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Alexander had had enough of trying to get Klaus to talk, so this time it was their mother. She came down right after her husband left. No one ever expected Klaus to kill her too, after all she was still his mother, but according to Klaus she wasn't much of one because she never stood up to her husband when he slaughtered Klaus' real father and his family. At first he had to take a second look to make sure it was really her. She no longer had the long brown hair down to her butt, instead it had been cut and was now no longer than her shoulders. Her dress was different than her daughters', those were too slim and figure fitting than she knew her husband would like. So Elena made sure to buy her something like a ball gown.
Klaus was leaning up against the wall facing her as she came to stand before the bars. She reached inside hoping he'd take her hand, but he didn't move, so drew them back. It hurt her feelings, of course, this was her son, whom she loved, but she couldn't change him. "Niklaus, l understand how long it's been." She said with a clear European accent. "But I am still your mother. I just want to know what has happened to Sebastian."
"Of course you do. He's your precious grandson." He said bitterly. He was jealous, she knew. It was no secret that she and her husband were frankly better to their grandchildren than they were to their own children. They were never abused or anything, but they had a harsher upbringing, due to their father.
"And he's your nephew." She stated. "Help me understand. You have done so much to this family, you made us suffer, yet you let Elijah live all this time, and you never harmed these children before. Why now?"
"I haven't touched them." He stated as he slid down the wall to sit.
Hoping to gain some points with him she pulled out a bag of blood from her large pocket in the skirt of her dress and hung it through the bars. Seeing it he immediately snatched it from her and tore it open. Soon it was gone, and he wanted more. She pulled out another from her other pocket, but didn't handed it to him. "To get this one, I want the truth." He gave her a threatening and angry look out of desperation and hunger. He just wanted that bag. "You may not have ever laid a single finger on those children, but you were involved. I'm no fool, Niklaus, you are involved with what has happened to them. Tell me, and I'll give you this."
He swallowed hard and settled back to sit rather than looking like he was ready to pounce at any second. "Why ask me, when they know who did it?"
"Because I want to know why."
"The night they came into my house and stole my servant from me they declared war. Unfortunately for them, they made it quite obvious as to who they were. So, before I left I made it clear that revenge must be taken."
"You did this simply because they brought that boy home?" She asked. The girls had told her the story of how they were able to save their family.
"This wasn't his home anymore. He chose to come with me, I didn't kidnap him."
"Niklaus – "
"I answered your question, mother. Now give me the blood." He warned sharply, his face transformed so his eyes were red and teeth sharp.
She gave in and tossed it through the bars, then backed away to leave knowing there was nothing more she could do. She met her husband at the top who gave her a questioning look as if to ask how it went and she shook her head. He sighed angrily and walked away to find Nathaniel.
Meanwhile, Elijah was sitting with Stefan and Damon contemplating what to do with Armand. They knew he needed sanctuary to save him from his former master, as he called him, but they weren't sure if Nicholas was going to cause trouble or not. If they handed Armand over to Nicholas rather than giving him sanctuary as he asked for maybe they could spare the town one less Original to deal with.
Elijah sat there on in the chair thinking. The way he asked about Nicholas, and the fact that Nicholas was an Original, made them want to know what Elijah knew about him.
"So, do you know who Nicholas is?" Stefan asked Elijah.
Elijah seemed to be too lost in thought to answer, or he was just ignoring the question. "Elijah." Stefan said trying to get his attention again. Elijah finally looked up. "Do you know Nicholas? Is what Armand says true?"
"Yes." Elijah stated. He took a deep breath ready to admit something that he didn't really want to admit, but he knew without it they wouldn't leave it alone. "Nicholas is my son."
"Your – your son? He's your son?" Stefan asked.
"Is that not what I just said?" Elijah asked blatantly.
"But he's Serena's brother."
"Yes."
"I thought Daniel was – "
"No." Elijah interrupted getting up from the chair. "No, Serena is mine."
"Is that why Daniel looks at you the way he does?" He asked getting Elijah's attention. "Back in the storage unit he said you have more things to atone for. He meant Serena, didn't he?"
"Yes." Elijah sighed leaving the room.
Nathaniel was upstairs again with Sebastian who was still in a coma. Alexander came up behind him placing his hands on his grandson's shoulders and looking at his wounded grandson. "Nathaniel." He said softly.
"Sir?" Nathaniel asked respectfully keeping his eyes on Sebastian.
"Do you know who did this?"
"No."
"What if I were to tell you that it wasn't your father?"
Nathaniel closed his eyes taking a deep breath to hold down his anger at being reminded of who his father was. "Then I would tell you yes." He said carefully. "If it wasn't him, then it had to be Luke."
Alexander pulled out one of the chairs to sit beside him. "Who is he?" He asked leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. Of course, he wouldn't know about Luke. Truthfully, he hadn't seen any of his grandchildren since they were human. It took them two hundred years to track them down, and by that time Klaus had already killed he and his wife.
"Serena's ex-husband."
"What?" He asked angrily. When Serena was young, almost seventeen, she lived with her grandparents for a year to get away from her mother who was trying desperately to marry her off. He happily took her in seeing her as too good for any man, so he was protecting her. However, a week before she turned eighteen is when he made her go back to her mother as there was nothing more he could do. Still, he gave her mother a harsh warning that she be very careful in who she chooses for Serena. Apparently she didn't heed that warning.
"I won't tell you the whole story, I'll let Serena tell you herself when she wakes. What I will tell you, though, is that he is everything the two of you feared her mother would arrange her with. And Klaus has had him from day one."
"If that woman were alive…" Alexander rasped clenching his fists. Nathaniel knew who he was talking about.
"Your son was long gone, and then you were gone. She thought she had no choice." Said Nathaniel in his aunt's defense.
"It matters not." He said. "She didn't listen." As he stared at Sebastian, he started to think of the things he wanted to do to Luke if he ever met him.
Stefan decided to fill Elena in now, so he called her from outside the estate, where he and Damon had walked with Elijah. It was a quiet walk.
"Stefan?"
"I know the last thing you need to hear is more news."
"Stefan, just spit it out."
"Remember what you said about Elijah acting strange? You were right. Serena and Sebastian…Elena, he's their father." He heard her gasp on the other line. "And they have a brother."
"There's another one?" She managed to ask. She was still trying to process the fact that Elijah was a father. He had abandoned them, too, to make it worse. But why would he do that?
"Two, actually." He corrected. "And, um, you remember Nathaniel?"
"Yeah…" She said not understanding where this was going.
"He's Klaus's son."
"Klaus's son? Are you sure?" She panicked.
"Unfortunately." Stefan sighed.
"That would make him a hybrid." Elena muttered. Then somehow her brain clicked and she did the math realizing how many there were. "Seven and seven, that makes fourteen originals. What are we going to do with that many?"
"I don't know, other than pray they go on with their own lives."
"Oh we will." Stefan heard from the doorway. He turned to see Nathaniel standing there, then he was standing a mere inch from Stefan and snatched his cell phone. "I distinctly remember my grandfather telling you no more snooping."
"She didn't." Stefan said in her defense. "I did."
"Is it true?" Elena asked him. "Is Klaus really your father?"
"There's more than one meaning to that word, a fact many members of my family are aware of. However, the technical meaning, unfortunately, states that yes, he is indeed my father. What else do you know?"
"We know there are seven of you." Stefan said. "The five of you that are here, and two others: Dorian and Nicholas."
"How do you know this?" Nathaniel asked to both of them keeping the phone to his ear as he stared warningly at Stefan.
"A friend of Nicholas is here in Mystic Falls. He told us."
"I see." Nathaniel said than turned his attention back to Elena. "Fair warning, we'll come to you from now on when we want you to know something. Until then, mind your own business." Nathaniel hung up on her and threw Stefan his phone. "That goes for you too."
"We want you out of here." Stefan said boldly. "Get out of Mystic Falls, and we'll never think of you again."
"Are you threatening me?" Nathaniel asked lowly.
"We don't have much left." Stefan said sadly. "Klaus took it all."
"So, you're worried we'll just tear your town apart?" Nathaniel said with a grin. "Don't worry." He added with a pat on the back. "We won't harm anyone." Nathaniel walked back into the house shutting Stefan out, who called his brother.
"We've been warned." Stefan said when he heard the click on the other end.
"By who?" Damon asked from their living room.
"Nathaniel."
"What'd you tell him for?" Damon asked unhappy with Stefan's big mouth. "Stefan, what they don't know won't hurt them, but only if you don't tell them."
"Damon, I mean it. We have to tread carefully. He swears the town's in no danger, but with that many who knows how long we can keep the council from finding out."
"As long as they stay in that house they're fine. It's the ones that haven't showed up yet, that I'm worried about." Damon said looking to a frightened Armand who was sitting in front of the fireplace.
