Blue ▹ The Originals [2]

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER TEN
FAMILY TIES

"Tears shed for another person are not a sign of weakness. They are a sign of a pure heart."

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

     Henrik didn't hold a single conversation with Klaus or Elijah for two weeks.

It wasn't for lack of trying on Klaus and Elijah's part. They tried tirelessly to rope Henrik into conversation, into plotting schemes, into family talks. Henrik ignored every single one of their attempts. At first, Freya had been displeased by the behavior, had even attempted to play mediator. She even went so far as to approach Henrik and beg him to stop being so unreasonable and told him that whatever they were fighting about, she was sure they could work through it. She stopped playing mediator when he told her what they had done. Freya hadn't even known they had kept Henrik in the dark, which made sense. When he asked her what exactly had happened with Kol, she had admitted that she had just woken from a century of sleep when Kol died again, and that she had barely known him.

The only deaths she had been there for had been Finn, Esther, and then Mikael, in that order. Henrik had almost had a stroke. He hadn't known Mikael was resurrected, either. Finn's soul was currently locked inside Freya's pendant, Freya had admitted to murdering Esther herself—Henrik had felt a shocking amount of excitement that one of his siblings loathed their mother as much as he did—and then told him how Klaus had killed Mikael in front of her. She had grown solemn at the information, so Henrik hadn't said anything rude or insensitive.

The only child Mikael had ever cherished, it seemed, had been Freya. He had shown soft moments toward Henrik as well, but that changed quickly when Henrik started idolizing Klaus as an older sibling. He tried not to think about it.

The compound was tense because of Henrik's silent treatment, so he either found himself watching Hope, hanging out with Davina, Jackson, or Marcel, or talking spells and stories with Freya. He was still keeping his sister at arm's length, but he was trying, and she was just happy he would spend time with her at all. That day, however, Freya wasn't free. She had things to do, and since Hayley and Jackson had whisked Hope away to the bayou for a peaceful weekend, Henrik decided to take a walk instead.

It wasn't long before Francis appeared beside him.

Francis had been busy as well. Either he was slacking on guard duty, or Tristan was pulling him away more and more because he was in need of Francis's talents. It made Henrik think something else was going on. Each time he asked, Francis openly admitted that Tristan was plotting, but he hadn't let slip anything useful yet. Henrik had the feeling Francis would tell him if something was going to happen. He hadn't ceased feeling guilty about Rebekah since she was captured by the Strix.

He was the same way now.

"I know you're giving the silent treatment to your brothers, but is it truly necessary to do it to me?" he asked as he fell into step beside him. Henrik bit back a smile, but didn't respond. He wasn't particularly angry with Francis, not really. The vampire barely knew him; technically, he didn't owe Henrik a damn thing. Still, making him squirm was amusing to him. "Would it help if I apologized? For Rebekah?"

"I don't want an apology, Francis," Henrik said with a roll of his eyes. "Not from someone I barely know. It means nothing. What I want is my sister safe."

"She is safe. You know she's safe." When Henrik stopped and shot Francis a questioning look, he offered a rather gentle smile. Henrik was thrown off by it. "She's the originator of Aurora's bloodline, darling. Neither Tristan, Lucien, or Aurora would risk harming her in a way that could kill her. She's safe, you just need to find her."