Freya led the way into her apartment. She waited for the young woman with her to walk inside before shutting the door. "Go ahead and have a seat."
Elena made no move to sit down. She simply stared at the older witch in front of her nervously. She suddenly regretted following this stranger into a secluded apartment, but she hadn't really been given much choice.
"I didn't bring you here to hurt you. I just want to talk right now," Freya assured her.
Reluctantly, Elena went over to the couch and sat down.
Freya followed her took a seat on the sofa across from her. "What's your name?"
"Elena."
"It's nice to meet you, Elena. I'm Freya," she said.
Elena nodded. She'd noted the name earlier. Mainly because it was the same name as her dead sister. Maybe it was a common name amongst witches.
"Are you passing though, Elena? I've never seen you around before. I know all the witches here," Freya said. If she was just passing through, Freya could just let things go with a warning to be careful in public. If she was sticking around, it was going to be a much larger conversation.
"No. My siblings and I just moved here. We live in the old plantation house here in the Quarter," Elena said.
Freya nodded. Yeah, it was going to be a larger conversation. "How long have you had your powers."
"A few months," Elena said.
"I assume someone is teaching you how to use them," Freya said.
Elena bit her lip in response.
Freya sighed. That complicated things. This girl was going around with no training on how to use her magic. No wonder she lost control in public. "That's a no then. You said you have siblings. Are they not witches?"
"No," Elena said truthfully. They weren't anymore anyway. She knew Kol used to be, and Rebekah would've probably followed suit, but neither had the ability anymore since they were now vampires.
"That can happen sometimes. Not everyone in a magical family taps into it. There must be a witch somewhere in your family though. There always is. Besides, I can sense the cloaking spell wrapped around you," Freya said. She knew that spell well because she had a similar one around her to keep Dahlia from finding her.
"A friend of a friend did that, but yes, I have family members that were witches. My mother is a witch. I don't have anything to do with her anymore. She's a crazy, evil bitch," Elena said.
Freya snorted. That reminded her both of her mother and her aunt. "Yeah, I can relate to that. Listen, here's the thing. New Orleans isn't like most other towns. In most places, you'll find a witch or a vampire here and there, but it's not a common occurrence. Here it's different. You'll almost find more supernatural beings here than humans."
"Yeah, I've heard that. I heard that there used to be some sort of hierarchy too," Elena said.
"Yes, and there still is. You witnessed it earlier with Marcel. He controls the vampires and werewolves in this place. I control the witches. It's how we keep order and avoid outright war," Freya explained. When she'd woken up from her century long sleep, witches and vampires were close to all out war. Marcel had stifled witches. He was keeping them from doing magic at all on threat of death, but they were looking for ways to push back. Freya understood why Marcel had done what he did. The witches had crossed a line. She understood that and she agreed that they needed to be kept in line, but Marcel wasn't going about it the right way. Tyranny always ended in bloodshed. So, Freya had proposed that he step back and let her handle things with them. It worked. Freya couldn't deny she had her own agenda at first. She needed those witches. With their help, she'd managed to unlink herself to Dahlia, so she no longer had to worry about going back to sleep or Dahlia easily finding her. She wasn't totally free, but things were better than they were.
"I guess that's what he meant when he said this was his city. He's not the friendliest," Elena said.
"No. I'm not a big fan of Marcel's, but he's a necessary evil. His rule and mine keep peace between vampires and witches. That's the first thing you need to know. We do not attack vampires unless they attack us," Freya said.
"I have no issue with vampires in general," Elena said. How could she? Her family members were vampires.
"That's good to know. Some witches do. They hate vampires on general principle. That's why I had to say something. Next thing. You need to get your magic under control. I can't have you losing control in public again. You got lucky that no one else noticed tonight," Freya said.
"I…I try not to use it at all. I don't want anything to do with it," Elena confessed. She practiced the telekinesis grudgingly so that what happened tonight didn't happen, but she hated it. She was terrified that if she used it too often, she'd come to like it, and at some point she'd end up like Esther.
Freya raised an eyebrow in surprise. She'd never known a witch to shy away from magic. It made sense now why she lost control. If she was fighting against it, she would literally have next to zero control. "You're stifling yourself? You're not even trying to control it?"
"I practice the telekinesis so that accidents don't happen, but that's it. Once I have control of that, I'll stop," Elena said.
"That's not good enough. I assume this is about your mother?" Freya asked. If her mother was abusing magic, she could understand Elena's reluctance. She couldn't allow it, but she could understand it.
Elena nodded. "She's done a lot of things she shouldn't have done."
"I know the type, believe me. Unfortunately, there are a lot of witches who abuse magic. They let the power get to their heads. They think they can do whatever they want. You don't have to tell me what your mother did. That's your business, but just because she abused magic doesn't mean you will," Freya said.
"I don't want to be like her," she said.
"I get that. Believe me, when I think of my mother, I only think about the kind of person I don't want to be, and that is how I make sure I'm not. You can't hide from magic, Elena. It doesn't work. It's integrated into your very being, your soul," Freya explained.
Elena sighed. That explained why she got the magic in the first place. She'd never thought it would happen because her body wasn't her own, but if magic was also part of the soul, it made sense. "But I don't have to use it. I don't want to."
"I'm sorry, but you do have to. You have to get control of it, and the only way to get control of it is to be taught how to use it. Now, I know that you don't have anyone to teach you, so I will teach you myself," Freya told her.
"No!" Elena exclaimed before standing up. "I don't want to do this. I don't want to be anything like my mother. I don't want any part in what she is."
"Then move," Freya said bluntly before standing up. She was sympathetic to the girl's dilemma. She understood what it was like to be raised by a witch who abused her power, but she was not going to let a witch go around without control of her magic. "Because as long as you are a witch in the French Quarter, I'm responsible for you, which means you will follow my rules. Now, I expect you to come back here tomorrow at one. We'll start then."
"What if I refuse?" Elena asked defiantly. She knew she sounded petulant right now, but she was tired of people controlling her. Freya may not be Esther, but she was still trying to make her do things she didn't want to.
"Then I will drag you back here myself. You've told me where you live. I promise you I'm not above it. Don't test me," Freya warned.
Elena huffed before moving past her to leave. Normally, this would be where she warned the witch about the four older siblings that would stop her, but in order to involve them, she'd have to tell them that she'd gained magic, and Elijah would definitely make her learn, after the hour-long lecture he'd subject her to for hiding it.
"One-o-clock, Elena," Freye reminded her as she watched her leave.
