Thanks so much to all the lovely readers out there :) I'm glad you seem to be enjoying what I'm trying to do with emotionless Caroline

I'm quite happy with Marcel's backstory on TO (only thing I'm happy about so far), so I'm keeping it, as well as the Davina thing, to an extent. So yeah, spoilers after all I guess

On another note, if they keep trying to shove this Camille/Klaus thing down our throats, I'm gonna have to give up on both shows, which is sad because I actually think that season 5 of TVD has some potential

Also, it seems I forgot about the disclaimer before. But does anyone actually think they're mine?


Chapter 2: Defy You

You may push me around

But you cannot win

You may throw me down

But I'll rise again

The more you say

The more I defy you

So get out of my face


"What can I do for you, Marcel?"

The vampire doesn't answer right away. Instead, he crouches down next to the body Caroline tossed to the ground, carefully examining the marks on its neck, and it all makes sense to Klaus as he realizes what his former protégé is looking for. Marcel has made it a point to control every vampire in the Quarter and they have all been ordered to keep the urge to kill at bay. They're supposed to heal and compel so that the city doesn't suffer from a bad reputation, which would lead to a drastic drop in tourism and therefore in the amount of fresh meat available. And even if some insignificant human gets killed every once in a while, those incidents are mostly isolated. But over the past three weeks, the body count has increased, courtesy of… well, himself. Even though he knows that Rebekah and Elijah have been taking care of the trail of bodies he leaves in his wake almost every day, they cannot keep an eye on him 24/7. And even without bodies, that many disappearances are bound to attract attention sooner or later.

Since he doesn't know that he has turned off his humanity, Marcel has no reason to suspect him. He must think there's a new vampire in town, hence why he wants to talk to him now. He wants his help finding the newcomer and putting an end to him or her. The irony is not lost on Klaus.

Knowing this, it's easy to deduce what Marcel is doing right now. He's trying to see if the marks on Caroline's victim match the ones found on the others.

After a while, Marcel predictably asks, "Your little girlfriend's work?"

Klaus nods, not bothering to wonder if confirming Caroline's guilt in this instance is a good or a bad idea.

"She made quite a mess," Marcel notes.

She did indeed. She tore into the artery with all the savagery of someone who doesn't care about the damage, only wants to get to the blood as quickly as possible. Just like he's been doing. It makes it impossible to identify the vampire who committed the murder. There's no way to see how long or sharp the fangs that broke the skin were, as the only thing left of the bloke's neck is a bloody mess. But since rebels are as rare a thing amongst Marcel's crew as unknown vampires are in New Orleans, he's not going to want to consider the possibility that there is yet another, different threat in town. He's immediately going to come to the conclusion that Caroline is the one who has been killing her way around the city for the past few weeks.

When Klaus doesn't reply, Marcel stands up to face him.

"You're gonna have to rein her in."

Klaus bites back a smirk at that. He has never been able to control or manipulate Caroline even when she still had her humanity. She was always the one that managed to distract him and use his feelings against him. Now that she doesn't care about anything, least of all her victims, he really doesn't see how he's supposed to get her to bend to Marcel's will. Since he knows she's on vervain, he can't compel her. Of course, he could always lock her up until it left her system or bleed it out of her, but it seems like a lot of work for something that Marcel wants.

"Not bloody likely," he says offhandedly.

"If you don't, I will," Marcel warns.

He knows what it means. The self-proclaimed king of New Orleans is not going to bother trying to convince her to obey his rules for very long and if she doesn't submit to him, he will kill her. Klaus shrugs. What does Marcel think, exactly? That he cares what happens to her? Even though he doesn't know that his emotions are off, he should know better than to assume that Klaus cares about his one night stands – for that is what he probably believes Caroline to be. In all honesty, that's exactly what she is to him right now. He wants to have her – and he will – but it doesn't go any further than that, and it's a good thing too. It's hard for him to comprehend how he could have let her get so close back in Mystic Falls. He has always said that love was a vampire's greatest weakness, and with his emotions off, he's now able to think rationally and to admit that having any kind of feelings for her was a foolish mistake. One there's no risk he's going to repeat.

"Be my guest. Though I would appreciate it if you waited until tomorrow. The taste I have had so far was nothing but an appetizer. Give me a chance to enjoy the whole meal."

"Ah, but see, at least, tonight, I know where she is. It seems Casa Mikaelson has a houseguest. She'll be much harder to find if I wait."

Marcel makes a good point, but Klaus just gives another shrug.

"She's not exactly being subtle, you'll find her soon enough."

"Not good enough. I can't let her undermine my authority for any longer than she already has."

Klaus is about to reply when something in the way the other vampire holds himself gives him pause. His stance is not quite as casual as he wants him to believe. He's known Marcel for a long time and he taught him everything he knows, which means he isn't fooled by his false nonchalance. This isn't just about his rules, there's something else there.

"Why are you really interested in her?"

Marcel seems to hesitate. They have been reconnecting for over a year now, yet he knows that his former friend still doesn't trust him – with good reason. It's true he doesn't care anymore about getting this town back, but it doesn't mean he wants to make Marcel's life any easier – or anyone's for that matter. Knowing what Marcel seems to be hiding from him could come in handy at some point. Then again, it's not like anything can hurt him, so he doesn't see why he should bother with these tiresome plots.

Suddenly growing bored with the conversation, Klaus turns around, throwing one last taunt over his shoulder before walking away.

"The girl is mine until morning."


"Look what the cat dragged in."

Rolling her eyes at Rebekah's greeting, Caroline feigns a yawn as she walks past her, making it clear she's not interested in having a conversation right now. But of course, the original sister doesn't heed her warning, fingers closing around her upper arm right before Caroline is out of reach.

"Where is my brother?"

"Given the late hour, I assume Elijah is in his room."

Rebekah's grip on her arm tightens and Caroline has to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from wincing in pain. Those originals are strong. Raising her eyes to meet the other vampire's, she lifts an eyebrow at her, waiting for the clarification that she knows is coming.

"Where is Niklaus?"

"Playing catch-up with a friend of his. Or fighting with an enemy. How the hell should I know, when none of you seem too keen on informing me?"

"You're telling me that you left Nik unsupervised somewhere in the city?"

The old Caroline would apologize for what she would perceive as a mistake. The new and improved Caroline smirks and snipes, "Yep, just like you did only a few hours ago. Seems we both suck at keeping an eye on him. Now let go of me."

"Who was he with?" Rebekah asks, blatantly ignoring her demand.

"Guy named Marcel. Burly, great smile, even greater ass," her voice trails off before her description is over as she sees the other girl's face fall and feels her grip loosen just enough that she can shake it off. "You know him."

It's not a question. Rebekah is quick in masking her reaction, but what she saw was enough. Not only does she know this vampire, he scares her. And the last time she saw an original scared of something – someone – is still fresh in her mind. She doubts this Marcel is as powerful as Silas, but there has to be something that can explain Rebekah's obvious apprehension. Anything that can bring that kind of reaction out of one of the most powerful vampires in history has to be bad news.

She came to New Orleans thinking she would only have to be careful around Klaus and knowing that Elijah and his sister would protect her from him as best they could as long as they thought she could be of use to them, but now… Well, now it seems there is another threat she has be on the lookout for. Because whatever this feud between the Originals and Marcel is, she just unknowingly walked right in the middle of it. This makes her potential collateral damage – at best. Bait or incentive if Marcel figures out that the oldest and youngest Mikaelsons have an interest in keeping her alive. She has to protect herself, and the only way she knows how to do that is by gathering as much information as she can.

She knows she's not going to get anything useful out of the other blonde, so she doesn't even try. She turns on her heels, changing her direction from her room to Elijah's, following the faint sound of pages turning to find it, ignoring Rebekah's huff behind her as she completely disregards her.

She doesn't bother with knocking, pushing the door open and noting that Elijah has obviously been listening in on her conversation with his sister. He doesn't seem surprised to see her. He merely sets his book aside and motions for her to take a seat next to him on the couch he's occupying. She complies and just watches him expectantly.

After a while, he voices his thoughts.

"You have questions."

"Congratulations, Sherlock."

"Very well." He gives a small, resigned sigh, likely knowing that she won't give up until she's gotten the answers she seeks, even more likely deciding that she needs and deserves them. "We met Marcel back in 1820, when he was just a boy…"

After Elijah has been talking for what feels like hours, Caroline steals a glance at her watch, groaning when it tells her that it has only been fourteen minutes. She got the gist of it in about three minutes. As soon as the always impeccable original told her that Klaus had considered Marcel family at one point, she knew where this was headed. Betrayal and hatred. Their past must be fascinating, she's sure, but that's not what she's interested in right now.

"Look, thanks for the history lesson, but could you fast-forward to the part where they're now enemies? What is it exactly that Marcel wants from Klaus… or that Klaus wants from Marcel, whatever?"

"His kingdom," comes the answer from the doorway.

Even Elijah seems taken aback by his brother's appearance. She has got to get him to teach her how to be this stealthy.

"Sounds… grand," she comments idly with an arched eyebrow, her eyes glancing back and forth between the two originals before settling on Klaus when he speaks again from his spot, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed.

"I always thought that if you do something, you should not do it halfway. Why take only his life when I could rob him of everything that used to be mine?" he asks rhetorically, walking into the room and stopping once he's in front of her.

She can see he expects her to stand up and either confront him about what he just said or resume their seduction game – or was it more of a battle? Either way, she just tilts her head back to look at him, and he continues, "But as my brother well knows, I have no interest in any of Marcel's possessions or schemes now, so really, I don't see why it matters."

It matters because her life may be at risk and she's keen on keeping her head attached to her body, thank you very much. There's not much she cares about anymore, but staying alive happens to be on that rather short list.

"Call it curiosity."

"You have no emotions, sweetheart," he reminds her. "I doubt you care enough about my history with Marcel to be curious about it."

"Fine. Call it gathering intel. We both know I may be in danger and I can't count on you to give a damn what happens to me, which means I have to look out for myself. I'm sure you can understand that."

"I do. I just don't see why it can't wait for a few hours."

"You know you sound like a petulant child, right?" she taunts. "Look, I want to hear the story, and I want to hear it from Elijah. We'll pick up where we left off tomorrow."

She knows she's treading on dangerous grounds with him, pushing the limits, testing his patience. Truth be told, she testing hers as well, but as it's a matter of life or death – her life or death, no less – she can wait for a few more hours before she'll get to have her way with him. She needs to know everything there is to know about Marcel and his weaknesses. She sincerely hopes that their little game is still entertaining to Klaus, otherwise she's… well, dead. His eyes narrow dangerously before he relaxes and raises a challenging eyebrow at her.

"I might not be in the mood anymore tomorrow."

Recognizing the words she threw at him earlier, she smirks. He's still entertained all right. Knowing it's what he expects, she gives him the same answer he gave her.

"Oh, I have no doubt I will be able to get you back in the mood."

"We'll see."

Relenting, he turns to leave. Just as he's about to exit the room, she calls him back.

"I'll make it up to you," she says, her voice and eyes full of sinful promises.

"I'll hold you to that," he replies, equally alluring.

Once Klaus has left, Elijah gives her an appreciative nod.

"You just manipulated my brother again," he states matter-of-factly, seemingly unmindful of the fact that said brother is most likely eavesdropping on their conversation.

She did, didn't she? And she's not regretting it one bit, she thinks to herself, recalling Klaus' warning when he had her pressed against that wall in the alley. Could it be that the original hybrid is all bark and no bite?

Yeah… No.

She knows better.

Still, how interesting is it that he didn't lash out at her for delaying their little tryst? Then again, lashing out would suggest a certain amount of anger, so she supposes it makes sense that he didn't exactly react.

Shrugging, she decides to reward Elijah's comment with honesty.

"Not intentionally. I really do want to know everything you can tell me about Marcel's so-called kingdom. I saw Rebakah's reaction when I mentioned him. He's powerful. Dangerous. I can't very well deal with any of this if I don't know what the hell I'm getting into."

He opens his mouth to answer, but to both of their surprise, it's now Rebekah's voice that interrupts them, her tone unusually soft.

"She's not wrong, 'Lijah."

Caroline raises her eyes to meet the blond original's where she's standing in the doorway, a silent understanding passing between them. They still don't like or trust each other, and Caroline knows that the older vampire is not doing this to protect her. She's doing this because she thinks that Caroline is their last chance and that if something happens to her, she will never get her brother back. It's all about weighing your options, and right now, Caroline is not just her best option, she's her only one. Giving a single nod in acknowledgement of their temporary truce, the younger vampire turns back to Elijah.

"So, first things first. What did Klaus mean by kingdom?"

"Marcel fancies himself king of New Orleans. He controls every vampire in the city. He has an inner circle, a few trusted friends who have daylight rings. The nightwalkers all report to him as well. But that's not the most worrying thing of all. The problem is that he also controls the witches."

"How does one control witches?"

"He has an ally. A powerful girl named Davina. She can sense whenever one of the witches uses magic. The price to pay is death."

"Where does Klaus come in?"

Elijah and Rebekah share a look before Elijah answers.

"You are of course aware of my brother's… connection to Hayley."

Caroline nods, once again noting the difference between her reaction now and how hurt she would have been at the reminder before she turned off her humanity. She knows that it was supposed to be a secret, but news travel fast in the supernatural community. A miraculous child born to a werewolf and a hybrid is not exactly something that could be kept hidden, no matter how hard they tried.

"What of it?"

"The witches used the unborn child to bargain with us. They drew Klaus in in the hope that he would side with them so long as they kept it protected, and threatened its life if he didn't help them."

Cold, but effective, the strategist in her notes.

"So Klaus came back to the city he founded, and in a bout of – what? Fatherly love? – he decided to help the witches defeat his friend?" she asks, her voice laced with skepticism.

"It was a bit more complicated than that at first, but essentially, yes. You have to understand, Miss Forbes. My brother did end up loving his son. If he hadn't, we wouldn't be in this predicament."

"What exactly happened to the kid?"

"We're not sure," Rebekah replies. "Klaus was told to meet with Sophie Devereaux, the witch who had planned the whole thing in the first place, but when he got to the crypt where she was supposed to be waiting for him, the only thing he found was my nephew's corpse with a gaping hole in his chest."

"He called me and I called the witches to see if there was anything they could do. There wasn't," Elijah concludes, his carefully constructed mask of cold calculation slipping on those last words.

This is a man who, according to what she's pieced together so far, had placed all his hopes on the little guy. He wanted them to be a family and thought that the baby was the key. And now…

"So he turned it off," Caroline says pensively. "And you have no idea who did this? But I assume you suspect Marcel."

"We did, but it doesn't really make sense. He knew Niklaus would come after him if anything happened to Lyam."

She notes that it's the first time anyone has said the boy's name in front of her. She wonders if this is because it just never came up or because it's too painful for them.

"Unless he somehow knew that it would be too much for Klaus and that he would flip the switch."

"Seems like an awfully hazardous gamble."

"True," she concedes, though she wouldn't put it past Marcel given what she knows about him – however little that may be. "The witch, then? Sophie Devereaux?" she asks, struggling with the French pronunciation. Elijah just shakes his head and Caroline narrows her eyes at him for his lack of explanation, but doesn't push it, choosing to focus on something else. "What about Hayley? What happened to her?"

"She fled after I threatened to kill her in an attempt to get a reaction out of Niklaus. She was no longer bound by the link Sophie had created between them in order to keep control over her and the baby. And oddly enough, it seems she didn't trust me anymore."

"Did you look into her?"

"For Lyam's death, you mean? No, we…"

"Actually, I did," Elijah admits before Rebekah can finish her sentence. "I didn't think she had anything to do with it, but I had to be sure. It so happens than on that night, she was with a pack of werewolves outside of town."

She's about to ask him how he can be sure of it, be she reconsiders. He's an original, all he had to do was compel the werewolves to tell him the truth. Shaking her head, Caroline pushes the mystery to the back of her mind for now. It's no concern of hers, and if Elijah and Rebekah haven't been able to solve it in three weeks despite their extensive knowledge of the politics at play here, she's not going to solve it in a few minutes when there is still so much she doesn't know.

"Okay, so what else can you tell me about Marcel?"

If either of them is surprised at her change of subject, it doesn't show. Taking a seat across from them, Rebekah shrugs.

"He's charismatic and attractive, as you know, but he's also cunning and manipulative. Can be downright cruel too. Nik taught him pretty much everything he knew when he took him under his wing, so he is a formidable enemy, as evidenced by the fact that we haven't been able to defeat him yet."

There's still something that she doesn't understand, something that doesn't make sense to her.

"Why don't you just kill him?"

"At first, it was because the witches warned us we couldn't," Elijah explains. "Now, it's because we know why they didn't want us to. Davina is too powerful and entirely devoted to Marcel, there is no telling what she would do. The entire city could be wiped off the map in the blink of an eye."

She stores the information away for later use. She doesn't care about the city, its inhabitants or the tourists, which means that she could kill Marcel if it comes down to it, and try to flee before anything apocalyptic happened. Of course, the only ones who might be able to survive Davina's wrath are the originals and they would come after her if she disobeyed their rules. She'll file that solution under last resort.

"Does Marcel know that Klaus' son is dead?"

"We don't know," Rebekah admits. "We've been trying to keep it under wrap, but we have no way of knowing if the witches or Hayley kept their mouths shut."

Caroline nods, deep in thoughts.

"Does he have any weaknesses?"

"Only one that we know of," Elijah says.

When he doesn't elaborate, she asks, "Well? What is it?"

Rebekah gives a snort, her disdain for said weakness obvious.

"Three guesses."

It doesn't take her long to connect the dots.

"A girl."

"Got it in one."

Now that's interesting.

"Tell me everything you know about her."


TBC…