Summary: The Hollow masquerades as Freya and plans to return more powerful than before.
A/N: TGIF! There's an interesting suggestion on getting Hollow Freya to sleep with Keelin but I like to keep away from non-consensual sex. There will be sexy moments, just not in today's chapter, but I hope that you'll still enjoy this chapter. (:
Comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated.
The Hollow left the body of the Mikaelsons and they could face each other in person. Hugs were exchanged and laughter heard in the compound; things were relatively peaceful after the incident, and a little too peaceful. There is no news of the Hollow and her followers seemed to have totally disappeared from the face of this Earth. No news is good news, right?
Things were back to normal, pre-Hollow situation. Well, almost normal. Most of the Mikaelsons, except for Kol and Davina, immediately moved back into the French Quarter and made themselves comfortable. Elijah slowly regained his memories and went back to putting on a suit and tie. Klaus sworn to turn over a new leaf again for the umpteenth times for Hope and he placed his 'track and murder own sire line' plan to a halt. If not for the Hollow, Rebekah would have already left to a foreign land with Marcel. Hope and Hayley still lived in the French Quarter but as it was still school term, they're not in New Orleans. Currently it feels like the last chapter of a happy ever after scenario but is it?
It was a regular night. Freya and Keelin were catching a drama till the werewolf realized that it's fifteen minutes to midnight.
"Hey Freya, it's late and I have to work later. Shall we continue the next episode tomo –"
Freya cupped her cheeks with both hands and brought her lips to hers, drowning the word that she was about to say with light kisses. "Wait – hmm – Freya! Here?" Keelin asked in a low incoherent whisper as she tried to speak amidst the kisses, her face a flush bright red from being turned on by the persistent kisses. Freya put no heed of Keelin and continued to kiss her senselessly. The kisses became more demanding as she slowly lowered Keelin to the sofa. Freya pressed soft moist kisses from her lips to down her neck, and then she suddenly pulled back.
"Keelin, wake up."
Keelin stirred. She woke to Freya squatting by the bedside, gently shaking her awake. The blonde was all dressed and ready for the day. Keelin leaned over with eyes closed, anticipating, but she flipped the eyelids open again when it was clear that the lips would not be meeting another pair this morning as Freya was already at the dressing table.
My dear elder sister, won't you and Keelin join us for breakfast this lovely morning?
Klaus spoke from the compound in a voice loud enough for the household of supernatural listeners to catch.
Keelin chuckled, yawned and stretched in bed. "Guess we don't have a choice in this huh."
"Yea," Freya replied, holding up a hair brush. Keelin glanced at Freya with sleepy eyes. The morning sunrays illuminated Freya's smooth pale skin and she looked very alluring today. Freya tidied and swept her hair to one side, her tousled hair a vibrant blonde.
"We should join them for breakfast," Freya said while brushing her hair. When Freya caught her staring from the reflection of the dressing mirror, there was a slight pause as though she was reading the mood before repeating the details that Keelin already knew.
"Breakfast is already ready," Freya repeated. "Downstairs."
Keelin smiled to herself. These were the day to day situations that she enjoyed the most; Freya being the naggy wife for this instance.
"Okay, Okay, I'm up. Stop rushing."
Keelin kicked the sheets away and sleepily made her way across the room to the bathroom. She quickly prepared herself, not wanting Freya to wait too long. However when she was out, Freya wasn't in the room anymore.
"Oh, so you were waiting for me here," Keelin exclaimed when she found Freya pacing at the corridor.
While strolling,
"Freya, I was thinking…" Keelin gave Freya's palm a light squeeze, catching her attention. "Should I grab us some supper and a bottle of champagne after work tonight? It has been a while since we erm…spent some time together ever since we've arrived in New Orleans," Keelin asked sheepishly.
Freya gave a side glance and nodded, and Keelin clung onto Freya's arms for the rest of their stroll to the compound. When they arrived, her high spirits was met with warm welcome by the other Mikaelsons.
"Now, Now, Keelin, there is no need to be that attached to my sister. She is after all, yours after breakfast. Now let's all have a proper family breakfast shall we?" Klaus assuring said as he beckoned them towards the empty seats.
The other Mikaelsons were seated around the long dining table. A variety of spread ranging from healthy breakfast flakes, to savoury bacon-egg-and-cheeses, to sweet delights like maple syrup pancakes, to dessert-like cakes were available.
Keelin's mouth dropped open and her brown eyes shot to Freya's as she was charmed over.
"Of course, everything in moderation," Klaus assured with a smirk.
"Bon Appétit," Elijah wished.
"So what is the plan now?" The topic surfaced as Rebekah sipped her cup of wine. "Do nothing and wait for the Hollow to jump on us from the shadows?"
"I've already messaged Kol of our situation and he hasn't even read my messages. We must be very low in his priority list!" Rebekah agitatedly said and almost spilled over her cup of wine.
"The plan is actually very simple," Klaus answered as a matter of fact.
"We murder the next possessed victim of the Hollow, find the Hollow's followers and destroy them. Their dead bodies will be stacked one after the other and up so high that it will serve as a warning to those who dares to cross us."
Rebekah rolled her eyes in response while Freya and Elijah maintained their calm posture. Keelin tried to focus on the conversation but the spread was just too tempting.
"Freya, this is amazing! Which should I have a go at first?" Keelin whispered softly, not wanting to interrupt the conversation.
"And how do we do that now that there is not even a single trace of the Hollow and her followers?" Elijah finally spoke.
She turned to look at Freya for an opinion and the blonde stared blankly back at her with a forced smile.
"We have Marcel and his young friends to aid us, don't we? Perhaps Sister, you can work your charms and get Marcel to speed things up with them" Klaus suggested with a wicked smile.
Now Rebekah was very agitated and she scowled at Klaus before diverting her attention to Keelin.
"You got to try the pancakes Keelin, they're absolutely fabulous. I've gotten the top chef to make and deliver them here." She motioned for the housekeeper to get Keelin a plate of maple syrup pancakes.
"Thanks, it sure looks delicious," Keelin was slightly pleased by Rebekah's gesture and she dug in.
Dipping a small slice of pancake into the maple syrup, she raised the fork to Freya.
"Here Freya," she held it out before her mouth, and Freya stared at the pancake slice for a second before slowly biting into it.
"Patience then Rebekah, we will receive news from Vincent or Josh once there is any," Elijah said.
"I do not trust Josh and definitely not Vincent. Is he not the one who attempted to hide the truth from all of us – that we cannot see Hope after the ritual?"
Keelin raised another small slice of pancake to Freya's mouth and she shook her head. Keelin had to finish the slice. She turned to look at Freya and she was quietly eating. Not that it's something unusual as she was never a chatter in social events but the lack of enthusiasm this morning worries her. Perhaps she's thinking too much? She killed the negative thoughts and continued sampling the spread.
Back in their room, Keelin wrapped an arm around Freya's waist from behind, head resting on her shoulders.
"Breakfast was lively. I see why you enjoy their company though the topics range from minor squirms to murdering others."
"Now that we're done with breakfast, would you like a back massage?"
"No, thank you," Freya replied.
"Really?" Keelin moved around and with arms outstretched held onto her shoulders, Freya's head in between.
Keelin tilted her head slightly to the side while smiling, moving closer and arms wrapping tighter around Freya's neck.
"Really? Really?"
Freya's head turned slightly to the side and her gaze immediately darted to the ground. Sensing something amidst, Keelin immediately released her hold, and concern filled her face.
"Why, what's wrong Freya?"
"I'm just – just a little tired," Freya replied, and she moved away.
"I'll feel better after a nap," she took a sleepwear from their wardrobe.
Keelin watched as Freya took off her blouse and changed into her sleepwear before slipping into bed.
Freya had well defined curves, around her waist and her hips especially. Her tight fitting pants all the more portrayed her tall, slim and slender body. Her arms were attractively toned, they were strong and warmth and she felt safe in those arms, thrilled when those fingers of hers touched her…Keelin had to drag her eyes away from her back.
Guilt came quickly. It wasn't the right time for her to be lusting over her wife. Freya survived a magical ritual that depleted her energy to nil and has yet to recover while there she is, lusting over her. According to Vincent, the enemies had resorted to extreme measures to weaken Freya and to get her into the formation. As she's the only vampire who is not an Original, they were unable to neutralize her with a stake in the heart like what they did to Rebekah and Elijah, who were staked and then effortlessly dropped into the formation.
"Rest well, I've a meeting to attend and will be home late. Call me, if there's anything?"
Freya nodded behind the sheets and turned away to rest on her side.
By the time Keelin returned home from work at night with a box of fruit tarts and champagne, Freya was already fast asleep. Not wanting to wake her, Keelin tiptoed towards the bed and landed on the mattress as gently as she could, trying to weigh like a feather. Freya's sleeping soundly and she couldn't help but to smile to herself before pulling a blanket over her tired wife before retiring for the night.
"Freya…" Keelin murmured dreamily. Her arm reached over expecting to embrace her wife but it fell flat on empty sheets. She flipped open her eyes and the bed was empty. The bathroom lights were on and she figured that Freya was inside. Keelin sat up, looked around and immediately the items on the dressing table caught her attention as they were brightly coloured and stood out.
She picked up a small bowl and took a close look at the colourful solutions before placing them back to their exact spot. When she caught the shuffling of footsteps in the bathroom, she hurriedly crept back to bed, pretending to be asleep. She squinted her eyes and opened just enough for her to catch Freya standing over the dressing table with a bowl. Freya murmured in a foreign tongue before pouring out the contents of the colourful bottles into the bowl. A slight "poof" was heard followed by smoke before she poured the concoction back into the small bottles and left with them.
Keelin's world fell apart the moment she saw magic. She kept still in bed, pretending to sleep till Freya left the bedroom.
The cloaked figures knelt when Freya entered the rundown house in the woods.
"Master, welcome back! We hope that the body of Freya Mikaelson has been kind to you while we search for a better alternative," a woman's voice was heard.
Keelin peeked through a broken window and scanned the room. There were a dozen or two cloaked figures kneeling in neat rows opposite Freya. A cloaked figure held out a dagger with both arms and await further instructions.
Freya lifted her head, her eyes glowing a bright blue, and Keelin's fears were further confirmed – the Hollow has possessed Freya.
The hollow took the dagger and motioned for the cloaked one to stand.
"A very commendable job!"
"Soon I will return more powerful than before. You shall be rewarded for your loyalty and be blessed with powers that you can never dream of."
"But first to execute our plan, bring me the werewolf who's hiding outside," she ordered.
Keelin's heart beat a thousand times and her breath quickened. How did the Hollow know? Is this a trap? When the hooded one turned towards the door, Keelin felt her heart drop another hundred feet as it was the witch who had previously inflicted a pain spell on her. Her senses screamed danger and she sprang back into the woods; she wanted to warn the other Mikaelsons and save Freya. Just as she ran, the wretched pain in the head began and she crumpled to the ground. She rolled and gripped her head tightly. When she looked up, the witch brought a foot down to her face and the lights went out.
