Sinners and Saints

Chapter 16


Giselle

Wearing a sports bra and spandex capris, I excitedly headed down the stairs to meet up with Elijah for our excursion. He stood patiently waiting for me nearby. He smiled as I reached him.

"Are you ready?" He asked with a slight and mischievous smile.

"Absolutely! But you don't look like you are dressed for the occasion! Now I feel under dressed!" I joked. He was donned in his usual suit while he'd instructed me to be ready for athletics.

"Oh don't you worry about that. You look lovely."

"Perfect. Are you going to tell me where we are going?"

"No. That would ruin the surprise!"

"Fine! Let's go then!" I cheered excitedly. After days being confined within the walls of the Mikealson home, the prospect of getting out of this house for a few hours to get some fresh air and sunshine made me almost giddy.

"Alright. Then off we go." He placed a hand on the small of my back gently leading me towards the gate.

"And where are you two off to?" Niklaus asked loudly. I heard Elijah groan quietly before he turned around. I followed suit.

"We were just going out, brother. I didn't know I needed to seek your permission first."

"You don't, of course. I was just curious where you are stealing our guest off to."

"I told her I would take her out of the house for awhile today. Did you need us for anything?" He asked innocently.

"No...its nothing. I just was going to be around today so I thought Giselle and I could spend some time together..."

"Well surely how she spends her time is up to her," he said looking to me for answers or a decision.

"You know, it's not a big deal. I just feel like I haven't been around much and haven't spent much time with you, Giselle," Niklaus said quickly, almost as if he was defending himself in some way.

"Well, it's up to you," Elijah reminded me. "We won't be sour about it, I promise."

"Uh okay...Actually, if its okay... I think I'm going to head out with you as planned, Elijah. We can do something later, Nik?" I offered.

"Uh...yeah...later then," he mumbled before walking away. I felt bad for rejecting his offer. He'd done a lot for me and I truly loved spending time with him.

"You didn't have to pick hanging out with me," he said quietly as if he could read the look of guilt off of my face.

"I did. Not because I felt obligated but because I wanted too. We had plans I fully intended to uphold. Besides, Niklaus has been promising to hang out with me for days and hasn't managed to keep his promises. He can wait around for me for a change," I joked with a smile. He laughed softly.

"Fair point. Shall we attempt to leave once again?"

"That would be good. Otherwise we may never get out of here!" I pointed out. Elijah nodded and we rushed out into the Quarter.


Elijah

We headed towards our destination. Giselle was eager to get there. She was all smiles and her liveliness had returned. Evidently the fresh air was doing her some good after all.

"Are we almost there?" She asked with a childlike eagerness.

"Yes, its just up ahead!" I insisted.

"Really?"

"Yes." I headed up the stairs of what was St. Anne's Church. I reached the top and realized that Giselle was not right beside me. I turned to see her frozen at the bottom with her hand clutching her chest over her heart. "Are you alright?" She nodded.

"I just...I just haven't been back at the church since..."

"Oh my gosh...Since Kieran passed?"

"Yeah..." she said softly. I mentally slapped myself for being so careless. I should have considered that when I thought to being her here. This building meant a lot to her family...Sean and Kieran both passed away within its walls.

"I am such an thoughtless cad! I apologize for bringing you here, it was rather careless of me. It should have occurred to me that this might be painful...we can go somewhere else..." I offered as I began to turn back.

"No, no this is fine, great even!" She assured me with a slight smile.

"Really?"

"Yes, you know, I had a lot of good times here too. I think I need to see it for some closure of some kind."

"You're sure?"

"Yes," she said decisively as she grabbed onto my arm.

"Okay, we'll go in then. Just a warning, this is no longer used as a church." I didn't want her to have any more surprises than necessary.

"I figured as much. Do you think we can check out Kieran's old office?"

"I don't see why not." We entered the building and made a right down the hall. At the very end stood Kieran's office. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Oh my god! It still looks exactly the same," she exclaimed excitedly. She was right. It was as if somebody just shut the door after Kieran died, leaving it as some sort of shrine to the once great influential man. She looked around the room in awe. Dragging her hand across the large oak desktop, she made her way around plopping down into the chair. She curiously opened a few drawers. Suddenly she gasped.

"What is it?" I asked a little alarmed.

"Oh it's nothing," she insisted as she removed a picture frame from the drawer. I neared her and she tilted the picture in my direction. It was a beautiful photo of four smiling faces: Kieran, Cami, Sean, and Giselle.

"It's a lovely photograph," I noted.

"It is, isn't it? It's one of my favorites. We were on a trip. Uncle Kieran took us on one every year. Just him and the three of us kids. I looked forward to that trip every summer. He didn't have his own children. For him it was just us and this church."

"Your Uncle was a good man. This city misses him dearly."

"That is sweet, Elijah. I don't think he ever realized how much the city loved him back." Suddenly, a round of celebatory cheers burst out down the hall. "What the hell is that?"

"I did tell you that this isn't a church anymore..."

"You did."

"Do you have any interest in going to see what Marcel has turned it into now?" I asked curiously.

"Yes! Lets go!" She jumped to her feet, placing the frame on the desk on her way out the door. We headed down the hall to the chancel.

"Oh wow! This certainly wasn't what I was expecting," She exclaimed as her eyes set sight on Marcel's gym.

"You approve?" I asked.

"I really do. At least now the whole wear athletic apparel thing is making some sense now."

"I see we have some visitors!" Marcel acknowledged as he came towards us.

"We came to check the place out. Hope that is okay," she said sweetly.

"Of course! Welcome, Giselle," He said giving her a friendly hug.

"So what exactly is this place now?"

"It's a gym, obviously, but not just any gym. All of these people are humans who hope to one day be vampires."

"So essentially they are trying to impress you so you give them the honor of being a vampire?"

"I guess you could say that," he said with a sheepish grin.

"Isn't there an easier way to get your ego stroked?" She said coyly. A playful upturn of her lips alluded to her teasing.

"Ouch. You are lucky I like you." He was laughing heartily at the jab. It was obvious that Marcel was rather taken with Giselle.

"So with that in mind, would it be too much trouble if Giselle works out a bit here. She has missed her exercising since she's been staying with us. I thought this would be a safe place for her to do that."

"It's no trouble at all. She will be safe here, I can assure you. My gym is your gym," he offered.

"Thank you, Marcel. That's very nice of you!" She exclaimed happily.

"Thank you," I agreed. He nodded.

"I'm going to go warm up and then I want in on that!" Giselle said pointing to the ring before going to get stretched out.

"She wants in on this?" He groaned.

"Evidently. Is that going to be a problem?"

"No...It's fine." His words said one thing but his face divulged something different. He wasn't keen on this arrangement.

"You're sure?"

"Yeah, course...its just that you know if anything happens to her here your brother is going to kill me!" I chuckled.

"You worry too much. She is very culpable...besides, I will heal any injuries with my blood. No harm, no foul," I said as reassuringly as possible. He sighed.

"She is going to be a handful isn't she?"

"Oh yes. She will be. That is simply inevitable."

"I thought so."

She returned to us a few minutes later, hands taped for combat.

"Alright, gentleman, who wants to fight?!" She called out. No hands raised or volunteered.

"Come on guys, the lady would like a fight. Somebody better step up!" Marcel said coaxing a hesitant participant to come forth. The man slowly entered the cage to join Giselle. "Alright, go!

"This should be fun," I noted as I watched intently.

"I really don't like this..."

"Just wait," I warned. The two circled around the inside of the cage. Giselle was the first to lunge at her opponent, landing a series of strikes before taking him down into the floor.

"Jesus, you didn't tell me she was god damn Ronda Rousey!" He said marveling at her power.

"She is full of surprises, isn't she..."


Giselle

I returned home feeling incredibly euphoric and sweaty. Niklaus appeared in the courtyard.

"Ah, Giselle, just the woman I was hoping to see!" he greeted. I laughed.

"Join the club," I teased.

"My brother didn't tire you out now, did he?" He questioned as he pushed a sweaty strand of my hair behind my ear.

"Of course not. I've got plenty of energy left in the tank for you."

"Glad to hear it, Love. Why don't you go shower and clean up, I've left your outfit for tonight laying on the bed."

"A new outfit...great start," I mused before I headed upstairs to get ready. I entered Niklaus' room and saw the sexy little cocktail dress he expected me to wear. I had to give the vampire credit, he had good taste, or at least just somehow knew my own taste in attire. I smiled as I jumped into the bath.


Once I was dressed and ready I headed downstairs to find the hybrid. I had almost reached the kitchen but stopped the second I heard the sound of hushed arguing. I couldn't help but eavesdrop.

"There is no way!Absolutely not! You are not involving her in your little games!"

"You should know by now that you are not my keeper," Niklaus snipped. "I do as I please."

"You can do nearly whatever you'd like. I won't, however, allow you to do anything to harm anybody in our family or put any of us in danger with your recklessness."

"You worry too much. Nothing bad is going to happen to her, I won't allow it. You know that."

"Niklaus..." he warned

"She is strong and probably more powerful than we even realize, you don't need to treat her as if she is made of glass. I'm sure this isn't her first recon mission."

"We don't know what are dealing with here!"

"Right, but this way, we might find out."

"I don't like this, brother."

"You don't have to. But ultimately it's her decision to make." I figured, this was as good of a time as any to make my presence known.

"Hello, gentlemen."

"Hello, Love. Just look at you...give us a spin," he said as he grabbed my hand, raising it into the air. I turned to give them the full 360 degree view. "Ravishing as always. Isn't she?"

"Absolutely. You look beautiful," Elijah complimented with sly smile.

"Thank you, guys! Now, Niklaus, where exactly are you taking me to get into mischief tonight?" I asked curiously.

"Mischief? Why would you think I would be taking you to get into mischief?"

"Because I've met you!"

"Fair enough! We might get into a hint of mischief," he said with a wink. "Unless you aren't up for it."

"Why wouldn't I be up for it?" I asked curiously.

"Elijah here thinks you shouldn't come out with me because it might be a little dangerous." I noticed the elder Mikaelson roll his eyes.

"That's not what I said. I just don't want you to put yourself at risk for no reason. We don't know if there is anything to be gained by doing this," he corrected.

"I understand your concern, I truly do, I just think it's worth the risk."

"Really? Why?" The older brother asked with surprise.

"We can't sit idle while a threat approaches. We've been playing it safe and we have no more information than when you saved me from that wearhouse. Besides, I could use a little adventure."

"That's my girl!" Niklaus cheered. "See! She is up for a little fun and danger now and again. Come along now, love."

"Bye Elijah!"

"Be careful," he warned.


As we approached our destination, I looked over to Nik.

"So what exactly is the plan here?"

"Well, we are going to this party. We will enter separately and stay away from one another for the most part. A lot of Vampires will be here tonight. If something is happening in town, somebody will be talking about it."

"Alright. It's worth a try. "

"You go ahead in first. I will scope it out and come in soon."

"Yes sir."

"Giselle?"

"Yeah?"

"Deep breaths! I can hear your heart racing. Some vampires will pick up on that and know something is up. Relax. It's a party, love."

"Sorry. It's just been awhile since I've done this."

"You'll be fine and I will be close in case you aren't."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

I turned to walk away from him and towards the venue. I took deep, controlled breaths in an attempt to bring my heart rate back down. I've been in situations like this time and time again. I had every reason to be confident and yet I still wavered slightly. After a few minutes, I reached the door. The bouncer looked me up and down with a perverted grin. I resisted the urge to give him a piece of my mind. As a result, he waved me in without incident.

I surveyed my surroundings and found this to be an ordinary event... well, for an event packed with immortal beings it was normal. I tried to play it cool and shuffle over to the bar to grab a drink. I was served quickly and wasted no time bringing the glass to my lips. I was hoping some alcohol would loosen me up a bit. A woman walked up beside me to grab drink of her own.

"I love that dress," she said with a smile. "Where did you get it?"

"Oh, this? It was a gift actually..."

"Well your friend has great taste. I feel under dressed now!"

"Shut up, you look amazing!"

"Apparently not amazing enough. I can't even get the bartender to look over here to pour me a drink!" she chuckled embarrassed.

"Let me help! I whistled and the bartender came right over."

"Sorry, Ladies! What can I get you?"

"Can I get a vodka cranberry?"

"Sure thing!" He quickly poured the drink and slid it over to her. She through some cash on the counter.

"Thanks so much! You are so nice. I haven't had a lot of kindness thrown my way here."

"Just a little French quarter hospitality," I insisted. I pricked my finger with the back of my earring. The scent of blood revealed her to be a vampire.

"It is appreciated. I'm Kendra by the way."

"Giselle."

"Well, Giselle, I hope this doesn't seem weird...but are you here with anybody?"

"Uh no...I was supposed to meet a few people here but they bailed after I'd already dragged my ass down here!"

"So sorry to hear that. Do think you'd like to hang out with me and my friends? We're having a girls night out!" Kendra pointed to two brunette women standing at a table across the room.

"That would really salvage my night! Thanks!"

"Come on, let's go introduce you to my girls."


Niklaus

The night was dragging on as I sat idle at the party. Giselle had found herself some little gal pals and was talking animatedly with them 20 feet away from me. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad she is enjoying herself here. But it kind of felt like she'd forgotten why we were even here at all tonight. This trip wasn't to be purely for pleasure. After a round of ravenous laughter, the witch rose to her feet and headed back over to the bar. She was handed a tray of drinks for her table. She started back to her table with a smile on her face. Midway back, she halted. I watched nervously. Something was happening. I saw her chest rise and fall rapidly. She continued back to the table. She slammed her drink and headed for the front door. I waited for her to exit before I too finished my drink and exited.

She was waiting for me in the alley, pacing nervously.

"What did you hear?!" I asked eagerly.

"We need to go home, now!" she spat as she began to power walk in that direction.

"You are being awfully dramatic!" I accused as I followed her.

"Usually you are the dramatic one! I isn't so cute is it?" she teased.

"I thought it was rather charming when I did it." I heard her laugh.

"You are charming, I'm afraid."

"Why do you say it like it is a bad thing!?"

"It just is. Now call your sister!" She demanded.

"Freya? I don't know what you thing she will be able to-"

"Not Freya. I want you to call Rebekah. You need to bring her home!" We passed through the gate to out compound.

"Giselle! You have to tell me what's going on!"

"Elijah!...Elijah!" she called out for my brother loudly. Her voice was dripped in urgency which brought him running around the corner like a dog. Freya wasn't far behind.

"What's going on? Are you alright?" he asked concerned as he rushed to her side.

"We're alright," I assured him.

"I heard something..."

"About who kidnapped you?" he asked.

"No...about what the Triad is really up to." I felt my blood run cold.

"And what would that be?" I questioned.

"They want to imprison the heads of the three remaining sire lines to ensure that nothing can kill you."

"Is that even possible?"

"It is. There are tools out there that can. These objects are dark and you cannot undo the magic that binds them. You would be stuck forever... We need to take this seriously. I think we need to bring Rebekah home now," she said in nearly a whisper.

"I'll call her right away," Elijah decided.

War was coming.


Thank you all for reading 'Sinners and Saints'!