Chapter Text
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—May 12, 1818—
On the surface, they seemed like your perfectly normal, influential family. That is if you didn't look too closely. My father, a rather greedy bastard, had covered up what they truly were in exchange for all the gold they offered him. In addition, I was also made to keep their secret; then again, I wasn't really given a choice. They could make me do as they pleased with that pesky ability of theirs; one look into their eyes and a few simple words, and I am unable to utter a single word of what they are. Although I am unable to speak about their secret, I am still able to write them down. This is another thing I've learned: if they are not precise with their words, the person they use their ability on, me, is able to find a way around their words.
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He quickly shut his journal when he heard footsteps approaching, hiding it amongst the stacks of paper on his desk. Turning around, he only came face to face with the eldest of the Mikaelson family, “Elijah," he greeted. Taking a step back, he tried to create a distance between them, only for him to hit his desk, trapping himself. Elijah grinned at his attempt to retreat, "Mathéo, I do hope you are keeping your end of our deal." Mathéo pursed his lips, saying nothing, then he scoffed, "And who would I tell, Elijah, hmm? Because of that ability of yours, I am unable to utter a single word." Elijah's grin widened, his eyes glinting with amusement.
Elijah took a step back, placing his hand behind his back. "Well, you'll have to understand, compared to your father and brother, you, well, have been less inclined to keep my family's secret," Elijah explained. "Yes, well, unlike them, I am not blinded by greed as to not see you and your family for what you truly are," Mathéo glared at him.
Elijah's eyes narrow. "And what, pray tell, are we then?" he asked, his voice taking a darker tone. Noticing the shift in his tone, Mathéo kept quiet. "Come now, Mathéo, where did all your bravado go?" Once again Elijah stepped closer; Mathéo stood still, unable to do anything to defend himself as Elijah grabbed his chin, forcing Mathéo to look into his eyes. "Tell me, what do you really think of my family and me?" Elijah compelled.
Mathéo tried to resist the need to speak the truth, but as always, it never worked. "I think that you all are nothing but disgusting bloodsucking monsters," Mathéo gritted through the compulsion. Elijah's grip tightened slightly before he forcefully let him go.
Mathéo was pulled away from the memory as he watched from the shadows as his brother, along with his group of vampires, surrounded the witches. He looked slightly to the side, surprised—not that much—to see Elijah also hiding in the shadows, hidden from Marcel's view, before refocusing his attention back onto Marcel, who was yet again questioning the witches. This accomplished nothing but Marcel taking possession of the dead witch's body.
With nothing left to observe Mathéo headed back to the abattoir, he needed to speak with Marcel. Entering the room they usually meet up in, waiting for Marcel to arrive. While waiting, he paced around the room, walking from the bookshelf on the right side of the room all the way to the other end, then back again.
He didn't quite like this room; it brought back memories he would rather not revisit. But it served its purpose, since it was one of the few rooms that had a privacy spell placed on it. It took longer than expected until he heard the door open, then immediately clicked shut seconds later. "Elijah is back in town," Mathéo spoke, not bothering with pleasantries. He heard Marcel groan behind him, "Great, just what I needed, another Mikaelson in my town."
Mathéo turned to face Marcel. "What would you like to do?" Mathéo asked Marcel. Marcel didn't speak, thinking for a few seconds before answering, "I need to know why they're here, but Klaus keeps ditching my guys." Mathéo nodded in understanding. "You want me to spy on them for you?" Marcel nodded. "Yes, since they won't be able to see you, you can move around undetected."
With nothing left to say, both men exited the room, heading in different directions. Mathéo exited the building and started wandering through the quarter, hoping to find either, or both, of the Mikaelsons. After walking around for so long, he had almost given up his search; that is, until he heard a distinctly familiar voice. Following it, he found both Elijah and Klaus talking in the middle of the empty street.
Mathéo saw their lips moving but wasn't able to make out what they were saying. Stepping closer, he was able to hear the tail end of what Elijah was saying. "-So save this girl. Save your child." Mathéo frowned. "Child?" But that's impossible, he thought. He shook his head, filing the information at the back of his mind as he refocused on the conversation. He watched as Klaus refused Elijah and walked away.
Making an attempt to start to follow Klaus, Mathéo froze where he stood at the sound of Elijah's voice: "Are you going to continue hiding in the shadows like a rat, Mathéo, or are you going to finally reveal yourself?" Mathéo didn't move; he barely made a sound. He cursed silently before deciding to speak. "Elijah," he greeted the original, turning to face him.
Elijah looked at the man in front of him in surprise. There wasn't much that he would say surprised him in this day and age, but the sight of a person that was supposed to be dead standing before him, well, that was quite the surprise. "Mathéo, what a lovely surprise!" "Elijah said, smiling politely, but his eyes told a different story as they narrowed in suspicion. Mathéo just nodded, burying the shock and confusion that Elijah could see him deep inside.
Mathéo opened his mouth to speak, but Elijah cut him off. "Tell me honestly now, Mathéo, how are you standing before me when you are supposed to be dead?" Mathéo's breath hitched; he waited for that familiar feeling that forced him to speak the truth to come forward, but it didn't. 'Had any compulsion placed on him before his death wash away?'' He thought. That gave him an advantage; hesitantly, Mathéo spoke, "I am unsure; one moment I was in total darkness, and the next I was walking the unfamiliar streets of the French Quarter," Mathéo lied.
Elijah nodded at the information. "And can anyone other than me see you?" Mathéo shook his head. "No, you are the first person who is able to see me," he lied once again. "Good, that's good. Now tell me, did you hear anything of what Niklaus and I were discussing?" Mathéo shook his head. "Only the tale ends, so nothing at all".
Elijah let out a breath, looking slightly relieved. "Lovely, now, it should go without saying, but if anyone other than myself is able to see you as well, you will not speak of what you heard." Do you understand? Elijah ordered; the younger male nodded, "Yes, I understand." With that, Elijah turned away and left, leaving Mathéo standing alone in the middle of the streets.
Mathéo didn't know how long he stood there, his heart pounding in his chest. This wasn't supposed to happen; Elijah was supposed to be able to see him. He paced around trying to come up with a new plan, but first he needed to warn Marcel. With that in mind, Mathéo heads straight to the abattoir once again.
Nearing the entrance of the abattoir, he heard the sound of loud music. Mathéo grimaced; the one thing he didn't enjoy about being back was the music, and being near Marcel meant that he had to deal with it on the daily. Moving to enter the building, he quickly dodged to the side when a very angry-looking Klaus Mikaelson stormed out of the abattoir. Watching him leave, Mathéo decided not to worry about it; it was none of his business, for now.
Once finally inside, Mathéo tried as best he could to blend in with the crowd because he knew one thing: if Klaus was here, Elijah would be too. It turned out he was right; when he glanced up at the second floor, he found Elijah observing the crowd below. Thankfully Elijah didn't seem to notice him as he suddenly disappeared. Looking around, he noticed that Marcel also seemed to have disappeared.
Glancing around the ground floor, he didn't find his brother anywhere. Thinking he might have left, Mathéo once again left the abattoir with a sigh. "Damn them, wasting my time like this," he muttered to himself. He kept walking, heading to the place he knew Marcel would most likely be at, Rousseau's Bar.
Nearing the bar, he found Marcel sitting at a table by the window, and he wasn't alone; Elijah was sitting across from him. They seemed like they were discussing something, but of course with his inferior hearing he couldn't make anything out. Soon after, Elijah left the bar, and Mathéo followed him.
He kept his distance as he watched Elijah retrieve that dead witch's body from Marcel and silently slipped into the cemetery as he watched Elijah give them her body. In doing so he learned a bit more of what the brothers were hiding. From what he gathered Klaus had somehow fathered a child, and the witches have the child's life, as well as the mothers, in their hands. Quickly following Elijah out of the cemetery, he observed the original as he looked for his younger brother.
It took some time, but they—unbeknownst to Elijah that Mathéo was there as well—found Klaus. The blonde original, of course, made his displeasure clear before both originals started to fight. To say it wasn't amusing to see them fight would have been a lie; Mathéo enjoyed it immensely, though he wasn't really paying attention to what they were saying at. He was snapped back to the present when he noticed Elijah starting to walk away. Making an attempt to follow Elijah, he was stopped by the sound of Klaus' voice, "Did you enjoy the show, Mathéo?" he asked the brunette.
Mathéo was less surprised this time, seeing as Elijah was able to see him; of course, the same could be said about Klaus. "Oh, immensely." I quite enjoyed it when Elijah beat him with the metal pole." Klaus didn't say anything about going to attack Mathéo. "That won't work," Mathéo pointed out, but Klaus heard none of it, still going for the attack, only for him to pass through Mathéo.
Mathéo turned around so he was facing Klaus, who looked shocked. "I told you that wouldn't work," he stated. Klaus glared at him. "How the bloody hell are you alive?" Klaus asked, glaring deeply, "You passed right through me. How can I be alive?" Crossing his arms, "Alive, dead, how are you here?" Klaus asked again.
Mathéo shrugged. "Like I told your brother, I have no idea." Klaus' eyes narrowed. "Elijah knows about this," he asked. Mathéo feigned shock. "What did he not tell you?" Klaus clenched his jaw. "Clearly he didn't," he said, sounding frustrated. Mathéo smirked, knowing he had gotten under Klaus' skin. "Well, it seems like you have something to discuss with your brother; I'll leave you to do that. Goodbye now," he said with a hint of amusement in his voice, turning to walk away.
Klaus stood there stunned; he was already on edge with finding out he had somehow fathered a child. But seeing Mathéo somehow alive added a whole new layer of frustration. This was not good; he was on edge; he needed to let out that frustration before he did something he would regret. Shaking his head, he let out a quiet scoff before speeding off.
Finally finding the time to be able to speak to Marcel again, they both met up in the same room as before. As always, none of them bothered with pleasantries: "So what did you find out?" Marcel asked him, watching Mathéo pace around the room. "That doesn't matter at the moment, Marcel; they are able to see me." Mathéo revealed. Marcel looked at Mathéo in disbelief at the revelation, "What, who?" Mathéo scoffed, leaning against the wall near the window. "The Mikaelsons? Who else would I be talking about?" Mathéo answered.
Marcel pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Couldn't you have warned me sooner?" What are we supposed to do now?" Marcel asked. Mathéo remained silent, trying to think of a new plan before replying, "I don't know." He shrugged. "But for now, you need to continue on as if you cannot see me." Mathéo advised walking towards the door behind Marcel. Marcel turned around as Mathéo neared the door. "What are you planning, Mathéo?" Marcel asked, his eyes narrowing at Mathéo's retreating figure. "Seeing if I can get anything more out of those two," Mathéo stated before exiting the room.
Mathéo walked around the quarter, trying to enjoy the finally quiet night, although he told Marcel that he would be spying on the Mikaelsons again; he needed a few moments to himself at least. Finding a bench, he walked over to sit down, closing his eyes to enjoy the peaceful night. He let out a tired sigh when he heard footsteps approaching; still, he decided to keep his eyes closed, ignoring the person approaching.
The person seemed to stop right in front of him, not uttering a word; they cleared their throat, trying to get his attention. Mathéo sighed and opened his eyes. "What do you want, Elijah?" he asked the man in front of him. Elijah's expression was unreadable as he stared at Mathéo. Elijah moved to put his hands in his pockets before speaking. "Come with me," he stated, turning and walking away, expecting Mathéo to follow him. Mathéo didn't; he stayed seated on the bench. "And why would I choose to follow you?" he asked the original.
Elijah froze, turning to face him. "I will not ask again, Mathéo," Elijah stated, his tone leaving no room for argument. Mathéo said nothing as he got off the bench and walked toward Elijah. "Happy?" Mathéo asked sarcastically, glaring at Elijah. Elijah said nothing as he started walking, Mathéo following a few paces behind him. "Where are we going?" Mathéo asked after a few minutes of silence, only for Elijah not to respond, instead focusing on reaching their destination.
After about 10 minutes, they stopped in front of the entrance of the cemetery. Mathéo glanced at Elijah. "Why are we at the cemetery?" Elijah turned to Mathéo, his expression unreadable. "You'll know soon enough," he replied cryptically before leading the way inside the cemetery gates.
Once they entered the cemetery, Mathéo noticed that they seemed to be the only ones there, which was odd since there are always a few witches lurking around here at night. When they reached an isolated area in the cemetery, that's when Elijah stopped turning around to face Mathéo. "He's all yours," Elijah said. Mathéo frowned in confusion before turning around, hearing footsteps approaching, only to see Klaus stepping out of the shadows.
Mathéo looked between the two brothers. "What do you want from me?" Klaus approached Mathéo with a smirk on his face. "It is quite obvious, dear Mathéo; we need your help," he explained. Mathéo scoffed, "What makes you think I would help you with anything?" This time Elijah spoke, Mathéo turned his attention onto him, "Sadly, you have no choice in the matter".
Klaus spoke again causing, Mathéo attention was back on him "you see Mathéo, it has come to our attention that even if I regained Marcel's trust we still wouldn't know anything about what would be happening on the inside" he explained.
Mathéo paused taking in the information, he could use this to his advantage, "what does any of that have to do with me?" he said looked directly at Klaus. Klaus' smirk widened "I'm glad you asked, because you Mathéo are going to be our little spy" Klaus revealed.
Mathéo scoffed "you want me to spy on my own brother? What makes you think I'd agree to that?" he asked the pair crossing his arms. Elijah spoke again "Because it is like I said, you have no choice, you will help us, because that is what you need to do" Mathéo grit his teeth "fine" he unwillingly agreed.
"Lovely, if that is all I need to head off and heal Marcel's right hand man" Klaus stated before leaving, Mathéo to frown at the information, glancing at Elijah in confusion looking for an answer, the original didn't give him one instead changing the topic. "I do not know what you usually do to pass the time, but tomorrow morning head to the Plantaion house" Elijah instructed Mathéo before turning around to leave as well.
Mathéo's mood soured when Elijah brought up the location, he sighed pinching the bridge of his nose before dragging his hand down to cover the smirk forming on his lips, "things finally seem to be going my way. Guess I'll be playing double agent for a while" he said to himself before heading to exit the cemetery.