the monster in me can only be checked by the monster in you

Head tilting slightly while resting two of her fingers against her lips, she was concealing a little smile. “No, no not at all. I mean there are thousands of reasons - other than the two previously mentioned - that could have drawn me here but …” She sighed softly while gazing at him, “… The only other reason I came back was because I missed you.”

Thanks for everyone’s patience! 

She knew that he knew which brother had invited her, before giving him a knowing smile, as it wasn’t difficult that she and Kol were an item before he was daggered. “I bet he will enjoy that.” Ali drawled, after hearing that Elijah will be having a word with him. “But isn’t he allowed to bring a guest? Or does that only apply to Klaus and Rebekah?” Hearing it from Kol, she was well aware of the always and forever pack of Kol’s siblings, and that made her annoyed with his siblings for excluding him and the older brother, Finn. 

Though she did arched her eyebrows at the second part that she had heard. “Someone here has tried to harm you and your family, they must be idiots then.” Ali was aware of what her father and uncle and their group of friends have attempted and failed to do and it made her laugh whenever her brother had informed her. “I can assure you, Elijah, that I have no interest in harming any of you, just have some unfinished business to do.” Ali reassured the older vampire, before smiling at him for the compliment. “Thank you, and you look dashing yourself.” Ali responded with her own compliment. “What’s with the questions?”

“Kol enjoys very little.  Or too much.  There is no in between,” Elijah pointed out with a casual shrug of his shoulders.  It was easy for him to laugh off the confrontation that would come but someone needed to pull Kol back in line.  Otherwise, things would boil over between the siblings and Elijah would be putting out fires everywhere.  He could no longer afford to do that.  He had enough on his place as it was.

     There was a relief that came when Elijah conceded and the argument was left to the wayside. Klaus was no fool, though. He knew his brother well enough to know that the emotions that prompted such a discussion were as alive as ever within the vampire. Surely the argument would come to a head at a later date. Klaus only hoped that it would rear its head again at a time when other priorities have been dealt with. After all, the hybrid saw no use or point in an emotion as superfluous as love. He’d entertain such a whim of fancy once his kingdom was secure, and not a moment before.

With a steadying breath as he refocused his thoughts, Klaus nodded in agreement. Elijah was right : the matter was delicate and would require a careful plan to be dealt with.  ❝ I’ve no intention of taking down Marcellus, ❞ Klaus admitted.  ❝ He’s been a naughty boy and will be punished in kind, but after everything he is still –– - Marcellus. ❞  An emotion crossed the hybrid’s deep blue eyes as he stared off at nothing in particular. The man who was once like a son to him still meant a great deal, no matter how badly he’d broken Klaus’s heart. Shaking it off, he met his brother’s gaze again, the cunning strategist back in place.  ❝ There was a time when he’s do anything just to win our approval. What we need to do is remind him of that ; remind him that he’s still family. Perhaps then, we can have him work with us, instead of against us. ❞

There was something comforting in hearing Klaus speak of Marcel in the terms that did.  He had no doubt that his brother would make good on the idea of ‘punishing’ Marcel but at the same time, keeping him alive?  That meant that despite everything, Klaus still cared for Marcel.  He might try to deny it if called out so Elijah kept silent but he tucked that particular bit of information away so that when he was angry with Klaus he remembered that deep down, his brother did love.  

In his own way. 

Alice pushed her hair out of her eyes, streaking the blood on her cheek back toward her ear.  Closing her eyes for a second, she tipped her head back and took a breath.  She could turn him down flat and sort it all out on her own, like she’d done innumerable times before, or she could accept and get to her shower and coffee that much more quickly…

“This is a nice spot,” she remarked, tilting her head back down to look at Klaus.  “I’d hate to burn it to the ground to cover my tracks.  If you’ve got a sure fire method of disposal that isn’t arson, pun not intended, I’d gladly accept.”  Shaking her head, Alice huffed and added “I really ought to prepare a little better.  Bring a shovel.  Some wet wipes.  Spare shirt.  You think I’d have learned by now.”

She stepped away from the body and took a few steps closer to him, green eyes brimming with pride.  “They never do.  It’s almost unfair, really, but it scratches the itch down to something bearable.”

Quirking a brow, Alice gave him a once over.  The whites of her eyes took on a red tinge, black veins pressing up into the skin under her eyes, and the corner of her mouth twisted up.  A rush of frantic energy burst through her, breathing a second wind into her desire for a decent fight.  “How ‘bout now?” she asked.  “Appetizer whet my appetite, but I could handle a main course.”

There was something about the way she looked right now, blood on her face and her prey at her feet --- he was simply undone.  He took a moment to take it all in, committing it to memory in case he never had the chance to see her like this again.  

Then Klaus was turning his attention to the task at hand, handling it with the same cool attention he gave all moments like this.  “I do.  I am not as much of a firebug as you it seems,” he pointed out with a nod of his head.  “I can assure you that no one will know what ever happened here --- save you and I.”  He took his phone from his back pocket and sent off a few discrete texts.  It was not unlike ones he had sent in the past so there would be no surprise on the other end.  

“You really out to plan better,” he echoed.  “It seems as if you are able to predict what will happen.  Therefore it is time to plan for the morning after.”  He had made put surefire tactics in place for moments just like this.  

A wolfish grin tugged at her lips, green eyes sparking with a hint of mischief.  “The one where I get everything I want and then some,” she replied.  “But ‘everything’ changes from moment to moment.”

Right now, she just wanted to dance and forget the disaster Damon was rushing toward with breakneck speed.  Drink some champagne and enjoy a few moments with a man who’d professed his undying devotion and intent to win hers back.  Come what may, Klaus’ earnest and honest desire for her was a heady thing that Alice meant to savour.

Careful to keep her posture just so, Alice inclined her head as fell in perfect step.  “Oh, my love,” she chided softly, “I think we both know if I wanted to hurt you, I’ve courage enough to stab you in the front.”

As they moved across the floor, it was as if not a single moment had passed.  Save for the dress of their fellow partygoers, she might have been human again, dancing with her beloved toward their promised forever.  “We always danced so well together.  Like we’d been doing it all our lives, even that first time.”

She’d practically floated on to her next partner after leaving his arms that night, head full of little else but how easily the steps had come.  It felt like destiny, like they’d been made to dance together.  An utterly foolish notion, but so all encompassing that she forgot all about the bruised heart she’d been sent to New Orleans to heal almost overnight.

“I wrote a letter to my friend Amelia the very next day, all about you,” Alice admitted, chuckling.  “You’d have laughed, if you’d read it.  It was overflowing with the giddiness that only teenage girls are truly capable of.”

“I am prepared to give you everything without setting fire first,” he told her, giving her a pointed look.  He was practically offering himself at her feet and she was still giving him a hard time.  He supposed it was to be expected but he was already walking a fine line between patience and losing what control he had.  

Like she said --- everything changed moment to moment. 

He watched as she playfully countered his assertion that she could easily stab him in the back.  She was right.  If she was going to come for him, she would move forward and look at him with those doe eyes of hers even as she drove the knife home.  “I could never doubt your ferocity, sweetheart,” he murmured in return, even as they continued to move like a couple not discussing murder.  It was a strange juxtaposition.  He had his hand on her hip, swaying to the music while they talked of pain.  Perhaps it was their way now. 

But at one time, she was right.  They did dance well together.  It was in a moment like this that he first understood how much she would come to mean to him.  And now look at them. 

Hayley shot him a look, but there was no real malice in it. “ That’s a terrible way of calling me fat.” she stated with a huff. “But yes, it’s a bit difficult to move with this bowling ball size stomach that holds our devil child.” She teased, hand resting on her stomach as she rubbed it gently. Hayley dropped her gaze. “Mommy’s just kidding you’re not the devil - daddy is. You are precious cargo kid.” She murmured, tone light.

The wolf lifted her gaze to Klaus and offered him something of a smile.

“I guess I should get my things then - they’re in Jackson’s cabin. I don’t have a lot. I didn’t really bring much,” plus she barely owned anything of her own. Hayley had always traveled light because she was never in one place for all that long. Though, she supposed that was about to change.

"And you’re sure you’re fine with all of this? We won’t be in the way?” 

“Fat?  Did I say the word?” He raised a brow and frowned.  That frown soon turned into a grin and he couldn’t help himself.  “Precious cargo indeed...” His eyes couldn’t help but fall to her stomach.  Without thinking, he blurted out exactly what crossed his mind as he did so.  “I think you look beautiful.” Realizing that it might not come across the way he wanted it to, he fell silent.  

Klaus moved with her, wanting to help her gather any sign of her in the bayou.  He felt the need to have it all in his home.  It was like he was ensuring that she would never have a reason to come back here, although he knew it was hardly that easy. 

“I’m sure you have.” Ali mused, noting his grin. It wasn’t difficult to understand what type of things the hybrid has done. Annoying originals, she thought to herself, arching her eyebrows after hearing Klaus answered her question with another question. “Because its you and you always want something.” Ali drawled. “Though I am honoured, Klaus, truly I am. But does Davina receive the same treatment?” Ali questioned him. “Or is it because I haven’t plotted to kill any of you and she has?” 

Tatia raised an eyebrow as he stood. She was confused on what he was doing. “Why would I — OH!” Tatia watched in horror as he bit into his hand, eyes being yellow and bloodshot with fangs.

“Nik, your hand!” she exclaimed watching as the blood filled the glass and then slowly stitched itself back together as if nothing had ever happened. She hadn’t been frightened OF him. But had been horrified to see how he had just bit into his own hand as if it was something he did every day.

She took the glass from him then and looked at the blood. “So this what Esther created, using my blood as a binder. I am to assume that the spell required human blood to act as such.” So this was Esther’s darkest spell. To protect her children. But it had turned them all into something else, something different, something predatory.

She drank it without another word. It didn’t take long for the pounding in her head to eventually stop. Probably due to the mystical properties that his blood now held. Though she didn’t really care for the taste of blood. It had a metallic taste to it as all blood did.

“I would like that. We all need to know why I am back and how.”

Part of him was fearful that she would turn away from him now, terrified of what he was.  He could see the reactions playing on her face.  He held his head as high as he could, hoping that she wouldn’t turn away from him in the end.  

Thankfully, she didn’t.

He nearly sagged in relief.  As it was, he took a deep breath, glad to be able to push back at that fear.  He nodded his head at her speculation about what Esther had done.  “She made us all immortal --- but with immortality came consequence,” he began quietly.  “I am afraid I am a bit of beast, Tatia.  But please please know that I will not harm you.”

He couldn’t help but still be afraid even as she drank his blood.  He was grateful that it seemed to have the desired affect.  She looked more herself, there was color in her cheeks once more.  He took the glass and set it aside for someone else to clean up. 

Instinct had Alice crouching as she twisted, ready to throw herself at whatever hapless human who might have stumbled onto her or clueless hunter who was charging into a situation they were unprepared for, but she forced herself out of it as she processed Klaus’ appearance among the trees.

“I’d love a hot shower and a cup of coffee.  Maybe a nap, too,” she replied.  Her gaze flicked down at the body.  “But I’ve gone and inconvenienced myself, yet again, so all that’ll have to wait.”

He was right about something, though.  Outside of the mess, she was pleased with herself.  For all the decorum and restraint she showed inside the borders of Mystic Falls, the release of a good hunt was exactly what the doctor ordered to shake loose most of the tension that’d built up inside her over the month.  “I needed a good chase and a decent fight, even if he never had a real chance.”

She would have pounced on him if she could have taken him.  He was both amused by this and --- just a little turned on.  He kept a respectable distance, knowing that her instincts are still going haywire despite the level of control she appeared to have.  

His eyes slid to the body instead, eyeing it dispassionately (as one who had seen a lot of death would).  “I can help,” he found himself saying before he really thought about the consequences.  He sighed to himself and then committed to his words, pushing off the tree to inch closer. “As you can imagine, I have had some experience in disposing of bodies.”

“Truthfully, I enjoy it far more than putting fires out,” Alice admitted with a soft sigh.  “Especially when the likelihood is that a controlled burn will yield the exact outcome I wish.”

That wouldn’t be the case here.  If Damon kept throwing matches, all he’d end up with was singed fingers and a broken heart, again.  After all these years, he was still desperate for the love Katherine had denied him.  Still covetous of the adoration freely given to Stefan.  While it was frustrating on so many levels, it also left Alice deeply sad.

He’d been her first infatuation, when they’d been alive, and, arguably, her dearest friend over the course of their vampirism.  Regardless of their conflicts over the years and the hurts they’d–sometimes purposefully–committed against each other, she wished for him to find some semblance of happiness.  It was a shame he himself wouldn’t allow it.

Now, however, wasn’t the time to give into that particular brand of melancholy.

Taking a handful of her velvet skirt, she lifted it off the ground enough to dip into the slightest curtsy.  “You may,” she replied, offering her free hand to Klaus as the band finished up its current song.

Alice could hear the pages of their music being shifted, presumably to the sheets for the waltz they’d mentioned.

“–I’ve been looking forward to it.”

Klaus’ gaze shifted back to her.  “And just what outcome are you hoping to burn the world down for?” He raised a brow, a not so subtle reminder that he wasn’t the easiest to control.  He was restraining himself at the moment but that did not mean he would continue to behave.  If she pushed too hard, he just might do the burning for her.

Already his mind was wandering down paths it should not.  Just how well did Damon Salvatore and Alice know one another?  And did he truly want an answer to that question or were some stones better left unturned?  

For the moment, he needed to concentrate on the very real feeling of her hand in his his.  It had been years since he had danced properly.  It was not something that he particularly enjoyed but he recognized that there were advantages to this moment --- most of all, her in his arms.  Something that he had longed for for years.  

“You have?” He purred as he began to lead them in a familiar rhythm.  “Hmm, so you can stick a knife in my back, Alice?  Or do you really want to spent a few moments at peace?” He certainly did.  He was hoping that she would feel the same familiar feeling he already was.  There was something so right about this, so perfect.  

     It was a contradiction in the most ‘Mikaelson’ of ways. Elijah was saying everything that Klaus wanted to hear –– - and yet there was still a tension in the air about them. The hybrid didn’t doubt that his brother meant every word. After all, it was why the pair were together, united under one banner after they had been at each other’s throats only a year prior. Hope was to be born in the safest of circumstances – among monsters would do anything to keep her protected. 

It wasn’t a lack of truth that kept Klaus on edge ; it was the surrounding air of dissatisfaction. Elijah was an unreadable mask of stoicism – as always – yet the younger brother had a feeling that he wasn’t happy to relinquish Hayley so easily. If Elijah wasn’t happy and settled on the same page as Klaus, then that could brew trouble for the future. Unsure of how to rectify that problem, Klaus merely took another sip of his drink.  ❝ Then we agree, ❞ he admitted in a quiet voice, feeling as though they were at a stale mate.  ❝ Once the baby is born, Hayley can chose her own destiny. For now, we best not allow ourselves to be blinded by love. ❞  After all, once the baby was born, if anyone wanted move in on her, Klaus had plans to ensure that his daughter would remain with him, no matter what.

Finding the need to change the subject, Klaus set his empty glass down and began to slowly pace the large room.  ❝ Now the real question is : what are we going to do about Marcel’s legion of vampires ? Killing them won’t do. We need those numbers loyal to us. ❞

In a way, he was disappointed in himself.  He had fallen right back in line, too worried about the consequences of rocking the boat.  It was a tentative peace at best and this conversation would happen again.  Only next time, Elijah’s frustrations might spill over in a way that he could not predict.  He did his best, holding back for the sake of his brother. 

(he was tired) 

Keeping the littlest Mikaelson safe was one thing that they could agree on with no prompting.  He turned his attention to that, finding it easier to focus on instead of letting his emotions cloud his better judgement.  His eyes narrowed slightly at the idea of being blinded by love.  That was how Nikolas saw it --- a emotion that could drag you down instead of lifting you up.  In a way, Elijah felt sorry for the man but he knew he could not change his brother’s mind.