Chicago 1921

The night was warm, the stars gleamed in the dark empyrean domain. The moon was at the arguably most beautiful stage in its cycle. Taking form of a full, glowing orb in the sky. A pair of eyes remained fixed on the celestial body, belonging to a vampire who's true self had been restricted. 

This individual was known to be ruthless and deceitful, descriptions he wholeheartedly agreed with. However, on this night his mood was of a particularly dreadful nature, the exceedingly noticeable presence of the moon had caused him to contemplate on his mistreatment and curses. He strolled down the street, accompanied by a young blonde haired woman, blissfully unaware as to what fate was sending his way.

"You have one hour, I'm serious Rebekah." Klaus warned, "If you're not home in that time, I will drag you out."

"You have such a way with words, Nik. I can practically feel the affection." Rebekah mocked, receiving a sharp glare in return. "All right! An hour. Must you be so uptight all the time." The blonde walked away, leaving the foul tempered vampire alone.

The streets were busy, filled with people bustling by, but Klaus was disinclined to socialise with others, so he opted for the backstreets as his pathway. This meant his anger was only fuelled when he came into collision with another figure. "Would you watch where you're going?!" he fumed, not bothering to look at the person.

"Ohh, I'm sorry." A soft, feminine voice spoke, he turned to find a young woman staring back at him with regret and a fragment of fear painted in her expression. His eyes softened slightly as he watched her kneel down to collect the large amount of flowers the clash had caused her to drop. 

A segment of him urged his self to keep walking and continue with his evening but he decided to listen to the other part that took pity on the girl. After all, she'd been affected more by the hit than he had. He went down to her level and assisted her in gathering the roses, moving his head lower to gain another full glance at her face.

"This is quite a lot of flowers." Klaus stated, mirroring her actions and picking them up individually. She carried each one with a great deal of care and gentleness, as if they'd break under her touch. "Who's the generous gifter?"

"I am." The brunette responded, her eyes meeting his. She paused for a moment, taking extra time to appreciate the blue in his irises, noting how well they matched with the new ribbon she'd bought earlier that day.

"Well, who's the lucky recipient?" He questioned, admiring the range of colours that made up the bouquet.

"Miss Gloria." The sweet smell of her perfume filled his senses, as did the scent of her blood. It'd been a few hours since he fed directly from a human and he felt the temptation course through his veins.

"The bar singer?" Klaus quirked a brow, his eyes zeroed in on her neck, the sound of her pulse appeared as a melody to his hunger. He looked away once she made eye contact.

"The musician." The young woman corrected, "She spends many hours singing beautifully for us, imagine how awful it must be having those men leering at you constantly." He found her voice soothing, the type that people could spend an eternity listening to. Klaus felt his anger dispersing to the sound of it. 

"I believe that a beautiful performance warrants a beautiful gift. Although I couldn't decide on which kind of flowers to purchase so I thought roses were the safest choice." She stood up, dusting off her dress as she continued to chatter.

"Then I was having difficulty choosing which colour, they all have different, gorgeous meanings. Red means love, passion and romance. Yellow means friendship. Pink is happiness, blue for tranquillity and purple is admiration." Klaus handed the girl the flowers, his lips tugged upwards and he watched in amusement as she rearranged the bouquet, carrying on with her rambling.

"So the shopkeeper advised that I buy 3 of each to make sure she has enough, however looking back, it seems as though he was only trying to make a profit. Oh, I saw the most beautiful black roses but decided against them, given the fact of black symbolising death and mourning, I don't wish to offend her but I may buy them just for me. There's no law that states you can't gift yourself, self care is very important ..... This purple is stunning, it would absolutely enchanting as a dress." Once she'd come to the realisation of her constant babbling, she came to an abrupt stop and pursed her lips in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry." she smiled sheepishly, "I tend to shoot off at the mouth sometimes, it's a childhood habit."

"There's no need to apologise, love." Klaus assured, "In fact you're the first person to make me smile, all day."

"Well, I do hope you continue to do so. A smile like that ought to be shared with the entire world." Klaus felt the blood rush to his cheeks. Catching sight of his expression, she held out a rose to him, the gesture caught him off guard but it was accepted nonetheless. "Enjoy the rest of your evening, sir."

Klaus watched as the girl turned the corner, leaving his sight. He was surprised with himself, there was an innocent, vulnerable girl, perfect to feed from, however he let her go. He looked down at the flower she gifted and smiled upon noticing the colour.

Red. Love, passion ....... romance.

~~~~

"One hour I said!" Klaus approached his sister, who flashed an innocent smile in an attempt to sway his anger. "It's been two."

"Nik, I can explain." Rebekah started.

"I'm afraid this is my doing." a familiar voice sounded from behind him, the young woman from the incident that evening came into view. A beam grew on her face once she'd seen it was Klaus, "Twice in one night, must be unlucky."

Or perhaps the complete opposite. "We met earlier, outside." Klaus muttered to Rebekah, the blonde had a brow raised in confusion.

"Please do not be angry with her. The only wrong she's done is taken pity on me." The brunette hesitantly placed a hand on Klaus' arm. "I just moved here a short while ago and was yet to make any friends but Rebekah's been splendid. Could she please stay just a little longer?"

 Her doe like eyes bore into his as he felt himself getting hooked in. There was something beguiling about her, something that needed further exploration. "Of course, who am I to break up the fun?" Regardless as to how submissive it made him seem, it was worth it once she smiled brightly, her face lighting up with joy.

He glanced at Rebekah, who blinked in complete disbelief. She was almost certain Klaus would disregard the girl and continue to storm out. However, even she could admit that this brunette had a special, endearing quality and she desperately hoped her brother wouldn't do anything to ruin that. The Mikaelson girl had gone to the bar to listen to the music when she saw the young girl gifting flowers to Gloria, she found the gesture adorable and introduced herself.

The human clapped her hands in delight. "You must let me buy you a drink to show thanks, Mister......"

"Mikaelson." Klaus completed, taking her gloved hand in his.

"Niklaus Mikaelson." Rebekah interrupted.

"Yes, thank you Rebekah." Klaus mused, annoyance dripped from his tone. "I hope you enjoy your time here, Miss...."

Before she could answer, the blonde intervened once again. "Amelia Peterson."

Klaus glared at his sister before bringing the girl's hand to his lips, planting a kiss on her satin covered knuckles. "It's a pleasure, Amelia." 

"Pleasure's all mine, sir." Amelia responded, the two spent a few moments gazing at each other until Rebekah shot up from her chair.

"He's here, he's here." She grabbed Amelia's arm in excitement.

"Who's here?" Klaus questioned.

"Thomas Wickenstead." Rebekah scowled at her brother upon hearing him snicker at the name. "Don't mock. His father owns the jewellers on the high street, not to mention all the land under his name."

"So you fancy him because of his inheritance. Now, Rebekah I thought we taught you better than that." Klaus teased, "He walks funny .... and dresses strange."

"What would you know?" The blonde Original scoffed and faced the human girl stood next to her, "Amelia, wouldn't you say Thomas is good looking?"

Amelia stood on her toes, stretching upwards to see him past the others. "Ooh, very." Rebekah grinned smugly at Klaus until... "But your brother is right, he does dress quite strange." The Mikaelson man mimicked his sister's previous expression as the smile dropped from her face.

"His clothes aren't important." Rebekah brushed off, "Now, we begin our plan, I'll go talk to him, whilst you set the mood."

Klaus observed in confusion as the two girls separated, Rebekah heading towards the man while Amelia sat down at the piano and began to play. A stunning symphony filled the air, creating a romantic atmosphere as they had intended.

"You play beautifully." Klaus complimented, he stood in front of the piano, looking down at the girl.

"Thank you." She replied, her eyes trained on the keys.

"I hope Gloria liked your gift, I certainly liked mine." Klaus told her, "Especially the colour, red." Amelia's eyes widened, still she continued pressing down on the ivory. "What was it the red symbolises?" Klaus continued, "Ah yes. Sin, desire .... lust."

A distortion to the music was made as Amelia played the wrong key, the Mikaelson man smirked, knowing she was flustered. "That's not what I said." she stammered, a pink hue tinting her cheeks.

"I know, I undertook my own research."

"Well, you need new books, sir." Amelia's attention diverted away from the piano, stopping the music.

"Perhaps you'd like to help me find some." Klaus offered, "There's a charming, little bookstore by the lake."

"You don't strike me as the type that requires assistance with anything." Amelia replied cheekily, "And besides, the red was a mistake. My intention was to give you the yellow rose."

"For friendship?" Klaus quizzed, cocking his head to the side.

"Yes, I suppose." she murmured hesitantly, anxious of overstepping her boundaries.  "If that pleases you, Mr Mikaelson."

"Please, call me Nik." he insisted, looking back at his sister talking with the peculiar dressed man. 

"Nik..." Amelia whispered to herself, testing it on her tongue. She glanced down at the ring residing on his finger and immediately recognised its type. "Your ring is quite beautiful."

"Thank you." Klaus' lips twitched into a small smile. "It's very important to me."

"Of course, it would be ...." she decided to test the waters of this supposed friendship and pushed her fear to the side, "Considering you'd burn without it."

Klaus' lips parted in surprise, he considered the possibility of him having misheard her but the wary smile of her face had confirmed he hadn't. "You know about.."

"Vampires." Amelia finished, keeping her voice down to avoid probing ears. "I was born in Mystic Falls, my mother died when I was an infant so I resided with a founding family, the Fells. They talk very loudly during their meetings, made it very difficult not to listen in."

 She regretted the words as they passed her lips. The purpose of giving an alias had been defeated since she'd just revealed her other personal information, she just hoped that the Mikaelson siblings weren't the prying type. The last thing she wanted was for the Fells to find her and take her back to their home.

On the other hand, this came as a relief to Klaus, it meant he wouldn't have to compel her to keep the secret of their vampirism considering she was already aware. "We are not the ordinary vampires that you are accustomed to. We're the first of our kind, the Originals."

"The oldest vampires?" Amelia exclaimed, she'd heard of them but never had she thought that one day she'd be in the presence of one. "That's amazing. You're practically supernatural royalty. Which means that would make you...... a vampire prince."

"King." Klaus corrected, a smirk overflowing with self confidence rested on his lips.

"Thomas has gone home." Rebekah approached the two, "His mother is sick, I do wish the old hag would pass already, we scarcely see each other because of her."

"Perhaps it's not meant to be." Amelia comforted, "He's beneath you."

The siblings laughed in shock and delight, "I didn't think you had the capability of saying anything hurtful." Rebekah grinned at the girl. "We're going to get on far better than I thought. Hold on..." 

The blonde walked to the bar then returned with 3 glasses of bubbly liquid which Amelia assumed to be lemonade. "I propose a toast." Rebekah distributed the drinks amongst the three, "To our new friend, Amelia. I believe this is the start of something wonderful."

"To Amelia." Klaus chimed in, drinking from the glass.

"To me." The brunette mumbled happily, she realised the liquid was in fact champagne once she'd taken a sip and pressed her lips into a line, making no attempt to conceal her disgust. "That's vile."

~~~~

A fortnight had passed since Amelia's first interaction with the Mikaelsons. The siblings had grown very close to the girl and cared for her deeply. They found her innocence enjoyable but were also concerned of others tainting it, this caused them to become protective over her. Rebekah was pleased to have a female friend, being that her only companion for the last few months had been her brother.

Amelia found herself getting eminently attached to them. The trio spent every night together in the bar and it'd become public knowledge that the Petrova was not to be trifled with. Not unless the culprit wanted to face the wrath of Klaus. The girl captivated him, he could sense there was more to her than she was sharing and he was eager to discover it. The purity of her soul was enticing, as was her playfulness. 

Despite it being a risk, Amelia decided to confide in Rebekah about her past, from losing her child and sister, to the foul way the Fells treated her, all except her real name. Her identity was precious to her and something she preferred to keep to herself.

"Sweet girl, I am so sorry." Rebekah cooed, bringing the girl into an embrace, her heart broke upon hearing the stories and she found herself being brought to tears several times. "You do not deserve any of that mistreatment. I'm glad you told me."

"I'm glad too. In such a short time you've become my dearest friend, Rebekah." Amelia's heart twinged with guilt, feeling as though she had betrayed Ariana and Jesse. They were the two people she used to socialise with the most but since her sister's death and her leave from Mystic Falls she'd given up on any hope of seeing Jesse again.

"Please could you keep this from Nik?" Amelia requested, as the two broke apart. "I do not wish for him to perceive me differently because of it."

"Of course, I understand." Rebekah nodded, her heart sunk to her chest and eyes widened when she caught sight of a certain individual whom Amelia could not see, due to her back facing them.

"Would you leave us for a moment, sister?" Klaus spoke from behind, he'd heard their whole conversation. Amelia let out a quiet gasp upon hearing his voice. "I wish to speak to her alone."

Rebekah smiled sympathetically at the girl, who stared back at her with pure terror. She subtly shook her head, urging the blonde to stay but the Mikaelson girl thought it best to leave.

"Is this your idea of friendship, keeping secrets from each other?" Klaus sat in front of Amelia as she avoided his gaze. "Look at me."

She blinked back tears, not wanting to appear as weak then made eye contact with his cold stare. "Nik, I-"

"Have I not been completely honest with you?" Klaus interrupted. It offended him that the brunette didn't trust him enough to confide in him. It caused the Mikaelson to feel unworthy of her friendship.

"Yes, you have." she mumbled, looking down, playing with the tassels on her dress.

He hooked a finger under her chin, tilting her head upwards to face him. "Then why do you feel as though you cannot do the same?"

"Because it is not the same thing, Nik." Amelia moved away from his touch, "Your secrets, although grave do not make you appear as dirty or tainted." Her voice wavered as she spoke, encouraging her to stay quiet but she pressed on. "They make people fear you, cower at the mention of your name."

"Mine brought shame to the family. I was locked away, kept hidden for nine months and in the end it was all for nought because my child didn't even survive. I was constantly treated differently by the Fell family, all because I was not biologically related to them. So you can understand why I was not so eager to share this information." She rose from her chair and stormed off, tears spilling from her eyes.

Klaus remained seated with his head hung low, the conversation hadn't gone the way he'd expected it to. The sense of culpability overpowered him as her words rushed through his mind repeatedly. After a few minutes Rebekah marched up to him, "What did you say to her?!" she seethed.

"I didn't mean to upset her." Klaus rubbed his temples, "Where is she now?"

"I sent her to my dressing room." Gloria informed, looking disapprovingly at the man. "The poor thing was crying her little heart out."

"She's already been through enough, Nik." Rebekah scolded, "The last thing she needs is hassle from you."

Klaus downed the shot of alcohol that laid in front of him, "I'll fix it." He strolled off, making his way to Gloria's dressing room. It'd been months since he'd been in there, the two made a habit of having late night rendezvouses until the witch had gotten engaged and put their little tryst to an end.

The door was left slightly ajar, he peeked through the crack at the girl sat in front of the vanity table. He smiled at the sight, taking mental notes of her every detail, even in sadness she was beautiful. The candlelight caused the wetness on her face to glisten and her skin to glow. Her dark brown hair cascaded past her shoulders in the form of ringlets, the soft strands beckoning for his touch.

He knocked quietly on the door, bringing her away from her thoughts. "I've made a mess of things, haven't I?" Amelia folded her arms across her chest and crossed one leg over the other. She spun the chair around, making him face her back, however her pout was still visible through the mirror of the vanity.

"Mia?" He spoke softly, she became disappointed in herself when she felt her heart flutter at his call. Mia was a nickname Klaus had began, she adored it and insisted that everyone addressed her as such.

"I'm sorry if I offended you." He twirled her chair back around, placing a hand on either side of her.

"If?" Mia narrowed her eyes, she attempted to rotate the seat once more but his grip remained tight.

"That. I'm sorry that I offended you." Klaus corrected, "You know, we're more similar than you might think."

"That's an awful thing to say." Mia murmured.

"Yes, I suppose it is." Klaus chuckled quietly, stopping abruptly when the Petrova girl glared at him. "What I meant was, we've both been wronged by those whose job it was to love us, to protect us."

"What do you mean?" Mia leaned forward, concern spreading across her face. "What happened to you?" Klaus looked down at the girl in admiration, even whilst she was upset her main priority was always the welfare of others.

"My mother had an affair, I was a product of that infidelity. My father, the father the rest of my siblings share, despised me because of it. He would beat me, belittle me, disfavour me." Klaus noticed the Petrova's eyes glazing with tears once again. "I'm aware I haven't experienced your mistreatment, but that does not mean I am insensitive to it."

He pulled her up gently from the seat, "I know how it feels to be unwanted in the place you call home. To feel singled out, in what is meant to be your family. But I promise you this...." He cupped Mia's face in his hands as they stared into each others' eyes "As long as you are with us, you will never feel that way again."

Overwhelmed with emotion, Mia was unable to contain herself. She wrapped her arms around Klaus' front and buried her face into his shoulder as she let out quiet weeps. Warmth radiated from his body, providing a solace for her sorrow. She realised it was the first time they'd been physically intimate with each other and wished it was under better circumstances.

 "It's okay, love." He whispered comfortingly while caressing her hair. "You're okay, I've got you." He held her close to his body and they remained in that comfortable position for several minutes until Mia pulled away.

"I'm sorry." She wiped the tears from her face, feeling embarrassed for what she perceived to be a constant display of weakness. "I feel like an imbecile."

"You're the furthest thing from that." Klaus reassured, he held both her hands, running his thumbs across the back of her palms. "I am sorry about your child, for what it's worth I believe you would've made a fantastic mother. But you'll still have that opportunity, that's one of the blessings of your human life."

"Preferably not with any of these fools, they're hardly worthy of your time." He joked, causing a melodious laugh to leave the Petrova's mouth. "But if there's one thing that I'm entirely certain of it's when that child is born, they will grow up to be just as good, just as loving and just as remarkable as you."

"I'm not good." Mia disagreed, shaking her head. "I've done things. Wicked, unforgivable things." One of her biggest regrets was a crime she committed before she left Mystic Falls. She'd stolen a large sum of money from the Fells' personal safe. Mia was certain that it would've lead them to debt and the guilt constantly plagued her heart. She considered sending some of it back but decided against it as there was a risk of it leading them to her.

"Those deeds pale in comparison to mine, I'm sure." Klaus noted, he couldn't imagine her having the capability of doing anything remotely evil. "There's nothing you could do that would cause us to care for you any less. If anything, these wicked things as you call them, just make us that more alike."

"I thought we already established that was a bad thing." Mia sassed.

"You wound me." Klaus pressed a hand to his heart, grateful he'd gotten her to smile. He took out his handkerchief and began to dry the remnants of her sadness from her face. "You shouldn't cry when people upset you. Instead become angry, make them regret their actions. Or. you tell me at once and I do it for you, okay?"

"Okay." Mia smiled softly, linking her arm in his as they made their way back into the bar. She glanced at the time with alarm. "I'll have to take my leave."

"It's still early yet." Klaus protested.

"Nik, I've explained this several times. Miss Owens has a curfew for the girls that stay at the house. If I want to keep my room I have to abide by her rules."

"Then perhaps you'd like to come stay with us." Klaus asked, hoping she'd accept. "I'll bring all your belongings myself. It would be far better than staying in some hostel."

"I couldn't." Mia flushed red, surprised at the offer. "It wouldn't be right."

"Why not? My sister adores you and I...." Klaus began but was cut off by her further objections.

"It's improper, Nik. People talk, society talks."

"Then we'll renounce society." Klaus insisted, "Anyone who has an issue will be treated to the luxury of me removing their heart."

"Thank you truly. It's an extremely generous offer." Mia took his hand and patted it. "But it is one that I have to decline."

"Fine, whatever you say." Klaus spotted Rebekah from across the room and an idea came to mind. "I'll be right back." 

Once he walked away Mia caught sight of a man sat at the end of the bar, staring at her with an unreadable look. He was noticeably a lot older than her, judging by his appearance she assumed her was in his late 40s. She gave a warm smile and waved, ignoring Klaus' instructions not to do that with strangers. The man simply leered, shaking his head and ambled away. Mia grew confused, wondering if she'd done something to offend him.

"Nik told me the wonderful news!" Rebekah threw her arms around the Petrova, startling her. 

"What good news?" Mia returned the hug despite not knowing what it was in celebration of.

"Oh, were you supposed to tell me instead? Honestly, he can't help himself sometimes." Rebekah rolled her eyes, she grasped Mia's arms. "This is going to be amazing, us living together."

Mia looked past the blonde's shoulder at the smirking Original sat on the opposite side of the room. She glared at him and he waved his fingers in greeting. As she was about to inform Rebekah that it was a misunderstanding she saw how excited the Mikaelson girl was and didn't want to dampen her mood so she surrendered.

"Yes, we'll have the best time." Mia brought the girl into another hug, "Excuse me for just a moment." She strutted towards Klaus, sliding next to him. "You told Rebekah because you knew I wouldn't be able to deny her."

"Perhaps I did." Klaus shrugged, "Or perhaps I could see that although you were saying no, you clearly wanted to say yes."

Mia shook her head, laughing. "You are a difficult one, Mr Mikaelson."

"So I've been told." He stood up and held his hand out to her, "Come, let's go get your things."

          Mark Consuelos as mysterious man             

A/N: HELLOOO MY DARLINGSSSS. I hope you enjoyed that chapter, I'm ill so the writing isn't the best.

Please Vote. Also, What was your favourite part?

Soo we got the first look of Mia in the 20s. She's still human yet, obviously but this will be the story of how she turned. I loved writing this side of her, so cute. I just realised that her love language is definitely touch.

Also can we just appreciate Rebekah's first appearance in this book, I literally couldn't wait to write her, she's one of my favourite characters and my favourite Mikaelson.

Credits to   for the new banner

Important message. I'm aware of how fast burn this all seems but trust me.... y'all will thank me for this later. I'm treating you now because season 3 is going to TEST YOUR MF-ING PATIENCE... don't say I didn't warn you. So just enjoy all this now.

Love youuuuu

Published: 8th April 2022