Savior | Klaus Mikaelson

Chapter 87

No one was keen on dying.

"We have one bone, of the four," said Elijah dejectedly, after the exchange with Tyler and Alaric had gone terribly wrong. "The mandible. The Hollow acquired Papa Tunde's blade, the phalange, and the femur. We are at a severe disadvantage."

"Not to mention," said Maddy gravely, "that The Hollow is now in Sofya's body. She's a five-hundred-year-old vampire and somehow The Hollow can still do magic while inside of her. That doesn't bode well."

"If it comes down to it," said Kol simply, "we kill her."

Rebekah shook her head. "Did you learn nothing from our mother? I imagine The Hollow has a back-up ready. And even if she does not..." she glanced at Maddy, who was showing very clearly on her face that she didn't want Sofya to get hurt, "she helped us, even slightly. Perhaps, if we remove The Hollow from her, she can give us information. She may have seen into The Hollow's mind, considering The Hollow fully possessed her, rather than giving hallucinations as she did to Nik and Elijah. Sofya could be our only hope."

"I will see what can be done," said Elijah. "I will contact some of The Strix members, to see what we can find out about her. Even if she does not have any family," he shot Klaus a look, "there might be a friend out there that could come and ensure she is alright when we remove that spirit from her. That person could also encourage her to fight it off."

"You're leaving the house again?" said Elena with a huff as he made to walk out.

"I will be back in the evening," he promised, coming to kiss her cheek. "I must speak with my sirelings, and it is unwise to do so near the house, in case they wish to meet suddenly. Many still linger near Louisiana, given the Davilla Estate was their home for a while. They will not harm me, as it would mean they'd perish."

Elena just managed a weak smile, kissing him back before he left.

The day was quiet. Everyone was either cleaning or resting, or taking turns supervising the two little girls that were running around all over the place. At lunchtime, Klaus surprised the two of them by compelling a nearby bakery to bring trays upon trays of beignets and other types of tarts for them to try.

Maddy smiled to herself as she watched them interact. Klaus, with Hope sitting on one of his legs, while Anita sat on the other.

"You cannot call yourselves connoisseurs if you have not sampled each and every one of these," he said, encouraging them to try a little of each one. "Did I ever tell you the story of my first beignet?" The girls shook their heads. "No? You are in for a treat. Long ago, three French nuns came to New Orleans looking for a fresh start. And they came here. They marched right into our courtyard, and they presented Elijah and me with these rather lumpy-looking, sugar-coated pastries. Well, needless to say, we were entranced. We set them up quite well."

"Why did they come to you?" asked Hope curiously.

"Because there was a time when we were regarded as royalty. You might even go so far as to say I was king, which would make you both princesses."

"Why wasn't my dad the king?" said Anita, scrunching up her nose. "Isn't he the big brother?"

"We were both kings," said Klaus, smiling at her. "Many even regarded your Aunt Rebekah as a queen."

"She is a queen," said Anita, giggling as Hope began to eat another beignet. She pointed at Hope's face, making note of all the powder around her mouth.

"You got it in your hair," replied Hope, gesturing to where a small bit of a beignet was stuck in her braid.

Anita made a face, but Klaus easily flicked it off for her. "Uncle Nik," said Anita, "do you know how to make beignets?"