The comfortable bed sunk under my weight as I rolled over on my stomach to look at Marcel. The light from the streetlight reflected against his bare muscles as he stood on the balcony, looking over his city. Something fluttered in my stomach as I observed his beauty silently. It had been a long night, and I should've been tired. But a million thoughts were going through my head, keeping me wide awake. I dragged the lilac covers atop of my dark blue silk nightgown, shielding my skin from the cold of the night breeze. I didn't know what time it was, but it felt as if there had been at least four hours since Klaus had been sitting before me in the red armchair in the right corner of the room.
Marcel seemed to get the hint that I was freezing, and shut the glass doors that led to the balcony softly. He pulled off his pants before sneaking into the bed, next to me. I instantly felt his warm arms around me as he pulled me close while examining my face fondly.
"I'm sorry about today." He whispered quietly, caressing my cheek with his hand. I sighed, not knowing what to answer. "There's no excuse for Rebekah." The way he said her name made my heart fill with a poisonous rancor, but I swallowed my outrage.
"She's… Nice." I chuckled ironically, even though all I wanted to do was to cry. "Did you love each other?" I asked him, doing everything not to let my voice crack. Marcel's brown eyes looked back at me with regret as he answered.
"Yes." His eyes didn't leave mine as he said it. My heart contracted with pain, but it was not because of Rebekah nearly ripping it out.
"Oh." I said, finally tearing my eyes away from Marcel's.
"I don't love her anymore, Juliette." He replied with a smile, and I looked back at him. My heart fluttered with hope.
"Then what were you two doing together when I was with Klaus earlier?" I frowned at my boyfriend, and he looked taken aback by the question.
"We were only talking about what she was doing in New Orleans." He was still stroking my cheek softly, but I calmly grabbed his hand.
"So there's nothing between you? She seemed pretty jealous of me when she was trying to kill me, you know." I stated with a scoff.
"She's never liked when she can't get what she wants."
"So she wants you?"
"What she wants isn't important, Julie." Marcel argued taking my hand in his to emphasize his words. The light from the balcony illuminated his high cheekbones, making his features seem more angular and arched. "What's important is what I want." A warm coat settled around my heart, making it feel as if I was in a pink cloud. I leaned closer to Marcel with a small smile playing on my lips.
"And what do you want?" I asked him, even though I knew the answer. A smile tugged at the corners of his full lips.
"I don't know. Have any ideas?" He joked, and I grinned at him.
"Hmmm… Does she have green eyes?"
"Mhmmm."
"Does she happen to be extremely funny and sarcastic?"
"You can bet."
"Is she absolutely, completely, utterly sexy?"
"Oh, yes."
"Oh just kiss me." I finished, and Marcel's lips touched mine within a second. I put my hand on the back of his head as I kissed him back eagerly, savoring the taste of his lips against mine.
"I love you." Marcel pulled back and looked me in the eyes intently, emphasizing every word. I smiled at him widely before kissing his cheek softly.
"And I love you." I placed another kiss on his temple, but he was impatient and grabbed my waist. He pulled me even closer and I continued placing gentle kisses along his jawline and down his neck. His hands ran down my back, and I ensnared his legs with mine. Finally, his mouth met mine and my heart burst with love.
Marcel would be hosting a huge Masquerade party that night, and he had chosen not to tell me until the same day. That meant; I had shopping ahead of me. I would have gladly gone with Roxy or Davina, but I had a slight problem. Davina was locked up in the attic above the church, and Roxy was a night walker. It didn't matter how many times I had tried to convince Marcel to give her a daylight ring, but he was stubborn. "She has to prove herself worthy of it." He said each time. "And I did that by getting into bed with you, you mean?" I always retorted, earning a grin in return.
"Cami?" I told my phone as I started packing my handbag. Wallet, keys, change… Yep, I had everything.
"Yes, Juliette?"
"I know this is a little unprofessional since you're kinda my boss, but I was wondering if you would go shopping with me today?" I asked her, squeezing the my phone between my ear and my shoulder.
"You see I'm going to a party tonight, and I have nothing to wear." I added, and Cami chuckled on the other end. I could hear that she was already at the bar because of the sound of glass against glass and rambling voices. I felt bad for her; It was only ten a.m. in the morning. Marcel was still sleeping soundly behind me, for God's sake.
"I really hate to go shopping alone. Pleeeeaaaseee?" I pouted, imagining that Cami could see my face. Finally I heard a sigh on the other end as she gave up.
"Alright. But my shift ends at 3 pm, so not until then." She replied, and I smiled.
"Great! See you then!" I hung up the phone and slipped it into the pocket of my leather jacket. I did a little pirouette in front of the mirror to check that my bleached skinny jeans looked fine before pulling on my black converses.
"See you later, honey." I placed a gentle kiss on Marcel's cheek and he opened his eyes at me.
"Why leave so early?" He moaned, squinting at the sun rays coming in through the balcony door. "Come back to bed." He tried grabbing my arm, but failed as I walked away from him.
"No-can-do, babydoll. I have a long day ahead of me." I laughed before walking out of the room.
"For f***'s sake!" I growled, managing to kick a stone on the ground before my vision started getting blurry. My nutjob head was failing me again, going into a trance in the middle of the street. People were already looking at the grown-up kicking rocks in frustration like a three-year-old, and when my eyes rolled back into my head, I can imagine that the staring only got worse.
I seemed to be in a small shop, judging by the lanky shelves lined against the walls. Something caught my attention; one shelf was entirely knocked down to the ground, along with a wooden counter. Products of different sorts were spread across the floor, making a whole mess of the place.
However, it was the sight of Rebekah which took me by surprise. She was standing in the middle of the room, near the broken shelf. A couple of feet away, Sophie Deveraux was looking at her with wide eyes. Rebekah sneered at something on the floor, and I followed her gaze. Katie, the witch who also happened to be Thierry's girlfriend, was lying on the floor, with Rebekah's stiletto heel against her coronary artery.
"Then tell me… Who is this vampire Romeo of yours?" The blonde vampire sneered at Katie, impatience in her voice. She pressed down her heel further when Katie didn't answer her. "Shall I count to three?"
I gasped for air as soon as my vision returned. Everything was the same in the street before me. The tourists were "oooing" and "aaaing" at the beautiful vintage buildings. Trumpets were playing somewhere in the background. People were still staring at me. But something had changed. Big-time. And I had no time to lose. I picked up my phone from my pocket and dialed Thierry as fast as I could.
"Come on... Answer." I muttered through my breath as there was only a beeping on the other end of the line. Finally, his voice sounded in my ear.
"This is Thierry. I can't answer right now, but please leave a message." I cursed silently but waited for the beep.
"Rebekah, Klaus's sister, knows about you and Katie. That means that Klaus will soon know about it too. I would advise you to do something about it before Klaus does something stupid." I said to the phone in a hushed manner. You could never know when people around you could have vampire hearing. Speaking of that… I had forgotten completely about Rachel and Sofia. I knew that I shouldn't be out in the open like this with them on the hunt for me, but Marcel hadn't been awake enough to object. True enough, I barely had the time to put the phone back into my pocket before a familiar ringtone filled my ears.
"HIGHWAY TO HELL!" I immediately clicked the "answer" button, blushing at the commotion that my loud ringtone had made. A lady beside me had stopped and was now looking at me like I was an abomination.
"Really funny, Marcel. When did you change my ringtone?" I muttered, putting the phone to my ear. Marcel laughed on the other line.
"You'll never know, sweetheart." I could hear the grin in his voice, and I couldn't help but smile. "You shouldn't be walking around town like that when you're being hunted." He argued. You see? Exactly what I was saying.
"I can't live my life like a prisoner."
"'Course you can. Now get your ass back here."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No. And jokes aside, what are you going to wear for tonight?" I asked Marcel with my sweetest voice.
"Come back to the compound and I'll tell you."
"Good try. Seriously, tell me."
"Seriously, no."
"You're such an ass."
"An ass you're in love with." My face cracked into a beam at the memory of me awkwardly confessing my feelings for Marcel three years ago. He still remembered.
"Alright, alright. I'll be back in an hour." I gave up, and Marcel became quiet on the other end.
"One hour? You need one hour to get back home?"
"Hey, do you want me to come at all?"
"Fine. Just stay safe, okay?"
"Of course. Love you." I smiled before snapping the phone shut and slipping it back into my pocket. What now? I had one hour before I had to be back at the compound.
"Let's go do some digging." I grinned to myself. I had a marvelous idea.
With a pot of ice-cream and drawing chalk in my arms, I entered the church. Father Kieran looked up at me before nodding.
"Here to see Davina." I answered his silent question, and he motioned at me to go up to the attic. Father Kieran didn't like me. Frankly, he didn't like any of us vampires. Could have something to do with the fact that he was a priest and we were monsters from hell, of course. I still thought his dislike towards me was wrongly aimed. I had always been nice to him.
"I brought gifts." I said as soon as I entered the small attic. The room was getting filled with more and more drawings for each day that passed, and that was without counting all of the drawings she had given Marcel and I. Davina looked up at me with big eyes before jumping up from the stool in front of the big canvas.
"You bought ice-cream?" She exclaimed with glee, and I laughed while giving her the cookie-dough delicious pot of heaven.
"I have these too." Davina thanked me as I gave her the chalks, and I smiled at her apologetically. "Technically, they're bribes. I came to ask for a favor."
"Hey, you just gave me a whole pot of ice-cream. I'll do anything." Davina chuckled before taking out a spoon from one of her drawers and practically ripping off the lid of the Ben & Jerry's jar. As she dug in, I walked up to the sleek mahogany coffin that was laying against the right wall of the small attic.
"Klaus's brother… The reasonable one, I've heard." I muttered. Davina looked up from the glass bucket long enough to frown at me.
"Your favor is about Elijah?"
"Yeah… I want to try something." I said absently as I snapped open the golden latches holding the coffin together. I lifted the lid slowly, almost afraid that any sudden sound would wake the sleeping Original up.
Elijah Mikaelson was definitely older than his brother, that much was obvious. But he had darker hair and a kinder face. He was also dressed in a fancy suit, a contrast to Klaus's signature tight long-sleeved shirt.
"Is Marcel okay with this, whatever it is you're doing?" Davina stuttered from behind me, doubt in her voice. I got it. She was constantly torn between Marcel and me. Sure, Marcel had been the one to literally rescue her from the Harvest. But I had been like an older sister after. I had comforted her when she was having nightmares, I still did, and I had rescued her emotionally. Still, she looked up to Marcel a lot. I couldn't blame her; he had that calming effect on people.
"Oh, this won't affect Elijah in any way." I replied, looking over my shoulder to give the witch a reassuring smile. "I want to find out more about two vampires from out of town who have been following me. I believe they were turned by Klaus. Now, it's too dangerous for me to try to lure something out of Klaus, but… A sleeping Original shouldn't do any harm." I explained, flashing Davina a grin at the last part.
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to try and have a vision. I might need your help." I told her, as I took a deep breath to collect myself. I then rolled up the sleeve of my leather jacket before placing my palm on top of Elijah's heart, around the dagger. I concentrated as hard as I could on Sofia and Rachel, but nothing happened. Not a squat. I breathed in deeply and tried again. Come on. Help me out here for once.
"Damn it!" I growled, pulling my hand back from the vampire. "Davina, can you get over here?" I heard the shuffle of her feet as she walked up to me and sunk down on her knees before the coffin. "I know that we still have no idea how my powers work, but maybe if I can borrow some of your energy…" Davina nodded and reached out her hand.
"Worth a try." Her blue eyes were wise and calm as I took her hand, and placed the other hand on Elijah's heart again. I concentrated on Rachel and Sofia, and this time I felt something happen in my body. It was one of the most sensational things I had ever felt. I could feel the surge of energy from Davina's hand like a strong current, and my vision blurred. Soon enough, my eyesight disappeared completely.
Elijah Mikaelson was sitting at a vintage desk, clad in a medieval tunic. His hair was long, flowing over his shoulder. He was looking at a book before him intently. With a sigh, he dipped a quill into a pot of ink and placed it on the paper.
"August 1359. I have noticed a difference in my siblings. Our bond strains beneath the pressure of our life as vampires. Each day removes them further from the humanity we once possessed. My sweet sister, Rebekah, has grown quite indifferent to brutality. However, the true problem remains my brother, Niklaus." His quill scribbled on the paper quickly, but elegantly. He wrote slow enough so that I could read his words.
"He has started to gather an army to conceal his own loneliness. Fear and loathing of our father has led him to paranoia, and he is convinced that he needs even more protection from Mikael." An army… Was that why he was so interested in Rachel and Sofia?
"Klaus and his soldiers continue to roam every town we visit with cruelty, killing as many innocent humans as they can without alarming Mikael. Still, I cling to the hope that I, as their eldest brother, can lead them down the correct path, a path charged with the power of a family united. For if I fail, our family's legacy will end in darkness."
"Wow." I gasped as I returned to reality, letting go of Davina's hand. "I have never experienced my powers like that before." I hadn't seen a lot, but it was a good start. For once, I had chosen my powers, and not the other way.
"What did you see?" Davina asked, as I stood up and brushed my hands against my skinny jeans.
"I saw a journal entry that Elijah was writing year 1359." I replied as I started telling her everything I knew about Rachel and Sofia, and what they had to do with the Originals.
"Damn, I look good in a suit." Marcel exclaimed, admiring himself in the mirror. I rolled my eyes but smiled at him. He was right, of course. The suit truly made him look like a king.
"Going for the Bond-look, then?" I asked him while filing my nails. Marcel turned around and grinned at me.
"Will you do me the honor of being my Bond-girl?" He winked, while the tailor kept working on his suit. I looked up from him with skeptic eyes.
"I'm nobody's girl." I scolded him, but then shook my head with a small smile. "But just for the night, I can be yours." Marcel laughed and blew me a kiss, since he couldn't step down from the podium where he was getting his suit fitted.
"My guy at the docks is gonna come forward as an eyewitness, say he saw those two drunkenly fall into the Mississippi." Thierry entered the room with a tired look. I widened my eyes at him. What was he doing there? Hadn't he gotten my message. "They'll be dredging for weeks. No one will come looking around here." Thierry met my gaze and frowned at me. "That's good, considering one's dead in a dumpster behind the county morgue, and the other one is a vampire now. Anything else?" Marcel spoke. He was still looking at himself in the mirror, so I picked up my phone and violently motioned at it while giving Thierry a meaning look. He pulled up his own phone and his eyes widened in realization. I suddenly wished that I had sent him a text, but it was too late now. I don't know why I couldn't tell Thierry out loud what Klaus seemed to be planning, but some part of me didn't want Marcel to find out. I had no idea. In fact, it was pretty stupid of me to keep my mouth shut. But I couldn't shake the feeling that I couldn't betray Klaus.
"Uhm–" I could see that Thierry had something else to say, but his eyes were glued to the screen of the phone. "No, nothing." He muttered, before walking out of the room, the phone already to his ear.
"Is it just me or has he been acting weird lately?" Marcel asked me as soon as his friend was out of the room, but I just shrugged.
"I haven't noticed anything."
"Juliette! What a wonderful surprise." An all too familiar british accent rang through the room, and I turned my head to face Klaus. He was smirking at me as usual, dimples showing as clearly as ever.
"Wish I could say the same." I answered with a scoff, but Klaus wouldn't be discouraged. I saw Marcel look at us from the corner of my eye, and turned back to him.
"I assume you're coming tonight too?" I asked Klaus absently, continuing to file my nails.
"There's a party?" He repeated with surprise. Oh, crap. I had concluded that he was invited to the charity event that Marcel was hosting, but I had never asked Marcel straight away.
"I'm hosting a Masquerade Gala as a charity event. For business, you know." My boyfriend filled in, smiling at Klaus. "You're welcome to come."
Klaus smiled secretively before turning his sparkling eyes back to me.
"That depends. Were you asking me to be your date, love?" He asked me as the room went still. I could feel the rivalry between the two men as thick as ice, and yet I couldn't hide the blush creeping up on my face. Klaus's blue eyes were watching me humorously, his full lips turned into a playful smile. Okay, this was silly. Klaus was obviously just telling me this to provoke Marcel. Indeed, I barely had the time to stutter out a no before Marcel was at my side.
"She's going with me, of course." He flashed Klaus a grin, but I could hear the underlying anger in his voice.
"Of course." Klaus replied with an equal grin and angry undertone. I rolled my eyes at the two of them, even though the attention made my ego jump with glee. However, territorial crap wasn't really my thing.
"Come on. Walk with me." Marcel brushed past his friend, and Klaus followed him. I stared at them in disbelief as they exited the room without me.
"Can they stop doing that?" I whispered to myself, not believing my eyes.
Davina helped me do my makeup for the night. Since she was locked up in the attic, she had taken up quite a few hobbies. One of them being makeup.
"I want to look like her." I had told her, motioning for the ad in the newspaper for the latest James Bond movie, Skyfall. I had gone and seen it with Marcel a couple of days earlier, and ever since then I hadn't been able to shake the mystery about Sévérine.
"That should be easily done." Davina had answered with a smile as she started pinning my hair in all different sorts of ways possible to hide it under the wig-cap. What? I like to go all-in when it comes to events like these. Besides, it's a masquerade. I don't want anyone to recognize me.
Now, Davina was making the last touches on my lipstick. I looked straight ahead through the mirror, but I barely recognized myself.
"You're amazing, D." I beamed at the reflection of Davina, and the corners of her lips turned up at the use of the nickname Marcel and I had given her.
"Well, there's not much to do up here." She sighed, her smile falling. A familiar rush of guilt swelled in my heart, and I turned around in the chair to face her.
"I'm sorry, Davina. I wish that you could get out of here, but it's too dangerous." She shied away from my eyes, a strand of brown hair falling into her eye.
"I know. It's just that it sucks being locked in here like a prisoner." She mumbled, a deep sorrow in her voice I hadn't heard in a long time. She wasn't always happy, of course, but it had been a while since she had looked like that. I stood up from the chair and walked up to her to pull her into a hug.
"It sucks not getting to see you whenever I want." I murmured into her hair, before pulling away. "I wish you could be there tonight."
"I doubt another run-in with Rebekah would end well." Davina chuckled with a proud smile. Oh right, I remembered her telling me about practically throwing Rebekah out of the window with her magic when she had come for Elijah. "Are you going to sing tonight?"
"Yes. Marcel asked me to sing as a favor for him." I smiled at her, feeling the familiar nervousness well up within me. Even though my job had been to sing for the last three years, I was still anxious before every performance.
"Just try not to charm too many men, Juliette." Davina smiled at me knowingly while checking that my wig sat correctly on the top of my head. "I doubt Marcel would enjoy that."
"Hey, I can't promise anything." I laughed, and Davina joined in.
