Regardless of the gender identity of those fetuses, they would biologically be his. His son and daughter. His two sons, his two daughters. Klaus didn't sleep that night for the thought of two new Mikaelson infants to protect. And when news of this got out….nowhere would be safe. Two new Mikaelsons to fear and hate, two new Mikaelsons to try and destroy.
He would not have it.
Elijah knew from his brother's manner that he needed persuading in accepting this change again. But Marcellus had met up with Klaus earlier, and wanted assurance that no Mikaelson would threaten his reign in New Orleans. Klaus had daggered still-talking Elijah in order to keep his word. Though that also meant Hayley was put under the impression that the oldest Mikaelson had broken his word merely days after he'd sworn it. No matter. It was he, Klaus Mikaelson and the father of her twins, which she should rely on and trust. Not his brother. Those babies lives' were in his hands, he would decide if he wanted to keep their hearts beating.
Hayley started getting worried again when Elijah disappeared, Klaus avoided her and when she ran into him he just glared at her and her stomach. She became more protective of the lives inside of her, and at the same time wanted free of this prison. What was the use of carrying out this pregnancy neither of them had expected or wanted, if it was just going to get her killed?
The third day that Elijah was gone for, another person showed up at six in the afternoon. Straight blonde hair, strong structure, a face permanently expecting the worst. Even her style intimidated Hayley slightly, its not like her foster mom would've ever considered buying her 300 dollars boots.
So she decided to let the blonde know right off the bat, that she didn't like her.
"Just like a vampire to make a promise and not keep it." Hayley said pointedly, staring the blonde in the eye. She explained Elijah's absence beforehand, and now the blonde looked worried.
"Think what you will of us darling, but Elijah keeps his word" she said, then began to pace. "Where's my bloody brother" She seethed and stomped out of the parlour.
"Niklaus what have you done with our brother you narcissistic back-stabbing wanker!"
Double doors swung open, Klaus's hands on both door handles.
"Enough with all the shouting!" He playfully scolding, a grin flowering on his face. The first happy face Hayley had seen herself. Who the heck was this woman?
"I called Elijah twice two days ago and now this girl says he's gone, which means you stashed him in his coffin. Where is he?" She demanded.
"My dear sister, Elijah truly did go and he's yet to call about his return."
"Excuse me if I don't believe a man who lies to suit his needs" she snapped. Hayley switched her stance and bowed her head. So that's why Elijah hadn't kept his word. Klaus broke it.
"Where is he?" Hayley asked.
"You're free to search high and low for the noblest brother, but he is certainly not here."
Without a word of reply, Rebekah stormed off into the house. Klaus's smile disappeared and Hayley followed the third Mikaelson she's met.
She'd heard of the Mikaelsons from Tyler and other wolves, though the stories ranged from a billion year old family to a cult. Although these people were going to be her babies' relatives. That blonde that just stomped through the house was an aunt, which was a cool title to have and automatically makes kids like you until you screw up. Klaus was going to be a father, which was humbling any way you looked at it. That's probably why he didn't like the idea of being the father of twins.
Hayley followed Rebekah throughout the house, keeping quiet as she was still in her own thoughts. Rebekah muttered to herself about all the atrocities Klaus had committed against her, against their family, and trashed every room, storming out without a word. Hayley figured Rebekah was leaving the rooms in such a mess to get back at Klaus for whatever he'd done to Elijah.
When Rebekah reached the basement, Klaus crossed paths with the two women again.
"I've gotten a tip on where Marcel keeps his witch-wrangling object, so you'll have to send me your insults over text for the next few hours."
"A tip? Are you a bloody detective now?" She snapped back at him, then threw a lamp his direction as he sped away. The lamp merely bounced on the ground and Rebekah sighed in relief. "Thank the lord, I actually quite like that lamp." She picked up the object with annoyance, slamming it back on the table she'd found it, and began to fill Hayley in on her brother's past.
The vampire Klaus had bonded to him told him of a church attic, the church itself was haunted and hardly anyone went any longer, despite there being an active priest working there. He breezed into the building without a thought and tried to open the door to the attic. No amount of clawing, kicking or punching made a dent in the rickety wooden door. It was definitely magic that held it in place. But without a solid way to get into that room at the moment, he spun on his heel and imagined in his mind what the attic looked like from the street.
Unfortunately either his memory failed him or it was another witch's spell. Klaus spent the next six hours charging down alleys, leaving marks on bricks to remember he'd gone through before, and knocking those same marked bricks from their foundations when he realized he had been walking in circles.
Marcellus would have to wait. Rebekah needed to be dealt with.
A knock on the door got Hayley out of her reverie. She walked on unsteady legs to open it when she couldn't hear Rebekah doing so, and saw a familiar face. Caroline studied her and walked in.
"What're you doing here?"
"Oh, well if you're not eavesdropping on everyone's conversations anymore then I'd be happy to tell you," Caroline greeted brightly. Hayley glared at her. "I'm here for...for Klaus."
"You and the rest of the bloody city, get in line!" Rebekah shouted from another room.
"It's Caroline." The new blonde guest called out. The rummaging the Mikaelson had been previously doing stopped, and she walked to greet Caroline.
"So. What has transpired in Mystic Falls to warrant us getting stuck with you?" Rebekah asked
"Nice to see you too, Rebekah. If you don't mind I'll just wait for Klaus to come back. You know when he is?"
"Oh, I suddenly want him to be high-tailing it away from mumsie here." She replied dryly. "I asked you a question. Do you want me to compel you?"
"Can't. But I guess if I don't tell you you'll figure it out somewhere else."
"Well, out with it."
"Elena turned off her humanity. Dealing with her and then Stefan and Damon coddling her was just too much." Caroline said. Rebekah's eyebrows rose, as did Hayley's. Elena would be killing people without remorse, and then a century later when she turns it back on she'll fry herself in the sun.
Little did Rebekah and Hayley know, Elena had no intention of ever turning her humanity back off. She was happy with Damon, in a weird way, and that made her both frustrated and jealous. She couldn't have Stefan and yet Elena didn't want him. She and Tyler had broken up a while ago, but him trying to kill Klaus made her nervous as well. She didn't want him to die, despite everything he's ever done to her friends and Tyler. She was more there to keep Klaus safe from Tyler than anything.
"If we're to host yet another unwelcome guest, we must get something to drink," Rebekah stated. She stomped into another room. Hayley and Caroline traded glances and followed her. Rebekah had turned into a lounge room, pouring whiskey into large glasses.
"She's pregnant, remember?" Caroline asked pointedly.
"Two of them are for me to deal with you."
"Well how am I gonna drink my troubles away?" Hayley asked
"I'll get some milk," Rebekah smiled sarcastically.
"I'm good."
Hayley sat down in a big chair, and readied herself to run at any moment. Two vampires, needed to get her teeth and claws ready.
"Where's Klaus again?" Caroline asked with a cock of her head. She went and sat in another different big chair.
"He's off doing something nefarious against someone from our past. Meanwhile my brother Elijah is packed away somewhere."
"So are we helping look for him or what?" Caroline replied. Rebekah scoffed.
"You really want to get in good with Klaus Mikaelson's family."
"I don't have to. I'm just trying to be nice and helpful." Caroline flashed a sarcastic smile.
"I'd rather wait for my brother to kill you and start the search then."
"Come on, what would I be able to do to an original?"
"Your doppelganger bestie certainly did a number on him."
"She had a dagger, I don't. And Klaus would have them stashed somewhere only he'd know, right?"
Rebekah groaned in annoyance. The girl wouldn't give up, but she had good points.
"Fine."
Rebekah led the two down a long spiral staircase down to the basement. Her flashlight hit the coffins Caroline once saw Bonnie magically open.
"Do you think Klaus killed him?" Hayley asked in panic. Caroline rolled her eyes. She must not've been listening to her talk to Rebekah about the daggers.
"We can't be killed, silly girl. But that doesn't stop Klaus from finding ways to torture us." Rebekah snapped.
"The Mikaelsons have a set of these mystical silver daggers," Caroline explained. "put it in the heart, they go into a coma for as long as the dagger is left alone." Rebekah's glare towards Caroline kept her from adding anything else.
"Klaus gets his jollies from keeping us in a box until he decides to pull it out." Rebekah added. She nodded to the coffin she stood in front of. "This one's mine."
"He keeps your coffins on standby." Hayley replied nervously.
"He likes to be prepared for when his family members inevitably disappoint him." Rebekah said. She walked around to another one. "Elijah's isn't here, so he must have him stashed elsewhere."
"I feel sick." Hayley muttered, caressing her stomach.
"Are you alright?" Caroline asked. Hayley nodded.
"Welcome to the family, love. You should've run the second you saw Elijah was gone." Rebekah replied.
"Yeah well, the witches that took me put some sort of hex on me. As long as I'm carrying these babies, I can't leave New Orleans. If I do, they kill me." Hayley said. Caroline checked that in her mind as something to figure out.
"Knowing Klaus, he's planning a box for you as soon as you give birth to whatever's cooking in your tum." Rebekah replied.
"Would I ever get out of it again?" Hayley asked. Rebekah's eyebrow rose and she scoffed. That was obviously a no. "I'm going as soon as I find Elijah."
Rebekah started for the stairs. "Best find a way to break that hex and run." She added in passing. Caroline nearly followed her, but then she remembered something.
"Did-did you say babies?" She asked. Hayley nodded.
"Elijah helped figure it out when he was still here. I'm carrying twins." She muttered. She followed Rebekah up the stairs, but Caroline heard her footsteps separate from the Original's at the top. Rebekah went out the front door. Caroline sped after Hayley's footsteps.
Sophie cleaned the table in the back of her restaurant, still able to see most of the place. The glass door opened and shut fast. She walked out into the restaurant's main room, expecting a vampire trying to intimidate her. Or Marcel.
"Seriously Marcel, trying to scare me? I had nothing to do with the attacks on your men last night!"
The pots and pans hanging above her now clean table clattered and she walked back in. Slowly, Sophie went for a knife.
"That really won't do much for you." A female's English accent greeted. Sophie spun and saw another famous Original. "You know who I am?" Sophie nodded.
"My brother Elijah told me about you. And you're going to help me."
They were in the graveyard two other Originals had come to just a few days ago. Sophie hadn't told anyone she was coming, and hoped no one would know she'd ever been there. Bringing the hybrid to town was risky. Bringing his protective brother was dangerous. But a third one that was loyal to Klaus? She'd be overthrown from this plan and she wouldn't be able to honor Jane-Anne's wishes herself.
"Elijah has a dagger in his chest, a magical object. I need you to do a locator spell on it and find him." Rebekah stated.
"I can't use magic" Sophie replied. The blonde Original stared coldly at her. "It's punishable by death. Marcel's rules."
"Oh Marcellus. What do you think I'm going to do to you if you don't do what I want?"
"Not a thing." Sophie replied matter-of-factly. Rebekah raised an eyebrow at her. "I've been linked to Hayley Marshall. If you hurt me, you hurt her and her baby."
Rebekah nearly added 'babies' just as a knee-jerk reaction. Did the witches really not know that Hayley's carrying twins?
"Luckily for you, Elijah seems to care about her. And I care about her child. Otherwise I'd break your neck right now."
Sophie crossed her arms and took a witch's fighting stance.
"Oi, calm down, I said 'otherwise." Rebekah snapped.
"How did Marcellus get so bloody powerful anyway? It wasn't like this a century ago."
"Marcel has some way of telling whenever a witch does magic in the Quarter. The rest doesn't matter."
"I'll tell you what's not relevant, impotent witches. Here's an idea, leave."
"We practice ancestral magic. We draw our power from the witches that came before us, these graveyard is filled with their remains. Without access to them, we'd be powerless. If we leave, we lose our legacy. Lose our home, family."
"You're hanging your magical hat on your arrogance." Rebekah replied. Sophie scoffed. "And family's overrated."
"Then why do you want to track Elijah down ?" Sophie asked.
"To make sure he's alright. He stupidly believed that this baby would lead to Niklaus's redemption, and now he's missing probably at the hands of Niklaus. You foolishly believed you could get Elijah to persuade Klaus to go against Marcel, knowing their history."
"Yeah Marcel's sired to him, I'm aware."
"It's more than that. Klaus raised him from a boy. He gave him his name, and my family knew him as one of our own as he grew into a man."
"So what?"
"Klaus saved him from being beaten the day they met. He saw himself in Marcel, saw the boy Nik used to be that was beat by my father. They're two long-lost souls, and without Elijah between them, your plan will backfire spectacularly. Klaus won't drive Marcel out of town. If anything, he'll take over."
Rebekah stormed off, leaving Sophie shaken. Good, the girl didn't do proper research and now she'll see her town in the hands of a psychotic murderer. Sophie won't live to see the end of the year.
Klaus found Marcel in a bar on Main Street, sitting beside the window. He'd met him earlier, given him Elijah. That was his peace offering to assure the prince of the city he had no bad plans. With Elijah as collateral, Klaus was at a disadvantage. That's what Marcel wanted anyway.
"This is a far cry from last night's party." Klaus greeted, helping himself to the chair opposite Marcel. His sired and adopted son sipped at a drink, and stared hard at him. "I've been here five seconds, how must I have offended you?"
"I know how you deal with problems, Klaus. Did you decide to kill the witch leader to make all your little troubles go away and you can run off again?" Marcel accused.
Klaus leaned back in his chair and smiled at the man. Marcel stared back at him.
"Ah, now I understand. You didn't kill Sophie Deveraux for one very, special, reason."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You're in here pining over the witch when you should be eating her for lunch." Klaus continued as if he hadn't said anything. Marcel sighed and smirked.
"She's a work in progress."
"Very special indeed."
"Business first. Coroner called. They've got my number in case any dead tourists show up."
"Let me guess...dead tourists with a stamp on their hand and vampire blood in their veins." Klaus smiled at him.
Marcel had a perpetual night party going at his place, and he had a system for human tourists that come to his for the party. They were all fair game for the vampires that came to those same parties. The humans were marked with the stamp at the entrance. The rest was done just the same as any human feeding situation.
"It happens. Someone takes a drunken tumble off a balcony or into the Mississippi. And today I got two to deal with."
Hayley ran across main street to the storefront Jardin Gris, a voodoo place. For anyone else this would be a tourist trap, but for the pregnant werewolf, something entirely different. The store owner had quickly come out of her business, beginning to lock the door.
"Wait, please, I'll be two seconds." Hayley greeted hurriedly
"I'm sorry"
"I just need one little herb." The owner considered her.
"Which one?" Hayley hesitated for a moment, knowing when she said it it would be very clear what she was doing.
"Crushed aconite flower."
"Wolfsbane is a poison."
"I know what it is." She asserted, her big eyes and set mouth emphasizing how serious she was.
The owner stared at her, wondering why she was wanting to kill a wolf, and which one. What the owner didn't know, was the young woman wanted to kill two little wolves. Ones that couldn't escape her.
"Give me a minute." The owner replied, spinning back to the door and going in. Hayley turned around, making sure no vampire or hybrids, or even worse an Original, had found her. The area was clear, she didn't even smell someone. The owner quickly came back out, locking the door slowly, deliberately.
She held two small dark vials with red toppers.
"Cut it with jimson weed, put a drop in some hot tea. That should do it."
Hayley handed her a few crumpled up bills she found in the Mikaelson manor. That Caroline girl had been following her but she managed to evade her. Stupid vampire chick.
The owner pushed her hand away, and made the wolf feel more wretched that her stolen one dollar bills weren't going to be accepted.
"It's a hard town for wolves. I hope you feel like you're doing the right thing. Good luck either way."
Hayley looked away and walked off again. A few moments later, she sniffed someone out.
Turning sharply into an alleyway, she waited for the determined boot heels to come her way and shoved the nosy blonde into the bricks opposite her.
"Why the hell are you following me?" She demanded, her hand firmly against Caroline's collarbone. The blonde glared back at her.
"People back in Mystic Falls wanna know what's going to happen with your babies. They sent me."
Hayley shook her head in confusion.
"Why should they care what happens to these babies?" She asked. Caroline's face became stone. It was obviously something that if she told her, she'd use against her friends. "You don't have to worry, these babies won't be around much longer."
Caroline's face remained unchanged.
Klaus and Marcels' footsteps echoed in a large underground parking lot. They descended rapidly, letting gravity pull them.
"You take me to the nicest places," Klaus mused. Marcel said nothing, but he heard his son roll his eyes. They came upon a black forensic van, and Marcel opened one of the back doors.
Two teenagers jumped in fear, still half inside body bags.
"Welcome to the land of the dead," Marcel flashed a perfect smile and greeted them with a theatrical wave of his hands.
"I wouldn't waste time with these two. Not much potential." One of his minions said without being asked.
"I just lost six Nightwalkers last night, got holes to fill." Klaus's ears perked at the vampire's last words. Who killed these vampires?
Marcel took a coin out of his pocket and tossed it between the two in the van.
"The itch you two can feel, it's the need to feed. More specifically, on blood. Human blood is the strongest craving, but not every vampire chooses that path. You drink human blood, you become a vampire. If you don't, you die for good, not waking up again in a body bag." Marcel took a step backwards, hooking Klaus's shoulder with one hand.
"What do you think, blonde girl or gay best friend?" Marcel asked. Klaus smiled politely.
"Dealer's choice."
Marcel took a step in and gestured to the coin in-between them. "Whoever picks up the coin, lives forever. Whoever doesn't, dies."
The teenagers started to freak out, the boy looking at the girl and violently shaking his head. Immediately the blonde snatched it up.
"Oh, damn!" Marcel wowed, Klaus laughed in appreciation.
"How could you?!" The boy asked in hurt.
"Shut up Josh, it's not like I had a choice. You would've done the same but you're too much of a little cowardly, miserable-" Within seconds Marcel flashed to the girl and snapped her neck, her blonde hair flying before her. Klaus watched on.
Marcel zipped the body bag back up and turned to one of his vampires, nodding sternly to them. They nodded back. He looked back at Klaus.
"I got a thing about people who betray their friends." Marcel stared pointedly at him, while his sire glared back. He didn't care that the words offended him, however. It was the least he deserved after Klaus and his family abandoned him a century ago.