Chapter 43: Eonion

Marcel was pacing the bedroom while glancing at the papers lying on the bed. Trying to sort out things with the Strix and Lucien was proving to be harder than he thought. Keeping his phone in his back pocket and his ears open, he was expecting someone to arrive any time now. Even though Violet was the one against putting down Elijah, he was going to go through with it without her knowing. Luckily she was gone for the day and wouldn't be back until tomorrow morning. Whipping out his phone to text Josh to see if Elijah had returned, he heard footsteps down in the courtyard. Tossing his phone on the bed, he walked out of the room and out to the hallway.

"Welcome home…" The smiled faded from his face when he realized who was standing there.

"Well don't look too happy that I'm here"

Rebekah smirked as she looked up at him. Moving down the stairs, Marcel walked closer to her in surprise and confusion. He told Freya that Hayley needed Elijah for Hope's sake and honestly didn't expect her to show up. And the obvious thing was that the Strix would take any Original no matter what one.

"I thought Elijah was coming? He told Freya…"

"Yeah well plans changed. Both he and Nik thought it would be smarter for me to come back to the city away from the hunt on Mikael. And no, we haven't found much of him but they are close as we speak. I take it Violet won't take my welcome well?"

Rebekah went closer and sat near the fountain. Marcel smiled and followed her over.

"No, I'm sure she'll be completely thrilled that you're here but I think we need to talk about some things before you decide to permanently stay"

He was debating on telling her about the Strix but she might have already known due to the letters being sent. If he could, he would just tell her to leave the city and not return for a while. Even though he was with Violet, he still had those protective feelings over Rebekah and of course she felt the same way.

"I already know about Tristan and those awful Strix vampires. No one is going to come into a city where my niece is living and take control of everything around her. Trust me, I like them as much as you do so what do you want me to do first?"

Taken back by some surprise, he wondered how Rebekah knew about them…Unless Violet secretly added some sort of SOS call. "You don't need to do anything; I've got everything under my control. I just don't want anything to happen to you while you are here"

Rebekah smiled and looked over at him. She patted his hand before speaking. "I'm an Original; they don't have anything on us. They may be older than you but they can't take down me"

She got up and looked around the courtyard; it was nice to see a familiar place. Mystic Falls was a pleasant journey but it was short lived. Most of all, she was excited and thankful to be reuniting with Hope. As long as the Strix were nowhere near her niece, everything would be alright.

"I'm running off to see Hope but I shall return back shortly so make your plans and allow me to get blood on my hands. It's been a while since I've been able to do so"

Leaning off of the fountain, he reached for his phone in his pocket and forgot he left it upstairs. He panicked a little inside and had no idea what to do. A plan was already set up and he could easily break it. Problem was he needed to protect his city at all costs. But at the same time, he wasn't going to let the Strix ruin it in the process.

"Rebekah wait…"

"It's a little too late Marcel; I think I'll enjoy being reacquainted with an Original"

Aya stood there next to the gated door which prompted Rebekah to turn around. She placed her hand on her hip as Aya smiled at her. One thing was for sure, the two elder vampires never got along. Glancing towards Marcel, she laughed faintly.

"Is this what you were going to tell me about? Elijah's little protégé and ex whom none of us were ever fond of…I think I could handle this myself"

Marcel took a step forward wanting to pull her away from the situation. Aya just watched him and cocked her head then shook it. In her mind, she had doubt that Marcel was going to be able to pull off certain tasks that Tristan would give him, especially if it came to the people around him that he loved. Sneaking her hand behind her back, she slid out a stake and waited for the right opportunity to strike. Once Rebekah had her back slightly turned, Aya moved swiftly and shoved the stake into her chest. Marcel lowered his eyes at the scene and Aya gave him more credit than before.

"Well isn't this a surprise, the first love of your life and yet you don't make a movement to stop me. I hope you don't plan on doing the same to your current beau"

Holding Rebekah, she looked behind her as two other Strix members came in and hauled Rebekah out. Fortunately, Marcel got a glimpse of the stake after realizing it wasn't just a white oak. He heard about the special stake but didn't know any sort of information on it. Rubbing his head, he realized this was causing more problems in the future. Aya clicked her heel and turned to him.

"Speaking of your little girlfriend, Tristan wants to speak with you"

"What's it about? I'm kind of busy at the moment" It was partially true, actually he'd have to tell Freya about it.

"He has a few things you need to see, and it is important. I'd be more careful if I were you"

The mysterious vampires disappeared again and he quickly went after them to lock the gate up. Looking up towards the sky, he wondered if he was going to be able to protect the city and everyone around him…Maybe it was time to pay Lucien's girl a visit.