Just so you're not confused while reading this chapter, have in mind that I've skipped a lot compared to what's going on on TVD and The

Originals. Everything that happens in this story takes place after season 3, episode 1. Therefore Elena has only met Elijah. She doesn't know

anything about Rebekah and the other siblings yet.

Chapter 10

I hated this whole situation. I said I can't have anything to do with Klaus and then I went and slept with him. And he won't even admit it meant something. I know it did, I was there. It can't be just me. I can't believe I was ready to forget who he was and give this a try. It's a good thing he did a great job at reminding me. I won't make this mistake again. I'm a hostage, a blood bag and it's time I remind myself of the facts and finally start fighting. I need to contact Katherine. Soon.

We arrived in New Orleans in the late afternoon. As we passed through the city I could see Klaus' nostalgia hidden behind his cold careless facade. He drove unusually slowly as if trying to recognize every building and memorize every new one. I could see different emotions on his face, like someone looking at his home after it has been redecorated by someone else in his absence. For some reason I knew that this was not just another city to him; New Orleans was home.

We were leaving downtown behind and were now going down some more secluded streets. I looked at the seemingly endless row of houses as we were passing.

"Where exactly are we going?"

He didn't answer for a minute. We then made a turn before a house, a mansion to be exact, emerged in front of us. Klaus used a button key and the huge gates opened in front of us and we drove down a long driveway, which was surrounded by a beautiful lawn.

"Here", he answered unnecessarily as we parked in front of the mansion.

"Of course," I sighed. "You Originals never keep a low profile, do you?"

Klaus chuckled almost earnestly. "Now, where would be fun in that?"

He gave me a mischievous look before he got out of the car and I followed him towards the house. Inside, everything was covered with sheets and dust, but it still looked magnificent; fit for royalty.

"Welcome to the Mikaelson mansion. It used to belong to the governor of New Orleans. Long story short: now it belongs to my brother, Elijah. Anyway, it will do for the time being. It's better than all those awful motels we've been staying at."

"Yes, I guess it will do," I repeated rolling my eyes. Klaus is the only person who could reduce a mansion like that, and compare it to a motel.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked.

He looked around. "First we have to clean this place up."

After one phone call a dozen of servants arrived and began cleaning the house.

"There. Now, as soon as the kitchen is brought into order the cook will fix you something to eat. I'm going out." He started towards the door and added "Don't wait up, darling."

As soon as Klaus' car was out the gates I began to think of a plan to contact Katherine. As Klaus didn't trust me enough, I didn't have access to my phone so I couldn't call her. I tried talking to the help hoping that I'd get any useful information or maybe a phone, but they were all compelled not to answer any questions that weren't related to my dinner or comfort.

By the evening the house was spotless, and they all left. I could finally go through the rooms undisturbed and pick one for myself. After going into every single one of them, I settled in one with a big bathroom, a big cozy bed and arched window with a nook covered with cushions. The room also had a small library so I could already imagine myself reading books by the window. It would be a great distraction as I waited for Katherine to eventually find me, or as I spent the rest of my life here as Klaus' blood bag. I frowned at my options.

I may have been sleeping for ages because I didn't wake up this well rested in a long time. This bed was comfortable beyond belief.

I went downstairs to find Klaus having coffee and reading the newspaper. My breakfast was on the other end of the table.

"Good morning, bed stealer. Sleep well?" He said and smiled without looking up.

"I guess so." I replied and, looking at the big clock on the wall, realized it was almost noon. "Um.. bed stealer?"

"Yes. Of all the rooms in the house you chose to settle in mine. But being a gentleman, I figured, you can have it. Elijah has a better library in his room, anyway." He grinned.

"Good, because I wasn't planning on giving it back." I answered between bites of my breakfast.

He looked at me and I raised my eyebrow and smiled. He smiled back and looked at me a bit absentmindedly. My suddenly good mood probably got him wondering what I was up to. The sad truth was – not much.

I couldn't do anything except hope that Katherine somehow followed us here. I couldn't risk leaving the house to try and find any means of contacting her. Klaus may be in a good mood now, but if I've learned anything from the time we've spent together it's that his mood changes like the weather and at the slightest suspicion he would lash out and hurt someone I care about. Therefore I decided to play nice and wait for the miracle or at least a better plan.

"So what's the plan for today?"

"Well, I'm glad you asked, because it involves you." He grinned mischievously.

As soon as it was dark outside I was hanging on Klaus' arm, wearing an engagement ring on my finger as we walked down the streets of New Orleans.

"What exactly are we doing?"

"I explained already. You're my fiancée, we're tourists, seeking excitement in the Big Easy. We're keeping a low profile."

"Why? I thought it wasn't 'fun'."

"I ran into way too many vampires in the French Quarter last night. Many of them had daylight rings. I also ran into some not so feisty witches; which is weird, because they're usually a pain in everyone's... neck. Anyway, it's all too strange which leads me to believe there's someone in charge here. Someone powerful enough to control the witches and even have them make daylight rings for them. And I have a feeling I know exactly where to find them."

"I still don't get where I come in?"

"You'll see. Now play along." He whispered before we stopped in front of a huge house guarded by two bouncers.

It seemed that there was a party going on inside because I could hear loud music and voices coming from the inside.

"Good evening, gentlemen." Klaus greeted the bouncers and waved a pamphlet at them. It read "The Abattoir - where the party never ends." Klaus read it aloud.

"Are we at the right place?" He inquired, trying to sound a bit lost.

The bouncers looked at me for a moment and then moved aside and let us in. We found ourselves in a courtyard full of people. The house that surrounded it was beautiful. Klaus' eyes didn't wander like mine, he was here before. He looked straight up to the terrace right across from us. There was a man standing there, looking at the people as if monitoring them. I figured that he was the one in charge. Suddenly he looked straight at us, and I saw fear and recognition slowly set into his eyes before his face became expressionless. I looked at Klaus who seemed as surprised as the man.

"Marcel." He said, still baffled, a moment later when the man appeared right in front of us.

"How is this possible?" I could now hear anger in his tone.

"I will answer your questions shortly. But where are your manners?" The man said setting his dark eyes on me.

Klaus introduced us quickly not taking his eyes off him, demanding his answers.

Marcel sighed. "Well then, why don't we take this upstairs?" He motioned to Klaus to follow him, but when he didn't move Marcel looked at me again, his eyes pausing at my ring.

"Well, excuse my rudeness." He then motioned to a man standing nearby and whispered something in his ear. The man offered me his hand, and Klaus nodded. He took me to a group of girls sipping cocktails in the corner. They seemed a few years older than me. He said something to them and I instantly had a drink in my hand and they asked me a few questions such as 'how do you like New Orleans' before they continued their conversation barely aware of my presence. I figured they were vampires but were probably told to babysit me and play nice. I didn't have a problem with that, considering the last time I was left alone in a place crawling with vampires.

I looked around and noticed a vampire only a few feet away drinking from some girl's neck while dancing with her. On a second look I realized many girls had bite marks. The vampire girl sitting next to me caught me looking.

"Don't worry. Everyone brings their own food." She chuckled huskily.

Klaus appeared some 20 minutes later and almost dragged me out of the party.

Klaus' POV:

I followed Marcel to 'his' office upstairs.

"Do you want a drink?" He offered.

"No, Marcel, I demand answers."

"What do you want me to tell you, huh? I mean, when your father came here he burned the whole city to the ground, chasing you. You all fled and I knew you knew better than to return here while he's looking for you. So I took it upon me to rebuild it."

"Am I supposed to believe you did all that out of goodness of your heart? I thought you were dead! I mourned you like a son. And you… You saw an opportunity and seized it. And here you are now; in my house, in MY town, calling it your own!"

"I don't have to explain myself to you and I don't care how this looks in your twisted mind, but I built this town from the ashes. I built a community. I even found a way to control the witches. Therefore this IS my town. You're welcome to stay, as long as you have that in mind."

"You forget who you're talking to. I could tear apart this town and you with it and not even flinch."

"Listen to yourself. You sound just like your father!"

I tore into Marcel's chest and tugged at his heart, "I am NOTHING like Mikael!"

I finally saw fear in his eyes. He was at my mercy. But I wasn't going to kill him now and make it this easy for him. I let go of him and he fell to the ground gasping for air.

"Enjoy your town while you can. And remember you're alive only because I allow you to be."

I rushed downstairs, found Elena and we left this pest infested place.

Elena's POV:

Back at the mansion I waited for Klaus to stop pacing so I could ask him who was that guy Marcel and why did seeing him have him so upset. I had a feeling this was big so I didn't want to blow it by sounding too snoopy. I decided to start from some less relevant questions and maybe he'd tell me the rest himself.

"So you brought me tonight because the invitation said 'bring your own booze'?"

He didn't look at me or stop pacing. "It looked less suspicious. Or it would have, had the host been someone else. But don't worry… you were never in any danger."

He seemed so distraught, at moments I wasn't even sure if he knew I was there.

"Am I in danger now? That man, Marcel, he saw the ring. What if he comes after you thinking… "

"No. I told you that our little charade was in vain. Marcel knows better than to think I'd allow myself such vulnerability as to care for a human."

He realized what he had said because he finally snapped out of that trance of his and stopped pacing.

"Then why even go through so much trouble to protect me." I started to leave the room, but he grabbed my arm.

"Do we have to go through this again?" He said in an unusually soft voice.

I gathered enough hate to shove it in his face when I turned around.

"No. I'm done playing hot and cold with you. I tried to find some good in you, but you do such a nice job of reminding me you're a monster. You disgust me."

For a moment there, he seemed hurt. "This little speech you've been repeating to yourself, does it work?"

His face was so close to mine I almost stopped breathing. Being this close to him made everything so hazy, like I had no control over my thoughts or actions. I had to snap out of it.

"Yes, it does." I said decisively and tried to leave again.

He held my arm tighter. "Yet, somehow, I don't believe you." He pulled me dangerously close to him now.

"I don't care if you believe me." I snapped back, already feeling that I'm losing this battle.

"I don't believe you." He repeated in a whisper. As if he knew my knees give out every time he did it.

"I don't care… " I whispered, already in his embrace, drowning in that familiar sweet dizziness, and the scent of him.

Thank you so much for reading and also for all of your positive feedback, it means a lot!

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