Gods & Monsters ✧ Elijah Mikaelson

XIII ✧ Business

This chapter is a bit of a filler but is hands down one of my favourites I've written, especially that last scene. >:D

Enjoy!

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Chapter Thirteen

It had been a month since Avarice had cured Rebekah and Freya, and things had most certainly changed.

The Mikaelson's had adjusted to the Reaper World. Rebekah had especially made friends with Vanessa, and they spent a lot of Vanessa's free time together. Kol tended to spend a lot of his time relaxing, not really having anything else to do as it wasn't mandatory for the vampires to feed in Avarice's world. Freya often practice spells that she had found in the grimoires in Avarice's library. And Elijah, of course, spent the vast majority of his time in the library with a cup of tea or in the garden, seeming enamoured by the black roses and pink and white carnations.

Since Avarice spent a lot of time in the library trying to find new spells to cure the Mikaelson brothers, she often found herself spending a lot of time with the Mikaelson's.

Levi and Aspin were certainly taking their jobs seriously, as they almost rarely came to her home anymore. And when they did, they were both exhausted. Avarice often felt bad about it, but as they had told her many times before, she was too busy to have so many things on her mind. She needed to look after the Mikaelson's first.

Over the span of a week, Avarice was thinking more and more about what she would do next. She was not having any luck with the cures for the Mikaelson brothers, and there was, of course, another brother still missing. She had to do something about it. She had to be faster.

She walked into the library one day to see Elijah reading a book of old poetry.

She asked him, "What poem are you reading?"

"'A Poison Tree' by William Blake," he said, and sighed slightly.

She frowned a little. "Do you not like that poem, Elijah?"

He shook his head. "No, but it is Niklaus' favourite poem. It reminds of him, and where he currently is."

There were multiple cases such as that, with the siblings doing or seeing something that reminded them of their brother.

It saddened her more than they knew.

*

"Again, my apologies for not being able to visit you this time, Hayley," Avarice said.

"It's fine," Hayley replied from the other end of the line, and Avarice could hear Hope cooing the background. "I've noticed that Hope has started to really like you, though. She loves that rattle too!"

She couldn't help but smile. She stepped over to the side as a tourist passed by her, too focused on their city map to notice her coming their way. There were a lot of tourists in that city. "I'm glad. As she grows older, make sure she knows what it stands for, will you?"

The scent of beignets took Avarice by surprise, and she found herself tempted to stop by at Cafe Du Monde as she passed the street it was on. Even so, she continued down the street, following the sidewalk instead of side-tracking. She had to focus on the task at hand, no matter how little she wanted to be in that part of the city.

"Of course. I promise."

Hayley spoke to Mary for a few moments, then returned back to the phone.

"Where are you, anyway?"

"I am in New Orleans," Avarice replied, her tone a little more grim.

Hayley was silent for a brief moment. "... New Orleans?"

Avarice nodded, even though she knew that Hayley couldn't see it. "Indeed. I have some business to take care of."

"Let me guess, it involves the Mikaelson's?"

"Right again, my dear. You have quite the intuition."

"No, I just know you really well by now. The Mikaelson's, including my daughter, are your only focus at this point."

"As are you," Avarice said. "Do not forget that, Hayley. You are a Mikaelson. I will keep your family safe, and do the same for you. Not that you really need any protection at all," she said, snickering at the end.

Hayley laughed. "Well, I'm still glad to have you around, Avarice. It's nice to have an update once in a while on how they're doing... And to have someone care about them the same way I do."

"I'm happy to be here. Now, if you'll excuse me, we will have to continue this conversation later on. Forgive me."

"Of course. I'll talk to you later, Avarice."

Avarice said goodbye, then put her phone back into her pocket.

She zig-zagged through crowds of locals and tourists on the busy streets of New Orleans. She could not feel them now, but she knew that they were there; the witches and vampires of New Orleans. The wolves were long gone, abandoned by Hayley and now back in the bayou. The vampires were simply happy to be there. The witches weren't doing as well.

She turned a corner, and came face to face with a certain vampire she had hoped to avoid. But when he quite literally bumped into her, and she grabbed his biceps to hold him steady, she caught his eye.

His eyes were a dark and deep brown, and they peaked with interest when he saw her.

"Sorry, ma'am," he said. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

She glanced down at his hand to see that he had been on the phone, but he quickly hung up and put the device into his pocket when he saw her looking. Perhaps he wanted her to know that she had his full attention.

Avarice plastered on the best fake and flirtatious smile she could muster, and judging from the way that he began to smirk a little, she knew it was working.

"Oh, no. My apologies, it was my fault."

She stepped to the side and walked by him, only to hear him quickly following her.

"If you really believe it was your fault, then make it up to me. Maybe over dinner, tonight?"

She almost laughed. "I would, but I will be long gone before that time."

She kept walking, only to have his hand suddenly land on her wrist and wrap around it. When Avarice turned back to him, the temptation to break his hand right then and there was almost too great for her to handle.

"Listen, it's not that hard to tell you aren't a vampire, a witch, or a werewolf. There's no way that you're human. Part of the reason why I wanna have dinner with you is curiosity. If you're leaving, won't you at least tell me before you go?''

"Now, why on earth would I do that?" she asked, ripping her arm rather roughly from his grip. She wondered for a brief moment if he could see the way her jaw was clenched. "I can't exactly trust a person I have just met."

Little did he know, she knew all of what had happened between him and the Mikaelson's. She knew everything. He was not trustworthy, not to her.

He blinked a few times, not seeming to have an answer, and she turned and continued walking.

"When will you be back?" he called after her.

She actually did smile, and looked back at him over her shoulder. "Never! And if I do, it will be for your head, Marcel Gerard!"

He was too shocked to even attempt at running after her.