[4x20; The Originals + 1x01; Always and Forever]
[Warning: The ending of this chapter made me cry while writing it, so…Good luck.]
June 16, 2011
Her nerves shot, Lucy bit her lip as she stared out of the windows that faced the driveway in Stefan's room. He'd been gone too long. He was supposed to dump Silas' body in the quarry and then come back, which should have been only an hour, tops. It had been six hours—six hours and he still wasn't home.
He hadn't answered her calls or the messages she had sent and that wasn't like Stefan. Sure, when she bombarded him with texts, he didn't bother to answer them but he would call her instead—yes, her guy was that kind of old man but she kind of thought it was adorable. But he hadn't called.
So, there had to be only one thing that happened. Stefan was dead.
God, the thought of Stefan being dead broke her heart—it physically pained her; she had to grab one of the chairs near the window so she wouldn't collapse as tears came to her eyes—but he would have called her by now. He would have. They weren't one of those unhealthy couples who had to be together all the time but they still checked in most of the time.
Her hands shook as she grabbed her phone and called Stefan again. The line rang and rang and just before his voicemail picked up, he answered.
"Hello?"
His tone gave off the vibe that he was severely annoyed.
"Stefan, thank God you answered," she sighed in relief, though she didn't appreciate his tone. Here she was, worried that he had died, and he was annoyed with her?
"Luc—Lucy," Stefan sighed, the annoyance leaving his voice. "Right. I'm sorry. It took a little longer than expected."
Longer than expected? A half-hour was longer than expected; Steven's Quarry was literally just outside of town limits. "Really? Did something happen?"
"No, no," he said hurriedly. "Silas' body is deep in the quarry."
Lucy sighed in relief. "That's good. Are you on your way home now?" the few seconds of silence on his part made her heart tick nervously. "Stefan?"
"I'm not coming home."
Lucy's stomach whirled as she blinked rapidly, slightly in shock. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that I'm not coming home," Stefan said slowly, though it didn't sound as if he was trying to make her feel stupid. "I have to do something this summer. Alone."
"Alone? Stefan, you just proposed. Now you're saying you want to be alone?"
Lucy just couldn't believe it. He had been so excited when she said she'd be his wife. Why was he all of a sudden acting like he needed space? If anything, it seemed like he wanted anything but space earlier.
When Stefan spoke, his voice was tense. "Lucy, I just want a couple months to myself. I'll be back soon, I'm sure. Lexi wanted me to do a couple of things in her name."
Lucy furrowed her eyebrows; when Lexi first died, Stefan had gone on a trip in her name and he have grieved his best friend. It was sweet of him, so it wasn't out of left field that he would be doing so again—especially because he and Lexi had spent the whole previous day with each other—but she didn't understand why he was going alone. She would have come with him for support.
She went to reply but Stefan spoke again, "I have to go, Lucy—"
"Wait, wait, wait," she hurried, her eyes glazing over with tears. "Stefan, I—"
"I think it would be best if we didn't contact each other for a while. I heard distance makes the heart grow fonder."
"What?"
"Bye, Lucy. I love you."
"Stefan, wait—"
The call ended, the dial tone taunting her ears.
She stared down at her phone in shock. She was confused, rightfully so. Stefan proposed to her, dropped Silas' body in the quarry, took six hours to do so, and now he wanted space for a whole summer with no contact? It was so bizarre.
And, honestly, that didn't sound like Stefan. Distance makes the heart grow fonder. What kind of fifth grade sappy bullshit was that? Sometimes Stefan was sappy but not that sappy and he always seemed to be happy by her side.
Something wasn't right. Something was wrong with Stefan.
July 20, 2011
"You're brooding and it's annoying."
Lucy narrowed her eyes and pulled the throw pillow away from her face, whipping it at Klaus without a word. Klaus simply caught the pillow and smirked at her before throwing it back, hitting her in the face.
"Nik, stop!"
"Don't whine, love, it's unbecoming."
"You're unbecoming."
"What a nice thing to say to your favorite big brother," Klaus drawled, a smile twisting his lips as he watched as Lucy huffed and threw the pillow off her face in order to sit up on the couch.
"I don't have favorites."
"You and I both know that's not true," Klaus chuckled before settling himself, knowing that the reason she was brooding so much was something that wasn't funny. "Have you any leads on the youngest Salvatore?"
"No," Lucy sighed heavily, her chest feeling heavy. "Liz was unable to trace the call he made that day, the plates were changed on the SUV, location spells aren't working, and my letters aren't getting to him."
In the three weeks or so since Stefan called her for some space, she had been working like crazy to find him. She had gotten past the point of hurt and had come to her senses. One, Stefan didn't sound like himself during that phone call; the words, phrases, and tone of voice were all off. Two, Lucy was secure in Stefan's love for her. He proposed to her, for crying out loud. Why would he want alone time and say it was because of Lexi when she knew Lexi wouldn't have minded if she did travel with him. In fact, she would probably encourage it.
So, that left Lucy with three theories of what was going on. Silas had made friends before he was calcified by Bonnie and they were getting their revenge on Stefan; witches had taken Stefan and put some sort of magic on him, which is a probable theory because her location spells were blocked when it came to him and her letters wouldn't go to him; and Silas somehow came back to life and was keeping Stefan with him, torturing him as he went.
Honestly, she was favoring the witch theory. Silas seemed like the kind of guy who wouldn't make friends and she couldn't think of a way that Silas was able to break Bonnie's spell.
"Are you thinking magic?"
"Yeah, I think so."
Klaus was quiet for a moment, something that Lucy was pretty sure she had never seen. She stared at him expectantly and when he finally did speak, the words that came out of his mouth left her confused.
"Come with me to New Orleans."
She quirked an eyebrow at him. "How is a trip to New Orleans going to help me?"
"There are plenty of witches there, maybe they can help if they're not too judgmental," Klaus jumped up from the couch across from Lucy and got himself a drink from the bar. "Besides, your sister sent me a letter?"
"Mmm…Bekah, Kit, or Elena?"
"Katerina."
Lucy pursed her lips, unable to connect a letter from Katherine to New Orleans. "And what did she write in this letter?"
"A warning," Klaus drank the whiskey he had poured in one long gulp. "She told me that there's a witch that's plotting against me in New Orleans."
"She warned you about it?" why would Katherine do that? She wasn't exactly one to be on Klaus' sider—or anywhere near him, really. "Was it a peace offering or something?"
"I suppose. The point is, I'm going tomorrow. You should come with me."
"I don't know," Lucy shook her head. "I have to help Jeremy settle in and he's not exactly comfortable at the Boarding House."
The night of graduation, Bonnie successfully resurrected Jeremy from the Other Side. It was a blessing to have her youngest brother alive and in arms reach again and she had sworn that she would protect him with all she was. He was having a hard time adjusting to not living in their house, having to live in Damon and Elena's love nest—Joel wasn't so happy about it either—and soon he would be going back to school, which was the worst of it.
Joel and Elena had come up with a story to cover up Jeremy's death and was claiming that he was troubled and he had burnt down their house and faked his death for attention. Lucy didn't like the story at all because it put the blame of their destroyed house on Jeremy—which was very clearly Elena's fault, but God forbid if she took responsibility for her actions—and set Jeremy up for bullying and being stared at like a freak. She had suggested that he go to school at Grove Hill, which ten or so minutes away from Whitmore, where Elena was going to be in the fall, and Jeremy had agreed with her but they were shut down by the oldest siblings.
All summer her worry had been spilt between her baby brother and her fiancé. At least she could help Jeremy; Stefan was another story.
"Jeremy will be fine for a couple of days," Klaus assured her. "If anything, come so you can stop stressing about everything. It's not healthy."
"Please tell me you're not lecturing me on what's healthy, Niklaus."
"I would never, little sister."
July 21, 2011
New Orleans was a very charming place. Lucy had never been before and because Klaus had literally helped build a little town into the city it was today, he knew all of the interesting information that basic tours wouldn't be able to provide.
He told her how he, Elijah, Rebekah, Kol, and Finn—the last two being in coffins—arrived in New Orleans back in the 1800s, when the town was just a little trading village. He explained how they had quickly assimilated and befriended the mayor and his family and after a couple of years, he met Marcel and brought him into the family. There were more stories, some sad—like when he daggered Rebekah because she and Marcel were having an affair—and some happy—like memories of bonding with Marcel and their siblings. Lucy listened with a tentative ear, wishing that she had been with them all that time ago.
When Klaus' tour was done, they went to one of the markets, where Klaus had assured her that there would be witches catering to tourists. They stopped once in a while to look at street art and paintings, wild masks and clothes, and Lucy even tried gumbo and beignets, which were absolutely and amazingly delicious.
Finally, after Lucy made sure there wasn't any powder sugar residue on her face, they went to the part of the market where the witches set up their booths. There was one witch in particular that Klaus had his eye on; she was an older woman with black sink and beautiful hair wrapped up in a colorful headscarf. There were a bunch of witchy artifacts on her table and when she saw the both of them headed in her direction, she started to pack up her things.
"Good afternoon," Klaus greeted her politely as he and Lucy took their seats in the two chairs on the other side of the table. "Time for two more?"
The woman did not look happy to see them—Lucy figured it was because of Klaus; she wasn't well known throughout the circuits. Well, she hoped that she wasn't. "I have nothing to say to you two."
Okay, maybe she did know about her.
"Oh, now, that's not very amiable, is it?" Klaus acted like he was hurt by her words. "You don't even know who we are."
"I know what you are. Half-vampire, half beast; the hybrid," her eyes flitted from Klaus to Lucy. "The reincarnation and half-vampire, half-witch; an abomination."
Lucy frowned at her. "That was rude."
"It was," Klaus agreed with her, his gaze noticeably hardening when he looked back at the woman. "and I'm the Original hybrid, actually, but that's a long story for another time. I'm looking for someone. A witch. Perhaps you might be able to help me find her."
The woman cocked her head curiously.
"Her name's Jane-Anne Deveraux," Lucy added, raising her eyebrows at the witch.
"Sorry, I don't know," the woman shook her head.
"Well, now, that's a fib, isn't it? What do you think, Luciana?"
"Considering that you know who we are," Lucy folded her arms across her chest as she continued to stare at the woman. "We know that you're the true witch. Everyone else? They here for the money. Now," she leaned forward and whispered, "I would stop with the lies. He has a temper. He'll throw a tantrum; I've seen him do it."
"Witches don't talk out of school in the Quarter," the witch said firmly. "The vampire won't allow it. Those are the rules. I don't break Marcel's rules."
"Marcel's rules?" Klaus asked slowly while Lucy look at him in shock, easily recognizing the name. "Where do you suppose I might find Marcel?"
My Bar—that was the literal name of the bar where Marcel was supposedly located—was very crowded and very enthusiastic. It must have been karaoke day—she wasn't surprised to see that bars were busy during the day; it was New Orleans, after all—and a vampire was up onstage, giving a great performance. Lucy recognized him from some of the drawings that Klaus had shown her before; he was the adopted Mikaelson, Marcel.
And Marcel was gorgeous. Those drawings did not do him justice—though that could have been because of the horrendous clothing they had back in the day.
"There he is," Klaus nodded at Marcel as he crooned into the microphone, giving all the ladies in the bar hungry eyes.
"He's beautiful," when Klaus gave her a disapproving look, she shrugged and defended herself, "What? It's true."
"You have a fiancé," he reminded her.
Her stomach sank at the mention of Stefan. She felt guilty that she was in New Orleans when she could be trying to track down Stefan but she had to remind herself that she was in the city to ask some of the local witches if they had anything that could help. Though, judging by the witch they had spoken to, it didn't seem like any of them would help her.
"I can still notice the attractiveness of other people, Niklaus."
"So, how like me now? How you like me now?" Marcel sang, earning himself cheers and whistles. "How you like me now?"
The song ended only a few seconds later; Marcel thanked the crowd and slid himself off of the stage, fist-bumping another guy and throwing back the drink that he had given him. It was after he put the empty glass back on the bar that Marcel noticed that they were there.
He didn't notice her but Lucy hadn't expected him too. He didn't know her but he knew Klaus. They engaged in a little stare down before he finally acknowledged his sire.
"Klaus."
"Marcel."
"Must be a hundred years since that nasty business with your papa."
Klaus shrugged and slowly started walking toward him. "Has it been that long?"
"The way I recall it, he ran you out of town. Left a trail of dead vampires in his wake."
That sounded like Mikael.
"And yet how fortunate you managed to survive," Lucy rolled her eyes at how dramatic the two were being; she guessed that Marcel inherited drama when Klaus took him in. No one did drama quite like the Mikaelson family. "My father, I'm afraid, I recently incinerated to dust."
Many, many people, who had to be Marcel's crew of vampires, stood up, seeing a threat in Klaus' statement. Lucy raised an eyebrow at them—what did they think they could do against the Original hybrid?—and stepped next to Klaus, trying to give them a threatening look. She was most-likely more than fifty years younger than all of them but she had magic on her side.
"Well, if I'd known you were coming back in town, if I had a head's up—"
"What, Marcel?" Klaus cut him off, both of them know standing less than a foot apart. "What would you have done?"
"I'd have thrown you a damn parade," Marcel broke into a grin as he and Klaus hugged, chuckling happily. "Niklaus Mikaelson. My mentor, my savior, my sire…who's the girl?"
Lucy waved slightly when Marcel looked her way. "I'm Lucy."
"Luciana," Klaus elaborated, having told Marcel about his baby sister many a times.
Marcel's eyes lit up as he glanced at Klaus. "Luciana?" Klaus nodded. "Back from the dead once again?"
"That would be me," Lucy smiled slightly.
Surprisingly, Marcel let go of Klaus and wrapped his arms around Lucy, giving her a light hug. "I'm glad to meet you, girl," he patted her back like she was a toddler. "Any family of Klaus' is family to me."
"Does that make me your aunt, or…?"
Marcel laughed loudly and turned to Klaus. "I like her," he grinned and added, "Let's get you two some drinks!"
Marcel and his vampires led them down a couple of streets to a large building; when they entered, she realized that it had been the Mikaelson compound from years ago, before Mikael had chased them away from New Orleans. The numerous Mikaelson crests that were scattered around the building on old stone walls told her that. From there, they entered the kitchen, where Marcel took out a bottle of bourbon while they sat at a table.
"It is good to see you," Marcel told Klaus as he walked back to the table and poured them drinks.
"It's good to be home," Klaus said pleasantly. "Although, please tell me the current state of Bourbon Street is not your doing."
Marcel laughed boisterously. "Something's gotta draw in the out-of-towners. Otherwise, we'd all go hungry."
Lucy gave him a tight-lipped smile and took a sip of her drink, wincing as she swallowed; she seriously didn't know how Stefan, Damon, and Klaus drank it. It was utterly horrendous. She preferred something fruity; she didn't care that people called her a wimp because of her taste in alcohol.
"I see your friends are daywalkers."
At Klaus' observation, Lucy eyed one of Marcel's vampires; this one was wearing an ugly cap but his daylight ring was actually pretty nice.
"Yeah, yeah, I shared the secret of your daylight ring with a few buddies," Marcel almost seemed sorry to have given away Esther's spell. "Just the inner circle, though. The family."
"Tell me," Klaus set his elbow on the table while leaning in toward Marcel. "How did you find a witch willing to make daylight rings?"
Marcel smirked. "I got the witches here wrapped around my finger."
"Really?" Lucy raised her eyebrows, wondering how he had done such a thing; she figured it was probably violence since most vampires didn't do the whole friendship thing with witches. Marcel nodded. "Do you know a witch named Jane-Anne Deveraux?"
"You're looking for Jane-Anne?"
"She has some business with me," Klaus told him.
Marcel shared a look with the capped vampire before going back to Klaus and Lucy. "Then you probably ought to come with me."
There were vampires all over. They scaled the roof tops of surrounding buildings, they jumped over cars, and used their enhanced speed to play around with each other. They were very enthusiastic with whatever Marcel had planned; like how desperate guys would be at a strip club.
"How's the family?" Marcel asked as he walked with Lucy and Klaus down the street where this gathering was taking place.
"Those who live hate me more than ever."
"Ignore him," Lucy rolled her eyes and nudged Klaus' side with her elbow; he scowled at her. "He's being dramatic."
"I'm sure he is," Marcel laughed charmingly while patting Klaus' back. "Still, forget them. If you blood relations let you down, you make your own, huh? You taught me that. And what's mine is yours, as always. Even my nightwalkers, the riffraff."
Marcel grabbed a vine off of a tree while Lucy and Klaus examined all of the nightwalker. They were still acting rambunctious; Lucy honestly didn't know how they weren't caught by tourists and the people who lived there. Though, it probably wouldn't matter with compulsion.
"They're hardly subtle, are they?" Klaus observed as one vampire jumped from a roof down to the street.
"It's the Quarter," Marcel shrugged. "Ain't no thing as subtle, baby."
He put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly, causing all of the vampires in attendance—other than Klaus and Lucy—to cheer loudly. Some of them, the ones who had gathered in the middle of the street in a circle, moved so that Marcel could get in. Lucy and Klaus waited out to the side in order to watch the spectacle.
Marcel's buddy, the one with the cap, pushed a woman toward him; she was an older brunette with her wrists tied tightly with white rope.
"Jane-Anne Deveraux," Marcel crowed, looking around at his vampires; Lucy and Klaus shared a pointed look. This was the witch they were looking for. "Give it up for Jane-Anne. Come on!"
Lucy was starting to get nervous; this wasn't just some social call, Jane-Anne was tied up for a reason.
"Jane-Anne Deveraux, you have been accused of the practice of witchcraft beyond the bounds of the rules set forth and enforced by me. How do you plead?" Marcel turned back to Klaus and Lucy with a smile. "Oh, was that convincing? I studied law back in the fifties. Hold that thought…"
He turned back to Jane-Anne. "Seriously, J, tick tock. You know the drill. How do you plead?"
This was a witch hunt and it didn't sit right with Lucy. She was a siphoner and she wasn't really included in the witching community but one of her friends was a witch and now she had magic too. She couldn't imagine being punished for something as simple as performing magic.
"I didn't do anything," Jane-Anne stated confidently.
Marcel hummed. "That's a lie. You know it, I know it, and you hate that I know it," he taunted her. "It drives you witches crazy that I'm aware of your every move. That you can't do magic in this town without getting caught."
Lucy stared over at Klaus, her mouth pressed in a tight line; she wanted to do something. She couldn't let this witch die just because she was practicing her nature. Klaus shook his head at her with a warning look. She got the message; Marcel was stronger than her and he didn't want her to get hurt.
"So," Marcel fiddled with the vine in his hands, pulling some of the leaves off the stem. "why don't we just cut to the chase, huh? You tell me what magic you're brewing. I mean, tell me. I'll grant you leniency. Hey, I am, after all, a merciful man."
Jane-Anne's face contorted into anger and she spat, "Rot in Hell, monster."
Marcel's vampires collectively made a low 'ooh' noise; Marcel did not look at all happy with Jane-Anne's reply but he ended up smiling threateningly. "I'll tell you what, I'll give you one more chance," he turned away from her and Lucy thought he was going to walk away, but he rapidly turned and whipped the vine toward Jane-Anne, slitting her throat. "Or not."
Lucy's gasp was covered by the sheer volume of cheering as Jane-Anne's body dropped to the ground. She went to step forward, wanting to give Marcel any kind of punishment for killing the woman, but Klaus grabbed her arm tightly in order to stop her.
"Do not do anything," Klaus sounded angry, though not at her. "We don't want him to know about you."
In other words, they didn't want him to know about her magic.
Lucy pressed her lips together, her eyes stinging, and gave Jane-Anne's body one last look. She didn't really have a reason to be defensive about the New Orleans witches—especially since it was clear that they didn't like her—but she did for some reason. Maybe it was because she had magic and it worried her that the man that Klaus took in would figure out that she had magic herself. What would he do then?
Once she pulled herself together, she and Klaus left the circle of vampires and stomped over to where Marcel was celebrating with the vampire with the cap. Just as Marcel walked away to cheer with some of his other vampires, Klaus firmly grabbed his shoulder.
"What the fuck was that?"
"Hey," Marcel took the tone of a parent soothing a child in the middle of a tantrum, resting his arm over Klaus' shoulders. "Come walk with me," once they were further away from the nightwalkers, he continued, "Witches aren't allowed to do magic here. She broke the rules."
"I told you I wanted to talk to her," Klaus snapped as he pointed at him angrily.
Marcel sighed and looked back at the celebration. "Hey, I'm sorry," he gave a fake apology; there wasn't a sorry bone in his body. "I got caught up in the show. Those witches, they think that they still have power in this town. I have to show them that they don't. I never waste an opportunity for a show of force. Another lesson that I learned from you."
Lucy narrowed her eyes at him; she knew fully well what kind of person Klaus was. He was a dick but he was her brother, so he got a pass. Marcel, as charming as he was at the beginning of the night, didn't. She was a hypocrite but she didn't care.
Marcel's words seemed to soften Klaus.
"And besides, anything that you could've gotten out of her, I can find out for you and I will," Marcel finished. "I promise."
Klaus glanced over Marcel's shoulders, where the nightwalkers were still hovering over Jane-Anne's body, and conceded. "Well, whatever it was, doesn't matter anymore, does it?"
Lucy glared at him. "Nik!"
This was not just about him. Part of the reason she even went to New Orleans with him was to see if the witches here had any knowledge to spare for finding Stefan.
Marcel raised an eyebrow at her. "What's wrong, little sister?"
Okay, she got that they were pretty much family but she didn't like the fact that he called her little sister. Kol and Klaus could say that but not Marcel.
"Don't mind her. She's a little grumpy because something happened to her fiancé," Klaus told Marcel, patting Lucy's back. "She wanted to talk to a witch about what she could do to find them."
"Well," Marcel smiled charmingly. "I can help with that, too. Sound good?"
Lucy faked a smile and nodded; it was better than nothing.
"Good," Marcel chuckled, satisfied. "Then let's eat because all that spilled blood makes me hungry."
Marcel clapped Klaus on the chest and then walked on, probably assuming that they were going to follow him. Lucy went to, because she figured Klaus would, but he stopped her. She gave him a curious look but he had already moved on, stopping the vampire with the cap from following his boss.
"Hey, Thierry, isn't it?" he asked politely; Thierry nodded. "Any more Deveraux witches where she came from?"
Lucy waited in the kitchen of Rousseau's, the bar that the Deveraux sisters owned and worked that. Sophie Deveraux, Jane-Anne's sister, was crying as she chopped carrots, assumingly making the gumbo that was advertised at the front of the bar. Klaus stood next to her, but he was letting her take the lead on this, as he was rather abrasive and the girl just lost her sister.
She didn't think that Sophie was going to notice them any time soon. She cleared her throat, "Hello."
Sophie gasped as she whirled around, bracing herself against the counter she was working at. She quickly studied the both of them, wet eyes rapidly flitting back and forth. "You're Klaus and Luciana."
Lucy had to figure out how all these people knew who she was.
"Yeah," she nodded with a smile, hoping that she wouldn't intimidate her. "I go by Lucy, though."
Sophie nodded, probably wondering why the reincarnation—and vampire-witch hybrid—was telling her to call her by a more casual name.
"You look upset," Klaus commented blankly; Lucy gave him an annoyed look. "I assume this is because of what we just witnessed with your sister on the corner of Royal and St. Anne."
"Did you enjoy the show?"
"No, we didn't," Lucy said before Klaus could put his foot in his mouth. "We're sorry for your loss but we need to know what your sister wanted with Klaus."
Sophie opened her mouth but paused, spotting something over Lucy's shoulders. "I see you brought friends."
Lucy gave her a confused look and both she and Klaus turned around to see two of Marcel's men at the bar.
"They're not with us," Klaus said, now fully annoyed with Marcel.
"They're with Marcel. That's all that matters," Sophie said firmly. "I know you built this town but this is his town now. He killed my sister because she broke the rules. So, I talk to you in front of them and I'm next."
Sophie turned back to her cooking station and started chopping vegetables again. Lucy and Klaus took that as a dismissal—though Klaus would say that he was bored with the conversation—and went out to the bar area.
He stormed right up to Marcel's vampires and firmly clasped them on the shoulders, squeezing until their bones cracked. "Are you two gentlemen following us?"
"Marcel said we're your guides."
"Oh, he did, did he?" Klaus scoffed. "Well, then, let me be exceedingly clear about something. If either of you follow us again, you'll do so without the benefit of a spine."
"Sorry for the wait," the pretty blonde bartender walked up to the four of them. "If you're here for the gumbo, I'm about to break your heart. We just ran out."
Klaus dug a hundred-dollar-bill out of his pocket and placed it on the bar. "Your oldest scotch for my two friends here, love," when she smiled and turned to pour the drinks, Klaus added to the vampires, "Marcel wants to know what we're up to, he can ask us himself."
Halfway to the Mikaelson compound—sorry, Marcel's place—Lucy got a message from Elijah telling her to meet him outside of Lafayette Cemetery. Assuming that it was important—why else would Elijah be in New Orleans—Lucy ditched Klaus, making excuses to go back to the hotel. She had to get directions in order to get to the cemetery but they were pretty straight forward.
Elijah and Sophie were waiting for her outside of the gates.
"Elijah," Lucy greeted her oldest brother with a smile, wrapping him up into a hug. "I'm glad you're here."
Elijah kissed her on the head. "It's good to see you, too, Luciana," he pulled away from her so he could study her. "How is everything going with Stefan?"
"Not good," Lucy shook her head as she wrinkled her nose. "I was supposed to try to find someone to help but this whole thing with Klaus seems bigger than expected."
"I'll put feelers out for him," Elijah offered. "I know some people."
Lucy smiled at him gratefully. "Thank you," she turned to Sophie. "So, what are we doing here?"
Sophie gestured to the entrance gate. "Follow me."
She opened the gate and stepped right in; when Lucy and Elijah followed her, they were knocked back, just like a seal on a house would if they were uninvited.
"This is sacred ground, which means vampires have to be invited in," Sophie said matter-of-factly. "But since I'm desperate, come in."
Lucy and Elijah shared a look before both of them entered the cemetery with no restrictions.
"We can talk freely here," Sophie told them as she started walking.
"Then I suggest you start talking," Elijah said threateningly; Sophie stopped and turned to face him. "What did your sister want with Niklaus?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Sophie asked. "We have a vampire problem and we need help. Marcel has an army backing him. The witches have been trying to fight back. We haven't had much luck, until my sister Jane-Anne met a girl with a werewolf sister, both of them passing through the Quarter from a small town in Virginia. She had a special connection to your brother."
Okay, obviously Sophie was talking about Mystic Falls but there weren't any female werewolves there. Klaus killed Jules in the sacrifice and that bitch Hayley—and her sister, who Klaus had rescued from Katherine's vampires at the same time as Hayley; shit, was she human?—but they had left after he had given them some needed information.
"What kind of connection?" Lucy asked, a bit naively. Elijah patted her on the back, like she was some adorable but helpless puppy.
"Apparently, they spent some time together," Sophie elaborated. "One thing led to another and now this girl—she's pregnant and the father of the child she's carrying is your brother, Klaus."
Lucy blinked at her in shock while Elijah immediately went into denial. "That's impossible."
"Nothing is impossible, especially not when it comes to your brother," Sophie challenged him. "Thank about it, they call him the hybrid, right?"
Sophie turned around for a second and called loudly, "Bring her out!"
It took a second before a group of witches slipped out of the farthest crypt in the aisle they were standing in. They pulled out two girls and Lucy recognized one of them immediately.
"What the hell is she doing here?" she hissed as she glared at Hayley, the girl that had given Katherine information about the cure that led to Jeremy being killed. She could feel the veins under her eyes rippling and she had to clench her fists in order to keep her magic from lashing out.
Still, the lights around the cemetery flickered on and off as the wind picked up only slightly.
"She's not the one I'm talking about," Sophie told her while she took a step away from her.
"I don't care, I'm gonna rip her throat out!" Lucy started to lunge toward the bitchy werewolf but Elijah grabbed her arm closest to him, keeping her away from both of the girls.
In Lucy's defense, she wasn't going to touch the other one—who she assumed was Hayley's sister.
"Luciana," Elijah's voice was stern and while it displeased her that she couldn't enact her revenge on Hayley, she listened to Elijah and stepped down. She wasn't going to disrespect him and go after the werewolf, even though she very much deserved it.
"Which one's the pregnant one?" she asked Sophie, trying to keep the aggression out of her tone.
"That one," Sophie pointed to the sister. She looked a little like Hayley, maybe a year younger, with light brown hair and brown eyes. She had a kind face and already Lucy liked her better than her sister.
The girl's eyes flickered between Lucy, Elijah, and Hayley. "Who are you guys?"
Elijah gave Sophie a significant look. "Give us a moment, please."
The witches put the pregnant girl back in the crypt and because Lucy couldn't be trusted to stay calm around Hayley, it was Elijah who was going to talk to her in another crypt while Lucy spoke with the other sister.
There was an awkward moment of silence between the two girls before Lucy spoke up. "What's your name?"
"Emma," the girl replied kindly. "And you're Lucy, right? Klaus' youngest sister."
"That would be me," Lucy confirmed as she sat down on the bench next to Emma. "I'm sorry about the way I reacted out there. I'm newly turned and your sister…honestly, I'm not a fan."
Emma nodded understandably. "I know what happened and if someone had done that to me, Hayley would have reacted the same way."
"Wow," Lucy chuckled lightly, a bit surprised. "You're really being understanding about this."
Emma shrugged with a light grin. "I've always been the more emotionally stable one."
"But your werewolf gene?"
"I haven't triggered the curse yet."
"Oh," Lucy nodded, wondering how she stayed so calm. Even before Tyler triggered his curse, he was volatile at best. "So, how long have they been holding you here?"
"A day or so," Emma answered. "They lured me and Hayley out to the bayou and grabbed us. Then they did some tests on me—like, magical tests. "
"Magical tests," Lucy hummed. "to see if you were pregnant?"
"Yeah, and honestly, I don't know how this whole thing could have happened," Emma bit her lip nervously. "Klaus is a vampire; they're not supposed to have children!"
"Well, he's not all vampire," Lucy told her. "He has some werewolf in his too."
"How?"
"Long story short, our mother had an affair with a man in our village and he was a werewolf. It wasn't until—" Lucy paused, remembering how Klaus had discovered her werewolf heritage; he had drunk her dry and killed her. "until he made his first kill that he—or anyone—knew."
"That sounds horrible."
"Yeah, it was," not that she was there for that part. She was dead and waiting on the Other Side as she waited to be reincarnated. She didn't think Emma knew about her story, though, and she didn't want to explain it to her at the moment.
"So," she spoke after a few seconds. "how are you feeling about all of this?"
Emma looked down at her stomach, no bump to be seen, and placed her hand over it. "I'm scared," she admitted, looking at Lucy again. "I mean, Klaus seemed so nice but after Hayley told me the truth about him…I just, I don't know. I just want the baby to be safe."
Lucy frowned sympathetically and grabbed Emma's hand in support. "Even if Klaus doesn't believe this, please know that Elijah and I will do whatever it takes to keep this baby safe."
"I'm glad you feel that way," Sophie stated as she entered the crypt, followed by Elijah and Hayley. "because we need your help."
"Okay, what does this baby have to do with Marcel?" Lucy let go of Emma's hand and stood up, crossing her arms over her chest.
"We want to run Marcel and his vampires out of town. Klaus is the key. Everything Marcel knows about being a vampire, he learned from Klaus," Sophie explained. "Marcel trusts him, looks up to him, and he won't see the betrayal coming."
"Yes, well, as I'm sure you're aware, our brother Niklaus doesn't like to be told what to do," Elijah commented.
"That's why I brought you two here," Sophie stated matter-of-factly. "Marcel drove the werewolves out of town decades ago. Do you really think he's going to welcome a hybrid baby to the neighborhood? Convince Klaus to help us and no one has to know about the newest member of the Original family."
Elijah narrowed his eyes at her. "That sounds remarkably like blackmail."
"Like I said," Sophie held her head up high. "I'm desperate."
"Well, then, I have my work cut out for me, don't I?" Elijah collected himself and looked pointedly at Lucy. "Stay and watch them."
Lucy nodded solemnly and silently hoped that Elijah would be able to convince Klaus that this is the right thing to do.
Not even an hour later, Elijah and Klaus arrived at the cemetery. As soon as they entered the crypt, Lucy moved from her place next to the bench where Emma and Hayley were sitting, and went to stand by her siblings. She gave Klaus a closed-mouth smile, hoping that he would listen to the situation without freaking out.
Klaus looked around the crypt, passing over most of Sophie's witch friends and both Emma and Hayley before acknowledging Sophie. "Sophie Deveraux," he lifted his chin intimidatingly. "What is this?"
Elijah nodded at Sophie. "He's all yours. Proceed."
Sophie addressed Klaus. "You know you're famous in this town? Witches tell bedtime stories about the powerful vampire Klaus," Klaus acted like he was surprised with her words, raising his eyebrows. "We know Marcel was nothing but an orphaned street rat until you made him what he is. And now he's out of control. He does what he wants. He kills who he wants. I'm gonna stop him and you're gonna help me."
Klaus broke out into a disbelieving grin, chuckling light as he turned toward Elijah. "This is why you brought me here?"
"Nik," Lucy gave him a pleading look. "hear her out."
"I don't need to hear her out," Klaus said stubbornly before turning back to Sophie. "I assure you, love, there is not a thing on this earth that will matter enough for me to waste even thirty more seconds of my time. Elijah," he looked back at his older brother. "What madness is this?"
Elijah didn't get to answer. Emma stood up from the bench, a hand over her stomach and called, "Klaus," he turned toward her, a bewildered look on his face. "you need to listen to them."
Klaus started at her for a second and then laughed sarcastically. "You're all out of your minds if you think some liquor-fueled one-night stand—" he pointed to Emma. "no offense, sweetheart—means a thing to me."
"Niklaus," Lucy hissed warningly, earning herself an incredulous look.
"Marcel may be able to keep us from practicing real magic in this town but as keepers of the balance, we still know when nature has cooked up something new," Sophie declared. "For example, I have a special gift of sensing when a girl is pregnant."
Klaus stiffened drastically and whispered, "What?"
"I know, it's impossible," Emma said calmly.
Her voice caught Klaus' attention; he turned to face her. "What are you saying?"
"Nik," Lucy stepped forward and grabbed his wrist, trying to give him some support. "Emma's pregnant with your baby."
"No," Klaus immediately shook his head, ripping his arm from her grasp. "It's impossible. Vampires cannot procreate."
"But werewolves can," Sophie spoke up adamantly. "Magic made you a vampire but you were born a werewolf. You're the Original hybrid, the first of your kind, and this pregnancy is one of nature's loopholes."
Klaus whipped around and pointed at Emma furiously. "You've been with someone else!" he growled while Elijah and Lucy grabbed him, holding him back. "Admit it!"
Emma flinched away from him, a hurt look on her face, while Hayley stood up for her younger sister. "Hey, she spent a couple of days held captive in a fucking alligator bayou because they think she's carrying some magical miracle baby. Don't you think she would've fessed up if it wasn't yours?"
"My sister gave her life to perform the spell she needed to confirm this pregnancy," Sophie spoke loudly. "Because of Jane-Anne's sacrifice, the lives or this girl and her baby are now controlled by us. If you don't help us take down Marcel, so help me, Emma won't live long enough to see her first maternity dress."
Shocked, Lucy whipped around to glower at Sophie. "I'm sorry, who do you think you are?" she stormed toward her and when the other witches went to go after her, she held out a hand in their direction. "Keep walking and you die."
She didn't look back to see if the witches listened to her; she just kept on glaring at Sophie. "I don't understand how you think you have any right to this baby of their mother," she laughed lightly and looked back at Elijah and Klaus, both of whom nodded at her in support. "I mean, you're talking to two Originals here, one of which is a hybrid, and me. And my magic stronger than all of yours."
Sophie's lips trembled but she wasn't the one to reply to Lucy.
"You do anything to us or Sophie and the girl and her baby will have the same thing down to them," an older black woman, who Lucy had learned was called Agnes, snapped back. "They're linked."
Lucy just shook her head and grabbed Sophie's shoulder. Her palm glowed a brilliant red while Sophie cried out in pain, causing all of the witches to startle. Once Lucy felt all of the link flee from Sophie's body, she pulled away. "Well, that's taken care of," she turned to her brothers, Emma, and—reluctantly—Hayley. "Should we go now, or…?"
"Wait," Sophie's voice shook. "Marcel and his vampires are out of control. Something had to be done."
"And you think threatening an unborn baby, a member of the most powerful family in the supernatural world, was a good idea?" Lucy scoffed. "Probably not the best plan."
"Let's just finish this now," Klaus spoke up, taking his place next to Lucy. He had calmed down considerably while Lucy was talking and was able to listen to the baby's heartbeat. "We'll be leaving with the girls. If anyone of you move an inch to stop us, you'll all die."
The witches all stiffened in response but Elijah, ever the peace maker, stepped in and added, "Let's be peaceful about this," his voice was soothing. "We can make a deal to which we'll take Marcel down. We all can win here."
Klaus looked at him incredulously. "Elijah?"
"We'll take the deal," Sophie said quickly. "You take down Marcel and we won't bother you again."
Lucy looked to Klaus expectantly and noticed the thoughtful look on his face. She smiled slightly, knowing that he was going to take the deal. All day he had been looking at Marcel with a kind of anger, simmering under the relief that he was alive. While he was running from Mikael, thinking that Marcel had died, Marcel was actually in New Orleans, taking over what he had built with the rest of his family. Lucy could see where the anger had come from; the least Marcel could have done was let Klaus know that he was alive and well.
"Fine," he said finally. "I'll take Marcel down. New Orleans is my city."
Lucy wandered out to the front deck of the plantation where Klaus, Elijah, Emma, and Hayley would be living, where she knew Klaus would be. He was sitting in one of the rocking chairs, staring at the horizon, where the sun was rising in beautiful pinks, blues, and yellows. He seemed peaceful and it made Lucy's heart warm. Klaus deserved happiness and he had been robbed of it for centuries.
Maybe this baby would give him that. The newest Mikaelson member would be someone to be happy about, someone to love, someone to give him hope.
She sat down in the rocking chair next to him but didn't say a word, just basking in the comfort of his presence.
Klaus and Elijah would be leaving Mystic Falls in order to live in New Orleans, no doubt that Kol and Rebekah would join them soon. Lucy wanted to be here as well, she really did, but she couldn't. She couldn't leave Joel or Caroline or Jeremy. She couldn't leave Jeremy when he was adjusting to being alive again and going back to school. She couldn't leave Mystic Falls when she knew that Stefan was out there somewhere, waiting for her to find him.
It was a bittersweet ending to the Original family's time in Mystic Falls. No longer would they be pursued by Elena or Damon for some kind of revenge. They'd be in the Big Easy, living as a family and bringing a new life into their family. And Lucy wished she could be there but it wasn't like she wasn't going to visit. They would probably be sick of how much she visited; that baby was going to be spoiled rotten by their Aunt Lucy.
Still, she felt lost. She couldn't explain how much her original family meant to her but it was something deep, in the very essence of her. She loved them so much and to know that Rebekah wouldn't be close enough for a random sleepover or that Klaus wouldn't be a minute away, ready to comfort her or paint with her, caused her heart to ache. They'd have forever, though. Maybe after she finished college, she could move down here.
"I can hear you thinking," Klaus spoke up, turning away from the sun to look at her. "and yes, I'll miss you too."
"That's good to know," Lucy gave him a watery smile.
Klaus smiled back at her, shaking his head fondly. "So, what do you think? Me as a father?"
"I'll think you'll be good at it," Lucy answered honestly; he gave her a shocked look. "You will. You're a great big brother, Nik. Surely that will follow you into fatherhood."
"I don't know."
"I'm pretty sure impending fatherhood is supposed to make you nervous," she laughed lightly. "This baby is a blessing, Nik. I wish I could be in your shoes."
Klaus gave her a sad smile and took her hand, squeezing it once in support before letting go. "I wish you could be too."
"At least I'll have a niece or nephew to spoil."
Klaus groaned teasingly. "Great, I'm not so sure about it now."
Lucy chuckled and then sighed sadly. "I'm really going to miss you, Nik."
Nik smiled at her but became serious. "You're going to be fine, Luciana. You're going to find Stefan and you're going to get married, and you'll go to school, and you'll live your life," he took her hand again. "We'll be by your side the whole time, just like family is supposed to."
His little but oh-so heartfelt speech made tears come to her eyes. "Always and forever?"
"Always and forever."