Two things before you start reading this chapter: 1. The scene at Marcel's loft is taken from the TV show's script entirely. I just really liked it and I wanted to introduce Gia in the story. The story is slow in terms of events, but I need to build some sort of relationship between the main characters before things start to happen. 2. I forgot what was the second thing. Nevermind. Enjoy the first Kol/Peyton scene and let me know if you like the stroy in the reviews. Have a nice day!
Last night seemed a nightmare. Peyton did not say a word to her sisters when she came home. She spent some time sitting on the porch and calming herself down before she entered the house. With a lazy yawn she proceeded to the stairs and waved her sisters goodbye. She heard a relieved and tired "good night" and stepped into her room. It was decorated in green and blue colors and that is why she chose this one. It should ease her stress a little. But it never did. Peyton spent a restless night and the next morning all she could think about was the vampire that had attacked her. Her sisters must not know. If they would, they could send her home the next minute out of fear. But they should always stick together. Their strength was in the Power of Three. With this thought, Peyton tried to make herself fall asleep.
Piper always was the one to make breakfast. This time she wasn't in the kitchen in the morning and Peyton was a little surprised not to find the middle sister there. "Where's Piper? Why are you holding the pan? It might be dangerous."
"I guess she needs rest more than we do. She is stressed and is thinking about something that has not even happened yet. I guest she already thinks we won't make it here."
"That's what Piper is all about. She will get used to it. We have," Peyton took a piece of bread with butter and put out a book on the table.
"Did you have a good time yesterday?" Prue did not look at Peyton when she asked that so it made it easier to lie.
"Yes, it was cool! I was at some jazz bar. Just listened to some music and went home. New Orleans seems like any other city. Not much supernatural stuff going on in the streets at night. I thought it would be different".
"I'm glad to hear that. Piper would be happy to know that you can walk here alone and not worry about being attacked by a vampire. That is something I keep telling her but she doesn't believe. I personally do not think a city full of blood-lusting monsters, as they are pictured in the mortals' books, would attract so many tourists."
"Right." Peyton did not feel hungry anymore as she was thinking about Chris. "Should I take the Book of Shadows to Sophie's?"
"No, I don't want anyone to see it. We need to cast protection spells so that nobody can get it. Demons can still sneak around us, even if they do not like New Orleans and vampires. Although I am not sure we can use our powers here without being caught."
"Something tells me that we could." Peyton felt relief when she realized that nobody came to get her after she used her freezing power. It made everything much easier. Well, not much, but it was something.
Sophie waited for them at Rousseau's. It was empty and dark. The place made Peyton uncomfortable at first but Prue seemed to be relaxed and it calmed her sisters down too. The oldest Charmed witch enjoyed her drink while chatting with Sophie about magic. They both did not want to get to the point yet.
"So, witches here practice ancestral magic? What does this mean?" Piper asked sipping her orange juice.
"The city is filled with the spirits of our witch ancestors. The cemetery is the most powerful place for us to get powers from. We cannot leave the city, otherwise we would lose out magic and our family".
"That might be really inconvenient, don't you think?" Piper continued.
"We are used to things being that way."
"Not everyone needs their magic 24/7, Piper. Some witches do not hunt demons." There was a note of jealousy in Prue's tone.
"I guess many witches would kill to get magic as powerful as yours. Wiccan witches have always been the strongest, and you are the most powerful of them all." Sophie sounded upset. She knew that with powers like these she would never let Jane-Anne die. If they were Wiccan, they would not have to sacrifice anyone, they would be powerful enough from the moment of birth till the day they died.
"It is not as good as it sounds. Demons follow us everywhere. They pretend to be human, they trick us, they try to steal our powers… Usually by killing us." Peyton looked at Piper who seemed more and more miserable with each word.
"Creatures here can try to accomplish the same things. You have to be careful."
"We are always careful," Prue finished her drink and said, "Let's get to business. What happened with you and the vampires in town?"
Prue was very perceptive but even she could not sense that Sophie was not thoroughly honest in her monologue.
Kol listened to every word Sophie and the sisters said. The Deveraux witch did not say a word that was not true. She was actually quiet good in concealing the truth without telling a pure lie. She twisted the facts a little for her advantage – something he himself was really good at. Sophie managed to hide her intention to complete the Harvest ritual and kill Marcel's little witch during it, something the Halliwells would certainly consider too dangerous. She gave a nice description of his family to the witches. They would certainly not believe in fluffy Original vampires, but he knew that their precious Book of Shadows would not mention all the terrible things they had done in the past. Melinda Warren was a good friend to Kol and Rebekah once. The 17th century was the time when Kol and Renekah tried to fight what they were. Kol stayed around powerful witches where he could have fun without killing hundreds of mortals in the process and Rebekah felt safer by his side. Later, when Kol would go insane once again after he would be considered a threat to their family by Klaus, she would flee to Elijah, but she always had more fun with the youngest of the Mikaelson brothers. Melinda Warren knew they were monsters but they also helped her fight demons, so that the most powerful witches, her descendants, would be born years later. Kol had interior motive in this, of course: some demon's blood was thicker than human's and he also wanted to see the Charmed Ones alive. With Melinda or her ancestors dead, it would be impossible.
Hundreds of years later, here he was. Kol listened to their voices, each so different and distinct. Prue was surely the most powerful and the most rational out of the three. She spoke in a reliant manner and never missed a word Sophie said. Piper, on the other hand, was a little absent-minded. She seemed to be somewhere else during the conversation. Kol could sense her fear even when he stood outside the bar. It was better to be careful around her. She would not easily believe a vampire. The third sister, Peyton, the one he saw yesterday, captured his attention more than her two sisters. Prue and Piper were very much readable by the Original vampire. They had a type. He met a lot of witches who resembled them. Prue was just like her ancestor, Melinda, strong, powerful and willing to sacrifice everything in order to fight the evil, and Piper reminded him of another Halliwell witch he met back in the 19th century – scared by the powers, scared by demons, but still determined to do everything to keep her sisters safe. There was always the brave witch and the careful witch. Peyton was somehow different. She was closed, but she spoke her mind openly and asked questions that made Sophie uncomfortable. The sisters might not sense that, but he could hear Sophie's heart beat faster when Peyton would ask her more questions about the nature of the Harvest or Marcel. She certainly did her homework. Now she was nothing like the girl he saw yesterday – naïve, scared and alone. Yesterday it seemed as if she was not comfortable using her power. The sight of this mere shadow of a powerful vampire standing in front of her clearly made her afraid. After vanquishing a couple of demons he could think she would be more determined. Just as her sister Prue was. He sensed potential in the youngest of Halliwells. She just needed guidance. And Kol was the perfect teacher for her.
"Klaus! What a nice surprise! You are just in time to meet my new potential recruits," Marcel had a wide smile on his face but his mood was undecipherable.
"Marcellus, isn't this a lot for one time? I would probably try to turn one in a week. They need to show that they will not make trouble and that they may be loyal to you," Klaus said and helped himself with a drink from Marcel's bar.
"I am not planning to turn them right away. They have to prove they really want it first. We will be lucky if any of them stays and has a chance to become a vampire."
Marcel went in the middle of the room and looked in the eyes of the recruits Josh had presented to him.
"I know you're all wondering how you got here. Don't worry about that for now. Instead, I want you to think about your lives. Remember when you were a kid, and you felt like anything was possible? Then, you grew up, things didn't turn out like you planned. But still, there was that part inside of you that would dream. Maybe you wanted strength. Maybe you wanted to be a part of something, something bigger than yourselves." Marcel stopped and looked at a young, beautiful and tough-looking girl who looked intrigued. "Maybe you wanted to be a fighter. Have something worth fighting for. Maybe some of you even wanted to live forever. Well, you can have it! All of it. Because that's what being a vampire is all about."
He left the girl and looked right into the eyes of a big, but scared man. "Oh, don't be afraid. What do you have to fear, when you can do this?" He picked up the man and threw him hundreds of feet into the air, where he was caught by Josh, his loyal young vampire, who was standing on the top floor of a nearby barn with an open door. Marcel turned to the rest of the group. "When you leave here, you'll forget this. But somewhere, deep down, you'll know the offer still exists to join me. Be like me. And, only then, will you find your way back here. Because you want it. Because you need it."
As they left, Klaus clapped and smiled widely at the performance he had just witnessed. He did not like the fact that Marcel was recruiting the army, but he would not show that to him. He had his plans too. The plans Marcel should not know about.
Josh was the first to break the silence that appeared after the recruits had left. "My money's on the rocker chick."
"I wouldn't bet on it. We'll be lucky to get one from that group," Marcel sounded skeptical.
"How can you tell? They all seem tough, what are you looking for?"
Marcel walked over to his bar and poured him and Josh a bourbon. "I'm not looking for tough guys, Josh. I'm looking for warriors."
Josh rolled his eyes. "What's the difference?"
"A warrior fights for what they believe in. A warrior fights for his family," Klaus smiled at them and after a moment, Marcel smiled back.
Tulane University was a set of beautiful buildings in the neighborhood that was, according to Sophie, "almost supernatural-free". Peyton loved the place as soon as she got off the tram and saw it. Green lawns, nice people and old buildings with modern equipment inside – what else do you need?
Peyton could not believe that everything here was real. She never saw so many books about different dialects and contact languages of the world. The head of the Department of Linguistics ensured the girl that she would find a project that Peyton could participate in. For now, she could attend the lectures that were given by the Department staff. Peyton chose one she would attend on Mondays right away. It was an advanced class in Sociolinguistics and it was focused on the Southern dialects.
The first thing Peyton did after the class was calling her sisters to inform them that she loved the university and people there. She decided to stay in the area a little longer. She did not want to go back to the French Quarter that was obviously packed with creatures like Chris. The university neighborhood seemed safe and nice. Peyton grabbed some take away food at a local café and made herself comfortable at the grass near the windows of the Department of History.
She did not notice as her scarf that she took off before she would stain it with food was taken by the wind. A moment later she heard a voice behind her and it made her jump from her place.
"I'm sorry." A handsome brown-haired man stood in a couple of steps from her. "I figured it might be yours," her scarf in his outstretched hand.
"Yes, it is. Must be the wind," she said quietly. "Thank you."
"You are welcome," the stranger had beautiful smile and dark brown eyes that matched his hair, just as Peyton's, but her eyes were wide and naïve and his were narrower and seemed mischievous, although he was not smiling. The man gave her the scarf and turned to leave with a polite nod.
"Wait!" she heard her voice and was startled by her braveness. "May I ask you something?"
"Of course," the man turned to face her and she lost her breath when he showed her his devilishly charming smile.