Chapter 3:
Kol reluctantly left the comfort of his dark room to go down and have lunch with Klaus, Elijah, and Freya. He was eagerly awaiting the arrival of his new snack, and he decided to do so downstairs with the others. His family was more than surprised to see him come down to join them so willingly, but no one mentioned it for fear of making him retreat upstairs again. Instead, Elijah just cleared his throat and welcomed Kol.
"Good to see you, brother. Glad you could join us."
"The girl is late today," he muttered, flopping down in a chair across from Freya. Klaus and Elijah exchanged glances, and Klaus grinned a little, figuring that it was a good sign that Kol was concerned about the girl, even if it was more irritation than anything. At least Kol was out of his room, away from the whiskey he drank like he should have been drinking blood.
"I'm sure she will be here, brother," Klaus shrugged, "you needn't worry." Freya didn't know much about the scheme that Klaus concocted, and she had yet to meet the girl Klaus sent to be Kol's new distraction. While she didn't agree with Klaus's methods, it seemed to be doing Kol some good, and that was the most important thing to her at the moment. As long as the girl wasn't being harmed, it was okay.
"What do you think of her?" Elijah asked bravely, staring down at the wine glass in his hand as he swirled the red liquid around at the bottom of the glass. "Is she... to your liking?" Elijah felt the same way that Freya did, but it was a plan he would tolerate because the girl wished for it, and Kol needed it. Kol glared over at Elijah for a moment, then back to Klaus.
"She won't replace Davina."
"No one said she was meant to," Elijah said softly. "We are not trying to replace your lost love, brother. However, you need to feed, and since you're honoring Davina's memory by not taking your food by force, Klaus thought a willing donor was the best way to go." Kol looked down at the table, and Freya could see the pain on his face. She reached across to lay her hand over his.
"We only want to make sure you take care of yourself. You're our brother, and we can't sit idly by and watch you starve yourself." She half expected him to get angry, but instead, he took a deep breath and nodded.
"Yes, I understand the mutual concern over my health, but I will live. I've accepted your... willing donor. Except that she is late today, and I find it utterly annoying. I'm starved." Freya looked at Klaus.
"Well, we have the maid today. I could fetch her if you'd like," Klaus offered, but Kol quickly shook his head.
"Just send Mari up when she comes." He stood to leave, but as if on cue, the small girl came through the entrance to the compound, wearing a baggy sweater and big sunglasses. Kol raised an eyebrow. As far as he knew, she couldn't see well without her glasses, so why was she wearing a pair of cheap shades instead of her little black frames. He frowned at her. "You're late."
"Sorry," she cleared her throat. "Something came up."
"Something more important than repaying your debt?" Kol scoffed at her, rolling his eyes a little. Her head dropped in shame, and Freya happened to notice something. She stood, then made her way over to the girl. Kol watched curiously, wondering what it was that Freya may have noticed. He was confused when Freya reached up gently, her fingertips laying over the sides of the big sunglasses. Mari jerked back instinctively, but Freya pulled them off anyways.
Underneath the big, tasteless shades, was a large, purple bruise under her eye. Mari turned away from them, water pooling in her eyes instantly as her shame was exposed to the entire family of Originals and their powerful witch sister. They all sat in silence for a moment, staring at her, and she wanted to disappear in that moment, far away from the compound, and far away from her own family.
"What happened?" Freya finally asked, breaking the silence. Mari shook her head,
"Please. It's nothing, really. I should just... go home." When she turned to leave however, a hand grabbed at her wrist. She expected it to be Freya since she had been the one standing closest to her, but the hand was rather large. She looked back to see Klaus there now, standing next to Rebecca where he hadn't been before, with a grimace etched into his features. He held onto her wrist tightly.
"Kol?" Elijah questioned, and the younger brother scoffed at the accusation.
"It wasn't me. I would never."
"She was untouched when she left yesterday," Klaus said, not taking his eyes off of the bruise on her cheek. "I made sure that Kol was behaving himself, so you needn't blame him, Elijah." Klaus would usually never dabble in human affairs, but he had a distinct distaste for mindless abuse towards innocent women. Besides, this was a woman that was under his employment at the time. He didn't wish to see her arrive each day with new bruises and do nothing about it.
"We can help," Freya offered, her tone gentle and reassuring. "You must tell us first."
"I..." She trailed off. Mari's eyes were wide and frightened. She had only met them a few days ago, and they suddenly seemed so concerned about her well being. She didn't understand why, but she knew that if she were to tell them the truth, it would only mean trouble. She didn't want any trouble. She bit her bottom lip, then looked down at the ground, not wanting to meet Klaus's gaze.
Kol pushed past them then, breaking Klaus's hold on her arm and stepping up to her. He took her small face in his hands, lowering his eyes to hers and focusing intently. Mari tried to pull away, but her strength was nothing compared to his. Once the compulsion took hold, she didn't have a choice anyways.
"Tell us who hit you," he demanded. A tear slid down her cheek,
"My father came home yesterday. His bail was posted by one of your men, and he went out drinking to celebrate. When he got home, my mom told him about what I did to get him out. He called me a blood whore and..." Her bottom lip quivered, and tears continued to slide down her cheeks. Kol sighed,
"Stop. I've heard enough." Mari broke free of the compulsion, and she collapsed, hugging her body tightly because she knew they wouldn't let her leave. Freya knelt down beside her, rubbing her back and trying to comfort her as best as she could, despite the anger boiling in her gut.
"I thought it would be a relief to have her father released," Klaus frowned. His teeth ground together, and he kicked a chair that spiraled across the room under his strength and shattered against a pillar. "It's my fault."
"Seems a simple fix," Elijah said, smoothing out his jacket as he stood. "Have the man put back in prison."
"No, he needs to work," Mari said frantically. "My family... please, just leave it alone. It's not the first time it's happened."
"All the more reason to remove him. I'm sure it won't be the last," Freya noted, looking at her brothers. "We have to do something. Even if she won't."
"What would you have us do?" Kol questioned, eyes flicking between Mari and Freya. "She won't let us kill him, she won't let us throw him in a cell. What are we to do then, if she's going to remain stubborn?" Mari just looked back and forth between them, wondering why they were so eager to do something to help. Her family had always been like this and no one ever stepped in.
"Perhaps the girl should just remain here," Elijah offered. "She could stay in Rebecca's room."
"What?" Klaus frowned. "We're going to have some stranger staying in our sister's bedroom? That seems a little... far, Elijah."
"Niklaus, need I remind you that you were the one who brought you here to begin with. If she is anyone's problem, she is yours. Unless you intend on sending her back to her abusive father, then she will temporarily stay in Rebecca's room until something else is decided upon." Freya looked to Elijah and nodded, taking Mari by the hand and leading her towards the stairs. Mari pulled back a little, but a glare from Kol told her that she wasn't allowed to protest. If they chose to, they could just compel her to stay.
"Don't worry. Your father's debt will still be paid by your being here," Freya reassured her as she walked the trembling girl up the stairs. "However, my family doesn't take kindly to these kinds of things. We have the power to do something about it, so let us. Haven't you ever wished someone would come to your rescue?" Freya often had, when she was forced to live with Dahlia, so she could understand to some degree.
"Yes, but..."
"We're pretty much strangers. I know. But we mean well, even if we don't always handle things great. Kol had improved already since your arrival. They won't cast you aside. You're here to help our brother, so it's a fair trade." Freya stopped outside of Rebecca's door, then pushed it open for Mari. "Anything you need, just let us know. Alright?"
"Alright," Mari nodded, stepping into the room. She closed the door quickly, then leaned back against it, slowly sliding to the ground. With a heavy sigh, she pulled her knees to her chest. How could it have ended up like this? She didn't expect her father to come home anytime soon, and when he did, she didn't expect her mom to sell her out. The look on her father's face when he called her a "blood whore" was a look of pure hatred and anger, but maybe he wasn't entirely wrong. She was selling her blood to vampires for money, but it was to fix his mistakes. He shouldn't be so cruel.
Her hand lifted to touch the bruise on her cheek, then fell away. She was just about to break out into a sob when a knock on the door startled her. She stood up, wiping her eyes quickly and flattening her sweater. She opened the door carefully to find Klaus standing there.
"I cannot help but feel like what happened is because of what I did. I had your father released, because it was a part of our deal. I had no idea the kind of man he really was, though I should have. A drunk and a gambler... It doesn't leave much hope for pleasantness. If I had known what kind of man he was, I would not have let him return home to you and your family." Was he really taking blame for her father hitting her?
"He's always been like that. It was a good thing that you had him released. Now, he can go back to work, and we won't be struggling so much." She tried to smile, but her lips barely even moved to her command. "You don't have to take the blame for this."
"Yes, well, nonetheless," he cleared his throat. "I suppose you should make yourself comfortable. If Elijah thinks this is the best solution, then so be it. I will have Kol leave you alone for the night."
"It's fine," she shook her head. "You don't have to do that."
"Even in his state, Kol still has some sense of decency," Klaus told her. "He will not come to your door. However, I will make sure that you aren't allowed to leave alone. You are not a prisoner, but it is for your own good that you stay."
"Fine," she nodded. "I won't try to leave."
"Good." He turned to leave. "Get some rest."
"Thanks."
Thanks again for the reviews guys :D seeing feedback only encourages me to keep writing and updating frequently. This chapter ended up being a little longer, but the beginning is all getting it set up anyways. I hope you enjoyed, and that I'm staying true to the characters. Leave a little review if you liked it, and if you have any questions i will answer them :) I'll update soon!