AN: So, I've been going through these chapters one at a time and fixing small errors but...I've actually changed a big part of this chapter because, since I started writing this story, I've grown as a writer and I feel like there was something off about Klaus and Marcel's character in the basement scene compared to their character in the rest of the story, so I've updated it just a little bit. I hope it doesn't ruin anything for anyone.
Chapter 6
"How could you just let him get away?" Kol yelled as Elijah came back into the Compound. "After what he did to Hope-"
"He did nothing to Hope, brother." Elijah sighed. "And it was Klaus's will that he go free."
"That makes you both mad!"
"Kol," Elijah immediately cut off his brother before Kol could go on a rant. Elijah's intense glare was enough for Kol to know that his brother was serious. "Make yourself useful and carry Hope to bed."
Kol grumbled all the way to Hope and up the stairs to her room.
"So, brother," began Elijah. "What exactly is your plan for Marcel?"
"No plan. I just grow tired of the same routine. The dagger. It has forever plagued our family but not anymore, thanks to you."
"So you're admitting that Marcel is family."
"Twelve years ago I would've answered with a resounding yes and filleted anyone who dare say different. Now…I don't know and for the moment I don't care. Hope is my only concern. What am I supposed to do? She knows the truth."
"The truth won't change how she feels about you, Nik. Marcel knew the truth about you as a child and he still thought the world revolved around you."
"Marcel? The same Marcel that just challenged me to a match to the death? That Marcel."
"So he's gotten out of hand now. We will just have to take extra precautions to make sure Hope doesn't. For example: Let's try not hurting anyone she cares about."
Klaus scoffed at the implication.
"I'm serious, Niklaus. If you want Hope to forever see you as her knight in shining armor, never give her a reason to believe you the villainous dragon."
Klaus was unsure. He'd always been the dragon in these stories, it had become second nature to him. But for Hope he was determined to do whatever it took to be the Hero.
-M-
Marcel sat at the bar at Rousseau's drinking heavily. He'd been there for three days straight, leaving just long enough to sleep off his stupor at the hotel across the street but once he was back at full capacity, he'd just drink himself to near death again. He didn't know what to do. He was finally welcomed back into his city again but it wasn't the same. He wasn't the King. He wasn't the Prince. He was nothing. His home was gone. His friends were still in hiding from the Mikaelson rage. All he had was a bar stool and a bottle of bourbon.
On Thanksgiving Day he got especially drunk. Thinking about the Mikaelsons big family dinner riled him. He used to be an intricate part of those dinners. He used to split the wishbone with Elijah and sneak desserts before dinner with Rebekah. One Thanksgiving when Kol was undaggered, the two of them snuck off to go skinny dipping in the lake. But what he missed most of all were his morning rides with Klaus.
Each Thanksgiving morning, without fail, Klaus would wake before the sun and take Marcel on a ride out to the lake. The horses would trot slowly so they could observe the scenery. The view of the sun rising over the lake was breathtaking. They would get off their horses and lie down in the grass saying hardly anything to each other and yet for some reason, each year Marcel looked forward to those quiet moments with his father.
Drunken reminiscing lead Marcel to the entrance of the Mikaelson Compound.
"Klaus! Where are you, you bastard?" Marcel screamed as he staggered into the courtyard. The smell of alcohol on his breath equaled only by the smell originating from the bottle in his hand. In the middle of the courtyard set a feast. "You think you can just kick me out?! This is my home!"
He stumbled on a strategically placed wooden chair. When he turned to face it, he saw the Mikaelson Thanksgiving feast laid before him. In his drunken rage he flipped the table into the wall.
"Where are you, Klaus? Come out! I'm not leaving until you fight me!"
With his senses being severely impaired by the alcohol, Marcel didn't notice Klaus's presence until the man had his hands around his collar.
Klaus intended to fight Marcel over his ruined dinner but the smell of whiskey seeped heavily though his pores and disgusted him.
Through gritted teeth, Marcel growled, "Do it. C'mon. Give me a reason."
Hope ran to the edge of the balcony. She was about to jump over it to stop her father from hurting the only brother she knew when Rebekah caught her in midair.
"No!" The girl screamed. "Daddy, don't! Please!"
Klaus looked back at his daughter's big, teary eyes and felt his heart sink. He sped Marcel out of the courtyard to the basement where he snapped Marcel's neck and let his unconscious body drop to the floor like a sack of flour.
Elijah entered the basement seconds later.
"Seems you might actually have to dagger him to keep him from coming back after all."
"No, I can't. If anything happens to him, Hope would know and she would never forgive me."
"There's only so many times you can let him go, brother. He keeps coming back. Eventually he'll return with reinforcements. What are you going to do then?"
"I'll figure that out when it happens. For now, let's just keep him restrained. Where are the Vervain shackles?"
Flashback:
Sixteen-year-old Marcel watched with fascination as Kol prepared to dive from a ten-foot-high tree branch into the cool lake beneath him. Kol made a show of flipping through the air in the water without as much as a splash. It took real talent to dive that well but Marcel was filled with youthful determination.
The two stayed out all day, Marcel practicing his diving and Kol jeering at every failed attempt until Marcel finally noticed the evening sunset marking his late arrival home to finish his chores.
Elijah and Niklaus waited anxiously by the door for Marcel and Kol's return.
"Perhaps you're right, brother," Klaus said uneasily. "Perhaps he does need a firm reminder to take his responsibilities more seriously. This is the third time this week Marcel has neglected his chores."
"Precisely," Elijah agreed. "Marcellus is a good boy but he gets easily distracted when offers of a good time are presented. Especially when Kol is involved, but I will handle our brother. You just ensure that Marcel understands what is expected of him and the consequences that will follow should he fail again."
"I understand but…are you sure a thrashing is in order? I mean, will that not remind him of the monsters whose whips he cowered under as a child. I love him, Elijah. I don't want him to fear me."
"That was not the same, brother. That will never be the same. Use only your hand and hit only his bottom. And watch your strength, be sure to never break skin or leave bruises."
Klaus listened and nodded at his brother's instructions. Elijah had spanked each of his younger siblings in the past years as vampires, some more than others, so Klaus was confident in Elijah's knowledge on the subject.
Marcel and Kol burst through the front doors hoping to sneak away and finish their chores before anyone noticed but with the stern looks Elijah and Klaus faced them with they knew it was too late.
End Flashback
Marcel woke again chained in the Mikaelson basement, this time to a metal chair bolted to the floor. The sounds of his futile struggling against the Vervain chains brought Niklaus down to him.
"Ah, you're awake," Klaus said calmly. "Good. I wanted you to be awake when I beat you for ruining my family's holiday."
Klaus closed in closely to Marcel's face. The younger vampire didn't flinch as Klaus wrenched his arm back to hit him.
Noticing Marcel's unwavering confidence, Klaus said, "I should end you, you know that. Do you have any idea how much Hope wanted this? She's been talking about it for weeks."
"I know. Who do you think she's been talking about it to?"
"Don't remind me. I want to kill you for what you told her. That was not your place. She should've heard it from me, or Haylee, or-"
"One of the Mikaelsons?"
"Don't you dare start with that 'not one of the family' poppycock! You were one of us. We never treated you like you weren't!"
Marcel sighed heavily. "Whatever," He grumbled. "Just do what you gotta do to me. I don't care anymore."
Once again, Klaus unlocked the shackles containing him and pointed to the staircase leading out of the basement. "Get out," He seethed with anger. "And never return. I mean it. Come back again and I'll let Kol have his way with you."
Marcel eyed the staircase for a long time before finally saying, "Then go get him because I'm not going anywhere."
Klaus was stunned silent.
Emotions boiling, Marcel barked, "What do I have to do to convince you I'm ready to come back home? What do you want me to do?! Apologize? Admit I was wrong? Well, I'm sorry, Klaus! I shouldn't have done what I did to your family but it killed me to see you like that too. The days after I bit your brothers, after the anger had subsided, when I thought they were dead, I grieved. I grieved to the point of not wanting to leave my room for God knows how long because I thought my family was gone. Every day I fought with the desire to pull that dagger from you, to have at least one piece of my family back with me, but this was just what I was afraid would happen. That you would...hate me. I didn't think I could take it and I was right. Don't...Klaus...don't turn you back on me. Please."
"What you did could never be forgiven," Klaus growled. "You tried to destroy my family. In all the world, in all eternity, I have only ever had my family. You knew that and you tried to take them away from me."
Marcel fought against the burning in the back of his eyes. "You said that I would always be forgiven." He muttered. "I made a mistake and I come to you now, not as a past ally or the former King of the Quarter, but…as someone you once promised always and forever. Please, Klaus…forgive me."
Klaus took steady, calculated steps towards Marcel until their faces were inches away from each other.
"Maybe, a week ago, had you come begging for my forgiveness, I would've granted you clemency but you told my daughter of the monster I was. Do you know how she looks at me now? I can see it in her eyes as if she's trying to picture the terrified faces my victims graced me with, as if she can see the blood staining my hands. Hayley spent 12 years telling her stories only of how much I loved her, painting a picture of only a loving, doting father, and in a matter of seconds, you managed to have her question everything she knew was true. Well, you were wrong, Marcel Gerard. I can change. For her, I can change."
Klaus brushed past Marcel and headed for the exit.
"No one knows better than me how much you can change, Klaus," Marcel barked with enough ire to turn Klaus back towards him. The young vampire could no longer hold his tears at bay and they dripped from his lashes as he fought to keep an angry scowl on his face. "Because there was a time when I didn't even have to apologize to you for you to know I was sorry. A time wh-when..."
His voice cracked and he paused. Klaus saw the tremble of Marcel's lip before he bit it.
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Marcel said, "There was a time when you treated me like no one else mattered. Now it feels like everyone matters but me."
"You removed yourself from this family," Klaus bit. "Not me."
"And now I'm saying that I'm sorry!" Marcel could no longer fight the pain that washed away all pretense of anger he was trying to hold. "Please, Klaus. I-I...I want to come back home. I don't care that you're angry with me. Be angry!" He brought the balls of his palms up to his eyes, forcefully wiping away his treacherous tears. "But...you have to forgive me. You said you would. You promised you always would."
Klaus simply stared at him, his face cold and emotionless.
"What do you want from me?" Marcel ranted. "Do you want me to bow to you? Is that it?" Marcel threw his hands up in defeat. "Do you want me to prove that I can be one of your loyal dogs like Hayley and her pack? Fine! Klaus!"
As Marcel bent his knees to kneel before him, Klaus suddenly grabbed Marcel by the collar of his shirt and pulled him close as he growled, "How do you ever expect me to forgive you after what you did? You cannot be forgiven with mere words. You do not have a child for me to steal a decade of their life with you from, nor do you have siblings for me to torture with poisons. You can never feel the pain I felt and you have the audacity to ask for forgiveness. As if you should just be able to come back home and start life as usual after twelve years of betrayal. You had twelve years to remove that dagger from my chest but you chose not to. You left me to rot and had Hayley not saved us, I may have missed all the rest of Hope's life."
"What about my life? Where am I supposed to go, Klaus?"
"Where did Hope go when you ran her mother out of the city."
"I didn't run her out of the city. She had a choice. She could've stayed and bowed to me like everyone else."
"That was hardly a choice at all. Especially considering how you attempted to kill her lover. But she has proven again that she is more loyal to this family than you are."
Marcel stared at Klaus with unwavering eyes. "So...you're just going to throw me away. Just like that."
His jaw tense, Klaus responded curtly, "You threw us away, Marcellus."
Marcel's eyes finally fell to the cold cement floor. He did everything he could think of to get Klaus's forgiveness but it didn't seem the Hybrid wanted to give it to him. He walked slowly over to the staircase, prepared to leave the Mikaelson mansion for what was to be the final time, unsure of which city he would abscond to now.
Flashback:
Marcel waited patiently for Klaus to enter his room. The two oldest Mikaelsons seemed furious when he and Kol returned from the pond so late, their chores unattended to. He wasn't sure what to expect when he was sent to his room but he knew whatever it was, it wasn't good.
Klaus entered the room nervously, unable to look the boy in the eyes.
He started off shakily, giving a long drawn-out speech about responsibility and adding random bouts of information about how much he cared for Marcel. At the end of his speech, Marcel thought it was over, that all he would get was a stern lecture and an early bedtime as had happened in the past. When Klaus sat on the bed beside him, he was not so sure anymore.
"Stand up, Marcellus, please."
Marcel rose, uncertain.
"Marcel," Klaus started slowly. "I am going to spank you for neglecting your responsibilities."
Marcel's eyes widened at the announcement and Klaus quickly looked away, unable to witness the fear in the boy's eyes.
"I know…it's hard for me too, son, believe me, but you deserve it. Now, let's get this over with." Klaus pat his knee. "Over my knees."
Marcel nervously draped himself across Klaus's knees. This wasn't his first spanking. Elijah would often give him and Rebekah a few swats whenever he caught them sneaking treats from the kitchen before dinner but it was his first spanking by Klaus.
It was a little awkward at first, with the boy being so long that his face almost touched the floor, but when Klaus pulled down his cotton trousers to reveal his round cheeks, things got even more awkward.
Klaus immediately started swatting away and all awkwardness Marcel felt was replaced with pain. As advised by his brother, Klaus stopped once Marcel's bottom was a bright red.
He righted the boy's clothes and tried to stand him to his feet but at seeing the tears coursing down Marcel's soft cheeks, Klaus pulled Marcel into a hug, tears nearly breaching his own eyes.
Once Marcel's crying had ceased, Klaus put the boy to bed and firmly said, "I don't ever want to have this conversation with you again, Marcellus."
Choking back sobs, Marcel replied, "Y-yes, poppa. I'll be m-more responsible next time."
Feeling horrible for being the source of his son's sniffling, Klaus made sure to tuck Marcel in tight and give him a gentle peck on the forehead and a caring 'Goodnight' before leaving, praying to never have to be so harsh with the boy again.
End Flashback
Klaus grabbed Marcel and dragged the man over to the steel chair in the middle of the room. He made quick work of baring Marcel's behind and didn't stand on ceremony before laying into it with a quick succession of smacks. Marcel bit his lip to keep from crying out at the rising sting of each smack but after a while it became impossible to fight it. The power behind each smack was outrageous and Klaus laid in with another smack before he was able to heal from the previous. Eventually, his behind was a deep mauve color. When he was choking back sobs and losing the fight to stay strong, Klaus pushed him off his lap and onto the hard concrete floor.
"That was the first step to earning my forgiveness," Klaus grunted. "Don't expect the rest to be so easy."
As Klaus walked towards the staircase, Marcel struggled to ask, "You're...letting me come back?"
Klaus paused. He turned to Marcel, still sitting on his knees rubbing down the searing pain on his sore bottom, and said, "You will no longer be my right hand. You will hold no power in this new Kingdom whatsoever. You will do exactly what you're told to do when you're told to do it. You will work hard to earn the trust back of every single person in this household and if you ever give anyone any reason to believe you're up to any of your traitorous plots again, I will personally rip your still-beating heart out of your chest."
Marcel had expected Klaus's conditions to be of the sort and readily accepted them.
Then, continuing his departure, Klaus added, "Your old room is exactly as you left it. Breakfast is at 7, don't be late."
