hey guys so here is another chapter for you which is based on episode 1x07 of the originals which I have decided to spit into in order to fit more since I had a lot of ideas of this episode, although I've changed somethings and added scenes although mostly it just lines as well as tried to take on any reviews or suggestions made you so let me know what you think of it. Thank you so much for the reviews, follows and favourites, I love hear what you think of my story the good and bad so please keep it up. Also there is a link below for you to see Peyton's outfits.
www. polyvore big_ bad_wolf/ collection? id= 5242744 ( without the spaces)
Chapter 8: bloodletting ( Klaus )
After Marcel had found out that only had the original family being staying in the house that he had associated with being a salve for his father and that Josh was the spy that Thierry had mentioned but also that Klaus was keeping a secret from in the form of his own young brunette that seemed to never leave the house either as he would have remembered seeing a girl like her around the French Quarter, he decided to go and find Klaus so that he could confront him over this new development as well as hint to the fact he could know about the mysterious Peyton that was living him. Klaus began to feel the now familiar panic rise inside of him as he began to worry about Peyton and the twins once he realise that Marcel might know about her since he knew that everyone else in the house had been out as he decided to go home as soon as possible to find out for himself. When he got home he headed straight for her bedroom to find it empty and untouched before going to his own to find the same as he headed into the study to find Elijah calling Rebekah to investigate
" goodbye means goodbye, Elijah" Rebekah said as she drove her car out of the New Orleans as she was grateful to be finished with the city that always seemed to cause so much pain
" is she with you?" He asked not bothering with hello as he needed to know where Peyton was before thinking of the worst case scenario where someone had taken her or that she had left
" what the hell are you talking about?" She asked completely confused as she tried to remember how things were when she had left as Peyton had went to get changed and he went to help Klaus
" Peyton's gone, where is she!" He said hoping with every fibre with his body that she was joking with him and about to tell him that in fact Peyton was sitting in the passages seat next to her
" Marcel was here...please tell me that Peyton is ok" Klaus said entering the room forcing both his siblings attention onto him as he saw how worried and frantic Elijah was as he began to wonder
" Rebekah, I'll call back later...Peyton's missing, when I came home this was in the floor by the door" he said as he showed him the discarded phone that had been dropped when she was taken
" she wouldn't have this, no woman in this century would leave their phone behind... This has to. D Marcel" Klaus said noticing the amount of missed calls and texts from Stefan being displayed on it
" then we go and take her back before he does anything to her" Elijah said calmly but with a edge of anger to his voice as he wondered when Peyton would have time to just relax rather than being attacked
" well this should be fun" Klaus said with his signature smirk as he tried to hide his anger and fear that something more was going on with this and in fact someone worse had taken his girl
Back at the Abattoir, Marcel and his vampire were beginning their fight night where the night walkers would fight each other to compete for a daylight ring as Marcel began to make his speech about why they have a fight night before the first pair which was Otto and Felicia as they began to fight. Soon Felicia was able to overtake Otto enough that she was able to snap his neck with her legs before the fight night was interrupted by the two originals who were on a mission to find the missing Peyton as Klaus appeared behind Felicia and snapped her neck before Elijah soon joined in the middle of the room surrounded by all the vampires who had been watching the fight
" good evening, I'd like a word" Klaus said politely as he looked to Marcel who was still on the second floor looking down on them as he realised that he needed to keep them taking his power
" what do you think you're doing?" Marcel asked knowing that he couldn't show any weakness or fear when it came to the originals since he needed to keep face with all his vampires present
" it appears that we've interrupted a collection of filthy amateurs! We've come here for the girl, give her to us or we kill everyone here... Starting with you" Elijah asked showing them they were serious about this by threatening the leader
" you two have got a lot of nerve coming into my home and making demands" Marcel said picking his words carefully since he knew which ones would cause the biggest reaction from Klaus
" your home is it?" Klaus said fake smiling as he thought about how he had raised him here and his he would be raising his children here with Peyton once he got it all back from Marcel
" the girl! I will not ask again" Elijah said realising that they were getting further and further away from the reason why they were in the first place as he tried to get back to the still lost Peyton
" I assume you're talking about Peyton? Yea high, dark hair, distrusting of new people? Who is she anyway?" Marcel asked still curious about what it was about this girl that made Klaus keep her around
" she's none of your concern but if you must know she's an old friend, you know how sentimental I am about old friends" he said with a warning in his voice as he tried to rattle him enough to slip up
" well I ain't got her and before you start whining, I did pay her a little visit earlier tonight" he said waiting to how that little comment would affect Klaus as he watched him try to control his anger
" and I'm better she was as pleasant and as welcome as ever is" klaus said knowing that Peyton would have been weary and distrusting of him from the moment that he had told her his name
" I was feeling nostalgic so I took a trip out to the plantation where I used to be a slave and imagine my surprise when I realised that the original family of vampires had taken up residence" he told them as well as the vampires around them to show them what kind of people they were
" you live in our home so we live in yours" Elijah said reminding him that the Abattoir used to be their home before he ruined it and turned it into party and vampire headquarters for all the riffraff
" Peyton...your girl answered the door, we exchanged hellos and that was it. You don't believe me?" He said sensing the doubt in both of the originals as they exchanged a look between them
" you understand our hesitation in believing you, Marcellus" Elijah said remain ever polite and calm on the outside while in the inside he was a raging ball of fury as he always was when it came to Marcel
" then look around, hell I'll even help you find her but the question that I'd ask is if Peyton isn't here then where is she?" He said making them both begin to wonder which their enemies had her
" allow us to worry about that while you fulfil your offer of help... Niklaus, you're quiet" Elijah said as the crowd began to fade away as Marcel left the balcony allowing Elijah to focus on his brother
" where is she, Elijah? The witches wouldn't dare attempt another attack on Peyton of the babies so who has her?" Klaus asked worrying as he tried to think of someone who could have her
" we will figure it out and we will find her ok? Sit, you need to remain calm" he said knowing that when his brother wasn't calm that was when people began to die around them as a result of it
" Elijah, we have to...for me" he said not wanting to mention the babies around Marcel or his vampire informants who would do anything to get a daylight from him as Elijah handed him a drink
" here... Not the most attractive community are they?" Elijah said gesturing to the crowd around them as he tried to distract Klaus from thinking about the fate his girlfriend and his babies
" you do realise they can hear you?" He asked noticing that a few heads had turned in their direction at his words as he tried to relax a little as he stole the technique of using humour from Peyton
" you do realise I don't care?" He said in the same tone as they both took a sip from their drink as they noticed that a few of Marcel's men began to gather at the entrance to investigate something
" you know Elijah, I liked you better in a box but your brother is my sire who I owe the world to and I always show respect to my elders" Marcel said walking towards the brother after heading them
" yeah you don't get to come here and I don't care who-" Diego said before he was thrown into the air as the others began to back off as Stefan Salvatore came into the Abattoir as he walked towards them
" Stefan, isn't this a surprise?" Klaus said standing up as he tried to work out why he was there as he saw Marcel watching them interact with interest since he was weary about new people
" Klaus ! Where's Peyton? Please tell me she's with you and is completely ok" Stefan said not bothering to say hello since he had spent the whole journey thinking about what was going on
" we're still looking into that one, how did you know she was missing?" Elijah said realising that it was strange that he already knew that his best friend was missing and came to New Orleans
" we were on the phone when she answered the door to whoever took her, I got worried so I came here" he said to them as he eyed up Marcel as he realised that this was their newest enemy
" well let me introduce you two, Stefan Salvatore meet Marcel Gerard. Stefan's an old friend from Mystic Falls" he said choosing his words to describe Stefan so that it would mirror his earlier words
" another old friend huh? Whoever knew that Klaus Mikaelson had so many old friends" Marcel said not liking the fact that the French Quarter seemed to be over run with Klaus's old friends
" yeah we can add to our list of mysteries like where Peyton is" Stefan said trying to stop the macho man fight that was going on between Klaus and Marcel to see who was tougher
" well if your special lady friend is missing then you could benefit the help of a witch and since I control all witches in this town. I'll grant you one little locator spell " Marcel said noticing the way Stefan was taking this new information as he began to wonder his connection to all of this
" you control the witches here?" Stefan asked unsure as he suddenly felt out of the loop after being locked away for a long time by Silas as he realised that marcel was almost a mini Klaus
" I'm assuming our little Bennett witch is no longer with us?" Klaus asked as he turned to Stefan as he tired to think of alternative ways to find her using a witch other than trusting Marcel's witch
" not yet but we have a plan to bring her back and even if she was, we need her blood or the bloc of someone related to her" Stefan said knowing that Peyton didn't have a lot of relatives around
" Sabine's the best guide in the quarter, if you need to find someone then she's your girl" Marcel said curious about how they would get around that little problem as he turned to leave
" where are you going?" Klaus asked still suspicion that he might still have Peyton hidden somewhere since he knew that he was good at hiding young females from people looking for them
" I hate to cut the short but the sun's coming up soon and my night walkers need to get inside,plus I have a city to run. I'll leave you to track down your lost...sheep" he said making them think he was going to say wolf rather than sheep
The four of them grabbed a table away from the few day walkers that were hanging around so that they could have some form of privacy as Sabine grabbed a map so that she could find Peyton's location as they decided to use Klaus's blood to track her down since his blood was running through her due to the twins that she was carrying. Soon the blood began to move as it left a trail leading to where Peyton was as Sabine recognised where she was as she looked up to Elijah sitting anxiously across from her, Klaus pacing the small distance between the two pillars near them and Stefan who was leaning on one of the pillars with his arms folded with a worried look on his face.
" she's in the back country, way up past Houma deep in the bayou" Sabine told them as all three of men jumped into action as she wondered how they were all connected to Peyton and what way
" I don't suppose you can be more precise?" Elijah said knowing that the bayou was large area of land and would take a long time to search, probably more time than they had to look for Peyton
" what's the matter, Elijah? You worried about messing up your expensive shoes? Well don't worry big brother, I can save day and the girl all my own" Klaus said knowing he would prefer it that way
" not at all little brother, in fact I think I was thinking I could do with a walk in the bayou that after my recent confinement" Elijah said showing Klaus that he was equally willing to do everything he can save her
" why would she be in the bayou? What's out there?" Stefan as,Dread Doctors thinking that there must be a reason why whoever picked that location out of all the hiding spots in New Orleans
" there are stories of exiled werewolves encampments, if Peyton's out then maybe she went to find them" Sabine aid giving them an alternative option to their most popular kidnapping one
" well then maybe she hopes to make the acquaintance of those more like herself, maybe out company wasn't good enough for her" Klaus said silently adding that he wasn't good enough
" no that's not Peyton's style, she would never just leave without saying something" Stefan said knowing that she would have left a note at least or would have waited to talk to them about it
" either way, we should still go to the bayou and make sure that she's ok" Elijah said knowing that they couldn't risk it in case she had been taken and was being held against her will or being hurt
It wasn't long before the three of them were bayou after a long and awkward car ride there as they were all lost in the their thoughts about the reason why they were there for Peyton as Klaus still wondered whether Peyton had simply grown tired of his antics and decided to leave with his babies to seek refuge with the last of the wolves that she could find rather than being kidnapped by someone's enemy from the past. Stefan decided to take the lead as he got out of the car as soon as it stopped causing Klaus and Elijah both to begin to wonder more about the mysterious connection he had to Peyton behind their friendship since she had never explained it to them
" you both seem quite determined to find the little re- Peyton" he said hesitating in using his pet name for her in case she had in fact left him as he knew that he would find it hard to get over her
" if we're moving too fast for you Niklaus then you're more than welcome to wait in the car. Do be certain to leave the window down" Elijah said as Stefan and him began to look for any sign of her
" do you think that you could put away your claws until we actually find her" Stefan said knowing that he was in no mood to deal with the comments that had double meanings and accusations
" you know Stefan, I know why I'm here to save her and I can assume Elijah's reason is the recent spark in friendship between him and Peyton but I don't know yours" Klaus asked realising that their friendship had to run deep if he had been so worried about her to drive to New Orleans
" she's my best friend, saving each other just seems to be a part of that friendship" he said thinking about all the times they had saved each other and all the times they had wanted to but couldn't
" how is it you know Peyton? She has never told us or least never told me" Elijah said looking to his brother to see if he knew about how Stefan and Peyton met or they became such good friends
" I met her in a small town in Massachusetts, she was living on her own and just triggered the curse. That time I saved her from herself" he said remembering how scared and alone she was
" how did you save her exactly?" Klaus said as they walked further into the bayou as he hoped to pick up on Peyton's sweet scent that could lead them to her a he became curious of everything
" I helped her through her first full moon and helped her cope with the fact she had killed a man, although it was in self defence. He tried to...attack her" he said thinking about the story of her kill
" hence why she's so distrusting of people" Elijah said thinking that it made sense why she always seemed to be on the defensive and seemed weary of people as if expecting them to betray her
" that and she had a rough start in life, she learned to see the worst in people while I taught her to see the best.. What is it?" He said noticing the way that Klaus had sudden become serious
" I found someone's scent but not hers, this vehicle reeks of someone we both know all to well...Tyler Lockwood" Klaus said looking through the contents of the vehicle to confirm it
" why would you little hybrid sidekick from Mystic Falls have any interest in Peyton?" Elijah asked as he noticed the serious look being exchanged between Stefan and Klaus as they both knew why
" he wants revenge because I went after his girl so he's going after mine" he said suddenly comparing how different Caroline and Peyton were as people both in looks and in personality
" why do I suspect this is the least of your offences?" Elijah said thinking that this was all a bit much for payback for simply hitting on someone else's girl as it all seemed very dramatic
" because you know your brother all too well" he said thinking about how he always knew when Damon essay lying about what he had done when he was trying to cover up his more evil deeds
" he was loyal in the beginning but he grew insubordinate, he turned my other hybrids against me" he said remembering how Tyler had went away to break the sire link before sharing his secret
" he was only loyal because of the sire bond and he didn't turn them against you, he gave them free will" Stefan said knowing that apart from the Klaus he was the only to know the real story
" well I couldn't have that so I massacred the lot of them, Tyler ran like a coward before I could finish him off" he told them ending his version of the story as he waited for Stefan to comment
" you banished him for Mystic Falls to keep him and Caroline apart" Stefan said thinking that if anyone had enough reason to use Peyton to get to Klaus then it was Tyler Lockwood
" anything else you would like to share?" Elijah said impatiently as he realised that Peyton was going to get hurt yet again because his brother wanted to be feared by everyone he knew
" well there was this business with his mum" he said thinking about how he has decided to use her to teach him a lesson about what happens when he turns against the man who made him
" you killed his mother...wonderful!" He said thinking about how Carol Lockwood had helped many times through compulsion such as giving him a new suit to wear or a place to talk to Elena
" he needed to be taught a lesson!" He said justifying everything he had done to Tyler Lockwood with one simple sentence as if he was talking about a infant who had behavioural issues
" and what lesson will you be taught, Niklaus?" Elijah said beginning to get anger as him and Stefan began to have the same thought as they realised that Tyler could pay him back for two things
" what if Peyton's the one to pay for your little lesson?" Stefan said thinking about everything she had been through since she met Klaus in the Mystic Falls grill and how it had changed her life
" enough of this! I'll save Peyton and kill Tyler myself" Klaus said knowing that he was better doing this on his own like he was with most things in his life as he grew tired of the teamwork involved
Klaus decided that since he had Tyler's scent then it would be the best way to track him down as he tried not to think of the kind of rage he had inspired in Tyler due everything he had done to him since meeting him the day before senior year at school during senior prank night as he thought about what he might do to Peyton as a result of that rage as his revenge on him. Klaus knew that he would never be able to forgive himself if anything happened to Peyton or their babies because of something he had done or because of an enemy he had made of the thousand years he had been alive. Eventually Tyler's scent led him to a makeshift camp sight with a small hut that looked like someone had to leave in hurry as well that they hadn't been there in a while, he could hear Tyler calling out to Peyton who had clearly gotten the better of him and escaped into the bayou
" Peyton! Don't make this harder than it has to be! Give up now and I'll end it quickly" Tyler said calling out to her in the hope she would hear him as he searched all the hiding places near him
" quite an offer! Though not one I'll be extending to you" Klaus said finding it hard not to show his anger towards him since he still didn't know what condition to Peyton was in after being with him
" Klaus..." Tyler said turning in the direction of his voice as he turned his attention away from the girl that was currently the target of Klaus's affection and to the main source of his anger
" hello Tyler, you look well but I aim to change that! Threatening a pregnant girl in order exact revenge against me?" He said letting him know that he knew what his plan or at least some of it
" well who knew that the fearless Klaus Mikaelson could even get someone pregnant or even love someone" Tyler said hinting that Peyton was now Klaus's biggest weakness as were the babies
" I never expected you to sink so low! I admit I'm impressed" he said trying to a different approach rather than straight up anger as he was also sickly sweet before he went into full rage mode
" used to hang out with you, I guess something must have rubbed off" Tyler said knowing that Klaus without a doubt would have done the same thing if things had been reversed between them
" I wonder what Caroline would say if she saw what you've become? Perhaps I'll ask her when I call to tell her of your demise" he said taunting him with his own weakness as he tried not show his emotions
" whatever happens to me, Caroline's never going to stop hating you and she'll never be interested in you" Tyler said to him causing Klaus to laugh slightly since he knew that he had outdated facts
" haven't you heard, mate? I've moved on from Caroline...give it a bit more effort! I want to enjoy myself!" He said throwing him across the bayou as he thought about him kidnapping Peyton
" what Klaus wants, Klaus gets right?" Klaus said getting up before he zoomed away from sight causing Klaus to begin to look around for him as he started looking through the tents near him
" is this your Idea of revenge, Tyler? A gruelling game of hide and seek?...ahh!" Klaus said as Tyler came up behind him in surprise as he use a piece of wood to stab from him behind
" is this exciting enough you yet?" Tyler said as Klaus turned around slapped him as he struggled to sleek through the pain of being staked as he felt the wood scrapping against his heart
" Let's end this shall we?" He said pulling out the stake while grunting through the pain as he turned to face Tyler who was still recovering from being slapped by Klaus after trying to hurt him
The two of them stood up as they begins to glare at each other as their hybrid fangs and eyes be gang to show before they begins to run toward each other. Tyler then tackled Klaus causing them both to begin to roll through the camp sight before Tyler overpowered klaus enough to punch him once making Klaus retaliate by grabbing his neck
" how dare you!" Klaus said thinking about how ungrateful Tyler was after he had made everything that he was and all he had done was defy him and try to make him suffer
" I'm just getting started" Tyler said knowing that it had become his life's mission to take down Klaus after everything he had done to him like killing his mom and his other hybrid friends
" you've grown blood thirsty, perhaps it's better your mother didn't live to see you like this" Klaus said again speaking through the pain of being stabbing in the arm again by Tyler
" you don't get to talk about her!" Tyler said as he began repeatedly to punch Klaus in the face to before Klaus caught his fist and flipped him to change position allowing him to stake Tyler
" its sad really, I thought I made you better but it turns out you're quite the failure" Klaus said standing up as he watched Tyler struggling through the pain as he tried to stand up
" I'm guess I'm just another one of your failures like how you failed at making hybrids, how you failed your family, like how you're going to fail to be enough for Peyton." He said using her against Klaus
" you know nothing about Peyton, how dare you speak her name!" He said punching Tyler in the face as he realised that he hated his enemies speaking her name or being near her
" now it's looks like you're going to fail your own kid!" Tyler said knowing that he was hitting a nerve with Klaus as he realised which buttons to press in order to really annoy him
" and thus ends your tedious little life, at least it was brief!" Klaus said after grabbing him by the throat and pushing him against a trees that he could plunge his hand into Tyler's chest
" do it! You're never going to break me! The only thing you can do is kill me so go on! Get it over with!" He said as he could Klaus's hand wrapped around his heart as he begged for death
" ah, you want me to end your suffering don't you? I did break you! I took everything from you and now you're begging me to sweep away the shards of shattered little life" Klaus said as the realisation hit him as he suddenly knew what the best course of action of was for Tyler
" what are your doing?" Tyler asked gasping in pain after feeling Klaus twist his heart before taking his hand out of his chest empty as he began to wonder what game he was playing
" death offers more peace than you deserve. It's better to let you live and each morning you will wake you knowing your wretched existence continues only by my will. Now go, and live the rest of your days knowing that you are nothing to me" Klaus said compelling him before he left him
Klaus headed back to the hut where he had found Tyler as he wanted to find some clues as to where Peyton may have headed but instead he found the body of what appeared to be an unfamiliar hybrid making him begin to wonder what happened while he had been looking for Peyton. He decided to drag the body of the dead hybrid outside into the bayou as he looked up to see Elijah and Stefan walking towards him before noticing that Peyton was behind them as she saw him too as she began to run towards him as much as she could while trying to prevent herself from falling.
" hello there, little red...are you ok?" Klaus said realising how good it was to see her again as he noticed how ruffed she looked between the blood on her neck, her messy hair and dirty clothes
" a little sore and tried but otherwise ok... Is that blood?" She said suddenly feeling some wet coming from him as she pulled back from her hug to see that his shirt was covered in blood
" yes but don't worry I'm already healed, it's you I was worried about..." He said sweeping a piece of stray hair that fallen onto end face as it had escaped her now messy braids and bun
" I'm fine... We're fine, just kinda wish that people lay off attacking me for a way" she said laying her head onto his shoulder as he began to comfort her by placing an arm around her while using the other to rub her back gently
" I'm glad... Although maybe you can fill me in on why there was a dead hybrid inside?" He asked gently stroking her as she looked up to see that he had dragged Dwayne's body outside
" his names was Dwayne, he was some minion of Tyler's" she said suddenly remembering everything that had happened between her and Tyler since he kidnapped from the plantation
" well whoever he was I didn't sire him, any ideas how that's possible?" He said asking her since she was there and clearly knew the events that had happened leading up to this point
" as if you don't already know" Stefan said bringing the attention back to where he and Elijah has silently been witnessing the small reunion between Peyton and Klaus
" oh and what kind of terrible accusation have you conspired to levy against me?" Klaus said noticing his tone and the way that he took a protective step towards Peyton as if he would hurt her
" Tyler Lockwood bright Peyton here to test a theory, that the blood of her children-" Elijah said beginning to explain the reason why Tyler had kidnapped Peyton and took out to the bayou
" our children, no matter what Klaus may or may not know...these are his children" Peyton said interrupting Elijah as she didn't like the way that Elijah had simply called the babies hers
" I'm sorry, rhat the blood of your children could be used to sire hybrids. He claims you knew that, furthermore that you intended to use this knowledge to build an army" Elijah said carefully waiting so that he could analyse his reaction to determine the truth
" and of course you assume it's true, I mean why else would I show in my own flesh and blood?" Klaus said not believing his words as he looked to see if Peyton believed this too
" no one is saying for sure that it's true but it is true that the babies blood can make hybrids" she said trying to be the voice of reason as she realised that things were about to heat up fast
" a heartbroken little crybaby points his finger at me and my own brother falls in line eager to believe it!" He said walking towards him and Stefan as Peyton instinctively went in between them
" oh spare me your indignation? What was it you once said to me?...' Every king needs an queen to help raise their heir!'" Elijah said trying to impersonate Klaus's voice to mock him
" my big brother, so you doubt my intentions?" Klaus said hating that they were doubt his intentions towards the only person he had ever had real feelings for more so with the babies
" can you really blame us after everything we've been through?" Stefan said knowing that he would do anything to protect his friends even if it was for the man she was falling in love with
" I can't say surprised, I mean standing next to the noble Elijah... how can I be anything but the lesser brother!" He said making Peyton's heart break at his words since she didn't believe it
" you are not the lesser brother! Not to me!" She said trying to get him to listen to her rather than to them since she could what their words were doing to him and ruining what they had
" a liar, an manipulator, a bastard... That's all I am to you and Rebekah isn't it? And judging by the way Stefan hang on your every word, it's clear he does too...do you?" He said turning to Peyton knowing that he wouldn't be able to bear it if she did
" of course I don't, you are none of those things to me and you won't be to our children either" she said knowing that was his next question or statement as she aimed to reassure him
" why don't I do what you wish and play the role I've been given..." He said before walking away from him as Stefan realised what he was about to do while worrying about the emotional Peyton
" Peyton, get out of the way!" Stefan said as he zoomed towards her and moved her out of the way as Klaus zoomed to Elijah and used his hybrid venom to give him the deadly werewolf bite
" thank you bestie...oh my god, Elijah!" She said looking between him and Klaus who was wiping the blood from his face as Peyton bent down to check on Elijah showing her kind side
" you two enjoy each other's company and I suspect you'll have much to bond over once the hallucinations and dementia sets in. Consider that bite as my parting gift to you both, come along Peyton" Klaus said talking to Elijah and Stefan before gesturing for Peyton to follow him
" wait what? You can't me to leave my best friend with a werewolf bitten vampire? Effective choosing between you two...I..." She said suddenly feeling herself caught between a hard place and a rock
