Gilbert Twins [1 - Twins Series]

3 - Every Mother's Son

Book: Gilbert Twins
Chapter 3: Every Mother's Son
Word Count: 2775

No one's POV

In the courtyard, Avery and Hayley were munching on an array of fruit and other breakfast food when Klaus and Ariana came down the stairs together to join them.

"So, which restaurant's missing a compelled chef?" Hayley spoke.

"It's certainly a card I've played in the past, but I had no hand in this..." Klaus gestured to the food on the table for emphasis, looking confused.

"Not me. Sorry." Ariana shrugged. "But I will take a donut! I'm in desperate need of a morning pick-me-up." She snatched a donut from the table.

"Hmm. Well, then, I guess we have Elijah to thank?" Avery sighed. Elijah returned to the compound and joined them in the courtyard, and looked confused when he heard their conversation and noticed the breakfast spread in front of them.

"This wasn't my doing..."

"Then, where did this all come from?" Avery frowned. The silver lid on the platter suddenly began to rattle. Ariana looked uneasy, finishing her donut and lifting the platter, which released two starlings that flew up toward the ceiling, causing the five to reflexively duck to avoid being hit. They all looked puzzled and nervous.

"What the hell was that?" Hayley muttered. Klaus reached for the invitation and opened it. It read:

Dinner, Your Home, 8PM.

"An invitation from our mother." Klaus replied quietly. He and Elijah stared at each other in concern.

---

Klaus and Ariana were in the dining room, where they were making arrangements for the evening's dinner with a group of (presumably compelled) caterers. One of the caterers gave the hybrid and the vampire a choice of two different bottles of wine. They chose a wine and dismissed the caterer, just as Avery and Hayley entered the dining room together.

"So, I guess letting Oliver live paid off. He just informed us your mother has a partner-in-crime... another witch." Avery told Klaus.

"Building alliances in her quest to destroy us, I imagine." Klaus murmured.

"Why does she hate you so much, Klaus?" Avery asked. "She had six kids — it's not like she doesn't have the maternal gene."

"Seven, actually." Klaus corrected. "And, I think at one time, she loved us very much. One died before I was born."

"We didn't know that..." Avery suddenly felt guilty.

"Years later, my brother Henrik was killed by the werewolves in our village. The loss of another child pushed my mother over the edge. So, she used her magic to turn us into immortals. I think that's when she loved us the most. But, it was her undoing. It triggered a sequence of events that led to the reveal of her long-held secret. My birth father was the werewolf whose pack killed my little brother. Of course, when Mikael found out, he murdered my real father, and so, my mother lost her lover, too."

"Wow." Hayley whispered.

"No wonder she's crazy. I'm out of my mind having just given away Hope and Miracle... I can't imagine if they'd actually died." Avery added.

"You know, my siblings used to tell each other she didn't hate us..." Klaus began, teary-eyed. "She hated herself for what we'd become. I think they believed that, even after she tried to kill us all."

"What did you believe?" Ariana wondered quietly.

"I don't know. I just knew I wanted her dead." Klaus responded.