The Promised One (Klaus Mikaelson/The Vampire Diaries)

Chapter Forty Four

Madeline awoke that next morning, with one of those awful hangovers where it felt as if a team of builders had set up their workshop inside her head.

She rolled over, and tucked herself against Klaus's warm body to protect her skull, causing the Hybrid to chuckle.

"Good morning, sweetheart."

Her response came out as a groan, which only made him chuckle again.

"Am I dead?"

"No."

"Then there seems to be some kind of mistake." Her mouth felt like she had licked sand, and she got out of bed, which was when her stomach rolled. She let out an unladylike burp, and immediately she felt mortified, albeit slightly better. "Oh god. Is there any chance that you didn't hear that?"

"I'm afraid not."

Madeline showered and dressed and brushed her teeth before returning to Klaus's side. "Are you busy today?" She asked. "Because if not, I'd like you to stay here."

"As much as I would love to, sweetheart. I can't...your little brother appears to have found a man with mysteriously invisible tattoos."

"I like tattoos."

"Well, apparently Jeremy is the only one who can see them." He informed her, "Which means that this man is a hunter. And not just any hunter either...he is one of The Five."

"I have no intention of trying to understand what that means." She said, "My supernatural dictionary appears to have run out of pages."

He explained it to her anyway, and Madeline perked up a little more just by the sound of his deep, velvety voice.

Klaus persuaded Madeline to leave the bed, he had a 'meeting' with Damon at the Grill about going on a search for the hunter. Caroline (having heard it from her dad) had mentioned to Elena; who had told Stefan; who had told the older Salvatore; who had informed the Hybrid, that the hunter was looking into all of them and that they needed to lay low. Of course, Klaus and Damon wouldn't and just wanted to capture and torture the hunter for questioning.

As Klaus and Madeline stepped into the Grill, Madeline squealed upon noticing a familiar brunette sitting at a table with none other than Tyler Lockwood.

"Hayley!" Her own high-pitched voice annoyed her hangover, but she didn't care. She ran over to her wolf best friend and threw her arms around the girl - the latte in Hayley's hand went everywhere.

"Maddie!" Hayley ignored the loss of her hot beverage and stood up to hug her 'owner' (as Madeline had dubbed herself).

"How are you? What are you doing here? Piss off baby Lockwood; I'm taking your seat." Madeline shoved Tyler out of the booth, and ignored both him and Klaus. Damon came over too, to say hello to the werewolf that helped his best friend though her time at the clinic - but Madeline shushed him and sent him on his way. "You two have business to discuss." She said, "And Tyler go and...see Caroline, or something. I don't care."

She spent the entire afternoon with Hayley, catching up with the slightly younger girl. Apparently, Hayley had gotten wind that Klaus could no longer make werewolves into Hybrid's. So, not only had she come to visit Madeline, but she had come to 'break the Sire Bonds'.