Marshall Twins [2 - Twins Series]

12 - The Tale of Two Wolves

Book: Marshall Twins
Chapter 12
Word Count: 4704

Elijah, Hope, and Miracle were in the library. Hope and Miracle were looking at a glass case that contained a journal and a picture of Katherine Pierce.

"The diary of Stefan Salvatore." Elijah muttered, walking closer.

"We're not supposed to touch it, but we practically have the whole thing memorized." Hope informed.

"Spoiler alert: Dad is the villain and you're the evil henchman." Miracle added, but didn't bother looking over at Elijah.

"From one very biased perspective." Elijah responded.

"Yeah, well, I got a second opinion." Miracle shrugged nonchalantly, walking over to a bookshelf. "The Mystic Falls Files by Alaric Saltzman. Volume One. In every story, Dad is the big bad wolf." Then, Miracle sighed and leaned over, touching her head in discomfort.  Hope walked closer, worried for her twin.

"Mira, what is it? What's happening?"

"Nothing. I'm fine." Miracle lied, sending Hope a weak, reassuring smile.

"Well, Davina said she gave you some pills for the discomfort." Elijah mentioned, also worried for Miracle.

"Yeah, well, you know what would really make me feel better? Is spending the day with just Hope, and not you getting in the way." Miracle snapped.

"Let's get out of here." Elijah suggested. "I know a place in town that does a disturbingly decadent burger. Let's do that."

"We're not hungry." Hope said. 

"Fine. Then you two can have milkshakes." Elijah decided instead. Hope and Miracle exchanged a defeated look as they both sighed, knowing Elijah wasn't giving them a choice.

---

Elijah, Hope, and Miracle were sitting at a table outside the Mystic Grill.

"If you're here to tell us that our dad has a heart of gold, this is probably the worst spot considering that there's a plaque inside near the dartboard for some woman that he killed in a moonstone ritual." Hope stated.

"Take a look at that store front across the street with the charcoal awning. That piece of land used to be our home." Elijah told. "The smell of it still haunts me to this day. The burning wood, the crushed flowers, the berries. Your father was incessantly painting back in those days. He was mixing, searching for brighter reds, for deeper blues. He used to wake me in the middle of the night just to show me a color that he would swear that he himself had invented. I remember the first time that he showed me a turquoise. Also, the first time I smelled blood. You see, when Mikael found Niklaus fashioning a paintbrush from a small branch, he took that branch... he struck my brother across the face."

"What did you do?" Miracle asked.

"Niklaus begged me to run away with him. But I told him that I would never leave Rebekah and Kol at the mercy of Mikael. So, we stayed. Of course, it was a mistake. We should've run away together, but your father couldn't go alone. But I did swear to him I would protect him from that very day." Elijah explained, just as a young boy named Landon Kirby walked up to the table with two milkshakes. He placed the first one in front of Miracle.

"Here is your usual strawberry, kiwi, and banana all mixed into one. What's with all of the delicious fruits?"

"Just trying a healthier lifestyle I suppose." Miracle smiled up at Landon. "Thank you, Lan! We should catch up soon; it's been a while since we've talked."

"Yeah, that'd be great." London smiled back, before placing the second smoothie in feint of Hope. "Peanut butter blast, whipped cream on the bottom. Just how you like it."