Chapter Twenty-Seven

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.

Edit: Someone pointed out that Blair had some of Elijah's blood before, a scene that I had forgotten about. I have gone back and edited it slightly were Elijah doesn't hesitate to give her his blood. Sorry if this confused anyone!

Enjoy!

ORIGINALS

The next day

Elijah sat in the living room, a glass of bourbon in hand. He was dressed in a new suit, a dark blue blazer with matching trousers and a white pressed shirt. It wasn't even noon yet and he was already drinking. It had been a stressful morning and there had been a lot to sort out. Unfortunately, nearly half of the Crescent Wolf pack had either died or been severely injured from the Hunter's attack. Hayley had been injured and was currently still unconscious. According to Jackson, Hayley had confronted the Hunter when he entered the compound and immediately collapsed. Ever since then, she had not awoken and seemed to be in pain, but no one could wake her up. Jackson was distraught and he was still healing from the injuries that he had sustained from the Hunter. Unfortunately, there had been other casualties. Marcel had been one of them, his heart had been ripped out of his chest. According to Elijah's spy, Marcel had attempted another coup, to attack Klaus directly as he thought his sire to be weaker now that his child was there. However, Marcel accidentally met the Hunter and he was killed within seconds of meeting. Klaus was beside himself and had locked himself upstairs to process the grief of losing his eldest child. They may not have got along but Klaus cared for Marcel deeply and he vowed he would do everything possible for Hope to remain safe, unlike her Vampire brother. Rebekah had also been shaken by the news and had locked herself away in her room, only allowing Raphael to bring her blood. Elijah was also grieving for Marcel but he did not feel his death as strongly, in fact, he had predicted Marcel's death but he had not known it would be by the Hunter's hand. Another casualty of the Hunter was Genevieve. She was dead but the Witches didn't seem too upset about this, in fact, Monique had seemed quite smug and this had irritated Elijah slightly but he held it together as he gave Genevieve's body over to them.

There was much to do and much to organise. Elijah had promised that he would assist in the Crescent Wolves funerals, though Jackson had been reluctant at first, Eve had convinced him otherwise. Downing the rest of his bourbon, Elijah poured himself another glass and his thoughts strayed off to the night before, when Blair had fought the Hunter.

Elijah's heart had been in his throat throughout that entire fight. It was easy to see why Blair had been so scared of the Hunter, he had been absolutely ruthless in his attacks. Elijah had truly feared for Blair, especially every time her head bounced off the fall and more blood poured out from her. At the reminder of her sweet blood, Elijah felt his gums ache as his fangs desired to sink into her neck. Her blood smelt so sweet, he imagined that she would taste divine. Elijah cast those thoughts out of his mind. He would not stoop so low as to lust over her blood, he refused to become the animal she feared him to be.

Deciding that he needed blood, Elijah stood up and made his way to the kitchen. Once there, he opened the fridge and took out a blood bag, taking a large gulp of it. He wasn't a fan of the blood being cold but he needed a quick shot of the blood before his craving took over. No one had tested his resistance to blood like Blair, her blood called to him like a Siren's song. If Elijah wasn't as old and experienced as he was, he would have slipped up by now. But Elijah knew that the moment he gave into temptation, Blair would no longer trust him. He had worked hard to get the female Fae to trust him and he refused to throw away all that progress just because he couldn't control himself.

Elijah was infatuated with Blair, that much was clear to him. If he had any doubt of his feelings then watching her nearly die would have opened his eyes. He had planned to make his feelings known to her but it never seemed to be the time. Blair never seemed to be comfortable and settled and he knew that it was never the time to reveal his feelings. He had decided he would start to pursue her after the Hunter situation had been sorted as he was tired of allowing his brother to dictate who he was with. During one of their private conversations, Klaus had pointed out Elijah's feelings for the female Fae and he had not denied them, being upfront with his feelings. However, Klaus opposed this, claiming that he needed Blair for her magic and Elijah had refuted him. He refused to let Klaus get in the way of his happiness and he had no qualms of fighting Klaus over this. After some heated words, Klaus had not mentioned this again.

Elijah was snapped out of his thoughts when he smelt Blair's scent and heard her door opening. After last night, he had taken her back into her room and stayed with her until she fell asleep. He hadn't wanted her to be alone after everything that happened the night before. Downing the rest of his blood bag, he threw it in the bin and that's when he turned around and saw a completely different person than who he was expecting.

The woman that stood before him was small, barely even reaching his shoulders. She had shoulder-length auburn hair and emerald green eyes. The woman was pale with freckles dotted around her face, concentrated around her nose and cheek area. Her clothing looked familiar, something Blair would wear; black skinny jeans and a black and white checked crop top with black boots.

"Who are you?" Elijah demanded, wondering how this stranger had got into his home without his notice.

The woman grinned, amusement in her eyes, "Elijah, it's me, Blair," Her voice had a slight Irish accent, one that was soft and very appealing to the ears.

Elijah stared at the woman and took notice of everything about her. Her heartbeat was steady, meaning that she wasn't lying or she was a very good one. However, this woman and Blair shared the same scent; coffee and caramel – a scent he found very addicting recently. Elijah's dark eyes missed nothing, as he examined the woman in front of him – not the amused glint in her eyes, and certainly not the way she placed a hand on her wider hips.

"How is this possible? You look completely different," Elijah said with a frown. There was no denying this woman was Blair as scents did not lie.

"It's called a glamour," Blair explained, "I changed my appearance every new place I went. I haven't been back to my original appearance in a long time," Spotting her reflection, Blair turned her head and examined herself. She had missed her original face and voice. She had got very good at hiding her accent while on the run but now she could be free. She had made the decision to drop her glamour because there wasn't a need for it anymore.

Elijah's eyes still never left her form, "It was a very good glamour," He swore he was being tested on his resolve once more. The way Blair was biting on her lip made his eyes hone in on the action and he swallowed thickly. He needed another blood bag.

"Thank you," Blair grinned happily. She knew her glamour was good, but she loved getting praised nonetheless.

"Is Raphael under a glamour?" Elijah asked, trying to distract himself.

Blair shook his head, "No, only me. All Fae can do it, but most hardly ever use it," There was no reason for Raphael to be under a glamour as he wasn't hiding, and Chloe hadn't been under a glamour when she had visited Blair.

He was silent for a moment before clearing his throat. Elijah walked over to the fridge and grabbed another blood bag, "What do you plan to do now?" He had to wonder what would happen now as nothing was chaining Blair from her freedom. She could go where she wanted and stay for as long as she wanted as the Hunter was no longer in the picture.

Falling silent for a moment, Blair considered her options. This had been the first realisation to hit her when she woke up. "I don't know yet. But that's the beauty of it, I don't have to rush to make a decision," She no longer needed to run away from a place in a hurry. She could go back to a few places she had visited in the past. She could even head back to the Forest now.

Elijah nodded his head, "Take as long as you need. You're more than welcome here," If Elijah could, he would have asked her to stay but he couldn't. He kept his opinion to himself, not wanting to influence it since it was her life.

Blair relaxed slightly, "I was a bit worried after last night…" People had died because of her or were gravely injured. She wasn't too sure if people would still want her around after everything that had happened.

"You're not to blame for what happened," Elijah said strongly, his face stern.

His words soothed some of the guilt inside her. She had heard Klaus' reaction to Marcel's death and it had not been pretty. There had been a lot of shouting, furniture being thrown around and crying. Davina was yet to learn of Marcel's demise and knew it wouldn't be long before there was more shouting and crying.

"Any news on Hayley?" Blair asked hesitantly. The last she had heard, she wasn't waking up but was very much alive. She had spent most of the morning listening in on what was happening, working up the courage to leave her room and face the music.

"She's still unconscious," Elijah asked with a sigh, "Jackson has taken her back to the Bayou, where they are watching over her." After Jackson had woken up, he had been devastated about the loss of quite a few pack members. However, it was Hayley and her not waking up that nearly broke him. He had been screaming her name, begging for her to wake up. He had growled at anyone who came near them before he took off with Hayley in his arms.

A sense of dread filled Blair. "Did she look the Hunter in the eyes?" If Hayley had done this then she would have fallen under the Hunter's spell. The Hunter then held the person captive, using their fear to paralyse them. Most people ended up in a nightmare induced coma, unable to stop witnessing their worst fears. This was why she had avoided looking the Hunter in the eyes because she knew she would fall into his trap and then it would be game over.

"I am not too sure," Elijah frowned, uncertain of the answer. He had hardly got anything out of Jackson after he saw what was left of his pack and Hayley. He was sure that Jackson was going to take some time to get back to normal.

"I'll go over the Bayou later and see what I can do," Blair said, dreading this visit. She had a feeling the Wolves wouldn't take too kindly of seeing her after what happened.

Elijah said nothing, keeping his thoughts to himself. If he was were Blair, he would avoid the Wolves for some time until things had cooled off but he was worried about Hope. Klaus was doing extremely well with Hope, but she was missing her mother. Even the child could sense that something wasn't right and there was only so much Klaus could do.

"What did you do with the Hunter's body?" Blair asked, her voice low. She should have destroyed the body right after killing him but she had been so overwhelmed with her new sense of freedom. Now, she was feeling anxious that she had missed something – like the Hunter potentially coming back because she didn't get rid of the body.

"Destroyed," Elijah answered simply. This had been his first order of business after making sure Blair was okay. Even he hadn't felt fully comfortable until the Hunter's body had been dealt with. Too many times foes he thought dead had come back to haunt him and he would rather avoid that for Blair. To make sure he was dead, Elijah had removed the Hunter's head and then used acid to destroy the body as fire would not work, not even on a dead Hellhound.

Blair nodded her head accepting the answer. She knew that the Original had an agenda against the Hunter so she trusted his word. It was hard for her to trust people but she could definitely say she trusted him.

ORIGINALS

Later that day

After some time, Blair and Elijah were making their way over the Bayou. Elijah drove down, with him and Blair comfortably speaking with one another. He was mainly updating her on the situation, how Klaus had locked himself upstairs with Hope and Blair telling him what happened to Davina. She had sat down the young Witch and informed her of Marcel's death. Davina had not taken the news well and had locked herself away, needing some time alone. Blair respected this, leaving the Witch alone for now, but would be back to check up on her. Raphael was still in the compound with Rebekah and he had reassured her that he would be there for Davina if she needed him. If Hayley hadn't needed seeing to then Blair wouldn't have even left the compound, to begin with, but this was important.

They stepped into the Bayou where the Wolves should have been camped out, but it was empty. There was hardly anyone there and didn't seem like anyone was living there. Blair didn't know what she was expecting but she hadn't imagined seeing the Bayou empty. She understood that quite a few Wolves had been lost to the Hunter but not everyone had been killed.

"Where is everyone?" Blair asked, her voice low.

Elijah's dark eyes scanned the area. He could hear the heartbeats of two individuals in the immediate area, but the other Wolves seemed to be skirting around the edges of the Bayou. For what reason was left unknown.

Just then, Eve walked out of the little cabin and paused when she saw them. "Are you here to see Hayley?" She asked, looking solely at Elijah.

Elijah nodded his head, "And Blair is here to help too," He motioned to Blair who was stood beside him, knowing that Eve would not recognise them as the same person. Blair's appearance had dramatically changed from what it was before.

Eve's eyes widened as she took in Blair new appearance, "Oh god, you can't be here," She looked around frantically, moving towards them at a fast pace. "You need to leave before Jackson comes back,"

"Why, what's wrong?" Blair asked with a frown.

Ignoring her question, Eve continued to look around, as if she was waiting for someone to jump out from behind the trees.

"Eve," Elijah said, getting the newly changed Werewolf's attention.

Sighing deeply, Eve looked at them, "It's Jackson. When Hayley wouldn't wake up and he found out how many casualties there had been, he changed," His whole personality had changed. Now, Jackson seemed very angry and would snap at anyone who came close to Hayley or even mentioned Blair's name. "If he hears that you're here then he will not be happy."

"Where is he?" Blair asked, looking around.

"Oliver's taken him away to stretch his legs and get food," Eve explained, "He hasn't left Hayley's side since and he needs some rest." The Alpha in Jackson was restless and wanted revenge for what happened to his pack. Jackson was struggling at the moment and seemed to get worse the longer Hayley stayed unconscious.

"I won't be long, I am just here to look over Hayley. I think I can help her wake up," Blair explained to Eve, hoping she would let her help.

Before Eve could say anything, Elijah moved and placed himself in front of Blair. Just as he did this, a Wolf appeared from the woods. It was Jackson and he was growling dangerously low, his golden eyes focused entirely on Blair. From the way his eyes flashed with hatred, he had recognised who she was through her scent.

Eve winced, "He's telling you to leave before he attacks," As a perk of now being a Wolf, she could understand the pack when they communicated in their Wolf forms. From his thoughts, Jackson wasn't happy that Blair was there and he wanted her gone. She could hear all the ways Jackson wanted to rip her to shreds and it was not pleasant.

"She is here to help Hayley," Elijah responded, his eyes trained on Jackson. He understood that Jackson was going through a hard time but that did not mean he would let him harm Blair in any way – though he was sure she could handle herself.

Jackson growled louder, taking a threatening step forward.

"He's asking how can you help," Eve said, voicing his thoughts.

"Did Hayley look at the Hunter in the eyes?" Blair asked, focusing on the Wolf in front of her. At the moment, Jackson was an Alpha ready to attack someone who he thought to be a threat. She would need to tread carefully.

Jackson growled in response and Eve nodded her head.

"Then I can help her. The Hunter would have placed her in a nightmare induced coma. The longer she is left like this, the worse it will be," Blair explained calmly. If left unchecked, Hayley would not wake up and the nightmares would get worse until she couldn't handle it anymore.

This response caused Jackson to fall silent. Jackson made a noise before he retreated into the woods slightly, but still making sure he could see still everyone.

"He said do what you need and leave," Eve said, sending Blair an apologetic look.

Blair nodded her head, "I will," She looked to Elijah, silently asking if he would be joining her in the cabin but he shook his head.

"I'll stay here," Elijah said, turning back to face Jackson. He would prefer to stay outside and keep an eye on Jackson in case he tried to pull anything. From his behaviour, Jackson didn't seem rational and so Elijah decided that he would rather lean on the side of caution. Jackson was relying on his Wolf to help him through a difficult situation and Wolves relied heavily on their instinct. At this moment of time, Jackson viewed Blair as a threat and Elijah wanted to make sure nothing escalated.

Silently, Blair walked into the cabin with Eve behind her. Eve led her to where Hayley was and Blair was surprised at what she saw. Hayley did not look good at all – she was pale, sweating and making faces as though she was in pain. Placing a hand on Hayley's head, Blair found that her body temperature had spiked dramatically and she was shivering.

"I've tried everything but nothing works. Not even our connection as Wolves worked," Eve said sadly. She had cared for Hayley the moment Jackson had brought her back and there had been no improvements. In fact, it seemed as though Hayley had got worse overnight.

"Nothing would work unless you had magic," Blair said, her eyes glowing purple as her magic flared. She could see the sinister energy around Hayley and instantly recognised the signature. This was definitely the Hunter's work and it was powerful. Even with the Hunter dead, his nightmares still lingered. Blair could feel how scared Hayley was just by standing next to her. She couldn't even imagine what Hayley was seeing at this point. "If she hadn't woken up, she would have got worse until she died, which wouldn't take long. Her heart would have given out," Stress was a killer on the body, regardless of whether the person was supernatural or not. Eventually, the heart would give out due to too much stress and this was where Hayley was heading if something wasn't done.

A pained howl came from outside the cabin, no doubt Jackson had heard her.

"Can you help her?" Eve asked.

Blair nodded her head, "I am definitely going to try," Placing a hand on Hayley's head, Blair closed her eyes. There was a dark blanket over Hayley – courtesy of the Hunter – and Blair focused her magic around this blanket. She was trying to pull the darkness away but there was some resistance and that's when Blair pulled harder.

Eve looked away as a bright light engulfed both Blair and Hayley. The light was so bright it hurt her eyes but it was quickly gone. Looking back, she saw that Blair had stepped away from Hayley.

"I have stopped the nightmares, now it is up to Hayley to wake up," Blair said, looking over to Eve. "Hayley's been through a lot and needs to heal – mentally and emotionally. It may take her a little while but she will wake up," She hadn't seen what Hayley was experiencing but no doubt it was petrifying.

"Thank you," Eve whispered lowly, relief in her voice.

Blair smiled before walking out of the cabin. When she was outside, she saw Jackson was much closer to the cabin and was in his human form – completely naked. Averting her eyes, Blair kept her eyes trained on her face – though it was very tempting to take a peak. "Be patient and she will wake up,"

Jackson nodded his head but said nothing.

"Let's go," Elijah said, motioning Blair away. Following after the Original, they made it a few feet before Jackson called out to them again.

"Consider the debt between us paid. Never come back here again," Jackson warned, his gaze trained solely on Blair.

Blair turned her head and met his gaze unwaveringly, "Understood," Turning back around, Blair and Elijah walked away from the Bayou, making sure Jackson didn't pull a surprise attack.

ORIGINALS

Davina was sat in her room, the curtains drawn and her whole room enveloped in darkness. She was on her bed, where she hadn't moved since Blair had broken the news about Marcel. Tears permanently stained her face as she couldn't stop the tears from falling, no matter how many times she wiped them away. Blair had tried to break the news as gently as she could, but nothing could have prepared Davina for the news the Fae shared. Not even Blair's new appearance could snap Davina out from her shock. After being told about Marcel's death, she didn't remember much else that Blair said – all her brain could focus on was the fact Marcel was no longer there. They hadn't had the best relationship towards the end, especially when he was always trying to manipulate her into doing his bidding, but he had still been there for her. At times, Marcel had been a surrogate parent towards her since her own parents had abandoned her.

Her mind kept replaying the last time she and Marcel had spoken. He had managed to locate her number and called her, but she had been less than pleased. Davina had demanded that he leave her alone and not contact her again. Now, she was regretting that decision massively and wished that she could have said something else instead. If she had the chance, she'd tell him that she was sorry and thank him for saving her from the Harvest. He may have used her for her powers, but he had been kind at the same time.

Slowly, Davina sat up in bed and looked down at her own hands. She had magic. Magic could be used to contact the dead – she had seen it be done in her old Coven loads of time. With this thought in mind, light fluttered back into Davina's eyes as she got out of her bed. Walking over to the grimoires in her wardrobe, she began looking for one in particular. Klaus and Elijah had allowed her access to their mother's grimoires after everything that had happened. Klaus had said he was interested to see how powerful she would be under Blair's tutelage and Elijah was more than happy for Davina to continue her magical education. Looking through each grimoire took a while but she soon found the spell she was looking for. Examining the spell, Davina saw that the main item needed for this spell was a personal item of the person she wanted to contact. Mind racing, Davina thought about what would be best. After a few moments, it hit her. Marcel would always wear a necklace, he had never taken it off and she had never seen him without it.

Closing her eyes, Davina imagined that necklace in her mind and within seconds a small weight appeared in her hand. Opening her eyes, Davina saw a necklace, one that she had seen many times. The necklace had a silver starling pendant attached to a leather strap, very simple but it reminded her of Marcel. Davina swallowed the lump in her throat, willing herself not to cry again. Instead, she put herself to work.

Grabbing candles and salt, Davina drew a salt circle and placed the necklace in the middle. She then lit a bunch of candles, the fire creating an ominous atmosphere in the room. Inhaling deeply, Davina summoned her magic, letting it wash over the salt circle and into the necklace. "Marcel, I call you. Please answer me," Davina said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. There was no risk of her being overheard as Blair had taught her how to soundproof her room and she had locked the door with her magic. No one other than Blair would be able to undo the lock, and Blair was not currently in the compound. She had left with Elijah to go to the Bayou around an hour ago.

Nothing happened and Davina couldn't hide the disappointment she felt. Steeling her nerves, she tried again. "Marcel, hear my call. Answer me,"

This time, there was a slight shimmer in the air. The curtains ruffled slightly and Davina's heart leapt in her chest. Something had happened, could it have been Marcel? Had he heard her call for him?

"Marcel?" Davina called out, feeling a presence in the room.

A dark figure appeared in the room, something Davina could only vaguely make out through the candles in the room.

"Marcel!" Davina called out, a sense of relief and happiness hitting her all at once. She wanted to run up and hug him but she knew it wouldn't work that way. She had only summoned his ghost, not resurrected him, not that she would know how to do that.

A dark chuckle emanated from the dark figure and this sent chills down Davina's spine. Taking a step back, she realised what she had summoned was not Marcel. "Who are you?" Davina whispered softly.

The dark figure took a step forward, his face becoming clear as he stepped closer to the candles. "I am Mikael," He said, his piercing eyes staring at the little Witch.

Davina stared at him, her heart dropping heavily in her chest.