OUTCASTS
— 04. Girl in New Orleans

     At Rousseau's, Cadence was serving drinks to a customer at the bar when she turned to see Klaus sitting in front of her. Cadence let out a frustrated groan, rolling her eye at the sight of the immortal hybrid, "What do you want?" She asked the male hybrid in annoyance.

"I was looking for your cousin, Cami," Klaus informed her, grinning at her reaction to see him, "Do you happen to know where I might find her?"

"She's watching the twins while I work," Cadence responded in a calm tone, picking up a damp rag before she began wiping down the bar counter.

Klaus had a somewhat puzzled look on his face as he raised a brow at Cadence, "I could've sworn you said she was never allowed her to." He pointed out and Cadence turned to him once more, looking to be annoyed be in his presence.

"Well, I had to work and the babysitter wasn't available. I made the twins promise not to do magic in front of her," Cadence explained to him with a bit of an attitude, "Now, excuse me while I get back to work."

Cadence sarcastically smiled at Klaus. She turned away from him, about to walk off to serve some other customers when Klaus spoke up, "Really?" He questioned her skeptically, "I could have sworn a little birdy told me that she was helping out Marcel tonight by watching a certain young witch."

Cadence's eyes widened in alarm, immediately freezing in place while her back was turned to Klaus, "She never said anything to me about that," She lied in a tone that made it almost impossible for Klaus to realize that she was lying to him, "I think you may have gotten the wrong information. Cami's working here tonight after my shift's over. She wouldn't be able to."

"Perhaps we were both told the wrong information," Klaus responded as Cadence turned to him, the male hybrid slightly smirking at her.

He clearly knew that she was keeping something from him, despite her trying her hardest to show the opposite. "I seriously doubt that," Cadence retorted calmly, "Now, tell me why you're really here."

Klaus smiled, finally taking a seat at the bar in front of her instead of standing, "I'm itching to get hold of this young witch named Davina and I need your help to do so." He informed her as Cadence picked up an empty glass and a bottle of bourbon.

  She looked up at Klaus, who nodded his head, telling her to pour him a glass. She immediately obeyed, pouring him a glass of bourbon before placing the bottle of whiskey back, "And why would I do that?" She questioned curiously, sliding the glass of alcohol over to him.

"Marcel is using Davina as his secret weapon and is keeping my brother captive," he informed her and Cadence was taken aback for a moment.

  Not wanting to give herself away, Cadence was quick to put on a show and act like she didn't care, "And?" She questioned without a care in the world.

"If you help me, I can help you in return," Klaus responded, taking a large of his bourbon before setting it down.

"Help me with what exactly?" She asked Klaus, raising a skeptical brow at him.

Klaus grinned, clearly feeling as though he had won in gaining Cadence as an ally, "Protection, money, anything you wish." He replied, folding his hands as he stared at her.

"Hmm. I think I'll pass." She hummed in response, sarcastically smiling at him.

Cadence was beginning to walk away when Klaus suddenly stopped her by speaking up, "I can help keep the witches from taking your children," He informed her in a calm tone, "With my help, I can make sure they will never attempt to do so again. I can also help your children control their magic."

Cadence immediately froze, quickly turning back to Klaus once more. "And how will you do those two things?" She questioned, folding her arms over her chest.

Klaus shrugged his shoulders, smiling slightly, "I have my ways," He told her and it was clear to Cadence he was leaving out major details, but she didn't care, "Now, do we have a deal?"

"Do you promise to keep your word?" She asked him curiously and Klaus nodded.

"Yes." He replied in a calm tone.

"Do you promise not to hurt Davina?" She questioned and Klaus instantly became quiet, "Fine, no deal."

Cadence began to walk away, a small smile forming on her lips since she knew within seconds, Klaus would be trying to stop her, "I promise that I, myself, will not harm Davina." He promised and Cadence clearly had no clue that Klaus was the type to take loopholes.

Cadence turned back to face Klaus, walking over to him, "I guess we have a deal, then." She replied, a smile on her face as she held out her hand for him to shake.

Klaus smiled, grabbing ahold of Cadence's hand to shake it, "That we do." He agreed with her, continuing to hold onto her hand after they shook on it.

The duo maintained eye contact with each other for a long moment, both of them smiling. 

   Just then, Cadence awkwardly cleared her throat, pulling her hand away from Klaus', "I better get back to work," She informed Klaus, who immediately looked away from her as well.

"Yes, yes, you should go do that," Klaus awkwardly responded and Cadence sent him a small smile before walking away to get back to work.

  Klaus quickly picked up his glass of bourbon, downing it in one gulp before he stood up from his seat and left the bar.

____

That night, Cadence stood near the bar at Rousseau's, the entire place crowded with people, who listened to the band playing on stage.

 Davina was staring at a boy who was on the stage while Marcel kept an eye on her. While doing so, Marcel spoke with Cami while Cadence stood next to him, "It's good to see you," He told Cami happily, "I was worried you thought I was some hothead after that display at the Masquerade."

Cami smiled at Marcel pleasantly, "We all have our hot-headed moments," She assured him, shrugging her shoulders, "Anyway, I have to stay here and manage the bar, Davina and Cadence can hang out if you need to go shmooze, or whatever."

 Davina leaned over to butt into their conversation, smiling happily, "You know, he was supposed to stop hovering like, ten minutes ago." She pointed out, causing Cadence to smile and shake her head.

Marcel sighed in exasperation, glancing between the female trior, "See what I mean? Authority issues! I'll go talk to the mayor," He paused, turning to toward Davina with a pointed look, "He actually knows how to show some respect!"

    While Cami went back to work after Marcel had left, Cadence watched as Davina stared at the boy. She smiled, beginning to walk closer to the young witch, "And how might that handsome boy be?" She questioned Davina, who turned to her with a confused look, "You know, cute boy with the fiddle?"

Davina turned to glance back at Tim, smiling shyly, "Tim." She informed Cadence, who smiled encouragingly, "I knew he would be here, he always performs at these kinda things."

"How long have you two been best friends?" Cadence asked Davina curiously, causing the girl to raise a brow at her, "I mean, you did go through all of this just to see him."

"Since we were ten," She told the elder witch, who gave her the look that told her to continue, "I had to leave school, and I didn't get to say goodbye. So, I was just hoping to talk to him tonight."

   Soon enough, the band finished their song and almost everyone in the bar began to applaud them. More songs were played before the band finally decided to call it a night. Tim left the stage and headed toward the back of the bar, presumably to put away his instrument.

Cadence followed Davina as she desperately searched for Tim, clearly wanting to speak with him.

"He couldn't have gone far, trust me," Cadence tried to assure Davina, a soft smile on her face, "I mean, he just got off the stage. He probably went to the bathroom or something."

Davina sighed, trying to blink tears from her eyes, "It doesn't matter, this was a stupid idea anyway." She quickly responded, looking down at the ground in disappointment.

"No, it wasn't, Davina. What are you talking about?" Cadence asked Davina in disbelief, trying to grab the young girl by the arm. 

"Just forget it." Davina snapped at Cadence, just before storming off.

"Davina, wait up!" Cadence quickly called out, about to storm after the girl.

Before she could, Klaus suddenly appeared in front of Cadence, blocking her way..He grabbed one of Cadence's arms, stopping her from walking past him. She turned to face him, an angry look on her face. "Get out of my way, Klaus," She demanded in a stern tone, "I can't lose Davina. Marcel will literally kill me."

Klaus shook his head, holding up a folded note in his hand, "You have the capability to find her before the end of the night, I know it. This is all part of my plan," He informed her, causing Cadence to frown in confusion as he gestured for her to take the note, "Tell her this is from one of the musicians. She'll want to leave, and you're going to want to help her slip out the back exit so Marcel doesn't see."

    Cadence's eyes widened as she stared at Klaus in disbelief, "You involved Tim?!" She practically exclaimed, yet Klaus had a straight look on his face.

"I made a promise that no harm would come to Davina, you never said anything about her little friend Tim," Klaus reminded Cadence, who angrily glared at him.

The duo had a stare down for a moment, Klaus clearly not giving up. Finally, Cadence caved, letting out a sigh in defeat, "Just give me the damn note," She demanded and Klaus smiled in satisfaction, "Oh, and...Mind letting go of me?"

  Klaus gasped slightly, not even realizing that he was still holding onto her arm, "My apologies," He told her, quickly letting go of his grip on her arm, "Whatever you do, don't let her out of your sight."

Cadence nodded her head in understanding, slowly backing away from Klaus. Finally, she turned on her heel, rushing away to find Davina before it was too late.

____

   Cadence was practically horrified when she found that Klaus had set the location that Davina and Tim would meet at to be Saint Anne's Church. It was a place that brought back memories she wanted nothing more than to keep buried. Being there brought them all back.

The female witch sat in one of the back rows of benches, trying her hardest to look happy for Davina as she listened to Tim play the violin for her.

Cadence continued to blankly stare at the bloodstains on the walls in the back of the church when Klaus joined her, taking a seat next to her on the pew in the back row, "The boy has a gift." He spoke up, causing Cadence to roll her eyes as she turned to look at him.

Unlike everyone else in her position, Cadence wasn't at all startled by Klaus suddenly appearing before her. It was almost as if she were used to it. Though, she was annoyed by it.

"And did you compel him to play like that?" Cadence questioned, raising a skeptical brow at Klaus.

Klaus quietly chuckled at Cadence's question, "You can't compel a person to play that well," He reminded her and Cadence's lips formed a straight line.

She merely nodded her head in response, her mind elsewhere. She continued to stare up at blood on the walls, letting out a large sight, "Out of all the places in the quarter to choose from, you just had to choose this place," She complained quietly and Klaus seemed a bit confused by her statement, "St. Anne's Church?" She questioned, letting out a large scoff, "This isn't a church anymore, Klaus. No church has blood covering its walls and such a long list of casualties."

"I've seen quite a lot in my time," Klaus finally spoke up, "The world is a rather awful place. Best to meet it on its own terms."

"No, that's not true," She argued softly, shaking her head as she glanced over at Davina and Tim, "The world isn't awful and people aren't awful either. Deep down, everyone wants to be good. But of course, something always ends up making them bad. Something breaks them down, makes them snap," She paused, letting out a small, shaky sigh, "Take what happened here for example. A young, aspiring priest, who suddenly snapped and went on a killing spree out of nowhere. No signs, no symptoms. It just...happened."

"You're well-informed on the matter," He commented, turning to look at her while Cadence didn't do the same, "You knew him, didn't you?"

Cadence nodded, blinking back tears, "His name was Sean. He was my cousin, in a way," She informed him quietly, trying her hardest not to cry, "He was Cami's brother. Her twin, actually. Since the day Father Kieran took me in when I was eight, Sean became my best friend. Cami, too, but I was always closer with Sean," She paused, letting out a sigh, "To be honest, most nights, I can't sleep. I dream. I dream about what happened. I hate that I couldn't help him. I wonder daily about what exactly happened and why. Lately, I've been thinking it involved..." She trailed off, not finishing her sentence as tears threatened to spill from her brown eyes.

"Involved what?" He questioned her curiously and Cadence remained silent for a long moment.

"That it involved the witches," She informed him quietly, "Kieran and I, we were on the verge of helping Marcel take down witches when they tried to go through with the Harvest. If you were them and someone was trying to stop you from doing what you thought was needed, wouldn't you want revenge? Yeah, well, I guess that's what they did. Punishing us in a way that was a fate worse than death. Punish one of the people that mattered most to us. But they didn't hurt Sean because they were worried about Kieran getting involved. They were more worried about me. I am, after all, the greatest threat to the witches. And they knew harming Sean was the only way to convince me to back off. The only other person they could threaten to harm was already cursed to only be in his full moon one night a month. It was of no use to threaten his life."

"He was apart of the Crescent Wolf Pack, wasn't he?" Klaus questioned Cadence out of curiosity, "Your children's father."

   Cadence wiped the tears from her eyes, trying not to cry. "He wasn't just a member of that pack, Klaus, he was the alpha," She confessed, causing Klaus' eyes to widen in shock, "His name was Jackson. We were a classic tale of forbidden love," She informed him softly, beginning to smile sadly, "But that's a story for another time."

   Klaus was about to speak up and ask a question about the whole ordeal when Cadence stood up, taking out her phone, "I have to leave. I trust that you won't hurt them. They are just kids, after all," She quickly told Klaus, leaving before he could say any more, which led to the immortal hybrid letting out a sigh in defeat.

_____

     At her apartment, Cadence had just placed Hunter and Hayden to bed when she heard a knock on her door. She opened it, only to find Klaus standing there, "Did you hurt them?" She asked him in concern.

"To an extent," He responded as he shrugged his shoulders, causing Cadence to tense up, "You needn't worry, love. I healed the boy before he could die. Davina, rest assured, remained unharmed the entire time, just as I promised you."

Cadence nodded, avoiding eye contact with Klaus and instead looking down at the floor, "I've had quite the night," He informed her and slowly, Cadence looked him directly in the eye once more, "As I recall, earlier tonight you mentioned the tale of you and your children's father was a story meant for another time. Is it alright if I come in?"

    Cadence sighed, backing up a bit before opening the door wider, "Kudos to you asking before waltzing in since you've already been invited in."

"Well, I did give you my word," he reminded her, a grin on his face as he entered her apartment with no problem.

"Stop giving me that mischievous look and shut the door," She demanded before turning away from him, walking into the room.

    Klaus nodded, doing as he was told before following Cadence into the living room, where she was now sitting on the couch, "So, what would you like to know?" She asked, sounding almost mocking.

   Klaus chuckled slightly at her tone of voice, sitting down next to her, "Everything, if that's alright with you," He explained to her in a calm tone, "I want to know everything there is to know about the infamous Cadence Delacroix."

"Well then, we're gonna need some alcohol," She commented, smiling at Klaus, who immediately smiled back.

 That night, Klaus and Cadence talked. They talked a lot. For hours, they talked about everything. Cadence's backstory, how she met Jackson, and how he was taken was from her. 

They talked about Klaus, too. She asked him questions about his backstory and Klaus was shocked by her reaction.

She never once judged him, never made a horrified or judging face when he told her of a horrific deed he had done, which occurred quite a lot. 

He liked that. He liked how she never once judged him as she told him the truth. Even his own siblings didn't do that.

She told him how she felt like she didn't belong anywhere as a siphon witch. And he agreed with her, feeling the same way about being a hybrid. 

They were, indeed, a lot alike. Both cast-offs, rejected by society for being a one-of-a-kind creature. Not to mention, they were both products of their mother's affair with a rival or enemy of their husband's. 

For the first time in their entire lives, both Cadence and Klaus felt comfortable, like they belonged. And that was only because they were in each other's company.