I can't believe it's been 2 months since my last update! *shock face emoji*
Chapter 96
"Why must I go with them?" Finn mumbled behind Elijah as he followed him down the staircase. "Why can't I stay here?"
"So you can spend the rest of the day sulking in your self-imposed isolation?" Elijah asked dully. "No. If you're going to be our inside man at the school then you need to get closer to Hope and her friends. Learn what activities they enjoy, and which sports they like to participate in or spectate. Any and everything you need to know in order to know where they may be at any given time."
"Is this what my life has been reduced to?" Finn continued to grumble as he stood at the bottom of the staircase, staring out the cabin window at Hope and Izzy in deep conversation with Landon and Rafael. "Eternal babysitter?"
To his surprise, Elijah nodded. "For the time being. Our hope is that someday," Elijah walked over to the front door, opening it with a smirk as he said, "You will graduate to Considerate Uncle."
As he marched towards the doorway, Finn mumbled, "How long did it take you to reach that state?"
Glancing across the parking way to Marcel standing far off from the kids as he spoke to Kol, Elijah answered, "Longer than it should have."
Flashback:
Marcel stared out the library window at the empty expanse of dirt leading from the Mikaelson Compound to the road about a mile off in the distance. He'd been sitting in the same spot for an hour, but hadn't flipped a single page of his book and hadn't read more than the first few paragraphs.
He was in such deep thought that he didn't even hear the library door as it opened and Elijah sauntered calmly into the room.
"Marcellus,"
The boy jumped at the sound of his name, spinning quickly around to Elijah.
Noticing the boy was still on page one of his new text, Elijah asked, "Are you having trouble with any of the words?"
It'd been six months since Elijah started teaching the boy to read and Marcel's skills had progressed remarkably fast in Elijah's opinion but there were still some words that he struggled with, especially words with Greek roots.
"Um, n-no sir," Marcel's eyes dropped down the book, his jaw tense with embarrassment at being caught daydreaming.
"You've been in here for an hour," said Elijah. "And you haven't gotten past the first page."
"Sorry, sir. I was just..." Marcel swallowed the lump in his throat.
Lifting his finger beneath the boy's chin and tilting Marcel's face so that he was looking him in the eyes, Elijah calmly stated, "You can tell me if it's too hard. We can step back to an easier text."
"No," Marcel quickly pulled his head away. He enjoyed his studies and he didn't want anyone to think that he couldn't keep up with Elijah's rigorous agenda because he could. "It's not that. It's just..." Glancing back out the window, Marcel mumbled, "Klaus's been gone for a long time. When is he coming back?"
Suddenly understanding what had the boy so distracted, Elijah gave a small smirk. "Well, his last letter said he was in Tennessee and it takes about two weeks to travel from there to here by wagon."
"It's been two weeks," Marcel grumbled lowly, doing his best to not come across as impudent.
"Sometimes things happen that cause delays. Maybe they needed a new wheel or...the driver got sick, or one of the horses was injured or-"
"Or something happened to Klaus." The words hurt Marcel to say.
"Niklaus is fine," Elijah stated confidently. "He's an all-powerful, immortal being. Nothing bad will ever happen to him."
"How do you know?"
"Because I know."
"But what if-"
"I promise you, Marcellus. Niklaus will be back any down now. If there's one thing that I know about my brother, it's that he loves you. And he will never leave you any longer than he has to."
Marcel bit his lip, not sure if Elijah was right but certainly hoping he was. He was too nervous to speak the other fear he harbored so close to his chest. The fear that, after only a few months, Klaus had grown tired of being a father and had run off to start a new life of his own somewhere. Eventually, Klaus would send word back to his siblings, and one by one they would all go off on secret trips to join him and never return."
"How about we take a break," said Elijah, casually closing Marcel's book. "And go see what the cook has in the kitchen for us today."
Marcel nodded slowly as he stood from his chair.
Elijah couldn't help but notice the sadness in Marcel's eyes but he did not possess his brother's almost innate gift for knowing exactly what to do or say to console a downhearted child.
End Flashback
Izzy watched curiously as Marcel and Kol walked side-by-side ahead of the group on their way to the lake. Seeing them leaning in so close, whispering to each other, almost made her wish she'd activated her wolf-genes already so she could eavesdrop.
"What the hell do those two have to say that's so private?" She asked out loud to no one and everyone.
Hope walked with a small bounce in her step as she carried her towel over her shoulder, not noticing the secrecy happening between her brother and uncle as she kept her attention focused on Rafael walking beside Landon at a steady pace ahead of her. "What do you mean?" she asked dreamily.
"Kol and Marcel," Izzy bit, growing a bit annoyed by the girl's infatuation already.
Hope looked away from Rafael to see her brother and uncle in deep conversation. Her first instinct was to listen in and hear what they had to say but then she remembered what happened the last time she tried to involve herself in their business. She was almost murdered by ancient vampires and got herself and Sebastian spanked in front of her entire family. The thought of being punished in front of Rafael made her stomach do summersaults.
"They're talking about the party Davina is hosting tonight," Finn answered bluntly as he took up the tail end of their caravan. He walked with his eyes tilted towards the ground, listening to Kol and Marcel speak covertly about their plans for the evening so subtly that - had he not already known what they were referring to when they said 'Davina's evening plans' - even he wouldn't know what they were up to.
He suddenly smashed into Izzy's back; looking up to her with wide eyes, surprised by the unexpected stop.
"What party?" Izzy asked.
Finn shrugged, a little surprised that someone was actually listening to him. He'd been mumbling under his breath since they left the cabin but no one acknowledged his existence the entire time. If Elijah didn't force him to tag along to be an extra set of eyes on the two new Mikaelson wards, he never would've gone with them in the first place.
"Davina's throwing a party in the city without us?" Izzy continued.
"I-I don't know," Finn mumbled, rising slowly to his feet so Izzy, Hope, and Sebastian wouldn't hover so high above him. "I mean...I don't..."
"He's probably lying," Hope stated, rolling her eyes at Finn and returning to her stroll. "He does that sometimes. Uncle Kol says you shouldn't trust him."
Izzy eyed Finn a bit longer as Sebastian followed behind Hope. Finn wouldn't look her in the eyes. He knew she wouldn't believe him, just like most of their family. He wasn't surprised when she turned around and started following the rest of them again.
-M-
Izzy couldn't help but watch Marcel and Kol the entire time they were at the lake. While the others splashed, dove, and swam around in the lake, she sat on the bank across from the two older Mikaelsons, her eyes focused on their lips as if she thought she'd suddenly gain the ability to hear them or read lips. Whenever Marcel or Kol looked away from each other to her, she quickly pretended to be interested in whatever the other kids were doing until they returned to their secret conversation.
Eventually, curiosity took over and she couldn't stop herself from stealthily sneaking back into the forest and creeping around to the other side of the lake, hidden by trees and bushes as she listened to Kol and Marcel talk.
"We could tell them you started the fight because you're still pissed that I'm making Davina go to the school," Marcel suggested. "And things got a bit out of hand. One thing leads to another. You got a broken arm, I felt guilty and lied about contacting Tyler to protect you."
"Few things wrong with that story, mate," Kol grunted. "1. If we tell Klaus you lied to protect me again, both of us'll get thrashed from here to Virginia. And 2. How am I supposed to convince my brothers that I'm mature enough to teach at their school if they think I lose my temper over something so absurdly minuscule?"
"I tried," Marcel threw his hands up in resignation. "You think of something."
Kol let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't know how my brothers perform this maturity act so well. It's only been a few days and already I'm exhausted." A moment of silence lingered and then Kol continued, "Fine. Here's what we'll do. I'll take the blame for starting the fight. I'll also tell them that last night, I secretly compelled you to lie to keep me out of trouble because I didn't want this trip to be a repeat of the last one but then I started feeling guilty and that's why I had to come clean. Who knows, maybe admitting I started the fight will garner me some real respect from my big brothers."
"Maybe. Or maybe Klaus will actually murder you for compelling me."
"You got a better idea?"
Marcel threw his back against the tree. "All of this because of a damn party. What is Davina thinking? Throwing a party without asking me. I swear, when I get my hands on her-"
"Ugghh, Marcel," Kol groaned in a low whine, immediately cutting Marcel off. "I know you and Davina have your own dynamics going on but the thought of my best mate thrashing my girl is not an image I'd like for you to conjure in my mind right now."
Izzy'd heard all she needed to hear. While Kol and Marcel were both distracted by discussing the dynamics of Marcel and Davina's relationship, she quietly snuck away, back around the trees to the lake.
The party was real after all. Davina was throwing a party and didn't invite her. Elijah had given her the choice of staying home or coming to the cabin and had she known Davina was going to throw a party in the city, she would've chosen to stay.
"You heard them, didn't you?"
Izzy almost jumped out of her skin at the sudden sound of Finn behind her. She spun around to see the young Original hovering above her, his eyes softly meeting her gaze as if afraid of how she'd react to his presence and inquiry.
"Heard what?" She grunted, pretending to not know what he was talking about.
"If you're going to be that pretty you shouldn't also be dumb or no one will take you serious."
Izzy cut her eyes back at Finn. "Oh yeah, what's your excuse?"
Finn's face dropped at the quick comeback.
"So there's a party tonight," Izzy shrugged. "So what?"
"If there's one thing I can spot a mile away, it's bitterness."
Izzy cut her eyes at him. "I'm not bitter."
Finn gave a smirk wily enough to rival his youngest brother's. "You don't have to lie to me. I'm no one to judge the aggrieved. I've been bitter for a thousand years."
"What do I have to be bitter about?"
"You consider Davina a friend, right? Yet she's hosting a party in the city while you're here," he nodded towards the children gayly playing in the lake. "with us."
Izzy stretched out on the ground, staring dejectedly up at the sky. "Elijah doesn't seem like the kinda guy who would've let me stay in town for a party anyway."
"Perhaps not," Finn signed, sitting down beside her. "But then again...he also doesn't have to know."
Izzy's eyes narrowed at him. "Are you suggesting that I sneak out?"
Finn shrugged. "You're not afraid, are you?"
Izzy sat up on her elbows, staring at him in surprised confusion. "Why do you care if I go to this party so badly?"
"I don't care if you go," he mumbled. "I just...thought that you'd want to see your friend."
"Bull shit. Tell me the truth or I'm telling Elijah that you're up to something."
Finn's jaw tightened at her threat. "If you must know," he drew his eyes up and across the lake to Kol and Marcel, still in an absent-minded world of their own. "I just want to be away from these damn vampires for a few hours."
"But...you're a vampire."
He cut his eyes at her as if she'd just called him slur. "Are you going to the party or not?"
"What does it matter if I go? If you want to go so bad, go."
Finn wrapped his arms around his knees and pulled them up to his chest. "I'm not one of them. You know how witches treat outsiders. And Davina...tolerates me but...I doubt she can put aside her feelings for Kol and Marcel enough to welcome me into her party without at least one other person there cosign my endorse my presence."
"And what makes you think I'll be your endorsement?"
"You don't have to," he said calmly. "But...if you don't take me and you go to Davina's party anyway, which I'm sure you will, then there will be no one here to stop me from telling Elijah."
Izzy's eyes narrowed at Finn, considering his lose-lose ultimatum.
"Anybody ever call you a dirty old bastard?" She asked crassly.
Finn shrugged. "Not in this lifetime."
Izzy stood, deciding to move to the other side of the lake with the other kids rather than stick around Finn for much longer. As she dusted the dirt from her swimsuit, she bit, "I would say it's an honor to be the first but you're a piece of shit."
As the sun began to set, Marcel and Kol decided to call it a day. As they called the other teens in, however, they were met with nothing but grumbles.
"Why don't you go in without us." Rafael bluntly suggested, lazily floating at the edge of the lake on his back. "This lake is the best most exciting thing you people have taken us to and we're not ready to go yet."
"Too bad," Kol lazily bit. His mind was still too focused on his own problems to care about Rafael's. "As long as you're living with our family, you listen to us and we say it's time to go in."
"How's about we race you for it," Landon suggested.
Kol and Marcel scoffed at the notion.
"You race us?" Kol repeated.
"Not me," continued Landon. "One of you race Raf."
"Dude," Rafael righted himself to stare into Landon's eyes. "What are you doing? I can't outrun a vampire."
"No, but you can outswim one."
"C'mon kid," Marcel continued to laugh. "I was raised in this lake. Neither of you can outswim me in it."
"Raf could. He's the strongest swimmer I know. Even before he activated his werewolf curse he was outswimming adults."
"Maybe at the neighborhood pool. There's no way you'd beat me."
A bit irritated at the vampire's cockiness, Rafael finally puffed his chest and said, "Oh yeah. Let's go then."
Marcel knew that they were already running late on getting back to the cabin and the sun was setting faster as the summer died, but his impetuous teenage hubris moved him to strip his shirt off before common sense could kick in.
"This is stupid," Kol grumped as he watched his friend wrangle his boots off. "They're just trying to goad you into letting them stay longer."
"It'll be a quick race," Marcel insisted. "Look at him. The kid is more bone than muscle."
Before Kol could make any more arguments, Marcel was in the lake.
"Alright," Landon sat on the bank as Marcel and Rafael got into place. "Let's make this a clean race. No one uses their powers, got it? Okay. On your marks...get set..."
-M-
Marcel couldn't believe it when he lost to a teenage boy who weighed a buck twenty soaking wet. Neither could Kol and the incredulity led the older vampire to jump into the lake and prove that the teenage wolf wasn't faster than them. When he lost too, he immediately demanded a rematch but not before Marcel. Rafael was exhausted after the fourth race and, in fairness, the older vampires gave him a minute to catch his breath as they continued swimming, practicing their strokes as if believing that was the reason this kid was beating them.
"Marcellus!"
Marcel froze mid-stroke at the boom of his name.
Peering above the water, he spotted the dim figure of his father framed by the purple-ish early evening sky.
Klaus glared down at Marcel, cutting his eyes over to Kol's in the next moment.
"Supper is on the table."
Marcel resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he swam over to the bank.
"We were on our way," he grumbled as he pulled himself onto the bank. "You didn't need to come find us."
"Evidently I did," said Klaus, deciding to ignore the spite in his son's voice for now. "You know Elijah likes for you all to be at the dinner table in a prompt and orderly fashion and when you're not there, I have to hear his lectures on it. And the last thing I want to hear after a long day is a lecture on the time with which it takes for the meringue to melt. Why my fastidious brother chose to make a meringue pie one the middle of the Louisiana woods in the middle of August, I'll never know. Nevertheless, to save me from such dull erudition, I expect you all to be on time."
"Y'know, when I'm teaching at Caroline's school, you won't be able to just harangue me to dinner whenever you want."
"Perhaps not," Klaus sped over to Marcel's towel, grabbing it from the waiting branch before the younger vampire could get it. "But in which case, there's always Elijah."
He held the towel out to Marcel. Marcel eyed the towel, seeing past its benignness to the subtle meaning behind the gesture.
"I'm not teaching at this school if you're still gonna micromanage me, Klaus."
"I am far too much to do than to spend every waking second of my life wondering what you're up to, Marcellus." Klaus threw the towel over Marcel's head and gave it a light pat before saying, "Now hurry and dry yourself before, God forbid, another of Elijah's dishes changes a modicum of its temperature to something other than what my annoying big brother thinks it should be."
