A/N Whew! This episode was difficult but luckily I managed to finish it in time! Thank you to WarriorWitch13 for pointing out that I had forgotten to flash forward to Talia and Hadley in the end of the last chapter. I have no fixed it and we are ready to press on!
There's no place to go you know I won't give in
No I won't give in
"Darling, would you pass the sugar?" Elijah requested with a small smile as he and Talia ate breakfast outside of a small café in the Quarter.
Talia returned his smile and passed him the requested sugar, "But of course." The Original added the sugar to his tea as she took a bite of the café's delicious scrambled eggs. "You know, it's nice to be out and about in the city without having any errands to run and no enemies to be on guard for."
"Well, we aren't completely out of the woods yet," Elijah reminded her.
The young woman rolled her eyes, "Can we just enjoy a simple breakfast for once?"
"But of course," he smirked in response, causing Talia to grin in response. The two continued to eat their breakfast comfortably. Nearly a half hour later, Elijah checked his watch. "We had best return home."
He stood up, paid the bill, and offered his hand to his fiancée. She accepted his hand and the two walked back to the compound, conversing easily and comfortably. However, a surprise awaited their return to the compound. Bodies were strewn about the courtyard, blood everywhere. Elijah released Talia's hand to crouch down and better examine a female corpse against the fountain, the majority of the dried blood on her torn open neck. "Elijah, there's bloody prints," Talia pointed out pulling his attention to a set of bloody paw prints leading to human footprints up the stairs. The two vampires shared a look before following the trail of blood.
Upstairs they found Haley soaking in the tub, the running water rushing over her feet. "Come to check up on me?" she inquired glancing over at them.
"You've had an eventful evening," Elijah observed the body of a blonde leaning against one of the walls, dead with her throat torn open like the others.
"Well, I was having a crappy day so Klaus took me down to the cauldron," Haley explained. "Wouldn't you know we run into some witches?"
Elijah glanced over at Talia, taking in the disappointment on her face before looking back to Haley, "Would you like me to remove your leftovers?"
The female hybrid suddenly stood up, unabashed by her nakedness. Talia quickly grabbed a nearby towel and handed it Haley, not relishing the idea of her fiancée seeing another women that vulnerable. Haley noticed Talia's less than pleased expression as she wrapped the towel around herself, "Don't judge, Talia. It's nothing worse than Klaus has ever done, and he's going to be your brother in a few weeks."
The raven haired woman met her friend's gaze, "I would hope you would hold yourself to a higher standard than Klaus."
"I'm a hybrid now," Haley insisted. "I have a werewolf temper to go with my new appetite and the witches who tried to kill my baby…they're worth nothing more than food. Excuse me." She brushed passed them and down the hall.
Talia sighed, "I knew revenge was not the best option for her."
Elijah gently brushed his hand across her cheek, "I believe there is another culprit we should question on the matter."
His fiancée nodded, "He's downstairs, reading the Art of War." The Original took her hand once more and the two journeyed downstairs. "You took her on a witch hunt!" Talia demanded when she and Elijah found Klaus.
The Hybrid barely even flinched, "I simply wanted to persuade those witches to locate the white oak stake for me, when they proved unable to do so I let Haley have her fun."
"She grows more savage by the day," Elijah declared. "Can you not see that she is falling apart?"
"Perhaps the problem is your high standards," Klaus suggested. "Haley is one of us now, being a vampire only exaggerates what you truly are. And wolves are wild things. She knows she can never live up to the pretty little picture the two of you paint of her in your head. Your judgment only hurts her more."
"We are trying to help her, and we asked you to help her, Klaus," Talia growled at her soon-to-be brother.
Klaus suddenly stood up and slammed the book on the table, "I am helping her. You two should've seen her last night, covered in witch's blood and smiling from ear-to-ear. A little less criticism from you and Haley will be fine."
"Klaus, the mother of your child deserves much better than just fine!" Elijah insisted fervently. "You will take her to the bayou, find any remaining wolves. Perhaps her people can reach her. Now more than ever she needs some sort of connection to her humanity, some degree of dignity." With that Elijah strode from the room.
Talia approached Klaus, "He meant that with a please at the end."
Klaus gave her a small smile, "I know you two are worried about her, but trust me, a little mayhem may do her some good."
Talia sighed and shook her head, "I certainly hope you're right."
She left the room but soon discovered that Elijah had left the compound, probably to see to other business. Concerning what, she wasn't sure. However, it wasn't long after she got herself some blood to drink and compelled a few workers to clean up the mess Haley had made before she got her answer about her fiancée's whereabouts.
"You left in quite a hurry," she answered her phone when Elijah called.
"I had some pressing business to see to," he replied.
Talia rolled her eyes, "I assumed as much. So why are you calling?"
"I require some assistance."
"Regarding what?"
"A certain witch friend of yours." Talia froze for a moment. "I need you try and convince her to locate the white oak stake."
"She's not overly fond of you or Klaus, what makes you think she will comply?"
"I'm hoping that if the request comes from you and another friend of hers, say Marcel, she may be more willing to cooperate."
Talia had to admit he had a point, "All right, where are we meeting?"
"Marcel's place, a half hour from now. My presence, however, has not been requested."
"On my way." Talia arrived at Marcel's place on the outskirts of the Quarter minutes later. "Hey," she greeted him.
"Hi, how are you?" Marcel replied pleasantly.
"Doing fine, thank you. I'm sorry my fiancée dragged you into this," Talia apologized.
Marcel shook his head, "I've known all of them a long time, it's nothing new."
Talia smiled a bit, "Hey quick question, have you actually seen Davina in a while?"
"No, I've only ever spoken to her over the phone the last few months." Before Talia could say another word the teenage witch in question arrived with a grin on her face. Both vampires returned her smile. "Been a long time, little Di!"
"Got your message, what's going on? Talia, what are you doing here?" Davina asked as she gave Marcel a hug and then Talia. "It's good to see you guys."
"It's great to see you too Di. And well, we both haven't seen you in a while and we wanted to know how you were doing?" Talia explained.
Marcel nodded, "Yeah, how's school? Making any new friends?"
A small blush crossed Davina's cheeks, "I don't know, this-this guy asked me out…and then he stood me up."
"He stood you up?" Marcel questioned and Davina nodded. "Say the word and he's dead."
"Would you like his head or some other appendage on a silver platter?" Talia teased eliciting a laugh from Davina. Both she and Marcel joined in.
"Look, I hate to ask you a favor, but I need a locator spell," he told the young witch.
"Something's missing, a white oak stake," Talia continued as the grin slipped off of Davina's face. "Powerful enough to kill an Original."
"Did one of them put you up to this?" Davina demanded turning to Talia. "Did your fiancée ask you to do this?"
"Di, if that stake is used on Klaus, every vampire he's sired dies too. If Elijah dies, Talia will too," Marcel said, impressing on her the seriousness of the stake. Talia was slightly touched at Marcel's concern for her safety.
"I know," Davina responded, obviously growing irritated. "But what if I do find it? I mean I'm not just going to give it Klaus. Both he and Elijah are both brutal, sadistic monsters. No offense." She added the last part for Talia's sake but the young vampire took no offense. She's witnessed many evil deeds by both her fiancée and his brother, but she's also seen the good.
"I do wish I could disagree with you," a familiar voice said from the doorway. All three of them looked up to see Elijah. "Tragically, however, you are quite right." Talia rolled her eyes as he approached them. Davina gave both younger vampires withering looks of betrayal. "Although you and I have excellent reason to find that weapon. I want to protect my family and you want to protect your friends. We'd do well to forget our grievances and join forces."
Davina shook her head, "No."
"Davina-" Marcel attempted to reason with her but she cut him off.
"No! No, I'm done listening," she insisted, turning back to Elijah. "For a long time you and your family have had all the power. You manipulate and kill anyone who gets in your way. That time is over. From now on you can know what it's like to be afraid." With that the young witch flounced away and left.
"I asked you to stay out of sight," Marcel reminded Elijah. "I wanted to speak to her face-to-face."
"Why?" Talia demanded. "So that you could piss her off?"
"I wanted to see for myself," Elijah began. "She cares for you, both of you. And yet how cavalier she was at the predicament you now face."
Marcel gazed at Elijah confused and impatient, "What are you saying?"
"She knows the stake will not be used because she knows precisely where it is," Elijah continued.
Talia's blue eyes widened, "She's had it all along."
Marcel glanced between the couple, "Then we need a new plan."
"We need to talk to Davina," Elijah insisted.
The raven haired woman nodded, "I'll find her. You two scheme away, I'll let you know when I find her." Before either man could protest she was gone.
Talia began her search by rifling through the Quarter. It was late afternoon when she received a call that was not from Marcel or Elijah, but the florist. "Hello, yes, I can come take a look at the arrangements. When? Approximately, five minutes."
She made her way to the local flower shop, a lovely place that she and Elijah had passed by many times on their dates in the city. "Hello Lacy, how are you today?" Talia greeted the young girl behind the counter. Lacy was a young redhead teen who worked in the shop after school most days. She was a sweet girl.
"Hi, Mrs. Mikaelson," the teen smiled cheekily in response.
Talia smirked, "Not quite yet. So you have my arrangement sample?" The redhead nodded and disappeared into the back room, returning a moment later with a vase of flowers.
Yellow sunflowers paired with white tuberoses amongst other green foliage. Talia beamed as she gently touched one of the sunflowers. "It's beautiful. Will all of the arrangements be ready in time?"
Lacy nodded, "Of course, if you'll just sign the approval papers we can start on them immediately."
Talia did so and waved back to the young girl as she left the shop, "Goodbye Lacy."
"Bye Mrs. Mikaelson."
The young vampire merely chuckled before resuming her search for Davina. As night fell, she did indeed find her young friend. She was at Roussos's with a young man having dinner. He was handsome enough, Talia supposed. He had brown curly hair, pale blue eyes, and an interestingly strong accent, British, or some strain of. Talia sat at the far end of the bar, behind Davina watching them from behind her glass of chardonnay. The two teens seemed to be having a good time so she dared not interrupt them, she wanted Davina to have some fun and this boy, the one she assumed Davina had mentioned earlier, was making her friend smile and laugh as she hadn't in a while.
After some time Talia texted Elijah with their location and not long after Davina left her date, most likely to answer a call from Marcel. Not long after Davina had stepped outside, another man, this one with dark skin, hair, and eyes, came up to Davina's date. Talia's interested piqued and she intently listened in on their conversation.
"You're stalling," the new man said.
"Ah, that's not creepy at all," Davina's date, Caleb, Talia believed Davina had called him. "Watching me on my own date."
"Stop complimenting her and find out what she's hiding," the new arrival ordered.
Caleb laughed lightly, "I'm wooing her, Vincent. It requires charm and personality, something you wouldn't know anything about."
The other man, Vincent, chuckled, "Our mother wants answers and if you can't do this, we'll do it my way." Talia's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, they were brothers?
"What, are you gonna bore her until she gives up the information?" Caleb quipped.
"What better way to find out if someone has a weapon then forcing them to use it?" Vincent suggested. With that the man disappeared and Talia quickly texted Elijah once more, this time in much more urgency.
"All right everyone, we're closing now for a private party!" the bartender suddenly announced. People began to clear out as Davina came back in, demanding what had happened. As Caleb explained to her, Talia shrunk back into a corner, preparing herself for the worst.
Suddenly, a werewolf approached Davina and she forced him to the ground with her powers. But this only caused a whole group of them to appear. "Can you do that with all of them?" Caleb requested sounding panicked.
"Not all at once," Davina replied.
"But I can," Talia said revealing herself as she stood in front of the two teens. With a wave of her hands she sent the wolves flying back, crashing into tables and walls.
"Talia, you followed us?!" Davina demanded.
Said vampire turned back to her, "And it's a good thing I did, now get out of here."
"You can't take them all by yourself," Davina insisted. Just as the words escaped the witch's mouth, one of the wolves bit down on Talia's neck. She screamed but Davina came to her rescue and caused the wolf to grasp his head in pain as he crumpled to his knees. "See!"
"Who the bloody hell are ya?" Davina's date, Caleb, demanded.
Talia turned back to narrowly avoid another wolf and fling him back once more. She then broke the arm of yet another by twisting his arm behind his back. "She's a friend!" Talia heard Davina tell him before she started chanting something. Talia did not have a chance to listen to the exact words before she was thrown across the room. She looked up, feeling slightly dizzy, and saw one of the wolves push Davina down only to have Caleb retaliate and get himself thrown into all the bottles of alcohol behind the bar. However, within the very next second someone arrived that caused pure and utter fear to grip Talia.
Mikael.
Talia couldn't believe her eyes but there he stood before her, in the entryway, in modern clothes, glaring at the wolves. "You filthy dogs," he snarled at them, his cold blue eyes glaring at each of them before he leapt into action. He flipped one wolf over his shoulder, before ripping the hearts out of two more simultaneously. A group of them ganged up upon the Original as Talia got to her feet. She heard Davina scream as she struggled with a wolf. The young vampire then zipped over and threw the wolf off of her friend.
Mikael paused in his rampage and gazed coldly at Davina on the ground. "Now, what an interesting turn of events." He zipped forward, slammed Talia into the wall, and dragged Davina to her feet. "I'm going to enjoy this, girl." Davina whimpered as Talia tried to get up but she knew she would not be fast enough.
Suddenly, Mikael was thrown from Davina into the wall across the room, causing the young witch to fall to the floor once more. Talia's eyes moved from her future father-in-law to see her future husband standing there staring at his father, completely astonished.
"Father?" Elijah breathed.
"Hello son, I'd hoped to see your brother first but we have some unfinished business as well," Mikael greeted Elijah threateningly. Elijah struck his father across his face but Mikael retaliated by shaving Elijah into the bar. Mikael than produced a stake, the white oak stake. And attempted to plunge it into Elijah's chest. Elijah grabbed his father's hands to prevent his death but cried out as Mikael punctured his skin.
At the sounds of her Elijah in pain, something stirred deep within Talia, and she forced herself onto her feet. "No!" she screamed as she summoned her power and tried to withdraw the stake from Elijah's chest. It was working but not as well as she had hoped. She'd willed the stake to fly across the room but something was preventing her from doing so, and it was draining her of her energy quickly. But still she could not drop her hands and allow Mikael to kill Elijah.
"Stop!" Davina ordered as she stood up wielding her bracelet like a weapon. Mikael did as she commanded and stepped away from Elijah, dagger and all. The blonde Original glared down at the teenage witch. "Go back now." And once more he complied, disappearing out of sight.
Talia immediately ran to Elijah to make sure he was all right, he was bleeding but she could tell the wound was already beginning to heal. Davina looked around at all of them before leaving as well. Elijah glanced over at Caleb as the young man stood up behind the bar. "Something to say?" the Original requested.
"Not me, mate. Not a bloody thing," Caleb assured them before he too left the restaurant.
Elijah turned back to the other two vampires and noticed the bites on Talia's neck. "You've been bitten," he stated as he turned her neck to inspect her injuries further.
"I'm fine," his fiancée insisted. "Once we get home, I'll drink some of Klaus' blood and it'll go away."
"You should be more careful," Marcel told her.
"And you two should've gotten here faster," Talia quipped. "Look, I maybe different than a normal vampire but I still can't handle a dozen werewolves, let alone your immortal, Original, vampire-hunting father!" Both men seemed shocked by her outburst. "I'm sorry, it's been a long day. And from the looks of things, it's going to get even more complicated around here."
Elijah gently rubbed her back, "Let's go home. Thank you for your assistance today, Marcellus."
The other vampire nodded, "Keep a look out for Davina and I'll do the same. She doesn't realize what she's gotten herself into." The couple nodded to him before leaving the restaurant and going home.
When they did return to the compound they found Klaus nursing his sorrows with a bottle of bourbon. "It's worse than we thought," he announced upon their entrance. "I met the witch, Cassie. I studied her, her presence, the way she carried herself, the fervor with which she voiced her hatred of our kind. I looked into that girl's eyes, and I swear to you, Elijah, Talia, she is not just guided by our mother, she is our mother!"
Elijah and Talia shared an alarmed look. "What is happening?" Elijah demanded in a broken whisper.
"I'm going to kill her," Klaus promised. "I'm going to boil her bones and feed them to the dogs, if that's what it takes."
"Niklaus," Elijah spoke up.
Klaus whirled around, "What? What could possibly be more important than the return of our mother?"
"Your father," Talia declared quietly, but both of them heard.
"I saw him, we both did, standing there in the flesh as you do now," Elijah explained. "He was enslaved by some spell Davina cast, he holds the stake."
"And very nearly killed Elijah with it," Talia added catching Elijah's eyes. "If she chooses to release him…"
Klaus was silent for a moment, "Well, then there's only one question we need to ask, isn't there? Which of our parents do we kill first?" Before any of the vampires could suggest one incredibly horrible parent or the other, Talia suddenly grasped her neck in pain.
Both brothers rushed to her side. "I'd nearly forgotten about that," Talia joked trying to lessen the tension.
"Talia, here, drink this," Klaus said offering her his wrist. She drank quickly from him and immediately felt better. "How did this happen?"
"Before Marcel and Elijah arrived, actually even before Davina summoned Mikael, a group of werewolves attacked Davina and I stepped in to defend her. One of them got the drop on me," Talia explained.
"Well that only adds to our problems," Klaus sighed.
"Which we shall deal with tomorrow," Talia stated definitively. Both men began to protest but she cut them off. "No, we have all had a very long day, filled with new revelations and new enemies, and we will not be able to defeat them without a proper night's sleep." Both Originals nodded and accepted their defeats honorably.
Talia and Elijah were on their way up to their room when Haley suddenly arrived with a gaggle of werewolves in her wake. "Are we running a kennel now?" Klaus demanded. "Our family is under siege it is not the time for guests."
"If they're not here, they're with the witches. You asked me to step up, this is me stepping up," Haley replied stubbornly.
"Well it seems I'm a good influence on you after all," Klaus said smirking.
"Where's Oliver and Jackson?" Talia asked from the second level.
Haley looked up, "Oliver is playing spy, he'll pledge his loyalty to Cassie and then report back to me."
Talia smiled at her friend, but noticed she hadn't commented on Jackson, "All right then, good night." The dark haired woman guided Elijah back to their room. "I think I need a shower, care to join me?"
Elijah shook his head, "No, I believe I have one more piece of business left to take care of."
"Care to share?" Talia asked crossing her arms, giving him a look.
The Original sighed, "I did promise to be more trusting of you so…Marcel has made some rather good points about me helping his cause to create a new vampire community. And seeing how easily the wolves attacked you tonight and now Haley and Klaus are attempting to assemble their own people to keep them out of my mother's control…"
Talia gently cupped his face in her hands, "If you believe this is the best option, I will support you. And on some level, I think you're right. The wolves and witches are growing in strength and number every day, we could use some allies. So, go deal with whatever it is you need to with Marcel, I'll be here when you get back."
Elijah kissed her fervently, "Have I ever told you how much I love you?"
Talia grinned and kissed him again, "Hmm, once or twice. But I love to hear it."
"I love you," Elijah whispered against her lips before drawing back and looking deeply into her eyes. "Ardently, with every single part of me."
"I love you too."
*15 years later*
I was almost too shocked for words, "Wow, both Mikaelson parents..."
"Yeah, it was definately enough to make your head spin," Talia agreed. "Not to mention turn our hold world upside down."
"So what happened next?"