Having changed schools so late in the year, I was back to my loner status until graduation, but then I was home free. I decided to take a year out, intending to travel and just have fun with life, which is what I did over the summer with Matt and Rebekah. We had the wildest time, enjoying everything life had to offer and the three of us made a great trio as we explored Europe for three whole months. It was great to just let loose, and I felt more human and normal than I had done in a very long time. Amazing as it was, I was glad to get back home to my parents, where I started to search for a job to fill my year to earn some money of my own.
All that was put on halt, however, when Rebekah called me up with a real emergency. I'm talking Klaus level emergency, which included a pregnant wolf by the name of Hayley who had apparently not considered protection when hooking up with Klaus and now everybody was gunning for the baby for their own reasons, Elijah was missing and Rebekah was at her wits end. It sounded like a living nightmare, so with a sigh I eventually came to the decision that Rebekah, being my one and only best friend, had asked for my help and I couldn't turn her down.
So I told my parents that something had come up for me to do in New Orleans, a potential job and I was going to check it out with Rebekah. They were much happier knowing I was going to be with Bekah, they loved her, so I was free to go. Rebekah had already given me the address that Elijah had given me, and he wasn't picking up any of my calls either so I had a sinking feeling that he was once more in a box with a dagger sticking out of his chest. I have got to destroy the last of those. That way, Klaus can't threaten either of his last remaining siblings ever again.
Anyway, I drove up past a bunch of bodies out the front, and it actually freaked me out more that I wasn't actually freaked out about the fact that I was looking at dead bodies. I kept quiet as I got out of my car, a spell activated for absolute silence, something my ancestors called shadow walking and shockingly, it even worked on cars. Well, I'd fiddled with the spell a bit, but it worked great. There was no way I was going into that house without knowing exactly what was going on so I activated another spell in order to hear the people inside, and almost immediately Klaus's voice came through. "Does anyone have any more questions? No? Good, because I have a question. Hayley, what were you doing in the bloody French Quarter in the first place?" He sounded pissed. Seriously pissed. "Answer me!"
"Leave her be." Hearing Rebekah's voice inside I at least felt more comfortable to actually show myself, starting to walk on over to the house's front door as Hayley answered Klaus's question.
"You wanna know what I was doing? I was buying poison, so I could put your little baby out of its misery." Clearly that was the wrong thing to say to the guy who was pretty much always one thread away from snapping, as next thing I heard was the whooshing sound of a vampire at full speed before something slammed, making me hurry up and run towards the door as Rebekah started screaming for Klaus to let Hayley go. There was a scuffle, and just as I reached the door I heard Bekah fling Klaus away from Hayley as she gasped for air.
"Keep your hands off her! She is pregnant, for god's sake!" She thundered at him as I reached the porch, still shadow walking to stay silent, listening to Rebekah finally lay into her brother for his seeming disinterest in the kid that Hayley was carrying until the moment she decided she wanted to get rid of it and almost killing her in his anger. "It's okay to care. It's okay to want something. That's all Elijah was trying to do, all he's ever wanted for you. All we've ever wanted." Reaching out my hand I hesitated, fingertips pressed against the door but before I pushed it open, I heard Klaus's next confession, and I almost blew the door right off its hinges in rage.
"I gave Elijah to Marcel." That freaking…dirt-bag. I was so incensed by Klaus's admission that I needed a few moments to calm down, knowing that if I went in there now, I wouldn't be able to control my anger or my magic, and with a pregnant woman around that was just a recipe for disaster. "Marcel was nervous. It's bad enough one Original returned to town, but two? His crew was getting antsy. He wanted Elijah gone, so I gave him a peace offering."
"You bartered our brother?" Really Bekah, are you even surprised by anything Klaus does anymore? He's a selfish prick.
"I have a plan. Gain Marcel's trust, dismantle his empire, honour Elijah's wish that that baby be born." Klaus told them both, still completely unaware of the fact that I was listening at the door. "I am executing that plan the only way I know how. If you don't like it, there's the door. See if I care." He started to leave, making me grit my teeth and wonder what the hell I was doing out here. I couldn't give a damn about Klaus or anything to do with him, but I did care about Bekah and Elijah, and if Hayley was being threatened because of the baby she was carrying, then my god damn bleeding heart already felt like I couldn't just leave her behind in this mess. It's hard enough being around Originals without getting hurt when you have power. She was just a regular werewolf and was now pregnant. She didn't stand a chance.
Dropping the shadow walking spell, I heard Rebekah instantly start as she recognised the sound of my heartbeat and my step as I pushed the door open and stepped up, letting the light flood around me. "You might think you can handle everything, brother, but I took the liberty of calling some backup." Rebekah announced as she folded her arms and Klaus started to roll his head in exasperation, turning around with a sarcastic drawl.
"And who exactly have you brought to be our saving…" He trailed off when our eyes met, and I felt rather proud of myself that I didn't set him on fire right there and then. I didn't even glare, I just looked at him blankly.
"Niklaus." I greeted coldly, shooting him a look before stepping inside. There was a visible shift in him, his expression dropping to express the full extent of rage and numerous other emotions. I think I even saw a slight degree of fear, fear of what I was going to do to him. Rebekah smiled victoriously, sweet as sugar but sharp as a knife.
"What's the matter, brother? Nothing to say?" Oh she was loving this. I gave her a look, smiling slightly before I then turned to Hayley. She was dark haired and had light brown eyes, around my age and looking like she was completely outnumbered. I could feel magic surrounding her so I tilted my head, frowning slightly as I made to figure out what it was.
"You've been linked." I recognised. "Who to? What's going on?"
"Looks like I've pulled you into a very complicated and intricate situation Lia. How about we three girls go upstairs and talk things over? Brother, have a pleasant evening." Still smug about the fact that Klaus was now speechless, Bekah practically marched Hayley upstairs, leaving me to follow along behind her. I still had my things in the car, but I guess that can wait for now. I glanced down, seeing that there was a barely living vampire on the floor but I passed by him without even a second glance, not even offering Klaus a second look either as I started climbing up the stairs to follow Bekah and Hayley.
We ended up converging in Hayley's room, which was swelteringly hot so I did a spell to bring the temperature down and also soundproofed the room. "We can talk openly now. Klaus won't be able to listen in, I've also spelled the door shut so he can't force his way in either." I announced as Hayley groaned, enjoying the fresh breeze I'd created to circulate the room. "You guys want to fill me in on what's been going on around here? You weren't exactly detailed when you called me earlier, Bekah."
"Yes well, as it turns out, there's a lot more I didn't know then as well. You had best sit down." She suggested to me, already having made herself comfortable. "Oh, but first things first. Hayley, this is my dear friend Ophelia Martin-Jones. She's a druid, someone with magic untraceable by witches, which is a benefit for us. Lia, this is the girl my brother knocked up." Not her worst introduction, I'll say that much. Reaching out my hand, I shook Hayley's as she offered me hers in return.
"Nice to meet you." She said, regarding me with a slight quizzical expression. "Though I'm not exactly sure what a druid is."
"Ancient tree hugger. Different type of magic, basically more powerful than a witch. I'm awesome." I promised her, giving a smile as we shook hands before I then let go. "But all that aside, bring me up to speed Bekah. It's exhausting trying to figure out all the details by having visions and dreams so it'll be so much easier if you just tell me."
"Well, a hundred years ago this used to be our city, but now a vampire my brother turned has taken over since we left with our dear father pursuing us. He has his own army of vampires and he has somehow found a way to control the witches that live here, a secret weapon of some sort. They live in subjugation and are forbidden from doing magic. If they do, they are killed. Anyone who break's Marcel's rules is punished, mostly by death." Rebekah listed, keeping things to the point. "Nik and Elijah were both brought here by the witches in their attempt to force them to overthrow Marcel, using Hayley as incentive. They bound her with one of the witches so that whatever happens to one happens to the other, and she cannot leave New Orleans either, or she will die."
"Wow, sounds like you've had it rough." Sympathising with Hayley, she rolled her eyes in agreement from where she sat on the bed. "So this Marcel guy, he basically runs the show here and he has a hold over the witches which means they can't do magic. How does Klaus fit into all this?" I asked before lifting my hand. "Wait, let me guess. He saw how epic Marcel's life was being in charge of the city and wants it for himself, right?"
"Well would you look at that. You know my brother so well." Rebekah smiled at me and I didn't take that as a compliment, because it really wasn't. "But yes, Nik wants his city back, and the deal with the witches is that we take out Marcel without killing him and then they'll release our little baby-maker."
"Not a problem." Reaching over after walking to Hayley, I placed my hand on her shoulder then felt for the magic that surrounded her and the baby, concentrating on the flow before I began to murmur in one of the ancient, long dead languages that I knew courtesy of my ancestors. I felt the magic as it unravelled, lifting from around Hayley to free her and within just a few short seconds, I pulled back. "Done."
"What, just like that?" Hayley looked shocked, looking at me quickly so I shrugged.
"I told you I was awesome. Though don't get too excited. You're unlinked from that other witch, but you're still in a lot of danger from the sounds of things. Once they figure out you two aren't linked anymore, they're going to come after you and the baby with everything they've got. If you run now, you'll be running for the rest of your pregnancy, and I'm pretty sure in the last few months, you won't feel like walking much. Let alone running." She immediately lost her spirits, growling in frustration so I assured her that I could easily protect her and the baby. "We can figure something out, though we need to focus on getting Elijah back first. Then maybe I'll kick Klaus's ass for stabbing his brother. Again."
"All this because of one stupid and drunken one night stand." Hayley murmured regretfully, hugging herself with an angry glare. "I didn't ask for any of this. I just want to be left alone. I don't even want this baby, I bought herbs to get rid of it today." Okay, that revelation shocked me a little, making me balk and struggle to come up with an appropriate response.
"Um…what?" Rebekah also looked concerned, the two of us sharing a look with one another. "I…get that this must be difficult for you…but we're talking about a baby here. It already has a heartbeat, right?"
"I don't know how to be a mother. I don't want to be a mother." Shaking her head, Hayley looked at me finally, a firm resolution burning in her eyes. "You can do something about it right? Your magic. You can get rid of it or…or something. Please tell me there's a way out of this." I spluttered, not exactly sure if she was being serious or not until I looked at her eyes again, and I knew that she really was. "Either you help me, or I get rid of it myself. Screw Klaus, he doesn't even care about the kid. Not really. He'll just want it because it'll have some use to him or something. You have to help me."
"What you're talking about is taking a life, Hayley. My brother, Elijah, said that he wasn't going to allow anything to happen to the baby, and I can't let him down." Rebekah said, beginning to sit more upright as I quickly thought of a way out of this where everyone could be satisfied, but more importantly, the baby will be safe.
"Look, listen guys, hear me out." I interjected quickly before Bekah and Hayley could start rowing at each other and things turned ugly. "Hayley, I have a rule where I don't kill people, and that definitely includes children, even ones in utero. Which means, I can't help you to abort your baby." I told her, making her face harden before she moved to grab her bag where I presumed she'd kept the herbs she'd got to remove the baby herself, so I quickly grabbed her hand. "But there is a spell. A transference spell. I can take the baby out of you and put it someone else. Basically it's like having a surrogate. They'll carry the baby and then deliver it when it comes to term. Is that something you're open to?"
"You mean…you'll literally take the baby out and put it in someone else?" She asked me, so I made a face.
"Not exactly, it's like I'll be taking the baby's essence and form out of you and transferring it elsewhere. Think of it like a teleportation spell. Totally safe, nothing will happen to the baby, but you won't have to be the carrier anymore." Rebekah stared at me, jaw dropping.
"Well who's going to volunteer for something like that?!" She demanded, flinging out a hand. "Whoever's carrying that baby will have every witch, vampire and werewolf after them. Every enemy my brother has ever made, everyone hoping to extract vengeance in some way…there's no way we can guarantee the safety of one random woman we somehow persuade into this. We can't exactly compel someone to do it, we're talking about carrying a stranger's baby for nine months. It can't just be anyone."
"What about you?" Hayley asked, making Rebekah blink at her. "You could carry it."
"The genes are too similar, it might cause an irregularity or complication since you're Klaus's sister." I answered, inwardly starting to groan. I knew where this was going, and I can't say I like it exactly. "Is there any chance we can persuade you to hold off on this until we can find someone who would be willing to go through the transference spell?" I asked however Hayley point blank refused to wait. She wanted this baby gone tonight, one way or another, and deep down I knew that she meant it. She was panicking, afraid of the reality of how dangerous a position she was in.
"You can't just…" Rebekah was completely lost for words, but Hayley wasn't looking at her. She was looking at me.
"What about you?" Now both of them were looking at me expectantly, and I gulped as my throat suddenly went dry.
"Technically…yes. I could transfer your baby into me." I admitted, already starting to regret bringing this up. "Also, the baby would be safest with me since I'm pretty much the most powerful magical being out there. I've yet to meet my match, no one would be able to come near me or the baby, but the problem is I don't know how being pregnant is going to affect my magic. I have some knowledge from my ancestors which they passed down to me, and it seems like I'll lose some of my power to the baby for as long as I carry it. It'll naturally siphon itself off to protect it, which is both good and bad. I'll still be strong, but I won't be as kickass as before." I said this mostly for Rebekah so that she knew just how vulnerable I'll be if I take on this baby.
"Alright but that's still better than nothing." Hayley said to me, lifting her hand to hold it out at me in gesture. "Sounds to me like this baby will be better off with you."
"Hayley, this is your child we're talking about." I said to her, desperately hoping that she would at least take some time to think this through. "Your baby, if I do this spell then I won't be able to do it again. I can't give the baby back to you once it's done because it'll just get complicated and you could possibly lose it. Once it's done, there's no going back."
"If you could just take some time to think about it, maybe a night of rest will put things into better perspective…" Bekah joined in, helping me trying to reason with Hayley but she was adamant. She had no kind of attachment to Klaus, and she viewed the baby as a mistake that she couldn't have any hope of protecting. She truly believed that the baby would be better with me, and pretty soon she was begging me to do the spell.
"I don't…I'm not sure if…Hayley you're literally asking me to get pregnant for you and we only just met." Bringing her back to reality, Hayley glanced down, thinking for a moment before she then seemed to make up her mind. She reached for her bag again and grabbed two small bottles from her bag and held them up.
"I'm sorry, but it's one way or the other. I can't do this. I'm not going to die because of some stupid war that doesn't have anything to do with me." Now Rebekah and I looked at one another, silently communicating. I had no idea what I should do, and I was hesitant to do it, but Bekah then started to plead with me softly, her eyes growing gentle and begged me to help her save this baby.
"Elijah doesn't want anything to happen to the baby, Lia…that child is part of our family now. At the very least, we owe it a chance at life." She said to me, making me bring my hands to my face in order to rub away at the strained expression I had before I then started to knead at my neck.
"Okay Hayley. If you're sure about this, then I'll need you to sit down." I said to her. Nodding her head, Hayley gradually sat herself back on the bed then crossed her legs, watching as I joined her then crossed my hands over and held them out to her, indicating that she should do the same. With one palm facing down and the other facing up, we were fully linked together as I took a deep breath. Honestly? I was terrified. I'm literally willingly allowing myself to become pregnant for a girl I've never met before, whilst also fully knowing that Klaus was the father. "Just so you know, even though I'll be the one to carry and deliver this baby, you're still going to be it's mom. That much isn't going to change. It's still your genes, though mine might become mixed in there with my magic circulating through the gestation period too. Are you okay with that?" She nodded her head after thinking a moment.
"Just get it out of me, please." I found it a little sad that Hayley was so adamant about getting the baby away from her, like she was already prenatally rejecting it. Poor kid, but I guess Hayley was just scared right now, and I didn't blame her. With Klaus as the father, there was no way she could possibly hope to protect herself and the baby whilst carrying it, especially not from him. This was their only chance for both of them to be able to survive, but it didn't make it any easier on me. Gripping onto my hands more tightly, Hayley looked at me with those deep brown eyes of hers. "Thank you for doing this. I know I'm asking a lot."
"Asking for a new car is asking a lot. This is…this is a whole new level." I said to her bluntly before sighing, glancing over my shoulder at Rebekah. "But I understand that you're scared, and even though right now you feel like the reason you don't want this baby is because of everyone gunning for you, part of you is probably doing this because you want to give your baby it's best chance at survival. I promise. I will keep this baby safe. No one will hurt it, lay a single finger on it, without your say so. Not even Klaus."
"Can you really take him on? I mean, he's un-killable."
"Pft, our Lia here is a whole new set of rules which Klaus has no idea to play. You know he has a soft spot for her, little good that does when he betrayed her for his own gain. Predictably." Rebekah said as she came over to join us, reaching out in order to rub my arm comfortingly as I mentally prepared myself for this. "She can handle my brother with just a flick of her wrist."
"Well, we'll find out if that's still the case when this is over. Remember, I'll lose some of my power. I won't be as strong as before, and I won't be again until I deliver. I'm still going to need some backup." Both of them assuring me that they had my back, I nodded my head, giving me one more final moment before I decided to just take the plunge. "Okay, you're going to feel a lot of warmth spreading through you, it'll move towards your stomach then condense there, don't fight it. That's just the magic acting on you. Just relax and remember to breathe, this won't hurt." Talking Hayley through the spell and explaining exactly what was going to happen, I started chanting.
The effect of my magic immediately made itself known, the room darkening as the shadows lurched whilst the lights dimmed, energy being drained and overwhelmed as the wind rose outside and heat once more soared through the room. My voice lulled and echoed, heavy lidded from focus as Hayley gripped onto me tightly before beginning to relax. The spell didn't take long, and as I felt it working I gasped a little when the warmth seeped into my belly, the magic physically preparing my body to accept the baby until it was done, and it was all over.
Opening my eyes I let go of Hayley, hearing her exhale as I then rested a hand over my stomach, feeling no immediate change or difference. "I can hear it." Rebekah said to me softly as she tucked her hair behind her ear in order to listen. "The heartbeat is coming from you now."
"So that's it? I'm free?"
"Yes Hayley, you are free." I said to her, touching my head as I flinched, already feeling my magic begin to drain as it naturally swept to protect the child that I now carried. I hope to god I don't get found out by my parents, otherwise they'd jump to conclusions and then probably murder me. "But I still recommend sticking around here for now. It's not safe until people know that you're not the one who's pregnant anymore."
"About that…perhaps we should hold off telling my brother about this." Rebekah suggested, and the three of us only then realised we'd gone ahead with such a huge decision without even consulting the father. Ugh who cares? He's an asshole and it's not like he's the one who can carry the baby, so he doesn't get a say in this. "Knowing Nik, he'll probably hit the roof and kill either one of you or both of you, baby or no baby."
"Did not think about that one." Hayley winced, so I held my head in my hands. "You okay?"
"I just magically poofed a baby into my uterus. How do you think I feel?" Turning around I let myself drop back onto the bed, staring up into the ceiling. "You owe me huge for this. Like…indentured servitude level of owe me." Lightly pulling at my hair the way I liked it to be played with, Rebekah sat beside me and I could practically feel the gratitude coming off her as she stroked my head.
"Well, I guess congratulations are in order. You're pregnant." She said to me, and I was so very tempted to kill her for it. Opening my eyes to shoot her a look, my clear distaste for her poor humour was clearly evident on my face as I flicked a finger at her.
"You better treat me like a queen from now on." And I meant it, otherwise I do not want to find out what an angry, pregnant and hormonal druid looked like. God…what have I done?