No One's POV
"I can see negotiations went well, brother…" Niklaus deadpans, looking at Elijah with an eyebrow raised, Elijah walking out of the private room, wiping off blood with a handkerchief, decidedly doing away with the two other so other called Neanderthals that had come with the Hollow's High Priest. "And what was that Alexis always says? Oh, yes, you're supposed to be the rational one between the two of us…"
"As I've said before, Niklaus. The peanut gallery is not appreciated…" Elijah sighs, tone exasperated.
"No, no… It's dearly needed. Now, pray tell, what did they do to piss you off, dear brother?" Niklaus waves his hand flippantly.
"They threatened our family, Niklaus." Elijah replies evenly, his gaze dark and promising retribution for anyone or thing that crossed him, his inner animal hinting below the surface. "And no one… No one threatens our family… And lives…"
"Then it seems we have some work to do." Niklaus smirks back, a little bit of the devil hinting in his eyes.
"Alexis, love." Niklaus catches up to his mate chatting lightly with several people from the Strix.
"Hello Nik." Alexis immediately smiles, turning into his arms.
"Go back to the mansion with the children. Stay there." Niklaus says lowly, lips grazing over her ear.
"Nik, wha-" Alexis questions, looking bewildered, but somehow sensing something was off or wrong by the urgency in his tone.
"Do not question it, Alexis. Go back to the mansion, please." Niklaus repeats, arm tightening just a fraction. "Some of the hybrids and Strix will follow you. Finn as well. Elijah and I must stay here. We have some business to take care of."
"Okay Nik." Alexis nods, conceding to his wishes and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Be safe."
"I will see you later tonight." Niklaus simply promises, leaving another kiss against the back of her neck, nose grazing the graceful arch of her curve before letting her leave.
The party only went only a short while longer, mainly to keep pretenses, while Vincent helped the remaining Mikaelson brothers single out the Hollow's followers, once that task was finished, a bloody crusade and massacre occurred; Elijah, Niklaus, and Kol slaughtering every single one of the Hollow's followers in less than thirty minutes leaving nothing but bloody carnage in their wake.
"Gen is asking for you." Alexis comments, nearly the moment the remaining three Mikaelson brothers breeze into the Mikaelson plantation mansion. "She won't fall asleep until you say goodnight. I've tried. She's at least in bed… Matthew, is thankfully, asleep."
"Alright, love." Niklaus nods, quickly flashing upstairs.
"Your twins are asleep, Kol. As are Eliza and Ellie." Alexis adds, flicking her page of her book almost seeming detached or cold; clearly something bothering the Mikaelson brothers' mate.
"I'm going to change." Kol murmurs. "And check on them."
"Elskan… Is something the matter?" Elijah hesitates at the archway of the living room, sensing something was eating at his mate's consciousness.
Alexis remains quiet, staring at her book page, the peace and quiet the night spanning between Elijah and Alexis as Alexis ponders whether she wanted to broach the subject she was toying with in her mind; there was no doubt in her mind what had occurred within the Quarter after she had left.
Even if it weren't for her keen vampire senses that could hear the small drips of blood slowly dripping off of Elijah's cuff onto the marble floor, or smell it clinging onto his jacket masking his scent, she would still put two and two together; it was in the tenseness of how Niklaus had told her to return to the Mikaelson plantation, in the guarded way Finn had prowled around her, practically herding her and the kids into the Escalades, and the way the Strix and hybrids all but raced them back towards the plantation once safely in the SUVs.
Upstairs, Alexis could hear Niklaus enter his twin's room, the soft rustling of sheets as Genesis recognized her father.
"Daddy!" Genesis gleefully exclaims, sitting up to open her arms for him.
"Hello my littlest wolf." Niklaus hushes, arms coming to hug her.
"Daddy- daddy, what's that?" Genesis pulls back, her keen Original Hybrid eyesight catching sight of dried blood on Niklaus' hand in the dim light cast by the lamp Niklaus had flicked on, not that she knew that was what it was, thankfully.
"This? Oh, it- it is only paint, my littlest wolf… Daddy made quite a mess, didn't I?" Niklaus stumbles out a quick explanation, his gaze looking down to his hand and the trickle of blood he had forgotten to wipe off; Alexis was going to murder him.
"Yes, you dwid daddy." Genesis nods, arms hugging her father again tightly. "I missed you."
"I missed you too, my littlest wolf. Now, it's time for you to sleep. It is way past your bed time." Niklaus gently pushes her into her sheets, covering her up. "There. All snuggled in tight. Sleep well, my little wolf. I love you."
"I lwove you too, daddy." Genesis smiles, snuggling into her bed.
"Elijah?" Alexis questions, closing her book, her decision made by what she had heard upstairs.
"Yes, Astin?" Elijah moves, hovering just inside the archway to the living room.
"I need to talk to you and Nik." Alexis decides.
"Need to talk to us about what, love?" Niklaus questions his mate, walking down the stairs and catching the last part of Alexis' sentence.
"I heard what Genesis said to you, Nik." Alexis begins, closing her book and setting it aside, tucking her feet underneath herself, before pausing, giving herself time to collect her thoughts; contemplating each word, weighing it heavily within her mind as not to say the wrong thing.
This was a topic, that for the first time, Alexis possibly understood what Hayley (despite that she did not like Hayley in any fashion in this reality or her old reality, not that there had seemed to be much difference) meant when she told Elijah in The Originals, that they had to do 'better'.
Alexis had many issues with Hayley's character in the tv show, because Hayley was always trying to change both Elijah and Niklaus, molding them into what she wanted, never accepting them for their true nature, despite what she always said; the Red Door incident was a prime example, practically despising and fearing Elijah for his supposed 'darker side', condemning him, and claiming it was unforgivable for having a dark side when she herself committed acts in the name of family, of saving Hope, or more often than not, saving herself.
Hayley's self-righteousness was sickening, she wielded it like a weapon against Niklaus and Elijah, claiming to accept them, while all her actions proved otherwise.
She had even been willing to go as far as take Hope away from Niklaus, accusing Niklaus of his family ruining Hope's life, not wanting Hope to be a 'Mikaelson', and punishing Niklaus for everything he had done in his past, unwilling to allow him to prove himself as a father, after all.
But, for the first time, Alexis perhaps, just a brief moment, understood Hayley's reasoning in one area; her claim to want to do better for her child. After all, didn't all parents, who truly loved their children, want the best for them? Better than they had, even if they had good childhoods?
In Alexis' case, it was children. Alexis would cross, Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, or any other parallel world (which was a real factor in the case of the Gemini Coven), to rescue or protect her children. And she did want the best for them; the very best. In everything.
"I see, love." Niklaus states, sitting down heavily in an armchair, a drink in hand, his eyes stormy blue and brooding, clearly troubled by what his mate would want to discuss.
"I'm not- I'm not mad about that. And that's not what I want to talk about." Alexis says. "You shouldn't have told her what it was. She's a child. And we must protect her innocence. That's sort of what I want to talk about. It relates." Alexis amends, somewhat hesitantly fiddling with the blanket that lies across her lap.
"You know you may talk to us about anything, Elskan." Elijah kneels before his mate.
"When we reclaimed the Quarter, when we took New Orleans…" Alexis begins, once more measuring every word, to ensure that both Originals were listening and that she was saying things how she wanted to. "We wanted this. I wanted this for you, for me, for our children. I wanted a place to be safe, a place to call home, for all of us. And this… This is our home now."
"Yes." Elijah nods, not understanding what his mate was saying; was she unhappy here, with him, with them, did she wish to move, to leave?
"But- but we took it by force." Alexis emphasizes the last word. "And- and I'm not saying that negotiations would have necessarily worked. I truly don't believe any other way would have. And I'm not saying that the people we, or rather you, killed were not horrible, terrible, people, or rather vampires, witches, wolves… But what I'm saying is… Is that often, or sometimes… All this bloodshed, slaughter, or the careless slaughter." She amends. "It needs to stop. I don't want this for our children. For their future. I don't want this to be the legacy we leave them. Their future needs to be brighter. Do you understand?"
"What do you wish us to do, Elskan?" Elijah immediately asks, resting his head against his mate's lap, ready to appease his mate in any way she wished. "Do you wish us to change?"
"I don't want you to change who you are. I would never try to change you. That is not what I want. You would not be the people I fell in love with if you did." Alexis explains gently, cupping Elijah's face and coaxing it up. "When I said I accepted you, for all your past, your present, and your future, I meant that." At that Alexis meets Elijah's eyes and then Niklaus' eyes across the room.
"I accept your monsters, the best of you, and your worst. And that's because I love you. With all my heart and soul." Alexis emphasizes. "But what I'm saying is, we cannot always fight every battle with bloodshed. Some we must pick and choose. Some we must win with peace. War comes at a price, and it is not a price I'm willing to pay anymore. At least, not if it means countless bloodshed and slaughter, careless bloodshed and slaughter, while putting a price on the heads of our family and our children from the anger it breeds… Strength and power comes in many forms. So, let us be the leaders and rulers that New Orleans and the Quarter deserve. For all. Not just our family."
