Chapter 3: Behind the Curtain.
"That is so messed up." Jenna shook her head as she ate her pancakes.
Jasmine had gone home for the day and was currently sat around the table with her family.
"Those poor people. Imagine if they had someone like Teddy in their Coven!" Andy pointed to the bouncing baby boy in Jasmine's arms. He was coming up to his first birthday and he was as happy as ever. Jasmine missed seeing his little face every day. "He uses magic constantly. Would they kill him for something that most metamorphs can't control?"
"I doubt it, And." Jasmine shrugged over Teddy's bright orange hair. Today was a Weasley day. "Marcel is an ass but I don't think he'd kill a baby."
Jeremy and Alaric were already at the school, Jazz was excited to see them when they got home.
"And this Sophie girl?"
Jasmine smirked at Jenna, "well I may have restrained her and hung her from a ceiling. Nothing she didn't deserve of course." She flinched as teddy grabbed a giant lock of her hair and tugged it.
"I think our little wolf may disagree with that!" Andy nonchalantly said sipping her tea.
"Hey! I let her down. She linked her very mortal life to my possibly mortal baby. Bitches gots to pay." Jasmine defended.
"Never. Ever, speak like that again." Jenna said with a straight face, pointing her fork at Jasmine.
Then all three women burst out laughing. Shocking baby teddy into letting go of the fascinating hair.
"Sorry, I've been watching A LOT of reality TV lately. Being stuck in a house plotting with my boyfriend whilst his brother gathers Intel in his coffin isn't as fun as it sounds. Plus, Marcel knows I exist and he isn't very fond of Witches. Have I mentioned that?"
"Oh please. That sounds better than being stuck here in Mystic Falls." Jenna rolled her eyes. "You get parties and Mardi Gra and parties."
"Nothing's stopping you from coming to visit, Jen," Jasmine said honestly. "But Nik and I are hoping to not be there for very long."
It was a lie but she felt better them knowing that they would be home soon. She knew Nik didn't want to leave. New Orleans was his home. Jasmine knew that. She felt the same way about Hogwarts. But she couldn't move her family again. Not until it was at least safe and even then she wouldn't expect them to.
As her internal rant was reeling her phone began to ring. Holding Teddy tightly in one arm she answered.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Jasmine, it's Sophie. There's some pissed off blonde Original here shouting about Elijah and bastard brothers. She thinks I'm the maid." The Witch said hurriedly and Jasmine groaned.
"Nobody told Rebekah?! Wonderful. I'll be there in a minute." She hung up and placed Teddy in Andy's awaiting arms. She smiled sadly and said her goodbyes. "I'll be back soon."
-x-
"So Elijah wanted to be daggered?" Rebekah looked unconvinced.
"It's all part of our plan. To unlink me and free the Witches we needed to know how Marcel is controlling them. It was Elijah's idea. He's daggered but we removed it and replaced it."
"So he's conscious?" Rebekah asked hopefully.
"Yes, wherever he is. Klaus is keeping a close eye on Marcel. He's devious." Jasmine added.
"You don't have to tell me." Rebekah rolled her eyes.
"You knew him too then?" Jasmine hadn't been sure, what with Nik's tendency to dagger his siblings.
"I knew him well." She said vaguely but Jazz decided not to push it any further.
"Actually, It might be better if we actually pretended to be looking for Elijah. That way it wouldn't seem suspicious. If you did know Marcel, then he must know how you and your siblings hate being daggered." Jasmine strategized as Rebekah nodded.
"Or I could actually look for Elijah. If we find out where he is or even a general area, then we're one step ahead, just in case."
Jasmine smiled, "Actually I have a general area. I placed a tracking charm on Elijah's daylight ring before Klaus took him, just in case Marcel decided to lift it for insurance, but I must not have made it strong enough. It tripped out when he was in a certain vicinity. I think it might be near the weapon. Your plan, I like it. Get whatever information you can. I need to go into town and gather some more info. I'm going stir crazy in this house."
Rebekah smiled, "Once Elijah is back. I won't be staying." Her smile turned sad. "Nik and I haven't been seeing eye to eye lately."
"That's an understatement. Try the last century. You guys really need to sort yourselves out. I love you both and I don't want our baby not knowing her Aunty Beks and I know Nik doesn't either." Jasmine truthfully said and Rebekah smiled.
"Thank you, Jazz. Maybe your baby will be the thing to finally mend this broken family."
"That's a lot of pressure for something that the size of a plum." Jazz laughed and Bekah rolled her eye.
Rebekah left to start her investigation whilst Jasmine applied her glamour and apparated into the small alley beside Rouseuxs.
-x-
Davina was confused.
As she was examining the magic in the dagger, that came with the coffin wrapped Elijah Mikaelson, she got the sense of a familiar magic but it wasn't the same face.
A leggy blonde, with the same death magic and brown eyes.
Davina didn't know how, but she was sure it was the same witch. She sketched out the face and snapped a quick picture on her phone before sending it to Marcel. She had to help him find this girl.
-x-
Klaus was on a different mission. Keep Marcel occupied and stay on his good terms.
The former was hard but the latter was something Klaus wasn't used to. He was usually the person that others were trying to please.
"What was all that about?" Klaus asked.
Marcel had gotten a text and immediately went to make a call, pretty far away from what Nik could tell since he hadn't heard a word. "Ah, it's nothing. More witch business. A 'leggy blonde' was apparently sawed doing magic in the French Quarter."
"Now that one, I do not know," Klaus said truthfully. The cute blonde bartender caught his eye. "Ahh, pining after the bartender from Rousseau's I see. You do have a type, old friend."
"She's a work in progress." Marcel smiled, "but Business comes first." He shrugged, knowing Klaus would understand. "The coroner called. He's got my number in case any dead tourists show up."
"Let me guess – dead tourists with a stamp on the hand and vampire blood in their veins?" Klaus didn't guess. He knew exactly what Marcel was talking about.
"It happens. Someone takes a drunken tumble off a balcony, or into the Mississippi... And today I got two of them to deal with." He sighed shaking his head, though his smile never left his face. Klaus faked a look of sympathy. Since he had been the one to compel the two tourists to be as reckless as possible.
Klaus watched as Cami rose from her seat and gather her stuff. Nik smirked and his old friend and the stood.
"Excuse me, love. What's that you're studying?" He asked her, catching her off guard.
"Abnormal psychology." She confidently told him.
"Abnormal psychology, well. Perhaps you could help me diagnose my friend over here." Nik pointed to Marcel. "He's been a little bit depressed, can't keep his mind off a girl. He tells me she's a queen, fit for a king. I think he should cut his losses and move on. What's your professional opinion?"
Cami turned to Marcel. "Be a nice guy, and maybe the opportunity will present itself some day."
"How about tonight, nine o'clock? I'll meet you right here?" Marcel stepped up and took control. Or at least that's what he thought he was doing.
She looked at him for a while and with a straight face said. "I'll take it into consideration." before smiling and leaving.
"Mm, harsh." Marcel frowned but his expression went back to its normal smile.
"I daresay I've lost my touch. Or you've lost yours." Klaus smirked at his friend and shook his head.
-x-
Jasmine was basking in the sunlight, enjoying the warmth of the late winter.
Sitting on a bench in the town centre and eating a doughnut.
Her nausea was a lot better now she was taking Molly prenatal potion. She was enjoying the feeling of being able to stomach food again.
Halfway through she noticed someone watching her on the other side of the busy street.
And another, to her left.
Rolling her eyes and sighing, Jasmine stood up and wiped her mouth. Inwardly cursing, as she threw her doughnut into the bin.
As she moved through the crowd she could feel them following her. Vampires. It was a weird sensation, things that had died made her hairs stand on end and changed the atmosphere around her. It got thicker, she thought that any other person might not be able to handle the magic weight but Jasmine walked through it seamlessly.
She turned off the street and into an alleyway.
The two vampires behind her every step of the way.
When she reached a dead end she turned to face them.
"Oh my god!" She exclaimed, feigning shock before it fell to a straight unreadable face. "You're definitely not the best pair of sleuths I've come across. Honestly. You're loader than Ron snoring." She rolled her eyes.
"The King wishes to speak to you." One droned.
"Well, Larry. Can I call you Larry? Well, either way, I don't have a King. In England, we have a Queen. So whoever you're talking about is not my King."
'Larry' glared and bared his teeth, his face contorting. "The King of New Orleans. Marcel Gerard."
"Ahhh him?" Jasmine knew exactly why they were there, but she was stalling to ponder the pros and the cons. Maybe Marcel needed to meet a witch he couldn't control. It had crossed her mind before Elijah went under-coffin that it could be one of her kind. That maybe Marcel had come across a core magic user and that he or she had a similar spell to the underage magic one. She wasn't going to chance being trapped in an anti-apparition ward. Not after what she saw happen to Jane-Anne.
But after what had happened with her tracking charm, she had felt the magic. It was definitely Wiccan and that she could deal with.
"Yeah okay, let's go see Marcel." She agreed.
The vampires looked shocked. They had been told to expect some resistance, but she hadn't even tried to run.
"And no funny business. Touch me and I'll hit you with a hex so fast you won't be able to sit for a month and that's with your fast healing." Jasmine was deadly serious. She had a mean stinging hex. Jenna had felt it for weeks. "Now. Lead the way." Her master of death powers kicking into play, even if the vampires couldn't feel it, they were compelled not to touch her.
They looked reluctant, but they didn't want to test their look. Larry nodded and turned around, surprised to hear the blondes heels clicking after them.
-x-
It wasn't far, Jasmine liked to walk. She thought that most wizards overused their magical transport. Her included. If it wasn't for magic and glamours, the wizarding world would probably have a weight issue. The one thing she didn't miss, however, was all the stairs in Hogwarts. After her first couple of weeks, she vowed to live in a bungalow when she graduated.
The two vampires held two iron doors open for her as she walked into a courtyard of sorts, with familiar crests on the pillars that looked to be holding up the beautiful structure. Most of them were covered in overgrown ivy, but Jasmine would know it anywhere. There was a beautiful fountain at the centre and the staircases were enough to make her renounce her bungalow vow. What she'd give to live in a place like this. The two vampires were either side of her.
"Marcel." One barely shouted and Jasmine rolled her eyes. They must have planned some intimidation tactic, but Jasmine knew, Marcel knew they were there as soon as she entered the property.
"Ah, you found her." He said as he came into view on the balcony, before jumping over the edge. He was barely a few feet away, but Jasmine wasn't scared. Her enhanced baby-magic, as she dubbed it, had told her there were no wards, she could leave in the blink of an eye.
"Yes, boss and she came without a fight. Wanted to even." 'Larry' said, catching Marcel off guard.
The 'king' shrugged and turned his attention to Jasmine. "So you're Klaus' new witch."
This caught Jasmine off guard. Nik had informed her of his conversation with Marcel, but she was under a glamour. She didn't show her shock, only nodding before waving her hand and dropping the disguise.
"That's me." She smiled slightly. Marcel was shocked at her nerve by doing magic in front of him. "And you're Marcel. The egotistical 'king' of New Orleans." The word kind rolled off of her tongue like the punchline to a joke. Something that Marcel hadn't missed.
"Well, Miss-"
"Potter."
"Miss Potter. Despite your scepticism, I am the ruler around here, and Klaus' witch or not. Magic is forbidden in the Quarter." He said, his shit-eating smile never leaving his face. Marcel was already in her bad books and he was making it worse.
"Magic, is my birthright, Mr Gerard. I won't have some lowly vampire like you telling me when and where I can use it. Even if you can tell I'm doing it." She said sternly.
"You see," His smile never faltering. "I don't think you understand how a hierarchy works, Princess. You do magic, you die. Now you've already had the audacity to use magic in front of me and in my town, but I'll let that slide. Obviously, you weren't privy to that information. But, I do not give second chances. If you even think of or do magic in MY town again, Klaus' witch or not. You will die. I will kill you myself." He was very close to Jasmine now, whose eyes were wide like saucers, Marcel thought he had won.
Until the little lady started laughing, hysterically, It was too much. He was so full of himself.
"Sorry, sorry. I'll be serious. Sorry, ahem." She wiped away her tears. "Maybe you didn't hear me!" She said, still holding back the laughter. Using an overpowered banishing charm, Jasmine sent Marcel flying. He wasn't expecting and Jasmine revelled in wiping the smile from his face. The two vampire wanted to help but they couldn't touch her. She was their master. She turned to them whilst Marcel was regaining himself. She smiled sadly but snapped their necks. They'd wake up with a slight ache, but Marcel only respected a show of power. So she was going to give it to him.
"Magic. Is. My. Birthright." She grounded, walking slowly towards Marcel. "And I'm not Klaus' 'Witch' or his groupie or his servant. I'm his girlfriend. Bother me again and no one, not even Klaus, will be able to save you, Marcel Gerard."
Marcel didn't even try to get up.
"Oh and if this was a hierarchy, I'd be the bloody Queen." She hissed before disappearing.
The 'king' of New Orleans was well and truly subdued. He was knock on his arse by what looked like a teenager. And her power. He had never felt anything like it. Not even from Davina. None of that, however, was on repeat in his. There was only one word.
"Girlfriend?" He muttered.
-x-
"Where have you been?!" Klaus asked worried as Jasmine popped into the house, he embraced her and she smiled, hugging him back tightly.
"I went to check out the Quarter, it was lovely." She said into his chest. Nik pulled away, rolling his eyes. Holding her at arm's length. "Until two of Marcel's puppets 'cornered' me."
"What did you do?" He asked, a small knowing smile on his face.
"I went with them to see Marcel. He met his match. You were right about a good show of power. I don't think he'll be bothering me again." She said grimacing. "That's not even the best part."
Nik chuckled slightly, "What else could there be?"
"I was under a glamour. Marcel still knew it was me. It's not just faces he knows. It's magical signatures as well. That's how he figures out what witch does what. It's some sort of magical signature reader."
"He told me he had word on a blonde witch using magic in the quarter, but he didn't tell me he knew it was you!" Klaus growled.
"Well, now he knows I'm not just your groupie and he knows I can't be used as leverage either. Though I did have to show him the hard way." She shrugged.
"Well, the important thing is that you're both okay." He sighed, pulling her into a hug again and placing a kiss on her head.
"We're both amazing."
A door slamming and an angry shout interrupted them, "Well I'm not." Rebekah walked into the room, looking slightly disheveled. "You were right. The girl, Cami – she's the key. Marcel likes her, and because of that I got to see the secret weapon of his that you've been going on about."
Both Jasmine and Klaus looked shocked and Jasmine was slightly excited.
"Well, don't stand on ceremony. What is it?" Klaus was even more eager.
"It's not a 'what', it's a 'who'. A girl, Davina. She can't be more than sixteen, and I have never felt power like that." Rebekah explained. "She's on a whole other spectrum."
"A nature witch?" Jasmine asked and Rebekah nodded. Jazz felt like she was about to vomit. "A witch keeping other witches from using their gifts."
"She's not just any witch, she's something I've never seen before, something beyond powerful for a simple nature witch, and she has Elijah. Who knows what she could do to him."
"Where is she?" Nik demanded.
"That clever bitch. I don't know." Rebekah tried her hardest to remember where Marcel had taken her.
"What's wrong?" Klaus tried his hardest to not sound concerned.
"She wiped my memory of the location. Marcel possesses a weapon bigger and more powerful than an Original. Jasmine may be our only hope in stopping this. She's the only other Witch I know more powerful than this Davina."
"Well, now we know what the weapon is, I think it's safe to say that Elijah's mission is over." Jasmine announced, "We're going to find this Davina – whatever it takes. Are you going to help me?" She directed her question at Rebekah who smiled and nodded.
"Whatever it takes."
-x-
Well, that was chapter 3. They know about Davina. Next Chapter, Jasmine will find out more about the baby and she will team up with Rebekah to find Davina.
I hope you enjoyed it. I loved writing Jasmine in this chapter. She's so fierce and still a badass pregnant witch.
Kat xox