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Music
Reverse Lullaby by Heroes of Heartache [Hayley MARSHALL]
Black Beauty by Lana Del Ray [Hayley/Mel]
What Have I Done by Anna Ternheim [Marcel/Hayley Spying]
Hayley read word for word of every page. She didn't understand why she needed to know him so badly. Every journal he'd ever written rested in this house. Perhaps there was more out there after the Original family left New Orleans. But with him helpless inside a coffin, Hayley couldn't but read the ones that filled the den's library.
"A guys nice to you for two seconds and you become obsessed with him." She muttered and forced herself to put down the journal. She was careful to put everything back the way she found it. If Elijah came back, which he would, then she didn't want him to notice someone had been snooping. Hayley sighed and walked out of the den. There was another room a few doors down the hall that was conveniently closed. It was the only room that wasn't left ajar and welcoming. Hayley looked over her shoulder to make sure no one else was around.
Her hand settled on the old brass. But when she turned, it didn't budge. It was locked. If she tried hard enough, her werewolf strength could easily dislodge it and solve the little problem. But that would cause noise and it would be terribly obvious that someone had broken in.
"I know Elijah said this was your home, little wolf. And I will not oppose. But that room is excluded from belonging to you." A British accent said behind her. She jumped, not having heard Klaus' arrival.
"I wasn't-" She began.
"Oh yes you were." He interrupted.
Hayley sighed. Not seeing the point in trying to defend herself when she was practically caught red handed. It could be worse; he could have caught her reading his brother's intimate diaries.
"What's in there?" She thought she'd give the straightforward questioning a chance.
"Nothing that's worth breaking down the bloody door." He said with a devious smirk. His lack of serious concern made Hayley believe it really wasn't anything that private. If he had really been protecting something, he would have been much angrier and less entertained.
Marcel turned in a circle as he looked in the mirror. The tailor was patient as he examined her work on his suit. "Damn, I do look good in a suit." He stated egotistically. Thierry laughed as he leaned against a nearby wall. His fingers were rapidly flying across his phone.
The television in the room was sitting on the news. The two teenagers, who had been turned, had their missing pictures flashing across the screen, begging someone to give the police news of their whereabouts. Both the vampires glanced unconcernedly at the sad news.
"My guy at the docks is gonna come forward as an eye witness." Thierry told his king. "He'll say he saw those two drunkenly fall into the Mississippi. They'll be dredging for weeks. No one will come looking 'round here."
Marcel didn't seem too concerned. "That's good, considering one is dead in the dumpster behind the county morgue and the other one is a vampire now. Anything else?"
"Actually a couple…" Thierry said tensely. "I sent four nightwalkers to look after a werewolf sighting in the Quarter…haven't heard from them since."
Marcel did seem a little more concerned with this news. "That makes 10 nightwalkers in the last week. You think the werewolves are back in town, trying to start some trouble?" He asked his right hand man.
"Look, I know you and Klaus are friends. But the fact is, since the Originals showed up-"
"Oh, come now, Thierry, you're not still upset over that little toxic werewolf bite I gave you are you?" Klaus interrupted their conversation. "I thought we were bygones."
"I see you've given him free reign of your compound now too." Thierry added bitterly.
"Yes, well seeing as my family lived here…built the place, in fact." Klaus only tolerated Marcel's slaves because he was supposed to be the peaceful, long lost, father figure to his progeny.
"Alright, alright. Come on, you both know the drill." Marcel settled the argument before it got more heated. "Thierry's my guy, inner circle. Klaus is my old time friend and sire. He's also a guest here. Peace, alright?"
Thierry and Klaus allowed one last untrustworthy glare to one another. The hybrid made a note to watch out for that one. Not because he was a physical threat. Klaus could rip out his heart in a second and without a moment's struggle. But Thierry, already suspicious and untrustworthy, could easily catch Klaus with his diabolical plan to overthrow this kingdom.
"Now, Thierry," Marcel continued. "You said there was a 'couple' of things you needed to tell me."
Thierry finally broke his glare from Klaus and went back to being the barrier of bad news. "The human counsel is pretty upset about the attack on the locals at the bar. You want to speak to them soon. They think it was one of our guys that killed them. I said you'd give them a window to speak with you tonight at the party."
"Perhaps it was someone of your clan." Klaus interrupted with a sneer. He knew it would bother Thierry, but also plant the idea in Marcel's conscious once more.
"Seeing as we know not to break the rules and all the victims were men, doesn't really add up." Thierry instantly defended his friends.
"Thierry…" Marcel warned again.
The young vampire inhaled and focused. "One last thing…Mel met a rogue vampire last night. He wants to know if she has a place here. I figured after all the guys we just lost, we could use a new vampire."
Marcel smirked at the interesting change of topic. It was the first non-bad news shared. "Oh yeah? Why do I think it's more of a bonus for Mel than the nightwalkers?"
Thierry let out a relaxed laugh at the observation. "To be honest, any vampire that happened to run into her would probably try the same thing as Mel."
Marcel joined in the laugh. "Tell him to bring her tonight. We'll see if she's a good fit." Thierry nodded his thanks and left the room. He could only stand being in the same room as an original for so little time.
"Now, what can I do for you?" Marcel asked Klaus, finally being alone.
"I'm afraid my sister, Rebekah, is insisting that I demand Elijah's return. She's quite worked up about it." Klaus proposed calmly.
"Good news." Mel sat down at a table at the hotel's bar.
Hayley grinned at him. "And what's that?"
Mel leaned in closer. "Marcel said he wants to meet you…tonight."
She pretended to appear nervous. "Tonight?" Her voice shook a little at the question. It was a performance to be remembered.
Mel softly grabbed her hand. "It's a charity event with the locals. Marcel has to keep the peace. Anyways, it sounds boring, but they turn out to be a fun time at the end. Have anything nice to wear?"
Hayley shook her head. "But I'll manage." She smirked.
Then his thumb brushed against the ring on one of her fingers. "Is this a daylight ring?"
"Yeah, it is." She answered evenly.
"How did you manage to get one of these? In fact, how did you even know they existed while being on your own?"
Hayley threw on a sad and distraught expression. "I woke up with it on my finger. Unfortunately, I had to suffer a rather horrible burn to realize what it's purpose was." Her eyes drifted off while telling the false story.
Mel completely bought the story. "Well, whoever turned you seemed to be looking out for you in a way." He raised his hand to show his own ring. "This took me almost ten years for Marcel to finally select me into his inner circle." He smiled at a new thought. "He might find you more useful knowing you have one of these already."
Or he might find me as more of a threat, Hayley thought cynically. She couldn't take this vampire's infatuation for long periods of time. It was rather annoying. She stood up from her seat at the bar.
"Where you running off to?" Mel asked.
Hayley turned and smiled. "I have some shopping to do. Should I meet you there?"
He nodded with a grin. Then he happened to scan around at the hotel. "Why did you get a room so far out of the Quarter? I haven't been to this area in ages."
Hayley shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I was trying to avoid all the tourists." She said it with such innocence that it was convincing to believe she hadn't even put that much thought into the choosing of her hotel. But in hindsight, she couldn't recklessly stay in the Quarter. She had to stay hidden, only allow others to see her when she wanted them to. Her entire plan could be ruined if Rebekah or god forbid, Klaus, spotted her.
Mel nodded in understanding. He started walking her out of the hotel. Such pathetic, old-fashioned manners, she groaned internally. "Hey, Mel?" She asked naively. He nodded. "Will that hybrid be there tonight?"
Mel stopped. "Probably. But he won't bother you." Hayley nodded nervously. He caught the wavering, and she had wanted him to. "Hey, you know what? We'll go early to talk to Marcel, before he even gets there."
Hayley leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll see you tonight." And she was off. She couldn't fathom how he bought that she was such this weak character. Shouldn't his age give him some ability to read through acts like hers? She let out a laugh, thinking about his stupidity as she hunted down the high-end designer stores. In her hand was a credit card that was not hers, but Mel's. She'd slipped it out of his jacket pocket as she kissed him.
Hayley's cell phone started ringing. She didn't have to look at the screen to know it was Mel. He was the only person who had her number.
"Hello?" She answered sweetly. The sound of it made her want to vomit.
"Hey, Marcel gave us last minute orders. I'll be a little late to the party."
"Well, is everything okay?" She asked with feigned uneasiness.
"Just terrorizing some witches. Nothing crazy."
Hayley's eyes narrowed in mischief at this little piece of information. "I'll see you later."
Mel didn't know that she knew so much more about this town. She'd been here for weeks, studying Marcel's men and listening to conversations that his inner circle stupidly spoke of in the open. But it wasn't just Marcel, it was the Originals as well. She'd followed Rebekah after her initial arrival. Hayley didn't dare try such a stunt with Klaus.
Hayley had become a spy. Her reprisal was the only thing she had left. And it was the only thing she cared about.
She looked down at the hassling from a secluded rooftop. Witches yelped as vampires shoved them out of their houses and stores, looking around as if there was something to find. Hayley narrowed her eyes at their helplessness. She knew Marcel had a secret weapon. And it had to be something good to stop the witches from doing any magic and defending themselves as these worthless vampires harassed them.
Hayley moved on to another shadow that was outside Marcel's compound. A human man was walking towards the doors. Two vampires, who were nothing more than bouncers, stopped him roughly before he could get inside. A sneer spread across Hayley's lips as she watched.
"I need to speak to Marcel." He stuttered. This was a local, and one who was well aware that the people he was speaking to were vampires.
"Marcel isn't available tonight." One of the vampires, a girl, said rudely to him.
"But," The man tried, except they pushed him. "But I know something about the murdering of the locals at Saturn Bar." He pleaded.
The two vampires finally stopped ignoring him and looked at one another. That was what finally caught their attention. The girl nodded at the human and led him into the party. Hayley jumped onto the roof and moved to a building that sat right outside Marcel's personal corners. Hayley couldn't try sneaking into the party. He had his goons guarding every corner of the place.
The music was loud but Hayley's vampire hearing managed to block out any noises that weren't Marcel's voice. A minute later, there was a knock on his door. The female bouncer opened the door. "There's a man here who says he knows information about the locals murdered."
Marcel shifted his weight. Without saying a word, he motioned for her to bring him in. The human walked in bravely, but Hayley could see his discomfort despite it.
"What's your name?" Marcel asked with a smile that was meant to comfort the man. But there would always be a creeping darkness in those perfect teeth.
"John." He stated clearly.
"John, why didn't any of my guys talk to you when they went investigating?" Marcel questioned. Hayley smiled. She'd more than prepared this man for these questions.
John instantly shook his head. "I work at Saturn Bar. I was the only one there that takes vervain." Hayley had realized that most of the locals didn't even know about vervain. It must have been a trade secret of the rich and the council. But she made sure to use this to her advantage. "I don't like getting caught up in vamp business. But mostly, I am ashamed."
Marcel squinted at the aggressiveness behind the man's last statement. "Then what changed your mind?"
"I hid in the back room when the first man was murdered. But seconds later, my son and his girlfriend had ended up coming in right in the midst of the slaughter. He had come to see me." John's eyes started to tear right on cue. Hayley watched the conversation like a playwright would watch their actors performing their masterpiece. "They murdered my son right in front the girl he loved. And I watched like a helpless coward." He stopped to try and contain himself. Marcel took half a step towards the human. It was not enough for John to notice, but Hayley caught it. So he's empathetic, Hayley noted.
"I'm sorry for your loss, John. But if you know you did this, you have to tell me. Give me a name and I promise you will get vengeance." Marcel sold his deal. He made quite a politician.
"I'm not sure you will give me vengeance when I tell you who did it." John said slowly. Marcel tilted his head, trying to figure out if that was a threat of some kind. "I do not know his name." He continued. "I only saw his face. But he wasn't alone…had another guy with him. They said something about framing a hybrid…to get him out of town for you. Marcel, they were two of your men."
Marcel turned away from the man and looked out the window Hayley was staring into. She backed further into the shadow. He was too preoccupied with betrayal to notice her lurking outside. But she would always be cautious.
After a few moments of tensioned silence, he turned to face John once again. "Would you recognize them?" Marcel asked with his voice filled with emotion.
John nodded. "But I have something too. One of them dropped this during the murdering. It fell right out of his pocket." John handed Marcel a card, a credit card.
"Melvin." Marcel read in a disbelieving whisper.
And that would be my cue, Hayley thought with a sneer. She sped back to the other side of the building, jumped from the roof to the dark alley that was across the street from Marcel's. She walked to the entrance, her head held high, exuding the confidence she always had, but that shined even more when she had no humanity.
She was wearing a stark white formal gown that barely grazed the dirty streets of the Quarter. Her hair's length, that seemed to have continued to grow while she was on the other side, was long past her shoulders. It was the longest she had ever had it since she'd even known about the supernatural world. But she had twisted it into the very modern up-do that seemed to frame her high cheekbones. Her makeup only enhanced her beauty, making her lips a bright red and her eyes a sultry smoke.
Everyone that loitered outside the party turned and watched what looked like an angel to them. The white dress looked as if a beacon of light was following it. But the people were really looking at Hayley, the tall figure that filled it & looked like a model right off a runway.
The same vampires guarded the door. "Hello." Hayley said darkly. "I'm with Mel. He told me he'd see me here later. I'm supposed to meet someone named Marcel."
The two seemed unsurprised by her description. They'd been prepared for her. "What's your name?" The man asked as he practically undressed her with his eyes. The girl noticed it too and glared at Hayley as a result.
"Hayley."
It was just a name. She'd had so many indecisions changing it for such a life-changing scheme. This could go on forever if she changed it. After all, she would be heard of, not seen by the Originals.
But she knew the most important reason for keeping her name. The werewolf. Hayley saw her the night she followed Rebecca home: The pregnant she-wolf with Klaus' miracle baby. But she was only another replacement. It was like some kind of joke. Did none of them see the horrifying irony of it? It just gave Hayley further motivation to torment them all into a psychosis.
"Marcel is expecting you. Right this way."
If anyone was curious, the dress Hayley's wearing is Lupita Nyong'o's WHITE, CALVIN KLEIN dress
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