Unruly as*, your kick will only fracture your hoof,
Your stubbornness takes you beyond reason or proof
You live by the laws that you yourself have made
O Adam, your disobedience is heaven's law betrayed!
- Rumi, As*
Warning: Graphical violence ahead in the chapter.
Proceed at your own discretion.
A woman came running inside the establishment, her nightgown splattered with blood.
"Please shut the door!" With tears flowing down her cheeks, she murmured frantically. "There's a man pursuing me! A devil!" Adelia approached a group of men at the table. "Please dial 911. He was a devil! I witnessed it for myself. He did this to me!"
She pointed to the door with blood running down her neck and through her collar when a man appeared in front of her.
He brushed his fingertips down her lace-covered arm and said, "You sure smell delicious," as veins protruded from beneath his eyes.
"You are a demon as well," she said in horror, glancing back to see whether anybody else noticed. "Every one of you."
"Well, yes, we can bring your first demon for a treat. I can share," he grinned, leaning into her bare neck as she froze in stunned silence.
When the knock on the door rang, the man cracked a smile and grabbed her waist to pull her close, cornering her against the bar counter. "That might be your demon. Should we invite him in for a nibble?"
"Please let me go," she pleaded as the other vampires got up, one reaching out to touch the blood on her nape and putting it in his mouth with a hum.
"Please allow me to learn your name." Clicking his tongue, he added, "Feels criminal to taste first, introduce afterwards." He sat her on the counter, slowly touching her calf over the lace robe.
"Maeve," Adelia muttered gently, almost in a whisper, as the vampire tensed, his gaze promptly travelling to the door to see it open and Klaus standing in their doorway. "My name is Maeve."
"Look what the cat dragged in," Rebekah said, looking at Sage — her eldest brother's lover.
"Easy there, Rebekah. You know she used to beat men for sport," Damon informed the Original.
"She always was quite common," she commented off-handedly.
"Rebekah. What a happy surprise!" Sage greeted her impassively.
"What are you doing here, Sage?" Rebekah asked.
"Well, I heard Finn was finally freed from that casket your rageaholic brother Klaus carted him around in."
"Mmm, Finn, you just missed him. He left town and didn't tell a soul where he was going."
"He probably went looking for me," Sage said a little hopefully.
"Or quite possibly he forgot all about you," the blonde answered condescendingly.
"I doubt that."
"No? 'Because he didn't seem to mention you," she replied. "Sorry, you came all this way for nothing. Have a nice life."
Damon, a spectator to the female verbal conversation, watched Rebekah have the last word and walk away.
"God, I hate that elitist Original b*tch," Sage said.
"Well, what a mess, love," Klaus remarked to Adelia as he walked in, pushing another woman ahead of him. "Are these lads giving you trouble?"
The heretic took a deep breath with a tired sigh, her shoulders sagging. With an eye roll, she shoved the vampire off of her. "I would prefer if you could compel some manners into them." Her attention switched to the other girl, "I hope you made your companion very comfortable."
"Had to force her to accept my gift on our first date," the Original replied, pouting. "I cannot allow her to go anywhere sans those ostentatious bangles on her dainty wrist."
Adelia noticed them as she swayed her legs back and forth down the wooden counter. "Did you not tell her they suppress magic? Nik, how impolite of you."
"Kindly forgive me for neglecting Elijah's gentleman lessons," he rolled his eyes before turning towards a dozen men, "but I do remember some of them. First, let the lady have a shot, pal."
"Wonderful," Adelia murmured with a smile, waving her hands as all the vampires collapsed to the floor, their necks broken. "I appreciate your courtesy, monsieur. Here lies my eclectic selection of heathens, highly sought after by Elijah Mikaelson's little terror club. I would rather they execute your will than theirs."
Klaus offered an exaggerated full bow before she passed him a glass of drink kept next to her. "Did you send an invitation to them?"
"On matte paper with golden ink," she said, as though concerned by the prospect of electronic communication. "A big reward for a small job sounds appealing."
"As well as nefarious. What did you promise, love, given the significant turnout?"
"You will never know," Adelia smirked. "However, I hope you made good use of your time and got me something to wear. I simply cannot threaten them in my blo*dy nightgown, and Elijah would be devastated if I ruin his beloved bed slippers."
Klaus pointedly looked at the white fluffy cloud adorning her delicate feet. He did not wish to know how his brother and his wife were spending their fortunes.
"I am sure he will fancy himself some intestines after these men have come within a hairbreadth of you," he said, choosing to ignore the existence of his brother's fluffy footwear — they looked delightful, however. "It might even motivate him to depart our mother's humble presence."
"Yet another reason for your mother to dislike me. The night just keeps getting livelier," she pursed her lips before turning to face the witch in front of them. "Have you met my mother-in-law?"
Warning: Graphical violence ahead in the chapter.
Proceed at your own discretion.
June 1864
The Compound | New Orleans
Adelia strolled about the study, running her fingertips over the spines of books while cradling her belly of six months. Perhaps she would find herself a book to read until Klaus and Marcel return.
"If Niklaus ever tells you he's a good artist," she began to caution her child in boredom, "do not believe him. He will attempt to convince you that I have no inkling of art, that your mother does not, but he is lying."
With a grimace, the witch blew off the dust from her fingers, swiftly wiping them on her gown, and concluded Elijah's absence was apparent in this room as well.
"He perceives beauty even in an inebriated horse," she continued while patting her abdomen. "I suppose once you are here, I will request him to show you that obnoxious piece of art so you can make your assessment."
Adelia sealed the open ink container on the desk and moved it away from the unattended journal with a pen tucked between its pages. With a grumble, she reached over the wood and snatched up the dry pen before shutting the journal with a thud, the M on the cover gleaming under the candlelight.
"There is another one, his name is Elijah. He is known as the Noble One, and he broke your mother's heart when she was young. I have not liked him since, and neither did your father."
As she stared out the window at the waning sun, the heir hoped the younger Original would return soon. "Do you suppose we ought to head home?" The witch lowered her head to inquire the unborn child. "Your great-grandmother Sharel is unaware that we fled the estate to visit a friend."
When the woman heard the footsteps in the middle of the conversation, she perked up instantly and exited the study to find Klaus lugging a coffin inside, making her curious.
"Whose death are you preparing for, Klaus?" She inquired from upstairs as he looked up, taken aback by her presence.
"I was not expecting your company this evening, Maeve," the Original replied, standing anxiously in front of the box.
"I sent a calling card the night before. You did not respond, so I paid you a visit to verify if you were still alive," she quipped, making him smile.
"Your concern was unwarranted now that you've seen me standing upright. When do you reckon you will be leaving?" He inquired.
"You are very rude, Sir," Adelia complained as she descended the steps carefully. Klaus' attention drifted to her belly, and he hurriedly averted his stare. "I had hoped that my initial venture outside the estate with my child would be much more eventful, but I guess will begin my departure."
"I shall call the carriage for you," he rolled his eyes when she joined him.
"My appetite has been very welcoming lately," she declared with a pout, "so probably after a full stomach would I be able to lift my foot in the carriage."
His brow creased in response to the request. "You ought to have hollered the maid for a meal sooner. Why torment that thing inside of you?"
"They are not a thing," Adelia expressed her discontent, hurling the wooden hand fan at him as it struck its subject.
Klaus rubbed his forehead with a grimace and glared at her. "I will excuse that behaviour, love," he gave her a stiff smile. "I shall go look for a maid to rid myself of your presence at the earliest. Do not be long on your feet."
Adelia giggled at his peculiar way of expressing concern as he continued on his way. "Remember, he finds horses more profound than humans," she cautioned her child while tenderly rubbing it, then looked around in disinterest, finding herself alone in the courtyard.
The witch's eyes fell upon the casket and her feet moved towards it out of curiosity, her fan-devoid hands now fiddling with her grandmother's sapphire pendant around the neck.
She stared at the polished wood for a minute, patting her protruding stomach with a sigh, contemplating whether to risk the bile spewing out her mouth at the presumed dead body or just let it be.
With the decision ruled, her hands slowly unlocked the latches and she gripped the lid, surprisingly light, lifting it a couple of inches, to peek inside. Her eyes widened as she recognised Elijah, and flung open the box to find the Original with a blade sticking out of his chest.
Her grandmother had once told her about Klaus' propensity for keeping his siblings in coffins, an enchanted dagger with oak ashes putting them to sleep. The noble Original, as far as she knew, had left the city. She wondered what Elijah had done to earn this fate and clutched the hilt of the blade, carefully pulling it out with immense effort.
A hand seized hers, startling the witch as she looked sideways to meet Klaus' eyes before he pushed the blade back into his brother's heart, much to her horror. She yanked her hands away from him and took a few steps back, fervently rubbing her palms over her pale blue gown.
"Why is your brother daggered?" Adelia questioned, her voice wavering.
"Do not mind him, he is just taking a nap," Klaus grinned, fixing Elijah's cuffs with astute kindness.
"You misled us," she came to a realisation. "Elijah never went anywhere."
The smirk from his face disappeared as he replied, "Do you not know who I am?"
"Why did you do it?" The witch inquired.
"My beloved brother was straying far from home," Klaus informed her, almost nonchalantly. "He sees a pretty face and gets enamoured with possibilities."
"Do you justify your abuse with this reasoning?" Adelia looked at him, stunned. "Because he dares to hope?"
He took a step closer, glaring at her for the accusation. "My siblings would call this a punishment."
"Certainly, because they have been led to believe so! Do you even comprehend what you are uttering? You want to keep him, keep your siblings in that state because you want them to be equally miserable as you are?"
He zoomed towards the witch in fury, her back hitting the coffin and he grasped Adelia's arms tightly as a wince escaped her mouth. "You would do well to keep it shut, little witch," the Original growled as she squirmed in his arms.
"Will that alter the truth?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "Punishment, you say? Have you wondered if they possessed a dagger they could wield against you for centuries, for their desire? Would you describe that as punishment? Reason it with a pretty face?"
Klaus gritted his teeth and pushed her a little up against the wood. "And what do you suppose I do to redeem myself?"
"What have you done to earn your redemption?" Adelia pushed at his chest as he stood still, unmoving. "You are not even certain you are redeemable."
"And here you are, arguing with me to your imminent death. I am optimistic that Elijah's eternal faith in me will not falter when he finds you cold in the bayou swamp."
"I am here, standing alive. Standing here, knowing, hoping you have a bit of decency left in you!" She shouted at him.
He clutched her wrist once again, pinning her against the open casket. "I have already shown you enough decency these past few years," he fumed. "I befriended the abomination, inviting her into my home, into our lives."
A tear slipped past her eye, "See for yourself, nobody is beside you. The ones that should be are in boxes," she answered.
"You do not even remember him, so what are you fighting for?" Klaus yelled at her, and she flinched, turning her head away.
"I do not need to remember Mr Mikaelson to show him kindness," Adelia admitted. "Kindness that you have forsaken."
"All I have forsaken is my brother, who deludes himself into thinking he is in love with you! How long before you break him? Now when he sees you carrying another man's child. I have shown him kindness, Maeve. I am merciful," the Original remarked to her puzzled expression.
"Your mercy is cruel, you are cruel," she pleaded, grabbing Elijah's knife with her other hand to pull it out as Klaus shoved it back inside, again.
"Anybody else and their heads would've already rolled off," he shouted at Adelia, dragging her away from the coffin.
"Unhand me," she cried out, repeatedly hitting his wrist. When he refused, she grabbed his other hand and started siphoning off him as he screamed in anguish.
Klaus shrugged off her hand violently as veins appeared underneath his eyes and the witch looked at him with dread.
Suddenly, the pendant around her neck cracked, the sapphire dropping to the floor with a faint flutter as Adelia got flung away by the magic. Her body collided with the staircase as it broke, tossing her against the wall.
Klaus stood horrified by the sudden turn of events and raced over to the witch to see blood slowly pooling underneath her head, eyes flickering rapidly.
"Adelia," the Original whispered, settling down next to her and biting into his wrist. As soon as he touched her face to get her to focus, his eyes fell upon the black veins crawling up his arms, blood sizzling inside his veins.
She opened her eyes momentarily and pushed him off, holding the broken staircase to get up slowly.
"You are hurt, Maeve," he stated, moving closer as she felt a trickle of blood running down her head.
The witch stretched her arm beside her as the dagger stuck inside Elijah came rushing into her hand in an instant, and she took a step backwards, terrified of Klaus. "Stay away," she said, her eyes peering around the compound while holding the blade between them.
"Maeve, let me heal you," he requested, noticing her eyes slowly drooping.
"Step back!" Adelia yelled, pointing the dagger at him, tears streaming down her chin. "You are just as cruel as others claim. Perhaps all I needed to do was witness it for myself."
"You are fighting me? For him?" The Original said, astounded.
"I am fighting for myself, Niklaus!" She cried out at him, a bout of dizziness hitting her when her fingers gripped the railing tightly. Adelia's knees crumbled under her, and Klaus rushed forward to stop her descent to the floor.
He patted her cheek lightly as his fingers emerged from behind her head, covered in blood. She pushed him weakly, unable to summon any magic from within herself.
The Original observed her resistance, only the strong heartbeat of the child coming from within her reassuring him. "Is your loyalty to him greater than our friendship?" He questioned her gently.
"Why are you intent on proving me disloyal by making such assumptions?" Adelia replied in a soft defeat, her hand leaving the wood to clutch her belly, feeling queasy. "I do not know Elijah! I owe him nothing! Why are you speaking of such things to me?"
"Because you deserve the pain for taking him away from me! I had to dagger him because of you!" He snarled at her, "My brother!"
"The only pain I am aware of is the one you are giving me, Klaus!" The witch pointed the dagger back at him, taking little steps backwards.
"Promise me what you have promised him," Klaus said, taking a step towards her.
"Step back!" She mimicked his movements, the blade practically digging into his chest as tears streamed down her chin, her one hand trying to compose her body as she ignored the discomfort gripping her bones.
"Promise me!" Klaus roared, his angry voice echoing down the empty corridors, a tear escaping past his eye, and the witch repressed her flinch to glare at him.
She let the dagger clatter to the floor, the sound filling the silence. A line of blood dribbled down her nose as she sat down in agony, clutching the gown harshly.
"Promise that your loyalty to me will encompass every vow, every declaration you made to him," the Original continued, looking down at the figure on the floor.
"I do not know what you are speaking of," Adelia answered in a morose tone, her bloodshot eyes looking up at him. "Stop the idiocy this instant, Klaus."
"Give me your word, Adelia!" He repeated loudly.
She glanced at him, wiping away the blood from her face as tiredness seeped into her bones. The other hand gripping the rails fell into her lap, her sitting form wavering. Klaus hurried forward to catch her before her head hit the floor, and she collapsed into his arms, taking heavy breaths.
The girl shrieked suddenly, chilling his bones as the door panes broke onto themselves and shattered. The original covered her body, leaving them in flying shards as her cries filled the courtyard. He stared in terror as her eyes began to bleed, and immediately stood to assist her when low murmurs reached his ears, becoming more audible with each passing second.
Adelia screamed again, her body folding in distress, as she clutched her stomach pitifully. Her fingers dug into the floor, the broken shards ripping away her skin when Klaus gripped her hand tightly, already leaning to lift her.
The witches swarmed the compound, and Klaus stilled at their appearance and looked at Adelia slowly drifting away, numb to the pain now, barely coherent.
"I see your brother will be awake to see the dawn," one of the coven elders smiled at the Original. "We kept our end of the bargain, now it is time you honour yours and hand over the girl as promised."
Adelia's already limp palm went rigid in his grasp.
The siphon-witch slowly looked up at him from the ground, tasting the metal on her tongue as her bloodshot eyes met his in treachery.
She sniffled at the mind-numbing pain, her blood-matted tresses hanging lowly down her head and withdrew her quivering hand from under his.
The vampire put his hand back firmly, saying something to her as his words became inaudible. She stared at him, blo*dy hand tiredly reaching out to grab the fallen dagger as his face became distorted, unable to comprehend anything. His teeth tearing into his wrist blared in her ears, everything a distant thought as she slumped on the floor.
Klaus felt his blood run cold as he stared at her unmoving figure, the heartbeats of both Adelia and her child slowly dimming in his ears. He heard a snap in the air before feeling it around his neck, falling next to her.
Adelia's gaze darted between Klaus and the witch as they sat conversing at the bar. The Original flicked another fingernail from the girl's hand, the nail dropping near her fuzzy slipper-clad feet, and she sighed.
"Klaus, is violence necessary?" The heretic inquired in a long murmur, moving her legs away as the unconscious vampires began stirring.
"Well, love, sometimes in order to find blood, you must spill some," the Original replied while taking a sip of bourbon before turning to face the witch. "Now, tell me again, why did Esther approach your coven?" He heard another round of crack as the stirring vampires fell again.
The witch spat on the floor. "Esther has promised us the annihilation of your species," she growled, "and we will achieve it regardless of what happens."
"And why did she need my dear brother to do that?" He continued.
"Esther did not take Elijah. Elijah came to her," she replied.
"He would never go to Esther," Adelia narrowed her eyes at the information.
"Elijah did come to her so she abandoned her oldest. Everybody knew he was a dead weight."
"Finn…" Klaus realized, quickly taking out his phone and exited the bar to make a phone call.
"And then where did she take Elijah?" The heretic continued the interrogation.
"I do not know," the girl told her.
"Please note I am not fond of having extensive conversations with rudimentary witches," Adelia sighed and continued, "They exhaust me, but I can be persuaded to change the mundane necessities of polite talk to violence. The outcomes are far more effective."
The brunette gulped down a vodka shot with a grimace as blood immediately started pouring out the witch's eyes as she remained rooted to the spot in pain. Adelia put the shot glass on the counter with a gentle thud as simultaneously the girl's fingers started contracting in awkward angles, the cracking sound getting drowned out by the horrified screams.
"Stop!" The girl cried out, looking at her hand as it continued to contort in tandem with the thuds of the shot glass.
"I learnt that from my grandmother's grimoires," the heretic explained, resting her chin on one palm as the other circled the rim of the glass with her finger. "My other grandmother of course, from my maternal bloodline."
"Maeve," Klaus called out from the entrance, "Kol and Rebekah have the information on the oak."
"Esther has him," she rose to approach the hybrid. "We need to find Elijah, Nik."
"We will find Elijah," he assured her, tenderly stroking her neck. "I will not let anything happen to my brother, Maeve."
"How come you are doing nothing?" She asked, perplexed.
"And that is what Esther wants," he answered, glaring at her. "This is one of her schemes to keep us at her mercy. I will not allow that."
"Klaus, she will hurt him."
"If we do not tread carefully, she will end up hurting all of us," Klaus explained.
"Your paranoia always comes at the expense of family," Adelia said, exiting the bar.
He followed her down, the uneven pavement slowing her pace. "Exactly, Maeve, there are more important things to look into than finding my errant sibling, such as locating the white oak that could kill us all." He concluded with a loud voice.
She turned towards him with a mocking smile, "I should head down to your attorney to draw up your will if that happens by pure chance. I hope I am not the sole caretaker of your dreadful art."
Adelia went to leave again, and he grabbed her wrist to yank her back. "I cannot have you out of my sight when Elijah is not here," he stated flatly.
"I will take my chances in the middle of nowhere in a freaking nightgown," the witch struggled against his grip, which was intensifying with each beat. "You abducted me from my bed!"
"My brother has been too lenient on you," the Original commented.
"He is my husband, not my keeper, Klaus," she replied, adding, "You have the definitions mixed up in that demented head of yours."
Her phone abruptly rang, breaking up the argument. She pulled her hand out of his grip after a quiet struggle and rummaged through her coat pockets for the device, the screen displaying an unknown number.
"Hello, Adelia Laurentis," the witch said into the phone, moving away from the Original who stood at the entrance, waiting for their argument to commence.
"Miss Laurentis, you cannot go inside," a familiar voice spoke from the other end, and the witch returned her gaze to the screen.
"Mr Wilson? How did you get my number?" She asked, absolutely baffled.
"From the company phone book," Zachary whispered, "But please listen to me. Do not go inside."
"What are you on about?" Adelia enquired. "Are you alright? I am ringing your mother if you are in trouble."
"No!" He yelled loudly, causing her to recoil. "Mom would freak out, like a bat-sh*t crazy freakout." The teenager said in a worried tone.
The heretic sighed, pinching her forehead. "You are going to disconnect this call and go to sleep. This is absolutely impolite and unprofessional."
"I was sleeping!" Zachary exclaimed once again, clearly upset. "I know you are doing it! People say you do black magic!"
"Paying attention to workplace rumours will not help your performance," she said, hearing the tell-tale signs of rapid pacing on the other side.
"Listen to me, Miss Laurentis! I had this dream. I am not sure what it was, but I saw this happening and I am freaking scared," he said, interrupting her. "It is like... Deja vu. I am talking to you as though we have had this conversation before. The wittle octopus is real."
"An octopus!" Klaus chuckled in disbelief from the distance, clearly eavesdropping on the conversation. "Some nonsense a kid spouts off, and you're willing to give it a listen? Has this world taught you nothing, Maeve?"
Adelia ignored the hybrid with an eye roll. "Zachary, go to sleep. I will inform your mother."
"Oh wonderful," the Original grinned. "How many mothers do you deal with on a routine? Should I be concerned about the mother of the octopus head now? Was ours, not enough?"
She groaned in exhaustion, covering her face at the absurdity of this entire thing.
"You are not listening to me! Do not go inside," Zachary repeated his words.
"Mister Wilson, there's nothing to belie-"
Her remarks were cut short as the pub exploded in flames from within, her ears ringing as she fell to the ground. Klaus standing near the establishment got thrown a few feet away as another round of explosions occurred, fire blazing violently.
The witch waited for a beat - a minute or two in silence as her senses came to normal. Her hands shaking, she looked back and sat up disoriented, silence in her ears with blood pooling in her hand as the phone shards dug into her skin.
Her thoughts immediately went to Klaus as she hurried towards his groaning figure, removing her reefer to pat his burning jacket.
"What the bl*ody hell happened?" The Original said, looking at the stars in the clear night as he took deep breaths, letting her do the work.
"Are you alright?" She asked him as they both looked towards the burning building, the witch, and the group of vampires now dead. "I will try to put out the fire. We need to find your mother now."
"Not our mother," he stood up, his gaze falling over the windshield of her car—a small card tucked into its side, an owl drawn over the matte sheet. "It's an assassination attempt. The Strix wants you dead, love."
Present
"What has Lia been feeding this man? He is rather heavy," Rafael groaned while trying to throw the noble Original into the backseat, the head hitting the other door repeatedly. The young vampire gave up and pushed the unconscious man again before putting his legs over the backseat, hanging upside down.
"I did suggest a lucrative plan to immobilise him. It did not include dropping a 15-pound stone over my brother's head," Finn suggested, watching the commotion from the front seat.
"Always wanted to do that to his big head," he grinned, "Don't tell Adelia. We will just drop this Armani sack of muscles at her doorstep and leave. We have a long drive. You feel him twitching, snap his neck. Helps with the repressed anger."
"I am not angry, Mr Desmond," the Original replied.
"It is not healthy to lie to yourself, makes one delusional."
Finn sighed, staring at his unconscious brother in the mirror for a while. "Do you know how it feels to be trapped in your body for centuries that even closing your eyes sends that terror through you?" He started.
"No, I do not understand," Rafael replied, willing to lend an ear.
"I grew conscious while stuck in my body," Finn said, surprising the younger vampire. "I felt it all, and I was terrified, but I was stuck, was supposed to have no senses. I have been feeling it ever since. It's a never-ending abyss. I cannot sleep, fearing it would take me back to that musty coffin with no escape."
"Is that why you chose to volunteer yourself to die?" Desmond inquired, curious.
"I just wished to be heard," he confessed, choosing to look outside the window. "They are my family, my siblings. And the moment I open my eyes, instead of sympathizing with me, I am being herded around like cattle to do their bidding. I was being dragged around in my coffin, and even while awake, it hasn't changed. It makes me resent myself so much more."
"Do not resent yourself because you wished to do better than your siblings," the younger one offered.
"I thought Elijah, the nobleman he claims to be, would come to my rescue after I woke up but his desires were limited to avenging himself. Who told him that I wished to be avenged? Who gave him the right to do it in my stead? Mother came back but only her misgivings towards nature ran through her mind. Did we ask to be turned into these monsters? Our lives were taken from us involuntarily. And now I am here, doing my brother's bidding, hoping for nothing."
"Truth be told, as long as you are in your family's vicinity, you will be carted around," Rafael sighed.
"Where would I go?"
"If I were you, probably be on a different continent altogether. Catch up on the history and find a nice woman, a man, or a dog. You seem like a cat person. I will help you, with, of course, Lia's consent. I don't meddle in the Mikaelson business voluntarily," he offered.
"Maybe I will look forward to that with Sage. She is staying with Klaus," Finn gave him a slight smile.
"There you go! You already have a lady waiting for you. I was about to call Klaus to come get his beloved brother, but you did just fine," Rafael chuckled.
The Original looked at the other vampire, a question on the tip of his tongue. "Why did mother send Elijah to Cloverville?"
Rafael got silent, shifting the gears as he sped up to the empty highway. "To retrieve her grandchild's body."
a/n: This chapter was mostly Klaus and Adelia but an important one as this emotional upheaval in the past does change her perception of Klaus for the rest of her life (series). The butterfly effect of this and many other incidents will surely be seen in the future.
The other purpose of this chapter was also to showcase their current dynamics and how they left off in 1864. It's a takeaway for both parties since this particular snippet of the past influences most of their good & bad decisions relating to one another (ft. Elijah).
I did not add much/any of Mystic Falls drama and kept them in the background with notes/status from the character themselves since the gang's involvement felt lukewarm to the chapter development. Sorry not sorry .
I am open to questions if you have any ? (as this chapter's past is a pivotal point to their arcs)
a/n's a/n: T_T Life + writer's block sucks. Since most of the scenes in my chapters are original, it takes more time and effort to write and align them with the canon hence the delay… also I am partially lazy. I do constantly write for this but those scenes are very far off in the future so bear with me T_T I have a master-draft of scenes of more than 200K words that will never see the light of the day or maybe they will.
Have a great day!