The Red Queen | Lucien Castle & Tristan de Martel

Chapter 3

Rebekah braided her hair.

Not like Vivalda had had a choice. Deciding to stay for the ball just so Finn wouldn't feel alone was a big enough sacrifice on her part. All she'd asked was that they let her wear whatever she wanted.

She'd been halfway through a braid when Rebekah yanked her out of her chair and insisted she do her hair. Vivalda was sure her sister was trying to make up for something, perhaps her attitude when they'd awoken, perhaps because it'd been way too long since the Mikaelson sisters had a civil conversation.

"I don't see why you'd like it half up and half down," said Rebekah, tilting her head to examine Vivalda's dress, a long black evening gown with a halter top and an entirely exposed back. "The point is for them to see that the dress exposes your shoulders."

Vivalda made a face. "You're the one who made it seem like she'd die if I didn't let you experiment your hairdo on me."

"Hey! Don't pin the blame on me!"

"Girls," warned Esther. "You both look beautiful."

That comment only made Vivalda want to rip the dress off and change into the fancy pajamas Elijah had left on her bed, with every intention of flipping off her mother in all the possible ways. The only reason she didn't was because she already had plans.

She was bored now and she'd be bored in three hours. She'd sent the same message to Tristan and Lucien: 'Let me know if you by chance will be free tonight for a drink near Mystic Falls. I'll be ditching a party.'

An unknown number had texted, 'It's a date. Whenever you're free, downtown Charlottesville: The Underground Bar.'

She wondered which of them she'd be seeing.

"Bekah?" called Kol, adjusting his cuffs as a tailor adjusted the back of his suit. "Viv? Tell me how handsome I look."

Vivalda smirked. "If I had a naked mole rat in the palm of my hand—"

"You're no help. Bex?"

"Oh, Kol, you know we can't be compelled," sighed Rebekah.

Finn smirked at them from his own corner with the tailor, expression dropping as Klaus stormed in.

"You went after Elena?" he sneered at Rebekah. "What is wrong with you?!"

Rebekah let go of Vivalda's braid. "Here we go."

Klaus didn't like how unbothered she looked. "Do you want another dagger in your heart?"

"Again with the dagger threats?" said Kol, glaring through the mirror. "Don't you have any other tricks?"

Klaus rolled his eyes. "Oh, go back to staring at yourself."

"And who are you, my father?"

"No, Kol, but you're in my house."

"The house that was supposed to be for all of us," whispered Vivalda, throwing her hands up.

Kol was already challenging Klaus, "Then perhaps we should go outside."

"Oh, please," said Vivalda, flopping into Rebekah's legs and letting out a fake snore. "If we wanted to watch two wrinkled old women fight, we wouldn't be here. You—" she pointed at Kol, "need to do something about that rat's nest on your head. And you—" she flipped Klaus off, "need to stop looking at Elena Gilbert and seeing Tatia. Screw that little doppelgänger bitch! An eye for an eye. She stabbed our sister in the back and was involved in a plan to try and kill you. Even I have the decency to not care about her. Elena can face the consequences of her own actions."