twenty,

Marian asked, shocked as Klaus explained once again what Stefan and Rebekah had told him.

"They didn't tell you?" he asked, surprised. Klaus would've thought Rebekah would've told her as soon as it had happened; Mikael had tormented her as much if not more than he'd tormented Klaus.

"I guess they didn't think it was that important with everything that's happened," she answered, though she wondered the same thing herself. "Are you coming back?" I need you here, she wanted to say, but she knew that it would prompt too many questions from her uncle; the last thing she needed right now was to think about her mother and Henrik.

"Open the front door, love," he told her. She looked up sceptically, hesitantly walking towards the front door of Alaric's apartment. She slowly opened it, launching forward into her uncle's arms as she saw him on the other side.

"How did you know I was here?" she asked him.

"Tyler told me about your mother," he said softly. "I'm sorry."

Klaus seldom showed any emotion that could be mistaken for kindness—for kindness led to care and vulnerability, neither of which he could afford to become publicly known—but he felt that it was needed at this moment. He'd seen how much Marian had loved this Carrie woman; she'd almost killed him just for threatening her, afterall.

He felt her arms tighten around his shoulders, her face scrunching up as she sniffled. "He killed her," she whispered. "She's just gone. There's no Other Side for her. She's just ... gone."

Klaus placed a hand on the back of her head, holding her to him. "It's okay," he told her. "I'm here now." He held her for a short while longer, conscious that Alaric could come home at any time and discover that he was back in Mystic Falls. He cleared his throat before speaking, slowly pulling away from her. "I have some things to do today. Do you want to stay here?"

Marian shook her head. "I don't want to be alone anymore," she told him. "I can't." She was his eyes soften, instantly reminding her of the kindness he'd shown her only when they were human.

Klaus smiled. "Then you'll come with me?" he asked. She nodded. "Grab what you need. You can buy the rest later."

"Okay." She walked to the spare room, taking the few clothes she had—Bonnie had brought some over for her to wear—and the book Damon had gotten for her from the bedside table. "What are you doing? Can I help?" She asked as she walked with Klaus to the front door.

He took the clothes from her, opening the door for her to exit. He pursed his lips. "I'm planning a party," he answered. Marian stopped.

"A party? Aren't you a little old for those?"

"You're one to talk, love," he shot back. "The homecoming dance has been moved to Tyler's house, and I thought it would be fun to have a little celebration in honour of Mikael's death."

He shut the door behind him as they moved to the lift and exited the building. "Can I help?" Marian asked.

Klaus looked at her for a moment. "Are you sure you want to?" He knew of her passion for organising events and gatherings; she'd been the one to plan most of their gatherings, the most recent being in 1914. He felt a pang of guilt when he realised that he'd ruined her last event because of his fear of his brother.

"I need a distraction." Her uncle nodded, knowing well that Marian had never dealt with death well, especially if it was someone she loved. "And I think a little party planning will be good. I love bossing people around."

Klaus laughed. "Yes, you do." The pair got into the car—Marian in the backseat and Klaus in the passenger's seat. In the driver's seat was an unfamiliar boy who looked to be only a few years older than her.

"Where to, boss?" he asked, looking at Klaus.

"The Lockwood mansion," he replied.

The boy nodded before turning back to look at the girl who sat in the seat behind her uncle. "You must be Marian. It's nice to finally meet you." He flashed her a smile. She couldn't help but look down with slight embarrassment after seeing just how good-looking he was, suddenly wanting to know what Klaus had told him about her.

"Marian, this is Ambrose," Klaus said, interrupting their moment—whatever it was. "My newest hybrid."

The girl raised an eyebrow at him. "Did you want to become a hybrid?" she asked.

Ambrose shrugged his shoulders, starting the car and pulling out from the side of the road. "What's done is done," he said calmly.

"No, but like... did he give you a choice before he killed you?" she pressed.

"Marian, if you don't stop asking questions, I will take you back to that apartment," Klaus threatened, knowing that she would give him an earful if she knew how his new hybrids had been made. Marian had always been a firm believer in the rights of all people, and she hated it when her family took them away—or worse, killed them. The girl sat back, crossing her arms as she rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," she muttered, resting her head on the car door. "Wake me up when we get there."

...

Marian hadn't thrown a party in years. A large grin spread across her face as she saw people from her school actually having fun at something she'd organised. Klaus had commended her on her good work—she'd done quite well given she'd only had the early afternoon to get everything ready—and Bonnie had even told her that Caroline had been jealous.

"And don't tell Care," Bonnie continued. "But I think this actually tops what she had planned." She quickly took a sip of her drink as her friend laughed.

"You flatter me," Marian joked.

"Well it's true!" Bonnie exclaimed. She paused. "Hottie at twelve o'clock, headed this way," she said, looking directly in front of her. Marian rolled, following her friend's gaze until she saw a boy walking around, a red cup of something in his hand.

"That's Andy, or something. He's my uncle's newest hybrid," she said dismissively.

"He's back?" Bonnie asked.

Marian sighed. "Yeah, he wanted to see if Mikael was really gone." Bonnie nodded.

"I always forget you're related," she told her, taking a sip of her drink. "It's weird. Like, you're so different."

"He's nice sometimes when we're alone. I'm sure if you gave him the chance, he'd show you how kind he can be," Marian admitted. "But..."

"Yeah," Bonnie finished, looking down. "Listen, about Mikael. I was never really in favour of using him to get rid of Klaus. Unlike everyone else, I actually listened to you when you were telling us about the things he's done to you."

Marian smiled sadly at her. "You did?" Bonnie nodded. "This is why you're my best friend."

Bonnie went to say something more—there were many things she wanted to tell the girl, like how she was lucky to have her as her best friend, too—but something caught her eye. The new hybrid she'd pointed out earlier glanced towards the front door sharply, his focus on the girl who had been talking to him completely gone. He quickly moved to the door, where Bonnie could see Klaus standing.

"What?" Marian asked, turning her head to see what Bonnie was looking at. She saw her uncle and the hybrid standing there, alert and on edge, her uncle's voice loud but muffled by the music.

Ignoring Bonnie's protests, Marian curiously but cautiously creeped behind them. She felt her breath hitch as she saw that indeed Mikael was there. Even more, he was alive. A shiver ran down her back. Stefan and Rebekah had lied.

"They can't kill me," said Mikael, gesturing to the other hybrids who surrounded him.

"True. But it'll make a hell of a party game," Klaus remarked. "All I have to do is rub these two fingers together and they'll pounce." Marian supposed he'd heard her moving behind him as he'd stepped to the side ever so slightly so that he now stood protectively in front of her.

"The big bad wolf," Mikael taunted. "You haven't changed, still hiding behind your playthings like a coward. You only forget ... they may be sired by you, but they're still part vampire, and they can be compelled by me." A girl walked up behind Mikael and pushed Elena towards him. Marian's eyes widened as she began to panic. She couldn't watch another person die in front of her. Not again. Not so soon. "Come out and face me, Niklaus. Or she dies," he threatened.

"Go ahead. Kill her," Klaus challenged.

"No, Klaus! He'll do it," Elena protested.

"If she dies, this lot will be the last of your abominations."

"I don't need them. I just need to be rid of you," sneered the Original hybrid.

"To what end, Niklaus? So you can live forever with no one at your side? Nobody cares about you anymore, boy! What do you have other than those whose loyalty you forced? No one. No one." Klaus' eyes began to well as Marian felt fury build up inside of her. How dare he speak to him like that.

"I care," she announced, pushing Klaus to the side. Mikael smirked as he looked at her; he loved seeing her so riled up.

"I'm calling your bluff, father. Kill her," Klaus said before his father could say anything to her.

"Come outside and face me, you little coward. And I won't have to."

"My whole life you've underestimated me. If you kill her you lose your leverage. So go ahead." Mikael did nothing. "Go on. Kill her," he urged. "Come on, old man. Kill her," he said. "Kill her!" Marian jumped at the sharpness of his voice.

Mikael laughed. "Your impulse, Niklaus. It has and will forever be the one thing that keeps you from truly being great." He stabbed Elena with a dagger and pulled it out, leaving her to fall to the floor as Klaus stood, shocked.

Marian yelped as someone—Damon—pushed her to the side, twisting her uncle around and stabbing him in the stomach with a stake. Her eyes went wide as she realised that it wasn't a normal one; it was a White Oak stake. She cried out in fear. No matter how much pain he'd caused her, Marian didn't want Klaus to die. She stepped closer to the stake on the floor as the others were distracted.

"Katherine ..." Mikael growled, seeing the doppelgänger rise from the ground smiling.

"Kaboom." She threw two grenades filled with wolfsbane at the hybrids, distracting them from protecting Klaus and Damon prepared to stake him. Then, out of nowhere, Stefan knocked his brother off Klaus and pinned him to the ground.

"What are you doing?" Damon shouted. Marian scrambled forward, taking the stake in her hands. She felt an immense amount of power surge through her as she lunged forward, driving it through Mikael's heart. Leaning forward, she whispered into his ear.

"This is for my mother, and everyone else you killed to get to me and my family." He stepped back in shock, his energy draining quickly. She watched emotionlessly as he fell to the floor, his body erupting in flames.

part ii:

tvd s3, e9, ""

wc: