Chapter 2
Marcel left his former home to find sanctuary in Vincent's church. Once there he found other of his loyal followers seeking the same protection, one of those followers was the vampire Josh, once Davina's best friend. He swelled with relief at seeing the young vampire, proud that he managed to escape the Mikaelson's slaughter.
Vincent was kind enough to let Marcel stay at the sanctuary with the provision that he wouldn't bring any trouble to those who stayed there; that included secretly planning to dethrone the Mikaelsons. Marcel agreed but that was a promise he soon intended to break.
He and Josh soon began hatching plans to overthrow the Mikaelsons with a few others at the sanctuary. After weeks of hitting dead ends Marcel's men began to get antsy then one night Josh came to him in a rush.
"Marcel, we've got trouble," Josh said breathlessly. "Klaus's….Klaus's kid…the guys found out she's going to a Halloween dance at the school tonight. They're…they're planning…they plan to get to Niklaus through the kid."
"No!" Marcel jumped up from his seat. "We don't hurt kids!"
"I know that's why I ran back here to tell you. They've already left. We have to go now."
For the first time in weeks, Marcel left the safety of the church. He and Josh rushed to Hope's Middle School.
"You go into the gym, I'll circle the perimeter," Marcel ordered.
He circled around the back of the school and found nothing. Just when he was about to go into the gym to check things out with Josh he heard a girl scream coming from the football field. He sped to the field just in time to see Hope Mikaelson using her Magic against two vampires at once, keeping them subdued. She was with two of her friends, both he recognized as young witches but neither apparently as powerful as Hope.
While Hope was distracted by the two vampires under her control, one of Hayley's werewolves tried to sneak up behind her.
After Hayley left New Orleans her werewolf clan went under new leadership and Marcel convinced the new leader into pledging loyalty to him. Because of that when the Mikaelsons returned most of Hayley's people had to escape to Vincent's sanctuary in order to survive. Once at the sanctuary, Marcel began to convince those same vampires to join his rebellion.
As he sped over to the werewolf on the football field now, he wished he began to regret it.
He tackled the wolf and screamed for the two kids trembling on the ground to run away. The two kids ran over to Hope and pulled her away from the vampires she was subduing. As the teens ran away, the vampires tried to run after them but Marcel held them off on his own.
"Man, we don't hurt kids." He screamed.
"That is Klaus Mikaelson's daughter!" One of them yelled back. "We kidnap her and Klaus will give us the world to get her back."
"Klaus would destroy the world to get her back. He would kill you and everyone at the sanctuary to get her. You are putting good, innocent people in danger."
Angry at his interference, the two vampires and werewolf began to circle Marcel.
"You're not going to stand in our way, Marcel."
The three lunged at their former leader. Marcel fought them off as best he could. He snapped the first vampire's neck in an effort to subjugate his former allies without fatally harming them. He put the werewolf in a headlock, being careful not to touch his teeth, as he fought off the remaining vampire.
"Marcel!"
Marcel turned at the call of his name to see a fuming Hayley standing in front of Hope and her friends.
Haylee sped across the field to Marcel's vampires and ripped their hearts out – one in each hand. The werewolf in Marcel's hold used his distracted state to his advantage and sunk his teeth deep into his arm. Marcel immediately released the werewolf and as the last of the violent trio tried to escape, Hayley caught him and killed him with the same ferociousness as she did his partners.
Turning to Marcel, she growled angrily, "How dare you come after my daughter, you son-of-a-bitch!"
"I didn't! I would never!"
Hayley ignored Marcel's declaration and sped over to him. She opened her mouth, about to sink her teeth into his neck.
"Mom, no!" Hope screamed. "He saved us."
Hayley glared down at Marcel in her hold. He didn't struggle, resigning to his fate with no other choice. He was already bitten and the only cure was Klaus's blood which he doubted he would ever get again. One more bite would only kill him faster.
Releasing him, Hayley said, "What are you doing back in New Orleans? If Klaus finds you he'll kill you."
"I never left," Marcel chuckled. He took a look at the festering wound on his arm. "And this bite's going to kill me before Klaus does."
Hope ran over to them, her eyes wide with fear at the sight of the bite on Marcel's arm.
"Why-why aren't you healing?"
The young girl had never seen what a werewolf bite could do to a vampire and Hayley had hoped she never would, though now that they were back in New Orleans she knew it was only a matter of time before she was unable to shelter Hope from the cruel supernatural world she was born in.
Hayley pulled Hope away from Marcel and answered, "It's a werewolf bite. They're poisonous to vampires."
"He's going to die?!"
Marcel cringed at the thought of his own mortality.
"I don't think there's a way you could get me Klaus's blood?" He asked unsure.
"I'll talk to him, tell him what you did here tonight, but I can't get you his blood against his will. He's even more paranoid than I remember since he woke. He thinks even the slightest violation of his new rules for the Quarter is an act of treachery and since your betrayal he hasn't been so lenient with second chances."
"You afraid of him?"
She ran her hand down Hope's back. "Elijah's going to make sure I stay safe but you know how vindictive Niklaus can be. I don't want to lose my daughter."
Marcel simply nodded. "I understand. I'll…I'll figure something out. I'll find a way."
As Hayley lead Hope away, the young girl couldn't take her eyes off Marcel. All that was ever said about the man was that he betrayed the Mikaelson family. No one ever gave her a reason why but she was expected to never trust him or any of his friends but Hope was sure that a man that would risk his life to save her couldn't have been that evil.
-M-
Hayley put Hope to bed before going to inform the others of the events of the night. She found Niklaus, Elijah, and Rebekah in the drawing room and broke them the news as gentle as she could but Niklaus still overreacted as she expected.
"I'm going to kill him." He declared. "Marcel is dead."
"He saved her, Klaus," defended Hayley.
"Those were his men tonight that came after MY daughter!"
"He didn't know about their plan."
"And who told you that, huh? Marcel? How many times do I have to tell you people, you can't trust him! Not anymore."
Frustrated by her brother's pigheadedness, Rebekah came to Marcel's defense. "Marcel doesn't hurt children, Niklaus. Hate him all you want but you know that to be true."
Niklaus snarled at his sister's rationality.
"So what do you expect me to do? Go pat him on the back? Thank him for having the common decency to not harm my daughter when he had the chance?"
Hayley then announced, "He got bit while trying to get her out of there. By a wolf. He's dying."
All eyes turned to Niklaus.
With malice lacing every word he spat, "He can rot for all I care."
"Niklaus," Elijah said tenderly. "He saved your daughter. He doesn't deserve such a cruel punishment for preforming a good deed."
"He put her in danger." Niklaus paced heatedly between his brother and the burning fireplace. "He's not even supposed to be in my city. I promised him death should he ever return so that is his punishment, whether it's by my hands or someone else's. I should've ended him and the rest of the pathetic lot that scurried off to that church for asylum. Well, I will not make the same mistake twice. Let's go, Elijah. We're storming that sanctuary tonight. Anyone who has ever called Marcel Gerard 'King of New Orleans' dies tonight."
"Brother, don't be foolish. We can't storm a sanctuary. You will start a war."
"Then let there be war!"
"You will risk Hope's life for pride? I will thrash you across this entire compound before I let that happen."
Niklaus stilled at the thought. He was grateful for Elijah, always his voice of reason whenever he dared to act without thought.
"Fine, we will not storm the church but should I see Marcel out on my streets again, he's a dead man."
"He's already a dead man." Rebekah barked as she jumped to her feet. "He's out there dying alone right now. You can banish him in rage for as long as you want, Nik – for 52 years if that's it – but if you let him die out there right now you will never forgive yourself. You will never make up with the boy you once called son and that will destroy you."
Niklaus' reply was a heavy grunt as he walked out of the drawing room.
"Where are you going?" Elijah called behind him.
"To find Marcel."
-M-
Marcel hurried out the back alley of another closed witch's shop, once again failing to find a cure to his bite. He was beginning to panic. All of his witch contacts were either dead or in hiding from Klaus and no one else wanted to help the exiled ruler for fear of the new King of the Quarter, Klaus Mikaelson.
It'd been 12 years since he had to worry about a werewolf bite and it was something he never thought he'd have to worry about again. As he stared down at the searing wound on his arm, he hated himself for being so arrogant.
"Marcel," A cold chill went down his spine at the sound of that oh too familiar voice. All the stores being closed rendered the streets empty so there was no crowd for Marcel to slip into to lose his angry sire and there were no witnesses to caution Klaus's rage.
Arrogance unwavering, Marcel yelled, "You come to kill me, Klaus? Go ahead! I'm already dying. What more can you do?"
Klaus sped over to Marcel, gripping the younger man's jaw in his hand and lifting him from his feet. "Oh there is so much more I could do to you so cease your disrespectful tongue before I rip it out."
Marcel bit his bottom lip to keep from speaking out again though his rage was painted clearly on his face.
"I told you never to come back to my city again and yet here you are, mere weeks later, as if my decree was a simple suggestion not worth noting. I would not be a King of my word if I did not rip you limb from limb as promised."
Niklaus threw Marcel on to the dusty street beneath him but Marcel quickly jumped back to his feet, unwilling to be caught off guard before the ancient vampire.
"However, I've been told that you received that bite protecting my daughter, I will offer you a choice. Either I heal that bite or I let you leave this city unharmed but you cannot have both."
Marcel chuckled. "So either way I die."
"Seems that way."
Marcel mulled it over in his mind. He realized now was the time to ascertain how much Klaus truly hated him.
"Then I choose to walk away. I would rather die alone in the bayou like a wounded animal than come begging for scraps from you again."
Niklaus let out a heavy sigh. He rolled up the sleeve on his left arm and said, "Had I known you would be this foolish, I wouldn't have given you a choice. Let me make this decision for you." He presented is bare arm out to Marcel, revealing a long, clear vein that made the other's mouth water. "Drink."
Fighting his survival instinct, Marcel stood resolute. "And then what? I feed on your blood and then you beat me to death? You snatch my heart out and put it on display in the Quarter as a warning to all those who dare betray you?"
"I grow forever tired of your defiance." Klaus boomed. He quickly grabbed Marcel in a head lock and forced his bare wrist in front of Marcel's mouth. "Drink," he ordered.
Marcel's instinct to survive was greater than his pride and he immediately bit into his maker's wrist, drinking as much blood as he could before Klaus pulled it away.
Klaus's blood gave Marcel extra energy. He felt a spring in his step and was ready to take on Klaus should a brawl began. The sudden hand through his chest gripping his heart ended all confidence. His eyes dimmed as Klaus's fist tightened around it.
"Leave my city." Klaus stated calmly. "Or next time, the punishment will be death. I don't care who you save."
Klaus pulled his hand from Marcel's chest cavity and sped away, leaving him gasping for air on the ground.
