By nightfall, the compound had been purified. Evil would not be able to enter, but it wasn't sealed as Freya would have sealed it, with no one other than a Mikaelson able to enter. We still needed Vincent, Marcel, and Eloise able to come and go as needed.
Nightfall also brought a siphon witch for Eloise. Freya explained the process to a cautious Eloise. Though she didn't look enthused, she reluctantly agreed to allow the siphon's attempt.
The siphon grasped Eloise's hand and a faint red glow enveloped her. The siphon pulled the curse from Eloise, it looked relatively painless. When it was over, the siphon left quickly. Freya and I watched Eloise curiously as she moved her mouth tentatively, stretching long under-used muscles.
"Well," I stated softly in the silence. "How do you feel?"
"I...feel...fine," Eloise croaked. Her voice cracked and she winced, but a slow, tentative smile spread across her lips. That smile immediately put me at the mercy of this tiny woman. Her very essence was kind, pure, and deserving of protection. No harm would come to her so long as I was able to protect her. "Thank you," she whispered, rubbing her throat. Freya smiled and extended her hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Eloise," she said with a smile.
"The pleasure is mine, Freya," Eloise croaked. She cleared her throat, and that seemed to help.
"I hate to cut the pleasantries short," Freya said tentatively. "But the Hollow..."
Eloise nodded and her eyes turned to me. "I sense the Hollow in you, Klaus. Its power is rooted in you."
I startled from this statement, unsure how I felt about being accused of harboring the evil that was hellbent on sacrificing my daughter. Eloise's eyes were not accusatory, however, and neither was her tone. It was simple and matter-of-fact.
"I know this is a shock," she continued gently. "And please don't take this the wrong way, but I saw what happened when you were in the circle with Marcel. I will need to purify the both of you. The Hollow is after your power since it was not given the children's power. I'm honestly surprised you aren't dead yet."
"Marcel's been trying to kill him," Freya interjected. I rolled my eyes and tried to feign nonchalance. Eloise had done enough for the night at least.
"Sit down, please," Eloise said as she stood. She walked over to Freya's shelves of herbs and began browsing. I followed directions without griping as Hayley and Elijah entered the room.
"Did you just...do what you were told?" Hayley asked in mock-shock. I ignored her question and waited for the witch to begin her spell. She turned from the herbs and took a bowl down from another shelf.
"Hello," Eloise said to Hayley and Elijah, her large eyes doe-like and innocent. She began dumping herbs into the bowl and crushing them.
"Hello, Eloise," Elijah said quietly. Everyone was quiet, but there were questions lingering in the air.
"Eva Sinclair came for me when I was three," Eloise stated as she began to add a liquid to the herbs. "And yes, I remember it." There was a twinge of darkness in her words; it was something I had never expected to hear from her. She rolled her shoulders and shuddered. "My mother sensed the Hollow in her. My family has studied ancient magic for generations. So, rather than go up against a fight she would lose, my mother sacrificed herself so I would live. Her sacrifice and my father's have protected me for my whole life."
Hayley hesitated, but ultimately asked her question. "How...how did she do it?"
Eloise didn't answer. Instead, she dipped her hands in the herbal mixture and stood behind me with a green paste on her hands. She pressed her fingers to my temples and began a soft chant. I felt waves coursing through my body, gaining strength as they worked their way from my head to my toes. Each crashing wave washed away some darkness inside of me that I had been unaware of. When she stopped, my body tingled. Eloise wiped her hands on a towel and pressed her hands to my shoulders. I could feel her reading me. She seemed satisfied and wiped the herbal paste from my temples. She tossed the towel to the table and sighed.
"We - my family - practice magic the old way. That means that we strive to keep nature in balance. And we do not practice ancestral magic. When a witch in my family dies, we release our magic back to nature."
"That doesn't answer my question," Hayley stated in confusion. Eloise nodded.
"My mother didn't release her magic back to nature when she died. Before she died, she tore the magic from her soul and gave it to me." Eloise paused. "The women of my family have been doing this for generations, in preparation for defeating the Hollow. And that is why I am much more powerful than witches my age."
"You have...generations of magic within you," Freya breathed quietly.
Eloise nodded. Eloise's back straightened. "I don't like it when she goes after children. Call it what you will," Eloise sighed. "I will protect your child as my parents protected me. I will be her shield against the Hollow."
"And what do you want in return?" I asked, still hesitant to trust this girl. She seemed wise beyond her years, but I had seen too many people fall for much less than the Hollow. And I had seen betrayals over much less in my own family.
"I don't want anything in return," Eloise stated. Her dark hazel eyes pinned me to the chair. I felt her softness touch some part of me, aching to convince me. "Seeing your child live will be enough." Eloise broke her stare as I silently acquiesced. "Take me to Marcel, please."
Eloise grabbed the bowl with the rest of the paste and followed me out of the room and downstairs. Hayley trailed after us.
"I'm coming with you," Hayley stated as we neared the entrance of the compound. I turned, ready to demand she stay. Eloise answered before I could.
"Klaus, you stay. Hayley, you bring me."
It was the first time she had said my name, and it caused me to stiffen in surprise. As did her command.
"I'm going with you," I stated, voice rising in anger. Her eyes found mine, and my anger evaporated.
"You will stay here. You will only provoke him and make this more difficult." Her hazel eyes bore into mine again, challenging me. She had fire in her soul, and I felt something spark in my chest in response. "Come on, Hayley."
They returned hours later. Hayley looked fine; Eloise looked exhausted. Blood covered her hands, and I grabbed them and examined them immediately.
"It's not mine," she said, yanking her hands back. She had jumped as if I had shocked her.
"Marcel was not himself," Hayley hesitated. "He tried to attack her." I stiffened.
"Tried," Eloise emphasized. She sighed heavily. "It's time for me to go home. I'll be back tomorrow."
"It's late, you can stay here," Hayley offered the young witch. Eloise shook her head.
"No, no," she protested. "I need things from home anyway."
"At least let us drive you," Hayley protested. Eloise waved her hand.
"I'll be fine, Hayley."
Hayley looked to me, her face concerned. "I'm worried about her, Klaus. One of us should go with her."
"I'll take her," I said softly. Eloise tried to protest again, but I stopped her by speaking first. "You can barely hold your eyes open; you look like you're going to drop at any second. This is not up for debate." I scooped her up into my arms. She was light and warm. As I held her against my chest, she rested further on me, allowing me to support her weight.
I buckled her into the SUV and pulled out into the sparkling night. The lights of the city dazzled even through the dark tinted windows. When I glanced over, I discovered Eloise slumped against the seat, sleeping. Pulling out of the neighborhood, I took the ramp that led to the bridge, crossed the river, and headed to her little cottage. She was still sleeping when I pulled up to her garden and parked the car.
Unbuckling her was more difficult; she was dead weight. I managed to extract her and bring her inside. Once past her threshold, I paused. I hadn't been past the living room before and I was unsure where her room was.
"Down the hall, to the right," she said softly. I looked down; her eyes were slowly blinking open. I followed her directions to her bedroom and pushed open the door.
A black cat shot off the bed and darted between my legs, disappearing down the hallway. Eloise's bedroom was something I would have expected from her. The room was painted white, and there were white linens with thin gold accents. The furniture was white, the floor was wood with varnish peeling up in the far corners of the room. Clothes were strewn about the floor and a single picture frame sat on the desk that was shoved in the corner, covered with open grimoires. A line of potted plants adorned her large windowsill. Beyond her window was a garden in the rear of the house overflowing with herbs and flowers. I laid her on the soft bed and began to take off her shoes. I placed them near her closet. When I turned back around, she was sitting up, staring at me. Her eyes were dark and soulful; her face was gentle.
"Are you feeling better?" I asked her. She hesitated, then nodded.
"I don't usually do this much magic in a day. I'm just out of practice." She paused, and seemed to debate with herself before continuing. "It's been a peaceful five years. There's been a false sense of security. It's lulled everyone into a very weak state. Magic deteriorates when you don't use it."
"Like a muscle," I mused, remembering my own mother's weak power compared to her sister's. Eloise nodded. She stood, the floor creaking beneath her, and took two steps closer to me.
"I'm not sure why..." she trailed off. She took another step closer to me. She was directly in front of me, her body was just a hair away from mine. She wasn't touching me but I could feel her warmth pressing against me. She looked up at me, tilting her head back to look into my eyes. I was hypnotized as I stood before her. Part of me felt as though I should be kneeling before her. I resisted the urge and waited for her to make another move.
Heat burned in her eyes. She placed her bloody palm against my chest. This time when she touched me, I didn't feel her reading me. There was only more heat.
As quickly as she had come to me, she flitted away. She was nervous, I could smell it in her scent. She timidly tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and exited her room. I could hear the water running in the bathroom. I sat on her bed as I waited for her to return.
When she returned, she was wrapped in a threadbare towel. Her hair dripped down her back. Her thick mane was soaked and was creating a small puddle on the floor.
"You're still here," she stated. Her tone was unsure. Her hazel eyes looked tired, but pleased. My emotions roiled inside of me, balled so tightly together I couldn't separate or identify one from the other. I finally settled on a response that reflected some of what I was feeling.
"I wanted to make sure you were okay," I informed her softly. I didn't mention that this was out of character for me. I stood from her bed, not wanting to intrude on her personal space.
Eloise stepped towards me, dripping water on the wood floor, and before I knew what was happening, she reached her arm around my neck and pulled me into a kiss.
It had been years since I had been with a human and even longer since I had been with a witch. I had forgotten how fragile and delicate they were until Eloise was cradled in my embrace. I was terrified to touch her, to break her. It was she who set the pace, and it was she who pushed me backwards until I fell onto her bed.
She broke our kiss, hovering above me. Her dark hair made a curtain that shrouded us from the world. In that moment, it would have been easy to pretend the rest of the world didn't exist and the Hollow wasn't after my daughter. It was because of my daughter that I opened my mouth to speak, to pause whatever was about to happen.
"Eloise," I stated. She placed a finger to my lips, silencing me.
"Don't," she said. She pulled herself up and off me, tugging the towel tighter around her body. "I'm so sorry; I don't know what came over me."
I was up in an instant, arms circling her, pulling her to my chest.
"I wasn't going to stop you. I was only going to warn you, love," I told her gently. She looked up at me, tears welling in her hazel eyes. Her wide eyes were greener from her tears and almost seemed to glow in the dim moonlight. "It seems...well, you see, Hope..." I trailed off, unsure how to tell her that there was a possibility she could get pregnant from our union, and I didn't have any protection.
She giggled, breaking the seriousness of the moment. Her hand reached up to hold my neck again, and I felt her surge to her toes to cup my face with her other hand.
"I'm not worried about that," she stated. Her eyes sparkled with seduction, pulling me in deeper to their depths.
