p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"Ch.2: House of the Rising Son/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center" /p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt was midnight, as Marcel watched at the compound, his vampires feed on the humans. That's when one of his few inner circle that Klaus hadn't already killed came up to him, informing, "Six of our guys were killed in a bar outside of the Quarter. Nightwalkers. No one saw who."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWhile Marcel and one of his vampires were having a chat about their situation, Rebekah had just come into the Quarter, heading towards the plantation house, since she hadn't been able to get a hold of Elijah. Since Elijah had come to help Klaus out, she figured Klaus had most likely daggered him or something, so she was showing up to find out what had happened./p
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAbout half an hour later, she pulled up to the plantation house and went inside, closing the door behind herself. She didn't know what she was walking in on, but she never truly really knew with her family, so it wasn't really a surprise anymore what any of them did. Or were planning on doing. She then began walking and yelling at the same time./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Klaus! Get out here and tell me what you've done to our brother, you narcissistic, back-stabbing wanker!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe opened the double doors to the study room./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Enough with all the shouting!" Then he approached her, as he added, "Little Sister. I should have known." Since news traveled fast in a town of vampires, he already knew about the six dead vampires in a bar, so he added, "I assume the six dead vampires were your doing."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"They were very rude," she defended. "Trying to victimize a poor, innocent girl just trying to find her way to the quarter." She then added, "So sorry. Were they friends of yours?" She gave a smile and added, "Oh, that's right. You don't have any friends."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I do have friends," he reminded her. "You remember Marcel, don't you? He fancies himself the king of the Quarter now, and he has these rules about killing vampires. It'll be fun to see what sort of punishment he comes up with for you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I don't care about Marcel or his rules," she replied. "What did you do to Elijah?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanKlaus sat on a corner of a nearby hallway table./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Perhaps he's on Holiday, or taking a long autumn nap upstairs," he replied. "Well, go on. You remember this house as well as I."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I remember everything," she reminded him. "Now, where's Elijah?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe sighed, knowing that she wasn't going to give up until she knew what he'd done to Elijah, so he had no choice if he didn't want her taking everything apart to find Elijah. It was well known that Elijah was her favorite out of the two of them./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Fine. I daggered him to get him out of my way to break apart what Marcel has taken from us," he informed her, before adding, "Welcome home, Little Sister." Then he left the house, leaving her by herself./p
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanLater that night, he was continuing his search of what weapon was keeping the witches under control, which led him to some more torturing of vampires. This time, just one vampire. After some torturing and interrogation, he learned that there was a teenage witch under Marcel's thumb, which kept the witches in line./p
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanCaroline Forbes had arrived not too long ago. She was trying to track down Klaus, when she got bombarded by a couple vampires./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You're a new face," one stated./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"We don't usually get any new faces in the form of vampires. What are you doing in the Quarter?" the other inquired of her./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"None of your business," she replied./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Well, you can either tell us and we'll get out of your business, or we'll take you to Marcel and you can tell him. It's up to you," the first one stated to her./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I don't know who Marcel is, but I don't allow strangers to tell me what to do, so how about you go back where you came from, and leave me alone," she growled at them./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Sorry, but that's not how the rules work here," one of them stated./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe was anticipating a fight, but suddenly, both of them dropped dead, when someone ripped out their hearts and then dropped them. The one person she'd been looking for./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You, Sweet Caroline, are far from home," he greeted. "What are you doing here? This isn't the time or place for you right now," he then added./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe was instantly in front of her./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I decided to take you up on your offer, but I didn't know where to go. And I wanted to surprise you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Well, I assure you, you surprised me. However, this whole Quarter is a warzone. You can't just be in the Quarter like this. And I just killed two more of Marcel's vampires, and he has rules. I'll explain everything to you, but right now, we need to get out of here."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAfter she agreed with him, they headed to the plantation house, where she then parked her car not far from Rebekah's. He then opened the front door for her and they both came inside./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"If you'd like, there are plenty of rooms upstairs. And we have a parlor if you need a drink of sorts," he informed her./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Thank you," she replied. "And thank you for what you did."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Well, I couldn't allow anything to happen to you, war or not," he replied./p
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p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe next day, he walked into her room that had the door half way open, where she was by the window, already dressed and ready for the day. That's when she looked to see him./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"So, are you going to tell me what I walked in on now?" she inquired of him./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe went to stand by her./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Marcel is a vampire I sired a long time ago. I raised him like a son. I taught him everything he knows. However, he also learned a few tricks that I didn't know back then. How to have true friends and loyalty from people around you. You taught me that. When I first met Marcel, he was nothing but a slave boy. I saw that he had the potential to be a warrior, and I chose to save him. I saw myself in Marcel. The way I saw he was treated as a boy…it reminded me of how my father beat me. Marcel is king of the Quarter now, but he didn't create any of this. My siblings and I created all of New Orleans. When we fled a hundred years ago, we were running from Mikael. I was careless, blaming the dead on the witches, and the dead bodies gave Mikael a trail that led him to us. We thought Marcel had perished, and we each grieved in our own way. This war I have with Marcel…my goal is to get back what he stole from us. The compound is rightfully our home. Not his. And that 'M' he stamps everywhere. That's not his, either. It doesn't stand for Marcel. It stands for Mikaelson. He has taken everything that we built here, and he's pretending that it's all his. I found out what's helping him control the witches, keeping them from doing magic. It's another witch. Now, it's time I figure out where he's keeping her," he explained and informed her. Then he added, "I'd like you to stay here. Marcel may act friendly, but he'll do anything to figure out what kind of weaknesses I have as long as our war remains. You'll have your chance to fight alongside us when the time comes, but for now, I want you safe."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWhen Klaus told her everything, she couldn't stop but to think that it was similar to what she'd heard about Katherine and Damon. After all, she'd heard so long ago that Katherine had made Damon in her image. And when he told her about everything else, she knew why Klaus felt the need to take everything back. She also felt more sorry for him than she had before. She knew Mikael had the ability to be a nightmare for anyone, but she hadn't known how vicious he actually could be./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I won't stop you from doing this. I can guess how much you need it back. Just be careful. And I'm sorry that I came at such wrong timing for you," she replied to him./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You couldn't have known, Caroline. I'm just glad that you're safe. And I intend to keep you safe as long as I can."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I know you want to protect me and all, but I can usually take care of myself. The least I can do is help you find out where the witch is that you're looking for," she replied and offered. She wanted to help, and this seemed to be the only thing she could actually help with./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'd normally say no, but as I've learned throughout these past few years, I can't tell you what to do, because you'll just go off on your own and do it anyways. If you insist on helping me, you can bring Rebekah with you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What about Elijah?" she inquired, since Rebekah had never been fond of her much./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Elijah is daggered until this war is over. I needed him to stay out of this war, or he'd end up probably messing up my plan to dismantle Marcel's empire. You'll have to settle with Rebekah. Don't worry. She'll protect you," he informed her, since he was never one to lie to her./p
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p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAlmost as soon as Klaus had gone to continue with his plan, Caroline had gone off to find the witch, Rebekah having no choice but to tagalong with her. And it didn't take long to find out that the witch's name was Davina, she was a teenage witch, and she had more power than either of them had ever felt before./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center" /p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt was midnight, as Marcel watched at the compound, his vampires feed on the humans. That's when one of his few inner circle that Klaus hadn't already killed came up to him, informing, "Six of our guys were killed in a bar outside of the Quarter. Nightwalkers. No one saw who."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWhile Marcel and one of his vampires were having a chat about their situation, Rebekah had just come into the Quarter, heading towards the plantation house, since she hadn't been able to get a hold of Elijah. Since Elijah had come to help Klaus out, she figured Klaus had most likely daggered him or something, so she was showing up to find out what had happened./p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAbout half an hour later, she pulled up to the plantation house and went inside, closing the door behind herself. She didn't know what she was walking in on, but she never truly really knew with her family, so it wasn't really a surprise anymore what any of them did. Or were planning on doing. She then began walking and yelling at the same time./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Klaus! Get out here and tell me what you've done to our brother, you narcissistic, back-stabbing wanker!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe opened the double doors to the study room./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Enough with all the shouting!" Then he approached her, as he added, "Little Sister. I should have known." Since news traveled fast in a town of vampires, he already knew about the six dead vampires in a bar, so he added, "I assume the six dead vampires were your doing."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"They were very rude," she defended. "Trying to victimize a poor, innocent girl just trying to find her way to the quarter." She then added, "So sorry. Were they friends of yours?" She gave a smile and added, "Oh, that's right. You don't have any friends."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I do have friends," he reminded her. "You remember Marcel, don't you? He fancies himself the king of the Quarter now, and he has these rules about killing vampires. It'll be fun to see what sort of punishment he comes up with for you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I don't care about Marcel or his rules," she replied. "What did you do to Elijah?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanKlaus sat on a corner of a nearby hallway table./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Perhaps he's on Holiday, or taking a long autumn nap upstairs," he replied. "Well, go on. You remember this house as well as I."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I remember everything," she reminded him. "Now, where's Elijah?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe sighed, knowing that she wasn't going to give up until she knew what he'd done to Elijah, so he had no choice if he didn't want her taking everything apart to find Elijah. It was well known that Elijah was her favorite out of the two of them./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Fine. I daggered him to get him out of my way to break apart what Marcel has taken from us," he informed her, before adding, "Welcome home, Little Sister." Then he left the house, leaving her by herself./p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanLater that night, he was continuing his search of what weapon was keeping the witches under control, which led him to some more torturing of vampires. This time, just one vampire. After some torturing and interrogation, he learned that there was a teenage witch under Marcel's thumb, which kept the witches in line./p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanCaroline Forbes had arrived not too long ago. She was trying to track down Klaus, when she got bombarded by a couple vampires./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You're a new face," one stated./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"We don't usually get any new faces in the form of vampires. What are you doing in the Quarter?" the other inquired of her./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"None of your business," she replied./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Well, you can either tell us and we'll get out of your business, or we'll take you to Marcel and you can tell him. It's up to you," the first one stated to her./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I don't know who Marcel is, but I don't allow strangers to tell me what to do, so how about you go back where you came from, and leave me alone," she growled at them./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Sorry, but that's not how the rules work here," one of them stated./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe was anticipating a fight, but suddenly, both of them dropped dead, when someone ripped out their hearts and then dropped them. The one person she'd been looking for./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You, Sweet Caroline, are far from home," he greeted. "What are you doing here? This isn't the time or place for you right now," he then added./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe was instantly in front of her./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I decided to take you up on your offer, but I didn't know where to go. And I wanted to surprise you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Well, I assure you, you surprised me. However, this whole Quarter is a warzone. You can't just be in the Quarter like this. And I just killed two more of Marcel's vampires, and he has rules. I'll explain everything to you, but right now, we need to get out of here."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAfter she agreed with him, they headed to the plantation house, where she then parked her car not far from Rebekah's. He then opened the front door for her and they both came inside./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"If you'd like, there are plenty of rooms upstairs. And we have a parlor if you need a drink of sorts," he informed her./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Thank you," she replied. "And thank you for what you did."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Well, I couldn't allow anything to happen to you, war or not," he replied./p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe next day, he walked into her room that had the door half way open, where she was by the window, already dressed and ready for the day. That's when she looked to see him./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"So, are you going to tell me what I walked in on now?" she inquired of him./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe went to stand by her./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Marcel is a vampire I sired a long time ago. I raised him like a son. I taught him everything he knows. However, he also learned a few tricks that I didn't know back then. How to have true friends and loyalty from people around you. You taught me that. When I first met Marcel, he was nothing but a slave boy. I saw that he had the potential to be a warrior, and I chose to save him. I saw myself in Marcel. The way I saw he was treated as a boy…it reminded me of how my father beat me. Marcel is king of the Quarter now, but he didn't create any of this. My siblings and I created all of New Orleans. When we fled a hundred years ago, we were running from Mikael. I was careless, blaming the dead on the witches, and the dead bodies gave Mikael a trail that led him to us. We thought Marcel had perished, and we each grieved in our own way. This war I have with Marcel…my goal is to get back what he stole from us. The compound is rightfully our home. Not his. And that 'M' he stamps everywhere. That's not his, either. It doesn't stand for Marcel. It stands for Mikaelson. He has taken everything that we built here, and he's pretending that it's all his. I found out what's helping him control the witches, keeping them from doing magic. It's another witch. Now, it's time I figure out where he's keeping her," he explained and informed her. Then he added, "I'd like you to stay here. Marcel may act friendly, but he'll do anything to figure out what kind of weaknesses I have as long as our war remains. You'll have your chance to fight alongside us when the time comes, but for now, I want you safe."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWhen Klaus told her everything, she couldn't stop but to think that it was similar to what she'd heard about Katherine and Damon. After all, she'd heard so long ago that Katherine had made Damon in her image. And when he told her about everything else, she knew why Klaus felt the need to take everything back. She also felt more sorry for him than she had before. She knew Mikael had the ability to be a nightmare for anyone, but she hadn't known how vicious he actually could be./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I won't stop you from doing this. I can guess how much you need it back. Just be careful. And I'm sorry that I came at such wrong timing for you," she replied to him./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You couldn't have known, Caroline. I'm just glad that you're safe. And I intend to keep you safe as long as I can."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I know you want to protect me and all, but I can usually take care of myself. The least I can do is help you find out where the witch is that you're looking for," she replied and offered. She wanted to help, and this seemed to be the only thing she could actually help with./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'd normally say no, but as I've learned throughout these past few years, I can't tell you what to do, because you'll just go off on your own and do it anyways. If you insist on helping me, you can bring Rebekah with you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What about Elijah?" she inquired, since Rebekah had never been fond of her much./p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Elijah is daggered until this war is over. I needed him to stay out of this war, or he'd end up probably messing up my plan to dismantle Marcel's empire. You'll have to settle with Rebekah. Don't worry. She'll protect you," he informed her, since he was never one to lie to her./p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAlmost as soon as Klaus had gone to continue with his plan, Caroline had gone off to find the witch, Rebekah having no choice but to tagalong with her. And it didn't take long to find out that the witch's name was Davina, she was a teenage witch, and she had more power than either of them had ever felt before./p