1718
Klaus hadn’t joined her by 1710, so Myriam constructed a dog house in the back garden and had banished him there. With the help of her demons, Klaus couldn’t get out until she wanted him to. However, Myriam had loved it when Klaus allowed her to kill all the wolves in the swamp during the next full moon. He stayed close for protection, but she killed them all.
The next day, however, a third of the population was dead, and Elijah wasn’t pleased.
She had come through her adjustment phase just fine, and still, he wouldn’t touch her or be affectionate. Other than the public hand-holding, his hand on the small of her back. She’d become a trophy wife. And it sucked. But ever since he came for her, her status in the colony had changed yet again. Everyone was fearful of her, and she wondered what exactly Elijah had told them about her, but didn’t press for information.
Myriam kept mostly to herself, especially since Klaus hadn’t undaggered Kol yet, and every year she asked. Every year she was refused. It was dampening her spirits, and eventually, it burned her out.
Elijah and Klaus had used their influence to gain access to the council, to rub elbows with the leaders of the colony and were now well respected amongst the colonists. New Orleans fully started to grow in 1718 when a handful of ships arrived out of France filled with criminals and suspected criminals, and a bunch of whores, which made Myriam seize her chance and had a brothel built.
Just out of spite. The wife of the well respected Niklaus Mikaelson was running a whorehouse. In secret, of course. She had compelled one of the colonists to purchase the plot of land and to find someone to build the place for her.
Myriam called it Débauche, and she argued with the whores that she would take better care of them than their owners before buying them all and putting them in a controlled environment. Even for the average day to day issues, she had someone be a front, Myriam wouldn’t be seen, ever. And Myriam got a kick out of that. She was doing something that no one in her family knew of, and wouldn’t likely approve of.
Myriam had her own room inside the building, accessible through a hidden door and protected with Dark Objects and her demons. Her demons kept an eye on her whores and on the patrons and she was happily doing anything she wanted. She kept a list of names of dirty scumbags, in case that she or her family needed to blackmail someone.
The slaves that had been brought over were practising a religion called Voodoo, and it was very similar to what she had believed in as a Dark Witch, and as a demonologist. While she was no longer a witch, she did want to learn all about voodoo.
And much against her own wishes, she secretly purchased a slave named Isabella. She was born and raised on white land in France, and the name was given to her by her owners. Myriam set her free, immediately, but told her that she’d love it if Isabella would stay with her as a companion. To teach her all about voodoo, and she promised to keep the girl safe and fed. Isabella felt more than indebted to her and stayed out of free will.
Myriam had finally found someone who wanted to be her friend and didn’t move in those stupid social circles. Débauche had made her feel alive again.
Which is why it was incredibly frustrating when one of her demons alerted her about the presence of her husband and Elijah being in the building with a few councilmen while she was inside the building. She was going to get caught, there was no doubt about that, but Klaus was about to break his promise to her, wasn’t he?
Furious, she walked out of her office and straight to her husband, slapping him in the face. Hard, and not saying a word as she angrily looked at him.
What was he supposed to say? ‘It’s not what you think?’ She wouldn’t believe that for a second even if it was the truth. And what was she doing here? Was she breaking her promise or was it not what he was thinking?
“Why is Mr Mikaelson’s wife at this whorehouse?” Jean, one of the councilmen, asked. “I’ve never seen her here before.”
“Yes, Mr Mikaelson, if you wish to share your wife, you wouldn’t have to put her in here.”
Klaus glared at them. “My wife is mine alone. You lay a finger on her, and I will have your head across the room,” he warned before turning back to her, seeking answers. “Myriam?”
“I have nothing to say to you,” she answered, eyeing him and his friends. “At least I have not broken my word, my vows,” she said under her breath, leaving.
“And who says I did?” Klaus followed her, ignoring the councilmen and his brother. “Because I’m stepping inside a whorehouse? Where I have no intention of doing anything that goes against what I promised and vowed?”
She looked around, and the second that they were out of range of humans, she sped off home.
“You are a frustrating woman, Myriam!” Klaus said as he walked inside the house after having followed her home. “Explain yourself!”
“I have a cochon for a husband!” she shouted back at him, tears in her eyes. “Why was I there? I own the place! I’m bored to tears here, and you want nothing to do with me but our promises to one another keep us chained. I want you, God knows, I want you but you – not even a kiss. I hate to say that I actually miss Cadiz!”
“You own a whorehouse, and you didn’t bother telling the family? Or me?”
“Yes, Klaus. I own a whorehouse where the girls are safer than with their bosses. I am their boss, I make sure they’re well taken care of, fed and paid. I have been wasting away for the last decade or so, and this made me come back to life. You’re not going to deny me this,” she explained, looking at him. “And what were you doing if not breaking your vows?”
“They wanted a more pleasurable environment to talk business. But I was about to tell them that it didn’t look like you had a comfortable area for business talk.”
She let out a snort, not believing his story. Not accepting his words anymore. “Of course it was business. All it ever is is business. I am convinced that is why you do not want me. You never saw me more than a business agreement. Maybe – maybe it might be time for me to leave.”
“Love, I never saw you more than a business agreement or anything like that,” he said quietly. “I wouldn’t have legally married you if that was the case,” he walked to her and gently took her hand. “I even came prepared when we came for you in 1704, but you were far ahead of me.”
Myriam glared at him. “What is that supposed to mean?”
He quickly ran upstairs to where his belongings were still mostly in trunks and took out what he needed before coming back downstairs. “I mean, that while we were married, I hadn’t given you a ring. I made sure that the ring was simple and elegant, worthy of being on your finger. With a lapis lazuli looking like a sapphire to protect you from the sun,” he said as he opened the box to show her. “A real wedding ring for my real wife.”
She stared at it, frozen as it was far prettier than the one Kol helped her make. She had made several and had chosen the less ugly one to wear on her finger. “Then why the last ten years? Why if you say you wanted this? I don’t understand.”
“Because you and Rebekah have been right all along, and I’ve been afraid. Perhaps not even ready,” he said as he gently slipped off her ring and put it inside his pocket before slipping on his ring for her. “Please, let us not fight any longer. Allow me to court you as I have promised you.”
“Klaus… I don’t know how much more rejection I can take if you pull away again,” she cried.
“No more rejection,” he said, a promise in his voice as he pulled her into his arms. “No more. I am sorry, my love, for everything I’ve put you through. I’ll make it right for you.”
She leaned into him, burying her face into his chest and breathed him in. “Don’t you ever go to my business without me at your side again. I should dagger Elijah for even agreeing to that ridiculous idea.”
“There aren’t many places the councilmen can gather for a conversation, they were merely looking if your business has the room.”
“The girls service men for money,” she replied. “What kind of room are they looking for? I’m sure I can find one for each of them to share together.”
He let out a snort. “A meeting room, love. One with a big table in it with chairs around it. Perhaps someone to bring a refreshment. You could hire it out to everyone, another source of income. New Orleans doesn’t have a place like that, yet. They still need to build their city hall.”
The suggestion brought a sour taste to her mouth but did not dismiss it. “I will consider it, but you make it clear, your wife was not at all pleased.”
“I will tell them that my wife was not pleased and when they ask what you were doing there, I’ll tell them that you’re into charitable work and were making sure that the girls were well taken care of,” he replied with a knowing smile on his face. “Because that’s your intention, isn’t it? Have someone else be the front?”
“If you must. I still want Elijah daggered or his neck broken. Don’t think that I hadn’t picked up his attempts to track my movements.”
“You can snap his neck over dinner tonight,” Klaus mused as he kissed the top of her head.
She could not help but smile at the thought and looked forward to preparing dinner personally that evening. A French banquet. With bread, pâté, soup and perhaps a few mushroom pies. When she was still a human it would take her a day or two to make it, the preparation was insane, but she could speed that part up now that she was a vampire. “I’ll have to get some groceries. Care to accompany me, husband?” It was likely that the fishermen had some oysters. Oh, oysters… she thought as she glanced at Klaus.
“Do I have to?”
“Of course,” she smiled at him. “I’m but a mere woman, I can’t carry all those groceries by myself and the last time I sent a servant to do my bidding they messed it up… I had to kill him.”
Klaus’ brow twitched as he observed her coyness. “I’m sure he was delicious.”
“So, save a servant and join me?”
He let out a long, suffering sigh. “I suppose I must do my diligence and be a good husband and join you.”
Myriam couldn’t contain her smile as she looped her arm through his and pulled him along to the trade area of their colony. Some people were cooking in the streets, and the smells were fantastic, but she pulled him further along towards the waterfront. The fishermen first. Perhaps they’d have other kinds of fish that she could work with. “I mean, I truly love the fact that we have servants, but you’ve never been here on your own, have you?”
“Not until after nightfall to feed on vagrants, no,” he murmured as he glanced around. “Do you see what you want, love?”
She hummed as she walked along the crates of fish. “Some salmon… yes. Salmon,” she nodded. “And oysters! Mussels!”
“Death by fish?” he asked amused.
“We can have that for two days, I have more planned,” she smiled at him and had the fisherman put everything that she wanted in a bag and paid for the goods.
Klaus begrudgingly took the bag as they walked back to the trade area. “It smells.”
“Of course. It is fresh,” Myriam retorted. “It won’t kill you.”
“I’ll stop complaining,” he put his arm around her and couldn’t hide his smile. “I always love your cooking.”
“Perhaps we can stop past that wretched Valerie. I’d like to try to pick a couple leaves of vervain,” she smirked.
He smiled then. “Or, perhaps it’s finally time to get rid of the hag,” he whispered in her ear. “New Orleans is growing, she’s fallen a few ranks in the society, for which you have Rebekah to thank. She won’t be missed.”
“When is the next moon? If she wasn’t a wolf, then she’s a witch. We’ve found where there is one, there are more. There could be a lot of trouble after she’s gone.”
“I wouldn’t worry about the witches,” he replied. “The wolves were more of a problem. Witches can’t hurt us much.”
“Maybe not you, but I’m not an Original.”
“But you have your own measures of protection,” he countered with a smile. “And perhaps you could use your pets to locate the witches and befriend them before we kill her.”
She pouted as she stopped along the market route. “But I never cared for that kind of craft. Kol practically had to manipulate me into using my magic.”
“I know that you know that. But they won’t have to know that,” he replied. “If anything, we could use an alliance with the witches, keep them happy.”
“No.”
“Very well, I’ll have Elijah try and talk to them.”
She then sighed, realising that some of the witches practised voodoo because most of the witches were slaves or natives. “I’ll try. I have a friend who may be able to help with that.”
“Someone, I know?”
“No. She’s mine,” she said as she walked over to the baker to get some fresh baguettes and rolls before handing the bag to Klaus. “Don’t worry, Klaus, I have my own ways of getting things done.”
He smiled then. She was correct about that. The whorehouse had been a work in progress for almost a year before it became active a couple of months ago. She had figured everything out herself and even amassed a handful of friends. There was no doubt that she had an entire list of people she could manipulate or blackmail for visiting her establishment. “Are you sure?”
She sighed then. “Leave it to me. No doubt you’d have asked Kol to do this if he hadn’t still been in his box!”
“We could free him if you wish.”
She looked at him with a stupid look on her face. “You’re not serious? I’ve been trying to get him out for the last decade, and you always refused!”
He looked around and pulled her aside. “I promised you when I put that ring on your finger that I would do what I can as your husband. I want us to work. Yes, it may take time in areas that may not please either of us, but where I can, I will try to accommodate my beautiful wife.”
She smiled widely then. “You’re really going to unbox Kol?”
“Yes, I miss him too,” he replied with a nod. He knew that Kol would have some issues at first, but with Myriam’s influence, he might tread carefully. If not, she could see with her own eyes how difficult he could get. And then they’d box him again.
“I can’t wait,” she was all excited, picking up her skirts to hurry and finish shopping so that she could prepare a grand meal. Pushing herself up on her toes, she kissed Klaus’ jaw and moved off, listing everything she wanted to find for that night.
Oh, Elijah wasn’t going to be happy about it, but he was going to have to grin and bear it. His wife missed Kol, and she needed to experience his behaviour herself. By the time she was done shopping, he was carrying a lot of bags, and she looked as happy as ever before they walked home.
Myriam disappeared in the kitchen after he put the groceries in there and decided to gather up some vagrants to put them in their fenced off garden, compelled to be quiet so that his brother could have a feast. There was no doubt that he was going to be angry with them for daggering him, but he knew that he was daggered for a reason, and hopefully he had learned his lesson. His siblings weren’t home yet so he could do this without their approval.
Once he was satisfied that the number of people in the garden, he went down to the basement and pulled the dagger out of his brother. Soon enough, Kol shot up in his desiccated state and wanted to punch him. “Easy.”
“I’m going to find a way to kill you,” he rasped as he looked around for some blood source. “How long this time?”
“Not long,” Klaus assured him as he helped his brother up and out of the coffin as he directed him upstairs to the backyard. “Sixteen years.”
Kol darted to the closest male, keeping his eyes on his brother. In his mind, he was still doing the math. Sixteen years. His friend was twenty-one last he saw her. Was she even still alive? Or had she turned? “Myriam?” he asked as he kept feeding.
Klaus tucked his hands in his pocket and glanced over his shoulder to the house. “She’ll likely be out as soon as she is less distracted by her current project. As soon as she realises you are awake, I’m sure you won’t get enough of her.”
“But she’s old now.”
“No,” Klaus smiled at him. “She turned when we arrived here in 1703.”
Kol dropped the body he just drained. “She wouldn’t change unless it was necessary. What happened?”
“We sent her away in 1701, I sent her off with some vials of blood.”
“I remember what you told me! Safety, father, et cetera! How did she turn?!” he demanded.
“We took too long to get here! She had been attacked two days prior to our arrival by some wolves, and I found her just in time!” He responded, defending himself. “If you hadn’t thrown your tantrum, we would have been on our way sooner and would have come home to her sooner!”
The back door flew open, and Myriam appeared with a bright smile. “Kol!” she cheered as she ran at him, throwing herself around him. “I missed you! I finally got Klaus to let you out!”
“You look beautiful as always, darling,” he said as he stumbled back a little, still a bit weak from only feeding on one of the men in the garden. “I’m sorry for what they did to you, you shouldn’t have been sent out on your own.”
Her smile faltered before brightening again. “It’s alright. Things have a way of working out,” she said as she ran a finger over his ashen face. “Have another. I may have a witch you can feed on depending on Elijah’s negotiations. But I’m making us a celebratory dinner!”
“Oh, good, your cooking is amazing,” he smiled her before kissing her cheek and grabbing another meal while letting go of his friend.
Myriam moved to stand beside Klaus as she watched with a smile. “We can let Elijah clean up the bodies,” she grinned.
“Some manual labour would do him some good,” Klaus mused as he put an arm around his wife before kissing the top of her head. She smelled of food, and good food at that. She smelled amazing, period. Her entire being just sang to him, as it had always done, but he had always ignored it. Now that he was embracing it, he found himself addicted to her scent.
“What in the world are you d- Kol!” Rebekah exclaimed happily before turning to her other brother. “Elijah won’t be happy, you know.”
“I don’t care, sister,” Klaus smiled at her. “Look at my happy wife!”
Kol dead dropped another body. “Wife?! When did that happen?!”
“You didn’t even tell him?!” Myriam shot at Klaus.
Klaus’ mouth opened as he looked to his sister for help. “There wasn’t much time with trying to hunt him down and explaining the situation. He responded quite violently to your travel that the further details had yet to come up. Eventually, we were forced to dagger him,” he admitted. “I am sorry, my love.”
She narrowed her eyes at him before walking over to Kol and to rub his arm to calm him down. “Your brother and I were married because supposedly it would protect me upon arrival here in the French Colony, and it helped me to get on that ship. And the safety worked to a certain extent. The other options of port were terrible. One in a Spanish colony and the other where the colour of my skin would mean more trouble for me,” she said calmly. “So I had to marry him. And the last fourteen years have been terrible. No affection at all, only for appearances sake. Only today he decided he was ready. I haven’t had sex since you, and I did it last!”
Kol frowned. “Well that’s just plain cruel,” he muttered. “I’m always willing to offer my services!”
“I can wait a little longer,” she gently pat his arm. “I don’t want you to get daggered so soon. I’m merely thrilled that after years of me nagging, Klaus finally decided to wake you up.”
“And that he finally decided to be a husband,” Rebekah added. “If he hadn’t walked into that whorehouse they still would not be on speaking terms. Do we have salmon for dinner?”
“Whorehouse? What? Nik!” Kol sounded disappointed. “You wanted to cheat on your wife whom you even hadn’t consumed your marriage with?!”
He looked around in shock and fear. “I swear I have done nothing! Elijah suggested seeing if they had some accommodations for the councilmen due to their philandering ways and I was just merely along! I didn’t even want to be there!”
“You’re a pig, Nik!”
“And she was there too! And that doesn’t seem to worry you?”
He looked at his friend with a smile. “Saving girls, are we?”
“Mon Loulou,” Myriam pouted with a twinkle in her eye and shrugged. “Fourteen years. I grew bored.”
“I can imagine,” he kissed the top of her head. “Well, no more, Myriam. I’ll make sure of it!”
She looked intrigued. “You’ll convince your brother to take me to bed?”
“Something even better,” he smirked before whispering in her ear. “Now you can join in on my parties even better.”
Myriam grinned, giggling before taking off for the kitchen to finish cooking, leaving the siblings together. Especially a frustrated looking Klaus. “Why must she run off all the time like that?”
“Oh, I don’t know, Nik, likely because you’ve been a wanker to her for the last fourteen years. Fourteen years, honestly? Haven’t you done anything with her for fourteen years? Not even a date?”
“I’ve been true to my word,” he scowled. “I’ve been with no other the entire time as well.”
“But you’ve neglected your husband duties because you were afraid,” Rebekah piped up. “But I’m happy that you seem to have made it better today. Did she give you an ultimatum?”
“Stop badgering me! We’re fine now, stop it,” he said as he went inside to find his brother a change of clothes.
“Well,” Rebekah smiled at her brother. “Myriam has built you your own room in this house. No one but you is allowed to enter and believe me, we’ve tried.”
“Really now? What’s the dog house for?”
“Klaus’ room. Might change tonight, but he’s been in there, literally, for the time we’ve been here.”
Kol barked out a laugh. “No wonder he’s grumpy!”
“We should at least see if we can convince him to share the bed if he doesn’t actually do anything else with her. It may soothe her temper if he continues to hold out on her. Honestly, the repairs we’ve had to do because she let a demon loose on him just to frighten him has been tiring.”
“Oh, I’d love to see that,” he said as he kicked against one of the bodies before tearing into the last living ‘present’ that Klaus had gotten him. “But understand one thing, Bekah,” he said as he looked up from his feed, blood dripping out of his mouth. “I’m still cross with you lot for sending her here all by herself and not including me on the decision and plans.”
“You wouldn’t ever have agreed to it.”
“No, I wouldn’t! Because she’s just as afraid of being abandoned as we are!”
“Oh, don’t start,” Klaus said as he returned with fresh clothes for his brother. “Keep feeding then clean yourself up. Elijah will be home soon, and Myriam just informed me that dinner’s almost ready. And please, she’s making this dinner to celebrate, let’s not fight at the table.”
“Then don’t start one,” Kol countered as he finished feeding and took the clothes.
“Elijah might start one, he would never agree to you being undaggered.”
“Elijah deserves a dagger himself,” Kol scowled.
Myriam appeared at the door. “None of you will begin this family fight. This one belongs to me.”
“You didn’t put vervain in our food, did you?” Rebekah asked curiously.
“Not what I’m serving you, no,” she said with a knowing smile. She had made individual meals for everyone, and there was vervain in Elijah’s food, the other meals were clean. “But it will be a rewarding dinner, nonetheless.” She then went to set the table, candles, flowers, the works. Tonight was a celebration. A double one at that. Although she still had to see if Klaus would go through with it all.
Elijah arrived home just in time for dinner, and the first thing he did was verbally attack Rebekah and Klaus for undaggering Kol. “There will be no fighting!” Myriam demanded as she pointed at the table. “Sit. I’m about to bring out your food! And, if you want to know, Klaus undaggered Kol because I’ve been asking for the last fourteen years. Tonight it’s about celebration and reunion. We’re celebrating that Kol is out of his box and that Klaus has finally seen reason which might earn him the privilege of moving back to the cupboard. Of course, when he chooses to join me in our bed, then that would be the best. But I suppose he wants to do small steps. So back to the cupboard it is.”
Once everyone was seated, she went into the kitchen and retrieved the first course; a French Onion soup with baguettes and homemade pate. She first served Kol, earning him a ruffle of his hair, then Rebekah, and then Klaus, whom she kissed on his cheek. Lastly, she served Elijah. His soup was only heavily dusted with vervain, and likely the only meal he was going to have from her three-course meal that was planned for the rest.
“Oh, I’ve missed your cooking,” Kol smiled as he happily tucked into the soup. “Wow, Myriam, this is better than I remember!”
She smiled proudly then. “It’s the soil here that makes everything that grows taste a lot better than in the Old World. Just wait until I break out the salmon and oysters.” She kept an eye on Elijah who seemed to be waiting until she sat down herself to enjoy her meal. “Go on, Elijah, I just want to see the look on your faces as you’re enjoying your soup. I worked hard, I’m entitled to a little pride.”
He took the first bite and swallowed it instead of spitting it out as he started to cough and choke. Rebekah looked alarmed, but Kol was smiling widely, and Klaus looked a little confused. “Vervain,” he breathed, trying to catch his breath as the vervain made its way down his body.
Myriam grabbed him by the neck and made him look at her. “From now on, you will stop interfering with our lives. Everything gets discussed, especially when you want to dagger someone. Kol will be involved in every major decision, just how you include Rebekah in your decisions. You won’t ever set foot in my establishment again. You can try, but you will be very sorry when you try. Kol will be treated as an equal, not as a doormat or errand boy. He’s a better person than you think. Be a brother to him like you are to Klaus. Speaking of Klaus, you will allow him to indulge his wild side more often. The same with Kol. They’re not idiots, they know that they can’t slaughter the entire colony. Have I made myself clear?”
“Yes,” he rasped.
“I swear, Elijah, if you’re not cooperating, I still have my ways to make you,” she said before snapping his neck and dropping his unconscious body to the ground. She then walked into the kitchen to fetch her own soup and sat down at the table. “There. Let’s enjoy a proper family meal,” she smiled at her family.
