My Soul to Keep
Chapter 12: Sanctuary
Beta: PrincessOfSilence
Disclaimer: I own nothing of The Originals. I only own my story and my characters.
"You look terrible." Cassie remarked as Rebekah descended the staircase.
In truth, she did look awful and she felt it too. Time had begun to take its toll on her and being locked up in the witchy looney bin wasn't helping. Herdreams were plagued of Audrey, whom she hadn't seen since the night the Kindred caught them in the locked room upstairs. She was worried they'd killed her for killing one of their own or at least punished her, but when Rebekah approached them to ask, she was met with blank stares with slightly smirking lips.
"Yeah, well, I didn't sleep well last night." Rebekah replied and rubbed her tired eyes.
"It doesn't help that you got caught out past curfew...again."
"A simple misunderstanding." She sighed "Kindred witches like to be in charge. I don't much care for taking orders. Besides, I was looking for Audrey."
"She's been gone for a few days. I doubt the Kindred will tell you where she went." She said. "She killed a Kindred."
"I bloody know what she did, but we made a promise that we'd all be getting out of here and I'm not leaving without her." Rebekah then produced a ripe red apple from inside her sweater pocket and offered it to Cassie. "Are you with me?"
The girl's eyes widened and she gave a quick look around to make sure they weren't being watched. "Where did you get that?!"
"I nicked it from the pantry!"
"But the Kindred—"
"Did you miss the part where I said I don't care about rules?" Rebekah extended the apple to her. "Take the apple."
"You're out of your mind." Cassie turned on her heel and stormed away, but Rebekah was hot on her toes. She'd made sure to store the apple once they entered the living room where the other witches were entertaining themselves.
"I'm a free spirit. Which is why I don't intend to spend another bloody night trapped in this dungeon."
The statement made Cassie freeze and whip around, lowering her voice to a whisper. "What are you talking about?"
"You know that any spell can be broken with enough power. All we need is to channel something strong." Rebekah glanced over her shoulder and once she saw no Kindred were around and the other witches were too preoccupied, she continued.
"Audrey and I went into the room with the locked door. There's something in there. Someone. I'm not sure who she is, or why she's here, and I don't care. The point is, she's strong. I mean, I didn't even know what witch power felt like, and still, I could sense it coming out of that room in waves. You and I can find Audrey and channel her and bust free of this loony bin."
Rebekah held out the apple a third time for Cassie to take and this time she did with a small smile. She hid it in her own sweater and the pair shared a knowing look. A soft giggle made Rebekah turn to see a young blonde haired woman sitting right in front of the television set. Her legs were crossed and she rocked back and forth as she watched the animations on the screen with childlike wonderment.
"Who's the new girl at the telly?" Rebekah asked.
"One more bonkers witch." Cassie replied. "Got dumped here in the middle of the night."
Cassie took her leave, going to find a quiet corner where she could eat her apple in peace away from prying eyes, but Rebekah was still intrigued by the new witch who was now reaching out to brush her frail hands against the screen. Rebekah sat beside her, her gaze passing between the witch and the TV.
"Anything good on?" Rebekah asked her.
"These paintings can move!" The girl smiled widely and kept her eyes glued to the screen. "They depict a rodent breaking the bones of a rather tenacious feline."
Rebekah smiled with her. "Those are just cartoons."
The girl laughed when the mouse on the television yanked at the cat's tail and continued to not pay Rebekah any mind. Rebekah, however, was intrigued by her. Seeing this girl was awakening something in her mind, a phantom of a memory she was never present for, but perhaps it was a dream from far away.
"Do I know you from somewhere?" Rebekah's question didn't warrant a response as the girl continued to watch the TV. After a few moments, Rebekah shrugged and pursed her lips.
"I guess not." She then pulled another apple out of her sweater and handed it to the girl with a smile. "Keep up your strength, love, and enjoy your cartoons."
Rebekah stood and shoved her hands in her pockets. The energy in the room was so bleak and weary that it drained her and she was only in a host witch's body. She couldn't imagine how the other women in the house felt having been witches all their lives. Their power, their reason for living...just gone. As much as she wanted to get out on her own, she wanted to also free the witches from their prison.
"No apple for me?" A somber voice made Rebekah turn to look at the figure that was seated on the couch. They were dressed in black with a hood over their head, shrouding their face in shadow. Their hands rested comfortably in between their spread knees and were also just as out of sight. It was no mystery who this person was, but Rebekah was so shocked she could hardly believe it.
"Audrey?" Her voice was a whisper now as she drew closer to sit on the couch beside her.
"The one and only." She quipped, still keeping her head down. Rebekah, growing frustrated with the hood, moved to pull it back, but the harsh grip of Audrey's scarred hand around her wrist made her stop.
"Don't." It was firm and unkind how she spoke, but Rebekah was frozen by the amount of scarring on Audrey's hand.
"Audrey, what did they do to you?"
"Hey!" A Kindred approached the pair from behind the couch and peered down at Audrey more than Rebekah. Her hand grasped the back of Audrey's black hood and she yanked it back off her head, revealing what she'd been hiding from Rebekah.
A gasp left Rebekah's lips to see that the smooth raven locks of Audrey's hair was gone. They had been replaced by the skin of her scalp that was mangled with scars just like her hand. The raised skin had no rhyme or reason, they made their own patterns along her scalp and trailed all of the way down to the back of her neck and to under the sweatshirt that looked to hide more scars. They seemed fresh, some of them still an angry red and inflamed while others had already healed to a soft pink. Audrey still kept her head down in shame while the Kindred above her smirked.
"No hoods in here. Let them see you." She sneered before walking away. Once Rebekah recovered from her shock, she uprooted herself from the couch and shouted at the back of the Kindred.
"What the hell did you lot do to her?!"
The Kindred slowly turned and now the entire room had focused their attention on Rebekah's outburst and Audrey's presence. The other witches remained quiet and most went back to their games in an effort to make themselves unseen should the Kindred take their anger out on the entire room. When the Kindred didn't reply, Rebekah posed her question again.
"I asked you a bloody question and you better answer me!"
"Punishment." The Kindred answered. "For killing our own."
Rebekah could feel the wind leave her chest as her watering eyes fell to Audrey. This is what they'd been doing while she was hidden away, scarring her, disfiguring her, breaking her. She shuddered to think that her entire body was roped with pink raised scars produced from some kind of chemical or even dark magic. Damage like this was irreversible; the Kindred knew that. They wanted her to remember that she was below them.
"You lot are sick!" Rebekah shouted at the Kindred woman.
"Would you like to join her?" She hissed, her eyes filled with hatred and malice. Her grey gaze looked to Audrey and she watched her entire body flinch as she added, "I hear the acid's lovely."
Rebekah thought she might explode. The anger she felt was at an all time high, but she kept her lips buttoned tightly, knowing if she spoke out she'd join Audrey's fate. The Kindred smirked knowingly, seeing her threat had quieted her inferior and she turned to continue to roam around the house when she something pelt her in the back. She whipped around, eyes ablaze at the witches in the room and they cowered away from her. At her feet sat a now bruised apple. She plucked it off the floor and squeezed it in her hand. The juices ran down her wrist and Rebekah gulped, knowing she had really done it now.
"Rebekah..." Audrey choked out.
"Where did you get this?" The Kindred gritted her teeth.
Suddenly, two orderlies grabbed Rebekah from behind and slammed her face down on a table where two witches had been playing a game. They quickly vacated the area and hid in the corner of the room. The blonde Kindred took a fire-poker from beside the fireplace while the two wrestled Rebekah's arm out to rest against the table. The young blonde whom Rebekah offered the apple to had now lost interest in the TV and was reaching inside her sweater to chuck the apple at them, but she was stopped by a scarred hand at her wrist.
"Stop. Unless you want to end up like me. Stop." Audrey's face was screwed up with guilt as she heard the blonde Kindred smashing the poker against Rebekah's hand and wrist.
"She helped me." Her big eyes seemed partially vacant as she spoke. "They hurt you."
"They'll kill you." She growled. Rebekah's screams made everyone shudder. The girl was now looking at Audrey up close, seeing the damage that had been done to her. She swallowed the lump in her throat and any other words she'd planned to say.
"Pretty as a picture, aren't I?" Audrey's question made the girl shake in her hold. Rebekah's screams finally stopped and the Kindred member and orderlies dropped her to the floor before leaving in silence. Audrey let go of the girl and moved to help Rebekah who was sobbing in pain and cradling her wrist.
"It's okay. You're alright." She helped her off the floor and walked her to her room. The girl stood motionless and watched the two women leave while Cassie hung her head low.
It was the frantic shout of his name that awoke Marcel from his magic induced sleep. Groggy eyes opened, revealing a watery scene before him. Giuliana was tied to a chair opposite him, the source of the voice spurring him awake. He too was tied to a chair with vervain soaked ropes that he tried to wriggle out of, but was greeted by Finn's hand on his shoulder.
"You can't free yourself. Those ropes have been soaked in vervain." Finn twirled a vervain flower in his hands and both vampires stilled as he walked between them.
"But, I did lessen the spell that made you both hungry." He brought the flower in front of his nose and took a few sniffs before passing his glance to each of them. "Affording us an opportunity for some civilized discourse."
"Do you always tie people up for some civilized discourse?" Giuliana snapped, her eyes gleaming daggers in Finn's direction. The warlock then moved to stand in front of her chair, a moment of lingering silence hung in the air when he suddenly wrenched a hand in her hair to hold her in place. Giuliana yelped at the stinging pain in her scalp, but was sooner shrieking once she felt the skin on her cheek begin to burn.
Finn had pressed the vervain flower harder against her sizzling skin and tightened the grip on her hair to keep her from wriggling away. The skin split, revealing raw and tender layers beneath and blood trickled down her chin. Tears pricked in the corners of her eyes as she continued to scream.
"Hey! Stop!" Marcel's booming voice cut through the air and to his surprise, Finn released Giuliana and took the flower with him. The female doubled over as much as she could from her bounds and seethed at him.
"You sick bastard!" Blood mixed with her words. Finn gripped a handkerchief from inside his jacket and wiped her blood from his hands.
"Now, we can either enjoy our time together, or it can be very painful. The choice is yours." His darkened gaze made her swallow her tense reply and she submitted, leaning back in her chair and sharing a troubled gaze with Marcel. Finn smirked at the silent pair and took the opportunity to pull a chair and set it in between them, so he could see them both and more importantly they could see one another.
"Let's start with our mutual friend—Camille. The topic that consumed the majority of our time together was her troubled friendship with Niklaus. He confided in her, but she knew nothing that I could use against him." Finn made himself comfortable and as he spoke he would glance between the pair, looking for any signs of evidence he could use during his interrogation. "And yet, recently, I had the occasion to speak with my brother and I realized that he has a secret. One that he is desperate to protect. And, I think that secret is a weakness, so...tell me, Marcel—what is it?"
When Finn's eyes were on Marcel, Giuliana swallowed the lump in her throat. Finn was hot on the trail of finding out about Hope. It made her nauseous and uneasy. While Marcel knew nothing about Hope, she knew that she would soon be in the hot seat and would be forced to lie, but Finn was no ordinary man. He could easily use his powers to manipulate her mind to find all the information he wanted and that was what frightened her the most.
"You really think that he would trust me with anything that can be used against him?" Marcel asked Finn.
"You're Klaus' ally, and I think you know something." Finn said.
"You can think whatever you want, as long as you don't mind knowing that you are a chump." Annoyed with Marcel's answer, Finn rubbed his index and thumb together and blew on them, causing Marcel's body to seize up. Muscles clenched and spasmed, moving on their own accord while gasps and pained cries left Marcel's lips.
"Finn, leave him alone!" Giuliana begged, wriggling in her bonds. Finn let Marcel wallow in pain for a few moments more before stopping his assault. He leaned in close to Marcel who was still struggling to breathe.
"Tell. Me. What. You. Know."
Marcel gasped out his reply. "I'll tell you what I remember."
This peeked Finn's interest and he leaned forward in his chair. Giuliana sat wide-eyed, hoping Marcel wouldn't say anything to get himself hurt, or worse, killed. While she waited for Marcel to speak, she tried her hardest to push all thoughts of Klaus' baby girl out of her head. The quicker she tucked those memories away, she hoped Finn would not be able to uncover them.
"Two centuries back, I was just a kid looking through the compound. I found a coffin." Marcel explained and Finn frowned at the story he was telling. "Klaus catches me, and he says, "That's my brother Finn. We keep him like that because he is such a bore."
Realizing he duped Finn into listening to him, Marcel chuckled weakly in his chair. Giuliana's heart dropped down into her stomach as she watched Finn blow on his fingers again, sending Marcel into another fit of convulsions. Finn shared a glance with Giuliana who remained silent this time before he got up and left the pair on their own.
"I want to kill them." Rebekah hissed once she and Audrey were in the confines of their own room. "I want to kill them all!"
"Keep your voice down, will you?" Audrey yanked the bandage around Rebekah's hand tighter, causing her to yelp out.
"That hurt!"
"Next time, don't throw an apple at the people who are holding you captive."
Rebekah watched Audrey tie the bandage and winced slightly. "I couldn't help it. Look what they did to you."
"I don't have to look, Rebekah. I was there." She looked down at her hands in pure disgust. Audrey felt as though she might vomit and the color drained from her face. How could she even think of going back to the safe house or to the compound? Or out in public? People would see her disfigured body and broken soul. It would be on display like a mannequin in a storefront window.
"We'll find a witch to fix this." She promised. "For now, we have to worry about getting out of here."
Footsteps down the hall made them stop talking until they realized it was the young blonde girl from downstairs. She stood in the doorway, a nervous look on her face and she only stepped in after Rebekah nodded to her. Audrey quickly placed her hood back onto her head, casting her face in dark shadows.
"Hello."
Both girls kept to themselves and Audrey tied the bandage in a neat knot, tucking the rest of the wrapping underneath so it wouldn't snag on anything. She could feel the girl's eyes on her, sad and prodding. When Audrey met her gaze, the girl surprisingly kept it and the witch swore she could see tears welling in her eyes. Rebekah stood from the side of the bed while Audrey put the materials back in a box that was buried in the back of a drawer somewhere.
"Is it still beautiful?" The girl's question made Rebekah looked at her confusedly. "New Orleans. I loved it so much the last time I saw it."
"New Orleans will remain a beauty long after we are bones beneath its clay. For now, you've got to go back to your room. We've got things to do." Rebekah busied herself about the room, but the smaller blonde remained in her spot.
"Why are you both here? In this place." The wonderment in her eyes, yet filled with magic also had a glimmer of sadness as if knowing their replies would be grim ones.
Audrey gestured to Rebekah. "It's likely her mother did it. I'm sure she wasn't happy I was poisoning the mind of her beloved son."
"I was trying to help my brothers. My con-artist of a blood relation, Kol, betrayed me. He got me stuck in here." Rebekah could feel her cheeks beginning to warm. "Oh, when I get a hold of him."
The blonde's eyebrows furrowed. "Why do you fight with your own family? You should stand beside them."
"It's..." Rebekah looked to the smaller girl across from her. She knew she wouldn't even be able to comprehend half of the drama that had gone on between the Mikaelsons.
"Complicated." She finished, not wanting to divulge anymore of her family's secrets. "A thousand years complicated."
Rebekah began to gather her own things while Audrey did the same. They were getting out of here tonight and their minds were made up. No Kindreds would stand in the way of their freedom and hopefully their daring acts would inspire the other witches to do the same. Rebekah slung a small pack on her back and moved to leave the room, but when she reached the doorframe, she stopped and let out a sigh before heading back to the small blonde who still had not moved.
"Listen, I think I found a way out of this hell hole. If you want to come with, meet us at the door in twenty minutes. Either way, wish me luck." With that, Rebekah was gone to find Cassie which left Audrey and the nameless blonde in the room with a heavy silence between them. Audrey tried to pay her no mind and continued to gather what things they would need for their "breaking and exiting."
"Are you in pain?"
The question was just as meek as it would sound coming from a girl with no name. For a second, Audrey halted her motions and the girl saw her shoulders rise as if she was going to speak, but quickly fall and her hands began to work again. Perhaps she wondered if she ignored her, the girl would go away, but yet she remained as silent as a mouse. Audrey didn't want to answer her, maybe if she didn't, she'd forget how disfigured she was. She was in pain, but not physically. She'd be mentally scarred from the prodding hands of the Kindred and the feel of her skin melting from her bones. Not satisfied with Audrey's silence, the girl stepped forward to stand behind the witch and took matters into her own hands.
Literally.
In one quick motion, her hands gently pressed to her scarred ones and her mind was assaulted with visions that made her stomach churn. Wailing screams, boiling blood, peeling skin, and hot tears hit her like a freight train. She could smell Audrey's charing skin and the harsh chemicals used to inflict further damage. She watched Audrey fight back only to get pounded down into the floorboards and be inflicted with more magic and pain.
The girl then quickly found herself pinned to the wall with the feel of rough skin against her throat. Audrey had fought back and in her rush of motions, cast her hood off her head. The girl struggled, but Audrey held her so tightly to the wall she swore she could hear the wood groaning beneath her frail body. Tears stung the witch's eyes, threatening to spill, but she would never let anyone see how broken she was.
"Well, I guess you answered your own question, didn't you?" Audrey seethed through gnashed teeth.
"I'm...I'm sorry." The girl was blubbering now, her own sadness taking a second hold on her neck.
"Did you like what you saw?"
The girl shook her head and waited for Audrey to strike her or tighten her grip, but nothing came. Instead, Audrey let her go and turned her back on the girl. She stormed from the room, leaving the girl in a pile of tears. Sadness emanated from her entire body, wreaking havoc on her soul as it ripped her apart from the inside. It was in that moment she realized the witches in the house were broken and made to bend to the will of the Kindreds. Audrey was no different and she would be too if she was to go with Rebekah. She knew those two girls would meet their ends trying to escape; it was the same for the girls that all came before them. She hugged her knees to her chest and rocked herself back and forth as she cried.
"I'm convinced. You know nothing." Finn gathered and Marcel weakly jerked out of the grip the witch had on his head. Giuliana let out a sigh of relief herself seeing Finn ease up on Marcel. He tortured him for hours, asking what secrets of the Mikaelsons he knew, but Marcel was useless; just as Klaus compelled him to be. Giuliana knew Finn was very powerful, but she wasn't exactly sure where compulsion and witchcraft ranked in a battle.
Marcel's head fell forward, too weak to exert anymore force than he needed to and he groaned quietly. His body worked to heal itself, the muscles finally finding a state of comfort to ease into while Finn had stopped his assaults. Giuliana tried desperately to meet his eyes, but the vampire in front of her was moving in and out of consciousness.
"Which means, whatever Klaus is keeping secret is so secret, he won't even share it with you." Finn turned to face Giuliana with a devious smile painting his lips. He took up her chin in his hand, angling her green eyes to meet his dark and unfriendly ones.
"Perhaps there are others that can be of use to me."
"You want dirty Mikaelson secrets? You're barking up the wrong tree." She scoffed. "Audrey is Klaus' right hand. If anyone were to know of any skeletons in the Mikaelson closet, she'd be the one to ask."
Finn chuckled mischievously. "See, I would ask Ms. Montgomery, but she seems to be missing along with Rebekah."
Out of the corner of her eye, Giuliana watched an exhausted Marcel try to raise his head at the mention of Rebekah's name. This did work to their advantage since both Rebekah and Audrey knew very much about Hope, so it was helpful to have them both in the same place, however it was two people that were powerful assets in the fight against Finn and Esther.
"So, I figured I'd go with the next best thing." Giuliana's eyes snapped back up to Finn. "What secrets could Elijah's little vampire be keeping?"
"You think that just because I've been close with your family that they'd just tell me everything?" She posed.
"No, but I understand poor noble Elijah has been more vulnerable than usual as of late." The sarcasm in Finn's voice, made Giuliana sour.
"Yeah, all because of your whack job of a mother—" Her insults melted into fits of groans as Finn was now inflicting the same pain on her as he did Marcel. She seized erratically while he held her head still.
"My mother's methods are unorthodox, I'll admit," He stopped his magic and Giuliana's body went limp in the chair. "But they get the job done."
"I don't know anything." She panted and wrestled her head from Finn's grasp. "And even if I did, I would rather be left out in the sun than tell you!"
Finn's anger was getting the best of him and he moved to cause more damage to the smart-mouthed vampire, but he froze hearing the door to the shop open. All three eyes looked toward the door and all were shocked and slightly surprised to see Kol entering and quietly closing the door behind him.
"Brother." He greeted Finn amicably.
Finn was quick to wipe the astonishment from his face. "What are you doing here, Kol?"
"I heard a rumor that you had taken Marcel prisoner, and it just so happens that I owe him." Within seconds, he produced a knife from inside his jacket and stabbed Marcel through his thigh. The vampire yelped and glared at Kol.
"Son of a—I am going to kill the both of you!" Marcel hissed.
Finn then flicked his wrist and Giuliana fought the urge to vomit hearing Marcel's neck neck loudly before falling silent in his chair. Kol took the knife back, wiping the blood on Marcel's pant leg and admiring the sharpness of the blade all the while peering at Giuliana.
"You have some nerve coming here." Finn's outburst made Kol's gaze snap up. "All good grace with me was lost the moment you sided with our wretched siblings."
Kol gave a shrug. "You know me, Finn. I take side with whoever I think is going to win. And, to be honest, well, you and Mum were acting a bit daft, weren't you? But, I heard about how you turned Dad into your own personal black magic battery pack, and I thought, "Wow, that's cold." But, it's smart."
"And now, I can see which way the wind is blowing, and after the way the three of them treated us, I will be happy to see the lot of them get what's coming." Kol added with a wry grin.
Finn rolled his eyes and closed his hand into a tight fist. Kol's body bowed and he roared in pain as an infliction spell brought him to his knees. After a few more seconds, Finn stopped the spell, leaving a panting and groaning Kol on the ground.
"What was that for?!"
"For being a duplicitous weasel." Finn growled.
"I have proved myself, Finn. More than you have!" Kol wavered to stand on his feet. "I'm the one who put Rebekah in another body, and whilst Klaus is out there looking for his dear little sister, I was forging a dagger that would put him to sleep for centuries!"
"I don't want to put him to sleep! I want him dead." Finn countered.
"Yes, but you're gonna need allies. And I've got 'em. Davina Claire, she's a Harvest girl. I've got her wrapped around my little finger, I have!" He was grinning now and Giuliana watched the pair of brothers move closer to one another. So, Kol was the one who sent Rebekah away. Perhaps he was responsible for Audrey disappearance too and Esther was just a scapegoat.
"With her on our side, there is nothing that will stand in our way." Kol's last thought made Giuliana's skin crawl.
"Finn's right." Her voice made the men turn to face her. "You are a weasel. You're not reliable at all. How could anyone trust you?"
Anger flashed across Kol's face and he stomped over to her, brandishing his knife again. "How would you like to try speaking without vocal chords?"
"Give it your best shot." She gritted through her teeth and watched as Kol raised the knife to rest just where her vocal folds were nestled beneath her olive skin. All the while she held his gaze, daring him to make his move, but she suddenly saw something that she didn't expect.
He hesitated.
"Brother, let's not be too rash." At the sound of his brother's voice, Kol did step away, making Giuliana question as to why he'd done it so quickly and hesitated to slice her open earlier. However she was now faced with a new threat.
"I'm not entirely finished with her yet." Finn Mikaelson blew on his fingers once more and instead of feeling excruciating pain, Giuliana was lulled into a deep sleep. She tried to fight it, knowing in this state her mind would be like an open book for Finn, but the spell pulled her below the dark surface and she lost consciousness.
Nighttime had fallen and both Rebekah and Audrey were silently, yet nervously pacing the upstairs hallway. Cassie hadn't come to meet them. While Audrey was all for leaving Cassie, reasoning that she was whiny and would slow them down, Rebekah was still holding out that she'd join them in an effort to escape the asylum. Audrey remained on look out duty while Rebekah tiptoed down the hall to Cassie's room. She quietly opened the door and to her dismay, she found Cassie's bed empty.
Audrey gnashed her teeth at Rebekah's incessant need to help everyone as she watched her back move down the hall. She wanted out of this place and trued to reason with Rebekah that Cassie never seemed happy about their plan to leave in the first place. Who the hell would want to stay in this god awful place, she thought, as her eyes scanned the dark hallway. Her body then suddenly jumped when she heard a creak coming from behind her. She whipped around, but saw nothing there. She shivered and prayed this plan would work, growing tired of things in the house that went bump in the night.
"Hey," a hushed whisper from behind her made her jump again and she was greeted by Rebekah.
"Don't scare me like that." Audrey hissed quietly.
"Sorry, but Cassie isn't in her room."
"Told you she bailed."
"What were you doing going up there?" She gestured to the door that was ajar.
"I wasn't. It opened on its own." The witch replied. They shared an odd look and despite every logical voice telling them to forgo the open door, they still found themselves navigating the stairs to the room with the coffin.
Once inside the room they were greeted with an unwelcoming sight. The blonde Kindred that was had beaten Rebekah's hand earlier was on the floor with blood coming out of her ears, eyes, nose, and mouth. Her body lay cold and unmoving and the girls carefully tip-toed around her.
"What the hell happened?" Rebekah wondered.
"As much as I would like to take credit for this; I didn't do it." Audrey admitted and knelt down beside the body. "Whoever did do it, I hope they made it hurt."
"Uhm, Audrey?" She looked over her shoulder to see Rebekah leaning over the coffin with terror in her eyes. The lid of the coffin was spattered with blood and was pushed slightly to the side. Not to mention the girl that they'd saw previously was gone.
"Well, looks like we found our murderer." Audrey gathered.
There was a movement by the door and both girls turned to see Cassie enter the room. Rebekah gleefully went to meet her, but stopped midway seeing two long cuts starting from under her eyes and running diagonally down her face. A similar mark the other Kindreds had on their faces.
"Cassie..." Rebekah blanched.
"I'm sorry, Rebekah and Audrey, but you didn't leave me much choice. I told you there's no escape. I had to turn to the only people I knew I could trust." Even her voice didn't sound like it belonged to her. As if on cue, a group of Kindred entered the room and spread themselves around the perimeter. Rebekah and Audrey took notice of the canes and fireplace pokers that rested comfortably in their grips. Audrey walked around the coffin to stand beside Rebekah, her icy gaze on every Kindred.
"And I told them that they had to deal with you. My only regret is that I didn't stop you before you killed one of our own!" Cassie gestured to the body on the floor and Rebekah was clenching her fists at her sides.
"And now, you have to be punished."
"No! What? No! We didn't kill her!" Rebekah tried to explain. "But, to be fair, I'm not going to miss the ugly cow!"
"You sold us out!" Audrey growled and held up her hands, charging her magic in her palms. "I can't wait to kill all of you."
The girls split up, Rebekah throwing elbows at the Kindred near her while Audrey let her magic cook the two in front of her from the inside. One Kindred caught Rebekah with a cane to the back of the head and just as the witch was about to deliver another blow, he was lifted off her and thrown into the wall with a sickening crack. Rebekah looked up to see the small blonde that she had invited to come with them in the doorway. All the Kindred froze and Audrey let the charred pair fall to the floor.
"You're all so mean. Like the mouse that tormented the cat in those cartoons." She looked between all of them and raised her hands in front of her. "I think you're the ones who need to be punished."
The Kindred all flew in different directions. Each one hit the wall and fell to the floor slumped and bent in unnatural ways. Rebekah and Audrey backed away, not knowing if this girl was going to hurt them, but she went for Cassie instead. Cassie rushed for the door, but it was slammed hard in her face. She banged her fists, but it was no use as the blonde closed in on her.
"The others were just ignorant bullies." The girl spoke and gently took Cassie's tearstained cheeks in her hands. "But you? You're a smart girl. Powerful. And yet, you still betrayed a friend."
Her eyes fell closed and Cassie began to scream in pain as blood started to pour from her eyes, ears and nose. The girls stepped even farther away; knowing they could meet the same fate as Cassie. When the girl was finished, she dropped Cassie's body to the floor and looked over her shoulder at Rebekah and Audrey.
"I despise traitors." She then moved to the pair in the corner, but Audrey quickly hid Rebekah behind her. The girl stopped in her tracks, slightly hurt that Audrey would think she meant any harm. She held up her hands in a civil gesture.
"Come with me."
Her statement did not give the girls much time to contemplate, so they followed her out of the room, down the stairs and into the foyer. Her hands telekinetically opened the front doors to the mansion and they stepped down off the porch for the first time in what seemed like decades. The fresh air nearly made Audrey dizzy and the ground beneath Rebekah's boots was a nice change from the old, creaking floors. Rebekah watched as the girl continued to walk to the iron gates which would be another barrier for them to break down, but this witch was harnessing power unlike anything she ever imagined.
"You're her." Rebekah moved to stand beside her now. "The powerful girl in the coffin. That's how you can do magic. But why didn't you just tell me?"
"I had only just woken from a century of sleep. I wanted to know you. See what you were really like. And you didn't disappoint me." The girl was smiling now; a complete transformation from the meek little mouse that first entered the recreation room.
"There's a spark in you, Rebekah. You're willful; also kind. You're not half as bad as our brothers."
Rebekah's gleeful grin faltered at the final word that was uttered. Even Audrey was standing with her mouth wide open.
"What did you say?"
The girl nodded knowingly. "You're right, you know. We met once before. I was so desperate to catch a glimpse of my family."
Audrey was suddenly hit with the vision of the little girl being taken from her mother that night. She could still feel the chill in the air and the snow crunching beneath her feet. The girl's screams were the worst part of it though; her vocal chords scratched together until her cries had died out, becoming hoarse after yelling for the comforting arms of her mother. Once the vision faded, Audrey could see the resemblance between the little girl and the very powerful witch before her. The nerves in her brain were firing faster than she could keep up. To catch a glimpse of her family? That must mean...
"Rebekah, you know who I am."
"The little girl in my nightmare. It really is you." Rebekah nodded in shock with fresh tears in her eyes at the sight of her long lost sister. "Freya."
Freya then turned back to the gate and gripped the thick bars within her tiny hands. Her mouth uttered a spell and the doll's head that was perched on the post spun around until it shattered into pieces. Audrey could feel within her bones that the boundary spell on the house had been broken as well as their chains. They were free and so were the other witches.
"I slept a hundred years, and now, finally, I'm free. Tell our brothers I'll be coming to see them soon, and I expect nothing less than their best behavior." Freya smirked at the pair and flicked her wrist, telekinetically ripping the gates right off their hinges and walking barefoot into the night.
"Klaus is not going to believe this." Audrey muttered.
"I...I'm not even sure I believe it." Rebekah gaped.
"How..." Finn mused with his hands on either side of Giuliana's head. "How could there be nothing?"
He'd poured through Giuliana's mind as though it were a file cabinet, fingers flicking through her memories and pushing some aside to make room for more, but he could find nothing of importance. He played through memories of her first meeting with the Mikaelsons, her eternal rest in Italy, her arrival in New Orleans and her untimely death in St. Ann's church. Nothing, not one piece of her memories stood out to him as anything that could be used against Klaus.
"Maybe you're not looking hard enough, brother." Kol suggested and Finn gave a roll of his eyes.
"As if you could do a better job."
Kol shrugged and peered over his brother's shoulder. "No harm in me having a go."
Despite Finn's better judgement, he moved aside and removed his hands from Giuliana's head. He really couldn't have much to lose and there really was no harm in having a second pair of eyes looking through her memories. Kol gleefully stepped forward and gently gripped either side of Giuliana's head. Like a cord being plugged into an outlet, the watery memories flowed through her brain and entered Kol's like electrical pulses in a current. He fished around, not really knowing what he was looking for to begin with, but was greeted with an array of pictures.
"Well, well, well." Kol clicked his teeth thoughtfully.
"What? What is it?" Finn asked.
"It seems our brother Elijah has become quite the beast in the sack ever since dear old mum scrambled his brain." He was grinning widely now. "Pretty Giuliana had her world rocked by our prim and proper brother."
"You disgust me." Finn scoffed.
"Who knew Elijah liked it rough?"
"That's enough." His brother grumbled and Kol removed his hands from the female vampire.
"You're no fun."
"You're right." Finn muttered. "I'm not because I still have not found what secret Klaus is keeping."
"Maybe the secret is, there is no secret."
"It can't be. That's just too easy."
"You're forgetting it's our brother. Quite the sly character Niklaus is." Kol rubbed his palms together. That's when over Kol's shoulder, Finn noticed a quick movement through the glass windows leading to the back area of the store. He'd kept the vampires in their catatonic state, however they were not free to move.
With a flick of his wrists, Finn's magic blew the windows off their panes and onto the pair that was scrambling to steal one of the unconscious vampires. A female shriek made Finn whirl around on his brother in anger. Davina Claire had been used against him and Kol was not going suffer the consequences for his betrayal. Deciding to let Davina and her friend go, Finn cast a spell to incapacitate Kol and send him crashing to the hardwood floor.
"I'll be dealing with you and your darling Davina later." He hissed down at Kol's unmoving body. From behind Finn, Marcel was slowly stirring. He let out a groan and swiveled his neck from side to side, low cracks emitted from the sore muscles and he had managed to prop himself up after a few moments.
"Good. You're awake." Finn held up his finger. "Now, just one more question."
Marcel nodded slowly, knowing his fight was over. Finn had gotten what he wanted. "Okay. Let my guys go free, and I'll tell you whatever it is you want to know."
"How selfless! But, we've already established that you don't know anything of any consequence." Finn chortled and brought himself closer to Marcel. "However, it's a common belief among the werewolves that you were, in fact, the last person to see Niklaus' child alive. You were in possession of the baby's corpse."
Marcel continued to glare at Finn, exhausted from his torture and unsure of where he was going with this line of offense.
"So, tell me. How exactly did the baby die?" The question should have been a simple one, but Marcel didn't answer him. Finn could see the gears moving in Marcel's brain, but there was nothing. And silence was the ideal answer that Finn needed to hear.
"Yeah, you don't remember? You don't remember because you were compelled to forget." Finn finished for him. "Why would Niklaus compel away the truth from the vampire he thinks of as his adopted son? What...besides a desire to protect his own daughter?"
The truth had been found out. Finn was now gloating that he'd singlehandedly figured out the Mikaelson secret to end all Mikaelson secrets. Klaus' daughter, the offspring of a hybrid and a werewolf was still very much alive and Klaus had manipulated multiple pawns in his game to keep that secret buried, but Marcel had unknowingly unearthed it.
"She's still alive. And now, you and your vampires are going to help me find her." He patted Marcel on the shoulder and turned himself to face Giuliana who was still unconscious. Finn caressed her cheek and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
"As for you, I have an entirely different job for you."
After a long day of trekking in the bayou, Klaus was not expecting to see such an unfamiliar face standing in the courtyard of the compound, but there she was. A warm smile, friendly eyes and dark curls greeted him gleefully and she nodded her head.
"Hello, Nik." Ever her voice was unfamiliar to him, but he'd recognize his own little sister anywhere.
"I don't suppose you imagined that "always and forever" would lead us to this?" She added with a chuckle and Klaus excitedly met her halfway on the grounds. He enveloped her in a tight hug and his smile grew even more feeling tinier hands wrap around him.
"Rebekah." He sighed thankfully and pulled back to look at her. Sure, his sister wasn't in her normal body, but that didn't matter. She was back; safe and sound.
"You absolutely will not believe the week I've had." She gave a melodious laugh, but it quickly faltered when Klaus asked her the question she didn't want to answer.
"Where is Audrey?"
Rebekah rocked on her heels and worried her bottom lip between her teeth. Her eyes then gestured she was in the living room area which was the room to the right of them. Klaus immediately tried to sidestep his sister, but she put herself in his way.
"Nik," She stopped him with her hands on his shoulders. He met her eyes and he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"There's something you should know."
Klaus opened the double doors to the living room area and was greeted by the flames from the fireplace and the slumped figure of someone sitting on the couch. They were dressed in all black, a hood covering its head and they didn't dare turn to meet his gaze. Klaus closed the doors behind him and slowly stalked over to the couch. Peering down at the figure in black, he maneuvered himself to sit on the ottoman across from her. In silence he watched her, his prying eyes try to get a better look at her, but even the glowing embers of the fire only gave him small glimpses into the shadow she created herself to hide behind.
Audrey kept her head down, but her eyes glanced at him from under her lids. Her heart ached; she missed him more than words could say, but she came back from that house a changed person. She could faintly hear Rebekah telling Klaus about what had happened in the Fauline Mansion, but she didn't think any kind of preparation could make him truly ready to see her in this state. Her watering eyes were then cast down at her hands which were grasped tightly together in her lap. How could she think he'd ever look at her the same way and love her the same way now that she was a broken and beaten soul?
Her answer was coming in the form of Klaus' hands reaching out and grasping the edges of the hood.
"No!" Her hands shot out and grasped his wrists, silently begging him to stop his motions from continuing any further.
"Audrey—"
"I don't want you to see me like this." Her reply was meant to be firm, but it was just as defeated as her soul. Klaus leaned in closer and despite her pleas, he slowly removed the hood from her head. Once the scarred expanse of her skin was exposed, her grip loosened and her hands fell back into her lap as she silently sobbed. Klaus' eyes widened, taking in every inch of her charred and mangled skin. Her raven hair was gone and was replaced with scars that roped across her head in nonsense shapes.
Klaus remained silent, hoping that this was a horrible nightmare to wake up from, but his emotions were all too real to him. Anger surged through his body in waves, soaking into every crevice at the sight of her. He imagined ripping the accusers' skin off, layer by agonizing layer and listening to their screams as a lullaby. He bathe in their blood only until after he avenged his love. Shock was the wind was knocked from his lungs as if someone beat him in the chest. Rebekah tried her best to explain, but he didn't want to believe that someone had put their hands Audrey and hurt her. Seeing Audrey was something words would never be able to explain. Lastly, sadness crept into the corners of his heart like a dark rain cloud on a summer afternoon. He hadn't been there to protect her. He was concerned about Hayley and her wolves that he'd let this happen to Audrey. If he put more time into his search efforts, which were in place, perhaps Audrey and Rebekah could have gotten out of that awful place quicker.
"I'm so sorry my love." His voice wavered just like the tears in his eyes that threatened to spill. He reached out his hand to brush against her reddened cheek, but she shied away as though he would be hot to the touch.
"No," she shook her head. "Please don't touch me."
"We will fix this, Audrey. I can find a witch that will heal you and—"
"Just leave." Her request was as broken as her soul. It wasn't harsh or slicing, but Klaus felt as though he'd been staked through the heart. He dropped to his knees before her and took up her hands despite her efforts to pull them away.
"Klaus—"
"I. Will. Fix. This." Each word left his cheat accompanied with a low growl. The fire behind him seemed to rage and the flames licked greedily at the air above.
Audrey tried to form words, but they melted on her lips and she continued to cry. She hated this new person she'd become. Would she ever be the witch she was before she entered that godawful place? Her life had been changed forever and she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to adjust. She tried to look at Klaus, but the sight of him kneeling before her and casting his gaze on her misshapen form made her want to shy away from him. Klaus then leaned up and wrapped his arms around her shaking body. At first, Audrey remained still as stone, but after a few long moments, her arms came up and her hands gripped the back of his shirt. He continued to whisper the four words he'd just spoken to her along with apologies and promises to her. They stayed that way for a while; embraced and uncaring of the dying fire. The only one who really took notice was Klaus; for Audrey had succumbed to the sleep that weighed heavily on her since she escaped from the house of horrors that could mot bend her, so they settled for breaking her instead.
Hi all! I hope everyone has been doing well :) I am sorry for the bit of neglect, but it has been a busy year for me. Some great things have happened and some not so great things. All in all, I am happy to have the summer to myself to relax and write more for you! Please, please, please leave a review. I struggled a lot with this chapter and I want to know your thoughts.
