Keep holding on, cause you know we'll make it through
We'll make it through
The following morning Talia awoke to Elijah's arms wrapped around her as per usual. As she stirred she felt him gently plant kisses on her neck. "Good morning," he whispered as he dragged his lips up to just below her ear.
Talia sighed contently, "Good morning." She turned over and placed her lips on his. A thought ran through her mind that she would never tire of waking up like this. Gently she pulled back and rested her forehead against Elijah's. "We should probably get up."
Elijah surprised her by gently rolling her body underneath his and pulling her into another kiss, this one deeper than the first. "Unfortunately, you are correct," he said, drawing back from her lips.
The younger vampire wrapped her arms around his neck and smirked, "One more for the road." The Original grinned in response and obliged her request.
A few minutes later the two began to make their way downstairs but were surprised to see Haley and Klaus near quite the buffet of food simply sitting in the middle of the courtyard. "Well, then I guess we have Elijah to thank," Haley said to Klaus.
"This was not my doing," Elijah announced as he and Talia reached them.
Three pairs of eyes shifted to Talia, who shook her head. "It was not mine either."
"Then where did this all come from?" Haley wondered. Suddenly, one of the covered plates moved causing all four of them to jump. Klaus then removed the covering, releasing two birds, starlings, and revealing an elegantly written note. "What the hell was that?"
Klaus reached out and picked up the note sitting on the silver plate. After reading it, he looked up at them. "An invitation from our mother for dinner tonight, here." The moment the words left his lips, the Hybrid zipped away. The three remaining shared a look before following him upstairs.
Klaus was out on his balcony with the card held tightly in his fist. Haley sat on his bed as Elijah and Talia remained in the doorway. "It is times like this I'm really glad I never knew my mother," Haley announced as Klaus came back in.
The blonde Original leaned against one of the chairs, "We have enough enemies here and now the war for our home is to be fought against my own family!"
"Your wretched mother and her disciples tried to put a carving knife through our baby's heart. I will happily add to the body count," Haley pointed out causing Klaus to smirk.
"You'll do no such thing," Elijah declared. "Ester is a master in the art of possession. We know whose body she currently inhabits. We must decipher her intentions before she finds a new host."
"Well her last invitation was an assassination attempt on all her children," Klaus reminded them. "I think we can assume her intentions are decidedly fowl."
"Well then we have this afternoon to prepare for the worst," Talia suggested. Elijah caught her gaze and nodded before sweeping out of the room.
Klaus smirked as he too passed Talia, "Bloom is off the rose I see."
Talia rolled her eyes at her future brother, "In your dreams. Shall I see to the caterer?"
"If you so wish," Klaus replied.
Haley and Talia shared a look before Talia too turned to leave. "Hey," Haley called causing Talia to turn back. The new hybrid got to her feet and approached her friend. "Look, I wanted to thank you for all that you did for me the last few months."
The raven haired vampire smiled a bit, "That's what family does, we look after each other."
Haley opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted when her cell phone rang. "Hello?" Haley and Talia's eyes grew wide when Oliver on the other end of the line told them some new information. "Okay, thanks Ollie." Haley hung up on her informant.
"Ester has another witch on her side," Talia breathed. "Okay, you go downstairs and tell Klaus, I'll go into town and start prepping the food for tonight. Will you be there?"
"I'm not the one marrying into this family, no thanks," Haley replied earning a small grin from the vampire.
"All right, I'll see you later," Talia said as she left the room and the compound.
Whilst Talia was out and about she happened by a pet store and saw a young woman seemingly attempting to compel the owner for something. Chuckling she entered the shop. "Please just give me the damn python!" the dark haired, sun tanned woman groaned in frustration.
"You're gonna have to pay for it," the owner told her.
Talia attempted to smother her giggles, "Oh darling, you're not gonna get that snake that way."
The woman turned around, her brown eyes widening, "Oh, great now I gotta compel two people."
The blue eyes vampire snorted, "Hunny, you couldn't compel me even if you tried. Now, would you like me to teach you how to properly compel someone?"
"You're a vampire too?" the woman asked. Talia nodded as she approached the counter where the woman and the store owner stood.
"Now, step one, look deep into his eyes," Talia said. The woman did so and the store owner froze. "Good, now here's the tricky part, you have to tell him exactly what you want and truly believe it will happen. In essence, believe in what you're saying."
The woman nodded, "Okay, you're going to give me that python free of charge." The store owner nodded and moved over to the snake's cage. "Oh my God, it worked!"
Talia smiled, "See, a little bit of confidence will go a long way in this world. You're obviously new, are you one of Marcel's recruits?"
"I'm Gia," the woman, Gia, said shaking Talia's hand.
"Talia Mikaelson," the older vampire smiled.
Gia's eyes widened, "You're one of them?" Talia's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Your brother, Mr. Suit, is the one who is supposed to be teaching me all this stuff."
"Brother?" Talia chuckled. "Try fiancée."
"Oh," Gia gasped. "I'm sorry, I-"
"No, it's all right. I know he can be a bit of a stick in the mud," Talia assured her. "So what's with the python?"
Gia shrugged, "Some soul branding ritual Elijah's trying to get a witch to do." Talia's eyes widened in surprise at this new information.
"Hey, are you two freaks gonna take this snake or not?" the owner demanded.
"Uh oh," Gia muttered.
"I got it," Talia assured her as she turned to compel the store owner. "You will forget the last half hour has happened. Your snake got out of its cage and that's it. Now go into the back room and get some food for these animals, when you return you will have forgotten everything I have told you." The store owner nodded blankly and disappeared into the back room. "Now, Gia, why don't we get this snake to that witch and then head back to Marcel's?"
"Um, are you carrying that snake?" Gia asked eyeing the reptile on the counter.
Talia took one look at the slippery creature, "Not on your life."
Gia showed Talia back to the witch's shop where they gave her the snake. "When will this ritual be done?"
"Tonight, Mrs. Mikaelson, when the moon is high in the sky, and once I am in possession of an item spelled by the witch we are branding," the witch, Lenore, told her.
Talia didn't even flinch at the use of her future last name, she certainly was beginning to get a reputation, "Thank you for all that you're doing."
"Just tell that man of yours to keep his promise," Lenore replied.
"I will," Talia swore as she and Gia left the shop.
"So, how long have you been a vampire?" Gia asked as they made their way back to Marcel's place."
Talia shrugged, "Not terribly long, nearly a year, I think. It's all kind of blur, a lot has happened. And I'm assuming you've been one, what a day?"
"Give or take," Gia said as they reached Marcel's.
"I seem to have found a friend of yours," Talia announced as she and Gia entered.
Marcel looked up surprised, "Gia? I thought you were with Elijah."
"I was but then he sent me to get this dumb snake but I couldn't compel the owner but then Talia showed up and helped me out and taught me how to compel," Gia explained.
Marcel glanced over to Talia, "Thank you for looking out for her. Seems your fiancée couldn't be bothered."
Talia shrugged, "It wasn't a problem, and I believe Elijah has more important matters to deal with, no offense, Gia."
"None taken, you're better company then he is anyway," Gia replied earning a small smile from Talia.
"I should probably go, I've got a dinner to get to. I'll see you two later," Talia said as she left Marcel's and returned home.
Night had just fallen when she found Elijah, Klaus, and Haley. "Marcel's witch is being held captive in the Quarter," Haley announced.
"Oh perfect, mother's a step ahead of us as usual," Klaus groaned.
"How's that possible, I just saw her not an hour ago," Talia informed them.
Elijah looked over at her curiously, "And what were you doing there?"
"Returning a python, I'll explain later," she answered. "So what do we do now?"
"Oliver's with her, I'll go and get her to do the spell but I'll need the necklace," Haley suggested. Klaus handed over a leather necklace with a bird pendent, obviously the item spelled by Ester they would need for the ritual.
"No, I do not like this-" Elijah began to protest.
"No!" Haley cut him off. "You don't get to ignore me for days and then act like you're suddenly concerned, Elijah. Just for once will you trust me do something and it will get done? Thank you." With that Haley brushed passed them.
"So, I think it would be prudent to go get dressed for dinner, however disastrous it may be," Talia spoke up as she left the brothers and headed upstairs to change.
She had just slipped into a nice short dark green dress when Elijah wrapped his arms around her from behind. Sighing, Talia leaned back against his chest. "I do not relish the idea of you being in immediate danger this evening," Elijah said as Talia gently traced patterns on his arms.
"Nor do I actually want to be anywhere near your mother this evening or anytime in the near future, but whatever this is, whatever she wants, we must discover what it is," Talia replied honestly. Elijah gently kissed her temple before releasing her and turning to change his own attire. "I'll meet you downstairs," Talia told him as she quickly kissed his cheek.
Downstairs once more, she found Klaus already dressed in a nice suit, leaning on one of the chairs of the dining table. "Talia, you look ravishing."
"Thank you, Klaus. I trust the caterer delivered our dinner?" she inquired as she took her seat next to him but across from Elijah.
"All prepped and ready to serve our monster of a mother," Klaus replied. Talia nodded as Elijah appeared. Klaus looked up at his brother. "Are these outfits really necessary?"
"Appearance is a way of showing respect, Niklaus," Elijah responded. "Mother will be more likely to surrender her true intentions."
"I doubt her guard will drop just because I'm dressed like a bloody lawyer," Klaus growled, obviously annoyed.
"We need every advantage we can get, Klaus," Talia reminded him.
Klaus rolled his eyes, "You always did excel at diplomacy, brother. Just know that if she tries anything, I'll tear her new body to pieces."
The sound of someone chuckling alerted them to the presence of another. It was Vincent, the dark skinned man who had been at Roussos's the night Davina was attacked. "You two haven't changed a bit," he observed before glancing over at the only female in the room. "Though I can't say the same for the young Talia nor can I say immortality has done you any good." He then turned his attention back to the brothers. "Silks and linens can't hide your pathetic self-loathing. And you," Vincent pointed to Klaus, "despite the arrogant façade you're still the paranoid little boy. Full of hate, full of fear."
Elijah slowly approached the new arrival, "Forgive me, I don't believe I've had the pleasure."
"You mean you don't recognize me," Vincent said feigning hurt. "So much for the unbreakable bond of family, huh? Always and forever, indeed."
Klaus glared at Vincent with new vigor, "It's been a long time, Finn."
*15 years ;ater*
"Wait, wait, Finn was alive too?" I demanded, surprised.
Talia nodded, "Yep, it seemed all of the Mikaelsons were just pouring into the city."
"And Gia, she sounds nice, why would Elijah stand her up?" I wondered.
"Well, you have to look at it from his perspective, he just found out his father is alive and under the control of a vengeful teenage witch, and then his mother returns as well and she has an army of werewolves following her because she's made them special moonlight rings that make them stronger. Klaus, Haley, Rebekah, Hope, and I were all in danger, he didn't feel he had time to help Gia," Talia explained.
I nodded, understanding a bit better, "So this dinner thing with Ester and Finn, what happened?"
