Chapter Eighteen

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or the Originals, but I do own my OCs.

Summary: Blair has been on the run for 400 years, trying to escape her past. She never stays in once place long enough, but she finds herself drawn to New Orleans and it is there that she meets the Originals. She soon finds herself drawn into their drama and ends up connecting with the Noble Original, Elijah Mikaelson. Slowburn.

ORIGINALS

Nearly a month had passed since Rebekah had left New Orleans. Things had not been quiet since Klaus had finally reclaimed his city fully, however it seemed as though he was not running it. Since his sister had departed, Klaus had become something of a recluse, staying inside the compound, painting and sleeping with an old flame – Genevieve. Blair had seen the red-headed Witch in the compound many times, staying over more often than she left. Her mere presence seemed to annoy Elijah who had no patience for the Witch but Blair suspected this was because New Orleans was falling apart slowly. Fights had broken out between Vampires and Witches. There was unrest within the city and no one seemed to be doing anything about it. Half of the Vampires had left when Marcel was banished but those who stayed behind seemed happy to do whatever they pleased. To say Elijah was annoyed by this unrest was an understatement and Blair had seen him prowl around like a wound-up beast.

Although, she suspected this had something to do with Hayley. While Elijah had no romantic feelings for Hayley, he was worried because she had not been back to the compound at all. Instead, Hayley had been spending all her time in the Bayou with the Wolves that were no longer cursed. It seemed as though the elixir that Celeste had made worked. Blair snorted at the thought of the now-dead Witch. Elijah had explained that Celeste was definitely dead as he had been the one to kill her. For all her scheming, it seemed she had miscalculated and lost.

Raphael had also not stepped foot in the compound in nearly a month as he had been guarding Hayley at a distance. Both he and Blair had decided that this was the safest option for him since he would be out of Klaus' way, who had been suspiciously silent for a long time and this unnerved Blair. Blair counted on his explosive temper to be predictable but now he seemed low and subdued, something she thought she would never see. Blair hoped that he would stay like that but she knew it would never happen. Every night, Raphael and she would talk and she would sometimes go and see him. Raphael made sure to stay far away so the Werewolves didn't catch him and Raphael was very good at blending into the background so no one noticed him.

However, one positive to come from the past month was Davina. Her magic over the last few weeks had improved tremendously. Her control over the elements was something Blair was very proud of and Davina seemed to be flourishing under this new regime. She was still very much a fledging that would need years before she was a master at her craft but Blair could see the potential in her. If given the opportunity, Davina would become a very powerful Witch in her own right.

Sat in her room, Blair picked up a wilted rose and one was also in Davina's hand. She was wearing a black off the shoulder black maxi dress with sunflowers. It reached her ankles but there was a slit on the side and was slightly shorter in the front. She was wearing a pair of brown sandals and her hair was tied up in a ponytail. They were currently working on returning the roses back to a healthy state, a simple spell and it was one that Blair was confident that Davina could do this task.

"Picture the rose in your head. Think of what it would look like before it wilted and then channel your magic," Blair held up the rose and demonstrated the act itself. The Fae watched as the wilted rose came back to life, the petals turning back into vibrant red colour and the scent of a healthy rose filled the room.

Looking down at the rose, Davina closed her eyes as she imagined the rose. Inhaling deeply, Blair watched the deep concentration on her face as the rose came back to life with ease. The rose lifted up as it righted itself, the petals turning a lively pink colour. Once done, Davina opened her eyes and saw she was successful, "I did it!"

Blair smirked slightly, "You did. Well done. It seems as though I was right with my original assessment. You have an affinity towards the earth element," Everyone creature that used magic was always drawn in or favoured one element more than the others. For Blair, that element was water but for Davina it was earth. The element they were most attached was inclined to stronger than the others as it was usually practised more than others but it was only natural. During all their lessons, any magic that involved the earth element Davina would excel at and perform magnificently. Often, she would get the earth spells right on her first and second go but on the other elements, it took her at least six attempts to control them.

Davina's eyes lit up at this bit of information. She was like a sponge with information, taking in whatever she could. "That's so cool,"

"Now, I want you to try two at a time," Blair said as she threw two more wilted roses at Davina. To prepare for this lesson, Blair had summoned hundreds of flowers and then wilted them. Her room was filled with them but she could easily vanish them at a moment's notice.

Picking up the two roses, Davina repeated the process and found she was successful once more. In her hand, she held two healthy roses, this time yellow and orange. Blair had Davina repeat this process until she was satisfied. At this point, more than half the roses had been brought back to life and as Blair was looking at the rest of them, she had a thought.

"Okay, now I want you to bring all the rest back in one go," Blair said.

Davina looked at her with wide eyes, doubt shining in them. She had been doing well until that point and she hadn't wanted to ruin it. Davina was tempted to say she couldn't do it but she stopped herself. Blair never minded if she couldn't do something but if she didn't try it first then Blair would not be happy. Instead of protesting, Davina decided to give the task a shot and closed her eyes once more. She focused on the rest of the flowers as she commanded her magic to complete this task.

Blair smiled as she noticed the rest of the flowers around her bloom back to life. She liked to push Davina but only when she was sure she could do it. In no way was Blair a teacher but Davina was a decent student so she didn't mind putting in the effort. "Well done, you brought back all the flowers,"

Davina opened her eyes and looked around, noticing what she had done. "I did it," Her voice was breathless as she couldn't believe what she had done. She was sat around a load of fully bloomed roses and it looked beautiful. The smell hit her and a sense of excitement filled her because the task hadn't been too hard. She had to concentrate more because she wasn't holding the roses but it had managed it.

"Your magic around the elements has improved massively." Blair said, smiling as Davina's eyes lit up at the compliment, "For all your hard work I am going to let you chose what you learn next,"

"Really?" Davina asked in excitement.

Blair nodded her head. She was still learning how to teach other people magic so she started with the basic elements and decided that she would build it from there. She hadn't expected Davina to excel so quickly but it was welcomed. Blair was having to draw on her own memories of when she taught herself magic and pushed her boundaries. However, she saw no harm in teaching Davina things that she actually wanted to learn.

"I want to learn how to fight with my magic," Davina said after a few minutes of silence. She wanted to be able to fight back and not feel useless.

"I think that would be a good idea," Blair agreed, "I'll start making a plan for the next lesson and we'll go from there,"

Davina frowned, "Can't we just start now?"

Blair shook her head, "You've already exerted over half of your magic. Starting now would be too dangerous. Also, I need to find us a new space to work in," She glanced around her room, knowing that this space wouldn't work with the plans she was forming in her head. They would need more open space where it would be okay if accidents happened. Broken things could easily be repaired with magic but Blair would rather not waste the magic when the act could be avoided altogether.

Tempted to argue, Davina stopped herself when she felt how tired she truly was. In her excitement, she hasn't noticed the strain but now it was catching up with her. This filled her with disappointment that her endurance wasn't as strong.

Walking over to Davina, Blair placed a hand on her shoulder. "Your endurance will increase in time. Slow and steady is best," This she had learned from her own experience. In her rush to increase her magic, she had pushed too far and nearly died as a result. Now, she knew her boundaries very well and didn't like pushing against them very often and only did so when it was absolutely necessary.

Slowly, Davina nodded her head in agreement.

"Now go and get ready. Remember, you're meeting up with Josh in an hour," Blair said as she looked at the clock in the room.

Davina's eyes widened as she remembered. She shot up and ran out of the room, needing to get ready quickly otherwise she would be late. She had promised to meet Josh in town and they were meant to be going shopping together – like a normal teenager.

Blair watched her go with an amused smile. Looking around her room, she proudly noted all the bloomed flowers but she was starting to get a headache from the concentrated smell. Deciding to send some to Davina's room as a reminder of her success, Blair vanished all the other roses until there was none left. Now that her room was void of any flowers, Blair left her room to grab herself something to eat.

It was on her way to the kitchen that she spotted Elijah sat in the lounge, a thunderous expression on his face and his shoulders tense. For a moment, Blair considered leaving him alone but she knew it was useless as he would have heard her.

Instead, she walked into the lounge area, "How'd the meeting go with the other factions?" She was aware that Elijah was trying to gain back some semblance of peace within the French Quarter. Elijah had asked her to come to the meeting but she had refused. There was no point in her attending as it would only aggravate the Witches – though it was something she usually lived for, she knew how important this was to Elijah.

Sighing deeply, Elijah looked up at the Fae, "Terribly. No one wants to co-operate with one another and the time was spent arguing," He had hoped to restore some order to the French Quarter considering his brother was refusing to do anything other than brood and paint in his room while sleeping with a Witch. New Orleans had become used to having a King at the reins and Klaus was not picking them up even after fighting for this city. This left Elijah to pick up the pieces, as per usual. This was why he had summoned the other factions for a meeting to discuss peace.

Blair hummed in thought as she sat down on a couch adjacent to the Original. "Let me guess, they all want more control of the city?"

"Yes and then it didn't help that Hayley barged in on the meeting," Elijah closed his eyes for a moment as he pinched the bridge of his nose. While the meeting had been going nowhere, it had been made ten times worse once Hayley had made an appearance. He was happy to see that she was well but he was not happy for her to intrude on the meeting.

"Oh?" Blair arched a brow, "What were her demands?"

"She wants the Werewolves to have a seat at the table." Elijah explained unhappily, "She threatened action if this demand wasn't met," This threat had only served to aggravate the other factions. Diego had basically been foaming at the mouth in anger, Genevieve refused to listen to reason and Father Kieran was scared for his faction. Add in the Werewolves and it was a toxic concoction that could lead to disaster.

For a moment, Blair fell silent. She could see both sides of the argument, something that could get very easily lost. The Wolves had been isolated and thrown out of their home when they were cursed, forced to live in the Bayou. It was understandable that they'd want a voice after being denied one for so long. However, she could see Elijah's point of view. The whole reason the Wolves hadn't been invited to the table was that it wasn't an immediate issue. Elijah had already shared that he planned to include the Wolves when the issue in the French Quarter had been solved, a much more pressing matter at this point. But, as usual, Hayley was being impatient and wouldn't take no for an answer, something that was grating on Blair.

"Niklaus is showing no interest but says I should throw a party," Elijah continued, annoyance shining in his dark eyes. Klaus had made a very good argument about how he should please the people he's trying to get something from. Drive them into giving him what he wanted – which was their co-operation. It made sense, something that frustrated Elijah.

Blair snorted, "That's definitely something Klaus would say,"

Elijah looked at her, "What do you think?"

"Me?" Blair was shocked that he would ask her opinion. When Elijah simply nodded his head, Blair thought for a moment, "I think you should do it," If Elijah wanted people to do as he asked then he needed to give them an incentive other than fear. Giving them what they want wasn't always a bad thing. This was something Blair learned when Tatianna used to rule. She would listen to her people and provided things for them as long as it didn't hurt anyone or cause chaos, yet another reason everyone had loved and respected Tatianna.

Nodding his head sharply, Elijah stood from his seat, "Then we shall have a party,"

Standing up, Blair smirked, "Then I need to do some shopping," It had been a long time since she had attended a party and she intended to enjoy herself. She flashed a wink at Elijah before she pranced outside.

Elijah watched her go, amusement in his eyes.

ORIGINALS

A few days had passed and the party was in full swing. Elijah had hired party planners and managed to turn the compound into a lovely setting for a party of supernatural creatures. It was dark outside, lights were illuminating the swanky decorations and there was loud music. Everyone was dressed in their finery, something Blair had expected nothing less considering it was Elijah that had ordered this party to begin with. However, what had surprised everyone was that the Wolves had been invited and they had actually shown up.

The music was loud and everyone was dancing to the beat. Blair stood in a corner, dressed in a royal blue dress. It was skin tight and fit her like a glove, off the shoulder and showed a generous amount of cleavage. There was a slit down the side of the dress so it allowed her some movement and she wore black heels. Her hair was curled and pinned back and her make-up was flawlessly done, with her lips painted a daring red shade. Blair watched as everything happened around and watched as the Witches arrived, acting as though they owned the place with Genevieve leading them. As she glanced around the room, she spotted Elijah and Klaus speaking with one another on the balcony, no doubt Klaus trying to stir the pot.

Davina stood beside her and noticed the Witches entrance as well since she froze in place. She had been avoiding her old Coven since she had come back to life. Instinctively, Davina moved closer to Blair due to nerves. Saying nothing, Blair sent calming waves of magic to Davina, who relaxed when she felt Blair's magic. It was comforting to Davina to have the Fae there to make her feel better. Blair would never let the Witches hurt Davina and it soothed her nerves.

Blair watched as the Wolves made an entrance and so did the Vampires. Each one glaring at the other in obvious animosity. "If I am not with you, stay with Josh," Blair instructed as she looked down to the young Witch. She suspected that there would be an altercation and she wanted Davina nowhere near it when it happened. If Blair had to guess, she suspected the clash would happen between the Vampires and the Wolves.

Davina nodded her head and began looking for Josh. When she found him, Davina walked over to him and he patted her shoulder.

Deciding to grab herself a drink, Blair walked into the sea of people. They were mostly supernatural but some humans were aware of the supernatural. As she walked, she spotted Raphael in the corner, keeping an eye on Hayley, who had entered with the other Werewolves. Blair walked over to Raphael, "Well, you scrub up nicely,"

Raphael smiled at her shyly. "Thank you, you look nice," He was dressed in a dark blue suit with a black dress shirt. It looked good on him but he seemed uncomfortable, no doubt being around his many other supernatural creatures was unnerving.

"How's the pack been?" Blair asked as she kept an eye on Hayley. She was speaking to Jackson, who was visibly mooning over her. In the past few weeks, Hayley's stomach had grown even more and now it protruded more noticeably. Not even baggy clothing could hide that bump anymore.

"Restless," Raphael answered with a frown, "I feel like they're planning something. I have yet to find out what though,"

Blair nodded her head, "Keep an eye on them, especially that one," The Werewolf that Blair was looking at was the blonde one, the one that looked like a douchebag. He was leering at any woman that passed by and something about him unsettled her. She was very confident that she saw him in one of her visions and she got a bad feeling about him.

Raphael's eyes darkened when he saw who she was referring to. "Gladly," The man's name was Oliver and he remembered how he had led Rebekah into a trap before trying to tear her to pieces. He did not like the Werewolf and found his whole disposition to be repulsing. While he did not care for Hayley, he didn't appreciate that Oliver was constantly making snide comments about her at every given chance. That was not how anyone should speak to a lady.

Oliver seemed to have moved on from his leering and was not approaching women. However, he made a move towards Davina and this was where Blair felt she would need to intervene but she stayed back and watched to see what would happen. Blair didn't want to fight all of Davina's battle for her as that would teach her nothing but if anything happened then she would interfere.

Davina was standing near the wall with Josh by her side. Oliver walked over to her as he licked his lips and this set Blair off. "How are you doing, doll?" Oliver asked with a smirk, looking down at the young Witch hungrily.

Davina scoffed and turned her head away from him. She turned to Josh and made a motion to leave but Oliver was blocking the way, preventing her from leaving.

"Where do you think you're going?" Oliver asked, purposely getting in their way.

Josh looked at him and frowned. "Look man, we just want to move," He was nervous, he didn't get confronting people but this man was annoying him and he didn't like how the Werewolf was looking at Davina.

Oliver snarled at him, "I wasn't asking you, leech,"

"Not interested," Davina said as she tried to move out of the way. However, before she could, Oliver grabbed her by the arm and this made Blair hiss where she stood.

Wisely, Raphael backed off, blending into the background and stayed silent.

With a snarl, Blair marched over to them and watched as the disgust rolled onto Davina's face. Even Josh seemed to be offended by the man. Before anything more could happen, Blair grabbed Oliver by the shoulder and forcefully pulled him away and turned him around so he was now facing her. "She said, back off,"

Oliver scoffed at her but then stopped when Blair's eyes glowed the ominous purple colour.

"You only just got your freedom back. If you touch a single hair on her head then I will put the exact same curse on you." Blair promised her eyes ablaze in anger. Men like Oliver repulsed her to the point she wanted to vomit. The ones that didn't take no for an answer and pushed to get what they wanted. She had dealt with a few people like that before and it never ended favourably for them.

"She wasn't worth it anyway," Oliver said as he walked away.

Once he was out of sight, Blair looked to the young Witch, "You okay?"

Davina nodded her head, "I'm good," She sent a thankful glance in Blair and Josh's direction, thankful to have people around her who cared.

"The next lesson we're having the brain aneurysm spell, that will come in handy if it ever happens again," Blair said, leaving no room for argument. Silently, she berated herself for not teaching Davina that spell already. It was an easy and simple spell, one that Davina would need if she was to keep dealing with people like Oliver and Klaus.

Davina smiled, "That sounds like a plan,"

"I do not volunteer for that lesson," Josh winced.

Blair and Davina shared an amused look before one another before Davina and Josh went off with one another. Josh had strict instructions not to leave Davina's side and she knew he would take those orders very seriously. Josh viewed Davina as a younger sister and would not let anything happen to her.

Just then, the music changed to a slower song and people began to pair up. Blair watched with an amused smirk as people scrambled to find someone and was about to move off the dancefloor when Elijah appeared beside her and held out his hand.

"Would you join me for a dance?" Elijah asked.

"I would," Blair said with a small smirk before giving him her hand and allowing him to lead them into the centre of the dancefloor.

Elijah took her hand delicately and guided it on his shoulder before placing his other hand just above her waist. Elijah took Blair's other hand as they slowly danced to the beat of the song, their bodies barely inches away from one another. His dark eyes stared into her light blue eyes as neither one said a word, allowing the hypotonic dance to do all the talking. As they danced, Blair could feel the jealous gaze of Hayley, staring at them and she even ignored Jackson in favour of glaring at them, something that highly amused the Fae.

"You've been a very busy man tonight," Blair commented with a teasing grin. She had watched as he had greeted nearly everyone, making sure everything went smoothly. It had even pleasantly surprised her to see that Klaus was behaving, though she still suspected he was planning something. Blair had seen Genevieve and Klaus kissing on the balcony but she had also seen Jackson disappear into the compound at the same time as the Hybrid. It was all very suspicious and she was sure Elijah had not noticed this was how busy he had been.

"Trying to ensure peace is never easy," Elijah said as he led the dance with practised ease. His steps were in time with the music and he led the dance confidently and surely.

"Do you think it worked?" Blair asked as she allowed him to lead the dance. As they danced, even she could not deny how smooth it was and found herself relaxing into him until their chests were touching ever so slightly.

"All seems well for now," Elijah replied back. He wasn't one to assume anything until he was sure of the facts but things did seem to be going well – for now.

Blair smirked, understanding his reservations.

Elijah briefly glanced down at her before holding her gaze once more, "I apologise if I haven't already said this, but you do look enchanting tonight." He had only seen her briefly throughout the night even though he found himself looking for her half the time.

"I know," Blair smirk grew bigger, "But thank you anyway. You look very dashing as well," The suit that Elijah was wearing was dark and looked very expensive – most likely custom made. It fit him very well and Blair had caught a few people drooling over him – Hayley included. Blair didn't blame them, there was something about a man in a suit that could drive people crazy and if they looked like Elijah then it was even worse.

Elijah matched the smirk with her own. Suddenly, Elijah spun her around and pulled her back to him effortlessly to the point Blair felt her heart flutter. She was sure Elijah could hear her heartbeat but she was glad when he didn't comment on it.

To calm herself down, Blair's eyes scanned the room and then she lowered her voice. "Klaus is planning something." If anyone deserved a heads up about Klaus scheming then it was Elijah. She was slowly coming to realise that she was in fact involved in this entire situation, much to her dismay, and she couldn't get away from it. If she had to be involved then she was going to make sure she picked her side and picked it well. Elijah was a safe bet because he was stable compared to Klaus. It also helped that he was very good looking.

"When is he not?" Elijah commented dryly but he did not disagree with her words. Elijah knew his brother too well to ever think he would ever behave.

"I think it's got something to do with the Wolves," Blair continued, keeping an eye out in case Klaus made a reappearance.

Annoyance danced in Elijah's eyes, "Of course,"

"I am having Raphael keep an eye on the Wolves," Blair explained, leaning closer so their conversation was even more private. She had to stop a shiver that nearly wracked her body, by leaning closer she could feel Elijah's body heat. Mentally she shook her head, she couldn't afford to get distracted.

Elijah nodded his head as he continued to lead the dance, "I will keep an eye on Niklaus, thank you for the warning," He looked down at her, catching her eyes once more. As he looked at her, he couldn't help but notice how close their faces had inched towards one another and he found he wasn't opposed to this. He quite liked their close proximity.

Blair was about to answer him but she got cut off when there was a loud crash behind them. Turning their heads, Blair and Elijah watched as Oliver and Diego started to fight one another, something that didn't surprise Blair. Sighing deeply, Elijah looked to the Fae, "Excuse me. I must deal with the riff-raff." He was quickly done, going to deal with the fight that he didn't want getting out of hand.

Watching him go, Blair turned around, deciding that she needed a drink to cool herself down. She grabbed a nearby glass of champagne and sipped it slowly, enjoying the flavour. The situation seemed to escalate to the point Elijah had Oliver by the throat and then Jackson had Diego by holding a wooden stake to his chest. As she watched the scene before her, she noticed as Hayley now got involved and that's when her interest waned.

As she waited for the scene to be over, someone approached her. Blair scowled when she saw who it was. Monique Devereux walked up to her and stood beside the Fae, looking at her invasively. Blair refused to acknowledge her presence as she found the young Witch to be annoying. She hoped that Monique would go away but when the young Witch opened her mouth to speak, all of Blair's hopes were dashed.

"Fae's like to make deals, correct?" Monique asked suddenly.

"Don't care," Blair shot back immediately.

Monique looked to her, "You haven't heard what it is we're offering in return,"

Blair rolled her eyes, "I don't care."

Frowning, the young Witch looked in the direction of Genevieve for guidance, who didn't look at the younger Witch. Monique sighed deeply, she was on her own. "We want Davina back," At this, Blair sent her a bored look, one that nearly made Monique take a step back.

"Why do you want her back?" Blair asked as she arched a brow. Now, Monique had her interest but whether she kept it was another story. Since Davina had come back from the Harvest, no one from the Coven had attempted to reach out and get Davina back but now they were. The timing was suspicious and she didn't like it.

"That is not up for discussion," Monique answered defensively.

"Then this discussion is over," Blair said as she turned away.

Gritting her teeth, Monique sighed deeply. "The reason shouldn't matter. Davina is a Witch and belongs with her Coven,"

Blair paused for a moment as she considered the Witch's words but they only served to infuriate her. Turning around, Blair glared at Monique. "Davina had been abandoned by her Coven and Celeste attempted to have her killed. Take into consideration she had to watch her friend's throats get slit and her own was cut open. She wouldn't come back to you even if you begged her,"

"She will come back to us," Monique said confidently, "We're her family,"

Blair laughed haughtily, "You are only family when you want something," This was the reason why she hated Witches, they were all the same. There were only ever a few exceptions to the rule – like Davina – but the rest were opportunists.

Monique glared at her and there was a flicker of magic in the air that was targeting Blair, something the Fae noticed immediately and pissed her off. The slightest spark of magic was attempting to harm Blair, but to her, it felt like a tickle with how weak the magic was. However, what infuriated Blair the most was that a baby Witch was attempting to force her hand and she was not having that. Blair's eyes glowed purple as the air around them thickened and Monique gasped when she saw Blair's eyes. Monique took a step back but the Fae followed after her, not giving her any space.

"Let me make one thing perfectly clear," Blair purred lowly, immobilising the Witch where she stood, "If Davina decides to go back to the Coven then that is her choice. No one will force her, threaten her or coerce her into doing anything she doesn't want to do. If anything happens to Davina then I will bring down your Coven and drown everyone involved," Just to show off their power difference, Blair sent out a wave of her magic and watched as Monique fell to her knees at the force of said magic.

Fear and jealousy shone in Monique's eyes. "Why Davina? Why does she have your protection?"

"Because she's actually worth my time," Blair answered plainly before she turned around and walked away. She could feel the eyes of the Witches on her but she ignored them. She was going to grab Davina and leave the party – or let Davina stay with Josh – either way, she was done with this party. She'd rather soak in a bath for an hour drinking wine while listening to music in the background.

As Blair walked around, she spotted Raphael and they nodded at one another in understanding. It didn't take long before she found Davina and the little Witch had enough for that night so they left the party and went to their rooms. Josh disappeared for the night after Davina left, no longer want to be at the party if they weren't there.