Warning: Spanking of a Minor


Chapter 18

Flashback:

"Marcellus, what do you think you're doing?"

Marcel, sitting comfortably atop his black and white pinto, jumped at the sound of his uncle's booming voice coming from the stable door.

Elijah was furious. It was only a short hour ago that he had the argument with Marcel on whether the boy could ride his horse before he finished his studies. Elijah thought he'd won but obviously Marcel had a different understanding of the conversation.

"I-I was just going to go for a short ride," Marcel muttered.

Elijah's anger grew as the boy tried to defend his actions. "Get down from that horse this instant."

Marcel climbed down despondently.

"Now go finish your studies." As Marcel stomped away, Elijah considered tagging him with a few swift smacks to the bottom but decided against it. In the year since Marcel moved in Elijah had refrained from punishing the boy in the same manner he did his siblings but it was times like this that he felt like making an exception. "And consider your riding privileges revoked until Klaus and Rebekah return from Tennessee."

"But they won't be back for four more days," Marcel said pausing at the stable door.

"Yes, too bad for you,"

Marcel sulked around the house for two days. Elijah never wanted to do anything with him so without Niklaus and Rebekah all Marcel could do was study which normally he enjoyed doing but after forty-eight hours with no fun, studying became a chore.

Then one night after Elijah went to bed, Marcel snuck out of the compound and out to the stables.

"Just a short ride," Marcel said to himself as he guided his horse from her spot in the stable. "We'll go around the property line once and Uncle Elijah will never know."

"I think I just might."

Marcel stood guilty before Elijah. With the reins in his hands and his pinto saddled up, he was definitely caught red-handed.

"Remind me, Marcellus, but I thought I told you no riding until your father returned yet here you are, sneaking around a quarter 'til midnight when you were supposed to be in bed hours ago."

"But I just wanted to ride her a little bit," Marcel grumbled. "It's not fair that I can't ride her for four days. Poppa said I can ride whenever I want as long as I stay on the property."

"Well Klaus isn't here right now and I say you can't. Now get back to bed and don't let me catch you out here again until I speak with your father about your blatant disobedience this week."

With a big huff, Marcel folded his arms tightly over his narrow chest and barked, "Poppa said I can get what I want and I wanna ride!"

Elijah was floored by the boy's response. Marcel was certainly not the timid, frightened boy he came as a year ago. Somehow during Klaus's endless surplus of unconditional love, Marcel became spoiled which was a trait Elijah was not used to. Even his sister, who Elijah thought was the most cossetted a Mikaelson could ever be, wasn't as spoiled as Marcel had become.

"I don't know about what you want," Elijah said grabbing Marcel by the arm and dragging him out the stable. "But I know what you need."

Marcel marched frightfully behind Elijah as he dragged him through the compound to Marcel's bedroom. Elijah brought him over to the desk chair and sat down with Marcel over his lap. Marcel was still wearing his nightshirt but he'd put on a pair of pants to go riding in but Elijah made quick work of removing those as he laid the stunned child on his lap but left his nightshirt covering his bottom. It did little to protect Marcel from his uncle's stinging smacks anyway.

As strong as Marcel was, he was in tears after the first smack to his tender backside. Elijah simply ignored the boy's tears and focused on how much strength he was using to spank the child. He knew had to be much gentler on him than he did on his siblings but he hit him so softly he wondered if he was even hurting the boy at all. After 10 spanks Elijah lifted the boy's shirt to see Marcel's behind was a bright as the reddest of apples.

"Hush now, Marcellus," Elijah said calmly as he stood the boy back to his feet. "You brought this upon yourself."

Just as he was about to begin a lecture, Marcel blurted through ragged sobs, "Please don't send me back to the Governor!"

Elijah's mouth dropped in shock at the boy's request. "Marcellus, I would never…. What would make you think such a thing?"

"I kn-know you hate me," Marcel stammered. "And you don't want me around no more b-but please don't tell poppa to send me away 'cuz of this. I'm sorry. I won't do it again, I swear. Please don't send me back."

Elijah suddenly hugged Marcel tight enough to ease the boy's wretched sobs.

"I don't hate you, Marcellus," He said. "I love you as much as anyone in this family does. As much as your poppa does."

"B-but…you hit me."

Elijah pulled Marcel back so he could look the boy in the eyes as he explained. "I spanked you, Marcellus, because you were disobedient and increasingly disrespectful. Parents only spank their children when they love them too much to let them continue down the bad path they're headed towards."

"Poppa's never hit me."

"Parents can show their love in many different ways. Niklaus shows you love by giving you gifts and being there when you need him."

"And you show your love by spanking me?"

"That's one of the ways," Elijah smirked sheepishly. "It's like when I try to make you eat healthy food and you get upset because you would rather eat cake than spinach. You're not going to always like the things that are you for you."

Marcel's hands went back to rub some of the sting from his cheeks. "Can't you show it by just being there when I need you like poppa?"

"I promise I'll always be there when you need me, even if it's just for one of these character redeeming spankings you'll be getting from now on if you misbehave," Elijah said firmly. "But I don't want you to ever be afraid of being sent back to that despicable place, Marcellus. You are one of us now and I would sooner burn that plantation to the ground than let them get to you again."

End Flashback

On their way home with Marcel and Sebastian, Elijah decided it would be best to stop at a local diner for lunch since he was in no mood to cook.

Marcel sat nervously between Elijah and Freya on one side of the table and Sebastian sat across from him between Kol and Rebekah. Marcel couldn't take his mind off of Hope and what Niklaus was going to do to her. He was sure she wasn't going to be spanked. His father didn't spank, unlike his Uncle Elijah.

"Uncle Elijah," Marcel muttered and Elijah leaned his ear closer to the boy's mouth. "Am I in trouble for leaving the Compound when you told us not to?"

"Well, Marcellus," Elijah opened a menu and skimmed across the artery-clogging selection. "That's for your father to decide. I believe he's handling the matter of discipline in this particular case."

Marcel celebrated silently. He thought perhaps Hope was right and in this time he would be exempt from punishments as long as he had Klaus on his side.

Elijah ordered a burger for Marcel while the others ordered their own food and when Marcel's giant burger came (being much bigger than Elijah had anticipated when he ordered it) Elijah absentmindedly tucked a napkin in the collar of Marcel's shirt and laid another one across the boy's lap to protect his clothes from any of its dribbling juices.

Kol smirked impishly at the sight. "Jeez, Elijah, being a bit anal, aren'tcha."

"Please abstain from vulgarities in front of the children," Elijah scolded half-heartedly because he was indeed a slave to his own meticulousness.

Marcel used a fork and ate each of his fries one by own at first but then he noticed Sebastian using his hands to chow down on his burger and he wondered if that wasn't the proper way to eat it.

Kol's snickered from across the table. "It's okay to use your hands. See," Kol picked a fry from Marcel's plate and ate it. Marcel didn't know what to make of the man. The last time he met him Kol had forced him to watch a slaughter but here he was now seeming just as kind as the rest of his family.

Marcel picked up the burger cautiously expecting to be reprimanded for his poor table manners but Elijah said nothing.

Marcel just so happened to glance out the window as he was biting into his burger and saw Niklaus and Haylee walking across the street headed towards the Compound with Hope asleep in Klaus's arms.

"It's poppa," Marcel sprang to his feet and ran out of the diner. "Poppa," He called as he sprinted out the door. He didn't see the car coming until he stepped off the curb. Suddenly he felt someone's arm lift him from the ground and the next thing he knew he was standing on the other side of the street.

"My, my," Elijah said as he set the boy down in front of Klaus. "You certainly are accident-prone."

"Marcellus, are you alright?" Klaus asked relieved that Elijah was there.

Marcel was happier than ever. So far in this time, every time something bad almost happened to him his family has been there to save him. He was feeling invincible.

"Yes, poppa," He said excitedly. "I'm perfectly safe."

-M-

The Mikaelson home was not without room and finding Sebastian a room to stay in for the week was an easy task.

"This is nice," Sebastian said admiring the bedroom furniture with Hope and Marcel. "It's very…Classic Nola. Is this bedframe an antique?"

"Yep, Uncle Elijah tries to keep as much of the old stuff as possible. The mattress is new though and super comfy."

Sebastian pressed his hand against the mattress and the foam mattress molded to his handprint. "Oh yeah, this'll work nicely. At least I'll have a nice rest the week before my parents come back and skin me alive for playing in their garden."

"We weren't playing," Hope bit. "We were trying to do real magic."

"Trying and failing, if I might add. My dad went berserk the night he found out we put Marcel in a coma. I can already imagine his reaction when he finds out about this. I'm not going to be able to sit again for a week."

"We're lucky," Marcel said proudly. "Our dad doesn't spank. Isn't that right, Hope?"

Hope blushed as she thought back to what had happened in the Dupeaux garden only a few short hours ago. She decided not to tell them about it because she was too proud to admit she was wrong.

"Yeah, right." She lied. "Hey let's go see what's going on in the Tremé. There's always some kind of witch gathering happening there."

"I don't think so," Hope jumped at the sound of her mom's voice from the doorway. "You're grounded, Hope. Remember?"

"But...what about what happened in the garden?"

Haylee took note of her daughter's attempt to dance around using the word 'spanking' and decided to follow along. "What happened in the garden happened because of your disobedience and that little spell you were trying to put together without our knowledge. You're grounded because of that little stunt you pulled on the Ferris Wheel."

Hope tightened her fists at her side but she didn't dare throw a tantrum in front of her mother. She knew better than to push Hayley.

-M-

Marcel woke with tears on his face. He had a dream he was on a bridge arguing with Niklaus when Elijah came and ripped out his heart and let his body fall into the river beneath. He didn't know this dream was a memory of the 'Old Marcel' creeping into his mind thanks to his current condition and he wouldn't have guessed it because the Marcel in his dreams wasn't the adult Marcel that Elijah attempted to kill, but him now in his teenage body.

All Marcel knew was that the dream was terrifying and he knew where to go when he had a terrifying dream.

As he trekked down the hall looking for his father's room, he heard talking coming from the courtyard. He walked quietly over to the banister to see Kol fuming at the sight of Josh.

"What are you doing here?" He whispered harshly. "If my brothers saw you-"

"I know, I know, unending torture. But I've got news. The rogue wolves of Haylee's line have aligned with another pack. A pack lead by a guy called 'Travis'. He seems to have some beef with your family and I think they're planning to settling it soon."

"This information couldn't have been conveyed over the phone?"

"I called you twice when I found out! You sent me to voicemail both times."

Kol sighed at his friend's justified vexation. Josh had called him during their family's dinner and Kol feared if he left the table to answer the phone someone would decide to eavesdrop on his conversation and hear him talking to Josh so he had no choice but to send his friend to voicemail to avoid being found out by his family.

"I'm sorry," Kol sighed. "Thank you. I appreciate your help now leave, please, before someone else wakes up and finds you here. And be careful. I don't doubt the wolves know about your Pardon from Niklaus and they would probably come after you in spite."

"I'll try to stay alive. You try to answer the phone when I call or else I can't keep doing this. I promised myself a long time ago to avoid anyone who was ashamed or afraid to be seen with me. That includes Original Vampires."

Marcel watched curiously as Josh stomped out of the courtyard. He looked back to where Kol was and was shocked to see the man had gone.

"Somethings you just never grow out of," Kol said from behind him.

Marcel spun around to face Kol slightly afraid. He didn't know much about Kol. The man was violent and cruel when he met him all those years ago but now he seemed to be no more malicious than the rest of his family, still, Marcel was cautious.

"What are you doing lurking the halls this time of night? It's certainly past your bedtime."

"I...I was looking for poppa. I had...a nightmare."

"What did you hear?" Kol asked about the conversation Marcel had overheard between him and Josh.

"There are wolves coming. We should tell poppa."

"We should. And I will." As Kol took a step forward he could see from the look in Marcel's eyes that the boy was about to run. He sped over to the child and looked deeply into his eyes, "You will forget everything you just saw. You had a bad dream and on your way to find Klaus, you bumped into me. That's all that happened."

Marcel was fooled by Kol's compulsion.

"S-sorry," Marcel muttered. "I was just...looking for poppa. I had a bad dream."

"Didja now?" Kol stated as if it were his first time hearing. "Well, you can't just go running to dear ol' dad whenever you're afraid. You're nearly a man now. Go on back to bed and deal with your fears on your own, like a man."

Broken-hearted, Marcel obeyed in fear of Kol's reaction if he didn't. Kol smiled proudly behind the boy. He's much more pliable now, Kol thought. Maybe I can have my old friend back after all.

Flashback:

New Orleans, New Year's Day 1900

The Mikaelson home was filled with jubilant party-goers who drank insatiably and could see no end to the night. It was truly one of the Mikaelsons' unforgettable celebrations.

Marcel sat at a table in the courtyard staring lustfully across at Rebekah at the bar.

"Chipper up or you might scare off the women," Kol said as he sat in front of Marcel, blocking his view of Rebekah.

"You're soused," Marcel groaned. "Why do you always overindulge at these things? You know Elijah's is going to be furious."

"Elijah can bugger off. This is a night of celebration. I do love the turn-of-the-century celebrations the most. The liquor never stops flowing and the girls are as loose as my trousers are tight."

"You're disgusting," Marcel laughed.

Kol waved over a waiter carrying a tray of champagne glasses. He grabbed two glasses and said, "That's the spirit. Now drink up and come have a little fun."

"How am I supposed to be happy when the girl I love is right in front of me and I can't even touch her."

"You only think you love her now. Wait until you see her without her makeup on. That's not a sight you want to see in the morning." Kol smiled at his own joke but Marcel remained stoic. "You have got to get over Rebekah, mate. Klaus will never let you two be. But I happen to know two very available lasses waiting for us. I have it on good authority that they're...well, let's just say we won't need to compel our desires out of these women."

"There's only one girl I want anything from, Kol." Marcel glanced around Kol's head back at Rebekah. "But your brother won't let me have her."

"So, I say, in the meantime, you satiate your lechery with finer, more accessible women. One night of meaningless passion in between the many nights without the one you love."

Kol brought Marcel's attention to the doorway where two beautiful women batted their eyes at him.

"I could use a night of meaningless passion."

It didn't take long for the two to captivate the women with their Mikaelson charm. They tipsily climbed the stairs with their women and were almost at their bedrooms when two men came and grabbed the ladies.

"You moving in on our fiancés?" The man standing with Kol's almost-date barked.

"Oh, you're engaged?" Kol mocked. "Congratulations! Why don't you go dance with him downstairs for about an hour while she and I go celebrate."

Marcel chuckle at Kol's quip and in the same instant, the man punched Kol. The Original barely flinched at the strike. When Marcel saw the look in Kol's eyes, he stopped laughing immediately. He knew that look. Before he could stop Kol, hit the man one time and sent him flying down the stairs and into a crowd of people. He hit the ground with enough force to end his life. His fiancé went running down the stairs shrieking in heartache and terror and Marcel knew the party had come to an end.

"Oops," Kol muttered. "Guess I got a bit carried away there."

Marcel stared into the crowd looking for Niklaus and when he saw him and Elijah he knew they were livid.

-M-

Marcel let out a sigh of momentary relief as the last guest left the Compound. He worked with the rest of the Mikaelsons and their vampires to compel all the guests into forgetting the death they'd all witnessed and think the night ended pleasantly for them all.

His relief was short-lived, however, because as soon as the last guest was gone Klaus started in on his rampage with Kol.

"You will never just behave for one night, will you?" Klaus bellowed.

"He has a penchant for mischief," Rebekah said from the sidelines with Elijah and Marcel. "We can never have a decent night with him around."

Kol grunted, "Oh, come off your high horse; as if you all never committed an act of bloodshed during a party before."

Kol hated himself for not being more prepared when Klaus sped across the room and placed the point of a dagger against his rib cage.

"I usually have a reason for a public execution. You, I am beginning to believe, just gain some kind of lewd pleasure from ruining my night!"

Realizing that Klaus was considering actually daggering his friend again, Marcel intervened.

"I killed him," Marcel lied. "We were just having a little fun, we didn't know those girls were engaged, but when that guy attacked me I had to hit back. You always told me if my enemies strike first we must strike back even harsher."

Klaus stood back from Kol with a frustrated look on his face. "You're becoming more like Kol every day," He said. "Keep it up and I'll have to start punishing you like him."

Marcel glared shamefully at Kol wishing he'd let the man take the fall for his own crime. Kol was harboring hate of his own but not at Marcel, but at Klaus. He hated how the man managed to always single him out as if he was the only monster in a family of beasts.

"It's getting late," Klaus continued as the Grandfather Clock in the courtyard chimed out three loud gongs. "We should turn in before sunrise."

"Sounds good to me, brother," Elijah stated. "Perhaps next year's celebration will be a little less murderous."

As the other Mikaelsons began to leave, Marcel went over to check on Kol.

"Of course," Kol grunted, "I nearly get daggered for killing a man while you get coddled and a pat on the back."

"Only because those daggers won't work on me," Marcel defended. "I mean, what else could he do? I'm too old to be spanked."

"So am I but that doesn't stop my brothers from roughing me up when they feel the need be," A spiteful thought came into Kol's mind and he spoke it before he could consider the effects. "Perhaps it's the whole orphan thing that steadies his hand when it comes to you."

"What are you talking about? I'm not an orphan."

"I know you'd like to think that but we both know my brother only sees you as the orphan he took in to protect from the monsters. I doubt he'll ever see you as a man. That is...unless you could somehow break free of my brother's hold and start a kingdom of your own. Maybe even with the girl of your dreams. Perhaps even his very own kingdom. He'd have to see you as the man you are then. Oh, what beautiful irony there is in a son forcefully taking over his father's empire."

"Betray Klaus? Are you insane?"

"Fine, stay under my brother's thumb. But keep in mind, eternal servitude doesn't suit you. Klaus says so himself: You were born to be a leader. Why not start with the place you call home?"

End Flashback