Vivalda disliked children.
She could tolerate them for short periods of time. Marcel had been different, he was older and obedient and he liked learning how to fence, something she was glad to teach. Anyone younger was obnoxious. Older teens were rude.
Her brother wasn't all that different in his opinions. How, then, was anyone expecting him to accept the fact that like the idiot he was, he'd knocked up Hayley Marshall and now had to deal with the consequences of his own actions? (He never did that.)
"Alright, alright, calm down," she sighed, rubbing her forehead as Elijah called with another update. "So you convinced him to keep the baby? Why?"
"Are you implying that you do not want it to be born?" said Elijah, flabbergasted.
"No! But if both parents didn't want it, why press on? Hayley is young and Klaus didn't even want to have a serious conversation about what he did. Do you really think our brother is ready to be a father? If he is able to have children, that's fine, but shouldn't he wait until he is prepared to take that role? Is seven months really enough time for him to be the father he didn't have?"
"I will do everything I can to help him. I think this child could offer him the one thing that he's never believed he's had. The unconditional love of family. We have all left him at one point or another, we have all turned our backs to him. But this could be an opportunity for him to learn selflessness, to act solely in the interest of another."
"You said that about Marcel and look where we are now. How has he been alive all this time and we haven't known? Either our lieutenants are incompetent or he's smarter than we ever gave him credit for. And what, the witches just think that they can make Klaus kill his own son to protect a fetus he has yet to care about? Elijah, this sounds like a very bad idea."
"It will work, sister, I know it. Rebekah is coming to help with Hayley. I would like for you to join us. Kol as well, if he is willing."
"I'll think about it but I will let you know in advance that I want to say no. I've no desire to hear Klaus complaining all the time and I'm not a caretaker, I'm a protector in much different terms. I'm not even good with children. I wouldn't know what to say to Hayley. And I don't care to talk to her in the first place, she's a little girl and I am not friends with anyone more than five centuries younger than me."
"Vivalda, please take it under heavy consideration. Niklaus is more likely to be prepared if we are all there to support him."
"Well he's more likely to want to be a dad if I'm not there to remind him of the very real fears he has. I can't keep my mouth shut if he's already acting paranoid. Because if he's afraid... he has reason to be."
"I would have hoped your sense of optimism to have improved by now."
"It never will, brother."
-
"What are you thinking about?"
"New Orleans, funnily enough," said Vivalda, facedown on Lucien's bed as he caressed her bare back. "The whole world is buzzing... someone in New Orleans didn't know how to keep quiet about the miracle baby."
"The witches can feel it," said Lucien. "Alexis knew before you told me." He paused. "I think you should go."
She turned to face him. "What?"
He shrugged. "I know Nik, I know that in a time like this, he will become easily frustrated with Elijah telling him what to do, with Rebekah harping on about how she will be an aunt, how she can't wait to see the baby. If Kol were to go, he'd just lose interest and be no help. But you, love, you would be the one that would actually care what he is feeling, who would listen and offer realistic advice, should he seek it. You may fight with him the most but do you know why, Vivalda? Your words matter more to him than anyone else's. He will go against Elijah and Finn, Rebekah and Kol almost always agree because they want his attention. But you challenge him and you make him see what is true."
She hummed, figuring that he may have a point. "But I am happy here. Going to New Orleans means I will be unhappy. I was never attached to that city, the greatest thing I got out of it was Flame. I don't want to get involved in another mess. I'm finally enjoying myself, Lucien. Our relationship is fulfilling, training the vampires has never been more exciting, Antonella and my brother are finally together and I am thrilled to see them happy. Finn and Sage are human and I know it's only a matter of time before they tell me they're expecting, too. We have a great life here. I'd be leaving all that pleasantness behind to handle vomit, crib installation, and Nik whining about every little thing."
"It's no secret that being around your family stresses you greatly," said Lucien, squirming until he was right beside her, whispering in her ear. "But I know how you are, Vivalda, deep down, you will not be able to rest if you hear them making mistakes. You will want to go and show them how to do things right. I know Tristan and I can both survive without seeing you constantly. It will be hard but we've survived worse. You will still visit. And once the baby is born and you ensure Nik is all set, you can come back permanently."
She wrapped her arms around him, pressing their bodies together. "You're probably right," she hummed, cheek squished against his.
"I'm always right."
Tristan offered the same advice, as did Antonella. Kol only wanted Vivalda to go so he wouldn't have to. The only one who didn't yet know was Finn, at Elijah's request because they knew their brother would react poorly. Everyone was still doubting whether Klaus was really meant to be a father. They didn't do it because they hated him, rather, because they knew him. And Vivalda especially didn't want to see him loathing himself because he messed up with his child, feeling regret and resenting their birth later on. All the more reason Elijah ought not have pressured him so much.
She left Germany the following morning, pushing forward her intended flight because Rebekah had let her know that she arrived in New Orleans and found Elijah wasn't there. There was no doubt in her mind that Elijah had already been daggered. Vivalda knew it was too good to be true.
Driving into the city was strange. The last time she'd seen it was at the beginning of the twentieth century, having returned from her hunt unsuccessful. Nothing she saw stirred any emotions. It didn't matter to her that she was here in a city many considered glorious. She had learned not to grow attached to any one place after calling so many cities and countries her home. It was always temporary and a lot of them had much to offer.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," she muttered when the driver stopped at the address given to her by Rebekah. She stepped out, dragging her suitcase with her. "Rebekah! Why in the hell are we in a plantation house that ought to have been burned down ages ago and not a luxurious hotel? The beds here probably have fleas!"
"They don't like your blood, sister," said Rebekah, throwing open the door. "Nobody does."
"I know two people that do," said Vivalda, letting the suitcase stop at the foot of the stairs. "Well, this is just great. Elijah daggered– and according to your last text in the hands of Marcel Gerard– a house with a terrible history, and oh," she gestured to Hayley as she walked in, "the woman Nik isn't even attending to despite her carrying his child. My god, I already pity that poor thing."
"You must be Vivalda," said Hayley awkwardly. "I've heard a lot about you."
"All bad things, I hope. I do have a reputation to maintain." She winked. "So, be honest– I'll know if you're lying– do you want this baby? We can still get you out of it if you don't."
"Val!" chided Rebekah.
"What? I'm asking a relevant question here."
Hayley hesitated, "I did try to get rid of it yesterday. But before I could I got attacked by these vampires and I realized I wasn't just protecting myself. Klaus got upset when he found out but he seemed to finally admit he wanted the baby, too. And not because Elijah said anything to either of us, but because we both want what we didn't have, I guess. My birth parents gave me up, my adopted parents kicked me out. Push came to shove and I realized I didn't want anyone to hurt it. And neither does Klaus. He's going to do what the witches said... gain Marcel's trust, dismantle his empire. Free them of his control."
"That is the other question I had," said Vivalda. "How did Marcel get a group of witches to submit to him?"
"It's this girl, Davina," said Rebekah. "She can't be more than sixteen, and I have never felt power like that. She's not just any witch, she's something I've never seen before, something beyond powerful. She has Elijah and when Marcel showed him to me, she tossed me out a bloody window and wiped my memory of the location. She is a weapon bigger and more powerful than an Original and she is the one who tells Marcel when the witches are practicing magic so he can kill them."
"The only witch more powerful than an Original is our mother and she's dead, last I recall. If she's just a girl, she will be inexperienced and naive. She can be twisted to our agenda if need be. But I say we just do the opposite of what the witches want. Kill them and let Marcel live. I don't care for him but why place the witches on a higher pedestal than the vampires? We should want our community to thrive, not theirs. I swear you all never had a positive experience with the witches here, you were always complaining about them. Well, save for Kol, but we all know why that was."
Rebekah scowled. "You know Nik, he wants what he can't have. He's jealous. Even now he's out trying to gain the upper hand on Marcel. He hates that Marcel built this all without him there."
"They were like a father and son. All he needs to do is be kind to him and this can be his, too. There is no need to dethrone him."
Hayley cleared her throat. "I am kind of linked to one of the witches, Sophie Deveraux. If she dies, I die. And the witches will hurt her if you all do something against them."
"So what, then, we annihilate Marcel and the vampires? I would do it but I don't think Nik would want that, deep down. Put me in a room with all the vampires in New Orleans and I guarantee you that none of them will walk out alive. If they're all gone– minus Marcel, I suppose– then Marcel has no kingdom, Klaus won't have anything to be jealous for, the witches needn't fear anyone, and the baby can grow unperturbed. Though if we do want a community that serves us, then all we need to do is slaughter the existing vampires and recreate them with our blood. Our sirelings." She smiled smugly, "And I can make myself the queen and build my throne with the bones of those I killed."
Rebekah rolled her eyes. "You are just as bad as Nik." She checked the time on the clock. "I have to start getting ready. Marcel is throwing a charity event and Nik and I are attempting to use it to get Elijah back."
"Sign me up, I want to go."
"Marcel mustn't see you. If he knows you are here, he will not fall so easily for our plan."
"Well, what is the plan?"
"I use Sophie Deveraux to find Elijah, I retrieve him, all while Nik is keeping Marcel distracted."
"And you trust Klaus with that? Why don't I be the distraction?"
"If Marcel sees you here, he'll know we're up to something."
"So what? There is no way he will be able to interfere if Nik and I are keeping him occupied. We'll have him trapped and unable to prevent you from performing your rescue mission."
Rebekah huffed. "Val, no. We've already worked it out and it doesn't involve you."
"Then what the hell am I supposed to do?"
"Watch Hayley!"
"She's an adult–" she peered at Hayley momentarily, "I think. She can watch herself. What, you think someone is going to attack this ugly-as-shit house?"
"Val, will you for once listen to me? We do not need you charging in there with your swords. It will ruin everything."
"Fine. Then I won't go to the party but I will retrieve Elijah. As soon as Sophie Deveraux tells you the location, you tell me and I will find him."
"Only if it'll make you shut up."
Hayley tried not to laugh as Rebekah walked upstairs, leaving Vivalda to roll her eyes and throw her hands up, muttering incoherently.
The wolf tried to follow her around the whole evening, making idle chit-chat while Vivalda searched the cabinets and made faces at the food available for them. She wasn't an idiot, Vivalda wasn't very keen on making new friends.
"I want to ask you an honest question," said Hayley, sitting on the counter. "And it's okay if you respond... a certain way."
Vivalda beckoned her to speak with one hand, the other waving at her to shoo her off the counter as she settled for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. "What is it?"
"Do you not like werewolves?"
"I haven't had the best interactions with them. They've killed some of my best lieutenants, some of my friends. They reek, and I don't know why. Witches don't smell bad but werewolves have a strange scent, perhaps I'm sensitive to it because of my age. I haven't had much of a chance to know them. You're all as easily repelled by vampires as we are of you."
"Yeah, you do kind of smell like... death."
"It's my father's fault we're enemies in the first place. It's never really been resolved. I suppose that the main thing is I've not had a chance to get to know one. Everything I hear is from afar. Some wolf packs I admire. The Guerrera Pack that used to live here? Oh, what fighters. Now that is something I can enjoy. Other wolf packs are as conservative as the witches, and it is not a good thing." She sighed, knowing that Hayley was building to something with her sweet little eyes. "You are not bad. You seem nice. The thing I like the most about you is that you are manipulative."
"I don't think most people compliment that side of someone..."
"No, but I'm not 'most people.' You did terrible things to find your family and I can admire that drive even if it had devastating results. Though, I hear Katherine Pierce was involved and that Shane guy looked stupid. I can't claim it was entirely your fault but that cutthroat side of you was something I could see myself liking. To think, you would have found out more sooner and without the violence if you'd just shown one of us your Crescent birthmark."
"I don't want to be that person anymore. I had to fight to survive and I made... a lot of bad choices. I hurt a lot of people. In the months that've passed since that day, I have had nightmares," she lowered her voice, "And I hate them. I hate myself for them. I see their faces, the hybrids that trusted me. And I think, how could I have betrayed them like that? In the end my parents were just... dead. I got nothing out of it. I am as alone as I was before. I didn't need to do that. I was stupid. It's not the example I want to set for this baby. I can't be a good mother if I hold onto anger like that, if I let myself hurt people for selfish reasons. It deserves a better mom than that."
"She'll be a lucky girl, that's for sure," said Vivalda absentmindedly.
"She?"
"Oh. Sorry, did you want it to be a surprise? Sort of just flew out."
"But how do you–?"
"I can sense it."
"Yes, but even doctors can't tell this early, something about differentiation, I don't know."
"I can feel it, I don't know how, I just do."
Hayley stared at her for a moment. "Do you think he'll be a good dad?"
"Fuck no, not the way he is right now. But now that you've told me he has expressed to you that he wants the child... I think he will try to be a good one. The one we had was awful. He knows what not to be like. And with Rebekah as her aunt, with Elijah as her uncle... she is set for life."
"What about you?"
"When she's ready to learn how to kill, I'll be there."
"Aunt of the Year."
"Right? It's a very underappreciated art. In all seriousness, I will provide whatever she needs. But I'm not the maternal sort in any way."
"You never wanted to have kids?"
"No, I wanted to slay men in battle. It's the only thing I was good at. I couldn't be motherly like Rebekah, I couldn't be patient like Finn and Elijah. I don't see myself ever caring enough to be a mother. I like my lifestyle. I wouldn't change any part of it. Plus, I was eighteen when I turned and none of my siblings were married. We weren't really encouraged to be with anyone unless we really felt love and even then, only Rebekah was inclined to parenthood. It's the one thing I've appreciated about my parents. They didn't force us to conform to that lifestyle. My father saw I was a good warrior and let me cultivate that interest. My mother wanted me to be proper because, as I learned later, it kept me maintaining other good habits that let me grow as a person. They didn't push me to wed, to see myself as only a mother. I wanted to be Skadi, not Frigg."
"I want that for my... daughter. For her to be able to do anything she wants, limitless." She put a hand on her stomach. "She deserves better than what Klaus and I had. Way better."
"And she'll have it, if you two wish for it to be so."
The plan was a disaster. Vivalda had wondered why Rebekah wasn't contacting her with Elijah's location, pacing in the living room with her swords strapped to her back, figuring she'd get the signal and skip out immediately. Instead, Rebekah came back angry and Klaus smug. He'd ruined their plan to gain Marcel's trust and they were no closer to finding Elijah by evening than they had been at the start of the day. Vivalda had ranted about it to Antonella and Kol, blowing off the steam before she dialed Tristan and Lucien's numbers.
"I trust you've settled in nicely?" asked Tristan hopefully.
"Eh," said Vivalda, propping her phone up on her knees so he could see her. "As nice as can be. Not the best place to live but I'll convince Klaus to relocate soon enough. I already miss you."
"As I miss you, my dear. The house already feels different. The vampires were displeased that they were not trained by you today."
"I'll be back once this is settled, I promise." She was silent for a moment. "Did you ever want kids?"
He frowned. "I can't say I ever did. When I was old enough to realize my mother had died in childbirth, I feared becoming a father because I knew what it may mean for my wife. It was expected of me, of course, I would have needed to produce an heir had I become Count de Martel. But it was not a desire I ever had. In a way, I raised my sister. I had my taste of it and it doesn't move me the way some claim... I don't see myself enjoying it. I'd have to give up what I like about my life. Are you asking because you've considered it? Having a child... together?"
"No, I just wanted to see what you thought. I'm on the same page. I guess a part of me wondered about the long-term aspects of our relationship. If, one day, you'd want a new being included in our forever."
"You are all I need, love. But if you ever wish for us to adopt a little one, I will consider it. And if you want to do it on your own, I would respect it and help you wherever I could."
She blew him a kiss. "You are sweet. I will bid you goodnight, I know it is even later in Germany."
"Goodnight, my darling. Sleep well."
She called Lucien next, knowing he was back in the United States and wouldn't yet be asleep.
"You tempt me," he sighed when he saw her face. "I would like to conclude the tedious business I let pile up in New York and come to see you."
"But you can't," she reminded him. "Not yet. Eventually, I can come to you."
"I'd like that very much. You've got your thinking face on. What is it?"
"I was just thinking a lot about kids today. Having them, being a mother."
"Ah, Nik's predicament is making you ask what might've been if you'd remained human?"
"Now that I think of it, yes. If we'd all remained human... well, I expect Finn would've eventually married and had a dozen kids. Elijah the same, Nik probably too, Kol, and Rebekah would have popped out as many as she could handle if her husband was handsome enough and she had as easy of a labor as my mother claims she did with the help of her herbs. Myself, I don't know. I don't think I'd have wanted the pain of childbirth even with herbs. I would hate being pregnant and limited. I'd constantly crave the battlefield. I'd want adventure, not being stuck in a hut providing for little versions of myself."
"Before I turned, I didn't wish to be a father. My children would have been servants just as I was, as my father was. They'd have suffered the same torment under the Count de Martel, and then under Tristan, had he followed suit. I would have hated it for me, for them."
"And now? Would you want to be a dad?"
"That would mean giving up my lavish existence. The answer to that is no. Why?" He wiggled his eyebrows. "Do you want to make a baby with me, love? I assure you, we can make it work."
She giggled. "No, I don't want to make a baby or raise one. Just thinking. But now that you mention it, is it possible?"
"With a few months of studying and a couple of powerful witches, a vampire could in theory have a child. Likely not with their own gametes but implantation would be possible. I wouldn't share that with your sister, though, it's very much an 'if' situation. I'm already doing research for Kol, I could look into this, too, you would like."
"No, no, it's okay. I can do research on my own. You are very kind to ask."
"Always, love. I would do anything for you, I hope you know that."
"I'd do the same."
"That little girl is going to be lucky to have an aunt like you."
"I'd be a terrible influence."
"And that's what makes this so exciting."
Vivalda beamed. "You're right. In a way, it is exciting. Things I never thought would happen are happening. I should be more optimistic. Maybe when there is a baby in the mix, Nik will finally let us be."
"And then the world will be ours."