Rue | Klaus Mikaelson

Chapter 18

She burst into tears immediately.

Lucien was quick to set the cup and paper aside, reaching out to hold her shoulders. "Ibeth... Ibeth, look at me, listen to me. It will be alright. You will be alright." He dropped one hand, placing it over her stomach. "I swear to you... I will protect you and I will protect this child, as if it were my own. And though Nik is a beast, I know that he would protect it, too. All of his siblings will. You are going to be safe. I will make sure of it."

She was so tempted at that moment to just tilt her head up and attach her lips to his. The desire was so strong she almost wasn't able to stop herself. She placed her forehead on his, feeling the way he brushed his thumb repeatedly over her belly, caressing it so tenderly. Klaus had never been so gentle with his touch.

But she had to stop it from going further. She couldn't allow anything to happen. It wasn't right. "I'm sorry," she said, stepping back and turning away, trying to stop herself from crying.

"I understand," said Lucien calmly. "What will you do now?"

"I have no idea. I think I need another moment to process this..." she reached for the cup and paper, and went to discard them before heading to the living room and sinking back into the couch. "I still have that tea. I could take it if I wanted to. It would hurt but this would all be over. I won't have to worry."

"Love, I know you want this child. And though it may not be safe... it can be made safe. This can all be resolved as soon as we find out how to prevent this prophecy from happening. That will not take a year, it may only take one month... perhaps at most three. I do not know, but I don't anticipate this problem will last for the entirety of your pregnancy. You should be able to have this child if you want it. I think you would be a wonderful mother."

He sat across from her once more, continuing to look through the dark objects. "You had experience raising those other children, didn't you?" he said, picking out one object that looked like a large pin attached to a thick brown base. "And you've interacted with Hope numerous times..."

"That one," she said, tilting her head when he toyed with it in his palm. "The base is the same size as your hand."

He looked down, then rattled it. There was no sound, as if it was hollow. Still, he trusted her intuition and slammed it down on the table. The pieces of wood broke, revealing a flat medallion that fit so perfectly in the base, there was no space for it to move, which seemed to explain why it made no sound when Lucien shook it.

"Well," he said, surprised. "You and I make quite the team, don't we?" He extracted the Serratura and placed it in her hand. "Here. Take it to Elijah and Freya. This weapon has been handled."

"Thank you," she said, getting to her feet. "Truly, thank you. I-I'm not sure when I'll be able to come by again, if at all, but I may stop by soon. Just... to talk."

"Of course. And if, when Nik finds out, he dares to try and confine you anywhere, you text me immediately. If he takes your phone then... well, I don't know which room you'll be placed in, but if it has a window looking out into the street, place a cloth on it, something sticking out. And I will rescue you."

"He'll kill you..."

"I will run that risk. If he dares to try and imprison you in this condition, I will burn the house down if it means freeing you from it. I meant my promise. You and this child will be safe. If Nik does not have the decency to treat you like he should, then there is no reason to allow him any proximity to this baby."

"I don't plan to," she admitted. "I don't want him to be part of it. I already told him that. I told him I'll tell him it exists but beyond that I don't want this baby to know him. Not with the way he is now."