𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 32

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Elijah hears his sister in the cemetery and worked quickly to set Anna's temporary dead body somewhere safe before vamping off to meet up with his little sister.

"Elijah?" Rebekah's tone held curiosity. "What are you doing here? Rebekah, you should be on the other side of the world by now." The older Mikaelson told his sister.

Rebekah shook her head, "You and I both know that wouldn't have been far enough."

"Get away from her!"

Rebekah and Elijah both turned at the loud voice and were met with a seething Niklaus Mikaelson.

The hybrids eyes flashed yellow as veins protruded on his face and his canines extended, "She's mine."

Elijah gripped Papa Tunde's knife harder as he bared his fangs at Klaus. Rebekah vamps out and stands defensively.

All three ready to attack.

"Rebekah!" the hybrid's voice boomed. Elijah sternly spoke up, "Walk away." Klaus raised the white oak stake threateningly, "Don't move!"

Elijah turned towards the blonde vampire, "Leave us now." Rebekah anxiously shook her head, "I can't. I'm stuck here. Elijah, he has the white oak stake."

Klaus grinned as he pointed the stake in her direction, "I brought it for you, sister."

Elijah's eyes pleaded his sister, "Get out of his sight. Your presence here only serves to anger him. Leave him to me now."

The blonde sped away and the vampire turned to glance at his younger brother, "I'm asking you, brother to brother, we end this nonsense now."

Klaus harshly scoffed as his eyes held a menacing glint in them, "You would side with that traitor." Elijah shook his head, "I am not choosing sides, but I will not allow you to hurt our sister."

The hybrid raised his arms, "We cannot leave this cemetery, Elijah. How long do you think you can defend her?" he vamp speeds away only for his older brother to rush and block him from going any further.

"As long as it takes, by whatever means necessary."

Elijah and Klaus are still pacing around outside one of the tombs in the cemetery while the original vampire tries to hold the hybrid off from murdering their sister.

"You've been at this for hours. To what end? Niklaus, I know you, and I grew up fighting you. I can't be beaten, nor can I be persuaded. You cannot get past me." Elijah tried to reason with his brother but it was no use.

"I could get past you. Although, it might have to be over your dead body. You did stab me with that blade, forcing me to endure hours of unspeakable pain. Perhaps I should direct my rage toward you." Klaus lifted the stake once again and pointed it at his older brother.

The vampire scoffed, "You should see yourself. The murderous expression, the self-righteous posturing. You look like Father."

Hurt flashed through the hybrid's eyes before replacing it with anger, "I'm not him. Rebekah's betrayal justifies my anger. His was that of a madman. You were never the recipient of his cruelty. None of you were. Not Kol, not Finn, None of you! I think you've forgotten what he was truly like."

Elijah clenched his jaw, "No. I have not forgotten."

Klaus stared at his older brother before attempting to speed away only for Elijah to grip his arm and push him back, "Niklaus, I understand your anger, but I implore you, be better than him. Do what he could not, demonstrate the grace of mercy, rather than this petty cruelty."

The hybrid gaped at the vampire, "You ask me to show mercy to one who has wronged me. You really don't know me at all, do you, brother?"

Rebekah joined her two brothers once again, "Enough. Whatever I have done wrong, my guilt is nothing compared to yours. You want revenge? Fine. But, before you have it, I will look you in the eye and tell you why it was your cruelty and your spite that led us to this."

The hybrid grit his teeth as he looked over at his younger sister, "Go on, then. Speak your piece, and when you are finished, I will grant you the punishment you deserve, even if I have to go through Elijah to do so."

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Anna groaned and began to sit upright as she regained consciousness. The heretic rubbed her neck as she glanced around, she was still in the cemetery.

Where was Elijah? More importantly, what had happened with Celeste?

The brunette stood up on her feet and focused on her hearing. Her eyes widened as she heard the three Mikaelson siblings arguing with one another.

The heretic took a deep breath before speeding away.

Anna approached the siblings where she noticed Klaus perched upon a tomb as he looked down at his family. "Let it begin. The trial of Rebekah Mikaelson."

Annalise rolled her eyes at his dramatics.

"What a relief. His ego is in check." the blonde original muttered to her older brother.

"That's how you know he's still himself." Anna spoke up making herself known. Elijah finally felt a sense of peace as he met the heretic's inviting eyes.

Klaus grinned widely, "Here to watch the show, little one?"

Anna pursed her lips as she glanced up at her best friend, "You don't want to do this, Nik."

"Oh, but I really do."

Elijah looked over at his sister, "Just speak your truth. I'll make certain he behaves himself."

"As will I." Anna reassured the blonde. Rebekah sent a grateful smile towards the heretic before turning to look up at her hybrid brother once again.

"You stand accused of betraying your own blood. How do you plead?" Klaus spoke as if he had just taken on the role of a judge.

Rebekah rolled her eyes, "I plead you to shut up and listen." Klaus narrowed his eyes at her as his face grew serious, "You summoned our father. You brought him to our home. What possible defense could you have?"

"I knew he was the only thing that you feared, and I wanted you to run." the youngest Mikaelson truthfully spoke.

"Because you hated me." Klaus harshly grit out. "Because you were hateful. You denied me the freedom to love." Rebekah told the hybrid.

Anna frowned at the conversation taking place before her and turned to glance at her soulmate who clearly looked conflicted.

Klaus gaped at his sister, "Oh, so that's your defense? You called Mikael, the Destroyer, the Hunter of Vampires, because I detained you from pursuing some dull suitors." he almost laughed.

"You were cruel, and controlling, and manipulative." Rebekah spat at him. Klaus flared his arms up, "I was trying to protect you! From imbeciles, and leeches. Not to mention your own poor judgment."

Rebekah scoffed, "And what about the one that you loved enough to call friend? Why did you forbid me to love Marcel?"

Klaus' mood completely dropped, "Do not mention his name."

Rebekah's lips parted as she met the eyes of her brother that she once looked up to, "What has happened to you? I remember the sweet boy who made me laugh and gave me gifts, who loved art and music. I wanted to be just like you. How could you have fallen so far?"

Elijah took a step forward as he intervened in the conversation, "You say you despise Rebekah for her betrayal, and yet no one has stood by your side for so long, not even I myself. Perhaps it's you that's forgotten. I remember the day that Father caught you whittling little chess pieces with his hunting knife. He beat you so mercilessly and for so long, I actually feared for your life."

Klaus glared at his older brother, "So, you would paint her as a loyal sister, but she betrayed me out of lust for Marcel. Perhaps that was why you did it, for love. Perhaps I might temper my rage if Rebekah will admit she was a victim of her own idiocy. That her great love, Marcel, used her to oust this family and to take my city."

"Marcel did not manipulate me." the blonde vampire sternly defended her ex lover. Anna's eyes were quick as they glanced at each sibling that spoke. She didn't dare intervene at the moment.

"You defend him, and yet you can't help but wonder, what if I'm right?" Klaus said in a taunting tone. Rebekah shook her head, "We loved each other. It was your refusal to respect that that led to your ruin."

Klaus let out a scoff, "Then why didn't he chase after you when you fled New Orleans? Oh, yes! That's right. He was here stealing what I built!"

The blonde narrowed her eyes at the hybrid, "You want me to renounce Marcel, to beg for your forgiveness? I won't. Marcel is not at fault. I called Mikael."

Anna watched the blonde original wearily, "Rebekah, I don't think-"

Rebekah cut her off as she began to angrily shout, "I was the one who brought him to New Orleans because of your wickedness! I wanted love and happiness, and you denied me the freedom to have either. Yes, I hated and I was afraid of our father, but he was a lesser evil than you. My bastard brother who loomed over me, threatening me as you are now. I wanted rid of you, and given the choice, I'd do it again!"

Klaus grit his teeth before lunging himself at his sister aiming to stake her heart with the white oak but is quickly tackled by Elijah who ripped the stake from his grasp.

Anna pushed Rebekah behind her as the heretic stood defensively. "Bekah, leave."

"I'm not going-"

Elijah glanced back at his sister, "Leave us." the vampire waited until the blonde was out of sight before looking at the hybrid once again. Anna approached Elijah's side.

"You wouldn't listen to her. So, now, you must deal with me."

Klaus let out a humorless chuckle as his eyes darted between his best friend and brother, "So what's it gonna be? You hold both weapons. Tunde's blade would put me down, but the stake could finish me off for good."

Anna rolled her eyes, such a drama king.

"Well, unlike you, brother, I have no taste for fratricide." Elijah held up the stake, "I only hold this to keep it from you." He then lifted up Papa Tunde's blade that was in his other hand, "This is just my insurance."

Anna anxiously clenched her fists, "Nik, you need to think this through."

"I have. She betrayed me in a way that has managed to rip my heart out." the hybrid looked over at the vampire, "Why must you defend her? Rebekah betrayed you, as well, when she brought Mikael here."

Elijah pursed his lips, "Because she is our sister, and because I like to remember her the way that she was before we became what we became." the vampire flashed a memory of the Mikaelson siblings all laughing and tackling one another into the hybrid's mind, "She was an innocent girl, quick to laugh, full of life."

Klaus' lower lip trembled at the memory, "My memories serve to make her betrayal more painful."

"Can you not then accept some small part of the blame? After all, Niklaus, it was your cruelty that led her to do what she did." Elijah was trying to get through to him, so that at least he would not try and kill the blonde.

Klaus scoffed, "Do you not see, Elijah? She didn't mean to chase me off. She wanted me dead."

Anna finally spoke up, "You know that's not true. No matter what happens between you two, Rebekah will never want to see you dead. We all know that."

Klaus disagreed with the heretic, "She has always hated me."

Elijah gaped at his younger brother, "You have no idea, do you? You have no idea what she was prepared to do for you. When our sister sees something that she perceives to be an injustice, she can be stubborn, impetuous, and, at times, downright dangerous. And never was this more apparent than the night she tried to kill our father."

The vampire flashed another memory of young Rebekah standing over Mikael's sleeping figure with a knife in her grasp. Klaus scrunched up his features, "What is this, some melodramatic fiction designed to garner my sympathy?"

"It is the truth. I was there. And she would have done it, all to protect you, had I not stopped her. I often wished that I could revisit that moment, complete the task myself."

Anna felt torn as she watched the two brothers. This family needed therapy, hell even she herself did.

"Why are you telling me this now?" Klaus questioned the vampire. "Niklaus, sometimes our sister acts without thinking. She's short of temper, she's quick to fall in love, but she loves you. But, your malicious treatment has broken her heart. So, yes, she responded by summoning our father. Yes, that was a mistake. I'm not entirely sure that I can blame her."

Klaus shrugged, "I can."

The hybrid sped over to the tomb where Rebekah was hiding but fortunately Annalise and Elijah beat him there.

"Nik, stand down."

"Niklaus, so help me-"

"Are you two really going to stand against me? Even you Anna?" the hybrid glanced over at his brother, "And not with that pathetic blade. You'd just have to pull it out someday, and then I'd hate you as I do her, now. If you want to protect Rebekah, you'll need to use the white oak stake."

Elijah shook his head, "I don't have to listen to this nonsense."

Niklaus let out a harsh scoff, "Oh, don't pretend you haven't thought about it. You look at me, and you see everything you abhor in yourself. Sure, you dress it up with your fancy suits and your handkerchiefs. You, with your mask of civility and eloquence, you're every bit the abomination I am. Or worse. Go on, Elijah. Go on. Use the white oak stake."

The vampire threw the stake far away from them all and turned back to glare at the hybrid, "I'm not so cowardly that I have to kill you, Niklaus, but if I have to make you suffer to protect Rebekah, that is what I will do."

Anna clenched her hands ready to use magic if Klaus pushed her to do it.

The hybrid smirked, "You see? I knew you couldn't do it. You still cling to the hope that I can be redeemed, and if the bastard can be saved, then maybe there's hope for you." he sped and gripped Papa Tunde's knife and plunged it into Elijah's chest. "There, now you know how it feels."

Anna yelled in pain as she staggered back with a hand on her chest. Klaus glanced over at her looking alarmed.

Elijah withered on the ground as the heretic grit her teeth not being able to bare the pain in her heart. What the fuck did that knife have?

Rebekah appeared with the white oak stake in hand as she glared at Klaus. "That was supposed to be my line." she lifted up the stake, "Now, I have this. So I decide who lives and who dies. I'm taking out that blade."

Anna collapsed against a tombstone, she couldn't take it. The pain was something she had never endured before, the heretic could barely keep track of her surroundings.

"You'll have to kill me first, and now you hold the means to do so. Why not finish what you started a century ago?" Klaus quirked up a brow. Rebekah shook her head, "I did not want you dead. I wanted you to run."

"Liar! You wanted revenge."

"You drove me to betray you, and now you want to twist it and make it worse so you can justify killing me instead of accepting your own fault? All I did was love your friend! You could've been happy for us, but instead, in your paranoia, you feared losing us both. And, because of that, you did. There is no one else to blame, Nik. Only you." Rebekah held a saddened expression.

Klaus glanced around taking in their surroundings, "Where is Marcel now, hmm? I thought he loved you, and yet he left you trapped in here with me."

The hybrid stood next to Elijah preventing the blonde from removing Papa Tunde's knife from his chest but Klaus had an itch to check on Anna who for no reason was groaning in pain behind him.

But instead he focused on his sister, "You against me. It's hardly a fair fight, is it? I mean, perhaps, if Marcel were here, you'd stand a chance, but I expect he's already found another girl. No doubt younger and prettier."

Rebekah narrowed her eyes, "You take joy in other people's pain, and then you wonder why I hate you."

"Yes, and that hatred led you to do what you did. Admit the truth. Admit you wanted me dead."

The vampire gaped at him, "I wanted you to run, that is all, despite your delusions."

Klaus crossed his arms over his chest, "Elijah lies suffering along with Anna for some unknown reason, and I will allow you to help him. All you have to do is admit it."

Rebekah scoffed, "You're insane."

"Yes! Yes! I am a vicious, heartless monster, and so you summoned Mikael to kill me. Admit it."

"It's not true."

"You know what you did. Admit it." Klaus pressed the vampire to admit to something she did not have an intention of doing.

"I didn't."

"You wanted me dead! Admit it."

Rebekah finally snapped, "Maybe I did."

Klaus' face went slack with shock that his sister had actually admitted it. The hybrid angrily lunged at her and impaled the vampire with the white oak stake.

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Rebekah awakened with a gasp and quickly glanced around her. Her gaze landed on Klaus who sat upon a tomb, with the white oak stake in his grasp.

"You missed my heart." the blonde breathlessly spoke.

"Perhaps I did. Or, perhaps I never meant to kill you. Perhaps I just wanted you to feel a fraction the fear I felt when Father came for me." Klaus stared at the ground as the words left his mouth.

"Do you yourself know the truth?"

Klaus looked up to meet his sisters gaze, "I know this. You accuse me of being evil, and yet you are the one who conspired to kill your own blood."

Rebekah pursed her lips, " You made our lives a living hell. You tormented us." The hybrid felt his lips turn down in a frown, "I love my family. You, Elijah. I loved all of you." he stood from the tomb and began to walk towards the vampire, "I know I can be difficult, but I did not make myself this way. It was Mikael who ruined me."

Rebekah's demeanor changed as she quietly whispered, "He ruined me, too. That's what you forget. Centuries later, each of us is broken. You with your anger and paranoia, me with my fear of abandonment. And poor Elijah." She looks over at where he's laying with Papa Tunde's blade still stuck in his chest, Anna sat only a couple of feet from him scratching at her chest from unbearable strain in her heart. Rebekah frowned as she remembered Elijah saying he had not made a move on the heretic in fear for offending his brother.

"He dedicates himself to everyone but himself. We are the strongest creatures in the world, and yet, we are damaged beyond repair. We live without hope, but we will never die. We are the definition of 'cursed.' Always and forever."

Klaus stares at his youngest sister for a moment longer, his feet shuffled as he made his way over to Elijah and plunged his hand into the vampire's chest and ripped Tunde's knife out.

"Now we're even."

Annalise slumped back as she finally felt the pain subdue. The heretic let out a loud groan catching the attention of Klaus and Rebekah.

The brunette suspiciously eyed the two who were merely sitting quietly.

"What the bloody hell happened?"

Klaus raised a brow, "I should be the one asking you that. Why did you collapse in pain that way?"

Anna's lip parted, no one knew about her and Elijah being soulmates yet. The heretic didn't want to tell them without having Elijah on board with it but he was currently knocked out.

"Celeste had placed a pain infliction spell on me so that when Elijah got hurt it would activate." Annalise lied through her teeth.

"That witch bitch. I'm glad Elijah killed her." Rebekah muttered. Anna's eyes widened, "She's dead?"

Klaus glanced at the heretic, "Her dead body lies in a tomb somewhere."

Silence fell over the three once again and Anna simply played around with a few rocks she found around herself.

"We're still trapped in here. Whatever you're going to do to me, do it now." Rebekah broke the eerie silence.

Annalise's head perked up, "What do you mean trapped?" Rebekah furrowed her brows, "Celeste placed a barrier spell so that an original could enter but not leave. It falls when it's moon rise."

The heretic gaped at the two Mikaelson's, "No one thought of telling me? I thought we were sitting here in silence as some sort of quiet therapy session."

Klaus finally let out a hearty laugh, "I've always said you're good company to have around." the hybrid smiled at her. Anna returned the gesture and glanced at the sky above them.

A gust of wind suddenly blew signaling the barrier had fallen.

Klaus looked over at the blonde, "The barrier is down."

Rebekah sighed, "I know you hate me, but what's done is done."

Klaus shook his head in disagreement, "What's done is never done. It remains within us, a story we tell ourselves so we know who we are. Vicious father, a bastard son, and the sister who betrayed him. Perhaps it's time for a new story. What is it you want, Rebekah?"

The vampire glanced down at the ground, "Same things that I've wanted since I was a child. I want a home. I want a family. I want someone to love me, and I want to live."

"Then go. Go far away and never come back. We are far too damaged to remain together, less a family now than a volatile mix of ingredients. New Orleans will be mine. I will raise my child here in the city you took from me. No doubt, Elijah will choose to stay, but you? Sister, you are free." Klaus painfully smiled at his little sister. No matter what she did, he would always love her.

Rebekah looked at the hybrid in shock, she stared at him for a moment longer before turning and exiting the cemetery.

One thousand years, and Rebekah Mikaelson finally parted from her beloved brother.

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a/n:

this took me longer than expected to write