A/N (8/14/21): Hola! Hope you enjoy the following chapter, thank you for reading!
"There you are," a familiar voice said the next morning. Sophie was on a porch chair outside, her legs raised and tucked under her chin as she hugged them, rethinking every dicey step, every wayward decision. Her resoluteness to not complain as she spent the past three months, separated from family, cooped up in this house as Klaus worked diligently to undermine Marcel. She had tried to remain hopefully optimistic all summer, weathering his erratic moods like a plucky, unseasoned sailor who didn't pay the perilous oceans their due respect. What an idiot she had been to willfully ignore Rebekah's rapierlike observations of her brother. Daggering, biting, deserting- Does your wickedness never end? The younger sister had accused her older brother when she found out what he had done to Elijah.
Sophia had been downright in denial- But she had had to, in an attempt to make the best of it. She had tried, she really did. For their daughter, she had given him the best of her. Her firm trust and incontestable loyalty. It should have been more than enough, after everything. But Klaus Mikaelson had always demanded the impossible of those he loved. And what had there been left to give?
To forgive and forget. Either one probably would have assuaged him. But the one thing Klaus wanted, she wasn't prepared to relinquish.
At least, for all her mistakes, there was some solace that could be found in how she had very little choice in the matter, what with being bound to a witch and all. Or- did that make it all worse?
"Rebekah," Sophia smiled weakly as she accepted the cheese danish the blonde offered her.
"If you want to have breakfast inside, Klaus is gone and he took his… blood donors with him."
Sophia only just resisted cringing as she remembered walking down the stairs at seven in the morning to find Klaus pinning a leggy brunette against the wall as he fed on her. The horrifying, eerily sensual image burned her eyes. All summer together, and it was the first time he was so blatant about his feeding. In the back of her mind, Sophia knew that part of the reason he was acting out was the silent treatment she had been giving him since yesterday. At first, it had stemmed from stunned shock, and genuinely not knowing what to say to him... Then that warped into waspish exasperation.
"Out here is fine," Sophia said monotonically as she nibbled at her danish. "I thought you had left already?"
"Oh, I did, and of course everything fell apart without me here-"
"You were right Bekah," Sophia's voice was low. "I should have returned home to my family, and stayed there when I had the chance. But I never really had a chance, did I?"
Silence. And then. "Don't worry- All will be well, you'll see." The certainty of the vampire's voice had Sophia finally lifting her head to meet her friend's eyes.
"What do you-"
"No time for questions, dear. You should have the whole house to yourself for a few hours, call if you need anything."
"They have all forsaken me- My siblings are as deceitful and diseased as my parents ever were. Accusing me of using my baby for my own gain. Trusting others before their own blood, and now, they've made Sophia think the worst of me." Cami rolled her eyes as her fingers typed along the old fashioned typewriter, impatiently using white-out to correct a mistake.
"Oh, would a laptop kill you?" she complained. Sure, the typewriter had been good enough for Hemingway- back in the 1950s. She absently wondered how much malt liquor it would take to get a thousand-year-old vampire drunk as Klaus poured himself another glass.
"Elijah and Rebekah have cut to the quick with their vicious lies about me-" His angry words were slow, his speech sedated by the alcohol he drank. Cami decided she deserved a break, ceasing to type. "When all I've done is try to win this battle of wills over Marcel's control of the quarter in order to reclaim our home. Type please," he demanded.
"What's the point?" she asked, mildly annoyed, as she clasped her hands together on the desk in front of her. "You just repeat the same thing over and over again. Rebekah is out to get you. Elijah is out to get you. The only one you've never dared accuse of plotting your downfall is Sophia- But I supposed it's just a matter of time now that you're mad at her for giving you the silent treatment." Cami shook her head.
Of all the things it had been difficult to wrap her head around, it somehow wasn't the vampires, witches, or wolves… But the existence of reincarnation. She had endless questions. With how unique genetic traits were, how did Sophia end up reborn looking the same in every life? Was it nature or nurture that heavily influenced her disposition? The way Klaus described the fairly debilitating symptoms that occurred whenever the poor girl relived another life, the therapist in her wanted to diagnose her with a borderline personality disorder- Sophia checked off quite a few boxes on the checklist for that disorder, at least five out of the nine. And that got Cami thinking of how many of those diagnosed with BPD were actually, genuinely, old souls suffering the invisible trauma of their past lives.
Klaus's back was to her as recounted his act of impudence. "I was merely encouraging her to admit that she still has yet to forgive me- and she hasn't been anything but perfunctory since-"
Cami's laugh was brittle. "You killed her aunt and her sister for a ritual sacrifice," the grad-student's voice cut like a blade, sharpened by anger as she thought of the witch who hexed her twin brother. "As you told me once, you've killed others for a lot less- Don't you think Sophia deserves a bit of grace period?" The blonde threw up her hands at the hopelessness of Klaus's many conditions. "Look at you- Repeating the same destructive cycles over and over again, such as not being patient with Sophia, who by the sound of it, has been nothing but magnanimous the entire summer. It's not your siblings, or her- You are the architect of your own unhappiness."
Klaus finally turned to her. "I don't remember asking for your advice."
"Oh really?" She smiled widely, showing teeth. "So, of all the people in New Orleans, you chose someone with a master's in psychology to record your life's story? You're over a thousand years old, pretty damn sure you know how to type. The truth is, you compel me to come here because you have no one else to talk to- And you want to be understood. Then you compel me to forget everything as soon as I leave your presence because you're too scared to trust."
Well, that got his attention.
"I am scared of nothing," Klaus declared as he stepped closer to her, noticing her drawing as he looked down at the desk. The code she and Sean had created when they had been so young. "What is this?"
Cami answered without blinking. "It's an ancient mystical plot I'm using to destroy you."
Sophia's eyes widened that evening as she saw she was getting a call from Bonnie. After months of text messages and emails, it was rather unexpected. "Bonnie?"
"It's actually me, Soph. But I thought this number might get your attention." Sophia's heart lurched. Jeremy. She had been dodging his calls. With her confidence, her hope, taking such a hit… She couldn't bear the thought of lying to him, of having to tell him that everything he was scared of was at risk of coming true.
And so, she stayed silent.
"I know you're there, Sophie. I know... everything."
"How-" she whispered. And he told her.
I love him too, Rebekah had shared with her in regards to Klaus. But sometimes, the hate is just so powerful.
How Sophia hated Klaus in that moment- but even amidst the drumming enmity and rancor that had her entire body shaking- she somehow knew it wasn't all because of him. No, she was sure Esther's recently unburied sins and all the grief New Orleans had given her since she got here were mixed up in the choking animosity she was feeling.
Sophia hated that she didn't have any tears left to spare as Jeremy told her that Bonnie died. That she had been a ghost since the last time she saw her at graduation, killed by the magic needed to bring Jeremy back to life. Only her little brother had known, and had kept the witch's secret for her. A secret Bonnie had begged him to keep for her friend's sake, to preserve their happiness.
"We didn't mean to spy, but Bonnie was worried and I was worried- And she told me that the witch's link to you is broken, you don't have to stay there anymore," Jeremy pleaded. "Come home, Sophie. Or I can go to you- and we'll figure out the rest when we see each other-"
"No." Esoterically, she remembered walking into the bedroom she shared with Elena, so long ago, to find Jeremy in her arms, his neck snapped. A lovestruck, heartbroken Damon Salvatore had killed the brother of the woman he supposedly loved without a second thought after she wouldn't tell him what he wanted to hear. In his worked-up state, Klaus would surely read Sophia's want to visit her family, right as soon as she was unlinked from the witch, as treason. As verifiable proof that his siblings and Hayley's words had gotten to her. He wouldn't view her as a sister seeking her siblings' company after months of coerced separation- But instead, as Sophia daring to walk away from him, taking his baby with her.
She remembered all the hurt and mayhem Klaus had made Mystic Falls suffer in order to bend them to his will so he could break his curse and sire a new species. What would he do if Elena and Jeremy rallied their little motley crew to help Sophia in the same fashion? There would be blood and death and casualties. It was sobering to see how lightly they had escaped Klaus's malevolence the first time, now that she was beside him as he worked to thwart Marcel- now that she had a better idea of how his mind twisted and contorted.
"Sophie-"
"New Orleans is still the right place for me to be, Jer." Her tongue felt heavy in her mouth. How she very much would like to go home, to see him. To yell at him and Bonnie for keeping such a secret. To visit Elena and Caroline on their college campus and celebrate with them, to ask Elena what the hell she was thinking for leaving Damon in charge of watching over Jeremy, even if doing so would make Sophia a huge hypocrite (It's not like she was stepping up as his big sister to help take care of him).
"I don't understand-"
The pain and loss her family had suffered as they tried to protect Elena from Klaus- Sophia wouldn't do that to them again just because she was homesick.
Both Gilbert sister's, so quick to be martyrs, Klaus had once told her.
"Jeremy, this is my choice, okay? Ask Bonnie if she honestly thinks I'm in danger of Klaus hurting me."
Silence. Then… "She loves you, and she can see you're not happy."
Finally, the tears came. "I love you too Bonnie. I can't believe- after everything…"
"Thank you," Sophie had smiled wobbly as Hayley sat on the porch beside her the next morning after she and Elijah returned from the swamp. The hybrid raised an eyebrow in question.
"For coming back," Sophia had answered. "You didn't have to. You probably shouldn't have. Really- go, actually. Leave right now, while you still can," the wolf semi-joked.
Hayley shook her head as she warily glanced over her shoulder to the house where all who was left of the Mikaelson clan had disappeared into. "We're a pack, remember? So Klaus doesn't want to weaponize his baby- Doesn't make him dad of the year. I'm not leaving you, Sophie," the brunette said in a low voice.
Sophia shook her head, wondering how much of that was Hayley being a good friend, and how much of it was the sire bond overriding her self- preservation. Adding breaking that sire bond to her to-do list, Sophia's mind was distracted as Klaus stepped out of the house behind them.
"You're coming with, little love," Klaus had ordered as he walked past the pair to open the passenger side door of his car. Sophia merely blinked, taking a moment to register his words.
"Can't I stay here? It's not too far from the Quarter, and Rebekah and Elijah are strong enough to-" Sophia cut herself off as she saw the look in Klaus's eye, and blamed a night of restless sleep for lulling her into thinking she had a choice in the matter.
His eyes were steel as he continued on. "You are to come with me, Sophia, because the child you carry is the only thing on this earth that matters to me. Now, you can fight me on this, but you will lose- As will anyone else who tries to stop you from getting into this car." And there it was, the reason she didn't dare escape to Mystic Falls.
Her body was stiff as she walked over to the car.
What a farce, Sophia thought as she eyed the vampires that surrounded her. Klaus was throwing an intimate dinner party to celebrate his official return as King of the Quarter, and invited Marcel and his most loyal, high-ranking daywalkers to commemorate the occasion. A table was set with the finest cloth and silverware, outside in the center of the Abattoir the evening after Klaus had moved in.
Sophia really didn't want to be here, but once again, Klaus didn't give her much of a choice. So she gritted her teeth and bared through it.
The hybrid stood up proudly as he began his speech. "Let us begin with a toast to our shared gift- immortality. After a thousand years, one might expect for life to be less keenly felt, for its beauties and its sorrows to diminish with time- But as vampires, we feel more deeply than humans could possibly imagine," Klaus said as he gestured for the group of waiters lined up against a wall to make way to the guests. "An insatiable need, an exquisite pain-" Sophia was thankful her morning sickness had mostly passed as the waiters slit both of their wrists, compelled to spill their blood into the various vampire's dining glasses. How fitting that abattoir was french for slaughterhouse. "To my city, my home, may the blood never cease to flow-"
"And the party never end." The old soul raised her eyebrows as Marcel joined Klaus's toast.
Hayley, who sat to Sophia's right, ignored the speech entirely as she drank her blood, rolling her eyes commiseratingly to the wolf. The baby hybrid's safety and company was Sophia's only demand before she had left with Klaus the day before, but he had less than gracious reasons for allowing such a companion.
"I understand," the original hybrid continued on, "That some of you may have questions regarding the recent change in leadership- And I invited you here tonight to assure you that you are not defeated. No. My intentions moving forward are to celebrate what we have. What Marcel, in fact, took- and built- into this true community of vampires-"
"What about them," A curly-haired vampire who Sophia believed was titled Diego, said as he gestured towards her and Hayley "- the wolf and the… the hybrid".
Sophia, sat at the opposite end of the table from Klaus, smiled mechanically as she felt eyes on her, while Hayley continued to slouch in her seat, unbothered.
"Had you let me finish Diego," Klaus said as he walked around the table to Sophia, "You would know, of course, that there is one further matter I would like to address. Many of you know, I assume, know that the lovely Sophia Gilbert is carrying my child- I trust you will all pay her with the appropriate respect." Sophia resisted cringing as he placed a hand on her shoulder. Klaus' lips upturned as Hayley's gaze met every single vampire's eyes at the table, dark veins shifting on her face as her eyes briefly glowered yellow."Hayley, Sophia's pet stray, is allowed to continue living so long as she protects the mother of my child. Nothing for you to worry your minds about should no harm come to her. As for the creation of further hybrids- It appears I will have to earn your trust. Very well," Klaus said as he returned to his seat. "We'll eliminate the root of your anxiety- You see, how can I sire any hybrids if there are no more werewolves alive in the bayou to turn?"
Sophia bit back a gasp, tensing in her seat as Hayley opened her mouth to speak, but the wolf kicked the hybrid under the table, shaking her head.
"So eat, drink, and be merry- And tomorrow, I suggest you have yourselves a little wolf hunt. Go ahead, have fun. Kill them all."
Part of Klaus's stipulations for allowing Hayley to remain with Sophia was requiring the wolf to literally remain at Sophia's side every minute of the day, and for Hayley to not antagonize any of his vampires, provided they meant no harm to Sophia.
Despite her twenty-four-seven bodyguard, it was clear Klaus didn't trust the pair (admittedly, rightfully so). It had become apparent after they tried to sneak out of the compound the next day. The original hybrid's new lackeys were on them the moment they tried to leave. "Going somewhere?" Diego asked before they could bypass him.
Hayley narrowed her eyes, but had already been bid by Sophia not to attack them. Sophia loathed the sire bond, but she was scared of what Klaus would do to Hayley if she stepped out of line. Then Elijah was in front of them, snapping Diego's neck, and Sophia turned around to see two more vampires thrown against the wall.
"Elijah," "Rebekah," Hayley and Sophia greeted respectively.
Sophia thanked them for coming to rescue her from Klaus, but assured them she was safe from his temper. After some pleading to the Originals vampires' sense of pity ("Do we look like a bloody vampire rescue squad?" demanded Rebekah) Sophia and Hayley convinced them to go rescue the wolves in the bayou.
"You should go with them, Hayley," Sophia smiled at her friend. "They're your family, and I'll tell Klaus being trailed by a hybrid wasn't good for vampire morale."
Sophia spent the rest of the day exploring her cage, the brick and stone and cement that confined her- when an out-of-place, baby-faced teenager caught her eye as she wandered about. Davina. Sophia looked around as she trailed after the witch, and followed her down into the cellar, hidden from sight as she stayed on the stairs.
"...uh, y'know, I'm hiding out," Sophia overheard Josh say. Oh, so this is where he's been. The baby vampire went on. "You know, incognito. Got to run for the hills, but I'm stuck here until it gets dark."
"Are you okay?" the petite witch asked.
"Yeah, yeah," Josh lied, the pitch of his voice getting higher with every syllable. Then it dropped down as he told the truth. "No, not really. I mean, I totally led Klaus into a trap that was like the most epic failure of all time- So, yeah, I'm kind of crapping pants right now, figuratively… So far."
"It's okay," Davina assured him. "You can trust Marcel, and if Klaus tries to hurt you, I'll hurt him."
Sophia stepped completely into the grey, stone-washed cellar, curious about this so-called, powerful witch. Based on what she had learned from being friends with Bonnie, it wasn't… Sustainable- holding onto so much power.
"If you could really hurt Klaus," the wolf began, "Wouldn't you have done it already?" Her cheeks flushed. Even with all that Klaus had done, she didn't want him hurt.
"You're Sophia," Davina said, posturing. "The palia psyche, and Klaus's wife?
"Uh," Sophia faltered as she met Josh's dark eyes, then Davina's blue ones. "Not exactly. I- I'm the pregnant werewolf, you're Davina the teenage witch- and finally," Sophia smiled apologetically to the vampire in the room. "Hey Josh."
"Hey Sophie- Sorry about the whole plotting against the father of your baby-"
Sophia shook her head, unbothered, and gestured with her hands as if to say 'Oh that- it's fine'. She really didn't know what Rebekah and Marcel had been thinking, wondering what led the pair to believe they could subdue Klaus's strength.
"Look, I'm not exactly here willingly-" Sophia couldn't help but smile reassuringly at Josh as he furrowed his eyebrows in concern, seemingly worried about her despite her attachment to Klaus. Sophia turned kind eyes back to the witch- Had Sophia and Elena looked so young once- God, they had been sixteen only three years ago? "Look Davina, I'm sorry for following you down here. I saw you sneaking around, I got curious, and I couldn't help myself. But I promise I won't tell Klaus about Josh, I owe him that and more." Sophia nodded to him. "I'm really sorry I sat back while Klaus-"
"You didn't have much of a choice- Trust me, I get it," he said with understanding.
"I'm in a bit of a bind," Sophia's lips upturned humorlessly as she placed her hands over her stomach. "And I'd like to propose an allyship?" she said tentatively. It couldn't hurt to be on a super-powerful witches' good side as Sophia figured out her next steps.
The more time passed, the more Sophia worried about the potential slaughter of the bayou wolves. Helpless and tortured with the worst of curses for God knows how long. Then there was round-faced Davina and baby vampire Josh to consider. Sophia had buried her guilt of sitting back as Klaus compelled Josh, and having never met Davina before, the all-powerful witch hadn't seemed quite real to her. Now that she was… Sophia was simmering as she stalked around the compound, a bundle of restless energy. Then she spotted Klaus from the corner of her eye, relaxing as he read a book, in one of the many rooms.
The words flew out of the old soul's mouth as she stepped inside. "Those werewolves are not only Hayley's family, but they protected our baby like one of their own- That's more that I can say for the vampires," Sophia spat.
"Not for long love," Klaus said without looking up from his book. "Their one good deed aside, what good have they done for Hayley- abandoning her as they did? Tell her it's simply her turn to do the same."
"Maybe they had their reasons-"
"Yes. Well, I have reasons too, little love. If the werewolves are dead, then the vampires have less desire to kill you. I am trying to keep you safe- Not that you appreciate the effort," he said as he stood up, eyeing her with thinly veiled frustration. All the goodwill she had thought they built in the past months- Gone. Fake niceties were the best Sophia could expect when she cared to talk to him. When Klaus didn't feel the need to resort to threats, he hid behind cordial affectations after he had shown his cards to Sophia- That he was not as patient as he led her to believe when he told her he would wait for her to catch up to him.
She lifted her chin stubbornly as she asked the question nagging her at the back of her mind. "What happens to me when I have this baby, Nik? Will you still care so much for my safety?"
His words had lingered... the child you carry is the only thing on this earth...
The original opened his mouth as he shook his head, but no words escaped. Hurt, then affront, shone in his gaze. "And you and my siblings thought I paranoid for suggesting what was plain to see… That you and my child will come to see me as Rebekah and Elijah do-"
"Stop it! Just stop, Klaus," Sophia angrily begged, somehow managing not to scream as she did so. The use of his more well-known moniker fleetingly surprised the both of them. She didn't have the patience anymore to wait out his foul moods, to soothe his insecurities.
Sophia's heart felt maimed, but she nodded resolutely to herself. "It's not an unfair question, Niklaus- You're too smart to really believe that it's unreasonable for me to wonder. Lucky for me, I have some time before I find out... But, enough is enough, Nik." Shaking her head, Sophia left him alone.
Sophia was storming through the hallways when something from the corner of her eye caught her attention. Davina, hastily rustling about her room as she unpacked her boxes.
"What are you looking for?" Sophia asked, knocking on the open door as she stepped inside.
"A violin," Davina said distractedly, not telling Sophia to leave. She had been wary of the older girl earlier, so the old soul took that as a good sign. "How could I- Marcel was telling me to hurry, and I probably left it-" The witch shoved a cardboard box full of papers and charcoal off of a chair in frustration.
"Can't you just go back and get it?" Asked Sophia, not understanding why the powerful witch was still being kept under lock and key. She was hardly a secret anymore.
Davina bit her lip. "I can't- it's not safe for me out there."
Sophia tilted her head. "Of you? The crazy powerful witch everyone is afraid of? Or, at least, that was my impression."
The young witch shook her head."The witches are after me."
Sophia narrowed her eyes as remembered the trap Agnes had laid for her."You mean that crazy witch Agnes? Yeah, she tried to kill me too. She's dead now," the wolf offered brightly (Oh, the lengths she would go to bond). "For whatever that's worth. Elijah killed her."
Davina eyed her with disbelief that bordered on distrust. "But- Agnes was the last living elder. If she's dead, then I'm safe. Marcel would've told me."
Sophia raised her hands appeasingly, not knowing what she said to earn the sudden hostility. "Maybe he's still trying to protect you? From the other witches?" The old soul had never understood the particulars of the relationship between Marcel and the little witch, if the vampire was just using her or if he genuinely cared for her.
"You're lying-"
"Lying about what?" Josh asked casually as he walked into the room, holding a spruce wood violin with a smile. "Looking for this?"
It was like sunlight broke through the clouds as Davina's lips twitched and she laughed gratefully.
"I figured, with you vacating, the attic would be a safe zone," Josh continued. "Found this there."
"It was dangerous of you to come back, Josh," Sophia warned as Davina gently took hold of the instrument.
He shrugged. "Yeah, well, that's what friends are for, or, whatever."
A giggle escaped Davina as Sophia nodded softly in understanding, remembering how the teenage witch's blue eyes had lit up.
"So- Lying about what?" prompted Josh.
Davina's expression flattened as her gaze ping-ponged between the wolf and the vampire. "Sophia said a witch was killed. An elder-"
"Oh, yeah," Josh said with recognition. "Crazy Agnes? I heard about that- Elijah went all berserker on her crew, I guess it was super gross." He shuddered as he turned to Sophia. "Just, like, heads and guts- Blaghh."
His smile dropped as Davina's face turned more dire. "What? You hate the witches?" he asked lightly, confused.
"You were right, you told me the truth," Davina looked with wide eyes at Sophia, bewildered as she frowned in confusion at the old soul. "Marcel is just using me," the witch said as her confusion gave way into anger.
Davina looked around her room in indignation. "I can't stay here. I'm not going to be their puppet- You have to get me out of here." Davina's eyes met Josh's, then Sophia's. "You both do- unless you were lying about wanting to be allies."
The vampire readily agreed as Sophia's heart raced. "Okay, but where else are we going to go?"
The old soul already knew she didn't have it in her to reveal Davina's escape plan to Klaus... And maybe, just maybe, the witch actually had a shot of escaping- unlike Sophia. All of Davina's power should certainly be able to cloak her trail from the original once she got out of town, and if Katherine could pull off running away for so long- Altogether, Davina running away wasn't entirely impossible. And, Sophia thought soberly, if she failed, well, she could act as a body shield for her, and hopefully, talk down Klaus from overreacting.
"We don't have a lot of options, and the usual people I would ask for help would either turn you into Klaus or would be killed for knowing about this," Sophia disclosed to Davina as she nodded in agreement with Josh's question. Davina turned grateful, slowly trusting eyes onto the old soul as she thought of her next step.
The witch, wolf, and vampire trio cagily made their way through the French Quarter. Josh and Sophia were flanked on either side of Davina, keeping an eye on their surroundings. Left with hardly any options, the witch decided to go to a bartender by the name of Cami for help.
"She's nice- we can hide out with her until I figure out how to get out of the city," the witch had explained.
Not exactly a foolproof plan, but a burning curiosity was stoked in Sophia as Josh's eyes lit up in remembrance. "Oh, she's the one Klaus compelled to hook up with Marcel." Sophia raised an eyebrow, and he went on. "Klaus sometimes had me spy on their dates…"
On edge, the reality of what she was doing settling in, Sophia repressed a growl as a drunk tourist she had tried to brush off a block ago followed them, catcalling her, his shit-faced friend at his side. The only reason they had managed to keep up with her was because Sophia and company were trying to stay hidden within the New Orleans' night crowd, trying to remain inconspicuous of the nightwalkers. Sophia was sure the only reason they had made it so far was that Klaus hadn't been alerted of their breakout yet. The group came to a halt as Davina figured out where to turn next, and Sophia felt a hand on the small of her back, lowering to her ass. Of all that she was worried, none of it included getting felt up by some dipshi-
"Hey!" she began- But before she could shove him off, she turned around only to brush elbows against a man who her wolf assured her hadn't been there a second ago. Indeed, he wasn't merely a man. The stocky vampire, about as tall as her in her sneakers, had the groper's arm held at an unnatural angle as he looked at him with an expression that had even Sophia wanting to take a step back. The groper's eyes widened. "S- Sorry man- didn't know she was with you."
That took the cake, Sophia thought as her eyes glowed yellow while the groper and his friend stumbled away. She didn't even get a damn apology, the stranger did.
"Hi there darlin'," the muscle-bound vampires' lips curved charmingly, all lazy smiles and pretty blue eyes in spite of her narrowed gold ones. "My bad sweetheart, didn't realize you can take care of yourself." His Louisiana-accented words were pleasantly gruff, if slightly hoarse.
He pushed his shoulder-length, cedar-brown hair back as Sophia returned his gaze with dark, human eyes. "Thanks," she coughed awkwardly as she thought of a way to distract him. "For stepping in." Did he work for Klaus? Sophia didn't remember ever seeing him before, she wondered as her mind ran wild, worried they were caught. He didn't look like any of the daywalkers, she thought as she spotted a lapiz-lazuli ring on his hand.
He nodded easily in acknowledgment as he turned to go in the opposite direction. Before he left, he angled his head, his mouth, so that his breath caressed Sophia's ear. "Be mindful of your ten'o clock, and look up ahead to your right- you'll be in the clear once you're past St. Charles Ave," he said lowly.
Sophia turned incredulous eyes on him. Appearance-wise, he had to have at least a decade on her- in his late twenties, or at most, early thirties when he was turned.
He winked a bright eye at her. "Might want to tell your friends to work on their inside voices."
Sophia had enough presence of mind to notice peripherally how Josh also watched, slackjawed, as the mystery vampire disappeared out of sight.
"He… was hot," Josh said as he looked over Davina to Sophia. Her mouth was dry.
"He was old." Davina's nose wrinkled. "Cute, I guess. For your two. But I gotta say, Josh, I think Sophie's... More his type."
Josh sighed forlornly. "Story of my life- And he was right. How did he spot the nightwalker on the roof all the way over there?"
"Neither of you have seen him before?" Sophia questioned.
Davina shook her head while Josh asked, "Why do you think we would've?"
"He's a vampire," Sophia and Davina answered together while Josh raised his eyebrows.
"Both of you can just tell?"
"You'll get a feel for that soon," Sophia reassured, shaking off the encounter as she caught sight of a pair of Marcel's guys at her ten o' clock on the street up ahead. "All we can do at this point is hope he's not one of Marcel or Klaus's men and get to St. Charles Ave."
Josh stood guard outside of Cami's brick apartment building while Sophia went up with Davina to ask for the bartender's help.
Sophia's face was anxious as Cami opened up the door to Davina's knock.
Oh, a far corner of her mind thought. Of course she was gorgeous- It was probably the bare minimum requirement to capture the attention of vampires the likes of Klaus and Marcel who probably have seen it all… And because they've seen it all, it couldn't just be her looks that kept them so enamored, Sophia's inner Caroline observed. The wolf immediately shook away the thoughts- she had no idea what had gone on between Cami and Klaus, and making guesses wasn't helping anyone.
"Cami," Davina began, on the verge of tears, "Marcel has been lying to me, and I can't trust him anymore."
"I'm sorry," the blonde said politely, "Do I know you?" Sharp green eyes examined the young witch, Sophia, and the baby bump that was becoming impossible to hide under loose clothes.
"Oh," Davina said with understanding to Sophia. "She's been compelled." The witch's small hand wrapped around her wrist as she pulled Sophia into the apartment with her, shutting the door behind them.
"Okay, what are you two doing?" Cami asked with minimal disbelief, but not fearful of the two strange girls who forced their way into her home.
"It's okay, I can fix you," Davina assured. Cami humored her with a smile, and Sophia speculated if some part of her maybe recognized the young witch.
"I'm really sorry," the teenage witch said sincerely. "But this is gonna hurt."
Cami's face contorted in pain under Davina's raised hand, and the blonde brought up her own hands to clutch her head as she let out a heart-wrenching scream.
Cami thrashed by the floor of her couch, sweaty and screaming as sunlight began to filter through her translucent curtains. "Oh God! It hurts," she cried out.
Josh stood by Sophia, cringing in sympathy pain, while the old soul was silently grateful that she wasn't able to be compelled.
"I'm sorry Cami," Davina said gently as she knelt by the blonde. "It's the only way to break all of Klaus's compulsion."
"Believe me, I know what it's like," Josh spoke up, holding an overfilled manilla folder out before him. . "You're okay. And hey- All these notes that you made- It's very 'Memento' of you. Nice work."
Sophia nodded in agreement. Cami's notes reminded the old soul of the ones she had written herself so long ago when Stefan Salvatore stepped into Mystic Falls.
Her… Jealously?... Of the woman who had caught Klaus's attention had faded long ago and turned into detestation of what the hybrid had done to her.
"We've been at this all night- I don't understand what's happening to me. I don't understand any of this." Cami said tiredly with an edge of hysteria.
Sophia was mystified how Cami seemed more unraveled now than she had a few hours ago. During a break around two am, the bartender had somehow noticed Sophia was practically asleep on her feet and insisted she rest on her bed. As much as Sophia wanted to protest, the baby she was carrying was not fond of all nighter's, and she somehow managed to sleep throughout Cami's tortured screaming. Not ideal, but probably not the worst habit to have given who she was sharing a home with, she had noted dryly.
"But you will," Davina assured the blonde with vigor. "I will unlock every stolen memory, undo every piece of mind control that any vampire has ever done to you. When I'm done, you will understand all of it, and you'll be free."
Intense longing was bright in Cami's eyes.
"I can stop if you want me to," Davina offered as a concerned afterthought.
"No, don't stop," Cami protested. "I want to remember everything."
_AND
"You should start to feel it, like a weight lifting," Davina said when she was finished.
"And your cheat sheets are about to make more sense," Josh said as he handed the bartender her folder, then immediately stepped back as the sun burned his exposed hand.
"I promise," Davina vowed, "As soon as the world stops hunting me, I will find the daylight ring spell."
Sophia blushed as her stomach growled. "I'm sorry Davina, I don't think I did you any favors by tagging along- I'm actually worried about how much worse it might've made Klaus's search."
"You said you were stuck, I thought you wanted to leave town too?" The teenager inquired, confused.
Cami picked up one of her papers and whispered, "I remember why I wrote this." She spoke up as she made eye contact with Sophia. "I found a picture of Klaus and Marcel from 1919." The blonde lifted herself to sit on her couch. "Klaus compelled me to go out with Marcel- That's what he said yesterday- before he told me to forget. I'm remembering."
Davina placed a comforting hand as she took a seat beside Cami on the couch. "Let's take you back more."
"Keep drinking," Davina ordered as she refilled Cami's vervain-laced water. "You need the vervain in your system so you can't be compelled again."
Sophia, who sat beside Cami at the kitchen table, nodded in agreement as she ate her second bowl of cereal.
"Hey Cami," Josh broke in, "You don't have, like, any human blood in your ridge, do you?"
The blonde raised her eyebrows.
"For crying out loud- Here," Davina said exasperatedly as she held her wrist out for Josh. Before the vampire got a chance to feed, the witch looked dazed and dizzy as she lowered her arm away from him.
"What's wrong?" Cami asked, standing up. "Davina?"
"Someone is practicing magic," the witch answered worriedly. "They're trying to find me."
Cami looked back over at Sophia. "Then we have to run."
Sophia nodded slowly. "Look, I'm going to be honest with you guys. I've known a few people who've tried to pull one over on Klaus, and the success rate for outmaneuvering him is a crapshoot. Not impossible, as proven by Katherine Pierce, but the odds are not in our favor." Sophia's stomach churned nervously with all eyes on her. "And like Davina said, we also have the witches to worry about-"
"Then why did you come?" Davina asked nervously.
"Honestly?" Sophia choked out a laugh. "In spite of the odds- I'm really rooting for you to make it out of here, and if worse came to worse, I was hoping to be able to talk down Klaus if-" when "he found us."
"Where is she little wolf?" Klaus sneered, his fingers wrapped around her neck as Hayley choked.
She sputtered as she tried to pry his hand off of her.
"Enough Niklaus," Elijah demanded calmly, his eyes flashing. After one last squeeze, the original hybrid let her go. Hayley massaged her throat, wracking her brain as to what Klaus was pissed off about this time.
She couldn't read Elijah as he stepped before her. "Sophia is absent from the compound, as is Davina. Do you know anything, Hayley?" The baby hybrid thought she saw the original's dark eyes soften ever so slightly. "You won't be helping either of them by lying."
"Not that she would have a choice in the matter if it was what her sire commanded," Klaus piped in viciously.
Hayley frowned. She had been with the out-of-town wolves out in the bayou since yesterday- Specifically, the pack descended from Klaus's dad. She hadn't received a call or text from Sophia since she had last seen her, and Hayley told Elijah as much.
"Whatever Sophia is up to, it is not out of character for her to not want to implicate Hayley in such matters-" Elijah remarked as he scrolled through Hayley's phone to appease Klaus. "They are friends, and she knows very well of your… temper."
The tips of Elijah's fingers brushed against Hayley's hand as he returned her phone, and against her good sense, she thought back to a few days ago when they had returned from the swamp after he recovered from Klaus's bite.
His severe eyes as he apologized to her. I'm sorry I tried to hurt you- I would never want that.
Her curiosity about his former lover. Elijah… Tell me what happened to Celeste?
She had worn down his reservations, and he had shared his desperate sorrow with her over the absurdly beautiful witch's death.
She died because of me. Because I cared too deeply for her. Dark eyes had turned protectively onto Hayley, then away. I had allowed my brother to slip through my grasp- I'd loosened the reins while Celeste consumed my every moment.
Reliving his beloved's death had reinforced Elijah's need to be Klaus's champion, to fix his family, his little brother. Hayley had touched her hand to his- it couldn't just be her who had felt …
Please, no, Hayley. Elijah had quietly begged. You've seen what happens. He held her hand, then let it, and whatever they could have had, go.
Hayley did her best to remain out of sight, stalking around the edges of the compound, as Klaus made orders to narrow down the investigation for Sophia. She was sure the witch was a concern of his as well, but she had seen the look in his eyes when he had nearly ripped her throat out. It was transparently obvious that his galling rage shielded an undercurrent of frantic worry.
It took all her willpower to not call her friend, to offer help. But the young hybrid didn't doubt there were eyes on her, so she resisted, silently hoping Sophia knew what she was doing.
She stumbled upon Rebekah combing through a box of old wedding dresses, obviously eavesdropping like Hayley was. "So the witch is missing, huh?" The sister original greeted. "As well as Sophia. Rumor is they walked right out of the front door together- Know anything about it?"
Hayley shook her head. "Not a thing- She has to be helping Davina, right? I can't think of another reason for them to disappear together." The brunette hybrid knew all too well how much the old soul was a sucker for sad eyes and a cause- both she and Klaus had benefited from it.
"It is the most prevalent theory," the blonde agreed. "As for my brother- I can see how he would prefer that to the alternative."
"You mean Sophie running away into the night because she's finally had enough of his bull-" The vampire cut the hybrid off with a look, and Hayley followed her upward gaze to where Klaus stood at the top gallery, gaining the company of Marcel.
"Well- I've never been a fan of the boy's club," the vampire commented. "Just wait. Elijah will join them and the three of them will be impossible."
Hayley flickered her gaze warily back towards Klaus and Marcel.
The vampire went on. "Used by the witches, lied to by Marcel, manipulated by Elijah, threatened by Klaus- Sophia and Davina have three out of the four in common. They're both modern-day casket girls."
Hayley eyed the blonde dubiously. "Are you talking about them or yourself?"
"Does it matter? Either way- Us girls have got to stick together."
Just when Hayley thought she was finally done with the likes of Sophie Deveroux, she had received an untimely phone call. "What the hell do you want?" the hybrid demanded after dodging Klaus's day walkers.
"I know you don't trust me, but you need to listen," Sophie pleaded. "Everything is about to change with Davina on the loose…"
In spite of the witch's having hexed Sophia left and right, Hayley gritted her teeth as she agreed to help Sophie complete the harvest and restore the French Quarter witch's magic- Guilty even though she knew the old soul ultimately wouldn't fault her for it. Sophie Deveroux had seen how Hayley was of the crescent wolves' bloodline, and as a descendant from the witch who had cursed them, Sophie could undo the curse.
And here Hayley was- Back at the mansion at the fringes of the Quarter, mindful of Klaus's henchmen skulking outside, and betraying Elijah's confidence as she skimmed over his journals, trying to deduce where he had buried Celeste.
Celeste Dubois had been a very powerful witch, and Sophie needed to consecrate her remains so she could absorb her magic. Nerves knotted in Hayley's stomach as she found a pretty good indicator of where the Original had buried the witch. "I'm so sorry Elijah."
"There is no way to sneak me out of the Quarter," Davina insisted. "By now, everyone is looking for me- the witches, Marcel, Klaus-"
"My uncle will know what to do," Cami insisted.
The young witch winced, then gently explained to the blonde how her uncle knew everything, and had wanted to leave Cami in the dark.
"No," Cami denied. "He would have told me if he knew the witches put a hex on my brother." All it took was for the vampire, witch, and werewolf in the room to share a knowing glance for the truth to register with the human. "He knows?" Green eyes flashed with hurt disbelief. "He knows," Cami nodded to them, tears in her eyes.
Josh eyed Sophia nervously. "You guys seriously need to go- Like now. Plane, train, automobile- whatever. Take my car, it's parked down at the docks, I'll text you the where."
"Put your number in Cami's phone," Davina said as Sophia took the keys. "Most of the Quarter is shut down, we'll have to walk- and the sun is taking forever to go down." The witch looked regretfully at Josh.
"Hey, no tears," he said kindly, and Davina hugged him.
Sophia took a seat near Cami on the couch, smiling gently as she handed her a tissue.
The bartenders' lips curved up in thanks as she accepted it. "I remember what Davina said earlier," the blonde began. "And if you also feel trapped by Klaus, why aren't you putting in more of an honest effort to get away from him? I mean, isn't this your shot?"
Sophia cleared her throat as her hand curved over her belly. "My brother and sister… My family has been torn apart Klaus already, and I don't want to risk it happening again."
The sun was on the cusp of disappearing as Davina, Sophia, and Cami navigated the rambunctious French Quarter amongst drunk tourists and dancing party-goers. Davina, dressed as a bride, was harmonious with the Casket girl celebrations in a white dress and large headpiece that obscured her face.
Sophia was wearing a much less flattering bridal gown she hadn't been able to zip all the way, her face and torso hidden by an obnoxious, poofy white veil that mercifully blended in with the festivities.
Wedged between Sophia and Cami, Davina nervously noted, "There's people everywhere."
"It's okay," Cami soothed, "Just keep walking, no one knows it's you."
"Sophie," Davina said worriedly, grabbing onto her wrist, and Sophia followed her gaze, spotting Klaus walking along with the crowd. Sophia anxiously squeezed Davina's hand.
"We have to get off this street."
_ AND
Davina and Cami both led the way to the church where Marcel had stored the teenage witch.
"We should keep moving- How long do we have to wait?" the witch wondered as she stepped inside.
Cami nodded at Sophia. "Give me a few minutes, then I'll check to see if the coast is clear."
Sophia lifted her veil as she took a seat at one of the pews while Cami answered her phone.
"Josh- sorry I missed your calls- What?" she demanded as she put the vampire on speakerphone.
"I didn't want to tell you but I know Klaus," Josh shared. "If Davina doesn't show up, he'll kill Tim."
Sophia furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to recall the name- she couldn't.
"We'll think of something," reassured Cami to Davina, then said goodbye to Josh. "Make your way to the Quarter, stay hidden. We'll text you when we have a plan."
"I have to go." Davina immediately swept past Sophia and Cami, when the bartender stopped her by grabbing her arm.
"Davina, wait."
The teenage witch faltered and looked warily around the church.
"What's wrong?" Sophia asked.
"The witches," Davina said quietly.
Behind the trio, the church doors slammed open, and five chanting witches entered in an orderly fashion. Cami immediately pulled the teenager behind her, and Sophia stepped to stand beside the blonde. "Sophie- get back. Aren't they after you too?" Cami asked as she tried to shield Sophia with her arm.
Before Sophia could respond, Cami fainted. The wolf helped to slow her fall to the floor, narrowing her eyes as she noticed Sabine at the center of the witches.
"No!" Davina roared, her shout ringing in Sophia's ears as the walls of the church shook around them, the ground quaking beneath her feet.
While checking Cami's pulse, Sophia watched as Davina raised her arms out before her, causing the witches to levitate, and flinched when the teenager snapped their necks, then tossed them to the ground.
Davina turned around to face her as Sophia stood up. "How is she?" the witch asked softly.
"She's breathing, she's alive," Sophia nodded weakly.
Vengeful determination gleaned in Davina's wild blue eyes. "I have to rescue Tim."
The implications of what that meant made the air within the drafty walls suddenly heavy. "Davina-"
"You know Klaus way better than Josh, don't you Sophie? Are you really going to try to convince me not to go rescue him?"
Sophia struggled to keep up with Davina as she made her way through the still busy Quarter, when she felt a slim arm wrap around her waist and pull her into an alleyway.
"So- You were off helping the little witch make an escape. Good on you," Rebekah's lips curved upward. "Didn't think you had it in you to outright disobey Klaus."
"I need to get back to her, Rebekah. She's on her way to him right now."
The original vampire rolled eyes as she began to stroll back onto the street, Sophia at her heels, causing the wolf to walk into her when the vampire came to an abrupt halt.
"Young Josh is encouraging Davina to kill Klaus, even knowing that by doing so, he will be killed too- Along with Klaus's entire sire line," Rebekah shared in a low voice as she inspected her nails. Sophia didn't have time to react to her words when Josh stumbled into them, Davina up ahead making her way to the compound.
"That was very sweet," Rebekah greeted him. "Not telling Davina that if she kills Klaus, you die too. Very noble. Problem is- she goes after my brother, she'll be the one who ends up dead."
Josh met Sophia's eyes, and they both looked away at the same time.
"A very unnecessary end to an already tragic story," the blonde continued. She looked back and forth between Sophia and the baby vampire. "Perhaps you'd both like to help me help her."
Rebekah was smiling gleefully as they neared the compound. "We are missing quite the show." Then she speeded away.
Sophia entered the compound less than a minute later, her mouth falling open at the sight of Klaus, Elijah, and Marcel sprawled out, unconscious, before the petite witch and Rebekah.
The original vampire nodded in greeting. "Ah, and there's Sophia. I think it's time for all us girls to have a chat."
"Now that was impressive," the vampire said as she examined the rag-doll vampires strewn around her. "And well- deserved in my opinion. Now, before you turn on me," Rebekah told Davina, "I have a surprise for you." A certain baby vampire made his entrance.
"Josh, what are you doing here," Davina asked worriedly. "Get out of here."
Then Rebekah was holding him by the neck. "Now, if I were Klaus, I would rip Josh's head from his neck, feed it to a nightwalker, and that would be the end of your friend." Rebekah let go of a gasping Josh. "But hurting people is such a boyish thing to do…"
"Y'know, you need a mask and horse when you do that," Sophia said to Rebekah, silently in awe of how the blonde could have been confused with a knight in shining armor when she helped rescue Tim just a few seconds earlier. Rebekah's lips twitched in acknowledgment. Now, the poor boy allowed Davina to comfort him.
The wolf's smile turned the slightest bit sad as she watched the teenagers hug. "God- They are the picture of sweet and innocent. I don't think I've ever loved anyone like that," Sophia murmured.
"No," Rebekah seemed to smother a smile. "I've never loved anyone like that- Meanwhile, your adolescent fancy grew up into that-" The vampire nodded her head distastefully over at her unconscious brother, "that you forget how sweet and innocent it all started out."
Sophia blinked at the father of her child, taken aback at how true her friend's words were, and immediately averted her eyes as she remembered it was Klaus who kidnapped Tim in the first place.
Before them, Davina and Tim pulled away from each other, and the witch turned to Rebekah. "Why are you doing this?"
The original vampire led them to somewhere called the Garden, where Marcel left those who went against his rules to rot. A dark and dreary catacomb. Only the group's lanterns and some candles provided light.
"You think my brother Nik is awful," Rebekah said to Davina, "Marcel learned from the best. This is how he treats his so-called friends who betray him. Most of what these poor souls did is no worse than what Josh did…"
"I'm so sorry Davina," Sophia whispered as she hugged the sobbing teenager, her dress becoming soaked with tears. It had been all she could do to repress the bile that had made its way up her throat when she learned that Klaus had compelled Tim to poison himself, then Davina. It had been Marcel's creative thinking that the teenage witch survived the assassination attempt, and had revived only to wake up to her childhood sweetheart dead beside her.
In the twilight, Sophia walked somberly beside Rebekah on the way back to the compound, Davina asleep in the vampire's arms.
The first person Sophia saw Klaus by himself- then Marcel stepped out of the shadows and made a beeline for Rebekah. "Is she okay?" He asked as his eyes fell on Davina.
"She's devastated and exhausted," the blonde answered. Sophia smoothed any and all emotion from her face as she met Klaus's serious gaze, then looked back at Marcel. "Where's her room?" Rebekah asked.
"No, I got her," Marcel said softly as Rebekah eyed him warily. "I got her," he reassured, and the original let him carry Davina to her room.
Klaus crossed his arms as he gazed with disappointment at his sister. She shook her head at him, squeezed Sophia's arm in goodbye, and made her exit.
Rebekah's words came back to her as Sophia met Klaus's stare. You forget how sweet and innocent it all started out.
She remembered thirteen-year-old Sofija's heartbeat as Nik pressed a chaste kiss to her hand on her birthday, her face a burning red. Then Sophia shook her head at Klaus and made her way to the stairs.
"So I'm the villain for doing what it took to make sure you and our child were safe- That our family would be safe from further retribution from Davina-"
"No, Nik," Sophia said defeatedly, "You're the villain for killing a sixteen-year-old boy who had his whole life ahead of him and for nearly doing the same to Davina, who underneath all the immense power, is still just a girl." He remained silent as Sophia walked to her bedroom.
Hayley sighed with deep relief after she tuned in to hear that Sophia had returned home. As much as she loved her friend, she had to do something about the sire bond soon, as she was not fond of the pressing codependency it stirred in her. As she made her way to her own room, the hybrid wrung her hands when she saw Elijah in one of the study rooms, reading. After a spilt second of hesitation, she walked inside.
"You okay?" she asked.
He briefly glanced at her, then back at the drawing he was looking at. "I'm better now." He smiled up at her. Hayley couldn't help how her lips twitched.
"How was your day?" he asked.
She dipped her head. "Killer- What's with all the artwork?" She asked as she got a closer look at the makeshift, black and white puzzle before Elijah.
"Davina's sketches," he answered as he placed the page he was holding on the floor. "I wonder if they represent some kind of premonition- They seem to suggest something's coming. Something sinister."
Hayley raised an eyebrow as she realized all the drawings made up a face. "Oh my god," she realized. "Isn't that-"
"Celeste."
"...Whether adversary or ally, they have been a force to be reckoned with. Their ancestral magic anchors this city. There's never been one all-powerful witch- Until Davina."
Sophia and Hayley sat side by side on the couch throughout Elijah's history lesson the next afternoon. Sophia looked up as Klaus entered the room.
"Who is tucked in under my protection- Your Celeste was quite beautiful," the hybrid admired as he looked down at Davina's sketches. "And a portent of evil according to our volatile artist in residence."
Elijah also looked back at the drawings. "Yes. Perhaps Davina's mistaken what she calls evil for power. Celeste was certainly very powerful in her day- But she's been dead for over two hundred years. I don't understand why all these sketches now."
"Why does any witch do anything?" Klaus asked as he took a seat on the chair across from Sophia.
With her hyper-observant baby daddy in the room, she resisted looking pointedly at Hayley, who was still too scared to admit to Elijah that she had told Sophie Deveroux where he had buried Celeste's bones.
The wolf winced as she heard a loud crash down the hallway.
"Well, that's going well," Klaus remarked, unimpressed, regarding Marcel's attempts to make amends with Davina.
"If you were trying to win the girl's trust," responded Elijah, "Perhaps poisoning her one true love was not the most splendid idea." Sophia shut her eyes at the reminder.
"Oh," started Klaus. "Are there any more inopportune deaths you'd like to wave in my face?"
The crashes down the hallway continued. "Young, old, dead, or alive- Witches are a pain in the ass," Klaus declared as he stood up to leave.
"Oh no you don't," Sophia reprimanded as she fell into step with him. Surprised blue eyes looked down at her as they walked down the hallway. "You really think Davina wants to see you right now."
Klaus entered the young witch's bedroom without ceremony. "What's with all the racket?"Sophia stepped in after him to see Davina dry heaving on her bed, Marcel at her side as he tried to help her.
Then- she was throwing up dirt, looking up at Sophia with terrified eyes.
"Bloody hell," Klaus gasped. Soon after, the room began to convulse around them, the floor beneath them tremoring. Sophia nearly fell over, losing her step, when she felt Klaus's arms wrap around her as he shielded her from the world falling apart around them.
Sophia sat up, propped against the headboard of Davina's bed as she watched over the teenager, while the little witch laid on her back, fighting for breath. "We'll figure out what's happening, Davina," Sophia reassured her as she replaced the cool compress on the teenager's feverish head with a fresh one.
The wolf looked up as the door to the room opened. "Hey," Rebekah whispered as she stood beside the witch's bedside. "What kind of game do you think you're playing? I said to disrupt the household- Not destroy the whole city."
"You did what?" Questioned Sophia.
Davina spoke up. "I didn't do it," the witch said, her eyes frightened. "Not on purpose. I- I don't know what's wrong with me."
On the bright side, Hayley had finally told Elijah what she had done, and in response, he recovered Sophie Deveroux and brought her back to the compound to explain what was going on with Davina. On the downside… well.
"So, you have stolen the remains of the very person that Davina's been drawing for months- Would you care to explain this startling coincidence?" Elijah asked as if Sophie stood trial before himself, Sophia, Rebekah, and Klaus. At Klaus's insistence, what with the aftershocks of Davina's earthquakes still occurring here and there, Sophia sat beside him at the bar in the corner of the study room.
To her credit, the witch looked genuinely astonished as she glanced down at Davina's sketches. "I can't, I didn't even know who Celeste Dubois was until I-" Davina's painful shrieking cut off her answer.
Klaus placed a firm hand on Sophia's leg as she tried to rise from her seat to return to the teenage witch, ignoring her frown of protest as he nonchalantly took a sip of his drink. Sophie was the only one who was thrown off by the aftershock, with the vampires in the room already bored of them.
"Was that Davina?" the witch asked.
"Charming little habit she's developed," Klaus commented facetiously as Sophia nudged his hand off of her.
"And the earthquake I felt today?" Sophie questioned further.
"Also Davina," Rebekah answered. "And she's also taken to vomiting dirt."
"Oh." Sophia didn't like the look in the witch's eye. "We have a huge problem- I thought that we had more time, but we need to complete the harvest now."
Sophia shook her head, knowing what that meant for Davina.
"Said the desperate witch conveniently" Klaus observed, wryly smirking.
"I'm serious," Sophie went on. "That earthquake you just felt- A preview of the disaster movie that is about to hit us."
Elijah was still not persuaded. "Why should we believe you?"
Sophie shook her head. "You met Davina, you know her story. For almost a year now, she's been holding the power of the three girls sacrificed in the harvest ritual. A force that was meant to flow through her and back into the earth. One person was never meant to hold that much power. It's tearing her apart, and it will take us down with it."
Wind. Water. Fire. The remaining stages they had to look forward to if Sophie wasn't able to complete the harvest ritual.
"No," Davina cried as Rebekah gently explained to her what Sophie had told them, what needed to be done. "They're liars!" Sophia hadn't been strong enough to tell the teenager herself but resolved to not cry in front of Davina as she let the petite witch squeeze her hand. Davina turned her blue eyes helplessly to Sophia. "They'll say anything to get what they want- just like Marcel," her eyes drew back to Rebekah, "just like you."
Rebekah didn't falter. "Davina, you may think that I don't care about you, but you're wrong. I know what it's like to have your life stipped away from you because of other people's bad decisions- How do you think I became a vampire?"
"What is that?" Davina's voice wobbled as Rebekah unveiled a syringe meant to put Davina to sleep for the time being, with the hope of slowing down the inevitable cycle of destruction.
"No- Please!," the teenager cried out as ferocious winds outside did their best to blow away the vampire injected the syringe into Davina. Sophia and Rebekah stared unsmilingly at each other as the feral winds outside were put to an immediate halt.
Sophia was in the kitchen, wondering how much of the obscene amount of canned food she could reasonably carry with her over to the bayou. Hayley had disappeared a few hours ago, having already gone to go check on the wolves herself, and hadn't answered her calls.
The tears she had been trying to suppress for the last few hours finally hit her. Klaus found her quietly sobbing over canned beans as the sky darkened outside.
She felt his eyes on her as he irritatedly asked, "What are you doing?"
Forgetting that she was angry with him, Sophia did her best to wipe away her tears while her back was still to him. "I was going to take these-"
His voice raised. "If you say bayou, I will find a nice comfy dungeon and throw you in it." His inflection turned soft, and he was close enough that his breathing ruffled her hair. "This is not the night for you to be out there."
"For anyone," Sophia said lightly as she looked over to meet his eyes, then back to the food she was packing. "But some people don't have a choice."
"Right," Klaus declared as picked up the previous box she packed. "Grab that lot and come with me."
Halfway through their journey, Klaus and Sophia had to brave thunder and lightning as the hybrid led her over to the church. A sparse handful of people decorated the pews, many only a handful of years older than Sophia from what she could tell.
The priest- Cami's uncle- made his way over to the pair. As he walked up the aisle he said, "We've still haven't gone through all that you've already provided Klaus."
"Oh, this newest isn't from me," he answered as he handed his box and Sophia's over to him.
"Well, that's very kind of you…" The priest nodded to her.
"Sophia," the wolf responded in a daze. "And these people are?"
Klaus spoke up. "I asked father Kieran to give them shelter- He suffers from the incessant desire to do good," Klaus said pointedly as he turned his blue eyes to hers, then back to father Kieran. "But now I need you to be useful- Marcel and Davina have disappeared. I assume from the stupefied look on your face they haven't sought refuge in your attic?"
"No, those days are gone," the priest refuted.
Klaus was stern. "Then energize your resources- I don't need to remind you how important it is they be found."
"Yeah," the priest agreed as he turned to walk away. The lightning crashing outside continued to flash throughout the room.
"These people- They're werewolves," Sophia stated, confused. Something about them seemed… familiar. But, having turned not that long ago, she never had much of a chance to run around with werewolf packs. "And the priest- he said that you donated the food- You're helping them?"
Klaus looked down, then back up at her. "They're not Hayley's werewolves- They're our clan. They've fallen upon hard times, and their plight has brought out the philanthropist in me. What can I say?" he smiled. "Must've been Elijah's influence."
Sophia gazed over the descendants of her pack from over a millennia ago. "Ansel's pack," she said in awe as Klaus began to walk away. She turned to face him again when he spoke.
"The blood that runs in their veins runs in mine, in yours… and in our child's."
Despite the significant look in his eyes, a giggle escaped Sophia, causing Klaus to squint at her as his lips twitched in response. "I'm sorry- I know I shouldn't be laughing- I don't why I am," she snorted as her laughter subsided, smiling crookedly, overfondly, as the hybrid. Against her better judgment, she reached out to hug him, breathing him in as did so. "I know you didn't help them out for my sake, but thank you anyway." He relaxed into her grasp as he reciprocated, gently- affectionately- squeezing his arms around her.
Soon after, he left to exchange a few more words with Kieren, and Sophia was surprised to see Hayley breaking away from the wolves she had been chatting with.
"You've been here this whole time?" Sophia greeted her.
"I helped round them up for Klaus," the baby hybrid shrugged. "And for my trouble, he gave me… Not terrible advice on how to apologize to Elijah, and I think I'm going to take it." Sophia nodded, self-conscious as she began to feel eyes on her.
"I've talked with most of them," Hayley went on as she paid the stares no mind. "Did you know, after you died way back when, an old witch shared a vision with their ancestors- That one of the daughters of their pack would be reborn, and the daughter she would birth was destined to be the alpha that would lead their pack to prosperity."
Sophia shook her head dumbly as her hands protectively curved around her stomach.
"Of course, that legend turned into a giant game of telephone as it was passed down throughout the centuries, so who knows what information got lost in translation," Hayley smiled teasingly as Sophia's ears ringed.
Sophia felt every bit the spectator as the original siblings bickered in the compound's study over whether or not to allow Sophie to consecrate their mother's bones (the french quarter witch had found out too late that the power from Celeste's remains had already been leeched). They were running out of time as the storm rampaged outside, and needed to make a decision.
"Our own mother?" Rebekah asked as she disagreed with Elijah's stance on the matter.
"Yes," he said. "Our beloved mother who Niklaus has affectionately placed in a coffin in his basement, not daggered but quite dead."
Klaus smirked as he lowered his gaze to the floor, and Sophia turned to stone where she sat as she was forced to reflect upon Esther.
The hybrid flippantly threw in his two cents. "Well, she did try to kill us all-"
"She did kill me- and my baby." A precarious silence fell over the room as Sophia stared detachedly at the coffee table before her.
"Sophia," Rebekah began gently as the wolf noticed Klaus's knuckles tighten from the corner of her eye, "What do you mean? What happened to you and your babe then was-"
"Esther's variation of the needle of sorrows." Sophia went on, somehow disconnected, feeling very far away from the words that left her mouth. "Maybe she created the damn spell- I don't know. But I remember her visiting me when I was alone, and when I tried to close the door on her I felt a needle prick on my hand… Very soon after, I would miscarry, and eventually die of the fever her dark magic infected me with. I've never felt anything like it before- Until a week ago when Agnes did the same to Sophie."
Sophia didn't shrink or tremble after hearing Klaus's snarl, the ear splitting crack of his fist against the wall. Before another word could be uttered, thunder and lightning continued to boom and explode outside- as if extraneous of Klaus's mood.
"Well- I could think of no better reason to put her to rest once and for all," Elijah went on smoothly. His eyes were sympathetic, kind, as he briefly met Sophia's gaze. "Now, if we bury our mother on land owned by one of her descendants, she becomes a New Oeleans witch, and we as her family share in that ancestral magic."
Sophia was grateful when Rebkah took hold of her hand. The sister original went on to find fault in Elijah's logic. "We're vampires Elijah, we can't practice magic- Or own property, for that matter."
"Yes- With regard to practicing magic," Elijah agreed calmly as Klaus threw a chair out the window, causing the harsh wind to blow into the room. "And as for owning property-" The eldest original said, pulling out some type of document from the drawer behind him, then turned his gaze onto Sophia. "Not all of our mother's descendants are dead."
"The baby," Sophia and Klaus realized together. Sophia with a frown and Klaus with a growl.
"The baby," Elijah agreed, handing the deed in his hands over to Sophia. "The parish tax assessor's office is just steps outside the Quarter- Sophia now holds the title to the plantation. If we bury our mother there, and we consecrate those grounds, we can finish the harvest ritual."
Sophia's stomach fell as a peculiar premonition of doom overcame her senses, and she wondered if it was the result of having shared her confession. She looked over at Rebekah, and the vampire's eyes reflected the same ominous sensation the wolf felt burdened with.
"You're a bit of mad genius Elijah," Klaus said as his wolf gold eyes thawed back to blue. They flickered over to Sophia's face, then her growing stomach. "Count me in."
"Am I the only one thinking?"Rebekah derided. "Our mother was the most powerful witch in history- If we bury her, we hand that power to our enemies to use against us." Sophia nodded in agreement.
"Given our circumstances, I hardly see that we have a choice Rebekah."
But that was the bottom line. As much as Sophia wanted to be in Rebkeah's corner, as much as she felt they would live to regret this moment, she didn't have an alternative to offer.
"This decision has to be unanimous," Elijah went on.
"This isn't a democracy-" Klaus retorted.
"You're quite right," Elijah responded. "This is family." Rain started to pour, putting a timer on the debate at hand. "Water. The next sign's begun. Rebekah?" the vampire questioned.
Rebekah's blue eyes turned to Sophia, then her older brothers. "Kill a demon today, face the devil tomorrow. Count me in." How apt, Sophia thought of the sentiment.
The old soul was startled when Elijah called upon her next. "Sophia?"
Her gaze darted over to Klaus's thunderous eyes, then back to Elijah's steady ones. "Count me in too."
Klaus was drenched as he came to collect Sophia for his mother's burial. She wasn't in much better shape, standing outside the walls of the compound's protection. Gusts of wind blew the storm over her way.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he rasped. Anger was absent of him for the time being, and all that was left was a heavy, sad misery that caused Sophia's throat to tighten.
"I wanted to- As soon as I realized. Then I was kidnapped, and when you found me you bit your brother and started acting like a- well, you were there." Her tentative smile was fragile. "I shouldn't have blurted it out like I did, but you were all talking about Esther and it just…" Sophia shook her head, her hair soaked and heavy.
His eyes were faraway as he responded. "But she was young, and so strong." Sophia frowned at him. "That's what my mother said to me after I told her of your death- I don't think she meant for the hex to kill you- Just our daughter." His grin was rigid and dangerous, his eyes yellow . "Esther's death soon after was well deserved- Let's go bury her once and for all, shall we?"
The umbrella Klaus shielded Sophia and himself with seemed rather pointless as they stood by Esther's final resting place at the plantation. Elijah and Rebekah stood next to each, huddled under another umbrella nearby, and across from Sophia was Father Kieran who the hybrid had recruited to help lay his mother to rest. Rain flooded them as Klaus asked Rebekah if she accomplished her part in encouraging Marcel to return Davina in order to finish the ritual.
"Ready?" Father Kieran asked.
Klaus sliced a dagger through his palm, and was careful as he handed it over to Sophia. "Always and forever," he murmured in her ear as she did the same.
A weary Davina ignited fire as Marcel carried her through Lafayette Cemetery. He helped the young witch to stand before Sophie, who acted as an elder. "Do you believe in the harvest," the older woman asked.
Terror in her eyes, Davina nodded, her voice clear. "I believe." Rain, fire, and wind clashed around them. Sophie slid the dagger through Davina's pale neck. Sophia's cry was muted as whipped her head away from what she had borne witness to. When she recovered the strength to look back, she saw that Marcel had caught the fallen Davina.
The storm ceased as soon as the young witch breathed her last breath, and Sophia watched, as if in trance, as a glowing power flowed through Davina and back into the earth.
The four harvest girls laid in a row- Magic had kept them preserved and protected against decay.
"After the harvest comes the reaping," began Sophie. "Their sacrifices made and accepted. We call upon our elders to resurrect your chosen ones."
A chill washed over Sophia as she waited for the teenage girls to revive.
Sophie's voice was tenuous as she repeated herself, then angry as she asked one final time. "We call upon our elders to resurrect your chosen ones." Still, nothing. "Please, I beg," the witch said in a small voice. "No." Sophie Deveroux fell into sobs as she collapsed to her knees beside her too- still niece.
Klaus, in a more charitable mood, had allowed Sophia more freedom in the coming days. In fact, he emphatically encouraged it. (Partly because he was disturbed by her depressive mood after the harvest ritual) and in part because Rebekah had chewed his ear off for not allowing Sophia to go on proper, regularly scheduled doctor's appointments.
Later in the week, after she exited her doctor's office and was strolling through the quarter with Hayley- Her phone rang. Jeremy. Sophia had been wearing down Klaus, and felt that he was close to agreeing to a short visit to her family.
"Hey Jer-" Her little brother wasted no time with preamble. She fell into shock as her brother described Bonnie's best shot at returning to the land of the living- and it required Sophia. It was stupid and dangerous… But Bonnie's only chance. The old soul felt that she didn't have much of a choice. She owed it to Bonnie, who everyone had always asked too much of. Her best friend who had done the impossible and returned Jeremy to life.
"Yes."
Sophia stared at the hybrid in surprise. She merely suggested returning to her hometown, hadn't even given him her reasons yet, and he had agreed. The wolf stared on, bewildered, as Klaus began to order plane tickets for that day.
Under the impression that all was relatively quiet and well in Mystic Falls, Sophia got away with returning to her family with only Hayley and Rebekah at her side, and not the battalion Klaus would have preferred.
Despite all the grief Klaus felt his sister had caused him, he trusted her with that much.
"Nik is desperate to make amends with you- And there might be some guilt mixed in there over what our mother did to you. Anyhow, he's probably chalked up how fidgety you've been to pregnancy hormones," Rebekah leveled with Sophia on the plane ride over to Virginia. "But I know you've been biting your tongue about something- What haven't you told us?"
One day ago, little ways off from Mystic Falls, Virginia…
An ice-blue-eyed vampire knocked on the door of a secluded cabin amidst a vast forest. Inside the quaint, wooden cabin was a two-thousand-year-old witch- The only being capable of returning the vampire's girlfriend's best friend back to life.
"I was hoping we could talk," Damon Salvatore greeted Qetsiyah.
The sable-haired witch was less than impressed. "And I was hoping you were my Chinese food- Goodbye."
He stopped the door from slamming shut. "You remember Amara right? Brunette, brown eyes… I'm surprisingly not in love with her."
Intrigued, Qetisiyah allowed him to enter her home. "What about her?"
"Well," Damon went on. "She took the cure, she wants to die, and we have her."
The witch's eyes went wide. "But she's alive?"
"For now," the vampire nodded. "Silas is literally on his way to kill her- He's completely obsessed with destroying the otherside so that he and Amara can live happily ever after in the great beyond- Man, you were right about those doppelgangers, they always do end up together. So, how does it feel to say 'I told you so'?'"
Anger clouded the witch's dark eyes. "Like I want to shoot fireballs at Silas and drown him in acid."
"See? That's what I thought," Damon cheered drolly. "So here's my pitch- In order to keep the other side in place, you need something to anchor it, right? Something powerful, like immortal being powerful. Now Amara was obviously a great choice until she downed the cure- So, would you consider someone who's dead, but stuck on the other side, as a viable candidate?"
"An anchor swap?"
"Because I've got a volunteer."
The witch clucked her tongue. "I'd be making a ghost a human toll booth between our side and the other side, giving her the power to interact with our physical world and the supernatural purgatory."
"So what's the problem?" Damon wondered.
Qetsiyah shook her head. "I need a massive amount of power to do a transfer spell like that."
"Fine- Name your poison?" The vampire didn't see what the big deal was.
"I need something to draw on," the ancient Greek witch said thoughtfully. "The moon's not full, I don't think there's another worthy comment for another couple billion years-"
"Think hard," the vampire pleaded, aggravated. "I have a girlfriend at home who misses her best friend and a wacky stowaway on suicide watch- It's ridiculous."
An iniquitous gleam shined in the witches eye- She was inspired. "How fast can you get your girlfriend's sister back into town?" she asked.
Damon knitted his eyebrows. "Sophia?"
"She's powerful, mystical, naturally recurring… I probably would've needed her either way, the other side is paved with her blood. With her and the doppelgangers- I shouldn't have any problems."
A/N: So this chapter covers The Originals Season 1 Episode 8- 11 and jumps into TVD Season 5 Episode 7.
I am toying with an OC for Sophia as a potential love interest (no promises), but he's surprisingly hard to write; I'll see how well he fits in with the story going forward. Thank you for reading!