Red Queen ▻ The Originals [1]

2

   It was daytime in New Orleans and Klaus Mikaelson made his way through the large crowds of people, in search of someone who could give him the answers he needed to find the witch  by the name of Jane-Anne Deveraux.

His eyes locked on an older female, who sat a table by herself. She looked to be a fortune teller and Klaus could already tell that she wasn't just some imposter psychic, she was an actually witch.

  Agnes noticed Klaus' eyes on her and quickly began to pack up before he came over. Before she could finish, Klaus walked over to her table and took a seat, "Good afternoon." He greeted her with a large grin, "Time for one more?"

  "I have nothing to say to you." Agnes told him, giving the original hybrid a cold stare.

  "Oh, now that's not very amiable, is it? You don't even know me." Klaus replied calmly.

  Agnes stopped packing up her things for a moment, long enough to look up at Klaus, "I know what you are. Half-vampire, half-beast. You're the hybrid."

Klaus couldn't help but smile at how the female knew who he was, "I'm the Original hybrid, actually," Klaus corrected her, "But that's a long story for another time." He stopped for a long moment when he noticed that he has gained the witch's attention, "I'm looking for someone--a witch. Perhaps you might be able to help me find her. Jane-Anne Deveraux."

  Agnes immediately knew who he was looking for, her eyes widening a bit as she avoided eye contact with Klaus, "Sorry. I don't know." She replied quickly.

  Klaus, who immediately noticed that she was lying, leaned toward her, "Well, now that's a fib, isn't it?" He told her as he took the woman's hand on the table and held it in his, smiling, "Now, you see, I know that you're a true witch amongst this sea of poseurs, so enough with the fabrications. I've quite a temper."

   Agnes stared directly at Klaus as she  withdrew her hand, "Witches don't talk outta school in the Quarter. The vampire and hybrid won't allow it. Those are the rules. I don't break Marcel and Ophelia's rules." She explained to him.

Klaus seemed taken aback from the mention of both Ophelia and Marcel's names, especially Ophelia.

  After recovering, a cold look grew on Klaus's face, "Marcel and Ophelia's rules? Where do you suppose I might find Marcel and Ophelia?" He asked curiously.

_____

Inside one of the numerous bars in New Orleans, Marcel Gerard stood on the stage, singing Karaoke.

His eyes were locked on Ophelia as he did so. She sat alongside some of his vampires.

As Klaus Mikaelson entered the bar, his eyes locked on Ophelia, who smiled brightly as she watched Marcel sing Karaoke. He wondered to himself why Ophelia didn't try and find him after he and his family left town. Why did she stay? And how come she was ruling New Orleans now alongside Marcel.

  After he finished, Marcel hopped off the stage and made his way over to the bar where Ophelia sat in between Diego and Thierry, two of his most trusted companions.

  "You killed it, Man." Thierry smiled, patting Marcel on the back.

Ophelia handed Marcel a glass of bourbon, which he gladly gulped down before he leaned in and kissed Ophelia.

  Klaus became angered when he witnessed the man he raised like a son, kissing the girl he used to love deeply and secretly still did.

  Both Marcel and Ophelia noticed that somebody was staring at them and turned their heads to see who it was. Ophelia's eyes widened in shock when she realized it was Klaus. Marcel paused for a long moment before turning to see what made Ophelia's face became filled which such shock.

  As Ophelia suddenly stood up from her seat, both Diego and Thierry turned to see what got both Marcel and Ophelia, the King and Queen of the French Quarter, so tensed up.

  "Klaus." Both Ophelia and Marcel greeted the Original Hybrid, sounding not too pleased to see him.

  "Ophelia, Marcel." Klaus replied, giving them both a cold stare.

   "Must be about a hundred years since that nasty incident with your psychotic father." Ophelia stated, locking eyes with Klaus.

"Has it been that long?" Klaus asked curiously, extending his arms out as he walked toward both Ophelia and Marcel.

  Both of them shared a glance with each other before they slowly started to walked over to Klaus, "The way I recall it, he ran you outta town. Left a trail of dead vampires in his wake." Marcel added in, continuing on Ophelia's sentence about Klaus's father.

   "And yet how fortunate the two of you lot managed to survive," Klaus commented, his tone of voice becoming a bit more aggressive, "My father, I'm afraid, I recently incinerated to dust."

  Clearly noticing Klaus' aggressive tone, Marcel's companions began to stand and readied themselves for a confrontation. Much to Klaus's dismay, it turned out there are much more than just a few of them in the bar, as half the restaurant got on their feet.

   "Well, if we had known you were coming back to town, Klaus...if we had the slightest bit of a heads-up..." Ophelia trailed off, a smile appearing on her lips.

"What, Ophelia?" Klaus asked, venom is his tone, "What would you two have done?"

Klaus was now nose to nose with Ophelia and Marcel, the tension thick between the three.

  Ophelia stayed quiet, letting Marcel answer for her, "We'd have thrown you a damn parade." Marcel spoke up as his face broke into a wide grin.

   He laughed, which Klaus returned as they embrace like long-lost brothers. Ophelia looked a bit taken aback with Marcel's action, but decided to just shrug it off, a small smile appearing on her lips.

Marcel drew back and placed his hands on either side of Klaus' neck, staring at him directly in the eyes, "Niklaus Mikaelson," Marcel announced loudly, "My mentor, my savior, my sire. Let's get you a drink."

Before they began to walk over to a table, Klaus turned to Ophelia, who didn't seem as happy to see Klaus like Marcel was. He stood there patiently, waiting for the girl to say to something to him.

She crossed her arms for a moment, glaring at him. A smile formed on Klaus' lips as Ophelia walked forward and hugged him tightly, "It's been a long time, Klaus. Long time no see." She told him with a smile.

She pulled away after a long moment and linked arms with him as they began to follow Marcel to another room so they could all have a drink together.