A/N: Okay, so last time some pretty heavy stuff happened. Davina died, Zoe did some major magic and blacked out, and...well, pretty much everything fell apart and went to hell. This chapter's going to be the aftermath of all that, and...it'll probably be pretty emotionally taxing so brace yourselves for that. (Or maybe it was just emotionally taxing for me when I was writing it, but I figured I'd give a head's up just in case.) Also, I did something I've never done before, and did the first part of this chapter in...Marcel's perspective, actually. It surprised me, because I've never felt a need to write from his viewpoint before, but with Davina's death and how wrecked he is...well, it just felt right.
Anyway, thanks as always to you wonderful readers; bonus thanks to everyone who reviewed: FictionalBoysAreBetter, kineret, Raven Okumura, CarlyLynn, SphereShadow, willdawg992003, Adela, Savage Kill, Victoria, spicylove, Ahumblereader, SoulWings, and Sapphire1998. Thanks also to those of you who came to hang out with me on tumblr! You guys are all awesome! :)
Chapter 52
"Grief is the price we pay for love."
She was gone.
He'd been trying to protect her, to get her away and keep her safe.
He'd failed. Utterly and completely.
She was gone.
It hadn't been how the Mikaelsons and the Storme twins had anticipated, hadn't gone down like that at all. There hadn't been a nice and tidy ceremony or any sort of order to it at all. Those plans had been shattered to pieces when Sophie had turned on them, siding with some other witch Marcel had never seen before. In the end, though, those differences in execution hadn't mattered, because the ending had been the same. He hadn't been able to stop it, hadn't been able to do anything. Hadn't been able to protect her.
She was gone.
He couldn't stand to stay there with her body, there in the cold empty street with nothing but the icy night air and her corpse for company. Elijah had clearly been devastated by her death, as had Klaus, Ezra, and Rebekah once they'd arrived on the scene, but Marcel hadn't been able to even look at them. It had been their idea from the start, to sacrifice Davina. He couldn't find it in himself to look at them and see the pity and sadness in their eyes that seemed to almost make a mockery of his loss. How could they possibly understand this, understand how he felt as he looked down at her lifeless body and felt his heart crack and shatter into a million pieces.
She was gone.
He couldn't even bring himself to feel the barest stirrings of worry regarding the Storme woman's inexplicable collapse. He knew that he probably should have been at least a little concerned; from Ezra and Elijah's ministrations that seemed to be almost frantic, he could tell this sort of fainting spell was out of the norm and upsetting for the two men huddled around Zoe's unconscious form. But he just couldn't bring himself to feel much of anything at all, just looked away and back down to Davina's body.
She was...gone.
The pain of it hit him like a ten ton sledgehammer, almost driving him to his knees. But he wouldn't fall here, wouldn't show this weakness here in the middle of the street. So he summoned up what strength he had left at his disposal and used his enhanced speed to get himself back to safe territory.
Whereupon he threw a massive fit and totally trashed the place. It wasn't like he couldn't afford to replace the furnishings scattered around the Abattoir courtyard. Besides, he didn't gave a damn anymore. The whole world could have imploded right that very second, and he honestly wouldn't have cared.
Because she was gone.
He had just flung several tables and chairs around with furious abandon when he sensed someone approaching.
"That won't bring her back you know," Klaus said softly.
Marcel whirled on him, the agonizing grief in his chest sharpening into something that felt an awful lot like a hot, wrathful rage. "This is your fault!" he snapped. "I should never have let you anywhere near her."
"Marcel," Klaus began, but Marcel wasn't in the mood to listen to anything his sire had to say.
"This city was fine before you came," Marcel continued, talking right over whatever Klaus had been about to say. "We were fine! Davina was safe. She was in control!"
"My condolences the girl is gone," Klaus said, "but don't lose perspective. We still have our community. The vampires of this town-"
"I don't care about the vampires!" Marcel shouted, the agony in his chest rising to a painful crescendo. "She is dead! Do you hear me?!"
Klaus sped over to him so quickly that Marcel flinched out of reflex, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. Then the Original hybrid did something that truly shocked him to the core, and pulled him into a tight embrace.
"I'm sorry," Klaus murmured, holding him close in a hug that Marcel hadn't realized he'd needed.
But he did need it, and so he clung to Klaus as his sobs continued to wrack his body. And Klaus held him, and kept speaking in that soft, gentle tone that he'd heard from Klaus only a handful of times in the past. "You may think I know nothing of your grief," Klaus was saying, "but you are wrong." He pulled back enough to look Marcel in the eye without letting him go completely. "In the days after I fled this city, I thought you were dead. It was years before I could speak your name," he admitted, "so keenly did I feel that loss. I'm sorry," he said again, his voice barely a murmur as Marcel caved and lurched forward, pressing his face into Klaus's shoulder as he let his grief swamp him and wash him away.
Klaus just embraced him, holding him as he felt apart. "I'm sorry," Klaus whispered one last time.
I woke up with a pounding headache and the distinct feeling of having been run over by a rampaging stampede of wild stallions. And possibly a buffalo or two. I struggled to sit up, only to discover that my muscles weren't responding quite the way I wanted. I couldn't seem to do much more than flop around a bit, and even just that much was unbelievably exhausting.
After a few seconds of trying and failing to move more than a couple inches in any direction, I took a moment to assess my surroundings.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered Elijah by my bedside, his head resting on his chest as if he'd dozed off while sitting there. Peering at him more closely, I could see the deep shadows under his eyes, and I wondered how long he'd been sitting there.
Once I'd come to terms with how adorable he looked sitting there snoozing, I looked around and realized that we were back at the Abattoir. Not surprising, really, it was more or less our base of operations now, but I couldn't help but wonder how long I'd been out this time. How much time had I lost, between passing out after that fight and now? A glance out the window told me that the sun was just starting to rise, but that wasn't a huge help, either. Sunrise of what day, exactly? I hated to think I'd lost multiple days again, but the amount of power that had rushed through my body had been immense, and that sort of power always comes with a price. Usually a steep one in the end.
I let myself drift back to sleep, since I didn't really want to think about the consequences of my actions and how long I'd been unconscious. Besides, it wasn't like I was going to be getting out of bed, not feeling like roadkill the way I did. So I went back to sleep.
When I woke up again, I was feeling a little bit better and it was midday, and Elijah was awake and talking with Ezra, who'd pulled up another chair at my bedside. My twin, of course, noticed my return to the land of the living almost immediately.
"Hey," he exclaimed happily. "There she is. We were wondering when you were planning to wake up, sleepyhead."
"Ha ha, very funny," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.
Ezra just gave me that smile, the one that said so much without words. The one that told me how much I'd scared him again, how relieved he was to see me awake.
"It is a relief to see you back with us," Elijah remarked, and though his tone was light, I could see the faint worry lines around the corners of his mouth that told me that he really had been concerned about me.
A strange warmth filled my chest and I gave a little smile. "It's good to be back," I said. But then my smile dropped away as I remembered that one of our number had been taken from us and hadn't come back to the land of the living. "Davina..." I murmured, and felt the corners of my eyes prick with unshed tears.
My companions' faces fell as well, smiles turning into frowns and downcast eyes.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there," Ezra said, breaking the silence first. "Maybe if I'd-"
"Don't," I told him, reaching out a shaky arm to clasp his hand in mine. "Don't do that, Ez. There's nothing you could have done, even if you'd been there."
"Davina was going to die regardless of what any of us did," Elijah agreed, regret darkening his eyes. "Your presence wouldn't have changed that inevitability."
"Still..." Ezra sighed. "If I'd been there, I could have distracted Sirena. Then maybe she would have been too preoccupied to steal away the Harvest magic that should have brought Davina back."
"Since that preoccupation would have involved her ripping you to shreds," Klaus said as he entered the room and came to stand just behind where Elijah and Ezra were seated, "I think it's better that you weren't there."
"Amen to that," Rebekah pitched in as she followed into the room after her half-brother. "Seeing you torn up like that once is more than enough. Let's not risk a second round, okay?"
Ezra just shook his head. "But if it could have helped-"
Klaus reached out and squeezed his shoulder. "It wouldn't have. It would have just cost us more."
Ezra had a look on his face like he wanted to argue it further, but then he just sighed and slumped forward, burying his face in his hands. "I just can't believe there was nothing we could do," he mumbled dejectedly.
Rebekah bit her lip, then stepped forward to pull up a chair beside my brother. She fussed with the hem of her skirt a bit as she sat down, and then reached out and threaded her fingers through Ezra's with a shaky smile. "We'll get through this," she told him.
Ezra sighed again, but managed a faint smile in return. "If you say so."
Klaus and I both watched this little exchange with narrowed eyes and contemplative expressions. Before either of us could comment on it, however, Hayley appeared in the doorway.
"Oh," she said when she saw me sitting up. "You're awake. That's...good."
I pursed my lips a little because the way she said it made it sound decidedly not good, like maybe she'd have preferred me to stay down and out for a while. I wasn't in the mood to call her out on it right now, though, so all I said was "I am."
"Oh," she said again, then cleared her throat. "Elijah," she said uncertainly. "Can we...talk?"
"Perhaps later," he replied, not even looking around to meet her eyes.
An aggravated expression crossed the werewolf's face. "How about now?" she demanded. "Or are you just never going to forgive me for helping Sophie find Celeste's body?"
Elijah said nothing, but his jaw was clenched so tightly I wouldn't have been surprised if he cracked a tooth.
"This isn't the time for this," I said, not wanting to step into the middle of this but also unable to keep my opinion to myself.
"Who asked you?" Hayley snapped. "This is between me and Elijah."
Oooookay...that was totally not the right thing to say to someone with my temperament. "I beg your pardon?" I hissed. "This isn't all about you, Hayley. Davina just died, for crying out loud, show a little sensitivity!" I growled when she looked about to argue. "No, shut up. Whatever you have to say can wait." I turned away from her to look at my brother. "Where's Marcel?" I asked. "Is he...okay?"
Ezra looked at me carefully, as if unsure what to think my little scolding to Hayley. "He's making arrangements for...for the funeral," he said at last, glancing back over his shoulder at Klaus. "As for being okay..."
"He's definitely not," Klaus finished for him. "Last I saw, he was getting very cozy with a bottle of high-proof liquor. Understandable, of course, and I can't blame him for struggling right now." He rubbed his face tiredly. "It will be quite some time before Marcellus recovers from this, if ever."
I just nodded, because what could I say? Marcel had obviously loved Davina. He'd saved her from the witches and kept her safe for all those months...only to have her brutally slaughtered in spite of his best efforts.
I resolved to be nicer to Marcel in the future. He'd need as much support as possible after losing his ward like that.
"I hate to move on to business when we're all in mourning," Rebekah said hesitantly. "But we need to find out...what does Sirena have to do with all of this? I mean, I know Sophie made a deal with her, but...what's her endgame? Why join up with the New Orleans coven when she's working with your uncle?" she asked, looking over at me and Ezra. "Why would she do something like that? And who was this other person she said she made a deal with before Sophie?"
"What concerns me," Klaus said, "is where all that power went. The magic gathered from the Harvest was supposed to resurrect those four girls. But obviously it didn't. So...where did all that power go? Who has it now?"
"Not Sirena," I said after a moment of thought. "I wouldn't have been able to blast her away like I did at the end if she'd absorbed all that power for herself."
"So she was taking it and channeling it to someone else," Ezra concluded.
"But who could it possibly be?" Rebekah asked, sounding frustrated. "Who else out there is after us like this?"
"Could it be your uncle?" Elijah asked. "You mentioned he had relocated from his previous location. Could this be his doing?"
"Evans said he'd come down to Baton Rouge from Cheyenne," I admitted, "but I don't think this is him. Sirena said her when she spoke about this other person. My uncle is many things, but transgender isn't one of them. Besides, if he was in town, he wouldn't waste time playing games like this."
"True," Ezra agreed. "He'd just blast in, grab me and Zoe, then blast out again."
We all lapsed into thoughtful silence as we contemplated the possibilities. Eventually, Hayley spoke again.
"Did we ever find out why Davina was drawing those pictures of Celeste?" she asked. "I mean, she said they were visions of an evil that was after her, right? So, maybe..."
"But that isn't possible," Elijah countered, cutting Hayley off before she could even finish her sentence. "Celeste is dead. We saw her remains with our own eyes."
"Maybe she hitched a ride back from the spirit world and took over someone else's body?" I suggested. "I mean, it would be hard for her, but not impossible, especially if she had some sort of strong motivation."
"Not possible," Elijah repeated, shaking his head. "She would have no reason to come back and do these things."
I bit my tongue, and refrained from pointing out the fact that his brother's indiscretions had led to Celeste getting murdered by an angry mob, and that that was plenty of motivation for revenge; I had a feeling he wouldn't want to hear that right then, so I remained silent.
We were interrupted by the arrival of Klaus's bartender friend Camille, who came in looking like she'd just spent the last couple hours crying her eyes out. "Sorry to barge in on whatever powwow you're having here," she said, voice rough, "but my uncle just called." She glanced over at Klaus. "He says some members of the Faction discovered a couple dead vampires, over at the Cauldron?"
"Ours?" Elijah asked, looking over to his brother for confirmation.
"How the bloody hell should I know?" Klaus said in exasperation. "I can hardly be expected to remember of single face lurking around the city."
"Some king you are," Ezra grumbled.
Klaus whapped him lightly on the back of the head. "Watch it," he said warningly, but there was no real menace in his tone, only annoyance and amusement.
"Marcel would know if anyone's missing," Rebekah interjected. "We should ask him to come with us to help investigate."
"I have a feeling he'd rather be left alone," Elijah observed. "Maybe we should just give him some time."
"Nonsense," Klaus answered. "He can't sit around sulking for the rest of eternity. Here," he added, nudging Ezra with his elbow, "come help me roust him and let's be off."
Ezra gave a long-suffering sigh and rolled his eyes but obeyed, squeezing Rebekah's hand one last time before releasing her and following Klaus out the door and down the hall, presumably to find Marcel.
I watched them go, then leaned back against my pillows with a sigh of exhaustion.
"Still tired?" Rebekah said, looking at me in concern.
"A little," I admitted.
"Well, that's not surprising," Elijah remarked. "You did use a tremendous amount of power during that fight. It might take you some time to recover your full strength." A little mischievous smile quirked his lips. "Zorana."
I groaned and pulled up a pillow to cover my face. "Oh my God," I moaned. "I can't believe I shouted that for the whole world to hear.
"What's going on now?" Rebekah asked, clearly puzzled.
"Zorana Lucille Storme," Elijah said, taking his time sounding it out, as if he were savoring the feel of my name on his tongue.
I just groaned again. "Please, please stop."
"Oh." Rebekah's eyes lit up. "Oh! Is that your full name?"
I threw my pillow at her. "Yes," I grumbled. "And if you call me by it I will hex you eight ways to Sunday."
"Why?" Elijah asked, chuckling as Rebekah pounced on me and lightly walloped me with the pillow I'd tossed at her. "It's a lovely name. Slavic, isn't it?"
"Yes," I huffed. "It was my paternal grandmother's name. It means 'dawn'."
"It's lovely," Elijah repeated.
"Mmm," was my only response.
It's not that I didn't like my birth name, mind you. Truth be told, I loved it. It's just...different. Growing up and going to school with a name like Zorana had gotten me a lot of funny looks, until eventually I'd just started going by my nickname, Zoe. It was easier for people to pronounce, and I didn't have to put up with the whole slew of questions like What's that mean? or What country is that from?. Because explaining that it was my father's mother's name and that we were descended from a clan of revered Russian werewolves was way too troublesome to do with any great frequency. So I'd taken to just introducing myself as Zoe and that had been that.
When Elijah said it, though...well, I kind of liked how my full name sounded coming out of his lips.
Not that I was going to admit that to anyone, though. It was just a little secret I'd keep to myself.
When Elijah repeated my full name again, though, with that sparkle in his eyes that indicated that he was doing it just to rile me, I couldn't help the small smile that crept onto my face.
A/N: Okay, so I didn't want the entire chapter to be doom and gloom depression so that little softer moment at the end sort of snuck itself in. Also, I've had Zoe's full birth name just sitting around all this time and had never found a good place to fit it in, so I figured the previous chapter and this one would be an okay time to bring it up. I hope it didn't seem totally random and out of nowhere. :)
Anyway, how's everyone feeling about the story so far? Did I do that scene between Marcel and Klaus okay? It sort of wrote itself, if you know what I mean, and I hope I captured the feel of it. It's an important moment for both Marcel and Klaus, so I hope it came through okay. Also, how's everyone liking how the Mikaelsons and Stormes are gradually merging into one family? It's fairly understated right now, but I'm trying to put in little moments here and there that show how both groups of siblings are sort of just coming together; it's just little things, really, like how Rebekah and Zoe have that little pillow fight, or how Klaus bops Ezra on the head and Ezra doesn't flip his shit. You know, family stuff. XD Also, having everyone come together in Zoe's room reminds me almost of those times in a person's life where a family member is ill and everyone just shows up for support. Am I making any sense? Probably not, huh? Oh well, you guys let me know who you feel about it, okay? I love to hear your feedback, so drop me a review if you've got a second or two to spare. :)
