Dark Paradise

Chapter 1 - Always and Forever

••• ••• •••

Emmalin glanced down at the map in her hand while trying not to bump into people. She threw out a quick apology as someone bumped her shoulders as they walked by. Even if it wasn't her fault, she still felt like she was responsible. She should have been paying attention.

"Hey, Mar..." She called out, trying to get her twin sister's attention. She came to a stop and raised her head, trying to find the name of the street they were on, then looked back at the big map of New Orleans. The fraternal twins had only been in the new town a couple of days and Emmalin was already feeling overwhelmed.

She and her twin sister Mara found out a few months ago they were from a long line of witches. Their parents sat them down and explained some of the family history to them, then dropped the bombshell. They also found out that not only were they witches; but other things like vampires and werewolves exist. It was enough to blow her mind, but Mara sat there with an unreadable expression on her face. She always knew there was more to the world and now it was confirmed.

Their parents gave them a choice, if they wanted to learn more and practice their craft they would teach them after graduation; but before either twin got a chance to decide their parents were murdered the night of graduation.

Emmalin shut her eyes for a moment, remembering the night she and Mara returned home after going to a party with friends to celebrate. The front door was ajar and right away she had a bad feeling. Mara threw her arm out, stopping her from taking a step further.

Mara took a cautious step toward the door and pushed it open further with her foot. Her heart raced in her chest and her vision blurred when she saw all the blood on the walls, floor, and ceiling. Her eyes had just landed on her slain parents when she heard Emmalin crying out, having just walked into the house herself and seeing the scene before her.

"Don't look, Emmy. Don't look," Mara called out, turning to face her sister and backing her out of the house, but it was too late. She had seen everything and had fallen to the ground in a sob. Mara sat with her, no emotion on her face, as the two waited for the police to arrive.

It had only been a week after burying their parents, that Mara had the brilliant idea to track down their estranged uncle. Emmalin couldn't even remember the last time they saw him, they were so young. She didn't even know why he was never around anymore. All she knew was one day he was gone and they were never to mention him again, but now Mara wanted to track him down and she couldn't understand why.

They should be surrounded by their friends and be in the house they grew up in to feel closer to their parents. They should be worried about college, not be in the middle of a strange city looking for a family member who apparently didn't even want to be found.

Even though Emmalin was against the idea, Mara thought it was the best plan for them and even tried to use the 'I'm the oldest' card against her. It was something she used often since she was thirteen minutes older and felt like that gave her authority to be in charge.

In the end, Emmalin finally agreed, not because Mara was the oldest or even right about this; but because in a time like this, they shouldn't be apart.

"Mara!" Emmalin called out again, finally causing her sister to turn her head to look at her. She pointed behind her. "I think the street we are looking for is that way."

"No, it's this way," Mara argued.

"What? No, the map says-"

"We don't need the map, Em," Mara interrupted. Nodding toward the side, she added, "We need to go this way. I can feel it."

"You can feel it?" Emmalin stated with a questionable look. She gathered up her brown hair, piling it on top of her head as she blew out a breath. The humid weather getting to her and all the walking around wasn't helping.

"Yes. I can feel it," Mara said again, taking a step toward her sister. Laying her hands on her shoulders, she continued, "Can't you feel it? There's a vibration in the air. I can feel it from head to toe."

She widened her brown eyes for a moment, before whispering out, "It's magic."

Emmalin rolled her matching brown eyes as she said, "We've only been witches, for like, a millisecond, but already you can feel it?" Before her sister could answer, she gestured toward the map, "No, Mar, I think we need to follow the map-"

"Screw the map, Emmy!" Mara stated as she jerked the paper out of her hand, then crumbled it up and tossed it into the trash can.

Emmalin's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Mara! We needed that!"

"No, we don't. I'm telling you, the shop is this way," Mara said, nodding toward the area she pointed at earlier.

Emmalin blew out an annoyed breath and dug in her bag to bring out her cell phone. She pulled up a search browser, then asked, "What was the name of the shop again?"

"Emmy, we don't need that!" Mara argued as she tried to jerk the phone from her sister's hand, but she pulled back before she could grab it.

"Hey, you throw away my phone and I will end you," Emmalin threatened, pointing a finger at her sister. "Or at the very least I will give you bad hair or bad skin or something."

"Just put it away and trust me," Mara said back with an eye roll.

"I do trust you, but-"

"No you don't," Mara stated as she saw Emmalin searching on her phone for the address of the shop they were looking for. "Because if you did you would put that away and just follow me."

"This has nothing to do with trust, Mar," Emmalin argued, looking up from her phone. "But we are in a strange town, walking for hours, trying to find someone who probably doesn't want to be found. I just want to find this shop, ask if they have seen Erik then get back to our place. It's hot, I'm tired and-"

"Fine!" Mara interrupted as she held up her hands. "Why don't you just go back now and I'll do this myself?"

"Mara, no, I'll help. I just-"

"No, I got it!" Mara stated as she turned around and began to walk toward the area where she could feel the shop was. She was honest before, she could feel the power in the air. The magic from all the witches; new and old, alive and gone. The power rolled over her body, making her fingers tingle and her pulse race.

She had a good feeling about this place. It was loud and vibrant. There was history everywhere you turned. It was the type of place where you could easily lose yourself or find yourself if needed.

It was the perfect place for her and Emmalin in her opinion. She felt like it was a place where they can learn about themselves and their family; it was where all secrets would come out. It was a place where they could come alive and be a part of something. It was a place that would completely change their lives.

••• ••• •••

Emmalin blew out a breath as she watched her twin walk away and getting lost in the crowd. She stomped her foot in frustration, then turned to walk in the opposite direction. She needed to get away from the crowd of people, find some shade and just breathe for a moment.

As much as she picked on Mara earlier, she could feel a tingling through her body as well, but unlike her twin it made her feel anxious and uneasy. She felt paranoid and like she should be looking over her shoulders every few minutes.

Not wanting to be alone in this strange city a minute longer, she quickly called her sister's cell phone and rolled her eyes when her voicemail picked up.

"Mar, I didn't mean for you to do this alone. You know we have to stay together," Emmalin said into the phone. "Strength in numbers, remember? Call me back."

With a sigh, she sat down on a park bench, glancing around and taking in her surrounding. Now that she was in a quieter part of town, she could actually check out the city more. It was loud and overwhelming at times, but she had to admit all the culture and history was exhilarating and she wouldn't mind learning more.

Feeling a slight warm breeze, she glanced down and saw a dead leaf blowing toward her. When it stopped by her shoe, she leaned down to pick it up then sat back against the bench and held it in front of her face. Remembering one of the simple spells she read in her grimoire, she whispered out a few words, then blew out a surprised breath when the brown, dead leaf began to come alive right in front of her eyes.

The leaf was almost completely green and alive again when she heard someone call out, getting her attention. She glanced up, seeing a brown curly haired boy with bright blue eyes standing in front of her.

He glanced around for a moment, making sure no one had noticed her doing magic, then quickly jerked the leaf out of her hand and dropped it back down to the ground. They both watched the leaf blow away, then he turned his eyes back to her.

"You shouldn't do that," he warned her.

"Why?" Emmalin asked confused. In the short time she and Mara had been there, she knew there were witches all over the city. There were even magic shops and tours going on at all times. She never thought there would be a problem with it.

"You're breaking the biggest rule here," his accented voice said.

"What?" she asked, feeling even more confused.

He glanced around again, making sure he didn't see any of Marcel's vampires hanging around. Even though he didn't see any, he assumed there was probably at least one daywalker nearby. Marcel ran the town, what he said goes.

"Come with me," he stated, holding out a hand for her to take.

Emmalin let out a huff, "I don't know you."

"I'm Kaleb," he said, flashing her a smile and dropping his hand. He waited for her to say something back, but when she didn't, he raised his eyebrows, "And you are?"

"Emmalin," she softly answered.

"Now we know each other," Kaleb joked, a grin still on his face.

"Hardly," Emmalin said back as she shifted in her seat.

"Just trust me," Kaleb quietly said.

She glanced up, looking into his eyes and felt a smile appear on her face. She didn't know why, but she felt like she could trust him. She tend to give people the benefit of a doubt- she was a trusting person, but the feeling she was getting as she looked at him was something completely different. It wasn't her wanting to give him a chance, it was a feeling that he could be trusted. She felt it in her heart that he was a good, honest person.

Without having to think about it any further, she stood from the bench and gave him a nod, letting him know she would follow him to wherever he wanted to take her. The two walked down the sidewalk together, making small talk until they arrived at a cemetery.

Kaleb walked inside the gate first, then turned his head to see if she was going to follow. When he saw her walking in behind him, he gestured around as he said, "This is sacred ground. Certain people can't enter."

"You mean vampires?" Emmalin questioned.

Kaleb came to a stop and turned around to face her, "So you know about them, but you don't know the rule."

"What rule?" Emmalin sighed. She was getting a little tired of hearing about a rule but not getting an explanation.

"Witches are forbidden to practice magic in the Quarter," Kaleb answered. "And somehow Marcel always finds out."

"Oh," Emmalin breathed out. This was the first she was hearing about this.

The two quietly walked around the cemetery together, walking past rows and rows of tombstones, until Kaleb came to a stop in front of a grave. From the look on his face, she wondered if the person buried there was kin to him somehow, causing her to ask him if he knew who was buried there.

Nodding his head, he said, "She's my- so many great I forgot the count- Aunt." With a soft smile, he added, "Me mum always said I was more like her. That we were both free spirits."

"You came here for her... to be closer to her?" she questioned, already having a feeling that was why he moved to the town. From his accent, she knew he wasn't from around here.

"Yeah," Kaleb answered as he stared at the tombstone in front of him a little longer. He turned his attention to her to ask, "What about you? What made you move here?"

Emmalin felt her face drop as she saw a quick flash of her dead parents. She shook her head, trying to push the image out of her mind. She didn't know him well enough to tell her whole life story. Instead, she looked over at him as she said, "I have family here. An uncle. Me and my sister are trying to find him."

"Who? Maybe I know him," Kaleb questioned while the two began to walk more through the cemetery.

"Erik Cromwell," Emmalin answered. Seeing the look on his face, she questioned, "You know him?"

"Heard of him," Kaleb answered. "He keeps to himself."

Coming to a quick stop, he added, "So wait, that means you're a Cromwell?"

"Yeah," Emmalin said slowly, hoping he didn't see that as a bad thing. "You talk like you know my family."

"I don't, but I've heard of them. The Cromwell line is pretty well-known," Kaleb explained. "You come from a very long line of powerful witches."

"So I've been told," Emmalin sighed. "Honestly though, I don't feel very powerful."

"Maybe you just need a little help." Kaleb smiled.

Before Emmalin could question him about the comment, he walked over toward a rosebush blooming near a cluster of tombstones. He removed a rose then walked back over to her, telling her to hold on her hand.

She shot him a confused look, causing him to repeat the words he said to her earlier, "Just trust me."

Emmalin shook her head with a small laugh, just like earlier, she felt like she could trust him. She felt like he wouldn't hurt her, that she would be safe with him. She smiled up at him as she held out her hand, waiting to see what he would do.

He pulled the petals off of the rose and laid them in her hand. He held up his other hand, telling her to lay her free hand against his. Doing what he said, she laid her hand flat against his, causing her to softly gasp when she felt a spark unlike anything she had ever felt before. She could feel a warmth radiating off of him, making her feel a tingle from head to toe.

"Look," Kaleb whispered, nodding his head toward her other hand.

Forcing herself to break eye contact with him, she looked over at her hand and let out a breathy laugh when she saw the rose petals levitating from the palm of her hand. She let out another laugh as the rose petals began to circle around them. It was like nothing she had ever seen before.

She turned her head back to look at Kaleb, noticing he was watching her with an adoring look on his face. She shyly bit her bottom lip for a moment before a smile appeared on her face.

As much as he hated to do it, he removed his hand from hers, causing the petals to fall to the ground around them. He enjoyed having her hand pressed against his, but he didn't want to chance having a spell going for too long. He knew what would happen if they got caught, but frankly, he just wanted to show off for her; he wanted to impress her.

While the two were still standing in front of each other, she quietly asked, "I thought we couldn't do magic?"

He took a step even closer to her, his tone matching her, "Sometimes you have to break the rules."

She smiled at his words, feeling like she wanted to break another rule with him; like one saying you shouldn't make a move on a total stranger. She couldn't explain the pull she felt for him, but she knew she liked it. She knew she didn't want to step back from him, but when she heard her cell phone beep to let her know she had a new text message, she knew she had to step away.

Feeling the moment pass, she pulled out her cell phone and saw she had a text from Mara telling her where to meet up with her. She texted her sister back and told her she would be there soon.

She turned her attention back to Kaleb, giving him a small smile, "I got to go. I got to meet up with my sister." As he nodded his head in understanding, her smile widened as she added, "But, it was really great meeting you."

"You too," Kaleb said back. Flashing her a smile, he added, "I'll see you around, pretty girl."

Emmalin chuckled at the pet name, then turned around to make her way out of the cemetery. The further she got away from Kaleb she could feel her face fall. In the short time she was around him she felt calm. She didn't feel the anxiety like she did earlier, but now it was returning. Her mind was racing with a million of thoughts again, she felt overwhelmed and jittery once more.

She was never good at being alone and she definitely wasn't good at being alone in a strange city. She was relieved she had her sister waiting for her, that she had at least one person in town to count on, and a part of her was hoping Kaleb could become a second person to count on.

••• ••• •••

Mara continued down the crowded sidewalk after separating from her twin sister, still shaking her head to herself at the fact that Emmalin seemed to have had a map glued to her hands ever since they arrived in New Orleans.

Of course her twin had willingly packed up and went to Louisiana with her, but it still didn't change the fact that she felt like her sister needed to let loose a little and just enjoy their trip to New Orleans. After all the bad in their lives lately, it was time something good finally happened and she really felt like this move was a good idea.

It was just several minutes later that she stumbled across the shop they'd been trying to find, but she paused at the door. Sure, she'd told her sister she'd do this on her own; but now she was having second thoughts. As far as they knew their uncle they were trying to track down was their only remaining family and this was something they should be doing together. After all, there had to be some reason that they hadn't seen or heard about their uncle since they were kids.

Turning around she surveyed the street and remembered passing a bar just a couple of minutes back, she spun on her heels and headed back the way she'd come from until she spotted the building again. A little bar called Rousseau's.

She was in love with the place as soon as she opened the door, the interior consisted of lots of brown and other neutral colors with rustic decorations and it had an old-timey feel about it. Energy and history were rich in the air and looked like a place straight out of the travel catalogs she'd looked at with her sister.

Barely paying attention to the other patrons she crossed the room and took a seat at the end of the bar.

"Hey there." A female blonde bartender greeted with a warm smile as she approached the teenager.

"Hi," Mara greeted with a smile as her eyes fell to the name tag and she questioned, "Camille?"

"Mhmm." She laughed before correcting, "Cami actually… I need to get this thing changed, you wouldn't believe how many guys come in here trying to hit on me in French."

Mara lowered her head and laughed as she tucked her brunette hair behind her ear and shook her head, "And I bet they just think they're so clever when they're making fools of themselves."

"You have no idea," Cami agreed before asking, "What can I get you? A coke?" From her observation the girl couldn't have been more than eighteen.

"Uh…" Mara breathed wondering if she'd get carded, she cleared her throat and corrected, "Vodka soda, please."

Eyeing the teenager for a moment, Cami asked, "You have your ID on you?"

Mara's smile fell some as she realized she'd left her purse back at their house –which contained her fake ID and all she'd grabbed was some money and her cell phone before her and her sister had headed out for the day.

"I left it at my house," she admitted, knowing her actual driver's license in her pocket wouldn't do her any good.

"Well…" Cami said, "We could do the soda water plain and I'll even garnish it with lime."

Mara laughed and hopefully asked, "Rum and coke?"

"One rum and coke; minus the rum… coming right up."

Shaking her head Mara sighed, "Just the soda water and lime I guess."

It was a few moments later that Cami returned with her drink and an apology as she said, "It's not like I'm a stickler for this sort of thing, but I really need to keep this job."

"Thanks," Mara nodded with an understanding smile as she raised the glass to her lips and took a small sip, still hoping the vodka was in there –but it was just soda water.

When she felt her phone buzzing from her pocket she took it out and saw her sister was calling, normally she always took her calls but for the moment she still wanted to be alone.

She was just about to listen to the voicemail when she saw Cami set a bottle of vodka down on the bar and walked away from it.

Sitting up straight on the bar stool, she looked around making sure no one was watching her before she focused and moved her hand causing the bottle to slide on its own to her.

With a small excited squeal, she poured some of the soda water from her glass into the base of an artificial plant next to her before topping her glass off with the vodka. She gave the contents of her glass a quick swirl with her straw before taking a drink and smiling to herself until she heard someone say, "If I didn't know any better… I'd swear that bottle moved on its own."

Her gaze fell to the bar; she didn't even need to look over at the source of the voice to know how attractive he had to be with that smooth of an accent. But getting involved with a guy was the last thing she needed right now.

Looking over she watched as he sat down beside her and gave her a smile before taking a sip from his own glass and closely watching her. Her eyes roamed over his dark blonde hair and handsome face before her brown eyes locked with his blue eyes and she hid her smile as she looked away.

Handsome stranger or not, she couldn't just openly let anyone know she was a witch so she tried to play it off as she shrugged, "Maybe your eyes were playing tricks on you."

"Impossible," he argued, his eyes meeting hers again; as he suavely said with his velvety smooth accent, "I saw that bottle slide over to you, on its own."

Shrugging she offered an excuse, "Faulty architecture? Maybe the bar is uneven."

He smiled again, clearly amused with her as raised his eyebrows and questioned, "That's your story?"

"Mhmm," she hummed nodding and taking another drink from her glass.

"I hate to discredit your defense, but if it were the bar then why was it only a single bottle that moved, and not everything?" he pushed; and her forehead lined with confusion at the way he looking at her.

She'd never met him before, of that she was sure. But he spoke to her as if he'd already met her and seemed to know every answer before the questions were even asked.

Quickly covering her confused expression, she leaned in slightly and quietly said, "Well, this is New Orleans… a place full of mystery and magic."

"That it is," he agreed with a nod.

She looked him over again and bit down on her bottom lip, he was almost ridiculously attractive –but he also had bad boy written all over him. But he seemed to even take the bad boy persona a step further and there was a sense of danger in the air around him.

She knew better –having more than her fair share of run-ins with guys like him, she knew she should be running for hills. But instead she found herself almost unnaturally drawn to him.

"I'm Klaus," he offered up his name, his eyes never leaving her face.

"Mara," she replied, then looked back down to her drink before turning to face him and almost jumping when she saw how closely he was watching her, clearing her throat she questioned, "You don't sound like you're from around here, on vacation or business or something?"

"Or something," he answered, not giving anything away as he questioned, "What about you, love? What brings you to this magical city?"

Mara paused; again, it seemed like he already knew the answer to the question.

"Family," she admitted with a heavy exhale, then shrugged, "Kind of… at least."

"Kind of?" he questioned; already knowing the answer. She and her sister were right where he wanted them to be; right where he needed them to be and with any luck by the end of the day they'd be practicing magic with their uncle and growing stronger.

Shaking her head and deciding to not give up any more information about her trip she questioned, "So, um, you said you're here on business?"

"More so personal reasons. You see, love… I have reason to believe there are people conspiring against me."

She looked at him as he now had her full attention, her eyes lingered on his lips, reasoning that she was searching for a hint of a smile to show he was joking; but he showed no sign of laughing.

Her eyes widened when she realized he was serious –or at the very least he believed it himself. And now she had no idea how to respond to that, or what to even begin to say.

"Why would there be people conspiring against you?" she finally asked, not able to stop her curiosity from getting the best of her, but her attention was drawn down to her phone as it buzzed with a reminder of her twin sisters missed call. Quickly picking her phone up she sent her a text to say she'd found the shop and let her know where she wanted her to meet at.

When she raised her head to look at him, she saw he was leaned over watching what she'd typed out on her touchscreen phone.

Shooting him a disapproving look, she tilted her phone back towards her body making it to where he couldn't see it and raised her eyebrows in question; either still waiting on an answer for him, or now demanding to know why he'd been watching her on her phone –he wasn't exactly sure which one.

This wasn't his first encounter with Mara –the teenager had no idea or memory of it, but he was the reason she and her twin sister were now in New Orleans tracking down their estranged uncle.

With a smile, he finished his drink and said, "I believe that might be a topic for another day."

Mara rubbed her forehead and nodded, either accepting the answer or just wanting to meet up with her sister to finish what they'd came to town for.

"Alright…" She breathed, standing up and reaching into the back pocket of her jeans to find her money, pausing when she wondered how much a soda water even goes for. Then she sighed at remembering the stolen vodka; knowing she should probably pay for that too.

"I've got this, love."

Klaus' voice shook her from her thoughts and she saw him lay down what looked like way too much money for both of their single drinks as he stood up and offered, "I'll walk you out."

"Oh, uh… no thanks. I need to stop by the restroom and don't want to make you wait around on me; but thanks." She was tripping over her words a little and not sure why he was taking such an interest in her, but either way, she needed away from him.

Not even giving him a chance to respond, she briskly walked past him towards the sign pointing to the restrooms but she glanced over her shoulder to make sure he wasn't watching when she took a detour and ducked into the storage unlocked storage room and found the back service exit.

Once she was outside in the unforgiving dry heat of the sun, she yearned to be back inside the climate-controlled bar even if that meant dealing with a possibly dangerous stranger who hovered a bit too close for someone she'd just met. What kind of a name was Klaus anyways, she wondered before shaking her head in an attempt to rid her thoughts of him.

Refusing to think about the strange encounter any longer she quickly headed in the direction of the spot she'd told her sister to meet her. It was a small decorative fountain just a few streets over that they'd sat near their first day in town. It was a place they could both easily find and she knew locating the Jardin Gris Voodoo Shop from there wouldn't be a problem. Completely oblivious to the fact that Klaus had been just around the side of the building –watching her every movement.

••• ••• •••

By the time they met up at the fountain, all Emmalin could think about was her encounter with Kaleb and the instant connection she'd felt with him. While her twin sister Mara's head was filled with questions about Klaus and the way he almost seemed to already know her when she hadn't a clue who he was.

But neither girl shared their thoughts with the other as they started towards the voodoo shop; now wasn't the time for either of them to be thinking about other than finding their Uncle Erik and hopefully being able to learn more about their family's history and further their studies in magic.

It felt like an eternity they walked in a nervous silence with neither of them knowing what to expect if they were able to find him, until Mara finally spoke up, "Oh Emmy, I found this cute little bar that looks just like the ones we saw in the catalogs and on those travel websites."

Nodding and feeling like she needed to add something to the conversation, Emmalin said, "I stumbled across the cemetery."

Mara stopped walking and turned to face her as her twin shrugged, "Maybe not as cool as a bar…"

"No, I mean I love graveyards… just a little surprised you ended up there when we separated is all," Mara assured her.

Emmalin nodded, looking down with a small smile as she replayed the moment when she and Kaleb had joined hands and worked magic together in the cemetery.

"Oh! There's the bar," Mara exclaimed, pointing across the street and startling Emmalin from her thoughts, as she turned and looked over to building Mara was pointing at.

"Rousseau's?" Emmalin read the sign then let out a laugh as she pointed out, "Mar, that is the bar from the website we looked at."

Rolling her eyes, Mara linked arms with her and sighed, "Either way it's absolutely adorable and we need to hurry and get to Jardin Gris' before they close for the night."

It was just a few moments later that the sisters walked into the shop and looked around. Even without having Voodoo Shop in the name of the store, it still would have felt just as magical.

Energy was strong in the air and there were several shelves of bottles lining the walls, some were old glass bottles with printed out, novelty spells on rolled up parchment inside of them. The others were newer looking bottles with different color liquids inside labeled as potions.

Dried herbs hung near the cash register and there was a table with sets of divination casting stones not too far from a small metal rack of postcards, and there were a few tourist keepsake shirts and state emblem sunglasses amongst other necklaces and even a few voodoo dolls with the store's logo.

"Wow…" Emmaline breathed out her eyes scanning over the small shop; even she couldn't deny the energy flowing throughout the place. By the time she looked to her side expecting to see her sister she realized she was gone, but it only took moments before she saw her at the back wall staring up to the ceiling high shelves of candles.

"I don't remember anything like this from the travel catalogs," Emmalin whispered under her breath as she stepped up to Mara's side and looked at all of the handmade candles. Most of them had a string containing a small metal charm and a card explaining what the candle was to be used for.

"Right…" Mara breathed as she trailed her fingers over a black candle with a pentagram charm tied to it.

"You can shop later… for now we need to find someone who works here," she reminded her as she pulled Mara away from the candles and they stood near the cash register.

Mara impatiently hit the bell on the desk while Emmalin continued to take in all the sights of the store until her eyes stopped on a beautiful silver chain holding a small pendant design with a teardrop glass bubble containing a few small red color balls inside of it.

She smiled at the delicate yet sturdy beautiful design of the necklace until her gaze landed on the sign above it in her hunt for a price tag, gasping she read out loud, "Crab's eye?"

"What?" Mara asked.

Grabbing onto her twin's arm, Emmalin whisper yelled, "They're selling crab's eyes in necklaces!"

Mara's eyes widened as she saw what her sister was talking about, shrugging and a little confused she tried to reason, "Well, if I guess if I needed crab's eyes for a spell… I wouldn't want to go get them myself."

"But they are in a necklace!" Emmalin hissed, then jumped when she heard an unfamiliar laugh. Looking over the sisters saw an African American woman heading towards them with a kind smile as held her hands up and said, "Don't worry, those aren't actually eyes from a crab."

When she was met by two matching yet confused expressions she continued to explain, "Crab's eye… also known as lady bug bean or more commonly abrus seeds. They bring good luck to those who wear it on their body."

"Oh!" Both girls exclaimed in unison, before looking at each other and laughing.

"I'm Katie," she introduced herself to them before looking around and asking, "Is there anything I can help you find?"

When both girls stayed silent, she pointed to another necklace and said, "That ones filled with marigold –great for attracting the opposite sex."

Mara cracked a smile and shook her head as she declined, "No thank you." While Emmalin looked down to the floor with a smile on her lips, her thoughts again drifting to Kaleb.

"Tell me, Katie…" Mara began, pausing for a moment to make sure they were alone before she questioned, "Are you a real witch?"

"Mara!" Emmalin gasped in shock at her.

But Katie didn't seem the least bit rattled or shaken as she offered them a coy smile and said, "New Orleans is a magical town –full of all walks of life."

"Maybe we should just go," Emmalin said, tugging on her sister's arm but Mara assured her, "Chill Em, she's legit."

When her twin looked at her confused Mara continued, "Only a real witch would give some roundabout answer like that… because only real witches are afraid of getting caught. If she were faking, she'd play the witch thing up."

Looking back to the shop worker and remembering her encounter with Klaus, Mara continued, "I know because I gave the same answer to someone earlier myself."

Katie looked between them but before she could say anything, Mara explained, "We're looking for someone… another witch, his name is Erik Cromwell."

"I've only seen him in here a few times… he mostly stays to himself," Katie explained as she walked around the desk and stood opposite the cash register from them.

"So you have no idea where he lives?" Emmalin questioned, feeling some of her hope fade.

"Sorry," Katie apologized, wishing she could help them more. The twins had power radiating off of them, but she could also tell they both seemed more lost than anything.

"It's alright, thank you anyways," Emmalin politely responded and turned to leave but Mara grabbed the crab's eye necklace and quickly paid for it telling Katie to keep the change before rushing to catch up with her sister who was standing outside on the sidewalk.

"Hey, what were you-" Emmalin's voice trailed off as her twin held out the bag to her and shook it impatiently; wanting her to take it and open it.

When she did, she smiled softly as she pulled the delicate chained pendant out of the bag and cooed, "Aww, Mar..."

"I saw the way you kept looking at it and figured it was safe since we now know no animals were harmed in the process of making it."

They both laughed and Mara took the empty bag from her sister so Emmalin could have both hands to put her newest accessory on, looking down she sincerely said, "Thank you, I love it."

"Abrus seeds… a good choice."

Mara spun around and backed up beside her sister as they stared at the man who'd seemed to almost have appeared out of nowhere behind her.

Emmalin's eyes widened. He may not have been an identical twin but there was no mistaking who he was, he was almost a spitting image of the twins father.

Mara also immediately saw the resemblance and swallowed hard as she opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to it as he gave them a smile and said, "I heard you've been asking around for me."

When neither girl had a response for him, he looked them over and said, "I haven't seen you since you were just little kids." His eyes darted between their similar faces as he leaned down some motioning with his hand and continued, "Couldn't have been taller than this."

Both of their gazes fell to where he was holding his hand and Emmalin found her words as she smiled and realized, "You do remember us."

"Of course I do." He nodded, his smile falling as he saw one of Marcel's vampires across the street; they were always keeping an eye on voodoo shops and other places frequented by the witches. One of the main reasons he stayed to himself in town.

"We should take this conversation somewhere else… I was just on my way to get dinner, have you eaten?"

"No," Mara stated.

"Alright, we'll get something to eat and go back to my house. I can tell you both have a lot you want to talk about," Erik offered with the same friendly smile on his face.

Realizing just how hungry she was, Emmalin returned the smile and agreed, "Sure." As her twin sister, Mara nodded in agreement.

Erik turned and motioned for them to follow him and the sisters did just that, neither of them aware he was trying to get them away from a vampire or what to expect from their estranged uncle.

All they knew was they finally found who'd they'd been looking for or rather he found them, but the important thing was that they hoped with his help they could learn how to safely practice their magic.

Neither of them knew what to expect from him or their time in New Orleans –but the dark, magical allure of the city was undeniable.

••• ••• •••

A/N - I hope you all liked the first chapter. This story will follow along with season one, but adding in new stuff. I guess you can say it is kind of AU. The Kaleb in this story will be the real Kaleb. It's not secretly Kol or anything. If you check the profile page you will see a link for a tumblr page for this story. Thank you to everyone reading.