𝐄𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐏𝐒𝐄 | KLAUS MIKAELSON

𝖥𝖨𝖥𝖳𝖸 𝖮𝖭𝖤

┏━━━━•❅•°•❈ - •°•❅•━━━━┓
𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝟑, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑
┗━━━━•❅•°•❈ - •°•❅•━━━━┛

PORTLAND. A change of scenery so desperately needed after the endless monotony of North Carolina.

Four days in the Tar Heel State and I'd finally arrived in Portland with Klaus and his ever-expanding circus of hybrids. Seriously, the mansion's population was multiplying faster than China's. Morning, noon, night---didn't matter. Some stayed, some drifted in and out, but the place was always crawling with them. And I, for one, am not a fan of people.

I wake up---hybrids. I step onto the balcony---hybrids. I try to get a glass of water---hybrids. Even breathing felt like an encounter with yet another hybrid. They were everywhere.

This morning, I stumbled into the kitchen, desperate for some tea. Before I could even locate the kettle, a steaming cup was thrust into my hand. I blinked at the hybrid standing before me. "Thank you. You didn’t have to. I could have managed on my own," I said, trying to hide my irritation.

"Klaus said we need to take care of all your needs," the hybrid replied, looking far too serious for my liking.

"You guys are not servants, okay? At least not mine," I snapped. "I can handle my own tea, thank you very much."

This constant pampering is like being smothered with a pillow. Four days of hybrids treating me like fragile porcelain, and they won't even let me lift a finger. Newsflash, they're not meant to be my personal servants. They're people too, and last time I checked, equality was still a thing.

I trudged over to the dining table, greeted by the sight of my breakfast--- cheese toast already plated. Seriously, I can handle toasting bread, guys. Plunking my cup down, I plopped into my chair and dove into my phone, only to be greeted by yet another deluge of messages from Mystic Falls. They just won't quit, even when I haven't bothered replying. It's not like I can, anyway.

Footsteps interrupted my digital abyss, and I quickly powered down my phone before glancing up.

Klaus plopped himself across from me, a smug grin plastered on his face. "Ready for the day, love. Your  eloquence do come in handy," he quipped, taking a casual sip of blood from his glass, which I can't help but grimace at. "Portland is a breeding ground for werewolves. There are everywhere."

I had other plans brewing in my mind. "Good to know, but I'm not coming."

The hybrid raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"What do you mean, why not? I need a break from all this madness. Hunting werewolves is exhausting, and frankly, it's not exactly my idea of a good time," I fired back.

"And why should that matter to me?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because I'm not just another one of your hybrid minions you can boss around. And while we're at it, how about a little gratitude for all the help I've given you?"

Klaus leaned back in his chair, a smirk playing on his lips. "You've grown bolder, haven't you, love?"

"I've always been this way, Klaus. Maybe you just decided to notice today," I shot back.

He chuckled, taking another leisurely sip of his blood. "Fair enough. Consider this your time out, then."

I raised an eyebrow in surprise, not expecting him to concede so easily to my request for some alone time. Usually, it takes a full-blown argument to win any sort of concession from Klaus, but today he's all about civilized conversation. Must be a rare alignment of the stars or something.