A/N: Unfinished Spotify Playlist: playlist/2p96dGLSfaUyYyFS2WFmyi?si=a17086e7ce1c4814
Before the plane landed, Klara dressed herself. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and for the first time in a long time, really looked at herself.
What was reflected back at her was unfamiliar. She elected to put on a little makeup for the first time in a while, a brown mascara and a natural pink lip, she imagined the world outside would take less kindly to her bare face, she believed her husband's supposed enjoyment of it to be little more than novelty and curiosity anyways.
She looked prettier than she had before, she might have amounted that to having access to the world's best in just about everything and her pregnancy glow.
Then there was her body, wrapped in couture, her grey coat perfectly draped over her figure, accentuating her breasts and nipped at the waist. She had filled out since she met Viktor, but she hadn't gained more weight since she found out she was pregnant, she owed that to the sheer amount of walking she was doing to get from one part of the castle to the other. Like her bare face, she imagined that any preference Viktor proclaimed for her body now amounted to novelty and curiosity.
She felt as though she had lost time with Viktor, like there should have been years in between the night they went to the opera and the day she found out she was pregnant. There should have been hundreds of outings where she looked irresistible to him, where she could look at her own reflection with less dissatisfaction than she did now. There should have been hundreds of nights where he did what he wanted with her, things he wouldn't do now with her being pregnant.
The likelihood he might look elsewhere for such things was a fear starting to take root into her mind.
"Klara, we're getting ready to land." Viktor came in.
Klara stared at him silently for a moment, taking him in, every feature of his fresh to her perception, but his eyes especially.
Unlike her, he looked older and more out of sorts since she met him. His excessive drinking, the current burdens put on him by the family, her . She hadn't fully considered what was happening to him until now, more focused on her own situation and what he had inflicted on her so far.
"Okay." Was the only thing Klara said, recalling something he told her.
And, unfortunately, when it comes to the line of succession, my family will be very dangerous.
He was the only thing between her and death, or worse.
Whatever would happen to him would happen to her.
Looking into her husband's eyes, she chose a side, and it was his.
Upon landing, they exited the plane. Klara felt nostalgia for her short lived stint in Seattle, the Portland air familiarly cool and crisp, gentle wind blew through her hair. Waiting for them was a man with grey hair, and a few men in hi-vis vests blocking the plane's tires.
"How did it go?" Rispoli asked the man in German.
"Badly." Steward replied.
"Where's the child?"
Klara separated from the group of men when she saw Ellie walking out from the terminal, escorted by a member of the Verrat.
"Your highness." Ellie greeted sweetly with a low curtsey.
"How was your flight?" Klara asked.
"It was good, and yours?"
"Wonderful." Klara felt awkward talking to Ellie, her profession still strange and disconcerting to her.
"Would you like me to put that in the limo for you?" Ellie gestured at the carseat.
"Yes, thank you." Klara hadn't noticed the limo before now. She handed Ellie the carseat, looking back at her husband as Ellie installed the carseat. Klara was anxious, but also excited for things to start settling down.
"We have a place for you on the plane." Klara told Ellie. "The seats fold back and there's a blanket in a compartment under the seat. I'm not sure how long this engagement will take, so don't hesitate to tell our chef to cook something for you."
"Thank you, your highness. Is there anything you'd like me to do while you're gone?"
"No, I have most of the baby things organized."
Ellie gave Klara a small curtsey before entering the plane, the Verrat guard she came with following her. Klara returned to her husband, who had just finished his debriefing with Steward.
"Klara, this is Agent Steward." Viktor said, introducing her to the grey haired man, who seemed undoubtedly anxious.
"Your highness." Weston spoke in deference, bowing his head.
"It's nice to meet you." Klara was generally uninterested in the man. She was increasingly harder to surprise, and her royal husband having a man in the FBI to do his bidding was the least insane part of this entire trip.
It vindicated her ex, he was probably more right than he realized about royal influence. Klara didn't like that she was reminded of her ex whenever her husband did something conspiratorial.
He'd hate me now. Klara thought. He'd hate everything from my wedding ring to my designer heels. He'd hate my dresses and what I ate for dinner last night and the fact my baby makes me hungrier for planet-destroying meat. He'd hate my husband's affect, the way he got whatever he wanted no matter who it hurt, and the way he fucks me in such a way that I'm starting to care less about how I ended up with him on top of me most nights.
They all stepped into the limo, a group of Verrat followed in a black car behind them. Klara dug her fingernails into her palms and nervously looked out the window throughout the drive.
"So this is where the baby is?" Rispoli asked, looking at Steward somewhat incredulously with the note of the supposed address in his hand.
"Yeah." Steward replied weakly. Rispoli handed the note to Viktor.
"You've been here, I assume."
"It's an old warehouse."
"And?" Rispoli pried the agent for more details.
"And? It's a good place to get ambushed."
"Why are they trusting you to do this?" Viktor questioned, after Weston's previous failures, and the fact that Weston got caught, he had reason to question.
"If I don't, I'm to be charged with the attempted assassination of Captain Renard. They can link me to the two Verrat who were killed."
"Well, you're in a bit of a tough spot, aren't you?" The slight hint of mocking in Viktor's voice made the federal agent's heart race.
"I hope not, I've been loyal to the crown." Weston said with all the composure he could muster, it wasn't enough."
"We won't forget."
Klara looked away from the window and at her husband, something told Klara that any protection offered by the family had just been quietly rescinded.
Looking at Weston made her feel like she was looking at a corpse.
"So... I suggest we go right to the source." Viktor said cryptically, Klara didn't understand, but the other two men did, and even Rispoli, ever calm and collected Rispoli, seemed anxious for just a split second.
"Viktor, where are we going?" Klara asked.
"The police precinct." Klara looked at him like he was crazy. "Don't worry, my dear, Renard wouldn't dare." Viktor reassured his anxious wife. "We'll be back in Austria as soon as we came here."
Klara's anxieties weren't put to rest, but she hoped he was right.
Meanwhile, at the precinct, Nick Burkhardt and Hank Griffin were analyzing the photos Hank took of the royals at the airport.
"That's our fed." Nick said, standing over the desk with fixed concentration.
"Which one's the prince?" Hank asked.
"I'm not sure what a prince looks like." Nick replied. Hank let out a laugh before his expression instantly dropped.
"I think I have a pretty good idea." Hank subtly pointing towards Viktor and Klara making their entrance arm-in-arm, followed by a handful of Verrat. Viktor had an authoritative air about him that quieted the room, reminding Nick of Sean's strong air of authority, maybe it really was genetic.
The prince's wife, however, was noticeable for a different reason. Besides the fact she was well dressed, attractive, and much younger than her husband, she regarded her surroundings with unfamiliarity, unlike her husband who had strode in as if he owned the place. Klara was offered a seat by one of the officers when Viktor went in to do his business with Sean.
Nick watched Officer Wu ask the princess if she wanted coffee and she politely declined, thanking him, noticing that she placed her hand on her belly almost defensively. Her apprehensive demeanor made Nick nervous, he imagined she knew things he didn't about what was about to go down. She was trying to keep her composure, she might have been more convincing if he wasn't a detective.
Meanwhile, in Captain Renard's office, the two princes stared at each other for a bit, sizing each other up, wondering if they could kill the other and be done with it.
"Welcome to Portland." Sean finally spoke after a terse silence.
"Thanks for having me." Viktor replied.
"I assumed you would call."
"I was going to, but then I thought 'what if somebody, say a relative, decided to ambush me in a deserted warehouse?'" Viktor didn't hide his contempt or suspicion of his bastard cousin, every word he said was intended as a barb. "It did happen to one of our cousins, as you may recall. To date, no one has been brought to justice for that crime, much like cousin Eric's death."
Sean said nothing, recalling when he killed Anton, staring down his royal cousin with sharp green eyes and a cold expression.
"Hexenbiest got your tongue?" Viktor quipped.
"You're not getting my child." Sean's voice soft, but threatening.
"The child will be given a very good home, raised as royalty, as it should be." Viktor spoke matter of factly. "The child belongs with the family, particularly this child." He covertly brought up the wesen nature of the child.
"Who's the woman?" Sean asked, nodding towards where Klara was seated. He already knew.
"My wife." Viktor said, unable to hide the pride in his voice.
"Congratulations." Sean actually meant it, hoping he could use it to appeal to his cousin.
"Thank you, cousin." Viktor replied more out of politeness than anything.
"You wouldn't have married a woman, especially an American woman, if she wasn't pregnant. You don't need my child anymore, so why are you here?"
"I still have orders from the king, it's not wise to only have children from one line." Viktor replied plainly.
"You know that my father will kill you, your wife, and any children you have with her so my child can ascend the throne."
Yes, Viktor did know that.
"I never expected you to be so concerned, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." Viktor's tone was even, he already knew Sean would try to dissuade him from his mission using his wife and unborn child.
"The bridge is here. Neither of us want Diana in the family. I'm giving you a chance to secure the throne, work with me."
"I have no assurances from you." Viktor spoke truthfully, not trusting the king's bastard as far as he could throw him.
"You have no assurances from the king either."
"I can bide my time with the king."
"You might be able to, but can your wife?" Sean asked poignantly. "Your wife won't survive in our world." Sean told Viktor.
"I don't intend for her to interact too much with our world. She's generally good natured, I want her to stay that way."
"I'm surprised to hear you say that. I wonder what Moira will think of her."
That struck a nerve. Fury flashed in Viktor's blue eyes for just a moment. He stepped closer.
"If you don't deliver the child in the next two hours, I'll order your death, the death of Adalind, and the death of your mother." Viktor lowered his voice, tone venomous. "I know where she lives. The question is, are you willing to put the child first? Or are you going to live on the run for the rest of your life, which I promise you will not be very long." His voice still lowering, honestly becoming frightening, he could see it affected Sean, his steely expression briefly faltering.
Viktor exited Renard's office, smiling at his wife as though he hadn't just threatened his cousin with death.
"Two hours and we'll have the child." Viktor whispered to his wife.
"Viktor? Did you even find out anything about the baby?" Klara whispered back. All it took was an exchange of looks to confirm that he hadn't. "I'll do it myself." Klara's exasperation audible, rising from her seat and striding into Captain Renard's office.
Sean regarded her with a curiosity when she entered his office. She may have been common and American, but she had the walk and the posture down to an art.
"I need to know what medical care your daughter has had and anything else important." She wasn't asking, another quality of royal women.
"Well, your highness." Sean said mockingly. "You seem confident your husband will be able to kidnap my daughter." Klara's eyes narrowed into slits.
"I don't know much about this royalty and wesen conflict and I really don't care." Klara, tired and impatient, snapped at him as though he wasn't a 6'4 Zauberbiest who could effortlessly rip her throat out if he felt like it. "What matters to me right now is the health of your baby." Though she had an air of confidence to her voice, Sean could see Klara's shame and sincerity in her eyes, she really was new to the family.
"Diana has received no medical care yet, but she recently had a fever." Sean relented, if the worst case scenario transpired, it was for the best that she knew.
"Thank you." Klara said, thinking that Diana was a pretty name, an ironic name.
"Do you think that will be enough to keep your conscience clear, your highness?" Renard asked her, his bright green eyes cutting as he stared her down.
"This wouldn't be the first crime I've committed for the family." Klara's tone was bitten with venom, thinking back to that first day she met Viktor, thinking back to how she exposed a treasonous plot that a moral person would have ignored and allowed to transpire.
"No, I imagine it wouldn't be." Sean was clearly amused.
"I guess I'll see you in two hours." Klara ended the conversation before leaving the police captain's office, shocked at her sudden burst of bravery (more like annoyance.)
The royal party left the precinct back to their respective vehicles, Klara quietly told Viktor what she had learned.
"Her name is Diana, let's start off with that." Klara said with a sardonic laugh. "She'll be needing medical care as soon as possible, she hasn't had any and poor thing had a fever."
"That'll be the first thing we get taken care of when we land in Austria."
When they approached the limo, Weston and Rispoli were waiting outside
"How did it go?" Rispoli asked.
"He has very few options, none, to be exact." Viktor told him. Klara took an opportunity to sneak into the limo, it was too cold out for her to be interested in what they were saying.
"Something still bothers me." Viktor added.
"What?"
"This woman who's with the grimm and Renard? Who is she? Why was she there?" Viktor asked Weston.
"She didn't say much."
"What did she say?"
"That they should kill me."
"More aggressive than the men, that's interesting." Viktor said, trying to think of the sort of woman whose aggression would outshine that of Renard or Burkhardt. He continued to think on it when he and the rest went back into the limo.
Klara spent the duration of the two hours waiting anxiously, and mostly silently. Viktor wasn't offering her much in the way of affection or comfort.
Klara caught sight of Sean walking out with the baby, bundled up in a blue-green knit blanket. She touched Viktor's arm to get his attention, but he already noticed it.
The doorman let the two of them out, they stood side by side. Viktor and Sean stared each other down, Klara started digging her fingernails into her palm again. She heard the baby coo, her heart breaking at Renard's pained expression as he reluctantly handed Diana to her husband.
Viktor looked upon the child tenderly, she was playing with a locket. Viktor handed the baby to Klara, who stepped back into the limo, Sean watched as the princess undid Diana's loose swaddle and buckled the little one in her carseat, tucking the knitted blanket under her arms.
All had been quiet during the drive back to the airport with the exception of Rispoli answering a phone call, little Diana had even fallen asleep.
But when she woke up, strange things started happening.
Klara had been filled in that she was kidnapping a magic baby, but it hadn't really sunk in until two violet eyes were pinpointed at her husband in a glare one wouldn't expect from a baby.
Viktor reached for the opened locket, which snapped shut. Viktor didn't think much of the baby's magical abilities until a strange sizzling came from the front of the limo.
The lid to a coffee cup popped open of its own accord, hot steam rose from it, and so did the coffee itself. The liquid swirled in the air before forming into the shape of a skull, a steaming coffee skull before the coffee not only evaporated, but entirely disappeared.
Everyone in the limo gave each other a look as though to confirm they all had seen that and weren't going absolutely insane.
Viktor and Klara quickly swapped places, which seemed to calm the baby.
"You poor thing." Klara cooed to the violet eyed child. Viktor scoffed, the baby basically gave him a magical death threat and here his wife was feeling bad for the hexenbaby. "Don't you mind your mean old Uncle Viktor. As much of a big meanie as he is, I do need you to keep him alive so your cousin has their daddy around."
"Are you done yet?" Viktor glared, Klara glared back.
"Viktor, I'm trying to get a magic baby I helped kidnap to not kill us all. Please do not make this harder, or weirder , than it already is."
Viktor said nothing, electing to just watch Klara soothe the baby. He about jumped out of his seat, ready to throttle the little monstrosity when Diana reached out and grabbed a lock of Klara's hair, there was a glow emanating from the baby's little fist, the only thing that stopped him was when he heard Klara giggle.
"What is she doing?" Viktor asked, just waiting for an excuse to get rid of her.
"I don't know." Klara felt comfortable enough to offer the baby her index finger, as though Diana had lured her into a trance. When Diana's little hand wrapped around Klara's finger, Klara giggled and cooed at the child, looking at her with less anxiety and more softness behind her eyes. The same soft glow bloomed across her belly. "I think she knows I'm pregnant." Klara was amazed at the child's incredible abilities.
Viktor hid his awe of just how powerful the child was already, and he tried to remain annoyed at the child, but he couldn't help but just watch how his wife interacted with Diana.
As the limo approached the airport, Klara fished around in her bag until she found a baby pink pacifier, it'd help with the pressure in Diana's little ears while flying.
"You're going to meet a nice lady named Ellie." Klara told Diana when she gave her the pacifier. "And when we get back to Austria you're going to meet Ingrid too."
When the limo pulled up to the plane, multiple people dressed in black, their faces obscured, surrounded them and pointed firearms at them.
"Out of the vehicle! Get out of the car! Down on the ground!" One yelled in German, others forcing the Verrat down on their knees.
Rispoli tried to reach for his own firearm, but was swiftly knocked to the ground.
"Give us the baby!" The same one speaking German continued, pointing a gun in Klara's face as she held on to the carseat. "Give us the baby!"
"You have no idea who you're dealing with." Viktor put himself between Klara and the masked gunman.
"Do you think The Resistance cares?"
"Klara, hand them the baby." Viktor said firmly.
"Viktor, are you crazy?" Klara shouted, her eyes hadn't left the gunman, not even blinking, she couldn't do anything but stare.
"They won't harm the baby but they will harm you, now for God's sake, give them the baby!"
Klara was petrified, unable to do anything, so Viktor took it upon himself to take the carseat from her and handed it over, she was going to get them both killed.
Viktor ushered a sobbing Klara onto the plane, she didn't resist him physically, but she wouldn't move of her own accord. She kept looking back, watching as the people who took Diana stole the limo she had been in earlier, driving off.
Klara couldn't fully process what had just happened. She wouldn't stop crying, Viktor couldn't get her calmed down. He brought her back to the bedroom on the plane, he undressed her, putting her in those comfortable pajamas she wore earlier. He laid her down in bed, she barely seemed present, she hadn't said anything to him. He didn't immediately join her, he just stood over and stared, not knowing what to do.
The last thing he had expected was for her to slap him across the face when he eventually did try to lay down with her.
She didn't say anything to him, she didn't curse him for his failures, for putting her in danger, she wasn't sound of mind enough for that. She just kept crying.
Viktor joined the others seated on the plane. He saw Rispoli filling in Ellie on what happened to Klara, Ellie looking incredibly concerned, wanting to help until she saw the crown prince exit his private bedroom with a bright red handprint across his cheek.
This would only be the beginning of Viktor's troubles for losing Diana.