Chapter 6:

Mari had been allowed to be alone for awhile. Freya had paid a visit once or twice, to bring food and drinks, but other than that, the sister of the Mikaelson family held everyone at bay. She understood that they probably believed humans to be fragile, but she was growing a little tired of being treated that way all of the time. Regardless of the reason, she was grateful to have alone time.

After awhile, however, she grew bored. Venturing out of her room on her own, Mari headed downstairs. She looked around the courtyard, admiring the vines growing up along the walls with little buds that were just waiting for the right time to bloom. It really was a beautiful place, the compound. Growing up, she never would have thought she would ever be inside of it. People with power had always lived there, and she was just a kid from a poor family on the outskirts of New Orleans.

"Feeling claustrophobic?" A smooth voice came from the staircase. Mari turned to see Klaus coming down, a small smirk tugging at one corner of his lips. "I figured at some point you may have the desire to leave. You aren't planning to return home, are you?"

"No," she shook her head. "No, my family probably hates me right about now." Her gaze fell to the floor as she realized, in that moment, that she may never be able to go home again. "I just wish my brother wasn't there by himself."

"We could have his removed from the situation, if his safety is at risk," Klaus offered. He didn't care much for abusers, and he, in fact, was more than willing to help remove Mari and her brother both from the grasp of her violent father. "I know a few people that owe my family a favor, for one reason or another."

"He won't... hit him," Mari shook her head. "My father was never as hard on my brother as he was on me. He's younger, and still in school. Let him stay as long as he wants. If things do get bad, my brother will leave on his own. He was always stronger than me."

"Would you care to take a walk with me, Mari, love?" Klaus asked suddenly, catching her a little off guard. She looked at him for a moment, her eyes widening a little, but finally, after a few minutes, she nodded. "Hopefully we can at least temporarily cure your feelings of confinement." He headed towards the front door, and she jogged a little to catch up to him.

He turned to the right once outside, and Mari followed slightly behind. She looked around. This wasn't a part of New Orleans she came to typically, because of all the hustle and bustle. Also, most things in that area were outside of her budget. Klaus walked for a few moments in silence, and she wondered for a minute if he was going somewhere specific, or if he was just walking without a destination in mind for Mari's sake.

"Thank you," she said, not really liking the weird silence between them. "For all your family is doing for me. I don't... get it. I'm just some random girl you took in off the streets. However, I really do appreciate it. No one has ever tried to help me before."

"You came on your own accord to help Kol," Klaus reminded her. "We took you in because, while our family is not opposed to violence, we are all opposed to senseless abuse of innocent victims." Mari didn't really like that word. She never viewed herself as a victim, and she didn't want anyone else to either. "We need you around for Kol's sake, and we can't have you returning home to violence because of it."

"So I'm just a blood donor, then."

"And a guest in our home," Klaus added, looking back at her. She didn't like either of those titles either. They were using her and helping her all at once. It was rather confusing for her mind to wrap around, to decide what was worse. Being out on her own, or accepting help from vampires that wanted her blood more than anything else.

Her thoughts stopped momentarily as she noticed a planter on the side of the street, one that was full of beautiful, white roses. They were her favorite kind, and she couldn't help but stop to admire them. When he heard her footsteps stop, Klaus turned to see what had caught her attention. She was leaned over now, her face down close to the white rose petals. She reached out to touch it, but jerked her hand back suddenly.

A sweet aroma drifted into his nose as she lifted her now bleeding finger. It was just a small drop of blood, but it smelled so strongly that it sent his senses into overdrive. He had heard Kol brag about how sweet Mar's blood was, but Klaus didn't expect her blood to be so intoxicating. She shook her hand, flinging that drop of blood to the ground and leaving room for another to replace it.

"That was pretty stupid," she told herself under her breath, shaking her hand again. She looked up at Klaus, intending to ask him for a band aid, but she remained silent when she saw the veins darkening under his eyes, the way Kol's did when he was about to feed on her. Mari opened her mouth to apologize, but she was cut off quickly when Klaus grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her quickly down the alley between the two stores they were standing by.

Her back was against the bricks before she could even catch her breath, and she looked up at Klaus. He was breathing heavily now, but his eyes had returned to normal, surprisingly. She swallowed hard, then looked towards the street, where no one seemed to noticed them. Her eyes flicked back to Klaus.

"Are you okay?"

"Kol wasn't wrong when he said that Camille tamed the beast inside of me," Klaus said, and Mari looked a little confused. She didn't know the story of Camille, and had only heard her name a couple times before while staying with the Mikaelson family. "I drink only from the two donors that work for our family. The help. I do it to honor Camille's memory. She believed that I wasn't a monster, and that I didn't have to become one even when she was gone."

"I'm sorry you lost her," Mari said, not sure what else he wanted to hear from her. She wasn't even sure why he was telling her his story in the first place.

"She was taken from me. A beautiful light that was stomped out too soon," Klaus said, looking up towards the sky for a moment. She had died. Mari should have realized that sooner, but it didn't really click before. She sighed, then bit into her bottom lip.

"I'm sorry."

"Why do you smell like that?" He said suddenly, and she wasn't sure how to reply. Any words that she could have used to respond were caught behind her lips when Klaus suddenly grabbed her wrist again, lifting her small hand up to his lips. She wanted to tug back on instinct alone, but she didn't. Klaus was stronger anyways. Mari was shocked when he suddenly pushed her bleeding finger up with his thumb, then took it between his lips. She felt his tongue slide against her fingertip, and she struggled with her nerves, attempting to swallow them all at once but failing.

His eyes darkened again, the veins turning black underneath them. An unsteady hand reached out, resting on her cheek and leading her head to the side. Mari stared at him with wide eyes for a moment, then squeezed them shut. Should she have fought or protested, maybe. However, if he wanted to feed from her, there wasn't much she could do. Also, she was a blood donor to their family anyways. They were pretty much paying her for this particular service.

She gasped in a breath when she felt his fangs pierce her skin. He was a bit gentler than Kol, but it still felt uncomfortable nonetheless. Her hands reached out instinctively and braced herself against his shoulders, gripping them tightly as he leaned in to feed from her. His hand were planted firmly against the brick wall behind her, holding himself at a small distance away from her as he fed. She shook under him regardless, a mix of nerves and uncertainty.

Klaus leaned back after a moment, looking at her, though she had turned her face away from him now. Her eyes were fixated on the road at the end of the alley. No one noticed, or no one cared. She wasn't sure which it was. Klaus took a step back from her, then reached up to wipe the blood from his lips with the back of his hand. His eyes returned to normal, and his breathing steadied.

"You musn't tell Kol," he said after a moment of silence. He pricked his own thumb, then rubbed the blood over the puncture wounds on her neck where his fangs had dug into her soft flesh. They healed quickly. "He isn't the type to share, Mari, and I do not wish to ruin the progress that he had made since your arrival. This has to remain our little secret. Can you promise me that?"

"Y-yes," she stuttered, her cheeks flush and eyes turned away from him still. It was hard to look at him. The moment between them in that alley way was a little too much for her to handle calmly. Her face felt like it was burning, and it didn't help that she could see in her peripheral vision that he was looking directly at her. "I won't say anything to him." If nothing else, she really didn't want to cause a fight between the two brothers.

"Good," he sighed, reaching out to brush her golden blond curls from her face. He could feel the heat from her cheeks against his fingers, and he smirked a little. "I do appreciate the meal, love. You taste delightful. Shall we return now?"

"I'd like to," she nodded, finally turning her gaze to him. He licked his lips once more, then started towards the road again. Mari hesitated for a moment, letting her head rest back against the brick. However, when he stopped and called her name, she pushed herself off the wall to follow him. She didn't have anywhere else to go, and the deal would be off if she refused to donate blood anymore anyways. Mari felt completely and utterly trapped, and the worst part about it was, there was some part of here, deep down, that was actually enjoying it.

Im so sorry it took so long! I hope you guys haven't given up yet D: Things just got busy all of a sudden, but they should be calming down soon. Anyways. Hope you enjoyed the chapter :D Leave a review to let me know what you think, or what you hope happens in the future. Thanks for reading!

P.S. If anyone is ever interested in being a part of an RP forum, I know a really good one that includes Originals, with several other fandoms. If you're interested or just curious, shoot me a PM.

Thanks!