The next morning Nik set up an elaborate breakfast set up in the dining room that we hardly used. Bekah and Nik sat across from each other and I sat on Nik's right with Nikolas next to me playing with his food. One of the servers, a young woman stood by Nik's chair as he bit her wrist and fed from her.
"Have you spoken to our good friend Marcel today?" Nik asked Bekah.
"No, should I have?" Bekah asked him.
"He's been mysteriously silent- avoiding me, some might say. I thought perhaps he may have whispered reasons into your ear. Along with all of those sweet nothings." Nik told her smirking.
"If I see him, I'll be sure to ask if he's still sore at you." Bekah told him.
"Let me give a voice to that look in your eyes." Nik said before he started mocking her. ""My saintly noble brother lies writhing in agony in the Bayou, victim of my bastard brother's bite, when just one or two drops of his blood would ease his pain.""
"On the contrary, Nik, I am simply enjoying my breaky, waiting for Elijah's healthy return." She told him.
"Oh, come on Rebekah, you've been giving me the devil's eye all morning. Out with it!" Nik told her.
"Perhaps I'm concerned that if I voice my opinion about what you did to Elijah, I will end up on the wrong side of your toxic hybrid teeth." Bekah told him.
"Poppycock! I would never bite you. Elijah made some very offensive accusations about my intentions towards my child. He deserves a day or two of discomfort. Besides, you know my preferred method of punishment for your indiscretions is the dagger." He said smirking at her as she stood from her seat.
"There is something fundamentally wrong with you." She said before walking out of the room.
"I'm having Cami come over again today." He told me.
"Is she really needed right now? You said Marcel wasn't going to try and be with her now that he has Bekah." I reminded him.
"My memoirs aren't going to write themselves." He told me smirking.
"And of course you have to have Cami to write them." I said bitterly.
"Nicole. Are you jealous of Cami?" he asked me with an amused look on his face.
"Of course not. Why, should I be?" I asked him.
"Have I ever given you a reason to doubt me?" he asked me.
"When you flirt with the beautiful blonde who stands up to you? It's not that a doubt you, Nik. I just don't trust her around you." I told him.
"You have nothing to fear, love. She's leaving town." He told me.
"You're compelling her to do this?" I asked him.
"Her uncle will convince her to leave on her own. With the war between the witches and the vampires and myself she needs to leave." He answered and I nodded.
"Yes, I agree." I said before getting up and getting Nikolas out of his high chair.
"Where are you going?" he asked me.
"To put Nikolas down for his nap. He's going to get tired soon." I told him before walking away from Nik, leaving him alone in the dining room.
I spent the rest of the day alone with Nikolas, playing with him when he was awake and reading when he was asleep. I looked up when Nik entered the manor with a look on his face.
"What's going on?" I asked him.
"Marcel is going to be alone tonight and I need to get the daggers back." He told me and I nodded.
"Ok, when do we leave?" I asked him and he shook his head with a small smirk.
"You're not coming, love." He told me.
"You're not leaving me here! We will have Bekah watch Nikolas and I'm going with you against Marcel. You said he has a thing against hurting kids, he won't hurt as long as I'm pregnant." I told him. "I've made up my mind." He sighed before nodding and I went upstairs to get ready. "Try leaving without me and I'll shoot you." I wanted as I left. I changed my clothes and called Bekah so she could come home and watch Nikolas and collected me guns making sure I'd had wooden bullets galore. We waited for Bekah to come home before left for the compound.
We entered the courtyard of the compound to see Marcel and waiting for him. I pulled out my gun and pointed it at him.
"Klaus. Nicole." Marcel greeted.
"You've been avoiding my calls." Nik said.
"Little pissed off lately." Marcel told him.
"Apologies for my behavior can come later. You have something of mine. I want it back." Nik told him and Marcel pulled out a silver dagger and held it up.
"Sorry, but I can't do that." Marcel said holding out the dagger to his side as Bekah surprises us by entering the courtyard and took it from him.
"Bekah?" I said shocked. "Where is Nikolas?" I asked angrily pointing my gun at her.
"He's safe, don't worry." She told me.
"What is this?" Nik asked unamused and suspicious.
"Apologies for your behavior? You don't apologize, Nik. You just act. I've had enough. We have had enough." Bekah told him and I felt my face grow cold.
"Look at you. Finally in possession of the one thing that can take you down. How does it feel?" Nik asked her.
"Great." Bekah said before Marcel whistled and we watched as a dozen or two vampires came out of the woodwork and filled the balconies.
"So this is it?" Nik asked laughing sarcastically. "The evil bastard Klaus and his wife have gone too far, must be punished. And by his own sibling, nonetheless. How positively biblical. And you, Marcel, is this—" Nik turned pointing at the vampires surrounding us. "- your idea of a hit? I taught you better than this paltry excuse for a take-down. Do you think you can subdue me with this!?"
"No. But I think I can with this." Marcel whistled again and dozens more vampires appeared and filled the balconies. Marcel and Bekah looked back at us as their vampires crowded around us. Nik and I stood in the middle of the circle back to back and I felt him spread his arms out wide as I pulled another gun and pointed it at the vampires around us. For a brief moment I wondered if I made the right choice in coming with Nik to take the compound, but quickly shook it off. My place was at Nik's side, until the day I died.
"Let's end this charade, shall we?" Nik called out to the vamps. "Vampires of New Orleans! Do recall that I am an Original. A hybrid. I cannot be killed. My wife is pregnant with our unborn child. An innocent baby. Eternity is an awfully long time. How long, do you think, Marcel will stay in power? What if one of you lot were to help Nicole release me, knowing we will be eternally in your debt? Oh, I would pity those of you who dared to cross us. I can assure you, your ends would be spectacular. To borrow a trick from an old friend—" Nik reached out his hand, which held a large gold coin. "- Whoever picks up this coin gets to live." He dropped the coin on the floor in front of us. "Now, which of you magnificent bastards wants to join me?"
"Anyone wants that coin, pledge allegiance to Klaus. Take it now. Go ahead. The choice is yours." Marcel told his crew. No one moved, except for Nik, who was slightly astonished that no one picked up the coin. Marcel looked at us proud of the loyalty his minions showed.
"Take him. No one hurts Nicole." Marcel ordered and some of the vampires lunged for Nik, but the two of us easily took them out. However, when Nik stretched his arms wide on either side, two other vampires wrapped his wrists in chains, pulled him back and away from me and bound him. I shot at the vampires in the heads, hearts, whatever would get them off my husband, but when I shot one two more took their place.
"Stop her!" Marcel ordered and I felt hands on me taking my guns from me and holding me away from the fighting.
"Nik!" I shouted out for him and Nik looked at me as the vampires around us looked triumphant for a moment. Nik's face changed into his Hybrid face and he growled deeply before breaking through his bonds and viciously biting and killing every vampire he got his hands on to get to me or Marcel.
"Marcel! Come and finish this!" Nik ordered him as more vampires attacked him. I watched for a moment as Marcel came rushing towards us desperately Nik before Bekah held him back.
"Enough!" Marcel shouted and the room suddenly fell absolutely silent as the fighting stopped. We watched as Marcel picked up the coin off the ground and held it up.
"Well, well, well. The great Marcel, self-proclaimed king of New Orleans, bowing before me." Nik said amused before Marcel threw the coin at Nik's feet.
"There. I hereby pledge my allegiance to you. You have the keys to my kingdom. It's yours." Marcel told him and Nik smiled gleefully.
During the night the vampires dragged the bodies of the dead into a room off the courtyard covering them in white shrouds and dousing them in alcohol. I watched standing next to Nik who had an arm wrapped protectively around my waist. Bekah had brought Nikolas here to the compound and he was sleeping in Marcel's room which was now going to be my own and Nik's room. Nik moved the two of us to where Marcel was standing watching the burning preparations.
"Looking at what you've wrought?" Nik asked him.
"Look, if you're gonna kill me, let's get this over with." Marcel told him.
"Why would we kill you?" I asked him. "You picked up the coin and we may need your help in the beginning days of our own rule." Marcel looked between the two of us and scoffed slightly.
"There are rules of engagement in battle, Marcel. Without them, you'd have anarchy. I would, however, like to talk about accommodations. Your living quarters, for example. I believe they used to be mine." Nik said to him.
"You own this. Fine. It's yours. You can put me back on the street for all I care. But let's make one thing clear- You will never have this: loyalty. You can't buy it, you can't own it, you can't force it. It comes only out of love and respect for the people who believe in you. You taught me many things, Niklaus Mikaelson, but this I learned myself. And it is something that you will never know. Enjoy your kingdom." Marcel said before leaving us alone on the balcony to watch as a vampire lit a lighter and dropped it on the bodies.
"He's wrong you know." I told Nik as the bodies burned.
"About what?" he asked me in slight monotone.
"About never having loyalty." I said. "You have my love, my loyalty, my trust, my everything. Always have since the moment I fell in love with you."
"It seemed as though Marcel knew you." He said and I nodded.
"When I spent time in New Orleans with Katherine we made ourselves known to the Vampire Faction. To Marcel. He gave us information that we thought we needed at the time." I told him. "He was a means to an end. Nothing more."
"I was worried when they grabbed you." He told me and I smiled up at him.
"I knew Marcel wouldn't let them hurt me because I'm pregnant. I knew you wouldn't let them hurt me. I was more worried for you and if I'd have to live without you for the next however many years I'm alive. I'm not sure Bekah or any of the others would be able to turn me since I'm a werewolf now. The only thing that can change me into a vampire, into a Hybrid, now is the blood of our children and you." I reminded him. "Let's go and get what we need from the plantation house and move into our home." I moved away from him and checked on Nikolas and watched him sleep for a moment. I smiled gently at him before picking him up and walking to the car.
At the plantation house I put Nikolas in his play pen as I packed my clothes and put them in the car before joining Nik and our sleeping son in the living room. Nik was turning the dagger in his hand as I joined him at the window watching the newest Hybrid Hayley and Elijah coming towards the house.
"Elijah's home." I heard Bekah say behind us. "There's only one dagger. Which one of us will you be punishing today?"
"I contemplated a game of eenie-meenie-miney-moe. You betrayed me. My own sister!" Nik nearly shouted at her as I sat up.
"Niklaus, don't you dare!" Elijah said as he entered the room.
"Perhaps it should be you, brother! Stealing my wife and children away with every moment you listen to the poison of my enemies!" Nik said.
"This has nothing to do with Nicole or the children." Elijah told him.
"It has everything to do with them!" Nik corrected him. "Now my children, my blood, will grow up never knowing who I was if it was up to you!"
"Is that what it is? You are once again worried that you will be left behind? Has history taught you nothing? We don't abandon you, Nik, you drive us away!" Bekah shouted at him.
"Is that so? What have I done lately, other than cooperate? I bow down to you, brother, to make up for daggering you. For the greater good of our plan to reclaim our home. Looked the other way, sister, while you repeat the same cycle with Marcel. Falling again for a man you shouldn't be with, while he controls the empire that we built! That he took! Now, I make no excuses for past sins. But in the one moment when you two could have chosen to stand by me- to believe in me, to believe my intentions for my own family were pure- you chose to stand against me, to side with my enemies." Nik said crying. "I wanted our home back. Now I have it. So, I'm going to live there. And the two of you... you can stay here together and rot." Nik angrily shoved the dagger into Elijah's hands before picking up Nikolas, who had woken to the shouting and holding out his hand for mine. I said nothing and took the offered hand and followed him out to the car past Hayley who was sitting on the front steps. "You're coming with us, little wolf."
"Why would I go anywhere with you?" Hayley scoffed.
"Because, Hayley, you are my wife's only friend in this town and that matters to me. Now you can fight me on this, but you will lose." He said before opening the back passenger door and the passenger door. I slipped into the car as he put Nikolas into the car seat. "As will anyone else who tries to stop you getting in this car." Hayley looked up to where Elijah and Bekah were staring out the window before getting up and getting into the car before Nik drove us to our new home.
