Been agonizing over my writing not being perfect for the past few months, that's what took so long for this chapter to come out. Need a break from the idea of 'perfection' for a while so I hope everyone's okay with some 'just okay' writing for the next few months (or years lol idk).
Chapter 93
Oliver stayed at Marcel's side as the man prepared dinner. He wasn't much help but Marcel enjoyed the company and knew the boy just needed a few hours of attention and he was happy to give it to him.
"Hang on there," Marcel kindly scolded as he slid a knife out of Oliver's hand before the boy could start wildly chopping at an onion. "Let me handle cutting the veggies. You can do the measuring."
"I can do it," Oliver whined.
Marcel ignored the boy's whining and proceeded to cut into the onion. As the blade hit the cutting board, a familiar tingle surged down his spine. Without a second thought, he sped through the Compound to the courtyard opening where Klaus stood with Hope by his side. Glancing at the car parked on the side of the road, he saw Elijah sitting in the driver's seat and two strange boys sitting squeezed tightly in the back seat between Kol and Rebekah.
With a smirk, Klaus said, "Punctual as always." Then, kneeling down to Hope, he continued, "Go inside and have dinner with Marcellus. We'll be back soon."
Her sight falling back to the boys in the car, Hope muttered, "Wh-what about Rafael and...Landon? What are you gonna do to them?"
Klaus stifled a groan as he stood. "I'm not sure yet, but that isn't something you need to worry about."
"Don't kill them," she spat. "They haven't done anything."
"A strange werewolf somehow made it into my city without my knowledge."
"That doesn't mean they need to die!"
"I never said they were going to."
"A werewolf?" Marcel interrupted. "What werewolf?"
Klaus brought his hand up to Marcel's cheek and said, "Nothing you should worry about, sweetheart." Marcel's nose crinkled in disgust of Klaus's patronizing but before he could object, Klaus turned back towards the car and said, "Feed the children and put them to bed. We'll be back soon."
Hope spun around to Marcel, her eyes wide and watery. "Stop him! He's going to kill them!"
Marcel released a heavy sigh through his nose. He couldn't say no to those eyes if he wanted to. Speeding past the girl, he stopped in front of Klaus, stopping him in his tracks.
"We don't hurt kids," he stated plainly.
Klaus's jaw tightened in anger at being stopped but then, as he stared into his son's big brown eyes petitioning him to acquiesce, his anger turned to despair. "You don't hurt children, Marcellus. Nothing makes me as proud as a father than knowing that you have grown into a man so much better than myself. But I must do whatever I must to protect this family. Even when that means...disposing of children."
As Klaus tried to walk past him, Marcel grabbed his arm and said, "If you hurt those boys, I will never forgive you. Hope will never forgive you."
Klaus yanked his arm from Marcel's hold, his eyes narrowing in anger. "I have lived with my family's ire for a thousand years. I'll survive another thousand with two angry teenagers."
Klaus started to walk away again and again Marcel sped past him until he stood in front of the car door, blocking Klaus from entering.
"Klaus," Marcel muttered, hoping no one else could hear him as his voice strained. "Please...don't."
Klaus let out a soft sigh. He looked into Marcel's eyes and saw a youthful boy who thought his father was incapable of committing any atrocity. Then he looked to Hope and saw that the little girl he'd been trying to protect from his dark side was starting to witness it first hand.
Bringing his hand up to Marcel's cheek, Klaus said, "Fine. I swear, no harm will come to these boys. But I'm going to find out how they got into my city before I let them go anywhere." Marcel's face burned with embarrassment as Klaus brought his hand down to his hip and gave it a light tap. "Go on. I will see you later tonight."
Marcel didn't fight as Klaus gave him a slight nudge, stepping aside to let him in the car.
He and Hope watched as the car drove away in the dark, both wondering if their father really would let the boys go.
"They didn't do anything," Hope muttered as Marcel placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her into the Compound.
"How did they get past Freya's barriers?"
"I...I don't know. But however they did it, I'm sure it wasn't as bad as dad's making it seem."
Marcel was inclined to agree with her even though he knew nothing about the boys himself.
With Hope and Oliver's help, Marcel finished cooking dinner. Izzy paused in the doorway taking instant notice of the mostly empty table.
"Uh, where is everyone?"
Marcel finished serving Oliver's plate as he said, "Something's come up, they'll be back later."
Slipping silently into her seat, Izzy couldn't help but wonder what was so important that they couldn't be bothered to tell her they were leaving. She wished he hadn't gotten rid of her phone so she could text Elijah just how pissed she was about it.
"What's with the face?" Marcel asked as he sat down in his seat.
Izzy realized then that her feelings were apparently more clear than she wanted them to be.
"What face?" she grumbled as she sat up and started eating, schooling her face back to nonchalance.
Refusing to be fooled, Marcel continued, "You were just making a face."
"Well, I have a face so technically I am always 'making a face' so I'm gonna need you to be more specific."
Marcel smirked at the girl's smart-alecky remark. Before he could respond, Davina entered. Marcel could tell that she was intentionally avoiding eye contact with Hope and Izzy as if she was afraid they knew what Klaus had done to her the night before. She was only grateful that the Mikaelsons had all been called away on some 'important family business' so she didn't have to sit across from Klaus so soon after he humiliated her.
"No phones at the table," Marcel scolded lightly as he caught Hope sneaking a peek at her phone for the third time.
With a sigh, Hope slid the phone back into her pocket and mumbled, "I texted mom and dad and neither of them is telling me what's going on with Rafael and Landon."
"I'm sure they're fine," Marcel said with more confidence than he felt in that statement.
"Who's Rafael and Landon?" asked Izzy.
Hope shrugged, unsure of how to explain why she felt so connected to two strangers she'd met for less than five minutes. "Just some guys passing through the city."
"So...what's so special about them that everyone had to drop everything and rush to them? They vampire hunters or something?"
"Worse," Marcel sighed. "One of them's a werewolf."
"A wolf got through Freya's barrier?" Davina finally spoke. She'd see Freya's barrier spell. It should've been impossible for anyone to get through without her letting it down. "How?"
Marcel leaned heavily on the table. "That's what they're trying to find out."
As dinner came to an end, Marcel decided to clear the table and wash the dishes with just Oliver so the girls could get ready for bed without a cranky toddler following them around.
"Where are you going?" Izzy asked Davina as she headed for the Compound exit instead of the staircase with the rest of them.
"To Josh's," the older teen answered plainly. "Maybe he has some insight about how this wolf got through Freya's barrier." Seeing Izzy's dejected stare at the quiet staircase, Davina added, "Do you wanna tag along?"
"Can't," Izzy sighed. "Grounded. And...after this morning...I'm not in a hurry to test Elijah again."
Davina's eyes widened. "What does that mean?"
Izzy's face turned red as she realized Davina probably didn't know what happened between her, Hayley, and Elijah.
"Um...nothing. He just...gave me 'the look', y'know. He's pretty scary for a dude embroidered handkerchiefs."
Davina's eyes narrowed. She was sure there was more to the story than Izzy was telling but she didn't want to push the girl anymore just in case she was wrong. Still, something in her told her that she wasn't.
"Sounds like you could use some fun." Davina continued, deciding to change the subject since Izzy was obviously embarrassed about talking about her punishment in front of Hope. "How about the three of us have a girl's night in instead. Scary movies in the den?"
Izzy and Davina clocked the spark of excitement that shined in Hope's eyes at the question but the younger teen quickly schooled her face in order to not seem too eager in front of the other girls.
With a shrug, Izzy said, "Pretty sure I'm not supposed to watch TV while I'm grounded but...Elijah's not here to stop me so why not."
-M-
Oliver brought his hand sleepily to his eyes as Marcel carried him down the hall to his room. He decided to bring the boy along with him to jog around the neighborhood in order to clear his mind and, just as he'd hoped, the run was enough to tire the small boy out instantly. He had to carry him the last two blocks.
He fished his phone out of his pocket as he laid the boy down in bed to see if Kol ever responded to any of his messages asking for info about the wolfboy but still nothing.
With a sigh, he tucked Oliver in for the night and flopped back on the chair beside the boy's bed. He didn't know where the girls were in their gigantic home but he hoped they'd distracted themselves enough to keep Hope's mind off of Klaus and what he may or may not be doing to Rafael and Landon.
Tired after the long day, he shut his eyes for a moment of rest himself.
And then his phone rang.
Marcel hurriedly answered the phone, barely glancing at the caller's name before bringing it up to his ear.
"Don't let anyone ever tell you you're not persistent," Kol said jokingly.
"Stop kidding around and tell me the truth."
"Alright, get your knickers outta your arse. They're alright. Well...they're alive. Klaus just had them cuffed to an old radiator for hours so 'alright' might be a bit subjective at the moment."
"Did he hurt them?"
"Physically, no. But you know dear ol' Klaus. He's not the most cuddly wolf in New Orleans...or the world. But I'm sure they'll be fine eventually. Nothing 10 years of intense psychiatry can't buff out."
Marcel couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
"Sorry I couldn't get back to you sooner. Klaus and Elijah have been running is rabid trying to figure out how this pup got through the barrier."
Remembering that he was also curious about that, Marcel asked, "Did you find out?"
With a wily laugh, Kol answered, "There was no barrier."
Marcel stood in shock. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, Klaus's girlfriend neglected to mention just how little control her little Siphon-witch daughters had over their powers. Freya released the barrier for them to enter the city earlier this week and replaced it when they were through but...the entire time the girls have been in the city, they've been siphoning the barrier's magic and now it's so weak it's basically gone."
Marcel slowly paced the floor. "So...the wolf-boy may not be the only supe to get through."
"That's certain. Becca and I caught a baby vamp feeding in the Quarter earlier. Needless to say, Poppa-Klaus is far from ecstatic right now. He's making us sweep the entire city before we can go home tonight."
"I bet," Marcel sighed as he imagined just how overprotective Klaus was bound to become again. "Where is he now?"
"Last I checked, on his way to you. Him, Elijah, and Freya went back to raise the barrier around the Compound before anyone has a chance to break in."
"Marcellus."
Marcel turned to see Klaus standing in the doorway, his posture stiff but face blank, giving away nothing of his certain distress.
"Here you are." Klaus sauntered over to the balcony doors, peeping casually out of them before calmly flipping the lock and closing the curtains. "It's been a long few days, sweetheart. Perhaps you should call it an early night."
Marcel hung up from Kol, irritated with the way Klaus came into the room and started ordering him around without even a proper greeting.
"I'm not tired," he responded calmly."You wanna tell me what's going on?"
"Nothing you should worry yourself about." Waving his hand at Oliver, Klaus continued, "This is your responsibility now. We'll take care of everything else."
"That's not fair Klaus. This is my city too."
"Must we have this argument every day, Marcellus?"
"I don't know, Klaus. Must we?"
A shift in the bed brought both of their eyes to Oliver slightly stirring at the sound of their voices over him.
Nodding towards the door, Marcel guided Klaus out of the room.
"I talked to Kol," Marcel stated firmly as he shut Oliver's door. "They are more supes in the city?"
Klaus groaned at finding out Kol had spoken to Marcel before he could.
"We're taking care of it."
"Without me!"
"Yes, without you."
Marcel's jaw tightened with uncertain anticipation as Klaus closed the distance between them.
"What did I tell you about your safety coming first? You made a lot of enemies this weekend and if any of them have managed to sneak their way into this city, I don't want you out where they can get their hands on you. Until I'm sure that this city is clear of all threats, consider yourself under the indefinite supervision of me or one of my siblings."
"Bullshit, I don't need a babysitter!" Marcel's face flushed red at the sound of footsteps coming down the hall. Two of Hayley's wolves were deep in conversation on their way out of the Compound but paused as they passed the two vampires. Marcel knew they'd heard him shouting and were probably judging him for allowing Klaus to talk to him like no other man in the Quarter could. as they always did.
In his distraction, Marcel didn't see Klaus's hand until it was too late. Two sharp smacks landed across his behind before he could react.
Both wolves came to a sudden halt, stunned catching the sight of Marcel's punishment in person for the first time. It was rumored amongst the wolves that Klaus took Marcel over his lap when he was 'naughty' but most of them thought it was a joke. With everything they could hear happening behind closed doors in the Compound, no one had ever seen it actually happen. Until now.
"Klaus," Marcel bit breathily, quickly turning his behind away from his father's reach. "Stop!"
Klaus's eyebrows rose at Marcel's declaration. "Stop?" The word fell more like a threat than a question.
Marcel couldn't understand how his body could both burn and freeze with shame at the same time. Had it been another of their family member to witness his chastisement, he would still feel embarrassed but they all went through the same thing - there was no shame in it between them anymore.
But the wolves...they aren't his family. And they were in constant search of a way to humiliate him.
He opened his mouth to shout at Klaus, to cuss him out, to threaten him to save face in front of the wolves, but he couldn't get a word through his dry throat. His eyes watered as he shut his mouth, the inability to speak only adding to his shame.
Klaus cupped his hand under Marcel's chin as he growled, "Did I embarrass you in front of the wolves?"
Marcel's drifted to the floor but a slight tug of his chin brought his gaze back up to Klaus's.
"I have accepted that a part of your eternal adolescence is this never-ending phase of rebelliousness, and if I have to deal with an eternity of this attitude I will not be doing in secret anymore. Do you understand me?"
Marcel sucked his trembling lip between his teeth as he gave a curt nod 'yes'.
"Good." Klaus dropped his hand from Marcel's face with a sigh.
In the blink of an eye, he disappeared from before Marcel. One of the wolves let out a sharp yelp as Klaus suddenly stood before them, his golden eyes staring them down with enough heat to melt the ice keeping their feet in place.
"You two call it a night."
They swallowed their nervousness and turned to leave.
"Oh," Klaus added, pausing the wolves as they hovered above the staircase. "If I hear anyone whispering about what went on here tonight, I will know it was you who told them. You will do well to not let that happen."
They nodded in furious unison.
With a nod, Klaus sent them darting down the stairs.
Klaus could see the glisten of a tear against Marcel's cheek as he walked back to him.
Without a question or warning, he lifted Marcel from the ground, tucking his long legs around his waist as if he were carrying a child rather than a six-foot man. Marcel's eyes widened in shock of the childish treatment but before he could object, Klaus placed a hand on the back of his head and guided his tearful face into the crook of his neck as he continued down the hall.
"Hush," Klaus softly reprimanded. "No more arguing tonight."
"You can't spank me i-in front of Hayley's wolves. T-that...that was humiliating."
"I know," Klaus brought his hand down to Marcel's back, rubbing gentle circles against his tense muscles until they relaxed beneath his touch. "But you will learn from it."
Marcel let out a sharp yelp as Klaus landed another smack against his behind.
"And you will stop telling me what I can and cannot do."
His emotions weighing too heavily on his chest to put up a fight, Marcel simply buried his face against Klaus's neck in case they crossed the path of any more wandering wolves and held on as Klaus carried him to his room.
-M-
Izzy held her wrist out between Hope and Davina, the silver bracelet sparkling under the den's LED lights.
"Just...take it off," said Hope as if speaking the most profound wisdom any fourteen-year-old has ever spoken.
Izzy cut her eyes at the girl. With a firm yank, she proved that there was some sort of magical tether keeping the bracelet down her hand past her thumb knuckle.
"Wow," Davina shook her head. "All of this because of a little accidental magic. Such an exaggeration."
"That's what I said," Izzy exclaimed. "It's not like anyone died."
"There has to be a spell to get it off."
Izzy flopped back on the sofa with a sigh. "There is. But Freya and Vincent are the only people that know it."
Jumping down beside the older girl, Hope said, "Well...why don't we just sneak in Aunt Freya's shop and find the spell." Her voice lilted with the excitement of the caper as she continued, "Then, one of us could use it to take the bracelet off you when we're alone and you can put it back on whenever mom and Uncle Elijah are around."
Izzy's eyes widened with shock that she hadn't thought of that first.
"Well, Hope," Davina shook her head, silently impressed with the girl's deviousness. "Never let anyone say you're not a Mikaelson." Slipping into the sofa next to Izzy, she said, "We'll have to be sly about it. Freya's probably has some sort of alarm on whatever grimoire's hiding the spell. Maybe-"
"Shhh!" Hope suddenly reached across Izzy and placed her hand over Davina's mouth.
As Davina pulled her face away to reprimand the girl's rudeness, the den door opened.
Izzy shot to her feet at the sight of Elijah standing in the doorway, his dark eyes unreadable. She followed his eyes as he looked over to the movie playing on the TV and then back to her and her head dropped unconsciously in shame.
"Remind me again what were the stipulations of your punishment?" He asked plainly.
Izzy gave a slight shrug, trying desperately not to look at Hope or Davina as they witnessed her chastisement. This was a type of embarrassment she wasn't used to feeling. Her mother barely paid attention to her and she couldn't remember the last time she scolded her, especially not in front of anyone.
"You don't remember?" Elijah continued.
Izzy sighed and bit, "No fun."
Elijah nodded at the crude paraphrasing. "Then you understand why this," he waved a graceful hand at the room. "Is verboten."
"It was barely fun," she grumbled. "We were just...hanging out."
"It's my fault, Elijah," said Davina, standing beside Izzy. "She told me that she wasn't supposed to be here but I insisted. I thought it was unfair that she be excluded from something as essential to a teenage girl's social development as a Girl's Night."
Elijah smirked at Davina's quick wit. "Davina," he said simply, giving a curt nod as if to acknowledge that she was not currently on his hit list. "Izzy is a big girl. She knows the rules and she knows how to say no. She disobeyed me because he wanted to, not because you forced her."
"Yeah, but-"
"Izzy, tell Davina goodnight so she can go about her evening in peace."
Izzy groaned a low 'goodnight' while staring at the floor, still unable to look her friend in the eyes.
Davina's nose flared in irritation of Elijah's inability to see things her way but she knew that she wouldn't be able to change the man's mind on her own. With a huff, she marched out of the room, Elijah stepping calmly aside as she passed to give her a clear exit.
Hope sunk further into the couch as Elijah's eyes fell to her.
"Isn't it past your bedtime?"
Hope's face burned red with embarrassment at Elijah announcing to the other teen that she still had a bedtime.
"I was...saying goodnight to Izzy and Davina."
Motioning for her to leave, he said, "Say goodnight."
With a groan, Hope drug herself from the sofa and mumbled, "Goodnight, Izzy."
Elijah lifted his hand and motioned for Izzy to follow the girl. "You too. It's been a long night, we will discuss your disobedience in the morning."
Forcing a tough look on her face, Izzy drug her feet across the floor all the way to the door.
"Isabel," Elijah called behind the girl as she continued to stomp her way down the hall.
Izzy paused at the call of her name but didn't turn around to face the man.
"I intended only to extend your punishment by 1 day for disobeying me but if you continue with this attitude, we could make other arrangements."
Izzy spun around on her heels and barked, "So it's okay for you to disappear for hours and not even tell me that you were leaving, but I can't watch a stupid movie?"
Elijah's irritation quickly vanished at the girl's confession.
"Oh," he said as he walked slowly over to her. "I see." He stared down at the girl's fiery eyes and said, "I'm sorry. Something came up and needed my immediate attention but...I should've called you at the very least. I promise it will not happen again."
Izzy's eyes became saucers as she stared at him in utter shock. No adult had ever taken such immediate responsibility for slighting her before. And Elijah did it, not only as if she deserved it, but as if he meant it.
"Do you forgive me?" He continued.
Her eyes fell back to the floor, once again embarrassed at the sense of warmth she felt at his apology. "Whatever."
Elijah placed his finger beneath the girl's chin and lifted her eyes back up to his. "Would you like for me to tuck you in?"
"No," she mumbled, pulling her chin from his hold. "I'm sixteen."
Elijah smirked and nodded, "Then, good night, sweetheart. I will see you in the morning. I promise."
Izzy turned to walk back down the hall but she paused as she lifted her foot.
Then, without warning, she spun back around and wrapped her arms tightly around his body, hugging him firmly but briefly before spinning back around and marching down the hall as if nothing happened.
Elijah simply smirked as he watched the girl marching briskly to the staircase.
Happy Holidays! I'm going to try to get another chapter out this month but I make no promises lol Thank you all for reading btw, my life is hella busy now and writing this story is a nice reprieve from the real world.
Also, I know some folks probably hate how childish I make Marcel sometimes but my favorite trope is 'adult reverted to child' and whether it's physically or emotionally, I always write it so if that's something you absolutely cannot stand, this may be the wrong story for you lol
