Chains | N.M

03 | range of power

Chapter Three
Rᴀɴɢᴇ ᴏғ Pᴏᴡᴇʀ

𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄.

The past few months had been odd, to say the least. River quickly learned that Klaus isn't as complicated as people made him out to be. To her it was quite simple how he was just over everything and everyone.

Every time the immortal would speak of someone, family or not, the passive aggressive tone to his voice never left. It was like he wanted to speak well of them, but then he remembered something that made him unable to do so.

The only person he spoke one hundred percent well on, was his daughter Hope. He didn't have many stories about her, for she was only two and a half when he was put here.

River has a niece, Remedy, that's two years older. A diluted fabrikator. She can't illude or read minds, because her mom was human. The thought that the two girls could be friends had crossed both of their minds.

Klaus liked to paint, draw. The mind room was filled with colorful canvases. Klaus would apologize for having so many or when she would accidentally trip over one that wasn't hung up, but River didn't dwell on it. Art made him happy, and she would never stop him from being happy.

River occupied her time with music. She would sit in weird positions and write songs in her notebook with one hand while the other played with her magic. Klaus had said multiple times how beautiful he thought her magic was, usually when bribing her so he could hear one of her songs. Sadly, the tactic never worked.

Every day around the same time, Marcel himself would come down and bring River food and Klaus a bit of blood. Klaus still didn't know who she knew when to pull them out, but he was grateful marcel hadn't caught on yet.

"Daily delivery," Marcel chirped, making Klaus snap his head over to him. The movement being a bit too fast, as he blood starved in this reality(?). He didn't really know what to call it.

River read the "kings" mind as he pushed a cup of blood past the barrier, about two tablespoons. "And for you, my lady," he said sarcastically, a fake bow as he handed her a plate of food.

It wasn't horrible, surprisingly. Chicken tenders and fries. Basic but not horrible.

She had expected him to leave as he usually did, but he decided to take a seat, watching River eat. She let it happen for a few moments, before she got irritated of his staring. "Why are you still here? First you hold me captive, now you watch me eat?"

He smiled, "Still an attitude. I thought that would have changed when I got a hold of this." He held up a necklace of hers, a white gem surrounded by purple stones. By the smugness in Marcel's voice, Klaus assumed that necklace meant something. He had learnt to read her expressions in their time together, and it was clear to him that she was fighting the urge to laugh.

The fact that he noticed didn't go unnoticed.

Marcel was under the impression that the gem was the only thing she could siphon from. It isn't an illusion that makes him think that, just pure stupidity.

She made eye contact with Klaus, coming to a silent agreement. "You know," she started, making Marcel think he'd got a rise out of her. "I heard a rumor you had better things to do."

Her eyes turned a pastel silver as Marcels eyes glazed over. He abruptly stood, taking the stairs out of the cellar. River turned to Klaus with a smile, and he was slightly shocked at what happened. He knew the extent of her powers, yet he had never seen her use them before. "Was that mind control?"

River shook her head, "Not really. I manipulated his memories to make him think he didn't have time to sit with us. He'll get upstairs and completely forget what he was about to do."

"And you can do that to me as well," he said slightly questioning it. It wasn't common for him to not be the strongest in the room, but ever since he moved back to New Orleans, it happened more frequently.

"Yeah, but I don't bite," she shrugged before pausing her chewing to give him a thoughtful look. "Unless you're into that, I mean you are a hot vampire. I'd be concerned if your weren't."

Klaus laughed at that, "You'd be surprised."

Once she finished her food, she put them back into the mind room. "Hey, I- I saw something in Marcel's head today," she started, a soft tone to her voice as she didn't want to upset the hybrid. "Hayley... that's Hope's mom right?"

Klaus looked up at that, his eyes hard, "Why?"

"He had some of his vampires track her down, just to make sure Hope was safe, I guess. But... I know where they are."

Where this conversation was going, Klaus knew he wasn't going to like it. But the hopeful look in her eyes made him rethink that. "Ok? Why is that good news?"

"Have you ever heard of astral projection?"