Elijah and Klaus were in agreement with Eisa.
"The swamp?" cried the hybrid. "So my child can be protected by the very wolves Dahlia so easily defeated? Absolutely not!"
"You know," snapped Hayley, "I am so over taking advice from you, Klaus. All it has done so far is put Hope in danger. From now on, I am going to do what I want to do. We're leaving, no matter what any of you think."
Hayley shoved past him, and he pushed her back. "You're not going anywhere unless I tell you to."
"Get your hands off of her," Eisa snapped at the same time that Hayley yelled, "I am not your prisoner, Klaus!"
"All of you, please," said Elijah, trying to keep them calm. "We're playing into Dahlia's hands."
"Not doing as I say plays into her hands" retorted Klaus. " While you three have been kow-towing to Freya and devising ways to flee with your tail between your legs, I've been forging a new path. I know what Freya was planning, and I know how to kill Dahlia."
Eisa crossed her arms. "Well, do tell."
Klaus started to explain. "Freya objected to us making a single weapon because it spoiled her plan—"
"KLAUS!"
Hayley frowned, seeing Jackson, with a body over his shoulder, and a few of his wolves trailing behind him. "Jack?"
"KLAUS!" Jackson roared, stepping into the building and revealing that the body was Aiden's.
"Oh my god," said Hayley in shock as Jackson put the body on the table. "What happened?"
"Klaus made Aiden spy on us," said Jackson venomously. "Instead, he told me everything—" he faced the hybrid with a mutinous look, "so you killed him!"
Eisa looked up, from where she'd been observing the claw marks on Aiden's face, and the empty hole where his heart should be. Klaus was stone-faced, but he seemed surprised.
Hayley glared at him. "You killed one of the wolves sworn to protect our daughter?"
"So what if I did?" said Klaus coldly. He pointed at the body. "This is what happens to anyone who dares cross me."
"Niklaus!" spat Eisa. "Read the bloody room, don't say that!"
"Just give us the word, Jackson," one of the other werewolves growled.
"Yes, come and have a go!" Klaus challenged. "But you'll be putting your life on the line for one who is all too willing to betray you. Perhaps this never would have happened if he'd had a real Alpha."
Both Eisa and Elijah immediately started chastising him, but their words were drowned out by Jackson punching Klaus in the face. Klaus shoved Jackson back, and the wolves moved forward. Hayley got right between them, and Klaus punched her right in the stomach, sending her flying to the side. Eisa jumped in, catching Klaus's fist in her hand to stop him from hitting Jackson, though, that left her to be hit in the head, knocking her forward and nearly making her and her brother topple to the ground.
Eisa whirled around, slamming her foot into Jackson's abdomen. The other wolves converged on her, and she felt them bite into her, but with ease, she swiped her hands up, slapping them back. Hayley got in her way before she could round on Jackson again.
"You wanna kill me, too, Eisa?" she said shakily.
"Don't be ridiculous, I wasn't going to kill him!" she snapped.
"You lot should make better use of your time," said Klaus snarkily, smirking at the defeated wolves. "I suggest burying your dead."
"Don't even get me started on you!" spat Eisa.
"Niklaus," said Elijah impatiently, "you mentioned a plan. I recommend you begin. Hayley and Hope are safe for the time being, and not going anywhere."
Klaus cast them all a cheeky smile. "Shan't be long."
As soon as he was gone, Eisa looked at Elijah. "He's lying."
"Lying?" demanded Hayley. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"He didn't do this," said Eisa, gesturing at the claw marks on Aiden's face. "This isn't Nik's style. He's only turned into a wolf once, when he broke his curse. He wouldn't change his M.O. just for Aiden. Niklaus puts his victims on display— he would have staked him to a tree in the Bayou, or to a fence in the Compound, if he wanted to get revenge."
She held up her own hand, showing off her sharp nails. "This right here, this is more of my style. I've left claw marks on my victims in the past, depending on the message I was trying to send. Nik has never done that. He didn't do this."
"Who else would it have been?" questioned Jackson in a rough voice.
"Dahlia, obviously! She'll have a greater advantage if we're not working properly together. That's already well underway with Freya's stupid ultimatum." She started making her way to the door, but Elijah caught her.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"To get Niklaus to tell me the truth about the fact he didn't do this. Then, to speak to Freya again."
She didn't make it to either.
She heard a strange tune being whistled as she got to the street, and she stopped in her tracks, frowning, and looking behind her. There were people everywhere, but none stood out.
When she turned back around, she saw Dahlia, and she flinched.
"Eisa," said Dahlia with a slight, and very fake smile. "I believe we should have a chat."
"Funny, I don't make a habit of chatting with my enemies. But it's cute you thought to try. Excuse me." She made to leave, but Dahlia stopped her.
"It wasn't an option," the witch said simply, pulling her down the street with her. "I have heard much about you. Esther's bright little witch, sent down a destructive spiral when she lost her power. That, I believe, you shared with your brother, Kol."
"Don't you dare mention his name," sneered Eisa, trying to rip away from the witch, but her grip became more firm.
Dahlia was unbothered. "My sister was a fool."
"She is a fool," said Eisa coldly.
"Was," corrected Dahlia. "Or did Freya neglect to tell you that she killed Esther?"
Eisa faltered, and Dahlia continued, "But of course. That Freya. You and I share a mutual dislike of her."
"Are you approaching a point? Why drag me along just to complain about Freya?"
Dahlia chuckled, leading her off into a side alley. "I wished to set the stage before making my offer."
"Your offer?"
"I have power unlike anything you have ever seen," said Dahlia. "I could bring Kol and Finn back from the dead, in their Original bodies, without their vampirism. I could do the same for you. Strip away only a piece of Esther's spell. No more bloodlust. No more heightened emotions. I could allow you to keep your immortality, along with every bit of strength, speed, and stamina you could ever wish for. You could be a witch again, and have children of your own—"
Eisa let out a dry laugh. "Let me stop you right there. You'd like for me to have kids only so you can have more firstborns."
"Yes, of course. It is what is owed to me."
"Funny that you think I'd take you up on that offer. Good try, though, you almost had me hooked."
She was able to get away, and made to speed off, but Dahlia held up her hand, and Eisa held her head, gritting her teeth as a high-pitched ringing sound echoed in her brain.
"I cannot get into your mind," said Dahlia lowly, "but I don't need to be in there to know how to properly entice you. I could give you everything you could ever want. I would get rid of Jackson. I would wipe Hayley's memory of him, and of her child, so that she could be entirely devoted to you."
"Shut up," said Eisa, trying to get up.
Dahlia tsked, and made a different motion. Eisa whimpered, feeling the wolf venom, which she'd been able to tolerate until now, making its way right to her heart. She started to shake, and her vision blurred, before the ground seemed to disappear, and she was slammed into the pavement.
"You live, because I allow you to," Dahlia crooned. "I pity you, Eisa. I've heard of the terrible things your father has said to you. At my side, you would be free to love whoever you wished. There's no reason why you shouldn't love women. They're marvelous, your father should have understood that."
"Stop it!" Eisa hissed, her nose leaking blood as she pressed her hands down, trying to push her body up. "I would never help you—"
"Foolish, really, when it would grant you the peace you have sought for centuries. Those parents of yours ruined your life. I am only trying to help you. It's what an aunt should do."
Eisa started to choke, her hand flying to her throat, feeling as though a stone had been shoved over her trachea. She gasped, trying to get air, and Dahlia pushed her down with the heel of her boot.
"You all aim to work as a unit," said Dahlia. "And it will never happen. Yet, your individual strengths are... concerning enough that it would do me well to cut out a few players."
She kneeled down beside her. "You see, I hear everything. I know Hayley Marshall intends to flee, with her child, into the Bayou. A place where she cannot hide. You are opposed to it. So vehemently, I might add, that it... becomes so utterly inconvenient. Without you there to dissuade her... Hayley will run. She will run, and that child shall be mine."
"You— you won't—"
Dahlia fake pouted. "I won't what, silly girl? Won't succeed? I have covered every base. I sent an acolyte to one of your trusted witches, and infiltrated their mind before they took the tea. You did not even check that they all drank it properly, and now, I am in possession of a curious little trinket that will prove useful here. I have also piled evidence that will convince your siblings that Niklaus did kill that wolf. I have ensured that the young Harvest witch reveals to them a weapon that will leave him at my mercy. So you see, Elijah and Rebekah will be alone in their planning, and they will make such a mistake... that Hope will be in my possession by next afternoon."
Eisa's body slumped back weakly, nearing unconsciousness. Her eyes widened as Dahlia pulled out one of the white oak daggers, complete with the ash needed to put her to sleep.
She'd been careless.
One of her witches had been turned into Dahlia's spy before she realized it. The Boundary Spell had been corrupted since the beginning. A white oak ash dagger had been delivered to the witch. And in killing Kol, she'd seen into his mind, finding out that the dagger to subdue Klaus had long since been finished by him and Davina— something they had kept secret from everyone.
A tear slid down Eisa's cheek, and she tried to push the witch away, but her muscles had seized up. Dahlia dipped the dagger into the ash, before thrusting it into Eisa's heart, making the Original whimper as she began to desiccate, her world going black.
_
Somehow, taking the dagger out was harder than removing Papa Tunde's blade.
Perhaps because she was actually dead. But considering how painless it was, Eisa somewhat expected that undaggering herself might be a piece of cake.
It wasn't.
There was only darkness. There was only silence. Eisa could rely on memories to remain awake, but, not new thoughts, because they made her drowsy. She couldn't feel where her body was, in space. She couldn't sense where or how she lay. Whether she was outdoors or indoors.
Had she already been stuffed into a coffin? Or had Dahlia dropped her in the swamp to keep her siblings from finding her?
She tried to concentrate on how her body normally felt. Where her arms would be placed. How every vein and artery slipped beneath her skin, driving blood throughout her dead corpse.
Movement. She needed movement, and she couldn't focus on it.
She'd grow dizzy, when she tried to concentrate on just one of her arms. The darkness seemed to intensify, and she felt so sleepy. Like she ought to curl up and drift into a state of dreams.
Snap out of it, she told herself, recalling the day in the forest. You're strong enough to remove the dagger.
And yet, she wondered if this was true. She had removed Papa Tunde's blade only after learning that Mikael had done the same. She'd known it was possible, and it made her attempts worthwhile.
But this? She'd never even managed to wake her siblings up from being daggered, because Klaus always caught her before she could even open their coffins. She'd never exactly tried to wake herself up. She'd let herself dream, so that time would go by faster.
I can't give up, she pleaded, fixating on every memory she had of Hayley, with her beautiful smile. She needs you. Hope needs you.
She was so, so tired. It would be nice to rest for a bit. She'd long since needed a break. She'd dropped everything and rushed to New Orleans the instant Klaus had told her that she was going to be an aunt. She'd remained there, when she shouldn't have. It had taken a toll on her, and this was her time to relax, to replenish, and to let the others handle it.
That's not fair to Hope, she said, imagining the little girl's sweet face. She won't be safe unless we all pitch in. They aren't working together.
How could she even hope to wake up when she was so stiff? When she felt too tired and too sore to lift a finger?
Blood was usually what woke desiccated vampires up. Even just a drop on her lips would be enough to strengthen her. And then, she could potentially wake, and remove the dagger.
Now where to get human blood? Where was she? Was there blood anywhere near her?
The venom, she thought. The wolves bit me, and some of their blood might be laced with the venom. I just need to move it to my mouth.
She should have studied the body a lot more.
Aside from knowing that most veins carried blood back to the heart, and that most arteries carried blood away from the heart, she didn't know what pathway would lead the blood to come to her mouth.
She had to try. She had to try and think of the venom moving to her mouth. She had to imagine any spec of wolf blood would touch her tongue, her lips, and revive her.
She had no idea if it would be possible. She had no idea how much time had already passed. She'd been daggered three hundred years, and had not been able to tell, prior to being awoken, that she'd missed three centuries.
She forced herself to remain awake by remembering every last thing she'd learned about anatomy. In between, she looked at Hayley's face, at Hope's face, at the faces of her siblings. She had to get back, she had to.
Her chest ached, that much was apparent. Dahlia had made the venom go right into her heart, which put it in a good place to pump it out to her mouth, but it also meant that it would cause her pain to move it.
There was no more silence. Her ears were ringing to a painful degree as she tried to move the blood, little by little, focusing on her lips, which were tingling. Just a bit further... just a bit further...
It felt like it took ages for the throbbing sensation to move from her chest, to her neck, then her head, and finally, her mouth, which made her feel as though she'd been punched, and a tooth or two had been knocked out.
She coughed, which was unpleasant, and she started to gag, feeling as though she needed to throw up. She felt something rise up her throat, and then, her eyes snapped open.
She could sense where her body was in space, which at least allowed her to feel where the dagger was, and where her arms were. Both were equally close. She focused on her right hand, taking a deep breath, and slowly starting to lift it. She seized the hilt of the dagger and yanked it out.
Her arm dropped immediately. She would not be able to move any more than that for awhile. She needed to wait, to replenish a bit more of her strength, before she could even try to sit up.
It felt good for air to fill her lungs. She had to wait just around an hour before she was able to get to her feet, limping out of an abandoned warehouse, the dagger tucked safely in her pocket. She found a security guard, biting into his throat and taking just a bit of blood before healing him and compelling him to go home for the day.
She felt for her phone, and found it in her back pocket. She saw around twenty missed texts from Elijah, letting her know that Klaus was daggered, that Hayley had gone to the Bayou, and that Freya was going to help them lure Dahlia into a trap.
Her instinct was to get to the Bayou. She sped there as fast as her legs could carry her, and stopped when she sensed someone around her, hidden in the bushes.
She caught two arrows that were set to impale her heart. She snapped them in half, and whirled around to catch an wolf with an axe, throwing him away before he could impale her.
"Tell me where Hayley and Hope are," said Eisa coldly.
There was a yell, and Jackson jumped out at her from a tree, managing to punch her right in the face, nearly knocking her down. She growled, kicking his legs out from under him, and grabbed him by the throat.
"You haven't the faintest idea how easy it would be for me to snap your neck," she sneered, seeing a group of wolves had surrounded her, their bows loaded, arrows pointed at her. "Tell me where Hayley and Hope are, now, and maybe, I won't have to slaughter the lot of you."
"Not gonna happen," panted Jackson, glaring at her. "You can't kill me."
"Can't I?" said Eisa, squeezing harder.
"You can't," Jackson repeated, wheezing a bit. "I know you're just waiting for the day I die... so you can take your immortal place beside Hayley. If you kill me, you lose her for good. She'll never forgive you."
"Eisa!"
She turned around and saw Elijah, walking up with Hayley and Hope.
"Brother," she said, letting Jackson fall to the floor. "How could you allow her to—"
"Where have you been?" he asked calmly.
She lifted her blazer, revealing the hole in her shirt. "Dahlia daggered me."
"And you came here because—"
"Because she will easily find Hayley here, and I intended to get her and Hope to a safe place— one of my choosing. I'm not sure which one, but one of my witches is Dahlia's spy. And now that Nik has been daggered, and now that you've allowed Hayley to take Hope into a place where she is so vulnerable, I can't trust that they will survive this unless we get them somewhere with defenses stronger than just a Pack of wolves."
Elijah nodded slowly. "We have already learned who the spy was. Lian. Isela discovered it before we formed our plan. All is well. She was given the tea that would remove Dahlia from her mind, and Estelle took her home. I have just informed Hayley of the plan. Rebekah and Davina found a way to recreate Hope's magic. Freya would then lure her into a trap, where we can kill her. All we need is a vial of Hope's blood."
"And if it isn't enough?" demanded Eisa. "If Dahlia realizes it's a trap?"
Elijah held up his finger. "Sister, I am asking you to help us. Work with us. I understand you did not wish for Hayley and Hope to run, but I only honored their wishes. We cannot keep them as prisoners."
Eisa looked at Hayley, who was holding Hope, and staring at her with wide eyes. The Original sighed harshly, glaring at the wolves who still had arrows ready to fly into her body.
"If Dahlia finds them out here," said Eisa lowly to her brother. "If she hurts them... I will never forgive you."
Perhaps she should have been more worried about herself being hurt.
She'd just been briefed in detail at the Compound by Isela, Zeus, and Freya, in order for her to double check their spell, when her phone rang. Seeing it was Hayley, she didn't answer, and did not check her phone again til it chimed to let her know a voicemail had been left.
She put it on speaker just as Elijah and Rebekah came into the room, likely to speak to her about Klaus's predicament. They had waited for this, because they knew Eisa would want him undaggered, and they were not ready to admit they made a mistake.
"Eisa," came Hayley's voice. "I'm calling to say goodbye. Hope and I... we can't be part of your family anymore. All Hope's life, her family has tried to destroy her. That can't be my little girl's story. Family is supposed to love you. Even if she is free of Dahlia's first-born curse, Hope would still be Klaus's daughter. She'd inherit a thousand years of enemies, all his anger and rage... I don't want Hope to be a Mikaelson... all the pain that comes with that name... She doesn't deserve that. Eisa, I.... goodbye."
The voicemail ended, and Eisa nearly crushed the phone.
She wanted to be furious. She wanted to speak to Hayley in person, to ask why she kept the baby, why she didn't try to leave, if she had such a problem with Klaus being its father. She wanted to ask why she had been so insistent on falling for her, when Eisa had tried to push her away for this reason— the fact she was a Mikaelson.
"Eisa," said Rebekah gently when a tear slipped down her sister's face.
"I'm done," she whispered, shaking her head as she started to cry. "I'm done with this. As soon as Dahlia is dead, I'm leaving. And I'm not coming back."
A/N : For updates on future TVD Stories from me, check out my posts on Wattpad, my activities on Quotev (@ sprintingfox) or the link in my AO3 profile!