Beautified

10

Beautified
Chapter 10
Hunting season.

Klaus has set up a dinner table is set up in the courtyard to celebrate his return to leadership over New Orleans and his repossession of the Abbatoir compound from Marcel. The vampire army, including Marcel and his closest friends, are seated around the table, and Klaus and Bethan are seated at each end. Klaus calls for everyone's attention to give a speech by tapping his glass with his fork

"Let us begin with a toast to our shared gift: immortality. After a thousand years, one might expect life to be less keenly felt, for its beauties and its sorrows do diminish with time. But, as vampires, we feel more deeply than humans could possibly imagine." Klaus gestures toward a group of waiters and waitresses to have them join them at the table, one for each guest "Insatiable need, exquisite pain..." The servants slit their wrists with knives, filling the cups with blood for the vampires "Our victories, and our defeats."He looks at Marcel as he raises his glass in a toast to the others.. "To my city, my home again. May the blood never cease to flow..." Marcel lifts his glass  "...and the party never end!" Marcel looks over at Diego who raises his glass "To New Orleans." Klaus repeats this "To New Orleans!" The rest of the table join in "New Orleans." Everyone at the table drinks

Klaus address the elephant in the room "I understand that some of you may have questions regarding the recent change in leadership, and I invited you here tonight to assure you that you are not defeated. No, my intentions moving forward are to celebrate what we have. What Marcel, in fact, took and built for this true community of vampires." He was then interrupted by marcel's lackey Diego "What about her?" He points to Bethan at the far end of the table "The wolf." "She'll stab you in the neck with her fork if you look at me like that again" she threatens.

Klaus chuckles "Had you'd let me finish, Diego, you would know that there is, of course, one further matter I would like to address." He walks over to the other end of the table where Bethan sits "As many of you know, the girl is carrying my child. Consequently, I trust you will all pay her the appropriate respect. However, I understand that some of you are concerned by this vicious rumor that I intend to use the blood of our child to create hybrids." Resting a hand in her shoulder "I assure you I do not." Klaus finished Bethan smirks sarcastically "Father of the year." Meaning it to be a joke but Klaus did not take it that way.

Klaus was mildly frustrated "It appears I will have to earn your trust. Very well. We'll eliminate the root of your anxiety. You see, how I can I sire any hybrids if there are no more werewolves alive in the Bayou to turn?" Bethan was horrified "What? Klaus, no!" He ignores the girl "So-- eat, drink, and be merry. And, tomorrow, I suggest you have yourselves a little wolf hunt. Go ahead, have fun. Kill them all!" Bethan shot daggers st the hybrid and if looks could kill he'd be as dead as kol.

Klaus was upstairs having one of his little chats with Cami . Downstairs, Bethan walks alone down the stairs toward the side door of the compound as she tries to sneak out into the French Quarter. She looks around to see if she's being watched, but before she can go anywhere, Diego cuts in front of her "Going somewhere?" He asked Suddenly, Elijah appears and breaks Diego's neck by throwing him into the wall. "Elijah, you shouldn't be here. Klaus has his guys watching me." Bethan said.