Hello my amazing readers! We are finally at the 5 year mark in the timeline! There are only two chapters left in this story and it actually makes me want to cry about that. Thank you so much for being here throughout this journey! I really appreciate it!
Happy reading.
"It's a beautiful day outside. Streets are packed with tourists. They're drinking beers, they're chasing beads, headed out on the vampire walking tour of New Orleans. They think it's just a myth. Just part of our city's charm." Vincent said as he paced in front of all those that were sitting in the pews of the rebuilt St. Anne's. "Well, we know better. Just like we know that there's a storm coming. This week marks five years since the fall of the Mikaelsons." The words had caused Elizabeth to flinch slightly as she stood off to the side. Five years. It had been that long and now she was so close to the cure. "Five years of peace. And we paid a high price for that peace. We witches, we earned that peace. We snatched back our freedom, we severed our link with our ancestors. To take back our city, we backed Elizabeth. Now, since then, we fought hard to build this community which has been thriving with Elizabeth's help. And in the next week, as we celebrate our independence, that community will be challenged because every year we get visitors." Vincent looked over at Elizabeth and nodded.
Elizabeth stepped forward and looked at the witches and a few others that sat before her. "As usual, I will be hosting the annual get together that the vampires assume I am throwing." Elizabeth took a deep breath before continuing. "For the next few days I will be continuing the facade that I am a creature without her humanity. While I may act cruel during that time, I want you to know that you are safe from any harm." She looked at several at the witches with a smile. "Veronica, as you know, will be with you while the vampires are in town. And as I'm sure most of you know, she can take down any vampire, young or old, that may be a threat. If anyone comes to try and torment your coven, know that she will be there to make sure it stays untouched."
Elizabeth looked over at Vincent for a moment and he gave her a small smile and a nod. "After the vampires leave, it gives us another year of peace." Elizabeth knew that was a lie. She still hadn't told anyone that the Mikaelsons would be back within a short time. The chaos that could follow wasn't something she wanted to think about now. While it would be a mess that she should be able to clean up, she knew that she wouldn't be the one to do so. It would hopefully be Elijah that would be able to take her place in keeping the city as it had been while she was gone. "By the time they come for a visit again, I'm hoping to move the party elsewhere or get rid of it in its entirety." She said with a smile. "I just ask for now that you watch each other's backs. These visitors know the rules but will do anything to test them. So be cautious and if any of them even attempt to, you are all welcomed to watch their demise."
"That is all for now." Vincent said walking to stand by Elizabeth. "If anything new comes up at all, I'll send word to meet back here."
Elizabeth watched as everyone began standing up and leaving or began talking with each other. "I hate this." Elizabeth said before looking over at Vincent.
"You could always turn them away." Vincent said with a nod as he watched everyone as well. "There doesn't need to be a celebration."
"Then they'll find reasons to stay." Elizabeth said shaking her head. "It will cause suspicion and I'm sure they will end up wanting more proof that I can never give them."
"They are still wanting answers for Elijah's sireline aren't they?" Vincent asked.
"There are always several." Elizabeth said. "They believe that if the Mikaelsons have really fallen, Elijah's sireline would have died along with him. I tell them its for my own sanity but what vampire, that has their humanity off, would worry about not having a sane mind?"
"They are expecting you to give up Elijah's location." It wasn't a question but Elizabeth nodded anyways.
"Vincent, I hope you know that even if they try to burn this city to the ground to get me to say anything, I wont." Elizabeth said as she looked back to see a few stragglers standing in the church. "Not when it comes to Elijah's life and our bond. I will do anything to keep him safe."
"While that does worry me," Vincent began as he looked over at Elizabeth. "it also worries me that you have that warehouse not far from the city limits. Whatever it is that you are doing in there, it has people talking."
"And what is it they are saying?" Elizabeth asked already knowing some of the rumors that have been said.
"That you are still trying to find someway to bring back Elijah and the others." Vincent shook his head. "I was to believe that you had given up on finding the cure after you had come back from your trip empty handed."
Elizabeth smirked. "It was your mistake believing a set back would stop me from saving my mate. You of all people should know that it is only a matter of time before they come back."
"What's going to happen when they come back here?" Vincent asked.
Elizabeth shrugged slightly. "To be honest, I have no idea. That is something that will be dealt with when the day is upon us." Even though I wont be here. She added mentally. She wouldn't say the words out loud. Not yet. So far everyone that was aware of what she was doing thought she would still be around when the Mikaelsons came back. "I have to get going if I am going to make it back in time for when they start arriving."
"Where are you going?" Vincent asked curiously. He knew that Elizabeth had just come from the warehouse to speak with the witches on their plans for the week.
"I need some time to collect my thoughts." She lied as she began walking towards the exit. "I do have a part to play the next few days." Without another word she left St. Anne's.
The slight breeze had felt great on Elizabeth's skin. It didn't matter if she was in the dream world or not, it felt as real as it could be. She and Elijah were currently sitting on top of a hill overlooking much of the house and the lake that Freya had added in. It was a great scenery and it had been a while since Elizabeth had a moment of just peace as they were now.
After Elizabeth had shown Hayley the warehouse, she started visiting more often. Hayley promised to keep the secret that Elizabeth had been carrying. After a long conversation and airing out everything, Hayley and Elizabeth had an understanding of what needed to be done in order to get the cure. Hayley encouraged Elizabeth to visit more and Elizabeth agreed to that.
The moment Elizabeth had entered the dream world, Elijah never left her side. If it wasn't for the fact that she needed time to feed, Elizabeth would have gladly spent several days not stop there until Elijah's siblings demanded she leave for a bit.
"What is it?" Elijah asked as he watched Elizabeth. Even though it didnt seem as though she had caught the several sighs that had passed her lips, he had.
Elizabeth turned towards him and smiled at him. "Thinking." She said softly. It was the truth but it wasn't elaborated. There was so much going on outside of this spell that she would have to worry about. But in this moment, she was thinking about how much things would be different once they were out of this place. "All this time and I thought I would have you out of here so much earlier."
"Liz," he said running his hand through her hair. Hearing the nickname from him still seemed to hold a deeper meaning than when anyone else had. "You are doing the best you can. That is all we can ask for."
Her smile faded slightly. "I know. I always wonder what would have happened if things had been done differently. But I think this time, I know that this is what was meant to happen."
"What made you start to believe that?" He asked with a small smile.
"It's been five years, Elijah." She said shaking her head slightly. "I've tried so many different things and none of them have turned out as I hoped. As much as I hate to think about it, there were reasons all of that failed. It just took me going through it all to realize that you cant change what is supposed to happen."
"You know something?" Elijah asked.
Elizabeth gave him a smile even though it didnt reach its full potential whenever she was around him. "I know you'll be awake soon." She gave a small nod with her words. "And that is all that matters to me at this moment."
"You've had Jess show you more of her visions." Elijah knew that Elizabeth had seen several of them over the last few years. But he had remembered Elizabeth saying she had no longer wanted to know the details as they got closer to being true.
"No." She said shaking her head. "I've just been having a sense of Deja vu since she showed me what she had." She took a deep breath in before letting it out. "I saw the last piece of the vision she showed me weeks ago. And that can only mean one thing to me. That you will be cured and awake from this spell soon. I may not know if it will be today, tomorrow or later this week, but I know you'll be cured soon. I just can feel it."
A smile pulled at Elijah's lips. "Hearing you say that feels surreal. We've been here so long, it is hard to fully picture the real world."
"You got a glance with Hope's spell." She reminded him with a chuckle.
"A two minute preview to the real thing." He said with a smirk pulling at his lips.
That glimpse into the world after not seeing Elizabeth for so long had helped keep him sane until she came for a visit. All the things she had mentioned about the changes she had made to the compound had been exactly as she described. The familiarity of it being their home with touches of Elizabeth in places that he could see, had brought comfort to him.
When the spell ended, he was reminded that there would be a day that he would be free from all of this. That as soon as things worked in their favor, Elizabeth and Hayley would have them all cured and awake. Things could go back to way things were. Well, as much as they could be with the circumstances. He knew that some things had changes since the entered the spell. But as long as they were together, Elijah was sure that things would be better.
A thought crossed Elizabeth's mind and she smiled to herself before looking at Elijah. "I know that I hardly say this, but Rebekah was right."
Elijah laughed and shook his head. "And what is my sister right about?"
"We all deserve to go on some kind of vacation somewhere." She nodded her head. "I get that you guys will need to get back into the swing of living again, but what better way to do that than to spend a few months lounging in a place without worrying about anything."
"And where do you suppose we go?" He asked watching her with a smile on his face.
"Anywhere." She said with her own smile growing. "Just somewhere away from New Orleans. It can be all of us or even just the two of us."
"I like that idea." He said watching as the excitement grew in Elizabeth the moment he said the words.
"Then it is settled." Elizabeth said standing up from her spot. "After this is all over, we'll go on a trip to see the world." While it might be a while before they would actually be able to, the idea itself had seemed like the best idea. It gave them the hope of a future together. It gave them a chance to say they would make it through all the bad to finally come out on the other side stronger and finally enjoying their lives.
"Malakai mentioned you've been working on a project of your own since our last visit." Elizabeth was currently sitting at a table with several of the visiting vampires from Niklaus's line. Many of them Elizabeth had recently met and others she had known for some time. The vampire that was speaking, Trent, Elizabeth had met several decades ago.
Elizabeth gave him a smirk as she brought the glass of wine she had in her hand up to her lips taking a drink. "If I went and told you all my evil plans you'd try to one up me. I cant have that, can I?"
"Ah so you do have something going on." Trent smiled at her. He leaned forward in his seat eager to hear whatever details she would willingly give him. "I do hope its to break that connection of yours to your sire so we may end a line."
Elizabeth kept a straight face even though she hated the thought of someone wanting Elijah dead. There was something inside of her that was telling her to rip his heart from his chest simply because of the threat he could be to her mate. "Maybe I am. But you see, there are two things that need to be done in order for that to happen. One I need my humanity on to try and remove the bond that is between myself and him. At this moment I feel no need to be swarmed by those pesky human emotions. Second, in order to break the sireline just as Aya had, I'd need another heart. Unfortunately the only heart I need seems to have fallen off the face of the earth."
"You mean Hayley Marshall." Trent said with a nod. "The last we've heard of her she had been living out in the woods somewhere. We were obviously close at one point seeing as she killed my informant."
"Your informant?" Elizabeth asked with a raised brow. "You have people out looking for her as well?"
"Of course I do. It'd be nice to come to you one day with her heart as an offering."
"That does seem like the best offering one could give." Elizabeth said with a smirk. "It would be nice to not have my life tied to another." Elizabeth hated acting the way she was. Every part of her was saying that she shouldn't be saying these things. It hurt her to say them. But in order to keep up appearances as she had, she needed to do this. "I have witches keeping tabs on her daughter's magic." She lied easily. "I find that it is so much easier to keep up with the outburst of magic than to find a hybrid who doesn't want to be found."
"You believe her daughter will end up giving their whereabouts." Trent said as he looked at the other vampires that sat with them. "Whenever we tried something to that extent, we just end up pinging in a small town in Virginia."
"That is because there is now some training grounds for witches." Elizabeth said with a roll of her eyes. "The Mikaelson child, however, comes from a strong line of witches." Elizabeth said as she placed the glass back on the table before them. "Her magic will continue to grow unstable without any kind proper training. Hayley doesn't have that kind of knowledge and I highly doubt she would trust anyone else with her daughter at this point in time." As Elizabeth spoke, her hand went to the charm that hung from her neck. There was a comfort of holding it in her hand. "Eventually the child will give off a source of energy unlike any other that she wont be able to hide from. When that happens, we'll know."
"We could always use Klaus as bait." Trent said with a shrug. "Dangle him for everyone to see and Hayley will come to save her child's father."
"I've done that before." Elizabeth said with a shake of her head. "It leads to his lunatic exes entering my city and I will not have that. I'd rather deal with a child's magic than deal with the horde of women Klaus has slept with. They have no use to me but a moment's worth of entertainment."
"What about using his blood to track his siblings?" A vampire that had been sitting next to Trent asked. "Wouldn't it be easier to use a locator spell with his blood to find them."
"Kelly, right?" Elizabeth said looking over at the woman. "Don't you think I've tried that?"
"We've never seen you do it in front of us." Kelly said with a shrug.
Elizabeth's eyebrow rose for a moment before a smirk slowly grew on her lips. She looked over towards the side of the room and nodded to the Vampire that had been standing by the entrance to the room. Trent and Kelly watched as the vampire left the room before looking back at Elizabeth. "You wan't proof, he's getting just that for you."
A moment later, Jess walked in along side the vampire. In Jess's hand were a few key ingredients to do a spell. Coming over to the table, she set things up and placed a bowl and a knife in front of Elizabeth. Elizabeth stood from her seat and picked up the knife.
"Using Klaus's blood does nothing to find what you are looking for." She picked up a vial in the other hand to show them. She pulled open the top and poured it into the bowl. She nodded to Jess who began chanting a common locator spell. The vampires gathered around and watched as Jess began pouring the blood on the map before them. And just as Elizabeth assured them, the blood just puddled. It gave no indication as to where the other Mikaelson siblings would be.
"Mine on the other hand," Elizabeth used the knife and cut into her palm, letting the blood drop on the other end of the map. Jess began chanting the spell again and the others watched as it began moving. It moved along several states before it began to spread around, as if it reached a barrier. "Each time that spell is done, that barrier is up in a different location preventing anything closer being found. She's got one hell of a witch helping her. As I've said before," Elizabeth plopped down in her seat. "The child's magic is the easiest way to keep tabs on Hayley. She had an outburst earlier this time last year."
"I assume that was why you weren't here." Trent said as he sat back in his seat, satisfied with what he had seen.
"Believe it or not, I had her with in reach. Once Hope had controlled herself, my trace was gone and the location I had her pinpointed at was empty, with no trace of either." Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders. "The next time, that kid looses control, any witch will be able to feel that energy with how bottled up she is."
Malakai walked up to Elizabeth and whispered in her ear. "We need to talk privately." Elizabeth only nodded and watched as Malakai left the room.
"It appears that little project of mine has made some progress." Elizabeth said as she stood from her seat. Even though she had no idea what it was that Malakai wanted to speak to her about it was a better excuse than anything. "Please do enjoy yourselves while I am gone." Elizabeth walked away from them and pulled out her phone as she followed where Malakai had gone. She quickly wrote a text message to Hayley before tucking her phone back into her pocket.
"What is it?" She asked Malakai once they were in front of the room Elizabeth had designated as a safe spot with the help of Jess's magic.
"We have a problem." Malakai said as he opened the door and walked in. Elizabeth followed him in and her eyes widened once she saw who was standing in the room.