Hello loves!
Now I don't have a lot to say right now, the past week has been pretty... uneventful. I guess I had a good birthday... But that's really it. Hope you guys had a better week than I did! On another note, sorry if this chapter isn't up to the usual standard. It's definitely not as long and in my opinion, not as well written in general, but I seriously couldn't procrastinate over it any more than I already have been.
Now let's get on with it. I own nothing.
~*•°•*~
Aria liked to think that she usually had a fairly good amount of control over her temper. But the more she thought about it, the more she thought that most days, everyone around her was simply plotting against her. Exhibit A: Her father abandoning her to the witches just after he got her back. She scowled and her eyes narrowed darkly at the reminder. Blinking when she felt a nudge, she cleared her throat and turned back to what she was doing.
Her, Davina and two other girls she vaguely remembered being called Abigail and Monique were scattered around a small table in a Lycée greenhouse, practicing spells on dried roses.
"Belle la vie à cette fleur. Belle la vie à cette fleur. Belle la vie à cette fleur. Maintenent." That was the only thing they'd been chanting for the past half hour.
Is this really what the French Quarter witches were doing all day? Aria wondered mindlessly, No wonder they took so long to stand up against Dad and his 'no magic in the Quarter' rule. Not much point to having magic if this is all you do day in and day out.
She looked over to Abigail and Monique and frowned when their flowers bloomed, eyes darting down to hers and Davina's as she noticed they hadn't. She'd bet anything that Dahlia had done something to her before she'd been resurrected.
"See Davina, Aria? It's easy. All you guys have to do is try." Abigail said.
"We are trying." Davina stressed, teeth clenched in frustration.
"Trying and failing. Ever since you came back." Monique commented cruelly.
"When are you going to stop being such a bitch to me, Monique?" Davina demanded dropping the rose and turning to her former friend furiously.
"When you stop being weak." She retorted, turning to Davina with a glare, "You're supposed to be a Harvest girl, but maybe you don't belong here. Maybe you never did." She hissed.
Aria scoffed, "Lay off, Monique. Just because you feel so high and mighty, doesn't mean that you're allowed to bitch about Davina."
"Ari, it's fine." Davina tried.
"No, D, it's not." Aria protested.
Monique glared at Aria, "Oh but you. You never belonged here. You were never even meant to have been born. Just because Genevieve wants you here, doesn't mean that any of us do. You're the vampire girl. Don't think we'll just let that slide."
"You really need to stop being a bitch." Aria snarled.
"Why would I want to do something you asked? I'm not a dog."
Aria snorted, "Debatable."
Monique glared at Aria who simply glared back. She already hated the ungrateful witch.
~*•°•*~
Aria and Davina slowly walked into a small, dimly lit pub and looked around curiously for Josh who they found sitting at a small table in the corner, his hood up,
"Josh!" Davina shouted with a smile as she and Aria walked up to him.
Josh smiled, "Aria, Davina!" He looked around for a moment as they sat in front of him before leaning over the table slightly, "What are you doing out here? I would have met you anywhere you wanted. I mean, not anywhere Klaus or Marcel would be, which could be pretty much, you know, anywhere. But, you know what I mean-" He rambled until he noticed Davina's sad expression and Aria's annoyed one at which point he frowned in concern, "Hey. You two okay?"
Davina sighed, "It's Monique. She has no idea what I went through when I was dead. The Ancestors hated me for what I did with my magic. I can't just start practicing again." She sighed, "I knew I shouldn't have trusted Marcel when he told me to go back. I have Ari but… I don't know how much more of it I can take."
Josh turned to Aria curiously who was rubbing the space in between her eyes furiously, "I swear, the next time they put me in a room with that girl…" She began before Josh and Davina laughed slightly, her following not long after, all thoughts of Monique forgotten.
~*•°•*~
"On the outs with Aria and the witch again?" Thierry asked, stopping beside Marcel on the rooftop looking over the small building Aria, Davina and Josh were in.
"I got it covered." Marcel murmured, a slight edge to his voice, the side of his lip twitching up into a smile that reflected Thierry's as Aria began to laugh again across the street.
"So what was so important you dragged me all the way out here? I take it wasn't just to watch Aria like creeps." The rest of his sentence was left unsaid.
Marcel ignored the jab and turned to him, "I have a proposal. I want you and all the guys who walked out on Klaus with you to join me."
"Rounding up an army?"
"Can't take back the city without one."
Thierry looked at him sceptically, "You have nothing. You have no weapons, no allies. You go even close to the Quarter, and Elijah will kill you. That's if Klaus doesn't get you first."
"So what? Maybe I should hide out in Bucktown like you? I think you're here because you don't want to leave your home. I sure as hell don't want to leave mine. A battle is brewing, T, and while everyone's busy choosing sides, I'm gonna find a way to take back our city. So, you with me?"
Thierry remained silent for a time before he spoke, "You were always great with words, Marcel. A lot better than you were with emotions. But, it's gonna take more than a pretty speech this time."
~*•°•*~
That night at a rather impromptu party thrown by Elijah at the Abattoir, where all the factions came to celebrate together and mingle, Genevieve entered with Aria, Davina, Abigail, and Monique following behind her.
"I'm impressed." Aria murmured to Davina as she smiled, "I love these parties here."
"I heard they're quite nice." Davina teased as Aria rolled her eyes,
"Well, I was the one who did all the planning. Never the less, Elijah's done a good job. Now if he can just keep the vampires and wolves from tearing each other to shreds…" She trailed off as Davina rolled her eyes at her friend's bluntness.
"Well then, I'm sure if he can, Klaus will have an incredibly boring evening." She grinned as Aria smirked.
"I'm sure."
Aria's eyes trailed around the room and for a moment, it looked like she saw a familiar figure leaning up against the wall but he was gone as soon as he was there. Aria pushed back the disappointment and continued looking around curiously. Diego and the wolves were already having confrontations, she rolled her eyes at that, Elijah and… Francesca? Whoever she was, were talking by a table and Hayley entered the party.
Well, to a spectacularly boring evening.
Davina looked over to Oliver from across the room and smiled at him, smile widening when he smiled back. Diego, eyes darting between the duo, clenched his jaw before Elijah walked up to him warningly.
"Diego. You will be polite and welcoming." Elijah stressed as Diego let out an aggravated sigh,
"Yeah, see, his people killed my whole family. My sister bled out on the floor right next to me. The only reason I'm standing here is because Marcel came along and turned me before I bled out, too. So, I'm telling you right now. I cannot be polite and welcoming to that." He said through gritted teeth.
"Diego, I understand your anger. However, there are certain overtures that need to be made, if we are to find a degree of peace." Elijah said before walking away from the vampire and over to... Jackson, Aria thought his name was.
Most likely to threaten him into behaving she realised with a small sigh.
It was times like these where, even if she didn't want to admit it, she missed having Kol around.
She continued looking around the room and noticed Klaus and Genevieve up on a balcony overlooking the party before the former left to go follow Jackson into another side room. She rolled her eyes but quickly perked up when she saw Oliver walking over to Davina who was standing next to her, now looking a whole lot more nervous than before.
"Hey. You look, um…" Oliver trailed off.
"Nervous? Out of place? Short in this dress?" Davina rambled with a small, nervous smile as Oliver chuckled.
"I was gonna say pretty. I'm Oliver. So, what's the name of the girl I'm about to ask to dance?"
Aria grinned and pushed Davina forward none too quietly but just as she opened her mouth to speak, Monique interrupted, "Monique. Her name is Monique." She smirked.
Aria perked up when she saw the witch, "Monique, I actually wanted to see you. I'm sorry I hurt your feelings when I called you a bitch." Her look of sympathy turned stony, "I really thought you already knew that."
Monique glared at her before turning back to Oliver and taking his hand, leading him away but not before sending a cruel, victorious smirk over her shoulder to the duo.
Aria glared right back, fist clenching but before she could move, Davina gently took her arm and shook her head. She sighed but instead of shrugging Davina's arm off, she led them both out of her former home.
Walking back to the Lycée, calling Josh on her way and asking is he could join them to which he answered with a positive yes, Aria smiled as she led Davina into the greenhouse and smiled when Davina smiled at seeing Josh who was also… smiling.
God, they were Supernaturals not jesters.
Aria rolled her eyes to herself before she and Davina both sat down at the table, Josh behind them as he looked through the shelves of dried herbs and flowers, "You know, I've only gotten roses once in my life." Josh said randomly before sighing, "Didn't even get to keep them."
"Why not?" Aria frowned in confusion.
"My first boyfriend. My only boyfriend, really, gave them to me for Valentine's Day senior year. Tried to hide them in my bedroom, but my parents found them. You may not know it, but roses will jam even the best paper shredders." He remarked with a small smile as Davina let out a small laugh, Josh waited a beat before he talked again, "You know, I don't have a home to go home to, or a family to go home to. I used to hate myself for that, but the thing is, I don't really care what they think anymore. If your family doesn't like you the way you are, screw them! You guys got me, and Cami, each other… even Marcel. If you want. And, I know that you two aren't very happy with him right now, Davina because you think he used you and Aria because you're angry he gave you away to the witches. But D, he used you to fight the people who were trying to kill you. And, you know, he also saved you from those people. Aria, you don't have to trust the guy right now, but he only wanted what was best for you when he sent you to the witches. He didn't think it was safe to be with him anymore. He does love you both." He said before smiling warmly at them both, "And P.S? So do I."
Davina looked at him doubtfully, "Even if I don't have any magic? All the power I had was from the other Harvest girls. I don't even know what I have without it."
"Don't you owe it to yourself to find out? You're a witch, Davina. You can't change your DNA any more than I can, so you might as well embrace it. Heck, Aria's hated the witches her entire life, she's never been properly taught by one and even before she came here, she was the biggest, baddest witch in town. And not gonna lie, she terrified me." He teased as Aria rolled her eyes, trying to hide her smile.
Josh handed Davina and Aria the two dried roses he'd been holding and, with a deep breath and a glance to each other, the girls began to chant, "Belle la vie à cette fleur. Belle la vie à cette fleur. Belle la vie à cette fleur. Belle la vie à cette fleur. Belle la vie à cette fleur. Maintenent."
The flower quickly came back to life, and Davina let out a breath of a laugh as she smiled proudly at her accomplishment. Aria was staring at the rose in something akin to wonder and with Davina, the two girls gave their flowers back to Josh who grinned and made a fond noise.
Aria winced slightly and she looked to the duo, her eyes slightly pleading, "That was horribly sappy. Please don't tell anyone." She begged in a whisper before they began laughing, Aria following not long after.
Hours later when Monique walked back into the Lycée, her eyes widened as she looked around the room. Each and every dead rose now in full bloom with Aria and Davina sitting in the middle of the room, each smelling a rose. Davina smiled whilst Aria smirked at Monique, raising an eyebrow in a silent challenge. Monique glared at her and looked like she was about to say something before simply storming off in anger.
Aria smiled at Davina and grabbed the girls' hand supportively.
It wasn't what she'd imagined when she's thought her life would be interesting almost a year ago. Not by a long shot. But that didn't mean it wasn't interesting.
Aria looked back down at her rose and gently smelled it before smiling to herself.
Yes, it was interesting indeed.
All change begins with a plan, the success of which depends on several things: depth of commitment, passion for one's cause. Willingness to embrace a new path. Determination to overcome any obstacle. And, in some cases, even making unnatural alliances.
And whilst Aria hated change, she certainly wasn't as opposed to this one as she normally would be. She looked down at the rose hours later, surely hours after Davina had gone to sleep and gently placed it on the table.
"I don't know if either of you are listening, Kol and Freya." She began, rolling her eyes to herself slightly, "And if you can't then I sound like a loon right now. But if you can, think of this as a thank you for saving me." She said quietly before leaving the room and placing a barrier spell around it, unsure as to why but doing it none the less. She understood the next day.
Because the rose was gone the next morning.
~*•°•*~
As Always, SecretMidnightRose