A/N Thanks for reviewing!
"Where did you find them?"
Delilah's choked whisper floated over to Jude who was stood at the end of the four poster bed watching her closely. She glanced over at an equally speechless Lou-Anne who was also peering over at him.
"In your old bedroom."He tentatively answered, thumbing over his shoulder."The bedroom you used back when…"
Realisation dawned on Delilah's awed features, and she hurriedly nodded, eyes still glued to the photographs laid out on the bed. The box was tipped over beside her folded legs, a couple of trinkets collected together at the edge, a stray ring laying just near the lid.
Lou-Anne shifted in the armchair situated alongside the bed, fingers twining her red locks around to make a side plait. She let out a soft, affectionate croon and beamed up at Jude.
"That was so sweet of you."Lou-Anne murmured, twisting a band around her plait then reaching out to squeeze Jude's hand.
He winked at her, squeezed her hand back, and turned his head in time with her when a sniffling laugh came from Delilah. She picked up one photograph as if it were something fragile, let her fingers brush over it, and then did the same to another.
"Look at them..."Delilah whispered with reverence, eyes shining and fingers trembling."I remember all of these. Every single one. I can feel them."
She studied each photograph in amazement, her fingers stretching out to touch them one by one.
A loose lock of her hair dangled in front of her eyes when she lifted her head to look over at her companions. Her lower lip quivered so she trapped it between her teeth, a relieved laugh bubbling in her throat, blinking away tears she refused to let spill.
"I didn't even think to look. Last time I was here I wasn't..."Delilah shook her head to clear her mind."well, I wasn't altogether here."
Lou-Anne abandoned armchair she'd been curled up in to crawl onto the bed, mindful of the photographs, and take a seat beside Delilah. She crossed her legs with a sniff, and hunched forward to take a better look at the snapped memories.
"Wow."The redhead mumbled when a certain photograph caught her eye, a grin pulling at her lips."You really pull off the Victorian look."
Delilah side eyed Lou-Anne, bemused."I pull off any look, my dear. I've been told so many, many times."
Lou-Anne's giggle rung melodically in her ear as the redhead nudged her own shoulder with Delilah's. Her giddiness, as per usual, infected Delilah's incredulous disposition and the vampire rolled her eyes fondly.
"You're happy."Lou-Anne breathed, green eyes twinkling as they flitted across Delilah's face."I like happy."
"In this moment, yes. I'm happy."
Patting Lou-Anne's hand when it came to rest on her shoulder, Delilah's smile wobbled as her eyes gravitated back to a wide eyed, pleased Jude. His smile inched up higher and higher, the corners of his eyes crinkling, and his eyes bright with relief.
"I just thought I'd be able to find something that would make this whole trip worth it."He shifted on his feet, catching her eyes finally."I'm glad there was."
His soft response, searching eyes, and heartfelt relief at her happiness left Delilah momentarily speechless. She soon found herself on her feet, and was crossing the room to meet Jude before her mind could process her actions.
"Come."
He pushed from the doorframe without her needing to prompt him further, and soon warmth charged through him when he was suddenly surrounded by Delilah. She was smiling without sharpness—a rare sight that happened, and if it did it was usually rather brief—and it kindled more relief in his chest.
"You're a sweetheart,"She crooned with a gentleness she thought lost to her. A flash of sadness crossed her face briefly."Much like your father. You have Remy's heart."
Jude ducked his head bashfully, his hands coming up to catch Delilah's wrists when she brought her hands up and cupped his face. He bowed his head to meet her as she propped herself up on her tip toes to press her lips to his forehead.
"Thank you for finding them for me."She added on a hitched breath, hoping he could read the sincerity in her shining eyes.
"It wasn't all me."Jude replied quietly, cheeks rounded and head still inclined."Elijah was the one who actually found them, I just—"
Lou-Anne scoffed from where she was perched on the bed, a photograph pinched between her thumb and forefinger.
"It was your thought. It's the thought that counts."
Delilah hummed her agreement, eyes searing into him and thumb stroking across Jude's cheek until he let himself smile again.
"She's quite right."Delilah nodded her head. She smiled at Lou-Anne over her shoulder then turned back to Jude."Isn't she?"
She stared unrelentingly until Jude bobbed his head in agreement. She approval and released him, hand withdrawing from his cheek. He took her hand before it could retreat altogether and squeezed it.
"You're welcome."
Delilah smile broadened, and she squeezed his hand in return before letting him go. She turned to meet Lou-Anne when socked feet met the wooden floor, and the redhead came up to meet them.
"Del!"
She came toward them with eyes filled with hope, cheeks flushed and holding Delilah's framed photograph of Eric and Jaime–the one she'd been carrying with her for almost a century.
"I'll make some frames when we get home."She tacked on around her brimming smile, fingers tapping against the frame."Like this one I made you."
Delilah's smile grew tender, and she nodded her head, taking the framed picture and holding it close.
"I'd love that."
Lou-Anne batted her lashes, lips forming an 'O' before she whistled innocently, eyes boring into Delilah expectantly. Delilah snuffled a laugh, ambled over to Lou-Anne and pet her cheek.
"You're a sweetheart, too, Lou-Anne."
Lou-Anne's whistling instantly ceased, and she reached up to pat Delilah's hand in response as a grin worked its way onto her face.
"That's what I wanted to hear."
Jude's amused chuckles sounded from over their shoulders, eliciting a sniffed laugh from Delilah herself when Lou-Anne preened happily. Her laughter, however, soon stifled when voices belonging to the Mikaelson's reached her ears from beneath them.
"Right..."
Delilah's amused disposition gradually began to disappear, a swift change in her posture the air around her quickly noticed by the two standing with her.
"I think we should join them downstairs before we return to that hellscape of a town."
Delilah pointedly glanced at the floor, stepping over their repacked luggage to circle the bed again. She hunched over to carefully collect her photographs and put them back in the box.
"Agreed. It smells like someone's making pancakes."Jules sniffed with a smile."I'm starving."
Lou-Anne clapped her hands with a moan, pupils flooding with delight as she also picked up on the waft of freshly made pancakes. She dragged her duffel-bag from the bottom of the bed with an eager bounce.
"Me too."
Jude beamed at the redhead's enthusiasm, bending down to zip open Delilah's suitcase, arm already outstretched to take her box of photographs. The vampire glanced back into it one last time, imitated her brothers' frozen smile, then handed them to Jude.
"As am I."Delilah chimed in after a thought, patting Jude's hand when she pulled him back onto his feet."Not for pancakes, though."
Jude's playful features soon hardened with understanding as he read Delilah's expression and he nodded solemnity. He gestured for Lou-Anne to hand him his backpack which he swung his over his shoulder before he leaned down to pick up Delilah's suitcase.
"Right, I think we could pick up someone from that grocery store down the street―"
The telltale sound of compelled, robotic murmurs coming from the staircase, accompanied by soft footfalls caught Jude's train of thought. Delilah's eyes lit up curiously and her fangs came forward on instinct.
"Whoever that is they're not a vampire."Delilah informed him with an incredulous look to Lou-Anne who gestured for him to go check.
He retraced his steps and leaned out the bedroom door, his lips tugging up into a sweet, charming smile when a woman came striding his way, dragging a vacuum cleaner behind her.
"If you don't fancy a pancake, Del,"He braced one hand on the door and swept out the other encouragingly."what about the hired help?"
MYSTIC FALLS—MIKAELSON FAMILY MANSION
"Tell me again what we're here for?"
Damon scoffed from where was trailing behind his brother into Klaus' bedchambers, grumbling to himself as he struggled to fasten a pilfered watch onto his wrist.
"I mean, not counting a couple of gold watches belonging to superbrat Mikaelson..."He brandished his wrist with a gratified sniff."this is basically a dead end."
Stefan gestured for his brother to get going with his search to the bemusement of Damon. He then scanned the bedroom and went for the desk situated at the far end of the room. Damon watched after him incredulously as he slumped onto the ottoman perched at the end of the king-sized bed.
"Dead end, Stefan."Damon echoed himself in a sing-song tone, lifting his head to smile at his reflection across from him.
"It could be but there could maybe be something that gives us an idea on where they are,"Stefan hissed out a frustrated mutter when another drawer yet again offered nothing helpful. He slammed it shut then crouched to reach the lowest one."where they're going or just information."
Damon watched his brother journey from the desk to the wardrobe, leaving behind a dangling opened drawer and a scattered mess of papers. He opened it in a theatrical fashion that jerked the whole thing once before Stefan began rifling through the abandoned clothing.
"You could have a point."
Stefan merely grunted in response as he worked his way from top to bottom, sliding to his knees once again to rummage through the row of drawers at the side and bottom.
"The guy kept his family in coffins. He's a paranoid, obsessive hoarder."Damon conceded with a put upon half shrug, pushing himself up from the ottoman to join in on the search.
Damon hummed appreciatively when took a seat on the giving mattress and hunched forward to make his way through the bed-stand. Much like his brother he wasn't above hurling the contents aside in his search, only slowing down to pocket anything that caught his eye—a vintage-looking lighter, some keys he hoped were to the Porsche located outside, and finally a ring that he was looking forward to donning.
Other than his loot there was nothing of value. Damon leaned back with an annoyed groan, kicking at a fallen candlestick and sending it across the room.
"Nothing at all. Unless you count a hefty wad of Benjamin Franklin's and some of those man necklaces. Hey..."
He shifted on the luxurious mattress to look over at his brother still on his knees and searching through the wardrobe.
"You don't remember her at all?"
"For the tenth time, Damon,"He spat his brother's name out with annoyance."I don't."
Stefan stressed his response by hitting at the wardrobe door that insisted on trying to close. He shot his brother a glower when he shuffled across the ground to reach under the bed, concealing himself from Damon's amused huff.
"It's sort of a side effect of getting your mind wiped!"Stefan's holler was accompanied by something heavy being dragged out from beneath the bed.
Damon waved his hand dismissively and bounced back around on the mattress, stuffing his findings in his pockets.
"Yeah, well...compulsion or not, Stef,"A range of book titles drew Damon's attention and effectively straying him from his train of thought."ah, hey look!"
Damon clapped his hands once and rubbed them together before reaching across to grab the first book piled atop a handful of others on the bed-stand. Feeling particularly petty, he knocked aside the rest to the floor with a snort.
"Let's see what sends Lassie to sleep. My bet's something saucy."
Damon pressed the pad of his thumb along the pages looking to find a dog-eared page. As he searched he felt a small opening that his thumb managed to fit in when he tipped the book to the side. The pages fluttered from the impetus, and something fell from between the marked pages.
Damon's eyes followed. He caught a flash of Klaus' face."Huh."
His fingers caught the corner of the black and white photograph before it could float to the ground. He flipped it around, tossing the book onto the bed, pinched between his fingers to take a look. His eyes widened in comical disbelief, recognition flickering across his face.
Hellooooo, Delilah.
Damon's hues skimmed from Delilah's grinning face to Klaus' identical complacent expression, his own gradually clouding the longer he peered down at the couple.
A proud laugh punched out of him as he sprung himself up, whirled around, and rambled up to Stefan who was now busying himself by scrutinizing a painting perched on an easel.
"Stef?!"
The brother in question startled when Damon clamped a hand down on his shoulder then turned him around, his arm held aloft and a smirk dancing at the corner of his mouth.
"You know, i was gonna say compulsion or not, baby brother, i'd never forget someone who looked like..."He turned the black and white photograph around with a wink then wagged it in front of Stefan's face."like this."
Stefan took a few seconds to scowl at his smug brother before taking the proffered photograph. Delilah and Klaus' triumphant smiles greeted him, their arms fitted over her chest and their eyes gleaming from the flash, triggering a prickle of resentment in his chest.
"Still nothing?"
Stefan shrugged his shoulders helplessly.
"Nope. But the one i saw of Klaus and me?"Stefan nodded once then handed the picture back to his brother. His finger tapped the neon Gloria's sign behind the couple."It was then. So I did know her, I guess. But this…"
Damon sighed and he pocketed the photograph, eyes examining the bedroom.
"Not enough? Yeah."He waggled his eyebrows, forehead smoothing out as his frustration abated."But that could be."
Stefan's questioning frown went answered by Damon whose focus had honed in on something supposedly answering their prayers. With an exasperated huff, Stefan tilted his head and followed his brother's eye line, his eyebrows furrowing in complete confusion when he found himself staring at a penny plain trunk.
The object of Damon's odd consideration was positioned on the right side of Klaus' bed, half-concealed underneath it, ajar, and the contents disorganised from Stefan's rummaging.
The gloomy-looking trunk was made of oak wood, colored in varnished chestnut that was beginning to exhibit signs of wane at the edges and along the straps laying loose on the ground around it.
"It's nothing."Stefan dismissively said, batting a hand at the air."Just some jewelry and old drawings."
He peeled his eyes away from the trunk and trained them on his brother when Damon ahhed.
"What? What, Damon?"
Stefan called after Damon a third time when his brother departed from his side and made his way over to the trunk.
"Delilah, Delilah, Delilah."Damon breathed out, pointing at the trunk with a smug smile. He looked over his shoulder at Stefan, mouth pinched in a mockery of disapproval."You suck at this."
Stefan pulled a face when Damon let out a cackle and gestured for him to come over. He complied anyway at his brother's urging and headed over to join him.
"This..."Damon groaned for effect as he picked up the trunk and set it on the bed."This is what we're looking for, okay?"
Stefan sat himself down alongside the trunk, bowing his head and wafting his fingers through countless drawings. There were etchings of buildings, faceless people wandering, a handful of Rebekah in different time periods, and the same with the rest of the Mikaelson siblings.
"Everything here is nothing we've seen before. I mean, look around you..."Stefan motioned at the several Klaus Mikaelson originals hanging on the four walls before he thumbed over his shoulder at the door."He's got them everywhere. What makes you think this is worth going through?"
"Other than the fact that i'm usually right?"
Damon flung aside numerous sketches onto the bed, some gliding aimlessly to the floor and others stacking atop the others. Stefan snatched a couple from him and sifted through them as Damon dug in, shaking his head cynically.
"If there's gonna be anything about her, Stefan, it's gonna be in here. Not in the desk where Lockwolf and his hybrid bitches could find. Not in the wardrobe because...well just because, okay?"Damon rolled his eyes when Stefan arched an eyebrow at him."It would be hidden, buried but close by so he could take a trip down memory lane. Kind of like the snap in the book. Here."
Stefan set aside the heap of drawings when a mass of jewelry was placed bedside him. A cluster of necklaces were knotted together, swarmed around a collection of rings and bracelets—they were woman's jewelry, Stefan quickly noted as he rifled through them.
His head tipped to the side curiously when something rich caught his eye. Stefan's pinky finger slipped through the ring gleaming up at him, the chain it was settled on dangling in the air and caught in his fingers.
Damon jiggled the trunk and a jingle of jewelry knocking together sounded from within."Methinks those aren't his. Maybe she forgot to take them with her?"
"This one might be. With love,"Stefan held out the ring for Damon to peer closely at the inscription inside. The distinctive, serpent victorian ring was embedded with a striking emerald."your Lilah."
Damon's mouth downturned."Pet name?"
Stefan imitated his brother with a hum, keeping the name in mind as well as the ring that he decided to pocket. This time he joined his brother when Damon returned to working his way through the contents of the trunk.
His eyes scened each piece of paper or photograph he came across, as well as peeking curiously at whatever piece of jewelry that caught themselves on his determined fingers.
"Hey, look at this."
Stefan's head sharply elevated up when a weak flutter of air flurried at his cheek, followed by Damon snapping his fingers at him. He opened his mouth to chastise his persistent brother but was swift to shut his mouth when an obsessively sketched, bolded outline of plump lips was dangled in front of his face with no forewarning.
"Found our little meddler."
Before Stefan could lean back and take a proper look at the sketch in its entirety it was gone. A dramatic snap of a book being shut had Stefan turning his head to look at his brother. Damon waved a limp, worn-out leather portfolio of drawings in his hand.
Damon sighed as he slumped down to lean against the bed frame. He shuffled a moment to get comfortable, the drawing he'd just waved in front of his brother pinched between his fingers.
"Here we go, look. For Lilah—see, pet name."Stefan resisted the urge to roll his eyes heavenward when Damon snapped his fingers again."Told you."
He allowed himself a moment to study the sketch when his brother histrionically began to read aloud the dedication scrawled at the bottom left of the paper.
"For Lilah. For my dearest. This gives your divine spirit no justice but, nonetheless, i trust you'll appreciate my endeavour."
Damon pulled a face."Nauseating. Just nauseating."
Stefan blocked out his brother's eyes as he took the simplicity of the sketch itself. There was nothing special about it. It was, obviously, of Delilah, and she was slumbering, a tress of her hair meandering itself across her cheek with her hands pillowed under the other and a blissful smile blossoming on her lips. She was twisted in the sheets that were wrapped around most of her, and one of her legs just about dangling off of the bed.
It was a simple snapshot of a moment that Klaus had decided to memorialize, just like each of his works. A moment in time long ago left buried in a pile of another series of moments throughout the centuries.
"Yours, always and forever. Nik."Damon snorted derisively, sweeping his hand theatrically as he handed the sketch to his brother."And I thought your diary was corny."
Stefan huffed out a frustrated breath and added the sketch to the pile.
"There's, like,"Damon held up the leather pad the drawing had floated out of."a million of them here. I told you, Stefan. Hoarder."
He flipped through the pad to see if there was anything worth pilfering for information, scoffing and huffing whenever he came across one that he just needed to sound his disgust at. Stefan ignored his brother's display and resumed his task at hand, counting the centuries in his mind to keep himself alert.
Damon's lips parted in confusion."The hell are these two?"
Damon set down the hefty pad when a pair of faces that he didn't recognize smirked up at him. His eyes flittered between the neurotic sketching to the confirmation laying untouched in the pad. He turned the sketch over when, in the light, he noticed a paragraphed dedication written on the back.
Eric and Jaime.
To the boys born four years apart but share the same birthday.
To the exuberant champions who kept me on my toes.
To the brothers who solidified that family doesn't begin
nor end with blood.
Damon got to his knees, folding his forearms across the edge of the trunk.
"Stefan?"
The brother in question, recognising the lilt in Damon's tone, hunched over to look at what was causing it. A half-finished sketch of Delilah donning a flapper dress drifted by his side and landed on the ground with a dozen others.
His eyes darted across the worn-out drawing on the paper, his eyebrows knitting together. He didn't recognize the sketched duo smiling up at him, but they were the reason for the stirrings of apprehension in his chest.
"There's more,"Stefan mumbled, reaching out to pluck the sketch from his brother's fingers. He felt Damon's eyes burning into the side of his face.
"Obviously."
"Which means we should add these two to the pile of the Mikaelson extended family that we should watch out for."Stefan let out a frenzied laugh, scratching at his jaw."Eric and Jaime."
"Yeah."Damon cleared his throat, reaching up to grab the pad again."And here's proof. Here."
Stefan turned his head when his brother nudged him with his elbow. Stefan took one look at the photograph and recoiled.
"No. You've got to be kidding me..."
Stefan turned the photograph over in his hands, trailing off with a hapless breath. His thumb pressed over Delilah's features with a bitterness he didn't know he held while his eyes scanned the rest crowded around her.
He began with Klaus steadily stood proud with Elijah and Kol flanking him. Rebekah was seated elegantly in front of them, beside Delilah with their legs crossed and wearing ghosts of a smile.
Eventually, his eyes were drawn back to where he began, at the strangers rooted at each side of the victorian chesterfield.
Eric and Jaime.
His eyes flittered back and forth as panic began to settle in his stomach, flitting from person to person until he had them ingrained in his mind.
"Hey, look down."Damon's voice sounded in his ear, drawing Stefan out of his thoughts."Just off to the left and a little under Elijah's hand."
Stefan did just that, his eyes inching down to the bottom left of the photograph. In handwriting slightly neater than Klaus' and just off the edge, he noted the year it had been taken in.
Nik's birthday, 1888.
Massaging his jaw, Stefan glanced up over his brother. Damon looked just as alarmed as he did no matter how much he was trying to quell it. His shoulders were tightly set, his hand curled at his side with his knuckles pale white.
"So it's…"Stefan's eyes rounded a moment later in disbelief.
"The family we love to hate? Yep."
"...and there's more photo's of those two."Stefan growled through gritted teeth. He snatched up another black and white photograph."This is just—look,"
Damon looked up and over at the photograph his brother was presenting. It was of Eric and Jaime and the pair were dressed to the nines. Klaus and Delilah were stood along side them, equally as dressed up and staring expectantly up at the Salvatore brothers.
New Orleans, 1919.
"1919. Taken just a few years before I met Klaus and apparently met her."Stefan shook his head helplessly."I-I don't remember meeting them unless...unless they were wiped from mind along with Delilah."
Damon collapsed back against the nearest wall with a frenzied cackle."Is it odd I feel betrayed? Feels weirdly like our parents had a second family we knew nothing about."
His boots thumped against the wooden flooring before his legs stretched out in front of him as he reached up to grab the pad he'd abandoned.
"And Li-lah?"
The name—the pet name, Stefan's mind supplied mockingly—rolled off his brother's tongue in a scornful croon.
"It wasn't a fling in Chicago a century ago like you and Bex."Damon took a second to tilt his head at his brother pointedly, waving his hand waving without purpose."Or an Original groupie thing, you know? They were…yeah."
Stefan bobbed his head in understanding, staring blankly at the photograph in his hand. He could see the pad in Damon's hand out of the corner of his eye, and the edge of the trunk.
Memories that Klaus had created, captured, or retrieved over the years. He'd sifted through many, dozens, countless of them minutes ago and had tallied up the centuries.
Stefan hastily rifled through the sketches beside him, the photograph still grasped in his hand. Another photograph fell from between the drawings, Stefan's eyes searching for its year then others he found scribbled at corners of papers.
1888, 1919, 1821, 1723, 1643, 1578, 1922.
The dates went on and on in Stefan's mind, through years, decades, and different names of places. In amongst them, excluding the groups of sketching were photographs. They greatly outnumbered the drawings, of course, considering the times but there were a cluster of them.
"1578 is the earliest i've found."
Stefan held up a worn parchment after his quiet disclosure. An outline of a woman in a bloodied dress with ringlets flowing around her was traipsing into the mouth of an ominous forest.
"You know what they mean?"He dully asked when Damon's head tipped back, a strained sigh slipping past his lips.
"That she is ancient,"Damon replied through a humorless chuckle. His shoulders bobbed in a jaded shrug."Not Original ancient, not Katherine ancient but it explains why she kicked our asses, right?"
All Stefan could do was nod his head numbly.
"We should go."Stefan firmly suggested, patting the trunk with a little more force than required."And take this to show the others."
"Yeah. Yeah."
Damon grunted as he got to his feet."Gotta update the team on how we're more than screwed. Here was me thinking my supposed to be dead friend going insane vamp hunter was the top of my problems this week."
Stefan tiredly hummed his agreement as he carefully aided Damon in gathering everything to pile back into the trunk.
SAVANNAH SAFE HOUSE
"You helped that boy find the photographs for Lilah?"
Klaus felt Rebekah's cautious eyes on him as he strode into the kitchen and immediately made a beeline for the countertop where Elijah was currently gracing his most basic of culinary skills by making pancakes. He waved his hand dismissively at his sister when she shook her head in disapproval.
She shook her head again, waving her fork in hand."Really, Nik? It's not even nine in the morning."
"You'll have to wait your turn, Nik!"Kol called after him from where he was sat at the table beside Rebekah."I've been waiting a century it seems because Rebekah just had to go first."
"You'd be before me if you were awake on time."
He paid no heed to their playful squabbling on his journey over to their elder brother who seemed unamused by his question. Elijah barely spared his brother a glance in greeting as he busied himself with pouring more pancake batter.
"Did you?"Klaus cooly pressed, hands coming down on the counter so he could lean forward."Elijah?"
"I did."Elijah drew out evenly. He flipped an almost finished pancake before his eyes met Klaus' awaiting ones."But it appears you already knew that."
"He's but a stranger, Elijah."Klaus reminded him darkly."and you aided him."
"I did,"Elijah repeated calmly. He finished stacking Kol's pancakes before he graced Klaus with his gaze."But for Delilah. She, tragically, has only had one picture of her brothers this entire time."
He drizzled a generous amount of syrup on top as per Kol's earlier demand and offered the plate to his brother. He withdrew his outstretched hand when Kol reached out, fingers grazing the rim of the plate with a broken growl, and he turned his head to glower warningly at Klaus.
"Bloody hell."
Kol's annoyed sigh echoed over the table to them but remained blatantly ignored by his elder brothers. Elijah braced his unoccupied hand on the counter as he prepared for a back and forth.
"Surely you feel how delighted this makes her?"
Klaus' mouth snapped shut and he breathed in harshly through his nose as his shoulders dropped and his furious clouded eyes cleared.
"Of course."Klaus shortly acquiesced back.
"Very well."Elijah murmured after searching his brother's face. He pushed away from the counter."Was there something you wanted to say?"
Their clouded stare momentarily faltered when Kol's reached out with an expectant hand. They both shot their youngest brother a half-hearted glare when he cleared his throat.
"At least let me have my brekkie before you start bickering."Kol negotiated around a sigh. He crooked his fingers insistently."They'll go cold and you know I hate them cold."
Klaus rolled his eyes but complied with his brother's unrelenting beckoning and leaned back to let him snatch his plate from Elijah's outstretched hand.
"Thank you."
A strained tension remerged the second their brother's interjection ceased, and Elijah leveled his hybrid brother with a clouded questioning stare.
"If there is something, Niklaus―"
Kol let out a seething groan when Klaus' hand came down on the wooden table and the plates and mugs rattled in the affirmation. Rebekah's head snapped up and for the first time, she acknowledged their stand-off and wielded her fork threateningly.
"Oi!"Kol and Rebekah thundered at their brother, eyeing their stacked pancakes warily.
Klaus held up an apologetic hand when their glare fixed on him and he then did the same when Elijah straightened dubiously. His brother's tense disposition quelled when he was sure there wasn't about to be a battle.
"I came upon them last night."Klaus finally replied once he collected himself."I was going to ask you to give them to her since the sight of me―"
Elijah blinked at his brother and, eyes flitting around as guilt pooled in them, he bowed his head. Klaus' hand retreated as his fingers curled into a fist that was soon hidden behind his back. His other hand swept around to join his other, his shoulders stiffening.
"Anyway,"Klaus hoarsely continued."you neglected to check under the bed. There's another box there I put away for her all those years ago as she couldn't bear to look at them. I didn't remember to take them when we again fled. I think she's since forgotten."
Elijah's features softened gradually, a sight Klaus tore his eyes from before his brother could voice any sense of approval—he didn't want it. Noticing this, Elijah nodded his head once when his brother eventually did meet his eyes.
"I'll remember to return it to her before we leave. What's in it?"
"Just pieces of sentiment she'd collect and store. Those jesting little notes Eric would leave around,"A smile threatened to tug at Klaus' lips before he caught himself."Jaime's souvenirs he'd hoard, and a few other pieces."
His hand reemerged with its fingers splayed to wipe down his face. He shook his head, clearing his mind of the memories, and shrugged.
"We couldn't get everything but…"
He trailed off when Elijah nudged a steaming cup of tea across the table, proffering it to his brother with a small albeit certainly strained smile. Elijah also pushed a plate of pancakes his brother's way when Klaus didn't reject the tea.
"It'll make her happy."
Klaus could only nod as he accepted the plate, his fingers hooking around the cup handle to bring its rim to his mouth. As he did his ears picked up on Delilah's telltale footfalls from behind him and, on instinct, he almost turned to greet her—an instinct he hadn't felt kindle within him for a lifetime and then some.
"Morning."Delilah breathily addressed them seconds later, the greeting accompanied with the footsteps belonging to her companions.
Klaus took another sip of his tea when he parted his lips and felt the urge to bid good morning. He found himself grateful when he caught a bounce of blond hair out of the corner of his eye when his sister straightened to do just that.
"Morning."Rebekah beamed around a sunny smile. She gestured for them to join them with a pat on the tabletop."Come!"
Elijah's courteous good morning tread after Rebekah's and was followed with a generous offering of pancakes. He handed two stacked plates to his sister who set them in the middle of the table and then came around to deposit a handful of plates next to them.
"By all means,"Elijah swept a hand invitingly."help yourself."
Lou-Anne and Jude awaited shared a look with Delilah and, after a reassuring nod, they stalked their way further into the kitchen in the direction of the table. The two wasted no time in taking a plate as they passed and helped themselves to the pancakes.
"I knew I smelled pancakes."Jude rejoiced as he let himself drop into the chair furthest from the hybrid.
Lou-Anne claimed the one beside him, her red hair bouncing on her shoulders as she turned her head to smile at the siblings. She accepted a cup of tea from Elijah when he came to take his seat at Rebekah's other side.
"Thank you, Elijah,"Lou-Anne thanked the eldest Original over the rim of her cup. Lou-Anne nudged Jude pointedly in the wake of her gratitude.
"Yes. Thank you."
Elijah nodded politely."You're very welcome."
Aside from the scraping of forks or sipping of the tea, there was a rigid silence as silence blanketed the table that had Klaus reeling.
He didn't appreciate feeling on edge around his flesh and blood—it was the only arena he usually allowed himself to be at ease.
"Is your tea to your liking, Niklaus?"
Elijah's soft question caught his brother's focus and Klaus frowned at him, bewildered briefly with the question but grateful for the breaking of the silence.
"It's been a while since I've had the pleasure—"Elijah grit out the word with a teasing edge."trying to meet your expectations."
Klaus' eyebrows elevated and he rolled his eyes, ignoring Rebekah's sniffed laughter. He tipped his head to look at his half-finished tea and crinkled his nose.
"A bit too much milk but it'll do, brother."He teased, swirling his hot beverage thoughtfully."I've never managed to understand your inability to make a simple cup of tea."
"Oh, leave him be!"Rebekah chastised lightly, patting Elijah's forearm with sympathy.
Kol let out bemused snort as he decided to chime in. He thumped his hands on the table on either side of his bare plate.
"Tell me about it, Nik. He can never get the milk ratio correct."
The youngest Mikaelson winked at Elijah when he was leveled with a scowl. His laughter soon waned as silence befell the table again and he hunched over to snatch the final pancake.
"They're great, Elijah."Jude praised with a tight smile when Lou-Anne prompted him to contribute to the conversation.
"Thank you."
Scrutinizing the new arrivals out of the corner of his eye, Klaus leaned back in his chair just to indulge in the creaking that momentarily broke the silence.
"Delilah…"Kol invoked around a croon. He licked syrup from his thumb when he crooked his fingers."are you not joining us?"
Delilah's velvety simper from behind him rung in his ears and left Klaus still in anticipation for more. He kept himself still when his siblings' eyes snapped to Delilah over his shoulder.
"I would but I remember Elijah's stance on humans at the breakfast table."
"It's good that somebody does,"Elijah said into his cup, side-eyeing his youngest brother.
Kol waved him off as he got to his feet and carried himself out of Klaus' sight to go meet Delilah. Klaus, ears still ringing with Delilah's low laughter, let himself turn around and follow everyone else's line of sight.
"She looks delicious."Kol purred hungrily through a chuckle."Where, pray tell, did you find her?"
Klaus felt a familiar fond exasperation when he turned to find his brother circling a compelled silent woman who stood alongside Delilah.
Her arm was extended, trembling slightly from exertion, and blood filled up the glass in Delilah's hands from a slash across her wrist.
"Upstairs. I'll share, all right,"She wagged her daylight ring adorned finger at Kol."but you cannot kill her. She helps with the upkeep of this place."
Kol grunted his understanding and waited impatiently for Delilah's glass to fill halfway. When it finally did and Delilah gestured that the human was all his he wasted no time in swooping down and fastening his mouth to the woman's throat.
"Join us? There's much to talk about."
Delilah turned her head when Elijah's appeal reached her ears, the smile she'd been watching Kol with frozen on her lips.
Her fingers pressed in on the glass in her hand when she was met with Klaus' blank searching eyes and something warm fluttered in her stomach.
We've got a ceasefire, haven't we? She refrained from flinching at the rustled reminder and willed herself not to meet his eyes. Please. Sit.
"You can have Kol's seat since he's…"
Rebekah cleared her throat as she leaned off to the side to look past Delilah and glance at her brother. She, once again, rolled her eyes at his theatrics.
"Well, since he's occupied."Rebekah concluded with a sniff. She patted Kol's seat beside her with a smile."Now sit."
Dellah flashed an appreciative smile at the blonde Original and complied with her amiable urging. She touched Jude and Lou-Anne's shoulders reassuringly when she felt their eyes on her
"So,"Delilah began once she was seated."what is the plan?"
Elijah parted his lips to answer only to press them together in annoyance when a raspy moan came from across the room.
"I don't think there is one, darling."Kol breathily chimed in, blood-red eyes glazed over."We're just rushing headlong into battle, sending a few of Nik's pets in first as bait, and hope that we come out on top."
He grinned at them, all fangs and blood smeared lips before he nuzzled back into the woman's throat. Everyone's eyes returned to Elijah just afterward expectantly.
"Sadly, i couldn't have said it better myself."He confessed when the silence drew out too long."That is the one we've settled on."
Jude and Lou-Anne's eyebrows elevated and their heads turned so they could share a perplexed glance. Then they blinked over at Delilah who could only arch her eyebrow with a resigned breath and sip her blood.
"Knew we could count on you, big brother."Klaus commended Elijah with a rigid smile, finishing what was left of his tea."I must admit, however, that this truly counts as one of your worst attempts at motivation. Last night was much better."
"I still think our best option—our only option, really—"Rebekah held out her hands helplessly."is to run. We did it for a thousand years, didn't we?"
"I thought you were tired of running, 'Bekah."Klaus soothingly replied with a concerned frown.
"It's better than handing ourselves over on a silver platter, isn't it?"
Elijah rubbed his sister's arm sympathetically, glancing at Klaus when he noticed his brother's equally as troubled expression as he glimpsed over at their sister.
"I'd hoped that Delilah's companions had some thoughts on the matter."Elijah finally suggested when Rebekah squinted up at him insistently.
"You're involved with dark magic, yes?"He asked when Jude and Lou-Anne turned to look at him."I'd assumed something more could be done within your craft."
"Did you have anything specific in mind?"Jude hopefully questioned, straightening and hunching forward on the table."We could hold him for a day or two, maybe slow him down if he's coming at us, but there's nothing―"
"Nothing that a, for lack of a better term, your run of the mill witch couldn't do."
Jude nodded when Elijah grimaced, flashing a weary smile at Lou-Anne when she pillowed her cheek on his shoulder in consolation.
"We could try what they did with your, uh, your brother."Lou-Anne chimed in warily, glancing at Klaus out of the corner of her eye."But you'd have to risk getting near enough to him and that's risking your siblings and I don't think you'd want to do that."
Elijah immediately shook his head, as did Klaus as he sat up straighter, prepared to argue on the subject until Lou-Anne carried on.
"Short of chopping him up and sending pieces of him to the furthest parts of the world there's not much one could do to permanently end an Original…"Lou-Anne's shoulders lifted in a hesitant shrug."let alone an upgrade."
A hollow laugh erupted from Kol across the room so, once again, everyone peered over at him. He was swaying back and forth with the woman clutched in his arm as he fed her his blood to heal her.
"Hey, now, wait a minute."He protested with narrowed eyes and a tut."The word upgrade is―"
"Now's not the time to be insecure, Kol,"Rebekah interjected in annoyance,
She glowered at him when he held his hands up in a mockery of surrendering. Once his protests waned Rebekah turned and gestured for them to continue.
"Bonnie's mother managed to incapacitate and trap Mikael for years."Elijah explained to the two sitting across from him."I'd hoped that you might be able to do something similar with Alaric if we are unable to eliminate him."
"We don't want to get close, Elijah."Rebekah reminded her brother, pulling back to look up at him with irate eyes.
"I don't want you, Niklaus, and Kol to get close."Elijah clarified sternly, fingers lacing on the table."I said nothing of myself. I'd be able to hold my own against him for just enough time for Delilah's companions to incapacitate him."
Kol's disbelieving cackle resounded throughout the kitchen as he pulled away from the human, his bright eyes affixing onto Klaus' when his brother whirled around in disbelief.
"Now hold on just a bloody second!"Rebekah cried out in incredulity, looking just as alarmed and frustrated as her brothers.
"Always and forever, he says!"Kol bellowed as he trudged over to the table, bracing his hands on the back of Klaus' chair."We stand united, he says!"
"And then he willingly goes off to sacrifice himself,"Klaus concluded for his brother, head tipped back so he could share an annoyed glare with Kol.
Rebekah swept a hand thankfully at Kol and Klaus while her other, much like when she was reunited with the hybrid, pummelled Elijah's shoulder.
"Rebekah, must you resort to violence?"
Jude and Lou-Anne leaned back in their chairs, eyeing the scene folding out before them cautiously. They then glimpsed over at a still quiet Delilah who was looking down into her glass, an arm folded over the back of her chair and looking thoughtful as she nibbled at her lower lip.
"Or..."Delilah sonorously began with no preamble. She lifted her head when the bickering ceased and she felt eyes searing into her."we can just save a lot of time and our lives and kill the doppelgänger."
Jude raised his hand to wag a finger in agreement with Delilah but otherwise maintained his silence.
"As tempting as that is, darling,"Kol huffed out an amused laugh, clapping Klaus' shoulder."it wouldn't salvage the mess we're in. We'd still be facing that thing either way."
Delilah blinked owlishly at Kol, her eyes drifting from him to Rebekah and Elijah questioningly. When they showed no signs of any understanding concerning her suggestion she shook her head and willed herself to look at Klaus.
"They're linked, aren't they?"Delilah asked with a perplexed curl of her mouth."It's what you spent at least half of the journey here seething over."
Three pairs of eyes snapped to Klaus immediately and, when he bowed his head with a hidden smile, they slit accusingly at him.
Elijah straightened in his own chair, pushing aside his plate to settle his joined hands on the table.
"What?"
Delilah, recognizing the stiffness of Elijah's shoulders and the reproachful frown, leaned back into her chair to avoid getting involved. She stretched out a hand to urge Jude and Lou-Anne to do the same which they slowly did.
"It's best to be out of sight unless you want to tag in."
"Nope. You're right."Lou-Anne quietly concurred, her mouth hidden behind the rim of her cup."I'd prefer not to be invisible."
"What was that?"Rebekah echoed her brother with knitted brows.
"Sometimes this―"Kol gestured between Klaus and Delilah."link you share is a blessing. Keeps you honest, brother!"
"Niklaus."Elijah breathed out chidingly."You didn't mention this."
Klaus pushed at Kol's extended arm to glare over at Elijah and then do the same to his sister when she shook her head at him.
"I didn't have time to. Given how I was bloody desiccated not an hour later."
Kol punched out an exuberant guffaw and his hands came down again on Klaus' shoulder. He squeezed them, took a second to enjoy Klaus' annoyed hiss, then canted forward to mutter into his ear.
"Of course, they're linked. I'm guessing you'll want to take the hardest route, Nik?"
Kol straightened with an indignant grunt."He'd rather our lives be on the line than waste a drop of her blood."
Klaus' eyes tore away from his elder brother to tip his head back and settle them on his younger one. They widened briefly, a flash of hurt flickering in them before they clouded over.
"You really think I care for an instant about my bloody hybrids after all of this?"
Rebekah scoffed into Elijah's shoulder, turning her head from Klaus' fiery eyes when he turned his head. Kol rambled out from behind Klaus' shoulders to root himself at the end of the table so he had everyone's eyes.
"Let's all take a moment to remember the sole reason our brother stayed in that town, shall we?"
The legs of Klaus' chair protested when he pushed away from the table to lean forward, pointer finger jabbing into the wooden top when he thought over his response.
"The sole reason we're returning to that town is to eradicate that atrocity she who calls herself our mother created. In the name of Finn."
Klaus nodded sternly when he felt his siblings' eyes burning into him, a hoarse gasp spilling from Rebekah's glossy lips. Elijah's head bowed with something akin to shame.
Kol folded his arms across his chest with a soft laugh, though he said nothing and instead offered a resolute nod of approval.
Rebekah shook her head, eyes dimming and glassing over."Don't act like you gave a damn about Finn."
"He was my brother."Klaus promptly replied, tone void of any emotion. It contrasted his wavering, exposed gaze."They took my brother."
Delilah's head snapped around so quick that her vision blurred, Klaus' justification echoing in her ears, and she straightened worriedly.
"Finn?"Delilah repeated around a confused moue. She blinked incredulously at the Original sat across from her."What about Finn?"
"That doppelgänger and her merry band of sycophants cornered him then..."Rebekah's glassy eyes glazed over with bitterness."then they took him from us when they staked him."
Delilah let out a choked breath and her eyes grew wide with horror once the reality settled in. Her hand, on instinct, reached out and blanketed Rebekah's, her arm simultaneously stretching out to clasp Elijah's forearm. She then smiled at Rebekah when she could bring herself to meet her gaze.
"It isn't fair."Delilah ground out through gritted teeth."It's never fair."
Her eyes sought out a vacant-eyed Kol from across the table and she, aware that he wasn't the tactile type or one for displays of sentiment, mouthed her sympathies to him. He stiffly nodded his head once and whirled around to busy himself by pouring himself a drink.
"I'm sorry."She whispered, eyes flitting between the siblings. She didn't know what else she could say."I'm so sorry."
She pulled back from the touches when the siblings managed a smile back, her arms folding in her lap her hands, fingers lacing and clenching. She swallowed the lump in her throat and turned her face from everyone when her vision soon blurred with tears.
"Our brother was a dullard! He was of no threat to them whatsoever."Kol intoned pointedly, voice raspy from gulping down his drink."Just himself and his own blood, funnily enough."
He raised his empty glass in the air wistfully, a choked-off laugh tumbling from his lips when he turned around to face the table. The bottle in his hand sloshed around when he tipped the neck to refill his glass.
"If anybody was gonna knock him down a peg it would be one of us."He pointed knowingly at his siblings with a lopsided smile."But they cornered him like a frightened deer, drove a stake through his heart, and let him burn."
He breathed out his words with bitterness and an impassioned fury that had his siblings averting their gazes with rueful expressions.
"They must suffer. They will suffer."Kol gruffly declared, cleaning his throat and schooling his expression.
"I very much like your thinking."Rebekah instantly agreed, raising her hand to further emphasize her point. He fluttered her fingers until Kol handed over his glass and finished the drink off herself.
Kol's eyes drifting between his brothers."They die. We agreed?"
Klaus' nod of agreement was immediate and resolute, earning himself a flash of a smile from Rebekah that eased his rigid expression. Kol tilted forward to look pointedly at their eldest brother.
"'Lijah?"
Bearing their expectant stares, Elijah got to his feet with a tense air about him that had Kol's lips twitching.
"Normally, as you know, I wouldn't encourage such barbarity."Elijah stated, his voice carrying throughout the kitchen."But in this instance, I'm inclined to wholeheartedly endorse your thinking."
He took a moment to button up his suit jacket, smoothing down the arms of his suit, and then fixed his cuffs.
"They die."
"That's the speech we were after."Klaus commended his brother with a roguish grin that was all teeth.
"And you two?"
The Mikaelson siblings looked at Kol and then followed his eye line to the other end of the table where Jude and Lou-Anne were seated. They frowned under their scrutiny as Jude's arm stretched out across the table in front Lou-Anne protectively.
"We fight with Delilah."Jude elucidated shortly."But we are sorry about your brother. They'll surely suffer by our hands just as much they will yours."
Elijah held out his hand before any of his siblings could comment. His eyes tracked Delilah when she pushed back from the table and rose to her feet.
"I''ll do whatever it takes to keep us alive. I want that thing ashes and then I want to go home. However,"She added with a pointed finger, eyes scanning the siblings carefully."I've one stipulation."
Klaus hung his head momentarily with a quiet, huffing laugh. He looked up at Delilah through hooded lids, his cheeks rounding and eyes gleaming when a smile pulled at his mouth.
"Which is..."He urged her with a fondness, crooking his fingers encouragingly.
Delilah's eyes snapped to Klaus, her features briefly hardening at the warmth seeping from his tone, and her eyes slit at him.
"Stefan's brother. He's mine."
Rebekah looked up at that moment. She hummed curiously."For what reason?"
Klaus gestured to his sister, his eyebrows elevating inquisitively, and it was only when Delilah broke their stare that he could find his voice.
"I'm also curious as to what the reason is."
"He's a fool, Nik."Kol piped up with a shrug."Is there any other reason?"
"He insulted Lou-Anne and Jude,"Delilah answered finality. Her hand came down on the table to stress her terms."and I will not let that go unanswered. Do we have an agreement?"
Elijah leaned back with a thoughtful look on his face, turning to direct it to his siblings who glanced up at him with the same amount of contemplation. Jude was on his feet, Lou-Anne following close behind, and standing by Delilah when they turned back.
"I fail to see a point in this negotiation."Klaus riposted with an offhanded chuckle. It earned him a scowl from Rebekah.
He bite back a grimace when he was suddenly consumed with a persistent twinge of indignation and fury. It left him reeling for a second. It was soon accompanied by Delilah's dusky, seething glare when she turned and looked at him.
"We've also a reputation to maintain. No slight is forgotten."Jude replied matter of factly. Unwaveringly."And, of course, loyalty is of the utmost importance."
"What of Stefan?"Elijah questioned with a furrowed brow."He told me you'd had a stand-off."
A sharp, cruel smile pulled at the corner of Delilah's mouth. She shook her head and waved a hand at Elijah, but her eyes remained fixated on Klaus.
"He's nothing short of pitiful."Delilah deadpanned. Her eyes swept the Original."He's a shell. Any damage I'd do to him would be nothing compared to the damage he's done to himself."
She lifted her chin defiantly when Klaus, emitting an incensed snarl, was on his feet and beginning to close the distance between them in seconds. She met him halfway in a blur, reeling on her feet when they almost collided and carried his stare as he loomed over her.
"Niklaus—"
She heard Jude and Lou-Anne's footfalls trailing behind her."Del..."
Delilah thrust a hand out to cease any offers of aid, her eyes pooling red when Klaus' bloomed amber. Her lips parted when her fangs were extracted and another smile, a vicious smile, blossomed on her mouth.
"Do we have a deal?"Delilah breathily asked, unrelenting red eyes trained on him."Damon is left to me?"
Her lashes fluttered, threatening the closing of her eyes when Klaus bent to her height to keep her gaze. Her tongue pressed to a fang, and the stinging pain that followed when it pierced, helped her maintain her resolve—and bear the searing affection that radiated from Klaus and set her alight.
Lilah. How could you ever call this a curse?
"It's the least i could do, dearest."He affectionately rumbled, his dilated pupils affixed onto her indulgently.
Delilah turned from him, fangs retracting and red bleeding away. She refrained from gasping when her chest felt tightened when she retreated from him. Jude and Lou-Anne were already standing patiently a few steps behind her when Delilah crossed to meet them.
"Right, then."She willed herself to gather her bearings when she gestured to the siblings."We're ready to leave when you are."
Delilah waited until Elijah nodded his understanding before she turned and exited the kitchen, Jude and Lou-Anne falling into step at either side of her. An eerie silence befell the room, a silence that nobody knew how to break or was unsure they even wished to until Kol took it upon himself with a scoff.
"That's it all sorted out then!"Kol clapped his hands and rubbed them together with a grin."Let's head off to be slaughtered."
Thanks for reading! Please let me know if you're like to read more.
