Family Above All

76. The Paragon Diamond

No pairing

Friday, April 13, 2012

On Route to New Orleans, Louisiana

"Have you ever been down here for Mardi Gras? It's a hell of a good time," Katherine gushed, looking out the tinted window of the SUV. She saw her reflection in the glass and started to toy with her dark, brown hair.

"No, and I don't want to make small talk with you," Bonnie said, wondering if she could strangle Katherine with the strange handcuffs she wore. They prevented her from doing magic, as did the flowery tea they fed her. It was lobelia, Bonnie suspected. Grams had told her that it blocked magic and you could also throw the powered form at a storm to stop it. Bonnie had chuckled at the time, thinking it was silly to ever have to stop a storm...Now, she was in a tempest.

"You led a pretty boring life, don't you?" Katherine scoffed, now opening her compact to apply more lipstick. "You know, I won't miss that about Mystic Falls. The sheer boringness..."

"Well, no one will miss you. I bet not even your poor daughter. Moms who take off, suck!" Bonnie said acidly. "Even Mason is going to hate you for what you did."
"I saved your life," Katherine snapped. "Emily was my dearest friend. Like Damon, I promised her that I would look after her children and descendants."

"Too bad you couldn't have saved her from that bonfire the founders roasted her in. Oh, that's right, you were pretending to be in the tomb," Bonnie replied.

"If I wasn't 'in' that tomb, Klaus would have found me and killed me. The more modern the world gets, the smaller and the harder it is to hide," Katherine said, putting the lid on her lip gloss. This Bonnie was awfully ungrateful, maybe she should have just left by herself?

"Whatever," Bonnie snarked.

Outside the Home of the Regent

Garden District

New Orleans, Louisiana

Klaus vamped to the fence and peered through it to see the stately mansion. It has been many years since he had been to the Garden District, yet he remembered this house.

"I had hoped never to see you again, Vampire," a shaky voice said from behind Klaus. "You are not welcome in these parts any longer."

Klaus turned slowly, not wishing to startle her, as humans could be easily spooked. Perhaps not this woman, though. She had been a young girl when he first met with her, but now Josephine LaRue was an old woman. A very old woman in years, but she looked to be in her seventies still.

"Josephine. Nay, Regent LaRue now, isn't it, still lovely after all this time," Klaus said respectfully.

"And you look the same. I've extended my life as to help the nine covens. After your disappearance, I never thought to see you darken the limits of this city again. I trust you are ready to make that deal now?"

Klaus ignored her pointed question, remembering the vibrant young witch she had been. But the eyes were the same, mesmerizing and hypnotic. She was even more powerful today.

"Do you still play the violin?" Klaus said, bowing his head. He'd normally have taken her hand, but the steely look in her cool, blue eyes stopped him.

The stern Regent held up her hands. They were twisted. At first, Klaus thought it was some form of arthritis, yet the woman spoke.

"That's the only reason I am seeing you. Selfish, I know, but...," Josephine almost whispered. She started again. "You see, my mother disapproved of the jazz player I met after we parted. She always suspected that I colluded with you about the cottage, but could never prove it. I would have been shunned, or worse. I thought I got away with it. Ha, so naive was I! So it blindsided me when she put the hex on me. I could no longer play so my husband had to make music for the both of us. Mother died shortly after and I never imagined that the curse would pass on..."