Red Queen ▻ The Originals [1]

38

"I heard," Francesca nodded as she held out her hand, which lead to her bodyguard giving her her keys before she went to go inside,  "Awful. Goodnight!"

 As Ophelia went to follow after Francesca, Francesca's bodyguard grabbed her by the arm, stopping her. Ophelia, annoyed, roughly broke the man's neck before allowing his drop to the floor, dead. Francesca stared at Ophelia in shock for a moment before smiling fakely at her, "Word on the street is, he owed a hundred grand to the Palace Royale casino! And then, after he died, the debt was erased. Just like magic." Ophelia explained to Francesca with an attitude.

 "Jeff was a fixture at my roulette table. Sometimes he was up, sometimes he was down. I absolved his family of the debt he owed out of the goodness of my heart," Francesca explained as the two girls glared at her skeptically, and Francesca shrugged, not really caring, "Feel free to sniff around. My hands are clean!" She paused, "And, I'd advise you to mind your manners, Ophelia. It's lucky you and your buddy over here are still alive. You're the one the wolves all whisper about like royalty. If I was interested in hurting the wolves, you'd be my target," She smiled at Ophelia, "And, when I go after someone? I don't miss."

 Francesca walked into her house, leaving Hayley and Ophelia on the porch. Hayley sighed, sharing a glance with Ophelia before they both began to walk away.

 Suddenly, Hayley sensed something weird, but couldn't identify what it was. Ophelia turned to her, giving her a concerned look, "You okay?" She asked and Hayley nodded as she simply wrapped her coat around her tightly before she and Ophelia continued walking home.

_________

 In the French Quarter, the funeral procession was walking down the street to the sounds of the jazz music being played, behind the priests acting as pallbearers for Father Kieran. Near the end of the parade was Klaus, Ophelia, Elijah, and Hayley. Hayley began to have a fit of coughs, causing Elijah to look at her concerned, "You alright? You look--" He began to tell her until Hayley cut her off.

 "--A hundred months pregnant and pissed off at the world?" She finished his sentence and Elijah smiled at her.

 "I was going to say you look lovely." He replied, continuing to smile.

 Ophelia watched Francesca closely, who stood a couple yards in front of them. She was pretending to wipe tears from her face with a tissue, causing Ophelia to roll her eyes, "Do you think I was the target of those bombings?" Ophelia asked the group of three curiously.

 "Of course you were the target!" Klaus explained, "Were I to wage a war on the wolves, you'd be my first kill! No one on earth knows what has the ability to kill you. It's unknown. While we know a heart extraction doesn't, we can't say the same to fire because we've never tried it," He told her, earning a glare from Ophelia, "If you were to be my kill to get back at the wolves, I would string you up, for all your worshipers to see, which is quite a lot of people. Then, the people closest to you would be next. That would include Hayley here."

 At this point, both Hayley and Ophelia were glaring daggers at Klaus, causing Elijah to look at his brother unamused, "I believe that was my brother's way of telling you he'd like the two of you to return home with us," He told the two girls before turning to Klaus, "Perhaps try a different approach, Niklaus, with fewer references to murder?"

  "As much as I would hate to throw you two over my shoulders, and drag you kicking and screaming to the compound, we both know I will, for the sake of my child and the sake of Ophelia's well being." He explained while beginning to smile.

 Hayley smiled in amusement, sharing a glance with Ophelia, "One bad dream, and suddenly, you want to be a responsible daddy and want to protect Ophelia at all costs." She commented, causing Ophelia to quietly laugh.