CHAPTER LXXV
❝ I hope at least one of them comes and you fully regain your magic too. ❞
Things were different.
Even though Klaus hadn't driven the white oak stake through his sister's heart, he hadn't also welcomed her back with open arms and confetti. Rebekah, instead, was told to get out of the city and in that light live a life free and out of the restraints of the leash her brother had put on her, just like she'd always wanted.
The red-haired witch from Niklaus' memories, Genevieve, was a frequent visitor to the compound, having taken the reins of the French Quarter's Witches after the death of Sabine, i.e., Celesté, the last living Elder. She was a constant factor responsible for the spike in Lucy's blood pressure with her eyes trailing up and down Niklaus' physique shamelessly even in the presence of his girlfriend.
Lucy would have preferred to gouge her eyes out and feed them to Charlie, but she restrained herself in order to make it up to Elijah who was still somewhat off with her due to her incompetence of following his one demand, feed Nik vervained blood. Besides, he wanted peace to be ensured between the supernatural communities. It has been a month since Rebekah left, and Niklaus was sulking and their control on the quarter was crumbling.
"I think you should talk to Elijah." Lucy hummed, looking up at Niklaus from the bed she was lying on, the sheets crumpled and messy, she messy, as he drew her.
"And what shall I talk to him about?" he hummed, not steering his eyes off the canvas, the paint brush stroking the pristine white surface as he drew the outline of her baby bump.
"About managing the city." she said, mouth turning into an annoyed scowl when he simply hummed at her words.
"Come here, Nik." she said, propping herself up on the elbows.
"Niklaus." she repeated, her voice firmer this time as he finally glanced up from the canvas, letting out a defeated sigh.
"Yes, love." he said, climbing on top of her naked body, covered with nothing but flimsy white sheets, entrapping her between his knees and dipping down to catch her lips on his own, swallowing down whatever she was going to say.
"You-" she began, breathless when he pulled away only to cut herself off with a yelp as he pinched the side of her hip lightly, beginning to slide his fingers up and down her side teasingly.
"I?" he asked, feigning an innocent look as he peered down at her scowling face.
"Don't distract me, and yourself too, from the topic at hand." she huffed, narrowing her eyes up at him.
"Why are you suddenly obsessed with Elijah?" he murmured against the skin of her neck, grazing his lips across it.
"Oh, I don't know," her lips quirked up with a mischievous glint in her eye as she let her fingers play with the hair at the nape of his neck, "maybe I'm fucking him behind your back. Just like Kol, y'know."
"I dare you." he growled against her ear, nibbling at it harshly.
She smirked to herself, bringing her lips to the shell of his ear to whisper. "Don't, Mr. Mikaelson. I have a knack for proving people wrong who dare me."
"We will see." he grumbled, kissing her jaw.
"He's been on it a lot of times now. And he isn't wrong, you gotta take back the reins of the city completely now that Marcel's exiled. You're the only King now, it's on you to manage all the factions of the city."
"Elijah has his own plans, love. I'm eager to see what he'd do." he murmured, narrowing his eyes playfully when she dropped back onto the mattress, letting go of her elbows' support.
"You can simply know it by talking to him about it." Lucy said as he slid off her and back to his painting.
"He's signing a peace treaty between all the factions. Now, the interesting part is, how he'll make them all agree to it." he smirked, eyes flickering between the canvas and her. "Although, I might have already given him quite an idea, a suggestion of sorts, to execute his plan successfully."
"What idea, might I ask?" she raised a curious brow at him.
"There's a party tonight. All factions invited. Mingling together like they should." Klaus hummed to himself.
"There's more to it. Isn't it?" she eyed him suspiciously.
"A few days ago, I met a werewolf." Klaus began, continuing with his painting all the while. "A direct descendant of my biological father. He had a ring tangling from his neck, a rare creation of my mother's. A moonlight ring."
"Moonlight ring?" her brows furrowed. "As in the moon version of the daylight ring?"
"Precisely that. Wearing it will mean not turning on a full moon. My mother must have gifted it to my father, who passed it on to that werewolf. And now, tonight at the party, I am to offer it to the Pack's Alpha."
"Jackson Kenner." Lucy smirked. "Smartass. Elijah's gonna be so pissed with you."
"And that's where all the fun lies, love."
◇◇◆◇◆◇◇
Lucy's look for the chapter ≈
The party was too loud for Lucy's liking.
"It feels more like a club than a formal party." Lucy complained, frowning as she leaned back into Niklaus' chest, drumming her fingers on the railing as the pair overlooked the party from above.
"Are you not feeling well due to all the noise? Would you like to lay down in the room?" he asked, eyes scanning her face for any sort of distress.
"No. I am okay." she shook her head with a small smile. "The noise is a little annoying but I guess I just need some food- oh, look, Davina's here."
Lucy's face lit up as her eyes fell onto the young witch entering the party with the other harvest girls and Genevieve-
Genevieve. Of course. Lucy's lips morphed into a scowl as the red haired witch scanned the crowd and on finding them upstairs, not-so-subtly checked Klaus out.
"Why the fuck is she here? Don't tell me Elijah chose her to represent the Witches." Lucy huffed in annoyance, her eyes narrowing onto the said witch as she immediately began making her way upstairs.
"I feel that you're right, love." Klaus hummed, finding her jealousy amusing.
Genevieve waved at them, or more like Klaus, from the balcony across them, right on her way towards them.
Klaus sent back a bright smile just to rile Lucy up.
Lucy turned to look him in the face, eyes turning to slits. "Not funny, Niklaus." And turned away to go.
"Kidding, love." he laughed, pulling her in by the waist and kissing the side of her neck.
"Haha, real funny." Lucy huffed, rolling her eyes and hitting him in the ribs with her elbow as he hissed out in pain.
He opened his mouth to complain but she cut him off.
"Behave nicely, she's here." Lucy smiled smugly as Genevieve finally reached them.
"Hello, Genevieve." Lucy began, a very fake and large smile spreading across her face as she embraced the woman. "You look absolutely stunning."
"Um," the red-head blinked at her in absolute shock as Lucy grinned at her falsely, ignoring the choked laugh Niklaus hid behind a cough, "you too."
"We were talking about you just like right now." Lucy gushed, placing a hand on Niklaus' arm. "Congratulations! Like, you're leading the witch faction. I knew that Elijah would choose you."
"Oh, I always knew you had it in you!" Lucy beamed, pulling the shocked woman into another embrace as Klaus began coughing loudly.
"Nikky, dear," Lucy turned to look at him as he raised an unamused brow at the nickname, "do you need some water?"
"Well, I guess I actually do." he declared, his eyes falling onto Jackson entering his room.
"See you, love." he said, giving Lucy a quick peck on the lips before casting his eyes down to her belly. "You too, little princess."
He began walking away before turning back and meeting her lips again but in a deeper kiss this time, winking at her as he pulled away and departed for real this time, leaving the dark haired witch speechless and the redhead grinding her teeth.
"He is quite a romantic." Genevieve cleared her throat, forcing out a laugh.
"A wild one, that is." Lucy laughed, shaking her head to herself.
"How long have you guys been together?" Genevieve asked, forcing a smile onto her face.
"Not more than a year yet. You still have chances." Lucy winked at her. "I'll convince Klaus to not mind sharing me."
"What!" Genevieve looked almost horrified at the idea.
"Oh, don't look so sullen." Lucy shrugged. "I know it's a new concept for you given how you've suddenly appeared after a long time skip. And you're still somewhat accustomed to the old things, but don't worry, people no longer judge. They won't humiliate you just because you like a woman-"
"-I do not like any woman." Genevieve almost shrieked as she threw her hands in the air.
"Of course you don't like any woman. You like me." Lucy shrugged innocently, pouting at the redhead.
"No, I don't like you. I like Klaus-" Genevieve stopped short, eyes widening as she realised her mistake.
"There." Lucy cocked her head to the side, smiling coolly at the witch. "You like my boyfriend, which is alright, I get it, he's super hot. But only alright until you keep it to your own self and not try to leer over him. Which, unfortunately, you do quite often. Which is very concerning."
"Look, if it would have been some other time," Lucy continued, crossing her arms over her chest, "then I wouldn't have minded, I would have simply ignored it knowing that my boyfriend is never going to reciprocate your feelings. But right now, your mere presence spikes my anger, which in turn spikes my BP, which is risky for my child, very risky. That's why here we are, talking about something that could be avoided if only you knew the basic ethic of staying off taken men. So, I'll say only this time and very politely, stay away from my boyfriend or else I won't mind crossing Elijah one more time. Besides, my dog loves human meat quite very much."
◇◇◆◇◆◇◇
"Hayley, hi!" Lucy exclaimed in pure happiness as Hayley found her sitting near the food counters.
"Hello, Lucy." Hayley smiled at her warmly, welcoming the hug she gave her.
"How's it going with the pack?"
"Pretty good." Hayley smiled. "How's my little niece doing?"
"Oh, she's very naughty." Lucy shook her head to herself with a smile. "Always kicking mama."
"Ohh, she's a naughty girl." Hayley spoke to her belly in a child-like voice. "Definitely after her father."
"Oh yes." Lucy snorted.
"Have you seen V?" Lucy suddenly asked. "She promised me she would be at the party."
"Oh." Hayley's face fell, almost turning regretful. "Sorry, she's not at the party."
"What? Why? Did something happen, Hayley?"
"I. . ." she trailed off, sighing, "it's difficult, Lucy. Things have been difficult between us since Elijah came into picture. She doesn't talk to me the same anymore and neither does she wish to figure out this matter with me. Has she talked to you about all this yet?"
"No." Lucy shook her head. "V is not the one who likes to discuss things like these. She keeps them pent up and then lets it up at the wrong time and then punishes herself for it. Things weren't official between you guys, right?"
She nodded in agreement.
"God, it's worse. This type of heartbreak is the worst. She actually likes you a lot, Hayley. But what about you?"
"I-" Hayley flushed red. "I'm not sure. It's difficult."
"It's okay." Lucy offered her a comforting smile. "I'll try talking to V. Try to make things better."
"Thank you." Hayely sighed in relief.
"Hayley." a newer presence joined them as Lucy looked up at the unfamiliar face.
"Oh, Jackson." Hayley turned to the said man, bringing on a facade as if none of the previous conversation had happened, before turning back to Lucy. "Lucy, this is Jackson. Jackson, this is Lucy."
"It's a surprise we haven't already met." Lucy said, shaking his outstretched hand in greeting. "But pleasure meeting you, Mr. Jackson."
"Thank you." he smiled at her, before turning to Hayley, offering his hand. "A dance?"
"Of course." Hayley smiled, taking his hand.
"See ya." she wiggled her fingers to her, a hesitant smile on her face .
Lucy looked at the dancing pair with a frown, her worry for Vaishali rising as she did an eye-sweep of the whole dance floor.
Her lips lifted up in a smile when she spotted Davina standing by the side with a drink in her hand.
She waved at the young witch on catching her eye, watching as her eyes brightened up on noticing her presence and as she made her way to Lucy, grinning from ear to ear.
"Hi." Davina beamed, throwing her arms around the only familiar presence in the party.
"Hello, princess." Lucy smiled, patting her back affectionately. "How are you?"
"Nice." she nodded at her with a small smile.
"Come on, sit with me." Lucy said, pulling out the chair next to her.
"Now, tell me, in reality how are you?" Lucy asked once Davina had settled down next to her.
"I'm good-"
"Davina." Lucy said, her voice holding a stern tone.
She sighed in defeat. "The witches are the worst. I still can't practise like I used to and Monique won't let me live with that. She's constantly onto me, just ruining everything. I hate her."
"Practise with me. I can guide you even with these shackles on." Lucy mustered up a comforting smile.
"I can't." she sighed. "They won't let me do a single thing without having me under their lookout. And I already tried talking to Genevieve about this. She says you're not part of the coven and you can't even practise magic."
"That bitch." Lucy rolled her eyes in annoyance. "If she would have done some shit then these shackles would have been off me already. But I won't ask her for help. It's not like I'm dying that I would go to her begging for help. I have my own contacts who are actually willing to help."
"Are they here?"
"Not yet. They're busy" Lucy flushed red, before sighing in defeat. "Well, no good lying to you. I no longer have many contacts. All of them are part of my father's coven. They're either faithful to him or too scared to help me. I'm an exiled witch, things are not that good for us. But, I still tried a few really good friends of mine. Any of them can show up. Hopefully."
"They will." Davina offered her an encouraging smile. "And even if they don't, then as soon as I get back my magic, I will aid you. You can teach me the spell and then I'll get rid of those shackles."
"Thank you, Davina." Lucy smiled at her. "I hope at least one of them comes and you fully regain your magic too."
"I hope so too." Davina smiled. "And how are you and the baby?"
"I'm fine. And so is the baby." Lucy nodded with a smile. "You should come visit more."
"I'll try-"
Davina's words were left interrupted as a loud crash banged through the Compound and the whole party went silent.
All eyes went to the pair of werewolf and vampire fighting as Oliver lunged back at Diego, successfully pinning him to the wall.
But all of the sudden Elijah jumped into the fight, yanking Oliver away from Diego and pinning him face down onto a table which was previously meant for the appetisers.
"This ends now. I won't ask again." The Original vampire warned.
"Oh, we'll end it, alright." Jackson's voice rang out, making everyone's eyes shift to find him standing with a stake by Diego's heart.
"What's stopping you?" Hayley announced as she made her way to the men. "Kill him. Go ahead, Elijah. Do it. I mean, it's not like he doesn't deserve to die."
"I mean, it was Oliver who handed Rebekah over to the witches so they could torture her. But, then again, wasn't it Diego who led a werewolf massacre last month?" Hayley continued, coming to a stop between Jackson and Elijah. "And the witches cursed the wolves, while the humans stood back and let it all happen. So, when you think about it, everyone here deserves to die."
"Are you approaching a point?" Elijah clenched his jaw.
"My point, Elijah, is this- if we can't get along, if our families can't create some sort of community, then what's the point? Kill each other and get it over with."
Elijah stared at the hybrid, pondering over her words before letting go of Oliver as Jackson, albeit hesitantly, followed suit and let go of Diego too.
◇◇◆◇◆◇◇
"Jackson looked impressed?" Lucy asked, raising an inquisitive brow at Niklaus who shuffled through his clothes in the cupboard as Lucy wrapped the covers around her, preparing to sleep for the night.
"Barely. On the contrary, he looked suspicious."
"That's explainable." Lucy snorted. "That man would rather jump off a cliff than trust you."
"That's quite true." he laughed, sliding the cupboard close after pulling out a pair of night trousers.
"Elijah made you sign the treaty? He asked me to." she asked, turning on her side to peer up at him as he moved about the room.
"Of course. How could he not. Classic Elijah." he shook his head to himself, before reaching the bedside table to shuffle through its drawers.
"What are you looking for?" Lucy asked.
"My aftershave."
"You're shaving at night?" she rose an inquiring brow at him.
"Yeah." he shrugged, shutting the drawer close to move to the next one. "But I can't find it."
"It's in the bathroom." she said in an obvious tone.
"Not that one, the other one." he sighed in exasperation.
"Why would you keep an aftershave in your bedroom?"
"Because that was a gift, I just kept it wrapped up in some drawer in The Plantation house but I have zero idea where it is after we shifted."
"Who gifted you an aftershave?" she asked in amusement.
"Rebekah gifted it-" he stopped short, his face falling as soon as he realised whose name had left his mouth.
Lucy frowned, moving forward to touch his shoulder, "Nik-"
"-it's fine." he cleared his throat, straightening up as he avoided eye contact with her. "I'll just, um, go and get ready for bed."
And he hurried off into the bath before Lucy could say anything to make him stay.
Rebekah was certainly still a very sore subject, something about which Niklaus shut down completely about.
Her phone pinged with a notification just as she made to turn off the lights, illuminating with a text message.
Marsha (Denver) ━ hey. u up?
Lucy's face brightened up into a smile as she instantly began typing a response.
Just laid down to sleep. ━ Lucy
Marsha (Denver) ━ So, ur laid on the bed right?
Um, yea. All gud? ━ Lucy
Lucy frowned to herself as the women left her on seen for a minute or so before a sudden wave of dizziness hit her and darkness took over as she heard the distant thud of her phone falling onto the mattress.
She found herself standing in the middle of a training room, not the usual one, a witch training room, exactly like the one she shared with Marsha in Denver.
Numerous age old jars full of herbs aligned together to cover a wide array of racks collecting dust with the passage of time. Ceremonial knives, stained with dried stinking blood laid strewn across the tabletop standing between Lucy and the woman across her.
"A Chambre De Chasse?" Lucy crossed her arms over her chest, cocking her head to the side. "Really? A video call wouldn't have worked?"
"It's easier. And it helps in practice." Marsha Turner said calmly, her hands behind her back as she moved back and forth on her side of the table. "I'm here to talk, Lucy."
"I'm assuming something good?"
"Yes and no." she sighed, before bringing forth a piece of paper. "Firstly, I found the Lockwood boy for you."
"Seriously?" Lucy blinked at her, grabbing the piece of parchment from her to read the location for herself. "Thank you so much-"
"-it's okay. You don't have to bow before me just because I helped you."
"Marsha." Lucy looked at the woman. "I get it. And you don't have to invite somebody else to this Chambre just because you like to help others snoop."
Her lips curled up in a smile. "Smart. I was waiting for you to notice it."
"Who is it that has joined our very private meeting?" Lucy called out loudly, her hands fisting around the parchment in her hand.
"Just a trainee." Marsha answered calmly. "They're a curious kid. Wanted to know about this mind maze. I let them. They're having fun finding what represents them."
"Alright, then. But what's up with this table separating us. Scared I'll hurt you?"
"Oh, you're just the same, Lucy." she let out a low chuckle. "The table's for you to pick your weapon. Your shackles are null and void in my Chambre. C'mon, it'll be fun. For old time's sake."
"Okay." Lucy shrugged nonchalantly, grazing her fingers over the various tools, examining them. "But what's the bad thing you wished to tell me about?"
"Oh, I'll tell you when it's the right time." she smiled, before summoning a pocket knife from the table into her hand. "Choose fast, I'm getting impatient."
"Ooh, exactly like the old Marsha I knew." Lucy took one last look at the table of weapons before stepping back empty handed.
"What? You're quitting already?" Marsha raised an amused brow at her.
Lucy clicked her tongue. "You don't have to see my weapon to know I have it, Marsha. I chose it, you'll know soon enough what exactly it is."
"No harm will happen to your actual body. Be reassured." Marsha gave her one final look before the fight began.
The knife came zipping towards Lucy in a zigzag motion as the first strike, creating confusion about its final aim, moving about in a whirlwind at such a lightening speed that it was difficult to even spot it.
Marsha smiled at her in a challenging manner, her hands moving in the air with the movements of the knife.
Lucy curled her fist, turning it into a paper plane that landed at her feet.
"Can't we skip the warmup, love?" Lucy said, picking up the plane.
"It's a bad omen to skip it." Marsha said as the plane zoomed back into her hand, turned into a knife again. "Your strike one."
Lucy made eye contact with the Turner witch, keeping it steady as a sudden hum began filling the room and then all the nails from the table between them flew out to strike at Marsha, the table collapsing to the floor with a loud bang.
Marsha raised her hand, a shock of current passing the air and the nails turned into paper balls and fell onto the fall with a soft thud.
"To par with your warmup level or too below?" Lucy smirked at her.
"It's fine." she said coolly, stepping over the remnants of the table to stand in front of her. "My second strike."
"I'm ready." Lucy raised her chin in the air. "Strike."
"Don't you wanna know the bad news I have?" Marsha asked, her tone turning soft.
"Ugh," Lucy groaned loudly, "not the verbal strike. I was hoping for a physical one. But fine, tell me the bad news."
"There's been a news from the inside." she began.
"Okay. . .?"
"One of my trainees overheard it from a friend of theirs whose grandfather is a Stygian."
Lucy's face fell at that mention. "What did he hear?"
"Plans for new headquarters in a new city." she said softly, cautious with her words. "Wanna take a guess which city it is?"
"Which?" she asked hesitantly.
"New Orleans." Marsha mumbled, pursing her lips, before shaking her head to herself. "Sorry, let's end this strike fight. I step out, you win."
"No." Lucy snapped her eyes to her. "They couldn't come here. The city is Mikaelson's. Stygians can't even enter it without permission."
"There is still war brewing among the species. They're weak, divided. Stygians know how to exploit it, I mean you know it the best."
"News travels slow, it seems." Lucy gritted her teeth. "The fractions are united now. A treaty has been signed. A Peace Treaty. They're united, stronger than ever."
"I- that's good then." Marsha smiled at her softly, before coming forward to wrap her arms around her. "I shouldn't have worried you even the tiniest bit with this news."
"I hate you." Lucy mumbled, hugging her back.
"Don't worry, I hate you more."
━━━━━━✰━━━━━━
A/n :
INTRODUCING
Lauren Cohan
as
Marsha Turner
Yeahhh, IM BACK BISHES (not know for how long tho) schl sucks sm. I hate studies.
& yes they're back together!<3
hate gnewie🤧
But Marsha-🤚.
Y'll will know her more soon.
Until then,
Ripahhhhhhhhhh.
Word Count : 4179