The Originals One-Shots

An Incident Concerning A Chore Wheel

 Living in the Mikaelson compound wasn't always easy, given the amount of fights and bad things which seemed to continually happen on the property. However, there was also the fact that such a large, old house required constant cleaning and attention.

 That the was the sort of thing Freya quickly began to notice. It was a bog house, with a lot of cleaning and work to do. She thought that perhaps if everyone pitched in, any work that had to be done would be finished faster.

 Of course, when she said this to Klaus, his response was, "Why don't you let me just compel someone to do the cleaning? It's much easier that way."

 He probably meant well by it, but it didn't go over well in his sister's mind.

~~~~~~

 "All right, we're here," Klaus said. "What is this important thing you have to tell us?"

 "It's about chores," Freya began.

 Kol groaned. "Really? You didn't tell us it was going to be something boring."

 "Kol, please," Elijah said. "Go on, Freya."

 "Thank you. I made this," she said, gesturing to the device. "It's called a chore wheel. Every week, we spin the wheel to see who's going to be doing what, and that will be their assignment for the week. Does that make sense to all of you, or do I have to elaborate even further?"

 "But I don't understand the point," Klaus said. "Why not just compel a housekeeper? Why go through all the trouble of inventing a...wheel of chores?"

 "Because this way, it'll be a group effort," Freya answered, "And we'll be working together to keep the compound in good shape. Just give it a try. It'll work out fine."

~~~~~~

 It did work out fine at first. But after a couple of weeks, Freya began to sense that something was wrong. Her siblings seemed to be getting more confused and forgetful when it came to chores, and she didn't know why. Once, Kol couldn't remember what he was supposed to be doing, and when he did remember it turned out Rebekah had already done it. Twice she walked into the kitchen and found a sink filled to the brim with dirty dishes.

 She decided to ask Finn if he knew what was going on. He didn't talk much, but he was very observant. If there was something strange going on, he would probably know about it. 

 "Oh, yes," he said. "That. They're absolutely terrible at it. They're also trading chores or bribing each other. Kol was the one who did the bribing, just so you know. I've been waiting, just to see if they would sort themselves out, but of course they haven't. All they've done is confuse themselves and each other."

 Freya sighed. "That figures. We're gonna have to call another family meeting."

 Once everyone was gathered in the living room, Freya said, "It's come to my attention that the chore wheel idea isn't working out the way I meant it to. Finn told me you guys have been trading and dumping things off on each other. Is that true?"

 "Well, it was Kol's idea," Klaus said. "He asked us to do his work he could go out and do whatever menacing things he does in his spare time."

 "Hey, it wasn't just me!" Kol protested. "Rebekah just had to go out with Marcel, so-"

 "Don't you dare put this on me!" Rebekah cried. "You're just as bad, and you know it."

 "So, who's really been doing most of the chores around here?" Freya asked. She looked at Elijah. "Have you ended up with any extra work?"

 Elijah opened his mouth, then closed it again, then crossed his arms and said quietly, "I don't want to rat anyone out."

 "I told you we should have compelled a housekeeper," Klaus muttered.

 "You know what? Forget the chore wheel," Freya said. "From now on, if you see something that has to get done, you do it."

 "Or what?" Kol asked. "You do realize we're thousand-years old vampires who are practically indestructible."

 "Yes, but I am a thousand-year old witch who knows a lot of spells that can cause you pain!"

 They all stared at her in surprise. They'd never heard their big sister raise her voice like that before. And, frankly, it frightened them a little. So, they all agreed and shuffled out of the room.

 "Was I too harsh?" Freya asked Finn.

 "Just now? Certainly not. You frightened them, and made them think twice. Not many things can do that."