CHAPTER 5...part 1

(Forever — CHVRCHES)

2020︱new orleans

"NIK!" Rebekah called out, relief in her tone as she and Kol walked towards Elijah, Klaus, Freya and Hayley,  all of whom were exiting a drainage pipe. Her arms wrapped around her wounded brother as Freya said, "you can hug them later, we need to leave first." The eldest Mikaelson sounded to be out of breath, continuing to walk forward. "Marcels right behind us, go." Hayley said, urging the others forward. "Go!"

They ran up towards higher ground, making their way towards Hayleys SUV as they heard, "actually, I'm right here." The unknown voice said as they turned towards Marcel, who stood in front of their only ticket out.

"You shouldn't have come back, none of you." He said, a glare placing itself on his features, looking towards each family member. "That's what family does." Hayley retorts back, "we fight for each other." "Yeah, so I've heard. Though, it didn't really work out for me, did it?" "Oh, for god's sake!" An exasperated Kol says, "you were never a Mikaelson, get over it! Don't you have a city to run, vampires to boot out of town?" He continues, Marcel making his way towards the youngest Mikaelson male, before Rebekah intercepts his sought out path. "If you wanna kill one of us, you'll have to kill us all." She says, standing strong in front of the new king of New Orleans.

"Hey, don't push me Rebekah." His finger was pointed threateningly towards his ex-lover. "Get on with it, let's end this once and for all." But, before they can even step a foot closer to one another, Niklaus intervenes, "that's enough." He says, looking exhausted and worn as he limps towards Marcel. "That's enough Marcel, you've won. New Orleans was our city once, now it's yours" The hybrid says, sighing before continuing, "for good."

Marcel smirks bittersweetly, "Is the great Klaus Mikaelson accepting defeat? Or is this all just another distraction?" "Neither. In fact, despite your appalling behavior I'm offering you a chance of peace." Klaus says, confusing his son, someone he considered once family. "Attempt to kill us all, and you will be making a mistake. Any who survived would no doubt return to seek revenge, bringing our enemy's back to your city in our wake. And even if you did manage to eliminate us all, one day my daughter would come for you, and her daughter after that. On and on for all your days, an endless cycle of violence you will bring upon yourself, or." Klaus says, looking like he was scourning a child. "Or, we leave. And we never come back."

As Nik finished his speech, the entire Mikaelson family looked towards Marcel. The man appeared to be considering Klaus' offer before he scoffed, turning away. He whipped his head back around, shaking his head. "After all that time buried in a hole, you still got some nerve." He says, Niklaus raising his brows as Marcel continues. "You know, you stand there with a straight face and try to sell this like it's your choice. But, here's the truth, I could kill all of you right now. And tonight, I would sleep like a baby. That's what you would do. You've destroyed more people, taken more lives, ended more families, then anyone who's ever lived, all because you can." As the man he thought of as a son spoke, Klaus clenched his jaw, frowning at his words. "But, here's the other truth. Despite being raised by you people, I am nothing like any of you. In fact, I'm proud as hell I'm not a Mikaelson. I beat you all, without turning into you. And now you can live the rest of your lives, knowing that the only reason that you exist, is because I am showing you mercy." Klaus had parted lips as Marcel continued, shocked by his hautey  words. "Now go, and don't ever come back."

As he finished, they each turned around heading towards the car to finally be reunited with Hope Mikaelson, but Hayley and Elijah remained, staring down the named 'King of New Orleans', before turning away to return to their family.

***

Night falls as the Mikaelson return to their home, each member walking up to the front to finally rest peacefully. But, Klaus remains outside, staring at the home as he once stared at Mikael, with pure fear and hesitance, all because of the little girl sleeping in its walls. Rebekah, Elijah and Hayley stay by his side as Elijah speaks, "what is it?" "5 years, never felt so long." He said, gazing longingly at the house that held his daughter. "Thank you." Klaus continued, turning towards his sister, "for not abandoning me." Rebekah smiled up at her brother before saying, "well, we did consider it the vote was rather close." He couldn't help the small smile that quirked his lips as his sister joked with him, she placed a small kiss on his cheek as she and Elijah made their leave towards the family home.

"You okay?" Hayley asks him, moving towards the spot that Rebekah once stood. "I mean, considering the imprisonment, torture and forced isolation." Nik said, smiling slightly at his baby mama. "For what it's worth I'm sorry. I can't imagine what you've been through. "I had moments of solace to sustain me." He said smiling towards his home. "It's because of them I'm here now."

Hayley walked towards the home, but when she walked up two steps she turned back towards Klaus. "So, does that mean you're ready to see your little girl?" She said, beckoning him with her head towards the family home. He blinked a couple of times before smiling and heading up the steps to the front door.

Hayley led him up to where his daughter was sleeping, a look of awe overtaking his tired features, tears filling his eyes as he watched his littlest wolf sleep soundly. Hayley turned towards him, a soft smile playing in her features and whispers, "want me to wake her for you?" "No." He responds, never fleeting his eyes from the girl sleeping on the bed, his lips turning to a soft smile. "Let's let her sleep." Hayley smiled widely at this, leaving the room as Klaus remained. A similar smile finds his features when watching his daughter resting.

***

Little did they know that the eldest Mikaelson heir sat at her dining table, mere miles away, with her husband. The pair talked and laughed with one another as they ate their dinner. Kara's life had been a good one, she met her husband in Florence, Italy 1423 and they fell in love almost instantly (had it not been for his antic's that were eerily similar to Kol's. Sadly, she wasn't able to procreate since she and him were vampires, but that never seemed to dampen their moods. They spent most of their lifetime traveling the world, watching as people rose and fell from power, experience new cultures, and adopting their ways of life. Aleksander proposed way back in 1804 in a gazebo that had been ridden with tiny candles, and they had sealed their love with marriage in the summer of 1805.

"Do you have anything going on tomorrow vita mia?" He asked, cutting his Sauvignon Blanc into smaller, more consumable pieces. Aleksander always referred to Kara as 'vita mia', it meant 'my life' in Italian, his native tongue. "Well, I do have some tutoring appointments for tomorrow." She said, looking at him as she took a ship of her Pinot Noir. "Though, my last appointment is with that sweet little girl up the way. I think I finish her lessons at around 3 or 4, I should be done around then." Kara says, smiling towards her husband.

"Oh yes, Hope was her name, wasn't it?" He asked, quirking his brow as he popped another piece of meat in his mouth. "Yes. That was her name, sweet girl really and her mother is an absolute gem." She continued as she cleansed her palette with water. Their night continued on as such, each telling the other about their day.

Yes, Kara and her father both sat doing similar things mere miles away from one another, blissfully unaware of what was to come.

KOREY SPEAKS !

We're getting close to their reunion y'all!!