I have taken all of your constructive feedback to heart and hopefully, the story will be more consistent with character personalities. I was trying to create my own Originals Universe, a 'what if' type story, but I didn't realize that if the characters evolved the way I wrote, some relationship dynamics would have to change too. So...please be patient while I figure this thing out. I really am trying to be a better writer and consistent characters is a big must in a good story (as some of you pointed out lol)
Chapter 54
Marcel paced the floor outside the library, anger in his eyes.
"You're gonna wear a hole in the floor, mate," Kol teased. He and Rebekah stood by the door waiting for the moment Freya dropped the silencing spell in the library so they could hear what was going on inside.
Marcel paused in his stride long enough to growl, "Caroline is doing exactly what I said she would, she's trying exploiting Klaus's feelings for her so she can slither her Mystic Falls riffraff into the city. And now they're in they're discussing it without me! This is my city too!"
Sitting by the door, trying against hope to hear anything past the silencing spell, Finn couldn't help but scoff at Marcel's claim.
"Need a throat lozenge, Finn?" Marcel snarled. "If not, I suggest you keep your glottal grunts to a minimum unless you'd prefer I help fix that little throat issue of yours."
Finn tucked his clutched fists and hid them under his legs, forcibly swallowing his pride. Marcel could taunt him but if he reacted, he'd be the monster, that much he knew. So he said nothing as Marcel continued to pace the floor in front of him.
"This is all of our city, mate," said Kol, choosing to ignore Finn's disconsolate state. "And we are all out here waiting, just like you."
Marcel rolled his eyes. Kol had never cared about the wellbeing of the city as he did. He only loved New Orleans because every night promised a good time.
Before he could spit a malicious reply, the silencing spell in the library dropped. Klaus's voice could be heard just on the other side of the door.
"We're not running into any battle without knowledge of our foes so you all can return to Mystic Falls until we devise a plan."
As the library door creaked open, Stefan barked, "We can't go back! The city is swarming with your sired and if we go back without your blood, they'll kill us."
"Mystic Falls, Niagra Falls, I don't care where you disappear to, just disappear until we call for you."
"They could stay with me," Caroline peppily suggested. "I mean, just until we figure things out in Mystic Falls."
Before Klaus could give a reply, Marcel marched into the room and growled, "The Mystic Falls vamps are not welcome in New Orleans. The three of you want to escape your problems, go to Vegas like everyone else."
Stefan bared his teeth at Marcel. He was already in a rage at losing Damon. Marcel's anger only pushed his buttons more.
Kol came in behind Marcel, shaking his head teasingly.
"You must forgive my mate," he tutted as he placed his arm around Marcel's shoulders.
Marcel wasn't excited by Kol's sudden friendly gesture but he knew their family had to appear as a united front in front of possible enemies. That was one lesson he did take away from his time in the Mikaelson household. It didn't matter how much the Mikaelsons fought each other when it really came down to it, they stuck together.
"He gets a bit parochial when it comes to folks who come after innocent children. Of course," Kol's eyes narrowed on Tyler. "From what I hear, you should know that better than anyone."
Tyler's eyes fell down to the floor again.
"How does he feel about people who come after thousand-year-old assholes," Stefan growled.
Kol's harsh gaze fell to Stefan. The younger vampire stood before him, shoulders squared as if he was ready to attack. Kol dropped his arm from Marcel's shoulders. He knew it wouldn't take much to kill Stefan so he wasn't worried by his defensive posture.
Finn silently hoped that Stefan would make a move on Kol. He hadn't forgotten Stefan's part in his first death and he wanted nothing more than to watch him die. Kol was just the vampire to do it. He would've gone for it himself but he knew he wasn't allowed to lose his temper, even if it was just.
"Enough." Elijah suddenly walked between Kol and Stefan, his formal posture denoting what little patience had for any shenanigans. "Marcellus, Kol, leave us. Please."
"Why," Marcel demanded.
Before his brother could reply to Marcel's irritated response, Klaus calmly answered, "They can't go back to Mystic Falls if it is overrun by my sirelings. You know how cantankerous that lot can get."
Marcel's jaw tightened at Klaus's subtle reminder of his past with Klaus's other sirelings.
"We must discuss other living arrangments and you two don't seem to be in the mood for rational discourse so might I suggest you go downstairs with the others, and we will find you when we've made our final decisions."
"You can't make decisions about my city without me, Klaus!"
Klaus looked past Marcel to Rebekah. She stood silently at the door watching her current lover unravel with anger in front of her past two. She knew how much Marcel loved the city and how he longed to have some say over how it was ruled again but she also knew that after twelve years with a dagger in his chest, Klaus wasn't going to be too hasty in giving Marcel control again.
"Marcel," Rebekah placed her hand gently against Marcel's arm. "C'mon. Let's just leave them to their dealings with the Mystic Falls waste and just go for a walk through the city with Hope and Davina."
Stefan snarled at Rebekah's insult. "Waste? I remember you having much sweeter nicknames for me."
Rebekah's eyebrows knotted in the center of her head. "Yes, well, there are a few nicknames floating around in my head for you right now but in lieu of you losing your brother, I will keep them to myself."
"I suppose you're entitled to keep one thing to yourself, I've already had the rest of you."
As soon as the words left Stefan's lips, Elijah stood at attention. His eyes darted between Klaus and Marcel, sure one of them was going to react poorly to Stefan's comment.
He was as shocked as anyone at the sound of Kol's fist coming into contact with Stefan's face, shattering his jaw in one swing.
Stefan's body hit the floor with a heavy thud. Tyler stared wide-eyed at his friend lying unconscious at his feet.
Kol shook his hand in front of his face, his knuckles darkening with each passing second. "G'...dammit! I think I broke my hand."
Freya hurried over to her little brother, grabbing his hand and examining it between hers as she mumbled obscenities under her breath. After determining that his hand wasn't broken, Freya slapped her hand sharply across the side of his head.
"Idiot! If you can't heal, don't go around trying to break your hand across someone's face."
Kol rubbed the spot Freya smacked with his good hand and said, "Not like I was trying to."
He looked at Rebekah, unwilling to admit that his first instinct at hearing Stefan disrespect his little sister was to knock him out, an instinct he could apparently not ignore.
Elijah smirked. He sometimes forgot that in spite of all their bickering, Kol could be as protective over his little sister as anyone.
Klaus sighed in resignation. He knew if the Mystic Falls gang were to stay in New Orleans, this would be an ever-recurring scene.
"Rebekah, take Kol to tend to his hand, please," said Klaus, but as genial as his request was, they all knew it was an order. "Marcellus-"
"They are not staying in my city."
As Klaus marched over to him, Marcel was sure he knew what he had in mind but he didn't move, his face hard with indifference to Klaus's stern gaze.
Klaus grabbed Marcel's head and pulled him into a hug, kissing the top of his head as his son relaxed into his hold.
Pulling slightly back from Marcel's, Klaus whispered, "You do not get a say on what happens in this city. Not yet."
Marcel cringed with anger as Klaus released him.
"Go. Check on Hope and Davina. I'm sure Hayley has her hands full keeping them calm as it is."
Cutting his eyes across at Tyler, Marcel gritted his teeth and followed Rebekah and Kol out of the room. With a proud smirk covering his face, Finn left as well, a wave of satisfaction flowing over him at seeing with Kol punch Stefan to sleep, though even that he thought was too subtle a punishment for his crimes against the Mikaelsons.
"Asshole," Tyler mumbled as Klaus closed the doors behind them.
He opened his mouth to speak again and Klaus vamped to him, a stillness in his eyes that demanded silence.
"If Marcel doesn't want you here," he stated flatly. "You can't stay. We will do what we can for you but for now, you need to grab your vulgar friend and leave my city. And don't come back."
Klaus turned to leave and Caroline suddenly grabbed his arm. "Klaus, please. Without your protection...they might not survive out there."
"Let me go." He couldn't look her in eye the eyes. "Or you can leave with them."
With a sullen heart, Caroline let him walk out the door, crushed that he never turned back to her. Elijah left with Niklaus, closing the door behind them and leaving Freya alone with the three Mystic Falls Vampires.
"You should get your friend out of here while you still can," Freya warned. "Marcel has the tendency to do what he believes is right despite what Klaus says."
"Marcel," Tyler growled the name like it disgusted him. "I'm so tired of hearing that name! For more than a decade he's all every vampire around the world has been able to talk about. 'Marcel Gerard, the Vampire King who defeated the Mikaelsons'. How does he go from their number one enemy to suddenly being the source of Klaus's conscience?"
"He's his son," Freya answered. "And he's always been the source of Klaus's conscience. As a matter of fact, from what I've heard, my little brother didn't have much of a conscience to speak of before Marcel. He was a rabid wolf ready and willing to kill anyone in striking distance. Then suddenly Marcellus entered his life and that rabid wolf had a pup to protect. And it doesn't matter how big and strong...or deadly he becomes, if that pup feels threatened, Niklaus will do anything...kill anyone, to keep him safe. And now that he has two pups under his care, Klaus's bite has become a lot worse than his bark."
Freya slowly walked over to the door and eased it open.
"If Marcel thinks you're still a threat to Hope, so does Klaus. And if Klaus thinks you're a threat, so do I. Leave New Orleans. If I find a solution to your little dilemma, I will contact you. Until then, if I see your faces around my city again..."
Freya stretched her hand out to Tyler, and suddenly the air drained from his lungs. He fell to his knees gasping for breath. His struggle lasted only a few moments before Freya released her spell.
"What the hell Freya," Caroline barked, falling beside her friend and pulling him into her embrace.
His nose scrunched in anger, a golden shine encompassed Tyler's eyes. Realizing his anger was getting the best of him, he quickly shook it off, staring down at the floor in shame.
"Hope my point is clear. I have done worse than that to better people for the sake of my family."
With a wave of her hand, one of the four candles surrounding the protection barrier on the table in her lab on the next floor up lit ablaze.
"I just began the process of lifting the barrier keeping vampires like you out of New Orleans," she announced. "You've got two minutes to get you and your friend beyond the city limits before my spell throws you out."
Tyler quickly picked up Stefan's unconscious body and sped out of the room, hoping his speed was enough to get them out of the city before Freya's spell reactivated.
Staring at Caroline still her lab, Freya said, "I do still like you. I think you're good for my little brother. And I'm only helping those other Mystic Falls vamps because they're your friends. But that doesn't mean your friends have to be mine."
Caroline hurried to the door, overwhelmed with the desire to go help her friends any way she could.
Pausing in the doorway, she said, "But they are my friends, and I can't let them suffer without trying to do everything I can to help. Tell Niklaus...I said goodbye."
-M-
Flashback
Niklaus sauntered through the Mikaelson home, his eyes heavy after a night of perversity. His body desired rest with more ferocity than ever but first, he had to see Marcel.
As he walked past a window in the library, he saw his son playing outside with Sheldon Nilson, the son of a werewolf King of a neighboring clan. He knew the boy only from his clans' brief visits to the Compound during Klaus's many galas but he knew if he was any reflection of the rest of his ruthless clan, he was no one he wanted Marcel around.
He immediately sped through the compound and out to the yard.
Marcel stood with a wooden sword in his hand standing above Sheldon lying on the ground, his sword pressed up against the soft pudge of Marcel's belly.
"Gotcha, Marcel," Sheldon laughed. "You're dead."
His laughter stopped as he looked past Marcel into Klaus's cold, dead eyes.
"I'm not sure what game you're playing," Klaus growled. "But from this scene alone, I feel compelled to forbid it."
Marcel turned to his father, laughing at what he perceived as a joke.
"We were playing pirates, poppa. Sheldon's the dastardly Black Bart and I'm the cunning Calico Jack."
"Cunning?" Sheldon mocked as he rose to his feet. "I've killed you twice already."
"I'd prefer if you stopped saying that," Klaus bit irritably.
Sheldon flinched at the Original's sharp tongue
"How long have you two been out here?"
"Since breakfast, poppa," Marcel sweetly answered, ignorant to his father's obvious distaste of the other boy.
"Then that means it's almost time for your studies. Go, find Uncle Elijah."
"Just one more hour, poppa, please. We can't stop until I kill Sheldon."
As much as it pained him to hear his son speak so cavalierly about killing the other boys, Klaus couldn't find the courage to tell him 'no'. With a slight nod, he left the boys playing in the yard.
Klaus waited by the library window, watching with hardly a blink as Marcel ran around the yard playfully stabbing his wooden sword at his friend.
"You're still awake?"
Klaus flinched at Elijah and Kol's sudden presence. He was too focused on Marcel to lend any attention to his own surroundings.
"Marcel is out playing with that Nilson boy," Klaus answered coldly. "I don't trust him."
"Really," Elijah turned his attention to the window. The boy looked innocuous enough and Marcel didn't seem the least bit afraid as Sheldon chased behind him swinging the wooden sword wildly above his head.
"Yeah, look at 'im go," Kol mocked. "If he's not careful, little Marcellus' liable to get a splinter."
"Kol is right, Niklaus. You worry too much about Marcel's wellbeing. He's safe here. And that is not to mention the fact that the boy is eleven-years-old. I doubt he has any secret motives besides nabbing one of Marcel's toys while he isn't paying attention."
"He is a Nilson, Elijah. Do you know why I recruited them as one of our allies? Because they are some of the most ruthless, bloodthirsty killers I've ever met. And if that boy is anything like his father..."
"Do you think, perhaps, his father thinks the same about Marcellus?"
Klaus's eyes widened in surprise, the thought had never occurred to him before.
"Let's not forget," started Kol. "That little demon of yours can handle himself against any human."
Klaus shot straight up, grabbing Kol by the collar of his shirt and glaring into his eyes. "If you think he is a monster...then what do you call me?"
Kol thought about biting his tongue, knowing that his brother was only irritable because he was tired after being awake for more than twenty-four hours straight, but he couldn't fight his urge to answer.
"The Devil."
A guttural growl escaped Klaus's lips when suddenly he was pulled away from Kol, Elijah instantly standing between them.
"That's enough. Klaus, you need to rest. You know how you get when you're exhausted. Marcellus doesn't need to see you like that."
Klaus pointed out the window but as he opened his mouth to protest, Elijah interrupted.
"I will fetch Marcel and send the Nilson boy home. It's about time for Marcellus' studies anyway."
Still gritting his teeth at Kol, Klaus drug his feet out the library and slowly up to his bedroom.
Elijah couldn't help but notice the way Kol glared at their brother as he left. "Why do you antagonize him so?"
Kol shrugged, quickly turning away from the door once he realized he was unconsciously staring at the last spot his Hybrid brother stood. He turned his sight to the window where Marcel continued to innocently run around the yard.
"Because," he muttered. "He only ever pays any attention to me when he's angry."
End Flashback
Hope laid in bed staring at the ceiling, angry at her family for sending her away like a child while they dealt with the intruding vampires.
A slight tapping on her balcony door drew her to attention away from her anger.
"Sebastian." She jumped from her bed and hurried over, opening the window excitedly, ready for her best friend to do what he does best and cheer her up.
She was shocked to see Izzy sitting in the chair on her balcony away from the light. Her arm was wrapped around her ribs as if she was trying to conceal some deep secret.
"Izzy," Hope muttered, surprised to see her secret crush again so soon. She closed the balcony doors behind her, hoping her supernatural family wouldn't hear their whispers through two sets of closed doors. "Wh-what are you doing here?"
"I-I'm sorry, Hope...I just...I didn't really know where else to go. If I went home like this m-my...foster folks would have a conniption."
As Hope stepped closer, she noticed the trail of blood leading from the cut on Izzy's lip down to her chin.
She reached out to her friend, and Izzy pulled away. It was an unconscious act, one that she wish she could've controlled, but she didn't know how.
"Wh...what happened?"
Izzy had done her best to keep her face stoic, her emotions completely under her control, but as soon as Hope asked the question, she broke.
Hope pulled the girl into her arms, burying Izzy's bloody face against her stomach as she cried, and she steeled herself to stay strong, though she wanted nothing more than to cry with her.
"I...I didn't go to my meeting today like I said. I-I went to see Oliver. His foster dad called and said he had the day off and if I wanted to see Oliver, I could spend an hour with him while his wife was at work. When I got there he...he..."
A gentle rapping on Hope's door cut Izzy off.
They both went quiet, hoping the intruder would simply go away.
"Hope," Marcel sang at the door. "You up?"
Hope gave Izzy's head a gentle pat and whispered, "Stay here. I'll be back."
Hurrying into the room and standing by the door, Hope feigned a raspy voice. "I'm sleeping, Marcy. What's up?"
There was a long pause on the other side and then Hope heard Marcel give a long, heavy whiff. Staring down at her shirt, she realized Izzy's blood left a stain.
"Do you really think now is the time for visitors?"
Hope opened the door immediately, grabbing Marcel by the shirt and pulling him in the room before anyone else could smell Izzy's blood.
"Please don't tell dad."
"Where is she?"
"Marcy, please. She's in trouble."
"Whatever trouble she's in, I don't want you a part of."
"You're just like dad! You don't trust me."
"I trust you, Hope, but kids like Izzy...with the right guidance, she can be redeemed but until then, you can't be sneaking around with her. Do I make myself clear?."
"You're not my father."
Marcel gritted his teeth. He couldn't force her to obey him and they both knew he wasn't going to tell Klaus.
"Where is she?" He sped over to her bed, lifting it above his head to look underneath expecting Izzy to be lying on the floor.
As he sat it back down, he sniffed the air, smelling the faint scent of blood coming from outside.
Before Hope could stop him, Marcel was at the balcony. He opened the door, fully prepared to confront her for sneaking into his little sister's room, but as he stared down at her, the tears on her face, the bruise on her cheek, the cut on her lip, her bruised ribs, words left him.
Fervently wiping the tears from her face, Izzy put on a fake smile and said, "H-hi, Mr. Gerard."
Marcel knelt beside her, his hand resting on the armrest of the chair, afraid to touch her.
"What happened?"
Hope stood at the open door, waiting for Izzy to speak.
In a low mutter, forcing herself to keep her composure, Izzy repeated what she'd told Hope.
"He did this to you?" Marcel growled.
Izzy nodded, staring shamefully down at the ground.
"Where is he?"
"You can't tell anyone," Izzy begged. "They'll move Oliver and I'll never see him again. I'll get him out. I just need time to think of a plan."
Marcel took Izzy's hand in his, squeezing it gently as his warm eyes calmed her. "I am your plan. I will get your brother out and I will make sure that bastard never touches another girl again."
"What are you going to-" Hope was immediately cut off by Izzy blurting out an address.
As Marcel stood to leave, Izzy squeezed his hand. She wanted to thank him but tears burned the back of her throat, catching her words before they could make it to her lips. Marcel patted her hand, a soft gesture that let her know he understood without her saying a word.
"What are you going to do?" Hope asked, though she had a feeling that she knew.
"I'm going to bring her brother back."
Glancing at the darkening bruise under Izzy's eye, Hope said, "I wanna come too."
"No," Marcel answered curtly.
"Marcy, we both know what you're going to do and I wanna come too. He-he can't get away with this."
"And he won't. But you're not coming."
Hope stamp her foot, prepared to protest, when Marcel suddenly grabbed her upper arm, pulling her out of earshot of Izzy.
"If I am going to do what you think I'm going to do, what makes you think I would ever want you there while I do it?"
"But-"
"Hope," the tense cut in Marcel's voice warranted no more argument. "I am your brother, not your friend. I'm not here to give in to your whims, it's my duty to protect you. Either you stay here voluntarily and help your friend, or I will remind you of the consequences of putting yourself in danger, just as I did in Algiers."
Hope's face went flush as she thought back to her time over Marcel's knee when she and Davina got into their magic bout.
She gave a slight nod of embarrassment. Releasing her arm, Marcel kissed the top of her forehead before vamping off into the streets.
Flashback
Elijah strolled out to the garden in search of Marcel to begin his daily studies. The last he saw of him, he was still out playing with the Nilson boy but since Klaus was so adamant about the two of them not being friends, Elijah decided to put an early end to their playdate.
As he neared the area he assumed the boys were, he began to smell the familiar, repulsive smell. He sped through the garden until he found Sheldon and Marcel hiding behind a big oak tree, Sheldon with a tobacco pipe in his hand. Just as he held the pipe out to Marcel, Elijah vamped over and snatched it from his hand.
Marcel jumped back against the tree, his eyes wide with fear as he stared into the intense eyes of his austere uncle.
"Marcellus," Elijah growled, crushing the pipe in his grasp. "What do you think you're doing?"
Marcel stammered out, "I-I was just...we-we were...just...t-trying it."
"Where did you get this?"
"My father," Sheldon spat, falling to his knees and collecting the broken pieces of the pipe as if he could somehow glue it back together and no one would ever know. "And he's going to be livid when he finds out I broke it. It was his favorite one."
Bending down to Sheldon's face, Elijah grabbed a hand full of the broken pipe, ash, dust, and all, and poured it into Sheldon's hands.
"Take your beloved pipe, and leave my home. You are banned from the Mikaelson Estate. Indefinitely."
Sheldon hesitated, staring defiantly into Elijah's eyes. Irritated by the boy's disobedience, Elijah bared his teeth and growled, "Go. Now."
Holding the remnants of his father's pipe in his hands, Sheldon scampered out of the garden, terrified of the vicious Mikaelson.
Elijah turned to Marcel, his arms crossed over his chest as he glared down at him.
Marcel's hands shot back to cover his behind in anticipation of the oncoming spanks.
"Marcellus, what have I told you about tobacco?"
"Th-that it-it's disgusting and i-it taints people's bodies. But it was just one time, Uncle 'Lijah, I swear."
Elijah suddenly removed Marcel's hand from his behind and lifted him off the ground. Marcel shed heartfelt tears as Elijah brought his hardened palm down half a dozen times across his bottom. When Elijah sat him back on the ground, he buried his face against his uncle's stomach, still crying as he fiercely rubbed his burning behind.
Kindly caressing the top of Marcel's head, Elijah said, "Don't ever let me catch you with tobacco in your hands again, young man. Do I make myself clear?"
Marcel nodded against Elijah's stomach.
Elijah lifted Marcel onto his waist, hugging the boy against his chest as he took him back to the Compound.
"I'm sorry, Uncle 'Lijah."
"I know, Marcellus. It's not your fault. I should've listened to your father. I suppose even accusations made in his paranoia are, at times, valid."
End Flashback
Hope ran down to the kitchen going straight to the drawer above the fridge where the first aid kit was stored. There was another by the restroom between her mom and dad's room but she was afraid of running into one of them on her way. She grabbed all of the ice packs inside, a handful of antiseptic wipes, gauze, and a tube of Neosporin. As she darted back out of the kitchen, her arms full, she slammed face-first into a steel figure.
She glared into Finn's eyes as the items scattered to the floor.
"Dammit, Finn!" She fell to the ground collecting all that she could and setting it on the aisle in the middle of the kitchen so she could get fresh gauze.
"Where are you going with all of that," Finne asked, unmoved by her anger.
"None of your business."
"Is someone hurt? Is it Freya?"
"No one's hurt. Now go away."
As Hope came back to the items on the aisle, she noticed the Neosporin and antiseptic wipes were missing. Finn held his hands out to her, the missing items cradled in his palms. She reached out to grab them and he vamped back towards the door.
"Who needs them," he demanded again.
"I said it's none of your business."
She reached out to snatch the tube from his hand but he was faster, pulling the tube just out of her reach.
"It is now as I have what you need," he jeered.
"God, you're so irritating! Now I see why everyone hates you."
Finn's eyes narrowed at her words. They cut into him deeper than he expected. Clutching his hands into fists, he popped the top off the Neosporin and squeezed the content onto the floor.
"Oops," he grumbled.
Overwhelmed with frustration, Hope sped over to Finn, slapping him with one hand and snatching the wipes out of his grasp with the other.
Finn's lips scrunched in anger but he didn't dare hit her back.
"Grabbing everything she needed, Hope brushed past Finn once again, growling, "Stay out of my way, Finn, or you'll learn what a Tribrid can really do."
Hope ran back to her room finding Izzy now lying on top of her bed instead of out on the balcony where she left her. She stood still at the doorway, her eyes wide at the sight of Hayley sitting by her side, an ice pack already pressed against her side. Klaus stood by the bed, his arms crossed over his chest and his gaze fallen to the floor.
Looking up to Hope, he asked, "She's not speaking to us. Do you know what happened?"
Afraid that her father's reaction would be the same as Marcel's, Hope said nothing as she entered the room, handing Hayley the rest of the first-aid kid essentials.
"Let me guess," said Klaus as Hayley tended to the girl's wounds. "She got into another fight. I'm guessing there wasn't a bat involved in this one or she wouldn't be in such a condition...or maybe she'd be worse."
Hope shook her head. "That's not what happened."
"I don't care what happened. Once she's patched up, I want her out of here. I would feed her my blood but I'm afraid she'll just run out and get herself killed and I've had it up to my neck in adolescent vampires."
"Klaus," Hayley bit. "Why don't you go get Izzy a glass of water."
Taking the note to leave, Klaus strutted out of the room, trusting Hayley to take care of things herself.
Hope said nothing as Hayley continued bandaging Izzy, pressing the ice pack against her swollen face and bruised ribs.
"Sweetie," Hayley finally spoke, helping Izzy sit up with the ice pack still pressed against her side. "Your ribs are pretty banged up. We should probably get you to a doctor."
"No," Izzy mumbled. "They'll tell my foster parents."
"Maybe they deserve to know. Whoever did this to you...they need to be brought to justice. Maybe they can help."
"They'd have to care to want to help. They only took me in for the check. They'll kick me out if they think I'm gonna bring trouble. With my history, none of the good foster homes want me and the witches treat me like...a plague. If I lose this home...I'll be back out on the streets and they'll never let me see my brother then."
"I don't know about that."
They all turned to the balcony doors where Marcel stood, a sleeping toddler in his arms.
Izzy lept to her feet, ignoring the pain piercing through her side as she ran to Marcel, taking the boy from his arms and hugging him awake.
Confused, Hayley came over to Marcel and whispered, "Who is this?"
"Her brother."
"And...why do you have him?"
"Come with me." Marcel moved briskly to the bedroom door. Opening the door, he turned to Izzy and said, "Don't go anywhere."
Marcel took Hayley down to the den, running into Klaus and Elijah along the way. He urged them to follow him as they walked.
Once behind closed doors, he said, "I've made a move and in the interest of full disclosure, I feel I should tell you. Your reaction to what I'm about to say isn't going to change what I did or how I feel about what I did."
"Well spit it out," said Klaus. "My daughter's still upstairs with that brute and I'd rather not leave them alone any second longer than I have to."
"Stop it, Klaus," Marcel bellowed. He knew Klaus wouldn't be so quick to write Izzy off if he knew what she'd gone through. "She is a terrified little girl and today she was put in a position that no child should ever face."
Klaus's face turned cold. If there was one thing he knew, it was Marcel's sense for children in need.
"Marcel," Hayley muttered, almost afraid to ask at this point. "What happened?"
Taking a deep breath, Marcel began to pace the floor as he said, "She went to see her little brother today and, his foster father, that...vile excuse of a man, attacked her."
The other Mikaelsons went silent.
And then, words softly fell from Klaus's lips. "Did he..."
"No. I-I don't think so. She got away. But...I couldn't let him get away with what he did do...what he tried to do"
"You wouldn't be the man I know you to be if you did."
Hayley covered her mouth in disgust, fighting back the desire to lose her breakfast over the floor. "That little girl's been through too much. First, she lost her parents, then the witches abandon her and she's taken in by a family that could care less if she never came back home. And now this."
"At least she has her brother back."
"He's here?" asked Elijah.
Marcel nodded. "Upstairs. He's a toddler. I couldn't leave him there."
"Has he eaten," Klaus asked before he could stop himself.
"I don't know. It doesn't look like either of them has had a decent meal in weeks."
Klaus looked to Elijah, both of their eyes emotionless as they shared a silent look.
"Dinner starts soon," said Elijah walking to the door. "I will set two extra seats. And I will have the wolves prepare an extra room. They can stay here until we can find more suitable accommodations."
As they left the den, Marcel and Klaus walked side by side on their way to tell Izzy and Hope the good news.
"Do me a favor and try not to have a conniption if you ever catch Hope and Izzy sneaking around in the middle of the night now that they're sleeping under the same roof," Marcel joked.
"I will...try not to kill anyone, but I make no promises otherwise. She is still my little girl."
"You're turning over a new leaf, remember."
"Yes, yes, I remember," Klaus groaned. "I've never done anything so impossible in ten centuries."
"But you can do it." Marcel slapped his hand across Klaus's back. "When you became a father, you became kind, gentle...less murderous. Now you just have to learn to be less overprotective."
"Easier said than done. And I think some would argue that my murderous tendencies increased after becoming a father."
Marcel opened his mouth to make another quippy remark when his heightened hearing picked up the faint sound of wood smashing against concrete. Noting the intense look on his son's face, Niklaus focused until he heard it too.
"Where is that," Marcel asked.
Klaus's eyebrows scrunched to the center of his forehead. "The basement."
The two of them sped down to the basement, unsure of what they'd find, but not surprised by what they did.
Finn stood in the middle of the basement, the lid of Rebekah's old coffin in his hands seconds before he threw it wildly at he wall, shattering it into a thousand pieces as he released an emotionally gut-wrenching scream.
"What the hell are you doing," Klaus bit.
Finn spun around to his brother standing at the top of the basement staircase and his anger turned to anxiety.
"N-nothing."
Marcel cut his eyes up at Klaus, disgust written across his face. "We're bringing a toddler and an abused girl into a house with this."
"Get out of here," Niklaus ordered. "I can handle Finn on my own."
Assuming Niklaus was going to give Finn the harsh scolding he felt Finn so justly deserved, Marcel was more than happy to leave.
As Klaus stalked downstairs, Finn found himself unconsciously moving further away, backing himself into a corner.
Klaus stopped at the bottom of the staircase, afraid coming any further would only cause Finn's anxiety to rise.
"There is a child, upstairs," Klaus began. He sat at the bottom step, staring down at his hands intwined in front of him, unsure of how to talk to Finn. He wasn't like Kol, able to be threatened or coddled into submission. And he certainly wasn't like Elijah, easily coaxed with an emotional plea. He'd always had a hard relationship with Finn and it was harder now that he was an overemotional teenager.
"A sixteen-year-old girl who, under normal circumstances, I never would've taken in as a vampire, let alone a ward, and yet, here I am. She is important to Hope, therefore, she is important to me."
"D-don't." The crack in Finn's voice drew Klaus's attention from his hand to his brother, standing on shaking legs in the corner. "Don't turn me away like you did those other vampires, please. I was just angry. I can't help myself sometimes, I just...get so angry. I tried the breathing technique Freya taught me but...it wasn't working quick enough. But I would never hurt that girl or Hope. Especially not Hope. Never Hope. I swear. Please, brother, don't make me leave."
"I-I would never," Klaus stood but didn't move any closer fearing Finn might mistake his sudden movement as an attempt at an attack. Holding his arms out to the four walls surrounding them, Klaus said, "This Compound is your home. As long as you stay loyal to this family, it will forever be your home."
Tears continued down Finn's cheeks. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't believe Klaus. Kol and Marcel were willing to bury him alive with a torturous dagger in his chest for hurting their precious Davina and that was only an accident. If Klaus found out he'd actually considered hitting Hope back after she slapped him, he was sure Tunde's blade would've been the least of his problems.
Stepping to the side to give Finn a path out, Klaus said, "Elijah has started supper. Perhaps you'd like to go tell Freya it will be ready in a bit."
Finn nodded, hurrying past Klaus to the staircase.
"Brother."
Finn paused an arm's length out of Klaus's grasp.
"What was it that made you so angry?"
A chill went through Finn's body, tensing it with fear.
"Nothing," he lied, refusing to tell Klaus, or any Mikaelson for that matter, the truth.
"Nothing? Nothing has you angry?"
"I-I mean...it was those other vampires. They're the ones who killed me before. Having them here...I guess it enraged me."
"Well, you needn't worry about the Mystic Falls crew again, brother. I've sent them away."
"Good," Finn began climbing the stairs again, the weight lifted from his shoulders after getting away with a lie unscathed.
