𝘌𝘝𝘌𝘙 ° 𝘒𝘓𝘈𝘜𝘚 𝘔𝘐𝘒𝘈𝘌𝘓𝘚𝘖𝘕

THREE | KNOCKED DOWN |

The large white mansion was full of dust and cobwebs and secrets—not that Rory was surprised. In fact, it somewhat surprised the others that Rory had not marveled at the sight of the house when they had arrived. Rory didn't care to explain her familiarity with the lavish homes vampires seemed to acquire—she was all to glad to get out of that damn graveyard in the deal Klaus agreed to with the witches.

Part of the deal included Rory (and Hayley) being housed by the Mikaelson's, which they certainly didn't attest to when the other option was to spend the rest of her pregnancy in the protected grounds of the graveyard. The other part of the deal was that the moment Klaus took care of Marcel—in the way the witches wanted—they would unlink Rory and Sophie, which was what Rory had demanded. She needed a contingency plan in case things went awry—and knowing the supernatural, everything that could go wrong, will.

According to Elijah, the house was formerly the governor's mansion—from the 1800s. Being the Originals, they owned the private estate that would be serving as headquarters/the safe house as Klaus took back the city. Her and Hayley were pulling the white cloths caked in a thick layer of dust off the various pieces of antique furniture, when Elijah walked in to see how they were doing.

"It's a hell of an improvement to the graveyard we spent a week in," Rory cast an impressed glance around the parlor room. "Thank you for allowing Hayley to stay here as well."

"Like I would've let you stay here without me?" Hayley butt in before Elijah could respond. She wrinkled her nose, "It may be a nice ass place, but it's creepy and it belongs to some of the most self-serving, blood-sucking vampires—no offense, Elijah—in the world."

"None taken," Elijah answered graciously, assisting the girls with removing the rest of the sheets. "Rory's protection is my highest priority. I don't take it lightly that you are choosing to stay by her side, even with the lingering hostilities between you and my brother Niklaus."

"Rory's family. I don't have much of that around, so as long as she's here, so am I."

"Despite what you all think, I can protect myself," Rory interjected with a huff.

"There's no such thing as too much protection—"

Hayley burst into laughter, "—Yeah, if only Rory used some we wouldn't be here," she waggled her brows.

"Oh, fuck off, Hayley," Rory rolled her eyes.

Elijah blinked, looking between the two, before continuing, "I'm promising to protect you and my niece or nephew with all my power, starting with this safe house—which you should feel free to decorate as you wish," he added, noting the aged decor.

"Sweet. You should start with this boring color scheme. All this white is begging to be stained," Hayley shook her head, coughing once more, "I need some milk or something; this dust is about to give me an asthma attack." The werewolf briefly left the room to find the kitchen.

"She is certainly entertaining," Elijah stared after where Hayley walked off, before meeting Rory's grin.

"So much for watching out for me in the presence of the big, bad vampires," Rory shook her head sarcastically. "I'm just joking, of course."

"I can only imagine how lively this house will be with you two around to keep me on my toes. Not to mention whenever the little one comes along." He imagined a miniature Klaus or Rory running about the spiral staircase, but focused back on the present when he felt her weirded out stare.