JUST A LITTLE BIT OF YOUR HEART | TO [2]

XXXI • QUEEN DEATH

thirty-one | mort de la reine

Mikaelson Compound

Monique wakes up in the massive king-sized bed, in her thigh-length summer floral slip black silk satin nightgown with thin straps, reaching with her left hand for her sweetheart's presence next to her, only to find an empty space there and that she's actually all alone in the serene bedroom. Slowly, she sits up on the massive bed and starts looking around the spacious bedroom she remains to share with her lover for any signs of him. Where could he be? Considering the spot next to her on the bed clearly seems that it hasn't been slept in, therefore Elijah didn't come home the previous night. She waited for him to come home to her until she drifted away in her sleep, unfortunately. She couldn't even remember the time she slept, considering she was too busy worrying about his delay to come home. To say that she remains deeply concerned now would be a huge understatement. Anything could've happened to him. Although what is it?

Meanwhile, Klaus and Hope are sitting in the exact chair, downstairs in the courtyard, in which the seven-year-old is seated safe and comfortably on her own father's lap while a long table, in which giant platters of sugar-coated beignets and other tasty pastries, especially for breakfast, are sitting on it.

"Now, you can't call yourself a connoisseur if you have not sampled each and every one of these. Hmm? Here." Klaus, with a delectable beignet in his right hand, watches with a delightful smile as his daughter takes a bite.

"Mmm, it's so good!"

"Did I ever tell you the story of my first beignet? No? You are in for a treat." Always; Klaus raises his daughter in his two strong hands and sets her down in the chair as he gets up on his feet, "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, Aunt Monique, and me with these rather lumpy-looking, sugar-coated pastries. Well, needless to say, we were entranced. We set them up quite well." In fact, beignets have always been his favourite pastry since the 1700's then.

Hope adorably tilts her head in wonder, "Why did they come to you?"

Klaus kneels down on one knee to get closer to his daughter once more, "Because there was a time when we were regarded as royalty. You might even go so far as to say I was king, which would make you a princess." While Hayley would always be his queen, and he would only bow down to her, despite that it seems that she has chosen to remain with her deceased husband's last name to remember him by for however long she may live. Not only is she a Kenner, though she's also a Marshall, a royal Labonair, and to him, she would always be a Mikaelson, who always remains by his side.

Monique finally walks in, "Good morning. I guess apple turnover is fruit."

Klaus slowly gets back up on his feet to face her, "Well, I saw no harm in indulging my daughter's sweet tooth. All things in moderation, of course."

"Mmhm. Now don't eat too many, or you'll get a stomachache. I presume, Mommy's still with Grandma Mary down at the bayou?" Monique recalled.

Hope nods with the cute smile on her face, "Yeah. She really misses her." Considering she actually knows the truth about her mother's deceased husband, being that he was Mary's one and only grandson and the little girl's own step-father, from the journal she read about him, her mother's. For a girl her age, she can't seem to resist when her mother's last name is someone else's, considering she was married to him six previous years ago. She has seen his pictures, and she actually knew what occurred to him on her own, her Aunt Monique being the one and only person to keep it a secret from her, considering her mother didn't really like to speak about him.