(the city of sin)
"Midnight Witch. Midnight Witch. Midnight Witch," the demonic voice chanted in Margot's ears, the sounds ricocheting through her brain as she walked into the Mikaelson kitchen with Hope and Henry in her arms. Hope hadn't stopped crying and no one else was home which left her to care for both twins.
Margot sighed as she sat Henry down in his baby chair before warming up a bottle for Hope who seemingly refused to stop screaming. The voice in her mind, however, seemed to have the same mindset and relentlessly chose to scream the words "Midnight Witch" in her brain on a loop.
"Please stop," she muttered tiredly as she held the bottle to Hope's lips only for the baby to grab it and throw it across the room. Margot held back an eye roll and a small laugh as she picked up the bottle, "Just like your Dad, huh? He's a dick too."
Hope's cries fell short as a giggle left her lips at the sound of her Dad's name. The heretic smiled, "You miss your Dad? Is that why you're so sad, Hopey?" She let out a sigh, "Yeah... Me too."
Beside them, Henry gurgled as he clapped his hands as if he were trying to gain Margot's attention. Margot knelt down slightly as she set down Hope beside her brother before gently grabbing the boy's outstretched hand, "Look who finally decided to wake up."
Henry let out a big yawn before a smile lifted at the corners of his lips. Margot grinned widely as she forgot about the voice in her head and stared at her son's smile. He had only learned how to smile a week before and ever since the soft smile never seemed to leave his face, unless he was around his father, then he almost growled when the man would attempt to touch Margot.
The two babies were more like Klaus than Margot expected them to be. Henry was clingy, in the best way, and Hope was needy, but in the best way as well.
Hope also looked like her dad, both sharing the same crystal eyes and rosy lips. And while Henry shared the same eyes as her, he carried the same smirk as his father.
The sun had gone down hours before and the kitchen was lit by the white glow of the moon along with the false candles that turned on every day before nightfall. Elijah had insisted they use them rather than real candles due to Kol almost setting the house on fire after leaving one on.
Speaking of Kol, the man seemed to be returning from his nightly bar run. Margot could tell it was him the second a bang sounded from the door. Kol had run into the door... for the third time that week.
The heretic chuckled as the vampire entered the kitchen, rubbing his forehead as he did so. "Are you okay, Kol?"
He hummed, "Oh, I'm fine. I think we should get rid of doors – It's a new style I believe. Modern shit, right? We'd have to deal with the bugs somehow but maybe Nik will eat them. He's part dog... Dogs eat bugs, right?"
"I think you are referring to frogs, Koala," Margot teased as she felt Henry grasp her finger.
"He kinda looks like a frog."
Margot sent him a look causing him to chuckle. "He does, alright? And Bex looks like a golden retriever and Elijah looks like a bitch."
"Very descriptive," she teased. "If that is what they look like, what am I?"
"A princess."
She smiled, "You just want me to make you more cookies because you ate them all."
He grinned slyly as he maneuvered himself across the kitchen to take Hope into his arms. The baby smiled up at the man and he smiled back. His heart stopped for a moment as he stared at his niece and nephew before he looked at Margot again. "I think Nik ate them all."
"Bullshit. I saw you grab them and run, Kol." She glanced around the dimly lit room for a moment before looking at him. "When are they coming back? The last time I asked Nik said he wasn't sure."
"Well, I left as soon as Bekah started making out with three girls somehow at the same time so... Maybe an hour. Why? You don't like spending time with me?"
Margot smiled at him as she moved to sit next to him on one of the bar stools before taking Henry in her arms. "I could never get tired of spending time with you, Kol. I'm just tired."
"Didn't you sleep like twelve hours last night?" he questioned with an amused grin. She shrugged, "I don't know what it is. Ever since I gave birth I haven't been able to really sleep. It's like I'm sleeping but not actually sleeping."
He stared at her. "What the fuck does that mean, darling?"
She laughed softly. To be fair, she didn't understand it either, but she sure as hell knew the cause.
Kol didn't know, nor did Elijah or Rebekah. Even Stefan and Kai were unaware of her current situation. Klaus didn't know much either, he was under the impression that the nightmares had stopped. But in truth, Margot just got better at hiding them.
Kol quickly noticed her silence and placed his free hand on her knee, "Is there something wrong? Do I have to punch someone? Please tell me it's Nik. I've been wanting to punch him for a while."
Margot smiled at him. "Why have you been wanting to punch Nik?"
"I don't know. He just has a face that makes me want to punch– You're changing the subject," he tsked. "Not cool, darling. Now, tell me what's hurting your pretty heart?"
She let out a soft sigh as she stared down at Henry who had fallen asleep in the short time she and Kol had been speaking. "I've just been having a few bad dreams. Nothing crazy and nothing to worry about. I am completely fine."
"I've learned that when women say they are fine they usually aren't. So either you are not a woman or you are not fine."
"Jesus, Kol."
"It's the truth. Bekah told me that. And I know for a fact you are a woman so what the heck is bothering my favourite person?"
"I'm your favourite person?"
He blushed. "No. I– My favourite person doesn't exist. I don't like people."
"No," Margot dragged out with an amused look. "You said I'm your favourite person."
"Shut up," he grumbled, earning a stare from her. "Okay, fine. I might, possibly, potentially, like you as a person. God, you're acting like I said I love you– Which I don't! I don't have the capacity to love people."
Margot hummed at the man. He was such a baby.
"Are you gonna tell me what's wrong now? If you tell me you're fine I'm gonna piss off Nik and then he'll dagger me and it will be all your fault and then you will feel so guilty that you will eventually not be able to live and you will die."
She blinked. "What the fuck? I– I don't think that's how it would go but... I, uh, I keep having these dreams. They're all in the same context but most are in different locations."
He nodded.
"They keep saying the same thing. 'Midnight Witch.' Whatever that means, I don't know, but I do know that when I wake up, I feel like I'm dead."
"Creepy," he muttered before his eyes lit up. "Did you say 'Midnight Witch?'"
"Mhm. Why?"
"I've heard that somewhere!" Kol shouted as he ran off into his bedroom before reappearing with an old grimoire. The book itself was worn and clearly hundreds of years old and as he set it on the table, dust flew off it causing Margot to cough. "Really? You did that on purpose."
Kol grinned, "Me? Never." He glanced down at the book, adjusting Hope in his arms, before opening it and scrolling through the first few pages.
They sat in silence for a moment, Margot watching in confusion as Kol read through every word before switching pages.
"What, um, what's that?"
"A book."
"I gathered that. I mean what's it about?"
"You... Apparently," he muttered as he read a page and stopped for a moment. "Here it is."
He handed her the book and her eyes widened slightly as she took in the old pages decorated with drawings and old script.
"The Midnight Witch was not born, she was forged. She needs no coven or any need for incantation. Her power exceeds any other, only to be matched by the immortal hybrid and tribrids. Her destiny is to destroy or save the world."
Margot and Kol shared a look before she continued reading.
"The Midnight Witch's powers vary. Some have called her a sorceress while some have called her the devil. She has control over the mind, body and soul. She may take whatever she wants and leave death in its place. The blue orbs that surround her hands have the power to kill with a single touch and a glare from her may bring death itself."
"Remind me not to piss you off," Kol muttered. "Doesn't really explain the creepy dreams though. Perhaps someone is trying to awaken your power?"
Margot shrugged, "Could be..." She paused for a moment as she thought back to the dreams she had been having. "It could be my family. That would explain why I've been having dreams about them."
"Like Bambi, Piglet and co family or... crazy, imprisoning, judgemental, 'basement is the only way', family?"
"The second one."
"Well, that's bloody fantastic. I thought you and Bambi hunter killed them."
"Doesn't mean they stayed dead. Maybe when Liv died she awakened them with her sheer hatred towards us."
"But why would they want you to have more power? I thought the whole reason they sent you away was because they didn't accept your power."
Margot pointed at the last passage of the book.
"If the Midnight Witch is awakened to her full strength, she will die a horrible, painfilled death and will take down every supernatural being with her to the depths of hell," Kol read. "Great. That'll be a wonderful Christmas present. I had that on my list actually."
"You have a Christmas list? You do know Santa doesn't exist, right?"
"I know that... Klaus exists though."
— — —
Just as Kol said, Klaus arrived an hour later with a drunk Rebekah in Elijah's arms as he filmed the blonde girl flailing around drunkenly in their brother's arms. Kol and Margot had still been awake but they had moved to the living room, both deciding it would be comfier to sit on couches rather than the barstools Rebekah had insisted they buy.
Both Hope and Henry were sleeping peacefully in their cribs on the floor above while Margot held the baby monitor in her left hand, checking every few minutes on the newborn twins. Periodically, Kol would speed up to their room for a better check before joining the heretic once more.
It was safe to say the pair were very protective over the twins. All of the Mikaelsons were.
"Love?" Klaus asked softly as he peaked into the living room, a smile instantly appearing on his lips when he noticed both her and Kol sitting there safely.
"Hey, Nik," Margot greeted with a smile as she stood up to hug him. By the time she was standing, he was already in front of her, ready to feel her arms wrap around him in a tight embrace.
"Someone missed me," he teased as he felt her arms tighten around him. "I was only gone for a couple of hours."
Kol groaned, "You were complaining about how much you missed her the entire time we were out."
Klaus sent his brother a quick glare before his eyes softened as he stared down at Margot and instantly noticed her odd expression. "What's wrong? Did Kol eat the last cupcake? I can dagger him if you'd like."
"What the fuck is wrong with this family?" Kol asked with yet another grumble as he walked out of the room. "One time. I ate her cupcake one time and now I will never hear the end of it."
"Better than the time you ate a dog treat," Elijah told him as he passed the younger Original.
"Fuck off!"
Margot smiled as she felt Klaus place his palm on the side of her face. "Will you tell me what's wrong? Do you need me to kill someone? Or... I mean I can try to make you a cake. It didn't go very well last time but I can try harder–"
"Please never go in the kitchen again, Nik," Margot quickly spoke, stopping him from continuing his prior sentence. "We don't need to burn down this house too. I quite like it here."
"Then tell me what's going on in that pretty head of yours or I will set the house on fire and lock Kol inside of it."
"Why does everyone hate me?" they heard Kol shout from his bedroom before a series of bangs sounded.
"Did you run into your door again?" Margot shouted back with faux worry.
"No..." Kol muttered.
"He did," Elijah told them as he walked down the stairs to retrieve an ice pack before leaving. "As you were. We might be listening if it's interesting."
Margot chuckled softly as she rested her forehead against Klaus'. The man stared down into her eyes before gently kissing her lips. "Are you going to tell me what's been bothering you, my love?"
She nodded silently as she moved out of his hold before walking away but not before grasping his hand in her own and grabbing the grimoire Kol had given her. Klaus followed her instantly, ignoring his confusion as they walked through the back door before choosing to sit on one of the couches near the outdoor pool.
Her eyes met his again as she handed him the book before flipping it to the twentieth page.
"What's this about?" he asked her in confusion as he read the title.
"Just read it," Margot coerced as she fiddled with her fingertips, an action she was quite well known for doing while she was nervous. Klaus noticed her trembling hands and quickly grabbed onto them with his free hand as he read the page, his eyes widening slightly when he realized what the script entailed.
"You think... You think you are her?" he asked after a beat of silence.
Margot nodded. "It would make sense... The pages... See the designs? The constellation; it's the Orion. My family was created by a surge of power created when one of Orion's inner stars went supernova thousands of years ago — around the time this book is dated. Clearly, there is some sort of connection between my family and this myth."
"It's possible. I've heard of the legend before – not to this extent which is why I never mentioned it but..." He glanced back down at the page. "Why now?"
"Liv Parker, I assume."
"Bitchy blonde?" he asked.
"That's the one. When she died it must have triggered something in the universe because it triggered the birth of Hope and Henry and rendered me unconscious in a dream-like plane."
Klaus stared at her in confusion. "You never told me that."
"I didn't think it was important," Margot shrugged. "I thought it was just a figment of my imagination but if it was real then I believe I met your mother."
His hand gripped hers. A silent way of telling her he was listening but also a way of giving her comfort. He knew how she felt when her birth family was brought up.
"We're gonna figure this out, Margot. I promise you we will."