empty bottles: k.m.(under construction)

the honest queen - chapter 25

The Village.

'So, tell me about him.'

Astrid had just arrived home from a day with Nik to see her sister sitting at the table in the middle of the hovel. 'I don't know what you're talking about' Astrid smiled as she skipped over into the makeshift kitchen, preparing tea.

'I know that look, sister. You're in love with the witch boy.'

'He's not a witch!' She turned to her and scolded her for not remembering, 'Esther is a witch. Nik hasn't tapped into it yet'

'Either way, you're in love with him'

Astrid's elder sister ruffled her hair as she cut up ginger root from their garden. 'Deryn, lay off your sister. I think it's adorable.' Their mother walked into the kitchen and winked at her youngest daughter, 'You know, Elijah's around your age Deryn.'

Astrid turned around to face them, 'That's what I said!'

Present Day.
St Anne's Church

The Priest cried out in the church attic as the witches hex dissolved his common sense. Visions of Bastiana blackened his mind as he turned rabid. Cami O'Connell and Joshua Rosza stood over him.

The Mikaelson Compound.

'Can I help you find something?'

Elijah was nauseatingly bold at this time of the morning and much to Astrid's annoyance, he was in five feet of her. The husband and wife scoured their library for a specific grimoire.

'Yes, in fact, I believe you can. I'm looking for a book, about yea big, filled with our mother's most powerful spells. It appears to have been misplaced.' Klaus's explained to his brother only to receive a snarky response, 'How very mysterious.'

'Snarky bastard'

Astrid's comment made Nik snigger as the pair kept looking. She wore beige chinos with a black short sleeved t shirt, paired with timberland boots and her arm flexed as she ran it against a book-spine, rolling her eyes when realising it wasn't the one they were looking for. Both Klaus and Astrid's hair was still wet from a shower.

Klaus smiled as he spoke, 'Indeed, At first, I feared the witches had succeeded in their efforts to obtain it, but considering their last attempt ended with me relieving a rather large, tattooed gentleman of his hands, I began to wonder if the thief wasn't a bit closer to home'

Astrid turned around and nudged Nik when she saw Elijah nonchalantly scribbling in a notebook and her husband sighed, 'Don't make this harder than it needs to be, brother'

'Well, admittedly, I did have a theory that your sudden interest in mother's grimoire was in some way related to whatever foolishness you've been conducting with the Crescent wolves. Therefore, I took it upon myself to carefully place it where naughty little fingers could not pry.'

'You're one to talk about prying fingers.' Astrid turned back around and carried on looking, not wanting to look at Elijah for any longer then she had too. Thoughts of her sister ran through her mind, wondering if she played a part in "Marcel's message" at the witches festival.

'And here I thought you, of all people, would understand. I am simply trying to help those wolves! Play Samaritan to the abused. Champion to the underdog, so to speak'

'How splendidly noble of you.'

'Elijah, why do you always insist on demonising him whenever you've got the chance? First with Rebekah and now this.' Astrid still searched for the book.

'I'm hardly demonising him, Astrid. I'm simply expecting the expected. Even then, maybe I should direct my "demonising" towards you. After all you did say that you would and I quote "make my life hell"'