Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Diaries.
title courtesy of Mumford & Sons.
5
all things truly wicked start from innocence
"Is this all you need today, baby doll?" Nandi asked the girl on the other side of the counter as she began to bag the herbs the teen had asked for.
"Um, I think that's it…. Actually, do you have any Vervain?" the girl asked, running a hand through her long, brown locks.
Nandi narrowed her eyes as if in thought. "I'm fresh out of Vervain. I'll have to get some more in. Come by next week and I may have some for you."
"Okay, I'll come by next week. Thank you, Nandi!" Davina said, flashing the elderly witch a bright smile before taking her bag and turning on her heel to leave the shop.
Nandi watched the teen skip down the street, the late afternoon sun catching in her brunette hair, and sighed. She ran a hand over her face and turned, looking at the various jars of herbs on the counters behind her. It wasn't an uncommon thing for witches to come and retrieve Vervain from her but Davina was much too young and oblivious to know why she would need such an herb.
"Now what would a pretty little thing like that need Vervain for?" a playful voice asked from the back of the shop.
"Goodness gracious, I told you not to do that, Marcel!" Nandi exclaimed, a hand covering her jumping heart, her eyes flashing when she turned around to meet the vampire.
"And where would the fun in that be, sugar?"
"What can I do for you today, Marcel?"
"Believe it or not, it's actually not me this time," Marcel smirked, motioning to his side with a nod of his head. "It's an urgent matter and I reckoned no one would be of better service," he said with a wink, stepping aside.
Nandi rolled her eyes at the vampire's shameless tactics and turned her attention to the man standing at Marcel's side. He stood relaxed but at attention with his hands clasped behind his back, his broad shoulders held high while his face was void of emotion, the only sign of anything was the glint of amusement and curiosity lighting his expressive blue-green eyes. "And who are you?" she asked, looking him up and down.
Klaus' brow creased for a moment when he stepped forward. "A friend of Marcel's. You see, it was me who taught him all about his 'fun'. You may have heard of me. Marcel's infamous, " he said the word slowly, relishing the way it rolled off his tongue, "teacher."
"Ah. You're the Original."
Klaus smirked. "One of them, yes. But you've heard of me and that's what matters. You must be Nandi, I presume," he asked, looking to Marcel for confirmation. "Klaus," he said, offering his hand to the witch. She took it tentatively and let go quickly as if repulsed by his touch. "And now that introductions are out of the way, we can get down to business. You se-"
"You're the hybrid; the self-destructive vampire who's assisted in waking Silas. What makes you think I'll help you?"
"Trust me when I say, witch," Klaus growled, "raising Silas was not my choice or my intent. Nor did I have a hand in his resurrection- I was bound by magic in a living room. Rest assured had I been out and about things would have been much different. I only wanted the artifact he was buried with for personal reasons. You have a ragtag group of minion teens and moronic vampires to thank for his rise from the grave. But, you see, I don't want this Silas character around anymore than you do, love, and I'm your best chance at ridding the world of him for once and for all. Moreover, he's taken something from me and I happen to be very…spiteful when I don't get what I want. It'd probably be in your best interest to assist me."
"He's in need of a witch," Marcel offered with an amused shrug, leaning back against the wall and crossing his ankles. "And before you interrupt me, not just any witch."
"Thank you but I gathered as much, Marcel," Nandi snapped, turning around to busy herself by organizing jars of herbs. "Unfortunately, Klaus, I can't help you. We had an incident a year and a half ago that almost exposed us and your lovely sidekick here banned us witches from practicing."
Klaus' eyes narrowed. "What do you mean 'incident'?" he snarled, whirling on Marcel. "And, more importantly, why wasn't I informed?"
"Easy, boss man. I have everything under control. Nothing for a big man like you to worry about when you're taking care of children and trying to take down a 2,000 year old crone."
"I thought I made it explicitly clear I was not in the mood for you foolish tendencies, Marcel. What is going on here that I am unaware of?" he yelled in the younger vampire's face.
"Oh no you don't. Not in here," Nandi said, raising her hand. Klaus screamed, grabbing his head and stumbling backwards, away from Marcel. "All of you vampires are the same. Impulsive and demanding and you wonder why we witches don't particularly like to extend our services to you."
"Let us get one thing straight, Nandi," Klaus snarled, lip curling in distaste. "Insubordination is not something I take lightly and I will deal with Marcel as I see fit, do I make myself clear?" he asked, continuing before Nandi could so much as nod her head. "My family and I helped raised this city from the ground up and introduced the supernatural community to the potential sanctuary provided in the darkened alleyways of the French Quarter. This was a time when witches lived in darkness. If you owe anyone anything, it would be me, love. Give me the information I want and no one has to get hurt. Refuse to disclose it to me and I promise your coven, and your loved will be atop a list you'd rather not be on if you catch my drift. Now, where can I find a witch who will provide the services I need?" he asked with raised brows, one large hand on each of Nandi's shoulder, gripping her with enough force to convey the severity of his threat.
"You should understand, Klaus," Nandi said in an even tone, shrugging his hands off her shoulders and taking a step back, "that I don't associate myself with those who shroud themselves in darkness. I've been a firsthand witness to Expression and the effects it has on witches. It's a cryin' shame that servants of nature would abuse their powers in such ways."
Klaus growled but nodded. Raising his hands, he folded them, interlacing his long fingers underneath his nose as if he were in thought and turned his attention to an indifferent Marcel. "Would you like to tell me about this incident now? Or shall I be less than cordial and torture it out of you in the most excruciating way I know of?"
"Remember my friendly reminder, Klaus," Nandi warned, raising her hands again and Klaus begrudgingly backed away from his steward. "Now, if you gentlemen would settle down, I may be able to provide you some assistance now that I see your motives, Klaus."
Klaus cocked his head in question. "I have no other motives than wanting to destroy Silas and keep my status atop the throne of the supernatural world."
"And that little girl consuming the recesses of your mind? The one who's seemed to have lost her memory as a result of an encounter with Silas has nothing to do with it?"
"She means nothing to me," Klaus said, raising his chin and narrowing his eyes, daring Nandi to challenge him and the witch only chuckled.
"Of course. I forgot that the legend surrounding you says you care for no one other than yourself. Well, you may want to follow the child who just left," Nandi said, turning to talk to Marcel. "She's just a young thing so do not harm her but I do sense something suspicious lurking in the shadow of her innocence."
"I take it that you're implying…?"
"I'm implying that if I weren't under house arrest for doing your bidding with Sophie, I would have taken that girl under my wing. She's just coming into her powers so she's easily influenced, Marcel. Something isn't right. It grows every time she visits to gather herbs."
"Vervain?"
"You heard the tail end of that conversation."
"What else has the child procured?" Klaus asked.
"Nothing out of the ordinary. Just because we aren't allowed to practice doesn't mean witches don't come and buy herbs, not to mention the large voodoo population," the witch said with a sigh, moving back behind the counter. "But I haven't sold Vervain in months, not since you forbade that, too, Marcel."
"I told you there was no reason, Madame Sorcière. You stopped that little wayward bitch from massacring thirty-six people and in turn I put a ban on feeding from witches! What more is there you want from me, Nandi?" Marcel snapped.
"I'd like to be able to practice my magic, Marcel," she said with raised brows. "There are a great deal of witches here. I've told you time and time again to be wary of how you control us…this much repressed magic in one area? It could be deadly when your cowardly law is lifted."
"Enough. You're a damned fool, Marcel," Klaus spat in the man's face as he walked by before taking a pointless, calming breath and leaned across the counter. "Nandi, love, my patience is wearing thin. Where do you suggest we find the girl?"
"You're part wolf and I have no doubt you have your own minions down here to assist you. All I've told you is a suspicion, you have to sniff the rest out for yourself."
Klaus nodded curtly before striding out of the small, aged shop. Marcel followed with long strides of his own, the door slamming shut behind him. He followed the hybrid, watching Klaus' tense back and shoulders warily, his own anger rising up in him. Klaus swerved into a darkened alley and Marcel attempted to walk past only to have Klaus grab his collar and shove him into the wall with enough force that several of the ageless bricks cracked, turning to dust.
"What the bloody hell were you thinking?!" Klaus snarled, golden eyes and fangs flashing Marcel's face as he held Marcel up against the old building by his neck. "Did anything I ever tell you sink into you thick skull?"
"I do remember a pointed conversation about witches and how they were to be kept under your arm and that's exactly what I've done," Marcel choked out, a wicked glint in his dark eyes. It was a look Klaus didn't like and he slammed the younger vampire against the wall again before throwing him across the alleyway. He flashed to where Marcel was laying on the damp ground laughing.
Klaus leaned down, looming over Marcel and on his throat, pinning him to the musty cement. He shifted his weight until he could feel Marcel's windpipe and neck strain under his boot. "Now, tell me about this incident I've been unaware of," he said with an eerie calm.
"It happened a couple years ago. A practicing witch named Sophie was involved in a terrible accident," he sputtered with a smirk and Klaus got the feeling there was nothing accidental about what happened.
With a growl, Klaus removed his boot from Marcel's throat and placed it over his chest. "Have your vampires been terrorizing the witches when that was something I explicitly warned you against all those years ago?!" Marcel just smirked again and Klaus stomped down, stopping just short of putting his foot the entire way through his former student's sternum and rib cage. The bones began to snap like dried twigs and Klaus removed some of his relented some of the pressure. "Tell me what happened. Now."
"I don't know exactly why my vampires attacked young her family…something about her protecting herself against a group that ended in a bloody mess for everyone. She lost her husband and child as a result and spiraled. She was once part of Nandi's coven," Marcel said, squirming in discomfort underneath Klaus' boot only causing the hybrid to place his entire weight back on top of Marcel's chest. "She started looking into darker magic and voodoo, she even spoke of raising the dead. Nandi informed me and I wrote it off until the girl tried to sacrifice 36 people- 12 humans, 12 vampires and the entire fucking coven."
"And?"
"And Nandi and I struck a tentative alliance- if she would strip Sophie of her powers, I would forbid the vampires from feeding on witches. And, viola, Madame Sophie lost elle magie," Marcel finished with a twirl of his wrist. He coughed up blood and smirked, the red substance staining his pearly, perfect set of teeth. "It isn't my fault that Nandi dearest didn't think there would be more repercussions for Sophie's actions."
Klaus growled and lifted his foot off of Marcel's chest. He delivered a swift kick to the vampire's side, breaking more of his ribs for good measure, before turning away and pulling his phone out of his pocket. "For your sake, I hope you have a good idea of what that child looks like, the one who was in the witch's humble store."
"I've seen la petite fille once or twice."
"Good. And what about Sophie? Tell me more about her."
"She's a scrap of a girl in her late 20's. A pretty good lay, if you ask me," Klaus rolled his eyes as he dialed Elijah's number and put the phone to his ear, half listening to Marcel's jabber. "Last name's Bellicose. She lives with her sister, Jane-Anne who's also a witch."
"Yes, Niklaus?" Elijah answered halfway through the second ring.
"Sophie Bellicose," Klaus barked. "I need you to look her up, find anything about her possible whereabouts and let me know immediately."
"And you, brother? What are you doing?"
"I have a bit of tracking to do with a sneaking suspicion we'll be lead to the same place in the end," he said, ending the call and turning back to Marcel.
"Perhaps you should call up your little wolf girl as well. She's taken to haunting Lafayette Cemetery which is where, I believe, Sophie's family is lying six feet under. Not to mention, I've seen her wandering around with Davina from time to time."
"Is there any other information you'd like to disclose to me, Marcel?" Klaus snapped.
"That's really all I know. This time."
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Klaus growled. "I need a drink."
"And I know just the place," Marcel said with a smirk.
A/N: hello there guys:) sorry it's been a month...I had a bit of writers block about how to get this sucker where I wanted it to go. and, thankfully, more info about the ep has been coming out and I was able to use it as a bit of a crutch and add new info/characters (Jane-Anne and Nandi- yes that's the witch from 4x08) to my plot line. yay.
anyways, it's my goal to have this finished before the episode airs on April 25 so I'll be back sometime this weekend with another update:)
thanks for reading! please review if you have a minute- I really appreciate it:)