JUDAS COULDN'T KEEP HIS MIND OFF THE CEMETERY AND THE PECULIAR CHURCH.
There was something about the atmosphere that enthralled him. Whether it was the trees whose branches wove into each other until there was a canopy of leaves over your head, the slight breeze that was magical in an eerie sense, or even the enchanting red brick building standing tall against the darkness, Judas was captivated. He had fallen for it — hook, line, and sinker.
I have a crush on architecture, he thought in disgust.
Not architecture, his consciousness piped up, but the dark eyes behind the church windows.
Judas scratched his head and furrowed his eyebrows. Could there really be a person hiding out there?
It had been three days since he got lost in the cemetery with Sirius. In that time span, Elijah had jumped town because he missed Mystic Falls — according to Klaus. His paternal aunt Rebekah was now in New Orleans, leaving an obvious path of destruction and blood to the mansion they were staying in. Wolf-girl was unfortunately still alive and kicking, including the monster fetus in her stomach.
"Chad?" A girl whispered, fluttering her eyes open. She propped her head on her hands, sleepily looking at Judas who was staring at the city through an opening in the curtains. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing, baby. Go back to sleep." Judas flashed her a quick smile, making a one-syllable snort at his fake name. He didn't need to give it to her but pretending to be someone else was slowly turning into his favorite hobby.
It was a lot better than being Judas Mikaelson that's for sure.
"Don't forget to dream about me," He whispered.
She giggled and snuggled into the duvet. Soon her even breaths and soft snores filled the room. Judas himself was achingly desperate for sleep but...
...those mahogany eyes.
Suddenly, he was at the door, haphazardly throwing his shirt on while shoving his shoes on. He wanted — no, needed — to go back to the church.
He would find the owner of those eyes if it was the last thing he did.
———— Δ ————
Haley Marshall wished this would all be over. And it could be if she finally decided to drink the wolfsbane potion in the styrofoam cup nestled in her hands.
"Come on, Hayley. One upset stomach and all this stupid drama is ancient history," She mumbled, lifting the cup toward her mouth and closing her eyes.
Please don't do this, Hayley.
Her brown eyes flew open.
Don't drink it.
Hayley furrowed her eyebrows. It was like a voice was being projected from a speakerphone into her head. Mindlessly, Hayley wondered if the foreign voice was the voice of God. Although, it was distinctly feminine. And extremely alluring.
She shook her head. Of course it wasn't God.
I mean... the voice continued. I could be God. Just saying.
Hayley rubbed her temples. This was no time to have random voices inside her head. She needed to focus. She needed to take this potion and get rid of the baby.
But even as she mulled it over, the cup stayed motionless. Hayley sighed deeply and set it down.
That's the spirit. You won't regret having a child. I promise, pinky swear and everything!
Hayley frowned, finding it strange that her subconsciousness was this talkative and self-assured.
I'm holding you to that, lady god. Hayley answered.
A branch snapped behind her. Hayley was on her feet and surveying the area. She grimaced as her broken leg screamed in pain. It was in a cast now, which was slightly humiliating for a supernatural being.
"Dumb move, coming into the Quarter," A vampire with thick blond hair drawled. "You're coming with me, wolf."
Hayley tightened her hold on the wolfsbane and growled low in her throat, "I have had it up to here with vampires telling me what to do."
She threw the cup's contents into his face. The vampire roared in pain, comically clawing at his face. She spun around, only to be faced with two more vampires. They closed in on her.
A flash of wind blew Hayley's curly brown hair to the right. Suddenly Rebekah was in front of her and she had stuck both of her manicured hands into the vampire's chests.
Rebekah tugged and the all of them laid dead on the ground.
"Now, that is no way to treat a pregnant lady," She said in her soft tone. To Hayley, Rebekah offered her a genuine smile. "I do hate bad manners."
———— Δ ————
Judas rolled the rock in his hands, looking from the wooden window and his place on the ground. What exactly was he going to do? Throw the rock at the window and see if someone answers?
A smirk stretched across his face. He was definitely going to throw a rock at the window to see if someone answered.
He stood up and threw it. The rock hit the boarded windows with a pitiful sound and fell back to the ground. Surprisingly, the ancient windows and their wooden planks remained unscathed.
No answer.
Hmmmm.
Perhaps a little magic wouldn't hurt anyone. He took a deep breath and concentrated, bringing his ring-clad hand out in front of him. He imagined the windows opening up, feeling the magic flow through his veins.
He pushed and pushed and -
There was a wall, a magical wall. Judas' mind slammed into it, causing him to reel backwards physically.
What in the world?
Judas tried once more. Again, he was blocked. His magic was disarmed like the other person had a metal sword while he had a wooden plank. The combatting magic was so powerful his mind hurt.
Impossible.
He rolled his bright green eyes, giving up his prying. Judas saluted the building mockingly before strutting off back to the Mikaelson Manor. Although he didn't get to meet whoever lived in the attic of the abandoned church, he knew for certain there was someone in there.
And that someone was very well versed in protection spells.
Interesting.
———— Δ ————
Rebekah sipped her white wine, thumbing her way through a magazine. It was incredibly stupid gossip about the English royal family. She snorted at the spread digging Meghan Markle's choice of shoe-wear that "clashed" with the Queen's.
"Can they just leave the bloody woman alone?" She grumbled to herself. "People have too much time one their hands."
"Um—" Hayley said, coming to a wobbly stop beside a heated Rebekah. "Hi. I know you don't know me very well... but thanks. I appreciate what you did when you saved me...and also back in there when your brother was trying to kill me. Again." Hayley mimed Klaus' hands on her throat.
"Well," Rebekah looked mildly pleased at Hayley's gratitude. "Us girls have got to look out for each other."
Hayley plopped down on a chair, careful not to irritate her broken leg, courtesy of the Original son. "What is it with you two? You say you hate Klaus, but the way you deal with him, it's so clear. Even when you hate him, you still love him."
"I guess when you spend a thousand years with someone, deciding to quit them is like losing a part of yourself. But sometimes the hate is just... so powerful."
Rebekah closed the magazine and laughed without emotion. "Emil wasn't the only boyfriend of mine that Klaus killed. He did it again, and again, and every time I found someone to care about. He just kept doing it until, finally, I stopped falling in love. You understand, Klaus was traumatized from the pain of losing his soulmate. In his own twisted fashion, he was trying to make sure I never lost someone as special to me as Li was to him."
It wasn't Hayley's place to ask questions pertaining to Klaus Mikaelson's life. However, she was curious. "Who is Li?"
Rebekah's smile slipped off her face. She sighed, thinking about her best friend and sister-in-law. "Her name was Lilura. She was the prettiest woman I had ever known and was twice as enchanting. She was a siren, born from the scopilio sea in Greece. She was also a princess, heir to the Mayera throne. Klaus met her on one of his power-seeking expeditions in Europe."
"Their love was fated by my mother the Original Witch. She had been festering with regret and remorse for our creation because my siblings and I killed as we pleased. We started a blood revolution. Suddenly, the world was crawling with vampires. Mother sought to remedy it. So, she cursed Lilura. Every full moon, my best friend turned into a murderous Original-hating beast. To her credit, Lilura fought it for as long as she could, but insanity is a long-winded road. Not many can resist."
"Did she...die?"
"Not really," Rebekah laughed, blue eyes looking at something Hayley couldn't see. "My mother, despite being a conniving witch, was obsessed with having a descendant. Someone else to carry the Mikaelson witch bloodline. She got her wish eventually because Lilura was pregnant with —"
Rebekah jerked her head to the direction of the footsteps.
"—Judas."
He stood, running a hand through his lifeless midnight black hair.
"Lilura Valerie Anthemoessa-Mikaelson is my mother." Judas furrowed his eyebrows at his choice of words. "Was. And Esther struck a deal with her. She told Lilura to give me up and disappear from Klaus' life, knowing it will ultimately destroy Klaus' soul and humanity. Likewise, Esther pitted me against my parents and fed me lies. In my first few years of life, Esther raised me like her own son. Then, she put me up for foster care, and I never saw my grams again until a few years ago when she made Lilura's dormant curse come back to life. My mother died to protect our family."
Hayley sucked in a breath. "Wow."
"Yeah, wow," Rebekah echoed.
"Right," Hayley said after a very awkward minute of silence. "Well, if you know Marcel has Elijah, why don't you just get him back yourself?"
"Because, if I cross my brother, there's still a coffin downstairs with my name on it." Rebekah replied.
Hayley smiled, bemused.
"What's that look about?" Rebekah inquired, frown accompanied with an dainty nose scrunch.
Hayley slowly pulled out a cloth and unfolded it. Inside, there were two daggers.
"Oh, my god."
"I found them under your coffin. So, if a couple of antique steak knives were the only things stopping you from getting Elijah back, then here you go." She gave Rebekah the daggers, watching as the female Original smiled in awe.
With childlike glee, Rebekah sped to the door. "I need to hide them!" She squealed and disappeared.
Tense silence.
Judas scoffed and walked swiftly away.
"Wait."
He stopped, hand on the knob.
"I'm-I'm sorry." The surprise was evident on Hayley's angular face. She wasn't the only one; Judas' jaw worked, brilliant green eyes looking everywhere else but at the wolf-girl.
He prepared himself for her excuses. I didn't know he had a wife. I didn't know she died.
"I'm sorry Lilura passed away."
That apology made Judas turn around and finally look at her.
"What?" He mumbled softly.
"I'm sorry you lost your mother. I want to say I understand your pain, but I can't. I don't know who my real parents are, and my foster-turned-adoptive ones kicked me out the moment they found out I was a werewolf. "
"You were a foster kid too?"
Hayley's stared at Judas as if finally seeing him. "Yeah," She said quietly. "You can't lose a family member if you don't have any family. I guess, in that sense, I'm lucky."
"I'm also not proud of sleeping with Klaus," The words tumbled from Hayley's pink lips. She shuffled her feet, pulling the broken one closer to her body under Judas' scary gaze. "I wasn't aware he had a wife, you know. I know it is no excuse but he didn't exactly bring it up. "
Judas cracked a small smile at her earnest expression. "I may be egotistical but I'm not stupid. My father is in the wrong for that one. I don't blame you...that much."
He nodded once and pulled the door open.
"Goodnight, Judas." Hayley said.
He halted in his steps. "You're not as bad as I thought, wolf-girl." His eyes landed on her injured leg. "But I'll let you suffer for a few more days. It'll keep you from stirring up more trouble in the quarter."
Two stories up, Rebekah eavesdropped on the conversation. To the moon and the stars, she grinned. "He really is you son, Li. He has his father's ego but your heart. You should be proud."
Lilura was.