Black Magic ▹ The Vampire Diaries [1]

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SIX
GHOSTS

"The pain, it's determined and demanding to ache."

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

     The one good thing about Elijah being back is that Klaus would never dare be as cruel to Henrik in front of him as he usually was, and that thought alone made Henrik's steps feel a little lighter, made it easier for air to move in and out of his lungs. Living inside that large and empty mansion—with no one but hybrids, compelled humans, and Klaus for company—had taken a toll on Henrik without him having realized it, and knowing there was someone else Klaus could focus on inside of the house made it much more bearable. Even if Klaus was Elijah's favorite, Henrik knew Elijah would never let Klaus get away with verbally abusing Henrik for no reason, and that knowledge left him with a skip in his step as he descended the stairs. By the time he was walking into the kitchen, he was in a bright mood, a happy one that felt both unfamiliar and exhilarating.

The tense atmosphere in the kitchen didn't even affect him, not that it ever would. Klaus and Elijah being at each other's throats was so common it was almost comforting. Henrik was hardly worried about it. Instead, he was humming as he opened the refrigerator and took out an apple and a water bottle. He didn't bother getting anything more filling. He was planning on eating a proper breakfast later, and it certainly wasn't going to be inside that mansion. He figured his brothers would be plotting and planning all day, and he still wanted nothing to do with the main conflict. Getting involved with the main conflict meant more time spent with Klaus and Elijah, meant meeting the Salvatore brothers, meant less Ethan. And less Ethan sounded like possibly the worst thing in the world to him at that moment, though he couldn't really explain why. Perhaps he was developing a crush. He pushed the thought away as soon as it came and looked around the kitchen, biting into his apple as Elijah and Klaus looked at him with identical frowns.

"What?" he asked, mouth full of apple, his words muffled. There was no point being polite with his close family. Especially since it seemed to bother them so much. Elijah looked away uncomfortably, while Klaus rolled his eyes.

"We were just talking about you," Klaus revealed, reaching for his coffee mug. One glance into it showed Henrik that it was blood instead of actual coffee. It was his turn to roll his eyes. "Our dear brother is concerned about you. He seems to be under the impression I'm forcing your hand, or treating you badly. Care to reassure him?" Henrik went very still, staring at Klaus in utter disbelief. Swallowing the food in his mouth, he opened it to speak, closed it, then opened it again just to take another large bite out of his apple. It was clear he was avoiding answering at all, but Klaus let him get away with it. Elijah was watching, after all, and Elijah would make him answer anyway. Henrik swallowed again and let out a long sigh.

"Klaus didn't force me here," he reassured, sounding genuine. The open honesty was quickly followed with a blatant lie, though, and all of them knew it. His flat voice did nothing but reinforce their thoughts. "He has treated me very well and hasn't said a single cruel thing to me, ever, in my life." His voice went from flat to sarcastic as he continued. "Nik is the sweetest, kindest and most humble vampire-werewolf hybrid to ever exist and I'm grateful just to be in his presence." Elijah's stern expression cracked with an amused, affectionate smile, and something inside of Henrik jerked at the obvious approval on his face. That same thing jerked even harder when Klaus interrupted him by laughing. It was a real laugh, coming out despite Klaus's best efforts, and Henrik turned his head to stare at him in surprise. That certainly wasn't the reaction he had been expecting.