Chapter 48
Elizabeth Forbes had seen a lot of things in her lifetime. Marrying into the Forbes family, having been introduced to the town's council and learning about the supernatural world was difficult enough. Realizing that she would be bringing up a daughter in a world where the dead didn't always stay dead was worrisome. Watching her husband just stop trying, refusing to speak to her about his troubles only to find out about his lover, his very male lover was a different kind of trouble.
Liz could honestly say she was used to strange and even depressing things happening, part of her job was to hide the fact that vampires existed. Dealing with the dead was not a career that led to many happy moments. Especially when her husband left town and she lost the one person she could always count on to help with both work and home. She never thought visiting a hospital would be a strange experience.
Liz was, to put it simply, baffled.
St. Anne's was the hospital where specialists worked. The day started off typical enough for the Forbes women. Caroline had managed to scare away the rest of the Mikaelson's, allowing her to be Liz's escort to the hospital. Out of the corner of her eye, the elder Forbes could spot Finn and Sage following behind them with sage waving to the older woman. Liz could see them staying out of her daughter's radar with ease that the elder Forbes knew Caroline would throw a fit over if she ever discovered it.
Something felt off the moment she walked into St. Anne's, Liz wondered how she had missed it the first time she walked to fill out her paperwork and get the information for her outpatient program. The entire hospital looked completely redone, the wait room had plush couches and chairs, Liz thought she smelled fresh paint.
As far as she knew, St. Anne's had not gone through any construction recently. Her process to get transferred went through far quicker than expected. It was only when the nurse looked at the sign in sheet, that Liz really noticed a difference. The receptionists' face twisted with recognition of her name, immediately asking them to wait just a moment before making a call. Suspicious, Liz looked towards her daughter whose mouth was in a straight line.
"Elijah really bought you a hospital didn't he?" Liz whispered into her daughter's ear. The way her daughter's blue eyes sparkled in joy told her that was exactly the case.
"He bought it the moment they realized I was pregnant." Her daughter whispered back, smiling as what looked like a manager came in with a wide grin greeting them as Mrs. Forbes and Mrs. Mikaelson.
"Excuse me? Mrs. Mikaelson?" Caroline bit her lip as she said that.
Liz watched as the man nodded, "Of course, your brother-in-law made us aware of the situation. I assure you we will take great care of your mother. Please follow me." Liz gently took her daughter's hand following the man towards the elevator. Their guide immediately began to fill them in on all the changes that Mr. Mikaelson had implemented. Once they reached the top floor, Caroline and Liz found themselves in what was clearly more of an upscale retreat rather than a cancer ward.
Glancing up at the walls of the room, Liz's mouth twitched when she noticed the giant M alongside the hospital's logo. "Tell me Caroline. Has your boyfriend done any big business moves lately?"
"Elijah handles the human business. He has more patience." Caroline replied, shaking her head at the log. "I didn't ask Elijah to buy the literal hospital I was currently in."
Liz's eyes widened at the information, before her face returned to neutral. Turning towards her daughter, "That is certainly very sweet. Klaus's family must be excited to welcome a new family member. They haven't just outright bought the town?"
"Kol said they had tried that when New Orleans was just a backwater colony. Turns out while possible, having their names on the deeds would offer no protection as well as allow their father a way to find them. Kol was rather put out that he couldn't be mayor of a town. Elijah said medicine was great business. I should have known that they would keep an eye on you." Caroline muttered, remembering when she had finally informed Klaus of her secret.
"The Mikaelson's are a rather possessive family aren't they?" Liz mused mostly to herself, smiling at Caroline's sigh.
"I'm sure they have a tail on us even after I explicitly told Klaus that we would be fine!" Caroline muttered angrily. "The factions have been quiet. Our plans are actually going smoothly but of course Nik can't leave well enough alone."
"You're not going to tell me the whole story are you?" Her mother asked just as a knock sounded against the door. Caroline gave her mother a cheeky look as she called out to the person outside the door.
As the door opened a nurse with a computer in hand entered with a smile. "Good Morning, Mrs. Forbes, this must be your daughter."
"Caroline Forbes." The younger introduced herself shaking the nurses hands, Caroline hid her frown at the confused look on the nurses face. "Are you not Caroline Forbes-Mikaelson? That's what the records say."
Choking laughter prevented Caroline from focusing too much on what the nurse had just claimed as her name. Concerned for her mother, the pregnant woman faced her mother, "Mom, are you alright?"
"Forbes-Mikaelson!" Liz laughed. "Caroline I didn't know I missed your wedding." Liz placed a hand on her chest wheezing.
"You didn't." Caroline muttered darkly. Smiling at the nurse who looked nervous, "Do you know who changed the record?"
"It came from up above. They said a mistake had been made and to correct it." The nurse squeaked out.
"You're not in trouble." Liz told the nurse with an amused smile. The nurse let out a heavy breath as she looked at the chart in front of her. Motioning for Liz to lay her arm stretched out, the nurse began to take her vitals.
"You've started chemotherapy, yes? You're on our out-patient list." The nurse asked, praying there were no more mistakes on the files. Ever since the hospital was bought, the new owners were very insistent about proper records. Mr. Mikaelson even created a VIP list in which both her patient today and her daughter were on that list! They were the two out of a very small list that the hospital was under orders to ensure everything went by the book for.
"Yes." Liz replied softly as the nurse then pressed against her chest with her tools and asked the woman to breathe.
"Mom's been nauseous and having a hard time eating. She is still pale but has not lost any hair yet. Are we sure this is all normal?" Caroline questioned taking out a notebook, opening it up to the next clean page.
The nurse's eyes widened at the amounts of notes in perfect penmanship on the pages. "Mrs. Forbes' reactions are within the normal range. We've just started her treatment, you've only had about two sessions correct?"
Once again Liz nodded. The nurse quickly typed something into the computer, "I will let the doctor know. He should be in here within a couple of minutes. St. Anne's is at your disposal, please let us know if you need anything while you wait."
XXX
"Uh… you do realize that Thanksgiving is still two weeks away right?" Elena squawked as her old-time friend was growling over Mikaelson approved cleaning supplies. The blonde narrowed her eyes at the brunette.
"Elena." Caroline growled.
"Yes, Care?" The brunette squeaked, trying hard not to look towards the giggling and smirking face of Rebekah, Sage and Katherine who all leaned against a wall. Sage sat on a table smirking at the scene. The two witches of the group had just walked in carrying old tomes of books.
Bonnie sighed, shaking her head and gestured towards the kitchen pointedly ignoring the smirking vampires. "Aren't you lot helping?" The witch muttered.
"Was it not you who said to let Caroline clean herself?" Sage sassed, raising a brow. "You can't tell me that not even a small part of you wants to see Caroline yell at Elena Gilbert."
The group turned towards the two childhood friends to see Caroline pointing a yellowed gloved hand at Elena, who looked equal amounts afraid and amused. It was a feeling Bonnie was very much familiar with. One didn't survive a childhood with Caroline without suffering through her wrath a time or two. The blonde was bubbly and personable yet as powerful as a hurricane when she chose to be. It was why Elena and Bonnie often went along with Caroline's ideas, because it was difficult to talk her out of anything.
Admittedly, most of Caroline's ideas were focused on ensuring they actually enjoyed their last two years of high school. The blonde focused on things that would be memorable even before their lives were hijacked by the supernatural. It was something Bonnie both loved and loathed about her friend. Watching her childhood best friends now, Bonnie couldn't help but wince being reminded how callous she had been when she had found out about Caroline's vampire status or the way it was easy to think Caroline wasn't in danger in a plot to save their human friend, Elena.
It barely hit her that Caroline had been human when Damon had been using her. Or the fact that Caroline had been kidnapped multiple times, once by her own father because of her friendship with Elena and the supernatural elements of their hometown. So watching Caroline narrow her eyes at Elena and hiss, "The only reason you are even here is because you were going to walk straight to the enemy. Do not judge my process!"
Bonnie winced, still seething over the fact that Elena still hadn't realized the stupidity of her actions by trying to go to the Traveler's. She had tried to justify that she had taken a huge risk for Bonnie and Care by going to Elijah. Yet that still had been a really big gamble, they were lucky that she had chosen Elijah to go to. What if it had been another like Damon or Klaus? A worse outcome would have occurred. Actually, maybe Klaus wouldn't have been so bad. The man honored his promises even if he despised giving them. He follows through, and he only breaks his word when the promise is broken.
"Care, you're pregnant, shouldn't you be taking things easy?" Elena questioned, glancing up at the vampires in the corner. "Aren't you going to stop her?"
"Caroline has always been able to take care of herself." Rebekah rolled her eyes crossing her arms. Sage scoffed, kicking her legs high as she landed gracefully on her feet, stalking towards the duo stepping a few inches from Elena.
The redhead smiled at the brunette, "I understand that your experiences of the supernatural have been strained but not every vampire is going to treat you like glass. Caroline has been your friend for years, yes?"
"S-since Kindergarten." Elena stammered.
"Then you should know that when she's stressed she cleans." Sage continued ignoring the startled look of the doppelganger. She tilted her head towards Katherine. "Does Caroline look like she needs us to do anything for her?"
Katherine took the chance to look at Caroline who was eyeing the trio suspiciously with a hint of a smile. Winking over at the blonde Katherine glowered at her descendent, "I'd be more concerned about what damage she would inflict on us for attempting to intervene. The best choice is to wait until her need is obvious."
Sage nodded, "So you see Elena. It's Caroline who has chosen to do this for herself. If she requires our assistance she only needs to ask."
"Elena," Bonnie called out, "Why don't you come with me and Freya? We have a lot to catch up on." The witch prayed that her oldest friend would see the lifeline she was giving her. The Bennett witch was in no doubt that Elena Gilbert would be dead if left in the hands of the female Mikaelson's. Even if only one held the Mikaelson name, Katherine had already tried killing Elena multiple times.
Elena nodded glancing over at her blonde friend offering her a shy smile. Caroline offered a more forced one of her own. Ever since Elena had come to New Orleans a few days ago things had been strained in the household. This would be the first Thanksgiving the Mikaelson's celebrated all together in centuries, and it was the first one with her vampire family and her human one.
For the past few days instead of catching up, Elena had been focused on when Klaus would be letting her go. She was baffled at the idea of Caroline playing house with the hybrid. "Honestly, Caroline, how are you still with him?" Elena had asked. "I thought it was a phase." Elena's presence honestly was starting to irritate her. Caroline wanted to have a chance of enjoying a pregnancy with both her friends at her side. Only instead of being in a coma, Elena was focused on the fact that the Mikaelson's were keeping her trapped.
"She wouldn't be stuck if she didn't think that going towards the people who have been hunting you for centuries was a good bloody idea." Caroline muttered out loud to herself.
"She really doesn't know you at all does she?" Rebekah sniffed coming to stand beside Caroline. Taking the bucket Rebekah ignored Caroline's squawk of indignation, "Come on pregnant lady, you want this house spotless. Sage and I will mop the floors while you and Katherine can make sure our nice china is clean and ready. I'm sure you are planning a feast with all those pesky pregnancy cravings."
"I'd hardly call them cravings!" Caroline denied.
"You put mustard, ketchup and sprinkles on a pickle," Katherine monotoned.
XXX
"Oh Tyler." Carol Lockwood sighed leaning against the door of Tyler's room. She frowned as she spotted the muscles in her son's back tense up. The mayor of Mystic Falls wanted to cross the threshold and grab her son into her arms. Carol refrained knowing that her son's anger had always been hard to control. It was a Lockwood family trait, one that she had never truly understood until the day she learned her son's secret.
"Don't Mom." Tyler gritted his teeth. Pain flashed in his eyes as he held back his inner wolf, becoming a hybrid may have given him control over the change but working with his wolf was still his greatest challenge.
"I wish you would stay, you'd be safe here in this town." His mom spoke softly. "You can't blame me for being concerned Tyler. I am your mother."
"I'll come back. Mom, I have to do this." Tyler pleaded with his mom, finally turning around to look his mother in the eye.
"Tyler," Carol pleaded, "Stay here with me. Find a nice girl, settle down, just live your life!"
"I CAN'T!" Tyler yelled at his mother, his fists curling into themselves as he held back most of his anger. "I can't stand knowing that man is out there enjoying life after all he has done. He's killed so many people we know! He's killed me!"
"You still have a life!" Carol begged, leaving the threshold to grab him by his shoulders. "We can leave Mystic Falls if that's what you want. Just don't pick a fight you don't know you can win."
"You talked with the Sheriff," Tyler grunted.
"I know that Liz Forbes is a wise woman, and when she tells me that going against the Mikaelson's' in their new city is a death wish and I believe her. This isn't because of Caroline is it?"
Tyler laughed harshly, gently untangling his mother from him. "I'm over Caroline. She's made her choice and I have to accept that. What I can't handle is knowing he is out there and at any minute he could change his mind. Trust that I will come back to you." Tyler pressed a kiss to his mother's forehead before walking out the door.
"Tyler!"
"Tyler!"
Tyler ignored the cries of his mother as he used his vampire speed to throw his stuff into his truck speeding back into town. He needed to catch up with his buddy Matt one more time. When he heard the news that the doppelganger, both of them had been spotted heading to New Orleans, Tyler knew that this might be the last time he stepped foot in Mystic Falls. Walking into the bar, Tyler immediately spotted several Traveler's including Markos talking quietly. The two shared a nod as the leader tapped his watch.
"I can't believe you're doing this." Matt scoffed. "You will be going into a death trap, you do know that don't you?" Matt was in the middle of telling him about his decision to go into the sheriffs' department when the blonde noticed the way Tyler kept glancing over at the Travelers.
"Klaus destroyed my life, Matt." Tyler hissed slamming the bottle onto the bar. "He killed me for his hybrid experiment!"
"He also allowed you to leave twice without anyone hunting you down." Matt reminded him. "He is older than you, you and I both know what that means in supernatural terms. Your mother misses you, why can't you stay here to give her some peace of mind?"
"I can't let him get away with what he's done!" Tyler growled. Matt gave him a look that screamed he had heard this enough times before. The blonde grabbed the bottle out of his friend's hands, muttering that hybrids didn't need to get drunk to cause damage.
"Don't allow him to ruin your life, Tyler. He isn't after you, that man is in another city living his life. Perhaps you should too." Matt winced as he almost mentioned that Klaus was still in New Orleans.
"Did you know that when I was in New Orleans he found me?" Tyler muttered. "He said he was willing to let me go, for Caroline's sake. As if she held any loyalty to those who she's known her entire life!"
"She cares, Ty. It's just she's stopped letting us dictate her life." Matt murmured.
"Do you think I like that she is with Klaus? What I do know from what I've seen is that his family would do anything for her. I took Bonnie and Katherine there Tyler. They are loyal to their own so I know that as much as we might hate them, she is safe with them."
"What happens when Klaus gets bored? Who's to say he won't go after anyone Caroline's associated with when she pisses him off? The only safe Klaus is a dead one. Otherwise we're all in danger at any point. He's been planning the ritual he wanted with Elena for a thousand years, he could simply be biding his time."
"I'm not looking to bury a friend, man." Matt shook his head. "This place is troublesome enough without you bringing down Mikaelson rage onto yourself. I know how you feel but this is just one battle that's not worth it. How do you know you can trust these people? They're after the doppelganger's for a reason. There after Elena, Ty."
"He took my life from me, Matt. While I might not know everything they're after, I know that they don't want Elena dead."
"Elena and the others managed to save your ass," Matt muttered, "You're alive and well because of them. Your mother could have been collateral damage for all your schemes yet she still lives. Don't rock the boat man. I'm begging you."
Tyler let out a shaky breath as if he was once again a newly turned wolf trying to keep his anger at bay. "Matt, I'm so angry all the time. At times it feels like it's not my own. I can feel it bubbling underneath my skin. I can ignore it for a time but it's always there as if the smallest thing can set me off. Klaus can set me off like no one else can."
Matt scoffed, "You always were a certifiable asshole." The blonde grinned as Tyler smacked him in the arm. The two friends shared a large grin as Tyler let out a shaky laugh.
"Klaus killed me, took my girlfriend, threatened my friends and family. I have to do something. I won't live my life looking over my shoulder."
"There's nothing I can do to change your mind about going to New Orleans, is there?" Matt said with an expectant look.
Both of them knew how it worked between them. Matt was always the one who tried to calm him down while Tyler was the one who always preferred to let his fists do the talking.
"No, Matt. I'm really sorry but this is something I have to finish."
XXX
"You want to hand me over to a babysitter!" The resounding crash echoed in the ears of the all supernaturals currently residing on the plantation.
Katherine, who had been talked into helping by Bonnie with the promise of multiple chances of annoying the hell out of her favorite people, stopped hanging fairy lights across the outside yard.
Glancing over at the witch the vampire smirked, "Should I continue or help her plot a murder instead? I vote murder personally."
Bonnie who was in the middle of directing Freya on magically changing the white table clothes to lavender stopped what she was doing to cross her arms at the seductive vampire. "Do you want to be in the middle of that or help decorate?"
The brunette's nose twitched, "Why are you even bothering to help? You hate the big bad wolf."
"Caroline has been dreaming about the perfect proposal since she was seven. Klaus knows this and managed to pay the correct price for my help." Bonnie answered with a shrug as she went back to helping Freya with magically changing the color scheme.
"You do realize we have the money to buy the correct colors?" Rebekah doled out coming out of the house with fine china, "We could have hired servants to do this!"
"You do remember going to high school with Caroline right?" Bonnie raised her elegant brow. "You fought over committees!"
"I managed to get help so I barely had to do anything." Rebekah sniffed, her nose up in the air.
"Until it was time to clean up." Bonnie smirked right back at her. "Hate to tell you but Caroline's methods may be insane but she is never left to clean up on her own."
"Is Rebekah complaining about manual labor, again?" Sage called out as she waved through a bunch of men carrying equipment.
"Miss Control Freak didn't notice you with an entourage?" Katherine raised her brow, one hand on her hip as she finished with the last of the lights.
"She's busy throwing things at Klaus." Sage shrugged. "Kol and Enzo are busy being amused by her excellent aim for a human."
"I take it she is not a fan of the she-wolf?" Freya mused, glancing over at her sister for confirmation. Rebekah laughed out loud, clapping her sister on the shoulder, "Freya, sweet Freya. According to Caroline's memories, she-wolf likes to hop into vampire beds."
That was when Elena and Tom walked into the fray with Finn acting as a guard for the two doppelgangers that day. Sage carefully dropped her project, wishing to avoid having two pairs of witches annoyed at her to wrap her arms around Finn's neck while her legs stopped his stride as she settled against his chest.
"Sage." Finn greeted softly, wrapping his arms underneath her to carry her weight against his frame. Tom, noticing that their guard was busy, gently wrapped his hand around Elena's wrist to stop her. She turned to look at the lovebirds, a pang of something in her eye, then her gaze turned towards the decorations zeroing in on Bonnie and who Elena now knew to be Freya Mikaelson.
"What's going on?" The doppelganger directed her questions towards Bonnie. Knowing that if anyone was going to answer honestly it would be her. The witch stopped the spell she was casting, smiling softly at her childhood friend.
"It's a surprise for Caroline. Klaus agreed to distract her with her new bodyguard while we did this." Bonnie waved her hand around the entire outside of the plantation where very large tables were being set up, the newest Mikaelson laying out the newly minted lavender colored tablecloths, below the twinkly lights that magically hang in the air.
"It looks like a proposal." Tom whispered to himself but Elena heard it. Turning in shock back to Bonnie, "Is Klaus proposing to Caroline?" Elena questioned.
Rebekah snorts, "What do you take my brother for? Of course he's going to propose, the bloody idiot calls her his queen. What do you think was going to happen?"
"Bonnie!" Elena's voice rose to a higher pitch, "You can't let this happen! This is Klaus we're talking about." What Elena didn't notice was in her pleas toward her friend was the look of absolute disillusionment that fell across Bonnie's face. Tom glanced between the two friends, concerned evident in his eyes as he grabbed Elena gently by her arms.
"Elena, enough." He whispered in her ear.
"No! I can't let my best friend marry a man that's killed my Aunt! He's done so many horrible things to the people we care about!" As the words slipped out of her mouth Bonnie shook her head and called out her friend's name.
"Bonnie?" Elena faced her childhood friend with a hopeful look. Praying that her friend was seeing reason. Sure it was one thing to allow Caroline to go through a bad boy phase, the blonde has always had a thing for the dangerous types but it was another thing to let her marry one.
"Elena," Bonnie paused as she felt tears in her eyes but she pushed them back, "I'm going to say this once, okay? I need you to listen to me. No one is forcing Caroline or I to be here. Caroline is in love with Klaus whether we like it or not. And I still don't know how to feel about it. I know, Elena. I know all the things that this family has done, the good and the bad."
The witch paused, licking her lips before continuing, "I'm not saying that they're suddenly the good guys. Katherine, here still actively plots against people in my hearing range!" The aforementioned vampire offered up a smirk and an eye roll at the looks she received.
"It's Caroline, Bonnie. We have to protect her." Elena pleaded. "What's going to happen when he gets bored playing house? When he's decided he has waited long enough for his hybrids."
"He doesn't want hybrids." Finn interjected, the amusement he felt at causing the human doppelganger to jump, not appearing on his face. "My brother only wanted what was returned to him."
"Care is pregnant, Elena." Bonnie whispered. "Somehow there is a magical loophole with Klaus being the first hybrid. She's made her choice and we have to at the very least respect it even if we can't understand it."
"It's Klaus!" Elena pleaded once more. "He's broken promises before."
This time it was Katherine who scoffed as Bonnie glared at her friend, "Elena, the only time the Mikaelson's have ever broken a promise was if we broke it first or for their family. Remember their motto?"
"Always and Forever." Elena repeated with a small roll of her eyes. "How can you support this, Bonnie? You hate vampires."
"I will never forgive myself for causing Caroline pain because I judged her for something she had no say in. She didn't choose to become a vampire nor did she choose to become human again. You did that Elena." Bonnie shook her head. "You hated Katherine so much that you put your friend in potential danger over something we knew little about!"
"It was a cure! Rebekah wanted it, I wanted it! But I knew that Katherine would never stop coming after me. I had to do something to stop her!" Elena argued.
"By forcing a potion we know nothing about on someone?" Bonnie shook her head in disbelief. "You really can't see it can you? You will always see yourself in the right. Everyone else needs to fall into line or they are wrong."
"How can you say that to me?" Elena's eyes turned wide, as if concerned for her safety. Her doe-like eyes only made Bonnie feel disgusted, how could she not have seen it?
"My grams died because of Damon Salvatore's obsession with Katherine. It was the Salvatore's obsession with you that brought Katherine back, and all that noise alerted the Mikaelson's in the first place.
Then you couldn't handle being a vampire, so of course we need to look for a cure despite Stefan regretting being one for centuries before you but even he was willing to give it up for you! Elena everything we've done has been either for you or brought on by you."
"Bonnie, I'm the doppelganger. I can't help that my blood is a key magical ingredient!"
"Tom's managed just fine before you." Sage piped up, raising her brow from her spot between Finn's arms.
"Elena. I'm telling you this once. Just listen to what the Mikaelson's have to say, get out of this jam then for the love of god stay away from all things supernatural." Bonnie pleaded for her friend. "I can't help you anymore."
XXX
It dawned only five minutes into the council meeting, why not a single sibling of his wished to become a part of it. The werewolves were being represented by Hayley and Jackson, a pair who kept mostly to themselves watching the other factions with suspicion. Finn understood their reasoning, after all Hayley's had her ill-boding moments of teamwork with other species and Jacksons pack had until recently been cursed.
The witches were being represented by a man known as Vincent and Sophie Deveraux with permission from their elders. The two witches appeared to hold the typical beliefs of their kind, knowing his siblings as he did, the Mikaelson family has always had a history of using those with magic or other supernatural abilities for their own purposes which did not help their reputation within other factions. The male was of African descent, looked to be late twenties possibly early thirties, while Sophie was a witch his family was familiar with.
The vampires were being represented by Finn himself and Marcel. They had only gotten through introductions and Finn already felt like he was going to have a headache. He wished Sage could have come to this meeting, but she was on doppelganger guard duty. Keeping Elena far from his brother and Caroline for the day. Katherine's daughter had managed to make contact again, the Travelers were on their way. Meaning this council meeting could not get derailed no matter how much Finn would rather leave them all to their petty squabbling.
Seeing as no one was willing to go first, Finn stood up watching as all eyes zeroed in on him. "It has come to my family's attention that a sub group of witches are making their way to New Orleans."
Vincent frowned, "What do you know?" As his hands clasped together his brows furrowing in thought. The original had said a sub-group of witches would automatically make it the coven's problem as this was their witch territory.
"Travelers."
Finn observed the council members for any reactions. The wolf, Jackson, leaned over to whisper something to the she-wolf, Hayley. The slim woman whispered something back to him causing the man to nod. Vincent and Sophie had pursed lips, neither looked like they wanted to say anything. While Marcel watched the proceedings with an air of indifference.
"Who are these Travelers?" Marcel questioned.
"Witches unable to use typical magic. There is a legend that states they were cursed in ancient times, never allowed to truly congregate with each other. They must keep moving or the curse is activated." Sophie reluctantly voiced, glancing over at Finn with nervous eyes.
The last time she had seen a Mikaelson she was threatened within an inch of her life over the spell that connected her to Caroline Forbes.
Finn gave the witch a small nod, "That's exactly what our sources say. Our informant says that the Travelers are on the move in search of the last pair of human doppelgangers. Currently both human doppelgangers and vampire pairs are within our compound. I am giving this information to you in good faith."
Marcel snorts, "Good faith huh? Why the sudden interest in collecting doppelgangers when Klaus's curse is broken."
"You mean to tell me Elena Gilbert is here?" Hayley questioned, shaking her head, crossing her arms glancing over at her co-leader. "Who is the other doppelganger? I didn't realize there was more than one."
"That is none of your concern." Finn blocked the question pausing when Vincent stood up and exclaimed, "Like hell it is! Why are the Mikaelson's suddenly collecting doppelgangers?"
Breathing in through his nose Finn counted to five, "The Travelers are in search of the doppelgangers. There is very little information on exactly what they want but our informant is sure that the effects would have ramifications for all our species."
"So, they're coming here? What does this have to do with all of us?" Jackson asked, reaching out to grab Hayley's hand. The wolves had an agreement with the Mikaelson's but that didn't mean he was willing to stick his pack's necks out on the line for the vampires and witches who kept them cursed his entire life.
"If they get what they want it's assumed magic as we know it will disappear. Potentially killing us all. As a wolf your blood is full of magic, you may simply revert to being human or it could kill you same with the witches. Magic is in your blood you may be fine or you won't —" Finn dropped off allowing the threat to hang in the air.
"You want our help because there is no way of telling what their spell, whatever magic they want gone will do." Vincent summed up the situation with a frown. "We practice ancestral magic that comes from the dead. Our magic may not be affected."
"Ancestral magic was created because you consecrate your dead. You had to have magical parents to even begin that tradition." Finn countered. "Your magic may primarily come from your ancestors, but you're still connected to nature, your part of the schism that cursed the Travelers."
"How do we stop them?" Sophie asked. "We don't even have a record of the spells they would use. They are clearly capable of some magic but nothing we are familiar with."
"We have the entire New Orleans Coven, a Bennett and a Mikaelson witch. We assume that many witches can come up with a plan to subdue a bunch of witches whose main trick is basically soul hopping."
Vincent's eyes light up, "Passengers, huh? I might have something… it still doesn't answer why we should help you."
"Does living not suit your fancy?" Finn snapped. "How about the fact that my family is ensuring your coven's survival. All we ask is that you prevent magic from being wiped from the earth so we can all continue living on it."
"Vince." Sophie hissed.
"Okay fine. So we help what about the vampires and werewolves? If we are taking the bulk of the magical side of things, what will you lot do?" Vincent scowled his distrust of vampires apparent.
"Patrols ensure we have plenty of time to engage with them before they have a chance to passenger into anyone. Here-" Finn pulled a knife from his pocket thrusting it at the witches so it landed safely on the table. Smirking at the looks of alarm, "Katherine says that this is a knife everyone needs. If we find someone who has a Traveler locked inside them this knife with a specific command will be the only way to release them. Hayley you will be needed at the plantation."
XXX
That evening Davina was standing between Caroline and Bonnie as Freya went over what finishing the ritual would entail. Davina looked the Mikaelson witch in the eye, nodding every so often as Freya described the anchoring spell she would be performing before the ritual. The bulk of the research the two outsider witches have done showed the need for sacrifice not that she needed to meet with her ancestors.
"The spell will anchor your soul to this plane, fulfilling the harvest without putting you in the hands of any ancestors that might use this opportunity to punish you." Freya reassured.
"Are you sure this will work?" Davina wanted to be sure. While she didn't want to die at all, she didn't want to be stuck on the other side with her angry ancestors more.
"The ritual requires sacrifice. Nothing about requirements for what happens to your soul in the meantime." Bonnie repeated, wrapping her arm around the witch. "I wish we had more time to prepare you but the year to complete the ritual is almost up."
"Isn't that always the case with magic?" Davina grinned weakly. Hearing footsteps Davina glanced around to find the rest of the Mikaelson clan at a respectful distance.
"Nice to finally meet you Little Witch, the name's Kol Mikaelson- at your service." Kol bowed with a cheeky grin, earning a small laugh from the nervous witch.
"So, you are the magical know-it-all Mikaelson." Davina's lips tilted up in a smile earning a laugh from most of the group.
"Got the boy pegged in as little as a minute." Sage smirked over at Finn who entangled their fingers together. "Isn't she a delight."
Davina blushed as Caroline winked at her, "Kol behave. This is nerve-wracking enough for her."
"As you wish my favorite sister-" Kol paused smirking at Rebekah's screech, "-In-Law sheesh. 'Bekah no need to be so vain."
Freya rolled her eyes at the antics of her youngest siblings gazing down at the teenager, "Ignore them, my siblings have attention-seeking issues. Are you ready? Your coven is waiting."
"You'll be there?" Davina asked, glancing over at Bonnie who nodded while Caroline beamed, "Like we would be anywhere else."
Davina's shoulders lowered in relief as she nodded towards Freya, "Do it."
Freya opened up an old tome, glancing down at the words before handing it to Kol as she turned towards the witch. The oldest Mikaelson began to chant the old tongue falling easily from her lips. The winds began to change direction, the witches dominant hand raised performing a slight movement before pointing towards Davina.
This was repeated several times, the wind growing stronger, Davina was unable to hold her gasp as she felt the power stored inside her move. A slight sensation fell over her as Freya at last stopped chanting as the wind came to a standstill.
"It's done." Freya lowered her hand. "Your soul should not leave this plane even if the ancestors try to pull anything with their collective energy."
Davina sighed, "It doesn't even feel like my coven anymore but if I don't do this disaster will strike."
"The curse of a strong powerful witch I'm afraid." Kol wrapped an arm around her, earning a small glare from the petite witch.
"You see, if it wasn't your power-hungry ancestors, it would be some sort of supernatural creature. Always in need of a powerful witch."
"Kol," Klaus sighed, pulling Caroline into his chest. "I'd let the witch go, now."
Hearing the warning in his brother's voice, Kol grinned seeing the fire in Davina's eyes. "Don't like this love? Trust me, you Claire witches always love me in the end."
"How do you know my name?" Davina's eyes narrowed along with Marcel who had finally arrived after meeting with the wolves and his own minions about their jobs for the evening. Marcel nodded towards Finn who gave a single nod in acknowledgement.
"I've been a friend to the Claire family for many years." Kol shrugged. "I may have been daggered for a long time but I can still recognize one."
"Oh." Davina didn't know how to respond to that. Marcel stood beside Davina whispering in her ear that it was time. The witch let out a breath as Caroline came to wrap her in a final hug.
"You'll be fine," Caroline whispered, "You will come out stronger in the end."
Marcel offered Davina his arm, offering her a comforting smile as they slowly walked to the agreed upon location to finish the ritual. As promised, the only people around would be the Mikaelsons' to ensure everyone stayed true to their agreement, the newest elder, Bonnie, Caroline and Marcel at Davina's request.
"Caroline was the one who tried to get me help. She and Bonnie have worked with me and never once have they lied to me." Davina had said when the issue was raised. "I need people I can trust there."
So the two childhood friends followed the witch who was only a few years younger than them towards the location of Harvest. This time Davina would be walking in fully aware of what was happening and expected of her. Davina felt her throat close up at the sight of the leader of the French Quarter coven waiting for her in the ritual circle.
"Welcome, Davina," Joséphine said. "I'm glad you have come to your senses."
"After this, I relinquish all claims to your coven," Davina stated. "You've betrayed the pact made to my ancestors."
Joséphine frowned, "You'll give up your magic?"
"You should know better than anyone where our magic really comes from," Davina snorted. "Let's get this over with."
Joséphine sighed, "Very well. Come daughter, take your place."
Davina stood before Joséphine once again in a white shift, comforted knowing that those who had helped her stood behind her. She could hear the hybrid whispering to Caroline, keeping the blonde at bay.
Davina wanted to laugh, the few weeks she had gotten to know the blonde and her witch friend had been more than enough for the Claire witch to know that the New Orleans coven was nothing like a coven should be.
Then the chanting began.
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A.N: Another chapter down! What are your thoughts? Timeline might be a bit off, but with this show it can be hard to keep things in a smooth timeline based on all the time jumps and speed of time passed between episodes. So I will keep doing my best. What do you think is going to happen next?