Beautiful Disaster ~ Chapter LIII
~ * • ° • ° • * ~
"It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend." - William Blake
Elijah and Andy quickly made their way through the Bayou. After finding the truck, they had returned to Freya and grabbed Hope. The small child was wrapped tightly in Andy's embrace as they frantically searched for Hayley. Andy was doing her best to remain calm, but the weight of the situation was weighing heavily on her shoulders.
"Hayley! Hayley!" Elijah called. Andy helped Hope close to her chest, not wanting to shout herself and scare the child.
Elijah, looking concerned, continued walking through the woods, stopping when he came upon one of the steel-jawed animal traps, which was both covered in and surrounded by a huge puddle of blood. Elijah gulped nervously and considered this for a moment before a familiar voice called out from behind him.
"Where is she?"
Andy and Elijah both spun on their heels, surprised to see Jackson standing there naked and covered in blood as he hid behind a tree, both to help support himself and to give him some modesty in front of Elijah, Andy, and Hope.
"Where the hell is Hayley?" Jackson continued. Andy realized that Jackson was panting heavily and looked down to find that Jackson's leg was seriously wounded from being caught in the trap and was bleeding severely.
"We… we don't know."
Once they returned to Jackson's RV, Andy had handed Hope off to Elijah as she helped remove bullets from Jackson. He was now clothed and sitting there with pain written across his face despite his best to hide it. As she used a butter knife to help, Elijah had placed Hope in her stroller, where she was restlessly fidgeting. Elijah stood over her and Jackson, watching anxiously.
"Elijah, I know you are only trying to help, but Hope needs someone to hold her. She's upset," Andy said, a bit annoyed that Elijah was hovering. She didn't want to be rude but she would work better if he wasn't standing over. Silently, Elijah moved back over to the child and quickly picked her back up.
Jackson hissed and groaned in pain when Andy had finally freed the last one, and once she was finished, Andy watched as the wound began to heal. "Are you okay?" Andy asked him.
Jackson sighed. "I'll be fine when we find Hayley."
"There's still no sign of her, Jackson, but we'll find her," Andy assured him. Then, she hesitated, sighing. "I-I've seen the bodies."
He replied with a sigh. "Hunters set up traps all over the Bayou. Mowed us down with gunfire. Any wolf that wasn't taken out scattered," Jackson winced and looked down at his gunshot wound, gritting his teeth and clearly dreading his next statement. "Andy... how many bodies?"
Andy, not unaffected by the thought of all the dead wolves, looked away from him, silently answering Jackson's question. She couldn't give him an exact answer, but somehow saying there had been a least a dozen wasn't going to be comforting to him. Jackson, momentarily stunned by this revelation, tried to keep it together and paused to think.
"A trap wouldn't hold Hayley after she turned back," Jackson looked over at Hope, who still looked restless and was staring at them curiously. "Nothing would stop her from seeing that little girl. Something's wrong."
Elijah started to pack up his things, and Jackson turned to look at him in confusion. "Where are you going?" Jackson asked.
"To take my niece home. Then, we'll continue the search. You stay here, you tend to your dead—" Elijah answered.
"No! No," Jackson cut him off. "I got five hours 'til I'm a wolf again. Elijah, she's my wife."
Andy looked over at Elijah. They two of them stared at one another, silently communicating. They both nodded at one another before he brought Hope over to the car. Andy looked back to Jackson. "Then we should go. We can't waste any more time."
Klaus was on the balcony outside of his bedroom, drinking a tumbler of bourbon, when he suddenly sensed that he was not alone. He didn't even need to turn around to know that Jackson, Andy, and Elijah were the ones behind him.
"I thought I smelled swamp," He commented before turning to face the three. Both men looked furious as they glared at him; Andy, however, for once looked at him with a neutral expression. They were obviously here to accuse him of something, and he found it intriguing that her anger wasn't as great as theirs. Still, she wouldn't quite look him in the eyes.
"What'd you do with Hayley?" Jackson demanded.
"Tell me what you know," Elijah added immediately.
Klaus walked toward them with a coy expression. "Has Jackson misplaced his bride? Come to think about it, I did read that global warming was affecting migration patterns. Try Georgia!"
"I just left the bodies of people I care about to rot in the woods because you left them defenseless against poachers!" Jackson exclaimed angrily. Klaus was taken aback but smiled fakely to cover it up. "Like Kingmaker Land Development. Does that ring a bell?" Klaus' smile fell, recognizing the name as Lucien's company. His friend had briefly mentioned his interest in real estate.
"The CEO is Lucien Castle," Andy said, stepping forward. "And from what I heard last night, you too go way back."
Elijah stepped forward, putting himself between Andy and Klaus so he was face-to-face with his brother. "So, I will ask you once again—what do you know?"
Klaus pointed at Elijah. "As it happens, I just came back from a romp with our good friend Lucien. You can find him in the penthouse of the gaudy new construction on Canal. And while you two are catching up, be sure to ask him about the prophetic vision he showed me of our family's spectacular downfall. You could use a good laugh."
Elijah sighed and pointed at Jackson. "You stay here. Niklaus and I will deal with this."
"Actually, as long as Hayley's prowling about on two legs and unaccounted for, I'm staying with my daughter," Klaus explained. He walked around his brother toward Jackson, looking at him suspiciously. "And, should I discover that this is yet another cock-eyed scheme for Hayley, Andy, and you to abscond with her, the paltry remains of your beloved wolf pack will be sniffing at your entrails come morning."
Jackson scowled at him, which caused Klaus to smile as he began to walk away. However, Elijah vamp-sped in front of him, blocking his way. Elijah, amused, spoke up. "This doesn't frighten you, brother. But, one day, your daughter will know exactly the kind of man that her father is." His smile fell, and he looked at Klaus with a deadly serious expression. "If anything should happen to Hayley, you mark my words—no one will have to take Hope from you. She will, without question, leave you of her own accord."
Elijah turned and left the room with Jackson following him. Klaus, stunned and worried, looked over at Andy, who was gazing at him with her almond eyes. Without a word to him, she turned and followed her lover.
Klaus was walking down the stairs of the compound as he left Freya a rather annoyed voicemail on her phone. "Freya, I'm aware that 21st-century technology remains a mystery to you, but when you see my name pop up on your phone, you answer it. Come home. Immediately."
When he made it down the stairs to the courtyard, he found an unhappy Cami standing there waiting for him. He paused for a moment before raising an eyebrow at her. "Mere hours after you lecture me about boundaries, and here you are in my house in the middle of the night..." He took a seat on the couch, and Cami, exasperated, sat down across from him in an armchair.
"I came in through the front door. You appeared through my window like a creeper. Besides, this is a matter of life and death and Andy won't answer my calls," She replied, opening her bag and pulling out her laptop. She quickly opened it and pulled up the crime scene photos of the serial killer victims.
"Oh, how novel!" Klaus said.
"Call it a hunch, but I think your friend Lucien is torturing and killing humans in the Quarter. There have been two victims so far, but I've constructed a psychological profile of the killer, and I don't think it's going to end there."
Klaus rolled his eyes. "Lucien would never be so sloppy," Cami, not convinced, turned her laptop to show him the photo of the first victim. When Klaus saw the cuts on the mouth, his amused smile fell as he became mildly concerned. "...Although I admit, there is a familiar method to this particular madness..."
"You want to prove to me that you're turning over a new leaf? Make sure this latest victim is the last one," She began to pack up her bag, and Klaus looked at her curiously.
"Are you suggesting that I prove my redeemability by killing my oldest friend? Such irony!"
Cami rolled her eyes. "Look, NOLA PD can't take down a thousand-year-old psycho with vampire powers, but you can. You're the smartest, and the strongest, and the scariest," Klaus, pleased to hear this description of him, smiled brightly at her. "So, make him stop."
After ringing the doorbell, Andy and Elijah waited for a few moments until the door to the penthouse opened to reveal Lucien. Behind him was a young woman who was sitting in an armchair in her lingerie.
"Elijah! What a glorious pleasure," Lucien exclaimed, then looking over at the doppelganger. "And I knew you wouldn't be able to stay away for long, love. They never can."
Elijah resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I do apologize for the late hour."
"Oh, it's no matter! I've long been nostalgic for the days when vampires conducted business in the dark," Lucien replied. Elijah took a step forward to enter the apartment but was blocked by an invisible force, which caused Lucien to chuckle and point at the threshold. "It's a boundary spell. No vampire from another sireline can enter without an invitation," He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Given the circumstances, you know..."
"Good thing I'm part of Klaus' then, huh?" Andy said, stepping through the doorway with a fake smile. She folded her arms over her chest, happy to see the look of uncertainty pass over Lucien's expression for a moment.
Elijah feigned politeness as he spoke. "Lucien, I didn't come here to chin-wag. Your little corporation has been butchering wolves in the Bayou Lafourche!"
"It's population control. There's viable land out there—viable, that is, once the sudden influx of mangy wildlife has been eliminated."
"I take it you are alluding to the Crescent Pack," Andy said, clenching her fists. Lucien shrugged as though he didn't know of the pack.
"Hayley Kenner, one of the Alphas, is missing," Elijah stated.
Lucien narrowed his eyes in realization and gave them both a confused look. "The hybrid Nik knocked up?" Lucien turned to walk back into the apartment. "I'm surprised by your concern, Elijah. When your family left her to prowl the woods all these months, I just figured the tramp was persona non-grata—fair game."
Lucien smirked as he picked up a glass of scotch from the table and took a sip. Elijah's lips quirked into a weak smile before he lost his temper, broke an end table in the hall into pieces, and threw the broken leg of the table at Lucien with vampire speed. The makeshift stake impaled Lucien in the neck, causing him to groan in pain as he pulled it out. Before he could react further, Jackson, partially transformed into a wolf, lunged at Lucien with his golden-eyes blazing, yelling in fury as he did. As a hybrid, Jackson needed no invitation, so he easily rushed into the apartment, tackled Lucien, and bit him viciously on the arm.
Lucien screamed in pain. Jackson, who still had his golden eyes and fangs out, stood above Lucien as the vampire cradled his injured arm. "Now, they asked you what your hunters did with my wife. Answers. Now." Jackson demanded.
Lucien jumped to his feet at vampire speed to look Jackson in the eyes. "I'll have them inspect the roadkill in the morning." He replied angrily.
Jackson looked as though he was about to attack Lucien again, but Elijah stopped him. "Jackson, your time is short. You go to the compound. Fetch the chains from the carriage room." Jackson sighed but ultimately complied. Lucien glared at him as he left, flexing his injured arm and wincing. Elijah looked back at the vampire with amusement. "My darling Lucien—I'm quite happy to stand here and watch you die. Or, you could invite me in. The choice is yours."
At the Mikaelson Compound, Klaus was pacing anxiously with Hope in his arms while Freya prepared to do the locator spell to find Hayley. Klaus wasn't sure of his exact motives for finding the little wolf, but there were multiple. He couldn't deny Elijah's words hadn't affected him earlier, and after sending Freya's hook up home his sister had been glad to help.
Freya spread a circle of black sand on a map held down with lit candles and muttered the incantation under her breath. "Vinde val tratunderes. Vinde val tratunderes," Suddenly, Freya gasped loudly as her eyes flew open. It was obvious to Klaus by the look on her face that something wasn't right. Klaus looked at her with concern. "I can't find her."
"What do you mean you can't find her?" Klaus demanded.
Freya anxiously looked back up at her brother. "There's nothing—It's like she doesn't exist."
Klaus' eyes widened in alarm, and he gasped as Hope chewed on her fingers in his arms. "...Or she's dead," He said, the guilt slowly starting to sink into him.
"No! No. No. You have to find her," Jackson said as he rushed into the room. Freya, who was clearly upset and trying to catch her breath, looked at him with wide eyes. Klaus continued pacing anxiously, wondering what this meant for the future. Suddenly, Jackson suddenly yelped in pain as he, too, started to turn back into a wolf. Freya, realizing what's happening, quickly stood to her feet to help.
"Klaus, the chains!" Klaus quickly passed Hope off to Freya as he rushed to get the chains. He began chaining Jackson up in the courtyard by the wrists. Jackson was desperately pleading with Freya as his bones snapped and reformed.
"Freya, please! Please do the spell again! I can't go a month without—Ahh!" His pleas were cut off by a groan of agony as he continued to shift back into a wolf, and Freya looked on with guilt for not being able to help him more. Klaus stepped back to stand next to Freya and his daughter, uncertain how to help him. Jackson groaned for another moment until the pain evaporated, and he, too, gasped in relief. Freya and Klaus both look at him in confusion. "It… It stopped…"
Elijah was pacing around Lucien's apartment, taking note of all the artwork on his walls. Lucien joined him a moment later, having grabbed a towel to clean up his werewolf bite. Andy was standing next to Elijah, resisting the urge to snap Lucien's neck.
"My contacts will get back to me if they have any information about a wolf matching your description," Lucien said as he crossed the room and sat down on his couch. He picked up a decanter of scotch to pour himself a drink.
"You're going to need Niklaus' blood for that wound, just FYI. I'm sure he'll respond favorably once the mother of his child has been recovered," Elijah said, before looking at the young human woman, who was still sitting silently and motionlessly on the chair where he left her and brushed a lock of hair off her neck. Lucien took notice of Elijah's interest in her. Andy watched Elijah closely, uncertain what he was doing.
"Oh, feel free to have a drink! She's not dead... just mouthy. I compelled her quiet," Lucien said before taking a large gulp of his alcohol.
"You can spare me the counterfeit camaraderie," Elijah replied, annoyed to be in Lucien's presence. "So, you say you're in conflict with those of my sireline. Am I to assume that the Lord Tristan de Martel is up to his usual tricks?"
"This is no quarrel, Elijah! We are on the brink of war! Tristan knows that if he kills Klaus, he will eliminate all his enemies," Lucien responded. Andy looked at them curiously, wondering who this Tristan was. The name sounded familiar to her, but she couldn't place where she had heard it before.
Elijah, confused, held up a hand to silence him. "And, so wait—by this logic, am I to assume that I am your ultimate target?"
Lucien scoffed. "If I kill you, then I trade all of the money, the women, the jets, for an eternity on the run from Nik and Rebekah, not even counting what your doppelganger will do to me."
"Oh, so he does have some common sense!" Andy said, giving Lucien a fake smile.
Elijah smiled politely and walked toward Lucien. "Leave the city. No one needs your protection. The white oak is destroyed. We cannot be killed." Elijah sat on Lucien's coffee table and took the glass of scotch from his hand. Lucien, frustrated, leaned forward and lowered his voice.
"You're wrong. Talk to Nik. He's seen the prophecy. Visions of darkness surround your family. You are not immune to death, Elijah," Lucien said. Elijah rolled his eyes but said nothing, which didn't escape Lucien's notice. "And you don't seem particularly fazed—"
Elijah was quick to cut him off. "—Well, I'm no stranger to death, young Lucien," Elijah gave Lucien his drink back, and Lucien's eyes narrowed in realization. "Or third-rate prophecies, for that matter." Elijah stood to his feet and started walking toward the door, only to be stopped by Lucien, who stood as well.
"Or maybe immortality has finally soured you. After all, you've abandoned your eternal efforts to save Nik's soul. What's left for the legendary Elijah Mikaelson if not that singular motivation?" Lucien taunted. "Perhaps you would like to hear about the part of the vision where the dear Andrea laid on the forest floor, her heart pierced with a stake."
For a moment Andy felt herself freeze up. She had died before, multiple times at that, and didn't really feel like going through it again. However, she refused to let Lucien think she needed him.
"Been there, done that," Andy said as she crossed the room to Elijah. "Death didn't really take a liking to me." Elijah, glaring at Lucien, gestured to Andy to follow him out of the apartment. She quickly did, throwing a look of uncertainty toward Lucien before following Elijah.
Klaus had just put Hope in a small playpen, where she laid down on the floor. As he watched her, he pulled out his phone and dialed Lucien's number. "I taught you better than to leave your leftovers in the street! My streets," Klaus said as Lucien answered the phone.
"You'll have to elaborate, mate."
"Two bodies were found sporting rather memorable lacerations. Are you exorcising your demons by carving up the innocents of New Orleans?" Klaus said.
Lucien laughed weakly and leaned against the doorway to catch his breath for a moment. "Oh, your family is full of unfounded accusations today. And if I was the culprit, why would you care? We used to make fantastic messes together."
Klaus, unamused, continued. "There is a delicate balance in this city. There are rules."
Lucien was clearly trying to catch his breath. "Ah, and people you care about. You can't afford to have weaknesses like that right now."
"Speaking of weaknesses, there is a wolf chained to my wall who claims he took a chunk out of your arm. Come see me. I'll give you my blood in exchange for your word that the killings will stop."
"I'm afraid your family dog missed the mark, friend. Barely a scratch. No venom breached the skin."
Klaus closed his eyes and sighed in annoyance at losing his leverage. "You listen carefully, friend—my city has enjoyed months of relative peace. If that peace is in any way disrupted, the next gruesome murder will be yours!"
Lucien simply chuckled in amusement, which only made Klaus more frustrated. "Now there's the Klaus I know." With that, Lucien hung up on him. Before Klaus could react, he heard a familiar voice downstairs.
"Where the hell is that bastard?"
Hayley. Quickly, Klaus made his way to the courtyard to see that Hayley was standing before Jackson, her outfit covered in blood and the blood covering her face.
"Hayley, what happened?" Jackson asked in worry.
Klaus smugly smiled at her. Good, she was suffering as he hoped. "Hayley. Come to apologize for all your transgressions?"
At the sound of his voice, Hayley turned and rushed toward Klaus aggressively. "Do you have any idea what you have taken from me?" She threw a punch at him, but he dodged it and grabbed her arm, twisting it behind her back. She screamed in pain but was able to break out his hold easily by kicking him backward in the gut before spinning and roundhouse-kicking him in the face. Jackson, furious at Klaus, twisted the chains around his wrists to try to break free.
"The very thing you sought to take from me—the chance to raise our daughter. Your punishment fits your crime." Klaus replied.
"Your family was ruining her life!" Hayley yelled. He vamp-sped toward Hayley and pinned her in a choke-hold against a nearby table, causing her to gasp for breath.
"My family saved her life while you were off playing hide-and-seek in the forest!" Klaus yelled back. Jackson, his yellow eyes flashing, broke one of the chains binding him to the wall, just as Freya started to stir awake after being knocked out by Hayley. Hayley headbutted Klaus in the face, causing his nose to bleed, and Jackson broke the other chain, completely freeing himself. Freya, realizing that it was about to get ugly, cast a spell to keep him unable to intervene.
Jackson groaned. "Let me go! He'll kill her!"
"He'll kill you!" Freya replied frantically.
Klaus continued yelling at Hayley. "There's a very short list of people who've tried to take Hope away from me, and you're the only one left breathing."
"Are you that delusional, Klaus? You cursed all of us! Every wolf that I fought for, everyone that stood up for our daughter. You took all of them away from their families!" Hayley shouted.
"Yes, yes, your precious pack, that family you chose over us, and in doing so, you chose over Hope," Klaus replied bitterly.
Hayley looked at him, stunned. "Is that what you were planning on telling her when she got older and asked for me? That I abandoned her?"
Hayley, more furious than any of them had ever seen her, broke an end-table and used the broken leg as a stake as she lunged for Klaus. However, Klaus took the stake and threw it aside, watching in frustration as Hayley jumped high into the air onto the staircase railing, which she used as leverage to jump onto the balcony. She leaped over to where Klaus had appeared and started punching him, which he dodged at vampire speed. Finally, she started angrily shoving him in the chest, pushing him back as she yelled furiously at him.
"My parents left me! Yours turned their backs on you! Look at us now, Klaus!" She continued hitting him hard in the chest, but Klaus, suddenly stricken by the realization of the weight of what he had done to the woman in front of him, could do nothing but stare in horror at her as she screamed in frustration.
"Niklaus!" Elijah said as he and Andy rushed into the room. Both stopped, watching the two from below in worry and relief at seeing Hayley.
However, Hayley ignored Elijah and Andy and kept shoving Klaus in the chest. "She deserves something better than what we had, and all I have ever wanted for her is something better!" Klaus continued to stand there silently, which only made Hayley more frustrated. "Fight back! Fight back!"
Klaus' eyes widen as he noticed something behind her, and when Hayley turned around, she saw Hope slowly toddling over to them on the balcony, who had likely heard the fight and become curious as to what was happening. Hayley's mouth opened in shock, and a wave of guilt washed over her face as she covered her mouth with her hand in horror. Below, the others watched sadly from the floor of the courtyard.
"Ohhhh. She's walking. When did she start walking?" Hayley said, clearly overwhelmed by the sight.
Klaus and the others remained silent, and Hayley looked as though she was on the brink of breaking down as she slowly walked toward her daughter. She finally picked up Hope, too overwhelmed to remember she was covered in blood, and she started to cry as Hope cooed in her arms.
"I missed it. I missed everything," Hayley said quietly. She kissed Hope's cheek as Freya, Jackson, Andy, and Elijah continued to watch sadly from the courtyard. Behind her, Klaus was looking tearful as well and felt guilty and ashamed of what he had done.
After a moment, Hayley walked down the steps with Hope, and Klaus followed slowly behind her. Freya has broken the shackles from Jackson's wrists, and as soon as she was finished, he rushed toward his wife and step-daughter to give them a hug.
"What happened? Is the curse broken?" Jackson asked. Andy walked a few steps closer to Hayley, who looked at her and gave her a nod.
"I'll explain later. We're safe... for now," Hayley said tiredly.
"Good for you. I'll have your bedroom made up," Klaus said.
Hayley turned to glare at him. "The only way that I will stay under your roof is if I'm in a coffin."
Klaus became angry again. "If you think I will allow Hope out of my protection for a second—"
"What you'll allow doesn't matter, Klaus," Hayley said firmly. "Welcome to a 21st-century custody battle. Moms win them now."
Elijah, wanting to prevent another fight, interrupted them. "If I may? The apartments across the street have recently been renovated. I might pay a visit to the management," He turned to Klaus, who was visibly unhappy, and glared at him. "The fact that Hope will never be out of earshot should assuage your incessant paranoia."
"So we are to listen as my daughter is raised by savages?" Klaus said.
Jackson scoffed in reply. "Because everyone here is so civilized?"
Andy turned to look at Klaus. "Klaus, you created the problem. This is the solution."
Hayley looked at Elijah and Andy gratefully and nodded. "Put the place in Jackson's name," She looked over at Klaus and glared at him. "Klaus won't be invited in."
Klaus scowled in anger at this news, but he said nothing as Hayley, Hope, and Jackson walked away. Andy didn't even glance in Klaus' direction before following after them. Elijah shot Klaus one last look before he turned and followed them out. Freya looked at Klaus with an expression that seemed to say, "I told you so," before she went up to her room, leaving him all alone once again.
Hayley, who had showered and dressed in clean clothes, was in her old bedroom, where she was packing up her things in a leather bag. After a moment, she stopped what she was doing as thought back to killing those witches.
She had just been incapacitated by a pain infliction spell by the ten Versailles witches who caught her killing Kara. Knowing that her pack's freedom depended on no one tracing Kara's death back to Davina, Hayley started feeding on one of the witches attacking her until the woman died. She was momentarily incapacitated by another pain infliction spell for a moment until she fought through it, ripping the arms off two witches at the same time, screaming in pain, and then snapping the neck of another witch so hard she pulled his head off. Once she was done, she looked around in horror at the massacre she had just caused and gasped for breath.
Suddenly, she was distracted by a gentle knock on her door. Looking up, she saw Andy in the doorway, looking at her in concern.
"Are you okay?" The doppelganger asked softly.
"I'm fine," Hayley lied, not wanting to get into it now. Especially because she was certain Andy would freak out if she knew Davina had ordered a slaughter. "Come in."
Andy walked into the room, and Hayley returned to packing. "Jackson's gathering the pack to tell them to go back to their families... what's left of them," She anxiously cleared her throat and ran her hand through her hair, keeping her back to Andy so she didn't see how overwhelmed she is. Andy held out her hand, which had a set of keys on a key ring hanging from her index finger.
"You should be comfortable," Andy said. Hayley turned to her, and her eyes widened in appreciation when she saw that he got her and Jackson a new apartment.
"Thank you for this," Hayley said. She paused for a moment, and they stand awkwardly until Hayley continued. "You know, there was a moment at the bonfire last year when I thought we would be okay, especially when you showed back up. That Hope could be raised by a real family. For the first time, I was happy. I hate Klaus for taking that away from me."
Andy, not knowing what to say, pulled out a red velvet jewelry box and handed it to Hayley. She opened the box and found their wedding rings. "Elijah and I found them after you turned," She said with a gentle smile before leaning over and pulling Hayley into a hug. Immediately Hayley embraced her back. After a moment, Andy pulled away with misty eyes. "Hayley, I… I want you to know, you weren't forgotten. I searched every day for a solution. Words can't express how happy I am you're back. I don't know how, but I understand if you don't want to tell me. I'm sorry I failed you. I should've been the one to bring you back and a lot sooner."
Hayley smiled small at her. "Thank you, Andy, but it's not your fault," She looked down at the keys. "I want you to know… you'll be invited into the apartment. Hope needs her godmother, after all. And no one has helped me more than you have."
Andy smiled at her. "Thank you, Hayley. I appreciate it."
Hayley exhaled and looked back up at Andy. "Us girls have to stick together, I guess."
"If we don't have one another's backs, who will?"
Freya was in one of the studies, staring at her blue pendant talisman, which she was holding in one hand while she applied ice to her bruised forehead with the other. After a moment, Elijah came downstairs to join her, and she put the necklace in her back pocket before turning to greet him, smiling weakly.
"I supposed I was misguided to believe Hayley's return would ease tensions in this house," She commented.
Elijah grinned. "Misguided. Delusional. Refreshingly optimistic," He paused for a moment and stared at his oldest sister as his smile fell slowly. "You're new."
Freya, realizing that something was wrong, became concerned. "What is it?"
"I received some unsettling information from Lucien Castle. I don't trust the source, but I... trust you."
Klaus bled into a bowl for Freya as his siblings and Andy stood around the table, each with a pensive and concerned expression on their faces.
"If you fed on this prophetic witch, her blood is still in your system. If there's a weapon that can kill you, we need to know," Freya said, lighting a tall black candle and placing it in the middle of the table, surrounding it with smaller lit white candles. She took the bowl of blood from Klaus and set out three small pieces of paper with Norse runes written on them. The runes spelled "Elijah," "Rebekah," and "Klaus." Freya stared at the black candle in the center, looking nervous before she dunked her fingers in the bowl of blood to make a connection with Alexis and her visions.
"No mentre le prophecie que la otra ve. No mentre le prophecie que la otra ve." As she chanted, blood started to drip from inside her right ear, and the house started to shake. Freya's voice became more and more strained, as though the effort was hurting her, and the other three became increasingly concerned. Her chants became louder and louder. "No mentre le prophecie que la otra ve. No mentre le prophecie que la otra ve."
Elijah worriedly grabbed Freya's arm. "Freya? Stop!"
Despite Elijah's pleas, Freya was overcome by visions of the prophecy. She saw Elijah's painted portrait in the living room splashed with blood and the beast with large, long, and wickedly sharp fangs roar as he bared his bloody teeth, and Andy's body on the forest floor with a stake in her chest.
Suddenly, the pieces of paper with the three Original vampires caught on fire as Freya gasped loudly, her eyes flying open. The flames on the table finally extinguish themselves, but Freya was visibly shaken by the visions she was shown.
Freya looked at them, grimly. "It's true. You have a terrible shadow over you. Rebekah, too. If this prophecy is fulfilled, you will all fall..." She looked up at her brothers, clearly not wanting to share the next piece of information she gleaned from the visions. "...One by friend, one by foe, and one... by family."
~ * • ° • ° • * ~
