Chapter 8: Council meetings and other disasters
New Orleans - Friday, 4th of October, 1995
Marcel:
Exhausted I let myself fall back on the couch next to Rebekah.
"Ugh. I'm so glad this is over. Next time, please, let's not invite Kol." I suggested tiredly and Rebekah chuckled lightly.
"Oh come on, the dinner was a success, everyone is still alive, aren't they?" She replied optimistically.
"Yeah, but this new leader of the humans cut it pretty close. And if you hadn't stopped Jackson before he bit me..." I shuddered remembering it.
xxx
"Another 37 people have turned up dead in the last week alone! You're the vampire leader Marcel, so do something to protect the locals, or I will be forced to break the peace!" The new human leader complained and threatened me, staring at me challengingly. Rebekah quickly threw me a warning glance and I forced myself to be polite.
"I don't believe those were all vampire attacks. Wasn't there a full moon last Wednesday? Most of those bodies showed up near the French quarter, last time I checked, that was werewolf territory." I countered. Of course I knew very well that it wasn't the werewolves. Most of them were in Hayley's pack and therefore didn't even have to change anymore, anyway. But that was a detail we had decided to keep from Major Jenkins and maybe I could steer the annoying rant, which I knew was coming, away from me and against the werewolves? Besides, I had turned blaming the werewolves into an art during the war, as it had sometimes been the only thing that had kept my people from Elijah's wrath when they messed up, so it came to me very naturally. But, of course, Jackson had to take everything personally again. He stood up angrily at once and glared at me. I also noticed the disapproving look I got from Rebekah.
"What are you trying to say? I have my people under control, unlike you it seems!" Jackson growled and I quickly tried to defend myself.
"Yeah, but the problem isn't my vampires, it's Elijah's! What do you suggest I do, huh? Now that he freed them from the compulsion they don't want to follow anyone's orders anymore! They've been forced into this war and now they're angry, what do you expect?" I explained my problem to the other faction leaders and they went silent, trying to think of a solution. I watched them all carefully.
The human leader, Major Jenkins, was still looking angry and he somehow felt completely out of place here. Like some kind of intruder. And when I took in the expressions of the others, I understood why.
Everyone else at this table had two things in common: We all had fought in the war, whereas the Major had only been elected afterwards. He didn't understand it like we did. But the second thing was even more important: we were all somehow connected to the Mikaelsons. We were all part of this messed up group of monsters that called themselves a family, as ironic as that might sound after the 15 years of fighting each other, trying to kill each other. I looked from Hayley's concerned and thoughtful expression to Jackson's scowling, angry face, to the mischievous glint in Kol's eyes, which told me that he was plotting something again, and then my eyes followed his arm, that was casually wrapped around Davina's shoulders and I briefly looked at her older, much harder, face. I felt a sting in my heart as she threw me a hateful glare. I was still hoping she would one day forgive me. I quickly looked away again.
But no matter how hard we all tried to destroy each other, we all came out of it alive. And now that Elijah and Klaus were gone, maybe we could try to work together again. We all had the same goals. And we would stick together. Like a family. I quickly shook my head at that ridiculous thought. I had spent too much time listening to Elijah's rambling. I returned my attention to the Major.
He threw first Jackson and then Davina a disbelieving look and then turned angrily to Rebekah.
"Didn't you hear what I said? Locals are killed despite the peace treaty and it's obviously Marcel's fault! He should have the vampire's under his control and if he doesn't he is not fit to be a faction leader and someone else should be appointed!" He cried out and everyone watched him, thoroughly amused. In every single one of our meetings, he wanted someone else removed as a leader. If we listened to him we probably would have a completely new council in less than a week. Maybe that was his goal all along. But we couldn't get rid of him unless we wanted to risk a war with the humans. And we all were tired of war and bloodshed.
After a short silence, Rebekah spoke up.
"Major Jenkins, as you very well know, the decision to remove Marcel from the position as faction leader either has to come from the faction itself or has to be decided democratically by the council. And I don't think anyone here would agree with you. So instead of trying to blame everything on Marcel, maybe you should help us think about a real solution for this problem." She told him coldly, but astonishingly calmly and the Major looked as if he had been slapped in the face and he turned an even deeper shade of red.
"Oh great! Why did I even think the concerns of the humans would matter to this council full of monsters? We didn't even get a say in your election to 'Queen'! But, of course, I forgot, you were so generous to grant us a seat in the city council at least! Where we can't change a thing! It's only a pretense to keep us quiet and under control. Instead of paying us back for the years of unnecessary war and horrendous human 'collateral damage'! And now you just let the murders continue!" He started to rise from his seat, as if going to attack Rebekah, but before he could do anything, he collapsed on the floor, holding his head.
"What? He's incredibly annoying!" Kol replied casually when everyone looked at him accusingly. For once I agreed with him.
"Do we even need a human leader anyway? It's not as if there's anything they can do, except complaining. I'm slowly beginning to think my brothers might have been right to kill all the former ones." He drawled on, sitting relaxed in his seat, the mischievous glint still in his eyes, only waiting for the explosion he knew that statement would cause. And suddenly all hell broke loose. So much for sticking together, I thought cynically as I jumped in to save Kol from Hayley's fangs.
xxx
I signed again as I remembered it, silently cursing Kol in my head. Of course he knew always which buttons to push to cause chaos. The others all still held too much hatred for Elijah and Klaus, so Kol's comment had resulted in a fight that didn't even have sides. It was only an outlet of all our aggressions for which the real sources were out of reach. And completely immortal. Stupid Originals.
So instead we had fought each other, wrecking the whole dining room until Rebekah got us all to finally calm down.
"You know, sometimes I ask myself why I'm still here. All those years fighting over a city which is barely more than a ruin. Klaus and Elijah destroyed it. And yet here I am, cleaning up their mess, while both of them are holidaying in Europe. How's that fair?" Rebekah complained and I quickly went and got us both drinks, than sat back down next to her.
"Isn't that what it's always like with your family? They start a fight, hurting everyone in their wake and in the end, they're the only ones for whom things turns out okay. We still haven't found a solution for the vampire problem. If Elijah hadn't-" We both jumped to our feet when the fire suddenly flared and turned green for just a moment. And then there was a head in the flames. We carefully took a few steps in it's direction and stared. How was that possible?
"Elijah? What the heck? How did you do that?" Rebekah asked him, with a mixture of complete disbelieve and awe. Speaking of the devil...
Elijah seemed to be nearly as surprised as we were and looked around the room amazed, apparently completely unbothered by the flames around him. That had to be some kind of exotic witch's spell. I was sure none of the witches that I had known ever heard of something like that. And I had known a whole lot of powerful witches.
"Good evening to you too, Rebekah. Marcellus. As I have already told you in my letter, I'm currently unable to use my phone. But I was made aware of this alternative by a friend of mine. And I wished to see how you are doing." He explained and Rebekah stared at him.
"Oh you're talking about the letter you sent with a goddamn owl in which you told me you went to England to become a teacher? What kind of crazy freak school are you teaching at? And since when did you want to become a teacher?" She asked him a bit angrily, apparently remembering the bird, which had been obsessed with her nail polish and had tried to eat her fingers until we finally got rid of it again. I started grinning as I remembered that event.
Elijah chuckled lightly.
"Occasionally I find myself doubting this decision too. Do you recall the particular type of wizards that we met in England 500 years ago? The ones who rely, nearly completely, on their wands? I'm currently teaching at a school for exactly this brand of magic. An old acquaintance of mine is the deputy headmistress and, as of right now, they are at the beginning of a war against a powerful dark wizard. Due to my vast experience with this problem, she convinced the headmaster to hire me." He told us slowly. He probably hadn't wanted to put this kind of information in a letter delivered by a bird... I still needed some time to swallow all the news.
So he went from fighting one war to go and join another. Somehow I wasn't really surprised anymore. Everyone had always known Elijah as the honorable brother, the one who wouldn't intentionally kill innocent people. In truth it just took him longer to snap and lose his temper than most. And when he did, he was even more terrifying and efficient than his brother. And even though I had spent nearly a decade fighting on his side, I was very glad he was gone now. I drowned out Rebekah and Elijah's chatting as I thought back to that day that destroyed Davina's love for me.
xxx
"What are you doing, Crystal?" I asked her suspiciously as she and the other witches started to surround me and the two vampires that were with us. We were supposed to find some ingredients Davina needed for another one of her attempts to resurrect Kol. One of those was some kind of flower that grew in swamps, so now we were in the middle of the Bayou and – how could it go so terribly wrong – surrounded by werewolves. But instead of getting us all out of here, the witches had apparently decided to help the wolves rather than us. Great.
"What do you think, Marcel? We're so sick of working with you or doing what that stupid girl wants us to do. She has been a traitor from the very beginning, when she helped you suppress the witches after the failed harvest ritual." She spat the words out, her voice full of hatred.
"And now she has us fighting side by side with vampires and, instead of using her powers to end this war by killing one of the Mikaelsons already, she wants to use them to bring another one of them back from the dead!" As much as I hated it, in this aspect I agreed with her. Bringing Kol back sounded like the worst idea ever. But I saw how much Davina had loved him, how much she was missing him still and I so much wanted to see her happy again. Even if it meant resurrecting Kol. Now an evil grin appeared on Crystal's face.
"So we made a deal with the werewolves, luring you into a trap. Without you, your little vampire army isn't worth a thing." She explained smugly, while the wolves around us slowly advanced. Then suddenly they attacked. Brian and Patricia – the vamps that accompanied me – didn't stand a chance and I couldn't help them as I was crouching on the ground, blinded by a horrible headache.
"Goodbye Marcel." Crystal told me cruelly and then one of the werewolves jumped at me, teeth glinting in the sun, ready to rip me into shreds.
And suddenly he was gone. I looked around confused, just like all the others and then I noticed a figure, standing in the shadows of the trees, grinning menacingly, his normally immaculate suit ripped in places and splattered with blood. I wasn't sure what he was planning to do.
He and the werewolves didn't get along too well, sure, but last thing I heard was that he had made some kind of peace with Hayley. So maybe he was here for me, to gain some kind of leverage against Davina?
"Good afternoon. I really would prefer to honor the non-aggression pact I made with Hayley, so I kindly suggest you leave now." He threatened the wolves and they ran as quickly as they could. It wasn't often, these days especially, that Elijah decided to spare someone's life.
Once they were gone, the slaughtering started and, in the blink of an eye, the hearts of the witches were scattered on the ground. Now there were only the two of us left. Slowly he turned around as I tried to stand up.
It said a lot about his mindset, that instead of taking out a handkerchief, he slowly licked the blood off his hands, his fangs out. I gulped heavily. He turned his eyes on me and watched me thoughtfully for a moment and then spoke, his voice cold, without his usual politeness.
"Marcellus. What a spectacular coincidence it is meeting you here." He began slowly and a shiver ran down my spine. Yeah. 'Coincidence'. He knew exactly that he would find me here, of that I was sure.
"What do you want, Elijah?" I asked him directly, sounding much more confident than I felt, and his expression turned even darker.
"That actually is a very good question. Only yesterday I probably wouldn't have hesitated to kill you. Or perhaps take you with me. Depending on my mood, of course. You would have been great leverage against, both, Davina and my brother, not to mention the information you could have provided on your little witch friend. Today, however, it depends on what you choose to do." I gulped once, then put on my usual bravado.
"Choice? If you think I will betray Davina, you're wrong. Do whatever you want, you won't get anything out of me." Of course, that was a lie. Drinking vervain could only protect me as long as it was in my body. Once it was gone, he could turn me into a mindless slave if he wanted to. As he had done with so many other vampires. I decided to distract him from that possibility.
"You might have been able to convince them to tell you anything about Davina if you had stopped to think for a second before killing them." I gestured towards the dead witches, but Elijah didn't even turn his eyes away from me for one second.
"They would only have joined Niklaus. He has been trying to recruit witches for quite some time now, as you surely know. Concerning the choice you have to make: I want you to help me. Niklaus has Rebekah. He daggered her when she refused to choose a side. And I would very much like to have her back." He explained and, for a split second, I could see a deep sadness in his eyes, then it was gone again. I felt anger rise in me. Since the very beginning of this war, Rebekah had tried to make a peace between her brothers, but of course that was a hopeless venture.
"And why would you need my help to free her? Don't you have a whole army, compelled into doing whatever you tell them?" I asked him venomously. I still despised him for taking their free will, some of them even my friends, but I could also see his point. Klaus had a way of manipulating people into betraying each other.
"They don't know my brother. They don't understand why he's so dangerous. I need someone who is able to help me outmaneuver him. So, this is my offer: assist me in saving my sister and then join me. Help me destroy Niklaus. Think about it Marcellus. How long will it take the rest of the witches to turn against Davina if you remain by her side? They despise you and they abhor vampires in general. But they have more power than you have and Davina will be safer with them, than she would ever be with you. And, most of all, you want for her to be safe. But, without the witches, you and your little army will not last long against my brother at all. Or against me, for that matter." He added darkly – a not so subtle threat. "You need me on your side, Marcellus." He explained calmly, but I understood the threat in the last two sentences. I thought about his words for a moment and came to the conclusion that, as much as I hated it, he was right. Sooner or later Davina would have to choose. And if she chose me, she would lose everything. Her allies, her power, her only chance to bring back Kol.
I also had to think about all the vampires I turned, the new community I built with them. I turned my gaze to Brian and Patricia, two of my most loyal followers, my friends, murdered by our 'allies'.
And then of course there was Rebekah. Sweet, innocent Rebekah, who was once again suffering because of Klaus. I had to help her.
And suddenly I had my decision. It didn't matter what Elijah had done. No matter how many of my friends he had killed. He was my only chance. There was only one thing left.
"Promise me you won't hurt Davina. I know she's trying to find a way to kill both you and Klaus, but promise me you won't hurt her, no matter what, and I will join you." I told him. Davina would never understand that I only left her in order to protect her and she would hate me for it but now the witches would hopefully stay loyal to her and she would keep her power. And, if Elijah agreed to my terms, there was only one person left that had the power to really hurt her. And I would do everything in my power to try and eliminate that one too. With Elijah on my side, I would find a way to kill Klaus.
Elijah looked at me for a long time, starring into my eyes and I was beginning to worry. Then finally he nodded.
"You have my word." I could only hope that this new, cold, more heartless version of him was still putting the same value to keeping promises.
xxx
I turned my attention back to the present, when I heard Rebekah start to chuckle.
"So you're teaching a bunch of witches? And one of your students actually punched you? I think I might like that girl. Congratulate her for me, would you?" She teased him, smiling, but then suddenly became worried. "Please tell me she is still alive."
Elijah threw her an indignant glare, but was still smiling at her.
"As far as I know, that is still the case. Unless she happened to drown herself in the bathtub because she thought she was going to be expelled. She is a very ambitious person and looked positively devastated when she realized what she did. But I hope her friends found her soon enough." He smiled fondly and I caught something in his facial expression, which Rebekah seemed to have noticed too. She smiled teasingly at him.
"You like her, don't you? You should be ashamed! She is your student, Elijah!" She mocked him grinning and he just chuckled.
"Do not worry yourself. I hold no care for her in that way. Not everyone starts a relationship with a former student" He replied smoothly, throwing a glance in my direction and then looked back at Rebekah with a taunting grin.
"Speaking of Marcellus," his head turned to look at me now, "I was wondering if you or one of the other vampires would care to visit. My predecessors in this post have apparently been rather misinformed about vampires, so I wish for my students to be granted the opportunity of meeting a real vampire, I cannot very well let them continue to believe that a vampire could survive on lettuce, can I? But I cannot reveal my secret to them either." He explained his offer and I thought about it briefly, but then declined politely.
"Thank you, Elijah, but right now we're rather busy rebuilding the city and maintaining the peace. I do not have enough men to be able to send anyone away. I'm sorry. But if you want to do a lesson on werewolves instead, I'm sure Hayley and Jackson would agree." I suggested. The less werewolves in the city, the better. He raised his eyebrows at that.
"Oh, it is quite alright, I will find someone else. And considering the fact that the werewolves in New Orleans turned me into some kind of horror story to tell their children, I don't quite believe one would be willing to visit me. Furthermore, a lesson on werewolves probably won't be necessary as one of my predecessors actually was one." I stared at him in disbelief.
"WHAT? What did they do on the full moon? That headmaster wants to have his whole school slaughtered, doesn't he? Well, I guess a werewolf can't be much worse than hiring you either." They were a whole bunch of lunatics from the sound of it. I would definitely stay here in New Orleans!
"I never killed any children, Marcellus. Besides, the headmaster has the entirety of the school ingesting vervain. I ha-" He stopped suddenly and seemed to listen to something.
"Oh. Please, excuse me. It would seem that Hermione is standing in front of my office to apologize. I can hear her heartbeat from over here. I should not keep her waiting. Keep me informed on what is transpiring in New Orleans, Rebekah. I shall keep sending letters mostly. It is very tedious to get a long-distance fireplace connected to the floo network for even a mere few hours. But I will try to pick a nicer bird next time." He winked at Rebekah, and she smiled back at him.
And then, just like that, he was gone. I turned back to Rebekah and watched her carefully. The smile she had on her face while talking to Elijah slowly dissipated and she got a troubled look in her eyes. I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her tightly against me.
"You're worried about him, aren't you?" I asked her quietly and she leaned against me before answering.
"Yeah, I am. Is that stupid? My brothers are the most powerful beings on this earth and yet I can't cease worrying. At least, not about Elijah. I came to the conclusion that there's probably nothing that could destroy Nik." I kissed her forehead softly and tried to console her.
"Elijah is strong too. That evil wizard doesn't stand a chance. I could nearly feel bad for him. He probably doesn't even know what he's getting himself into." I grinned and actually managed to make a small smile appear on her face.
"I would still feel better if there was someone with him. He apparently had to hide what he is, even from those people who he fights for. What happens if this whole school of witches finds out that he's a vampire? The witches in Great Britain are very cruel to everything non-human."
Her words got me thinking. I didn't particularly care about Elijah, much less worry about him, but I wanted to put her mind at peace. She was worrying enough about the problems here. Suddenly I had a fantastic idea. What if we did send someone to him? Someone less honorable, less trusting, with much more insight of witchcraft? It might take some time and effort to make this happen, but if my plan would work, I could solve two of my problems at once. Instantly I felt much more cheerful and started to grin. I took another sip of my drink and then leaned back, pulling Rebekah onto my lap. I started to kiss my way up her neck and softly blew into her ear, trying to distract her from the weight on her shoulders. And finally she giggled and started to kiss me back.
