XVIII - 𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔫𝔢𝔯 & 𝔞 𝔯𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔩𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔭𝔱.1

SHE SLEPT PEACEFULLY.

Klaus suddenly realized as he stopped by on his seventh round to check up on his moon and stars. She was always never endingly beautiful, but there was something so intimate about her being free of worry and asleep that made his heart triple in speed.

He almost face palmed. Klaus Mikaelson was not one for dramatic expressions of love, or love in general. He hadn't been that man for a very long time.

Suddenly, Lilura stirred and the single word she whispered made his skin blossom into shades of pink and red.

"Klaus," She whispered.

A slow laugh rumbled in the Original Hybrid's chest.

She was dreaming of him! The stubborn brat was actually dreaming of him. He made a mental note to tease her about it later as he sat down beside Lilura.

The wounds scattered on her body were gradually healing, though they could have gone faster if Klaus had any say in it.

The slow process could be attributed to the fact that Lilura was on her time of the month, as Klaus nicknamed it fondly.

It wasn't her period. Although that was intimidating as well, the spell the Bennet witch had casted on the enchantress was to blame for her condition now.

Or is it?

Her transformation on the night of the ritual was much too gory for a simple Bennet witch spell. The sort of magic that forced her skin to turn into green scales and created that much pain looked like the craftsmanship of-

Klaus didn't let himself finish the thought. It was impossible.

"Nik," She sighed, clawing at the air. "Don't leave me."

Her beautiful face scrunched in pain as if in her head Klaus had the idiotic idea to do just that — leave her.

The blond Original sighed, leaning down on the vacant pillow on her right.

He brushed a strand of black hair away, "I would never dream of leaving you."

Klaus laid his head down and closed his eyes with a small smile when he felt Lilura unconsciously snuggle into his side. "We're in this together, right? Always and forever."

———— Δ ————

Lilura woke up with a bloody headache.

Literally.

She felt the gash on her head that had not healed yet and hissed when it stung.

"Careful now, if you keep prodding at it I might have to buy myself a nurse uniform."

Lilura swung her eyes to a newly showered Klaus, leaning against her door. His hooded eyes seemed to sparkle at her annoyance.

"How is my favorite patient?"

"She's seen better days," Lilura grumbled, propping herself up. "Do you have to be shirtless for this? Talk about a wake-up call."

He laughed and sipped his coffee, "You didn't say that last night."

Immediately, the enchantress stilled and closed her eyes. "Please tell me I didn't sleep talk."

"Klaus" He moaned, somehow making it a falsetto. "Take your shirt off."

Her face burned. "Get out of my room."

"Ooh," He trilled. "Touchy."

Lilura threw a pillow after his retreating back.

Klaus returned and poked his head at the door, "Oh, and you have a visitor."

Woof!

Sirius bounced into the room with the enthusiasm rivaling that of a little boy's on Christmas.

He jumped on the bed and immediately began licking Lilura's hand.

"I'll be back soon, love. I've got a score to settle with the dopplewench's gang."

———— Δ ————

"Emergency meeting in 10," Damon shouted at Stefan, who was standing three feet away.

"Was it too much to ask for to be the only child?" grouched the vampire, throwing his book at the wall when Damon only flashed him a smirk and skipped down the steps.

"Good morning guys! Isn't it a wonderful day today?"

Elena downed a shot of vervain, "Not really."

"What a negative Nancy. I hope you're in a better mood than her," He said to Alaric.

The hunter smiled sleepily, "A little. I've invited someone over."

Damon frowned, "It better not be Meredith Fell."

"No. It's someone better."

As if he had been waiting, the doorbell rang loudly through the Salvatore Boarding house.

"Who could it be?" Damon asked through gritted teeth.

Alaric hid his grin. "Why don't you go find out?"

Damon and Stefan, both thoroughly perplexed, became even more confused when they saw a skinny 17-year-old holding a rifle.

"Uhhh... Can we help you?" Damon finally uttered, looking him up and down in distaste.

"Who are you?" Stefan asked.

"Your mom," The boy replied easily, green eyes flashing devilishly.

When all he got were two cold stares, the boy laughed. "Pardon me, sometimes I do that."

He stuck a hand out and grinned toothily, "Judas Morgan, friendly neighborhood hunter."

Stefan eyed it like it was vervain. "Come to kill us?"

"Ehhh," The boy smacked his teeth, "waste of my time."

Damon chuckled.

"Look, kid. Tell us why you're here or we'll send you back where you came from," Stefan growled.

"Perfect! I was starting to miss hell."

Suddenly, Stefan stepped out of his house and had Judas in a strong neck hold.

He seemed unfazed.

"OK! Calm your tits, S. Ric phoned me earlier and said he needed some backup. Et voila! Backup is here."

"Now if you could," He gestured to the hallway. "Let me in."

"You'll want to, " Alaric called. "We need all the help we can get."

————Δ ————

"This is Judas. I met him a couple of years ago. Before leaving Duke, I taught him a few tricks."

Judas set down the gun on the counter.

Damon watched, still very skeptical. "Why? Why help us?"

The young man sighed dramatically. "Like everyone else here, I've been wronged by Klaus and Lilura Mikaelson."

"How?"

"If you must know," He tutted, "My parents are missing, if not dead, because of them."

"I'm so sorry," The doppelganger whispered, foul mood gone once she had glimpsed the mysterious Judas Morgan.

"Yeah well. Trauma has made me the man I am today!" He said, smiling brightly. "Shall we get started?"

"Go ahead Damon," Alaric said. "We're all ears."

———— Δ ————

When she heard the thirtieth crash, Lilura decided to investigate.

She felt much better now, having rested for quite some time, but she was still careful to walk. If these wounds reopened it would be a nightmare.

On the grand living room, Lilura saw Klaus' smirk a thousand miles away.

"You look like you could do with a drink. And we have a lot to discuss, so shall we?" He said, talking to a man in a suit.

The stranger sprinted forward and collided with Klaus, both tumbling back.

"Easy!" Lilura snapped. "I just finished renovating."

Klaus and the man, who Lilura recognized as Elijah, were still very much engaged in their fight.

"You know you have every right to be mad at me. But I kept my word, I reunited you with our family," The Original Hybrid held back a wheezing laugh.

Elijah attacked him again, and this time, Klaus yanked the dagger out of Kol — ready to stab the noble Original into oblivion.

"Don't make me do this to you again Elijah!"

The other vampire dusted his expensive suit, "Come on. Use it. I dare you. You'll have Kol to deal with."

Lilura crept over to the two, Sirius ready to defend his owner by her side.

"Lijah," She placed a hand gently on his arm. "Mikael is dead."

"What did you say?" He mumbled, releasing Klaus and standing up.

"I killed him. With his own weapon. He's gone, Elijah. Forever," Klaus insisted.

"Why do our family remain in these coffins? Finn for over 900 years, Kol for over a century," Elijah replied, looking at them forlornly.

"Because of Stefan Salvatore. He holds the one thing keeping me from freeing them. There are things that you do not know about our past, Elijah. Our mother's death. Things I never wanted you to know but I'm ready to tell you now. I only ask that you remember the oath of loyalty you once swore to me."

Klaus dug the knife into an urn filled with the ashes of the white oak.

"What are you doing?"

"Always and forever. I need you to stand by my side. Be my brother. Help me destroy Stefan and I promise you our family will be whole again."

———— Δ ————

"Is it always this boring with you people or..."

Bonnie Bennet rounded on the newcomer. "Be quiet!" She hissed.

Judas scratched his head at her complete 180. A few moments ago she had been starstruck. He liked to think it had to do with his dazzling personality and to-die-for good looks, but something in the young girl's eyes told him it was supernatural related.

"It is not a coincidence you have come here," The older Bennet witch said. "Stefan, slow down!"

"Keep up, we don't have much time," He said, not bothering to look over his shoulder.

"Sorry Stefan, but I didn't have a choice," Bonnie called.

"It was a choice Bonnie, you made it and now we have to live with it. You told Klaus where the coffins were and he took them. All of them except this one."

"Coffins," Judas whispered. "How messed up is this guy?"

"That's the one that's sealed?"

"Yep. Fortunately, it seems to be the one he cares about most," Stefan answered, opening the door.

"Aren't you coming inside?" Abby Bennet inquired, already stepping in.

"Vampires can't get in. Damon had to compel a couple of Lockwood gardeners to bring the coffin in."

"This is a bad idea," Abby said.

"Look, if you're really the key to opening up that coffin, I think it's a pretty safe bet you're on Klaus's hit list. So I suggest you hide out here and figure out a way to open up the damn thing," Stefan barked.

"I told you, I don't have any powers."

"And I don't believe you. But time's ticking. Won't be long before Klaus calls his hybrids to find that coffin and kill all of us. So dig deep, Abby Bennett. Scrape out whatever magic you have left."

When Judas didn't follow, Stefan grabbed his shoulder aggressively, "C'mon twinkle toes."

"No, wait," Bonnie grabbed Judas' other arm. "We might need him."

"Need him?" came Stefan's incredulous question.

"For protection," Abby in tone that suggested it was a fact.  "The boy's a hunter, isn't he? Time to put all that training to use."

Stefan rolled his eyes and walled out, leaving the three of them alone.

"Is this the only grimoire you kept?" Bonnie asked her mother, settling down to sit.

"It was the only one I needed. So...what is all of this? What's the deal with Romeo over there?"

Bonnie turned around to stare at the young hunter, finding the nickname fitting. He had introduced himself to Bonnie with a dazzling smile and a stupid joke about comparing her powers to those of the wizards in Harry Potte.r

"He should be able to help us. Grams sent me several signs. The vision with the graves? He's part of it."

Abby nodded thoughtfully. "Good, you're reading the terrain right. I can feel his power." She looked at him too, pulling out several batches of herbs. "He doesn't know it."

"Obviously," Bonnie said, shaking her head as Judas cut himself on the rock and quickly hid his hiss of pain.

"What are these?" His voice echoed through the cave. He was pointing to some symbols on the cave wall.

"Family history. About a mother, who loved her children so much, she couldn't bear the thought she might lose them. So she turned them into vampires. One of them is Klaus," Bonnie replied without having to look.

"The one you're trying to kill with whatever is in that coffin?" Abby queried.

"There's nothing in here that's going to help us. I've seen most of these spells. What was this?" Bonnie picked up the book.

"It's the spell I used to seal Mikael in the tomb. I burned it and tried to get it out of my head. Didn't work though. Wait...Do you see this?"

"It's a sealing spell. We're trying to open something...Not seal it shut."

"No," Judas suddenly pipped up. "She means right there. On that side. It's a blood knot. It means to bind it you need two generations. A bloodline. Like...two keys to a safety deposit box."

The witches turned to look at him, eyes as wide as saucers.

"I've been around," He shrugged. "Witches are good friends, well, if

you don't piss them off."

Bonnie chuckled. "So...unbinding it, would reverse the spell. Unseal it. If we did it together."

———— Δ ————

"I WILL NOT! I WILL NOT SIT AND EAT LIKE EVERYTHING IS BLOODY BRILLIANT WITH THAT GIT."

Elijah Mikaelson caught Lilura's apprehensive gaze helplessly.

"Please, Niklaus. One night of civility and it'll be over in a second."

Klaus' chest heaved. "Do you see the scratches on her? That bïtch is not getting out of here alive."

Elijah sighed, "I've agreed to a truce, brother. Uphold my word."

Lilura slowly walked over to the Hybrid.

"It's ok," She insisted. "I've forgiven him."

Klaus stared at her, eye twitching at the statement.

Elijah, satisfied, walked out of the room to go get ready.

When his steps faded into the distance, a smirk enveloped Lilura's entire being. "I've forgiven poor Stefan. However, I haven't forgotten."

Klaus grinned as he recognized that dangerous glint in the Siren's eyes.

"Don't worry. Revenge is a dish best served cold."

———— Δ ————

The doorbell rang.

"Niklaus, our guests have arrived," Elijah said cordially.

"Damon. Stefan. Elijah tells me, you seek an audience. Very bold. Let's discuss the terms of our agreement like civilized men, shall we?" The Hybrid spoke slowly, gesturing to the dining room.

"It's better to indulge him," Elijah said.

"I didn't come here to eat, Klaus. Fact, I didn't want to come here at all. But I was told I had to cause you would hear us out," Stefan stated.

"Well, we can sit and eat or I can reach down your throats and pull out your insides," She said, having appeared out of thin air.

Lilura was decked out in all black with the sexiest smirk known to mankind painted on her face. Klaus gulped at the thundering look she sent to all the vampires, though he was sure he was the only one getting slightly turned on.

"The choice is yours," She raised her eyebrows expectantly, before sitting down at the head of the table.

The compelled servants filled their glasses with wine.

"You lost your appetite," Klaus coughed, taking his eyes off Lilura for a second to intimidate Stefan.

"Eat. I thought we agreed that we would leave the grumpy Stefan at home," Damon ordered.

"That's the spirit. Isn't it nice? Five of us dining together? Such a treat. Is this what you had in mind when you pulled the dagger from my brother and ran over my wife?"

"Well, I know how he felt about you, so I figured the more, the merrier," Damon replied, wiping crumbs off his face. "As for Lily, Stefan has an apology."

The enchantress sipped her wine. "I'm waiting."

Reluctantly, Stefan Salvatore stood up, crossing his arms and refusing to make eye contact with Lilura.

"I'm sorry I almost killed you," He managed through gritted teeth. "I was being careless, but you weren't wearing a seatbelt."

"I accept your apology," Lilura grinned, standing up too.

Klaus was the only one who noticed the knife in her hands.

"I'm so thankful that I have a present for you."

And then a meat cleaver was flying through the air and landing directly on Stefan's heart.

"Keep it," She giggled, sitting back down with the grace of a swan. "A souvenir."

"Well, it's no secret Elijah is currently miffed at me. We have had our share of quarrels over the century. But we always make it through," Klaus grinned.

"Kind of like you and Rebekah, right? Where is she, by the way? Last I checked she was still daggered because you were afraid to face her," Stefan snorted.

"If you're referring to the fact that Rebekah knows I killed our mother, I've already come clean to Elijah."

"Hey, Stef, remember when you killed dad? Might want to dial down the judgment until dessert."

Stefan chewed his lamb roughly. "We're here to make a deal, Damon. Doesn't mean we need to kiss his ass for seven courses."

"I'm just saying we have a long evening ahead of us. Pace yourself," Damon hissed.

———— Δ ————

"Stefan. Where is the lovely Elena tonight?"

Lilura cackled loudly to Elijah's confusion.

"I don't know," The vampire shrugged. "Ask Damon."

"I'm sorry, you've missed so much. Ah, trouble in paradise," Klaus said, absolute amusement present in his expression.

"One more word about Elena and this dinner's over," Stefan said.

"Diva," Lilura commented simply.

Klaus locked his lips comically.

"You know what, probably best just to keep Elena in the do-not-discuss pile," Damon suggested.

"Good. I owe that oaf a good hit in the head," Lilura cracked her knuckles.

"It's just the allure of the Petrova doppelgänger, still so strong. What do you say, brother? Should we tell them about Tatia?" Klaus began, catching Elijah's brown eyes.

"Now why should we discuss matters long since resolved?" He replied.

"Well, given their shared affection for both Elena and Katerina, I think our guests might be curious to learn about the originator of the Petrova line."

Lilura pursed her lips, giving Klaus a glare. "Well, they're not going anywhere Elijah, Klaus. Please, do tell. I'm quite interested myself."

"When our family first settled here, there was a girl named Tatia. She was an exquisite beauty. Every boy of age desired to be her suitor, even though she'd had a child by another man. And none loved her more than Niklaus."

"I'd say there was one who loved her at least as much."

"Wait a minute. So you both loved the same girl?" Stefan asked, flabbergasted.

"Our mother was a very powerful witch. She sought to end our feud over Tatia and so she took her. Klaus and I would later learn that it was Tatia's blood that we consumed in the wine on the night where our mother performed the spell which turned us into vampires. Tatia wouldn't make a decision between the two of us, so for a time Niklaus and I...grew estranged. Harsh words were traded, we even came to blows, didn't we, brother?"

"But in the end, we realized the sacred bond of family," Klaus hummed.

"Family above all," Elijah chorused. "However, that would be challenged once again when we met an even more alluring woman, if possible."

Klaus chuckled. "Yes, Lilura specialized in weaving a web full of suitors. Didn't we get stuck in there as well, brother?"

"Honestly, at one point, I couldn't pick," Lilura bit into a chocolate-covered strawberry. "But I realized with Klaus I could do as I pleased. Include kill bratty little vampires who kidnap sirens in the middle of the night," She spat.

"No offense, 'Lijah."

"None taken, Lilu."

The dinner progressed onwards.

———— Δ ————

Abby, Bonnie, and Judas stood with conjoined hands.

"Do I really have to be part of this witchy juju thing," He said, flipping midnight black hair out of his eyes. "I'm getting tired of standing. I think my legs are numb."

Bonnie and Abby exchanged glances. So the young man hadn't noticed them using his power to open the coffin.

"Is it just me or is it hot in here?" He asked.

"You're not trying! We've been at this for over an hour," Bonnie said to Abby.

"The spirits are angry with me. For leaving you. Maybe they didn't want me to have my powers again," Abby sighed.

"I had all of those dreams for a reason. The spirits wanted me to find you because your my mom. It's not them, it's you. You won't open yourself up to it. You know Dad never talked about you? And neither did Grams. I had no memories of you. So you know what I use to pretend? That you were dead. It was easier to do that than to wonder why you never came back for me."

"There is no way I can tell you how sorry I am for what I did," Abby's voice wavered.

"Yes there is. You can help me," Bonnie shook their hands.

"I feel like I'm intruding," Judas pipped up.

"Shut up and focus, Romeo," Bonnie retorted.

The witches began chanting the spells and Judas was just along for the ride, or so he believed.

In reality, he had been contributing greatly to the ritual. It had become clear to Abby and Bonnie that Judas was no regular hunter. He had witch blood in his veins.

The coffin rattled and the candles flickered, but there was no clear sign that the coffin would ever open up.

"It almost worked. I have to call Damon, tell him that we're getting closer. I'll be right back," Bonnie chirped, a small tired smile lighting up her face. She dashed out, leaving an exhausted Abby and mildly sleepy Judas.

"I need some fresh air," Abby said after a minute. "Light the candles, would you?"

Judas agreed wordlessly. He got up and picked up the lighter before pausing slightly. Looking around to see if Bonnie and Abby around, the young man slowly extended his tattooed arm to the candles. He closed his brilliant green eyes and concentrated on lighting them up.

When he opened them, 16 candles had been lit without any effort.

His heart raced. What does this mean?

"I've always known you'd be great," A voice came from behind Judas.

Shocked, Judas turned around to face a woman in long white dresses and flowy blonde hair.

"Hello, grandson. It's good to finally meet you."