Floating In The Deep, Chapter Three:

"I'm gunna marry him, daddy," the swell of pride Klaus normally felt when his little bird called him 'daddy,' or any variation thereof, was drowned out by quickly growing horror. His little bird, now seven years old, was curled up on the couch next to Elijah, her blue eyes avidly locked on the figure displayed on the television screen.

Elijah tore his eyes away from the screen, sharing a distressed look with his brother. Klaus floundered, running a hand over his freshly shaved jaw. "Now, why would you want to do something like that, little love? I thought boys had cooties," he felt like an idiot even saying the word 'cooties,' but if it got Kenzie off the topic of marriage, so be it.

"Well, yeah," the relief is quickly swallowed by her next words, "But he's a man, daddy, not a little boy," Klaus could practically feel his sanity shrinking while his hope curled into a ball.

"Isn't he a bit old for you, Kenzie?" Elijah asked, turning amused yet worried brown eyes onto the girl curled under his arm, "By the time you're old enough to marry, he'll be practically decrepit."

"Don't matter," is the stern reply, and even Elijah doesn't dare correct her grammar when she's this stubborn, "I'm gunna be Mrs. Norman Bates, just you wait."

Klaus thinks that maybe, just maybe, he wants to die a little.

"I wanna be a princess," Kenzie declares, poking at her cooked carrots with a contemplative look. "Can I be a princess, daddy?" she asks, turning in her seat to face Klaus.

"You can be whatever you want, little bird," he grins, "And if it's a princess you want to be, than a princess you shall be. What do you say, Elijah?" he asks his brother, an amused smirk on his face. Elijah is stoic as always, the only sign of amusement being the raised eyebrow he sends towards Klaus.

"Well, what is it that Princess Kenzie would do?"

"I'd make you a knight!" she points her fork at him, giving a smile that displays her missing teeth to perfection. Even at seven, she's still losing her teeth like she gets paid to. Well, Klaus amends mentally, she does get five dollars for every tooth. "Sir Elijah, the Honorable," she calls dramatically, her voice layered with the Welsh accent she'd picked up from Klaus. "And you," she swings her fork toward Klaus, who does his best to look nervous and excited. "Sir Niklaus, the Victorious, for you only ever lose a battle to your princess."

"And what shall you do now, Princess Kenzie, now that you have your army of loyal knights?"

"I do so declare that cooked and steamed vegetables are hereby illegal and band from Kenziedom," theres a moment of silence in which Elijah looks thoughtful, slowly going over the events that lead to this moment. Klaus breaks the quiet with a surprised laugh, pointing at his little bird.

"That was a good one, little love," he praises, loving the way she straightens up and wiggles like an excitable puppy.

"Klaus, she has to eat her vegetables," Elijah cuts in, sending a glare at the seven year old across from him. Kenzie gives one back, more thoughtful than stern. And then a cooked carrot is flying through the air to slap against Elijah's cheek.

"Princess Kenzie does not appreciate your mutiny, Knight," she educates, sending the oldest Original a smirk that is all Klaus. "You would do well to remember that."

And this is when Elijah realizes that he's made a grave mistake in letting Klaus take the leading role in Kenzie's life - not only will she be just like him, she'll be cuter, and that much harder to say 'no' to.

He dreads the teenage years to come.

"Dad!" the wail is harsh against Klaus' ears, and it can, no doubt, be heard across the entire estate. He had hoped that Kenzie would skip over the brattiness that came with being a teenager, but she's even worse than he remembers Rebekah being. He can hear her stomping down the stairs, her tiny little feet trampling against the wood like a herd of elephants.

"You take this one," he tells Elijah, focusing intently on his sketchbook. Elijah is on the other side of the study, an old Nordic book of legends in hand.

"She called for you," Elijah deflects, flipping to the next page nonchalantly. She's getting closer, and he can hear her heart beat, faster than it's usual hummingbird pace.

"No, she called for 'dad,'" Klaus corrects, even though he has a feeling he knows exactly what this is about, because it's most likely his fault, "I'm 'daddy.'"

"Not when she's mad," damn you, Elijah. Klaus sighs, setting down his sketchbook as Kenzie storms in, her blue eyes black and her normally cheerful face pulled into a frown.

"He said he'd rather date Heather Martin than me. Me! Like that stupid little girl is better than me," she rants, a few books falling off their shelves. Elijah sits perfectly still in his chair, legs crossed and eyes on his book, but Klaus knows for a fact that his eldest brother is paying close attention.

"Who are we talking about? Billy -"

"Brandon," Kenzie hisses, not even mad at him for his inability to remember the boys name, something which would normally agitate her. "He said he'd never date me, daddy, like he wasn't lucky I even showed a hint of attention to him. I'm so out of his league, but I was nice enough to think something of him, and he chooses Heather Martin."

"Would you like me to kill him for you," he asks slowly, with meaning. He'd go to the boy's house right now and slaughter his entire family if it would make Kenzie happy again. His little bird curls up next to him on the loveseat, tucking her face against his neck. Automatically, an arm wraps around her shoulder as he idly pets her hair.

"No," she sighs eventually, "But could you make him do something really, really stupid so everyone laughs at him?" she asks hopefully, turning watery blue eyes on him.

"Of course, love," he agrees, dropping a kiss onto her forehead, "Hows about we go to Rome? Didn't you mention a little bit ago that you wanted to see the colosseum? I can tell you all about my time as a gladiator," he offers. Just like he knew she would, Kenzie perks up immediately, a smile blooming on her face.

"You mean it?"

"Go pack."

Kenzie squeals, throwing her arms around him in a hug, something he never thought anyone save Rebekah would do. It's time like these when he reminds himself why he does what he does. "Thank you so much, daddy, this is going to be amazing," and then she's bolting out of the room and up the stairs, leaving Klaus with Elijah.

"One day she'll realize why every guy she shows interest in turns her down," Elijah states, still having yet to look up from his book. "And she won't be pacified by a trip to Rome when she does."

"He wasn't good enough for her," Klaus shrugs, standing from the loveseat. "What's momentary heartbreak to a teenage girl? She'll find someone eventually."

"Not if you compel them to leave her alone."

"If they really wanted her," Klaus murmurs quietly, "Then they could fight the compulsion. Until I find someone who can, no one else is good enough for her."

AN: Alrighty, hope you enjoyed it. Its a bit smaller than the other chapters, but whatevs. Comments, questions, and reviews are always welcome. If you see something that bothers you - like a grammatical error - feel free to tell me and I'll go back and change it.