Chapter Text
Chapter 24
Hope hid behind a rancid dumpster hoping that the stench of the trash would hide her smell from the ravenous wolves slowly making their way down the street. She'd been running through the city looking for her family for half an hour. She was careful to avoid every wolf she came across but when the sun went down it became harder to keep out of wind of their heightened werewolf sense of smell.
She jumped at the sudden appearance of Marcel by her side. He shushed the tiny squeak she let out and peeked around the side of the dumpster at the group of four-legged beasts marching by.
"I think they're gone," he whispered. "C'mon, let's go."
He grabbed her by the arm and prepared to scale the wall up to the roof when Hope yanked her arm out of his hand.
"No," she whispered harshly. "I have to find my parents."
"Your parents are fine. They're out here looking for you. The sooner you get back to the Compound the sooner you can see them again."
Knowing that her parents were safe made Hope willing to follow her brother back to the Compound. She stood up ready to go when they both heard the sound of fighting happening down the street.
"The wolves have someone," said Hope.
Marcel sighed. New Orleans was still his city. If someone was in trouble, he needed to help them. "Stay here," he ordered Hope. "I'll be right back."
"I can help."
"I don't need your help. I need to get you back to the Compound unharmed."
"I'm a Mikaelson," Hope said as she ran down the alley towards the street. "I'll be fine."
"Hope," Marcel ran after Hope as the girl vamped over to the group of wolves.
Josh was surrounded by five blood-thirsty wolves with his fangs bared prepared to fight his way out when Hope and Marcel suddenly sped behind the pack.
"Josh," Marcel exclaimed.
With a relieved smile, Josh said, "Marcel. You found the girl, great. Now we can get off the streets before someone gets mauled by one of these roaming wolf packs. Speaking of wolf packs...do you think you could, uh, help me out here? I'm sorta outnumbered."
Marcel turned to Hope and said, "Stay out of this. We can handle it."
"I can help."
"We don't need your help,"
The wolves used their distracted state to their advantage and all swiftly attacked. Hope raised her hands at one of the wolves and muttered a spell under her breath. The wolf howled in pain as its bones were crushed by Hope's magic but another wolf quickly tackled her down to the ground ending her spell.
Marcel sped over to the four-legged beast on top of his sister and snatched it off Hope before it was about to sink its teeth into her. He wrapped his arms around the wolf's neck and crushed it. The other wolves knew then that Marcel was the toughest threat of the three vampires so the remaining three wolves all attacked him at once. The giant beasts launched themselves at Marcel, taking him down effortlessly.
Marcel grabbed one of the wolves by its throat and held its venomous teeth an arm's length away from him. The other two wolves spotted his vulnerable areas and attacked, one latched on to Marcel's leg, and the other bit into his side. Josh vamped over to Marcel and grabbed the wolf locked on to his leg and snatched it away. Hope promptly did the same to the wolf biting into Marcel's belly with her magic. The wolves went flying in different directions but not before lacing Marcel with their poison.
Marcel snapped the neck of the wolf in his hands and vaulted back to his feet. He could feel the poison coursing inside him but it wasn't bad enough to slow him down yet.
"Hope, get out of here," Marcel barked.
"No," the girl screamed back. "There's only two left now. You might as well-" Hope released a heartfelt screech as teeth pierced into her leg. The wolf's who's bones she'd previously crushed had healed enough to grab the girl by the leg and swing her body into a nearby lamppost.
"No!"
Marcel ran over to the wolf and picked it up by the big tuft of fur under its neck before punching his fist into its chest and ripping out its heart. Dropping the dead wolf to the ground, he ran over to Hope. She laid unconscious beneath the dim light of the now broken lamppost.
"C'mon, now," Marcel gave Hope a gentle shake trying to wake her up but her eyes didn't open. "You're okay," he said for his own benefit. "You're gonna be fine. It's just...a little bump on the head. You're a Mikaelson. You're gonna be fine."
The other two wolves began to move again. Josh ran over to one, tackling it to the ground and ripping its heart out but before he could get to the second, it was upon Marcel.
Marcel was too focused on his injured sister to notice the wolf coming from behind him until it was too late. The wolf bit into the arm Marcel had Hope's head lying against and in a fit of rage at seeing the beast so close to his little sister, Marcel laid Hope back on the ground and stood up, wrapping his arms around the wolf's neck and with one fell swoop he ripped its head off.
"Marcel," Josh ran over to the injured siblings. "God, man, you are...covered in wolf bites."
"I'm alright," Marcel said as he bent back down to pick Hope up in his arms. "Let's get off the streets before any more wolves show up."
"Shouldn't you drink from her first," Josh insisted. "I mean, to cure your bites?"
Marcel stared down to Hope's soft face. She seemed so much more innocent and defenseless when she was asleep.
"No," Marcel muttered. "I can't take her blood without her permission. Let's just get back to the Compound."
Josh seemed skeptical about letting Marcel go so long with so much wolf venom streaming through his veins but he knew Marcel knew his limits. If Marcel thought he was fine then so did Josh.
-M-
Freya was ecstatic to see Hope in Marcel's arms as the trio came speeding to the Compound entrance. She let down the barrier just long enough for Marcel and Josh to speed in before any more wolves showed up. Hayley's wolves were all in the courtyard surrounding them when they came in. Marcel snarled at the sight of the wolves glaring at him. He had actually hoped that more of them would've died in battle.
"Is she alright?" Freya panicked when she saw that Hope was unconscious.
Marcel walked over to the sofa sitting in the middle of the Courtyard and laid Hope's body on top. Freya's heart sped anxiously when she saw all the blood on Hope's clothes. She began nervously checking Hope's bodies for wounds but luckily her wolf bite had already healed. Seeing that her wolf bite healed, Marcel let out a breath of relief. If the wolf bite healed then perhaps whatever head injury she sustained from the lamppost had healed as well.
"We got into it with a few of the wolves," Marcel admitted. "She hit her head. Could you...run a diagnostic spell on her to make sure she's alright?"
Freya was surprised by the worry she saw on Marcel's face as he stared down at Hope.
She put the thought of Marcel's feelings for his family being true out of her mind and placed her hands above Hope's body. As she ran the spell, she noticed Marcel holding Hope's hand and further up she noticed the wolf bite on Marcel's arm.
"She's fine," Freya breathed once the spell was done. "But you're not." She grabbed her phone from her pocket and started dialing Klaus's number. "You need Klaus's blood and since you saved my niece I'm gonna get him back here so you can get it."
Marcel stayed silently holding Hope's hand as Freya called Klaus.
"So do you think Klaus is going to offer me some sort of reward," Josh joked.
Marcel looked away from Hope to Josh and asked, "A reward for what?"
"I'm the hero who fought off the wolves and brought his kids back safe and sound."
"If I remember correctly, we saved you."
"Yeah but he don't have to know that." As Marcel let out a hearty chuckle, Josh walked closer to him. His face suddenly becoming somber, Josh said, "Listen, man...about Kol-"
"We don't have to talk about Kol," Marcel said coldly. He was irritated at Josh for even bringing the subject up.
"We do," Josh insisted. "I'm sorry about...whatever Kol did to you. If I knew about it I never would've tried to be his friend in the first place. And, uh, I've been thinking about it and...you're my closest friend, my best friend now that Davina's gone, and if you don't want me being friends with Kol anymore then I won't."
Marcel wanted to say yes immediately but he took a second to think about it.
"We're not middle school kids," he grunted. "You can be friends with whoever you want."
"I don't wanna be friends with anyone you're...uncomfortable with. It's you and me, y'know." Josh glanced over to the myriad of wolves surround them. They all seemed focused on their own conversations so he felt safe in whispering, "If you ever decide to revolt against the Mikaelsons again, I'm on your side 100%."
Marcel looked at Freya. She didn't seem to hear Josh's muttering and he was glad she didn't. The way she felt about Marcel he was sure she'd gladly lead the pitchforked mob to get him out of town or dead.
"There won't be a revolt," Marcel whispered harshly. "You keep your head down and you stay out of the Mikaelsons hair. Eventually, Klaus is going to get tired of New Orleans and when he leaves we can take over again."
"But that could be years or...or centuries."
Marcel knew Josh was right. It was selfish of him to think it was okay to want to be with his family when his remaining men were scattered about Louisiana hiding from that very family that had tried to kill them.
"At least let me start making vampires again," Josh begged. "We wouldn't have had this werewolf problem if we had more vampires."
For a moment Marcel was silent. Then he said, "Y'know, there has been a terrible lack of vampires in this town lately. Starting tomorrow, let's fix that. But keep it under wraps. Don't let the Mikaelsons get wind of it. Not even your good friend Kol."
Josh nodded vigorously. He was ready to get back to his old way of life.
"M-Marcel," Hope murmured.
Marcel turned back to his sister and smiled warmly down at her. "'Bout time you woke up. I was beginning to worry."
Hope quickly sat up looking around afraid that there were wolves still nearby. She seemed relieved when she recognized the Courtyard of her home.
"What happened," she asked.
"You got attacked by one of the wolves but you're okay now. I brought you back to the Compound."
"And your parents are on their way," Freya announced as she hung up from the last Mikaelson she called to inform them of Hope's safe return.
Within five minutes the Originals were at the Compound. Freya lowered the barrier and Hayley vamped over to Hope, hugging her daughter tight in her arms.
"Thank god," Hayley said kissing Hope's forehead. "I thought something was going to happen to you out there." Forcing Hope to look her in the eyes, Hayley began to scold, "What were you thinking leaving the Compound like that."
"I was looking for you and daddy," Hope answered softly, hoping to garner her mother's sympathy. "I-I thought something had happened."
"Marcel," Klaus's voice boomed. "What happened to you?"
Looking down at the wounds on his body, Marcel answered, "On my way back to the Compound I was attacked by some wolves. That's when I found Hope and Josh."
Walking over to Marcel, Klaus bared his fangs and bit into his own wrist. "This is exactly what I was afraid of," Klaus said holding his wrist out in front of Marcel.
Marcel didn't immediately take Klaus's wrist as he expected he would.
"Klaus, I survived," said Marcel. "I fought and I won. You've got to stop worrying about me like I'm some helpless kid. I'm a fighter, right? Isn't that what you always said? I can't be a fighter if you're always trying to protect me from the blows."
Klaus put his arms to the side and stared at Marcel. In his eyes, Klaus could still see his little boy but the rest of him was strong. Even as he stood there suffering from the burn of the wolf venom in his body, he showed no weakness.
"I only mean to keep you safe," Klaus muttered.
"Just like you tried to do a hundred years ago and I went to fight a war in another country just to be free from your tyranny."
Klaus thought back to the days Marcel was gone during the war. Every day he was afraid somehow some shard of wood would somehow unintentionally find its way into Marcel's chest or that Marcel would run into an older, stronger vampire in Klaus's absence and be killed. The months that Marcel was gone seemed to Klaus to last centuries.
"Fine," Klaus relented. "I don't want you going anywhere so...I'm going to do my best to let you make decisions regarding your own safety." Hold his wrist back out to Marcel, Klaus said, "Just promise me...you'll find me if you need me."
With a content smirk, Marcel made a new bite in Klaus's healed wrist and drank from his vein.
"I can't believe you disobeyed us again," Hayley continued to scold Hope. "How many times do I have to tell you not to go running off into dangerous situations. You could've been hurt! Or killed!"
As Marcel pulled away from Klaus's wrist he thought it better not to tell Hayley about Hope's little incident with the wolves. His sister was in enough trouble already.
"She was unconscious when she got here," Freya tattled earning an intense glare from Marcel. "Marcel had to carry her in."
"It was just a bump on the head," Hope quickly defended. "One of the wolves-"
"Attacked you," Hayley spat. "That's what happens when you run in the middle of a war zone!"
"M-mom, I'm sorry," Hope stammered. Hayley's eyes exuded fear and anger and Hope didn't know which one of those she was more worried about. "I was just trying to help."
"We don't need your help, sweetheart," Klaus started to lecture as well. "You are just a little girl. You being out in the middle of a war would only put more of a burden on us."
Tears began to weld in Hope's eyes as both of her parents began to scold her. Usually, it was one or the other and most of the time Klaus was on her side. They'd never both been equally as mad at her.
Her shame of being singled out was soon replaced with anger.
"I helped Marcel fight those wolves," she asserted. "Tell them, Marcel."
Klaus's attention turned to Marcel and Marcel stood silent. He wanted to defend his sister but Hope was a burden on the battlefield just like Klaus said. He and Josh could've taken those wolves out a lot faster and with few to no bites at all if he wasn't so worried about protecting Hope.
"She...helped," Marcel finally said.
"It doesn't matter, Hope," Elijah bit. "We told you to stay at the Compound. If Marcel wasn't out looking for you in the first place, he wouldn't have needed your help. You are thirteen-years-old, you don't get to decide when to put your life in danger."
Frustrations boiling over, Hope jumped from the sofa and stood in front of her family with her arms crossed over her chest and a surly frown on her face. "I'm not just some little kid," she stamped. "I am a Tribrid! I'm a witch, a werewolf, and a vampire and I can take care of myself in battle."
"That's it," Hayley threw up her hands, giving up on trying to reason with her daughter. "I've had enough."
Hayley suddenly vamped away leaving everyone to wonder where she went. Moments later she reappeared in front of Hope holding the Brush.
"No, mommy, please," Hope muttered, taking slow steps away from her mother.
Hayley quickly grabbed the girl by the arm and sat back on the sofa, pulling Hope over her lap as she did. She wasted no time in raining down harsh stinging smacks to the seat of Hope's pants. Hope bit her lip trying to keep from crying out but the more Hayley tenderized her bottom with the brush the worse each smack felt. The moment she let a tear fall from her eyes she fell into sobs.
Marcel felt a sudden surge of secondhand embarrassment at watching his sister being punished in front of every inhabitant of the Compound. He wished he could step in and stop it but Hayley was her mother and it was not his place to try to stop her. He looked to Klaus, hoping he would step in but Klaus stared across at the Compound entrance, refusing to even look at the site.
When Hayley finally stopped Hope's face was covered in a layer of tears, snot, and slobber. As her mom sat her back to her feet, Hope vigorously wiped her face with the sleeves of her shirt but the tears kept coming so eventually she gave up on trying to wipe the tears away and just stood with her arms covering her face to hide her shame.
"Look at me," Hayley ordered, pulling Hope's arms away from her face and forcing her to look her in the eyes. Tears of her own burned Hayley's as she saw her daughter so broken and ashamed but she successfully kept them at bay. "You do not get to put yourself in danger ever again, do you understand me?"
"Y-yes, ma'am," Hope wept, fighting the urge to cover her face again from all the leering eyes.
"You are a child, Hope. You are not a soldier and you are not anyone's protector. We are yours but we can't protect you if you keep disobeying us."
"Yes, ma'am."
Feeling that her daughter had finally accepted the lesson she was trying to instill, Hayley reached out to hug her but Hope sped away from her to Marcel, burying her face against her brother's chest as she sobbed.
Hayley felt a rush of guilt flooding her but he quickly pushed it aside.
"Marcel, could you...take her to her room, please," Hayley asked.
Marcel lifted Hope in his arms and moved quickly to get her out of the sight of all the spectators who'd just witnessed her punishment.
"You did the right thing," Elijah muttered to Hayley, seeing the shame on the woman's face. "She was getting out of control. Sometimes a little embarrassment is needed to drive the point home. I should know, I've embarrassed my share of Mikaelsons over the years."
"She hates me," Hayley muttered.
"I am far from an expert," Freya said, "But I hear it's common for teenagers to hate their parents every once and a while. So...I guess, congratulations? She's normal."
"It could've been worse," Kol spoke. "Her friends could've been here...or she could've had it bare...or you could've made her stand in the corner afterward like someone...I once knew used to do to further the humiliation of his victims."
Elijah smirked at Kol's reference of him.
"Either way, it's over. Nothing you can do about it now, love, so you might as well be proud of your decision."
"Those wolves could've ripped her apart," Rebekah added. "But she seems to blind to the fact of her own mortality, you had no choice but to give her something to fear and as someone who's lived many teenage lives, I can assure you a bit of humiliation is the best way to get through to a teenage girl."
"They're right," Klaus finally spoke. "As much as it pains me to say, perhaps the fear of public humiliation is exactly what Hope needs to keep her from getting into more trouble."
Hayley felt comforted by the Mikaelsons all commending her choice to punish Hope publically. She knew Hope was going to be angry about it for days to come but she reminded herself that she was her mother, not her friend. It wasn't her job to be liked.
"Now then," Klaus said confidently. "About these wolves that currently threaten our city. We need more soldiers so, Freya, I need you to talk to Vincent. Tell him that any witch in his Sanctuary that will fight the wolves with us gets full immunity for their crimes and can return to their lives in the Quarter after the war is done."
Suddenly excited, Josh asked, "What about the vampires? I can convince some of them to fight if-"
"Excuse me," Klaus quickly cut him off, glaring at Josh as if he didn't belong. "But, what are you doing here?"
"I...I'm, uh," Josh looked over to Kol but as always, the Original seemed ashamed to look at him. "I came to help Marcel, uh, fight the werewolves."
"Well Marcel is safe, he doesn't need your help, so you may go."
"But...the wolves..."
Klaus smirked, not caring whether Travis's wolves ripped Josh apart or not. He knew Marcel would grieve over his friend's death but compared to Klaus, Marcel was still young. He had plenty of years to make new friends and grieve over each of their unfortunate, yet inevitable, deaths.
"Then you'd better be quick," Klaus mocked. "Don't let them catch you."
"Klaus," Elijah said warningly. "He's Marcel's friend."
"He's just a traitor in my eyes and I don't want him around while I'm making military decisions."
"You're being paranoid," Kol grunted. "What does he care how we fight the wolves? He wants them gone just as much as we do."
Klaus glared at Kol in disbelief. His brother had always been a proponent of violence so for him to take up for this strange vampire who could pose a threat to their family made Klaus even more paranoid.
"What do you care what happens to him?" Klaus growled.
Kol looked away, saying nothing. Klaus sped over to Josh and tightly grabbed him by the collar of his shirt causing Kol's eyes to widen with fear.
"Ah, so you do care about him," Klaus said. "What for? Has my traitorous brother been plotting behind my back again with the second most deceitful vampire I've ever met?"
"No one's plotting anything," Kol fervently denied. "He's just...he's my friend."
"And I'm supposed to believe that?" Klaus suddenly shoved his other hand into Josh's rib cage and grabbed his heart. "Tell me what you've been plotting with my brother or I'll kill you right here."
"Klaus, it's nothing!" Kol screamed. He never thought he'd be afraid of something happening to a vampire who wasn't his family. "He's just a friend, I swear. We're not plotting against you! I just...I just needed a friend who knew what it felt like to miss Davina and he is the only one I have. Please...don't do this."
"If you two were such close friends, why bother hiding it from me?"
"Because I know you! I knew you'd assume we were conspiring against you and I didn't want you to kill my...my friend, Klaus. Please! Let him go. We're not plotting, I swear, brother. Please."
Elijah walked over to Klaus and put a calming hand on his shoulder. "Let him go," he murmured in Klaus's ear. "Don't take this friendship away from him. He's our little brother. We should be protecting him from the grief of losing someone, not constantly adding to his pain."
Looking back at the pleading eyes of his younger brother, Klaus felt obligated to remove his hand from Josh's chest and drop him down to the hard ground.
"You are the luckiest man in the world," Klaus growled down at Josh. "You're the only vampire who isn't a Mikaelson that I'm not at liberty to kill."