Previously in "I'll Still Be Here", Finn captures Belinda La Fleur, who reveals that Marcel is still in love with Rebekah.

Chapter Ten

While all this was going on, Caroline was in the art room, looking at Klaus' paintings. She had been trying to read in her room, but couldn't concentrate because she was worried, so she came in here, hoping that looking at the paintings would calm her down. It wasn't that she doubted Klaus' abilities as a fighter, far from it; she just wished Marcel would go away and leave them in peace. "You're going to turn the house upside down with your worries, love," she heard Klaus say from the doorway.

Caroline turned and smiled at him. "I'm sorry. I guess this whole thing with Marcel has gotten to me." Her smile faded. "He needs to die…painfully."

"I know you feel that way now, love, but you're just angry," Klaus said as he crossed the room to stand behind her.

"You think I'm just angry?" Caroline said. "Nik, you can't just dismiss what I'm saying here! I'm worried about Rebekah! I may not know Marcel like you d, but from what you've told me about him, he seems to be capable of just about ANYTHING!"

"Caroline…"

"Don't you 'Caroline' me, Nik," Caroline said. "What if he had taken ME instead of Rebekah? Would you be as worried as I am and want to make him pay for it?"

"Love…" Caroline cut him off with a glare before turning and stepping around him to leave the room. However, she didn't get far because Klaus grabbed her arm and pulled her back toward him. Before she could protest, he silenced her by kissing her deeply and passionately. After a few minutes, he pulled away a bit and then whispered against her lips, "To answer your question, Caroline, if Marcel took you, I would hunt him down and make him suffer for taking what is mine."

She nodded, remaining silent as she rested her forehead against his. Klaus reached his hand up to stroke her hair, inhaling the sweet scents of sandalwood, lavender and honey in every strand. "We're going to find a way through this, Caroline, you have my word."

Caroline nodded again. "I really hope so, Nik," she whispered.

Klaus stepped back and framed her face, kissing her passionately. "I mean what I say, Caroline. We will get Rebekah back from Marcellus. In fact, we have leverage to use against him."

The blonde vampire gives him a curious look. "Who do you have as leverage?"

"A witch by the name of Belinda La Fleur," Klaus said. "According to the information from Hayley, she's also someone Marcel fancies, so he'll have no choice but to surrender when he finds out we have her."

Meanwhile…

Marcel was sitting behind the desk in his study at the compound when he heard someone clear their throat. "Yes, Diego, what is it?" he snapped in a low growl.

"This came for you, Marcel," the African-American vampire replied, putting a manila envelope down on the desk.

Marcel took the envelope as soon as Diego placed it on his desk, opening it to reveal a neatly folded piece of paper. Giving the younger vampire a curious look, he opened the paper to find that there was a note. Diego noticed his boss' demeanor change as he read the words on the paper and before he could ask, Marcel said, "It's the Mikaelsons. They've found out about Belinda and they're looking to use her as leverage to get their sister back."

"Damn it," Diego said. "So, what are we going to do?"

"The redhead, the eldest brother's girlfriend…take her and put her in with Rebekah," Marcel told him.

"You got it, Marcel," Diego said then turned and walked out of his boss' office.

After Diego left, Marcel looked at the paper again. He was obviously curious as to how the Mikaelsons learned about his relationship with Belinda. Of course, that didn't matter, because he was about to up the ante by adding Sage to the hostage list. As he sat, he let his mind drift back in time to the first time he met the 99-year-old witch:

New Orleans – 1963…

Belinda was standing in front of the store for the television sets, tears streaking down her cheeks as she watched the funeral for JFK Sr. It was sad to think that his two children would not get to have their dad around as they got older. Marcel was walking by and when he saw her crying, he approached her and handed her a tissue. "Here. You look like you can use this."

Belinda took the tissue from him. "Thank you. It's been a rough several days, what with the President getting shot and killed by some mad man."

"You want to talk about it over coffee?" he suggested, giving her a soft smile.

Belinda nodded. "I'd like that very much, thank you. Anything to take my mind off what's going on…"

Marcel nodded then put a cautious hand at her lower back to guide her toward Rousseau's, one of his favorite places. When they got to Rousseau's, Marcel found an empty table and helped Belinda into her chair before sitting in the one across from hers, taking her hand. "I have to apologize for not telling you my name first. I'm Marcel Gerard."

"Belinda La Fleur," she replied. "Though, you didn't have to introduce yourself. I've heard quite a bit about you from the other witches in the Quarter."

"Good things, I would hope," he said with a smirk.

"Well, that would depend on who you ask," Belinda said. "Some have said good things, and some…not so good."

"Which of the witches have you heard the not-so-good things from?" he asked with a frown.

Belinda sighed. "Does it really matter?"

"It does," Marcel said. "I need to know so that I can deal with them."

"Well then, I'm not telling you. You'll punish them by having another one of your little gatherings and slashing the said witch's throat in front of EVERYONE!" she hissed before standing and walking out of Rousseau's.

Marcel immediately blurred out after her, finding her halfway down the brick-covered sidewalk. "Belinda, wait," he said. "Please talk to me."

Belinda looked at Marcel, tears forming in her eyes. "It's just…all we witches want to do is practice magic in the Quarter without having to be afraid of you and your minions coming after us! I don't care if you ARE the King of the Quarter, it's wrong to slaughter innocent witches!"

Marcel was completely floored by what she was saying. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to raise a hand to her for yelling at him like this. What was it about this particular witch that was making him hesitate? "Belinda, I…"

"Don't you 'Belinda' me," she replied. "You KNOW I'm right about this! What the hell have we ever done to deserve this?"

"If I agree to let you, and only YOU, practice magic, will you accept moving into my mansion with me?" Marcel finally asked.

At first, Belinda didn't say anything, mostly because she wasn't expecting him to ask her to move in with him, especially since they just met. Finally, she said, "All right, Marcel, I'll move in with you."

Later – The Cemetery…

"You're not serious, Belinda! He's the reason we live in exile!" Sabine Graham exclaimed, scowling.

Belinda sighed and shook her head. She knew that Sabine was going to react like this. "I am serious, Sabine. Marcel has asked me to move in with him. He also promised that I can practice magic."

"He just wants to use you, Indy. Don't you get that!? He doesn't do that for any of us!" Sabine growled.

"I saw no indication of him wanting to use me," Belinda said. "I did a quick scan and he had no ulterior motive."

"That's because he was probably hiding it from you," Sabine said. "Trust me, vampires ALWAYS have ulterior motives."

"Well, if he DOES have one, I'll ask him first thing. But, for now, I should get going. I have a lot of things to take over to his place," Belinda said.

Sabine sighed heavily then said, "Fine. I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into, Belinda."

Belinda waved one hand over her shoulder as she then turned her back to the other African-American witch and walked out of the cemetery.

Meanwhile…

Marcel was at the mansion, making preparations for when Belinda arrived. He wanted everything to be perfect, especially since he was quite fond of the witch, even though he only just met her not even an hour ago. Nevertheless, he wanted her to feel welcome. A few minutes later, he heard a gentle knock at the front door, and he walked at a normal pace to answer the door. When he opened the door and saw Belinda standing there, he smiled and said, "Welcome to my house, Miss La Fleur." He lifted her hand and kissed it.

"Thank you for having me," she said with a blush and a smile.

Marcel smiled. "It was my pleasure. My home is your home."

"Let's just get one thing straight, Marcel. If you EVER lie to me about anything, I will use my powers on you to give you a migraine so big that you'll be begging me to stop," Belinda told him.

Marcel nodded. "You have my word, Belinda. I won't lie to you about anything."

Present Day…

Marcel grabbed the first thing he could and threw it across the office, watching as it shattered against the opposite wall. As he sat there and looked at the damage, he pounded the desk and growled. "Those damn Mikaelsons are going to pay for this!" He also then realized that he was going to have to make a choice between Rebekah and Belinda. While it was true that he and Rebekah had a history together and he loved her, whatever feelings they had in the past seemed to have diminished. However, with Belinda, whom he had loved since 1963, the feelings were still strong. Could it be that it was time to move on?

He finally made his decision after a few more minutes of weighing out the pros and cons over the woman he once loved with the strongest passion he'd ever known but could never have until before the 1920s and the woman who had seen him through 50 years of bringing New Orleans to the present day. His mind made up, he exited his room and went to find Diego, who was just about to leave to find Sage and bring her to the compound. "Diego, wait a minute."

Diego looked at his boss. "What's going on?"

"I know that I wanted you to bring Sage here, but I changed my mind," Marcel said. "I'm going to give in to the demands."

"Are you sure about that, Marcel?" Diego asked.

Marcel nodded. "I'm sure. I had some time to think about it."

"Okay, boss, I'll be back later to check on you," Diego said before departing without doing his previous task.

Marcel nodded and watched as Diego walked away, sighing heavily. Although it wasn't easy coming up with the decision to surrender Rebekah back to her family, he knew that he couldn't force her to rekindle a flame that had long since died, especially since he now had another woman in his life.

His mind went back another time, this memory just after the Vietnam War:

1970 – The Quarter…

Marcel sat up when he heard the gentle creak of the floorboards outside his bedroom then turned his eyes toward the door when it slowly began to open before letting out a sigh of relief when he discovered it was only Belinda. "Hey," she said quietly.

Marcel smiled her. "Hi." Curiously, he added, "What are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep," she replied. "I guess it's because of that broadcast I saw about that dreadful Vietnam stuff. Honestly, it's bad enough those poor men are over there without having to see it."

Crooking his finger, Marcel encouraged Belinda to step further into the room. She complied, going over and climbing up onto the bed, where he gently wrapped her in his arms as they lay with her back facing his front. Belinda let out a soft sigh as she then felt Marcel use one set of fingers to gently stroke up and down her bare arm. "I promise that it will be okay," he said softly.

Belinda smiled at his words. "You always know what to say to make me feel better. I guess that's why I like living here. Whenever I'm upset about something, you're there to lift my spirits."

"I'm happy to help," he said with a smile back at her. And then he felt her shifting to roll over, but he stopped her. "Don't."

"Why?" she asked quietly.

"Because, if you do, it'll ruin the moment," he replied.

Belinda smirked. "Well, maybe I want to ruin the moment." Marcel swore under his breath before blurring out of the room. All the tension between him and Belinda was going to explode if he didn't stop himself from wanting to take her and brand her as his. Belinda saw him blur out of the room, watching after him. Why would he suddenly run away from her like that? They had been living together for the past seven years and they seemed to have gotten close in that time period. She didn't do what she did to scare him; she just wanted to be affectionate with him. Sighing, she left the bed and went in search of him, wrapping a robe around herself to keep herself shielded from the night air. After a while, she found him sitting at the table in the courtyard of the compound. With another sigh, she descended the stairs and slowly approached the table, not wanting to startle him. "Marcel, what's wrong? You know you can talk to me. Haven't we gotten close over the seven years since I started living here?"

Turning around to her, Marcel then reached out and gently grabbed her hand, tugging her flush against his hard body. Belinda gasped upon feeling all of him then gasped again when he captured her lips with his, tongue delving deep into her mouth. Her eyes drifting closed, the witch brought her arms up to wrap around his neck. After several minutes, Marcel pulled back, looking into her eyes. "I'm sorry, Belinda, I didn't mean to give you the wrong impression. It's just that I feel something between us, something that gets stronger every time I look at you."

Belinda cut him off with a kiss, her tongue desperate as she pushed him backwards over the table and straddling his hips. Marcel returned her kiss, groaning against her lips as he ran his hands up and down her body. He reached up and removed her robe, throwing it to the floor.

The witch arched back upon feeling his hands slide up her waist until they'd gently cupped her full, round breasts. "Marcellus…" Belinda whimpered. Marcel paused then. He had never heard anyone but Klaus call him by that name, but hearing Belinda use it kind of turned him on. Belinda felt him stop and looked at him. "Did I do or say something wrong?"

"No, mon cherie. I'd just never heard anyone call me by my full name other than the man who sired me," he replied.

Belinda smiled. "Well then, I'm glad that I get to be the second person to call you by your full name." He smiled back then captured her lips with his, turning them until she was the one on the table, moving to hover over her. Belinda smiled up at him. "What do you plan to do to me, my King?"

"I will think of something, my Queen," he replied with a smirk.

Belinda licked her lips. "Whatever you do, I'm going to enjoy it."

"Yes, you will," Marcel said. "And I will too."

That being said, he kissed her passionately and ran his hands up and down her body, hearing her moan against his mouth as she returned his kiss and their tongues collided. Belinda released shudder upon shudder at each caress of his hands over her body, arching it back as they roamed over the curves of her nearly bare chest. Marcel growled against her lips and then vamp sped them up to their room, not wanting his minions to walk in on them. Once there, he shed their pajamas and grabbed her hips, placing his hardened member into her core, thrusting hard and fast into her. Belinda responded by rocking her hips against his thrusts, trembling under him.

Two Hours Later…

Marcel used a gentle hand to caress over the front part of Belinda's slender curves. Belinda smiled as she felt his hand caressing her. "That was amazing."

"It definitely was," he replied. "You were amazing yourself, cherie."

"I can't take all the credit. You made me feel amazing," she said softly.

Marcel chuckled and kissed her softly. "These past seven years with you have been the best seven years of my existence."

Belinda returned his kiss. "You're not the only one who thinks so. They've been the best seven years of mine as well."

Author's Note: I don't want to cut it off here, but it's getting good, is it not?