Hello loves!

As always, I own nothing. Now let's get on with it!


CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN


Aria Rebekah Gerard found her current situation to be rather tremendously dull.

She was cradling her jaw in her right hand, her left strewn over the table yet still pressing against her chest as she contemplated the baby witch sitting before her. Rebekah Mikaelson was an enigma of sorts, and having been stuck with the girl for the past month, she found herself beginning to question things of which she had once been so certain of. Since becoming a witch, she had been rather spectacularly… wonderful.

She was unsure as to why it had taken her so long to realise quite a thing about the woman, but perhaps it was because when she was free of the restraints her vampirism presented, she appeared to feel rather free. Far more like the stories her father had told her – perhaps with a wistful tone – of her namesake. My condolences, he had always ended up responding after every story, though the teasing did little to mask the genuine nature of the two simple words, Rebekah always manages to bring out the strangest stories in me. I was reminded of her today, you see, just this morning, in fact…

The tone would revert to something she imagined would be spoken a hundred or so years ago, and it was clear from his smile that he was trying to play it off as teasing, but it had been clear that her leaving – he had always said that whilst Klaus and Elijah fled, Rebekah had left, he was quite insistent of the fact actually – had hurt him in a way she was sure even he didn't understand.

And now she finally understood why he had been so besotted with her. She was fun. And nice, and she just seemed so much freer than she once had. Aria wasn't under any illusions that the baby witch preferred this body to her original one, but whilst the lack of vampirism might've been considered disorienting, she doubted very much that it was a bad trade off. Perhaps she was biased, perhaps very biased, but it wasn't like heightened senses and, well, increased everything was all that comparable to the exhilaration felt when magic was crackling through your very being?

It was almost as ridiculous a thought as the recognition that Aria was absolutely certain that she knew what was going to happen in the next day or so.

The quiet suspicion had been there for a time now, mingling somewhere in the darker recesses of her mind, and though it was difficult to quite describe, even to herself, she supposed that the simplest way of thinking about it in a way that didn't immediately give her a headache was that she had met quite a number of witches that claimed to be able to look into the future – none of which had actually possessed the gift, but that was exactly the point – and they all described it very simply as the stark knowing about what they were doing, where they were going, whichever such thought tickled their fancy. Though all of them had been found out in one way or another, and nothing had ended very well for them. Psychics were quite a thing, true psychics that was, and there was such a bold difference between having some premonition in some such dream or another and then knowing so clearly what was happening. Although saying that – thinking, rather – both of those attributes contributed to the phony witches claiming they had the gift.

Aria had only ever met one true witch that could predict the future, and the man had explained it vaguely, but surely. They never received such a true picture as if it had been presented to them like a gift. It was most regularly several puzzle pieces, each of which received in such a dreamlike state, and every one of those presenting an entirely muddled sense of a view that never became clear. Ever. He had explained that whilst he knew something may be happening in the days to come – or weeks, months, however long his prediction foresaw – he never knew what it was that was going to happen until it did.

And then he had started prattling on about some spell or other that had completely distracted her and convinced her to lose the train of thought. She eventually settled her muddled mind with the knowledge that even if she didn't quite understand what was going to happen much like he never did, she could be at peace knowing for a fact that she was unburdened by knowing the future, and must simply settle with the strange sense of Deja Vu that was currently being forced upon her, reminding her that she wasn't actually going mad. Whilst she may not understand why this place gave her such a strange sense, surely the knowledge that any road she took would ultimately lead her to the destination. If she indeed didn't know what the issue was, and she most certainly did not, then she would be led to the outcome regardless of anything she did, as any path she took would most definitely find her ending up there.

Though, in that moment, another thought occurred, and she then winced at the Alice in Wonderland-esque spiral her thoughts were turning down.

Though perhaps I should simply refer to it as a rabbit hole, she mused.

That particular consideration, or rather contemplation, was where she drew the line, and she shook her head to rid it of the spiral, trying desperately to reign in the madness that she had invertedly called forth. It was oddly reminiscent of the culmination Dahlia's echo supplied her with, and the thought made her skin crawl. At that point she rolled her shoulders before shaking her head again to refocus. That second time it did the trick, and she thanked whatever would listen to her that Rebekah hadn't found it time to look up or even notice the direction her thoughts were heading.

Though it brought a host of other issues to mind, and Aria sighed in mock exasperation as Rebekah struggled over the text sitting before her, glancing briefly to the clock and noting it had been only ten minutes and yet the witch had yet to say a thing.

"Use your common sense, Bex."

It wasn't necessarily harsh, but it was urging and did the trick because it prompted the woman to consider something and then look up, doubt shining in her eyes. Aria knew that she hadn't found the answer from the look alone, but entertained the possibility she was wrong with a raised eyebrow, watching Rebekah's finger slowly move to the spell she was searching for. After successfully identifying the type, Aria had her hopes, but they'd begun dwindling at the following lack of addon.

"…This one?"

"I give up witchcraft!"

Rebekah didn't dwell in despondency for long and at the second attempt at questioning, Aria lifted her head and eagerly gestured for her to continue. She had guessed the right spell, and therefore the chant, now she just needed to explain how she was to execute it. At that moment, Rebekah truly did seem rather concerned however, and so instead of explaining it, slowly dragged the letter from the side of the table and examined it, eyes only briefly darting to Aria for encouragement, of which Aria only betrayed her support and hid the worry, before she crumpled the paper and gripped it tightly in her hands.

She glanced back over to the book, and muttered the spell beneath her breath, waiting for the sensation of full hands to leave. After another several seconds of nothing happening, she screwed her eyes shut and repeated the chant, eyes widening even if they were closed before they did in fact open and she uncapped her now-empty hands.

The answering smile was bright and an excited squeak broke loose from Aria as she leapt forward and wrapped the baby witch in a tight embrace. After a second of sudden disorientation, the embrace was returned with equal and yet more enthusiasm so much so that it took everything Aria possessed to not lose herself to the contentment of the situation, to believe everything was fine and this was the very best of ways that the future could go, the way that whilst she felt so very content with her friend, she had the nagging burden of Kol in the back of her mind, the pull to him just as strong as if he were physically standing behind her.

She fought the very feeling – the very fact – that she knew deep in her heart that she would be all too happy to remain in this very moment forever.

With that thought burying itself in her subconscious so as not to disturb her too much, Aria found herself only mildly confused by the way that she pulled back, even as her chin had tucked itself comfortably into the nook of Rebekah's neck. Nevertheless, she smiled at the witch's shining eyes, so different yet so completely Rebekah Mikaelson that they momentarily stunned her.

"I'm sure Freya was wondering why it's taken so long for us to reply." Aria drawled after a second.

Rebekah rolled her eyes in a response, "She knows we're busy. And besides-" She picked up another letter sitting beside Aria before waving it in front of her face, "She wrote a whole damn essay. When were we going to have time to read this?"

Aria winced, "Should we have read it before replying?"

Rebekah brushed off the concerns, "We can read it now, or later. I scanned it anyway, I replied to any bits worthy."

Aria plucked the letter from Rebekah's hands and scanned over it curiously, briefly noting the key parts before nodding, "We can read it later."

She smiled lightly and handed the letter back to Rebekah, leaning back and slouching slightly in the chair, crossing one leg over the other, and reaching to brush her fingers over the book lying long forgotten on the table, "But it is nice to know she hasn't forgotten about us."

Rebekah rolled brown eyes and the letter tumbled from her fingers and into her lap as she stretched, "Of course not. We're too wonderful to forget."

"Naturally."

"Obviously."

Aria smiled again and let her eyes close, "Still, there are plenty of other witches in New Orleans."

She could hear the smile behind Rebekah's words, "Don't be ridiculous, love. She adores me because I am the sister she's been searching for her whole life and there's no reason she shouldn't. But she idolises you, truly. You two have a bond I don't even understand."

"That's because I'm a witch."

Rebekah frowned, "I'm a witch too."

The New Orleans witch opened her eyes just to roll them in response, "A witch who could barely chant correctly six months ago."

Rebekah smiled, "Well I've gotten much better at being a witch now. Thanks to you, of course."

Aria grinned, "You have a talent for it, I'll admit. Though it could just be my superior teaching."

Rebekah scoffed, "You sassy little thing." She mumbled lowly.

Aria opened her mouth to retort, but instead, the woman across from her sighed and stood, stretching once again as she let Freya's letter tumble from her lap onto the floor. She reached down to pick it back up and dropped it onto the table, forgetting about it quickly enough, "I'm going downstairs, love. I'm worn out. Want anything?"

"No thank you, Bex."

"Suit yourself."

Aria rolled her eyes fondly and smothered a laugh as the woman left the room, the door clicking shut before her eyes strayed back down to the Grimoire, quickly turning calculating. She grabbed it and crossed through a doorway behind her before jumping to bounce onto the bed in the centre of the room and making herself comfortable, clasping the blanket with her feet and pulling it closer to reach. She puffed the pillows behind her and sat back as her fingers quickly flicked through the pages to the one she needed, and she began scanning the text.

She figured that if her and Rebekah could find a powerful enough hotspot, then perhaps they could channel it. Of course, the power needed would probably already be claimed by another witch, so maybe if Rebekah helped her, if they could convince them to at least give them a hand, and if not, then they wouldn't need it for long, so they might be able to just take it for the briefest of time-

You are adhering to completion and yet simultaneously feel so un-whole. Unnatural. How curious.

Aria looked up, confusion crossing her face as she looked around the room with narrowed eyes. Rebekah was still gone, likely downstairs doing something far more fun than researching through century-old books – hell, even something that Aria had been so excited over the concept of was quickly becoming boring – but that was all besides the point. She was alone in the room. Completely alone. Her eyes strayed to the doorway and if someone were in the room, they would have seen a disembodied head staring at them, because the door itself was still open. She knew for a fact that the door to the rooms itself was locked, and there wasn't anywhere to hide in the case that someone was there. Tentatively, she tried reaching out to see if she could sense another witch possibly using some cloaking spell of sorts, but there was nothing. She reached a bit further and felt the vague stirrings of Rebekah's newfound magic downstairs, but that was it.

The voice had sounded as clear as Dahlia's echo once had, and panic briefly gripped her before she slowly released it. Dahlia was locked up this time, not even just asleep, locked and trapped.

So… what? Had some other witch found a way to replicate the echo?

The thought itself was enough to give Aria pause before she scoffed to herself and went back to her book. She was sleep-deprived, emotionally exhausted, and now comparing the imaginary echo to some real spell. If that were possible – it wasn't – but if it were, the ramifications of such a spell could be catastrophic. Communicating through the mind was far too messy on its own, and it was possible in certain forms. But imprinting your voice into someone else's mind was just as dangerous as it was terrifying. The very being could be exploited that way, any part of the mind, the body even, would be completely unprotected.

She stopped reading yet again as something occurred to her. She had pushed the voice out of her mind, but the idea of imprinting on someone's mind was an interesting concept to say the least. She knew from experience that some kinds of spells didn't need chants associated with them, and that if you were familiar enough with one that did need such things, you could perform the feat without the need being there at all.

It wouldn't help with Kol in any way, but it was definitely something she would love to dabble in when she had the time, even if it was just further entertaining the thought.

And now you find yourself ignoring the truth of which sits right in front of you. It is almost amusing.

Aria's head snapped up suddenly and she intended fully on responding to the voice, however mad that may have seemed, when another sound from the entrance to the room came. She eased her voice, massaging the base of her throat quickly before speaking, "Bex? Back already?" It didn't sound too strained, and as another loud thud followed, she laughed lightly, and turned back to the book yet again, "We've agreed not to take our focus off of your brother, you know. If you've already found yourself exhausted by today, I wouldn't blame you, but I'd appreciate if you found your way to your room quietly. And beyond that, I would appreciate no snoring, please."

Her smile faded quickly, and her attention turned back to the entrance at the lack of reply, "Rebekah?"

She tossed the Grimoire carelessly to the side and stood up, carefully making her way around the bed. From her view, she couldn't quite see the door, but with a step beyond the threshold to her room, she could see a wild tangle of hair belonging to a body on the floor, as if they had fallen forward after returning and opening the door. Rebekah. Shoving aside the momentary panic, Aria steeled her breath and backtracked into her room, reaching into the drawer of her bedside table, keeping eyes firmly glued on the hair, as she searched for the sharp edge and hissed slightly as it caught her finger. She pulled the knife out of the drawer and gripped it tightly in her right hand as she slowly edged towards the door for the second time.

Maintain your focus. Do not rely solely on the use of your magic.

Perhaps she was going mad. Truly, the voice was a little more than terrifying, and she had the feeling the thought had occurred to her before but she ignored such suspicions, and she supposed at this point it made some sort of sense. She was a witch. But the frightening truth was that some other witch could form an anti-magic barrier around her room at any given moment. They'd have to be powerful, but it could happen more than she'd care to admit.

In fact, gently reaching out to see if she could cast a spell and finding herself painfully unable, she barely supressed a growl. This had to stop. It wasn't just irritating, but it reminded her of instances where she had no magic, where it was entirely inaccessible, and she didn't want to think about how it was her first and only line of defence in a fight. Before Aria could make another step, a foot stepped over Rebekah's unconscious body and, without thinking, she lunged, the knife's sharp edge gleaming in the light.

And tried to forget the rest.

~*•°•*~

These symptoms mimic those of a head trauma.

It was hours later that Aria had brought them to a safe space and proceeded to set Rebekah comfortably enough. She found herself dabbing at her head with a cool compress, willing the woman to wake up and trying to simultaneously block out the voice in her head. Neither were working.

You're not helping, Aria thought back bitterly.

I am merely informing you-

She didn't care, and when she dabbed the compress a slight bit harder than necessary, the voice seemed to take a moment to consider before speaking again.

She is waking.

Somehow, its tone was now crisper, as though it was trying to hide its irritation at her ignoring it. She was rather sure the voice would label it as ignorance, rather than paying it no mind, but the words got her to focus back on the unconscious witch, dabbing the compress a bit more as she gently roused her into consciousness. Rebekah's head lolled to the side and her eyes opened blearily as they locked with Aria's, "Love? What's wrong?"

She was quite sure that she looked either terrified, or horrified, and that Rebekah wouldn't quite be able to make the distinction in her sleep-addled mind. But she let out a quick breath of relief, "Bex. You're awake!"

Rebekah rolled her eyes in what could only be described as fondness, but it looked as though she immediately regretted doing so as she winced. Aria could imagine the rather brutal migraine her head would be protesting with, and by the way she quietly cursed the loss of her vampirism before she hissed and grabbed her head, Aria thought it would be slightly psychotic to give an amused smile when she was probably questioning what the bloody hell had happened.

Aria sighed, "Sorry about that. I've been a little focused on not letting your new body shut down."

"Shut down?"

Aria gave her a faint smile and watched as Rebekah's eyes flickered around them, only just seeming to realise they were in a different room, "Love, where are we? What happened?"

"We weren't exactly… We weren't safe." At Rebekah's still confused look, she elaborated, "A witch tracked us down. He reeked of dark magic." She forced a smile onto her face, "But don't worry, he won't be bothering us anymore. He'll wake up needing a little trip to a hospital but… he'll be fine."

Rebekah nodded slowly, and glanced around the room again.

"Where are we?"

Aria glanced around the room, as if she'd been trying to work that out herself, "It's a motel. I just booked us the night. It's low key, inconspicuous. No one will think to look for us here until we move tomorrow."

Rebekah gave the witch a faint smile that somehow looked just like her own, despite being in a completely different body.

"Well, I suppose it could be worse." She glanced around, "Where's the bathroom?"

Aria gave her a slightly sheepish smile, "There's a gas station about ten minutes away?" She offered. Rebekah stared at her dumbly for a moment before she chuckled weakly, "You're joking."

"The living room?" Rebekah tried.

"There's a small waiting room in the reception."

"The other bed?"

The woman looked positively scandalised as Aria shook her head

"I'm sleeping on the sofa-"

"Absolutely not."

"Bex, there's no choice."

"Like hell there isn't! You're not sleeping on some stained probably rat-invested couch in the middle of nowhere!"

"And sleeping on a stained rat-invested bed is better?"

Aria thought she'd imagined Rebekah pale and quickly glance down to the bed beneath her, but by the still slightly queasy expression she held, she guessed it hadn't been her imagination.

"Look, it was the only place I could find that was far away and wouldn't question my bringing an unconscious girl in with me."

Rebekah conceded to that.

"Well I won't allow any friend of mine to sleep on some old sofa." She scooted across the small bed, "Now come on. It's probably late and I don't want to stay in this forsaken place a minute longer than I have to."

Aria gave Rebekah a small smile and quickly cleaned up after herself before turning the light off and settling next to Rebekah.

The silence was overwhelming until the teenager sighed, "Rebekah can you move over?"

Rebekah grunted a response.

"I'm sorry but I can't speak mumble, Bex."

"Too bad, I'm tired. I'm angry. An attempt has just been made on our lives. And this bed is tiny. Now shut up."

Aria rolled her eyes and supressed her laugh when Rebekah spoke up again, "I can hear you rolling your eyes, you know."

"Well maybe if you'd move, I wouldn't be rolling my eyes."

Another argument very quickly ensued.

~*•°•*~

They packed up from the motel and left the very next day. The sun hadn't quite risen so by the time they were driving, it was still particularly cold outside and Aria felt the chill biting at her cheeks. It was soothing, almost, even as she bundled tighter into her coat. A faint ring started buzzing in her ears and she turned to Rebekah just in time to make out the end of her sentence, "…The map?"

Aria blinked, blankly, and then unfolded the map and glanced at it, "The Olive Heights Hotel should be right up ahead. And your witch will be there, right?"

"His grandmother owed me a favour a century ago, darling. So unless he wants his grandchildren to deal with a future problem, then yes. He will be there. Then when we're all caught up, we can get out of Virginia and back to our city."

Aria nodded, a small smile forming on her lips, and folded the map into neat squares, leaning her head back as her eyes fluttered closed. A small crease formed in her forehead as a brief, splitting headache emerged, and then dissipated as quickly as it came. She let out a low shudder, not loud enough for Rebekah to hear now that she'd lost her advanced hearing, and then settled herself by taking a deep breath.

The air in her lungs made her feel a bit better, and she tentatively wondered if this was the type of thing Freya had meant whenever she talked of waking from her coffin. The relief at finally taking a full breath of air rather than the shallow breathing, or indeed false breaths that they had experienced in the shadow world. She opened her eyes and looked over to the woman beside her when she felt tension spike in the car, and opened her mouth to say something. Rebekah held up a single hand before she could get anything out, and her tone came out surprisingly cutting, "Not a word."

Aria looked behind them to the road, nothing. She looked ahead, empty road. Rebekah's phone was in the glovebox, and she hadn't said anything to upset the witch. What had soured her mood? Rebekah's fingers flexed on the wheel, and she let out a low breath. Quicker than Aria could comprehend, the car slammed to a stop, and she held onto her seatbelt tightly as she bounced forward, and then hit the back of her chair with enough force to give her pause.

She winced and her jaw clenched in what she recognised was anger, and spun to Rebekah, positive that her eyes were flashing, even if it was impossible, "What the fuck was that?"

Her tone was awkwardly breathy, and irritatingly frightened, but it seemed to knock some sense into Rebekah because she turned to her, eyes wide in surprise as though she hadn't realised she was there despite talking to her not two moments prior. But she still didn't say anything, "What the fuck was that?"

The second try at least made Rebekah open her mouth to respond, but nothing actually emerged, no sound, no nothing. It was almost like she had just lost her capacity to translate thoughts into words.

"Rebekah!"

"Did you hear that?"

What?

"You stopped… slammed on the breaks, even… in the middle of the road… because you heard something… off?"

Her tone was as slow as it was threatening, and it only served to let panic enter Rebekah's eyes. That dulled her anger momentarily.

"Tell me you heard it."

"Rebekah, I don't know what you're talking about. There was no sound."

"The voice? Nothing, really?"

Aria's forehead creased, and she looked around to assert that there was no sign of a car approaching them quite yet. Nothing. Which meant nothing that could cause a sound, either.

"Was it your phone?" She kept her tone even, but even as she tried, it still sounded relatively pissed.

Rebekah seemed wild as she shook her head, "Aria. Tell me you heard it!"

It was times like these that it didn't surprise Aria in the slightest that Rebekah and Klaus were most certainly siblings. The equally demanding and childish voice with fearful undertones, not to mention the wide eyes. Manic. Even if they didn't belong to Rebekah, truly belong to her, they still somehow mimicked Klaus' ever so clearly. If Rebekah was able, Aria was sure that she would be stamping her feet, hands tight in fists by her sides as her eyes sparked with fire. Instead, her head was now cradled in her hands.

"This visit should have made everything a touch easier."

Aria's eyebrows creased in genuine confusion. What was she talking about?

"The voice shouldn't be back, it's not possible."

Foolish girl. Risking not merely her own, but an additional life in addon. One life of which she claims so insistently to care about dearly.

Aria's head cocked to the side animalistically and without her own consent, twitching more than she'd care to admit to, and Rebekah locked onto the movement. Tears – genuine tears – hovered in front of concern, and another emotion Aria couldn't decipher even if she tried. Something told her she didn't want to try.

I would offer the assessment, but it appears you have already come to the correct conclusion.

"Shut up." The comment was said under her breath and even quieter than she had even once intended, but it appeared Rebekah heard. Her eyes widened in desperate surprise and the unknown emotion was now clear to be hope of some sort, and the girl wished she could backtrack.

"Who are you talking to?"

That gave her pause, and the teenager frowned. Did Rebekah… No, she couldn't possibly.

She has not reached potential enough to hear, I assure this. Understand, you must reach a higher level of being in order to-

Get out of my head you piece of absolute-

"Aria…"

Even the whisper was enough to break Aria from her thoughts, and she locked eyes with Rebekah again. The woman looked uncharacteristically devastated, and it frightened her greatly. Upset her deeply. Pained her indescribably. Whatever combination of words would define the uncomfortable swirl of emotions in her heart.

"Drive, Rebekah."

She was void of emotion, and Rebekah clearly wanted to do anything but what she'd been instructed. However, the situation seemed to finally clear any fog left over in Rebekah's mind, and she looked around in surprise before she began driving again. In the wake of the confusion, the only thing that had imprinted itself in Aria's mind was confusion.

What had just happened?

~*•°•*~

They arrived at the Hotel Olive Heights – Aria clutched onto the fact that she found the name particularly amusing far too tightly – and made no small talk as they entered the foyer.

Rebekah left her alone quickly, under the pretence of booking them in under whichever false identity she wanted, and it left Aria alone with her thoughts. Her hand went up to her head, and she winced slightly at the pressure, still unrelenting in its attack against her brain. She didn't want to think about what Rebekah had heard, she didn't want to think about much in all honesty. Since the witch those two days ago, everything had been coming and going at an alarmingly odd pace she just couldn't keep up with. Actually, saying that, it hurt her head to try and keep up with it. Almost as though some mystical force was stopping the thoughts from properly making sense in her jumbled mind.

It was almost as ridiculous a thought as the recognition that Aria was absolutely certain that she had been in their hotel before.

It had been hovering somewhere in her mind since the very second they had arrived, and she supposed that in the midst of all the drama, her thoughts had simply been far too muddled to make sense of the thought. But when she took an actual moment to think, she found that not only was the thought there, but it was accompanied by the particularly strong feeling and sense of uncomfortable understanding that made her certain she was following past steps – almost identical to the odd feeling she knew exactly what was going to happen in some kind of future from that moment.

Aria found that the familiarity of the whole place was a pleasant, if vaguely mind-numbing experience, but it did call to question of how exactly she found anything of the environment familiar. She was overwhelmingly certain she'd never been in the small town before – hell, did it even qualify to be a town? She couldn't even remember its name, so she rather thought not, even if it had a hotel worthy of the largest city in the world – but there was the equally overwhelming sensation of knowing exactly where everything would be that truly rubbed at her the wrong way. The thought occurred that maybe she hadn't been there before, maybe it was just one of those places that seems so purely mundane that it calls to your subconscious and claims it to be something worth recognition.

The place demanded the recognition, to be known for whatever the hell it wanted and yet she just couldn't call the memory to mind. All of it muddled with her mind far too much, and of course, she couldn't afford for that to be the case at the moment, so she called forth the realisation that whilst she didn't know the place, she knew it was in fact somewhere she should know, and that meant that she must simply remember whatever it was at some point.

Though much like the previous recognition, when she realised that her thoughts her begun to spiral into some Alice in Wonderland theme, she fixated on something else. Rather unfortunately however, the next thing she fixated on was Rebekah. It did the trick, she supposed. But the woman wasn't exactly the most favoured person in her mind at that moment so perhaps it wasn't the best idea to lose her initial train of thought.

Think, think Gerard. You're better than this. Rebekah… think about home, nope, not a good idea… maybe Klaus? She narrowly avoided gagging, Finn, perhaps?

At the very least, the duo of Klaus and Finn may be some sort of interest to her. In the wake of having united to defeat Dahlia, she supposed there would have been some sort of shift in the relationship. Either that, or they'd already offed each other. She knew which she'd prefer to have won.

Voicing such thoughts would be most improper.

Shut it.

The voice was certainly a subject she wanted to remain firmly locked behind her better sense. But it brought up a point. Betting on which Mikaelson had snapped first was a little immature. And considering she didn't even know the answer, she found that it brought her to some very genuine places she hadn't been ready for. Mainly that of the contact she had with them since leaving, well, there was a severe lack. Disregarding Benjamin, she knew absolutely nothing. The city could have burst into flames, or maybe even a very red blood bath, and she would be none the wiser. It didn't exactly sit right with her.

Maybe she was just trying to run away from all of her problems. And the further away she ran, the easier it may be to escape. And she was – escaping. So she could scratch her previous thought, she was definitely trying to run away from her problems. Maybe she should add her failures to that list as well. Along with all of the people she left behind. Marcel, Thierry, Davina, Freya, Finn. Should any other Mikaelsons be added to that list? She wasn't exactly sure. She may have been running towards Kol, but she felt as though she was equally running from the others, too.

Gods, could her mind not cooperate at all?

If you need any aid at all, I may be of some assistance. If it sits with you correctly, of course. Considering I have already been instructed – and so eloquently, too – to 'shut it'.

Aria's eyebrows raised in muted surprise. Was that sarcasm? Had the dreary drawl finally gained some kind of character? She almost felt proud.

Most amusing.

Hm. Well, she supposed this was one kind of upside. Undoubtedly entertaining, of course.

You certainly seem comfortable, in my mind. What exactly are you?

I am almost concerned that it has taken you this long to question it. Most would be particularly concerned at a voice unlike their own speaking to them.

Well unless I'm going mad, which I very well might be, you're not exactly at the top of my list right now.

The thing paused, and then when it spoke again, it's voice had a new, sharper edge. It still sounded somewhat dreary but there was also some… well it could only be described as disappointment. Perhaps judgement?

Ah. Yes. The boyfriend. Sad of course, what happened to him. But also unrivalled. Not many could say they have fallen victim to a curse as he did.

Oh piss off.

On a second thought this voice was going to be the bane of her existence. Especially when it continued dodging her questions like it was. But, she conceded, it was certainly witty. She supposed being stuck with a dreary and boring voice would be worse than a dreary and witty one. Though, the brooding was yet to be questioned. She had some feeling that she hadn't seen anything when it came to that particular state of mind. The endless torments of self-ridden guilt. She winced just thinking about it. Wasn't Elijah bad enough?

Rebekah approached her just as she began to take notice of her surroundings again, and she automatically took the key held out to her, eyeing a similar one in the woman's hand before her, "Keys to the room. I think I threw my back out in that bed last night."

Not a sign of the girl she'd witnessed earlier. The fear the witch had been exhibiting. Aria didn't fight tilting her head to the side, inspecting the girl in fascination. How did she do that?

Rebekah very clearly recognised she was being watched, but paid it no mind, and for a brief moment, Aria felt that she might just have hallucinated the whole thing.

I assure, you did not.

Says the voice in my head.

It sure got over her irritation quickly, didn't it? But her response silenced the voice, regardless. If it wanted to be all mysterious and not tell her where it came from, then she could avoid it for as long as she wanted.

You do amuse me.

Didn't it mean anything that she didn't want to talk to it?

I take great offense to being called 'it'.

The realisation that it had free reign over every thought in her mind struck her, but she moved past the topic. She took the key from Rebekah, smiling lightly, and they set up a staircase. Aria followed the woman, and the woman navigated the identical halls like she had been there only a thousand times before. It gave her a mind-numbing moment of respite.

Then pray tell, what is your name?

We have already discussed that my name is of no significance.

The two of them had done what now?

Of course you don't remember this. Pity.

So if I can't call you an it, do you have pronouns? They may very well be the last step in my referring to you as anything other than 'it'.

There wasn't an immediate answer. But she had the very bold feeling that she was in the wrong ballpark entirely with her question.

Are you human?

That was the better question, she knew it immediately.

You already know this answer… Very well, refer however you wish for now.

It shut itself off from her, and she didn't know how she knew that, but she did. She had some feeling she wasn't going to be privy to its presence for a while, now. So with the knowledge that the conversation seemed to finally shut the thing up, though she still had many questions, she settled herself with the knowledge that it had finally shut up. Even if it was due to processing, just as she was.

She waited for a long moment for the voice to come back and make a snarky comment. She felt rather disappointed when there was no such response. It afforded her some kind of peace, though, and for that she was grateful.

The quiet allowed her to recognise that she had been mindlessly following Rebekah up some stairs and through some hallways, and it appeared that the woman hadn't made any effort to talk. In fact, it rather looked like she was stuck in some world of her own, still weaving through the halls as if she had been there before. For all the teenager knew, she had.

They stopped at one door in particular at the very end of a hall, and Rebekah opened it with practised ease, unlocking it by twisting the key a way it didn't seem like it should have been able to go. The door swung open, Rebekah walked inside, and Aria was left briefly knowing for a fact now that this wasn't some random hotel.

When she followed in, it only took a quick look around to recognise it was quite a lovely room, exactly the type of place Rebekah Mikaelson would visit whenever she needed a little her-time, "Come here often, Bex?"

Rebekah hummed, and crossed to a sofa, collapsing down and making a happy noise, "Used to. Haven't had much chance in this century, though."

Aria frowned, "How long has this hotel been here?"

The woman made a face as she thought, "A little over a century, actually. I came here quite often after I left New Orleans." She grinned, "It's crawling with the Supernatural. Quite a safe haven, actually."

Aria arched a curious eyebrow as she sat opposite Rebekah, only briefly surprised at how comfortable she found it, "This place caters Supernatural?"

"Exclusive, actually."

That wasn't too difficult to believe, actually. The place felt suffocated by magic.

Aria clasped her hands together, "Alright, so your contact here is going to give us whatever information we may need to get Kol back, and then we should actually be able to complete whatever spell or ritual we need to. After that-"

"Did you truly not hear it?"

"Hm?"

Rebekah cocked her head to the side, "The voice."

Anger spiked again, "The one you slammed on the brakes for."

Rebekah nodded, and it seemed that even in her new fragile human state, the possibility of harm wasn't all that worrisome to her, "Precisely. You were talking to something though, love, so if it wasn't what I heard, then we should probably refer you to some professional."

Aria prickled and sat straighter, "I'm not going crazy."

Rebekah's eyes softened minutely, "I'd never suggest as such. Merely that if you are hearing something, there may be a cause behind it that a witch can decipher, and thereby heal you from. I'd despair to see you ill."

The admission seemed entirely innocent, but there was a specific edge to Rebekah's eyes that mimicked Kol's in a way she wasn't quite sure what to do with. She cleared her throat, "Can we just focus on Kol before me?"

"With the greatest sympathy, Kol is currently in the worst state he could be. You, my love, are very much alive. You take priority, in my book."

"Kol's your brother-"

"And you're my friend. I care about you, and I don't wish to see you hurt." She shifted, and it seemed like she blocked some kind of emotion off when she spoke next. It sounded different, and distinctly less… vulnerable than it had a moment before, "Besides, I'm sure Kol would want you in peak shape. He has a rather nasty temper when things he likes are caught between his family."

"Things?"

Rebekah sent her a look, "You know exactly what I mean. I merely imply that Kol typically gets more attached to things than he does people. I'm glad he's changed it up, though." She smiled, it seemed somewhat strained, "You're a lovely road trip partner."

Aria couldn't bite back a smile at that, and fought to duck her head. The Mikaelsons were certainly a charming bunch, she didn't know what to do with it sometimes, "You're not too bad yourself. But I'm never letting you drive again."

And she was thoroughly surprised when Rebekah Mikaelson blushed.

~*•°•*~

The lobby was filled with people, and whilst Aria had wanted to approach several of them, Rebekah swore that the numbers would increase eventually and she'd have the opportunity to talk when they themselves had more time. She'd led the teenager into the restaurant in the hotel, and then to one of the private tables at the back. It was significantly quieter than the front, and Aria absently noted it had only a handful of tables, and its own bar. One person stuck out like a rather sore thumb, and it seemed that it was also the person they were walking to.

She only stumbled slightly at the way he looked quite relaxed, especially for a deal he was about to be making with an Original. A sinking feeling in her gut, she moved closer to Rebekah.

"Does he know we're coming?"

"Nope. Though he will help us, I assure you this."

The witch stared, wide-eyed, "You do this a lot then?"

"What can I say? People owe me a lot of favours, and it's best to catch them off guard. Keeps them honest."

"How very Mikaelson of you."

Rebekah shrugged carelessly, "It's a gift, my love."

The term of endearment, caught for the second time that day, pricked at Aria. Yet she had no time to question when the woman took a seat beside the man they'd approached, and found herself taking the one on the other side. The man only tensed slightly, and she saw the corners of his eyes crinkle slightly, before he went back to whatever he was doing. It looked like he was fiddling with some contraption – it reminded her somewhat of how she had once behaved with the Gilbert Compass, though this looked more like a bracelet of kinds – and he seemed very insistent on ignoring them both.

"You're not going to say hello? It's only polite, after all." The Original spoke after a moment, a delicate pout on her face.

The response was instant, "I don't negotiate with witches." He briefly looked up at her, and then to Aria, and then back down to his work, "And that is what you are."

"You do now."

The man sighed, "Allow me to rephrase. I don't like dealing with your kind."

The man had barely spared a glance at them, and he already recognised what they were? Rebekah seemed rather impressed when Aria glanced at her, and then turned back, her tone holding a new bite, "Yes. You do."

The man stopped and let out a resigned sigh. He finally looked up, smiling falsely, "I have a hard time believing you could get me to do anything."

"Awfully passive aggressive right there, don't you think love?"

"Couldn't agree more. Very rude."

The man had looked between them as they spoke to each other, and with a final eye-roll, turned back to his bracelet. Aria plucked it out of his hands, and held it up to the light, one end dangling from her grip in what looked more like a noodle than it did a circle. He'd been trying to join the two ends? As she mused, she ignored the way he tried swiping only for Rebekah to grip his hands. A small smile crested her face. The woman may have lost her strength, but her reflexes remained to be impressive. Aria thought so, at the very least.

It only took a moment for her to identify what the man's problem was, and she adjusted the end of the chain he'd tangled before moving to click the bracelet together and join the two ends. Immediately, she found a resistance building, and though she frowned, she didn't make a move to stop until she heard as such.

Do not.

There was no instruction after that, and the thing had shut itself off once again, but that had been particularly insistent. Aria's eyebrows furrowed, and she felt compelled to reach and identify whatever magic was on the bracelet. It took a moment before she realised there was nothing. He was… trying to restrict the use of magic? Like the shackles?

She slipped the bracelet into her pocket and turned to the man, resting her chin in her hands and narrowing her eyes, "Why'd you wanna get rid of your magic?"

Between the chain and his insistence on not dealing with 'their kind', it was a clear conclusion. But he still seemed rather surprised, "How'd you figure that?"

"There isn't any magic in it."

"You can tell?"

"I can do more than tell. I'll fix it if you help us."

Rebekah imputed just as the man was about to reply, "He already has to help, love, you don't need to go out of your way."

Aria flashed the woman a smile at her pout, and then man frowned in confusion, eyeing Rebekah oddly, "Why should I help you?"

"Your grandmother owed me a favour, darling."

The realisation dawned in his eyes at an impressive speed, and Aria had a nagging feeling that as the blood rushed to his face, he was going to faint.

"Mikaelson."

Rebekah's warm smile had turned sharp again, "Exactly. I'm here to collect, love. Unless you'd like to hand it off to future generations?"

"What do you want?"

"Directions. Just directions."

That caught Aria's attention, and she turned to her quizzically. Rebekah ignored her gaze, firmly setting her stare on the man, even as he fell further into a state of confusion.

"Directions?"

"I need knowledge of the nearest hotspot. See, we plan to complete a spell and we need a significant power source to do so."

"So you need access to power bigger than you can get on your own."

"Exactly. Anywhere you'd recommend?"

The man seemed almost comically distrusting of the woman, so Aria reached into her pocket and pulled the chain free, dangling it back and forth in front of him. It caught his attention, and he turned to her, relaxing somewhat. She raised an eyebrow, a teasing smile on her mouth, "I think Rebekah forgot to say please."

He stopped the chain's motion and Aria let it drop from between her fingers. He caught it and twirled it around, inspecting her changes. Eventually, he snapped it around his wrist, and the teenager almost felt the magic disappear as it drained. All of it was now somehow existing within the bracelet, she could tell, and she fought back the desire to empty the contents of her stomach at the careless way he had rid himself of his gifts so rapidly.

But he seemed to be relieved, rather. Whilst she was curious as to the reasoning behind such a feat, she held her tongue, because he now seemed to actually be considering offering the answer they needed. The one that would give them the power they needed to bring back Kol. And then they could all go home. The thoughts had Aria positively giddy, and the feeling spread through her body, veins crackling like they were on fire, almost until everything went fuzzy. It was unendingly pleasant.

"I know there's… a hotspot a couple towns over."

He wasn't looking at the Original, he was looking at her. She felt almost flattered, "What is it?"

"A certain witch burial ground."

Aria's eyebrows knitted together, "What's so special about the burial ground?"

"A hundred witches were brutally burned to death there."

Rebekah sighed, and it only took a glance to recognise that she was quickly losing patience, "Where?"

He stayed silent.

"Where?" Aria nudged, voice gentle. It seemed to be the only way he would respond.

"There's a lodge on a hill, apparently it's quite a tourist destination for the few visitors they get."

"What town is it?" Rebekah snapped.

Aria felt a nagging feeling in her gut that she knew exactly where he was talking about. Virginia, a hundred burned witches… it seemed uncomfortably familiar. He seemed to recognise this, and he had a small smirk on his mouth when he responded.

"Little town called Mystic Falls."

~*•°•*~

25/09/2022

DONE! FINALLY!

This was hands down the most difficult chapter I've written yet, and I have a sneaking suspicion it's deviating from my typical writing style just a bit. If this is the case and it gets at all confusing to read, a response would be entirely appreciated. I like to think my works aren't too information overloaded, and I wouldn't want this illusion to shatter.

But speaking of such: This chapter… It's quite an Alice in Wonderland vibe. And I have most certainly been vibing to Alice in Wonderland. Anyways…

SEASON THREE IS HERE! Gods, I love this season, I really do.

The biggest thank you to all you lovely people, and especially all you reviewers. Particularly Pixiegrl1978 and Xenocanaan who have been loyally reviewing for freaking months now. No clue who y'all are but you're awesome. (Also, if this part of the A/N if unwanted whoever you may be, I'll remove it as soon as I'm told. But seriously, your reviews are so supportive xx)

Many apologies for the in media res start to this chapter, it was the only way I allowed myself to write so I suppose that it may seem a slight bit confusing. Then again, the big words were somehow also flowing from my laptop, so I had little control over that either. Though I suppose it also rather sounds English, so maybe that's just the reason behind it.

So, if anyone gets Phantom Updates in the next few weeks, it's because I'm updating the chapters to remove Evanna or just edit parts that I find to be poorly written. Now whilst it's not necessary to go back and reread everything, I will say that my writing has progressed incredibly from the point I wrote the first several chapters, and even some later ones, so it may be useful. That's not to say I've changed entire plot lines, but I've certainly modified several things I've just never been happy with. Ultimately, they will lead to the same point, though. So, for the time being, y'all will be getting double updates. Exciting! Besides, it's surprisingly easier to edit what I already have than rewriting it. And plus, it gets me in the mood. I will also be including little date stamps on the chapters that have been updates just so nobody thinks they're losing their wits over something changing.

Also, I think I've finally found a way for Aria's stunt in the Church to make far more sense. If you do end up rereading, then it'll explain along the way but if you don't, then just think of it as a remnant of Dahlia's magic from limbo.

That all being said, I hope this update is worth it and thoughts are always appreciated.

As always, SecretMidnightRose