Inga was laughing as she squealed. "Oh help! Help me, Henrik!" She feigned like she was going to swoon as the youngest Mikaelson defended her with his wooden sword, carved by Mikael's own hands. Henrik however was turning to look as someone joined them in the clearing. Inga felt an immediate warmth at the sight of Rebekah and turned her head to the side when Rebekah pressed a soft kiss to her cheek.
"Hey Rebekah. Henny and I are just playing Vikings and Maidens." She blushed at the affection.
"Mother says it's time for food, Inga." Rebekah glanced down at her with a sort of hunger that made something flutter in Inga's belly. Rebekah had presented as an alpha about four nights ago, which made her the third so far. "Run along, Henrik. We'll catch up. There's something Inga and I should talk about." Inga watched him go, ruffling his hair.
"What's happe-" Inga was backed against a tree, her hands held over her head as a heated kiss was pressed to her lips. Rebekah growled into Inga's mouth as she panted, very surprised. Rebekah took this chance to slide her tongue in, pressing her body to Inga's and aggressively deepening the kiss.
"You're mine." She said, a sultry look in her eyes when she pulled back. "I can just tell you're going to be an omega." Inga giggled a little nervously. Sometimes she really wasn't sure what was going to happen her in the future as Klaus and Elijah also seemed to believe that she would be fated to them.
"If you say so." Inga shifted away. "Come on. Supper sounds perfect."
x
Vinny had two days to prepare herself before Freya arrived to do the thing they had discussed. After the steamy dream she'd had, she was more than a little frustrated with the start to her day. Alaric was nice though and after introducing her to Hope, he had gone to rest. In his advanced age, he did get tired rather easily after all. Hope checked on her regularly and they had eaten lunch together the first day she spent at the school. "So you're the omega I grew up hearing about." Vinny didn't know what to say so she settled on dismissive.
"I guess I am. I've been a lot of people and Vinny isn't even the most interesting one."
"Don't sell yourself short." Hope grinned at her. "You're amazing. I've heard so many stories of all the good you've done across your many lives."
"I'm somehow a shitty witch, though." Vinny aggressively stabbed at the chicken in her salad.
"No you aren't." Hope waved the very notion off. "Some of the spells in your grimoire are astounding. All originals, too. You have to have skill to use magic and even more to create new magic. So, I do believe in you."
"Hope..." Vinny started, a little nervously. "Am I actually safe here? Do you know everyone in these walls personally?"
"You're safe." Hope's eyes flashed amber and Vinny relaxed. Wow. She's grown into a beautiful woman while I was...regenerating. She looks just like her dad.
"Thank you." Vinny actually ate then, reassured for once.
"If you need anything let me know. Alaric has all kinds of spell components available to his staff. I can get you practically anything." Hope stood. "I have to go find Landon. I can sense my omega is upset about something." She smiled warmly at Vinny and blurred away at top speed.
x
Inga sighed. "I don't know, Astrid." She kicked at the pine needles covering the forest floor where they were meeting. "Surely one of them will be fated to me."
Astrid was quiet a long moment, looking up from the grimoire she was busily reading. "It has been known to happen, twists of fate bringing intended mates together. Why are you so nervous? Finding the true one for you is something to celebrate."
"Because this is my family, Astrid. Picking one...What if one of them being fated to me costs me the affection of the others? I could not stand to have my family angry at me." Inga picked at some sap leaking from one of the trees, scraping it off with her knife and collecting it on a piece of shorn bark. She had such a cute idea to preserve the memories of her family by taking a few hairs from each and encasing them in the back of her own grimoire.
"If they are truly family, they will forgive you this and be happy you are happy." Astrid kept writing, not looking up this time. Her hair covered her face in a curtain of red ringlets. Mikael said her hair was thought lucky. A blessing of fire indeed. Her attitude is quite extraordinary. She was pretty, too. Freckles and piercing, icy blue eyes. Like chunks of frost, set into her face.
"You are a good friend, Astrid." Inga said and meant it. "I hope we find each other in each life."
Astrid laughed. "You will be immortal once you present. It is up to you to find me, Inga."
"Oh come on. Rebekah is probably my fated one." Inga chuckled. "The way she clings to me. That means Klaus could be yours. Or...maybe even Elijah? Then you too will be immortal." Inga raised a suggestive eyebrow at her young, witchy friend. I'd rather have Henrik back than eternal life, honestly.
Astrid was about to answer when the sounds of wolves howling made them both look up in alarm. "Time to go home." Inga said.
"Indeed." Astrid stood slowly and cautiously. "Run straight home Inga."
x
Vinny started, waking at her desk to the sounds of students attending classes outside. She had been slipping more easily into the memories lately, most them Inga. She wondered what that meant. Probably that my imminent death grows ever closer with each breath I take. She thought sourly. Better get back to work.
Vinny spent the rest of that day working on her curse breaking and getting practically nowhere. I don't think it's any use. This seems like it has been constructed to be broken from the outside. Which means no matter what I do, I cannot fix it myself. She eyed her bed, tempted to see if she could slip back into being Inga.
Her phone buzzed and she looked to see that Klaus was trying to call her. Vinny hesitated before answering him. "Klaus?"
He seemed out of breath when he spoke. "You're alright?"
"Is there some reason I shouldn't be?" Vinny felt alarm prickling at her veins. "Oh fuck is...Is someone coming to kill me?"
"Don't leave the school until I say it's safe, love. Not for any reason." Vinny's stomach twisted with fear.
"Alpha?" She asked, her voice almost a whimper. "What's happening?"
"Nothing you need to worry about, little omega." He was more determined when he answered this time. "Do you need anything while I've got you?"
"Contact." Vinny said, suddenly terrified.
Klaus hesitated. "I can't do that. It's not time. We need to limit your exposure to us until it's closer to the break of the curse."
"What happened to no going back?" Vinny felt her heart crack down the middle, barely holding itself together.
"What happened is I'm doing my job, Vinny. You will be alright. Go to Hope if you're scared." He made a kissy noise. "Take care, omega. I'll call you again soon."
Vinny looked at her bed. It probably wasn't healthy to use her memories as escapism, but at this stage there was little she could do, with the nature of the curse possibly being exactly what she thought it was. Feeling empty and scared, she went back and crawled under the covers, wishing she had some things that smelled of her alphas to cuddle up to. Sleep took her like it was waiting just beyond a corner the whole time.
x
Inga looked up at Astrid in shock, startled by the cold fury on the other witch's face. "I can't stand you any longer, Inga. You have everything and you still complain. I am moving on now."
"Astrid all I said was-" Inga reached out for her best friend, the one she wanted to start a coven with. Astrid spun on one heel and slashed Inga's outstretched hand with the dagger she kept tucked up her sleeves. Inga withdrew, even more shocked as she watched Astrid walking away.
"I'd give you their affection if I could!" Inga sobbed, clutching her bleeding fingers to her chest. "But the love of another isn't something one can just give to someone it wasn't for in the first place."
Astrid chuckled as she walked, tucking the dagger away. "Worry no longer, Inga. I have found my own path. Enjoy the love you receive from the three of them. You will need it when their enemies come for you."
The scene shifted and Inga was sitting by a fire as Rebekah wrapped her hand, gently tying the dressing off and kissing her forehead. "All done." She glanced behind Inga where Klaus paced. "Nik, please stop. You aren't helping matters."
"I wish to know where Astrid has gone so I can ask just what she meant." He muttered darkly. The tinge of danger in his words turned her stomach a little and Inga felt the flush of fear return to her. Elijah moved closer, laying a gentle hand across her forehead.
"This has done no good for Inga. What she needs now is rest. She is getting a fever."
"It's not infected, brother." Rebekah scowled. "Mother made sure of that. Her little friend has done something."
"Enough!" Inga finally snapped, tired. "You're going to keep Finn and Kol up all night again if you cannot quiet yourselves. Yes, I am deeply hurt by Astrid's words. But it is done and there is nothing we can do. I trust in Mikael. He will find her and bring her back. Or she will just be gone to time."
"In pieces, I hope." Klaus snarled. Inga turned away. "I'm going to lay down." She crawled under the furs on her bedroom and tried to rest. Except her discomfort only grew, morphing from discontent to actual pain.
"Too warm." Inga said, flipping and flopping until she sat up in a sweat and noticed with alarm the three sets of eyes piercing her and pinning her in place. "I'm just going to move away from the fire a little." She mumbled only for Klaus to make a noise halfway between a groan and a growl and for the three to speak at the same time.
"My omega." The bond snapped, going tense from three directions and Inga knew. She chuckled nervously as the three Mikaelson crept closer.
x
Vinny was woken by knocking at her door. "Who is it?" Her heart hammered in her chest.
"It's Freya. I brought my girlfriend. I hope you don't mind." Vinny relaxed, using a wave of her hand to unlock the door from her bed as she sat up on the edge.
"Hello, Freya. I guess I never got to meet you." She smiled nervously.
The other witch pulled the door shut while her werewolf girlfriend stood on the wall with her arms crossed. "I have hairs from everyone." Vinny said, without any preamble. "That means Finn and Henrik, too." She flipped through her grimoire. "Besides the earth spell that will do the resurrecting, there's also this." She held the book out to Freya who took it in a gentle grasp and gasped.
"This is..."
Vinny smiled tiredly. "Amazing if it's real. Do you have the components for the spells I couldn't get us?"
Freya grinned from ear to ear. "I do." She helped Vinny move her bed to the far end of the room and then they drew a spell circle together and stood looking at the pieces they'd gathered.
"At first I was going to do Mikael, but...Maybe it will go a long way toward calming him if he wakes up to find Henrik. And Finn could help us with having sufficient energy to do it." Vinny mused.
"Finn first." Freya agreed. "We have to be careful. The only remains we have for Henrik are what you preserved, so there's only one shot." They placed the hunk of sap with the hairs in the middle and focused on their recollections of Finn as they did their chanting. A low swirling dust built up in the middle, obscuring the focus on the lump of amber sap and when it cleared- Vinny looked embarrassed.
"He's naked." There was a groan and Finn Mikaelson took a long breath.
"What...the fuck?"