These Are Dark Times (The Originals: Season 4 Fanfiction)

Chapter 7: The Witch Kids

Elijah, Vincent and I walked through the forest. Stopping, Elijah reached up into a tree, touching a magical object. 

'Yeah... I assume you told everybody to be on their best behaviour?' Vincent asked. 

'Oh, I told them,' Elijah replied. 'Now, whether or not they'll be obedient is another thing altogether.' We walked towards Klaus, who was coming out of the woods. 

'Where's Hope?' I asked. 

'Freya's with her now. She's fighting it. Whatever it is.' 

'The kids are attached to that spell. If we save the kids, we save your little girl,' Vincent said. 

'And the sooner you all can be on your way,' Marcel spoke, walking out of the woods into the small clearing with Hayley just behind him. 

'Clearly, we're skipping all the hugs and hellos,' Hayley quipped. 'Vincent?' 

'Trail leads this way, so I guess we - follow the breadcrumbs.' 

'Tactless savages holding a ghost-raising rave,' Klaus said. 'Best make short work of them. I say we -' 

'We split up,' Marcel interrupted. 'Klaus, you're with me. I'm not letting you out of my sight. Anybody got a problem with that? I don't give a damn.' We all began to move away from each other. 

Several hours later... 

We'd rescued the kids, but they were fast asleep, wrapped in cloths in order for the ritual to begin. Klaus and Marcel were trapped in a circle of fire under the magic of the Hollow, and all was still. Vincent unwrapped the cloths on each of the kids' faces. 

'Okay. They're alive. But these kids are linked to that ritual. We can't free Marcel and Klaus unless we break the spell.' Elijah walked to the edge of the clearing, looking at Marcel and Klaus trapped in the ring of fire. 

'How do we stop this?' 

'I don't know! It's a sacrificial ritual. I can't break it unless I kill one of the kids.' 

'No. No,' Hayley said resolutely, getting to her feet. 'There has to be another way.' Elijah looked over the four kids on the ground. 

'So these kids are powering that ritual,' Vincent said. 'But there might be a loophole. If I link it to you.' 

'No, absolutely not,' I spoke. 'He'll die.' 

'Are you suggesting you take my life?' Elijah asked. 

'I'm suggesting we stake you with wood. You die, temporarily, and that might be enough to break the spell.' Vincent looped his hand in one of the kids, and Elijah grabbed his hand as Vincent began to chant a spell. Hayley snapped a branch off of a tree and came to Elijah. 'Do it now!' Vincent exclaimed, and Hayley stabbed Elijah. He immediately crumpled in her arms. I covered my mouth with my hand, letting out a scream. Immediately, all the fires went out. Klaus and Marcel were freed, as were all of the kids. 

'Did it work?' Hayley asked. She slowly pulled the wooden stake out of Elijah's chest. 

That evening... 

Elijah stepped into a room, where I was looking at some old paintings within the Mikaelson family home. 

'Lilliana,' he said softly. I turned to face him, and ran to him, burying my head in his chest with a soft sob. Then, I looked up at him and kissed him softly. 

'I've watched you been daggered too many times to know it's only temporary, and yet, you scared the hell out of me tonight,' I said. 'You've got to stop doing that.' 

'I know how much it scares you, and I'm sorry, my love,' he said, planting a gentle kiss on my lips. 'I had to do what needed to be done.' I let out a sob of relief, burying my head in his chest again. 'Look, about what Vincent said -' 

'It worked,' I replied, looking up at him again. 'Freya's potion worked. I could hear the baby's heartbeat long before Vincent pointed anything out. But it worked. You're going to be a father.' He picked me up in his arms and set me on the desk, giving me a deep kiss. 

'I'm going to be a father.' 

'You're going to be a father.' He tenderly pulled my shirt up, kissing my bare stomach which had yet to show signs of pregnancy. His hands softly caressed my thighs with a lover's touch, and he let a small smile slip. 

'This day was indeed wretched, but something good came out of it. Something for us.' 

'Elijah, I'm scared,' I said. He pulled back slightly. 

'About what?' 

'The Hollow. The Hollow will want our baby. As the firstborn of your bloodline, Elijah, this baby will inherit immense power as a firstborn Mikaelson witch. The Hollow will sense our child's magic, and it will come for it. It will come for us. And for Hope.' He kissed my nose softly. 

'I swear, I will die a thousand deaths before anything happens to our child, Lilliana. You have my word on that. Our child will be loved, and it will be safe with a family that will protect it until their last breath. Always and forever applies to our child too.' 

'Always and forever, Elijah.' He kissed me once again, nuzzling his nose against mine. 

'Family above all,' he replied softly.