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Later that same day, after plenty of teasing from his family, Klaus stood against the living room door frame, watching Belle play with his daughter on the floor. Rebekah sat next to them, watching her niece happily. Kol and Freya, however, sat on the couch a little ways from them, grimoires in their laps as they read. Hayley and Elijah were in the kitchen once more, cleaning up after everyone finished their breakfast.
When they were finally done, Hayley left the kitchen with a mug of coffee in her hands, pushing past Klaus as Elijah followed her. "So, Belle," she began, a little smile on her face as she saw her playing with her daughter. "I have to know. How did such a nice girl like you become best friends with the almighty original hybrid?" she asked, not being able to help it as she slightly rolled her eyes with sarcasm at the end of her question. Klaus too rolled his eyes, but in annoyance.
Belle let out a little laugh, handing the doll she was playing with to Rebekah as she scoot back, leaning against the wall behind where they played. "Well, it's a long story." She started, giving Klaus a grin before she continued. "Contrary to popular belief, Niklaus wasn't always the 'almighty original hybrid,' as you said," she explained, her voice mocking. "None of them were the originals back then. We were simply people in a new land trying to survive," she shrugged, bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. By now, Elijah had joined his siblings on the couch, Hayley happily taking her own seat in his lap. Hope set her toys down and sat on the floor, excited to hear stories about her father. Freya even closed her grimoire, also curious of the story. "Before we came to what is now Mystic Falls, as you know, we were in England. I was only friends with Rebekah then—my father didn't see friendships with men as just friendships, so I kept any conversation with the boys to a minimum and stayed by Rebekah's side," as she spoke she flailed her arms, a habit that always made the Mikaelsons laugh. "But then a "plague" struck England, and to survive, we went to the New World. My father hunted and fought alongside Mikael, so that made it easier for us to come with them. Especially after Freya "died," our parents were adament in moving us quickly."
Klaus then left where he previously stood, deciding to slide down the wall and to the floor next to Belle, his legs outstretched. When he did this, Hope was quick to follow him, sitting between his legs and leaning back against his chest. Everyone, even Kol, couldn't help the smiles that came upon their faces as they watched. Once she was settled, Hope asked, "If your dad said that stuff, how did you end up with my dad?"
"Well, lovely," Belle started, raising her hand and touching the red-head's cheek lightly before retracting her hand. "I became friends with him in secret. It was only a month after we had come to the New World and my mother sent me to collect water from the nearby stream." As she spoke, Belle couldn't help but smile at the memory. "Your father was also near the stream, playing around with Henrik—who was his little brother, but he passed away a long time ago," she paused, not able to control the guilt she felt as she said that. Even a thousand years later, she couldn't help but blame herself for his death. "After I collected the water, I began my walk back to our home. But this big clumsy man," she laughed, nudging Klaus who just shook his head with a smile, "bumped right into me and made me spill water all down my dress! But he immediately apologized. He was stuttering and blushing because back then he was so shy."
