For Good | Hale- TO/TW [8]

31 | A Decade Without a Chambre Would be Nice

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"Up!" Lexi gasps as she finds herself back at the compound. She is still kneeling. However, Klaus is not in front of her.

She slowly gets to her feet. Something is wrong. The walls around her are grey, darkness creeping in through the windows. She is in her room as it was before the Mikaelsons split the Hollow's power. A crib sits in the corner. Her bookshelf is full of dusty novels. Her bed is untouched.

"It's no use," she hears her brother say.

Rage boils beneath her skin. Lexi walks out of the room and looks over the balcony. Below her, Klaus and Elijah stand across from each other. Klaus' expression is downright murderous.

"You stay away from me," Klaus snarls and steps back. Neither notices Lexi as she races down the steps, pausing a good distance away.

"Oh, believe me, I'm not here 'cause I enjoy the pleasure of your company," Elijah replies as he approaches Klaus.

"He said, stay away," Lexi says. Her voice echoes off the walls of the compound. Both brothers look up at her. She turns her chin up. "You will not endanger my son, Elijah."

Elijah purses his lips and shakes his head. He spreads his arms out wide. "There's no way out," he says. "We're trapped."

Lexi lets a growl rip through her throat. She stomps upstairs to the study. She hears Klaus trying every possible exit as she pours herself a drink. "To bloody chambres." She downs the glass.

Klaus eventually joins her, ending up at the balcony. She finds herself next to him. She moves from the glass to straight from the bottle. When Elijah finally walks in, she has gone through two bottles of whiskey.

"Every last exit is sealed," the once noble Original says. "If you're thinking about jumping, don't. I already tried it. I landed in the world's most pretentious wine cellar."

"You sorted it by vintage," Lexi says. She turns to look Elijah in the eyes. He flinches at the dead expression on her face.

"You don't remember, do you?" Klaus asks when Elijah does not respond. "I thought Marcel was intent on retrieving your memories."

"He was. He failed," Elijah replies. "I still remember absolutely nothing, and Antoinette is dying."

"Is she?" Klaus lets his sadistic smirk slip onto his lips. "Right. Yes, I'd forgotten."

Elijah clenches his jaw. "What the hell are we doing here? What is this place? This is dangerous, you and I here together."

"We're not actually here together, are we?" Klaus says. He spreads his arms and looks around the house. "Not physically, at least."

Elijah narrows his eyes in confusion. When Klaus does not answer, he looks to the drunk blonde. "It's called a chambre de chasse," she says. "It's a magical mental prison designed to resemble our home." Elijah's expression drops to one of horror as if he realizes he might actually be forever stuck with them. "Don't worry, Elijah," Lexi snaps. "There's always a way out. A game or a riddle."

"How do we solve this riddle?" Elijah asks.

"We don't do anything," Klaus replies, the smirk growing on his face. "We're square, you and I. You got Hayley killed, and Antoinette will die because of me. I would hate to upset that delicate balance."

A flash of pain crosses Lexi's face. Elijah lets his eyes slide to her as she opens another bottle of whiskey. By his count, it is the fourth one since she appeared.

"And what about you?" Elijah asks of the woman before him.

She lets herself look at him. She forces herself to keep a neutral expression as she says, "You let the woman you love die, and now you are threatening my son by staying in New Orleans. I won't help you. I'm going to find my own way out. You're on your own."