Chapter 07

“First of, she loves it that you have actual manners,” Bella replied, ruffling Kol’s hair with her hand. “And yes, she did say Celeste. It’s a common name, really, for New Orleans.” She was distracted by Klaus flashing by again, seemingly chasing after some blonde girl. “Uh… Rebecca and Genevieve were always together, scheming.”

“My brother was involved with a witch named Celeste, but it couldn’t be the same. While she was from New Orleans, she was much older than this hospital and Nik killed her. At least that’s the way my sister told me.”

“So much creative editing coming up,” Jeremy muttered.

Kol shrugged. “So we just cut this entire area out. Besides this Clara and her friends started it by calling me out. Just how does this girl know of vampires?”

“Like I said, Rebecca and Genevieve were always scheming together. Celeste knew this, and allowed it to happen, knowing that by having Genevieve do a spell – oh, a witch! – it would draw a great evil to New Orleans to banish an even greater evil,” Bella said after listening intently.

The vampire still appeared confused, but it was more concern by that point. “I’m starting to get a bad feeling of where this is leading. Does she know who they were talking about? Who was a vampire? She said she knew some, yes?”

“Clara says you need to be patient, Kol Mikaelson,” Bella said coldly, her voice being not her own for just a fraction.

His mouth snapped closed before he could say another word. “Whoever you are, I kindly ask that you not possess my friend,” he growled, all too familiar with Klaus’ habit for body jumping.

“It’s fine, Clara’s good,” Bella shook her body a little. “But yeah, weird feeling.”

“No offense, love, but right now I don’t trust any ghost that can’t get to the point or does something without invitation.”

“You have to understand, she wants to tell her story the way she wants it to be told, there’s no rushing because she feels the need to tell it as it is. No, at first, she didn’t know what was going on or who was being summoned, but Rebecca seemed to be remorseful and… oh no,” Bella sighed. “She infected Genevieve with the flu.”

“This Rebecca character? Was she a witch too?” Jeremy asked.

“No, she wasn’t, otherwise she could have summoned the great evil herself. But Clara caught on to the scheming and saw Rebecca infect Genevieve, Rebecca saw her, and infected Clara too. They were locked in a room with an orderly in front of the door, left to die.”

“I still fail to see where this involves vampires,” Kol sighed, trying to keep his temper under control.

“When Clara died, the person possessing her jumped bodies. She said Celeste was the one possessing her and when Celeste left, it gave Clara clarity. Does that make sense?” Bella scratched her head. “That doesn’t make sense, does it?”

Kol frowned as he stepped away, rubbing at his jaw. “More than you can imagine, Darling. You remember how I told you that my mother plucked me from the Other Side and dumped me in Kaleb? It’s similar to that, though had my older brother not cursed me in that body, I would have been able to jump into another, had I had one prepared. Instead, I died again.”

Bella saw Klaus woosh by again and rubbed her eyes. “Clara seems to agree,” she replied.

“Yeah and then there was the time where Klaus possessed Alaric or Tyler,” Jeremy pointed out. “A vampire put into someone else’s body by a witch.”

“What’s the matter? You seem confused about something,” Kol murmured as he moved closer to her.

“Yeah, I am, one thing at a time. Clara first… this other thing… in a bit…”

He nodded, but kept a concerned eye on her as something felt off. “Okay…”

“So, as a spirit, Clara regained clarity. Apparently Genevieve summoned a guy named Michael to New Orleans to get rid of his son and Rebecca wanted it to stop, fearing for her own life, and that didn’t happen so Rebecca infected Genevieve.”

Kol and Jeremy looked at one another, eyes wide with surprise and fear. “Oh bloody hell. I know who this Rebecca is now. I swear, Bella, I didn’t know when I chose this place. It wasn’t the type of area they concerned themselves with as far as I was aware.”

“Your sister?”

The vampire nodded slowly, scratching his head. “Why would she be here? Why in the world would she summon our father? He wanted us all dead.”

“Clara doesn’t know, and says you should ask your sister or – Klaus? Wait, what? He’s the big evil? Seriously?”

“I don’t get on well with her to trust her answers. Klaus has his moments,” he replied, distracted by what he was learning.

“Coincidentally, a couple of days later, there was a big fire in a theatre close by and Clara didn’t see Rebekah after that.”

“They must have ran from Mikael and used a fire to cover them. I don’t know. I suppose we have many questions for Klaus to answer when we return home,” he mumbled.

“Clara doesn’t blame you in anyway for what happened, nor your sister, for that matter. She just wanted her story to be told so she can move on,” Bella said with a smile on her face. “She does hope that Celeste met a miserable end because Celeste screwed up her life.”

“Quite the story,” Jeremy nodded. “Thank you, nurse Clara. I hope you can rest easy now.”

“She’s gone,” Bella said before hopping off the counter and positioning herself in the middle of the hallway. “Now I’m going to see if I’m crazy or not. If I land flat on my ass, he’s here. If not, then I’m ready to live in this crazy hospital.”

Kol looked at her and around. “What are you talking about? You will not stay here.”

Bella let out a cry of frustration. “I don’t know what’s going on. I know I can’t see things. I just know. But I can’t help but seeing the outlines of Klaus chasing some blond woman on high speed through this corridor, again and again, like he’s here.”

“Um,” Kol scratched his head. “Same scene?”

Jeremy looked more intrigued. “Maybe your abilities are growing if you are starting to see stuff. I can’t see anything happening.”

“If I’m starting to see stuff I’m going to lose my mind, because Astaria sees stuff all the time and it’s not pretty. It’s ugly and she sees deaths and shit like that,” she said agitated and braced for impact.

“No you won’t because I’ll be here with you,” Kol assured her, running his hands over her arms before pulling her into a hug. “You will just need to focus more on closing and staying closed. Otherwise you may never want to leave my place – which I would not object to, of course.”

“You know how hard it is for me to leave your place already?” She said with a slight chuckle before the Klaus woosh came by again, this time penetrating every fibre of her being. “Ohhh… not good, not good.”

Thinking on what he knew about hauntings, he tried to be more calming for her. “If it’s the exact same image, then it’s likely residual. We know that the energy from a traumatic event can remain. It could have been something to do with him, or whoever he’s chasing. Likely the woman wronged him in some way.”

“Oh yeah,” Bella nodded. “It’s definitely residual, I get it with voices all the time, but I can still feel the emotions caught in that moment. And it’s really really bad.”

“How so?”

“The blonde woman is scared shitless, and ill. Delirious, maybe, and then she has Klaus chase her and oh, he’s so angry, he wants to rip her throat out and string her up, do nasty things.”

“Sounds like his type of party,” Kol smiled. “Want to look around more or head over to his place for some answers?”

“I think this blonde woman was a vampire, too,” Bella said as she looked up to Kol. “She’s running fast for someone who’s not thinking clearly.”

“I don’t know, but I do believe that perhaps you’ve met your limit here for tonight. Let’s get you out of here for some normalcy. How does that sound?”

“I’m getting sick.”

Kol nodded and took that as his cue, lifting her slightly in his arms and flashed her to the outside to wait for Jeremy. Gently setting her down, he tilted her chin up so he could see her properly. “There. All better. Get your bearings.”

Bella held onto him as she took a few deep breaths, trying to shake the residual image that had passed through her and the rush of Kol rushing her out of the building. “Wow… trippy.”

A dark smile grew on his lips, tilting his head to the side. “Oh I could make you feel so many things if you wish.”

“Challenge accepted,” she said in a wave of bravery before taking another deep breath. “I’m pooped.”

Jeremy stumbled out of the door with the equipment, looking spooked. “Dude, I had to avoid another falling beam, are you sure this building is up to code?”

“It’s abandoned. Of course it isn’t,” Kol rolled his eyes. “Maybe you said something this time that pissed them off.”

“Yeah, or maybe they wanted to keep you there,” Bella said as she reached for her backpack and got out a sage stick and a lighter. “Now, stand still, I am going to make sure nothing follows us home.”

“There is only one thing that I would like following me home every night,” Kol smiled over at her.

“Uhuh,” Bella smiled at him as she lit the stick and had it burn for a little while before blowing out the flames. “We’re leaving all the dark and negative energy here, you are not welcome where we are going,” she said as she waved the stick around Kol and Jeremy, and then herself. “Only love and peace are allowed in our lives.”

“What’s your excuse for me then, Love?” Kol waggled his eyebrows.

“Brain damage,” Bella retorted playfully as she waved the stick in his face for good measure.

He pouted, blowing the smoke away, quickly bending forward to drop a kiss on her nose before she could turn away. “That’s not fair.”

“Just kidding,” she smiled at him as she doused the stick on the ground. “My excuse for you is that we all need a little darkness in our lives,” she giggled; the same giggle he had heard earlier that day and had wished to hear again. Oh, he was lucky.

Jeremy stood aside, entertained by his friends. “Shall I get you two a room? Or perhaps you can find me a dentist as you two are being obnoxiously sweet. Hey! If you two start shacking up together, could I take the guest room?”

“Shut up, Wesley,” Kol rolled his eyes at him before starting to pack up the equipment.

“You – know Star Trek?” he questioned, raising a brow. “Shall I get you a nerd membership card?”

“Gilbert, you know very well that I’m the hippest member of my family. Good thing about us vampires is that we don’t require a lot of sleep and well, marathons are on TV at any given time,” Kol said with a shrug as he made sure everything was off before putting it in the bag.

“You’re still a Trekkie. Do you have the costumes too?”

“That’s for me to know, and you to never find out,” he got back up and smirked. “Bella, do you feel well enough to get Nik’s story? I can’t wait to hear what the hell he was doing at the sanatorium or what happened earlier.”

Bella looked over at him, biting her lip. “Well, um… does it have to be tonight?”

“Of course not, we can go straight home and then ambush them during breakfast,” he said as he put an arm around her. “And Jeremy and I will go do our best to cut something together that you can use for your channel and share with your viewers. Before the beam dropped, it should be good enough.”

“We need to record a new intro,” she sighed as they started to walk back.

“Klaus’ place would be nice for that, I think,” Jeremy shared. “I mean it’s visually appealing and it’s someplace you have already been exposed to.”

“It is, but also a little bit too close to home,” Kol replied.

“Yeah, but if we limit the angles, avoiding identifying features that it’s your family’s place, it would provide a really nice backdrop for a short introduction.”

“Or film in the basement where the kitchen is, kinda creepy place to be, and enough shadows to have Kol in frame but not entirely in focus,” Bella tiredly rubbed her eyes.

“We can borrow the place at night. Perhaps Myriam would have one of her friends move something for us on camera that we can use,” Kol said thoughtfully. “We will tell them in the morning after our interrogation.”

Bella threw her hands up in defeat as she focused on walking. “I just want-” she looked around and sighed. “Whoops.”

“What do you want?” Kol questioned. “Anything.”

Shaking her head, she managed to close herself off, she had forgotten to do that after feeling so bad after her encounter with the Klaus image. “Uh, I want… cuddles.”

Kol smirked and leaned his forehead against hers. “I can certainly do cuddles. Let’s get back and I’ll make us some tea and then we can settle in for the night.”

“So… I can’t stay in the guest room?” Jeremy questioned lightly.

“No. I have my stash in there,” Kol replied. “You still have some time yet at the hotel. Make the most of it! See the town.”

“I’m all hyped up, man, maybe I’ll go to the bayou to annoy some wolves,” Jeremy smirked and waved at them. “See ya later!”

“Oh! If you do go, be sure to give Myriam a ring. I’m sure she’d love to join you. Just keep in mind she gets incredibly horny after her parties. I’m sure Klaus wouldn’t mind the results.”

“The more the merrier!” Jeremy laughed before he trotted off.

They were quiet as they walked back to the apartment and it wasn’t until Bella was well settled on the couch with a blanket around her that she spoke up again. “Is it even possible? For abilities to change?”

“Anything is possible. I mean, it’s not entirely unheard of. Keep in mind that after my mother created us, we thought we had our limitations in those early years. It wasn’t for nearly a hundred years before my brothers found out we could control humans, the compulsion. You may have always been able to do this, but you never allowed yourself to. Perhaps you weren’t ready to accept that part yet,” Kol theorized.

“Or my mind hasn’t gotten the rest it has gotten over the last few days in ages and it was all cluttered?”

“That too,” he smiled, pulling her close into his side. “Or it could be because you were with a vampire and a hunter and we helped boost your original limitations. It is worth exploring, certainly, when you are ready.”

She hummed her agreement as she settled against his side and closed her eyes. “Only with you, because you make sure I’m safe.”

“Give the hunter some time,” Kol murmured, pleased of how she was feeling with him. “I’m confident you will come to trust him. As annoying as he can be, he’ll step up.”

“Oh, god, those ladies were just lusting over him in there. I don’t see the appeal, but wow. They just wouldn’t shut up. Hell, even some of the men were like… that shirt needs to come off.”

“Now, no need to say this around him. I am not sure if I even want to hear it,” he smirked, gently pinching her side to stop.

Bella giggled as she pinched him back. “Don’t make me scream, I’m very ticklish.”

His hand stilled, mischievousness creeping into his smile. “Is that so?” he whispered in her ear.

“Oh, don’t,” she laughed. “Please don’t.” Bella tried to move away in anticipation for whatever he was going to do next.

“Hmm, no. You’re not going anywhere,” he said as he locked his arms around her waist to keep her close. Positioning her in front of him, he lowered his head down to her shoulder. “I wouldn’t now but when you least suspect…you’ll be mine.”

She let out a small gasp. “I can’t help but feeling that I already am.”

He turned and pressed his lips to her neck, smiling. “All in due time, Beautiful. However, tonight, I did promise you tea and cuddles, and that is what I will give. Unless of course, you change your mind.”

“Tea and cuddles,” she slowly nodded as she felt as if she was melting into him. “Don’t think I can handle anything else right now. No more excitement.”

“Alright. We can be the old boring couple that is the Debbie Downers at every party,” he agreed.

“I kicked your ass at the video game last night, so we’re not the old boring couple. Just the pooped couple.”

“I still stand by what I said. You cheated.”

“Did not.”

“Did to.”

“How did I cheat? We were on the same game console, no way of entering cheats…”

“Magic, darling. You completely bewitched me to lose to you,” Kol replied smugly, his arms tightening a fraction as he spoke. “You had me under your spell from the moment your little friends messed with me.”

“Those kids… I feel sorry for them, no matter how happy they are.”

“You could move them on if you want, but if they are fine and not harming any of the living, is it necessary?”

“No, it’s not necessary. Like I said, they’re happy and playful. Good souls,” she smiled at him. “But I have been to places where this was not the case and I called a priest to help them move on and banish the evil from the place. It’s just always sad to encounter ghost kids, no matter if they’re happy or not,” she then shrugged. “Then of course, you’ve got the demons who like to pretend they’re children to fuck with your mind and it usually takes me awhile to see through their pretense. Bastards.”

Kol poked her lightly, though his tone was more serious. “And those are the beings you have Jeremy and I for. I’ve seen your videos Bella and before you came to New Orleans, it was clear to me that you were being pulled into something dark over time. It wasn’t you and I would try to keep you from that with my being.”

“I spent two weeks in a convent because of it. Didn’t like it.”

“Nuns are so prudish. I have to wonder if Elijah may be a secret monk. I should get him a vacation at the Vatican for Christmas,” he considered, looking towards the wall facing his brothers’ compound.

Bella let out a snort. “Or he’s gay.”

“Our favorite bartender would be so disappointed,” Kol pouted. “You should still meet him before we leave. No matter how boring and self righteous he is.”

“Leave?” Bella blinked at him.

“Yeah. For our next investigation. We aren’t going to be doing everything in New Orleans, right?” he asked, genuinely unsure of what he said that spooked her.

“No, of course not, but I’m not thinking about leaving just yet. We have more of the Sanatorium to explore for one.”

Kol pulled her back over so he could wrap his arms around her. “Next week, next month. Whenever you wish. I’m content to stay here just like this.”

“Me too,” Bella yawned and shifted a little so she was more comfortable. “Thank you for being you,” she added sleepily. “For who I need.”

“Go to sleep, Darling,” he whispered, pulling the blanket around her more.

When he felt her shift into a deep sleep, he quickly moved her over the bedroom, tucking her into the bed. Narrowing his eyes, he drew in a deep breath as he decided to take a risk. He pulled off his shirt so he could sleep comfortably and climbed in beside her, pulling her to his side again. He eventually drifted off, his fingers lightly tracing her arm, thinking about the events of the day with a smile.

~o.O.o~

Bella woke up the next morning, she felt as if she was very comfortable in a cocoon and she wasn’t sure if she was ready to face the world yet. Shifting a little, she realized her protective cocoon was very real and when she opened her eyes, she found Kol was in bed with her. Holding her, and she couldn’t help but smile. “Morning,” she said softly.

He shifted slightly and his hold tightened as he released a low moan. Opening his eyes, he looked around for a moment before blinking his still sleep filled eyes at her. “Hm, yes. It certainly is a good morning,” he replied, pulling her impossibly close and tucking his face in her neck. “Let’s stay here for a bit longer.”

Had it been anyone other than Kol, she would have freaked out, but she was merely extremely comfortable. “No objections here,” she replied with a slight chuckle. “I can’t move anyway.”

His lips pulled into a smile against her skin. “I do believe that was my evil intentions. Keep you in my bed for eternity sounds like a rather intriguing prospect. Our friend will just have to go on without us.”

“As great as that sounds, I really need to pee,” Bella gently tapped his arms. “You’ll have to release me.”

Kol pouted but opened his arms to let her go. “Aye, those magic words. Perhaps you are a sorceress instead of a mere medium. I wouldn’t object.”

“Maybe,” Bella grinned as she hopped out of bed and quickly ran to the bathroom before returning, finding him now on his back and his arms tucked behind his head. He looked absolutely beautiful. He could be shirtless all day and she’d never get bored of it. Crawling back in bed, she put her arms around him and shuffled closer to him, wrapping one of her legs around his. “Now you aren’t going anywhere,” she smirked up at him.

A grin came to his face, looking down at her as he wrapped his arm around her back. “This is certainly a wrestling match I’d be eager to play, but something tells me you are not quite ready for that. In due time, I did say.”

She hummed an answer as she put her head down on his chest. For now she was happy to stay in their little bubble like this, comfortable and silence. Bella was slowly drifting back off to sleep only to be awoken by a voice bellowing from outside.

“Kol! You get yourself in here! I just know it was you last night!”

Bella let out a whine. “No…”

“I swear I did nothing to incite his wrath this time, so whatever it is, it might be best we make our way over to find out what has upset him,” he sighed. “If Myriam isn’t holding him back, then something truly happened.”

“Never let Klaus wait for anything?” She looked up to him. “He truly is that scary?”

Reluctantly letting her go and sitting up, he ran his hand through his hair. “He can be, yes. When he holds the thing capable of putting you away for however long he sees fit, you often tread carefully when he is upset over something. Last thing I’m interested in is being daggered for more decades on end.”

“I’m sure Myriam won’t let that happen,” she said, sitting up herself.

“KOL!”

“Yeah, why use the phone when you can yell across the street?” Bella scowled as she threw a pillow towards the open French doors in an attempt to close at least one, but failed. “Damnit.”

“It was a valiant attempt. Come now, pretty girl. Time to get up,” Kol smiled as he leaned across the bed to kiss her forehead. “We shall eat my brother out of house and home for disturbing us.”

“Ohh, and interrogate him,” she said with a slight giggle. “He owes me big time.”

He winked and moved to get clean clothes out of his closet. “And you shall have them. I do believe it will be an entertaining morning. I’ll leave you to get ready.”

“Uh…” Bella said, a little unsure. “Can I wash my trousers and shirts? I only have a dress left to wear and really need to call my dad to send some of my stuff over… Traveling light has its downsides sometimes,” she blushed lightly. “Especially when you believe you’re only meeting your new friends at night and that all changed.”

“I was wondering what clothes you might have. Wear your dress, and we shall have the rest of your things cleaned. We can also go do some touristy things for you, get you some new outfits.”

“I do have my own -”

“I told you, you can close that website now,” he smiled at her. “Or save that money for a rainy day. Please, Bella, I like doing this for you and it doesn’t break the bank in any way. I promise,” He kissed the top of her head. “Leave your dirty clothes in the hamper, I’ll have someone come pick it up and clean it for you,” he then left the bedroom to go to the guestroom to change quickly and have a snack.

He could hear Bella move around a little and stumbling over her own feet. If it hadn’t been for the soft thud – the bed – he would have rushed over to see what the hell she was doing. He couldn’t wait to see her in a dress, no doubt she’d look absolutely enchanting. If only she’d get it through her gorgeous little head that just because she’s a traveler and moving all the time, doesn’t mean she can’t live a normal life and have things, be treated like the queen that she was.

She was brushing her hair as she got out of the bedroom, wearing her somewhat faded black, knee-length dress. She met his eyes as she could feel him stare at her. “Sometimes when you try to get permission to enter somewhere, or talk to someone official, it’s better to look like a pretty girl instead of a dirt monkey,” she explained. “I uh… I hope you don’t mind me wearing one of your shirts as a jacket thingy, I haven’t gained enough weight to properly fill out the dress again and it’s just… uh… not good.”

He was silent as his gaze remained on her, taking every ounce of strength in him not to grab her and run back to the bed to properly claim her. “You have no idea what you ignited by doing this,” he said, looking away. “It’s fine. Come now, let’s get this thing with my brother over with.”

The smell of burnt flesh and burnt paper greeted them when they stepped into the courtyard and Bella tried not to throw up. “Ew.”

Klaus appeared at the balcony, anger written all over his face but temporarily forgotten as he saw Bella. Looking at his brother and then back at Bella, he scratched his head with his burnt hand. “Well, this is an interesting development, I believed you were taking things slow?”

Confused, she looked up at him, scrunching her nose at the damage to his skin. “What are you talking about? All we did was cuddle, right?” she asked, looking to Kol whom had his eyes locked on his brother.

Elijah and Myriam appeared too, both also seeing the sight below them. “Well…” Elijah eyed the girl curiously before going down stairs and inspected the girl closely, unsure about what he was seeing. “Allow me to introduce myself,” he said after composing himself. “My name is Elijah Mikaelson.”

Bella took a step closer to Kol. “Nice to meet you, I’m Bella.”

“Do you have a last name, Bella?” He curiously cocked his head as he observed her. “I can see why my family’s been so intrigued with you.”

Kol merely shook his head once to call them off, his hand snaking around her waist to keep her close. “You bellowed for me Niklaus, disturbing our rest. What are you so mad about? Bella can assure you I was with her the entire evening and night.”

“No doubt,” Klaus sneered. “At this point I’m not surprised the girl would cover for you, but I just know it was you.” He held up his burnt arms and hands. “This won’t heal. This has you written all over it!”

He cocked his head and peered up at the damage. “Huh. Perhaps you need a spot of blood? What happened?”

“He went to read and the book exploded in his hands,” Myriam scowled. “Are you seriously claiming you had nothing to do with this because there have been no new scents besides Bella and your hunter friend in the compound for ages.”

“Ah! I was wondering when that book would turn up,” Kol replied after giving it some thought. “Don’t worry, that spell book was a dummy, I have it somewhere safe.”

“Kol!” Elijah scolded. “What in the world did you do now?”

“I didn’t do anything now, brother. I’m a vampire, I can’t do magic now, can I? You can’t punish me for a prank I wanted to pull when I was a witch, because I am no longer inhabiting Kaleb.”

Sighing, Elijah shook his head, turning his attention back to Bella and her choice of wardrobe. He knew now that whatever was going on was truly between his younger brothers, and had enough mind to stay out of it.

“But Nik, now that I’ve got your attention…” Kol smirked as he looked at Bella. “Bella and I came across something quite interesting last night during our little adventure.”

“Pray tell me what now?” Nik muttered as he made his way down the stairs. “And would someone bring me some blood!”

“Oh that will heal, don’t worry. It’ll take a day or two though,” Kol waved him off. “But back to the subject on hand. We went to visit the Sanatorium last night to see what we could get on camera. I must say, it was quite interesting, the information we learned. Have you ever been there?”

“Which one?” Klaus scowled as he pointed to the sofa’s in the courtyard for them to sit down. He had a feeling this was going to be a long conversation.

“Fleur-de-Lis,” Bella replied, curious to see if the vampire would confirm.

He froze for a fraction of a second on his way to the liquor table, swallowing his lie. “I don’t recall going there when it was open. You might wish to speak to some of the city vampires. Perhaps they have been there over the years.”

Myriam flashed down to join them, having not originally intended to do so right away. Crossing her arms, she glared at her mate. “How carefully worded. What about more recently?”

Bella looked around and noticed some paintings hanging underneath the walkway, which drew her attention, especially the blonde woman. “Hey, is this Rebekah?”

Elijah turned and nodded. “It is our sister. She’s out of town at the moment, but I’m sure she will be eager to meet you when she returns.”

“Clara’s story makes a lot of sense now,” Bella smiled widely as she rejoined Kol and sat down next to him. “And the blonde being chased by Klaus on a loop, over and over and over again.”

Klaus fell into his chair, taking a large gulp of his scotch. “I thought you weren’t capable of seeing things. Are you sure it wasn’t some hallucination the beings in the building fed you?”

“What were you up to when I was gone?” Myriam demanded. “I remember overhearing Marcel bitching about you biting your sister, but I don’t remember you ever doing that. Elijah, yes, but not Rebekah.”

Klaus scowled.

“Does he do that a lot? Bite people? Scowling?”

“Nik’s a hybrid. His bite can kill regular vampires, but only cause us to hallucinate until it burns out,” Kol explained with a smile on his face. “And yes, that’s his resting bitch face. Now, go on, tell them what we’ve learned.”

“I don’t know if it’s in direct connection to what Clara told me, though. The wooshing felt quite recent. There was a lot of anger involved on his part and a lot of fear and slight craziness from Rebekah,” Bella replied with a shrug, looking at Klaus, who had a murderous look on his face. “Did I say something wrong?”

Myriam shook her head, keeping her eyes on her man. “No. However, I do have a feeling of when this happened. I was out of town for a convention I wanted to visit. Both of you lied to me, saying that nothing happened while I was gone.”

Elijah cleared his throat. “Allow me to explain,” he started, a bit wary of Myriam.

She glared over at him and growled. “You’ve had some years to come out with the truth.”

“It was nothing but a healthy fight between siblings, Myriam, nothing of importance,” Elijah replied as he straightened his cufflinks.

“For Klaus to bite Rebekah. We all know he prefers daggering her, so spare me your sanctimonious crap and tell me what she could have done to warrant being poisoned!”

“Celeste and Genevieve had been resurrected, as you were well aware of,” he continued, his voice in storytelling mode. “As it turned out, Celeste had a habit of jumping from body to body over the years and she worked with Rebekah and Genevieve at the Sanatorium during the influenza epidemic.”

“Klaus, you did a shitty job killing that bitch,” she muttered, staring at his brother.

“Holy crap, it is connected?” Bella blinked at Elijah. “Clara told me she was inhabited by Celeste.”

“Klaus killed Celeste over a century ago. Or so we thought. She was bad news but this fucker didn’t want to hear it as he was so in love with her. I told you she had bad mojo.”

“Celeste and I are not part of this narrative, Myriam,” Elijah chided her. “But yes, Bella, you are correct, Celeste was inhabiting the body of a young nurse named Clara.”

“Celeste clearly came back with the intention of fucking with the family. How can you say that she has nothing to do with shit? Witches are nothing but trouble. You should have known she would have turned on us eventually. They always do.”

“Niklaus, please tell your mate to stop interrupting me or so help me God.”

Klaus raised an eyebrow at him, clearly wondering if he truly thought he had any control over her. “I won’t say a word but you are more than welcome to try.”

Myriam smirked before it grew into a devious smile.

“I don’t like that look,” Kol murmured into Bella’s ear. “Are you sensing anything?”

“To make a long story short,” Elijah eventually decided to say. “Back in 1919 Rebekah used Genevieve to perform a summoning spell to draw Mikael to New Orleans because she and Marcellus wanted to be together and Niklaus was standing in the way.”

“She was responsible for that disaster?” the voodoo vampire deadpanned. Klaus used his foot to push his chair back, giving his girl ample space. “Where is that bitch?! I’ll kill her myself!”

“When Mikael hadn’t shown up yet, Rebekah asked Genevieve to annul the spell out of fear for Niklaus’ retaliation but of course, witches.”

Myriam turned to look at Klaus. “You’re spitting into some syringes tonight. I want your venom.”

“Whatever you require, love,” Klaus smiled at her, glad to know that, for now, she was on his side.

“Rebekah killed Genevieve out of fear for the witch going to our brother to rat her out, and Nurse Clara was killed because she witnessed Rebekah.”

Bella had her head on Kol’s shoulder, bored after having heard this all already and his brother’s voice didn’t make it any more entertaining. “Do we have to hear this again?” she asked Kol.

“No, now we’re hopefully getting to the part we don’t know yet,” Kol smirked, looking at his brother. “What happened oh… hm… seven years ago?”

“You are correct, brother,” Elijah replied. “Seven years ago, Celeste revealed herself as being one of many, and after the Harvest, the old witches were resurrected. Genevieve, Bastiana, Papa Tunde… it was quite the mess.”

Myriam was appalled at the brothers. “And I was out of town for this?! Papa Tunde was here again?! I would kill to get his blade!”

“We have his blade in our possession, love,” Klaus gently pat her knee. “It was never buried with him. However, it’s in a safe place for now.”

“Genevieve and Celeste decided that the truth had to come out, Rebekah’s killing over Mikael, her summoning him and thus driving us out of New Orleans for nearly a century, and of course, screwing with the mind of the all mighty Klaus Mikaelson is always fun. They took them to the Sanatorium where Genevieve showed Niklaus what Rebekah had done, and Celeste injected Rebekah with some of his venom and then they set them both loose inside that hospital, hoping that Niklaus would kill Rebekah for what she had done,” Elijah continued. “I intervened.”

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