𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 ⎯⎯ 𝘯. 𝘮³

XIV. ARCADE

━━ ∞ ━━
𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑
[ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ғᴏᴜʀᴛᴇᴇɴ - 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦]

'i'm afraid of all i am, my
mind feels like a foreign land'

☾ ♥ ☾ ꕥ ☾ ♥ ☾

The next morning, after Hope was seemingly cured from the influence of the Hollow, the three Mikaelson's and Hayley had planned to leave town once again and return to the Safe House. Klaus was currently walking through the halls of the compound in search of his children with a look of concern displayed upon his features after the nightmares he had suffered the previous night.

"Hope?" Klaus called as he exited one of the many rooms in the compound, "Kaiden?" the original spoke before stopping in front of a mirror hung in one of the halls. As Klaus stared into the mirror, slowly succumbing to the influence of the Hollow, Thea frowned in confusion from downstairs, having heard the distress in her husband' tone.

"Today you will die at the hands of Marcel, unless you kill your enemy first," Mikael's (who was actually the Hollow) voice echoed in Klaus' mind as he stared deeply into the mirror, his eyes flashing blue. "Hey, why don't you go find your dad? Tell him we're ready," Thea told her daughter, having just finished brushing the eldest twin's long hair.

Thea frowned in slight concern as she watched Hope skip off upstairs to find Klaus, knowing something had been off with the original all morning. "Dad? We're ready to go," Hope stated with a smile as she found Klaus stood in front of the mirror in the hall, seemingly in a trance before he was quickly snapped out of it.

Klaus furrowed his brows at his daughter as he moved past her towards the stairs, causing the young girl to frown as she followed after him. "Aren't you coming?" Kaiden's voice suddenly sounded as he joined his sister's side, his tone and expression reflecting his disappointment. Thea watched the scene unfold from the courtyard, seeing the matching looks of disappointment from the twins as Klaus refused to answer them.

"Nik?" the brunette called out, snapping his attention towards her. The brunette's frown deepened as she noticed the lost expression set on her husband's face, a mix of confusion and concern infilling her as Klaus descended the rest of the stairs towards her. "You need to go to the bayou without me," Klaus stated firmly, causing Thea to shake her head in refusal.

As she was about to argue with him, she noticed the twins still stood by the stairs causing the brunette to sigh. "Hey, why don't you both go find Uncle Lijah? We'll be right out," Thea spoke directly to the twins, an encouraging smile on her face as the two twins nodded their heads before walking out of the compound to where Elijah and Hayley were waiting in Thea's SUV.

"What's going on?" Thea asked as she turned back to face her husband as soon as the twins were gone, one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows raised as she studied him critically. Klaus sighed as he noticed the stern expression on her face, knowing that whatever he said she was going to argue with. Thea always wanted to help, even if it meant she'd put herself in danger. It was one of the many things Klaus loved, but also sometimes loathed, about her.