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THE NEXT DAY
I hadn't really allowed myself the opportunity to relax and delight in the knowledge that my all time biggest TV crush returned my feelings. I didn't even go back to the Boarding House after saying goodnight to Elijah, my first stop being to drive miles out of town at the dead of night to follow a paper map. Mikael's crypt route had kindly been pointed out by Abby Bennett when I suggested placing it on a higher form of lockdown only I could access should anyone wish to wake the man, rendering the reason she lost so much of her magic in the first place useless.
She seemed to trust me enough not to screw it up, so I simply sealed it with the same spell that trapped everyone during Klaus' Ritual before falling into my bed just before sunrise.
That late night encouraged me to roll out of bed around noon, saving me from the morning's madness of everyone discovering Elena's deal with Esther to kill her children. I snuck out before my 'brother's could learn Elena had been taken hostage, the Mikaelsons most likely assuming their connection was successful seeing as they were clueless to my interference. I had a lot to do today, and as excited as I wanted to be about the progression of Elijah and I's relationship, I knew any form of celebration had to be put on the backburner for now.
Yet before I could run to the old witch burning sight and ensure a trap for Esther, a text from Bonnie directed me to The Grill;
'Need to speak with you ASAP! Meet at the grill in an hour?'
I was sipping a lemonade at the bar before I responded;
'Here.'
I'd nearly emptied my glass when past scheming proved itself to be a success with the appearance of a familiar red-head. Three months ago, I'd sent ripples through the supernatural community, a rumor about the Mikaelson family that only those who knew them would care to pay attention to. Any supernatural interested in the Originals would learn that they had chosen to visit 'Mystic Falls' and all family members were present. Sage took the bait, aiming for an empty stool further down from me to order a shot of amber liquid.
"Hello, Sage." Besides her spine straightening, she gave no indication she'd heard me, "My name is Adelina Salvatore, I believe you're familiar with my brother: Damon?"
"Right, he spoke highly of the sister always on her travels," she matched my volume, too low for any stray human to pick up on even a glint of our conversation.
"I'm guessing you're in town hoping to run into your sire?"
She paused in lifting her drink to her lips, "What do you know of my sire?" Her words were a hiss, a warning I'd trampled over a touchy subject.
"I know where he lives, and I know that Finn is still in love with you."
I saw her jaw clench in the corner of my eye, desperate to stop the tears... "Can you tell me where he is?"
"Be at this address by midnight tonight..." I clenched my fist, engraving her nearby napkin with the location. "He and his family should all be there. It was nice meeting you, Sage, good luck." She emptied her glass, snatching the square of white and leaving without so much as a glance back.
I slumped against the bar, exhaling my nerves before the reason I even came here walked in, spotting my position instantly-- "Hey, Adie."
"Hey, Bon," I waved. "So, how come you needed to speak with me so urgently?"
"It's about the Original witch," my brows met my hairline with her whisper. "She dropped by my house this morning with her eldest son. She asked if my mom and I would help her kill her children tonight."
"Oh," my brows crumpled together. "H-how come you're telling me about it instead of just helping her?"
"Because they haven't actually done anything to us, only made plans that you found a way around. That means they're only as bad as every other vampire out there but--...Do you trust them?"
"I do," I admitted.
"Well, we trust you. I told Esther we'd help, but I wanted your opinion on it before asking my mom and actually following through with it."
"Oh, thank you, Bonnie!" My excitement made my smile glow, arms tackling her in a hug. "I really appreciate you coming to me with this because we can't let the Originals die, not unless we're willing to kill every vampire turned by their bloodline as well."
The brunette's eyes were wide and jaws slack when I pulled back, "You mean she intends to erase all vampires from the Earth?"
I nodded, "She wants to undo the 'evil' she put on the Earth, but it's too late now. Mother nature's already reacted to vampires as an abomination, the devastation has been caused. All she'd really be doing is clearing her own guilty conscience."
"Do you have a plan?"
I grinned, "Yes, to do it I need two items that you and your mom own and I need you to agree to help Esther--"
"Are you crazy? Why do you want us to agree to help her kill your friends?"
"Calm down, Bon. I need you to agree so she can take a smidge of your power, then before she powers too much of it through the full moon I'll say a quick spell that will temporarily subdue your magic until I awaken it again. I need something of yours and your moms so I can do the spell while the two of you are away from the sight and safe, the only downside is you'll be powerless until tomorrow morning."
She only gave it a minute's thought before unclasping her necklace and setting it on the bartop, "If you're sure you can do this then I'm more than happy to back you." The young witch pulled out her phone, "I'll ask Abby to meet us with an item."
"Thanks, Bon." I stuffed the necklace in my back pocket, "Hopefully you won't regret it."
-TIME SKIP-
The sky was calm, the heat from the Original witches ritual sight the only movement in the air. I'd silently waited for Esther to finish her set-up, hiding out in the old witch house after laying my trap; I'd marked the area around Esther's special little circle, ensuring that the second the witches 'sisters' deserted her, the effects of her magic would be reversed and she'd be trapped in her own ring of fire.
Only when it grew dark did I make my appearance, "Fancy running into you guys here(!)"
"Adelina," the woman was quick to turn up her nose. "You can't stop us, you're too late."
"I thought that," the candles fire flared, forcing me to pause a few steps from their position. "I'm actually here to talk to Finn."
The man's eyes narrowed on my position, his mother placing a placating hand on his arm. "She can't enter, don't worry—she won't ruin this."
I raised my hands in defense, "I don't want in on your little secret circle. I really just want to have a talk with you, Finn, I actually have a surprise for you."
His brow crumpled into a confused frown, "What on Earth are you going on about?"
"Sage..." his eyes widened. "She's in Mystic Falls and she's looking for you."
His silence encourages Esther to try and change the subject, "Why is this relevant?"
I ignored her, turning my complete focus to Finn. "I know you've struggled with being a vampire and you feel that doing this is the right thing to do but you're too late. Vampires have made their impact, they've found their place in mother nature's hierarchy—following through with something like this might cause more harm than good—"
Esther glared, "How would removing one of the biggest predators from the world cause any harm?"
"Because they're not all bad," her scoff proved my answer wasn't good enough for her. "Disapprove all you want but some vampires just want that apple pie life, it's not always their fault they're immortal. Finn," I fixed my focus. "You haven't been given the opportunity to be a good vampire for almost a millennium, and now you've got it. You could go home, be with Sage, try and make amends with your siblings. Just because you consume blood doesn't make you a monster, you decide that with your actions."
He truly looked torn, glancing down at his mother's hand before releasing a heavy sigh. "I can't..."
I offered the man a sad smile, "I'm sorry then--Phasmatos Somnus," his eyes rolled into the back of his head before he collapsed, Esther swooping down and attempting to shake him awake.
"What have you done!?"
"I needed to delay everything." I reached into my back pockets, clasping the Bennet's totems. "Don't worry, he's just knocked out, nothing too harmful."
"Delay...?" Her gaze snapped to meet mine, "Why would you want to delay things?"
I responded with a smile, tightening my grip and muttering under my breath; "Phasmatos Tribum, Exum Sue, Redem Su Pas Quo--"
"No! Sisters, do not abandon me!" The Original Witch cried to the sky, fist pounding against the Earth when her surrounding fire was extinguished. "What did you do?"
"The Bennets seem to trust me and my outlook a fuck ton more than they do you and your vendetta. They allowed me to temporarily incapacitate their power, leaving you with no source to steal from." She scrambled back when I moved to the edge of her circle, "You've lost, Esther."
She raised her hand, frowning at the lack of attack it caused, "What's happening?"
"I did a reversal spell on your circle for when you lost your magic source. You should be stuck in there at minimum power until I release you, the lack of magic also means you can't hurt me or escape."
She scoffed, "So now what, you kill me?"
"I don't want to," I admitted. "I want to give you the opportunity to be better, to be a mother to all of your children again," her eyes found Finn's unconscious body. "I'm sorry grief pushed you to create a species you now despise, but you can't punish the generations of good vampires that came from your actions just to make yourself feel a little better. You've made the mistake now, you've got to live with it."
Her jaw clenched, glare turning back toward me, "What are you offering me?"
"I can allow you to live, but I can't trust you with your magic if I do. Please, allow me to turn you, Esther."
She stood on shaky legs, squaring her shoulders and puffing up her chest before moving a hairline away from me. "Kill me," she decided. "I'd rather die a thousand painful deaths and watch my children cause hell for all of eternity all over again, than ever become a blood-sucking monster like you--!" My instincts overwrote my reason, hand piercing her chest and gripping her heart before I could really think. "Ligatus fuero," was spat in my face, the witches lifeless body collapsing in a heap when I pulled out her heart. A chill rattled my bones with her whisper, the sight of my hand stained with her blood freezing me in place...
"Adelina?" The feeling of weight on my arm made me jump, facing down Kol, Klaus and Elijah reminding me of their appearance to confront their mother.
"Oh," I glanced down at the body. "I'm so sorry--I offered to turn her, told her to give up on everything and truly be your mom again. I was too rash, I should have waited for you all to get here, I shouldn't have--"
Kol frowned, "You knew we were coming?"
"Uh--"
"Adelina is a special witch," Klaus explained, "Sometimes she can have visions of the future." His gaze trailed to his older and unconscious brother, "Why is Finn passed out?"
"I couldn't risk him stopping me from turning your mom if she agreed to my offer. See it through my eyes if you don't believe me," I held out both hands. "I still don't drink or wear any vervain, and I'm still enough of a stranger to be lying, but you've gotta believe I didn't want to kill her. I wanted to help, I wanted to help you all--"
The appearance of soft brown silenced me, "My siblings believe you, 'Lina." Elijah held my wrists, gently lowering them to my sides. "Kol, take Finn back home, we'll talk with him when he wakes."
"But--"
"Now," Ellijah broke eye contact to glare at his little brother. "Adelina will explain everything to us another day, but now is not the time."
"Fine," the shorter brunette huffed before lugging Finn over his shoulder. He paused from blurring away, "Thank you, Adelina." I was stunned by the sincerity in Kol's voice, "Thank you for saving our lives," and with a breeze he was gone.
"Niklaus--"
"I'll bury mother and inform Rebekah," the Hybrid assigned himself, "I think it's best you stay with Adie right now, calm her down." The Hybrid stooped to pick up his mothers corpse bridal style, glancing back at me, "You're a good ally to have, little witch," was as good a thanks as any before Elijah and I were left alone...
"I really am sorry, Elijah," I felt my eyes welling up, "I really didn't want to kill her."
"Hey, it's okay." I was wrapped into his hug, "I forgive you, you had no choice."
"But I should've--"
"No," I was pulled an arms length away, calloused thumbs wiping away my upset. "You did everything you could to keep me and my family safe today, you've done nothing wrong."
"But I k-killed her, Elijah."
"And I know you well enough to understand it was a last resort. My siblings and I forgive you, 'Lina. It is only yourself that disapproves, I promise."
The heavenly pressure of him pulling me in for another hug was enough to convince me I wasn't all bad... "Thank you..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sgycukafqQ... (What I've Done by Linkin Park)
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Thanks for reading x