"If you wanna make a deal with me, you gotta offer me something. I already know about Hayley, the werewolf girl." Marcel spoke, while I kept wiping the counter where I stood. This was the first time Cami had ever let me take the latest shift at the bar, and I was supposed to take care of it as well. Even though I'd rather smack Tyler Lockwood in the face, I had a job to do. Didn't stop me from eavesdropping, though.
"What else you got?" The vampire king of New Orleans continued, peering at the hybrid from over the table. Damien stood next to him, arms crossed. Not that Marcel actually needed a bodyguard. Personally, I think it was just for style. Made him look more powerful.
"What if I tell you that werewolf girl is carrying Klaus's child?" Tyler spoke, awfully smug. My blood ran cold. Oh no. Shit, I should have just killed my old friend the second he came into the bar. "And if that baby is born, it'll mean the end of the vampire species." Wow. Wolfboy reeeaaally had a deathwish. Not only did Klaus let him live with a warning, but he chose to also side with Klaus's enemy. Stupid, if you ask me. While Marcel nodded slowly in acceptance at Tyler's words, I felt sweat prickle my skin. I was in a very compromising situation. On one side, I had Marcel, my fiancée. On the other, I had an evil hybrid, soon to be the father of an innocent child. Marcel didn't know that I knew about Hayley's pregnancy.
"I'll tell you what. Come to this address tomorrow at 10, and tell us everything you know." With a smile, Marcel outstretched his hand and gave Tyler his card.
"Hey! Bartender!" A girl in her thirties-something called out, and I sighed before walking over to the other side of the bar.
"Could I have another one of these?" She pointed at her margarita with a sloppy smile, smudged mascara under her eyes.
"Actually, I'm closing up in five minutes." I told her after checking my phone for the time 3:55 a.m. I really needed to get some sleep. I looked back at the woman, who was leaning tiredly on the counter. Her alabaster neck was exposed, and my eyes suddenly focused on the pulsating vein. A familiar sort of hunger started growing in my stomach, and a tingling sensation appeared under my eyes. Now that I thought of it, I hadn't fed in almost two days.
"Excuse me." I told the sleepy shape before walking away, already untying my apron.
Marcel grinned at me as I walked up to him, placing a soft peck on my lips.
"Ready to close up?"
"Yeah. Could we stop for a hunt on the way home?" I asked, the itching feeling of my fangs wanting to snap out already annoying me. Marcel nodded, before speaking up.
"Hey, everyone! The abr is closing. Get your drunk asses home." Groans and sighs were heard through the room, but people started packing up.
"Wanna tell me why you were so angry at Tyler?" Marcel asked me as he slumped down on the bed, his brown eyes peering at me from where I had already buried myself in the covers. My heart beat quickly in my chest as I willed my face to stay indifferent. I wanted to tell Marcel everything that had happened that day so bad, but… I had a feeling that telling him that I had risked my life to save a baby I wasn't supposed to know about wasn't the best start to our new engagement. Quick, Juliette. Make something up.
"I grew up with him. He's from Mystic Falls. I saw a vision of him sometime ago breaking my former best friend's heart. I don't talk to her anymore, but… She didn't deserve that." It wasn't entirely a lie. Two years earlier, I had had a run in with an old friend from Mystic Falls, Parker Lewis, here in New Orleans. She had informed me of a few things that had happened in my hometown after my leave. One of them was that Tyler and Caroline had something going on.
"Do you miss your old life?" Marcel asked me, turning around to slump down on his back. He entwined his fingers on his bare stomach, and looked up at the ceiling. I watched him in silent contemplation, trying to understand what I was feeling.
"Sometimes. My life was quite boring and I didn't have a lot of people to care about. But still, I miss Caroline at times. And my parents, however annoying they were." I chuckled, slumping down on my back as well.
"Have you heard anything more about your mom?" Marcel's voice was soft and caring as I watched the stars painted on the navy blue ceiling. I had been the one to insist on adding them. I have always loved stars, and I thought that it would help me to calm down after my nightly visions.
"Not yet. I don't know if that's good or bad. It probably means she's still in a coma." I sighed. However, my heart didn't ache a lot. In some twisted way, I felt like I had got my closure when I had visited her in the hospital.
"You okay?" Marcel turned to face me again, brushing his hand softly against my cheek. I smiled up at him, my heart fluttering.
"Strangely, yes. But thank you for asking." He smiled and I put his arm around me before turning around, shielding my back with his body. "I don't know what I would do without you, Marcel."
"I love you." He whispered into my ear, his strong arms keeping me in his warm embrace. With that, I softly drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face.
Two people were fighting in the same big hall where Klaus had had his first gathering with his soldiers. One of them I recognized as Rachel, and the other one as the trainer, Emmanuel. Rachel was moving around Emmanuel with a surprising speed, managing to land blow after blow. They danced and teased each other with childish glee, and I instantly noted the spark between them. Finally, Rachel managed to beat Emmanuel and kept him straddled on the ground.
"Hah!" She exclaimed with a grin, lowering her head closer to the man. He smiled back at her, clear adoration in his brown eyes. His tan skin had a slight flush to it, and only now did I realize how handsome he was. Rachel seemed to notice it too, judging by the way her eyes traveled down to his lips and then up again.
"Tu m'affoles." He whispered. I knew the french language well enough to understand what he said. 'You drive me crazy'. Before I knew it, Emmanuel lifted his head and pressed his lips against Rachel's. She stiffened at first, before melting into the kiss. I felt like I was watching something waaayyy too private, but there was no way to get out of there. And so I had to watch as the couple sat up, and Emmanuel's arms went around Rachel's waist. Her blonde hair fell over her face like a curtain, and the man pulled away to brush it aside from her face.
"He cannot know about us." She stammered, her voice breaking. I saw fear in her brown eyes, as well as guilt. "He would kill you."
"Then let's not tell him anything." Emmanuel replied, tenderness in his gaze. "But know that I love you, even if it is in secret."
"I know. I love you too."
"Marcel gave me a daylight ring." Roxy told me as I settled down next to her in my favorite red armchair the next morning, a couple of minutes to ten. I turned to her with a beam.
"That's wonderful! Why?"
"He told me he was convinced that I would've won fight night if it hadn't been for that dickhead Klaus Mikaelson and his brother." Roxy spoke, brushing a hand through her curled bright red hair. I locked eyes with Marcel across the courtyard filled with daywalkers, and he gave me a small smile. I mouthed a silent 'thank you' before turning back to Roxy.
"He's right. But that's really great news! Now I can spend some time with you during the days too. And, you don't have to lie to your girlfriend anymore."
"Girlfriend?! Jeez, we've only been to a couple dates!" Roxy rolled her eyes, but I saw her blush, and nudged her playfully in the shoulder. When a throat was cleared in the courtyard, I turned to scan the room. Everyone was looking up at Marcel, including Tyler, who had taken residence at the bar. Apparently, he found it suitable for him to pour himself a drink, eleven in the morning. In my home.
"All right. Let's do this." Marcel spoke loudly to get everyone's attention. "I'll keep this simple. This kid is an old enemy of your favorite person Klaus. And he's got plenty to say about what that traitor son-of-a-bitch has been up to behind my back. Now, for those of you faint of heart, there's the door. Because those who stick around, you're signing up for battle." Marcel eyed every single one of us, while I started panicking internally. WHY, WHY, WHY had I decided to play both sides again? Because I thought Klaus was pretty and liked his accent?
When no one spoke up or left, Marcel nodded at Tyler to let him speak.
"You all know Klaus wasn't always the hybrid. When he broke the curse that kept his werewolf side dormant, somewhere in all that, certain parts were now able to trump his vampire side." Tyler settled down in the sofa in front of me, and I managed to give him a forced smile. This information was actually quite interesting. It wasn't as if I had asked Klaus about these things. "Like the ability to pass on the werewolf gene. That's where the werewolf girl he's been hiding from you all comes in. She rode through my town, pretended to be my friend, and then ended up hooking up with him. Now, she's pregnant with his kid." Ohhh.. There we had it. Tyler and Hayley's history.
"What the hell is this?" Diego shot out with a laugh. I agreed with him, the whole business felt like a reality show.
"Just listen." Marcel silenced him.
"When Klaus became the hybrid," Tyler continued. "– he figured out a way to turn full-bred werewolves into creatures like him." He raised his hand. "You're looking at one of them. On the plus side, we had all the perks of being vampires. We were stronger. Faster. And, the toxins in our bites could still kill a vampire. But on the downside, we were loyal to him. Like, supernaturally loyal." That was what he had been speaking about when he had told Hayley about Klaus's hybrid slaves.
"That explains you being here." I scoffed, giving him a sarcastic smile. "You're obviously supernaturally loyal to Klaus." Marcel pinned his eyes on me with annoyance, and I rolled my eyes.
"I broke free from it. And I helped the rest of them too. Then Klaus killed them for their betrayal." My blood ran cold. Sometimes, I forgot that Klaus was a cold blooded murderer. Not that I wasn't, but I had never killed for fun.
The sound of heels echoing against the stone floor drove my attention to a blonde head entering the courtyard.
"What is she doing here?" I asked Marcel with a clenched jaw. If he was planning to plot against Klaus with wolfboy, it probably wasn't a good idea to invite Klaus's sister to the party. Rebekah smiled falsely at me and cocked her head to the side, before turning to Tyler.
"Don't mind me. I'm fascinated by this story. Hello, Tyler." She spoke, and Tyler nodded.
"Rebekah. Long time no see." So they knew each other too. How nice.
"What Tyler was about to tell you is that my brother can use his baby's blood to sire more hybrids. What you will all figure out is that vampires don't stand a chance. So, Tyler, I assume you were trying to rally this lot into making sure the baby isn't born."
"Yeah. You don't like it? Go ahead and take your brother's side. But you know I'm right." Tyler snapped back at her, his brown eyes sending daggers at the blonde Original. Marcel shook his head with annoyance.
"I believe you've mistaken the lady's intentions." He told Tyler. The lady, huh? Anger started boiling in my veins when I realized that Marcel had invited Rebekah there. Because it meant that they'd been keeping contact.
"I already have a headache." I groaned silently to Roxy and rubbed my temples, and she nodded before mouthing a silent 'me too'.
"You were absolutely right, Tyler. My brother is a crap enough individual as it is. The last thing he needs is to sire a superior species." She turned and gave Marcel a small secretive smile that made me want to gag. "Go on, you can tell them."
"She's not here to fight us. She's here to help us." Marcel said, and Rebekah turned to the group with a smile.
"That's right, but first…" She started. Then, in a blur, she speeded over to Tyler and snapped his neck. It made me just a fraction less angry with her. "Enough talk about harming that baby. Klaus is the one we're putting a stop to."
"If you think you can beat Klaus, you're absolutely out of your mind." I told Marcel as he dropped Tyler's body down in the Garden.
"Come on. I have an army." He crossed his arms with a confident grin. My eyes flicked over to where Rebekah was standing, a few feet away from us, picking her nails. But I knew she was listening.
"And he's immortal. You haven't seen him in action, Marcel." I begged with desperation. I didn't want Marcel in the same room as a furious Klaus. This was a suicide mission.
"And you have?" My fiancée narrowed his eyes at me, and I opened my mouth to speak, but stopped myself.
"He will kill you. And before he does that, he'll kill anyone that gets in his way." I argued, crossing my arms too. Diego and Sam walked by to pick up Tyler's body, dragging it away.
"He won't kill me."
"Oh, really? Because as far as I know, Klaus will kill anyone who betrays him. Just look at Rebekah, his own sister, who was daggered for a hundred years thanks to him." Rebekah's head snapped up, but she looked down again.
"Why are you so convinced that Klaus would win?" Marcel sighed after a few moments of silence, hurt flashing by his eyes. "I thought you would believe in me more than that."
"I do, I just…"
"I'm done talking about this. Apparently, you have more faith in Klaus than me. Well, then so be it." Marcel threw his hands in the air while clenching his jaw. Anger sparked in my heart.
"Excuse me? Who went and called his sister? Who you insisted that you had no contact with?" I exclaimed, narrowing my eyes at my soon-to-be husband.
"Rebekah's a helpful resource in this plan." I could see Rebekah grinning at us from the corner of my eye. Smug bitch.
"That doesn't make up for the fact that you've been talking to her."
"Well, she came to me." Marcel snapped back, anger now flashing in his eyes. "But that's not the point here. The point is that I'm doing this, whether you want me to or not."
"Then I want no part of this suicide mission. If you're gonna attack Klaus, whatever. But you'll be doing it without me." I snapped, before storming out of the cave. Fuck him.
I leaned against the railing, looking over the Mississippi river. Thousands of thoughts were swirling around in my head.
"What am I doing?" I whispered to myself as a bike passed by behind me. I was lying to the man that was to be my husband, for the sake of another man. A man who I had some kind of feelings for, but feelings I couldn't put my finger on. He had always been kind to me… But he was a monster. Everything pointed to it. The hybrids he had killed… Thierry… Whatever he had done to Sofia and Rachel.
But then there was the whole thing with Marcel and Rebekah. Of course I trusted him, but I couldn't shake the feeling that he hadn't been completely honest when it came to Rebekah. It sent a spark of jealousy in me that made me nauseous. And he'd been so adamant to have her in on the plan today. Doubtless they were keeping each other company right in that moment.
"So many lies…" I looked up at the sun, who was temporarily hiding behind a small cloud. Some part of me wished that Marcel would succeed with the plan that night, yet… It was hard to imagine what it would be like in New Orleans if Klaus would be gone. Without his never ending teasing and his british accent. It would probably be peaceful. But... empty.
"Wait…" I turned around and frowned at the ground. I had had multiple visions with Klaus in them, in the future. Which meant that he wasn't meant to die today. As far as I knew, you couldn't change fate. But if that was the case, then it meant so many life-changing things. It meant that I would eventually fall in love with Klaus. That Davina and Marcel would die. I was not ready for any of that to happen.
My life would have been so much simpler if I would've stayed in Mystic Falls. Well, besides from the fact that I would've been dead. At least I wouldn't have been chased by two ancient vampires who were out to enslave me and use me for my powers. Speaking of which… Where the hell were Rachel and Sofia? I had completely forgotten that they were after me when I had stomped out on Marcel. But yet around me, there was nothing but the sound of people living their ignorant, petty, calm lives.
Shit, what was I going to do? Marcel was going to attack Klaus. If I warned Klaus, there was a risk that he would hurt Marcel. Or, there was a slight chance that he wouldn't come, sparing both Marcel and the other vampires there.
Holy crap. I just remembered. The vision I had had when I had first come to New Orleans. Klaus killing people. One of them was Roxy. Shit. I needed to stop him. Or that vision would come true that night.
"Okay.. Let's get this straight." I told Klaus, who was pouring himself a glass of bourbon over by the drink table."When I came here to warn you, it was so that you wouldn't walk into the trap."
"What trap, love?" Klaus replied, reaching out a glass to me. I reluctantly accepted it, even though I was mentally freaking out. Perhaps the strong liquid would calm my nerves. "I'm the Original hybrid. I'm immortal."
"But Marcel has an army." I chuckled nervously, settling down on Klaus's leather couch. My gaze drifted past the paintings and decorative vases, finally landing on a familiar brunette entering the room."Hi Hayley."
"Hi…" She said with uncertainty. "What's going on here?"
"Marcel has planned a coup to take down Klaus and said idiot is gonna walk right into it." I answered with a cock of my head, looking at Klaus meaningly. Hayley furrowed her brows and followed my gaze to the hybrid.
"You know what? I don't even wanna know." She sighed and walked across the room to the opposite door. Just before exiting through the white door frame, she turned around. "Nice to see you, Juliette."
"Likewise." I smiled, before pinning my eyes on Klaus again. "Seriously, though. You cannot go." Klaus settled down on the plush white leather armchair in front of me and placed his glass on the table before throwing his hands up in the air with a content laugh.
"Why not? Marcel wants a fight. He'll get one." A shrug. Huh, as simple as that. A shrug. "What I wonder is rather why you came here to warn me. I'd have thought you would love to live out your life here with Marcel without me." Klaus winked and took a sip of the golden liquid in his glass. His gaze burned on my skin.
"I uhm–" I started, suddenly flustered. I looked down at my glass for comfort, just to realize that all of the alcohol was gone. Damn it. "I don't want Marcel or my friends to get hurt."
"So that's the only reason." Klaus raised his brows at me, his blue gaze intense. The air seemed to get tense between us as he watched me. Something inside me fluttered wildly.
"Yes." I answered, but I'm pretty sure my eyes said the direct opposite. Klaus seemed to notice that too, but let it go.
"Well, this has been a nice little chat, love. However, I must go and retrieve a certain dagger from a man I thought was my friend." He stood up, leaving the glass on the table. I foolowed abruptly and grabbed his arm.
"Klaus, wait–" I stammered, and he stopped to look at me. The smugness was gone, replaced by surprise and gentleness. "Please don't go. Either way, someone I care about get hurt. You or Marcel." There, I said it. I cared about Klaus. That bastard grows on you, I tell you.
"I'm sorry, love." There was genuine regret in Klaus's eyes as he looked down at my hand, which was gripping his arm. "Some things have to be done."
And then he was gone. In the flash of a second. I was left baffled, not knowing what to do with myself. I couldn't follow Klaus to the massacre. Which side would I stand on? The one attacking him, or defending him?
As I entered the compound, there was an eerie silence in the courtyard. There was no one in sight. At least that's what I thought, until I saw the bodies on the floor. I couldn't help but let out a gasp as I counted them. One, two, three… Ten, eleven, twelve… Twenty one, twenty two, twenty three. And I knew them all. I had seen their faces every day for the past three years.
It was when I found a familiar redhead that it hit me. I had seen this before. In a dream, three years ago. A dream I hadn't told anyone about out of pure stupidity. One careful step after another, stepping over bodies, and I finally reached the twisted shape of my friend's body.
"Roxy…" I whispered, as I knelt next to her. There was a gaping hole in her chest where her heart should have been, and blood had seeped along the wound. I didn't even bother looking for her heart as I cradled her in my arms. Her chocolate skin had taken an ashy tone, and her eyes were shut. Had I known better, I might have thought that she was sleeping. But she wasn't. She was dead. And I knew very well who had killed her.
"Juliette?" Marcel's voice echoed behind me, and I turned around. His eyes were rimmed with red, and I realized that mine must have looked the same. I peered back at Roxy, unmoving and stale in my arms. My best friend…
"Wh–what happened?" I asked my fiancée as he put his hand on my back, already sobbing. I rarely showed my emotions like this, but Marcel had seen every part of me. The good and the bad.
"He fell in the trap. But we underestimated him." Marcel looked down at Roxy, pain visible in his face. He had known her longer than I had. "Klaus killed twenty three of us before I had to pledge allegiance to him. To make it stop."
Silent tears were running down Marcel's face. His eyes were full of hate, loss and sorrow. The same emotions that poisoned the blood in my veins.
"Roxy fought well, but… Klaus was stronger." He finished, and I let out a small cry of pain. I stroke her red hair one last time before looking up at Marcel.
"You have to burn her body. She told me a while ago that she would rather get burnt to ash then be eaten by maggots."
I let anger replace the hollow sadness as I stood up.
"Where is he?" I asked Marcel, removing any trace of crying in my voice. Crossing my arms, I watched him set his jaw. "Klaus."
Contemplation filled Marcel's eyes. Normally, he would've told me that it was a bad idea. That I was putting myself in unnecessary danger. That I would regret it. But I had never seen Marcel this destroyed.
"He's in our bedroom. Moving in." I didn't even grant myself the time to wonder at what that would mean as I sped up to the familiar door. I barged in without knocking, red already framing my vision. Klaus didn't have a chance to react as I charged on him, knocking him down on the floor. I straddled him and started punching him in the face while screaming.
"YOU!" His nose made a cracking noise. Why wasn't he fighting back? My knuckles connected with his right cheekbone. He was lying strangely still under me.
"You killed her!" I screamed, landing blow after blow. Blood now ran down his nose, and from a few cuts on his forehead and cheekbones. "You killed my best friend!" Another blow, and my left hand was now starting to hurt.
"You… You killed her. I came to warn you because I actually cared about you! AND YOU KILLED HER!" I cried, realizing that tears were running down my face. Klaus was looking up at me with some sort of remorse in his eyes, blood streaming down his face. Why wasn't he fighting back?
"Fight back!" I exclaimed. I wanted him to hurt me. I wanted to feel any other pain than the one I was feeling in my heart. "Fight back, you fucking–" Klaus' hand shot up and grabbed my left wrist, that I had started to lift to land another blow. He watched me in silence as I involuntarily broke into sobs.
"She's dead…" I hulked. "Roxy's dead.." The sound of my whimpering voice faded as I tried to breathe. I was hyperventilating, and it felt as if all the air had left my lungs.
"Juliette…" I opened my eyes as Klaus reached out his hand to put on my shoulder. I instinctively recoiled. "I–"
"No." I sneered at him as I speeded up from the floor, feeling the red veins under my eyes appear and my fangs snap out. "You don't get to play the comforting hero in this, Klaus." I watched him get up on his feet and look at me expressionlessly. The face which I had come to think handsome was nothing more than a target.
"This is your fault. You killed my best friend." I took one step towards him, then another. Finally, I was standing close enough to Klaus that our noses were almost touching. I felt him stiffen as I leaned in towards his ear.
"I hate you, Klaus Mikaelson." I whispered. He seemed to stop breathing. "You're nothing more than a sadistic, selfish monster." I pulled back and marveled at his hurt expression before speeding out of the room.
