12/08/18
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: EXQUISITE CORPSE
"I should stop packing these away. There's always one family member or another in need of a good shackling. Find Rebekah or Eva or whoever the bloody hell that was, use these to stop her from doing magic, and don't hurt her. The non-psychopathic bits are still my sister." Klaus tells Marcel as Maddison is lying down on the couch with her eyes closed. She was exhausted. She didn't sleep very good and she felt sick from her pregnancy. Not to mention that her magic appears to be coming back and it's been...well, it's not coming easily.
"All right. I won't be the only one looking for her. She killed witch kids. The 24 hour hold that Elijah got the covens to agree to ended at midnight. Every witch in the city is gonna be gunning for her." Marcels explains to Klaus.
"Go to Elijah, get him to charm this elderly witch into calling off the hunt." Klaus says towards Hayley.
"And leave Hope? Don't you think I should stay here and protect our daughter?" Hayley asked him angrily.
"Jackson has been working night and day to secure this compound, surrounding it with his werewolf army, not to mention the fact that I'm here and I know the best way to protect our child is to get Rebekah out of that serial killers body and back into the original model." Klaus raises his voice towards the end and Maddison opened her tired eyes.
"Klaus, I love you so much but if you keep yelling, i will murder you." Maddie groaned softly and shifted on the couch, Klaus gaining a guilty look on his face. Maddison knew that he felt guilty about all of this happening. He's trying his best to protect Hope from Dahlia and still be present with her and the baby.
"Hmm. And what will you be doing while we're doing all the dirty work?" Hayley asked her bay daddy.
"Why, attending to the even dirtier work as usual." Klaus smirks at her.
Everyone seemed to do what they were told to do to help Rebekah. Maddison was too sick to be asleep right now so she wondered around the compound. "I know you miss Rebekah but staring at her portrait is a little creepy, sweetie." Maddison teased as she walked up beside Klaus. He cracked a smile and looked over at her, his hand going around her waist to pull her into him.
"How are you feeling?" His voice was soft and his eyes held love in them. Maddison did tell Klaus about her magic starting to return and the affect it was having on her body. She trusted Klaus and she knew that he trusted her and respects her enough to keep her magic coming back a secret. She didn't want to risk anything happening or anyone finding out until it was all back and she was okay.
"I'm okay. Tired but okay." She smiled and leaned into his side, glancing up at the portrait. She really missed Rebekah.
"Our sister was quiet the beauty." Freya says walking down the stairs.
"You said that you could put Rebekah back in her original body. Do it." Klaus orders her—not even glancing her way.
"Heh. So you've come to your senses?" She asked with a slight laugh in her tone.
"My senses have not faltered. They still demand you are not to be trusted. However, circumstances dictates otherwise, for now." He says turning to face her.
"What changed?" Freya eyes glanced at Maddison before looking back to her brother.
"Eva Sinclair has resumed control of her body, leaving Rebekah trapped and powerless, so make with your spells and enchantments and put my sister back in her true body." Klaus demanded with a bit of a raise in his voice.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Freya denies his demand which only infuriates him.
"More stalling. Very well." He smiled. "I know I can't kill you but I shall have a fine time trying. Tell me, have you ever been skinned alive?" Maddison laughed at her boyfriend which made Klaus smile over at her.
"That was good." Maddie whispered to him, well aware of Freya listening.
"Thank you, my love." He responded as Freya rolled her eyes at the couple.
"The problem is Rebekah's condition has worsened. When I offered to help, she was in control of Eva's body. If she's lost inside Eva, I don't have a spell that can breach Eva's mine and find her." Freya explain to them.
Klaus and Maddison both shared a look before Klaus spoke up, "fortunately for you, I know someone well versed in such spells." Klaus opened the box that was in front of him and took the shackles that prevented someone from doing magic and sped to Freya, forcing them around her hands as she gasped. "Let's go meet her shall we?"
Klaus, Freya and Maddison all walked into the tomb that held Esther inside it. "I fail to see the need for these. I'm not your enemy."
"Oh, they're not to protect me, love. They're to protect her, the one who knows more about mind invasion and body jumping than all of us put together." Klaus grins as he looks towards the dark area and throws some blood bags inside.
Freya had a look of curiosity before fear and anger was clear in her eyes. "No, no!"
Klaus took a hold of her shoulders in order to stop her from going anywhere. "Mother, Freya." He introduces. "Freya, mother."
"It can't be." Esther stuttered as she walked forward.
"You won't trust me, yet you would trust her?" Freya asked angrily as she tried to get out of his grasp.
"I trust my mother about as much as I would a stuck snake. Fortunately, she is now a vampire, and as such, vulnerable to my compulsion." Klaus explained as he walked towards his mother and grabbed her face. "You will answer me truthfully." He compels, making her stand up and kept a hold on her. He brang her closer in the tomb and past the ray of sunlight that shone through. "There. Now at least everything that comes out of her wretched mouth will be honest. Let's raid mommy dearests mind for spells, shall we?"
"My beautiful girl." Esther walked forward as she went to touch Freya's cheek. "My first born."
Freya just backed away from her angrily. "Touch me and I will use these chains to strangle you."
"Yes. Well, now that we have the pleasantries out of the way, let's begin, shall we?" Klaus asked the two, not particularly caring about their distaste. "It appears your delightful sister, Dahlia, is on her way to New Orleans and hell-bent on stealing my child. I need Rebekah back in her original body so she can help me destroy her."
"Your...your child?" Esther asked him with shock and confusion.
"Oh. Yes, I suppose it is difficult keeping up on current events whilst rotting inside a tomb." Klaus smiled and rubbed his hands together as he walked closer. "Very well. The short version. My child is alive. Dahlia is on her way but now the previous tenant of Rebekah's body has seized control and isn't keen on giving it up. Young Freya here, although powerful, lacks the spell to put Rebekah back in her true body and that's where you come in." Klaus grabbed Esther's shoulders and began to compel her newly vampire turned body. "I need you to be a dear and dig deep in that ex-witch mind of yours." He took a blank piece of paper out of his jacket and handed it to Esther. "Give me the spell that puts Rebekah back."
"I'm also pregnant." Maddison spoke up with a sarcastic tone of voice and a raised eyebrow at her boyfriend.
"Yes, that too." He smiled looking over again Maddie.
The four of them all stood in the tomb. Esther was busy writing down the spell, Freya was leaning against the wall, Klaus was pacing and Maddison was just sat down. "What is taking so long?" Klaus asked impatiently. "You didn't tarry when you attempted to kill my child."
"I took no joy in that. I knew if your daughter lived that Dahlia would come, not only for her but for all of you and however you may despise me, I would not wish that upon you." Esther told her son before her eyes looked over at Maddie, more specifically her stomach.
"How touching." Klaus crossed his arms in front of him, not caring about what she said.
"Isn't it?" Freya spoke up sarcastically. "I always wondered what maternal compassion sounded like. Of course, I wouldn't know since you sold me into slavery at the age of 5."
"When I made that bargain with my sister, I had no idea what it meant to be a mother." Esther began making Maddie tune in and listen. "I thought if I had a dozen children I...I would not miss the one and then you were born. You were beautiful. You had a light about you. It put a smile on the face of the hardest man I had ever known," Maddie's hesitant eyes looked over at Klaus, watching as his lips parted and his head dropped low. Maddison absolutely loved Klaus with everything in her but she knew that he got angry at times and quite paranoid. He was so easy and so hard to love at the same time. She loved it.
"And when Dahlia took you, I believed that same light might warm her embittered heart, that you would lead a good life."
"A good life?" Freya raised her voice and stood up straight. "You were my mother! You should have come for me."
"Yes, I should have but it would have been a mistake," Esther spit out and looked over to Klaus, "the same mistake you'll be making if you let this girl help you."
"For gods sake, speak plainly." Klaus rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"The light I saw in Freya as a child, it's gone." Esther said as she walked up to him. "While she was mine for 5 years, Dahlia was her mentor for a thousand and like her mentor, she will offer to solve your problem but for a price."
"There is no price. I loathe Dahlia!" Freya dove towards Esther but Klaus put his hand on her shoulder making her stop and Esther back away from her.
"No violence until she's finished writing the spell, please. Honestly, it's all temper and no timing with this one. Heh. I, for one, am glad you gave her away so that I could be born. You should think of me as an upgrade." Klaus told his mother making his baby momma laugh at his comment.
"I can't do this. This spell requires an enormous amount of power." Freya shook her head as she looked at the spell that Esther wrote down.
"Which you have." Esther responded as she watched her daughter.
"And that power needs to be anchored or I'll be lost inside of Eva's mind along with Rebekah. Unlike your magic, mine isn't anchored to any one place. Because of you, I have no home!" Freya yelled towards Esther.
"Would you stop with the god damn yelling?" Maddison asked Freya in frustration. "I didn't have a home either. Okay? My parents died and before that, I had to leave my entire family behind. My parents, my grandmother...my brother. All of them. Lots of people don't have a home. So get over it."
Freya looked at the girl, a slight cold look in her eyes but before anyone could respond, Esther spoke up, "Perhaps, but there is no other spell."
"Oh, you." Freya clued in as she looked at both Klaus and Maddison. "I can use you as your anchor. I'll channel your power while I breach Eva's mind."
Esther scoffed, "And there it is. The price. You won't channel Maddison. She's pregnant and that is a great danger to the child she carries and her herself." Maddie couldn't help but look over at Esther. She didn't think that Esther would even want to keep her or her baby safe. Klaus looked over at the brunette that was carrying his child before looking back to his mother. "If she channels you, she will have access to your mind past and present. She will know everything about you."
Maddie furrowed her eyebrows as she let that sink in. She did not trust Freya or Dahlia—or even Esther. The thing is, Maddie had told Klaus about her magic coming back and if he does this then Freya will know and maybe Dahlia too. Maddie knew she couldn't ask Klaus not to do this, he would do anything to save Rebekah and she couldn't stop him from doing that.
"All of my strategies and all of my secrets laid bare to give to Dahlia. You must think I'm a fool." Klaus said, rather calmly as Maddison let out a sigh of relief.
"Unless it's not a trick." Elijah walked in and looked around at his family. "I'll be the anchor."
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Maddie shook her head as her palm rested against her forehead.
"Brother, I think not." Klaus denied him as he turned to face him.
"Brother, whatever this is, nothing must prevent us from saving our sister. I will not lose Rebekah." Elijah said to him.
"Oh yes, by all means, let's give Dahlia's whelp access to all the information she needs to destroy us." Klaus nods sarcastically as if he was on board.
"And since do we heed the word of this serpent?" Elijah glared at his mother with his eyes full of disgust.
"Enough!" Freya yelled and broke the chains that kept her from doing magic. She used her magic to break Klaus' neck making maddison gasp and rush to his side. "For an upgraded model, you're not very sharp." Maddison stood up, ready to attack to witch but Esther grabbed her shoulders to stop her. "Let's go." Freya said to Elijah as the two both walked out of the tomb.
Maddison stuck by Klaus' unconscious body as her and Esther sat in silence. Maddie's brain was swirling with thoughts and she wanted to ask the woman questions but was trying to figure out where to start. "Why did you tell Freya that she couldn't channel me?"
"You're with child." Esther told her with a sympathetic glance her way.
"So? Hayley was with child and still then you tried to kill her baby. What makes mine so special?" Maddie asked her, anger and confusion laced in her tone.
"You." Maddie furrowed her eyebrows but Esther continued, "yes, the reason that i tried to kill Niklaus' first born was because of Dahlia but your baby isn't his first born. It's a blessing."
"They're all blessings, Esther." Maddison's tone was soft as her hand slid across her stomach. "I hate you and I don't even hate you for taking my magic. I hate you for not stopping the abuse that Klaus went through as a child, I hate you for being the reason Ansel died and I hate you because my child will grow up and learn about you and their fathers history and they'll know how bad of a person you are." Esther's eyes started to Easter as Maddie continued, "I was so incredibly lucky to have my grandmother when I was a little girl and I'm sad because my kids won't experience that. My baby isn't even born yet and all I want in this world is for them to be safe. I would absolutely lose my mind if I ever hurt my child, so why did you?"
"I thought I was protecting them. I thought I was protecting them all when I went after Niklaus' child, protecting them from Dahlia." Esther said with a far away look in her eyes. "I was scared of Mikael after we lost Freya, he turned cold, he always took it out on Niklaus and I just never knew why. He was a good boy, a sweet and kind child. Even as he grew up."
Maddie knew that she didn't need this answer from Esther but she was genuinely curious what she thought. "Putting aside the fact that he's a hybrid and how he treats you, do you think he will be a good father?"
"I do." Esther nodded with no hesitation.
"For what it's worth, I am sorry, Esther. Knowing Klaus, you're gonna be dead way before my baby is born and even though I know everything you've done...I still think it would have been nice for my baby to meet you at least once. Let them decide, when they grow up, how they want to feel about you." Maddie had grown a little emotional and tried not to cry as she spoke.
"You're a kind person, Maddison. You're gonna be a great mother and I appreciate that deeply." She smiled—enjoying connecting with her grandchildren's mom.
"You better because it's not something I would let Mikael do." Maddie chuckled and wiped the tears off her cheeks as Esther let out a laugh herself.
The two rested in silence for a little while before Klaus gasped awake. "You recover fast, but they're gone." Esther told him.
"I compelled you to tell the truth, not state the bloody obvious." Klaus said annoyed.
"She will poison them against you. You know that." Esther watches him as he stood up, taking Maddie with him.
"And you suddenly care, do you?" He growled at her.
"Klaus, lying here, starving in the darkness, I have thought of nothing except what could have been if I had left you to live a single mortal life." Esther told him with love in her eyes.
"We would have burnt bright for a while and then burnt out. You see, you think of turning us as your greatest sin but the truth is, it's the only one of your many fault i've come to forgive. I prefer us as we are." He told her but Esther just shook her head.
Esther put a hand on his cheek as she spoke to him, "No, my son. We are a macabre echo of a family and I take all the blame for that. I only wanted to undo my evil that you might love me again."
Klaus took her hands away and in his own. "My mother...the comedian. Enjoy the darkness."
Klaus eyes went cold as he walked out of the tomb.
Maddie wanted to follow him but her eyes watched as Esther let out a cry as she watched her son leave her. Maddie knew that Esther didn't deserve it but nonetheless, she walked over towards Esther and hugged her. Esther sobbed in her shoulder as Maddie comforted the elder witch. She felt bad for her. Maybe some part of her felt it, the motherly love and desire to fix the mess she made, Maddie was starting to feel it.
When Maddison got back to the compound, she was quick to go up to her bedroom and get comfy in her bed. She tuned into the conversation downstairs with Klaus and Rebekah. Klaus had let Freya into his mind. She only hoped that Freya didn't go spilling secrets that weren't hers to tell. Maddison knew one thing, if Freya tried to go after the people she loved, she would have no problem in putting the witch down for good.
A/N
Gonna do a lil countdown, this second book ends soon! 5 MORE CHAPTERS TO GO!