Midnight Promises

Becks

"What does that mean? Compelled?" I asked.

We were now all sitting in the courtyard of the house. Even Rebekah had come out of whatever room she had been holed up in. At my question she rolled her eyes. Elijah gave her a sharp look. Then he turned to me.

"It's something vampires can do. We can... force our will on others," he explained.

Shivers went down my spine. How unnatural. To force someone to do something against their will, against their nature.

"Have you ever done that?" I asked Klaus.

He looked uncomfortable. Rebekah scoffed.

"Of course!" She sneered at me.

I looked at Klaus who now was just looking at his hands.

"Yes. Yes, I've used compulsion- once or twice."

I thought back to the night we met. At the bar.

Oh, you mean literally yesterday? The voice in my head chided, sarcastically.

At the bar when he had talked to that guy. His voice had been so strange. And the guy just left and gave Klaus his chair. And then in the interrogation just now. He'd had the same voice! But this time it hadn't worked.

"So you use it on humans and vampires alike?" I tried not to think about the ramifications of Klaus being able to compel people. Of him being able to compel me.

"Well, the thing is usually vampires are only strong enough at compulsion to compel humans-" Klaus started.

"They're weaker," Rebekah interjected.

"But us Originals and some who are strong at compulsion can also use it on our own species," Elijah finished.

"Ok but why would a vampire compel another vampire to bring a human back to the Seelies... whatever they are?" I asked.

"The thing is, I couldn't compel the vampire," Klaus said.

"Yeah I mean he was already compelled though, right?" I asked.

"That shouldn't matter. I'm an Original. My compulsion should have beaten theirs out."

I felt a strange lurch in my stomach.

"So that means whoever compelled that vampire..." I started.

"Was very likely not one themselves," Elijah finished my train of thought.

"So what? These Seelies you keep talking about?" Rebekah piped up.

"Possibly," Klaus considered, " we have to find out what the hell these beings are."

"You could go to the school," Elijah suggested.

Klaus gave him a sharp look.

"No," he said. The brothers shared a look. The air was heavy with the intensity of the unsaid words.

"Um, what School?" I asked.

"Doesn't matter," Klaus said, "we're not going there."

"Excuse me," I started, he was really starting to piss me off, "this is my life we're talking about! These things have sent not fewer than 8 vampires after me and it doesn't look like they'll stop any day soon. This isn't your problem and I get that but if there's someplace I can get answers, you need to tell me! You don't have to come but I have a right to know!"

I took a deep breath. That was intense. All three siblings were looking at me, shock painting their expressions. Finally, it was Rebekah who broke the silence.

She laughed. "You're not as bad as I thought!" I smiled. "Oh, Nick just go with her. How bad can it be?"

Klaus shot her an angry look. But he finally sighed.

"Fine," he said, "we'll go in the morning."

***

"I went shopping earlier," Rebekah was standing in front of the wardrobe in the room I had woken up in, that now apparently was mine. So she hadn't just been lounging around in her room. She was sorting clothing into the wardrobe. "I noticed my clothes weren't exactly... a perfect fit." She smiled, but not in a malicious way.

I smiled back at her. She really wasn't as bad as I'd thought before. Probably just protective.

"Thanks, Becks," I said.

"Becks?" Her head whipped around to face me.

"Oh are we not on that level yet?" She laughed at that. "I mean, you can call me Ems to even the score?"

"Can I ask you something?" She walked over to the bed where I was sitting and sat down opposite me.

"Sure."

"How are you so... calm handling this? I mean everything you thought was true must have changed."

I thought about it. Was I calm? I mean not really, I was freaking out in my head. But now that I think about it, I did just accept the fact that vampires, werewolves and whatever Seelies are existed.

"I don't know. I mean, I always thought that there must be something more to life. There must be something unexplainable somewhere. And I guess that something is vampires and werewolves," I laughed.

"Yeah and don't forget the witches," Rebekah smiled.

"The what?"

"Oh, Nick didn't tell you about that?"

"No he did not," I laughed. Witches. I mean why not? It certainly wasn't any stranger than the rest.

"Ok my turn," I said. "Why was Klaus so weird about going to that school we're visiting tomorrow?"

Rebekah's smile faded and she started fidgeting with her hands.

"Come on!" I prompted her.

"Well two things: for one this girl, Caroline."

Oh God, I thought, probably an ex. Probably an insanely beautiful and amazing vampire.

"Well, she was kind of the only girl Nick had ever loved. But she didn't love him back. I mean at first she didn't. She couldn't look past his past mistakes. But I think she fell in love with him at the end there."

My heart sank.

"But then she died."

"What?" I said, "How?"

"Werewolves. Rogue ones. They attacked the school. Caroline was the principal there. She was bitten trying to defend the students."

I must have looked confused.

"Werewolf bites are fatal to vampires," she explained, "But Klaus being a hybrid, his blood is the cure. I don't know what happened but they couldn't reach him for a while and when they finally did, well, he tried his best but he didn't get there in time. She died in his arms."

Jeez, I thought, talk about traumatic.

"And what's the other reason?" I asked.

"Well, Hope is there. They have a difficult relationship. And I think he probably just isn't ready to introduce you."

"Who's Hope?"

Rebekah frowned. "He hasn't told you about her?"

I shook my head.

"Hope is his daughter."