Chapter 17: Walking After Midnight

New Orleans, 1954. "Marcel, Averett Lanier and Theodora Ranoux want to see you"

Thierry slipped through the compound door at a light jog. He fixed his cap as Violet placed her book on her lap. Marcel grinned and looked between the both of them.

"Showtime, let's go"

He jumped up from his chair and she trailed right behind him. Thierry was the last one out to the street where there was a huge crowd already waiting. Bourbon Street was filled with both vampires and witches but still stuck to their own kind. It was a warm summer night and you could feel the tension as if it was humidity. Marcel clasped his hands together as he saw them.

"So I see you both took the invitation, nice to you all again"

Marcel looked through the crowd of witches before focusing on the two in front of him. Thierry and Violet stood behind him just in case anything decided to go down.

"We came to tell you that we won't accept the terms. This is our home as well and we are not going to leave just because some vampires want us out"

"It's only outside of New Orleans. You can still remain in Louisiana Averett. Our kinds have not been getting along and this is the best option. I'm the King of the Quarter; I make the rules around here"

"If we can come up with new terms that would celebrate both parties, then we'll agree. Until then, this witch coven isn't leaving the city"

He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. They were a hard witch coven and by process of elimination, the city would be better off. They were always acting like the superior kind which he knew was wrong. The vampires had them out numbered so even if they tried to do something, they still had the advantage. Violet blinked when she saw his signal. She waited for a moment as she calculated the move.

"Well I'm afraid that's all I'm going to come up with. So are you going to leave?"

6Theodora and Averett exchanged glances to think everything over. She shook her head slowly. Before Marcel could get a word out, Violet zipped over to Theodora. She ripped off her gold necklace and threw it to the ground in a matter of seconds. Her fangs sunk into the witches neck and that prompted the other vampires to attack. Thierry watched in slight disbelief as he watched the massacre unfold in front of him. Once they were done, Averett was the last one standing. He saw all the dead bodies of his friends, his family. Violet backed away and wiped the blood from her mouth. Marcel smiled at him as he knew that he had won the challenge.

"Mikael is still working out what needs to be done and we'll get everything back in a couple of days. Rebekah is going to be the one to lure out Klaus and Elijah so it looks like everything is going to go back to normal"

Violet shut her laptop closed and looked at him. She nodded slowly but really didn't show any emotion towards the thought of it all. There were things on her mind that she wanted to say but she was afraid to say them at all.

"I take it you're not as excited about this as I am?"

"Just got a lot of things on my mind. I'd have to go back to Atlanta to get some of my things if I'm permanently staying here. Where is Mikael going to go once this is over?"

"I don't know, maybe he'd go find Freya and try to have some father daughter relationship with her. All I know is Rebekah is planning on taking Hope to raise. She wants to talk to Hayley about everything but I don't know how well that's going to go"

"Oh by the way, your aunt killed your father. What a wonderful situation"

"You're not going to regret this decision, are you?"

At the moment, she honestly didn't know what she thought about it anymore. It was home, their home and they wanted it more than anything. But she had a gut feeling that this was going to be more damage in the long run. Hope once she got older could possibly try to take the city from underneath their feet and then what would they do?

"I never said I'm not doing anything, I just know that Rebekah isn't going to keep her word so we can repeat the 1800s all over again. Every time you two see each other it's like an instant connection. You fall in love all over again and then I'm kicked off to the side. I become nothing and then I'm bumped down from where I'm standing"

He rolled his eyes. "I don't understand what you both have against each other"

"You know what that is Marcel. It's always going to be you. It's always going to be me or her. When she's around, I mean nothing. When I am around and she is nowhere in sight, there is no issue. I'm not going to keep repeating this cycle for the rest of my life. I'm not doing this anymore; it's either me or her. Your choice"

"And you know that if I got the city back I would need you by my side. Without Thierry or Diego around, I don't have anyone second in charge. I could trust Gia on that but she is always temperamental and that would be the last thing I need. Not like you are but you know how everything works. I need you Violet no matter what, I…"He stopped talking and took a deep breath.

"Speaking of Gia, does she know that Elijah is possibly going to get killed? We are risking so much that I don't think either of us understand this situation. Killing Klaus leaves Hope fatherless, Gia will probably leave due to her whatever he is being killed. Hope will become an issue at some point down the line. Most of the wolves follow under Klaus and we hardly have any vampires. Yes, turning more is always an option but they will not be as powerful as us. Now I'm not saying I don't want to do this but we could still possibly lose everything even if we won"

Marcel turned his attention to the window and fixed on it for a moment. He was sick of seeing the city from that point of view. He fought his entire life and this wasn't going to be any different. Of course he was risking his life more so but that didn't mean anything. Klaus taught him that you fight for what you want and he always planned to do that. When he left him in 1919, he had to become his own person and find his own meaning of what he should fight for.

"Look, I get it, I honestly do. We've always been closer but I think in a way this has been a blessing in disguise. We've gotten a lot closer through this and I just know that I can't take the city without you. I don't want to have to start all over again and I won't have to with you here. Get what you need from Atlanta then come home"

Violet looked over at him and realized the tone of his voice. Marcel never showed he was vulnerable but this was a rare occasion. She had to think the two options that she was going between. She could either leave to Atlanta and never return for another some years like before. Or she could stay in New Orleans and basically be the "Queen" of the city. Whatever decision she made, it was going to be a big one. But she didn't want to leave him by himself if anything happened.

"Alright, I'll stay. I'll go get my things once we are inside the city. Deal?"

She saw a smile appear on his face as he looked at her. Marcel walked over and bent down to kiss her on the cheek. She patted his arm and leaned in to give him a half hug. Violet just hoped she was making the right decision.