Chapter 7: I Want to Be King

New Orleans – 3 Years Ago:

Damon arrived in the French Quarter two months ago and he was finding he was starting to like it here. The food was good, the women were pretty and he was just starting to get on the good side of the most feared man in the world. Klaus was hesitant at first; none too keen on the idea of Damon taking up residence in his town, let alone his house, but Rebekah was insistent on him sticking around…arguing that he could be useful.

To say they got off to a bad start would be an understatement. There were a couple of times Rebekah had to get between them to stop them from ripping each other's heads off. The Original put the blame on him for not being able to make more Hybrids, and Damon's infuriating breeziness about everything only fueled his anger. But slowly, Klaus warmed up to him, realizing that Damon without his humanity had more in common with him that he thought. Damon held no resentments about the past; he didn't care about anything these days to be honest, but Rebekah saved his life and humanity aside, he owed her one.

Damon and Klaus we're as thick as thieves; feared among those in the Quarter. There were those close to Klaus that were furious by this, because while they were loyal to him for years – some for centuries, Damon was able to swoop in and within a couple months became his most trusted friend. Marcel was especially upset. He was next in line…he was supposed to be Klaus' right arm. But there were some things that Klaus couldn't trust Damon with, Elena in particular, which was why Marcel was the one that went with him on their three-day secret expedition to Virginia.

Damon came down the stairs of the compound as Klaus and Marcel strolled back in, clothes covered in blood. "Looks like you two had all the fun without me. Hope you brought me a party favor."

Klaus and Marcel exchanged a smirk. "Actually…we did bring you something we thought would bring a smile to your face." The original chuckled as Marcel fished something out from his jacket pocket and tossed it to Damon, who caught it out of the air.

He looked at it in his palm with a raise brow. "What's this?"

Marcel looked self-righteous. "It's a wedding ring. Belonged to a guy named Aaron Whitmore." Damon's eyes turned stony, all expression leaving his face. "You know him?" he goaded. He'd been waiting for the moment that Damon would prove that he was not to be trusted.

Damon met his gaze neutrally. "The name rings a bell." It did more than ring a bell; It rang like a fucking gong. "He's Elena's husband; her sad and embarrassing attempt at a normal, boringhuman life." He knew where this was going. "I assume he's lying in a shallow grave somewhere by now." He forced a lopsided smirk.

Klaus raised his brows, with a grin of his own. "Actually, no…I had bigger plans for him. You see these last few days, Elena Gilbert and her merry band of misfits have been plotting to kill the big bad wolf – I have been a bit of a nuisance in Mystic Falls, what with the Brethren taking up residence there. My previous warnings didn't seem to leave the impression I intended. I figured, the death of her aunt, the sheriff and the old Bennett witch would have done the trick but, alas…the girl is stubborn." As Klaus continued on Damon was processing, and trying not to let the emotions he was feeling bubble to the surface. Jenna, Shelia, Liz…all dead. What the people he once cared must be going though…were they suffering? "So, I ripped the boy's throat out in his own bed, only feet away from where their children slept soundly in their cribs…and left him for Elena to find. Poetic justice really." He finished feeling utterly satisfied with himself.

Damon plastered on a grin. "Good. That'll knock her down a peg or two. Maybe get them all off my back at the same time. I was getting kind of tired of this game of cat and mouse." He felt the mask crumbling as he thought of what Elena came home to; her crying face flashed behind his eyes and he desperately had to blink them away. "Well…I'm hungry. I'll catch you guys later." He said nonchalantly heading to the door. He had to get out of here. The walls were closing in on him; the air was being sucked out of the room. Once he got to the street, Damon sped himself out of the Quarter, until he found himself across the river in Algiers.

He panted, not from the run, but from the flood of emotions working their way back in. He fought them off, his jaw clenching and his lips curling in disgust with himself. He didn't come this far just to give in now. He didn't want this! He didn't want to feel anything. Not the death he caused or the loss of his brother. Not the sympathy for Elena for losing her husband, not guilt for turning his back on them when they begged for his help, and definitely not sadness over the death of his friends…Sheila could give him one hell of a migraine but she still had a hot cup of tea for him whenever he came around.

He felt his legs buckle beneath him, and Damon collapsed, overcome with every emotion he'd been burying for years. He barely noticed that he'd ended up outside of Rebekah's house, and she was now crouching in front of him.

"It's okay, Damon. Just let it all in. Just let yourself feel it." She assured him, stroking the hair out of his face.

"I can't." he strained, his glance bouncing around him; it felt like the world was spinning.

She nodded. "Yes, you can. You have to. You can't live this way…I know it hurts, but you'll be better for it." Rebekah had been trying to get him to flip his switchback for months, and while their relationship had been not much more than sexual, she did care

about him and she hoped to bring back the glimpse of the man she met in Havana.

In an anguished sob, he fell into her, letting the waves roll over him and allowing all the pain back in; all the people he killed, watching his brother die in his arms, the guilt…God, the overwhelming guilt. It was too much, it almost made him want to turn it all off again, but the humanity in him clung on desperately.

When he finally collected himself, Rebekah helped him to his feet. "Damon…"

He sucked in a deep breath. "I'm okay."

"Good." She caught his eyes with determination. "Now take everything you're feeling, and channel it. Get mad. Because we have work to do."

.

Present Day:

"Where are we going?" Elena asked following Rebekah through the dense woods. She was in sneakers and yet, the blonde original was strides ahead of her in heeled boots.

"There's something I need." She called over her shoulder. "Try to keep up; we're short on time."

"Is Vincent going to be okay?" Bonnie asked.

Rebekah sighed, ducking under the heavy tree branches. "He'll be fine as long as he leaves town and keeps moving. I bought him a couple hours, but Klaus' witches won't stop trying to find him."

"What will they do to him?" Elena questioned.

"What they do to every witch that crosses them and uses magic in the Quarter; a swift and brutal death for all to see. Klaus likes to make a big show of it." She explained curtly as they reached their destination. "We're here."

Bonnie frowned looking around. "Where is here?"

Rebekah placed her hands on her hips. "There's something I need in that well." She pointed to the stone structure protruding from the ground. "But I can't get to it, so I need your help. We put vervain and wolfsbane in the water; it was the only way we could deter anyone from finding it."

Elena stepped closer, looking down into the dark cavern. "What is it exactly?"

"Its the key to killing my brother." She admitted sadly. "We knew that without the white oak stake that he couldn't be killed, so we hunted down another way…an urban legend that my brother Kol used to tell me stories about when I was a child."

"When you say we…" Elena started.

"Damon and I. We headed to the coast of Nova Scotia to seek out the immortal Silas."

.

Nova Scotia – 2 Years Ago:

Damon tossed the blood bag to Rebekah after feeding some of it to Silas in the hopes it would loosen his grip enough to free the box, he was clutching in his stone hands. "That oughta do it." It wasn't enough to wake him, and most of his body was still solid rock.

"Let's get it and get out of here." She barked, feeling nervous. She was getting a bad vibe from this cave and she was eager to get out.

Damon smirked. "Yeah, yeah…" he pried Silas' fingers off the box carefully. "What's the matter, Bex? You scared?"

She shot him a glare. "I'm one of the oldest breathing things on this earth; there's hardly much I'm scared of."

Damon pointed down to Silas. "Something tells me he's older."

Rebekah plastered on a plastic smile. "He's not breathing." Her phone went off, the ringing echoing through the walls of the cave.

"You get service down here?" He pulled the box out triumphantly, tossing it to her for safe keeping.

Rebekah looked down at the name. There was one person that scared her. "It's Klaus."

Damon's face hardened. "You have to take it." She glanced up at him wide eyed. "If you keep ignoring his calls, he's going realize something is up. Start heading back to the boat; I'll meet you there."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to cover our tracks and hide him somehow. The last thing we need is him getting free. Go. I'll catch up." He urged, and she sped off to take Klaus' call.

Rebekah took the call as she trekked through the scrubs. "Hello brother."

"Drop whatever it is you're doing, and come home now." He ground out from the other end.

"Why the bloody hell would I do that?" she snapped back.

"I've grown quite tired of your little tantrums, Rebekah. Come home. The witches are rising up against us and family is power. We need to stick together."

She laughed. "Funny…that only seems the case when it's in your favor. I vaguely recall Elijah telling you the same thing some years ago. And where is our dear brother now, Niklaus?" she retorted snidely.

"Laying in a coffin as punishment for his indiscretions." He snarked back. "Now, unless you want to join him, I suggest you come home, now!" Klaus bellowed before hanging up the line.

.

"I spent hours searching for Damon before I left. Something was following us on that island; a hunter. He wanted the cure as badly as we did, only he wanted to feed to Silas so he could finally be killed." Rebekah explained. "Unfortunately for him, it was already on it's way off the island."

"Wait…the cure to what?" Elena asked confused.

"Immortality."

…

Marcel walked through the door of the compound looking frustrated as he stretched his neck. Klaus waltzed up with a heated glare and clenched jaw. "Well," his arms stretched out to his sides. "Where is he?"

"He got away." Marcel looked down at the ground briefly. "But don't worry; I've got my guys looking for him."

Klaus chuckled sarcastically. "Oh, you do, do you? Well, now I feel assured." He spun back turning to Damon. "This is why you were a better second-in-command, Damon. You always got the job done. Sometimes when you need something done, you just have to do it yourself."

"Marcel narrowed a seething glare on Klaus' back. He was getting tired of the backhanded remarks and the condescendence. "I wasn't counting on him having back up." Klaus snapped his gaze back to him. "There was another witch there…she was strong."

Damon's poker face was unwavering as Klaus got increasingly more agitated. "Well, who is she? Why didn't Davina pick up on it!?" the Original demanded.

"She's not a witch from the Quarter. Davina isn't connected to her power." Marcel explained calmly. He withheld that Rebekah was involved; he knew Klaus, and Rebekah would never see the light of day if he knew that she was protecting a witch in the Quarter. She was right, Nicklaus was like a father to him. He'd raised him, gave him a name, and turned him…but Rebekah was the closest he ever came to happiness, and he'd never put her in jeopardy that way. "If you tell me where Davina is I can see if-"

"No, you are on a need-to-know basis when it comes to Davina, Marcellus! She's nothing but a distraction to you, and I need you focused." Klaus looked between them. "Find Vincent, and find this witch. Kill them both and make it painful." He stormed off, leaving Marcel and Damon standing there staring at each other.

They headed for the door together, and Marcel gave him the side eye. "I still don't like you."

Damon waited until they were out on the street. "You don't have to like me…but you can trust me." He promised giving him a nod. Marcel looked at him suspiciously. "You didn't tell him about Rebekah…why?" Damon knew that if Bonnie was with Vincent, then Rebekah and Elena were there too, and for some reason, Marcel neglected to share that information, which meant he wasn't as honest with Klaus as he used to be.

He scoffed. "Figures she'd be here with you. What else are you hiding from Klaus?" he questioned, more curious than disgruntled.

Damon smirked. "Haven't you heard…you're on a need-to-know basis."

Marcel let a smirk curl his lips. "Funny." He let out an exhale. "I didn't tell Klaus about Rebekah because I knew that if I did, he'd dagger her like he did Elijah and Kol and I might never see her again. She deserves better than that." He admitted simply. "What are you up to Damon? You didn't come here out of nostalgia."

Damon stopped walking and Marcel turned to face him crossing his arms. "I have one more question; answer it and I'll tell you what you want to know. Answer right…and I can give you what you really want." Marcel gestured for him to continue. "How tired are you of being Klaus' second-in-command? Of being his lacky…" Damon saw the wheels turning. "What do you want more than being the prince of the Quarter?" he drawled out enticingly.

Determination filled Marcel's eyes. "I want to be King."

…

AN: Hi! Sooo sorry for the long wait. I've been working on The Bamon Diaries – Song Inspired Collections and had gotten VERY carried away lol! If you are Bamon fan, please given them a read! We are nearing the end on this one! Thank you to those sticking with me, and please leave a review! - Vanessa