CHAPTER XLIX
❝ You know you can tell me anything, right? ❞
The whole garden was laden with giggling voices of exhilarated children, their feets moving rapidly as they chased each other, slided down the swings and gobbled up the sweets of extreme sugar overflow.
Brie giggled, running backwards as she stuck her tongue out teasingly at her chaser. "Catch me if you can!"
"I'll win! You'll see!" the petite girl chasing after her in her hefty cinderella costume, huffed out between gasps of breaths.
"You won't!" she stuck her tongue at her again, still running backwards, "I will-"
Brie was cut short as she collided into a figurine, falling to the thick grass layer as the girl chasing her stopped short.
"Careful, child." a gruff male voice huffed out, towering over her as Brie blinked up at the newcomer.
"Sorry." Brie mumbled, getting up as she dusted her robe.
"It's alright." he nodded stiffly, ready to change paths before Brie stalled him.
"I like your hair." she mused, gazing up at his long silky light brown locks.
A muscle twitched in his mouth, but he didn't allow it break into a smile, and just managed with a monotonous, "Thanks.", and was all ready to leave before a hand on his shoulder weighed him down and Brie watched as another man, around the same mid age as the first one, whispered something in his ear.
"Ehm," he began stiffly when the second man was done whispering into his ear. "child, do you know who is the host of the party?"
"Yeah." Brie nodded enthusiastically. "It's my mom."
He shared a look with the other man.
"And what's her name?" the other, white trimmed hair one, asked.
"Lucy Wright."
"You were right." he almost smirked at the blond man.
The blond man eyed her scathingly and took a step away almost in disgust.
Brie frowned before her friend piped up from behind her motioning to Brie. "It's her birthday today."
"Happy birthday, dear." the white haired man offered her a warm smile. "Can you take us to your mother?"
"Yes, of course." she nodded. "Do you know her?"
"Yes, we're some old acquaintances." he nodded good naturedly. "Now, please lead the way."
"Yes, yes." she nodded, taking her friend's hand as she began walking. "It's very full inside. It might take time to find her."
"No problem, we have time." the white haired chuckled. "So, how is your mother?"
"She's good." Brie beamed. "You know, you should also meet Ni-"
"Brie." a voice interrupted as a charwoman appeared before them, her kind face smiling at Brie. "Let's go inside, there is another surprise for you."
"Yess." she jumped in happiness, ready to run inside before she remembered. "Miss. Rosie, they want to meet Mom."
Rosie turned her gaze to the two men in question, greeting them with a warm smile. "She's inside. I'll have someone see you in. Just a moment."
"John." she called out, beckoning to a young guy serving fries to the children who on hearing his name, came jogging towards them.
"Yes, Miss. Rosie." he nodded cordially.
"Please see these gentlemen inside." Rosie nodded towards them before turning her gaze to Brie. "Brie, come with me. Let's go."
"Bye." Brie waved at them, getting only one in return though as the white haired one smiled at her warmly.
"This way, please." John motioned for them to follow.
◇◇◆◇◆◇◇
Lucy was officially scared now.
"What does Katherine even want? Why is she even here in the first place?" Lucy paced the room in worry, speaking rapidly. "I didn't think Katherine would have the nerve to confront me, just to say that 'things will unfold' and she needs 'just my cooperation'. I thought I had her under control."
"She's not the one to come under anyone's control. Especially when she knows their weaknesses and has them handy."
Lucy nodded with a defeated sigh as she tugged at her hair and glanced at Brie who was animatedly talking to another girl of her age.
Lucy was freaking out because of Katherine bloody Pierce. She had immediately withdrawn Brie from the party, getting her to her room and immediately checking her for any injuries on her arrival and now was worriedly discussing the whole matter with Stefan in whispers.
She was yet to find Niklaus, who had suddenly disappeared into the thin air, gone to who knows where, leaving her with just a simple, extremely to-the-point message, 'call you later'.
"She is safe in this room, right?" Lucy questioned alarmingly. "Katherine couldn't possibly harm her here in our presence nor can she outwit us now that we're alert."
"Yes, Lucy, Brie is the safest here, trust me." Stefan placed an assuring hand on her shoulder. "Besides, she has the protection spell on like always. But, for easing your mind, create a boundary spell so that no supernatural can enter this room. Everything will be perfect then."
"Yeah," Lucy nodded, sighing. "You're right. She's the safest here. But what if Katherine compels someone to come inside and harm her?"
"I'll be here the whole time." Stefan tried to assure her as her voice grew more anxious by the second.
"But- but what if you're somehow distracted or I-I get outsmarted by them or-or-"
"-Lucy," he stopped her panic rant, giving her a placid smile. "Seal the room magically, so that no one can enter nor leave. We might be stuck here the whole time but lift it up tomorrow morning. Good now?"
"Yeah, yeah." she nodded vigorously, getting up, "I'll get the candles from my room."
"Wait, listen." Stefan stopped her as she began to hurry out of the room. "Don't bring them here. Do it from outside."
"What-" she frowned, "-why? How would I enter then?"
"Lucy, look, I am here. Nothing's going to happen to Brie. Once this room is sealed, she is perfectly fine. But currently, you need to find Klaus."
"Stefan, he's here." Lucy shook her head with an unconvincing smile. "In the party."
"There's no need to lie to me. If he was at the party, then he would have been here right now."
Lucy opened her mouth to say something but he cut her off.
"Listen to me, no matter what my opinions on your relationship had been, I don't think he would ghost you or cheat on you. I've seen the way he looks at you. And I know it's real. Earlier I was apprehensive of your relationship with him, because, well, Klaus is Klaus. But I see it now. He has changed. He is no longer even running after the Cure. I would like to believe that he has gotten his redemption and right now he is looking for just a happy life with you two. And today if he has disappeared on Brie's birthday, who matters so much to him, then something is wrong. With Katherine back in town, something is definitely wrong. So, go, find him and talk to him. Because that is what you need right now. I'm not going anywhere. Brie is safe with me. Trust me and my words."
"Thank you." Lucy nodded, teary eyed and pulling him into a hug. "And I trust you, since forever and always will."
"Don't thank me." Stefan chuckled, pulling out of the hug, watching her sniffle. "You shouldn't have to choose between him and Brie. And I'll make sure the day never comes when you have to prioritise one over the other."
"Yeah." she nodded, letting out a teary laugh as she wiped her cheeks. "I'll speak to Brie, do the spell and I will find Nik."
"That's the spirit." Stefan chuckled, thumping her on the back eliciting a laugh from her.
"Brie." she called out with a soft smile, crouching in front of her. "How are you feeling?"
"Veryyy good." she exclaimed enthusiastically. "I'm so happy, Mom. Thank you sooo much."
"Anytime, baby." Lucy nodded, cupping Brie's face as a smile broke out on her face. "So, um, I have another surprise for you and for that I need you to stay here for sometime, please? With uncle Stefan."
"Okay." Brie nodded enthusiastically, oblivious to the real situation.
"But do not leave the room at all. If you need to pee, here is the washroom. If you need any snacks, you know where to find them. Just don't leave this room, okay?"
"Yes, mom."
"And, stay with your friend." Lucy shifted her gaze to the girl in question. "Hello, dear, what's your name?"
"Hi, Ms. Wright, I'm Sara Khan. I'm twelve years old. Nice to meet you." Sara shook her hand excitedly. "And I love the party, and your house. It's beautiful."
"Thank you, dear." Lucy smiled at her warmly. "Do you mind giving your friend company till I arrive? And do I need to inform your parents?"
"No, I don't mind." she shook her head good naturedly. "And, Abbu (dad) had left already, he needed to be at another party. He will send the driver for me when I call him."
"You have a mobile phone with you?" Lucy questioned with furrowed brows.
"No, I'll use your landline."
"Oh," Lucy laughed awkwardly. "that's great. So, keep each other company and don't bother Uncle Stefan much. I'll be back soon. And do not leave the room at all. Okay?"
"Okay." they choroused.
◇◇◆◇◆◇◇
Nik ━ Call you later.
Lucy stared at the half hour earlier message from Nik as she bumped past some high on energy dudes.
Where could Nik be? Think.
Mikaelson Mansion? Probably.
or the Grill, maybe? Uh, no.
or perhaps to the Salvatores? Not sure.
She was snapped out of her mulling as she bumped into the said man himself.
"Hey." Nik whispered, a tender smile on his face as he took her hand gently, his eyes downcast.
"Nik." she whispered, a relieved yet reluctant smile erupting onto her face as she took in his appearance.
Dishevelled clothes (even torn at places), dirt settled onto his shoes, and most importantly, the exhaustion in his voice.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah." he nodded with a pained smile as he rested his forehead against hers. "I'm okay."
"Is something going on?"
"No, nothing." he shook his head softly against hers, his arms wrapping loosely around her and his eyes closing as Lucy's worried ones peered up at him.
Something was definitely going on. And nothing was okay.
"Where were you?" Lucy whispered, prompting him to open his eyes as a reluctant expression settled onto his face.
"Just around." he smiled tenderly, pressing a soft kiss on her forehead as he pulled away.
"Is this blood?" she frowned, pushing down his collar to see a werewolf bite which had semi-healed.
"Oh, that," he chuckled awkwardly, tugging up his collar. "I went for a sip."
"That's a werewolf bite."
"Well, the drink turned out to be a werewolf, and, well, this is the result." he finished, gesturing to his semi-torn clothes. "I actually wanted to ask if you could fix this."
"Yeah." she nodded, forcing out a chuckle while her face clearly held a frown. "Of course."
"Thank you." he sighed as she waved her hands in a spell-like motion and he felt his clothes resume their previous, intact position and condition.
"So, um," he took a deep breath and settled onto a smile, "would you like a dance with me?"
"Yeah, I would love to." Lucy smiled, but something still felt off. She still had a feeling that Nik was hiding something from her.
He offered his hand in a classic 'asking for dance' posture as she took it with a smile and he began leading her to the dance floor where already a few couples were swaying to the slight up-beat music playing in the background.
"You know you can tell me anything, right?"
"Of course." Nik passed her a vibrant smile as Lucy pursed her lips internally.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, not at all." Nik chuckled, taking her hand as they settled into the dancing position.
"You can tell me. I swear it won't make my mood worse." Lucy said as he spinned her away before pulling her in with the beat of the song, her back pressed against his chest.
"Worse? What happened?" he mumbled against her ear, and before she had the time to react, moved their joined hands over their head and they regained their face to face position.
"Katherine happened."
He paused for a moment before pulling her in close as she flushed at the sudden offbeat movement, momentarily rendered speechless.
"What did she want now?" he mumbled, sighing deeply against the crook of her neck as she felt her fingers coil around his hair.
"Threatened me, perhaps."
The air felt cold against her skin as he pulled back and looked straight into her eyes. "What do you mean threatened you?"
"Something like Brie is around and she can hurt her if I don't let things unfold the way she wants." Lucy sighed tiredly.
"Where is Brie?" he questioned immediately, worry overcoming all his features.
"She's okay." Lucy smiled. "Stefan's with her. I just came to look for you."
"Where is she? We need to be with her." he said worriedly, all ready to hurry up to the room.
"Nik," Lucy stopped him, "she's okay. And she is in her room which is spell shut. No one can enter nor leave. And, the protection spell is inact."
"But-"
"Nik," she smiled up at him, cupping his face with a hand, "she's safe. Katherine can't even touch her. Let alone harm her."
"I know." he sighed, resting his forehead against hers. "I trust you and your magic. But can I see her once, please?"
"Of course." Lucy smiled and she leaned in to kiss him, but her eyes shifted to something behind him and Nik watched as all the color drained from her face and she stepped away, very away, from him almost in an instant.
Niklaus turned around to look for the source of her sudden change in behaviour, his eyes settling on a middle-aged white haired man along with another middle aged, but long dark blond locks man, the only pair not dancing, and before he could raise any queries regarding their identities, the blond man's next extremely condescending words answered everything.
"Evening, my dear daughter. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
━━━━━━✰━━━━━━
A/n :
INTRODUCING
Todd Almond as
Richard Wright
"Steve would be so ashamed of you."
INTRODUCING
Milind Soman as
Dietrich Daldron
"We only had the best intentions for you in our heart."
As you all already know S4 is coming to an end and soon we'll be entering S1 TO 🤓🤓
But i literally have no freaking idea how to write smut😭
I know (or I think I know😭) but i don't know how to write it coz I don't want it to be cringe *shudders*.
So, somebody send help or else you guys getting no smut😭.
I'm jk, i will write it, but it'll be cringe af, so SEND HELP😭!
Until then,
Ripahhhhhhhhhh.
Word Count : 2383