Sinners and Saints
Chapter 13
Elijah
I got Giselle's bath drawn and promptly left the room. From the hall I could hear her settle into the warm water. I browsed through my sisters room looking for a some clothes that would fit her more curvy frame. I finally found a few options and set out some of Freya's clothes for her to wear. Hers were incredibly ruined from the bloodstains. She'd be much more comfortable in fresh clothing. I returned to the courtyard with her bloody clothes in a bag for disposal. I saw my sister, still puttering about. She seemed a little anxious. I set the bag down to join her at the couch. Freya handed me a glass of bourbon from the bar.
"You look like you need this," she said with a weak grin.
"Not as much as she probably does," I said referring to Giselle.
"She's had a tough go of it ...Still, you did good today, Brother."
"I wish I could agree. I still feel like I failed her some how."
"She's alive, safe, and healed. You did everything you could have for her. I'm sure she'd agree. Don't beat yourself up. You are one of the most selfless people I've ever met."
"Thank you. It's kind of you to say." We shared a nice moment before a ruckus sounded from the entryway.
"Is somebody going to tell me what the hell is going on around here!?" Niklaus asked grumpily as he passed through the gates, Slamming them behind him.
"What do you mean, Niklaus?" She asked innocently. "We're just talking."
"I can see that sister, but what I want to know is what happened to prompt a call from Elijah saying that I needed to return home immediately. So go on, what's happened now?"
"You didn't tell him?" Freya asked me with a sigh. She seemed slightly peeved. Despite her best efforts at being the peace keeper, things often got away from her.
"I didn't want to tell him anything and upset him. I thought it would be best to wait for his return."
"Tell me what?! What happened?!" He asked impatiently.
"Niklaus, there was a bit of an incident...Don't worry, Hope wasn't involved..." Freya began carefully. Her nervousness only fed into his anxiety. He was probably jumping to a dozen different conclusions in that mind of his. Suddenly, his eyes widened.
"Giselle..." he said in almost a whisper. It was strange how intuitive he could be at times.
"Yes, but before you go berserk, I want you to know that she is alive," I interjected quickly.
"You're sure? Because I can see a pile of clothes drenched in blood in that bag."
"Yes, Brother. I'm sure. I retrieved her myself. She's here right now in fact. She's taking a nice bath upstairs."
"How did you let anything happen to her!? I trusted you to hold down the fort while I was gone!"
"Niklaus, please be reasonable! Elijah can't possibly be responsible for this," Freya snapped, she was in full big sister mode today. I loved Freya's spirit but she often forgot that Niklaus liked to believe he rules the roost. Birth order meant little to him when it came to his older siblings.
"Of course he is! This is our city! Things shouldn't happen here that we don't know about! It was your duty to know!" He said overreacting. He did this when he got emotional. He wasn't comfortable expressing most feelings or emotions so many came out as anger.
"It slipped through the cracks," I admitted.
"It can't happen again. We don't have room for mistakes anymore, Elijah. With the Triad and the Strix closing in, we cannot afford to miss things."
"It won't happen again. I can assure you of that."
"Okay...thank you..." he said calming down a bit. I heard a door open and close on the second floor.
"Nik! You're home!" Giselle called out from the second floor railing.
"I heard there was an eventful day here today. I couldn't stay away," he replied with a slight grin. She zoomed down the stairs in a pair of Freya's shorts and a camisole. My brother opened his arms and welcomed her into a protective hug.
"I'm glad you're back."
"As am I. Are you alright?" he asked surprisingly tenderly, cupping a hand gently to the side of her face.
"Yes, I'm fine now...thanks to Elijah."
"Well he shouldn't have let anything happen to you in the first place," he retorted.
"Oh please, he couldn't have stopped what happened. None of us saw it coming. Your brother was my hero today. You ought to give him more credit," she scolded playfully. I looked over and made eye contact with Freya. Both of us suppressed smiles. It wasn't too often that people stood up to Niklaus so unopposed.
"Fine...Hat's off to Elijah!" he said snarkily.
"We'll work on that," she remarked with a wink in my direction. In typical Niklaus fashion he chose to ignore this comment and carry on with the topic of his own choosing.
"What happened to you, Love? Who did this?" He asked seriously. Giselle didn't answer right away so he turned his head in my direction.
"We hadn't drudged through the details just yet. We needed to make sure she was alright and got some rest first. I assumed we'd take care of that in the morning."
"Fair enough."
"We might as well just get on with it now. I'm not going to sleep well anyhow," she said with a tired smile. She took a seat at the chair across from us.
"If you insist..." I said with a concerned sigh. She really should be resting. There was always time to get all the details later.
"What do you want to know?"
"I want to know who the hell thought they could lay a finger on you!?" my brother asked with anger wavering in his voice.
"Just a small group of vampires...the same ones that caught us leaving the gala with Jackson..."
"Giselle..." Freya gasped.
"It's fine. I think their pride was a little damaged by the scuffle," she joked. "One of them knocked me out cold while I was walking home. I woke up in a warehouse with my wrists and ankles bound together," she said slowly. She avoided all eye contact. Instead, her bright blue eyes stayed locked onto the floor.
"What did they want you for?" Klaus asked.
"They wanted information. When I refused to give it they began to beat me, to try to sway my allegiances. That went on for quite awhile. Then they left me alone for a little while...presumably to attend to other tasks from command. They returned for round two though. They beat me until I blacked out."
"And then what?" Freya whispered in curious horror. Finally, Giselle looked at us.
"We killed them all..." My sister looked dumbfounded.
"Well done!" My brother exclaimed with excitement.
"You should have seen her. She ripped three of their hearts clean out of their chests!" I boasted on her behalf. She smiled at me with a little hint of pride.
"Looks like you two have that in common," Niklaus pointed out.
"I do have a fondness for it," I agreed," Although Giselle didn't have to lay a finger on them to do it."
"Amazing! That's a nasty little trick that I wouldn't mind seeing sometime!"
"I'm sure you will at some point. Hanging out with you Mikaelson's all but ensures I'll see some more action," she joked. She wasn't wrong.
"Can I ask you a question?" Freya inquired quietly.
"Sure."
"What did they want to know so badly that they captured you for it?"
"Well...They wanted to know where Jackson was...where he lived...where he hung out. Turns out they were hunting werewolves. Somebody is trying to empty New Orleans of them all together. We really ought to warn Hayley and Jackson to stay low for awhile. The bayou probably isn't safe either. Anyways, I guess seeing Jackson at the Gala made him a target. They weren't the masterminds of this operation though. They kept referring to a 'him' as the person handing out orders."
"At least a bunch of them are dead now..." Freya remarked.
"Yes, but we don't know who is left. Jackson might still be a target," the other woman pointed out.
"You might still be a target, Giselle, we don't know," I said softly.
"Well that settles it, you'll stay here, love!" Niklaus said decidedly.
"Seriously? I'll be fine!"
"If anybody is still after you, they'll catch you if you're all alone!"
"That isn't necessarily true. I'll put up a boundary spell on my house. I'll be fine."
"I won't hear of it! You'll stay here and you won't go anywhere alone! Not until we know it's safe!" Klaus insisted. He stood and began to pace.
"You aren't the boss of me, Nik! I get to make my own choices!" She snapped.
"Do you want to end up dead? This time, things worked out...it might not work out so nicely for you next time! You are a part of this little family now, let us protect you!" She shook her head. "Really!?"
"Yes, really!" He let out a frustrated groan and stormed up the stairs.
"This is ridiculous! You know it's what needs to be done and you are just being stubborn!" he shouted before slamming his bedroom door.
"Nik!...Nik!" She called up the stairs to no reply.
"Just give him a minute," Freya suggested.
"He's really mad..." she said softly.
"He just has a bit of a temper...plus he's truly worried for you."
"I know..."
"Giselle, you must understand. In one thousand years, we've all experienced a lot of loss, especially to those who hang around our family. When he suggested you stay here, he didn't intend for you to feel like a prisoner and I'm sure he knows you can handle yourself. He just doesn't want to even risk the possibility of you being in danger. I can assure you that Niklaus' heart is in the right place, he just doesn't always go about it in the right ways," I said trying to defend my brother again.
"That's probably understatement of the year," she scoffed. I smiled at her jest.
"I know you may not want to hear it but, I do agree with him a little bit in this instance."
"You do?"
"Yes. We don't know how big this whole situation is. We might have massacred the whole bunch of them and it's over. Seeing as though they were taking somebody's orders, it's far more likely that whomever was behind this is still out there. They might try to harm you for revenge, we have no idea. Its probably best if you stay here with us for awhile just as a precaution."
"I don't want to be an inconvenience or a bother. I can't ask you guys to just give up your time to protect me. Its not fair to you."
"Don't be silly, we'd love to have you! We'll make it fun, I promise," Freya insisted with a grin.
"She's right. It will be no trouble. Besides, I'm immortal, I've got plenty of time!"
"Alright...if it's really not an inconvenience, I'll stay...for awhile," she said reluctantly agreeing.
"Good, we'll all rest easier knowing you are safe."
"I'm glad...I'm going to try and talk to Nik..."
"Good luck. Let me know if you need anything," I offered.
"Thanks," she said sweetly before heading off
Giselle
I walked quietly up the stairs towards Nik's bedroom. I knocked lightly on the door.
"Nik? It's Giselle. Can I come in?" Silence. "Nik?"
"Come in," he huffed. I opened the door and entered the room. He was pacing by the window, angrily. "Have you come to say goodbye?"
"No, I just wanted to come talk to you," I said sitting down on the edge of his bed.
"What about? Putting yourself in more danger?"
"I'm not intending to put myself in harm's way," I snapped.
"Then why refuse my offer?"
"Because I don't want to be your family's burden. You all shouldn't have to sacrifice for me."
"But we want to! You're on the team now. This is what we do. We risk and sacrifice and put all we have on the line! It comes with the territory."
"Yeah but you guys are a little family. I just got here. I can't possibly just waltz in and get VIP security detail!" He stopped pacing to look into my eyes.
"But you can!"
"No, I can't."
"Then think of it as us trying to make it up to you for putting you in this predicament in the first place."
"But you didn't..."
"Let me finish! I made you come to the ball. Then Freya got posioned and you came to her the escape, you ran into the vampires that would later take you captive! See we owe you one! So stop being so stubborn and let people who care about you take care of you!" He said seriously. A tiny grin formed on my lips. "What are you smiling about?!"
"Freya and Elijah already convinced me to stay. I was just coming up here to tell you..."
"You little bugger!" He said relaxing into a laugh. He plopped down beside me on the bed.
"There is a caveat though...I'm only staying until danger has been averted. Once I'm sure it's clear, I'm going home."
"Fine...one of us will take you by your house for your belongings in the morning. Right now you really should get some rest."
"I don't know if I can sleep..." I admitted.
"You look exhausted."
"I am. I just am a little on edge still."
"Well then I won't leave your side," he said softly.
"You don't have to."
"I know that, but I'd like to. Care to watch a movie?"
"You have a television?" I asked skeptically. I'd not seen a single one in my time here.
"Of course we do! We are old but we are still reasonable!" He scolded. He got up and opened the armoire across the room revealing a tv and an array of movies.
"You are still full of surprises."
"You better believe it, Love." He selected a movie and crawled back into the bed. He put an arm around my shoulders and I laid my tires head upon his shoulder. Before I knew it, my eyes got heavy and soon I couldn't fight it anymore. I drifted off into sleep...
Thank you all for reading Sinners and Saints!
Sorry for the short chapter and long wait between updates this time!
