Elena was in the kitchen getting some water. She looked out the kitchen window and saw her father and her aunt Jenna sitting out by the garden laughing and talking. Well, more like laughing and flirting. It would be cute if it wasn't so agonizing to watch them be head over heels for each other and not do anything about it.
Jeremy entered the room and walked over to his sister. He chuckled when he saw what she was looking at. "Are they ever going to stop dancing around each other?"
Rebekah walked up behind them but didn't say anything.
"Eventually. It probably won't be soon though. They've been doing this for almost a year now. They're obviously clueless," Elena said.
"You two do realize that your father can hear you, right?" Rebekah asked in an amused tone.
"Yeah, that's probably why he just started glaring at us," Elena said before waving at her father and giving him a cheeky grin.
Jeremy chuckled before addressing his sister. "Hey, I wanna get out of here for a while. Wanna get lunch or something?"
"Yeah, that sounds good," Elena said.
"It does. Do you two mind if I join you?" Rebekah asked. She wasn't too wild about them going off on their own when they already knew that there was a vampire army that had already threatened Elena.
"That depends. Do you want to come with us because you want to have lunch with your niece and nephew or because you want to make sure we don't have any run-ins with a certain idiotic vampire king?" Elena asked.
"What if the answer is both?" Rebekah asked.
Elena sighed. "Fine, but for the record, I can take care of myself."
"Noted," she said.
"I'll go get ready," Elena said before heading out of the room.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Elena, Jeremy, and Rebekah were sitting in a small diner having lunch. Elena took a bite of a BLT. "This place is nice. The food's good."
"And no idiotic vampire kinds in sight," Rebekah said.
"No, but there is a witch in the corner that keeps staring at us," Elena said. There was a brunette in the far corner of the diner staring. Elena had noticed her about ten minutes prior.
Rebekah turned to see a woman in the back looking right at her niece. "Ugh. You would think she'd try to hide it better."
"I'm fairly certain she wants my attention," Elena said before raising her hand and beckoning the woman over.
"Elena, what are you doing?" Jeremy asked.
"Getting whatever this is over with," Elena said.
The woman quickly got up and made her way over.
"Listen, if you want something, tell me what it is so that I can get back to my meal," Elena said bluntly.
"Sorry. I'm Sophie Deveraux. I wanted to talk to you, but I didn't know how to go about it. I'm not here to make any problems for you," Sophie said.
"Well, you're at least more polite than my last encounter with a local from this city. I'm Elena, this is my brother Jeremy and our Aunt Rebekah. Take a seat," Elena said. She far from trusted this woman, but she figured she could be polite until she found out what she wanted.
Sophie sat down between her and the blonde vampire. "Thanks."
"How'd you find me?" Elena wondered. She knew she had been found the first time because the vampires somehow tracked magic, but she hadn't used any since.
"I didn't. It was a coincidence. I was here for lunch, just like you, but most people in the French Quarter know each other. Sure, there are tourists, but we can usually tell the difference. You guys don't strike me as tourists. Also, I had your description," Sophie explained.
"And how would you have gotten that?" Elena asked.
Sophie laughed. "When new witches show up in this town, we find out about it. It helps that you've already made a name for yourself here. Not many could take on Marcel Gerard and win. In fact, you're the only one who ever has," Sophie said. Elena's encounter with Marcel had been witnessed by another witch. By the end of the day, they all knew about it, and they were all on the lookout for this new witch.
"What did you just say?" Rebekah asked in disbelief.
"Marcel Gerard. So, that's his name," Elena said as though it was unimportant to her.
"Marcel Gerard is dead!" Rebekah snarled.
Sophie snorted. "I wish that were true. He's been a brutal dictator in this city for decades. It only got worse in the last few months," Sophie said.
Elena wanted to ask her aunt how she knew this vampire, but it would have to wait. She wasn't going to have that conversation with her in front of Sophie. "What is it you want from me? You obviously want something, or you wouldn't have come over here."
"No one has ever been able to do what you can do. Not even the Elders can, and they're the most powerful witches we have. We need you to help us put down Marcel Gerard," Sophie said.
"Look, I don't mean to sound cold here, but Marcel Gerard isn't my problem. I have my own agenda here. As long as Marcel stays out of my way, I'll stay out of his," Elena said. She knew she did sound cold, but she had bigger fish to fry. Dahlia was more of a threat than Marcel could ever be.
"But he won't stay out of your way. You're a witch in the French Quarter that he can't control. That is going to be a problem for him. He will come after you and your loved once just to make a point. Look, we can help each other. If you help us take out Marcel, the New Orleans witches will be indebted to you. We'll help you with whatever it is you're here to do," Sophie promised.
"Tell me something. What is it you have against Marcel? Something tells me it's not just about not being able to do magic here. You could go anywhere in the world if you wanted to do magic," Elena said.
"It's not actually that simple for us, but you're right. That's not the only reason. Marcel is a tyrant. He kidnapped a young girl several months ago. Her name is Davina Claire. She's sixteen. We don't even know if she's still alive or what he's done to her if she is," Sophie lied. If she was going to get this witches help, she had to make her feel sorry for them. She needed to make her think Davina was Marcel's victim.
Elena sighed. If that was true, she wasn't going to be able to sit by and do nothing. She couldn't stand by while a kid was victimized. However, she wasn't certain it was true. Sophie had some questionable things to say about Marcel, but Marcel had some troubling things to say about the witches as well, like that they had killed three girls. She didn't know which story was true, or if either of them were.
"That's a load of bull! I know Marcel. He would never harm a child," Rebekah said angrily. She didn't know what this witch thought she was doing, but she must be lying. Marcel would never do anything like that.
"You said you thought he was dead. You can't know him that well," Sophie said before turning back to Elena. She pulled a card out of her pocket and handed it to the young witch. "Look, I know you probably need time to think about all of this. This is my number. Call me whenever you want to talk more."
Elena nodded and pocketed the card. She watched Sophie leave before turning to her aunt. "Who is Marcel Gerard?"
"Elena, that witch is lying! I have known Marcel since he was a boy! He would never harm a child," Rebekah said. She was seriously pissed off at Marcel right now. They had thought he was dead, and he never tried to find them to correct that belief. Plus, he'd attacked her niece. She would make him suffer for those things, but there were things he would never do. Kidnapping a young girl was one of them.
Elena started to put the pieces together. Her aunt had told her about a kid that her family had loved that they thought was dead, and now her aunt was telling her she'd known Marcel since he was a child, and that she'd thought he was dead. "Wait, is Marcel the kid you were telling me about? The boy Uncle Nik practically adopted?"
Rebekah nodded.
Elena sighed as she took in the information. "Alright, that changes everything. He's family. I couldn't help the witches if I wanted to."
"Even if he kidnapped a girl?" Jeremy asked.
"He didn't. Marcel was brutalized by his father. After that, he grew to become very protective over children. He would sooner rip out his own heart than harm a child," Rebekah said.
"I have to talk to him again, preferably before anyone else in the family finds out about this," Elena said. She didn't know how her uncle was going to react to this, but she was pretty sure her dad was still going to be pissed and still going to want blood. He probably wouldn't kill Marcel, but it would still cause problems.
Rebekah nodded. "I will be with you when that happens, and I will make him pay for what he's done."
"Weren't you just defending him?" Jeremy asked his aunt.
"Yes, regarding something I know he didn't do. However, he attacked Elena and let me think he was dead for decades. He will suffer painfully for that. Let's get out of here," Rebekah said before putting some money on the table and heading out of the diner.
"Note to self, never piss Aunt Rebekah off," Jeremy said.
"You didn't know that already?" Elena asked before standing up and following her aunt out. Jeremy was right behind her.
