Le Grand Guignol
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Some heartaches are always reserved for family.
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|Downworld|
"Well, Lilith looked extremely poised today, she didn't even kill anyone at court," Magnus commented as he and Alexander entered their chambers and he made a beeline to the alcohol cabinet to pour two glasses for them.
"What's troubling you?" He asked handing his husband the drink before sitting down beside him.
"Rori." Alexander sighed, "I'm worried about her. She was so close to crossing over to our realm." He spoke looking at Magnus with worrisome eyes.
Magnus smiled before taking his hand, "But she didn't. Her mate saved her."
"I know, but what if he hadn't been able to? Father would have done the same thing he did to me if she had stepped in." His grip tightened on Magnus' hand remembering Raziel.
Magnus shook his head before he fully turned to face him, "You know why he did what he did and it was not because you followed your mother here. Raziel is a different kind of monster but even he fears harming Rori."
"Yeah, I hope you're right. I spared him once but if he hurts my sister..."
"He won't." Magnus interrupted, "He hurt you because he somehow believes that you will fulfill the prophecy about his fall from grace. He doesn't even have proof of that."
"Yes, and somehow mother believes the same. Everyone thinks that the greatest angel is destined to fall by my hand. I have spent my life preparing for that but I still don't feel ready." He muttered with a distant look in his eyes. Magnus wrapped his arms around him and pulled him closer.
"You will be ready when the time is right, Alexander." He spoke stroking his husband's hair as the two comfortably lied down. Alec took in a relaxed breath after a long day.
"They don't even know what the prophecy is." He groaned in Magnus' chest making him chuckle.
"I mean it's frustrating to see your demon mother put all her hopes in you that you will be the one bringing doom on the Angel Realm. That's a huge responsibility that I didn't sign up for." He mumbled burying his face in the crook of his neck as Magnus ran his fingers in his hair.
"Sweetheart, we know that the prophecy is about Raziel's fall. And he somehow believes strongly that you will be the one bringing that upon him. Ergo, my darling mother in law believes that as well." Alec sighed shaking his head before closing his eyes.
"Don't worry about Rors. She is a grown-up now. Trust me, I saw how fierce she has become and the Mikaelson brothers, oh boy, they would even tear us apart if she asked them to." Magnus reassured him making him nod.
"I just want to meet her again, you know?" The pain was clear in his words.
Magnus stroked his cheek looking down at him with a sad smile, "She hates us." He whispered making Alec's frown deepen.
"If only she knew the kind of man father is." He said with spite.
"She practically worships him. He made sure to poison her innocent mind against us the moment we left. If anything, she will protect him with her life."
"I know. I just worry about the day the prophecy will need to be fulfilled. Raziel has gone to endless lengths to stop it." Alexander had slight tears in his eyes when he looked up at Magnus.
The latter just cupped his cheek and planted a protective kiss on his forehead, "I know, my love. I can never forget that day either." They joined their foreheads with their eyes closed as their minds took them to a day from thousands of years ago.
The Angel Realm; 9700 years ago
The ballroom bustled with chatters and laughter and music arranged because of yet another one of Raziel's fancy galas. Everyone in the realm knew how much he loved such parties.
"Well, your father certainly went a tad overboard," Lucifer mumbled to Alec beside him as the best friends stood in the middle of the room, smiling and greeting the nobles.
"Well, of course, mother and he are certainly not on good terms these days and I think he is trying to woo her or something, " Alexander replied rolling his eyes. Lucifer snorted before his eyes fell on someone that made him glare in distaste.
"He certainly had to be here." He commented making Alexander realize who his childhood friend was talking about. He put a sympathizing hand on Lucifer's shoulder.
"I'm sorry, my friend. I know you fancy my sister but she is with Caige now. She tells me he makes her happy." He voiced hoping to console him.
Lucifer sighed, "Well, as long as she is happy." He spoke lowly.
Alexander felt terrible for him, Lucifer had been their childhood friend, and ever since then, he adored Isabelle. But alas, Isabelle was now spoken for by General Caige.
"Speaking of people we fancy..." Lucifer's voice broke Alec out of his thoughts as his eyes fell on the man who just entered the room gathering most of the attention towards himself.
Alexander felt his heart skip a beat when he saw Magnus. He looked astounding.
"Darling, Alexander, don't stand here and stare, instead you should go talk to him." Alec looked at him wide-eyed, his voice had been successfully heard by Magnus who now looked at the Lightwood and smirked.
"Shut up, people would gossip!" Lucifer snorted.
"Angel Realm is not barbaric, Alec, leave the gossiping to your father's pesky humans." Lucifer rolled his eyes at the pointed glance he received from Alec.
Before Alexander could say anything further, Magnus joined them, which caused the elder Lightwood's heart rate to increase and Magnus was well aware of his affections.
"Gentlemen, " Magnus greeted the two and only Lucifer replied because Alec was too busy staring at him, "Alexander?" Magnus called out breaking him from his daze.
"Y-yes?" He stuttered which made Lucifer stifle a laugh.
"Maybe you could brighten my evening by accepting this dance with me?" He asked, politely putting his hand forward.
"Y-yes, of course." Alexander was flustered as he took Magnus's hand and joined him on the dance floor.
Lucifer let out a snicker seeing Alexander so nervous.
"What's so funny, brother?" He turned to Akira's voice, only to feel nervousness creep up his back as well when he saw Isabelle standing beside his sister.
"Sister, Isabelle, how are you both today?" He asked politely, his gaze fixed on the noirette.
Isabelle smiled before she placed a chaste kiss on his cheek, "We're good, Lucy, where's my brother?" She asked looking around the room and trying not to blush when she caught Caige smiling at her. Lucifer felt a pang of jealousy at their small encounter.
"He's with Magnus," Lucifer replied pointing to the happy couple.
"They look incredibly happy with each other," Akira spoke with a smile making the two nod in agreement.
"Lucy, Akira, please excuse me for a moment," Isabelle cleared her throat before making her way to her secret lover which made Akira let out a low whistle causing Isabelle to turn around to briefly glare at her.
"Come on, brother, green does not suit you," Akira said dragging Lucifer to the bar.
"I don't know what you're talking about, sister." He grumbled, sipping on his drink.
Akira rolled her eyes, "Your adoration for Rori is as obvious as the sunrise. It's a shame that she doesn't even realize it." She pondered.
"Well, General Caige is keeping all her attention, how can she possibly know?" Lucifer muttered seeing Isabelle smile charmingly as she talked to the love of her life.
Akira felt bad for her brother and tried to comfort him, but then, she was also happy for Isabelle because General Caige was a good man for her.
In the middle of the ballroom, Magnus and Alexander were dancing in each other's arms whilst Magnus made every attempt he could to make the Lightwood smile and blush.
"Honestly, Magnus, I never realized how deeply I feel for you." He spoke placing a hand on his cheek. Magnus chuckled.
"I always know, my love. I always know." Alexander blushed a little.
"ALEC!" They turned listening to Isabelle's shriek, seeing a horrified expression on her face. Alexander looked at her in confusion before he looked up in horror when he saw the giant chandelier coming towards him at full speed.
Without thinking another moment, Isabelle raised her hands and shot a wave of magic making the chandelier stop mid-air as Magnus dragged Alexander away from under it right before it fell again.
Alec had a horrified expression on his face as he breathed deeply. Magnus and Isabelle stuck by his side whilst Lucifer and Akira tried to divert the noble guests from the ballroom.
"How did this happen?" Lilith immediately asked Magnus as she entered the room.
"I have no idea, we all know this chandelier couldn't have just fallen because of loose ropes," Isabelle answered for him before Magnus hugged Alec.
"This was an attempt at his life." Lucifer spat as he returned with his sister after seeing the nobles off.
Lilith turned to look at him incredulously, "Why the hell would anyone do that?"
"Exactly, my brother has been nothing but kind to the entire realm, why would anyone make an assassination attempt?" Isabelle added.
"I don't know, but I'm sure what Lucifer is saying is right." Magnus spoke up, "This has happened before as well." Isabelle looked at him in shock.
"Why didn't you tell any of us?" Isabelle growled before Alec stood up and placed his hands on her shoulders.
"Relax, it's not his fault." He mumbled, "We were in the garden a few days ago, I was about to step on the poisonous thorns."
"But we don't have them in our gardens," Isabelle stated in annoyance.
"Exactly, sister." Alec and Magnus exchanged looks, "Someone must have placed them there and whoever it was, they must know exactly what those thorns do."
"Yes, someone in this palace is extremely desperate to kill Alexander and make it seem like an accident," Magnus concluded.
"Well, whoever it is, they will not be out there for long," Lilith spoke distantly. Her expressions were wary which made Alec feel uneasy.
"I'm going to find Raziel," Lilith added before hurriedly leaving the room.
"She's hiding something." Lucifer voiced eyeing the path Lilith left.
"I think so too." Magnus agreed.
"Sister, return to your chambers, I don't want you in any danger with these attempts for my life," Alec asked Isabelle politely.
"But, Alec-"
"He's right, Rors. I will help Alexander and Lucifer. You and Akira should rest." Magnus insisted, making the younger lightwood exchange concerned glances with her brother before she reluctantly nodded and left the room after hugging Alec.
"Father is up to something," Alexander stated once he was sure that his sister was away.
"The attempts on your life began after Raziel found out about the prophecy, why do I get a feeling that he is behind these attacks?" Magnus added.
"That's absurd!" Lucifer protested, "He's your father, Alec. Why would he do something like that?"
"I suppose we ought to find out."
⚜⚜⚜
"Easy, Elijah!" Isabelle shrieked out when Elijah put Niklaus' body over his shoulder, "He is already in a lot of pain." She stated, following him inside the compound. He nodded.
"Izzy!" Stefan stood up from the couch seeing the couple enter. Isabelle looked at the three wide-eyed. They were supposed to be at the safe house.
"What happened to Klaus?" Hayley asked when she saw the immobilized hybrid.
Elijah ignored them as he made his way to Niklaus' room. Rusty followed the elder Mikaelson. What is happening in this family and what the hell is wrong with funny face? He pondered.
"You are not supposed to be here." The noirette voiced looking at them warily.
"Yeah, about that, " Davina began, "Bastiana and Monique tracked me down and they burned down the house." Isabelle looked at them baffled.
"And you're telling me this now?" She snapped, "Wait, how did you guys even escape?"
"Well, I rippered out on Bastiana," Stefan mentioned making Isabelle give him an impressed expression.
"Now, what the hell happened here?" Hayley repeated her previous question.
Isabelle sighed, "The witches used Rebekah to get to our family." They had confused expressions on their faces listening to this.
"Back in 1919, Bekars and Marcel were the ones who called Mikael to New Orleans." Stefan looked at her shocked.
"Nik wants to make Bekars suffer. I had her and Jeremy leave town. Nik has Papa Tunde's blade in his chest at the moment and we're waiting for enough time to pass so that we know Rebekah and Jer are safe before we remove the blade." She informed making Stefan pinch the bridge of his nose.
"Well, it would be good to have that blade left in permanently," Davina spoke up making Isabelle shoot a pointed glare which made her shut up immediately.
Izzy shook her head before turning to Hayley, "Celeste was the one who cursed your clan. She's in the trunk of Elijah's car right now. We'll deal with her once Nik and Bekars are safe." Hayley nodded before the noirette rushed to her best friend's room with Stefan on her tail.
Davina watched Hayley as she thought over something, "What are you thinking, Hayls?"
"I think it's about time I made the bitch pay for hurting my family." Davina's eyes widened listening to that.
"I'll help." She smirked remembering that Kol's death was also Celeste's fault.
Upstairs, Isabelle and Stefan stood in Niklaus' room as they watched Elijah pick up a scalpel whilst he debated if he should take the blade out just yet or not.
"Cami will be here at any moment, Elijah. Do it." Stefan voiced in impatience. He could not see Niklaus in such agony.
Elijah looked at his mate for reassurance, "I talked to Jer, they'll reach the airport in no time and then the jet will take them somewhere safe." She answered his worries before Cami entered the room with a panicked expression on her face.
"You called me?" She asked Isabelle as Elijah dug the scalpel into Niklaus' body. Camille looked horrified seeing the younger Original in such a state.
"What happened to him?"
"The blade you were asked to use on him is inside him," Stefan replied, his gaze intent on Niklaus.
"Who used it?" Camille questioned with clear disgust and fear in her voice. She somehow didn't know why exactly she cared for the hybrid but she did.
"I did," Elijah answered as he set aside the scalpel and plunged his hand into Niklaus' chest to look for the hilt of the dagger. Camille looked away from the gory sight.
"Why am I here?" The blonde asked Isabelle as she tried to distract herself from the scream that Niklaus gave out when Elijah removed the dagger. Isabelle watched her best friend with pity.
"Because of out of all of us, you're the one he wouldn't immediately slaughter. Now, be with him, feed him if you can, and in the meanwhile, convince him to not kill his baby sister." She replied, "In return, I will go to the church and help your uncle the way I promised."
Camille's eyes widened as she nodded gratefully before taking a step towards the panting hybrid, "Can't you guys feed him with blood bags or something?"
"Your blood is laced with vervain, this way he will not get his strength back immediately," Stefan answered before Elijah and Isabelle stepped out of the room.
"Stay here and stop him, I will be back soon enough." She stated as she cupped his cheek before pecking his lips. He nodded once they pulled back.
"Be careful, okay? One of the witches is still out there." She smiled at the concern in his eyes.
"You know I am always ready to kick some ass, I'll be fine." He chuckled at her words.
Isabelle called Stefan and the two left for the church, meanwhile, Elijah returned to his study with Rusty.
Nobody realized yet that Davina and Hayley were gone with Celeste.
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"Father K! We have come bearing gifts." Isabelle smiled as she entered the attic only to find a sickly Kieren and Josh taking care of him.
Josh turned to look at the two like a deer caught in the headlights, "Rouge, hi!" Josh awkwardly waved as he hid the fear he felt seeing the two vampires. He was not supposed to be in town.
"Joshua! You're still alive." Stefan exclaimed with a smirk, "I do love a good survival story." Isabelle playfully smacked his chest before she walked inside.
"Don't harm him, please? The child has helped me a lot." Kieren croaked out as Josh helped him sit up.
"Relax, both of you." Isabelle cooed, "I'm not Nik." Josh took a sigh of relief.
"Stef?" Isabelle called out making the vampire realize that it was his cue to test whether the vervain was out of Father K's system or not.
"What is your greatest fear, Father?" He compelled the priest looking into his eyes making his pupils dilate.
"Dying at the hands of the supernatural world." The priest answered truthfully. Isabelle felt bad for him, he never asked to be dragged into all this. He was just supposed to be a normal priest.
"Well, the vervain is out." She said clapping her hands before she mixed the herbs in a glass of water and added a drop of her blood into it.
"Drink this, K. You'll be fine." She said handing him the concoction, Kieren eyed it carefully before taking it from her.
"Your blood, why did you add it?" He asked warily; not entirely in the mood to have a vampire's blood in his system.
"For a speedy recovery, Kieren. Relax, I'm not gonna kill you." She stated in annoyance. She was done with the O' Connells doubting her. They had a good reason but she hadn't given them any from her side, at least.
Kieren sighed before he gulped down the bitter mixture in one go. He started to cough once he was done.
"There, there, Father K." The noirette cooed as she took Josh's place and lightly patted the priest's back.
"You feeling okay, buddy?" She asked after a few moments.
"Yeah, I think so." He replied putting his hand in front of them as they all saw the black mark from the hex disappear as Kieren felt a burden lift off of his soul. He felt a sudden release from a dark tug of magic as he released the breath he was holding.
"Wow." Josh gasped out, "It worked." He whispered.
"Of course, it did. Izzy doesn't welch on deals, Joshua." Stefan smirked proudly as he patted Izzy's back. The noirette shook her head as she stood up.
"You'll be a little weak for a while, I think Josh will help you with that." Josh nodded at his mention before she turned back to the priest, "Don't take vervain or any more vampire blood for at least a day. After that, you'll be okay." She said with a smile.
Kieren nodded with a grateful grin on his face, "Thank you, Isabelle. Thank you for saving my life." He stated, making her nod.
"It's not a big deal." She waved her hand dismissively. Stefan just rolled his eyes at her modesty as they made their way to the door.
"And Father K?" She called out turning back, "You have my word that you will not die a supernatural death." Kieren's eyes were filled with emotions as he nodded. He truly was grateful for the young angel. She smiled at him before she and Stefan stepped out.
"You did a good thing, Izzy," Stefan admitted as the two walked out of the church.
"As I said, it's not a big deal." She grinned at him.
"You-" Stefan was interrupted because of his phone ringing.
"Yes, Elijah?" He asked picking up the phone making Isabelle raise an eyebrow as she listened in on the conversation.
"Are Davina and Hayley with you?" Her mate asked in a frantic voice which made them both stop and share baffled expressions.
"They're not with us."
"Celeste has them. Ask Izzy to meet me at the cemetery and you try to find them in the meanwhile." Elijah demanded before hanging up and Isabelle and Stefan gave each other a curt nod before speeding into different directions.
⚜⚜⚜
"When the order is restored, your kind won't be allowed here." Monique sassed turning to the vampire couple that stood by the entrance of the crypt she was meditating in.
Isabelle scoffed, "Yeah, well that day isn't today, so..." She trailed off with a smirk.
"Monique, I would like you to help us," Elijah demanded in a strangely sweet tone. Isabelle almost snorted because she knew that her mate wanted nothing more than to rip Monique's heart out but he wasn't doing so because he considered her a child. Isabelle's personal opinion, however, differed from his on this matter.
"What makes you think I will help you? Especially after your little witch almost broke my nose and knocked me out?" She spat making Isabelle look at her with a surprised expression.
"She used the sucker punch on you?" Elijah shook his head as his mate laughed at Monique's expense. He found a proud smirk coming onto his own face at Davina's fierceness.
"Not my point." Monique snarled, "I'm not gonna help you both." She affirmed.
"Darling, you are going to help us after we tell you that your darling Celeste is screwing with all of you." The noirette smirked.
"I don't believe you, Celeste is loyal to the witches." Isabelle scoffed at Monique's blind faith. Elijah took a step towards her.
"The only thing Celeste is loyal to is her revenge against my family." He reprimanded.
"I don't think that is a bad thing for us. We were successful in ridding one of you." Monique smirked cockily which only made Isabelle flash her fangs at her as she took a threatening step towards her. She would have latched her fangs onto the young witch's throat had Elijah not wrapped his hand around her waist and kept her in place.
"My family allowed my powerful mother's body to be consecrated, because of which, her powers flow through all of you. Now, I am entirely certain that Celeste will jump into another body as soon as she is bored of Sabine's. She will eventually take away your power." The vampire informed, keeping aside his own anger.
Monique looked at the Original warily, "Celeste would never do that. She will see to it that the witches will rise again."
"She only cares about seeing herself rise. She has cheated death for two centuries. If you think she will not do it again then you're a brainless twat." Isabelle jabbed, gaining a glare from the witch.
"Monique, I have my mother's spell. Locate Celeste for us and in return, we will help you see to it that the witches are not betrayed. After the spell is completed, if Celeste sacrifices herself, her magic will flow back into the earth. But if she tries to jump into another, the spell will take her to a very different location." Elijah offered intently with a calm voice as Monique seemed to ponder over his words.
"Fine." She voiced making Isabelle release a breath she didn't know she was holding.
The Parabatai couple watched as Monique concentrated over the map of the city in order to search for Celeste's magic. After a few moments, she informed them that Celeste was in the bayou.
"The bayou?" Isabelle muttered in confusion, "Why do I get the feeling that Celeste didn't take Hayley and Davina anywhere but it was the other way around?" Her mate gave her a look that confirmed he was thinking the same thing.
"I'll go inform Stefan. You should get the spell completed." Elijah nodded as the noirette walked out dialing Stefan's phone.
The vampire picked up on the first ring, "Izzy?"
"Hayls and Dee are in the Bayou. I think they're trying to get that witch-bitch to undo the curse." Isabelle informed.
"I'm on it." He muttered, exasperated at the pregnant wolf's recklessness.
"And Stef?" Isabelle called out just before he hung up, "Make sure that Celeste doesn't betray Hayls. She'll be heartbroken if she doesn't get her family back this time." She affirmed before hanging up.
She was almost inside the crypt when her phone rung once again, she picked it up with worry seeing the blonde Original's name flash on the screen.
"Bekars? What is it?" She asked with concern.
"Belle, we can't get out of town!" Rebekah's scared and panicked voice caused Isabelle's eyes to widen.
"What do you mean?"
"The witches must have placed a hex or some spell. We just can't get out of the city without our insides twisting up." Anger shot through Isabelle as she kicked a stone bench in frustration.
"DAMN IT!" She screamed.
"What should we do, Iz?" Jeremy asked lowly. He was confused and scared for the love of his life, "Klaus will kill her if we come back now."
Isabelle took a few deep breaths, "Come to the cemetery for now. Elijah and I are here and it would be better if you both were under our protection. In the meantime, we will try to find a loophole."
"Alright, sister," Jeremy muttered before hanging up as Isabelle stormed inside the crypt in anger.
"Monique Deveraux! You better tell me about the hex placed on Rebekah and you will tell me now." She spat, her eyes blazing with fury as she glared at the teenage witch.
Monique simply smirked, "Oh, did Genevieve forget to mention? Yeah, it was her little devious plan to make sure that Rebekah Mikaelson paid for her sins."
"Witches do not decide that. You're not God or the controller of the supernatural world." Isabelle seethed.
"Neither are you, and this is our way of making everyone in the supernatural community realize that the witches will always be superior." Monique voiced as Isabelle just wished to rip her face apart and tell her who the real in charge was. But she couldn't. Not yet.
"Monique I-" She stopped as her gaze fell to the ground beside her where she saw her mate's unconscious body. She gasped as she immediately crouched by his side.
"I'm so sorry, it completely slipped my mind." Monique stated dramatically as Isabelle growled at her, "Celeste sends her regards. She did spend an entire night crafting his mind." Monique smirked making Isabelle's rage flare up again as she lunged towards the witch.
Monique gave her a conceited wave before she disappeared into thin air. Isabelle let out a frustrated shriek as she stomped her foot in anger. The witches were really getting on her nerves.
Running a hand through her tresses, she sat down beside Elijah's head as she closed her eyes and tried to enter his mind.
The angel opened her eyes and found herself standing in a long corridor with doors on either side. She looked around and found no trace of her mate anywhere. The entire place was so quiet that she almost did not pick up the slight sound of his voice from the door to her left.
She stepped towards the door as her fingers fidgeted over the knob; she was unsure about what she will find. Breathing deeply, she turned the knob and entered.
She found Elijah holding a woman against the wall as he lovingly kissed her cheek. It was Celeste.
Isabelle immediately stepped out of the room as she realized that these were all of his memories. She did not understand what Celeste achieved from showing these memories to her; if the witch thought that seeing Elijah with his old lovers was in any way going to hurt the noirette, the Celeste had another thing coming.
Isabelle could never fall for such tactics. She considered herself more evolved than falling into petty jealousy over past lovers. She had embraced Elijah's past with open arms.
Isabelle walked ahead through the white corridor before she stopped in front of another door and decided to step in.
She found herself smiling at the sight of his mate laughing in a carefree manner whilst he chased a woman with long brown tresses wearing a deep green gown.
Isabelle had a curious smile as she watched their encounter before her mood turned sour seeing Katherine. Or Katerina as what Elijah called her.
She rolled her eyes. She hardly felt threatened by Katherine but she did despise the Petrova woman for intentionally driving a wedge between her and her mate.
Letting out a frustrated groan, she stepped out of the memory again. She understood that Celeste was simply trying to play with her emotions and she scoffed at how unsuccessful the witch's plot was.
Isabelle wandered aimlessly through the never-ending corridors as she realized that she would have to look through the doors if she wanted to find her mate and wake him up.
She entered memory after memory, each of them being with Elijah's past lovers. Isabelle almost scoffed at the irony.
Although Elijah did not have a long string of lovers, Celeste had still gone through the lengths of putting together all his memories with them in hopes of torturing her. How delusional could the witch have been?
Isabelle turned the corner and found herself at the end of the mind space. There were no more white doors on each of her sides, instead just a single red door in front of her.
Isabelle looked down the corridor suspiciously, what was behind this door that it was different from the others?
She took wary steps as she debated upon entering. She took a deep breath as she placed her hand on the doorknob before pulling her hand back in surprise when she felt the strong presence of her mate behind it.
Elijah's yell echoed out of the door and through the corridor and it was accompanied by a shrill scream for help from a girl. Isabelle furrowed her brows in confusion.
"What is behind this door?" She asked herself as her thoughts battled about going inside.
Shaking her head and explaining to herself that there could be nothing that could shock or harm her conscience, she turned the knob and entered the room.
Isabelle found herself standing in the middle of a darkened hut as she swiftly turned around to find that the red door had disappeared.
She slowly walked in further with chills creeping up her spine as she looked around the hut.
A single candle was the only light source available in the small space as she saw the wind pushing a ragged looking curtain in through the door.
On looking outside, she found vast stretches of a forest before her eyes fell on the multiple dead bodies lying carelessly in the small space.
She looked at the bloodied figures with horrified eyes as she noticed the odd angles they were in.
Some were without their heads, some without their hearts whilst blood dripped from the necks or wrists from some of the bodies as a result of being recently fed on. Isabelle was truly terrorized by the gruesome sight that she found in her mate's mind.
With uncertain steps, she made her way out to the forest as she tried to make no sound.
Blood covered the barren ground making her erratic heartbeat increase further as she followed the red crusted path.
She looked around before her eyes fell on a figure standing in front of her.
Only after she squinted her eyes and looked closely did she realize that it was her mate, he had long hair and his clothing signified that it was from a thousand years ago.
A loud gasp escaped her lips when she found him feeding mercilessly from a woman. Katherine? She thought to herself before she realized it was Tatia. The first doppelganger. She was shocked to find out that it was her mate who killed Tatia and not his mother.
Her sudden gasp made the Original stop draining the blood from the woman's system before he looked up and found her worried and terrified eyes staring into his vampire ones. A low growl rippled through his throat as he let Tatia's body fall carelessly from his hands, all the while staring at her in anger.
Isabelle watched her mate with cautiousness as he took a step towards her. She refrained from taking a step back. This was Elijah! She didn't believe that he would hurt her.
"My love, we need to go back." She voiced in a soft melodious tone as she hoped it would make him snap out of his dark side.
But it didn't. Instead, he seemed more infuriated than before as he stalked up to her and in a moment her back was against a tree as his hand wrapped around her throat and he snarled at her making her gasp and grunt for air.
She desperately clawed at his hands and pleaded with her eyes to let her go as a look of recognition passed through his orbs and he released his grip, and she coughed furiously.
"Elijah?" She whispered cautiously raising her palm to cup his cheek when he roughly grabbed her wrist and made her gasp when she saw the same indifferent and cold look wash over his features once again.
Elijah glared at her as she whimpered to release herself from his grip before he smelled her intoxicating blood and his cravings arose.
He flashed his fangs as veins crawled down her eyes making her watch in horror before he leaned in and roughly dug into her throat. His sharp canines piercing through her porcelain skin.
Isabelle let out wince at the slight ache she felt in her neck before she realized that Celeste's real motives were not to show her the memories of her mate's past lovers but it was to show her his darkest sides. His deepest secrets that he kept buried under a far corner of his mind. The deeds he committed behind the Red Door.
She felt him suck and relish on her blood as she understood that she had to save him from himself. She always knew the guilt he carried in his heart for years, she just did not know how his own subconscious mind tortured him with the same guilt. Portraying it in front of his eyes over and over again.
Isabelle closed her eyes before she forcefully pushed him off of herself and shifted their position so that it was him against the tree now.
He struggled under her grip but she did not budge as she continued to stare into his eyes, "Elijah." She voiced sternly making him stop in his actions and listen to her.
"You are my mate. My Parabatai. You cannot hide from me." She stated in a low and firm tone as he watched her in confusion. His darkest self having no clue about what she was saying.
"I know some parts of you feel that they don't deserve love." She whispered making him growl ferociously which caused her to tighten his grip on his arms, "But you're wrong. I'm here, loving you. All of you. I will always love even the most sinister parts of your sanity." She affirmed.
Elijah simply looked into her eyes as he felt drawn into her molten lava-like stare. He saw nothing but love, compassion, and loyalty in her eyes. The deepest parts of his mind etched towards each other as they connected.
The woman in front of him looked at him with such devotion that his darkness bowed to her. His demons fell in love with her heart, her smile, her gaze. The monster in him was finally at rest.
"Isa?" He called out as if his conscience was finally in control once again. Isabelle smiled with joy as she nodded her head before slamming her lips onto his.
She cupped his face in her palms as she moved her lips over his and he felt happiness rumble in his chest as he pulled her closer.
Isabelle kissed him ferociously and with passion. He sucked at her lip before biting lightly which made her moan in his mouth as she tucked her arms around his neck and pulled his face closer by gripping onto the roots of his hair.
He groaned in annoyance when she pulled back making her giggle in delight. He felt himself smile at the happiness crinkling in her eyes.
"So, this is where you come to torture yourself, Mr. Grey?" She joked slyly, "The Red Door? Really?"
He chuckled at her words, shaking his head as he tried to understand how could she forgive him so easily when he was just trying to suck her blood dry.
"Mr. Mikaelson, I can hear your thoughts clear as day. You need not add another memory associated with the red room of pain. You did me no harm and I forbid you to hurt yourself like this." She ordered making him smile as kissed her forehead.
"How can you love me so much?" He asked with a little sadness tainting his voice.
"How can I not?" She retorted with a gentle and loving gaze, "You went to hell for me. You loved me at my weakest and you urged me to be stronger. If that does not tell you how lovable you are, then maybe this will...."
He looked at her with a confused expression before she crashed her lips once again and this time she pushed all of their memories that they made together into his head.
Their lips moved in sync as he saw every moment they had spent together in her perspective. He felt everything she felt.
With every kiss that exchanged between them, he felt her wishing for it to last longer. With every laugh that escaped his lips, he felt her gaze lovingly at him. With every tear, he shed over a loss, he felt her breaking on the inside. He felt her long for him whilst he was away. He felt her crave his touch further as he made her moan his name. He felt her yearn for his presence when Niklaus had daggered him and he felt her joy when she realized that they were finally together for their entire lives after they received the mark.
Every emotion she had felt for him till now, she portrayed them all to him. Every thought, every desire, every dream. He experienced how she felt for him and that made him love her all the more.
The couple broke off their kiss as they panted joining their foreheads together. There was no one that could separate them and he realized that once this mess was over, he was going to ask her to marry him. He kept that thought hidden from her for the time being, though.
Isabelle and Elijah gasped awake as he found his head in her lap and she smiled down at him. He returned the grin before they heard someone clear their throat.
"Celeste," Isabelle muttered in a bitter voice as the couple stood up from the floor.
"Well, I was surprised to see your reaction, any sane woman would be running for the hills by now." The witch muttered in an antagonizing tone as she walked out of the crypt with the couple following shortly behind.
"Yes, darling, I'm not like other women. Elijah has expressed that in multiple ways." Elijah snickered at the disgruntled expression that overtook Celeste's face. Isabelle passed her mate a satisfied smirk.
"I mean honestly, Celeste, I gotta give it to you; you went through all of his memories of Tatia, Aja, Katherine, and then yourself just to spite me. Did you really believe his old relationships would have rattled me?" The noirette jabbed as Elijah walked beside her with a calm smile on his face whilst she had her fun with the witch.
He hardly cared about what Celeste had done. All that mattered to him was his Isa's reaction and he couldn't have been more relieved when she did not decide to leave him immediately even after what he did.
"No, but I did think that you would leave him when you saw how each one of the women he loved suffered because of him. I mean honestly, are you that self-destructive that you would wait around for him to be your doom?" The witch jabbed as she turned to face them just in front of the gates of the cemetery.
Isabelle scowled when she felt her mate's insecurities dilute his peaceful aura once again. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze as she smiled at Celeste.
"Sweetheart, I was doomed the day I was born. If anything, this man is my salvation." She smirked seeing the frown on the witch's face. No one would ever get the satisfaction of breaking apart the Parabatais.
Isabelle voiced her thoughts to him through their connection as he smiled down at her before pulling her closer and kissing the side of her head lovingly. She grinned at his gesture.
Celeste groaned as she stepped out of the cemetery, "Well, this body has been a lot of fun. I would return to torture both of you again with a new face." She smirked as she picked up a candle and broke the glass.
Isabelle and Elijah watched her actions with amused expressions, both knowing where Celeste's soul was headed.
"You two will fear to find me in any new person you meet. Perhaps this time I will kill your annoying sister Rebekah if Klaus doesn't get to her first." She spat as the couple glared daggers in her head. They mentally decided how painful the witch's actual death was going to be.
With one last glance, Celeste lodged a broken piece of glass into her neck as she gurgled on her blood and died.
Isabelle scrunched up her nose in disgust, "What a pity? Sabine was a gorgeous woman." Elijah shook his head at his mate's words.
Monique joined the couple near the witch's body as she looked at it with remorse, "You were right." She muttered to the two, making Isabelle snort, "You know where to find her."
They nodded as they went back into the cemetery and entered a mausoleum where they found Celeste waking up as she looked around baffled, clutching the sheets close to her body.
"Celeste?" Isabelle cooed sarcastically as the witch looked up at the couple in horror.
Isabelle snickered as she saw her poor attempt to stand up and scurry back towards the wall as Elijah came closer to her with a murderous expression on his face. His hand clutching the Tunde's blade tightly.
"How is this possible?" The witch quaked out in fear as Elijah came closer to her.
"Monique Deveraux and I had a little wager regarding your ability to keep a promise. It appears I won. You were so consumed with my downfall, that you lost the trust of one of your own." The Mikaelson smirked as his mate leaned by the wall and watched with a satisfactory grin on her face.
"Non. Mon cheri, non. Tout est possible. Ce n'est pas fini." Celeste begged as tears rolled down her cheek as she tried to escape death. Isabelle just rolled her eyes at how quickly her tone changed now that she realized that she didn't have some parlor tricks to hide behind.
"You should have never gone up against my family." He hissed as he raised the blade to her throat.
She begged and protested and pleaded before all her requests went into vain as he sliced her throat in the slowest motion possible; making sure that she suffered at least some of the agony he and his family went through because of Kol's death.
"Désolé." He whispered as her body fell limp on the floor before he took out his handkerchief and wiped the blade clean before pocketing it.
Isabelle looked at him with narrowed eyes as they exited the mausoleum, "What?" He asked noticing her gaze.
"Did you really mean that apology you gave to her just now?" She asked pointedly.
"That apology?" She nodded, "Oh, no, darling. That was for me." He smiled at her.
She looked at him with confused eyes making him chuckle, "For loving a backstabbing wench for almost two centuries." He answered making her double over in laughter at his evolved vocabulary.
He chuckled seeing her face shine with the rays from the setting sun as he slung his arm around her neck and brought her in for a kiss. The couple finally feeling a moment of peace in their otherwise messy lives.
Alas, that moment was shortlived as Rebekah joined the two of them with worry stricken features making Elijah look at her wide-eyed. He expected her to be on the other side of the world by now.
"Bekah!" He exclaimed, "What are you doing back here?"
"Yeah, the witches hexed her so she could not leave the city," Isabelle informed him making him ball his fists in anger as he cussed at the witches internally.
"Yes, that, and apparently Originals can only enter this cemetery and not leave." The couple looked at the blonde in shock.
"Why the hell did you enter if you knew that?" Isabelle hissed at her urgently.
"Well, because of that harlot Genevieve! She magically pulled me inside and snapped Remy's neck! There is literally nothing I can do now." The Original sister stated, "She is probably on her way to lead Nik here." Rebekah rolled her eyes.
"Why do you think so?" Elijah questioned.
"Because she hates me and loves Nik! What the bloody hell do you expect?" Isabelle scoffed at that statement as Elijah looked away in distaste.
"Is that what she really believes? That Nik will bed her after all this?" The noirette asked incredulously before her senses picked up the aforementioned hybrid's scent.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" A shiver ran down Rebekah's spine as she turned around to face her hybrid brother standing a few feet away from them.
Elijah and Isabelle took a protective stance in front of the blonde Original as Niklaus glared at the three.
"She's mine." The hybrid muttered as he flashed his golden eyes and black veins.
Elijah and Isabelle followed suit, taking a challenging step towards the hybrid as the elder Mikaelson took out the Tunde's blade from his pocket and gripped it tightly.
Niklaus gave Isabelle a betrayed look for siding with his sister who betrayed him as she was left to ponder ways to save this family from ruining itself.
❇❇❇❇
Hello, sweet readers! I loved writing this chapter so freaking much.
So, Malec scenes? WE SAY YES!!! Everyone loves Malec.
ANOTHER FLASHBACK! YAYYY!! So, do you guys like getting flashback scenes? I honestly adore writing them.
So, Lucifer, what do you guys think of his character so far?
And honestly, do you believe that Raziel would go as far as to hurt his own son in order to stop a prophecy? Well, we'll just have to wait to find out.
Now, coming back to Elisabelle, Izzy being worried for causing Nik more pain? #epic brotp moment!
And what do you guys think of Izzy and Kieren? I honestly thought that his death was useless on the show and it would have been weird if Isabelle wouldn't have been able to save him. I know a lot of you are like hating me for killing Kol, trust me, I am too.
Uh-oh, Davina and Hayls have done it again! Always causing trouble. #haylina
Also, Izzy and Elijah playing the good cop-bad cop? LOVE IT!!!
I live for Izzy's sass tbh!! She'll be the death of me.
BEKAH AND REMY ARE STUCK!! Yeah, fuck you New Orleans witches!!!
Oh boy, what the hell did the witches do to our baby Elijah now?? Like hasn't this smol bean suffered enough already!!???
Yasss!!! The Red Door, well, I thought it would be a good idea to reveal Elijah's dark sides to Izzy now. And also, this led to the Original giving us a confirmation that he is now going to PROPOSE!!! AHHH, I AM SUPER EXCITED FOR THAT!!
And I mean honestly, the way Isabelle handled Elijah's dark side brought such a huge smile on my face. She loves my baby so much!! Elijah Mikaelson deserves all the love in the world and that is the tea!!
That bitch Celeste! Why isn't she dead already?
Wait, now she is!!! Finally!!
Also, Elijah's evolved vocabulary?? Loved that!
Setting suns might just be an Elisabelle thing, don't y'all think so?
Okay, time to worry, Nik's here. How do you think he will react in the next chapter??
Please comment and vote if you smiled while reading this and enjoyed this chapter. Please don't be a silent reader, I would love to have some encouragement right about now.
I love you guys so much! Thanks for supporting this story.
Vote, comment, and share.
With Love, Devu.
P.s. Please stay safe and healthy. My prayers are with all of you!