Chapter 3: New Orleans
*****Two Days Later*****
Klaus stayed one night in Ohio, getting to know the group that had so easily committed to helping his daughter. They were a lively bunch, who he thoroughly enjoyed. However, his worry for Hope didn't allow him to focus too much on the very delectable slayers. Buffy said she'd be there the next day, but Xander and Faith weren't coming.
After he returned home, Klaus told his sisters about how willing to help the vampire slayers were. Naturally, they both were suspicious.
"What do they want in return?" Freya asked.
"Nothing," Klaus said.
Rebekah had laughed in disbelief. "You don't honestly believe that, Nik?" she asked.
"You weren't there, Rebekah. They fight demons for a living. I helped them fight what they call an apocalypse. Some demon warlock tried to open the hellmouth in Ohio," he said. "They were grateful for my help."
"So they're returning the favor," Rebekah said, nodding. She understood now.
Klaus shook his head. "No, you don't get it. I don't think it would've mattered if I'd fought with them or not," he said. "Once I told them about Hope's condition, they were all in agreement to help. Buffy, the one in charge said if her plan didn't work, they'd call her best friend Willow—a very powerful witch."
"What kind of name is Buffy?" Rebekah said with a laugh.
Klaus was getting annoyed. "Who cares what her name is? She's a beautiful blonde like you except she spends all her time fighting soulless vampires or other demons that prey on humans," he said. "You could learn a lot from her." Rebekah didn't appreciate the dig and glared at him.
"Why didn't she just have her witch friend come?" Freya asked. "She's the one that Vincent's friend heard about that has all the power."
"Buffy said she'd have Willow come if she was needed, but Willow is busy putting out fires elsewhere," Klaus said. "Their organization is quite large—global."
"I look forward to hearing more about it," Elijah said. "It sounds like a group of allies we should definitely be cultivating."
"I don't know how a vampire with a soul's demon is supposed to help Hope," Rebekah said.
"Buffy is set to arrive in the airport soon," Klaus said. "Freya, she's not a witch, so I hope you will be able to handle the spell that pulls the demon out of Hope and into her friend."
"I can," Freya assured him. "I've never seen a vampire with a demon in it. Vincent will be on hand, too, to help."
"Do any of you want to go to the airport with me?" Klaus asked.
"I will," Rebekah said. She wanted to meet this Buffy.
An hour later, Buffy was carrying one carryon as she walked through the gate, looking for Klaus. Her hair was pulled back as traveling made her feel gross. She hated traveling on public planes because she couldn't take her weapons unless Willow was on hand to work her mojo.
She spotted Klaus right away. A strikingly beautiful blonde was standing next time. Immediately, Buffy was regretting her clothing choices and her hair. As she got closer, she saw that the blonde was one of those haughty, immaculate women who never failed to make Buffy feel ill-kept and less.
Determined to not be intimidated, she waved at Klaus, who gave her a warm smile. His dimple was visible, and her stomach fluttered. God, he was sexy!
"Hello, Buffy," Klaus said, holding out his hand to her. Buffy placed hers in his, and he surprised her by giving it a very courtly kiss. A move that should've seemed cheesy instead struck her as very sweet.
"It's good to see you again, Klaus. Thanks for meeting me," she said.
"We're the one who owes you our thanks," Klaus said. He moved to grab her bag—another move that surprised her. All the guys she knew never did that as they knew she was stronger than they. However, Klaus was old world, and his manners reflected that. Of course, he also might be stronger than her—she didn't actually know.
"Rebekah, this is Buffy Summers," he introduced the blonde at his side. "Buffy, this is Rebekah my baby sister."
"Hello," Rebekah said, eying her with interest. She was small and looked nothing like a warrior.
"Wow, do good looks run in your family or what?" Buffy said. "She's so pretty that I feel really grungy."
Rebekah finally smiled. "You are very pretty yourself," she said. The surest way to win his sister was to compliment her in some way. Klaus rolled his eyes at her predictability but said nothing. He needed his family to play nice as he was desperate to save his daughter. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do and no lengths he wouldn't go through to save Hope.
"Yes, you are both very beautiful," Klaus said. "Can we go to the car?"
Buffy laughed. "Of course," she said.
"Have you ever been to New Orleans?" Rebekah asked in that cute accent of hers.
"No," Buffy said. "I'm looking forward to seeing the sights after we fix Hope up."
She was surprised when a limo was waiting for them. "You guys like to travel in style, huh?" she asked.
"When you've lived a thousand years, these little luxuries make life more bearable," Klaus said.
"I have a cute little convertible, but Nik insisted on showing off," Rebekah said.
"It's not showing off to make sure our guest, who plans on saving my only child's life, is spoiled," Klaus said, giving his sister an annoyed look.
Buffy grinned, enjoying two siblings bickering. It reminded her of Dawn, and the many arguments she had with her. "Well, I appreciate the thought, but I'm comfortable with whatever," she said with a shrug. "This is extremely nice, though. Thanks, Klaus."
"Your welcome," he said, smiling at her.
Buffy's butterflies turned to leaping frogs as he focused that charming dimple exclusively on her. "So why does she call you Nick?" she asked looking between the siblings.
"Well, my birth name is Niklaus—that's n-i-k, not n-i-c-k," he explained. "My family often calls me that or Nik."
"He thinks Klaus makes him sound more formidable," Rebekah said, flashing him a teasing grin.
"That may be so," Buffy said. "But once you flashed that adorable dimple, the menace factor is gone."
Rebekah laughed while Klaus fought a grin. "Good point," Rebekah said.
Buffy was sitting by the door, so she looked out the window, wanting to see the sights. There was so much to see. It was clear as they got into the heart of the city how different it was from other places she'd been. The people on the streets, though, reminded her of Italy and London. However, many of these people seem happy and relaxed. Londoners were often in a hurry. They drove by a cemetery.
"So it's true? The dead aren't buried?" she asked as she spotted all the above ground crypts.
"The city is under sea level now that those idiots in charge started trying to control the Mississippi river," Klaus said in annoyance. "I'm not sure how my protegee, Marcel, allowed them to do it. Every imbecile should know that rivers need to meander to deposit silt. If not, they rise, which causes all the surrounding land to sink. So now we have those very breakable levies holding the ocean out. Hurricane Katrina was inevitable."
Buffy's mouth was slightly open at his rant. Then she blinked, trying to take in his words. "Well, I guess I'm an imbecile, too, because I surely didn't know any of that!" she said with a laugh.
"We helped build this a few hundred years ago," Klaus said. "It was one of the last times we were happy as a family. Then my father, who was bent on murdering us, ran us out of town. Coming here to start over with Hope was away to reconnect, but things have not gone as I planned."
"The best laid plans do tend to go awry—in my experience anyway," Buffy said.
When they made it to their house, Buffy was fascinated.
"Welcome to our home," Klaus said, gesturing for her to step inside.
She did so and blinked. "You have a courtyard inside your house?" she asked in surprise. There were clearly rooms above them and a circular staircase. "This is way cool!"
"It's been in our family for generations," Rebekah said.
Another very good-looking man walked into courtyard. "I see our guest has arrived," he said. He was taller than Klaus with darker hair.
Buffy gave the new arrival a smile, and then she watched another woman come in behind him. "More siblings?" she asked.
"They are our elder siblings," Klaus said. "Elijah, this is Buffy Summers. Buffy, this is Elijah and our oldest sibling Freya."
Buffy held out her hand to shake theirs and paused when she shook Freya's. "You're human?" she asked in shock.
"I am," Freya said. "Our mother's oldest sister was a very powerful witch, who basically stole me from my family when I was a toddler. She raised me and kept me a sleep with her magic a century at a time."
"Seriously?" she said. "That's incredible. So, I take it you're a witch too?"
"Yes," Freya said.
"We've only been reunited with Freya this century," Klaus explained. "We actually believed she was dead."
"That's amazing," Buffy said. "You know I had a sister that was inserted into my life by magic. Some monks created her out of me."
"Really?" Elijah asked.
"She had been this mystical key, and they were hiding her from this insane hell god, who wanted to use her blood to open all realities," Buffy explained. "That was the second time I died." Why was she being so open? Maybe it was because they made her feel so young and inexperienced. Elijah was so British—in a James Bond way, not the Giles way.
"Your friend Xander mentioned that last night," Klaus said. "Said that he and two others helped Willow with the spell that resurrected you several months after you died."
"Is you sister still a part of your life? Or did the magic unravel?" Freya asked.
"She is. No, the magic held," Buffy explained. "The monks didn't just bend reality, but they made her out of me. That's what I figured out. Our blood was the same."
Klaus gave her a look of understanding. "That's how you did it, then," he observed.
Buffy nodded. "Yes. The insane bitch managed to take my fourteen-year-old sister and start the ritual to open the portals to all realities, so I had to jump in her place. As our blood was the same, I knew it would work, and it did," she said.
"I don't think Nik would ever die in my place," Rebekah said.
"I would," Elijah said.
"As would I!" Klaus said, angry that his annoying sister would insult his honor.
Buffy grinned, enjoying the family fight. "You guys are making me miss my sister, Dawn. We bicker about dumb stuff too," she said.
Freya smiled at her, glad she was so nice. "Rebekah and I are blessed to have such protective brothers," she said.
"We have Kol, too," Rebekah said. "You and he have something in common as he was dead for a few years. His witch girlfriend and Freya figured out how to bring him back from the other side."
"What's that?" Buffy asked.
"It's a holding place for supernatural creatures," Klaus said. "Did you not go to it when you died?"
A sad look of longing appeared on her face as she shook her head. "No. I was in heaven. My friends thought I was in a hell dimension because Angel was sent to one that time I had to kill him, but I was in a place of peace and joy," she shared.
The Mikaelson siblings showed various degrees of surprise and dismay. "You were in heaven? For real?" Rebekah asked, her eyes side.
Buffy nodded. "Yea," she said in a soft voice.
"And your friends pulled you out?" Klaus asked, disturbed.
"They didn't know," she said.
"How did you forgive them?" Freya asked.
"I hope you beat them really good at least," Klaus said.
She gave him a bittersweet smile. "My friends love me too much," she said. "Love can be a burden sometimes, but no, I didn't blame them. And Dawn did need me. Our mother had died just a few months before I did. For a fourteen-year-old, it was a lot for her to deal with."
"You are a bloody saint," Klaus said, shaking his head.
Rebekah looked at Elijah. "How come we go to the Other Side and not a hell dimension?" she asked.
"There is a hell," Klaus said. "Caroline told me of it. Damon Salvatore met the Devil not long ago. Poor Katerina was sent there after her death. It seems that some are claimed, and others are protected by magic."
"The vampires I slay have a demon in them, so they are wholly evil," Buffy exclaimed.
"Are you hungry?" Elijah asked. "We will take you out to a nice dinner."
"You can tell us all about this Angel, who you sent to hell," Rebekah said with an eager smile. For one so young, the slayer led an interesting life.
"Let's stroll down Royal street and take her to Café Amelie," Klaus said. "There's a courtyard setting if you want to people watch and take in the atmosphere."
"That sounds awesome," Buffy said. "Do you guys eat? Angel doesn't. Well, Spike always did, but he wasn't like most vamps."
"We eat," Rebekah said. "It helps with the blood craving."
Klaus poured himself a drink. "So does alcohol," he said, holding it up with a grin as he threw it back.
"Can you actually get drunk?" Buffy asked.
"It takes a lot," Klaus said. "But yes."
"What else is different about your kind? Do you have a reflection?" she asked.
Rebekah frowned. "Why wouldn't we?" she asked.
"My kind don't," Buffy replied. "What about crosses? Do they bother you?"
"Of course not," Elijah said. "We're Christian—and pagan."
"Like all of New Orleans," Klaus said with a grin.
"But we do need an invitation to go inside a home," Rebekah said.
"Shall we?" Elijah asked, gesturing to the door.
"Don't you think we should show her to her room and let her freshen up?" Freya wondered.
"That would be nice, too," Buffy said with a smile.
Freya led her up the stairs to a very nice room. "Wow," she said, looking at around. "It's so lovely."
"Yes, the house is great," Freya said. "I used to want to be here with them so much, and now it's been over a decade—I don't always notice."
"That's how it works. It's funny sometimes the things I get used to," Buffy said. She began to open up her bag and took out an outfit. "Will slacks and nice top be okay?"
"Yes. We'll be walking, so be comfortable. New Orleans is a combination of poor, old wealth like my family, and the new rich," she said. "So many tourists, though, that it's hard to tell sometimes."
She left Buffy to freshen up and went downstairs.
"I like her," Elijah said. "She seems sincere."
"I think so," Klaus said.
"Do you think she's telling the truth about the dying and going to heaven?" Rebekah asked.
"She seemed to be," Freya said.
"It is clear that the woman will go to any lengths for those she loves," Elijah said.
"Not unlike our dear brother," Klaus said with a smirk.
"She's loyal," Rebekah said.
"And that is everything," Klaus said.
Hope came downstairs. "Dad, is the woman here?" she asked.
"She is, sweetie," Klaus said. "I put her in your mother's old room."
"Do you think she can help me?" Hope asked.
"She seems pretty confident," Klaus said, hugging her close.
"I hope so," Hope said warily.
"Do you want to go to dinner with us?" Klaus asked.
"I don't think a public place is a good idea," Hope said.
"I will stay here with Hope," Freya said, not wanting to risk Hope being alone.
"Thank you, sister," Klaus said. Freya had spent the last years with Hope when Klaus could not be there, and she'd been there the seven years he and his siblings had been incapacitated.
When Buffy joined them, he introduced his daughter to Hope. "It's great to meet you," Buffy said, giving her a bright smile. The girl was as lovely as her family, but the dark red hair was surprising.
However, the evil spirit in Hope immediately sensed the predator behind the bright smile, and Hope's hand raised, knocking Buffy back several feet with a wave of magic.
"Hope!" Klaus scolded.
"She has to go, Dad," Hope said, struggling for control.
Elijah reached down to help Buffy up. "Let's go outside. It's not Hope—it's the evil spirit," he said.
Buffy nodded and followed him out. Immediately, Hope relaxed. Klaus was surprised to see his daughter smile—a real smile. It'd been a long time since he'd seen it.
"I think you're right, Daddy," she said, leaning against him. "She really hated Buffy being here—she's afraid."
Klaus grinned and looked at his sisters, who were both happy and relieved.
"This is going to work," Klaus said. He felt it in his bones.
Buffy the vampire slayer and her Angel friend would be his daughter's salvation.
*****Chapter End****
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