A.N.- Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites so far! It means a lot. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Please review :)
Song: Mumford and Sons - Where Are You Now
Belle walked among the roaring nightlife of New York City; the year was 1922. She stopped off in a hidden bar called McConnell's, going in through the back door. Prohibition was still going strong, so bars were hard to come by.
Smooth jazz music could be heard from the doorway, echoing as she walked down a short hallway to the main room.
At the front of the room next to the bar was a stage where a band was playing live music. Some people were around the stage, dancing and laughing in a drunken bliss. Others sat in booths, talking among themselves and drinking. In one of those booths, with a small group of men she didn't recognize, was Klaus.
She smiled and walked over with her head held high. Klaus looked up at her as she walked over; his lips curled up into a grin as their eyes met. "Belle, how nice to see you."
"You too, Nik," she replied, smiling even wider.
Before the memory could continue, Belle awoke to someone shaking her arm. She groaned loudly, shoving the person's hand away before pulling the comforter over her head. "Go away," she mumbled.
"Sorry to wake you, but we need to talk." Max's serious tone grabbed her attention.
She pulled her fluffy shield down low enough to reveal her eyes. She eyed him suspiciously. "About?" What did he want to talk about? What did he know?
He sat down at the foot of the bed and rested his hands in his lap, twiddling his thumbs anxiously. "So, I finally went and saw Josh. I got his address from Marcel a few days ago, but I couldn't bring myself to go." He sighed and turned to his big sister for any sign of approval.
She put down the comforter and sat up. She raised and eyebrow at him. "Wait, this is what you woke me up for? You finally decided to grow a pair and you just thought I should know?" She rolled her eyes and ran a hand through her tangled curls.
He winced at her words like they were daggers that had stabbed him. "I just wanted to let you know." His eyes shifted from her eyes to the floor.
She sighed, scooting closer to him. "Max, I'm sorry. You know how grumpy I am in the mornings."
He snorted. "Yeah, especially When you're hungover," he muttered, smirking as he side-glanced at her.
She punched him in the arm, glaring. "Not the point." She rolled her eyes. "The point is that I'm your big sister and I care about your problems. I may not want to listen to them, but I still care." She put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Now, continue."
Max smiled and exhaled before continuing. "Well, I went over there last night and -"
Belle cut him off, "Let me guess, you two did the dance with no pants?" She laughed under her breath; she always teased him about his man-whore tendencies as she so lovingly called them.
He gave her a death glare. "No, actually we didn't." He said it as though it were obvious, which, in her mind, it wasn't at all. He was a player.
She raised a questioning brow at him. "Really? Wow. Color me impressed. So, what did you do then?"
He shrugged. "Nothing. We just talked." He sounded a little surprised himself. "It was nice." For once in years Max sounded genuinely happy, a little lovestruck even.
She smiled at him, throwing her arms around him and pulling him into a tight hug, pinning his arms to his side. "Awww, Maxy," she squealed, rocking him back and forth as he sat awkwardly.
He struggled in her firm grasp. "Stop, Belle, Christ. It's not that big a deal." He finally managed to push her away.
"Fine, whatever," she relented, her arms fell to her sides. "Can you get out? I have to get dressed." She stood up and walked over her closet.
"Sure." Max stood and walked out.
As she stood in front of the open closet, thumbing through the rack of clothes, her mind started to wander.
It had been nearly a week since she and Klaus had had a moment, one where she had looked into his eyes and saw the brief flicker of longing burning in the backs of them, no doubt it had been mirrored in hers as well. Ever since then, thoughts she had forced herself to ignore came rushing up to the surface. He not only took over her thoughts, but also her dreams; it was maddening.
She shook her head and finished picking out her clothes.
Once she had gotten ready, she took her dose of vervain and went out.
As soon as she arrived at the Mikaelson's, she was met by Klaus and Marcel. "Hey. Where are you guys going?"
"Why? You'll just get bored," Marcel snapped, going around her and walking out.
Belle turned to Klaus, raising her eyebrows. "Damn. What's his problem?" She resisted the urge to giggle. She always enjoyed the misfortune of people she didn't like.
Klaus shrugged. "Perhaps he's fed up with the responsibilities of helping me run the city." There was a hint of amusement and derision in his voice. He smirked.
"I doubt that." She snorted. He rolled his eyes at her before walking past her, motioning for her to follow. She quickly trotted after him, trying to match his long strides. "Where are we going?"
"To a meeting at St. Anne's churc." Klaus keept his eyes locked if front of him as they walked down the street. She could see Marcel in the distance, about a hundred yards away. He strutted down the street without looking back to check if they were following, though of course he knew they were.
"With the human faction?" she asked as they rounded a corner.
"Yes." He nodded.
"I'm guessing it's still the same crowd, corrupt politicians and greedy middle-aged jackasses."
"Did you really expect it to change now?" He let out a throaty chuckle, glancing over at her for a second.
As soon as they arrived before it, Belle recognized the church immediately. It had been a few years before she had left New Orleans. Only a few minor details had changed in that time.
Klaus held the door open for her as she walked up the last step. She walked in and he followed, going around her with a hint of urgency. When they entered the room, she saw Marcel just now taking a seat.
The room was eerily quiet until a man in priests robes stood up and started talking. "You're late." he boomed, folding his hands in front of himself as he walked over to stand behind the podium.
"On the contrary Father Kieran, I believe I'm right on time," Klaus snapped, a little annoyed no doubt.
One of the other humans gave Belle a dirty look as she took a seat in the front row on the other side of Marcel. "Who is she?" he asked gravelly.
She scoffed. "I see the men around here still lack proper manners." she muttered, rolling her eyes. "But, to be polite I'll give a quick introduction. I'm Belle. I'm an old ass vampire and a former resident of this city." Her voice was light, but dangerous.
Klaus cleared his throat. "Moving on to the point of this meeting, I believe I was told that two locals have perished in the past week."
"Yeah, killed by your filthy kind," one of the men snapped, jabbing his chubby finger in Klaus's direction.
Belle snorted loudly. Everyone turned toward her with condescending stares. "You've got to be kidding me." she exclaimed. Her head fell into her hands as she started laughing. "I remember a time where if a human even dared to speak to a vampire like that they'd get their throat ripped out."
Marcel stopped her. "But no one's gonna do that right now." he urged, tossing her a cautioning glare.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm sorry Marcellus, but last time I checked you weren't the boss of me." she snapped. She resisted the urge to hit him knowing that it would only lead to a fight.
"Enough!" Klaus roared, glaring daggers at the pair of them.
"Thank you." Kieran said calmly. "Now, there are in fact two locals that have been murdered by vampires this week and not only that, but two vampires have turned up dead as well."
Belle's stomach dropped. She prayed that the other vampire that had died wasn't Samuel. That would make her look bad and she didn't know who would start pointing fingers at her. She attempted to look calm as Klaus spoke.
"It appears we have a serial killer on our hands, a vampire at that. We're making efforts to stop them, but so far we don't have any leads."
"But we're working on it. We've got eyes all over town right now." Marcel added.
That made Belle even more worried. She knew she'd need to question other people around town before she could find Charlotte. She didn't want any of Marcel and Klaus's little spies hearing about her plans.
If Klaus found out there'd be no way he'd let her continue, not to mention how angry he'd be with her having lied to him. His trust was hard to earn and easily broken and ever since she had earned it far she managed not to break it broken it.
"Speaking of, Thierry told me something very interesting earlier." Marcel started, smirking at Belle. "He said you went down to vamp bar downtown, asking him if he could help you find someone named Samuel Rivers. And then Samuel turns up dead just a few days later. Any thoughts about that?" he asked in a raucous and accusing tone.
She glared at him. "Are you accusing me?" she demanded, trying not to growl at him.
"Marcel, now is not the time to make accusations. We'll discuss this later." Klaus urged. He folded his hands behind his back and leaned sideways against one of the pews. "If there is nothing else we need to talk about we'll be going."
Belle quietly exhaled in relief. As usual, Klaus had come to her aid.
Kieran nodded. "That's all that concerns the vampire faction I believe." he said.
"Excellent. Well, we'll hold another meeting next week. Same place, same time." Klaus announced before turning around and heading for the exit. Belle and Marcell followed him.
Once they were outside, Marcel spoke. "I've gotta meet some of the guys back at Rousseau's. I'll see you back at the compound." he turned in the other direction and shuffled past the crowd down the street.
Klaus and Belle turned down the street back to the compound. They walked in a stiff silence. She wondered if Klaus was thinking about what Marcel had said back at the church, practically accusing her.
Granted, she had tortured Samuel and lied about it, but she hadn't been the one to kill him and she hadn't killed the others either. She hoped with all her being that Klaus wouldn't be so easily swayed to believe Marcel. He knew her better than that.
They went back to the compound and luckily didn't talk about it any further. She and Klaus sat in the living room drinking and talking for over an hour before he got a call and left.
For a few minutes she sat alone with her thoughts and a bottle of Bourbon until Hayley walked by. Curiously, Belle called to her. "Hey, Hayley?"
Hayley turned to her with confused eyes. "Yes?" she asked, seeming a little unsure of what Belle wanted.
She hesitated before speaking, her was voice soft. "Do you know what it is? The baby I mean?"
Hayley chuckled. "Do you mean species or boy or girl?" She leant against the doorframe and placed a careful hand over her growing baby bump.
"Boy or girl."
Hayley smiled. "Uh, a girl, I think. I don't know for sure, but I feel like it'll be a girl." she said. Belle could hear in her voice how much Hayley already loved her baby.
A small smile tugged at the corners of Belle's lips. "That's good. You should hope it's a girl. They're a lot better to deal with, not as rowdy as boys are." Her voice was brittle, like she was tearing up. She chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.
There was an unmistakable look of pain in the backs of her eyes, a look that showed more than any words could ever explain.
Hayley must have noticed this look, realizing what it's true meaning was. "What was her name?" She shifted uncomfortably, seeming uncertain and wary. "If you don't mind me asking," she added. Her voice had a similar fragility in it.
Belle stayed quiet for a few seconds, debating whether or not she should answer. Finally, her voice broke the silence. "Lilith." She smiled a little as tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, she wiped them away before they fell, not comfortable enough to cry in front of Hayley. She rarely cried in front of anyone, period.
Hayley smiled sympathetically. "That's beautiful."
"So was she." Her voice was just a whisper now. After a few seconds she cleared her throat and fanned her eyes, laughing to avoid bursting into tears. "Well, I'm gonna go. It was nice seeing you, Hayley." she said suddenly as she stood up and headed for the front door, abandoning her unfinished drink on the coffee table.