Black Magic ▹ The Vampire Diaries [1]

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER NINE
CHAMPAGNE AND FAIRY LIGHTS

"I'm gonna pick up the pieces and build a lego house. If things go wrong, we can knock it down."

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

     "Where did you disappear to?" Klaus asked a few hours later. Guests had long since started arriving at the mansion, and Henrik had finally managed to drag himself out of his room to join his family by the front doors. He spent a few minutes greeting guests, but when more and more started filing in, he abandoned the job in favor of getting a glass of champagne. He was just grateful Esther seemed to be staying out of sight, probably to avoid polite chitchat. He was standing by a small table covered with a white sheet, alone, when his brother appeared beside him and asked the question. Henrik took a big gulp of his champagne and let it sit on his tongue for a moment. He considered lying, but then thought better of it. Klaus understood how Henrik felt toward their mother better than any of the rest. He would see right through him if he lied.

"Talking to Esther was...a lot," Henrik admitted, sipping at his champagne right after. He avoided looking over at Klaus, simply because he didn't know what type of mood he was in. Would he use this opportunity to make a jab toward Henrik, or would he empathize? It was always like flipping a coin and holding his breath until he could see which side it landed on. Thankfully, having their mother around seemed to have tempered Klaus's crueler impulses, at least for the time being.

"Are you alright?" Klaus asked quietly. The question—or, rather, who had asked the question—surprised Henrik so much that he sucked in a sharp breath and ended up inhaling a bit of champagne. He erupted into harsh coughing, his hand flying to his mouth as he turned to put the champagne glass down. When the coughing died down and he took his handkerchief out of his jacket pocket to wipe at his mouth, he turned to see Klaus giving him a bored, unimpressed look. "You're so dramatic," Klaus told him, as if Henrik had choked on his champagne on purpose. Henrik rolled his eyes.

"Out of this entire family, I am the least dramatic," Henrik pointed out. Klaus didn't look like he agreed, not that Henrik expected him to. They all knew that Finn was the one who was the least dramatic, though that had more to do with him spending most of his time in a coffin than in the real world. Henrik grimaced at the thought and pushed it out of his mind. "Speaking of dramatics, I heard you sent a pretty dress to Caroline Forbes. Care to share why you're chasing after a cheerleader, and one who's been calling our sister 'evil blood slut' on top of that?" Klaus didn't bother entertaining the question with a response, though Henrik thought it was a perfectly valid thing to ask.

"Where's your wolf boy?" Klaus asked instead. Henrik rolled his eyes and nearly heaved out a sigh.

"For god's sake, he's not a—" Klaus was no longer listening. Caroline had rounded one of the corners, dressed in a beautiful dress in shades of blue, and Klaus was staring at her like she created the sun and moon and stars. Henrik glanced between the two of them in disbelief, then downed the rest of his champagne and set the empty glass on the table. Afterward, he patted at his brother's shoulder as he excused himself. "Don't tell her the dress is Rebekah's throwaway. I have a feeling she won't appreciate it."

"Shut up," Klaus said after him. Henrik just smiled and shook his head, weaving through the crowd. He wanted to get as far away from Klaus and his nonsensical crush on the bubbly vampire as fast as possible. He spent the next few minutes trying to find Ethan. He knew Carol was already at the ball—he had greeted her as she had arrived—but Ethan hadn't been beside her. Maybe he hadn't arrived yet. Henrik let out a small sigh, reaching for another glass of champagne. Before he could even touch the stem, however, the glass was taken by someone else. Henrik raised his eyes, arching an eyebrow when he saw that Damon was drinking from it.