Chapter 20

Myriam came to in a crypt on the Cemetery, and she was shackled to the wall. “Ah, good, you’re awake,” Esther greeted her. “Please, do try to command your demons to free you, but I can assure you, it won’t work.”

“What do you want, Esther?”

“Truthfully, hearing you talk so lovingly about my children made me waver for just a little, but I also know that I have to stay the course. Bring balance back to nature.”

Myriam let out a snort. “Oh, witches. You are so fickle. Believe me, I was one before your son turned me. By creating the vampires over a thousand years ago, you did at that point imbalance nature. But it’s been so long, Esther, the balance has returned. Take the vampires out of the equation, and it’ll cause a dangerous imbalance.”

“And that, too, shall right itself.”

“But why disrupt the balance again? Why?”

“Because I have to. And you’re going to help me do it,” Esther said as she held the ring that she had confiscated from Myriam, and the White Oak Stake. “Niklaus was very insistent I’d come with you for support, knowing that you were weakened and possibly wouldn’t be able to get the stake. But you surprised me, Myriam. You and your demons surprised me, and I think that I can help you become my best vampire hunter yet.”

“Why? I don’t hate them.”

Esther smiled then. “But you hate at least one Original. And at least two ordinary vampires. Now, that hate is something I can use. Together with your demons, I shall turn you into a magnificent vampire killer, and you can’t do anything about it to stop me,” Esther said as she snapped Myriam’s neck with magic and started to do the spell to make the stake invincible.

~o.O.o~

Myriam awoke again when she smelled blood. Oh, she was hungry. Her vampire face bleeding out, she grabbed the bowl and drank all of it to shake the cobwebs out of her mind. It was only then that she’d realised what she’d been drinking and that Elena and Esther were with her in the tomb. “What did you do?”

Esther didn’t answer, and instead, snapped Myriam’s neck again.

~o.O.o~

She was alone when she woke up again, completely alone, not even her demons were around, and that was somewhat troublesome. Myriam didn’t feel different, so she wasn’t sure if what Esther had done to her had worked.

Still chained up, Myriam didn’t have anywhere to go to but to sit and wait. Closing her eyes she tried to find her demons, make contact, but there were none. She couldn’t make the connection anymore, and that frightened her. “Esther, you bitch!” Myriam called out.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” Esther said chipper as she entered the tomb with the stake in hand. “How are you feeling?”

“You took away my demons? Why?”

She smiled then. “Well, that was certainly not what I expected, but I suppose I’m glad for that side effect,” Esther replied as she undid Myriam’s shackles.

Myriam immediately got to her feet and pushed Esther against the wall, hard, before ripping out her heart. Whatever Esther did to her, didn’t matter. The bitch needed to die. She took a bite out of Esther’s heart and chewed on it as she found her phone that had been on silent. There were a lot of missed call messages from Klaus, and she called his number.

Where are you!”

“Your bitch of a mother took me,” Myriam replied as she sucked the blood out of Esther’s heart. “She made the last White Oak Stake so that it’s invincible, but don’t worry, it’s in my possession.”

Are you alright?”

“I don’t know.”

What do you mean, you don’t know?”

“She did something to me, but I don’t know what. I need the Bennett bitch to check me over.”

That can be arranged. Come home. You’ve been gone for days.”

“What about Esther’s body?”

I’ll have someone collect her at nightfall. Come home, Myriam.”

She disconnected the call and kicked against Esther’s lifeless body for good measure before heading outside the tomb. On her way home, she quickly fed on a pickpocketer and walked into her home. “Can we please leave Mystic Falls after all this shit? You guys owe me a tropical vacation!” Myriam announced. “I think I want to go to Indonesia! I haven’t been there yet!”

“Anything you wish, love,” Klaus said as he started to look her over. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you from my mother… If I had known…”

“I told you so,” she scowled at him. “And I can’t reach my demons. Where the hell is that Bennett bitch?”

“I’m here,” Bonnie replied, her arms crossed over her chest. “And I’m here willingly because you were so gracious to help out with Alaric. He says hi, by the way.”

“Yes I did, and because of that I was weakened, and Esther took me by surprise, so Ric is going to be extra nice to me the next time I see him. Now, tell me what the fuck she did to me.”

“Calm down, love,” Klaus said sweetly as he gently took her hand and led her to the sofa. “Have a seat, have something to drink, and Bonnie will check you over. There’s no need for panic.”

“Yet. I swear, if that bitch took away my access to the demons, I’ll revive her and kill her all over again. How the fuck am I supposed to protect myself? Or make sure you’re protected? I’m still a fucking normal, fragile vampire!” She then growled as she pulled the stake from her pants leg. “Here. You can’t destroy this one, so you’d better hide it well. I don’t want to die.”

Bonnie sat down next to her with a small smile on her face.

“What?”

“Stop being so aggravated,” Bonnie said reassuringly.

“But my fucking demons!”

“I know, but you need to calm down because I’m a very fragile mortal being and I don’t want you to rip my head off,” Bonnie replied, causing Myriam to roll her eyes. “I mean it, Myriam. I’m here because of you, not because Klaus asked. Because you were right all along. Just because you hang out with someone we don’t like, doesn’t mean we don’t have to like you.”

“Oh, and now you see the light. Well, whoopty doo.”

Bonnie took Myriam’s hand and squeezed it, hard. “Calm down. Close your eyes and breathe.”

“This is stupid,” Myriam muttered but did as she was told. It was her who had wanted Bonnie to check her over anyway, and she was being a terrible patient. But she was scared. So scared. What if Esther had done something irreversible and that would mean that her time with Klaus was limited?

Bonnie was quiet for a moment as she tried to piece things together. “I need to call Jeremy. We need his help.”

“What? Why?” Myriam said panicked. “Is there something wrong? Bonnie? Am I going to die? But I can’t die, Bonnie, I have a husband to please and a business to run. I’m far too young to-”

Bonnie put her hand over Myriam’s mouth and smiled. “I need Jeremy because of the lack of demons you mentioned. He can contact the Other Side. Maybe he can find a friendly dead witch of your choosing to inform us what Esther has done to you.”

“I don’t know any friendly witches. I hate witches and witches hated me, even when I was one before I turned,” she mumbled against her hand.

“That is true,” Klaus verified as he watched silently, trying to be as supportive as he could.

“Okay… so… a friendly dead vampire then?”

Myriam merely rolled her eyes at the girl.

“Fine, we’ll try one of our friendlies. But I’m going to need Jeremy.”

Jeremy arrived with a vampire escort in the guise of Damon 15 minutes later. “We didn’t ask for you,” Myriam said as she saw Damon.

“No, but there was no way in hell we were going to send Jeremy into the Mikaelson lair by himself, and I’m the one you tolerate most so here I am,” Damon shrugged as he leaned against the doorpost. “You want him, you have to have me around.”

“It’s fine,” Bonnie said as she took Jeremy’s hand and had him sit down close to her and Myriam. “Myriam had an encounter with Esther. Myriam can’t reach her demons anymore.”

“Demons?”

“Like spirits, but controllable. She had them do everything, apparently. And she can’t reach them anymore. I think the answer lies on the Other Side,” Bonnie explained.

Jeremy nodded. “I think you’re right,” he said as he looked around. “There are a lot of angry dead witches around her, and they’re not talking.”

Myriam glared around the room at no one and nothing in particular. “Yeah, well, I didn’t do a damn thing to them to be pissed at me. If they have a bone to pick at anyone, tell them to take it up with Klaus’ bitch of a mother. I only ripped her two-faced heart out of her chest.”

“Actually, this is a whole line of witches, and they’re connected to you,” Jeremy said, a smile on his face. “Someone’s finally talking. Uh… Giovanna d’Medici, she says she’s called.”

She turned and glared at the boy, but shut her mouth herself. “Oh. Well, then I have nothing to say. They got their due diligence, and they know why,” she muttered and sat back on the couch, crossing her arms petulantly.

We aren’t happy with Myriam, she cursed our entire family after finding out that she was the bastard child of one of our ancestors. We understand her anger, her rage because she was rejected and didn’t get to enjoy the safety and comfort that our family name holds. Or held. Jeremy relayed that message and saw Damon smacking his face. “What?”

“I’ll tell you later,” he said with a painful expression on his face.

They don’t wish to help Myriam, but I understand her pain. She must have led such an awful life, and I’m happy that she has found happiness, true happiness, with a family that adores her. She has done her penance.

The one you call Esther tried to make Myriam into a vampire hunter. A killer, to make sure that the vampires would cease to exist. Esther had tapped into the rage and hatred she felt towards certain individuals but hadn’t thought about Myriam’s love for her husband. Nor had she taken into account Myriam’s demonology side. Her demons.

Her demons amplified her love for Niklaus and created a barrier so that the hunting aspect of the spell didn’t hit. Myriam got what she wanted. She now is an Original vampire, like her husband, and she can’t be killed unless it’s with the White Oak Stake. Unfortunately, she had to give up on her demons, because Nature requires balance and an Original vampire is a being much more powerful than she’s ever been.

“What?” Myriam said flabbergasted. “Is she lying?”

“No, she confirms what I already believed, but I know you wanted to hear about your demons,” Bonnie replied. “So… congratulations, you’re an Original Vampire now.”

Klaus came around the couch and sat down on the opposite side of Myriam, taking her hand. “Are you serious? I mean, are you sure? That is not a simple task to be done. And you need specific components that are not readily available. I don’t want this to be reversed for her if someone were to find out.”

“She used a modified spell, but it’s very similar to the spell Esther used for you. For all intents and purposes, Myriam is an Original. She’s one of you. She’s still the Myriam you got to know and love. More sturdy and durable, that’s all.”

And perhaps a little extra dose of rage, but let’s keep that to ourselves, Jeremy. You can inform your friends later. Jeremy shook his head. “Can I go now?”

Nodding his appreciation, Klaus smiled at him. “Thank you,” he murmured. “If there is anything I can do for you for what you have done tonight, please let me know.”

“You could leave my sister alone.”

“Anything but that, young Gilbert.”

“If there’s anything else…” Bonnie said before the previously motionless Myriam took her hand without warning.

“You’re not lying to me, are you?”

“I could have, but what’s the point? You’re truly one of them now, Myriam, and I do hope your personality won’t change along with it because you’re actually pretty normal compared to them.”

“Bonnie.”

“Myriam,” she smiled at her. “I’m not lying. I have no reason to.”

“We could always prove that Bonnie’s right by driving a stake through your heart,” Damon shrugged from his spot by the door.

“No!”

“Esther has given us all a headache, but at least now something good has come out of it. And that’s a lot of thanks to your demons,” Bonnie assured Myriam. “I don’t know if you had any in play, but you may want to find an exorcist to remove them.”

“That’s not necessary, I can do that myself, thank you,” Myriam replied, still shocked by what she had heard. She had always wanted to be stronger and more durable than an ordinary vampire, mainly because she was with Klaus and Kol, and now she had gotten her wish. Myriam took a deep breath and smiled at Bonnie before hugging her. “Thank you, Bonnie.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll be going too then.”

Damon almost hurried Jeremy and Bonnie out of the house and straight into the car. “Call Stefan, Elena and Alaric and tell them to meet us at the house,” Damon said as he started the car. “ASAP.”

“Why?”

“Because Myriam has been right all along. Klaus is not the one we should fear. I’ll explain when we’re back home. Call them. Now.”

~o.O.o~

As soon as they were all gathered in the Salvatore sitting room, Damon poured himself a big glass of bourbon. “So, time for a history lesson. Who has heard of the Medici Family?” He wasn’t surprised to see the blank stares on most of the faces. “Alaric, history teacher, what do you know of them?”

“Ah, they’re part of European history. It’s not something taught in schools because, in light of everything, they were only a small smidge of history. World War Two is something that basically drowned out all the other European History taught,” Alaric replied. “I think their roots are in Italy or France?”

“European history or not, it is of importance,” Damon sighed as he walked over to the bookcase. “Jeremy! Who did you speak to on the other side?”

“Giovanna d’Medici- wait, you mean the same Medici as you’re asking about?” Jeremy said surprised.

“Ding ding! Go on.”

“She said that Myriam cursed her entire family after finding out that Myriam was a bastard child- Myriam is Italian?”

“French,” Damon replied as he grabbed the book he looked for and tossed it to Elena. “Before Myriam was turned, she was a witch and hung out with Kol Mikaelson. Now, we all know that Myriam always had something up her sleeve, and that were her demons.”

“But she lost them now,” Bonnie piped up.

“Sure, but I doubt that was all that Myriam was able to do. You don’t need magic for Voodoo, for example. Anyway, the Medici family was an Italian banking family in Italy with a love for politics. Big family. Dad always said that our family lived close to some Medici family members, but I never believed him. Just because we’re Italian doesn’t mean we’ve ever brushed elbows with near royalty,” Damon took a swig of his alcohol. “Their bank grew out to be the biggest of Europe in the 15th century, and it helped them bankroll some politicians of their own in Florence.”

“Wait, is this the family of Catherine d’Medici who married King Henry II?” Alaric piped up.

“The one and only, Ric.”

“Yeah, if you look closely into the European royal family trees, you see a lot of Medici’s. Dukes. Regents. Hell, there are even popes.”

“Fascinating history and all, but what does it have to do with me – us?” Elena said as she closed the book. “What happened over at Klaus’ anyway?”

“We’ll get to that in a bit, Elena. Now, Ric, tell me, what happened to the Medici family? Do you remember?” Damon was glad to have jogged his friend’s memory.

“Truthfully? I think history happened and like most important European families, forgotten.”

Damon took another sip of his drink. “Not quite. They had so many family members, and around the end of the 1690’s there was only a handful left.”

“How do you know? That was long before you were even born.”

“I like to read, sue me,” Damon shrugged. “Stefan should know all this because he’s spent more time in Europe than I have, but oh well. In any case, it always fascinated me. The Medici mystery. What happened to them to cause such a rapid decline in family members?”

“Myriam?” Jeremy asked, unsure of himself.

“Yep,” Damon said, popping his p. “Myriam was alive and human at the end of the 1600’s and running with Kol Mikaelson. I never knew her true story, but she has told me that she was a daughter of a whore and a nobleman.”

“It makes sense, in that time you had courtesans and servants who were more than willing to please their masters,” Alaric replied.

“So, what if Myriam’s mother got knocked up by one of the Medici’s and was then forgotten about? What if Myriam had never known who her father was until Kol Mikaelson came along and found something in her mother’s belongings or something? He’s a fucking curious asshole so I would see him rummaging through her things.”

“Wait a second,” Elena said with half a chuckle. “You mean that Myriam is the reason why that family’s member count rapidly declined? No way, she may be a bitch and Klaus’ wife, but she’d never do that.”

“Just like Stefan wouldn’t go nuts on human blood?” Bonnie asked, a smile on her face.

“That’s different!”

“Is it?”

“Myriam hates Stefan!”

Stefan sighed as he reached for the bottle of alcohol. “Myriam hates me because I forced Damon to turn. Because I killed someone she cared about. She hates me, because she knows what I am capable of, just like Klaus does. Klaus loves me as a Ripper because that means I don’t have to do his dirty work. Myriam hates it because I don’t have any remorse or respect for my kills when I do. So yeah, Myriam’s hatred towards me is well founded, and I don’t blame her for it.” He then let out a sigh. “If it hadn’t been for Damon or me keeping you alive, Elena, I would have been dead already.”

“Myriam was the one who compelled Caroline to jump off the belltower when she had vampire blood in her system,” Damon pointed out. “Caroline never shared it because I asked her not to. Myriam made sure that everything was in place for her husband to break his curse. That included planning everything out with him. The backups. The red herrings. Everything.” He took another sip of his drink. “And the worst part? She says that under her influence the Mikaelsons have mellowed out, grew up. I’m afraid that they’re the ones who are keeping her grounded and under control.”

“She no longer has magic, and she’s an original. Bonnie can desiccate her if needed and -”

“I’m not going to do that,” Bonnie shook her head. “We all turned our backs on Myriam the moment we learned that she was on Team Klaus. I think that we should try to make amends with her and hope that she won’t level this entire town when she throws a tantrum.” She then looked at Jeremy with a smile. “What does Giovanna say?”

“How did you-”

“The look on your face.”

Jeremy sighed. “Without her demons, Myriam will be off balance for a while. She has always relied on her pets to scope things out. To eavesdrop. To be one step ahead of everyone and everything. Now she doesn’t have that anymore. She’ll need some time to get used to that, but Giovanna doesn’t believe that Myriam will be a threat to us. Not as long as we treat her right. Myriam might actually be a good influence on Klaus for having him stop creating hybrids.”

“I doubt that,” Damon huffed. “Although I did overhear them fight when we were at their ball. Maybe she’s right. Okay, how long?”

“She doesn’t know, sorry,” Jeremy shrugged.

“Well,” Alaric sighed. “I guess Klaus was the least of our worries.”

~o.O.o~

“We’re not going to Indonesia?”

“Perhaps later,” Klaus softly kissed her. “But I had something else in mind. It’s also a tropical destination, and it’ll be just you and me. Sun. Beach. A forest. Peace and quiet.”

“Hmm… that sounds good. What about Kol?”

“What about him?”

“Is he coming with?”

“Sweetheart, I want it to be just us. Husband and wife. You and me. Kol can join us later in Indonesia if he so wishes, but I want to take you on this trip alone.”

“What about Caroline? Elena?”

“What about them?”

“Don’t you want to create more hybrids?”

“Of course, but first, you and I need to spend some quality time together. I’ve been neglecting you, and I want to make it right.”

Myriam sighed as she rolled into him as they were still in bed. “You just want to get me out of here before I do something I might regret because you think I’m out of balance without my demons.”

“And you know that I’m right about that. You may not show it, but I can smell your anxiety, love. You’ve relied on your pets for so long that it’ll take you some time to get used to it. And I’m taking you away to do just that and to spend quality time with you. Without anyone else around.”

“And then Indonesia?”

“And then we’ll go to Indonesia, and we’ll ask Kol to join us. I promise.”

She let out a squeal of delight. “We’re finally going to have our honeymoon!”

~o.O.o~

The deserted island they were on near Indonesia was heavenly. Just her and Klaus, and her grief. Oh, she didn’t like it that she had to miss her demons, but she got what she had wished for for so long; true immortality, and she knew that losing her demons was a worthy sacrifice. And it wasn’t as if they had let her down, either. They had worked hard for her, as she had respect for them and cared for them as if they were family members.

And that, ultimately, had saved her from the brunt of Esther’s spell.

And Klaus reminded her that she still had her Voodoo. She couldn’t do as much as she could have done with her demons, but she could still practise her religion. And that was something she liked.

Even though he was reluctant to make good on his promise of inviting Kol to join them in Indonesia, he did anyway because he knew it made Myriam happy and Kol deserved some fun as well; surprisingly enough his brother hadn’t been a pain in the ass since he was undaggered and had been helpful instead.

Plus, Klaus had to admit that Myriam was right about this, with the right kind of attention and acceptance, Kol was a great sibling.

Until, of course, he should do something that was terribly out of line and Klaus would need to dagger him again. Although, he’d never dagger Myriam for transgressions against him because she was his wife. His family. Kol was family. Maybe he needed to stop doing that.

They were enjoying a nice meal consisting of some typical Indonesian cuisine and the taste of their servers while the sun was setting. It was perfect and just the three of them. This was the right time to do what he had wanted to do for so long. There was finally peace and quiet, and that new ring he had made for her was burning a hole in his pants.

“Does it ever annoy you that I’ve never properly asked you to marry me, Myriam?” Klaus asked as he looked over at his wife. “That you never had a real wedding? Just a signed paper?”

“Maybe in the beginning, but then again, you didn’t touch me for 25 years, so it didn’t feel like we were married anyway,” Myriam shrugged. “I’ve resigned to the fact that that time of our lives wasn’t the right one to have a wedding, and that fast was better as you were so willing to get rid of me.”

“To get you to safety.”

“It felt like abandonment for a very long time,” she huffed. “And I felt that exact feeling for a while after you came to Mystic Falls.”

“I just wished we had a good old-fashioned ball to celebrate your union after we came to New Orleans,” Kol added. “You know, with me out of the box?”

Myriam chuckled. “Yes. You would have been my maid of honour, Kol.”

“What!”

Klaus couldn’t help but crack a smile then. Oh, he was so ready for doing it right now. “Well,” he said as he reached into his pocket and produced a new wedding ring, one that was more elegant and of this time, less clunky but also adorned with diamonds and a beautiful lapis lazuli in the middle. Spelt, of course. “Myriam Envie Mikaelson d’Medici, would you do me the extraordinary honour to marry me? Again? Properly this time?”

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.