08 | hybrid curse

Hope

"The blood that runs through my veins isn't human. My dad was one of the Earth's Original Vampires. My mother was a werewolf-alpha." I explained, a small, emotionless smile tugging on my lips. "My grandmother was a witch. So all of those things passed down, making me—"

"A unicorn?" Landon playfully guessed.

His words made me laugh, which was rare. Someone who is as damaged as me and has lost as much as me doesn't usually have a lot of reason to smile or laugh.

"A hybrid of three different creatures, Tribrid." I explained.

A gasp left my lips as my eyes peeled open, bringing me back to reality. I'm supposed to be used to it right now. Especially when a couple of my dreams about Landon are repetitive. I only have over a year worth of memories of him, and each one I have been dreaming about for the past two years.

I closed my eyes again and covered my face with my hands.

"Good morning, Ms. Marshall." Greeted Jarvis.

I removed my hands from my face and smiled slightly.

"Call me Andrea, Jarvis." I told him.

"Good morning, Ms. Andrea." I meant without the Miss but I doubt Jarvis would do that so I just let him be. "It's 8:47 in the morning of August 26. The weather forecast will be a bright sunny day, a perfect time for a swim at the beach. Your closet has a wide variety of swimwear you can choose from. Perhaps, you're interested?" Jarvis greeted.

In this house, I actually prefer Jarvis over Tony. But for some reason, Jarvis' greeting for today doesn't sound like him.

"Jarvis, is Tony putting words in your mouth?" I asked him while I climbed out of the bed.

"I believe so." Jarvis answered, making me shake my head and laugh a little.

"Snitch!" I heard Tony shout from the living room.

Jarvis and Tony are a duo that I never thought would entertain me. The way these two are always in sync is incredible. I wonder how he came to name him Jarvis.

"You can't drag Jarvis into your coping mechanism." I told Tony when I went down to the kitchen, seeing him pouring coffee into one mug.

"He's my AI, I can make him do whatever I want." He said. "Here."

He handed me a cup of coffee which weirded me out. Nevertheless, I accepted it. I think he's gone soft after finding out about what happened to my family. That only made me feel even more guilty.

"Why did you name him Jarvis, anyway?" I asked.

Tony grabbed another cup of coffee for himself before sitting down across from me at the table.

"Jarvis is an acronym. It stands for Just A Rather Very Intelligent System." He answered.

I shot my eyebrows upwards and tilted my head to the side as I glanced at him. I didn't know Jarvis was an acronym. Well, hence, the questions.

"Cute. Is that it?" I asked. I'm not planning on prying. I just asked to keep the conversation going because for once since I started staying here, we're not insulting each other and he's not flirting with me.

I was sipping from my coffee when, to my surprise, he actually answered my question.

"My family had a butler. Jarvis had taken care of me most of my childhood before he died." He said.

I stopped drinking when he just revealed a personal thing about his past so casually. Here I was, still hiding behind my lies about my family while he's just telling me all about his.

This is not good for my conscience. I know he's only doing this because he thought I opened up about my family. Maybe, I did. But it was still as good as a lie.

"Is that his real voice?" I asked, referring to the AI.

"Yeah. I remember it so well, I added it into his system."

I pushed my lips into a thin line and nodded before looking down on my coffee and taking a sip. I have no idea how to move on from there. I felt like the ambiance had gotten really tense, that my mind is currently incapable of generating a new topic for a conversation.

"How about that beach?" I offered. I mean, we've been training non-stop every morning. It'd be nice to have a change of pace at least or now.

He snapped his eyes towards me with a suspicious look.

"You're messing with me." He guessed.

I rolled my eyes. "If you don't want to—"

"No, I want to!" Tony suddenly jumped from his seat. "You've had me training every morning. I deserve this."

I could only laugh as he was about to exit the kitchen. Before he could though, he looked back at me with his eyes narrowed.

"Will you be wearing one of the bikinis I bought?"

"No."

"Worth a shot."

I shook my head as he walked out of the kitchen and towards his room. I continued to enjoy my cup of coffee because later on, I'd be drinking something else. Once I finished my coffee, I stood up from my seat and went to fetch a blood bag from the fridge.

"Mr. Stark, Ms. Andrea, someone is at the door." Jarvis informed us.

"Who is it?" I heard Tony shout from his room.

"My facial recognition software is not picking up any information about him. Much like when Ms. Andrea first arrived."

Tony scoffed. "What, we have another weirdo?" He joked.

While opening the blood bag, I went to the living room to see what the fuss was all about. My eyes landed on the television where it showed the surveillance camera at the front door. I nearly dropped the blood when my gaze met the familiar being that is Klaus Mikaelson.

I felt like air was kicked out of my lungs as I sped towards Tony's room. His bedroom door was unlocked. I didn't have to break the knob before I could enter his room.

"What the—" I covered his mouth with my hand as I pushed him against the wall. I noticed that he was only half-decent considering he was still shirtless but I wasn't too bothered by that fact, I was bothered about my dad showing up at our front door.

My free hand lifted a finger as I pressed it against my lips, signaling for him to stay quiet. Our faces were inches apart when I slowly removed my hand from his mouth. I stared at his eyes, holding his gaze to make him feel how serious I was about him shutting up.

When he finally got the message, I took a step back. Looking around the room, I was searching for something that could make a noise to hide our voices. I saw a stereo in one of the shelves and flicked my hand, turning it on.

The stereo blasted a loud music that almost destroyed my eardrums.

"What is that?!" I slightly shouted as I leaned in.

"What do you mean, what is that? It's AC/DC!"

I have no idea what that is, and I have no time to find out.

"Come on." I said, grabbing his wrist but he yanked it away.

"At least, let me put on a shirt first, woman." He complained.

I rolled my eyes before letting him do just that. He turned around to grab a shirt from his closet and I watched as the muscles on his back were slightly flexed when he lifted his arms to slip on his shirt.

I swallowed hard and looked away, I'm not supposed to see this.

"What's happening?" He asked when he was finally done.

I grabbed his wrist and pulled him down to the living room. We stopped before the television where Klaus was seen still stood at the front door through the surveillance camera.

All signs of humor were wiped off Tony's face when I glanced at him.

"How the hell did he find us?" He asked me.

"I have no idea." I said. "But the house has a boundary spell and he's a vampire. He can't come in without your invitation. Where's your watch?"

"Upstairs."

"Get it."

Tony ran out of the living room and up the stairs, leaving me in the living room to look at the actual front door where my dad stood on the other side of it. Just when I thought that his mere presence was enough to send me over the edge, I heard his voice.

"I know you're in there, little witch." His British voice held no care like it usually does when he talks to me.

When he talked to me before, it was like every word went through various checkpoints in his head before he let them out of his mouth. And his tone was careful, it made me feel safe. The mere sound of his voice was like a strong pair of arms embracing and shielding me from the world that has never welcomed me. His voice was enough for me to know that he loved me.

But that man at the front door, had devilry riding on every word he let out. His tone made the hair on the back of my neck and on my arms stand up in fear. That man at the front door is not my dad. At least, not yet.

"I'm not here to hurt you or your boyfriend." Klaus added. "I'm here to make an offer."

I felt Tony's presence return and I whipped my head towards his direction to see him walking towards me while clasping his vervain watch on.

"What is he saying?" Tony asked me.

"He said he's not here to hurt us." I answered.

Tony looked at me in confusion. "Then why is he here?"

I balled my hands into fists. I don't know if I should even say this of him because he might consider it. And the last thing I want is to be involved with my dad in whatever mess he's got himself into at this time.

"To make an offer." I said.

Tony opened his mouth to say something as he looked towards the television, but he quickly closed it again when he looked like he's blood had run cold. I turned to look at the monitor and saw Klaus no longer standing there.

"Where is he?" Tony asked.

"Right here."

Tony and I whipped around only to be greeted by the chilling smirk tugging on the corner of Klaus's lips as he stood in front of the open door of the balcony. He can't come in. Like I said, not only is he a vampire in need of an invitation, but the house is also spelled.

But I still can't help but feel fear creeping up my neck as he stood there in front of us, his hands clasped behind his back, his head slightly tilted, and his smirk that turned into a mischievous grin.

"Would you mind turning the music down?" His voice was light but even so, it held a threat that I know Tony heard as well.

With a mere wave of my hand, the music stop, leaving the tension around us heavier than before.

"Lovely." The lack of concern in Klaus' voice made my blood run cold as it echoed in my ears. "My name's Klaus Mikaelson. Let's have a little chat."

—

"All those who have loved me have lived to regret it." He said while he cradled my little, innocent self in his arms.

"But I do know this, my littlest wolf," his deep blue eyes looked straight in mine. His gaze already tells me enough about what he feels.

"I will do right by you."

"What's your name?" He asked.

My hands remained balled into fists as I was too scared to avert my gaze away from the man in front of me. The look on his face is far from the one I have in my memories.

"Andrea." I answered.

I was secretly hoping that he would recognize the name. But who was I kidding?

"Andrea...?"

"Marshall."

He slowly nodded, his mischievous smile not faltering. "Andrea Marshall..."

The way Klaus said my name was empty. It doesn't mean anything to him. Why would it? He still has no idea who I am.

"I believe you were at the gala last night with your boyfriend." He said, not leaving his position on the balcony.

"He's not my boyfriend." I corrected. "And yes, I was."

Klaus grinned in amusement, a slight chuckle vibrating on his throat.

"I saw you, you know. The whole venue quaked because of you." Klaus said as he finally moved from his position, walking around the balcony while he spoke. "And I thought, 'this girl has a lot of magic in her that she could not even control'."

"That's an understatement." I simply said.

"I can help you. All you have to do is say yes." Klaus said while he took a folded piece of old, crisp paper from his coat. It was placed between two of his fingers as he held it up for Tony and I to see.

"What's that?" I asked.

He looked down at the paper and opened it up as he neared the doorway of the balcony. "A spell. I help you control your magic, you help me do this spell."

He stood near the doorway and let the paper pass through the threshold. I swallowed hard at the thought of going near him. As I took every step towards him, I felt my throat closing up and my hands slightly tremble.

"Go on, then. Have a look." He encouraged.

I was now standing a few feet away from him and the paper was within reach. I lifted my hand and took the paper, my fingers shaking for a moment before I calmed myself.

I flipped the paper so that the written side is facing me. I recognize this spell. I read this from one of the many books about my dad in the Stefan Salvatore Memorial Library.

"This is the spell that can break the Hybrid Curse." I said unconsciously.

When my gaze looked up at Klaus, I saw how his semi-polite smile vanish and was replaced by a suspicious scowl.

"People know that as the Sun and the Moon Curse." He said. My blood has once again run cold. I just made a huge mistake.

"I made sure that the real curse is concealed. Who are you really, and how did you know about the Hybrid Curse?" He was no longer asking for a deal. He was asking for answers.

My throat closed up. I have no idea what to say to him. My mind went blank the moment I realized I just exposed how much I know about him. And from someone he doesn't recognize, that was a good reason to kill me.

As if his gaze wasn't angry enough, his fearsome blue eyes landed on my neck and I saw how his face turned from vexed, to murderous. He vampire speed towards the door and slammed his hands on both sides of the doorframe, creating a loud noise that echoed throughout the house.

I jumped from his sudden movements that I staggered backwards, feeling my back hit something, or someone.

"Andrea." I heard Tony's voice behind me as he placed his hands on my arm and on my back, letting me know that he was still there. For a moment there, I thought it was only me and Klaus around.

"Where did you get that necklace?" Klaus asked.

My hand immediately flew to my neck, grabbing the pendant of my necklace and hiding it from him as if he hadn't taken a good look at it while I was near him.

He saw the necklace. Now, I'm really screwed.

"That's none of your business." I said, trying to sound tough but I know I failed at doing that for the tears pooling in my eyes were betraying me.

"It is my business if you have the Mikaelson Crest around your neck!" The anger in his yell and the loud slam of his hands on the doorframe made me jump.

I'm lost. I have magic. And yet I couldn't get myself to use them as I stood in front of him. I feel like a child being scolded by her parents and all I can do is sit and listen.

But this was far worse. Because he doesn't know who I am. For all I know, he could murder me and sleep like a baby afterwards.

"I'm asking you this one last time," his voice was low this time, a warning so threatening, my tears started flowing.

"Who are you?"

—

I can honestly hear Klaus's shouts. Can you?

My Klaus-obsessed mind is haunting me.