Ok, so this is the second chapter, yay ^^ ! I hope you like it. I apologize beforehand for any mistakes made! Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but the plot and Angelique!

~Nikkitosa

The Healer

I wake up around noon the next day. Rested and in a better mood, I take a shower and fix myself a quick brunch. While waiting for my toast I swipe through my phone, only to come across a few missed calls from Rebekah, three messages, telling me to call her ASAP and a reminder that it's full moon in five days. With a sigh I dial the blonde's number and place the phone between my shoulder and ear, all the meanwhile grabbing the toast and spreading some jam over it. She picks up after the third ring.

"The hell are you!?" her screeching voice in my ear almost makes me drop my phone.

"Lower the volumes. I'm having a breakfast." I drawl as I finally take a sit.

"Where did you go to last night!?" despite my plea, Rebekah keeps shouting my way and I growl.

"I left."

Silence follows and I use the break to take a sip from my hot coffee and a bite from my toast. Unfortunately, what came next made me spit the said things out almost immediately.

"Hayley is missing."

"WHAT!?"

"Who's yelling now?"

"Cut the crap! What do you mean Hayley's missing?" I wipe my mouth and take a sip of water, my appetite suddenly gone.

"She just vanished. Last night Elijah sent her off to bed and this morning when he went to look for her she was missing." the blonde's voice falls to a whisper and I stand on guard.

"Why are you telling me this? You, better than most, know how I feel towards werewolves."

A few silent seconds draw between us and I can almost feel Rebekah's contemplation whether to ask me or not.

"I need you to find her." she mumbles under her nose and I snort.

"Over a century long friendship and you still don't know how to ask a favour out of me, huh?" I roll my eyes and put the dishes into the dishwasher before heading to my room.

"Oh, c'mon! Don't make me beg ya!"

"Why? Will that violate your pride, Princess?" I mock and hear her hiss. "Any ideas where they may have taken her?"

"Do you think that if I knew I'd have called you?"

"Where have you checked?"

"All the obvious places. No one's seen or heard of her."

I exhale deeply and grit my teeth. I know what's coming next and I don't like it.

"Why should I help anyway?"

"Because you have a soft spot for kids, even the unborn ones."

"Low blow."

With that I hang up and quickly change into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt before grabbing my car keys and exiting the house.

"It's going to be a long day." I tell myself as I fire the engine and drive off.

Despite the fact that I tried not to uptight all of my strength into finding the girl, I somehow did it. Locked in a cabin deep into the woods, gagged and chained to a pipe, with a scratch on her head, Hayley looks rather angry than scared. Without talking and wasting precious time I rush to her side and break the chains, the low ringing sound echoing in the quiet forest.

"We need to get you out of here. Can you walk?"

She just nods and I pull her up. With her now messy chocolate hair, swollen eyes and fierce look, the wolf in her is quite obvious as well as the mother trying to protect her still unborn child. Without knowing, somehow I managed to form a connection with Hayley, despite her nature; the previous day and the fact that somebody tried to hurt her and the baby makes me wanna spill blood. 'Gee, that hasn't been round for a while!' my self-irony is cut short by the sound of cracking branches.

"We have company." I whisper mostly to myself and push the pregnant woman behind me. "Stay behind me and whatever you do – do not growl or act like a werewolf."

"Why?" she hushes in confusion while looking around.

"Let's say I'm not fond of your kind. And you being behind my back is a pretty big challenge for me as it is. Don't make my instincts act on their own."

And like on cue the enemy, witches as it comes out, appears from behind the trees, chanting some kind of a spell. Halfway expecting to feel the pain, I'm left somewhat disappointed that it has no effect on me. 'Repellent to magic? That's new.' yet Hayley isn't, and her pained howls make me frown.

Falling to the ground and grasping her head for dear life, the little wolf seems to be in a great pain. 'Her physical pain will ricochet on the baby.' and that thought alone makes me pull the small, compact blades out of their places and throw them at the witches. Obviously not expecting any sort of defence, let alone an attack, the three women fail to stop the spinning blades that pierce right through their hearts.

"Kidnapping and attacking a pregnant woman. Bless your gods that I'm not in a bad mood." I mumble and scoff while picking up the brunette and carrying her to my car.

After seating her comfortably on the first seat and confirming that she is better and the baby is in no grave danger, I fire the engine and drive back to New Orleans. The ride is silent and I like it that way – questions of how I found her and why I went searching for her in the first place will irritate me and the poor thing has had enough short-tempered females for one day.

"Why do you hate werewolves?" the sudden question startles me and for a second I consider not answering it. 'If I plan on staying, sooner or later it will come to this.' I tell myself.

"I had… a bad encounter with them a long time ago. Ever since, I've had loathed the Lykens."

"What kind of a bad encounter?"

Looking at her with the corner of my eyes I grit my teeth. Obviously realising her mistake, Hayley quickly tries to make things right.

"Sorry. I should not have asked. It's none of my business any way. Forget I even mentioned it."

The wind howls around us and blows the hair away from my face. The memories of that day start flashing in front of my eyes and I grip the wheel tighter.

"A pack of werewolves killed my sister and my daughter." the whisper leaves my lips fast.

No more questions are asked for the rest of the journey.

I stop my car in front of the Mikaelson house and get out. Hayley follows close behind after politely declining my offer to help her. Walking almost next to one another I wonder if there's even someone in the house. Unfortunately, there is.

"Hayley!" all the three of the siblings exclaim in unison after we enter.

A long line of questions follows and I use that free time to pour myself a generous amount of whiskey. 'God, I hate witches!'

"How did you find her?" Elijah's amazed voice brings me back to the present and I raise my eyebrow at him, yet stay silent.

"Indeed, how did you manage to find her? And so fast?" Nicklaus decides to take matters into his own hands, his words dripping with sarcasm and distrust.

"I have my ways." I calmly state and take another sip of my booze.

"That's not an answer." he states back and narrows his radiant blue eyes at me.

"I don't own you an answer." somehow my calm façade still manages to hold up pretty well.

"Nick, leave her. Hayley's safe – that's all that matters." Rebekah interferes and I scoff. 'All that matters, my ass.'

"Oh, come on, Rebekah! Don't tell me you'll just bloody let her do whatever she wants!" the Hybrid points his finger at me accusingly and this time I growl threating at him.

"Watch your mouth." I grit.

"Ha! Or what?" mocking me is never a good idea, and the youngest brother is about to find out why.

"Nick!" Rebekah's high-pitched voice holds a mixture of worry and warning, yet he doesn't seem be concerned.

In an eye blink the Hybrid is looming over me, his sparkly eyes examining me, mocking me. It's either the claustrophobic feeling that makes me act or the fact that's he's partially a Lyken I do not know, but before he can even touch me, my foot collides with his stomach and sends him flying across the room and right into the wall.

"Angelique!" Rebekah's plea is left unheard as I get up and walk to the fallen male.

He picks himself up, a sinister smile playing on his lips as he wipes the blood from his bitten lip. Before even making the slightest of move I pull my twin daggers from under my shirt and place one at his throat and one over his heart. A low burning sound is heard and the male hisses painfully as the blades, made of silver mixed with wolfsbane and vervain, touches his skin.

"Just give me a fucking reason to slice you down layer by layer, Hybrid!" I grit in his face and push the blades deeper into his skin.

"That's enough!" Elijah's voice bellows, silencing his younger brother's next words. "You have, indeed, proven your point and loyalty, Angelique. And my brother is a pain in the ass, that's a fact, but you cannot kill him, and you know that." his now pleading and reasonable voice makes me realise that, yes, as good as my blades are, they are useless against Klaus.

Stepping away and retrieving the weapons, I don't let the man out of my sight. He's dangerous when he's angry, and I'm sure right now he's a lot more than that.

"Nicklaus, apologise." the command in the eldest sibling's voice is evident and I barely contain a scoff.

The said man, on the other side, doesn't see fit to contain his.

"Like hell! She was about to stab me and you tell me to apologise?" he's getting furious by the second and all the bells in my head start ringing warningly.

"You provoked her!" this time it's Hayley's voice that splits the tense silence. "She found me, when none of you could, saved me even though she had no reason to do so and brought me back here, unharmed! And what did you all do? Didn't say even a single 'thank you', goddammit! And you, Klaus, you even dared question her like she was the bad one here!" the young wolf is now screaming at them and I just can't help but feel the slightest sparks of admiration towards her.

No one says a thing and I shake my head.

"Watch your back, Hayley." I say and leave the house.

'Damn Mikaelsons! Ungrateful bunch of bastards!' roaring mentally I drive away.

A few days pass before Rebekah's ID lights up the screen of my phone. At first I let the phone ring, not paying attention to the unstoppable beeping tone. Yet when after three minute it's still not stopping I pick up and hiss:

"What!?"

"Angelique? It's me – Hayley." her voice is a low whisper.

"Hayley? Why… Never mind, I don't want to know how you came in possession of her phone. What's up?"

"I don't know how to put this…"

"Straightforward, if you don't mind." I helpfully state.

"I know you won't like it but I… we need your help… again…"

There's a brief pause in which I can almost feel the young woman's hesitation oozing through the phone.

"Try me."

"Klaus's sick." is all she says, letting me digest the information.

"Sick? As in down with the flu?"

"More like the witchy variation of the flu, but yeah, something like that, I guess."

"And you look for my help, because…?"

"Well… they don't actually know I'm asking you for help-"

"You act behind the Mikaelsons' back? That never ends well, you know." I interrupt her.

"I'm aware, but his pride is bigger than his sense for self-preservation. Klaus told them not to call you under any circumstances. But he's not fine…"

"You know how I feel towards werewolves. And I despise Klaus even more. What made you think I'd help him, rather than let him rot? I'd actually enjoy watch his agonising demise. "

Hayley's silence gives me the answer I need.

"You thought I'd do it out of good will, didn't 'cha?" the ridicule in my voice is obvious and I know it.

"No, of course not." her sudden change of tone stuns me. "No one does anything out of good will these days. But think of it this way – if you save his life now, he'll be in your debt. The whole family will be, for that matter."

"None of them have something I wish."

"Maybe not, but isn't the thought itself, that Nicklaus Mikaelson owns his life to you, a tempting reward?"

I stay silent for a few seconds, thinking over what she just said.

"You are one cunning little wolf, Hayley." I smirk and agree to come and try to help.

When I arrive at the Abattoir, Hayley greets me at the door. Alongside with Rebekah.

"I thought you said the family wasn't approving?" I look at the young wolf and she sighs.

"Yeah, well, Rebekah is-"

"Looking after my brother." A scornful smile curls her lips and she scoffs. "God, that sounded so wrong."

"You were never the one to take care of them, that's why. Usually it's the other way around." I state and walk to the door. "Where's sick little Nicklaus?"

"You sure you want to go in there? He's in a pretty bad shape."

"How bad exactly?"

While we go up the stairs, with Hayley leading the way and adding some information here and there, the girls tell me that, indeed, things are bad - high temperature, bleeding, wounds that don't want to heal, hallucinations, pain, etc. By the time their report finally comes to an end we are in front of Nick's room.

"I'll go in first and try to… prepare him." says Rebekah and quickly enters, leaving me and Hayley in the hall, waiting.

"What's in your bag?" asks the young wolf and nods towards the big leather bag I carry on my shoulder.

"Herbs, potions, various medical instruments and other stuff." I nonchalantly say while looking at one of the oil paintings on the wall.

"Were you some kind of a healer?"

"I used to be a Healer, but truth to be told – it turned out that I was better with the sword rather than the scalpel."

A comfortable silence settles in and we wait patiently for few more minutes before the door opens and two Mikaelsons come out.

"Why have you brought her here? Nicklaus warned us-" Elijah begins scolding, but Hayley has none of it.

"Because he is dying, Elijah, and she is the only one that will at least try to help him!" her voice is rising and so is her irritation.

"He probably won't even recognize me anyway." I mumble and nod towards the door. "May I?"

The eldest one nods and looks at both women disapprovingly before turning to me.

"If something goes wrong or you need anything…."

"Don't worry – I can take care of myself."

Down with the flu doesn't even begin to cover Nicklaus's current state of wellbeing. From afar he looks a little bit feverish, yes, but when I near him I notice all the veins peeking through his pale skin like little purple spider webs. With every step I take towards him, I notice something new – yellowish skin, wounds gaping wide with dark, contaminated blood oozing from them. Furthermore he seems to be only partially conscious; mostly unconscious by the look of his limp body, sprawled over the king-sized bed. My presence seems to only waken him, but apart from a groan, he doesn't even open his eyes. I frown and near him cautiously, put my bag on the bedside cabinet and pull out a pair of gloves, a thermometer and a stethoscope. I take a deep breath and exhale, trying to relax my tense muscles. Truth to be told, the last time I examined a sick person was a lotta' long time ago and I may have gotten a little bit rusty with the healing part. And on top of that it is Nicklaus who I'm supposed to heal – half the vampire population, if not more, will die with him if I fail. Shaking my head I proceed taking off his soaked T-shirt. Never being the patient type, after some fiddling around I eventually rip the fabric apart and throw it on the floor. In front of my eyes reveals a well-build chest covered in thin layer of sweat, some deep gashes covered with gauze and a nice tattoo that starts from what seems like his shoulder as a feather and gradually turns into a flock of birds. 'Cool tat.' I muse and smile. Unfortunately I'm a sucker for nice tats, and this one is a really good one. 'Focus, goddamit!' I scold myself and grab the stethoscope, warm up the metal part a little bit and put on the earplugs before placing it over his hot chest. I can tell even from afar that he's barely breathing, yet when I hear the wheezing and shallow breathes he takes into his lungs I frown. Despite those abnormalities, he has no problems with the respiratory system that is for sure.

It takes around 8 and a half minutes to take his temperature and check all the wounds, wash them with some peroxide and watch as they start bleeding again, the dark substance too thick to be normal. All this time the only reaction I get from Klaus is a casual groan here and there and some groaning. Apart from that he stays mostly unconscious to my greatest relief.

I turn my back to him to grab some of the bottles and ointments I bring along and figure out the things I'll need, mentally making a list of the herbs I'll probably send Rebekah find.

"Which witch did you piss off this time, Nicklaus?" I ask, not really expecting an answer.

"A bitchy one." a low and hoarse voice answers, making me jump.

Spinning around fast I find a pair of blue pools staring at me from halfway lidded lids. Taken aback from his sudden awakening I only blink a few times, not able to say a word.

"Any idea what she did to you?" I manage to regain my vocal abilities in time.

It takes a great deal of persuasion from my side to near him now, when he's awake, even in his poor state. Yet I manage to mentally talk myself into actually acting while he's conscious, even if he may not realise who I am.

"Hold still. I need to check your eyes." I state, my tone professional. "So? Any clue?"

He doesn't answer right away but at least lets me flash the light in his eyes. They are bloodshot, sheaves of little red veins form nets around his irises and the usually radiant blue is not pale grey, reminding me of a blind man's eyes.

"Gave me some bloody potion." he manages to rasp out before severe coughs take over, his face turning into a pained grimace.

I furrow my eyebrows and quickly help him by turning his frail and weak body to the side then, after the coughs finally stop, offer him a glass of water with some herbs in it. He takes a few sips and pushes it away.

"You'll dehydrate yourself. Drink it. All of it. It'll help." I calmly state and offer him the glass once again.

His hooded eyes, blurred from the poison he had been made to intake, still don't recognise me, yet I seem to offer some kind of trustingly aura and he nods after a few minutes, his glare changing from doubtful to thankful.

I stay by his side for a few more minutes, checking his wounds, treating them, bandaging them. Then hastily flip through a little notebook filled with various potions, poisons, antidotes and other stuff I gathered through my years as a Healer. With ease I find some remotely similar symptoms to his, and frown yet again. 'Blow me!'

Closing the notebook and leaving it back into my bag I stand up and head for the door with fast equal steps. Upon exiting I clash with someone's strong chest. Taking a step back I see that Elijah had been lingering around the door.

"Pardon me, I just wanted to make sure-"

"Forget that! Someone must go in there while I'm out. Every ten minutes give him some of the water in the cup and changes the bandages – I have left the ointments and the other stuff right next to the bed."

"Where are you going?"

I strode down the corridor, almost run actually, and upon reaching the top of the stairs I whisper:

"Going to kill a witch."

Before someone thinks of stopping me or talking me out of it I run down the staircase, out of the house and into my car then drive like crazy to the cemetery.

As I already told you, I used to be a Healer. What I didn't tell you is that I was the best Healer ever to live and as pompous as it may seem, this was the truth. I'll spare you the details for now around why I gave up and made myself vanish but will cut straight to the point – like everywhere else there are certain rules for Healers and the Sorcerers, aka witchy Healers. The most important one, the First Rule, applying for both the types of Healers, is never, under any conditions; involve the Underground Herbs (UH) in a treating process. For those of you who have no idea what's that I'll lay it out simple – extremely powerful herbs that only thrive in caves deep under us. Like all powerful things, these herbs can be both helpful and dangerous, depending on dosage. For the Healers of the Realm, those who had the right to heal, the usage of the UH was prohibited; breaking the rule led to severe punishments, mostly death. It used to be considered a taboo to use them due to the side effects and the fables about curses catching up with the ones who dared gather them. Eventually some were braver than most and taught themselves how to make potions that had various applications. And as always in human history, there are the ones who create a real masterpiece, the perfect potion that has no side effects and cures everything, and the one's that come up with the greatest poisons. The thing that Klaus had been given is a variation of that one great poison, that by some chance doesn't have an antidote. The creator seems to have been either a great Sorcerer or a real bouncer, because the only way for the poison to be cured is for the creator to die and his or her blood to be given to the sick one. Twisted, right? Imagine living in that world, where every second greedy Healer that hates you comes up with many creative ways for your death. Fabulous, no?

Not bothering to announce myself, I enter the crypt, in which the witches chant some spell. Upon my abrupt arrival they stop and turn around to give me some inappropriate looks. Ignoring them, I cross my hands over my chest and frown.

"Which of you poisoned Nicklaus Mikaelson? And I advise you not to lie in my face – I don't take bullshit lightly." I warn and my glare travels every single one of them.

"What makes you believe any of us has something to do with it? And who gave-" a young dark-haired girl with olive skin almost hisses my way but I stop her.

"I have no time for this shit. Aeternae Mortem." 'Eternal death' from Latin, the code name of the poison.

I grit the last part and some of the older witches visibly jump. "Exactly. So all of you get out and leave me with the one that did it."

Silently all of them leave the crypt, and while walking pass me some glare my way, others pass me by silently with bowed heads. Eventually the only ones left are a tall ginger-haired woman in white dress and me. For some time she just peeks at me from under her lashes while cleaning the ritual table from herbs and others from that kind.

"You know what you did is punishable by death, Genevieve." I sigh and shake my head.

"And who's gonna mourn him? That monster? That killer? I did all of us a favour, Angelique! And you know it!" she bites at me, her temper getting the better of her.

I look away from her, pity quickly taking root in my heart. 'Brought back from the death only to be molested by the ancestors. So much hate locked in such a frail body.' I think to myself before pushing away all those thoughts.

"We are not the ones to decide who lives and who dies, and you know that just as good as I do. You know what needs to be done, Gen. Those are the rules." I whisper and take a deep breath.

"Fuck the rules!" her sudden outburst makes me stand on guard. "Who's gonna judge me for killing that beast of a man? No one! I saved us! He deserves to die!" her crazy ramblings go on and I realise that the moment she was resurrected, she had lost all of the former Genevieve's compassion and sanity. 'A mad woman. A blood-thirsty mad woman.'

"You know I'm not talking about the Hybrid! You were never supposed to make that devilish poison and you know it! That is the thing you'll be judged for!" I state and narrow my eyes at her.

"And who's gonna kill me? Who's gonna carry out the sentence? Only the True Healer has that right. And you are not one for some time now!" she snarls at me, her face a grotesque mask.

"It's true I gave up my place in the society." I whisper and see the flames of victory burning in her green eyes. "But I never gave up my rank and it was never taken away from me either."

"Impossible." in mere seconds her face whitens and she backs away from me, her body shaking like a leaf. "They protect me! They won't let you kill me!"

Genevieve's sudden shouts and cries, her tears and howls make me realise just how bad she was played by her own people. Gritting my teeth at the cruelty and the thing I'm about to do I pull out a small cylinder from my pocket. By the sight of it the red-haired woman starts crying even louder, her pleas and begs mixed with curses and cusses. Flicking the cool texture, the relatively small cylinder turns into a huge bow with beautiful and ancient carvings all over it.

"Please! I b-beg of you! Show some mercy! P-pleassee!" she bawls, making me huff. 'Damn witches! The dead need to rest in peace!'

Pulling the string, an arrow forms from pure magic, its blazing energy spiralling around me, making me feel every inch of it and the bow.

"I'm sorry, Genevieve." I whisper and aim.

"PLEASE!" she cries out.

The arrow shoves right through her, leaving no visible wound or mark. The only sign that it hit its target is the hollowness of her green eyes. All the life has been sucked out of them, leaving a pair of glassy discs, doors to an empty shell. Acting quickly I retrieve the bow back into its previous form, tuck it into my belt and near the remainings of Genevieve. Placing the edge of my knife to her neck, a small red rivulet streaks down her porcelain skin. I manage to gather enough in a little test tube before purple veins suddenly appear, her skin turns grey and she literary turns into a pile of ash in front of me, dusting my shoes.

"And let your soul rest in peace with your ancestors." I whisper, step away and leave.

The drive back to the Abattoir takes no more than a few minutes, but the feeling clenching my stomach in a fierce grip makes me doubt my sense of time. By the time I park in front of the main entrance the sky is dark and big droplets start falling down at high speed.

Running up the staircase and into Nicklaus' room, I feel all my energy draining away. 'Using the Bow has its price.' I remind myself as I take a few more strides towards the bed where Elijah just finishes bandaging his younger brother's wounds.

"What has happened to you?" asks Rebekah that came out of nowhere, really.

"Nothing. Is he holding up?" I nod towards the motionless body.

"Barely." the low whisper comes from Hayley, who is sitting in a big armchair near the window.

"Ok. All of you out. I'll call you when I'm finished." I hastily tell them as I take off my jacket gently, trying not to shake it too much.

"We are not dogs and this is our brother. You can't just kick us out!" Rebekah's disapproval, as always, finds the worst timing to show itself.

"Listen here, mate. I am the one healing him. I give all my energy in trying to stabilise him. I killed a person so to cure him. And now I need some space and privacy. So, yes, I'm in my rightful place to ask you to get lost if you want to see him healed." I snarl at her, my tiredness getting the best of me. "Sorry… I'm running low on energy." I whisper and give her an apologetic look.

My blonde friend looks at me for a second or two, rolls her eyes, nods, and just then lets worry course through that pretty little face of hers.

"I'll do all in my power to heal him, I give you my word." I say and with that they are all gone.

Left alone with Nick, I feel my body suddenly getting warmer. 'The fuck? Am I getting sick?'I wonder as waves after waves of some strange emotion wash over me, making me feel… well, strange. 'I have no time to deal with this!' I scold myself and try to focus the remainings of my strength in healing him.

After grinding some herbs together and adding Genevieve's blood, I grab the knife and poke my ring finger, making a few droplets fall into the bowl. Mixing everything nicely I take a seat next to Klaus and pull his head in my lap. From this position I easily make him drink the whole content of the cup in which I put the potion. He coughs a few times, but apart from that, stays unconscious.

"And now we wait." I whisper and sigh.

It's dark and quiet. The trees are old and have bend under the weight of the centuries and the merciless storms that rage in these places. A sudden crackle of wood rushes through the quietness, followed by the rustling of leafs. I intake sharply and my eyes shoot open. 'Lykens!'

Pulling my swords out of their cases and jumping to my feet, I manage to block the sharp claws that flew my way in the last second. The creature bares its teeth at me, saliva dripping down its canines, its eyes two shiny yellow discs. Pushing the mass of fur away I quickly turn my blades into an attacking state and charge. My strike is precise and deep gashes appear on a few places all over its body. The Lyken, obviously irritated, growls and tries to jump and sink its teeth into me but I manage to step aside and hit it in the ribs with the back of my sword. It howls in pain and falls to the ground with a loud thud. Wasting no time, I quickly raise my blades with the clear intention of stabbing it and give it a fast death.

"NO!" cries out a female and my head snaps towards her.

The girl, too young to be fertile, comes out of the bushes, panting, with tears in her eyes.

"P-please. D-don't." she tries to regain her breath while nearing me cautiously.

My eyes watch her closely, yet not forgetting that there's a werewolf lying in my feet.

"H-he is my b-brother, please." she begs now only two meters away.

Not fazed by her words I once again raise my blade over the beast's head.

"PLEASE! We need your help." she pleas and takes a few more steps towards me.

"Stay back." I whisper, now glaring at the werewolf at my feet, its yellow eyes looking back at me.

"P-please. We heard that you could help us, ou-" the girl whispers but I cut her short.

"I help no Lykens!" the hiss is filled with venom and hatred and it rings is my ears for a few seconds.

The wind blows a few leafs away and somewhere deeper in the woods, a frightened deer sprints away.

"My baby sister-" she starts again.

"I said I help neither Lykens, nor their friends!" I growl and the beast returns the growl, trying to rise.

My blade pokes him in the spine and he retrieves to his previous position.

"At least hear me out!" the little girl shouts, tears streaming down her little face.

I frown and glance at her with the corner of my eye. She quivers at first but stands her ground, her chin held high up and a fire in her eyes. The eye challenge continues for a minute before I scoff.

"Be quick." I say, not moving the weapon away from the victim.

"My baby sister is sick and no one can heal her. A Healer came to see her but said he could do nothing, cus' me have no money. Then I heard about you from an old nanny. She said you may help us. She s-said you help children."

"And you came to me with a werewolf?" I spit the words.

"I-"

"If this old nanny was so smart to tell ya 'bout me, didn't she mention my current obsession?" I hiss and look at the girl, now trembling a few meters away.

"N-no.." she seems to be afraid of the change of tone.

"Well, I make sure that every Lyken I come across has to turn every full moon no more." a low dreadful whisper fills the silence of the wood and I notice both the beast and the girl stiffening.

"PLEASE!" she suddenly cries out and falls to her knees. "I beg of you! Spare him! Please!" her tiny voice squeaks and I narrow my eyes.

With a fast and hard kick, the Lyken is sent flying towards the trees next to the girl where it hits the bark with a loud crashing sound.

I turn away and leave, not waiting to see if the blow killed it or not.

I sneak into the little hut I saw the girl returning to earlier this day. It's barely a hut though – more like four shaky walls and a roof made of straw. After the little housewife leaves I enter, not actually knowing what I'm look for. A little moving bundle catches my attention and I cautiously near it. It's a baby girl, no more than a few months old, with big blobs all over her little face. I frown and try to look away, but somewhere deep in me I know it's wrong and cruel to leave her like this. Gritting my teeth in despair I look around, making sure I'm alone, before unwrapping the baby and examining its body quickly. 'Smallpox.' I conclude and frown.

It takes me around half an hour to make the needed cure and give it to the baby, write a small note for her bigger sister with instruction how to use the rest of the mixture, and bring some new swaddling clothes along with three new shirts and two pairs of pants. With big letters I write in the sandy grown BURN ALL THE OLD RAGS. Leaving as fast as I came, I never turn around or return.

The only time I didn't shed a Lyken's blood during my Dark period.

I wake up with a jump, the feeling of someone's hand over my head bringing me out of my dream. Grasping the wrist of the intruder I twist it, making its owner fall to his knees and start hissing.

"Ow, ow, ow! That hurts! That hurts!" Hayley's muffled cries make me realise that I'm back in the present.

"Sorry." I mumble, let her go, and sit on the edge of the bed, sudden dizziness making me regret my choice.

"I totally deserved that!" she says, while sitting next to me, massaging her bruised wrist. "This is what I get for not minding my own business."

She smiles sheepishly at me and I smirk.

"Why did you stay and watch?" I whisper while looking her directly in the eyes.

She averts her gaze ashamed for a second but when our eyes meet I see worry in them

"I never meant to intrude. I just …. it just happened. I hadn't planned it or something."

I stay silent for some time before nodding and standing up.

"How long was I out?"

"Around day and a half. It's now around midnight." she replies and I nod.

"And Nicklaus?"

"Awake and better. He already managed to irritate Rebekah and have a quarrel with Elijah."

"Over?"

"Me." I raise my eyebrow at her and she sighs. "I told him that I called you and asked you to heal him."

"He wasn't pleased, I presume?"

"When was he pleased?"

"Fair enough."

"Now what?" she asks after a brief silence.

"I'll take a bath and leave. I hope you can find your way to the door?"

She only nods, obviously getting the hint, and starts to leave but stops a few steps away from the door.

"You know, what you did…. for the baby, the girl and the werewolf…. it's a thing almost no one will do even today, without the things you have passed through. It was noble. And commendable." she smiles and leaves, letting me think through her words.

A bitter smile appears on my face by the memory of all atrocities I did before and after that incident. Shaking my head and chasing away the past I look out of the window and let a more pleasant though linger in my mind before leaving the room as well, bringing along all my belongings. 'Is that old mineral spring still in the old part of the mansion?'