Hello loves!
Double update in a weekend, I'm spoiling you all. Then again, I do really want some feedback on this chapter because it does get a little confusing and, well, you'll see. I mean, I like the twist and it definitely explains Aria's grudge against the witches of course, but I'm clearly biased. I mean, come on.
But yeah, please tell me what you think of it.
Now let's get on with it! I own nothing.
~*•°•*~
Elijah stood in front of Aria and Davina in the attic, as they stared at each other.
"You're the one they call honourable." Davina murmured after a moment as Aria moved to stand closer to her.
Elijah smiled slightly, "Yes, that's what they call me. And yet, I followed my brother here to New Orleans to engage in a war. So, I ask you. Does that sound honorable to you?"
"You don't look well." Aria noted.
"Well, only this morning, I had a mystical dagger embedded in my chest, so I'd say I'm holding myself together quite well." He paused for a moment, "Aria, Davina, I believe that you two and I have the power to end a war between witches and vampires before it truly begins. I, by keeping my brother in line; you Davina, by behaving like your true self, not some tool for Marcel or the witches and you Aria, by understanding who in this city of yours is most at risk. From what I've heard of you, you do not like innocents getting caught up in the supernatural."
"And why should we trust you?"
"Well, for one thing, in spite of a ravenous hunger, I have not tried to take either of your blood."
"Why not? We're the only ones here."
"Even in my present condition, I would not… feed from children." His tone was laced with disgust at the thought.
Aria hummed under her breath, "Fine." She murmured. She walked over to a small corner of the attic and opened a door before pulling out a blood bag and walking back over to Elijah, "You keep your word, we'll keep ours. Take the bag as a sign of good faith."
Elijah looked at her curiously before taking the outstretched bag, "You have a deal Miss Gerard."
Aria smiled.
~*•°•*~
"Do you play?" Elijah asked curiously as he picked up Tim's violin.
"That's... not ours." Davina murmured. Elijah didn't comment on the sad tone in her voice and instead sat down in a chair as he inspected it for a moment until he heard footsteps walking towards the room. When the door opened, he hid himself away from Marcel and listened in on the conversation.
"Good news, Little D. I'm moving you out this pile of dust. And Aria, is gonna go with you." Marcel grinned.
"Are you serious?" Davina grinned.
"When?" Aria asked, equally happy.
"Tonight. I just need to lock in the arrangements. How's our Original?" He wondered as he gestured towards the coffin.
"Uh, don't disturb the body! I have-"
"We have a spell in progress." Aria finished when Davina couldn't think of the right words.
Marcel chuckled, "Bet you two do. Pack up, 'kay? Only what you wanna take. I'll buy ya anything else you need."
"Okay." Aria smiled as Marcel left the attic. Elijah appeared in the room again from around the corner.
"You didn't reveal that I was awake." He noted, mild surprised evident in his voice.
Aria smirked, "Only because we're not done talking yet."
Elijah sat back down in the chair and looked at Aria and Davina curiously, "You two and Marcel seem very close."
Davina smiled, "Marcel's my family. Aria's like my sister."
"And yet Marcel is someone who delights in harming the witches. Those people, I would think, you would consider family. Aria may be the exception but she is still a witch. Doesn't that trouble either of you?"
Davina frowned, "No. They deserve it."
"Why would you say that?"
"'Cause they're liars. All of them," Aria growled, "There's this ritual that the witches did. It's called the Harvest. It's a ritual their coven does every three centuries so that the bond to their ancestral magic is restored. They appease their Ancestors, they keep their ancestral power flowing. They had the girls of their community preparing for months. Four would be chosen for the Harvest."
Davina took over, "They made me and my friends do it. They said our participation would bring our family strength, health. That we'd forever be celebrated as saviors of the community. But all they really wanted was more power. So, I left before they could get it. Now, they're running out of time, because after the Harvest, comes the Reaping. And if they don't complete the Harvest, there won't be a Reaping. Soon, all the witches in the Quarter will start to lose their power. Eventually, they will cease to be witches altogether."
"So what does it take to complete this ritual?"
Aria frowned and blinked back the moisture in her eyes, "Davina has to die."
"What do you mean when you say you have to die?" Elijah questioned, a confused and equally surprised edge to his voice.
Aria sighed, "That's what the Harvest was. They said they'd put the four girls in a state of, like, peaceful limbo as part of the offering. And then later, at the Reaping, they'd awaken and be reborn. Davina never got as far as the limbo part, which means the Harvest isn't complete. That's why the witches are so freaked out. The Reaping is just around the corner, and if they don't finish it before then, it's over. All she has to do is wait it out."
"And then what?"
"They're punished, and I'm free." Davina smiled.
"From Marcel?"
Davina rolled her eyes at him, "Of magic. All our power will drain away. I'll be normal."
"Is that what you want? To be normal?" Elijah questioned.
"I just don't wanna be what I am. I can't control it sometimes. My magic. I hurt people. Even when I don't mean to."
"Why don't you tell me about your friends? You must miss them."
"There's Tim. He doesn't know about any of this witch stuff. He's normal. My best friend, Monique. She was a part of the Harvest too. She's lucky. No one ever fought for me, but someone fought for her. The only one who ever spoke out against the Harvest was Monique's aunt."
"And who is that?"
Aria smiled slightly, "Someone who used to be a good friend of mine. Sophie Deveraux. She was the only one who ever questioned the Harvest. Although D, if you want to keep on schooling the vampire on one of the stupidest rituals in the history of the French Quarter, I'll need a little me-time."
Davina smiled, "Alright. Go on, I'll be back here."
Aria smiled at the witch before she left and Davina released a sigh of relief, at Elijah's raised eyebrow, she elaborated.
"Do you swear I can trust you?"
"You have my word."
Davina took a breath and then risked another glance towards the door, her expression now nervous, "Alright. Because what I am about to tell you, can never leave this room. And Aria can never learn of it."
~*•°•*~
It was hitting noon and Aria was walking through the Quarter, she had better things to do than sit quietly whilst Davina explained witch business with an Original Vampire. She let out a breath and looked around the street, searching for something to do when she spotted a record store. She smiled and walked over to it, a bell dinging above the door as she walked in. Rows upon rows of records were the first thing she saw when she walked inside.
As Aria wandered down the rows, a smile crept onto her face as she thought about how her love of… everything had begun. Marcel had been the one to introduce her to Shakespeare, Thierry had, of course, contributed to her insane love of music and Cami had contributed to her love of films. Every Saturday since Cami and Aria had become friends had been spent in her apartment snuggled under a blanket with all kinds of treats surrounding them as they binged either tv shows or movies.
Life back then, before the Originals had come back to town, had been… perfect. She'd had family, friends and she'd been happy and carefree. She'd been satisfied with her life; but that had all changed when The Originals had returned to town.
"Can I help you?"
Aria startled slightly and turned to her right to see a guy standing there, someone she vaguely recognised as being the owner of the store from the other times she'd passed it. He had short black hair and brown eyes. He was fairly tall, about 6'4" and had an athletic build. He wore a dark shirt, dark jeans and a fedora.
"No thanks, I'm just browsing right now, um…"
"Joe. Joe Dalton. The uh, owner of the store."
"No thank you, Mr Dalton."
"Just, Joe, please. Mr Dalton makes me feel old." He chuckled. Aria looked at him oddly, the look in his eyes made her feel like he'd just had a joke with himself.
"Alright. Thank you then, just Joe."
He chuckled, "You need anything, I'll be up at the front."
"Will do." Aria murmured, watching as he walked back to the counter as another customer went to purchase a record, Aria turned back to the isle as she felt a chill engulf her, "You already pop up in my life enough, Mikaelson. Don't tell me you need to when I'm trying to have a peaceful afternoon?" She questioned, not turning to look at Kol as he chuckled.
"Yes. I do. Besides, it was about time you got out of that church of yours. I wasn't able to enter so I spent a right amount of time on my own."
Aria rolled her eyes and smiled as she ran her fingers over the records, pausing when Kol spoke again, "You're not ignorant that he's a vampire, are you?"
Aria stopped in her tracks and turned around, an eyebrow arched, "Please. I've heard dad talk about his friends enough times to remember almost all of their names. And Joe Dalton definitely rings a bell. But he seems nice enough, so I don't have a problem with him," As if to prove her point, she walked up to the front desk, "On second thought, would you mind pointing me in the direction of Queen?"
"Yeah, follow me," Joe started leading me to the back of the store, "Everything is in alphabetical order, so they're near the back. Is it gonna be a present or for yourself?"
"Myself," Aria answered, "A girl can listen to records, can't she?"
He smiled, "'Course. So, here we are, Queen."
"Thanks Joe."
Joe walked back to the front desk and Aria began to look through all of the albums that she was able to buy, ignoring Kol's presence beside her. She ended up getting Killer Queen, Somebody to love, and Bohemian Rhapsody before deciding that was all she wanted… for today. Aria would definitely be coming here again.
She walked up to the counter and placed the records down, "Find everything you were looking for today?"
"Mhm."
"Good." He nodded.
"I can't believe I've never come in here before." Aria noted with a disbelieving tone as Joe chuckled.
"Well, this place is a hidden gem. Not many people do know about it. Hence," He gestured around to the mostly empty shop, "I mean if you wanted to spread the word, that'd be greatly appreciated. Though I might need some help if that's the case."
Aria rolled her eyes with a slight smile, "I'm not looking for work right now. But thanks for your help, Joe and I will be sure to spread the word."
"Anytime." Joe responded.
She waved before walking away and out of the store, spirits lifted.
Perhaps not all was lost for her.
~*•°•*~
Davina took a shaky breath,
"Before the Harvest… Sixteen years before the Harvest in order for it to have existed on this earth for the same length as the Harvest girls, the witches needed to combine the four elements. Typically, the elements combine into an-an object. Into something. And it is something that will hold extraordinary power." Davina begun.
"But?" Elijah prompted.
"But this time, it didn't turn into an object for the first time in… forever."
"Alright, well then what did it turn into?"
Davina looked back up to him, "A baby. It turned into a newborn baby."
~*•°•*~
A few short hours later, Marcel stormed into Davina's attic with a smile on his face, "Okay, now's our shot. You ready to blow this joint? Aria's already packed up and at the Abattoir."
Davina smiled, "Can't wait."
Marcel smiled back and grabbed Davina's suitcase as they walked towards the door. Marcel paused in his steps and turned back around to look at Elijah's coffin, "We'll leave Elijah behind as a parting gift. Might buy me a little forgiveness for pulling one over on his siblings. Now let's go."
Marcel walked out of the attic whilst Davina gave a final parting glance behind her before she followed him. As they walked down the aisle and towards the two large doors at the front of the church, Davina stopped suddenly as she looked around the room wildly. Hearing no footsteps continuing to follow after him, Marcel turned back to look at her.
"What's wrong? What's happening?" He questioned before the very church seemed to start shaking. Davina tensed up and her body began to spasm.
"I don't know. Something's wrong," Davina murmured, her voice clearly showing how terrified she was, "Marcel. There's something dangerous out there. Take me back!" She murmured before her eyelids dropped and she swayed, falling down to the floor and barely being caught before she hit the concrete.
"Damn it." Marcel whispered before dropping Davina's suitcase and picking her up to take her back to the attic. He gently placed her in her bed and tucked the blankets over her, taking one final look at her before he left the room. When she heard the door click shut, Davina opened her eyes and sat up.
"Elijah?" She called out hesitantly.
"I'm pleased you stayed." Elijah murmured as he walked over to Davina.
"You'll keep your promise about your mother's spell book?"
"I will. You know, difficulties aside, I value my family above everything. I am sorry that yours failed you."
"Your brother Klaus handed you to Marcel in a box, yet you still don't give up on him?"
Elijah gave her a bitter smile, "Well, I've given up on giving up. It's an affliction. I will fight for my family until my last breath."
"And I'll fight the witches until mine. But I think it's time you heard the rest of the story."
"Yes. The baby. So… what happened to it?"
"It was saved," Davina shrugged, "It was given a name and it grew up."
"And you know this person?" Elijah guessed.
"I do. As do the witches. I'm not the only thing they want from Marcel."
"Are you saying that Marcel has this baby?"
"The baby is Aria Rebekah Gerard." Davina responded, voice void of all emotion as Elijah's eyes widened and he blinked, turning away from her in shock as she continued,
"The baby is Marcel's adopted daughter."
~*•°•*~
Everything that brought the Mikaelsons to New Orleans was a lie. The story that Sophie Deveraux had fabricated, their struggle for control of the French Quarter, the war between vampires and witches. It wasn't over territory at all.
It was over Davina and Aria.
Eight months ago, Sophie Deveraux and her sister Jane-Anne lost everything. Now, four months after that, a young pregnant girl wanders into their restaurant. Suddenly, all hope is renewed. Jane-Anne actually sacrificed her life so that her sister could find Davina and by extension, Aria. If Sophie Deveraux is successful in capturing them, she can return Jane-Anne's daughter back to life. The Mikaelsons thought they'd come to New Orleans to wage a war for power. But it was about family. In order to return her niece to life, Sophie Deveraux will fight to the death. That fact alone makes her more dangerous than anyone.
~*•°•*~
Like I said at the beginning, please tell me what you think of this twist. I mean… It's definitely going to get developed a hell of a lot more as this fic goes on and I already have everything planned out in my head and somewhat on paper. I also admit that this chapter leaves a lot of questions but a double update is all I can do for now.
I promise, it's not nearly as confusing as it seems.
See you all again soon!
As always, SecretMidnightRose