi is a car which will drive you someplace for a fee.”

Klaus sighed, then turned to Violet. “‘Dowager’ is a fancy word for ‘widow.’”

“Thank you.” Violet said.

A taxi stopped for them, and as Poe started loading in their luggage, he said, “Now, I’d love to go with you, but the banking day has already begun, and if I don’t return soon I won’t get anything done. Your Aunt Josephine is a bit nervous about having six children around the house, but I assured her that you are all very well-behaved.” Nick laughed. “So please mind your manners, and you can call me at the bank if there’s any sort of problem. I should hope nothing goes wrong this time.”

As he gave money to the taxi driver, and the children piled into the backseat, Nick said, “So when do you think something’ll go wrong?”

“Hopefully we’ll have a bit of time.” Lilac sighed. “Solitude, stop wiggling so much. Sunny, stop biting on the seatbelt.”

“Lilac, stop being a buzzkill.” Violet said.

They said goodbye to Mr Poe, and the taxi drove off. Lilac and Nick, pressed against the windows, looked out at all the stores- a clothing store that seemed to be undergoing renovations, a terrible-looking restaurant called the Anxious Clown, with neon lights and balloons, and several closed-up shops.

“Should we have told him we’re allergic to peppermints?” Nick asked.

“I don’t think it’d matter.” Lilac sighed, taking the bag from Sunny and shoving it into her coat pocket.

“Although, technically,” Violet said, “We don’t know if Soli and Sunny are. They’ve never tried peppermint.”

“Technically, neither have I.” Nick said.

“Wait, yeah you have.” Klaus said. “At the birthday party, when I- wait, no, you didn’t eat the candy!”

“No, I just cried because I assumed you were gonna die.” Nick said. “Haven’t touched any peppermints since.”

“We could test it.” Violet said. “Call it an experiment.”

“Oh, God, no.” Lilac said. “No experiments. No!”

“This town doesn’t seem very crowded.” Klaus said, hoping to change the conversation.

“I was hoping we could make some friends here.” Nick said carefully.

“It’s the off-season.” the taxi driver explained, glancing back at them. “The town of Lake Lachrymose is a resort, and when the nice weather comes it’s as crowded as can be. But around now, things here are as dead as the cat I ran over this morning.”

“Oh my God.” Lilac muttered, and Solitude’s eyes widened.

“Speaking of which,” the driver said, “Hurricane Herman is expected to arrive in town in a week or so. Better make sure you have enough food up there in the house.”

“A hurricane on a lake?” Nick raised an eyebrow.

“I thought hurricanes only occurred near the ocean.” Klaus said.

“A body of water as large as Lake Lachrymose can have anything occur in it.” the driver said. “I’d be nervous to live on top of this hill, it’ll be difficult to drive down into town once the storm hits.”

Lilac peered out the window, seeing that they were indeed driving up very far, the town starting to look small beneath them.

“That lake is huge.” Nick said quietly.

“Gib.” Solitude nodded. “That’s the biggest body of water I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“Who are you meeting all the way up here, again?”

“Our Aunt Josephine.” Lilac said. “She’s very fierce.”

“I should hope so, living at this height, so close to the lake.” the driver said. He parked the car, and the children slowly exited. Lilac went to the trunk for their luggage, and the other children looked ahead at the small house before them; it didn’t look very big, and desperately needed repainted. But as they approached, and Lilac said goodbye to the taxi driver and threw suitcases into her siblings’ hands, they saw that the rest of the house was hanging over a cliff, attached to the hill by spindly metal stilts.

“This is going to fall when a gust of wind comes by.” Nick said.

“Well,” Lilac said, “If Aunt Jo does live here, it must be safe.”

“Not if she’s a daredevil.” Violet said. “Maybe she only just built it. Hey, Li, maybe I should live in a house like this- except more off the cliff, can never be in too much danger!”

“Shut up.” Lilac rolled her eyes, walking up to the front door and ringing the doorbell. Solitude squirmed uncomfortably in Nick’s arms, muttering something about how he was holding her too tight, and Sunny leaned up against Klaus, wondering if she could just fall asleep for a while.

The door creaked open, and a nervous-looking woman peered out at them.

“Hello,” Lilac said, “Are you our Aunt Josephine?”

“Yes.” the woman said. “You must be the Baudelaires. Lilac, I haven’t seen you since you were a toddler, you’ve certainly grown.”

“Hello!” Violet said, stepping carefully forwards, “I’m Violet-”

“Careful, dear!” Josephine said. “Don’t touch the doorknob, it could shatter into a million pieces and pierce your eye.”

The children stared at her. “What?” Nick said.

“It could explode.” Josephine said. “Oh, dear. You don’t have hearing problems, do you?”

“No, he’s just an idiot.” Lilac said. “May we come in?” ‘

“Of course, of course, just make sure you push on the wood of the door.”

The siblings shared another look, and then they crept inside, glancing around the house. It didn’t look as bad as they’d feared; upon seeing half the house dangling off a cliff, they’d been afraid that everything would be scattered or tilted, but all of the furniture seemed to be in place.

“I’m afraid it’s a bit cold in here,” Josephine said.

“Is the radiator broken?” Lilac asked. “I’m very good at repairing things.”

“Oh, no, I’m just afraid to turn it on, as it may explode.”

Soli bit her lip. “Timor,” she whispered to Nick, meaning, “Someone’s been to crazy-town.”

“Oh! And that is the telephone, over there.” Josephine said. “It should only be used in emergencies, in case it electrocutes you.”

“I’ve read quite a bit about electricity,” Klaus said, “And I’m pretty sure that the telephone is perfectly safe.”

“Well,” Josephine didn’t meet his eye, “You can’t believe everything you read.”

“I’ve built a telephone before.” Violet said. “If you like, I could take the phone apart and show you how it works.”

“I don’t think so.” Josephine said. “You could pierce your skin with something sharp.”

“Delmo!” Sunny offered, which meant, “If you wish, I will bite the telephone to show you that it’s harmless!”

“Sunny!” Klaus said.

“Delmo?” Josephine asked. “What do you mean by ‘delmo’? I consider myself an expert on the English language, and I have no idea what the word ‘delmo’ means. Is she speaking some other language?”

“Sunny doesn’t speak fluently yet.” Klaus said. “She does know some English words.”

“And Italian.” Nick said. “Mom taught her some of that.”

“And Father taught us some Latin.” Klaus added. “But Sunny and Soli mostly just use baby talk.”

“Grun!” Solitude said, crossing her arms. “It’s not ‘baby’ talk!”

“Well, I will have to teach her proper English.” Josephine said stiffly. “I’m sure you all need some brushing up on your grammar, actually. Grammar is the greatest joy in life, don’t you find?”

Violet took a deep breath, and Lilac punched her on the shoulder before she could even think of saying anything. Klaus and Nick shared a look, while Solitude bit back a thought about how Uncle Monty’s collection seemed to be the greatest joy in life.

“We’ve always loved grammar.” Lilac finally said.

“Aunt Jo,” Nick asked, “What’s in that room over there?”

“Oh, that’s the library.” Josephine said. “I’ll be able to teach you grammar in there.”

“You have a library?” Klaus’s eyes lit up.

“Well, yes, but I mostly just use my grammar books. There’s nothing else of interest to me in there.”

“Perhaps we might take an interest in some of it.” Klaus said.

Josephine looked a bit startled, but she did nod and say, “You can put your stuff in your room. Follow me.” She started to walk, saying, “I’m sorry there’s only one, but my house isn’t very big.”

“We’ll be fine.” Violet said, though she had been secretly hoping she wouldn’t have to share a room with anyone.

“We can make ourselves comfortable.” Lilac said.

Aunt Josephine pushed open a door to a room that had two beds shoved into the corners and two hammocks hanging from the ceiling, as well as two good-sized cribs inbetween the beds.

“There’s a trunk at the edge of one of the beds.” Josephine said. “There’s a present for each of you, let me fetch them.”

She walked over to the trunk, opening it as the siblings put their suitcases down onto the other bed, and Nick and Klaus put Solitude and Sunny on the floor. Solitude walked over to one of the cribs, looking it over, and Sunny crawled towards Aunt Josephine, who pulled out two dolls.

“For Lilac and Violet,” she said, “There are some dolls, who come with lots of outfits. You’ll be able to share, won’t you?”

“Of course.” Violet said, forcing on a smile. She and Lilac were both too old for dolls, and Violet herself had never cared for them, being more interested in taking them apart and putting them back together than playing dress-up. “They look kind of like Marie Curie and Hedy Lamarr.”

“Thank you, Aunt Josephine,” Lilac said, trying to remember the last time she’d played dolls.

“For Nick,” Josephine said, “I have a model train set. You can set up the tracks in that corner of the room.”

“What fun.” Nick said stiffly. He never liked putting work into the putting together a train set, especially since he’d have to sit down and follow instructions to build it, and it could only go in an endless circle once he was done.

“For Klaus, I have a deck of cards. I don’t know much about young boys, but I’ve heard they like cards.”

“I once read a book on the history of legalized gambling.” Klaus said, trying to remember any rules of poker.

“And for little Solitude and Sunny,” Josephine said, “I have purchased two rattles. They sound the same, so you don’t have to worry about who gets which.”

She shook one, and Sunny forced a smile, but she glanced at Lilac with concern; she despised rattles, and she absolutely could not stand the noise they made. Solitude, who had bent down to look under her crib, sat back up and said, “Cooke,” which meant, “It kind of sounds like a Rattlesnake.”

“That’s very generous of you.” Lilac said.

“Well, I’m very happy you’re here.” Josephine said. “I can’t wait to share my love of grammar with you! We’ll have dinner in a few minutes, after you’ve settled in.”

“Aunt Josephine,” Klaus asked, “What are those cans for?”

“They are for burglars.” Josephine said. “Every night, I place these cans by the door, so when burglars come in, they’ll trip over the cans and wake us up.”

“But then what will we do?” Violet asked. “I’d prefer to sleep through a burglary than deal with an angry burglar.”

“Angry burglars?” Josephine’s eyes grew wide. “Are you trying to frighten me?”

“Of course not!” Lilac said, giving Violet another punch. “We didn’t mean to scare you at all.”

“Well, we’ll say no more about it.” Josephine said. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

She shut the door, and the Baudelaires listened to her footsteps for a moment, before Nick said, “Nice going, jackass.”

“It’s not my fault she’s scared of everything!” Violet protested.

“So that’s Fierce Aunt Josephine?” Klaus glared at Lilac.

“Maybe toddler-me was a sarcastic little shit.” Lilac shrugged. “It’s not like I’ve seen her since then.”

“Dorel,” Solitude said, pointing at the crib. “I’m too old for that, I moved out of cribs back when Sunny was born.”

“I know,” Lilac said. “But we’ll have to make the best of it. Maybe we can take the bars off so you can get in-and-out by yourself.”

“Sunny,” Klaus said, “You can have my deck of cards, if you want. You said you liked playing with them, didn’t you?”

Sunny nodded, and Nick added, “Lilac, you and Violet can have the trainset. Maybe you can engineer something with it.”

“I’ll take the rattles.” Violet said. “Maybe I can invent a better burglar alarm.”

“That would leave you boys with the dolls.” Lilac said.

“Plenty of boys enjoy playing with dolls.” Klaus shrugged. “Though I’d rather have a book. Maybe we can look through Aunt Josephine’s library later.”

“Do you think we’ll find the Eye somewhere?” Nick asked.

“Hopefully.” Lilac said. “We can find out about it.”

At the same time, Violet said, “Hopefully not, it’s creepy.”

They glanced at each other, and Lilac said, “Well, whether or not we like the gifts, Aunt Josephine went out of her way to get them for us. We shouldn’t complain.”

“You’re right,” Violet said, “We shouldn’t complain.”

“We shouldn’t complain.” Klaus said.

“Twee!” Sunny and Soli said.

After a second, though, Klaus said, “I want to complain anyway.”

They stared for a moment, and then Nick said, “Well, I’m gonna go disassociate in front of the fridge.”

“Don’t you dare.” Lilac said, grabbing his hand and dragging him back. “We’re all going to behave ourselves.”

“Since when have we ever behaved ourselves?”

“Nick!”

“Chilled cucumber soup,” Klaus said quietly, “Is certainly an… interesting choice.”

“Yes, it is very cold,” Josephine shrugged, looking around at the six kids crowded around the table, “I’m afraid to turn on the stove, in case it bursts into flames.”

Sunny gave her a look of utter bewilderment.

“My dear husband and I never had children,” Josephine said, “But I do want you to know I’m very happy that you’re here. I’m often very lonely without my husband, and when Mr Poe told me about your troubles, I didn’t want you to be as lonely as I was when I lost my dear Ike.”

“Ike was your husband?” Lilac asked.

Nick bit back a sarcastic No, really? as Josephine said, “Yes, he was my husband, my best friend, my partner in grammar, and the only person I knew who could whistle with crackers in his mouth.”

“Mother could do that.” Klaus remembered. “She could do Mozart’s fourteenth symphony.”

“Ike’s specialty was Beethoven’s fourth quartet.” Josephine said proudly.

“I’m sorry we never got to meet him.” Violet said. “He sounds wonderful.”

“He was wonderful.” Josephine said. “I was so sad when he died, I felt like I’d lost more than one special thing in my life.”

“What’s that mean?” Nick asked, ignoring Lilac’s kick from under the table.

“I lost Ike,” Aunt Josephine said, “And I lost Lake Lachrymose. I mean, it’s still there, of course, But I grew up on its shores, I used to swim in it every day. When it took poor Ik away from me, I was too afraid to go near it anymore. I even put away all my books on it. The only way I can bear to look at it is through the window in the library.”

“Can we see the Library?” Klaus asked, practically vibrating at the idea of seeing more books.

“I can show you, if you’re all finished with your soup.”

“We’re done, let’s see the books.” Nick said, already standing up.

“Nick, don’t be rude.” Lilac hissed.

“Oh, Lilac,” Josephine said, “I’m sure he’s just excited for grammar lessons.”

Nick took a deep breath. “Yes. That’s why I want to see the books. For grammar.”

Josephine stood up, leading them down the hallway and towards the back of the house. She pushed open a door, and the siblings stepped into the Library. Klaus gasped, grinning, as he saw the ovular room, one wall of which contained rows and rows of books. Books were also piled beside chairs, scattered on a table, inside cabinets of glass, and littered around the bottom of a statue of a woman with a sword.

The other side of the room had a wall made of glass, and the children ran over that way to look through the wide window, seeing an amazing view of Lake Lachrymose, which stretched out farther than they could see.

“This is the only way I can look at it,” Josephine said, “From far away. If I felt too close, I remember my last picnic on the beach with my darling Ike. I warned him to wait an hour after eating before he went into the lake, but he only waited forty-five minutes.”

“Did he get cramps?” Klaus asked. “That’s what happens when you swim after eating.”

“Well, in Lake Lachrymose, there’s another reason.” Josephine said. “If you don’t wait an hour, the Lachrymose Leeches smell food on you and attack.”

“Leech?” Soli looked up, interested.

“Blind worms that live in water and suck your blood.” Nick said.

“Snake?”

“No, they’re not snakes.”

“Hirudinea!” Solitude threw up her arms. “Then who cares?”

“That did not sound grammatically correct, Solitude.” Josephine said. “The Lachrymose Leeches are different from regular ones. They each have six rows of sharp teeth and one very sharp nose- they can smell the tiniest crumb of food from miles away. They’re usually harmless, but if they smell food on a human, they will swam and- and-”

She burst into tears, then, taking out a small handkerchief. “I apologize, children. It is not grammatically correct to end a sentence with the word ‘and’, but I get so upset when I think about Ike that I can’t talk about his death.”

“We’re sorry we brought it up.” Lilac said.

“That’s alright.” Josephine said. “I prefer to think of Ike in other ways. He always loved the sunshine, and I hope wherever he is, it’s sunny as can be.”

“Did you and Ike know our parents?” Klaus asked cautiously.

“Oh, yes. We used to develop secret codes together, and-” she cut herself off again, as if she realized something she wasn’t supposed to say.

“Our parents developed secret codes?” Klaus asked.

“Well, yes, I suppose we did.” Josephine said. “But mostly we just talked about grammar. We should really get to lessons.”

“Aunt Josephine,” Lilac asked, “Have you ever thought of maybe… moving someplace else? Maybe if you moved away from Lake Lachrymose, you might feel better.”

“Oh, I could never sell this house.” Josephine said. “I’m terrified of realtors.”

The siblings stared for a good, long while, and then Solitude said, “Paviduus,” which meant, “She’s the mayor of crazy-town.”