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028 | Reduced To Ashes
Episode 21 • Before Sunset
LEONORA GASPED UP, THE IMAGES OF BLOOD AND TEARS STILL FORE-FRONT IN HER MIND. Her chest heaved up and down as she tried to recollect her thoughts, rearrange her mind.
The lingering darkness within her mind had focused on the nearing future of Klaus's helpless eyes, the retrained of multiple vampires, a hybrid - his friend, holding him down kept reappearing as Leonora rubbed her eyes.
The door burst open, making her jump as Klaus's figure came storming in. Leonora turned away, deeming herself fine as he took his place on the rocking chair beside her bed.
For, Klaus had deemed it necessary to have rocking-chair placed beside her bed, as he often heard the erratic beating of her heart and quickened breaths while amongst the land of the sleep. So, Klaus provided himself a comfortable spot where he could be there if her nightmares were to ever occur - the rocking chair aiding in not only hers, but his peace of mind, knowing he was there for her.
"I'm fine." Leonora pushed Klaus away, getting up and walking towards the dresser.
Klaus continued to watch her with softened eyes, reserved for her. "Love, we talked about this. Your nightmares are not a burden."
Leonora chuckled, the irony of his words hitting her head. It will be a burden when you're forced to your grey, veiny state. She thought.
"It was nothing, truly. It was nothing. Besides, I have more important things to figure out." She proceeded to say, while brushing her teeth.
Klaus came up behind her, placing his large hands upon her waist and slowly rotating her hips. "And, what's that, love?"
Leonora spat out the toothpaste and teleported out of Klaus's arms, enticing a groan from the man. "The future cannot wait. My missing brother cannot wait. My continuous attack will not wait. And I, am not going to wait. I've laid back enough as it is."
Klaus smiled. "But you just look so sexy when you're laid back." He teasingly said, playfully pouting his lips.
Leonora looked to him with a deadpanned face. "I'll look even sexier from a dead mans eyes." She threatened, sarcastically smiling.
Klaus chuckled, crossing his arms as his biceps pulsed. "I can't die, love."
Putting on her waist coat, Leonora replied. "And I control time, what can't I do?"
A lot. She could not do, a lot.
Klaus's laughs resonated off the walls as he continued to follow her around. "Oh, love. Elijah asked me to tell you to call him back." He said, a bitter tone to his voice.
Hearing this, Leonora swiftly turned around on the spot, looking to Klaus with a raised brow. "What's the need for the attitude?" She asked, noticing the distaste in his voice.
"I'm not giving you attitude." Klaus continued to grumble out, a sour look to his face.
Leonora watched him for a moment as he tended around the kitchen, getting out an orange juice for her. She noticed the tensing of his back muscles, the lowering of his head and the thinned out lips on his face.
Realisation erupted within her mind, the knowledge that the Klaus Mikaelson was jealous of his own brother.
"Don't tell me..." Leonora muttered out.
However, due to Klaus's increased hearing, he looked towards her through his eyebrows, as he was looking down. "Don't say it." He muttered.
Sighing out, Leonora. "I may not act like it.. but I do truly care for you." She muttered out, not use to the exposure of her emotions.
Looking up to him, and already finding him looking to her with unsure eyes, she continued. "You know, the reason I hesitated with trying to find my brother, my twin brother. Is because I didn't feel as though I had lost him. Because..well. I see him in Elijah."
A guilty feeling swarmed into her soul. For, she knew it was true. Leonora sees Elijah as her brother, as someone as close as her twin. They dressed the same, they're both intelligent individuals, they both adore books and reading, they both pride themselves up on their professional appearance. Elijah and Leonora are the same person with different meanings. And yet, she felt guilty.
Leonora went her whole life believing her to be an only child, cursed with an emotionally absent father and a tragic fate. So, when she first heard the news of her supposed twin brother... Leonora was not concerned.
And she feels guilty about that. Not caring enough, not looking for enough, not being the right person to set her brother's shackles free. Her curse was a blessing and Leonardo's curse was truly a curse.
Klaus stopped his movements, looking to her with such intensity that it made her look away and beg for something to occupy her with.
Leonora turned around, but Klaus suddenly appeared in front of her, making her jerk back. The man lifted his hand and placed a strand of her hair behind her ear, making her cheeks heat up in a rosy hue.
"Leonardo would want you to live your best life, my darling. You can always begin again, ridding yourself of this guilt." Klaus softly said.
"It's easier said than done."
Klaus gave a small smile. "Then I'll be there to place you back on your pedestal when you fall."
Leonora shook her head, trying to hide the small smile that uplifted her lips. She backed away, not wanting to associate with the current feelings that were being expressed.
"You two are truly the same person..." He muttered out, more so to himself before he continued on. "So, what do you feel about me?"
Leonora didn't feel as though it were appropriate in this setting. She didn't want to give herself away, feeling as though she'd be left vulnerable if she were to speak her thoughts out loud.
"I would let you break the spine of my books..."
Klaus heaved a laugh, his head falling back as his dimples shone through. He pulled her towards him, digging her face into his chest as he continued to shake with laughter.
Kissing her on top of the head, Klaus pulled away from her and handed her the cup of orange juice. "Here. I will see you later, my love."
Gulping down the orange juice, Leonora teleported away. The last of her sights being on the dimpled smile painted upon the hybrids lips as he looked to her.
Leonora had arrived within her living room, the bitter-home feeling had once returned - which wasn't a feeling she'd had back at the Mikaelson Manor.
She quickly walked into her study, ripping off the drawing of the door of the wall. Leonora walked over to her chair, taking a seat and opening up a fresh page, desiring to record all the knowledge she'd gathered recently.
Within the 1400s the Caruso's (Leonora & Leonardo's mother) were one of the big witch covens. Therefore, they had obtained monumental amounts of power. Amongst those times, the male warlocks of the Caruso Coven were blessed with unobtainable power. Thus, the Caruso Coven had worshipped the male warlocks of their community.
Considering the greater amounts of power, the Caruso Covens exceeded outside of the supernatural community - gaining the attention of humans. So, within the 1500 Henry VIII ordered the beginning of an era. The witch-trials.
Many women and men were cornered within their homes, dragged towards the stake if believed to be of over-bearing power. So many fires, that the population of England at the time decreased by 0.9% in three years.
Despite the executions of their kind, the Caruso Coven remained one of the strongest covens. However, the male warlocks of the coven were having their titles and worships stripped away from them. The female witch's of the Caruso Coven, began to loathe and hate the warlocks, banishing and manipulating them.
As the 1600s came around, the warlock Caruso's were decreasing by the minute. They had obtained the sudden death within their life times. Causes of death were un knowledgable. However, their deaths were no accident, that was known. If they were cursed or not, it is still undecided.
However, due to the deaths of the male Caruso's, the female witch's of the Coven began to branch out of the 'nature's servant's stereotype. Thus, all witches of the coven were growing to greater amounts of power by manipulating the powers of black magic, dark magic, ancient magic, coven magic, etcetera.
The Caruso Coven became the most powerful amongst the supernaturals.
And it was known. Vampires, werewolves and all other supernaturals would try seek out the Caruso's, knowing of their overwhelming power. They would try to use the witches, manipulate them to their will.
But, to this remaining day, the Caruso Coven remains one of the most powerful witches to this day. Along with the Bennet's, Parkers, Claires and Mikaelson's.
Leonora put down the pen, stretching her neck. She stood up, exiting her study and beginning her walk towards her bedroom.
However, she stopped as a pain suddenly erupted in her stomach, a warm, liquid spilling out of her stomach like a waterfall.
A silent gasp escaped Leonora as she saw the sights of a make-shift stake embedded within her gut, the warm liquid being her own blood. In a state of panic, Leonora looked up and saw the face of the supposed dead Alaric Saltzman at the open front-door - a smirk upon his face as he gazed to the open wound of her stomach.
Calling to her magic, Leonora kept the stake embedded, not wanting to risk the chance of more blood loss. But, she encased the stake in her magic, eliminating the possibility of it getting more embedded.
Knowing she was safe within her protected home, Leonora began the steady walk to her bathroom - the room with no windows.
For, she knew Alaric could not enter, now that he was a vampire. But, Leonora did not rid him of setting her house on fire. Her eyes widened as she thought about it, all her life's work, all her studied books. Everything. Her life was here.
She slid down the door, blood not pooling at her figure due to her weakening magic, she grabbed her mobile out of her back-pocket and dialled the one who she knew would come, and possibly stand a chance.
"Hello, love."
"Alaric, house, stabbed me."
That was all she spoke of, declining the call to focus more on her wound. Due to her using her powers, she was getting weaker and weaker by the second.
"Leonora! I know you're in there, somewhere!"
She squeezed her eyes shut, ignoring the taunting voice of Alaric outside her home. She grabbed the tissue of the rack and began to hastily apply it to the surrounding areas of her wound, not allowing any more blood loss.
Once she had done that and believed the wound to be secure, Leonora let go of the magic surrounding the stake, hoping the tissue to uphold it.
Leonora leant her head against the wall, regaining her magical strength back. She sat there a couple seconds, gaining back her strength and listening to the taunting shouts of Alaric.
Suddenly, a quiet knock came on the door.
Leonora's eyed widened, not knowing how Alaric could of gotten in. She back away from the door, biting her tongue to focus on that targeted pain rather than the stake jostling about in her stomach.
Lifting up a hand, Leonora encased the door with blue tendrils, her strength draining more from the useage of magic.
However, a rummaging sound came from behind the door. Peaking out, Leonora saw a piece of paper on the floor, black ink barely visible. Dragging herself over, she looked at the paper.
Leonardo Caruso
Leonora dissolved the magic around the door and unlocked it, allowing the messenger to come in.
Klaus's eyes widened as he saw her blood-stained shirt and stake still imbedded in her stomach. Mentally congratulating her on her intelligence to keep it in, Klaus knelt by her and gestured to taking the stake out.
For, if he wanted his healing blood to work, he'd need to take out the cause of the wound.
The two didn't talk, knowing Alaric was out and growling outside. Klaus grasped the stake, Leonora biting down on his hand that he offered.
However, before Klaus was about to pull out the stake, he smelt an ashy, burning smell.
Alaric was burning down her home.
Leonora seemed to also sense it as she began to rapidly tap his arm, her eyes widening. Klaus took his hand out of her mouth and gestured for her to speak.
But, Leonora shook her head, painfully pulling her phone, she began to type out the message.
𝙼𝚢 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚍𝚢. 𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚜, 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖.
Klaus began to rapidly shake his head, but Leonora kept insisting on it - sweat dripping down her forehead.
He rolled his eyes, nodding before placing his hand in her mouth and quickly pulling out the stake. Leonora gave a jolt, biting so hard on Klaus's hand that his blood began to swarm her mouth.
Feeling the wound closing, Leonora grabbed onto his shoulders and began to heave herself up.
Klaus quickly grabbed onto her, pulling her to a standing position. He could smell and hear the up-coming fire of her home. He needed to get her out
Opening the door, Klaus began to push her out. Leonora directed their panicked strides towards her study, needing her life's work.
Klaus's lips thinned up in a frustrated expression. He quickly sped ahead of her, nearly getting cascaded in a fit of fire. Leonora's eyes widened as she saw her living room encased in flames.
Her lungs began to fill with smoke, the closed wound and weakened state made her vision go blurry. But, she continued on.
She followed Klaus's hand as he was gripping onto her so tightly. He grabbed her waist and pulled her into him as a wooden beam fell from the ceiling, nearly falling straight onto Leonora.
Wasting no time, the two sped into her study and began to bundle every book and piece of paper in a bag.
Leonora's eyes began to water, coughing slightly, she continued piling books into bags.
Her knees buckled as the smoke of the fire began to evade her study, the heat hitting her like a truck and causing a cascading waterfall of sweat to built up on both Klaus's and Leonora's bodies.
The room was soon full of black smoke, ridding Leonora of the sights of her precious home getting burnt to the ground.
Tears began to fall of her cheeks as she said mentally said goodbye to the place she'd called home for the last twenty years, to the home that her father had left in her position, the last of her life.
Hands grabbed her waist and her body was covered in another's as she felt the wind hit her face, the heat no longer searing at her skin.
Klaus and Leonora dropped to their knees outside of her house, deep hidden within the woods. Klaus quickly stood back up and listened if any footsteps were coming their way. After hearing no one, he sped towards the still kneeling girl and pushed the bags full of books away from her.
Leonora was devastated, sorrowed and was overwhelmed with pain. She had gotten stabbed, left to bleed out in her bathroom only to find her house set on fire. Leonora had to watch as everything she'd ever known dissolved and reduce to nothing but ashes. Memories, poems, words, literature, evidence, hope all reduced to a pitiful plane of nothing.
She continued to let the tears silently fall - not able to control them. Klaus brought her into his embrace, placing her head in the crook of his neck as she clung to him like he was her life line.
Seeing him hold his arm out, Leonora wrapped her arm around his and they begun to walk towards her house.
Elijah turned away from the sleeping beauty and opened her wardrobe, going through all her clothes he threw appropriate ones on her bed. "Well dear, we have a tea-party to attend to."
Leonora and Elijah ended up leaving the Salvatores as they had no need to be there anymore. Currently the two were sitting in her living room,
She turned around and saw Klaus Mikaelson leaning against the door with his arms crossed. "And why can't I get in this particular room, my love?"
Leonora pretended to throw up as the two exited her house.
Feeling within her house using her abilities, she quickly became confused as she felt...nothing
Reaching up to the medical cabinet, her waist was suddenly grabbed as she was lifted and seated on the countertop.
Leonora continued to silently cry, her eyes squeezed shut in grievance. Her and Klaus had some of their best memories here, their best arguments. Her and Elijah would sit in her living room and just talk there. Rebekah and her would have sleepovers. She cleaned the blood of Kol's face as he had saved her from the coven.
Everything had happened in this house
And it was gone.
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Leonora walked down the stairs, clad in a new uniform as she made her way towards the two Originals, who were arguing.
"Alaric Saltzman just tried to kill me." Rebekah said, coming to Leonora's side and wrapping her arms around her.
The girl melted into the elder girls embrace, wrapping her arms back around her.
"Alaric Saltzman is supposed to be dead." Klaus growled out, still filled with fury as he recalled the helpless Leonora buried within his embrace due to Alaric Saltzman.
"He's not, and he's a vampire. Thanks to mother's spell." Rebekah replied, tightening her hold on the once bloody girl. "With a white-oak stake that can't kill him. He's too strong, Nik. Too strong."
"Where is he now?" Klaus questioned, taking out Leonora's books and placing them in piles of topic.
"At the school, without a daylight ring I'd assume." Leonora replied, thinking it over.
Rebekah was at the decade dance clean up. Therefore, Alaric was clearly there, and it's been too short of time for him to find an able witch to get a ring.
Rebekah nodded, supporting her assumptions. "But as soon as night falls, he'll come after us. All of us. We need to leave now." She warned.
Klaus nodded, taking Leonora's hand and directing her towards her books to decide where she'd keep them. "Fine, I'll collect Elena, and we'll be on our way."
Leonora dropped the book she was holding back onto the table, turning to Klaus with furrowed brows - same as Rebekah.
"Is Elena really the priority here?" She questioned, looking to Klaus with disbelief.
Rebekah also backed up her point. "Forget Elena, you don't need any more stupid hybrids."
Klaus turned to the two girls with a stern look. "What I need is to protect Leonora from Esther's continued assaults against her. Against us."
Leonora shook her head. "I don't need protection from your pathetic hybrids. Stefan managed to de-heart one in a second. What makes you think they'll protect me from a created Original with a homicidal dark side?"
Klaus looked to her with a frown. "You were just bleeding out, you're still weakened from using too much power, Leonora. Your home just got set alight, I need them to protect you." He said with a helpless tone, remembering back to her laid within her bathroom, covered in her own blood.
"We'll protect her ourselves! Like we've always done." Rebekah said, placing a hand upon Leonora's shoulder.
Klaus looked to Leonora, the two holding contact as she held out a hand, urging him with her eyes that the hybrid are not the priority. That, the Originals and her will be untouchable if they just protect one another.
Klaus closed his eyes, not willing to see the beautiful colours of her eyes that he'd gotten lost in two too many times.
Rebekah looked to Klaus and Leonora as she mentally prayed to the time-traveller that she'd be able to convince her brother.
After a moment of silence, Klaus placed his hardened hand into Leonora's softened ones. His eyes opening to see the greatful look of Leonora, and proud look of his sister.
"Pack your bags, you two. We're leaving this pony town." Klaus grumbled out, placing Leonora's books back into her bags.
Rebekah grabbed Leonora's face and kissed her forehead. "Thank you." She whispered out as she sped away, packing her bags.
Leonora ran up to her room, still mentally unable to teleport to great distances. She ran up to her wardrobe and took out multiple bags and a suitcase. Picking up a bundle of clothes, she pushed them into the suitcase. Despite owning one particular style of clothing, Leonora still packed the array of colours that she doesn't wear in public.
Rushing towards the bathroom, she picked up all her essentials and stuffed them into a bag.
After minutes of hurriedly stuffing her life into a couple plastic bags, Klaus came up to Leonora's room and assisted her with taking down her belongings - hers and Rebekah's mixing together in a bundle of used money.
"Where will we go?" Rebekah asked, pulling on her coat.
Klaus looked to Leonora as he held out her coat, her putting her arms into it. "Love?"
"I have always wanted to go to Canada." She replied with a smile.
Rebekah smiled at her, rocking on the backs of her heels as she was blessed with the witnessing of Klaus's redemption. "We will meet Elijah there.
Leonora nodded. However, her nods ceased as her phone begun to ring. Taking it out, her brows furrowed as 'Damon Salvawhore' came upon her phone.
She showed it to the two Originals, Klaus eyes rolling as he read the name. Leonora answered, putting it on speaker despite their enhanced hearing.
"Let me guess, Alaric?" She muttered into the phone.
"We need your help"
AUTORS NOTE:
A fire, huh?
So, the Originals and Leonora will not be leaving Mystic Falls just yet. However, I am planning for Klaus and Leonora to leave early for... ;) ;) ;)
Also, I am fully prepared for Rebekah to take on Alaric, not just Klaus. But, that does mean that Alaric will be written stronger and more powerful than he actually is.
Hope you enjoyed!
<3