Always And Forever /4/ TO

Ch. 9 Sacrifice

Rory woke up to the usual sound of tourists wandering the streets and locals playing music. She groaned, having forgotten how loud it was there. She reached behind her, expecting to find Klaus. She glanced behind her when she realized he wasn't there. She frowned, and got out of bed.

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After getting dressed and realizing that Klaus was with the girls, she went down the hall. She gave a short knock before pushing the door open. "Hey, Elijah, I know this is more of a girl thing, but it's not like I have a lot of girlfriends to ask," she said, pulling up pictures Rebekah had sent her on her phone. She frowned when she realized the room was empty. "Elijah?" she asked, looking around.

While Elijah was known for being a neat-freak, the bed clearly hadn't been slept in.

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"Now, you cannot call yourself a connoisseur if you have not sampled each and every one of these," Klaus told his daughters. The three of them were sitting at a table covered in sweets. "Here," he said, holding beignet out to Hope. She took a bite. Unlike her little sister, Lilly had already started grabbing things. 

"Did I ever tell you two the story of my first beignet?" Klaus wondered. Hope and Lilly shook their heads, given that both had their mouths stuffed with food. "You two are in for a treat," he said, standing. 

"Long ago, three French nuns came to New Orleans looking for a fresh start and they came here. They marched right into our courtyard, and they presented your Uncle Elijah and I with these rather lumpy-looking, sugar-coated pastries," Klaus told them, picking a beignet up. "Well, needless to say, we were entranced. We set them up quite well."

"Why did they come to you?" Hope wondered. 

"Because there was a time, when we were regarded as royalty," he said, walking back over to them. "You might even go so far as to say I was king, which would make you two princesses." 

Both girls grinned and Rory shook her head at his story as she entered the room. "And here comes our queen," Klaus said, smirking at her. 

She rolled her eyes. "Good morning, princesses," she said, kissing both her daughters on the head. She pecked Klaus on the lips, before frowning at all the pastries. "I guess apple turnover is fruit."

"Well, I saw no harm in indulging our daughters' sweet tooth. All things in moderation, of course," he told her. 

Rory gave him a look, before turning back to her daughters. "Okay, just remember I won't feel bad for you if you give yourselves stomach aches," she said. They nodded. She glanced at Klaus as she looked around the table. "Are there-"

"Other side of the table, my love," Klaus told her. 

Rory grinned as she spotted waffles and a chocolate chip muffin sat next to each other on a plate. "This is why I'm marrying you," she said, making her daughters chuckle. 

She picked up the plate, before sending Klaus a frown. "Can we talk?" she asked. The two of them moved away from the girls. "Have you seen Elijah?" 

"I thought you had called talking wedding plans with him this morning," Klaus reminded. 

Given that Elijah was clearly a big part of both their lives, they both had things they wanted to talk about with him. Klaus had decided to talk to him that night while Rory made him help her go through everything that Rebekah had sent her during the morning. Klaus refused to got through it once he saw how long Rebekah's list was. 

"I was going to, but I went to his room and he wasn't there. I haven't seen him since he left for Marcel's last night," she told him. Both frowned as their worry for the Original set in.