MARCH 2000
"You're in the wrong room."
One phrase and the fifteen-year-old Vincent Griffith almost jumped out of his skin, spinning around to face the person who'd caught him. He'd known there was an incredibly high chance Ana Ruiz would have protection charms up, meaning she'd probably know he'd been there, but being faced by an eleven-year-old wasn't something he'd come prepped to deal with.
The boy's features did have something in common with his mum, but if Vincent hadn't spent classes with Ana, he wouldn't have been able to notice.
Still, Ryos Floare-Ruiz.
Vincent had never actually spoken to either of the children the elders had been watching like hawks before.
None of the city witches really had.
"Assuming you're looking for the Grimoire my mum used this week," Ryos walked further into the flower shop's backroom, "She'd never just leave her things somewhere so obvious."
"The spell says they're here," Vincent defended, motioning to a map he'd left on a storage self.
Ryos smiled to himself, eyeing up the sheet.
Vincent really looked at him.
The reason none of them had ever spoken to the kids was because they supposedly didn't have the gift. Their mum was a powerhouse of experience, and yet...two completely talentless children?
It just didn't click in Vincent's head.
He knew Ana was a Floare, so he knew their magic and inheritance worked a little different, but it was all too convenient, and he wasn't an idiot. Not that he thought his elders were idiots either, he just thought they were more focused on what Ana brought to the table when it came to the turf war with the vampires than her blatant lying.
Her lessons were the best, so Vincent let it slide too, but now?
"What do you know?" He couldn't help but ask.
"That your jank-ass tracking spell isn't gonna show you shit."
"Aren't you a little young to talk like that?"
"You're only four years older than me," Ryos shrugged, "And that's how my mum would've phrased it."
Vincent half-smiled in agreement. Ana did always have a bluntness to her when insulting coven magic around the older kids.
"You're trying to track a book," He tapped the sheet, "Some spell where you think about it while chanting isn't going to take you to a book."
"It's worked before."
"Let me guess," Ryos pointed at him, "You've found New Orleans books with it."
"Duh."
"This is Floare stuff," He stressed, "It's not gonna lead an outsider to it just 'cos you think so hard you look constipated."
And Vincent rolled his eyes.
"And," Ryos kept his confidence up, "Even if you could find it? Mum's spelled them all shut. Only she can open them."
"Perfect," He sighed.
"If it makes you feel better, I hijacked your spell too."
Vincent's eyes went wide.
"Felt someone trying to pull on it, so gave the protection charm a little boost," He motioned out, "How else would I have known you were here?"
A beat.
"Vincent," He really looked at Ryos's face again, "Vincent Griffith."
"A Treme."
"...Yeah," He didn't like that he'd already known that.
"Mum's only just started teaching Treme's," Ryos explained, "And no one from the other covens would have the guts to steal her stuff."
"I'm not stealing," He complained, "I saw something she was reading earlier, and I didn't understand it."
"And you think a second glance will make it make sense?"
He nodded.
"It won't," Ryos knew his mum's Grimoire's, "Most of that stuff isn't in English, so, unless you can read a language that's a mix of Spanish, Romanian, and Greek, you're a bit screwed."
Vincent bit into his cheek.
Another look.
"Why'd you keep doing that?" Ryos was trying incredibly hard to seem relaxed and cool, "Staring all funny?"
"You're not meant to be a witch."
He shifted on his feet, "It's...it's – um...complicated."
"Meaning?"
"My sister," Ryos kept his voice quiet, "There are all these Floare things you guys don't have to deal with. Like, 'cos of our parentage, second children don't get the gift."
Vincent looked at the softness of his eyes.
"We'd hate for her to feel left out or broken," He'd thought through his cover story for days, "Well – my mum? She thinks my sister's more fragile than she actually is, like, MiMi? MiMi would just want me to be happy and have fun, like, but – eh."
He shook his head.
"If I was involved, people would think we were lying about her and try and force her into shit, and that would just...it'd make her feel all...you know..."
Not right.
"Or she might get hurt...So it's just easier to keep us both out of it."
Vincent lifted his brows, "Good to know."
"Kinda sucks," He admitted, "Not getting to go to lessons with the rest of you."
Vincent smiled, "What if I offered you a deal?"
"Hm?"
"Assuming you can read your mum's grimoire's?"
"I can."
"You get me the pages I want, and I'll teach you what the Treme has taught me?"
"Why'd you want the pages so bad?"
"Because I know what I'm capable of," Vincent spoke easily, "I know I can be best."
"Bit cocky."
"I can," His eyes were steady, "I could be one of the strongest witches this city has. I just need a stronger book of spells."
"Treme magic seems pretty good when it comes to dealing with problems."
"Your mum's stronger," Vincent dismissed, "I wanna do the type of magic she can."
"My mum isn't a great role model."
"She gets the job done," He wanted the deal made, "There's hidden power in this city."
The way he talked just drew Ryos in.
"Something calling me," Vincent felt like he was searching for a book he might never find, "And I don't know what it is, or where – but I can feel it."
A voice with no body, waiting to be tapped into.
Stronger than anything before.
"If I find it, it'll be the key to everything."
"And you think it's my mum's magic?"
"I think your mum is the only person to make any real difference when it comes to getting us any respect."
"I guess that's true," Ryos always felt like he deserved some of that credit considering he was the only reason his mum had stepped up, "But like, man..."
Both of them were so close to getting what they wanted.
"My mum's really against me learning coven magic, and I can't just give her stuff away."
"It's not giving it away!"
"It – "
"I don't want the Grimoires; I just want to see the spells, and see if I can do them."
"Only some of them," Ryos explained, "Loads you need to be a Floare for."
"You explain the language bit and make copies," Vincent re-pitched, "No actual pages ripped or books stolen. Just rewrites."
He tilted his head to the side as he thought about it.
"I'll teach you everything you wanna know about city magic."
Ryos glanced back at the tracking spell again.
"And I know how to keep a secret."
"Then, I guess?" Ryos smiled innocently, "I guess we have a deal."
February 2013
The Compound was unusually empty, all the wolves mysteriously banished from the building they'd somewhat invaded. It provided the Mikaelson's with some much needed quiet to accompany the 'Family Bonding Session' Klaus had organised. A brunch he'd invited Freya to attend. The dining room had been set up and covered in food by caterers who'd long since cleared off, bar the few Klaus had compelled to stick around for a snack.
That was what he was doing in the courtyard when Kol came down the stairs, momentarily pausing at the sight, then heading to the dining room.
Klaus's head pulled away from the neck, "Don't touch any of it!"
"Wouldn't dream of it," Kol picked a beignet up as quietly as he could.
"Kol - "
"I'm not doing anything."
He munched, knowing full well the vampire hearing would pick it up if Klaus really cared, finishing and relaxing in one of the chairs, fully inspecting the spread as his brother joined him, wiping some of the blood away.
He couldn't help but notice the way Kol was staring at it.
"Missing it?" He somewhat teased, leaning on the table.
Kol readjusted how he was sitting, stretching out, before answering, "No."
"And I definitely believe that answer."
"You won't tell me where my ashes are, and I can't find them," Kol picked up another beignet, "So why bother asking?"
"Wanting out of a killable body and wanting to be a vampire again are two different things, Kol."
He ate, despite his brother's eye roll at the action, instead of answering.
"I know I'd miss this."
"Because you're a power-hungry fool."
"And you're not?"
"I'm – " Kol thought through his words, "It's been a few days, and I'm back to knowing that I don't want to lose the magic. I'm not going to say you were right, but you certainly had a point the other day."
"You're a lovesick fool," Klaus retorted, "Who spent last night pacing around with a Grimoire reciting Aramaic."
Kol narrowed his eyes at the fact Klaus was eavesdropping on him.
"Which makes me think he's been so corrupted by his mortality he's become stupid enough to consider creating a cure for his actual body."
Rebekah had unintentionally reminded Kol that the cure was a genuine possibility. Then he'd fallen into a bit of a spiral, rethinking through his final conversation with MJ before she'd left, half-convinced that staying human was the only way forward if he wanted to be with her.
"I'd expect such action from Rebekah," Klaus's tone was high and demeaning, "But, you, Kol?"
"So what if I was thinking about the cure?"
Klaus pushed up from his perch, "You don't genuinely believe you'll enjoy it, do you?"
Kol continued to glare.
"You know as well as I do that you're not made for the human experience."
The cure had always been a divisive topic in the Mikaelson Compound, Klaus firmly against any of them using it.
"You're barely coping now," He scoffed, "The first time you sneeze, you'll be back to missing the benefits of immortality – you won't last without compulsion, I mean, Kol – you'd have to get a job."
The idea was ridiculous.
"And socialise with people you don't like without ripping their heads off."
"I'm actually quite a charmer, remember, that would be easy."
"And when you're confronted with someone who does have immortality? Who gets in your way?"
"I'd be a witch."
"There's no guarantee that any of your natural childhood abilities would return to you," Klaus moved to stand behind a chair, hands resting on it, "And your girlfriend would continue to be her talented self, easily leaving you in the dust to grow resentful."
Kol started to growl.
"Because we both know your jealousy of her talent would be the death of your relationship."
"It wouldn't."
"It would," Klaus started to get loud, "You are a vampire, Kol."
"You were the one reminding me I'd lose the magic!"
"Being surprised by your quickness to vacate this form and allowing you to damage your true one are two different things," He defended, "Stay as a witch, as you are, until your whims are satisfied. Then, return to who you're meant to be."
"A witch was who I was meant to be."
"Bloodshed and vampirism are your nature – don't be daft enough to think anything otherwise," Klaus snapped, "And certainly don't make a choice like this because of one woman."
"There it is!" Kol couldn't help but bite back, "If I take the cure, MJ won't turn, and that's your real agenda here."
During their last conversation, Kol had noticed that Klaus's point about his refusal to leave the house had looped back to the idea of MJ staying mortal.
"You don't want to part with her, and if we're human, we'll settle somewhere safer, and she'll grow old rather than float around for you to stare at longingly in the future."
"Can't my agenda be a familial concern for my baby brother?"
"I doubt it."
"You underestimate me then," Klaus folded his arms, "You used to detest the idea of the cure."
"My opinion changed."
"Over something so easily lost as love? You're smarter than that."
"I love her," He could say it to his siblings, "She loves me."
He had to assume he'd figure out how to say it back to MJ once she returned.
"Why couldn't we have a happy and mortal life together?"
"Because you wouldn't be happy!"
"You don't know that."
"I know you," Klaus leant forward, "You talk of going somewhere safe to settle? You'd grow bored without the chaos of this world, and that's not even addressing how 'settling' would involve starting a family. You hate children."
"I don't hate children."
"Have you said hello to my daughter since you learned of her existence?"
"Before the wedding."
"And since then?"
"She's been with her mother."
"A room away from where you practise magic."
Kol went to retort, but no words came out.
"You don't want to die a mortal death. That much is obvious."
"Being somewhat rattled after tasting death is perfectly reasonable," He defended his avoidance of the outside, "I'll get over it."
"She already dumped you, Kol," Klaus put it simply, "Take that as the first sign that though you may be in love, love ends."
All of theirs had enough times.
"Your first real relationship is not something to give up your identity for – and you are Kol Mikaelson – The Happy Homicidal Maniac – The Original Vampire."
He laughed a little, "You're not going to manipulate me into sabotaging myself, Nik."
Klaus shrugged innocently.
"You've never been able to before, and I'm not going to start letting you now."
"Call it manipulation. Doesn't make anything I've said incorrect."
Elijah joined them before the bickering could continue, steps quick and firm as he walked through the foyer and into the dining room, an expensive black coat tightly done up over his suit.
"There you are," Klaus smiled, "Finally."
"I was delayed," Elijah removed the coat in a flurry.
"Our guest of honour will be here momentarily."
"Strange," Elijah took in the quietness around them, "Our house is conspicuously absent of our lupine guests. I do hope it wasn't on my account."
Klaus laughed, "I sent Hayley and her poorly groomed husband off to spend the day with their werewolf brethren to test the limits of their new abilities."
Kol went to grab a piece of fruit, Klaus batting his hand back while continuing to talk.
"Leaving me to deal with the family business as I see fit."
"Niklaus," Elijah sighed, "Rebekah's situation has taken a turn."
Kol raised an eyebrow, "Which means?"
"That we may need Freya's assistance," Elijah admitted, "So, whatever is planned for this morning? Don't."
Klaus rolled his eyes, "All I'm planning is a simple chat with a long-lost relative. You said to hear her out."
"And you said that would be idiocy."
"Did I?" Klaus was too chipper for any of them to deal with, "It does sound like me. Regardless, on the off-chance Freya has some information that could protect my daughter; I'd prefer she share it on my terms."
"And I'm still not hearing about the problem with Rebekah?" Kol looped back.
"The witches are convinced she murdered two children last night."
"Witches do love to be dramatic."
"You would know," Klaus murmured.
"She was at Marcel's, though," Kol ignored him.
"He was sleeping, and apparently, the disappearance reminds them of her host's habits."
Kol pulled a face.
"A problem for later," Klaus tapped his ear, "I think I hear Freya now."
As he turned, she walked into the doorway. There was a large smile on her face as she took in the sight of her brothers across the room; Klaus standing tall, Elijah in the corner, and Kol sitting back, feet resting on the opposite chair, eyeing her up with a less than friendly expression.
"Sister!" Klaus greeted, arms out, "Come in!"
She took a nervous step forward.
"Make yourself comfortable."
She took that to mean 'inspect the room,' giving them all one more smile before running her hands over the finery of the furniture.
"This witch-hoop," She picked up a disk, "It's Danish. Is this from when you all lived in Copenhagen in the 1500s?"
"Quite the eye!" Klaus noted, giving Elijah an obvious look, trying to express that knowledge like that was suspicious, "We like to take souvenirs, even if none of us can use them properly."
"Some can now," Freya gave Kol a nod.
He tightened his jaw.
"Should I assume most of the 'good stuff' has been relocated?"
"He has taken his sticky fingers through a number of the rooms in the house," Klaus confirmed, "I'm sure you'd love the room converted into a magic space upstairs."
Kol put his feet down to sit up, "She can't go in."
Freya's expression faltered a little.
"Ignore his attitude," Klaus waved a hand, "I put him in a mood."
Elijah's eyes started to jump between the pair, given his own recent 'argument' with Kol.
"But, since it's my house, you're more than welcome to take a look."
Freya started to realise that the welcoming attitude was probably something she should be wary of, trying to work out what show Klaus was setting up that required him to act so falsely.
"She isn't, actually," Kol stood up, not enjoying how everyone seemed above him when he was technically the tallest one there, "There's a spell on the room to keep witches out."
"Honestly, Kol," Freya tried to sound soft, "I had no idea what Finn's plan for you was."
"I believe that," He put hut his hands out, "But I'm also pretty sure I heard the words 'he's now safe from harm' when you kicked him out his host."
"He is."
"I don't want Finn safe. I want him eradicated."
Freya's mouth opened, "He's your brother."
"He disowned me first."
"But he's still blood, and surely you want to fight for that?" Her eyes had fire, and her line of argument certainly appealed to Elijah, "And if I asked what you did to antagonise him?"
Kol's nostrils flared, "Who says I did anything at all?"
"Says the fact that I remember my brother."
"Reminder, love," Kol stepped around the table to get closer to her, "You knew Finn for four years. We were stuck with the plague-sore for ten centuries."
"And is it wrong for me to hold on to the hope that the person I once knew is still in there?"
"It is when he happily murdered me!" Kol's yell had Klaus grinning, "Not that I should have to say this to someone, but the only thing I did was decide to side with our other siblings."
Holding on to hope for a specific person was another Elijah-only pro.
"Then, I helped rescue a collection of vampires he kidnapped and starved while using as battery packs of power. That's what got me sentenced."
Freya looked down slightly.
"But yes, surely I did something!" Kol's eyes also darted to Elijah for that remark, "Finn would happily see all of us dead, he's tried to do it before, so if you speak of 'preserving family,' you'd give me his spirit and let me destroy it."
"Kol," Elijah finally interrupted, "Freya is new to our anguishes with each other. Your anger towards him should not be directed at her."
"It should if she's protecting him."
Everyone went a little quiet.
They'd all expected Klaus to have interrupted, except...he'd pulled out his phone at some point. After a moment, his head rose to see them all staring at him.
"I guess the witchy bonding was a bad idea," He shrugged innocently, putting the device away.
"You know what," Kol was not about to help him after their earlier conversation, "You think Freya should be allowed to see all the secret and magical things we have to offer? Fine."
Klaus seemed to realise that he shouldn't have pushed.
"She won't be able to get in, but she can look through the door," Kol marched off, leading the way, "Right upstairs."
Elijah sighed dramatically behind the three of them as they changed location, pulling out his own phone and texting for Rebekah to 'hurry up' so he didn't have to deal with it alone.
Freya's eyes gleamed as she nosed through the doorway at what was technically a bedroom. The bed was neatly made, slightly unused since Kol and MJ had last slept in it, the flowers still in the vase by the desk; still perky thanks to the charms Kol had used to keep them that way. He could step right in to separate himself from the group, actually smiling in the centre of the controlled chaos.
The table still had Basil's cage on it, the mouse sleeping soundly near the water bottle while the rest of the space was covered by Kol's recent experiments. Pages were pinned to the wall above the desk, on full display for Freya's prying eyes – luckily not his new cure notes.
"Wait," Freya pushed on her toes to get as close to the mini-threshold as possible, "Is that – "
Her hand hit the entrance, repelled back by a painless barrier.
She tilted her head while looking at the doorframe, "You truly spelled the room?"
"Not me," He admitted, "Hence why I can't let you in to further piss Nik off."
Klaus pushed past Freya to step in, too, proving that he could.
"Anyway," Freya went back to looking at the table, "What is that?"
"Oleander and a spotted owl feather," Kol held the feather up, "Mix the flower with blood, and you can practically erase all traces of someone's existence."
"A cloaking spell?"
"Of sorts."
Freya smiled, "Sorts?"
"Cloaking is too easy to break," Kol felt his anger subside a little, "You rub the mix on the map and the feather, cast the spell, then let the feather drift away. Floating through cities for as long as you spell it too, representing your movement...if the cloaking spell is ever broken, your location still isn't given away."
"Impressive," Freya beamed, "You created this spell?"
"Well," Kol swallowed, feeling odd about his earlier outburst the longer he looked at her face, "There's no witchcraft on this planet I haven't studied."
Elijah and Klaus exchanged a look around the pair.
"But we both know you're well aware of that already."
They stilled as Freya laughed.
"You mentioned that we'd met," Kol clicked his fingers, so the desk started to tidy itself up, "It was a century ago, correct?"
"Indeed."
"What?" Elijah spoke from behind Freya, having not entered the room.
"I brought her to the Christmas Party the day I was daggered," He explained, perching on the foot of the bed, "Took me a minute to remember, but I found the pictures of the event last night."
"I met Rebekah then too," Freya admitted, "But my 'date' was disposed of before I could meet the rest of you."
They'd known each other for a few days.
"Thought best to make myself scarce before someone mistook me for dinner."
"You were the only witch in town I couldn't charm into doing my bidding," Kol mused, "Just figured you fancied the ladies."
She rolled her eyes, her smile back now his anger had dissipated, "Because that's the only reason a woman wouldn't swoon for you?"
"Either that," He pointed left, then right, "Or you're my long-lost, not-so-dead older sister."
"I am sorry for Finn's actions," She lowered her head, "I don't agree with them."
After a moment, Kol exhaled and nodded.
"Finn does sometimes make a good point," Klaus started a different fire, "He called you fickle on allegiances, and you have just demonstrated that."
Kol shot him a glare.
"Some hot air up your ass, and you're all smiles," He pushed back out of the room, "It's quite ridiculous."
"Forgive me," Elijah stopped all of them as Kol went to stomp after his brother, "Are we here to discuss family heirlooms and past interactions? Or do we have more pressing concerns?"
Klaus stopped on the top of the stairs, turning back to look at them and addressing Freya, "Please excuse my brother's lack of decorum."
"Says the one storming through the house with no sense of propriety," Kol jabbed.
"He's been in a foul mood of late," Klaus ignored him, "But, he is right. I did ask you here in the hopes that you would share some of Dahlia's secrets."
They all slowly made their way back down to the courtyard, able to see the spread of food in the dining room once more.
"Without further ado, let's get to it."
They all slowly took their seats, ready for the conversation, Kol returning to selecting several snacks, the rest of them all acting like there wasn't anything to pick at as Freya cleared her throat to begin.
"The first thing you should know is that Dahlia is the most powerful witch I've ever seen."
The three brothers shared a look at the phrase.
"She craves more power still," Freya stressed, "Right now, she is like me – limited to one year of life in a century."
Why she was only just appearing, and how she'd managed to meet Kol before.
"But, she wants to be free of that restriction. To gain true immortality."
"Good to know that disobeying nature is a family trait," Kol mused.
"Her wish for what you have – or, had, in some cases?" She waved a hand, "Without the vampire side-effects, is why she will come here."
She inched forward in her seat to look Klaus in the eyes.
"Drawn by your daughter, to take the child's power for herself. And she would kill anyone who would defy her."
"And yet," Elijah raised his eyebrows, "You would defy her?"
"I don't have a choice," Freya reasoned, "She will never let me be free. My one chance is to align with you and kill her."
Elijah bit his lip, troubled by the announcement, while Klaus looked still unconvinced.
Kol had been somewhat caught up to speed on the pair the previous evening, by Klaus, not Elijah, and he'd then found Esther's journals to find the pages MJ had marked; tiny grey sticky notes for pages that featured the name 'Dahlia' and faded green ones for 'Freya.'
"Now that we're all suitably motivated," Klaus finally did take a piece of food himself, "Let's talk specifics."
Freya took a long breath in, "For you to understand, I need to start from the beginning. After taking me from my family, Dahlia used me to forge a new brand of connective magic."
Kol perked up at those details.
"One that augmented my power as it allowed her to draw from me," Freya rubbed her hands together nervously, "Once we were bonded, Dahlia became unstoppable, and she wasted no time proving her might."
She noticed the different types of 'interested' on all of their faces.
Kol didn't seem bothered about the violent details or the clear discomfort Freya had towards her situation, eyes moving like he was trying to figure something out while looking at her. Klaus was grinding in his teeth, clearly making a list of details to potentially push her about, while Elijah seemed to be isolating keywords, slightly more aware of how her body reacted.
"The chief of a nearby village threatened to run us off, accusing Dahlia of witchcraft."
Rightly so.
"She decided to make an example out of the entire encampment...men, women, children," Freya's eyes closed, "She killed them all with a wave of her hand."
She blinked her eyes awake.
"That was my first inkling of the power Dahlia had. And, over a thousand years, she's only grown stronger," Freya faced Klaus, "And she will bring all her power to bear against you when she comes for your child."
Klaus's face finally lost its smile, fear creeping in, but before any more details could be revealed, Elijah's phone rang. Rebekah's called ID
"Excuse me," He stepped out of the room to take it.
~***~
Vincent Griffith was having a bit of a tough time. He'd woken up in a cemetery, no clue how he'd got there, surrounded by four people he didn't know, covered in blood, and instantly knocked out again. Then, he'd woken up in a stranger's apartment.
He was in a bed, which was nicer than the cold and dirty floor of the graveyard, slowly sitting up, pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to push away the headache that had woken him.
A person he did recognise walked into the room, closing a newspaper.
"Morning!" He greeted a little too cheerily, "How you feelin'?"
Vincent groaned like he was hungover, "Nauseous. Can't concentrate."
He rubbed his face while sighing.
"Can't really do any magic. But, I suppose that was the point," He picked at a plate on his nightstand, "Seeing as I can smell the lobelia flower you've been putting in my food, man."
He smiled, "Can't be too careful with witches, hmm?"
"That something you learned from experience, Marcel Gerard?" Vincent finally revealed that he knew exactly who he was dealing with, "Back when you controlled The Quarter Witches with all your rules, and, uh – "
He clicked his tongue while miming a throat slit.
" – Public executions?"
"You know who I am," Marcel pulled a chair next to the bed, "That's good. 'Cos I got some questions that need answers, and you seem to know what happens to people who don't give me what I want."
"Mmm," Vincent nodded falsely, "I know that you ain't the king around here no more."
Marcel didn't react.
"And I know you can't keep me here. I'm from the Tremé, Marcel. Witches from there, whew," His eyes flashed big, "They're a little bit of a harder breed than what it is you're used to."
He smiled, almost amused.
"Yeah, they're gonna want me back."
"They already do want you back," Marcel confirmed, "A matter of fact..."
He put the newspaper down so Vincent could see it.
"They've wanted you back for nine months."
Vincent's eyes went wide as he looked at the unfamiliar headlines.
"Check the date," He encouraged, "You might notice a little time gap."
Vincent started to read, "Man, what'd you do to me?"
"Me?" Marcel scoffed, "I can't make nine months vanish – your beef is with a guy named Finn."
Vincent frowned, not knowing the name.
"See, he took possession of your body. Got into all kinds of trouble, too," He nodded with fake sympathy, "Made some nasty enemies, I might add."
Vincent's hands came up, trying to process the information, looking between Marcel and the newspaper, incredibly nervous, "Whoa."
"I'll tell you all about it," Marcel dropped the bravado, "But first, you gotta tell me about a Tremé witch that you might know. Eva Sinclair?"
Vincent's head snapped to focus on him, then, once he realised Marcel wasn't joking, he shook his head, exasperated.
"Sore subject?"
Vincent smiled patronisingly, "Mmhmm."
"Oh well."
"I'm not talking."
"I think you might wanna rethink that stance."
"Or what?" Vincent put his hands out, "Your 'bosses' will release the siphoner on me?"
Marcel stilled.
"Go for it. Bring her in."
"You'd talk to MJ?"
Vincent narrowed his eyes, "That's not what I said."
"Yeah," Marcel was trying to pull the pieces together, "But I know most witches don't ask for a siphoner to be thrown their way."
And Vincent's mind had gone straight to her.
"Especially considering," He sat further forward on his chair, "If you know who I am, and you know she's been about, you probably know she's not a witch to be messed with."
Vincent just shrugged.
"And she's one of the people who'll probably rip your head off on sight."
"Yeah...uh, well," He lent back on the bed, "I could assume that."
Marcel was officially intrigued, "You'd assume she hates you?"
Vincent tensed.
"Wait," Marcel realised something, "You already know her."
"I don't."
"Yeah, you do."
"I don't."
Marcel stood up, trying to work out why Vincent didn't seem to be lying yet clearly had something on his mind.
He was torn between pushing and staying on task.
Marcel needed information on Eva, and it was clear Vincent wasn't about to just give it up, and he didn't want to just phone MJ for help. Not when she still hadn't responded to any of his check-in texts. He needed someone to get Vincent to open up if he wanted any information, and he certainly didn't want to force MJ to be that person if they had some history he didn't know about.
~***~
Rebekah hated how she was the first person in town to properly slip up and call MJ, caving to the fact that they all knew they needed her. Both as someone to manage the witches and because they were missing her. She knew Marcel had texted her niceties, and she was sure her other friends had been doing the same, but, to her knowledge, she was the first to call and ask for help.
Not only did she feel bad about doing it, but she also knew there were people (KLAUS) who'd never let her live it down.
"Look, I wouldn't call if it wasn't important – "
"Honestly, Bex, it's great to hear your voice," MJ responded, "Even if it's not exactly..."
"My voice?"
"Yeah."
Rebekah laughed.
"What's the problem?"
"I'm having dreams," Rebekah knew that was vague, but she didn't want MJ to panic rush home, and since she didn't have vampire hearing, she wasn't aware that MJ was sitting in a departure lounge, already on her way, "It's like my host body is trying to take over."
"Okay."
"Is that possible?"
"If Kol did the spell wrong, yeah," She didn't think he would've, "Unless..."
She straightened up.
"Unless what?"
"Unless it was a separate – wait – pause," MJ rooted through her carry-on backpack to pull out a notebook, using her shoulder to keep the phone against her ear, "Body jumping is a specialist section of magic."
Traveller magic.
"You have to do a separate spell to bind a person to a body."
"Kol never did a second spell," She started to panic.
"No, he would've combined it with the first one," She'd seen how he rewrote spells, "Using something to represent your essence when he prepped it."
"And?"
"And, considering he didn't have any DNA to use," MJ flipped through pages until she found her section on body jumping, "Yep. Here we go."
"You have a solution?"
"Not yet – but I might have an explanation."
"All ears."
"You can use familial magic to do it," She read through a version of a spell, "As your brother, his magic can act as an anchor of you in the spell, even if he's in the wrong body."
"Seriously?"
"You're confined to the limits of your hosts, power-scaling wise, it's not like you could just use magic in a human, but your family line makes you guys witches. Esther was on the ancestral plane, meaning Mikaelson magic runs through the streets for him to draw on."
"Which means?"
"He almost died," MJ really thought about it, "I only acted at, like, the very last second. There's a chance his spell started to crumble alongside his health."
"You're kidding!"
"I wish I was," MJ wasn't one hundred per cent certain, but it made sense given the timing, "You can write spells to outlive you, but it's not like he thought he was gonna die, and he did get incredibly close."
She paused.
"It might not be that. It might be like, something you've done recently that just woke the host up, but it's something to keep in mind."
"How do I fix it?"
"Head to my apartment. I'll call Davina so she can help you – there's stuff there that should do the job."
"God, you're on it."
MJ laughed, "Always good to feel appreciated."
There was a pause, and MJ went to hang up, except Rebekah spoke just in time to stop her.
"You're calling Davina to help?" She had to mention it, "Not Kol?"
"Bex," MJ reasoned, "The last conversation we had, I broke up with him. Feels a bit shitty to then phone him and boss him about – I mean, you can call him."
"You'd want him back in the apartment?"
"...Most of his personal stuff is there..."
He hadn't left The Compound to grab any of it.
"Uh, it's, he should...I guess he could probably get some of it while he's there helping you...if you want to call him..."
Rebekah spoke carefully, "If you want him to clear things out, does that mean you're not just going to get back together once you're back?"
"I...I don't know," MJ answered honestly, "I'm feeling a bit better, but getting through all of this Dahlia stuff kinda seems like it should be the focus for a little while."
"Do you want me to tell you how he's doing?"
"No – yes...maybe?"
"He's missing you an incredible amount."
MJ didn't know how to feel about that, "I – he shouldn't...he should hate me for running off on him."
"My brother's patience is practically non-existent for everyone except you. And even if it wasn't, he's not about to hate you when you saved his life."
"I don't want him to feel like he owes me anything for doing that."
"But he does owe you for it."
"I chose to do it," MJ reminded her, "He doesn't owe me a thing."
Rebekah sighed in acceptance, knowing full well that she wasn't going to be able to talk MJ out of a mentality.
"I'll call D."
They both hung up, letting MJ dial her friend.
"Hey, hey," MJ greeted as cheerily as she could.
Davina's voice was scratchy, "Hi."
"Oh my god, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," She cleared her throat, "Just tired."
MJ got that.
"What's up?"
"Um, well, Rebekah called with a problem."
"Of course she did."
"And since I'm still out of town, I was hoping I could ask you to help, but," MJ didn't want to send her off if she wasn't feeling it, "Totally okay if you can't. Rebekah can just wait about six hours till I'm back."
That perked Davina up, "You're coming back?"
"At the airport right now," She confirmed, "But the flights are a little delayed."
"You're not coming back because of this problem, are you?" Davina checked, "I swear – "
"D – "
"Sam made a big deal about how Hayley told him none of us could contact you for help, 'Klaus's Orders.'"
The voice was mocking.
"And then one of them does just it!"
"Klaus hasn't – "
"But Rebekah knows better."
"It's not that big – "
"It's not fun to watch someone slit their throat, MJ."
MJ fell silent.
"It's also a terrible experience to go through," Davina added, "I would know."
Very true.
"You literally let me play 'lock-in' for a month after I got resurrected, and I didn't do that to myself," She was closing books firmly on the other end of the line, "None of them should be calling you. They should be letting you rest, and feel better, and do whatever you need to do."
"It's not their fault it happened."
"I know," Davina was rubbing her wrist, "Are you feeling...better feels like the wrong word."
"I feel settled," MJ rephrased, "And I feel like I miss you guys."
"I miss you too."
A quiet moment.
"And I really wanted to call earlier, but the stress about it made me feel like a bad person for wanting to make sure you were okay – "
"I am."
Davina exhaled slowly.
"And hopefully, I won't need to cast any life-ending world-saving magic any time soon."
"Has Kol spoken to you?"
The question had a completely different tone from everything else.
"No...why?"
"Oh," Davina seemed to fiddle with something, "Wow. That's...amazing."
"What do you mean?"
"He hasn't spoken to me either, but I just figured that maybe he'd gone with you," Davina admitted, "But no, he's not only ignoring me, but the girl who just saved his life."
"I broke up with him."
Davina went still at the announcement.
"I asked for some space," MJ explained, "As for you...he did almost die. It's not because he's ignoring you; he probably just hasn't wanted to leave the house."
"Yeah..." Davina stopped packing things away, "...I get that."
She'd just needed to be reminded of the logical reason while her emotions weren't helping her judgement.
"And I'm not coming home because Rebekah asked me too," MJ got them back on track, "She didn't ask, and she doesn't even know I'm at the airport right now."
Davina focused on the positive, "I really have missed you."
"I know, and it's mutual."
"But I'm busy, MJ," She added, "And not really in the mood to help the Mikaelson's."
"Does that include Kol?" MJ asked carefully.
"Kol's different."
That was when MJ realised that she needed to have a conversation with Davina about some things.
"He's nice, and fun, and he doesn't just go around acting like the rest of them."
"Davina."
"What?"
"Friendly reminder," She knew she had to tread lightly, "Kol was alive for over a thousand years before he met either of us."
"I never saw anyone close to the person Marcel described."
"I know."
"He's clearly changed," Davina's voice was a little higher, "I mean – you clearly changed him."
MJ didn't buy into that, "Um – "
"Or time as a witch, away from everyone."
i.e. when he was stalking/around her.
"Did."
That add on was filed away into a special folder in MJ's mind, known as 'If I address it, I'm going to cause a problem.' She couldn't get mad at Davina for having a crush unless the girl actually tried something – and, even if she did...MJ had told Kol she'd deal if he wanted to date other people while they were broken up...
"Whichever it was," Her voice was a little haughty, "It just shows that the Mikaelson's are the problem. They made him like that."
"Well," MJ pivoted, "Rebekah's a witch now too. Go work the same 'good guy' magic on her."
She knew the comment was a little targeted, but she was tired.
She couldn't help herself.
"No."
"Fine," MJ wasn't going to force her, "You say you're 'busy,' which implies magic, and most of Kol's spellbooks were move to my apartment – which means you're in my apartment right now?"
"...Maybe."
Silence.
"I've crashed here a few times while you've been away..."
"You know I'm chill with you doing that, D," MJ assured her, "But Rebekah's on her way there, so if you don't wanna help, you might want to step out for a little bit."
"Okay."
"I'll see you soon."
"See you soon."
As that conversation came to a close, MJ felt guilty. Guilty about the fact she'd left Davina alone by running off and about the fact she was about to go behind her back.
MJ dialled Sam.
"Hey," He sounded good.
She laughed, "I've missed hearing everyone's voice."
"Doing the rounds?" He teased, "That's what happens when you don't answer texts for nearly a week and a half."
"I know – I know – and we can do catch-up later. Right now, I need a favour."
"Anything."
"Rebekah's having body troubles. She's not got enough experience to handle the spells on her own, but everything she needs to fix it is in my apartment but – "
"Davina's not down to help?"
"Good guess."
"I've checked in on her a few times," He was walking down pavement, "She's crashing at yours. Like, sleeping in one of your old jumpers for comfort type of 'crashing.'"
MJ furrowed her eyebrows.
"Whatever happened in the cemetery really freaked her," Sam didn't know the full story yet, "Watching Kol die...even though he didn't, I mean...She's probably at a similar place to you, just less intense."
Fair enough answer.
"Bar Cami, Josh and I are the only two friends she's ever made who haven't been dead bodies for her to look at, and technically, two of us are dead."
It wasn't an ideal situation.
"And she clearly had a soft spot for him," He wasn't going to sugarcoat that, "She hasn't been out since you left but is still showering and eating."
MJ frowned, "That's not good."
"I'll handle it."
"You don't even know what I want you to do?"
"You want me to get her to rest properly. And get her to help Rebekah before something goes disastrously wrong," He listed, "Because you don't want to call Kol for help in case he gets hurt, or he's busy with some other Mikaelson mess."
She smiled, "You're on a roll today."
"I know my friends well."
Part of why he'd been so ticked off about the fact he hadn't known about Kol.
"You're not too busy with pack stuff?"
"They're all testing out their new tricks," Sam dismissed, "Problem is, as an actual hybrid, I'm still stronger than them, and the longer it takes for them to realise that, the better."
MJ made an 'm' sound of understanding, "Got it."
Hybrids were still a very debated group of people, and openly flaunting how much stronger they were wouldn't do anyone any favours.
"Thank you."
"Again," He smiled, "Anything, anytime."
She hung up, and Sam continued on his walk.
He'd been heading to check in on Davina anyway; the only thing the phone call meant was that he vamp-sped the rest of the way to make sure he got there before Rebekah – and before Davina bolted herself.
She was opening the front door when he knocked.
"Sam."
"Hey," He walked in, forcing her to go back, "I was hoping for some down-low time if you're in."
"Heading out," She shifted, staring at her shoes, "Actually."
"D," He frowned, "Please."
She sighed, "I'm really not in the mood."
He looked her up and down, then around the apartment. Yes, he'd been checking in, but they'd been quick meetings because he was usually needed by someone. He'd been helping Aiden investigate Mikael and Finn for Klaus, he'd been helping Hayley and Jackson with managing the now superpowered wolves, and...he'd been babysitting.
Klaus would leave Hope with Hayley and certain family members, but Sam was the person left to look after her if they were all busy. Something he wasn't completely comfortable with. Not because she was a baby, he was great with kids; it was because of something he hadn't really had a chance to talk about with anyone.
"Please."
Davina pulled a face and looked out the door.
She was wearing a large knitted cardigan like a blanket, her hair was messily braided to one side, and she clearly hadn't slept much. Candles were set up around the room, and there were a few spells out. Since he vaguely understood MJ's filing system, he knew each page was labelled with 'healing' or 'spirit' runes.
"Davina," He sat on the arm of the couch to look at her, "We need to talk about this."
"Talk about what?"
"You can't be doing this stuff – "
"Are you kidding me?" Her eyes went big, "My friend almost died. I'm just looking into magic that'll make sure nothing like that happens to any of you ever again."
He pushed to his feet, "If you – "
"I honestly can't – "
"Davi – "
"I don't wanna talk to another person who'd rather be talking to MJ."
Realisation dawned on him, and he panicked, "Me? Wait, wait – "
"You don't – "
"Davina, I wouldn't – "
" – have to deny – "
" – But that's not – "
" – it. I'm used – "
"Oh my god, let me finish a sentence!"
She still wasn't looking at him.
"You always do this," He was sick of it, "Start unneeded arguments and jump to the worst assumptions."
When she didn't say any retort, Sam swallowed and took a step closer, clocking how her body tensed, head jolting up to stare at him, checking what he was doing while momentarily holding her breath.
He smiled at the reaction.
Sam found it hard not to smile at Davina, even when she was stressing him out.
"The first interruption," He put a hand up, stepping back, "I was going to say, you can't hyper-focus on this stuff right now because it's powerful Floare magic that could get you hurt if you do it on your own."
"It might not," She whispered.
"The word might doesn't inspire confidence."
"MJ pulls it off."
He curled in three fingers to leave a peace sign up, "Which brings me to the second sentence."
Davina was glancing around the room guilty.
"You're probably right. MJ does have the power to do crazy things on her own," He nodded, "Because her body is currently leaking power, and it's not good for her – do you really want to do the things she does to play hero?"
She didn't know what to say.
"If the answer is yes, we're adding you to the suicide watch list."
"I don't want to do that."
"Correct answer."
"But I want to be able to save my friends."
His expression softened, his hand going down, "The actual end of my sentence."
She didn't quite understand how that followed on from her point until he said it.
"Yeah, MJ is my friend, but why would I be talking to you if I didn't want to talk to you."
She rested her hands in her pockets, "Because you're a nice guy."
He snorted at the phrase, a certain level of detestation for it thanks to his hatred of Ross Gellar in Friends.
"You wanna impress MJ by showing her how decent you are," Davina continued listing, deliberately moving her head, so she didn't have to look him in the eye, "Whether that means dancing with her annoying friend at a faction party. Or buying me pop-tarts. Or coming back to the Lycée with me so I don't have to deal with the other witches, and helping me get my magic back in gear."
"Did it ever cross your mind that maybe I asked you to dance because I wanted to dance with you?" Sam's tone went up, "And your conversation with MJ just gave me an opening?"
She seemed to freeze at the confirmation Kol's assessment of the situation had been right.
"If I wanted to talk to MJ, I would," He reasoned, "I have her number. I spoke to her like five minutes ago. Now..."
Sam gave her a lopsided grin.
"I'm here because I wanna help you. I wanna be here with you."
Her features softened.
"I'm hanging around Klaus for the wolves," He stressed, "That's where my allegiance liee – oh!"
The second thing clicked into place.
"Shit."
She didn't like that reaction, "What?"
"No wonder you're spending all your time with Kol," He really looked at the books strewn about the place.
Yes, some of the pages were MJ's, but most of the spell books weren't. They'd been collected from the playhouse during the Christmas period, meaning they were Kol's.
"Davina," He shook his head, "You've gotta know – if I can have your back, I will. I don't care if I'm not a witch."
Her mouth opened, but no noise managed to come out.
"I know I can't do all the magic stuff, but you're not alone right now."
"We both know you need to prioritise the pack," She pushed her hair back, "I know I was bitchy about it before, but I do get it. You need to be with them – "
"I can't."
His voice was a little too serious.
It was her turn to really look at him.
The odd edge in his eyes.
"You can't?"
"Um," His eyes glanced to the door, expecting Rebekah to have knocked by now, "I've realised something."
She nodded for him to keep going.
Sam turned to take a seat properly on the sofa.
"Sam?"
"I'm still sire-bonded to Hope."
"What?" Her entire demeanour shifted, "She's a baby."
"Exactly!" He flopped into the back, "I don't understand how, but it's affecting me, and I think it has been for a while now."
She took a seat next to him to listen.
"I can't say no to Klaus."
"You're not sired to Klaus."
"I know," He nodded quickly, "But it's like, he'll say or do something, and since that baby came back to the city, my first thought is – 'how does this protect Hope.'"
Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
"At first, I was just rolling with it," He shook his head, "But it's starting to get dangerous."
His voice dropped.
"There's something shady going on with Klaus and Aiden."
Davina really didn't like that, "What?"
"I – " His voice cut out.
"Sam?"
"I can't tell you."
"What?"
"I tried to tell Jackson about it, but I was just left spluttering."
He'd been invited to a meeting with Aiden and Klaus at a bar, where Klaus had made it clear he planned to do something to de-alpha Jackson, but he couldn't tell anyone.
"Why can't you say?"
"Because some part of my head thinks that spilling will put Hope in danger."
She started to realise just what he meant, "Oh."
"Klaus's tactics usually work, so until he slips up and does something to put her in danger, I physically can't do anything to stop him. Even when Hayley asks. Like...if it'll cause conflict between them, my mouth just shuts."
And his body, i.e. his instincts, seemed to favour Klaus's plans over hers.
"I stepped back into that vampire den situation at The Compound without a second thought," He pointed out, "Most of the vampires hated me."
He hadn't even thought too hard about why.
"Josh and Marcel are the exceptions, and I think most are getting used to me – but, at the time, any one of them could've ripped my heart out, and I put myself in that position willingly."
"You did that to get people to accept hybrids," Davina remembered, "So they'd be loyal to Hayley. That's not Hope."
"Hope creates hybrids," Sam stressed, "Last year, people were plotting to kill her to stop hybrid creation. This year, I go out of my way to be in dangerous situations and help Klaus, for no real reason, because something inside of me was just on board."
The only sound was him fiddling.
"I no longer know what actions are my own."
"Hayley doesn't seem to have a sire-bond," Davina brushed into his arm comfortingly, "Most of it's probably you."
"She spent the summer turning. She probably hit the hundred mark."
"I thought you did that too?"
"I spent the summer pushing boundaries," He clarified, "Like, how much I can do without turning."
Davina bit her lip.
"Even if she didn't hit the hundred mark," Sam had started to think about a few different things, "She didn't technically drink Hope's blood to turn."
"It was just in her system."
"And from what I've heard MJ mumble, magic likes to be pretty particular about that type of stuff."
Davina moved, finding a specific book on MJ's desk and flicking to a page.
"What's that?"
"MJ's hybrid notes."
He relaxed a little, "Thank you."
Her eyes jumped up from the page, "For what?"
"For letting me say all that when you have way bigger things on your mind."
She dog-eared the page and walked back to the main living area, "I really didn't mean what I said in December, Sam."
He raised an eyebrow.
"I know we're friends," She shifted at the word, "And I now kinda feel like the worst one in the world."
"Why?"
"You have to help Klaus keep Hope safe," She looked horrified, "And then I'm calling you a bad friend for that?"
She sat on the coffee table.
"That's ridiculous!" She handed the book over to him, "It's not your fault."
He tugged at the outside cover, "Even if I wasn't sired, D, surely you've gotta get why I'd want to help them?"
She looked at the floor.
"You have a crush on one of them."
"I don't – "
"I'm not judging," He assured her, "As long as you're not planning on doing something stupid in the hopes that he'll suddenly be in love with you just because MJ's not here to help him deal with whatever he's going through."
Her face faltered.
"Because that's not how it'll work."
Her lips became a thin line.
"He was dead for a year, and when he came back, he was still in love with her. She was dead, and he was still attached to her – you were the person who told us that. Who said that you felt safe around him because of the way he talked about her. He spent a thousand years terrorising society – "
"He's not that person anymore."
"Because he fell in love with MJ."
Davina was slipping back into anger; he could hear it in her heartbeat, so he spoke slightly quicker.
"Ignoring all that stuff. He's the closest thing you've had to a coven since you quit."
"I don't want a coven."
"Sure you don't."
"I don't!"
"Davina," His tone was gentle, "The witches treated you awfully. That doesn't change the fact that you need a coven."
Her eyes drifted back to the books, "Even if it's just two."
"You're stronger with people by your side," He shuffled forward to get to the edge of the cushion, "But that's not just a witch thing. Wolves? We're stronger together. Witches? You are too. Us?"
She was properly staring at him.
"Same thing. We need each other, or," He motioned to them, "We end up like this."
She let her anger slip away.
"Acting like we can't help each other," He took her hand, "Like we don't have the same problems, just in different packaging."
The problems that came with being tied to the Mikaelson's.
"I'm avoiding the pack because I don't trust what Klaus is trying to do with them, and I don't want him to use me, but Vina?" He smiled, "The last thing I'd ever think you'd be is a risk to a baby. And, even if you were? Fine, I'd go break my bones a hundred times to make sure I couldn't be used to hurt you."
She shuffled to the end of the table, playing with his fingers.
"If you need me, all you've gotta do is call, and I'd come running."
"I don't think I'm worth that much dedication."
"Then that's something we disagree on."
"What's so special about me?"
"If you want me to list everything, we might be here awhile."
She felt herself wanting to blush, then scolded herself for it. Davina already had one crush on someone who wasn't interested. Sam had practically called her a friend in every sense of the word, even if she really liked holding his hand. She'd literally accepted the date with Kol because she knew Sam only thought of her as a friend.
"MJ's coming home soon," She tried to change the subject.
"Good," He bobbed his head, "More of us here, the better."
"Think we'll actually get through one evening with everyone in the same room?"
Josh, Aiden, MJ, maybe Cami and Hayley since, technically, the non-judgemental breakfast club had been started by MJ and Hayley. Kol could potentially join it if they actually got some time to all gather together.
"Certainly worth a try," Sam tilted his head while looking at her, "If you want a coven, you could re-join."
"No," She declared, "I can't re-join the French Quarter Coven."
"MJ's the elder now. It'll be super different to the place that sacrificed you."
"No."
"Second chances are a good thing."
"No."
"I swear that other girl – Abigail!" He was really trying, "She seemed nice."
"She is," Davina groaned, "But that doesn't change the fact that I just don't fit."
He gave her a look, "You don't fit?"
"I'm useless at working with the other members."
"Because you're better than them," He nodded, "Which means you show them how good you are, they give you a high position and let you do your thing, just, in a coven. People giving you more power, sharing yours back with them."
Davina really thought about that possibility.
Then she backed out again, "I can't."
"Can't, or too stubborn?"
"They have no respect for me."
"Because respect is something you have to work for."
"I'm a Harvest girl. Respect should be the bare minimum."
"Agreed," He nodded, "But old people have superiority complexes. I mean, think about MJ."
"I'm not MJ."
"I know," He back-peddled, "It's an example."
Davina hadn't slept properly in a while, so her fuse was short.
"She barely has any of their respect despite being the literal peace keeper when she died. Her mum too. From what I've heard, she had an awful time with the witches."
"MJ got respect by starting fights," Davina mumbled.
"Not advising you do that," He pulled a face, "And I wouldn't say she started fights. She was more about showing people how pointless fighting was."
"She stabbed Elijah."
A plan seemed to be forming in the back of Davina's mind.
Sam pointed at her, "Please don't do that."
"I'm not going to," She assured him, "I've shown them up before. I don't need to do it again."
"Then what are you thinking?"
"It doesn't matter."
"Davina?" He complained.
"Just," She looked up innocently, "I do miss it...Being surrounded by magic and channelling people...Kol helped me realise that."
"And Kol is a Mikaelson."
"He's not like them."
"Davina," He tried not to sound jealous, "You've gotta realise how ridiculous you sound while saying that."
"It's not like you've bothered getting to know him. You can't tell me I'm wrong."
"He's not some saint."
"He helped me."
"And he helped us rescue Marcel and Josh. And he cured Marcel's werewolf bite, so I'll give him some points," Sam agreed, "But he's still got a pretty long history you don't know about."
"But I saw his face when MJ saved him," Davina reasoned, "If he was some master-manipulator who didn't care about anyone else, he wouldn't have looked so horrified at what MJ had been willing to do to herself to save him."
Sam paused.
Davina bit her lip.
"What did MJ do to save him?" Hed just assumed her witch-brain had come through.
"It doesn't matter."
"Davina – "
"Just..."
The Mikaelson's hadn't told anyone the gory details of MJ's life-saving magic, except Hayley and Cami. Davina had already told Josh, completely freaked about having watched it, needing him to calm her down at the time, and also so they knew what they were dealing with if she ever came back. If she'd told Josh, she could tell Sam, so she did.
"...Fuck."
"Yeah."
Sam was looking at her nervously, "Um – "
"I'm not suicidal," She repeated, "I'm just stressed."
He nodded, hoping that was the truth and really not wanting Davina to get any more isolated; her complete lack of patience for other people was never the best way to make friends.
"Point is, if Kol was the person Marcel made him out to be at the start, he wouldn't have cared about what she did. He clearly did."
"Or, it means he loves her," Sam pointed out, "And her alone."
Davina looked down, eyes somewhat watery for lack of sleep.
"Sorry..."
"It's not your fault, it's just," She tried to look okay, "I haven't heard from him since."
Sam processed that as Davina traced her pinkie over his palm, "Vina?"
"Just...the reason I'm so touchy about that whole Mikaelson thing right now," She sniffed, "I haven't heard from him, and I'm really worried that it means MJ's magic didn't work right or..."
"Or?"
"Or he was just using me. And since I proved useless," She hadn't saved him, "He's not gonna bother with me."
Sam straightened up in his seat.
"Crush or not, I thought he was my friend, and now – "
"He's not doing well," Sam, oddly enough, actually came to his defence, "He's literally only left The Compound twice – I've been there with the wolves, and he's like, stress reading."
Davina calmed down a little.
"Hasn't spoken to any of us, practically locked himself in his room," He clicked his teeth, "Ish? Um, don't – well – "
She gave him a look, "Sam?"
"I've seen him scoping around the house trying to find his ashes."
Davina's eyes jumped, her hand pulling back from him.
"Elijah told him not to jump back, and Klaus wants him to, but also hid the ashes for Elijah?"
"But Kol wants them?"
Sam nodded.
"Can I tell you something?"
"Of course."
"I know where they are?"
His face went slack, "What do you mean, you know where they are?"
"I mean," Davina shuffled on the coffee table, "The first night I crashed here, the balcony door was open, the ashes had been pushed across the threshold."
Sam looked in the direction of the glass doors.
"Whoever dropped them off clearly hadn't been invited in."
"Klaus knows Kol isn't about to come here, so he hid them here," Sam realised, looking around, "You re-hid them?"
"Yeah."
Sam rubbed his face, "Can I ask why?"
"...Because..." Davina started to get fidgety again, "It – I...I don't want him to turn back."
"D," He sighed, "You don't get to make that choice for him."
"He's better this way."
"Again, you don't – "
"As a witch, he's my friend. If he goes back, he's one of them."
She had heard the stories about who Kol used to be, even if she didn't really believe them.
"He doesn't even like his family, so it's not like he actually wants to go back to the way he was before."
"If he's looking for the ashes, he clearly does."
"He wants to go back because he almost died – not because he wants to be a vampire."
"Have you even talked to him about being a vampire?"
"He called it a dark period. Happier now. He'll give up looking and remember that."
"Davina..." Sam didn't know what he was meant to say, "You can't just steal someone's ashes."
"I didn't steal them," She defended, "I hid them after Klaus dropped them off – and MJ probably prefers him as a witch too."
"You don't know that."
"I know she's never brought up turning."
"And you also know she likes Klaus just fine, which means she'd probably like the real Kol too."
"The real Kol is this version of Kol. He was born a witch," She argued, "And he said she'd choose him over Klaus, if it came down to it, which is basically saying she'd pick humanity over Original Vampire."
"I think neither of you really care about MJ if you'd make her choose between them."
Davina stared at the exhausted look on his face.
"And, saying she'd pick her boyfriend over her friend is nothing to do with the species considering he was probably referencing a conversation they had during his last lifetime, where he was an Original Vampire."
Davina seemed to realise he was right.
"You need to give them to him."
Her jaw tightened.
"Davina, they're his ashes," Sam stressed, "You wanna be his friend? You need to let him have a minute of post-almost-death insanity, then you need to reach out to him yourself."
Friendship was two-ways.
"And you need to get off your Mikaelson Hate Train a little - since he is a Mikaelson."
"I'm always going to hate Klaus."
"Go for it," He relaxed back, "But if Kol doesn't count, Rebekah doesn't either."
She shoved up to standing, "Has everything you've just said to me been about getting me to help Rebekah?"
"No," He stood up too, exasperated, "It's been about trying to be here for you!"
"Oh right," She referenced December, "Because I'm impossible."
"You are!" He defended, "You shut people out."
True.
"You never listen to people trying to help you because you get tunnel vision, and you're letting hate become your entire personality."
Davina'a lips instantly turned down, eyes hurt.
"You want me to list all the things I like about you, Davina?" He positioned himself firmly in front of her, "I liked how brave you were."
Her eyes got a little bigger.
"I liked how resilient you were. I liked how you let yourself start to trust people again, even after the Harvest," He didn't want to fight with her, "How you made time to grow flowers with me while the world was literally sitting on your shoulders with the witches."
Said shoulders seemed to relax with each word out of his mouth.
"I don't wanna see you lose all of that good just because you're determined to hate everyone. I don't wanna see you lash out at me whenever I say something you disagree with."
"...Sorry."
"Your bad moments are completely eclipsed by every time you smile."
She felt her heart starting to warm again.
"And, giving Rebekah a chance might remind you that you can give people second chances," He lowered the volume, "She's a witch. You can channel her. You can teach her."
Davina considered that.
"You think you might miss your coven? Well, she's a way to find out without re-joining and regretting it. She's willing to be better; she always has been."
"Fine," She mumbled, "I'll call her."
Rebekah was on a phone call with Elijah, which explained how she hadn't arrived at the apartment yet, but once she got to them, she seemed ecstatic to have their help. Unknown to the pair, during her conversation with Elijah, Rebekah had lost control of the body.
Eva was the one standing behind the door when Sam opened it.
She smiled sweetly, stalling her plan to capture when she realised she could take a moment to nosy about all the different ingredients across the apartment, Davina and Sam dismissing it as Rebekah's novice status making her curious. How were they meant to know it was a threat scoping out a potential enemy's hoard of rare international ingredients?
MJ had one of the widest-ranging collections out there, given how many things she was sent and how much travelling she'd done pre-moving to New Orleans.
Beyond ingredients, she had stashes of deadly things that really caught Eva's eyes.
"Anyway," Davina had let herself ramble on about some of the stuff, "A body problem?"
"Yes."
"What specifically?"
"Well," Eva started to pick up a knife, pressing it into a plant Davina didn't recognise, "It's not strong enough right now."
Davina and Sam shared a look, expecting an actual problem, not a power thing.
"Um," Sam came closer, "To keep you safe?"
"To do anything."
"MJ made it sound like you had an actual problem."
"We do," Eva nodded firmly.
She lunged at Sam, shoving the now poisoned blade into his mouth, catching him completely off guard and using a spell to hold him down as she cut through his tongue before stabbing it left and right, cutting the edges of his mouth as he tried to wrestle her off. His attempt somehow wasn't enough, completely dazed, eyes flickering in and out of wolf-yellow, blood filling his mouth.
"Rebekah!" Davina panicked, going to attack, only for Eva's focus to turn on her.
A scream was ripped out of her.
Eva had already started collecting children, stock-full of power, and Davina didn't have the Harvest Magic backing her anymore. She couldn't do anything to stop herself from dropping to her knees as a different weapon was picked up.
"I won't be weak much longer," Eva started to carve an 'x' into Davina's forehead, "French Quarter Witch."
A bloody diamond was then cut around the mark, Davina's eyes rolling back in her head.