~Three years later~
August 6th, 1824
Prudence sits on a stool on a balcony overlooking the landscape of the South of France as the warm mid-day breeze blew in her direction. A little further from her stood Klaus who splashed some paint on his canvas of an unfinished painting.
Pushing her head back down from gawking up at the sky, the young witch then turns to look at Klaus, who had his back turned to her as he worked on his painting. Ever since that day at the Mikaelson house in New Orleans when she had cloaked and protected them from Mikael with her magic, she had stuck with the four of them, going to different countries and running from Mikael.
But running from Mikael wasn't all they did. Although she's been with the deadliest vampires to ever exist for the past three years, they had quickly become a family to her. She was protected under their care and she knew they would kill anyone who ever tried to harm her without a single thought. With and because of them she got to go to places she never thought she would step foot in, she got to experience new cultures and more importantly she got to feel safe again, and it was all thanks to them, especially Klaus. Although there were times where he still ignited a little fear inside her due to how he is, it was rare as their bond had grew to a point she never ever imagined. The Klaus Mikaelson she knew now wasn't the Klaus Mikaelson she had heard about while growing up. Sure he had his many destructive flaws that made people see him as nothing but a monster, but Prudence had come to understand that it is simply because his biggest fear is being alone. He's never trusted anybody in his long life, not even his siblings, but when they're alone together; talking or simply sitting in comfortable silence like they are now, she likes to think that he trusts her even if he doesn't say it.
After a short while, she shifts her eyes from him and goes to glance back down at her grimoire that she had began writing a year ago with Kol and Klaus' guidance. She glanced at her mother's grimoire beside her, then back at hers before breathing out a deep heavy sigh.
"What's the matter, love?" Klaus spoke up, with his back still turned to her as he carried on painting. "Don't tell me you're still finding ways to look for a person that simply doesn't exist" he scoffs.
"If she doesn't exist then why would my aunt lie about there being another immortal witch?" Prudence questions, before going to rub her head in frustration.
"You've been trying to find her for the past three years and you've had no luck. There hasn't been a single trace of her, neither can you connect with her through your magic. If anything I've learnt through being alive for 800 years its that witches are notorious liars and your aunt just happens to be the biggest one" he snarls, before putting his paint brush down and turning around to face her as her mind fills with numerous thoughts about her search for the other immortal witch and if she is simply wasting her time or not. "Come now" Klaus mutters, stretching out his hand for her.
Prudence smiles a small smile over at him. She then places her grimoire to the side, before slowly getting up and walking over to Klaus. As she places her hand in his, he goes to stand behind her, allowing her to get a better look at his painting.
"What do you think?" he asks, gently placing his hands down on her shoulders.
Prudence gazes at the fine painting of a beautiful sunrise in-front of her. Klaus has many talents and one of them happens to be of an artist. The first time she had saw him paint it felt surreal as its something she never imagined him to do. He had described it as being 'A metaphor for control' and from then on whenever he decided to paint, she had made sure to be right there with him. He realizes that with her he does not need to surpass his control for his flaws and habits, because having her beside him always is all the inspiration he needed.
Moments later, Prudence lifts her hand to slowly trace along the wet canvas. She then pushes her head back to look up at Klaus before speaking up. "Its not bad" she says, deciding to tease him.
"Not bad, huh? well I expected a better compliment than that" he smirks, lifting his hand up to push the hair out of her face.
Prudence glances past him to overlook the landscape of the town once more, before shifting her attention back to him. "I'll give you a better compliment if we can finally go explore the town. We've been here for almost two weeks and haven't done so" she sighs.
"Now Prudence, you know-"
"Mikael doesn't know we're here, I did a spell earlier remember" she says, quickly cutting him off.
Running from Mikael with the Mikaelson's for the past three years meant that she had to become stronger with her magic and it shocked her with how well she found herself improving each and every day. Of course she still had a long way to go and a lot of confidence to build up in herself, but being around Klaus and his siblings gave her the courage that she always needed to believe in herself, not just with performing spells and being a witch, but also as a young girl finding herself at the peak of her immortality. She wishes that her mother could see her now, but at the same time she isn't sure what she would say due to the fact that she had become so close with the creatures she despised more than anything.
Klaus turns his back to her and breathes out a deep sigh as she watches his every move. "Well I just thought you'd want to wait till tonight since we were invited to a ball by the richest heir in the south of France" he announces, leaving her a little surprised.
"We were?... does he know-"
"That my siblings and I are vampires and you're a witch?... well I can't say for certain that he doesn't" he smirks, placing his arms behind his back as he turns back around to meet her gaze.
"But what if he tries anything while we're there, like some sort of trap?" she asks with concern, while gazing up at him.
Klaus takes a few steps towards her and places his right hand on her cheek, gently brushing her soft skin with his thumb. "You're forgetting we're immortal love, we can't be killed and neither can you. My purpose of being there is simply to strike a deal with him, nothing you should worry about" he briefly utters.
"Klaus-"
"I will always protect you, Prudence" he says, cutting her off once again and looking down into her eyes. "Now go wait for me inside, I promise I'll join you shortly and we can explore the town together as you wish".
Prudence stares up into his eyes for a brief while and slowly nods her head. She goes to pick up the grimoires from the stool, before finally making her way down the balcony with millions of thoughts running through her mind.
She knows that Klaus would do anything to protect her and keep her safe. For someone who had a reputation to uphold of having anyone and everyone fear the sight of him and the sound of his name, he had made an exception for her and her only.
There was never a time where she would've imagined that she would ever be this deep in bond with the one and only original hybrid. She cares deeply for him; including the worst of him, the dark and the light, the wrong and the right, and the whole and the empty. She cares about the parts of him that he doesn't think are worth caring about. The parts other people might see and instantly run from. Three years ago she would've run away and she was almost close to doing so, until he stopped her, now she couldn't imagine being away from him, she couldn't imagine not having him by her side, because despite the monster that he's known to be all around, he is also her savior, and the most deeply important person in her life.
As Prudence slowly heads down the stairs to the balcony, she stops midway at the room where they had placed Finn's coffin in. She pauses for a little while and looks around before going to step inside the room.
During the first year that she spent with the Mikaelsons, she came to know that their oldest brother Finn had been kept in a box for the last 700 years and Klaus was the one who had put him there. Prudence didn't know the type of person Finn was as she's only heard about the stories they've told her about him, but nobody deserves to be kept in a box for that long. She knew about the fact that Klaus had daggered his siblings each a few times over the past 800 years and at times she couldn't help but think about if he would've done the same to her if she was an original vampire. He was a man who seeked total control and whenever he didn't get it, he retaliates in the worst way possible, sparring nobody, not even his siblings.
Broken up with her thoughts a few minutes later, Prudence glances up to see Elijah standing beside the door frame with his eyes fixated on her. She quickly clears her throat and takes a step back from Finn's coffin as he makes his way inside and over to her.
"Elijah... when did you get back?" she asks, staring up at him.
"Not too long ago, where is Niklaus?" he asks, with his arms placed behind his back.
"He's up in the balcony finishing of a painting" she replies, slowly cocking her head to the side.
Elijah nods his head, before glancing down at Finn's coffin. He stops for a little while, then turns his attention back to Prudence once again. "Were you doing a lot of thinking perhaps?" he questions.
Prudence watches as he makes his way to Finn's coffin to slowly open the casket and take in his desiccated older brother once again. "Elijah, I promise I wasn't going to pull the dagger out of him" the young witch sighs drastically, as she watches him then shift his gaze back to her.
"I know you won't, because you're frightened of what Niklaus would do, but then again I think you know exactly why he has left him in a box for so long" says Elijah, taking one last long at Finn before slowly closing the casket shut.
Prudence purses her lips together before speaking up. "Your brother Finn hated who he was as a vampire and seeing Klaus and the rest of you embrace that repulsed him. He thought that if Finn were to one day leave, you, Rebekah and Kol would follow and betray him, so Klaus took him out of the picture, because the one thing he fears is abandonment. He hates being alone, even though he doesn't like to admit it".
As the young witch finishes the last of her sentence, Elijah gazes directly at her; stunned at how well she knew not only them but Klaus most of all. Given that the two were always around each other, it didn't shock him that despite Klaus being a closed and complicated person, Prudence already knew him like an open book. Haven her come into their lives was the best thing that ever happened to Klaus.
"You know for the past 800 years I've been searching for Klaus' redemption" Elijah trails off, taking a few steps closer to her. "Kol and Rebekah already gave up on him a long time ago and at times I don't blame them because of how much he has hurt them, but even after all that I still believe in him. I believe that one day no matter how long it takes he will be a better person, and I know that now I don't have to believe all of that on my own... because of you. Maybe we're both fools to believe in such a thing, but you and I are the same Prudence".
Elijah lifts his hand up to gently place on her cheek. He searches into her eyes for a brief moment, before pulling his hand back and turning around to walk out the room, leaving the young witch with endless of thoughts.
After taking in everything Elijah had said, Prudence glances over at Finn's coffin for one last time, before going to make her way out the room. She instantly felt a sharp pain in her head, but she ignores it as she carries on heading down the stairs. As she arrives downstairs, she then turns to make her way over to Rebekah's room as she hears her calling her name.
"Prudence, there you are. I thought I heard your footsteps, I was just about to head up to the balcony to join you and Nik" the blonde vampire spoke, picking up a yellow dress and going to look at it in-front of the mirror.
"Elijah just got back, but where's Kol, I didn't hear him downstairs?" Prudence asks, walking into her room and making her way to sit on the edge of her bed.
"He went out into town, but he should be back soon" Rebekah replies, lifting her head up to flash her a smile. "Actually, I think this would look better on you" she says, staring down at dress before urging Prudence to join her over at the mirror.
Placing her and her mother's grimoire down on the bed, Prudence slowly got up from the bed, before going to make her way to Rebekah, who placed the dress in-front of her and went to stand behind her so she could get a better look.
"What do you think?" Rebekah asks, running her hands through the fabric of the dress. "I assume Nik has already told you about the ball we're attending this evening, it would be marvelous if you wore this, you would be the most beautiful girl there" she says.
Prudence gazes deeply in the mirror smiling at her. As well as Klaus, Rebekah is the one who protected her and took care of her the most, and at times like this it felt as if they were sisters who have known each other all their lives. They were both vulnerable, both craved love in many different ways, and were both afraid of the world and everything in it, despite their immense power. Growing up, Prudence always craved a sisterhood haven watched her two cousins together, and now she's thankful that she has it, even though it is with an original vampire. Rebekah had qualities in her that often reminded her of her mother, and knowing that she can never be reunited with her mother again is one of the reasons why she gravitated so much towards the original sister.
"I think it looks beautiful" Prudence mutters, staring down at the yellow dress. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you're trying to find a suitor for me, Rebekah"
"Alright, you caught me" Rebekah chuckles lightly causing her to do the same. "I'm sure there's going to be a lot of fine handsome men at the ball tonight, and I know its been a while since you've been with a man, especially since you're always around my hot headed brother" Rebekah snarls, running her hands down the dress.
"Actually..." Prudence trails off, turning around to face her.
Rebekah stares at the expression on her face till her eyes begins to widen. "Oh my God... you're a virgin?" she asks quietly as Prudence slowly nods her head.
"I haven't told you this but... I don't really have that much experience when men either. When I use to live in my village there was this boy around my age who I courted for a little while. Even though I was about eighteen then, he asked for my hand in marriage and wanted us to wed as soon as possible, but he was one of the people who was killed by the vampires who attacked our village" she explains, before slowly lowering her head.
"Did you love him?" Rebekah asks staring directly at her.
Prudence pauses for a brief while to think it through, before speaking up. "I like to think that I did, but now I'm not so sure" she says, lifting her head back up. "What about you?" she questions.
"I've been in love a few times, but with Nik there's never any luck. He doesn't believe any man is worthy of me neither does he want me to be happy, and he's probably going to do the same to you. I know you love and care deeply about him, Prudence, I do too, but Nik will ruin you one way or the other, its just how he is" Rebekah utters as Prudence slowly turns to look elsewhere. "You know I've always wanted a family of my own and to someday die as I wish, but I realized that's never going to happen so I try not to think about it too much... and I know you wanted the same thing before your family cursed you" she says, before going to take her hand.
"I did, and I often wonder if the other girl who was cursed in our family three centuries ago wanted the same thing. I wonder how she must have felt when she was cursed with the same thing" Prudence sighs, going to rub the side of her head.
"You still think Elizabeth Bennett; the other original witch still exists?" asks Rebekah.
"Klaus says that my aunt was just lying when she told me about her and I want to believe him since I can't connect or trace her with my magic, but I just have this feeling that she's out there somewhere-"
"She is..."
They heard a voice come from over the door and they quickly turn their heads to see Kol strolling into the room.
"What did you say, Kol?" Rebekah questions eagerly as Prudence furrows her brows in confusion.
"I was just in town. I ran into a witch who says she witnessed an African American girl magically come back to life after she was fed on dry by a vampire then used her magic to heal her neck wound last night. Now that told me everything I need to know and my guess is she's going to be at the ball tonight".
As Kol finished explaining, Prudence felt a chill silence brew around the room. Her brain shutters for a moment and her eyes take in more light than expected. Every part of her goes on pause trying to take in everything while her thoughts catch up to her. She had so many questions and she knew they could on;y be answered once she comes face to face with the other immortal witch.