As If It's Our Last

by noblecrescent

After the Hollow separated the Mikaelsons, the Quarter has peace for 7 years...until Hope Mikaelson ignites the fuel for a new war against hybrids. Despite unable to be together due to the Hollow, Maleny & Klaus each return to the Quarter to figure out who's targeting their hybrid kinds. But once there, their feelings for each other are inevitable. Tick, tock goes their time...

8. What Was For Me

As of two days ago, Maleny Rowan basically owned the Quarter. And each time she remembered that detail, the shock didn't lessen. It was the same story for her sires that were still spread around the Quarter, waiting for any new instruction she wanted to give them. But for two days, the instructions had been the same: try to find Hayley. Even now, Maleny was scouring her own grimoires for anything that could bring them closer to finding Hayley.

"Mal?" Cami knocked on Maleny's open bedroom door.

Maleny looked up from her grimoire and motioned Cami to come in. "You don't look so good," Maleny remarked not a minute after.

Cami only shrugged but it was a light one. "I saw my cousin again."

"Oh right, Declan." Maleny was honestly surprised that Declan had come to live in the Quarter, of all places. While she had memories of Declan from "childhood", Maleny was pretty sure they were fabricated memories that the curse implanted in her head and the rest of the O'Connell family. "Well...is he alright?"

"Yeah," Cami slumped on the bed next to Maleny. "He wants to know where Hayley is and of course me telling him not to worry isn't working. He's got all these questions that I don't want to answer because it'll bring him into a world that's too dangerous."

"Kind of like what happened to you?" Maleny presumed that's where Cami's mind had gone to as soon as Declan started asking questions. It was a fair way to think considering that Cami died because she got herself into the supernatural world as a human.

Cami nodded. "I don't want him getting hurt but I also don't want to keep lying to him. I hated when people did that to me when I was a human. But...I haven't talked to my biological family in years. I mean, at this point they probably do think I'm dead. And I always got along with Declan." She paused for a moment while she thought about her cousin and the most important part of their relationship. "You know, when my brother died...Declan was the only one, apart from Uncle Kieran, who didn't think Shaun's sudden decision to murder was his decision. He didn't believe Shaun was a killer."

Maleny could see that, even after so many years of Shaun's death, it was still a raw memory for Cami. She rested a hand on Cami's arm. "Cami, you can tell Declan about us. No one would be mad."

"Thanks," Cami scrunched her face and groaned, letting her back fall to the bed. "But I'm so confused!"

"Same," sighed Maleny as she went back to her grimoire. "I really thought that taking over the Quarter, letting everyone see that the Hybrid of Hell was in charge, would make this vampire extremist cult come out of the shadows but...nope. I actually have no idea what I'm doing."

"Still, you are Queen now," Cami opened her eyes just to smirk for a moment. "That has to feel good on some level, right?"

Maleny didn't answer but Cami swore she saw a tiny smile on her cousin's face. Still, it didn't last long. Maleny turned to face Cami. "Any word on Elijah?"

That was the question to take any grin off Cami's face. Maleny almost felt sorry for asking. She just had hope that Elijah had come to his senses and was on his way back home. By the look on Cami's face, that wasn't happening.

"He doesn't call," she shrugged her shoulders. "And if he's not going to think about his family, maybe it's better that he doesn't try calling." It was a foul irony that she now cared more about a family that wasn't even related to her, even more so when it had been Elijah who made her feel like part of the family.

"I have faith that he'll change his mind," Maleny said with a certainty that Cami wished she could also have. It almost made her feel guilty for not having it herself. "Elijah is still Elijah whether or not he has all his memories. I would know." She weakly gestured to herself. "I think you have a much higher chance of seeing him than I have of seeing my own daughter again."

Cami stayed silent at that. This was the first time since Maleny got her memories back that she mentioned Marlenie. Unlike Klaus who grew disheartened each time he reminisced about his eldest daughter, Maleny showed no feelings. Perhaps it was an even further stage of someone brokenhearted. She was a mother, after all.

"You could try calling," Cami offered a few minutes later.

Maleny shook her head. "I know exactly why Marlenie cut ties with us. I could never ask her to come back knowing that this wasn't permanent. Soon, Klaus and I will have to part ways again." The mere idea of going through that again left a raw pain etched across her face. The only thing she couldn't decide on was which was more painful: saying goodbye again or being together knowing that they would have to say goodbye again.

"Speaking of, where is Klaus? And Marcel?" Cami felt like too much time had gone by since she'd seen the pair. It was very quiet.

"Marcel is overseeing the vampires," Maleny said. "Klaus...I may have an idea of where he is." Following through with that idea, she excused herself and left the room.

Cami didn't let her go that easy. She was right on Maleny's tail coming out to the second floor. "You want to share with the rest of the class, then?"

Maleny hummed. "I just see no point."

"Why not?"

"Because it'll be pointless." Maleny came down the stairs in a hurry. Cami did the same. "Greta clearly despises us and she won't tell us anything that won't satisfy her in any way." She walked up to the table where they had placed the box once carrying a piece of Hayley's flesh. She picked it up carefully, examining it again.

"Well, who knows, maybe she might get a little smug and let something slip," Cami said, and Maleny appreciated the touch of faith. "Why haven't you guys thrown that thing away already?"

Maleny gripped the box in her hands. "Because it's the only thing we have from the enemy. I asked my mother and Freya if they could try to trace the spell back to a location. They're working on it right now."

"That was a good idea," Cami remarked.

"Yes, well, I'm much better with all my thoughts in my head," Maleny retorted and put the box down.

Cami side-glanced her cousin earnestly. "Mal…you know that…"

"I don't want to talk about it," Maleny said curtly. She flicked open the box's lid for no reason except to have something to fiddle with.

"But you're still mad about it…"

"That my memories were wiped without my consent? Yes, absolutely, but I don't have time, so—"

"Have you talked to your mother about it?" Cami didn't know why she asked if she already knew the answer. "Mal, in order to process and move on, you need to talk it out."

"Like I said, there is no time—"

"Then make the time," Cami said sharply, "Otherwise, the resentment will eat you up."

Maleny was pensive for a few minutes and Cami sincerely hoped that the latter was genuinely thinking about her words. This was a ticking time bomb that needed to be stopped.

"Mal!"

The sudden call of her name made Maleny drop the box to the ground, breaking it into pieces, some landing over her feet. She looked over to the side and saw Klaus storming into the courtyard.

"I see the chit chat with Greta went lovely," she remarked flatly, "How unsurprising. Told you I shouldn't have taken down the barrier."

"You'll be surprised to know it wasn't a complete failure," Klaus replied snappishly. The conversation had still been, all in all, more than unpleasant. "We need to talk. All of us." His eyes lingered on Cami whose attention had gone to the broken box on the ground. "Camille, you too."

Cami seemed to have ignored him in favor of something on the ground. She bent down silently and moved a couple of the wooden box pieces around until she found what she had seen before: a shiny gold coin.

"What is that?" Maleny made a face at the clearly ancient coin.

Cami examined it as much as she could, turning it over to reveal a bird on the other side. "I don't know…"

Neither noticed the way Klaus stared at the coin. His eyes had gone wide and yet he reached over to pluck it out of Cami's hand, turning it over again just to confirm.

"Klaus?" Maleny pressed him to tell them what was going on.

"Greta told me some stuff…and this confirms it," he said quietly, gripping a fist around the coin. He lowered it and once again looked at the women. "Study. Now." He turned around and started to study.

They got lucky in that Marcel arrived just a minute after they had all gathered in the study. The vampires had been no help, all scorned with the fact they were nightwalkers now.

Klaus introduced to the group the coin that had been snuck into the box and explained that he knew exactly where it had come from. It all originated from the 1930s with another vampire — August — whom Klaus had crossed paths with during his years running from Mikael.

"The man was a forgettable artist, a virulent fascist and a murder slob who slaughtered werewolves by the pack," Klaus thought he simplified it to what it was.

"Mm, and what did you do to him?" Freya asked, knowing better than to just think it was that.

"What makes you think I had any piece in this?" Klaus had the audacity to smile for a split second.

"Your reputation precedes you," Maleny started listing off her fingers, "We all know you and—" she laughed sourly, "—oh yeah, we have your prisoner down in the cellar. Need I go on?"

Klaus' smile turned into a wide smirk. Maleny hated that she still loved it.

"That hideous Greta woman with her reverence for a dilettante who made no mark upon the world. I will not entertain her hateful ask and bind Hope."

"All right, look, shouldn't Hope get a say in this?" Marcel was the brave soul who dared ask.

Klaus still refused. "No. This fate which she demands, the curse which I bore for a millennia, I can't put my daughter through that. It's a pain worse than death. No, I will see that woman roast upon a pyre before I give in to the demands of these cultists."

"Look, all right, I got your back. I do, okay? But if they kill Hayley, and Hope isn't given a chance to save her, she will not forgive you."

"And if I impose this shame upon my daughter and then they kill her mother anyway? I won't forgive myself."

"Okay," Maleny cut in when the tension began growing quicker and quicker, "We agree — I agree with you, Klaus, alright?"

He looked at her for a moment, strangely. It was odd having her support again — he grew a stranger to it.

"At the end of the day, Hope is still just a child," Maleny went on, looking at the others. She could feel Klaus' eyes burning on her and it still had the same effects as it once did 7 years ago. It was hard not to flush. "We can't submit her to that kind of stuff."

"What if the tables were turned and it was Nicolas? Or Marlenie?" Marcel threw out the challenge casually and yet with direct purpose.

"Well that's different," Maleny said with a wry smile that Marcel matched.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, because my children are older. They are adults. I can't control their choices. My son is already dating, apparently, and ask me where my daughter is right now?" Maleny shrugged. "Hope is just a kid. That option must be out. Right?" She looked at her mother and Freya.

"Yes," Abigail nodded fervently, thinking exactly like her daughter.

Freya gave a more slow nod.

~0~

"You're insane, Hope," Nicolas declared after Hope finished her long call. The former had been pacing back in forth in Hope's room throughout the call.

Hope disregarded her brother and slid her phone back into her pocket. She leaned back against the wall, bringing her legs up on her bed. "Might be, don't care. It could still be something."

"She's not going to listen to you," Nicolas said, "You shouldn't place so much faith into this plan."

"Then what's the point of my name?" Hope challenged with a wide smirk.

Nicolas rolled his eyes at her. "This idea is insane. We can't break the Hollow's curse, alright? I have exhausted every grimoire at my reach. I'm constantly in touch with Amarrah and the rest of her coven."

"Yeah, which is why we —" Hope gestured between herself and Nicolas, "—are going to create one. We're going to create a counter course. A curse breaker."

"How?" Nicolas demanded.

"I don't know yet, but we are," Hope said confidently, "Because we've all done impossible things before. You pulled your grandmother out of the other side where there wasn't even 'another side' to begin with! Aunt Mal became what has never happened before — a witch vampire hybrid. Need I go on?"

"Oh, to be young and wild," Nicolas remarked.

Hope deadpanned her brother. "This isn't some teenage notion, Nick. I mean it. We need to try."

Nicolas sighed. "Why are you so hellbent on the impossible?"

"Why aren't you!?" Hope exclaimed. "Don't you want Aunt Mal and Marlenie back? Don't you want Dad back?"

"I would want nothing more than that," Nicolas said earnestly, "Like Marlenie, it is about the only thing I have ever wanted in my life."

"Then why won't you take me seriously and try to help me?"

"Because there's nothing left to do," Nicolas said plain and simple. "The Hollow cannot be destroyed."

"How do you know that? How do you know that there isn't some other way to get rid of it?"

"Because I have already thought about it—"

"Then let me think of something!" Hope exclaimed, laughing at how many times she had to say the same thing. "You said it yourself. I'm young. Maybe I can come up with something that you haven't. Just give me a chance, alright?"

It wasn't like Nicolas had anything else at the moment. He supposed he could indulge Hope with her idea and at the same time distract her from the fact that her mother was still missing.

"Okay," Nicolas said, and immediately Hope beamed. "But we do this carefully and you let me in on everything, Hope. Do you understand that? Don't hide anything from me."

"I swear," Hope said.

"Fine," Nicolas sighed. "Let's head out to the cabin again for some privacy. We can talk about it th—" The sound of his phone interrupted their planning. "Give me a moment."

Hope nodded and watched her brother as he pulled his phone out. She didn't miss the way his expression changed once he saw the screen, no doubt the I.D.

"Um, I'll be right back," Nicolas said quickly and left as such. "Yeah, Marcel, why are you…?" He practically slammed the door shut behind him.

~ 0 ~

"You're going down there again?" Maleny caught Klaus on his way down to the cellar again. "You know that Greta isn't going to say a thing until the vervain's left her system."

"Well, I've always been persistent," Klaus said, throwing Maleny an admittedly charming smile. "Why stop now?"

Maleny forced herself not to pay so much attention to the smile and instead on the problem. "All you're going to do is get more angry and if you kill her on an impulse, we don't get anything!"

"I won't—"

"Klaus, I know you," Maleny said sharply, "For better or for worse, I know you." And, oh, what an understatement that was. She stepped closer to Klaus, both aware of it as soon as it happened. Maleny thought about it perhaps twice — her hand subtly going back and forth until she finally got the courage and rested her hand on Klaus' arm.

Klaus froze. It was alarming how such a small gesture could affect him so much. It was temptation, no doubt, but it was something at the end of the day that he could not have forever. Abigail's words came back to mind — Don't waste your time.

"I got a call from Nicolas," Maleny said, speaking hushed for some reason. The smallest movement seemed gigantic at the moment. Every miniscule brush of her fingers on Klaus' arm was heavy. "Hope knows."

Klaus' eyebrows furrowed at Maleny. "What do you mean? How could she know? Who—"

"Do the math," Maleny interrupted for the sake of time.

And Klaus did. A scowl marked his face in the next second. "Marcel."

"Don't be mad, just think about how to handle it. Obviously Nick's not going to do it but that doesn't mean Hope won't try something on her own. If you want, I can g—"

"No," Klaus said immediately and in the process stepped back, ending the little contact they had. Both resented it. "I'll do it."

"Klaus, you can't see her…"

"Not for long, no, but a minute is all I need to get it through her head."

Maleny could compromise with that. "Okay. But hurry. Nicolas says Hope's got no shortage of friends and networks at that school."

"I'll pity the fool who decides to help her with this crazy idea," Klaus said, smirking as he typically did. It brought out a small smile from Maleny.

"Go," she shooed him off. "We'll keep an eye on Greta."

Klaus thanked Maleny, almost blurting 'There's no one else I'd trust'. He couldn't. That would just be too much.

~ 0 ~

At the safety of having Klaus absolutely gone from the courtyard for a guaranteed couple of hours, Maleny got to work with what she had on her end.

"Yeah, he's going to kill you," she told Marcel first and foremost.

"I'm sorry but I felt like Hope had the right to know," Marcel said, completely standing by his decision. On some level, Maleny respected him for that. Not wavering for anything.

"She's a kid, Marcel. She has no business binding herself for an eternity just because some maniac demands it so." Maleny was marching down the cellar to have a chat with Greta herself. She hadn't done so since they put the latter down there. Now was as good a time as ever. "You didn't see Klaus the way I did back before all this. I think it would genuinely kill him to see Hope live that way. And I know that Hayley would feel the same."

"Alright, I see the point," Marcel admitted. "Sorry."

"Now let me have a chat with Greta and maybe keep looking for Hayley?"

"Yeah, alright," Marcel agreed. "You always were the saner one between the two."

Maleny flashed him a smile. "I don't know about that anymore, but okay."

Marcel was able to smile back before leaving. For a moment, they were back to their old friendship. Maleny then resumed her way to the cellar. She came down and found Greta in the same position as they'd placed her, albeit with a bigger puddle of blood around her.

"Still got more vervain?" She called as she walked in. Greta rolled her eyes. "I will take that as a yes. You know who I am, I know who you are, let's get this rolling, shall we?"

"I'm afraid there's nothing to 'roll'," Greta said, eyes flickering up at Maleny. "Unless you've binded the child already, there is nothing you and I have to speak about."

"Wrong," Maleny said with a wide smile, "We have plenty to talk about. For one, I will never let you curse that child the way Esther cursed her own. Over my dead body—again. Look, I can make any other deal you want just not that. Hope is a literal child. She doesn't know better."

"A child spawned from —"

"I'd measure your next words carefully," Maleny said flatly, "I'm giving you another way out. Don't waste it."

"You think you're above all this? Rest assured if your abomination of children were in the same position as Hope, we'd demand the same thing."

"To which I would laugh in your face," Maleny said with a matching sarcastic smile.

"You cannot deny the danger that lies if Hope Mikaelson is not binded now," Greta said, "We've seen it already—"

"That was an accident—"

"—with your children!"

Maleny blinked. "What!? My children can't even turn into werewolves! They were born before Klaus broke the curse that Esther put on him."

"And yet, they were still conceived," Greta said sharply. "It means that somewhere deep in their genes they must carry the werewolf gene. All it takes is one more of nature's beautiful little loopholes to trigger that side of their DNA. You don't think we know the stories about your devil twins? One slaughtered kingdoms and the other villages. And that was without the wretched werewolf gene. Imagine what they and Hope would do if they unlocked all of their sides."

"Those are completely different situations!"

"Why? Because they're your children?" Greta said sardonically.

"No, because my children didn't have the luxury to grow up with their parents. Hope still has her mother who is more than competent to teach her everything she needs to know to be a good, upstanding citizen, not to mention she has plenty of aunts to help her. You want to know who taught my son? Some delirious, psycopathic aunt. And there was nobody to help my poor daughter. That is the difference. What happened with Henry was an accident."

"Say what you want but the deal won't change," Greta said. "Your twins—"

"Are not part of this," Maleny said loudly. "What you talk about is a simple hypothetical situation and even then, even if they ever unlocked that gene...they wouldn't be some great evil. As far as I see it, the only great evil is you."

~0~

Abigail found her daughter in the room she would've least expected. The music room that was once Maleny's was now covered in dusty sheets. Even the great big piano that she was learning on had become just a decoration under white. Maleny hadn't bothered uncovering anything. There was simply no point.

"How'd the chat with Greta go?" Abigail asked if only to start a somewhat conversation. Maleny had been cold and distant from Abigail ever since she regained her memories.

"Oh you know, as expected," Maleny said, tapping her fingers along the white drapes. "She refused to ask for another ultimatum, and talked crap about my kids too. All as expected." She was walking in no particular direction except for the center where there stood the only thing that wasn't covered.

The tall, round table held the totem that allowed Maleny and Klaus to be in the same room. Every now and then, Maleny would give it a wary glance.

Abigail followed her daughter's gaze to the totem. "And where is Klaus right now?"

"On his way to see Hope, and Nicolas."

"What!?" Abigail practically screeched.

"Calm down, mother, he's not actually going to sit and have tea with them," Maleny rolled her eyes. "Hope knows about Greta's demand and no doubt she's trying to convince Nicolas to do it. Klaus just needs to see Hope and tell her, to her face, that it's not happening. We will find Hayley."

"Maleny," Abigail started, "We need to talk at some point about all this."

Maleny let out a light scoff because Abigail was her mother. She raised her gaze off the totem to meet her mother's eyes. "What's there to say? You erased my memories—"

"Something you agreed upon! You came up with the idea!" exclaimed Abigail, prompting Maleny to follow suit.

"I came up with the idea!" She agreed. "I never consented to have my memories actually removed! I came up with the idea so that I could decide when I wanted to go through with it! You don't get to erase everything and say a simple 'it was for your own good' and be done with it."

Abigail sighed, bringing a hand to her forehead. "What do you want me to say, Maleny? You were out of control. Emotions off, impulses at an all time high. Did you want me to let you slaughter people by the dozen?"

"I wanted you to let me face my problems with my mind active," Maleny said, "Because I know I would have eventually turned my emotions back on. I would have faced them like a grown up. Instead, you just babied me at a stupid beach."

"Don't say that," Abigail warned, "Because that time to me was precious. Those were years that I lost with you and I don't feel bad about a single one of them."

"Mum…" Maleny brought both of her hands to her face, rubbing her skin extra hard. She was at a loss of words. She could understand what Abigail was saying because she too felt the same. The time she lost with her mother had been graciously given back, but on the other hand they were talking about something so invasive…

"I made a bad choice, yes, and I am sorry, but if we hadn't you would have hurt more people," Abigail said, "And I'm sorry but that's the simple truth. You can hate me—"

Maleny cut her mother off with a low, bitter laugh. "Wouldn't that be easy? Well, I can't because you're my mother. You're my mother who died when I really needed her. So no, I can't hate you. I'm just really mad…at everything…"

Abigail nodded. "I understand that. You know…" she flashed Maleny a smile, "You said almost the same exact thing that Klaus did earlier. Agreeing to the idea — it's eerie how that works."

"Hmm…" Maleny said nothing on the matter. Her hands came gently on the round table, eyes lowering to the totem. It was still burning but she could see the totem overall was about a third down than what it was before.

"Maleny, as I told Klaus, you shouldn't waste time arguing," Abigail said cautiously, "The totem will diminish in about a week or so…"

"And then he and I will part ways again, yes," Maleny nodded, briefly looking at Abigail, "I'm aware of the schedule. It's constantly on my mind."

Abigail imagined so. "Have you spoken to him? I mean — have you actually, properly, had a conversation about what happened?"

Maleny shook her head. "No, why would we?"

"Well, it would be the best choice you could do while you have the option…"

"And for what? What purpose would it serve? It's like you said. This thing—" Maleny made a gesture at the totem, the light wind of her gesture making the candlelight waver for a second, "—is going to be gone by next week. Why bring up something that has no future?"

"For your own sanity," Abigail replied, gently smiling, "And because you have the opportunity to. You've gotten lucky for a week, Maleny. Don't you see that?"

"Lucky," Maleny repeated the word with bitterness, "I don't feel very lucky. I have about a week before I have to say goodbye to him again. Why get close if I'll just have to say 'until never' all over again? No thanks." She had to be strong enough to keep her distance from Klaus, at least to an extent, otherwise she wasn't sure she'd be able to handle the pain. Turning her emotions off was not an option this time. When she would leave, she would do it with all her senses. She would face eternity with her head held high, and a broken heart.

~ 0 ~

"Hope, dare I ask where you got all this stuff?" Nicolas was in complete awe at the grimoires and files his young sister had acquired for their secret plan.

Hope barely managed to set everything around in the cabin, careful not to tear anything in the process. Some things were very old and delicate. "I wouldn't," she told Nicolas. With a defiant smile, reminding Nicolas of their middle siblings Marlenie.

Nicolas decided to heed Hope's warning and simply move on. "Okay, so what is this brilliant idea of yours? You called —"

"Seven different wolf packs sealed the Hollow away back then but the situation is different now. Aunt Freya and Abigail constructed the spell to put the Hollow in Dad, our uncles and aunt. So let's reverse it."

"How?"

"That's the tricky part. See, the way I've learned, each word in a spell has a reverse — a counter word. All we need to do is find each counter word to the original spell. Plus, we need to get everyone back together to perform the spell."

As far as plans went, Nicolas admitted that it wasn't the craziest plan he had heard so far. Hope took the props with a proud grin.

"But—" Nicolas started with an already sharpened tone, "—even if we were to find each counter word, we still have to come up with a practical way to use them in the spell. We can't just slap some words together and call it a spell. It has to flow, it has to have —"

"Meaning and purpose," Hope finished, nodding that she understood the next implications. "I do listen in class, Nick."

Nicolas had to smile just a tad proudly at Hope. "You know, when Marls and I were kids, we used to plot together like this. Mum was already gone and the witches were just waiting for us to be of age to do the same to us, but we had plots every day to make their lives miserable. Course it was stupid kid stuff, nothing that could actually hurt them."

Hope smiled lightly. It wasn't often that Nicolas talked about his life with Marlenie as children before they were separated. Hope liked hearing about those moments. Sometimes they sounded like a regular sibling thing — like pranks from a witches' perspective.

"I'm not Marlenie but I can still try to plot," Hope said, causing Nicolas to chuckle. "Which is why you should still let me do something for my Mom." That ended Nicolas' laughter on the spot. Hope sighed. "C'mon, you're letting me do this for Dad."

"Because I'm supervising and it's not actually going to hurt you for life. Hope, we can't do that binding spell. Mum's told me everything that Dad had to go through. I can't imagine ever performing the same spell on you. No way. I'm not doing it."

Hope grumbled and folded her arms, huffing.

"Well at least one of my children seems to have some kind of sense in them," Klaus' voice startled both Nicolas and Hope. The latter's arms unfolded on an instinct.

"Dad…" she breathed, eyes widening. This was truly the last thing she expected. Last time she heard, her father didn't want to be anywhere near her.

Even Nicolas was dumbfounded with the situation. He turned around and saw Klaus standing halfway across from them. A good distance indeed but not enough to keep the Hollow silent. There was only one reason why Klaus would risk coming all the way to Mystic Falls to see them.

"Dad, we're not doing the spell," Nicolas said immediately, of course Hope's input did not help their case at all.

The young girl had huffed again, her face scowling. "Not because I don't want to, anyways." When she met both her brother's and father's gazes, she made a gesture with her arms open. "What!?"

"I will not let my past become your future. Do you understand?" It was more like a warning the way Klaus posed his words, and yet still infuriating for Hope to hear.

"Mom is missing because of me!" Hope exclaimed. "Why can nobody understand that I just want to make things right!? That I just want her back!?"

"Hope, of course we get that," Nicolas said, "But it's not the way. We will find another way. They —" Nicolas pointed over at Klaus, "—will find a way. We have other things to do, remember?"

It didn't seem like Hope was very convinced. Actually, it seemed like she was even more upset than before.

"What are you talking about?" Klaus demanded from the two. He had already noticed the grimoires and the papers on the ground. "What are you doing?"

"It's not the binding spell," Nicolas said first and foremost. "Please. Like I'd be dumb enough to actually do that? Hope and I are working on something else. An assignment."

"An assignment?" Klaus repeated, clearly on the fence about it. He eyed Nicolas until the latter found he had to say something or he would self combust.

"This is a school, Dad," Nicolas reminded, his smile small and mischievous.

If time allowed, Klaus would have pressed his son to keep talking until the truth inevitably came out, but the Hollow wasn't a patient creature. A breeze picked up around them and suddenly, the grass began dying. Everything seemed to wither as the whispers in Klaus' head grew louder.

"Dad…I think you have to go," Nicolas said regretfully. Hope was dumbfounded at the sight and perhaps slightly startled.

"You listen to me both, the moment I find out you're trying to perform this binding spell—"

"We're not," Nicolas said again but it didn't matter.

"—I will be back and this time, not even the Hollow will stop me from grounding you both." With those parting words, Klaus left the two to continue whatever their mischievous hearts wanted to.

"You didn't tell him…" Hope said slowly, and only after they were in the comfort of being truly alone.

"No," agreed Nicolas, turning back to the grimoires, "We won't say anything to Dad or my Mum until this is sure. Do you understand, Hope? My rules."

Hope stared long and hard at her brother, finally understanding the situation. She gave a curt nod. "Your rules," she ultimately agreed. That just wasn't going to work for her.

~0~

Marcel wasn't the least bit surprised when two bodies came tumbling into the courtyard. It was almost amusing how predictable Klaus was sometimes. "Klaus Mikaelson has been quite the busy boy today. First you're up and back to Mystic Falls, now you're abducting werewolves from the bayou."

Klaus came storming in with a bowl in hand. "If Greta's greatest fear is "abominations," then I intend to give her that horror in a never-ending nightmare. I have a quart of Hope's blood and I will use every last drop of it to create more hybrids. You went behind my back." He turned on Marcel. "You put my daughter's life at risk and you betrayed me."

"I did what was right," said Marcel, making Klaus laugh.

"What was right for whom?"

"For your daughter. For my city!"

"This isn't about what was right. Your city rejected you. So did my sister! Now all you want is for them to take you back! You just need to be loved, Marcel, that's your weakness. That's how I would've known what you'd done even if my son hadn't had the sense to call. And that's why I know, no matter what you promise when you claim to be an ally, you... you will always falter."

Marcel was left with the words in his mouth. The conversation was over, he knew, and it irked him that he had nothing good to say back. Klaus preoccupied himself with the new hybrids that were beginning to wake up.

~0~

It was odd to Maleny to go out to the French Quarter knowing that in everyone else's mind, she basically owned them. She didn't like the thought — she didn't even like the fact that she had sires who firmly believed they owed her something.

"You did pronounce yourself Queen of the Quarter," Julius reminded Maleny on their walk back to the Quarter. Maleny had decided to physically join the search for Hayley, not finding much use of her time in the compound. It had all failed in the end. Another day gone and no sign of Hayley.

"I didn't think they would take it so literally," Maleny confessed. The Quarter had many rulers before her and much better liked than her. "Now I wish Cami had been around earlier because I would've placed her as Queen again. People actually liked her. Everyone liked her."

"No use in dwelling what can't be. I think you're a good ruler," Julius said, causing Maleny a laugh.

"Julius, I haven't actually done anything except takeaway daylight rings. I've imprisoned my kingdom, basically."

"Not like they didn't deserve it in the first place."

"Still. Everything's getting more heated by the day and we can't exactly hold Greta forever either. Either she escapes or Klaus kills her. No in-between."

"She still on vervain, then?"

"Yeah. It's like she ate, slept and breathed vervain for a decade." Maleny led the way into the compound and the first thing she noticed was the dry puddle of blood on the ground. It was dry, sure, but definitely new. It hadn't been there when she left.

"What is it?" Julius said, following Maleny's gaze down to the ground. "Think it's one of your own?"

Maleny sighed. "Sort of." She looked around, listening well for the heartbeats of her family. There was only one downstairs and he seemed quite at ease. "Oh, for the love of — Klaus!?" She called. "What did you do!?"

A short moment later, Klaus emerged from one of the rooms downstairs. He had been at ease until he saw that Maleny was not alone — that she was with Julius.

"What did you do?" Maleny got straight to the point. She eyed the glass of bourbon in his hand.

"Why would you assume I did something?"

Maleny's face fell flat. "You insult me by playing this game."

Klaus flashed the briefest of smiles. "You would have known had you been around."

"You didn't think to just call? You do have my number again."

Clearly, that hadn't been the point that Klaus was trying to make. He spared Julius a glance — glare. "You were busy then?"

"Yes, searching for Hayley," Julius said with the same glare on his face. "And what were you doing? Making the problem worse? The dry blood sure speaks for itself."

Klaus' glare deepened. The grip around his glass tightened. "I would choose your next words very carefully because no amount of magic will save you."

Just as Julius was about to respond, Maleny struck an arm in front of him. "I can take it from here, Julius. Go back to the others."

Julius didn't have a choice. With one last glare at Klaus, he zipped out of the courtyard.

"Why do you do that?" Maleny started again once they were alone.

Klaus went down the long, innocent road. "Do what?" He took himself to the couch, casually plopping down. He even flashed Maleny an innocent grin to match.

Maleny took in a deep breath so as to not blurt the first thing that popped into her head. At the same time, however, she wondered why she had to do that and Klaus didn't. Everyone said she was the saner one between the two, but why? Why did she have to be the same one?

"What was the dried blood from?" she took a different avenue instead, unknowing that it would inexplicably lead her back to the original problem.

"Oh, I'm merely doing what Greta is so fearful of," Klaus replied, shrugging.

Maleny watched him take a sip from his glass until his words rang in her head. "Did you — did you make more hybrids?"

Klaus didn't have to verbally answer. His widened grin was enough.

"What the — why!?"

"I believe I explained it already."

"Oh my God, you've gone even more insane than I remember," Maleny brought her hands up to her head. "You're making the problem worse! What was the point in giving the vampires a whole lecture on who's boss if you're just going to go behind my back and do something like this?"

"Well, I would have loved to run the idea by the Queen you but you were a bit preoccupied with one for your subjects..." Klaus said, his expression hardening.

Maleny's did too. "Don't you go down that road. I don't want to do that."

"Do what? I'm just trying to help this family out—"

"SO AM I!" Maleny exclaimed, and it released the wave of thoughts that had run through her mind a couple days ago. She would have kept it to herself had Klaus not thrown such a vile lie in her face. "I have always helped this family! Look at everything I've lost just to help everyone here!? I know this is embarrassingly late," she laughed bitterly, "My life has always revolved around you, around this family, and I only just realized it."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Klaus rose from the couch in a snap, drowning the remaining bourbon in his glass.

"Are you kidding me!? The obvious! The elephant in the room!" snapped Maleny. "I died for you! Your mother stole my magic! Your brothers tried killing me! Your father — need I go on!?"

Klaus hurled his glass to the side, neither he nor Maleny fazed by the violent crashing noise. "What do you want me to say!? I tried my damn hardest to protect you each time!"

"I know that but it doesn't stop it from being true! All my life, you are all I have ever known…" Maleny's hands raised in front of her but she couldn't explain herself as she wanted to. She couldn't find the right words that wouldn't blame him but still get the point across. "And-and I'm grateful for every time you've protected me and-and kept me safe but…but you don't get to make me feel bad for not being here all the time."

"Well then by all means, feel free to leave!" Klaus gestured the way out. Everything was ringing around him. "Shall I call your little friend back? You can go off together then!"

"That's not what I'm saying!"

"That's what I'm saying!"

Maleny stopped altogether, startled and yet at the same time she knew she shouldn't be. This was a classic move Klaus would often use on anyone who hurt his feelings. "Fine," she spat, "Call me when you've cooled down. Like you usually do."

"Don't count it, sweetheart. Wouldn't want to drag you into my family's business," Klaus made sure to enunciate slowly for Maleny. The latter merely smirked.

That's the game you want to play then fine. "I'm sure you eventually will," she smiled back then turned away to get the hell out of there.

~ 0 ~

There was no way to pinpoint when Greta had plotted and executed her plan to escape the compound, but she'd done it and successfully too. Once that happened, and after making sure that poor Josh was fine (in what fit), Klaus had no choice but to inform Maleny of it. However, she did not come back as she said she would.

"She has her little sires searching for Greta in the compound," he muttered when Marcel asked him about it.

Marcel scoffed at the idea of Greta still being in the Quarter. "If she has any sense, she'll be thousands of miles away from here."

Klaus did not think so. He sat himself down at the bar with yet another glass. The compound's stock of alcohol was dwindling fast. "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

Marcel looked at him like he was crazy. "Why the hell not?"

"Because Greta has vengeance to complete and she will not desist until she either wins or dies."

Marcel tilted his head at Klaus, coming slowly to the latter's side. Something had changed since the last time they spoke to each other. Klaus used to rage about Greta, throwing insults and threats without care, without purpose. Right now, it sounded like Klaus had resigned himself to what was coming. He expected it to come because he knew why.

"What I said earlier...I was angry," Klaus said quietly, having to muster up all of his will to confess to that. Still, it took about two drinks to be able to live with the decision.

Marcel shrugged. "Yeah, well... you weren't wrong. I'm off my game. Your sister really did a number on my head."

In the spirit of confessions and the fact that Marcel hadn't totally laughed in his face, Klaus continued. "Absent Elijah, my temper gets the better of me. It did today. Twice."

"Mm," Marcel had noticed the Queen of the Quarter's lack of presence in the compound. "I can't speak for Elijah but I think I can for Maleny. She'll be back, wherever she is."

"I don't know, it's been brought to my attention that I've dragged her through the mud many, many times." And because it pained Klaus to admit to it and think about it, he had to stop himself from counting the times Maleny had been in danger because of him. He'd known about the unfortunate truth long before Maleny pointed it out today and unbeknownst to her — and anyone else — it was always one of Klaus' biggest fears.

The day Maleny realized how harmful it was to be around him (and his family) would inevitably lead to her leaving him altogether. Sure it hadn't happened the way Klaus thought it would, but it seemed like now it really would.

"She just realized it?" Marcel said with a hint of bemusement. Klaus was nowhere near there. "C'mon," Marcel took the stool beside him, "It's not just you or your family. The price of being supernatural is high, especially our kind. Hybrids."

"No, but…this one's all my fault," Klaus said, leaving his glass for a moment, "See, I'm far from blameless, Marcel. Although he got nothing less than what he deserved. In fact, I think I took it easy on him. I killed him right outside his home and then the villagers who'd come up. They never saw it coming. And I had the stupid idea to offer them a chance of mercy with a coin…"

"I'm familiar with the tactic," nodded Marcel, for a brief moment sharing a knowing smile with Klaus.

"Most were innocent. And they all became victim of that part of me I'd been forced to suppress. So, you see, in the end, I was the match that lit the fuse. My mistake was that I humiliated them, and in doing so, I empowered them with the most potent form of hate. That which has fueled my rage for a millennia. Shame. I gifted them shame. And now a thousand years later, they've come to hurt everyone that I care about. My children, my family…and Maleny."

Marcel listened attentively, nodding in acknowledgement. It did explain everything perfectly and so now Marcel knew that there was no way Greta would just leave the Quarter to never come back. Even if she did leave, it would be for a moment only. She would be back.

"Hey," Cami stepped into the lounge, drawing both men's attention, "No word on Greta, no word on Hayley. Another exceptional night."

Marcel had to agree there. "I'll go look too. Give you a break."

Cami smiled. "Thanks. Um, Mal's got no news either. Told her it was best to just take a rest."

Klaus' head turned at the mention of Maleny. "She's here?"

Cami was puzzled with his reaction but nonetheless nodded at him. "Yeah, she's in her old music room. The one with the piano? I thought that thing was broken…" she trailed off as the wind trail of Klaus hit her in the face. "What just happened?" Cami blinked.

Marcel chuckled. "You want a drink before I go?"

"I think so, yeah…" Cami scratched the side of her head, still puzzled, and walked up to the counter.

"Was there any word on Elijah, by any chance?" Marcel thought to ask as he poured Cami a drink. Cami's expression fell pretty quickly. Marcel felt bad for asking."I'm sorry…"

"No, it's not your fault," Cami said, graciously accepting the glass from Marcel. "Mal said to have hope but each day when he doesn't call or text or show up, it gets a little harder to keep hoping."

"I think she's right — sooner or later, Elijah's going to snap and come running back."

"Oh," Cami said, eyes wide, "I don't think so. He wants nothing to do with his family."

"I meant run back to you," Marcel clarified, smirking when it struck Cami and had her going into a coughing fit with the bourbon in her throat. "He might not want to be near the Mikaelsons but he did make it pretty clear that you're set aside from them. I don't know, Mal might have a point."

"If…if you say so…" Cami cleared her throat before drinking her bourbon. She would love nothing more than to hear Elijah's voice, see him, but as far as she knew he was quite fine in France.

~ 0 ~

Years later and Maleny found she still could not, for the life of her, figure out some piano keys. She kept messing up the tune halfway through and had to start all over again, incapable of picking up where she left off. She was regretting her decision to uncover the stupid piano in the first place.

"Should've uncovered Aurora before I uncovered you," she muttered under her breath as she messed up the tune yet again. She groaned and pressed the palms of her hands over the keys, causing another horrible tune from the piano.

"Careful what you wish for there…" Klaus' voice interrupted Maleny's new attempt on the piano.

She hummed, tilting her head as she watched her fingers start the tune again. "I'm a big girl. I can take her."

Klaus smiled to himself. It was a stark difference from when they first dealt with Aurora. He loved knowing Maleny's confidence had risen since then.

"So, have we cooled down yet? Or do we need another moment?" Maleny did him the favor of stopping the piano for a moment. She looked back at him and it was startling for Klaus to see her completely clean of anger. It was just like her and yet it didn't make the situation better.

"We are completely out of sync," he said, taking a few steps into the room. His eyes were drawn to the lit totem in the center of the room.

"Well, to be fair, every time we are actually together, there's a big gap of time where we're not. I'm not cursed anymore but it still feels like it."

"I am sorry about all of this," Klaus said, sighing. He walked up behind Maleny. It was easier to speak his apology if she wasn't looking at him. "You —of course you were right. I knew you were right the whole time. Do you remember all those centuries ago when you wanted to be turned…?"

Maleny let out a scoff. "How could I forget? It was only what I wanted most in life." She shook her head and exhaled a long breath. "Klaus, I'm sorry." She looked up at him, slightly smiling upon catching his puzzled reaction. "I have always been bitter about that — I always demanded to be turned, thinking just about me and…I never stopped to consider what it meant for you. Honestly, you should have never been the one to turn me." She turned to the piano again, her head lowering with guilt. "It's like Nicolas asking me to turn him. I could never kill my own son. I'm sorry."

Klaus found the courage to take a seat beside Maleny, but still kept a bit of space between them. He watched her reaction from the corner of his eye. She didn't shift nor shy away.

"I'm content that you finally understood it wasn't that I didn't love you enough to turn you," he said, "Because that was never it. Quite the opposite, actually."

Maleny smiled lightly. "Call me crazy then."

"You are…"

Maleny's smile widened, a laugh threatening to slip from her. "What I said…earlier…I-I didn't mean to say it the way that I did…"

"Do you regret it?" Klaus blurted. Even when he did catch it, he didn't want to take it back. It was the question of the hour — of his life — that burned in him and would burn until he had an answer.

"Regret what?" Maleny asked, her eyebrows knitting together.

"Us." Klaus was going to leave it at that and only that. There was nothing else to add on.

Maleny wasn't sure how to take the straightforward question, and it took her a few seconds to compose herself in order to answer(ish). But each second she took to find the words felt like eons for Klaus. It allowed yet another thought — a bad one — to come to mind.

"This is my fault," Maleny said instead.

"What—?"

"It's the way I said—"

"Maleny, just tell me—"

"—I mean, I should have thought about it better—"

"Maleny," Klaus' voice sharpened, cutting the woman off. He finally looked at her, practically pleading with her to just answer him already.

Maleny smiled lightly, her eyes shining. "Really?"

Klaus found he couldn't look at her then. The piano keys became a lot more interesting suddenly.

"Klaus, however much we've suffered…I don't regret meeting you. You are and will always be the best part of my life."

"Curses included?" Klaus thought as a means of easing the mood. He managed a brief glance at Maleny and saw she was smiling wider.

"Yeah," she chuckled. "All of it. My only lament is all our time wasted. And the eternity to come."

Klaus lamented the same. Eternity seemed longer knowing it would be spent alone.

It was genuinely alarming the first second after Maleny's hand touched his. Klaus hadn't even realized what it was until after. It was lamentable knowing he almost forgot what her touch felt like. Their hands stayed together over the keyboard, not one inch of a movement from either of them.

"What I said earlier…" Maleny started again, biting her bottom lip as the nerves came back, "I didn't mean to say it like that."

"But you did mean it—"

"Yes, but not like that. It's not your fault, of course it's not. It's just…" Maleny sighed, "It's frightening to realize that my entire life has been about someone else instead of me. I've never had me before. I lost my Mum and I found one — at least I thought I did — in yours. I never had siblings — I found them with yours. It's always been about the Mikaelsons and I never realized it. These years, the ones I've spent with my mother, I got to do things that I never imagined. I…" Maleny chuckled, "I went sky diving. I surfed. I took a literature class, of all things," she laughed again. "I sat down and did school for a moment. I even took cooking classes — turns out I can make a mean blueberry cheesecake pie."

As Maleny went on to list the things she had tried out for the first time, Klaus started to smile albeit sadly. So many of those experiences he wished could have been different — that they could have been with him. He always wanted to show her the world and he never got the opportunity.

"Out of all those things, which one was your favorite?" He asked her, genuinely curious. "What is Maleny Rowan's passion?"

Maleny grinned. She had the answer alright. "Photography. I liked going out to new places and snapping pictures of a story. I dabbled in, uh, a brief travel magazine in the area. They paid me to go out and take pictures. Me?" She laughed. "I had a job! I've never had a job before!"

"You don't have to work," Klaus said like she hadn't thought about it.

"No, but, it was good. It felt good," Maleny said, leaning on him during her moment of happiness. Her head rested on his arm. "I really liked it. It wad the first time I did something for me. I've never gotten to do that. I have spent most of my life dying."

Klaus hated remembering that. It fueled a lot of his anger towards the enemies he took care of in Europe. He kept thinking about the Dawsons and how he'd royally messed up. Now that he and Maleny were apart, he couldn't do anything to protect her unless he did it from his side and his way.

"My life has revolved around you, Klaus, but I don't mean that I regret 'us'. It's just me realizing that I should do more with myself. You love to paint — you know everything about it. You love it. You're good at it. I want to have something like that too. I want something that is just mine."

"You should," Klaus nodded, the light action of his body managing to move Maleny in the process. Still, she kept her position the same. "You absolutely should." He finally understood what she meant.

Maleny smiled softly, and widely. She knew that he would come to understand, it just always took a little bit of extra time but he always came around. Maybe it was a good thing she was the saner one…

~0~

Nicolas thought he might as well go into panic mode when he verified that his sister had gone missing. He turned her dorm upside down looking for her and even went back to the cabin to make sure she wasn't just performing spells on her own…but no, Hope was gone.

"Hope! You better get back here now!" He paced back and forth in her dorm, his phone pressed tightly against his ear.

Hope had done him the favor of answering her phone, but not out of sheer courtesy.

"Whatever you're thinking of — don't! Don't you dare do the binding spell, especially on your own! Hope, listen to me, I get your desperate but this isn't the way. Plus, you and I are working on something!"

"Absolutely still working on it," Hope agreed. She was walking up to a pretty cool car and a pretty cool guy who seemed to be a good friend. "The plan's already in motion."

"Already in motion!? What the hell are you talking about!?"

"You'll see," Hope promised. "Listen, I gotta go. I'm going to save my mom one way or another."

"Hope, I know you want to do what you think is right but this is not it. Tell me where you are and I will come get you."

"Sorry Nick, but I gotta do what I have to for my Mom. You would do the same if it was aunt Mal." Hope had no doubt about it.

"Hope, just come back. We're working together —"

"Nicolas, we are and I promise you things are already in motion. Just wait."

"No, I will not 'wait'!" Nicolas snapped. "You need to get back—"

"I gotta go," Hope said quickly and hung up.

"Hope!" Nicolas was left to call her sister's name in vain. His first thought was that his parents were going to kill him, and then he started wondering what Hope meant by 'things are already set in motion'. He didn't doubt for a second that his youngest sister was just as mischievous as he and Marlenie were. It's what scared him.

~0~

Ever since Elijah found himself alone in Manosque, things didn't seem to flow as easily as they used to. What was a favorite pastime was now a nuisance or a chore — basically the same thing. Conversations were short and most of the time curt. Nothing had purpose. Even playing the piano became another chore, a robot performing what it must for the entertainment of guests (other nuisances).

After finishing yet another song, Elijah heard the common courtesy of applause. As he went to play the next song, his last one, someone came to drop a tip in the jar over the piano.

"Good song," the young woman said, "But we need to take a short break and talk."

Elijah looked up to see the woman smiling ever-so-kindly. The words were courtesy, the command was straight.

"Hello uncle Elijah," Marlenie Mikaelson smiled widely and yet it was filled with mischief.

---

A/N:

I know that nobody asked but this was actually one of my favorite chapters to write. I like seeing how much Maleny has changed between now and her first story. It's so sweet to me because the story - her series - is ending in just a few more chapters.

As always, I have AO3/Wattpad accounts under "noblecrescent" and a tumblr account under "saiilorstars" if you'd like to follow :)

P.S. Also, it seems like fanfic . net is being useless again because I'm not getting notifications about anything again no matter what I do. It says that my email doesn't recognize the site's email address which is total bull because I have it listed as as contact. So just an fyi for anyone who's on this platform, check your account settings because they may have messed with your account too .