The Fifth Witch |The Originals|

3

Day

Mikaleson's Compound - Studio

Elijah walked in after he went to the witches for information.

Laurette sat on a couch, holding a book, looking up, "Everything okay?"

Elijah examined her silently. She looked better than the day prior. More healthy.

"Sophie Devereaux is dead" Elijah told her. Laurette sighed, nodding slightly, looking away. He tilted his head, "You don't look surprised or crestfallen by the dead of one of your people"

"It's because I felt it" Laurette told him softly. "I didn't know what it was exactly until now" She chuckled, placing a hand in her chin, tapping her lips, humming slightly "The death of a witch. How interesting"

It was those moments when Elijah could see the similarities between the Dubois sisters. The reactions they got when they finally understood some new form of magic were similar.

"Monique didn't look too affected in the slightest" Elijah told her, remembering the expressionless look of the girl and the grin in her face when she said her aunt was a casualty of war.

Laurette breathed a humorless chuckle "I knew there was something odd about her. Her time in the ancestral plane definitely changed her. Pity. She must have been such a sweet girl, not what the ancestors wanted so they shaped her to their will" She stood, shaking her head slightly "They see kindness as a weakness"

"And yet, here you are" Elijah told her.

Laurette chuckled sarcastically, "You mean to say I'm kind?" Elijah tilted his head. She scoffed, placing the book on a table "I'm not, Elijah. Do I need to remind you what I did the moment I was brought back to life? Death changes you, specially when you don't have luxury of peace once you cross over. The Ancestors shape you to their way if you're different, if you're weak" She began walking around the room. Elijah followed with his eyes as she seemed to become upset as she continued "They torture you until you're what they want you to be. It's slow and painful. But once they finish, you've become stronger. That's why we practice Ancestral magic. Our ancestors are strong and ruthless. They give us strength, strength we return the moment we join them"

Elijah examined the witch critically "You speak of it as if from experience"

Laurette sighed, "I guess? I did become strong. I could feel it. Yet, I tried hard to no change. To stay true to myself, the way I grew up" She turned to Elijah, pursing her lips "I failed. I kept failing, becoming what they wanted me to be"

"You seem the same girl I met 200 years ago" Elijah told her.

"Appearances can be deceiving, Elijah" Laurette told him sharply. "Sometimes I'm the girl you met, the alive, sweet version of me, and sometimes I'll be a completely different person. Someone you won't recognize. Don't forget that"

Elijah fell silent, realizing he did notice that change she spoke of. There were moments she went from soft and kind to expressionless and cold. A striking difference he had to be careful with. "I won't"

Laurette nodded slightly, squinting her eyes, "Enough about me. Did you get answers?" She slowly walked closer, tilting her head "I sense magic on you. Different from the one that created your vampirism"

The magical presence Laurette could feel in Elijah grew stronger with each step closer.

Elijah shrugged off his suit jacket, rolling up his sleeve, revealing his skin covered in inked names.

"Can you tell me what this is about?" Elijah asked.

Laurette tilted her head aside curiously, grabbing his arm, examining the unfamiliar names for several minutes, tracing the names, feeling the magic pouring out of them, ignoring Elijah's cautious eyes on her.