Chapter One
"Aren't we at least going to question if we are doing the right thing?"
"Do you not agree with this decision, Rebekah?"
"Of course I do. I just thought as a family we would at least question our motives"
"Life will be better without him. Niklaus was keeping you bound to New Orleans. We can leave his enemies behind, start fresh. It is better for Hope"
"I agree with Freya. I need to put my daughter first. She will never be safe with Klaus wondering the earth"
"It is settled. Goodbye brother"
"Klaus, can you hear me?"
Klaus gulped in the breath of fresh air, his eyes opening, the thirst for blood at the fore front of his mind but he tried to put it aside. He squinted; the brightness was over bearing like something he had never endured before. "What…" His voice seemed scratchy, and he coughed to try and clear his throat.
"Here"
Blood. The sweet smell of blood.
He looked down at the hospital bag of blood that had landed in his lap; his hands seemed too moved at their own pace, ripping the bag open. His brain in control of his body without any thought from him. The way the substance moved past his lips and slid down his throat made him moan with pleasure, his right hand squeezed the bag dry but there was nothing left and the thirst that he had tried to push away was pounding, demanding his attention.
"There is more. Here"
It smelt like heaven, he engulfed the blood. Taking moment in-between the two bags to speak. "What are you doing here? How long has it been?" He still remembered the sound of their voices as they buried him underground, his family. It had been a test of a kind and they had failed, proving to him what he had known all along.
"I promised to find you. I did, it just took a little longer than I anticipated"
He finished draining the last of the three blood bags, dumping them on the outside of the coffin he moved to stand up. "How long has it been?"
"Almost twelve years"
He breathed in sharply, that had been longer than he anticipated but not as long as the time he had done for his sister. "You haven't changed…the transition worked?"
"Yes. I did as I told you I would do. I didn't want to risk them asking me for anything else"
"Klaus, how do you feel?"
Klaus breathed in the fresh air, stretching his arms. "How do I feel?" He turned to look at them properly, the three people he had told his plan too, the three he had been able to trust, the three people that weren't family by blood. He looked down, noticing for the first time that the blonde had placed her hand on his arm. "I don't know how I feel. Cami…" The name left his lips and he was surprised by her smile, it wasn't the reception he had pictured, nor what he had hoped for but it had been nearly twelve years.
Cami didn't hesitate; she had been waiting for this moment since he had told her of his crazy plan. She placed her right hand on the side of his face and leaned up, placing a light kiss on his lip. "Don't ever do that to me again, I was scared I would never find you"
Klaus stood frozen, unsure if that kiss had been real, his arm wrapped around her shoulders and he pulled her close. "Of course you would find me, I never doubted you, love"
"Wasn't it actually me who did the finding?"
Klaus moved his gaze from Cami to the young witch, ex-witch he supposed. The sixteen year old was now forever frozen as a vampire, and one knew it was impossible to be both a witch and a vampire. "I never doubted you either, Davina. A vampire, love, it is certainly a change"
Davina laughed. "You are the original hybrid. I am a different kind of hybrid" She smiled, her eyes lighting up at his confusion. "I'll explain it all later" There had been a time when she had not been fond of Niklaus Mikaelson but upon Kol's death things had changed.
"Uh, let me just state that I helped where I could"
"By that he means, he ran your kingdom while you were on…let's call it a temporary leave"
Klaus looked at the man he had once held in regard to a son, the same man he still did. Marcellous. "Thank-you" The three stared at him in shock as if they had never heard the words leave his mouth before. "Don't gawk. I am starving"
"Klaus, are you going to ask?"
He looked at Cami. "Am I going to ask what, my dear?"
"About Hope" She spoke the name cautiously, the three of them staring at him unsure of how he would react at hearing his daughters name.
Klaus tensed, he had wanted to ask but the mere thought of his daughter broke his heart. She had been the only person he would willingly sacrifice his own life for and she had been taken from him before they even had the chance to properly know one another. He had wanted to ask but he wouldn't, not yet, he couldn't bear the thought of listening to what her life was like without him in it. "I…"
"Let's give him some time, ladies. Let's go get a drink"
A drink. That he could handle, he just needed to gain his feet. Surprised he felt Davina loop her arm through his, his left arm still wrapped around Cami's shoulders. "A drink, good idea Marcellous"
/`/`/`/`/`/`/
He found himself standing in her room, staring at her crib unable to comprehend that she would no longer have any use for a bed like this.
Hope.
Since Cami had mentioned her name all he could think of was the young girl his daughter would be now. No longer a baby nor a child but coming into her teenage years. Much of her life missed by a choice his family had made.
Klaus would be crazy to say that he was not outraged and angry by the choice that they had made but he didn't feel like going on a killing spree like he would have twelve years ago. Now the anger was accompanied by hurt and sorrow. He had done what Elijah and Rebekah had always wanted, he had redeemed himself though they didn't know it. They would never know it.
"There you are, Klaus, I've been looking for you"
He lifted the bourbon to his lips, taking a sip from the glass, the drink laced with human blood to help him ease the hunger. "I didn't go far love"
Cami leaned against the wall, watching him from across the room. She was on edge, Davina and Marcel were too. They were waiting for his temper to arise, for him to demand that they seek out his child and family, they were waiting for him to enact some plan of revenge but all he had done is wonder is silence. "Klaus, talk to me"
"There is nothing to say, love. Did you move in here? Davina and Marcel were saying they moved in here while they searched for me"
"I did. I wanted to be here if Davina found you. You two grew close, I didn't know that"
Klaus chuckled softly. "I did not expect to bond with the little witch after Kol's death but she needed someone, who knew that person would be me"
"She searched day and night for you. Marcel often teased her over her devotion to the task. She looks up to you, sees you as a father figure. It must have been more than a little bit of bonding"
"I am not sure I am the right person for her to see as a father" Klaus brushed his fingers along the wooden crib. "I couldn't even keep my own daughter safe"
Cami moved across the floor, placing a hand on his arm. "We can find her, if you want…"
"Is she happy?" He glanced to the side to look at Cami; he knew that they would be keeping a close eye on Hope.
Cami smiled softly. "The last bit of information we received came from Stefan Salvatore; it was a little over two months ago. Hope is a bright and happy young girl, very smart…she, well she looks like her mother apparently but has a hint of you within her features"
"Is Hayley with Jackson?"
Cami shook her head, her fingers rubbing against his arm. Even though he did not love Hayley the next part would be hard for him to hear. "Hayley and Elijah became romantically involved about a year after they left New Orleans"
Klaus tensed, a part of him had been expecting that. Elijah's feelings for Hayley had never gone unnoticed by him. "Do you know if Hope knows about…"
"No. I'm sorry Klaus "
He ran his fingers along the crib once more. "It does not matter. No need to upset the girl, if she does not know who I am" He broke away from her arm and moved towards the door that leads back out of the room, he moved along the corridor towards the dining area aware Cami was following. "Are they safe?"
"We don't need to do this now"
"We do" He sipped his bourbon. "Davina. Marcel" He called their names and took a seat. "I need to know if they are safe"
"I have been tracking several threats. Any enemies of yours that arise, I take out as a precaution" Marcel swept into the room grabbing a glass and the bottle of wine. "I have a couple of guys tracking a threat down at the moment, I haven't heard anything as of yet"
Davina skipped into the room, taking a seat beside Klaus. "People are looking but no one has been able to find them as of yet. Freya's magic has weakened though I doubt she would realise. I've been enacting cloaking spells to shield Hope from any harm"
Klaus raised his eyebrow with interest. "How my dear, you are a vampire now?"
"I told you. I'm also an original kind of hybrid. We don't actually know the definition for it or how to explain what occurred, I retained my magic but I don't age nor do I crave blood" She wriggled her nose as Cami poured some blood into a cup. "I could survive on it if I had to though"
Marcel stared at his sire, his father. "What is the plan? Do you want to find Hope, let your siblings know you have awakened?"
"No. I'll keep a watchful eye over them but they don't need to know that I have awakened. They buried me for a reason, my bond with them was not as strong as it seemed" He moved his glass back to his lips.
Tracking his enemies, making sure his family and his daughter stayed safe was his main priority. Their betrayal wounded him deeply but he would not allow that to mess with his mind. He had always tried to protect them and it was what he would continue to do. From this day until his last.
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Thoughts?
Much Love. x