Chapter 08
[The Abattoir, French Quarter, New Orleans. March 13rd, 2115. 2:50 pm]
KJ was excited, his big brother Nick was coming to New Orleans, and he had missed him. Klaus thought it was adorable to see someone excited about a sibling returning, and it had been a very long time since he, himself, had been that excited to see his siblings again.
Rebekah and Elijah were still out of town. Rebekah made a habit of checking in on the Mikaelson family line, being the doting aunt to some, hated by others. No doubt Elijah was doing the same, but in his way or maybe he wasn’t even on the same continent anymore. Klaus could understand that his siblings wanted distance from him, that Bella and Kol filled the void, but on the other hand, it would have been nice to see them again.
But Nick coming to New Orleans worried him. Unlike the rest of the family – so far, Nick decided to do something entirely different with the powers given to him by his ancestors Bella and Kol. He had turned himself into some con man, a paranormal investigator, a magician or whatever. Working for the silly humans with their simple minds. Of course, Klaus knew a lot of those people as they worked in New Orleans too, but none was as powerful as Nick.
At least Nick wasn’t going to go for regent of the covens. Sameen had asked their mutual friend about the possibility of Nick relocating, and the Machine had told her that the chances were slim. He had left his wife and son in Texas. After it had checked all the reasons why Nick would be in New Orleans and coming up with nothing, Klaus grew worried.
With his line of work, Nick had acquired a lot of contacts with a lot of different witches, shamans and other supernatural beings and Klaus had been impressed by that. From what the Machine told them, Nick’s list could rival their own. Nick would be a great asset to have on his side, in his army, but unfortunately, he was the first born of this generation and Klaus left those alone.
It was tempting, however, seeing as Nick had already produced one child.
He and Sameen watched as KJ welcomed his sibling to the compound, they had allowed them to meet there, seeing as they were family after all. He was surprised that after hugging KJ, Nick immediately went straight for Klaus. “We need to talk.”
“Well hello to you too,” Sam said as she casually sipped her coffee. “Long time, no see… well never, to be honest.”
Nick smiled at her. “Hello, Sameen. Your lackeys have been keeping an eye on me so don’t tell me you’ve never seen my face.”
Sam shrugged and continued to drink her coffee.
Klaus expected as much that Nick only came to New Orleans to talk. “It must be pressing news that you wish to speak to me about,” he said as he pointed to a chair. “Please, sit.”
Nick did as Klaus told him to and sighed. “I’ve heard the news, and it’s not good. While you’ve been trying to make sure that your family didn’t grow out of control like the rats that we are, other influential witch families have been growing out of proportion and are now making their way to New Orleans, to take over.”
“What is it about New Orleans that they’d like? Can’t they leave us in peace?” Sam asked. They had destroyed a few werewolf families over the last few months upon the New Orleans witches’ request as they, too, were allowed to grow in numbers. But it was in their own territory.
“I suppose witches migrate, just as most vampires and werewolves do,” Nick said as he helped himself to the coffee pot and poured the liquid into one of the other mugs on the table. “Honestly, staying in one place for a long time is no fun.”
“I wasn’t one to really wander, why to start now?” Klaus watched Nick like a hawk. Even though generations removed, he reminded him of his brother Kol. “I suppose wanderlust is in your genes, with Kol being your ancestor.”
“We all know that technically, we’re not Mikaelsons and just carry the name,” Nick snorted and shook his head. “For which we’re grateful, of course. Your name opens a lot of doors in the supernatural community.”
“What witches are going to make a play for New Orleans? My lieutenant already spoke of several families moving in from out of state, he and some of the Claire witches are keeping an eye on them.”
“The worst of them all. The rabble rousers. Salem witches. The Bennetts,” He replied mournfully. “And you should know better than to trust Claire witches, especially with your history.”
Klaus sneered at that.
“I’m not telling you what to do, just that you have to be careful. The Bennett witches want more power, they want access to the powers of the Regents and they want access to ancestral magic. For what reason? It’s unclear as of now, but my guess is that they want to turn New Orleans into a safe haven for witches of all walks of life. New Orleans is isolated from the rest of the country, it makes sense.”
“New Orleans is my town. They’re not going to take it,” he snapped. “As I said, we have it under control.”
“No, you don’t.” Nick spat at him, not flinching at the hybrid as he sneered again and shifted in his seat. “If you truly want to keep your beloved city yours, I suggest you remove the new witches from your city to prevent dead vampires.”
“Why do you care?”
“Why don’t you care?” He shot back at Klaus. “Your city, you said. Do you want it to be run by witches or do you want to keep your delicate balance?”
A vampire ground to a halt next to Nick, and he blinked before hugging him. “Brother!”
“Hey Eddie,” Nick smiled at him. “What’s the hurry?”
“Klaus, you need to come,” Edward said to his boss. “Something’s happened. Marcel—”
“Whatever it is, Marcel can deal with it,” Klaus said to the young vampire. “I was having a nice chat with your brother.”
“Marcel’s dead. A group of new witches tore him apart while we were heading back to his apartment in Algiers. I barely escaped.”
Nick simply smirked. “Told ya.”
[The Abattoir, French Quarter, New Orleans. May 25th, 2260. 5:32 am]
Maybe turning Duke Remus Mikaelson, great great grandson of Bella and Kol, son of Nick, hadn’t been such a great idea, but hindsight was always 20/20, wasn’t it? The young man had been trouble to begin with, but he’d been looking for a good replacement for Marcel, who’d been gone for 40 years now.
It was proving difficult to place his dear Marcel. His first attempt at replacing him had been KJ, who had been mentored by Marcel for a good few years, but the boy was still unpredictable, and he didn’t seem to be able to gain the respect of the other vampires. Duke, however, was a trained fighter, and he was always getting into trouble with the police. To save his parents some more grief and headaches, Klaus had his vampires take Duke out of New York and turned him when he laid eyes on him.
Duke was a big fellow. Angry. Strong. Even stronger as a vampire. And for a good while, Duke served him well, until he found different interests. Until his anger consumed him and became a ripper. It took some time to get him out of that stage, and by then it was too late. James had put up the barrier and Duke wanted to take him out while he was being evicted from New Orleans.
Granted, Klaus was pissed off beyond imagining when it happened, but he knew it had only been a matter of time. They had been killing too many Mikaelsons over the cause of a period and sooner or later someone would get pissed off about it. But, he also knew that it was only a matter of time before they could enter New Orleans again and wasn’t too vengeful about it.
However, it was now months since it happened and getting back into New Orleans and killing James had become an obsession for young Duke. Even generations apart, Klaus could see Bella’s determination in him and probably his arrogance, but instead of trying to keep things together like a real leader should, he was unraveling. Fast.
“I’m sorry,” Sameen said as she watched Duke from her position. The vampire had rallied all of them together in the beautiful town square of Mystic Falls and was spewing nonsense again. This time he wanted to go after the few Bennett witches in Mystic Falls. “But if we wish to keep the peace in this town, he has to go.”
It was never good to piss off witches. But the Bennett witches didn’t have anything to do with what James Edward Mikaelson had done. Far from it, he had been of sound mind and true heart. The best intentions as possible. Of course, Klaus would have loved to slaughter some of Bonnie Bennett’s descendants, they were all as equally annoying as the witch had been, but his Sameen was right.
Klaus watched as Sameen leapt up and ripped out Duke’s heart in one quick movement. “Now, listen up, you idiots,” she said as she held his heart in her hand as the body dropped to the floor. “We will not retaliate by killing witches that didn’t have anything to do with what happened to us in New Orleans. We’re simply going to start a new life, here. If you do not want to stay here, you’re more than welcome to leave and seek your fortune elsewhere.”
Klaus blinked at that. He and Sameen had not agreed to that, but perhaps she was right. Mystic Falls was a small town after all, and if they wanted to play things safe, their numbers had to severely diminish. Maybe it would be better if they’d go somewhere else for the time being. His hometown wouldn’t fall off the face of the Earth any time soon, and maybe a change of scenery would be good.
However, he didn’t want to stray too far from what he knew. “Relocate to wherever you want, however, be aware that we can call upon you at a moment’s notice, and we’d like you to come back when we do. Have I made myself clear?”
He saw some faces nod and then speed off. “Anyone else wishes to leave?” When no one spoke up, he let out a deep breath. “Then let’s move to our temporary location before the sun rises, seeing as most of you haven’t earned your rings yet.”
[Accessing current feeds]
[The Abattoir, French Quarter, New Orleans. January 27th, 2311. 10:44 pm]
Bella was stuffing her face when Kol and Klaus returned with the grimoires she had requested. They both didn’t quite understand what had happened other than it involving the Ancestors and had made it their mission to ask Bella once she had calmed down somewhat.
But even when stuffing her face, she was in a frenzy.
“Bella, stop,” Kol said as he put his pile of books on the table and moved to her to stop her from eating. “Take a breath.”
“There’s no time,” she whined. “I have 24 hours… 21 hours left in this body. I can’t fix the mess with the witches in a day; there’s no way that even with your help that they’re going to listen or heal.”
“Tough. You need to slow down. Otherwise you’ll drive yourself crazy, and you’re going to miss something,” Kol lifted her up and turned her away from the books and the food. “It’s great that you’re buzzing with energy and that you’re more than healthy for a day. You’re so powered up on magic that you forget to tune it down, filter it. Don’t allow it to take you over.”
“I’m not.”
“Yet.”
She eyed him before letting out a loud burp. “Sorry, I ate too fast,” she apologized and then sighed. “You’re right. I suppose I could spare one hour. What do you want to do?”
“I want you to relax before you bring down the building,” he said with a grin. “You need to take control over every sensation you’re currently experiencing. Your fear, your anxiety, but also your hope and your wishes.”
“Oh goodie,” Sam remarked as she stood in the doorway. “I just arrived at the right time to pull Klaus away from the boring shit.” She then winked at Bella. “Good to see you don’t like to stay dead either, Bella.”
Klaus turned to his mate, surprised to see her in one piece and moved to her to kiss her. “How did it go? Did you learn anything?”
Sam sighed as she put her arms around Klaus’ neck and pulled him out of Bella and Kol’s room. “I tried my best not to kill them; I suspect they were manipulated by Mandy like Bella had been, although some of them were quite content when they heard that Bella was dying. Something about the biggest mistake they ever made. I guess when people are desperate they don’t think correctly.” She jerked her head towards the room. “Divine witchy intervention?”
Klaus grumbled as he nodded his head. “I am not sure why she wanted us to get the grimoires. There could be a variety of reasons, but I’m sure that once Kol calms her down, she’ll tell us.”
“You think we’re going to be up all night?”
He smiled at that. “Given the limited time given by the ancestors, I suppose so.”
Sam groaned. “I need coffee.”
Klaus’ head snapped to the entrance of the courtyard and was on the human before it could even blink. “You have some guts to walk through those doors,” he said threatening, pushing the human against the gate. “Old man.”
“Yes, and as an old man, I expect to be treated as such,” the man scowled, pushing Klaus away with his index finger. “I come in peace, old man.”
“Peace,” Klaus huffed.
“Hey, I saw you at the witches when they asked me for their help,” Sam said as she moved beside her mate. “You said your father was responsible for the barrier.”
Duke nodded slowly. “I’m Duke Oliver Mikaelson, ma’am, not to be confused with Duke Remus, who’s been in your vampire army for years.”
Klaus let out a grunt as Sam pushed herself between him and Duke.
Sam nodded. “I killed him 50 years ago for wanting to go after your father.”
They had the Machine track all of the Mikaelsons for them because Klaus didn’t mean to have any personal dealings with his extended family. There were so many of them, and it was hard to keep track, but the Machine had a great and expansive mind. She didn’t forget. She told them who to kill – even though it was against her programming. Sam had reasoned with her, that it was important that they kept the amount of Mikaelsons to a bearable, tolerable, level, so there was less chance of them wanting to kill people. It was for the greater good that they were checked.
The perimeters had been easy enough; every first-born survived and their children. Or, once technology started to take over, the Machine made sure that all the other lines were made infertile without them knowing about it. It wasn’t ideal, but Klaus was a paranoid fucker, obsessive, even. She had begged the Machine – a machine – to do this so that Klaus wouldn’t go crazy and obsessive about it all; she wanted him sane.
For years, Sam had cursed Bella and Kol for making babies in the first place, but she could understand a basic human need to created clones of themselves. But, had Klaus eliminated everyone after Bella and Kol died, maybe they wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place.
While Sam didn’t hold a grudge against Duke because of who his father was, Klaus was less inclined to let bygones be just that.
“Oh, well, good to be the only Duke then,” Duke replied, focusing his attention to Sameen. “I saw you leave the loft today. Do you trust them?”
“No.”
“Good, you shouldn’t.”
“I don’t trust you either.”
“Good,” Duke said with a slight smirk on his face before looking at Klaus, who looked as if he was eating himself from the inside. “Relax, I have no witchy powers. I’m not a vampire. I’m not a werewolf. I’m just an old geezer, and I’m offering you my help.”
“What could you possibly have to offer?” Klaus demanded as he walked back into the courtyard. He had made the decision to keep the man alive as long as he gave them the information they could use.
Duke followed Klaus, undeterred with the other vampire following him. “Unlike any of you, I know my family. At least what’s left of it. I know the ones who are willing to change and the ones who want to use Bella to grab the regent position for themselves.”
Klaus couldn’t help but sneer at that. “You could have warned Sameen about Mandy.”
“Mandy is a Claire.”
“Was a Claire,” Klaus pointed out. “But I suppose the word of her recent demise hasn’t reached you yet.”
“And your point? A Claire is a Claire. They’ve been deviant little bitches for centuries.” Duke stopped dead in his tracks. “Mandy’s dead?”
“As you said, she was a deviant little wench,” Klaus countered as he sat down in one of the chairs they had put in the courtyard for the vampires who were out all night protecting them. He wasn’t inclined on taking Duke anywhere other than have him in the courtyard. “While there is no doubt that your little witches had a hand in poisoning Bella to make sure she’d be dead again after helping them with their problem – concerning the state of the witches, Mandy had other plans and managed to influence Bella in a different way,” he explained and then a broad smile appeared on his face. “Safe to say that Mandy’s learnt her lesson after Bella confronted her.”
“Of course, they’re Mikaelsons. Even with the chip in their heads they are conniving little girls,” Duke said as a matter of factly. “However, they’re not all that bad. There is some truth to their madness.”
“Such as?”
“The regent’s insanity and the way the Bennett witches influence her. They have a handful of werewolves in their pocket too; she’s well protected.”
“And yet, Kol and Bella were able to walk on the Cemetery with ease.”
“Because they’re not there. They’re hiding out near the Old Lakewood Golf Club, in one of the mansions on Lennox Boulevard.”
“Of course they are. Why make it easy?”
Duke smiled at that. “Surely with a reputation like yours you already have a plan?”
Klaus didn’t say anything. Their numbers had faltered, quickly, in the last few days. Every time he sent out a handful of vampires to go after some of the werewolves and chase them out of the quarter and back towards the Bayou and the Ninth Ward, only half of them returned if they were lucky.
“Scouting trip?” Sam smiled brightly. “My friend and I are itching for one.”
“Be careful. I’d like to come with, but I don’t want to leave this geezer alone.”
“Don’t kill him.”
“I won’t, I believe he’s telling the truth.”
“Good,” Sam smirked before running upstairs to get her things. “A good old fashioned hunt is just what I need!” She called out from upstairs before coming back down and kissed Klaus. “See you later. Have fun.”
[The Abattoir, French Quarter, New Orleans. January 28th, 2311. 12:21 am]
Once he had Bella somewhat centered and calm, Kol decided it was time to invite the rest of the family back so that Bella could explain her plan, what she was doing – or wanted to do anyway. She mentioned something along the lines of having a surprise for Sameen as well, but seeing as she was still trying to get eyes on the Regent and the Bennett witches, she wasn’t there, and Bella was simply going to make it a big surprise.
Kol hated it that Bella didn’t want to share what it was. He hated secrets, especially when his wife had them. He liked it, though that she didn’t want to leave him, that she wanted to stay and he suspected that her plan had something to do with it – and he liked it.
“Are you all fed and not going to rip off my head if I say things you don’t like?” Bella smirked as she looked at the vampires sitting at the table. She was sitting on top of it, surrounded by her books, just like old times. But in a different body.
“You’ve strategically placed yourself in the middle of us; I’m sure you have a nice little spell that will blow us all away if we so much attempt to drink from you,” Klaus looked at his sister-in-law. “Besides, when have we ever taken a bite out of you?”
Bella smirked. “August 8th, 2050. From me and Kol.”
“What?”
“You’ve forgotten?” She grinned. “Nina’s kid had accidentally cursed you, and you had to drink from the both of us to cure you of it.”
Klaus huffed. “I always thought it was an elaborate plot from you and Kol to experience what it felt like to be fed upon.”
“Aha! But you did drink from us!”
“And you tasted very nice, now, get on with it, your time is limited, if I remember correctly,” Klaus said, apparently not amused.
“Yep, but it doesn’t have to be,” Bella said as she pointed at her books. “Look, I love you guys, you’re my family, but I also know how conniving you are and what you are capable of when you’re bored.”
“What do you mean?”
“I knew you were going to resurrect Kol eventually, despite his wishes,” she smirked and pointed at her husband. “I also knew that eventually, Kol would want me back. So, after he died, I spent most of my days doing research. It’s one thing to resurrect an Original vampire; it’s pretty straightforward magic. It needs a lot of power, sure, but it’s pretty straight forward as your body doesn’t age, even when they’re ash.”
“I wouldn’t say it was straightforward,” Klaus said, mumbling. “It cost me a lot of money to pay the right witch to do so. To find her, in the first place, someone who didn’t have any ties to our lives, knowledge of who we are.”
“It were a handful of ingredients and a spell or two, yes?” Bella smiled at Klaus before sighing. “Anyway, I left instructions with Hope, that, should the need arise, she’d be able to resurrect me.”
“Hope?” Klaus blinked. He hadn’t seen his daughter in a very long time. Hope was like her mother, free spirited and doing whatever she pleased. He wouldn’t be surprised if Hope lived among the werewolves in secret. “Why her?”
“She’s a powerful witch. She’s a tribrid. She’s a Mikaelson. Would you like me to continue?”
“Look, I want to extend my life so I can help the witches find their balance again, kick those other witches out and deal with the werewolves. Help you with it. I can’t do that in this body. There’s a time limit on this one.”
“Cuddles? You want to hijack a healthy body?” Kol smiled hopeful.
“No. Well, yes, probably. If this fails. But I prefer to have my own back so that nobody else has to sacrifice themselves,” Bella smiled at him. “I died an old lady, but with these spells, I can rewind time for my bones and skin. Hopefully. I mean, I was old when I thought of this combination, and I was probably losing my mind.” She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. “If this fails, you might have to find someone that’s aesthetically pleasing, and we’ll get me in that.”
Elijah and Rebekah had remained quiet until now, but they had been listening intently. “Won’t the Ancestors be infuriated with you for cheating death?” Elijah inquired.
“Of course, but my daughter alerted me to the loophole. This body has 24 hours in full health. Everything else is me. So, this body. She never said anything about me jumping bodies or resurrecting myself. I figure that if I do it without casualties, I can get away with it.”
“But dead is dead.”
“Not always,” Bella said with a smirk. “I’ll deal with the consequences myself, but they need my help and by the time they want to sanction me for abuse of power, I’ll have fulfilled my duties as a witch.”
Kol’s smirk grew wide. “Are you saying?”
“I am, if you want me to.”
“I do! Very much so!” Kol got up from his seat and kissed her. “You are brilliant! What do you need?”
Bella blinked when the door opened, and Hope walked in with a bag. “Greetings family, I come bearing some old bones!”
[The Abattoir, French Quarter, New Orleans. January 28th, 2311. 12:34 am]
“Hope,” Klaus greeted her with a big smile.
“Father,” she unceremoniously dropped the bag holding Bella’s bones to the floor and hugged him. “Glad you have returned to New Orleans. Excuse the clothes and smell. Word travels slowly when you’re wolfed out in the Bayou. I couldn’t believe mother when she conveyed that she had been chased by vampires.”
“Yes, how do you communicate?” Kol smirked as he relaxed in his chair. “Granted, it was fun to chase Hayley for sport.”
Hope huffed. She wasn’t amused. “I knew there was a reason I preferred the company of my pack,” she countered before letting go of Klaus. “So,” she said as she looked at Bella. “You’re already resurrected? Damn it, I wanted to be all badass and surprise everyone.”
“How did you know she was back?” Elijah looked Hope over. She looked like her mother, with her dark features, but it was still clear that she was a Mikaelson. It felt good to see her again. He wished that the girl didn’t look so bewildered and ill at ease among them, it would be great to catch up with her.
“That’s none of your business, uncle,” Hope snapped at him. “You and Aunt Rebekah have no right to know every single detail.”
“Watch your tongue.”
Hope growled and waved her hand, shutting Elijah up, earning smiles from Kol, Klaus and Bella. “Where’s Sam?”
“Out. She’ll be back shortly,” Klaus said pleasantly. “I would love to have a proper reunion with you, Hope, but we’re a little short on time. Bella was just about to tell us what she needed from us to help.”
“I’ll let the adults talk while I take a quick shower and grab some food. I’m starving.” Hope flashed a wolfish grin before running off.
“Well. I suppose you won’t have to dig me up…” Bella mused as she looked at the bag on the floor, a bone sticking out from it. “Gross.”
“Pretty bones,” Kol said as he picked up the bag and had a peek inside. “Brittle bones. Are you sure you can fix that?”
“I’ll have to. There is no way I’m going to walk around like a 95-year-old for the rest of my life.”
“Why not?” he mused. “Senior citizen discount forever!”
“Because it’s so wrong in so many ways,” Bella shuddered as she handed Klaus a note. “I need these things,” she said before holding up another note for Kol, with more magical specialised ingredients. “And you can get me that. Some of that is in a box in our playhouse, get me the entire box.” She conjured a bucket and a spade and handed it over to Elijah. “I need some hallowed ground from you. Not consecrated soil, but hallowed.”
‘Why?’ he mouthed, still not able to speak.
“Because that spell needs to be done with as little interference as possible and if you take consecrated ground, the chances are that the Ancestors will interfere,” Bella explained before looking at Rebekah. “You’re staying here to watch over Hope and me until Sam gets back.”
“I hope she has bitten off more than she can chew,” Rebekah muttered, not particularly liking Sameen. It was one thing that Kol and Bella had taken her and Elijah’s place next to Nik’s side, but with Sameen’s introduction? Sameen was even worse with holding a grudge and holding on to resentment than her brother was. “I hope she chokes on it.”
Klaus growled, but Bella was faster as she threw Rebekah against a wall. “Out of respect to you and Elijah for what you’ve done for me in the past, I won’t cast you out. But you two better start playing nice and accept that you’re on nearly everyone’s shitlist before I make sure that the both of you are going to be in physical agony for the rest of your lives.”
“It won’t stick when you die.”
Kol huffed. “Don’t challenge her, you know she’ll find a way.”
[The Abattoir, French Quarter, New Orleans. January 28th, 2311. 4:01 am]
Bella knew that despite giving the notes to vampires, they’d need several hours to get what she needed to do the spell. In the time that they were gone, she had moved her books and her bones to an empty room in the compound and had warded it against Ancestral magic and perhaps also Ancestral peekage. Hope helped her with that while she talked about her adventures as a wolf. The only thing that Hope had missed was human food. The raw diet made her sick to her stomach.
Bella didn’t understand why Hope, and all the other Crescent wolves, hadn’t been ejected from New Orleans when the barrier went up, but Hope had a natural explanation; they had all been in their wolf form, therefore classifying as a werewolf and not a vampire.
“Ah, so here you are,” Sam’s voice sounded from behind them. When Bella turned around, she saw her standing casually against the doorpost. “I love what you’ve done with the place; it’s very…”
“Magical?” Hope snorted.
“No, I was going for Feng Shui, but I suppose that works, too,” she replied and then nodded at Hope. “Good to see you again, Hope.”
“And you,” Hope grinned. “Bella’s already promised to cook us a big reunion dinner when we’re done with this.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yep!”
“I can’t wait. Where’s Klaus?”
“I think he’s still out hunting down some ingredients we’re going to need,” Bella said as she looked up from her books with a smile. “How would you feel if I say that I can make you indestructible like Klaus? Would you like that?”
Sam blinked at her and sucked in a breath. “Oh, I don’t know… Can I think about it?”
“Sure, that spell can wait.”
“Are you going to do it?”
Bella let out a breath and nodded. “Eventually, when I’m done, yes. I thought long and hard about it when I was collecting all these spells because I like to believe that dead is dead, but the whole supernatural business makes it a bit of a weird thought. I think that eventually, Kol will move on when I’m gone, but I’m also sure that he wouldn’t mind my company for the rest of his life.”
“Especially with Elijah and Rebekah’s antics?”
“Oh yeah. Seems like Always and Forever ends for them after 1000 years,” Bella muttered as she went over the books again to check if she was missing something. “But think about it, there’s plenty of time. You’re pretty indestructible already so… no rush.”
“The regent is very well protected, I doubt Klaus will want you to go by yourself to pay her a visit,” Sam eventually said.
“I’m not going alone. I never said I was going alone. I’m not stupid.”
“But you went alone to New Orleans to lower the barrier —-”
“It wasn’t as if you lot could get in,” Bella countered, turning around to face Sameen.
“And you went up against Mandy by yourself —-”
Bella smirked. “Not by choice. I wasn’t alone in that instance. Try again.”
“There was this fun trip to Italy where you went up against the Volturi all by yourself because you drugged me,” Kol’s voice sounded before he rounded the corner. “You could have been killed.”
“Could have, but didn’t. They shouldn’t have pissed me off,” Bella got to her feet and kissed him as a greeting. “Besides, haven’t I been a good girl since then?” She batted her lashes at him.
“The jury’s still out on that yet,” he said with a snort and returned her kiss before handing her the bag with items and herbs she wanted him to pick up. “Nik not back yet?”
“Soon, I think.” She put her arms around him and hugged him tightly. “Are you really okay with all this?” She asked quietly as she looked up to him. “Me sticking around for a bit longer?”
Kol grinned. “Well, as long as we can continue what we used to do…”
“Uhuh…”
“Oh, Cuddles, you have no idea how much I want to kill you. The impatience is killing me, but alas, I shall have to wait for a little bit longer.”
“Oh, I’m going to barf,” Sam muttered.
[The Abattoir, French Quarter, New Orleans. January 28th, 2311. 6:21 am]
“Ready?” Bella asked Hope after locking the door. She knew that Kol had wanted to be there when she would do her magic, but she was afraid that something would go wrong, and she’d end up hurting him.
It was just her and Hope as Bella could use all the magic she could get her hands on.
“Yeah,” Hope replied slightly hesitant. “Are you sure this is going to work?”
“Nope.”
“Okay. Great.” She stretched herself and sighed. “So whatever happens, don’t stop?”
“Scared?” Bella laughed as she covered her bones with the soil. “You’re a 300-year-old tribrid, this won’t be the worst thing you’ve experienced.”
“No, but it is the most delicate spell I’ve ever done. One wrong word or too fast and I will screw things up,” Hope smiled. “Forgive me when I have some performance anxiety.”
“Hope, I trust you,” Bella said as she looked at the girl. “I trust you. Now, let’s kick ass.”
Right before Bella wanted to start on the spell, Hope’s phone-like device went off. Bella was surprised that she already had one after being a wolf for so long and basically only just returned. “Sorry,” Hope muttered as she picked up the phone. “Who is this?” Frowning at the phone, she put it on speaker.
“I like the plan. It will work.”
Bella blinked when she heard the voice and had to dig deep for any recognition. “Peter?”
“And congratulations on making New Orleans open to us vamps again. We’ll talk soon. I’d wish you good luck, but you don’t really need it.” And with that, the phone went dead.
“Friend of yours?” Hope said as she turned off the phone and put it back in her pocket.
“From a very long time ago,” Bella replied with a slight growl. He had disturbed the peace with his phone call, and she knew that he knew it. “Okay, let’s do this. No more interruptions.”
The first step was to bring her body back, rebuild it with magic, make it flesh and blood again. She had dipped into the Dark Magic pool often enough, but necromancy required a lot of power. Then there was this whole balance of nature thing that reared its ugly head when performing something like this, but Bella figured that since her current body only had about 13 hours to go, it would balance out evenly.
It was weird to see that slowly, but surely, her old, wrinkled body appeared around the bones that were sticking out from the soil. The bones and earth shifted, the hum of powerful magic was all around her and Hope, their entire being breathing it in as if it was a lovely summer’s day.
“I can hear the heart beating,” Hope muttered quietly. “Are you sure it’s just a shell?”
“Uhuh,” Bella said as she raised her old, naked, body from the soil and transferred it to the table with her magic. “Are you sure it’s fully functional?”
“Oh yeah, definitely.”
“Awesome,” Bella said with a grin before covering her body with a blanket. “That was the easy part.”
“Can we take a break? I’m a little woozy.”
“Yeah, I suppose,” Bella said as she looked at Hope, who looked a little pale. “Eat something, I can do the rejuvenation spell by myself.”
Hope blinked at her. “Bella, we still have like 12 hours. It’s okay to take a break.”
“Yeah well, if this doesn’t work, we still need a couple hours for plan B so take a break. If you’re worried, send in Kol.” Bella said impatiently.
Hope smirked as she heard Bella’s heart beat even faster before leaving. Not soon after, Kol walked in. “Hope said you’re a little anxious,” he said before wrapping her into his arms. “Oh hey, you did it!” He said when his eyes fell upon Bella’s body. “Is it fully functional?”
“You tell me,” she muttered as she took a deep breath and tried to relax. “Hope heard the heartbeat.”
“It’s a bit on the weak side, but yeah.” He kissed the top of her head and smiled. “Did you ever think you were going to do this one day before you came to New Orleans for the first time?”
She huffed. “Of course not, I wasn’t even aware of my magic. In all honesty, this feels wrong. This goes against nature. I didn’t feel this conflicted when I did a similar spell on Jasper and Peter but —“
“All parties involved were already dead.”
“Yeah, and technically, I died too. But I’m alive and… Ugh.”
Kol ruffled Bella’s hair. “Get out of your head, Cuddles. If the ancestors want to take away your magic for doing this, then so be it. You’ll lose them anyway once you tell me I can feed you my blood and kill you. Nature is balanced. It’ll all balance out.”
“You just can’t wait to kill me,” she said with a slight chuckle before looking at herself. “Question; what if I am unable to reverse time on myself? Would you still want me if I was in that body?”
“Ew, no,” Kol said, scrunching his nose in disgust. “I’d still love you, but no. I mean… look at my face, all perfect and handsome. Then look at… that. When the other body grew older I didn’t mind much, but come on, either you reverse it or find yourself a new host body.”
She narrowed her eyes on him before turning around, leaning against him and muttering a spell. She then reached into her pocket to reveal a tiny herb bag and set it on fire before throwing it at her body. She and Kol watched in fascination as the fire consumed her old body, turning it to ash. Along with the blanket.
She allowed it to smoulder for a little under 80 seconds and then cast another spell to rebuild, crossing her fingers behind her back as she hoped it would work. The timing was going to be right. Bella wanted to look Kol’s age, maybe a little younger, but not by much as she didn’t want to be stuck in high school for the rest of her life. She wanted to be able to travel, to do fun things and not being confined.
She hated to be confined.
“Wow, would you look at that,” Kol said breathlessly, letting go of Bella and walked over to her old body. “Oh… yes,” his voice sounded slightly constrained. “Yes. Absolutely.”
She tilted her head with an amused smile on her lips. “Would you like some alone time?”
“Can I?” Kol looked up with an impish look on his face.
“Pervert.”
“Ah, but you love me for it,” he grinned as he grabbed another blanket and covered her up so that only her face was visible in case someone else would walk in and see her glorious body. It was all his, and he couldn’t wait for her to be back in it. While the blonde hair was adorable, he preferred the looks of her original body. “Now what?”
Bella shrugged as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Wait for Hope to have somewhat recharged so she can put me back in myself.”
[The Abattoir, French Quarter, New Orleans. January 28th, 2311. 12:01 pm]
“Come on, Cuddles,” Kol muttered as he once again rubbed her chest with his knuckles. Everything sounded as it should, her heartbeat had begun to steadily beat once she was inside of herself and he was on the verge of feeding her his blood.
Her body simply didn’t want to warm up just yet. Maybe it was because of the spell Hope had used, a spell taught by Bella herself. It was an unusual one, why not go for the well-travelled path? If he hadn’t been mistaken, part of the spell had been to anchor herself inside her body, not that anyone could pull her out without her consent or whatever.
“Come back to me or I will feed you my blood and kill you, so you have no choice but to come back,” he growled. His impatience was getting the better of him. “Because I hate this. So you’d better come back or else.”
“Shut up,” Bella muttered as she rolled into him. “I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.”
“Well, that’s because you allowed a tribrid to perform the spell. Hope’s terribly out of shape due to having spent the most time as a wolf,” he said after letting out a breath of relief. “She has the finesse of an elephant.”
“Play nice,” she put her arm around him, her eyes still closed. “I’m back now, relax. No more time restraint. We can take our time now, rebuilding. And I’m not going to see the Regent with a headache.”
“Don’t worry. We have all the time in the world now.”
“Exactly.”
“Go nap.”
Bella huffed as she opened her eyes to look up to him. “First you want me to wake up, and now you want me to nap?”
[The Abattoir, French Quarter, New Orleans. January 28th, 2311. 12:14 pm]
“She’s awake, I heard them speak,” Sam said as she threw her bag in the corner. While waiting for Bella’s return, she had gone out again and did some target practice on the werewolves that were still roaming about and dared to show their faces in the French Quarter.
“Good. No more unrest in the family and we can move forward on a united front,” Klaus responded as he looked at his mate. “Did you have fun, my love?”
Sam merely smirked before pulling Klaus with her to the bathroom. Once there, she turned on the water and undressed herself in front of him while she kept her eyes firmly fixed on him. “Want to have some more fun?” She asked in a velvety voice as she started to undress him as well. “Get rid of some tension?”
Klaus greedily kissed her, pushing her against the nearest wall. She had the right idea. Now that Bella was going to be with them for a much longer time, it was time to enjoy himself. At least a little. In the three days that they’d been back in New Orleans, they had eliminated a lot of werewolves or caused them to flee out of the Quarter. Sure, they still had a lot to do to make sure that most of them left for better places while Bella and Kol would focus on the witches and their problems, but there was no pressure.
Reorganising the supernatural population took time. He had done this many times before, but this time it was going to be different. He was going to have Sam by his side. And Bella and Kol. Rebekah and Elijah were probably going to bugger off again, and he wasn’t sure if his daughter would stick around long enough to help them. She liked being a wolf too much, and she wanted to be with her mother.
Maybe, as a gesture of good faith, he could ask Bella to reverse the spell that Dahlia had cast for him, to reverse the curse on the Crescent wolves, or at least those who were still affected by it. Perhaps Elijah would take Hayley with him if he left again. Another worry less for Klaus.
“Hey,” Sam poked him in the chest. “Thoughts with me.”
“I’m all yours,” Klaus smiled at her, discovering he was completely naked himself and allowed Sam to pull him into the cubicle.
“Good, because I’m going to take full advantage of your body, Mr. Mikaelson,” she said with a wolfish grin. “And you’re going enjoy it and love it and then return the favor.”
“If you wish,” he said, putting his arms around her before kissing her again, but blinked when she pushed him away. “What?”
“No, you’re not allowed to touch me. Let’s see how long you can last.”
