[ THE STAND: CHAPTER TWO ]
"So, there we are, on this generic tour of the Acropolis, I have this old lady trying to hit on me— all the while, we are trying to find an escape route to hide out until dark." Ares explained to Davina who listened intently to their story.
"And then the old lady pinched Ares' bum, and he let out the girliest scream, I have ever heard." Davina laughed at the admission, raising an eyebrow at the older Monroe who always acted so tough.
"And then we found this little alleyway that we snuck off in, and cloaked ourselves until nightfall, and that's when things started to get crazy." Ares paused, "There were these ancient markings on the floor, right in the middle of the Acropolis. The markings were older than us, but somehow it translated in our brains and we were able to understand it— it said, Kratos."
Davina raised a brow at Ares, "Hello? Not Greek, what does that mean?"
"It's not what it meant, Davina Claire. Quite a few generations before us, our family were hated by pretty much every other witch in the world at that time, because they weren't beholden by nature, their power was infinite and quite frankly, they were unstoppable." Rhea paused, "They made a name for themselves, and other witches wanted that power, so they gathered up as many witches as they could, and tried to take it. Kratos, is a nickname of one our ancestors, Polykrates was his name, he couldn't see a way out of the inevitable war between us and them so he convinced all of our family to give up their power, and become just like any other witch." She paused again, making sure Davina was keeping up, "So they done a ritual, which would lock that power in a hidden tomb in the Acropolis, only to be opened again by someone of their own bloodline."
Davina looked amazed, "And you done it, right?"
"It was.. Surprisingly easier than I thought." Ares said, although the frown on both his and Rhea's face made Davina question them.
"What did you have to do?"
"Oh, you know. The usual, sacrifice a little blood, say a spell or two.. And then," Rhea paused, willing herself not to get upset, she had been doing so well, "It determines whether or not you're worthy, so it makes you see things. Your worst fears. Luckily, both me and Ares have lived through ours." She looked away, not wanting to see the look of sympathy on her friends face.
Davina looked to Ares, obviously knowing that Rhea's worst fear was losing Kol, "And yours?"
"Dying alone." Davina placed her hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"So if you're family are from Ancient Greece, why is your last name Monroe?"
"My grandfather was originally from Scotland, until he came to the new world and met my grandmother— and somewhere down the line, Monroe ended up the family name, so we just adopted that, considering surnames weren't a thing when we were young."
"Did your grandmother have anymore kids?" Rhea nodded her head, "Our aunt, Lila, she took after my grandfather, though. She wasn't a witch, that's how our line continued."
"So everything worked out then?" Davina asked with a grin, sensing the much happier moods of her two friends since they had been back.
"Yeah.. Everything's good." Rhea said with a small smile, "I'm gonna go and get a drink, give you two some time to get reacquainted." She told the two with a smirk.
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Rhea had been walking through the quarter for some time, something she had done a lot of recently— Ares would often awake to his sister being gone, doing nothing more than taking a walk.
She saw the St. James infirmary up ahead, Davina had informed her that it was infact, a magic free zone— she briefly wondered if it applied to her magic too. As she approached, she could tell that there was some kind of art exhibition going on, and it was only when she saw a rather familiar painting that she realised who's art exhibition it was.
Walking over to the bar, she was about to order a drink before one slid across the bar and stopped right in front of her.
"Well, well, look who it is." The arrogant tone of voice made Rhea look up instantly, merely rolling her eyes when she saw who it was.
"Lucien."
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MARSEILLES, FRANCE: 1002AD
"Do you not ever feel bad that we have charmed the Count into thinking we are a Lord and Lady?" Rhea asked her brother as they prepared for party the Count de Martel was hosting.
"No, not really.. The Count is cruel man who torments even those who live to serve him." Ares paused, "Just look at poor Lucien."
Rhea hummed, agreeing with her brother, she had become quite fond of Lucien and often came to his aid when he got himself into trouble. They joined the festivities soon after, it didn't take long for Tristan De Martel to catch up the witch.
"My lady, you look delightful." He placed a kiss atop her hand, Rhea liked the attention from Tristan, some said he was cruel and wicked— she had never seen that side of him. She was scared to get too close to him, however, in case he were to ever to find out what she were. His father was sure they would be married soon, though.
"Tristan." Rhea said with a charming smile of her own, the two were interrupted when one of the guests called him over and he excused himself, promising to spend time with her later on.
Spotting Lucien with one of the guests, she walked over to her friend, "Lucien, I do hope you're staying out of trouble."
"Of course, my lady." She cracked then, her serious expression turned into a grin and Lucien chuckled at her antics.
She looked at the man he was stood with, "Who is your friend?"
"This is the Lord Niklaus, and this is The Lady Rhea."
The two seemed to be in a stare off, almost as if they were two alphas deciding whether the opposing side was going to be an enemy or ally.
"Charmed." Rhea said with a small smile before joining her brother in greeting other guests.
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"You know, I haven't seen you since.. What? The 1700's?" Lucien questioned as Rhea came out of her own memories.
"There's a reason for that, Lucien." She told the vampire as she sipped her drink.
"Oh, come on now, love. What did I really do that was so wrong?"
"Should we really start counting just how many times you have tried to bed me over the years, love?" She remarked with a smirk, remembering how many times he had tried to take advantage of her when she had been upset over Kol being daggered.
"It's all in the past now, I've got bigger conquests to focus on." The mischievous glint in Lucien's eye didn't sit well with Rhea at all, and the way his smirk didn't falter made her uneasy— vampirism had changed Lucien the most, it was almost sad to see.
"Well, it was nice seeing you Lucien. Take care of yourself." She said as she left, glad that she hadn't run into Klaus himself.
She had a burning question in her brain as she walked back to her apartment— what the hell was Lucien doing in New Orleans?
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