Hello loves!
I hope you're all doing alright, just like I hope you'll find this chapter... decent, if nothing else? I did diverge from cannon quite a bit but I literally have control over what I'm writing. I can do whatever the Hell I want.
But anyways, let's get on with it! I own nothing.
~*•°•*~
Entering the Compound's study, Elijah frowned in confusion as he saw Klaus searching furiously for something on the bookshelf,
"Can I help you find something?"
"Yes, in fact, I believe you can. I'm looking for a book, about yea big, filled with our mother's most powerful spells. It appears to have been misplaced."
"How very mysterious." Elijah murmured, sitting down at a desk.
"Indeed. At first, I feared the witches had succeeded in their efforts to obtain it, but considering their last attempt ended with me relieving a rather large, tattooed gentleman of his hands, I began to wonder if the thief wasn't a bit closer to home." He paused a beat, "Don't make this harder than it needs to be, brother."
"Well, admittedly, I did have a theory that your sudden interest in mother's Grimoire was in some way related to whatever foolishness you've been conducting with the Crescent wolves. Therefore, I took it upon myself to carefully place it where naughty little fingers could not pry."
"And here I thought you, of all people, would understand. I am simply trying to help those wolves! Play Samaritan to the abused. Champion to the underdog, so to speak."
"How splendidly noble of you."
"Have you ever considered that, like you, I am trying to keep Hayley safe? Using our mother's magic to empower her people so they are capable of protecting her?"
Elijah stood up and walked towards him, "Yes, unless, of course, they decide to seek retribution for decades held in exile, and Hayley will find herself in the middle of an uprising. One that will only provoke further violence. You see, you risk turning New Orleans into a war zone, brother. I won't let that happen."
"The drums of war were beating long before we returned. I suggest you use a little less of this," He made a talking gesture with his hand, "And a little more of these." He pointed to his ears and gave him a sarcastic smile before sitting down onto the sofa.
"And I thought my family was combusting…" Aria trailed off, voice laced with surprise as she entered the room.
"Aria, may we help you with something?" Elijah asked with a fond look as Aria smiled but shook her head.
"Actually brother, she's here to help me." Klaus announced, standing back up.
"Trying to see if I can help." Aria amended, a small scowl on her face, "And it's not for you. It's for Cami. And Father Kieran." She suddenly smiled, "If it was for you, I'd gladly watch as whatever you wanted me to do burned."
"Never the less, for once you're on my side." Klaus smirked as Aria rolled her eyes.
"What do you want me to do? This hex that Bastianna put on him… Genevieve wasn't lying about it. It's powerful and it's had too much time to take root in Kieran."
Klaus sighed before looking back up at her, jaw clenched slightly, "The witch who placed the hex on Kieran is dead."
"And that could mean one of two things." Aria replied, her voice equally low, "That either it's easier to lift this hex, if that's even possible, or that I can't break it at all."
Klaus' expression darkened considerably at her last words before turning to Elijah, face borderline pleading, "Elijah, if Aria could take a look at Mother's Grimoire-"
"No." Aria said before Elijah could even speak.
Both the Mikaelson brothers looked over to her, mild surprise written across their faces at the strength in her tone before she took a shaky breath, "No." She repeated, her voice now slightly quieter, "I want nothing to do with Esther's things."
She'd been trapped by Dahlia, been given access to all sorts of Dark Grimoires the witch had. Not only did she know that Esther's would be just as bad, but they would be child's play now that she'd been exposed to Dahlia's magic.
Klaus looked at her oddly whilst Elijah narrowed his eyes slightly in contemplation, "Aria, what was it like for you in the Limbo of the Harvest Ritual?"
She gave him a look, "I wouldn't know. I wasn't in Limbo. The Ancestors didn't think I was a part of their Coven and so had no use for me. But… one thought differently."
"Esther." He murmured in realisation as she shook her head. Elijah looked confused once again.
"Look, if you want to torment me or ask questions, I'll just leave because I don't need to put up with that. But if you want my help, I don't want anything to do with Esther's spells. Even for Kieran. So Klaus, I'm sorry but if that was what you had for me to cure him, I won't. Not if it has anything to do with her family."
Klaus narrowed his eyes at her and, for a moment, she worried that he might actually hurt her but, thankfully, Elijah intervened, "If it will quell Niklaus'… impulses to give Mothers things away like they're going out of date, I believe I may have something else you'd be able to look at."
"What is it?"
"My late brother Kol…" Elijah began as Aria froze, something neither brother seemed to notice, "He was something of a child prodigy. Mother used to… tutor him and he, shortly before we were turned, began his own Grimoire."
"And you still have this?"
Aria's tone was breathless and her eyes were wide.
If this Grimoire was the thing Kol was attached to in the living world… then maybe she'd be able to call on him. And then she could call on Freya.
"Yes. I do. However, if I give this to you-"
"Yeah yeah, I hereby swear not to tell another soul, I won't use it for any dark magic that could hurt any of you or anything of the harming nature blah blah blah." She interrupted before turning serious, "I do want to heal Kieran. Without him, I wouldn't be here now. I'd probably be in some other part of the world and… a lot of things in my life wouldn't have happened. Plus I want to help Cami."
Elijah's look of mild annoyance at her little speech turned slightly softer as her words came to an end. Klaus smirked and pivoted on his foot to face Elijah, eyebrow raised and arms crossed victoriously, "Well Elijah?"
"One moment."
~*•°•*~
Aria's right hand gently grazed over the cover of Kol's old Grimoire in awe. Turned out that Elijah hadn't been joking and had actually kept the Grimoire. In all honesty, she wasn't quite sure if she'd be able to keep her expression blank for much longer now that she knew she was staring at what quite possibly could have been the anchor keeping Kol tied to the world.
"Well?" Klaus snapped as she sent him a look.
"If you were a witch and you'd just been handed a Grimoire belonging to a thousand-year-old witch turned Original vampire who was tutored by quite possibly one of the most powerful witches you've ever heard of, how would you feel?"
Klaus glared at her and she glared back. The staring contest was interrupted when Elijah cleared his throat to get her concentration back, she turned to look back down at the book and gently opened it, hands ghosting over the elegant script.
"These spells… I don't think you guys really know just how much potential your brother had." She murmured, unknowing to the fact that less than a metre away from her, a certain ghost smirked.
Kol turned to Freya and raised an eyebrow in challenge, "There you have it, sister. The Little witch said it herself." Kol grinned before suddenly frowning, "Although, I am cross with 'Lijah for keeping this from me. I thought I'd lost it in the seventeen hundreds."
"Honestly, she needs to stop inflating your ego." Freya sighed.
Kol rolled his eyes, "You don't have to keep listening to it happen, Freya. You can leave. You don't have to keep watching over her."
"Aria granted me reprieve from Dahlia. Thanks to her, I haven't had any more run ins with our aunt. I owe her a debt."
"Will you be able to break the curse or not?" Klaus snapped, interrupting his two siblings. Not that he knew it, of course.
Aria sighed and looked back up at Klaus, "The curse has had too much time to take root in Kieran. Too much time to… alter the chemistry of his brain."
"So what you're saying is that you're basically useless." Klaus summarised as Aria glared at him.
"I am saying that I can't release him from the hex." She snarled before taking a calming breath and turning to Elijah, "However, I'll be able to… how do I say this? Pause it. Momentarily. It'll take a lot of power and I'll have to channel something but I'll be able to pause the hex for a time. He'll go back to himself."
"How long can you hold this?" Elijah questioned as Aria bit her lip in thought.
"Probably around…" She sighed, "Look Elijah, it'll depend on the object I'm channelling. The more powerful it is, the longer I'll be able to hold it off. If it means that much to Cami, I can try something else but it's a little riskier. Not only to me but to Kieran too."
"What is it?"
"If I put myself into a deep sleep and have another witch watch over me, I'll be able to link the spell to myself. As long as I stay asleep, I can channel my own power whilst using it to help Kieran. Theoretically, the spell will hold but if anything changes at any time with me, the spell could break and the hex would take root in Kieran again."
Klaus shared a look with Elijah and after what seemed like a mental debate, they both turned back to her, "How long can you hold it whilst staying conscious?"
She gave them a sad look, "Not long. Again, it all depends on the object I'm channelling. The more powerful it is, the better. If it's something like the sun or the moon, then I might be able to hold it for … probably about six hours at most but if I don't then it'll be about half that. If it's something stronger, then the time will increase."
"Putting yourself into a sleep is too risky. Not only to yourself but to Camille." Klaus murmured, more to himself than her, "What will sustain you long enough?"
"I don't know. I've never done a spell like this before." She murmured, looking down to the book and scanning the page again, "Look, all you need to know is that if I can channel something, it'll be stronger and I'll be able to hold it for longer. Your brother would've had to have written this well into his lifetime. Definitely after he was turned. It talks about cursed objects, and one of them is similar to what caused Kieran's hex."
"Vampire blood?" Elijah asked as she looked up sharply.
"I am not drinking vampire blood. Out of the question. Besides, it'd pass out of my system too easily."
"Well then what?"
"…I'd need to be outside. It'd help being surrounded by the elements, the closer to Kieran the better so… no club bouncing around the Quarter. Uh, the stronger you want it to be, I'll have to draw from something. Not channelling, drawing the strength and power from something."
"Like a Celestial event?"
"Exactly. There won't be a solar eclipse any time soon and the full moon isn't for a while. I'm sure as hell not gonna use the Ancestors, they'd kill me themselves for that so… I guess the morning sun will work well enough. When it sets again though, I'll have to begin the channelling. So, talismans, dark objects-"
"Sacrifices?" Klaus asked, looking up to her eagerly.
Aria gave him a look, "I don't think Cami would be too pleased about that, Klaus." She said as Elijah chuckled at her bluntness.
"Look, I'll be able to sort everything out but there can be… drawbacks." Aria explained loosely, wincing slightly at her poor word choice as both Freya and Kol narrowed their eyes at her.
"As such?"
"A witch can only ever channel so much power. After that things start to get ugly. I mean, they'll literally start to disintegrate from the inside. If things get that far which they won't, I will stop a hell of a lot before that even begins happening, I'd have to release that power, or, well I'll die. I'm powerful and the circumstances of my birth are… peculiar which gives me more power in itself, but at the end of the day, I'm still human. So, if you guys can get through another day of Kieran like this, then I'll be able to prepare enough to begin tomorrow morning." She said.
Elijah picked up the Grimoire and closed it before handing it to her, "Here. Try to learn it as best you can. Afterwards, keep it. A token of gratitude."
She smiled at him, "Thank you. Although just to be clear, if the witches get wind of this and they think I'm misusing my power, you'll have a hell of a lot more to worry about than Kieran dying." She said before leaving the room and the Mikaelsons.
All four of them.
Two feeling accomplished, the other two very, very worried.
~*•°•*~
The next day came quickly and, about a half hour before the sun rose, Aria snuck out to meet Elijah in front of the Cemetery. After another moment, a rush of wind brushed past her and Elijah was stood there.
"Have you got everything required?" He asked.
Aria nodded, "Yeah."
He held his hand out and she took it, feeling the wind rush past her and making her dizzy before it just stopped. She opened her eyes again and found herself in a small forest clearing she recognised not too far from the church, barely a mile behind it, in fact.
"Come, Niklaus has been rather… fidgety." He said as Aria laughed slightly.
"I think you're the only person he'd allow to say that without killing."
He smiled at her, "Oh no. I'm quite certain he'd still stake me. Which is why neither of us are going to tell him." He said, giving her a meaningful look as she let out another loud laugh.
"Alright Mr Suit and Tie." She teased as he rolled his eyes fondly.
They came to a stop in front of Klaus and his eyes immediately zeroed in on her, "Are you ready?"
She nodded and Klaus flashed away only to reappear a moment later with Kieran and Cami, the former looking positively maddened.
He growled at her and she flinched slightly before taking a bag of salt from her larger bag and pouring it in a circle on the ground, "Place him in the middle. He'll have to be in here to begin." She explained, looking up to the sun warily.
Elijah, holding Kieran's arms firmly behind his back, moved into the salt circle and forced him to stop moving as Aria pulled out Kol's old Grimoire and opened it to the right page, looking back up at the sun before taking a deep breath and chanting, "Ne propter hoc maledictio et ipsa comprimi Rosarii effectus est opus ejus. Ne propter hoc maledictio et ipsa comprimi Rosarii effectus est opus ejus. Ne propter hoc maledictio et ipsa comprimi Rosarii effectus est opus ejus."
Kieran lost the mad look in his eyes but he didn't lose the jumpiness as he kept looking around and growling at everything around him, "It didn't work." Klaus snarled as she sent him a glare.
"Clearly. I'll try something else."
Here's to, improvising the most dangerous spell you've ever done. Good job, Aria. Gold star. She thought bitterly.
Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Aria slowly slipped into the back of her mind until she was able to open her eyes again and stare at herself standing in front of Kieran. Whilst she hated it, she knew that if she wanted to help Kieran, she'd have to dabble in some of Dahlia's magic. Going back to the magic she used before meeting the witch was out of the question. It was just too weak now that she knew how much power she could hold when and if she wanted to.
So, she thought back to Dahlia's Grimoires. Thought back to how she might be able to augment her power further to help Kieran. Projecting her astral form was the best idea she could come up with. She'd be able to cast the spell whilst her physical self was doing the exact same thing, only she would focus on Kieran's mind, and her physical body would focus on Kieran's body. Together, they might be able to lift the hex for longer. In all honesty, she was surprised she hadn't thought of it sooner.
It seemed to work because, after shaking his head to clear himself of the blurriness, Kieran sat up with a sudden gasp and looked around in wild confusion. Aria smiled but quickly ignored him as she focused on drawing the power from the sun and keeping her astral form separate from her body. If things went the tiniest bit wrong… well, she didn't want to think about what the repercussions might be.
"Cami?" Kieran asked, his voice hoarse, "What happened? Where am I?"
Cami let out a strangled noise of relief and practically threw herself down onto the ground as she embraced her uncle almost too tightly, "Oh my God. It actually worked." She muttered as Kieran, though clearly still surprised, hugged her back.
"As touching as this is, Elijah, I still need help sustaining the spell." Aria managed to murmur.
Elijah nodded and moved over to the salt circle, placing down a White Oak Ash dagger, one that they'd all previously agreed to have dipped in the ash. Aria's lips curved into a confident smile at the power that she began to draw from it before she closed her eyes again and moved back into her own body before nodding at him in thanks.
She felt Klaus' gaze on her and she knew why, he was waiting for her to drop Kieran's spell and take the dagger to neutralise one of them.
Well, he wouldn't be getting what he wanted any time soon.
He seemed to realise that as, after another moment, his eyes left her and looked over to Cami.
"Alright, you have about twelve hours. After that, he'll go back to how he was before. So don't waste the time, please." Aria practically begged with a small smile.
Kieran turned to her and there were no words in the world that could describe the pure amount of emotion he showed on his face. Relief, thanks, happiness, sadness. Too many to count, really.
"Thank you." He murmured.
She gave him a watery smile, "If it wasn't for you, then I wouldn't have grown up like I had. Dad… wouldn't be my dad. It's me who should be thanking you. Now go, Cami needs you."
Kieran turned back to his niece and after he, her and Klaus had left, Elijah turned back to her, clearly hesitating about leaving her alone, "I'll be fine Elijah. Really. I'm sure you have more important things to do."
His gaze softened slightly and, whilst he seemed to have a mental debate with himself, he ultimately decided to stay as he sat down on a tree stump not too far from the salt circle and Aria.
She gave him a slightly confused look and he shrugged, "Believe it or not, I don't have a great many things to do at the moment."
She smiled slightly and, with another few choice words to sustain the spell, simply sat down in the middle of the circle. At Elijah's confused look, she elaborated, "As long as I stay in the circle and I can channel the dagger, I don't need to keep chanting. My presence will be enough."
Another moment passed before Elijah spoke again, "If my Mother didn't keep you alive, then why have you been so hostile towards her Grimoires?"
Aria tensed up slightly but when she saw that he didn't backtrack, she sighed and began to speak, "Uh, Esther didn't hold me but your… your aunt did."
At Elijah's surprised look, Aria laughed lightly, "Yeah, you have an aunt. Dahlia. I don't really understand everything about it yet."
"And what did Dahlia do to you?"
Aria took a short breath and her eyes flickered down to the ground as she thought back to waking up in the hellish dimension, "I remember… darkness right after the Harvest Ritual. Then I-I woke up in the Abattoir. I was alone for a while and I was beginning to get pissed." She said as he smiled slightly in amusement, "Then uh, she showed up."
"Dahlia." Elijah murmured as Aria nodded. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair as she thought of how to say what Dahlia had asked her to do, "She uh, well, she wanted me to make a deal with her." Aria explained, wincing slightly at her poor choice of words, cursing them even more when Elijah spoke up again,
"What kind of deal?"
"She… well…" Aria trailed off and she made a slight face, "You see she… uh, let's just say that… In exchange for my power, she would bring me back to life and protect my family."
"What do you mean in exchange?"
"I mean… she gets to channel me and no one I love dies. That sort of thing. She wanted my power to grow her own, said that… you and Rebekah seemed to have taken a bit of a shine to me… The threat against you guys was pretty clear."
That was where she hesitated slightly.
"Go on." Elijah's voice was slightly forced, his jaw clenched.
"She… got me riled up. I kinda exploded at her and then she just acted so… so caring…" Aria murmured, a longing tone to her voice, "She was so kind to me. I thought, for a second that she actually cared about me or my life. But then she slipped and it was back to square one."
"My mother also does that. She… preys on people's weaknesses and desires only to use them against them. I'm not surprised her sister does the same. For what it's worth, I apologise."
"I never had a mother." Aria said bitterly, "I guess… that it was why I trusted her. Even though it wasn't for long. I just wished someone could be like a mother for me. And Dahlia was all too willing to fill that role so that she'd be able to manipulate me."
She knew that she was leaving Freya out of the conversation, but she also knew that the witch wanted to make an appearance on her own terms. Not Aria's. And as for Kol, well he was dead. It would only be cruel to bring him up.
"What did she tell you?"
"She said that ever since your family has come into town, my life has been a mess. And… it kinda has been. But it was a mess long before your family. And if it wasn't for you, then I wouldn't have dad. Or Thierry or anyone. Heck, I'd be dead. I kind of owe you guys my life. If you hadn't saved Marcel when he was a kid, I'd be dead. So I guess I should be thanking you." Her last words were said wrapped around a small laugh.
Elijah returned her smile before Aria paused for a moment, "How long was I dead?" She asked.
Elijah frowned in thought, "I believe two weeks or so. Perhaps a little longer. Why?"
"Where Dahlia held me, time worked differently. I was with her for months." She frowned. She startled suddenly and wiped away a stray tear that had slipped down her face before meeting Elijah's eyes. He sighed at her expression and offered her a smile before the duo gently drifted into a peaceful silence as the day went on.
~*•°•*~
Hours later, Kieran, Cami and Klaus returned to the field, each looking more sombre than the next. Aria and Elijah each stood and Aria walked to the middle of the circle as Kieran, giving Cami one last goodbye, walked into the circle with her.
"Kieran?" Aria asked gently as the man looked up, "I can lift this spell if you want. Or… I can just…" She trailed off and the only sign he understood what she meant was the sudden tensing of his shoulders.
He nodded stiffly and Aria's eyes flickered to Cami, "Cami?"
It was clear that she understood what Kieran had just accepted because she looked even more distraught, "It'll just be like going to sleep. I promise." She murmured as Cami gave her a smile.
It was small, but it was a smile none the less.
Aria's eyes moved back to Kieran and only then did he notice the tears in them, "It'll be fine kiddo. Thank you." He whispered.
She sucked in a harsh breath before nodding, "You're going to a better place, Kieran." She said, her voice so strong and so sure that it had Kieran pausing for a moment. He smiled at her as she began to chant, eyes screwing shut as Kieran let out a sudden puff of breath before she heard a thump on the ground. She forced back a sob and opened her eyes.
Kieran O'Connell was dead.
Cami's cries were all that was heard in the field as she leaned into Klaus' chest in sadness. He gently picked her up and, with one thankful and meaningful glance to Aria, he then left the field.
"I'll deal with the body." Elijah murmured.
Before Aria could object, Kieran and Elijah were both gone and, believing she was alone, she collapsed down to the ground and cried. Unaware that Kol and Freya were right next to her.
The ghost's lips twitched upwards into a small smirk when Aria, whether realising it or not, had whispered out a name before she cried herself to sleep,
"I wish you were here, Kol."
Freya restrained herself from a sassy reply to her brother and simply sighed as he spoke.
"I am, my little witch." He murmured in a reply.
And the field was silent once more.
~*•°•*~
As Always, SecretMidnightRose