Now that I was back, the first thing I did was go to see Nik. He had been so deep in contemplation that he hadn't even realised that I was coming towards him from behind until my arms had delicately laced around his shoulders and rested upon him, giving him a sincere hug and a kiss to his face as I whispered 'thank you' to him. He didn't need to ask what for, merely nodded his head minutely before leading me around his chair to then have me sit in his lap, my legs sprawled over the side of the arm rest whereby he took to resting his hand on my stomach and just sat with me like that for a long while. He must have missed the baby, as he listened and focused on her heartbeat for more than an hour with me bundled up against him as I rested my head in the crook of his shoulder.
I spent the next month going back and forth between the city and the bayou, where Hayley was now living with her wolf pack, newly returned to human form after Celeste had rather graciously unbound them from the curse she had inflicted on them ten years ago. I'll admit, after adjusting to the humidity and the terrain, the swamp wasn't so bad. I began to get used to things out there, and the wolves made me feel very welcome on account that I was a druid, and to them, they remembered my people all the way back to the very beginning of the packs, and had a deep respect for my people. Jackson was particularly friendly, treating me like an honoured guest every time I dropped in for a visit so that Hayley wouldn't miss out on time with the baby, and I think part of the reason Jackson was so welcoming was because of the fact I was carrying Hayley's child.
God, that feels so weird to say.
Making myself useful, I helped grind herbs and make healing poultices whenever someone got sick or injured, and since these wolves liked to fight and scrap with one another in order to establish dominance, more than one bone was broken. For wolves that turned it was fine, because they healed on their own, but for the others that weren't able to transform, those bones needed to be healed with magic. My magic, which was as easy as snapping my fingers. Nik didn't like me going out to the bayou so often, but I told him flat that there was no way he was grounding me to the compound and that Hayley deserved to be as much a part of this pregnancy as he did. Besides, he was often tumbling around in the sheets with that bitch – I mean witch – Genevieve, the one who had tortured Bekah, so I was in no mood to listen to them getting hot and heavy at all hours of the day.
That idiot hybrid. He was literally sleeping with the enemy, and every time I caught that redheaded witch leaving his room, I felt a little more defeated and wilted inside. I couldn't blame him, I mean, she was gorgeous, prettier than me by far, but still I couldn't deny that it hurt. I guess I should have made my feelings clear when I had the chance, but now it was too late and I had no choice but to try and move on by myself. Today, however, I was adamant that absolutely nothing would bother me. I was out in the bayou, a barbeque was going, my feet were up, I had a cold drink of lemonade in my hand, and plenty of handsome, sweaty and shirtless guys to admire as they wrestled in the mud. It was glorious.
"Shouldn't you be out there playing Fight Club with the rest of the frat boys?" Hayley questioned as she and Jackson also stood watching the fight.
"Nah. That's just for pecking order. They already know who's the Alpha." Hearing a call to say that food was ready, I started to get up from my chair to which Jackson offered me his hand on one side and Hayley on the other, making me grin as I grabbed hold and let them help pull me up since rising and sitting was getting a little more difficult recently. "You okay there sweetheart?"
"Never better, just supply me with as much meat as you can spare, because this little wolf is starving." My answer made him grin and promise I could eat as much as I wanted, Hayley also smiling as she looked affectionately down at my stomach to her baby. We'd discussed the possibility of attempting to switch her back into being with Hayley again, now that she was more developed she was more likely to survive another transfer. Hayley had seriously considered it for several days, as she had started to regret choosing to transfer her child to me, but in the end decided against it, as there was still a lot of risk involved if we went through with the transference again.
I thoroughly enjoyed the food, the wolves joking that I could eat more than all their men put together to witch I would respond that I was eating for two, and one of us was a wolf, so it was by no means my fault. It was a laugh and a great deal of fun, but when Oliver brought the news that Elijah was holding a council meeting between all the different factions in the city to establish boundaries, Hayley got seriously pissed that the wolves had been excluded. She and Jackson discussed what should be done, and even asked me my opinion, which made me arch an eyebrow. "Jackson, I know you're trying to show your respect for the fact I'm a druid, and seemingly all knowing and all that, but honey, you really don't have to ask. You know that being excluded is bad news for the pack, so you know the only thing to do is get yourselves a voice in that meeting. I suggest Hayley. She has a way of making herself heard without backing down." Giving my friend a grin, she agreed that she needed to confront Elijah directly, and so I agreed to travel back with her.
"Hey, I'm sorry if I put you on the spot back there. It's just…stories have been passed down for generations about your people helping out my people back in the day." Jackson said to me as he helped me climb into the car in order to drive back to the city. "I'm just trying to show your ancestors respect."
"And they appreciate it, I promise you that. They are literally very happy." Smiling at Jackson, who I had decided within seconds of meeting him that he was one of the best kind of guys you could meet, I reached out and shook his hand. "But I'm not like the druids in the past. I'm just me, so you don't have to give me the royal treatment or go out of your way for me at all. I like you, I like your pack, so if you guys ever need a spell or druid advice, you know how to get in touch." Appreciating my frankness, Jackson sent us off with a lingering glance at Hayley, which made me smirk knowingly though I kept quiet until we were well on our way. "So, you and Jackson huh?"
"Please, do not get into that."
"I'm just saying, as far as infant betrothals go, you could have ended up with someone a whole lot worse, and ugly as hell. Instead, you got a total hunk of a man with gorgeous hair, impressive abs, literally the best personality a man can have, and someone who is already totally devoted to you and your baby. Like I said. Could do a whole lot worse." I left it at that since I knew that this was a sore subject for Hayley, considering the fact that she already had strong feelings for Elijah. It was a complicated situation, and I'm pretty sure she had no clue what to do with either man. So instead of stirring the pot, I moved onto different topics and just talked generally to pass the time.
Electing not to get involved in politics, I remained in the car whilst Hayley went inside the church to confront Elijah, electing to simply listen to the jazz music being played by some street performers and relax for a while. Hold on, now that I think about it, wasn't there a mention of a hex being placed on the priest here? Camille, the therapist that Nik had compelled previously to write his memoirs, had purposefully come back to New Orleans after realising that her uncle was sick, and had got herself involved with all the vampire business again as well as the witchy deal. Maybe I should look into that, though I was sceptical at best. Witch hexes were nasty, and were purposefully constructed not to be cured once placed on someone. My ancestors may have some knowledge and experience dealing with them in their own past lives, so I'd better do some research and check it out. After all, it would suck if the priest died. He was one of the few humans with any sense around here.
Sending Hayley a text to tell her that I had gone back to the compound, I made my own way back there and immediately dove into the numerous books that I had collected on magic, including Esther Mikaelson's grimoires. There had to be something in there, otherwise, I could only go to the source, the witches themselves, and I seriously did not want to talk to that bitch – witch – Genevieve. A quick initial scan rendered no results, so with a hefty sigh I resigned myself to asking Genevieve in person how to cure the hex, because the only idea that I had myself was a full blown exorcism, and that could kill Father Kieran just as fast. Coincidentally, I happened to run into Camille on my way to Nik's room, making her look up and clock me with recognition. "Hey, you're the Mikaelson witch, aren't you?"
"Druid, actually, and not a Mikaelson. Just carrying their miracle baby." I responded with nonchalance, gesturing to Nik's door. "You here to see Nik?"
"Yeah, I wanted to ask him about curing my uncle, his hex is getting worse. He's barely holding it together."
"About that, I've been doing some research, but it's not turning up a lot of positive results. I'll do what I can to help, but don't get your hopes up too high. Hexes are as dark and deadly as magic gets, and it was a pretty powerful witch that got him." The surprise on Camille's face was completely open as she blinked at me, clearly not expecting any kind of help from a random stranger. She asked me why I would even bother helping her uncle when I had nothing to do with either of them, and so I replied that I was just a nice person like that. Giving her a smile, I gestured for her to go in first so after a considering glance towards me, Camille opened Nik's door and strode inside.
"I saw the light from the courtyard and took a chance that…" She halted pretty quickly and looking over her shoulder, I soon saw why. Genevieve was quite contentedly lounging around in her underwear with only a silk robe to provide any sense of modesty, though it wasn't doing a great job of it. "You weren't with a half-naked psycho-witch. Seems I gambled, and lost."
"Ten minutes ago, I was fully naked." That was an image I could do without knocking around in my head.
"Oh, then you served your purpose. Don't let me hold you up." I had to hand it to Camille, she had some serious balls to sass a witch and downright insult them without even batting an eye. I think I'll grow to like this therapist.
"You O'Connells sure do love to piss off witches." Seeing the friction beginning to escalate, I flicked my wrist in a dismissive hand motion with a pull of magic which made her clothes fly up from where they had been discarded on the floor and smack her in the face, causing Camille to snort with a smirk as I then folded my arms.
"Druid beats witch. I was going to ask you about lifting the hex on Kieran, but I can already tell that you have no idea to accomplish that, so that makes you pretty useless to me. Now, since you have delivered your services and are done with whatever grossness you and Nik were having, I think it's about time you leave. Oh, and don't even think about giving Camille or me that stink eye. I'm heavily pregnant and have a short temper, so I may just pop those eyes right out of your sockets if you decided to piss me off. Buh-bye." And with another hand flick, Genevieve was literally thrown out of the room by a powerful burst of wind and a propelling force, still clutching her clothes before the door slammed shut behind her. "Seriously Nik? Of all the vengeful, scheming snakes in this city that you could have chosen to sleep with, you chose that one."
"One snake is as good as another." Nik answered without a care in the world, making me fell more than a little pissed off so I decided not to even bother talking to him. He was in a downward spiral of self pity at the moment, and I wanted nothing to do with it, or have any knowledge of the kind of sluts he took to bed with. With a word to Camille that I'd help her with her uncle and that I'd be waiting outside for her, I stormed away, leaving her to talk to Nik and cool off my temper. The only sense of satisfaction I had was being able to kick out Genevieve, who had seemed to think better than to stick around.
"Your dad is a real pain in my ass, little one. I seriously hope you take more after your mother." Rubbing my belly, I waited for Camille as I promised, and once she had joined me in the courtyard, we started to make our way back to St. Anne's Church as she told me all about her uncle's symptoms, as well as comparing them to what she knew had happened to her brother. Seriously, these witches were just total nutcases. First they hexed her brother and now her uncle, all because they had tried to keep the peace. And they think vampires are bad, they have enough sins amongst themselves to be guilty about, but I don't see them feeling any guilt. Especially towards those poor Harvest girls, who thankfully, were revived after the witches who hijacked their magic were killed. Three of them had come back, including Davina, who I had been checking in on since coming back.
She was not doing well, practically being shunned within her own community and bullied by the other Harvest girls since her access to magic had been weakened because the ancestors were angry with her. I have no idea how that girl is still standing, she had some real guts to face one day after the next. "So, do you think there's a chance to save him?"
"Hm? Oh right. Well, I'm not entirely sure. The only thing I can think of is a druid ritual to purge evil and darkness from a person or object. It's a really tough job, and more often than not the people died halfway through because it's so taxing. It involves literally ripping the darkness out of them, and if it has taken a deep hold, then it's the same as ripping out your own heart, in a way. I don't want to do that unless there is no other choice, because with how fast the hex is accelerating, your uncle wouldn't survive." I explained to Camille as we reached the church, though I had to rest a few times in climbing the stairs to the attic where we found her uncle shackling his ankles in order to restrain himself.
"Is that really necessary?" Striding forwards with disbelief at how far her uncle was going, I stood back as I could already feel the magic perforating the air around the priest from the root of the hex, and it was enough to make me feel extremely nauseous and instinctively want to keep the little one away from it.
"The sickness, it's…it's overtaking my inclination to forgive, replacing it with one thought that I could barely contain at the summit. Kill every last one of them." Father Kieran seemed to be feverish, and as I reached out tentatively with my magic to analyse his condition, I realised that it was in fact, far too late for him. There was nothing I could do for him now. Sometimes in magic, there were things which were inevitable and definite. Things that could not be undone or broken by a mere snap of my fingers, and this was one of those moments. "Who's your friend?"
"This is Ophelia. She's something called a druid, which is apparently something different to a witch." Camille introduced me so I stepped closer and tried to appear confident as I greeted the priest.
"My magic comes from nature, so it's different from witch magic and also potentially a lot stronger. I don't know if I can cure you, but I'm going to do what I can to help. At the very least, I might be able to slow the symptoms down and take away your urge to kill." Nodding her head in agreement, Camille took her uncle's hand in order to console him and offer him reassurance that she wasn't going to give up.
"We'll figure it out."
"I tried to figure it out with Sean, but I was focused too much on that instead of trying to stop him, and I'm not…I'm not gonna let that happen to me." Now turning fully towards Camille, Kieran began to implore her with seriousness as I began to sense the darkness pulsate around him, growing deeper as it started to take hold. "You're an O'Connell. They are going to ask you to take my place at the table. Don't. Just leave. Just start over."
"I'm not going anywhere as long as there's still a chance." Murmuring softly, I began to chant as a means to attempt to counteract the effects of the dark magic whilst both Camille and her uncle remained utterly oblivious.
"How many times do I have to tell you I can't be fixed?"
"And how many times do I have to tell you I will not stop trying?"
"That is just stubbornness, like…like when you were a little girl. You always had to be right. You…you….you never listened. Just that thick head of yours. I prayed for you, and I got no answer. There is only blackness. There is only death. There's mine, and yours." Without warning Kieran lunged for Camille with a vicious hiss which made her shriek and fall backwards in an attempt to get beyond reach. My chanting wasn't working, so as Kieran grasped hold of Camille's leg in order to drag her back I sliced out my hand in order to break the connection then used magic to simultaneously drag Camille out of reach and knock out her uncle, sending him into a deep sleep so that he was not a threat to himself or anyone around him.
"Thanks." Shaking and clearly shocked by the incident, Camille hastened to stagger to her feet and dust herself off. "Is he…is he…?"
"He's just unconscious. I think it'll be best if we leave him to sleep for now. So long as he's like that, he can't go on a murderous rampage. I'll also place a boundary spell on the attic here to make sure that he can't get out, even if he does wake up and get free of those chains. It's what's best." Agreeing to go with my suggestions, Camille lingered, as if wanting to move towards her uncle so I assured her that it was safe to do so, and even moved across the attic with her to prove that it was completely safe. I levitated the body and moved the bed that was up here closer, placing Father Kieran onto it so that at the very least, he would be comfortable.
"Is there really no other way you can think of to save him?"
"In magic, both witch and druid magic, there are some aspects of it which are conclusive. That hex he's got, is one of them. Magic can't heal or cure everything, as much as I wish it did. I don't know of any magic that can help, but there may be an object somewhere in the world that can counteract it. If there is, I'll try and find it. Until then, make sure no one gets too close to him, just in case he does wake up. He'll be feeling pretty murderous when he comes around." At that point, Camille started to cry. Startled and soon floundering, I tried to comfort her but I wasn't the best at that sort of thing, so I only managed to stammer out some muddled words of reassurance and pat her on the back, but my floundering seemed to amuse her because she then laughed.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shock you by crying, it's just you're the first person to actually try and help me at all since this happened to my uncle. Everyone else is so wrapped up in their own business, it's like no one else cares whether he lives or dies." She soon had herself back under control, I think the crying helped relieve some of her stress, so I suggested that we go for a drink and talk about it, get to know each other a little better too and make ourselves into allies considering everyone else seemed to be forming their own alliances.
"Non-alcoholic for me though, obviously. If Nik doesn't kill me for having a real drink, then Hayley certainly will." Giving me a refreshingly bright smile, Camille agreed without hesitation, and after checking one last time to ensure that her uncle would be comfortable, brought me to Rousseau's in order to have that drink and a long talk. I found Camille to be a bright, intelligent, witty, down to earth, solid kind of woman. She knew her stuff, and I liked the fact that she didn't take crap from anyone. I could appreciate someone like her sticking to her guns despite having no power of her own in a viper's nest full of supernatural and overpowered people. I could respect that. We became good friends after several hours of talking and drinking – on her part, that is – until my cell started to blow up with calls and texts from Nik demanding to know where I was since I had disappeared for so long.
Ugh, he could be so clingy sometimes. It was not an attractive trait. Still, I decided that it was better to go and placate him before he literally started tearing the town apart in order to find me, and left Cami with a promise that I would keep searching for a way to cure her uncle. Although I knew there was no hope, I didn't want to let on to Cami just yet and instead, focused on finding a way to at least make her uncle more comfortable, putting together the ingredients to make him an amulet to combat the dark magic, but even then I wasn't sure it would be enough. This kind of hex would accelerate and fight against any resistance in order to break through to its host, so I ensured to make the amulet as powerful as I could before having it sent over. I'd walked enough for today, so I was glad to finally put my feet up again and even take a nap before waking up hungry.
It felt so mundane this way of living, all I could really do was eat and sleep, and often under the watchful eye of one parent or the other, or in this instance, Elijah. The hovering really ticked me off sometimes. "Should you really be doing that?" Elijah questioned me as I stood on top of a chair whilst trying to dust the chandelier in my room.
"Elijah, I know you worry with the best intentions, but if I don't do something productive them I'm pretty sure I'm going to go out of my mind." I warned him, stretching as far as I could go before the chair then wobbled slightly. It was only a minute movement, but Elijah was beside me in a moment with his hands at my waist in order to steady me, and I knew then that he would not allow me to continue dusting so I resigned myself to stepping down.
"If that is the case, then why not begin a new art project? Your paintings are coming along wonderfully, perhaps you should try sculpture next."
"I've already maxed out my imagination and creativity quota for the day. I just want something to do that doesn't require me to sit or stand in the same place for hours at a time. If this is really what it's like to be pregnant then I am never having children of my own." I complained with a childish pout, making Elijah smile affectionately to me as he naturally held my hand aloft in order to help me sit down for a moment before going to put up my feet and rub my ankles in order to help me relax as I was more than a little crotchety. "Though this part isn't so bad."
"Perhaps then you can help me, if you are searching for an occupation. It appears that the tensions between the factions remain heavily stained and despite my best efforts, peace is not a viable option with the way things are. So, in an effort to broker more amiable alliances between the different factions, we shall be hosting a soiree here tomorrow night. If you like, you may help with the arrangements." Immediately interested and grateful for something to do, I almost kissed Elijah I was so happy. I threw myself into helping create a party that even Caroline Forbes would envy, taking more than one leaf out of her book as I ensured that everything would impress each and every one of the different factions.
I also took precautions to ensure that there would be no unpleasantness or bloodshed that night by marking the courtyard with a Celtic peace symbol and infused it with magic, so that anyone who entered this household did so in the name of amity, and therefore could not commit any violence or aggression. Elijah agreed it was a good idea since this entire party was to help create better relations between the factions, so after finishing my spells and sorcery, I returned my focus to the arrangements. Seeing as money was no object, I went all out, though I wasn't exactly sure how to handle the vampire buffet. Everyone else was easy, but considering the typical vampire pallet consisted of blood, I wasn't sure how to address that.
There was no way I felt comfortable having the waiters and waitresses just go around offering their wrists to anyone, and that kind of image wouldn't necessarily hit off with the other guests present so after discussing it with Elijah, we came up with a solution. We had people donate blood as well as getting some from the blood bank, and had a designated area where any vampire could pick up a fancy glass of blood and drink that way. At least it would look like wine, making it seem classier. Elijah then compelled two waiters to deal with the vampire table, turning away any guests who might accidentally mistake the deep red liquid for wine, whilst I also placed protection marks on each of the staff to ensure that they couldn't be touched by anyone seeking something a little more…fresh.
I'll admit, it was pretty fun organising everything, and better still when Elijah arranged for me to choose a dress to wear by having some high end brands being brought straight to my room. I went for something long and light so that it fell softly against my baby bump and gathered at my ribs to make it perfectly comfortable. The light green fabric suited my complexion and after I was dressed and had even managed to style and tame my hair into peerless waves, I felt more like a real woman than I had done in the past couple of months of just being pregnant. In this dress, I could almost feel like a princess, though the high heels were an absolute no go, so I went with simple flats in order to maximise my comfort levels and once I was finally ready, I set out bravely into the throng of tense, angry and rather dangerous guests.