I was right about the whole 'bloody' thing. When Klaus became surrounded by vampires under Marcel's authority, things got real violent just like that. I'd been keeping an eye on the situation through nature magic, viewing things through the eyes of a crow until it was all over. It was sickening to watch, but in the end, Marcel bowed down to Klaus and Rebekah once more tasted defeat before her brother. I was worried for her, but at the very least she got home and the moment she walked through those doors, I was moving towards her and opening my arms.
She let me wrap her up, her head resting in the crook of my shoulder as I gave her a tight squeeze before Klaus then followed, giving her a look of betrayal as he clenched his jaw tightly. "Did you know?" Klaus asked me, his voice hoarse from the weight of betrayal as I continued to hold Bekah.
"She didn't know anything, Nik. I kept her out of it." Bekah immediately jumped to my defence, turning on Klaus as I made a face, uncertain of whose side I should be taking right now. Klaus had the dagger again, one of the final two that he possessed. He fiddled with it deliberately, seemingly deep in contemplation over who deserved it more. Elijah or Rebekah. "Well? What are you going to do, brother? How long am I to be punished this time? A hundred years? Two? A thousand? Tell me Nik. We both know that dagger is going to end up in my chest."
"I am yet to decide." He growled back at her so I gripped onto Rebekah's hand with worry.
"Nik…" Starting with an attempt to try placate him, Klaus gave me a very strong warning look to either be quiet or risk his wrath further increasing. Clamping my mouth shut, Bekah and I followed him through to the front room where he stood there for a moment, still twirling the silver dagger and thinking over what he would do as Hayley and Elijah returned. They took their time coming in, and I couldn't help but be relieved that they were here. Hayley stayed outside on the porch, allowing Elijah to come inside in order to join the fray as Rebekah also recognised Elijah's return.
"Elijah's home." She noted aloud, still standing firm beside me as Elijah came on through. "There's only one dagger. Which one of us will you be punishing today?"
"I contemplated a game of eenie-meenie-miney-moe." He drawled sarcastically before looking at her with such livid rage and hurt from her betrayal. "You betrayed me. My own sister!"
"Niklaus, don't you dare!" I have to admit, I felt so much better with Elijah here. My fingers were twitching at the ready, making to jump every time Klaus made a movement in order to throw my magic around and start slamming heads together or throwing someone into a wall just to keep them from tearing into each other, but with Elijah came a sense of comfort and reassurance, being the most reasonable of the siblings.
"Perhaps it should be you, brother." Klaus suggested, pointing the dagger at Elijah as he came to stand beside Rebekah and I. "Is this how it is? All three of you to stand against me? If I allow you to continue in this way, dear brother, no doubt you will continue with your wooing of the little wolf and soon enough, that child, my own blood, will only recognise you as father!" God damn it Klaus, not this again. You're starting to sound like a broken record.
"Is that what it is?" Bekah demanded as I started to rub my neck and closed my eyes for a minute, feeling exhausted already. "You are once again worried that you will be left behind? Has history taught you nothing? We don't abandon you, Nik, you drive us away!" This did nothing to console Klaus, who was now on a complete downward spiral that I started to worry that he might completely lose control and just kill everyone in New Orleans.
"Is that so? What have I done lately, other than cooperate?" He demanded, starting to pace slightly before pointing to his siblings each in turn. "I bow down to you, brother, to make up for daggering you. For the greater good of our plan to reclaim our home. Looked the other way, sister, while you repeat the same cycle with Marcel. Falling again for a man you shouldn't be with, while he controls the empire that we built! That he took! Now, I make no excuses for past sins, but in the one moment when you two could have chosen to stand by me, to believe in me, to believe my intentions for my own child were pure…you chose to stand against me, to side with my enemies." The both of them felt a flash of guilt, thoroughly admonished as I continued to stand there like a bystander. "I wanted our home back. Now I have it. So, I'm going to live there and the two of you…you can stay here together and rot."
Going over to Elijah, Klaus actually handed the dagger to him by the hilt, making me stare at the interaction with astonishment. Both Elijah and Rebekah looked equally as stunned at the monumental action Klaus made in handing over the only weapon left in his possession that could hurt either of them. He then stormed away, uttering my name sharply in a harsh summons for me to follow him so I sighed. Turning I gave Bekah a quick smile, assuring her that I'd be fine as I stretched up and wrapped my arms around Elijah's neck in order to embrace him. "I'm glad you're better Eli." Murmuring into his ear as his hands came to rest against my back, I kissed his cheek lightly to say goodbye before hugging Bekah as well, keeping it quick and brief before following after Klaus.
"And what is taking you so long?" He demanded, already waiting at the door of his car which he'd opened ready for me to climb in.
"Never rush a pregnant woman Nik, it's just not a good idea. You're lucky I'm still upright." I retorted back curtly, pausing by Hayley in order to give her shoulder a squeeze. She got up and hugged me as well, looking worried as she then glanced down to my stomach. "Don't worry, I'll keep her safe. You're free now, so you do whatever you want from now on." Lowering my voice, I whispered directly into her ear so that Klaus wouldn't be able to hear even with his super vamp hearing. "I'd recommend getting to know Elijah better." Pulling back I gave her a wink then went out over to the car, already feeling like I could sleep for a week. "What about all my things?" I asked Klaus as I reached him, placing my hand on the door.
"I'll have someone come collect them tomorrow. Now get in." Shooting him a look which read that I was very much dissatisfied with his tone, I folded my arms patiently so Klaus exhaled with a slight growl. "Ophelia, please get in the car."
"That's better." Doing as he asked because I knew that pushing him right now would only end badly for everyone, I got into the car then buckled myself in, wriggling to get comfortable and fussing with the belt that looped over my middle. I was paranoid that too much pressure might be hurtful, so I worriedly reminded Klaus to go slowly as I kept one hand hooked under the belt in order to keep it from touching my stomach, probably fussing over nothing. Klaus glanced at me and the way I was sat, frowning slightly as he started the car but promised he would drive carefully.
The rest of the journey was completed in silence, not that it mattered much, I fell asleep anyway. I seemed to be sleeping a lot recently, probably because of the pregnancy, but at least Klaus had the good sense not to wake me. I found myself waking up in a strange yet luxurious bed, in a heavily ornate and old fashioned room that looked like it hadn't aged a day past the eighteen hundreds. Stirring, I looked around me and immediately felt like my eyes were going to melt from the excessive details. The colours were too rich, my head was already spinning but after a moment or to adjustment, I was at least able to sit upright without feeling the need to puke.
"Awake are we, sweetheart?"
"Nik, you do realise it's considered bad manners to watch someone sleep. Or did you just vamp speed in here just now?" Throwing back the covers I swung myself out of bed but the moment I put my weight on my feet the blood rushed to my head and I wavered, staggering unsteadily but before I could even lose a step or drop back down to sit, Klaus was next to me and his hands jumped to my waist in order to hold me, pulling me against him so that I could grip onto his shoulder and lean my entire weight on him. "Ugh…I can't wait for this phase to be over."
"Is this normal? Do you need anything? If you ever need to see a doctor, I will have it arranged." Klaus fussed over me and I smiled against him as I let myself gather my wits back to me, but even after I'd recovered my sense of balance I stayed resting against him, my hand coming to the back of his head in order to stroke his hair at the base of his head.
"It's cute to see you worry."
"You care currently carrying the child I conceived with another woman and are suffering the consequences, sweet Ophelia. How could I not worry over you?" Sweetly placing his hand on my head to push aside my hair, I felt the natural gravitation towards him seemingly increase as I sought to be near to him for as long as possible. I liked it when he was this way with me, despite the fact that I knew that it was only because I was carrying his baby and that once the baby arrived, things would probably go back to the way they used to be. It worried me, if I'm honest. I'd become used to Klaus's tenderness and I wanted more of it like I had this insatiable hunger that couldn't be fulfilled unless Klaus was plying me with attention.
It was confusing, to say the least. Part of me felt like I shouldn't feel this way, but then the other part of me couldn't deny it. Mostly I just blamed it on the little one wanting her daddy to be near her. "So you finally got your kingdom back." I murmured, turning my head so that I was looking up at him as he continued to hold me in his arms with my hand resting against his shoulder. "And your little princess is safe from the evil witches. What now?"
"Now I rule." Klaus said to me, running his hand over my head before he murmured against my ear. "I have something for you." Curiously, I lifted my head as Klaus took me by the hand in order to bring me out of the bedroom and into the suite which he seemed to have given me to live in, the room complete with an old fashioned ladies' solar with floral arrangements and full length windows which opened out onto a large balcony, however what Klaus was primarily trying to show me was the stacks of items on the coffee table.
There were sketchbooks, canvases, paints, pencils, charcoal, brushes, an easel and literally everything else an artist could ever need. "Wow." Breathing my surprise, I went over in order to look everything over, seeing immediately that it was all high quality stuff. "You didn't need to do all this."
"Well, I thought that perhaps you would enjoy passing the time doing something that you love. I haven't seen you draw for a long time, I thought you might miss it." Looking at him with a timeless smile, I was almost overwhelmed with this single gesture from him as I then picked up some of the paints, seeing every variety and colour possible. Acrylic, watercolour, oils…everything. "And I also thought, perhaps if you were willing, that I could teach you how to paint. I recall you saying before that you were reluctant to try again after failing to create a masterpiece of your usual level, but perhaps what you were lacking was merely a little guidance."
"This is…I don't even know what to say." There was even a wooden figure for posing, making me smile as I lifted it up. "Thank you doesn't even begin to cover it." Looking at him then, I had to pause a moment in order to take it all him. To take him in. He was watching me with that studious expression of his, trying to read my reaction to ascertain if he'd done the right thing like he was worried that he'd made a mistake, carefully orchestrating every gesture according to what he believed I wanted. The thought and consideration that had gone into this, it stirred something deep down that had once been a spark or an ember, but then died out the moment he turned on me back in Mystic Falls and tricked me.
Now it was awakening again, and as I looked at him standing there so handsome and earnest as the pale light shone through the windows and fell upon him, even making his hair lighten into a paler blond, I suddenly fell. Figuratively. What I meant was, I fell for him in that moment. There was no rhyme or reason to it, in fact the moment I realised what happened I tried to fight against it as every smart bone in my body screamed that it was impossible and that if I really did fall for Niklaus Mikaelson, then I was risking everything. My life. My sanity. Probably even my happiness, because I had no guarantee whatsoever that being in love with Niklaus would ever end with a happily ever after. In fact, all signs pointed to the opposite.
Then I began to realise that I had been leading myself towards this the entire time. The gradual feeling of falling, slow and sweet as it became more apparent that this entire time I had found myself becoming increasingly attracted to Klaus with every moment that we had spent together. Every feeling of frustration, conflict, contentment, affection, anger, every moment that had built us towards this moment, where the continuous sensation of falling had built up to this precipice before all at once, it just happened. It was terrifying. So terrifying that I didn't even know how to respond except to just stand there with the feeling of heat and wetness gathering at my eyes before streaming down my face.
"Ophelia?" Appearing before me, Klaus took hold of my hands in order to give them a concerned squeeze, asking me why I was crying. "Are you in pain?"
"No, no it's just the hormones…I'll be a crying wreck over the littlest things for a while yet." I quickly recovered, sucking in a deep breath as I blinked and rubbed my face against my shoulder in order to try and dry my eyes until Klaus let go of my hands in order to dry them for me. That just set me off more until he laughed lightly and just wrapped me up against him so I could cry as much as I needed, scooping me up like I weighed nothing in order to sit down with me somewhere comfortable with me gathered up in his lap.
"What am I to do with you, sweetheart?"
"Pamper me, feed me up, treat me like a queen…those are good starting points." I told him as I shifted against him, scooting lower so that I could lean against him more comfortably. "Especially the queen part. Somehow, that appeals to me greatly."
"Since I am once more the king around here, I am in need of a queen." He teased lightly, fingers trailing my back lightly as he started to draw shapes and patterns. "What a pair you and I would be. Forget New Orleans, you and I could take over the world."
"Hold up now, I'm not conquering anything whilst I have the little one here." Smiling with a light chuckle as I also started to rub circles against his collarbone with the pads of my fingers, absently gazing out the window. "And ruling the world sounds like way too much effort. I mean, the plan was for me to take a year out from school, work some crappy job to earn money and just enjoy doing whatever I wanted in my free time before going to college. After that it's a career, maybe some more travelling, then I don't know…get a house, cripple myself in debt and probably end up back with my parents."
"Now you and I both know a mundane life such as that would never be to your tastes. You have too much life in you, sweet Ophelia, too much fire and passion to be satisfied with anything less than a grand adventure." Klaus said to me rather knowingly, and I knew he was right. "Besides, anything you wish for I would gladly give to you. Though I seem to recall you once telling me that anything you desired in this life, you would find a way to get for yourself."
"You still remember that?"
"I remember every conversation that has ever passed between us, sweetheart." Smiling into him, my heart gave a dainty little thump, pleased despite knowing it was just Klaus being charming. "Though that being the case, I suppose that means you do not want any of these supplies I gathered for you?" Waving his hand towards the art supplies, I thumped my fist against his chest lightly to berate him.
"Don't be petty, of course I want them. Thank you, it means a lot you went to all this trouble for me."
"No trouble at all, sweetheart. I'm just glad to see you happy." Strangely, I was rather happy. Even after everything, including the fact that Klaus and his siblings were once more at odds with each other, I was happy. Maybe the little one was encouraging the maternal side in me, but I found myself oddly anticipating finding out what the rest of the pregnancy was going to be like, as well as meeting her once she was born and being able to hold her in my arms after carrying her for so long. When she's older, I wonder if I'd be allowed to tell her that I was the one who carried her whilst she was still growing, and I wonder how that will make me see her.
"Not wanting to sound greedy, but can I ask for a small favour please?"
"Anything."
"I'd like to get a journal so I can write down everything about this pregnancy, both for Hayley to read and for the little one when she's older, if she wants to." Sitting up, my hands naturally went to rest against Klaus's shoulders as my expression grew nostalgic, a faint smile painted on my lips as I cupped his neck. "My mom…my real mom…she kept a pregnancy diary for all three of us and I read mine once. She kept a record of everything. How she was feeling, her thoughts and what each day was like…I want to do that too, even though the little one isn't mine. Can I do that?" Klaus looked at me with a flicker of emotion which he carefully hid, but he was getting careless recently with what he let show and I caught hold of it immediately as a flicker of a smile touched him.
"If that is what you wish. I'll see to it."
"And I'd also like to be able to see New Orleans like you promised, so make sure you save some time around all your ruling and kingly duties to take me out into town. If you think you're keeping me tucked away up here, then I actually might go crazy." This time he did smile, sighing heavily as he weighed his options and considered the risks that were involved with me going outside into the open. "I'll even promise to behave myself and do what you say whilst we're out." He laughed.
"You promise to behave? I know better than to expect you to be anything but your own, spirited self, sweet Ophelia. No one can ever command you, least of all me, as much as it pains me to say it." Grinning at him, I ducked down in order to peck his cheek with a kiss, knowing that this meant he was in agreement. Full of energy and excitement, I hopped off his lap in order to start organising the art supplies, beaming from ear to ear.
"Knowing you, you're probably going to bring Davina the little witch girl here to keep an eye on her, right?" I started to say as I began my organising. "Well I'd really like to meet her, so don't try and scare her off or anything. She might be powerful but she's still a little girl and probably terrified that those witches are going to come knocking down her door at any moment. Maybe extend an invitation for her to come here. It's less dusty, she'll have a real room to herself, the food will be better too and of course, she'll have my wondrous self for company. I can get started on helping her knuckle down in some magic studies. It'll be like Hogwarts over here."
"You do know me well. Davina's power will be a useful tool in establishing my authority here."
"Don't." Giving him a quick look of disapproval, I pointed at him with a paintbrush. "Don't talk about her like she's an object Nik. She's a person, a child, and I'm fairly certain she can give you a real headache if you piss her off. You seriously need to work on your people skills if you're going to be getting along with everyone around here from now on."
"And what makes you think I have any intention of getting along with the riffraff around here?"
"Because a king can't rule without a backing. Just take a look at history. Any king, emperor, monarch, they all had their ups and downs, but the ones that actually ruled successfully were the ones who knew how to prioritise the needs of the masses rather than the needs of the few. They had strong support, people they could delegate to in order to ensure the smooth running of their kingdom. The rulers who were just mindless tyrants didn't stay on their throne for very long. You should know, you were probably there for most of them." A smooth smirk spread across his face as Klaus listened to me.
"And is this your role now? Advisor to the king?"
"First off, you really need to stop referring to yourself as a king you arrogant ass." I laughed, throwing an apple at him after grabbing it from the fruit bowl and Klaus caught it reflexively, the both of us smirking at one another. "And second of all, I'm a druid. Advising people was our thing back in the day. You know, peace makers and mediators, healers, advisors, the tree hugging spell weavers that nurtured the earth. You should feel lucky to have me around, since no king has had a druid counsellor for the past three centuries or so. Just think of me as your modern day Merlin."
"I thought you told me not to refer to myself as king."
"Oh, so now you're being pedantic." Reaching for another piece of fruit to throw at him, an orange this time, I lifted my arm back to toss it at him playfully, however with a rush Klaus was suddenly in front of me and snatched my wrist in order to stop me from throwing it. Blinking at him, he gave me a sidelong look before smiling with amusement, his eyes glinting at me so I took it as a challenge. Unable to move my arm, I simply flicked my wrist in order to throw the orange from my palm to pop it against his head, smirking back at him victoriously as he actually just looked at me in surprise. The fruit now fell forgotten and rolled off the table. "Gotcha." Shrugging my hand and shoulders playfully, I returned Klaus's look.
All at once I felt myself being rushed up into the air, causing me to squeal and immediately grab onto Klaus's neck for balance. "You are playing a very dangerous game, sweetheart, and I'm not sure you even know all the rules." Klaus told me laughingly as he swung me around, making the wind rush through me as I continued to cling onto him with an uplifting giggle, growing dizzy from the momentum before he then set me down and let go all at once, leaving me to stagger and stumble on my own as punishment.
"Okay fine, you win this round." I eventually acquiesced, fumbling around until my hand found the smooth, varnished wood of a baby grand piano which I immediately gripped onto, feeling my way around until I'd found the stool where I could sit down. After a moment Klaus came to join me, sitting beside me as I moved up to make room, my fingers touching the smooth keys and playing one or two notes. "Do you play?"
"I may have received instruction from some of the greatest classical composers that ever lived." He boasted quietly, making me chuckle before I reached over and picked up his hands one by one in order to place them on the keys.
"Play." Commanding him smartly, I then waited expectantly as he glanced at me before then inclining his head. He waited a moment, searching for a song to play before he then began to make music over the keys, fingers leisurely tapping out the notes to create a smooth sounding sound that could easily have been a lullaby. I had no knowledge of classical music, so I had no clue when it came to recognising pieces or knowing the first thing about real music, but I could tell that Klaus was good. Even I enjoyed the sound, and after a few moments I felt something within me seem to react as well.
It distracted me from admiring him privately, the sensation of peacefulness that came from another source until I jumped, gasping as my hand flew to cover my stomach and I realised where it was coming from. "What is it?" Immediately stopping, Klaus made to quickly hold me but I smiled to him, unable to believe it.
"She likes it. I don't know how to explain it, but I can feel her. She likes it when you play." Completely blown out of my mind, I took Klaus's hand in order to press it over my stomach then urged him to continue playing as I then wrapped one arm around the back of his shoulders so that I could touch my fingertips to his temples, taking a breath in order to try and let him feel what I could feel. The pulse of life, so tiny and precious, soon became all we could feel and as Klaus played his music with one hand, I could feel the little one's enjoyment as she listened, if you could call it that. It was more like an empathic link, and as I shared it with Klaus, he too exhaled a shaky breath. "Amazing, isn't it? That's your baby, your little princess."
"She feels…so real." Laughing lightly, I stroked at Klaus's hair before then leaning against his shoulder, staying close to him as baby and I enjoyed his presence as a warm familiarity, like we both wanted nothing else to be near to him and as I sighed contentedly, I nuzzled into him and murmured quietly as not to break the spell.
"Play some more." With a tender smile, he complied.