Chapter 17: Again?

After sending Freya on a trip to retrieve Kol’s book or books, – Peter was confident that she could break into Kol’s tomb, but Klaus suspected that Davina had stolen the books. If she had, he was going to kill her – he had breakfast with Bella as they tried to make sense of everything before she returned to bed and Klaus retreated to his study after he picked up the books from Italy from Elijah’s study.

While he had more important matters to deal with – such as the prophecy – he also felt that it was pressing to figure out more about Bella. To find proof of what Peter had said. Peter was still a guest in the cellars as he requested to stay there at least until the sun went down, or until they didn’t need him anymore.

“Niklaus, I just had an interesting conversation with your guest in the dungeon,” Elijah said as he walked in. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Tell you what?” He replied as he turned the page of the journal. “Bella’s problems are none of your concern; I’m trying to keep our lives separated.”

Sighing, Elijah sat down across from his brother. “I don’t believe you have a choice in the matter.”

Klaus’ eyes shot up to meet his brother’s. “Are we playing nice all of a sudden?”

“You’ve heard the prophecy and Freya’s confirmation. What if Bella will be our undoing?”

“I understand your concern, Elijah, but Bella’s harmless,” he shot at him. “I sincerely doubt that she’ll do anything to hurt our family. I rather see her do everything in her power to help us, which is why I want to keep her away from this as much as possible so she won’t get hurt.”

“I doubt you can make her stay away from it all, Niklaus. She appears to be quite tenacious.”

“I can at least try. Besides, the Cold Ones have more reason to fear her than we do,” he said as he smugly pointed at the book he was reading. “According to this, there once was a singer who was turned by one of ours and went on a rampage, killing hundreds, if not thousands of Cold Ones.”

Curiosity piqued, Elijah raised an eyebrow. “Interesting, what else does it say?”

“It doesn’t give a reason as to why this happened, only that it took the Volturi quite some time to bring this singer down and kill it. The Cold Ones are quite the mysterious creatures, keeping to themselves and always attempting to erase themselves from anywhere. No one can quite tell how many there are, still. But, you’d think that an embarrassment of a singer turned into a more fragile kind of vampire killing numbers of them would be completely erased from history. This might be the only evidence there is.”

“Then why is our sister breaking into Kol’s little sanctuary?”

Klaus let out a groan. “You’re not going to like this.”

“Obviously.”

“Well, we all know that Kol liked his witches, the key to deciphering what spell has been cast on Bella is in one of his books,” he shrugged, turning back to the diary.

“What does it have to do with the Cold Ones?”

“Nothing.”

Elijah let out a dramatic sigh as he raised his hand to rub his eye tiredly. “Niklaus. Enough with your games. What are you not telling me?”

“Bella is a distant cousin from a particular family of Travelers that we’re more than familiar with,” he said, not looking up. “Very distant. When I pointed it out to her, she was not pleased, at all. I believe she used the ‘ew’ expression after all the stories that I told her about our troubles with certain women from that family…”

“Niklaus,” Elijah said disappointedly. “Have you gone and fallen for yet another Petrova?”

“Oh don’t you lecture me about Petrova’s, brother,” Klaus shot at him. “And it wasn’t as if I knew. As if Bella knew!”

“But she’s not a doppelganger.”

“No, well, as it was explained to us, there were three lines, three Petrova brothers with their own lineage. The oldest brother’s line died out. Katerina was part of the middle one, the all too familiar doppelganger line. They dabbled a little in magic. And then there was the younger brother.” Klaus continued. “As our latest guest told it, Bella’s from his line. And that’s why we need Kol’s books, to fill in the blanks.”

Elijah allowed the words to sink in for a moment. “Niklaus, Traveler magic… it’s very potent, ancient. I know you said that Bella was harmless and that you trust her, but…”

“Elijah, she’s not a Traveler. Yes, she may have a smidgen of their blood inside of her and that spell placed upon her, but she’s not a danger. She’s not them. She’s not running a con; she’s not insincere. Even Peter said that she was sweet.”

“They could be in cahoots.”

“I have considered that and dismissed it. While I am not a fan of having a Cold One in our dungeon, she has not instinctively dismissed him as a threat the way she’s done with Freya.”

“Again, they could be in cahoots. Niklaus, don’t let your personal feelings towards her cloud your judgment.”

“I am not. Speaking of the prophecy, Lucien qualifies as both friend and foe, and according to Freya’s prophecy-”

“You are to beware both friend and foe. But, let us not forget family, Niklaus.”

Damn him. “Lucien’s two out of three- I say we put him down. Just like old times.”

“Just like old times? Brother, I wonder who among our family do you suppose to have the greatest predilection for betrayal?”

“Freya.”

“Oh please.”

“Right now I trust Bella’s spelled instincts over anyone else. She doesn’t particular like you right now. However, she trusts you. She trusts me. She does not trust Freya. So brother, please.”

Elijah decided to ignore him for now. They were going to have to settle it once the moment came. “Now, before we murder Lucien, some issues need to be answered. Chiefly, what is he doing here? And the wolf venom… Why would he lie to you, his sire?” Elijah idly picked up one of his brother’s paint brushes and tossed it in the air a couple of times. “I’m afraid we might have to resort to something deliciously medieval here, brother…”

Klaus smirked at that. Feeling hopeful, he replied; “We? I take it you will lower yourself to associate with your bastard brother?” He rose to his feet and looked at his brother who had a fake smile on his face. “Have you finally forgiven me?”

Sighing, he put the brush down. “I will consider it…”

Victory. This is what Klaus had wanted to hear for the last six months.

“When Hayley forgives you, Gia rises from the dead, and hell freezes over. For now, however, let’s just hope your little friendship with Lucien – or Bella, for that matter – doesn’t disrupt our mission.” Elijah turned and left the room without another word, leaving Klaus positively fuming and in shock at his brother’s words.

~o.O.o~

She knew that Klaus was out, so was Elijah and Freya still hadn’t returned either. So after going to the kitchen for a light snack, she found the blood bags that the Mikaelsons kept for back up and went to the dungeon to feed the non-vegetarian Cold One.

“Hungry?” She asked as she walked down the stairs. “Or did you top up before you came here?”

“I’d never say no to a little blood, Bella,” Peter replied and scrunched his nose in disgust when she tossed him a bag. “Seriously?”

“Take it or leave it, but I don’t want you to eat any human in New Orleans. They don’t survive your bite,” she said as she sat down on a crate and took a bite from her sandwich.

Sighing, he tossed the bag aside. It wasn’t as if he needed to feed. Anything was better than blood bags. “I see you left your guard dog upstairs.”

“He’s not home, but don’t even think that he left me unprotected,” she said sternly and took another bite from her food and kept her eyes on Peter. “He’s still keeping me safe.”

He smiled at that. “I do have to admit, though, when they told me you had run away, I wasn’t quite sure how long you were going to last, but look at you, you’re still here.”

Bella nodded. “My mom told me to run. Which is ridiculous as in that moment, she cared about my wellbeing.”

“Yeah… about your mom…” He said carefully.

“I know,” she replied. “Well, I don’t, because I haven’t looked back since I ran, but it’s only obvious that Edward killed her when he found out what she had done.”

Peter gave her a weird look. Glancing away, he reached up to scratch at the back of his neck and was silent for a moment before he looked back at her. “You don’t seem sad about it.”

“Why would I be? The thought of her being dead only made it easier for me to stay away, I had nothing left. If it hadn’t been for hearing about the place where I’ve been staying at for the last two years, I might have just given up and allowed them to find me,” Bella replied truthfully and took another bite from her sandwich. “I never really got the chance to be sad about my dad’s passing, so why should I stop for my mother’s passing? Our relationship wasn’t the best.”

“Because it’s bad not to allow yourself to feel?”

She eyed him skeptically. “I feel plenty, thanks.”

“True, but have you ever talked to someone about what you’ve gone through?”

“Both Klaus and our friend know that I’ve been running from the Cullens before coming here.”

“Details, peaches,” Peter laughed. “Have you ever gone into detail about it? Such as how you nearly got caught in Italy because you decided to fly too close to the sun by staying in Rome?”

“But I didn’t,” she pointed out.

“True, or what about that time in Egypt? Where you fell and broke an arm while running from Jane?”

“Peter…”

“Not to mention that time in Bulgaria where you were violated.”

“Stop!” Bella threw her sandwich at him. “That’s old; it’s history. Nobody needs to know that, it’s my history to bare. Yes, I know that I’m not okay. Yes, I know that when I get hurt, I do stupid things like running away. But that’s my problem. Not yours.”

“What about Klaus’ problem?”

“Not his either! Mine. And he knows about where I’ve run. That I nearly got caught.”

“But you left the bad things out.”

“Yes, and you’re not going to tell him either because one word from me and he’ll rip you to shreds. And if he won’t do it, I’m pretty sure I can find someone else to do it for me.”

Peter laughed at that. “Oh, all that bravery! Deep down you’re still scared, though, aren’t you?”

“Fuck you,” she said as she hopped off the crate and headed towards the stairs.

“Fleein’ yet again!”

“Shut up!” she shot at him as she took the stairs back up. So much for her trying to be nice to him. Give him some company. By the time she reached the courtyard, she was surprised to see Hayley and Jackson standing there with Hope. “Uhm… Klaus isn’t here. Neither is Elijah. Or Freya, for that matter.”

“We know,” Jackson replied knowingly. “Look, uhm… we don’t know you, and you don’t know us, but Freya told us that you and Hope are good together, and we need a babysitter. Freya said she’d be back within the hour.”

Bella looked at the two and laughed. “No. I’m not her babysitter,” she stated before turning her glare onto the she-wolf. “I’m not her mother. Nor will I ever be. You wanted Hope back; you got her. You find someone who wants to be her sitter. Or wait the hour until Freya comes back. But just because I’m here, doesn’t make me a babysitter.”

Hayley let out a growl.

“However, since I’m not completely heartless, I’m willing to watch her on one condition. You pay me. My hourly rates used to start at 75 to 100 dollars, depending on what needed to be done. Watching a baby? Eh, it’s minor so 75 dollars should be good.”

“You have some nerve!” Hayley growled at her.

“Fine, I can give you a family discount. What do 50 dollars sound like?”

“Like me snapping your neck!”

“Hayley,” Jackson chastised her before looking at Bella. “Come on, be civil here.”

Bella crossed her arms over each other. “Fine. But she owes me, and Klaus, an apology for last night. And that’s just the start of my grievances.”

“I’ll kill you,” Hayley spat.

“Please do,” Bella replied before taking Hope from Jackson. “Have a fun date and I do hope to get that apology after you’ve calmed down somewhat or this will be the last time I’ll be babysitting her at your request.”

“Thank you,” Jackson said with a nod. “And I’ll pay you, I promise.”

“Of course,” Bella said as she watched Hope put a strand of her hair in her mouth and watched the two wolves walk away, Hayley still in a foul mood. “Let’s go nap,” she said to Hope and headed to the bedroom.

~o.O.o~

When Klaus finally came home that night and had a conversation with his brother, she made him go to bed. It didn’t matter that Freya had managed to get the book from Davina – telling her that she wanted to help an innocent was the deal breaker, it didn’t matter what Klaus had learned or done that day, he needed sleep.

She had lit some candles and thought about maybe burning a stick of incense, but decided against it as vampires had sharper senses. He allowed her to push him down on the bed, and she started to undress him as she made light conversation with him, telling him to forget his worries just for the night and relax, enjoy himself.

Using some lightly scented massage oil – one of Myriam’s concoctions used on vampire clients that she managed to snag a bottle of, she carefully started to rub it into Klaus’ skin, feeling him relax under her touch. Her attentions were pure to relax him, get the tension out of his body and make him fall asleep without the use of her superpower; sex.

Of course, Klaus’ body was enjoying her touch very much, and he was very much erect as she kept caressing him, massaging him, and it was tempting to give his cock the attention that it so desperately needed, she wanted his cock in her mouth, and she’d suck him dry…

Shaking her hormones out of her head, she kept going until Klaus was sound asleep underneath her touch. Undressing, she crawled into bed with him and covered the both of them with a blanket as she crawled against him. At least for the night, they were in a nice, problem and worry free bubble.

~o.O.o~

“I left the book in my study, it’s fascinating, I assume,” Klaus said as he walked in front of her, clearly recharged after a good night’s sleep. “And I thought you needed to read it before we would share this information with your friend in the dungeon.”

“Oh, okay,” Bella said as she picked up the pace to keep up with him, only to bump into him when he stopped dead in his tracks when he had entered his study. “A little warning would have been nice!” She shot at him before going over to the desk and eyeing the old book.

Klaus eyed his sister who was doing yoga. In his study. She had a room for this. Why was she in his study? “What are you doing here?”

Freya sighed in annoyance. “I live here.”

“Yes, obviously,” Klaus said as he eyed her while she changed positions. “I just hadn’t realized you were back from wherever it is you go to when you leave! Perhaps I was thrown off by the lack of strange gentleman callers perusing the contents of my refrigerator this morning.”

“Ah,” she smiled widely at him, clearly amused. “Your concern for my whereabouts is touching, Nik, but same could be said about your little friend, couldn’t it? You know, the one I had to get the book for? I’m not saying anything about her, either.”

“Well, not out in the open. Perhaps behind our backs.”

“Most definitely,” she replied playfully and winked at her brother.

“I simply want to know who is here at any given moment! I hardly think that’s too much to ask.”

“Well, as long as we’re talking attendance…”

Bella looked up when Hayley breezed into the study, followed by an amused looking Elijah right on her heels. This family sure knew how to make their entrances. Sighing softly, she did what she did best and made herself invisible by engrossing herself into the book. It was interesting what she was reading so far. It was almost as if she was getting a history lesson, as the start of the Traveler community was described and it looked like the entire book was merely a journal of important happenings. And the Traveler community was old, ancient.

Bella loved history and to know that she had ancestors who dated so far back was exhilarating. The magic was an added bonus though it was far more interesting to read what they believed in so long ago.

“Oh, good! It’s my not-so-loving older brother and my former one-night-stand! What a nice, normal family gathering,” Klaus said mockingly. Bella wouldn’t be surprised if this conversation would end up in yet another verbal sparring contest.

“Charming. Elijah was just catching me up on how you have no clue which one of your long-lost buddies you can trust and which one is trying to kill you.”

“Well, clearly what the situation needs is more opinions,” he said sarcastically before looking at his brother. “I assume you told her about the bloody prophecy?”

“I was just getting to that,” Elijah said amused as he eyed Hayley, she didn’t look pleased, at all.

Hayley looked back at Klaus and did her best attempt to stare him down, which didn’t work, of course. “Now.”

“Well, it appears my old mate Lucien has acquired a genuine seer, and to prove his good intentions, he got her to show us some rather dire visions of future doom. It’s grim stuff, really- not for the faint of heart.”

“Whose doom are we talking about, here? Because if it’s yours, I think we’re all okay with that.”

“Oh come on!” Bella cried out from her position at the desk. “Can’t you guys discuss things normally without idle threats and snark?”

“What is she doing here?” Hayley demanded as she pointed at Klaus.

“She lives here,” he replied in the same tone of voice that Freya had used on him just moments before.

“Obviously,” Hayley rolled her eyes at him. “She has no reason to be included in this conversation.”

“I’m not, I mind my own business making snarky comments from the sideline,” Bella replied angrily. While she was kept up to date by Klaus, all conversations concerning the prophecy after Freya having validated it had been held without her. She wasn’t too happy about it, but she accepted it because she was the new one around. “And just for your information, they’re all on the chopping block. Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah.”

Klaus’ grin grew bigger as he looked at Hayley. “But, chin up! This witch claims her visions are constantly evolving. So, you may just get your wish!”

“Well, I want to meet this psychic witch. Tonight.” Hayley demanded, leaving no option for anyone to object.

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2 Comments:

  1. I’m sad to learn more of Bella’s horrible past and that Peter obviously knows it all. Still don’t trust Freya. And what could Hayley really do to help?

  2. Loved it and can’t wait for more.

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