Kingmaking

Tyler watched Bonnie as she disappeared down the street. She didn't spare him a second glance as she went, and she was out of sight within seconds. Tyler didn't turn around until he heard Marcel calling for him then he stepped back into the house, closing the door behind him. "What's the business we have to talk about?" he asked, joining Marcel in the kitchen where he was drinking a blood bag at the counter.

"Well, first," Marcel said, after taking another sip of the blood, "I'm impressed with you."

"Why?"

"You got Bonnie here," he said. "You didn't have to ask her to come either. She just...did. Because she wanted to. She wanted to see you. And that's good."

Tyler wasn't sure what to make of Bonnie's impromptu visit. She hadn't said much before Marcel kicked her out. If he hadn't been so quick on that front maybe Tyler would have been able to have a better conversation with her, one that actually went somewhere. He hadn't even gotten to ask her to elaborate on the whole Mystic Falls thing before she was changing the subject. It was hard to figure out what were appropriate topics of conversation with her.

"Then why did you make her leave?" Tyler asked as he sat on the stool across from Marcel.

"Because we have to talk business, and we need to be selective about the things we tell Bonnie," he said. "At least until we're sure she's on our side."

Our side. Tyler nodded his head along even though he didn't believe it. Marcel's side was Marcel's side. "Okay," he sighed. "Well, talk."

Marcel didn't know about Tyler's visit to Bonnie's apartment, and he wasn't about to tell him. As far as he was concerned it hadn't happened, and Bonnie was unlikely to share it with Marcel. Or at least he hoped she wouldn't.

"Werewolf girl's pregnant," Marcel said, and Tyler made sure to pretend to be surprised.

"Really?" he said. "That's...not what I expected."

"You think that's shocking?" Marcel said. "Wait until I tell you who the father is."

He wouldn't have to pretend with this one. He'd assumed Bonnie had been telling the truth about not knowing, but it wouldn't have surprised him if she'd lied. "Who?"

"Klaus."

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Klaus can't-"

"Apparently he can," Marcel cut him off, "because of nature and because he was a wolf before he was a vampire. Or something equally ridiculous." He waved his hand dismissively. "I don't know how it all works, but I know it did work. Now Klaus has a baby on the way."

At least this explained why Klaus was so interested in Hayley.

"Are you sure?" Tyler asked.

Marcel nodded. "I got one of the witches to talk. She spilled everything."

"You got her to talk how?"

"I have ways." He didn't elaborate, and Tyler remembered the noises he'd heard from the attic the other day. The crying and the faint pained sounds. Even if Marcel's ways included a trip into the attic, he wasn't going to give Tyler any details so he refrained from asking. Eventually he'd find out what was up there, but Marcel wasn't going to be the one to tell him.

"So Klaus is having a baby," Tyler said, looking down at his folded hands on top of the table. He tried to picture Klaus with a baby. He saw a pastel toned bundle, face hidden but screeching relentlessly. It was only a few seconds before Klaus ripped the bundle to pieces and the crying abruptly stopped. The thought was horrifying and hilarious, and Marcel arched his eyebrows in amusement as Tyler laughed.

"Okay," Marcel sighed, folding his arms across his chest. "Get it all out."

"You don't think this is funny?"

"Werewolves procreating in my city?" Marcel said. "No, that's not very funny to me, but you go ahead. I'll wait."

That only made Tyler laugh harder. Tyler didn't know if Marcel was serious or not, but he tried to stop laughing. It was just really hard to do. How did Klaus end up with a baby on the way when they were dead? How did he and Hayley even end up sleeping together? How did Tyler end up with no family left, but Klaus got a kid?

The universe really was laughing at him.

"Does this mean I could get a girl pregnant?" Tyler asked, when his laughter began to subside. He'd never been big on science, but even the basic information he knew screamed that any baby making ability he'd possessed had been lost the night he'd become a hybrid. He hadn't been too broken up about it then, but he also didn't spare too much thought for it either.

Marcel looked thoughtful. "I guess," he said with a shrug of his shoulders, "as long as nature signs off on it first."

"What does that even mean?"

"I wish I knew."

"This is insane," Tyler said, running his fingers through his hair. He wished he could tell Caroline. She'd probably laugh, too. Did Klaus plan on carrying on his creepy courtship of Caroline with a baby strapped to his back? If Caroline did by some incredible and unbelievable turn of fate decide to take Klaus up on his offer of romance, did Klaus think she was going to play stepmother? And how did Klaus plan on playing father himself?

It was all just so funny.

He was back to the visual of shredded blankets and a fuming Klaus, and he started laughing all over again which earned him an annoyed huff from Marcel. Tyler swallowed done what was left of his laughter and looked up expectantly. "Okay," he said. "I'm done."

"Are you sure?" Marcel asked dryly. "Cause I'm a patient guy. Take your time."

"I'm fine. Now what?"

"I'm thinking on it," Marcel said. "What we talked about yesterday still stands. Any assault on Hayley is one on Klaus, and he'll react to that. But I spent years running all the werewolves out of this city, and now there's one right in the middle of it about to give birth to another one." He gave his head a quick shake. "I don't think so. But don't worry about it. I'll come up with something."

Two Months Ago

"Remember the apology tour I was gonna go on?" Caroline asked. "Well, I decided against it. I'm going to say sorry eventually, you know, but why rush? I mean, I told Jeremy I was sorry, but I don't think he believed me, and Elena's busy with Damon so the way I see it, she can stay busy with Damon, and I'll stay busy with own stuff."

"Sounds like a plan," Tyler said. He pulled some crumpled dollar bills from his pocket and passed them to the hot dog vendor. It only took him a couple of bites to finish off his hot dog, and he tossed his trash into a nearby can.

The flea market was packed. He'd picked a good day to give it a shot. As his first time out without Lydia, he was determined to stay here for at least half an hour before he returned to his apartment. He explored the erected stands, peeking at homemade jewelry, Mardi Gras masks and hand sewn clothing, not bothered by the people who jostled him on both sides.

"She'd rather hang out with Damon and grieve with him than with me anyway," Caroline continued as Tyler stopped at a table covered in jewelry. There was a pair of gold, dangly ones that Caroline might like if he was ever able to give them to her. It was unlikely, but he bought them anyway and pocketed them to continue to his stroll through the market.

"Bonnie didn't even like Damon," Caroline said, "and he couldn't stand her either so I don't see the point in pretending like Damon's all that broken up about her being dead now, you know?"

In the background he could hear her pacing her room and the creak of the floorboards underneath her feet while he stopped at a table loaded with glass figurines. They were in various shapes, animals and flowers and trees. There was a rose-shaped one he thought his mom may have liked. He left it where it was and told himself to focus on Caroline.

"In other news," she said. "My mom found out where Bonnie's dad ran off to. He's in Georgia with family, and apparently Abby's there, too. My mom said she doesn't think he'll be coming back. I'm getting stuff ready for school. I figure if I just focus on that then it won't be so hard. So I went shopping today, and I got a bunch of stuff for my room. Well, me and Elena's room. My mom told me I'd probably regret it if I called Whitmore and told them I wanted a new roommate."

She probably would.

Caroline went on to give him a detailed list of all the things she'd purchased, and Tyler tried to pay attention, but he'd used to tune these things out when Caroline was right in front him. With just her voice in his ear it was even easier for him to go somewhere else. And the market was a prime location for letting his mind wander though his mind wasn't really going to any great places.

If he let himself stare for too long he saw more things his mom would have liked, little trinkets that he'd have probably given her for Christmas or her birthday, jewelry and handbags she'd have loved. Then he started seeing her examining them, picking them up and turning them over in her hands to appraise the craftsmanship.

"This one looks cheap," Carol said, wrapping a scarf around her neck and looking at her reflection. He blinked, and it wasn't her but another woman around his mom's age. She didn't look anything like her really and was unaware of Tyler looking at her. A boy at her side was young, maybe thirteen and annoyed looking, punching away at the keyboard of his phone.

End of message.

Tyler was so startled by the automated voice that he dropped his phone. He managed to catch it before it hit the ground and immediately left.

Present Day

Tyler could have sat out the execution, but Marcel insisted, and he said Bonnie would probably show up. Putting Tyler on the ground with the rest of the viewers wasn't possible because of the large crowd so Marcel put him on one of the balconies where he could watch from above. To Marcel it was a big show. There was music and drinking and dancing, and somewhere there were three witches waiting to be paraded out and killed in front of them all.

Tyler scanned the crowd for any sign of Bonnie. Among the sea of faces he couldn't find her. He still hadn't spotted her when the music was turned down and the dancing paused, the voices of the revelers dropping to whispers. When the witches walked down the lane, escorted by Duke, Ronan and Sloane, they kept their gazes hard and stared straight ahead.

It all happened very quickly. There was hardly any speaking. They were named. Mary, Vanessa and Claire. Sisters who'd performed unauthorized magic. It took Marcel less than a minute to swipe at each of their throats and they crumpled to the ground in turn. Duke, Ronan and Sloane carried the bodies away amidst cheers from the gathered crowd. The music came back on and the drinks started flowing again. No one spared a second thought for the three witches who'd just been killed.

"Morbid, isn't it?"

Tyler wheeled around and saw Bonnie stepping out onto the balcony with two glasses of beer in hand. "Hey," he said. "I didn't think you were gonna make it."

"And miss those three witches dying? Never," she said dully.

"Thirsty?" Tyler asked, nodding down to her drinks.

"One of these is for you," Bonnie said, holding one out to him. When he took it, she raised hers to her mouth and gulped it down in matter of seconds. She dropped the empty glass over the railing where it plummeted to the ground, and Tyler heard the shatter like it had happened right next to his ear.

"Do these things happen a lot?" he asked. "The executions?"

"Less than you'd think," Bonnie answered. "By now everyone's learned not to break Marcel's rules. He's all about giving a show, something Klaus taught him about never missing out on an opportunity to show power, and Marcel never does."

"Is it hard?" Tyler asked her. "To watch other witches die?" Maybe that would account for her strange mood. But all of Bonnie's moods seemed strange now. One minute she was cold and the next she was at the house being awkward but friendly and now he didn't know what this mood was.

"Not any harder than it is to watch someone else die," she said. "I don't watch the execution anyway. I go inside and take advantage of the nonexistent line for drinks. Speaking of," she turned her head to him and nodded down to his beer, "are you going to drink that? I promise it's not laced with anything."

Tyler grinned as he raised the glass to his lips. "Thanks," he said. "And thanks for having my back. I really do appreciate it."

"So you said."

Bonnie stared down to the lane below packed with celebratory vampires. He followed her gaze, and he could see Marcel cutting a line through the crowd, accepting greetings from everyone he passed, embracing a few of them.

"So," Tyler said finally, "why are you up here talking to me? There's a whole party going on down there."

"I told you once. No one talks to me but you," she said. "And Marcel sometimes, and I don't want to talk to Marcel."

He couldn't blame her for that. "Why doesn't anyone talk to you?"

"They don't like me."

Tyler had never really met anyone who didn't like Bonnie. Damon Salvatore hadn't seemed to be crazy about her, but it wasn't like anyone really valued his opinion. And it wasn't like Bonnie had liked him either. Everyone else Tyler had known really liked her. Liked her so much that her death had rocked Mystic Falls, more so than any other, and Tyler wondered if she was aware of how much people missed her.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Just something I did," Bonnie said, "for Klaus."

"What did you do?"

"Just something," she repeated. "It's not important."

It seemed like it may be a little important, but Bonnie's tone screamed Don't ask so Tyler swallowed down his questions about it. She was like Marcel that way. He was learning it was better not to ask them questions he knew they wouldn't answer, but figuring out which questions they would answer was the hard part.

"Why'd you come over today?" he asked. "I thought you made yourself pretty clear last night."

Bonnie was nothing if not clear. Well, now she seemed a little hazy, and Tyler couldn't tell if she wanted him to leave her alone or if she wanted the opposite. What else could explain her showing up at the house and seeking him out now? Maybe she was lonelier than she was ready to admit.

"I told you I wanted to make sure you wouldn't do anything stupid again."

"That the only reason?"

Bonnie was quiet for a few seconds. Then, "Yeah."

Tyler nodded and gripped the railing with both hands. "So," he said, "I know who the father of Hayley's baby is."

Bonnie's facial expression didn't change. She only blew out a short breath and turned to face him. "One of the witches talked."

"I don't think she had much of a choice."

"Probably not."

"Are you gonna tell Klaus?" Tyler asked.

Bonnie was silent, thinking to herself. Finally she said, "Klaus is already operating under the assumption that Marcel knows, so there's no reason for me to confirm."

Tyler smiled as he leaned against the railing. "I've got your back, too," he said. "If you need anything, I'll help you. Marcel and Klaus don't have to know. You're the only person here that I trust, and you can trust me, too. And the way I see it, now that we both know about Klaus' kid, we can laugh about it together."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Bonnie smile. It was slow, like it was against her better judgment to do it. "I keep thinking I'll get used to the idea, but every time I think about it, it sounds more ridiculous."

Tyler laughed. "Can you imagine him with a kid?

"I can, and it's terrible."

"Maybe the kid will get lucky."

"Sure, let's tell ourselves that," Bonnie said, checking the face of her phone. "I should go."

"You just got here," he said. "Klaus need you for something?"

"No," Bonnie said. "This party just blows, and I'm really tired."

"I can't tell if you're lying or not," he said, searching her face like a twitch of her nose might give him his answer.

"I'm not," she said, but the corner of her mouth lifted into a small smile, and she turned to go.

"See you later?" Tyler called after her. She paused for a moment and swallowed.

"Yeah," she said. "Later."

Duke drove Tyler home. Marcel was up front with him, and Tyler was surprised when he told Duke to wait and got out of the car. "I'm not kissing you goodnight, you know," he said as Marcel followed him up the steps.

"There's a tragedy."

"So, what is it?" Tyler asked, opening up the front door and leading Marcel inside. "You're lingering so you must have something you want to share."

"What'd you and Bonnie talk about?"

He mentally went through his conversation with Bonnie, picking out the damning parts and considering whether or not Marcel could have found out about them. He decided there was no way he'd know.

Tyler shrugged. "She's not very talkative," he said, "but we talked about home a little. Nothing important, nothing about Klaus or Hayley if that's what you mean."

Marcel nodded. "Klaus called tonight."

"What did he say?"

He didn't answer. It was then Tyler realized he was more drunk than he was sober, slightly unsteady as he went into the living room where he threw himself down on the sofa. "We're alike, you know," he said. "You. Me. Klaus."

"Was that a compliment or an insult?"

Marcel smiled. "Klaus took everything from you because you had what he wanted. You had your family, your pack, a girl who loved you. He couldn't let you have that, and he's trying to do the same thing to me because Klaus doesn't like it when you're doing better than him. The difference between you and me is that I have the resources to hold onto what's mine, and I can teach you to do the same."

"You want to teach me?" Tyler asked.

Marcel nodded. "You're gonna help me keep my city, and by the time we're through, you'll be a King."

Tyler stepped toward the chair across from Marcel, sitting down slowly and looking at him through narrowed eyes, trying to gauge his drunkenness. That sounded nice. Ridiculous but nice. "Then what?"

"Then you can stay or you can leave. You can do whatever you want." Marcel threw up his hands. "It's up to you. That's what mentors are supposed to do. They give you the lessons, and then they let you do whatever you want with them. And whatever you do, whatever you make, it's yours. Not mine, not Klaus'. Yours."

There was a thump from the attic, and they tilted their heads upward in unison. For a split second Tyler wondered if Marcel was drunk enough to answer some questions about that.

Marcel groaned up at the ceiling and stood to approach the bar where he pulled out two glasses to fill to the brim. He handed one to Tyler and collapsed back down onto the sofa. "One day," he said, "maybe in a few centuries, you're gonna meet some kid. He's gonna be broken down and alone, and you're gonna look at him and remember exactly what that felt like. You'll decide right then that you're gonna teach him, and you're gonna teach him well."

"Marcel-" Tyler began, holding his drink but not drinking it. Whatever he and Klaus had talked about on the phone, it must have been a pretty heavy conversation.

"I know about your father," Marcel said, taking a drink. He ignored Tyler's wide eyes and spoke before Tyler had a chance to ask him how he knew. "I was owned by men like him. My entire human life was spent under the control of people who thought I was worthless. When I became a vampire I decided I was never going to let anyone tell me what I did and didn't deserve or what I could and couldn't have. And I was never going to let them take what was mine again.

"You can give people everything," Marcel went on. "Your loyalty, your friendship, your respect, and some of them will still never see you as anything. You're just there for them, for their use, for their...whatever. Klaus taught me everything I know, but I built this city. Now he's here telling me that he did that because when he looks at me, I'm still just a slave. It doesn't matter what I do or how many successes I have because people like Klaus are always going to think that I don't matter. The minute I stopped treating him like he made me was the minute he decided he was going to take everything." He gulped down what was left of his drink. "Did you hate your father?" he asked, looking Tyler directly in the eye.

"It was...complicated."

"Complicated," Marcel repeated.

"When he died I think I was relieved," Tyler said, "but I felt guilty for thinking that. He was my dad. Without him I wouldn't exist." His drink was beginning to look really good so he drank down the whole thing and set the empty glass on the table.

"That's how they trap you," Marcel said, dragging a finger along the edge of his glass. "Without them we wouldn't be here. That's how we start thinking that we owe them something."

Tyler was pretty sure he'd gotten over 'owing' Klaus something the minute he decided to break his sire bond. He didn't owe Klaus anything, but maybe he wasn't the one having trouble with that. "Do you feel guilty?" he asked. "About all this?"

Marcel sucked in a breath. "I'm certain that Klaus saved my life when he turned me. If he hadn't, I would have followed my family into the grave within weeks, maybe days. I am grateful, but I thanked him centuries ago. Now I'm done." He set down his glass and pushed himself to his feet. "I'm going home to sleep this off. I need to have it together in the morning. Rebekah Mikaelson's coming to town."

I'm headed back to school soon so updates are probably going to start coming only once a week, hence the longer wait this time around. Thanks for reading and reviewing!