Chapter 9: How Do We Solve A Problem Like Marie?

Date: January 5, 2019

Warnings: None that I can think of.

Pairings: Bonnie/Klaus, Marie/Klaus

Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, I own nothing.

A/N: Writer's block is a bitch. I started this chapter back in September and rewrote it within the past week or so. I had to remember my purpose for this story, re-strategize, and remember how to actually put thoughts on paper because it's been so long lol. Writing is rough but I love it. Anywho, hopefully some of you are still reading. Let me know if you're out there in the comments. Comments really do help me write and give me inspirations and help me direct the path of the story so let me know your thoughts. Good or bad. :) Thanks for reading!

Bonnie jolted awake. Instinctively, she knew she was in enemy territory. The feeling of being watched hung over her like a heavy cloud. Something wasn't quite right; a quick scan around the room confirmed her suspicions. She had no clue where she was and that scared her. In an instant, she threw the heavy duvet to one side of the massive king size bed and leapt to her feet, wincing when the iciness of the wooden floors jolted the bottoms of her feet, settling in her knees.

"Jesus," she exclaimed.

"I'm not certain he ever existed, Love." Bonnie's eyes immediately settled on Klaus who was standing near the windowsill across the room, looking down at the yard below. The sunlight gleamed against his blonde hair, producing a halo effect. The sight was ironic given Klaus's chaotic-evil nature. Bonnie started to ask how she got here, but memories of her drunkenness from the night before began to flood her. She relaxed slightly once she realized there was no real danger aside from Klaus creepily lurking around while she slept.

"You freak. Were you watching me all night?" Klaus smirked at Bonnie's insult.

"I actually came in to kick you out but since you were sleeping so peacefully, I decided to let you stay. Plus, based on your breathing, I knew it was only a matter of time before you startled out of whatever dream you were experiencing." His response triggered the memories of the dream she was having prior to awaking. The feelings of being chased assaulted her again but that's really all she could remember.

"Whatever." Bonnie ignored the look Klaus gave her and shuffled around for something to place on her feet. "Any chance an immortal hybrid would have an extra pair of socks lying around?"

Klaus didn't answer, he was too busy studying her, watching as she shuffled around in yesterday's garments. Her hair was tousled and she had a bit of sleep in her eyes; not her usual appearance. He had never seen Bonnie so defenseless around him and he wondered if the witch was simply no longer afraid of him or if the spell was actually working. After a moment of silence, Klaus spoke up. "You're not bothered by my presence?" The confusion in Klaus's voice could not be masked. Bonnie glanced in his direction and shrugged. She fumbled through the dresser drawers until she unearthed what she'd been looking for, a pair of pink fuzzy socks. She gave Klaus a peculiar look. "Rebekah's," he explained. Without another question, she sat on the bed to place the socks on her feet suddenly aware of the femininity of the room she was in.

"Honestly," she began, "we can't kill each other no matter how hard we try so what's the point of fighting with you," she answered. Before last night, he had never seen her with her guard down around him. While he could explain last night away with alcohol, he was having a bit of trouble coming to grips with the scene before him now.

"Everyone needs to realize that my immortality is unmatched. You are undoubtedly the world's most powerful witch and even you failed to end me." Klaus bragged. Bonnie rolled her eyes at the cockiness in his tone.

"Oh please, I can destroy you anytime I wish, I simply chose not to. You're only here for selfish reasons at this point. If I kill you, I kill Caroline and despite her running around without a soul, I still care about her," Bonne explained. Klaus chuckled at the witch's loyalty. It was always a trait he admired about her and often found himself envious of her friends. They had no clue what to do with her. It was sickening.

"I stand corrected then," he smirked. Bonnie raised a brow at how quickly he gave up on their measuring contest. "Breakfast has been prepared for you downstairs. It's not as extensive as yesterday but, it'll do." In that moment, Klaus brought the mug he'd been holding to his lips. Bonnie hadn't noticed the smell of coffee until then. She glanced from the mug to Klaus with a questionable glance. "Blood isn't the only thing I enjoy, Love. This is straight from Colombia. I compelled a lovely farmer and his wife to craft me the best coffee man has ever tasted. I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

Bonnie did enjoy it; more than she was willing to give credit for. Breakfast was just as extensive as the day before but with different ingredients and without Jonathan looming over her the entire time. The endless mimosas were still a hit and the brioche french toast was absolutely delectable, along with the cheese omelets, bacon and sausage spread, freshly squeezed orange juice, and the best coffee man has ever tasted, as Klaus put it.

"Again I ask, who is all this food really for?" Bonnie bit into a beignet and nearly melted. She made it a game of trying to taste everything on the table at least once but ultimately settled for the french toast. God, it was good.

"Whatever is left will be repurposed. I usually give it to the homeless population. New Orleans is cluttered with unfortunates." Bonnie rolled her eyes at his terminology.

"Well, aren't you charitable," she chided. Klaus sat across from her, cupping his mug. Last night after Bonnie passed out on his sofa, he placed her in Rebekah's old room and ordered one of his hybrids to find out what happened between her and Marcel. She had drunkenly admitted that she was homeless and Klaus wanted to know why. Bonnie was just as good as he when it came to keeping secrets, so he doubted she would offer up any information, and even if she did, he needed to verify her version of events. He wasn't dumb. Despite the spell, he had to be sure that the witch didn't have her own agenda. The spell couldn't actually hinder her free will, it could only work in accordance with it, making her more open than she normally would be. Marie made sure of that. The last thing she needed was for Klaus to have complete control over someone as powerful as Bonnie. Besides, Klaus didn't want blind loyalty from her. In his own twisted way, he wanted to earn her trust, he just needed a little assistance to get her to be more… open.

"What is your plan, Love? Why did you decide to come here? Not that I'm not flattered by the thought of being your refuge." Bonnie thought about his questions for a moment, realizing that she didn't actually have a plan.

"I'm not sure what my plan is honestly." She bit her bottom lip, deep in thought. "What I can say is, out of everyone in this city, you've been the most upfront with me from the beginning. You never beat around the bush and that's one thing — just about the only thing — I respect about you. If you want to kill me, you say so. If you need me for something, you don't come to me under the guise of trying to gain my trust just to break it later on. I'm sick of that. I'm sick of people around me pretending to care only to show me later that they don't." Klaus could relate to that all too well. He tried not to let her words get under his skin.

"We're more alike than you realize, Bennett," he commented. Silence befell them and Klaus couldn't help but wonder how things would have been different had he met Bonnie before meeting Elena and Caroline. He always respected witches given his background. The first adult outside of his family to show him kindness was a witch — a Bennett, no less. Her name was Ayana and Bonnie reminded him so much of her. Those fiery green eyes, the crooked chin… only, Ayana held more confidence than the witch before him, with half the power. The thought made Klaus smile. "I meant what I said about a truce. We'll never trust one another but we can both trust that we are tired of beating each other senseless." His comment earned a soft chuckle from across the table.

"More like me beating you senseless but, you get a couple of hits in here and there." Klaus rolled his eyes but said nothing to dispute her claims.

"You've proven that I am no match for you." Bonnie rolled her eyes at Klaus' so called flattery. "No seriously," he interjected with a smile. "If you can't beat 'em, kill 'em and if you can't kill 'em, join 'em…"

"We both know that's not how it goes," Bonnie quipped.

"Yeah, but it works in our case." Klaus earned a chuckle from the copper-skinned witch which made him smile. This was the most at ease they were with one another, ever, and it made him begin to wonder if it was the spell taking effect already, or if it was just their current circumstances. Either way, he tried not to question whether what he'd done was the right thing.

"You mentioned you didn't want to kill Marcel, that it was Marie's plan…" Despite nearly killing Marcel there was still a nagging soft spot in her heart for him. He took care of her for almost two years. As much as she tried to harden her heart against him, she couldn't. That didn't mean she wasn't still angry as hell with him.

"Correct," Klaus acknowledged.

"How do we save him, then?" Bonnie asked curiously.

Of all the things he could have said, "We kill Marie," was not what she wanted to hear.

Bonnie groaned, allowing her head to drop against the breakfast table. "Can't we all just get along?"

BKBKBKBKBKBKBKB

For two hours, Bonnie and Klaus went back and forth about the challenges they were faced with. She demanded answers from the Hybrid. "Look, you all have high expectations from me without much, if any, details. I need to know what's up. And does everyone always have to die; that's a bit dramatic, you think?"

"I want to reclaim my city," Klaus began to recap. "To do that, I need Marcellus out of the way and while I want him gone, I don't wish him dead. Marie does. And while she's an ally, Marcel is like family to me so any threat to him is a threat to me." Bonnie briefly wondered if Klaus knew what she had done to Marcel last night. As if he could read her mind, a smirk appeared on his face. "Present party excluded of course. He had that one coming." Klaus sympathized with Bonnie. He, like her, hated to be taken for a fool. Bonnie hefted her chin, not bothering to acknowledge what she'd done.

"So why do we have to kill Marie then? Can't we just send her away, lock her up, something?" Bonnie was sick of plotting people's death. "I know we have a truce or whatever but I haven't forgotten that you killed Elena." Bonnie needed to voice her objections to working with Klaus. He murdered her friend.

"Killing Elena is what freed you from her grasp. You should thank me," Klaus responded arrogantly. Bonnie flinched, her rage could barely be contained. Klaus smirked at her reaction.

"You are not helping your case, Hybrid." She pinched the bridge of her nose in efforts to calm herself. Klaus shrugged slightly.

"If you can think of a better way to handle Marie, by all means, share. Killing her is the easiest solution. I like having her in my corner but the minute she learns that I won't let her kill Marcel, she'll become an enemy and if you know anything about the woman, it's better to kill her than to fight with her." Bonnie didn't want to give in to Klaus' reasoning but it was tempting. Marie was as relentless as Klaus when it came to striking down a foe. The hexes she could place on you alone would drive you mad. The woman was evil.

Yet, she took you in. Bonnie shook the thought. Marie had helped her with her magic when she came to the city. After dying, her magic was practically depleted and Bonnie had angered the spirits so they were not in a helpful mood. Marie taught her how to tap into expression magic, freeing Bonnie from the spirits that kept her bound, at their mercy. Bonnie was grateful for the woman. She had helped her in many ways. Being around Marie also gave her the confidence not to take shit from anyone.

"Marie was there for me when I needed her, Klaus. I can't just kill her."

"You Bennett women always place your loyalty in the wrong hands." Klaus shook his head. "Marie would flip on you in a heartbeat, Bonnie. You don't need a reason to kill her. Drop her before she drops you." As Klaus spoke, Bonnie understood him just a little bit more. The reason he was so paranoid was because he expected everyone to turn on him. It was why he could easily plot an ally's demise.

Bonnie found herself relating to him. The ways things were going for her, if she lived for a thousand years, she could easily end up as tortured and paranoid as Niklaus Mikaelson. Had he truly been burned that many times in his existence?

"Is that why you killed Elena? Because you thought she would betray you? We had a deal Klaus. One we could all live with and you still…" Bonnie quieted when she felt herself get emotional. She took a deep breath and continued. "You had to be in control. 'Get them before they get me.' I get it now." Bonnie's tone darkened. As much as she hated the Hybrid, there was a lot of similarities they shared. Neither one of them had proper parenting, everyone around them had betrayed them at some point, and as much as they tried, they both would never truly be content with themselves.

How hadn't she noticed this before?

Klaus stared silently at Bonnie. He had no words for the young girl but she was absolutely right. After a moment, he spoke. "I trusted your word, I just couldn't allow myself to trust the rest of them. Mainly Damon." At the mention of Damon's name, Bonnie suddenly remembered that he was in town, wanting her help with Killing Klaus. She sighed. This was all getting ridiculous. "Damon couldn't be reasoned with like the rest of you. So I killed Elena to break his spirit. It worked. He backed off." 'Or so you think,' Bonnie thought. "I'm sorry, Love, but she was just a pawn in a chess game. It wasn't personal; not on my end, anyway."

There was a moment of silence as Bonnie considered Klaus's explanation for his actions. It was probably the closest thing to closure that she would ever get from the Hybrid. Elena was long gone and she needed to let it go. Just as she advised the Salvatore brothers weeks ago.

"I've had enough plotting for one day. I need a drink." Until she could sort her thoughts and figure out what her next plan of action was, she would drink her problems away.

KMKMKMKMKMKMKM

After their talk, Klaus kept his distance from Bonnie as she made herself at home in Rebekah's room. The fact that they had a somewhat civil conversation that didn't end with him going up in smoke had him reconsidering. Originally, the spell seemed to be a great idea. Bonnie Bennett would never willfully show up on his doorstep seeking refuge, yet there she was last night in all her drunken glory. He kept telling himself that it was the spell that led her to him and that his plan was going smoothly. He wondered. Was this the spell? Or had she come here without any coercion from the hex he placed on her. He was beginning to question what was reality and what he and Marie had crafted to their will. If the spell was truly working this quickly, it could backfire just as fast and that didn't sit well with him.

He grabbed the keys to his truck and left without a word to Bonnie. He needed to speak to Marie and couldn't risk being overheard by the oblivious little witch.

He arrived at Laveau's in record time and stormed in without warning. Marie chuckled. She'd been expecting him. "It's about time you showed up," she spoke. The fact that she knew he would appear made him pause slightly but it didn't deter him.

"Reverse the spell." Marie's eyebrows shot up her forehead. She turned to face him while holding a bottle of ketchup

"I'm rarely caught off guard, but I suppose you're a good candidate for doing so," she replied. Those were the last words she'd expected to come from him. "What do you mean, 'reverse the spell'? I already told you that it couldn't be."

"And we both know that's not entirely true, Love. You always have a backdoor. Use it."

"You may have forgotten that I can mop the floor with your ass, Nik," Marie boasted. Klaus was not deterred. While Marie could certainly do damage, Bonnie Bennett was the only witch that ever came close to ending his life. "What's giving you cold feet?"

Klaus balked. There was a tiny voice in the back of his mind that nagged him. Given the circumstances the witch now faced, he could have been her refuge without ever needing a spell. Or was it the spell that brought her to his doorstep? It hadn't been long since the spell was casted and already he was annoyed by the blurred lines. This was not what he intended.

"No cold feet, Love. Just a hunch that I want to sort out without the hinderance of the spell."

"I'm sorry but the deed is done. I granted you a loophole. Nothing but a love greater than her hatred for you can break it. I could try reversing it but who knows what the effects of that would be, let alone, how she'll react once it's lifted and she finds out about it."

"Well then, I'll make sure that she doesn't find out. Reverse it, Marie."

"We both know that nothing around here stays a secret. I'd rather she find out that we spelled her while she's still spelled. I am not about to deal with a pissed off Bennett." Marie knew that putting a spell on Bonnie was risky but she had her insurance policies in place if things went south. "I'll throw you a bone, ask her whatever you want and she'll answer you honestly. If you want to know the motives behind what she's doing, she'll tell you. If she doesn't know then that's the spell's doing, not hers."

Klaus gritted his teeth. None of the answers Marie had for him sufficed, but the deed was done. He got exactly what he wanted and he still wasn't happy; the story of his immortal life. After considering Marie's words, nodded. "I'll figure it out. Thanks for nothing, witch." Marie laughed at his retreating figure. The Bennett witch was back on the supernatural radar. Her power resonated throughout the city and it was growing day by day which meant a reckoning was rapidly approaching. Marie just had to make sure she was on the right side of the chess board.