Ibeth heard noise early in the morning.
She had been awake for hours already, too scared to let her guard down after what Aurora had said. Her door had been blocked from the living room, preventing her from escaping. But she could still hear the two vampires moving around the house.
And they were bringing someone in. Someone who smelled familiar.
Through a crack in the door she caught sight of Klaus, unconscious and with blood on his chest. They tied him to a log of wood with runic markings, tied to the ceiling and keeping him bound by his arms and on his knees.
Lucien reached into Klaus's chest, withdrawing Papa Tunde's blade and effectively waking him up in the most brutal way possible. Klaus let out a grunt of pain, yanking his arms forward and finding himself unable to break free.
"That does look uncomfortable," said Lucien cheekily. "Is it too tight?"
"No," said Aurora. "I think it fits just fine."
"Those chains and that wood were crafted by Ancient Egyptians keen on suppressing all sorts of evil," explained Lucien patronizingly. "Nothing supernatural can escape— not even you. You see, I've been stockpiling such items for a long, long time. Planning this moment for centuries. Tell me— how does it feel, knowing you've been outdone by your better?"
Klaus scoffed. "You think you're my better? I think your upgrade has infected your head, and made you as delusional as her." He nodded to Aurora. "At least you're truly a pair. I'll be sure to scatter both your ashes in the same patch of bog."
"Is that a hint of fear in his voice?" asked Lucien.
"Yeah," agreed Aurora. "I wonder what he's so afraid of."
Lucien gripped Klaus's face. "There's fear in his eyes, too."
"Do to me what you'd like," said Klaus coldly. "But leave Ibeth and my children out of this."
"How precious," said Aurora sweetly. "But it's a tad late for that."
Ibeth leapt away from the door just as Aurora kicked it open and pulled her out by her hair, tossing her in front of Klaus.
He struggled against the chains, grunting in effort as Lucien picked Ibeth back up, roughly shoving her into Aurora's waiting grip.
"Are you afraid, Niklaus?" cooed Aurora, smoothing her hand across Ibeth's very breakable neck. "Afraid of what might happen to this little beast?"
"Release her," demanded Klaus. "It is me who has wronged you, she did nothing."
Ibeth started to shake her head, wanting him not to continue down that path. She knew how Aurora would react and she was proven right a second later.
She croaked as Aurora shoved her hand into her chest from behind, gripping her heart. "Now, now, Rory," warned Lucien. "I can hear that little mutt's heart beating away."
"He knows I won't kill her now," said Aurora, resting her head on Ibeth's shoulder. "And yet that look in his eyes... do you see it? He is terrified. Perhaps I might wait to kill him... to make sure he can watch as I drain her of blood as soon as she gives birth."
"Release her," Klaus snarled, "or—"
"Or what?" asked Aurora, twisting Ibeth's heart and making her gasp even louder, tears streaming down her cheeks.
He found himself struggling to speak. "Poor show!" said Lucien. "Usually your taunts and threats are so much more convincing."
"I think he's beaten, my darling," said Aurora. "Just not yet broken. But then, we're just getting started." She let go of Ibeth, letting her fall to the floor crying and gasping, curling into a little ball to shield her stomach and chest from further attacks.
Aurora paid her no heed, focusing instead on Klaus, who couldn't peel his eyes off of Ibeth as he waited to make sure she and the baby were okay. She walked closer to him, withdrawing another small jar of serum, identical to the one Lucien had taken. "All I have to do... is take this, and then I, too, shall be your better. Have you any idea what torment you'll endure then for what you did to my brother? And to me? I will take such exquisite joy in killing you myself."
"Well," said Lucien, "clearly you two have much to discuss. So, if you'll excuse me, I have business elsewhere." He took Aurora's hands, swaying as if they were dancing. "Now, darling, you may have your fun. But, please keep Nik alive. I would so hate to miss his death. And remember to be gentle with Ibeth. The longer he watches her live in agony the more desperate he'll become."
Aurora's lips curled up, turning to Ibeth as Lucien exited the penthouse. "Well," said the redhead, "I suggest you stay right where you are, and nothing need become unpleasant."
Ibeth tilted her head enough to get a glimpse of Klaus, registering the horrified look on his face. He couldn't reach her even if he tried. Anything he did or anything he said could go very wrong and Aurora would simply snap and kill her.
"Is it true?" Ibeth whispered as Aurora walked to fix herself a drink, relishing in their torment. "Is Finn dead?"
He nodded solemnly. "He is. And Kol is unnaturally aggressive. Camille and Davina believe him to be cursed... the spell that resurrected him was tainted by the Ancestors. He will soon go mad."
"What about our wolves? Aurora and Lucien will just slaughter them..."
"I called them off," he said. "This is not a battle they are equipped for. I told them I would retrieve you myself. And I knew... Lucien wishes to command them. He cannot if they are dead. For the time being they are safer where they are. They would make no progress even if they attacked en masse."
"Thank you," she whispered. "That was the right thing to do."
"Love—"
Aurora swept in before he could speak, kicking the log that held him and sending a painful tremor through his body, eliciting a grimace and an anguished groan. "That's about enough of that," she said. "I wonder... when you decided to brick me into that dreadful tomb, did it ever occur to you that our roles might one day be reversed?"
Klaus gulped. "We both know that I buried you alive because I could not bring myself to kill you."
Aurora chuckled blandly. "No, you did it because your little wife asked it of you. You were angry enough to kill me."
"That's not true," said Ibeth weakly, realizing what game he was trying to play. "He would never do anything for me. All I did was give him pause to remember who he was spitting at. Even if I hadn't said anything I don't think he would have killed you." She half-smiled at Klaus. "It was no secret he cared about you."
Aurora chuckled, and leaned over Klaus. "No doubt, you intended to free me after a suitable period of time. And have me instead of this pathetic girl."
"In fact," said Klaus, "my methods were not unlike Tristan's— after all, did he not hide you away in a mountain monastery? The truth is, I still had hopes for us. I knew it was only a matter of time before Ibeth left me for Lucien. It cleared my mind and allowed me to see that I ought to make my way toward someone else."
"And yet you advocate for her life. You feel fear because of her presence here."
"You know very well why. She is carrying my child. I must protect her to protect my unborn son. The wolf within me will not allow me to sit back while you harm her. It's an instinct I cannot help. But even that instinct cannot overpower what I feel for you."
Aurora crooned, "Oh... your affections for me must run deep, indeed. Tell me—" she got so close, their lips were nearly brushing together, "if I were to kiss you now, would you feel those affections stir? Because I would feel nothing."
"Are you so certain?" inquired Klaus. "We are flames in the darkness of each other's worlds. We burn brighter together than we ever did alone. And I would forgive everything if you would only forgive me, my love."
Aurora began to giggle and stepped away. "Wow, you really are quite desperate, aren't you? I mean, it's quite pathetic, seeing you resort to this failed seduction. I mean, it's comical, even. I am not blind to what you both are attempting to do. Pretending you care nothing for each other. Even I can see that deep down the affection you have goes beyond what your wolves feel. You care for her, Nik. And though she hates you more than she loves you now, it does not erase her memories from when she conceived that child with you."
"And yet," said Klaus, "you would entertain Lucien's brazen advances? Do you really think you could ever love that imbecile?"
"Oh, poor, sweet Lucien," said Aurora softly. "After all these years, he remains such a dedicated suitor. Such a shame I'll never see him as more than a means to an end. But, if he wants to aid me in avenging my brother in a bid to win my heart, why shouldn't I let him? Wouldn't be the first of his gifts I've accepted. After all, he gave me this—" she held up the small jar again, "the means to remake myself, so that I might become a creature of such pure and unbridled power that I can kill even you."
Klaus was starting to become more anxious. "Whatever has passed between us, whatever hatred you're holding onto, in me you see the kindred you have always longed for. To spend an eternity without me? It would be a curse your frail heart could not endure."
"You're wrong," said Aurora. "You see, Nik, whatever terrors may await me in the endless time to come pale in comparison to the joy I will take in ending you." She popped the top off the vial. "Cheers." She looked right at Ibeth as she downed the whole thing.
"Oh, chin up," coaxed Aurora when she saw Ibeth slowly crawling away. She went to retrieve a wooden stake from the counter. "Lucien does wish you to remain alive a little longer. I won't kill you yet." She faced Klaus. "Darling, how would you like to watch me burn? That way, you have the thrill of watching me rise from the ashes like a phoenix reborn."
"A lovely image," murmured Klaus, "but I think you might ruin Lucien's carpet. Wouldn't you rather torture me a bit more before you end yourself?"
Aurora smirked. "Are you stalling me? Perhaps plotting some strategy for escape, to protect your little wife? But even if you got free, what then? Kill me? Enact the serum, make me into Lucien's equal? Not the wisest strategy for your survival."
"Is this what you want? You do realize that becoming like him will only add to your already substantial misery. Lucien cannot save you from yourself. Nor could Tristan. Nor could I, for that matter. You've spent centuries trying to cure your madness, and yet you're still no closer."
Aurora advanced to him, pointing the stake at his face. "You hold your wicked tongue or I shall pluck it from your wicked skull!" she snarled.
"Yes, more threats!" snapped Klaus. "So, go on then. Tear me apart a bit at a time. I may die by day's end, but you will live forever. Unloved. Pathetic. Your life a perpetual slog of soul-crushing despair and you unable to end it."
"Talking, talking, all this talking," said Aurora. "Well, if I'm to suffer through it, so should you." She stabbed the stake right into his throat, beginning to twist it around as he choked.
"Stop it!" cried Ibeth, watching as he struggled to breathe. "Leave him alone!"
"Careful, or I shall bestow this punishment upon you instead!" warned Aurora, gleaming wickedly at the hybrid as she watched him gasp and shake, unable to swat her away as his arms remained bound. "How precious, despite all he's done you'd still defend him!"
"What he and his siblings did to you wasn't right, it wasn't right when he continued to mistreat people, and it wasn't okay for him to hurt you at all— I get that! But he didn't kill Tristan! Don't take your anger out on him for that!"
She ripped the stake from his throat and advanced on Ibeth as Klaus panted, shoving the stake against her chest threatening. "What did you say?"
"Go into my mind," Ibeth said fearfully. "You'll see what Lucien said to me about how he hoped the Mikaelsons would kill Tristan for him. And you'll see my memories of last night, how he kept leaving the house. I think he killed Tristan and I think he did it to secure you staying at his side because without attaching yourself to him, you'd be alone. All he wants is your affection and I think that if you don't give that to him, he will kill you... because that's the kind of man he is. You think Klaus is bad? I've realized now that Lucien is worse. Because he makes you think you're safe and then reality hits and you're completely trapped."
"Aurora," pleaded Klaus when he saw her hand starting to tremble, fighting the urge to kill Ibeth outright. "Leave her, please... please..."
She let out a scoff of surprise. "That's it? Nothing more to say? No more taunts tripping from your tongue? Well, then, I suppose it's time I finish this." She aimed the stake at her own heart.
"What are you doing?" asked Klaus, panicked.
She smiled. "I'm gonna drive this into my heart, die, and be reborn. And then, with the aid of my new-found power... I'm going to silence you permanently."
Just before she could make a move, the elevator dinged in the lobby. "Well," said Aurora, surprised. "It appears we have company."
As soon as she opened the door, a wolf leapt in, knocking her down. Aurora screamed, flailing her arms and the stake to try and get the wolf off. It bit into her throat, then, as if she was a mere chew toy, threw her further into the penthouse. Jackson emerged from the elevator, rushing in with an axe in one hand and a stake in the other.
"STOP!" cried Klaus. "You cannot kill her, she drank the serum!"
The wolf, who Ibeth assumed was Hayley, seemed to understand this, and kept Aurora pinned down without biting again. Jackson dropped his weapons and reached into his pocket, withdrawing a syringe, which he stabbed into Aurora's throat, putting her to sleep.
"Ibeth!" he cried, rushing to his sister as Hayley shifted back into her human form and got dressed.
"Free him," pleaded Ibeth, standing up on her own. "I'm okay, I'm okay..."
"There's blood on you, I can smell it—"
"I'm okay, Jackson! Free him. We need to heal Aurora from that bite. What did you inject her with?"
"It was Cami's idea! A sedative in case she had ingested the serum. Vincent and Freya are okay." He removed the chains from Klaus, allowing him to move again.
Ibeth was stunned that he didn't go to Aurora first. He didn't even take a moment to stand and crack his back, which was probably sore. He went to her, pulling her into his arms and hugging her, holding the back of her head tenderly.
"I can hear its heart," he said, pulling back to kneel in front of her, pressing his ear to her stomach. "It's alright..."
"What about you?" asked Ibeth quietly while Jackson and Hayley gathered Aurora. "Are you?"
"I'm alright, love," he promised. "Come—" he picked her up, "we must leave, now."
They healed Aurora as soon as they got to the Compound. Vincent had a spell prepared to remove the serum from her body, leaving them free to kill her if they desired.
"What about the others?" asked Ibeth fearfully when no one came to meet them. "Kol? Elijah? Rebekah?"
"Elijah and Rebekah went to meet Lucien in exchange for Klaus," said Hayley, causing them all to tense. "Freya is helping them. Kol is with Davina in the St. James, he can't leave or his curse will make him lash out."
"Lucien will kill them!" cried Ibeth. "Surely there's something we can do to—?"
They heard the front door opening. Klaus went to investigate, and judging from the lack of an angry remark, they assumed it was someone they knew. A sigh of relief escaped Ibeth when she saw Elijah walking in with Rebekah and Freya. Aside from looking disheveled, they appeared unharmed.
She was quickly proved wrong.
"The sigil I tried didn't work," said Freya in disappointment as they sat in the courtyard, examining a skull-shaped welt on Rebekah's arm. "He had vampires with them, one stabbed Rebekah with a stake..."
"It's the same one The Strix used on me," said the blonde dejectedly. "I remember they healed me from it with a siphoner witch. They said it would make me go mad."
"Yes," said Freya. "The spell was carved on the stake. When we removed it, I saw it... it will turn her into a Ripper. And only a siphoner can cure it, from what I've gathered."
"I do not know any siphoners," said Elijah. "Until we find one willing to help us, we are at a loss."
"Then you know what must be done," said Rebekah quietly, staring at the far wall. "To prevent this... you either stake me again and have me stay that way, or you dagger me. Something to put me to sleep, to buy time. If it would keep me safe from Lucien, then you ought to hide my body. And when the year that the prophecy foretold is over, wake me up, and throw me a hell of a party."
"Rebekah," said Freya softly. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," she said, looking at Elijah. "Please. Do it."
He shook his head. "I can't."
"Why not? Maybe the only way to stop this stupid prophecy is to embrace it! Control it! If we can control it, then maybe we can change it. When I am buried, the family part of the prophecy will be over. You can stop anyone, friend or foe, that comes at you. So do it, one of you! Or I'll dagger myself."
They were all surprised when neither Klaus nor Elijah could bring themselves to dagger her. Freya ended up taking the burden, smoothing her hand through Rebekah's hair as they put her to sleep. "Well," said Freya once she had gone grey and still, "Rebekah was not truly taken down by 'family.' A foe placed the stake in her to begin with. We may yet have to worry about 'family' and 'friend.'"
Ibeth had to step into another room while they prepared Rebekah to be hidden out in the Bayou, upon Jackson's recommendation. He left ahead of them to prepare a spot, figuring that the wolves could at least keep an eye on movement in the Bayou. Lucien wouldn't expect Rebekah to be buried out there, or buried at all.
She sank into a couch, hugging her knees to her chest and whimpering as she tried not to cry. She failed. Laying on her side, she sobbed, frustrated and miserable.
Klaus entered the room, sitting slowly on the other end of the couch, and sliding her phone to her, apparently having recovered it from wherever she'd been kidnapped. "Love..."
She covered her face. "Are you mad at me?"
"Why would I be angry with you?"
"You can go ahead and say it," she whispered. "Now that we're away from them. I'm weak. I screwed everything up. I ruined this family. I trusted too easily, I let my desire for affection control me, I allowed Lucien to manipulate me... I'm a terrible leader and I'm going to be an even worse mother if I was fooled so easily."
"Do not say such things," he said, reaching out and gently making her sit up so she could look at him. "You are anything but weak..."
She frowned when she saw he was tearing up. "Why—?"
"Until Aurora pulled you from that room," he said quietly, "I thought you'd been killed. You were taken so far, I could no longer sense you. I feared the worst, that I'd lost both of you." He leaned down to rest his head on her stomach, concealing his face so she wouldn't be able to see him crying. "It is not your fault. It is mine. I harmed Lucien, and I did not treat you as I should have... he used it to his advantage. All I want is for you to remain right here where you are safe. I want to be by your side forever to keep you and our son safe. I ruined us. And I will never forgive myself for it."
She didn't know what to say. Or if saying anything was right. Instead of responding, she lay herself down, as far as she could to lean onto him. Her hands made their way into his hair, slowly drifting through his curls and massaging his scalp. She felt him relax in her hold, making himself more comfortable by wrapping his arms around her body, one hand rubbing her lower back.
"He doesn't have the witch gene," she murmured. "He's not a tribrid. Just a hybrid."
"It doesn't matter," Klaus mumbled back. "I will love him all the same. I want this baby with you, love. I hope that maybe in time, you will be willing to let me know him. I know I am not a good man. But I wish to be one. And I wish to be a good father for both of my children. I promise to earn it every day for the rest of my life. I want to know Aiden."
She squeezed her eyes shut, beginning to cry again.
Ibeth couldn't bring herself to leave the couch. She would have liked to go back to the Bayou, but she was honestly scared to even exit the Compound. Or the room in general. She kept moving around to different positions, and Klaus moved along with her. The couch was far too small to cuddle comfortably, and cuddling didn't even feel right, but it was safe. She let herself lay on his chest, let him wrap his arms around her. Because at least then she didn't fear that someone would snatch her away and hurt her again. At least then all the smells were familiar. And it felt like she was home.
"Love." Klaus poked her after she'd dozed off, and didn't hear her phone ringing. "It's your grandmother."
"Mm, shit," she murmured sleepily. "I didn't tell her I was safe, she's probably going to yell at me for that..."
"Yes, how dare you," said Klaus a bit playfully.
She managed a small smile as she answered. "Grandma Mary?"
"Are they with you?"
"Is who with me?"
"Jackson and Nick! Nick didn't return from school, and I know Jackson went to rescue you with Hayley. Did they stay with you?"
She sat up, unceremoniously pushing Klaus to the floor. "You mean they're not in the Bayou? Jackson left over an hour ago to head back there. And Nick... no, I haven't received any word from him. Oh my god..."
She withdrew as a text arrived from Lucien.
'Jackson and Nick send their regards.'
_
A/N: Happy 300 pages! Comment for more >:)