Hello loves!
Alright, so before my usual disclaimers, I'd like to address the fact that somehow, my plot bunnies managed to hop their way over to the enigma that is Freya Mikaelson...
I'm gonna be blunt with you guys... I do NOT like Freya. And there are several reasons. Reasons that, in my opinion, are perfectly warranted. Firstly, I've talked about Dahlia before so you guys understand why I think she could've been better developed, but in terms of sticking to one single path, I think Dahlia did a much better job than Freya.
She… she sort of just flips between being the perfect big sister and then the evil villain trying to control everything from the inside. She is hella manipulative and just… Well, she just reminds me of a little brat all grown up. Here are some reasons I find her annoying,
1. From the moment she meets her siblings, she acts like the matriarch and the head of the family. Seriously, it's like she knows the absolute best despite the fact that she's technically younger than them because of the whole century asleep thing *scoffs* I'm sorry love, but Elijah's been leading the family for centuries. You're honestly just not needed at this point.
2. She plots to get her siblings to choose her over Klaus. Yeah... well done love, I thought you wanted family again? Why in hell are you trying to take Klaus' from him?
3. She tries to kill Hope at one point as a baby because of the 'first born' curse... Well, what about doing something like, I don't know… magic? I mean, she claims to be powerful – and she is – so why not use this power to protect your family and niece?
4. After her family finally accept her despite the fact that she tried to kill Hope – literally the most innocent out of the entire family – she's willing to sacrifice every other witch, vampire and wolf in New Orleans to save them. Now, of course, so are the other Mikaelsons, but they are owning up to it! She says that she's all 'self-righteous' about it, scolds Elijah, Klaus and Kol about being ruthless killers and then turns around and does THE EXACT SAME THING! She claims to be so worried about Marcel tearing her family apart when she is the reason that he became the Beast in the first place because her and Elijah practically killed Davina. I can only take so much self-righteousness. Hayley and Elena were bad enough, I don't need another one of you. Please.
*takes calming breath*
So, I have two ideas. One, I replace Freya with an OC Mikaelson – new name and everything – or I make Freya OOC. It'd be a great help if anyone could comment which one you'd prefer because I genuinely don't think I can write Freya the way she acts in the show without the few braincells I have left diminishing.
On a happier note, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I desperately hope that 2021 will be better than 2020 has been.
As always, I own nothing, now let's get on with it!
~*•°•*~
Almost as soon as Aria agreed to Dahlia's terms, the older witch had stood up and excused herself to 'fetch something'. Now Aria was lying down on the sofa, throwing a rock she'd found on the ground up in the air and catching it just before it hit her face.
She was getting bored.
And a bored Aria was a dangerous Aria.
She'd never quite managed to learn the art of patience as much as she'd tried to and that was why she desperately hoped this wouldn't be her life. When she'd 'agreed' to let Dahlia channel her in exchange for her life and her family getting un-sired from Klaus' line, she'd imagined something a little more exciting than waiting for Dahlia to collect things.
"Patience, child." Dahlia chided as she walked back into the room, "You will get your due soon enough."
"What's that?" Aria asked curiously as she dropped the rock and sat up, looking at the small book in Dahlia's hands curiously. She couldn't recall seeing it around the compound before.
"This is my Grimoire." She replied as Aria gaped.
"You-your Grimoire?" She questioned, her tone dubious, "You're more powerful you're your sister – the witch who created vampires – and you're showing me your Grimoire?"
Dahlia smirked, "No darling, this is one from when I was young. Around your age. Not only is my other Grimoire – the one I began when I was eighteen – far more dangerous, but it requires a vast amount of more power. In order for us both to resurrect you, you need to grow in power and for that, you will need a teacher. Myself."
"You're putting a lot of trust in me. Why?" She asked.
"Dear, I've been watching you for a while now. And in that time that I've been watching, I've made one discovery about you. Your weakness is your family. And, I suppose, your friends. You hold the power I need, and to put it simply, if you betray me in any way, you may survive, but your family? Well, they won't be so lucky." At her words, Aria paled slightly.
Seems like she'd have to adjust her plan a little. No problem.
"So what are you going to teach me?"
"Firstly, we need to build your power up. If there is to be any hope of resurrecting you, you will need to establish a foothold in the living world."
"How am I meant to do that if I'm dead?" Aria asked uncertainly, almost shivering when Dahlia smirked at her. She looked down at the book and murmured an incantation before Aria felt everything spinning. She grabbed the arm of the sofa tightly and closed her eyes, trying not to be sick until everything came to a standstill.
"You can open your eyes now, child." Dahlia spoke as Aria did just that, albeit reluctantly.
The blurriness slowly receded and Aria looked around, finding herself still sitting on the same sofa in the Abattoir, "What the hell did that spell do?" She demanded.
Dahlia gestured behind Aria who turned around and almost fell off of the sofa in surprise.
"That-that's… How is this possible?"
In front of her was a group of vampires in the compound but they all… shimmered. As if they were simply smoke.
"It's an advanced projection spell. One I created in my youth." Dahlia explained, "I've changed it somewhat but now you'll be able to see whatever's happening in the physical world as well as establish a foothold. All you need to do, is begin to tether your magic to the living world. But, a word of caution, do it slowly. If done too quickly, it will drain more power than you can afford to lose. You're young and powerful yes, but this spell is advanced and you have had little training."
Aria slowly nodded along to Dahlia's words, but before she could reply, she felt the world spinning once more and then found herself back in Dahlia's version of reality. Aria looked around the room desperately, hoping that she might be able to see a vampire or someone but no one was there.
"This is the incantation." Dahlia said, drawing Aria's attention back to the Grimoire as she pointed to a single line, "I recommend you begin to practice."
"Are you going somewhere?"
Dahlia barely looked up from the book, "Currently, the only thing keeping this world in existence, is my mind, I will not always be here as I am not tied to this world. You however, are. Now practice. It will last usually six hours before it wears off. I wouldn't recommend trying it instantly after you return but I do expect results."
Aria looked back down at the book but when she looked back up, Dahlia was gone. With shaky hands, Aria gently picked up the Grimoire and moved to her room. She placed the book on the bed and closed and locked the door before sitting in front of the Grimoire cross-legged.
She took a deep breath and traced the words before speaking, though her voice was slightly uncertain, "Velum mundos vivorum et mortuorum eme ea quae nunc est unius est alterius. Postquam patere accessum habemus da tam tutum putet."
She looked around the room when nothing happened and cleared her throat as she spoke the spell again, this time her voice was stronger, "Velum mundos vivorum et mortuorum eme ea quae nunc est unius est alterius. Postquam patere accessum habemus da tam tutum putet."
This time, like when Dahlia had done it, Aria felt her world begin to spin and grabbed onto the sheets of the bed for support as she closed her eyes. When the dizziness wore off, she opened her eyes and looked down at the book warily.
Six hours. Dahlia's voice echoed in her head.
Aria took a deep breath before she stood up off of the bed, noting that she felt more light headed than usual and walked over to the door. She opened it and instantly, her ears were assaulted by talking coming from the courtyard. She let out a soft laugh of awe and walked down the hallways until she emerged in the courtyard, just behind Marcel.
Instantly, she walked over to the spot he had sat down and frowned. He didn't look good. Then again, his daughter was dead… Technically. Diego walked over to them and Aria listened on what they were saying, "Hey, Marcel, maybe you know what's going on. Klaus ordered us to meet here, and now he's a no-show." Diego said.
"What do you want from me? It's a new regime. Get used to it." Marcel snapped as Aria frowned. Not good at all.
Her attention was drawn from her father as Klaus entered the room with someone behind him. She squinted her eyes to see who it was before a wide smile broke out on her face.
Thierry.
Klaus began to speak and though Aria winced at part of it, he didn't sound awful. So far he seemed to be a somewhat decent leader, "Dearest brethren, your attention, please. No doubt, you're all surprised to see Thierry Vanchure, who's supposed to be rotting in the Garden for the crime of killing one of our own, and I personally decided to issue him with a pardon. I hope you'll all welcome home Thierry." He finished as the vampires cheered.
Aria took a seat next to Marcel as Klaus walked over them, "You're in a good mood. You should visit Mystic Falls more often." Marcel murmured.
"Well, as much as I might like to, I have pressing responsibilities here." Klaus replied as he turned to the crowd, his words made both Aria and the crowd flinch, "Now, as you all know, the witches Aria and Davina are no longer with us. Without them, we can no longer monitor the activity of our witch neighbors. However, since their Harvest failed, their magic will soon be gone forever. Until then, I say we keep them on their toes. Diego, I wonder if you might lead a rousting in the Cauldron?" He said as Diego nodded and began to talk with the other vampires about the rousting. Aria felt a pang in her heart as she saw Thierry's expression at Klaus' words but turned back to her father as he began to stand up and walk away,
"Marcel, I'd hoped you would join Diego."
"Nah. I'm gonna take a personal day." Marcel murmured as he pushed past a now annoyed Klaus.
~*•°•*~
Aria followed her father into a room and watched as he sat on a sofa and sighed, closing his eyes before taking a drink from the bottle he was holding, "Oh, dad." She murmured, "I'm so sorry." She turned when she heard the door click open and Klaus walked in,
"Is this what's it's come to? I bear the full weight of our kingdom while you pout like a child."
"You wanted to be king. Besides, you look like you got it covered." Marcel replied.
"If the men see you shirk your duties, they're likely to do the same."
"I told you, I am not in the mood for vampire hijinks."
"No. You'd rather sit wallowing in sorrow for your daughter and her lost little friend." Klaus shot back as Marcel stood up and pointed an angry finger at Klaus, "Don't push me right now."
"I am sorry Aria and Davina are gone, okay? I'm sorry. But this mournful attitude is unworthy of you, and it's boring to me." Klaus said. Before Marcel could reply, Diego walked into the room and Aria felt unease pooling in her stomach, he looked worried.
Diego was never worried.
"Hey, guys, we got a problem."
~*•°•*~
Aria followed Marcel, Diego and Klaus to the Cauldron curiously. The trio stopped in front of a salt circle and whilst they paused, Aria moved past them and crouched down to look at the markings more clearly. Two vampires, both desiccated, laid in a circle of salt on the ground with the same symbol carved into their forehands.
"We came to mess with the witches, just like you said. And these two, they went missing. Found them like this, not even staked. Just dead." Diego said. Aria turned around and looked at Marcel. He looked straight through her at the vampires before he turned around and pulled his hood up as he prepared to walk off.
"Where are you going? Someone has to account for this!" Klaus yelled as Marcel turned back around.
"You want revenge, get it yourself. That mark is tied to some bad mojo. I've seen marks similar in Aria's old Grimoires. My daughter knew what she was doing up until the point she didn't." Aria winced. He turned to the rest of the group, "Any of y'all got any brains, you'll head back to the compound and stay the hell out of this." He said before walking off.
"We're gonna find whoever did this, and I will show them what suffering is." Klaus growled as he walked away. Aria, however, stayed.
She looked closer at the marks on the vampire's foreheads, "Where have I seen these before?" She murmured to herself.
Someone had drawn power from them and, consequently, they'd died. But why would a witch be so… forward?
Were they trying to get themselves killed?
"Unless they're already dead." She murmured in realisation.
The Harvest had been hijacked, Dahlia had said so herself and whilst Aria wouldn't trust the witch on her best day, she had no reason to lie, especially when it was plainly clear that she needed Aria alive. Someone had channeled the power and used it to resurrect likely four other witches instead of the Harvest girls. That was why the witch who did this to the vampires did it so recklessly.
"Well then, all that's left is to figure out who the hell this witch is."
~*•°•*~
After a gruelling three hours of trekking around the Quarter trying to find the witch who had attacked the vampires with utterly no results, Aria returned to the compound. Just in time, it seemed, to hear Klaus' speech,
He was standing on one of the balconies overlooking the mass of vampires. Aria scoffed quietly at the sight. He could play benevolent ruler all he wanted but he still had to be the king, didn't he?
"Not long ago, you all united against me. You failed. Since then, in my benevolence, I have wiped the slate clean. Yet, it seems clear you think that I am the one who needs to earn your respect. Your loyalty. You're mistaken. It is you who must prove yourselves to me. Our community is under attack. I require soldiers. I need warriors, not cowards. Each of you has a decision to make. You either fight alongside me or you leave now." He announced as Aria scoffed under her breath, despite knowing full well he wouldn't be able to hear her even if he tried. She turned her head when she heard a shout and grinned when she saw Thierry, "We don't owe you anything! If staying in the Quarter means living under your rule, I'd just as soon get the hell out." He yelled as he and a decent group of vampires behind him walked themselves out of the Compound.
"I'm not sure whether to feel proud or annoyed." She murmured as she tilted her head and following Klaus and Marcel upstairs.
"I got to admit, I thought you'd lose a lot more guys than that." Marcel commented.
"Well, good riddance to them, I say. We've no room for slackers or cowards in our kingdom. Now that you've regained your composure, let's move on to the next item of business, shall we, with a little help from our dear friend Sophie." Klaus said, gesturing to Sophie across from him.
"I got no reason to help you, and I sure as hell don't have a reason to help him." Sophie hissed.
"Now, now, don't be difficult, love. You'll only live as long as you're of use to me, and right now, your best use is to explain why a witch I killed has come back for revenge."
"Come on. Resurrected witches with vast power? It's the Harvest. To die and be reborn. I don't know how, but someone jacked that power, and they used it to bring back four witches... Just not the right ones." She finished quietly as Marcel looked up, eyes shining with hope.
"So there's still a chance? If we can get that power back, we can save Davina. And then we can save Aria."
"Let's concentrate on the immediate problem, shall we? Papa Tunde wants revenge. He'll continue to attack us, channeling power from the vampires he sacrifices. He kills, he grows more dangerous. So how do I end him? He needs sacrifices to gain power."
"Hmm. You keep him from killing any more nightwalkers, that's a start." Sophie said.
"Unless he finds the one place with a load of vampires ready to be sacrificed." Klaus murmured in realisation.
"No." Aria whispered, "No, no, no."
The Garden.
~*•°•*~
So whilst Marcel and Klaus headed towards the Garden, Aria headed towards the Lafayette Cemetery. It was too late for the Night Walkers but if she could just get to the Cemetery then maybe, just maybe, she'd be able to uncover who had jacked the Harvest Ritual. And then she'd be able to bring Davina back.
She ran around the graves as she headed to the singular spot she felt the most power emitting from and came to a stop in front of two witches.
One she didn't know the name of and the other was… Sabine?
The male witch held a blade up into the air as the moonlight shone onto it before he handed it to Sabine.
"Is it done?" Sabine asked.
"This blade now contains all the power I harvested from the vampires. It will do things worse than death, even to an Original." The male witch replied. So this was the infamous Papa Tunde…
"And are you ready for the final offering?"
"In the name of the witches of the French Quarter, it is my honor." He said as he handed Sabine the blade.
"Thank you, Papa Tunde." Sabine murmured as she moved to stand behind him. She took a breath before slitting this his throat. When he dropped to the floor, she looked down to the blade and smirked.
Aria stumbled back in fright and grabbed onto a grave behind her before the world began spinning again.
She was going back.
She had no clue whether or not she was glad or not.
~*•°•*~
Aria landed back in her room in the same position she'd been in when she left to see Dahlia standing at the foot of her bed, "Bloody hell!" She yelled out in surprise.
"Language." Dahlia chided.
"Well I wouldn't need to use it if you didn't sneak up on me like that." Aria slowed her breathing and took a deep breath as she closed the book and handed it back to the older witch. The woman held her hand out and shook her head, "It's yours. Besides, I memorised all the spells in there years ago." She said as Aria slowly brought the book back and placed it on the bedside table,
"Did you discover anything?" She asked as Aria nodded.
"When the Harvest was hijacked, the power was taken by someone in the French Quarter Coven. I can only assume that four more witches were brought back. Just not the right ones obviously."
"And do you have any clue who hijacked this ritual?"
"…Sabine. She was with another witch called Papa Tunde. I've heard of him from my dad. He's a very powerful witch. Was a very powerful witch. He died about a hundred years ago. When I was in the… living world, I guess, he harvested power from vampires around the Quarter and channelled it into an object. A blade. I'd bet that it's powerful enough to kill an Original." She mused before shaking her head, "I didn't manage to make a foothold yet, but I think I'm on my way there."
Dahlia smirked darkly and her cold eyes shone with something akin to triumph, "There's hope for you yet. I suggest you get some sleep; you'll have a long day ahead of you tomorrow." She said before leaving the room.
Aria sighed and spared a look over to Dahlia's Grimoire before turning off the lights with a flick of her wrist and pulling the covers over herself as she tried to sleep.
There was just one thing weighing on her mind.
When she'd been at the ritual where Papa Tunde had channelled the power into the blade, she could've sworn that before he died, he made eye contact with her.
Just as she could have sworn Sabine or whoever the hell she was looked directly at her.
~*•°•*~
Velum mundos vivorum et mortuorum eme ea quae nunc est unius est alterius. Postquam patere accessum habemus da tam tutum putet.
~ The veil of the worlds of the living and the dead thins, what is of one is now of another. Allow me access through and grant me safe return when I so see fit.
(As usual, I have used google translate so they might not be completely correct)
As Always, SecretMidnightRose