Written In Blood

Chapter Thirty Four.

"Niklaus, our guests have arrived." Elijah told his brother as they and the Heretic sat in the sitting room in a rather form fitting black gown.
Niklaus got up to answer the door.
"Damon, Stefan. Elijah tells me that you seek an audience. Very bold. Let's discuss the terms of our agreement like civilised men, shall we?" The Hybrid gave his classic smug look.
He led them to the dining room, where Elijah and Rayna were then stood in front of the table, which was decorated with an array of foods and wines – two female servants standing away from the table.
"It's better to indulge him." Elijah told the brothers.
Damon didn't take his eyes off Rayna.
"No one said that you would be here. Though you do look beautiful in that dress." He raised an eyebrow.
"Well surprise, Damon. Here I am." Rayna sighed, gesturing to herself. "Someone's got to be there to break up a fight."
"I didn't come here to eat, Klaus. Fact, I didn't want to come here at all. But I was told I had to 'cause you would hear us out." Stefan huffed to the Hybrid, ignoring the already growing tensions.
"Well, we can sit and eat, or I can reach down your throats and pull out your insides. The choice is yours." Niklaus' smug look never faltered.
Everyone sat at the table and began to dine – everyone except Stefan; that was.
Damon thanked one of the servants as she poured him a glass of wine, his flirtatious smile in full beam.
"You lost your appetite..." Klaus sighed to the younger Salvatore.
Damon leaned over to his brother.
"Eat." He said. "I thought we agreed that we would leave the grumpy Stefan at home."
Niklaus smiled. "That's the spirit. Isn't it nice? The five of us dining together? Such a treat. Is this what you had in mind when you pulled the dagger from my brother?"
Well..." Damon started. "I know how he felt about you, so I figured the more, the merrier." He smiled and winked to Elijah before glancing at Rayna, who huffed impatiently.
"Well, Elijah and I have had our share of quarrels over the century, but we always make it through." Niklaus replied.
Stefan gave an unimpressed chuckle.
"Kind of like you and Rebekah, right? Where is she, by the way?" Stefan pretended to look around the room for her.
"Last I checked, she was still daggered because you were afraid to face her." Niklaus shook his head.
"If you're referring to the fact that Rebekah knows I killed our mother, I've already come clean to Elijah."
Damon leaned over to his brother once more.
"Hey Stef, remember when you killed dad? Might wanna dial down the judgment until dessert." He gave a crooked half smile.
Stefan played around with his knife as he smiled in return.
"We're here to make a deal, Damon. Doesn't mean we need to kiss his ass for seven courses." He replied.
Damon put his hands up in defense.
"I'm just saying we have a long evening ahead of us. Pace yourself." He said.
"So when are we going to stop kidding ourselves with who actually undaggered Elijah? It's getting rather boring not taking the credit." Rayna sighed, looking over her manicured nails less than subtly.
Everyone glanced around at each other, except for Rayna.
"You're ruining my fun..." Damon pouted.
"How could either of you buy that crap? For what reason would Damon undagger the one person who could actually make things worse for everyone except Niklaus?" Rayna scoffed.
"Maybe I did it because I was bored." Damon countered.
"Oh shut up, Damon." The Heretic glared at him, feeling Elijah's eyes bore into the side of her head.
"And pray tell, my darling – why did you undagger my brother?" Niklaus leant his chin on his entwined fingers.
"I have my reasons, Niklaus. That, in no way, means you need to know them." Rayna took a sip of her wine.
"Oh but it does so interest me. Given your conjoined histories, my imagination can only take me so many places." Niklaus' smug look returning to his already amused expression.
"I didn't like the idea of being the only remotely reasonable one in this... Disagreement." Rayna told him, ignoring the emotions building up inside her, only wanting to make her scream.
"Now that is probably the first time in almost a thousand years that you've lied to me, Rayna." He smiled, gesturing to the Heretic with his wine glass before taking a sip.
The group fell into an awkward silence; no one really knowing how to follow that up without getting into an argument.
"Stefan." Elijah finally broke the silence. "Where is the lovely Elena tonight?"
"I don't know. Ask Damon." Stefan snapped.
Rayna looked to the older Salvatore. She was missing something...
Niklaus just laughed, entirely amused by the situation.
"I'm sorry, you've missed so much. Ah, trouble in paradise." He chuckled to his older sibling.
"One more word about Elena and this dinner's over." Stefan sighed.
Niklaus continued to chuckle, an entertained grin spread across his face as he put his finger to his lips.
"You know what? Probably best just to keep Elena in the 'do not discuss' pile." Damon said, uncomfortably.
Rayna grabbed Damon's hand under the table and, in her mind, talked with him.
"What did you do?" She asked.
Damon looked at her like a deer in headlights. He'd never seen or heard of anyone communicating telepathically in all his life.
"Just think your reply and I'll hear it." Rayna's voice sounded once more in his mind.
"We had a little... Moment..." Damon's thought response came.
Rayna sighed aloud and released his hand.
"You're probably right." Niklaus replied to Damon's previous statement after watching he and the Heretic have their little stare off – or so it appeared to be.
"Yeah..." Damon agreed, still in slight shock of what had just happened.
"It's just the allure of the Petrova Doppelganger, still so strong." He smiled before turning to Elijah. "What do you say, brother? Should we tell them about Tatia?"
Elijah took a quick glance in Rayna's direction before coming up with his answer.
"Now why should we discuss matters long since resolved?" He asked.
"Well... Given their shared affection for both Elena and Katerina, I think our guests might be curious to learn about the originator of the Petrova line." Niklaus shrugged, leaning back in his chair.
Rayna couldn't help but give a quiet chuckle at his ignorance.'Supposed originator.' She thought.
"Well we're not going anywhere, Elijah. Do tell." Damon became awfully interested in the conversation as he took a sip of wine.
"When our family first settled here, there was a girl named Tatia. She was an exquisite beauty. Every boy of age desired to be her suitor, even though she'd had a child by another man. And none loved her more than Niklaus." Elijah explained.
"I'd say there was one who loved her at least as much." Niklaus interrupted.
"Wait a minute." Stefan paused them. "So you both loved the same girl?"
"It wasn't the last time either, was it, dear brother?" Niklaus looked a little less amused as the pair took a subconscious glance at Rayna, who looked between the Salvatore brothers, bashfully as they looked back at her inquisitively.
"Anyway... Our mother was a very powerful Witch. She sought to end our feud over Tatia and so she took her. Klaus and I would later learn that it was Tatia's blood that we consumed in the wine on the night our mother performed the spell that turned us into Vampires. Tatia wouldn't make a decision between the two of us, so for a time Niklaus and I... Grew estranged. Harsh words were traded; we even came to blows, didn't we, brother?" Elijah looked to his younger sibling.
"But in the end, we realised the sacred bond of family." Niklaus finished.
"Family above all." Elijah smiled.
The pair raised their glasses.
"Family above all." Niklaus repeated as they clinked their glasses together.