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Chapter 44

Hope stared angrily at her damp face in the bathroom mirror. Davina stood beside her splashing water on to her own face to try to alleviate her eye swelling. Neither of them could believe what Marcel had just done to them and as much as they didn't like each other, for the moment their attention was focused on their mutual dislike.

"Y'know…he doesn't do that to me normally," Hope stated, attempting to save face in front of the older teen. "That was the first time. I don't just…go around getting spanked. I'm…too old for that."

"Evidently not," Davina scoffed as she began to pat her face dry with the towel hanging beside the mirror. "He did it to me too and I am legally an adult."

Hope smirked at Davina's declaration as if it were to mean something in their family. After all, she'd just found out Marcel was still spanked and he was the oldest person she knew that wasn't an Original.

"I'm glad you think it's funny," Davina bit noticing the smirk on Hope's face. "I'm sure you won't be as entertained when it happens to you at my age."

"I don't think it's funny," Hope said turning his face back into an irate frown. "I'm still in trouble for running off to fight Mikael last night. When my mom finds out I got into another fight, she's going to be pissed."

"You fought Mikael," Davina glanced down at Hope, suddenly impressed with the little witch. "On your own? Respect."

Hope felt such a swell of pride at the older girl thinking that she fought Mikael on her own that she didn't have the resolve to correct her.

"Ya' know what," As Davina fixed her hair in the mirror, she said, "I think I'm starting to like you. Maybe the two of us can learn to get along…and help each other."

"What help could I possibly get from you? I'm the daughter of Klaus Mikaelson, I get everything I want already."

"Even freedom?" The ominous question left Hope feeling curious and Davina could see it on her face. "I know Klaus and he doesn't seem like the kind of man who would let his teenage daughter go wherever she wants unless he was keeping close tabs on her the whole time. That's gotta be annoying, I should know. I've been through it before with Marcel. How about I show you a spell that makes you invisible to tracking spells so you can go off and do what you want every once and a while."

Hope suddenly perked up. She'd been looking for a spell like that for weeks now so she could be with Izzy without her family finding out but Freya kept all of the grimoires with the most powerful spells far away from her because her family thought she was too young to learn such advance spells. Then her eyes narrowed in disbelief.

"How do you know a spell like that? You're just a kid too."

"I'll have you know I'm eighteen," Davina bit, irritated at Hope for suggesting otherwise and irritated at herself for still having such a young face. "Besides, I was Regent of this city once. I know spells far beyond my years."

Hope vaguely remembered Kol saying something about Davina once being Regent of the Nine Covens but when he was telling it to her, she pictured someone a bit more…menacing, not just some teenage girl. But, despite her misgivings, Hope had to believe that anyone who was worthy enough to be Regent at such a young age was also worthy to be an ally to her.

"Okay, so say you teach me the spell…what's in it for you?"

"A friendship with one of the most powerful witches in New Orleans is good enough for me, even if you are a Mikaelson."

"Everything alright in there?" Marcel's bolstering voice through he door interrupted them.

"Go away," Davina called out annoyed. "We're fine."

"You two aren't fighting in there again, are you?"

"If we were fighting, you would hear it, wouldn't you," Hope replied with just as much venom as Davina.

Marcel folded his arms over his chest and glared angrily at the door. He knew that spanking them both would result in them being upset with him for a while but that didn't mean he would have to like their attitudes. He didn't know how the others could stand it if this was their reception after every spanking.

"Hurry it up in there," he called. "We have places to be and Hope, I still have to get you home to your parents soon."

Hope cringed as she remembered she still had to deal with her angry parents when she returned home.

Angry at Marcel for reminding her, Hope swung the door open and growled, "You suck, Marcel," before stomping off out of the room.

Marcel was left stunned at his sister's unexpectant anger, but he understood it. If Kol had ever tried to spank him when he was a teenager, he would feel just as betrayed and humiliated.

He waited for Davina to spit something just as venomous at him but as she walked out of the bathroom with her head held high, she looked right past him as if he didn't exist.

"You two are going to have to speak to me eventually," he called out with a wide grin as they left Josh's room. "We're family and I'm immortal. You can't ignore me forever."

-M-

Marcel couldn't help but be amazed at Hope and Davina's determination to ignore him the entire time they were out shopping. The two teens managed to keep at least a ten-foot distance from him and Josh while they were out but they didn't seem too bothered by Lora's presence, so Marcel instructed her to follow them the entire time they were in the mall and keep a protective watch over them.

By the time they left the mall, they had enough clothes and shoes to require Marcel to use his supernatural strength and dexterity to carry it all to the car.

"And where are we supposed to sit in there," Hope grunted as she watched Marcel stuff the last bag into the back seat. The trunk was full of shoe boxes and the backseat with clothing bags. Marcel hadn't realized it was a problem until Hope so callously mentioned it.

"Well…we can walk," he said with a bright smile. "We're not far from the Compound." He grabbed his phone from his pocket and began texting. "I'll just text Freya and let her know Josh and Lora are going to drop off Finn's clothes and you and I will walk back."

"And me," Davina perked up. "I'm going back to the Compound with you. I wanna see Kol one more time before his evil…" Glancing over at Hope, Davina was reminded that she had called a truce with her and had to bite her tongue before she could say what she really felt about Klaus. "Before Klaus tries to force us apart for a week."

Marcel stopped mid-text and turned woeful eyes to Davina. With everything going on at the Compound, and everything that was supposed to happen between him, Klaus, and Hope, he didn't want her anywhere around them.

"Uh, now's not really a good time, D. Things are just…hectic at the Compound right now with Mikael coming back, and Finn-"

"I don't care," Davina stomped her foot down decisively. "I'm going. You can try to stop me but I'm just going to wait until you don't have your little lackey watching me and go back to him anyway so you might as well stop pretending like you can actually stop me and let me come with you."

Marcel bit his lip in frustration, but he knew she was right. He didn't have the fortitude to stop her and she knew it.

"Just this one time," he growled deeply. "Then you go back across the river and you don't see Kol again until I tell you it's okay. Understood."

Davina smiled from ear to ear, proud of herself for getting her way. "Fine," she agreed although she knew it wasn't going to be the last time.

As they started walking towards the Compound, Hope and Davina made sure to walk briskly ahead, keeping a bit of distance from themselves and Marcel.

"Wow, you must really like that thing," Davina said watching Hope walking absentmindedly down the sidewalk, her eyes fixed on her phone.

"You didn't have a phone when you were my age," asked Hope without looking up from her phone.

"Are you kidding. My generation coined the term 'phone addiction'. But, we're in New Orleans. A city full of magic."

Davina placed her hand over the screen of Hope's phone and brought her attention to the sight of the professional juggler across the street. The man juggled three bowling pins in the air. Then he caught two of them and threw the third one high into the sky. It turned into a dove in front of everyone's eyes and flew away.

As the crowd applauded what they thought was street magic but was indeed one of New Orleans' young witches making a living with his gift, Davina said, "Spend too much time looking down, you'll miss it."

Suddenly Hope was hooked on New Orleans in a way she'd never been before. She knew the city was full of magic, she was a witch after all, and so were most of her friends, but there was something about seeing magic out from behind closed doors, right in the public's eyes, that made her even more infatuated with it.

The two of them fell into deep conversation about their shared love of magic and didn't realize they had made it back to the Compound until Davina spotted Josh and Lora leaning against the hood of his car outside the Compound.

"What are you guys doing out here," she asked.

Josh saw Marcel's head in the crowd of people behind the two young witches and nodded his way. "Waiting for Marcel. I, uh...we should take our chances in there."

Before Hope could ask Josh what he meant by his comment, she heard yelling coming from inside the Compound. Listening in closer, she recognized Klaus's voice screaming at Elijah and Elijah doing the same.

"You know that sleeping exasperates my condition and yet you let it happen anyway! You knew this would happen!"

"I was doing you a favor. One sleepless night and you've already done something you thought you'd never do."

"It would have been a greater kindness to rip my bloody head from it's socket."

"I will keep that in mind in the future."

Noticing the others intently concentrating on the Compound as he came upon them, Marcel intuitively listened in to hear the blaring argument coming from inside.

"Hope, take Davina and enter around back," Marcel instructed. "It's better if you two aren't caught in the crossfire of whatever…sibling argument they're having."

The 'rebel' in Hope wanted to argue with her brother and go face her father's anger head on, but the 'frightened young girl who was still in trouble for running off the night before and getting into a bout of magic with another witch' in her guided her away from the front Compound entrance in search for the back.

Noticing Davina's hesitation to follow, Marcel urged, "Go, follow Hope around back if you wanna see your boyfriend. I'll catch up with you later."

"What if you need me," she said firmly. "If Klaus is angry, no one is safe."

Marcel couldn't help the smile that crossed his lips at Davina's protectiveness. She was definitely the same Davina he remembered. "D, I've got this. I know Klaus."

"You've said that before and he still came after you." As tears of frustration began to well in Davina's eyes, Marcel wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tight. "If-if he does anything to betray your trust again...I swear, I won't rest until Klaus Mikaelson is dead."

Marcel ran his hand soothingly through Davina thick hair. "It's not going to come to that," he reassured her. "He's going to yell and make vague threats but he's not going to act on them. But as heated as he sounds, it won't be long until he tries to take his feelings out on someone. Like my people." Marcel pulled Davina back and looked into her watery eyes. "II have people I am responsible for. If I don't go in there and calm him down, their deaths will be on my hands."

Marcel's warning did nothing to ease Davina's worry. She stood there with her arms folded over her chest, and a firm frown on her face.

Too concerned with having to mitigate Klaus's anger before it was too late to deal with Davina's disobedience, Marcel turned to Josh and said, "Take Davina and the clothes back across the river. I'll be over later."

"No," Davina barked. "I'm not leaving you."

"Davina-"

"I said no!"

Growing tired of arguing with her, Marcel stared into Davina's eyes and began to compel her. "Go to Josh's place and stay there until I say otherwise."

Davina's mouth dropped in disbelief that Marcel would ever compel her. In her previous life, she'd always had a generous supply of vervain at hand to prevent any vampire from ever compelling her but since the Mikaelsons had rid the city of all vervain, she no longer had that luxury.

Her anger surpassed her will to yell at him and with tight lips and an unforgiving glare, Davina marched to the back seat of Josh's car and slammed the door shut behind her.

"Take her home," Marcel sighed. "And try to distract her from this. She just came back, the last thing I need is for her to be worried about losing me. I'll be over later. I just have to take care of Klaus first."

Josh glanced back through the Compound entrance, a look of uncertainty on his face.

"She's right," Lora growled what Josh was thinking. "You've seen what these people do when they're angry. You should just go back across the river with us and come back here when it's safe."

"Enough," Marcel barked. "I know that everyone thinks that my family is full of monsters but that's just because you don't understand them. It takes a Mikaelson to fully understand a Mikaelson. Someone who's been through pain and unspeakable torture and still came out fighting on the other side. I would think you two would understand that better than anyone."

"We understand pain," Josh defended. "But, dude, even you have to admit that there's something fundamentally off with the morals of your family. Anyone who isn't a Mikaelson is just…fodder for their ever-raging flame. You can't blame us for being worried that they may try to use you to stoke the next fire."

"I said I'll take care of them," Marcel growled. "Now go, before they sense you out here."

Without another word, Josh gave Marcel one final woeful look and then he and Lora got into his car and drove away with Davina still pouting in the back seat.

Marcel took a deep breath and walked confidently into the Compound.

Klaus marched heatedly across the balcony, Elijah following swiftly behind attempting to calm his brother, but Klaus was in no state to quell his anger. It wasn't until he sensed Marcel standing in the courtyard beneath that he paused in his stride and stared down at him.

"Where is Hope," Klaus instantly demanded.

"Should be in her room by now," Marcel stated, staring up at the balcony with a look of disappointment on his face. "We could hear you arguing from the streets and I didn't want her to see you like this so…I told her to enter through the back."

Klaus's eyebrows broke suddenly from their firm cross. He was angry about his dream and needed someone to take his anger out on, so he chose Elijah. Elijah was his familiar choice of target when angry so he knew he could release upon him all of the rage he couldn't keep bottle up, but he didn't expect Hope or Marcel to hear it.

"Anyone wanna tell me what's going on around here," Marcel insisted.

"Nothing you should concern yourself with," said Elijah.

Klaus's anger lit anew at Elijah's statement. "So now you decide what I am to concern my son with."

"And who better, you? The man who believes that getting a few hours rest is somehow a curse."

Irritated at being left out of the conversation involving who should decide anything about his life, Marcel barked, "Hey. I decide what I need to know and whatever it is that has you stomping through this place like a lunatic, I need to know."

Before Elijah could dispute him again, Klaus said, "He betrayed me."

"Enough," Elijah suddenly barked. "I let you fall asleep. You were exhausted. The past restless week of planning Hope's party mixed with the resurrection of our father caused you to behave out of character so when the opportunity presented itself to help you put an end to your suffering, I took it."

"I would've rather wallowed on or a restless eternity rather than contend with another of those dreams!"

"What happened, Niklaus! What did the horrific phantom of our father do in this dream that was so much worse than the last."

"He wasn't in it!"

Klaus's exclamation froze Elijah. Mikael had been the subject of Klaus's nightmares their entire life. If not him, then who.

"I did it," Klaus muttered lowly, his eyes cast towards the floorboards. "I was the one who slaughtered this family. I hunted each of you down and I stabbed you in the heart with a white oak stake while you tried to plead with me." Turning his watery gaze down to Marcel, he said, "I burned down the city…and Marcel along with it. I drowned Hope in a sea of her mother's tears. I destroyed my family, Elijah, and the entire time all I could think about was how much I didn't want to do it…but couldn't stop myself."

Elijah could see the pain on his brother's face but as he moved forward to comfort him, Klaus bolted off away from him.

Marcel feared he knew the pain Klaus felt. He was inconsolable when he thought he'd killed off his family and if Klaus was feeling anywhere near as horrid as he did, he knew he had to go talk to him.

As soon as he made a step towards the stairs, however, Elijah stopped him. "Let him be. For now. Go to your room. Supper will be served in a few hours."

"You're sending me to my room," Marcel stated irately.

Elijah's eyebrow rose up his forehead as if he was shocked that Marcel had the audacity to even argue. "You should be grateful that's all I'm doing. You tried to sacrifice yourself last night in a foolhardy pursuit you had no chance of completing. The only reason you still stand there now pain-free is that Niklaus insists on taking care of you himself. If it were up to me, both you and Hope would have been over my knee last night and you certainly wouldn't have been able to leave the Compound this morning to go on a shopping spree."

Marcel glared at Elijah but he didn't reply. He knew if Klaus weren't in the distraught state he was in at the moment he would be having the same conversation with him, possibly one that ended with more smacking and less glaring.

Elijah kept his eyes on Marcel as the man slowly took the stairs up to the balcony and he didn't stop watching him until Marcel rounded the corner to the corridor where his room was located.

Little did he know that Marcel continued past his bedroom and further down the hall to his father's studio where he was sure he'd find Klaus.

Just as Marcel suspected, he opened the studio door to see Klaus pacing back and forth in front of the sofa, though he stopped when he heard the door open.

"Just checking on you," Marcel said, quietly closing the door behind him.

"I'm fine," Klaus curtly replied. "It was just a nightmare. I just…need time to get over it. You don't have to be here."

Marcel walked further into the room, eyeing the soft cushions of the sofa as if it were a heavenly oasis in a deadly desert. Between the week of party planning for Hope's birthday and the past restless night of hunting down Mikael, Marcel, like the other Mikaelsons, was running on fumes. But he didn't want to leave Klaus alone.

"Well, you said I can come in here whenever I wanted and I want to be here so…"

Klaus threw his hands up in defeat and started pacing again. "I'm not going to spill my heart out to you about a dream so if that's what you've come here for, you've wasted your time."

"I just came here for the couch," said Marcel as he slipped past Klaus onto the sofa. "Elijah has…'grounded' me to my room and I refuse to give him the satisfaction. But I'm exhausted so, if you don't mind, I'll just take a quick nap here."

Klaus's nose flared in anger but he couldn't bring himself to say anything as Marcel draped himself on the sofa.

"Care to remove those boots before making yourself comfortable on my couch."

"They're alright," said Marcel as he folded his arms behind his head to form a makeshift cushion. "I don't mind sleeping with my boots on."

"I mind your filthy boots being on my furniture," Klaus growled.

Marcel glared up at Klaus expecting his father to see the exhaust in his eyes and cease bothering him but Klaus's furrowed brows remained unmoved.

With a heavy sigh, Marcel sat up and began quickly untying his boots.

"If you find my rules so bothersome, perhaps you would find better comfort in your own bed."

"I'm fine here," Marcel popped each boot off with a quick tug and laid back on the sofa.

As he laid his head down in the crook of his arm, Klaus's face scrunched in disapproval.

"At least get a pillow," he scolded. "You'll get a crick in your neck sleeping like that."

"I'm a vampire," Marcel scoffed, his eyes closed and halfway sleep. "In case you forgot, we heal pretty fast."

Fed up with arguing, Klaus started silently pacing the room again.

"It's pretty hard to sleep with you walking back and forth like that," Marcel grumbled.

"I would sit but you are currently occupying my only means of doing so for a 'nap'."

Marcel lumbered into an upright position and nodded for Klaus to sit beside him as he laid his head against the back of the sofa.

"You're going to sleep like that," Klaus asked even more shocked at the sight of Marcel attempting to sleep while sitting upright than he was before.

"I learned to sleep sitting up during the war," Marcel said through a yawn, his eyes tightly shut as sleep began to carry him off. "I'm used to it."

Yet unsatisfied by his answer, Klaus took the seat on the sofa beside Marcel but then, to Marcel's utter surprise, Klaus gently grabbed his shoulders and guided him back down until Marcel's head was resting softly against his father's lap.

"You're not a soldier anymore," Klaus scolded. "You're the heir to a kingdom. Kings and Princes do not sleep in discomfort."

Marcel snorted at Klaus's proclamation but he didn't fight him on the matter. No one was around to see him napping on Klaus's lap, being lulled to slumber by his father gently stroking his hair.

As Klaus watched Marcel's eyes flutter close - the rise and fall of his chest happening in a steady rhythm - he couldn't help but feel comforted himself. Comforted in the fact that he was a monster who had committed a thousand years of unmentionable crimes against humanity, and yet, his son still trusted him so implicitly that he would let down his guard and fall asleep on his lap.

Marcel's breathing became heavy and even and Klaus knew that he was deep in sleep, not the least bit afraid that Klaus was do to him what the monster in his dream had done.

The thought of Marcel unquestionable trust made brought down Klaus's anxiety ten-fold.

He continued stroking his son's soft, curly hair, certain that he would never hurt Marcel or anyone in his family the way he'd done in his latest nightmare.

-M-

Flashback

Marcel woke with a sudden jolt. His mind was foggy and head hurt to no end. His body tingled as if fire were pumping through his veins. There was a ceaseless scratching noise in his ears as if sound itself were trying to claw its way into his head. He wasn't surprised to find himself in his bed although that is not where he last remembered being.

He remembered being out on a stroll with a young lady friend, an arrangement set up by Klaus hoping to get Marcel to fall in love with some other girl while Rebekah lied with a dagger in her chest. The sooner Marcel fell in love, the sooner Klaus could release Rebekah from her slumber. Marcel couldn't bring himself to love anyone else when he knew the love of his life was only a dagger away. Still, he allowed Klaus to continue arranging courtships for him with the daughters of the other important men of the supernatural community if only to convince Klaus that he had moved on and finally have Rebekah undaggered.

It was while he and Mary Ellen, the first daughter of the Crescent Wolf Clan's Alpha, were on their way to picnic underneath his favorite willow tree that they found the body of a slave lying dead on the side of a field, worked to exhaustion in the heat. After burying the man under the willow tree and carving a cross in the tree bark to mark his grave, Marcel decided he was going to confront the Governor once and for all. Mary Ellen begged him not to go but Marcel ignored her. As he ran off to confront the governor, Mary Ellen ran back to the Mikaelson home and told Klaus of Marcel's plan.

When Klaus made it to his son, he was too late. Marcel had a bullet in his chest and was slowly fading away. In his last breath, Marcel begged Klaus one last time to turn him. As Klaus held his dying son in his arms, he peeked into his mind. In his final moments, Marcel thought about his first Christmas with the Mikaelsons – decorating the tree with strings of popcorn and cranberries with Rebekah, baking sugar cookies with Elijah, falling asleep in his father's arms as he told him stories by the fire. Klaus could see the purity of his son and was sure that if he worked hard, he could make sure Marcel stayed pure...even if he were a monster like him.

Marcel remembered the taste of Klaus's blood. Cold and metallic...yet warm, or at least that's how it made him feel. He remembered a velvety warmth travelled through his body and then he fell asleep. Now warmth was gone and he felt sick. As if he were still dying but without the sweet relief of death.

He stared down at his hands wondering if this was what his family felt all the time and if that was why Klaus had been so reluctant to turn him.

There was a knock at the door and before Marcel could summon the person in, the door opened. Klaus entered the room carrying a white mug. Marcel didn't know what was in it but he could smell it all the way across the room. His mouth began to water.

"You're awake," Klaus said softly.

Marcel sighed in relief at seeing Klaus. "Did it...did it work? Am I...like you?"

Klaus's jaw tightened as if the reminder of what he'd done reawakened the anger he was trying to hide from Marcel. "Yes," he muttered. "You are."

Marcel was elated but he was paused in his celebration by the worry in Klaus's eyes. Klaus tried to keep his true feelings hidden when he came into the room in order to not worry Marcel but when it came to his family, his eyes could always give away the truth. Marcel knew his father had always dreaded the thought of turning him into a vampire even though it was his one wish come true.

"I'm fine," he said. "You don't need to be worried."

"You are my son and I turned you into a creature of disrepute cursed to survive on the living and hide from the light," said Klaus as he came further into the room. "I will always be worried. How do you feel?"

Marcel wanted to ask him about the pain he was feeling and if it would be permanent, but he didn't want to worry his father more in case what he was feeling was abnormal.

"I'm f-"

"Do not lie to me," Klaus grunted harshly. He was angry enough already. Angry at Marcel for going to confront the Governor on his own, angry with the deceased Governor for dying too quickly of a heart attack before Klaus could start the real torture after he had ripped one of the Governor's hands off, and he was angry at himself for being too weak to let Marcel go and not turn his son into a monster like himself. "I know what it's like when you first turn. All of your senses are heightened and suddenly just existing has become the worst kind of hell you have ever experienced."

Marcel blushed as he stared away from his father. "Is this how it will always feel?"

"No time for regrets now," Klaus said as he sat down beside Marcel. "This is what you've always wanted, isn't it?"

Marcel looked across as Klaus with a confident look in his eyes. Being a vampire had been his greatest desire for years and if that was the pain he had to endure with it, he was going to learn to live with it.

The pride in his son's eyes eased some of Klaus's worries. At times he forgot how strong his son was.

He looked down to the dark red servant's blood in his hands. 'This is it,' he thought. 'One drop and he's changed forever. No longer my…innocent little Marcellus.'

"You don't have to do this," Klaus muttered, staring down at the mug. "You don't have to complete the transition if you don't want to." He looked up to Marcel and placed a hand carefully on the side of his face. "It's alright to change your mind. I can put good thoughts in your head and put you to sleep and then…"

"You…don't want me to…to be with you anymore?"

Klaus sucked in a sharp breath of air, his heart broken at the sight of tears welling in Marcel's eyes.

"I do," he answered quickly. "Marcellus, I love you with more ferocity than I've felt in centuries. You are my son, always and forever. And if you choose to continue with your transformation, then I will be with you and you will be with this family for the rest of eternity but…this is permanent, Marcellus. Once you partake in human blood for the first time…you will lust for it for the rest of your life. Is that really what you want?"

"I want to be powerful, poppa. Like you. And I never want to leave my family behind, even in death. You…you said I was a Mikaelson, and Mikaelsons are always and forever. P-please, poppa. Let me be forever as well."

Acting against his own better judgment, Klaus slowly extended the mug out to Marcel, muttering, "Drink. It will make you feel better."

Marcel's wet eyes gave way to his relief. The intoxicating scent of human blood made his mouth water. His fangs shot out on their own suddenly and he jumped.

Klaus gave a small smirk at his son's subtle start. "That happens to baby-vamps from time to time. You'll soon learn to control it."

Marcel was too focused on downing the few ounces of blood in his hands to care about retracting his fangs. He drank it slowly. It tasted of copper but was yet savory. The banging in his head began to die, his overly-jittery body calmed. He suddenly became unaware of the coldness of his body.

Taking the cup from his mouth, Marcel held it back out to his father and said, "That was…amazing."

"Good. But now I have a question for you, Marcellus, and I want you to answer me truthfully. Did you go after the Governor hoping for this to happen? Did you try to force me into having no other choice but turning you?"

Marcel was shocked by his father's accusation and his shock quickly turned to anger.

"No," he stated. "I confronted the Governor because he's an awful man. He treats human beings like animals! Worse than animals! At least he'd bury a dead horse!"

Immediately realizing his mistake, Klaus grabbed Marcel and pulled him into a tight hug as Marcel's emotions over took him and tears started down his face.

"I'm sorry," Klaus cooed. "I didn't realize…I shouldn't have assumed…I'm sorry."

Marcel's arms clasped around Klaus, pulling his father's shoulder over his face to muffle the loud sob that unpreventable escaped as he remembered the way he felt when the Governor pointed his gun at Marcel's chest.

"He tried to kill me," Marcel mumbled against Klaus's chest as his tears fell harder. "Like…I meant…nothing. Like a bug at a picnic."

Klaus hugged Marcel as if it were the only hug he would ever get, cradling the back of Marcel's head in his hand as his son's sobs grew more passionate.

"You are an intelligent, resourceful, cunning young man. You mean the world to me," Klaus whispered in his ear. "Which means you mean everything. Do you understand me, Marcellus? In your short time on this Earth, you have proven yourself worthier of existence than that man a hundred times over."

Marcel wiped his flowing tears across Klaus's shirt and muttered, "I thought... I know that he hates me but...I never thought he would…"

Klaus knew what Marcel was thinking without him having to say it. "He wasn't your family, Marcellus."

"I want him dead." Marcel's voice was cold and controlled. Klaus's breath caught in his chest at hearing his son's cold demand. This was what he always feared, that Marcel would follow in his violent footsteps.

Never more grateful for his own murderous tendency, Klaus said, "The wish has already been granted, my son. You don't need to fret over that man again."

Marcel pulled suddenly away from Klaus and stared into his father's eyes, his dark brows forming a tight crescent between them.

"You...you've killed him," blared Marcel. "I should've been the one to do it."

Klaus's face remained stoic as he stated, "I knew you would think that. That's why I had to make sure the deed was done before you woke. I'm not going to let you become a murderer. The Governor's blood is on my hand so you can remain unsullied."

"A vampire who doesn't kill," Marcel stated dubious. "Kol says such a thing isn't possible."

"It has not yet been heard of, that does not make it impossible."

"If I…if I did kill someone…if only by accident…would you…stop loving me?"

Klaus caressed the side of Marcel's face with his thumb as he cradled his chin in his hand. "I will never hate you, Marcellus. To hate you, my son, would be to hate myself."

Marcel blushed as he wiped the tears from his face. "I'm still hungry," he muttered attempting to distract himself from thoughts of the Governor. "Could you fetch a servant?"

Klaus stood from the bed and calmly said, "No. That's enough to sustain you for the next few hours. You will have another glass at supper. That is all of the blood you are allowed to have. Two glasses a day."

"That is all? But…Kol said there was no better feeling than feeding from a live vein."

"Kol is not the vampire you should be trying to emulate. You may be a vampire but that does not mean you have to become a monster like the rest us."

Marcel scrunched his nose at the thought of having to have his blood from a glass while the rest of his family were allowed to feed directly from the servants.

"You're not going to make me feed from squirrels and deer, are you? Kol says those who try to survive on animal blood are weak and disgusting."

"You will still feed on human blood but only from the blood I give you and never from a vein. While you're still young, two glasses a day should sustain you physically while also helping you develop some level of control over your appetite."

"But Kol says-"

"Enough. I don't care what Kol has to say. He was a horrendous influence on you as a boy and he will be more so now that you're a vampire. Perhaps it would be best if I daggered him for a few years and wake him after you've acclimated to your new life as a vampire."

"No," Marcel quickly replied. He had already lost Rebekah, he didn't want to lose his best friend too. "You-you're right. I just got a bit excited, what, with being a vampire and all. I just…thought I should experience it all but…you're right. I don't need to feed from people. I...I will just feed on what you give me. Please…don't dagger Kol."

Klaus looked skeptically at his son, certain that he hadn't been so easily convinced. Hoping to rein in his contrary attitude, Klaus said, "When you've learned control, I will let you feed from humans, but as of yet," He cupped both of his hands underneath Marcel's tense jaws. "You are not ready, Marcellus. Do you understand?"

Marcel's lips remained in a tight pout as he stared down at his bedsheets, too angry at Klaus's obstinacy to look at him. "Yes, poppa."

End Flashback