*Disclaimer: I don't own TVD, obvs.*

Yes, guys! The Marriage is back and with a brand new name no less!

CHAPTER 1

New Orleans, 1923

Bonnie Bennett was walking home from her appointment with the seamstress. She had managed to escape her chauffeur and bodyguard, the freedom was intoxicating.

The sun had slowly begun to set and it was a lot later than she had thought when she left, but that didn't worry her. She was only a couple of blocks from home and the streets were always empty this time of day. The shops were closed, and most of the families were inside eating dinner. She passed a dress shop and she would not have stopped except there was this beautiful, little red angel of a dress on display. The mannequin wore it beautifully. It was a brazen red dress with gold details, cut in that daring new flapper fashion, le petit garcon.

It was a dish!

Bonnie would have loved to wear it, but she knew she never would. Her father, Rudy Bennett was a strict, traditional man and there was no way he would allow it. Her fiancé, Marcel would love it, and he knew it would enrage Rudy, which meant he would never dare voice his opinion.

Sighing, Bonnie glanced down at her own drab dress. It was almost new, a pale blue muslin. It was lovely or it would have been ten years earlier. It still had puffed sleeves and a high neck. She even wore an old fashioned pearl necklace. She touched the Gilbert-girl coif she wore and decided that at least her ensemble matched. It all did from the white gloves, to the little blue hat she wore on top of her bun. Casting one more wistful glance at the shop window, Bonnie continued her walk home.

Bonnie heard the sounds of footsteps behind her and the hairs at the back of her neck prickled. She glanced quickly behind her and saw a pleasant looking man strolling casually several paces behind her. Nothing strange about that except, he was white and white people never came to her neighborhood.

She picked up her pace a little bit then she heard the sound of a car slowly pulling onto the street. That made her heart pound and she walked even faster. Just as Bonnie rounded a corner, another stranger came around it. He too was white and God, if she had not been so scared she might have thought him handsome. He had a devilish smile on his lips and he was staring straight at her.

Bonnie turned to walk out onto the street just as the car pulled up to the curb and a man jumped out. He was tall and had dark brown hair, and he wasn't smiling. That was when she realized she was boxed in because behind her there was nothing more than a closed up shop.

She would have screamed except she heard the click of a gun cocking and that stopped her. The man behind her discreetly held a gun under his coat.

"Now come with us Miss Bennett and nothing bad will happen to you," he said it slowly, almost kindly. There was something sort of young and innocent about him that did not fit with the gun or the threat in his words.

"Are you police?" she asked voice calmer than she felt. Of course, they weren't police, she was stalling.

The man that had rounded the corner broke into a laugh.

"No, nothing so respectable, darling," his voice was low and breathy as he chuckled. And he spoke with a drawling accent, he had to be British. It was an odd thing to notice at a time like this.

Armed strangers boxed her in. Her heart started beating faster and she felt a cold sweat begin in the palms of her hands.

"My father will kill you," she turned on him, and glared.

"Not if we have you," he grabbed her arm and led her toward the car.

Having him, this close made Bonnie think he was only a few years older than her. Quite a bit taller too. His hair was dark and his eyes were almost black, there was something about him though that made her think he found the whole situation amusing.

"Don't count on it," Bonnie snapped, while he was pushing her into the back seat.

Another man sat on the other side, calmly waiting and studying her. He had the bluest eyes of anyone she had ever seen before. They were unsettling as if there should have been more behind them then there was. There was no emotion, no glint of intelligence, just a flicker of insanity.

The man with the gun got in the passenger seat. The other man, the one who had been trailing her got in the driver's seat. Up close she could see that his eyes were green and his hair was almost blond, a dark blond. Moreover, in stark contrast to the grinning men in the back seat with her, he looked serious. Grams would call his expression grave and she wouldn't be exaggerating in his case.

"Elijah didn't mention you were such a looker," the man with the too blue eyes said, with a lascivious wink.

To Bonnie's horror, he put his hand on her knee.

"Take your hands off the Bennett-girl, Damon," the man driving the automobile said. He was watching them in the rear-view mirror.

"Is that a threat, little brother?" Damon drawled.

"Yes, she isn't here for your amusement," he said, voice hollow, but there must have been more to it because Damon removed his hand.

Bonnie let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

"So proper," the British man on the other side of her said, touching the pearls at her neck lightly.

"Take your hands off me," Bonnie growled.

"I don't think she likes you, Kol," Damon said, she didn't need to look to know he was smirking. She could hear it in his voice.

"Mind your own business, Salvatore," Kol quipped. "I bet you're daddy's little girl," this time he tugged playfully on her high neckline.

"What I am is none of your concern. You however, are soon to be a dead man," Bonnie replied, stiffly.

"I love pretty little things with sharp tongues," Kol said looking at her with heat in his dark eyes. He sighed heavily as if he was disappointed by something. "Luckily for you, Elijah has other plans for you."

"Kol, she isn't your plaything either," the boy in the passenger seat said. "You heard Elijah. We take her there, unharmed."

"Stay out of it Jeremy," the driver advised.

"Excellent advice, Stefan," Kol said, dark eyes intense as he stared at Bonnie.

A tingle of fear ran down her spine at his gaze. It was how a cat watched a mouse and she knew she was the mouse.

Bonnie turned her chin up and refused to look at any of them. Instead, she focused her energy on where they were going. She could tell just by the general direction they were going that they were on their way to the other side of town, the rich side. Concentrating on this took her mind off other things, but not for long.

"Is it common practice to let your kidnapping victims see where you are taking them?" Bonnie asked, careful to keep her voice empty of any emotion.

"Who says we're not going to kill you, doll face?" Damon said. He widened his eyes in a crazy kind of a way.

Bonnie wasn't impressed.

"I'd advise against that. I'm Rudy Bennett's only daughter, that makes me a lot more valuable alive."

"Relax, darling," Kol said, smiling. "No one's going to kill you, but I love how dark your mind is."

"The Mikaelsons would never kill such a looker," Jeremy said, he turned around and flashed her a smile that was all boy-ish charm.

How had he gotten mixed up with mobsters? Not that she asked. In fact, Bonnie thought it was a good idea to keep quiet. She had heard about the Mikaelsons and they were notorious for their ruthlessness. But they were from England. Their only foothold in America was in Chicago. At least according to her Grams. So what were they doing in New Orleans and what did they want with her? And who was Elijah?

"The Mikaelsons would never kill such a looker," Jeremy said, he turned around and flashed her a smile that was all boy-ish charm.

How had he gotten mixed up with mobsters? Not that she asked. In fact, Bonnie thought it was a good idea to keep quiet. She had heard about the Mikaelsons and they were notorious for their ruthlessness. But they were from England. Their only foothold in America was in Chicago. At least according to her Grams. So what were they doing in New Orleans and what did they want with her?

The car turned onto a street with mansions, confirming Bonnie's suspicions about their destination. The sort of neighborhood where her and her family would never be welcome. Not because they were mobsters as evidenced by the Mikaelsons, but because they were black. It should have stung, but she was used to it.

This sort of injustice was why her father had started his organization in the first place. To ensure that black people stopped getting the short end of the stick, simply because of their skin color. Thirty years later and he was close to owning the city, just a few key players left and then New Orleans was his. This too was according to her Grams.

The Mikaelsons must be here to challenge him.

Bonnie had never before thought about just how lucrative a business crime must be. Obviously, she knew it was, but she had never stopped to think about the extent of it. Given her current predicament, she would say it was likely even more profitable than she could imagine. Otherwise, what would be the point?

The car reached a gated entrance at the far end of the street. Jeremy hopped out and opened the gate. Stefan drove through.

"Keep driving. He can walk," Kol said, in a tone that brokered no argument.

Stefan looked at him in the rear-view mirror with that expressionless mask that seemed natural to him. The scrutiny only lasted a moment. He nodded and kept driving.

"What did baby Gilbert do to get on your nerves today?" Damon asked, he was still smirking, amused by the latest development.

"Keep talking, Salvatore and I'll do worse to you," Kol replied with an easy smile. His dark eyes didn't match his smile and Bonnie repressed a shudder.

Damon held his hands up deferentially. Bonnie had long since pegged Kol as the leader, but this latest order confirmed it.

The car drove up a long, winding road. The road was a wide dirt one and it fit perfectly with its surroundings. They were going steadily uphill through one of those eerily swamp-like forests so common to Louisiana. It was dusk, the cicadas chirped, and the heat was beginning to give way to evening. Bonnie's stomach churned. She didn't have a chance of escaping. With this terrain, the iron fence was the least of her obstacles.

At the top of the hill was an old white mansion. Made out of wood and in perfect Southern style, it was far from modest. It looked as if it might have been a plantation house once long ago; Bonnie dearly hoped it had no such history.

Stefan parked the car and Kol pulled her out of it by the elbow. Bonnie tugged her arm free of his grip and glowered.

"I can walk on my own."

"Then come along, darling," Kol replied with a sardonic twist of his lips, but his eyes danced with mirth.

He walked up the steps to the mansion and Bonnie followed. She wasn't about to give him an excuse to grab her again.

The front entrance was as grand as the outside. It was the kind of style someone noveau riché would choose, over the top and desperate to display the wealth of its owners. It was trying too hard and Bonnie sensed it. Instead of being impressed, she was angry because her family could not display their wealth so ostentatiously. If they did, it would not be long before some jealous bigot would try to end her father's empire.

The marble floors echoed with each step taken on them. Bonnie was still following Kol quietly and sizing up the place. The rest of the house only proved her first assessment right.

Kol opened a door without knocking. He flung it open and strode inside. Bonnie hesitantly stepped through the doorframe that led to a study.

"Brother, I present you, the Bennett girl," Kol said, smiling broadly as he spread out an arm widely to indicate her.

"Yes, thank you, Kol," the man behind the desk was a little older than Kol. His features were broader, nobler looking and he seemed calmer. More reasonable, which his next words proved. "Please, have a seat, Miss Bennett," he gestured politely to the one of the chairs in front of the desk.

Was this Elijah?

Bonnie sat down, attempting to look more relaxed than she felt. It would have been a lot easier if the woman standing behind Kol's brother was not staring. Her dark hair was cut short in a severe bob and she had large dark eyes that left Bonnie feeling exposed. She was stylish in her little black flapper dress and with her dark make-up. She was skinny, the kind of rail-thin look that Coco Chanel made fashionable. She was intimidating to say the least, but Bonnie was doing her best to hide it.

"I'll be off then," Kol said.
"No, sit down," the other man said, his voice was low and yet firm.

Bonnie decided then and there, that he was more of a force to be reckoned with than he looked. In his own way he was probably as dangerous as Kol, if not more so.

Kol sighed theatrically before flopping down in the chair next to her.

The woman's lips quirked upward. She was amused.

"This had better be good, Elijah. I brought you the girl and I have plans –"

"Enough," Elijah held his hand up. "Miss Bennett, I trust you were not harmed?"

"I – no," Bonnie said, startled by his directness into giving an honest answer. "Other than being kidnapped of course," she added, having gathered herself.

"I do apologize for the rough manner in which you were brought here," he cleared his throat. "However, it was necessary."

"Why am I here? Because I assure you, what my father and Marcel will do to you is not worth whatever you hope to gain financially."

"It's not money we are after, Miss Bennett. Nothing quite so crass," Elijah smiled faintly. "We are after power."

"In that case you've kidnapped the wrong Bennett."

This time the woman smiled, but it was a sly, secretive smile that did nothing to slow Bonnie's frantically beating heart.

"There is more than one way to power," she said, still smiling that same smile. "Your power lies in being the sole heir to your father's legacy."

"You are to wed a Mikaelson. Thereby ensuring that your father's empire goes to your intended," Elijah said.

"And exactly how are you going to make this happen as I refuse to do anything of the sort?" Bonnie demanded.

Kol wasn't listening until then he had been staring at the ceiling, but Bonnie's sharp reply made him smile. She would make a fun sister-in-law.

"There are plenty of lives to threaten, and end, should it come to it. However, I trust we can come to a more civilized agreement," Elijah replied, he was still calm.

Damn him.

"If your family counts kidnapping as a civilized act, I'd rather not join it," Bonnie said flatly.

"As does your own family," Kol quipped and winked at her.

"I'm not involved in any of that," she snapped. It was a sensitive subject with her that her father was a criminal.

As for her, she wasn't involved in any of it. Her father would not stand for it and Marcel obeyed him. Not surprising given that he was her father's chosen heir and prodigal son, so to speak. Terrified of losing that position, he did everything Rudy said and that included marrying his daughter. They were going to be married in six months' time. It might be odd, but Bonnie didn't really have any strong feelings about it. She assumed her life would stay virtually the same. This proposition however, was completely different.

Marrying a Mikaelson – any Mikaelson was out of the question, even if they did manage to scrounge up one more tolerable than Kol.

"Be that as it may, your status ensures that the organization follows whomever you are married to," Elijah explained calmly.

"Yes but –" what she was about to say next was nearly impossible to say, but she had to put an end to this marriage business. "Don't you have any qualms about letting a woman of color into your family?"

"Miss Bennett, allow me to be frank; I assure you that in this family, we do not care about anything as trivial as skin color. We are only concerned with power."

It was an honest answer, refreshingly so. No false statements about being color blind or worse yet, blatantly racist statements about being willing to 'slum it'. Simply the cold hard truth that they had other priorities.

"I do believe you mean that Mr. –" she hesitated, sure he was a Mikaelson, but hesitant to presume anything.

"Elijah Mikaelson and this is my wife, Katerina," he smiled briefly up at the woman. "I hope you forgive my lack of manners as today as been most hectic."

"Certainly, assuming you are willing to put me in a vehicle and send me home," Bonnie smiled sweetly.

"I would like to accommodate you, Miss Bennett however, the circumstances dictate that I am unable to do so," Elijah said.

"Naturally," she replied, her smile fading away immediately.

"Tell me, brother how are you and your bride to be getting along?" Elijah said, turning to Kol.

"Excuse me?"

"You can't be serious, Elijah!"

Bonnie and Kol spoke at the same time.

"You are the only available Mikaelson, Kol," Elijah said patiently. "Who did you think she was going to marry?"

Bonnie reflected that she was going to marry a thug and not a smart one either.

"Untrue. Rebekah remains unwed."

"Don't be preposterous!" Elijah snapped.

Katerina had raised an eyebrow. She was regarding Kol with an expression somewhere between disbelief and amusement.

Bonnie simply stared on in stunned silence. They wanted her to marry Kol? The same thug, who had played with her pearls with such scorn? She hated him!

"Who then?" Katerina questioned. She was smirking and obviously enjoying the commotion.

"I don't bloody well know! Some distant relative! Or I thought perhaps Finn had at long last grown tired of Sage, and agreed to be rid of her!" Kol blustered.

"Careful," Katerina purred. "Or Sage will be rid of you."

"Katerina," Elijah said in a low warning voice.

"Yes, Katerina," Kol mimicked.

The more Bonnie heard from Kol, the more certain she became that she did not want to marry him. Not that she was wild about Marcel or anything, but still anyone was better than Kol. He struck her as unpredictable in the worst way imaginable. Marcel at least she knew and understood his moods.

"Why do you insist on acting like a petulant child, Kol?" Elijah asked and sighed deeply. It gave Bonnie the impression that he was often disappointed with his younger brother.

"Perhaps because I am too young to be married?" Kol suggested.

"Finally, we agree on something," Bonnie murmured.

"Excellent," Kol flashed her a smile. She ignored it.

"Enough!" Elijah boomed. Both Bonnie and Kol jumped, and straightened up in their chairs. "This is happening regardless of what you two think. Kol escort Miss Bennett to her room," then he looked at her. "Miss Bennett you will be staying in the same wing as my younger sister. We would not wish anyone to compromise your integrity," this was said with a stern look at Kol, who scoffed. "As for you, Kol, I trust that as always you will do right by your family."

"Whether I like it or not," Kol growled, but he nodded his agreement.

Bonnie nodded. She wanted to argue, but felt too stunned to do so. It felt like such a strange thing for her kidnappers to be worried about. What did they care for her virtue? She herself wasn't worried. Her father would have her out of here soon.

Kol stood up and didn't wait for Bonnie. He strode from the room and she hurried to catch up. He walked at a fast pace through the building, up a staircase and down several hallways. Meanwhile Bonnie struggled to keep up with his long legs.

"You know, it occurs to me that there is a solution to his whole mess," Bonnie ventured after working up the nerve.

"I take it you have a plan, darling?" Kol glanced at her over his shoulder, just the faintest hint of a smile on his lips.

"Yes, actually I do. You help me escape."

"And how does that benefit me? I like the rest of my family wish for our business to thrive."

"I convince Marcel to work with you once we are married and you can get all the credit, meanwhile you can remain a bachelor. Probably just as well, I pity the girl that winds up married to you."

"Ouch," he rolled his eyes.

Bonnie heard the faint sound of another pair of heels on the marble floors. A tall blonde woman rounded the corner. She was dressed in a flapper dress too. It was like Katerina's except it was orange with silver detailing. Her hair was bobbed short, but it was waving softly and she wore an orange headband with what looked like a real diamond on it and a matching feather. She wore orange gloves up to her elbows and she was positively dripping in jewelry. If Bonnie wasn't mistaken that dress was an original Coco Chanel. It was the sort of dress she would love to wear, but would never dare to or be allowed to wear, and she felt a stab of envy for the glamourous woman.

"Bekah," Kol said and spread his arms wide and grinned broadly.

So, this was the infamous Rebekah that Kol would have preferred her to marry.

"Kol," she did not return his smile, and she spoke with a stylish accent. "Whatever it is you want; I don't have time for it."

"Going out again?"

"I've got to take advantage of Nik's absence to have some fun," her lips twisted into a smile.

"If you say so," Kol's smile had turned mischievous and Bonnie wondered what he wasn't saying. "Are you armed?"

"Always," Rebekah flashed thigh, revealing a small revolver strapped to one thigh and a knife in the other.

Bonnie goggled. That appeared to be Rebekah's cue to notice her because she scanned her from head to toe with pursed lips.

"This is the Bennett girl," Kol said by way of introduction.

"So I gathered," Rebekah said slowly. "Charmed I'm sure," and with that she strode away.

Bonnie was left wondering if all the Mikaelsons were like Rebekah and Kol, because if so, she was definitely out of her element.

"My sister," Kol said, with a smile that was both rueful and fond.

"I gathered as much. Is she too a part of your little crime ring?"

"Little?" Kol scoffed, offended. "Bex claims to have better things to do with her time, but unlike your family we don't let our women be helpless."

Bonnie didn't answer. She glowered at his back as they walked. It wasn't long before they got to a white-washed door. Kol opened it and gestured for her to step in. She did only because she saw no point in standing out in the hallway, glaring at Kol for the next hour.

The room was exactly how someone would decorate for a little girl. All white and a soft pale purple with pink mixed in. It was painfully white and stark. She felt physically ill at the sight of it.

"So what now? I'm stuck here until my father and his men come for me?" Bonnie asked, looking directly at Kol for the first time since leaving the study.

"Don't be absurd. We're having a late dinner in an hour. I suggest you change. If you're going to join this family, Elijah will insist you look the part."

"I'm not wearing anything from you people," Bonnie said, crossing her arms.

"Word of advice, darling don't defy Elijah," he said it with a mocking twist to his lips, but his eyes were serious.

Kol closed the door. Bonnie listened and waited to hear the telltale click of the lock, but it never came. All she could hear was Kol's receding footsteps. She wondered why he hadn't locked the door. One glance out the window reminded her why though, with the wild terrain out there, she was not going to get far.

Bonnie flung herself onto the bed and buried her face in the pillows. She wanted to cry, but no tears came. Instead, a sense of dread washed over her and she felt cold all over.

Thank you so much to everyone, who has read this fic. Who is psyched it's back? Let me know what you thought about this chapter! There is going to be some rewrites and changes as we go, so I hope you like the new version.

Also Rudy is Rudy Bennett because Sheila adopted him when he was a child.

I'm fireismyelement97 on tumblr if you want to stay in the loop about my fics. And if you want to request a drabble submit an ask.

- Izzy