Chapter Fifty-Two

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

Rebekah didn't know how long she'd been in the room and it drove her insane. There did not seem to be a concept of time within this infernal room. There were no windows, so there was no way to tell whether it was night or day, and there was no clock in that room. For all she knew, she could have been in that room for days – and she did not know how long she'd been knocked out for. So far, she'd had one person drop off a blood bag and that seemed as though that had happened days ago. The Fae who dropped it off never spoke to her, never looked at her or even acknowledged her presence when they came into the room. Rebekah had shouted at them but there had been no reaction. It had been the exact same reaction Blair had given – nothing. Seeing the Fae in such a subservient way made Rebekah realise how evil Maeve truly was and made her hate the woman even more.

But there was something even worse.

Her heart ached.

She hated that she was away from Raphael, she missed his touch, his presence and soothing words. She wished that she was back in her bed in the Compound, with him rubbing her belly and talking to their unborn daughter about how excited he was to have a child. Rebekah smiled at the memory as she absentmindedly rubbed her own stomach. Her baby would always respond to her father's voice, kicking in excitement. It had been a weird feeling at first, feeling the flutter in her stomach, but now it was something she'd come to love and would miss once her daughter was born. She also missed Nik's yelling and Elijah's lectures for being too reckless. She missed Kol's jabs at her choice of clothing and his sass. She missed her family and wondered when she would next see them. It was made even worse because she couldn't escape without repercussions to Blair – who would slit her own throat if she did anything Maeve did not like.

Rebekah was so deep in thought that she did not hear how the door was unlocked and opened or that someone entered her room. It was only when she smelt the blood from a blood bag that snapped her out of it. She instantly knew that it was another Fae sent to deliver the blood and then leave so she did not bother to turn and face them.

However, after she counted to ten in her head, she noticed that this Fae did not leave. "Annoying Fae," She muttered under her breath.

"Why, Rebekah, I am almost hurt,"

At the sound of the familiar voice, Rebekah's head whipped to the side and Blair stood by her bedside with a blood bag in hand. There was a smirk on her face, one that could only belong to Blair, and amusement in her eyes.

She wasn't under the control of Maeve.

Rebekah opened her mouth to shout something, to rip into Blair but stopped when she saw Blair place a finger over her lips, indicating to be quiet.

There was a faint sound of footsteps by the door, they lingered outside the door for a moment but they soon disappeared down the hall and far away.

"Keep your voice down," Blair whispered lowly, her gaze trained on the door. She could not risk anyone overhearing her talk normally and not like everyone else. As she had been newly 'brainwashed', it would not be normal for her to act any differently than a puppet. From what Blair had seen, people under Maeve's control only gained a personality after being under her influence for so long, and that personality was curated by Maeve herself. Everything here was done and designed by Maeve and the slightest show of free will would not be tolerated. There were very few exceptions and even they did not fully show free will. It made her wonder how there was a resistance to begin with as it was too dangerous, especially with how closely Maeve guarded everything.

Rebekah nodded her head and relaxed slightly, though she was still annoyed, "What the hell? I thought you were under the control of that bitch?"

"I am still under her control," Blair winced as she rubbed her head, "I've only just started to snap out of it a few hours ago, but I can still feel her claws in my head," She suspected that this was due to her magic combating against the control. For days before sending the Royal Challenge, she had funnelled magic around her mind to protect it from any outside influences. It turned out that it had not been enough to stop Maeve from controlling her completely, but enough so she wasn't a mindless puppet under her thumb. Blair could feel Maeve's magical claws in her brain and it felt like ice stabbing her, and she could also feel her magic fight against it, trying to push the claws out.

Rebekah leaned over and slapped her arm, making Blair wince at the attack, "Yeah I deserved that,"

"I thought you were gone," Rebekah hissed quietly, aware that she could not be too loud despite the fact she wanted to scream at the Fae, "I thought you were Maeve's slave,"

"I'm still under M-m-m," Blair's face pinched as she struggled to say Maeve's name. The Fae Queen's control stopped Blair from calling her names or anything other than her title and this enraged Blair, "… her control. I have moments where I fade in and out but I am gaining more clarity as time goes on,"

Rebekah's angered expression fell as she saw the pain in Blair's face, "You can't say her name?"

Blair shook her head.

"What else can't you do?" Rebekah asked with a frown.

"I can't badmouth her," Blair sighed deeply, her shoulder sagged slightly, "I can't hurt her. When she gives an order, I have to obey it," She had been fighting against this, but while the claws were still embedded in her brain, she couldn't fight against it without great difficulty or pain.

"Can't you just escape?" Rebekah questioned.

"I don't know where Hope is," Blair answered lowly, angry at Maeve for hiding the child. "She's put Hope somewhere I don't know. I am not allowed out of her sight for long periods of time so that makes it even more difficult," Maeve was set on moulding Blair exactly how she wanted her, and Blair had no choice but to obey for now. If she left now, it would leave Rebekah to the mercy of her mother until the baby was born – and that was an unknown amount of time. It would be even less likely Blair could then find Hope as Maeve would make it impossible. Blair also had the disadvantage as she'd not been in the Forest for four hundred years, this was not the home she had left and things had changed.

"Just use your magic and find her," Rebekah said.

"My magic is being monitored by her," Blair hissed out, as she wanted to call Maeve a very rude word, but her mouth would not let her, and this frustrated her even more, "If she even detects the slightest bit of magic that was not sanctioned, the results will not be pretty," Maeve had been very happy with how powerful Blair was, and she knew she would be used as a weapon to do her mother's bidding. This is what made her working on getting rid of Maeve's control even harder, her magic had to work undetected otherwise everything would be ruined.

Rebekah cursed as she saw the predicament. This also meant Blair could not check on her and Raphael's child without the fear of Maeve being made aware. "So, we have to wait for my brothers," Rebekah said with a frown.

"Yes," Blair answered her honestly. She knew that Raphael and the Mikaelson men would not take this lying down and that was something she counted on. Raphael would be able to find the Forest and lead the others to them. She just needed to bide her time to get rid of Maeve's influence over her. Once that was done, she could find Hope and she would tear the Forest down, tree by tree. However, Blair's heart ached as she thought of Elijah and how he was feeling due to this. She had very vague memories of her snapping all their necks, but she could clearly remember the look in Elijah's eyes when he realised something was wrong and it pained her to remember.

"Where is the Forest?" Rebekah asked, curious to know.

"It's the Conagher forest in Ireland," Blair answered, "So it will take about another day before they will be here," There was then the separate issue of them getting past the gate, which Maeve had made sure was locked with extra security.

Rebekah frowned, she'd been to Ireland many times in her years but had not realised the Forest, the home of the Fae was so close. There had been rumours of where the Fae had hidden themselves, but no one had a definite answer.

"I hate waiting," Rebekah grumbled under her tone.

Blair laughed quietly, "I know, but hopefully it won't be much longer,"

"But what about that bitch?" Rebekah asked.

"Leave it to me," Blair smirked, a wicked gleam in her eyes that made Rebekah not question her. The expression soon disappeared as she sighed deeply, "I can't stay any longer, she will be wondering where I am."

"Why did she let you come?" Rebekah asked, confused.

Blair frowned, "She wanted to break your will. She was hoping that if you saw how I was under her control, your resolve would waver, and make you an easier prisoner," Maeve had made it no secret how she found it amusing that she managed to kidnap Klaus Mikaelson's younger sister, how the Vampire was a prize that housed an even bigger reward.

Rebekah snorted and rolled her eyes.

"I can't guarantee that she will allow me to come again. I will come and find you when it's time," Blair promised her as she left the room, closing the door behind her.

Rebekah watched her go with a heavy heart. She laid back down on the bed and sighed deeply before she turned her head and saw the blood bag. She wasn't even thirsty, but she decided to drink for the sake of the baby. She also needed to keep her strength up for when the time came to break out of here. However, she felt much lighter and better knowing that Blair was not completely under Maeve's control. Blair was not lost to them. This was something Rebekah was sure Elijah would be happy with.

Just thinking of her family made Rebekah smile, which soon turned wicked as she could not wait for them to arrive and then the fun could start.

ORIGINALS

Blair walked down the hallway as she intended to head back to the throne room, where Maeve would be holding court. As she walked, she made sure her emotionless mask was in place so that when different hordes of Fae passed her, they could not notice a difference. She had to be on her best behaviour and make sure that she was undetected. If there was even the slightest difference, one of Maeve's many puppets would report this back to her and she'd be screwed. In the short journeys she'd had away from Maeve, she'd been trying to map out the Forest and the changes that had been made.

However, one thing stuck out to her as she continued to walk.

It was weird being back in the Forest.

It was different than what she remembered as well. Before, the Fae would chat with one another, all friendly, and she would see Fae working hard to build new houses, there used to be music that played in the background and there used to be the sound of children laughing as they ran after one another. Now, the Forest seemed soulless. There was no laughter, no music and there was no friendliness between Fae. Everyone appeared to get on with their jobs with a silence around them, or a certain arrogance that could have only come from Maeve. Soldiers moved around and patrolled hourly, all dressed in armour and with weapons.

However, one thing was certain.

This was not her home.

Blair wondered whether she would have been like all the other Fae if she'd stayed behind – if she'd been allowed to stay. She doubted it as Maeve would not have allowed any sign of free will. With her being Maeve's only daughter, she would have been seen as direct competition for the throne so there was no way Maeve would let her off.

Something else that Blair found odd about the situation was that she had not seen a single child since she had returned.

Fae birth rates were rather low, but there were always at least a few children or a few pregnant Fae, but Blair had not seen one. She had not heard any laughter from children and it made her wonder what had happened.

Blair made it to the throne room and walked up to Maeve with a blank expression. In this room, music played and people danced. Maeve has thrown herself a little celebration for finally getting what she wanted – Hope and Rebekah's child. While the other Fae danced away, all with either smug expressions or blank expressions, they all danced and did as Maeve asked them, none of them breaking from character, even for a moment.

When Maeve saw Blair, she grinned, "And how is our little prisoner?"

The urge to blurt out the truth of the matter nearly overwhelmed Blair, and she inwardly cursed Maeve's power. Blair fought against this urge through sheer willpower, "She was quiet," Blair answered back shortly. This was all she could manage without everything spilling out.

Maeve, happy with this answer, turned to Marie, "And how is the child?"

This piqued Blair's interest, as she subtly looked to Marie.

"She's cried quite a lot, but she will come to get used to living here," Marie said with a practised smile.

Maeve nodded her head, happy with that answer.

Blair glanced at Marie but found that the older Fae would not look in her direction. Blair silently wished Marie would look in her direction. She knew that Marie was not loyal to Maeve, and this brought her some comfort. Blair needed to understand more about the revolt, she needed to understand numbers and plans, but she could not communicate in any way with Marie, especially not in front of Maeve.

"I will retire for the night," Maeve stood from her throne, which caused every Fae in the room to stop what they were doing, and the music stopped. She waved to dismiss them and they all left the room, "Marie, escort Eloise to her room,"

Marie bowed to the Queen, "Yes, Your Majesty," Rising, she walked off in another direction and Blair followed after her wordlessly, but was stopped when Maeve spoke.

"Are you forgetting something, Eloise?" Maeve questioned, with an arched brow.

Blair inwardly froze and panicked. What was she referring to?

"My Queen, she has not been instructed to bow before leaving your presence," Marie gently reminded the Queen.

Maeve sighed as if this was a minor inconvenience to her, "Of course, I forgot how much care my subjects need when they are saved by my power,"

Blair kept her expression cool and void, but inwardly she felt annoyed. It was the fact Maeve felt as though she was saving her own kind by subjecting them to be her puppets. It angered her, but she could not let it show, she just needed to bide her time.

"Eloise, whenever you see me or leave me, you will bow to me, is that understood?" Maeve ordered.

Blair felt the weight of Maeve's order, as her power forced her to obey. Bile rose in her throat as she wanted to throw up at the thought of her being a puppet. She realised at that moment she would rather be hunted by the Hunter once more than be her mother's puppet. "Yes, my Queen," She begged her magic to work faster so she could free herself from Maeve's control, and she felt her magic respond by picking up the pace around her head and the shields strengthened around her head, forcing the icy claws further out of her head – only slightly.

"We will go over your orders tomorrow. You will stay in your room until you are collected," Maeve said before she dismissed both of the female Fae.

Marie bowed once more and Blair mimicked her actions, seething on the inside. On the outside, Blair was a picture of calm, but on the inside, she raged and imagined stabbing Maeve a thousand times in the eye. Both Marie and Blair left the room, with the younger Fae slightly behind the older Fae as she followed her.

They walked in silence, neither one said anything as they continued to make their way to the west wing. Blair remembered this from when she used to live there. The east wing was Maeve's side, and Blair would be on the west side. Within minutes, they stood outside a familiar door that used to be Blair's room.

"You will stay here, I will come and collect you in the morning," Marie said politely as she opened the door.

Blair glanced inside and saw how different it looked. It was no longer Blair's childhood room filled with toys and wonder, but now it was plain and dark. Blair wordlessly stepped into the room and she took everything in. There was a double bed, a plain closet drawer at the side and a mirror. It looked like a regular guest room that Blair used to break into when she was younger. She thought she'd have more of a reaction seeing her old room but she found she was not bothered by it. This was not her home, her home was in New Orleans, with Elijah and Davina.

"I will leave you," Marie bowed slightly before she turned away.

Before she could get far, Blair whipped around and grabbed Marie by the arm before she pulled her into the room and closed the door behind them. Marie let out a surprised noise and stared at Blair in bewilderment, "Eloise?"

"You know that is not my name," Blair muttered lowly. She knew that guards would not patrol this area as they did not enter the royal chambers, but she did not want to risk anyone overhearing.

Marie's eyes widened when it dawned on her, "How? No one has broken her control on their own?"

"It's not fully gone, but my magic is working on it," Blair admitted with a frown. Ever since she had begged her magic to speed up the process, it had been working overtime and she loved her magic for that fact alone.

"That's incredible," Marie answered back breathlessly.

Blair shook this off, "We won't have long before someone notices that something is off so we need to make this quick. Where is Hope?" The longer Marie was away, the worse it would seem and she could not risk bringing any attention to herself or Marie. Marie was her only Fae ally at the moment she knew wasn't under the control of her mother.

"In the nursery, they moved her to the south wing," Marie replied back instantly as she understood the urgency. Marie was supposed to attend to another matter soon and if she was late, it would raise suspicion. "There are at least ten guards in the south wing alone, and Hope is surrounded by maids with strict orders to only permit certain people around her," Those people were very few, only herself and Maeve had permission to enter the nursery, aside from the guards and maid staff.

Blair nodded her head as she took this in, "Why doesn't there seem to be any children?"

Marie's expression turned sad. "Blair… there hasn't been a single child born since you left."

Blair's eyes widened at this news, "What?" Fae birth rates were slow, but not that slow. If what Marie said was true, that would mean there hadn't been a single Fae born in four hundred years. That alone would cast shame onto the current Queen – at least it would if the subjects had a mind of their own and free will.

"When you left, it was as if life had left the Forest," Marie explained, pain on her face as her hand moved to her stomach, a longingness in her eyes. "Babies that year were born ill and did not last long, and some mothers did not make it either." It had been an epidemic that no one could stop, not even Maeve was able to stop the hollowness that was felt by the mothers that had lost their children. Mothers had killed themselves in their grief, with the fathers following soon after.

Blair frowned at this news, was it a curse? If it was, who could have cast it?

"That is when the Queen started to use her powers, she controlled the mothers so they would not feel the pain. The Queen said she intended to release them after some time, but that did not happen," Marie said as she remembered the events that caused everyone to become the Queen's puppets. It was like she had been a passenger in her own body and watched as she performed tasks for the Queen without hesitation. "But the people started to complain once they noticed no children were being born. There was a coup nearly not long afterwards, and that is when she subjected everyone to this state,"

Blair said nothing and allowed Marie to speak freely. She sensed that it was not often that the older Fae got to speak about this so openly, and it allowed her to understand what had happened in her absence.

"How long have you been free?" Blair asked after a moment of silence.

"Only for the past few years," Marie frowned as she thought back. She remembered Chloe had approached her and then she gained control of her body. That was when Chloe explained her power as well as the revolt planned.

"I need numbers," Blair said lowly, "I need to know who is part of this revolt,"

Marie shook her head, "I don't know everything, Chloe never shared all the information with everyone,"

"Then find out," Blair hissed lowly, as a wave of frustration hit her, "I need to know what I am working with if I am leading a revolt,"

Marie's eyes widened as her words, "Really?"

"She never closed the challenge," Blair smirked wickedly. When a Royal Challenge was concluded, the loser was meant to swear loyalty to the winner which ended the challenge. She remembered the uproar that had happened when her grandmother had killed herself instead of swearing loyalty to Maeve. It had angered Maeve so much and the Fae had whispered about it for years. As this key detail never happened, the challenge had not officially concluded.

Therefore, the challenge was still open – postponed.

"She never said it," Marie breathed slowly as it dawned on her.

Blair nodded her head, though she did not care. With or without the challenge, she would have killed her mother and damned the rules. Nothing would stop her from getting revenge.

Once her magic her freed her from Maeve's powers, it was on.

"What does she have planned for me?" Blair asked as she got back on track.

"She plans to steal your power once the baby is born and you can't be used as a bargaining chip against Rebekah," Marie answered back instantly, as she understood they were still under a time limit. "She is currently trying to find the right Fae who can transfer that power,"

Blair arched a brow, amused by this. Her magic did not find this amusing and she noticed how it began to work quicker around her mind. This answer from Marie did not surprise her. She had noticed how excited Maeve was to have her on her side and remembered a few comments about her power level. There had been a smugness about Maeve and it had made Blair suspicious about what she had planned.

"Then she'll have me killed," Blair finished.

Marie nodded her head.

"Typical," Blair muttered lowly before she moved away from the older Fae, "Find out more about the numbers of the revolt. They're going to want to know about being free soon,"

"How can you be so confident?" Marie questioned, confused as to how unbothered Blair seemed by all of this.

Blair smirked, "You really think that Rebekah and I would be kidnapped and there would be no repercussions? The Mikaelson clan are coming for us, and they won't leave quietly. It's only a matter of time before they arrive," She was confident that Raphael would lead the way but silently hoped that no one had killed each other in her absence. She was sure that Klaus has thrown around a few accusations, which would set Elijah off – which in turn would amuse Kol. Blair did not doubt for a second that Raphael was probably bashing his head against a brick wall either.

"But the gate, what about this?" Marie asked. The gate was impenetrable, it had protected them for many years against the people who would hurt or kill them. Anyone who had discovered the gate by accident where never able to enter.

Not even the Hunter was able to get past the gate.

"That's why I need people in the revolt to help, I need the gate unlocked," Blair said.

"But they'll be killed," Marie hissed lowly in shock. If anyone was caught near the gate when they were not supposed to, the Queen would punish them severely.

"If you want freedom, you need to take risks," Blair replied back blankly. She'd taken a massive risk facing the Hunter and she'd come out the other side. She had help from people who cared about her, she was not alone. But if she hadn't taken that leap, then she would still be on the run, "Wouldn't you rather risk it for freedom than be trapped as a puppet forever?"

For a moment, Marie did not say anything but soon she nodded her head, "Okay, I will try and make this happen,"

"Go, we've been talking for long now," Blair ushered her out of the room.

Marie quickly left the room and softly closed the door behind her.

Once she was gone, Blair sighed deeply and sat down on the bed. She looked around at the bare room and couldn't wait to be back in her home in the Compound. This was only temporary and she would not be here long.

It wouldn't be too much longer now.

And Blair could not wait for her revenge.