Eternal ➳ N. Mikaelson [COMPLETED]

➳ 32: long way back from hell - la grand guignol

ELIJAH entered the courtyard to find Marcel sending out more troops to search the city. "Anything?"

"They're putting eyes and ears out everywhere. Daywalkers are working every contact we've got. Cops, dock workers, guys in the Treme... Word is out: anyone trying to earn favor with me gets a lifetime of it if they find them." Marcel answered with urgency.

"Good." Elijah praised with a nod. "I need a pen and paper." He ordered and walked away.

After Marcel paused for a moment, he rolled his eyes and followed behind him. "Hey, am I taking orders from you now, or are we in this together?"

Elijah started removing his jacket and snapped in frustration. "Pen and paper, Marcellus. Now!"

Marcel sighed and looked at him sternly. "I want her back just as much as you do, you know... The both of them."

"Do you?" Ingrid challenged as she walked into the room. "You have a lot to gain from Niklaus' disappearance."

Marcel glared at her and left the room to get the supplies, Elijah began stripping off his shirt as he looked at Ingrid. "Take it easy on him. He's trying to help."

"He left him there, Elijah. He abandoned Niklaus and now he is missing." Ingrid snapped at him, her fear taking over her senses, then teared up and licked her lips.

"I know." He whispered to her, knowing what she was thinking without her having to speak it out loud. "But right now... I need you to make a list of these names."

Once he was shirtless, Ingrid gasped at the amount of tattoos covering his body. She walked toward him and read the words littering his arms, shoulders, back, and abdomen. She was circling him until she noticed a familiar name and stopped in place. "Sabine. Elijah, what is this?"

"I believe they represent the names of the women Celeste inhabited for the past two centuries." Elijah responded with a betrayed look on his face.

Marcel rejoined them and handed the paper and pen to Ingrid. "It's called a Devinette. It's old school. Kind of a riddle. Witches use them to teach their kids. Solve it, and it disappears."

Ingrid nodded slowly in understanding then pursed her lips in aggravation. "So, it is a game for children."

"Celeste forced me to make a choice between yourself and my siblings, and now she means to mock that choice, taunting me with a childish game." Elijah sneered angrily and clentched his jaw. "The longer the game, the more they suffer. To find Klaus and Rebekah, we need to solve this riddle. The solution lies somewhere in these names."

Marcel looked at the names then spotted a familiar one. "The name next to Sabine... Annie La Fleur, she's the witch that was shunned from her coven just over a year ago. Never knew why, but I can find out."

Once, Ingrid wrote down each name, the trio set out to get answers. They arrived at the neighborhood where Annie had lived after she was shunned.

They were then able to speak to someone who knew her from the coven. "Annie was a good girl. The witches did her wrong, shunning her like that-- claiming she was doing dark magic. There's no way. But, they had proof. So, she just quit, and I can't really blame her for that. 'Cause once you've been shunned, what's the point in going on, you know?" The man informed them with a grim look.