Hello, lovelies! Sorry for the late update but things have gotten a bit hectic with work and studies. I worked hard on getting this chapter done and ready to be posted, which was also a bit difficult to write and give justice to the characters.
Now, to respond to your lovely reviews:
-xenocanaan: I am so happy that I could catch someone by surprise with such a turn! I hope you enjoy what comes next and everything that happens after!
-TheLadyO: Yeah, I couldn't really see Gwen betraying Klaus, since he's her father figure and she just can't find it in herself to betray him. Well, I am not going to spoil, so you'll have to read this chapter to find out! Things are gonna get a bit crazy here.
-Guest: I love writing interactions between a young Gwen and Klaus, so I always look for ways to add a little bit here and there. Also, I just couldn't see her betraying him, it's not who she is. Also, Rebekah will have to wait (fortunately for her) to hear what Klaus has to say about her drugging Gwen.
-Love . Fiction . 2020: ;D
-Guest: Since I like writing Klaus with a young Gwen, you'll definitely see more of those. I will show how it all began between Gwen and Klaus, but that revelation is for the future, since there isn't anything that's making Gwen question her origins and such, but it will happen and it'll be very important and a catalyst for the story later on. And I was honestly going to have Gwen remain as the best friend, but then a small image of Klaus being a father struck me and I began to run with it and it turned into this new relationship that ties them together as family. Oh, I am just as excited as you guys for Gwen and Kol to meet! We're so close! And yes, Klaus will be his usual overprotective self, but Gwen is also growing into her own person, so there's that.
Disclaimer: I own nothing from The Vampire Diaries and claim no ownership over anything pertaining to it.
the girl raised by the monster
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"We can't trust Rebekah not to turn on us," Elena told Damon from where she stood at the foot of his bed where different types of weapons were laid on display, helping with the preparations for their plan, since they would need weapons capable of killing any number of hybrids Klaus was sure to bring with him. "And there's also Gwen to worry about." She had yet to see or hear the half-fae all day, which worried her, not wanting a problem to foil their carefully laid out plan. "Rebekah said she'd take care of it, but…"
"You don't say," Damon hummed with sarcasm dripping from his voice as he stood in his bathroom working on getting the few remaining stakes that he had left coated with wolfsbane he mixed with water in the washbasin. "Because these Original vampires are usually so reliable."
"Bonnie was right." Elena recalled her earlier conversation with her childhood friend before she made her way back to the Boarding House to help get everything ready for later in the night. Her talk with Bonnie helped her realize that no matter how mad Rebekah was at Klaus, he was still her brother above everything else. "Rebekah may be mad at Klaus now, but he is her brother," she sighed as she reached over the bed to grab a few stakes she needed to hook up to an armband that would be concealed beneath clothing. "They've spent a thousand years together. You don't get over that in one night."
Damon snorted. "Her lying, mama-killing, dagger-happy brother." He glanced at Elena when she came to his side. "Wolfsbane is ready."
Elena took a moment to steady herself with her hands gripping the edge of the marble countertop of the bathroom. "There are too many things that can go wrong with this plan," she exhaled with a groan, disliking the pit of dread that grew wider and wider in her stomach as time passed by. "Too many people that can make it go wrong."
"Well, I am formulating a secret contingency plan or two," Damon supplied as he began to set up the items needed to make a wolfsbane grenade.
Damon's revelation had Elena raising an inquisitive eyebrow at him. "Really?" she asked, suddenly becoming a bit more confident that things would go right with their plan. "What is it?"
Hearing footsteps approaching his room, Damon gave Elena a pointed look that had her frowning. "Well, if I told you, then it wouldn't be a secret."
Just then, Stefan entered his older brother's room and leaned against the bathroom's doorway. "I need to borrow a tie," he announced.
"You have your own ties," Damon countered, his eyes focused on his task.
Stefan hummed with a nod. "I'm 162 years old and I'm going to a Homecoming Dance," he huffed in annoyance. "I need better ties."
"You could not go," Elena suggested as she turned her attention to Stefan, finding it easier to look at him when her mind was too preoccupied being worried about facing Klaus than her problems with her compelled ex-boyfriend, which made it easier to talk to him.
"I don't know how many times I have to tell you that I am compelled to protect you. I wish I could sit this out, but I can't," Stefan told her and stressed out the last word, exasperated with having to repeat himself. He pointed a finger at Elena with an amused grin. "If I look at your track record at high school dances, it's pretty tragic. With my luck, you'll go and get yourself murdered by the Homecoming Queen." He then left the room in search of a tie for his outfit for the night.
Elena rolled her eyes, annoyed that what Stefan said was true. Ever since she was sucked into the drama of the supernatural world, she had unbelievably bad experiences with any event related to dances or school activities or anything else that involves dressing up. Opting to ignore Stefan's remarks, she reached for a grenade to finish prepping it up, but her hand was slapped in a chastising manner that had her gasping and looking at Damon with an incredulous look.
Damon shook his head as he slowly took hold of the grenade she was assembling. "Uh-uh."
"I know how to do it," she argued as she tried to hold onto the deadly item. "Alaric taught me."
"Elena, if this thing blows up in our faces, just remember that only one of us heals quickly," Damon reminded her as he finally took the grenade from her hands.
"What are we going to do with Gwen?" Elena asked Damon, once again growing anxious with the number of loose ends that could derail their plan. "We still don't know what she's capable of and that makes her dangerous."
"I also have a plan for that," said Damon.
"Which you're not going to tell me," Elena stated.
With a grin, Damon told her, "Exactly."
Stefan returned to the bathroom with a few ties in his hands that he managed to find that were more to his liking, coming to stand behind Elena and Damon to stare at his options through the bathroom's mirror. "Please tell me that you have a better plan than wolfsbane grenades," he groaned when his eyes caught what his brother was working on with his ex-girlfriend, believing that a simple grenade wouldn't do much to hinder a hybrid.
"Never you mind, brother," Damon reassured his younger brother offhandedly. "The less you know the better."
"My freedom from Klaus rests entirely upon you two executing your plan perfectly. So, excuse me if I'm a bit cynical," Stefan remarked. "Also, I couldn't help but overhear your worries about Gwen, so don't elaborate further on your intentions, since I am also compelled to ensure her safety, but I can work around that so long as I am aware that Rebekah is around to watch over her." He knew that he didn't have to worry about Gwen's safety in any scenario with Rebekah watching over the halfling, which gave him a loophole to work with. "I have some advice on that," he told Damon. "Using Gwen against Klaus is not a good idea."
"Yeah, I reckon that also goes for Rebekah," Damon huffed, remembering how a glass had been smashed into his head the night before.
Elena hummed. "Makes you wonder how they stand by him." She recalled how Gwen spoke about the immortal hybrid and how protective the halfling was of him. "I think Klaus might genuinely care about Gwen."
Damon nodded in agreement, still focusing his attention on the weapons in his hands. "Oh, she's his Achille's heel all right."
"Just saying that it would be best to leave her out of this. I don't know how far Klaus is willing to go for her and I don't want to find out," Stefan said with his arms raised in mock surrender. "I prefer not having to end up like Katherine, running for the rest of my immortal life." He then began to make his way out of the bathroom.
"We also have to worry about you," Elena spoke up, causing Stefan to stop by the doorway and turn to her. "If Klaus asks you one wrong question, whole thing falls apart."
Stefan nodded at this with a slight pout. "You do have reason to worry, but if I look back in our history of epic plan failures, it's usually because one of us let our humanity get in the way," he shot back at Elena. "So, if I'm taking odds on how this thing goes down, it's certainly not gonna be me who screws it up." He smirked at both Damon and Elena, the latter being the only one giving him their undivided attention, whereas the former simply continued to work on the grenades. "I'll see you at Homecoming," he told Elena and left the room while throwing over his shoulder, "I can't wait."
Elena watched Stefan leave the room and she found that she agreed with him. She looked back and Damon and hummed when she remembered that she had also seen Bonnie ask her for a favor in Damon's place. "Here," she said as she reached into her pants' pocket, pulling out a small vial that contained a metallic, silver liquid. "Why did you want this?"
"We're gonna need this soon," Damon said as he grabbed the vial and inspected the contents, hoping that he got the amount right.
While everyone in the house worked on getting everything ready–not just for Klaus, but also for the Homecoming Dance–an occupant in the house was beginning to stir from her forced slumber.
Everything was groggy, like coming out of a heavy sleep that left one looking like they were dead to the rest of the world. This was how Gwen greeted the day as she awakened in the late afternoon with a groan, fighting to get away from the claws of slumber that tried to pull her back into a dreamless sleep. A whine escaped her pink lips as she rolled over onto her side, rubbing a hand over her face to try and get herself to wake up. She exhaled with a grunt as she sat up on her bed, her eyes fluttering open before they widened when her mind brought forth what she was doing before she fell unconscious.
Gwen looked around the dim room. She found that her phone was nowhere to be seen, leaving her without a way to call Klaus. She jumped from the bed and ran to her drawers to change into an outfit that did not consist of something she would wear to go to sleep. She quickly put on a light-yellow mini dress that had an allover floral print of multiple colors, a V-neckline, ruffled cap sleeves, self-tie back closure, back cutout, and a fit and flare silhouette. She matched the dress with black leggings and a pair of faux suede booties in gray that had a stacked block heel that wasn't too high for her to run in them.
The only plan that Gwen could come up with at the moment was finding another phone to contact Klaus and warn him about what was happening. She knew she couldn't overpower a house full of vampires that included two Originals, but she didn't have a lot of options. She wanted to help Klaus however she could, even if she was putting herself at risk. Besides, she figured there wasn't much point in trying to outrun a vampire, especially when there wasn't anywhere that she could go to. She couldn't risk trying to find the keys to a car, since she risked ending up getting caught.
Decided on her rocky plan, Gwen reached for her jean jacket that had gray sleeves and put it on before making her way to the door. She took care not to make too much noise as she opened the door and peeked out into the empty hallway, holding her breath as she surveyed the area. Once she was sure that the coast was clear, she stepped out of her temporary room and closed the door behind her with as little noise as possible, breathing a sigh of relief through her nose after a few moments passed and no one appeared. She quickly checked Rebekah's room, finding it empty with no said Original or a phone in sight, which left her with no choice but to use her magic.
Taking a deep breath with her eyes closed as she stood in the middle of Rebekah's room, Gwen focused on the familiar warmth of her magic that was deep within her abdomen and worked on stretching it outward as far as she could. She could feel the cold auras of Damon and Stefan that was characteristic of vampires somewhere on the first floor, noticing how there was a speck of warmth shining through now and then. Her entire body shivered when she sensed the massive and chilling aura that belonged to who she assumed to be Mikael on the first floor as well, his atmosphere being similar but not quite to Klaus' and Rebekah's. It unnerved the halfling how strong the presence of the patriarch of the Original family was that had her thinking that it was the same as looking into an abyss of pitch black. She then focused on another aura with a huge presence; it wasn't as prominent as Mikael's and it had a shine to it. Finally, Gwen knew where Rebekah was.
The young half-fae opened her eyes and left Rebekah's room, her feet taking her to Stefan's bedroom with hurried but silent steps. Once she reached the stairs that would lead her up to the youngest Salvatore's room, Gwen took a deep breath to calm herself. She knew that if she couldn't convince Rebekah to listen to her pleas, then she would have to take the phone by force and hope for the best.
When Gwen reached the bedroom's doorway, her eyes widened in shock when they found Elena standing behind a smiling Rebekah staring at herself through the full body mirror in front of her, but what had seized the halfling's heart was the fact that Elena held a dagger to Rebekah's back. "Bekah!" she called out. Her body moved on its own when her hand glowed a minty green that generated a small ball of light that was hurled at Elena's hand that held the dagger, causing it to fall to the floor.
Elena hissed in pain as she cradled her right hand to her chest. The back of her hand was an angry red as if she had been slightly burned. While it wasn't life-threatening, the skin stung.
Now that she was alert and her emotions were no longer in control, it was like a curtain had been lifted from Rebekah's eyes. The blonde Original allowed the gut feeling that had tried to warn her that something was wrong to engulf her, screaming at her that she was not safe. The look Elena gave her through the mirror–like a frightened animal caught in the trap of a predator–was enough for Rebekah to turn around and reach for the doppelgänger's arm. "You two-faced bitch!" she growled at Elena with her vampiric features on display. Rage grew in her belly, now understanding why Elena had been so kind to her moments ago. With a twist of her wrist, she bent the brunette's arm in an odd angle that elicited a guttural screech from the brunette. "And here I was starting to think that you'd be different from your ancestors," she snarled as she threw Elena against a wall, "but you're just the same. Pathetic, really."
Gwen stared at the fuming Rebekah towering over the cowering Elena. A yelp escaped the halfling when she felt a pinprick on her neck that had her recoiling. She reached up to her neck where and felt a slow burn beneath her skin as what was inserted into her body began to spread. She turned around with a frown when she found Damon with an empty syringe in his hand, a not-so-apologetic smile on his lips. She was unable to speak as she wrapped her hands around her throat when she felt like her throat was on fire. Her body was beginning to lose strength. She fell to her knees as whimpers escaped her and her head began to swim. She cursed internally when she realized that she was about to lose consciousness, hating how careless she had been.
Rebekah tore her gaze from Elena at the sound of Gwen's pained moans, her eyes widening when she saw the halfling fall to the ground with a thud. The Original turned her murderous gaze to Damon and wasted no time in speeding over to him and slamming him against a wall with a hand around his neck and the other breaking his forearm, which had him losing his grasp on the syringe, enjoying the sound his bone made when it was broken. Damon yelled out in pain as his left arm fell limp at his side.
"And here I thought we were just getting to some common ground," Rebekah began as she stared into Damon's eyes. She reminded herself that she couldn't compel him, since he drank vervain, so that left her with torture and beatings to get answers out of him. "What did you do to her?" she asked as she gestured to Gwen's limp form with a jerk of her head without taking her eyes off the oldest Salvatore.
"You know," Damon groaned when Rebekah tightened her left hand around his throat, "you would think it would be easy to get iron, but it's harder to get it into liquid form, so it took a while to get our witch to do me the favor of speeding up the process."
"Iron?" Rebekah gasped, her hold on Damon loosening in her shock. She was aware of how dangerous that element was to faeries and hoped that she could get Gwen the help she needed.
Damon chuckled throatily. "Don't worry. It's not enough to kill her…I think." He hoped that the amount he had Elena ask of Bonnie was not enough to kill the halfling, since he still needed her alive.
The Original in the red dress was not at all amused, so she slammed her right fist into Damon's chest and grabbed a hold of his heart, which had him dropping his grin when he realized that he was in a precarious situation. "I do so hate for those beautiful eyes of yours to close forever, but I think I'll prefer you dead to save myself any future headaches," she told him with a slight pout, her mind working on what her next move would be after killing Damon and Elena.
"I thought you were on the Let's-Kill-Klaus team," wheezed Damon.
"Well," Rebekah began as she squeezed Damon's heart, "I was thinking that if I'm to lose a brother tonight, then let's make it even."
Before Rebekah could pull her hand out of Damon's chest with his heart in her hand, a strangled gasp escaped her when a familiar cool and sharp object was shoved into her back, which had her releasing Damon as veins began to mar her graying skin. Rebekah took one step away from Damon and glanced over her shoulder to see Elena before everything became dark and her body fell limp on the floor.
Damon's right hand grabbed his left arm and set it back in place with a tightlipped groan escaping him, feeling the bone begin to heal. He took a few deep breaths as the hole in his chest knitted itself back together. "Well…that was easy," he remarked before making his way to Elena, gingerly taking her injured arm in his hands to inspect the damage. "It's not broken, but it's not pretty," he told her with a scrunched-up face, angry that she had gotten hurt. He glanced at her head and ran a hand over the back of it, pulling it back when she hissed when he found a bump. "Probably concussed, but it's nothing that a little vampire blood won't fix."
"I'm fine," Elena argued with a shake of her head, fighting through the pain she felt in her right arm, her upper back, and the back of her head. Her eyes watered from the pain she felt in her arm, feeling it emit throbbing pulses whenever she moved it. "Let's just get this over with."
Damon nodded as he glanced at Gwen's prone body. "One order of a half-breed with extra iron for Papa Original coming right up."
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After his short speech, Klaus stepped off the stage that had been set up in the backyard of the Lockwood Mansion with a dancing crowd of people in front of it as a band played.
People were coming in and out of the mansion, having a good time. Among the mass of moving bodies were students of Mystic Falls High School who had to migrate their Homecoming Dance after the gym had been flooded with Tyler offering his home as a substitute, but the majority of the people were not there to celebrate a high school dance.
The Original hybrid grinned as he stepped into the crowd, walking toward a familiar individual who caught his eyes. "Why, hello, old friend," Klaus greeted Stefan, raising his voice to speak over the crowd and music. "Having yourself a good time?" he asked with a smirk as he continued to walk around with Stefan by his side.
Stefan nodded, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his pants. "It's quite the Homecoming."
"I've been planning my father's funeral for a thousand years," said Klaus, exaggerating his words a bit. "Granted, in no version of it were any of these people invited, but you get the idea."
"So, what now?" Stefan asked the Original hybrid, needing to keep the conversation flowing to avoid any prodding questions. "Stop running?"
Klaus hummed in agreement as he came to a stop near the stairs that led up to the back entrance of the mansion. He turned to face Stefan and answered with, "Now I reunite my family."
"Your family." Stefan nodded with pursed lips. "You mean the people you cart around in caskets?"
"None of that matters anymore. Mikael's gone." Klaus smiled, paying rapt attention to Stefan's body language. "Bygones will be bygones." He raised an eyebrow when he saw the tiara meant for the Homecoming Queen on a girl who was not his sister, which reminded him of his problem and why he had Tyler move the Homecoming Dance to a place he had prepared for any situation he could imagine happening upon his return to Mystic Falls. "Seems the Homecoming Queen still walks among the living, which leads me to believe Rebekah isn't here." He looked back at Stefan with narrowed eyes. "Where is she?"
"I have no idea." Stefan raised his eyebrows and shrugged. "I thought she was coming with Matt."
Klaus then moved on to his next question. "And Gwen?"
"Last I heard, she was still sleeping off whatever your sister gave her," Stefan answered honestly.
"Oh, be honest now, Stefan," Klaus said with a look on his face that told the younger vampire that he was not satisfied by his simple explanations. "Where are Gwen and my sister?"
Stefan took a step closer to Klaus, his eyes and voice were unwavering. "I said I have no idea. Now, would you like me to take you to your father?"
"Well, it wouldn't be a party without the guest of honor, would it?" Klaus chuckled before his smile dropped. "Bring him to me. And while you're at it, bring Gwen."
"All right." Stefan nodded as he released a heavy sigh that he hoped Klaus would take as him being annoyed, which he wasn't faking. "Perhaps there's something in it for me?" Klaus raised an inquiring eyebrow. "My freedom from your compulsion."
Klaus grinned. "Oh, you want your freedom?" At Stefan's nod and impassive look, the hybrid continued. "Well, once Gwen is here by my side safe and sound, Mikael dead and his weapon destroyed, you'll have your freedom." With his dimples on display, he added, "It'll be my pleasure to give it back."
After watching Stefan take his leave to do what was asked of him, Klaus walked around and acquired a beer for himself before meeting up with Tyler to place a few subtle threats here and there, revealing the hybrids he had brought with him as a backup. His intent was for his first hybrid to cause some internal conflict due to how the sire bond forced Tyler to want to please and ensure the safety of his creator. Once Tyler left him, he then turned his attention to the lone doppelgänger listening to the band on the backyard stairs.
"Where's your date?" Klaus greeted Elena as he came to stand in front of her.
With practiced ease, Katherine managed to keep her heart steady and her face schooled as she looked at Klaus's head on, intent on playing her role as her mortal doppelgänger, whom she found too dull for her liking. "Getting me a drink," she answered Klaus.
Klaus offered his beer bottle but was met with a scowl that had him grinning. "Well, seems like I have you to thank for Mikael's demise, correct?"
Remembering the story that she was told, Katherine said, "He came at me." She shrugged, but she mentally cursed when she reminded herself to act more like her insipid descendant. "I didn't have a choice."
"Still, I'm impressed," said Klaus. "It's not easy for a human to dagger an Original."
"It wasn't the first time," said Katherine.
"Right. Elijah." Klaus nodded with a half-smirk. He frowned when he saw who he supposed was Elena tremble, even though she wore a coat over her body. And he also noticed how her eyes darted around anxiously. "You seem nervous."
"I'm not nervous. I just don't like you," Katherine countered with sass.
"Well, I'll get straight to the point then, shall I, love?" Klaus leveled Katherine with a stony look that drowned out everything around the immortal doppelgänger, taking her back to a time when she had been human and had a close encounter with the beast he was. She didn't want to imagine what he would do if he were to find out her true identity. "People have been after me for a thousand years, and I am always one step ahead. So, whatever it is you're thinking of trying, go for it, give it your best shot." He smirked at her. "You won't succeed."
"It won't be for lack of trying," Katherine scoffed and went to walk around the hybrid, but she froze when he stepped in her way.
"Now, you'd be smart to tell Damon to mind his manners tonight," Klaus warned her, catching her attention. "If I die or if Gwen's life is in any danger, I've already ensured that Damon will die as well." When Katherine's eyes furrowed, he added, "Even in death, my hybrids have their orders." He grinned. "You kill me or endanger Gwen, you'll be killing him too, along with a good portion of this town's population."
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Gwen awakened with a groan and sore muscles after having been sleeping in an uncomfortable position, her eyes fluttering open from a sleep that was forced upon her for the second time within twenty-four hours. It was getting ridiculous and embarrassing for her when she knew she was capable of being more than the girl who was always put to sleep without putting much of a struggle. She frowned when she found herself in the backseat of a car with the left side of her body leaning on the door. Her head was pressed against the window, allowing her to see that it was already dark and well into the night.
Once her mind and vision cleared, Gwen hissed when she moved to straighten up against her seat, feeling that her blood was still burning under her skin, which left her sluggish. She reached up with one hand and rubbed her throbbing temple as tears threatened to spill over her cheeks from the amount of pain that she was in, her breathing a bit ragged. She had never been subjected to the effects of iron before, not like that. She had quite often unknowingly touched iron that burned her, it happened a lot when she was a child. A witch had once blown iron into her face that had her choking for breath, but this time was different. She had never been injected with liquid iron before. It was as if her body was made of lead.
"Good, you're awake," a voice to Gwen's right spoke.
Out of some instinct within her that told Gwen that she was in danger, she extended her hand out to her right intending to shoot out her magic at whoever spoke, but nothing happened, which perplexed her as she stared at her hand with furrowed brows. It was then that she realized that her magic was unable to manifest as if something were weighing it down.
"I must say…" the man spoke up again, startling Gwen. "You have good reflexes, but they are rather slow. Although, I can't really blame you, since it's probably the iron still running through your veins."
Gwen sucked in a breath and pushed herself back against the door she had been leaning on in fright, her body becoming deathly still when her eyes landed on the man standing outside of the car with the door open as he stared at her by leaning his head down a bit. He appeared to be middle-aged but with a muscular build with short, dark blond hair and blue eyes. And though she had never seen his face before, Gwen recognized his aura and knew that he was someone she shouldn't push her luck with, which was why she wanted to be as far away from him as possible.
"Do you know why your kind has such a weakness?" Mikael asked Gwen, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his dark dress pants. When he was met with silence, he continued. "The story is that the first faerie who was murdered had been stabbed through the heart with an iron sword, thus cursing the metal as a faerie killer for all time." He noticed Gwen's tense posture and wide eyes. "I see that I need no introduction."
Gwen merely scowled at him, staying alert for any sudden movements that he could make. She noticed that there was a mansion some feet away from where the car was parked by taking a glance outside over his shoulder. "Not really," she told him, surprised that her voice remained steady. "Where's Rebekah?" she asked, worried about the blonde since she last saw the female Original towering over Elena.
"I have no idea," said Mikael, his eyes narrowing. "Your care for vampires is rather confusing, given your race." It honestly confused the patriarch of the Original family how a half-fae could want to spend time with vampires, beings that have only ever used her kind for food. But what baffled him, even more, was the fact that Klaus had taken her in and raised her. "I fail to see what Niklaus gains by having taken you in."
"I fail to see what's so confusing for you," Gwen spat in return, absentmindedly wondering where she was getting her courage to speak to such a dangerous man as she did. "What, is it disappointing to know that your children aren't as terrible as you thought them to be?"
Mikael chuckled. "You have some fire in you. I can see the fear, but you're not letting it overpower you." He nodded once. "I'm quite impressed. Let's see if you'll be able to keep up the brave front for what I have planned." He cleared his voice and called out, "Mindy, if you please."
Gwen didn't have time to do or think anything, yelping when the door behind her was opened and her weary body was yanked out of the small sense of safety she found inside the car. She looked up at the person handling her none too gently, finding a rather attractive young woman who had glistening dark skin that went well with her dark brown hair of medium length. She had a slim build and was two inches taller than Gwen. The halfling realized that the air around the woman reminded her a bit of Klaus, causing the young hybrid to frown when she realized that the woman who had a vice grip on her arm was a werewolf-vampire hybrid.
"Come along," Mikael spoke up.
Mindy did as she was told and dragged Gwen along with her to follow Mikael, all of them making their way to the Lockwood Mansion. It had been a short walk, but by the time they had reached the front door of the large home, Gwen wanted to collapse. It didn't help that she tried to summon her magic every few seconds, checking to see if she could at least use a bit of her power, which tired her further as she tried to fight through the effects that the iron caused in her body. They soon reached the front of the mansion and Mikael checked if he could enter the premises, sighing when he found the invisible barrier that kept uninvited vampires from entering private property.
Mikael turned to Gwen and Mindy before grabbing the former's bicep in a firm hold. He locked eyes with the female hybrid and commanded, "Fetch my bastard son." His comment infuriated Gwen, making her wish she could burn his skin for speaking of his son like that. "Tell him his old friend Mikael is here for a little chat. Come back after you deliver the message. I still have need of you."
Mindy merely nodded at Mikael before disappearing into the house, unable to do anything else after having been compelled to do everything he asked of her.
"What are you going to do?" asked Gwen, looking up at him from the corner of her eyes. "He won't come out."
"Maybe not, but I imagine that you'd give him enough reason to do so," Mikael told her just as Mindy returned. He handed Gwen to Mindy once more and had them standing away from the open front doors, while he stood as close as he possibly could to the entrance's doorway.
The Original Vampire Hunter didn't have to wait long for Klaus to make his appearance as he watched people begin to exit the home and be taken to the backyard. The Original hybrid stepped up to the entrance in a few minutes but staying a safe distance within the boundary of the mansion that helped keep his father outside of the premises.
"Hello, Niklaus," Mikael greeted his illegitimate child, maintaining an impassive look on his face.
"Hello, Mikael," Klaus greeted in return, steeling himself for whatever his father had in store for him.
Klaus gave his father a once-over in search of the weapon Juniper told him about in a text. She had informed him of what she saw by projecting her astral form to Mystic Falls to spy on his enemies some hours ago, telling him what the weapon looked like and confirming that Gwen was actually asleep. It was a good way for him to be prepared for anything, which was why he was not at all surprised to know that Stefan found a way to lie to him with the help of his brother and friends.
The hybrid needed to keep himself cool and collected by keeping his hands from shaking and his eyes focused on Mikael's, knowing how his father thrived when his opponents showed any form of weakness that he could take advantage of. "Won't you come in?" He paused with a small grin. "Oh, that's right. You can't."
"Or you can come outside if you want," Mikael suggested, even though he knew Klaus would never step foot out of the house to meet his challenge.
"Or I could watch my hybrids tear you limb from limb." Klaus met Mikael's challenge with his own as a group of his hybrids gathered in the front yard behind Mikael. "The beauty of having a witch on my side is the many skills she has, like being my little spy even from miles away. I wasn't shocked when she told me how you staged being daggered, since the story lacked the usual bloodshed and piles of bodies."
"Yes, I knew I should have killed one of the Salvatore boys, make it more convincing. Still, you're here." Mikael gave Klaus an unimpressed look. "And you do know that your hybrids can't kill me, right?"
"True." Klaus smirked as he added, "But it'll make a hell of a party game." He raised a hand and had his middle finger meet his thumb. "All I have to do is rub these two fingers together and they'll pounce."
"The big bad wolf," Mikael taunted with his own smirk, watching as Klaus dropped his hand. "You haven't changed." He shook his head, not at all surprised to find Klaus hiding behind someone, much like he did when he was younger and always tried to take cover behind his siblings. "Still hiding behind your playthings like a coward. You only forget," he began to explain. "They may be sired by you, but they're still part vampire." He glanced at Mindy and gestured for her to stand closer with Gwen before meeting Klaus' gaze. "And they can be compelled by me."
Mindy took two steps toward Mikael with Gwen. The halfling struggled to stay rooted in place to keep herself from being used against Klaus, but Mindy was strong enough to move her without much trouble. Gwen gasped when she was given to Mikael, her eyes meeting Klaus', which brought tears to her eyes as the situation she found herself in finally began to sink in. She could die. And while she didn't want to die, she didn't want Klaus to die because of her. He was her family. She didn't know what she would do if she lost him.
For the first time in a long time, Klaus felt his heart stop when his eyes landed on Gwen, his mouth falling open in shock. It was a feeling he couldn't describe. It was as if all air had left him and his blood had turned ice-cold. He had believed that Gwen was safe with Rebekah, knowing that his sister had a kindness in her heart that would have endeared her to the halfling, enough that Klaus was sure that his sister would have done anything to protect Gwen. His sister knew very well the kind of monster their father was and would have never let Gwen be anywhere near Mikael, which told him that something had happened to Rebekah. And now he was living a nightmare he never wanted to experience.
Klaus' one weakness was in the hands of his tormentor.
"Nik," Gwen whispered, her voice snapping him out of his mind that scrambled to find a solution to get the young halfling away from his father. "I'm sorry." For letting herself end up in her current predicament.
"Honestly," Mikael huffed as he tightened his grip on Gwen's arm, but she bit her lower lip to keep herself from making a sound, refusing to give him the satisfaction. "I have yet to comprehend how you got someone to care for you. I can see in her eyes such devotion for someone who doesn't deserve it."
"What do you know about caring for someone other than yourself?" Gwen scoffed at Mikael over her shoulder.
"She's got a fire in her," Mikael chuckled as he faced Klaus. "Now, come out and face me, Niklaus. Or I will snuff out her life like blowing away the flame of a candle."
"Don't you dare!" Klaus snarled at Mikael as he shifted from one foot to another, his hands itching to wrap themselves around his father's neck and tearing it off his shoulders.
Gwen shook her head at Klaus when she saw him begin to take a step forward and shouted, "Don't!"
Mikael couldn't help but smirk when he saw the rage and fear in Klaus' eyes, which told him that he finally had the hybrid in a position where he couldn't run away as he always did. "I debated on whether I should have used the doppelgänger since she's the one who makes it possible for you to make more of your abominations." He squeezed Gwen's arm once more, eliciting a pained gasp from her. "Then I thought that there would be nothing more terrifying for you than losing the one person who has such pure and naïve love for you."
Klaus' face morphed as his eyes turned into golden orbs surrounded by a pool of black with dark veins protruding beneath them. "If you harm her, I will tear you apart until you're nothing more than chunks of meat to feed to strays." He kept his eyes on Mikael, considering shifting into his wolf form. He needed an opening to get Gwen away from his father's grasp.
"To what end, Niklaus?" Mikael questioned the Original hybrid. "If she dies, you'll live eternity alone. Nobody else cares about you anymore, boy!" he shouted at Klaus, growing impatient. "She's the only one whose loyalty you haven't forced. Are you willing to lose that by letting her die by my hand?"
Klaus' tear-filled eyes glanced at Gwen, watching her shake her head at him with a small smile and a look on her face that told him that she was willing to do anything for him, even giving up her life for him. "This is your last warning, Father," he growled at Mikael as his canines sharpened. "I won't ask again."
"Nik, don't!" Gwen half-sobbed, a few tears falling from her eyes as she grew even more afraid for Klaus' life. She knew that Mikael had something up his sleeve with the rest of the supernatural residents of the town, and it frustrated her not knowing what it was so that she could warn Klaus. "Please!" she pleaded Klaus. "Stay inside."
"Atta boy! Where has this beastly warrior been all this time?" Mikael grinned as he watched Klaus' monstrous features manifest, hearing bones begin to crack and seeing fur growing along the sides of his face. "Your impulse has and will forever be the one thing that keeps you from truly being great, and it will be the reason why you'll watch her die, much like how I had to watch my wife die at your hands."
Gwen's eyes widened when she saw Klaus begin to advance on Mikael with a snarl. "No!" she shouted as she lifted a hand enveloped by a glowing, green mist that threw a small ball of light at Klaus that pushed him some feet back into the house before he could take a single step outside.
Time stopped for Gwen when she felt something thin and cold be jammed on the right side of her lower back, causing her to gasp and scream out when pain exploded where Mikael had embedded a dagger. She was already in so much pain from the iron still burning in her blood that her legs could no longer hold her up, so she fell on her knees with her right hand hovering over where the dagger was still wedged in her body. She could barely breathe without sending a jolt of pain throughout her body with every breath she took. She resisted the allure of giving in to her body's demand to lose consciousness in an attempt to escape the pain she was experiencing, but she fought against it.
"No!" Klaus raged and climbed to his feet to speed over to Gwen, but his body was twisted in the air before being slammed into the floor by Damon.
The oldest Salvatore knew he was on borrowed time and that he was only able to overpower Klaus by taking advantage of his emotional state, so he quickly stabbed the stake Mikael had given him that had been made from the white oak tree, causing Klaus to scream out in pain. He was so focused on ending Klaus' life quickly that he failed to properly aim the stake at the hybrid's heart, having shoved it some inches beneath Klaus' beating organ.
Gwen mustered enough strength to send another ball of her magic at Mikael that slammed him against the wall of the house. He crumbled to the floor with a groan as his skin sizzled after being exposed to the strong light of Gwen's magic.
Just then, a blur appeared behind Mindy and snapped the hybrid's neck. Katherine smiled down at the panting Gwen, taking a deep breath of the delectable scent that only a faerie emitted. She shook her head as her mouth began to water, reminding herself that she had a task to do. "Would have loved to take a bite, but I'm in a time crunch," she said to the halfling.
Mikael frowned at the newly arrived vampire he recognized, already on his feet. "Katherine."
Katherine grinned as she took out two wolfsbane grenades from her coat and turned to face the advancing hybrids. "Kaboom," she sang before she threw the prepped grenades in the air, watching them explode and rain down the liquid that was toxic to the undead werewolves, halting them in their tracks. She glanced at Gwen over her shoulder. "Nice meeting you," she said before disappearing.
Mikael then turned his attention to Gwen and grabbed her by the neck before lifting her with one hand without trouble. "Let's try this again," he snarled at the halfling who held onto his wrist as she fought to breathe. He took out the knife in her back, the action causing Gwen to whimper before she was thrown on the ground.
Inside the house, Damon took out the stake and aimed it at Klaus' heart, but he didn't have a chance to end the hybrid's life due to a body that knocked him off the Original hybrid and caused him to lose his grip on the white oak stake. The oldest Salvatore brother was shocked when he found that it was Stefan holding him down. "What are you doing?" he snarled at his younger brother.
If he was being honest, Stefan didn't know what he was doing. The only thing that was running through his head were Katherine's words when she had woken him up after Mikael fed on him. All he could think about was how Damon would be dead if Klaus died, and then his body just moved on its own.
Klaus' dark blue-green eyes looked at Mikael and found him towering over Gwen with his dagger raised, ready to plunge it into Gwen's heart. The Original hybrid's eyes fell on the deadly stake as he stood up and didn't hesitate to pick it up before speeding over to Mikael, slamming his father into the ground and driving the stake through his heart. Klaus stood back up just in time to see his father release a gurgled scream as the stake burst into flames that engulfed his body, slowly turning it into ashes.
Once he was satisfied that Mikael would not be getting up, Klaus turned away from his father's corpse and quickly made his way to the mansion's porch where Gwen was still on the ground with a hand over the wound on her back. He knelt beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder, startling her. "It's just me," he whispered as he gave her a small smile. "It's all right."
Gwen couldn't hold back anymore and gasped as she began to sob from all the stress that had accumulated in her body. She had been drugged, betrayed, hurt, stabbed, and almost killed in such a short time that her mind and heart couldn't keep up. Her emotions couldn't even begin to process where to start to understand everything that happened in the last twenty-four hours, which resulted in her bursting into tears and choked sobs. "Dad," she hiccupped as she wrapped her arms around Klaus' neck, failing to notice the name that escaped her and had only used it a few times.
Klaus breathed a sigh of relief as he wrapped his arms around her and buried his nose on the top of her head, breathing in her scent as he made sure that she was alive if only a bit worse for wear. He couldn't help but smile warmly at how she addressed him after having been the one to tell her not to call him that; not because he had a problem with it, but because he couldn't take the risk of an enemy hearing her call him as such and using her against him.
"I've got you," Klaus mumbled as he hoisted Gwen into his arms and held her close, apologizing when he heard her whimper from the pain. He stepped inside the mansion to find Stefan still holding Damon down.
"What the hell did you do?" Damon hissed at Stefan.
"He's earned his freedom," Klaus spoke up.
Stefan got off the outraged Damon and turned to Klaus before approaching him.
"Thank you, my friend," Klaus said to the young vampire as they locked eyes with one another, a requirement when compulsion was involved. "You no longer have to do as I say. You're free."
The youngest Salvatore closed his eyes when he took in a sharp breath that he exhaled in relief when he felt his body become lighter as the compulsion finally lifted. Stefan opened his eyes and turned to look at where Damon had been on the floor but found his brother gone, leaving him alone.
Klaus left Stefan and made his way out of the mansion, making his way to his car while walking through his healed hybrids with an exhausted Gwen, intent on taking her to the hospital. The older hybrid glanced down at the girl in his arms whose eyes were beginning to droop and smiled, feeling like a weight had been taken off his shoulders.
End of chapter!
Wow! Finally, we're done with Mikael and ready to start the next part that will finally lead us to the rest of the Mikaelson siblings and the much-awaited meeting of Gwen and Kol! I'm so excited to write them together, but I do have to say that things will be different, since I am taking my time developing these characters and do them justice for you all to enjoy.
I loved your reviews and I can't wait to hear what you all thought about this chapter! I'll take anything you guys have, so don't be afraid to share your opinions.
Also, I love you all for the Faves and Follows. I didn't think so many people would be interested, so I will work hard to keep earning that love.
See you guys in the next chapter!