Chapter 40:

Elijah heard Klaus leave the next morning on an errand that almost certainly involved intimidating witches in the Quarter. The middle Mikaelson had been rather busy as of late controlling the local covens on behalf of Marcel, and Elijah was sure that it would only bring more trouble to their door. He worried for him, as he worried for all of them.

While he expected Klaus to leave, he didn't expect to hear Kol exit the compound soon after him. It was strange that they would both leave Mari behind, given the circumstances, but Elijah had to assume Klaus didn't know Kol would be leaving, too. Maybe Kol expected Mari to be safe there with Elijah and Freya not far away.

Elijah listened in to the room upstairs, hearing Mari shuffling about behind her closed door. It was strange that she was staying in her own room. He had to wonder if there was some kind of lover's quarrel, and what might be responsible for it. If she had told Kol what happened the other day between her and Elijah, then the whole house would have surely erupted by then. No, it was something else.

He went to work sorting some property papers and bills to be paid, though he was interrupted not long after by the sound of Mari's bedroom door opening and closing. Listening in, he heard her little feet scampering down the staircase and out into the courtyard. She crossed it to get to the exit, which made Elijah rise from his desk. Klaus wouldn't be very happy if Elijah just let her go out on her own, without anyone to protect her.

Mari had just about reached the gate when Elijah suddenly appeared before her. She halted in her tracks, flinching a little in fright. She didn't know he was home, and part of her had hoped they left her with Freya only. Even if he was home, she hoped she could sneak out before he realized she was trying to leave.

"Where are you going?" Elijah raised a brow. "Shouldn't you have an escort if you plan to leave the compound on your own accord?"

"I'm meeting someone," she said vaguely. "Please, Elijah, I don't want to do this today. I'll be back soon, so just... move out of the way."

There was an unusual amount of conviction in her voice that morning. Usually, she was rather timid and submissive, easy to take control of. It was like she enjoyed being taken over completely, but not that day. She looked liked a woman on a mission, and she didn't want anyone to stand in her way or slow her down. It made Elijah even more curious about where she planned to go.

"Does this have anything to do with Kol leaving this morning?" He asked her directly. "Did you two have a bit of a spat? I hope I wasn't the cause."

"No," she shook her head. "No, it has nothing to do with that. I'm meeting someone. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

Mari tried to step around Elijah, but he just planted himself in the way again. When she tried to step the other direction, he put an arm out to stop her. She was growing more and more frustrated by the second, and he could see that in her expression. Still, Elijah knew it was dangerous for her to go out alone, and he didn't plan on taking the blame if something happened to her.

"Marigold, you know you can't go anywhere."

"Am I really just a slave to all of you?" She scoffed, glaring up at Elijah with more anger than he had ever seen in her eyes before. It began to worry him. "I can't go where I want, I can't see who I want, I can't do anything! I'm not just a blood slave!"

"What happened to upset you so much?" Elijah questioned.

"Let me go, Elijah," she pleaded, her tone losing his anger and becoming more desperate. "There's something I need to do, and I don't want anyone to try and stop me. It's for the best."

"For the best?" Those words sent his mind spinning with thoughts. He was putting all of the pieces together as quickly as he could, and he came up with an explanation mere seconds later. Elijah frowned down at her. "Are you meeting a witch perhaps? Are you trying to break the curse?"

Her silence gave him his answer. Mari turned her face away from him as if she could hide the truth that way, but he was able to decipher from her expression that he was right. She was going out to try and find a way to break her curse, and she didn't tell anyone else about it.

"Kol doesn't want to break the curse, you know that don't you?"

"I do."

"Is that what caused the lover's quarrel?"

"No, that was... a mistake. I didn't want him to find out, but he tried to compel me. I got angry and shouted to try and prevent him from making me tell him about you and everything else," she confessed, deciding honesty was the best policy now that he had figured out where she wanted to go. "I feel like I'm a moment away from losing everything."

"Are you afraid they won't have any interest in you once the curse is broken?" Elijah smirked down at her rather devilishly. "You poor thing. It is a natural fear, to be abandoned by the ones we love. Perhaps breaking the curse will take away all of your happiness. Is it truly worth it then?"

"I don't want to be wanted for my blood anymore," she nodded. "It's worth it to me, even if I lose everything and everyone I love. At least then... I would know that it was never real to begin with. Maybe I could move on, maybe not. I don't know what will happen next, but I know that I have to try to find the truth."

"I was going to ask Freya to see what she could find," he told her. "If you will wait a bit longer, I can help you find your truth, Marigold."

"Do you mean it?" Her eyes brightened a little. "Will you and Freya really help me?"

"Yes. I'll go speak to her now. Would you like to come with me?" He extended his arm to her to take. It was safer if he helped her himself, rather than trusting some other witch who likely hated the Mikaelson family to keep her safe. Even if he was a little disappointed to lose such a tasty treat, he could see how much that curse was really hurting her deep inside.

"Thank you, Elijah." Mari looped her arm through his and let him escort her to meet Frey.

Klaus returned home before Kol did later that evening. He knew something had happened the moment he came through the gate to see Freya and Elijah sitting in the courtyard. Elijah had a teacup in his hand, a concoction of blood and liquor within by the smell of it. When Klaus approached, he took one last sip from the cup and set it down.

"Niklaus," he sighed, "have you by chance heard from Kol?"

"No. I thought our dearest little brother would be here, taking full advantage of his time alone with Mari," Klaus answered nonchalantly. "Has he left?"

"Soon after you this morning. I've tried his phone, but he will not answer," Elijah explained. "Seems he and Marigold had a bit of a spat this morning. Perhaps you should speak with her about it. There's more she needs to tell you anyways."

Klaus blinked at that. What was wrong with Mari? Elijah seemed to know something, but he was keeping it to himself intentionally. Rather than trying to squeeze the information out of his elder brother, Klaus stalked up the stairs to find Mari.

It wasn't difficult to locate her. She was in her bedroom, sitting on the bed in nothing but one of Klaus' old tee shirts and her underwear. Her hair was wet and especially curly, which meant she just got out of the shower. When Klaus walked through her door, her little head snapped up, and a seriously expression crossed her face.

"Klaus," she breathed his name.

"What is it, Mari?" He asked with a gentle tone, then moved to sit on the edge of the bed beside her. "Why are you making such a face?"

"There's something I need to tell you, and I really hope you understand," she began with a shaky voice. He was beginning to worry there was bad news. "I talked to Elijah and Freya today... about how to break this curse that was put on me. Freya... agreed to look for a way to break it that doesn't involve any death. So..." It was hard for her to get it all out, but she wanted to be honest with him. "So I may no longer be special to you. I won't... taste the same."

He hesitated for a moment to even respond. Elijah must have neglected to mention that Klaus asked him and Freya to look into it prior to that day, and that he was more than happy to have the curse removed from Mari. She must have been afraid that he would be angry about it, which Klaus sort of blamed Kol for.

"Mari," he finally broke his silence, "I asked Elijah to have Freya look into it. I wanted him to break the curse that has been put upon you, so that you would be free from it. Did he not mention this to you when you were speaking with him about it?"

"No," she shook her head, eyes a little wide with surprise. "He didn't. I was so worried that you might be upset or disappointed."

"Do you really have no faith in the love I feel for you?" Klaus questioned, reaching up to cup her flush face in his large hands. "Mari, I'm confident that my feelings for you are not influenced by this curse, so I do not fear that they will change. I know they won't. I could abstain from your blood forever if that would prove it to you, but I figured I wouldn't need to do such a thing if the damned curse was just lifted."

"Do you really mean it?" She smiled gently, something that Klaus hadn't seen in awhile. It made him smile, too, and he nodded his head to reassure her.

"With all my heart and soul."

She suddenly jumped up onto her knees to wrap her arms around his neck tightly and burrow her face into his shoulder. Klaus held her in return, one arm circled low around her back and his other hand buried in her hair.

"I was so worried you might be upset."

"Is this what caused you and Kol to have a disagreement this morning?"

"I couldn't tell him what was bothering me," she admitted, though she couldn't explain the full story. She had more dangerous secrets to keep than this one. "He was going to compel me, and I yelled at him because of it. I'm worried that he'll be disappointed if the curse is broken."

"Let me speak to him about it, love," Klaus insisted. "I'll make him understand that this is the right thing, the best thing, to do for you."

"Thank you," she kissed his shoulder and hugged him tighter. "I love you so much, Klaus. Thank you."

Her voice always sounded sweetest when she was confessing her love to him. It warmed him from the inside, which was a welcome feeling after a long day of helping Marcel suppress the New Orleans witches with violence and cruelty. Mari once again made him feel human, made him feel like he was redeemable.

She made him feel good, and he never intended to let that feeling slip through his fingers. No matter how Kol felt about it, Klaus was going to do whatever he had to do to protect his Marigold.