Chapter 97
Kol sat silently in the armchair before his brothers. Klaus and Elijah hovered above him, Elijah's arms folded in disappointment and Niklaus glaring at him with a scowl of disgust.
"I'm sorry," he muttered again, unable to look either of his older brothers in their eyes.
"You compelled Marcellus," Klaus stated in a low growl. "And you're sorry."
"It was stupid," Kol continued, "I know. I won't do it again, I swear."
"How do we know you haven't compelled him more already?"
"Because I'm telling you I didn't and I wouldn't..." Kol paused, considering for a second the irony of his next statement. "I wouldn't lie to you, Nik. Not anymore. I made a selfish mistake and I came clean about it because I realized how stupid I was. I almost got my best mate a thrashing when I was the one who initiated the fight."
"This is very noble of you, Kol," said Elijah interrupting Klaus's next callous remark. "Thank you for coming clean about your mistake."
"Noble?" Klaus scoffed at Elijah's naivete. "He only told us because he can't stand the all-encompassing guilt of getting his 'best mate' in trouble. There is one request I've made of you all the day I took Marcellus in and that is that he is only to be compelled for his own benefit. Kol's actions are a flagrant violation of that rule and-"
"Niklaus." Elijah's sharp tone silenced the raging hybrid in a second. "I do believe you are not in a state to handle this situation rationally. How about you go help Rebekah and Marcellus feed the children and I will take care of Kol."
Klaus cut his eyes at Elijah but he knew his brother was right. He slammed the library door behind him with an indignant huff as he left.
"He looks like he wants to strangle me," Kol said jokingly.
Elijah cocked a knowing smile. "I'm sure he's thinking of reaching for something a few feet south of your neck."
Kol's face grew redder at the subtle threat.
"Although I admire your honesty, little brother,"
Kol stiffened as Elijah made his way across the room to him.
"Niklaus is right. Marcellus is off-limits and you know that."
Kol couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Klaus compels him all the time."
"If you ever have children of your own you can decide who gets to compel them and when. In the meantime, when Klaus sets a boundary regarding Marcellus, you will respect it. Do you understand?"
Kol grumbled a half-hearted affirmation. Being scolded for something he actually didn't do was worse than being scolded for an actual misbehavior.
"Good. Now then,"
Kol watched through his shaded lashes as Elijah continued past him to the desk by the back window. His skin prickled with anxiety as Elijah opened the desk drawer and retrieved a long rattan cane.
Kol gripped the armrest of his chair with the tips of his fingers. "Wh-when'd you get that?"
"I had it commissioned weeks ago. It came in while we were on the hunting trip. I've never used one of these," Elijah gave the cane a test swing, cutting the air in front of him like a knife. The sound of rattan cutting through air sent a shiver down Kol's spine. "But my research leads me to believe they're very similar to a common switch except more durable so I won't have to find a new one every few sessions."
"Y-you're gonna use that on me?"
Elijah looked away from the cane to see the genuine fear in Kol's eyes. With a sigh, he said, "Come here, little brother."
Kol's jaw tensed as he rose from his chair. "I said I was sorry," he muttered, believing his words were just going to fall on deaf ears like always. "I won't compel Klaus's precious Marcellus again, I swear."
Elijah remained silent until Kol was standing inches away from him. He sat the cane on the desk and the tension melted from Kol's shoulders.
"I won't use it on you this time," said Elijah. "But should you ever compel Marcellus again, know that I absolutely will not hesitate. Do I make myself clear?"
Kol nodded as a sly smirk crossed his face. "Absolutely. Never again. You have my word."
Elijah suddenly grabbed him by the arm as he turned to leave, assuming a scolding was all he would get.
"You have not been dismissed," Elijah stated calmly.
"But...I thought-"
"I said I would not use the cane on you today, and I won't. However, you still made a critical mistake in compelling Marcel, and it must be dealt with."
Kol swallowed the lump in his throat as Elijah released his arm and sat back in the wooden chair behind the desk.
-M-
Freya's phone rang just as she flipped to the last page of Elijah's 1078 journal. She balanced the book in one hand as she answered the phone with the other, still reading as she said, "Is Finn okay?"
Klaus sighed at the response. "Finn is fine. But I need you to make your way to the cabin right now."
The restrained intensity in his voice immediately caught her attention.
"What happened?"
"Kol happened." Klaus grunted. "He compelled Marcellus into taking the blame for his mistakes. I need you to come here and break it, and whatever other compulsions Kol has cursed him with."
Freya closed the journal and stood to her feet, the comatose body lying in the middle of her studio dripping blood and an indiscernible liquid onto her rug.
"I'll be right there. There's something I need to show you."
"What is it?"
Freya gave the scaly hand a kick. "I think...I should show you. You wouldn't believe it if I told you."
-M-
Rafael timed his bathroom exit perfectly so he entered the hallway as soon as Izzy. They were supposed to be washing up for dinner but he was hoping to use the moment to get Izzy alone.
"Hey," he said awkwardly as they walked side by side.
Izzy glanced down at him, knowing exactly what the boy was thinking without him having to say much.
"Hey," she replied curtly.
They walked a bit more in silence. Rafael stared awkwardly at his shoes and the wallpaper, anywhere but at Izzy. But as they neared the staircase, he knew he had to make his move.
"I don't have a girlfriend, by the way." he blurted. Realizing how lame that must've sounded, he continued, "I mean, I could have one. There's nothing wrong with me...I don't think. Girls tend to like me, not that you should like me because other girls like me. And I don't mean for that to make me sound like a player or anything I just..."
Izzy came to a sudden halt at the stairs and held her hand up to silence the boy before he could dig himself into a deeper hole.
"I'm sure you're a big hit with the ladies, but there are two very immutable reasons why you and me will never be a thing. One, I like girls. You're cute but you're also very much not my type."
Rafael's face dropped. "Yeah, Hope said something like that. I guess I was...kinda hoping that you were at least maybe a little bi."
She shook her head. "Not even a little. And, even if I was, that still brings me to reason number 2: you're too young. Maybe try hitting on someone your own age and maybe you'll stand a better chance."
Rafael rolled his eyes, "You think I'm too young. Adoptive families think I'm too old."
Izzy started slowly downstairs. "Those adoptive families were assholes and didn't deserve you."
Rafael scoffed. "What do you know about being a teenage foster kid?"
Before Izzy could answer, they were both stunned silent by the distinct sound of flesh smacking flesh coming from the library ahead of them.
"What's that?" Rafael asked. "Is someone fighting?"
Izzy thought the same at first. And then another smack came, and another, at a consistent rhythm.
Her entire face turned red at the realization.
"It's...nothing." She grabbed Rafael's arm and started pulling him to the dining room. "C'mon."
Izzy couldn't believe it. Someone was getting spanked right now, while Rafael and Landon were there. She could tell that the Mikaelsons were serious about discipline but she at least thought that their behinds would be safe in the presence of strangers.
The dining room door suffocated the smacks and Izzy released a breath of relief. Looking around the room, she tried to figure out who was in the library by looking for who was missing. She was shocked to see Hope and Sebastian moseying around the dining room, assuming one of them had to be the spankee. There were only two people missing. Elijah and Kol.
Her heart pounded at the realization. Elijah was actually spanking his little brother right now. She remembered him telling her that he spanked his siblings the night he rescued her from her birth father, be a part of her thought he meant just the occasional slap to the back of the head or something. What she heard coming from the library was not that.
Since no one else seemed to notice the muffled sounds coming from the library, she took her seat at the dining table and sat in silence as Klaus and Marcel served them all. When Kol and Elijah finally made their way into the dining room, Izzy's perked up.
Noticing the eagerness in the girl's eyes, Elijah took the empty seat beside her. "Is everything alright?" he asked in a low tone.
She glanced across the table at Rafael and Landon, both in deep conversation with each other and too distracted to hear what she was about to ask Elijah.
"Did you...did you just...y'know," she muttered, too embarrassed to say the words aloud. "I...I heard you. In the library. With Kol."
"Oh," Elijah nodded knowingly. "I see." He lifted his cloth napkin and tucked it into his shirt. "And you thought, when I told you that my siblings were punished just as you are, I was lying?"
"Not...lying," she shrugged. "I just thought...you wouldn't do it to them where we could know."
"Well, let me clear up any misconceptions you might still have," Elijah lifted his fork and knife and started carefully cutting through his chicken. "No one in this family is exempt from being punished where others of this family may witness. And,"
A chill went down Izzy's spine as Elijah laced her with a subtly threatening glare.
"As much as I will respect your privacy as a blossoming young woman, understand that in this family, children are not always given the option of a private punishment. If you are caught breaking any of our rules in front of your friends, you will be punished in front of them."
Izzy's eyes dropped to the table as she thought about her plans to go to Davina's party that night. She always knew the possibility of being spanked was on the table if she got caught, but she never considered getting spanked in front of everyone at the party.
"I wouldn't fret about it if I were you," said Elijah.
Izzy jumped, wondering if he'd read her mind.
"That's usually a consequence saved for Hope," he continued. "I can't imagine there's anything you could do to push the envelope so far."
Izzy swallowed the lump in her throat, wondering if sneaking out a third time would be the straw that did it.
I know this is a short chapter but, as many of you have pointed out lol, it's been a long time since the last update. Sorry about that, but between work, starting my writing career, and being back in school, things are a little hectic irl for me. Please be patient and thank you all for reading!
