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𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚜, 𝚕𝚘𝚞𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚊
When Brinley woke up the next morning the other side of the bed was empty and the sheet was cold indicating that Klaus had been gone for a little while. The girl allowed a frown to make its way onto her face, she was for some reason hoping that he would be there when she woke up.
She wasn't able to pout for long because Rebekah was letting herself into her room, instructing the brunette to get out of bed promising that she would make her some pancakes for breakfast.
So that lead to Brinley sitting criss crossed in the arm chair with her plate of pancakes balanced on her lap as Rebekah stood leaning against the doorway.
"You know Beks, you should give up this whole vampire bitch thing and become a chef instead because these pancakes are to die for." Brinley commented as she hummed taking another bite
"Thanks. I think." Rebekah said, brows furrowed in confusion before she just shook it off. "Where's your wolf friend?"
"She had some things to take care of this morning, at least that's what she said in the text she left me a few hours ago." Brinley said cutting up a piece of her pancake and bringing it to her mouth
Suddenly, Klaus appeared out of nowhere along with Sophie tossing the witch into the arm chair across from Brinley who paused at the scene with the fork half way to her mouth.
"What the?" Brinley mumbled
"We had a deal. You protect my unborn children and Brinley, I dismantle Marcel's army, and whilst I've been busy fulfilling my part of the bargain, you allow Brinley to be attacked and almost killed by a gaggle of lunatic witches." Klaus spoke as he paced around the room before finally settling down on the couch
"I also lost my favorite purse. Don't forget about that." Brinley spoke up sadly, still upset about the loss
"Ah how could I forget, I'm sorry I was a little more worried about you than a silly old purse." Klaus said giving Brinley a sarcastic smile
Brinley just rolled her eyes and childishly stuck her tongue out at the original making him look at her in amusement.
"I had nothing to do with it, I swear." Sophie immediately defended herself. "Brinley and I are linked, remember? She dies, I die."
"Then who were they?" Rebekah asked crossing her arms from her place on the arm of the couch
"I'd like to know that as well, since they not only shot me in the leg but also shot Rebekah and Hayley." Brinley said, sitting her empty plate on the coffee table before turning her full attention to Sophie.
"They're a faction of extremists. Sabine stupidly told them about some vision she had about the babies." Sophie explained with a sigh
"What kind of vision?" Klaus asked leaning back into the couch
"She has them all the time, they're totally open to interpretation. I'm guessing she's wrong on this one." Sophie assured them as she sat forward
"How was the vision interpreted? It must have been pretty bad for them to come after me like that." Brinley said and Sophie looked around at the three before hesitantly speaking
"Pretty much that your babies will bring death to all witches." Sophie answered making Brinley and Klaus exchange a glance before they both broke out into laughter
"Ah, well, I grow fonder of the children by the second." Klaus smiled sitting back up and Brinley nodded in agreement
"Death to all witches. Sounds like a dream to me." Brinley smirked making Sophie sigh
"Sophie, look. I promised Elijah that I would protect the Mikaelson Miracle Babies whilst he tries to win your witch Davina's loyalty." Rebekah sighed as she sat down onto the couch beside Klaus. "Why don't you tell me just how extreme this faction is?"
"Elijah is talking to Davina?" Sophie asked surprised
"Yeah, as we speak, I imagine." Rebekah said sitting back and crossing her left leg over her right
"I'm guessing she'll have plenty to say about that crowd." Sophie said
"Do tell." Klaus said holding his hands out before leaning back into the couch
"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. But then Jane Anne came to the bar one night and informed me that the Elders decided to move forward with the Harvest." Sophie explained, seeming lost in memories as they played in her head
Meanwhile, Klaus, Rebekah, and Brinley all exchanged confused looks never hearing of something called the Harvest before.
"What the bloody hell is the harvest?" Rebekah asked voicing her confusion
"It's a ritual our coven does every 3 centuries so that the bond to our ancestral magic is restored. We appease our ancestors. They keep our ancestral power flowing." Sophie explained looking between the three
"And why haven't I heard of this?" Klaus asked, since surly if this was real he would have came across this before in his 1,000 years of life
"Because the Harvest always seemed like a myth, 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. They had the girls of our community preparing for months. 4 would be chosen for the Harvest. They said that it was an honor, that they were special. I thought it was a myth." Sophie shook her head
"Was it?" Brinley asked and Sophie just stared blankly ahead
Before Sophie could continue Klaus's phone rang making Brinley jump in surprise as Klaus sat up and answered the call.
"Marcel, bit early in the day for you, isn't it?" Klaus asked as he got up from the couch
While Klaus was busy talking Brinley got up and took her plate into the kitchen, washing the sticky syrup off before drying and putting the plate away where it goes in the shelf.
Brinley walked back into the sitting room and retook her seat while Klaus was still talking.
"Dead witches in the bayou." Klaus spoke gaining Sophie's attention. "Sounds less like a problem and more like a cause for celebration."
Sophie looked increasingly worried the longer Klaus and Marcels conversation carried on making Rebekah and Brinley exchange a look.
"Well why not. I haven't been to the bayou in ages. I'm on my way." Klaus said before hanging up
"You can't go out there now." Sophie said just as Hayley walked in the room with a glass of water just returning from where ever she had been. "I need to gather the witches remains and consecrate them. If I don't get to them before sundown, we lose the link to their magic."
"Those witches tried to kill Brinley. I prefer for Marcel's informant not to find anything that would lead him back to us, to her, or to, our children." Klaus said gesturing to Brinley
"Like my purse. What if they find my purse? That belonged to my mom." Brinley sighed fiddling with her fingers making Klaus sigh
"Stay put and save the rest of your story till I return." Klaus pointed at Sophie before turning to Brinley. "I will see if I can snatch your purse without them seeing."
"Thanks." Brinley sighed
"Actually, there's no need." Hayley smiled softly as Brinley shot her a confused look, the Marshall girl just chuckled and reached behind her retrieving Brinley's purse making her gasp before squealing in excitement
"My purse! Thank you! Thank you Hales!" Brinley smiled reaching out to take it from her and hugging it to her chest
"Ah, crisis averted." Klaus chuckled before leaving
"How did you find it?" Brinley asked and Hayley shrugged
"I swiped one of your shirts to get your scent and managed to find it a little bit away from the clinic." Hayley said and Brinley smiled wider
"That's where you went this morning?" Brinley asked and Hayley smiled sheepishly
"Well, I didn't want to listen to you whine about not having it anymore. And I also may have been seeing if I could track down the wolf from last night as well." Hayley explained and Brinley nodded
"No luck?" Brinley asked and Hayley shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry Hales."
"Yeah. Maybe they only come out at night. I don't know." Hayley sighed before leaving the room leaving Brinley to watch after her.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Once Klaus left Sophie had left shortly after followed by Hayley leaving just Rebekah and Brinley in the house. The brunette has been lounging around in her bedroom working on crocheting some baby blankets.
When Brinley was 12 she could remember spending days after school at her grandparents farmhouse, her grandmother insisted that the girl learned how to use a needle and yarn.
It was a core memory she has with her grandmother before she passed away a year later.
"Whatever are you doing?" Rebekah asked leaning against the doorway
"I'm making some baby blankets, I had one just like this when I was a baby from my grandma. So, I thought maybe I'd make them for the twins." Brinley smiled holding up the half finished forest green blanket
"That sounds lovely. You know back when we were children Klaus made me my baby blanket from some scraps of his old clothes. I held onto that thing until I turned 10." Rebekah chuckled making Brinley smile
"That's surprisingly sweet. I never would've thought Klaus to be the creative type." Brinley said as Rebekah came to sit down next to her on the bed and picking up a ball of dark blue yarn.
"Blue and Green?" Rebekah asked raising her brows
"Call it mother's intuition. But I'm afraid we may end up having two mini Klaus's on our hands." Brinley said with a small smile as Rebekah groaned
"Oh lord help us all." Rebekah teased making Brinley chuckle. "I have a few errands to run but I'll be back later. You good here by yourself?"
"Yep. I'll just be here, all alone, in bed watching tv." Brinley sighed making Rebekah roll her eyes
"I'll bring you back some cookies and cream ice cream." Rebekah said making Brinley perk up
"Ok!" Brinley smiled making Rebekah chuckle at how quick her mood changed
"I swear pregnancy's made you bipolar. I'll see you later." Rebekah said patting the girls shoulder before leaving
Brinley just sighed and sat her project over to the side, feeling particularly lazy today she scooted down her bed and made herself comfortable pulling her blanket up to her chin. The girl reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the remote before turning on the tv and playing her comfort movie, Dirty Dancing.
The opening music played making Brinley smile and sigh in content, the breeze from her cracked window blew her flyaways across her face. The cool air soothing her and making the sleepy feeling creep up on her as she allowed her eyes to flutter shut.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Brinley was rudely woken up by the sound of her phone ringing, the girl groaned in protest but ultimately reached over and grabbed her phone from further down on her bed.
"What?" Brinley grumbled into the phone as she laid back down with her eyes closed
"Don't sound so happy. I just thought you'd want to know that your wolf friend had the bright idea of following Sophie out to the bayou to the exact spot Marcel and Klaus will be heading." Rebekah said over the phone making Brinley sit straight up
"She did what?" Brinley asked with wide eyes
"I know. I told her it was stupid given Marcel's reputation with wolves, but she's annoyingly stubborn." Rebekah scoffed
"Well we can't let her go out there with that witch bitch alone. Pick me up in 10." Brinley said as she got out of bed
"Are you out of your bloody mind? No way! Klaus will kill me if I take you out to the bayou right now!" Rebekah exclaimed
"I won't let him kill you Becca. Hayley's my friend and I promised I'd help her find her family, just because I'm knocked up with two miracle babies with a psychotic original hybrid as the baby daddy doesn't mean I'm just going to bail on her." Brinley said walking into her closet to pick out something to change into since she's still basically in pajamas
"I'm going to ignore how awkward of a conversation you're going to have with your children someday. But fine, I'll be there soon." Rebekah said before hanging up
Brinley stared down at the black screen, how are they suppose to tell the twins how they met? You can't really say "mommy's friends were trying to kill daddy and wanted her help, but then mommy changed her mind and ended up falling into bed with him, and boom mommy found out she was pregnant".
Just the thought of that conversation made the girl cringe.
Shaking her head to get the image of their confused children's faces staring up at them out of her mind, she turned back to her closet and grabbed one of the first outfits she laid eyes on.
Rebekah showed up shortly after Brinley finished getting ready, Hayley and Sophie had already driven out to the bayou so they were suppose to be meeting them there.
Before she knew it they were pulling up behind Sophie's red hatchback where the witch and Hayley were standing outside waiting for them. Brinley and Rebekah got out of the car and walked over to them. The vampire answered her ringing phone and hung back by her car.
"What are you doing here?" Hayley asked Brinley with wide eyes
"I could ask you the same thing. Didn't you come out here this morning?" Brinley asked Hayley, placing her hands on her hips
"Well yeah. But I didn't find the witches bodies, so when Sophie mentioned coming out here I thought maybe if the wolf was out here it could've been drawn out." Hayley said giving Brinley a sheepish smile
"So you're basically using me as bait?" Sophie asked the werewolf with furrowed brows
"If that's how you see it. Then yes." Hayley shrugged and Sophie scoffed
"Well. That was Klaus, we don't have much time before Marcel will be chomping at the bud to get out here. So let's get a move on it shall we? I don't want to spend one more bloody second in this humid buggy bayou then I have to." Rebekah said slapping at her arms
"I agree. I'm pregnant and moody and already sweating profusely." Brinley sighed wiping her face
"We shouldn't be out here after dark anyway, it's not safe. Let's go." Sophie said leading them deeper into the bayou
"Who put her in charge?" Brinley pouted but Rebekah just rolled her eyes and nudged the girl forward
The four girls traipsed through the woods of the bayou, Hayley taking the lead with Sophie right on her tail while Brinley and Rebekah just walked along behind them trying not to trip over branches or fall into a hole.
"So, this Harvest thingy—- tell me more." Rebekah spoke up from behind Brinley, making sure the girl didn't stumble
"Klaus said to wait." Sophie shook her head glancing over her shoulder
"Yes. He also said to stay out of the bayou and yet here we are, amongst the crawly, buzzy creatures." Rebekah rolled her eyes
"Yeah. Just because Klaus says something doesn't mean it's the law." Brinley said before stumbling into Sophie's back when Hayley stopped in front of her causing the witch to come to an abrupt stop. "Excuse you. A little bit of a warning next time!"
"My bad Brin. Anyway, we're here." Hayley said nodding down
Brinley followed her gaze and saw the witches bodies all bloodied and ripped apart, and a dismembered head lies near them. Normally a sight like that wouldn't bother her, she's seen worse, hell she's done worse. But it seems the babies aren't too fond of violence which is resulting in some nausea for the girl.
"You ok?" Rebekah asked noticing her queasiness
"Uh yeah. I don't think the babies like all the blood and gore." Brinley answered rubbing her stomach, while Rebekah placed a comforting hand on her back
"Well that's surprising considering who their father is." Rebekah teased making Brinley chuckle
"Woah." Hayley gasped gaining the girls attention
There is a huge paw print in the mud right in front of her and just a few feet ahead there are three bloody scratches in the bark of a tree.
"Is that a wolf track?" Sophie asked with wide eyes as the four stood around it
Suddenly they hear the sound of crunching footsteps nearby making their heads snap over towards it, Rebekah holds her hand out protectively in front of Brinley.
"Who's there?" Rebekah calls out
A man vamps towards them and freezes, looking between the four girls with wide eyes before zeroing in on Rebekah.
"What the hell? An Original?" The man said with wide eyes, fear radiating off him
Before anything could be said the man vamps away, leaving the girls to look after him in confusion mouths agape.
"Bloody hell." Rebekah scoffed
Rebekah had stepped away to call Klaus while Sophie had started preparing for her ritual, Hayley was admiring the wolf print, and Brinley was sitting on a clear area on the ground picking some yellow wildflowers.
"Yes, and now that we've established that I am a failure as a sister, and a friend, and an auntie, 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." Rebekah winced. "I'm on my way." Rebekah hung up the phone, swatting away a few mosquitos that had landed on her arm. "I have to go distract Marcel."
"Can you try to keep him away from the bayou for a little while longer?" Hayley asked
"Well that is the point of a distraction." Rebekah smiled sarcastically making Hayley roll her eyes, before the blonde turned to Brinley who was busy making a flower crown. "Will you be alright?"
"Yep. I'm just curing my boredom with flower crowns!" Brinley smiled plopping the crown on her head making Rebekah chuckle
"Ok then. Make me one will you." Rebekah instructed and Brinley playfully saluted the original before the vamped off
"So? How long is this going to take? Because I now have a bladder the size of a peanut and I really have to pee." Brinley said looking up at the two with a grimace
"This will only take a few more minutes, then we're good to go." Sophie said before getting back to her task
It took Sophie until nightfall to finish her ritual, it's safe to say Brinley wasn't very happy about that but she now had made enough flower crowns to present to a small army. Sophie led them back towards her truck.
"So? Those witch friends of yours. The entire reason they came after Brinley was because of some weird vision Sabine had about the babies. What about you? Do you believe it?" Hayley asked gaining Brinley's attention causing the hunter to look up in curiosity
"Look, I love Sabine, but she's the witch equivalent of a drama queen. I've learned to take little stock in whatever she says or sees. Just kinda wish she'd kept her mouth shut." Sophie said looking over at Brinley
"The Harvest ritual-- you said you didn't believe in it. Were you right?" Hayley asked causing Sophie to look over towards her
"No. I saw it with my own eyes. It was working. It was real." Sophie said in a grim tone making Brinley take a shaky breath
"So, how can you be so sure Sabine's vision isn't?" Hayley asked giving Brinley a worried look, Sophie just looked away not able to respond
"Can we go now? I'm cold and hungry and tired and I really don't want to talk about how all the witches are gunning for me and my children." Brinley said and Hayley nodded
"Yeah. Yeah, let's go." Hayley said wrapping her arm around Brinley's shoulder
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Immediately after getting back from the bayou Brinley headed up to her room, desperate to take a hot shower and wash all of the grime and sweat off her body.
After getting out of the shower and getting dressed, Brinley walked back downstairs finding Hayley and Rebekah sitting in the living room.
"Good shower?" Hayley asked with a small smile
"Oh yeah. Nothing beats a nice hot shower at the end of the day." Brinley said sighing as she plopped down onto the couch next to Hayley. "Whatcha talking about?"
"Oh I was just informing Hayley that was her last trip to the bayou, at least with you in-toe. I can't have you traipsing off and getting yourself killed now can I?" Rebekah smiled sitting down in the armchair
"Hey. Trust me I wouldn't be sad if I never saw that swamp again. But I promised Hayley I'd help her, and I don't go back on promises." Brinley said giving Hayley a wink, making the werewolf give her a small smile
"What is it with you and those wolves, anyway?" Rebekah asked Hayley, taking a sip of her drink
"I feel like we're connected somehow. I don't know. Maybe it's just some pipe dream that I have of finding any real family out there. But sometimes, when I feel like it's me against the world, it keeps me going." Hayley said and both girls have her a sympathetic look, Rebekah got up and poured a second glass of bourbon handing it to Hayley who gladly accepted
"Well, if you ask me, family is a pain in the behind." Rebekah sighed taking a drink before handing Brinley a glass of lemonade. "But. They are well worth the trouble."
"You know. I don't appreciate the alone comment. Do you really think I'd go aimlessly walking around the hot sticky bayou for just anyone?" Brinley asked wrapping her arm around Hayley, the werewolf giving the hunter a smile of appreciation before leaning into her
The girls conversation is interrupted when Klaus comes into the room, his gaze immediately locks on Brinley giving the girl a once over making her smile.
"Nik, finally! What–-" Rebekah sighed in relief standing up as Elijah walks through the door after his brother with a huge smile. Rebekah smiles and runs to Elijah hugging him tightly.
Brinley and Hayley stand up watching the pair reunite, Brinley glances over and sees the way Hayley is look at Elijah making her eyes widen before a mischievous grin spreads across her face.
"Elijah! You're safe! Now that you're home, is your first plan to kill Niklaus?" Rebekah asked as they pulled away making Klaus roll his eyes
"Not quite." Elijah chuckled before looking over at Brinley. "Brinley."
"Welcome home!" Brinley smiled walking over to the siblings
"I hope my siblings have treated you well." Elijah said as they hugged
"Like a queen. You should be proud." Brinley smiled as they pulled away and Elijah chuckled
"Of course we treated her well. I'm pretty sure I like her more than any of you." Rebekah rolled her eyes
"Well that's not surprising." Klaus rolled his eyes making Rebekah glare at him
Brinley noticed how Elijah was looking over at Hayley with a look she couldn't decipher, from her very brief time knowing the original she can tell he is a hard person to read.
"This is my friend Hayley. She's the one I told you about." Brinley told Elijah who nodded in recognition
"Yes of course. Pleasure to meet you, Hayley." Elijah nodded
"You too." Hayley smiled softly
Brinley noticed the way the two looked at each other, they had only just met and the attraction was already pretty obvious.
"Well. Now that you're back Elijah. Do you have anything you'd like to share with the group?" Klaus asked breaking the staring contest between Elijah and Hayley
"Yes. Yes I do." Elijah cleared his throat leading them into the study
Elijah stood behind the desk leaning against it, Brinley sat down on the couch with Rebekah, while Klaus and Hayley stood on opposite sides of the room.
"Everything that brought us here 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." Elijah explained
"The harvest right? Sophie's niece was apart of it." Brinley realized and Elijah nodded
"Eight months ago, Sophie Deveraux and her sister Jane-Anne lost everything. Now, four months after that, a young pregnant girl wanders into their restaurant. Suddenly, all hope is renewed. Jane-Anne actually sacrificed her life so that her sister can use you to find Davina. 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. That makes her more dangerous than anyone." Elijah warned the group
"She's desperate. She'll do whatever it takes." Rebekah said turning the Brinley. "She truly doesn't care that you two are linked. If it means bringing her niece back from the dead she'll kill you regardless of her own life."
"I can't really say I blame her." Brinley said ignoring the incredulous looks she was receiving. "If I found a way to bring even a single member of my family back. My brother or sister or one of my parents, I would do whatever it took. Regardless of the cost"
"We won't let anything happen to you. I gave you my word that I would keep you safe and I intend on keeping it." Elijah said giving Brinley a gentle smile
"No one will lay a hand on you or the children. They will have to go through me." Klaus said coming over to place a firm hand on Brinley's shoulder
"I know." Brinley nodded
"I'm sorry. Did you say children?" Elijah asked with furrowed brows
"We're having twins. Surprise." Brinley smiled giving jazz hands
"Oh lord help us." Elijah sighed rubbing his forehead.
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