Empty Crown ⚜ Klaus Mikaelson

5. 𝙉𝙤 𝘿𝙚𝙖𝙡

Imelda remembers the day she and Iris found out vampires were a real thing and that all the founding families, theirs included, banded together and locked a bunch of them up in a crypt back in the 1800's. It wasn't even Imelda that found out about it, it was Iris as odd as it had been.

Imelda had been to busy watching a special about Vikings to care about her sister suddenly wanting to read their great-great grandfather's old journal. Imelda knew what time it was that night, 12:53 exactly, the three-hour special had just ended.

Iris had launched herself at her twin, spouting and babbling nonsense. Imelda spent the following ten minutes getting her sister to dial it down and tell her, without babbling. Vampires were real and the Fell's knew all about them.

It took Imelda exactly three hours to know her twin wasn't kidding and by sunrise, the Fell twins knew what the world really was. They agreed to keep what the knew to themselves, on the off chance they put too much stock into their grandfather's journal.

They promised not to tell. They would do more research but they wouldn't let anything slip. They started looking at everyone in a new light, kept what friends they had at arm's length, all but Stefan.

Somehow, Stefan had wormed his way deep enough into their lives to know what they found. He believed them and even gave them vervain bracelets. A bracelet Iris died wearing and a bracelet Imelda burned.

When Imelda felt her sister's death, heard her sister's scream echoed all around as she shouted her killer's name, Imelda knew then she truly hated vampires. Her mouth grew dry, her eyebrows knitted together and she leaned heavily against the bar.

"What do you say, Love?" Klaus continued to hold the glass between them. His eyes never left hers even as hers had grown dull but brightened as she leaned against the bar.

"A vampire killed my sister." Imelda couldn't fathom why this was the deal he wanted to make. "Why would I want to become the monster that ripped part of my soul from this world?"

Klaus himself eased back and sipped from the glass. "That is a good point, but look at it in this light." He moved forward, trapping her between his arms as he gazed down at her.

"I saved your life and am offering to get your sister's corpse, if there is anything left, and even pay for the funeral, all I ask in exchange is that you become a vampire."

"That leads to me being burned by daylight, depending on blood to survive, being scared of wood, and oh," Imelda met his gaze. "Let's not forget, again, become the thing that killed my sister."

Klaus wasn't sure how she could be so stupid. "I am offering you a gift, Imelda Fell. The gift of never having to feel the pain your sister felt."

Imelda scoffed. "No, just the gift of watching what family I have left grow old and die and that's only if they don't try to kill me first."

"I'm hearing you don't want your sister's body as much as you said you did." Klaus mussed, allowing her to push him back and climb back over the bar, sitting atop a bar stool she rested her arms on it and scowled.

"When I decided to go after Stefan, I never intended to survive it." Imelda's voice was haunting in a way. "The things he did, the bodies and corpses he left behind. The broken families and missing cases, I didn't intend to go on with my life knowing what I know."

Klaus didn't speak. Her haunting tone, her lilting words and the way her eyes darkened and glistened was nothing short of enchanting to Klaus. Imelda Fell was an enchantress, sat in a bar, dressed in the clothes she's worn for three days, auburn hair tangled and messy.