Merciful - TVD [2]

38

"My boyfriend is the biggest idiot of them all and he's trying to be a martyr, that's what's wrong," Mallory answered with an attitude, "Anyways, why are you home? I thought you were trying to stay away from Elena."

"Well, she's not here anymore," Stefan informed her, causing Mallory to stop walking, "Damon took Jeremy to the Gilbert Lake House with Bonnie, so I guess her house is safe again. Listen, though. We have bigger problems. I got Klaus to tell me a little bit more about this hunter's sword. You know that map in Jeremy's tattoo?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Mallory asked in an annoyed tone.

"The sword decodes it."

"What?" Mallory replied, her eyes widening in shock.

"It's literally the key to finding the cure," Stefan continued on, causing Mallory to sigh.

"Did he happen to hand over the sword for safekeeping when he told you this?" Mallory asked, trying not to sound uneasiness as she spoke to her brother.

"It's Klaus we're talking about, Mal. What do you think?" Stefan retorted with an attitude, earning yet another large sigh from Mallory, "Why? What's wrong? What am I missing?"

"It's necessary to get our hands on that swords today or we're screwed," Mallory informed Stefan, who was clearly concerned about what she was saying, "Tyler and his hybrids are taking out Klaus tonight."

"Then I'm going to need you to stall Klaus while I search his place," Stefan insisted, as Mallory expected him to.

_____

Inside the Mystic Grill, Mallory walked in and made her way over to a certain painting that had drawn her attention. She smiled slightly, admiring the artwork as she stood in front of it.

She really needed to start painting and drawing again.

Feeling eyes on her, she turned her head, finding Klaus to be standing there, smiling at her. "Hear to steal Tiny Tim's crutches, Scrooge?" She asked him with an attitude.

"Dickens was a dark man," Klaus replied, earning a small smile from Mallory.

"I know. I met the bastard," She confessed, sighing, "Not the most pleasant man to spend time with."

"I thought you would've liked him," Klaus replied as he walked closer to her.

"I didn't," She responded, eying the painting to suddenly spot Klaus' name on it, "Nice artwork, by the way. I can't help but think of it as an expression of post-modernism."

Klaus turned to her, his eyes widening in shock. "Finally!" He exclaimed, his lips curling upwards, "Someone who finally understands my art."

"No one around here seems to understand the small pleasures in life," Mallory confessed as she continued to stare at the painting, "They instead find pleasure in partying, sex, and being idiotic teenagers."

She stepped toward the painting, smiling softly. "The painting is truly art. There's more to it than just a snowflake. There's something...lonely about it. Something deep and dark."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment," Klaus replied and Mallory smiled as she nodded her head.

"You should. It was supposed to be a compliment," Mallory stated and Klaus nodded in understanding.

"Can I offer you some champagne?" He asked and Mallory smiled.

"Yes, you can," She replied, trying to hide her uneasiness. She couldn't help but feel bad. She was supposed to hate Klaus, but a part of her didn't. A part of her felt guilty about what was going to happen that night. And then there was that other part of her. That part of her that knew for a fact that Klaus was too smart to walk into this poorly-made trap.