Darkness.
Absolute, consuming darkness stretched in every direction, a void without end or beginning.
Within this emptiness, Lucien stood alone - the only source of light, his body emanating a soft twilight glow that illuminated nothing but himself.
He turned slowly, searching for something - anything - beyond the darkness. There was only the void and the distant sensation of standing atop something solid yet unseen.
Then came the whispers.
At first, they were indistinct - background noise like wind through leaves. But gradually, they grew clearer, more focused, until individual voices emerged from the cacophony.
"You're the reason I can never atone for Mary's death," his Dad's voice echoed from the darkness. "Every monster that comes for you is one more stone in front of the sin I can't wash away."
Lucien closed his eyes, his jaw tightening. "Not real," he whispered to himself.
"I gave up everything to protect Sam," Dean's voice came next, heavy with accusation. "And now you're the one who'll get him killed. Your power, your enemies - they'll destroy him because of you."
"I could have had a normal life," Sam's voice joined in, bitter and resigned. "Stanford. Law school. A family. But you created the Force, and now there's no escape for any of us."
Lucien sank down, sitting cross-legged on what felt like solid ground though he could see nothing beneath him. The voices continued their assault.
"I wish I'd only had Adam," his mother's voice pierced deepest. "A normal son. A son who doesn't bring monsters to our door. A son who doesn't make me afraid every time I look at him."
"You were supposed to protect me," Adam's childish voice accused. "That's what big brothers do. But instead, you painted a target on my back."
Lucien pressed his palms against his ears, but the voices came from within as much as without. There was no blocking them out.
Then, as suddenly as they had begun, the voices fell silent. The absence of sound was almost as jarring as the accusations had been.
In this moment of quiet, Lucien sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping.
Just thinking. Thinking of better times, when sleep wasn't a gate to agony, but to... peace.
'Man, I miss those two,' he thought, his mind drifting to his son and daughter. 'Malek - if he was awake - would be throwing a fit right about now, probably threatening to set everything on fire. And Elara? She'd just be giving me those big sad eyes, asking why I'm not calling them.'
He gazed into the endless darkness, feeling more alone than he had in months.
'But I can't risk it. If this stupid brand somehow saw them as a literal part of me - and with how much they are compared to between a normal Dad and his children... If it jumped to them... yeah, not happening.'
His thoughts continued in the silence. 'At least they're still sleeping through most of this. Small mercies, I guess. They won't even notice I'm gone, but damn if I don't notice they're not here.'
Something warm splashed against his cheek.
Lucien looked up, confused. Another droplet hit his forehead, then his hand.
He turned his palm upward, catching the liquid. In the light emanating from his skin, he could see its color - deep red. Blood.
It was raining blood.
The droplets came faster now, a steady patter against his skin. Strangely, it didn't feel horrifying or disgusting. The blood was warm, almost comforting against the cold emptiness surrounding him.
Lucien rose to his feet, tilting his face upward. The blood rain washed over him, and he closed his eyes, surrendering to the strange comfort it provided. For the first time since entering this dark realm, he felt... nice.
The sensation changed subtly - less like liquid, more like gentle touches. The metallic scent faded, replaced by something familiar, something that smelled like...
Katherine.
Lucien's eyes fluttered open.
Morning light filtered through gauzy curtains, casting the bedroom in a soft golden glow. He was no longer standing in darkness but lying in bed, the nightmare receding like mist before the sun.
Warm lips pressed against his shoulder, trailing up toward his neck. Katherine's dark curls tickled his chin as she continued her path of gentle kisses.
"What are you doing?" he asked, a sleepy smile forming despite himself.
Katherine paused, dark eyes meeting his. "I finally understand what you've done to me, my dear jealous god," she murmured, her voice carrying reverence.
"What do you mean?" Lucien asked, confusion evident as she wrapped her arms around him, drawing him closer.
Her fingers traced patterns down his back through his t-shirt, causing him to squirm. "Careful," he protested, "I'm not big on tickling."
Katherine's lips curved into a smile against his ear. "What you call my 'evolution' - which I still refuse to call it that, I'm not a damn Pokémon - is so much more. So, so much more." Her teeth grazed his earlobe playfully.
Annoyed at her persistence, Lucien nipped at her neck in retaliation. "What the hell are you doing, Kat?"
She hissed, a sound caught between pain and pleasure. "You've renewed me," she whispered, her hand sliding down his arm.
"Your blood, your power it's made me how you want me. It's made me..." her mouth leaned against his ear, her warm breath tickling it, as she seductively whispered. "Pure."
Lucien, as he understood, froze for a moment, as a shiver of - interest? Excitement? - went through his body, at the thought.
Katherine's expression shifted to something more intense as her hand slipped under the edge of his shirt, her cool fingers against his back.
"Everything about me is new again, physical body and soul body" she whispered more. "It is so amazing. I love it. I love it so much how much you want me to be only yours. The honour. The glory of it. God."
"God, I just wish you were a bit older, how I would want you to tak-"
The door swung open abruptly. "Lucien, are you awake? Klaus wants to-"
Rebekah froze mid-sentence, her eyes widening as she took in the scene - Katherine pressed against Lucien, her hand beneath his shirt, lips at his ear.
In a blur of vampire speed, Rebekah crossed the room, yanking Katherine away with such force that they crashed into the opposite wall.
Her hand closed around Katherine's throat, pinning her against the wallpaper, nails digging into the skin.
"What do you think you're doing?" Rebekah snarled, her face transforming with rage, veins darkening beneath her eyes.
Katherine didn't struggle or speak. She simply glared back at Rebekah, silent fury radiating from her every pore.
"I warned Nik this would happen," Rebekah continued, her grip tightening. "I told him you couldn't be trusted. That you would-"
She never finished the sentence.
An invisible force slammed into her side, taking her by surprise enough, that it was sufficient to break her grip on Katherine and send her stumbling several steps to the right.
Lucien stood beside the bed, arm extended, palm out. His eyes had changed - no longer their usual blue but a burning yellow-gold that seemed to glow from within.
Without taking his eyes off Rebekah, he reached back, grabbing Katherine's wrist and pulling her behind him onto the bed.
"Don't touch her," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "She is MINE."
Rebekah stared, genuinely shocked by the transformation.
In all their interactions, Lucien had been unfailingly polite, controlled, reasonable - even when arguing with Klaus at dinner. This... Whatever it was, was something entirely new.
"What is all this shouting about?" Klaus appeared in the doorway, his expression shifting from annoyance to keen interest as he assessed the scene before him.
Elijah and Kol materialized behind him, drawn by the commotion.
As they saw Lucien's standing in front of Katherine, both their clothes and hair disheveled, each reacted differently to the tableau before them - Elijah's eyebrows rose slightly, the only outward sign of his surprise, while Kol's lips curved into a delighted smirk.
"They grow up so fast," Kol commented, earning a swift elbow to the ribs from Klaus that left him doubling over.
Rebekah rounded on Klaus, her fury finding a new target. "You threatened to dagger me if I so much as looked at the boy inappropriately," she spat.
"You said he was your SON. And yet you let this- this woman freely be in his room, in his bed, touching him however she wishes? Where is the fairness in that, Nik? Why am I the only one to be threatened with punishment?"
A tense silence fell over the room. Klaus's expression cooled to something dangerous and calculating.
"Rebekah," he said finally, his voice deceptively soft. "Come with me."
"Nik-"
"Now." The single word carried enough authority to silence further protest.
Klaus stepped forward, taking Rebekah's shoulder in a grip that appeared casual but clearly wasn't. Without another word, he guided her from the room, leaving Lucien and Katherine under the watchful eyes of Elijah and Kol.
As they moved down the corridor, Rebekah yanked her arm free. "Let go of me! What the hell is your problem?"
Klaus didn't respond until they reached his office. He opened the door and pushed her inside with enough force to make his point without truly hurting her.
"My problem," he said as he closed the door behind them, "is that you seem determined to create chaos where I need order."
Rebekah scoffed. "I'm creating chaos? Did you not see what was happening in there? That woman-"
"Careful how you speak about Katerina," Klaus interrupted, moving to a cabinet and retrieving a crystal decanter of whiskey.
Rebekah stared at him in disbelief as he poured himself a generous measure and downed it in one swallow.
"Have you lost your mind?" she demanded. "For five centuries, you've hunted her for running away from your ritual. And now suddenly you're defending her?"
The glass in Klaus's hand shattered, fragments scattering across the polished floor. In an instant, he stood before Rebekah, close enough that she instinctively stepped back.
"The situation," he whispered near her ear, "is delicate."
Rebekah's anger faltered, confusion taking its place. "What are you talking about?"
Klaus turned away, returning to his desk to pour another drink. He remained silent for a long moment. "The boy is... incredibly possessive of Katerina," he explained, his tone measured now. "In ways that honestly, only our own oath of 'always and forever' can rival."
He took a smaller sip this time, savoring the burn. "The only reason Lucien sought me out, the big bad hybrid, struck a deal fearlessly, was all to gain the cure for werewolf venom - my blood - to cure Katerina, who was bitten while saving the boy's soul from an evil god."
Rebekah's eyes widened slightly at this revelation.
"The boy has become... incredibly protective of her," Klaus continued. "Whether he acknowledges it or not, his care for Katerina supersedes any and all other care for anyone else in this world. He would burn down the world to keep her safe, and reduce it to further ruin were she to desert or betray him.
Though I suppose it is fair, especially with how starved he has been for affection." The last part he murmured more to himself - remembering the memories of the boy he saw - though Rebekah heard it all too clearly.
"So you're saying I should just ignore what's happening between them?" Rebekah demanded. "She's taking advantage of him - someone that is part of our family - Nik!"
Klaus laughed, though there was little humor in the sound. "I myself had slept with a woman in the village at 14," he replied dismissively.
"What matters to me is the 'who,' and Katerina, I am... still getting to know. She has changed significantly since I last met her. Neither the innocent and naive human girl, nor the absolute survivalist, but someone who genuinely... cares."
He set down his glass with deliberate care. "Besides, loathe as I am to admit it, the contract I made with the boy explicitly forbids me from attempting in any way to facilitate separation of the two, be it through manipulation, verbal or physical or any method really."
Rebekah absorbed this information, her anger slowly giving way to calculation. "So you're protecting her because of a contract?"
"I'm protecting my investment," Klaus corrected. "The boy has extraordinary power, and I intend to nurture it. If Katerina is part of the package, so be it."
Rebekah moved toward the door, but Klaus's voice stopped her before she could leave.
"One more thing," he said quietly.
"Right now, no one in this world cares more about Lucien than Katerina, and no one more about Katerina than Lucien. You've made your contract with the boy to protect him and not harm his allies and family - and Katerina in Lucien's heart is already both, whether he verbalizes it or not."
His eyes met hers, deadly serious. "So tread carefully. I have no interest in having to bail you out of the pain of violating a part of the contract."
Rebekah held his gaze for a long moment before nodding stiffly and departing, closing the door with controlled force behind her.
-----------------------
Back in Lucien's room, an uncomfortable silence had descended. Lucien remained positioned protectively in front of Katherine, though his eyes had returned to their normal blue. The yellow-gold fire had receded, but his stance made it clear he was still on guard.
Elijah stood perfectly still near the doorway, his expression unreadable as he observed the scene before him. Beside him, Kol leaned against the wall, eyes bright with fascination at the drama unfolding.
"Well," Kol finally broke the silence, "this is certainly not how I expected the morning to begin."
Elijah shot him a warning look, which Kol cheerfully ignored.
"What?" Kol spread his hands innocently. "I'm simply making an observation. Our brother has found himself quite the protector as a son." His gaze shifted to Lucien. "Though I admit, I'm curious about those eyes of yours. Most fascinating color change."
Lucien said nothing, his body still tense, ready to react if either Original made a move toward Katherine.
"Perhaps," Elijah suggested smoothly, "we should give Lucien and Katherine a moment to... compose themselves."
"And miss all the fun?" Kol protested, though he allowed Elijah to guide him toward the door. "Very well, but I expect a full explanation later. That little display of power was most intriguing."
As they reached the threshold, Elijah paused, looking back at Lucien. "We will need to discuss what happened here," he said quietly. "But for now, I suggest you prepare for the day. Niklaus mentioned something about continuing your training this afternoon."
With that, they departed, leaving Lucien and Katherine alone once more.
Slowly, Lucien's shoulders relaxed. He turned to face Katherine, who was watching him with an expression that mingled concern and something else - pride, perhaps.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice returning to its normal cadence.
Katherine reached up, her fingers tracing the outline of his face with unusual gentleness. "I should be asking you that question," she replied. "Your eyes..."
"I know." Lucien sighed, the last of the tension draining from him as he sat on the edge of the bed. "It happens when I get... emotional."
Katherine moved to sit beside him, close enough that their shoulders touched. "You protected me," she said simply.
"Of course I did." Lucien looked at her as if this should be obvious. "I'll always protect what's mine."
A small smile played at the corners of Katherine's lips. "What's yours," she repeated softly.
And indeed, she was his. And none in the world can deny it.
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(Author note: Hello everyone! I hope you all liked the chapter.
Do tell me how you found it.
I thought the scenario... Interesting. With the Originals - besides Klaus who already know - the relationship between Katherine and Lucien.
What do you guys think though?
I do wish to keep it clear though - like Klaus said, they don't care Lucien is 13, since when they were human, a thousand years ago, in their age, Viking era and all, people between 12 - 15 were getting married.
Klaus's problem with the Marcel situation wasn't that Marcel was young, but that his sister and Marcel loving each other, would make it so, he would be second place in their lives - something Klaus loathed.
He said so himself in the show.
Klaus is essentially, really, a Lucien who went a darker path by being the Family's"Second".
Well, I hope to see you all later,
Bye!)