The Pain of Devotion//Kol Mikaelson (Book 2)

Chapter 3

I made my way back to the Mikaelson Compound after my little chat with Kaleb To find Niklaus and Elijah in a small argument.

"A little less criticism from you, and Hayley will be just fine," Niklaus said sharply to Elijah.

"What's going on here?" I asked cautiously as I strolled into the room.

Elijah kept his eyes on Niklaus with a shocked look, "Niklaus believes it is okay that the mother of his child is just fine!"

Niklaus glares at Elijah as Elijah continues to speak, "You'll take her to the Bayou. Find any remaining wolves. Perhaps her people can reach her. Now, more than ever, she needs a connection to something, some of her humanity, some degree of dignity."

Elijah storms past me and out of the room. I threw Niklaus a disappointed look before following Elijah outside and into the courtyard. I followed him of course.

"To do something useful, unlike everyone else," Elijah says as we leave the compound.

"Oh don't act like that!" I rolled my eyes at him.

He looked at me with narrowed eyes, "I saw you with that boy earlier."

"Jealous?" I asked, getting annoyed by him.

Elijah shook his head, "Those days are long gone. You could have been helping Hayley who went on a witch hunt with Niklaus."

"Last night, I literally risked my life fighting those werewolves when I didn't have to," I snapped at him. "You've already argued with Niklaus, and by the sound of it, Hayley as well. Don't piss me off too."

The rest of the trip was silent as we made our way to the Algiers where merchandise are being sold and musicians play their instruments. Marcel is speaking to a group of people.

From afar, Elijah and I listen to Marcel's speech, "Gia's proven herself. She knows what she's getting into. So, she's going to be the first one that I turn. Everybody else? First, I need to be sure that you can handle moving up a notch on the food chain. The emotional ups and downs, the solitude, and bloodlust. Imagine hearing the sound of a heart beating, beating, beating, and wanting more than anything to feed. That's what it's like to be a vampire. It's not for everybody. Some folks, well... let's just say it brings out the worst in them."

His words brought me back to 1821 in New Orleans, an interesting time in my life.

I stood beside Elijah and leaned into his side with a smile. In front of us was Marcellus who practiced the piano. Elijah kissed my forehead affectionately as the keys moved.

Marcellus sighed in defeat as he messed up, "I can't do it!"

"Now, you once said the same thing of your reading, and now you devour everything from sonnets to scriptures. So, devote yourself to your music, and soon you shall be Johann Sebastian Bach," Elijah smiled proudly at Marcellus.

I couldn't help but find myself smiling at the young boy.

"But I want to play like you," Marcellus spoke to Elijah with a smile.

As Elijah grinned, I said, "And one day, you will."

We were interrupted when someone clapped in the doorway, "Well, isn't this nice? My older brother, his girlfriend, and my ward, getting along swimmingly."

"Nikki," I trailed off and stepped away from Elijah's side.

Elijah turns back to Marcellus and pats his back, "We shall continue at another time. Why don't you resume your Hamlet? Act one, scene three today. Off you go!"