Chapter 4

By the third year, neither could deny that they were likely going to go psychotic.

"I'd be turning twenty five this year," Kai mentioned one evening. They had stayed in the Mikaelson Manor since they arrived, and had enjoyed the colors of New Orleans even without the people who made it so lively. "Yet, I still look twenty two. I wonder if I would have aged much."

"My count is three hundred and thirteen," Beatrix hummed. "Congratulations to me."

She missed everyone more that year. Kai hadn't asked questions after the revelation that she'd practically raised Marcel Gerard. Even though she wasn't his biological mother, it was clear to Kai that being away from him pained her. They must have been very close, and he for once didn't feel like taunting her about her past. He wondered what it might be like to feel the way she did. To have three hundred years of pain and joy and family. He had never liked his. Clearly, she had made her own and enjoyed it.

Thus, the third year, it had been far too calm. Not many snarky comments. Still sleeping in separate rooms, still sharing meals, but not many conversations. They took turns going out to explore, coming home at late hours of the night. About a few months into the new year, Beatrix had noticed Kai came home with a bloody shirt one day, but it appeared that he didn't see her watching him. She suspected he had tried to kill himself, to see if it would work that time, if inflicted on its own, in a secluded area. No such luck.

They'd thought the second year was hard, but the third year was worse. Neither was sure at what point it'd just be calm again. Neither knew what their count was. Three of twenty? Of one hundred? Of forever? Both understood exactly why the world was dubbed as a prison. And both hated the Gemini Coven more every day.

Since they hadn't talked, Beatrix had not yet told him about her time with the Mikaelsons. How could she? It would just be another roller coaster of emotions for her and it'd give Kai new material to tease her with. He called her Trixter anytime he ever needed to speak to her, and she addressed him as CobraKai, but apart from that, neither had much interaction with the other. They withdrew, and that's when the nightmares began.

Beatrix had never been one to have nightmares. It wasn't in her nature, not really. She usually had a dreamless sleep or dreamt something stupid, like that she was picking up a prescription at the pharmacy. She did at one point try it in real life, reminiscing on her days studying the medications when she was at Duke.

Her undergraduate degree. Thinking back to that was so weird. She'd only ever gone because Marcel had mentioned Law School in the fifties and she had decided to go do something less witchy and vampiric.

Usually, her nightmares made sense. She'd lost someone or something, and couldn't find it. Or she was forced to kill someone she cared about. Or she watched someone else be killed. Whoever created her dreams had no flair for dramatics, just pure angst.

Some nights she woke up and made no sound. Other nights, she thrashed and screamed. She started to put spells around her room so Kai would not hear her. It would be so embarrassing if he did.

It was strange to think that the nightmares started when they stopped talking so often. It was as if the lack of contact with the one person nearest her was making her paranoid in her brain. If she couldn't keep a connection with the one person she shared a prison with, how could she expect to connect with her friends when she returned to their world? If she returned to their world.

"Trixter?"

She turned around. He probably needed something. She was lounging on the floor of the parlor after several hours playing random tunes on the piano. Melodies that Elijah had taught to both her and Marcel.

"Whatcha need, CobraKai?" she asked, looking up. He held up the Ascendant. "Want to try again today? There's this spot out in the bayou where the sun hits really nice. We'd be chest deep in water but it's worth a try. Well, chest deep by my standards. Maybe too deep for you."

Beatrix scowled. "I'm not much shorter than you, genius. Besides, I can use magic to be at your level, it's not a difficult spell. Either way, I'm down. Let's try."

This was the first time they had tried in awhile. Looking back, it was weird to think of it in those words. Fresh out of Medical School in 1960, and she wanted to be an obstetrician and a gynecologist. She had spoken to couples constantly trying to have kids. At the time, she'd set her magic aside, wanting to do it the human way. She wished she hadn't done that. Some couples could have used the extra boost of good fortune. Fertility spells nowadays weren't necessarily dark magic, not on humans. Sure, their baby might be born a witch but the chances were low to begin with.

Kai didn't offer her help to get up. He simply turned on his heel and walked out to the waiting car. She stood and followed him, tying her hair up in a messy bun that looked more like a knot, but it didn't matter considering that the only person who would see it was already a sociopath with tendencies to critique and comment on everything under the sun.

She was silent on the ride there. He had given her the Ascendant to hold, and she'd fiddled with it, careful not to break it. He'd torture her if she broke it. Not that she couldn't handle it, but after the past year where they'd hardly spoken, she didn't want to make him snap. They could both feel they were about to blow a fuse.

Even with each other, they were so utterly deprived of human contact. What else could Kai point out about her that he hadn't already said? And even with travels, it was hard not to recall that usually, there would be people throwing festivities and such. Sure, both of them might have been very abrasive and careless if they did come across a human. But it would have been nice to talk to someone new, or talk at all in a civilized manner.

They arrived out in the bayou and parked the car near the edge of the water. Kai got out and kicked his shoes off, before removing his pants, revealing he had swimming trunks under them. He peeled off his shirt, tossing all his clothes back in the car, and taking the Ascendant from a very confused Beatrix, who was staring at his bare chest.

"What?" he asked, smirking at her and winking. "Tempted?"

"Don't be stupid, I'm twelve times older than you. Just- you didn't tell me you were planning on making it a swimming party. I would have brought a bathing suit."

"Sucks," he said with a shrug. Beatrix gritted her teeth and tore off her sweater, shoes, and socks. She looked down at her jeans and growled before removing them. It was too far for her to speed home, and those jeans were quite nice. She then looked at her t-shirt. She wouldn't mind getting it wet. She wasn't about to give Kai the satisfaction of knowing that he made her uncomfortable.

She followed him into the water, waving a hand gently over its surface to warm it up. Kai noticed, and looked back. "Too cold for you, Trixter?"

"I'm in cloth underwear, I'd prefer it not be sticking to me and feeling chilly simultaneously."

"You could have raided a Victoria's Secret on the way. We passed several."

"I bet you'd love to see me buy an overpriced set of those in real life just to know that my money is being wasted, hmm?"

"Yes. I'd like nothing more in the world."

Both cracked a small grin.

After trekking so deep into the water that Beatrix was tiptoeing to make sure her chin wasn't submerged, Kai stopped and turned to face her, holding the Ascendant.

"Sangina Mearma, Ascendarum Cavea. Sangina Mearma, Ascendarum Cavea."

The eclipse came and went and they were still there, except the Ascendant was drained in both of their blood this time, and there was now a pool of red between them.

"Shit," hissed Kai. "Damn it- Damn it! Fuck! Why couldn't you just have been related to the Bennett witches, huh? Fuck- what's the point of you being so goddamn old if you're not even going to be related to anyone of use?"

Beatrix scoffed and flicked her hand, sending him flying back across the water, bouncing once on the surface as if he were a skipping rock before plunging into the depths. He emerged looking angry. Beatrix just frowned at him and turned to swim out.

He caught her. More like, assaulted her. He yanked her back by the ankle and shoved her head into the water, his iron grip improving with every day. She thrashed, trying to kick him back, but she wasn't expecting this. She hadn't had to fight for her life in awhile. She hadn't even swam in over ninety years. He gripped the back of her head fiercely and pressed her down, holding both her legs so she couldn't kick him. It was harder to try and concentrate even with her hands free to perform any spell. She was drowning. He was drowning her. That asshole.

Even when she stopped fighting, he didn't cease holding her down. She was probably faking anyway. Only, she wasn't. He waited about two more minutes before letting her out of the water, and when he flipped her over, he found she was indeed dead. She'd come back faster this time, too. It was a matter of minutes. It took each of them hours, still, to return when killed properly- for her it meant being staked.

He scooped up her body and pulled out of the water. It was different seeing her dead like this. She looked normal. When he'd killed her in the past, she always turned gray and had bulged ash colored veins protruding from where they were normally on her body. He carried her to the shore and flopped her down, climbing out on his own. He popped the trunk and brought out a towel for himself, beginning to dry his face.

That's when his head was slammed down. She was back. She bashed his head against the trunk door, making him yell out a string of curses as she shoved him into the water, then waved her hand in a circular motion with one finger pointing up at the sky, mumbling a string of words in a language he didn't know. A whirlpool formed at his feet, and he was sucked in, his hands flailing and legs kicking as he tried to fight it. She dragged her hand down, and the whirlpool disappeared, as well as him. She waited five minutes exactly before cutting her hand through the air. His body appeared facedown on the water. At least it'd take him hours to revive. She'd have some piece and quiet. Out of the goodness of her heart, she muttered another word and flicked her wrist to turn his body faceup.

She grabbed the towel he'd been using and dried herself before getting dressed once more and reclining the seat of the car. She lay on her side, tucking her hands under her head, and closing her eyes. She might as well sleep.

Beatrix woke up about four hours later when the sun was setting, and she heard him spluttering and coughing. She heard him let out more curses. "She used my fucking towel," she heard him hiss as he presumably dried himself. She heard him getting dressed, and cracked an eye open when she felt him climb in the driver's seat. She could feel him staring at her, daring her to say something. She remained still and quiet, letting out a puff from her mouth.

"I know you're not asleep, Trixter. You don't breathe that nicely."

Of course he'd had to insult her again.

She opened her eyes and looked up boredly. "Well, we're even. So shut up."

His fist tightened around the steering wheel as if he'd considered beating her over the head, but refrained from it. "Yeah, I guess we are." He set the Ascendant down on her lap.

She wondered if it was physically impossible for him to apologize. Maybe it was.

"Are you ever going to tell me anything about your life again?" he asked boredly. "Like I said before, it's the closest thing I have to a television drama. The only source of entertainment."

She let out a sigh from her nostrils as she sat up, straightened her seat, and buckled up. "Once we get home and shower. Deal?"

"Deal."

He had driven home rather quickly. Either he was eager to hear the story or he was eager to get some alone time in the shower. He smelled terrible.

When they arrived, they had gone their separate ways and gotten under the water quickly. Beatrix took her time scrubbing, feeling like she needed to be cleansed. She washed her hair thoroughly and even treated herself to further cleansing with all the products she'd snatched off the shelves in the stores. Nearly an hour later, she came down to find Kai had apparently been waiting for awhile.

"Took you long enough," he muttered, crossing his arms.

"You dragged me into bayou water, it's usually better to clean thoroughly," she said with a wry smile. She sat in her usual spot, turning her body to face him. "I came back in 1815. Got a place of my own. Lay low for a bit. At the time, the governor lived in this house, I think, but the Mikaelsons were living with him. I came to a party here in 1816. Met Rebekah Mikaelson- she's the youngest of the siblings. We had a nice time, we bonded, she had just started a thing with the governor's eldest son, Emil. We chatted about that, about her, about me. She introduced me to her older brother, Elijah- he's the second eldest. Technically third eldest, though, the oldest Mikaelson child- a girl- died of the plague. The brother after her is Finn, and I never met him, he's been daggered for ages."

It took a slight deviation for Beatrix to explain the concept of daggering and White Oak Ash to Kai, who was quite intrigued. At least he was interested, and he learned quickly which sibling was who and how they'd become vampires in the first place.

"So their mother did it," Kai said. "A witch. But their father hunted them, especially your sire, Klaus, because he's a hybrid, but his werewolf side is suppressed."

"Yes," Beatrix confirmed. "After I met Elijah, I met Klaus. He remembered me, and I stayed that night pretty late just chatting with them. Over the next few years, we met often. I told them about what I was. In 1819, Elijah offered for me to live with them, but I didn't think it proper. I didn't want to get too attached to them, and either way, I liked where I lived. It was nice.

"They could be brutal, though. Klaus killed Emil in 1820 because he defended Rebekah, who wanted to turn him and be with him forever. At the funeral, the four of us were walking in the back. Out in the backyard, over there, they had a young slave boy. He was being whipped. Klaus saved him, and he gave him the name Marcellus. I didn't meet him right away- Elijah sent me home and asked me to prepare a room for him. I was standing in the kitchen when I heard laughter... talking... and soon, the little boy came in through the door. He was adorable. Ten years old, bright, strong. He bowed and he introduced himself to me. Told me he was Marcellus Gerard. It was so sweet to see how proud he was.

"Needless to say, I moved in. The governor was soon gone- Marcel was his illegitimate son, and mistreated him. Klaus was set to be his father. Marcel took a fancy to Rebekah, because of her beauty. Elijah took him under his wing and was like another father. So it partially fell on me to be the mother figure. I didn't mind, though. Marcel saw me as a sister, and I saw him as a brother, but he really was practically my son. When he was sad, I was there for him to talk to, I was someone he could trust, someone who wouldn't judge or push him too hard. Whenever he was frustrated, I helped him calm down, I helped him control his emotions, and I made sure neither Klaus or Elijah overwhelmed him. I knew how to play piano already and so did Elijah. After Klaus taught Marcel to read, we began to teach him piano. Elijah was more skilled, so he conducted most lessons. Taught me several things too."

"Elijah is the ex, isn't he?" Kai interrupted, wiggling his eyebrows. "You boned him."

Beatrix scrunched her nose up. "You don't have to say 'boned.' But yes, he is the ex. Let me finish. In 1821, they undaggered Kol- the youngest brother. Klaus was not really falling into his 'father' role as well as Elijah and I expected. Kol and him had always shared a more... brutal nature, so they had their fun slaughtering others. I always had more self control, but I won't deny I could be pretty bloodthirsty. Kol had been the only sibling who really tapped into his magic before they were turned, so he and I had quite a lot to talk about. If he'd been born a siphon, he definitely would have been the Original Heretic- not me. We understood each other. Shared knowledge of both our travels. Rebekah used to tease I was his 'Witchy Friend' because none of the siblings ever understood him. They sort of always excluded him from their little 'always and forever.'"

Kai interrupted yet again. "Let me guess, you had him too?"

"You're rude. We weren't romantically involved, but yes, there was a point where we just kind of... went for it. It was a 'friends with benefits' kind of agreement. I'd never been in a solid relationship and he hadn't been in one in a very long time. It was fun. We had a connection and we still knew deep down we were best friends. We were okay with that arrangement, and it wasn't harmful. It was just... an issue with Elijah."

"You're being absurd, darling," Kol had said, his voice low to try and be quiet, but a devilish smirk on his face. Beatrix, bare under the sheets, rolled her eyes and held them up, covering herself. "I have to go pretty far without clothes," she whispered. "Not taking any risks."

The door had opened before Beatrix could get to it. She stumbled back and fell, making Kol laugh and look up, seeing Elijah in the doorway.

"What, pray tell, are you doing?" he asked sternly, staring between the both of them.

"Well, you're interrupting it," Kol said, stretching his arms out toward the messed up room. "It's not that hard to figure out, is it?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

Beatrix gritted her teeth and covered her face as Elijah leaned onto the frame, staring at his younger brother before turning his gaze to Beatrix. "Might I suggest using several spells to conceal both the noise and your bodies?" he said, not amused. "You are a witch, after all, Beatrix. Marcellus is still in this house."

"No he bloody isn't," Kol snapped, no longer smiling. "Trix made sure he wasn't home. The only nosy prat here is you. No one told you to use your vampire hearing to spy on us. I don't see Niklaus or Rebekah here. You're the only one listening in. Did you like what you heard? I bet you were down there, listening and drinking, just waiting to hear-"

Elijah had lunged forward, but Beatrix had waved her hand, creating a barrier that he collided with. She sprang up, muttering a spell under her breath and turning herself invisible before slipping out.

"He was jealous," Kai deduced. "Or just a pervert."

The comment made Beatrix laugh. "Jealous, yes, but at the time I didn't realize. It wasn't even a big deal, Kol and I took enough preventative measures to not be indecent around Marcel, and tried to be secretive to not disturb the others. But he caught us several times and other instances, interrupted us before we began, which was beyond aggravating. All intentional, I assume. Elijah started asking me to do all this work around the mansion and with Marcel- wanting me to give him extra lessons and take him out into the city and blah, blah, blah. It got to the point that I had no time to myself. Eventually, Kol and I just agreed to stop our little bonding experiment and stay friends, but being as temperamental as always, Kol lashed out. He started being very cross with Marcel, taunting him and scaring him. I tried to get him to stop but he was really furious, he was blaming the boy because he couldn't take on one of his brothers. One night, he compelled all these people to perform Hamlet with actual death scenes and fed Marcel his blood so we could turn him into a vampire. Elijah and Klaus were furious. They daggered Kol again. I thought things would be better, I thought everything would be fine, and soon Kol could be awakened when Marcel was older. But Elijah got it in his head that he should be distant with Marcel so that Klaus and Marcel could bond properly. Stupid idea."

"Are you bloody kidding me?" Beatrix hissed, coming into Elijah's room one afternoon that Klaus took Marcel out for a sword fighting lesson with Rebekah in the open field. "You're such a hypocrite."

Elijah had been reading, and he looked up at Beatrix, confused. "Excuse me?" He looked almost amused, as if thinking she was about to have a different conversation.

"Don't act dumb," she hissed. "Marcel! You've been treating him like- like rat dung! You just started neglecting him! Do you have any idea how that impacts a child? Or did you forget that you both were getting along really well and it was helping him get out of his shell?"

Elijah shot up, a smile no longer on his face. "I told you already, Beatrix. Marcellus needs to bond with Niklaus. It will do him well. He is meant to be the boy's father."

"Klaus can still be a perfectly good father figure even if you act kindly to the boy! You didn't have to cast him aside and pretend like you don't consider him kin!"

"Beatrix, you are neither Marcellus's mother or his sister. You do not choose for the boy."

She glared at him, her fists shaking like she considered blasting him out of the window. "Always and forever," she said lowly. "That's what you preach, isn't it? Perhaps I don't mind the fact I'm not included in that. I get it, I'm not a Mikaelson, and I will never be a Mikaelson. But Marcel is, even if it isn't by birth. Maybe I have no say in this but I won't refrain from telling you that you are doing more harm than good." She scoffed and crossed her arms, unclamping her fists, her knuckles having turned white. "And I thought you were the noble and smart Mikaelson."

Before he could reply, she stormed away.

"I stayed in their home until Marcellus was of age," she continued, wringing her hands together. "I did my best to guide him, to help him understand our world and to have proper morals. I'm thankful that he was never as rash as Klaus. I visited over the years, but mostly kept to myself. Stayed away from the French Quarter Coven witches at first because I knew they wouldn't accept me. Wandered around town, met people. I practiced spellwork in my home. Didn't do much of it, honestly- it felt weird without Kol there. When Marcel and Rebekah started their relationship, Marcel asked me to help and distract Klaus. He didn't want them together."

Kai smirked. "And this is the part where you went for Original brother number three."

"No, number two. Elijah and I didn't get together until much after that."

"You're sadistic," Kai said, chuckling like it was the funniest thing in the world. "Three Original brothers?"

"What a lovely dinner you made for us, Beatrix," Klaus said, leaning back in his chair at the head of the table. He looked pleased. "The blood was exquisite."

"I was certain you'd like it," she said, smiling. She'd asked for a private dinner with Klaus and Elijah, giving Marcel and Rebekah some time alone.

Klaus had shot her one of his signature wicked grins. "Yes, love, I did like it. One must wonder where you got the blood."

"Compulsion isn't difficult, darling," she had answered, pouring him another glass of blood. "Many of the women who live with me are quite friendly. You ask them for a donation and they don't mind contributing. It pleases me that we share the same tastes. I chose the ones who I think taste best."

Klaus raised his glass, staring intently at Beatrix, before turning to Elijah, who was practically wearing a poker face. Most of the conversation that evening had been between the two brothers, with Beatrix giving some input every now and then directly to Klaus. The hybrid was no idiot. He sensed what was up.

"She sounds like Kol, doesn't she?" Klaus noted to Elijah. "She uses the word 'darling' much more since before we daggered him." Elijah had nodded, sipping from his own glass to avoid answering.

Amused, Klaus chuckled. "Well, I must wonder... when are you two going to stop ignoring each other and just go to bed together already?"

Beatrix's cheeks turned beet read, but Elijah had hardly reacted. This made her frown. "Elijah is not interested, darling," she said, offering Klaus a cheeky smile. "Either way, I'm more likely to want to sleep with you, Klaus. You are my sire after all."

The hybrid had raised his eyebrow, smirking up at her, and leaning his chair a bit further back. His brother made no sound, as if he hadn't even heard them. "Really, love?" Klaus asked. "Just because I'm your sire? Don't mistaken me for Kol, but I am definitely not bad on the eyes."

"How sweet of you to compare yourself to your baby brother," Beatrix teased, tapping her foot three times under the table to let Rebekah and Marcel know that they were starting to finish dinner.

"I flirted with him, a lot," Beatrix stated. "He was my friend, don't get me wrong. Maybe most of it was to help Marcel and Rebekah but I didn't mind it. Elijah never said anything. I thought perhaps he just didn't like me at all but tolerated me because Rebekah, Kol, and Marcel liked me very much."

Kai just smirked and shook his head. "Still can't believe it. Three Original brothers... no wonder this gets sad..."