Happy Valentines!

Chapter 79

Flashback:

Elijah walked steadily behind Marcel on the crowded Philadelphia sidewalk, keeping up with the boy's excited strut as best he could without losing his grace but that was harder than expected since his nephew seemed intent on keeping them at a slight jog.

After two years of being a Mikaelson, Marcel knew exactly how far he could push his Uncle Elijah before he earned himself a scolding but he knew that scolding would never come in Philadelphia. Niklaus had a rule whenever they traveled with Marcel. The boy was never to be scolded or punished in public, even though other boys were often reprimanded by their parents for bad behaviors, Marcellus was special and Niklaus wanted the world to know that. So no matter how much of a brat he was being, no matter how much he disobeyed or argued, he was never to be disciplined in public where other people may get the wrong understanding about his status.

"Look, Uncle Elijah," Marcel suddenly stopped in front of a General Store, peering into the glass with wide eyes. "They have marbles!" He pointed to the array of colorful, shiny glass balls on display by the counter. "Can we go look?"

"No, Marcellus," Elijah sighed as he placed his hand on Marcel's shoulder and guided him away from the window. "Your father's meeting should be over soon and I told him we would meet him back at the hotel for supper. Come along, we mustn't be late."

"But they're right there," Marcel suddenly pulled away from Elijah's hold. "It'll take...five minutes. I promise."

Elijah narrowed his eyes. Had they been at home the boy would've certainly earned a swat by now but Marcel was clever and knew his Uncle would keep his father's mandate.

"I said no, Marcellus. Now come."

Marcel tucked his chin and pouted but he followed his Uncle regardless. Even if Elijah wasn't allowed to spank him in public, Marcel knew he would still get it at the hotel if he threw too much of a fit. It had been almost six months since his first spanking and he'd been intent on avoiding them as much as possible ever since...even though sometimes it was a lot harder than it sounded.

Elijah reached for Marcel's hand when the boy came closer to him but Marcel refused to give it, stomping ahead with barely a glance at his Uncle. Elijah just followed behind the boy, keeping his eyes on him and anyone who got close. He'd heard rumors that men from the South would travel to large cities like Philadelphia, kidnap free black children and take them back to the South never to be heard from again. He'd told Niklaus this when his brother first proposed bringing Marcel along on the trip but then Marcel threw such a fit about not being able to go that Niklaus caved immediately.

'One of us will stay with him at all times,' his brother insisted. 'He will be fine.'

As Elijah watched the sullen boy stomp ahead of him in frustration, he wasn't sure if the boy would make it through the trip 'fine' after all.

Marcel's mood didn't let up until he saw his father waiting for them in the hotel lobby, a brandy in his hand as he relaxed into luxurious armchairs. He darted away from Elijah to Niklaus and the man just barely saw the bushel of brown curls through his peripheral vision before Marcel dove into the chair with him.

"Why, nice to see you again too, Marcellus," Niklaus chuckled as he placed a hand on top of Marcel's head, thankful for his supernatural speed for saving him from a bruised rib. Then, as he looked down to see the tears welled in his son's eyes, he asked, "What's wrong, son?"

Marcel pointed an accusatory finger back at Elijah. "He wouldn't let me get marbles."

Niklaus cut his eyes at his brother but Elijah continued his smooth stroll over to them. "Really, Elijah," Klaus scolded. "He couldn't have a few marbles?"

"We can go back to the General Store before we leave," Elijah responded. "But first, we will have supper, Marcellus will take a nap before he finds himself...overwhelmed with exhaustion, and you and I will discuss what you found out in your meeting."

Niklaus finished the rest of his brandy and slapped the empty glass on the table beside him. "It was a dead-end," he groaned, lifting Marcel in his arms as he rose to his feet. "Another witch with false promises."

Elijah shook his head in disappointment as he led the way to the hotel restaurant.

-M-

Marcel swirled his spoon around in his lamb stew while his father and uncle discussed the meeting in covert langue they thought he was too young to decrypt.

"And then it became blatantly clear that she was really just hoping to use me as a pawn to scare her rivals into believing she had a Mikaelson on her side. And so I..." Niklaus's eyes feel down to Marcel, remembering the innocent boy at his side. "I informed her that we were not pawns to beckon across the country at a whim with false promises of coveted knowledge and, well...she simply 'lost her head' over the whole matter. Tragic really."

"If she was simply hoping to lure a Mikaelson here as a show of power, how can we be sure that we're not the only Mikaelsons she led here?"

The look in Niklaus's eyes told Elijah that his brother feared the same thing though he didn't want to show it in front of Marcel.

Elijah nodded. "I will check with the station. We will depart on the first train in the morning."

Marcel looked up at the window across from him and saw two boys playing marbles on the sidewalk outside and his heart began to flutter. "Poppa, can I go outside, please?"

Niklaus looked down to Marcel's stew and frowned at seeing it half picked-over and barely eaten. "You've barely even touched your supper, Marcellus. You're a growing boy, you need to eat."

"But I'm not hungry," he whined. "Please, poppa. I promise I won't go far." He pointed across to the boys in the window. "I'll be right there."

Niklaus saw the boys playing and knew that Marcel wouldn't be happy until he'd gotten the idea of 'marbles' out of his system.

"No, Marcellus," Elijah bit, earning a sharp look from Niklaus. "You will finish your supper and then we will go back to the room and go to bed. We have an early morning tomorrow and a long trip back home."

Turning from Elijah to Niklaus, Marcel said, "But what about my marbles? You said that we would go after supper."

Niklaus spoke up before Elijah could scold the boy again. "It's getting late, sweetheart. We will go before the train leaves in the morning. I promise."

Marcel sat back in his chair with a pout and Niklaus nearly convinced himself that it would be alright for ht three of them to be exhausted in the morning if only to put a smile back on his son's face.

"Marcellus," Elijah said in a dangerously low voice as he tossed his napkin into his empty plate. "If you're finished with your supper, perhaps you and I should retire to the room a bit early and deal with this mounting attitude of yours before it becomes a problem."

Marcel immediately sat up in his chair, grabbed his spoon, and said, "I-I'm not done."

"That's alright." Elijah stood. "Finish here. I will be waiting."

Marcel waited until Elijah disappeared through the dining room doors before turning to his father and saying, "A-am I gonna get a thrashing?"

Niklaus wrapped his arm around Marcel's shoulders and pulled the boy into a hug. "No, sweetheart. Of course not. Your Uncle Elijah just likes to play intimidating uncle sometimes."

"He-he plays it very well at home," the boy muttered.

Niklaus chuckled and lifted Marcel's chin with his hand so the boy was looking up into his eyes. "You must never be intimidated by anybody, Marcellus. You are going to be King. And I will always be there to protect you from anyone. Even mean ol' Uncle Elijah."

End Flashback

Marcel rolled his sleeping bag out on the floor next to the pallet of covers Elijah stacked in front of the burning fireplace along with half a dozen pillows.

"This is total..." Kol hesitated as a swear sat at the tip of his tongue. He stood near the couch with Marcel and about six feet of space between him and Elijah but he was sure that his brother would still hear him. His brothers were more lenient on this trip than ever before but he didn't want to push them anymore. "Crap. It's barely seven."

Marcel nodded as he stood by Kol's side. He wasn't tired either but Elijah and Niklaus determined it was time for bed and so he didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

"That's what I said. But you know Klaus. 'You will go to bed when we say because we say so Marcellus, end of discussion.'"

Kol laughed at Marcel's Niklaus impersonation. "Spot on."

"Thanks," Marcel chuckled. "I've been practicing."

As Finn moved to grab his sleeping bag from the corner, Elijah suddenly said, "On second thought, Finn. We think it might be better for you to sleep here."

Finn's eyes widened as Elijah nodded down to the pallet on the floor. "But...that's for Kol."

Elijah glanced over to Kol only to see his younger brother standing with his mouth open, obviously in just as much shock as Finn.

"I think it might be a good bonding experience for the two of you to share a bed...or," Elijah gave the corner of one of the blankets a flick with his barefoot. "A makeshift bed, for the evening. And there will be no fighting, do I make myself clear?"

"That's not fair," Kol bellowed. "He destroys my sleeping bag so now you're punishing me for it."

"It's only a punishment if you choose to think of it that way," Elijah sighed. "If we must extend this trip through the week until the two of you come to the conclusion that you're no longer enemies, Niklaus and I will take turns going home every few days and the two of you will stay secluded out here until we find some common ground."

"What about Marcel," Kol demanded and Marcel covertly elbowed his side for bringing him into the argument.

Elijah's sight fell to Marcel and he said, "If Marcel decides he cannot find a way to be civil with Finn without constant supervision and coercion, he will remain here as well."

Marcel drew his eyes towards Finn. Dinner had given his irritation about the deflated plastic chicken time to die down and he decided that Finn wasn't so terrible to be around as he always suspected. He was quiet as they ate, refusing to make eye contact with anyone, especially Kol, and when it was over, he offered to do the dishes with Niklaus. Marcel suspected that was so he could spend as much time away from Kol as possible. It was, for this reason, Marcel decided if it came down to it, he would make sure he stayed at the cabin with Kol and Finn just to keep the two of them from killing each other.

Before Kol could argue any more, Niklaus came out of the kitchen carrying a large bag of marshmallows and three metal skewers. "Okay, I don't know what all of the tension in the room is from, I can only imagine Elijah has something to do with it, nevertheless, I have a solution. A little fireside treat before bed."

Kol and Finn stared at the marshmallows in confusion as Niklaus walked over to them.

"What are we supposed to do with that?" Kol asked.

Marcel looked at him in surprise. "You've never roasted marshmallows before?"

Kol cocked an eyebrow and said, "I'm not even sure I know what a marshmallow is, mate."

Marcel took the bag of marshmallows from Klaus and popped it open. Then, tossing one over to Kol, he said, "Eat it."

"It's edible?" Kol squeezed the soft white cylindrical shape of densely packed sugar between two fingers and then gave it a whiff. "Smells...terribly sweet."

Marcel took Kol's hand and guided the marshmallow into my mouth before he could critique it anymore. Kol chewed the marshmallow with a look of distaste but Marcel couldn't' tell if the look was because he didn't like the marshmallow or because he was irritated that he'd shoved it in his mouth.

"Well?"

Kol scrunched his nose as he swallowed the last bit. "It's...just sugar."

"Exactly." Marcel took two skewers from Niklaus and nudged Kol to follow him over to the fireplace. He sat on the edge of Kol's pallet, grateful that Elijah used as many blankets as he did to make it as soft as possible as his aching behind made contact with the plushness, and skewered two marshmallows.

Kol stared in a bit of confusion as he watched Marcel roast the sweet confections over the fire but once they were one, Marcel handed one to him, charred and crispy on the outside and soft and gushy on the inside, and he tried the treat a second time. His eyes widened in surprise and delight.

"Give me that," he growled, snatching the second skewer from Marcel and plopping on a couple of marshmallows of his own.

Walking over to Finn, Niklaus handed him the last skewer and said, "Want to give it a try?"

Finn watched Marcel and Kol sitting side by side, whispering and joking with each other, and he felt the knot in the bottom of his stomach tighten.

"I-I don't really like sweets."

"You haven't even tried it."

Finn glanced up to Klaus, his soft eyes pleading for Niklaus to understand. He didn't want to be anywhere near the two of them and he was sure they didn't want to be anywhere near him.

Elijah placed his hand on the side of Finn's face and drew his attention from Klaus to him. "Go on. Kol won't retaliate if he knows what's good for him."

Finn swallowed the lump in his throat, wondering if his idiot little brother actually knew what was good for him. He took the skewer from Niklaus and wandered over to the fireplace. He sat on the other side of Marcel, feeling as though he was the safer of two evils, but still well out of reaching distance from the two of them.

Kol chose to ignore his brother's presence but Marcel, feeling sympathetic to Finn after his confession, handed the boy the bag of marshmallows in silence so that he could at least share in on the fun.

Niklaus threw himself down on the sofa, his eyes slightly cracked as he watched his son.

"You look exhausted," said Elijah as he lowered himself gracefully down in the armchair.

"I'm fine," Niklaus growled.

Elijah sighed and shook his head. "You're not fine. You were up all night comforting Marcellus at the expense of your own wellbeing again, weren't you?"

Niklaus ignored the bit in his brother's voice. "I said I'm fine."

"No, you're not. But I can tell that you're too tired to argue about it right now so this is what we're going to do. You are going to go upstairs and sleep in your own bed so that you may have a peaceful night sleep that does not involve you waking every hour to fulfill Marcel's most menial desire."

Niklaus cut his eyes across at Elijah but his older brother's cold glare did not waver. He considered arguing with his stern older brother but he knew it would get him nowhere. Elijah's opinions were always resolute when it came to his safety.

Flashback

Marcel was in the bath when Elijah finally returned from the train station that morning and the bathroom door was too thick for the boy to hear Elijah tell Niklaus that he'd bought tickets for the first train out of the city and it would be leaving within the hour.

Niklaus took the fob watch from his pocket and said, "The general store doesn't open for another thirty minutes. I will hurry Marcellus out of the tub and we will hurry down to get his marbles and be back at the station before the departure time."

"No," Elijah responded and Niklaus furrowed his brows as he had not asked for permission. "Marcellus tends to linger in stores and you may be late. The next train doesn't leave until the evening and we cannot risk being here another day if father is on his way."

"We don't know if he's on his way."

"We don't' know if he isn't. He could already be in the city. We cannot stay here any longer, Niklaus. Marcellus will just have to make do with the toys he already has."

Niklaus shook his head and turned to the bathroom. "You're being unreasonable."

Elijah clasped a hand over Niklaus's shoulder and kept him in place. "I know that you want to give him everything. I know that you just want him to have the happiness Mikael denied you. But if you really love him, you won't chance a meeting between him and Mikael. Don't...don't make our nightmares his."

Niklaus clenched his fists at his sides. Elijah knew exactly what to say to get to him. He shrugged Elijah's hand off of him and opened the bathroom door.

Marcel had his head underwater when Niklaus opened the door, practicing holding his breath, but as soon as he saw his father's silhouette through the broken ripples, he popped his head out of the water.

"Poppa," he breathed, wiping the water from his face with a broad smile on his face. "Are we going to the General Store now?"

Niklaus walked over to the towel folded next to the table beside the tub and said, "Unfortunately, little warrior, we won't be able to stop by the General Store after all today. Our train leaves soon so we have to-"

"Pleaaase," the boy whined. "I just need a few marbles. I promise I'll be quick."

"I...I'm sorry, Marcellus. We can't."

Marcel hung his head, his bottom lip quivering as he tried to fight the tears burning his eyes.

Niklaus wrapped him in the towel and pulled him from the tub with a saddened look of his own on his face. "I promise, as soon as we get home, I will take you to buy as many marbles as we can carry between us. Bags of marbles. We will buy up the entire supply if we have to."

Marcel didn't respond to any of his father's promises because he didn't know how to explain that it wouldn't be the same. If he'd come back to the Quarter with a genuine set of Philadelphia marbles, every boy around would be red with jealousy for months.

-M-

Marcel was quiet for the rest of the morning as Niklaus and Elijah carried their things down to the train station. As they waited on a bench outside the station, Niklaus couldn't help but try to raise his son's sullen spirit.

"Are you hungry, Marcellus? Elijah has packed lunch for the ride but if you want breakfast, we could see what the dining room has."

Marcel shrugged. He was a bit hungry but his mind was on other things at the moment. While Niklaus thought his son's face was one of sullen disappointment, it was actually one of intense concentration. Marcel was going over the walk he and Elijah took around the city while Niklaus was having his meeting the day before and trying to remember just how far away the General Store was from the hotel. If he could somehow sneak off from the train station without Klaus or Elijah knowing, he could get trace his way from the station, back to the hotel and then from the hotel to the General Store. If he was quick, his little excursion would take no more than twenty minutes. He was sure they would miss him in that time but he would be back to catch the train and, even if his uncle was upset, he wouldn't get a thrashing for wandering away.

As Niklaus lead Marcel to the station's dining room, Marcel noticed a door off to the side that read 'Restroom'.

"Um, poppa," Marcel motioned for Niklaus to bring his ear closer to him. "I have to pee."

Niklaus looked around the room until he saw the same restroom Marcel did. As Klaus reached for Marcel's hand to guide him to the restroom, Marcel pulled his hand away and said, "I can go by myself. I'll be quick, I promise." Marcel scurried away from his Klaus before the man could argue, calling back, "I want a sandwich. Bacon. Thank you, poppa."

Niklaus kept his eyes on Marcel until the boy disappeared behind the restroom door. Then he went over to the counter and ordered their breakfast before walking over to the restroom and waiting by the door. A waiter brought him their breakfast wrapped in a fancy linen cloth before Marcel came back out of the restroom.

Worried, Niklaus knocked on the door. "Marcellus." When no answer came back, he gave the door handle a twist. It was locked. "Marcellus," he called louder over the sound of patrons eating and talking in the dining room. Again, no answer came.

Without hesitation, he twisted the handle until he broke. As he pulled the door open, the entire world faded black, leaving only the sight of the open window.

-M-

Marcel celebrated to himself as he successfully made it back to the hotel. As he stood in front of it though, he couldn't quite remember which way he and Elijah came from on their way back. There were four paths leading from the hotel. He knew the far right one wasn't it because it was the way they'd gone when they left to explore and he didn't remember seeing the General Store on their way out. And he was certain that it wasn't the far left path as that was the one he'd just come from. So it was one of the two middle paths, he just couldn't quite remember which one.

"Hey there, boy." A man sitting on top of a covered wagon called out to Marcel from across the street. Marcel frowned at being called boy but the man didn't seem to say it with any malicious intent. "You tryna get somewhere?"

Marcel wondered if he should answer the stranger. Back home his father and Uncle cautioned him against talking to strange white men but Marcel was sure that was just because they were afraid of what they'd do or say to him. This man seemed kind. Lots of the white people up North were nice to him and a part of him knew it was because of his family's wealth. He'd seen shop owners in Philadelphia be as cruel to white boys because they were ratty and poor as the white people in New Orleans were to him because of his skin color. But here in Philadelphia, his tailored suits and neat appearance made him stand out as one of the Elite and everyone was willing to bend over backward to make him happy.

"I'm tryna get to the General Store," Marcel answered confidently. "I just...don't remember which way to go to get there."

The man shined a crooked smile at him, showing off his brown teeth, dingy from the wad of tobacco in his jaw.

"C'mon," he tapped the empty space beside him on the wooden bench. "I know the way. I'll take you there."

Marcel reached into his jacket pocket and grabbed his wallet He was supposed to use his money to buy treats and souvenirs to return home with but since they didn't get to do any shopping, he still had ten whole dollars to himself.

Marcel knew enough about money to know how much things should cost, Niklaus made sure that he did. He didn't want anyone to think that because Marcel was young or black that he was ignorant so the value of money and the reasonable price of things like carriage rides and basic household items was one of the first things Klaus taught Marcel.

Standing beside the wagon, Marcel said, "Umm...I could give you fifty cents for the ride." Marcel knew that fifty cents was more than the short ride was worth but a part of him wanted to thank the man for his generosity with a bit of a tip.

"Don't bother," the man tipped his hat. "I'll take you there for free."

Marcel shrugged, assuming the man was still just showing more of that Northern hospitality he'd grown so used to.

He climbed onto the wagon and sat on the bench next to the man, waiting for him to pull on the reins and get his horses to move.

When all of a sudden, two hands reached out of the covered part of the wagon and pulled him inside. He tried to scream but another set of hands cover his mouth as the first set began to tie him down with a thick rope. Tears streamed down Marcel's cheeks as he tried to fight against them but the men were too strong.

Once he was secure in ropes, a dirty cloth shoved in his mouth, he realized he was tied to two other black boys around his age, crying just as hard as he was. One wore crisp, clean clothes like him and Marcel figured his family was probably wealthy as well, but the other's clothes were full of holes and patches and Marcel could tell that he hadn't had a bath in days, maybe weeks.

His body shifted between them as the wagon started moving again.

He looked up to the two men that pulled him into the wagon and noticed one of them was wearing a badge that said 'Slave Patrol'. He spat out the cloth in his mouth and said, "You can't do this. I don't belong to anyone. I'm free."

The man slapped him across the face and barked, "Shut the hell up," before trying to shove the cloth back into his mouth.

Marcel turned his head away from the dirty piece of fabric and said, "My name is Marcellus Mikaelson. My father is Niklaus Mikaelson. I have money. If you let me go, I will give you all of the money in my pocket."

Curious, the other man felt around on Marcel's pockets until he found his wallet. He pulled it out and counted the money inside.

"Just about ten dollars in here," he said to the other man.

"So what?" The man with the badge grunted. "We can get 'bout five hundred a piece for these three."

The man nodded as he pocked Marcel's money.

"Just five hundred?" Marcel stated, attempting to hide his desperation with a scoff. "That's nothing to the Mikaelsons. My poppa travels with that much in his sock. I bet if you put a ransom on me, you'd get twice that. Maybe even five thousand."

The Patrolman scoffed. "Ain't nobody paying $5000 for no n*****."

"My poppa will. He's at the train station right now and I swear if you go there and tell him you have me, he'll pay anything to get me back."

The men looked at each other in contemplation. Then, the Patrolman grabbed Marcel's hair and pulled it until it hurt. "If you're lying to us, I swear to god, as soon as we get out of this city, I'm gonna tie you to a tree and beat you till you pass out."

"I'm not lying," Marcel squeaked. "Just asked for Niklaus Mikaelson. I swear, he'll do anything to get me back."

-M-

Elijah paced the length of the platform, his eyes drawing to the steps every time someone came up them. When Niklaus told him that Marcel had gone missing, he couldn't help but wonder if it was his fault. He was always so hard on the boy. Perhaps he ran away because he couldn't stand his Uncle's constant overbearing nature.

He and Niklaus argued over who would go out and scour the city for Marcel but ultimately Niklaus won out. Elijah knew the man wouldn't be able to sit still at the station while his son was missing so he gave in and stayed back just in case Marcel came back.

He'd just barely noticed the shaggy looking man with the 'Slave Patrol' badge as he came up the platform. He paused in his stride, remembering the rumors he'd heard about blacks in the North being kidnapped. The man seemed to be searching for someone but by the uncertain look on his face, it was obvious that he didn't know who.

Elijah approached the man with certainty and Patrolman asked, "Niklaus Mikaelson?"

Elijah's eyes narrowed. 'A trick,' he thought. 'Perhaps Mikael's compelled someone to find us before he did'.

"Depends on who's asking," Elijah replied curtly.

The Patrolman looked Elijah up and down. By his suit and elegance, the man could tell that Elijah was definitely the sort of man who could afford a five thousand dollar ransom but he was not exactly the man he thought he'd find looking for Marcel.

"I don't got time for games, King George. I got a n***** boy in the back of my wagon that claims to be the son of a Niklaus Mikaelson so either you know Niklaus Mikaelson and you have $5000 to give me for him or I'm 'bout to take this boy back to where he belongs."

Elijah suddenly reached out and grabbed the man's collar, pulling him close so that they were standing eye to eye. Then, using compulsion, Elijah growled, "Take me to Marcellus, right now."

-M-

Marcel stopped crying after the Patrolman left. He knew he didn't have a reason to cry anymore. Either the man would find Niklaus still at the train station and his father would save him or Niklaus would be gone from the station, out looking for him, and the man would come back angry and beat him like he promised and Marcel would have plenty of time to cry then. The other two boys, though, were still sobbing.

"It's okay," Marcel whispered to them. "My poppa will come. He'll get us out of here."

"He'll get you out," the poorer boy muttered. "He won't spend that kinda money on us."

"He will. He-"

There was an unexpected shift in the weight of the wagon. Marcel peered up through the opening to the bench to see the driver gone.

"What the hell." The other man said as he crawled through the opening to see where his partner had disappeared to. In the blink of an eye, he was gone too. There was a faint screaming in the distance and then everything went silent.

The three boys heard footsteps approach the wagon and then the curtain drew open. The other two boys shivered with fear at the new stranger but Marcel had never been more relieved to see his stern Uncle Elijah.

Tears of joy streamed down his face as Elijah climbed into the wagon and ripped the ropes from his body.

"Are you okay?" Elijah asked, searching Marcel's skin for any cuts or bruises.

Marcel nodded as he buried his teary face into Elijah's lapel. Elijah was taken aback by the sudden burst of affection but he quickly adjusted to it.

"I'm sorry I ran away," Marcel sobbed. "I just...I didn't think...I'm sorry."

Running his hand down Marcel's back, he whispered against the top of his head, "It's alright, Marcellus. You're okay. The men are gone. They won't hurt you again."

Elijah proceeded to free the other two boys and the two youths ran off, not sure how Elijah managed to take on all three of their captors by himself and too afraid to ask.

After helping Marcel out of the back of the wagon, Elijah sat the boy on the ground and knelt in front of him, looking him in his teary eyes as he said, "What were you thinking? You know that you're not supposed to run off on your own. What if they didn't come to find me? You would be...God knows where."

Marcel bit his lip and mumbled, "I-I thought that it would be okay. I-I was just going to the General Store to get m-marbles before we left."

"We would've gotten you marbles back home, Marcellus, if you would've just waited."

"Those aren't the same," Marcel couldn't help but whine. "I wanted marbles from Philadelphia. A-All of the boys in the Quarter would've been so jealous."

Elijah simply sighed and shook his head. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his watch. They'd missed their train.

"Come along," he said, taking Marcel's hand and walking back towards the station. "We will wait at the station for your father and then decide what to do from there."

After walking in silence for a bit, Marcel finally asked, "Am I...are you gonna thrash me for running off?"

Elijah looked down at Marcel, his heart-tugging at the dry tears streaked on the child's face, and answered, "No, I don't think I will. Because you've learned your lesson, haven't you."

Marcel nodded fervently. "Never trust a man who offers you a ride for free."

Elijah let out a soft chuckle and said, "Also, don't run off without telling your poppa where you're going. We are here to protect you, Marcellus. We can't protect you if we don't know where you are."

"Okay, Uncle Elijah. I promise never to run off again. But...since I've been so good and learned my lesson...and we have lotsa time before the next train...can we please go get marbles now? Please, please, please-"

"After," Elijah quickly cut off what he was sure would be an endless series of pleas. "We meet up with your father. I'm sure he would like to hug you for at least an hour before he lets you go again. And then we will go right back to the hotel and we're not leaving again until it's time to meet the next train. Understand?"

Marcel nodded with a wide, satisfied smile.

End Flashback

With a groan, Niklaus sat up straight and said to Elijah, "He gets bad dreams, y'know. He doesn't like to talk about them now that he's older but...he still gets them. It's hard for him to fall asleep again after but if you set his head on your lap and massage his temples, he tends to fall right back to sleep."

Elijah smirked. "Noted."

"And if that doesn't work, a warm drink usually does. Milk, cider, blood...whatever's on hand."

Elijah continued to nod.

"And if none of that works, just come get me. I know that...you both think he's too old now to need his poppa but...I know him, Elijah."

"I sure I can find other ways to lull him to sleep if it becomes too persistent." Elijah gave a sly smile. "Perhaps a warm bottom would suit him better than warm milk."

Niklaus cut his eyes as his brother, obviously far less entertained by his joke than Elijah was.

"I will wake you," Elijah stated firmly. "If he cannot fall asleep. But trust me, brother. He will be fine. "I have always been more than capable of taking care of Marcellus in your absence. Now go to sleep."

Klaus huffed in irritation as he stood. He was halfway to the staircase when Marcel finally pulled himself from his conversation with Kol to notice his father was on the move.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to sleep upstairs," Klaus answered as if it were his own idea. "It's been a long few days, a bed would probably suit me better than a sleeping bag tonight."

Kol muttered under his breath, "Hell, I think we could all agree to that. Or at least a bed that I don't have to share with the demon spawn."

"Kol," Elijah's voice rose warningly.

"I'm a light sleeper," Niklaus continued as he marched up the stairs, refusing to look back at Marcel as if he thought the doleful look in his son's eyes would urge him to stay. "If you need me, simply call and I'll be right down."

-M-

Elijah allowed the boys to stay up for a little while longer for their marshmallows to settle before he ordered them all to bed. Once they were all asleep, he stayed up a bit longer himself to finish his book, and then he tucked himself into his sleeping bag next to Marcel.

A bit later, he'd gotten a bit parched and so he woke and fetched himself a blood bag from the kitchen. As he came back into the living room, however, he noticed that there was an empty space between him and Finn.

He crushed the half-drained blood bag in his hand and dashed up the stairs, unsure of where Marcellus could have gone but fearing it was to perhaps meet with another secret ally.

He pushed Klaus's door open, ready to shake his brother awake so that they could go find Marcel, when he noticed the figure lying on top of the blankets next to Niklaus.

He wasn't sure when Marcel had snuck out of the living room and, although the disciplinarian in him wanted to drag his nephew out of the room by his ear, landing a few warning smacks to his disobedient body all the way back down to the living room, a part of him also knew that Marcel sneaking off to sleep next to his father was bound to happen. It had been a stressful day for him - from the switching to the compulsion, to the seemingly never-ending brushing - and when Marcellus was stressed, he slept best when Klaus was nearby.

With a heavy sigh, Elijah walked over to the blanket folded at the end of the bed and unraveled it over Marcel's shoulders, tucking the teenager in as carefully as he could so as to not wake Niklaus.

He was halfway down the staircase when he heard a loud buzzing coming from downstairs. On top of the end table beside the armchair sat his phone, its blue light shining Hayley's name.

Fear crawled over his skin as he hurried to it. It was after midnight so if she was calling that late, something terrible had to have happened.

"Hello," he answered in a panicked whisper. "Hayley, are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine, Elijah," Hayley answered tensely. "And...I'm sorry for waking you but...I think you guys need to end your trip a bit early. Something's happened. With Izzy. I...I don't know how to explain it. Just...come how. Now."


So, just an FYI, we're returning to the 'plot' (i use that term very loosely lol) in the next chapter. But I don't think I'll be able to keep up with these weekly updates anymore because it just feels like I don't get to make the chapters as detailed and entertaining as I want them to be. So please don't hate me for returning to my sporadic monthly-ish updates. Promise I will try to be as consistent as possible.