Anthea, Ethan, and Aiden stand outside the school building as Coach Finstock checks that everyone who is supposed to be there is there and fixes the school bus they are going to take on the field trip.
The tribrid hears a buzz coming from her phone and turns it on. When she sees her father's name pop up on the screen, she immediately turns it off.
Ethan smirks proudly. "Ouch. Stone cold. Make him suffer."
Anthea turns to him, pressing her lips together. "I'm simply hinting that since he couldn't even bring himself to undagger me himself, but my Uncle Elijah had to instead, I have no desire to come crawling back like I'm a foolish five-year-old girl still. I have grown up. I see his patterns. It's time he realizes he has to work for it if he simply wants me to acknowledge his existence."
Aiden smiles softly. "I would say bring him down on his knees, but it seems he is below that. He is very desperate for your attention."
Anthea inhales sharply. "Then he shall be. I am not giving him anything except silence and dismissal."
"Not hatred?" Ethan raises his eyebrows gently.
Anthea turns to her cousin, pursing her lips in thought before opening her mouth to speak in a neutral tone. "I do not hate my father, Ethan. I will admit, there is a strong dislike. Passionately strong dislike, but not hatred. I hate his actions, not him."
Aiden eyes her softly. "Well, I think it's good that you are not petty to sink to his level. You are better than him, Anthea. Don't stop that."
Anthea nods slightly.
All while the two alpha werewolf betas and the original tribrid talk, they are unaware of how the McCall Pack and Chimera Pack are watching them.
***
Anthea and Aiden make the world's worst mistake on the bus. They choose to sit in front of Ethan and Danny. They hear the two boys whispering, giggling, and kissing occasionally as they watch a movie on Danny's phone.
The tribrid and alpha werewolf share a look.
"This is like a bad romance movie." Anthea comments snarkily.
Aiden turns to her questioningly with raised eyebrows. "You were undaggered recently according to Deucalion, so how do you know about romance movies? When did you have time to watch them? And since when does romance interest you?" He interrogates.
"Whoa, slow down with the questions, doggy." Anthea fires back sassily, a trait she has picked up from her uncle, Elijah. "And my aunt loves such things. Romance, love, et cetera. She has texted me and gossiped about movies. Apparently, she dislikes Twilight. She thinks Bella is worse than Elena. I don't know what that means so I just agreed with her to make her stop."
Aiden chuckles amused. "I thought you liked her better than your father?"
Anthea presses her lips together. "I do. But my fathers, my aunt, and my uncles have a habit of annoying the bloody shit out of me. And still, I care for them. Somehow."
Aiden purses his lips, nodding slowly.
***
While Aiden is asleep on Anthea's shoulder, which surprisingly doesn't irritate her. She sees him more as an annoying brother than an adopted cousin. She thinks about her first suitor, right after she became a vampire. She hadn't seen her father's controlling and overprotective ways back then. She just thought he was a loving father. She was deadly wrong and an innocent boy who courted her paid the price. She sometimes misses the day when she was sweet, innocent, gentle, and aware of the cruelties of the world. Unaware of her father's cruelty.
The first time her father broke her heart. Italy, 1112.
"Uncle Kol? Please?" Anthea begs, giving him puppy eyes.
Kol inhales sharply, trying to resist his niece, but he knows he won't be able to. He also knows that Niklaus will be furious if he finds out that he let Anthea go. "I can't. Your father would put me back in a coffin. He wouldn't do that to you. I will be the one paying the price."
"But Theo is expecting me! Please, Uncle Koala Bear." Anthea pouts, faking sadness to make him feel guilty. As Aunt Rebekah says, it usually works best on any of the Originals except for Niklaus. Especially on Kol since Anthea's his favorite person.
Kol pours bourbon in a glass and drinks it up in one sip. He exhales. "Fine."
Anthea's face brightens up. Kol finds himself unable to contain his slight smile. "Yes, thank you, Uncle Koala Bear. I promise to be quick. Just distract my father for a while, okay?"
Kol nods slightly. "Then hurry. No one can distract Niklaus for very long, except you, perhaps." He teases.
Anthea grins softly before speeding out of the house.
To his own surprise, and his siblings' surprise, Kol manages to occupy Niklaus for dinner. After discreetly lying about Anthea feeling ill and resting, Niklaus lets the matter go and joins his siblings and Sage for dinner. He seems too busy noticing how happy Sage makes Finn so he doesn't even think about how nervous Rebekah looks as she knows where her niece is.
Later that night, Kol sits up and waits for Anthea. He drinks from one of the maids as her weakened body lies on his lap.
Suddenly, Niklaus storms in with clenches jaw.
"What is the problem, brother?" Kol questions with a smirk, raising his eyebrows.
Niklaus narrows his eyes angrily. "Don't play fool with me, Kol. Unless you wish to go back into a coffin with a dagger in your heart."
"What is wrong?" Kol's face turns serious.
Niklaus lets out an aggressive growl. "You told me Anthea was resting in bed. But yet, her bed has been untouched since this morning. The maids cleaned her bed this morning and it hasn't been touched. So this leads us back to you lying to my face. Speak up now." He demands.
Kol inhales. "I don't know where she is. Maybe she is with Elijah somewhere. You know how they both fancy reading sessions together." He taunts, knowing how much it irritates his brother that Anthea spends much time with Elijah.
Niklaus' glare hardens. Although he tries to hide it, he feels insecure that Anthea might prefer Elijah over him. Sometimes he thinks she might prefer having Elijah as her father instead of him. He quickly rids off the thought, focusing on Kol. "Stop deceiving, Kol. Where. Is. She?"
Kol sighs in defeat. "She went to meet with that boy. Theo, I think it was. Rebekah knows where they are. Anthea confined in her." He informs, not wanting to be daggered and he knows that the only punishment that Anthea will suffer is losing her lover. And it beats seeing his niece daggered.
Heartbreak Anthea can get over, but a dagger to the heart might be harder for her to get over. Niklaus eyes him before storming off.
Rebekah, Elijah, and Finn are bidding Sage farewell as she's about to leave their residence to make her way home to her mother.
Niklaus storms inside the room angrily. "Rebekah." He grits out between his teeth.
Finn frowns slightly, glancing between his red-haired lover and his outraged brother. He's aware of his brother's reason for anger and doesn't want to force Sage to witness. "Um...how about I accompany you home, love?" He questions quietly, then adding, "and stay the night."
Sage smiles weakly. "Of course. It was nice meeting you all. Farewell."
Elijah nods politely in greeting and Rebekah sends her a slight smile. Niklaus simply ignores his brother's lover, glaring harshly with narrowed eyes at his sister. After Finn and Sage leave as the door closes behind them, the hybrid begins his tantrum.
"How could you encourage my daughter to meet up with that human boy?!" Niklaus growls aggressively as his voice grows colder and angrier.
"Niklaus-" Elijah begins in a warning.
"Stay out of this, Elijah." Niklaus snaps.
Elijah purses his lips. "Let me know when you're done with your childish tantrum. You make us wonder if you or Anthea is the actual child in this family." He sasses before walking away, making his way toward the living room where Kol is.
"Theo makes her happy." Rebekah insists, emphasizing the boy's name.
Niklaus scoffs coldly. "I don't care if he gives her all the flowers in the world. My daughter is not his to court. She is nobody's to court. She is my daughter. If you ever dare to do something this foolishly again, I will not hesitate to dagger you all!" He growls.
Rebekah doesn't want to show fear since it only gives her brother power but she can't bear the thought of being responsible for her brothers getting daggered. Finn has just found a girl he fancies. He has never done that before and now he seems pleased with vampirism. She doesn't want to take that away from him. "Theo's family owns the mansion at the edge of the town. It's isolated. They're meeting in the garden of the mansion." She gives in.
"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Niklaus hisses before speeding out of the house.
Rebekah lets out a breath of relief she didn't know she was holding. She may not be religious or a believer but she prays that her brother won't be too terribly toward her niece. Anthea has never seen how Niklaus can be, not like Rebekah has when he has killed her every lover. She doesn't want her niece to live in the same fear as she does.
Anthea is pulled out of the memory when she feels Aiden moving around his head on her shoulder. She glances down at him slightly. "How is it, my lycanthropic sleeping beauty?"
Aiden smiles sarcastically. "Very funny, Anthea. You're a real comedian."
"Thank you." Anthea retorts sassily.
Aiden lets out a small laugh before yawning quietly. He slowly relaxes on her shoulder again, quickly falling back asleep in the comfort of her warmth.
***
After Aiden falls into a deep slumber, Anthea continues thinking about the memory and what happened after her father found her with Theo, her first love. She blames her father for her every problem. Philophobia, paranoia, trust issues, alexithymia, and autophobia. And a lot of more unnamed mental issues. Even though her father meant well, in his own twisted way, he caused her misery.
Theo smiles softly at Anthea. "I missed you today. I know it's a struggle getting away from your father, but I thought about you the whole day. Our love being forbidden makes it very exciting." He speaks fondly, reminding Anthea of her two uncles, Elijah and Finn.
Anthea blushes slightly, glancing down. "Um, I-" She smiles nervously, slowly glancing back up at the green-eyed boy.
The tribrid interrupts herself when she glances past Theo's shoulder and sees her outraged father storming toward them and she recognizes the look in his eyes. The same look when he catches Rebekah with one of her many suitors.
Anthea gulps nervously, not having the time to react before her father speeds forward, holding Theo in a chokehold above the ground. Theo claws at the hybrid's hands, desperately trying to get out of his deadly and aggressive hold.
The redhead widens her eyes. "Padre!" She exclaims in Italian.
Anthea recently started calling him "father" in multiple languages, depending on which country and city they are in. Since they currently are in Italy, she decided to use the Italian language to refer to him.
"Non farlo." Anthea begs.
Niklaus glances over at his daughter, observing her vulnerable and pleading eyes. He dislikes to cause her distress and pain but he cannot allow another to take his daughter from him. He cannot allow another to even think they can take his sweet little girl from him.
Anthea bites her bottom lip anxiously.
Suddenly, the Mikaelson man decides to take action and roughly drops the human on the ground. Theo grabs his throat with his hand, breathing unevenly and heavily. He lets out raspy sounds.
The Mikaelson girl can't help but let out a quiet whimper, not worried for herself but for her lover. She knows her father is quite merciless to everyone but her.
"Papa...please. Please, don't hurt him." Anthea mumbles.
Niklaus narrows his eyes at his daughter before he speeds over, aggressively driving his hand through the human's chest and holding his heart roughly as he holds the boy in midair. He's seconds away from ripping the boy's heart out.
"Papa, please. No! I-I promise to not go again. Never leave again. I will stay with you. Just...let him go." Anthea pleads with a desperate whimper.
Niklaus turns to her, his eyes softening for a slight second. "Too late, sweetheart. He already did have the nerve to attempt to court my daughter. You're my little girl. Nobody's gonna touch you." He rips Theo's heart out aggressively, allowing the body to fall onto the ground. He drops the heart on the body.
Anthea's breaths grow unevenly and panicked. Her knees give in and she collapses onto the ground in front of Theo's body. Her lips tremble. She slowly looks up at her father in shock and distress. "W-Why would you do that? He is innocent. He hasn't done anything..." She quietly trails off as he crouches down in front of her.
Niklaus brushes his daughter's hair out of her face, stroking her hair slightly before he begins to rub her cheek with his thumb gently. Despite the situation and the dead body of her lover, Anthea can't help but lean into the comfort of her father's touch. He smiles softly at her action, kissing her temple gently.
"I love you, sweetheart. You are my sweet little girl. I'm never letting you go or leave me. You're too precious to me. Just promise that you will stay with me and listen and this will not happen ever again. Not to you." Niklaus adds, knowing of his sister's habits.
Anthea nods slowly. "Okay." She mumbles quietly.
And that's all it takes for the hybrid's face to soften. "Thank you. My sweet, good, obedient girl. You're so perfect to me, sweetheart." He kisses her forehead softly.
Anthea closes her eyes, feeling a single tear running down her cheek.
***
When Anthea gets out of her trance-like state, she notices they are at the motel already. After waking Aiden and getting out of the bus, the tribrid finds herself sharing a motel room with Lydia and Malia. She is just glad she is free of irritating human teenagers.
When Anthea has dropped her backpack on the bed she is sleeping on for tonight, her phone starts buzzing. Irritated, she picks it up, considering it might be her father to bother her even more. Hasn't he had enough of bothering her for a thousand years?
The tribrid finds herself surprised when her uncle's name lights on the phone. She quickly accepts the call. "Uncle Finn. I must confess that I am indeed surprised."
"It's nice hearing your lovely voice, dear niece. But I called to inform you that Sage is back and Niklaus is losing his mind here in Mystic Falls. Kol has come back temporarily. I know you don't fancy the idea of spending time in the same town and house as Niklaus-"
"I'll come. For you, Uncle Finn. And For Uncle Koala Bear. Uncle Elijah. Aunt Rebekah." Anthea speaks, surprising the banshee and werecoyote with the sudden softness in her tone.
"Thank you, dear niece. I will be sure to inform them." As he speaks, Anthea can practically picture his smile in her head.
Anthea inhales. "The Salvatores still limping after the doppelganger?"
Finn chuckles breathly. "Yes, unfortunately. But, don't worry, I'm sure Rebekah wouldn't mind tormenting Elena Gilbert with you. And no matter how you feel about him, we all know Niklaus would do anything you asked. He may be short-tempered and paranoid but he loves you, in his twisted way of showing it."
Anthea sighs. "I am aware, Uncle Finn. Tell Uncle Elijah that I miss our shared reading sessions very much."
"I will." Finn promises.
"I will hold you onto that." Anthea teases before she hangs up. She turns to the strawberry blonde and brunette. "I need to go. My uncles and aunt need me. In Virginia. Mystic Falls, to be specific."
Lydia smiles with a small nod. "It's okay. We'll cover for you. We can tell Coach you didn't feel good and Deucalion came to get you." She offers softly.
"I would offer to do that weird mind trick you vampires can do, but I am not a vampire." Malia states bluntly.
Anthea presses her lips together. "Thank you." Although her tone is blank, the green-eyed girl and the brown-eyed girl can hear the gratitude in her voice clearly.
***
After making her way away from the motel, Anthea makes her way back to Beacon Hills. She wouldn't have minded staying on the field trip but she prioritizes her family over a field trip organized by a high school.
"Uncle Deucalion." Anthea speaks, storming into the apartment.
Ennis exhales relieved. "Oh, look at the time. I should go now. This seems like an important very private family discussion. An uncle-niece discussion. Mikaelson discussion. I am no Mikaelson, AKA I'm out of here."
Before leaving, Ennis mouths a 'thank you' to Anthea as she interrupts Deucalion's lecture about not killing locals or humans so as not to draw too much attention.
Deucalion inhales. "We'll talk about this later, Ennis!" He calls after his beta.
Anthea turns to her uncle. "I need to go back to Mystic Falls. Uncle Finn called me. I don't know how long I will be gone. It might take days, weeks, or even months if it's serious. I just wanted to inform you and prepare you for the clingy McCall Pack. if Theo Raeken stops by, feel free to tell him that the thought of his face and voice gave me a cardiac arrest which killed me off for good."
Deucalion frowns slightly before chuckling quietly at the last sentence. "So, what do you need, Anthea? Permission?"
"No. I need your help. Plus, I thought you might enjoy a chance to see your siblings again. We can bring Ennis if it makes you feel better." Anthea offers.
"I volunteer as tribute!" Ennis calls out from the kitchen.
Anthea smirks at the sound of Ennis' voice. She interlaces her fingers, raising her eyebrows pointedly. "See? Ennis wants to come. He wants to see Mystic Falls. Just like Beacon Hills, a town of supernatural creatures and wonders."
Deucalion sighs defeated. "Fine. I'll take us to Mystic Falls. One condition. Aiden follows." He states, seeing Anthea's confused frown. "You know, wouldn't hurt to mess with Niklaus and make him think you have a new suitor."
Anthea's smirk returns. "Awesome."
"I agree!" Ennis calls out.
***
When Kali and the twins return home later that night, Deucalion arranges a pack meeting in the dining room. They all sit down on chairs.
"So, what is this about? I have things to do." Ethan speaks.
Anthea raises her eyebrows. "Can't Danny wait a few minutes?"
Aiden snickers softly. Ethan narrows his eyes at the tribrid. Kali and Ennis wear proud smirks, directed toward the redhead. Deucalion smiles softly and proudly at his niece.
"I'm taking Anthea back to Mystic Falls. For a visit. Don't worry, she will return. I'm following and so is Ennis and Aiden. Which leaves Kali in charge of Ethan and the apartment. We will check up with you occasionally and tell you about the situation. We don't know when we'll be back but as soon as we find out, we will call." Deucalion speaks, breaking the news.
Aiden's eyes widen. "I'm finally getting to go out of the apartment and to a place other than Beacon Hills High? Awesome!"
"Why can't I-" Ethan begins.
"Because all you do is suck faces with your human boy. Danny, was it? You would just ruin the trip with your complaints about being away from your boy toy." Anthea states bluntly.
It's quiet for a moment before Aiden bursts out laughing.
Ethan narrows his eyes at his twin. "Very funny, Aiden. Hilarious." He comments.
"Guys." Deucalion interrupts them. "It's decided. We leave tonight so we're there by the forenoon." He informs.
Ennis leans closer to the tribrid. "Does this mean we get to witness the famous Salvatore-Petrova love triangles? Oh, my apologies, I forgot the love triangles don't necessarily have to include Salvatores. It can be Mikaelsons too, apparently. A doppelganger and two brothers. It sounds entertaining. I can't wait."
"Now we know that at least Kol will like you." Deucalion sasses.
Ethan snickers at his sassy remark.
Anthea turns to Ethan. "Don't be afraid to come too. Mystic Falls contains hot boys too. Immortal boys. Vampires are not ugly. We have werewolves, witches, humans, and hybrids. Anything your lycanthropic sexual lust desires."
Ethan smirks. "I'll consider it."
-----------------------
A/N:
I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
What do you think about the flashback? I wanted to give an insight into Anthea's relationship with her father and why she acts toward him like she does. And what problems it caused her. Rebekah continued to try to find love, but Anthea instead isolated herself.
Also, Aiden and Anthea are my babies. They are so sibling-coded. They literally gossip together. They judge Danny and Ethan together. Aiden will definitely insult Klaus the first time he sees him. He has a protective brother mode activated whenever Klaus is around.
In the next chapter, Anthea is back in Mystic Falls.
Anthea also dislikes Theo because he shares name with her first love and she is softest with Lydia because she has green eyes just like her lover.
Anthea's beef with Theo is worse than Stiles' beef with Theo. And it will only get worse and worse the more she gets to know him.