CHAPTER NINETEEN
the plan
"Henrik, please, I know I can help." I argued as we sat together in a corner of the Mystic Grill. In the days following Katherine's visit, we'd both been way too stressed out to cook and had resorted to having our meals in various cafes and restaurants in Mystic Falls. I'd convinced Henrik to eat at the Mystic Grill tonight, claiming that the food had been amazing when I had visited with Elijah. I suspected that he already knew of my ulterior motive, after all, this was the place the Salvatore's frequented. The brothers in question were yet to make an appearance but it would only be a matter of time.
"It is out of the question, Morgana, I refuse to put you in harm's way." Henrik practically hissed. We'd been arguing all morning about the best method of rescuing Elijah. Henrik had shut down each and every one of my ideas, probably because they all involved me.
"You can't do this alone and I can't see anyone else lining up to help you!" I said, sending him an overly fake smile.
"You're human, Morgana!" Henrik said with mild frustration, "There's nothing you can do."
"That's not true and you know it." I huffed, "Look I'm going to try to rescue Elijah whether you like it or not. We might as well work together to limit the risk."
Henrik was silent and I knew that he knew I was right. He let out an exasperated sigh, "One of these days I'm going to have to chain you up in a basement to keep you from danger."
"Kinky." I chuckled under my breath and Henrik raised an eyebrow at me.
"What was that, Morgana?" He asked in a low voice, a slow grin appearing on his face.
"Nothing." I said immediately, avoiding eye contact as my face flushed red.
"I think you're lying to me, Morgana." He said knowingly as he watched me intently.
I don't know whether or not I was becoming bold or I just wanted to shock him but I replied with, "What are you going to do about it? Punish me?"
"Oh, Morgana, if we weren't in a public place..." He shook his head as he sat back in his chair, avoiding eye contact as he grinned. That was when I noticed the faint red on his cheeks.
"You're blushing!" I accused, pointing at his face gleefully, "I actually made you blush."
Henrik chuckled, rolling his eyes playfully. He leant forward and flicked my nose gently as I grinned at him.
"Are you sure you want to play that card? After all, we both know how easy it is for me to make your face flame bright red."
"Good point!" I grinned, holding my hands up in surrender.
My grin faded when I watched the Salvatore's enter the building. Henrik glanced over his shoulder, following my line of sight. Both acutely aware of their supernatural hearing abilities, we remained silent. I pulled out my phone so I could instead text him.
We should get closer so we can listen to what they're saying. I typed and hit send. Henrik read the message and immediately shook his head and began typing back.
That's too suspicious, Damon knows what we look like. He replied and I pursed my lips, knowing he was right.
I'll go to the bathroom and see if I can overhear anything when I walk past. I wrote and watched his eyes widen in alarm upon reading it. He began to furiously type so I quickly sent him another message. Relax, they won't do anything in a public place.
Henrik glared at me and I merely shrugged. He watched me for a moment before reluctantly nodding. Before he could take back his decision, I hopped out of my seat and strode casually towards the ladies toilets. I held my breath as I walked past Stefan and Damon but couldn't hear anything over the collective talking of everyone in The Grill.
Changing course, I stode over to the bar and took a seat near the brothers. I knew Henrik would berate me for this later but I couldn't pass up on this opportunity. The background noise was still incredibly loud but I could just about make out their conversation.
"I highly doubt that Bonnie can do this." Damon grumbled as he nursed a bourbon.
"She says she's powerful enough, hell, even Elijah thought it was possible and he's an Original." His brother replied and my ears pricked at the mention of my mate.
Damon led out an inaudible grumble and took a sip of his drink, "We need a Plan B."
"Plan B is we get the hell out of there." Stefan replied simply and Damon rolled his eyes.
"Don't be naive," He spat, "If Bonnie fails tonight then we're all going to die in the Gymnasium."
"There are worse places to die than at a school dance." Stefan shrugged.
"There's certainly better." Damon mumbled, downing the rest of his drink. He and Stefan stood to leave and I let my hair fall in front of my face to hide my identity as they passed me.
I waited in my seat for a moment, heart pumping with adrenaline, before making my way back to Henrik, who looked like he was about to pass out with stress. He breathed out a long sigh of relief as I sat opposite him completely unscathed.
"Good God, Morgana." He shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose, "You are going to be the death of me."
"You can yell at me some other time, for now just shut up and listen because you're going to want to hear what I just overheard." I told him before relaying the conversation between the Salvatore brothers. His eyes mirrored mine with glee as I got to the end.
"The local High School is hosting a 1960s themed dance tonight, people have been talking about it for weeks." Henrik said filling in the blanks for me.
"From the sound of it, I think they'll all be at this dance." I said with a small smile, "Which gives us the perfect opportunity to rescue a certain someone."
"What I'm concerned about is what they will be doing at this dance." Henrik said with a frown "I fear it might be Klaus related."
"Considering your brother dearest is planning to sacrifice their girlfriend, I wouldn't be surprised," I said with a sigh, "But Klaus isn't in Mystic Falls yet."
"He's probably sent one of his lackeys to do his bidding. It's probably best not to get involved." Henrik thought aloud.
"I just wish that Klaus would call us. It's been radio silence for weeks." I said bitterly.
"He doesn't want to get you involved, he knows you disapprove of this ritual. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission." Henrik mused and I let out a humorless laugh.
"Regardless of what he's up to, the Salvatore House is going to be empty tonight, this might be our only chance to rescue Elijah." I implored him.
"I agree, it's almost too good to be true." Henrik said with a frown.
"Don't be so cynical." I scolded him, "Now, are you going to listen to my plan or are you just going to sit there and pout?" Henrik sat up and gestured for me to begin, "The plan is rather simple: you go to the dance whilst I go and free Elijah. You can keep an eye on everyone and make sure they remain at the dance and I'll be safe to freely walk their home. If they leave the dance then you can text me and I'll get out before they return."
Henrik pondered my idea for a moment.
"I just don't want you to be hurt."
"Honey, the only way I'll get hurt in an empty house is if I trip over something." I teased him.
"What about Katherine? What if she shows up?" Henrik said in a final attempt to dissuade me.
"We haven't seen her since you slammed the door in her face. Besides, from what we know, she's terrified of Klaus. Since I'm his mate, I'll practically be bulletproof!" I argued, knowing from the look on Henrik's face that I had won.
"Okay, Morgana, but I need you to promise me one thing." Henrik pleaded and I nodded, "I need you to swear that you won't do anything that puts you in harm's way. I need you to promise me that you won't put your safety at risk if something happens."
"I won't." I promised him.
"I love you so much, Morgana. It would absolutely destroy me if anything happened to you. It would destroy all of your mates if something were to happen to you. We all love you more than life itself." He said, joining our hands on the table between us.
"But I haven't even met Finn, Kol and Rebekah." I said, blinking back tears.
"Their souls love you all the same. If Freya had lived, you would love you too." Henrik said gently and there was no stopping the tear that escaped and ran down my cheek.
I cleared my throat and pulled my hands from Henrik's, wiping away the tear as I composed myself.
"I would like to learn more about Freya one day."
"I'm afraid I don't have much to tell, she died before I was born, but Finn was very fond of her. I'm sure he'll tell you lots of stories about her." Henrik smiled softly and I closed my eyes as I nodded.
"Thank you, Henrik."
"Don't thank me yet, I'm still going to berate you for being so reckless just now." He told me, only half joking.
"So you're going to punish me then?" I said with a wink.
"Don't tempt me, love."
Originally published: November 21st 2023