Something new

Chapter 1 - House of the Rising Son

Rebekah parked in front of the Mikaelson mansion, leaving a message on her phone as she got out. “Elijah, if not answering your phone is part of your clever plan to get me back to this godforsaken city, then well done. I’m here, and I’m worried. Now pick up before I kick in your bloody door.”

Just then Amberley arrived as well. “What in the world is going on?”

“Elijah isn't answering his phone.” Rebekah replied to her.

“That's why you called me to come?” Amberley asked in disbelief.

“No, i missed you.” Rebekah replied to her.

Amberley looked in disbelief. “You also told me about this miracle baby.”

“Ah yes, that as well.” Rebekah comment.

“Hmm.” Amberley hummed.

Then they walked up the front steps and opened the door. They walked in as Hayley came down the stairs, wielding a fire iron. “Who the hell are you?”

Rebekah looked at her. Oh, you must be the maid. My bags are in the car... get them, will you?”

“Rude.” Amberley muttered.

Hayley smiled wryly, putting down the iron poker. “Hello. Not the maid.”

Rebekah nodded. “Right. You’re that werewolf girl my brother, Klaus, knocked up. I was expecting to see some kind of supernatural, miracle baby bump. Guess you’re not showing yet. It’s Hayley, isn’t it?”

“You have your brother’s manners.” Hayley noticed.

“And his temper, too, so watch it. Where’s Elijah?” Rebekah asked to her.

Hayley sighed. “Beats me. He’s long gone.”

Rebekah looked at her. “What do you mean, ‘long gone’?”

“Where has uncle Elijah gone to?” Amberley asked.

Hayley looked at them. “Well, one minute he was here making epic promises about protecting me in this predicament that a bottle of scotch and some bad decisions got me into... he was all poetic about how we’re family... and then Klaus told me he bailed. Guess that’s what I get for trusting a vampire.”

“Elijah is not just any vampire, and he doesn’t break promises. Which means Niklaus has done something dastardly and Klaus-like.” Rebekah walked further. “Klaus! Get out here and tell me what you’ve done with our brother, you narcissistic, back-stabbing wanker!”

Klaus opened a pair of doors and enters the room. “Enough with all the shouting. Little sister, I should have known. I assume the six dead vampires were your doing?”

“They were very rude. Trying to victimize a poor, innocent girl just trying to find her way to the Quarter. So sorry, were they friends of yours? Oh, that’s right, you don’t have any friends.” Rebekah replied.

Klaus looked at her. “I do have friends. I have Marcel. You remember him, don’t you? Yes, of course you do. He fancies himself the ‘King of the Quarter’ now, and he has these rules about killing vampires. It’ll be fun to see what sort of punishment he comes up with for you.”

Rebekah scoffed. “I don’t care about Marcel or his rules. Elijah doesn’t welch on deals. What did you do to him?”

“Perhaps he’s on holiday... or taking a long autumn nap upstairs. Well, go on. Take a look around. You remember this house as well as I.” Klaus replied.

Rebekah, who had gotten up to leave the room, turned back to Klaus. “I remember everything. I remember how the drunken fool of a governor hid away all of our vampire sins in exchange for gold. I remember the lavish parties the governor threw, as if to impress you. I remember finding a moment of affection with the governor’s son, Emil. And I remember that even Elijah was happy.”

Amberley looked at them. “What a tale.”

Klaus looked at Rebekah. “Well, he wasn’t good enough for you.”

“No one was ever good enough for me, Nik, you made sure of that. Now where is Elijah?” Rebekah sighed. Klaus’ phone started buzzing. He checked it, stood up and moved to leave. “Where are you going?”

“It appears the night is not quite over, yet. I’m off for another drink with Marcel.” Klaus replied.

Rebekah frowned. “Elijah told me about your plan to take apart Marcel’s empire piece by piece. I don’t remember it involving you two drinking New Orleans dry together.”

“I know you don’t have many friends, Rebekah, but what some friends do when they get together is they drink. And when they drink, they tell secrets. Marcel has somehow found a way to control the entirety of witches in the Quarter, and I aim to uncover the ‘how’ so I might take it for myself. Finding Elijah didn’t make my to-do list today.” Klaus turned and walked to the door, but paused before he leaves. “Oh, and welcome home, little sister. And my darling daughter.”

The door shut behind him and Rebekah turned on the spot, contemplating what he’s said. She saw Hayley sitting on a landing above. “You, wolf girl. I’m going to search this house inch by inch until I find what my evil brother has done to my good one. You’re helping. And Amberley, you are helping as well.”

“Great.” Amberley muttered.

The girls walked down a spiral staircase. Rebekah spoke up. “The governor had lots of secret rooms. I’ll show you his favorite.”

They arrived in a dusty, cobwebbed cellar room. Hayley spied the coffins that Klaus kept his siblings daggered in. “You think Klaus killed him.”

“No.” Amberley told her.

Rebekah looked at Hayley. “We can’t be killed, silly girl. That doesn’t stop Klaus from finding ways to torture us. He has a set of mystical silver daggers. One in the heart sends us into a deep slumber. Klaus gets his jollies from keeping us in a box, until he decides to pull the dagger out. That must be what he’s done to Elijah. This one’s mine.” She pointed at her coffin.

“Dad is weird.” Amberley comment.

Hayley looked in disbelief. “He keeps your coffin on standby.”

“He likes to be prepared for when his family members inevitably disappoint him. Elijah’s isn’t here... he must’ve stashed him elsewhere.” Rebekah told her.

Hayley looked sick. “I feel sick.”

Rebekah looked at her. “Welcome to the family, love. You should’ve run the second you realized Elijah was gone.”

“Yeah, well, the witches have put some sort of hex on me. As long as I’m carrying this baby, I can’t leave New Orleans. If I do, they kill me.” Hayley told her.

“That’s awful.” Amberley comment.

Rebekah sighed. “Well, knowing Klaus, he’s planning a box for you the second you give birth to whatever’s cooking in your tum. I’m leaving as soon as I find Elijah. Being daggered in a box for decades sucks, trust me. You’d best find a way to break that hex and run.” She went off to continue her search, Amberley followed her aunt, leaving Hayley to consider what she’s said.

----------------

Rebekah and Amberley appeared for Sophie, then Rebekah grabbed her raised, knife-wielding arm. “Sophie Deveraux. My brother, Elijah, told me about you. Know who I am?”

Sophie nodded. “Yeah, I know.”

“Then you know we need to talk.” Rebekah told her.

----------------

Rebekah, Amberley and Sophie talked while walking among the burial vaults of the cemetery. Rebekah had told to Sophie, who Amberley was to her. “So, if I had to guess, knowing Klaus’ history, Elijah has a dagger in his chest. It’s a magical object, you’re a witch. Do a locator spell, locate the dagger, locate Elijah.”

Sophie shook with her head. “I can’t use magic. It’s punishable by death... Marcel’s rules.”

“Then I can’t use magic here as well.” Amberley comment.

Rebekah sighed. “Marcel? What do you think I’m going to do to you if you don’t give me what I want?”

“Not much. I’ve been linked, so anything you do to me, you do to Hayley.” Sophie replied to her.

Rebekah looked innocent. Amberley face palmed. “Who?” Sophie gave her a significant look. “Oh, right the mumzy. Well, luckily for you, Elijah seems to care about her, otherwise I’d break your neck right here. How did Marcel get so bloody powerful, anyway? He wasn’t like this when I left a hundred years ago.”

“Marcel has a way to tell whenever there’s magic done in the Quarter. The ‘how’ isn’t relevant.” Sophie replied.

“I’ll tell you what’s not bloody relevant... a coven of witches who can’t do magic. Here’s an idea: move away.” Rebekah told her.

Sophie shook with her head. “We practice ancestral magic. This cemetery is filled with the remains of our witch ancestors. Without access to them, we’re powerless. If we run, we’re leaving our legacy behind... our home, our family.”

Rebekah looked at her. “Well, family’s overrated. Look at me. I’m back in a city that’s given me nothing but heartache, looking for a brother who’s hell-bent on protecting a baby I don’t care about.”

“Yeah, i belief that. Not!” Amberley whispered, about what Rebekah had said on the last part.

Sophie frowned. “I find that hard to believe. You’re here, aren’t you?”

“I’m here for Elijah. The instant I find him, I’m gone. He was the one who idiotically believed this baby would be Niklaus’ redemption. And now he’s missing, probably at the hands of Klaus himself. And you were foolish enough to believe that Elijah could convince Klaus to go against Marcel, when everyone knows that they have a history.” Rebekah replied.

Sophie nodded. “Klaus sired Marcel. I’m aware.”

“You don’t understand. Marcel is not just some guy that Klaus turned into a vampire. Klaus loved him like a son.” Rebekah told her. “I was there the day that they met. We were burying Emil, the governor’s only son... or so we thought. Turns out the governor had another son, from a mother that he owned.” She sighed. “Klaus saw himself in the boy. He remembered how our father used to beat him. He, too, was the bastard child of a man who saw him as nothing but a beast. And that is why your plan will fail. All you’ve done if bring back together two long-lost souls. Without Elijah between them, who knows what they’ll do.” Then she walked off, while Sophie absorbed what Rebekah had said. Amberley followed Rebekah.

----‐-----------

Rebekah watched from a balcony above as Klaus load Josh into he car, and Marcel talks on his cell phone. She recalled a memory of Marcel and Klaus. Amberley went to stand beside her aunt. Marcel found them. “Rebekah Mikaelson. Come to teach me another lesson? Last time I saw you, Royal Street was burning and you all were fleeing from the city from your daddy.” Then he looked at Amberley. “Who are you?”

“Amberley Gilbert.” Amberley introduced herself.

“She’s my niece.” Rebekah added. Then she looked at Marcel. “I thought you were dead.”

Marcel frowned. “How is she your niece?” Then he said on the last bit. “You never looked back to find out. Why are you here?”

Rebekah looked at him ignoring the first question. “Elijah. I think Klaus has done something to him.”

“Stop. Stop right there. If there is one thing I learned about you Mikaelson’s, it’s don’t get in the middle of family feuding. Doesn’t end well.” Marcel told her.

Rebekah looked at him. “Even after all you’ve achieved, you’re still scared of him.” Amberley listeners to them.

“I’m not scared of anyone.” Marcel told her.

Rebekah looked at him, angry. “If I find out you know where Elijah is, you needn’t fear Klaus... I’ll kill you myself.”

“Nostalgia’s a blast and all, but I can’t help you. It was nice seeing you, though. Good luck finding what you’re looking for.” Marcel jumped off the balcony.

----‐-----------------

They heard Hayley in middle of the French Quarter and they rushed over to her, Rebekah snapped the neck of one vampire and ripped the heart out of the back of the other. Rebekah comment to the dead vampires. “Now, that is no way to treat a pregnant lady. I do hate bad manners.” She throws the heart on the ground. Hayley gasped at her, still in shock.

“Well, that’s a way to do it.” Amberley comment.

----------------------

Back at the Mansion, Klaus throws a final body onto a small pile in the front courtyard while he berated  Rebekah, Amberley and Hayley for their behaviour. “This is why I told you never to leave the house. Werewolves are banned in the Quarter. I had a plan, and your little night-time stroll put it all in peril! Leave him!” Rebekah had started walking toward the pile of bodies... one of them was still alive... but at Klaus’ last command, she stopped. “You’ve done enough, don’t you think? Leaving a trail of bodies like a road map to my door?”

Amberley looked at them. Rebekah sighed. “If I hadn’t overheard this lot bragging about werewolf heads, everyone here would be screwed. And don’t give me that crap about having a plan. You’ve had all the time in the world to execute a plan, and no one’s seen you do a damn thing! Elijah made a deal to protect your child, so that it could save you from your selfish, rotten self. But you obviously don’t give a damn about the child or Elijah, because what have you done to honour it?”

“I have done everything. Let me spell it out for you, shall I? From the day I arrived, Marcel hasn’t trusted me. From Day One, he’s had his vampires ingest toxic vervain which, as you know, little sister, protects them from my mind control.” Klaus replied. “I needed a spy, someone on the inside with me who Marcel would never suspect. So, I created a Day Zero and got there first. Marcel had just lost six vampires, thanks to your little murder spree, and he needed new recruits. So, I made the new one mine, before he’d had even a drop of vervain. But we all know the real way to a man is through his heart, so...” Klaus grabbed the vampire that’s still alive from the pile. “And this one... I’m gonna drain him of vervain, compel him to believe his mates found religion and moved to Utah, so that he can explain to Marcel why he lost three more vampires tonight.” He dragged the vampire into the house; Rebekah, Amberley and Hayley followed him inside. “Does anyone have any more questions? No? Good, because I have a question. Hayley, what were you doing in the bloody French Quarter in the first place? Answer me!”

“Leave her be.” Rebekah told him.

Hayley looked at him. “You wanna know what I was doing? I was buying poison, so I could put your little baby out of its misery.”

Klaus runs at her with vampire speed and pins her to the door by the neck. She gasping for air. “Nik! NIK!” Rebekah runs at Klaus with vampire speed, pushed him off of Hayley and grabbed him by the shoulders. Amberley looked in shock. Hayley coughed and spluttered, massaging her throat. “Keep your hands off her! She is pregnant, for God’s sake! All of this bluster about not wanting the child, and then the second she tells you she’s ready to get rid of it? It’s okay to care. It’s okay to want something. That’s all Elijah was trying to do, all he’s ever wanted for you. All we’ve ever wanted.”

Klaus, calmed down but reeling from being confronted with his feelings, sat down on the stairs. Rebekah sat beside him. “I gave Elijah to Marcel.”

“What?” Rebekah asked confused.

“Why?” Amberley also asked.

Klaus looked at them. “Marcel was nervous. It’s bad enough one Original returned to town, but two? His crew was getting antsy. He wanted Elijah gone, so... I gave him a peace offering.”

Rebekah frowned. “You bartered our brother?”

“I have a plan. Gain Marcel’s trust, dismantle his empire, honour Elijah’s wish that that baby be born. I am executing that plan the only way I know how. If you don’t like it, there’s the door. See if I care.” Klaus rises and leaves the room. Rebekah leaned back, her work cut out for her.

---------------

Later, Rebekah was sitting on the back porch of the house when Hayley came out and joined her. “I know you don’t know me very well... but thanks. I appreciate what you did in there.”

Then Amberley came out as well. Rebekah looked at Hayley. “Us girls have got to look out for each other.”

“What is it with you two? You say you hate him, but the way you deal with him, it’s so clear. Even when you hate him, you still love him.” Hayley told her.

“Family.” Amberley muttered.

“I guess when you spend a thousand years with someone, deciding to quit them is like losing a part of yourself. But sometimes the hate is just... so powerful. Emil wasn’t the only boyfriend of mine that Klaus killed. He did it again, and again, and every time I found someone to care about. He just kept doing it until, finally, I stopped falling in love. He said he was protecting me from my mistakes, that no one was ever good enough for his little sister. Until one day, someone was.” Rebekah replied.

Hayley frowned. “If you know Marcel has Elijah, why don’t you just get him back yourself?”

“She can’t.” Amberley replied.

“Because, if I cross my brother, there’s still a coffin downstairs with my name on it.” Rebekah added. Hayley eyes Rebekah for a moment, then reaches down and retrieved something wrapped in cloth. She unfolded it and revealed the two silver daggers. “Oh, my god.”

“I found them under your coffin. So, if a couple of antique steak knives were the only things stopping you from getting Elijah back, then here you go.” Hayley offered the daggers to Rebekah, who took them in slight awe. Finally, she smiled, and Hayley smiled back.