This is long af guys
Enjoy :3
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Chapter One Hundred & Twenty-Seven
"You should move along," Tristan said, giving them a patronizing smile. "You're not welcome here."
"Oh. Oh, okay," Klaus said. "We're-we're not welcome here!" he laughed, then plucked a glass of champagne off of one of the nearby trays that a waitress was holding. "Or maybe you should move along before I make you cry in front of all your little friends!" he burst out laughing again.
"My concern is for your companions," Tristan stated. "They appear out of sorts without a shiny pole to writhe upon."
Lucien looked over at the woman dressed as a skeleton bridge. "Ohhhhhh, he's suggesting that you're exotic dancers! Which, to him, is an insult," he gestured to the burlesque dancers that had stopped working so that they could watch the current situation. "If not hypocritical. But, don't take it personally, love. He finds all work demeaning. The only dignified way to accumulate wealth is by birth," he said, then leaned forwards and tapped the end of Tristan's nose with his index finger. "Boop!" Klaus couldn't resist laughing hysterically at the action. "Isn't that right, Tristan? Hmm?"
"Niklaus," Elijah stated, and moved into the crowd before I could somehow warn him that Klaus and Lucien were just distracting everyone. I couldn't say it out loud, the other vampires would hear.
"What is it?" Klaus said, after turning in an ungraceful manner to find the voice that had spoken to him.
"Oh, you're hammered," Elijah rolled his eyes as he came up to him. "Which should come as very little surprise to anyone here, but it does hamper the festivities somewhat. So, could I recommend that you find the nearest exit?"
"Just..." Klaus whispered, looking over to the door that Elijah gestured to.
"Yes, and could you take your playthings with you, too?" Elijah said, somewhat impatient.
Klaus shoved his champagne glass into Elijah's hands, and I saw the expression that he gave his brother. It was one that basically said, 'trust me and keep quiet'. He walked further into the ballroom.
"You know, I used to find it insulting that I was barred from your special little club. But now, I realize that I lack the flexibility to become a member. I could never get my head far enough up my own ass," he said, bowing drunkenly while Lucien burst out laughing and Elijah and Tristan exchanged annoyed glances.
Klaus took the glass from Elijah again, drinking the rest of it and handing it back to him. Afterward, he made a disgusted face at Tristan. "Cheap," he sighed, talking about both the drink and Tristan. He turned to Lucien and the others. "Come on, let's go. This party's dead anyway," he said, and they all turned to leave, howling and laughing loudly as they did.
A little later on, when it was close to Marcel's deadline, he took my arm and led me over to the bar.
"Can I have a pen and paper?" Marcel asked the bartender, and he nodded.
He handed him a tiny notepad and a pen out of his pocket, and Marcel wrote down a message for me. He wrote down what he wanted to say so that the vampires couldn't hear us. We both knew that they were paying a great amount of attention to us.
It read, "I'm pretty sure that Mohinder is going to be my opponent. He feeds on his opponents before he kills them. Is there any way that you can make my blood poisonous, just for a few hours?"
I wrote down my reply. "Yes. I can. I can spell a drink and make it special to your blood type. It will make your blood poisonous. If he does drink from you, he will die within a few minutes, but you will have a few hours."
"Can you guarantee that I won't die?"
"Yes."
He nodded to me, and I stood close to him. I made sure that no one was watching, then said a short incantation while waving my fingers over his drink. Even if the vampires did hear me, they would have no idea what I was doing. I nodded to Marcel and he took the glass, downing the entire thing in one gulp. He almost spit it out again too, likely reacting to the instant toxicity. But he was strong. He persevered, and I knew that he would be okay.
We heard footsteps behind us, and turned to see Aya and, of course, Mohinder standing there. "If you would please come with us, Mr. Gerard," Aya said.
They turned and left, and we followed. She led us to a room that looked to be a sun room, seeing how wall opposite to the door was only windows.
"Mr. Gerard! It's time," Tristan said cheerfully, smiling. He looked over at me, then back at Marcel.
Elijah came up behind me, and I saw his eyes narrow at Tristan. He didn't like him, and the way that Tristan has acted towards me has made his dislike even more clear.
"You're pushing up the clock?" Marcel asked. "I have another hour."
"And I'm afraid that an inability to improvise is the most common of failings. Either you have an answer, or you don't," Tristan stated, somewhat impatient.
Marcel paused for a moment to look at everyone in the room, his eyes pausing on me before he finally gave his answer. "Aya. Aya took my ring."
"I'm sorry, but I don't have your ri-"
Marcel cut her off and smiled triumphantly. "Hold up! I said you took it. I didn't say you still have it," she was pleasantly surprised with his answer. "See, after you lifted it off me, you gave it to my man Mohinder over there."
Mohinder silently held up the ring, and Tristan was pleased. "Well done! Of course, as you know, that was only half the challenge," he said, and walked by Marcel. He clapped him on the shoulder as Aya followed after him, and went to the other side of the room to stand in the entranceway along with the other vampires.
Tristan came to stand by me, much to Elijah's disapproval.
"Let's hope your dear friend has some fight left in him," he whispered.
"He does," I stated, and that was the end of the conversation, and he knew it.
Mohinder and Marcel unbuttoned their suit jackets to prepare for the fight.
"There's no shame in dying at the hands of one's superior," Mohinder stated.
Marcel smirked. "There's not much glory in it, either."
There were a few times where I wanted to stop Mohinder and just take Marcel as far away from this place as possible, but Elijah held me back.
Finally, after a large amount of battling, Mohinder pulls the weakened Marcel up to his feet. Veins appear under his eyes and his fangs now show, and he sinks them into Marcel's neck. Marcel made a loud groan of pain, and Elijah looked extremely concerned. He was about to intervene, but I grabbed his arm and stopped him. He looked down at me in confusion, and I gave him the exact same expression that Klaus had given him earlier. His eyes sparked with realization, and he looked back at Marcel.
He was now pinned against the wall with a stake raised up to his chest.
"You fought with honor. Embrace the nobility of this end," Mohinder said.
"I will if you will. Or do you still not know?" Marcel asked.
Tristan and Aya looked at them curiously.
"You must have tasted it in my blood," Marcel chuckled weakly. "Oh, now you're starting to feel it, aren't you? That burning sensation in your gut? Poison. A going-away gift from me. I may not have beaten you, but you lost all the same."
Mohinder started to squirm uncomfortably, and gagged a little from the poisonous blood in his throat.
"I suggest you make your peace," Marcel stated. "We're both dead men walking."
Mohinder was furious. "A desperate ploy! A lie!"
"Just wait. Your heart will feel like it's on fire in a second."
And of course, that is exactly what happened.
He laughed weakly in amusement as he looked at Mohinder's stunned reaction. Marcel was still laughing when he spun Mohinder around so that he was now pinned against the wall. Marcel aimed the stake at Mohinder's heart before turning to the rest of the room.
"I don't know why they want you dead, but clearly they do," he said, then turned to Aya. "Why else tell me all about his little feeding habits, or give me a taste of his technique when you came into my gym the other day? All I had to do was be observant. But, I'm done picking up your bread crumbs. You want him dead? You're gonna have to do it yourself. As far as I can see, the only thing he's done to deserve it is picking his friends poorly."
He was annoyed, and even weaker now. He walked over to us, and stumbled. I went forwards and caught him, and put his arm over my shoulders. I raised my arm and bit into it, putting the wound to his mouth. He drank eagerly, and immediately, his injuries started to heal. He was now able to stand a little more upright, but I still kept his arm around me.
Tristan looked over at me, smiling while his eyes squinted in a look of realization. He smirked at me, knowing that it was my doing.
Mohinder started to spit up blood as Tristan moved over to him, and he looked horrified. Tristan cupped his face with his right hand and looks at him sympathetically before patting him on the shoulder and walking behind him. Mohinder looks like he believed he might be spared, when Tristan ripped out his heart from behind. Mohinder dropped to his knees, dead. Tristan dropped the heart, looking unhappy for a moment before smiling.
"You chose well!" he said. "Now, I assure you, he did deserve it. He's been plotting unspeakable crimes against his sworn brothers and sisters. Of course, you couldn't have known. Beating such a worthy opponent is proof of your strength and courage, but your restraint, your refusal to kill without cause, demonstrates a rare integrity. You see, Marcel Gerard... This was the test."
Tristan bent down to get the ring from Mohinder's pocket, then handed it over to Marcel. He was still weak, so I grabbed the ring and put it on his hand for him.
"Welcome to the Strix," Tristan said. "Provided, of course, you survive your own gambit."
Before long, we all turned to leave, and Elijah took Marcel from me and led him out to the car. I was about to leave the building when I felt a cold hand wrap around my wrist, and turned to see Tristan behind me.
"What?" I asked him.
"Roseia, you should not be with the Mikaelson's in these next few months. What is to come is not something you should be involved in. You are a pawn in a dangerous game, my dear," he told me, seeming genuinely worried.
I narrowed my eyes at him. "Why do you care for my safety, Tristan?"
He pursed his lips at me, not answering.
"Tristan, I can take care of myself. If you have heard as much of me as you say, then you should know that by now," I told him, raising an eyebrow at him. "Besides... Danger is something I have surrounded myself with for over 900 years. A little more shouldn't make a difference."
I turned to leave, when he held my wrist slightly tighter. I turned back to him, and he leaned over to whisper in my ear.
"You will die if you stay with him," he whispered. "You need to heed my warning."
"I can't be killed. Which is why you need to heed this little warning of my own," I said, leaning closer to him. He backed up a little, seeing the expression on my face. "If you hurt anyone in my family, or anyone that I care about in the slightest," I started, continuing to move forwards. He backed up until his back hit the wall. "I will kill you. And it will not be a simple heart extraction, it will be something much, much more painful," I told him, then reached up to touch his face. "Now, I don't want to hurt that pretty face of yours, my dear, but I will. I suggest you heed that little warning of mine, Tristan. Or you will regret it."
He seemed intimidated, then smiled. He was actually happy with what I was saying. "It's very refreshing to meet another person who actually means it when they threaten someone."
"Oh, trust me," I said, leaning slightly closer. "I mean it," I told him, then pushed him against the wall further before walking straight out the door, yet again feeling his eyes following me as I did.
"What on earth was that about?" Elijah asked lowly once we reached the car.
"Tristan is fond of me. I believe we can use that to our advantage," I said, then couldn't help but smirk when I saw him grip the steering wheel a little harder. "Jealousy looks good on you, darling."