A/N- I'm hoping to get this finished asap.
In spite of everything, Annabelle Mason was enormously glad to finally be returning to civilization.
Even if it was a college campus.
She parked her car, killed the engine and slipped on her heels, stepping out of the car she straightened her jacket and looked around the area.
Students, civilians and a security guard who clearly cared little for his job.
There was nobody watching her.
Well, almost nobody.
Ashley is on the lookout for her, she sees her standing across the way and cuts a path towards her, her no-nonsense attitude ensuring nobody would step in front of her or slow her down.
They were expecting her in the café by the parking lot, at the outdoor tables which at this time of day provided them with privacy but also the ability to see any threats approach and multiple exit strategy.
None of them had ordered any coffee but there was a large pitcher of water on the table where a young blonde woman sat with her ankles crossed.
In the last six hours, Caroline Forbes had been stalked, attacked, threatened and dealt with treachery and despite this, still held herself together, rising politely and shaking Annabelle's hand.
She was able to handle herself under duress.
Annabelle could see why Klaus Mikaelson had been subtly setting her up to take on the role of New Orleans Vampire Queen since her arrival in the city.
"Thank-you for agreeing to speak with me, Ms. Forbes," Annabelle begins as she pours herself a glass of water, "I know you've had a horrid day."
Caroline shrugs, "I've had worse but if you could start talking, that'd be great."
She holds up one finger in a waiting gesture and drinks deeply, "Sorry, my throat is parched, I will gladly explain everything, interrupt me if you have any questions."
"My name is Annabelle Mason, during the Industrial Revolution the majority of my family was wiped out by vampires, one survived and was kept as a pet for years before being turned, much to their displeasure. Before this, they fathered a child who became a vampire hunter and founded a league of hunters, fellow victims of the supernatural, yet for every vampire they killed another twenty could be created in the space of one night. They eventually realized that rather than trying to eradicate the supernatural, they should be trying to find a way to manage them…"
"I don't mean through enslavement, or threats of any kind." She adds hastily when she sees Caroline's eyes darken, "It wasn't until quite recently that we had any significantly suitable plan to carry out and in fact, it was the Mikaelson's conquering New Orleans that gave us the idea."
"You want to set up a hierarchy?" Caroline guesses, still sounding very unimpressed but Annabelle shakes her head,
"When the Original family returned to Mystic Falls, and stayed there long enough, we sent someone to investigate, to gather knowledge which is how we found out about your town Council. As I'm sure you're aware, the supernatural world does tend to tilt towards the chaotic end of the spectrum and there is very little direction within it, battles are frequently fought, there aren't any laws and really, nobody in charge of stopping reality from being altered and the dead resurrected whenever anybody gets a strange idea in their head. My family has been gathering resources and set up bases around the world for two hundred years, we would like the Original's to work with us to set up a means of policing the supernatural. An international council that will agree upon rules and means of enforcing them."
Caroline raises an eyebrow and scoffs, a smile on her face as she looks away, "Seriously?! You think that you'll be able to convince Klaus to…"
"Essentially take over the supernatural world on a global scale as opposed to ruling one tiny city in the United States of America?" Annabelle countered,
"Well, if I had more time I would be able to convince even you but as matters stand, it appears that you will shortly be needing our help."
Caroline bit her lip thoughtfully and crossed her arms, no longer so standoffish or dismissive,
"Why?"
"When someone is on the outside, observing everything from a distance, they are able to get a much clearer picture," Annabelle explains,
"Everything that has been happening in New Orleans recently? It was all connected, an attack on the Original family, an attempt to overthrow their rule."
Caroline's about to answer but her phone starts buzzing and takes it out, a small frown on her face becoming frantic as she reads the message.
"I have to go." she says, standing up so quickly that her chair is pushed back three feet and screeches against the concrete. She's about to flash away but Annabelle quickly takes a business card out of her sleeve,
"Call me if you need anything at all." She entreats her, feeling a burst of satisfaction when the card is lifted from her fingers and she sits back, watching as the blonde disappears into the night. When the sound of tires screeching against the asphalt fades, Jesse and Ashley sit down at the table.
"How did Caroline take the revelation of your deception?" she asks, turning to Jesse and he shrugs,
"She wasn't happy but didn't try to kill me so I'm taking that as a win."
"I reckon you were right though," Ashley interjects, "She'll come around and make the family see reason."
"Provided she survives whatever is currently happening." Annabelle sighs, "One of you get Scarlet Rose on the phone and find out what apocalyptic chaos is blowing up the supernatural social calendar."
St Bartholomew's Eve.
The march on Versailles.
The attack on Atlanta.
Bloody Sunday.
Katherine knew all too well the sounds of battle. How often had she thrown herself into the eye of the storm and reveled in the death and destruction around her?
What she loved even more was the aftermath, when silence fell and she could watch those who mere hours before had been as bloodthirsty as her.
She could watch as the realization dawned in their eyes and on their faces. The horror of their own actions.
The disgust as they discovered the darkest parts of themselves, as they found that all that separated them from the monsters of nightmares were that they continued to exist even after sunrise.
She had liked to pick out one of these undergoing this epiphany and follow them, watching avidly but silently as they went to find a quiet place to kill themselves.
That had been her favorite part, second only to finding those with no remorse, those who celebrated in their monstrosity and showing them what a real monster looked like.
Even now that she was no longer a vampire, she still had that tingling sensation of excitement race up her spine and make her hair stand on end. She looks up ahead but sees only the alleyway, only darkness.
The powerlines had been cut.
A step behind her, Father Kieran is breathing rapidly, going through the fight or flight response and visibly choosing to fight.
She's not sure how much help he'll be.
She picks up her pace, throwing her phone into her handbag and hoping that if she moves her feet quickly enough that her heels won't catch on anything or trip her up as she navigates the path that was more broken glass and debris than actual concrete.
Her foot does catch something just as she emerges from the alleyway, into Bourbon St and she stumbles, grabbing a drain pipe to keep herself steady as she swings onto the most famous road in the city.
She catches a glimpse of a man starting to look in her direction before she's yanked backwards by her arm and falls, the world spinning before she lands against something heavy.
Father Kieran picks her up and holds her, "Sorry," he apologizes, "But I'm not sure you want to go out there."
She hears gunfire and a low-level explosion, forcing her to agree with him.
"No prize for guessing who's on the wrong end of those bullets," she snorts, before crossing her arms and sighing, "Here's hoping he has his phone on him."
She has Klaus listed on her phone under Santa K. It had originally been Satan but Elijah had insisted that she change it, he'd also had an issue with himself being listed as Erotic E but been forced to settle for Klaus' name change.
Despite the ongoing attack, Katherine can hear his ringtone in the distance and he answers,
"Hi," he shouts, "hang on a second."
Katherine waits patiently while horrific screams filter through the phone and are followed by what sounds like one-handed four-limbed dismemberment.
"Please tell me you're not under attack as well!" Klaus pants and she shakes her head,
"Nope, but I'm putting my money on the manor catching fire at some point tonight."
He growls, "I wouldn't bet against you."
Another scream and a burst of gunfire, "I've sent Erik to safety, I told Raina to find you but if she couldn't do that than to steal your car and drive, gather up all the vampires loyal to me and get them together, if Rebekah and I aren't with you in an hour, I want you to send them to come get us."
"What about Elijah?" Katherine asks, noting the absence of his name and Klaus catches his breath,
"I'm sorry, I don't know where he is."
"What about Caroline?" Katherine continues and waits while an explosion reverberates on the other end,
"She's in the dorms," Klaus manages, coughing around the dust, "Don't tell her what's happening…I have to go but don't text Caroline!"
"Got it." She sings as she hangs up and looks to Father Kieran,
"You're going to text Caroline?" He guesses and she nods,
"I'm gonna text Caroline…shit," she curses as she realizes her error, "Right after I text my daughter."
She notes the surprise on the priest's face, "Oh yeah, I have a daughter, weird right?"
From: Katherine 'Nadia, stuff going down in Quarter, stay home and out of trouble, love you and talk to you soon, your mother.'
From: Katherine 'Caroline, Klaus and co. under attack, get to St Anne's Church asap'
Erik was squirming in Raina's arms, burying his face against her breast to muffle his whimpers of fear and she can only thank god that he's not screaming his head off, because it was going to be hard enough getting him to safety without their enemies being able to pick up on the noise they could have been making.
The passage Klaus had sent her down clearly hadn't been used since the Prohibition, it was covered in dust and rat corpses, spider webs and rodent droppings and she holds her breath, praying that the door at the other end of the passage will open.
Her hope flickers when the darkness becomes absolute and when she reaches the door, she kicks and pushes it with all her strength before running her hand along it searchingly and finding a padlock.
A rusted over, flaking around the edges padlock but no matter how she pulls on it, it doesn't budge.
Erik presses his fists to his eyes and she kisses the crown of his head,
"It's okay baby," she lies, stroking his back soothingly, "We're going to be fine."
On a whim, she takes her phone out of her pocket. If she walked back down the passage, she could possibly get reception and call Cary for help. But there was the huge risk that if she did that, she could encounter whoever it was that had been coming for Klaus.
But if she stayed here, chances were they'd find her sooner or later…
She huffed and looked down at Erik, for a wild second wondering if she couldn't put him down, wrap him in her jacket and leave him at the door while she went to make the call.
In theory, there shouldn't be any threat to him here but in reality…
She could see him picking up and eating one of the rodent corpses with such ease that she clenched him to her a little tighter.
"Erik," she whispered, "I need you to be very quiet, okay baby?"
Erik doesn't respond, only exhaling a shuddering breath and she really hopes tonight doesn't have lasting ramifications for the poor kid.
Oh well, at least Klaus could afford the best therapy for him.
She walks back along the tight passage as quickly as she can, keeping her ears strained for sounds of anyone approaching and she has already typed a text to Cary and pressed send, the wheel turning and turning, trying to connect and when she sees the weak light that lets her know she's nearing the cellar, it finally lights up and the little sent message on her screen.
She sighs with relief and leans against the wall to wait, closing her eyes and wondering if she could just stay there until Cary came with the cavalry.
Except, like all the rest of the plans she'd made that night, it goes up in flames.
Or rather, in smoke.
She can smell smoke.
Worse, she can hear people on the other side of the door.
Their voices are muffled but she can just make out one guy who has a deeper pitch than the rest,
"I'm telling you…he's down here, I can smell him."
Dammit.
Her phone isn't on silent.
She realizes that one fraction of a second too late.
Ding.
She's running down the passage before she even looks at the screen, resisting the urge to scream in terror as she hears the thudding and crashing noise of the attackers tearing apart the wine cellar to try and find Erik. Terrified, she runs her hand along the walls, ignoring the splinters and webs and hoping there's another path or a niche that she missed, somewhere for them to hide.
There isn't and when the werewolves break down the hidden door. They're trapped.
Her phone ends up on the ground, splattered with blood and is forgotten amidst the struggles and the screams.
From: Cary 'Stay hidden, will be there soon'
Nadia hadn't really planned out her evening, nothing beyond a quick snack of whomever took her fancy and then reconvene with her mother at St Anne's Church.
Of course she could have been there with her mother and Scarlet Rose for the ceremony but she hadn't really wanted to be.
After all, considering how Elijah had treated her mother, she didn't really care if he spent the rest of his life utterly mad.
Yes, he had been hexed but considering the psychological torture, numerous attempts on her life and all the trials she'd suffered during her human years in the harem, she figured that if he'd really loved her mother, he would have been able to resist for her sake.
But he hadn't.
He had hit her and thrown her onto the street.
Brooding on this, Nadia had torn a little deeply into the throat of the man she'd been feeding on and lost herself momentarily in the feed.
Unfortunately, that moment had nearly cost her dearly.
But a lifetime as Valide Sultana in the Ottoman harem had sharpened and honed her instincts, so when the attack comes from behind her, she has a dagger buried deep into the creature's chest before she can even determine what it was she had just killed.
Strangely enough, it looked human and she withdraws her dagger with a frown, licking at the blood dripping down the blade curiously before sticking out her tongue and wrinkling her nose in disgust.
It tasted supernaturally disgusting. She snorts to herself and wonders if she'd made a pun before a scream to her left draws her back into the moment.
A human has just been gunned down and the killer is howling in agony as he drops to this knees, turning his face to the ceiling and Nadia pauses, watching him in concern, trying to figure out what is happening when his eyes go yellow and she takes a step back.
"Werewolves," she calls once, before remembering that her whisper isn't enough in this crowd,
"Werewolves!" she shouts, her voice cutting across the music pumping through the speakers.
Vampires turned to look in her direction, a few of the compelled humans nearby being left swaying on their feet, dazed and confused. One of them, a young woman, looks over at her with a hint of a smile on her lips.
She's mown down in gunfire and the vampires immediately begin backing away as another werewolf begins the transition.
Dammit.
Nadia's head whips around quickly and she makes out the emergency exit, "Follow me." she orders, leading the vampires from the building.
She cautiously sticks her head out the door and scans the area, seeing no-one in sight before walking out and ushering everyone after her. The werewolves don't follow them, but the humans continue to be murdered where they stand.
"We should stay and fight!" a man shouts and a few cheer, looking blood-thirsty and eager to show off their strength.
Vampires that had just fed were always slightly on the stupid side. Nadia only rolls her eyes and begins walking away,
"Be my guest, but avoid those werewolf teeth unless you're personal friends with Klaus Mikaelson."
She takes her phone out of her pocket and sees she has a message from her mother,
From: Katherine- 'Nadia, stuff going down in Quarter, stay home and out of trouble, love you and talk to you soon, your mother.'
She hears footsteps behind her and turns to see that most of the vampires have begun following her, she sighs, "Very well, come."
One of them clears her throat and keeps pace beside her, "We're we going?"
Nadia doesn't pause for a moment, figuring that her mother would have had the same idea that was now running through her mind, "St Anne's Church."
Every part of Caroline wanted to go to the Bourbon St manor, wanted to pull her car right into the courtyard, climb out and look for her boyfriend.
She wanted to make sure that he was okay.
She'd settled for texting him.
From: Caroline 'Hey, spending a boring night studying in the library- wish exam time was over so I could be with you instead xoxo.'
She figured that would either reassure her boyfriend or convince whomever had taken him to try and find her at Tulane, so if nothing else, they'd be wasting time looking for her.
Better still, if they looked for her in the library they might set off some kind of security.
St Anne's Church has all the lights on and Caroline can see people milling about on the steps when she double-parks her car in the street and grabs her purse, clutching it to her as she hurries across the grounds.
Katherine appears in the doorway and smirks when she sees her, "Looking good, Forbes."
Katherine Pierce speak for 'I'm glad you're okay'
She throws an arm around her and pulls her in for a quick hug, ignoring her grunt of disapproval,
"What's happening?" she demands, pulling back and looking around frantically, "Who…ow!"
Katherine had stomped on her foot with all her human strength,
"Not here," she hissed under her breath, "Come on."
She takes her hand and drags her along the aisle, past the altar and into a side door, into a little room that appears to be Father Kieran's office and Caroline sniffs as she smells sage.
"Okay…what is going on?" she demands, "Is Klaus…?"
"Obviously not or you wouldn't still be here." Katherine snaps, rummaging around and taking a bottle of sacramental wine from the cupboard, she rips off the top and takes a quick pull, wiping her mouth, "Here," she offers, "This might help with what I'm about to tell you."
Caroline once heard Katherine Pierce- the same girl in front of her- threaten to break up with Elijah because he'd tried to help himself to 'her' bottle of champagne. So the fact that she's sharing now has Caroline's arm pits tingly with the sweat she can no longer produce.
She swallows, takes a long gulp of wine and forces it down her throat, coughing slightly,
"Okay…" she gasps, "What's wrong?"
"Short answer? Everything." Katherine sighs, perching herself on the window sill, gripping it with her hands, "Long answer? Klaus and Rebekah were attacked at Bourbon St and I'm guessing were either captured or left inside the building to have it burnt down around their ears, so they're gonna be out of the game for a while. And no, you can't go rescue them because there was an army there to take them down and I'm guessing they'd love the chance to gain leverage over Klaus. Oh, speaking of, Erik and Raina are on the run and nobody is quite sure where my ex-fiancé is."
Caroline pinches the bridge of her nose, "Um…okay," she stresses out the word, "So what are we going to do? If the Originals are all…whatever, who's in charge?"
Katherine smirks, "That's where this night gets fun, Care, because that'd be you."
Her laughter dies on her lips when she sees that she isn't joking, "Seriously?!" she snaps, "I can't be in charge, I'm not…half the people out there don't know me and I don't know them and you probably do so…"
"Everyone out there knows me as the woman that Elijah Mikaelson threw out onto the street, the shamed Princess sent into exile across the river. The reason Giacomo…" she chokes on the name, "The reason a good man is dead. They won't follow me, not all of them, those that would be willing to would be arguing with the others and we wouldn't achieve anything. I'm sorry Caroline Forbes, but as Klaus' girlfriend, you're the closest this town and our world has to a queen and when the king is away, the queen becomes regent."
Caroline is shaking her head and runs her hands through her hair, "I can't…I don't even know what I'm doing!"
Katherine smirked, "Trust me, I've known a lot of queens, biblically and otherwise, most of them didn't know what they were doing. All you really have to do is go out there and speak with authority. You can ask questions but don't take any bullshit. Someone questions you, you cut them down- literally if necessary."
Caroline gulps and tries not to hyperventilate, "I'll need your help." She begs and Katherine pushes herself up, striding across the room and taking her shoulders in her hands,
"You have it," she promises, "I'll be right beside you the entire time."
She steps forward and brushes her lips against hers gently, offers her a brief comfort before she releases her, "Ready to be a queen?"
No.
Caroline forces her lips into a smile and her body to stop trembling,
"Sure," She lies in her head cheerleader voice, "Oh wait!" she draws her phone out of her purse, "I have to make a quick call."
Five minutes later, Katherine walks out of the office first, strutting to the altar and grabbing a candlestick as she walks past, she slams it down on the marble three times, "Shut up and listen." she shouts.
Caroline follows behind her and fidgets once before forcing her hands to her sides. The church is filled with vampires, gathered together in groups or on their phones, some in fancy clothes and some who'd clearly just rolled out of bed. There's one brunette woman sitting in a pew as if it's a throne and staring pointedly at Katherine before turning her gaze to her.
They all look to her and she's glad that her heart can't thump loudly in her chest anymore.
"Klaus has been attacked," she begins, her voice catching slightly and she clears her throat and holds her head up high,
"Your king was attacked tonight and the manor on Bourbon St was set on fire. Now, some of you won't give a damn about Klaus personally, but whoever it is that's doing this? They won't want to just chase the Original vampires out of town, but all of us and they probably won't be opposed to killing us first. So, I'm sorry, but tonight, we're going to have to fight for our territory and our homes. If that's a problem then you're welcome to leave but I personally wouldn't ever try to return, the Mikaelson's have issues with cowards, those that stay? You'll be rewarded, I'm not sure how exactly yet, but I'll make sure that you are. Questions?"
She receives a roomful of blank stares and is worried people are going to walk out en masse before one woman, Countess Salisbury, raises her hand, "Forgive me, darling, but how exactly shall we be fighting? With our hands or with weaponry?"
Caroline smiles at her, "With an army."
Every part of Elijah's body, every inch of skin, every single blood vessel, every strand of hair was burning in agony.
It was torture beyond description, beyond imagination and he wanted to die.
But that was not an option.
Because if he died, Katerina would die as well.
She would be hurt.
And he couldn't allow that. He would not fail her. Not again.
So, though he wasn't able to breathe, he allowed himself the space of ten breaths, ten last seconds of inaction before he began screaming in his mind, forcing himself to move.
One miniscule movement at a time, tiny millimeter by tiny millimeter, pain and only pain until at last he was in a sitting position and something within him snapped.
Once you'd broken past the final barrier of pain, there was a point where the anguish became pleasurable.
He'd heard this recounted by the criminally, irreparably insane and he is glad of its truth, because he is able to raise himself to his feet.
He is moving woodenly, like a toy soldier but he can move.
If he can move, he can fight.
If he can fight for himself, he can fight for Katerina.