EVELINA
As I pulled away from Elijah, I noticed he was staring at Davina's neck where her blood was pumping. "You're the one they call honourable," Davina said to Elijah after I noticed the black veins quickly appear before disappearing again.
He smiled at her before he questioned her while sitting down in the chair he was leaning against; "Yes, that's what they call me. And yet, I followed my brother here to New Orleans to engage in a war. So, I ask you: does that sound honourable to you?"
"You don't look well," Davina stated the obvious making me chuckle lightly and roll my eyes. Good job stating the obvious there, sweetie.
"Well, only this morning I had a mystical dagger embedded in my chest, so I'd say I'm holding myself together quite well," Elijah paused for a moment before continuing; "Davina, I believe that you and I have the power to end a war between witches and vampires before it truly begins. I, by keeping my brother in line; you, by behaving like your true self—not some tool for Marcel or the witches."
"And why should I trust you?" the teenager questioned which is making me believe she has never dealt with a vampire who wasn't fed regularly.
"Well, for one thing, in spite of his ravenous hunger, we have both not tried to take your blood," I spoke for the first time in the conversation with my words having a slight hint of a threatening behind them.
"Why not? We are the only ones here," Davina stated with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Even in my present condition, I would not feed from a child," As Elijah spoke, Davina walked over to a table and picked up a hat pin.
She stood in front of him and pricked her finger with the pin. A drop of blood clung to the end of the needle as she held in front of his face. We all remained silent for what felt likes days until I gripped Davina's wrist tightly and moved her hand. The drop of blood dripped into Elijah's mouth and after a moment, he gasped before his skin returned back to his normal complexion. My hand released Davina's wrist as she gave us a small smile.
I was now sat on Davina's small bed while she drew and Elijah walked around; looking at her trinkets. As he walked beside her, he held a damaged violin in his hand. "Do you play?" he asked the teenager and I noticed her face change to one of almost sad before speaking; "That's... not mine."
I raised an eyebrow at her hesitation to answering his question which led me to believe the violin belonged to someone she cared deeply about...and that person was no longer present in her life.
Elijah sat down in a chair and began to tinker with the violin until we heard loud footsteps coming towards the room. Quickly, Elijah hid while I laid down in the spot where I woke up, pretending that I was still under Davina's spell. "Good news, Little D. I'm moving you out this pile of dust," even with my eyes closed, my enhanced hearing could hear Marcel walked over to Davina.
"Are you serious? When?" Davina asked in excitement before Marcel answered; "Tonight. I just need to lock in the arrangements."
"How's our Original?" Marcel asked as I heard him begin to walk over to Elijah's coffin which was now empty.
"Uh, don't disturb the body! I have a spell in progress," Davina lied which even with my vampire hearing, I couldn't tell. Smart girl.
"Bet you do," Marcel's voice was filled with pride as he spoke to the teenager.
Suddenly, I could feel his presence leaning over my body and I had to remind myself that I couldn't react as I was supposed to still be asleep. "And his wife?" a growl almost escaped my lips.
God, I hated being referred to as that.
"She's strong but I'm managing to keep her under," Davina swiftly lied again and I felt almost proud at her ability to keep a steady heartbeat when lying.
"Pack up, 'kay? Only what you wanna take. I'll buy ya anything else you need," Marcel spoke again before I heard his footsteps leave the room and the door closing behind him.
My eyes flashed open before I jumped back to my feet; stretching my arms up cause sometimes, even a vampire gets uncomfortable from laying completely still.
"You didn't reveal that we were awake," Elijah said to the teenager who responding back; "We're not done talking yet."
As Davina turned her back towards us, Elijah picked up the violin again and I sat down on Davina's bed. "You and Marcel seem very close," I stated to her; looking down at my nails and fiddling with them.
"Marcel's my family," Davina answered which her voice led me to assume that he was her only family.
How can someone so young...only have him as family?
"And yet Marcel is someone who delights in harming the witches. Those people, I would think, you would consider family. This doesn't trouble you?" Elijah asked in curiosity which I also shared the same feeling about Davina's attitude towards her fellow witches.
"No. They deserve it," I could feel Davina's anger towards the witches which made my curiosity grow as did Elijah's.
"Why would you say that?" I asked her; wondering what the witches did to her to make her hate them.
"Because they're liars. All of them. They made me and my friends do this Harvest ritual. They said our participation would bring our family strength, health... that we'd forever be celebrated as saviours of the community. But all they really wanted was more power. So, I left before they could get it. Now, they're running out of time, because after the Harvest, comes the Reaping. And if they don't complete the Harvest, there won't be a Reaping. Soon, all the witches in the Quarter will start to lose their power. Eventually, they will cease to be witches altogether," Davina explained and I stared at her with my eyebrows frowned in confusion.
Harvest ritual? Never heard of it.
"So what does it take to complete this ritual?" Elijah asked and her answer sent shivers through my whole body
"I have to die."
My eyes widened in horror as I couldn't believe that these witches were out to kill this young girl. She had her whole life ahead to her but now, someone was trying to cut it short.
Elijah continued fiddling around with the violin as Davina packed her suitcase with my help. "So, enlighten me. What did you mean when you said you had to die?" Elijah asked the teenager from his spot in a chair.
"That's was the Harvest was. They said they'd put us four girls in a state of, like, peaceful limbo as part of the offering. And then later, at the Reaping, we'd awaken and be reborn. I never got as far as the limbo part, which means the Harvest isn't complete. That's why the witches are so freaked out. The Reaping is just around the corner, and if they don't finish it before then, it's over. All I have to do is wait it out," Davina explained which made me ask; "And then what?"
"They're punished, and I'm free," she answered which it was unknown what exactly she would be free from.
"From Marcel?" Elijah voiced my thoughts.
"Of magic. All our power will drain away. I'll be normal," she informed us and she smiled slightly at the thought of being normal.
I have the same wish as her. To be normal one day but I was cursed to this life...whether I wanted to be or not. The downside to being born a Petrova doppelganger and Siphoner.
"Is that what you want? To be normal?" I asked her; feeling pity for myself that I couldn't have what Davina had.
She gets a choice whereas I didn't.
"I just don't wanna be what I am. I can't control it sometimes. The magic. I...hurt people. Even when I don't mean to," Davina's voice grew sad at the thought of those she had hurt through her magic.
"Why don't you tell me about your friends. You must miss them," Elijah changed the subject as he noticed Davina's sadness.
He placed the violin on a table as I sat down on the bed again; holding onto a piece of Davina's clothing. We both gave our full attention to the young witch.
"There's Tim. He doesn't know about any of this witch stuff. He's normal. My best friend, Monique. She was a part of the Harvest too. She's lucky. No one ever fought for me, but someone fought for her. The only one who ever spoke out against the Harvest was Monique's aunt," Davina explained which made me ask as I was curious as to who would speak out against their coven; "And who is that?"
"Sophie Deveraux," When the name of Monique's aunt was said by Davina, I noticed Elijah's eyes widened in shock which led me to believe that he knew Sophie.
Davina sat down next to me on the bed and continued her story; "No one but Sophie ever questioned the Harvest. Not even my own mother. So neither did I. We thought it was such an honour, we had such faith. We were so stupid."
I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, feeling both her anger towards her coven and her sadness about the fellow Harvest as I believed they were killed from what I have heard from Davina so far. "So how did it begin?" Elijah asked as his curiosity for this ritual grew.
"We were led out like princesses. My mother was so proud. Bastiana, one of the Elders, called upon the four elements to bind our past and future magic together. Earth, to connect us to our ancestors. Water, to heal the community. Wind, to carry us to our ancestors and back. Fire, to purify. After all our preparation, we knew exactly what to expect. For weeks they told us that the magic in the knife they used to cut our palms would put us to sleep and that later at the Reaping, we would all be resurrected. They said we'd awaken, and all be together and more powerful than ever. And it was just like we rehearsed it. All that was left was a little cut on our palms for the blood sacrifice. Even after Sophie tried to stop it, we didn't suspect anything," Davina went on to explain that instead of a cut on their palms, it was a cut to their throats.
I gasped as I was horrified that someone would willingly murder children in order to gain more power. "Everyone involved in the ritual knew that this would happen," Elijah stated as he too was also horrified with this ritual.
"Except the four of us. They weren't putting us to sleep, they were slaughtering us! I begged for someone to help. My own mother turned away from me. Sophie screamed and screamed for her sister, anyone, to do something. But no one did," tears filled Davina's eyes as she relived her memory of the Harvest.
"And witches would call us monsters," I spat as I tried to comfort the crying teenager.
I was disgusted with this so-called ritual but it shouldn't even be called that; it should be called murdering young girls for so-called more power.
"And yet you survived. Therefore, someone or something intervened," Elijah stated and Davina nodded as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Yes. Someone finally did," Davina confirmed and I knew, that person was Marcel.
"Every girl who died released her power on to the next. When I was the last one, I suddenly had all of it, all the power that was supposed to be released back into the earth to appease our ancestors," she continued explaining which caused me to be even more surprised.
"Wait. So... the Harvest was actually working?" I asked her which made her snap back; "Something was working. And I knew that I was supposed to be killed so the Harvest could be completed and we would all be resurrected. But, they lied to us about how they were killing us. How do I know they weren't lying to us about coming back?"
Her last question lingered in the air for a moment before she continued; "But mostly, I just didn't want to die. So, I let him save me. Marcel saved my life."
Davina had finished her story and continued to pack with my help as Elijah finished fixing the violin. Once he was finished, he walked over to Davina and held the violin up towards her, proudly. "You may return this now to its rightful owner. It's restored," he explained to her before she took it in her hands and stared down at it.
I saw sadness fill her body as she stared down at the violin. "I don't even know if I'll see him again," she spoke and then the room began to shake as if there was an earthquake.
At first, Elijah looked at me but I nodded my head towards Davina who was looking around the room in fright. Suddenly, the window shutters burst open before the shaking slowly stopped. "Davina, this power that you have from your fallen friends...it's too much for you. You need to control it," I said the young witch as I held her shoulders in my hands then Elijah cut in; "Which requires study and practice."
I opened my mouth to speak but Elijah stopped me and continued explaining to Davina; "Now, my mother was a very powerful witch. She left behind her grimoires, a legacy of books filled with spells. These books contain all of the tools that you might need to control your magic. If you free me from here, I can share them with you. However, if you leave now with Marcel, we'll never see each other again, and I cannot find you, and I can't help you."
Davina was silent for a moment before she spoke; "The witches manipulated me. You know how that ended."
"This is not manipulation. This is one thing in exchange for another. I'm offering you a deal," Elijah explained and I shook my head as he knew nothing about what kind of power Davina possess.
But you knew, don't listen to me. I'm just someone who has been dealing with magic for OVER 500 YEARS!
We quickly made up a plan to prevent Marcel from making Davina leave and when Marcel arrived, Elijah was hiding in his coffin while I was laying on the bed, pretending to be under the spell and hoping that Marcel won't question how my body was moved.
"Okay, now's our shot. You ready to blow this joint?" I heard Marcel ask Davina as he entered the room to see her waiting on the bench at the end of her bed and her suitcase beside her.
"Can't wait," she announced before I heard them begin to walk away before stopping as Marcel spoke; "We'll leave those two behind as a parting gift. Might buy me a little forgiveness for pulling one over on Elijah's siblings. Let's go."
Once they were out of earshot, my eyes flashed open and I sat up on the bed. I saw Elijah pull himself out of his coffin and we waited patiently to see if Davina decided to follow through with the plan or not. Suddenly, the building began to shake which led me to believe that Davina did decide to follow through with the plan. As we heard Marcel's footsteps leading back to the room, we quickly hid and watched as Marcel places Davina into her bed and tucks her in under her blankets. He looked at her for a moment, which made me smile at how much he cared for her, before taking his leave. Once he's gone, Davina opened her eyes and sat up in her bed. "Evelina? Elijah?" she called out to us which was our cue to come out of hiding.
"I'm pleased you stayed," Elijah spoke as we stood at the end of her bed, looking down at her.
"You'll keep your promise about your mother's spell book?" Davina asked; confirming Elijah's promise to her.
"I will. You know, difficulties aside, I value my family above everything. I am sorry that yours failed you," Elijah apologised to her which caused my eyes to roll.
Yeah, lovely family you got there.
"Your brother Klaus handed you to Marcel in a box, yet you still don't give up on him?" Davina asked as she didn't believe Elijah's value about family.
"Well, I've given up on giving up. It's an affliction. I will fight for my family until my last breath," Elijah stated which made Davina respond back; "And I'll fight the witches until mine."
Before we took our leave, I quickly gave the young witch a tight hug which surprised both her and Elijah. "I promise I'll be back," I whispered into her ear before releasing her from my hug.
I gave her one last smile before leaving the room with Elijah following behind me. Once we were out of the church, I stopped and let Elijah walk ahead. When he finally noticed I had stopped walking, he turned around to look at me. "You know I should leave this town. It's not safe now that your family is back," I remarked to him and he gave me a small smile.
"They are your family too," he remarked back which caused a loud laugh to escape my lips.
"My only family is Katerina," I snapped at him, crossing my arms over my chest.
We remained silent as we stared at each other until I stated my thoughts about Davina. "The power that Davina possess...it will kill her and everyone around her. Not even her controlling it will stop it from happening."
Those were my last words to Elijah before running away from him. I didn't leave New Orleans that night. In fact, I stayed there for a while because when the Mikaelsons are involved, they always seem to pull me back into their drama.