✓ KILLER QUEEN² ☾ 𝐊.𝐌𝐈𝐊𝐀𝐄𝐋𝐒𝐎𝐍

|WOODEN KNIGHT|

Elijah is looking at artifacts on his desk in his study while Odette and Hayley, who both still look sad and exhausted walks into the room and stands in front of him. 

"Okay, so what's the plan? Cami's out there with the white oak, and I'm not gonna lose one more person that I care about" Hayley says gaining Elijahs attention 

"Niklaus can handle Camille. 'Til then, I'll keep Aya distracted." Elijah says as he pulls out an ornately carved wooden scroll cover out of a desk drawer and heads towards the door 

"Why not just kill her instead?" Odette asks making Elijah stop and turn back to face the hybrids, Odette can clearly see that Elijah was embarrassed by what he's about to tell them making her whisper in shock "No."

Hayley having heard her turns to Odette confused, making Elijah says "She and I have history"

"You two had a thing?" Hayley questions as she was not thrilled by the possible answer that she knew was going to be a yes 

"Aya was a towering intellect with an insatiable curiosity. Passionate, fearless, and something of an outcast" Elijah says with a sigh as he walks away from the door and towards the two "Long ago, I invited her... to join a rather elite company. I determined she was perfectly tailored to bear the responsibility of an immortal life. I made her like me"

"She was one of the first Strix" Hayley says with a serious expression making Odette's eyes slightly widen as she felt like a third wheel who was not supposed to be a part of the conversation and since she had no way out she stayed to hear the rest of the story 

"We cared for one another deeply" Elijah says looking ashamed by what happened and tries to explain his reasoning for everything that came after "Together, we created a fellowship unburdened by the limitations of man. It was the pursuit of a glorious new world. And then Father... Led by that unquenchable desire to slay his children, Mikael descended, accompanied by a small army. He laid to waste everything that I built. So... We had no choice but to run."

"Aya did not. So, when Tristan found her, he rescued her. She, of course, came to see him as something of a savior. And, in time, beneath his corrupted guidance, they made the Strix what they are today-- a hive of depraved and ignorant savages" Elijah says with a weak smile as it was as if he was remembering back to that time, and in a quieter voice he continues to speak, "And she's never forgiven me. I'm not entirely certain I've ever forgiven myself"

"So given the past, how exactly are you going to keep her distracted?" Odette asks not understanding how he could keep Aya distracted from knowing what was going on for too long

"With a little salt..." Elijah says as he holds up the scroll in his hand before turning to leave, "in an old wound"

~~

Odette rushes into Klaus study with an unhappy expression and for a moment stops as she feels a sense of worry that she knew wasn't being radiated from Klaus. Odette looks around the room yet there was no one there, Klaus stops packing Cami's dark objects into a box to give Odette all of his attention

"Nik! Hey! Are you serious with all that noise?!" Odette says annoyed as she focuses back on the reason she walked into the room

"Oh, I'm sorry. Has my therapist's betrayal inconvenienced your otherwise tranquil day?" Klaus says equally annoyed just that he was annoyed as to why he was packing and not Odette

"Yes!" Odette shouts as places a hand on her forehead feeling annoyed and sighs before calmly saying, "Sorry I'm just upset and having our daughter upset doesn't help. She's um still dealing with the fact that Jackson is gone, and the only thing that calms her is her favorite toy. Which Cami happens to have stolen just to get back at you. So, if you wake her up with all this slamming around, so help me, Cami will be the least of your problems!"