Fire & Flame | Klaus Mikaelson

two

02. House of the Rising Son

"The city of New Orleans, people of all stripes and flavors from all over the country come here to party on our streets, some are just looking for fun, some are looking for something a little darker, more dangerous, so we invite them into my home, and we give it to them, then at the stroke of midnight, everything changes, and it's time to feed" Marcel explained to Klaus as the two stood on the balcony and looked down at the party Marcel was hosting, "This is how I keep my guys happy, the occasional all you can eat buffet, my nightwalkers love it, got them working hard trying to earn one of these daylight rings, they deserve to blow off a little steam, my day walkers, the trusted few, they just like to party".

Klaus's eyes landed on the M symbol carved on one of the walls, "It's quite an operation" he admitted after a moment of silence, "Tell me, what about the victims? Seems like a lot of graves to dig".

"Can't kill them all" Marcel said, "Too many folks go missing, tourism drops, so we heal them with a little vamp blood, erase their memory, send them on their way, no muss, no fuss".

"I'm impressed" Klaus said.

"Nothing I didn't learn from you back in the day" Marcel admitted.

"Marcel" one of Marcel's day walker called out as he walked over to him and Klaus.

"What's up, Thierry?" Marcel greeted.

"Six of our guys were killed in a bar outside of the quarter, nightwalkers" Thierry informed, he glanced at Klaus, suspicion evident in his eyes, "No one saw who".

***

"Who the hell are you?" a confused Hayley asked, as she walked down the stairs with a metal bar in her hand.

Rebekah, who had just entered the house, looked at Hayley, "Ahh, you must be the maid, my bags are in the car get them, will you?".

"She's not the maid, Rebekah" an amused Lily said, as she also walked down the stairs.

"Lily!" an excited Rebekah yelled, rushing over to Lily and pulling her into a tight hug, "Oh how I've missed you, come on, I have a surprise for you".

"Surprise for me?" a confused Lily asked, as she hugged Rebekah back, "What did I do to deserve that?".

"Think of it as a congratulations on becoming a mother present" Rebekah said, as she broke the hug and turned to the front door, "You can come in!".

Lily's eyes went wide in shock as the front door opened and Stefan walked into the house, "Oh my god" she whispered, "Stefan?".

Stefan smiled at his best friend, "Hey Lils".

"What are you doing here?" a confused Lily asked.

"Well I wasn't going to let you go through this pregnancy without me by your side" Stefan said.

Lily let out a chuckle as tears filled her eyes, she walked over to her best friend and pulled him into a tight hug, "I'm so glad you're here".

Stefan hugged Lily back and placed a kiss on the side of her head, "You didn't think I'd let you deal with this pregnancy alone, did you? Also since Liz couldn't come, she wanted someone to be there for you and I gladly volunteered".