Hello loves!
Right, before I say my disclaimers, I'd quickly like to apologise for the way I ended this chapter. I know that I'm pure evil, and I'm probably going to hell for leaving it like I did, but the next one will hopefully make up for it. Another thing is that I'm sorry this chapter is a little later than normal, I've been pretty busy revising for tests this week and it's taken over my life a little. Also, thank you if you responded to my questions in the last chapter, it did cross my mind that Eliza might have been talking to Nina behind my back before I realised that she despises Nina. It was probably a rather bad idea to group together for our project. But thankfully, everything's cleared up now. Still, I can't wait until we can get into new groups.
But back to this, I own nothing. Now let's get on with it!
~*•°•*~
Aria glanced over her shoulder nervously before turning back to look at Davina, eyebrows knitted together fearfully as the witch sighed. Davina herself stole a paranoid glance over Aria's shoulder before looking back to Josh when he spoke up.
"Have I told you that you two are awesome? 'Cause you are!" Josh said as he let out a small sigh and looked down at his new daylight right, "I'm with the sun. Daylight rings," He looked up and smirked when he saw a guy running past them through the park, "That guy jogging in a tank top…"
"Josh?" Aria interrupted as he turned to her and Davina.
"Hmm?"
"Now that you have a ring, we think you need to leave town."
"Whoa!" Josh took off his sunglasses and lifted his arm off of the back of the bench as he frowned, "Wait, we're breaking up?"
Davina frowned, "I'm serious!"
"I know! Serious is kind of your default setting. Which is why you need me around to lighten you up. Aria on the other hand, needs me to be like a little minion of hers and tell her whenever her dad or uncle are plotting plans that might kill themselves stupidly." Aria gave him a mock glare, "Ergo… not leaving." He grinned as Davina and Aria exchanged nervous looks, the former catching sight of Mikael watching them from across the street before vanishing.
"Hey, you guys okay?" Josh asked, eyebrows furrowed and concerned.
"Just witch stuff." Davina said before she waited a beat, "Marcel came to me yesterday. He wanted a cloaking spell. He's going to make a move against Klaus. A big move."
"Wow, okay. Guess he forgot to call me. Rude. Did you guys help him?"
Aria scoffed, "Yeah, because we didn't want him to get killed, but if Klaus finds out, then-"
"Hey! Look, if Marcel's got a plan, maybe Klaus will buy a clue, realize he's a negative on the popularity chart, and go into vampire retirement? I hear Palm Springs is nice!"
Aria sighed and risked another glance behind Josh.
Mikael wasn't there.
"Klaus isn't the only thing we need to be afraid of." Davina murmured.
"Look, if there's a war coming, promise us you'll go before you get caught up in it." Aria begged as he smiled sadly but nodded in agreement.
"Good. Now, as much as I hate it, I gotta go. I'm meeting Elijah at the Compound."
"I'm not sure it's smart what you're doing, 'Ari."
"Davina, I appreciate the worry. But honestly, I'm getting a lot more out of this arrangement than 'Lijah." She grinned, her voice lowing into a whisper before she turned and walked away.
~*•°•*~
Aria walked into her former home curiously as she glanced around the courtyard. Elijah had asked her to be there at exactly 11.30 in the morning and now that she was – for once – on time, he wasn't here? The Original was nothing if not punctual, serious, boring, etcetera etcetera… she could go on for hours. But either way, punctual might have to be something she'd take off the list if he didn't show up. What was the point arranging a meet-up if he wasn't there to meet?
She sighed and her eyes strayed curiously to one of the studies as she heard arguing, quickly recognising the voices belonging to Klaus and Genevieve. She scoffed, she was surprised the Hybrid hadn't killed Genevieve already. First time for everything, she supposed.
"Elijah." She smiled, spinning on her heel and looking at the Original now standing in front of her.
If he was surprised she was able to tell he was there, he did a good job of not showing it. Her sixth sense had truly evolved since the Originals first arrived in New Orleans, "Miss Gerard."
"Why'd you call me here?"
"As I'm sure you can tell by the… arguing going on in the other room." He gestured over to the study Genevieve and Klaus were in, "Niklaus and I have taken on your idea of luring Genevieve into a false sense of security." He winced as yet another yell sounded from the room, a decidedly more feminine yell following as Aria supressed a snort of amusement. Supernatural hearing must suck.
Elijah sighed, "Either way, whilst Genevieve and Niklaus are hopefully getting on with their work on the Moonlight rings, I believe we should discuss recent proceedings."
Aria's eyes widened fractionally before she nodded and smiled, "Alright. On one condition."
Elijah arched his eyebrow in curiosity as she continued, "We take this conversation far away from here."
Elijah chuckled.
~*•°•*~
Aria rested her head in her hand as she thought over Elijah's offer. In exchange for her help in creating Hayley's daylight ring – not trusting Genevieve to live up to her end of the bargain now that they knew about her plans for Hope – he'd do all he could to protect her, Davina and Josh from his brother. On one hand, she knew that having an Originals' favour in her pocket would help more than she could imagine but on the other hand, Klaus had taken Elijah out before. Doing 'all that he could' wasn't exactly comforting.
She bit her lip as she thought about it, barely registering him talking again, "You have shown yourself to be a friend of my family many times over Miss Gerard, but forgive me if I find myself slightly unsure considering those you consider part of your family."
Aria let out a wry laugh, "You mean Davina." She summarised before sighing, "Look, Elijah, I respect you. Apart from Rebekah, you're my favourite Original." And Kol she added mentally, "But I'm afraid that doing 'all you can' isn't exactly comforting."
"I have said I will do all I can to guarantee your safet-"
"And Klaus will put a dagger in your heart. Again."
Elijah paused and visibly changed the way he was looking at her. His eyes were no longer veiled and secretive but rather appraising and intrigued. Aria had seen that look before. On Dahlia. As soon as the thousand-year-old witch had realised she wasn't just dealing with a simple teenager with a bad attitude, she'd started treating her with mild respect, well, as much respect as that heartless woman could manage. Elijah was doing the same thing now, realising that she knew a fair amount more than she revealed.
"You may have a point." He muttered, sending her a strange look.
She scoffed, "I don't need to be a seer to see the obvious, Elijah. Your brother has anger issues that he never learned how to deal with." She said simply, shrugging innocently before a small smile graced her face, "Kind of like me."
The threat was clear. And Elijah registered it.
"Alright then. You're keeping this conversation going so what is it you want?"
Aria smirked, "You're a smart man, Elijah. You wouldn't be so foolish as to write me of all people a blank cheque. So I'll give you another option. Have you ever heard of lovely little town called Mystic Falls?" She drawled, watching as his eyes widened in shock before narrowing suspiciously.
"I believe you already know my answer." He said evenly, observing her carefully.
Aria smiled cheerfully, "I do! And it just so happens that I'm in need of something I think resides there."
Elijah's expression remained stoic but there was a spark of curiosity in his eyes, "Which is?"
Aria shuffled in her seat, "You see, in Mystic Falls, there is said to be a rather large array of enchanted objects. Now, here in the Quarter, it's mostly cursed objects or dark objects. World of difference, trust me. Not many enchantments going on around here. But back to the point, one of these objects in your lovely old home has caught my fancy. Unfortunately, I'm not exactly in the position to go get it at the moment. You however…"
"What is this object?"
Aria smirked, "Just a little old thing called the Gilbert Compass. I don't doubt you'll be able to get it and as a sign of good faith, I'll start on the spell you wanted for Hayley's ring. It shouldn't be too hard considering I have the Daylight ring spell. It'll only require one or two changes."
"Why do you need the compass? I assume you wouldn't ask for it unless you knew what it was. What could you possibly need with it?"
Aria smirked widely and slightly patronisingly, as if his words had amused her, "Well that's my business now, isn't it Suit and Tie?"
A small smile unwillingly graced Elijah's face at the nickname and assessed her with interest as she blinked innocently and held her hand out, leaving it hanging in mid-air dramatically, "Do we have a deal?"
Elijah stared at her blankly before reaching over the table and shaking her hand, "We do, Miss Gerard."
"Lovely."
~*•°•*~
Aria's legs dangled off of the edge of the table in the Lycée Greenhouse as she drew out a long sigh of boredom. She and Davina had been waiting for Josh to arrive ever since they'd invited him to the Cemetery almost an hour ago but for some reason, he still wasn't here. She supposed that a Cemetery probably wasn't the best place to meet with your friend, especially considering that the Ancestors usually screamed at him whenever he visited, but Aria had been visiting for years. You got used to it after a while. Then again, the screaming had actually stopped a little after she was dubbed a 'Harvest Girl'.
Pausing suddenly at the thought, she hummed in contemplation before simply filing it away for a later date.
She felt Davina's gaze turn to her but ignored it until the witch spoke up, "You okay?"
"I'm bored… And surprised that Genevieve and Klaus haven't killed each other yet. I made a deal with Elijah though, but I'm not too sure if he's all that willing to help me with what I want. Never the less, he agreed. Now all I have to do is wait."
Davina stared at her curiously but Aria stayed stubbornly quiet before both jumped at a sudden noise behind them. They turned and, with a sharp breath escaping her, Aria went white at the sight of Josh lying on the floor just in front of the door.
"Josh?" Davina asked, practically falling to her knees beside him as Aria did the same beside her.
"I'm sorry." Josh gasped out.
"What happened?" Aria asked eyes blazing as she scanned her friend worriedly.
"Joshua went and got himself a werewolf bite! Well, a Hybrid bite, technically, but it will kill him just the same." Klaus explained, leaning against the table casually. Too casually.
Aria froze at his voice before slowly looking up, restraining herself from hexing him, despite the twitch in her hands, "Why in hell are you doing this? I've been helping you. Helping Elijah!"
She suddenly paused. Elijah.
A small smile unwillingly graced Elijah's face at the nickname and assessed her with interest as she blinked innocently and held her hand out, leaving it hanging in mid-air dramatically, "Do we have a deal?"
Elijah stared at her blankly before reaching over the table and shaking her hand, "We do, Miss Gerard."
Had Elijah… No, no, no. No he wouldn't. Heck, he probably couldn't. They had a deal, he'd given her his word and he wouldn't break it. He was Elijah Mikaelson, anyone who knew anything about the Mikaelsons knew that Elijah was the honourable one. He made deals, kept to his side of them and, most importantly, didn't break his end of the bargain.
But Josh was hurt.
"Oh, it's really nothing personal, love." Klaus said mildly, "Blame Davina for all I care! After all my overtures of friendship, she's once again sided with Marcel, forcing me to do horrible things to someone you both care about." Klaus knelt down opposite them and looked at Davina, "I'm not without mercy, Davina. I can cure him. But you have to cooperate, and tell me where to find Marcel."
Aria's blood ran cold.
"Why? So you can kill him, too?" Davina demanded.
Klaus shrugged, "Marcel chose his path. Seems unfair that Josh should have to suffer for it."
Davina stayed silent.
Only when Klaus sighed and stood up, turning around to leave the Lycée, did she call out, her voice laced in desperation, "He's at a warehouse at the docks! Thierry's place." Davina said quickly. Aria spun around to face her friend in horror, releasing a harsh breath as she glared at her.
"You see? That wasn't so hard, was it?" Klaus said as he turned and walked to the door.
"What about Josh?" Aria yelled as he stopped and turned back.
"Oh he'll live another twenty-four hours or so. I may need you two, and Joshua serves as wonderful leverage. The next time I ask a question, answer quicker." He said simply.
Aria's face dropped as he spun around before she threw her arms out violently, watching as Klaus was thrown across the room, "No! No you are not leaving Josh. Either heal him, or don't and let me finally show you just how much I hate you."
Klaus growled in return as he got to his feet, slamming her against a wall in the greenhouse, his hand around her throat tightly as his eyes glowed gold, "Watch yourself, Aria."
Aria's eyes narrowed in turn and she flicked her left wrist unnoticeably, watching through the corner of her eye as Davina and Josh disappeared from sight. It was an Advanced Cloaking spell she'd briefly found in Dahlia's Grimoire. Klaus wouldn't be able to go anywhere near them. But at the same time, Davina and Josh wouldn't be able to see them. It would take too long to lift the spell.
Flicking her right wrist, she watched as Klaus went flying away from her and crashed into a table opposite her, her hand going up to her throat and massaging it with a small grimace on her face. She pushed her hand back down just as Klaus began to rise from the floor and he went crashing back down. She knelt down in front of him, "As powerful as you are." She began quietly, "Know that you could not begin to understand my power. You don't know me, not really, but trust me when I say that I know you, Klaus. Heck, people who don't even know you think you're an arse. But it's different now. You're different. Do you know why?" She asked, a single eyebrow raised, "This time, you have someone you care about. This time, you have a weakness."
Was it a low blow, mentioning his unborn daughter? Definitely. Was she actually threatening her? Definitely not. She wouldn't be so low as to threaten a child. A child that wasn't even born yet. Somewhere, somewhere deep in Klaus' eyes, something shone. And it might have been anger, it might have been fear but it didn't look like it. No, it looked like regret. And it had Aria pausing for a moment.
A moment however was all that Klaus needed because he managed to flip their positions over so that he was sitting above her, his hand gripping around her throat yet again. Aria couldn't bring herself to care this time, "Go on. Do it. I dare you." She choked out, "I don't care anymore. Not if you're going to keep killing everyone I love."
That same emotion from a moment ago flashed in Klaus' eyes and just as black dots slowly obscured her vision, eyes flittering closed as the pressure became too much, the heaviness on her throat was gone. As was Klaus.
She heaved in shuddering breaths and rolled over on the floor as her hand went up to massage her throat gently. Eyes misting up, she shut them for a moment before opening them again. She lifted her hand weakly and muttered a quick phrase under her breath, watching as Davina and Josh appeared in her view again.
Almost instantly, Davina was by her side much like Josh though the latter took a considerably longer time to get there, "Aria?" Davina whispered, cradling Aria against herself as she pulled the teenager up, "Aria, what happened?"
"Klaus." Aria murmured, already pushing herself up as her eyes narrowed dangerously, "I'm gonna kill him."
"Woah, woah, woah." Davina frowned, pushing her back down, "No. No! No, you are not going after Klaus Mikaelson after he just landed you on your arse."
"Davina-"
"What is that?"
Both Davina and Aria turned to Josh in confusion at the sudden interruption before following his line of sight, only for their eyes to widen comically at what Josh had found. There was a small, tiny pile of blood on the floor. Blood that definitely hadn't been there before Klaus had entered.
A desperate look tugged at Aria's face as she tore herself away from Davina and began muttering under her breath, the blood slowly gathering into a puddle on the floor. She grabbed an empty cup from the table to the right of her and gathered it up before practically falling over herself to get back to Josh, "Josh? Josh, drink. Come on, just drink." She begged quietly.
Josh leant forward and slowly took the cup from Aria's shaking hands, downing the blood in one go before collapsing back against the table behind him. Aria watched him, with bated breath, before her eyes strayed up to his neck and the bite mark. The mark that was slowly closing up.
She grinned widely and let out an audible laugh of relief a lone tear sliding down her face before the smile suddenly dropped.
Marcel.
"He's going to kill them." She muttered, Davina suddenly turning to her as her words pierced the silence of the greenhouse, "He's going to kill them all!"
Davina's eyes widened and she gulped nervously, glancing over to Josh guiltily through veiled eyes before taking a soothing breath and embracing her friend, "Don't worry, 'Ari. Everything'll be fine." She muttered, Mikael's flickering form appearing behind Aria once more.
She furrowed her eyebrows in thought before clenching her jaw and nodding to herself, "It'll all be fine. I promise."
~*•°•*~
Davina sat beside Aria and Josh, both of which were asleep on one of the small sofas in the Lycée, and glanced over at them. She noticed how Aria was leaning into Josh almost childishly as his arm rested around her shoulders, as if shielding her from the world. Or from Davina. Gaze dropping to the floor as another wave of guilt crashed over her, Davina sighed as a tear dropped from her face to the cold, stone floor she was standing on.
She startled only slightly when she heard Mikael's voice behind her,
"Surely you're not surprised? Deep down, you knew Niklaus would get an answer out of you if he tried hard enough."
"Why are you still here?" She demanded quietly, keeping her gaze locked with the floor.
"I haven't much time left. But then, neither does Aria's family."
Davina squared her jaw and glanced over to Aria and Josh before sighing, "I can help them. I'll find a way."
"Even if you could, how long until it happens again?" Mikael questioned as Davina turned to him, "As long as Niklaus remains in your liens, you and your loved ones will continue to suffer his torment. I am the only man in history who's been able to drive him off. To bring him fear and pain. If Klaus is going after her family, surely they will suffer. To ease their suffering, you're going to need his blood. I've been known to spill a fair share of it."
"You'll help me save Aria's family?" Davina asked sceptically.
"I do have personal reasons for wanting Niklaus to suffer, but yes. I'd like nothing more than to help you two."
"And all I have to do is raise you from the dead."
"A small price to pay to fix your mistake of betraying Aria's family." Davina flinched, "And think of it, you'll be able to live a life free of a monster. Think, Davina. There still exists a weapon that can kill Klaus. Bring back the one being who has the strength to use it."
Davina bit her lip gently and her gaze dropped down to the floor; before she could reply to Mikael, he was gone. But in his place, was a teenager. Probably around her age or so. He was rather handsome, Davina admitted silently. Refocusing on the current moment, she narrowed her eyes slightly, "Who are you?"
When he didn't answer, Davina's eyes narrowed further as she followed his line of sight over to Aria. She looked back up to him, now confused, "Hello? Who are you?"
His gaze lifted from Aria and moved over to her, his dark eyes, desperate eyes, almost piercing into her soul, "You're Davina, yes?"
Davina's eyes narrowed again, "How do you know my name?"
The teenager – who she now realised was a ghost – smirked slightly, though there was still a hint of urgency in his expression, "Aria's rather fond of you."
Davina's eyes widened fractionally as her breath sped up slightly, "You-you're Kol Mikaelson."
Kol smiled, "Pleasure to meet you, Davina."
~*•°•*~
Now, because this chapter focused almost entirely on Aria, I'm just gonna remind you all of some major plot points in this chapter just to be safe. Francesca and her brothers all turned into werewolves and took the moonlight rings for themselves, but most importantly, Monique, Abigail and Genevieve took Hayley to the Church as she began to give birth to Hope. I am so sorry for leaving this chapter there, I know that I'm evil. But don't worry, the next one will be out next week. Xx.
As Always, SecretMidnightRose