Chapter 28
"You have to come back with me," said Marcel.
Kol's jaw dropped at Marcel's proclamation. "I have to do no such thing."
"If we both go back, we stand a better chance of convincing Klaus to let them live."
"No. If we both go back, here's what'll happened: Klaus will yell at you, maybe call you a few foul names or threaten to exile you, but we both know for you exile never lasts for more than a few months, or better yet he'll thrash you and send you to bed with an early supper."
Marcel's nose flared in anger at Kol's obvious taunting of Klaus's current treatment of him but he said nothing because he knew it was all probably true.
"But for me," Kol continued heatedly. "My big, bad brother will have the dagger waiting for me as soon as I walk through the door. He'll put me down for half a century and when I wake up Josh'll be dead, Davina will still be gone, and my little niece will be an old lady with a family of her own. And that's if I'm lucky."
"Klaus isn't going to dagger you. They promised no more daggers."
"My wicked big brother's made that promise a dozen times over in a thousand years and like a fool I've always believed him. Not this time. No, this time I'm going to take Josh and we're going to get out of town and then maybe in ten years after Klaus has cooled down a bit, we'll come back."
"What about Hope? You've already missed so much of her life growing up, are you really willing to miss the rest of it?"
"And who's fault is that?" Kol growled.
Marcel cringed. "What's done is done. You can either move forward and be there for her from now on...or you can run away."
Marcel saw the look of contemplation on Kol's face and knew he was grappling with running away or going back home and so he made the quick decision to help him with his choice by pushing him.
"Y'know what, why don't you go ahead and run away. It's what you've been wanting to do all along anyway. And let's be honest, you're not really an integral part of the family so Hope probably won't even miss you."
"Shut up," Kol said, shoving Marcel back a step.
"But, hey, I was practically adult when Klaus undaggered you and we were best friends. Maybe it'll be the same for Hope. Or...maybe she'll grow up to hate you, just like her big brother."
"And if I go back and get the dagger and she finds my body lying in a coffin one day, what would she think? Klaus'll tell her that I was a monster that couldn't be controlled. At least...if I run away I could call her, I could still talk to her. We could still have a relationship but if I go back-"
"He won't dagger you."
"You don't know that!" Kol immediately quieted down after he raised his voice, knowing that the vampires in the bathroom wouldn't be able to help to overhear him yelling. "The rules have always been different for you. You've never had to live in fear of the dagger. To wake up decades later, everyone you know gone. The world as you knew it completely changed. Klaus dragging your body across the world at his leisure. Being daggered in Venice, waking up in Timbuktu. And then...then they have the nerve to pretend like I'm some sort of lunatic for being outraged about it because..." He paused, forcing himself to restrain his growing emotions. "Because in the years I spent lying in a box...they never once missed me. I can't...I can't do it again. No. I won't. I deserve to be missed. And mourned. I deserve to have people who love me and I mean truly love me, not people who just say they do because they're my family and feel like they're supposed to. I deserve a real family and right now Josh is the closest thing I have to that and I'm not going to let Klaus kill him."
"Klaus will never stop hunting you and when he finds you he will make you suffer by making Josh suffer. If we go back now we can talk him into showing mercy."
"I'd rather die than beg the bastard for mercy."
"And would you rather Josh die?"
Kol knew Marcel was right. He had an overwhelming fear of the dagger but his fear of Josh's death was even more powerful. Outraged at what he knew he had to do, Kol punched through the wall creating a hole that went straight through to the bathroom. Josh's eyes peered through the hole, shocked by the sudden blast from the other side of the wall.
"So, uh," he said jokingly. "I guess it's safe for us to come out now."
-M-
Flashback:
Klaus sat at the head of a large wooden table, Elijah by his side. Werewolves, witches, and humans all sat across from each other at the table, staring down the members of the other factions as if they didn't belong at the same table with them.
"As the newly self-appointed king of the emerging town of New Orleans," Niklaus spoke commandingly. "I find it my duty to bring together the heads of each of your factions, werewolves, witches, and humans, and broker a treaty of peace amongst us all."
Bothered at being surrounded by so many supernatural beings, one of the humans spoke, "There can be no peace amongst us as long as the rest of you have the humans at a disadvantage."
"We may have the advantage individually," Klaus corrected. "But you humans have the numbers. If the lot of you ganged up, with the exception of my siblings and I, there isn't a faction in this town you couldn't takedown."
"Then perhaps that's what we should do," The other human spoke cockily.
Elijah smirked at the man's hubris. "I believe that is what we are here for," he stated. Looking around at each faction member, he said, "My siblings and I are immortal and more powerful than any of you. Should any of your factions act to break this peace treaty, we will swiftly move to kill you all, leaving only enough members to start over from scratch."
The faction members all stared nervously around at each other.
"Now that we've gotten that out of the way," Klaus said, beaming with pride at the fear his brother inspired in the skeptical leaders. "Let's get down to business, shall we. I'm sure you all have certain conditions you would like to be met in order to promote harmonious living amongst us all. Since the humans seem to have so much to say, why don't you start us off."
As the first human moved to open his mouth, Klaus held up a hand to silence him. The man was rightly outraged but Klaus didn't seem to care. He rose from his seat and moved quietly to the slightly cracked parlor door.
Young Marcel jumped in shock at the door opening revealing his father standing in a room full of serious-looking adults. He managed to catch the stern glare of his Uncle Elijah and it only made him even more nervous.
Klaus knelt down so that he was eye to eye with the boy and said, "Marcellus, what are you doing out of bed?"
"L-looking for you, poppa," he answered, timidly twisting the back of his nightshirt and staring down at his bare feet. "I-I had a bad dream."
"Didja, now," Klaus ran a gentle finger under Marcel's chin, guiding the boy's gaze back up to his eyes. Marcel relaxed at the sight of his father's soft smile.
Klaus looked back at Elijah and gave the slightest of nods and Elijah nodded back, taking over the meeting as Klaus took Marcel's hand and closed the parlor door behind them.
"I'm sorry I interrupted your meeting, poppa," said Marcel as he and Klaus walked side by side down the hall.
Suddenly, Klaus lifted Marcel up with one arm and rested him on his hip.
"Don't be sorry, Marcellus," replied Klaus. "You should always come to me when you're afraid."
"But..." Marcel stared down at the floor, a reticent look in his eyes. "You looked busy. I shouldn't have interrupted."
"Can I tell you a secret?" Klaus whispered, capturing Marcel's curiosity.
The boy nodded yes, waiting earnestly to hear Klaus's secret.
Cautiously looking around, attempting to really sell the covertness of this secret, Klaus whispered, "You are the only person in the entire world that I would never be too busy for."
"R-really?" Marcel stammered, too insecure to believe that his father would put him before anyone else. "Not even Bex or Uncle Elijah or-"
"Not Bex, not Elijah, not anyone. Just you. You're the most important person in the world to me, Marcellus. Always and forever."
Marcel shined a beguiling smile and Klaus couldn't help but smile back.
"But...don't tell Bex. She gets unruly whenever she thinks she's not the center of the universe."
"I won't, poppa. I promise." Marcel suddenly wrapped his arms around Klaus's neck and hugged him tight as he nuzzled against his father's neck. "I love you, poppa," he whispered.
Klaus wrapped his other arm around Marcel's back and held him tighter. "I love you too, my little Marcellus."
End Flashback
Hope stood outside her father's studio staring at the closed door. If the door was open, she knew that was an open invitation for her to come in and paint with him, but if the door was closed, it meant he wanted to be alone. She wanted to see him, to ask him about Marcel and Kol, but she didn't want to get in trouble for bothering her father during his alone time.
Suddenly the door opened, Klaus standing on the other side with a brush coated with red paint in his hand.
"Hello, little wolf," he greeted her with a kind smile. "I see you're back. How was brunch with your mum?"
"It was okay," she answered, her nerves settled by her father's apparent calmness. "I missed everyone else though."
Klaus leaned down and kissed Hope's forehead. "I missed you too, sweetheart. Care to paint with me?"
Hope nodded yes immediately, walking into the room past Klaus and over to the easel.
"So," Hope started as Klaus began to set up a fresh canvas for them to paint on. "Where's Marcel?"
"He went...out," Klaus evasively answered.
"And Uncle Kol?"
"Believe it or not they went out together."
"So...they're friends now? They seemed really angry with each other when I left."
"Well...I wouldn't say that they're friends. They've just found mutual ground to stand on."
"And what's that?"
"Unimportant," Klaus held up a fresh paintbrush in front of Hope. "Now, what shall we paint?"
Hope took the brush, dipped it in deep umber paint, and began painting the canvas.
"Uncle Elijah says you paint when you want to strategize. It helps clear your mind."
"Your Uncle Elijah is right."
"Then what were you strategizing about before I came in?"
Klaus chuckled. "Well, just because I paint when I strategize, it doesn't mean I can't paint when I'm not strategizing. Sometimes painting is just a good way to clear my head or to have a little fun."
"Then what were you clearing your head for?"
Klaus smiled. The girl's wit never ceased to amaze him. She was definitely her mother's daughter. "Perhaps I was just having a bit of fun."
Hope stopped painting and turned to face her father, her face serious. "Marcel isn't answering my phone calls. I'm worried. Please, just tell me the truth. What's going on?"
Klaus's immediate reaction was to lie to her, to spare her feelings, but the way she looked at him then - as if she had all the maturity of someone twice her age - he knew she deserved to know the truth.
With a sigh, he said, "Kol found out Marcel has been creating vampires behind my back so now Marcel's run off with the vampires to try to get them out of the city before I find them."
"And...what are you going to do when you find them?"
Klaus shook his head. That was not something she needed to know.
"You're going to kill them," Hope stated knowingly.
Klaus released a reserved exhale. Sometimes his daughter knew too much. "They shouldn't be alive, sweetheart. They're enemies of this family."
"If Marcel turned them, they can't be our enemies. He...he had a good reason for turning them, I'm sure."
"That doesn't matter. The point is, Marcel should have discussed it with me before he made a move to create new vampires."
"Are you...are you..." Hope could barely get the words out of her mouth. "Are you going to banish him again?"
Klaus paused. The thought had crossed his mind but only for a brief moment. He knew that Marcel didn't have any malicious intent behind creating the new vampires but that didn't mean that he didn't deserve to be punished for it.
"No," he answered earnestly. "Marcel isn't going to be banished but he will be punished."
"How?"
"Never you mind that," Klaus took Hope's hand holding the paintbrush and he guided her strokes on the canvas. Hope pretended to be focused on painting with her father but her mind was a million miles away, wondering what Marcel was doing and where he was.
The door opened while they were halfway through the painting with Elijah on the other side.
"Do you mind, brother," Klaus grunted, obviously irritated at the interruption. "Hope was just about to try her hand at Impressionism."
"I'm sorry, brother, I just thought you'd like to know that Kol and Marcel are down in the Courtyard waiting for you."
Hope sat the paintbrush down instantly and moved to leave the room when Klaus put a hand on her shoulder, keeping her in place.
"Stay here," he ordered.
"But dad-"
"Stay, Hope. Work on the painting. This'll be over soon."
Klaus and Elijah left Hope standing alone in Klaus's studio alone and hurried downstairs to where Kol and Marcel stood waiting in the Courtyard.
"I honestly didn't think you would have the gall to return," Klaus mocked as he strolled over to his brother and son. "Actually, I was hoping to have the pleasure of hunting you down myself."
"Well, we're here," Marcel announce. "Just like we agreed."
"If I remember correctly, we agreed that five vampires would come back, and yet, I only see two."
"We left them in hiding to come negotiate with you in person."
"There will be no negotiating," Klaus growled. "You made new vampires behind my back and now they have to die and Josh along with them for his part in it."
"He didn't have a part in it," Kol barked. "If you want to punish someone, punish Marcel. This is all his fault to begin with."
Marcel glared angrily at Kol for so heartlessly throwing him under the bus.
"Marcel will be punished. So will you. So will Joshua. I still have his boyfriend, remember?"
"Where is he?" Kol demanded. "He's just an innocent human. Josh has kept him out of all of this, don't drag him into it."
"Too late. Oh, Theodore," Klaus sang the man's name out and it echoed throughout the Courtyard. A young, dark-haired man appeared on the third-floor railing overlooking the Mikaelsons. "Chaps, you've met Josh's boyfriend, Theodore, haven't you? I think he goes by Teddy but I think Theodore is so much nicer, don't you agree?"
"Klaus, let him go," Marcel implored. "Please,"
"Well, I promised I would, had you two lived up to your end of the bargain and brought me my vampires but since you didn't, Theodore, tell them what you're supposed to do on my command."
His voice shivering with fear, Theodore answered, "I-I'm supposed to jump over the railing."
Klaus winced at the thought. "Now, that fall might not kill him so just in case he lives, I've also compelled him to walk back upstairs and try, try again until he can't try anymore."
"You sick bastard," yelled Kol.
Klaus sped across the courtyard to Kol and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, lifting him off the ground. "You turn on your family to protect a nothing-vampire and you have the audacity to judge me."
"They aren't nothing to us, Klaus," Marcel barked. Klaus turned around to see the pained expression on his son's face. "They aren't just pawns that we're using to make the century go by quicker. They're our friends." Marcel slowly moved closer to Klaus. "I know that I was wrong for making vampires behind your back and we were wrong for attacking you and Elijah earlier but we did that. You have no one to blame but us. No one should be punished but us."
Marcel's docile presence seemed to calm Klaus's temper. He sat Kol back down to his feet and turned to face his son. "Fine," he muttered. Then, yelling up to the top floor, he said, "Theodore, come down. And do take the stairs. I really didn't want to clean your body up anyway."
Teddy began to breathe easier after he was allowed to step away from the railing. Once in front of Klaus, Klaus looked into the man's eyes and said, "Forget everything that happened here today. You never met me and you've never been to this place. You're going to go back home and wait for your dear love, Joshua, to call."
When Klaus ended his compulsion, Teddy walked out of the Compound unaware of the danger he was previously in.
"So you're going to let Josh come back?" Marcel asked once Teddy was out of the Compound.
"Josh may return to his life," Klaus answered somewhat reluctantly. "But he is on thin ice. Should he be at the core of another plan to usurp my power I will take pleasure in his torturous end."
"Klaus, I wasn't trying to usurp-"
Klaus held up a hand to silence Marcel's comment. "As for the other two, I will grant them mercy at my son's request and allow them to keep their lives but they are hereby banished from the French Quarter."
Marcel released a sigh of relief. "Then they can continue to live in Algiers?"
Klaus grabbed Marcel's arm, gripping it tight and reawakening the tension Marcel had only just released. Looking deep into his son's eyes, Klaus asked, "Are you on Vervain?"
"No," Marcel answered immediately.
"Prove it," he held out his hand to Marcel and said, "Give me your daylight ring."
"Klaus," Elijah barked. "You are out of line. You had all the Vervain in the city destroyed."
"If he was able to create new vampires behind my back, Elijah, there's no telling what else he's been up to. Marcel, give me your ring."
Under Klaus's compulsion, Marcel removed his daylight ring and slid it into Klaus's hand. He took a deep breath, preparing for the burn of the sun shining above the courtyard but Klaus kept a hold of his hand, pressing the daylight ring into his palm.
"Alright," Klaus relented. "I believe you. Put your ring back on."
Marcel quickly took the ring out of Klaus's hand and slid it back on his finger.
Klaus forced Marcel to look back in his eyes and said, "How many new vampires are there left?"
"Two," Marcel answered honestly under the force of Compulsion.
"Did Rebekah know about your plan to create new vampires?"
"No. I acted alone."
Klaus stepped back away from Marcel, satisfied with his answers. "Good. We have enough to deal with just you two. What do you say, Elijah? You get the old one, I get the young one?"
"Actually, brother, I think we should switch it up this time."
All three other vampires gawked in surprise at Elijah's suggestion.
"Marcel was the one who snapped my neck after all," Elijah elaborated. "And Kol yours."
"But...Marcel defied me by creating new vampires."
"And I shall be sure to punish him for that too. Come along, Marcel."
Marcel stood in quiet shock for a while, staring at Klaus as if he expected him to object and march him away from Elijah.
"Marcellus," Elijah bit. "I do not expect to have to ask you twice."
With his heart nearly pounding out of his chest, Marcel followed Elijah upstairs to his bedroom. Elijah took off his suit jacket and hung it neatly over the bedpost while Marcel stood as far away from him as he could get without going out the bedroom window.
As Elijah sat down on the bed, Marcel's crossed his arms protectively in front of him. "I-I haven't been over your knee since I was a boy."
"Yes, well, you're a Mikaelson so you should've suspected this moment was coming sooner or later. Please remove your jacket and trousers."
Hearing Elijah ask him to remove his pants reminded Marcel of a time when he could be found dashing through the Compound to avoid his uncle's stinging spanks after breaking some valuable antique while playing ball in the house.
"I...I change my mind," Marcel murmured. "I want Klaus to do it."
"I apologize if I gave you the misconception that you have a choice in the matter."
In a split moment, Marcel decided to make a break for it. He sped to the door but, calculating that he would do such a thing, Elijah was one step ahead and sped in front of the door before Marcel, blocking him from the handle.
"Come now, Marcellus," he tutted. "You're much too old for such childish antics. Do you recall what used to happen when you were a boy and tried to run away from a well-earned punishment?"
Marcel immediately remembered all the bare-bottom blisterings he received for trying to run away from a spanking. They were always worse than Elijah's normal spankings.
"Why do you want to be the one to punish me?" Marcel asked, attempting to prolong the moment.
"It's not my desire to punish you, Marcel, but I think Kol and Klaus could both use this moment to mend their fragile relationship."
"Alright, then I can just wait for Klaus to finish with Kol."
"Now, that wouldn't be fair. I made a deal with Klaus and I wouldn't be holding up my end of the bargain if I didn't punish you for your misdeeds."
"C'mon, Elijah. You haven't spanked me in two hundred years."
"Then it seems you're long overdue. Jacket, trousers. Off. Now."
Marcel took off his jacket slowly. He draped it across the bed and reached down for his belt. He barely got the belt unbuckled but his trembling fingers couldn't be moved to unbutton his pants.
"I can't do it," he muttered.
"That's alright, Marcellus. You don't have to."
Marcel's eyes optimistically shot up to Elijah hoping that the man had given in to his request to have Niklaus punish him. Before Marcel could react, Elijah sped over to Marcel, grabbing him by the arm and vamping over to the bed, baring his bottom and pinning his legs between Elijah's all in less than a second.
Marcel struggled against Elijah's hold but the ancient vampire was unfazed by the younger's futile struggles.
Marcel fought tooth and nail against his tears as Elijah started raining down smacks, each one precisely on target. Elijah focused most of his smacks on the undercurve of Marcel's bottom, being sure to hit his tender sit-spot with tear-jerking ferocity. As the first tear broke Marcel's will, Elijah began landing smacks with more speed and vigor.
"No, Elijah, stop," Marcel bellowed, reaching back to cover his aching behind with his hand.
Elijah made quick work of pinning his hand to his side. "I thought I'd spanked that habit out of you when you were a boy," he said, quickly peppering Marcel's behind with a dozen of his harshest spanks. Marcel fell into heavy sobs, struggling to stifle the sound of his wails by crying into the bend of his arm.
When Elijah felt that the man had had enough, he righted Marcel's clothes and stood him back to his feet. Going over to his jacket hanging on the bedpost, Elijah grabbed the handkerchief from the pocket and came back to Marcel, gently wiping the man's tear-soaked cheeks.
"Now, now, Marcellus," Elijah cooed. "It's all over. You disobeyed Klaus, you attacked me, you apologized, you were punished, and now you're forgiven."
Marcel was slightly shocked at how gentle Elijah was being with him. Surely the man was kind to him as a child after a spanking but Marcel didn't expect the same kind of gentleness from him now as a man.
"I-I...I want to see Klaus," Marcel mumbled, embarrassed at wanting to see his father right after being punished by Elijah.
"Of course," Elijah smirked. It was a habit of Marcel as a child to go running to Klaus immediately after any spanking. Yet another habit the man hadn't grown out of.
-M-
Meanwhile
Klaus had to drag Kol from the Courtyard all the way to his bedroom. Kol tried to fight him but the Hybrid was too strong to overpower.
"Enough," Klaus barked as he threw Kol into the bedroom and slammed the door shut behind them. "I don't want to be here any more than you do but here we are."
Kol's chest heaved with fear. He backed away from Klaus, seeking refuge in the furthest corner of the room as he scanned the room for any sign of a dagger but there were none in sight. He guessed that meant Klaus had already had one on his person. His pulse began to race as Klaus came closer to him. His first instinct was to fight but he knew from previous experience that he wouldn't last in a fight against Klaus. As Klaus got closer, his fear grew, waiting for the moment his brother revealed the dagger and shoved it into his chest. Before he knew it, there were tears in his eyes.
"P-please, don't, brother," he blurted out.
Klaus paused in his stride over to Kol. He hadn't spanked Kol in years but he didn't remember the man being so terrified of the experience before. Assuming that it was just Kol trying to con his way out of punishment, Klaus scoffed at his crying.
"Save the tears, brother. They won't work on me. You have once again proven your disloyalty to me and now you're going to get what you deserve."
"Brother, I beg of you, please," Kol's tears came harder. "Please, don't do this."
Klaus's smug smile faded. He knew then Kol's tears were not an act.
"Pull yourself together," Klaus scolded halfheartedly. "It's just a spanking. Nothing you haven't received a hundred times before from Elijah, I'm sure."
"Y-you can't trick me," Kol stammered nervously. "I know that you have a dagger on you. Y-you're waiting for me to let my guard down and then you're gonna...you're gonna...Please, brother...please, don't. I want to see Hope grow up. I want to enjoy this life. Please don't put me back in that box."
"Kol, I had no intention of daggering you," Klaus responded as if his true intentions should have been more obvious to his brother.
"Don't insult my intelligence by lying to me! I know you. It's what you do! I mess up and you punish me with the dagger. Well, I'm sorry for messing up this time brother. I betrayed your trust and I apologize but I don't deserve the dagger! I was protecting my friend. I was acting selflessly. I DON'T DESERVE THE DAGGER!"
Klaus was confounded. He knew Kol hated the daggers, almost as much as Finn did, but he never suspected his brother's fear of them would be enough to bring him to actual, heartfelt tears.
"Kol," Klaus took his brother's trembling shoulders in his hands and held him steady. "I do not have a dagger on me. I am not going to dagger you. I swear."
Kol stared into Klaus's eyes, they seemed earnest and trustworthy. He took deep, heaving breaths trying to calm himself down but in doing so he was forced to remember all the times Klaus was waiting to catch him unsuspecting before surprising him with the dagger.
"I...I don't believe you," Kol sobbed.
Unable to think of any other way to convince his brother of his honesty, Klaus pulled Kol into a hug, gently caressing the back of his head with one hand while squeezing his trembling shoulder with the other.
"Don't do it, Klaus," Kol quietly whimpered, still expecting a blade to come piercing through him at any moment. "Please don't do it. I'm sorry."
Klaus held his brother whilst he soaked his shirt with his tears, all the while hating himself for being the reason for Kol's fear. For a thousand years, he only thought of the daggers as a convenient way to keep his siblings out of his hair. It didn't hurt them for more than a second, they were immortal so whenever he deigned to remove their daggers they could just pick up life wherever they wanted and so he never thought of it as any more than a slight inconvenience for them. But as Kol stood there, sobbing at the mere thought of being put down again, Klaus couldn't help but reconsider his view on the matter.
There was a light rapping on the door and Klaus knew it was Elijah.
Pulling away from Kol, he whispered, "You're okay, brother. I promise," before calling out, "Come in."
When Elijah saw Kol in such heavy tears, he knew the two of them had had a serious heart-to-heart and by their familiar embrace, he knew that they were getting closer to becoming loving brothers again.
"Seems things went as planned in here."
"Yes," Klaus agreed, still comfortingly rubbing Kol's shoulder. "Everything's fine in here. Kol...has learned his lesson. We're done."
"Good. Because Marcel is currently down the hall in tears asking for his father."
Klaus nodded at Elijah and turned back to Kol to once again repeat, "You're okay. I promise."
I don't think I gave Josh's boyfriend a name until this chapter...lol
