Storms on the Horizon
~~~~~~~~
"She smiled at the stars
like they knew all her secrets."
-J.R.R. Tolkien
Klaus' pacing figure in the back of the restaurant went unnoticed considering it was far too early for anything to be open even in the lively city of New Orleans. With every passing second he found his calm resolve slipping into its usual rage that he nearly unleashed the very second Sophie Deveraux finally graced him with her presence. She hadn't even noticed him yet, her eyes solely focused on the crate of vegetables she had been preparing for her Gumbo and to say she was surprised when a pair of hands snatched her away was an understatement, until she noticed a familiar head of raven locks sitting across from her and she rolled her eyes, looking up into Klaus' expectant glare.
"We had a deal" the hybrid snarled, gesturing towards Nixie's figure on the couch across from them as she proceeded to polish her nails as if neither of them were there, "you protect her and my unborn child, I dismantle Marcel's army, and whilst I've been busy fulfilling my part of the bargain, you allowed Nixie to be attacked and almost killed by a gaggle of lunatic witches."
The pair glanced over at the woman of the hour who was too focused on her pinky nail to return the gesture and when Sophie finally looked away, she took note of a tic in the hybrid's jaw as he glared at her, "I had nothing to do with it" she denied, "I swear." Sensing his mistrust, she continued, "Nixie and I are linked, remember" she reminded him in hopes of persuading, "she dies, I die."
"Then who were they" Rebekah burst, starling the witch who hadn't even noticed her sudden appearance.
"They're a faction of extremists" Sophie informed with a sigh, "Sabine stupidly told them about some vision she had about the baby and Nixie."
At the mention of her unborn child and herself, Nixie allowed her attention to sway from her nails and onto the witch who was already staring at her, "what kind of vision?"
"She has them all the time" Sophie waved off, "they're totally open to interpretation. I'm guessing she's wrong on this one."
"That's not what I asked" Nixie deadpanned, speaking up before Klaus could even attempt to lose his temper over the witch's babbling.
Sophie's shoulders slumped, the feeling of 3 pairs of eyes on her making her uneasy and she avoided each stare as she spoke, "she pretty much said your baby would bring death to all witches."
"Ah" Klaus' dimples appeared as he straightened up and shot Nixie an excited grin, "I grow fonder of this child by the second."
"Sophie" Rebekah cut in before her brother could rave about his murderous fetus, "look, I promised Elijah that I would protect the Mikaelson miracle baby whilst he tries to win your witch Davina's loyalty. Why don't you tell me just how extreme this faction is?"
Despite having heard every word she said, Sophie Deveraux could only focus on one bit of the sentence Rebekah had spewed, "Elijah's talking to Davina?"
"As we speak, I imagine" Bekah waved off, leaning back against the couch with a raised brow at the witch's sudden interest.
Sophie made a face, one that Nixie was rather familiar with herself as the young Deveraux snorted, "I'm guessing she'll have plenty to say about that crowd."
Sensing her not so hidden hostility, Klaus plopped himself onto the couch beside Nixie, tossing one arm over the back of her while the other made an odd motion, "do tell."
An almost shamed expression overtook Sophie's features as she grimaced, "I.. wasn't always an advocate for the witches.. My sister was devoted like our parents, and our upbringing was very strict, which drove me nuts. The minute I turned 21, I left the Quarter to travel.. and play, but I wanted to be a chef. So, I came back to Rousseau's."
Nixie's expression never faltered, a gift she had picked up after having spent so much time with the witches recently. It wasn't until Sophie mentioned the word harvest did she actually develop an interest for the conversation.
"What the bloody hell is a Harvest" Rebekah piped, brows furrowing at the unfamiliar term.
"It's a ritual our coven does every 3 centuries so that the bond to our ancestral magic is restored" the young witch explained, "we appease our ancestors. They keep our ancestral power flowing."
Rebekah wasn't the only one disturbed by this, even Klaus' expression twitched at the new information, "and why haven't I heard of this?"
"Because the harvest always seemed like a myth" Sophie shrugged, "a story passed down through generations like Noah's Ark or the Buddha walking on water, the kind some people take literally and some people don't."
An amused snort left Nixie at the comparison, her hand coming up to cover half of her face to hide her grin when she received a glare from the witch and a playful nudge from the hybrid beside her.
Ignoring the outburst, Sophie droned on, "they had the girls of our community preparing for months. Four would be chosen for the harvest. They said that it was an honor, that they were special. I thought it was just a myth."
"Was it?"
Before Sophie could answer Rebekah's question, the sound of a phone going off interrupted and everyone turned to face the hybrid who pursed his lips while pulling out his cell. Klaus spared a quick glance at the name before putting it up to his ear, "Marcel" he casually greeted causing the women to fall silent right as Hayley stepped into the room.
Nixie pointed excitedly at the wolf, drawing her attention before gesturing to her own stomach with a grin. Hayley shook her head with a silent chuckle, understanding that her friend was referring to her protruding belly. It was as if the baby had grown twice it's size overnight and as Hayley's stomach grew to accommodate it's occupant but remained hidden, Nixie's grew along with it with the help of the illusion spell to keep up the ruse that she was the one still carrying the baby. Sophie and the rest of the witches were none the wiser, to them Hayley remained perfectly normal with her growing belly hidden safely behind the spell.
-dead witches in the Bayou. Sounds like less of a problem and more like a cause for celebration."
Everybody's heads snapped up as Klaus repeated Marcel's words back to them, him promising to meet the vampires there and the second he hung up, Sophie was on him.
"You can't go out there now" she protested, "I need to gather the witches' remains and concentrate them. If I don't get to them before sundown, we lose the link to their magic."
"Those witches tried to kill Nixie" Klaus reminded rather heatedly, "and I prefer for Marcel's informant not to find anything that would lead back to us, to her or to, you know" he pointed towards Nixie's stomach, "that."
"You are all class" Hayley muttered, taking a sip of her tea as she rolled her eyes behind the mug.
"Just stay put" Klaus ordered, well, everyone, but his eyes focused solely on his human who he knew had a knack for doing the opposite of anything he asked, "stay out of trouble." Before anyone could protest, he had placed a quick kiss onto the crown of Nixie's head and disappeared before she even had time to register it.
Pouting, Nixie gave the rest of the prying eyes a shrug, "what trouble could I possibly get into while I'm stuck on house arrest?"
"I'm sure we can find something to disappoint your lover with, little sister" the familiar voice of the eldest Dovers chimed from behind them, Gale's towering figure leaning against the doorway with his usual grin.
"Well, don't disappoint, big brother" Nixie returned with a matching grin of her own, holding her hands out in a grabbing motion and he was in front of her, helping her off the couch and the two ran off to a random room to cause mischief.
"Those two will be the death of us all" Rebekah groaned, already feeling the headache the two usually caused her forming inside her skull.
***
"Why do I have to make the call? Can't you do it?"
Hayley rolled her eyes at her friend's whines, fingers squeezing the bridge of her nose as she realized she was going to have to repeat herself again. "Look," the wolf sighed, "we both know that between the two of us, I'm more likely to meet the wrong end of your boyfriend's teeth. He's less likely to kill you which means you should be the one to break the news because like it or not, I am going out there. Nixie, you told me that the same wolf I've been seeing saved your life last night.. I came to New Orleans to find my family, and this— this could lead me right to them. So, please.. please do this for me, ple-
"Alright, alright, fine" Nixie cut her off before she could fall even deeper into the desperation pit. It's not that she didn't want Hayley to find her family, but the thought of sending her friend out into the bayou where she herself was almost brutally murdered last night didn't quite sit well with her, and let's not forget the fact that Hayley was still carrying little miracle baby and Marcel and Klaus were going to be heading in that direction at some point in the next hour or so. The situation in itself was something Nixie could already feel herself stressing over but she also couldn't force herself to turn down Hayley's request of seeking out her actual family, not with knowing how long she had been searching for them. So with that in mind, she shoved her worries away for the time being and pulled out her phone which was still horribly cracked from the night before and she put it up to her ear after hitting the first name. It rang for a total of 4 seconds before being picked up, Klaus most likely still feeling guilty about missing her calls last night and trying to make up for it.
"Well, well, I hadn't been expecting a call this soon in the day, sweetheart, miss me already?"
"Normally I'd have something witty to say, but apparently I'm on a time crunch" Nixie replied, sending a pointed look towards Hayley who smiled innocently in return but Nixie's focus was stolen by what sounded like a bunch of pigeons getting murdered in the background, "what the hell is all that hillbilly ruckus?"
Klaus' grin widened in amusement, "according to the dreadful signage, it's Big Auggie's Bayou Bar."
"That's a horrible name" Nixie muttered under her breath before Hayley cleared her throat earning the wolf an exaggerated eye roll, "well, order up a few rounds of moonshine and stay clear of the dead witches for a few" she ordered, "the witch is on a burial mission, the incubator is on a spirit quest, and I'm sending Rebekah to keep Elijah's promise to keep her safe. And don't bother arguing, or I'll just hang up and do what I want anyway."
"Stubborn woman" Klaus gritted, knowing that she was completely serious with her threat and choosing to heed her warning. Unsatisfied with his options, he still found it in himself to worry more-so about her, "you're not going are you?"
"God, no" Nixie scoffed as if the idea itself was absurd, and to her it was, "you couldn't pay me enough to step foot into that mosquito infested deathtrap again, my Louis Vuitton's are still crying over their mud stains."
Feeling slightly better at the fact that she wasn't going, it was much easier for him to accept his duty as the staller, "well, as long as you're not being as stupid as the rest of them then I have no room to complain.."
"That's the spirit" Nixie snorted, offering Hayley a small nod which had the wolf grinning from ear to ear before she went sprinting out of the room and in the direction Sophie had run off to. With Gale more than likely snooping around in something he wasn't supposed to, and everyone else now gone, Nixie figured she could get a quick nap in before something goes horribly wrong like it usually did, "alright well that's all I guess, oh-wait! Can you pick up some pancake mix on your way home? I've been craving chocolate chip pancakes all morning."
"I'll see what I can do" Klaus playfully retorted, although both of them were completely aware that he would indeed be returning with a box of pancake mix, not that he'd ever admit that out loud. Catching sight of his former protégé approaching, the hybrid quickly brought their conversation to an end, "I'll see you later, sweetheart."
"Have fun" Nixie offered with a chuckle, hanging up the call and wasting no time flinging herself onto the expensive couch cushions and burrowing into them, "nap time.."
***
Klaus once again stood outside of 'Big Auggie's Bayou Bar' and his fingers clenched around his phone as his anger spiked, "let me understand this," his teeth gritted, "Nixie manages to convince me that the 3 of you have enough brain cells for a simple consecration mission and against my better logic I let you, Hayley and Sophie go, where you ran into a man you think may be Marcel's informant, and then you lost him."
"Yes" Rebekah rolled her eyes despite him not being able to see her, "and now that we've established that I am a failure as a sister and a friend and an Original.. you should probably know he's on his way to Marcel right now to rat me out- - skinny guy, in a hurry, looks like he saw a ghost."
Klaus' hand dragged across his face, ignoring the odd stares he was receiving from the human's as they passed him, "I'll handle it" he sighed, "but I'll need a distraction."
Rebekah's brows raised at the lack of yelling and she reminded herself to bring back a large bag of Nixie's favorite loaded fries for her because no doubt this was her influence, "I'm on my way." She hung up before he could change his mind and scream at her, a small pinch at the back of her forearm causing her to smack it and she glared heatedly at the dead mosquito, "little bastard."
Klaus shoved his phone back into his pocket, assuming his unanswered texts to Nixie meant she was probably napping and he headed back inside the bar before Marcel grew suspicious.
"Your sister again" the young Gerard grinned almost apologetically, he knew how persistent Rebekah Mikaelson could be.
"She craves attention" Klaus muttered with a wave of his hand to drop the subject, "so come along, we were just getting to the juicy bits of your tales of Sophie Deveraux and your super witch, Davina.."
Marcel wetted his lips as his earlier grin faltered and began his story of his experience with the Harvest and how he had been the one to save Davina Claire's life from the witches' slaughter.
***
Rebekah's distraction couldn't have come at a better time because as Klaus' eyes dragged the parking lot he spotted what he assumed to be the fellow who 'looks like he's seen a ghost'. "Tomas, I presume," Klaus announced as he appeared beside the skittish man, throwing an arm over his shoulder as he directed him away from the front door and prying eyes, "Marcel asked me to find out what you know about the dead witches."
Tomas' already blown out pupils widened as if that were even possible, "I-I heard they were going after some pregnant chick" he let out a nervous laugh, "she was stupid being out there all alone."
Klaus' jaw ticked as his smile became slightly more malicious, "mm, interesting" he gritted, before offering a slightly less intimidating smile, "it's amazing how gullible some people can be."
"Yea-
Before Tomas could even finish the word, a loud snap resounded as Klaus' hand pushed his head harshly to the side and he allowed the vampire's incapacitated corpse to fall to the ground before heading back inside. Instead of being greeted with what he expected to be a lushy Rebekah and an awkward Marcel, he was instead met with 2 empty glasses and a lonely sister exiting the bathroom where he assumed the younger vampire was as well, "that was fast work, Rebekah" he snorted, "where's Marcel? In there touching up his lipstick?"
"Credit me with some taste" the younger Mikaelson scoffed, "it's filthy in there." As if Rebekah Mikaelson would ever have sex in a public restroom, let alone one at a pontoon bar full of some of the scariest looking humans she'd ever encountered. Glancing at the second empty glass where Marcel once sat, her lips pursed, "where'd he go?"
Any and all amusement left the hybrid's expression, "he didn't tell you he was leaving?"
Rebekah's bottom lip caught between her teeth, "no... do you think he realized we were stalling him?"
"No" Klaus denied instantly, having a hard time believing that Marcel was clever enough to smell their deception until he realized who exactly he was referring to and who had raised the boy, "unless he was stalling us.."
***
Marcel's plan of distraction had of course failed when the second he tried to move the teen witch from the church attic she'd had some sort of meltdown and nearly blew the roof off before he was forced to take her back to her room where she now lied.
Davina waited until his footsteps were no longer heard before sitting up and her eyes trailed across the seemingly empty room, "Elijah?"
The suited Original revealed himself from the shadowed corner and offered a small, yet relieved grin, "I'm pleased you stayed."
"You'll keep your promise about your mother's spell book, right" she double checked, making sure that her little stunt hadn't been in vain and that he wasn't going to betray her.
Sensing her not so hidden insecurity, the vampire nodded softly, "I will" he promised. They fell into an almost comfortable silence before he broke it again, "you know, difficulties aside, I value my family over everything. I am sorry that yours failed you."
Davina eyed him with slight interest as he trailed throughout the small confines of her attic, his eyes studying the pile of drawings she had stashed in the corner and despite her initial assumption to not trust him, she could sense truth in his words which made her all the more curious, "your brother Klaus handed you to Marcel in a box" she reminded, "yet you still don't give up on him."
"Well, I've given up on giving up" Elijah shrugged, his fingers dusting over her drawing of what looked like one of the witches only to falter at what looked like her newest addition and his fingers clasped around the corners. "It's an affliction" he breathed, turning to face her with the picture in his hand yet failing to mention it just yet, "I will fight for my family until my last breath."
"And I'll fight the witches until mine."
Whether it be bravery, or stupidity, Elijah hadn't quite determined what he would refer Davina Claire as yet, but he would figure that out later... for now, though, "may I ask about this particular drawing" he quizzed, fumbling with the paper with the upmost delicacy.
Davina's brows furrowed at his sudden interest but nodded nonetheless, her lips twitching upwards once she recognized the one he was holding. "I don't know her name" the teen quietly admitted with a hint of admiration in her blue orbs that Elijah did not miss, "she was just someone who helped me through a hard time.."
"Recently" the Original wondered, propping the drawing up onto Davina's easel and taking a step back to admire it.
"The other night" Davina shrugged as if it were no big deal and she turned away, fiddling with the loose strands of her blanket while Elijah remained stoic in the corner.
The vampire's eyes moved across the beauty in the drawing, raven curls trailing down the woman's back as her head was tilted to the sky, lips pulled back as if mid laugh. The only burst of color in the entire painting were the woman's eyes, though from the perspective the drawing was you could only make out one of them. Bright green orbs stole the show and Elijah's chest shook with silent chuckles because he expected nothing less from Davina's muse.
Nixie Dovers had some explaining to do.
***
"Don't you touch her" her angry voice snarled, though her words came out more so as a plea rather than a demand, "don't you fucking touch her!"
"I'm sorry" an unrecognizable voice spoke from above her, the woman's bleary eyes forcing themselves to look up at her captor yet her blurred vision prevented her from making our their features, only what looked to be flaming red locks framing a face. The woman leaned down and brushed a piece of stray hair that had been matted to her face, "it'll all be over soon, I promise."
Her limbs were unable to move, and her chest heaved as the organ inside it raged painfully within it's cage, she wouldn't be surprised if it somehow managed to beat it's way out. But despite the obvious fury she could feel bubbling beneath her skin, the fear she felt overruled it all, "please" she cried out, uselessly fighting against her confines as her ears zeroed in on the gut wrenching cries of the girl who was in the same position beside her, "please, don't do this! I'm begging you!!"
Her eyes clenched shut as another pained filled scream from beside her pierced her ears and she soon joined in her friend's cries as her hope of getting out of their dwindled. She was going to die here....
"Nixie?!"
The call was so sudden, so quiet, that she had hardly caught it but her head still whipped to the side as a loud banging came from outside the set of doors. Her arms tugged relentlessly at the ropes, hardly flinching as they tore into her skin.. she knew that voice, "Nik?!"
"Nixie!"
"Niklaus" the name tore from her bloodied lips, the sheer force of the plea causing the woman beside her to go flying back at the same time the doors swung open.
"Nixie?"
"Nix?!"
"Phoenix!"
"What?!" Tussled raven locks flew in every direction as she shot up, greens eyes frantically taking in her surroundings and only when she recognized the horrid yellow walls of the parlor did her frantic heart finally begin to slow and she turned towards the voice who had been calling her name and sneered, "what do you want?"
"Hey, don't shoot the messenger" Gale threw his hands up in mock surrender as he studied his sister's dilated gaze, "you okay?"
"Weird dream" is all the youngest Dovers offered, waving off her brother's concern with a literal wave of her hand before finally processing his earlier words, "messenger for what?"
"Oh" he suddenly beamed, grabbing his sister by the wrist and giving her a gentle tug off the couch, "lover boy has a surprise for you."
The remnants of the horrid dream vanished from Nixie's tired brain at these words and her grin soon matched her brother's, "is it pancakes?"
"Why don't you go and find out, fatty" Gale snorted, grunting when her fist met his shoulder and he shot her a half-assed glare as she flipped him off before disappearing around the corner and towards the voices.
If she was wearing shoes, they would've squeaked at the abrupt stop she made once she noticed the 'gift' her so called lover had brought home for her, but instead her fuzzy socks nearly sent her tumbling on the freshly polished tile, "you're not pancakes."
There he stood, Elijah Mikaelson, in all his suited sophisticated Original glory. His perfect teeth gleamed as he grinned at the woman in front of him.
Nixie let out a squeal, her feet quietly thumping across the floor as she raced towards him and his arms were there to catch her as soon as she launched herself in his direction.
"It is lovely to see you again, Nixie" Elijah chuckled, happily accepting her constricting embrace while softly squeezing her in return as to not hurt her small figure.
"You're even better than pancakes, 'Lijah" Nixie hummed, resting her head against his shoulder for a few seconds before a throat cleared behind them and an amused smirk formed on her lips as she turned to face her hybrid.
Klaus blinked innocently at the pair before gesturing towards himself, "how about some appreciation for the one who brought him home, hmm?"
"Oh, are you expecting some type of reward" Nixie teased, removing her arms from the suited Original so she could turn towards the other with her arms resting on her hips.
"Well" Klaus shrugged, "I mean.. if that's what you want to give me.."
A loud snort left Nixie's lips causing one to leave the eldest Dovers who was watching the exchange before his expression quickly turned to one of disgust.
"Come here you big baby" Nixie chuckled, ignoring the wolffish grin she received as she latched onto the front of Klaus' shirt and pulled him towards her, their lips meeting in the middle causing Elijah's cheeks to redden as he looked away from the sudden display while Gale gagged in the corner. The kiss lasted a couple seconds longer than one would deem appropriate when in the company of others though neither seemed to care judging by Nixie's flushed skin and the hybrid's smug grin. "Speaking of" Nixie muttered softly so only her lover would hear before turning towards Elijah who finally had to courage to meet her eyes, "your girls out back."
Gale's brows furrowed, watched as the Original took a moment to soak in her words before he silently turned away from them and made his way towards the back, "what was that about?"
Nixie rubbed the skin between her eyebrows as Klaus chuckled against her shoulder, "we'll explain it when you're older" was all she offered him eliciting a loud guffaw from the hybrid as she lead them out of the room before Gale could ask anything else.
The eldest Dovers now stood alone, his eyes dancing between the direction his sister ran off and where Elijah disappeared to before his shoulder's slumped, "no one ever tells me shit."
"S'alright, love" a familiar voice cooed, Rebekah's blue orbs shining with amusement from her place on the second floor above him, "I'm sure I have some crayons around here somewhere to help you better understand, perhaps I'll draw you a picture, yeah?"
Gale stuck his tongue out at the blonde, grumbling under his breath as he stomped his way to his room, slamming the door behind him with a good amount of force only to cringe as something seemed to shatter in the hallway... "shit.."
"Gale!!!"
***
"Everything that brought us to New Orleans was a lie - - this story that Sophie Deveraux fabricated, this struggle for control of the French Quarter, this war between vampires and witches, wasn't over territory at all. This was over Davina."
Nixie's nose twitched, the hand that was stuffed away in one of the sleeves of Klaus' long sleeve coming up to itch it before she rested her head back against his shoulder.
Rebekah stood off to the side, the blonde's arms crossed over each other as she leaned against the doors trim with baited breath.
Hayley rested comfortably on the love seat, her feet tucked neatly underneath her legs as her teeth bit restlessly into her already damaged nails.
Gale stood behind the couch, posture straight as one of his hands rested softly against his sister's shoulder who sat in front of him beside the hybrid.
And everyone's eyes remained on Elijah who paced the floor behind the intricately carved desk in the small study they all currently occupied, his words no louder than a dull mutter though they all still managed to hear him perfectly clear.
"Eight months ago, Sophie Deveraux and her sister Jane- Anne lost everything. Now, four months after that, a young, pregnant woman shows up on their radar. Suddenly, all hope is restored."
Klaus' hold instinctively tightened around the woman beside him, his left hand which had been resting comfortably across the arm of the couch moving to cover her stomach, though neither seemed to notice the gesture, but Elijah didn't miss it.
"Jane-Anne actually sacrificed her life so that her sister could use Nixie to find Davina" he informed, biting back a small grin at his brother's affectionate display, "if Sophie Deveraux is successful in capturing Davina, she can return Jane-Anne's daughter back to life. We thought we'd come here to wage a war for power. This is about family. In order to return her niece to life, Sophie Deveraux will fight to the death." His pacing didn't stop until he was on the other side of the room standing directly in front of his brother and Nixie and his eyes pierced her green ones with such intensity it caused the others to all fidget, "that makes her more dangerous than anyone."
Nixie blinked, his words drilling a hole straight into her gut causing her muscles to tighten and an odd gleam that hadn't been seen in the former protectress' eyes in months suddenly sparkled to life, "but not everyone."
** A very short filler chapter to keep the tides rolling and the writers blocks away !! **