CENTURIES | Lucien Castle

IV. A Walk on the Wild Side

"I simply want to know who is here at any given moment," Juliette heard Klaus say to Freya as she walked into his study. "I hardly think that's too much to ask."

"Well, what did I miss?" She asked as she strutted into the room.

"And where pray tell have you been all night?" Klaus questioned his other sister.

"That's none of your business dear brother," Juliette shot back and before he was able to rebuttal, Hayley and Elijah joined them.

"Well, as long as we're taking attendance," Hayley muttered.

"Oh, good. It's my not-so-loving elder brother and my former one night stand," Klaus looked at the two newcomers. "What a nice, normal family gathering."

Hayley crossed her arms. "Charming. Elijah was just catching me up on how you have no clue which one of your long lost buddies you can trust and which one is going to kill you."

"Well, clearly what the situation needs is more opinions. I assume you told her about the bloody prophecy?"

"I was just getting to that," Elijah commented which shocked Juliette to find him not in his usual suit.

"Now would be good," the Marshall-Kenner woman demanded.

"Well, it appears my old mate Lucien has acquired a genuine seer, and in an effort to prove his good intentions, he got her to show us some rather dire visions of future doom. It's grim stuff, really. Not for the faint of heart," Klaus told Hayley.

"Whose doom are we talking about?" She questioned next. "Because if it's yours, then I think we're all okay with that," she sassed.

Klaus laughed at the mother of his child's comment. "Well, sadly, we're all on the chopping block. But chin up. This witch claims her visions are constantly evolving," he walked further so he stood directly in front of her. "So, you may just get your wish."

"Well, I wanna meet this psychic witch," Hayley cut in. "Tonight."

****

Juliette walked into The Strix party wearing a floor length gown that was emerald green. Her hair was in curls and she held a little matching mask on her hands. Hayley had begged the original hybrid to come with her and Elijah to make her feel more comfortable.

Originally, Juliette refused to go after receiving an invitation from Simon de Martel but Hayley played the best friend card. She walked alongside her elder brother and her niece's mother into the party. All eyes turned to them as the guests recognized their sire and his sister.

"Why are they all staring at you?" Hayley questioned as she held her mask up to her face.

"I'm kind of a big deal around here," Elijah informed her which made Juliette roll her eyes at her brother's joke.

"They're all part of your sireline," Hayley figured out.

"Most of them, tragically, yes," Elijah responded.

"And Juliette, why are they staring at you?" She questioned her best friend.

"Well, I'm not their sire and apparently the sirelines hate each other," Hayley just nodded as Juliette explained.