Chapter 20
Bella felt all giddy when Hayley told her and Kol to go to the scrapyard and start compelling people to leave or work the machinery for them while Hayley went to fetch the still enthralled Rosalie. She had known this moment was coming and all the work she and Kol had done had lead up to this but to actually do it was exciting, she could feel the adrenaline rushing through her body and she couldn’t stop smiling.
“Would you just stop?” Kol laughed. “Nik will find out and stop us, you know.”
“There’ll be three of us and one of him. He’s a hybrid but we can snap his neck and continue what we’re doing,” Bella said as she jumped around at the edge of the car crusher. “They’re mine. Not his. Besides, he didn’t want me to kill one today because Hayley and Hope were returning and now she’s offering one up. Win.” Bella stopped jumping and looked at Kol after she realized something. “What does Davina think of you having moved in with us?”
“Uh… I haven’t had the chance to tell her yet.”
“You’re going to tell her after we’re done here,” she smiled at him. “You shouldn’t feel obligated to chase after me all the time, I was fine drinking at Myriam’s.”
Kol was silent for a moment before speaking up again. “But perhaps I want to,” he said, immediately throwing his hands up. “Not in a creepy kind of way, I like you as a friend and yes, you’re hot and all, but friends. Besides, you’re with my brother – at the moment. But what you and I have, I like. I don’t have to take into account that I’m still cursed by the Ancestors and can tear out your throat any moment. You’re funny. We’ve spent the last year together and it was so much fun. I like it that my siblings like you. I like it that I can spend more time with my siblings when I’m around you even though they still don’t know what to do with me. I like it that you make me feel like I’m not alone.”
“You feel alone with Davina?”
He shrugged in return. “I’m mad for her, I truly am, but we’ve never been completely honest with each other and I doubt that we’ll ever be. What’s important is that I don’t want her to be killed. Now, Nik and Elijah have backed off because I asked them to, but I don’t want her to die by my hand either. What if I can’t get to you in time?”
“The solution is simple, really,” Bella sat down on the edge of the machine, dangling her legs over the edge before she pulled him down to her.
“I’m not going to turn her.”
“I thought you loved her? Make her a little sturdier so that Klaus can’t kill her.”
“I’m not going to turn her, Bella, she doesn’t deserve that. Besides, she loves being a witch too much.”
“Well, you can’t string her along either.”
“Don’t you think I know that? It’s frustrating!”
“So? Go to her,” Bella poked him in the side with her elbow. “Go to her and talk to her. Be honest with her.”
He was quiet again, the oh so confident Kol Mikaelson had turned shy. “I’d rather not.” He then looked up with a big grin on his face. “Guess who’s here!”
“Oh, I’m so going to kick your ass for changing the subject!” Bella growled as she got to her feet and waved at Hayley. “Hi! How’s she doing?”
“Resisting but nothing I couldn’t handle,” she smirked as she held up an arm. “Sorry I dented the merch.”
“Batting practice!” Kol cheered as he got to his feet and snatched the arm out of Hayley’s hold. “Please, can I?”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Rosalie snapped at Kol. “I thought our kind had a truce, but instead you keep us all like pets? For what reason?”
“Your family is the only of your kind that’s left, darling,” Kol replied as he twirled the arm in his hand before starting to poke Rosalie with it. “Certainly you would have heard rumors about a Singer decimating your numbers?”
“The Volturi wouldn’t allow it!”
“They’re dead.”
Rosalie blinked at that.
“Seriously, Hayley? For how long have you kept them in storage?”
“They were on the run, didn’t have access to a lot of things, so… I don’t know, maybe they’re just plain stupid. Although according to Peter, the longer they go without blood, the more stupid and crazy they get.” she said as she pushed Rosalie away from her. “So it’s true then, they really can’t see you?”
“Nope,” Bella grinned as she walked around Rosalie in a circle. “Can’t even hear me either until I decide to make my presence known by touching them, awesome, isn’t it?” Rosalie still looked like a flawless barbie doll. Even without having fed in a while, her hair was perfect and her clothes were nearly unscathed. “I’m so glad that they haven’t managed to turn me, though, I mean… at least I can get dirty and get my hair all messed up and move as if I’m still a human.”
Kol huffed. “Darling, you’re prettier than she is.”
“Who are you talking to?” Rosalie said impatiently. “And what am I doing here?”
“Ugh,” Bella said as she positioned herself behind Rosalie and smiled sweetly at Kol and Hayley. “Would you two please make sure she can’t use her legs?”
Kol held on to Rosalie and kicked her leg, snapping it in half at the knee with Hayley doing the same thing. Bella then kicked Rosalie into the pit and waited for her to turn around before waving at her. “Hi!”
“Bella! You get me out of here right now!”
“Is she really that thick, or?” Kol asked curiously. “Seems like all the Cold Ones have forgotten about what you are, Bella.”
Bella shrugged as she sat down on the edge of the machine, knowing that she didn’t have long until Rosalie’s legs would have healed. “Rosalie, I’m a singer, remember? And I’ve been turned. Guess what I am now?” She said calmly before she continued. “I’m going to take great joy out of killing you and your coven for what you’ve done to me. For what you’ve made me do. You’re the last of your kind. Any last words?”
“Get me out. Whatever is going on, I’m sure we can talk about it, it’s okay, Bella, the rage and anger that you feel.”
“Wow. Shame I want to hear you scream because I’m just itching to tear off your head,” she replied, getting back to her feet and signalling the machine operator to start squeezing the bitch into a one centimeter steel board. Taking the arm from Kol, she threw that into the pit as well and couldn’t wait to hear Rosalie scream.
And when it happened, the sound of steel on steel, the sound of the machine struggling with doing what it was built to do and Rosalie’s cries did something to Bella. It wasn’t empathy that she felt, no, elation. Pure madness and elation. When the machine appeared to give up, she, Hayley and Kol went to help the machine to squash Rosalie even further until she stopped making noise and the walls nearly touched.
Releasing the now compact Rosalie from the machine, Bella started with breaking off Rosalie’s fingers and toes before setting fire to the venom that had seeped out of Rosalie’s body. “Adios, blondie,” she said as she gathered the bits that she had saved and smirked at Hayley as she held them up. “Let’s throw these at Klaus.”
“Ohh, lets!”
~o.O.o~
“Where have you been? I was worried sick!”
Bella looked at Klaus and huffed. “Please, I’m not a fragile little thing nor am I volatile, I’m in control over my own actions. I just needed to get away from you, which is fine. Hayley and I did some bonding while Kol kept an eye on us.” She flopped onto the couch in the courtyard and looked at him. “Are you cured from your excessive need to control everyone and everything?”
He just stood there, gaping at her.
Bella broke one of Rosalie’s fingers in half and threw it at Klaus, hitting him straight in the chest. “Guess not. But guess what? Hayley got Rosalie for me out of storage and we killed her.” She threw the other half of the finger at him as Hayley threw something else at him from another angle. “I want to kill the rest of them tomorrow. They deserve an unspectacular death, but Edward does, so I’ll think about how I want him to die.”
“If you refuse her that, you’re really an asshole,” Hayley said as she moved towards the empty chair and continued to pelt pieces of toe at him. “What happened to you telling everyone that she’s your equal? She has every reason to make demands at this point. To even think that you’re keeping her from fulfilling her prophecy to the fullest is beyond me, Klaus.”
“Kol, why haven’t you gone to Davina yet? You brought us home safely, go see your girlfriend,” she reminded him before Bella launched Rosalie’s middle finger at his brother for it to lodge into his leg.
Klaus growled as he pulled the finger out of his leg and watched his brother disappear. Whatever was going on, he’d likely find out later. “That hurts! What are you throwing at me anyway?”
Bella shrugged as she threw another piece at him. “Pieces of Rosalie. But don’t worry, I’ll clean up the mess myself and burn it all when we’re done harassing you.”
He wasn’t just going to stand there and allow the two to throw Cold One body parts at him. He had better things to do. Dropping the finger onto the floor, he went upstairs to check up on Hope. Klaus knew that Hayley was right about the way he treated Bella, it was very much his default setting and it was difficult to change that. Camille had told him this as well, and he had once admitted that it was the main reason why he was butting heads with Hayley so much.
He didn’t want this with Bella. For this to work between them, he’d have to change. Find some middle ground and not feel emasculated. He was happy for Bella that she was finally daring to be herself, have an opinion of her own and not backing down from it because she knew what she wanted. Klaus didn’t want to appear weak.
And hell, Bella teaming up with Hayley? That would be a disaster to his relationship with Bella. Klaus needed to change. And change was hard. He could start by having more fun.
Where to start? By giving Bella what she wanted, of course. Hope was still asleep and Hayley would no doubt stay here until she awoke and go back to her apartment across the street. Klaus was going to take Bella to the remaining Cullens and let her play with them, no matter how long she wanted to spend on them. Preferably long, he loved a good torture.
It was going to be just her and him, and Freya to lift the spell that subdued the Cullens in their current living situation. But no one else. No Kol. No Davina, no Elijah, no one else but Bella and him. Perhaps Peter wanted to watch, but he wouldn’t be strong enough to take on one by himself and after all the trouble Freya had gone through to find a spell and perfect it to turn him into a proper vampire Klaus didn’t want something to happen to him – yet. His sister would be so disappointed if something would happen to him.
They hadn’t allowed the Cullens to feed since they had managed to catch them all and it had been fascinating to see the decline in their mental state; while their skin remained flawless, they started to lose their minds. While desiccation hurt like hell, Klaus preferred that over losing his mind, really.
After making his way downstairs he held out his hand for Bella to take it. “Come with me, love, let’s entertain ourselves.”
Bella looked up at him and narrowed her eyes at him. “Where are we going?”
He smiled at that. “You’ll have to come with me to find out.”
Sighing dramatically, she took his hand and got to her feet. “Alright, let’s entertain ourselves then,” Bella replied before checking herself over. “Are we going somewhere where I need fancy clothes or is this fine?”
“You can be naked if you wish, it’d only make the entertainment greater for myself.”
She eyed him as she allowed herself to be lead out of the compound. “Kinky.”
“I’m going to do better, I promise,” he smiled at her, gently squeezing her hand. “We don’t have anything to worry about anymore. We’ve dealt with Lucien, Aurora and Tristan, prevented the beast rising and we’re once again in the New Orleans that we love so much. It’s only fair that we’re going to deal with your demons before we can truly enjoy the life that we have.”
“Even if I want to find a job?”
“Why would you want to work? I can provide you with everything you need if you’ve spent all of your money in Europe in the last year?”
“No, I haven’t, but I’m not one to stay at home and be pretty, Klaus. I want to do something. Make a difference. Now that I’m free, maybe I want to attend college or something, study medicine or become a historian. Now that I’m not ageing anymore, I could be both! Oh, I could study to my heart’s content!”
“Study from home?” Klaus blinked in surprise; he had expected something else and had arranged a big surprise for her but it was her who surprised him.
“Of course not!” She smiled at him then, seeing the disappointed look on his face. “Look, what you love in your friends, their thirst for knowledge, their intellect… You nurture that, why is it so strange that I want to expand my knowledge? I can do whatever I want now and I want that. Or a job.”
“You’re my queen, Bella, you—” Can’t leave, he added in silence. Not with what he had planned.
“And this queen will be very bored if she has to stay at home,” she sighed. “Besides, college won’t start for another few months, I’m dying to dig through all the shit we stole from the Volturi and learn from that, too, aren’t you?”
She had a point, he knew that, but her going off to college and learn something provided security risks, he’d have to think about something to protect her because no vampire would voluntarily go back to college. Everything that he and his siblings knew were from experience, books. Or from times a long time ago when getting an education wasn’t that extensive.
“Don’t you even think about sending someone with me to college to protect me, Klaus. I can handle it myself,” she grinned. “Now, where did you put them?”
“Aren’t you the fantastic Cold One hunter, able to sniff them out wherever they are?”
She growled at that. “I’ve been trying since I got back to New Orleans, asshole. Freya hid them with magic, didn’t she? And not just for anyone, for me.”
“I merely wanted you to come home first,” he admitted playfully. “Haven’t seen you in a year and such.”
“Uhuh,” she eyed him cautiously when they entered the alley behind Rousseau’s, Cami’s old stomping grounds.
“The previous owner of Rousseau’s left Camille the bar in his will; he never changed it after she passed. He died after being in a horrible accident in the Bayou involving some wolves…” Klaus mused. “Camille didn’t have a will of sorts and thus Rousseau’s was put on the market to be sold. I wasn’t too happy about it, since I love coming to Rousseau’s, despite Camille’s absence. God forbid the new owner turns it into some hippy circus and paint the walls purple with red dots.”
“Why are you so afraid of change?”
“I’m not,” he replied before stopping at the back door of the bar. “So the rumor is that the same anonymous donor who saved the club Débauche, you may have heard of it – lovely club, lovely ladies and great atmosphere – purchased Rousseau’s.”
“You didn’t!”
“Not me, this anonymous donor,” he kissed the top of her head before handing her the keys. “Rousseau’s been ‘renovating’ for quite some time now. People talk about the new owner not having enough money left to fix it or whatever, but frankly, I needed a space to stuff some statues in for a while. After they’re smashed, maybe we can look into fixing the place in something that’s more suitable for you? You love to cook, you love people, why not do what Camille did and help others?”
Bella growled and punched him in the gut, hard. “I told you, I am going to college and I’m certainly not going to manage Rousseau’s for you and turn into the new Camille because that’s just an insult to her memory!”
“That’s not what I meant, I—”
Bella loved watching Klaus struggle just a little. She appreciated the sentiment and she’d totally love it to manage the bar in her free time or alongside school, but the way he said it made it sound as if he wanted to replace Cami and her memory. “I know that, Klaus,” she smiled at him and softly kissed his lips. “I love the sentimental fool that’s inside of you, the love that you hold for others. I would love to run Rousseau’s with you!”
“No, no, love, you have me all wrong!” Klaus said panicked.
“I’m nothing like Myriam. I love my independence and making my own place in this world, but you bought this bar, Klaus. If you want me to run it, we’re going to run it together. If you don’t want to do that, it’s best to sell this place again,” she kissed him again and hugged him. “Thank you though, no one’s ever bought me a bar before!” Bella giggled before stepping inside and squealed in delight when she saw the enthralled Cullens wading through the bar as if they were zombies.
He wasn’t one to work, do things that humans liked to do and he was certainly not going to start. Klaus Mikaelson was an artist, not a manager. He huffed as he followed her in, dismissing Peter and Alina with a nod. “I still don’t want to do this with you,” he said to Bella.
“Oh, shush,” Bella dismissed him. “You don’t even have to show your face or work. Rousseau’s is big enough to have a small area where you can work on your art and you can show them off in the bar. Hell, isn’t there an apartment upstairs? We could turn that into an office and an art studio.”
“And?”
Bella shrugged. “Think about it. I love the grand gesture of Rousseau’s, but I’m not going to do this alone.” She zigzagged through the Cullens and sighed. “Can you call Freya to drop the spells that are making them like this? It’s dampening me too and I really really want to feel everything as I tear them apart.”
“What if they run off?”
“Doubtful,” she replied as she turned around to face him with a big smile on her face. “First off; they won’t see me until we touch and they’ll be too confused and will demand answers from you. Secondly; let them. I’m faster.”
“Very well,” he replied as he got out his phone. “It’s your party.”
“Damn straight.”
The moment Freya cancelled the spell – or whatever you liked to call it, Bella felt the impact of standing right in the middle of Cold Ones. She was cold, angry, disgusted and hungry. While she couldn’t eat them, she could have some blood later. She quickly moved away from them as they started to become more aware to their situation and hopped onto the bar to watch them.
Yes, she wanted to kill them all, but it was sad, too. She didn’t want to have to kill them, but they deserved it because they had hurt her, abused her and broken her trust. They had her on the run for so long and it felt great to finally have the upper hand on them.
She had mixed feelings when she killed Rosalie because despite everything, Rosalie valued human life, humanity and everything that came with it. Bella didn’t believe she had actively tried to chase her as well, but still, Rosalie had to go. Not one Cold One could remain because they’d create others. And they’d create others and then… well, the Cold One population could once again grow exponentially and Bella really didn’t want that to happen. She couldn’t allow that to happen.
Enough humans had been terrorized by these glorified walking, talking discoballs.
These Cold Ones were hungry and angry, Klaus didn’t need to be the bloody singer to notice that, and right now, they were closing him in like a pack of rabid dogs. Again, he preferred the pain and discomfort of desiccating over going insane any time, his mind was his everything. “Mr. Mikaelson, if you’d be so kind as to give us some blood, we could have a civil discussion,” Carlisle Cullen looked as if he was barely keeping it together. Truth be told, Klaus was slightly entertained by that. “Whatever the reason is why you’ve kept my family here for—”
“Where’s Rosalie?” Emmett demanded, pushing Klaus against the wall. “Where’s my wife?”
“Oh, terribly sorry to say, but she’s dead,” Klaus replied as he took hold of Emmett’s arm and started to dent it so that the bulldozer would let go of him and he could rip off his arm. He trusted that Bella would come to his rescue – not that he needed rescuing. Klaus could easily take on six insane Cold Ones by himself, except for the fact that they were massive and hard to kill and would likely tear him apart, and that would hurt.
Emmett let go of Klaus, rubbing his arm, speeding up the healing process. “What? How?”
“What do you say, love?” Klaus looked around the Cullens and locked eyes with Bella who was grinning like a loon on top of that bar. “Him first?”
“Go ahead,” she giggled as she looked back at him. “He’s a tough one.”
“What? You want me to do it?”
“Who are you talking to?” Emmett grunted as Klaus punched him. Emmett sloppily lashed out at Klaus and Klaus knew that he was lucky that these vamps hadn’t had any blood for quite some time otherwise they’d be more precise and stronger. “There’s no one there.”
“There is,” Jasper replied calmly, looking around the bar as he tried to focus. A part of Bella didn’t want to kill him and have Freya turn him into a normal vampire like she’d done to Peter, but Peter had made it abundantly clear that he didn’t want to do anything with his former friend for what he’d done. “I don’t know where, exactly, it’s… I don’t know, it’s as if she inhabits this place like a blanket. She’s angry, hurt… hungry and…”
“Horny,” Bella said with a grin and winked at Klaus as he ducked Emmett’s punch again.
“She?” Carlisle shook his head as if he was shaking it clear of the cobwebs and then a look of recognition and dread flashed over his face. “Of course.”
“Yeah, Carlisle, you should have killed me when you had the chance!” Bella didn’t move from her position on the bar. “It’s a miracle that nobody is actually making an attempt to help Emmett, Klaus. Take him to another room and have fun with him.”
“No,” he growled as his werewolf visage bled out and jumped on Emmett’s back to pop off his head from his shoulders.
“Nobody make any sudden movements,” Carlisle told his family. “Klaus isn’t the one we should be worried about.”
“Duh,” Bella rolled her eyes at that. She enjoyed it so much that Jasper was trying so hard to pinpoint her location and saw him walk into the kitchen. She could feel that he was trying to influence her, but the best part of being the singer was that the gifts the gifted Cold Ones had no longer worked on her.
“It’s Bella, isn’t it?” Alice piped up, standing close to Edward, ready for him to protect her. “Bella, we mean you no harm.”
“Wow.”
Emmett’s body dropped to the floor and Klaus kicked the head away as far as possible, they were going to have to retrieve it later.
“Show yourself or I’ll kill him,” Edward growled as he pushed Klaus against the wall much like his brother had done.
“Seriously?” Both Klaus and Bella replied, causing Bella to burst out in laughter. “Oh wow. Look at him being all manly. You know, Klaus? I don’t even remember why I was so scared of them. Look at them being all weak and pathetic.”
“I know, love.”
“Yes, it appears that our Bella grown to her full potential,” Carlisle said in the same dulcet tones he’d been using since he started to speak up. “Lord knows what she’ll do.”
Bella let out a frustrated grunt as she hopped off the bar and grabbed Carlisle to give him flying lessons. “We were going to redecorate, yes?”
“Yes,” Klaus replied as he held Edward in a headlock.
“Good!” She smirked at Carlisle as he realized that it was indeed her and tossed him over the bar, right into the wall.
“Bella, please, we can talk about this,” he tried to reason with her as she launched herself on top of him and pulled off his legs with ease, throwing them against Esme. “Please, don’t.”
“Oh, go on, Carlisle, I love hearing you beg,” Bella growled at him as she punched a hole in his chest and allowed the venom to flow out of him. “Love, what if we’d set fire to this place?”
“No!”
“Worth a shot,” Bella shrugged as she stopped an arm from hitting her and pulled it out of its socket. “Start praying, son of a preacherman because you’re going to die. Say hi to Satan when you see him, huh?” She stuffed the arm into the hole she had made in Carlisle’s chest and then ripped his head off. Getting to her feet, she aimed for Esme’s head and threw Carlisle’s head at her, decapitating her with ease. “Damn, that was fucking easy. She did not see that coming!”
She felt how her strength was increasing, even fuelled with her connection to Klaus and Kol, as she leapt over the bar and launched herself at the tiny Alice. It was easy to tear her in half like a piece of paper and threw both ends on opposite sides of the bar. Jasper was next and Jasper was the hardest because he knew to fight, even in this imperfect version of himself, but she had the upper hand, she was still invisible to him.
“I may not be able to influence you, Bella, but I’ve got your man under my control.”
Bella let out a snort. “Does he, now?”
“Of course not,” Klaus spat, kicking against Edward’s legs so that they’d break and the asshole couldn’t use them to gain leverage over him. “His gift is weakened, he’s trying hard, but it’s not working.”
“Good!” She danced around Jasper for a while as he tried to find her still before she got enough of the games and tapped him on his shoulder. Bella positioned herself behind him and punched him hard. “That’s for Peter,” she punched him again, harder this time. “And that’s for being an asshole with powers that should have been used for good and not for harm. Do you have any idea how many people you could have helped? But no, you were too selfish to control yourself and mingle with others!”
Jasper swung at her but she moved and tripped him. Using the momentum, she jumped on his back so that he face planted onto the floor and kept hitting him until there were dents everywhere. She was angry, she was so damn angry and hurt that she kept punching him until Jasper surprised her by throwing her off of him and started to attack her.
He got in a few good punches, but ended up pissing her off even further when he managed to break a chair on Bella and used what remained in his hand to drive a stake through Klaus’ heart, causing him to drop Edward to the floor so that Edward could start to heal.
“Oh, you did not just do that,” Bella said as she dusted herself off as she got up from the floor.
“What can I say, Bella? You kill my family, I kill your boyfriend.”
She was circling Jasper now whilst keeping an eye on Edward. He was easier to kill, but he needed to be the last one. The one she spent most time with. Jasper was only delaying the inevitable for himself. “Are you sure?”
“I staked him, didn’t I?”
She let out a snort. “You do know who he is, right?”
Jasper shrugged. “He’s a vampire, why do I care?”
“Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time there was a witch who wanted to protect her children from the dangers in the world and created the first vampires.”
“Wrong.”
“I’m wrong?”
“We were first.”
Bella huffed at that. “Oh please, you only exist because a couple of witches had gotten greedy. I exist to remedy that problem.” She then pointed at Klaus. “He’s one of the Original vampires. They can’t be taken down with a regular stake.”
“He looks pretty dead to me.” Jasper kicked against the lifeless body, only to be surprised when Klaus’ hand grabbed his ankle and with his other hand started to pull the stake out of his chest. “What the hell?!”
“Yeah, he’s not just an indestructible vampire, but he’s also the Original Hybrid. It’s the wolf side of him that doesn’t keep him down that long when staked,” Bella said casually. “He’s going to kill you now.” She hopped back onto the bar and grinned. “I’ll just sit back and enjoy the show.”
Klaus growled as he smashed Jasper into a table before picking him up again and threw him into another table. “You know, love, I was thinking…” He lunged for Jasper and started to punch his face. “I know that we’ve had a rough time for a couple of years and we were only together out in the open for a few months before I turned you…” Klaus grunted as Jasper kicked him off of him and Klaus scrambled back onto his feet. “And then you were gone for a full year killing all of those Cold Ones… and not to forget my enemies…”
“Yes?” Bella grabbed one of the remaining bottles of alcohol and took a large gulp from it.
Klaus threw Jasper into one of the cabinets, smashing it to pieces.
“We’re going to need to get that replaced, I actually liked that cabinet,” Bella deadpanned, taking another gulp from the bottle.
“Whatever your heart desires, love,” Klaus replied, punching Jasper again. “But as I was saying, you have no idea how happy you make me and how badly I want to attempt to make our life a bit more fun.”
“Hence buying this bar so you can run it with me?”
“We’ll continue discuss the matter of my involvement later,” he said as he ducked to avoid a punch from Jasper. “But for now, consider this my engagement gift to you.”
“Engagement?” Bella blinked at him, sitting up straight as she put the bottle down. “What?”
“Would you do me the honor of marrying me? Become the Queen of the Quarter and rule with me?”
“I thought I already was your queen, Klaus, why should we get married? We’re dead, we can’t even get married!”
Growling, Klaus threw Jasper through the bar, causing him to smash into one of the support beams and making the building shake. “We’ll compel someone to marry us. I just want it to be official so my brother can’t take you away from me.”
“Is this still about Kol? We’re the best of friends, Klaus. You shouldn’t feel threatened by him!”
“It’s not him I’m worried about!” Klaus shot at her as he yanked off one of Jasper’s arms and threw it at Edward’s head to keep him down on the ground.
“What, Elijah? Oh gross, Klaus. Really? He’s with Myriam and you know I don’t like him very much!”
“Just do me the honor of becoming my wife so that I’m certain he won’t take you from me.”
“Fine!”
“Good!” Klaus punched Jasper again. “Ring will follow later, it’s at home.”
“Is it your mother’s?”
“Yes.”
“No. Absolutely not. If I remember correctly, she’s tried to kill you three times now. No way I’m going to wear her ring around my finger. No fucking way.”
“Fine! We’ll go ring shopping!”
“I want you to make me one!”
“Fine too!”
Edward finally spoke up. “It’s as if I’m listening to a phone conversation and am only hearing one side of the conversation.”
“Bella and her hybrid vampire just got engaged,” Jasper grunted as he ducked away from one of Klaus’ punches.
“My Bella?” Edward blinked. “No, she wouldn’t do that.”
Breaking Jasper in half in a sudden fit of rage, he dropped the two parts onto the floor and headed straight for Edward. “She’s mine!”
Bella giggled as she hopped off the bar and jumped around with glee and allowed Klaus to get a few punches in before making her way over to the two and brushed up against Edward so he could see her. “Isn’t he wonderful?” she swooned as she took a few steps back to allow Klaus to hit Edward some more. “That’s my man! So strong, so… hot… so non-sparkly and damn… that ass.”
Edward let out a whine and sloppily tried to fight Klaus, but Bella knew that he knew that he was going to die, seeing as both Emmett and Jasper had just been taken down by this Klaus Mikaelson.
“Can I have a go now, please?” Bella asked sweetly. “Or… no, you know what? Continue to defend my honor. It’s pleasing.”
“Love, the sooner you kill him, the sooner we can consummate our engagement.”
“Ohhhh,” Bella cooed with a grin. “Hold that thought! I have the most amazing idea!” She ran around to make sure none of the Cold One parts were touching before returning with some steel chains. She yanked off Edward’s arms and tied him up against another support beam before jumping into Klaus’ arms. “Fuck me. Now.”
“Love, in front of your ex and the other sissy?”
“Uhuh,” she giggled before she kissed him, hard. “Please? Let’s finish this nightmare with a positive bang. Literally, a bang.”
“Oh, kill us already, please!” Jasper begged as he writhed on the floor trying to get to the other half of his body. “We don’t deserve this!”
~o.O.o~
“Did you have to burn down an acre of the Bayou?” Elijah complained the moment Klaus and Bella stepped over the threshold of the Compound. “The fire department is trying hard to get it under control and if they don’t, a lot of wolf territory will be burnt.”
“Six Cold Ones. Lots of venom. Sorry that we didn’t anticipate the wind direction, Dad,” Bella shrugged as she snatched the glass of blood out of Elijah’s hands and drank it. They had fed on their way home, but she was hungry and insatiable. Rousseau’s needed a bigger remodeling than originally anticipated.
“I’m happy to hear your nightmare is over now, Bella,” Myriam smiled at her. “What are you going to do now?”
“Go to college.” She sat down in Klaus’ lap and put her arms around his neck. Bella wanted as much contact with him as she could get and he was surprisingly alright with it all. “Manage Rousseau’s seeing as Klaus bought it and gave it to me for our engagement.”
Myriam spat out her drink as she looked at the both of them in shock. “Tell me that I didn’t hear what I just heard.”
“You didn’t hear me saying that Klaus proposed to me, no,” Bella giggled as she ran a hand through his hair. “The way he did it was so… hot.”
Amused, Myriam decided to react the way normal people did. “Did he go down on one knee? Present the ring?”
“Oh hell no, I’m not going to wear his mother’s ring. That thing is fucking cursed and no, he was beating up Jasper when he proposed,” she smiled at Myriam.
“Niklaus, is this true?” Elijah couldn’t believe his brother wanting to get married. They’d never even considered doing such a thing, mainly because it was unnecessary. They already lived forever, did they really have to make it hard on themselves to marry another immortal? “What on Earth possessed you to do such a thing?”
“You, brother,” Klaus replied as he toyed with a strand of Bella’s hair. “When it comes to you, the love that I share with my girlfriend isn’t enough. It’s never been enough.”
“Oh, that’s right, you like to steal Klaus’ squeezes,” Myriam cooed as she looked at Elijah and then realized what had happened. “And he’s not wrong about it, either.”
“Technically you two weren’t dating, dear. Niklaus had his hands full with Bella.”
“Well, I, for one thing, thinks it’s perfect,” Freya hugged Klaus and Bella before sitting down in one of the chairs. “Imagine the big wedding we’re going to have to plan! Everything will be perfect! And, should we finally find a solution to Rebekah’s little problem, we can get her out of the box to start helping us!”
“No,” Bella narrowed her eyes on Freya. “Sure, big wedding or whatever fancies everyone, but you will not be that excited about it. Klaus and I will make the decisions, not you,” she said sternly before softly kissing Klaus. “But, before all that, we’re going to remodel Rousseau’s.”
“Great! I’ll look up some spells and—”
“By hand!” Bella snapped at her. “Klaus and I are going to do it by hand.”
“Who are you and what have you done with my brother?” Elijah said amused as he looked at Klaus. “Have you gone absolutely mental?”
“I’ve decided to live the way my beautiful Bella wishes to live. There is no harm in enjoying life,” Klaus smirked. “Who knows? We might be able to restore the apartments above Rousseau’s and find it more appealing than the compound!”
“What!”
“Elijah, I swear to God,” Bella said calmly, but with a threatening tone in her voice. “If you’re going to obstruct Klaus’ happiness in any way, I swear I will box you.”
“Over my dead body,” Myriam huffed.
“Okay,” Bella shrugged. “No offense, Myriam, I love you, but you’re sleeping with an asshole.”
“But he’s my asshole.”
Bella looked over her shoulder to see a defeated looking Kol walk in. She exchanged a look with Klaus who gently pushed her off his lap with a nod and she made her way over to him. “What’s the matter?” She asked as she put her arms around her best friend and hugged him tightly.
“Davina broke up with me.”
“What! Why?”
Kol sighed as he returned the hug. “Apparently she underestimated her own fear towards me and her fear is stronger than her love. I don’t blame her, really.”
“We’ll figure it out, Kol, I promise,” she kissed the top of his head and pulled him towards the rest of his family. “You know what?” Bella pushed him into a chair and poured him a glass of bourbon. “You should go to college with me.”
“What? Why?”
“To live a little, have fun. Learn more things. And when we find a cure for Rebekah, she can join us.” Bella then smiled widely. “We could find people worthy of becoming vampires for you and Klaus to turn and rebuild your empire.”
“What about witches?”
“And you can take the potential witches under your wing and educate them, yes,” she agreed.
“Alright, college it is,” he downed his glass of alcohol and got to his feet. “Do I have permission to eat the criminals in the dungeon? I’m famished.”
Klaus shrugged and waved his hand. “So is Bella, so have at it, you two. We’ll find some new ones tonight.”
Bella kissed Klaus before pulling Kol with her, cheering as they ran off.
Elijah had a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that this girl had just changed their entire family dynamic. Niklaus and Rousseau’s? Not compelling or hiring people but restoring it himself? Bella taking Kol to college? Niklaus and Bella getting married and potentially moving out?
Perhaps it was the right time that they all lived their own lives, but Elijah wasn’t quite sure if he was ready.
Only time would tell if this was the right course of action, but for now, he’d allow his younger siblings and the latest addition to their family do whatever they wanted, as long as it wouldn’t harm their family.
“So,” Myriam casually started when it was just her and Elijah in the courtyard. “Since your brother won’t be using your mother’s ring, perhaps you could find a good home for it?”
Elijah sucked in a breath. He was going to kill Niklaus. Hybrid or not, he was going to kill him.
*The End*