Rue | Klaus Mikaelson

Chapter 21

The next few weeks were devoted to the de-linking.

Tristan promised The Strix would stay away from them, but that he wanted the spell done soon. Marcel informed them that The Strix had apparently provided Davina with an object called a 'Hand of Glory' that was allowing her to communicate with Kol to do work on her end. Freya was doing her own research, and Vincent was coming by often to consult with her.

Their plan was for Freya and Vincent to perform the main spell, while Davina would be waiting for the spell to end so she could gather the released magic (dubbed a Nexus Vorti) to resurrect Kol and Finn using the two urns of ashes Klaus had saved.

Ibeth met with Tristan routinely to exchange progress notes. Lucien was usually present at a distance while the two spoke at a café out in public, away from The Strix. Tristan provided her with the contact information for the prophetic witch of his, a young girl named Ariane who was already bonding with Davina, which seemed like a good thing.

Klaus was coming into the Bayou much more often, following her home whenever she drove back from her meetings. He was starting to get closer, often being spotted by Luna and Angel, who would rush over and ask him all sorts of questions. Ibeth would remain at a distance, accompanied by Nick or Jackson, watching and ensuring Klaus wasn't being rude to them. Though he was probably annoyed, he never shooed them away.

"Your bump is starting to grow," noticed her grandmother when she saw her running her hands over her belly while watching Luna and Angel show Klaus different assignments they'd received good grades on.

"Barely," she said. "But it does feel a bit more firm now. Still very tiny."

She noticed how distracted Ibeth was. Angel was sitting on Klaus's leg, going on and on about how he was starting to get better at math. "Want me to tell him to leave? I'll take my shotgun and—"

"No, Grandma Mary," she said, shaking her head. "It's just weird. I didn't think he'd actually make an effort to come and check on me. I figured he'd be happy to have me out of his hair. I imagined he wouldn't care about me or the baby and that he'd leave well enough alone. Instead he's here all the time. Which also frustrates me because I don't want my baby to know him... I don't want them to have that example because it isn't a good one. Still, though, it just drives me crazy on both ends. I wish things never got this bad in the first place."

"I hate to be the one to tell you this, Ibeth, but you never should have married him."

"And what of Jackson and Hayley? Forced marriage wasn't going to do them any good. Jackson would be happy at first but not for long once he realized Hayley would never love him the way she loves Elijah. Then she wouldn't be happy being divided and Klaus would still be tormenting them... he would have hated it if Jackson became a stepfather to Hope. Klaus might have killed him. And it's just not fair to them. I chose to help my Pack and look at them. Despite everything, they are thriving. They are happy and confident in a way they weren't before."

"But you're suffering," noted her grandmother. "Does that make it worth it?"

"I'd do anything for my Pack, you know that."

"But you shouldn't have to, honey. Not when it costs you this much. You've got a baby on the way and you're too stressed. It ain't good for you."

"I'll be okay as long as Klaus keeps doing what he's doing right now. I can tolerate him watching me as long as he doesn't yell at me for every little thing. As soon as The Strix are gone... I have a feeling that everything will be okay."

Things became 'not okay' pretty quickly.

"I have bad news," said Tristan at their next meeting. "Now this is not something I've allowed my vampires to become aware of. Davina learned of it from Kol and came to Marcel directly. He brought the issue to me, as he knew I would meet with you and inform you of it. The spell... it is nearly complete. Though, it lacks a key ingredient. A heart outside the link of the original spell that turned Esther's children into vampires. In all of history, the only vampire sired outside of that link is Hayley Marshall, as she was turned by the blood of her child, who was born a vampire rather than made one. We require Hayley's heart for this spell."