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"YOU'RE HOSTING A yard sale?" Klaus drawls, entering the study. After the whole Dominic incident they had been on lockdown, Freya placing a barrier spell around the compound so no one could enter or exit.
"It's Hayley's stuff." Cullen explains. "She found it last night. I just figured while we're stuck here, I could help her figure out which stuff to keep and which to donate."
"Listen, I found Hope exploring the rubbish in the attic." Klaus begins, walking closer to Cullen. "She's restless."
Cullen shakes her head. "She's not restless. She's bored. Most kids her age would be at school. They'd have friends to play with."
"Well, once you and Freya teach her to hone her magic, she'll be powerful beyond measure. She won't need friends. She'll be worshiped." Klaus exclaims, glancing out the window.
"She doesn't want to be worshipped." Cullen shrugs. "She just wants someone to hold the other end of the jump rope."
"She'll be above such things. She will have power enough to protect herself from anything. We won't have to trap her in bloody boundary spells just to keep her safe." Klaus mutters, placing his hand against the barrier only for it to bounce off.
Sighing Cullen stands from the couch, walking up behind Klaus. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she places her head on his shoulder, leaning into him. "Thank you by the way. I know it's not in your nature to keep violence out of this house."
Klaus hums, spinning around to face Cullen. He bends down, placing a quick kiss on her lips. "Well, we'll protect her innocence for as long as we can. You and I both know the importance of that. No one protected ours."
Smiling, Cullen goes back to the boxes of old records and kids toys. "Well... while you're here, you may as well help me go through this stuff. You might find something useful."
Reaching into one of the boxes Klaus rummages around before smirking up at Cullen. "Oh, look at that. How to Defeat the Hollow: Volume One. Hidden in here amongst these old Guns N' Roses records. Oh, sweet child of mine."
-
Hours later and the Mikaelson family was still trapped in the compound. "Hayley's not answering her phone." Cullen sighs, walking back into the study.
"I'll try Freya." Klaus mutters, handing Cullen a stack of pictures of Hayley as a baby and her family. "Hayley might want to hold onto these."
Cullen smiles at a picture of baby Hayley. "We should take more family pictures." Cullen had plenty of pictures of Hope, but almost none of Hope, Cullen, and Klaus.
"There is a reason vampires avoid photographs." Klaus replies, waiting for Freya to answer his call.
"Well, not everyone in this family is immortal anymore." Cullen arches an eyebrow.
Klaus shakes his head, placing his phone back into his pocket. "Freya being one of them. She's not picking up, either."
"I'm sure they're all fine. They're just busy." Cullen shrugs.
"You know, this is a fool's errand. We're not gonna accomplish anything in this mess. I should be out there-" Klaus begins to become agitated, but Cullen cuts him off.
"Dodging an evil ghost who wants you dead? No. You're safe here." Cullen states, placing a hand on his chest.
"Safe and entirely ineffective." Klaus moves away from Cullen, trying to exit the room.
"Your daughter needs you." Cullen calls causing Klaus to turn around.
"My daughter needs the Hollow to be purged from this earth." Klaus snaps, pointing a finger at Cullen. "As does my wife."
"Why are you yelling at me?" Cullen questions. "I'm on your side."
"'Cause I can't be trapped here." Klaus shouts.
Cullen tilts her head to the side, realizing what this was really about. "You're not in a dungeon anymore. It's okay."
Klaus is quiet for a moment before he glances towards her. "The water in the pipes was like nails on a chalkboard. I was starving. I could smell the blood from the people on the street above me, I could hear their heartbeats. My own mind turned against me. It was taunting me. It was relentless. The first few weeks were the worst."
"You're worried about Marcel." Cullen exclaims.
"No." Klaus shakes his head. "Let him suffer."
Once Klaus has calmed down Cullen and him leave the study, done for the night. "I'm gonna say good night to Hope."
"Cullen, wait." Klaus stops her, but it's too late. One of Dominic's vampires already has his hands wrapped around Cullen's head, snapping her neck.
-
"Is she asleep?" Klaus questions as Cullen enters their room. After her neck had been snapped Klaus had been attacked by Dominic. The priest was able to temporarily kill Freya, allowing him access to the compound. And while Cullen had been unconscious during the fight Klaus was able to take out Dominic and his men. Luckily while this was happening Marcel had been freed, sweeping Hope away from the fight. "She was quiet when we walked home."
"She didn't exactly buy your story about paint on your hand." Cullen states.
"When I think about the horror she must have witnessed when Marcel killed those men, it just-" Klaus mutters.
"Um, no." Cullen shakes her head. "She didn't see anything, actually. Marcel swept her away before she could even understand what was going on. He told her to close her eyes and sing."
Klaus sighs, a smile finding its way onto his face. "She called him her friend." His words cause Cullen to laugh, happy that even though her daughter wasn't surrounded by people her age, she was surrounded by people who love and care about her. For now that was enough for Hope and it was enough for Cullen.
