Hello loves!
Another chapter for you all here, clearly. And guess what? My childness is definitely showing right now because I'm decorating for Christmas with my family! We haven't actually ever done it this early before but we thought it might lift our spirits. In case you couldn't tell already, I love Christmas. It is literally my favourite time of year! I am so happy right now! Right, *takes calming breath* now I've got that off my chest, I'll let you get on with this chapter.
As always, I own nothing even though I wish I did.
Let's get on with it!
~*•°•*~
"This is going to be brutal." Kol spoke as Aria rolled her eyes.
"It's fight night. Of course it will." Aria scoffed as she looked down to the courtyard where dozens and dozens of vampires were gathered, all clearly excited for the fight night.
Marcel called for quiet before talking, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Fight Night! And, the first rule of Fight Night is: the vampire left standing at the end of the night is one step closer to the inner circle, and one of these." Marcel held up a daylight ring, "A daylight ring. If you can impress me with a little ultra-violence, you too can enjoy the warmth of the sun on your face. All you got to do is kick a little ass. Here we go!"
The vampires below them all formed a rough circle as they waited for Marcel to call out the first two contenders, "Our first two contenders. Felicia and Otto!"
The vampires all gathered and cheered one or the other along as the fight progressed up until the time when Felicia snapped his neck.
"Damn, girl!" Marcel cheered.
"Not bad." Aria drawled as she rested her arms on the banister, frowning when a coolness overtook her, "Must your brothers ruin all my fun?" She asked, looking over to Kol and gesturing down to the courtyard where Klaus and Elijah stood, the former having just snapped Felicia's neck.
"Apparently so, Aria." Kol replied, leaning against the barrier just as she was.
"Good evening! I'd like a word." Klaus announced.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"It appears that we've interrupted a collection of filthy amateurs! We've come here for the girl. Give it to us, or we kill everyone here… starting with you." Elijah announced.
"You two got a lot of nerve, coming into my home and making demands." Marcel drawled.
"Your home, is it?" Klaus scoffed.
"The girl! I will not ask again." Elijah demanded.
Aria rolled her eyes as Marcel continued, "I assume you're talking about Hayley? Yea high, dark hair, bitchy attitude? Who is she, anyway?"
"She's an old friend. You know how sentimental I am about old friends."
Aria spoke up, "I'm sorry but we haven't got her. I would know. And before you start whining, dad did pay her a little visit earlier tonight. He was feeling nostalgic, so he took a trip out to the plantation where he used to be a slave. And, imagine his surprise when he realized that the Original family of vampires had taken up residence. Your girl, Hayley, answered the door, they exchanged hellos, that was it,
"You don't believe me? Look around. Hell, we'll even help you find her. But the question that I'd ask is: if Hayley isn't here, then where is she? I don't want any trouble but if you actually want help finding her, throwing accusations around isn't exactly the best move. But if you want help finding her, I'll do a locator spell. Hell, I'll go with you two. But if one more vampire gets hurt, it's no deal."
Klaus rolled his eyes but dropped the vampire he had previously been holding by the scruff of his collar, "Run along everyone. I have some business with the little witch." He called out as the crowd of vampires thinned until only a few remained.
"It's fine guys." Marcel called out as he walked down to stand in front of the two Originals.
"Not the most attractive community, are they?" Elijah commented.
"You do realise they can hear you?" Aria added as she came to stop beside her father, an unimpressed eyebrow raised.
"You do realise he doesn't care?" Kol pointed out as Aria rolled her eyes, listening to Elijah unknowingly repeat the very phrase Kol had just uttered.
"I know every nook and cranny of this damned city do you want my help to find your girl or not?"
"Niklaus will behave, Miss Gerard." Elijah assured.
"Good. Because I'm only granting you two, one little locator spell."
"Well kid, you do that, I'll go round up the night walkers. Good luck tracking down your lost sheep." Marcel said as he left Aria with the Originals.
"Can you find her?"
"I can try. Diego!" She called out as the vampire turned around, "I'll need a map."
"I'm not a dog, Aria."
She smirked, "No? Well I don't get what this arguing is doing. I need a map, you need your daylight ring, I say we're equal."
Diego rolled his eyes and sped away before returning with the map which he held out to her, "Anything else, your highness?"
"Yes, I could do with a manicure later."
Diego rolled his eyes.
"Keep rolling your eyes Diego, maybe someday you'll find a brain back there." Aria commented enthusiastically as he glared at her before leaving her alone. She sighed and turned around to lay the map onto a small table before she held her hand out to Klaus expectantly, "Come on, I'll need your blood to trace Hayley."
"Why my blood?"
Aria gave him a look and he paled slightly as he realised that she knew about his unborn child, "I'm not gonna hurt her. I have no reason to. But if you want to find them, give me some of your blood."
Klaus bit into his wrist and held it out over the map before Aria waved her hand over it and muttered a few choice words, the trio watched as the blood slowly made its way across the map.
"Can this spell work any faster?"
Aria glared at him, "Do you know what's golden, Klaus? Silence. But duct tape is silver. You pick." She sassed before looking back down to the map and frowning, "Damn it. The bloody French Coven probably have a spell over Hayley. They must've enacted it months ago."
"Well lower it!"
Aria closed her eyes and took a calming breath before muttering another few choice words under her breath, watching as the blood moved further before it paused on the spot Hayley was, "There you go. She's in the back country. Way up past Houma and deep in the Bayou."
"I don't suppose you could be more precise?" Elijah asked.
"What's the matter, Elijah? You're worried a bit of splashing about in the bog might ruin your expensive shoes?" Klaus asked sarcastically.
"As a matter of fact, after my recent confinement, I could use a decent stroll through the countryside."
"There are stories of exiled werewolves, encampments. If Hayley went out that far, chances are she went to find them. She is a werewolf, right?" Aria checked as Elijah nodded.
"Clearly, she hopes to make the acquaintance of more like herself. I suppose our company wasn't good enough for her." Klaus muttered, "And just to be clear little witch, I don't know how you found out but if anyone finds out about my child, you're the first one I'm going to kill."
Aria only looked mildly worried as she watched Klaus literally pull Elijah out the main doors of the Abattoir and likely to the Bayou.
"Diego! When dad comes back tell him I'm at The Church." She called out before picking up her jacket and walking out of the front doors, muttering to herself as she walked, unaware of Kol still listening to her, "After that, I'm gonna go on a witch hunt. Because when I find Agnes. That bitch is gonna burn."
Kol smirked with something akin to proud-ness.
~*•°•*~
Aria walked through the door of the attic just in time to see Marcel dump a sack onto the floor that had previously been carried over his shoulder.
"Is this a bad time?" Aria drawled with an eyebrow raised as Marcel chuckled slightly. Her expression changed and now Aria was looking at the sack with her eyebrows furrowed and curiosity shone through her eyes.
"I take it the spell worked?" At her nod, he continued, "Good job, kid. Because I got something else for you and Davina to handle!" He commented as he opened the bag, revealing Josh.
"Davina, I don't think you've met our man of the hour yet. Say hi to Josh."
"Why would you bring him here?" Davina asked curiously as Aria sighed and crouched down in front of the vampire in question.
"Josh has a problem. Klaus compelled him to spy on dad and me." She murmured as Marcel pushed Josh down to sit in a chair in the middle of the room.
Marcel took over, "And I can't have that. So, I thought, I'll just kill Josh-"
Josh interrupted "Marcel, please! It's not my fault!"
Aria sent a look to Marcel, "Exactly. Then I reminded him that not only is Josh innocent in all this but it would also be breaking his own rule. The smart thing to do would be to flip Josh. That way, he can tell Klaus whatever we want and all we gotta do is wipe away that compulsion. So, what do you think, D? Up to help?"
"I can help make him forget what Klaus told him. But the more Klaus said, the more it is gonna hurt."
"Hmm. Probably gonna hurt a lot. Josh?" Marcel asked, turning to Josh questioningly.
Josh nodded, "I-I'll do it. Anything. Yes." He said immediately before hesitating, "How much pain are we talking?"
Aria smiled pitifully at the young vampire before she linked her hand with Davina's and began to chant with her, wincing slightly when Josh yelled out in agony.
Marcel spared the two girls a supporting smile before walking out of the attic, the door closing with an audible click behind him. The two girls then dropped their hands and allowed Josh a brief moment of relief as Aria ran a hand through her hair, before pulling it into a bun and tying it, hoping that it would stop falling in her face. After all, not only did it affect her vision but it tickled like hell.
"That's the kind of pain we're talking about. You up for it?"
Josh let out a ragged breath and looked up to them, "Yeah."
Another scream filled the room.
~*•°•*~
About two hours later, Josh was on the floor in a fetal position as the two girls continued to chant therefore drawing pained screams from him. After another moment of the spell, they stopped.
"I'm sorry, but it's just gonna get worse. Klaus' compulsion runs deep." Davina murmured with a sympathetic smile as Aria knelt down to help Josh back into his chair.
"You need to think of something else. Take your mind off it." Aria paused for a moment and bit her lip, "Do you like music?"
Josh gave her an incredulous look, "What? I can't think of music right now."
"Why?"
Josh gave a bitter laugh, "I dunno, maybe because you two are giving me a Voodoo lobotomy!"
Davina took over, "Do you like jazz?" She offered as Josh sighed, "So, what then?"
"Club stuff," Noticing Davina's slightly confused expression, he elaborated, "House? Trance? You know, 'unce unce unce unce'?" He offered as Aria laughed and Davina scoffed, raising an unimpressed eyebrow.
"I'm a witch, I'm not Amish! It's just, I'm only sixteen, I don't go to clubs."
Josh smirked, "When I was sixteen, I'd been to, like, a hundred clubs." He murmured before pausing, "God, that was only four years ago. It feels like another life. All I wanted to do is meet boys. Things are so much more complicated. Now, all I want to do is meet boys, feed on people's blood, get one of those daylight rings so I don't burn in the sunlight." He laughed bitterly, "All perfectly normal things."
As he talked, Davina's eyes strayed to the table where Tim's newly repaired violin lay before she began to tear up slightly, "I like the classics. Puccini, Bach, Mozart. I took piano, not that it matters while I'm stuck here."
"Why not?" Josh questioned.
"Marcel's worried that someone could hear her. It's not his fault, he just wants to keep us safe." Aria explained.
"Safe from what?"
"Basically, a coven of psycho witches wants to sacrifice me in a blood ritual." Davina murmured.
"Oh!" Josh shifted uncomfortably, "Wow, okay, uhh... I'm sorry?"
"Don't be. I'm going to destroy them all. And once they're gone, everything will go back to normal. I'll have my old life back." She smiled as both Josh and Aria sent sad smiles her way.
~*•°•*~
After another few hours, Josh was once again lying on the floor of the attic, sweaty and extremely pale after being subjected to Aria and Davina's spells for the afternoon. He groaned as he pushed himself up onto his elbows, Davina helping him up gently as Aria smiled widely at him.
"That's it. You're free!"
Josh smiled in relief, "You're right! I can feel it. Before, I was always thinking about what Klaus would want me to do. Now, I'm like, 'Screw that guy!'" He began to laugh, "Klaus Mikaelson can suck it!"
Aria laughed along with Davina but unlike a moment prior, they both seemed slightly sadder – something Josh took notice of, "What? What's that look for?"
"Marcel wants us to make you forget about today."
"Oh, you don't have to do that! I, like, owe you guys my life!" He chuckled as Aria and Davina smiled, "I'll keep your secret! Besides, it's kind of nice, just talking to someone normal again. Not that I hadn't talked to Aria before but… well… it was kinda all threats and no… well." He trailed off as Aria laughed.
"You think we're normal? are two sixteen-year-old witches living in an attic like freaks because an entire coven of witches wants to sacrifice one of us in a blood ritual."
"I'm a gay club kid who died and came back as a vampire. Yeah, normal's kind of relative, you know?" The trio laughed and Josh extended both of his pinkies towards them, "Here, pinky swear on it."
The girls smiled and linked their pinkies with Josh.
~*•°•*~
A half hour later, Aria sat on a chair in a bar room as vampires surrounded her and Marcel. In front of them all sat a Hybrid. One that Klaus had apparently created some time ago and held a vendetta against. The feeling seemed mutual.
"You wanna make a deal with me, you gotta offer me something. I already know about Hayley, the werewolf girl. What else you got?" Marcel asked.
The answer made Aria's blood run cold.
"What if I told you that werewolf girl is carrying Klaus' child?"
How the hell did he know?
"And, if that baby is born, it'll mean the end of the vampire species." He continued as Marcel nodded.
You know what? Agnes could wait. She was gonna kill a Hybrid first.
She'd never done that before.
A sinister smirk crept up onto her face and on the other side of the room, Kol Mikaelson cocked his head to the side.
What was his little witch planning?
~*•°•*~
Well, here we are. There wasn't too much Kol action in this chapter but rest assured there most certainly will be in the next few. Also, has anyone noticed since the last chapter a kind of barrier dropped between them? Aria's not as hostile around him anymore and vice versa. No? Never mind then.
I'll see you all again soon!
As always, SecretMidnightRose