My darling readers, here is the next chapter! I would like to thank the new followers and say welcome! It means a lot to me that you guys are reading my story. :D But I am going to sadden you a bit. This chapter is the start of the end. Ugh, I know but darlings you knew it was coming though! There are only a few chapters left and it means the world to me that you guys have stuck around and read what I have created. You guys aren't the only ones that are going to feel saddened about all of this. I have been writing this story for a while now and I have grown to love the characters that I have created and I am hoping that they have found a way into your hearts.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Originals or the characters. I have my own twist on things and all ideas that do not appear on the show are my idea.
Happy reading!
The study had been quiet. Elizabeth was actually enjoying it for once. It usually bugged the hell out of her that there had been just silence. But as of now, she welcomed it. It helped her think for once and that was all that mattered. She was actually able to sit down and go over the progress from the experiments. She had to sign papers as well showing Jax that she was still keeping her hands in the project and not running away from it all. Time was running out. As much as she wished she could just go and visit Elijah, she couldnt bring herself to. The way things had happened the last time she was there, Elizabeth honestly felt that she shouldn't return unless she absolutely had the cure. She couldnt stand to see Hayley give that disappointed look again. Speak of the devil.
"What are you doing here?" Elizabeth asked as she continued to write on the paper in front of her. She hadn't bothered to look up at Hayley as she took a step into the study. "The point of staying hidden was to keep you safe."
"Would you believe me if I said I came to apologize?" Hayley said with a small smile. Even though Elizabeth didn't look up at her, Hayley had to try. It had been some time since Elizabeth had gone to visit any of them and Hayley had known it was her fault for that reason. It took a lot for her to leave the Originals under a compelled babysitter while she made her way over her.
"You didn't have to come all the way out here to apologize." Elizabeth said as she signed another document and moved it over to the side. "Malakai apologized for you."
Elizabeth heard Hayley sigh. She had no problems being harsh with the woman at the moment. Elizabeth didn't even want to see her. And a part of her wondered who was watching over the house keeping the other's safe. But as much as she wanted to yell at the woman for so many things. She hadn't. She knew there would be no point. She would end up losing her temper and things could end up uglier than they had been.
"I know. " Hayley said. "but then someone wouldn't have been able to see you." That had caused Elizabeth to stop what she was writing and looked up. Hope stood by Hayley looking shy. Elizabeth chuckled and shook her head and Hope smiled.
"Come on over." Elizabeth said and Hope ran towards her.
The moment Hope had her arms around Elizabeth, Elizabeth had felt so much better. Over time this girl had bonded with her. No matter how much she hated her mother in that moment, a hug from a child cured it all.
"How are you?" Elizabeth asked Hope as she still hugged her.
"Good." Hope said with a grin as she pulled away from Elizabeth. "Aunt Freya taught me how to do another spell." She had some excitement in her and Elizabeth smiled.
"What spell is that?" Elizabeth asked as she smiled at her.
Hope looked over at Hayley for a moment before looking back at Elizabeth for a moment. "Can I see Aunt Freya's old room?" She asked.
Elizabeth raised her eyebrow for a moment before nodding. Standing from her seat, she lead Hope down the hall towards Freya's room. On the way there, they passed by the closed door of Klaus's room and Hope had stopped for a moment, feeling the magic coming from the room. Both Hayley and Elizabeth stopped and watched her. Hope placed her hand on the door for a moment before looking at Elizabeth.
"Blood magic." She said as if she was the one that had placed the spell there herself.
"How do you know that?" Elizabeth asked curiously. She was curious to know how she knew about the blood magic. She was also curious to know if she knew what, rather who, was behind that door.
"Its strong magic." Hope said with a smile. "Aunt Freya said you can tell the difference with spells. The dream spell was done with blood magic. It feels the same as this one." Hope explained. "Are you hiding something?"
Elizabeth sighed and took a few steps towards her as Hayley watched. Elizabeth kneeled down to Hope's level. "I have a sleeping King in there." She said with a slight nod.
Hope's eyes widened for a moment before looking back at the door. "Is it my dad?" Hope had asked hopeful.
Elizabeth looked at Hayley for a moment before looking back at Hope. "I'm not going to lie to you." She said before nodding. "He is in there. But I am supposed to make sure no one is to go in there. And that is why the blood magic is there."
"I know." Hope said with a small nod. Her voice had sounded a bit broken.
"One day soon, he'll wake up." Elizabeth said as she ran her hand through Hope's hair.
"How soon?" Hope asked. Her eyes lit up a bit as she looked between Elizabeth and Hayley.
"Sooner than we think." Elizabeth said with a smile. But the smile she gave off, Hayley knew that she wasn't giving the full smile she had used to give off. When Elizabeth looked over at Hayley, Hayley had given her a look that had several things. "Now how about you go to Freya's room and get what you need while I talk to your mom?"
"Okay." She said with a smile.
"Turn right at the corner and it is the first door on the left." Elizabeth said as she stood and Hope took off running towards Freya's old room.
"Why did you lie to her?" Hayley asked the moment she heard Hope enter Freya's room.
"I didn't." Elizabeth said shaking her head.
"I doubt you have the cure or even remotely being close to acquiring it." Hayley crossed her arms over her chest.
Elizabeth sighed. "Look, its hard to explain without showing you all the details."
"How hard can it be?" Hayley asked almost annoyed.
"Harder than you think." Elizabeth said just as Hope came running back with several objects in her arms. "What is all this for?" Elizabeth asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You'll see." Hope said as she walked past them and made her way towards the courtyard.
"Okay what is this spell?" Elizabeth asked Hayley as they followed her.
"She wouldn't even tell me." Hayley said with a shrug. "It's meant to be seen by you."
Elizabeth had a confused look on her face, but she followed Hope down into the courtyard. Elizabeth was surprised that Hope had gone straight for the side table that she used to watch Freya do several spells on. It was like Hope had never left New Orleans. "Your Aunt used to do all her spells there." She said with a grin on her face.
"Freya told her." Hayley said from behind her. "It was all she talked about on the way over here."
"Are you sure no one watched you sneak in?" Elizabeth asked wanting to make sure that this wasn't going to come back to haunt them. "I don't need to worry about this on top of everything else."
"We were safe, I promise." Hayley said turning her attention to Hope as she was setting everything up on the table. "Look, she came in after Kai left the other day and said Freya was going to teach her this new spell and you needed to be the one to see it. You weren't coming to us any time soon, so I made the decision to bring her here. Whatever comes from this, we'll take care of it. Just as we have before."
Elizabeth nodded. "As long as you were safe, that is all I can ask."
She would have preferred if Hayley had kept Hope at home, it had been nice to see her. The call had been tough on Elizabeth and she wanted nothing more than to drop everything and make her way out there. But because of circumstances, and the fact that she was upset with the Hybrid standing next to her, she stayed right were she was.
"Ready!" Hope called out getting their attention. The moment she had it, she looked at Elizabeth. "Aunt Freya said I was going to need your blood for this spell too."
"Too?" Elizabeth asked as she walked up to the table. "As in you have someone else's blood?"
A grin spread on Hope's lips. "Yes." Her nodded quickly. "Aunt Freya said that this might not work, but it doesn't hurt to try."
"I think your Aunt lacks confidence in her teaching abilities." Elizabeth noted with a shake of her head.
Hayley laughed at that. "I some how doubt that. It might be the fact that they are in that spell."
"You have a point." Elizabeth picked up the knife that Hope had so carefully placed on the table. Slicing across her palm, she held her hand over the small bowl that Hope held out for her, allowing her blood to flow in to it. "You aren't planning to put some curse on me and your Uncle, right?"
"No." Hope giggled as she began putting the ingredients together.
It brought a smile to Elizabeth's face watching her as she did it. Hayley had watched Hope practice several times before they made the trip out there. But to Elizabeth, this still amazed her even though she watched and helped Hope do one of her first spell. She was still so young. If it wasn't for the Mikaelson magic running through her veins, she wasn't sure how much magic Hope would be able to do. She would always be glad to watch the girl preform magic.
As she mixed everything to her liking, Hope began chanting. With each word that came out of her mouth, all three of them could feel the shift in the air. A breeze of a air passed through the compound, lighting the candles on the table as Hope continued to chant. The moment that they were lit, Elizabeth's eyesight had been clouded over. For a few moments, all she could see was blinding white.
Panic has swept through her for a moment. She had no idea if this had been a part of the spell. But as she heard Hope's chanting slow and eventually come to a stop, her vision slowly came back.
A gasp left Elizabeth's lips the moment her vision was clear. She couldn't believe what she had been seeing in front of her. "Elijah?" She asked as she took a step forward.
"It worked?" Hope asked hopeful. "We wont be able to see him. " She added in looking around.
"I promise it worked." The whisper left Elizabeth's lips.
Elijah chuckled and shook his head. "Is this what it is going to take to get to talk to you?" There was amused smile on his lips. "Playing messenger with my niece?"
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "I had my reasons." She looked over to look at Hope for moment. But Hope had been leading her mother out of the courtyard.
"So I've heard." He said as he took a step closer to Elizabeth. He looked around the courtyard. "You really have changed this place."
"You really can see all of this?" She asked curiously. "How did Freya come up with this."
"It was a long shot. But we were hopeful. This spell only last for a few minutes."
"I'm glad I get to see you for whatever time we've got." She said with a grin.
"The only down side to this is I can't feel your presence. But the other day, while Hope was visiting, there had been an emotion that I couldn't ignore." Elizabeth knew exactly what he had been talking about.
She bit down on her lip, trying to think of how she can begin to explain this. "After I got off the phone with Hope, I let my fear get the best of me." It wasn't so much a lie. She had let her fear take over. But it was for a completely different reason than what she was about to say. "The call made me think of how much I've failed you on this. I'm actually afraid that I am not the right person to do this."
"Don't." Elijah said shaking his head. "You are not only searching for a way to free us, but you are helping to keep us safe. There was never a timeline on how long this would take. I don't expect you to rush for our benefit."
"But there is Hope to consider." She shook her head. "Klaus will be kept down until you have a cure. Hope shouldn't have to grow up without her dad in the picture. I don't want to be responsible for Klaus missing out on her life. That's what I'm most afraid of." It hadn't been a lie. Those had all been fears that had been playing through her mind for so long. But as Jax's words lingered in her mind, the fear only grew.
"We'll get through it, all of us." He said as he brought his hand up to move a stand out of her face. But seeing as he hadn't really been there and this just a spell, it hadn't moved. Elizabeth hadn't felt his touch. A touch that she had missed so much.
"It would be more comforting if I could actually feel you." She said giving him a small smile.
He chuckled. "Gives you more reason to drop what you are doing and come for a visit."
She nodded her head, almost afraid to trust the words that would possibly come out at first. "I promise it will be soon."
It hadn't sounded reassuring, but Elijah would take it. Before he could say anything else, he had vanished right before her. A sigh passed her lips as she looked to the table to find the flames had been put out.
A moment later her phone began ringing. Rolling her eyes, she pulled it out of her pocket. But the name that appeared on the screen made her stop for a moment to compose herself.
"What is it that you want?" She said into the phone. As she listened to Jax's words, she heard Hope and Hayley come back into the courtyard. Hope's curious eyes landed on her the moment she entered. "I'll be there in ten." She said before hanging up the phone.
Turning to Hope and Hayley she gave them a small smile. "Look, I have leave for a while."
"What about what you said earlier?" Hayley asked as she took a step closer to Elizabeth.
Now wasn't the time for that. Elizabeth knew that, especially with Jax calling her as he did. Sighing, she ran her hand through her hair.
"Leave Hope with Mary." She said to Hayley. "After you drop her off, I'll text you the directions. But I'll let you know when to meet up with me. Spend some time with Mary, I know she misses seeing you guys."
Elizabeth leaned down gave Hope a hug, that Hope happily returned. "Thank you so much for that spell."
"I'd knew you'd love it." Hope said with a grin on her face.
"I really did." She said as she pulled away. "I'll see you later.
"What is this place?" Hayley asked as Elizabeth stood in front of a warehouse door.
"Let's just call it my 'office'." Elizabeth said as she entered her security code and opened the door. Elizabeth held open the door for Hayley. As she walked in, Elizabeth looked around to make sure there was no one else around. When she was satisfied, she walked in making sure the door was shut behind her. "You probably aren't going to like what you see." She walked down the hall to another door and entered a different pass code.
Hayley raised her eyebrow as she she followed Elizabeth through that door. Once she was inside, a gasp passed her lips. A pile of bodies laid in the corner of the warehouse. From what Hayley could tell, they were all vampires that had been bitten by a werewolf, or Elizabeth. As her eyes scanned more, she saw a cage with a vampire that was inside. It seemed like humans were standing around the cage taking notes.
"What the hell is this, Liz?" She asked looking at Elizabeth with a horrified look.
"This, gets us our cure that we need." Elizabeth shrugged. "I made a deal with a friend in a very high place. He is paying for all of this. The humans, they are all here on their free will. Maybe not so much if you think about the contract they signed before starting this. The vampires," Elizabeth started to walk towards the one that had been in the cage. "they were all caught by councils like the one Mystic Falls used to have. My friend paid off every city and town that had a council to keep them alive and bring them here." Elizabeth looked at the vampire that was currently in the cage. She and Hayley watched as a human injected her with Elizabeth's venom. "With each injection, we are closer to finding the cure for my bite."
Hayley looked at Elizabeth and then around at the warehouse. "What deal did you make to get all of this, Liz?"
Elizabeth didn't say anything at first. After a moment, she nodded her head towards an office. Hayley followed Elizabeth to the office and once inside, Elizabeth closed the door behind them. "Look, Hayley." Elizabeth said shaking her head slightly. "No matter what price it is that I've paid to get this, we will have the cure and our family will be together again."
"But do you want this on your conscious?" Hayley asked. "Do you think they will be happy that you are pretty much doing the same thing Lucien was doing?"
"The difference is that I am trying to find the cure, not a way to kill them." Elizabeth said looking at Hayley. "These Vampires are the ones that have been slaughtering towns and taking innocent lives. They deserve it. I'm not taking the innocent to do what is needed." She sighed softly. "When it comes to this deal, I don't pay the price of it until I know for sure everyone is up and healed."
"How high is that price you have to pay? This isn't a simple favor that someone would be willing to do. There must have been something you promised them in return."
Elizabeth chuckled. "I'd be willing to pay any price to get my family back. Wouldn't you?"
Hayley would and she knew that. It was why part of this had been hard to see that Elizabeth had made the decision to do this. Getting their family back was the top priority for both of them. Hayley couldn't understand why it was that Elizabeth had only gave her the task of getting the cure for Rebekah. "There must be something I can do to help. What ever deal it is you made, I want in on it to help get them back."
Elizabeth shook her head quickly. "No. Hope needs you free from this. There is no definite outcome of what would happen afterwards."
"What do you mean?" Hayley was trying to get every bit of information out of Elizabeth as she could.
"It means that you aren't helping in any way, shape, or form. Becoming a part of this isn't just some fraction of time. It will lead to things that we may be pulled away for months maybe even more. We both know you wouldn't want to leave Hope like that." Elizabeth had been making it seem like it was some business trip that needed to be taken. But she knew that if she gave Hayley all the details on the deal she would more than likely join her at Whitmore and Elizabeth couldn't allow that.
Hayley nodded. What ever it was this deal was, she knew Elizabeth was going to continue to do it even if Hayley had told her not to. She was going to respect Elizabeth for doing this. She just didn't know what the outcome would be or what they would have to face when the time came. She watched as Elizabeth walked over to the window that looked into the warehouse.
"We're close, Hayley." Elizabeth said never taking her eyes away from the window. "We're close enough that with their help, they will be up before we know it."
Hayley sighed. "Would it have been so bad if we had tried this years ago?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "I wanted to try and do it on my own and see if it was possible to get it. Having this friend means a deal that cannot be broken. This needed to be a last resort. I ran out of options."
Hayley raised an eyebrow. "When did this all start."
Elizabeth looked over at her. "The night you said I really hadn't been looking for the cures."
Hayley shook her head. "Liz, I was upset that night. You didn't have to go and do this because I said something."
"You were right." Elizabeth said shrugging. "I was trying to put it off for so long on doing this. But it needed to be done. We'll have them home soon." Elizabeth looked back out the window and watched as they injected another vampire with the venom. With each injection, they were supposed to be getting closer to finding the cure. But with each of those injections, Elizabeth felt her freedom slowly slipping away. This is what it was going to take to get their family back in their lives and she wasn't going to stop it from happening. It was bound to happen. She knew it was going to happen for a very long time.
"When you say soon, how soon?" Hayley asked curiously.
"A week." She said sounding broken. "A month at the most." And that was exactly how long it was going to take. Elizabeth tried not to let the tears that threatened to spill go. Now more than ever she needed to be stronger than she had ever been.