Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Shivers suddenly wracked her small body, followed shortly by a wave of dull, stiffening pain.

The small woman shifted, slowly becoming more conscious of her surroundings. Her nose wrinkled at the dirty bedsheets underneath her cheek, as she blinked awake to stare hatefully at the same dark wooden walls that greeted her every day. Right now, the room was illuminated by a sliver of light shining from beneath the door. Though dim, it wasn't tinged with the artificial orange-yellow glow of the lamp in the corridor beyond. 

That meant sunlight, then. A new dawn, a new goddamn day. Sickening.

Sighing, she forced herself to sit up on the hard, paper-thin bed. The stiff movements of her arms were followed by the low rattle of the rusted chains attached to her wrist; just long enough to allow her to lever herself upright. Bracing herself against the rusted metal bed frame behind her, she released a low hiss of pain.

The crook of her left arm stung – the IV line in it had been jostled in the night, and now her skin around the cannula appeared red and swollen. Wrinkling her nose at the sickly-sweet smell of flowery elixir that escaped from the junction where the tube met her skin, she followed the medication upwards, squinting at the blurry plastic IV bag of saline hanging from a metal pole above her bed, a mix of colourful flora collected at the bottom within it, nearly empty – Gloria was due to come by soon with a replacement. As she stared upwards her eyes started to strain, only worsening her headache, and so she relaxed, dropping her head back tiredly against the cool metal of the bed frame in exhaustion. 

The painful throb of nauseating pain pounding through her head in time with her heartbeat was so fucking torturous that she wished it would-

She swallowed roughly. She needed her glasses.

Using the small amount of leeway the wrist chains allowed, she leaned painfully to the small table at her right, reaching for her glasses that were placed almost thoughtfully just at arm’s length. Managing to nudge them onto her nose using her shoulder, the captive glanced around her prison of mouldy wood, dust, and mildew with a scowl of disgust. Seeing it clearer and in the daylight wasn't any better, but at least now her eyes had found some reprieve.

Stretching as far as her cuffs would allow, she let her joints crack in cramped relief, before drawing her knees to her chest with a wince. A bedsore had formed on her heel during her months of captivity, so it had been a small mercy that Gloria had foregone the effort to tie her legs to the bedposts the night before. 

She frowned, running a gentle finger over the healing rope burns on her ankles. It seemed a small mercy that the old witch was getting lax in her worry of keeping her tied up in her basement. Of course, it would be infinitely better if she wasn’t imprisoned against her will and kept subdued and mostly unconscious with witch herbs...but it turns out beggars can’t be choosers. Or something like that. 

She winced, leaning her forehead against her knee when a fresh wave of stomach-turning pain erupted along her temple, swallowing back the taste of bile growing prominent in the back of her throat. This head-splitting headache was currently on top of the worst things she'd had to endure down here; sandwiched somewhere between the sorry toilet in the corner she was made to use, and the itch that had formed annoyingly in the centre of her back, unable to be reached by the metal bed rest behind her. It was something that she attributed to a number of things mentally; she was parched and sweaty - a horrible combination to begin with - and the constant medication with heavy, sleep-inducing, magic-suppressing herbs certainly didn't help either.

Sure, she was a prisoner, but what did Gloria stand to gain from being this fucking sadistic? Dehydrating her to the point of near delirium?

Oh right.

The bitch stood to gain her magic. 

...Well, either way, no matter her spiteful nature trying to convince her otherwise, she had no doubt Gloria wouldn't want her investment to die in her basement of dehydration. 

Lifting an arm lethargically, she clanged her heavy metal wrist cuff against the bed frame with as much strength as she could muster. More recently, over the last few days, it seemed Gloria was more preoccupied than normal, speaking with people; taking longer to come see her. Today was no exception, the minutes dragging on laboriously until she finally heard footsteps coming in her direction. 

The door opened disrespectfully easily.

The sunlight that flooded in was horrifyingly bright and had her wincing back until Gloria kicked the door shut behind her. Skillfully using her elbow to flick the light switch next to the door, and not letting the captive's poor eyes adjust to the offence they had just endured, the once-mentor-turned-kidnapper walked in, balancing a large tray in her hands. On it was a bowl of watery stew, a large glass of water, and another packet of IV saline solution infused with bright lobelia.

“Good morning sunshine~" Gloria's cheerful tone contradicted the smirk curling at her lips. "Up and at ‘em.” As the deceivingly young century-old witch set the tray at the foot of her bed, the captive curled further in on herself, meeting the older witch’s clinical stare sullenly. Gloria's smirk grew incrementally sharper. “Don’t you look positively radiant today hun?”

“Bite me.” Her scathing reply had Gloria chuckling. 

“Well, wit does make for a more amusing captive.” As Gloria set about busily changing out the old cannula and fixing in the new full one, the woman winced wordlessly behind flattened lips. The witch wasn’t gentle about securing it either, but she didn't let it show.

Her compliance wasn’t defeat, she was just biding her time until Gloria slipped up.

At least, that's what she'd been telling herself for the better half of the year - well, if her calculations were correct - which they most likely weren't. Sure, she was annoyed at her situation, annoyed at herself for being so fucking gullible, but the most volatile of her feelings had faded into quiet acidic resentment towards Gloria, which seemed the healthiest option to channel all her frustration towards. 

A spoon nudged her lips, filling her mouth with the bitter taste of flavourless stew mixed with even more lobelia. “You need to keep your strength up, Annalise.” Ignoring how the bed dipped next to her hip, she shut her eyes, hating how much she savoured the weak broth. Despite how hard she tried, her hunger betrayed her collected composure by how eagerly she swallowed each spoonful. Gloria’s sharp eyes caught it, and she smirked knowingly. 

“I have news, dearie,” Gloria offered her another spoonful. “I'm coming into a powerful piece soon.” The fact that her own presence here would be rendered obsolete hung silently in the air. The captive woman paused, her narrowed eyes waiting for the catch. This couldn’t be right. Gloria was an opportunistic bitch. Nevertheless, she couldn’t help the small amount of hope flaring to life inside her as Gloria continued. “It’s the talisman of a powerful witch; the Original Witch. You must’ve heard of her, right?” The spoon made a return, and Annalise sipped at it, still listening closely. “If I can get my hands on that necklace and tap into that power, I won’t need you anymore.”

The soup was finished, a fact that only made the hunger clawing deep in her stomach louder. Gloria held a glass of water with a straw in front of her face, angling it before watching her sip. She waited until Annalise gestured with a quick nod that she was done. “Klaus should be over here with the necklace and his sister this afternoon, maybe even along with Stefan. I can just tell he knows more than he lets on.”

Klaus?...The infamous hybrid Klaus?

Her quiet curiosity sparked at the memory of being told the horrifying deeds of the worst kind of monster the world had to offer, but she discarded it quickly, her attention catching on how Gloria had wandered near the siphon cuffs holding her arms to the head of the bed, tracing the bruises overlapping the skin around the cuffs as they formed a motley discolouration to both her wrists.

The woman narrowed her eyes as Gloria clucked in false sympathy. The pain was dull, throbbing, and constant, sure, but the idea of physical pain itself had been a novel experience for her. It wasn't something Annalise had endured before captivity due to her enhanced healing. Even then, the pain quickly faded into the background, becoming a lesser priority than the cuffs themselves leeching her magic. 

Gloria ran her fingers over the glowing etchings on both the cuffs, tracing along the carvings in the cold metal, humming from the amount of power being drained from her. A greedy hesitation glinting in her dark gaze brought a nervous frown to Annalise’s face. “But then again dearie, you understand that I can't just...let you go, can I? You'd spread such horrible, completely untrue rumours about me, and I can't have that.” There was the fucking catch. 

"For my hospitality, I've decided to take the last of what you can offer." Gloria whispered something under her breath, and all at once, Annalise groaned, feeling the suction of her magic double, draining away what felt like her very life force. "They'll find your body in the docks, a washed-up nobody, with no one to mourn it. You asked me once to define what you were." 

Annalise grunted, the chains around her hands pulled taut as she reached viciously for Gloria. One of her feet managed to catch Gloria in the hip making her hiss in pain, prompting her to reach under the bed for rope and tying her flailing feet as best she could to the bottom bed posts viciously tight – “You're an afterthought, a bad memory, and then after you die, less than that.”

"Your death will be as inconsequential as your life was."

Annalise sagged, the fight in her limbs drained rapidly by the cuffs. “Fuck you.” Her voice slurred.

The sedative effect of the medication was quick to lift her consciousness away as the sounds of a door shutting firmly felt as final as the slowing of her heart. 

- X -

When she came to again the sunlight peeking out from underneath the door was long gone, casting the room into darkness and making the cold chill more prominent than before. Fisting the sheets beneath her with shaky resolve, Annalise set about getting out of the awkward position her arms and legs were stretched and tangled in, swallowing drily. The dead weight of her limbs had worsened with the increased drain from the cuffs growing a brighter silver than before - illuminating the room when not even the hallway light beyond normally did. It seemed that Gloria had truly left her for dead. Calm, she stared up at the water-stained ceiling blankly. 

The slight sting ran across the bridge of her nose and cheek as she shifted against her glasses, feeling glad that the frame wasn’t bent out of shape and still rested somewhat balanced on her sore nose, Annalise wondered what had woken her in what would eventually be the last few hours of her life.

Blinking tiredly, she grew more alert as distant sounds shifted into focus. 

Gloria’s voice, and another man’s – muffled, carried through the walls. Straining to hear stray words reaching her, she threaded together a non-coherent mess of words. “Secret…. necklace...half-breed…Klaus.”

Then all at once, a sudden thud as the man’s voice was suddenly silenced. Her heart hit her ribcage hard. Fuck. 

This was what had happened to her. She'd fallen prey to Gloria's cunning ways and woken up tied to a small bed in a cellar and now, the power-hungry witch had grabbed yet another victim off the street. It was only now that Annalise felt the panic truly kick in after her many months in captivity, dread pooling deep in her gut at what awaited Gloria's latest victim. 

Silence, then the sounds of heavy furniture moving, scraping along the speakeasy tiles ran added the sickly scent of séance herbs ran chills down her spine. Now more than ever she wished her legs remained untied to the posts on either side of the rickety bed-frame, so she could curl into a ball.

If she was normal in any sense of the word, it could be cause for concern that this was the most fear she'd held since her imprisonment had begun, even after she'd been handed an expiration date - but no, while she may have deserved to rot away in the bowels of Chicago, she doubted Gloria's latest victim did.

It took a few minutes more for the screams to begin.

Shit, shit, shit-fuck. Annalise clenched her eyes shut, tearing up with guilt at the repeated screams echoing through the building. Could no one else hear this?! 

There may have been a time she toyed with the idea of escape, before the herbs had managed to truly suppress her magic, but what right had she to fight for a life only filled thus far with loss and death wherever she went?

Gloria was a cruel, cunning witch, yes, but because she feared her mortality. She was only human. 

Annalise was anything but. 

Now there may have been a reality where a gaggle of psychologists screamed to the skies, arguing about how messed she was in the head for fearing for her own cruel captor's safety, from herself, but that was another matter entirely. She may have resigned herself to an early grave, but Gloria's latest victim hadn't. 

The man screamed again, a sob following shortly behind, and Annalise felt her resolve gather. Gloria had no right. 

Her jaw set, Annalise tugged her feet sharply upwards at different angles, twisting her right foot painfully, until...there it was! The rope gave way enough to manoeuvre her heel out of the loop slowly, chafing painfully against her torn skin. Then using her now free foot, she used her toes to loosen the ropes around her left and slid her left foot out with more difficulty, teeth clenched. It hurt – the rope was tighter, but the sharp sense of victory she felt at having both legs free overshadowed the sting.

Another scream echoed down the hall. 

Her breath, ragged, came in bursts as she forced her clouded mind to think. The next step- the next step logically, was to get her IV out. This...could require a bit more flexibility than she had. Angling her right foot upwards to slowly, pushing past the cramped pain smarting up her thigh, she reached for the crook of her left elbow where the IV sat, securely taped. It took a few tries, but her toes were able to shimmy the tape loose and nudge the IV out, scowling in disgust. 

The cannula dropped away, allowing a small bead of blood to run down her arm to where her wrists remained enclosed in the magic-siphoning cuffs. She jerked at her restraints, growing more frantic by the second despite feeling a sharp twinge and then burn from both her shoulders until she let out a short frustrated yell. "Fuck!"

Despite the age of the metal cuffs being obvious, they weren’t giving way easily – they were reinforced with Gloria’s magic and the weird etchings. What now? Helplessly, she sagged, her nose stinging at the onslaught of tears at choked screams reaching her room at the end of the long hallway. How was she going to help him if she couldn't even help herself? 

"What bitter irony is it to remain impervious to harm yet suffer so much within?"  A voice sharp and cutting carried with it a sense of overwhelming helplessness. A recent memory. A recent mistake. 

Eyes burning, she resumed, twisting her wrists to grab at each chain before settling both feet against the wall so she now lay almost parallel to her bed as she pulled at the iron fixtures set deep into the wall, pulling, pulling, pulling until something pulled taut in her shoulder, accompanied by a bright flare of pain. She fell to the bed in a loud, clanking mess of chains.

In the middle of trying to catch her breath, Annalise froze, a bead of sweat rolling chillingly down the curve of her prominent, malnourished spine – she hadn’t heard the man's screams for the last five minutes.

Her breath stuttered; if Gloria came and found her legs free and her IV out she would introduce her into a new world of hurt. One that the man outside had found himself familiar with. The silence spurred her into panicked action; she was yanking at the cuffs now in desperation–

THUD.

That was the same sound as the one before – one she recognised as a body falling onto the hard timber boards in the speakeasy beyond. Her sluggish mind picked up speed, adrenaline pumping her heart so hard against her ribcage it was practically audible. Maybe she could catch Gloria by surprise, use her legs, do anything…

The heavy metal handcuffs around her wrists snapped open, falling to the bed with a muffled clunk. 

"Good things, my dearest. Just around the corner." A softer memory this time, a ghost of a kiss on her forehead.

Bringing her injured wrists gingerly to her chest, Annalise stared for a moment at the faded bedspread beneath her, an unknown weight of emotion surging up her throat at the implications of what had just happened. The magic keeping the cuffs closed - the magic linking the cuffs to Gloria – it was gone. Gloria was gone. 

Gloria was gone. 

Limbs, shaking from the adrenaline running clumsily through her veins, she stumbled out of bed, falling to the ground more than once before resorting to crawling to the door, still locked. The cuffs had weakened her more than she'd thought possible, her skin now almost translucent enough to see thin vessels beneath its surface, but her mind remained preoccupied. Did the man get free? Did the spell go wrong, kill her? She'd seen that happen before. 

Dragging her hand up to the door, she pulled at the knob weakly, her voice failing as she hit her fist weakly against it. "I-I'm in- Please, I'm in here." 

But the voices continued uninterrupted, faint - indiscernible. Then all at once, a breeze from underneath the door, then nothing. 

Her breathing grew heavier as she leaned her head against the door, keeping the mixed emotion of panic and relief stewing within her. She had survived, but she wasn't free just yet. She had made it, but oh, was she tired. The knowledge that no one knew she was here was both the cause of her heart beating hard in fear, and liberation because no one knew she was here-

An exhausted laugh grated past her throat.

She could rest, just for a little bit. 

Sniffling, she curled up into a ball at the foot of the door, wrapping her hands tight around herself as the cool chill of the night made itself known to her once more. 

- X -

Not much time had passed when Annalise woke again; this time, feeling the most refreshed she had felt in the last few months. Even a short amount of time away from Gloria's horrid concoction of lobelia and the magic-draining handcuffs had given her enhanced healing the reprieve it had needed, and already, most of her exhaustion had become more mental than physical. 

Only her torn skin remained smarting, most of the bruising already looking days old instead of hours - accompanying the throbbing headache that felt like a day-old hangover. 

Taking a deep breath, she used the door behind her to wobbly unsteadily to her feet, though finding her footing easier than before, before taking a short break against the door again. Something had woken her up - a distant sound of a door, footsteps-

Annalise pressed her ear to the wooden door. 

“Hello?” A distinctly British voice echoed through the otherwise silent club. “I’ve come to check your progress on the necklace, Gloria!”

Right. Klaus. That's what Gloria had said, right?

Annalise had heard enough about the infamous outcast in the supernatural world, at least enough to know that he was temperamental, and not above using people for his own gain. Meeting someone described quite generously as a murderous psychopath on a good day didn't bode well for her future, that much she knew, but her renewed outlook on life made her reconsider staying quiet and hoping for someone more benign to wander across Gloria's lodgings, or waiting what could be weeks for her magic to replenish enough to break through the reinforced door. She'd most likely die of dehydration, or starve before then. 

She refused to stay in this depressing dungeon any longer. 

Fuck it. 

Resolutely, she started banging on the heavy door, the pain smarting from her bruised and aching wrists an afterthought. “Please! I’m in here, I’m trapped. Please help, please!” Her yelling strained her voice, to the point she may have tasted the faint aftertaste of iron at the back of her throat, but she didn’t let up. “Hello? Help, please, I’m in here!”

The footsteps coming her way grew louder and louder, before pausing outside her door. The hallway light switched on, and a tall silhouette stretched from the inch of space underneath the door as she stepped away.

The shadow shifted, and she raised a hand to cover her face just as the door was kicked in - the air suddenly full of dust and splinters.

Steeling herself as she dropped her arm away from her face, Annalise straightened, obstinately ready to face whatever life threw at her next.

Chapter Text

Klaus entered Gloria’s bar with caution.

Lit dimly by the large, yet singular red neon tubing that read Gloria's above the bar, the speakeasy looked adequately suspicious to even the most unintelligent. The curtains haphazardly drawn and chairs strewn atop tables after a hurried lock-up in the desolate bar was an indication in itself that something wasn't quite right, but he paused at the top shallow stairs, regarding the empty space at the centre of the side which had once doubled as the dance floor, he remembered fondly - the table strewn with blood and candlewax was indeed a new addition

Within the smaller tables pushed to the edges of the large circular space before the bar, stood a large wooden table accessorised with deep bowls of blood on either side and clear markings of a ritual gone awry. Flaring his nose at the familiar smell of blood and herb, the Hybrid swept the bar with a studying gaze catching on the blood for a moment incrementally longer than the glance he gave the room. 

Those bowls smelled of Stefan's blood - he had been here, along with...someone else. Someone familiar; the specifics of whom eluding him frustratingly. 

Stepping down into the sunken dancefloor while avoiding the numerous candles set about the tiles floor, he ran a finger along shallow gouges on the edge of the table, noticing the same pattern on all four corners. Rope had clearly dug into it - one for each limb, but curiously, the rope itself was missing along with a curtain from the far window. A body had been disposed of, quite cleverly, he could add. A smaller table to the side held knives, instruments of torture - hooks and the like, all smelling of vervain. Small bowls of red-orange powder stood within it too - a curious pinch between his fingers stung somewhat expectedly. While he didn't know exactly what it was, the setting screamed of old voodoo he'd come across sparsely throughout the centuries.

He moved to tap his finger along the small rivulets of cooled and hardened wax adding an eerie element to the once bright and beautiful small space; their wicks black and ashy, most likely contributing to the light smell of scented smoke lingering in the air. The spell had been recent, then, and against a vampire, if the trace amounts of vervain staining the table was any indication. 

Gloria had tortured Stefan, that much was obvious - but then where were they? His foot nudged something light, his gaze following the sound of something rolling to find a stray bead, colourful, similar to the many beaded necklaces adorning the witch's neck, alongside a few drops of blood smelling of her which had been overpowered initially by Stefan's letting of blood. The witch hadn't come out of this unscathed. 

Choosing to give the space behind the bar before he left a cursory once-over, he hesitated upon hearing a faint heartbeat. A dangerous smirk tilted at his lips – maybe Gloria was alive after all, licking her wounds after whatever had happened here. Good, he wanted answers on the necklace, and he wanted them now. 

“Hello? It’s Klaus, I’ve come to check on your progress, Gloria!” A moment's pause, then he heard loud thumping coming from a room down the hallway.

“Please! I’m in here, I’m trapped. Please help, please! Hello? Help, please help me, I’m in here!”

Curious. 

The voice was distinctly female, but young and decidedly not Gloria. A brief mix of frustration and disappointment soured his mood. He'd wanted the witch he'd commissioned in the search for the talisman, not some stranger trapped in her speakeasy. But, he considered, whoever she was, maybe she'd be useful - maybe she witnessed what happened here.

His fingers ticked impatiently as he walked down the small dim hallway before arriving at the door that the shouts came from. It was quite nondescript, locked on the outside by a large bolt etched with curious markings. The lock seemed rust-free and well-used: was this a prisoner? How had he not realised someone else was here before? Unless...Gloria had used an enchantment to hide her presence from their supernatural senses, which meant that whoever stood behind that door was useful to the cunning witch. That was reason enough for him to humour this meeting for the time being. 

The door gave way under his kick; Klaus' sensitive nose immediately scrunched at the assault of sickly-sweet herbs wafting from the small room. Narrowing his eyes to squint into the darkness, his superior vision made out a small shadow shifting from the side of the doorway.

A small figure stood, shielding her eyes from the neon light from down the hallway as it were the sun, before her arms, gaunt and thin, dropped to her sides. The light from behind him bathed her skin in red, her dark skin looking paler than it should've been. She'd been imprisoned down here for quite some time then. 

Studying her as she did him, he noticed dark bruises around her wrists and ankles peeking through her clothes – a pair of ripped jeans and a tee - looking more worn than fashionable. A hand reached to tuck the thick curtain of dark hair behind her ear, adjusting the glasses before crossing her arms defensively around her slight frame. 

Her eyes however were strong behind her large round glasses - as was the way she carried herself, as if she was taller than her shorter stature. Klaus smirked a little wider as she tilted her chin up, meeting his eyes challengingly with startling clarity. Oh, she knew exactly who he was, but the usual fear that accompanied the realisation didn't seem entirely present despite how stiff she remained. Cautious, but determined, as if he were some obstacle she needed to overcome.

His growing smirk prompted a tight, awkward smile.

This was going to be interesting.

~ X ~

The man who stepped through the door was nothing like what Annalise had imagined the infamous fearmonger Klaus to look like. In the place of someone she'd imagined with manic eyes, and maybe a deep scar gouged through most of his face, stood a lean man in his late twenties with blond hair curling almost innocently behind his ears. His bright eyes and a dimpled smirk sitting comfortably amongst a scruffy beard looked almost friendly in the dangerous red neon glancing off the sharp planes of his face.

Dressed like an artistic hipster, complete in casual jeans, an unbuttoned henley snug on his frame, and several necklaces adorning his neck - she wasn't all that impressed, but she wouldn't underestimate him. Not the way she'd done Gloria. No way in hell, and especially not when this man standing before her had a penchant for knocking heads clean off shoulders. Annalise had a new outlook on life, and she wasn't going to lose it just yet. 

She swallowed drily, keeping her careful gaze locked on the unremarkable man, unwilling to break the silence first.  Just as well he seemed to be the impatient type.

“And who might you be, love?”

The British drawl was a surprise, as was the amused manner he quirked a brow, but he seemed...restless. He probably had places to be, people to kill, so Annalise wasn't foolish enough to think he was actually asking for a name. He wanted to know who she was to Gloria. What she meant to her and why she was here. 

“Gloria kidnapped me a while ago. Not too sure how long." Annalise grimaced, though standing straighter and choosing to speak quickly. "She kept me locked up, draining my magic and using it to keep the wrinkles off her face.” She hesitated, the unblinking intrigue bleeding into his gaze beginning to unnerve her. “Erm, anyways. Thanks for the assist, I think I’ll be on my way then.”

When Annalise flashed him another uneasy smile and moved to duck out under him, her bruised wrist stinging within his hard grip registered faster than the speed with which his arm moved - no, blurred. Well. Right - vampire speed. Worth a try. 

She remained still as he pulled, turning her towards him again, the grip on her hand most definitely a warning. “Do you know what seems to have happened outside?" His polite inquiry carried with it something far more dangerous. "Where Gloria might’ve gone?” Her wrist twinged in pain as he kept watching her neutrally. He was looking for answers. Good thing that she had no reason to keep them from him.

An honest Annalise was an alive Annalise.

“Nope, in case it slipped your attention, I was locked in here-" His grip tightened. Right, probably not smart to snark the bloodthirsty hybrid known to have anger-issues, so Annalise kept going – forcing herself to select the information he needed out of her scrambled thoughts that would help her stay alive. "I don’t know what happened, or where Gloria is, but I do know she’s probably dead.” His eyes narrowed dangerously in the red neon. Right okay, he needed more detail.  “The cuffs that drained my magic, it was her magic that kept them closed. The only way they would release me was if her hold over them broke." Oh, god her heart was beating harder against her chest as she tried her best to keep her expression neutral, though the word-vomit probably gave her nerves away. "I don’t think she released me on purpose seeing as the last thing she told me was that she’d drain me fully because she was gonna get her hands on the necklace-”

In the next instant, she was gasping for air.

Two large hands had circled her neck faster than she could blink, her back smarting as her feet scrabbled for purchase on the wall that had appeared behind her. Fuck, the crazy dude was choking her, and oh great his face was coming terrifyingly close to hers, teeth bared. “What do you know about the necklace?” The low dangerous hiss was frankly terrifying - he'd really perfected it in his long years alive.

"I can't-" The hybrid’s hands tightened around her throat when all she did was struggle harder, the edges of her vision darkening. She was losing air fast and she couldn’t form a word; her hands which had reflexively clawed at his clenched around her neck jerked before she used the last of her strength to tap against his forearm almost politely, as if tapping out of a wrestling match. 

A brow quirked in intrigue, he released his hold a bit and watched her take in a croaking gasp of air. 

“I would have told you if you’d just listened, jeez,” he made a move to tighten his hold on her neck again, but she held her hands up defensively, words stumbling together in panic. "WhatIwasgoingtosay was that I can't remember much. She drugged me." Her feet found the ground and she sagged against the wall thankfully as he let her go. "She said something about it being a talisman of the Original Witch, that you and two other people - I can’t remember their names – would bring it to her, and that she’d use it to get even more powerful.”

She rubbed sourly at her sore neck, eyeing him with distaste as he nodded, stepping away. Annalise didn’t let herself sink to the floor like she wanted to. She stayed up. Fake it till you make it had been her mantra in college, and it hadn’t exactly failed her back then. When he looked at her again, suspicion still lingered in his dark gaze, making her snap. “Look, I literally have no reason to lie to you. I’ve been held captive for nearly a year now, I think, and all I want is a warm meal, a warm bath, and a warm bed. If you have no more questions, just please, just let me go.”

Annalise hadn't realised how much she needed exactly that as her throat grew croaky with emotion - but she hoped that meant Klaus saw how sincere she was trying to be. Annalise had heard horror stories of the legendary Klaus being able to sniff out the slightest whiff of deceit – she had no intention of being another one of his victims.

His eyes were still narrowed but the small smirk was back, playing on his lips like he knew something she didn’t. It irked her but she didn’t comment because her train of thought was disturbed to the extreme when he moved to the side, clearing the doorway into the hallway beyond. Annalise didn’t waste any time crossing the short distance to the door and walking as fast as she could through the hallway and out into the middle of the bar, hyperaware of his footsteps following closely behind her – she was under no false hopes that she could outrun him, especially not in her weakened state, and she had no where enough magic to leave, or fight back.

Seeing as he still clearly wanted something from her, and she couldn’t run from her problems just yet, she decided to do the next best thing. Spinning on her heel, Annalise hastened over to the bar, changing her trajectory from the front door. She spared a quick glance at a calendar hanging on an adjacent wall as she ducked down behind the counter, swearing under her breath then searched for the strongest bottle of vodka. She knew Gloria had a special stash of the smooth shit dammit, ugh, where was it?

The dull red glow from the buzzing sign wasn't bright enough to distinguish the labels on the bottles in the darkened bar.

“What on earth are you doing?” Klaus’s voice drifted over to her, she could tell he was amused again. Best keep him like that. Happy Klaus was a non-murderous Klaus. She hoped. Though she had also heard that murder makes him very happy, so this could really go either way.

“What do you think?" She grimaced, going from shelf to shelf behind the bar, feeling her limbs already grow more exhausted by the second. "I’ve just spent around eight months being Gloria's personal battery according to that calendar over there so I think I deserve something strong to wash the stench of that bitch away.” She managed to fit her head into a small compartment to the side under the cash register, squinting into the darkness.

“Are you even old enough?” A dry question came from over the bar, his voice closer than before.

“Is your mum?” she retorted childishly before she paused, eyes wide, letting her head thud against the bar at her stupidity. Shit, she did not just say that to one of the oldest beings to walk the earth.  

There was a pause before an incredulous chuckle took its place somewhere above her.

Right, taking in a deep breath, and grabbing the first bottle of vodka she saw, Annalise stood up sheepishly to find Klaus leaning on the bar, staring at her. Not in a good way, but in an are-you-naturally-this-dumb-or-did-you-hit-your-head-somewhere-really-hard type of way. She flashed him her best smile while grabbing two whisky glasses from the counter and setting them between them.

“Sorry, I tend to put my foot in my mouth so often that I think my feet smell minty fresh,” she winced as she broke the seal on the bottle and started pouring it into the waiting glasses, hers filled dangerously to the brim, “there you go, that’s another example – jeez that’s disgusting, why the ever-loving fuck would I say that-” She kept muttering under her breath, insanely aware he could hear every word and she was just willing herself to stop talking.

Forcing herself to take another bracing breath, and very aware of him still watching her in a bewildered manner, she sat the bottle down and started gulping down the very generous amount she had poured herself; the burn was a welcome feeling, but gosh she forgot how bad it was. 

Choking back a teary cough as she sat the glass down on the counter once more, Annalise accidentally made eye-contact with him. A single eyebrow had raised in judgement. She felt the involuntary urge to defend herself. “What? Yes, okay? I’m old enough, I'm Australian and the legal drinking age is 18 over there." She spoke through the acrid aftertaste of cheap vodka in the back of her throat, pointing to the calendar once more. "Apparently, I just turned 20 two weeks ago. I have eight months' worth of catching up to do.” Feeling the warmth already begin to spread from her gut, she shot him another humourless grin and started refilling her glass unsteadily.

While she did, and the only sound that filled the empty bar was the steady glug-glug-glug of the bottle in her hands, Annalise primly ignored the calculative stare boring into her face and instead chose to look around Gloria’s bar. The moonlight streaming from a solitary curtain-less window illuminated the dark bar fell upon...

...bowls of blood and the hardened wax of candles littering the floor, left over from some dark, voodoo ritual Gloria was known for. The beautiful speakeasy had transformed into a set out of Carrie; The Musical.

Okay, ...this was a red flag. A big one. 

She should really go.  

A glance back at the hybrid revealed he was now frowning down at the bar top in deep thought. He looked strangely harmless, but then again, Gloria had been all warm smiles and free alcohol too. Annalise downed the glass once more, cleared her throat, then nodded awkwardly at the unassuming man with a terrifying, psychotic, and all-round evil past associated with his name.

“So, this has been a hoot – thanks, y’know, for saving me from dying in that depressing room, but not so much for the strangling and the threatening.” Gesturing to her neck with the bottle of vodka that had found its way into her hand, she shot him a flat grin. “That certainly wasn’t ideal, please let’s never repeat that. So, uh…catch ya later gator. This has been real, thanks.”

Silence answered her farewell, so Annalise took the opportunity to make her way out from behind the bar and across the room towards the exit, cursing under her breath when she stumbled against the corner of the very large, bloody table in the centre of the room before continuing. Keeping her eyes trained on the door - her goal - was daunting, all too aware of the danger she was in as his acquisitive gaze drilled holes into her back from where he still sat leaning against the bar. 

She was so, so close to the door. Her hand reach for it - fingertips brushing against the singular structure, all that now lay between her and freedom - but startled when instead, she found herself face-to-chest with the hybrid. Fuck vampire speed.

She scrabbled back quickly in a futile effort to put more distance between them.

In the moonlight slanting in through the window behind her, Annalise realised Klaus finally looked every bit the predator the legends spoke of. His eyes hooded, promising death, and his smile sharper than any Annalise had seen in her life. It was a scheming smirk, a cunning one meant to carve through defences and strike fear into the hearts of his enemies. She felt dread pool in her gut, and the expression 'out of the frying pan, and into the fire' came to mind as he towered over her, tilting his head slightly as if she were some interesting specimen. 

Annalise's feet carried her back further when he spoke.

“You are a witch. You have magic,” He ticked off as he stalked towards her, making up the distance she'd tried to put between them lazily. He knew Annalise had no where to run, even if she did, there was no way she could outrun him - escape him. She hated that he was right, at least for now. 

Still, she matched his steps, moving back as he moved towards her like some deadly dance. Her mouth, dipped into a scowl, resorted to her glib default to hide her discomfort. “You're fifty percent right, and a hundred percent creepy, dude, back up.”

His brow furrowed but he visibly dismissed her words as that of a panicked witch, saying anything to save her own skin. Another step forwards. “I need a witch for the road now that my other witch is apparently otherwise indisposed." Fuck, the back of her bare heel hit the wall as he towered over her threateningly, closing the distance. "You’re coming with me.” 

There was no ceremony as he grabbed her arm again in a bruising grip and promptly started dragging her toward the exit.

“Wait, no, no, wait a minute, oi!”

Annalise initially dug her heels into the polished wood and found no purchase, so she started punching and slapping his hand with her other arm while trying to keep her balance at the fast pace he was walking at. “Hey! I’m talking to you, ever heard of using your words?!” In a last-ditch attempt, she swung around the vodka bottle with her free hand and used it to whack at his arm. 

There. She grinned in satisfaction. That seemed to get his attention.

He looked at her strangely affronted and in slight disbelief before it melted into fury. Her smile dropped. She hadn't wanted that type of attention.

Her arm was jerked, hard, and he was terrifyingly close to her again. “Today has been nothing short of tiring, love, and I’m vexed," He had leaned in, face twisted into such righteous anger that Annalise could almost believe the rumours that he'd struck people dead with a single glance, "so it would be in your best interest to do what I say, or I end you, understood?”

The words building nervously on her tongue died in her throat at the realisation that she wouldn't remain in her current subpar health if she voiced her thoughts. Instead, she schooled her expression tightly. He grit his teeth too, remaining in her space, an intimidation tactic to stare her down. Annalise, heart at her throat, blood rushing loudly in her ears as she clutched her vodka to her chest with her spare hand in a gesture meant to comfort herself, made sure to meet his stare head-on.

" Don't avoid the eyes, honey. You read them, and you understand that you alone can see what they think in that moment. There's power in that realisation. Power that gets you respect." 

Choosing to cast aside that memory grown bitter with time, Annalise furrowed her brows as she took in his expression. She couldn't tell a great deal from Klaus' eyes that wasn't already obvious by the way he seethed almost audibly, But she did know that when she nodded, maintaining eye contact, Klaus relaxed minutely. Despite her dread at being forced to comply with someone else's demands once more, kidnapped, again - it reassured her slightly that complying, for now, seemed to lower Klaus' metaphorical hackles. 

Distractedly, she wondered if he had literal ones. Her stomach felt fuzzy and warm. But no - returning to her current dilemma. Annalise wasn’t nearly rested enough to fight back, and certainly not with one of the oldest Immortals to date - and The Hybrid, at that. She wanted to eat dammit, and sleep, but oh, the world didn’t want her to. Annalise swallowed her resentment, noticing that her balance had become a little more unstable, her mind more foggy, more emotional.

The vodka certainly wasn't doing her any favours.

She refused to tear up, dammit. Standing there barefoot on the cold wood floor eight months after she'd first entered the bar, somehow with less than what meagre amount of hope she'd once had, Annalise found herself standing taller, spitefully. 

This was going to end badly, but as it had been for most her life, Klaus wasn't exactly offering her a choice. 

It's not like she had anything left to lose, or hell, anything better to do, truthfully. 

Klaus smirked to himself, reading her decision on her expression as he amusedly cocked his eyebrow at her. “Good. Keep up!”

Releasing his grip on her, and turning on his heel, he pulled the double glass doors open with a dramatic flair and walked off down the road.

Annalise felt her brow twitch at the sudden whiplash between his anger then frustratingly smug air before jogging to catch up, all while fuming and muttering curses under her breath. She wondered if it was too late to ask him to slow down a little – she had no shoes on, after all, it was the decent thing to do.

Looking back one last time at the sign that hung above the entrance as she half-jogged away, Annalise faltered, before resuming her speed once more.

She remained unaware of the feeling of magic building forebodingly in anticipation. It seemed entirely quiet, the wind stalling completely as the slight woman cursed while trying to catch up to the millennia-old Original as if the Earth itself had held her breath.

~ X ~

Captivity sucked.

But midnight strolls down the cold empty streets of Chicago with literally one of the most dangerous creatures on Earth came a close second.

Annalise was tired to the bone. She was puffing, struggling to keep up with Klaus’s long strides, and hating him for it, to the point that her right brow had begun to twitch. Obviously he wasn't going his full speed - given he could go as fast as the speed of sound or whatever - but her sadly mortal, stiff underused joints were aching, her bare feet stung from the cold concrete pavement she walked on, and her glasses kept slipping down her nose due to being bent slightly at the bridge.

She was having a very not good day. 

It could always be worse though; she’d take this over being trapped and drugged for another hour any day. At least Annalise was outside, able to see the stars shining down on her and feel the freezing wind blow through her hair and through her tattered tee. Feel the ground under her feet. 

Annalise corrected herself. Maybe ‘feel’ had been the wrong word there - she was pretty sure her feet were so numb from the cold that she wouldn't feel it if she walked on legos, or even if a scooter hit her on the shin. 

What she could feel, however, alongside the warm buzz of alcohol keeping the worst of the cold away, was her slowly-collecting magic, thrumming and interacting with the magic dispersed in the Earth. It was familiar, and growing stronger by the minute. It wouldn’t take long at all to give Klaus the slip. No ill will towards the lovely enigmatic guy at all - he'd remained quiet, scheming and brooding for the entire walk. It was just that she valued being alive and she wanted to stay that way, thank you very much.

An abrupt pain erupting on the bridge of her nose where her glasses pressing tightly into it brought her out of her thoughts, making Annalise realise in cold dread that she had walked distractedly face-first into a solid back.

Internally cringing at herself, Annalise stepped backwards silently as if nothing had happened, taking in her surroundings evasively in favour of seeing Klaus' unsurprised and annoyed stare directed at her. They had arrived at one of those warehouses that lined the docks of Chicago; only this one looked abandoned and decidedly empty. This fact was countered immediately by the presence of a large cargo truck parked near one of its garages and the internal lights of the warehouse very clearly being on. 

Klaus let his annoyed stare linger for a few moments longer for her to realise the true weight of his disdain before he then moved towards the entrance, with much more speed and purpose before. She jogged again to catch up, hissing periodically in pain when she stepped on sharp gravel on the foot path before her. Cursing internally once more, she hopped then tried to limp-jog pathetically to the door that Klaus was impatiently holding open. Chivalry really was dead.

Struggling to maintain her own annoyed press to her lips at her internal pun, she crossed the doorway into the building and immediately sighed at the cool - but not freezing - smooth concrete beneath her poor feet. Quite rudely not waiting for her to truly appreciate smooth flooring, Klaus sped off down the narrow corridor faster than before, making her hasten after him. No way was she getting lost in an abandoned Chicago warehouse alone.

Several twists and turns down large hallways later, her eyes widened as he lead them into a large storage room filled with shelves maybe a couple storeys high, all filled to the brim with nondescript brown packages. Her neck craned as she squinted up at the high metal ceilings, but she was then quickly distracted by two distinct voices in conversation, stopping suddenly when Klaus walked around the corner of a large metal shelving unit into the open space that awaited them.

Annalise hung back, peeking around the hybrid at a man and woman, unable to curb her curiosity. Both blonde-haired and conventionally beautiful, the pair looked close, but distrusting of each other at the same time. 

Klaus’ brow was set in a serious frown as his voice echoed through the large room, directed at the pair. “Gloria’s gone. She’s cleared out, possibly dead. I found a new witch.” He gestured vaguely in Annalise’s direction, rolling his eyes when she waved reflexively - before he paused, noticing the tense atmosphere he'd stepped into. “...What’s going on?”

“Something’s wrong." The female spoke up immediately, her youthful face scrunched in suspicion at the man next to her as she glanced back at Klaus. "He was asking about Mikael. He’s not with us, Nik. I can sense it.” Klaus' head tilted scrutinizingly.

“She’s wrong. Klaus-”

CRACK.

The man's vehement denial was cut short as Klaus appeared behind him, snapping his neck with horrifyingly little effort. The dull thud his body made as it hit the concrete ground sounded loud, louder than her heart thudding against her ribs as her breath choked. Shit, shit - Did someone just die?

Images of a young girl, her friend - that feeling of helplessness clawing at her gut as her eyes watered. Blood rushed in her ears loudly, rushing, deafening - she couldn’t breathe- 

"Hey, hey. Look at me.”

Two large hands grabbed her shoulders, steadying her - and she distantly realised had been shaking. Strange. The last two times those hands had been on her, they'd bruised her neck and wrists. Now they felt almost gentle, despite snapping someone's neck only moments prior-

Wrenching herself from his grasp, Annalise heaved, focusing on dragging air into her resisting lungs. The bottle of vodka in her hands dug into her tight hold, too tight. It hurt. When she opened her eyes again - she didn't remember ever closing them - Annalise focused on the cold and impartial blue-green eyes in front of her.

Her breath had evened out as she watched the now familiar small smirk crawl across his lips, and she found herself narrowing her even at him warily. Klaus took this as a cue to move away, back to the blonde girl who she found was watching her disdainfully. Who the hell was she to judge her with a literal dead body laying at her feet? Annalise met her stare squarely, and the blonde's judgement lifted from her expression, along with her brow in interest. She then exchanged a glance with Klaus, looking somewhat curious. Klaus shrugged, his self-satisfied grin widening when he realised Annalise's gaze had caught on the dead body. 

“Did that scare you then, love?" When she looked at him, doing her best to keep her expression blank, Klaus shrugged in a blasé manner. "You’ll find that death follows me quite often. It’s best if you get used to it. ”

Annalise felt her blank expression grow heavy with memory. She was no stranger to death following close at her heels - but it wasn't by choice. The momentary freedom she'd revelled in outside had long disappeared, replaced with the understanding that this was yet another power-hungry predator capable of worse cruelty than she could hope to fathom.

"Nope. I don't think I will, thanks.”

He just smirked wider, probably about to point out some irony in her declaration, but the girl walked towards her, inspecting her disapprovingly from top to bottom as she swayed slightly on the spot. When she spoke, she spoke snobbishly in the same English lilt that Klaus spoke in. 

“So, this is Gloria's replacement?" Her pouty smirk ticked cruelly. "Funny, I imagined someone less drunk, and taller.” 

Immediately, Annalise's lips pressed exaggeratedly in insult, already feeling under-dressed in dirty jeans and a ratty shirt compared to the girl's immaculate blonde curls, simple white shirt, and designer pants. “Dude. Low blow.”

“You don’t say?" The blonde smirked bizarrely similar to Klaus. "It must have been quite low to strike you.” As Annalise moved backward, free hand raised to her heart as though the insult had been a physical blow. The girl looked to Klaus; watching them entertained. “What’s her name then?”

Klaus’s smirk dropped like a stone.  “...I did ask, but she didn't answer - she was a witch Gloria had imprisoned, a convenient resource,” he sounded defensive and gestured wildly at Annalise. “I was distracted-”

“You just waved at all of me-”

“All of her distracted you-”

The blonde’s and Annalise’s eyes met, and Annalise found herself chuckling genuinely at her. The girl seemed surprised at herself that she did the same. Klaus dragged a weary hand down his face.

Wait. Her smile slowly dimmed as what Klaus had just said really sunk into her slow brain. He had called her a convenient resource. He'd managed to reach the assumption that Annalise had to have been something Gloria had deemed indispensable enough to imprison, and siphon. He wasn't going to let her leave without a fight.  

"Well, then?" The girl was still looking at her, arms crossed, so Annalise swallowed roughly. She had no where near enough magic to fight two people, let alone one Original. Her magic was still running on reserves, just barely able to slowly work on the layers of bruises and malnourished muscle. She had to bide her time, a little longer, and she was lucky she had most of a bottle of liquid courage to do it.

“...My name is Annalise, but um, I find it horrifying and pretentious, so not the full thing, ever, yeah?" Despite slurring together some words, Annalise managed to politely extend her hand in the right direction. "Pleased to meet you.”

The girl reached for a shake. "Well, Annie,"

"No," Annalise found herself cutting in abruptly, swallowing at the sudden pain in her chest. "Not that, sorry. Lis. Lissie. That works."

"Right then. Lissie?" The girl had faltered, raising a brow at her before smirking at Annalise's awkward grin. “Not like other witches, are you?"

Annalise snorted. "You don't know the half of it."

"Well, I'm sure you'll fill us in." She shrugged easily. "I’m Rebekah, Nik's sister.”

Nik...meaning Klaus? Right, she should've guessed. Blonde-haired sharing the same accent as Klaus? It was obvious. Wait - crap - that meant she was an Original too.

"Oh...cool."

Hoping to hide how her alcohol-addled mind wanted to scream all the many colourful words in her vocabulary to the stars or rather, the high warehouse ceilings, she ignored the siblings watching her in curious silence as she proceeded to down half of what was left in the mostly empty bottle. 

Her nerves were already long past frayed, and since she had to bide her time until she could build up enough magic to leave - she'd concluded there was absolutely no way she was doing this sober. 

Her strange novelty seemingly having worn off, Klaus busily made his way over to the dead body, using the dead man's hands to pull him up into a sitting position before hauling him over a shoulder - again, effortlessly - into a fireman’s carry and carrying him through the open garage door. Shit. Right. She'd temporarily forgotten about the dead body.

Her face had drained of colour as Klaus deposited the body into the back of the large semi-truck, the alcohol threatening to make its way right back up her throat. Casually returning, the hybrid looked to Rebekah.

“Well? Are you going to help with the coffins or not?”

Rebekah looked back at Lis and sighed as if this were a chore and not like they were talking about coffins-

Had she even heard Klaus right? Coffins?! 

As she watched Klaus walk off in the direction of shelves with coffins just feet away that Annalise hadn't noticed until now, she gaped. How many people had he killed, and why the fuck were they in such expensive frankly lovely-looking mahogany coffins, and why was he packing them into a U-Haul? 

Wait, wait- maybe she was mistaken. Yes, that's right, her fuzzy mind supplied - maybe they were empty. Maybe Klaus managed, like, a funeral parlour. Maybe he made his living selling expensive coffins door-to-door. Like Hi, here I am, the world's most dangerous predator known to man, would you like to purchase what you'd like to be buried in before I rip you to shreds?

A lucrative business, for sure- the idea was enough to make her let out a snort. Rebekah watched her strangely, as she too hefted a coffin easily onto her shoulder. “Hey. How about you make yourself useful and get those?”

Annalise blinked, scratching her neck unsurely. "If we're being honest here, I'm not like- strong right now, in any sense of the word, and like-" she brought her thumb and forefinger together "this much drunk...so I might drop it and scratch up the pretty wood and like it would be super disrespectful to the coffin- people?" She nodded confidently. "Yes. Coffin people." 

Rebekah shook her head, a pretty smile playing on her lips. "No, I meant use, you know, your witchy magic?"

Though woozy, Annalise didn't miss how Klaus had also stopped working – he wanted an answer as well. Lis swallowed, knowing that, drunk as she was, there was no way she was a good enough liar to fool two Originals with their enhanced ears listening in on her stuttering nervous heartbeat. Maybe alcohol hadn't been a super idea. 

“No can do, at least not right now." Annalise started hesitatingly. "Gloria drained me pretty bad before Klaus rescued me, so I'm just uh...running on empty at the moment. Plus, she suppressed my ability to uh, do anything; the lobelia and the other sedatives are still in my system, so uh, the vodka mayy have been a not-great idea." She shrugged. "So uh…no to both questions, I can’t help, nor use witchy magic, as you put it.”

Rebekah lifted a perfect eyebrow in question, focusing on a certain part of her answer. “Nik rescued you?” She sounded unconvinced as he looked back at her brother, who had already moved back to busily push the coffins onto the racks fixed inside the truck.

Annalise shot her a tight-lipped smile, nodding slowly as Rebekah looked back at her. 

“Um…yeah. Gloria had me trapped in a back room for like eight months, draining me. It wasn’t great. And um, then, Klaus found me about a half-hour ago I think?" Annalise looked off into the distance, unaware that she was still talking faintly. "There was no water, no food, and I had no powers; I would've kicked it in a few days. I kinda owe him, I guess." She'd turned to scratching at the label of the bottle in her hands, scowling at it. "Not too much though, he was sort of a dick 'cos he strangled me and then made me walk the frozen streets of Chicago with bare feet. He was mean.”

She had no doubt she looked clearly uncomfortable, but at least she was getting stronger. But, despite this, she found herself remaining rooted in one spot as she spoke, thoughts of escape not as loud as they once were. It was nice, speaking to people again. People who weren't Gloria. She might have convinced herself that she was being honest because of her survival instinct, but maybe she was just sick of having to pick and choose her words. It felt strangely liberating to speak her truth, the cool bottle in her hand enough to egg her on. 

“Um…but he did save me from life-long servitude, so I guess that counts for something. Then again, he just killed a guy and wants me to work for him without really giving me a choice, so I mean he's not like, great, you know?" Rebekah was nodding along, as if she was making perfect sense. "Anyways, I’m just tired and hungry and I’m glad you guys didn’t decide to tie me up cos that’s the deal-breaker at this point. Then again, I really doubt my decision-making capabilities are up to par right now though, so I’m just going with the flow.”

During her little outburst, Klaus had watched her in resigned interest, returning after placing the last coffin with the others in the back of the truck. Rebekah spared a glance at Klaus who just lifted his brows and shrugged in a well-what-can-you-do gesture. “He didn’t kill him you know.” Lis tilted her head at her, blinking tiredly as Rebekah gestured to where Klaus had un-alived the other man. “I mean he did kill him, but he didn’t kill kill him. It takes more than that to kill a vampire.”

"Ohh..." Lis let out a breath, the weight on her shoulders lightening, feeling strangely thankful that the girl had bothered to...reassure her. It was this gratitude that spurred her intoxicated self to divulge something that had been clearly weighing on her mind as she made her mind up, taking a step forwards towards the pair still packing up the last of their belongings. 

“So, uh…for the interest of honesty and y’know, generally staying alive,” Lis started as Klaus and Rebekah moved to face her again - Klaus lifting his eyes to the ceiling as if asking for strength. “I heard you kill people who lie to you, so I stuck with subtle half-truths - you guys didn’t really seem to pick up on my wording, it so like it’s not really my fault that you didn’t understand, so technically I haven’t done anything wrong, like, outright lie to you.”

Klaus' disinterested gaze had sharpened as she rambled, rubbing at her neck, but still managing to keep the oh-so-important eye contact to convey her sincerity. Rebekah was close behind him as the hybrid stalked to her angrily, mouth twisted into an angry scowl.

“What have you been hiding from us, witch?”  He hissed into Annalise's face, making her lean away with a wince, teetering a little unstably. Rebekah looked more inquisitive but wary, nonetheless. 

Here goes. 

“That’s just it,” Lis took in a shuddering deep breath and exhaled weakly. “I’m not a witch.”

Klaus’s glare grew deeper, festering. “What kind of lie is that? You have magic, you said Gloria was stealing it off you. If this is a ploy to get out from working for me I -”

She was waving her free hand in front of her denying his train of thought immediately. “No, no I swear. I can do magic, it’s just that I’m not a witch, I can’t explai-, I just-, it’s a long story.” Lis stumbled, rubbing at the bridge of her nose. Her headache was back. 

“Well, it’s a good thing we’ve got an equally long drive ahead of us.” Annalise recognised Rebekah's oddly chipper tone and look of warning. It seemed she knew of her brother's temperament, and this was her way of talking him down, for his benefit as well as hers. Rebekah didn't smile back - she was still obviously suspicious of what Lis had just revealed, but it seemed Annalise had an unlikely ally looking out for her.

"Right." Klaus nodded at Rebekah, hard gaze still trained suspiciously at Annalise. "Get in, both of you. I think it’s high time we left the windy city far behind us.”

Rebekah nodded in agreement, grabbing the last of her bags and heading in the direction of the truck. Klaus went to go find a guard to presumably tidy up and erase any trace left of them – he was nothing if not resourceful.

Sighing, Annalise went to take a step forwards, wincing at how the warehouse seemed to spin around her. Ugh. Even the smell of vodka was worsening her headache. Well, the high-stress roller-coaster of shock that was the last couple hours certainly hadn't helped either, nor did the sedatives most likely still in her system.

Annalise felt bile rising in her throat and she bent forwards, putting her head between her crouched knees as she tried to breathe – it just felt worse. Fuck, as far as first impressions went, she wondered distantly how many people had puked upon meeting the two immortals.

This wasn't working. She stood up again far too quickly, and immediately felt blood rush from her head. Losing her balance, Annalise felt her knees buckle.

Her precious vodka bottle smashed between her hand and the ground as she reflexively tried to brace herself for her impact with the smooth concrete. Her hand stung, and the last thing she thinks she saw was bright red blood.

Her last thought, however, was how mangled her glasses were going be as the warehouse floor rushed up to meet her. 

Chapter Text

Annalise jostled gently awake to the feeling of low reverberations beneath her, frowning in her sleep when the familiar pain of her arms being tethered to something heavy and painful remained absent. Instead, she felt a constricting band strapped diagonally down her front, her back against something much more comfortable than the metal bed frame that usually dug into her spine. 

She didn’t remember Gloria coming back in to tie her up differently - and sitting her up this time; she must be getting ready to drain her for all she was worth.

...Though...

Annalise could swear she felt the slightest brush of a cold breeze through her hair, fanning her face - laughable, really, considering how stifling her current lodgings were. No, she realised sadly. This was a dream, and the moment she opened her eyes, she would see the musty wooden walls that greeted her every morning without fail. So, keeping her eyes closed, she willed herself to stay asleep for just a little longer. 

“There you are.” A familiar British drawl broke through her thoughts; her eyes snapped open immediately in alarm. "You certainly took your time." 

Her eyes wide darted as she did her best to remain calm, Annalise collected herself, in the passenger seat of what appeared to be a semi-truck. The roar of the engine was muted beneath the cab she sat in - the large windshield before her filled completely with the road stretched out to meet the equally dark horizon illuminated only by the strong beams of light from the truck. Vague shapes of trees and bushland flew past, flashing only briefly in the sparse light of a stray street light.

It was still nighttime, dark, but the speed at which they were driving made everything blur, even the – Oh.

She needed her glasses.

Just the thought had entered her mind, a hand appeared in front of her face, presenting to her a pair of dainty, round glasses, thankfully still intact. 

“Ah...thank you.” Politely nodding as she settled them primly on her nose, Annalise focused back on the road, doing her best to calm her heart beating a mile a minute. So that fever-dream last night, the one where she'd been rescued, then almost immediately indentured to service once more - the one where she'd gotten drunk and passed out in front of arguably the most dangerous supernatural to walk the face of the earth-

SHIT. Well, the moral of the story is that she shouldn't make life-changing decisions when all that's left in her system is bottom-shelf spicy potato water. Annalise cursed the heavens internally, before, more disbelievingly, peeking at her fellow passengers. 

Klaus was watching the road, relaxed in the driver's seat to her left and looking the picture of calm. His window was open, the breeze ruffling through his curls as one elbow was balanced on the door, hand supporting his chin while his other relaxed on his leg, gripping the bottom of the steering wheel lightly. A glance backward revealed Rebekah was spread out comfortably on the smaller back seat, her window also cracked open to a lesser extent. The girl was staring outside, bored, but smirked somewhat challengingly as Annalise turned to look at her.

Lis smiled back briefly, a reflex more than anything, before snapping back around as a large green sign flashed in her periphery. Leaving South Dakota, Welcome to Wyoming! 

A cold chill passed over her. 

They were a long way from Gloria's. 

This was really happening, wasn't it? She was with the nefarious Hybrid and her sister, leaving Chicago far, far behind. Leaving Gloria, and all those horrid memories of her captivity far behind. 

She wasn't free, yes, not completely, not just yet, but the semantics of her current situation couldn't stop the shocked relief building on her expression at the realisation she would never have to see that musty old closet again. She would never have to hear the horrid drip, drip of the leaky pipe in the corner of the room, smell the sickly concoction of watery stew and lobelia ever again- 

Never feel as desolate as she'd done in that small, small room, disconnected from the one thing that had stayed constant, and present her entire life. 

The radio was playing some quiet radio station, so low that the sound of wind rushing past nearly drowned it out. So low, that the weak but steady rush of the magic in her ears sounded as loud as her beating heart.

The nausea was long gone, Annalise found - leaving behind only a dry taste on her tongue, and a relatively bad headache to remember it by - but she was feeling good, better than she had in a long while. Her limbs felt light, her skin, dry and taut and she'd just about forgotten what it felt like to feel normal, but she figured this was quite close to it, and all because of the magic that ran within her.

Now, while that wasn't to say that she was able to tell, or feel for the nature of her magic as she should have. It had been drained for the last eight months, and unused for longer, if she was being honest with herself. She'd been treating it like a stranger for most of her life - something to be wary of and used only when needed. But now, after all this, Annalise was thankful to know it was always present in the background, a quiet strength. If Gloria had been good for one thing - it was that she'd made Lis finally realise even when she was alone, it was all she could depend on.

And it had only taken captivity to make her realise how at home she felt with it. She could be a little thick at times. 

Anyway, life-changing revelations to the side, though unfamiliar to reaching out for her magic within her, it felt thin. Wafty and elusive. Currently pre-occupied with addressing her less than optimal health, months of malnourishment, and dehydration - she didn't have enough of her magic to escape just yet.

Annalise didn't know why that thought didn't strike as much fear into her heart as it should have. 

The almost peaceful ambience that had settled while the two Immortals waited for her to collect herself seemed to have put her at somewhat of a dangerous ease - as Annalise let her head tilt back, savouring the moonlight bathing her as the world flew past beneath her, she wished the silence would last forever. 

Obviously, this meant that Klaus had to break it.

“As you’ve now had plenty of rest,” he reached over once again, this time offering her a bottle of water from behind her seat. She took it eagerly, gulping down half of it in one go, “...and adequately hydrated,” he continued with an unperturbed smirk, “I think it’s time you told us what you meant when you said you weren’t a witch.”

Straight to the juicy stuff then - granted, Annalise figured she may have left a somewhat lasting impression having passed out, drunk, shortly after her somewhat dramatic reveal. She sighed, screwing the lid on the bottle back on slowly, whilst regretting her life choices. “...Like I said, it’s a long story, and it's not pretty.”

“And like I said, we have the time.” Rebekah piped up from the back, shrugging uncaringly when Lis turned to her feeling somewhat betrayed. She'd found herself thinking that Rebekah was the lesser evil, but this was a reminder that she still remained a stranger with concerningly little regard for her safety. "We do still have half the drive left." 

Annalise hesitated, but Klaus' impatience had made a quick return. “Get talking, or we kill you now, and dump your body for the local wildlife to gorge themselves upon.”

"Alright, alright," Annalise swallowed her nerves, thinking through her game plan. She needed to survive before all else, and to do that, well, she needed to be important enough for the hybrid to suffer her presence for a little while longer until she was capable enough to get away - but she couldn't paint herself in a completely useless light, lest he deemed her dead weight and killed her off before getting to wherever they were going. 

So, she needed to not lie, or at least not get caught lying - people who lied to 'Klaus the Unforgiving' generally ended up not-so forgiven and very un-alived, and so in this conversation, she needed to toe the line between revealing enough to justify keeping her around, while also burying the half-truths that mattered in a mountain of nervous babble. 

Yeah, she could do that. She could let her mouth run - let it have free-reign to confuse and weird-out the duo. 

So, with a little more drama than was strictly necessary; “I was born in Australia, to two parents of the witchy variety."

"Oh great," She could practically hear how hard Rebekah rolled her eyes. "You're starting at the beginning."

Paying her no attention, Annalise fished in her mind for memories that she'd long since hidden away. Much like it had taken Gloria's bullshit for her to care about her magic again, it might've concerned anyone else that it took the threat of death for her to delve into her very unresolved trauma - but not Annalise.

No, she was just thankful that her childhood trauma was useful for something other than her very avoidant and emotionally damaged personality. Yay. Maybe if she scarred them enough, they might ask fewer questions. "They were young - met on an exchange program, it was a real meet-cute. Like he held the door for her and she tripped into him kinda meet-cute. Dated for a while, practiced a little magic together-" She winked, then immediately regretted that too.

Annalise balked. "I don't mean- I mean they-  Moving on, they just wanted to be stronger, more in-touch with their mojo as many do, so they moved rurally to my mum's more cult-y coven." Annalise grimaced animatedly. "And I mean, like, cult-y. They lived in this big walled-off compound, had their own neighbourhood with like a large community church where they practiced their magic, and there was like this playground next to the church - which is weird in itself, 'cos like, it was right next to the small graveyard-"

"Relevance." Klaus hissed in warning, gaze flashing dangerously underneath a passing streetlight.

"We'll get to that later," Annalise nodded, dismissing him with a wave of her hand that said patience. She tried not to notice how he looked affronted, then angry - oh she was going to die, wasn't she? "This coven, right? They weren't like a normal witch cult - they were a special witch cult." She threw out jazz fingers - she regretted that too. "They specialised in connective magic – y’know the kind of magic that connects witches together and allows spell casting by channelling a collective pool of available magic. Literally sitting around the fire holding hands and singing kumbaya shit. We literally had a communal fire pit - it was pretty great for s'mores-"

"Tell me, did Gloria also drain away your will to live-" Annalise yelped, ducking when Klaus' hand tried to grip her shoulder in warning. 

"Fine, fine."  She allowed the hybrid to get settled again, before adopting a more serious tone. "My parents were never strong enough on their own, so being a part of the coven meant they felt at one with magic, felt whole, even if, like, my dad had to undergo this really in-depth background check, and like, share things from his previous coven to even be considered a candidate for the cult. In the end, I guess he had something they wanted, 'cos they were both welcomed with open arms. Dad taught at the local school, mum managed their finance or something, and they both learned to be one with their magic." She rolled her eyes. "They told me those were the best years of their life." 

“Then they had me." Okay, maybe she still hadn't gotten over her trauma, judging by the way her voice took on a blank quality- "They were still young and hadn't originally even wanted to try, but the coven was really gunning for it. So much so that their place in the coven was leveraged against them; I guess they were really banking on there being a strong connection between a familial bond and familial magic – like maybe my presence would strengthen the coven’s bond, with nature.” 

Annalise scoffed hatefully- it had been their idea, and they'd left her parents to suffer the consequences. Her. 

Lis felt Rebekah's stare on the back of her head as she shifted, finally straightening in her seat. Klaus had also remained quiet. It seemed she'd finally had their interest. 

So, she continued slowly. “...For a while that was true. I was a prodigal. Apparently, I was doing accidental magic before I was out of diapers, like - once mum told me about how I floated every time I fell. How I never got hurt. I was good at magic. Far too good."

"And everyone knew. It got to the point where every time I practiced, someone flinched. People started talking about how unnatural I was. My parents got the worst of it - everyone believed they'd practically made a deal with the devil. Their lives got worse, and worse. They were moved to the edge of the compound - dad lost his job because parents were too scared to have him around their kids - and obviously mum couldn't be trusted to handle the coven's finances anymore. They rarely let me out of the house in fear that some witches might do anything short of actually burning me at the stake. It continued like that for a couple more years, until I did something that even my parents couldn't ignore." 

"Sunday morning, the entire coven was at church. It was a little rainy, somewhat downcast," Annalise hesitated, vying for time. Just how much should she reveal? And sure, her reluctance to impart anything too personal came from the natural concerns; such as stranger danger, Klaus could kill her, etc...but why was she also feeling shameful at having to make a bad impression on the sibling duo?

She shook herself by the shoulders internally; were her attachment issues really that bad, that she was looking for acceptance from the motherfucking Hybrid killing machine? No, of course that wasn't true, but maybe, just maybe she was sick and tired of being treated like some unnaturally dangerous rabid animal in dire need of being put-down. 

You know what? Fuck him, fuck Gloria, and anyone else that felt like she needed to justify what she was and why she deserved to stay alive. 

Klaus was getting neither more, nor less than he needed to know about her, and he could take it or leave it. Her tone had hardened in resolve. "I was playing outside with my friend, Zoe. She wanted to climb the highest tree she could then just onto the slide. I tried to warn her against it but she said that even if she did fall, I’d be there to catch her." Annalise realised her nails had been digging into her palms with how hard she was clenching her hands. There was a lump in her throat, and her nose stung. "She fell, and I couldn't catch her.”

A haunting scream echoed in her mind - whether it had been hers, or Zoe's she never knew, but either way, it was a sound that plagued the occasional nightmare even after all these years. 

"Your friend- she died?" Rebekah wondered, surprisingly gently, from behind her. 

"No, uh-" Annalise cleared her throat, carefully. "I healed her." 

"You healed her? That's it?" She turned to face the blonde now frowning at her in slight suspicion, her eyes darting to meet Klaus' in the rearview mirror. "It's not unheard of to heal a few broken bones accidentally, especially children born from powerful lines. In fact, I remember how Finn and Ko-"

"You're quite right." Klaus agreed, his growl cutting as he levelled a dark glare toward Annalise. "You're not telling us the whole truth. Consider this your second warning. You won't have a third." 

“Well, I guess, the difference here was that it wasn't just a couple bones she broke. She wasn't doing great. The elders were preparing to read her their version of the last rites. Everyone was giving up. I didn't want to." She took a deep breath, hoping that Klaus wouldn't ask too many questions. "I wanted my friend to live, and I don't know how, but uh...she did." 

Annalise could feel Klaus turn his full attention towards her, and Rebekah lean forwards to grip her seat, knuckles white. "My parents later said my eyes were inhuman, that they glowed. Witch eyes don't glow. The coven elders said that there was no earthly explanation as to what I was. They said I was dark, unnatural. My parents eventually came to think the same before they passed; called me an abomination.”

At this declaration, there was a sharp inhale to her left.

When the silence lingered a little longer, and Rebekah kept looking at Klaus to break it, Annalise didn't find it too surprising when he eventually did. "Your parents- how-" 

"Ah, well - the coven kicked us out - word had spread that I was dark magic personified, so my parents used the last of their savings to migrate to the US instead. Not that it mattered, though. No one took them in." Annalise shrugged. "Magic as a witch, it’s like an extension of your soul. You take that away, and you feel less, like everything's muted. You become this empty shell of what you were." She rubbed at her shoulder in memory of those years, eyes visibly haunted, despite how much she tried to show otherwise in her blank expression.

At least her voice remained level. " They eventually gave into the dark stuff; sacrificial magic, which meant for what it was worth, they were decent people once.”

"Draining vampires worked best, natural enemies of witches, easy weaknesses - you know the deal. I didn't really figure it out until they were too far gone - even after I'd walked in on them draining someone in front of me. I tried to get them to let him go, and they did. They could care less about some stray." Her voice grew strained. "But me, well, I'd ruined their life, hadn't I? And I had magic. Too much magic. I was a much better candidate." 

She swallowed roughly. "Dark spells aren't stable. They didn't survive it. I did." 

She found it almost hard to catch her breath with how heavy the silence had gotten. But it was okay, right? It'd happened long ago.

Nope - trying to logic her trauma away wasn't working but she sure as hell didn't have the time, nor patience to work through her shit. It was all she could do to build a big mother-fucking wall in her mind and hope to hell it lasted long enough for her to escape. 

"How old were you?" 

Rebekah's voice sounded closer to her ear, but Annalise kept her gaze trained on the hypnotising sight of the white lines of the road rushing beneath them. "Eleven." 

"So how did Gloria come to obtain you?" Klaus wondered after a prolonged interval. 

Lis' mood fell lower, if possible, but she didn't let it show. “I grew up in the System, graduated at 17. Somehow managed to get into an apprenticeship program back in Australia. Celebrated my nineteenth birthday."

Those memories were certainly fresher. Her nose stung as she blinked rapidly, miraculously managing to keep the tears at bay. She kept her sentences short, and brief, not having the capacity to wax poetic about her day at college just yet. "Completed a couple degrees, and studied all types of magic, trying to find out why I was the way I was. That was why I came back, to Chicago. I heard there was a powerful mistress of the Occult that I might be able to learn from. That was Gloria. You know the rest.”

Annalise nodded to Klaus almost mindlessly, feeling almost surprised as he nodded back, lips softening from their blank position just incrementally. 

“Well, that was horrifying.” Lis appreciated Rebekah's blunt remark, dredging a dry chuckle from her. 

"Yeah, well, I warned you." She replied in a light-hearted manner, glancing at the hybrid secretively as she relaxed back into her seat - had she really done it? Had she managed to distract the immortal from asking all the right questions while also managing to stay alive? Garner some goodwill?

And why was it that she suddenly felt comfortable in this semi speeding down a highway to god-knows-where with literal coffins in the back, after she'd divulged most of her horrifying life to these absolute strangers? 

Maybe it was because this time, unlike the others - they weren't looking at her differently. 

Instead, it almost felt like they were treating her as if she were on equal footing, and not a prisoner. It was getting harder to remember that she was supposed to be running away.

“Gloria was draining you too...” Klaus wondered softly, almost himself. "So you aren't a witch; you're capable of being drained, you heal unnaturally quick-" Annalise scratched quietly at her recently badly blistered wrist, tracing a slight redness all that was left from her time in captivity as she did her best to remain calm when Klaus was in fact, asking the right questions. "What are you?" 

Well, that was the question that had plagued her entire existence - unfortunately - or rather fortunately in this circumstance, that she didn't have the answer to. "I don't know." 

"Then what makes you special?"

Annalise clenched her teeth, annoyed at the fact that Klaus was so much smarter than the stories made him out to be. She tried to phrase her answer in a manner that didn't reveal too much, again, buried in information that he'd find otherwise useless. "In order to have access to nature’s magic, witches follow its laws and keep its balance – there’s always a price for using magic.” Klaus nodded along impatiently. He knew this. She tried to stay as vague as possible. “That rule doesn't extend to me." 

The quiet sound of some off-beat rap song played in the car, drowned out easily in the wind that howled past as Klaus sped down the long, desolate road. 

This time, Annalise knew better than to hope that Klaus' paranoid curiosity was satiated. 

"You said that you were incapable of magic back in Chicago," Klaus narrowed his eyes fiercely in warning, brimming with the promises of her impending death if she answered wrong. “I predict this means that you are nearly fully recovered from your ordeal, but I do hope you know better than to run.” Klaus’s drawl had that familiar undertone of danger and warning in it.

Annalise took a moment to think out her answer, knowing full well that Klaus had hit the metaphorical nail on the head of her escape plan. Sure, running from an immortal may prove...stupid, when they are motivated and they've got an entire eternity to hunt you down, but Annalise was foolishly confident that she could do it. She could hide from the hybrid, from the world; live as a hermit and eventually, Klaus would lose interest in a girl with vague magical abilities. 

And so, she tried her best to sound convincing, truthful, and sincere. “It might interest you guys to know that currently, you two complete strangers know more about me than anyone else currently alive. I'm alone, and I don't have anyone who cares enough to come after me.” That was a regrettable fact, yes. It was also unavoidable, when death followed her no matter where she went. “Secondly, I know you aren’t gonna let me go any time soon - first I was convenient, and now I'm...interesting." Rebekah smirked at her, her brow quirked.

"Both points make my chances of escape low, hilariously low, but the fact of the matter is I chose this. I chose to bang on that door and let you know that I existed. I chose to live, rather than die in that hole. So, yes, that means that I'm now stuck with yet another arsehole bent on using me for their own means – but I do owe you for getting me out of that hellhole."

Annalise ran a hand through her hair as she grinned somewhat maniacally in disbelief, before turning to him sincerely. "I promise you’ll be the first to know when I feel I’ve fulfilled my gratitude towards you.”

Klaus met her stare dead on, lingering on her expression for longer than she felt safe when hurtling down a long, empty highway in a semi-truck, but when he nodded solemnly and turned back towards the road, Annalise found that she could breathe again. 

Gosh, that had been terrifying.

- X - 

Annalise woke to an insanely sore neck.

Wincing in pain as she straightened from her head sagged into the nook between the headrest and the car door, Annalise stretched her arms out with a large yawn, blinking blearily at the sight before her. 

A small town had appeared while she'd slept - the truck now parked on the side of a large road into a sleepy, picturesque town seeming to wind down for the day. The clock revealed it was already late afternoon. She wondered if this was another pitstop, or if their road trip was finally over. 

Looking around, she realised with more surprise that the cab was empty, and the two immortals were no where to be seen - Lis frowned, hand stalling at the door handle. ...There was no way they'd abandon both her and their precious truck in broad daylight. Not when she was technically their willing prisoner.

Was this a test?

Deciding against stepping out of the vehicle for now, she shut her eyes, reclining further into her seat. Under the guise of falling back asleep, she reached out internally, calling for her magic. 

A buzz began at the tips of her fingertips, spreading gradually around her body until she felt alight, warm, and happy- 

The pain in her neck having already dissipated, Annalise's attention was drawn to the only pain her magic couldn't fully abate; her hunger.

A low growl emanated from her stomach at the reminder complaining of the last watery stew she'd been fed the day before, but still, though she was well rested and had her magic within her reach once more, Lis found herself hesitating. 

Two of the oldest creatures on the planet had accepted her story.

They may not trust it fully, but they did accept it. That meant something to her. They hadn’t shied away from her horrifying past – they hadn’t judged her – that thought made her huff out a pained laugh.

As if they were in any position to judge her past, she hummed. Hell, they might actually be the only people in the world who might finally be able to understand her.

Maybe she was starved for connection, anything at all, and maybe she had imagined Rebekah smiling at her as she'd nodded off to sleep - but something within her felt that leaving now...would be the wrong thing to do. 

Plus...colour her curious.

Now she was further in touch with her magic, and actively seeking it out, she was able to feel Klaus' cargo. Behind them, in the trailer of the semi-truck - Annalise was intrigued to feel several, powerful magical signatures, old ones, that felt like Klaus and Rebekah did. But one coffin, while also feeling ancient, felt...different, like it held more magic. 

Then, of course, there was Klaus himself, conversing with someone a lot weaker than him - that was the vampire he'd killed, Annalise remembered faintly. No doubt she too would've met an equally grisly demised had she not hesitated her escape - even with her under-used magic back on her side, her neck would've snapped like a dry wafer. 

Feeling Rebekah approach too, Annalise kept her eyes shut innocently, waking when the girl knocked at the driver’s side door before climbing up into the seat gracefully and placing a brown paper bag on Annalise's lap. The smell of a hamburger and chips already wafting up into her nose, she was digging into the food before Rebekah could utter a single word.

The immortal let out a little laugh of amusement at her enthusiasm. "One would think you were starved, Lissie!" Annalise slowed her chewing, raising a brow drily. Rebekah had the decency to look a little contrite. "Oh."

Annalise found herself smiling slightly, shaking her head. "No worries." She lifted her bag to the girl. "Thanks for the food, hot chip?"

"No I'm fine, I just filled up myself." Rebekah sat back in the seat with a happy sigh, licking her lips. "The waitress was rather delicious."

"Oh, cool." Annalise sat her food down, before resuming her eating once more. 

Rebekah watched her curiously. "You aren't going to ask if she's alright? Hate me on principle like all you witches do?"

"Well you gotta live, right?"Annalise shrugged, chewing on a chip. "I'd only have a problem with it if you, y'know, hurt them, killed etcetera." 

"How do you know I didn't?" Rebekah tilted her head, blue eyes softening as she watched her think.

"Well, you seem a little more...well-adjusted than your brother." Annalise grinned, one that Rebekah reflected back with surprising ease. "Where is he by the way?" 

“He’s with Stefan, he’s been snapping his neck repeatedly.” Lis winced out of empathy for the vampire.

She stuffed a couple delicious fries into her already full mouth, she questioned again. “And where are we?” 

At this, Rebekah rolled her eyes, before sarcastically sweeping out an arm toward the small town in front of them. “Welcome, my dear Lissie, to the wonderful town of Mystic Falls!”

Chapter Text

A peaceful mood had settled in the front of the truck, filled with the occasional giggle as Lis had taken to teaching Rebekah how to use her new phone. Right now, she was teaching her about the art of taking selfies. 

If someone had told her a year ago that she'd be in the front seat of a semi-for-hire, chumming it up with one of the oldest supernaturals ever to exist, Annalise would've probably laughed herself to an early death. Now she was here, however, she had to admit...it wasn't half bad.

“This is so stupid.” Rebekah giggled trying to angle the phone so she found a position that suited her profile best. "In my day, people painted life-sized portraits of us."

"Weird flex. At least we don't have to be stuck frozen until they're finished for hours on end." Lis retorted glibly when Rebekah changed the angle yet again. “Well, that's at least if you manage to take a selfie sometime today.” Noticing how her new friendly acquaintance's finger had strayed, Annalise manoeuvred herself closer to Rebekah’s side and reached to position the blonde’s finger on the right button. 

Rebekah clucked in annoyance, shoving her away. “No, let me do it, here I’ve nearly got it.”

There was a tell-tale click of a photo being taken and both girls peered closer at the phone to see the result. A burst of laughter escaped Lis, curling away as she muffled her uncontrollable giggle in her hands. “Oh my gosh.”

Rebekah just looked plain insulted. “This makes it look like I have a double chin. I do not have a double chin, Lissie.” The photo had been taken at a very unflattering angle in their miniscule tussle earlier. “How do I get rid of this?” Rebekah had started pressing random buttons at Annalise's chortle, a smile remaining steady on her young face despite her accusing tone.

Annalise decided to give her a break. “Here, here, hand it over,” still giggling, Lis reached over and showed Rebekah the process of deleting a photo. “Taking a selfie isn't hard, Bekah, it's all in the angles.” She threw an arm around Rebekah’s shoulders, pulled her closer, and raised the phone up and slightly to the right. “Say cheese.”

Rebekah’s “Why?” was captured perfectly, but looking at their expressions, it was clear to see Rebekah's eyes had softened in laughter next to Lis, grinning widely.

Annalise found herself growing somewhat sombre as she looked down at the picture, feeling lost. Was she really so emotionally starved that she was bonding with the sister of her kidnapper? Making friends when she could leave Gloria's dark chapter far, far behind instead of waiting for the other shoe to drop? Waiting for the Hybrid's cruel machinations to begin? 

Something was keeping her here, and it certainly wasn't her magic. 

It was back now, more noticeable than ever. Not that she'd given it much thought before her days in college, to be fair, and even then, her studying her own magic had almost been...clinical, her curiosities more anchored in the what was, not what she could do. She'd only just begun to grow familiar with its entire presence before Gloria had happened. Since her, well, Annalise realised just how debilitating being completely disconnected from it had been, and how even the thought of suppressing it now like she'd done for most of her young life, felt like torture.

Now...Annalise was more open to it; more used to actively seeking it out before she dozed off while on the road, utterly fascinated by how so entirely receptive it was to her mood, to how it had healed her well beyond how she'd fared for the better part of the year - her brown skin no longer drawn, pale and bruised. 

No, what truly kept her here was the fact that she'd laid some of the worst parts of her life bare for Klaus and Rebekah to see, and...they hadn't tried to kill her. 

It was both comical and entirely pathetic that the bar was that low - but their easy acceptance had blind-sided her. She hadn't been lying when she said they currently knew her best, and Annalise was tired of running; of pretending to be someone, something else until her powers inevitably outed her and she'd go on to either be used or abused. 

Yes, she didn't know them - Lis wasn't naive enough to think that their curiosity was anything but, but she'd found this road trip nice. 

How fucked up was that?

"What? Is it so horrid that you're lost for words?" Rebekah's teasing lilt cut through her pity party, leaning well into her personal space to grab the phone off her. Smirking softly, she handed it back to Rebekah who immediately raised the phone to her face, squinting at the picture. “...It's not completely terrible.” It was all she could do to manage a wan smile back, one that had Rebekah frowning at her almost immediately. “What is it?” 

"It's nothing," Annalise shook her head, forcing the smile to grow wider then immediately faltering when Rebekah shot a knowing glance her way. The time they'd spent on the road had managed to thaw through her initially distrusting persona, and she'd come to find that Rebekah wasn't as caustic and disinterested as she acted. Annalise tried to pick her words carefully, politely. "It's just- I-I'm having a good time but-"

"Ah. My brother has very little regard for the autonomy of his acquired minions." Rebekah sighed, sitting back in her seat. "Granted, most of the time they either want to kill him or double-cross him, so usually, I have little regard for them too. You, Lis, appear to be the exception." She looked over to Annalise in warning, though as her lips tilted in a genuine smile. "I'm glad to see that you are smart enough to want for neither." 

"Or dumb enough." Annalise rolled her eyes skyward, as she retorted without thinking. "My survival instinct's shot if I want to willingly hang out with you two psychos." 

The vampire laughed abruptly. "What do you mean? You'll want for no better company."  Her laugh rang clear, for a moment longer when Annalise made a face - until it tapered off into a pensive silence. "...Why do you want to stay?" 

"I don't know." Annalise grimaced ruefully, looking away. After a longer moment, she spoke again. "It's not like I've got anything better to do." 

The driver’s side door at Rebekah’s side suddenly opened, interrupting the heavy weight of her admission still lingering in the air, but Klaus didn't spare a glance at Rebekah as she climbed into the back seat. He only paused when a stray heeled foot came dangerously close to kicking Lis' face, and she whacked it away out of reflex.

A snort came from the back and the offending appendage disappeared behind Lis, all while she apathetically met Klaus' stare. A brow raised, then his eyes flicked between the pair contemplatively. Over their shared time in the truck together, Annalise had caught on more than one occasion how he did that - how he studied interactions between Rebekah and herself as his expression tightened. She didn't think he liked the fact that they'd grown somewhat close. 

She was his asset, a prisoner. Someone who couldn't be trusted. 

Annalise studied him right back, still curious as to what her role was here - what exact reason he needed her along.

His expression wiped clean as soon as he realised what she was doing, shaking his head in overtly visible annoyance at Rebekah before making himself comfortable in the driver's seat. This wasn't just them - something else had clearly gotten him into a foul mood, and both girls exchanged a glance, shedding their previously amused grins as they waited for him to speak.

They didn't need to wait long. “Stefan didn’t talk, but he was definitely worried about being back in Mystic Falls; worried for someone else, so I asked around.” He put his seat belt on, prompting everyone else to do the same, his anger practically as palpable as the loud truck roaring to life. “It turns out the doppelgänger is alive."

His declaration seemed significant in the way Rebekah's breath caught, betrayal and anger quick to twist her face into something cruel. The air had shifted - this was no longer a fun road trip that Annalise could fool herself into believing. No, as the truck started down the quietening roads, Annalise watched out of the corner of her eyes as an inhumanely bloodthirsty smirk crawled upon Klaus' lips. "I believe it's high time we pay her and the little Bennett witch a quick visit.”

A simple truth settled heavily across her shoulders as she flattened her lips, turning to stare out the window instead. This was the true reality of what she'd hesitated to run from.

She turned slightly in her seat to put her seat belt on, accidentally locking eyes with Rebekah watching her carefully from the back before she smiled hollowly and looked away. Lis pulled the belt taut around her as they raced down the road, clicking it into the buckle at her side, the action feeling strangely symbolic. Here she was, choosing imprisonment. 

"What you are is, simply put, demonic. You should not exist." The cruel voice echoed around her as she lay on her back on the cold tile, her bruised back painless compared to the hurt and betrayal gouging at her chest. "You will be cleansed. Killed. The balance maintained, for that is our role." 

Lis' tears burned as they dripped down her temple, pooling in the shell of her ear. "Please, I didn't mean to-"

"You don't blame a rabid dog for trying to rip you to shreds, dear. It's all it knows." The woman shrugged as she stood over Annalise's head. "You just put it down." 

...Annalise dispelled the very unwelcome memory from her mind. Her emotions, feelings, moral reasoning - they were all a mess of tangled logic that would drive the most seasoned therapist to alcoholism - but one certain emotion did make itself known, seperate from the rest. 

Determination. 

To prove them they'd been wrong. That she'd been wronged. 

Time to face the music.

~X~

Though outwardly looking slightly on edge as the truck sped through the streets past the more busy, central part of the small town, Annalise was internally freaking the fuck out. I mean, sure, the fact that she was going along with all this, willingly, meant something within her was intrinsically fucking broken - but that aside - Doppelgängers and Bennett witches? This guy was involved in some super niche, yet powerful shit. 

Klaus appeared to never want to do anything by halves, because here he was planning to go after one of the most powerful families to ever exist in the magical community - Bennett Bloodlines dated back to Salem. 

They were traditional magic witches; renowned for their staunch opposition to anything going against the laws of nature, vampires very much included, and with the insane power to back it up. They had the reputation for not playing nice to anything they believed an abomination, so it was one Line she knew to avoid - which begged the question;

“What business do you have with a Bennett witch?”

Klaus glanced at her for breaking the blanket of tense anger that had fallen within the cab before he glanced up at the rear-view mirror to look at Rebekah. Annalise followed, turning too, but Rebekah kept her eyes on Klaus, giving him a tight nod. “She needs to know at least a little if she’s going to be useful, Nik." The girl looked to Lis, the sting of Stefan's betrayal still lingering in her eyes as she studied her quiet curiosity, before nodding to her brother. "I trust her.”

Klaus didn't like that, judging by how the corners of his lips tightened in his warning sneer, but he still turned to her, appraising her suspiciously before reaching some internal conclusion hidden behind his blank eyes. “You know I’m a Hybrid,” Lis raised an exaggerated brow. Klaus turned back to the road, continuing drily. “I wasn’t one until recently. The Original Witch put a curse on me that subdued my werewolf side after I became a vampire, as what I am was considered too powerful to walk the earth. Naturally, I broke it.” Klaus shrugged casually. Lis’ eyes widen slightly in heavily hidden shock.

A curse to subdue an entire part of your identity, no, a curse to stifle a curse already passed through families - a cursed gene - it was unheard of. 

Though no doubt painful and costly, Annalise wondered faintly if Klaus knew of the magnitude of what had happened to him. This-this could be a cure for werewolves. 

“I broke the curse here in Mystic Falls last summer, and I left to go make more hybrids with Stefan.” Again, Annalise kept her questions to herself for the time being; interrupting him felt wrong after he'd listened so closely to her own babbled story, but it seemed Klaus could hear her unspoken question. “Stefan's from here, came with me after I saved his brother’s life. I thought he had nothing but bad memories to live for here, so I granted him a change of scenery." He supplied with a slick grin that meant that what happened wasn't quite as simple or harmless as he'd phrased it. "We eventually found a wolf pack and I fed them my blood, killed them, and waited for them to transition.”

She winced internally at the details but was otherwise unmoved as she rationalised, thinking the process over in her mind. It was basically the same way vampires were created - barbaric, but not news to her. “When the werewolves woke again and they were in transition,” Klaus sighed and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “They went rabid, started to bleed out. I was forced to dispose of them.” 

Her brow raised in surprise - not so much at the macabre nature of the deaths his almost clinical description painted, but moreso at the realisation that those deaths weighed...heavy on his stiff shoulders. His eyes were trained on the road, heavy, and his lips were pressed into a thin line, curling downwards. The success of this had meant a lot to him.

He hadn't killed out of spite - if the wolves had gone rabid, their deaths most likely inevitable due to some magical deficiency. Their deaths had been unnecessary, meaningless, and completely avoidable. His hunt for answers had failed, with a rising kill count to boot. 

She could certainly relate. Her chest grew heavy with bitterness. “I’m sorry that happened. It must have been hard.” 

She cringed immediately.

Trust her to fucking empathise with the baddest bogey monster in the recent history of the supernatural world. In her periphery, the Hybrid remained cold. When her words were silently received for a moment or two longer, and she wasn't hurled out of a moving vehicle in anger - she figured it was safe to continue. “I’m still not sure what role the Bennett played in this.”

“The Bennett witch, love,” he scowled, eyes narrowing into a murderous glare as it focused on some distant memory, “killed my witch and tried to have me killed while trying to save her friend – the doppelgänger.” While doing her best to gloss over the fact that witches under Klaus' employ seemed to die, quickly, Lis tried her best to dredge up what she could remember about the rare phenomenon of magical clones. They had been a magical footnote in a book - their blood a powerful agent used in spells.

“It's recently come to light, that she succeeded." Klaus seethed. "She managed to save the doppelgänger, no doubt ruining my ritual. The Bennett must be the reason behind my recent shortcomings regarding the creation of my hybrids.”

It seemed as though Klaus was itching to kill both the doppelgänger, then the witch for good measure, but even then, Annalise found herself trying to pick apart the anger underlying his muttered threats. While it sounded more like the Hybrid from the stories, she could strangely isolate a somewhat self-righteous betrayal. 

Well, either way, Annalise wasn’t completely psyched at the thought of just standing by and letting Klaus kill anyone, so putting the curiosity she'd developed about the enigma of a man aside, she felt it only right to try talk him out of it. This needed to be done carefully - Klaus felt like a man who took slight at anything ranging from pity to judgement. She couldn't hope to trick him into sparing them either, he was far too smart to be outmanoeuvred. Annalise knew it - so she played for time, tried to keep him talking. Keep him thinking. 

“You still managed to break your curse though, so why do you think that it’s her fault and not some defect of the ritual?”

“Because I did everything right." Klaus snapped. "I killed a vampire and a werewolf, had my witch use their blood to unbind the curse from the moonstone, then I drank the doppelgänger dry. I did everything the spell required. If there was indeed a mistake, it wasn’t on my end.” His frustration was palpable, ready to snap out at her dangerously without a moment's notice - but Annalise had found herself frowning at the man distractedly.

“That doesn’t make sense.” She murmured. 

Her mind felt invigorated as it spun familiarly into the fine art of dissecting spells and curses - a treasured past time of hers in the not-too-distant past before Gloria. Yes, those ingredients, they didn't add up. Maybe she wouldn't have to trick him at all. 

“That doesn’t make sense,” Annalise repeated louder, straightening as she looked to her side confidently. “I mean, the curse, the ingredients - they don’t make sense.” 

“...What do you mean?” Rebekah leaned forwards between the seats curiously, looking at her in much the same manner as Klaus did. This- this, was something she could talk forever about, and if lives depended on it, she could bear the awkwardness later. After all, it did sound like the doppelgänger and the Bennett witch were just trying to save themselves. Klaus' annoyance seemed only superficial at her interruption, also itching to know what she meant as he looked towards her, waiting for her to elaborate.

So, she did. 

“I studied years of magic theory on the side while I was in university, the occult, voodoo, hoodoo, traditional – anything that had been written down. There’s a found and applied science to these spells, the outcome of a spell or a curse literally depends on the magical essence of certain ingredients. Any more magical elements than needed in a spell- or any less – and it compromises the strength and integrity of the entire spell. It could make it weaker, it could explode, heck it might even do nothing.” she took a deep breath, continuing.

“The point is that the vampire and the werewolf sacrifice make sense – combining the two together is a representation of the synergy that you want the two warring species inside you to achieve. The moonstone also makes sense – you said the curse was bound to the moonstone so it makes sense that you need it to unbind it. Those ingredients should theoretically be all that’s needed to break the curse."

Annalise frowned. "The doppelgänger, draining her; that's what doesn’t make sense. Doppelgängers are rare, but they are also insanely low on the magical spectrum – they’re humans with a magical hereditary DNA – that’s literally the only thing special about them.”

Lis sat back in her seat, the sun had set outside and she saw the lights of the shops blinking on in her peripheries as she spoke.

“I don’t know why the Original witch used a doppelgänger as the final ingredient in the ritual – seeing as the ritual and the curse was indeed broken, and you are a Hybrid, I can only assume that the doppelgänger wasn’t an extra ingredient. Otherwise, the spell wouldn’t have broken the curse, and it would've backfired in someway - but you turned successfully. Her miraculous survival isn’t the issue here. You did everything you needed to do. So, I’m willing to bet whatever’s stopping you from creating more hybrids has something to do with whatever the curse used the extra supernatural essence of a dead doppelgänger for.”

Both Immortals watched her in surprised silence, stretching on for an uncomfortably long time before Rebekah let out a sudden bark of laughter, slapping Klaus on the shoulder for good measure. 

“See Nik? I told you she’d be useful.” The smirk in her voice was obvious and oh-so smug as she sat back in her seat, audibly satisfied. Annalise rolled her eyes at the blonde behind her in good nature, before turning back to the hybrid calculatingly. What would he do now that he knew the death of the doppelgänger wasn't necessary?

Would he be what the stories described, and kill them anyway?

For the first time since their meeting, Klaus looked at her thoughtfully, eyes empty of that quiet disdain. In fact, he seemed almost pleasantly surprised as he dipped his head at her somewhat thankfully. “That was indeed very useful, love." He tapped his fingers thoughtfully against the wheel as he turned left at the intersection. "If I got you to sit down with the witch, would you be able to figure out what it is that leftover magic was used for?”

Annalise felt internally pleased with the knowledge that he was not blind to reason. Curiously, he was approaching this with surprising diplomacy. 

She rubbed at her neck; a nervous tick at thought of people's lives hanging in the balance, determined by the success of her gamble. “I guess? I can’t guarantee anything but there are certainly multiple layers to curses I can explore with a little extra information on how she...” her voice trailed off as she looked around to see the truck had pulled up at a local high school. “...What are we doing here?” Her voice wavered, just slightly, at the answer already forming in her mind. 

Surely not. 

Her entire theory on his beneficence went out the window when all he did was wickedly leer at the horror dawning on her expression. 

"Why, we've come to collect my doppelgänger and her troublesome witch, of course." 

~ X ~

To her shame, Annalise had remained faint and frozen in the minutes following Klaus' jovial departure - only barely registering the instructions he'd imparted to his younger sister.

“Stay with Stefan until he wakes up," He'd pointed at Lis with an amused grin, "and I don’t want her running off either. I’ll go in grab the girls and get out. Keep your phone on you.”

Then without anymore fanfare, he'd blurred away into the school. 

Despite it still being somewhat mid-evening, the night that stretched out before her seemed far too dark.

She felt faint. Ill, nauseous, horrified - and stupid. Most of all she felt stupid. 

There she'd been that very morning, enjoying the company of Rebekah, and choosing to stay. Chose to stay with mass-murderers and child-killers out of simple curiosity and a twisted want to figure out why she'd felt an almost kinship to the monster. 

He was going to kill school kids. 

Oh god, she had to stop him. 

Bursting into motion she scrambled to take her seatbelt off, wrenching the heavy door of the semi-open to-

-find Rebekah there, watching her expectantly. Annalise froze in place, one bare foot suspended in fear. 

Regarding her a little longer, Rebekah suddenly grinned. "Finally - I was just coming to get you. Come on, get out, stretch your legs- you've been cooped up in there all day!"

"...Yeah. I'm uh..." She blinked owlishly at the girl, unsure of how to respond to her friendly manner anymore. "I'm...definitely going after him." 

The girl pouted. "But I wanted you to keep me company in the back, please?" 

Lis gaped at her, freaking out more visibly now. "Children, Rebekah, he's going to use kids in some sick sacrificial ritual-" Her voice squeaked in alarm.

"Not pre-teens, Lissie, not even Nik's that devious." The blonde rolled her eyes walking away. "Think of them as mature adolescents. My age. Physically, not literally." Rebekah turned back, unimpressed at how Lis' panicked expression hadn't fully abated. “You need to get used to this. Lives don’t matter to him. That’s just how he is.”

Maybe she could slip off into the school when Rebekah was distracted. Maybe she could use her magic to get around the vampire.

Who was she kidding? She'd used her magic accidentally just once in a fight - it was something that she'd paid for. Dearly. After nearly a year since of captivity, not even her power would be enough to outwit the millennia-old vamp with super reflexes and a long history of killing under her belt. Annalise climbed to the ground, stiffly, landing on the hard gravel with a wince. “I’m going after him.” She repeated herself, looking in the direction he'd disappeared into stubbornly. 

Rebekah huffed and crossed her arms, watching her in disbelief tinted in interest. “You think you can stop him?” She offered Rebekah a shrug, turning away to run towards the school, but the girl blurred into focus before her, her brows raised dubiously. "I'm not supposed to let you leave." 

"And I'm sure you always do exactly what your brother asks you to do." Annalise rolled her eyes, trying to reason with the friendlier immortal. "He's trying to sacrifice teens, Bekah. I can't let him do that." 

"You need to." Rebekah regarded her in slight disappointment. "I thought you understood that when you agreed to stay." 

Annalise spluttered defensively - "I thought I'd have to do the occasional locator spell - maybe give a few vampires headaches-"

"Well then you're naive." The scowl on her face made the pit of guilt gnawing in her stomach worse. "The things we need to do - this life doesn't allow us friends, Annalise, but it sure as hell grants us enemies; enemies that don't stop until they're dead." 

"And then what?" She'd found herself saying righteously. "What happens when people try to avenge their deaths?" 

"We kill them too." Rebekah didn't even pause, snarling. "Our reputation is what protects us - people should know better than to stand in our way." Annalise considered quietly how the vampire fumed, then faltered. "I've tried to be good, Lis. But all that's done us is grant strangers access to hurt us. My mercy has been constantly taken advantage of - it's something Nik considers a liability to this day." A heavy look her way let Annalise know that Klaus had had a conversation with Rebekah about her too. "All that protects us is our cruelty. People understand nothing else."

Annalise found herself stepping back slightly, lost as to how to possibly comfort Rebekah. At her silence, Rebekah huffed, a cold expression passing over her expression.

"You take a step towards the school - Nik's going to find himself needing a new witch. Preferably one who doesn't prattle on as much as you do."

Rebekah spun away towards the back of the truck.

Annalise stood rooted to her spot, frowning before letting herself sag against the cool cab door with a long sigh, breathing in the magic in the air around her.

The manner in which her magic reacted to her inner turmoil was strangely reassuring - comforting. She raised her thin hand to her face, inspecting how her magic buzzed beneath her skin, ready for her to escape at a moment's notice. And she could leave, right now, and never look back...but she didn't want to. She'd been fishing for a reason to stay that didn't make her sound batshit crazy, and it appeared she'd found one. She couldn't leave in good conscience when her leaving would mean that the teen doppelgänger and witch would mostly likely die, or that Rebekah would continue to be an unwilling participant in the legacy of bloody bodies Klaus seemed intent on leaving in his wake. 

People died wherever she went, but now, she was confronted with the idea that using her magic, her knowledge, and know-how to...could save people Klaus wanted dead. This was her chance to atone, to prove to herself that she wasn't cursed, dark, and evil. This-this was what she could choose to do; a purpose she'd been looking for her entire life. 

Before now, her life had felt like a purposeless pursuit of answers she wasn't even truly sure she'd want to know. It was now empty anyway - she selfishly realised she had nothing waiting for her, no one. 

A cold breeze made her shiver and return to reality.

Going around slowly to the open back of the truck, Annalise sighed, leaning her forearms against the floor of the trailer as she looked up at Rebekah, leaning against the wall. "I'm sorry for what you've been through. It sounds shit, and lonely." Rebekah scowled harder, still not looking her way, Annalise rubbed at her nose, and settled her glasses higher upon in. "And you're right - I was being naive, but believe it or not I do want to help." 

"Out of the goodness of your heart?" Rebekah remarked snidely, scoffing in disbelief. "Please." 

"Because I-" Annalise hesitated. "Because cruelty can't protect you forever." At this, Rebekah looked to her blankly. "Friends can." Lis let out an incredulous laugh at herself. "You- you're the first person who's actually treated me like a person since-since forever, and the thought of leaving you behind to deal with Klaus' shit alone makes me feel guilty. How pathetic is that? In fact- I'll tell you a secret-" Rebekah had watched her run on suspiciously. "I can leave, right now. You wouldn't be able to stop me, Klaus wouldn't either," the suspicion grew on the attentive Immortal, "but you, and the well-being of those kids in there - I can't leave. Not without helping first." 

Rebekah watched her silently, Lis' hearty monologue having left her expression blank. "So...you expect me to believe you are staying out of the goodness of your heart?" 

"I-" Annalise froze, the minute shift of a magical signature disturbing her train of thought as she looked towards the figure crumpled in the centre of the container. The vampire who'd betrayed the siblings- Stefan. 

He shifted.

Immediately, Rebekah turned casually to the waking vampire, her back to Annalise as she boredly inspected her nails, waiting for the man to come slowly wake. He groaned in pain as he did, clutching at the back of his neck. 

“Oh, he lives.” Rebekah sounded disappointed, but she smirked vindictively when Stefan whipped up in alarm, looking warily at her and then at Lis - dismissing her easily before moving his attention back to Rebekah.

“What happened?”

Her smirk didn’t falter at Stefan's question; if anything, it grew wider. “You took a beating. My brother’s been breaking your neck all afternoon. Quite the temper.”

“...Why did he bring us back to Mystic Falls?” Stefan was struggling to get up. Lis noticed the slightest tremor in his voice - he was scared. Had he known the doppelgänger was alive? She wondered why he was so invested in the wellbeing of these teens Klaus was hunting. Maybe they were friends. 

Rebekah scoffed loudly. “You can stop playing dumb now. It didn’t take him long to figure out what you’ve been hiding.” Oh. He had known. That explained Klaus' betrayal then. Annalise's lips thinned grimly. She wondered if Stefan held any guilt towards the werewolves that died due to his secret like Klaus still did. Or maybe - he'd found it easy to live with, eased by the knowledge the doppelgänger remained alive.

Stefan's expression fell blank. “I’m not hiding anything. I’ve done everything Klaus asked me to.” Even now, he was trying to keep his secret. Annalise felt sorry for him too. He was protecting people he cared about.

“No, you just failed to mention that the doppelganger’s still alive.” Rebekah crossed her arms, almost daring him to deny it.

He didn't. His frame stiffened. He was going to defend her, at any cost, it appeared. Annalise stepped back hesitantly as his eyes grew dark, furrowed. "Where's Klaus now?" His tone was painfully, dangerously even. He was readying to attack.

Rebekah saw what Annalise saw, but seemed to hate Stefan all the more for it. Her lips curled with vindictive disgust. “With any luck, ripping that cow’s bloody head off.”

Stefan rushed at her no sooner than the hateful words had escaped her mouth, his full body tackle catapulting both vampires clear out of the back of the truck and landing on the gravel car park with a painful skid. He growled as he pinned Rebekah to the ground. “Where is she? Where’s Elena?”

Lis ran to help. “Oi! Quit it!”

When Stefan’s head whipped around to face her, Rebekah used this opportunity to use her strength and rush them back over to the truck, throwing him against it with a bang. Proceeding to punch him while simultaneously grabbing a crowbar from inside the truck, Rebekah hooked it around his neck with a vicious snarl, using it to pull him towards her. “You really love her, don’t you?” 

She was furious, but Annalise saw the hurt reflected in her eyes. The betrayal. Stefan did too, and he looked away. 

Oh. Rebekah loved him - but he loved the girl. Her heart sank as Stefan appeared to resign to his fate as Rebekah's anger grew in his silence.

Faster than she could follow, Rebekah had driven the crowbar into his stomach viciously, then dropped him. Groaning in pain, the vampire died as he slid down the blue truck, back squeaking with blood against the smooth metal of the trailer.

“Consider me jealous.”

Rebekah’s parting words to Stefan burned ice cold. 

Annalise remained silent, watching. She couldn't say she was shocked at this display; the brutality of the Originals was common knowledge after all...but that didn't mean she condoned it either. Her lips pressed into a thin line as she watched Rebekah quickly close the truck, lock it then move towards her, checking her phone. 

She didn't look up as she updated Annalise. "Turns out we're staying a bit longer. There's a werewolf here, and Nik wants to turn him." When Rebekah did finally look up, she instantly stiffened, realising Annalise's gaze was still flicking between her and the temporarily unconscious vampire slumped next to the truck. “What?"

"He was trying to protect her, wasn't he?" Her voice came across evenly.

"Like I said, get used to it.” She hissed, brushing past her and into the school.

Lis frowned but followed closely behind. “He lied to you, distracted you while this...Elena remained alive?” Her willingness to actually understand what had prompted her actions seemed to have mollified the Original, as Rebekah nodded, slowing down just a bit to let Annalise catch up. "You loved him?" 

Rebekah kept her eyes trained forward. "I did. It appears he's moved on." 

Annalise nodded, opting to remain silent. 

~ X ~

Despite the cool school floor being a welcome reprieve for her poor feet as they passed countless lockers down and through corridors seemingly at random, Annalise was starting to get tired. Just as she opened her mouth to attempt making conversation, she quickly shut it when Rebekah raised a single finger to her lips, eyes trained further down the dimly lit corridor. There were echoes of a conversation down, and as they slowly moved closer, she could see a young couple in a loving embrace.

“I’m happy,” the boy murmured while kissing the girl.

Both whipped around at the sound of Rebekah's heels echoing toward them. The vampire approached them confidently, dramatically.

Lis sighed, walking much, much more awkwardly behind the blonde. As she did, Annalise noticed she was strangely solemn. The teens seemed happy, truly happy. She distantly hoped that whatever happened next - that they would survive. 

Maybe they would. She froze incrementally when she reached out for her magic; the pair lighting up on her sixth sense. Judging by the magic they gave off, the girl appeared to be a...vampire - a young one; and the boy felt like a recently turned werewolf.  

Rebekah as always, had the first word. “Well, aren't you two cute?”

“Uh...do we know you?” The girl’s inquisitive but wary voice echoed in the hall, eyes narrowing as she took in Rebekah. 

“You’re Caroline, Elena’s friend, which makes you Tyler. The werewolf.” Fear overtook the boy's face as he realised the girls before them were a threat, and Annalise squashed the urge to grab the teens and run. Werewolf - meaning Klaus intended to give his failed experiment one more go. Annalise couldn't just rescue the teens before her; Klaus might find some other unsuspecting werewolf and kill the doppelgänger and the witch anyway. Lis resigned herself to the idea that all she could do might be to figure out a way to make sure Tyler didn't end up like Klaus's first batch of hybrids. 

Guilt pooled thickly at the back of her throat as she watched Caroline put Tyler behind her defensively. “And who are you?”

Rebekah smirked sharply, raising a brow. “I’m the new girl.” She raised her arms, almost inviting the other blonde, Caroline, to attack her. 

Lis watched Caroline drop into a defensive stance, determination flaring across the rookie vamp's face. She certainly didn't know who or what she was up against, if she thought she could take on one of the oldest vampires in existence. Rebekah would easily mow her down to get to Tyler, and while Tyler's death or un-death may not be preventable, Caroline's certainly was. 

“Wait! Bekah!” The Original vampire paused, giving Lis enough time to raise her hand at Caroline. "Somnum." 

With a twist of her wrist, Caroline crumpled to the ground in a heap. Rebekah blurred around the unconscious girl to grab Tyler’s arm quickly as he called for Caroline, flashing Lis a proud smirk.

“Look at you, so willing to fight for us already. What did you do?” Tyler paused and also looked in her direction, warily watching her as Lis gently pulled Caroline's body to the wall and propped her up in a comfortable position.

"She's just taking a little nap." Tyler calmed, his sharp gaze watching her consideringly as Rebekah's expression expectedly darkened. Her actions had undermined Rebekah's, but she couldn't bring herself to care too much. Lis straightened, passing her a light shrug. “I’m not going to be okay fine hurting kids. Get used to it, yeah?”

Rebekah turned away with a huff, dragging Tyler along and expecting her to follow behind. She sighed, sending one last look at the unconscious Caroline again, before jogging to catch up to the pair.

~ X ~

Lis heard Klaus’s muffled echo long before Rebekah burst through the large double doors at the end of the hallway, dragging a very vocal Tyler close behind her. Annalise entered close behind, but lingered near the entrance, looking around the large school gymnasium they'd found themselves in. 

Plastic cups covered a quarter of the gymnasium, spread out in neurotically straight lines. Colourful streamers, and even toilet paper decorated the rising bleachers. It seemed they had interrupted a school prank of some sort; a fact that sat gloomily with her.

A pair of students stood stock still on the opposite side of the gym. They felt human - not involved in Klaus' sacrificial plan then - but then why was the girl standing incredibly still with one leg raised in the air, and why was the boy begging her not to drop it? Leverage, probably. Compulsion. Shit. 

Annalise tore her eyes away from the sorry sight, for now, instead focusing on the larger group gathered nearer to the door facing Klaus. 

Three teens surrounded the hybrid in question, all watching him in palpable horror. She figured they were who had royally pissed Klaus off, as he had just stopped seething at a small mocha-skinned girl with large eyes and curly hair – definitely a Bennett witch, judging by the power coming off her in waves – and looked up at the commotion of Rebekah hauling a struggling Tyler over.

“Hush now,” Rebekah condescendingly pushed the werewolf to Klaus, glancing at the teens. Her face contorted into a hateful scowl as they landed on the other young girl near Klaus; pale and tall with big eyes and pin-straight brown hair. She felt mostly human, with an aftertaste of magic lingering around her. Was this the doppelgänger then? Elena?

It seemed after her disagreement with Stefan outside, Rebekah held a personal grudge against the girl.

Klaus quirked a lip up when he saw Lis studying everyone from near the large double gymnasium doors, gesturing her over loudly. “Don’t be shy now love, come closer.” Lis took a few more steps in, squarely meeting the gazes of the two girls and the blond boy. Their eyes were darting between her and Rebekah, obviously wary of whoever associated themselves with Klaus. “This here is my new acquaintance. I picked Lissie up in Chicago. Say hello, Lissie.” She managed an awkward smile before Klaus’s hand moved to gesture at Rebekah, “Now, I’d like you all to meet my sister Rebekah. Word of warning…” he smirked, pausing for effect. “She can be quite mean.”

Rebekah rolled her eyes, clearly not amused. “Don’t be an ass.” She pushed Tyler into Klaus' arms - he easily spun the kid into a chokehold. 

“Leave him alone!” The doppelgänger cried out, reaching for Tyler. 

Klaus ignored her yell, watching in amusement as her friends held her back. “I’m going to make this very simple. Every time I attempt to turn a werewolf into a vampire hybrid, they die during the transition. It’s quite horrible actually.”

His voice was casual as he raised his own wrist and bit into it before holding it at Tyler’s mouth and forcing his blood in. The boy struggled, blood smearing over his lips as he did his best to spit out what little had seeped in - it wouldn't matter. He'd ingested enough.

Guilt built in her gut. She knew what happened next. "Klaus-" She started - "Surely we should wait - y'know, until I figure the spell out; increase his chances of surviving this?" 

The glower Klaus levelled her with was darker than the pitch-black night that had descended on them outside. It seemed he didn't like being questioned on his methods publicly.

"It appears that my new associate doesn't appear to understand how to properly motivate anyone, so let me give you an example." Klaus tilted his head towards the two other students in the distant corner of the gym. "You interfere - I will tell the boy to gouge out her eyes. You hurt me, and Rebekah will tear the heart out of uh...Matt here, and no matter how special you think you are, you won't survive. Not if you have a problem with killing things. Us." He smiled at the third student, a blond boy next to the Bennett and Elena. "All it boils down to, is that if what I want doesn't get done, someone is going to pay for your decision." 

Annalise balked, blood draining from her face at the casual manner in which Klaus smirked at her.

Her years of studying magic emptied from her panicked mind in a heartbeat, and she tried and failed to think of a solution where no one died. It wasn't like she had a whole lot of confidence hurling spells at people either - she hadn't ever...practiced her magic outside of-

Her fists clenched in frustration, as the boy struggled in the Hybrid's unrelenting grip. Klaus sneered wider at her silence, now looking directly at the Bennett as he spoke. “Help Lissie find a way to save my hybrids, Bonnie. And for Tyler’s sake, you better hurry.”

He punctuated the end of his sentence by breaking Tyler’s neck with a violent twist, drawing screams of shock from the teens around him.

Annalise's fingernails dug deeper into her palms as Klaus simply turned to her, smiling wide as his eyes sparked cruelly as he studied her reaction. 

She was suddenly awash with the terrifying uncertainty that her captor had received her censored story with such easy acceptance because for him - the nightmare that had been her life, it was nothing compared to the death and destruction he wrought. It wasn't about him seeing her for who she was, it was about him knowing he was so, so much worse. 

Strangely, all that realisation did, was make her want to understand him more – because she’d not told them the details of her life that really mattered. The details that still plagued her nightmares. She hadn’t told them what exactly had made her a monster.

This uncertainty; this need to understand him, then herself by extension, didn't show on her tight expression. No, it was all she could manage to study him right back through narrowed eyes as she thinned her lips. 

The strange need to do something buzzed beneath her skin, that righteous side of her psyche yelled at her to hurl all she could at the dangerous beings that had rescued her, that made their intentions to use her power clear, that endangered high school kids - but she reigned it in, restrained it, because they were powerful too. Smart. Intelligent.  

With her frankly baffling curiosity building as Rebekah and Klaus made their way up into the bleachers, talking in low whispers, Annalise found herself in this strange tug of war between wanting to do the right thing, and selfishly wanting to figure out what made them tick. What made them bad. Why she was bad. 

A muffled sob had her turning slightly to see the blond boy sink to the ground near his now-dead friend, with the doppelgänger and witch crowding around him. The other two kids stood still a couple metres away – the girl's sniffles were echoing through the gymnasium, but they weren't leaving. Annalise guessed they had been compelled not to leave. Fuck. Why the absolute fuck was she still entertaining this shit? Why was she so fucking broken enough to need answers more than removing kids from a potentially fatal situation? 

As she'd stood in place, regretting ever getting involved in this shit because of her incessant need to attach herself to a cause – she knew that what Klaus was doing now - that was just cruelty for the sake of being cruel. This cruelty was how he spread fear, how he made sure he got what he wanted, and how he made sure anyone would see how very futile it was to stand against him.

Annalise turned to glare slightly at Klaus already watching her from the bleachers. Rebekah watched her too, somewhat regrettably, as she whispered to him, no doubt telling him about her act of mercy on the young vampire in the corridor.

Internally, she reigned in her careening ballet train of guilt, regret, and self-loathing balling up and gaining dangerous momentum. Logically, removing the kids now, even if she could, wouldn't help. She needed to help Tyler's transition and she needed to remove the compulsion on the two kids - both tasks she'd need at least a working week to dissect and at least a panel to discuss her spell with. Unfortunately, it looked like she wouldn't have access to either.

Making spells - it wasn't easy. It was a process much like drafting up a legal contract; you needed to think of each loophole, every way this could go wrong, and correct it before it did. Each ingredient not only needed to be considered in relation to each other ingredient, each meant to harness and steer the spell's energy in the right direction. She couldn't do anything rash. Not now. She had to play the long game. 

It was no secret she wanted to clear the red from her ledger, do something that mattered, and save people – that meant she had to stay in Klaus’ favour. It wasn’t like she could just kill him – he’d survived a thousand years' worth of assassination attempts and practically defined the word Immortal. Plus, the actual act of planning a murder and carrying it out seemed nauseating, and no matter how much Rebekah seemed to be annoyed at her brother, Lis was confident enough to bet that she’d react somewhat poorly to his death.

So, killing him was out of the question, totally. Putting him in some sort of magical coma seemed the next best alternative, but she didn’t have the information or means to carry it out. Though magically able, Annalise had nowhere the amount of practice needed to master her frankly formidable power responsible for so many of the bad things that had happened in her life. Maybe a coma might be feasible in the long run, but for now – she had to bend his rules and toe the line between doing enough good to make a difference, while also not completely disregarding his authority.

His smirk quirked in amusement when she maintained her glare, as if noticing her grim realisation that she was morally bound to work within his rules - then tilted his head at the teens crowding the currently dead werewolf on the floor, as if saying Well, go on then. You should get to work if you want him to live. 

Rolling her eyes at his immature dig at her need to do good, Annalise walked over to the crowd, just as the boy - Matt, spoke in a mixture of grief and disbelief as he touched his friend's cold shoulder. “He-He killed him.”

“He didn’t.” Lis stepped up to them slowly, putting her hands up in a placating gesture when all three teens turned to her hatefully. “Hey, I’m sorry about your friend. I really am.” Annalise dropped to join them, sitting cross-legged on the ground. Their eyes followed her closely as she continued. “I’m new to this; and I certainly didn't sign up to see kids get hurt, so how about we work together, yeah?” She knew Klaus and Rebekah were paying close attention to what she was saying, but she was now committed to her role in making sure no one else died on her watch. She wasn't going to censor herself on their account. “He isn't dead, he's in transition. It's up to us to make sure he survives it." They straightened as Lis elaborated. "Klaus’s blood is turning him into a werewolf-vampire hybrid as we speak. So far, his attempts haven't been uh...successful.” She looked up at the tall girl with straight hair, “You’re the doppelgänger, Elena, right?” The girl in question nodded slightly. Annalise moved on to the smaller girl radiating magic potential. “And you’re the Bennett witch?”

The young witch’s glare was still severe as she nodded too. “Bonnie. Who are you?”

“I’m Annalise. Lissie." Lis pressed her glasses further up her nose, passing her a polite smile. "Consider me someone pretty well-versed in the art of magic theory. I can help you figure out a way to keep your friends alive.”

"Friends?" Matt looked at her in confusion.

Annalise awkwardly stalled as she tried to explain. “I don't know if it's news to you, but Klaus currently also wants to kill Elena because she wasn't supposed to survive the ritual. But, uh...I have a theory that Elena being alive isn’t what’s causing the hybrids to die in transition, and that's kinda what's keeping Klaus from killing her. It’s a long story, but I need your help if you have any information regarding the curse, and what you used to keep her alive.” She directed her question at the witch as she ended her statement.

Bonnie narrowed her eyes. “How can we trust you?”

“I guess you can’t, not really." Lis clicked her tongue. "I'm here because I want to help, but at the end of the day I can't- I can't predict what he'd do if I just-" She struggled to word the complicated situation she'd made for herself. "I'm here to offer alternatives, reduce the fallout, and make sure there’s no collateral damage.”

"Well, that sounds like the easy way out." Bonnie narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Why are you with them?" 

"Look, I'm trying to help you here-" Annalise snapped defensively at this teen witch attacking her character. 

"She's right, Bon." Elena interrupted her friend, turning hastily to her as if worried she might just rescind her offer of help. "Thanks, uh…Lissie.”

“No that’s not what I mea-” Annalise shook her head awkwardly, feeling like she was somehow leveraging her help for their understanding. That wasn’t what was happening. “You have every right to be suspicious, but right now, we all want the same thing.” She just hadn't expected to be called out on her choices quite so immediately, but she figured immediate suspicion and judgement was a fair price to pay when you choose to hang around immortals without a moral compass. “It’s best we get started as soon as possible.”

Bonnie seemed to appreciate the honesty as she nodded back, still lingering even as she nodded grudgingly. With her acceptance, Elena and the boy exchanged a glance seeming to fold a little easier. 

Annalise nodded back, relieved to have their cooperation. “Right, great. First things first; how exactly did you save Elena?”

"Well, I don't think the answer is in how she survived." Bonnie offered uncertainly. "I didn't mess with the ritual itself, but I did use my Ancestor's spell to bind Elena's father's life force to hers." The witch glanced at her friend's downcast expression in concern.

"…That would have-" Annalise took a moment, then shook her head, turning to Elena sympathetically. "I'm sorry for your loss." Elena blinked, passing her a short nod. Annalise turned back to Bonnie, frowning thoughtfully. "I agree with you. That spell's familial magic wouldn't have interfered with that of the curse. It called for Elena’s life, and seeing as both Elena’s blood and a life was offered in exchange – it didn’t really matter whether they were from the same person.”  She quirked a brow at the witch. “Not a lot of people could pull that spell off. The Bennett blood runs strong in you." Bonnie straightened proudly. That had clearly meant a great deal to the young girl. Lis pursed her lips,  continuing. “As horrible as it is to say – lives are easy currencies in spells – all they do is help power it. What needs to be specific is the soul or essence." 

Bonnie had leaned forwards, intrigued during her mini monologue. “Wait - so you’re telling me that we can substitute lives here? Why isn’t familial magic used more often to substitute for other spells?”

“Because there is a thin line between a willing sacrifice and an unwilling one.” Annalise raised a slow brow. “It’s dangerously close to sacrificial magic – and that, little Bennett, is as dark as it gets.” Her grim warning remained in the air until she sighed, speaking more to herself. "So we've confirmed the life exchanged wasn’t the issue here," Annalise tapped her fingers, wishing distractedly she had a book to scribble her thoughts in. “My hunch was right- we just need to figure out what Elena’s blood was used for. Specifically.”

A thud echoed around the empty courts as Klaus jumped down from the bleachers lazily with a smile that seemed more threatening than bright as he approached them. Rebekah wasn’t far behind him.

"Well, now it seems we're on the same page." He turned to Annalise. "What do you need to figure it out?"

"Technically speaking? A drop of Elena's blood, a drop of yours, and the curse word for word in its entirety, and the uh...full moon," Annalise rolled her eyes at Klaus, "except it seems we're running on a time limit which is both impractical and completely arbitrary seeing as this kid's about to die if we don't figure this out in the next hour or so."

Klaus watched her silently, eyes somewhat narrowed in warning once more - but flicked to Bonnie when she spoke up somewhat stiffly. 

"I think- I think I saw something in my grandmother's grimoire that might be useful." 

"There, that's how you offer a solution." Klaus smiled unfeelingly at the young witch. "Go on Bonnie, go and fetch your enchantments and grimoires and what-not and return. I’ll hold on to Elena here, for safe keeping.” Elena managed to smile at Bonnie in reassurance as Klaus grabbed her arm - surprisingly Bonnie glanced back towards Lis, a silent plea clear in her eyes.

Keep her safe. Lis flashed her a tight-lipped smile as she stood, to which the girl nodded.

Bonnie left with Matt, letting the doors shut loudly behind them.

Not letting her gaze linger too long on the sound that echoed through the gymnasium forebodingly, Annalise turned back to see Rebekah coming up to Elena, leaning in to study the nervous teen closely, smirking wickedly. “So this is the latest doppelgänger.” Rebekah leaned back, cruel and unimpressed. “The original one was much prettier.”

Lis couldn't help but feel somewhat entertained as she watched on, remembering Rebekah insulting her height when they first met - she found it comforting to know the blonde spoke her mind - unlike her brother.

Her attention flicked briefly over to Klaus, who was surprisingly watching Rebekah's fun with his own amused smile playing on his dimpled cheeks, the sight a stark contradiction to only moments prior when his flinty glower was watching her in warning. He was a walking contradiction - known to be a killer, but here he was, looking the picture of innocence. Known to be cruel but he mourned the lives of his failed hybrids. Known to be as fickle and as short-tempered as providence itself but she'd seen him respond to logic and reasoning. A fucking enigma. 

There was more to him, and Annalise found herself determined to get to the bottom of it. If she could understand him, see what made him tick - maybe she could figure out what was wrong with herself. 

“Enough Rebekah." Klaus' tone was still light as he gestured his sister away, "Take the wolf boy elsewhere, would you?”

Rebekah sighed, visibly put out now that her fun had ended - but still moved silently over to where Tyler was laying lifelessly, before grabbing a limp arm and using it to drag him along the floor petulantly. She had wrenched one of the large doors open and dragged Tyler's dead body halfway through before the vampire stopped, turning to look inquisitively at Annalise still rooted to her position at Elena's other side. "Well?" 

"I'm afraid she's otherwise going to be predisposed," Klaus tilted his head somewhat mockingly, "you know? Completing the very thing I acquired her for? She's proven herself a little more useful than a plaything for you to amuse yourself with." 

Rebekah rolled her eyes, scoffing as she let the door shut behind her - Lis winced as she thought she saw the door hit Tyler's head on the way out. 

Klaus leaned to whisper in Elena’s ear. “Just ignore her; petty little thing.” 

"Says you." Annalise couldn't help the incredulous chuckle that escaped her - when Klaus turned to her, brows raised as if he hadn't understood the irony of what he'd just complained of, she shot him a derisively thin smile. "What? You trying to convince me that the all-powerful hybrid keeping kids hostage just because his little sacrificial curse didn't end up granting him the narcissistic ability to make more people in his image isn't the pettiest thing you've ever heard?" Klaus straightened, brow flicking up in challenge, stepping towards her in an effort to intimidate. She shrugged in reply, meeting his growing glare with one of her own. "What? Am I wrong? Like what the heck is your endgame here mate? How many children do you need to put in danger just so you feel special?" 

His brows were high and amused, but the more he glared at her, the heavier the silence felt.

Elena looked between them through her eyelashes, quietly analysing the strange dynamic they'd found themselves in.

Klaus broke the stand-off by leering wider, turning to the two human students behind him. "Relax, loves. At least for now." 

The girl put down her shaking foot with an abrupt whimper, collapsing into the boy's arms with a horrifying, gut-wrenching, sob of fear. She watched, fingers curling and un-curling into fists at her side, knowing that she wouldn't be able to reassure them - not really. Thankfully, Elena was quick to run to the pair without any repercussions - her lips fell into a grim line as her words of encouragement did nothing to ease the gasped, muffled sobs of the two teens sobbing into each other's arms. 

They didn't deserve this. 

With nothing else to do but wait until Bonnie returned, Annalise moved to the bleachers, sitting at the lowest level with a sigh of exhaustion before pulling one foot into her lap and kneading away some of the sore muscle while magicking away the dust and dirt on her sole. 

Klaus made his way over too, and sat down next to her, glancing down at the foot she was massaging. Lis didn't miss his lip quirk down in disgust. Good; this is his fault, so she hoped he was uncomfortable.

"You're spirited." When he spoke, he leaned back against the rising stair behind them, arms spread - one dangerously close to her neck, as he spoke lowly. “I don’t expect you to be okay with what I do, frankly I don’t care what you think about it. You're smart too - which is why I'm sure you see the sense in obeying me when I say,” his bright blue-green eyes looked almost black in the dim light, promising danger when they finally met hers- “Don’t get in my way.”

"Oh, come off it." Annalise drawled drily, her accent slightly more prominent. Klaus' watched her in warning. Pressing her lips together as she regarded him dourly, she put together a somewhat more intelligent answer. "I get that you want this curse-business sorted, and I'm ready to help you with that." Annalise didn't want to antagonise him further, but she didn't want to think she was going to stand down either. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to be okay with you going on killing sprees when they are completely obsolete." 

"You question my methods. You'll learn not to." Klaus looked away again, but his threatening words still carried. “I've killed witches for less.”

"Good thing I'm not a witch then." Annalise said, with all the bravado she didn't have, before moving her attention back to her feet. 

~ X ~

It took another half-hour before anything changed.

Annalise had even begun to boredly count the number of cups littering the shiny wooden floors of the school gymnasium - 108, 109, 110, 110, wait, she miscounted- 111? 112, 113...

The doors of the gym clicked open slowly, revealing Stefan stepping cautiously in. His eyes travelled the expanse of the gym, glancing shortly over Elena and the two others, her, before training on Klaus almost immediately. Lis raised a brow when he didn't even spare a glance at the girl he loved. Well...this was so fucking transparent Annalise struggled to outwardly roll her eyes.

"...Stefan?" Even as Elena stood up and called his name, his eyes didn’t falter as he approached Klaus almost reverently. 

“Klaus.”

The hybrid leaned his elbows on his knees. “Come to save your damsel, mate?” Klaus’ tone bordered on a low snarl, and Lis was sure that he'd seen through this act faster than she had as his hooded gaze was trained carefully on the tall man. Annalise wondered exactly what had happened between the two men for Klaus to feel so betrayed.

“I came to ask for your forgiveness." Stefan walked closer to Klaus, his gaze wide and pleading. "And pledge my loyalty.” Elena let out a sound of hurt confusion in the background. Seemed she hadn't clued into the act just yet. 

“Well, you broke that pledge once already.” Klaus dismissed him easily, playing along.

“Elena means nothing to me anymore.” Stefan was quick to reassure Klaus, going so far as to glance coldly at a distraught Elena before turning back to meet Klaus’s now amused gaze. “And whatever you ask of me, I will do.”

Klaus stared at Stefan for a long moment before smirking. He stood and stepped casually off the bleachers and onto the polished court, approaching the two cowering kids in the middle of the gymnasium with practically a jaunt in his step.

“Fair enough. Let’s drink on it.”

Nope - no. Not on her watch.

Lis got up quickly, avoiding Stefan’s curious gaze and running around Klaus to Elena’s side. She pressed him back, away from the children. “Nope, nope, what the fuck do you -”

A single warning finger came up to silence her as he turned around to face Stefan. “Kill them.” Klaus gestured at the horrified kids on the ground with all the casual-ness of pointing at an anthill to be kicked in. “What are you waiting for? Kill them.”

“No! Stefan, don’t," Elena’s head was already shaking, trying to reassure her boyfriend, "he’s not going to hurt me. He already said-”

Lis felt Klaus’s whack before she even registered it was coming – she had moved in the way of his anger toward the young girl before she had even thought about it. She felt herself fly back into soft arms, her vision going white as she sagged. 

Her ears were rung with static as she tried to straighten - blinking to prompt her swimming vision back into focus.

When Annalise did open her eyes again, she saw a blurry view of Elena on the ground next to her, cradling her head. The young girl was looking away, distracted by the sounds of a nearby fight, but looked back at Lis as she started to sit up with a groan. She appeared relieved to see Lis had recovered, immediately pressing her glasses into her hand. They'd flown off in the assault. Giving her a small smile of gratitude, Lis got to her feet, pushing her throbbing cheek and the strange crick in the back of her neck as she slid her glasses on.

Wait - her vision was still a bit distorted. Goddamnit. One of her lenses had cracked.

Now appropriately seething in anger Lis positioned herself slightly in front of Elena.

“She means nothing to you?!" His eyes were boring deep into Stefan's own as he growled having managed to hold Stefan up off the ground in a chokehold in her brief time out of action. The sound of Stefan's feet scrabbling for purchase on the polished wooden floors had her stomach turning, rubbing unconsciously at her own neck. "Your lies just keep piling up.” Klaus had strangely begun to sound betrayed, hurt, even. She wasn't sure. 

"No, please," Stefan was much easier to read. He was clearly desperate, losing hope, having resorted to begging with fearful eyes. “Let her go! I’ll do whatever you want, you have my word.”

Something worse flickered over the hybrid's expression - and weirdly enough, it was an ugly, complicated emotion she knew well. It was an emotion that gathered deep in your gut at the knowledge that you weren't considered their friend; you were never considered their friend. The feeling that you weren't worthy of their friendship in the first place, and that it had been completely conditional on something out of your control. If they'd felt the need to beg for understanding that you'd offered so readily throughout their time together, they didn't know you at all, did they? 

Klaus' expression had fallen chillingly blank. “Your word doesn’t mean much. I lived by your word all summer, during which time I never had to resort to this…” Klaus uttered lowly. With each word he enunciated, he squeezed Stefan’s throat tighter and tighter. Choked gasps filled echoed around them.

He was going to kill him.

"Klaus, let him go." Annalise had found her voice, hard and concrete, as she approached the man. "This doesn't help anything." 

He looked to her, still quiet, and unpredictably seething. "It helps show you what happens to those who don't do what I say." Klaus' eyes flashed as sharp as a whip. "Be warned, Lissie, this is what happens when you get in my way." He tilted his head in thought before a cruel smile spread up his lips. "But you're right, this doesn't help anything. Not when there's a better way to really let the message...sink in."

He brought Stefan’s head closer and looked deeper into his eyes even as the blond man tried his best to close his bulging eyes.

Elena grasped her arm in alarm and squeezed in clear distress trying to get past her, but Annalise held her back. Getting involved would only get you hurt. This was a personal grudge now, she understood that. Hell, she'd even be okay admitting she empathised with it. 

At least it didn't look like Klaus was going to kill him anymore.

She steeled her spine and watched with hard eyes as Klaus started to take someone’s free will away. 

“Stop fighting.”

“Don’t do this," the broken whisper desperately fell from Stefan’s lips like some hopeless prayer, "please, don’t do this.” 

Klaus appeared affronted. “I didn’t want to. All I wanted was your allegiance." The cruel light to his expression grew prominent. "Now I’m going to have to take it.”

“Don’t, don’t-” Stefan’s eyes were wide, horrified, and hopeless as his hands clutched at the arm squeezing his neck.

Klaus continued, glaring lasers into the vampire struggling for his life in his grip. “You will do exactly as I say when I say it. You will not run, you will not hide, you will simply just obey.”

The unnatural manner in which Stefan's limbs had begun to jerk fell still all of a sudden, his fight draining.

Satisfied with his compulsion, Klaus let the young man go, making no effort to move away as he regarded closely how Stefan's eyes had grown cloudy and unfocused.

"No." A broken gasp was muffled in her hand as Elena staggered back in horror. “No. Stefan.”

Lis turned, holding the girl's hand to her to offer her even the smallest semblance of comfort. At least now it was over. 

“Now, kill them, Ripper.” The Hybrid whispered the last word, but it sounded deafening in the silence as he gestured at the trembling children on the ground. 

The reaction was immediate. Black veins crawled up Stefan’s cheeks and bled bright red into his dark hungry eyes as they focused on the petrified teenagers. He flexed his jaw as if in preparation.

Her heart sunk to her feet, weighed with stone. 

Something within her churned within her. Something that had her feeling nauseous but determined all at once. Anticipation ticked at her fingertips; her magic was itching to act-

And all Annalise felt, was clarity. For the last two days, going from a shitty situation to the next she'd struggled to find a foothold on who she was - but anger had a strange way of defining her own boundaries. Her limits. Her cheek still smarting, she felt downright vindictive. 

The moment Stefan blurred, she'd instinctually flung her hands in his direction - but Klaus appeared before her in the blink of an eye, as if expecting her resistance. That served him just as well though - because most of her tumultuous emotion, all complex and matted with no beginning and no end - exploded from her hands. 

Her magic whipped the hybrid away as fast as he'd appeared, catapulting him into the far wall with a satisfying wall-shaking thud.

When she'd looked back at Stefan, his twisted face was buried in the other young girl’s neck, her tear tracks dried on her face as she lay limp. 

Each second she hesitated counted for another strong pull of blood from the girl's neck, so keeping it basic, she raised her other arm, freezing Stefan in place. "Sisto!"

Stefan's jaw was still locked on the girl. There was no way she could risk throwing Stefan the same way she had done Klaus – that would probably cause fatal damage to the girl's neck.

Untangling her hand from Elena’s, Annalise ran to the girl, still slowly bleeding out, before carefully detaching her from Stefan’s gaping maw. She then hauled the young girl’s body a safe distance away from Stefan and laid both her palms on the sides of the girl's neck. In the background, she heard the clattering of stone and brick as Klaus brushed off the dust and pieces of wall sticking to his shoulders.

Annalise made sure not to lose concentration on the spell keeping Stefan frozen and tried to ignore the heavy, crunching footsteps of the angry hybrid coming her way.

Drawing on the same magic that had once healed her childhood friend, she shut her eyes tight and felt for the girl’s life. It was weak, thready, slipping through her fingers rapidly. Bracing herself, she willed it to be stronger, to resist the pull and forced the girl’s life back into her body, channeling her magic and reaching for that familiar tug.

"You are so fucking unnatural you make me nauseous." Her father's voice was lilting, bordering on manic as he hissed in her ear. "You know what? Sometimes-, sometimes, I think you drain us, you drain our happiness to fuel your spells. A walking, talking curse."

Annalise pushed, feeling tears drip down her cheeks as she gritted her teeth, pulling, pulling, pulling-

A heartbeat began again under her white palms pushing against the girl's chest almost painfully. It felt weak at first, but the more Annalise finally breathed again, steadying her own racing heart, she focused on how the beat steadily grew louder.

All that remained was that heartbeat growing faster to match her slowing one, until both beat in strange, relieving sync. That was all that existed in that current moment; the warm waves of her magic pulsing like rays of sun around them. The doubt in the back of her mind that this, shouldn't be possible. That this warmth and comfort and completely natural feeling of nudging the teen's soul to heal was at its core...unmentionably evil. Right?

No, because how it be? How could she feel so right using it unless she was also, inherently, evil? 

Sniffling slightly, her eyes fluttered open. 

The hybrid's startlingly green eyes remained a couple inches from her face, staring at her, amazement stifled by a great deal more of annoyance.

Lis jerked backward, startled.

"Gah, what the fuck."  

Chapter Text

“Gah, what the fuck!”

In the same second Lis startled, falling back, she lost her concentration. Her magic holding Stefan frozen released.

Still fuelled by his compulsion to kill, Stefan released from his position like a spring compressed to its fullest, blurring into a simple displacement of air straight at the other teen, the boy, standing petrified staring at the girl still laying unconscious on the gymnasium floor. 

He'd barely even managed to turn his head fully before Stefan had set upon him with a chilling snarl. 

The boy screamed, his efforts to even stumble compromised in less than a second as Stefan seized him by the shoulder - face upturned, his fangs on display as he went to sink his teeth into soft neck.

“No!”

Her magic burst from her hand on pure instinct, her wrist jerking at the same time Stefan's head snapped unnaturally to the side.

Stefan fell to the ground with the boy, limp. His was neck angled awkwardly indicating his temporary death, a strange protrusion having appeared gruesomely on the back.

The boy screamed, scrambling out of Stefan's lax grip, eyes bulging and terrified out of his mind.

Annalise was having trouble catching her breath herself as her wide, unseeing eyes remained fixed on the nauseating sight, remembering the moment back at the warehouse in Chicago when Klaus had snapped his neck with equal ease. The violent crack echoed around the gymnasium much like it had back then. She felt herself start to panic again, her heart racing, her hand, trembling for being the one responsible for his temporary death this time, but forcefully swallowed the lump in her throat as she turned her head to face her audience. Eyes watched her. She felt exposed. Evil. 

Putting her focus into straightening from her fallen position on the floor, she turned robotically. 

Elena and Klaus were watching her, their expressions contrasting. Where Elena watched her horrified, ashen, her shaking pale hands cupped over her mouth; Klaus watched her with a brightness to his eyes. A spark of interest. Like someone who'd been pleasantly surprised. 

Annalise let out a steadying exhale. Of course, her easy capacity for violence would fascinate the mass murderer.

Her adrenaline was now slowly leaving her system - she noticed the compression of anxiety like a band across her chest as she tried to take stock of the situation, and figure out what to do next. A ragged breath that wasn't hers remained the only sound in the silence.

Right, the boy. She gestured to the petrified teen to come over.

He approached hesitantly, not out of trust, but out of the glassy sheen of fear reflected in his eyes at how easily she had brought death to someone. 

Same, kid. Same.

His legs shook as he neared, falling to his knees near the girl still situated in Annalise's lap. He wouldn't meet her eyes. Macabrely enough, he reminded her of the little, quivering hamster one of her foster home girls had found. She remembered how it had twitched in her hands, how she'd felt its heartbeat rapidly against her fingertips. It had died the following week after a strong gust of wind had closed a door, loudly.

Deciding any words of comfort she could even begin to form wouldn't do anything to help the boy, Annalise's own breath trembled slightly as she moved her focus back to her previous task of healing the girl in her lap. "Sana." The boy's breath hitched, drawn to the sight of Lis' glowing hands around the girl's neck before he leaned closer and watched the skin knit back together effortlessly. He seemed to be breathing easier. 

Feeling the weight of the boy's unasked question, she looked up at him with a smile as reassuring as she make it. "She'll be fine."

She would be. The last of the wound stitched together, Annalise gently set the girl's head back on the ground. Immediately, the boy grabbed the girl's hand tightly, his knuckles whitening. Ignoring how Klaus and Elena had neared her once more, Lis placed a flat palm on the unconscious girl’s forehead and murmured under her breath. “Surgo.”

The girl shot up, gasping loudly, before collapsing immediately into her friend's hold. Her heaving sobs and the boy's low words of reassurance echoed through the empty court as Annalise backed away stiffly. Something within her felt sore. Hurt.

Her movement drew the boy's attention - looking at her, then Elena and Klaus in anger now. Annalise distantly wondered what he thought was happening here, what his explanation for tonight was. Either way, his weak glare directed at Klaus, then at Stefan still collapsed on the floor showed he wasn't forgetting anytime soon. 

When Annalise looked at Klaus, she saw him glare at the boy blankly enough to make him cower. Then, as if feeling the weight of her stare, Klaus' glare then moved to her, lessening slightly and becoming more boredly berating as if saying "I warned you. You knew what would happen if you interfered."

She'd defied him. Her lips curled down at the realisation that there was no way Klaus was going to spare these kids. It wasn't just a matter of principle; he needed to set a precedent, according to the stories she'd heard about him. These kids had their whole lives ahead of them, and now despite her efforts to save their lives, they'd pay her price.  

She refused to be responsible for more death. 

The only reason he remained watching her carefully, was the same reason his curiosity had been piqued. He was watching her, like she was a specimen of some kind, like she was a creature not yet known to him. She had been telling the truth. She was powerful. Powerful enough to be unpredictable. Powerful enough to hurt him. 

He didn't know that the pain, the soreness that radiated from deep within her bones was because she'd used more magic than anticipated. The uncomfortable hurt stemming from gathering, steering, and forcing her magic to bend to her unpracticed will had taken more out of her than she'd thought. 

He didn't know the mere thought of using it again had sparked a dull headache in the front of her skull. 

Logic, reasoning - bargaining, seemed the only way out of this. He might accept an exchange, but only having the clothes on her back, and a pretty messed up past, Annalise had nothing to offer but her powers. Looking at the teens cowering on the ground helped her decision. Her life was already a sob story - nothing good was happening to her anytime soon.

All she could see in her future realistically was a bunch of people always chasing her for her screwed-up magic. Her life would be a never-ending struggle of trying to keep hidden, denying herself her innate, born ability to use her powers. 

Reaching a decision, Annalise took a bracing breath, letting her voice carry in what she hoped was a strong manner, over the sniffles of the girl on the ground. “You're gonna compel these kids, make them forget tonight, and send them home to sleep in their beds. Safe.”

Klaus simply quirked an eyebrow as he stepped towards her, lips lifting in a playful smirk as though her demand was amusing. As if he knew exactly what she was going to say, what she was leading up to. “And why should I do that?”

She felt Elena's confused stare sink into the side of her head, probably having no idea why she was risking Klaus's anger by trying to keep strangers safe. Trying to make sense of her situation - whether she was on their side, or not. Whether she was evil, or not. Annalise didn't dwell on it. She couldn't allow herself to second guess this decision. 

"For the same reason you haven't done anything yet. You just saw what I can do." Annalise crossed her arms around herself, willing her voice to remain firm. "You do this, and you have my word I’ll work for you until you decide to let me go, instead of me deciding when I'm done owing you.”

Klaus's expression lit up victoriously before his gaze narrowed, still calculating. “That’s a high price for the lives of two children you don’t know.” He mocked, making his way over to Lis, sharp eyes not missing the way she shifted uncomfortably on her feet. She had to appear more sure, because Lis had no doubt Klaus could sniff out discomfort and weakness as easily as a shark could sniff out blood in the water. As easy as a vampire, looking for a warm meal.

He had wandered dangerously close to the pair huddled on the ground - close enough for her to remember how fast Stefan had moved. Annalise moved forwards too, so she was standing over the kids who had quietened fearfully. Klaus faced them, his sharp smile lit only by the cool spotlights glaring down sparsely from above. 

“My life’s already fucked anyways." She bit out caustically. "If I’m not being used by you, it’ll be somebody else." She used her head to gesture to the teens at her feet. "These kids don’t deserve anything that happened here today. They aren’t a part of your vendetta, just-” running a tired hand through her hair, she looked back toward Klaus. “Let them go, and I'll work for you.”

"-Until I release you from my service." Klaus' tone gave no room for any misunderstanding - it was a taunt, a hollow statement. There was no conceivable end to her bargain. He'd never let her go.

There was a cunning, gleeful glint in his eyes as he approached to shake her hand. Flashing him a taut smile through thin displeased lips as Annalise moved around the pair on the ground, she met him halfway to shake his hand firmly. No doubt he figured herself naive and beyond stupid, but Lis had accepted her bargaining skills were shit anyway. Her magic had probably hurt more people than helped, so if she could use it in exchange for a singular good deed, she certainly wouldn't call it a loss.

“You have yourself a deal then, love; your employ for the small price of making sure these young cherubs find their way back to their beds tonight.”

Lis dipped her head wordlessly as she stepped to the side, watching closely as Klaus moved past her to crouch in front of the frozen pair. When he compelled them, Annalise noticed he used her exact words - to forget this traumatic night, and go home to their beds safely.

He keeps his word, she remembered. There was finally something in his complex character that she'd pinned down. A murderer with honour.

She felt something within her shift, her glare towards him lessening as Annalise watched on feeling strangely reassured. At least she knew now, even if she couldn't trust him, then maybe she could trust his promises. 

As she watched the two kids go blank-faced and wander out of the gymnasium, Annalise sagged slightly. Maybe she wasn't totally loose in the head to want to find a rhyme or reason as to why he was the way he was. And if he had even a few redeeming qualities, maybe there was some hope for herself yet. 

"Right, then," Annalise jerked away, startled as Klaus' voice began practically right next to her ear - she settled her best scowl on her features as he grinned. "Now you've signed away your freedom, I'm going to need you to do your best to stifle the urge to involve yourself in my business." Annalise rolled her eyes, but Klaus was suddenly holding her arm in a painful, crushing, grip. "No, no - no rolling your eyes, sweetheart. You do what I say, when I say it, understood?" 

Annalise felt her lip curl in disgust. "Understood. Let go. Now." Klaus raised another amused brow, before stepping back, hands in the air mockingly, only serving to grate on her nerves more. "I might've signed my life away, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be your personal fucking Rottweiler on retainer, got it? Moving forwards you have my word that I'll do what's necessary to fulfil your goals, but only what's necessary." 

Klaus looked more entertained if possible. "Is that your way of telling me you refuse to kill for me?"

"Killing is never necessary." Lis jutted her chin defiantly, making him chuckle, moving past her as he patted her shoulder. 

"You'll come to learn differently in time, Lissie." 

Not deeming his immature tease a reply, Annalise moved back next to Elena, crossing her arms and avoiding general eye contact.

She could just feel the girl itching to ask her about the power she exhibited, what had just happened - but she was thankfully distracted when a low groan escaped Stefan. Holding Elena back by the shoulder on reflex before she could run to the side of a feral vampire, now under the control of an infamously bad Original - boyfriend or not - Annalise watched Klaus walk confidently over and rouse him.

Stefan climbed slowly to his feet on shaky legs, ignoring Klaus' arm offered to him. His eyes avoided Elena's shamefully and quaked when Klaus clapped a strong hand on his shoulder.

“It’s always nice to see a vampire in his true element. The species has become such a broody lot.”

There was blood flowing down Stefan's chin in tiny rivulets, staining his teeth, and his eyes looked dead and haunted. He spared Lis a single glance and nodded lightly in veiled gratitude. Lis reciprocated his gesture. He hadn't wanted to hurt the kids, and she was glad he didn't have any ill will toward her for stopping him. It certainly released the guilt she carried for snapping his neck.

Shrugging her hand off, Elena still took a step forward, her mouth curled in a furious scowl at Klaus's casual remark. “No, you did this to him.”

Her bitter words certainly had no effect on the Original. If anything, Klaus looked more entertained. “I just invited him to the party love. He’s the one that's dancing on the table.”

“Yeah? That’s because you compelled him to, dipshit. Try putting that in your bullshit analogy.” Lis rolled her eyes at Klaus's exaggeratedly insulted gesture of ‘Who? Me?', complete with a dramatic hand on his heart.

She didn't miss Stefan and Elena exchange an uneasy glance. Maybe they thought she was close enough to him to engage in silly banter. Too bad. She had meant to insult him.

Rebekah burst through the doors again - this time truly fuming.

“Where is it?!” She strode angrily over to Elena, hissing in her face as the large double doors snapped into the walls with a resounding bang echoing in the background. “Where’s my necklace?”

“What are you talking about?” Klaus sounded as puzzled as he moved towards his little sister, who was extending a phone at him, clenched tightly in her hand.

Lis glanced at Elena’s confused expression. She didn't know what Rebekah was on about either, but she could try to make an educated guess. After all, there was only one necklace that had been mentioned in the last few days. Curiously, Annalise moved too, peering closer to look at the photo on the phone that Rebekah held out to them. 

Elena and Stefan smiled at them in the photo, shoulder to shoulder, looking the picture of happiness. A far-cry from their current situation. Annalise focused instead on the small circular silver necklace hanging on the girl's neck.

Shaped somewhat like a locket, complete with intricate carvings and a small gem sitting prettily within vines of silver - it looked nothing like modern-day necklaces. 

Rebekah pointed to it, angrily, showing Klaus too. “She has my necklace, look.”

Klaus took the phone into his own hands, zooming in on the necklace before looking up at Stefan and Elena, a threatening sneer on his lips as he looked to a crushed-looking Stefan. “Well, well. More lies.”

“Where is it?” Rebekah seethed at the confused girl, baring her canines which had elongated into deadly fangs. Black veins crawled threateningly up her cheeks into her eyes, as she glared at the young teen, waiting impatiently for an explanation at Klaus' shoulder. 

“I don't have it anymore.” Elena’s voice was small, defensive. It sounded as though she was speaking the truth.

“You're lying!” Rebekah spat at the young girl again. The ferocity behind her words didn’t mask Rebekah's eyes tearing up; Lis didn't fail to notice this, and apparently neither did Klaus. Their eyes met, and a strange mutual understanding passed between them. The last time Lis had seen Rebekah hurt, she'd shoved a crowbar through a vampire - this wouldn't end well. 

They were right.

Rebekah lunged at Elena, intent on sinking her fangs into the girl, but Klaus had already pushed her away, positioning himself between the angry vampire and the frightened doppelgänger. Lis had also moved to his side on reflex, steadying Elena as she stumbled backward before twisting around to find herself standing at Klaus' side in an unexpected show of unity. Elena’s hand had found hers behind her, clutching it so tightly it nearly hurt. Annalise squeezed back, though kept her focus on her new friend.

Hm. 

Seemed the entire family had anger issues. 

Klaus grabbed Rebekah's shoulders when she made to storm towards the teen again, pushing her back in warning. “Knock it off!” 

“Make her tell me where it is, Nik!” 

"Okay, just stop!"

Rebekah stopped struggling altogether, scowling at her older brother stubbornly. The sight made him sigh, bringing his palms together at his lips as if in prayer, before turning to focus on Elena.

Annalise noticed Rebekah's gaze catch how tightly Elena held on to Lis’s hand as both Originals now turned to face the young girl. Rebekah scowled harder.

Klaus approached them now, leaning closer to Elena hiding slightly behind Lis' shoulder. “Where's the necklace, sweetheart? Be honest.” Klaus's tone was low, carrying a clear warning.

Shifting her head to turn to the girl slightly behind her, Lis saw Elena inhale quickly in fear as she replied; “I'm telling the truth. Katherine stole it.”

It was as if she had said a magic word. Immediately the Hybrid's eyes lit up in recognition. Inhaling sharply as he stepped away, he let out a disbelieving chuckle. Really? One mention of this Katherine, and no more questions asked? 

“Katerina. Of course." He smirked as he purred the name, and not in a fond way. More in a way that promised her death. He took a moment, before flinging his arms to his sides in an exaggerated shrug. "Well, that's unfortunate. If we had the necklace it would make things a whole lot easier for your witch and my Lissie here," he gestured at her with a smirk at the reminder of her deal, "but since we're doing this the hard way, let's put a clock on it, shall we?”

There was definite anger and impatience in his tone now as he strode through the plastic cups filled with water lining the gymnasium floor, kicking them to the side carelessly. He hit a button on the table he had been approaching - a loud buzzer sounded as a bright red LED display switched on behind them, and started ticking down from 20.00 minutes. 

Annalise exchanged a worried glance with Elena as Klaus strode towards them again - his amused smirk was long gone. This seemed worse. The suspenseful quiet now filled with the ominous ticking of the clock counting down seemed to put them all on edge, anticipating the fallout of Klaus' abrupt change in mood. It felt as though the ticking had synced up with her pulse; with every beep, she felt her heart beat faster.

Elena gripped her hand tighter as Klaus walked over to Stefan. It was clear that he had hoped that he'd been forgotten in the sudden dilemma of the missing necklace - his face fell as Klaus approached to look deep into his eyes once more. “Twenty minutes. If Bonnie hasn't found a solution by then, I want you to feed again." Klaus gripped Stefan's shoulder tighter, making sure to look him right in his eyes. "Only this time, I want you to feed on Elena. You know you want to.” He ended his compulsion by directing a wicked grin at Elena, who had started begging again in fear.

“No, Klaus! Don't do this to him!”

Lis had begun to raise a sardonic brow as Klaus began to walk over to them. "Wow, that's just what we needed; another arbitrary time limit." Klaus grabbed Lis’s wrist, ripping it from Elena’s desperate grip while ignoring the young girl's whimpered pleas. Lis glared at him and tried to wrench her arm free to reach back around for a sobbing Elena. "Seriously? How the fuck does this help solve your shitty need to create Hybrids?" 

"Maybe you were wrong and her death would set it right." Klaus hissed as he pulled her away. "Remember, Lissie, you swore your allegiance to me." 

"Yeah, I promised to do what was necessary." She dug her heels in, trying to pull her wrist away. "No where in that agreement did I say I'd let you get off on murdering little girls, dickhead." 

Klaus' glare sparked nastily as he saw one of her arms raise threateningly towards him, immediately realising the same gesture that had sent him into a wall. "You hurt me, and Rebekah will rip out that precious little girl's throat, then yours, before you blink. I suggest you don't do anything stupid, love." 

Her arm was sore, her palm still burned slightly from her previous performance of forcing her magic to do her bidding on instinct. Now, the more she thought about it, the more her body was hesitant to channel that power again; it was like the thought of using her magic again was making her already wince away in anticipation. There was no way she could take on one old vampire, let alone two. 

Fuck. A quick glance to her right showed Rebekah giving her a look of warning. Klaus wasn’t bluffing.

Annalise's dipped apologetically to Elena's and hoped she conveyed her promise to return her time ran out. Elena nodded slowly before her eyes fell to the floor, lips trembling.

Klaus' hand was wrapped tightly around her wrist once more as he resumed dragging Lis behind him, towards the exit - he called back over his shoulder to Stefan as he did. “No one leaves. If she tries to run...fracture her spine.”

Lis saw Elena’s eyes widen in fear before she found herself being pulled down the dark corridor outside. Rebekah's smug smile dripped with venomous glee as she spared one last glance back at the shaking girl before she turned to follow close behind the pair.

The gymnasium door shut behind them with resounding finality. 

~ X ~

The last hour of her life had been grisly, guilt-wracking, and utterly macabre - all frankly expected from her captor, but high school drama and petty rivalries?

This wasn't what she was expecting of the great Hybrid Klaus.

"So uh - what's the plan? 'Cos you can't expect me to believe you crossed state lines to come to a high school and scare some teens shitless."

"What my plan is, is to figure out what they've done to ruin the curse I spent a millennium trying to break." Klaus smirked back at her. Her wrist was starting to sprain in Klaus's hold. Reminiscent of Klaus's first time holding her wrist in a tight grip, she started whacking at his arm - it was effortlessly ignored. It would have been so much more effective with a vodka bottle. "It is a plan you've come dangerously close to de-railing." 

"Killing kids isn't gonna get you what you want. I guarantee it." Lis snapped. 

"I. Don't. Care." Klaus held her hand up between them - symbolic of his hold over her. His cold eyes felt as though they bored into her soul. "You swore your allegiance to me. I own you, so do as I say, or there will be consequences."

Her stubborn anger flared along with her power - it scraped up her arm and exploded out of the very hand Klaus held, sending him forcefully into a wall of lockers with an echoing slam. 

The fluorescent light above strobed periodically, sparking in the air between them.

Rebekah stood in the middle of the hallway in frozen alarm, looking between Lis who had stumbled into the opposite wall of the wide corridor cradling her arm, and Klaus, stepping out of the small dent in the weak metal he'd created. He stared at her like a predator does a predator - sizing her up in a clinical, cold, manner that had a chill run up her spine. 

"Fuck you." The way her hiss sounded nearly alien to Annalise alarmed her, but she kept going. "I didn't swear allegiance to your opinions. To your bullshit philosophy of throwing a tantrum when you don't get your way." Klaus went to retort, but she spoke over him, easily. "I'll keep working for you because I gave you my word, but don't, for a second think that you can scare me into being your foot soldier. I've been at the mercy of cruelty before, Klaus. Yours isn't novel. It's not even cruelty. It's stupidity at this point, and it's just getting on my fucking nerves." 

Klaus watched her unreadably for a long moment, tilting his head before finally cracking.

Laugh lines deep on his cheeks appeared as he chuckled low and long. Annalise looked to Rebekah alarmed, asking silently for an explanation, and received a short smile and a shrug back. Klaus' laughter tapered off into what seemed a genuine smirk as he looked her up and down before looking down at his watch. 

“Rebekah, go to the werewolf, keep an eye on him and the other vampire and make sure they don’t run off before the time limit is up.” Rebekah nodded, threw another small smile at Lis, then disappeared down a different corridor.

Klaus looked towards her again and then strangely didn't meet her eyes. Instead, his gaze had been drawn to her cheek. As she tried to scowl at him, she was reminded of the large tender bruise currently healing on her cheek, from when she intercepted his blow on Elena. Its swollen surface had already supernaturally lessened until all that currently remained was a fading red tint to her cheek. Feeling his gaze stay on her in curiosity, she focused on the crack in her lenses. The double vision was beginning to give her a headache. Closing her eyes and pushing past the impending thought of a headache at further exertion, she whispered. “Sarcio.” 

The crack in her glasses fused following a pinprick of light.

Turning back to face Klaus fully, she watched as his eyes still lingered curiously on her lenses in subtle wonder before they snapped to hers. "Alright - we try it your way." He straightened with an arrogant smirk. “You have about ten minutes left to figure out how to help my hybrids transition, and to save Elena, of course." Klaus moved his hands behind his back and looked down at her. "If you want to save her, I suggest you get to work.”

Sighing, she rolled her eyes upwards. “Like I said; I need Bonnie, and a lot more information to do anything else. I'm running blind here.” She scowled at Klaus who just shot her a sarcastic smile. Chewing at her lip, she moved to the window overlooking the quad outside. “I’ll go to Bonnie, she might not know what information she’s looking for, maybe I could help her there.”

“Great idea; just one small problem, how do you plan on finding where the Bennett is?” Klaus's voice was coated in smugness, as was his smirk, but that dropped quickly when she flashed him a secretive smile of her own. “What?” He was missing something, and he clearly hated not knowing everything. Satisfied at finding one of his buttons, she filed that information away for later, choosing to indulge in his questions for now. 

“I can uh...feel magic around me. Nature itself - like trees feel different to water, and water feels warmer than snow, y'know? But when it's strong in a certain area, or in a person, it stands out from the background noise - I-I feel it. See it. Fuzzy images like sonar.” Annalise lowered herself to sit cross-legged on the ground, leaned back against the wall, and relaxed. “Bonnie’s easily one of the most supernatural creatures living in Mystic Falls, and she has powerful, unique magic. I noticed it earlier, and now I just need to...find that same signature again.”

Annalise didn't say that this was maybe her second, or third time doing this. She didn't say that her headache had built to a band stretched tightly across her forehead now, and everything hurt within her to gather up the courage to push herself, her conscious, outwards. 

All she presumed Klaus saw, was her pupils darting around furiously under her eyelids as if she was physically looking for Bonnie.

This was slightly different than just sensing, feeling supernaturals in her periphery subconsciously. That felt like it was more of a survival instinct - a reflex. But this - this required her full concentration along with the addition of a skull-splitting headache building behind her eyes. Her vision behind her eyelids burst blindingly white.

A bright glow surrounded Klaus next to her, his signature strong, pulsing, in time with his heartbeat. It was one of the strongest she'd ever seen, attributed to the simple fact that he was most likely the strongest supernatural being to currently walk the earth, made up of the powerful essence of both a vampire and werewolf. Vampires held more magic than werewolves, and werewolves were a step up from doppelgängers and humans. Witches, on the other hand, had magic that almost reacted to hers reaching out - more active, more...receptive. This old Hybrid, it seemed, was in a league of his own.

Forcing herself to squint past him, she turned her head slightly, feeling a strong but dimmer glow a few classrooms down. It felt familiar to Klaus'.

That was Rebekah then – it made sense that she was with two smaller, weaker signatures. Caroline and Tyler - one was a young vampire, barely more magic within her than Elena, but the other was growing dim. Dying. That was Tyler, currently in transition. That thought spurred her back into motion, spreading her awareness as far as she could with a low wince at a lancing pain in the back of her skull. 

Annalise knew she was going to regret this tomorrow. 

A medium glow with a tiny one caught her attention as it shifted a few hallways away – that was Stefan and Elena in the gym - that meant they were still safe. This was good, she still had time.

Reaching out further she stretched herself mentally, now starting to struggle to catch her breath. Come on, come on - there. A witch signature – it reached for her own, the success she felt lessening the strain on her mental capacity. It was near a large body of water, within the school, a fair way away.

Gotcha.

Annalise's eyes snapped open as she jerked straight - finding Klaus, now leaning against the opposite wall in the hallway, watching her, intrigued. “She’s at the school pool. In that direction.” She gestured wildly to her left, choosing to ignore how his eyes glinted sharply in interest again. “How much time do we have left?”

Klaus checked his watch. “Just under five minutes love, it’s best we move.”

She nodded, immediately started sprinting in the general direction she saw Bonnie’s signature in with and felt Klaus close on her heels. The strong smell of chlorine assaulted her nose after a few minutes before she registered the sound of echoing voices carrying their way.

Klaus grabbed her arm and quietly moved her into a wall of lockers so they’d be obstructed from view.

“What are you doing, we’re wasting time-” 

“Quiet.” hissed Klaus.

Moments later, the sound of wet footsteps echoed in their direction, and a pair of teens appeared, walking down the hallway. It was the same pair as before - the Bennett and the human boy. They seemed to be in a heavy discussion, whispered insistently under their breaths. 

“I saw Vicki. She said she had a message for you.”

“Me?” Bonnie seemed skeptical.

Matt made an affirmative sound. “From the witch that put the hybrid curse on Klaus.”

Lis looked up at Klaus as they listened to Matt continue - his face remained impassive. Flattening her lips, she tilted her head slightly in the direction of the two teens to hear better. “She said Elena shouldn’t have survived Klaus’s ritual. The hybrids can’t transition because Elena’s still alive.”

Annalise's brow immediately furrowed in confusion. That didn’t make sense – sure the Original witch might've not been around for the discovery of modern magical science theory but surely she’d know that Elena’s recovery wasn’t the problem here. She met Klaus’s eyes once more, which had focused in on her own confusion before it had melted into comprehension, hurt, then anger.

Annalise was still confused, however, but she caught the tail-end of Matt’s sad question when Klaus stepped into the light leaning casually against a door, pulling her with him. “He’s going to die, isn’t he?”

Klaus, apparently one for dramatic timing - spoke up here, making the teens whip around. “I wouldn’t be too sure of that. It seems a choice has been forced, between doppelgänger and hybrid.”

“Wait what? I’m lost,” Lis said into the silence his words brought, since Bonnie and Matt looked as uncertain as she was. “Why do you need to choose between Tyler and Elena?”

Klaus spun around and started dragging Lis down the corridor towards the gym with Bonnie and Matt following close behind. “Because the Original witch cursed me – if she wants Elena dead, it means she really does, and she'd do anything to make sure I don't succeed.”

"So...she does want you to kill the teen? But how does that ensure you never make another hybrid? Unless-" Everything clicked into place in Lis’s mind and she found herself exclaiming in victorious glee at figuring out the curse. "Dude! I thought it had been her death that had contributed to the ritual, but it was her blood. Elena’s blood was running through your body when you finally transitioned into a hybrid. That means her blood is integral to the whole spell; it’s the incendiary agent that stabilises the transitioning process, so they don’t like- spontaneously combust! It's genius, it really is! Her blood is key for your hybrids to survive.”

Klaus had paused, watching her as she came to the realisation. 

A chilling scream filled the air followed closely by a loud growl. Elena. Her alarmed eyes met his grim ones.

Their time was up.

Elena's time was up. 

A mutual understanding passed between them in a split second once more. Though their reasoning might've been vastly different, both came to the undeniable conclusion that they couldn't let her die. Lis stepped forward, twisting her hand around Klaus' grip on her wrist to hold it, and focused on where Elena’s signature was – she knew where to look, but it still took a moment longer to find her - she was running. She focused on the weak signature with all her concentration, her will, then just pulled them to it.

Matt and Bonnie watched in shock as the pair blinked out of existence right in front of them with a small spark of silver light.

“...You can’t do that too, right?”

Matt looked to Bonnie who was still trying to process someone disappearing into thin air in front of them. 

She shook her head slowly, still watching the empty space, rendered nearly speechless.

"...Uh...no." 

~ X ~

They blinked into existence in a darkened cafeteria – Klaus stumbled into a nearby table, ashen and deeply disoriented. 

"Wha- how?" 

"We don't have time." Annalise snapped, quick on her feet, pushing past that twisting sensation of a pulled muscle in her chest as she moved to the door. The pain on using her magic, again, only made her anger worse. She'd been right, dammit. No good would come from sentencing a child to death. If the stubborn prick had just listened to her, they wouldn't be in this bloody mess - a girl wouldn't be running for her fucking life. Annalise glanced around, moving towards the door. Elena wasn’t anywhere to be seen. “She’s here, she should be here. I pulled us to her.”

Elena chose that moment to burst through the double doors that Lis was walking to, before pressing it shut behind her, breathing hard. 

Annalise paused in slight amusement, wasting a moment to watch Elena drily as she heaved against the door, catching her breath as she watched Annalise warily. "Yay. You've done it." Lis deadpanned. "Let’s hope the bloodthirsty vampire's scared of closed doors." 

Elena surprisingly found it within her to roll her eyes at the older girl, moving away from the door. "Well - if you have a better idea-"

Annalise felt her lips twist wryly. "Well, actually, I know this real handy locking spell that might just do the trick-"

Klaus was suddenly in front of Elena, having recovered from the disorientation of teleportation and immediately gone back to his threatening default before the girl could step away from the door. “We gotta stop meeting like this.”

"For fucksake," Lis snapped officially sick of Klaus trying to intimidate people. “Hey dumbass, cool line and all but could you get the outta the way?" She winced feeling something angry approaching them fast in her periphery. "I feel a very unstable vampire speeding down the corridor, yeah?”

"Both of you. There." The glare he levelled at her as he slowly turned to face her was equal parts furious and disbelieving - but he still primly moved, motioned Lis over as he took Elena to an unlit corner of the room. Elena immediately fell into Lis' side, but Klaus lifted Lis’s chin, forcing her to look up at him over the head of the girl curling into her comforting arms.

“Your insolence plays on the fine line between entertaining and fatal.” Annalise's eyes met his squarely as he growled lowly. "You are here to fulfil a purpose; my purpose. You may be powerful, but you're not indispensable, so Don't. Get. In. My. Way." 

Annalise found her lip quirking at his effort to intimidate her. "Is that still a no on locking large double doors then?"

Klaus seethed at her silently, waiting for her agreement. 

Annalise thinned her lips and glared, but bobbed her head slightly. Elena burrowed deeper into her hug.

They stood and watched quietly as Stefan zoomed in through the doors and dropped to the ground in the darkened cafeteria, clearly struggling to keep his predatory nature under control. He wheezed out a few laboured breaths through clenched teeth, sweat glistening across his creased forehead as he gasped in pain. Annalise watched as his eyes shot to the cleaners' cart a few feet in front of him grimly. 

A slow determination tightened at his lips in an emotion that Lis knew all too well. He was dangerous. He was going to hurt someone. This was how he prevented it. 

Blurring to the cart, he stumbled onto it unsteadily in a small din echoing through the large cafeteria, scrabbling to grab the wooden broom and wasting no time in breaking the handle in half over his knee. 

Her own breath grew laboured as she watched the vampire hold the sharp end towards his torso, bracing. Annalise curled her hand tighter around Elena’s head, turning her peeking eyes back into her embrace.

A deep breath, eyes wide and desperate - then in a jerky motion, Stefan yelled, impaling the makeshift stake deep into his gut with a wet, bloody grunt.

Klaus chose this moment to step out of the shadows.

His British drawl echoed around the empty cafeteria, startling Stefan as he whipped around, still doubled over in pain. 

“Now this is fascinating." Klaus sauntered forwards. "I've never seen this before. The only thing stronger than your craving for blood is your love for this one girl.” He motioned Lis to bring Elena over and she complied slowly, still holding Elena safely behind her. “Why don't you turn it off?”

“No!” Stefan’s reply was immediate, resolute.

Her heart sank. She hadn't seen this coming. 

Turning it off. That was an expression she'd heard before. It was a rare ability only vampires exhibited; the ability to remove their emotions, their humanity, from the equation. It was a counter to how vampires' emotions were drastically heightened in their transition after death - a way to regulate the dramatic instability between dangerously low lows and euphorically high highs. A form of mania, hard to control - but the more experience you had under your belt, the easier it was to get used to it. Regulate it. There were even rumours that the older a vampire got, the harder it was for them to completely shut everything off. 

Which was why the Legendary Klaus' name struck even more fear in communities when whispered in warning. He had a reputation for being angry, cruel, and unforgiving. His emotions weren't locked away when he killed and plundered. It was believed to be quite the opposite - he was downright ecstatic to sow destruction, if the myths held any truth. There wasn't any reason as to why he did such inhumane things other than the fact that he was just that. Inhuman. 

There was a time Annalise had felt inhuman too. She wouldn't wish it upon anyone. 

Klaus casually walked to Stefan's side, jumping easily to sit on a nearby table, his arms laying relaxed on his knees. “Come on~” He jibed, “Your humanity is killing you.” Klaus sounded as though he was joking with an old friend. “All the guilt must be exhausting. Turn it off.” He shrugged, eyes cold despite his easy demeanour.

“No.” It was a growl this time, filled with pain.

Elena stepped out of Lis’s arms, reaching out to him. “Stefan...” her tone was pleading. Desperate.

“You're strong. But you're not that strong.” Jumping off the table, Klaus walked over to Stefan, then slid the makeshift stake out of his stomach as easily as pulling string from an unraveling sock, ignoring Stefan's pained yell. In the same breath, he gripped Stefan's jaw, looking right into his eyes. “Turn. It. Off.” 

There was a pause when Stefan looked at Klaus through hooded, hateful eyes, resolve building in his clenched jaw, before all at once it exploded outwards. “NO!” Stefan growled, managing to push Klaus away with a loud yell. 

Klaus was immediate in straightening, the blow that had taken all of Stefan's remaining strength and will rendered inconsequential as the apex predator found his feet easily, before rushing Stefan into a wall. The younger vampire couldn't even put up a fight, face pressing painfully into the brick behind him, as Klaus roared into his face. “TURN IT OFF!”

Lis looked away, nauseous. She'd prepared herself for the blood and gore, the violence, but not for mental and emotional torture. It was all she could do to hope she wasn’t in too deep. To make sure she didn't lose herself. This was the third time she'd second-guessed her presence here, and once again, she tried to convince herself that it was a good thing she was. 

Stefan choked, tearing up in the silence; but remained in place even after Klaus released him.

His eyes grew empty. He slumped blankly against the brick wall from his curled position. The teary sheen to his eyes, his expression, twisted in torturous pain, fell. 

“What did you do?” Elena breathed out, horrified. 

Klaus’s eyes were solemn as he looked back at the pair. “I fixed him.” Elena’s breathing stuttered and Lis’s hand shot out to hold hers in support, pulling the younger girl behind her when Klaus strode forwards towards them again. “But I think a test is in order, don't you?” He stopped behind them, hands on Elena’s shoulders and moving her to Lis’s side, presenting her like a prize to Stefan. “Ripper. Perhaps you'd like a drink…from the doppelgänger's neck?”

Elena was shaking her head in denial but even she could see Stefan’s face change into that of a predator with none of that previous hesitation. There was hunger and a promise of death in his eyes as black veins crawled up his cheeks slowly. A slight smirk grew on his face as he looked at Elena to satiate his hunger. Like she was nothing more than his next meal. This wasn't personal. This was instinct. 

Stefan needed no further prompting. He lunged but Lis was ready – her mind made up, and Klaus’s consequences be damned. Facing down the fast-approaching blur of black, demonic eyes and sharp, snarling fangs - she stepped in front of Elena, easily, raising a single hand with her mouth set in grim determination. “Obsillo.” 

Her magic snapped through her arm, bursting from her palm in a pulse of silver, heat, and pain that hit squarely on Stefan's chest. 

His body froze in mid-air.

Lis teared slightly, aware of the hurt she would cause him between this breath and the next. His wide eyes locked on hers before suddenly, he seized. His neck snapped first, then all at once, the he fell to the ground limp, with multiple cracks echoing through the dark cafeteria.

That would slow him down considerably more than a broken neck, when he awoke next. 

“I told you not to intervene." Klaus was breathing into her cheek the very next second, though eerily calm, eyes narrowed in concealed curiosity, his hands were clenching and relaxing into fists multiple times, as if physically holding himself back from ripping her head off. "What did you do?"

Lis scowled, shaking her head as she stepped past the hybrid, pulling Elena in a wide circle around her currently deceased boyfriend. Her tears had long since evaporated in the cool anger now buzzing within her.

"I thought we just established the fact that you need Elena to survive, or are you a fucking screw loose? You'd seriously endanger the one thing you need for this entire thing to work because you wanted to prove a goddamn point? Hurt him 'cos he hurt you, or whatever?" His movement registered on her periphery, and she was proud to not even flinch as Klaus appeared centimetres from her face between her and the door. Instead of retreating, she stood her ground, raising slightly on her toes to meet his eyes accusingly. "Newsflash, moron. You turned his switch off. He could give a rat's ass right now that he wants to hurt her, or that he hurt you. You ask me what I did? I did my goddamned job. I protected your new asset. What the fuck did you do?"

All he did was blink.

"I don't have time for your bullshit mind games." Scoffing, taking Elena’s hand, she pushed past his chest, pulling the shaking girl out the doors and down the dark corridor. "I'm gonna go help the other kid you fucked over."

~ X ~

Klaus was furious; she could tell by his heavy footfalls following them, and the way his energy moved tumultuously while she walked purposefully down the abandoned hallways toward Rebekah's magical signature.

Her migraine was becoming progressively worse, and Annalise felt equally, righteously, furious. 

The exact reason why still escaped her. 

She'd known Klaus was a literal monster in sheep's clothing - hell, a bloody intimidating, downright devious sheep at that - but this had been fucking expected. She'd known full well what she'd been getting into. Come to terms with the fact that working with him might mean that she'd see some gruesome shit. But then why was she surprised that he'd forced someone to turn off their emotions; attack someone they loved? That seemed...twisted. Hateful. Completely on-brand. 

Was this her limit? Was this where she decided he was an irredeemable piece of trash and she had enough evidence that she was nothing like him? 

But then why was there this quiet surprise in his eyes as he'd regarded her, after Klaus had moved his initially angry gaze from Stefan's crumbled form on the floor? Why had there been this-this simple curiosity when she'd just performed one of the most horrible spells she knew - the spell to break, to splinter and snap - never before having been hurled at anything other than firewood? 

Why was she pathetic enough to be relieved by the fact that she'd somehow become something simply more curious in his eyes, useful, possibly, rather than the abject horror her magic had been met with before?

It scared her, that he'd watched her with the simple knowledge that she was powerful, just like she'd watched him and found his violence this predictable. She certainly didn't condone it, or agree with it, and if granted the possibility, she would most definitely stop it - but the word violence in all its glory had become synonymous and expected, with the hybrid.

By the gods, she needed a metric shit-tonne of therapy, but right now?

She'd settle for getting blackout drunk. 

They grew closer to the classroom where she felt Rebekah and Caroline were, along with a steadily weakening Tyler. He had less time than she'd initially thought. They needed to test their doppelgänger theory fast, before any lives were lost tonight.

Speeding up, Lis tugged Elena faster down the corridor, her right hand smarting at the reminder of her forceful use of magic once more. 

“Elena,” the girl looked at her, her eyes still lost, and despairing. She didn’t want to mince her words. “Tyler doesn't have long, but we have a working theory that it’s your blood that helps the hybrid transition process complete. That's what your blood was used for in breaking the curse.”

Pity built heavily in her heart as the tall girl, straightened slightly, her focus returning as she pushed past her grief. “I’ll give my blood to Tyler, if it’ll help him. I’ll do anything.”

Her voice was quiet, but it was firm. This girl was strong. Lis smiled sadly and squeezed the girl’s hand while Klaus remained silent a few feet behind them. Shooting his expression curled in distaste a blank one of her own, she turned back to the girl, continuing in a low voice. “You know what this means, right? It means Klaus will probably want your blood for the rest of your life." Elena's brow raised in fear, but Annalise was quick to try to form a reassuring smile. "It isn’t as bad as it sounds though, it’ll be like a blood donation every three months – in fact, who knows, Klaus might even get tired of his stupid hybrids and leave you alone, right?”

Sad brown eyes comparable to a puppy broke her heart, her empty words falling heavily on the girl's shoulders. What had that reassurance been, anyway, when it hid behind it the stark truth that Klaus now owned her for life? That his dependance on her put a target on her back? That all anyone had to do to stop him from creating more hybrids was to kill this girl? 

“You know what? None of this, and I do mean none of this - are things you need to go through alone. I've met some of your friends, today, and I gotta say, they're pretty special. You lot are gonna do a helluva lot more than just survive this, yeah?" Elena shot her a fragile smile, one that prompted her to make a promise to the young girl in earnest. "I'll do what I can to make this all easier on you. The humanity switch for Stefan, the hybrid transition for Tyler - I’m not really sure if there are any texts at all covering that topic in depth but-”

Annalise was abruptly cut off when Elena hugged her quickly, then retreated away almost immediately. Awkwardly. 

“Thanks. It means a lot.”

The smile she was offered was small, but genuine. She replied in kind.

Her smile dimmed as she realised they had reached the classroom where Caroline and Tyler were being kept. Rebekah’s signature was shining bright in comparison to Caroline's newer glare, and Tyler's dying one. Klaus must have heard the conversation inside, and brushed past her brusquely, entering what looked like a science lab.

She sighed and followed behind him. Elena came close behind. 

Their small shuffle into the classroom had its occupants looking up in attention - Rebekah somewhat boredly, and Caroline more cautiously; locking panicked eyes with Elena as she asked silently what the heck was going on? 

Lis' managed to reflect a small smile at Rebekah before her attention went to the boy slumped on the table, sweating, and near delirious. Suddenly, her gamble grew all too realistic - give her a pen and paper and she could right how to formulate the perfect draught for delirium in theory - but to balance his survival on a simple idea she'd thought of on the spot? 

Doubt twisted in her gut. 

“Well, the verdict's in." Klaus didn't seem to share her hesitancy as he announced, his usual smirk plastered smugly on his face. "The Original Witch says the doppelgänger should be dead.”

“Does that mean we can kill her?” Lis didn’t miss the way that Rebekah’s face lit up as she stood, approaching Klaus eagerly. 

Her childish barb directed pettily at Elena nearly brought a smile to Annalise's face, but she hadn't fooled Rebekah - her eyes dancing knowingly. Annalise knew that the girl meant no serious harm, unlike Klaus. She wasn't as twisted as he was.

Lis shifted, allowing Elena to move past her to Caroline - Rebekah took her place at Lis' side easily, exchanging a quick grin. "Tell me, did you throw him into any more lockers?"

Annalise smirked back, pinching her index and thumb nearly together. "I was like, this close." 

Klaus watched them, annoyed. "Could we get back to the matter at hand?" 

"Ah, yes," Rebekah tilted her head, a satirical smirk stretching thinly on her lips as Elena shifted uncomfortably under the weight of her gaze, "how do you propose we go about it? Trip her into the way of an oncoming vehicle?" Annalise found herself stifling yet another grin - Rebekah had taken the plot of Mean Girls to heart when she'd asked Annalise about the grandest achievements humanity had made in the century she'd been absent. Klaus had threatened to throw them both from the moving vehicle if they didn't stop talking about it. 

“No." Klaus said, flatly, aware of the reference as he steamed ahead. "If the Original With says she should be dead, I'm fairly certain it means the opposite.”

“...What?” Rebekah paused, confused, but an invisible signal from Klaus had her immediately moving to put her arms around Caroline, pulling her away from her boyfriend's side. Caroline struggled in Rebekah's unyielding grip as Tyler groaned lowly, still sagging over the table. Elena went to reach for her friend, but Annalise shook her head, firmly, gesturing at Tyler. 

Elena nodded, moving quietly back to the transitioning werewolf's side, putting a comforting hand on his back. 

After rummaging through some cabinets quickly while Rebekah removed Caroline from Elena and Tyler, Klaus brought forward a small, clean test tube and held it towards Elena. The girl held out her wrist willingly and Klaus bit into it, holding the bleeding wound over the tube, watching it fill quickly. When he got what he deemed was enough, Klaus moved away, extending the vial to a rapt Tyler.

The boy's eyes hadn't left the blood still dripping from Elena's wrist, but he was able to drag it away to look at Klaus in apprehension.

“Call it a hunch.”

Lis grabbed Elena’s injured hand when she made her way to her side - bracing herself before quickly swiping her thumb over the wound and muttering her spell with a quiet wince. Elena silently cradled her hand with a shallow nod afterward, looking back towards Tyler.

Annalise did her best to ignore how Caroline's struggling had paused, watching her curiously before she was distracted once more as Klaus grew more insistent. “Elena's blood. Drink it.”

“No!" Caroline fought against Rebekah’s hold tearily. "No, no, Tyler, don't!”

Lis looked away. There wasn’t anything more she could do, realistically – if he didn't ingest the blood, he'd go rabid, perish, like all of Klaus' previous attempts. At least drinking Elena’s blood offered him a higher chance of survival.

Klaus voiced her thoughts. “If he doesn't feed, he'll die anyway, love. Consider this an experiment.” He turns back to Tyler and reassured him in a strangely gentle voice. “It's okay.”

The dying werewolf's control visibly broke before he gave in, gulping down the blood as Klaus offered quiet words of encouragement next to him. 

A moment later Tyler gasped, clutching his chest in pain as he rolled off the table onto the ground, sweeping other various objects that had been on the table with him with a loud clatter. As he groaned and writhed, his yells mixed with Caroline’s and Elena’s worried shouts.

Klaus just watched this unfold casually with an anticipating curve to his lips.

Lis looked away from him, feeling unsettled, and watched the struggling boy on the ground in worry. She distantly if she had the ability to pull him back, and grant him life even after Klaus had broken his neck. No, because he'd already faced his mortality. He'd died. In fact the same could be argued for vampires in transition; that was something she'd discussed at length with a colleague once. Mortals - they hadn't technically crossed into the undead yet - vampires had. The debate had grown heated when her colleague had insisted by extension that vampires couldn't have souls. 

Choking, Tyler rolled himself onto his knees and yelled in pain, clutching at his head with his eyes squeezed shut.

Wait.

Lis straightened, wide, disbelieving eyes fixed on the boy on the floor as she felt his magical signature change, and grow into something more powerful. A spark, a fizzle, then all at once there he was, shining on her periphery much like Klaus did, their signature holding a similarity she now identified as what a hybrid feels like. The warring natures of two supernatural species, found an uncommon synergy - it held an instability to it that Rebekah and Caroline didn't have.

They were- they were successful. 

Her look of unconcealed awe had gained everyone’s attention. Klaus glanced at her, immediate understanding filling his expression before he crouched low on the ground, leaning towards Tyler with growing anticipation.

The boy struggled one last time, before glaring up at them with bright gold eyes. Black veins climbing his cheeks, he let out an animalistic howl on his hunches.

She saw Klaus smile wide, genuinely - eyes bright. 

“Well, that's a good sign.”

~ X ~

They were at the hospital now. Elena had agreed to her give blood after Klaus’s continued threats of violence on her friends and family, and so he had impatiently compelled a hospital room for her, and a nurse to start drawing her blood. 

He had allowed his first hybrid and his girlfriend to safely go home, along with Elena's witch and human friends (more like ordered) while Lis and Rebekah, both sat upon the hood of a car in the hospital’s parking lot - empty mostly, at this time of night. 

Lis was lying down, hands folded under her head, looking up at the winking stars in the dark night sky, feeling the clouds as they wandered leagues over her head. Her bare feet tapped in a nonsensical rhythm against the car's bonnet, basking in the faint energy of distant stars washing over her gently, joined by the brighter glow of the waning moon.

After the stressful high-stakes evening she never wished to repeat, the quiet was refreshing - healing. The overuse of her magic still twinged in her hands and chest from time to time, but a little R & R was proving delightful. 

"So, you broke several bones in his body?" 

"I think 6." Lis grimaced. "Could'a been more." 

"I'm torn." Rebekah huffed, caustically. "I can't decide whether you should've broken ten, or let him maul the ditzy teen." 

"Well, considering it was either cause reversible bodily harm or let a child get mutilated, I chose option B." Annalise huffed lowly, nudging her shoulder. "I'm just glad I managed to annoy the fuck outta the big brute for putting me in that position." 

"That you did." Her smile lessened when the slow, steady crunch on gravel alerted her that the source of her previous aggravation had returned. Klaus' voice had Rebekah straightening - sitting up to address him more fully, while Annalise stubbornly remained on her back, staring up at the stars. 

"Well, you can't fault her, Nik." Rebekah's voice took on a teasing lilt. "After all, it is because of her the secret to your hybrid success remains alive." Klaus said nothing, leaning against the hood of the neighbouring car, levelling a dour glance at his sister. She returned a sharp grin, before it tapered slightly. “So, the doppelgänger was the solution. You had your suspicions when the spirits told you she had to die.”

“Seems so.” Klaus sounded strangely sombre.

“How did you know?” Rebekah sounded sad.

That piqued her interest. Lis sat up slightly, directing a curious look at Klaus, echoing Rebekah's question.  "Yeah - all I did was confirm your theory. You knew before me." 

“Well, your help should be credited.” He walked over to the hood and leaned against it, giving Lis a smirk she found to be surprisingly genuine before he turned back to Rebekah. “You know how much the Original Witch hated me. Do you think I would do anything other than the opposite of what she says?” Lis noticed his eyes were downcast - the slight furrow on her brow deepened, realising that she was missing something big here.

Something that disappointed both brother and sister.

It sounded like they'd had a close relationship with this Original Witch. 

Rebekah tilted her head at Klaus, who paced away from the car once more. “A thousand years in the grave, and she’s still screwing with you.”

“It makes sense if you think about it from her perspective,” He paced before them, smirking hollowly. “It was her fail-safe in case I ever broke the hybrid curse – the doppelgänger had to die in order for me to become a hybrid, but if she was dead…” he trailed away. Rebekah picked his train of thought up, continuing his statement.

“Then you couldn’t use her blood to sire yourself a new species.”

“Leaving me alone for all time.” Klaus finished off, looking at the ground away from Rebakah’s furrowed gaze and Lis’s silent look of understanding.

Annalise held her tongue, hesitant to interrupt the surprisingly vulnerable revelation Klaus put before them. A revelation that hit far too close to comfort - hell, it was the reason why she'd stuck around, even after witnessing an evening of him playing mind-games with his prey.

Loneliness encompassed most of her life, to the point where her life had felt empty; unfulfilled. The brief moments of happiness she found through it...only proved to highlight what she missed, lost, and never had. They only proved that she would always be truly alone - always on the outside looking in. 

Annalise focused silently on the cracks in the cement pavement a couple metres away.

“Is that what this is about?" It seemed Rebekah had a different reaction to hers, sounding abjectly insulted. "Your obsession with hybrids? You just don’t want to be alone?” Rebekah's line of questioning had Klaus looking up at her with eyes moistened in anger.

His tone grew defensive in an instant. “What I want; is to take my girl, take my hybrid, and get the hell out of this one-pony town.” He walked away a few steps before sighing and looking back at his sister. His face was wiped clean of his prior frustration; suspicious. “Y’know, why don’t you get the truck? I’ll stay here with Lissie, and get Elena's blood.”

Rebekah leveled a long look at Klaus before sliding off the hood gracefully and hitting the gravel with a muffled thump. She brushed her jeans off and walked away, turning to pass Lis a smile in goodbye. 

She waved back silently. Rebekah smirked, brushing past Klaus with a slight frown, still not having forgotten nor forgiven him and his slight toward her.

Klaus must have forgotten she was there for the briefest moment, as he let his face fall into disappointment. 

Annalise felt the urge to fill the silence, strangely, to comfort him, but couldn't think of anything to say - but still, she must've done something to draw his attention because suddenly there he was, glaring at her from there her feet dangled off the bonnet. "You're still here?"

Feeling that he was more than likely the type to lash out his frustrations at whoever was around, Annalise rolled her eyes boredly. "You literally just said 'I'll stay here with Lissie, and get Elena's blood.'" 

She more than likely butchered the British accent, but Klaus had that amused air about him again. "No, I mean, I figured, Good Samaritan like you - I expected you to be up there, holding the doppelgängers' hand." 

"Well maybe I think the entire gesture's a little empty when I still work for you." 

"That didn't stop you tonight, though." Klaus chuckled, tilting his head as he grew more serious, and studying. "Your use of magic, undermining me at every turn; most likely won you a little trust. Like with that little trick of healing those precious innocents, only moments after a rather violent display might I add. You might've fooled them, love, but I saw your eyes. Your parents were right;" His smirk tilted cunningly, goading her, "...you looked downright demonic." 

Annalise froze, breath stuttering at the memories that surfaced, but still managing a glassy glower directly at the taunting expression Klaus looked to her with. "You're a dick." 

"And yet, you're still here." Annalise scowled harder, looking away in anger since he was fucking right. She was still here, bearing his taunts and throat-throttling smirks - all because she- "And yes, you stood up to me, here and there, but you truly gave yourself away when you teleported." Klaus chuckled in somewhat disbelief as Lis looked back to him hesitantly. "You could've left. At any point in your captivity - the second you were healed completely, you could've left." 

Lis rolled her eyes, now wishing she had. "Trust me, I regret it already." She muttered under her breath.

"I don't. You've managed to show me your hand, and yet that makes me doubt you all the more." Klaus snapped; his tone more severe. "There are very few who would desire, crave, to be at our side as you do, who would forego a chance at escape. There are those who want power - well, you've displayed you have no use for more. Those who want for our reputation - though it seems you are set on keeping yourself concealed; there are those who wish to harm us - yet you defended my victims without any irreparable damage done to me and mine. You- You defied me at every opportunity - and yet you worked within the bounds I set you. Tell me, what exactly do you have to gain from staying, from working for me?" 

He was right, the massive shit. 

Of course, he was gonna make her spell it out for him. 

"Isn't it obvious?" Annalise laughed hollowly, tucking her ratty hair behind her ear as she shook her head, looking away. "You said it yourself." At Klaus' silence, then slow blink, she grinned - a self-loathing, hateful, shaky grin. "There you go. You got it. You know what it's like, to never be accepted for what you truly are, wherever you go. No matter how hard I try, I'll be a monster, I'll-" 

"-be alone, for all time." He finished, stepping away - his expression caught in a strange vulnerability.

A silent understanding passed between them, the third time that night. 

Lis was about to turn away, back to the night sky seeing as she felt there was nothing more to say - but she stiffened, feeling the presence of a vampire she’d never met before blurring into focus from behind a car to her left.

Klaus must have heard him too - after a brief look of warning in her direction, he plastered a smug smile of amusement on his face, tilting his head as he turned towards the new vampire. 

“Well, look who finally decided to show up to the party.”

Lis narrowed her eyes and braced herself, seeing the expression on the vampire's face as he approached Klaus. This wasn't like anyone they'd faced tonight - this wasn't some innocent teen, a newbie witch, or a fresh-faced vamp. This guy felt more like Stefan - a lot like Stefan, and he was angry. 

His admittedly handsome face was contorted into a scornful scowl, dark hair falling into cerulean, practically glow in the dark eyes trained on Klaus with single-minded fury. This guy was dangerous. Deadly. 

“Where’s Elena?” The handsome stranger didn’t even spare her a glance sitting on the tall jeep bonnet as he stalked up to Klaus, tensed tight.

“Uh..." Klaus dragged out the syllable sarcastically, before he quipped, "she’s making a donation to a greater cause.” Lis rolled her eyes internally. Of course, he like antagonizing everyone he meets. Must be a personality trait, right next to being narcissistic, extensively paranoid, and having a hobby of terrorising children. The stranger went to walk past him towards the hospital, having none of his shit, but Klaus pushed him back firmly with no effort at all, a smile still fixed fakely on his face. “Can’t let you interfere, mate.”

“Then you’ll have to kill me.”

Lis regarded him more fully - his agitated demeanour, his strange effort to skirt around the big bad to the hospital - he wasn't just angry, he was worried. For Elena.

He was willing to die just to get to her?  

Annalise found herself...floored. Strangely emotional, even. She'd never had a great relationship, hell, friendship, with someone - anyone, that had gone past pleasantries and superficial promises. From her childhood to foster care, she could count on one hand the friends she'd let herself get close to, and even then, they wouldn't have even blinked if they'd been asked to hand her over in exchange for a cool ice cream cone on a hot summer day. 

There even was once when she'd thought she'd been in love.

It hadn't lasted. 

But then here she was, faced just tonight, not by just one person willing to fight for Elena, but a whole damn tribe ranging from humans to witches, from werewolves to vampires. 

Annalise quickly dispelled the curl of her gut, focusing instead on how each of the men now sized each other up. Would Klaus expect her to fight for him? She wasn't ready for another high-stress situation, dammit. She wasn't even sure if she had magic to spare. 

Oh, who was she kidding? This man was the 'fricken Hybrid. If he couldn't handle a somewhat old-feeling vampire, he wasn't worth even a fifth of his reputation. On the other hand; Elena's...friend. Should she make sure he didn't die some macabre death? 

It seems Klaus had an answer for her. 

“I would love to, but uh...I made a pledge to your brother and unlike him I keep my word." Klaus tilted his head, looking at Damon mischievously. "Although you know what, thinking about it now, he probably doesn’t care that much anymore.”

...Stefan's brother?

Was this the brother Stefan had traded his freedom for?

Okay - that explained most of the anger. 

Predictably, Klaus' little quip was enough to send this guy into a frenzy. 

As soon as the guy in the leather jacket rushed Klaus, he'd used his speed in a second to smash the stranger against the black jeep to Lis’s left, choking him with trained ease. He raised his other hand high, looking like he was preparing to knock the guy’s head off.

Annalise found herself going to slide off the bonnet, preparing to call out to very unfair fight, the stranger raised his hands in front of his face in surrender, his eyes betraying his panic.

“Wait, wait! Don’t you wanna know about your friend, Mikael?” His croak was barely legible, but it was enough to freeze Klaus, and morph his expression into one of chilling terror. Annalise saw his back tense, and his raised hand tremble.

This seemed huge.

“What do you know about Mikael?” Klaus’s voice shook. Minuscule, but she heard it. The mere realisation of it sent shivers down her arms. Shit, he sounded genuine. Sacred.

Who the hell was this guy and why did it look like Klaus had glimpsed death itself? 

Lis slid down the bonnet slowly, no where nearly as gracefully as Rebekah had done.

The stranger’s eyes only glinted bright in victory. His gamble had paid off. “Just that he knows you’re here.”

“You’re bluffing.” Klaus breathed out in a restrained growl, trying to keep his tone even.

“Katherine and I found him, consider it our leverage.” The stranger’s brows raised sarcastically as Klaus started leaning away, convinced.

There's that name again; Katherine.

Before she could venture forwards, with an abrupt growl, Klaus flung the dude into the front of the truck she'd just been sitting on with minimal effort, disappearing from view the next second. Lis felt the hybrid’s signature blip rapidly away from the hospital and into the distance. 

Opening her eyes, she blinked slowly, in disbelief. 

Fuck.

What the fuck does one do, as a kidnappee, when your kidnapper left you in the dust? 

She was sure it was something logical, like go to the authorities, or run, or hide etc...but Annalise found herself confusedly stuck in place. Short-circuited. Glitched. Gobsmacked. 

Ha. That was a funny word. 

Her brain, always prepared to procrastinate large life decisions and keep 'em for later - focused its attention from her freedom, ohmygoodgollygosh,shewasfree- to the stranger who groaned in pain below her on the gravel.

Still, frozen, she just stood, and watched the stranger stand, whilst internally having a mental freak-out and watched as he stood up to look around, surprised but cautious. They both froze when his eyes met hers.

Annalise flashed him an awkward smile, coupled with what she was sure was a cheery wave betraying none of her hidden panic. "...Hi there." 

She watched as he took in her ruffled appearance, messy hair with slightly skewed frames resting low on her nose, and her bare feet braced on gravel as she adjusted with a slight wince. After all that, he shot her an exaggerated sassy grimace of disgust. “You the witch travelling with Klaus?” 

“I'm well aware I look like shit, so fuck off.” Annalise found herself almost smirking back as she rolled her eyes at him. "But yup. Yes-" actually, no - since Klaus had left her behind, "well, kinda, not really-"

“What is it?” The handsome stranger now sounded a mix between concerned, confused and exasperated, “You’re either with him, or you’re against him. And why do you smell really good?”

"With him, then, I guess." Lis shrugged uncomfortably. “It’s a long story, but I didn't sign up to bully kids. And I’m not even gonna touch that strange second question." She then looked at him like he was the one standing barefoot in the middle of a hospital carpark in nothing but worn jeans and a torn tee. "What the heck kinda question is that anyway, creep? What do you even want me to say? Eau de Kinda Captive?”

His unfairly bright blue eyes suddenly twinkled, if possible, and though he still looked her up and down warily, she could sense that she'd said something, or done something to make him not want to kill her on sight, but all Annalise felt was drained. 

Tonight was the most fucking interaction she'd had in a while. She wanted to get this bloody meet and greet over with.

Wait, Elena's blood.

She felt oddly protective after going to such lengths to procure it, and she was sure in Klaus' hurry to rush off, he'd managed to leave behind the one thing that the entire night kinda sorta worth it - and no way in hell was she gonna let the girl give up another pint or two when Klaus decided to come back around to stock up. 

"I'm Damon. Heard you helped out a little tonight." The dude extended the hand before dropping it with a look of disgust when she went to reach for it. It transformed into a self-amused smirk when she shot him a very, very, dry deadpan. 

"Ha. Funny." Annalise caught how his wide leer widened, though also how his eyes went to the hospital over her shoulder. Her voice softened. "She's fine, but she's given quite a bit of blood. Some bedrest, and frequent fluids would be great. A meal, if she can stomach it." 

Damon nodded, looking surprised. "Thanks..."

“Annalise. Lis." 

"Nope. Not gonna work. Never gonna remember that, plus I know a Liz and that's gonna be way too confusing-"

"Elena’s on the second floor, suite 214.” Her voice was steady and honest, and tired.

Again, his expression fell into one of genuine surprise, before he nodded, making his way to the hospital quickly. 

Annalise hesitated, watching his back retreat into the hospital, before she swore to herself.

Quickly visualising Elena’s room she'd helped the girl get situated in, she teleported in, grabbed the filled blood bags - pausing for a moment, Annalise looked at the sleeping girl sadly, before she teleported back out, just as she felt the vampire – Damon – entered the suite.

A deep ache set into her bones as she fell back against the hood of the jeep she'd been on, groaning, clutching at her chest in pain with one hand, gasping for air as she held three blood bags tightly in the other.

The strain of overusing her magic today day hit her, hard. Annalise hadn’t used this much magic in one go for a very long time - hell, even in the Coven compound she'd been told to censor herself.

She never had to use it for anything big; just small mundane day-to-day things like heating up a cooled cup of tea, and making sure her succulents never died. A fight, once. 

She looked down at the freakishly warm blood bags cradled safely in her hands. 

Well, in for a penny, right? 

Stretching out her back, Lis rolled her neck out, sighing.

Shutting her eyes, Annalise concentrated on stretching her magic out one last time to locate Klaus. Something twinged, her breath caught, and she fought not to double over in pain as she reached as far as she could, looking, searching for a familiar flare of magic.  She winced as a headache built, seizing a side of her head in what felt like a brain cramp. 

But...there! Against all odds, she felt herself lock onto his thankfully unique signature on a highway, speeding out of Mystic Falls.

In for a pound.

She pulled herself to it and popped out of existence.

Chapter Text

Klaus swerved the car, brakes squealing as Annalise abruptly appeared in the passenger’s seat in a flash of silver.

“Watch out!”

His quick reflexes put them back in the right lane as a jeep sped past in the opposite direction, honking loudly.

Crisis temporarily averted, Lis let out a sigh of relief, then casually made herself more comfortable in her seat, putting her seat belt on and settling in with the air of complete normalcy. 

Klaus still stared at her - subtle enough to not outright gawk, but still, when his default expressions were either his signature no-good smirk, or that lovely murderous glare, faint, genuine surprise was hard to miss.

Stifling the grin she felt begin to pull at her lips at the silence growing more pregnant with his confused, silent, questions, she let him first process the fact that here she was, willingly. Hey, if anything, the scare served as payback for calling her out in the car park. Giving up on hiding her amusement, she shot him a sly unrestrained grin as she leaned forwards to fiddle with the radio. 

“You don’t mind right? I’m feeling tired and I won’t be the best person to go on a safe late-night drive with without some music keeping me up.” Having recovered from his previous fright, Klaus now looked at her with suspicion; an expression that she had grown all too familiar with in the last two days, but still, Annalise played dumb. “What?”

“What are you doing here?”  

Paranoid was a word used often when describing Klaus Mikaelson - but she did admit it was a fair reaction. A person who didn't run away from him the first chance they got, had something fundamentally wrong with them. 

Well, Annalise had accepted this years ago. Shrugging, she sat back in her seat after finding a semi-decent radio channel, turning the volume down low enough so it played in the background without being too distracting. “I gave you my word that I’ll help, Klaus.” Annalise paused, then held up the blood bags slightly to draw his attention to them. “And I kinda had to reach out to you anyways y’know? You forgot these. The whole trip to Mystic Falls would have been pointless otherwise.”

Klaus’s face light up when he saw the blood, his smile dimpled his cheeks as before he nodded at her slightly out of gratitude. Yet even then, Annalise noticed that the suspicion didn't completely leave his gaze, trying to figure out his motive for helping him. Nevertheless, it seemed he had manners at least. “Thank you love, loyalty like yours is hard to come by these days.” 

She dismissed his words with a flapping hand and shifted around in her seat, twisting to look at the seats behind her. “Wouldn’t have an esky for these by any chance, would you? The blood needs to be kept at a certain temperature.”

“A what?” Even as she continued to dig around the back as best she could, Lis could still hear his amusement. When Annalise looked back towards him, he stared straight ahead at the road with a small grin playing on his face. He knew what she meant. And he knew that she knew he knew. That dick. Annalise rolled her eyes, grinning again. Who knew he had a sense of humour? Well, at least it was a happy surprise that he had moods other than murder and smugness and...what else?

Lis turned back to looking through the surprising amount of bags in the back was she answered. “You know what I mean. A cooler. Happen to have one of those conveniently lying around? That’d be handy right now.”

“I’m afraid not love. There wasn’t much time to pack. I was in a rush. I paid the ripper a visit, told him to keep my doppelganger safe, grabbed a car, and left.”

Pause. Annalise immediately tore her hands out of the bag and turned to look a Klaus. "Wait, this car's stolen?" She raised her eyebrows at Klaus. He just shrugged at her, and continued staring ahead. Well...okay.

At any rate, she certainly couldn't do anything about it now. "It's not the worst thing you've done tonight." Even as Klaus' lips tightened, Annalise didn't regret her words. She moved back into her seat and sighed before reaching forwards to open the glove compartment in front of her. Emptying it out by gently placing its items in the back seat, she carefully set the blood bags in the compartment. “This is really a last resort kinda thing because I used my magic a bit too much today, but this is spell is small. The strain on my magic, however, will be constant – so it’ll be a good thing I’ll be resting for the next couple of hours.”

Taking a deep breath, she held her palms out towards the blood, fingers splayed, and muttered, “Alsius.” under her breath as she concentrated. Klaus' curious stare was tangible as a chill settled within the compartment. Annalise paid him no mind as she gently coaxed the temperature to drop until her breath fogged slightly in front of her and small amounts of frost started to crawl over her fingers – Shit, that was too cold.

Concentrating harder she willed the temperature to rise a small amount, but made sure the compartment still remained relatively chilly. Blood should be stored around 4 degrees Celsius from what she remembered. After achieving a temperature that she thought was accurate enough, Annalise let go of her focus. Closing the compartment carefully, she sat back, relaxing for a long minute to try to get comfortable with the small but constant trickle of her magic feeling the spell keeping the blood chilled. 

It was quiet for a while before Lis started forwards with a panicked gasp. “Shit, where’s Rebekah? You sent her to get the truc-“

“I left her in Mystic Falls. Like I said love, I was in a bit of a rush.” Klaus looked over at her with an amused tilt to his smile. It seemed his curiosity had overridden his previous anger, or Rebekah's current situation amused him a small amount. But Annalise was unnerved. Rebekah had been...an ally of sorts against Klaus, the buffer between them. They needed her to keep the peace, surely, and she felt bad for abandoning the only person she'd really come to know.

Annalise couldn't stop herself from asking. “Could I borrow your phone? Have you called her yet? I just feel bad for leaving her.”

He pursed his lips but silently took it out of his pocket and handed it to her. There he goes again, challenging her perception of him. He was volatile, angry, vindictive like the stories said he was, but there were times when Annalise paused because he was...oddly human. Annalise wasn't sure if it was a good thing that he reminded her of herself back when she was just angry at everything. Putting that thought away for later, she immediately went into the contacts list and dialled Rebekah's number. It had been about fifteen minutes since they'd last seen each other. The call was answered on the third ring.

“Where the bloody hell are you? I’ve got the truck but you’re not here! I’m not some errand boy you can order around Nik!”

Lis lifted the phone away from her ear and put the call on loudspeaker – out of courtesy of course – she knew Klaus could hear every word.

“Hey Bekah, you’re on speaker. So, um, you would not believe the craziest thing that just happened.” She held the phone up in her left band balancing it between her and Klaus as she spoke quickly, trying to make light of the situation. “So right after you left us Klaus was attacked by this guy named Damon and he managed to scare Klaus away, by doing some big-ass name drop-“

“Rebekah, they found him." Klaus rudely cut in, but the weight to his tone, the added fear, made Annalise listen closer. "Damon and Katherine found Mikael. He said that he knows I’m in Mystic Falls. It’s why I left.” 

They heard Rebekah inhale sharply in shock. When she spoke again, Klaus' fear was reflected in her own voice. “Nik where are you now? Tell me you did not just leave me behind with someone we've been running from for centuries.” Annalise noted her insulted tone was totally justified, especially considering this new information. Lis squinted at Klaus judgmentally. Klaus narrowed his own glare back at her, before leaning in to answer Rebekah.

“We both know it’s me he’s truly after sister, and if I’m not there, he’ll follow my trail." He shifted, eyes flicking back to the road. "Look, I’ve got the doppelganger's blood. I’ll be able to create an army to fight back against him. I’ll return soon Rebekah.” Klaus sounded solemn, so Lis decided to interrupt the darkening atmosphere.

“I’m out of juice right now Bekah, otherwise I’d teleport you right here into the car with us. Sorry. Believe me, I'd rather your company that this guy's any day.” She heard Rebekah snort lightly even as Klaus sent her an unimpressed glare, so she smirked at him as she continued. “Do you have somewhere you can sleep for the night, and probably for the foreseeable future?”

“I’m not sure Lissie, I don’t think there’s any hotels nearby, and motels are definitely out of the question. I could find a quaint little B and B or...oh, what about the Salvatore Boarding House?” Her voice took on a mischievous tone that seemed infectious as Klaus' smirk deepened wickedly.

“That would be quite ideal sister, you can keep an eye on my ripper as well as his annoying brother intent on raising Mikael. Feel free to check into the local high school as well by the way – I know you’ve always wanted to attend. You can keep a closer eye on my new hybrid and doppelganger there.”

“Knowing you, you probably left me behind on purpose, considering how well this all works out.” Rebekah’s annoyed tone was back, and accusing.

“No, dear sister, it certainly wasn’t planned. But do I agree, everything worked out well didn’t it?” Klaus was smug - it was beginning to look like that was his default - and Lis was sure that Rebekah heard it too.

“Screw you, Nik.”  Rebekah snapped and ended the call, leaving the end tone filling the silence she left behind. Annalise sent a tight-lipped awkward smile as he grabbed his phone out of her hand once more, pocketing it without looking at her.

Annalise sucked her teeth before letting out a low exhale as she relaxed into her seat, facing away from the Hybrid. 

This was going to be a long-ass drive.

-

Annalise hummed along to the song quietly playing in the car in boredom, bopping her head slightly in time with the beat. Sure, she was sitting next to a probably certified murderous psychopath - but she felt entirely too relaxed. Klaus had been silent for the last hour, deep in thought with his brow furrowed, one hand relaxed on the wheel and the other cupping his chin. She looked away quickly when she saw his eyes flick to hers. That had been happening for a while.

He had been glancing at her periodically, and frankly, it was getting on her nerves. 

He was curious, sure. She had questions too. Annalise took a deep breath and turned to face him. “You have questions, but so do I. I get the feeling that I just stepped into something huge – like apocalyptically huge.” She shifted once more, loosening her seat belt strapped against her chest and moved so her back rested against the locked car door. This allowed Lis to face Klaus fully as she continued. “But, I did promise that I’d work for you until you let me go. If I can lower your kill count while I do that, that’s a bonus. You’re dangerous, and I get the feeling if I’m anything but honest; if I hide anything from you, that it definitely won’t bode well for me. So, go ahead – ask me anything you want. Just know that I’ll ask you some questions too at the end,” Klaus raised an eyebrow as if asking whether she was serious. Annalise shrugged with a small smile. “Humour me.”

After turning back to the road for a short moment to mull the decision over, Klaus spoke. Clearly he'd been curious for a while. “I thought you said that you don’t have to pay a price for your magic, why are you exhausted? Is there a limit that you reach?”

Her lips quirked. As far as first questions go, that was surprisingly non-invasive, and quite...professional?

“I’ve never really used my magic to its fullest y'know? At the start it was because everyone had convinced me it was dark, and then I felt bad that I had magic, and my parents didn’t. After that, I had to keep a pretty tight lid on it in foster care through to high school. The first time I actively tried to access and use it was when I was back in Australia doing my degrees. That’s when I started studying magic to figure out what I had, what I was. I still have no clue, but at least I learnt to use it. It’s like a muscle – I didn’t exercise it for a long time, and just when I started to, I was taken by Gloria. Best analogy is that my magic muscle’s a tad stiff right now, and today just stretched it out – painfully." She winced, rubbing her shoulder as if her exhaustion was physical. "I’ll practice from now on, don’t worry; I’ll be throwing around magic in no time.”

“So then why Latin?” She huffed out a laugh at his question.

“Of course, you picked up on that, you’re ancient.” Lis teasingly shrugged one shoulder at his disgruntled expression. “One of my degrees was Latin – I know, it’s a dead language and all, but a lot of spells and enchantments old European witches created are based loosely off Latin, and more rarely ancient Greek, so I figured it was handy. It was when I was practising one night that I figured out my magic responded better and more accurately to a vocal order instead of a mental one. So, I’ve been using it ever since." Annalise felt her grin threaten to falter at the memories of learning her magic, so she moved on quickly with a shallow laugh. "Not to mention it sounds pretty damn cool too.”

The quiet stretched between them for a moment, the low bass of and indistinguishable song was muted in the background. Annalise vaguely wondered if he'd caught on, but her fears were unfounded. His voice was strangely gentle when he spoke again. “You said your parents described your eyes as inhuman on our way to Mystic Falls. That they glowed. I saw them glow.”

Lis swallowed thickly and looked away.

“They were a bright grey. Like molten silver.” She looked up in shock, her eyes wide as she studied his expression. It wasn't giving anything away, but it wasn't malevolent either. 

That was...unexpectedly nice. “Uh, thanks? I think hybrid eyes are cool too?” Her voice was distinctly uncomfortable and awkward. She shut her eyes tight and hit the back of her head against the window. Jeez, why was she like this?

She felt Klaus’s amused smirk directed at her once more, and thought it was time to move on. “Anyway, my turn. I learnt a lot of new names tonight – like literally everyone’s, so correct me if I’m wrong. The guy I talked to after you left in a hurry, I think it was Damon? Who was he to Elena, because I was sure that Stefan was Elena’s guy? I could tell he was very concerned though.”

Klaus’s fingers had tightened on the steering wheel. “You talked to Damon? What did you say? Did he mention Mikael? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Lis saw his fingers flex, forming grooves in the wheel under them, deeper at each question he asked. His eyes had that fury she was getting oh-so-used to seeing. Just as she thought things might out, she had lost her footing once more. 

The anger was going to be a problem, but Annalise had to show that she wasn't deterred. She looked at him dully, unimpressed. “Chill. All he did was ask if I was with you. I said yes, and then I told him Elena’s room number before I flashed in there to grab the blood bags. I would've mentioned it to you if I thought he said something important.” She saw Klaus relax minutely and look back towards the road.

Annalise could, however, still hear the cold irritation in his voice. “I don’t trust you enough to decide which conversations are important, and which aren’t. I don’t care if anyone even breathes in your direction – you tell me.”

“Okay, fine, I’m sorry.” It wasn’t like she wanted to argue and rile him up even more. She needed answers of her own and wasn’t going to get them from a grumpy Klaus.

She let them sit in silence for a while longer. Klaus merged the car into a larger highway just as Lis felt the magic in the air swell and grow heavy and humid. She smiled and cracked the window open, breathing in deeply. “I just love the smell of rain.” As she answered Klaus’s questioning look, the first few droplets of rain fell on to the windscreen, multiplying rapidly until the sound of the quiet radio playing was accompanied by a low constant thrum of rain hitting the car. Klaus flicked the windshield wipers on as she closed the window and leaned back.

“I have another question. Kinda heavy.” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “Who’s Mikael? And why did the mention of him have you abandoning your sister, and running for the hills?” He glared at her venomously before turning away, mouth resolutely shut. “Look, if I know more, maybe I can help more, okay?” Lis moved to face him fully again. 

The silence continued and she sighed giving up. Maybe she can badger him another day then. Lis ran a hand through her hair and shifted in her seat again, turning away from Klaus, facing the front instead. She watched as the car swallowed up the dark road under them, leaning her head against the cool window.

Her eyes had begun to flutter close, but immediately snapped open at the sound of Klaus’s low voice. “Mikael is my father.”

Lis felt her eyes bulge out in shock.

“He hated me before we all turned, and hated me even more afterwards. He detested the monsters we had become, but his anger increased tenfold after I had killed my first human and triggered the curse. That’s when he realised that I was part-werewolf – that I wasn’t his.”

Shit. Annalise watched Klaus’s eyes narrow, glaring at nothing, before he continued slowly.

“It turns out my mother had been unfaithful, and had been with one of the wolf men in our village before I was born. Mikael called me an abomination, a beast; then strung me up in chains and demanded my mother cast a curse to keep my werewolf side dormant.” It's why he had reacted at her being called an abomination by her parents. The hurt reflecting in his expressive eyes met Lis’s sad brown ones when he heard her let out a soft gasp of understanding.

“Your mother was the Original Witch. She was the one that cursed you; the one that tried to convince you to kill Elena so that you wouldn’t succeed in making your hybrids. You told Bekah that she hated you.” Annalise remembered.

“You are no stranger to bad parenting love, you understand.”

She saw past his casual statement for what it was. She was all too familiar with trying to make things feel like no big deal.  “I do. I’m sorry you went through that.” she muttered. “No one should.”

He didn’t reply, but his grip relaxed on the wheel as he continued.

“My father then went out into the village, killing all its werewolves. I confronted my parents, mad at my mother for what she did to me, and to us, my siblings – killing us, turning us into these things.” Klaus bit his lip, turning away. “My mother died that night, my siblings and I; we ran, fleeing our father. He's now a vampire who hunts vampires – he only drinks from them, not humans. He has been chasing us down for as long as I can remember, but we were given a short reprieve for nearly the entirety of the last few decades. We had hoped he stopped his pursuit of us, but Damon and Katherine’s incessant efforts must have him continuing once more.”

Lis had bowed her head, and lifted it as he finished speaking. She had nothing to say, but was able nod at him in understanding just once – Klaus reciprocated her nod, and Annalise felt something shift in their dynamic. Klaus moved to mention it. “You’re strangely easy to talk to, love. Is this a spell of some sort?" 

Annalise rolled her eyes and huffed, taking his abrupt change of topic in stride. “You’re suspicious, as always. I’m a wonderful listener thank you very much. Plus, I don’t think I’m capable of affecting your emotions or your thoughts. I think my magic can only affect people on a physical level. I don’t think I can mess with people emotionally. Then again – I do also know a handy truth spell, but that’s not really emotional manipulation, is it? That's more mental manipulation. You'd think they're similar, but they really aren't.” She let out a light yawn. 

Stretching her arms out in front of her, she spoke, her voice was soft and tired. “Speaking of my magic, are we going wherever it is we are going to directly, or are we going to stop somewhere for the night?”

“We’re going to Kansas. There were rumours of werewolf pack up there a while ago, might as well put the blood you stole to good use. It is a long drive however, so I was going to stop at a roadside motel soon. Why did you ask love?” He matched her soft tone initially, before shooting her a quick lecherous smirk which turned into a chuckle she started swatting at his arm.

Lis felt she got a couple good whacks in before she sat back in her seat satisfied. “Ugh, no innuendos please. Keeping the blood bags chilled is draining me faster than I thought it would.” She saw his eyes grow curious again and tried to explain. “Imagine you were holding a light bag in front of you with your arm raised, right? At the start its quite easy but as more and more time goes by, the effort required to keep the bag held up increases because your arm muscles start to weaken and grow tired. My magic’s like that, and I mean, it’s pretty weak right now as it is.”

He nodded along interestedly as he turned off the highway into a small town, and allowed silence to fill the small car again. Lis felt herself dozing off with the rain outside lulling her to sleep but she resisted, rubbing her eyes. In an effort to stay awake she looked towards Klaus once more.

“Last question, I swear. You said siblings before, I only know Bekah. Are there more of you?” Her eyes glinted with amusement as she put on a faux horrified look on her face, looking at a smirking Klaus.

“Yes. Originally, my mother bore seven children. The eldest died in a plague, which is what caused us to move to the New World. Then our youngest died at the hands of werewolves there." His eyes grew hooded before he clearly built back his casual air. "Currently, we make five in total. Finn, the eldest, then Elijah, me, Kol and finally Rebekah.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your siblings.” Lis squinted, pausing. “Wait, are your living brothers in those coffins you cart around with you everywhere?” He shrugged casually, looking away. “I knew it! I knew I felt magic close to you and Bekah’s signatures coming from those four caskets." She clapped her hands lightly, congratulating herself, before her mind caught up with the rest of what Klaus said. "Wait hold up then – that's three brothers - who’s in the fourth one? The magic coming from one of them felt way stronger than the rest. It practically dripped with power.”

Klaus thinned his lips, looking away; clearly not willing to answer.

She scrunched her nose up at him in annoyance, before she decided to move on. She didn’t need to know everything right this minute. They kinda had a good thing going, and she didn't want to jeopardise it by asking one too many questions. Annalise shot a teasing smile. 

“At least I get why you act like the arsehole you are; everything makes sense now,” She leaned towards him cheekily, even as his brow furrowed, lifting an eyebrow at her sudden abandon of her prior line of questioning. 

“You’re a middle child.”

Settling back in her seat she chuckled, watching a rare smile form on his face as they turned slowly into a motel car park. It didn’t look too bad, in all honestly, she was looking forwards to taking a long bath, and sleeping in a half-way decent bed for the first time in eight months.

Klaus parked and turned the ignition off before turning to her. “The rain’s just let up enough. I’ll go get room keys and come back to collect you. While you wait, see if you can find some spare clothes and shoes in the backseat; this car’s family had a child – she looked like she was your height.”

He was out of the car, smirking as an indignant gasp left her mouth. Lis snorted to herself, before she shrugged. She deserved that. More than anything, Lis was glad Klaus' anger had dissipated for now. Though it wasn't what she'd expected working for him, he was surprisingly easy to talk to. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. 

Turning in her seat, she flicked the light on inside the car, before starting to sort through the duffel bags in the back.

When Klaus returned, he climbed into the car hurriedly out of the rain, promptly growing still in fury as he looked to his left, seeing the passenger seat empty. A loud “Yes!”  from behind him had him looking into the back seat where Lis; wearing a puffy pink raincoat and a white cap, was holding up a small pair of cream coloured ballet flats in the air victoriously. 

“I see you found clothes that fit.” Annalise physically felt how hard he was grinning, but didn’t bother looking up. Instead, she busied herself with stuffing all the snacks she could find into a handy colourful tote bag.

Still feeling him smirk at her, she gave him her best glare as he reached over to the passenger side glove compartment to grab the chilled blood bags. “Just for the record, I hate the fact that I’m digging through children’s clothes, you absolute sociopath,” she growled. “I feel so bad for the poor family.”

He dismissed her, sitting back up right. “I paid them for their troubles.”

She threw a stray sock in his general direction. “Okay, number one; I doubt that, Klaus – you probably broke the sound barrier in your rush to leave, and two; They packed quite a lot for their trip, what if they were moving somewhere? Oh, I am such a horrible person.”

Looking over, expecting another glib response from him, she paused in confusion. There was no one there. Squinting out the window, she made out Klaus already heading away from the car towards the stairs leading up to the second level.

She cursed under her breath and gave up trying to dig through separate bags, instead she grabbed one at random, grabbed her snack tote, and put her hood up over her cap before reaching up to flick the inside lights off. Lis then jumped out of the car, shut the door and ran towards the stairs and up to the second floor to where Klaus had already walked into a room. When she reached the room, panting, he was leaning down to put Elena’s blood in the mini fridge. She paused in the doorway,

“Wait, we aren’t sleeping in the same room, right?” Klaus turned and smirked at her before she saw his eyes flick to a small table next to the door to her left, which had a key with a room tag sitting on it.  

“Oh, great. That would have been weird - too much like a hostage sitch. Thanks.” She reached forwards and grabbed the key – it was the next door down. It appeared he trusted her to stay, or more likely, this was another test. Either way, Annalise was glad to have a room to herself and a bed to sleep in. Annalise paused in Klaus' doorway before she left. “Wait, when are we leaving for Kansas tomorrow?”

Klaus had already turned away, busy tapping away on his phone. “Be ready at dawn, I don’t want to waste any time.”

She bobbed her head and went to pull the door shut behind her, but paused again.

“Do you want snacks?” She opened her tote bag to show him the options he could choose from, and looked up to see him looking at her again weirdly. “What? There’s jerky in here, some potato chips and m&ms.”

He squinted at her, baffled.

“Fine, okay. Your loss. Goodnight.” She shrugged and closed the door behind her, walking to her own room.

Flipping the lights on, and locking the door behind her, Lis looked around her small musty smelling motel room. Despite everything looking a decade old, the bed looked so, so inviting. It was a proper bed - not anything like the makeshift shitty thing she slept on at Gloria's. Annalise let her head tilt back as she let out a deep breath. This was it - she was free. 

Well, not technically. She was with Klaus now - the only things different between Klaus and Gloria was that he never hid his true intentions of making him work for her, and he didn't tie her up. He even got her her own motel room! She could run away right now in theory - but she'd heard horror stories about Klaus hunting people to the ends of the Earth, just for lying to him. Plus - it felt rude. They'd...bonded over their shitty life stories. 

Lis mentally shrugged. It couldn't hurt to stick around for a bit more, would it? 

Chucking her snack tote on the small table, she walked over to the foot of the bed and dropped the duffel. Crouching low to inspect its contents, she scowled at finding men’s clothes, but she wasn’t a position to be picky. She grabbed a shirt and a pair of sweats (that definitely won’t fit her), before opting to take a long shower – she didn’t trust the motel bath once she got a good look at the suspicious stains in it.

Falling to the bed in exhaustion half an hour later, she slept soundly with a genuine smile.

She was free.

-

Annalise had genuinely felt bad about the fact that Klaus had stolen a car - from a family with a tween, no less - so when they reached Kansas the next day after a long drive she had separated from Klaus after a short argument.

Klaus had wanted to track down the werewolves first, and she had argued that he didn’t need her along as well. What Lis had wanted to do instead, was go into town, find the nearest place with internet and see if her finances were still in order - maybe even shop for new clothes. She felt horribly guilty wearing someone else's clothes.

He had finally acquiesced sternly; only after she promised she would return to the motel in two hours, and pointed out that this argument was just wasting time he could be using to hunt these werewolves down. Annalise really did appreciate that he hadn't forced her to do what he wanted - not that he really needed her after he received a pretty big lead, but still. It was nice not being treated like a prisoner. 

After splitting up and finding a small library that offered free internet access, she logged in to her finances and was relieved to find them untouched.

It wasn’t much - after all her parents had been practically broke - so all she had was a ton of debt from her degrees, and a small pile of savings she had earned doing casual jobs while in university.

She reported her bank card as missing, and ordered a new one to the motel; she could recreate her ID easily enough using her magic, but recreating debit cards were harder, since they had to interact in the proper manner with technology.

Figuring how to that wasn’t at the top of her priorities at this moment, no matter how cool it would be. She faltered, remembering a friend from a life long gone. He would've probably figured it out by now. 

Forcing herself to move on, she looked up contact information on the Mystic Falls DMV and called them from a payphone in the street. “Hi, I’m calling to report a car that’s parked across my driveway, I have the licence plate number-”

“Ma’am that sounds like a police matter, I suggest calling them, not the DMV.” The female voice sounded judgy.

Time to pull out the big guns, then. Annalise called on her most desperate voice. “Wait, wait please, I’m already late for work, and I don’t want the police involved. I just had a real shitty breakup and I’m sure this is my stupid ex getting back at me. I don’t want to make this a big deal; I just want to make sure this is his fault before I decide to report it.” Annalise took out the little slip of paper that she'd jotted down their car's licence number preemptively. 

The operator paused and sighed before asking for the licence number before sighing again. “Just so you know, we have no authority to do this at all – so if the police ask, we didn’t give you this information.”

“Yes, yes thank you so much.”

There was the sound of keyboard keys clacking before the operator spoke again. “The car belongs to an Alex McMullin – does that name sound familiar?”

“Yes, yes, he’s my ex’s best friend; I knew it. Thank you so much miss.” Lis didn’t have to fake the happiness in her voice. The operator sighed one last time before ending the call.

Lis then continued her little self-appointed quest and went back into the Library in order to search the name up in a recent phone book; she was relieved to find only one result lived in Mystic Falls – thank goodness for small towns. She wrote down the address on a post-it and slipped it in her pocket before going back to the motel, satisfied that she did everything she set out to do with time to spare.

-

Over the next few days they had spent long nights on the road, going from Atlanta to Kansas, to North Dakota, then Seattle before finding themselves in Portland. They had managed to accumulate quite the hybrid crowd over the past week, but Lis was still using her magic radar to find clusters of (now familiar) werewolves in the areas they visited. Klaus's fascination with her magic seemed to dim - he did watch in interest as she recreated her ID using magic a few days ago, but since then she made sure she practiced everyday - the novelty of it decreased. 

Lis also badgered Klaus to let her use his phone from time to time to call Rebekah and stay up to date on all the drama happening back in Mystic Falls. She had cheered and congratulated her for joining the cheer squad, and felt justifiably annoyed when Rebekah said Damon came on to her the other day just to distract her while they tried to make Stefan turn his switch back on. There were other, more decent ways they could've done that. Sure, what Klaus had done was pretty horrible, but now Annalise was realising that the Mystic Falls gang wasn't worried to resort to underhanded ways to gain the upper hand, and get their friend back. 

Rebekah was just bragging to her right now about going behind the 'preppy queen bee’s' back, and making her boyfriend Tyler drink more blood. Apparently on Klaus' orders. He wouldn't have his hybrids on the animal diet - not when he was amassing an army to take Mikael down. Still, it also felt underhanded, and Annalise felt pity for the werewolf-turned-hybrid - caught between two sides. 

She delicately chose not to comment, and complained about Klaus just being plain boring - all while smirking at him in his own room, before he grabbed his phone back off her, rolling his eyes.

“I need my phone for actual work love, you can gossip with my sister another time.”

When Annalise was finally notified her debit card had arrived at the motel in all the way back in Kansas, she teleported there, collected it quickly and arrived back, wasting no time going into the city to celebrate. She bought a cheap hobo handbag, a wallet, and a duffel into which she stuffed with several changes of clothes and toiletries – she was lucky this motel had offered complimentary toothbrushes and soaps this long.

Her last purchase was a cheap second-hand phone – it was a bit worn, but it worked fine.

After her mini shopping spree, Annalise got back to the motel and put the men’s clothes she had worn into the wash, then got to work heaving the luggages and duffels that were left in the boot and the backseats of the car, along with anything else, into her motel room.

She still wasn’t friendly enough with the hybrids to ask them for help, and Klaus only joined her curiously after he saw her carry up the last bag.

“Sure, join me when all the hard work is done, why not? Not like I could’ve used your superhuman strength or anything.” Annalise grumbled under her breath as she felt him follow her into her room.

“What on earth are you doing now?” He asked, looking perturbed by the pile of bags and belongings in the centre of the room; surrounded by a thin circle of salt. It was all looking a tad ritualistic, but this was a fairly straightforward spell. 

Annalise placed the bag she was carrying on the top of the pile carefully, and walked to the other side of the room to collect the last duffel she had stuffed the washed and dried clothes into, before placing that on the pile as well.

Walking back towards him, she shrugged. “These are literally other people’s belongings; I’m sending them back. I was going to send the car back too, but I kinda figured you’d kill me if I did.”

Klaus smirked. “At least your good intuition hasn’t left you love.”

Annalise rolled her eyes before she grabbed a folded map she had borrowed from the front desk and circled Alex McMullin’s address she had written on the post it note nearly a week ago. Finally, she grabbed a lighter and set a corner of the map on fire before setting it down in the circle of salt gingerly, making sure it wasn’t going to singe any of the poor family’s belongings.

“Do you have to do this every time you teleport? You didn’t have to before back at the school, and the car.” Klaus walked closer to where Lis had kneeled with one hand in the salt circle and one on the outside.

She shook her head distractedly. “No, supernaturals have magical signatures that I can sense. I found Elena’s and I pulled myself to it, and I did the same with you. Teleporting to normal places without distinct energy signatures though, that’s a bit different – I have to be able to picture it exactly in my mind along with how it feels, so I can’t teleport to places I’ve never been to before, even if I had a picture of it. The McMullin family is conveniently neither supernatural nor somewhere I’ve been to before – plus, I’m not teleporting myself to them, just their belongings. The theory is applied a tad different here.”

She shut her eyes and pulled her magic to her centre before focusing it into her hands.

“Volo abire ad locum.”

Annalise heard Klaus inhale sharply and opened her eyes to an empty salt circle. She felt the pull that the spell had on her magic, but she still felt fine – all that practice was paying off. Dusting her knees, she stood up stretching her limbs out before turning back to Klaus – he was getting better at hiding his shock at her magic. “Hey, I bought a phone this afternoon, could you give me Bekah’s number?”

She placed her phone on his outstretched hand he offered, and followed him to his room, shutting her door behind her.

“So, do you have a lead on where the werewolves you were looking for this morning are now?” 

He nodded distractedly while typing in Rebekah’s contact information into her phone. “I have it on good authority that they’ve moved up into the mountains some miles away to get ready for the full moon tomorrow.”

She was humming along with his statement when an uneasy feeling hit Lis unexpectedly. Her vision swam, and she dropped to her knees, clutching at her chest with a gasp. Something felt wrong, very wrong. She didn’t notice Klaus gently moving her over to sit on the end of his bed, but she did register his question. “What happened? What’s wrong love?”

“I don’t know!” She curled in on herself and grimaced. “My magic, it doesn’t hurt - but it feels as if something is really wrong.”

Suddenly, a vision of Bonnie holding hands with an older woman chanting a spell together, facing a fire flashed behind her eyes; followed closely by the image of a necklace burning in the said fire. ‘That necklace, I’ve seen it before…’

“Bekah. Klaus call Bekah, I just saw Bonnie burn the necklace Elena was wearing in that photo, chanting something in latin about a veil.”

Klaus had dialled Rebekah’s number almost immediately while still watching Lis with veiled concern. The feeling of cold unnatural wrongness was starting to slowly subside as the minutes went by, and she sat up straighter with bright worried eyes focused on Klaus. Rebekah answered almost immediately, and he wasted no time in putting her on speaker and questioning her. “Rebekah something’s wrong, do you have the necklace?”

“Nik, it’s over. The scooby gang were panicked tonight – these ghosts appeared out of nowhere and started hurting them. They sent them away just now, apparently by destroying the necklace. According to them, some witch on the other side was tapping into its power to let ghosts with unfinished business stay on in the land of the living. Most of them decided to go after the founding families which meant,”

“Elena.” Klaus breathed in realisation, his eyes wide.

“Yes, her, and god forbid she gets hurt, so situation was resolved and that’s that.” Lis could practically hear Bekah’s scowl and shrug through the phone.

“Are you okay, Bekah? Any ghosts come after you tonight?” Annalise spoke up.

“None thankfully – I wasn’t at the Salvatore house; I was at the town square. Apparently, some of the ghosts were there as well, but I didn’t know until the issue was resolved. It’s not as if I’m the most powerful creature in Mystic Falls right now, or anything.” She sighed. “How did you know anyway? I was just about to call you.”

“That’s on me Bekah, I had a feeling. Alls well that ends well, then. Oh! by the way this number we’re calling from right now, it’s my number so save it! I don’t have to annoy Klaus for his phone anymore~”

“Oh, isn’t that a pity.” The smirk was very apparent in Rebekah's tone.

Klaus rolled his eyes. “If there’s any other complications, call me.”

“Bye Bekah!” Lis yelled, before scowling at Klaus for ending the call before she could hear Bekah’s reply. She paused, looking at him seriously, previous amusement gone from her face. "Bekah said a witch from the other side tapped into the power of the necklace." Annalise swallowed. "Klaus, the only people who can do that are people who have a connection to the necklace so it acts as a tether. Is this the Original Witch? Is she reaching out again like she did to Bonnie, and trying to get Elena killed?" 

Klaus paused, gaze focusing on something far away. "I wouldn't put anything past her Lissie." Shaking himself out of his sombre reverie, he shrugged and threw over her phone, watching amused as she leapt to catch it.

“Are you feeling better then?”

She nodded, choosing not to mention his mini moment as he plastered an excited smirk on his face.

“Great, then get off my bed. We’re going werewolf hunting tomorrow – be ready early. I’m going to father more of the greatest species to ever exist on the planet, and I don’t need you making me late.”

Lis chucked a pillow at his head and tried to scowl at him for his rudeness, but couldn’t hold a laugh back at his eager smile.

“Look at you, all ready and excited to be a daddy~”

She dodged a pillow and ran away, giggling. Was she enjoying herself a bit too much?

Maybe. 

But she was beginning to figure out that the Originals might not be too bad after all.  

Chapter Text

Lis had now officially known the Originals for over a week; she had expected their violent tendencies to get on her nerves quickly, but had strangely found that the longer she knew them – the more human they seemed. That’s not to say they hadn't done horrible, evil things, but she found it easier to live with their actions and let them get away with more.

Maybe it was because she understood them better, but she had started wondering...was it easier to justify what they'd done because she was a bad person? 

Her mind unintentionally felt to her past before she shook her head, bringing herself to focus on the present.

Annalise was currently resting on a fallen tree trunk staring up at the beautiful night sky and the bright crescent moon. Klaus was sitting a short distance away on the forest ground, leaning his back on the opposite end of her tree trunk, eyes closed. The only sounds that filled the silence were the crickets that chirped, accompanied by the leaves rustling softly in the cool night breeze. The magic in the air felt like slow water, flowing sedentarily in a lethargic manner. It was incredibly peaceful in the clearing - which was why the werewolf corpses littering the forest floor was so jarring to look at.

They were currently waiting for the latest batch of dead werewolves to rise, and when they did, Klaus was ready with a blood bag courtesy of Elena.

As soon as the first groan cut through the silence, Klaus jumped into action. He grabbed a paper cup from the bag he had ready, and carefully poured a measured amount of blood into it, putting it to the transitioning hybrid’s lips. Lis watched from the tree trunk as the hybrid slurped the blood up greedily, almost relishing the taste, then promptly seizing and writhing on the ground for a few seconds.

The golden eyes and the black veins on his face when he finally lifted it was almost as eye catching as the razor-sharp teeth exposed in his roaring mouth. Klaus let out a relieved gleeful smile; she sighed. Was it bad that I kinda feel happy for him?

She was distracted from her thoughts when her phone vibrated – that could only be one of two people; and the latter was right in front of her feeding the hybrids blood carefully. He had sneaked his number in her phone along with Rebekah’s the other day – he had said it was convenient when she asked him about it, and she had shrugged in agreement before letting it go.

Annalise waved at Klaus to catch his attention. “Hey, Bekah’s calling, are you going to be fine if I step away and call her for a bit?”

Lis took his distracted nod as the go-ahead to move a fair way away from the clearing, and brought her phone up to her ear. “Bekah! Okay, so...from the photos you sent me I reckon you’d look rockin’ in the red or the blue dress for Homecoming. They’re my favourites.”

Annalise was referring to the number of text messages she had received earlier that morning from Rebekah asking for her opinion on what dress she should wear for the Homecoming tonight. She had also told Lis that Elena was snooping around in her business, and being generally very annoying, so she had grudgingly indulged in telling her family history. This was of course before she got a series of angry texts from the Original venting about how she had realised that the entire reason that Elena had been interested in her story was because Elena had been trying to decide whether or not to wake Mikael up in order to kill Klaus.

When she'd shared the news that Mikael still wasn’t awake yet with Klaus on the drive up to the forest, he'd been ecstatic – saying that this was most possibly the best day of his life.

Annalise came out of her thoughts when she just heard heavy breathing coming from the other side of the call, and grew concerned. “Bekah? What’s wrong? Did Elena do something? Are you hurt?”

“No, no I’m fine.” She could hear her friend struggle to choke out her words between a heavy sob.

“Bekah it clearly sounds like you’re crying. What’s wrong? Talk to me please. Do you want me to come over?”

“No, I’m okay. It’s okay.” Rebekah's voice grew more stable. “Is Nik with you?”

“Yes, he’s with me, but he’s tending to his new hybrids a little distance away. Do you want me to get him for you Bekah?”

“NO! I just-, has he ever talked to you about our mother?”

Annalise faltered at Rebekah's loud exclamation, but answered worriedly. “Yeah, just briefly. He mentioned that she died shortly after cursing him. Why are you asking about her? Are you okay?” Lis toed at the forest ground under her feet, frowning. 

“Yes.” She heard Rebekah clear her throat. “Yeah, I was just missing her. Are you guys planning on coming back to Mystic Falls since Nik’s got his hybrids now?”

“I don’t know, maybe? The pack we just turned was quite big so we might need more of Elena’s blood. I’m trying to convince him not to return so soon though – it can’t be healthy for Elena to give that much blood up in such a short amount of time. But Rebekah, I’m glad you called me, even if you were just missing your mother. You’re my friend, I’ll always be here for you.”

“Thank you, I needed to hear that.” She heard Rebekah exhale slowly. “Right, um, I’ll let you get back to Nik then, Lissie. Talk to you soon?”

“As soon as you want. Are you sure you don’t want me to come to you?” Lis bit her lip, still worried and puzzled over the nature of the phone call.

“Yes, I’m sure Lissie. Thank you.” Rebekah’s voice was soft and small, and it was making her all the more anxious. “Good night.”

“Anytime Bekah. Good night.”

Lis slipped her phone back in her pocket and made her way back to Klaus who looked up at her in question while still crouched low, talking to a recovering hybrid. She shrugged feeling wrong about revealing everything Rebekah said, but spoke up softly when he approached her after tending to his new pack. “It was a personal call Klaus, I helped her pick out a homecoming dress and the conversation just moved somewhere emotional.”

He nodded and letting it slide before moving back to his hybrids – all of them had woken - and some had begun standing up and walk around in amazement. Annalise felt her soft smile grow. It spoke volumes of Klaus' trust in her; it had been less than a week ago when he had accused her of holding back information after talking to Damon, now he didn't even question it. Did he truly trust her?

No. She must have it wrong - he must think she's too harmless to do anything. There's no way that Klaus Mikaelson, the infamously paranoid Original would ever trust her to any extent this early on. Or who know's, maybe her honesty paid off.

Lis snorted to herself. Yeah, right. 

One thing she had realised though, was that somehow she trusted Klaus. Not completely, but to a generous extent. As Annalise thoughtfully watched him seamlessly slip into the role of their leader, and give his new pack mates a rousing speech, he seemed to be in his element. The werewolves he'd turned had all consented to the transition after they realised they would never know the pain of an uncontrolled transition again, if they didn’t wish it - so she honestly felt happy for everyone rejoicing around her.

When Klaus walked over to her at the end of the night, she beamed lightly at him.

“What?” He was grinning, clearly in a high spirits at how well he was being received by his new pack. 

“Nothing – just wondering how this really grumpy guy I know became such a proud leader. Fatherhood really becomes you Klaus.” She winked cheekily.

He shoved her lightly to the side and smirked when she stumbled exaggeratedly.

“They’re going to pack up here now – then we might head further North - apparently there are more wolf packs there, and we still have a decent amount of the doppelgänger blood left. But, we are done here for the night,” He lifted his hand and gestured at the hybrids, raising his brows to mock her as she squinted at him. “Be a dear and teleport everything to the respective cars please. Come on, I haven’t got all night, love.”

Lis scoffed loudly. “So, I’m suddenly a convenient transport service, am I? Hell no, I refuse to be subject to this.” She shoved him hard but huffed when he didn't even budge. Stepping back, she tightened her ponytail and set off wordlessly direction of their parked car, trying and failing to keep a dignified look on her face.

“For a self-proclaimed pacifist love, you really are quite violent.” He called after her before starting to follow, chuckling as she held a middle finger up in the air back in his direction while still walking away from him. Lis couldn't help laughing as well, as she reached the parked cars. He really had grown on her. 

She wandered to a group of hybrids and offered her help. 

-

Annalise had gotten sidetracked while helping a hybrid carry two duffel bags to car nearby because Klaus had smirked at her smugly. She was helping despite her initial complaints. She had poked her tongue at him in mature retaliation.

“Are you guys close? You were with Klaus before he picked us up.” The hybrid that had handed her the duffels to carry with a quick smile was now at her elbow. Brown hair cropped in a pixie cut, expressive equally brown eyes and mocha skin; this hybrid was familiar – she was one of the first Klaus had created back in Kansas.

Lis smiled at the hybrid awkwardly. “Oh uh...hi, I’m sorry I’ve um, been so rude. We never really ran into each other, did we? I’m Lis.”

“Mindy.” The hybrid smiled at her mischievously. “Do you like him?”

“He’s okay I guess, and he’s usually a lot grumpier, so I’ve never really seen him this happy. I didn't even know happiness existed on his emotional scale.” She joked, looking at a grinning Klaus talking to a hybrid a short distance away, before glancing back to an amused Mindy. The hybrid lifted an entertained eyebrow, and Lis's brain finally caught up on what Mindy was actually asking. 

“Oh! You mean like like. Um, definitely not. I’ve known the guy for little over a week now, and sort of accidentally promised him lifelong servitude – y’know, as you do.”

Mindy giggled putting her pile in the boot of the car before reaching out and taking Lis’s as well. “So, you’re a witch working for Klaus then, Lis?”

“Of sorts.” Drawled a familiar accent when a smirking Klaus had appeared suddenly beside her. “Could I grab Lis off your hands for a minute Mindy? I’m sure she’s annoyed you enough,”

Lis rolled her eyes before smiling at Mindy and walking away, sighing when she heard Klaus catch up to her. “What do you need help with Klaus?” She crossed her arms with a quick grin.

Before he could answer, his cell phone started to ring. Looking at the called ID, he quirked an eyebrow, showing it to her. Stefan – he called often across the weeks they'd been travelling with bored regular updates on Elena during the day, (which Annalise listened to guiltily), but he hadn't ever called so late into the evening. Raising her brows in interest, she watched on as Klaus answered.

“Portland is fantastic; once you get over the whiney music and healthy-looking people, it is literally a breeding ground for werewolves.” He suddenly paused at Stefan's murmured reply, his eyes wide in shock. Anger flared in his eyes as he replied, voice low and dangerous when he spoke. “What did you say to me?”

Well, there goes his happy mood. Lis tilted her head in concern as he kept staring straight ahead, lips angrily thinned as he paced. “Well, first I want you to explain to me exactly what happened.” Lis saw moisture start to gather in his eyes, but they weren’t sad tears, no. Klaus’s eyes showed a blazing fury.

“I want to see him. I want to see his rotting body for myself.” He waited until Stefan finished answering before saying, “If you are lying to me Stefan, your compulsion will expose you. So, answer with your life – is what you are saying the truth?”

Lis walked over to where he stood with a hundred questions running through her mind. Klaus glanced at her, then asked for Rebekah; she must have been close by, because Klaus questioned her immediately.

“Rebekah, love. What’s this I hear about Mikael’s tragic run in with the dagger?”

Lis’s eyes widened in realisation. Mikael was awake – well, apparently not anymore, apparently. Daggered? Does that mean dead?

Klaus was already walking towards the hybrids and their car again, so she only caught the tail-end of their conversation. “I’ll be home soon.”

He gestured at all the hybrids who were finishing packing up to hurry, and climbed into the driver’s seat while Lis quietly in her own.

They were on the highway back to Mystic Falls in record time with a small convoy of cars filled with hybrids following close behind.

-

Annalise had no intention of breaking their silence – she could tell that Klaus had a lot on his mind so it was the least she could do to give his thoughts some privacy. It was close to an hour before Klaus finally spoke.

“I don’t believe them. My father, he isn’t dead.”

“But Stefan and Bekah-”

“I don’t know how they turned her, I want to believe her, but I won’t believe anyone until I see that body for myself. We will be there by tonight. I’ll track down all of them and if it turns out they’re lying they will all die a gruesome death.”

Lis was quiet for a moment when she suddenly remembered her conversation with Rebekah. “I don’t think you’ll have to look for long – it’s the Homecoming ball tonight, Bekah was super excited about it. I reckon all the kids will be there.”

She saw Klaus nod before she thought about it more. “I shouldn’t tell you this. It feels wrong – like I’m choosing a side.” Klaus looked over in curiosity now. “Bekah, she called earlier tonight, it sounded like she’d been crying a lot. Like a full break down type of cry.” She watched Klaus’s brow furrow as he looked back to the road – focused but a bit concerned. “She told me earlier that Elena was digging around in your family's history, then she asked if you’d told me anything about your mother, and the circumstances of her death. I told her that I only knew that she died shortly after she cursed you.” She saw his knuckles whiten as he gripped the wheel harder. “Could that have something to do with why you think she’s lying?”

He was quiet for a long time.

When he did choose to break the silence next his words caused her to look at him in shock. “I killed her. I killed my mother.”

Tears in his eyes glistened making them shine brighter, but they didn’t fall. Lis looked forwards again, thinking the statement over in her mind. She had already known that Klaus was a morally compromised person who’d done terrible things in the past. This didn’t really change her view of him, but instead consolidated her thoughts on his character. It wasn't as if the Original Witch here was blameless anyway - she had after all cursed her child, much like her own parents had tried to hurt her. 

Klaus had clearly had enough of her silence. “What? Have you finally realised that I’m truly the monster that the stories make me out be?” He spat.

She looked at him with an uncomfortable but warm smile before looking away in deep thought, trying to find her words.

“You probably remember what I told you about my parents. When they were cut off from the magic and kicked out of the coven. When the magic that they coveted - that central part of them that made them feel happy and whole was ripped away from them, it was like they felt mad but empty all at once. It was like they were in this constant mood of dispersed anger. You never knew when it was going to concentrate and lash out at someone, but you always knew it was coming."

She looked downwards and fiddled with a frayed string at the bottom of her baggy jumper. "Losing their magic broke them. Locking your werewolf part away, the magical nature that was subdued in you, must have felt so unnatural, so wrong. You lashed out in the same way my parents did. It makes sense, as horrible as it sounds. And as for killing your mother – it must have been awful, but I’m probably the last person in the world who could judge you for it.”

Klaus’s voice was soft. “You didn’t kill your parents.”

“But it was my fault Klaus. I might as well have killed them. Point is; I understand. What happened was terrible and nasty and all kinds of bad, and I’m not going to try to justify it, but I understand. Thank you for telling me.”

When Lis glanced back at Klaus, his eyes were free of any tears; in fact, he was looking quite solemn, but more relaxed. She sent him a tight-lipped smile and looked away. It was another moment before he spoke.

“Presuming that my dear sister got wind of what really happened to our mother, it’s safe to say that we will be walking into a trap. The best thing we can do is to walk into the trap prepared, and face them on our terms.”

“And how do you reckon we do that, Klaus?”

“We host the party of course.” He smirked at her; she could see him already start to plan ahead. “We need to move the venue of the Homecoming dance so I can have my hybrids around me without raising too much suspicion.”

“It’s probably going to be held at the school, a random group of adults and complete strangers would be pretty obvious. Smart. Is there a place a large number of hybrids could be invited into? As well as a plausible place for a Homecoming dance, so things aren’t too suspicious?”

Klaus’s smirk widened. “Looks like I need to call my very first hybrid.”

-

They had arrived at Mystic falls after driving through the night in record time. Klaus sent his hybrids ahead to somewhere else in Mystic Falls, and then had told her to get adequate rest – Stefan had been under compulsion to tell the truth when he told Klaus that he’d seen Elena dagger Mikael with his own eyes that meant that Mikael was indeed in Mystic Falls, probably working together with Elena’s friends. Klaus had explained the concept of daggering on the drive here, and it still sound so barbaric and violent - but to have staged it to lure Klaus back? Mikael was truly something else. She needed to be charged and ready to use her magic against who appeared to now be the most powerful Original Vampire.

She had been informed that Tyler flooded the school gymnasium in order to move the party to his house. It had been Lis’s job to actually organise the party itself. It really wasn't too much trouble; money really greased the small town wheels, so to speak. She had sent Mindy and a few other hybrids to grab the expensive and very extra decorations that Klaus had ordered on short notice, then recruited a couple hybrids to start putting them up across the Lockwood estate at warp speed.

All she had to do was call up a local live band and help them set up their equipment on the lawn after promising them double-pay. Mindy had rolled her eyes and called her an amateur before using compulsion to get them to do the whole gig for free.

Instead of arguing with Mindy, she had moved over to the improvised set-up refreshments table appraising it with a critical eye. It wasn't like it was her money to toss around after all. As long as no one got hurt, Annalise tended to let them get away with a great deal of thing.

Klaus walked over to her and poured himself some punch.

“Well done Lissie, who’d have thought you were such a party planner?”

She rolled her eyes at him over the rim of her glasses before smirking. “Certainly not me. Apparently I'm an amateur. Hey, reckon you could actually pay the band instead of compelling them to work for free?” He just smirked back like she should know better. Lis shrugged and moved on. “By the way, I noticed like, more than half your hybrid army’s missing Klaus – what have you got them doing? I thought this party was the only thing that needed to be done?”

Klaus shrugged a heavy arm around her shoulders and turned them both around so they were looking out at the few hybrids who were taking care of some last-minute decorations out on the large lawn.

“There’s always things to be done love. Since you had everything handled so well here, I gave them an extra few errands to run – to make staying here at Mystic Falls a bit more permanent. Don’t worry, Lissie, they’ll be here when the party starts.”

Well...that was suspiciously vague.

“Right…okay, I’m gonna head up and get changed into something more suited for the occasion. See you in a bit.”  She squinted at his wide grin before shrugging his arm off and walking back up the stairs.

She ran into Tyler on the way up into his house. They exchanged awkward smiles and kept walking before Tyler paused and called out to her. 

“Hey, uh…Lis, right? I never thanked you, for that night at the school. For not hurting Caroline.”

She gave the boy a small smile. “Tyler, you don’t have to thank me for not hurting someone, least of all your girlfriend. It’s what any decent person would do.”

“Well, decent people are pretty hard to come by, so thanks for being decent anyway.” He gave her an easy smile that made her chuckle.

“Sure kid, okay.”

Passing him a kind smile, she turned on her heel and walked up the stairs pretending to ignore the teen mutter “Kid?” under his breath while walking away with what looked like a box filled with beer.

Annalise found an empty room as she heard the crowd of kids come in and the sounds of the band starting up and closed the door shut behind her. Leaning against it, she breathed lightly for a moment before walking to the closet to stand in front of a convenient floor length mirror. Her outfit was casual, but Klaus had wanted her to change into something that blended in with the highschoolers, not missing the chance to take a dig at her height, just to make sure she didn’t draw Mikael’s attention until they needed to.

After taking a long look at the clothes she had on, she slipped her black heeled boots and blue ripped jeans off. Taking a good look at the simple black v neck shirt she had on, she muttered “Velim vestem evolvant.” and watched as the bottom of her shirt grew to her knees and lengthened enough to look like a dress, cinching at her waist. It was a simple black dress; and her black boots would match perfectly.

Easy. She loved her magic. Annalise grinned at herself before running her hands through her thick hair. She honestly couldn’t be bothered doing anything with it, so she folded her jeans up, tucked them in her large handbag, and walked down to the party below.

There was a lot of people now, but she could also see Mindy in a corner, as well as other hybrids dispersed throughout the crowd of high schoolers. Wondering where Klaus was, she made her way through the crowds into the back yard to where the party was raging. She smugly paused on the high steps giving her an unobstructed view of the party, it actually wasn’t half bad. She gave herself a mental pat on her back.

The band ended their song and she saw a familiar figure climb up and grab the mic. She rolled her eyes but stayed where she was; if she climbed any further down the stairs, she wouldn’t be able to see over the heads of everyone in front of her.   

“Good evening everyone! I wanna thank you for being here with me to celebrate! It’s been a long time coming.” Klaus raised his arms wide in a dramatic gesture and Lis found herself fondly smirking and rolling her eyes at his theatrics. She'd come to find that her first impression of Klaus hadn't been completely wrong - he was artistic and theatrical, just not so much into peace as he was into scheming. After climbing back off the stage, she saw him make eye contact with Stefan at the bottom of the stairs, and make his way across the lawn to him.

She exhaled and climbed down the stairs to meet the two men. Klaus regarded her as she joined the small group, watching her exchange nods and a smile with Stefan before she looked towards him with a grin. Klaus grinned back and looked towards Stefan who started to speak.

“Quite the Homecoming.”

Klaus smirked, gesturing that the two of them follow him up the stairs. “I’ve been planning my father’s funeral for a thousand years. Granted, in no version of it were any of these people invited, but you get the idea.”

“So, what now? Stop running?” Lis followed but made no move to interrupt – she was distracted, something felt wrong. There was something missing. 

She heard Klaus hum. “Now, I reunite my family.”

Well, that was news to her. At least Rebekah will be pleased, -pause. She frowned realising exactly what was feeling off. Shouldn’t she have bumped into Bekah by now? She was looking forwards to meeting up with her. Lis realised she was missing the conversation going on in front of her as she caught sight of a tiara resting on the head of a passing girl. That definitely wasn’t right, Bekah would have done anything to be Homecoming Queen.

She interrupted Stefan who was still in the middle of his sentence. “Wait, where’s Bekah? I just saw someone wearing the Homecoming crown; but she was boasting about getting it tonight. Do you know where she is?”

“I have no idea. I thought she was coming with Matt.”

Klaus’s eyes sharpened as they met hers before they both looked at a suspiciously undeterred Stefan. Klaus moved closer to the emotionless vampire. “Oh, be honest now, Stefan. Don’t be rude and answer Lissie; where’s my sister?”

Stefan squared his shoulders, looking directly into Klaus' eyes, challenging him. “I said I have no idea. How would you like me to take you to your father?”

Annalise's eyes met Klaus’ again as they flicked at her, she thinned her lips. That was an incredibly obvious deflection...something was definitely up. Stefan wasn’t great at hiding things, even if he didn’t know exactly what he was trying to hide. Him and the others had obviously found a loophole in Klaus’s compulsion. Klaus saw her look and nodded smirking lightly. They had planned for this.

“Well, it wouldn’t be a party without the guest of honour, would it? Bring him to me.” The Original Hybrid grinned victoriously.

Stefan’s eyes betrayed that Klaus requesting Mikael’s body to be brought to him wasn’t part of the plan, but he straightened up and shrugged it off. “All right. Perhaps there’s something in it for me?” He paused before continuing. “My freedom from your compulsion?”

That sounded reasonable – Lis was definitely all for giving Stefan his free will back – she was already nodding along, sending a pleading glance at Klaus who looked at the both of them and smirked smugly. “You want your freedom. Well, once he is dead and his weapon destroyed, you shall have your freedom. It’ll be my pleasure to give it back.”

Stefan nodded and left to presumably go get the body, and Klaus offered up his arm to a grinning Lis; who looped her own arm through his and started walking up the stairs beside him. “Well that was awfully generous of you.”

He just shrugged at her in a pleased manner before his eyes met Tyler’s. Annalise saw Tyler look at Klaus significantly, he wanted to talk then. Privately. Letting go of Klaus' arm, she continued up the stairs even after Klaus had stopped beside Tyler, patting the young boy on the shoulder as she passed him. “I need a drink, and I also saw a beer pong table. It’s calling me, I can feel it.”

Tyler grinned up at her before turning to engage Klaus in conversation, so Lis continued climbing up before pausing by Elena and Matt further up the stairs, giving them both an unsure smile. “Hey guys, how you been?”

Oddly, it seemed as if Elena didn’t recognise her, and Lis could see her lips start to form a question; but she was quickly distracted when Matt smiled at her far too widely and said “Annalise!” in a loud voice drawing a couple people’s attention towards their little trio. She tried to awkwardly match his weirdly wide smile.

“Just Lis will do Matt. So, are you guys okay? Elena how have you been?” Elena’s eyes had narrowed at her thoughtfully before she smiled too. “Ah. Hi Lis, I’ve been fine.”

“That's good. I’m glad you’re dealing.” Lis smiled at her before she slowly brought her in for a hug, not missing the small look of shock on Elena’s face. Something was wrong, she felt it the second she touched Elena’s skin, but she didn’t let it show on her face. She smiled at Elena gently in reply. “I’m very happy to hear that Elena,”

She turned to Matt with a quick smile before turning back to the girl. “Well, I hope the two of you have fun, I was on a mission to find some alcohol and I need to complete it.”

Annalise waved and walked away from the duo into the house, speeding up when saw a refreshments table. She hadn't been lying when she said she wanted alcohol. It'd been a while since she'd been to a party. Grabbing an unused red plastic cup, she filled it with some punch and took a sip, Yes! It's spiked! 

She giggled to herself. Damn, she’d make a horrible adult.

Mindy had noticed her and was waving her over to the corner where a beer pong table was set up. A couple more of Klaus’s hybrids as they surrounded it, talking loudly. As she walked over, Mindy greeted her with a hug.

“Damn girl. You cute.”

“Not as cute as you.” She winked back. Mindy rolled her eyes, took Lis’s phone out of her hand to snap a quick photo of the both of them. Then, it was a whirlwind of introductions to several cute hybrids, Alex and Tom seemed the friendliest. There was another in the corner that Mindy introduced as Tony, but he didn’t seem keen on making conversation. She waved at him anyway, and got into the game.

Lis felt Klaus sidle up next to her a couple minutes later and felt herself grin. “What took you so long?”

“Just had a quick talk with Tyler and Elena, both seemed nervous.”

She looked up at Klaus and moved closer to his side so she could whisper to him. “Speaking of Elena, something’s wrong with her. Last week when I met her, she only had the tiniest bit of magic in her, enough to prove she’s a doppelgänger. Tonight, she has about as much magic essence as a vampire, and she called me Lis after it looked like she didn’t recognise me. I don’t know why.”

Klaus clearly figured it out in an instant, however; he hissed lowly. “Katherine.”

“Ah, that’s the vampire doppelgänger that stole Bekah’s necklace, right?” She felt Klaus nod as his eyes flicked over everyone in their vicinity, cataloguing them carefully.

He leaned closer to her ear as he did. “They’re definitely up to something love,” He took her cup of alcoholic punch out of her hand. “Stay sharp.”

“If you think I’m gonna get tipsy off a weak-ass high school American party punch I’ll-” She cut herself off mid scoff and squinted in the direction of the study, making Klaus to follow her eye line to the shut door as well. “Klaus, someone just used magic. Quite a bit of it. Felt like Bonnie.” Klaus had just started moving in the direction of the Lockwood study when he was intercepted by Mindy, who Lis hadn’t noticed was missing.

“You have a visitor.”

Klaus still had his eyes fixated on the study door, stalking towards it. “Tell my visitor I’m busy Mindy.”

Mindy’s stopped him in his tracks once more, her next words froze both of them.

“He said his name is Mikael.”

Chapter Text

Liz let her eyes slowly shut in disappointment, too late to miss the flash of resignation and hurt in Klaus’s eyes. Their suspicions were true; Rebekah and Stefan had lied to him about Mikael. She reached out and patted him on the arm awkwardly, and his mask was back once more, passing her a quick nod. He faced his hybrids with renewed anger, gesturing them to gather around.

“Then we mustn’t keep him waiting, Move everyone out back. I’m gonna have a little chat with my dad. Tony,” He pointed to the quiet hybrid who had been lurking near the wall - he stood at attention at Klaus’s urgent tone. “You know what to do.”

As Tony and Mindy nodded and walked away solemnly with the rest of the hybrids walking close behind, Klaus looks at Lis, who remained unmoving. “Lissie, leave with Tony.”

She just shook her head resolutely.

Klaus sighed, but didn’t argue further. In the time he'd known her, he had come to realise just how stubborn she was when her mind had been made up. Instead, he strode through the living room and around the corner to the front door, coming face to face with a tall, sharply dressed man in a three piece suit standing at the awning of the door. The polite yet detached smile on his face as he looked towards Klaus sent a cold shiver down Lis' spine. His cold ice blue gaze passed over her in a quick glance, visibly dismissing her as she stood slightly to the right of Klaus, focusing instead on the Original Hybrid and narrowing in judgement as he appraised him. His voice was low and unhurried.

“Hello, Niklaus.”

Klaus smirked, but his gaze was dangerous. “Hello, Mikael. Why don't you come in? Oh, that's right. I forgot you can't.”

“Or you can come outside if you want.”

“Or I could watch my hybrids tear you limb from limb.” Klaus's words were like a signal that called Tony, Alex and more than a dozen other Hybrids to gather on the lawn behind Mikael threateningly - the vampire being threatened didn't look fazed at all. This just put Lis on her guard more. It was a bad sign Mikael wasn't fazed. 

“They can't kill me.” He shook his head as he turned back with the same politely pitying smile still on his face.  

“True. But it'll make a hell of a party game." Klaus smirked, lifting his hand with his fingers poised to snap. "All I have to do is rub these two fingers together, and they'll pounce.”

Mikael looked thoroughly amused and condescending at the same time. “The big bad wolf. You haven't changed.” His confidence was off-putting in the face of his threats - Klaus’s smile slowly dropped. He had caught on that something was wrong too. Mikael's act wasn't truly and act.

Mikael's grin widened as he watched a slight fear grow in his son's eyes. “Still hiding behind your playthings like a coward. You only forget. They may be sired by you, but they're still part vampire. And they can be compelled by me.”

Shit. Lis’s eyes widened, and she went to take a miniscule step forwards when a compelled Mindy dragged a visibly struggling Elen- no, Katherine, next to Mikael.

A twitch of Klaus’s hand warned her not to draw attention to herself. Mikael saw this small exchange and shot her a curious glance, this time looking a lot more interested than earlier. His eyes lingered for a bit before he turned back to give Klaus an ultimatum.

“Come out and face me, Niklaus. Or she dies.”

Klaus was quick to reply with a small smile. “Go ahead. Kill her.”

Of course Klaus had no qualms about Katherine being killed - not after she had slighted him and evoked his wrath for nearly 500 years - all the better she died instead of his doppelgänger. Lis narrowed her eyes at his blasé attitude; he must think it was poetic. Inhaling lightly, she turned away and chewed on the inside of her cheek, trying her best to stay silent and see how this pans out. She had to trust that Klaus knew what he was doing, and that he was above carrying out his petty revenge fantasies in a dire situation like the one they were in right now.

Katherine whimpered at his lack of empathy. “No, Klaus. He'll do it.” Damn...she was really selling this. If Lis couldn't feel that she was so clearly a vampire, she wouldn't have been able to stop herself from reaching out to the young scared looking girl. Annalise wondered if Mikael knew that it was Katherine - or if he knew, and he had no problems with killing her violently anyway, and pretending it was Elena to hurt Klaus.

It seemed that neither Mikael nor Katherine knew the extent of Annalise's powers yet, that was a silver lining. 

Mikael steadied a dagger he had produced from his jacket, pressing it to Katherine's side. “If she dies, this lot will be last of your abominations.” Lis felt her own indignation grow, her lips pressed together to keep herself from speaking out. His detached attitude was starting to get on her nerves. 

Nik wavered, but stood his ground firmly. “I don't need them. I just need to be rid of you.”

Mikael's cool facade finally shifted into a cruel scowl. “To what end, Niklaus? So you can live forever, with no one at your side? Nobody cares about you anymore, boy! What do you have other than those whose loyalty you forced? No one. No one.”

Lis saw Klaus’s eyes tear up slightly and she just couldn’t hold herself back any longer. “How dare you?” She stepped around Klaus and in front of him, she was outside the house boundaries, but she could honestly care less. “Who the hell are you to speak to him like that?”

Mikael leaned back slightly, shocked. He clearly must have thought she was yet another compelled minion. “I’m-”

“You are no one. You aren’t even his real father, so what are you even doing here? Let me just ask you this: does it please you? Does it make you feel strong that a child you helped raise has to fear death from you? Does it make you feel powerful?”

She felt Klaus grab her hand and pull her back into the safety of the house just as Mikael took a step forwards in anger, but she couldn’t help but say her parting words. 

“Men like you disgust me.”

For a split second, Annalise got a glimpse of Katherine smirking lightly to the side – her gaze was narrowed, studying Lis's scowl. As soon as Lis looked at her fully, she immediately went back to acting like a nervous wreck. Mikael’s attention was fortunately focused on how Klaus had placed Lis behind him.

“I'm calling your bluff, father. Kill her.” His soft grasp on Lis’s hand tightened but she didn’t say a word because she understood – this was a threat, a warning not to annoy Mikael any further.

“Come outside and face me, you little coward. And I won't have to.” Mikael smirked.

Lis glared at Mikael, moving to step forwards once more, but Klaus squeezed her hand gently again in a cautionary manner while he spoke up strongly. “My whole life you've underestimated me. If you kill her you lose your leverage. So go ahead. Go on. Kill her. Come on, old man. Kill her. Kill her!!!” Klaus roared the last two words. Obviously he was entirely too satisfied of the fact that it was Katherine there, not Elena – he wasn’t bluffing.

Only Lis didn’t completely agree with that statement – she didn’t think Katherine should die, especially if she had come in Elena’s place to keep her safe. She’d heard bad things about her, sure – but Lis liked to form her own opinions; right now she was withholding judgement until she met her formally. She breathed deep and prepared herself to pull Katherine to her side.

Mikael’s casual chuckle sent shivers down her spine. “Your impulse, Niklaus. It has and will forever be the one thing that keeps you from truly being great.”

Lis saw Mikael’s hands pull back slightly and brace to stab Katherine, so she pulled Katherine using magic to her side. Mikael’s dagger punctured thin air, his head whipped in her direction in surprise to see Katherine safe at Lis’s side.

Klaus let out a smug entertained laugh.

A grin had started to form on Lis's face as well, but it dropped suddenly as she turned away from Katherine to look lightly behind her; she felt something supernatural come up fast behind them. Annalise moved on instinct, pushing Klaus away from a sharp stake that had appeared behind them-

“Klaus look out!”

The next second she was outside pressed tightly against the outer wall of the house, a strong thin arm held her neck against it forcefully, choking her. Kathrine had super-sped her outside while Klaus was being attacked.

Okay, she made her judgement; Katherine was a bitch.

Annalise heard sounds of a fight echoing from indoors, Klaus was grappling with a magical signature that she associated with Damon while Mikael remained outside. Shit, they had focused on only him. Lis needed to get inside, now - thankfully, Mikael hadn't yet ordered in the hybrids currently under his compulsion to overpower Klaus, or not yet realised he could, but she wasn't going to wait around to find out.

Snapping back into reality, she found Katherine still smirking at her. "Hi, lovely."

Lis smirked right back. “Hey. Nice to meet you. Iaculatio.”

The vampire’s smirk dropped like a stone as she was catapulted backwards forcefully with a small boom, right into the front lawn where the rest of the hybrids were with a thump - skidding back and ruining the beautiful lawn with a shallow gouge five feet long. Without wasting a moment, Annalise flashed back into the house, just missing Mikael punching where she once stood with a large amount of force – right where her heart would’ve been. Fuck, that would’ve killed her.

Ignoring her heart pounding at her near death, and Mikael’s roar of anger at the door he couldn’t get through, Lis realised that Katherine had whipped out two metal canisters from the folds of her dress, pulled two pins out of them – are those shitting grenades?!? – and hurled them at the hybrids coming up to help Mikael after he'd finally realised they could walk in.

Wait – why was Katherine helping them now? Who’s side was she on?

The hybrids collapsed immediately, coughing violently in the sickly-sweet cloud of vervain. Lis heard the sound of struggle between Klaus and Damon – the hybrids were dealt with adequately for now - so she went to turn to face the fight behind her.  

Before her head had even begun turning, a sharp pain exploded in her right jaw, and the force sent her head whipping to the left as a white blinding pain obscured her vision. Blood collected at the back of her mouth as she fell back against the wall behind her, turning to her assailant. Mindy – she had forgotten about her compelled friend. She'd been far away enough from the vervain grenades to not have it affect her.

Her jaw smarted – maybe it was dislocated – Lis went to clench her jaw out of habit while facing her friend and her jaw fell lax and hurt more, and Oh my god, she'd never fought anyone before-

Mindy lunged towards her again, throwing her back hard against the wall once more, Lis let out a yelp of pain before swinging widely, laying a solid punch on her attacker, pushing her back just a bit before raising her hand. “Somnum!”

More blood filled her mouth, she felt a little escape out of her lips, the pain had grown blinding once more as she's spoken. It felt rewarding, however, seeing Mindy collapse to the ground in dead sleep.

Wincing and pushing off the wall lightly, Annalise raised a hand to her jaw and channeled as much of her magic into it, muttering multiple “Sana.” healing spells once she felt she could move her jaw without fainting in pain. She felt her jaw click back into place stiffly – but Lis was soon distracted from her residual pain when a grunt of effort came from the foyer - Damon had gotten the upper hand on Klaus in the tussle and he was trying to press a pale wooden stake into Klaus’s chest.

She let her healing spell go and raised her weak arm at Damon and whispered, “Obscillo.” just as Stefan arrived to tackle a pained and screaming Damon with a broken arm (oops) off of Klaus, and into a hold on the floor. The stake conveniently rolled near her feet.

Ignoring the scuffling Salvatore brothers, she made eye contact with Klaus and understood – she threw him the stake and just watched as Klaus, almost gracefully, leapt out the house and drove the stake right into Mikael’s chest in one fluid motion.

Everyone paused.

There was a moment of shocked realisation on Mikael’s face before he screamed in pain, collapsing on to his knees. There was a burst of fire in his chest where the stake was imbedded; Lis watched on as Mikael’s corpse rapidly greyed then burst into flames, leaving behind nothing but ash.

The tension that had kept her on guard dissipated, and Annalise fell back against the wall, grimacing as the pain in her jaw hit her again. Ow, when had her back gotten bruised too? Groaning she lifted her hand to her cheek and muttered more healing spells until she felt she was well enough to stand. She closed her eyes and collapsed down, leaning against the wall, spent.

Sounds sounded slightly muffled as it filtered through her exhausted mind...Damon was understandably yelling at Stefan – sure she knew that Stefan would do damn near anything to get his freedom back from Klaus, but stopping his own brother from killing Klaus? From doing the same thing that Stefan probably wanted to do? That didn't make sense. Lis found it strange. 

Apparently Klaus found it nice.

Klaus's firm voice answered Damon’s furious “What did you do?!”

“He's earned his freedom.” 

She opened her eyes to watch Stefan release his brother and turn to face the Original Hybrid expectantly. Klaus stared at him for a long moment, studying him before looking at him warmly. “Thank you my friend. You no longer have to do as I say. You're free.”

Stefan's stoic face remained expressionless, but Lis noticed relief flood his eyes - he turned back to look to the empty floor where Damon had laid. Damn, she hadn’t even noticed Damon and Katherine disappear. That made her huff amusedly in exhaustion, bringing both men’s attention to her. Stefan didn’t move but looked on silently as Klaus side stepped around him to crouch down low next to Lis.

“Are you okay, Lissie?”

“I’m fine, here, give me your hand.” Instead he gripped her shoulders and pulled her up to her feet easily. “I told you to give me your hand, not man-handle me. I’m fine I healed myself see?” She showed her reddened but healed jaw proudly. 

“Why did you do that?” His eyes felt searching, like he was looking for an answer that didn't make sense. 

“Why did I do what? Heal myself? Um…it hurt…?”

Klaus shook his head, and both turned at a small gust of wind passing next to them and out the front door; Stefan had also decided to leave. The hybrids were slowly filtering back in, walking past them timidly, and through the house into the back lawn where the party was still surprisingly happening. Mindy groaned and woke, clutching her head. Lis watched as Alex helped her get up; bringing her to face Klaus and Annalise. 

“I’m sorry Klaus, Lissie. Mikael got the drop on us – we weren’t ready. We won’t disappoint you again.”

Klaus remained silent, so Lissie stepped forwards, waving away her friend’s concerned look and showed off her healed jaw again, prompting a smile from Mindy. "No worries, Mindy. No hard feelings. Go on, go. You guys have fun at the party." 

She pushed at Alex and Mindy with a bright smile in the direction of the back yard; Mindy rolled her eyes but nodded in silent thanks as she walked away. 

Turning back, Lis looked closely at the Original Hybrid. He didn’t seem to be meeting anyone’s eyes, he didn't really look as tall as he usually did either. Klaus's eyes looked heavy, as if he was conflicted with too many emotions to identify. He must have felt her concerned gaze on him because he looked up at her suddenly.

Annalise gave him a warm smile. “Uh, I have to get changed upstairs really quick. I'm insanely tired, so did you want to leave, maybe have an early night?”

He nodded at her and sent her a tight-lipped smile before walking out the front door towards the car. Taking that as the go ahead, she ran up, changed back into her original outfit and appeared in the passenger seat next Klaus in record time. He started driving immediately, used to her appearing suddenly next to him now.

Lis filled the silence awkwardly. “So like, when I said early night, I also forgot to mention I'm just a bit hungry. I eat my feelings, so I honestly wouldn't mind a burger or like a chicken salad for me, but like, I forgot I was being super inconsiderate. Do you need to eat your feelings too, like- like a- a person? Blood? Do you need a certain flav- flavour? Oh gosh that sounds horrible. I make you sound like Hannibal Lector.”

Klaus’s lip twitched but he kept looking ahead. Lis sighed, deflating. How on earth do you even start a conversation about the recent murder of an abusive parent?

“Okay…then. Um…not great at making people feel better, but I hear it’s handy to talk your feelings out? So uh…you killed your dad. How- how’d that make you feel?” She threw him an awkward smile when he glanced at her with an eyebrow lifted.

“I feel ecstatic love. It’s been a thousand years coming.” His tone felt final as he turned back towards the road. 

“Right. Of course.” She inhaled and turned away; she didn’t want to push too much – and it didn’t seem like Klaus was ready to open up. Lis decided to give up for the time being. But not too long, of course, she was an interfering person – and she was proud of it. It’s how she showed she cared.

Annalise stayed quiet as Klaus pulled up next to a diner and told her to stay in the car while he left to go grab some food. Lis didn’t mind either way and shrugged, playing with her phone while she waited.

Rebekah still hadn’t texted her back. Lis knew that she'd been involved in the plot to lure Klaus back with the daggered-Mikael bait, but at this point, she was starting to get worried. She was sure her friend would've reached out by now. Maybe she was scared at how Klaus would react. The car door opened, and a brown paper bag was deposited in her lap startling a small “Thanks,” from her as Klaus got comfortable in his seat again; driving in the direction of the small BnB they were temporarily staying at.

Lis had point blank refused to let Klaus compel the poor old lady and just set up a barrier around the BnB so only they could enter. It was a foolproof solution – and Klaus hadn’t argued because of its simplistic ease.

They didn’t talk until they arrived outside the doors of their respective rooms.

Before Klaus went to open his door and walk in, Lis grabbed his sleeve, making him pause and look back at her. Annalise stepped forwards and quickly wrapped her arms under his, giving him a quick squeeze before stepping back immediately.

Klaus’s eyes were wide, like a deer in headlights. He stood in a defensive position, waiting for her to explain.

“Uh…This might be too soon, but um, your dad was a dick,” Annalise shrugged. “No offense. But that being said, he was still your dad, once upon a time. It’s okay to not know how to feel about it. Just, don’t keep it in, I’m here if you wanna talk, yeah? I’m going to be around for a while, so word of warning, expect me to be annoying about it.”

Lis withdrew as she saw sudden anger and suspicion spark in his eyes, and took another step back, unsure.

“Why do you do that? We met not even a fortnight ago, and yet here you are; already privy to more details of my life than some of my family! You even spoke up for me against Mikael’s ire! What is you motive?” He growled stepping forwards. "Who do you work for?!"

Lis raised her hands up placatingly, stepping further backwards cautiously. “Yikes, okay. Not the reaction I was expecting. I don't work for anyone, and I’m just trying to look out for you here. One; your dad was being an arsehole. Two; You’ve been pretty decent in the time I’ve known you. I mean, you did terrorise some kids and a few werewolf packs, but like, I get why you did what you did. I just wish you didn’t have to do it. To be honest with you, I've sorta realised I’m pretty morally grey since I’ve started hanging around you." Lis shrugged helplessly and ran a stressful hand through her hair. "Look, I’m just worried for you; I’m trying to be a good friend here.”

“I am not your friend love. I’m The Original Hybrid. I don’t need your worry.” Klaus was seething at this point – it was too bad Lis knew what insecurity looked like. He was practically a walking poster-child for it. Annalise made the decision right then and there to force her friendship on him no matter how much he resisted, dammit.

“Too bad grumpy. You,” she poked his chest, “are stuck with me remember? On your terms. You don’t get to decide whether I consider you my friend or not.”

He leaned down and hissed with narrowed eyes. “Not. Your. Friend.”

“And I. Don’t. Care. You and Bekah are literally the only people I really know right now, and I get attached really easily. Must be my childhood trauma acting up." She flashed him an awkward smile. “So, since we are now friends, and you call me Lissie, like my closest friend did,” She stepped away from him, shrugged and gave him a shit eating grin while entering her room; “Sleep tight…Nik.”

She was in her room with the door locked grinning before Klaus had time to lunge at her.

-

The next morning, they were all packed and ready to leave Mystic Falls far behind. Klaus, or rather Nik - cue evil internal laughter - had only rolled his eyes every time she addressed him as such when they had breakfast. Pity, she had been hoping it would annoy him more.

Annalise guessed it was because he was in such a good mood. Apparently he had come to terms with his father’s death over the course of the night before. He was grinning without pause – the first words he had said to her were, “Good morning Lissie. Such a fine day, isn’t it?”

It seemed like nothing would get him down. She nodded and went along with it – she understood. Mikael’s existence had hung over Nik’s head forever. It must feel nice, freeing; once you get over the macabre nature of it all, of course.

They were now walking to a parking lot together – the one which Rebekah had commandeered a week ago to deposit Nik’s precious cargo truck after his impromptu freak out over Mikael coming to Mystic Falls. Annalise had brought up the fact that Rebekah still hadn’t reached out to her and that she was getting worried. Nik had initially still been hung up on the fact that she had conspired with the Salvatores and Mikael to kill him, but as she reminded him family was in short supply and that Rebekah was pretty great to have around.

 Klaus was calling her now to leave her a voice message.

“Rebekah, where are you? Pick up the phone darling. Daddy’s dead.” He glanced sideways at Lis with a smirk as she sniggered immaturely into her palm. “And I forgive you. It’s time for a family reunion.”

Nik took the phone away from his ear as it beeped signalling another call coming through. After a quick glance at his screen he gestured at Lis to catch up to his fast pace and put the call on speaker. “Stefan! Miss me already?”

This made Lis grin – “Hi Stefan!” She yelled. Lis was glad he was free of Nik’s compulsion once more; it was one of the more unsavoury things Klaus had done in her opinion; taking away someone’s free will was a pretty big deal - so she was glad that everything had worked out well.

“Uh, right, hi Annalise. Klaus, I’m calling to thank you for my freedom.” Lis pouted at Stefan’s uncomfortable tone as had addressed her. She listened as the conversation continued and they made their way around a few more trucks parked close by.

Annalise looked out across the car park towards their truck as Nik replied. “Oh, I like to believe I’m a man of my word, more or less.”

Lis’s eyes narrowed suddenly, something felt off as they approached it, it felt strangely empty of magic – she hadn’t realised it earlier because she had been so distracted. She grabbed Nik’s sleeve, and he squinted at her sudden panic, prompting him to walk faster. Stefan’s next words made her pause, eyes widening.

“Thing is, it came at too high of a price. You took everything from me, Klaus.”

That was more than enough information to put together the missing magic signatures and Stefan. Shit. She let go of Klaus and jogged over to the truck a few metres away. Please don’t tell me Stefan’s dumb enough to do this…

She heard Nik follow close behind while replying. “Let bygones be bygones, trust me. Resentment gets old.”

Lis fiddled with the latch and threw the rear truck door up and open, revealing a chillingly empty container. She whipped her head around to face Nik just as she heard Stefan’s tinny voice carry through loudspeaker on the phone.

“You know what never gets old? Revenge.”

Her breath stuttered as she saw Nik’s face transform into absolute fury. “No.”

“What’s the matter Klaus? Missing something?”

Props for dramatic timing, but not so much for making my job so much harder to protect the collateral - curse him. Stefan wouldn’t stop talking, and Lis scrambled out of the way as Nik strode forwards to inspect the empty container, then start pacing angrily.

“What are you doing?” Nik’s familiar angry growl had made a comeback.

“Just enjoying my freedom.”

“I will kill you and everyone you’ve ever met!”

Stefan’s voice was disturbingly calm. “You do that, and you’ll never see your family again. I wonder Klaus, as someone who’s been one step ahead for a thousand years…were you prepared for this?” 

Nik’s expression promised death as he wrenched his phone away from his ear, walking around to the front of the truck in fury. In his own twisted way, he had clearly thought that he had finally convinced Stefan to be his friend the night before - then to have him turn right back around and screw him over? Lis kinda started to understand why Nik was so adamant about not having friends. 

Time to prove him wrong then. Annalise took a moment, inhaled deeply, then sat on the ground to the side of the truck; legs crossed and eyes closed. This was Nik’s family; Bekah’s family. Stefan was clearly out for blood and he didn’t care about anyone caught in the crossfire. Knowing Nik, he’d go after Elena, or Damon, and countless others and she didn’t want to see any people hurt. Lis fucking hated personal vendettas. 

She stretched out her senses, welcoming in any residual magic left on the premises. It was faint, but still there. Annalise expanded her reach slowly but steadily, not letting herself get distracted when she heard Klaus on the phone with one of his hybrids.

Lis had been trying to follow the signatures the coffins had left behind, when all at once she felt the signatures vanish – she scanned the entire town a few times more, but each time she found Mystic Falls to be empty. Suspiciously empty. 

She realised she couldn’t even feel Nik who was only a couple metres away, pacing, or any background magic around her. What the hell?

Steeling herself, she stretched out further, to just outside the city limits – she felt the power of nature’s magic hit her full force, like normal. She drew the range inwards once more, so she was within the city limits, and felt the resonance of magic in dampen down again. Ah...she understood.

Annalise stood up, dusted her jeans off and made her way to Nik, still on the phone ordering hybrids around, even telling a few to search neighbouring cities and sniff around some of the their storage units.

Lis tapped him on the arm, prompting him to glance at her impatiently.

“The coffins are in Mystic Falls, Nik,” He immediately turned to face her fully, giving her his full attention. “I was following the magic that those coffins exuded, pretty hard to miss, especially since I travelled with them for a couple days. Then suddenly, all the magic in Mystic Falls felt suddenly muted; and it’s only in Mystic Falls. I checked. Someone’s hiding something on my radar. Someone powerful enough to dampen my senses of everything in this entire town. That someone has to have the coffins.”

“That Bennett witch.”  Klaus was already storming off to where they had parked the car. Lis grabbed his elbow, making him pause and look back at her. 

“Wait no, Nik. Slow your roll. Bonnie’s powerful, yeah, but not this powerful. Definitely not powerful enough to block my senses. It’s not her, it doesn't feel like her.”

Nik frowned, thinking for a bit, before smirking evilly. “Then we start back at basics love. Time to visit Stefan’s little human doppelganger.”

Lis sighed as she joined him in climbing into the car, staring out the window as Nik went on the phone again as he drove off, ordering surveillance on Elena.

I hope Stefan knows what he’s gotten into.

Annalise had a gnawing feeling that this really wasn’t going to end well. 

Chapter Text

They had shortly arrived at the quaint little BnB before Nik told her to pack up her things quickly. Annalise grumbled, but complied before meeting him back outside where he was already packed and leaning against the car – still on the phone. She silently threw her bags in the back and climbed into the passenger seat, leaning over to tap lightly on the driver’s door Nik was braced against. He glanced at her distractedly before climbing in and continuing to text. Well this isn’t going anywhere – might as well do something productive.

Lis leaned back in her seat and relaxed, focusing her mind, trying to get past the block that was inhibiting her senses – it felt odd being cut off from that constant comforting presence of magic she had grown used to always surrounding her. It was definitely still there, but it just felt muted, like she was trying to listen to something underwater. It was frustrating. No matter how hard she focused, she couldn’t pinpoint any signatures at all – not Bekah’s, not Nik’s; not even hers. Sighing in frustration, she opened her eyes again in response to the sound of Nik putting his phone away and turning the ignition on.

“Who were you texting? And where are we going?” Lis was patient, but she wanted to know what was going on, and what to do. She hated being in the dark, and feeling useless. Nik glanced at her distractedly smirking while seeing her frown, but turned back to the road as he answered. 

“I was texting Tyler and Tony. I need them both to keep an eye on the Gilberts, love.” He raised a brow at her. “And as for where we are going, you will get an answer to what you asked yesterday. You see, my hybrids have been busy for the better part of the last week here in Mystic Falls.”

Lis nodded, distracted by the information that Nik already had hybrids tailing the Gilberts. “Wait, Nik, what do you mean Gilberts, plural?”

“Elena has a convenient little brother, human. Both orphaned of course. Has a depressed alcoholic hunter as a father figure. All great pressure points.” His smile seemed far too gleeful - it was just a tad unsettling.

Lis absentmindedly chewed her cheek in thought, trying to thing through how she could shield Elena's poor family from the Original Hybrid's ire. Nik noticed. “I hope you don’t interfere with my plans this time love, you should know better than that now.”

She threw him back an annoyed glare. “And you should know that I’ll interfere if innocent kids are going to get hurt Nik. You can’t do anything to stop me. Just make sure it doesn’t come to it.” She saw him clench his jaw in anger, ready to probably yell at her again.

She spoke before he did, lowering her voice so as not to sound confrontational. She didn't want to fight. “Look, I’m going to help you get your family back Nik. I promise. Just -please. Don’t hurt people for no reason. I’ve got a plan." Annalise ran a hand through her hair, fiddling with the curls at the end. "There weren’t any witches in Mystic Falls apart from Bonnie, so whatever’s blocking me isn’t a person, it’s probably an item or a place imbued with a large amount of magic – most likely spiritual magic. There can’t be many of those here. Bonnie would know all of them. I was going to go find her after we’re done doing whatever it is that we’re doing.”

She saw him nod shallowly, but Lis wasn’t under any misguided notion that he was standing down from his initial plan. If anything, she probably gave him a couple new ideas on why he should hurt more people – especially Bonnie. Annalise took his silence as an agreement, however, and figured she would deal with whatever came, and try to make sure no one died.

Trying to out-manoeuvre Nik in strategy was a losing game, you didn’t need to be smart to figure that out. The silence was starting to get unbearable. She leaned over and poked his shoulder to move on from their disagreement. “So, what do you mean your hybrids have been busy in Mystic Falls for the last week? We were still on your road trip back then. Were you sending hybrids back here while making even more? What are they here for?”

He looked over and shrugged. His face displayed a proud grin as he took a sharp turn into one of the more posh-looking neighbourhoods of Mystic Falls. 

“When I left, it seemed like the doppelgänger was going to be permanent fixture here in Mystic Falls, so I figured I’ll become a permanent fixture as well. Especially seeing as my family and I don’t have to run any longer, without the threat of our father hanging over our heads. It seems poetic almost, doesn’t it? Settling down in the same town we once called home a thousand years ago.”

Lis let out an incredulous chuckle. “Wait, hold up. Nik, don’t tell me you were buying houses while we were hauling ass all over America.”

“Of course not love,” he smirked at her before turning into a circular driveway with a decorative pond in the middle and pristinely trimmed hedges, all decorating a large white brick mansion.

“I had it built.”

Annalise couldn’t take her wide eyes off the beautiful house as Nik parked the car and jumped out to meet the hybrids coming out to greet him. After a few minutes, she clumsily stumbled to the large door with all her bags and stepped slowly into the mansion with huge eyes. It was still under construction, that much was obvious from the extra wooden beams and the ladders dotting the foyer, but her eyes followed the sweeping majestic staircase that curved to an elegant bannister on the floor above - the high arched roof stretched upwards, and the foyer further opened up into a room the size of a ballroom – no doubt the comparison that Nik was trying to draw.

Holy Shit. This place was beautiful.

She was snapped back to the present as she heard Nik’s voice carry through the house. Annalise head promptly in that direction to find him talking to Mindy, and a few other hybrids she wasn’t entirely familiar with. Her foot caught on a stray cable causing her to stumble and draw attention to herself.

Annalise tried to smile through her awkwardness at the pain in having five people simultaneously look at her strangely amused. She focused her cringing gaze at the one person she knew best in the small huddle. “Umm…Nik, where should I put my bags? Or should I have left them in the car? This was probably a mistake; I should’ve just left them in the car, sorry I just thought-”

Nik nodded to Mindy, she walked over with a smile and gestured at Annalise's bags. “Hey Lis, hand ‘em over.”

“Uh, hi. Thanks. How was the rest of the party last night?” Lis handed a few bags over to Mindy after a quick glance at Nik, who had gone back to talking with the other workers, before following Mindy up the grand stairs and into a beautiful room at the end of the corridor on the second landing.

“Oh, you know how it is, waking up this morning was hell. I was trying to make myself forget how it felt like to lose your free will to someone like Mikael, so I thought vodka was the answer.”

Lis helped deposit the bags in the room and looked around – it wasn’t small by any means, certainly bigger than the entire studio room she had in Uni. Annalise unsurely looked back at Mindy, who was distractedly staring out the large scenic window with a deep furrow on her face. “Is this supposed to be my room?”

Mindy's gaze snapped back to hers, she wore a worried look. “Is it too small? Klaus picked it out for you; thought you would enjoy the view, as well as be slightly separated from the other rooms for a bit more privacy. Klaus also said that you could pick another room if you prefer it.”

Annalise was quick to shake her head, still marvelling at what was now her bedroom. “No, no. I love it, maybe a bit too much.” 

She looked at the wide dresser pushed to the wall on her right, opposite the queen bed made with light linens on the left. There were two doors to her left to the side of the bed, leading to a small but fully equipped en suite and a walk-in-wardrobe. To the other side of the bed – right opposite the entrance to the room, was a large wide floor to ceiling window, showing off a breathtaking view.

Her room appeared to be situated in the back-right corner of the house, facing a large back lawn decorated with a picturesque fountain, surrounded by neat Victorian hedges and trimmed trees. Closing the large lawn in, was a forest with towering trees; the separation between forest and lawn was lined with beautiful bushes filled with blue flowers. It seemed Mindy had the same thought as her.

“Those blue flowers near the back of the lawn, do you know what they are? They look pretty.”

Lis shrugged. “I don’t think I can tell from this distance, but hey, going back to what you were saying before I rudely interrupted you,” Mindy turned to look her way, “just so you know, vodka’s always the answer. In fact, I can’t believe I’m not drunk 24/7 these days with all the shit that’s gone down. But, uh…compulsion is a horrible thing. It isn’t pretty. I want you to know, you can talk to me about it, yeah? I wouldn’t mind having a gal pal around; Nik brings too much brooding and evil smirking into his conversations and I miss Bekah.”

Grinning, the new hybrid snorted at her as they made their way down the stairs. “You should put that on a mug – Vodka’s always the answer...what a motto. But Klaus, he really isn’t all that bad once you get to know him, y’know?”

Lis huffed in amusement and made eye contact with Nik, who appeared to be waiting for her near the large double main doors, before smirking back at Mindy. “Yeah? You really think so? Tell that to the poor carpenters who had to tile this colossal waste of space.”

Nik squinted at her in insult as she reached the bottom of the stairs. “Ballrooms aren’t a waste space love.”

“Um…Nik, sweetie, in this day and age, they definitely are.”

“You have no class.” He huffed as he turned away, walking outside towards the car again, haughtily ignoring Mindy and Lis exchange quick grins and waves before Lis jogged after him and took her seat.

“So, where are we going now?”

-

Nik parked opposite the Mystic grill. While Lis climbed out, Nik had already walked on ahead to meet up with Tony, the strange quiet Hybrid she had met at Nik’s air-quoted “wake” for his father. She shrugged and crossed the road to enter the diner – Annalise had been briefed, for the lack of a better word, from Klaus on the drive up. The plan was they go in, lightly threaten Elena - that was her contribution, then get out.

Lis didn’t see why she couldn’t eat some late brunch while doing it, though; she was hungry. Immediately making her way over to the bar, she ordered a veggie burger and a cappuccino while looking longingly at the vodka on the shelf. Her senses were already dulled with whatever was blocking her radar. Not being drunk would probably help in the long run...plus, she wasn't 21 yet – not that it had ever stopped her before though. Annalise couldn't help but pout. 

Trying to distract herself while waiting on her burger, she looked around at the crowded bar and immediately spotted Elena and Damon over in a corner towards the front of the dart board. They seemed to be close, très flirty.

Grimacing she turned away. Yikes, hadn't Stefan been out of the picture for like two weeks? No wonder he was so pissed and stolen the coffins. Well, Annalise internally shrugged her judgement away. It wasn't her business, and plus, she didn't know what was going on in their lives. After a few more minutes, she paid and thanked the waitress as she grabbed her burger and coffee. She turned to see Nik had waited for her, and had only started to approach the pair as she descended the stairs to the booth. She shot him a quick appreciative smile. 

Klaus leaned on a pillar behind the pair, smugly, then cleared his throat. “Don’t mind me.” That dramatic little shit.

Her smile widened as Damon and Elena sprang apart guiltily and whipped around to face him. Annalise's looked between Klaus and the pair that had become defensive and sighed. “And…um. Don’t mind me.”

She crossed between the two opposing parties ignoring their confused glances, Nik and Tony on one side, and Damon and Elena on the other; and sat down at the adjacent table facing them. Placing her coffee on the table, she took a big bite out of her burger still looking between everyone in a bored manner. Nik was probably used to her – he dismissed her strange behaviour first. She held Damon’s eye contact the longest as she chewed slowly, before he visibly came to the conclusion she was just weird, and turned back to Nik.

Lis shot an easy smile to Elena who returned it slightly. Damon stepped in front of Elena protectively and glanced around, smirking at Nik. “Gonna do this in the Grill? In front of everyone? It’s a little beneath you, don’t you think?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Nik walked closer confidently. “I just came to my local pub to grab some drinks with my mates.”

He turned to the hybrid behind him who was staring at Damon and Elena with a creepy smile on his face. Annalise narrowed her eyes at him - he seemed like trouble. She should have known from last night. “Get a round then, would you Tony?” The hybrid nodded, then left. Lis squinted after him before adjusting her glasses and focusing back on Nik, who was grinning at a confused looking Elena. Ah, Tony must have tailed her this morning.

Damon spoke up warily. “Surprised you stuck around town long enough for happy hour.”

Lis raised her eyebrows and looked at Nik who glanced at her and nodded, thinking the same thing. They don’t know what Stefan did. Nik smirked unfazed - no doubt he already changed his plans to deal with this, he was quick on his feet. “My sister seems to be missing. Need to sort that out.” His face didn’t look friendly anymore - Nik's eyes had hardened to stone. 

Damon though, either had no self-control or no fucks to give. “Cute, blonde bombshell? Psycho? Shouldn’t be too hard to find.”

Annalise's eyes caught Elena looking particularly suspicious and shifty, no matter how good Damon's poker face was. She knows something about Rebekah’s disappearance. Nik stepped even closer and grabbed the darts from Damon’s hand, intimidation tactics coming into play. “Thing is, I’ve rather grown to like your little town. Thinking I might fancy a home here.”

Lis had finished her burger and threw the scrunched-up wrapper into the nearby bin before standing up, simultaneously sipping at her coffee as Klaus continued in a friendly manner. “Now I imagine you’re wondering; how does this affect you?” He stepped around the pair to face the dart board. “The answer is, not in the slightest. As long as I get what I want and everyone behaves, you can go on living your little lives however you choose.” He turned to look at a frightened Elena. “You have my word.”

“What more could you possibly want?” Elena sounded desperate for this to be over, and Annalise couldn't help but feel another flash of pity for the girl. She took another sip of coffee and Nik answered. 

“Well, for starters…” He stepped towards Elena with a dart held threateningly in his hand. “You can tell me where I might find Stefan.”

Lis noticed Damon shift forwards, so he was in front of Elena again. His own eyes held anger at his brother for his actions the night before. “Stefan skipped town the second he saved your ass.”

“Well you see, that’s a shame,” Nik stepped back and spun around, releasing the dart. It embedded itself to the plastic hilt, deep in the wall; right in the middle of the bullseye. He then turned back to a confused looking Damon. “Your brother stole from me. I need him found, so I can take back what’s mine.”

“That sounds like a Klaus and Stefan problem.” That was a surprisingly cold answer from the wound girl - maybe Stefan had really done something hateful. Either way, it seemed oddly wrong to see the same girl who had sobbed her heart out just last week to not care about his death. Annalise reminded herself that this wasn't her problem, nor her drama. 

Nik clearly wasn’t impressed either. He glowered at her as he stepped towards her, but chuckled when Damon predictably got between Nik and Elena again. “Well this is me broadening the scope, sweetheart.”

With that, Nik moved to stalk out of the grill casually, before Lis tapped his arm on the way past her.

“Hey, um, I was thinking I could spend the day with Elena. She might know some great witchy hotspots around here. I’m feeling drained these days.” Comprehension filled Nik’s eyes – he realised she could low-key figure out what was blocking her radar, and then try to find where the coffins were hidden. He kept his annoyed composure and waved a dismissive hand at her before zooming away. 

Simultaneously she felt both Damon and Elena’s eyes land on her.

“No way. Nuh-uh. You’re not having a play date with Klaus’s tiny Tinkerbell.” Lis exaggeratedly raised an arm to her chest and let out an insulted gasp. Short jokes. How original. 

Elena was quick to defend her. “Damon, I trust her, she wouldn’t hurt me. She’s helped me before.”

Their words were getting progressively heated, and Lis was feeling progressively awkward. “Hey um…I just have a few questions for Elena, and Nik was getting on my nerves. Plus, the sooner I find Stefan and what he’s taken, the sooner I can try save him. Nik’s out for blood and I’m afraid he doesn’t care who he hurts in the process. I promise I’ll keep her safe – Nik needs her anyway. If you can’t trust me, at least trust that.”

Elena gestured to what Lis said and smiled at her softly before turning to Damon, her mind clearly made. Damon saw that too because all he did was throw his hands in the air and walk away muttering something about the obvious lack of self-preservation and having better alcohol at home. The two girls grinned slightly at each other before Elena grabbed a satchel nearby and made her way over to a man at a bar marking papers. Lis made it to the pair, just as Elena said something to him, and both turned to face her. She held her hand out with an awkward smile.

“Annalise Caelis. Call me Lissie.”

The man – very tall and very handsome, towered over her as he shook her hand quickly – clearly wary. “Uh, yes, Alaric Saltzman. Elena told me you helped her before, thank you.”

Magic brushed against her palm released it. Huh, magic ring. Neat. Annalise wondered why a hunter would need one, assuming of course that this was Elena's alcoholic hunter turned father-figure. Lis filed that thought away for later and flashed him a tight smile. “Yeah, I’m pretty morally grey, but even I draw the line at terrorising kids.”

Alaric looked confused. “Kids? You look like a kid.” 

Lis let out a good-natured chuckle. “Are you insulting my height? 'Cos that’s an easy way to get on my bad side.” Alaric’s eyes widened and he moved to apologise. Lis sipped her warm coffee again and waved an arm at him, dismissing his oncoming apology. “Hey, it’s okay, I’m kidding. I get that a lot. I turned 20 this year."

Alaric smiled unsurely and nodded, turning back to gather his papers from the bar. She watched both of them exchange glances – Alaric’s was still insanely wary. Elena shrugged though, her mind was clearly made up, and turned to Lis. “Um, we were heading home now, we need to make lunch. Are you coming with us?”

Lis grinned, nodding. “Uh, yeah if you don’t mind. But um…a bit of warning before you make any other decisions, you know how I can teleport, yeah?” Elena nodded as Alaric raised his eyebrows in surprise. Lis steamed on ahead. “Yeah, I just want to let you know, in the interest of honesty – once I’ve been to a place I’ve never been to before, I can teleport there at will. The question here is, do you still feel safe taking me to your home?”

Alaric immediately whipped his head around to Elena giving her a warning glare, but Elena looked confused. “But you’d never been to the school before, how did you teleport to me that night?”

“Ah, you caught on. Smart.” Lis tipped her cup at her. “That night I teleported to you specifically, not a place. It applied different magic theory.” Alaric looked confused now, but Elena was nodding along.

”So that means that if I was home, you could teleport there anyway. You could teleport to wherever I am?” 

Lis winced as she replied. “Well, yeah. Sure. But I only know where you are if I specifically look for you. I feel like it’s a pretty big invasion of privacy so like, I only try to do it in emergencies.”

Elena nodded like she made a decision and started walking to the exit. Lis exchanged glances with a wary Alaric before the both of them followed her to a parked car. Lis climbed in to the back seat.

Alaric climbed in the driver’s seat and paused looking at Elena, as if he wanted to make sure she knew that she was inviting one of their potential enemies to her house. Elena looked fed-up with the uneasy glances. “What Alaric? Like she said. She can find me wherever I am. It doesn’t matter if she knows where my house is or not. Plus, I kinda trust her.” Lis grinned at her from the back. “And maybe she can use her powers to find Jeremy.”

The car was moving now, Lis watched the small-town streets pass by slowly before turning back to question Elena. “Who’s Jeremy? Is he supernatural too?”

“No, he isn’t. He’s just my little brother. Can you find him?”

Lis looked at Elena with an apology in her eyes as she sipped her coffee. “Sorry Elena, I can only feel supernatural things on my pseudo-magic-radar. You’re on it just barely because you’re a doppelganger.”

Elena sighed and turned to the front again, clearly worried about her brother. If Elena recognised Tony stalking her from earlier, that must mean Tyler’s with Jeremy then. Annalise wasn't too worried, Tyler wouldn't hurt one of his friend's brothers, right?

On the short drive to Elena’s house, Lis asked her if there were any items or places with a great deal of magic around here she knew about. Elena clearly did know but replied negatively. It was obvious she didn’t trust her completely, so Lis didn’t try to push it any further. The car pulled up at a cute two-story suburban house surrounded by neatly trimmed hedges and a wrap around porch. 

With one last hesitant glance at Lis, Alaric went ahead into the house. Elena flashed her an uncomfortable grin and a shrug, to which Lis responded in kind, before both made their way into the house. Annalise went to reach out to the magic around her for comfort, but paused as it greeted he in a muted manner. The quicker she gets this done, the quicker everything would be back to normal, or as close to normal as it gets.

Alaric and Elena had busily set about making lunch after denying her many instances that she could help, so Annalise had sat to the side, talking to them. Alaric was apparently a high school history teacher, still greatly sour about Klaus using him as a meat suit when he had initially arrived in Mystic Falls. However, he did warm up to her once she'd mentioned a collection of antique magical hunters weapons back at her college, then laughed at his attempts to get her to enchant his own weapons. After finishing off her coffee and binning her cup, she sent a text to Nik saying Elena hadn’t given up any information on magic hotspots no matter how many times she'd subtly tried to steer the conversation in that direction - in fact; she seemed quite cagey about hotspots as a whole.

Annalise didn't want to push too hard and raise suspicions though. 

Once the food was mostly ready, and the smell of stir-fry and casserole filled the kitchen, Lis was placed on table-setting duty while Elena and Alaric flitted about the kitchen finishing up the plating. They seemed to move around each other with familiarity, it made Lis smile softly.

The conversation had been about Jeremy, apparently a young trouble-maker who was flunking classes at school, and had been fired from his job at the grill a couple days ago. Annalise had denied knowing any spells that would make him a better student with a snort, saying "I'd have used it on myself a long time ago."

Alaric looked at Elena as she carried a dish laden with casserole to the table that Lis had set. “So, you ready?”

“Vampires, hybrids, witches and originals. No problem. My rebellious brother: I’m worried.” Elena sighed.

Lis and Alaric both snorted; she looked over at him chopping vegetables on the island facing them, they exchanged a surprised grin. Alaric glanced back at Elena. “Proof that you’re still human.”

“You definitely have your priorities in order.” Annalise winked as Elena passed her to put a stack of plates on the table.

Before Elena went to reply, they all heard the front door open, and a tall boy she presumed was Jeremy, walked loudly in. Annalise vaguely realised his soul felt heavy. He must have had a brush with death in his young life, but her dampened powers weren't able to reveal anymore. Jeremy's gaze immediately zeroed in on her as he walked past her to the fridge, looking at her oddly. “Who are you?” 

Annalise gave him an easy grin. “Uh, Lissie. Nik’s quasi-witch supreme. Nice to meet you.”

Jeremy grew rigid, eyes darting between a shrugging Elena, and Alaric rolling his eyes, before his posture relaxed infinitesimally and opened the fridge to look into it.

Elena chose this moment to speak up. “Just in time! We cooked.”

“Sorry, just passing through.” Jeremy's voice carried from where he'd stuck his head in the fridge, looking for something. 

Alaric was quick to come up with an excuse as he saw Elena's face fall at the casual dismissal after all their hard work. “Ah, well I thought we could all stay in, have a meal together like a typical, atypical family.”

“Why?” Jeremy grabbed a chilled drink and shut the fridge door, walking back towards Elena.

“Maybe because you got fired and you didn’t tell anyone?” Elena certainly didn’t mince her words, she was showing she was annoyed now. Jeremy hadn't taken her chance to own up. As Jeremy paused sheepishly, Lis was feeling increasingly uncomfortable again. She didn't want to be here watching a family chew out a rebellious teen anymore than she wanted to throw her arm into a garbage disposal unit. 

“Ugh, look. Can we do this later? I made plans with Tyler. He’s right outside.”

That immediately made Alaric tense up, alarmed. “Wait, when did you start hanging out with Tyler Lockwood?” 

“I don’t know, does it matter?” Typical teen response. Lis finished setting the table and stepped lightly back, wondering when a good time would be to interject and say she’s leaving.

“Yeah Jeremy, it matters! He was sired by Klaus. He’s dangerous.” Elena whispered.

“Look, he can still hear you. He’s right outside. And she literally works for him voluntarily – how’s that any better?!” Jeremy gestured at Lis standing awkwardly in the corner wishing she could be a part of the wall. Everyone looked at her. She shrugged innocently. 

"I make bad life decisions, okay?"

Still annoyed, Jeremy looked towards Elena again. “Besides are you of all people are gonna lecture me on who I can and can’t hang out with? When you hang out with Damon?” 

Elena crossed her arms in insult while taking her eyes off Lis and glaring at her little brother. “What’s with the attitude?”

“Yeah whatever, this is lame. Tyler’s waiting.” And there’s typical teen response number two. Jeremy moved back towards the front door before Elena angrily intercepted him, pushing him back with a hand on his chest.

“Oh no, no, no. You’re not going anywhere, especially not with Tyler.”

Jeremy glanced back at Alaric looking for some support, only to be met with a firm refusal. “I’m with her on this Jer. Sorry.”

Jeremy scowled again. “All right, fine. You want me to stay in? Let’s all stay in then.” He was clearly worked up as turned to the front door, shouting, “Yo Tyler! Come on in!”

Well that just made looking after the Gilbert family that much harder - turns out, Annalise wasn't the only one with a tendency to do stupid things.

Her smile flicked upwards involuntarily at the thought.

Mystic Falls was starting to grow on her.

Chapter Text

Elena’s protests came too late as Tyler walked in to the Gilbert house with clear discomfort, having heard the entire argument outside. Lis waved at a confused Tyler, to which he passed back an unsure smile, eyes darting between the members of the Gilbert family all looking at him in some degree of wariness. At least she wasn’t the only outsider in this little domestic anymore. “Hey kid.”

“Oh, hey. What are you doing here?” Tyler looked looked at her strangely as he shifted on the balls of his feet, looking distinctly nervous in the cute suburban living room, while avoiding the suspicious glares directed at him by Elena and Alaric. It was oddly entertaining. 

Annalise grinned lightly. “I’m was just here for a little meet and greet, and maybe a little information on any magical hot spots in town. I need to recharge.”

Tyler clearly looked like he didn’t know how to respond to that, so he nodded uncertainly and looked towards Jeremy again, who gestured him to sit at the table. He then filled a glass of water from the tap and set it down in front of Tyler, now even more awkward seeing as he was the only one sitting down. Elena stood directly opposite Tyler with her arms crossed; still glaring. Lis leaned on the wall to the side, torn between watching this unfold, or getting the hell out of this tension-filled situation. In the end her decision was really reached looking at the teen who looked as if he were about to be interrogated. She didn't want to abandon Tyler to the wolves, so to speak, but she also wanted to make sure he doesn't reveal anything too detrimental to Nik's plans.

Annalise watched on, low-key entertained, as Elena frowned at Tyler in suspicion. “This is weird. Klaus has hybrids stalking me and now you’re just sitting in our kitchen.” Lis had to hand it to Elena – she was pretty smart to put two and two together.

Tyler's stiff shoulders hunched as he fiddled with the glass of water placed on the table in front of him. “Look, maybe I should go.”

Lis jumped in. “Hey, I’ll come with you! I don’t have a ride.”

Alaric was quick to shut them down. "No, stay. Both of you. You’re not doing anything, and we can keep an eye on you.”

Elena narrowed her eyes. “Unless you have to, y’know, check in with your hybrid master.” It was like bad cop, annoyed cop here. Much better than Prime Time TV. 

Tyler laughed uneasily, tapping his fingers on the tabletop. “It’s not like that Elena.”

Jeremy and Alaric moved to sit down on either side of Tyler, Alaric albeit a lot more threateningly, whilst casually holding a glass of red wine. Classy. He spoke, levelling the hybrid with a dark stare. “Tell me Tyler, what’s the difference between being sired and compelled?”

Alaric's voice was light, almost as if he was asking the hybrid how the weather was today. Annalise was really starting to admire him. He seems like such a cool guy. 

Tyler nodded slowly, obviously thrown at this direct question, and took a moment to collect his thoughts. “Compulsion- that’s just mind control, like hypnosis. And being sired is…it’s like faith. You do something because you believe it’s the right thing.”

Elena was quick to interject. “So you believe that serving Klaus is the right thing?”

Tyler was immediately shaking his head in disagreement. “I don’t serve him. Klaus released me from a curse that was ruining my life. I owe him for that.” Lis moved closer to the table and sat next to where Elena was standing. She was interested...sue her. 

“What if he asked you to jump off a bridge?” Alaric came at him with a classic parent comment. Annalise rolled her eyes, grinning. 

“He wouldn’t! And even if he did I’d be fine. I’m a hybrid.” Tyler looked proud of his answer.

Elena interrupted again. “Okay, so what if he asked you to rip your own heart out?”

“Again, he wouldn’t.” Tyler clenched his teeth. He was clearly getting agitated. Well, that isn't great. This was going downhill relatively fast. It certainly didn't make it better that Elena was still grilling him.

“What if he did?”

“I don’t know, then I’d rip out my heart!” 

Everyone paused in shock and leaned back. Lis raised her eyebrows in surprise. That’s some loyalty. Even Tyler looked surprised at his exclamation before his face shuttered back to show his anger at being interrogated. He threw his hands up in the air, annoyed, “You guys sound like Caroline, getting all freaked out over something you don’t understand.”

“You’re right Tyler, I don’t understand. Klaus has terrorized every single one of us and you’re just blindly loyal to him.” Elena sounded seriously annoyed. Lis leaned her head on her hand braced on the table and closed her eyes tiredly. Yup. She wondered how long it'd take for her name to be brought up in conversation.

“You’re over-thinking it. I can still make my own decisions. Plus, why aren’t you questioning her any further?” Tyler gestured at her and Lis squinted at him in betrayal. There it was. 

"I wouldn't say I'm blindly loyal, is annoyed-ly loyal a thing?" Annalise defensively crossed her arms, making Tyler grin. 

Strangely, Elena came to her rescue. “Lissie saved my life, she only works for Klaus to help more people. She’s been honest the entire time.”

Lis grinned up at Elena. “Aww you cutie, you shouldn’t have-”

Jeremy’s phone rang, interrupting her halfway. He stepped away from the table to take it, but Lis's eyes followed him. Something felt off...she narrowed her eyes at the young boy and voiced her concerns. “Guys, something feels wrong.” The sharp and serious inflection to her words was so different to the joking tone she'd used before, everyone straightened, following her eye line to look at Jeremy warily as he walked back to the table and sat down.

He noticed everyone staring at him and crossed his arms defensively. “What?”

Tyler was clearly at the end of his line - he also looked flat out suspicious now, shifty. He glanced down at his watch and stood. “Look guys, I gotta go. Um thanks for the food offer, but uh…” Alaric bit into a biscuit and glared at Tyler. “Til next time.” Tyler nodded, and made a hasty exit.

Lis stood up quickly too. “Yeah you know what? I’m going to grab a ride with Tyler, and leave you guys to your atypical family meal.” She shot finger guns at Alaric and Jeremy. “Nice to meet you guys, it's been a pleasure. Just uh, I had a bad feeling before. Do yourselves a favour and keep an eye out, yeah?”

She took Elena’s tired grin and nod as a confirmation, and exchanged a nod with Alaric and Jeremy before leaving the house.

Annalise paused in the empty driveway, sighing with her hands on her hips. Dammit, Tyler's car was long gone - he must've really been itching to get away. She could teleport straight to the mansion, but it was quite a nice afternoon. Plus, Annalise wanted to explore, take the long way round and see if she could stumble on any magic hotspots in the area. Unlikely, but you never really know. 

As Lis walked slowly down the road with her hands in her cardigan, she looked at the cute suburban homes with literal white picket fences and even saw some lawns with abandoned children's toys out in the yard. So frickin' domestic.

Sudden yelling behind her had her turning slightly - that sounded like Elena. She saw Jeremy in the distance crossing the road, only to stop halfway and stand in the middle.

Curiously, Annalise started jogging back to him as Elena and Alaric exit the house, screaming at him to move. Only Jeremy didn't. Lis sped up, running up to everyone. “Hey, what’s going on? What’s wrong with him? Elena?”

Tires squealed loudly as a black SUV rounded the corner far too fast and headed straight for the young boy, still standing unresponsively in the middle of the road.

She heard Elena and her guardian call out in panic and run towards Jeremy. Lis lifted an arm and aimed it at the teen, it took her a second longer to magically grab on to Jeremy because of her dampened powers, but she managed to pull him to her side just in time to see Alaric get hit hard instead – he had run out onto the road trying to push Jeremy out of the way and she had missed him. Shit.

Everyone watched, horrified, as Alaric’s body ricocheted off the cracked windshield and roll violently multiple times across the road, before coming to a stop face down.

Lis unfroze and started forwards at the same time as Elena with Jeremy at her heels. She made it just as the black SUV pull up slowly with a window rolled down. Tony? 

He grinned at them easily as if he hadn’t just run someone over in cold blood. “There I go again, bumping into people.”

Fury filled Lis as she felt her magic lash out and hit the side of the car, the force pushing the SUV skidding back sideways, making it lurch on two wheels before falling back down to all four. The metal doors were caved in from the impact of her magic. She felt Elena and Jeremy flinch backwards in shock.

Tony stepped out of the car annoyed, struggling with the broken door. “What the hell? What are you-”

He choked on his words as Annalise raised an arm in the air, clenching it. “Tony. Did Nik just try to have a kid killed?”

Tony struggled in her invisible grip “I- don’t- he-“

Lis clenched her hand tighter, imagining it tightening around his heart. “I don’t like hurting people Tony so just answer the damn question. Did Klaus try to have Jeremy killed? Yes, or no?”

Tony had shut his eyes in pain, but he answered, “Yes! Yes, okay, he told me to.”

She relaxed her hand and watched coldly as he collapsed to the floor breathing heavily while clutching at his chest. He glared at her in rage before he ran off in a blur. No doubt off to complain about her. She didn't care one bit. 

Lis turned back to Elena and Jeremy crouching on the floor beside Alaric’s body, looking at her in shock and no small amount of of fear. She flashed them a tight smile.

“Sorry, uh…about your friend. He was a good man. I could tell. He didn’t deserve death. I swear I didn’t know Klaus was planning this.”

She noticed Elena nod at her before scrabbling to grip at Alaric’s hand, then sighing in relief. The young girl looked at a still panicked-looking Jeremy, and held his shoulder in reassurance. “He’s gonna be all right. Are you ok?”

“Wait, what am I missing?” Lis ignored Jeremy nodding distractedly at Elena's consolation, and crouched down next to the kids beside Alaric's dead body. “No offence, but this guy was just hit with a force big enough to boot him straight into the next life, what the hell do you mean he’s all right? He's so dead I can't even begin to heal him.”

Elena glanced at her before apparently choosing to trust her further. “It’s the family ring. It works on non-supernaturals, it brings them back to life if they died a supernatural death. Jeremy has one too, but he was just compelled to take his off.”

“What the ever-loving fuck, the implications of that magic theory applied to those rings is ground-breaking-”

Elena ignored her melt down and started speaking rapidly to Jeremy. “We’ve gotta get him inside. Help me.”

“Wait. Just hold on. Lemme calm down.” Lis halted everyone’s movement, taking a deep breath and forcefully pushing the miraculous rings out of her mind for now. “Okay, here’s what I’m gonna do. We need to get out of the public street fast. Both of you, grab my arms, now.” The two teens didn't hesitate one bit and immediately held on to her, and she shut her eyes and visualised herself in the Gilbert home, in front of the sofa.

According to the kids’ gasp of amazement it worked.

She tapped Alaric’s dead body on the carpet once more, and teleported it conveniently to the sofa before turning to a wide-eyed Elena and Jeremy.

Annalise rubbed her forehead stressfully. “So, you’re telling me, the magic in that ring is keeping him alive, and is healing him right now?” They nodded fast. She didn't miss Jeremy walking over to the dining table and picking up his own ring and sliding it back on his finger.

“Right, okay, maybe I can speed up the process. I’m not comfortable in leaving you two alone with a temporarily dead guardian. He’s been dead long enough. It can’t be good for him.”

Annalise approached Alaric and placed a hand on his chest to look for any lingering signs of life…there! It was strange – almost as if his soul was far away, but still tethered to his body – it was definitely faint, but getting slowly stronger. This ring could save so many people. Annalise was still blown away by the implications of a ring that could reverse death-

Breaking herself out of her internal freakout, she moved her hand to his forehead and muttered, “Surgo”, frowning when he didn’t proceed to immediately wake up. Hm…odd. It almost feels like something’s holding him in this dead state. It felt unnatural, other-worldly. The best guess she had was that was the ring’s specific revival magic. 

Shrugging she turned to look at Elena and Jeremy watching impatiently for their guardian to wake up. “Um…it doesn’t seem like I can wake him up. Looks like I have to let it do its thing. Wait, maybe I can try heal his wounds anyway?”

Annalise reached out to tap his forehead, whispering a semi-powerful, “Sana” spell, and frowned when she noticed his wounds didn’t recede at all. She turned back around to the worried kids. “Looks like I can’t do anything further to help while he’s in this state, I’m sorry. I think the ring isn’t letting me try anything externally.”

Elena nodded then rushed forwards to crush her in a quick hug, stepping back sheepishly. “Thank you…for Jeremy, and everything.”

Lis stepped back and wrung her hands awkwardly. “No worries, you’re good.” She noticed a stray pen and paper on a table close by...fuck it - and scribbled down her number before handing it to Elena.

“There’s my number if you need my help, but please remember, as angry as I am at Nik right now, this isn’t me declaring I’m on your side, and helping you indefinitely. I won’t help in your vendetta against him.”

“But he just tried to have Jeremy killed! And he killed Alaric." Elena was shaking her head, clutching desperately at the hand she had used to pass the girl her phone number. "Please, Lissie, you’re clearly powerful enough to take him on. We saw what you did to that hybrid. Please.” 

Jeremy’s eyes narrowed in thought as watched silently as Lis shook her head, stepping closer to the trio.  

“Look, as horrible as he is, he’s angry, he’s acting out. But I still work for him. I gave him my word, and that’s not something I take lightly. You have to realise that you won’t be able to rely on me Elena. The sooner you understand that I won’t always be able to help, the better off you’ll be.”

Resignation entered Elena’s eyes as she nodded shallowly, limply taking her hands off Lis's arm. Annalise shut her eyes and sighed wearily, sending a nod to Jeremy then blinking out of existence.

She appeared in front of the mansion and tiredly made her way into it, asking around if Nik was here. Following everyone’s direction, she found Tyler with his tense back facing her, talking to the Original.

The room was still under construction. There were large beams, swathes of unpainted walls, and cables running on the ground with ladders dotting the room. As Annalise walked closer she heard Tyler say, “I didn’t think we’d actually kill anyone.”

Lis glared at Nik, speaking up and drawing both their attention to her. “Yeah me neither. What the actual fuck Nik?”

She strode forward angrily, coming to a stop beside Tyler. Nik held his hands up in a placating gesture. His voice was gentle, appeasing. “Tyler, Lissie, what you’re feeling is the remnant of a guilty conscience, I need you both to get over it okay?”

Annalise scoffed angrily. “Fuck no, you dick. I kicked Tony’s ass, and right now, you’re talking yourself into being next.”

Nik ignored her, putting a strong hand on Tyler’s shoulder and turning him around to walk him back in the direction she came in from. He continued his little speech as if Lis had never interrupted. “End of the day, human life is just means to an end. Our means to our end. You’d do well to remember that.”

“Said every fairy tale villain ever.” Lis bit out as she walked close behind them. “Sure, why don’t you try to kill the brother and father figure of the one person you literally need to live out your fantasy of having a hybrid army, it’ll definitely earn you brownie points.”

“You better not have irreparably damaged my hybrid Lissie.”

"And what if I did, huh? You just tried have a kid killed." Klaus' glare faltered when her voice wobbled near the end, but he still turned wordlessly and walked away, leaving both of them alone.

Lis watched as Tyler frowned at the floor, deep in thought. She sighed. 

“You finally wondering why you can’t find anything wrong with what that he just said? Is it strange having to take Nik’s word for something and not have to explain it away?” She was genuinely curious, yet by the way Tyler stiffened and clenched his fists, he was insulted.

He threw her a glare. “What’s your excuse?”

"Hey, shit, sorry." Annalise put a hand on his shoulder. She looked at him sincerely, and he relaxed a small amount. “I didn't mean it like that. I just- Jeremy’s fine. Alaric is a bit less so, but I was told he’ll be fine too. Apparently they've got magic rings.”

Tyler nodded, giving her a halfhearted grin as she patted him on his back, then walked away, looking like he carried the world on his shoulders. It felt gloomy, watching yet another kid Klaus messed up, walk away deep in existential thought.

This was all so messed up. 

-

Annalise was sulking on the grand staircase watching the sun set through the tall windows, wondering how long she’d have to try to justify Nik’s actions to herself before coming to the conclusion that he was just a grade-A tool. His fear for Mikael made it easier to excuse most his actions, so did his need to find his family - but hurting kids was uncalled for. If she had to guess, it had been Tyler's job to make sure Jeremy was vervain-free so he could be compelled to stand in the middle of the road using the phone call, but why go to the extra trouble of also taking the Gilbert ring off and making his choice a permanent one, when the alternative - Jeremy dying with the ring on - would have sent them the same message? She startled out of her thoughts when her phone started buzzing.

It was an unknown number, and there’s only one person she gave her number to.

She answered the call, knowing if Nik was anywhere in the house, he’d come find her after listening in. She just hoped Elena was smart enough to know that as well. “Elena. When I gave you my number this afternoon for emergencies, I wasn’t expecting a call on the same evening. What can I do for you?”

Ignoring how Nik suddenly and predictably appeared next to her, she realised that Elena was sniffling. “Elena? What’s wrong sweetheart?”

“Alaric’s in the hospital." Lis's heart crumbled at the despair in the girl's voice. "He was internally bleeding, and the ring didn’t fix him up. Then that hybrid you hurt,”

“Tony? If that little dipshit tried anything else-”

Elena was quick to correct her, still sniffling. “No, no. Jeremy killed him Lissie. He’s dead.” Lis stood up in shock, glancing at a solemn Nik, before making her way down the stairs.

“Right, okay, Elena. So, what do you need me for?”

“Is Klaus close by?”

She glanced at Nik, literally half a step behind her. “Uh, yeah, you could say that.”

“Could you hand your phone over to him?”

Surprised, she voiced her agreement as she did as Elena told. She didn’t hear anything of what Elena said on the other end, and Nik only ended the call after saying a few words. He handed her phone back to her, still looking away in thought.

“What was that about Nik?” It felt like she was talking to a brick wall as he was already making his way down into his car, ignoring her question. Instead he called over his shoulder in what felt like an after thought. “Stay here. I’ll be back soon.” 

Lis sighed and visibly gave up, climbing back up the stairs to the room Mindy had helped deposit her things in. It was all finished; one of the only rooms in the house that was from the looks of it - even the bed was made. Annalise washed up and fell into bed, the use of her magic today made her feel tired, but less than before. She was getting better at controlling it. Slowly.

Taking her phone out, she sent Elena a quick text wishing Alaric a fast recovery. The phone beeped with Elena’s reply saying he was already at home, and fine. She turned on her side and looked out the large window.

The sky was clear, and the stars twinkled. She hoped tomorrow would be better, but had a creeping feeling of foreboding. 

She knew the worst was yet to come.

Chapter Text

Mindy had convinced Annalise to wake up early and start the day with a healthy jog.

Now, Lis wasn’t a person who enjoyed a jog by any means, but she was already up and quite hungry for food. As there was no breakfast in the mansion currently suitable for human consumption, she really had no option.

Technically, Lis could teleport into town, but she had only ever seen the front and inside of the Mystic Grill; there was no way was she going to risk suddenly appearing in the middle of a bunch of locals. That meant she needed to scope out and get familiar with some places she could teleport to in town in an emergency – places which were hidden from view. She mentally added that on her list of things to do today. After sending a quick text to Nik saying that she’ll be going for a quick jog with Mindy into town, they set off. It was strangely relaxing, jogging with the hybrid – strange because she hadn’t ever found physical exercise remotely enjoyable before. But it more than anything, she appreciated the sense of normalcy it brought her. Normal people went jogging with their friends, right?

The path they used was well worn, cutting through a little of the forest so it sat between tall trees with the path decorated in mossy rocks and smatterings of wildflowers. The magic around her felt present, and strong, despite still feeling out of reach - and Annalise revelled in it, and the company.

Mindy was an amazing conversationalist, they never had an awkward pause, not even while they were eating breakfast. They talked about anything and everything - their favourite tv shows, how horrible flare jeans looked, and even their favourite music. This made Lis miss Rebekah – she hadn’t known the girl for long at all, but the outspoken blonde had already made an impression on her.  

They were giggling uncontrollably as they clambered back into the mansion.

“I can’t believe you were wearing thongs-”

“I meant flip flops okay?!? I swear that’s what we call them over in Australia. For the hundredth time, I didn’t throw on some racy underwear just to say hi to the post man!”

Mindy was snorting. “Don’t worry, I bet the postman loved it.”

“No!” Lis had started whacking Mindy on the arm in embarrassment as they entered the house. “No, no stop it. My stomach hurts from laughing too hard I can’t-” Mindy had doubled over; she could barely get her words out. “You-you’ve gotta show me your thongs some time.” She let out another bark of laughter folding in on herself.

Annalise heard familiar footsteps approach the foyer and both girls did their best to straighten up and wipe the grins off their faces. Nik rounded the corner with a smirk, green eyes bright with amusement. “Ladies, ladies. What’s this indecent conversation we’re hearing first thing in the morning?” The girls exchanged a quick glance before dissolving into quiet giggles again.

Nik looked very entertained, classily nursing a glass of blood as he called out to Mindy. “As lovely as this is, Mindy, I need you to do something for me, it’s in the other room, make sure you put it somewhere safe, please.”

Mindy nodded and left, still chuckling. Lis went to follow her, but Nik stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. She grinned up at him easily, still in a good mood. “Yeah, Nik?”

His eyes were unusually serious. “What would you do if you found Rebekah daggered, Lissie?”

Annalise moved his hand off her shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly in both of hers before letting it go. “I’d wake her up, silly. And bring your sister straight back to you. I miss her, if I’m being honest. It’d be nice having her around again. Maybe she could even help keeping your homicidal tendencies in check. Why’d you ask?” She tilted her head inquisitively. 

Nik nodded to himself as if he was right about something; she watched closely as his eyes softened, and he stepped back. “No reason,” He started walking in the opposite direction, so Lis just rolled her eyes and followed behind. “By the way, did you see Alphonse this morning?”

Lis nodded distractedly, looking around the house still undergoing construction. It was progressing insanely fast. “Yeah, um…Mindy was talking to Alphonse before we left, I think. There was a bunch of hybrids talking here this morning. I heard you tasked them with wandering around Mystic Falls looking for the coffins, Alphonse was with them. Why?”

“Everyone’s made it back, except him. Do you happen to know where he was looking? Maybe his search turned up fruitful after all.” Nik took a sip out of his glass.

“I don’t know Nik, sorry. I reckon asking Mindy would be the best bet.” Annalise's gaze studied his easy nod closely as she hesitantly voiced something Mindy had said this morning. "Hey, uh...on our run, Mindy mentioned Tony went rogue. That you didn't want Jeremy killed, only a message sent, but he uh...improvised." Nik's gaze surreptitiously ignored hers as she tried to catch up to his side to meet it. "I wanted to apologise, it was just that Tony said you did when I threatened him, probably out of fear and-"

Annalise cut herself off when she realised she was rambling and just took a deep breath. "Just, don't always paint yourself as a bad guy, and correct me if I'm wrong, yeah?" Nik finally met her eyes with a quick nod, but both paused feeling something shift in the air behind them. They instinctively stilled and turned - Klaus appeared relaxed, and Lis defensive. Stefan was leaning against a glass dividing door opposite them that they'd just passed.

Nik took the initiative to speak up first, casually approaching the very man he was currently mad at. “I’m surprised you’re still in town. I gave you your freedom, you could’ve gone anywhere.” Lis hung back, observing - Stefan was acting a bit too confident - and that made him dangerous.

Stefan’s reply was just as casual. “I live here Klaus.”

“Well, if we’re playing this game, then uh…I was here first.”

Lis rolled her eyes, relaxing her tense shoulders slightly at Nik's treatment of Stefan as if he were harmless. There was no way he didn't think Stefan wasn't currently dangerous; so that meant he was treating him casually to lull him into a false sense of security. Annalise figured she should follow his lead. She leaned against the doorway opposite to Stefan, mirroring him, and watched Nik reach a table closer to the middle of the room, pushed to the side, to grab a classy wine bottle filled with blood before pouring himself another helping.

Stefan pushed off the door and walked closer to Klaus threateningly. "You know, I don’t like your hybrid friends. They’re everywhere, kinda like fleas. I want them gone.”

“Yeah well uh...I kinda like having them around.” Nik’s laid-back reply clearly annoyed Stefan. “You know, I’m hurt. I hoped that I’d free you, and we’d pick up where we left off. But here you are, guzzling vervain like the rest of them, I’m sure.” Nik set the bottle down and raised his glass in mock-toast. “So much for friendship.”

“Friends don’t strip friends of their free will.”

Lis moved forwards from her door, closer to Nik’s side, shooting him a quick grin. “Uh…Respectfully Nik, I think Stefan has a point there.”

Nik shrugged in agreement. “Okay, granted, yeah, that was a little extreme. I get a little moody. Just ask my siblings." His expression took a more serious turn. "Speaking of whom, isn’t it time you handed them over?” All traces of good humour disappeared from his face.

Moody was the right word for it, or maybe bipolar.

Stefan just stepped even closer in faux comradery, “Klaus, get your hybrids out of Mystic Falls, or I will remove them myself.”

Nik squinted at Stefan like he was stupid. “Hmm…you see, if you continue to threaten me, I’ll be forced to retaliate. Kill people. And it’ll get messy again.”

Stefan shrugged easily. “Do whatever you want. I don’t really care, or you know what? Maybe I do. Yeah, yeah." He nodded to himself, looking slightly unhinged. "Maybe I’ll care so much that I drop Elijah in the Arctic.” Yikes. 

Lis noticed Nik’s hands grip his glass infinitesimally tighter, contradicting his blasé tone. “Well, maybe I’d be willing to lose one brother, if it meant killing yours.”

Stefan smirked widely, too wide. “Try me. Let’s find out.’

Nik chuckled in disbelief as Mindy walked up behind Stefan, opposite them. She was smiling at her. "Hey, Lis, I put something up in your room for you-" Annalise widened her eyes at her in warning, and Mindy noticed immediately, pausing and narrowing her eyes at Stefan. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine Mindy. Stefan here was just leaving after failing to make his point.”

Stefan smiled at Nik in good humour before suddenly blurring away faster than the eye could see. Next thing Lis knew, something warm splattered down her side and she was looking at Mindy’s head on the floor, her expression frozen in shock.

Annalise felt hollow as she heard Mindy’s body fall to the ground separately with a low thud. Before she realised it, she was kneeling down near her friend, her face felt wet. She couldn't hear anything. Why couldn't she hear anything?'

 Annalise tried to form words, but her tongue felt like lead, and pressure was rising in the back of her throat, her fingers - they were reaching out to Mindy-

After what felt like a small eternity, two large familiar warm hands gripped her shoulders familiarly, bringing her slowly back to the present. A voice filtered through her ears. “That’s it, Lissie, breathe through it. Deep breaths, you’re okay-”

A choked sob escaped her throat, and suddenly she realised she was heaving. “But she’s not okay, Nik, she’s not-”

She felt herself being stood up and slowly moved away. She blindly reached her bright red hands out to her friend in pieces on the floor, trying to get back to her. Instead, Annalise felt herself get turned away into a warm embrace and she burrowed her head further in, trying to forget the haunting expression of dead surprise. Trying to forget how red the blood looked when it stained her. She felt arms around her tighten, jolting her back into reality. Lis sniffled and started to step away; a hazy memory of Nik freezing up when she hugged him earlier blinked in her mind - he must feel uncomfortable. 

Looking at his expression however, all that existed was rage. Annalise stepped away and wearily leaned against his side as he kept staring at the pool of blood staining the ground. 

Lis felt grim knowing there was nothing she could do to stop Nik’s wrath. She hoped Elena was ready.

Nik certainly was.

-

Annalise walked down the stairs a while later after a good cry and a long shower in her bedroom. Her eyes stung, and her nose was still runny. She walked uncertainly over to where she desperately wanted to avoid; the room where Mindy had been killed was a flurry of activity. Someone was mopping the ground, another was painting the walls, and a bunch more entered and exited with purpose, all while Nik stood eerily still leaning against the table, staring off into the distance. She went to approach him as another blond hybrid did – Was it Daniel? - He was carrying a small white sack with something in it, stained a bright red. She felt light-headed. ‘Please don’t tell me-’

“What do you want me to do with her head?” Annalise felt anger fill her at the way her friend was being treated, and she stalked over to hear Nik reply in a low voice. “Just get rid of it, burn it. I honestly don’t care Daniel.”

“Well I fucking do. Give it here.” Daniel looked at her strangely and complied while Nik gave her a considering look. Steeling herself, she gingerly held on to the sack and teleported herself out of the mansion into the grounds at the back that her window overlooked. Everything in her screamed to fling the sac away from her in her discomfort, but she set it down gingerly in a bed of blue flowers at the end of the lawn, at the opening into the forest beyond.

Annalise collapsed in front of it and couldn’t help but cry again. It felt wrong, knowing Mindy had been laughing with her just an hour before. She bowed her head and hoped her new friend was at peace. She gasped out a low murmured, “Ardeo’, and watched sadly as the sac and its contents caught on fire and burn a bright white until not even ashes remained. The surrounding flowers weren’t harmed by the fire at all - Lis decided to take a small comfort in that.

Sighing, she teleported back into the room Nik had been in only to see the entire room empty except Nik and Tyler, they were arguing. Tyler’s voice was low and angry. “What the hell is wrong with you? I’m not hurting Caroline.”

Lis stepped forwards immediately. “What’s going on?”

Tyler glanced at her before turning back to glare at Nik. “He told me to bite Caroline.”

Annalise was already shaking her head joining Tyler’s side, he stood up straighter at her support. “He's right Nik, hurting an innocent girl is not the way to go. There’s been enough death today. Please. Caroline’s done nothing to deserve this.”

Nik glanced at her before backing away with a smile that looked as fake and insincere as his tone as stretched across his lips. “All right, all right. I’m disappointed, but it’s your choice, free will and all that. I’ll find another way to strike at Stefan. You can go now.”

Lis and Tyler exchanged wary and surprised glance, not expecting Nik to give up that easily. As he turned to leave, she sent the boy a soft smile, which he returned.

She turned to look at Nik and walked to his side. “Okay big guy, what are you up to?”

He glanced at her with empty eyes. No answer. She sighed. “Nevermind. I ju-just wanted to let you know I put Mindy near the flowers in the back lawn. She mentioned she liked them yesterday.” She felt herself tear up again and turned away to exhale shakily. Lis wrapped her arms around herself and turned, making eye contact with him awkwardly. He lifted a brow.

“Hey, um…thanks for the hug. And stepping down from hurting Caroline.” She saw something flicker in his eyes, guilt? before nodding at her then promptly ignoring her. She stepped away and made it to the door before turning back again. “Also, um, I reckon I’ll have an early night tonight, but call me if you need me. Thanks for the bedroom by the way. It’s nice, I like it.” She turned away before he replied and walked wearily up the stairs to her room, avoiding any hybrids, and finally releasing a big sigh as she closed the door shut behind her.

She noticed a large mug standing on her bare dresser that she hadn’t noticed before – on its side there was a customised inscription: ‘Vodka’s always the answer – L to M.’

Lis sat back on her bed and stared at the cup before promptly bursting into tears.

-

Night-time had fallen when Annalise woke up again. She felt crusty, and her face felt stiff from crying. She forced herself out of bed, cleaning the tear tracks left on her glasses with the bottom of her shirt and made her way into the conveniently attached bathroom to the right of her bed.

She had just gotten dressed in sweats and a comfortable tee after another long, warm shower, when she heard her phone vibrate. She picked it up from her bedside table, noticed it was Nik and answered straight away.

“Nik, what up, buttercup?” Her voice was still croaky, but she wanted to make light of the situation. His serious tone wiped the growing smile off her face.

“Lissie, we might have a situation. Stefan’s apparently taken Elena as a last-ditch attempt to convince me to do his bidding.”

She immediately burst into action, grabbing a jacket and rushing down the stairs. “Oh shit, is she alright? What do you want me to do?”

“I’m at the Lockwood mansion Lissie, at the front. Near the hedges.” She understood what he meant immediately. Tugging a pair of sneakers on, she appeared a few metres away from Nik the next moment. Annalise jogged over to him, noticing Damon lingering close behind. She noticed everyone was dressed in fancy ballgowns and tuxes, and immediately felt self-conscious of her baggy clothes.

“I’m a tad under-dressed. Don’t comment. What can I do?” 

Damon interjected immediately. “Teleport! Teleport straight to Elena or bring her here.”

She winced at him. “Not gonna work bud. My magic’s been acting up – I can’t figure out where she is magically. If I know exactly where she is, though, I can teleport to the location.”

“Ugh, well, aren’t you just conveniently useless-”

Nik’s phone suddenly rang and both Damon and Lis’s head whipped around in unison. Nik moved closer to them for Annalise’s benefit and put the call on speaker.

“Stefan, how nice to hear your voice.” Lis and Damon drew closer, both exchanging worried glances hearing a racing car.

Stefan’s sounded demanding. “Tell your hybrids to get out of town Klaus.”

“Well, that’s not gonna happen until I get my coffins back.” Nik was quick to shoot the idea down, infuriating a loudly gesturing Damon. 

“Okay. Well, then I’m gonna drive your blood source off Wickery Bridge.”

Lis’s eyes widened before shutting immediately, trying to picture the old bridge she drowsily watched pass as they entered Mystic Falls again what felt like an eternity ago. She kept an ear on the conversation, cursing to herself when she heard the car skid and Elena struggle before Stefan admitted to feeding Elena his blood. He was going to kill her.

Annalise blindly reached out and grabbed an arm of each of the men in front of her, teleporting them to the middle of Wickery Bridge the next instant. She felt Damon stumble away from her, disoriented, but her focus was on the car speeding down the turn entering the bridge. It was going to skid on the wet road. It was going to go over. She saw Stefan and Elena’s eyes widen as they registered the three of them standing on the middle of the road.

None of this made her panic however. She was confident she could stop the car – the bridge under her feet strangely brought her comfort. Ignoring the two men behind her, Annalise walked calmly towards the speeding car, lifted her hand up, and snapped her fingers. The sounds of the engine spluttered and died, causing the car to slow down and roll to a stop a metre in front of her.

Elena was out of the car in a heartbeat, shivering in Lis’s arms giving her a tight hug, before turning to Klaus and Damon still glaring at Stefan who was climbing out of the car avoiding everyone’s eyes.

Elena was the first to break the stifling tension.

“How could you!” Her yell held so much pain. Lis’s grip on Elena’s hand tightened in support as the girl started sobbing, “My parents died going over this bridge. I almost died. You knew that. You’re the one who saved me.” Her voice broke towards the end, and Lis saw a gleam of regret In Stefan’s eyes. He made to move towards Elena, but after a glance behind them, presumably at Klaus and Damon’s murderous glares, he aborted the movement and stayed in one place.

He glanced once more towards Nik before facing Elena again. “Look, he had to believe I would do it, all right? Your fear had to sell it.”

“Well it didn’t, did it?”

“He would have backed down Elena!” Stefan’s voice grew desperate, his eyes were wild. He pointed at Nik. “He has a weakness. If I know his weakness, I can destroy him!”

Tears were streaming down Elena’s face, her voice was small when she answered him. “After everything? That’s what mattered? Destroying Klaus?”

Stefan looked away from Elena towards Nik and Damon, before looking out across the lake that expanded from under the bridge. When he answered, Lis felt her heart break at the emptiness of his words despite his horrible actions just this morning.

“Destroying Klaus is all I’ve left.”

“You had me!”

He shook his head as he looked back at Elena. “I lost you the minute I left town with him. You just haven’t let yourself admit that yet.” Lis exchanged a small pitying glance with Nik. He had destroyed Stefan. This man was broken, it was obvious.

“Is that what you’re doing? Trying to make me hate you?” 

Stefan shook his head at her before starting to step away. “I don’t care what you think about me anymore Elena.” Lis didn’t miss his voice go slightly rough and unstable near the end.

“Now, now mate. You don’t get to leave that easily.” Nik blurred to Stefan’s side and shoved him into the side of the car. Annalise immediately stepped forwards, noticing how her spot next to Elena was quickly taken up by Damon.

“Nik, don’t-”

Nik ignored her, but slowly released Stefan from his grip. “Now, now Lissie, remember Mindy? Stefan needs to listen to what I’ve got to say. This was a very pitiful sight. But you have managed to convince me your quest to destroy me has no bounds, so my hybrids will be out of your hair by tomorrow. If you try to anger me or make demands again, however, I will kill you and everyone in this town, my family be damned. Understood?”

He straightened Stefan up, brushing him down threateningly before letting him get into his car. Stefan nodded warily but wasted no time in driving off down the road. Nik joined Lis’s side to face Damon and Elena.

The two girls exchanged sad smiles. “Thanks again, Lissie.”

“Don’t mention it sweetheart. Go home, get some rest.” She nodded at Damon before taking Nik’s arm in order to teleport the both of them away, back to the Lockwood Mansion.

Silently they made their way over to Nik’s car, climbing into their familiar seats. Lis noticed Nik didn’t start the car, so she chose that moment to speak up. “It was nice, what you did tonight. You didn’t hurt him.” Her voice wobbled. "I thought you might, after what he did to Mindy."

“It was a pathetic sight love. But now Stefan is a broken man with nothing to lose. That makes for a dangerous enemy. It’s clear I won’t get my family back if I don’t start listening to his demands.” He turned slightly. "Would you have stopped me?" Nik narrowed his gaze curiously at her.

She swallowed, then nodded. "I'd like to think so. I know Stefan killed Mindy, he's not a saint by any means, but I'd like think I wouldn't have let you kill him. But...I helped you kill Mikael, didn't I? In that split second I thought to myself, the world would be a better place without him, and I just helped you and stood by. But I'd like to think that's different. Stefan's just not okay right now. It's different, isn't it?"

Annalise hadn't realised her own tone grow desperate for his reassurance near the end - but Nik did. He nodded slightly as his eyes crinkled up. "I believe so, Lissie."

She exhaled and nodded back before turning to look at him with a small smile. “You know if he does decide to drop them in the sea, I can still find them and teleport them to us, right? It’s not the end of the world.”

Nik looked at her in confusion, making Lis let out a soft snort. “Water helps amplify magic to a certain extent dummy, hell, it’d probably be easier doing that instead of trying to find them here in Mystic Falls with something royally screwing up my mojo. Point is, don’t lose hope. We’ve got a backup plan for our backup plan.”

She shared a quick smirk with a pleased looking Nik, but suddenly startled when a distraught looking Tyler appeared at her window and hurriedly tapped it. Lis climbed out of the car and put her hands on the panicked boy’s shoulders. “Hey, hey, calm down kid. Deep breaths. What’s wrong?”

“I bit her, oh god, I bit Caroline. It’s her birthday-” His voice cracked in anguish as her eyes found Nik’s.

“It’s okay, shh, it’s okay Tyler. Nik’s going to heal her. We’re going to visit her right now. Tell us the address sweetheart.”

She typed the address in her phone as quick as she could and gave Tyler a tight hug. “Hey. Everything’s gonna be alright. I promise. She’s gonna be okay. Do you wanna come with us?”

Tyler stepped away and shook his head shamefully. “No, no, I can’t.”

Lis nodded in understanding. “That’s fine Tyler; go get some rest. She’ll be fine when you see her in the morning, I promise.” 

She watched Tyler nodded and hesitantly backed away, his grieved form forlornly curling into itself as he walked up into the large house. She climbed back in the car, turned the directions on and turned to Nik, and simply said “Drive.”

-

It was a while before she spoke up softly, still looking away out into the passing roads. “You knew, didn’t you? This morning. You knew he wouldn’t be able to help himself. You knew he’d still bite her because of the sire bond, that’s why you looked guilty for a short second when I thanked you.” Nik’s silence was the only confirmation she needed. She crossed her arms tiredly in response. “You’re gonna give her your blood Nik. You’re not going to let her die.”

“How do you know?”

Annalise gave him a sad smile. “Well you are driving to her house, if you haven’t noticed.”

It was silent again until they pulled up at a small house, old but cosy. They knocked on the door, Lis waved tiredly through the door window at the furious-looking Matt who approached and opened it.

Nik spoke up first, his cocky persona was back. “Tyler came to see us. Poor boy seemed quite distressed. He said Caroline had a terrible accident.”

Matt’s scowl worsened. “You made him do this to her. He would’ve never done something like this.”

Nik’s face pinched. “I’m here to help, Matt.”

Lis noticed a woman in uniform with short cropped blonde hair appear out of a room, and how Nik was now looking at the lady, while still addressing Matt. “My blood will heal her. Please, ask the sheriff to invite me inside.”

The woman in uniform crossed her arms, clearly guarded. “I know how this game works. You want something in return.”

Nik shook his head slightly. “Just your support.”

Lis’s eyes widened as it clicked in her mind that Nik had been working multiple angles at once all along. This was just another play to get the town under his control. Save a girl and have her mother – conveniently the sheriff, indebted to him. She didn’t know whether to be impressed or disappointed. She chose the latter and sent Nik a glare.

“Come in.”

Lis waited until Nik had walked into what seemed to be Caroline’s room, before stepping into the house herself and clicking the door shut behind her. She flashed an awkward smile at the Matt and the sheriff who was warily evaluating her, now that Nik had stopped taking up her attention.

She held her hand out. “Uh, hi. Annalise Caelis. Call me Lis. Nik’s witch of sorts.” 

The sheriff shook her hand firmly. “Sheriff Forbes. Liz Forbes.”

Annalise chuckled nervously and rubbed her neck. “Well that’s gonna get confusing fast, sheriff. Call me Lissie then.”

The sheriff nodded, before saying, “I heard that you try to help people. That you helped my daughter and her friends.”

“Uh, I’ll be honest sheriff, I just didn’t want to see kids get hurt, it really isn’t that big a deal-”

“It was to me.” The sheriff cut in with a slight smile. Lis nodded and shot her a tight-lipped smile, before waving in return at Matt disappearing into the kitchen.

She situated herself outside the room that Nik had disappeared into and leaned her back against the wall.

“Um...I’ll just wait here then, until he’s done. Go, rest. We’ll see ourselves out. Caroline’s going to be completely healed next time you see her.”

Liz Forbes moved to leave but paused. “Do you really believe that? Do you trust him?”

Lis thought back over her day – a day that had started off so great, then had ended up in the death and a near death of two people she considered herself close to. She remembered Nik calming her down, hugging her. She remembered his empty then angry eyes at Mindy’s death. She remembered the pitying look he had given Stefan when he realised how broken the man was. She remembered the silent drive up to Caroline’s house, and the guilt that had flickered in his eyes when she mentioned the girl this morning.

Leaning her back against the wall, she threw the sheriff a small smile.

“Strangely enough Liz, yeah, I think I do.”

The sheriff nodded slowly and walked into an adjacent room – one which still had a clear line of sight to Caroline’s room, especially the bedside table filled up with birthday cards. The mother was still wary then; good.

Shutting her eyes, she leaned her head back, trying not to listen in on the low voices carrying through the open door. Nik was whispering anyway; his words were muffled from this distance. Weirdly, she had faith that he would do right by Caroline.

Zoning out, she tried once more to get through the fog blocking her senses from feeling and locating anything magical in the Mystic Falls area. It was odd, the fog held an unnatural feel to it, almost other worldly. Strange. This was the exact same sensation she felt when the Gilbert miracle ring blocked her from trying to bring Alaric back to life! But how’s the ring and the magic blocking her connected? Was the ring malfunctioning or was it even the reason behind Alaric’s prolonged death state? Why would someone want to keep a soul in limbo for longer? What the heck was going on?’

A throat cleared to her right, causing her to snap out of her spiralling thought process. Matt was holding out a glass of water, his other hand was in his pocket. He flashed her a tight smile.

Lis took the water with a nod and sipped it. “Thanks Matt.” 

“I heard about what you did for Elena tonight. So, thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me Matt. Please. I’ve told you and your friends before. Damn, have you all never had someone help you because it’s the right thing to do?”

Matt chuckled and went to go lean on the wall opposite her next to the front door, mirroring her stance. “Not really, no.”

“Huh, that’s pretty shitty.” They exchanged smirks then stood silently for a couple minutes before Matt spoke up.

“You know, I remember when you were at the school with Klaus, and you were talking about magical science theory, and chemical agents and then disappearing right in from of our eyes. Bonnie said later that what you did and said – it was so advanced that it wasn’t in any of her grimoires, or her grandmother's. How did you know all that? If you’re so powerful, why are you even with Klaus?”

The question hung in the air for a while as Lis contemplated on how she should answer it. She faltered as it brought up memories she wasn't ready to confront yet. Annalise took a large gulp of water before she started. “I’ll answer the second question first. Weirdly, it’s the easiest one to answer. He saved me, then one thing led to another, and I swore to work for him until he decides to let me go. Plus, don’t judge, but that egomaniac’s kinda grown on me.”

A chuckle escaped her at Matt’s clear grimace. “Hey, I said don’t judge, I never said I made good life choices. You’re probably better than me kid. Anyways, the first question. That’s a longer story." Annalise looked down into the glass in her hands, doing her best to keep her voice steady. She was proud, but also missed them so much. "The world is constantly evolving – there are literal degrees on magic science for warlocks and witches now on every continent. Insanely hard though, I happen to be one of a handful of people who finished the theory and the training. I’ll forward some recommendations to Bonnie if she ever wants to leave those old grimoires behind.”

The incredulous look Matt was giving her made her laugh. “You’re telling me, there are magic schools?”

“Hmm…sort of. Not really Hogwarts, more like a course in community college.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I swear I’m not.”

It was silent while Matt digested this information then he let out a quiet huff. “Why the hell not. Just when I thought I couldn’t be anymore frickin useless.”

Lis watched on sadly as they boy internally beat himself up. “Don’t say that Matt. I think you’re cool. You don’t let your weaknesses stop you or define you. You’re human, but you manage to keep up with witches and vampires and werewolves. That’s a feat in itself. Don’t sell yourself short, bud, you’re doing better than you think.”

Silence reigned once more after Matt nodded and looked deep in thought.

Annalise was fiddling with her empty cup when Nik walked out of Caroline’s room. Both Matt and Lis kicked off the wall and stood up straighter, with the sheriff also joining them shortly. 

“She’s fine, healed. Thank you for your compliance Sheriff. We’ll be on our way.” With that, Nik promptly walked out the door leaving everyone confused at his abrupt departure.

“Right, um, okay. That’s my cue. Nice meeting you Sheriff. Elena has my number if you need it. Thanks for the water, good night!”

Lis rushed out after placing the empty glass in Matt’s hands and climbed into the car just as Nik sped off.

“Nik? Did something go wrong?”

He didn’t answer, but Lis didn’t push any further. He would tell her in his own time, she trusted it.

-

She had just finished washing up and had started climbing into bed when a knock sounded on her bedroom door, startling her. “Oh, uh...hi. What up?”

Her hands involuntarily threw up gang signs. 

Nik squinted at her but didn’t comment. He moved in slowly next to her bedside before handing her an expensive looking wooden jewellery box. Confused she opened it, revealing a beautiful glittering bracelet made of linked hearts encrusted in real-looking blinking diamonds. It was chunky, but tasteful.

“Oh, wow Nik, I don’t know what to say. Except that this really isn’t my style…thanks for trying though?” Huffing, Nik yanked the box back from her and snapped it shut.

“It isn’t for you, brat. It’s for Caroline. For her birthday.”

Lis stared at Nik for a long moment before a Cheshire cat grin crawled slowly onto her face until her smile was so gleeful that his expression turned vaguely worried.

“You have a crush-!” A large hand covered her mouth immediately, and she was met with a heavy glower.

Nik wasn’t having her delight. “Answer simply. Did you catch a glimpse of Caroline’s bedside table?”

Lis’s eyes were smiling over his hand still over the lower half of her face as she slowly nodded a yes. “Right, listen carefully Lissie. I need you to teleport this to her bedside table. Understand?”

She nodded again, then grinned at him when he took his hand off her mouth. “You need to like, put a ribbon and a note on this or some shit to make it pretty, dude. Then I’ll put it there for you.”

He nodded, disappeared, then reappeared a few minutes later with a cute white ribbon around the box with a simple note in elegant cursive simple reading ‘From Klaus.’

“Aww, perfect. I love that the big bad hybrid has ribbons handy for occasions such as these.” Nik just sighed tiredly.

She held the wrapped box in her hand, visualised Caroline’s bedside table before she incanted. “Volo abire ad locum.”

The box vanished from her hands in a flash of silver.

A beat passed before Lis’s smile slowly dropped as she looked up at Nik still hovering near the edge of her bed. The implications of what Nik just asked her to do, hit her. “You know Nik, jokes aside, Tyler’s a cool kid, I hope you don’t screw him over. He could make for a pretty bad enemy.”

“Tyler won’t lift a hand against me.” He was quick to dismiss her statement. 

“You don’t know that Nik. You saw what happened to Stefan - you indirectly made him lose Elena. Tyler’s really in love with Caroline. I hope you don’t hurt him too.”

He nodded, standing up. “Thank you for your words of warning, Lissie, but they’re not necessary.” She shrugged.

“Okay, then. You know best Nik.” 

He paused, clearly not expecting her to give up that easily. “That’s it? You’re going to say nothing further on the topic?”

She sent him her signature shit eating grin, deciding to keep it light. “Well if you wanna hear more, I have this great joke about the jewellery you just sent her and the words sugar, and daddy in no particular order-”

Her face met her pillows violently as Nik shoved her shoulder so she hit the bed with a considerable amount of force, before ignoring her giggles and stalking out of her room.

“Don’t think I didn’t see you laugh you jerk. Oi! Where are your manners? Shut the door behind you!”

A hand reached back in her room and shut her door with finality. Annalise snorted to herself before turning to turn her lamp off and settling into bed. The moonlight reflecting off the large mug on her dresser caused her smile to drop immediately.

Tiredly, she burrowed deeper into her sheets and tried to fall asleep.

Chapter Text

It had been a tiring few days, filled with long nights of tossing and turning. Annalise hadn't had a good night's rest since her new friend had been literally beheaded in front of her - it sucked.  

This morning however, a beautiful sunrise greeted her tired eyes, accompanied by cheerful birdsong. It felt different today; as if nature itself was telling her to get the fuck out of bed, despite nature's magic still feeling as distant as ever from her. The sunbeam shining directly on her face was insistent enough to prove her assumption. Giving up on trying to fall back asleep, she got ready and with a determined exhale, she went on the same jogging track she had taken with Mindy just a few days before.

As Annalise ran the familiar path, her eyes moistened at the silence that nature provided and her gasps came out louder. She ran to forget, and to remember. She'd never grown used to losing people.

Her childhood had been lonely, and she had been a quiet orphan, rarely outspoken. High-school was better, but not so much. After all, she could only be so close to someone before they start asking about her family, her past; before they started wondering why she was such a mystery, or why she flinched at certain words. The occasional combustion of bushes and clothes was also a hot topic (pun intended) around her due to accidental bursts of magic under emotional duress – those events weren’t tied back to her, true, but she worried, nonetheless.

Lis had however managed to make some witch friends while studying magic theory at Uni, but...those memories were almost too painful to remember. Annalise had let them down, unforgivably. Then, of course, Gloria happened.

Nik was the first person Annalise had an honest conversation with, her cards were all on the table. Granted, she only spoke the truth because she was terrified for her life as she had heard rumours of what happened to those who lied or defied ‘Klaus the Legendary Original’ -  but it was a friendship built on honesty, nevertheless. Same with Bekah. In the span of a few days, she had poured out her entire past to two virtual strangers, and they had taken the utter mess that she was, in stride. Hell, her sad life was probably nothing compared to the chaos of theirs. She felt they understood her, and she understood them.

Was it sad that that was all she needed? To be understood, and taken for who she was?

Then she had met Mindy. Lis had known the hybrid for less than a week, but it was her friendship that felt the most normal, in a weird way. They laughed together about stupid things, gossiped about the train wreck that was flannel and bonded over their love of alcohol. It was a casual, superficial friendship - one of the most genuine ones she’d had in her life. Death was sad in its permanence, as it always is, but it was the suddenness of Mindy's death that caused Annalise the most grief. She didn’t know why.

Maybe it was because she didn’t get to say goodbye.

Finally reaching the Mystic Grill, which was just opening up for the day, she ordered a cream cheese breakfast bagel and an extra-large cappuccino – the words American’s used for ordering coffees still confused her to no end, so she usually just ordered in “Australian” and accepted whatever the barista handed her. Nodding her thanks to the barista after collecting her order she snuck out through the back of the restaurant, then teleported herself to her bedroom from a well-hidden corner in the alley.

She couldn’t be bothered running back.

The sun had now risen higher past the tree line and her room was illuminated in a warm orange glow. Picking up the large mug her friend had left her with shaky hands, Lis gave it a quick rinse and dried it, before emptying her coffee into the mug. With her bagel in one hand and coffee mug in the other, she sat on the large and comfortable windowsill until her coffee was gone, her bagel was done, and the sun was shining on the patch of blue flowers near the forest.

She smiled to herself sadly when the pain finally lessened.

-

The house was unnervingly empty now that Nik had sent all the hybrids away. The low sounds of construction that echoed from the second floor were made by the compelled workers under his employ. She didn’t like it, of course, but he had promised her that they were being well compensated for their time. Lis decided to take his word for it.

When she found him after wandering through the strangely empty house, it was obvious the Original Hybrid was scheming again - he was sitting at the new table in the finished study on the bottom floor. “What’s cooking, Nik? You look serious.”

He regarded her silently for a moment, searching her face for something Annalise couldn't quite put her finger on. It was once she cocked a questioning eyebrow, he visibly came to a decision, gesturing at the empty chair in front of him. “You asked me a while ago, about what was in the fourth coffin.”

Lis nodded slowly, taking a seat. “Yeah, and you didn’t answer. I didn’t want to push. Figured you’d tell me if I needed to know.”

He nodded, steepling his hands and bracing his chin on them. “It’s my mother.” His green eyes watched her carefully as she digested this information.

The pseudo-witch gaped while she processed this, then blurted out a slew of confused questions. “Wait the Original Witch? The one you killed? Why the heck are you lugging your dead mom around?! Your siblings, I understand. They’re vampires, so they’re desiccated, not dead. But the corpse of your dead mum? That’s pretty morbid my dude.” Her voice pitched higher and higher as she spoke in disbelief, and Nik's eyes crinkled at her disbelief.

“She isn’t dead – not really.”

Annalise pulled a knee up on the chair, arm wrapped around it as she leaned forwards curiously. “Yeah, I suppose that’s right. It was her, wasn’t it, that reached out to Matt from the other side and tried to convince you to kill Elena? Tried to drop the veil using her necklace?”

Nik nodded in affirmation. “After I killed my mother, Ayanna Bennett - Bonnie’s ancestor from my time - preserved Esther’s body in a coffin. The same one I’ve been carting her around in for years. I haven’t been able to open it however – there’s powerful magic keeping it closed.”

Biting her lip, Annalise frowned, mentally trying to sift through her knowledge. “Did she have a grudge on you too?”

Nik laughed loud humourlessly. “At this point, it’s safe to assume all witches do.”

Annalise nodded once in understanding before running a hand through her hair. “Here’s some information that might help. I learnt a bit about the Bennett line back in Uni. They’re powerful, and especially excel in the Elemental and Ancestral magics. Knowing that Ayana was a Bennett, and that she wanted to make sure you could never open the coffin - even if you did have access to an elemental witch, so I reckon it’s pretty safe to assume that she used Ancestral magic to spell Esther’s coffin shut.”

The chair opposite her slid back smoothly on the newly polished wooden floor as Nik stood up and started pacing. “I’ll get Daniel and a couple other hybrids tracking down the entire Bennett line immediately. We can’t focus solely on Bonnie until we know for a fact that she’s the one and only Bennett remaining.” He took out his phone and started texting rapidly.

“Wait, Nik, you want to open the coffin now? You don't even have it. We don’t know anything for certain yet, please. Tell them not to hurt anyone.”

He narrowed his eyes at her before going back to texting. Silence blanketed them for a while, with the occasional typing and pacing footsteps filling it. Annalise hoped she didn’t just send Bonnie’s relatives to an early grave. 

As the thought sat heavily on her shoulders, Lis abandoned Nik to his plotting wordlessly and found refuge in her room.

-

Nik had collected her from her room soon afterwards and had driven them to the Salvatore Boarding house in record time. The House was beautiful; rustic with warm brick and creeping ivy, high roofs and lush gardens. There was even a small brook to the side, off the carpark.

Unfortunately, Nik didn’t pause to appreciate its beauty like she did, instead heading straight for the door and just inviting himself in. Lis jogged to catch up and shut the door behind her. “Nik! You can’t just walk into someone’s house.”

He raised his arms and shrugged at her. “But I just did.” Dropping his arms, he smirked before making himself at home on an expensive looking couch in front of a large fireplace - the Boarding House was just as majestic on the inside, with high timber ceilings and expensive paintings and incredibly full bookshelves lining the living area. Annalise resisted the urge to yell at Nik to take his shoes off the couch as he laid back. “Don’t worry, no one’s home. Make yourself comfortable.” 

Stepping carefully on the expensive looking rugs on the ground she settled herself on the couch opposite his, fighting her urge to lift her legs onto it like Nik was doing. It would be bad manners, not to mention ruin how incredibly well kept the old furniture was. Nik was starting to grate on her nerves as he so obviously went out of his was to annoy her, leaning over to precariously reach for the nearby alcohol. “Do you want some bourbon Lissie? Good stuff.”

“Not in the morning, sorry. Plus, vodka’s more my speed.”

Her eyes narrowed at him in a weak glare. His foul mood must have something to do with this morning, and how he so visibly dismissed her concerns for the young witch. Shrugging at her answer, he poured himself a glass from a nearby decanter before reaching for a black remote. In an effort not to snap at him, Lis took her phone out and made herself busy logging into her favourite occult website and ordering a bunch of her favourite vials, potions, and herbs. She was gonna need a few aces in her arsenal in case this situation escalated; she had a feeling it will. 

Fun fact; this website was actually run through her community college – it was one that she had helped put up with the help of a good friend. She was insanely proud of it, but still, thinking about them was painful, but not as much as it once was. Finishing up her order in a couple minutes and paying a few dollars extra for express delivery – which was teleportation; how insanely convenient – she went into her photos to ease her boredom. Swiping, she saw the selfie that she had taken with Rebekah that she had sent her not long after she had first bought her phone. It was quickly set as her home screen.

“Hey Nik, is there any word about Bekah yet? It’s been more than a week now. I’m getting really worried.”

He was quiet for a moment, swirling his bourbon, and Annalise noted he didn't look her in the eye as he answered. “No point in stressing Lissie, I’m sure she’s fine. Rebekah’s been known for dropping off the face of the earth for a few months at a time.”

“Yeah, that’s the thing. Last night. I couldn’t sleep so I tried to see what’s messing with my senses again. I stretched out as far as I could, but I still couldn’t feel Bekah’s signature. What if she’s in Mystic falls and the same power that’s stopping me from finding the coffins is stopping me from finding her?” 

“Or alternative theory, my little sister has fled far beyond your scope in fear after she failed killing me.” Lis sagged into the couch, looking down at the photo sadly.

“Yeah, you’re probably right." Her brows furrowed. "I just don’t know why she wouldn’t reach out to me; you know?” 

The speakers to her right set into the walls suddenly blared heavy rock causing her to startle. “Oi! What the hell?”

“You were bringing the mood down.” Lis rolled her eyes and ignored the loud music – if she asked him to turn it down, he’d probably turn it right up. He was behaving like a brat this morning, and she was too tired to retaliate. Instead, Annalise looked through more of her recently taken photos - some nice cliché sunsets from her window, a few with Nik looking derpy while talking to hybrids in the mansion (which was progressing nicely – the lower wing was nearly finished), before pausing on a photo she remembered taking with Mindy at Mikael's wake. A sad smile stretched at her lips. 

The front door suddenly clicked open and Stefan walk casually in. He closed the door after glancing at them unsurprised, as if it was completely normal coming home and finding your house was broken into. Stefan walked past Nik, glanced at her, then picked up the remote, nonchalantly flipping it in the air before turning down the volume on the rock song playing loudly in her ears.

Annalise levelled him with a narrow glare when he gave her an uncertain look. It was no secret that she pitied the man. Murder did, after all, usually come from a place of desperation. But...that conversation with Nik in the car - it made Annalise realise that she didn't blame Stefan for Mindy's death fully, at least not enough to watch him die.

Stefan then looked to Nik who still hadn’t said a word and was busy ignoring him by staring at the ceiling. Mature. Annalise wasn't surprised. 

“What are you doing here Klaus?” Stefan boredly took the initiative to start the conversation. 

“Enjoying our stalemate.” 

Stefan was having none of it. He glared hard at the Hybrid. “What do you want?”

“Question is, what do you want?” When Nik finally looked at him, he looked pretty annoyed despite his still steady tone. “My hybrids left town as you demanded, so please tell me what I need to do to get my family back.”

“Well, Klaus,” Stefan cleared his throat and stepped back, sitting at a lone ornate and vintage looking chair facing the two couches before shrugging his hands in the air. “Um, I’m not negotiating.”

Lis squinted at the vampire. Did he have a death wish? It looked like he has a death wish.

She spoke up uncertainly as if talking to a child. “But like, that’s the same thing as dropping them in the ocean. Holding someone’s family over their head for eternity is not cool man.” Nik pointed to her in agreement and looked at Stefan for an answer.

Stefan shook his head as if they were missing something important. “No, no. You leave Mystic Falls and then give me a call in a few years and…we’ll talk.”

Nik was clearly reaching the end of his patience – he took a hearty swig of bourbon before passing the vampire across him a razor sharp smile. “I’m gonna give you another chance. Just one more. Let’s make a reasonable deal.”

Stefan leaned on the arm of his chair closer to Nik, baiting him. “Or what? You make one move and I will drop-”

He was cut off by Nik chuckling.

“That’s right. Crazy Stefan. Hmm,” He inhaled deeply, a knowing smirk settling across his lips. “How’s that working out for you? Any friends left?” Stefan leaned back in his chair and watched annoyedly as Nik stood, brushing past him and out through the door.

Lis stood too, walking up to Stefan with her arms crossed. “Look, you have to realise you’re being an ass – I don’t agree with what he did to you, but you are getting just as bad as him. You honestly can't think going around beheading people is the way to get him to do what you want.”

He raised him arms, dispassionately. “I need to be worse than him to beat him.”

“This isn’t about beating anyone Stefan! People might die because of this spite, hell Mindy already did-”

Stefan’s face was suddenly an inch from hers, seething. They stood toe to toe; eyes narrowed. “I. Don’t. Care. I’m going to destroy him.”

Annalise grit her teeth. “You cared that night.” He visibly faltered, so she kept going. “You cared about hurting Elena; so, take your own advice Stefan, and admit it to yourself. You. Do. Care. Your switch is on, you’re just not letting all the emotion out just yet. And this path you’re on? It’s not going to destroy Nik, but I can guarantee it destroys you. It’s just spreading needless pain. Stop before you take it too far and everything spirals out of control. Please.”

She had said what she wanted to say. It was up to him now to decide what to do with it.

Sighing, she walked away without a backwards glance, shutting the front door and climbing into Nik’s car. “Hey, can we go somewhere to grab a bite to eat? It’s pretty late in the afternoon, and I’m kinda getting hungry.” She looked across at him as he started the car and drove off in the direction of the town silently. “Thanks. And hey, we’ll get them back. Even your whack-ass mom, no offense-intended. We just don't need to hurt people to do it.” 

“Oh, we'll see, Lissie. We'll see.” Nik’s smirk promised death to all involved.

Lis rolled her eyes. What. A. Diva.

-

Annalise ordered the special, and watched Nik order a glass of whiskey. Neat.

“Alcoholism is a thing, you know. How about a healthy late lunch, or technically early dinner?” He rolled his eyes at her, so she exaggeratedly put her hand to her chest in hurt before dunking a chip in ketchup. He was on his phone again, talking to Daniel. Balancing on the unstable stool, Annalise leaned closer to listen on the faint conversation from Daniel’s side.

“How’s life on the road?”

“Scenic. How’s Mystic Falls without any hybrids?”

“Boring, for now.” She narrowed her eyes and threw a fry at Nik, insulted. He grinned at her.

“If you want any of us back, just say the word.”

“There’s no need, I’ve been making friends with the town’s civil servants.” Lis snorted. That’s one way of putting it. She’d personally word it as 'forcing their hand using their children as collateral'...it was far more accurate.“There’s a deputy who’s awfully chatty, but useful, nonetheless.” Nik’s casual tone turned abruptly serious. “Are you clear on what you need to do?”

“I’ve got it covered.” Daniel answered before ending the call abruptly.

Wrinkling her nose in confusion, she finished her burger off. “What was that about? What does Daniel need to do?”

Nik smirked at her smugly. “Turns out, Bonnie’s mother lives a few towns away, estranged. I sent Daniel to her. I need him to do something.”

Annalise rolled her eyes. “Is it too much to hope this isn't tied to our disagreement this morning?” He shook his head.

“I told Daniel to use Bonnie’s mother as leverage. If Bonnie doesn’t tell us where the coffins are, someone gets hurt. Badly. That’s why we’re waiting here, happy?"

She glared at her chips, eating them violently. It was silent for another half-hour until he spoke up again. “The hybrids got back to me about Alphonse this morning. They said he wasn’t checking anywhere that important, just some abandoned house in the woods that was haunted.”

“Huh, great...” She took out her phone and used data to search up the haunted house in Mystic Falls for a couple minutes. She had time to kill, and she was bored and angry. She needed something to distract herself. A haunted house was usually the result of a spiritual remnant - maybe it was a supernatural hotspot.

Annalise froze as her shot in the dark actually yielded a plausible result. 

“Wait, look! Nik!” She nearly fell off the chair in her hurry to get up, but scrambled upright to show him her phone. “This says it’s haunted because a bunch of witches were burned there back in the Salem Witch Trials.” He looked closer at the photo of an abandoned house covered in dark vines and dirt with narrowed eyes, listening to her continue. “If we accept that as historically accurate – this place could mean hundreds of witch spirits not at rest – a huge source of power!”

Nik grinned in comprehension as he finished her sentence. “This is probably the power the young Bennett uses frequently.”

“AND more importantly, the witch spirits are most likely what’s messing with my powers! A legion of pissed magical spirits sounds pretty powerful. If Alphonse didn’t return, if he was killed, that means he found something he shouldn’t have. I bet you anything your family is being held there as well.”

Nik clapped her shoulder with a broad grin and stood up. “I knew keeping you around wasn’t completely useless. Well done, Lissie. Let’s go visit this haunted house.”  

She grabbed his arm. “Wait – call Daniel. Let him know that we know where the coffins might be. Tell him not to hurt Bonnie, or her mom.”

Nik’s eyes hardened as he shook her off. “I can’t let go of a solid lead just based on the fact that the coffins might be where you think they are Lissie. Let’s go.”

Huffing, she brushed past him angrily and settled in the car drawing up the directions on her phone. “Fine. Come on then, let’s go check this place out before anyone gets hurt.”

The drive there was quiet. They had just pulled up when Daniel called again, confirming their hunch. Nik softly told her that no one had been hurt. Yet.

“But someone’s probably scarred for life.” Annalise's voice was clipped in annoyance as she whispered. “Come on. I might not be able to feel you right next to me magically, but this whole building gives off a strange vibe. It feels almost threatening to me, but you said all witches probably hate you, so stay on guard.”

Nik lead the way, zooming around the house quickly before gesturing her to join him walk softly down the stairs into the lower foor. There were lit candles everywhere – um...fire hazard much? and Damon stood suspiciously in the centre of the empty - not to mention extremely dusty - basement.

“Damon. Fancy seeing you here.” She waved awkwardly. Bonnie had managed to warn him - or he was guarding something here. Either way, it seemed like he was looking to distract them. Annalise braced herself, eyes flicking warily around the room at the numerous lit candles casting them in an orange glow. Something told her they weren't there just for lighting and decoration purposes.

Damon sent her a smirk that rivalled Nik’s. “Hey Lissie. Pleasure as always.”

Nik sneered at him, walking further into the room, circling him like a predator would. “Hiding behind your witchy friends, huh. And in squalor no less.”

Unexpectedly, the gentle flames of the candles erupted into geysers of fire, and Nik fell to the floor yelling in pain. Her reaction was immediate as she rushed over putting a hand on his shoulder yelling, “Sanaet protego!”

The candles burned brighter, but the Hybrid paused when the pain he had felt lifted from his shoulders. He managed to stand up shakily despite the ongoing spell, glancing at her thankfully. Damon stepped slightly back in shock. “How did you do that?”

Annalise just shrugged in response, but grimaced at the effort of holding back this many witch spirits – they were hurting her now. Damon tried to gain back control of the situation. “Look at you, hiding behind your own little witch. But I wouldn’t do that again. Insulting a bunch of dead witches? Not smart. I made the exact same mistake first time I came in here.”

Nik was livid though, his mouth tightened as Lis let out a small gasp of effort. “You know the funny thing about witches, is that living or dead, they care about their own. A hundred dead witches have a thousand living descendants.” The flames burned brighter but Nik stood standing, glancing back at Lis wincing in concentration trying to keep his pain at bay. “I have no problem killing every last one of them if you don’t stop this assault on my witch, and I don’t get my coffins back. As we speak, my hybrid friend is prepared to end the Bennett line.”

Lis’ silver eyes flew open. “Nik! Don’t you dare-”

The threat had been adequate in silencing the witches though; the candles flared then tapered back down to a gentle flame in an instant, plunging the room back into a semi-dark lit basement.

Damon looked properly disconcerted as Nik walked up to him threateningly, before he turned to address the witch spirits of the empty room. “Now, please show me the coffins.”

Lis was still trying to catch her breath as three dusty coffins appeared out of thin air, one materialising literally at her hip making her jerk back in in surprise. Wait, three? She spoke out in confusion. “Hold up. Nik, I thought there was supposed to be four?”

The hybrid immediately turned back to the dark-haired vampire. “Where’s the last one?” He turned back to the room addressing the spirits. “Show me!”

Lis’s eyes trailed to Damon as he smiled, smugly walking to the opposite side of the room where a cleared space lay clear of any dust unlike every other surface in this room. “Well, uh, here’s the thing. They can’t. It’s not here.” He sounded sheepish.

“What did you do?” 

“Well, Bonnie gave me the heads up. I mean, I didn’t have enough time to get all four, but I did have time to get one.” As he came close, Lis moved in the opposite direction. She was wary – she had heard of this unpredictable vampire. Even if she had saved Elena multiple times, she was under no false impressions that would garner her any good will in his terms if killing her meant disadvantaging Nik - especially after Damon had seen her come to Nik's defence.

Speaking of, Nik was sounding suitably pissed. “I will tear you limb from limb.” Oh look, he’s growling again. “And only then, when you are a writhing mass of flesh and blood, will I rip your heart from your chest.”

The graphic imagery made Lis blanch, but clearly didn’t have the same effect on Damon, since he just grinned.

“Sorry. Same rules apply. Leverage and all. I know you want your family back. But something tells me you want what’s in that coffin a lot~ more." Damon sang the last two words gleefully, before waving cheerily at Annalise.

"See ya Sabrina. Klaus.”

He was gone in a flash, leaving Nik seething in the no longer completely empty basement. Judging by the absence of the most magical coffin, she assumed Nik had reached the conclusion his mother was currently in the hands of the one with that could open it. Annalise sighed, walking over to him. “Hey, we got your brothers back. Half the battle’s won – we are miles ahead of where we were this morning. I’ll send these coffins ahead. Will the parlour do?”

At his wordless nod, she held both hands up, visualising the coffins in the mansion and whispered “Volo abire ad locum.” As the coffins disappeared, however, she suddenly felt thousands of hands clawing at her, nails raking stinging red lines on visible any visible skin. “Ah what the shit! Nik, help me out of here. Please, it hurts.”

They were out in the moonlit forest the next second, Nik gently leaned her against a tree, looking at her questioningly. Annalise sighed, rubbing at the raised red lines on her bare forearms, watching them linger before disappearing slowly due to her accelerated healing one by one.

“It think it was the spirits of the house. I was right halfway– they are violent, just not only against you. I’ve never really had an outright attack against me before though, but then again, they probably have more reason to hate me more now.”

As she sighed and started walking away from the tree, a hand latched on to her shoulder, turning her around. “Thank you, Lissie. This morning I-”

She sent Nik a small smile. She knew he meant more than what she did tonight. “You don’t have to say that. It’s what friends do.”

He smiled back, eyes bright. “Not your friend.”

Lis chuckled and started walking down to where they had the car parked. “All’s good now Nik. You can wake up your family. They can even help us look for Bekah.” They climbed into the car.

“Unfortunately, Lissie, I’m afraid I won’t be waking my brothers up until I have my mother’s coffin back. I don’t want them waking up and asking unnecessary questions.”

It was then Annalise realised he was hiding something. He still hadn't looked at her properly. Studying him a long moment after nudging her glasses further up the nose, Annalise nodded, more to herself than to him. “Okay, you probably know best. But you will be reunited with them soon Nik,” Leaning forwards she adjusted the air conditioning vents in her direction to shoot out warm air. “So, tell me about them. I want to know more about these brothers of yours for when they do wake up.”

He smirked and talked about his brothers the entire drive home.

-

They split up at the stairs. Nik said Daniel had come by to help with the coffins and that they didn’t need any help in getting them to the room they were going to be stored in.

Lis had wanted to go to bed. Fighting a legion of superior-than-thou witch spirits took a lot out of her. Sure, Annalise had made progress in leaps and bounds in her magic stamina (for the lack of a better term) since she’s met the Originals, but as proficient as she was getting, she wasn't eager to go up against them again anytime soon. Though when she thought about it, nothing had completely exhausted her magic yet.

She supposed she should be thankful. 

Annalise washed up, but was craving a warm tea before bed, so she padded downstairs once more into the kitchen. The hybrids had stocked up on some human food items out of courtesy for her a few days back.

She boiled some water with a flick of her wrist in her mug, popped a teabag in and reached past the bottles of blood to grab her milk carton from the fridge, pouring herself a generous amount. Sounds came from second living room, she initially thought it was just Nik, but another voice joined his. That was odd - they didn't often get visitors this late at night. Tapping the milk and teleporting it back into the fridge, she grabbed her tea, thanked herself for buying these soft fluffy slippers protecting her feet from the cold tiles and made her way softly to the room.

“Hey, Nik! I need to tell you about these amazing chocolate biscuits from Australia called Tim Tams that I absolutely need you to stock up on, you can dunk them in and use them like a straw with tea-”

She cut herself off with a gasp as she rounded the corner and found Nik standing opposite a tall, man - handsome and dressed in a sharp suit with ruffled dark hair and a heart?! in his hand. Both heads swivelled in her direction, and she felt tiny in her big jumper, sweats and woolly Uggs. The stranger’s grip on the heart relaxed in surprise, causing it to drop to the beautifully done hard wood floors with a wet squelch.

Nik stepped back, causing the man to focus back on him, and follow him with narrowed eyes as he walked over to Lis and threw an arm around her shoulders. “Ah perfect timing, Lissie; I’d like you to meet Elijah, my favourite brother. Elijah, this is my favourite witch.”

“Not a witch.” She replied on autopilot before stepping forwards to address Elijah directly. She offered her hand for him to shake, only pausing when noticing his right hand was covered in blood. She grimaced. “Here, wait a sec, lemme take care of that for you. Purus.”

Elijah watched with wide eyes as the blood disappeared from his hand, leaving it spotless, before wordlessly shaking her extended hand. His grip dwarfed hers - but she tried to smile at him while trying to get over the fact that the exact hand she was currently shaking literally had a bloody heart in it seconds ago. 

“Hi, Annalise Caelis. Um...just Lis or Lissie for short. It’s a pleasure, I’ve heard lots about you from Nik.”

A dark brow raised looking behind her at her friend. “Nik?” 

The hybrid in question shrugged.

Elijah’s voice was deep, solemn. “Well both of you do look quite surprised to see me. So, I take it that it wasn’t 'Nik' that removed the dagger from my chest.” His handsome face grew stern as Nik smirked. 

Oh Shit.

Chapter Text

Annalise slowly moved to the side of the room, clutching at her tea as Nik smiled nervously at Elijah.

“You look like you could do with a drink. And we have a lot to discuss, so shall we?” He gestured down the hallway into the finished dining hall. 

Annalise felt glad she had moved out of the way as sudden anger took over Elijah's face - he lunged at Nik in fury, landing a solid punch on his cheek that clearly whipped Nik's head to the side and left him in a daze, before lifting him easily and hurling him through the large double glass doors behind him. They sharp shattering of tempered glass rang through the air upon impact.

Lis flinched in the corner, watching tensely. If it were anyone else attacking her friend, she'd have no qualms interfering, but Nik really hadn't been lying when he introduced Elijah as his favourite brother - Annalise had heard the weight in Nik's voice when he'd talked about him on the drive up.

Nik recovered almost immediately and was already on his feet, growling at Elijah. “Easy. I just finished renovating.” He leapt at Elijah in a rugby tackle, blurring them backwards and using his vampire speed to lift Elijah up and bringing him down viciously on a lovely wooden coffee table, splintering easily under the force of Nik's throw. Annalise winced. That had been one of her favourites. 

Elijah was still on the ground trying to pick himself off the wooden splinters as Nik circled around him, breathing heavily. “You know, you have every right to be mad at me. But I kept my word, I reunited you with our family.” He lifted his arms up and shrugged with a goading smirk.

Annalise sighed to herself as Elijah's anger sparked again. He sped at Nik, landing a series of successive punches sending him stumbling backwards that made Lis wince every time he made contact. Nik fell back against a closed coffin - without another thought, he opened it, grasping the dagger embedded in the chest of a younger-looking desiccated vampire in a formal suit. Elijah charged at Nik once more, but he was able to overpower Elijah and hold him against one of the other coffins - keeping him in place by bracing the silver dagger against his chest.

He yelled in frustration. “Don’t make me do this to you again Elijah!” 

“Come on. Use it, I dare you. You’ll have Kol to deal with.” The older brother's voice was low, still threatening, egging Nik on.

This was enough. Annalise knew that Nik had been looking forwards to reuniting with his family, albeit maybe a bit scared about the fall out - but anticipatory nonetheless. She walked closer, unsurely. 

“Wait, Nik, don’t. I feel horrible butting into family business, but you were just telling me about how much you wanted to be reunited with your family now that Mikael’s dead.” 

They both paused before Nik registered the shock on Elijah's face, and brought the dagger down to let him stand slowly. The older Original looked towards her in confusion before levelling a glare at Nik. “What does she mean?”

Nik grew solemn. “I killed him with his own weapon. He’s gone, Elijah, forever.” It took a moment to register in Elijah’s mind, but the relief in his eyes once it did was quickly replaced with renewed anger, as he squinted at Nik, gritting his teeth. 

“Then why do our family remain in these coffins? Finn for over 900 years, Kol for over a century.”

“Because of Stefan Salvatore." Nik's eyes glinted coldly in anger as he stepped back. "He holds the one thing that keeps me from freeing them. There are things you don’t know about our past, Elijah; our mother’s death, things I never wanted you to know, but I’m ready to tell you now.” Elijah and Lis watched silently as Nik walked over to a small table holding an ornate obsidian jar, dipping the silver dagger and ash-ing it before approaching the open coffin with the young man in it. “I only ask that you remember the oath of loyalty you once swore to me.”

“What are you doing?” Elijah moved forwards to stop Nik from sinking the blade back into the chest of the desiccated Original in the coffin, but visibly stopped himself. 

Bracing himself on the coffin, Nik look to his older brother with earnest eyes. “Always and forever, brother. I need you to stand by my side. Be my brother. Help me destroy Stefan, and I promise you our family will be whole again.”

It was quiet for a moment before Lis felt the need to speak up once more. “Sorry to interrupt. Again. I honestly feel like I’m intruding. The both of you need to catch up on everything, so I’m just gonna head to bed. Uh, Nik, quick note. You’re welcome to tell your brother about me and my past,” she shrugged, “it’s no big deal to me. No more secrets, right?" Annalise smiled awkwardly before twisting her hand at the broken table and the glass doors with a muttered "Sarcio."

Elijah's eyes grew wide with wonder as he saw both destroyed structures reassemble themselves with small pinpricks of golden light, quickly restored back to their former beauty - then his eyes snapped to the unassuming girl bundled up warm in her sleepwear taking large steps backwards out of the room, before visibly remembering something.

"Oh, another thing; I ordered a few magic materials for myself, and I put this as my shipping address. The parcel's gonna appear somewhere in the house in the next day or so, could you look out for it?" She waved at the older Original. "Elijah, it’s nice to finally meet you, despite the circumstances.” She sent him an awkward smile and he nodded in return, still looking at her strangely. “Have a good night.”

Elijah turned to look at Nik in question - unsure of what had happened.

Nik just smirked even wider. 

- 

The next morning Annalise woke early and bumped into a couple hybrids cleaning up the body downstairs. If she was honest, Lis felt horrible that she was only slightly saddened to learn that it was Daniel’s heart that Elijah had been clutching when she'd first met him. Daniel wasn’t on her favourite list of people by far, to be honest, he wasn’t even on her acquaintance list because he had used to hang out with Tony and they’d always been a couple of dickheads. Then of course, he had been moved to her list of arsehole people when he had started treating Mindy’s corpse like rubbish.

Still, it was a violent way to go.

After helping clearing a bit of the remaining debris downstairs, she washed up for the morning and made her way down to the kitchen softly for breakfast. It was still quite early, so the few hybrids who had been around were gone pretty quickly, considering she had cleaned up most of the mess last night.

As she descended the grand staircase, Annalise saw Elijah near the door holding something that looked like a note - that made her pause. Nik wouldn’t pass him a note, nor would the hybrids...but he’d had contact with no one else.

Oh, apart from the person who un-daggered him. Damon. It seemed he was to thank for Elijah being let out of his coffin early.

That made sense though, in a tactical way. Nik had clued her in that his older brother had tried to help Elena and the gang back when Nik was terrorising them in order to break his hybrid curse. Well, not in those exact words, but Lis was paraphrasing.

Elijah was nice. It made sense Damon would un-dagger him in hopes of finding an ally in their quite desperate fight against Nik.

She could definitely do with another sane person to keep Nik’s spontaneous mood changes in check though. Annalise called out to him, feeling wrong about staring at him like a creeper while he was so clearly lost in his own thoughts. “Good morning Elijah! I didn’t expect to see you this early. Is Nik home?”

She sent him a friendly smile and a jaunty wave as she skipped down the rest of the stairs.

He nodded at her formally, lips lifting in an amused but polite smile. “Nor I you, Miss Caelis. I believe Niklaus is out running some errands with his hybrids.” Lis delicately elected to ignore how quickly he put the note away in his suit pocket and instead, she gestured at him to follow her into the large kitchen. “It's Lis, please. Have you had any breakfast yet? Nik keeps some in the fridge for snacking. Do you want me to heat some up for you?”

Elijah followed her slowly, watching her pour the chilled blood from the fridge into a glass, then whisper something at it, before sliding it to him across the counter. His brow lifted as he found the glass to be warm to the touch. Annalise couldn't help but bite back a grin as she watched him sip at it, looking awfully proper. Nik had said his brother had the manners of a High Born Victorian, and Annalise found that description awfully accurate. His hair was now combed back in comparison to the wild mess it was the night before, and the new suit he wore didn't have a thread out of place.

He was so put together to the point that she felt self-conscious about her light ripped jeans and cream jumper. When his she realised he'd been watching her stare at him holding back a smile, Annalise sent him an awkward grin before busying herself and preparing her cereal.

“So why is someone like you working for my brother, Lis?” 

Annalise settled at a tall chair on the kitchen island facing him. “Uh...long story short; he rescued me from a witch who had less than good intentions." She chewed on a spoonful of cereal, swallowing. "But uh…'Someone like me' huh? I see Nik told you my story.” Elijah tipped his head in agreement. Lis nodded to herself. “Yeah, that’s good, you’re all caught up. Anyways, uh…I guess I’m still sticking around for a bunch of reasons. The most obvious one is that I swore that I’d work for him.”

“So, you only work for him because you have to?” His gaze sharpened. 

“Well, no. He’s kinda grown on me. So did Bekah. I mean it’s not like I agree with what he does, no way. It’s just, I figured I could help more people if I stick around, y’know? Especially Nik. He seems to need it.”

Elijah nodded, passing her a small smile - not too genuine, but not entirely fake either. It was genuinely polite, and Annalise couldn't help but compare it to Mikael's detachedly polite smile as he spoke. “Niklaus told me of your loyalty. Seems too good to be true, almost.”

She snorted, electing to ignore his subtle dig. “Trust me, I think I annoy him more than I help him most of the time. He is such a grump.”

He placed his empty cup stained red on the counter and Lis flicked her hand, opening the dishwasher behind her. Both of them paused, narrowing their eyes at the large brown packaged box that seemed out of place in the dishwasher.

Annalise let out a small snort. “Oh, look, my supplies arrived. I’ll send that up to my room.” She flicked her hand at it, teleporting it to her room effortlessly.

Lis turned back casually to face Elijah, to find him still staring at the (now) empty dishwasher. To mess with him further, she concentrated; sending his used glass into the empty racks of the dishwasher where her box once occupied, before making it close itself.

Elijah's expression turned bemused as his eyes flicked to hers.

She grinned cheekily at him. “You’re welcome. It’s good practice. And less effort.”

He nodded at her again, recovering, before straightening his suit and stepping away from the kitchen counter. “Well, Lis, this was an enlightening chat. I would enjoy another with you.”

“Totally, Lijah. That’d be fun.”

Elijah paused in standing up. She winced. “Sorry, I have a problem. Ask Bekah.” He just gave her another quick nod before heading to the door. She called out to him as he reached the doorway, making him pause and turn back. “I noticed you might be going for a walk.” She gestured to the note he had hidden in his jacket pocket. Immediately, his eyes narrowed, and he stood defensively. She raised her hands in a placating gesture, smiling at him gently. 

“I’m not going to ask about it, and I’m not telling anyone either. I’ve been nothing less than honest to Nik, he’s my friend. But, you’re his brother. You’ve known him for literally his entire life. I trust you’ll do whatever’s in Nik’s best interest. That’s all I need to know.”

He sent her a small smile back, this one more genuine than the last, before leaving.

Lis felt like she had received his stamp of approval.

Joy.

-

It was now later in the evening and she had been up in her bedroom with Elena texting her about a series of murders that were happening in Mystic Falls. Who would’ve ever thought that this quaint little town had a serial killer running free within it? 

Well, that is, apart from the vampires. 

The prime suspect was apparently Elena and Alaric right now, which was why Elena was asking if Nik had anything to do with it. Lis assured her Nik wouldn’t waste time being discrete about killing random people, though she believed that maybe it didn’t make Elena feel as good about it as she was intending.

After asking about where Elena was now, the girl had explained about the unfortunate nature of Caroline’s father’s death in connection to the serial murders, and how her and Matt were walking home after Caroline’s father refused to complete the transition into a vampire. 

It had been a while since Elena stopped replying.

Sighing, she laid out lazily on the bed, watching the moonlight filter in through her windows. It felt peaceful, but the night also felt strangely foreboding. Something big was going to happen. Loud vibrations startled her out of her reverie when her phone suddenly started ringing.

“Elena? Why are you calling?”

“Please, please come over right now. The murderer broke into our house-”

She was in the Gilbert home living room in a flash.

It was pitch black, but the bright moonlight revealed a scene out of a horror movie - bloody hand prints stained the walls, picture frames hung dangerously skewed and pools of dark liquid puddled the floor. Annalise's breath caught in her throat before she was yelling, loudly. “Elena! Where are you?”

“Up here! Please, hurry!”

She sprinted up the stairs and crossed the landing over to where Elena and Matt were crouching next to a still figure. Lis was at their side immediately, crouching down to inspect Alaric's slumped form against the wall, bleeding profusely with a large steak knife sticking out of his gut. Her voice turned stern. “Move, quickly. He isn’t dead yet, right? I can’t heal him if the ring is being used.”

“No. No, he isn’t dead.” A whimper accompanied that weak statement from her right. Elena had moved to Matt, clutching at him for support. "I thou-thought I was gonna hav-have to k-kill him before I remembered you." Tears fell down the young girl's cheeks in torrents.  

Lis nodded at her gently, before turning back to Alaric and firmly trying to stifle the wound with her hand. “Well, I'm here. We're good. Is there anyone else in the house? Where’s your brother?” Alaric groaned lightly. Her eyes examined the knife stabbed deep into Alaric’s abdomen and his still focused eyes, triaging him rapidly.

“Uh, he’s not here.”

“Double good. Okay, Alaric, I’m going to remove the knife and then immediately heal you as fast as I can." She kept talking, trying to distract him from the pain. "In a normal situation, you wouldn’t remove the knife at all, 'cos it’s keeping all the blood in – good thing you didn’t move it Elena. But if I try to heal it with magic right now, your skin is going to heal around the knife – that’s not ideal. Ready for a sharp pain Alaric?”

At the man’s pained nod, she tapped the knife, teleporting it seamlessly out of the wound and onto the shelf next to her with a clatter. She didn’t need anybody stepping on it and hurting themselves further. With her other hand, she reached out to Alaric’s wound and instantly started muttering powerful “Sana.” spells, and channelling as much magic as she safely could into the wound. This many healing spells with this much magic imbued in them caused a small glow to emit from the wound, and a warm light bathed the entire room in a gentle rippling atmosphere.

The hunter’s pained groans decreased within the minute, replaced by relieved sighs. When Lis felt the wound finally heal and close up, she sat back and gradually tapered her magic down until the entire room was dark once more.

The children next to her were speechless, still hugging each other. Alaric let out a loud breath and sat up slowly, giving her a grateful nod. “Phew, as far as stabbing goes, you healed that up well. Good as new – better even. Thank you, Annalise.”

She sighed, rolled her neck and stood up. “Don’t mention it Alaric, really. I don’t mind, but I might have to get going now.” Concentrating, she used the cleaning spell and cleaned the blood staining her hands.

Elena stood too and hugged her tightly. “Thank you so much Lissie, I don’t know what I would’ve done if you weren’t here.”

Annalise squeezed her before stepping back with a slight smile. “Anytime Elena.” She looked around while she moved to help Alaric up. Matt supported the man from his other side. “What’s with the lights? Why isn’t the electricity working?”

The older man grunted, leaning on the banister. “It’s probably the main. The breaker’s downstairs near the kitchen hallway.”

Lis nodded, making sure Alaric was stable before blinking into the kitchen. Locating the breaker, she noticed cut wiring and frowned. Shrugging, she murmured a quick “Sarcio.” to fix it before flipping the switch, bathing the house in bright light. She teleported back upstairs to the trio, talking worriedly.

“It’s odd, some of the wires were cut – that means the killer got in before disabling the electricity. Please, be careful, lock your doors, and don’t let anyone unknown in. This immediately rules out Nik, or any of his hybrids since they have to be invited in. This means you don’t know what you guys are up against.”

Elena and Matt nodded, clearly worried out of their minds.

Better the enemy they did know than the enemy they didn’t, and right now, some stranger was breaking in and having too much fun stabbing things. They helped Alaric to his room to rest, then walked her down to the front door. Lis winced at the gory bloodstains that looked impossibly worse under the bright hallway lights and waved an arm in its direction. The blood disappeared, and the picture frames on the wall straightened on their own accord.

Matt chuckled in disbelief. “Neat. This what they teach you in Hogwarts?”

“You’re not too far off, actually. A lot more theoretical work than practical but cleaning spells are pretty handy though, as you can see.” she giggled as she replied, thankful for the lighter conversation. 

Elena thanked her again before Lis said that she really needed to go. “Nik hasn’t called me the entire day. I just have a feeling something’s wrong.”

Bidding farewell to the two teens, she appeared back in her bedroom.

-

She was in her bedroom for less than a second when a sudden crash downstairs made her pause. She strained her ears further and gently tiptoed over to the door; there were muffled sounds of yelling now. Gently twisting the door open she listened closer - the sounds were clearer now - she heard Nik and Elijah's voices distinctly, but she couldn't place the other over lapping muffled voices. There seemed to be many.

Annalise snuck her way down the winding stairs, thanking her lucky stars for being so slight and sure-footed. Maybe being this tiny wasn't a curse after all. Her lip quirked but immediately dropped when she heard Nik roar. 

"I'm the Hybrid! I can't be killed! I have nothing to fear from any of you!!"

Okay, screw surprise, Nik sounded hurt. 

Annalise made it to the dining area and walked straight in without giving herself the chance to second-guess her decision – four pairs of eyes locked on to her as she appeared behind Nik. He whipped around with anger clear in his eyes, his mouth snarling as if she was another threat that he needed to get rid of.

His face cleared when he realised it was just her standing there awkwardly – "What's going on?"

He made no move to answer her and instead he turned back around to face the small crowd in the opposite side of the room, seething once again with his Original anger. Realising she wasn't going to get any answers from grumpy, Lis walked around him to his side, finally seeing who was facing him – two strangers, with Rebekah and Elijah. 

A smile blossomed on her face. "Bekah! Oh my god, it’s so great seeing you! Where have you been? I've missed you so much!" She strode forwards, happy seeing her friend again, giving Rebekah a small smile and a quick hug while exchanging a nod with Elijah. Rebekah, still dressed in her beautiful red homecoming dress, narrowed her gaze back into a hateful glare at Nik on releasing Annalise from her hug. 

"I was daggered," Bekah growled out - "first by that Doppel-bitch and then by this arsehole."

Lis whipped around, affronted. "Wait Nik, you told me that you had no idea where she is!"

"Yes, I lied to you, so what?! That's apparently what I do! Why don’t you just join them in leaving me then?" His voice was filled with anger and malice, but to her, his eyes seemed strangely raw.

"Um no?" She shrugged stiffly, "I agree you never should have daggered Bekah, but if my friendship was conditional on you not doing stupid things, I think I would have left a long time ago, Nik." She ended with an uncomfortable smile, but her eyes were amused and warm as she turned back to Rebekah - "No offence intended Bekah, if he daggers you again, I'll kick his ass, I promise."

Nik stood straighter and turned away scoffing "Not your friend." in a low voice but it held no malice. Rebekah just threw her a slight smile.

"Who's this then?" The tallest stranger, standing nearly a head and a bit taller than Lis but clearly younger of the two new people watching broke his silence. Lis looked at him fully and took in his dark mischievous eyes and his prideful smirk - he resembled Elijah, just a bit, but his face held a bit of youthful amusement. He was dressed formally; dress pants, and waist coat on top of a moss green shirt - but his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and his waistcoat was unbuttoned, giving him a rebellious appearance in contrast to his brother.

This was the man she had glimpsed when Nik and Elijah had been fighting over the open coffin. She spared a glance at the second stranger, only slightly shorter - he looked older and his hair was to his shoulders and he was dressed in a tunic of some sort, he looked angrier. He must have been in the closed coffin then.

Annalise smiled at them easily. "Oh sorry, you must be the rest of the family. I'm Annalise, ersatz-witch, please call me by anything other than my full name - it's pretentious and I absolutely hate it." Her eyes were warm and inviting behind her glasses as she held her hand out to shake.

The younger grabbed it in a gentle hold and brought it to his lips, expressive eyes staring deep into her own flirtatiously. "Kol, charmed I'm sure, darling."

The smirk on his face widened at the subtle but pretty blush that spread across her face and the multiple scoffs from his siblings at his behaviour. He kept his eyes trained on her as she detached his hand gently, clearing her throat in embarrassment.

"Um...nice to meet you Kol."

Annalise flashed him an awkward smile, and moved her gaze to the older brother; Finn, then, going by the process of elimination. Unlike Kol however, he was clearly not in the mood for conversation. Her lips pressed together but she nodded to herself and moved back towards Nik. Finn words were spoken with such strength it felt as though they hung in the air.

"We have what you fear." His narrow eyes cut deep into Nik's own.

"And did you not hear me the first time? I fear nothing." The Hybrid's anger had returned tenfold. Lis watched the exchange warily, ready to intervene if anyone was willing to come to blows. This wasn't like the reunion the night before - it was clear Nik's siblings felt real hate towards him.

"You will when we have that coffin," Elijah's tone was colder than she had heard before. He was on their side as well, then. Shit. 

Nik looked lividly at Elijah's impassive face.

Suddenly, the sound of the door opening had everyone furrowing their brow, looking towards the noise. The sound of slow footsteps carried down the hallway, announcing a woman with long fair hair, dressed in an old-fashioned simple flannel dress. Annalise's eyes narrowed, taking in how Nik gasped in surprise, and how Finn, Elijah, Rebekah and Kol all parted to let her through wordlessly with shocked eyes, and allowed her to walk down the few steps into the dining room.

Lis eyes darted between everyone, trying to assess the woman's level of threat. 

"Mother?" The weak word falls from Rebekah's mouth, stunned.

So, this was Esther? The Original Witch?

Rebekah wasn't spared a glance, no one was; Esther's gaze was trained solely Nik's eyes which were ceremoniously avoiding everyone gaze - Lis saw tears in them. Everyone watched him struggle to keep his countenance as Esther approached, breathing deeply. 

Annalise clenched her hands tighter and stepped back for his privacy, closer to the rest of the family grouped near the stairs. Rebekah grabbed her hand and she held it tightly in a show of silent support.

"Look at me." Esther's cold voice had Klaus forcing himself to look forwards at his mother with visible tears collected in his eyes. "Do you know why I'm here?"

"You're here to kill me." Lis had never heard Nik's voice sound so weak and vulnerable - her eyes narrowed; she wasn't going to let her hurt him. She readied herself for a fight.

Esther smiled lightly. "Niklaus, you are my son and I am here to forgive you."

Esther turned so she was next to Nik, looking at her entire children with pride, and something else Lis couldn't quite decipher in her motherly gaze as she declared her wish. "I want us to be a family again."

A low exhale left her lips and Annalise relaxed slowly, loosening her grip on Rebekah's hand. A small smile was on her lips as she stepped away to give this moving family moment a small semblance of privacy. She was content just witnessing this unorthodox reunion.

Her efforts were for nothing, however, as Esther's gaze suddenly flew to hers.

"Who is she?"

Esther was glaring at her with hatred that Annalise hadn't felt in a long time. She smiled weakly, maybe this was a misunderstanding?

"Oh, I'm so sorry I was just letting you guys have your family moment y'know?" She stepped forwards once more, unsurely walking forwards through Elijah and Rebekah, smiling in what she hoped was an open and inviting manner. Lis extended her hand, intending to shake the witch's. "It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Anna-"

Lis's words were cut off unceremoniously with a choke as Esther's hand shot out inhumanely fast and curled tightly around her neck. Immediately, her hands flew to loosen the bruising grip, her mouth was open as she struggled to breath and her eyes were wide in distress. Nik stepped forwards to help but aborted halfway when Lis's eyes shot to his in reassurance after the initial shock had passed - she wasn't hurt. The rest of the family watched, clearly lost as to what was happening, and whether or not they should intervene.

Above all, though, everyone appeared curious to a degree, wondering as to what this tiny waif of a girl had done to evoke the Original Witch's ire in the 3 seconds that she had noticed her. Rebekah looked worried for her too, ready to help – her hands curling helplessly at her side as she bit her lip in worry staring at her friend.

"Who are you?" Esther hissed in a low voice full of malice, undeterred by the fact that her children could hear her as well as if she was speaking right next to them. "Why are you here? What are you?" Her bottom lip curled over her words - her disgust was very apparent.

Annalise's expression had faded into a blank nonplussed stare - she wasn’t impressed. This spiel was overused and had grown tiring twelve years ago. Her fingers that had clutched Esther's hands in reflex tightened their hold and in a silent show of strength detached them from her neck calmly. The Originals noticed their mother's hands straining in their effort to fight back, and distantly, Lis noticed Finn and Kol's brows furrow.

Nik had said they were the more magically inclined pair in the family - of course they would realise how powerful she was to resist their mother's magic.

Annalise let Esther's hands drop limply to her side before stepping backwards, staring the ancient witch down severely. "If you had let me finish, you would know that my name is Annalise," She crossed her arms, jutting her hip out in a casual manner. Despite her words being coloured with easy-going humour, her eyes were sharp and calculating, greatly contradicting the nature in which she had greeted the siblings, and Esther, only moments before.

Esther was still taken aback. Lis continued. "And as for why I’m here, Nik's been hauling me around for some time now, he considers me useful, and I consider us friends."

All eyes jumped to Nik's, still emotional from the shock of his mother appearing; he looked away wordlessly and shrugged. No one missed the subtle curve of his smile though, and this drove Esther to turn back to Annalise, snarling. "You should not exist."

“Neither should anyone else in this room." Lis hissed right back. "Look, I get that you seem like a kill first ask questions never kinda gal - again; like a lot of people in this room - but listen," She stepped closer to Esther, her eyes flashing silver. No one missed that, or the strength she held herself with, and the way she managed to look down on the older witch despite the fact that she was shorter. Most of all, no one missed the way Esther leaned back a minuscule amount.

"I don’t know why you hate me, but it’s obvious that you do. I'm only civil towards you right now because I have way too much respect for your children, for Nik, for Bekah, to hurt their mother. But the second you try to hurt me again; be warned I will defend myself."

Esther’s lips pressed into a thin line before she spat at her in disgust. "How dare an abomination talk to me that way." 

The old witch had found her voice once more, held herself up straighter and glared right back at the smaller girl. Immediately, Esther knew she had hit her where it hurt, even if the girl’s tells were subtle - the corners of the girl's lips and eyes tightened, her calculating gaze had the smallest amount of hurt in it, accompanied by a great deal more of anger. She was too easy to read, and Esther revelled in it.

"Mother-" Nik's voice cut in.

Esther broke her gaze to glance around the room. Nik's eyes were angry too, to a lesser extent, but he acted as though he was personally insulted - it made sense now, their camaraderie - being birds of a feather and all. The rest of her children were still watching, the curiosity in their eyes had given way to a small understanding.

Rebekah's face also showed insult, and Lis found silent support in her friends' expressions as she smirked lightly. "No Nik, it's okay; she's just being honest. I mean, she isn't wrong," Lis's words were airy now, deceptively casual and light as if she was stating a known fact. She shrugged, turned his way and sighed. "Look, this conversation isn’t going anywhere, and I can tell when I'm not wanted - I don't wanna intrude on family time." Her eyes flicked over to the figures standing in the well-lit awning of the room.

Kol was looking at her with a deep intrigued frown, but he smirked as soon as she made eye contact. Lis returned a small smile back at him unconsciously, before turning to Nik. 

"I'll grab my stuff, head over to the Salvatore Boarding house and stay there for a while. I’ll keep an eye on them."

He pursed his lips but nodded - her decision made sense. Lis knew that he knew he could call her over in a heartbeat. Maybe this way Annalise could be beneficial in keeping an eye on those slippery Salvatores and their non-existent wills to live. 

Nik's POV

Annalise nodded back at him before waving at Rebekah and Elijah and leaving the room, not even sparing a glance at his mother still glaring daggers at her. He saw his siblings' eyes trail after her too, Kol's looked more interested than the rest. He always was curious about witches.

Nik turned back to focus on his mother, feeling his own eyes narrow into a suspicious glare. "You called me an abomination too once, mother, what changed?" He was wary and sharp once more. There was something wrong about the lack of anger in Esther's face after everything he had done.

"I spent a thousand years forgiving you my dear, but in all that time I've never come across a creature like her," Esther walked closer to Nik, her voice once more sincere, motherly and insisting. "You mustn’t be around her, she isn't natural - she's not a witch but she has magic, she's not a vampire nor a werewolf, but she is more than a human - I don't know what she is, and that scares me to my core, Niklaus." Her voice was bordering on begging when she finished speaking.

Her declaration hung heavily in the silent room.

Nik was curious now, more so than he had ever been. What exactly was his little friend? Something not even his mother had knowledge of? Until he learns more about her, it sounds like she would be a more worthy ally over adversary then. Best keep her as his friend for the time being - after all, she was undeniably useful.

He outwardly sighed and made a show of agreeing with Esther as it was best to keep her happy for the time being. He heard the front door open and shut down the hallway, signalling Lis’s departure from the mansion. He realised he hoped she was okay.

He was distracted from his thoughts when Esther spread her arms grandly, reaching out to her children.

"Why don't we throw a ball to commemorate this special occasion then, and introduce Mystic Falls to the glory that is the Original Family?"

Nik smirked to himself. Now this was something he could get behind.

Chapter Text

Three gentle knocks in quick succession echoed on the time-worn front door of the Salvatore Boarding House, still looking absolutely divine in the dull moonlight. It was honestly such a beautifully built house - not as grand as the Mikaelson Mansion; but Annalise loved it for its rustic simplicity. She couldn't say it enough. Of course, it was massive too, but it wasn't as in-your-face about it. The large wooden door creaked open, only marginally as Damon stood there in the small sliver of the open doorway with a thin smile on his face. Stefan was looking at her curiously from over his brother’s shoulder.

“Annalise. To what do we owe the pleasure?”

She raised an eyebrow at him before looking flicking her eyes significantly at the two duffels on the ground and her backpack, then turning back to him with a sarcastic grin. “Uh…Selling Girl Scout cookies. Anyone looking to buy thin mints?”

Damon rolled his eyes stepping back to close the door, but this had Annalise scrambling forwards to stop him. “Wait, wait. Sorry. It hasn’t been a great night. I had to heal Alaric then Esther appeared along with the rest of the family, and like, bullied me, which was totally not cool, so I made a fuss and left which means I kinda need a place to sleep-”

The Salvatores stepped forward in shock as Damon tugged the door fully open.

“Wait, you healed Ric-”

“Esther? As in the Original Witch Esther was in the magically locked coffin-?”

Annalise held her hand up to stop the two brothers speaking over each other. “Look, I’ll explain everything, I promise. Just, can I stay here for a couple nights? Please?”

Damon raised his eyebrows, smirking as he stepped to the side. “Only because you said please.”

She flashed him a quick grin before picking up her heavy duffels and walking past the brothers, setting the bags down in the foyer.  “The magically-locked coffin, huh? And you didn't seem surprised when I mentioned the rest of the family. Looks like you need to catch me up on some things too." She turned to give them a quick awkward smile. "So uh, two questions. Which room is mine? And is the interrogation gonna be held before, or after I go grab some late dinner?”

Damon's smirk crinkled his eyes as they glinted evilly - and Stefan rolled his own, letting out a long-suffering sigh.

-

Annalise had woken up early out of habit, more than anything else, and realised ecstatically that her senses had returned. Her soul bared open to the sensations that greeted her once more - liberated to feel the air light with morning dew, the wind blow through the trees playfully. She hadn't realised just how refreshing the sensation of being blanketed in the surrounding magic was until it was greeting her as enthusiastically as she greeted it.

The only explanation for her renewed sense of vitality was that whatever was blocking her from sensing anything within Mystic Falls, and the coffins by extension, had lifted itself while she had slept. This was probably because the coffins had now all been found – which then begged the question why did it lift only after Esther had risen? Did she have at least some control or sway over the witch spirits?

...Knowing her, she most definitely did.

Currently though, they were all in Elena’s kitchen. Annalise was sitting on the dining table with her legs crossed, eating a bowl of cereal Elena had prepared for her; this was because the Salvatores had no food fit for human consumption apart from alcohol in their house. She didn't think having bourbon for breakfast was productive. Plus, she hadn't gotten drunk since Mindy died; she was really quite proud of herself. 

Damon was leaning against the table next to her, tossing a large baseball between his hands. Stefan was positioned slightly more to the front, bracing on the kitchen island. All of them were watching Elena clean the kitchen after breakfast while recounting her night before. They'd been shocked to learn of her sudden talk with Elijah about the Original Witch, after Rebekah had attacked her.

Honestly, that was slightly better than she expected from Rebekah. After all, Elena had quite literally stabbed her in the back and prevented her going to her first high school dance. Elena received no pity from Annalise there - but she did heal the bruise on the girl's shoulder from being tossed against the car as she entered the kitchen. She pretended she didn't see the brothers catch it, then exchange a significant look as she had made herself comfortable on the kitchen table.

Which brought them to the conversation they were having now. 

“How’s she even alive?” Damon's face twisted into an annoyed scowl as he complained. “Thought her hybrid freak show of a son ripped her heart out a thousand years ago.” Lis nudged him and raised her eyebrows. He shrugged at her bitterly. “What? Aren’t you on our side now?”

Lis snorted between a spoonful of fruitloops. “Hell no. Nik is so much cooler than all of you.”

Damon shoved her shoulder lightly in retaliation, making her yelp in protest. “No! Be careful! My cereal, you dick.” Carefully managing to tilt the bowl to prevent spillage, she balanced it once more on the palm of her hand with a relieved sigh. Three pairs of eyes looked at her in varying forms of amusement and Annalise frowned back at them. "What?" 

Elena shot her a grin, deciding spare her the embarrassment by moving on, answering Damon's earlier question. “I don’t know. I guess she has a couple connections in the witch community.” She braced herself on the island, leaning forwards deep in thought.  

Annalise chuckled sarcastically. “Elena, honey, that’s an understatement of epic proportions. I learnt about this witch bloodline that died in the Viking era, one powerful enough to parallel the Bennett Line. I’m fairly certain this was whatever line Esther comes from since it was Ayanna Bennett – Bonnie’s ancestor – was the one who locked Esther’s body up and preserved it in the first place. She has a network of witch spirits dating back a bit more than a literal millennium. Connected doesn’t even begin to describe her. She's like, the poster child for LinkedIn.”

Elena sighed and ran a hand through her neat, pin-straight hair, tiredly rubbing at her eyes. “Yeah well, that makes it worse. Elijah said she wants to live in peace with her family. Including Klaus.”

“She was supposed to be the weapon to help us kill Klaus.” Stefan interjected glumly.

“Yeah, well not anymore, at least according to Elijah.”

Damon glanced at Lis, gesturing at her significantly. “Hello, why are we even talking about this in front of her? She works for Klaus.”

 “I do work for Klaus.” Lis nodded, eyes wide and innocent, a hand up in the air pointing to herself. Damon gestured 'see even she admits it' exaggeratedly in her direction.

Elena rolled her eyes. “We’ve always tried to kill Klaus. It isn’t anything knew. I trust her, Damon. She saved Ric.”  

Damon quieted down, appeased for now. Stefan straightened and started pacing across the kitchen. “That coffin was the only thing stopping Klaus from tearing us to shreds.”

“Anyone else feeling a little used right now?” Damon said, squinting into the distance.

“Look, Elijah promised me that his family wouldn’t hurt any of us,” The doorbell rang, making them all pause before Elena delivered her final statement. “I believe him.”

She left to go open the door.

Damon immediately set his sights on Annalise, still eating her cereal. “What do you think, Hermione? Elijah safe to trust?” Lis scowled annoyed, as he poked her shoulder to get her attention. 

She rolled her eyes. “It’s not like you even trust me enough to believe me. But, for what it’s worth, Elijah’s a man of his word. His entire family is, actually. I believe, as long as you guys let sleeping lions lie, they won’t come and bite you in the ass. Keep to yourself; you should be fine if you do.”

They all heard Elena open the door, but not greet anyone – silently exchanging furtive glances, they all walked up behind her in the foyer. Lis noticed the young girl was holding a fancy letter sealed with an expensive red wax seal on the front, addressed to Elena in beautiful cursive.

There was something strange about it.

“Wait, Elena,” Elena paused, looking at her while closing the door. “That envelope’s been in contact with magic, I can tell. Careful.” The girl nodded, watching Damon and Stefan move slightly closer, before proceeding to open the letter slowly.

“What is it?” Damon asked when Elena stared at the small card in silent confusion.

“An invitation: 'Please join the Mikaelson family this evening at 7 o’clock for dancing, cocktails and celebration.'”

A concerned frown had creased Stefan's forehead as he leaned closer. “Who the hell are the Mikaelson’s?”

After having learnt the letter was just a harmless invitation, Lis loudly slurped down the last bit of her cereal before answering. “That’s the Original Family – more specifically, the children. Vikings didn’t have surnames; they used their father’s name and the suffix '-son' or '-dottir' depending on whether they were a boy or a girl. The Family must have just chosen 'Mikaelson' to be their surname 'cos it's easier in modern times.”

Damon, Elena and Stefan squinted at her, making her shrug defensively. “What? I looked into old Viking magics as an area of my magic science course – plus, I love history.”

“I do too.” Stefan exchanged grins with her.

Damon raised his eyebrows. “Oh great, there’s another nerd.” He turned back to Elena. “It’s not bad enough they’re moving in, now they want a housewarming gift?”

Elena shrugged before turning the invitation over. “Wait, there’s a note on the back. 'Elena, I think it’s time we finally meet. Esther.'”

Damon immediately turned to frown at Lis. “You’re not telling Klaus.”

“You can’t tell me what to do Damon.” They all watched with stunned eyes as she casually waved her hand to gently disappear the bowl from her hands and into the washing rack behind her, cleaned. Her jaw ticked and her arms crossed defensively. “Plus, I don’t think it’s Nik you need to worry about. Doppelgänger blood is an insanely rare, powerful and versatile ingredient witches love to use – hell, Esther used it in the Hybrid curse. She's tried to kill you multiple times just so Nik won’t be able to make more hybrids. It's her you gotta look out for.”

Stefan nodded his head, similar worry reflecting in his eyes while turning to Damon. “I agree, remember what Elijah said at the dinner, Damon? How Esther used the Petrova Doppelganger blood in the ritual to turn the family into vampires too?”

Damon’s lips thinned in thought. A tense silence reigned before Lis broke it. “Look. I’m going to go tell Nik about this, I’m not gonna lie to you. It’s up to you if you want to share information with me in the future, I won’t push you. Trust me or don’t trust me. I don’t care. Just trust that I don’t want to see you guys get hurt. Nik doesn't want Elena getting hurt either, so who knows, maybe you'll get an ally out of this. Let me know if you need any help on your end.”

Elena smiled sadly, but no one made a move to stop her as she disappeared in a blink of silver.

-

As she flashed into foyer of the Mikaelson Manor nervously, startling herself at a surprised squeak from a passing maid. The house was full and bustling - Annalise ducked around people carrying large floral arrangements and classy decorations - even clearing out the large expansive ballroom to her right. So they were really going through with this, weren't they?

Focusing on finding Rebekah's signature, and loving that she had the unimpeded ability to do so once more, Lis made her way to the bustling living area on the first floor. There was an old RnB record playing loudly in the background as she found the family spread out in various areas around the room, with thankfully no sign of Esther. Nik wasn't there either - he was up in his drawing room from what she gathered, but Annalise figured the information she had to tell him could wait as Rebekah happily beckoned her over to where she sat on the sofa getting her nails done.

As Annalise walked over with a warm grin, Kol, looking incredibly sharp, moved to stand in her way, dark eyes shining with mirth as he looked at her up and down. "Here to brave our mother once more, darling?"

"No, no. I'm sorry that was a horrible first impression. I shouldn't have threatened her." Lis shook her head slightly, standing her ground even as he stepped closer making her lean back warily. Her eyes flicked around the room to Finn's hard gaze - yup, she had made a horrible first impression - before they snapped back to Kol as he smirked more wickedly than Nik ever did.

"On the contrary my dear," Kol studied her even closer before finally stepping back, letting Annalise exhale a breath she didn't know she was holding, even as he held her gaze. "You impressed us."

"Kol, don't intimidate my friend and let her pass, please." Rebekah called annoyedly from where she sat, unable to move as her nails were still setting, and the technician started on her other hand. Annalise grabbed this opportunity to shoot Kol a quick awkward smile she felt was more of a grimace, before moving around him to go to Rebekah. As she did, she sent a small smile to Elijah.

“Lijah, morning drinking’s a classic sign of being an alcoholic. Trust me.”

He just tipped his glass at her and humoured her with a small smile. “Good morning Lis.” She ignored Finn ignoring her, and instead moved to sit next to Rebekah, oohing and aahing over her pretty nails. Rebekah was beaming at the attention.

Kol moved back to his position in front of a full-length mirror opposite them, and Annalise tried to ignore how his reflection still smirked at her. Instead, she complimented Rebekah's beautiful hair, slicked back in a high ponytail. And the room fell back into the same bustle. Finn put expensive-looking wrist cuffs on an equally expensive shirt as a tailor adjusted his pant legs. Elijah stood at the fireplace, and Annalise had no doubt he already had multiple impeccably tailored suits in his closet. 

Kol called out to his sister, looking at her through his reflection with a mischievous grin. “Rebekah, tell me how handsome I am.”

“Oh Kol, you know I can’t be compelled.” Annalise hid her sudden snort of laughter in a cough, averting her eyes so that she didn't burst into laughter. It was kinda great to see him knocked down a peg after trying to scare her before. Lis also didn’t miss Finn grin at the joke. Maybe he might not be a total lost cause like Nik said he was after all.

As her gaze returned to Kol, he smirked at her struggle, passing her a quick wink. Annalise realised this was an intimidation tactic in itself, and she winked right back at him. Lis wasn’t going to blush and be made for a fool again; she refused it. The faint surprise in Kol's eyes being replaced by a challenging grin had been worth it.

Just as the room was about to sink back into silence, Nik burst in through the closed divider separating the room from the hallway. He immediately made a beeline in their direction, with an angry glare set on Rebekah. “You went after Elena? What is wrong with you?”

Oh, he hadn't known. Rebekah defensively crossed her arms careful of her nails, pinching her lips together in displeasure. “Here we go.”

“Want another dagger in your heart?”

Lis draped herself over Rebekah in faux grief trying to alleviate the heavy atmosphere. “Dagger? My poor Bekah? Don’t you dare, Nik. I won’t let you.”

Kol's eyes glinted dangerously despite the casual grin he wore as he sat down on the arm of the opposite sofa, watching Nik as he threw his hands up in the air at Lis’s antics. “Again, with the dagger threats? Don’t you have any other tricks?”

“Oh, go back to staring at yourself.” Lis sniggered at Nik’s immediate retort.

Kol didn’t waste any time in retaliating. “And who are you, my father?”

“No, Kol." Nik turned fully toward him, settling him with a hard glare, mouth set heavily in anger. "But you are in my house.”

Annalise's smile fell as Kol stood too - his height matching Nik's, allowing him to stare him down - levity wiped clear of his dark gaze. "Then perhaps we should go outside." 

As the two brothers glared at each other, the tension in the room felt as if it was about to snap and Annalise stiffened warily. If the brothers came to blows, she wouldn't hesitate to help Nik, but she'd heard enough about Kol to make her think twice before engaging him in a fight. Having been around witches often, Annalise didn't doubt that he'd challenge her quite a bit. 

Just as Annalise got ready to climb to her feet, Esther's voice rang out. 

“Enough!” She had appeared in the doorway with her long locks now cut into a suburban mom bob, wearing a beautiful silver day dress. Lis stiffened even further next to Rebekah as Esther's gaze set on her burning with hate. Annalise only blinked when Esther moved on to Nik, mouth set into a stern line. 

“Niklaus. Come.”

With one last glare at Kol, Nik followed Esther into the adjoining room, even as Kol turned back to his siblings in a smug grin. 

While the others went back to talking softly, Lis tried to deliberately listen in on their conversation before casting a spying spell silently, hoping the others don't notice her eyes turning silver as she closed them, pretending to rest on Rebekah's shoulder. Immediately, Nik and Esther’s conversation sounded louder in her ears – they were clearly in the middle of discussing something serious, and she stopped herself from feeling guilty. Esther was up to something; this was for Nik. 

“I’ve had a thousand years on the other side to be angry and to heal. I’m here to make sure that this family does the same.”

“I just don’t understand. I killed you, and still you forgive me.”

“It’s been my dream for a thousand years that this family could be as one." Esther insisted. "Forgiveness is not a chore, it’s a gift.” This sentence made Annalise cringe internally; the Original Witch was really laying it on thick. Nik was conspicuously silent after her statement, and Annalise wished she could've gauged his reaction. She was really worried for him.

Esther seemed to want to move on from her previous line of questioning. “Now, who are you bringing to the ball this evening?”

Annalise heard Nik laugh incredulously before replying. “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re lucky I’m even going.”

“Well, I wish you would reconsider, it’s going to be a magical evening.”

Yeah, Esther was definitely up to something, no doubt about it.

Annalise watched Nik leave before saying bye to Rebekah lowly, and sneaking around the Original Witch to collect Nik from the parlour. She blipped them into her room with no warning as soon as she grabbed his sleeve, missing a dark pair of eyes catching their departure.

“Lissie, you’re getting on my nerves!”

“Wait, wait. I’m sorry, it was just so fun with so many people around and I was just loving the banter. But that isn’t the point. I’m getting side-tracked. Esther’s up to something, you have to believe me.”

Nik raised a finger to his lips, gesturing to his ear.

Lis waved an arm dismissively. “Yeah, no. Don’t worry about anyone hearing us. This room is spelled to be ‘spy-proof’ back when I was umm…bawling my heart out after Mindy. No one can listen in or mess with my room, magically or otherwise. There’s also an undetectable privacy spell cast on it, and like a bunch of other charms. This room is like a checkpoint if you were in a video game – safe and secure.” She paused, squinting. “After I’ve said all that out loud though, I think I may be a tad paranoid, you’re rubbing off on me.” She glared accusingly at the hybrid who now stared at her amused.

He sat on the end of her bed, leaning forwards in a focused manner. “What makes you think my mother’s up to anything? She’s been a perfect example of what she should have always been in the last 24 hours alone.”

She gestured dramatically at his point. “Exactly! Don’t you think that’s odd? Okay, my dislike towards her might’ve originated from the fact that she choked me and called me an abomination within the first five minutes of meeting me,” Nik tipped his head as if saying ‘fair point’.

“But what really convinced me she was planning something, was when I was at Elena’s with the Salvatores this morning.” Nik straightened, gaze narrowing in interest. “Elena received a formal invite to the ball, and on the back of it, Esther personally asked to meet with Elena tonight.”

“She did?”

“Yeah. Look, it might be just a bad feeling. But also, I kinda listened into your conversation with her just now. Sorry not sorry. But do you remember when she said that she’d spent a thousand years healing and forgiving you? Well, what about the fact that literally a couple months ago, she was trying to get you to kill Elena and sabotage your entire plan of creating hybrids, huh? That doesn’t sound like something someone with an entire millennia worth of forgiveness would do. Doesn’t that prove she’s lying, even to a small extent? You’re usually the paranoid one Nik, but I’m telling you. She’s up to something.”

He was quiet for a long moment staring out the window before he looked back at her and nodded, eyes holding more disappointment than anger. “Thank you for bringing this to my attention Lissie. I was wary to believe that she truly had changed. Keep an eye on her if you will.”

Feeling guilty for the discomfort he must be feeling, Annalise sent him a grateful look with an apologetic smile. “Thanks for believing me about this Nik. I really am sorry.”

He just sent her a quick grin before changing the topic. “Do you think I should invite Caroline?” 

A chuckle burst out of her. “Nik, look at you! Yeah, I don’t see why not – she likes dances according to literally everyone. Tyler’s gone apparently, and she also lost her dad last night, so she might enjoy something that takes her mind off things. Then again, don’t annoy her about it if she says no, for the exact reasons above.”

He nodded before looking up at her. “Are you going to be fine keeping an eye on Esther tonight then?”

Annalise clicked her tongue, putting her hands in her pockets and shrugging one shoulder. “It’ll be hard, but doable. I’ll have to hold an invisibility spell the entire night, along with holding a repellent charm so people don’t bump into me conspicuously…”

The hybrid stared at her blankly before he deadpanned. “Or, you could dress up, and go to the ball.”

Lis gaped at him, opening her mouth to retort a couple times silently, before finding her words. “I don’t have a dress, and Esther wouldn’t want me to go.” She countered weakly after a few long seconds. Nik was already shaking his head and pulling her out of the room and down the stairs right back into the busy living room.

“Rebekah, I’ve got a chore for you that you might enjoy.”

“I doubt that’s possible, Nik.” Rebekah drily responded. The rest of the family largely ignored this declaration, save for a couple curious glances at the small woman trying to wrench herself free from the hybrid’s grip by slapping his arm. Her attempts were ignored.

“Oh, don’t say that sister. You don’t even know what I want you to do yet.”

Rebekah rolled her eyes boredly. “Let poor Lissie go Nik, and be on your way.”

“Well that would be counter-productive wouldn’t it? Because then she’s just going to run away, and not let you get her ready for her first ball.”

Lis watched with wide eyes as Rebekah’s face did a complete 180 and turn positively gleeful before bounding up in front of her, grinning widely. “We could do your nails and your beautiful long hair. I even have a good idea on how to do your makeup – you might have to teach me how some of that works, but oh, Lissie, I can’t wait!”

Her heart melted at her friend’s enthusiasm and she ceased her struggling. Smiling at her softly, Annalise realised exactly how much this meant to her friend. “Bekah that honestly sounds wonderful. I can’t wait. Have you chosen your dress yet? Do you want to go shopping and grab something from the boutiques in town?”

As the two girls left the hallway and continued their conversation, excited voices carrying even as they left the house, they missed the contemplative but surprisingly light silence that they left behind.

-

Annalise and Rebekah spent the rest of the afternoon in town – trying on dresses and heels, having facials, snapping goofy photos and buying cosmetics. It was the most fun Annalise had...probably in her entire life. They were currently on the topic of dating, and Rebekah was grilling her. “So, you’ve met no boys you find cute the entire time you were with us? What about past lovers? Exes?”

“I’m telling you Bekah; I’ve never had a “past lover” as you so eloquently put it." Annalise felt a pang of pain in her chest as she remembered. "I’ve just never been able to open up to anyone about everything, you know? And the only guy that you could say I’m even remotely close to right now is Nik.”

Rebekah gasped lowly, her hand over her mouth. “Oh god. Don’t tell me you fancy Nik-”

Lis snorted in laughter before shoving the Original into a nearby clothes rack. “Oh hell no. He’s not nearly funny enough for me. He’s my friend. Plus, he asked me for advice about a girl this morning. We're like, total bros. It’s awesome.” 

They giggled together before Rebekah grabbed a dress from a nearby rack and held it excitedly in front of Lis. “Oh my god this is absolutely perfect for you! My treat!”

“What no, Bekah, wait. I can’t let you do that- Oi, stop!” She chased the Original around the shop, giggling and whacking her hard when the blonde victoriously showed off her new purchase, along with the beautiful green ballgown with a single off shoulder cuff she had chosen for herself.  

They started heading back to the Mansion slowly, tired from the wonderful day she'd spent. “Hey, Bekah, isn’t there anyone you want to take to the ball?”

“Oh, I forgot to tell you. I’m taking Matt Donovan. I asked him shortly before Nik handed you over to me.” Her smirk was a touch too sharp.

“Wait, human Matt Donovan? He agreed?” Annalise frowned in confusion. 

“Of course, he did.”

Lis delicately chose to ignore the shady grin for now and smile at her friend in genuine happiness. “Honestly, I’m not surprised he said yes, Bekah. Look at you. Anyone in their right mind would.”

Rebekah smiled at her brightly, there was no longer any underlying malice in her expression. “Thanks, Lissie. Truly.” Her grin got brighter. "Your nails next!"

-

Once the pair had reached the mansion, they bundled up to Lis' room, giggling as they dodged between the well-dressed butlers and maids. Rebekah had chosen the large bedroom across the landing to hers, grandly over-looking the front of the house which was big enough to even have a large couch in the lounge area within it. Despite the obvious choice, Rebekah was the one that had decided they should get ready in Lis’ relatively smaller room because of her privacy spell, after making her promise to cast the same spell on her room later. They blasted music, danced around and Lis watched her friend botch her own makeup more times than she could count in her effort to teach her. However, it was getting late now, so Lis took over and completed Rebekah's winged eyeliner and classy contour. Then, while her friend got dressed in her bathroom, Lis quickly rushed her own makeup with familiar strokes.

She loved it when a formal occasion or a party came up in Uni – had loved it when a chance to get done up came around.

Turning around, she quickly shimmied on the dress that Rebekah had bought her, admiring it in her floor-length mirror. It was beautiful – literally the most precious and expensive thing she owned. It was a backless pale gold dress, and shimmered when the light hit it right. The gossamer ballgown had a deep V-neck that was still classy and not too risqué, and the gold complimented her rich coffee complexion, especially at her exposed back. A beautiful detailing of small shimmering sequins spread from her pinched waist down the light flowy skirt, casting subtle flares off light when it reflected every time she shifted.

Annalise was swishing the skirt around watching how the light glanced off her small sequins, when Rebekah opened the bathroom door and stepped into the room in a twirl, showing off her beautiful emerald green body con dress and tall heels with a flourish.

Lis clapped excitedly. “Oh, Bekah, you look gorgeous!”

Picking up her skirt because it was slightly long on her short frame, she ran around the giggling blonde, taking multiple pictures.

“Wait, wait. I want one of those things you showed me with you in that beautiful dress. A- a selfie!” The hyperactive girl was dragged under Rebekah’s arm as they posed together with the widest smiles they could.

“And so, the student becomes the master.” Lissie exclaimed examining the photos closely, wiping an imaginary tear away. She snorted, stumbling a bit as she was promptly shoved away. Nik and Rebekah truly were siblings – being shoved around was starting to become a habit.

Hearing voices downstairs, Annalise promptly walked over to her bed, pulling her shoe box closer to her.

“Quick, put your heels on, everyone’s probably ready by now.”

After she slid her beautiful gold heels on, she retouched her curled thick hair quickly, before turning around and reapplying lipstick on Rebekah.

“All right. Done. Let’s go.”

-

They descended the decorated stairs arm in arm, drawing the attention of the small crowd at the bottom of the stairs who were initially facing away from them. The rest of the family were dressed in crisp suits, and Esther in a classy black gown with a single sleeve cinched by an expensive brooch, welcoming the guests had only just begun to arrive. Nik smirked up at them both as they gracefully descended the stairs.

“Well, don’t you two clean up nice?”

Once they reached the bottom, Rebekah huffed, rolling her eyes. “Is that all Nik? We ‘clean up nice’?”

Esther smiled gently at her daughter, noticeably ignoring Lis on her arm. “You look beautiful Rebekah, come. Welcome the guests with us.” The older woman extended an arm to her daughter, Lis let Rebekah’s arm go in response with an awkward smile and moved a few steps backwards.

“Um, I’m just gonna look around, make sure everything’s fine and running. See you later Bekah, Mikael-sons. Esther.”

The finger guns horrible made an unexpectedly mortifying appearance and she turned on her heel immediately, refusing to even spare one glance at Nik, Kol, and Elijah’s amused expressions, and Finn’s understandably blank one.

Without glancing back, she walked as fast as she could out of the foyer, blinking back the moisture that had welled up in her eyes; the same wave of emotion that had her acting out embarrassingly to save face, else she’d end up bawling in front of them.

She was familiar with Esther’s treatment – she just hadn’t experienced it in so long. Esther’s cool indifference paralleled her own mother’s after they had been exiled out of the coven; no matter how hard she had tried to get her attention and just make her mum look at her, her mother had failed to acknowledge her until the day she decided to kill her. This was dredging up memories that hurt. She refused to be a barely functioning magic whatever-she-was with mummy issues.  Her plan was to hide in the kitchen and stay there. Ugh, how was she even supposed to keep an eye on Esther and her stupid scheming when keeping an eye on her made her tear up? 

She was useless. 

A warm hand suddenly gripped her elbow, making her pause and spin quickly into a pair of arms. Her own braced herself against the stranger's arms, only freezing when Kol looked down at her in amusement. Once her brain had caught up to exactly where she was, she detached herself from his arms and took an unsteady step back, startled.  

Kol's hand remained gently on her elbow as she moved away, still steadying her in an action that would seem polite, had it not been for the mischievous grin that watched her. 

“Oh, uh. Hi, Kol. Don’t you need to be at the door welcoming guests in?” Did he have no idea of personal space? He leaned in even closer as if he were studying her, like he had a few hours before. 

“Mother won’t miss me. Besides, you rudely left before I could compliment you. You look stunning, darling.”

Gently detaching his hand from her elbow, she smiled at him cautiously, but softly. “Um, thanks...I think you look great too.” 

He did, and Kol clearly knew he did. His smirk only widened as he stepped closer, but instead of moving back, Annalise stayed her ground. “I’ve got a few questions to ask you, Lissa.”

Lis was nervous, definitely, but she still met his black eyes head on. She didn’t know Kol’s angle, and historically, she had only ever heard pretty bad things. “Oh, uh…Lissa’s a new one. But yeah, sure. Shoot.”

Kol offered her his arm which she automatically hooked her own arm through in reflex, and started to walk along with him. He was leading them to the back lawn – the fountain. “Well, you did tell us to come up with any variation of your name, I happen to think Lissa suits you perfectly.” He straightened with a cocky lift to his brow, as if proud that he'd come up with it on his own.

She rolled her eyes good-naturedly; maybe she should give him the benefit of the doubt. He looked away grinning before facing her again, this time more seriously. “I hope you don’t mind, Lissa, but the whole family was filled in on your...let’s say unfortunate, life.” 

Well that certainly wasn’t what she was expecting the conversation to start with. Pursing her lips, she nodded – there was nothing she needed to hide. Kol took this as a signal to continue. “As a former witch, I have to say, I’m intrigued as to what your powers are, and what this magic science you’ve learnt is.”

Oh, was that all? It was a surprisingly harmless question.

Blinking rapidly at him before flashing him a bright grin, she tightened her grip on his arm unconsciously, pulling him over to the fountain and sitting him down on the wide stone rim. He followed along; brow crinkled in confusion at her sudden enthusiasm in contrast to her nervousness from before.

“Oh, I love talking about this. Um, so I guess I’ll start with the easy stuff. Uh...are you familiar with the internet?” At his slow nod, she continued animatedly. “Okay, so right now, the world’s never seemed smaller – we can talk to someone on the other side of the world in less time than a heartbeat, we can share grimoires online, there are entire communities of witches dedicated to combining the art of science and magic – creating explanations and theories as to why magic works in the way it does, it’s all just so amazing. There are entire libraries of books you can have access to – in all different fields of magic – old magics from Ancestral and Divination to newer magics like simple cosmetic charms. The possibilities are literally endless.” 

Her eyes were bright with passion, and she might have been grasping his hands too tight, but she could tell from his own wide gaze that he was as fascinated with the thought of modern magic as she was. She squeezed his hands before letting them go, continuing.

“So right now, magic science isn’t widely practiced. It’s long years of theory and training, and most covens still like to practice the old ways that were passed down through generations. In fact, since this is all relatively new, and we just found out how easy it is to rent parts of community colleges, there’s actually only a few people world-wide who have a degree in the field of magic science. I’m the youngest. You could even say I’m somewhat of a prodigy.” She cheekily winked at him.

He leaned closer to her, hanging onto her every word. “So what do you need to do to learn this magic theory?”

Wrinkling her nose, she threw him a lopsided grin. “As cheesy as it sounds, what you need most is an open mind. We basically evaluate and assess spells, curses and potions, like chemistry, or alchemy – some ingredients are constant; like binding agents, some catalysts, and incendiary agents which basically increase the potency and efficacy of a spell by stabilising it. Other ingredients perform differently based on what they’re used in. I can’t go into it in greater detail without completely geeking out about it. But, trust me, it’s fascinating stuff. You just have to open and dedicated to the craft.”

Kol’s frame shifted next to her and she felt him nod. “It does seem fascinating. I’d love to learn too. You seem to know a lot about it.”

Tipping her head to the side, she faltered, sadness creeping heavily into her frame until she markedly slouched. There was a beat until she spoke again. 

“I do know a lot about it, mostly because I felt that I had to. You said Nik told you about me, about how my magic behaves,” glancing at his dark eyes, she smiled sadly. “I studied the theory of any type of magic I could get my hands on; the voodoo, hoodoo, occult – I didn’t care, because I was trying to find out what I am, and why my magic is so different from everyone else’s.”   

Kol’s eyes were curious as they met her own in the bright moonlight, forehead creased in interest. “How exactly is your magic different from everyone else’s darling? I’m afraid Nik wasn’t very clear, apart from saying that you are insanely powerful.”

Scrunching her face at the description, but her mouth twitched. Nik would. “Well, that’s one way to put it. Think of it this way. As a former witch, how did it feel when you drew on your magic?”

He furrowed his brow deep in thought, Lis thought she saw a flicker of loss. She was overcome with the urge to smooth the deep crease of his heavy brow as he looked away, and Annalise paused in confusion herself. The though was quickly banished from her mind when he spoke.

“It felt like I was pulling my magic from somewhere, making it do whatever I wanted. It flowed through me – for the lack of a better word.”

She was nodding along with his description. “Yeah, that’s what a lot of witches have told me. See, a witch is basically someone with an inherent connection to nature, plants, the elements and animals. That’s the magic they draw upon. They are servants who keep the balance. There’s always a price if they go too far.”

Kol’s eyes had yet to leave her face and Annalise found for the first time that she broke away first from his intense gaze, running her hand across the surface of the cold-water bubbling in the fountain as she distractedly looked for a way to put her feelings into words. 

“My magic, it isn’t like that. For the lack of the better word, it feels like it’s an extension of me, not something that I can isolate or pinpoint. When I was young, the coven elders said I was evil after they saw me use it, they said that I had Dark magic. For the longest time, I believed them. There was even a period of time where I stopped truly using my magic all together.” She peered back up at him with a sad quirk to her lips. “It was when I was studying magic theory, I realised what Dark magic truly felt like – like tar, and death. It was what I’d felt during my last moments with my parents. My magic doesn’t feel like that – at all.”

“And what does your magic feel like then, darling?” His voice was soft, the softest she had ever heard it. Annalise felt the impulse to answer him. She’d never told anyone before. Lis inhaled deeply and collected her thoughts for a moment before replying. “I feel magic in everything around me – the air, the earth, this water, even the grass under our feet. The light from the moon feels different – as does the light from the sun and stars. Everything feels bright, Kol. I feel like I exist alongside nature, not in it. I- just- I can’t explain.”

Kol’s expression fell into one of longing, and she was filled with sadness. She realised that he was exactly like her parents – detached violently from his magic against his will, and desperately trying to fill the hole that it left behind. Sadness overwhelmed her as she gently reached for his hands and took them in hers.

His eyes followed her movements inquisitively. “What are you doing, darling?”

“Maybe I can’t explain it. But maybe I can show you what it feels like, if you’ll let me.”

 At his cautious nod of agreement, she closed her eyes and pushed.

It was as if the world had shifted sideways under their feet as she loosened herself emotionally to feel everything around her. Even though her eyes were closed, she knew what Kol was feeling, and seeing. The stars shined brighter; the shadows of the night seemed warmer. The magic running through them felt like a river of complete calm. The water beside them bubbled happily, the grass whispered beneath their feet and the stone under them sang. They felt as light as the breeze blowing through them, not around them. The world felt comforting and compassionate. It felt like home.

Lis felt Kol’s hands grip hers tighter, suddenly grounding her, bringing her back to the present.

Exhaling slowly, she tapered the connection off and opened her eyes to see Kol, mere inches from her face, looking at her intensely with a clenched jaw. His gaze seemed raw, and blistered and solemn all at once.

Maybe this had been a bad idea, handing him back a temporary piece of what he had lost.

She was the first to break the silence, clearing her throat and shifting back, standing quickly. “Maybe this was a bad idea. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-”

He stood too and caught her wrist in a tight grip the next second, stopping her from walking away. She was going to die now, wasn't she? She just had to show one of the more magically inclined Originals her powers - he was going to realise she's a freak, and should never be able to do what she could do, and understandably, kill her. 

Rebekah was going to murder her if she died and wasted all her hard work.

So much for wanting to enjoy her first ball. 

Chapter Text

Annalise vaguely noted a chilly breeze brush past her bare arms making goosebumps pebble her skin as Kol’s grip tightened on her wrist.

In the dark of the night, his tall frame was backlit by the moon behind him, and she was reminded of the stories she'd heard about this unpredictable Original. His face was cast into shadow, but the bright lights of the Mikaelson Mansion behind her cast flickers on his furrowed brow and firm set to his lips, bordering on a scowl. “No, stop.”

He cleared his throat, looking away for a moment. When he looked back, he was calm and collected - the moisture from his eyes had disappeared, but they were still as bright as dark eyes could be. Kol wet his lips and smirked lightly as he spoke. “Thank you. For showing me. I don’t believe that’s dark magic either.” A cocky smile next; with no little amount of mischief in his expression that only served to make him look even more charming; Lis's heart thudded in fear. Despite his tone having changed to something deceptively lighter, his grip remained unrelentingly tight even as she struggled in it. “Now if you could just do that once more, darling-”

Annalise froze in his hold, frowning at him. “Wait, you don’t think I’m a freak? You aren’t going to run to Esther about how right she was? Call me an abomination?”

Kol shook his head - the gesture came across more condescending than supportive as his smirk widened further. “No, of course not Lissa. But, like I said. Do it again. Now.” Something dark had entered his expression, making a chill run down her spine. She had to manage this carefully.

“Um, this isn’t me refusing,” she kept her voice low and non-confrontational. “Mind telling me why?”

Kol impatiently pulled her closer, grasping both her wrists now, and raised them slightly. His head dipped low as he spoke to her, tone low in his British drawl. “Do it. Let’s just say I want to try something. Hurry now darling, you’re testing my patience.” 

Annalise’s frown cleared as comprehension dawned. “You want to see if you can channel it. I don’t think-”

“Now, darling.” He hissed, tightening his hold on her – she scowled, nodding. 

“Okay, fine. What will you do if it works?”

His teeth flashed in a sharp smile. “Let’s just say you’ll be seeing a lot more of me.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

Lis swallowed her stupid flash of pity at the tiny quirk of his lips downward, before he tightened his grip further, prompting her.

Annalise flattened her lips grimly as she wordlessly nodded, opening up the connection between them again. However instead of letting herself get caught in the freeing feeling of being at one with something so immense, she studied his expression warily. Kol's face had lit up as her magic flowed through him - clearly revelling the sensation of letting the magic wash over him as he he inhaled deeply. He took a moment, before he opened his eyes once more, smirking at her before raising his hand to a decorative hedge nearby. “Incendia.”

They watched, anticipating the bush bursting into flames...nothing happened. Crickets chirped in the silence his spell offered. Kol's expression fell into a frown as he raised his hand once more, determined and almost desperate for results. “Incendia. Incendia.”

Annalise could only watch on in slight pity as the hedge seemed to mock him in its unburnt glory – she winced on his behalf in sympathy as he let go of her wrists in visible frustration and ran a hand through his once carefully groomed hair. “Look, I’m sorry, I told you it might not-”

His composure broke as his dark eyes met hers furiously. “You’re not very useful are you?”

Annalise clenched her jaw, trying not to look as hurt as she felt. She glared right back at him angrily, stepping up with a scowl and poking his chest.  “Look, I was doing you a favour, dickhead.” He faltered, not having expected her temper. Maybe he wasn't used to people fighting back. Annalise had wanted to give him a chance, dammit, and he was making it so freaking difficult. But this was Nik and Bekah's family. Plus...try as she might, she couldn't get his stupid look of longing he had when she was explaining magic to him. That didn't excuse his behaviour, and her however, and resolve built again. “I get that you are devastated by this – I do. But if I wanted someone to make me feel like shit, I would’ve hung out with your mum. Here I was thinking you’d be fun to talk about magic to. Fuck you, Kol.”

Lis scowled at him, swirling around angrily with her heavy skirt swishing around her ankles catching the moonlight, only to halt once more in her tracks as Kol vamp-sped in front of her. Her glare worsened when she realised he was wearing a light grin without a single trace of his earlier anger. “I seem to have upset you darling. My apologies.”

He must have realised that being on her bad side would have put him on Nik and Rebekah's bad sides as well.That wouldn't bode well for him. Or maybe he realised that she might yet be useful to him. Either way, his words were as shallow as his benign smile. She rolled her eyes as she glowered. “You think I’m that naïve? Drop the act, Kol." His smile fell back into his earlier scowl. Annalise picked up her skirt. "Now get out of my way, I have better things to do than entertain you.”

“Right, of course. Nik’s and yours little plan.” Kol chuckled darkly as he sidestepped in front of her once more.

Lis froze. “I don’t know what-”

“I do believe it’s you that needs to stop acting now, Lissa. I saw you spirit Nik away this morning after his little conversation with mother dearest, right before he handed you over to Rebekah. Not to mention when I tried to get into your bedroom to learn more about Nik's little magically-inclined friend; I couldn’t." He stepped closer. "Now, just imagine my surprise when I also realised that I couldn’t hear the pretty little wind chimes you’d hung next to your open window. Mind explaining why you have a privacy spell put up too? What secrets do you hold in that pretty little head of yours?”

He had been progressively nearing Annalise as he spoke lowly, his face was now only inches away, towering over her with a dark smirk as she scowled at him, trying to think of a way out of this that preferably wouldn't end with her losing her life.

“Lissie?” The sense of relief that voice brought had Annalise relaxing her rigid stance immediately. Kol and Annalise turned to see Nik looking between them warily before they narrowed, settling on the man next to her. “My little brother isn’t giving you any grief, is he?”

Annalise looked between the two – Kol was still smirking, but anger had straightened his casual posture. He was clearly readying for a fight - his frustration at her, at her magic, and above all his anger at Nik for staggering him in the first place practically predisposed him to blow. After all, he was the Original known for acting out at the slightest inconvenience. Only, she had no doubt Nik could take his little brother again - after all, he had done so before and that was without the added benefit of being a true Hybrid. This could go very wrong.

Sure, Kol had suddenly been a menace for the last two minutes, but she wanted good vibes at the ball; daggering a Mikaelson, no matter how annoying he was being, would seriously put a damper on everyone's evening. She didn't want to be the reason Nik had to put his family down only a day after he got them back. Plus, she still found the whole concept of 'daggering' barbaric. 

Sighing, Lis moved forwards, drawing Nik’s attention away from his brother. “Relax, Nik. He’s been nothing less than a gentleman.” She gave a slight nod. He pursed his lips, understanding her gesture for what it was – she had this handled.

Nik searched her gaze for a moment, then nodded before gesturing back to the party, tone now lighter than before. “Come, then, both of you. My dear sister didn’t spend this much effort on you for you to miss the festivities.”

“Then it’s only polite I escort dear Lissie back, I do agree I’ve kept her outside in this chill for long enough.” Kol stepped beside her, offering her his elbow once more – she gave him slight glare of warning before accepting it and grasping his elbow. They walked back into the house behind Nik, now considerably more packed with guests in pressed suits and lavish ball gowns compared to when they had left.

Nik turned to face Lis once they'd reached the hallway, slightly secluded. The throngs of people were just through the door. He spoke lowly, casually. “Esther’s moved upstairs, and I think I spotted the Salvatores arriving just now. It’s why I was looking for you. See if they aren’t hurting Elena with their idiocy please.”

Understanding dawned on Lis’s face as she nodded. This was his way of asking her to keep an eye on the situation with Esther and Elena. Kol lifted a curious eyebrow, clearly suspecting something underlying was happening. It appears being sharp and suspicious was a Mikaelson family trait. “What’s going on brother?”

Nik wordlessly nodded at Lis, ignoring Kol as he turned on his heel, walking in the opposite direction to where they needed to head.

Grabbing an annoyed Kol’s arm, she dragged them through the rooms in the direction of the front foyer. He was still scowling, clearly angry at being so obviously snubbed by his brother. “This connected to your little secret, is it? What? Aren’t you going to tell me it isn’t any of my business?”

Lis’s tall heels allowed her to use his arm to push herself up to discretely whisper in his ear as they walked past a bunch of smiling mortal townspeople. “Shush. It's need to know. Something shifty is going on right now though. No one else but Nik knows, so don’t be so obvious.”

He smirked down at her. “Is dear old Nik being distrustful again?”

She exhaled sharply before scowling lightly at him. “No, this is my hunch.”

Kol smirked widely. “Ah, so it’s a case of the paranoid leading the paranoid then?” She discreetly whacked him on the arm, making him chuckle.

Rounding the corner, she found Damon talking to a beautiful middle-aged woman. At Lis’s subtle pause of indecisiveness, Kol seamlessly took the lead as Damon glared at her for having an arm linked with Kol’s. She raised a brow in a sassily. Sure her company was currently questionable, but she didn't need his judgement. They weren't friends just because they had breakfast. Her eyes drifted to the warily smiling woman. 

It seemed Kol knew who she was. “Mayor Lockwood.” Oh. This was Tyler’s mom. She watched, internally amused when Kol brought Mrs. Lockwood’s hand to his lips, smiling charmingly – an imitation of how he had first greeted her. “We haven’t formally met. This is Annalise Caelis, and I’m Kol Mikaelson. We hope your lovely town embraces us just as much as we plan to embrace it.”

The mayor glanced at her in silent recognition when her name was mentioned, sharing a gracious smile that wasn't as forced with her before turning back to Kol and nodding politely.

Damon was clearly annoyed at Kol selectively ignoring him, so he offered his own hand to the Original. “Damon Salvatore. Have we met?” His gaze was almost daring. Daring Kol to act out, or to show everyone that Damon wasn't someone to be ignored. Lis and Carol exchanged a glance, the latter smiled when Annalise quirked an eyebrow and rolled her eyes in response to the two posturing men.

Kol squinted at Damon, before smiling, politely detached. “I’ve met a lot of people, and you don’t particularly stand out.” 

Lis had to lift a hand to her mouth to stifle the sudden huff of laughter, making Kol grin quickly down at her while starting to walk the both of them away from Damon and Mayor Lockwood. Looks like Kol did indeed seem to have perfected the art of being a dick over the years. She waved at them slightly as they moved past them, a movement Mayor Lockwood received with a small nod, but Damon rolled his at her eyes sourly.  

Kol lifted a brow when they were far enough away - his cheeky smirk said it all. She rolled her eyes in response. “You threatened me, but that doesn’t mean I can’t find you funny. It just makes you bearable.”

He smirked wider. “Maybe you’re warming up to me.”

“Yeah, you mean after you man-handled me and tried to take advantage of my magic?” Lis stopped them in their tracks. Her sarcastic smile dimmed as she turned to face Kol seriously. “Look, I get it. Losing your magic sucks. I was genuinely enjoying your company before you pulled that little stunt. I’m hoping you see sense and realise that it’s far better being in my good books than my bad.”

Kol chuckled, looking around the crowd before leaning slightly to whisper in her ear. “See, darling, I find it hard to believe you have a bad side. You weren’t exactly forthcoming with Nik about what I did after all.”

Lis crossed her arms and exhaled lowly. “Yeah, okay. I admit I was worried I wouldn’t be able to stop him from daggering you – it honestly sounds quite horrible.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “But the more shit you pull? I might find it harder to give a damn.” She stepped backwards as Kol raised an amused eyebrow, but she was distracted when her eye caught Esther mingling and laughing in the crowd in her periphery. “Like I said, I have bigger things to worry about than you acting out, and it might just concern you, so I’m gonna need you to get your act together and work with me, if only for tonight.”

Kol followed her gaze, noting how it lingered on his mother. Annalise turned back to see his eyes narrow, visibly thinking about it for a moment, before coming to a conclusion. He grinned at her cheerfully. “Okay, darling. You’ve made your case. You have my cooperation for tonight.” Effortlessly grabbing two champagne flutes off a tray of a passing waiter, he held it out to her, symbolically offering a truce. Lis accepted hers with a small nod, before she looked towards Damon again. He was clearly caught off guard by something that he couldn’t seem to draw his eyes away from.

She followed his eyeline towards the front door to find Elena stepping through it grandly, dressed in a beautiful black and bronze dress, with her hair curled and pulled to one side, scowling at Stefan who had appeared next to her. She nudged Kol, who quickly followed her line of sight and whistled lowly when Elena walked further into the room with an arm through each of the Salvatore brothers after a heated discussion. “And the allure of the Petrova doppelganger continues.”

Lis nudged him. “Hey, that’s mean.”

Kol raised his chin, passing her a mocking grin. “So, you wouldn’t mind a man on each arm then? Stringing each one along?”

She shook her head, eyes trailing after the trio. “That’s not what I meant. I just mean you don't know her, or her situation. It isn’t my business, nor is it yours. Now shush. Can you see Esther anywhere?” The older witch had disappeared from where Annalise had seen her last.

She used his shoulder absent-mindedly to raise herself higher on her tip toes to look over people’s shoulders. Kol smirked amusedly at her struggling. “You’re really short, aren’t you?”

Lis narrowed her eyes at him before elbowing him lightly in his gut. He chuckled before glancing around subtly. “Here, I don’t see her, but I do see Nik talking to a lovely bird in blue.” Lis peered over to where he gestured and smiled.

“Oh, that’s Caroline. She’s so sweet. Well, that's what I’ve heard...I put her to sleep the only time I met her, so I haven’t really talked to her yet.” Lis grimaced before turning back to see her new possible acquaintance look distractedly in a different direction. Kol looked impressed before he sipped at his champagne, his wandering gaze froze, and his eyes narrowed in curiosity.

“Wait, why is Finn talking to the doppelganger?” Kol’s sharp tone had Lis looking over to watch the quietest Mikaelson converse with Elena.  

"Is that not normal?"

"No. Finn hates everyone."

Lis' eyes narrowed suspiciously at the pair as they continued to talk, looking all too casual. Finn's face remained stern, and Elena seemed...nervous? “Kol, this is going to sound strange but...is Finn close with your mother by any chance? More than the rest of your family?”

Kol furrowed his brow. “He is unquestionably mother’s absolute favourite. Hates being a vampire...why do you ask? What aren’t you telling me Lissa?”

Hates being a vampire...would he hate it to the point of sabotaging his family? If he was then...Lis' breath caught. Finn was probably in on whatever Esther was planning with Elena. Kol still looked confused as Lis started heading worriedly in Elena's direction. He caught her arm once more, pulling her back.

“Darling, what’s going on?”

-

“If everyone could gather around, please.” Elijah’s voice echoed across the ball room, interrupting Lis who was just about to explain the situation in detail to Kol. The Original nodded at her, promising to come talk later and made his way through the crowd and up the stairs, posing with the rest of his family. The family looked powerful - regal, with perfect posture and chins tilted slightly upwards as Elijah continued with his speech now that the crowd had huddled closer to the stairs.

“You know, whenever my mother brings our family together like this,” he gestured at Esther gracefully descending the stairs, “It is tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance.” Lis distractedly noticed the two Salvatores and Elena in the crowd look up at Esther before whispering to each other lowly. Elijah’s speech continued. “Tonight’s pick is a centuries-old waltz. So, if you could all find yourself a partner, please. Join us in the ballroom.”

Lis was still focused Elena; how the girl had moved to follow Esther up the stairs but was immediately blocked by Damon, engaging in a brief argument before Damon offered her a hand to dance. It seemed Elena wanted to meet Esther, but Damon wasn't having it. Good. She was hoping he would be enough to dissuade Elena from ever meeting the stern witch.

A hand waved in front of Lis’s eyes drawing her attention towards a Kol. He was smirking charmingly, eyes burning into her own as his hand extended in her direction politely. “My lady, may I have this dance?”

“Sure, Kol," She smiled back slightly, hoping her face didn't outwardly redden as she took his hand, allowing him to lead them to the circle of pairs in the centre of the ballroom. "As long as you don't act like an arse again.” 

They took their place in the two lines of couples, joined both hands, one in front and one behind them. This positioned Annalise close to Kol, shoulders touching as his grip unconsciously flexed her hands. She did her best to focus on something else, and smiled at the song that filtered through the room. Kol's voice whispered in her ear as they started moving slowly. “It was unbecoming of me, wasn’t it?”  

“You said it.” She grinned at him and shrugged as they moved forwards, turning to face the line opposite them together then seamlessly switching sides.

“You dance well.”

Lis chuckled, felling strangely light as Rebekah passed her a quick smile when they glimpsed each other. “You seem surprised.” She gave him a quick grin as they turned towards each other, her twirling under his arm and into his hold before starting waltzing gently. She smiled at him widely, . “You know, you are completely justified in being surprised though. Thank god Bekah taught me how to waltz while we were getting ready this afternoon, otherwise your feet would be destroyed by now.”

“Somehow, I don’t doubt that darling.” She huffed, shooting him a playful glare as he spun her around to her next partner.

The rigid hold she twirled into was accompanied by a serious gaze that made her freeze in her shoes and almost stumble. “Oh, uh…Finn. How are you?”

The oldest Original vampire's mouth set into a narrow disapproving frown, eerily similar to his mother. Esther's favourite child indeed. He clearly doesn't do small talk either. Annalise looked to the side awkwardly as they twirled. 

His frown still sat heavy on his face after a few minutes, and Annalise sighed in frustration. “You have questions. Ask away.”

“What are you?”

Lis let out a low startled laugh before smiling forlornly. “Out of everything, you asked the one question that's haunted me my entire life." She shook her head bitterly. "One day then, Finn. I promise, you’ll be the first to know.” She smiled sarcastically before letting her gaze wander around the ballroom again.

Her lips involuntarily curled into an amused smile when she saw Kol was making eyes at a poor girl - she had no doubt he'd broken his fair share of hearts, metaphorically in this case. He had a way of making his stare burn, making you feel as though all his attention was just focused on you. She herself would've fallen for it, had it not been the fact that she'd known it was all a front. He wasn't interested in her, just in her powers.

Annalise found that honesty...refreshing. She no longer had to lie and be lied to like she had in the past. Her eyes drifted to Rebekah, now dancing with Damon - each unsurprisingly looking away towards the partners they had begun the dance with – Rebekah at Matt and Damon at – Wait, where the hell was Elena?

She moved to twist them around, but Finn’s hand tightened on her waist halting her movement, and it took all she had not to let her eyes trail after Damon. Instead she met Finn's glare, narrowed in suspicion. “Are you…looking for someone?”

Lis stuttered. “Oh, um…n- no. I was just wondering where Bekah was, y’know? I haven’t seen her since this thing started.” 

The next few minutes until the song ended moved painfully slow, she was wincing internally the whole time. Lis hoped her awkward lie didn't tip Finn off and she couldn’t help the grateful sigh that escaped her as the dance finally ended and she curtsied lightly. “Thank you for the dance, Finn.”

A nod was all she received in return as he disappeared quickly into the crowd.

Gathering herself, she moved to the nearby table with champagne flutes gaze lingering on the drinks before hardening, and making her way through the crowds to the foyer. As she had lost Elena, the staircase was the perfect place to watch for her. Seeing Kol and Rebekah chatting at another table, Lis was about to approach them but was distracted as Stefan and Elena made their way up the staircase. Picking up her skirts to follow them up, she cast a little invisibility charm. She watched as the pair enter the small office on the second floor, followed closely behind by Damon. Wincing from second-hand pain as Damon’s neck was efficiently snapped by Stefan, she followed Elena further down the hallway, pausing in surprise as Elijah caught up to the young girl and started speaking to her, lowly.

She wondered for a short moment if Elijah was in on whatever Esther was planning.

Moving closer to the quietly conversing pair, Annalise guiltlessly eavesdropped as Elijah spoke. “...It has me asking questions I never thought I’d ask. Can I depend on you to tell me what she says?”

Elena nodded slowly despite clearly hesitating in her answer. “Of course. I’ll find you later, okay?”

She walked past Elijah down to what she presumed was Esther’s wing beyond. This was good - Elijah wasn't with Esther, he had doubts too. Lis walked up next to Elijah and dispelled her charm. Elijah startled slightly as he registered her next to him. “Lis?”

“Lijah, you think something’s up too, right?” He squinted at her before nodding. She sent him a sad smile. “I told my suspicions to Nik this morning. He asked me to keep an eye out. I sincerely do hope we’re wrong though, and your mother has nothing but good intentions.”

Elijah smiled at her, dropping it quickly when he saw her frowning in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

Lis chewed on the inside of her cheek unsurely, gazing off in the same direction that Elena had walked in. “It feels like someone powerful just performed a spell. Guessing it’s your mother from her bright magic signature, but it might just be because she’s having a private heart-to-heart?”

Elijah’s face fell, and Lis sighed in disappointment at how weak her excuse sounded. “Look, Elijah.” The man looked at her with solemn eyes. “Don’t worry. I’ll do everything in my power to keep you guys safe, from whatever she’s planning. I promise.”

-

It was a short while later and Lis and Elijah had moved down to the bottom floor once more. She hadn’t been able to spot, Nik, Rebekah or Kol, and she certainly wasn’t itching to talk with Finn again, so she had been talking with Elijah the entire time. He had really opened up when she had told him about the few magical institutions across the world, he found it utterly fascinating. He had offhandedly mentioned a select secret society that he'd founded, and that she would probably be a wonderful addition. 

Currently, she was explaining the intricacies of various enchanted woods and the properties each had; Elijah had offered up the topic by talking about the ways in which they could be killed – which lead to them talking about the magical properties of the extinct white oak – when Elijah lifted a polite hand to pause her.

“Elena’s back.” Silently, both of them moved to stand alongside Elena, Elijah on her left and Lis on her right.

“Hi, Elena, how are you going?” Annalise passed the startled girl an easy smile.

Elijah got straight to the point. “So how was my mother?”

Elena thought for a moment before replying. “Intense.”

“And for what reason did she need to speak with you in private?” Elijah grabbed two glasses of what looked like red champagne and handed it to the two girls before taking one for himself. Lis frowned down at the glass in her hands, the weight of it drawing her attention. Her fingers tightened an uncomfortable amount around the flute, feeling her throat suddenly dry, but frowned when she suddenly sensed the tiniest magical signature emanating from it. She looked up distracted, when Elijah’s tone became more insistent. “Should I be more concerned about my mother’s intentions?”

Elena was completely facing Elijah now, with her back to Lis, so she didn’t see the young woman adjust her glasses while looking at Elena and the champagne in her glass in confusion. The magical signature coming off the champagne was barely there, but it felt like Elena. Maybe this is just because she’s standing right next to her? She concentrated on the small amount of magic definitely coming from her champagne flute once more.

Yeah…no, something was definitely going on – and it isn’t just the fact that she'd never seen red champagne before in her entire life.

Esther clinked her glass, standing on high on the grand staircase once more, drawing the crowd’s attention. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Waiters are coming around with champagne. I invite you all to join me in raising a glass. It provides me with no greater joy, than to see my family, back together as one. I’d like to thank you all for being a part of this spectacular evening.” Esther raised her glass with a smile, eyes glimmering almost victoriously. “Cheers.”

The crowd echoed the sentiment and sipped the champagne, but Annalise made no movement to do so. She heard Elijah turn to Elena to mimic the sentiment. “Cheers.”

“Wait.” Lis held her hand out making the pair pause, the flutes already to their lips. She moved closer over to Elena and Elijah. “Guys don’t drink the champagne. Something’s wrong with it.”

Elijah frowned at her while Elena let out a nervous laugh. “I’m sure nothing’s wrong with it Lissie, everyone else is fine. Come on, it’s rude if we don’t drink.”

She stopped Elena drinking from her glass once more, touching her shoulder gently. “No don’t. Look, Elena, go find Stefan and Damon. We’ll figure it out, okay? I’ll let you know when we know more.”

As Elena left looking slightly panicked, she moved closer to Elijah watching Esther narrow her eyes at the pair of them from the top of the stairs. She hissed at him under her breath with the glass covering her mouth “Quick, she’s looking, pretend to drink.”

Elijah looked at her with worried eyes. “Too late Lis. I'm afraid I've already drank it.”

“Shit. Okay, follow me.” She took Elijah’s champagne from him and put both of them down on the table behind them before grabbing his arm and walking casually fast as she could towards the kitchens. Waiters passed them by with more of that red champagne. Once they got to the busy kitchen, she made her way over past the workers and over to the compelled head caterer in charge. He was pouring more from a bottle into empty glasses. “Hi.” The waiter paused, looking up.

“Can I help you miss? Sir?”

Elijah came up next to her while she continued questioning the waiter. “That red champagne you’re pouring was absolutely divine.” She reached out to flirtatiously touch his arm. The waiter smiled and continued to pour. “It was so divine, in fact, that I just had to know if I could grab a bottle off you.”

“Ah Miss. The red champagne is one of France’s best kept secrets made from Pinot Noir Grapes in the Marne Valley. This taste of red is called the ‘Coteaux Champenois’. I highly recommend it Miss – though I’m afraid we are currently running out.” He flashed her an apologetic smile and shook the nearly empty glass bottle to show her.

She dismissed it with a smile and a wave of her hand. “No, no. That’s okay. I was hoping for an unopened bottle anyway.”

The waiter raised his brows and shrugged. “I definitely can’t help you there Miss, the champagne came in a crate this afternoon, and just ten minutes prior the hostess and one of her sons came downstairs and told us to open all the bottles. I’m afraid no bottle was left unopened.”

After stepping back and thanking the waiter, she exchanged an uneasy glance with Elijah before nodding at him. This wasn't looking good. “I’m going to go find Nik. I’m assuming all of them drank it. We can’t let Esther know that we know.”

Elijah nodded. “I’ll go find Kol and Rebekah then. Thank you, Lis.”

“Don’t thank me yet. Thank me when I figure out what exactly Esther’s up to with spiked champagne." She shook her head, scowling severely. "I should have caught on sooner, dammit.”

Elijah’s hand gripped her shoulder and his eyes peered gravely into hers. “Don’t blame yourself for this Lis. I have utmost faith in you.”

Lis flashed him a grateful smile before pinpointing Nik’s distinct hybrid signature in the drawing room on the far side of the house near his room, with someone who felt like a vampire. Probably Caroline, as it seemed vaguely familiar. She rushed off in his direction and soon came upon the room in question, smiling. She had ventured up here on occasion while the house was still being renovated, and spent many hours just appreciating the Nik’s drawings. If he brought Caroline up here, he must be getting pretty serious about her.

She walked closer to the open door, unsure of whether she should intrude or not. Voices carried out into the empty hallway.

“Then why do you need Tyler? Stop controlling him. Give him his life back.” Lis was right, it was Caroline talking to Nik, but they were having a very different conversation as to what she was imagining. 

“You know, this has been a fun evening, but I think it’s time for you to leave.” Nik’s voice sounded serious, borderline angry. She stepped into the room – Caroline had her back to Lis, but the hybrid noticed her immediately.

Caroline clearly didn’t realise, so she kept talking. “I get it. Your father didn’t love you so you assume no one else will either. And that’s why you compel people, or you sire them, or you try to buy them off-” Caroline’s voice had been steadily increasing in volume ignoring how Nik’s face fell blank at her comments as she ripped off the bracelet that he had gifted her throwing it to the ground. “but that’s not how it works. You don’t connect with people, because you don’t even try to understand them.”

That was enough.

“We haven’t had the pleasure to meet officially yet, though now I feel considerably less guilty about that time I put you to sleep in the school corridors.” Lis chose that moment to speak up, her voice was cold but polite. Caroline whipped around in surprise. “Everyone told me you were a kind person; what you just said suggests, however; that you're kinda ignorant.”

Caroline gaped before moving forwards. “Well, no I didn’t mean that in a bad way-”

Lis held her hand up. “Oh, sorry. Did you mean to say that ‘Nik compels people because he can’t connect with them’ in a good way? Look, you clearly don’t have all the information, so I agree with Nik. I think you should leave now.”

She moved to the side as Caroline rushed past her with an insulted huff. Nik looked away in irritation as Lis walked over, closer to him. “I had it handled.”

She gave him a cheeky grin. “I know. I was just feeling insulted on your behalf. I had to defend your honour, young damsel, just like you tried to help me with Kol earlier.” Nik sighed, looking away exasperatedly and shaking his head, before focusing back on her at her suddenly serious tone. “But hey, Nik. That’s not why I came here to find you. I made a mistake.”

He walked closer in worry as her expression crumpled into one of regret. “I think Esther messed with the red champagne she passed around at her toast just before. I felt something strange about it, but before I could figure out exactly what it was, everyone was drinking it. I didn’t even manage to stop Elijah in time, and he was right next to me.”

His eyes had widened. “I drank it. So did Kol, and Rebekah. Everyone did.”

Lis brought a hand up and pinched the bridge of her nose under her glasses letting out a stressful sigh. She took a moment to think things through and calm her rapidly panicking mind. 

“Okay, it’s gonna be okay. Esther also drank it so hopefully it means that the mortals in the ball will all be fine – she’s smart enough not to poison everyone at the ball. So that leaves vampires – all witches hate vampires, but if we assume that Elena did in fact, lie straight to both Elijah and my faces when she said that all Esther wanted to do was apologise for trying to kill her - we can also assume she didn’t do anything to knowingly put Stefan or Damon in danger. That narrows it down to just your family. Victims check. Motive check. Means check. Opportunity check. I’m just not sure how Finn factors in because he knew the drinks were spiked, but he drank it anyway. I’m so confused.”

Nik had been pacing the entire time she’d been talking out her thought process, nodding at certain point which he agreed with. His eyes were angry, but calm. He was strategizing.

“Okay, Lissa, I’ll work on this from my end with Elijah. I need you to figure out whatever you can from the Salvatores and Elena.” Lis nodded determinedly before swishing around to leave the room. “Wait, Lissie.” She paused, looking back at him. “Thank you, for looking out for my brother, for me, for all of us.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t do more, Nik.” She sent him a sad smile before waving her goodbye and leaving the room.

She was about to wander down once more to the ballroom when she saw Kol suspiciously standing at the grand second floor open terrace opposite the double staircase. She squinted, walking over faster as Matt stepped out on to it, apparently not noticing Kol yet. She had a bad feeling about this.

Annalise reached the terrace just as Matt turned back in her direction after looking around what he perceived to be an empty balcony. “Hey Matt, what are you doing out here?”

Matt looked around as if he was confused. “I don’t know. I guess I thought I heard someone calling my name.”

She smiled at him and took the arm her offered to help her climb the high step on to the open balcony. She saw Kol appear behind Matt with a dangerous smirk. As Matt whipped around startled, Lis slowly stepped closer to Kol, so she was to the side but still between the two boys. The fact that Kol's eyes hadn’t moved from Matt’s worried her.

“Good evening. Human, how interesting. Wonder why you’re currently with Lissa, considering the fact that you are here as Rebekah’s date.”

Matt nodded unsurely and offered Kol a hand to shake. “Matt Donovan, and uh...I just bumped into her?”

Kol grasped it firmly. “Kol Mikaelson.”

The harmless nature of the gesture turned threatening and Lis gasped in shock as Kol’s grip on Matt’s had didn’t loosen, but instead tightened to the point where she heard bones cracking and Matt’s expression crumpled in pain. She reached out trying to loosen Kol’s grip, simultaneously hitting his chest. “Kol, what the fuck, let him go!”

As Matt collapsed to the ground in pain when Kol let go, Damon blurred up behind the blond boy on the ground. “Hey, hey, hey. Easy on the hand.” Lis paused watching in fear as Kol turned his terrifying glare on an unaffected but slightly unhinged looking Damon. He was almost looking for a fight. “The guy’s a quarterback.”

Lis scowled next to the Original. “Kol, Damon, stop this stupid pissing contest-”

Kol shoved Lis to the side just as Damon growled and lunged forwards to throw Kol over the stone railing and onto the paving far below, before promptly vaulting over the stone railing himself. Scrambling back to her feet after Kol's shove, Lis gripped on to the banister with white knuckles and watched Damon start pummelling Kol’s face into the ground, then viciously crack the Original’s neck. Kol's unconscious head hit the ground with a dull thud, and she watched grimly Damon stood over the body, heaving.

She heard the commotion downstairs as a crowd assembled at the double doors to watch Damon. Stefan’s voice rang out from under her balcony, calling out his brother’s name. “Are you crazy?”

She saw the heads of Nik, Elijah and Finn also appear, along with Elena.

“Maybe a little. Far be it for me to cause a problem.” Damon blithely answered, then walked away into the night. What on earth was happening now?

Matt’s groaning from behind her made her fall to the ground quickly beside the teenager, who was holding his right hand in agony. Lis gently reached out to the injured hand, making sure her movements were slow and confident to help alleviate the pained and panicked look in Matt’s eyes. “Shh, it’s okay, Matt. You’ve seen me heal Alaric before, remember? It’ll be completely painless and healed in a minute.”

At his tight, pained nod, she gently placed a couple fingers on the broken hand, ignoring the wince of pain on the boy’s face, and willed the fractured bones to heal. “Sana.” A small gentle light glowed dully from his hand, enveloping it for a second, before vanishing all together. After a moment, Matt brought his hand up to his face to examine it with a confused smile, before clenching and unclenching it to see if any pain remained.

“Uh…thanks, Lissie. Good as new.”

She smiled back at him as she stood up slowly, helping him up. “No worries Matt. But you best get going. I’ll smooth things over on this end.”

He flashed her a thankful grin and helped her step down from the terrace, before leaving her to make his way down the stairs quickly.

-

The ball emptied out quite soon after the sudden fight as Lis descended the stairs, watching the Original brothers carry Kol into the study on the first floor. She entered the room just as they finished stretching Kol out on the sofa. Kol almost looked peaceful, were it not for his ruffled appearance.

Nik walked back out past her, muttering a quick excuse to her about having to finish a drawing, and Finn and Elijah left to bid farewell to the remaining guests with Esther. Annalise didn’t know where Rebekah had disappeared to, but she wasn't too worried. Annalise was left alone in the room with a lifeless Kol, so she sighed and sat gently on the ground in front of him, making sure not to damage the lovely skirt of her dress, before casting a silencing spell on the room.

Laying her small hand across his forehead, she whispered. “Surgo.”

Startling back as Kol violently woke and sat up with a loud gasp, she paused before standing up quickly to put both of her hands on his shoulders, making him focus on her. “Hey, hey, you're fine. Damon snapped your neck, and I just woke you up.”

Kol growled in renewed anger and went to stand up again, teeth bared in a snarl. “I’m going to kill him.”

Lis rolled her eyes and pushed back lightly against his chest. “Don’t. We’ve got bigger things to worry about that him.”

He narrowed his eyes at her serious expression and stopped pushing against her to stand up, while his hand came up to rub at his neck. “You’ve been saying that all night. What is it?”

“Did you happen to drink the red champagne during Esther’s toast tonight?” She sat down on the edge of the couch. He nodded, looking concerned for himself. “There was something wrong with it. It carried its own magical essence. Now alcohol doesn’t usually carry its own signature which is why I found it suspicious. Sadly, I was too late to stop anyone from drinking it. We looked into it further – turns out, Finn and Esther laced it with a magical ingredient of some sort.”

Kol stiffened before pointing to his ear, making Lis huff out a laugh. “I wasn’t born yesterday Kol. I placed an undetectable privacy spell on this room before I woke you up.”

He smirked in approval, before his brow furrowed. “Why would Mother lace our drinks?”

“I don’t know. If I knew what she laced it with, maybe I could wager a guess, but as of right now, I have no clue. Nik and Elijah are going to be investigating this from here, and I’ll be looking for information at the Salvatores. I wanted to tell you and Bekah before I left, but I couldn’t find her. We knew that Esther was planning something, we just didn’t know what – that’s what I wanted to tell you earlier at the ball.”

He nodded again, eyes drifting over her shoulder, deep in thought while rubbing at his neck again. As she shifted, his dark gaze snapped back to her, giving her an almost considering look. “Thank you for filling me in.”

“No worries Kol.” Lis tilted her head, studying him closely, “Your neck hurts from being broken, doesn’t it? Do you want me to take the soreness away?”

Kol squinted at her before nodding hesitantly. 

Annalise leaned in to gently place her hand on the left side of his neck where he was just rubbing, right under his ear, delicately ignoring how it felt for her thumb to lightly brush against the underside of his jaw. Gathering her focus - which seemed a bit harder than usual for some reason – she focused on sending a small pulse of warm healing magic into his neck. She removed her hand as soon as she was done, ignoring his unreadable gaze before he stretched his neck, sighing in relief. “Thank you once again, darling.”

She sent him an awkward smile, “No problem-o. Really not necessary. It’s the least I could do.”

Kol paused. “What do you mean?” His dark eyes narrowed.

“I mean, that’s thanks for pushing me out of the way when Damon pushed you off the balcony. You were an idiot for hurting Matt in the first place, but like, now I think you’re an okay idiot. And uh...you're forgiven for what you tried to do earlier. Second chance and all that, considering you kinda saved my life.” She shrugged, looking away.

The double doors opened before Kol could retort, drawing their attention to Nik walking in. He paused as he realised Kol was awake, but continued around to Lis, handing her a familiar jewellery box with a white ribbon.

She raised a brow. “Okay...I say this with complete love, but you don’t know when to give up, man. I don’t think you understood her little rant.”

Nik huffed rolling his eyes upwards, leaning against the table opposite them. “Be assured that I have plenty of experience under my belt Lissie, put that on her bed.”

She grinned cheekily and waggled her eyebrows at him. “Oo~ under your belt huh? And on the bed this time." She let out a scandalised gasp. "What could that mean? What’s in this Nik?”

“Lissie.”

“Oh, fine, fine you grump. Here you go.” She shut her eyes. “Volo abire ad locum.”

When Annalise opened her eyes, she noticed Kol had shifted closer to her in interest, gaze trained on where the jewellery box had just disappeared.

She opened her mouth to comment when the double doors opened once more, revealing a troubled-looking Elijah. “Elijah, what’s wrong?”

Elijah motioned for her to be quiet and shut the doors behind him gently. Kol and Nik sat up straighter at their older brother’s strange behaviour.

“Speak freely Elijah. There’s a silencing charm placed on the room.” He raised a brow at Lis’s comment but nodded, walking towards her.

“Lis, you are well-versed in the art of witchcraft. What does the smell of burnt sage mean?”

She furrowed her brow, chewing on the inside of her cheek. “Sage can be used in loads of different ways, but if only sage is burnt by itself that’s usually for a privacy spell.” Kol and Lis exchanged a quick glance when they said privacy spell simultaneously.

Nik spoke up.

“Why do you ask, brother?”

Before Elijah could answer, Lis stood up, swaying...Kol was steadying her the next second. She distractedly patted his hand to get him to let her go before turning to face the 3 brothers, missing Nik and Elijah’s quick eyes noticing the small unintentional exchange.

“Guys, I-. I uh…I think I might know what Elijah’s talking about. There’s an intense spell being cast upstairs. It feels like blood magic. It may or may not be related to what we were just talking about.”

All four of them exchanged nervous glances.

Well. Esther was proving to be more of a hassle than she initially thought.

Chapter Text

So, her first ball had been...eventful to say the least. 

But was she surprised as the fact somebody had died (granted, Kol didn't permanently kick the bucket), or that Esther had managed to pull the wool over their eyes without even trying?

No.

Disappointed, yes. But not surprised.

Annalise had flashed to her temporary residence in the Salvatore boarding house relatively soon after Esther had performed that blood magic spell, mood greatly changed from the former anticipation and excitement she'd had for her first ball. She hadn't wanted to leave either - not if her friends were in danger, but Nik had sent her away, thinking one step ahead of everyone else as always. He had wanted her to return to her lodgings as if nothing had happened, and not raise Esther's or Finn's suspicions at being found out so they had enough time to figure out exactly what Esther had done to her children. Returning to the Boarding House also meant that Annalise could work a different angle, and figure out as much as possible through Elena and the Salvatores.

She winced as her foot pressed heavily on a wooden floorboard, making it creak obnoxiously loudly. It was late - late enough to be considered quite early and as she shucked off her dress carefully, she realised at the back of her mind a familiar signature burned bright in the other end of the house...with Damon's signature?

Oh.

Annalise stifled an incredulous laugh before managing to clean her face of make up before she had falling into bed.

Sleep greeted her almost instantly, but the next time she came to, the sun was still relatively high in the morning sky. Her darkened under eyes seemed especially stubborn as she got ready for the day. Feeling Rebekah and Damon walk to the main door, Lis blinked to the foyer of the Boarding house in a flash, just as a shirtless Damon and Rebekah in last night’s clothes stood at the open front door, staring at a shocked Elena who had just tried to knock on the said front door.

This was...awkward.

The four stared at each other a moment before Lis turned to the blonde girl abruptly. “Hey Bekah, I have some comfortable clothes upstairs that’ll fit you. Wanna come up and try some?”

She saw Rebekah shoot a vindictive smirk at Elena as she turned to follow Lis up the stairs. Annalise rolled her eyes at her friend's smug demeanour as she walked into her guest room, though it fell as Rebekah looked around the small room in undisguised distaste at the small space. "Well, this isn't flattering." 

"Well, I am still technically friends with their uh...what do you call someone who is a general nuisance with murderous tendencies?" Lis' voice muffled as she dug through her duffels.

"No, I believe Nik's a special case."

"Yeah, fair."

“Lissie." A pause lingered before she heard Rebekah's footsteps approach her. "Thanks. For not saying anything."

"Don't thank me yet." Lis’s head popped up as she adjusted her glasses, smirking at her friend unsurely scuffing her shoe against the expensive hardwood floorboards. “You're gonna tell me everything, once we’re in my actual room of course.”

Rebekah let out a loud laugh that cut off abruptly as she was pelted in the face by jeans and a large comfortable sweater. “Oi, watch it.”

Annalise snorted, dusting her knees as she straightened, ignoring Rebekah looking at her clothes in veiled judgement. “My jeans could be a bit on the tight side for you since you’re a lot taller, but the big sweater means you don’t have to button your jeans up. Easy solution.”

“You want me to walk around with unbuttoned jeans?" Rebekah shot her an exaggerated scandalised look, hand to her chest. "How utterly unbecoming.”

“It’s way better than the walk of shame look you’ve got going on.” Annalise remarked cheekily while tossing an exaggeratedly insulted Rebekah her toiletry pack. “And wash your make up off by the way. You’re lucky vampires don’t get breakouts.” She pouted, deciding to sit on her bed while her friend walked by her into her attached bathroom, dodging the whack aimed at her shoulder with a giggle.

While Annalise waited, she sent Elena a quick text asking about her thoughts on what Esther did last night in order to figure out what the girl knew, but got no reply. She knew a dead end when she saw one, and the way Elena had avoided her eyes uncomfortably at the door said enough. Damon probably wouldn’t know anything specific about the spell other than the fact that Elena was involved since he had been with Rebekah the entire night - that was a good enough alibi for her. Last of all, she doubted Stefan would tell her because of his blind but kinda justified vendetta against Nik.

Lis also noted how conspicuously quiet the house was – whatever it was that had Elena knocking on Damon's door urgently this early in the morning could apparently wait until they left. That was more than enough to reach the conclusion that Elena knew a lot more than she let on.

Asking her wasn't going to help - whatever Esther had told the young girl had skewed her in the witch's favour. So, after passing a long look at an incredibly guilty-looking Elena, the girls left the house and Lis filled Rebekah in on everything she had missed the night before: Esther’s blood magic, the laced champagne flutes, everything. Especially the part where they all decided to act like everything was normal to draw out Esther’s next step in her plan, and how, most importantly, they also agreed having Lis around as much as possible would lessen the chance of certain death.

No pressure.

-

As they walked through the grand front door of the Mikaelson Mansion together, they were drawn to the music blasting from the first-floor study. At least this way Lis knew her temporary privacy spell had lifted. 

The house felt emptier as they walked through the hallways after the busy night before. The tall windows allowed the morning sun to stream in and soak everything in a comforting warmth, and the whole house seemed more...welcoming; or maybe Annalise just felt more at ease because she couldn't feel either Esther or Finn in their vicinity. Elijah was...somewhere on the second floor, and Kol and Nik seemed to be in the direction they headed in. It appeared Nik was mainly sedentary, but Kol seemed especially restless. Lis remembered his desperation the night before; they way he had threatened her - then the way he had cooperated when push came to shove. 

That appeared to be the general trend in the Mikaelson Family, and Lis strangely found herself wondering just how much she was willing to forgive.

She was distracted when they reached the study - Kol was on his almost energetic feet as soon as they'd entered,  jumping up with a wide grin to greet them cheerfully while blocking Rebekah’s path to Nik with a suggestive grin. “Well, well, well. Here’s our sister.” He side-stepped to get in her way again as Rebekah tried to step around him, annoyed.

“Out of my way, Kol.”

“Out all night, what a scandal.” Lis threw a wave at a quiet Nik as the pair bickered, looking peaceful while sketching with one leg up on the sofa, fondly glancing at his siblings. He sent her a smile in return before returning to his drawing as Kol continued being a general nuisance. “I trust you did better than that commoner. Matt, was it?”

Rebekah groaned, clearly aggravated. “If you don’t shut your mouth, the next thing to come out of it will be your teeth.” Lis snorted at the insult just as Kol lifted his eyebrows, impressed at Bekah's acidic hiss. Rebekah must have seen Nik smile from the corner of her eye as she pushed past Kol in annoyance. “Don’t start Nik.”

“I didn’t say anything.” Nik smirked innocently, looking more entertained and at ease than he had in the months she had known him. Watching his younger family squabble seemed to have lifted a weight off his shoulders that wasn't so obvious before. Annalise felt a smile tug at her lips as she fondly watched them all interact in front of her, realising that this was what family looked like. She was glad they had each other once more.

“Good morning, darling.” Lis was drawn from her musings as Kol appeared smirking widely in front of her, offering his hand to help her down the two steps into the sunken living room. "Please, allow me." 

“Morning, Kol.” She smiled good-naturedly at him, rolling her eyes and ignoring his hand as she patted his shoulder in favour of taking his hand, and walking over to Nik’s sofa. “Nik, move your legs over.”

He shot her a blank look before returning to his drawing, feet remaining unmoved. Annalise took this personally as she squinted at him, before letting herself fall onto the sofa with an oof, putting her feet up on the coffee table.

Nik nudged her, ignoring Bekah's glare directed at him. “Lissie, feet off the furniture.”

She snorted, “Okay, dad,” before moving her legs to rest over his own outstretched leg. He glared at her cheeky smile, as she delicately ignored it, watching as Kol draped himself backwards with his feet across the armrest of the opposite armchair with a fed up groan. 

“I’m bored." He shot Rebekah a baleful look. "Our sister is a strumpet with a horrible fashion sense; those jeans are far too short on her, but at least she’s having fun.”

Lis scowled at Kol before hitting his forehead with Nik’s eraser. “Oi, don’t call her that, whatever it means. This is the 21^st century – no judging." Kol pouted immaturely at her as she continued, ignoring how her voice faltered at his undivided attention. "And side point; don’t insult my jeans – they're my favourite pair.”

Had Annalise looked towards Kol, she would've seen him grin, lips curving up in a small amount of disbelief and amusement, but instead Lis was facing the hybrid’s glower sheepishly as she summoned the eraser back into her hand and passed it back to Nik. 

She looked towards Kol once more when he spoke, rubbing his forehead with a challenging grin. “That hurt darling, but point taken. Speaking of; Nik, I need entertainment.”

Nik went back to his drawing boredly. “What are you waiting for? Have at it.”

Kol kicked his feet off, righting himself up on the armchair with a punctuated groan. “It’s no fun to go alone. Join me, Nik.” His voice took on a more serious note making Lis straighten slightly in wariness. “It’s the least you could do after sticking a dagger in my heart.”

The tone reminded her of the night before, him coercing her to use her magic for him, and Annalise found herself growing rigid, and guarded. Movement to her left drew her attention as Nik sighed, making a big show of putting his sketchbook away - as Lis' eyes met his, he lifted his brow imperceptibly.

Lis nodded in response, shooting him an appreciative grin. He'd felt her stiffen, most likely, and moved in a flourished manner to snap her out of her thoughts. Nik nodded back as he stood. “Okay. Why not. I didn’t have nearly enough to drink last night with you trying to murder her date. Lis, come with me.” Kol’s smile was wide and gleeful as he made to follow Nik out the door past Rebekah. Lis stood up slowly, gave Rebekah a quick hug, and joined the men walking to the door.

“Yes, please go. This house has enough men rolling around in it.” The blonde girl turned retorted at her brothers’ backs. Lis waved at her, but Kol was quick with the come-back, pointing audaciously at his sister.

“Just like you Bekah.”

Kol ducked under the book that Rebekah threw at him and laughed as he ran out the front door. Annalise watched on with a wide smile, deeply amused, before making to follow after them. “Rebekah, Lis.” She paused in the doorway as Elijah called out from the hallway, holding something up to her.

Bekah sighed tiredly. “Not you too, Elijah.”

Elijah shook his head solemnly at Rebekah. "It is as we suspected, sister. Our mother has hidden intentions."

Annalise moved towards him to grab the burnt bundle of sage from his hands that he offered her, smelling it, then passing both of them a worried look. “This is good sage. Potent. There aren’t many places where she could get this easily in Mystic Falls. I’d wager she visited the Bennett’s." Annalise clicked her tongue nervously. "This isn’t good, guys – tonight’s a full moon. If she’s going to pull something off, tonight’s perfect.”

Elijah made a noise of agreement. “Mother has been known to draw power from the Bennett line before.”

Rebekah stepped closer. “What do you think she's up to?”

Lis shrugged helplessly at her before turning to Elijah. “I don’t know what she’s up to, but I do know who does. Elijah, Elena seemed insanely guilty this morning, and I think she really feels bad about putting you in danger. She told me a couple days ago that she really trusted you. She isn’t telling me anything, but maybe she’ll tell you what happened last night.”

Elijah flashed a sharp smile at Lis, and she was reminded of the fact that Elijah was just as much a Mikaelson as Kol, Nik and Rebekah was.

“Good idea, I think I’ll pay her a visit now.”

Lis ran a hand down her face, tamping down her small amount of guilt at setting the metaphorical dogs on Elena in favour of letting her exhaustion seep into her tone. “And I have to leave to supervise day drinking at a bar. Bye Bekah, Lijah.”

She shot them finger guns before blinking into the small alley behind the Mystic Grill, opening the back door, and sneaking inside.

She found Nik and Kol at the bar, a bottle already half-finished beside them. Making her way over, she sat on the empty seat beside Kol. “What took you so long darling?”

Nik tilted his head, silently asking the same question. “Um, Elijah held me back. Had a few questions. I told him about the fact that tonight’s a full moon, and there’s only a couple places and uh…people you can get good some good quality herbs from.”

Realisation dawned in both pairs of eyes as they narrowed in comprehension.

Never let it be said that the Mikaelson’s were anything but smart, even though she was about as subtle as a sledgehammer. Nik knocked back a shot before promptly pouring himself another. “Looks like tonight’s going to be a busy night.”

-

Half an hour later, Lis was stress-eating chips with her foot bouncing restlessly on the bar stool, ignoring the loud Originals beside her.

She had remembered that the essence emanating from the champagne had been so similar to Elena’s that she had almost convinced herself that it was probably a glitch on her radar. But what if the reason Esther wanted Elena was for the most historically accurate reason? Elena’s blood? If the champagne had been laced with doppelganger essence and then blood magic was used in correlation to it, it greatly narrowed down the spectrum of what Esther could have done.

Her bouncing foot ceased at a sudden buzz from her pocket; a text from an unknown number - odd. 

‘This is Elijah. Elena confirmed the theory and is currently otherwise engaged. She is to be used as leverage. E.M.’

Even without the initials signing the text, Annalise would've known the text was from Elijah by the proper punctuation alone.

Running a hand through her hair stressfully, Lis put her face in her hands. She had faith that Elijah wouldn’t harm Elena. She hoped. Her phone buzzed again, it was Rebekah this time, complaining about Elijah making her babysit her least favourite person.

Shit, okay…She was now considerably less confident that Elena might not be hurt.

Nudging Kol, who sat between her and Nik, she passed him her phone subtly, showing him the two successive texts. His face betrayed no change from the cheerful grin the alcohol had induced, before he then displayed her phone to Nik. Again - no change in expression. These men were seasoned professionals, in whatever this was, and while it looked so incredibly cool, her guilt and anxiety towards being the reason Elena got trapped in their hands was starting to sky-rocket. 

Annalise's leg bounced faster, and faster until she stood abruptly, breathing shallow. Both Nik and Kol looked to her casually, though their eyes were sharp. "Bathroom." Lis managed in a strangled manner, before high-tailing it over to the public restrooms to their left. 

Splashing some water on her face, Annalise took a few deep breaths before looking at her flushed face in the mirror. Elijah won't let Rebekah hurt Elena, of course he wouldn't; he'd fought Klaus to protect her before Lis had come along too. But...that had unfortunately been before Elena had knowingly put his family in danger; before she had involved herself with Esther in a plot that just maybe might hurt Elijah's brothers and sister. 

Yeah...this could turn out bad. Annalise breathed her building guilt out deeply. Elena knew what she was getting into when she willingly played a part in an attempt to hurt her friend and his family, so it wasn't as if she didn't deserve the coming consequences. Plus, Elijah had said she was leverage - and leverage doesn't usually get hurt. Annalise took a deeper breath, feeling a little lighter.

Her eyes flew open in surprised as her faucet turned off with a squeak, and Annalise startled at the arm at her tap, following it with her eyes to Kol, leaning against the sink next to her.

"Uh...I think you're lost."

"Not at all." Kol crossed his arms, studying her closely. "Nik was worried after you."

"So he sent you?" Annalise faltered in her incredulity when Kol lifted a single brow, almost daring her to keep going. Instead she cleared her throat delicately. "I mean, ah...thanks?" 

He huffed in amusement. "I volunteered darling. I've been meaning to talk to you." 

Annalise regarded him warily, crossing her own arms to mirror his posture. "Dare I ask why?" 

"By all means, Lissa. Dare away." The infuriating smirk was back, lips tilted and eyes glinting with mischief. "I only wanted to address your...tense reaction to me this morning. I did hope I'd amended my awful behaviour the night before? That a certain level of trust and camaraderie had been achieved."

Annalise rolled her eyes hard, "Sure, my bad." She grinned sarcastically. "Why wouldn't I trust you completely after you threatened me?" 

Kol's jaw clenched as his dark eyes narrowed in an almost defensive manner, but Annalise held her hand up with an apologetic sigh. "I-" Lis sighed, rubbing her eyes tiredly from under her glasses. "I'm sorry, I did have fun last night. You redeemed yourself, kinda. I'm lashing out. This whole situation is just stressing the hell out of me."

"You're second-guessing helping us?" His eyes had narrowed suspiciously, face grim. 

"No." Annalise shook her head immediately. "Of course not. I don't want anyone to hurt Nik, Bekah - their family. No offence but your mum's an arsehole," Kol nodded in agreement as Lis continued, "I just feel bad for Elena. She feels cornered, like she has to fight back, and I just delivered her straight to who she believes wants her hurt. I'm just horrified at myself." 

"Don't be." Kol sounded unnervingly serious. "You're miles away from being horrifying. Trust me." 

A wry grin pulled at her lips. "There you go again, asking me to trust you." 

Kol grinned widely, settling a heavy arm around her shoulder as he steered her out of the bathroom and into the grill beyond. Annalise was mortified by the glances they got from the patrons of the Mystic Grill, and only distractedly listened to Kol as he spoke. 

“Well, you shouldn't stress, darling. Everything will turn out fine. We’ve got you.”

“That only stresses me more, you know.” She said dryly.

“I’m glad to be of service.” He shot her a grin, before sitting her back down in her chair, and promptly going back to flirting with the pretty bartender.

Lis chuckled and rolled her eyes at his audacious behaviour, shaking her head at Nik in reassurance. She was fine.

Annalise looked around for a few minutes before realising that Alaric and a beautiful woman were seated at the other end of the bar, looking over at them every couple of minutes. He caught her eye, and gave her an accusing stare before his eyes moved on to watching Nik and Kol carefully. As she shifted in unease, Nik followed her line of sight, his focus layering in on the movement of Alaric's and the brunette's mouth with a heavy frown.

 She wondered what the pair was talking about to put the Hybrid in a sour mood. Kol was now looking in that direction too, studying them and listening in. Just as Annalise was about to cast a selective hearing spell out of sheer curiosity, Nik abruptly left his chair and headed in the pair’s direction with Kol following immediately behind. Lis grabbed her phone and her chips before doing a little jog to catch up the two brothers in time to hear Nik speak up.

“Oh, come on now. Let’s not go blaming the new family in town just 'cos you lot have got yourself a killer at large.”

Alaric glanced at Lis, nodding slightly in response to her awkward wave, before looking apprehensively at Kol who had decided leaning on the wall next to them and staring at them unblinkingly was the way to go. It was an unnerving, to say the least. Nik noticed, and gestured to his little brother with a smirk. “Don’t mind us, my brother and I are just here to let off some steam. Right, Kol?”

Kol smiled slowly, eyes betraying no expression whatsoever as he replied. “Right.”

The lady next to Alaric looked visibly uncomfortable as Nik and Kol moved back to their original seats. Lis stayed behind and offered her basket to the pair. “Hot chip?”

Alaric grinned weakly before grabbing one. “These are fries, not chips.” Lis pouted, taking the basket away from him. 

“Don’t correct me if you’re gonna grab my food, ass. I am glad though that you're well now, though. That stabbing business was pretty awful.” She waved at the woman, who smiled back uncertainly. “Hi, I’m Lis.”

“Dr. Meredith Fell, I heard you healed Ric. I’d love to see it sometime.”

“Yeah, um…thanks. Nice to meet you too doctor."

"Why are you still with them?" Alaric interrupted impatiently. "They could be the ones that stabbed me." 

"They aren't." Annalise levelled him with an unimpressed look. "I told you that night that the killer clearly messed with the electricity inside the house; it couldn't have been the Mikaelsons. But, um…just to put your fears further at rest. Or unrest, I don’t know.” She backed away shrugging feeling vindictive all of a sudden at his accusatory tone. “If those guys were killing people, you’d definitely know it was them.”

As she moved back to her seat Nik shot her an approving grin for unnerving the poor doctor even further, but she shrugged tiredly. She was just telling her the truth. Sue her.

Annalise paused grabbing her phone out of her pocket as it vibrated rapidly. Nik was also looking down at his. She huffed out a sudden chuckle. Elijah had added her, Nik and Rebekah into a group chat. She felt Kol peer over her shoulder, so she angled the screen to show him better. “We have to get you a phone too Kol, we have a Mikaelson group text - who'd have ever thunk.”

“Not a word Lissa.” Kol mumbled as he read her phone over her shoulder.

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I know smartass. It’s just a thing.”

Elijah had sent a series of texts, outlining his plan to use Elena as leverage to get the Salvatores to do his bidding – to take Bonnie and her mother out of the equation, stopping Esther from drawing on their bloodline magic to do the spell. Lis frowned to herself; Bonnie and her mom didn’t deserve to die for this. She texted Elijah back saying the witches didn’t need to be killed, just taken very far away from Mystic Falls.

Distance matters.

Sure, the bloodline connection won’t be broken, but it will be greatly weakened. Esther will have to rely on spiritual magic alone to do the spell. She also mentioned that because of that fact, Esther is most likely to be at the Old Witch House in order to channel those spirits.

Nik helpfully reminded everyone that the full moon reaches its peak at 9:07 pm.

Lis looked up from her phone, bored without anything specific to do. Letting her gaze wander around the crowded bar once more, she noticed Alaric and Dr. Fell playing pool at a table in the corner. But that wasn't what caught her eye - interestingly, she saw Alaric sharing a significant glance with Caroline, who had just entered the diner. She raised a brow as Caroline conspicuously unbuttoned her jacket to reveal a very low-cut top. 

Well, that was interesting. 

Typing a quick subtle message to Nik, Lis turned back around to her chips. ‘Caroline's a distraction. Act normally.’

She saw him glance at his phone unnoticeably before shifting it slightly to allow Kol to grab a glimpse. Both turned in their chair and started joking about, acting more drunk than they really were. Annalise watched on, impressed; they truly were masters of their craft.

Kol gestured with the half-full glass of whiskey in his hand at Caroline as she made to walk obviously past them to draw their attention. “I remember her from last night, she looks like a tasty little thing.” Lis grimaced at the remark, and Nik looked suitably pissed. Distraction or not, this was the girl he was crushing on.

“Say another word and I’ll tear out you liver.” he growled. 

Lis leaned her head on her left hand before she retorted drily. “Oh no, don’t do that Nik. He needs it to break down the metric tonne of whisky he just drank.”

Caroline rolled her eyes, making to walk straight past them as if they were beneath her. Lis smirked, the girl had no discretion, absolutely none. Maybe that’s was good thing – maybe it meant she was an inherently honest person. Annalise suddenly felt guilty about bagging her out the night before. Nik called out to her as she passed. “Caroline.”

Caroline turned around, acting as if she just saw Nik, crossing her arms. “Oh, it’s you.”

Lis hid her snort in her shoulder at the horrible acting and exchanged an amused glance with Kol.

Nik persisted, still smiling widely. “Join us for a drink?”

“Hmm, I’d rather die of thirst, but thanks.” Caroline sneered flatly at the Hybrid before promptly spinning on her heel and leaving, swaying her hips just a little more than necessary. Lis completely lost it tried to hide her silent laughter behind Kol's arm, but Nik kept up the charade knowing Caroline could still hear them. “Isn’t she stunning?”

Kol leaned back on the bar behind him, smirking at Nik. “She certainly looks good walking away from you.” He grinned at the muffled peal of laughter that erupted from his shoulder following that statement proudly.

Nik put his drink down, causing a still-grinning Lis to poke her head out of Kol’s shoulder and tilt her head questioningly. “I’m going to take that as a challenge.”

As Lis tried to catch her breath, she leaned close to the vampire left sitting next to her and mumbled. “Isn’t the whole point of knowing she’s a distraction being not distracted? He is actually so stupid for leaving.”

Kol looked at her. “Don’t you want to follow him then? Make sure he’s safe?” She grimaced before running a hand through her plait to loosen it slightly.

“Um, yuck. I don’t have an urgent need to watch people flirt thank you very much. Besides, what kinda friend would I be if I just left you here alone?”

Kol paused before narrowing his eyes at her. “You consider me your friend, Lissa?”

She shrugged, taking her glasses off to use the bottom of her cute peach coloured jumper to clean them before sliding them back on. “Sure, Kol. Consider it the first step to trusting you." She shot him a significant look. "Besides, I’ve never shown anyone what I showed you near the fountain yesterday. You were really cool until you decided to pull that 180 on me, y'know?”

Annalise was surprised to see Kol nod at her with a small genuine smile in his eyes for a moment before standing up suddenly, making Lis glance up at him in shock. “Wait, where are you going?”

He shrugged at her, but his eyes gestured to Alaric conspicuously missing from beside his lady date. “I’m going to play some pool, darling. Care to play?”

Lis joined him on the elevated level next to Dr. Fell’s pool table, pouting. “I'm rubbish at this anyway. All good, you can play. I’ll just watch.”

Annalise sat back on a table next to the pool table, waving slightly to the confused looking doctor as Kol suddenly joined her game. “A woman of your calibre ought to choose more suitable company.” He leaned over Meredith’s shoulder annoyingly. “What’s your name, love?”

Meredith hit the yellow striped ball into a corner hole and stepped easily away from Kol, moving around the table. “None of your business.”

Lis smirked. She could help Kol out, but it was so much more fun watching him struggle. “Let’s try that again. I’ll start. I’m Kol.”

“Why don’t you get lost Kol?” Meredith didn’t even spare him a glance. Dr. Fell is pretty impressive. She certainly wasn’t expecting this attitude from the unnerved state before.

“And why would I do that? I like pretty little things with sharp tongues.” Lis leaned back at Kol’s attempt to regain lost ground. That clearly wasn’t the way to do it.

“Ew, Kol. Objectify women much?” Meredith shot her a smile as she passed her walking away from the Original.

"Well, that certainly wasn't my intent." Kol made up the distance quickly and reached towards her, smirking darkly at the doctor's continued efforts to get a rise out of him. She wasn't backing away. 

That wasn't...normal. Something else was happening - the doctor was distracting them!

Lis got to her feet rushed as she saw Alaric step up behind Kol threateningly. She stepped closer to Kol with narrowed eyes looking over his shoulder. “I think she told you to get lost.”

Kol didn’t even spare a glance at Alaric, smirking while looking at a worried Lis when he answered, “Pretty sure I don’t care.”

Kol turned around, pushing Lis away just to double over in pain as Alaric stabbed something deep into Kol’s gut. Annalise then went to lunge at Alaric, but a sharp pain burst from the back of her head making her stumble. A feminine voice swore lightly and apologised, saying something about hitting her too hard. She felt something wet drip down her neck, as she looked around sluggishly, disoriented. There were arms under hers now, dragging her down a corridor.

Sharp throbs of pain spread from the back of her head, Annalise felt as though she wast floating, woozy. She blinked trying to focus. She was hurt. She needed to heal. She concentrated warm magic to where it hurt the most, and slowly, the pain went away, and her vision started to clear.

Annalise pretended to stay limp until she found her bearings.

Meredith had hit her with a fucking billiard ball. They had daggered Kol, judging by the ashen hue to his skin revealed by her subtly slitted eyes. They were dragging them outside. To her alley. Wrong move.

A smirk played lightly on her lips as she disappeared into nothing in Meredith’s arms the next second.

Then she was behind Alaric, shoving him forwards hard enough to send him skidding across the ground and into the brick wall across her, lightly, and pulling the dagger from Kol and teleporting it to first floor study back at the mansion in the same movement. She watched closely as Meredith went to go help Alaric up, and shifted to move in front of Kol’s body defensively, watching out of the corner of her eye as his grey complexion receded rapidly.

She whipped her head around to look down the alley as two vampires suddenly blinked on her radar. They moved closer, out of the shadows as she raised her voice to address them. “Damon, Stefan. Fancy seeing you here.”

Damon held his hands up, placatingly. “Now, now, witchy. There’s 4 of us, one of you. How about you count your losses and regroup? Elena wouldn’t want us to hurt you.”

Lis clenched her fists and scowled at him. “You just warned me, so let me return the favour. How about this? I won’t fight unless you attack first.”

Damon shrugged. “That sounds like a challenge.”

Stefan rushed at her, but she raised her hand faster; and the next thing he knew, he froze in mid-air. His eyes were moving around wildly, but the rest of him stood completely frozen, right down to the wrinkles of his shirt. Her eyes burned silver. Damon, Alaric and Meredith had all also stilled at her effortless display of power, eyes focused on Stefan worriedly, now at her complete mercy.

Lis sighed, shaking her head sadly, before flicking her wrist; sending Stefan flying into the alley wall a lot harder than Alaric with a resounding CRACK that would've worried her on a normal day. Now? She couldn't bring herself to care.

Vampires heal anyway - he'd be fine.

Her voice was rough as she spoke. “I hope you guys understand; I don’t hurt people because I don’t want to, not because I can’t. I could pull out your hearts with just a literal snap of my fingers. Just please. Don’t ever mistake my generosity for being naive.”

There was a breeze behind her as she felt Nik's familiar signature appear at her shoulder. Moving around her, he threateningly stalked towards the vampires.

Lis moved to side slightly, out of the doorway into the Mystic Grill, letting a scared and guilty Meredith pass back into the Mystic grill, supporting Alaric. She stared blankly at them in return before looking back at the Original Hybrid busy glaring down two vampires.

“I should have killed you months ago.” Nik's low voice carried in the dark alleyway.

“Do it. It’s not gonna stop Esther from killing you.” Nik remained silent as Damon kept talking, smugly thinking he had the upper hand. “You didn’t know I was friends with your mommy? Yeah, we have a lot in common. She hates you as much as I do.”

Nik smirked, causing Damon to step back looking confused. “Did you think I didn’t know?”

Lis glanced up at the stairs at the start of the alley again, feeling a familiar signature and breathing a sigh of relief. “Lijah, you’re okay.”

Elijah descended the steps down the alley quickly, nodding at Annalise, before moving past Nik to show Damon and Stefan a photo on his phone. “You tell me where the witches are, or I’ll have my sister kill Elena right now.”

Panic filled Damon’s eyes as he glanced down at a picture of Elena trapped somewhere dark on the phone.  “I thought you said we had until after 9?”

Elijah smirked. “I’m sure Rebekah would be more than happy to start her work early.”

“Wait, Elijah, stop. We know where they are. I told you.” Lis stepped around him to face Damon with a glare. “Bonnie and her mother don’t need to be hurt either. Just vamp-speed them as far away from here as you can. It should be enough to weaken the spell.”

Annalise turned back around to Kol who had started shifting on the floor in pain, kneeling down next to him before offering a hand each to Elijah and Nik. “Come on, we have to stop your homicidal mum.” They both grabbed it without question and the next moment all four of them appeared in the forest, far enough that Esther wouldn't feel their presence yet.

She looked up at the two older brothers as she kneeled, gently coaxing Kol’s wound to heal faster. “How did you guys know that we were in trouble?”

Nik scowled, rubbing subconsciously at his own stomach. “I felt as though I was daggered, but not really. I wasn’t all that affected; I was able to move around and find you.”

“Me on the other hand – I was immobilised. Fully desiccated.” Elijah frowned, looking away.

Lis nodded, shifting Kol slightly upwards to help him sit up better. “That makes sense. We can assume that Esther used Elena’s blood as a binding agent, she used blood magic last night to seal the deal. You guys are all linked. One gets daggered - all of you do.”

The man in her lap sat upwards violently after all his grey veins receded. “Wait till I get my hands on that hunter-”

Annalise stood up, brushing the dirt off her jeans before offering Kol a hand. “You can’t declare murder every time you wake up Kol, you’ve gotta have some variety, show some flavour, keep it spicy, yeah?”

Kol grabbed her hand and stood up, sullen before pausing. His nostrils flared and turned in a circle slowly as the other three watched him, curiously.

“What are you doing now, Kol?” Nik sounded annoyed.

“Don’t you two smell that? Something smells absolutely divine.”

Elijah’s nostrils flared angrily. “Kol, now is not the time to think with about blood-,” He cut himself off, frowning. “He’s right. That doesn’t smell normal.”

Lis stumbled backwards flailing before using an arm to brace herself against a tree when Kol blurred right in front of her. “What the hell, Kol?” 

There was a sliver of moonlight illuminating Kol’s face through the tall trees, his eyes were dark, almost dangerous. He lifted a large hand to cradle her stunned face, his thumb gently skimming her cheek, while his fingers dug lightly into the back of her head. She winced. 

He took his hand away equally as slowly and lifted his fingers up to the moonlight, showing a dark stain on his fingertips. “I think you’re bleeding Lissa.”

Her eyes widened in recollection as she scowled, walking around the still stationary Kol staring at the small amount of blood on his fingertips and collecting her handbag off the forest floor, lifting a slightly glowing hand to her head in a huff. Once she'd healed her wound, Annalise waved her hand, cleaning up any residual blood left in her hair, as well as the small amount on Kol's hand.

“I forgot. That doctor lady. She nearly caved my head in with a billiard ball – that’s why it took so long for me to take the dagger out of Kol. I had to heal the damage halfway before even standing up to them. Would’ve thought she was against hurting people. Do no harm and all that, y’know?”

Nik walked forwards; eyes concerned. “Are you well now, Lissie?”

She took her hand away from her completely healed wound and nodded, before cracking her neck. “Yeah. I’m well enough to fight. I don’t think any de-linking spells I know will work on you guys though. Blood Magic linked you, so it has to unlink you - I’m gonna need Finn’s blood for that. Let’s hope the Salvatores taking the Bennetts away will be enough to weaken Esther’s spell.” She looked up at the moon before looking at the three brothers. “We should go. The moon’s almost at its peak.”

They nodded at her before blurring off through the trees. Lis braced herself and blinked to the front of the Old Witch House just as Nik, Elijah and Kol casually walked up next to her. She looked forwards to what waited them.

Finn was in the middle of a pentagram made of salt, surrounded by five tall lit torches, one at each point on the star, casting the clearing in front of the Old Witch House in a red foreboding light. Esther was standing outside, circling it.

A furrow dipped her brow as Annalise stared at the ritual display, confused..what spell was Esther trying to perform here? Was this how she was trying to kill her children without having possession of a white oak stake?

Esther spoke up, ignoring her presence as usual. “My sons, come forward.”

Finn rained an arm defensively and talked over his shoulder to Esther. “Stay behind me.” Esther stepped into the salt and held Finn’s hand in reply. “It’s okay, they can’t enter.”

Kol stepped closer and Esther’s statement rang true as he was halted by an invisible shield and the torches flared, burning brighter in a fearsome manner. He resorted to pacing around the circle angrily instead. “That’s lovely, we’re stuck out here while the favourite son plays sacrificial lamb. How pathetic you are, Finn.”

“Be quiet Kol. Your brother knows virtue you cannot imagine.” Esther replied calmly. Lis clenched her fists, studying Esther and her spell instead. Esther did not remind her of her mother in her last moments. No, she didn't, not at all. 

Elijah’s voice was filled with quiet anger. “Whatever you think of us, killing you own children would be an atrocity.” Annalise's chest hurt, as she clenched her shaking hands. Fuck, her parents had really messed her up, hadn't they?

Nik walked forwards until he was next to Kol when Esther replied. “My only regret is that I did not let you die a thousand years ago.”

“Enough. All this talk is boring me.” Nik growled. “End this now mother, or I’ll send you back to hell.” He ended his threat with a light smirk, which dropped quickly as Esther stepped forwards, closer to him.

"For a thousand years I’ve been forced to watch you. I felt the pain of every victim, suffered while you shed blood.” Her gaze flitted to the Elijah, watching solemnly. “Even you, Elijah, with your claim to nobility, you’re no better.” Elijah shifted guiltily while Esther regarded all three of her children outside the circle with a critical look. “All of you, you’re a curse on this earth, stretched out over generations.” Her eyes teared slightly. “If you’ve come to plead for your life, I’m sorry. You’ve wasted your time.”

Lis stepped forwards as Esther closed her eyed, softly murmuring words that she couldn’t hear. The moon was at the peak and she had to-!

Her feet froze. She had felt two witches in the old house in front of them, shining brighter than the cluster of dead spirits – but one the lights had just died. She swore internally – she had told the Salvatores to take the witches away, not kill them. The spirits were gonna be pissed. More so than usual.

Esther’s eyes moved wildly under her closed eyelids, sensing that she was no longer connected to the bloodline she was trying to draw from. “No, sisters. Do not abandon me!”

Finn dragged Esther out of the circle in just in time, as the flames from the torches exploded in an angry blaze of heat less than a second later, before extinguishing fully and leaving the clearing silent, save for loud sizzling emanating from the darkened sooty torches.

Thick smoke blocked their vision and Lis felt something grab her arm hard, before the world blurred. The next moment, she was standing opposite to Nik, Elijah and Kol with Esther to her side - Finn was holding her neck, tightly.

The brothers opposite them stepped forwards, concerned but aborted as they watched Finn’s hold tighten on Lis’s delicate neck.

Esther turned imploringly towards Lis – her eyes were wide, and convincing. “You can help me, dear. Let me channel you, and the witches will accept you as one of their own! You will never be shunned again; you have my word.” 

Lis narrowed her eyes at her, struggling in Finn’s grip. “I don’t know how much you know about convincing people, but choking definitely doesn’t win any points in your favour. It didn’t work when you first met me, and it certainly isn’t working now. It’s not you; I’m just not that into it.”

At Esther’s signal, Finn released her.

Levelling him with a harsh scowl, Annalise rubbed at her neck before turning back to Esther, gesturing at the salt pentagram. “It took me a while to place it. The salt, the pentagram, the torches, the moon and the power you need from the Bennetts. You’re doing an old-fashioned reversal spell – one specific to a spell that you cast. The five torches represent your children, so you’re trying to reverse a spell you placed on them, and I doubt it’s the blood linking spell you placed on them last night.”

“Smart girl.” Esther raised her brows, seeming reluctantly impressed. “Yes, I was making right the worst mistake I made in my entire life – when I turned my children into these horrifying creatures.”

Lis stepped back in shock. “You were going to make them human again.”

Esther nodded. “I didn’t need the white oak to kill them once they were.”

“But why not just stop there?” Lis squinted at her, confused.

Crickets filled the sudden silence.

Esther tilted her head looking bewildered. Lis put her hands on her hips, rolling her eyes as she elaborated. “Why not just stop at making your children human? Why go to the trouble of killing them? What’s the point? It’s not like they’ll go around drinking blood for fun or anything. You would have undone your big-ass mistake and the spirits would’ve been pleased.”

Esther stuttered; her eyes wide. “Bu-But the balance of nature,”

Lis held her hands up. “As if you give a flying fuck about the balance of nature – you literally went against it to catalyze the creation of an entirely new species!”

“They are abominations-”

“But aren’t you too?” Lis’s quiet question halted Esther’s rage abruptly.

Lis’s voice was soft, but her words rang heavily in the clearing.

“Them, and me, we are considered abominations because of what we are, because we’ve made bad choices, because they gave into the nature of being the apex predator you intended them to be. You intentionally created a species more dangerous than werewolves out of fear for your family; I’ve heard the story. But you, Esther, what’s your excuse?”

Lis stepped closer to the witch, with her back to her friends behind her.

“You are an abomination because you went against your nature. You went against both your nature as a witch, and a mother. You stand here and you asked a complete stranger you despise to help you kill your family- if this is what being a witch means, I don’t need their acceptance. I’m fine the way I am."

Esther’s eyes were tearing up, but her face was set grimly. “They don’t belong here. They’re not meant to exist.”

Annalise let out a dry chuckle, stepping backwards. “You really think you’re that powerful? Esther you give yourself far too much credit.” Esther exchanged a confused glance with Finn as Lis kept smirking. 

“I brought into being the vampire species which was previously non-existent. They don’t belong here.”

The young woman held her hands up in a mock surrender motion. “Okay, let’s say you receive a partial credit of participation. Sure, your spell helped. But at the end of the day, it certainly isn’t your magic keeping them here.”

“I don’t understand.”

Lis smirked, walking further backwards towards the trio of brothers behind her, shrugging. “Well, I’ll dumb it down for you then. They have just as much right to be here as we do. If nature didn’t want vampires to exist,” She spread her arms wide. “they wouldn’t.”

Scowling, Esther screamed in frustration throwing her hands up, aimed at her - the torches around them became geysers of fire once more; this time the blaze came towards her in a firestorm. Damn.

Gritting her teeth she braced herself on the ground, lifting her hands towards the attack in an instant, pushing her magic towards it while turning her face away from the heat. Only, she wasn't incinerated like she'd thought she'd be. The heat never came. Squinting her eyes back open to look at the bright fire in front of her, she realised she was dividing the flames to either side of her – parting it like the sea.

 The Originals behind her were safe.

When the attack ended after a few long moments, Esther and Finn had disappeared from where they stood.

Tiredly, she turned around to face the brothers who were watching her with varying degrees of incredulity. Their disbelief made sense...after all they had seen her redirect an explosion of heat nearly two stories high. Rubbing her arms, she shivered, feeling the cold seeping in through her thin jacket before holding her hands out. 

“C’mon, I’ll get you guys home.”

They appeared in the study; the same one they had been joking in that morning. Nik stormed away immediately, and Kol sped upstairs close behind him. Elijah slowly walked to the window and looked outside, pensively. Lis rubbed at her eyes tiredly, feeling drained from the figurative shit show. She deserved some rest.

Leaving a silent and distracted Elijah behind, she plodded up the stairs slowly and made her way to her room. Esther wasn’t coming back here tonight – she was eager to spend time in her favourite little sanctuary.

Not that she would be able to relax for too long though, the siblings were linked – unlinking them just became her number one priority. There were preparations to be made – blood to be collected. Ugh, she’d have to use her favourite vials for this, then track everyone down.

Kol stepped out of the shadows near her door, making her startle in fright - hands up in a defensive position.

He watched her in amusement as she lowered her hands sheepishly before he spoke. “I can’t get into your room.”

“That's because I have this policy, y'know? I only let people I trust in.” Cue awkward smile as Kol went to leave, grabbing his arm. "You pushed me out of the way again tonight."

Kol's dark eyes brightened in understanding before he smirked. "That's because you seem to have this infuriating habit of getting in the way." 

Annalise snorted, rolling her eyes at his smooth reply. "I'll work on it. Here, come on in." 

She gestured at him to follow her inside and watched him raise an eyebrow in surprise as he didn’t run into an invisible barrier this time. He entered, looking around the room slowly as Annalise leaned against the wall next to her window studying him in turn. He stopped a few feet away from her, voice serious once more. “Mother fled with Finn. She will be back to attack us again once she regains her strength, so I’m leaving.” He seemed to be waiting for her to say something, but she smiled in sad understanding.

“Kol, that’s the exact reason I need to stay here; in case she comes back. I need to help Nik.”

He looked away jaw clenched before he nodded, turning to leave with a wide leer. “Of course, poor Nik. What happened to wanting to not leave a friend alone?”

Lis strode over and grabbed him by the arm, speaking gently. “That still applies, jackass. You’re the one who’s doing the leaving. Plus, I’ve literally known you for about 3 days. I need to stay here because I feel like a lot of shit’s about to go down - I need to be here to help people.”

He gave her a slight nod with another unreadable look. “Helping people. Overrated, isn’t it?”

She sighed rubbing her brow. “Sure, Kol. But, uh…before you leave, I need your blood.”

He nodded in understanding and watched closely as she walked to the small cupboard next to her dresser and pulled out a clear vial the size of a pill bottle. “For the blood linking spell. You won’t be able to break it without Finn’s blood.” He stated.

She dropped the vial in Kol’s outstretched hand and grimaced as he bit into his wrist and held the bleeding wound carefully over the vial. “Uh...yeah, that’s right up there on my to do list.”

Annalise capped the vial once his wound had healed and stopped bleeding, placed it on her dresser; picking up a stray pen and grabbing Kol’s other palm to write her number down. “I don’t want you completely alone out there. First thing you do: get a phone and call me. I’ll help you with anything you need, okay?”

Kol looked at her unsurely with his dark eyes before taking his hand out of hers and putting it in his pocket. “Right.”

Without another word, he blurred out of her sight.

She stood still for a moment, jerking when she heard the sound of the front door shut. Pushing aside the feeling of whatever it was she felt at his abrupt departure, Annalise grabbed a few more vials, teleported to the foyer where she heard voices echo. Rebekah was home, and she had found Elijah, who hadn’t moved from where Lis had left him.

“Where the bloody hell is everyone?”

Lis leaned on the doorframe behind Rebekah, supplying helpfully. “Nik’s upstairs in the drawing room. Kol just left.”

Rebekah nodded at her before her gaze moved to Elijah, turning away from the window. “It’s over, Rebekah.”

She looked worried at his bleak tone, and moved closer. “Where’s mother?”

He shifted away, his eyes not meeting his sister’s; leaning against the back of a chair. “We have no mother, only Esther. And Esther was right.”

“What do you mean?” Confusion and slight fear coloured her friend's tone.

“All my talk of virtue; when it suits my needs, I kill, maim, and torment. Even today I terrorized an innocent.” He walked closer to Rebekah until he stood in front of her.

“Elena is hardly innocent.” Rebekah was quick to interject coldly.

“And I used your hatred of her to get what I wanted.” He rebuffed. “Wielded you like I would a sword. My sister.”

Annalise frowned, disagreeing with what Elijah said, but didn’t want to interrupt the conversation between the two siblings. It felt far too personal – she shouldn’t even have been here to witness it, but it spoke volumes about how much they trusted Lis in the short amount of time they’d known her, and it made her feel strangely humbled.

Rebekah seemed to disagree too. “You did it to protect us, Elijah, and rightly so. We deserve to live. We are better than they are.”

“Are we?’ Elijah’s voice was low, and hopeless like he already knew the answer to his question. He glanced at Lis, as if recalling her words from the clearing. “Mother made us vampires. She didn’t make us monsters. We made wrong choices. We did that to ourselves.”

Elijah walked past Lis out of the room.  She exchanged a worried glance with Rebekah before smiling thinly. “I’ll have a quick chat with him.”

At her nod of affirmation she walked after Elijah, stopping him in the small room just before the foyer. “Elijah, wait.” He turned giving her a small smile.

“You have my thanks Lis. For your loyalty to Niklaus, to this family.”

She shook her head in dismissal at his thanks before stepping closer, holding out a vial. “Yeah, um....before you leave, I need your blood for the de-linking spell.”

He nodded and bit his wrist in a similar fashion to Kol, albeit a bit more neatly and proper in the way he uncuffed his shirt in an effortless motion. Lis watched the blood drip rapidly into the container and looked up to see Elijah’s eyes also narrowed in thought looking at his blood. “I wonder how much blood we’ve spilled, because of our choices. You were right tonight, Lis, we gave into our base natures – we are the result of our own bad decisions.”

Lis moved closer and patted his arm softly, causing his eyes to flick to hers. “Lijah, I meant what I said in the clearing, but I think you misunderstood me. Sure, we’ve all made bad choices, done terrible things. But, please remember this. Who you are, and who you need to be to survive and protect your family; they are two very different things.” He smiled appreciatively, albeit sadly at her.

“Thank you for your kind words, but you can’t compare yourself to us. You don’t have a bad bone in your body – but we, we’ve done things too terrible to comprehend.”

Elijah looked sad and troubled. Lis wondered exactly what weighed him down so much – what he really did to deserve such a heavy burden. She studied him for a long moment with dark eyes shining behind her glasses, lifting her chin up, before shaking her head in denial.

“I’ve seen monsters Lijah. Anyone has the power to become one – doesn’t matter whether they are human, or supernatural. All they have to do is give into the darkness inside them – like my parents did. But you, you look like you’re still fighting your darkness. Some choices matter more than others – this choice to fight your demons? That’s one of them. That doesn’t make you a monster Elijah, that makes you a good person.”

He shook his head lightly, but his eyes were warmer now, smiling. He handed her the capped blood-filled vial gently. “Wise words to go by. Goodbye, little Lissie.”

She grabbed it and sent him a soft smile. “Goodbye, Lijah. Keep in touch.”

-

Annalise locked the large front door after watching Elijah disappear into the night, then teleported up to Nik’s drawing room where she felt the remaining siblings had gathered. They startled slightly at her appearance before Rebekah gave her a genuine smile.

“We were talking before we heard the conversation between you and Elijah. Thank you for what you said to our brother. He deserves this the least.”

Annalise blushed in embarrassment, before rolling her eyes, shrugging. “No one deserves it, Bekah. And uh…I have blood from both Kol and Elijah – for when we need to do the linking spell. I’m gonna need the both of yours too.”

Nik and Bekah nodded at her – Rebekah kindly, and Nik in subtle gratitude - before the Rebekah took her phone out and moved over to Nik who was leaning against the brick of a lit fireplace.

“There’s something I think you both need to see.” Nik pushed off the fireplace, walking towards Rebekah to collect the phone in her outstretched hand.

“Come to brag about your skills as a torturer?” His familiar smirk stretched his lips before it dropped almost immediately, eyes narrowing as they studied the photo that Rebekah had presented him with. Lis moved forward to stand in front of the pair, peering over Nik’s hand at Rebekah’s phone.

“Look at the images on the wall behind Elena. The natives told the story of our history.” Rebekah replied in response to Lis’s questioning expression before continuing. “Look at the images on the far wall.”

“What is it?” Nik asked gravely.

“A native worshipping at the great white oak tree.” Rebekah moved the phone closer to Nik.

“And?” His brows raised; eyes skeptical. “We burned that tree to the ground.”

“Look at the markings that precede it.” Rebekah’s expression was tight and unnerved. “That’s the native calendar.”

Nik tilted his head, examining the symbol closely before disbelief flooded his eyes, along with a small amount of fear. “This can’t be right.”

Lis looked between them, lost. Rebekah noticed and explained immediately. “A white oak tree, three hundred years after we fled back to the Old World. There must have been a sapling, a new tree to replace the old.”

Lis exhaled lowly. “Meaning there’s a tree out here that could kill you. Fuck.”

Chapter Text

A few days had passed since the bombshell that there had been another White Oak tree had dropped.

Rebekah had left early the very next morning to search the Founder’s archive for any record of the white oak tree, but the search had been fruitless. They'd managed to confirm the presence of the tree, yes, but the tree had been felled by an unknown party soon after it had been logged in. Annalise had then texted her to go talk to Mayor Lockwood about tracking down the tree – so while Rebekah was out and about hunting down leads, she in turn had decided to spend a quiet day indoors.

Lis had made herself comfortable in one of the many grand libraries in the mansion, curled up in an armchair in front of a warm fire, sipping coffee. There really wasn't much for her to do, so in an effort to make herself useful, she read up on the ‘History of Mystic Falls’ to see if it holds any record of a White Oak cut down in Mystic Falls; after all - those trees were incredibly rare - no doubt because of the careful Mikaelsons. So far, the book was a very dry read, but information about the tree aside, it seemed that the current serial killer wasn’t the only one in the small town’s history.

Apparently, there had been a small string of murders about a century ago - the killer was never found. 

Nik had asked her the night before if she could trace the tree in anyway at all, but Annalise had come up disappointingly short. Sure, she could ‘feel the magic’ in nature, but she wasn’t able to sense if a certain tree in Mystic falls had more magic than another – that was like trying to find a specific needle in a pile of needles only using her sense of smell – and the needle only smelt slightly stronger than the rest. 

The task was about as impossible and inconceivable as it sounded. It hurt her brain.

Sure landmarks, supernaturals – things that contained more magic than nature in general were bright lights on her radar, but what happens when the thing she wanted to find was nature?

At least Rebekah’s hunt had been slightly more fruitful than hers afterwards. When Rebekah had come home last night after a day of sleuthing, she revealed to Nik and Lis that the tree had been cut down, and that the Salvatores had owned the logging mills at that time. How convenient. 

The thought of them reminded her of the fact that a Bennett witch had died due to their miscalculation a few nights prior, despite her insistence that distance would have been enough to weaken Esther’s spell. There had been a reason Esther had told them to stay at the Old Witch House, practically under her feet down in the basement.

It had been a pointless waste of life.

Today, Rebekah had decided to leave early to go talk to Mayor Lockwood again; seeing as the Salvatores had been wary to offer too much of any information the day before, this time at the Wickery Bridge. Apparently, it was undergoing a restoration, making it safer or something. Lis decided to tag along this time; the house seemed jarringly quiet and empty after having the entire Mikaelson family there for a couple days.

The refreshment table were set up a few metres away from the bridge, to the side – that’s where Annalise had contently made her temporary home while Rebekah had gone up to the Mayor once again to talk about the town’s archives. She offered her friend a small cupcake as she walked back over to Lis with a scowl after her visibly disappointing conversation, before popping it into her mouth when it was waved away distractedly.

“That mayor is useless, she can’t even get me record of the logging mills – she says I’ve got to go directly to the source.”

As Lis nodded sympathetically, a familiar leather jacket in the crowd caught her eye. She nudged Rebekah before gesturing to the other end of the bridge. “Well, there’s your source right there, talking to that tall red head.”

Rebekah squinted at the pair and swore, making Lis raise her brow at her friend in faint surprise. "I didn't know Damon pissed you off that much." 

“It's not him." Rebekah scowled, eyes still stuck on the pair. "That tall red head is Sage. She was a commoner obsessed with Finn back before he was daggered. No doubt she’s back to sink her dirty little talons into him again.”

The Original stormed in the direction of Sage and Damon with a huff, Annalise sighed in annoyance before slightly jogging to keep up with her long strides. Damn the Original’s tall genes.

“Look what the cat dragged in.” Rebekah crossed her arms with a slight smirk playing on her face as she strode up to the conversing pair. Damon flashed a glance at Lis who was biting into another mini cupcake, before gesturing to Sage, moving closer to her side. “Easy there, Rebekah. You know, she used to beat men for sport.”

“Badass.” Lis said before taking another bite, drawing a small smirk from Sage, shrugging after Rebekah sent her a scathing glare which said ‘Who’s side are you on? Don’t compliment the trash, Lissie’  

Rebekah turned back to Sage, not looking half as impressed as Lis did. “She always was quite common.”

Sage looked unimpressed at Rebecca's insults as she replied graciously. “Rebekah. What a happy surprise.”

“What are you doing here?” 

“I heard Finn was freed from that casket your rage-aholic brother Klaus carted him around in.”

“Hmm, Finn. He just left town and didn’t tell a soul where he was going.” Rebekah’s smirk widened at her realisation that she currently had the upper hand.

Her jab didn't seem to throw Sage off for long, however, but she recovered quickly, smiling. “He probably went looking for me.”

Bekah let out a little laugh. “Or quite possibly he forgot all about you.”

Lis had to hand it to the woman; the redhead seemed insanely self-assured as her smile didn’t drop one bit as she answered the spiteful Original. “I doubt that.”

“No?” At Sage’s sure shake of a head, Rebekah delivered the final blow. “Because he didn’t seem to mention you. Sorry you came all this way for nothing. Have a nice life.” With that, Rebekah turned away and stalked off, back in the direction of the refreshments table. Annalise raised her eyebrows and sent a small smile at Sage.

“Hi, uh...I’m Lis. You’re Finn’s old girlfriend?” The red head narrowed her flinty blue eyes warily but nodded slightly.

“That’s good to know. He didn’t actually mention you, but then again, he did seem pretty busy being hellbent on destroying himself and his family." Lis shrugged with a quick grin. "You know how it is. Anyway, I was hoping maybe you could help on that front.”

Sage quirked a brow, tilting her head in slight confusion. “You’d ask for my help?”

Lis nodded, stuffing her hands into her jean pockets. “Sure, why not? Love is a pretty powerful motivator. You’d be seriously useful.” The small woman turned to leave before turning around again with an uncomfortable look, “Just quickly though, before I leave – I’d be careful around this one.” Lis pointed at Damon, who widened his eyes trying to look innocent. “I told him that he didn’t have to hurt someone to help the girl he cared about, but he did it anyway, just to be sure she wouldn't get hurt. He’s in it for love too, and his love is in danger 'cos of your love’s family. The whole thing’s complicated but uh…point is; keep an eye on him.”

Damon held a hand to his chest in mock insult. “You hurt me. I thought we were friends, Glinda.”

Rolling her eyes and not deeming that comment worthy of a reply, Lis jogged back over to Bekah, going to the opposite side of the table to grab herself a cup of lemonade. She took a sip and instantly grimaced. “Jeez, Americans use way too much sugar.” At the silence that followed her statement, she looked up and saw Rebekah moving a hand along the table in quiet thought. “What’s up Bekah?”

“I needed Damon alone to grab the milling ledgers from his house," The blonde scowled at the table as she whispered, "but I can’t do that while desperate Sage is with him.”

Glancing behind Rebekah, she raised her brows. “Well, don’t count your chickens yet, Bekah. Incoming.” She sipped at the lemonade as Damon walked up behind Rebekah, uncomfortably close.  Annalise smirked at her friend feigning apathy as Damon brushed up behind her.

“Anyone ever tell you you’re sexy when you’re bitchy?” Lis stifled a smirk, looking away awkwardly as Rebekah remained unbothered.

“We’re talking now, are we? You were quite rude the other day; using me to help you with Stefan, then shooing me away like a stray dog.” Lis used her lemonade cup to hide her chuckle – Rebekah had caught her up on the other aspects of yesterday, the stuff that Nik wasn’t privy to; and while Lis didn’t fully endorse this new way of teaching Stefan control – and she let Rebekah know that she thought so too - it was fun gossiping the night away with Bekah in the privacy of her room.

Damon pouted dramatically. “Aw, but that was brother business. You can’t hold that against me. Besides, I really did appreciate your help, even if I didn’t show it.”

Rebekah started moving slowly down the side of the table away from Damon. “You were mean.”

Damon was quick to follow. “You like mean.”

Lis saw indignation in Bekah’s gaze as she turned around to finally face the handsome vampire. “No, I don’t.”

He raised his brows in disbelief. “No? You didn’t get a thrill back there pushing Sage down? Crushing her dreams of true love?”

“Maybe a little.” Rebekah couldn't help the vindictive curve to her lips as her eyes sought out Sage in the crowd.

“See? Mean.” Damon moved closer to her and lifted a flirty brow. “Can Sage and I interest you in a drink back at the house?” Now Lis was starting to feel like a major third wheel...or was it fourth? Fourth wheel for a functioning tricycle? Does that even make sense?

Annalise sipped at her drink uncomfortably.

Rebekah was the opposite – looking composed and unbothered, she lifted her chin and flashed Damon a cold smile. “Not a chance in hell.”

Damon had yet to take his eyes off Bekah. “You know what they say; two’s company, three’s a party.”

A loud cough made the flirty pair look at a bright-red choking Lis. “Sorry, the lemonade went down the wrong pipe. Continue, don’t mind me. Please.” Her voice cracked.

Dismissing her, the pair went back to their intense eye contact. “Fine.” Damon leaned over Rebekah to put his cup of lemonade on the table, making sure to skim his hand along her arm and stomach sensually before whispering lowly in her ear. “Enjoy the rest of your day.”

Passing both girls a cocky smile he sent a salute in Lis’s direction “You’re invited too, witchy.”

Lis spluttered with wide eyes. “I- what? No. Why?”

“’Cos you’re cute, Aggie Cromwell. Like a nerdy innocent-but-feisty kinda cute. Yum. The offer stands for the both of you.” He winked at her before leaving, smirking at the red-faced stuttering small woman he left behind.

After taking a quick moment to compose herself once more, she turned to look at Rebekah, still standing where Damon had left her, staring at the empty space her just vacated with a considering but slightly vulnerable look. “Bekah? You good, or are you still recovering from Damon Salvatore’s excessively intense PDA?”

The blonde’s eyes snapped to hers, still slightly distracted – “Come on, we aren’t going to get more information here, let’s go home.”

She chose not to mention Rebekah’s unsure tone and complete avoidance about what had just happened.

-

It was late evening now and Rebekah had been distracted the entire day. Soon after reaching home, she had holed herself up in her room, so Lis had made herself comfortable in her favourite home library armchair and continued reading the large book detailing the town’s history. She had yet to finish it, and yes, it was as dull as watching paint dry, but at least it was informative. She had no clue where Nik had disappeared to; her best guess was that he was currently putting all his Hybrids on high alert to locate the white oak three and then coming up with a billion contingencies.

Curse his paranoid genius mind.

Lis was debating whether getting up from her comfortable chair to make herself a cup of coffee was worth it, when she heard heels click down the stairs and saw Bekah dressed up, walk into view holding a bottle of wine. Rebekah paused in front of her. “I’m going to the Boarding house; I could use the invitation as a cover to get more information on the mills there. You coming?”

Lis scrunched up her face. “Nah, not into foursomes, sorry. I learnt that lesson like a year ago. You go have fun though.”

Rebekah’s eyes were wide with disbelief. “What do you mean you learnt that lesson? I thought you said you’d never had a lover before? You can’t just casually drop that in a conversation Lissie!”

Lis snorted and rolled her eyes, waving a hand to dismiss her line of thought. “I didn’t say I participated Bekah, all I knew was that a bunch of witches were planning to do like a summoning spell, I wanted to watch and learn y’know, before I realised it was a full-blown magical orgy of sorts. Being as devastatingly chill as I am, I lost my cool and decked it the hell outta there. I’m an insanely socially awkward person to begin with – I don’t want to be a total wet blanket while you’re trying to get it on.”

Rebekah blushed slightly but looked away, exasperated. “I’m not going to get it on as you so eloquently put it. I’m going for information.”

She sent the blonde a saucy wink. “Sure Bekah. I hear you. Then you’re gonna have to dish all that important information as soon as you get home, ‘kay girl? Have fun~”

Lis called out to her embarrassed friend as she turned and hightailed it towards the front door. “Use protection! Safe sex is the best sex!”

The echo of the front door being slammed shut answered her yell, making her giggle before going back to her boring history book.

-

Annalise was getting ready for bed when Rebekah finally called her. Apparently, this whole night had been orchestrated by Sage and Damon to get Rebekah vulnerable enough to see her thoughts – that was wrong on so many different levels. But she didn’t have the time right now to get into it.

That’s because Sage had apparently turned to their side after finding out from Damon that the entire underside of the Wickery Bridge had been made of White Oak...that actually made a lot of sense; it was probably why the Bridge felt strange and super supportive when she had stopped Stefan from driving Elena over off it. Well – more magically supportive than a normal non-magical bridge that is.

Anyway, Sage obviously wanted any weapon that could kill Finn gone; so both her and Rebekah were at the bridge right now, gathering all the white oak beams. Lis blipped to the now familiar Bridge to meet up with the two unlikely allies. She nodded to Sage, who had managed to pile all the wood in the middle of the road, and watched as Rebekah made her way over to the pair from the other side of the bridge through the metal construction beams and the bright orange traffic cones. She had been looking for any other beams that they might’ve missed.

“There isn’t any more White Oak left on this Bridge. How are we getting rid of that?” Rebekah gestured at the huge pile of pale wooden beams.

Lis wordlessly lifted her hand towards the pile in reply and muttered “Ardeo.” The large pile of wood was abruptly engulfed in white flames, in imitation of a large bonfire. Sage lifted an impressed brow.

“Handy trick.”

“It is. That flame eats everything – not even ash is left.” Lis turned to look at Sage as Rebekah walked to stand next to Lis, staring at the bonfire. “Thank you for telling us.”

Sage nodded but looked away. “I was tempted not to. Damon said he’d leave Finn alone.”

Lis cocked her head and narrowed her eyes. “Well that’s a huge loophole, if I ever saw one. What he conveniently didn’t tell you was that right now; all the siblings are linked to each other – which means if one dies…”

“…All of them die. Including Finn. I know, I saw it in Damon’s mind. That’s why I helped.” Sage finished her sentence grimly and turned to leave.

Lis nodded back at her in goodbye before turning back to face the fire. Rebekah hadn’t made a sound yet, so she settled to watch the white flames devour the wood silently next to her friend.

Less than a few minutes later the sound of a car squealing down the road in panic reached their ears. Both girls turned simultaneously to watch Damon yell in anger as he hurled himself out of the recklessly parked car in their direction, eyes locked on the burning pile of un-salvageable wood. As always, Rebekah was quick to feast on his failure.

“Your grand plans always seem to get ruined, don’t they?” Her smile was slight, but self-satisfied, as the blonde faced Damon in his signature leather jacket staring hopelessly into the pale wood on fire behind them. “Sorry to disappoint you...again.”

Annalise thought Rebekah’s smile felt wrong – it almost had a sad, betrayed quality about it. She felt angry on behalf of Rebekah for what had happened to her tonight. Damon had crossed the line – no, he had stomped all over it. Rebekah sauntered away but Lis lingered, causing Damon’s attention to shift to her, eyes angry.

She didn’t give him the chance to speak up.   

“I thought I told you that you’d all be safe while you don’t poke the bear – or the millennia old vampire family in this case; which is infinitely more dangerous. Going after the one thing that can kill them, after you take advantage of a girl in a vulnerable position – damn, Damon. I thought you were supposed to be smart and like; halfway decent. I was clearly wrong. You had no right to do what you did – no right at all.”

Finishing off her statement with a disappointed glare and an angry shake of her head, she jogged to Rebekah’s side and teleported the both of them home in an instant.

Rebekah had decided to crash in Lis’s room for the night – they had talked for a long while about failed relationships, and it had been emotional before they had fallen asleep in her bed.

Rebekah might have acted strong the entire day, but the way her thoughts were callously violated after wanting companionship had really affected her – and it showed subtly. The blonde had put up a brave face, but eventually when Lis just hugged her for a moment, she hadn’t missed the slight waver in the girl’s voice, the shiver that racked her frame and the reddened eyes that looked towards her after they separated from their hug.

As she burrowed deeper into the comforter, carefully, so as not to disturb the sleeping girl curled up behind her, her last thought was how the moonlight felt strangely foreboding of pain yet to come.

Something big was coming. This was just the beginning.

Chapter Text

"Text message" format

"Spell." or emphasis...depends if its in another language or not lol. :)

Annalise went through her mental checklist whilst getting ready for the new day.

The white oak tree debacle was solved – pretty clear cut. Rebekah got all the white oak on the bridge last night; her friend was confident about it. Next up: unlinking the Original siblings. She had gotten vials of blood from everyone except Finn – him and Esther were still in the wind. She could try to track them today, maybe perform a scrying spell. 

She paused brushing her hair...speaking of absent Originals – Kol still hadn’t reached out to her despite him leaving nearly a week ago. Maybe she could do a quick scry on him too, just to make sure he hadn’t gotten into any trouble. Annalise made her way downstairs walking past Rebekah’s room. Bekah had woken early this morning – it was her leaving that woke Lis up; it had been around half past six in the morning. She hoped her friend was fine, but honestly? Rebekah was now in her anger stage – she hoped that meant Rebekah kicked Damon’s butt for what he did to her.

Her phone buzzed on the countertop while she was busy making her coffee. She grabbed the warm mug in her hands and looked at the caller. Huh, strange.

“Hey Elena, what’s up?” She leaned her hip against the countertop and sipped at her coffee, holding the phone to her ear.

“Hey, Lissie, uh…are you free now? The last few days have been less than ideal, and I just want to talk to someone about it.”

Annalise was nodding before she knew it. “Yea, yeah for sure, Elena. Where are you?”

She could hear Elena sigh in relief. “Thanks, uh…I’m at the grill right now. Near the back entrance.”

“Perfect. See you in a sec.”

She hung up and texted Rebekah and Nik really quickly, letting them know that she’s going to be out for a bit, before grabbing a jacket and teleporting to the familiar back alley behind the Mystic Grill. Annalise walked in and was immediately greeted by Elena at a small table to her left. She placed her coffee mug on the small table while she grinned the girl opposite her.  

“Elena, what did you wanna talk about?”

The tall girl managed to curl in on herself until she looked impossibly small and cross her arms on the table. Lis waited looking on worriedly until Elena collected herself. “I, uh…remember the serial killer?”

Annalise’s brow lifted but she kept her sarcastic retort to herself. Instead she just nodded.

“Yeah, turns out it’s Alaric.”

Lis squinted at Elena before grinning unsurely. “But I healed him...from a stab wound. Remember?”

Elena let out a deep sigh and tiredly rubbed at her eyes. “Yes, I remember Lissie. That was to put us off track. Turns out, every time he died and was brought back to life by my family ring, he went a little insane. Now he’s got this dark alter ego that’s hell-bent on killing corrupt council members.”

Annalise exhaled slowly, leaning back on her chair. “Oh shit, that’s screwed up. How long have you known?”

Elena fiddled with her hair. “Um… a couple days now. We tried taking off the ring, but he can still turn into the evil Ric without it. He tried to hurt Meredith the day before.”

Annalise crossed her arms in thought. “How did you figure out that it was the ring that was driving him insane? How do we know it wasn’t something, someone, else?”

Elena nodded, sitting up and reaching into her bookbag, bringing out two worn journals before setting them down squarely in front of Lis, inviting her to look at them with a quick gesture. “The rings were passed down to us – these are our ancestor’s journals. Samantha Gilbert documented her deterioration to crazy, her killing spree, her blackouts, everything – she died in an insane asylum.”

Lis had picked up a journal and flipped through the pages as Elena spoke, her brow raising higher as she saw the neat cursive writing rapidly worsen until the last page was filled with desperate scribbles. “Damn, okay – I think I actually read about that recently. 1912, right? The serial killer was never found." Annalise tilted her head, trying to think through the situation. "It’s just, when I was trying to heal Alaric after he was hit by Tony, I didn’t feel anything malicious from the ring – but I did feel something keeping him in a death state until he was fully healed. This all sounds like a witch thing if you ask me. How is he right now?”

As Lis deposited the journal into Elena’s hands, Elena busied herself placing the books back in her bag. “Ric’s fine, Bonnie’s done a spell to keep the alter ego away, she gave him herbs to maintain it. Damon decided to keep a closer eye on him, and I’m here picking up some chocolate muffins to give them later.” The teen tucked her long hair behind her ear, turning her curious eyes back at Lis. “What did you mean by witch thing?”

Annalise shrugged, taking a sip of her cold and forgotten coffee. She grimaced and heated up the coffee with a quick spell while she answered Elena. “You said he’s killing council members that aren’t doing their jobs, right?” Elena nodded, prompting her to continue. “Well, that’s why I think this sounds like a witchy vendetta – if the council doesn’t do their job properly and keep the local safe, it falls to the witches to supernaturally maintain the balance, right? This might be an insane witch’s way of dealing with things. Do you know who made these rings? Could they have cursed the jewellery?”

Elena shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. Emily Bennett spelled these rings for Jonathan Gilbert and my father. They were fine for all the years they wore their rings, and so was Alaric. Bonnie’s mum said that dying multiple times and coming back must have weakened him to a point where he developed and alter ego.”

Lis leaned her chin on one hand and hummed in thought. “Yeah, that sounds plausible. Dying definitely would have severe side effects – it’s just that an alter ego wouldn’t just occur unless Alaric strongly feels that way deep down – I don’t think he would though.”

“Yeah. He isn’t above breaking the law to keep us safe. He wouldn’t secretly hate himself for that. He saves people no matter the consequences.” Elena agreed.

There was a lull in conversation as both girls were lost in thought. Lis was sipping at her reheated coffee mug once more when she suddenly squinted at Elena. “Wait, you mentioned Bonnie and her mum. Are they both fine? I could’ve sworn one of them died the other night.”

Elena’s eyes grew downcast. “Yeah, uh…you’re not wrong. Damon killed Bonnie’s mum. She’s a vampire now. Bonnie was upset at me because of it.”

Lis’s frown deepened. “Jeez, Damon’s seriously starting to piss me off. Killing a witch is one thing, but turning them? Taking their magic away? That’s arguably worse. That shit changes people. Not to mention what he did yesterday to Bekah – he’s gonna end up in a ditch somewhere, and honestly, I wouldn’t mind too much.”

Elena huffed lightly. “Yeah, he tends to have that effect on people.” She was cut off when a waiter came by their table and dropped of a brown bag of chocolate muffins straight from the oven. Elena stood up, grabbing her bag and the muffins after a quick thanks to the waiter. Lis followed close behind as she lead them towards the back door.

“Look, uh…I can’t promise results, but I’ll try to do some research about Alaric’s situation. Just, don’t do anything stupid like come after the Originals again – it really won’t end well for you guys. Nik’s getting annoyed. So am I, to be honest.”

Elena flashed her a frown. “So what, Lissie? I should just put up with Klaus like a distant relative I hate? Let him threaten me and my loved ones whenever he feels like it?”

Lis closed the backdoor gently shut behind her before facing Elena. “That’s not it, Elena. But what your friends are doing? That’s making everything worse. You guys are agitating them.”

The taller girl was already scowling at her well before she ended her sentence. “So you’re telling us to just take it?”

Annalise was shaking her head tiredly. “You know that’s not what I mean, Elena. I’m just saying he isn’t as bad as you guys are making him out to be. He isn’t the enemy here. This won’t end well for you guys, trust me. You’re just escalating things.”

Elena’s scowl worsened in disgust. “I really thought you were different, Annalise. I thought you hated what he stood for. Now, you sound just like one of them. Me? My friends? We’re not gonna stop until everyone’s safe, and they’re all gone. Count on it. And when the time comes, if you’re with them, you lose too.”                   

With the parting blow, Elena tuned on her heel and stormed away in a huff, leaving Lis alone in the dark alley way. She sighed tiredly, rubbing the bridge of her nose under her glasses and threw back the last bit of her coffee like a shot.

Annalise understood where Elena came from – she really did. If there was anything threatening her loved ones – she wouldn’t hesitate to make sure they were safe at any cost. Her biggest regret was that she had just said to Elena what every single adult had said to her when she was growing up; when she was trying to figure out what she was, and who she was. Don’t make too much noise, don’t ask questions, don’t fight the system. Just take it.

This sickened her – but the circumstances were different weren’t they? She truly hoped they were. She was just looking out for Elena and her loved ones’ best interests. She leaned her head back against the wall deep in thought.

Lis had only known the Originals for a relatively short amount of time – so why on earth was she so adamant about defending them? Were they worth it? 

Her phone buzzed. Speak of the devil – Nik had texted her that he needed her in the study right now. Annalise shook her head and blinked there in the next second. 

Nik was leaning over a large map spread out over the ornate desk in the downstairs study. Rebekah was boredly inspecting her nails, relaxed on the small couch. Both gave her a short but genuine smile as she popped into existence in front of them. She smiled back reflexively and moved closer to the pair.

Yeah, they were worth it.

Nik glanced at her once more, looking carefully in her eyes. “What’s wrong, Lissie?” He stood up from the table as she tucked her loose hair behind her ear.

“Nothing, uh…I just had a conversation with Elena – Alaric apparently has a serial killer alter ego.” Nik smirked at her as Rebekah stood to join them around the map.

“Well, killing could be a healthy outlet for that self-righteous man – but what’s gotten you all troubled?” Nik crossed his arms, looking at her closely.

She mirrored his stance and flashed him an unsteady smile. “I – uh…told them to stop coming after you guys just one too many times and she chewed me out a bit. I deserved it.”

Rebekah huffed angrily with her hands on her hips. “As if Elena was ever the paragon of good judgement – Lissie, I doubt you deserved it. You’ve been nothing but a saint, just wait until I get my hands on that bitch-”

Annalise giggled as she moved over to Rebekah’s side, wrapping an arm around her waist in a side hug, before she looked back at Nik. “Anyways, what did you need me for?”

Nik grinned at her and gestured at the map. “I think it’s time we found my brother – don’t you think? Especially since Sage showed up.”

Lis nodded, reaching out to grab presumably Finn’s shirt that Nik offered her. “Yeah, I was just thinking about that this morning.”

She stepped away from Bekah and towards the map, laying one hand face down firmly pressed against it, and the other holding Finn’s shirt tightly. “Volo in venire.”

A tall city flashed before her eyes, lit lampposts and dead trees lining the crowded main road. A tall man walked peacefully amongst the pedestrians – Finn. Passing a small bar on the corner of a street, he turned right. There! 

A slight hiss and the smell of smoke permeated the air. Opening her eyes, Lis joined Nik and Rebekah in leaning closer to the map. A burn mark had appeared on the map a couple towns over from Mystic Falls – more specifically – in Downtown Atlanta. Nik grinned. “Time for some good old-fashioned Southern Hospitality.”

-

Fortunately, Annalise and Nik had visited Atlanta what felt like decades prior, (but was only a bit more than a couple months ago), back when they were looking for hybrid minions for Nik’s army. As a result, Lis was able to teleport the three of them to a back alley behind this cute café that she had once frequented in a heartbeat.

As Nik went to walk out of the alleyway, Lis grabbed his arm. “Wait a sec, just lemme look for him.” 

Closing her eyes and widening her senses, she looked for a magic signature resembling Rebekah’s burning brightly next to her. Nik was a hybrid – so he was pretty unique.

It took her a few moments to narrow down on his location – it was also fortunate he was alone; Esther hadn’t showed up on her magic radar at all. That meant she was hiding; that in turn meant there was no doubt that it was Esther who convinced the haunted house witch spirits to block and mute her senses back when Lis had been searching for the missing caskets.

She opened her eyes and grinned brightly at the pair in front of her looking at her expectantly. “Found him! Two streets down and to the left, passing in front of a flower boutique. No Esther in sight.” 

Nik grinned at her before blurring off out of the alley, while Rebekah moved closer to her, linked arms, and led her out at a normal pace. “I don’t think I’ve thanked you for how handy you are, Lissie. You’re like an ace up our sleeves.”

Annalise rolled her eyes and grinned at Rebekah, turning them in a different direction. She had felt Nik’s signature meet up with Finn’s and lead him their way. This small side street was a shortcut – it would put them directly in front of Finn if he continued on this path. Bekah didn’t question Lis’s decision and let her lead the pair through the light crowds. “Thanks Bekah. That’s how every girl wants to be described. 'Handy'. Oh, I’m about to pass out from the sheer amount of praise.’

Rebekah snorted and smacked her arm. “You know what I mean, Lissie. No witch will ever compare to you.”

“Duh. That’s 'cos I’m not a witch, Bekah.”

Rebekah smacked her arm again. “Just accept the compliment Lissie!”

“Fine, fine! Jeez.”

Neither she nor Rebekah startled when Finn suddenly ran into their path - his blurred speed halted suddenly, bringing him into focus. 

Rebekah jutted a hip out and raised a brow at her eldest brother who was glancing between the two girls unsurely. “Let’s not make this any worse than it has to be, darling brother.”

Finn frowned at her in anger. “You’re siding with him? Rebekah, he stored us in boxes!”

Annalise watched Rebekah put her best bitch face on. “At least he’s not trying to make us extinct.”

A short giggle drew both Finn and Bekah’s attention to Annalise. “I think she got you there, Finn.”

Finn went to reply with a scowl before he felt air displace the spot behind him. He twirled around to face a smirking Nik. “What are you gonna do? Kill me?” The sass was strong. Pity – Lis could’ve grown to like him if he wasn’t so bent out of shape about them being vampires.

Nik just grinned easily back. “Oh yeah, that’s right. You’ve got a death wish. Fine, pathetic...but fine. The thing is; I’m not gonna let you take the rest of us down with you.”

The hybrid grabbed Finn quicker than the eye could track, and threw him against the brick wall. He landed on the ground with a thud – unconscious.

Nik then looked at Lis expectantly.

She threw her hands up in the air. 

“Honestly, why even bring me at all? Oh, I know! I’m your own personal magical chauffeur! Who cares if I can incinerate things and blow people up? Nik doesn’t! He just puts up with me to reduce his freaking carbon footprint!”

Rebekah had dissolved into light laughter next to her, and Nik was looking at her fondly but tiredly during her tirade. “You done?”

Deep inhale. “Yeah.” She admitted sheepishly. 

The next moment, they were back in the foyer of the mansion. It was like a switch had been flipped and the small break they had from reality had ended. Rebekah was all business once again as Finn groaned lowly from the floor and picked himself up.

“Gather your witch. Lissie, get his blood, and let’s get on with it.”

Lis paused. “Gather your witch? Nik, since when do we have a witch?”

Nik shrugged. Rebekah rolled her eyes, electing to provide an answer instead. “It’s what he was doing yesterday. That Bennett witch is currently in our dungeons.”

Annalise narrowed her eyes in anger at the nonchalant hybrid. “What the hell Nik? We’re holding kids hostage now? Why on earth do you need another witch for? I’m perfectly adequate to carry out a simple de-linking blood magic spell.”

He rolled his eyes and smirked at her, ignoring Finn climbing slowly to his feet next to him. “Think of it as an extra precaution Lissie. Now, please – take Finn’s blood.”

Finn was quick to rebuke him. “You can’t force me to help you.”

Nik’s sharp smirk was now directed at his eldest brother. “Oh, I most certainly could. But, why force when I can persuade?”

In another dramatic gesture, Nik lifted his arm grandly at Sage who was descending the large stairs smiling gently at Finn.

Finn in turn, looked blown away.

“Hello Finn.” Sage reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Sage.”

Annalise watched Finn rush over to Sage, and grinned softly as they embraced. Rebekah rolled her eyes next to her in distaste. “What do you know, true love prevails.”

Nik received a text while he was replying to Rebekah. “It does occasionally have its uses. Easier than torturing him.”

Lis nudged them both distractedly. “Jeez, anyone tell you guys that you’re complete downers? And why would we torture him? All we need to do is stick a needle in him and grab some blood.” Nosily, Annalise leaned past Nik’s shoulder to look at who he was texting.

From Kol: “Let me know when I’m needed.”

“I will.” Nik replied.

Wait, Kol was texting Nik? Since when? Here she was, worried about him – while he was off on his own doing Nik’s bidding.

Right, okay. This was fine – that was his choice. She can’t force her friendship down people’s throats. She sighed dejectedly and moved away from Nik, her attention moving to Rebekah who was starting to walk away. “I have something to do. Do you need anything else from me?”

Lis shook her head slightly at Bekah’s question. “Nah, I got your blood, that’s all I need.”

Nik spoke up from next to her. “Wait, where are you going?”

Rebekah turned to face him with restrained anger clearly showing. “I have some unfinished business with Damon Salvatore. Ask Lissie and Sage what he did to me. Then you’ll understand why retribution is in order.”

She spun on her heel and exited the house – Annalise watched her leave sadly.

After Sage and Finn had talked for a few minutes, and joined her and Nik, Finn had willingly taken the vial that Annalise had handed him and filled it with his blood. While he was doing so, Nik had enquired further about what Rebekah had meant when she was leaving. Strangely enough, Nik’s face remained unmoved as Sage and Lis had explained to her what had gotten Rebekah so angry. Sage had also unashamedly owned up to being the one to initially think of taking advantage of Rebekah though – say what you will – but Lis was starting to respect her. To clarify; just for her honesty - not for her utter lack of empathy for Rebekah.

Finn and Sage left the mansion shortly afterwards, and Nik followed her silently as Lis went upstairs to grab the rest of the siblings’ blood. She sighed when he remained quiet. “I know you’re pissed. I am too. I didn’t think they’d do something so low – I should’ve gone with her.”

Nik stared ahead for a moment longer before his green eyes met hers. “She can handle herself. She’s always been too trusting, too loving.”

Lis ran a hand through her hair, frowning at him as they descended the stairs, the small case holding the blood vials in hand. “That’s not where this went wrong, Nik. The blame’s on Damon and Sage. Loving too easily isn’t a weakness.”

She followed as Nik lead her to a door she’d never been through before. He opened it, and started descending a darkened staircase. She heard his voice from in front of her. “It is a weakness in the lives we lead, Lissie. This’ll make Rebekah stronger – if I know my sister, she’s left to collect Damon, and make him pay.”

Lis paused, frustrated. “Wait, strong enough to do what, Nik? Strong enough to torture and kill someone? Is that what strength is?” 

Nik turned to face her with a grim smirk. “I did say that it would be best if you get used to this life Lissie. It isn’t for the faint of heart.”

She scowled lightly and scuffed her foot, looking away. “And I said that I never will, Nik.”

Nik shrugged and opened large wooden door with a small barred window, briefly sending Lis into the past when she was kidnapped by Gloria. Her scowl deepened as Nik allowed out a shivering Bonnie from inside. 

Immediately, she put an arm over the girl’s shoulders and muttered a heating spell. Bonnie nodded in thanks. She looked back at Nik angrily as she lead the girl upstairs into the study. “What the hell, Nik. I thought Bekah was joking about having dungeons. We didn’t need the poor girl at all.”

“Like I said – think of her as insurance. If she helps cast the spell, she’ll be allowed to leave, unharmed.”

The trio paused hearing chains and pained groans come from the dining area as they passed it to reach the study. Nik ushered them on.

Lis put the case carrying the five vials of blood on the large table and Bonnie moved over to the fireplace and started to warm her hands up. Nik left the room and came back shortly afterwards; Annalise would wager a bet he made a quick visit to look at whatever the hell Rebekah was doing in the other room with freaking chains.

Instead of spending too much time thinking of the possibilities, she busied herself by flicking through Esther's grimoire looking for the de-linking spell she had come across the other day – Bonnie had joined her and was pointing out alternative spells they could try.

Nik moved closer to the pair. “I should be hearing chanting by now Lissie.”

She rolled her eyes, still annoyed at him. “This is a process Nik; I need to make sure we get it right.”

Bonnie nodded in support. “Yeah, it’s a complicated spell – I don’t know if I’m strong enough.”

Nik chuckled lightly. “Don’t worry little Bennett. Lissie is plenty strong enough for the both of you. No, you’re here because your magic helped my mother link us.”

Lis furrowed her brow in thought. “Wait – that shouldn’t matter Nik, I’ve already thought about it. Esther used her own magic to link you that night, not anyone else’s.”

Nik shrugged at her. “I can’t take that chance, Lissie.” He pulled out his phone and quickly dials a number in before holding it up to face him. “Kol. How’s the weather up there in Mile High City? And how’s our friend? May I see him?” 

Lis froze as Nik brought the phone over to show her and Bonnie a live video of Jeremy playing with a dog. Bonnie looked suitably horrified.

Nik smiled smugly. “There’s Jeremy, playing fetch with his new puppy. Oh, isn’t that the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen?” He pulled the phone away from the girls, talking into it, “Thank you Kol, we’ll be in touch.” He hung up, turning back to Bonnie, grinning. “So, Bonnie; how about that spell?”

A sudden scream echoed through the house. Lis, having a pretty good idea about who it was, felt sick. Bonnie looked curious. “What was that?”

Nik dismissed her question, keeping a careful eye on Lis’s ashen complexion. “I wouldn’t let it bother you love.”

Bonnie scoffed. “Well, it does bother me. You bother me. You use people, hell, you use Lissie to get what you want, it’s not right.”

Nik moved threateningly closer to Bonnie in clear anger. “You’re being emotional, Bonnie. I understand things have been rough for you. You know, with your mother leaving. Again. It’s very sad. I can help you find her, if you want. I have people who can bring her back to you, Or, if you choose, I can just bring parts of her back.”

Lis had enough. She moved between Bonnie and Nik, and pushed him away. “That’s enough. Nik, stop. We’ve got everything we need. The sooner we get this done, the better.”

He nodded, looking at her closely, before moving away a few paces.

Moving around to the other side of the table, she grabbed a decorative chalice out of her bag and poured all the blood gently into it, muttering lowly the entire time. Bonnie looked on interestedly as Lis came back over to her side and held out a hand. As soon as she grabbed hold, the young witch gasped at the amount of power rushing through her into the chalice. 

Lis felt the familiar burn in her own eyes, and was surprised to see Bonnie’s eyes had taken on a silver tinge as well. Huh...vampires couldn't channel her, but witches could. That's right...Gloria had channeled her too – she mentally filed this information away to be explored at a later date.

Now chanting together, the witch and the other poured the combined blood in the chalice on to the bare table in front of them, watching it pool before separating slowly into five separate pools of blood moving away from each other – each distinctly carrying the energy of an Original. The flames in the fireplace flared up higher, casting larger shadows at the sheer amount of their combined residual energy.

Just as the spell was cast though, Lis choked out an excruciated gasp, wrenching her hand from Bonnie’s and disappearing into thin air the next second.

Nik was on his feet, and looking at Bonnie in shock. “What just happened?”

Bonnie looked shaken, using her hand to lean against the table, trying to collect herself. She stuttered, trying to put together her thoughts. “We- We- uh, we were still connected when we felt it – one of the energies just- just started disappearing. It- it hurt.”

-

Lis had appeared in the oh so familiar alley behind the Mystic Grill – drawn to the rapidly deteriorating signature – Finn. He was on his back, a stake in his heart burning into his soul. His screaming body was being cradled by a teary Sage, stroking his face. The dwindling energy of the Original hurt her - Lis fell to her knees next to him, put her hands on his chest, and before she knew what she was doing, she was pulling, willing Finn to hold on, to live. Sage let out a teary gasp in wonder as the grey lines of death started to slow, before stopping all together.

Lis opened her silver eyes when she felt a large hand grip her glowing ones. Finn was looking at her in disbelief.

“Gaia?”

Lis choked; eyes wide. “What- I-”

Finn’s hand squeezed hers before moving to grip Sage’s tightly. His voice cracked. “You were right, Annalise, I’m the first to know. But you aren’t strong yet, little one. Let go, we will meet again.”  

Gently, he pried Annalise's frozen fingers from his chest, instead turning to Sage with adoration clear in his eyes. “I love you.”

All at once, it felt like she lost her grip, and his silvery soul slipped straight past her fingers. The grey veins returned once more and devoured Finn’s body with vengeance – he was in ashes before Lis’s first tear fell.

Sage let out a loud wail and collapsed against the nearby wall while Annalise remained frozen, tears streaming down her face. It felt like there was an empty vacuum of space where Finn had just been. 

Robotically, she turned to face Sage – there was clear anger amidst her tears, but that’s not what Lis noticed. No...there was something different about the woman's presence...“You’re going to die soon.”

Her voice felt hollow to her own ears, and Sage looked at her for a long moment in fear, before her expression turned to one of strength and vengeance. “Best not waste my time them. Thank you, for what you did.” 

“It didn’t help though.”

Sage shook her head, helping Lis to her feet gently. “You did more than what I ever thought was possible. I find strength in his final words to me.” She smirked sadly. “Goodbye, Annalise, say hi to Finn when you see him next.”

The next moment, Sage had blurred away. Annalise took a moment to gather herself before teleporting back to the study – looking the same way that she had left it. Bonnie was gone. She felt Nik and Rebekah inside, along with another vampire – probably Damon.

She went in their direction – she ran into the siblings first. Nik was the first to notice her, but he hung back as Rebekah reached out to her worriedly. “Lissie, what’s wrong? Why were you crying?”

Lis recoiled at Rebekah blood red hands on autopilot – it was presumably Damon’s – a look of hurt passed the blonde’s face. Nik watched on carefully. Lis rubbed at her swollen eyes under her glasses before waving a hand at Rebekah, cleaning her of all of the blood. How do you break this kind of news? Do you just rip off the band-aid? 

“I- I’m sorry. Uh…Finn. Your brother just passed. I’m sorry, I really am.” 

Rebekah and Nik stood silently for a moment, before Nik spoke up, moving closer. “How did this happen, Lissie?”

She sniffed. “I don’t know – when I got there he already had a stake in his heart – I managed to slow it down a bit-”

“You what-”

She didn’t pause at Bekah’s shocked exclamation. “But, I couldn’t stop it. That isn’t all though...”

Nik grabbed her shoulder gently. “What else, love?”

She bit her lip, thinking hard. “Sage was next to me. I don’t know why, but as soon as Finn died, it felt like the magic keeping her alive was slowly leaving too – I think she’s going to die soon.”

Rebekah moved closer, skeptical. “You think Finn dying would kill Sage? What; out of the love she has for him or-”

Lis shook her head. “No, no. More like Finn was what was keeping her immortal – alive. When he died, she started dying too.”

Nik sighed and squeezed her shoulder before turning back to Rebekah. “This is a question for another time – right now, the scooby gang’s got their hands on the white oak stakes when you both burned the bridge, and I’d love to learn how.”

The three turned to face the direction of the foyer as they heard the large front door open.

“Klaus! I’m here! Let’s do this.” Stefan’s voice echoed from the dining hall. Nik raised a brow. “Speak of the devil.”

Lis silently followed Rebekah and Nik to where Stefan waited for them impatiently. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the large white tarps spread across the ground with Damon profusely bleeding and shirtless, hung in mid-air held up by two huge metal chains stretching from two opposite walls, attached to his wrists via viscous looking bear traps.

Annalise tasted bile at the back of her throat. Fortunately she was distracted when Stefan threw a large duffel bag on the ground in front of them, pale wooden stakes poking out it’s unzipped top.

“I’m here to make a deal.”

Damon shifted painfully – it took all Annalise had to not look at him guiltily again. “Stefan, what are you doing?”

Stefan ignored him, like everyone else in the room. “Eight stakes made of white oak. The part of Wickery Bridge you forgot to burn; the restored Wickery bridge sign.” Nik exchanged a look with Rebekah. Well...that was an oversight on their part.

Stefan kept talking. “If you want proof, Finn’s dead.” Lis exhaled shakily as Rebekah nodded her head.

“So we’ve heard – which makes me wonder how stupid you are to walk in here and give up the only weapon that could harm us.”

Stefan didn’t move his glare from Nik. “Damon - in exchange for the last eight weapons that can kill you.”

Nik moved closer to the younger vampire grimly. “And how do I know there aren’t any more left?”

“Because there aren’t.” Stefan replied quickly. Too quickly. Even Lis could clearly tell he was lying. Nik clearly felt the same as he walked over to Damon barely hanging on to consciousness. 

“Let’s be certain shall we?” He leaned into address Damon, looking directly into his eyes. “Leave.”

Lis looked away as Damon pleaded no. Rebekah crossed her arms apathetically. “Nik, he’s my plaything, not yours.”

She heard the jingle of chains and she looked back once more to see Nik had grabbed Damon by the throat and was looking into his eyes – much like when he had taken away Stefan’s free will once upon a time. “I said, go home.” 

Blood drained from her face and Lis felt lightheaded as she watched Damon comply to Nik’s demands and start to tear out his wrists from the snares – his flesh peeled, and he screamed in pain.

No, no. This was too far. 

“That’s enough! Please. What he did was horrible, I’m not denying it, but this is torture.”  Lis stepped up to Damon, unable to look away any longer. She scowled at Nik, flicking her wrists to vanish Damon’s bindings, and helping him down to the ground, slowly, muttering healing spells under her breath. Damon let out a relieved sigh. She felt Nik approach her from the side, so she held a single hand up in his direction, not even bothering to look, and made him freeze non-magically. She knew what she was doing. 

Crouching down to Damon’s level, she placed her flat palm against his chest and spoke. “Veritas. You can only speak the truth for however long I hold this spell – doesn’t matter if you’re all vervained up – you will speak the truth. Now tell me, how many White Oak Stakes do you have?”

Damon groaned, trying to look away, but the answer still escaped his lips. “Twelve. Eleven now - technically - minus the one that was apparently used to kill their brother with the stick up his ass.”

“Eleven, really! So not eight then.” She heard Nik scoff in disappointment next to her. 

Rebekah moved closer to the pair while Lis tried to heal the deeper wounds on Damon’s wrists and neck. “You really shouldn’t have lied.”

She heard panic and pleading enter Stefan’s tone as he replied. “I’ll get you the other three.” 

Annalise turned slightly to see Nik grin dangerously. “Yeah, that would be nice. Or, since you lied, maybe I’ll just compel your brother to chew out his tongue.”

She saw Stefan glance at her healing Damon. “I doubt your little witch would let you.”

Lis turned to him tiredly. “If you don’t bring those stakes over, I might just let him. I can always re-attach it. Don’t drag me into your little pissing contests, I’m reaching the end of my rope – trust me, you don’t wanna set me off.”

Nik chuckled, walking closer to Stefan. “What she said. Though every time she reattaches it, I get to cut it off again. So go on, bring us our stakes. Please.”

“What is wrong with you?”

“What is wrong with you?! Do you really have no appreciation for me? I have given you someone to hate, to loathe, a target for all your anger, so you don’t turn it on yourself. I have given your life purpose, as your friend.” He let out a short smug laugh. “I really think you should be thanking me.”

Lis scrutinized Nik during his entire little monologue – all it was doing was setting Stefan off, but that wasn’t ideal at this point. Stefan was seriously close to snapping – if he did, and if he happened to have a white oak stake –

Stefan rushed at Nik with an angry yell, pinning him against the opposite wall, pale stake pressing into his chest. Nik just grabbed his wrist, grinning. Ah…smart plan – it made sense; Stefan would never walk into enemy territory for an exchange unarmed.

He gripped Stefan’s wrist tighter. “Step down, or you both die.”

Stefan slowly stepped away from Nik and surrendered the stake to a smirking Nik. “There, now you only have to get me the other two.”

“This is ridiculous.”

Rebekah chose this moment to walk over to Lis still crouched low in front of Damon – steadily recovering. All his wounds had now disappeared – he was currently replenishing his lost blood. Rebekah hauled Lis to her feet before doing the same to Damon. Lis steadied him gently.

Nik frowned at Bekah. “What are you doing?”

She rolled her eyes. “I brought him here. I get to release him. My rules now. Bring us the stakes and you both live. Take your brother as a sign of good faith.”

Turning on her heel, Rebekah plucked the stake from Nik’s hand, grabbed the duffel filled with rest of the stakes and walked out of the room.

Nik watched closely as Lis handed the weak Damon gently lean against his brother’s arms. His smirk was gone as he regarded the two brothers. “Bring us the stakes. All of them. Or I will wage a war against everyone you love. I hope I’m being clear.”

Lis watched him leave the room before turning to study the two brothers blur away into the distance. Sighing, she bolted the front door shut. Annalise then walked into the parlour where the two siblings were standing silently. Lis moved to collapse on the armchair to the side, curling up on it.

Rebekah was the first to break the silence. “I can’t believe Finn’s dead.” 

Nik huffed, leaning against the back of the chair Lis was curled up on. “Good riddance. He was an embarrassment, Rebekah.”

Rebekah turned to face him angrily. “He was still your brother. Mind your tongue.”

Crossing his arms, he sent her an annoyed look. “Fine. Let’s all say a prayer to Finn, who slept in a box longer than he lived as a man. He was a lovesick fool. He’s better off in death.”

Lis shut her eyes sadly as she heard Bekah’s footsteps walk closer to them. “Is that how you would speak of me if I died?”

She heard the smirk in his voice as he replied to his sister. “Well you let the Salvatores loose with two stakes that can kill us, so I guess we’ll find out soon enough. And since when did you have a soft spot for them?”

Annalise heard Rebekah tear up. “The Salvatores may fight like dogs, but in the end they would die for each other. At least they know what family means. You destroyed ours.”

She felt Nik stand up, and stop leaning against her chair. Hurt leaked into his voice. “I wanted a family. They just didn’t want me, and now we’re unlinked we’re no longer responsible for each other.” 

Rebekah’s voice was small. Lis teared up. “So you’re leaving?”

She heard Nik shift on his feet. “As soon as I get my stakes, I’m gone. I’m gonna take Elena and use her blood to create a new family – of hybrids.”

Rebekah’s voice was still low. “And if I choose to stay?”

“Then you’re just as pathetic as Finn.” She heard Nik’s footsteps recede away from the parlour, and felt like everything was starting to fracture. Rebekah sat and squeezed into the large armchair alongside her. Lis wrapped her up in a tight hug and felt her tears soak her shoulder. She held her tighter.

Annalise hugged the Rebekah for a while before starting to speak in a contemplative voice. 

“I don’t think Finn was pathetic – I think he figured out what I am.”

She felt Bekah shift in her arms. “And what are you?”

Lis shrugged, looking away. “I don’t know exactly yet. He just called me Gaia. He said that we’d meet soon. He was nice.”

Bekah sniffled and hugged her tighter. “If I stay, you’re leaving with Nik, aren’t you?”

Lis didn’t reply for a long moment. “Yeah, I think he needs me most.”

“But I need you too.”

“I’m not leaving you Bekah, not really. I’m always just a second away, remember?”

Bekah nodded into her shoulder.

It was quiet for a while before she broke it again.

“Lissie? Can I sleep in your bed again tonight?”

She wordlessly teleported the both of them into her room and fell asleep almost immediately. She hoped Nik was okay.

Chapter Text

Lis couldn’t sleep – she had spent the entire night tossing and turning, before leaving to make herself a warm cup of coffee and curling up in her favourite armchair in the study downstairs. It was still dark outside; Rebekah was still fast asleep.

Only a few lamps lit up the room dimly, so the flames of the fireplace flickered brightly across the dark walls. She had her laptop (courtesy of Nik a few weeks ago) open on a reddit page, and another tab open on her magic community chat, fulfilling her promise to Elena.

She was asking about jewellery curses and dark objects from as many online friends as she could – it was easier to call herself a witch to gain their help. It was proving to be pretty useless so far...she had felt the Gilbert ring’s magic firsthand, she was sure it hadn’t felt like a cursed object.

Right now, her working theory was that the ring was able to keep the body in stasis while healing it exceptionally fast, then calling the soul back to the body, acting as an anchor of sorts. Seeing as her magic couldn’t make the healing process faster – her hypothesis made sense in practice. As soon as someone puts the ring on, it most likely tethers their body to their soul – and if magic was involved at all in separating the soul from the body – meaning death - the failsafe would kick in.

That’s why the healing couldn’t be sped up from any external magic; it was a closed system.

However that didn’t explain why she wasn’t able to use that same tether to pull the Alaric’s soul back into his body, then again; she honestly wasn’t well-versed in death magics and operating in magic that transcended into the spiritual plane – that’s why she was chatting with an experienced practitioner of necromancy in the Andes.

Her attention was drawn to the glass dividing door as muffled footsteps approached it. Nik walked through tiredly and sat in the armchair opposite her, lazily pouring himself a glass of bourbon, haphazardly dropping a familiar duffel bag next to him.

She peered over her glasses in judgement.

“Seriously? Does this count as day drinking?”

He sighed leaning his head in his left hand propped up on the armrest. “You tell me love, it’s four in the morning. Why are you up?”

She balanced her laptop on her knees and reached for her coffee, throwing him a small smile. “I just...couldn’t sleep. I wanted to do something to take my mind off things, so I was researching Alaric’s condition.”

Nik smirked. “Ah, yes. The alcoholic vampire hunter turned serial killer. He’s much more interesting now, if you ask me.”

Lis grinned at him fondly, rolling her eyes. “That’s why I didn’t ask you, idiot. But seriously; something’s up and it’s bothering me. Wanna be my soundboard?” Nik sat up slightly, gesturing her to continue. “Well, I tried healing Alaric while he was in that death state – y’know? It didn't let me. Basically the ring acts as an anchor for your soul if you die a supernatural death – the magic is what activates it. It preserves and heals the body then calls back the soul when it’s done. That’s pretty straightforward – right?”

He nodded, focused. “So I was just chatting with someone online – unless an entirely separate spiritual plane was created for the soul to go to while the body is being healed, which I really doubt ‘cos that’s honestly way too much trouble for Emily Bennett to go through to help a human, not to mention the insane amount of power it would take – the soul would cross the veil into the Other Side, then come back once it was called by the ring. No biggie. Only thing is, Alaric managed to develop a split personality that doesn’t reflect his inner beliefs at all.”

Nik tilted his head in thought. “An alter ego that kills corrupt council members – maybe it’s because deep down he hates himself. What about that doesn’t reflect his inner demons?”

“It raises red flags exactly because of what you just mentioned. An alter ego is a different personality that dominates – but you’re still in control of everything, and you remember everything. Alaric has blackouts – amnesiac barriers when he becomes the other him – that’s a split personality. It doesn’t reflect his beliefs at all – that’s because they aren’t able to incorporate their memories into making a decision they would normally make. So these split personalities have their own opinions, thoughts and actions. Most split personalities are also created out of major trauma – which brings me to the question - what exactly did Alaric endure while his soul was on the other side?”

Nik looked at her blankly for a long moment.

Lis shrugged, suddenly embarrassed and took a large gulp of coffee, hiding her face behind the mug. “I did a psych course once before dropping it halfway through the semester. It was interesting.” She said in a small voice.

It was silent for a while longer and Nik just chuckled. “Of course you did.”

She grinned back at him, before turning back to her computer. “Anyways – there isn’t much we can do for him. Best thing for him would be to talk things through, maybe some therapy. But honestly, I’m not sure how magic effects his condition. I just can’t imagine why a powerful spirit on the other side would ever want to mess with a vampire hunter. Surely witches would love anything that kills vampires.”

Nik was about to sip at his bourbon when he stilled. He slowly turned to face her again. “Lissie, when was the first death?”

The urgency in his tone had Lis typing: “Medical Examiner dead Mystic Falls”

Her breath caught in her throat at the results that popped up.

“Uh…I- It’s the day Mindy died, and Stefan tried to drive Elena off the bridge.”

Nik got up and moved over to her, studying the webpage. “And this was when the spirits were blocking your powers as well? Wasn’t it?”

She cleared her throat. “Yeah, yeah it was.”

He sighed and swallowed the rest of his bourbon in one go, and started pacing. “Could this have been Esther, then?”

“I would say that it’s a definite probability.” Shit. 

Cursing under his breath, Nik sat down on his armchair again. “Right, so we keep an eye on the Hunter. I’ll do that today. I might take you with me.”

“Sure.” She nodded, closing her laptop and finished off her coffee. Nik studied her closely.

“How are you now? You were out of sorts after Finn yesterday.”

She brushed her hair back and gave him a tight smile. “Yeah, don’t think I don’t see you ignoring your feelings Nik. But uh… yeah I wasn’t expecting it to hurt, when he died – not to mention he kinda pulled the rug from under my feet.” Nik raised a brow. Lis looked away from his stare and exhaled shakily. “He uh…he called me Gaia. I wasn’t brave enough to ask any of my friends online what that meant yet.”

“I’ve never heard the term – then again, Finn was the most studious of us in terms of learning magic from Esther.” Nik moved closer to the fireplace leaning against it.

Lis frowned at the floor. “How did Esther not come to the same conclusion then?”

Nik thought for a moment. “Who knows, maybe Finn saw the aura that surrounds you when you used a great deal of power on his deathbed.”

Annalise narrowed her eyes at Nik, before lightly chuckling to dismiss the suddenly grim atmosphere. “Wow Nik, so poetic. Such art. Much wow.”

Scoffing he made her way over to her. “Shut up and get to bed. I plan on an early start tomorrow.”

Sighing, she uncurled from her armchair and stood, stretching her limbs. Annalise watched Nik grab the duffel he had discarded next to his armchair and place it in the lit fireplace. White oak stakes poked out of the unzipped bag. Wordlessly she flicked her wrist. The dim orange and red fire burst into white flames, before calming down to a controlled blaze again. The bag had been disintegrated, along with the stakes. Her mind had already wandered though. 

Her stare didn’t move from the flickering flames. “Finn said he’d see me again, Nik. Does that mean I’m gonna die?”

A familiar hand felt heavy on her shoulder as she felt him behind her. “Not if I can help it, Lissie. Go to bed.”

-

Lis did not in fact go back to sleep, but instead messed around and practiced magic silently in her room until it was an acceptable time to ‘wake up’ like a normal person. She waited until Rebekah had sleepily mumbled a good morning and left her room, got ready and washed up for the day.

Rebekah was in charge of organising a decade dance at the school today, Annalise politely declined to help, but promised to help with the final preparations in the morning on the day of the dance – she honestly couldn’t believe that the school had so many functions. Rebekah was a bit bummed, but understood the threat of Esther maybe being involved in Alaric’s condition and cloaking herself from Lis’s view.

She texted the both of them that she’s going to Elena’s house to talk about Alaric, and teleported to Elena’s front door. She knocked a few times before doing a cursory magical sweep of the house – there wasn’t anyone inside. Huh.

Annalise then teleported to front door of the Salvatore Residence, this time, she definitely felt Elena’s small signature, along with the two vampire brothers. She knocked loudly on the door.

Damon answered, barely opening enough to poke his head out. He studied her silently with his intense blue eyes before giving her a slow smirk.

“Thanks for yesterday, Miss Cackle, but uh…you’re not welcome here.” 

She rolled her eyes, leaning against the porch. “Elena told me to look into Alaric’s condition yesterday, I couldn’t find her at her home, so I came here.”

“She isn’t here.” Damon’s smirk was large.

“I can sense her behind you, Damon.” Lis deadpanned.

“Right.” He shot her a faux shameful face then opened the door a little wider, allowing Elena to move into the open doorway. Lis caught a quick glimpse of large packed suitcases behind them.

Annalise looked to Elena, raising a brow. “Going somewhere?”

“No, uh…No.” Elena sucked at lying. She chose not to comment. “What did you find out about Alaric?”

Lis sighed, crossing her arms. “Honestly, um, not much that’s helpful. What I can tell you is that he didn’t develop this by himself – some spirit messed with him while he was on the other side – I wasn’t able to confirm whether it was Esther or not, but uh – that’s our biggest suspect right now. Keep an eye on him.”

Elena nodded looking away shiftily. “Okay, um...yeah we are. He’s here now, locked up downstairs. Is there any way you can help him?”

Annalise shook her head sadly. “No, I haven’t found a way yet. As long as you keep maintaining Bonnie’s spell with her herbs, it should keep serial killer Alaric at bay. It’ll give me some time to search for more solutions. I just wanted to give you an update about the suspected origins of his conditions.”

Elena nodded, and shifted uncomfortably again. Lis crossed her arms and sent her a small smile. “And, uh…hey. I also wanted to apologise for what I said yesterday – I have no right to tell you how you should be reacting to Nik upending your whole life.”

The younger girl flashed her a quick smile. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I was rude too. Sorry.”

“No worries.” The two girls shared an awkward silence for a moment before both of them moved to leave.

“Right okay, I think Nik’s gonna be by later to pick up the stakes. I might tag along too, see you then.”

“Bye.” Elena shut the door faster than Lis finished waving.

Okay…That was odd. Someone was in a hurry.

She teleported back home, and walked over to Nik in his drawing room. “Hey, I think something’s come up.” He looked away from his phone up at her. “I just saw Elena at the Salvatores. She said Alaric was there too by the way. Anyway – uh, I just saw a bunch of packed suitcases by the door – could they be running away from you with the stakes?”

Nik exhaled lightly before going back to tapping on his phone. Lis crossed her arms and waited patiently. Nik frequently got into planning moods such as these.

It was a few minutes before he spoke again. “They aren’t running away, not when Alaric’s still in trouble and Caroline is at the school with Rebekah. No, I think Elena may be going to go pick up her baby brother now that she knows that Kol’s hanging around him.”

“Ah, right. Yeah. You were really horrible using him yesterday with Bonnie, you know that?” Nik gave her a quick smirk before turning back to his phone.

“When am I not? Anyway, be packed to leave to the airport in five please.”

Lis paused as she was walking out the door. “Um, why?”

“You might miss your flight, Lissie! To Denver. I just booked you a ticket, and a cab. It’s already nearly here, and your planes leaving in half hour. I suggest you rush.”

Lis turned on her heel, looking confused. “Okay, but why Denver?”

“Because that’s where Jeremy is, and Kol. Pick him up for me, will you? Chop, chop.”

Cursing under her breath she sent Rebekah a quick text, before packing her emergency toiletries and a couple changes of clothes, along with her airport-friendly little spell/potion ingredient kit in her duffel then appeared back in his room.

“I need the e-ticket, please.”

At the ring of her phone signalling she received mail, she flipped off a grinning Nik and ran out of the house and jumped into the waiting cab. She was honestly looking forwards to getting out of this small town - it was starting to wear on her. Maybe this could be a mini holiday of some sort. 

-

Annalise liked flying; the last time she had been on a plane was when she had come with her parents to USA from Australia, but even back then, she had latched on to how it felt rushing through the clouds at high speeds.

Call her crazy, but it felt calming. Lis was sad that this flight only lasted an hour and a half.

At the airport, she had briefly worried about bumping into Elena, but luckily, she wasn’t on her flight. Maybe this meant that Elena would arrive before her, or after her, or maybe she even chose another airline. Whatever the reason was, she was glad that she didn’t meet her.

It felt as if something had changed – as if Elena didn’t blindly trust her anymore, as if she had disappointed her. It was for the best...it really was. Annalise was glad. She was glad because it meant that what she had been saying since day one had finally sunk in. She wasn’t Elena’s ally. Sure she would help her, but not if it meant she was crossing Nik. It was best to let her down now, than further along in the road.

As soon as she had arrived in Denver, Nik had texted her Kol’s temporary address. After a brief taxi ride, she had arrived at an empty apartment – she let her senses flare out, ah…there he was. Annalise walked a few streets down from the house, to what were apparently batting cages for baseball.

She walked in, wondering how he was going to react to her after ignoring her for nearly a fortnight, but she halted at the body collapsed on the ground next to the entrance.

Lis rushed over and turned the body – Kol. He had half a wooden baseball bat sticking out of his chest, and a grey pallor to his skin.

Huh, so Elena got here first. Not too long ago though – Kol was just starting to recover from the wound.

Lis wrenched out the bat and decided to heal him up faster, laying a flat palm firmly on his chest and mumbling her favourite healing spell. Kol sat up gasping, trying to get his bearings. He must have just registered someone behind him, he turned to face her with a snarl, stopping and pausing halfway when he realised it was her.

She grinned at him widely.

“Hey stranger. We gotta stop meeting like this.”

-

Annalise and Kol had walked back to his apartment in relative silence. She wouldn’t call it awkward, but at the same time, Kol just wouldn’t meet her eyes.

She spoke up as they entered his flat, dropping her duffle near the sofa. “Alright, so why are you ignoring me?”

He shot her a perfected smirk. “I’m not ignoring you, Lissa. Why would you think that?”

She made herself comfortable on the small sofa, eyes trailing after him as he hung up his jacket and went to the kitchen counter to pour himself a glass of thick red liquid from a corked bottle. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it was when I gave you my number and worried when you didn’t call until I realised you had been talking to your family the entire time. Or maybe it was literally five minutes ago when you wouldn’t even look at me.”

He huffed out a laugh. “Sounds just a tad pathetic love. Are you always this starved for attention?”

She chuckled in good nature, rolling her eyes and throwing a cushion in his direction. “Oh, get over yourself. I was worried about you out in this big bad world alone.”

He lifted a hand to his chest in mock wonder. “Oh, you worry about poor little me? How touching.”

She squinted at him with a smirk, watching him sip at the blood casually. “Fine, see if I care anymore.”

Both their eyes moved to her duffle when they heard her phone buzz. She leaned over and answered, putting it on loudspeaker. “Hey Nik, I’m with Kol. He was skewered with a baseball bat when I got to him. No sign of Elena or Jeremy.”

Kol shot her a quick glare, before moving to sit next to her. “Not my fault, brother. I wasn’t expecting Damon to put up a fight.”

Lis tilted her head at Kol. “Damon was here?” He glanced at her and nodded, before both of them turned to the phone.

“So I just paid a quick visit to Stefan’s to see our resident serial killer. I found a stake, but Dark Alaric had apparently hidden the last one – they were waiting for him to pass out.”

“Yikes, ok, not great news.”

“It isn’t, Lissie. But this might make it better. Remember when you told me and Rebekah you felt Sage start to die as soon as Finn did?” Kol lifted an eyebrow at Lis interestedly when she answered in affirmative. Nik continued. “Well, Stefan just confirmed it for us. Sage died in front of them mysteriously. Killing one of us kills off our entire bloodline.”

Kol released a low whistle. “So the only thing that can wipe out an entire vampire line is currently with a psycho killer hell-bent on killing us?”

“Not to mention that he has a high possibility of being one of Esther’s little creations.” Lis helpfully butted in.

“Really?” Kol downed the rest of his glass in one go.

She nodded, wincing at him. “Yeah, really.”

They heard Nik sigh from the other end. “Point is, they’ve probably figured out that they need to be careful with who they target. They’re gonna start tracing bloodlines.”

Kol leaned closer. “The Salvatores were both sired by Katerina. And Katerina was sired by-”

“Rose, yes.” Nik completed Kol’s line of thought. “Since she’s dead, they’re going to try to figure out who sired Rose.”

Kol smirked. “Good thing I know who it was. Remember Miss Mary Porter, Nik? Fun little thing.”

Annalise leaned her forehead on her free palm. “That’s disgusting Kol.”

She was outright ignored. “She’s in Kansas at the moment. Reached out the moment she heard I was back in the land of the living.”

Lis could imagine Nik nodding at Kol’s statement. “Perfect. Go there, make sure Damon can’t trace her back to any of us.”

Annalise turned back to the phone. “Have you told all this to Bekah yet, Nik?”

“Yeah, I just got home. Rebekah!” They heard Nik call for his sister, but there was silence on the other end. Kol and Lis exchanged a glance.

Nik’s voice sounded far away, as if he had removed the phone from his ear to address someone else. “What’s going on?”

Rebekah’s voice sounded shaky in the background as it filtered through to their end. “She’s dead. Esther’s dead.”

-

Rebekah had explained that Esther had ambushed her in the Mikaelson mansion, and said that she was weaker, ever since Abby Bennett was turned into a vampire and her connection to the Bennett line was severed. Esther had then fallen to the ground...dead. The call had ended soon after with Nik and Bekah saying they’ll be at the Salvatores in case Alaric cracks, leaving Kol and Lis in silence.

“Does that feel a bit too easy to you? Esther’s spent this long hiding from me – no way she could’ve done that if she was as weak as she said she is.”

Kol stood up from next to her extending her his hand. “Best not to look a gift horse in the mouth, darling. My dear mother is dead, and I want to celebrate. Come on. We’re off to Kansas.”

Lis grabbed his hand and stood up, “I can teleport us to the inner city – I went there with Nik back when we were collecting hybrid minions.”

Strangely, she noticed his grip tighten as something dark flickered in his eyes, before he dropped her hand quickly, smirking. “Right, ready when you are, darling.”

Annalise gave him a quick grin before touching his arm lightly, teleporting them to Kansas. 

In the blink of an eye, the minimally, but kind of untidy apartment around them was replaced by the tall grimy brick walls of a dark alleyway. A cat yowled somewhere behind them as they appeared, and shot out of the small alley while Annalise stepped away and steadied Kol slightly. They had appeared on the outskirts of the city in between two tall buildings.

Annalise passes him a small smile as he bewilderedly gripped her steadying arm tighter. “I thought you said you were ready. Don’t worry about it, everyone gets disoriented when I teleport them for the first time, Kol." He nodded, finding his balance once more. Lis grandly swept an arm towards the city with a quick smile. "Lead the way.”

-

They were fortunately only a half hour’s ride to Miss Porter’s place; when they reached the old abandoned looking house in the middle of what felt like nowhere, Lis looked at Kol in judgement.

He shrugged, smirking widely. “What? At least she has good taste in men.”

Rolling her eyes in disgust, she shoved a chuckling Kol away, making her way to the old door. Before she could knock, a beautiful blonde opened it, zeroing in on Kol standing behind her.

“Kol! How are you? I’ve been waiting for you to visit.” Lis was shoved unceremoniously to the side as the girl kissed Kol loudly. Her arms were around his chest pulling him down and he looked like he was gladly reciprocating. Annalise scuffed her shoe awkwardly, looking especially concentrated on the small tuft of grass she was currently uprooting.

The couple's embrace ended, but they hadn’t stepped away from each other.

“It really had been too long Mary.” Kol smiled indulgently, leaning slightly away from her but making no move to step fully away and out of her hold. Mary giggled, running a hand down his chest flirtily.

Lis cleared her throat uncomfortably looking away once more. 

“Oh, that’s right, I almost forgot. We have something to discuss with you darling, before we get to the fun stuff. Mind if we join you inside?”

Mary stepped away and cleared her own throat before sending Lis a cursory glance and a smile. “Of course, join me inside. Kol, tell me – did you fetch us this delicious smelling little thing for later?”

“Yes, of course, darling.” Annalise grew bright red and spluttered while Kol threw a casual arm over her and walked her into the house behind Mary, squeezing her shoulders in warning to stay silent. “Always good to bring along a little present when visiting for a little favour, don’t you think?”

Lis tried to distract herself by looking at her surroundings – piles of dusty books and ornaments littered the larger rooms they passed. Damn okay...either Mary had just moved into an abandoned house, or she was a hoarder. She wasn’t judging though, there were worse types of people to be.

Mary lead them through into a room, definitely cleaner than most of the rooms they had walked past, with a bed in the corner, and much more recent trinkets and memorabilia scattered across the floor and table pushed to the opposite wall. She sat on the bed, patting the empty space at her side, inviting Kol and Lis to join.

Annalise, unfortunately, was sat in the middle, facing slightly away from the strange vampire behind her. Mary wasn't fazed however, and immediately moved Annalise's hair to the side and inhaled deeply in her neck, her hands settling around Lis’s waist, making her lean backwards against the woman behind her. She sent Kol a panicked look, eyes wide.

He gripped her hand and gave it a small squeeze, before starting to talk. “So, Mary, before we do move to dessert, I was wondering if you could possibly remember the night I we met – I find myself forgetting the details.”

“Of course, Kol, I’ve even got some old letters of our correspondence after that night.” Lis felt Mary shift behind her and stand up to go to the desk opposite them and bring out a pack of old letters, throwing them to Kol. “There you go, what, are you looking for specifically?”

Lis silently complied as Mary pulled her to her feet and twirled her around. The chunky boots she was wearing didn’t allow for a graceful spin, so she recovered awkwardly into a spin that found her in Mary's arms once more. Oh, save her from this hell. Kol stood too, flipping through the letters quickly. “No, nothing in particular. Just, these letters have you reminiscing about the night we turned you, do they not?”

Lis’s eyes widened in understanding as Mary nodded. Kol continued his line of questioning. “And there isn’t anywhere else you’ve documented that night, is there? No one you’ve told?”

Mary giggled from behind her, moving her hair to a side once more and tilting Lis’s neck to the side gently as she answered Kol. “No, not at all. The memories are ours alone. Now, shall we?”

Annalise gasped as she felt a sharp dig of a canine in her neck, unprepared, but before she could use her magic against the vampire, Mary was wrenched off her in a sharp burst of movement. By the time she turned around, Mary was impaled through her heart on a wall, a few feet in the air; already desiccated. Her breath stuttered, someone had just died on her behalf - wait, there was something warm dripping down her neck.

Kol was in front of her in the next disorienting second, gently touching her neck with dark eyes trained on hers. “You alright, love?”

Lis gave him a quick shaky smile and a jerked nod before lifting a hand to her own neck and muttering a quick healing spell.

“My apologies, darling. I meant to kill her before she hurt you. Let’s not tell Nik about this, shall we?”

Kol reached produced a small piece of discarded cloth from the table behind her and wiped away the excess blood staining her healed wound, his free hand braced gently on the other side of her neck, tilting her chin up gently with the pad of his thumb. Lis watched his focused gaze confusedly.

She hadn’t ever really taken Kol to be the touchy type.

Once the blood was wiped away, Kol went to another corner of the room as if he hadn't done anything out of the ordinary, and picked up an old steel baseball bat, turning to Lis still leaning  against the desk, watching him unsurely. He hit the bat against his palm a couple times, smirking.

“Oh isn’t poetic irony great, Lissa? Do me a favour and burn these will you, I just heard a car pull up.”

Lis found her voice as she fumbled to catch the bundle of letters before setting it alight in her hands, and watched Kol shift into sitting down on a chair in the corner of the room, flicking the light switch off next to him, plunging the whole room into darkness.

“That’s your big idea? Wait in the dark, like a mum trying to catch her kids sneaking out?” She hissed in a whisper knowing Kol could hear her from a couple metres away, as the flame in her hands died down leaving nothing behind. She saw his silhouette shrug, so she rolled her eyes and cast a quick invisible charm, blending into the opposite corner of the room, trying not to look too closely at the grey corpse impaled on to the wall in front of her. It didn't happen. Nope. No one died on her account. Absolutely no one. 

She heard muffled voices enter the house, carrying conversation. Her eyes flicked to Kol, balancing the steel bat in his hands before hitting the floor next to him, on purpose. She figured he was getting impatient. The voices immediately came closer, and Elena and Damon entered the room from the door to her right. Elena used her torch to get a passing look of the room before it stalled on Mary’s corpse still hanging from the wall.

“Mary.” Exhaled Damon.

The lights suddenly came on, Damon and Elena turned on their heels to face Kol sitting smugly in his chair. “Quite contrary.”

“Really? A dark room and a pithy one liner? Way to look like a villain, Kol.” Lis scoffed, releasing her spell, drawing the attention of both Damon and Elena.

“Lissie? What are you doing here?”

She sent Elena a shrug, letting Kol answer. “She was just trying to help me track down Mary, weren’t you Lis?” He stood from the chair and smacked the baseball bat against his hand threateningly. “Shame about her, really. Mary used to be a blast. Don’t quite know what happened. I fear all the time she spent with my family might have ruined her. She was a bit of an Original groupie.”

Elena’s gaze moved from Lis’s to Kol’s. “And were you her favourite?”

Kol smirked at her. “You mean, did I turn her? I think I did.” He tilted his head in faux thought. “But no, wait. Maybe it was Rebekah. There was also a Klaus period. And let’s not forget the Elijah affair.” Lis watched his smug expression as he saw Elena’s own expression fall.

“Lissa and I spoke to my brother; I know you’re trying to find out who you’re descended from. Now you never will. So,” Kol walked towards them threateningly. “Where did we leave off?”

Faster than Lis could track, Kol had hit Damon’s knee in with the bat, causing him to collapse immediately. Kol kept hitting him.

The man on the ground called desperately out to Elena to run. “Elena, get out of here. Lis, help her.”

Lis had allowed Elena to run past her, focusing on bringing the bat into her hands. Kol sent her a glare as the bat in his hands disappeared and reappeared in hers. Letting out an angry growl, he sped past her and stopped Elena in her tracks, throwing her back into the room, near Lis’s feet.

“According to my brother, you’re off limits. Please don’t test me.”

Lis moved quickly to stand defensively in front of the girl on the ground. “Kol, stop. This is too far.”

He didn’t have the time to answer her as she felt wind rush past her and watched Damon attack Kol with renewed anger, “Don’t touch her.”

He didn’t have the upper hand for long, Kol threw him down on to the ground, grinning.

“Oh dear, I’ve hit a nerve. Heh, relax darling, I just want us to be even. You snapped my neck, you killed my brother, and then you humiliated me.” Without another word, Kol crouched over Damon and started pummelling him repeatedly with his bare fists. Lis felt herself drop the steel bat tiredly.

His anger made sense in a twisted way. He was looking for retribution for his brother’s death. All the siblings had their own strange ways of dealing with it. Bekah’s was the most normal – she grieved for her brother. Nik lashed out at his closest family, distanced himself from the hurt, and Kol – he was out for blood.

Lis moved closer to Kol and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, making him pause him beating up a currently unconscious Damon, before directing his glare at her. “And you.”
He grabbed her hand and stood, twisting it, forcing her against the wall, facing him. It hurt, but Lis had endured far worse than a bruised wrist. She looked him square in the eye.

“You, Lissa, you need think about your loyalty to us, instead of pathetically defending the enemy every chance you get.” He hissed.

She didn’t flinch, instead looking at him unimpressed. “My loyalty has never been in question Kol. Just my morality. I’m not sorry that I’m not okay with casual torture, and I'm still trying to deal with the fact someone just died because of me, and I'm at the end of my rope, so Kol, I swear to god, let me go before I make you let me go.”

Kol breathed deep in anger, his hand curling tighter around her wrist before stepping away from her angrily, eyes narrowed. Without another word, he brushed past her and out the door.

Elena looked at her from where she was crouched next to an unconscious Damon worriedly. “Are you okay, Lissie?”

Lis shook her head with a small sigh and nodded. “I am, Elena. Here, let me.” Dropping to a quick crouch she lightly touched Damon’s face, watching the bruised skin vanish and become normal again. His eyes opened, and he grabbed her injured wrist near his face out of reflex.

She winced, he registered it, his gaze moved to her wrist in his grip and he let it go immediately, quirking an eyebrow. “Thanks again for the save, Morgana.”

“At least try to keep out of trouble? Please?”

He smirked widely. “No promises.”

She nodded at him tiredly before blipping out into the front of the house.

Just as she thought – she saw Kol’s silhouette shift near the trees. He wouldn’t have left; she was his ride here. She ignored the car parked in front of the house with Jeremy looking out at her with wide eyes through the back window. Instead she made her way over to Kol silently and touched his arm. The next moment, they were back in Kol’s apartment in Denver.

She slipped her phone out of her pocket and speed dialled Nik. “Hey, update; we just got back from Mary’s. She’s dead, and we got rid of all the evidence. Damon and Elena didn’t find anything.”

Nik thanked her and ended the call.

Lis lifted her wrist and whispered a healing spell, watching unblemished skin with a few freckles replace the discoloured bruise covering her wrist. She felt Kol shift closer, but said nothing. His presence lingered somewhat guiltily.

Lis tilted her head and looked at him for a long moment, studying how his eyes never met hers for a prolonged amout of time, though they did remain just a bit angry. Like he was having a hard time figuring out why he was feeling bad, guilty, almost. 

She glared slightly, crossing her arms. “You have to know what happened back there is unnacceptable." His form started to curl in, lips flattening in a self- manner as he began to rebuke but Lis spoke over him firmly. "No, I get that you're used to hurting, killing people to get your way, but that's not gonna fly. Not with me. Not back when I first met you, and certainly not now." Kol scowled, starting to move away but Lis followed, placing herself firmly in front of him again. "Look, I'm not gonna say I don't understand your anger, I do. You just lost a brother – you need to grieve.” She flashed him a sad but tight-lipped smile. “Just remember, though. Next time you hurt me? I’ll make you regret it.”

His expression had set in a manner that remained as unreadable as his generally mysterious countenance but he did nod back at her, so at least her tirade counted for something other than making the Original want to kill her for overstepping boundaries. Lis watched carefully as he moved around his kitchen counter, running a hand through his hair and lifting the large bottle of blood to his lips then proceeding to swallow more than half in one go. That was concerning. 

Lis approached him, watching warily as he wiped the extra blood from off his chin creating a careless mess of his sleeve. “Kol, you good there?”

“I’m taking your advice, Lissa. I’m grieving. Grieving for my brother, and that wench I knew from way back when I used to have fun.” He sneered, and finally, Lis was able to see some emotion break through. Granted, it was anger - seemingly his default - but it was something. His smirk grew, looking as dark as his eyes as he took another few gulps, finishing off the bottle. He lifted it up in mock surprise. “Oh, look at that. I’m out. Looks like I might have to catch me some fresh dinner tonight.”

He made to move past her, but she put an arm out, grabbing his wrist and turning him around. “Wait Kol, I- draining people isn’t going to help-”

“Then just what do you suggest Lissa?" Kol scowled at her and moved closer. "When will you stop trying to help people who don’t deserve it?”

Lis scowled, face inches from his as she spat right back. “Are you still angry at me helping Damon and Elena, Kol? Oh, grow the fuck up. What you did was unnecessary – all we went there to do was make sure Mary didn’t spill the beans.”

Kol shook her head with a dark chuckle, acting like she’d misunderstood something, like she’d taken what he’d said in the wrong way. Kol used her pause of confusion to move around her and stalk towards the front door with an irritated huff, but Lis appeared in front of him again looking at him with concern now. "Hey, you're clearly not dealing with everything well, you need to slow down-"

That was apparently the wrong thing to do because he hissed annoyedly, looking about ready to shove her nosy ass out of the way. “Get out of my way, darling.”

She'd seen this before; in herself, back when all she had wanted to do was lash out, scream. Remembering the emotion that had threatened to overpower her, drown her - she remebered what had calmed her down. 

Before Lis was able to fully think her actions through, she found herself closing the small distance between her and the very dangerous Original; her short frame balanced high on her stretched tiptoes as she wrapped her arms around Kol’s neck in a warm embrace. He stiffened, limbs locked in shock and becoming motionless to an unnatural extent, so she gripped him a little harder, resting her chin lightly over his shoulder as she muttered softly.

“I’m sorry your brother died, Kol.”

She hugged him tight for a moment longer and went to step away, feeling she'd intruded on enough personal space for one night, until suddenly, his arms were wrapped around her. Kol dwarfed her as he curled around her, one hand tangled in her long hair and the other wound tightly around her waist pulling her closer. She felt him tuck his chin in the curve of her shoulder and hold her tighter.

Her breath had caught, her mind unsure of what to make of how her hug had become stangely...intimate, when he'd returned it. It felt as though everything around them had stilled, but her magic was buzzing through her veins erratically, running as fast as her heartbeat.

Forcing her own nerves to calm down - it was just a hug for gods sake - she relaxed in his hold, and somehow the action settled her closer in the comfortable hold. Damn, she should hug the Mikaelsons a lot more, though they seemed severely hug-deprived, they were kinda great at them. 

Annalise sighed deciding to relax her arms and step back gently from his hold, patting his back gently albeit a tad awkwardly. “Uh-I…I should get back. It’s late. I’m looking forwards to seeing you in Mystic Falls again, especially now Esther’s gone and you have no other reason to stay away.”

His arms fell from around her, lax, before her shoved them deep in his pockets even as he regarded her wordlessly. Lis open and shut her mouth, unsure what to offer his silence before crossing her arms to give her something to do. “Right, then. Uh…good night. And uh...thanks, by the way. Not for killing Mary, but um...for saving my life. I think there's a difference.” Kol tilted his head, still watching her carefully, and Lis shifted self-consiously, scratching the back of her neck. "If you decide not to return, um...you have my number; I'm a call away." 

She flashed him a quick awkward smile and grabbed her discarded duffle from next to the sofa, disappearing to the Mikaelson Mansion the next instance.

-

She appeared in the study – Nik was waiting near a window staring outside pensively into the night. He shot her a quick smile, hearing her shuffled entrance, before looking back outside once more.

“How did everything go? Kol behaved, I hope?”

Lis huffed to herself, internally rolling her eyes at the near unmanageable temper Kol had shown. “Yeah, uh…perfect gentleman.” She walked closer, sighing as she dropped into the ornate armchair, drawing one knee to her chest.

Nik tilted his head at her. “And did you ask him about Gaia?”

Damn, that had completely escaped her. Annalise shook head, grinning sheepishly. “No, no I forgot. He’s having a hard time with Finn’s death as it is.”

That seemed to capture his full attention as Nik turned to face her fully with a slight frown. “He’s having a hard time?”

“Yeah,” she nodded slowly, a tad hesitant about revealing too much and getting Kol in trouble. So, she picked her words carefully, choosing to delicately omit the more questionable parts of the evening. “He was about to go on a murder spree. But," She waved a hand as Nik started walking towards her in concern, "it's okay, he didn't do anything. I hugged him down.”

Nik looked beyond confused, and walked over to her intrigued. “What do you mean, you hugged him down from a murder-spree?”

She shrugged, now kind of embarrassed. “Y’know," Lis mumbled lowly, "like instead of talking him down, I hugged him. Down.”

Nik was smirking widely now, looking amused and the slightest bit bewildered. “And it worked? He let you hug him?”

Lis shrugged again, hugging her knee to her chest tighter. “Yeah, I guess? He was like you though. Acted like he’d never been hugged before.”

“I take insult to that.” Nik scoffed, putting the glass of scotch he had been nursing down on the coffee table. 

“No seriously, remember the night Mikael died?” Lis grinned brightly, gladly changing the subject of this conversation. “You pushed me away and threatened me. Wait," Lis huffed, "no, since Kol didn’t threaten me with bodily harm when I hugged him, I reckon he’s a much better hugger than you.”

Nik grinned equally widely, returning her teasing tone. “Take that back.”

She just shook her head, then scrunched her nose at him when he ruffled her hair as he walked past her. Brushing back her thick hair with a practiced hand, she followed him, watching him pause in front of what she had fondly dubbed the casket room before walking in – Esther’s body was back in her coffin.

Oop...and there went the light mood. 

He stood silently for a minute, solemn. “We’re leaving tomorrow.”

Lis thinned her lips in concern, but accepted easily. If he needed to talk, he would come to her. Right now he just needed support. “Okay, I’ll pack. Rebekah isn’t gonna be pleased though, she put a lot of effort into organising the decade dance.”

Nik nodded. “I’ll talk to her when she gets back. She’s currently getting the information from the hunter as we speak. As soon as the last stake is destroyed, we have no reason to dally in this insipid town for longer than necessary.”

Lis nodded from her position slightly behind him, smiling smally in return when he looked to her for confirmation. “Okay, Nik." When he turned wordlessly back to Esther's coffin ddeep in thought, Lis felt it was time to retire. "Goodnight.”

As she settled into bed that night her phone buzzed on her wooden bedside table, drawing her drowsy attention to it. Stretching over to reach it, Annalise squinted at the screen that practically blinded her in the pitch black - it was a small text from an unknown number - she was confused reading just the two letters; an initial. “K.M.”

Finally understanding, then chuckling at his immaturity, she sent back a text signed with her initials.

“Hey stranger :) A.C.”

Chapter Text

Waking up the next morning could be described as bittersweet – everything was perfect; her bed was warm, and the early beams of bright sun filtered in through her large window. Her eyes wandered around the room...her room; and not a dorm or a prison cell that she had grown accustomed to. Annalise was sad she was leaving it all behind; her room had become nothing less than a sanctuary that belonged to her. The first place she could call home in such a long time. But no...Nik had announced they were leaving the night before. She had wanted to fight him on that, fight and say I made friends here, and I don't want to leave; but she bit her tongue. Her friend was hurting; all that welcomed Nik in Mystic Falls were bad memories, and she understood wanting to leave it all behind, the same way she had never looked back once after her family was kicked out of the her parent's coven. 

Sighing, she reached out to grab her phone from the nightstand lazily, there was only one notification - her Lunar calendar app reminded her that tonight was going to be a full moon. Those never ended well. Hopefully this one was going to stay normal.

Annalise had gotten ready for the day, packed all her clothes and magic kits away before she paused, seeing a classic pretty brown flapper dress decorated with sequins and tassels hanging on the back of her door, along with two long cream coloured gloves, and a layered necklace of large pearls.

Lis smiled softly. She really did hope Rebekah was able to have her night tonight. Hopefully Nik wouldn't make them leave before it. 

Annalise made her way down and found Nik in his art studio, standing back to study his painted canvas. The light tarp on the ground was flecked with small amounts of paint – it made her grin lightly. The painting itself was large and dark, with a desolate but severe snowflake painted in sharp strokes. It was lovely. 

“Good morning Nik. That looks beautiful. Have you named it?”

He sent her a small smile before going back to working on his piece, his brushstrokes were large and confident. “No. I seldom name my art, Lissie." He gestured to the fireplace to his left. "Rebekah came by, earlier this morning. Asked about where you were, seemed to be in quite a rush. We burnt the last stake in there.” 

She leaned against the wall and relaxed, flicking her gaze to the fireplace and making it burn a bright white for a second to make sure not even the ashes of the stake remained. “Bekah’s probably busy with everything – what did she say about you cancelling her dance?”

He smirked at her quickly, turning away from his painting to get more blue paint on his palette. “She managed to convince me to stay just for one night more.”

This brought a bright smile to Lis’s face and she did a little dance on the spot a little, before stilling. “Wait, I promised I would help Bekah this morning – shit, I’m late!”

She waved an amused Nik a quick goodbye and teleported to a dark corner of a luckily empty corridor before making her way to the gymnasium.

The large school gym was a flurry of activity, mostly decorated, but some still lay on the ground ready to be hung up. Unfortunately, Lis couldn’t see any sign of Rebekah, but she did see Matt and Elena’s little brother up on two high ladders hanging paper stars on ribbons on the ceiling.

As Lis made her way over to them, she heard Caroline’s voice yell at the pair.

“What are you doing?! You can’t just hang them! They’re supposed to trickle down.”

Annalise chuckled to herself as she spotted where Caroline was, next to Elena beside a table filled with decorations yet to be hung. She hadn’t seen the blonde since her awful distraction on Nik at the Grill a while ago. The girls seemed to be in a light discussion, fooling around with decorations, so she didn’t feel too guilty crashing their conversation.

“Uh, hey. I promised Bekah I’ll help her out today, but I can’t see her. Do you guys know where she is?”

Elena had frozen, looking at her with wide awkward eyes and a fluffy boa wrapped around her face, just after ending a phone call, but Caroline smiled at her politely. “Sorry, no. She hasn’t been here the whole morning. I had to step in and run the show.”

Lis was sure her confusion was apparent on her face. “But, this was a big deal to her. I haven’t seen her all morning, I figured she was here.” Caroline gave her a helpless shrug and Annalise sighed. “Look, maybe she’s just busy, but she really did want me to help. Is there anything I can do?”

Caroline assessed her quickly before giving her an unsure grin. “Yeah, thanks. I need those streamers hung over there, stat.”

“On it.”

-

Caroline had finally released her, thoroughly impressed by how effectively she worked. Annalise was kind of a perfectionist; if someone wanted her to do something, she was gonna do it well, dammit. One of her foster parents had told her that her that her desire to please was almost pathological; once she had tidied the entire house after foster mum had told her to put her dirty teacup in the sink.

So Annalise might have mommy issues, or just issues in general, but at least it wasn't self-destructive despite the fact that she'd never been able to stay in any foster family for long. Anyway, she digressed. Caroline made her promise to at least stop by and help next time she was in deep water, then Annalise got to the mansion to start getting ready for the night. Nik had already left early to join the party - she was running behind on time. Rebekah would kill her if she was late. 

She sent Rebekah yet another text, telling her that she’s nearly done. Honestly, her friend's absence and radio silence was starting to get to her. It wasn't like her to just not freak out when she was planning an entire dance by herself. She fondly remembered when her and Rebekah had gotten ready for the Mikaelson ball - Bekah had figuratively been a bouncing ball of enthusiasm. Plus, the last time Bekah had fallen off the face of the Earth, it had been because Nik had daggered her. Annalise had enough reason to worry. 

She paused.

Surely Nik wouldn’t dagger her again – he had no reason to. Rebekah was the reason he was going to the dance, he was at the dance right now, she even checked. But it couldn’t hurt to check...right?

Her phone rang just as she shut the door to her room. Another unknown number. She lifted it to her ear.

“Who’s this?”

“It’s Damon, Helga. I got your number off Elena for emergencies.”

“And is this an emergency? I’m busy looking for Bekah.” She descended the stars in a slight jog.

She heard him huff from the other end. “Yeah? When you find her, ask her what the heck she’s done to Ric. He called me this morning saying he’s going on a little mental retreat, but funny thing is – I have Bonnie’s magic serial killer muting herbs right here. They’re untouched.”

Annalise’s brow furrowed. “Look that sounds odd, for sure, but right now – finding Bekah’s my priority. I’ll check in with you in five.”

She heard Damon protest as she hung up, but kept making her way into the casket room.

Strange. Esther’s casket was open last night. Maybe Nik shut it when he left.

Ignoring it for now, she reached Rebekah’s casket and hefted the heavy lid up.

“Shit.” Rebekah lay desiccated in the silk cushions, dagger through her heart. But she didn’t understand. Nik just had no reason, he wouldn’t-

Wait.

Lis scrambled back to Esther’s casket and lifted the lid open in a panicked hurry – shit, shit, shit it was empty. She had just known that witches like Esther wouldn’t just drop dead, ugh- fuck she was stupid. 

Her hand reached for her phone in her small brown matching clutch – but before she could grab it out, Lis felt a large hand grab hers, slipping some sort of large necklace over her head.

Whipping around she aimed a punch at her attacker, Alaric?, but it was blocked easily; too easily. His face was set grimly as he batted her arm away, she wheezed at the punch she received to her ribs in retaliation. She used the momentum of folding in on herself after the force of the punch, and lunged under Alaric other arm, her heels scratched against the smooth tile in a dissonant manner as she ran for the doorway. Heavy footsteps echoed behind her, she wasn't going to get away; Annalise twirled, growling and pushed a flat palm towards him “Somnum!”

He lunged at her as the spell hit him, she winced as he dropped to the ground like stone in deep sleep, hitting his chin hard on the ground. It was a more powerful version of the sleep spell she had used on Caroline when they had first met. Annalise's loud breathing filled the silence as she stared down at Alaric, winded. Okay, she was okay. Her hands fumbled for her phone, shaking slightly, but a slow clap from behind her had her whirling around, defensive.

Esther stood, smiling almost maternally behind her. “You are so much more powerful than I gave you credit for, little abomination.”

“I’m not afraid of you.” Lis braced herself and stared the smirking witch down, hands raised to fire spells.

Esther chuckled lightly. “Think of this as your first lesson then – you should be.”

Esther raised an arm towards her and flicked it, muttering “Pomeno.” – the necklace hanging forgotten around her neck started to burn, constrict and choke her, she grasped at its bronze medallion desperately, she couldn’t get it off.

It got worse. Wave after wave of blistering agony brought her to her knees, still choking. Her vision blurred and something wet dripped down her face. Gasping, she collapsed on the smooth wooden floor, her hands slipped on the wet red tile. The unadulterated pain had her whimpering back her cries, her mouth open in a silent scream. The tile was strangely cool against her face, but it too was becoming warmer, hot -too hot, it burns-

She could barely focus on Esther stepping closer to her and brushing back her hair, crooning lightly. “There, there, little one. Let me introduce you to the Vasanistirío Medallion; Greek, of course. Used on unstable, disobedient little witches up to no good in the past. You are about to be very well acquainted with it.”

Annalise choked on the blood collected in her throat, coughing it out, before her vision blurred further and she collapsed into darkness, watching the back of Esther’s heels walk away from her.

-

When she slowly came to, her eyes burned and were crusted shut, her whole body felt sore  – the pain had declined – now instead of intermittent waves, it had become a constant sharp ache. She groaned lowly, trying and failing to get up. Her weak limbs scrabbled for purchase against the smooth tile slick with dark liquid reflecting almost black in the moonlight. The smell of tangy iron surrounded her as she gasped shudderingly in pain. 

Annalise spotted her glasses beside her arm, covered in blood; she winced as she nudged them onto her nose, each small movement sparking a fresh surge of hurt.

A small buzzing noise came from her left, her clutch, it had slid under a casket frame. Gritting her teeth and trying to ignore the ache in her limbs and how hard it was to pull herself forwards on the slippery floor, Annalise crawled and rolled over to it, letting out short bursts of agonised whimpers. Once she had the phone in her hands, it slipped a few times from her bloody hands before she answered the call.

Nik’s angry voice hurt her ears.

“Annalise! I’ve been trying to get a hold of you the entire evening – where on earth are you? Rebekah’s missing and Esther’s put up a salt line around the school. I need you here.”

She panted heavily, trying to find her voice. His hearing must have picked up on it. His tone suddenly held a worried edge. “Lissie? What’s wrong?”

Annalise grunted in pain, managing to sit up, levering herself against a casket frame. “Esth-Esther. She managed to hurt me. Rebekah’s daggered in- in her casket. Where are you?”

“I’m in front of the school – no supernatural can walk across the line. She took Elena. Bonnie’s been chanting for the last ten minutes, but she isn’t gaining any ground. Are you alright?”

A whimper escaped her, and she heard Nik swear under his breath. Lis found her resolve and brought her hand up to grab the medallion, her jaw clenched, and more bloody tears escaped her eyes at the sharp twisting pain rippling across her skin.

Gritting her teeth, she pooled as much magic as could in her hand and tore it off her with a yell.

Blood dribbled down her chin, but she smiled victoriously with stained teeth at the discarded medallion on the floor. She felt lighter; her magic was moving sluggishly in her veins, bringing small amounts of relief to her sore limbs. It hurt less to breathe. But something was wrong...her magic stretched uncomfortably, stiffly as it moved through her, as if it was damaged. Hurt. Like it had been fighting, resisting, something.

She didn’t have time to manage a malfunction. Annalise breathed, forcing her magic to comply – she bit into her tongue tried to repress the scream of agony.

Heavy breaths. Deep breaths. Why did she still sound breathless? “Nik? You still there? At the school, yeah? Make sure there’s no one around. I shouldn't be seen like this.”

At Nik’s confirmation she pulled all her power in and blinked to a dark corner of the school, close to Nik's signature, slightly behind some bushes. She immediately wavered on her heels - grunting, she kicked them off into the shrubbery and stumbled out of the bushes, doing her level best not to brush against the plants, leaving behind traces of congealed blood. It hurt to think, but she was fairly certain she didn't want the school bushes to look like a crime scene for a good reason.

Stumbling across the small garden to the footpath, relief filled her as she saw no one around but three distinct shapes of her friends around the corner of the school. There weren't any windows around either. This was a desolate side of the school. Nik noticed her first and sped next to her side, immediately supporting her weight, and walking her gently closer to the salt line, wrinkling his nose.

“Best get that blood cleaned up, Lissie. Don’t want to draw too much attention.”

Lis shot him a weak smile. "Wow, Nik, great idea. Hadn't thought of that." It dropped. "I thought you were in trouble, I thought Esther might hurt you too." Nik's face got even darker, if it were possible, his jaw clenched and eyes narrowed - this was the angriest she'd seen him in a long time.

Before she could reassure him that she was well on her way to a speedy recovery, Damon and Stefan appeared in front of them. “Woah, jeez, Carrie. What the hell happened to you? And why do you smell like an all-you-can-eat buffet?”

Nik tightened his hold on her protectively; she looked away from Damon’s curious eyes at where Nik was glaring at Stefan’s face – he was uncontrollably shifting into a vampire – fangs and all.

“Control yourself, Ripper.”

Lis shook her head, Nik didn't seem to be in danger right now - it seemed like she was in danger from Stefan though. Cast a cleaning spell on herself appeared to be a priority at the moment, if for nothing but to keep the peace and make sure she wasn't mauled. Annalise grimaced, forcing and collecting her gratingly rebellious magic to comply in a way she wished. She felt the crusty coagulated blood disappear from her clothes in a hesitant manner - not at like the usual general ease she used her magic. The fresh wave of pain buckled her, and would’ve brought her to her knees if she hadn’t sagged tiredly against Nik instead. His grip tightened on her, taking more of her weight on. She patted him tiredly with her hand, looking to Stefan to make sure he was okay - the former ripper's face was set in a scowl as he looked at Nik. Now that she thought about it...this was the first time Nik hadn't said 'Ripper' in a fond and gloating manner. Uh-oh, she could just feel the argument building.

Stefan looked livid. “Control myself? I lost control because of you! This is your fault.”

“No, you know that this is your fault. You set us on this path when you released my mother. I wonder if revenge will prove the cost.” Nik adjusted his grip on Lis and brought her closer to the salt line; she tried to ignore everyone and placed her hand gently on the barrier, feeling for it's magic. 

Stefan scoffed as Damon and Lis shared an awkward glance. “Oh, I’m done with revenge. As far as Ether; we’ve stopped her before, we’ll stop her again.”

Nik smirked from next to her. “We’re strange bed-fellows, you and I. You know, all this reminds me of our time together in the twenties.”

“You say that like I’m supposed to have happy memories about it.” Stefan glared.

“Well, there were moments. Real friendship. Brotherhood.”

The magic in the boundary spell grated against her fried nerves in a way that magic had never felt to her before; but she was able to tell that this boundary wasn't bound to anything but the salt line. Strong spell, sure, but it was an amateur move on Esther's part. It should be generally straightforward to overload the spell - the only reason Bonnie seems to have been unable to do it was most likely because she didn't have enough power to overload Esther's. That self-righteous bitch probably thought there'd be no one with more power than her in the vicinity. Annalise tried to gather her magic, it felt like she was tried to shape putty with sprained fingers - fuck, maybe Esther was right. 

Damon rolled his eyes, jumping in. “Well, he already has a brother. Not to be, y’know, territorial or anything.”

Annalise tiredly turned her head, looking at Nik smirking dangerously wide. “Oh no, of course, the Salvatores and their unshakeable bond. I wonder what will happen when Elena makes her choice. Will we see you shake just a bit?”

Lis rolled her eyes and sighed. She was feeling angry, annoyed, frustrated, hurt - a cocktail of general physical and emotional pain and she was just so done. “We don’t have time for all this posturing, guys, let’s get on with it.”

Damon smiled at her sarcastically. “Sure, we’ll get on with it, just as soon as you mind telling me why the heck you teleported inside the binding circle that traps supernaturals? How are you gonna help us now? You sure as hell can’t teleport us out. Even Bonnie couldn’t go against Esther’s magic.”

She still hurt – but oh,  she was pissed now. Pissed enough for it to hurt as magic built up beneath her skin, agitated. “Yeah? Fuck Esther, and fuck her magic.”

Shutting her eyes tight, she pushed.

She felt light and heavy both at once as a large painful pulse of magic escaped from her, blowing the salt away in a strong wind. The boundary spell shattered with the light sound of glass breaking under the concussive force of her magic as she overloaded the spell.

Annalise opened her eyes and met the Salvatore’s awed gaze, then gathered what little physical energy she had left and stood straighter. Her chest hurt, and something in her felt stretched thin, -too thin, close to snapping- 

Damon whistled lowly, looking at her in a new light. “I gotta get me a handy little helper too. Damn.”

Nik still hovered next to her worriedly. “Esther’s at the Old Cemetery. You’re not teleporting there, not in this state. Here, hold on.”

She felt Nik’s arms wrap around her tightly, the next second; their surroundings blurred, and the wind sharpened to a point where she buried her face in his shoulder to protect it from the sting.

They stopped jarringly, but Nik released her slowly, not letting her stumble. They were in the middle of a darkened forest; the clearing was scattered with gravestones. One large Mausoleum stood tall in front of them – Salvatore was inscribed along the top.

She glanced at the two brothers flanking her and Nik – their attention was focused on the situation in front of them.

Esther and Elena stood at the entrance of the Mausoleum in front of them; Matt and Jeremy were positioned with a rifle and crossbow respectively, both strangely aimed at each other instead of the old witch. Their hands were clearly shaking from the effort of trying to aim away from their friend. Stefan immediately moved to stand between the two, and Damon watched Esther warily, his gaze flicking to a panicked looking Elena behind her. Esther's amused gaze lingered on the vampires, before it moved to them.

She felt Nik tense next to her as Esther’s smiling eyes met hers. “Oh, little Annalise. I see the Medallion’s lesson hasn’t sunk in yet, I hoped that you’d be experiencing it’s aftereffects by now. How unfortunate – I should have activated it for longer than an hour.” As Esther sighed still smiling, Lis noticed movement behind the witch, but made sure her eyes didn’t stray from Esther’s, not alerting her to an impending attack. 

“Worry not, I’m sure the both of us will have plenty of fun in the coming future.”

Esther’s parting words were punctuated with a pained gasp as Alaric stabbed her in her heart from her back, dropping her to the ground – dead. Or as dead as she could be with her spirit no doubt pulling the strings from the other side of the veil. Annalise felt strangely hollow, the same guilt and sadness at death in general didn't plague her this time as she looked at Esther's almost peaceful smile frozen on her face. Maybe it was because she knew Esther wasn't gone, not really. Maybe it was because she felt safer. She did feel pity, though; pity that Nik had just watched his mother die, again. Annalise glanced quickly up at Nik as the rest of the gang relievedly aimed their weapons away from each other, and converged on Alaric; Nik looked like he was caught between resentment and despair but he was feeling a great deal of hurt. She sighed, looking away, her lips quirking down. Esther had hurt them all - Lis had sometimes wondered where hatred as strong as the hate Esther held within her came from; she was starting to get a better idea. Annalise hated Esther, more than she'd hated anyone in a long time - more than Gloria. Esther had hurt her family. 

She looked to Elena hugging Jeremy in relief, Damon grinning, clapping Alaric on the back. Her heart felt lighter. 

Alaric just looked plain confused. “Oh my god. Where’s my ring? Tell me what happened.”

-

As Nik collected Esther’s body, Elena had come to her with tears streaming down her face. “Is there any way you can help him Lissie? I don’t want him to die.”

She had felt her heart plummet right back down to her feet as Elena had explained Alaric was in transition, that Esther had effectively made him into an Original vampire. Alaric was refusing blood to become a vampire. He was choosing to die. Even in death, Esther brought more death. It wasn't fair. 

Lis touched the girl’s shoulder sympathetically at the crack in her voice. “What exactly did Esther do to him, Elena? He’s still in transition, so he doesn’t feel too human – he feels more like the Originals, than anything else.”

Elena sniffed, nodding. “Esther did the spell, took my blood, then killed him. She said he’ll die when the time was right. She knew about the bloodlines, Lissie– she wanted to kill every single vampire whether they were bad or not.”

Annalise rubbed her nose under her glasses tiredly, turning a sad gaze towards the younger girl. “I’m sorry, Elena, but only Esther had the power to reverse this spell.” 

Annalise tiredly remembered the words her and Esther had exchanged the night Esther had tried to kill her children by turning them back human - only she would have the power to reverse this spell. The cruel irony was; Esther had done the very same thing she'd done way back when; created an Original. Annalise hoped that the spirits on the other side didn't let Esther rest. It didn't make sense though; why would Esther subject herself to the collective hate of the entire witch community just to make another all-powerful vampire? Why the hell was she messing around, inducing Alaric's Other Self to kill those mortals? 

Her head hurt as she watched Elena’s face crumple in grief. “But he won’t transition, he doesn’t want to be what Esther made him. He’s going to die, Lissie.”

Lis laid a heavy hand on Elena’s shoulder, drawing her into a tight hug. “At least this will be his choice, sweetheart. The best you can do is support him, and stay strong.”

Elena shook her head sadly, her grief-stricken eyes looked to Annalise like she had expected more from her, before walking away to Jeremy’s side. That hurt more than the pain the medallion had put her through. That pain was constant, yes, but dull. This pain felt festering, the guilt was digging deeper into her heart. Annalise felt Nik walk up beside her quietly, nudging her hand to bring her out of her thoughts. “We should head back home, Lissie.”

Lis was still staring at Elena and Jeremy. Her gaze then moved to Alaric; he gave her a small grateful nod.

He was staying strong, no matter what Esther had put him through. He wasn't letting Esther hurt him. Not in a way that matters to him. Annalise felt like she gained a strange amount of strength from that simple gesture despite the fact that he probably didn't know that she'd suffered Esther too, and that he too, to an extent, had been partially responsible.

She felt like she would be okay again. Lis returned the nod with a sad smile before turning to Nik. First step to feeling normal was acting normal, right? Fake it till you make it. She grinned up at Nik weakly, dodging his arm as he went to grip her tightly again. “Easy there dude. I think I can take us – no way you’re running with me again, it was a horrible ride. 1 star. Even got a bug in my mouth.”

Nik's answering smirk geve her the strength to stretch her magic once more. Glancing at Esther’s dead body next to them, she teleported them directly into the casket room, before freezing in panic.

Nik had also stilled next to her at the gory sight before him. A large pool of bright blood took up most of the ground of the room before them – gory marks trailed to the side where she had dragged herself, mixed in with her scuff marks and signs of her struggle. The Medallion lay to the side, the sight of it had a phantom pain travelling bone-deep through her.

She shuddered, collecting herself before silently cleaning up the room of its gore in one sweep of her hand, wincing. Something hurt differently that time, when she drew on her magic. Something severe, like she was paying a price. Was this what Esther said when she mentioned the Medallion's aftereffects? How long would they last? How long would it be until she felt...normal? Unhurt?

Nik looked at her dejectedly for a long moment before depositing Esther in her casket. Lis exhaled shakily, heading towards the Medallion and picking it up carefully, despite the fact that it's enchantment had finished. She just wished her hurt disappeared with it. She hesitantly ran her fingers over the etchings gouged into the bronze material before setting it on a nearby shelf. Annalise couldn't bring herself to hold it any longer; she wasn't strong enough. 

Annalise instead made her way to Rebekah’s coffin, pulling out the dagger buried in her chest gently. She lay a gently hand on Bekah’s forehead to speed up her waking process, wincing once more as magic scraped painfully against her veins for something as basic as a wake-up spell. She paused as she heard Nik start to speak to Esther’s dead body.

She turned, concerned.

“Your trap failed, mother. I live, and I will go on living. Let your beloved spirits try to preserve you again, I dare you to come after me! I will build an army so big; no one will ever touch me. My survival will haunt you through eternity. You will never destroy me!”  He yelled the last line of his declaration with such ferocity, Lis felt her heart hurt. She strode over and wrapped Nik in a tight hug, arms around his waist. Nik’s arms were around her shoulders in an instant, hugging her back.

She felt another pair of arms approach them from the side and the pair shifted to let Rebekah join in their hug. Lis tucked her chin under Bekah’s chin and held her tighter. 

Rebekah’s voice broke the calm silence that had descended in the room, sounding strangely up-beat in the heavy atmosphere. “I can’t believe I missed yet another dance – Lissie you’re coming with me on clean up duty tomorrow, no arguments.”

Lis chuckled weakly, feeling more like herself; gladdened to know that Rebekah had escaped the worst of Esther while she had laid daggered for the last few days. “Of course, Bekah. Wouldn’t dream of missing it for the world.”

Chapter Text

“Ugh. Why are these wet?” Lis grimaced, holding a pile of damp party streamers up in disgust before throwing it in the garbage. It landed with a loud splat. Rebekah giggled from the other side of the dirty gymnasium, busy putting decorations back in their allotted boxes.

“Just use your magic, Lissie.”

Lis huffed and rolled her eyes. “Like I told you before, I over-extended myself yesterday, with the medallion and everything. These must be the aftereffects Esther was talking about ‘cos using my magic hurts like a bitch, Bekah, think of it like a strained muscle.” She picked up the mop leaning on the wall and started mopping the sticky puddle on the floor, cursing whoever dropped what looked like two large cups of punch on the floor last night.

Rebekah laughed at her misery from the opposite corner. “And I told you, to treat it like a hangover. Only way through is to drink more.”

Annalise wrung out the mop into a bucket and kicked another pile of damp streamers to the side. “Okay, one; that’s bad for people who actually, y’know, use their livers on a daily basis like me. Two; my magic is still healing, and I literally fainted this morning when I tried to teleport to the kitchen, and three; I think that’s sufficient proof that your entire family’s made up of borderline arguably functional alcoholics.”

“You say that like you weren’t clutching a bottle of vodka while fearing for your life when we first met.” Bekah snorted, throwing a pile of paper stars in the recycling.  

“Hey, I was high-key panicking okay? I’d heard stories about the Originals – all very horrible. Plus, I actually haven’t gotten drunk since. Caffeine’s been my crutch of choice. If I drank vodka every time I found something stressful – I’d not be able to stand on my feet.”

“Fair enough.” Bekah acquiesced.

“Ugh, what a mood, Lis.” Caroline came through the double doors closest to Bekah, pausing. “Where’s Matt?”

Bekah rolled her eyes and Lis walked over to join the pair. “He bailed. Got called into work at the last minute.”

Caroline’s mouth dropped open in annoyance. “Are you kidding me? So it’s just the three of us?”

“Yeah, and you’re late. Clean up committee started at eight o’clock.” Rebekah said blithely and turned away, dropping a large chandelier in a box labelled ‘20’s’.

Caroline gestured to the clock incredulously. “It’s like 8:02.”

Rebekah raised a brow at Caroline. “Exactly. Lissie and I got here ten minutes early, and we didn’t even get to attend the dance that I organised.” The Original punctuated her point by carrying away a bin of rubbish and emptying it into a large one pushed against the wall in the corner.

Lis shrugged at Caroline’s insulted look. “Hey, tone down the judgement. She gets to be salty about last night.”

Understanding filled Caroline’s eyes as she gave Lis a little nod and turned to Rebekah. “Yeah, of course. I’m sorry about your mum. I mean, I know you like, hated her and everything, but still…I’m sorry.”

Annalise shot Caroline a warm smile and turned away, picking the plastic decorative lights near her, and putting it away as Rebekah answered Caroline. “And I’m sorry about your teacher. He seemed like a nice guy.” Rebekah was secretly a bleeding heart - she knew it.

Lis hear sadness colour Caroline’s tone. “Yeah. He was.” 

As Annalise stacked one cardboard box on top of another filled to the brim, Rebekah called out to her. “Hey, Lissie. I’m going to go get started on the gym.”

Lis sent her a quick nod and grin, and watched her leave before turning back to grab the rest of the decorations hanging on the wall. Caroline joined her, flashing her a small smile. “Cute shoes by the way.”

She looked down at her favourite heavy black platform boots before throwing Caroline a bright grin. “Oh, thanks!”

A loud BANG echoed in the corridor that Rebekah had just exited into, the pair of girls exchanged a shocked glance before Caroline blurred away through the doors. Cursing her magic unresponsive magic, Lis had to resort to sprinting into the corridor and froze with wide eyes as she watched Caroline pin Alaric – who was supposed to be dead! – to the lockers.

Rebekah picked herself up off the ground, grabbed a large white stake that looked like it was dipped in molten silver, and plunged it through Alaric’s chest. ‘Was that a white oak stake? What the hell is happening?!’ 

The three girls exchanged worried glances, when instead of bursting into flames like he should, Alaric grunted, reaching for the stake and ripping it out.

Lis panicked as she felt her feet disappear from under her and she felt herself fly through the air with two thin arms securely wrapped around her, then jarringly stop. Rebekah had grabbed her and run at vamp-speed away from the seemingly indestructible and murderous Alaric. They had stopped in the parking lot of the school, behind the corner of an old utility building. Lis saw Caroline in the distance appear at her car, and went to stand up, but Rebekah held her back, lifting a finger to her lips.

Annalise’s eyes widened when she saw Alaric suddenly appear behind Caroline, but her warning was stopped by Rebekah’s hand covering her mouth. She watched helplessly as Alaric broke Caroline’s neck and dragged her unconscious body back to the school slowly, his skin blistering and flaking off in the sun.

The two girls exchanged a worried glance before Rebekah had her arms around Lis’s small frame once again, speeding to the Mansion.

They found the hybrids busy carrying packed boxes around, packing large trucks parked in the circular drive way – Nik was in the living room, sorting through some books on a shelf.

He glanced and did a double take at Lis’s panicked expression.

“What’s wrong now?”

Rebekah answered for her. “Alaric Saltzman just tried to kill me.”

Nik stood up straighter, frowning. “Alaric Saltzman is supposed to be dead.”

Lis shook her head. “No, he isn’t. Elena said Esther used the same spell on him that made you Originals – only difference is – it doesn’t look like even the bejewelled White Oak Stake can’t kill him.”

Nik walked over to them. “Where is he now?”

Rebekah ran a hand through her hair stressfully. “He’s stuck at the school without a daylight ring, but as soon as night falls he’ll come after us. We need to leave now.”

Nik nodded, agreeing. “Fine, I’ll collect Elena, we’ll be on our way.”

“Forget Elena! You don’t need any more stupid hybrids!” Rebekah sounded frustrated.

Lis stepped back lightly. This wasn’t how she was expecting this conversation to go.

Nik leaned closer to Bekah threateningly. “I’m not leaving without her.”

“I’m leaving right now.” Rebekah sneered right back. “You can either walk out that door with me and Lis, or you’re on your own.”

Annalise felt Nik glance her way questioningly, but she kept looking away, deep in thought. Leaving Caroline at the school really wasn’t sitting well with her. Nik’s answering silence stretched on heavily, prompting Bekah to exhaled loudly. “Fine. Trust your hybrids over your family. Let your spite be the death of you. See if I care. Come on, Lissie. We’re leaving.”

Rebekah walked past her confidently, expecting her to follow, but paused when Lis remained still. “Lissie?”

Annalise looked at Rebekah, then at Nik. “I don’t agree with either of you.” Nik’s smug smirk slid off his face.

Rebekah tried to move closer to persuade her. “Lissie-”

Annalise shook her head. “No, Bekah. It felt wrong leaving Caroline at the school by herself - I might be able to help. The two of you should run if you need to, but I’m staying behind, and I’m going to take care of this. I’ll catch up with you guys when it’s done.”

Rebekah scowled at her. “You can’t do a single spell without fainting right now, Lissie. This is suicide!”

Annalise shook her head. “It isn’t. This is me making sure you guys don’t run forever like you did when Mikael was alive. Like you said, more alcohol cures hangovers, right? Only way to the other side is through.” She shrugged attempting to make light of the situation, but Rebekah glared at her, before stalking angrily out the door, bumping into Tyler on the way out.

“Move it, sire boy!”

Tyler watched Rebekah leave with a scowl before turning to Nik and Lis. “What’s her deal?”

Nik remained quiet and stared at Annalise, so Lis just passed him an awkward smile. “Hey kid. Long time no see..”

-

For the first time in what felt like ages, Nik and Lis took the car to Elena’s house since she could no longer teleport there with ease. Nik came to kidnap Elena – something she hadn’t addressed yet for the sake of Esther’s murderous creation on their hands currently – and Annalise came along to see if she could get Elena to call everyone else, and figure out a way around the Alaric problem and saving Caroline.

A disgruntled looking Jeremy opened the door when Nik knocked. “What the hell do you want?”

Annalise snorted when Nik looked genuinely taken aback. “Now is that any way to treat a guest?”

 Stefan popped up behind Jeremy, opening the door a little wider, looking tired. “What are you doing here, Klaus?”

Nik looked at Jeremy pointedly. “Well, for starters, young Jeremy here could show some manners and invite me inside.”

Annalise was still grinning. “Well, I for one think Nik was very adequately greeted.”

Damon now joined Jeremy and Stefan at the door as Stefan ushered Jeremy upstairs.

Nik looked on watching the two Salvatores take care of Jeremy carefully before commenting. “Hm…poor lad. Loses one questionable father figure only to be replaced by the likes of the two of you.”

Lis whacked Nik for that snide comment (which was promptly ignored), as Damon spoke up, grimacing. “Yeah…about that. Something happened.”

Nik smirked. “Oh, I know all about my mother’s invulnerable little creation and that’s why I’m here. I’m leaving town, I just need to pick up a few road trip necessities. Spare tire, flashlight, doppelganger.”

“Can’t help you there.” Damon replied immediately, going to close the door. Lis put her hand on it before he did.

“Wait, that’s not why I’m here. I was looking for you guys actually, and Bonnie and Elena.”

Damon paused. “Why?”

“Because Caroline, Bekah and I saw Alaric at the school – he attacked them, and he still has Caroline. I can’t fetch her myself ‘cos Esther messed my magic up yesterday, but I figured I could help you guys deal with him?”

Stefan grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her indoors before Nik could stop them.

As Stefan yelled upstairs for Elena and went up looking for her, Lis looked through the window at a pacing Nik and shrugged at him. He rolled his eyes and picked up a newspaper on the porch, rolling it up in his hands. He was going to be annoying about this, wasn’t he? What an absolute drama queen.

Damon sidled up next to her. “So why are you interested in helping Caroline?”

Lis pointed at her tall boots with a bright smile. “She complimented my shoes.”

Damon rolled his eyes and sighed. “Yeah, why not?”

Stefan came jogging down the stairs in a hurry, passing a worried look to her and Damon waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

“Where is she?” Damon asked Stefan.

“She’s not here.”

“What do you mean she’s not here? Where did she go?”

Lis exchanged a polite smile with Bonnie as she walked into the foyer. “What’s going on?”

Damon was busy looking through the blinds at a pacing Nik with narrowed eyes. “Alaric has Caroline at the school according to Eleven here, and Klaus wants in to grab Elena and get the hell out of dodge. We are also currently missing Elena, so the entire thing’s a bit of a mess.”

Damon peered closer at Nik before Lis saw his eyes widen. “Duck!”

The sound of breaking glass filled the house as Annalise ducked low on instinct. A shower of small pieces of glass fell around her, as a rolled-up newspaper moved slowly to a stop at her feet. She got up slowly, a quick glance around the room showed Stefan and Bonnie slowly getting up from behind the kitchen counter, and Damon climbing to his feet from where he had lunged behind the sofa. Lis scowled, shaking the small pieces of glass from her thick curly hair.

Annalise vocalised her annoyance. “What the hell Nik? Elena apparently isn’t even here. Give us a sec.”

“Tell them to let me in!”

Lis picked up the newspaper and threw it right back at him. Pity his reflexes caught it before it smacked his face. He looked at her incredulously, but she just shrugged. “You were being annoying, and you got glass in my hair.”

Nik smirked innocently at her.

Annalise looked back at Stefan and Bonnie in the kitchen, they’d been joined by Jeremy and Damon; all talking in low voices worriedly.

“What’s going on guys?”

Stefan gave her a worried glance before looking at Nik, still watching everyone through the broken window. “Alaric called, he has both Elena and Caroline now, and he’s gonna kill them both unless you turn yourself over to him.”

“Now, I know you’re not asking me to walk to certain death.” Nik glared at Stefan as Lis carefully opened the front door, pushing aside the broken glass with her foot, and walked onto the porch.

Stefan shrugged as he followed her, “I really wish we could. But unfortunately, if Alaric kills you, there’s a one in four chance that we die too.”

Damon walked out looking relatively unbothered about that fact. “I’ll take those odds.”

“And a hundred percent chance that Tyler dies.” Stefan gave his brother a tired look that was easily ignored.

“I’m good with that too.”

Nik suddenly smirked turning to Damon sarcastically. “How about Damon sneaks in and distracts Alaric, while Stefan grabs Elena and carries her to safety?”

Damon squinted at Nik. “Huh, that’s a great idea. What’s to stop me from getting killed instantly?”

“Nothing.” Lis facepalmed at Nik’s wide grin.

Annalise moved her glasses up and rubbed her eyes tiredly – these men were so damn immature; and it’s her saying that, the world must be ending. “Nik, come on. Work with us here. What about Caroline?”

Damon pointed at Lis’s question, looking at Nik. “Yeah, Caroline. Listen to the conveniently powerless super witch. Didn’t you have a thing for her? Or did she just reject you too many times?”

Stefan looked about as fed up as she did. “This really isn’t helping too much.”

Lis exchanged a tired glance with him. “I agree. We don’t have time for this. We need a plan. Can’t we dagger him with your white Oak ash, Nik?”

He shook his head. “No, the stake didn’t work, so the ash probably won’t either.”

Annalise tilted in thought. “Is there any other way to incapacitate an Original? Other than staking or daggering? This just isn’t right – Alaric can’t be indestructible – the laws of magic dictate he has to have a weakness.”

Bonnie chose this moment to step out of the house, deep in thought. “Yeah, I might have an idea. My mom used a desiccation spell on Mikael that immobilized him for over 15 years. If I can get it, I might be able to use it on Alaric.”

Nik raised a brow. “If and might? Your words inspire such confidence.”

“Shush, Nik. At least she gave us an idea we can try.” Lis nudged Nik before turning to Bonnie. “Do you need any help with this spell? Can I look over it to see what it does, and whether it’ll work on Alaric?”

Bonnie nodded at her with a grateful smile. “Yeah, of course!” She turned to Nik. “But even with the spell, we’ll need a lot of vampire muscle to take him down. Including yours.”

Lis sends Nik a pleading glance, he looks at her for a moment before sighing and turning back to Bonnie. “Just so we’re clear, the sun sets in about eight hours. If we don’t succeed before then, Elena will be dead, I’ll be gone, taking Lissie with me, and the rest of you will be left to fend for yourself.”

Annalise corrected him internally – in the high possibility that they fail today, she didn’t have it in her to leave the Mystic Falls gang with an Original problem. She just hoped everything worked out okay.

-

Annalise had made herself comfortable on the beautiful sofa in front of the grand fireplace at the Salvatore’s Boarding house, watching Bonnie nervously pace across the expensive looking Persian rugs on the timber floors. Damon was on the couch opposite her, alternating between looking at Bonnie and the clock on the wall opposite them.

The clock showed that it was almost noon. It had been nearly two hours. Yikes.

It seemed Damon shared her sentiments, sending Lis a sarcastic smirk. “Well, this is promising.”

Bonnie turned to him in annoyance. “Relax, Abby will be here.” It almost seemed that she was almost reassuring herself with that statement. Lis sent her a sympathetic smile.

Damon took the rude route, rolling his eyes and calling out her bullshit. “I’m sorry, I forgot about her Stellar track record in the dependability department.”

“You’re one to talk.” Lis threw a couch pillow at his face, he caught it, looking unimpressed. She poked her tongue out at him.

Bonnie sighed, pacing the other way again. “Jamie said she was coming, okay? Just give her time.”

Just as she finished her sentence, the doorbell rang, the Bonnie and Lis exchanged a hopeful glance and Bonnie moved to get the door, but Damon rolled his eyes at her from the couch.

“Don’t get your hopes up! Might be a Girl Scout.”

Lis threw another pillow aggressively. Damon caught it and threw it right back at her before standing to go pour himself a glass of blood from the decanter in the corner. Annalise fumbled with the pillow before setting it down on the couch with an audible huff. Curse his super strength.

A moment later, Bonnie and her mum had joined them in the parlour – Bonnie’s mum was looking around taking in the Salvatore house in awe. “Why didn’t I have to be invited in?”

Bonnie passed her mum an awkward smile. “Only vampires live here.”

Damon walked up next to Lis facing the Bennetts, sassily swirling a glass of blood in his hands. He shrugged at Abby. “We had signed over the dead to Elena, but she died. The seal broke, very long story.” He held out the glass towards her. “Blood?”

Abby stared at the glass before glaring at Damon. He held it out closer to her in an insisting manner. “Ah, come on. Think of it as a peace offering.” Abby continued to glare hard at him. He just shrugged, smirking. “Fine, more for me.”

Lis slapped Damon on the arm, prompting another insulted look pointed at her. “What? Do you just wake up every day and say to yourself ‘I’m going to be the biggest douche possible to everyone today’, or were you just born an asshole?”

Annalise saw Abby smile just slightly at her as she shook the former witch’s hand. “Hi, my name’s Lis. Pleased to meet you. You can sit down over there,” Lis gestured back towards the couches. “We just have a quick question about a spell you performed a while ago.”

Abby smiled politely and sat down on a couch, Damon and Lissie sat on the couch opposite her. Bonnie stayed standing up, addressing her mother. “Esther created a vampire that can’t be killed. I want to desiccate him like you did Mikael.”

Abby immediately frowned and shook her head. “Bonnie, it’s too dangerous. Your magic comes from the Earth, it’s pure. This spell asks you to tap into dark places. Places of temptation, places you can’t handle.” 

Bonnie was resolute. “You turned your back on me for sixteen years, you have no idea what I can handle.”

Lis warily watched the exchange between mother and daughter before uneasily turning to Bonnie. “Bonnie, maybe she’s right. If this spell requires Dark Magic – I think there’ll be pretty heavy repercussions. I steer clear of the stuff myself.”

Damon clearly didn’t share her concerns, however. He looked at Lis and shrugged. “Gotta say I’m team Bonnie on this one. How hard can it be to parch a vampire?”

Lis looked away deep in thought as Abby answered Damon’s question. “The spell allows you to stop a vampire’s heart. The blood will stop flowing, and his body will desiccate.”

Bonnie looked lost. “That’s exactly what we want to do.”

Annalise looked at her worriedly. “Bonnie, think about it. Dark magic relies on mimicry and sacrifice. It’s a closed system functioning on equivalent but opposite exchange. To have enough power to kill something that is considered supernaturally undead – you need to leech that power from the mortal living to balance it out.”

Bonnie grew ashen and Damon looked between them, confused. “What does that mean, guys? Bonnie? I don’t speak witch.”

“That means I have to stop a human heart.”

-

Everyone decided to meet at the picnic tables on the school grounds – Nik and Stefan had already been there on recon duty while Lis, Bonnie, and Damon had met with Abby at the Salvatores’. 

Damon had called Jeremy up on the ride there and caught him up to speed on everything – he had volunteered for Bonnie’s dark spell immediately. Bonnie had elected to use the dark spell no matter the cost – Lis disagreed completely. No good ever came of practicing dark magic – either the price was too high, or the allure of more power was too hard to resist.

Since she couldn’t exactly be angry with Bonnie resorting to Dark Magic without offering her an alternative, Lis was sitting up on the picnic table next to Jeremy, one foot propped up leaning her notebook against it – scribbling furiously.

The book looked cool – thick, leather bound and black – she had ordered it with all her new supplies back when she’d first met Elijah. Now she had found a use for it – she was going to make it her very own grimoire and write in it her theories and the spells she came across. Annalise was currently quizzing Jeremy, as Bonnie and Damon talked a few feet away, waiting for Nik and Stefan to join them.

“So Elena said Esther made Alaric into an Original, took her blood, and that he’d die when the time was right. Is there anything else I’m missing?”

Jeremy looked down at his hand and fiddled with his Gilbert ring. “Yeah, Elena said the dagger was dipped in Alaric’s ring – that the ring’s magic is what makes it indestructible.”

Lis flashed him a grin, jotting that down. “That’s like, okay news at best. It’s not too bad to hear. Anything else?”

Jeremy looked at her, perplexedly squinting while shaking his head slowly. “No, uh…that’s all I can remember. Oh, and the fact that Esther messed with him every time he died to create evil Alaric.” He couldn’t help but grin at Lis’s little victory fist pump at that statement. “Yes! I called that shit. I knew it was Esther!”

“But wait, what do you mean it’s okay that Alaric’s got an indestructible stake?”

Lis returned to her book, replying to Jeremy distractedly.

“Uh…It’s okay news ‘cos the ring only protects you from supernatural deaths, yeah? All we need to do is like toss the stake in a woodchipper, then burn it in a natural fire, or like, leave it to decompose into mulch. Imagine that – trynna feed the Originals mulch to kill ‘em. Murderous green thumbs. Only hedging my bets at this point though; Esther’s one tricky witch – the stake itself is supernatural to start with ‘cos white oak has magical properties, and the ring only helps non-supernaturals – but we’ve seen the stake survive. Don’t know how Esther’s interfered with the ring’s magic.”

Lis was busy listing things that could potentially be an immortal Alaric’s weakness; immortals had to have one – it was like the biggest rule in magic – there needs to be something to balance that power out, there needs to be a loophole because nature’s a crafty bitch.

So the white oak doesn’t work against Alaric – but sunlight did. It didn’t look like the sunlight affected him more than a normal Original in order to make up for the lack of reaction to white oak. So…would vervain also affect him the same amount as it would a normal Original, or would it not? Since Esther didn’t call on the magic of the white oak to grant Alaric life, would vervain – flowers which were known to grow on the white oak (unless grown in bulk at a gardener’s or hunter’s) - even be effective?

Too many unknowns. She needed a new line of questioning.

Would it be safe to assume that Esther had completely swapped out the white oak component for something else? What elements did Esther have at hand though?

Bones, since she was in a Mausoleum? No – Esther would never make Alaric’s weakness something that was so accessible. Esther wouldn’t have time to map out an entirely different spell with different ingredients. Lis tapped her pen against the edge of her book in thought, ignoring Damon annoying Jeremy about his ring. She chose to look up when Jeremy started sounding angry –

“This is my ring, Elena’s my sister. No one’s gonna fight harder for her than me. I'n not gonna turn into evil Alaric 2.0.”

Lis nudged Jeremy in support and levelled a small deadpan at Damon. “Yeah, I reckon Elena’s gonna prefer an evil Jeremy over a dead one any day. Either have him in on the action and let him die, or let him die in a controlled setting, like the responsible adult you are.”

Damon rolled his eyes at her and squinted, scowling. “Fine. Be stubborn.” He passed Bonnie a furtive glance. “Try not to kill him, will you?”

Bonnie threw Damon an annoyed glare as Lis distractedly waved at Stefan and Nik approaching their picnic table. Nik smirked, mirroring her wave before looking at Damon and Bonnie watching Jeremy in concealed worry.

“Look at this; one big happy family.”

Bonnie didn’t deem his comment worth a reply as she pulled out a vial of blood from her bag and handed it to Damon. Lis hid her frown by looking down at her book. “Drink this. It’s my blood. It bridges up all together so that when I stop Jeremy’s heart, you’ll have the power to stop Alaric’s. You’ll need to make a physical connection to his blood stream; a vein, artery, something connected to his heart.”  

Lis raised a brow as Damon took a sip of the young witch’s blood. “I still don’t condone this plan, Bonnie. Blood magic, and a strange mix of Mimicry and Voodoo? There’s gotta be another way.”

Stefan grabbed the vial his brother held out to him, and took a sip, considering Lis’s statement. “That’s why you’ll be out here figuring out what Esther’s done. Bonnie and Jeremy are going into the woods not far from here for cover, and Klaus, Damon and I are facing Alaric.” He glanced at both his brother and Nik. “If one of us gets a clean shot, take it. The other two; hold him down.”

Stefan offered the vial to Nik, he took it, and looked towards Lis. She thinned her lips in clear distaste towards the plan but shrugged. She couldn’t offer an alternative. Nik understood and looked at the blood in his hand in thought before making eye contact with Bonnie, Stefan and Damon threateningly.

“Before we all walk through these doors, let’s get on the same page, shall we? I was the one who created your vampire bloodline, therefore I am responsible for your lives and Tyler’s life, Caroline’s life, and of course, Abby’s life, should anything go wrong.”

Annalise’s eyes were wide – so Nik had known he was their sire the entire time; his tone was far too steady for this to be a lie – or he could be bluffing, you never really know with Nik.

“Or you’re just lying to save your ass.” Damon seemed to think the same.

Nik smirked confidently. Lis was now at least 90 percent sure he was telling the truth – he seemed way too smug. “I’m not lying. But go ahead, call my bluff, let the teacher kill me. You’ll all be dead soon thereafter.” He punctuated his point by sipping the remainder of Bonnie’s blood in one go.

Stefan had reverted back to his tired expression – it seemed to be his default in recent times. “Let’s just get this over with, shall we?”

He led Damon and Nik towards the school entrance, Nik exchanged a parting glance with Lis – she nodded before he turned away, answering his silent question. She’d have his back.

Looking to her side, she realised that Bonnie and Jeremy were already in the distance, walking into the woods at the edge of the school grounds. Sighing, she turned back to her journal and tapped her pen against it, trying to recover her previous train of thought.

Esther had probably swapped out the White Oak in the spell for another component with similar properties – or at least one versatile enough to mimic them. There were countless substitutes that could do this – and Esther could have had access to any one of them while she had been hiding for the last week; they had, after all, found Finn all the way in Atlanta. Damn, she needed a new line of questioning again. 

Wait – she underlined a phrase she had written down at the top of the page – it was what Elena had told her about Alaric’s situation the night before.

Alaric would die when the time was right.

Lis chewed her lip. His life couldn’t be tied to anything regular, like the moon cycles – Esther wouldn’t give Alaric a time limit – she needed her children killed before Alaric himself died. 

Would she tie his life to one of theirs then? If she did, she would have needed their blood to link them once more. Elijah was out of the question – he seemingly had dropped off the face of the Earth when he had left Mystic Falls. Kol was far too smart to ever give someone his blood – accidentally or otherwise; and so was Nik. It could be Rebekah – after all, Esther did possess her for nearly an entire day – but then, Alaric wouldn’t have let Rebekah leave so easily this morning and targeted Caroline instead. He would have wanted her close and convenient, so as soon as his mission was complete, all he’d have to do was kill her.

So, no. It wasn’t any of the Original children. Who else’s blood could she have- wait-

Fuck, Lis’s eyes widened.

Esther was smart. She had to hand it to her. This solution was almost poetic.

Initially, Lis had dismissed Elena’s blood because it had already been used in the Original spell that Esther cast so long ago – Damon had mentioned that she had used the blood of the doppelganger who had come in between Nik and Elijah – but shit. 

Esther would have known about the versatility of doppelganger blood; so instead of using it to fulfill the single role it had in her spell, Lis bet all she had that Esther had also managed to sneak a little blood linking spell in there as well – not dissimilar to the one that Bonnie just used. 

Wait- Bonnie, she was going to stop Jeremy’s heart – would that hurt Elena? Shit shit shit shit. Esther had made sure that even if Alaric was defeated, Elena would die too – ensuring Nik wouldn’t be able to make hybrids anymore. Crafty bitch.

She distractedly felt her journal fall off her lap as she stood, trying to think her way through a plan of some sort.

This was proving to be such a bad day.

Chapter Text

The school was closer to her than Bonnie was – she could stop the boys from carrying out their plan faster than the time it’d take to get to Bonnie and warn her. Annalise located Nik’s familiar signature instantly, and ignored the sharp burning tug of pain from her magic as she pulled herself to him.

As she was trying to catch her breath weakly from her impromptu spell weakly, she regarded the chaotic environment around her. The hallway way in disarray when she had appeared in the middle of it, lockers were dented, some were open, spilling out loose papers and textbooks. Stefan and Damon lay unconscious on the ground, and Elena cowered unsurely near where Annalise had teleported to. The girl had initially flinched at her sudden appearance, before sending her a hopeful smile.

Lis heard a bang behind her and whipped around to see Nik had launched Alaric at the lockers, holding him there with his teeth gritted in effort. His other hand was buried deep in Alaric’s chest; Lis felt a swell in dark energy permeating the air around the two struggling vampires. Shit, Bonnie had started the spell.

“Nik, stop!” Annalise had shouted the words on reflex without thinking it through.

Nik had looked towards her with his brows furrowed for a just moment. Alaric seized this split-second opportunity of distraction, pulling Nik’s hand from his chest and throwing Nik backwards sliding along the floor. Immediately the dark magic in the air around him dissipated; the spell was broken. Her small relief at the fact that Elena was, once again, temporarily safe, was abruptly replaced by fear - Alaric had the White Oak stake as he appeared on top of Nik, pushing it down towards his chest; Nik was struggling on the ground trying to push it away. He was losing.

Lis had to do something, anything. Whirling around, she grabbed a stray pair of scissors on the ground and grabbed Elena by the hand. “Do you trust me?” Elena’s hesitant nod was good enough – Lis pushed her against the wall, one arm twisted up behind her gently, and aimed the open blade of the scissors at her neck. “Alaric! Stop!”

Both vampires looked towards her, Nik in confusion, and Alaric with fear – her hunch was right. Elena was the key. She edged the blade closer to the girl’s throat. “Let him go, or I kill her.”

Alaric slowly got off Nik and climbed to his feet, reaching out to her placatingly. “Now, now, little abomination. Put it away – I know you haven’t got what it takes.”

Lis’s fingers clenched the scissors harder as she grit her teeth. “You need to come up with a more original nickname than that, dick. Get stuffed. I know Esther linked you to Elena. I know that’s what’s keeping you alive right now.” 

Nik narrowed his eyes in understanding, then anger; he had linked the dots together then. Esther had scornfully slighted him once more – yet again he had to choose between making his hybrids (contingent on Elena’s survival) or his own survival. His gaze grew dark. 

Elena stiffened, still leaning on the wall, before pushing back against Lis’s weak grip and facing Alaric on her own. “That’s why you still need me alive? That’s the reason why Esther used me to make you, isn’t it? She didn’t want you to be immortal, so she tied your life to a human one, mine. That way you only have one life span to kill all vampires and then you’ll be gone. So when I die, you die too. Lissie's right.”

Lis looked at Elena proudly – she was a smart kid to have figured that out. Alaric denied her statement though. “You’re wrong.” He was taking the path of denial then...he didn't have to be so obvious about it - his eyes were darting nervously between the pair of scissors in Lis's hand, then back at Elena. 

Elena scowled at him and ripped the pair of scissors from Lis’s hand, holding it to her own neck, pressing them down a lot more threateningly and therefore convincingly than before; Annalise made an aborted gesture to rip the scissors away before Elena was digging them deeper into her neck. “Am I?”

Beads of blood escaped her skin where the blade met neck, Annalise was feeling helpless before Alaric interrupted. “Stop, Stop! Stop! STOP!”

Nik and Lis exchanged a glance. They were right; and that meant they had to get away. Bide their time. 

As soon as Elena lifted the blade from her neck; Lis grabbed a hold of her arm, Nik was next to her in an instant. Her magic reacted instinctively, and the next second found them in the middle of Nik’s living room.

Annalise felt her knees sting as she fell to the ground - her magic was all she felt, and hurt accompanied her dizziness. Everything was spinning; she couldn’t focus. Rebekah hadn’t been joking when she had said Lis had fainted this morning. She had hoped that her magic had recovered enough, but it clearly hadn’t.

She felt Nik help her stumble to the nearby sofa as her eyes shut heavily. All she knew next was darkness.

-

Her eyes felt heavy – hell, her entire body did. It ached as she tried to moved her lead limbs, but all she achieved was a small finger twitch. Lis managed to curl it feeling the soft fabric of the couch under her with a lot of effort. She was still alive then. Yay her.

Forcing herself to roll over on her shoulder, her blurry vision showed someone with long brown hair slumped in a chair opposite her – Elena?

Shoving her knees off the edge of the sofa, she levered herself up, huffing. Her fingers curled into the cushions at the wave of pain reminiscent of the medallion rushed through her. So this was the full after effect of the medallion...it made her never want to practice magic again in fear of the waves of erupting pain embedded in her memory. 

She exhaled deeply.

Annalise’s fingers brushed against something metallic at her side – thank God, her glasses – she settled them on her nose, looking forwards once more. Elena looked weak and fatigued, she was tied to a chair – a tube filled with red blood left the crook of her elbow, dripping into a small plastic blood bag hanging on a stand.

Lis’s stomach recoiled in disgust – this whole set up reminded her of the nightmare she had endured at Gloria’s. No way in hell was she letting anyone drain Elena.

Stumbling to her feet, she managed a few steps before falling unsteadily to her knees beside the young girl. Annalise reached for her magic on reflex to break Elena’s bonds, but hissed with tears pricking her eyes at the resulting wave of pain. Clenching and unclenching her hands trying to psyche herself up, she detached the large needle from the girl’s arm carefully, then got to work untying Elena slowly with stiff, unsteady fingers.

Her light touch must have roused Elena – the girl shifted in the chair groggily until her unfocused, bleary gaze landed on Annalise. “What are you doing?” The girl’s voice was rough, croaky. Lis was sure hers was the same. She lifted a finger to her lips to silence Elena, still working on the tight binds. She managed to free a foot.

It took her longer than she liked to admit to realise that someone else had joined her in untying Elena, crouched low right next to her. She turned her heavy head – Tyler. He nodded at her with a stiff smile, ripping the rope off Elena’s other foot, then her arm in quick succession. Hm...efficient. Oh, how she wished her magic wasn't still being a bitch. 

Elena shifted once more, looking at something over their shoulder. “Tyler, Lissie-”

Tyler was quicker to turn around than her - she felt him stiffen. Shit.

Following Tyler’s gaze she saw Nik leaning against the doorway, looking at the both of them with a hard expression set on his face. Lis avoided his gaze and wordlessly turned back to struggling with the last bind around Elena’s arm. Tyler, on the other hand, stood. She heard him approach Nik.

Nik’s voice sounded strange as he addressed Tyler. “So much for the sire bond.” He sounded almost disappointed. Lis kinda felt bad. 

Tyler didn’t seem to appreciate his tone. “I’m not your little bitch anymore.”

Lis’s fingernail she had levered under a tie to loosen it, stung. Drawing it back with a hiss, she saw her nail had broken - her finger was bleeding heavily. Scowling she tugged on the loosened rope and tried to use the extra give to loosen the knots. Her blood was making it harder than it already was though – she grunted lowly in annoyance as she listened with one ear to Nik and Tyler’s conversation. Her mind was a mess of swears and pain. Stupid rope, stupid blood, stupid magic, fuck this shit.

Nik’s voice sounded a bit closer, like he had walked further into the room. “How did you break the sire bond?”

“By breaking every bone in my body a hundred times for the girl I love.” Tyler’s reply was proud, bordering on smug.

“That’s impossible.”

“Is it?” She heard footsteps. “Or maybe real love is stronger than fake loyalty. But what do you know about that? The only person I could remotely consider your friend is Lis, and even she’s helping us right now.”

Annalise paused, not bothering to turn to Tyler. “Leave me the fuck out of your arguments, Tyler. You don’t know shit.”

There was a pause in conversation before Nik spoke again – she could almost hear the smirk he had on his face. “You know, you should be thanking me. I gave you a gift. I took away your misery.”

Tyler had had enough. “You didn’t give a crap about me! You just didn’t want to be alone!”

Lis thinned her lips in distaste at Tyler’s outburst as she finally got Elena’s last arm free. She felt Tyler move next to her and grab Elena’s hand, manoeuvring it over his shoulder to support her standing up. Annalise moved back a few steps in Nik’s direction. 

Tyler gave her a disappointed stare and shook his head, turning to help Elena walk out of the room.

The next instant Lis felt a breeze brush past her – Nik had pushed Elena to the ground violently before grabbing Tyler by the throat and pushing him against the far wall.

Lis tripped immediately to Elena’s side ignoring the tussle going on beside her – the girl had hit her head hard against the stairs – she was unresponsive, shit.

Her hands immediately went to the sides of Elena’s head – “Sana.”

Annalise grimaced in the pain drawing on her magic had brought her, she felt tears fall down her face. Wait, these weren’t tears. It was blood, the medallion’s dark magic was still affecting her magic. She tried to fight through it. “Please, please. Sana, sana, sana.”

The tips of her fingers tingled; she couldn’t help but smile relieved through the pain. Elena’s heart was beating regularly again – but the she remained unresponsive – the girl most likely had a concussion. Annalise reached deeper into her magic painfully to fix Elena’s concussion – she might be stable now – but she didn’t want the young girl dying later. 

She was distracted, however, when Stefan and Damon burst into the room, wrenching Nik away from Tyler. Lis tried to stumble to her feet to help Nik, but her knees gave out almost immediately. 

Tyler had grabbed one of the Original Hybrid’s arms, Damon had grabbed the other.

Lis watched helplessly as Stefan pulled his arm back to plunge into Nik’s chest. Her horror-stricken eyes met his. NO. Not this.

She screamed.

Her magic wrenched through her and exploded outwards from her in a wave - glass shattered, the chandelier above showered them with small broken crystals. The furniture upturned and lights flickered in the air. There was a high-pitched ringing in the air, but that's not what caught her attention. 

She couldn’t breathe.

Annalise looked down – Oh, that’s why. She had teleported close to Stefan’s turned back to restrain him during the blast. He had turned on reflex, his hands were holding her by her neck a foot in the air.

Everyone froze for a second, it felt like time had suddenly slowed down; Lis was hyperaware as she watched Stefan’s eyes track a drop of blood sliding down her cheek, chin, then neck. His hands tightened when her blood reached them. 

Damon was the first to break the silence as Stefan held Lis limply up in the air. Her eyes were drooping. She was losing consciousness. 

“Brother, I know she smells like a lovely all-you-can-eat buffet, but why don’t we put dow-”

The next instant, Lis finally knew why Stefan was called Ripper; she felt teeth puncture her neck and tear into her skin with abandon.

One hand stayed on the back of her neck, nails digging into her neck, stabilising her almost thoughtfully; the other clutched her closer to a tall body. Her face was in Stefan’s neck, the same way his was in hers – except she wasn’t draining him fucking dry. 

Lis’s hands pushed weakly against Stefan’s chest. The pull of blood leaving her neck periodically weakened her further and further. Everything felt muted, blurry.

It almost felt painless now – white edged her vision; her arms fell limply to her sides.

This was not how she wanted to go.

Time suddenly seemed to speed up again. Multiple hands were gripping at her sides, dragging her away, and she saw Damon hold Stefan back. She was on the floor now, her head lolled to the side, her neck was still bleeding out from what felt like a massive tear in her neck. Her breathing wavered, and her lungs hurt as they filled with the fluid she felt crackle through them. 

She felt skin press briefly against her lips – the tang of blood entered her mouth – she couldn’t tell whether it was hers, or someone else’s.

Her vision returned, just a bit. She was on the ground, looking up. She couldn’t move. At all.

She heard more sounds of a scuffle; Stefan was single-handedly holding his own against Nik – Damon and Tyler didn’t have to hold him down anymore. He plunged his already red-stained hand in Nik’s chest – Lis felt dark magic consolidate once more in the air around them.

Fuck, no, no, no Bonnie, not now-

She watched helplessly as Nik’s skin greyed and desiccated. His eyes met hers as she felt a lone tear escape. 

The last thing she saw as her eyes fell shut of their own accord was Stefan zooming out of the room, and Damon giving her a guilty glance before looking away, walking to where Elena was instead.

She welcomed the darkness this time – it felt much more comfortable than the reality she was in.

-

It was annoyingly familiar, waking up in a pool of her own blood. She gained consciousness slowly, memories replaying in her mind, one by one, all out of order. Elena holding scissors to her neck, Alaric slipping a necklace on her, Rebekah laughing at her then another instance of her stalking out of the room angrily. Nik desiccating, then hugging her and Bekah at the caskets.

She grimaced in disgust as her arm slid on the went floor when she tried to find enough traction to lever herself up – it was a mix of congealed blood sticking repulsively to her skin, and dry itchy flakes.

Grunting, she slid herself back slowly until she reached a wall, and pushed against it, sitting upright. Bright moonlight filtered in through the shattered windowpanes, pieces of glass scattered all across the floor reflected it, glimmering like millions of little stars at her feet. She noticed her neck and her nail didn't hurt anymore - just the aftereffects of the medallion remained. 

The sofa to the side was on its back, the table and chairs had all been pushed to the corner like a large gust of wind had blown through the centre of the room. Nik’s expensive rug was stained by her blood – damn, that’s gotta be expensive. ‘As soon as I get my magic back, I’m gonna have to hit this living room with every cleaning spell I’ve got.’

Something wet touched her arm, and she shivered looking down – it was her hair, slick with cold blood. Her eyes trailed up her forearm, and arm before she raised a hand gingerly to the side of her neck slowly, scared she’ll encounter a gaping hole – there wasn’t one. Her magic certainly hadn’t replenished enough to heal her, so what had?

Annalise felt a phantom feeling on her lips – that’s right. Somebody had fed her blood – someone who wasn’t Damon or Stefan – Damon had been holding Stefan back as whoever was behind her pulled her away. That left Tyler, or Nik.

Shit, Nik.

She let her head fall back on the wall behind her with a hard thump. Her captor? Boss? Best friend? Whatever he was, Nik was desiccated. She was in no position to help him, not by herself.

The moon was out, but it was low – either it was early evening or early morning. Alaric may very well be hunting her friends right now. That gave her the motivation to take a deep breath, and start moving. Lis pushed on the wall behind her and used it as a support to stand up. Her jeans stuck to her skin uncomfortably stiff with blood, she did her best to ignore it. 

Her first few steps were unstable, wobbly, but she soon got into a rhythm, one foot in front of the other. The pain was easier to ignore if she didn’t think too much about it. Her hand brushed against a bulge in her pocket – her phone!

She nearly fell again in her hurry to take it out, her slippery fingers couldn’t grab it out of her stiff pocket easily – once she had it safely in her hand, she rubbed her other hand on her tee to dry it, then started dialling.

Nik’s number went straight to voicemail all 5 times she called him.

Annalise made her way to the foyer and up the stairs – holding on to the rail for dear life. Her legs burned, she felt exhausted, but she needed to get to her room.

She distractedly dialled Rebekah once she got to the landing, heading to her room.

She held her phone up to her ear – it was ringing – that was good news.

Annalise was already in the middle of her room before she paused, feeling strange. Her room still felt peaceful and calm despite the day she’d had. It had always stayed so separate from everything, untouched by violence – a place she could go to when things just became too much. Her sanctuary.

It felt like she had soiled it now; her bloody footprints stained the floor behind her.

Annalise was torn from her thoughts when a voice sounded in her ear.

“Lissie? Lissie? Are you there? Oh, god, they said that you were dead.”

She exhaled lightly. “Yeah, yeah Bekah, no I’m here. I’m okay - healed. Still can’t do magic though. We need to find Nik, Bekah. Alaric’s probably hunting him – he’s desiccated – he won’t be able to defend himself; I feel horrible asking for your help, but please, c-come back?” Her voice shook, she hoped Rebekah didn’t notice.

Rebekah didn’t answer for a long moment. Lis hurried to her dresser and carefully pulled out a clean outfit, and a large sweater before digging deeper and recovering a small vial filled with a bright blue energy potion.

She drank a sip and replaced it carefully, turning to carry her clothes into her en suite.

The other end of the line remained silent.

“Bekah?” Lis prompted.

She heard Rebekah inhale shakily. “Lissie, um…a lot’s happened. Elijah came to help us. But...Alaric found Nik’s body – he staked him; I saw with my own eyes – he burned.” Lis gripped the sink tightly. No.

“No, no. I – I was supposed to help him, goddammit, of all the times to be fucking useless, I-“  A sob wrenched through her body, she sniffed back her tears. "So...Damon? Caroline? Tyler? What about them?”

Rebekah sighed. “Tyler’s dead. The Salvatores and Caroline aren’t. Listen, Lissie, there’s more. I was angry, so angry. I thought you were dead, and Alaric wasn’t going to stop. He wasn’t." Rebekah exhaled in what seemed like regret, and when she spoke, she hesitated. "I-I did what I thought had to do.”

Lis stared at the dark circles under her eyes in the mirror, focusing on the stained lines of red lining her face. She felt strangely detached. 

“And what did you have to do, Bekah?” There was no inflection in her tone at all.

She heard Rebekah exhale sharply. “I killed the doppelganger. Sent her and Matt over the bridge – only he survived.”

Lis felt a breath escape her in a whoosh. She felt nothing. That was supposed to be worrying, wasn’t it?

“Lissie? Are you ok?”

“Yeah, Bekah. Still here. Reckon I might get drunk tonight. Bye.”

-

Annalise was swinging her legs, watching the water move under her in a calm manner. A strong, cold wind brushed past her, toppling the empty glass bottle of vodka next to her on to the concrete guardrail she was sitting on with a clatter.

She fixed her beanie and thick scarf, burrowing deeper in her thick jacket while staring down at the empty bottle dispassionately.

“You’re not that great, y’know?” She righted the bottle, standing it up next to her, still talking to it. “You’re supposed to make me think of other things, not the same shitty things that are getting me down.”

Annalise swung her legs once more – she was sitting on the Wickery Bride, feet hanging out of the concrete guardrail. Less than a metre away from her to her left, the guard rail had been destroyed – that had apparently been where Elena drove to her death.

Maybe she shouldn’t have come here if she wanted to take her mind off her burdens. Bad choices were all she's ever made, why stop now? She watched a lone leaf float along the fast-flowing river under the bridge. 

Annalise didn’t turn when she heard footsteps approach her from her right. She crossed her arms, still looking over the water, ignoring the person who had joined her.

When the footsteps stopped right next to her, she lazily turned, then did a quick double take, almost falling backwards comically. “What the fuck, Tyler!?”

He had a hand on her back, helping her right herself and find her balance on the concrete beam.

“Hey, Lis.”

Annalise was still staring at him with her mouth wide open, Tyler raised his brow at her curiously.

Lis threw her arms around the young boy, pulling him close. He certainly wasn’t expecting it, but he reciprocated the hug well enough.

He leaned away, amused, glancing at the empty bottle next to her. “What was that for?”

Lis shrugged looking back out across the water with a small smile.

“You might be a ghost, or some figment of my imagination – doesn’t matter though, seeing you makes this night a little less shitty, my man.”

There was something nagging at her in the back of her brain. Something about Nik, and Tyler. She pushed it further away – she didn’t need to think about what-ifs. She was in a drunk haze – let her enjoy it while it lasts, dummy. She internally berated herself.

Her face must have scrunched up, showing her internal battle - Tyler was still staring at her amusedly. “Tonight’s been shitty, huh?”

Lis threw her hands up in the air dramatically, nearly falling backwards.

“Tell me about it! These past few days’-ve been real shitty. First that bitch Esther gives me that gaudy-ass killer jewellery. Literally. Next Alaric goes…all...terminator – I see my best friend dry up like a raisin left in the sun, then I practically die myself - fucken’ hickey-ed to death. Next I wake up to find Elena – a kid too pure for this world – also dead, along with my mummified best friend. You were apparently dead too, but I’m glad you’re somehow still hanging around kid.” Her Australian accent had become more prominent as the tirade continued.

Tyler looked at her strangely when she said kid, as if she hadn’t ever called him kid before. Alarm bells started ringing in her head, but she put ‘em on mute.

“You swear a lot when you’re drunk, don’t you?” The boy next to her nudged her. 

Lis snorted and spoke. “Naah, mate. This is literally my internal dialogue 98 percent of the time. Be glad that I censor myself around you’s.”

Tyler mirrored her grin. “You said you watched your best friend dry up and die. Talking about Nik?”

Lis couldn’t ignore the feeling of wrongness this time. She squinted at him. “Nik? Since when do ye’ call him Nik?”

The kid shook his head, looking away slightly. “No, uh…It’s just what you called him.”

Annalise stared for a long moment at him before suddenly beaming, distracted. “I do call him that, don’t I? It was supposed to annoy him, y’know, but it kinda grew on me – kinda like him.” Lis let out a sigh and looked at the water below, not ready for the sudden rollercoaster of emotions hitting her. “I’m going to miss the dude.” She declared softly.

Tyler scoffed, turning away. “You’re lying. You can’t be serious, can you? He was forcing you to work for him. You're free.”

Lis smiled sadly and leaned her chin on her hand. “Ha. Do you wanna know what I was thinking when I first met him?”

“Oh, pray tell, Lis?”

She giggled at him, rolling her eyes. “I thought that he dresses like a hipster art student.”

Tyler looked a bit insulted on Nik’s behalf. Wonder why? Surely he said he had broken the sire bond, though?

Lis ceased giggling, and shook her head, trying to get back on track. He faced her fully as she quieted down and continued, looking into the depths below. “Then, my only thought was that I’d survive him. That I’d survived worse than the Originals. ‘Cos that’s all I’ve ever done, y’know? Survive one thing to face the next. Just kinda ride through life, existing. Hell, research was the most exciting thing I did.”

He sighed. “Lis I-”

She shushed him. “No, no, just lemme finish. I just wish I knew back then that I was making the single best decision in my life.”

Annalise sniffed back her abrupt tears. He looked to her with wide eyes, not expecting her to suddenly become this emotional. Maybe getting drunk tonight was a bad idea – she certainly didn’t feel emotionless anymore. 

“I know you hate them, kid, but these past months with them; Nik, Bekah, Kol, and Lijah – For the first time, it felt I was doing more than surviving. It’s like I finally figured out what living felt like, for the first time in my life. I suddenly had things that I really cared about, people I was close to, who I would literally live and die for. They all mean the world to me. Nik was my best friend-”

Her voice broke.

Tyler moved closer to her, and she sniffed, wiping at her eyes drunkenly.

“I just wish I told him that, y’know? That no matter what he carried from his thousand years on Earth – he made an insignificant person’s life so, so much better.”

Tyler nudged her solemnly, not making eye contact. “I wouldn’t exactly call you insignificant, Lissie. You’re pretty badass...” He paused before he rushed to add, “I’m sure Klaus thought so too.”

She sniffed again. “It’s just- This sounds sad, but I suddenly had a purpose. I didn’t feel alone anymore. It’s how you know you’ve made it to where you belong, y’know - when every single shitty thing that’s happened in my life is suddenly all worth it because it led me to them, I- I know that sounds pathetic but-”

Hiccupping, she turned into his side and hugged him again as hard as she could. She was certain her ruining his jacket, but warm arms wrapped around her small frame and tightened to hold her closer.

She leaned away from Tyler once more, giving him a quick grin. “You're alright, kid.”

Tyler rolled his eyes, and looked out at the river below them. “What are you gonna do now?”

She huffed tiredly. “I think I’m gonna stick around, do some research, ha- the irony, I know – maybe get I'll get Kol’s help if he’s up for it. I had a feeling that Nik was telling the truth when he said he sired Damon and Stefan – but turns out they’re still alive. And you, you’re like a figment of my imagination; or like a ghost. But this might just be drunk-me talking, but you feel alive, so what if there’s a chance he’s alive too, y’know? Any sane person would probably leave now, but I don’t think I can leave, and give up on all of them.”

“So back to Rebekah, then?”

“No, no. It’s just I can’t look at Rebekah right now; she’s a good friend, my best, next to Nik. But I just can’t face her - not after what she did to Elena. I know I’ll forgive her eventually, but I feel like I should let myself grieve.”

Tyler nodded in understanding, strangely looking satisfied, but tilted his head. “I still don’t get why you like Elena so much – she left you for dead today, bleeding out. Sure, she tried to help as soon as she saw you, but she didn’t put up much of a fight when Damon declared you dead and dragged her out.”

Lis shook her head lightly. “It’s a good thing either you or Nik fed me blood then, isn’t it? Thanks, if it was you.”

Tyler just gave her a quick grin.

She took a deep breath. “But I dunno, really. I guess Elena reminds me a bit of my childhood friend. She had long brown hair too – she trusted me to look after her, just like Elena did. Then I let my friend get hurt. Every time I see a kid in danger, that’s all I’m reminded of. Feeling helpless, useless.” She choked out a teary laugh. “I was useless then, just like I’m useless now.”

“You’re not useless, Lissie. You proved that when you saved your friend.”

Wait. That cut through Lis’s drunken fog like butter and she stilled, still looking deep into the water. “How do you know that?” Her question was less than a broken whisper, but Tyler heard, nonetheless.

He also gradually stilled next to her. “Klaus, he- uh…he told me-”

“Cut the crap. Nik would never tell you my shit. You called me Lissie. You called Nik, ‘Nik’ instead of ‘Klaus’, and you’re supposed to be dead – You’re the one guy we know for sure Nik sired, Tyler – so what the ever-loving fuck is going on?!?”

A slow smirk spread across Tyler’s lips unnaturally, looking strangely out-of-place on his face. It seemed strangely familiar. Lis leaned slightly back, wary and suddenly feeling a lot more sober. 

“Well done, Lissie. It took you longer than I thought it would to figure it out – but given you are very intoxicated; I’d say you’ve done well. I’ve got to say, though, I’m really touched – I truly didn’t know I meant that much to you.”

Lis still felt unnerved until her brain slugged through what Tyler meant; she felt her face fall slack. Not Tyler.

“Nik?”

Tyler’s smirk widened. “In the flesh.”

Lis reached down to her side slowly, still looking expressionlessly at Nik/Tyler, before grabbing the empty vodka bottle from her side and whacking his arm violently.

“That was for the fucking pun.”

Chapter Text

It definitely felt strange, staring at Nik’s desiccated body laying almost peacefully in the casket, while she knew that he was standing right next to her in reality – in the body of a young teenager she had grown to pity.

Yup. Stranger than normal. She had gotten used to the weirdness that typically followed the Originals around, though. 

What Annalise definitely wasn't used to, was the heavy poundings of pain that her brain was continually being assaulted by. Her mouth was dry, and a ugh...disgusting aftertaste of vodka stuck to it – she swallowed and rubbed her forehead. Lis hated hangovers – she couldn’t wait till her magic was fully replenished once more – she missed her fast healing.

Nik shifted in Tyler’s body, crossing arms and looking down at the casket smugly.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Annalise couldn’t help rolling her eyes. “Alright, Narcissus, tone that ego right down.” She peered closer in to the casket, looking at the ashy but unburnt centre on Nik’s real body's chest. “How is this possible? The stake should’ve reduced your body to ash.”

They were interrupted as footsteps echoed down the stairs to the Lockwood Cellar; Bonnie walked over to join them, narrowing an annoyed glare at Nik/Tyler. “What’s that doing here, Klaus? The deal we made with Tyler was that you’d leave his body and jump into someone first chance you got.”

He shrugged, gesturing at Lis. “Well, as Lissie here surmised, that was when I’d assumed I’d be a pile of ash. Alaric shut the lid after he staked me – fate and oxygen intervened and there I am.” Nik gestured at the coffin, turning back to Bonnie. “Put me back.”

Bonnie scowled. “I can’t right now – why can’t Lis do it?”

Lis leaned closer to the body in the coffin, crouching down, and started poking Nik’s body’s face curiously, not bothering to turn as she answered Bonnie. “Well for starters, still recharging. I hit a snag in my healing when I was nearly drained yesterday and left for dead by your friends." She levelled a flat smile at the witch before turning back to Nik's real face. "Two – this spell requires tapping into a dark magic – this isn’t a morality thing; I did actually try looking into it back when I was studying magic – saying I reacted badly to the dark stuff would be an understatement.”

Nik nodded, moving to stand in front of Bonnie. “As you can see, Bennett, you weren’t my first choice – but I need to get out of this body – now. Lissie, stop touching my face.”

Lis stood up and passed him a cheeky grin, before wincing. “Ugh, shit. I stood up too quickly. I fuckin’ hate hangovers.”

Nik passed her an amused glare before turning to Bonnie. “Your history teacher outed Tyler and Caroline to the Council. They’re on the war path and this body’s vulnerable.”

Lis crossed her arms. “This body has a name, y’know.”

Bonnie nodded at Lis’s point. “Yeah, and I have to help Elena before she has to feed.”

“Elena’s alive?” Annalise had straightened in hopeful surprise immediately - Bonnie passed her an awkward smile and a shrug. 

"Not really."

Nik looked annoyed with where the conversation had headed, however. “Elena’s a vampire, so she’s dead, and no longer my concern.”

Clearly his attitude wasn't making helping him look more appealing to the young witch as her lips curled in disgust. “You’re forgetting who just saved your life.” Bonnie’s eyes sharpened into a furious glare, before she made to turn away.

Before Lis could react, Nik had grabbed Bonnie by the throat, towering over her threateningly. “And you’re forgetting that I could rip your tongue out.” He hissed. “Now, put me back.”

Annalise was at their side in an instant. “Jeez, Nik. Stop – just let the girl go. This isn't helping anything.”

Bonnie thinned her lips, nodding. “If I can keep Elena human, you’ll still have an endless blood supply to make your hybrids. Isn’t that what you really want?”

Lis was still glaring at Nik as he let Bonnie go slowly – as she turned away to leave, Nik blurred around her to the entrance of the Cellar, stopping Bonnie from leaving once more. Annalise watched as Nik threatened Bonnie again with an angry glare, ready to step in at a moment's notice as he spoke. “Same rules apply. No one knows. No one. Do you understand me, Bonnie?” Nik's sharp smirk grew unnervingly on Tyler’s face.

Bonnie nodded angrily, pushing past him and back up the stairs with a heavy scowl set on her face.

Lis whacked his arm as he walked towards her again. “You’re being a dick, dick. All you have to do is stay put here, for the day.”

Nik just rolled his eyes and walked past her with a huff. 

-

It had been quite a while since Bonnie left, and Annalise was bored; so naturally she decided to start nagging an equally bored looking Nik sitting on the casket containing his real body. “I still don’t understand why you wouldn’t want me telling Bekah, or Kol, or Lijah – that you’re still alive – Bekah’s been texting me all morning, asking to meet me.”

He huffed. “Then go to your beloved Bekah. Oh, wait. I forgot. You can’t stand the sight of her.” Nik smirked as she scowled, chucking a small pebble in his direction. 

“That was uncalled for, grouch. Let me deal with my own near death, and the actual death of a person I care about in my own way. I just don’t get why you’d keep this a secret though; it’s not like it’s gonna change anything. Just send them a text, y’know, instead of making them suffer.”

Lis squinted at him as Nik continued ignoring her, suspiciously looking to the side. Her mouth dropped open suddenly in shock. “Oh, you sadistic little shit. You want to see them grieve for you.”

Nik got up and threw his hands in the air. “Take care how you address me, Lissie. This is just disrespectful.”

She smirked at him. “Oh, sorry, your Highness-”

The phone in his hand rang, interrupting her – Nik looked down at it. “Carol. Incessant woman.” He hissed before lifting it to his ear, answering it, changing his voice to a more youthful one. “Hey mom. What’s up?”

Lis muffled her amused snort behind her hand at Nik’s attempt to channel his inner Tyler; listening to the one-sided conversation.

“Mom, I’m okay. Relax.” Something Carol said next had him straightening up, on alert. “Why, what happened to Caroline?” More muffled words from the other side. “What do you mean they took her?”

Annalise stood up from the corner worriedly and walked closer to Nik as he ended the called angrily. “Lissie-”

She was already shaking her head. “No, not sure if I can pinpoint Caroline, Nik. Her vampire signature’s not as strong as yours, or as familiar.”

“Try, please.”

Annalise nodded hesitantly, shutting her eyes and expanding her senses out with a sharp wince. Immediately she could feel Nik’s familiar signal beside her, along with another two vampire signatures, along with Elena’s doppelganger energy leeching away – dying, transforming into something else; burning low in the suburbs. She could see Bonnie’s obvious witch energy moving towards the signatures – that was most likely Stefan, and Damon. Nope. She was steering clear of that.

She reached out further, a little more...hold up, why was Rebekah’s obvious Original signature next to a normal vampire’s signature zooming in the direction of the countryside?

She’d ruled out all the other vampires who were supposed to be in Mystic Falls – it must be Caroline.

Exhaling sharply she opened her eyes, facing Nik. “Okay, this is just a guess ‘cos I don’t know Caroline’s signature yet, but I’m fairly certain she’s heading in the direction of the farmlands – a little more than 2 miles away. And Bekah’s also with her, for whatever reason.”

Nik was already moving to put a jacket on as soon as she started talking. “I think I know what road they took – there’s only one main one in that direction.”

He moved to the entrance, passing her a thankful nod. “Wait, Nik. Let me come, please?”

Nik paused. “You can’t overexert yourself; you’ll be a bother.”

“So you’d rather deal with Bekah and maybe Caroline by yourself?”

Nik levelled a tired look at her victorious smirk; the next second Nik was running at superspeed, arms braced securely around her. When Lis opened her eyes again, staggering - ‘Oh, I’m not getting used to that anytime soon.’ she saw open farmlands around them, a large road cutting through the middle of two golden fields. The distant sounds of multiple vehicles reached her ears and she looked in the direction Nik was watching.

Two police cars and a large silver SUV flanking a large van came into view, approaching quickly – she noticed Bekah, and who she assumed to be Caroline’s, signature coming from the protected van.

She nudged Nik. “They’re in the van. What are you gonna do?”

He just smirked. “Just stand back and learn, Lissie.”

Annalise watched with curious eyes as Nik calmly walked to the side of the road and patiently waited until the first cop car at the front of the envoy passed them in a blur. The van wasn’t so lucky. Nik shoulder-checked it the next instant, sending it somersaulting to the other side of the road - a deafening crush of metal rang out each time it rolled, until it creaked to a stop upside down further down the road.

The police car and silver SUV behind the van screeched to a halt, 2 officers from each car stumbled out and immediately started shooting. Nik growled, and Lis snapped out of her speechless shock. They were still shooting at him. Idiots. Why aren’t they running away?

A quick twist of her hand that flared up her magical pain worse than before had them falling unconscious. They heard another screech; the first police car, now a fair way away, had pulled a quick U-turn, and was heading back in their direction, sirens blaring. Lis moved to the sideways van with renewed rush, wiping quickly at the small amount of blood under her nose, moving out the way as Nik ripped the backdoor off its hinges in a hurry, revealing Caroline and Rebekah tied up in the back.

Nik rushed in and grabbed at Caroline’s bonds while the girl in question looked at Nik as if she’d seen a ghost. “Tyler?”

“I’m harder to kill than you think.” Oh, the irony. Happy tears fell down Caroline’s face as she smiled at him, Lis rolled her eyes and moved past Nik, further into the van, passing a quick smile to Rebekah, avoiding her eyes. She started to quickly fiddle with the soaked ropes tying her down.

Rebekah was still distractedly looking at who she thought was Tyler. “How are you alive?”

Nik had now stood up, ripping off Caroline’s ropes in a rush. “No time. Come on, we’ve got to go.” He sent Caroline out of the van. “Lissie.”

Annalise shook her head and managed to loosen Bekah’s ties further. “I’m nearly finished. You guys go. I think I might have enough juice to get us outta here.”

Nik nodded at her, passing a smug smirk to Rebekah. “Keep ‘em busy, little sister!” He sped out before comprehension dawned on Rebekah.

“That’s not possible.” She looked towards Lis with wide eyes, wanting an explanation, but Lis just shrugged, still busy with the ropes. They didn't have enough time in the world to get into Nik's issues. 

Her hands paused when something cold and heavy settled on her temple; "Hands in the air, now." Rebekah looked at the deputy holding a gun at Annalise’s head in fury.

Lis immediately put her hands up, facing the officer gingerly with an large smile. “Steady, swear I’m human-ish. Bullets would hurt me a great deal, trust me.”

The gun didn’t lower. “Step away, slowly.”

Lis exhaled, stood straighter and took a big step sideways, before she flicked her wrist at him. She didn’t feel the familiar pull of magic pass through her. Shit, no, no, not now. She flicked her wrist again “Somnus, somnus. Sleep, dammit.”

The police officer was staring at her, gun slightly lowered in puzzlement. He walked closer. She had over-estimated herself.

She passed him a shaky awkward smile. “Ha, performance issues. Affects us all, am I right?”

Annalise winced as the side of her face was forcefully pressed against the inside of the van, the click of handcuffs echoed in the small space, then she was being hauled up again, escorted to the police car behind Rebekah.

Someone ducked her head as they sat her in the backseat.

“Wait, is this arrest? Am I, like, a criminal now?”

The door answered her as it was shut forcefully with a resounding thud.

-

The air being pumped in through the fan smelled heavily of vervain – Rebekah’s and Stefan’s hoarse inhales and choking coughs were evidence of that. Lis was thankful they didn’t know what Lobelia did to witches. She was also glad that they thought she was just a harmless civilian, compelled to help Rebekah. They were keeping her detained until they killed her friend, to release Lis from her alleged compulsion. 

It had been a fair few hours; Stefan had remained conspicuously silent and pretended they weren’t there.

Lis honestly kinda appreciated it. He had nearly killed her last time they met, after all. She honestly couldn't look at him without seeing those sharp fangs and that hungry inhuman expression had worn. Rebekah was a no go too; sure Elena was now technically considered un-dead and kicking, but Lis still hadn’t moved past it yet. The intention to kill, and all that. 

Now it was just silent, and she was recuperating. Her magic had started to heal – she was resting, and building up her strength. As soon as she had enough, she was ready to get the hell out of this stinking dump. Literally. She saw signs of scraped animal faeces in the corner of her cell. Lis scrunched her nose in disgust and looked towards the cell next to her.

Rebekah was hurting; she could tell – most obviously by the painful silence in the air. Annalise sighed. She just couldn’t stay silent. Rebekah was still her friend and she cared about her, despite the horrible decisions she'd made. “Bekah. Nik’s an arse. Him not telling you about his fake death was a dick move, but it wasn’t betrayal.”

It was silent for a long time until Rebekah’s hoarse voice answered her softly. “No, Lissie, I agree. But what about when he rescued his crush instead of me? What about when he chose his hybrids more than me? When he wouldn’t leave without his precious doppelganger? What about all those times in the last thousand years he decided I was better off daggered? That’s betrayal. And that’s what I’m sick of, Lissie. I’m tired of playing second fiddle, always being put second.”

Rebekah had a point; Lis leaned her head against the wall tiredly. “I'm not defending him, I'm not. But what about when you helped lure Nik to Mystic Falls to have him killed by Mikael? What about when you repeatedly tried to kill Elena, and actually succeeded the last time?”

At this Rebekah did sound quite remorseful. “Lissie, I know she was close to you-”

She heard Stefan shift in his cell. “That’s not the point, Bekah. She’s fine, her situation’s complicated to say the least; but she is fine. I’m not the one you should be apologising to." Annalise ran a tired hand down her face. "What I was trying to say is that no one’s perfect, Bekah. Nik is an arse, for sure, but at the end of the day, you guys are family. I’m sure he’ll pull through. Don’t give up on him just yet.”

Maybe she could play mediator and get Nik to apologise – she wasn’t even sure if the word ‘sorry’ was in his vocabulary. This was going to be seriously tiring.

-

The front barn door slid open creakily, and two officers carried in an unconscious Elena, throwing her into the cell opposite her, but adjacent to Stefan’s. Well...this was new - Annalise thought that Elena was with Bonnie, safe. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Stefan stood watching Elena in concern as she was dragged through the barn. 

His eyes held an enormous amount of worry as the deputies shut her cell door and walked out wordlessly. A resounding click of the large barn door signalled they were locked in once more. Lis bit her lip worriedly when Elena remained barely conscious.

Rebekah’s voice drifted over from the cell next to her. “So she is alive? How’s it complicated?” 

Annalise sighed. “She’s in transition, Bekah.” She looked at Stefan in the cell opposite and diagonal to her. He was still avoiding her eyes – but this time it seemed like it was out of worry for Elena that he didn’t address her look. Lis spoke hesitantly instead. “Uh...Stefan, I talked to Bonnie this morning, she said she was trying to help. Did she manage to do anything?”

He wordlessly shook his head.

Lis crept closer to her bars. “Has she fed yet?”

He finally looked at her, Lis had to swallow back a flinch and exhale slowly. He isn’t draining her – he isn’t. He’s in a cage, and weak from vervain.

Stefan studied her face for a long moment before he finally replied. “No, I don’t think so.” His gaze was repenting, and heavy, way too heavy for Annalise to hold. She looked away, unable to look at him any longer without having a panic attack.

Elena shifted, grabbing her attention, and started to cough. Another vervain filled breeze came through the vent in the ceiling. “Where am I?” She looked up and made eye contact with Lis. 

Annalise tried to smile reassuringly despite the fact that the young girl looked sallow and sick. “A torture farm for vampires apparently. Stefan’s in the cage next to you.”

She saw Stefan lean on the wall separating him from Elena. “Elena, I’m right here. Are you okay?”

“Stefan,” Elena tried to lift herself up using her arms, but they buckled in weakness. She looked hopeless. “I didn’t feed.”

Rebekah’s tone took on a bitchy quality. “That’s a problem.”

Stefan shot her a glare. “Just ignore her.”

“Has anyone done the math, or shall I?” Lis leaned her head against the bars, closing her eyes as Rebekah spoke up once more. “I’d say you’ve got less than three hours to feed before I get to watch you die all over again.” In a fit of anger, Elena blurred to the cage bars and tried to smash through them. They didn’t budge. A despondent expression took over her face as Rebekah piped up. “My day just got a whole lot better.”

Lis chuckled. “Don’t be dramatic, Bekah.” She opened her eyes again and looked at Elena getting paler by the minute. “I’m not a vampire, remember? I’m recharging. I can get you out of here and to a blood bag soon, just hold out for as long as you can, yeah?”

Relief filled both Stefan and Elena’s faces. “You’d still help?”

She looked at Stefan, slowly, prepared to hold back the flinch this time. “What do you mean?”

“I bit you.” The guilt in his voice made her feel pity. She nodded sadly at him. Annalise really might have a bleeding heart if she thought that it maybe wasn’t completely his fault that she was having severe flashbacks of him killing her every time she looked at him. 

“Exactly. You bit me. Elena did nothing, of course I’d help her.”

“Exactly.” Elena’s expression fell, her eyes teared up. “I did nothing. I left you bleeding there; I thought you were going to die, and I knew that in your final moments you probably saved my life, but I still just left you.”

Lis narrowed her eyes at the crying girl. “Why?” Don’t get her wrong, she wasn’t offended, but she just wanted to know what about her meant that she deserved to die.

…Okay, maybe she was a little offended.

She heard Bekah shuffle towards her bars; anger prevalent in her tone of voice. “Let me get this straight, you left Lissie to die after Stefan went Ripper on her?! After all she’s done for you? Oh, I no longer feel a single ounce of regret for what I did, you deserve every minute of the torture you will endure for the rest of your short, sorry little life.” Rebekah chuckled darkly.

Elena looked away ashamedly, but Stefan gripped the bars holding him prisoner. He looked at Lis desperately. “No, please. She had a concussion we had to drag her away, she wanted to help, it was our fault. Just, please, don’t punish her on our account.”

Lis moved her narrowed gaze from Elena to Stefan. “You think I’d let a young girl die out of spite for her?”

“No, I- I-”

She glared at him. “Look, you left me to die. That’s a dick move – I’m just wondering why.”

Elena spoke up lowly with teary eyes. “You’ve helped us; a lot. It’s true. But what happens when one day, you agree with Klaus? What if more of my friends die because you changed your mind? You’ll never choose us, that’s okay, but I can’t risk you choosing them.”

Annalise frowned; her lip twitched down in disappointment. “So you decided for me? You decided not to help someone on a maybe? A risk? Look, I- ju-," heavy exhale. “Look. I get it. I do. I’m not insulted that you didn’t help me, I’m not. I’m insulted you think that low of me.” A low shudder suddenly passed through her and she shivered. Her head felt dizzy, she clutched at her chest. “Ah shit!” 

“Lissie, Lissie, what’s wrong?” Bekah was hitting the wall between them hard. She tapped back lightly.

“No, no, Bekah, I’m not hurting. I’ve felt this before, something’s messing with the veil. This feels like dark magic.” She gasped as she looked into the cell opposite her; that seemed to be where it was concentrated most. Elena? Not possible. No...there was a shadow behind her, reaching out to Elena. A small shadow, a familiar signature. She tilted her head and squinted. “Bonnie?”

Both the shadow and the unsettling feeling disappeared in an instant. Lis breathed deeply; Rebekah spoke up.

“Lissie, what was that? Was the Bennett here?”

She swallowed and looked at Elena’s pale face. “Yeah, yeah I think Bonnie was just here. She was using dark magic. I think she was trying to help you. She disappeared though – something stopped her from reaching you.”

Elena’s face fell, her exhaustion showed clearly as she slumped against the wall. She was clearly reaching her end, but Lis still didn’t have enough power yet to teleport her the hell out of here.

This past week had been absolutely dreadful, she was just about ready to leave it all behind.

-

Lis didn’t realise she had fallen asleep until Stefan’s shouts woke her up. “Lissie, wake up! Hey! Anyone! Hey!”

“Will you shut up!” Annalise ignored Rebekah’s annoyed yell and scrambled to the bars immediately, looking at Elena’s sallow sweaty face. The girl was breathing heavily and she was slowly losing consciousness. Shit. Elena's time was nearly up.

Before Annalise could say anything, the barn door slammed open. The officer looked annoyed as he walked up to Stefan’s cage. “You want more vervain? Keep it down.”

Stefan gripped at the bars desperately. “Listen to me. Elena’s gonna die if you don’t let her out of here.”

The officer leaned over to look at Elena’s cell giving her a cursory look before shrugging at Stefan. “Sorry, not my problem.”

“She’s innocent! Let her out.” The officer started leaving, Stefan followed him within his cage. “Let her out!” 

The cop turns and shoots Stefan point blank in the stomach – he fell to the ground groaning in pain.

“Oi! What was that for!” Lis was standing up, glaring at the officer. He just smirked at her. 

“Unless you want this next bullet in you, I suggest you quiet down, girl.”

Stefan rushed at the bars again, pushing past the pain. “I said let her out!”

His efforts were met with another wooden bullet, this time to his leg. As he collapsed on the ground again in pain, the officer left, smirking. The large barn door shut behind him with a thud, followed closely by the sound of locks clicking.

Lis leaned her head against the bars, annoyed at humanity in general. “Great idea, Stefan. Why wouldn’t the people who want Elena to die, help her, y’know, not die?”

He just groaned in response, digging his fingers into his wounds to pick the bullet out. “Is your magic back? I don’t hear an alternative coming from you.”

“Touché.” She raised her hands in the air and stepped back. “I don’t have enough to heal her and get her out of here. Not yet.” Her gaze moved to Elena; she was breathing heavier than before. “You okay, Elena?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m okay.”

Stefan immediately moved to the wall separating him from her, leaning against it heavily. “No, you’re not. I can hear you breathing. Damon was right, you should have fed this morning. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. You had hope. That’s all I ever wanted you to have and you had it.” Elena looked up at the ceiling and Lis moved away, feeling like an intruder to their conversation.

“I love you so much.”

Dear lord, Kol was right, Damon was right, she was always so conveniently fucking useless when it matters most. Rebekah was being strangely silent. Annalise tuned back into the conversation.

Elena had placed her hand on the wall dividing her from Stefan. “God, it sucks I can’t see you right now.”

Stefan had tears rolling down his face. “I’m smiling.”

“Me too.” The brunette smiled sadly.

Lis cursed under her breath, feeling inside for magic – any at all. There wasn't enough of her magic left to heal Elena, hell she barely had enough to probably let her teleport out this cage. But it was still more than she thought she had. Then all she had to do was find the guards, grab his keys, free Stefan and Bekah, and have them super speed Elena to safety. All she needed was blood.

Annalise paused her pacing.

Maybe it was time to admit that deep, deep, deep down…She was stupid as fuck - that...or she'd been subconsciously repressing this idea due to recent trauma. Both. Both would be plausible. 

All Elena needed was blood. Her hand involuntarily came up to her neck; she felt phantom teeth tear into in with vigour, sucking her blood out in gulps.

Her fingers traced where her throat had been ripped open, her unsure gaze caught Stefan’s eye before comprehension filled them.

“No, Lis. I don’t know why, but your blood’s potent. This is a bad idea.”

Huh. She’d heard she smelled good before, but her blood, potent? Annalise made a mental note to look into it later.

Instead of asking more questions, she gestured at the cell Elena was in. “You really have a better idea right now? Elena’s stopped moving, Stefan. All she needs is just a quick sip if it’s as strong as you say it is.”

He thinned his lips, but stopped saying no. He was desperate too. He gave a sharp nod.

Annalise took a step back and braced; collecting as much magic as she could, she ran at the bars and imagined herself out of them.

There was a loud clang, her face hurt and her nose smarted where the bridge of her glasses pressed into it as Annalise opened her eyes to find she’d run into the bars.

Well, Shit.

Wait.

Silly her. Rubbing her nose, she turned, realising victoriously that she was out of her cell; she had smashed into outside of the cell opposite hers – Elena’s. The girl was on the ground, eyes closed; her life signature was dim. Right, the urgency of the situation returned tenfold, and she was glad that neither Rebekah nor Stefan commented on her ridiculous display of clumsiness, though there was a snort from Rebekah that she chose to ignore with dignity.

Annalise scrambled to her knees and tried to reach Elena through the bars. “Elena, sweetheart, I can’t reach you. I’m gonna need you to come just a little closer. Just a bit.”

Rebekah shuffled in the cell behind her as Lis watched Elena’s eyes flutter open weakly and drag herself towards her. “Lissie, are you sure this is a good idea? We’ve talked about your blood before; Nik agrees. Whatever you are is affecting how you smell.”

Lis gritted her teeth as she reached out just a bit further, electing to ignore Rebekah, the bars dug deeper into either side of her shoulder blade. “Come on, Elena. I’m right here, just a bit further.”

A thankful sigh escaped her as Elena’s weak grip circled her thin wrist - the girl hesitated. Lis twisted her hand and squeezed hers. “Just a drop, Elena. You won’t hurt me.”

Elena’s large brown eyes were unsure but was quickly swallowed up in black veins that lead down her cheeks. Her canines elongated and buried themselves in Lis’s flesh.

Holding back a pained wince and the eerily familiar feeling of the suctioning of her blood, she braced her other arms against the bars.

She let the girl bite and drink from her wrist until her fingertips felt numb. “Elena, honey? I think that’s enough.”

Elena didn’t respond. “Elena? Elena! Stop!”

Her wrist smarted as the girl’s fangs dug deeper into the surrounding muscle of her wrist; fuck this – she focused a small amount of magic in her hand and released it in the girl’s face, throwing her to the back of her cell with a small blast of power. It hurt less this time. She was getting better, slowly. 

Clutching her injured hand to her chest, Lis shakily got to her feet and turned away to face Bekah’s cell, bracing herself against it, breathing deeply. The now familiar feeling of wrongness buzzed underneath her skin once more – she groaned. ‘Dammit Bonnie, stop using Dark magic, please!’ Annalise was thankful that this time, the feeling passed quickly. 

The splintering of wood and Rebekah’s stunned look had her whirling back around. Elena had managed to rip the door of her reinforced cell completely off its hinges - she was in front of Lis in a heartbeat; gaze trained on her neck, flicking down to her bleeding wrist.

Annalise couldn’t make a sound, staring up at the taller girl’s hungry eyes, words stuck in her throat. Her eyes were like Stefan's now. 

“Come on, Elena. Control it.” Stefan’s voice seemed to break through Elena's haze; something flickered in her eyes. “That’s it, Elena. Breathe. You don’t want to hurt her. You don’t. She doesn’t deserve it.”

Elena’s eyes had shut involuntarily, paying more attention to Stefan’s calming tone, when she opened her eyes again, they were warm; back to normal. Lis let out a sigh of relief. The young girl regarded her for a moment, before staring down at her own hands, then her decimated cell door. 

Elena turned to Stefan’s cell. “I wanna try something. Stand back, Stefan.”

As he complied, Elena whipped out her leg in a powerful kick sending the door splintering inwards. Everyone was quiet for a moment. The vervain-filled air clearly didn’t seem to affect the new vampire as much anymore, especially considering there was an Original still sitting weak in the cell behind her.

“Okay...add that to the list of weird-as-fuck things I have to think about later. Elena, hurry. Do Rebekah’s. They must have heard the noise by now.”

Stefan and Elena exchanged a hesitant glance. Annalise looked between them with an annoyed glare. “Come on, guys. I just helped you. Do the bare minimum here.”

They still looked unsure. Lis scowled at them and stuck her arm in Rebekah’s cell behind her. “Fine, be that way. I have a little power now, but lots more blood. Let’s see you deal with an Original on steroids. You want me to choose a side so bad? I’m sure Bekah would love to finish the job she started on the bridge.”

Elena was kicking in Rebekah’s cell door immediately, but before a surly Rebekah could speak, they heard two resounding cracks outside, then a thick squelch. Lis squinted in its direction. “I think that feels like Damon.” 

The newly turned vampire was able to wrench the barn door open ridiculously easily to reveal Damon’s silhouette facing away from them on the front lawn of the house, surrounded by three still figures on the ground.

‘Fuck, are those dead bodies? I think I’m gonna hurl.’

Quickly moving her attention, she saw someone else was coughing and crawling away; Damon waked over and kicked him hard. Elena and Stefan was by their side the next second, Stefan hauled the figure Matt?, back while Elena kicked Damon’s ass. 

Rebekah and Annalise stayed put, before her friend gripped Lis’s shoulder tightly. “I think it’s time to get home, don’t you Lissie?”

After a quick nod, Lis shut her eyes tight as the world fell away under her feet – she felt as though she was anchored only by Rebekah’s grip on her as they vamp-sped all the way home.

-

The world snapped back into focus when they were in the front foyer of the mansion. Lis swayed, disoriented, just a bit. Rebekah supported her and hissed lightly. “That bitch got her fangs well in your radial artery – you’re not healing fast enough.” Rebekah bit her own wrist and offered it to Lis’s lips. “Here, drink.”

Lis gave her a thankful smile and felt the bitter tang of blood hit her tongue; pins and needles erupted in her wrist. Her wound was gone, knitted over by new skin. She raised her wrist and flexed her fully functioning fingers once more. “Thanks Bekah.”

Rebekah looked away, glaring at nothing. “You’re an idiot, Lissie. You put yourself in danger; again! You shouldn’t have been there. You shouldn’t have been stuck in a small space with the same man who tried to murder you yesterday.”

“Bekah, if I wasn’t there, I wouldn’t have been able to help you get out, or even help Elena.”

Rebekah ran a hand through her hair, “No, maybe that would’ve been a good thing. That ungrateful bitch doesn’t deserve to live. You shouldn’t have been there. I shouldn’t have been there.”

Understanding swept through Lis as she realised where Rebekah was going with this tirade. “Bekah, we’ve been over this before. No one’s perfect.”

“No, Lis. You’re right. It’s true I’ve betrayed him, but I’ve only ever given him a taste of his own medicine. Nik’s deserved everything I’ve ever done to him,” Rebekah turned on her heel and zoomed off in the direction of the living room with parting words muttered under her breath, “This included.”

Lis sprinted, she already heard raised voices coming from their direction. As reached the room, she heard Nik yell loudly, “NO!” and then a wet squelch, like a water balloon popping. The opposite wall was painted red. Rebekah held the last two of Elena’s blood bags in each hand, gripping them tightly. Oh, no.

 Nik looked genuinely worried. “Drop them.” He made eye contact with Lis behind Rebekah’s shoulder; she shook her head helplessly as Rebekah cried.

“I mourned you! My heart broke thinking I’d never see you again!”

Nik put his hands out in surrender and approach Rebekah as if approaching an injured animal. “Put the blood down, Rebekah. There’s a good girl.”

Lis came up behind her and silently put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “This isn’t right, Bekah. Please. It won’t solve anything.”

Rebekah looked at her through tear-filled eyes. “No, Lissie, you don’t understand. No matter how close you think you are to him, he’ll always let you down.” She turned back to look at her older brother. “I was always there for you, not Finn, not Elijah, not Kol, me! I loved you through everything and you didn’t even care!”

“He did, Bekah, he still does!” Lis levelled a glare at Nik. “Nik, tell your sister that you fucking care.”

He angrily gritted his teeth instead. “Drop it!!”

Wrong answer.

Rebekah’s hands squeezed the blood bags in anger – they exploded, splattering everywhere. Lis was pushed away as Nik rushed and grabbed Rebekah tightly by the throat - she stumbled back, subconsciously wiping off the droplets of Elena’s blood that had spattered on her cheek.

Nik seethed. “You know something, Rebekah, you’re right. I don’t care. From this moment on; you’re not my family, you’re not my sister…you are nothing.”

Annalise’s breath stuttered as Nik violently twisted Rebekah’s neck with a resounding crack and she slumped to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut. He looked towards her, anger still in his eyes. “Be ready to leave this cursed town in half an hour. Meet me at the front.”

-

Annalise had managed to move Rebekah’s temporarily dead body up into her bedroom and tucked into her bed. Before she left to her own room, she had left Rebekah’s phone next to her and sent her a quick text telling her to call her as soon as she woke up. Lis had time to take a quick shower, then packed her belongings, along with her spell kits and potions.

Nik had said they weren’t coming back.

Her free hand ran along the walls of the long hallway, then against the smooth bannister. She paused at the top of the grand staircase, tapping her fingers lightly on the railing while adjusting her heavy bags slightly.

Downstairs was quiet, but active. A low murmur from the hybrids carrying packed bags and various other boxes as they hauled them outside filled the air in a somber manner.

This had felt like home for a short amount of time; now it felt unfamiliar.

She sighed and descended, lightly stepping through the front door and to a new expensive looking jeep that Nik was leaning against, talking to someone on the phone.

She gestured at the bags in her hands, then at the boot; he nodded. Annalise climbed into the passenger’s seat after situating her bags in the back and took her phone out while she waited for Nik to be ready. It had taken her a moment to realise he was back in his own Original body - that second spell of dark magic back at the barn must've been Bonnie making good on her deal with Nik. Well, at least Tyler was free now.

As she settled in the passenger's seat, Lis felt wrong - like she wasn't ready to leave, shouldn't leave, just yet. Like there was something bigger coming, something that would either make or break her. 

She huffed, casting those foreboding feelings away into a crevice in the back of her mind. After the hellish week she'd had - she was just about ready to leave this unassumingly malevolent town in the dust. 

-

They had been on the road for a long time before Nik spoke. “You’ve been smiling at the phone for a while now, Lissie. Who you been talking to?”

Feeling strangely embarrassed, her cheeks heated up. “Oh, uh…just Kol. Some things happened today, I just wanted to run them by him, get a second opinion, y’know? He just seemed a bit annoyed and generally angry about yesterday, so I was just telling him to tone it down.”

Nik glanced at her with a smirk, tilting his head curiously. “And what is Kol worried about?”

"You never know with him. Guy's a total mystery." Lis sobered. “But uh...I didn’t want to add to your plate; there’s been a development with my blood.” He quirked an eyebrow, gesturing her to continue. “Elena was transitioning today, she hadn’t fed, and I didn’t have enough magic to get her out of captivity, so I fed her some of my own blood.” Annalise paused, frowning. “It was like she got this strength, out of nowhere, like my blood was a shot of adrenaline.”

Nik nodded thoughtfully. “Yes. I recall Stefan almost draining you, then holding me down with troublingly little effort. Seems there’s more about you that we don’t know yet.”

Lis sighed and rubbed her head tiredly. “Yet you left me stuck on a farm with him, Nik.” He paused, his grip on the wheel tightening.

“Stefan was there?”

Annalise nodded tiredly, wary of his threatening posture. “Yeah, don’t get any funny ideas, now. I don’t think he was in his right mind last night. He stopped Elena from draining me today. Thank god for small mercies.”

Nik nodded, relaxing minutely, so Annalise asked her questions in a rush. “So, is that why I smell good to vampires? I’ve never really thought about it. Is this gonna be a problem? Do I have like a blinking neon sign above my head saying, ‘Eat Me’, to every vampire we come across?”

He grinned, looking towards the road. “It’s not that obvious, Lissie. It’s subtle. It’s only most noticeable when you bleed. Think of something that brings you comfort, like a warm meal; only the hungry find it hard to disregard.”

“Not helping, Nik.”

“No, listen. It’s not an overpowering smell if you're full. It’s easy to ignore, you’re easy to ignore.”

“Gee, thanks. That’s better.” A dry smirk had him rolling his eyes, grinning. 

“Lissie.” He made sure to look her in the eye. “Stefan has ripper tendencies, ones that I brought out in him; usually he has things tightly controlled, but in the heat of the moment and in that heightened stage of fury? I believe that’s why he nearly drained you. Elena also presumably had a hard time stopping too, yes?” Lis nodded in affirmative. “That’s because she was nearly dying. She was transitioning. Stefan showed no sign of wanting your blood again when you bled tonight, am I right?”

She nodded again. Nik nodded back. “It’s hard to pinpoint your scent normally; personally, I only realised when I'd been around you for a couple days, Kol and Elijah only realised when you’d bled. You’re not in any additional trouble, Lissie. Promise.”

She relaxed in her seat with a quiet exhale. “Thanks Nik.”

He just nodded, his face turning sombre again, and Annalise just knew what he was thinking about, so naturally she poked him. “Rebekah was hurt tonight, Nik. So were you. Siblings fight. It’s only normal.”

Nik scowled. “She ruined my chances of creating my hybrids. I can’t forgive her for that.”

Lis leaned her head against the cool window, still studying him carefully. “Family’s about second chances. Plus, you have 15 hybrids, counting Tyler, Nik. That’s quite a large family, if you ask me. Look, I know you have an endless supply of enemies, but Mikael’s dead, and so’s Esther. You took care of your enemies alone before; you’ll do it again.”

He looked over at her in question, so Annalise just shrugged, elaborating. “You didn’t build your reputation ‘cos you had an army, Nik. You built it because you were formidable and pretty psychotic enough to begin with. You’ll be fine.”

Nik passed her a quick genuine smile, relaxed and annoyingly self-assured once more. 

“Right you are, Lissie. Right you are.”

Chapter Text

This was Annalise’s second time coming to the Lockwood Mansion; the first was back when they had held a wake here for Mikael. She'd never really looked around the interior of the house back then; sure, she had explored a couple rooms, but she really hadn’t taken the subtle grandeur of the classic country mansion in.

At least, that’s what she was trying to pretend to do. It was quite hard when there was a woman, a werewolf to be precise; with long wavy brown hair and a naturally pouty expression, wearing casual jean shorts and a baggy tee layered with a light plaid shirt - glaring piercing holes into her head all the way from the sofa on the other end of the living room.

It had been kind of a new development.

Nik and Lis had been on the familiar road to Chicago – Lis honestly hadn’t been looking forwards to visiting the city where she’d been kidnapped – but she’d gotten over most her trauma, she was like 60% sure, and that was good enough. Plus, she had Original friends now, she felt protected enough. That, and her couple days of recuperation had allowed her to recover; using her magic felt better than ever.

She digressed, back on topic; Carol Lockwood, of all people, had called Nik up and told him of a new hunter in town - he'd been confident enough to target Tyler in front of everyone, at a funeral of all places – Nik had turned around almost immediately.

Never let it be said that Nik didn't care for his hybrids. Well, not exactly, because he looked towards them as an investment opportunity more than anything else, but he still cared, and that was something.

That brought them to their current conundrum; Nik had sent Lis ahead with five hybrids to settle in and wait at the Lockwood Mansion until Carol brought Tyler home from his brief stint in the hospital, and Nik had said they’ll arrive shortly there, after they ran a few errands. They’d just settled in when the doorbell had rung revealing the girl currently giving her a death stare.

Chris, a generally quiet but friendly hybrid, had immediately vouched for the werewolf – Hayley. She had apparently been a part of his pack for a short while, a drifter of sorts.

She had immediately glared at Lis, and made herself comfortable on the plush sofa; she’d been staring at her since.

Lis picked up a small decorative pot plant with bright green leaves in the middle on the kitchen counter and smelled it awkwardly, trying to give her hands something to do.

“That’s plastic.” Hayley’s remark was cutting, judgemental.

Lis immediately felt defensive, “I uh…I knew that. I like the way...plastic uh...smells.”

All she got was a raised eyebrow in return.  ‘Why was she always so incredibly awkward?’

Annalise sighed and sat opposite to Hayley in an equally expensive looking armchair. “Okay, no that’s a lie. It’s just hard trying to concentrate on words when you literally look like you’re ten seconds from killing me.”

“You’re Klaus’s witch. Tyler told me about you.”

“Uh…okay?”

Hayley scowled. “Any time I brought you up, he’d talk about how he trusted you, how nice you were. I refuse to believe that.”

Lis huffed amusedly. “Aww, tell the kid I like him too.”

“Then why?” Hayley moved forward to sit on the edge of the couch, “Why would you work for a monster like Klaus? Willingly? You might even be worse than him; at least he doesn’t pretend to be good.”

Annalise leaned back; her lips quirked down. “I, I- don’t.”

“Yeah, you do.” Hayley smirked. “I thought witches were supposed to hate Klaus – he’s literally siring wolves; taking their free will away, how are you okay with that?”

Okay she had had enough. Annalise scowled back at Hayley; her voice was cold. “I’ve never said I was a good person Hayley, and I’ve never encouraged the use of the sire bond – I’m just here to help Nik and make the job easier for him, so he kills less people. I’m his friend, yes. Do I disagree with most his methods? Hell yes. But am I his babysitter? I think the fuck not.”

Luckily, or unluckily, since Annaslie was on a roll, she heard more voices in the house – Nik and the rest of his hybrids had arrived. Leaving Hayley silently stewing on the couch, she stalked off into the foyer. Nik approached her immediately, noticing her annoyed countenance. “Trouble?”

Lis ran a stressed hand through her free wavy hair, “Maybe. One of Chris’s old pack came to join us – Hayley, werewolf. Apparently she’s also a friend of Tyler’s. She’s made her disgust towards us pretty clear though, so I’d keep a close eye on her.” Nik looked past her shoulder into the living room she just stalked out of and nodded. She smirked, noticing his interest. “Easy there, at least try hide your glee, please? I’m gonna go upstairs and call Bekah.”

Nik nodded again and patted her shoulder as she walked past him and up the stairs, into a study on the second floor. Once she'd wandered around the study, she'd collapsed in the large leather armchair behind the expensive mahogany desk, hesitated before inhaling sharply, and dialled Rebekah’s number. It rang twice before it was answered.

Annalise spoke first into the staticky silence. “You didn’t call.”

“You left me, Lissie. Alone.”

Lis leaned against the table and sighed. “I know, Bekah. I know I should’ve waited until you woke but we didn’t have time,”

“Why did you leave?” Rebekah interrupted her. Lis shut her eyes and rubbed them from under her glasses.

She chewed on the inside of her cheek as swivelled around quietly. “I just- It wasn’t you Bekah, I promise. It wasn’t even Nik. It was this stupid town. The past week’s was a nightmare; then after that night – Elena saying that she’d much rather have watched me die than risk me hurting her friends in the future; it hurt Bekah. More than I’d like to admit.”

Rebekah was quiet for a long while. “Elena hurt you.”

Lis chuckled sadly. “No, ha, I think I hurt myself. I wasn’t helping as many people as I thought I was helping. I guess I wanted to do more; be more. I just wasn’t enough.”

She could hear her friend pause on the line. “Well, I think you need to cheer up – and what better way than a good old-fashioned anti-curfew party at my house tonight?”

Annalise laughed. “Rebellious. What’s the curfew for?”

Rebekah huffed lightly. “It’s because that hunter shot Tyler in broad daylight – everyone’s on edge. Of course, I’ll be perfectly safe – it’ll be fun, Lissie. Come on, you can make it up to me~”

“Fine, Bekah. See you tonight.”

-

It had been another half an hour chatting with one of the few girls that she had become unsure acquaintances with; Kimberly – or Kim, as she preferred to be called. Kim wasn’t a friendly Hybrid by any means, but she was brutally honest, and she seemed to truly respect Lis. Lis respected her right back; she was truly badass, and Annalise wanted to learn how to fight better. They had trained a couple times, Kim had ran her in to the ground – told her to get back up, and repeated.

Apparently she’d heard of the instances that Lis had dubbed the ‘Week of Horror’ where Lis had been pretty useless because of her lack of magic – Kim had said she’d rather a trained witch protecting her back than a useless one. Of course, she’d also taken to the analogy that Lis had used to describe her magic – like a muscle – to heart, and so Kim had also endeavoured to increase her stamina – both magically and physically. They’d only had a couple sessions – literally two – and each time Lis had walked away fearing her limbs would fall off.

So far her stamina training had been throwing haphazard spells – anything she could think of – at Kim who was vamp speeding around and chasing her – using her as target practice. Wasn’t fun – but it was getting results, fast. Currently, they were talking about what they could do to improve. She hadn't really had formal training before, and according to Kim, Annalise still had to learn about the fundamentals of fighting, like balance, and stances and all the other boring things before she can hit things. Sad. 

Her phone rang, interrupting their conversation; Lis answered, frowning at the saved ID. “Damon?”

“Yeah, paging witchy anti-hero. I happened to hear you were in town, I sorta need your help – I’m stuck in a trailer.”

Annalise felt a flare of annoyance. “Apparently according to you guys though, I’m better off dead – why should I help?” She stood up from the sofa sending Kim a polite smile and receiving an understanding nod back, then walked over to the parlour where she heard Nik talking. When Damon answered, she heard the grin in his voice. 

“Well yes, words were said, necks were bitten-”

“Yeah, mine.” She interrupted, but she couldn’t help the smirk building on her face at Damon’s blasé tone.

“Also yes – so I say live and let live – and help me live? Pretty please?”

She made eye contact with Nik; she gestured to her phone. “Damon wants some help living or something in a trailer - call me if you need me?”

Nik’s lips turned up – “How amusing. Tell them to use their own witch.”

"Oh, good point." She spoke back into her phone. “Yeah, heard that? Call Bonnie.”

“She’s currently otherwise indisposed and not talking to anyone – come on…you in or not?”

Nik shrugged and gave her a quick nod of goodbye as she asked Damon where she should come to.

-

“Well, this is weird. Not exactly what I was expecting? Why’d you do it?”

Lis had been pretty suspicious when Damon had told her to teleport to the edges of town then trek deep into the forest, just to come to an old dilapidated trailer; but she could only sense him in the area – and he hadn’t budged a muscle since she had first detected him.

Against her better judgement – she climbed into the trailer, before pausing, trying to take everything in.

Damon rolled his eyes. “Yes, Lis, I chose to be skewered with crossbow bolts attached to two packs of C4. Why not?”

Lis snuck under his arm, facing him with a cheeky smirk. “Is this a kink thing? I feel like this could be a kink thing.”

He just returned her smirk – “Why, you’ve got me all figured out, haven’t you smarty pants?”

She snorted, crossing her arms. “Why me? Why not Elena, or Stefan? You could’ve literally called anyone else.”

He shrugged. “Because I’m proud, and stubborn, this is child’s play for you, you’re spunky…and oh, look – you’re here!”

Lis couldn’t hold in her amused chuckle as she tapped him lightly on his arm.

Immediately, he appeared a few feet away, still within the trailer – in quick succession, she grabbed the two bolts lightly, not letting them drop and blasting them into oblivion. Damon smirked at her widely. “See? Child’s play – like taking blood from a baby.”

“Jeez, your humour’s fucked up.” Annalise grinned back and placed the bolts carefully on the small table in the trailer, crowded by various distillation equipment and piles of papers that Damon had started thumbing through. She looked on curiously. “What are you looking for? Whose trailer is this?”

Damon glanced up at her quickly before going back to reading a letter he had found; “This is the hunter’s trailer. Connor. But, hey – this look like the words of a Pastor to you?”

Lis grabbed the letter he handed her – she felt her eyebrows climb higher and higher as she skimmed through it. “Damn – ‘a greater evil is coming’, how foreboding. What’s the writing of a madman got anything to do with this?” She ignored her own feelings regarding the ‘foreboding future’, hoping she didn’t sound like a completely shady hypocrite.

“Well it just so happens this madman committed suicide, taking all eleven of the rest of the council along with him – death by gas leak explosion at his farmhouse.”

Lis frowned catching sight of the farm circled on a nearby map – that was odd, to say the least. “The same one that Rebekah, Elena, Stefan and I were held at before we left? Is this a cover-up of some sort?”

Damon’s phone rang – a glance at the phone screen, Elena was calling. Lis’s face soured, but she noticed Damon ignore the call. She raised a brow. “You don’t have to not answer on my account y’know?” He looked away…huh. “Unless you’re avoiding her yourself. I’m guessing Elena made her choice?”

She looked at him sympathetically, it didn’t waver at the small glare he sent her. Lis passed him a small smile instead. “Not my business, I get it. Makes sense you acted out and called one of the people she’s currently on the outs with for help though. I’m kinda offended you used me like this.”

Annalise ended her statement with a joking smile, and received a small smirk back.

“Don’t be – as soon as this hunter business is wrapped up, I’m gonna high-tail it away from this stupid town.”

Lis sighed and nodded in agreement, handing him back the mad Pastor’s letter. “Amen to that mate.”

-

Rebekah’s little Anti-curfew party had gotten out of hand – just a bit. Annalise grimaced in disgust as she walked past the numerous couples literally inhaling each other in the hallways, taking special care to manoeuvre herself around the small sticky puddles of spilled drinks. At least Rebekah had made it clear to everyone that upstairs was out of bounds – it couldn’t bear handle the abuse the front lawn of the house was getting. 

Annalise had been looking for Rebekah…and there she was! The Original turned into the kitchen – Lis rolled her eyes as she pushed through the sweaty throngs of teens dancing to deafening music, trying to catch up to her friend.

A younger looking girl clutching at a plastic cup nervously passed her as she reached the doorway – oh, Rebekah was talking to Elena near the sink. Lis hung back in the doorway, not too eager to have a repeat reminder that she had let Elena down.

She had crossed her arms, reminding herself that she’d probably do more harm if she got involved, when all of a sudden the conversation had escalated and Rebekah grabbed Elena’s plastic cup with alcohol in it, while also seamlessly managing to slip Elena’s daylight ring off her finger without her even noticing – she frowned as Elena startled in the dim sunlight seeping in and sped to cower in a dark corner as her flesh started to burn from the light of the sunset streaming in from the window behind her. Neither girl had yet noticed Lis lingering in the dark shadows of the hallway watching on as Rebekah threw Elena’s ring in the garbage disposal, turning it on spitefully as she sauntered out of the kitchen through the second doorway that lead immediately into the living room.

Her first instinct had been to step forwards, offer Elena help, but Elena had made that choice for her. Plus, it wasn't like she was in any real danger - Annalise was sure that Elena would just ignore her offer of help anyway.

Elena winced as she sped through the sunlight to the sink, to desperately fish her ring out of the garbage disposal, and once she had, Lis felt her eyebrows raise as an ugly loathing look took over the girl’s entire face as she reached into a backpack deposited on the countertop. 

Annalise straightened, her wide eyes following in shock as Elena grabbed the indestructible white oak stake and furiously made to follow Rebekah – she was just about to teleport and warn her friend when Stefan sped in front of Elena. Annalise cast the spying spell to listen closer as Stefan talked her down. “Well, if you want to kill her,” He stepped to the side. “I’m not gonna stop you.”

Jeez that’s not how you talk someone down from committing murder Stefan! “But see, here’s what’ll happen: it’ll feel really good for about ten seconds, and then after that, tens of thousands of vampires all over the world will start to die.” Huh…Better. “Every vampire she ever turned will die. See, rage is a really powerful feeling but guilt? Take it from me…it’ll destroy you. So, you can either go after her, or you can get on the back of my motorcycle and get the hell out of here.”

Stefan smiled as Elena visibly stood down and passed him the stake, Lis watched with careful eyes as he placed it back in his bag. It was easy casting an inconspicuous spell and slinking silently behind them through the hallway out the front door, and down into the front yard below.

Rebekah called out to the leaving couple, making them pause. “Leaving so soon?” It was clear her pout was fake – she wasn’t even trying to hide it.

Elena stopped and turned with a defiant smile. “No, not just yet.” Lis’s alert eyes trailed after the bag she handed Stefan. “I never got a drink.”

Elena sent a final smirk at Rebekah before walking to a keg placed in the middle of the front lawn – expertly manoeuvring herself upside down over it, she started chugging the beer. The crowd roared in approval and even Lis shot her an impressed look before focusing back on the matter at hand. 

Moving so she was right behind Stefan’s bag, she snuck her hand in out of the partially open zip, and touched the stake lightly, imagining her bedroom dresser. She smiled to herself when she felt it disappear from under her touch. Annalise then snuck back into a shadowy corner in the crowd and teleported up to the empty second floor, dropped all the spells she was holding, and fixed her large jumper and denim jacket to ward off the chill, before walking out to join Rebekah on the porch watching Elena do a keg handstand as if she had just arrived.

She nudged Rebekah – the girl did not look impressed at all as Elena lowered herself down again and clumsily wiped her mouth free of beer in victory, walking away without a second glance back at them.

Rebekah suddenly swayed; Lis put her hand out to steady her immediately. “Going a bit too hard on the beer, Bekah?” Her friend’s gaze was unfocused, “Bekah?”

Looking closer, Lis whispered out a “Holy shit!” before hauling her friend into the house and up the stairs, teleporting them both to her friend’s room as soon as the coast was clear.

The dark veins that had started creeping up Rebekah’s face and wrists was a painful looking black-red – she set Rebekah in bed as she started muttering something about Matt.

The sound of something breaking downstairs made Lis curse out loud – she couldn’t keep an eye on an out-of-control party and Rebekah at the same time. She grabbed a hold of Rebekah’s hand and tried to channel her healing magic into her – the veins didn’t recede immediately. Shit.

Grabbing her phone, she hit the speed dial – “Nik?”

“Lissie, currently a bit tied up, love. Well, I have someone tied up is more accurate. Damon and I currently have the hunter trapped in the hospital, isn’t that neat?”

“Cool, Nik. I think Rebekah was poisoned, she has these painful looking veins on her skin and she’s really delirious. My magic didn’t look like it helped.”

Nik was quiet for a moment. “I think I may know what ails her – I’ll call you back soon.”

Lis threw her phone on the large bed in frustration and settled herself in the desk chair next to Rebekah’s bed, still holding her hand. Shit, she hoped Nik got back to her soon. 

-

Annalise woke from her small nap feeling off as she shifted on the comfortable chair; she frowned – there was something missing, something she couldn’t quite put her hand on.

A creaky floorboard echoed in the outside hallway – but it was otherwise silent…What on earth had happened to the party raging on downstairs?

As she made to stand up and investigate, there was a tug on her right hand; Rebekah was still holding it. She was awake - her eyes seemed weary, but a lot more lucid, the veins on her face had also reduced a large amount.

“Bekah, oh, thank gosh! How are you feeling?”

Rebekah smiled at her wearily. “Yeah, I’m fine Lissie,” She frowned in confusion before looking at their connected hands, “Actually, I think I’m better than fine – I think you helped.”

Annalise was about to reply, but the same girl who had brushed past her on her way to the kitchen walked into the room, knocking on the doorway politely. “Hey.” She smiled quickly at Lis. “I don’t think we’ve met, I’m April Young.”

She nodded back, smiling unsurely. “Uh, I’m Lissie.”

Lis and Rebekah exchanged a confused glance as the girl continued into the room and picked up a couple stray empty cups that had somehow made their way upstairs on to Rebekah’s dresser, and looked toward the blonde Original. “Way to bail on your own party.”

“I just – I just needed a minute, did everyone leave?” Rebekah sat up, leaning on Lis lightly for support, and stepped out of bed.

April turned and clutched at the rubbish bag she was holding, passing them an awkward smile. “Yeah, deputies weren’t actually super-happy about the anti-curfew party.”

How adorable; Lis smiled warmly at the girl. “Really? Who’da thunk?”

April passed her a dimpled smile back.

Rebekah was still wary though. “Why are you still here then?”

April shrugged, looking away. “Um, honestly? Picking up trash is a hell of a lot better than sitting at home thinking about the family you no longer have.” She noticed Lis’s eyebrows climb high in confusion. “Oh, uh…my dad was Pastor Young, he died, recently.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Lis smiled sadly, her eyes darting to Rebekah as her friend approached the teenager with no wariness in her expression this time; clearly empathising with her.

“Hey, uh…if you want, I could…I could help you look into what happened with the fire at your farmhouse.”

April’s eyes grew large as Lis smiled proudly at Rebekah. Look at that…Rebekah is literally the softest vampire – no one can convince her otherwise. “What are you going to be able to do that I can’t?”

Lis chuckled and walked to Rebekah, throwing an arm around her. “Oh, April Young…You’d be surprised.”

April smiled uncontrollably wide and nodded, Lis’s heart swelled. She finally felt as though she was doing something good again.

-

Her phone rang again. “Damon, this better not become a regular thing.” Lis sighed.

“What are you talking about? I’m just calling up to update my tiny little helper.”

She huffed and rolled her eyes, leaning back on Rebekah’s dresser. Rebekah was currently downstairs helping April clean up, talking her through her father’s death. “Okay, one; not your helper, two; I know you and Nik had Connor tied up in the hospital a while ago.”

“Well, that was a while ago. Shortly after that, he was blown to bits by two packs of C4; no idea where that came from, and Klaus was gone. So, now there’s only one thing to do; and that’s celebrate a job done, drinks?” She could hear the smirk in his voice as he replied.

Annalise giggled before what he said caught up with her. “Wait, what the hell did you mean blown to bits by C4? I thought you guys were at the hospital.”

“We were.” Damon seemed oddly smug about it.

“Oh my god, why do I put up with sociopaths?” Her head hit her free palm as she released a stressed exhale. “Was anyone hurt? Do I need to come by and heal some people up?”

Damon shuffled on the other end of the line; she could hear his footsteps echo as he started walking. “Nah, but careful; you’re starting to sound like the good doctor.”

Lis scowled at the floor. “You mean Dr. Fell? Yeah, look – I’m still pissed off at her for trying to off me with a pool ball. Not cool.”

Damon chuckled lowly, before steering back the conversation to his previous question. “So, how about that drink, Lissie?”

Annalise straightened before walking a few steps and dropping onto Rebekah’s bed with a sigh. “I need to know ulterior motives too, dick. I know you have some.”

“What? You wound me-“

“Drop the bullshit, Damon.”

“Fine. I wanna pick your brain about something Klaus said – what does ‘the Five’ mean to you?”

Lis frowned. “No, I’ve no clue. Sorry, I really am.”

Damon sighed from the other end, his footsteps slowed down and gradually stopped as he hesitated just a bit. “Well, anyway – the alcohol offer’s still open; you’re not half bad, I wouldn’t mind your company.”

Annalise chuckled lightly before she exhaled, growing serious. “I don’t think you need my company tonight, Damon – you said you’d be the hell out of Mystic Falls as soon as this Connor business is up, but you’re still here. I think you need to get some good-old fashioned closure first; talk to them – Elena and Stefan. Figure it out, then, if you still need company after that – sure, we can get drunk together.”

Damon huffed, sounding a bit annoyed. He started walking again. “You know who you remind me of? Lexi. Did you know a Lexi?”

Lis rolled her eyes and sat up. “Good night, Damon. Have a good one.”

She ended the call through his sarcastic protests with a grin. He was funny, sure, but she still hadn’t fully forgiven him for what he had done to Rebekah...and her liver would probably hate her for it, if she was being honest.

Annalise stood and made her way downstairs to join the girls plan a way to get answers about what happened at the farmhouse; she needed something to focus on, this seemed like a good enough distraction.

-

It was quite a while later when she received a call from Nik – she excused herself from the girls and stepped away for a bit, ignoring Rebekah’s eye roll.

“Nik? Bekah’s fine now – she said it was werewolf venom – it’s a dick move you let her suffer instead of coming to give her some of your blood.”

Annalise could see him shrug if she closed her eyes – she was so familiar with his mannerisms now. “Well, if my darling sister didn’t ask me herself, I saw no reason to release her from the suffering she induced on herself. But enough about that,” Lis chuckled when Rebekah lifted her middle finger in her direction at Nik’s comment. “I need your services here, at the trailer – the one you seem to have familiarised yourself with this morning when you were helping Damon out.”

Waving a hand in goodbye at a shy April and a pouting Rebekah, Lis shrugged her jacket on, exiting the house. She frowned. “What are you doing in Connor’s trailer? Last I heard he was blown to pieces.”

“Well, slight complication, Lissie.”

Visualising the trailer, she appeared before it the next instant; she pulled the door open before pausing. Nik proudly gestured to the bound, gagged and very undead hunter on a secure chair – “Seems that he’s just become a lot more important than I was initially led to believe. What do you know about the Brotherhood of the Five?”

Chapter Text

Nik had enlisted her help in teleporting the hunter; Connor – to the Mikaelson Mansion and she had watched, feeling sick as he was strung up on this strange medieval torture contraption that Nik had produced from his dungeon.

The rest of the night had been filled with him giving her a quick overview of the group of hunters that called the Five. Apparently they were supernatural, to an extent – stronger, faster, more blood thirsty (not literally) hunters – out for any and all vampires that existed. He had refused to tell her anything further, or why he was so extremely happy to have learned that Connor was part of the Five. He’d said he didn’t want to explain twice, instead, he told her to get her rest, she’d need it for the next day.

Unfortunately, Lis hadn’t slept well at all; she was still plagued by nightmares of feeling suffocated, drained of blood...and random glimpses of black fire that her parents had called on to kill her had made a guest appearance. Her near death had awoken memories she’d put to rest a long time ago. Now sleep just felt as restless as her waking hours.

The morning found her tiredly nursing a large cup of coffee next to Nik, who was naturally sipping on bourbon, in the Mystic Grill. She had been over the moon to hear Nik tell her that he was looking for his sister – that there’s a way she could be considered forgiven in his books, so she had pinpointed Rebekah heading at human speeds in the direction of the Grill – that, paired with her knowledge that Rebekah had experienced a fevered hallucination of Matt last night due to the werewolf venom consolidated her thoughts. She had flashed Nik and herself over to the Grill and promptly sat and ordered a large coffee. As she sipped at it, Annalise happened to remember something from the night before; she nudged Nik lightly.

“Hey, I forgot to tell you,” She lowered her voice to less than a whisper, “I got my hands on something last night – something of the pointy stabby-stabby variety – something your mum made for you. It's cute and bedazzled.”

Nik’s smirk grew large as he clapped her back lightly. “Perfect, Lissie. Thanks. One less thing to worry about. Hand it over when we get home.”

Matt had given her a small smile when he had brought over her coffee – turns out he still trusted her to some extent. Annalise was incredibly glad, maybe she was doing something right. She smiled widely again when he passed by once more, carrying an empty tray back behind the bar. The bell jingling at the opening of the door made her eyes dart over – but she already knew who it was, as it was the same signature she’d been tracking for the last ten minutes

Rebekah didn’t seem to notice her and Nik seated at the bar as she made her way over to Matt confidently. Lis’s brows raised when she dropped an expensive looking pair of car keys on the counter top.

Lis was just close enough to eavesdrop on the conversation – sue her – she wanted Rebekah to be happy, dammit.

Matt clearly looked down at the keys looking puzzled. “What’s that?”

“The key to your new truck,” Rebekah leaned closer, crossing her arms over the counter top, smirking. “It’s parked outside, paid for, insured, everything but a big red bow.” Rebekah looked insanely proud of herself until disgust filled Matt’s expression, he stepped away lightly.

“If that’s your idea of an apology, you should probably give it to Elena. She’s the one that you killed.” The young blond boy left Rebekah looking distressed; Lis winced in second-hand hurt at Matt’s sharp retort.

Nik, being the total dick he is, chose this moment to speak up and draw Rebekah’s attention to them, rubbing it in. “You’re trying too hard.”

Lis shoved Nik, he casually remained unmoved, but watched on as she tried to regain her balance on the high stool – once she did, she scowled at him and sent Rebekah a supportive smile as she reached them. “Well, I thought it was a very well-thought-out practical gift. It’s just the timing, and I don’t think Matt likes things being given to him – this might’ve looked like pity charity to him.”

Rebekah returned her smile hopefully. “Yeah, maybe Lissie.” She turned her annoyed gaze to her brother. “See Nik? That’s how you deliver constructive criticism, not by snapping your only sister’s neck, then leaving her to suffer werewolf venom.”

Lis took a large swig of coffee and hummed in agreement. Nik just smirked. “Well, here’s a way for you to make it up to me, dear sister. I’ve stumbled across something that might interest you.”

Rebekah snorted and leaned on Lis, smirking. “Doubt that.”

Nik lifted an entertained eyebrow. “No? Well what if I told you the brotherhood of the Five still existed.”

Rebekah sat up looking startled. “What?” Annalise looked on, more intrigued than before; this must be pretty big for Rebekah to react like this.

Nik smirked – clearly he had been expecting this reaction from his sister. “You see? And just like that, we’ve moved past our differences in opinion. Come on, loves, work to do.” Nik stood up and moved past Rebekah casually, expecting Lis and Rebekah to follow behind. Lis rolled her eyes, chugged the last remaining bit of her coffee, grabbed Rebekah’s arm and pulled them behind him in annoyance. Such a diva.

-

The second Lis flashed Nik and Rebekah into the room that Nik had decided to hold Connor in, she rubbed her eyes tiredly, trying to blink away the sudden shivers and flashbacks being choked and bitten by the familiar energy lingering in a dark corner of the room. “Hey, Stefan.”

Nik looked deeper into the shadows that the closed curtains cast in the room with a smirk, as both he and Rebekah moved so they were each at one of Lis’s slightly shaking shoulders. “Looks like I’ll need to beef up the hybrid security detail.” She smiled thankfully as Rebekah slipped a hand into hers

Stefan stepped out into the light; his face was set grimly. “I was gonna take him, but I figured you went through such trouble to truss him up in your red room of pain.”

Annalise grimaced, looking away, but Nik walked up to the vertical table-like contraption holding Connor up, quite proudly. “It’s from the inquisition, I thought it was a nice touch.”

Stefan raised a judgemental brow towards Lis – she shifted uncomfortably, still avoiding his eyes, the nightmares flashed in her mind as she looked away, clearing her throat, then tried to cover it up using humor. “The second Connor’s off that thing, I’m setting it on fire, don’t tell Nik.”

Stefan shook his head at her and walked closer to the bound hunter. Nik act faux insulted; Rebekah walked past Lis to stand next to him, tilting her head to study Connor. “How’d you even know he’s one of the Five? Where’s his bloody tattoo?”

“Oh the tattoos aren’t visible on this lot like they were on the last.” He dismissively waved his hand in at Connor, before turning to Stefan. “Why are you still here?”

“Call me curious.” Stefan shrugged. “What’d you get out of him?”

Lis threw her hands up in the air behind the trio casually talking about torture. And Stefan had the gall to look at her funny.

Nik smirked at Lis’s reaction while he replied. “Not enough. He’s mum about the council fire and he’s not saying anything about this greater evil we’re supposed to be shivering over. What brings you snooping?”

Stefan stepped back, his wary eyes were still watching Connor, who in turn was clearly listening in om their conversation. “Well, I can’t say it in front of him. As I’m sure you’ve figured out, our friend here can’t be compelled.”

Huh, that’s new. Did that technically make him a different species then? Faster, stronger; almost like a werewolf without the added benefits of needing to turn while simultaneously breaking all the bones in your body, or being effected by wolfsbane. So then what constituted as their weakness?

Annalise saw Rebekah and Nik exchange a knowing glance before turning to Stefan. “Thankfully, we know plenty enough between us.” The Originals walked out of the room and gestured Stefan and Lis to follow. “Shall we?”

Nik lead them to the first-floor study she had spelled with the Privacy spell months ago – he waited until everyone had settled; Stefan and Lis sat in an armchair each in opposite ways; Lis curled up comfortably facing away from Stefan, who sat rigidly in his own. It was in her best interest to ignore him – easy, right? Rebekah and Nik sat next to each other on the comfortable couch, facing them.

Nik spoke first, directing his question at Stefan. “So what’s with the home invasion? Curiosity isn't a good enough reason, you aren’t too welcome here.” His gaze flicked in Lis’s direction.

“Damon said you knew something about this guy.” Stefan leaned further back into the armchair and made himself more comfortable. “Now, I should’ve figured out that you were up to something when you healed Elena from the werewolf poison without asking for anything in return.”

“You did what?” Rebekah whipped her head around to face her brother, but he quickly held his hands up placatingly. Lis’s mouth turned lightly down in disappointment at Nik as he tried to backtrack.

“I knew Rebekah would be fine, and that Elena didn’t have much time left because of the potency and the amount she ingested. When I was done, my sister had already healed.”

Lis frowned in confusion; something wasn’t adding up. “Less than a week ago, you were telling Bonnie that Elena’s not your problem anymore ‘cos she’s a vampire. What changed?”

Stefan also directed his questioning glance at Nik – “I don’t have anything to do today, except get answers out of you. Humour me.”

Rebekah and Nik exchanged a cautious glance once more, Nik looked at Stefan, mind made. “Stefan, I only tell you this because it may prove to be beneficial in the future to have you on our side – this is the story of the Brotherhood of the Five.”

Rebekah scowled and sat back as Nik continued to speak. “The Brotherhood of the Five was a group of highly skilled vampire hunters. We crossed paths with them in the 12^th century Italy. My siblings and I had followed the Normans as the conquered the South. Feeding, turning people as we went. But with the bloodshed, came exposure. It was just our luck that Rebekah managed to carry a torch for one of the hunters.”

Lis tilted her head, processing before passing a quick concerned glance at Rebekah looking away sourly. Stefan frowned. “So these hunters have been around for nine hundred years?”

Nik smirked. “Apparently. Though our friend in the other room is the first I’ve seen since then. Kind of makes you wonder what they’ve been up to all these years.”

Stefan raised a sceptical brow. “And Rebekah had a thing with one of them?”

Rebekah whipped her heated gaze at him, scowling. “I wasn’t a thing. I fell in love with him – we told each other everything…” She trailed off looking away again.

“Except, of course, the part where you were one of the very things he hunted.” Nik interrupted smug. Lis threw a pillow at him as she saw Rebekah’s face fell.

“You’re being a dick.” Nik looked ready to retort so Lis shrugged at him. “Hey, remember you happen to need her for something? Play fuckin’ nice.”

Stefan watched this entire exchange only looking a bit amused. “I still don’t know why you’ve allowed me here though.”

Nik turned back to the vampire looking entirely too self-satisfied. “Let’s just say this; that hunter in there holds the answers to all your prayers. So Rebekah,” he turned to his sister who was still glaring at him angrily. “I need some information.”

“I’m not telling you anything until you apologize.”

Nik sarcastically turned to face his sister fully. “For which indiscretion? There have been so many.”

Lis let her head fall tiredly into her palm. “That’s worse, dipshit.”

Rebekah agreed, indignantly. “You broke my neck.”

“You threw away Elena’s blood so I can’t make any more hybrids.” Nik had started to glare back just as angrily.

“Because you took me for granted!”

“That’s what big brothers do, sweetheart!” Nik’s voice had risen to match Rebekah’s – there was a small pause.

Lis smiled to herself while Stefan huffed in annoyance. “Let me just name the million other people I’d rather be with right now.”

He was ignored by everyone. Nik sighed at Lis’s prompting glance. “Alright, fine. I’m sorry. I often forget how delicate you are. Forgive me?”

Rebekah crossed her arms primly, but no longer looked quite as hurt as she did before. “I’ll take it under consideration.”

“Okay, good.” Stefan leaned forwards impatiently. “Now that’s out of the way, tell me how Rebekah’s hunter holds the answer to all my prayers.”

Nik glanced at Rebekah, and she nodded, settling back into the sofa, giving him permission to continue. He turned back to Stefan and Lis. “Right, Alexander. Nice chap, foregoing the obvious issues. He was looking for creatures of the night, which is why we felt quite safe around him wearing our daylight rings. We wined and dined him; then, he revealed that the Five had been bound by fire in the last breath of a dying witch to a single cause; the destruction of all vampires.”

Lis hummed to herself in understanding – there’s the catch to being supernaturally enhanced – you had to spend every waking moment bound to one singular will of a dead witch. Made sense, in a twisted way – they were to serve the will of the witch, the will of nature, until their last dying breaths. One hell of a drawback to being on supernatural steroids.

She listened closely as Nik continued. “They planned to achieve this by using the ultimate weapon which no vampire can survive.”

Stefan didn’t look impressed at all. “So, that’s what this is about? A weapon.”

Rebekah broke in, “Not just any weapon.” Her solemn tone had Lis straightening slightly.

Nik raised a hand at her. “Rebekah, love, don’t get ahead of the story.”

Stefan was growing impatient once more. “How is this relevant to me at all?”

Rebekah and Nik exchanged another glance, Lis sighed, rubbing her sleepy eyes. “Guys, you know I love your dramatic asses, but I can’t believe I’m starting to agree with Stefan, can we please get to the point?”

Nik smirked at her. “Not quite yet, Lissie, because in order to find the weapon, we need to solve the puzzle – which seems to have disappeared.”

This was turning out to be quite a treasure hunt, wasn’t it? A noise of comprehension escaped her when Annalise put two and two together. “Is this disappearing puzzle related to the disappearing tattoos by any chance?”

Nik pointed at her proudly. “Right on the first go. It’s a map – leading us to the treasure.” Lis smirked – this was a good old-fashioned treasure hunt, she called it.

Rebekah didn’t seem as jazzed about the idea as Nik and Lis did. “Fat lot of good a tattoo’s gonna do if we can’t even see it.”

“We can’t, but someone else can.” Nik pulled his phone out and sent a quick text, ignoring everyone’s questioning glances. “You see, the hunter was so eager to get to the bottom of his mystery tattoos that he mentioned there was only one person that can see them.”

The study door opened revealing Tom, Mindy’s hybrid friend, hauling Jeremy in. Stefan blurred to Jeremy’s side, but he was halted in his tracks by Nik. “I wouldn’t. Lucky for us, young Jeremy here, is a bit of an artist.”

Tom passed her quick grin as she tiredly dropped her head in her hands again. “Nik, what have I told you about kidnapping children?”

Her efforts were ignored as Jeremy spoke up, seething at Nik. “I’m not helping you with anything.”

Tom suddenly grabbed Jeremy’s hand, sliding off the Gilbert ring in one smooth movement and tossing it to Nik. His job complete, he nodded at Lis once more and exited, closing the study door slowly.

Nik held up the ring smugly. “Oh, I’m afraid you are.”

Lis just wished she could sleep this tiring day away.

-

Jeremy had been moved into the room with the vampire serial killer-assassin to draw the tattoo. It wasn’t something she had been completely okay with, but since Stefan seemed to be more annoyed than concerned for the kid’s safety, she decided to leave it for now.

She watched tiredly as Stefan and Nik settled back in their respective seats, exchanging a raised eyebrow with Rebekah.

Stefan leaned forwards once more. “So tell me more about this tattoo treasure map.”

“My sister’s suiter was unwilling to tell us anything.” Nik looked sideways, smirking at his little sister. “Rebekah, however, was more than willing to investigate. Isn’t that right?” Rebekah looked down, ashamedly not meeting anyone’s gaze. Lis frowned as Nik continued insensitively. “My sister’s boyfriend threw a slumber party that night. He and his brothers put us all down in our sleep. Elijah, Kol, Finn and Me.”

Lis saw Rebekah’s face fall as Nik looked at her. “How was I supposed to know?” Rebekah’s voice was small, fragile.

Nik shrugged leaning back, ready to say something further – Lis sat up straight and levelled him with a small glare. “Nik, stop.”

Fortunately, Stefan was impatient enough for the story to continue; that or he felt sorry for Rebekah judging by the unreadable glance he threw her, either way, Lis felt she was a step closer to forgiving the man as he spoke, changing the subject. “I thought the daggers didn’t work on you because of your werewolf side.”

Nik grinned wide. “They don’t.”

He theatrically paused for a moment, letting that statement sink in – Lis couldn’t begin to imagine the bloody carnage that his bloodthirsty smirk told of…It was at times like this she second-guessed herself, whether she was making the right decision sticking by them or not.

Thankfully she didn’t have to stay in her horrid thoughts for long; Nik spoke up again. “Go ahead, Rebekah. Tell them. Tell them what the hunter told you the tattoo leads to. What is this great weapon that could bring about the end of the vampire species?”

Lis sent a supportive nod towards the silent girl; she nodded back weakly. “A cure. He said there was a cure.”

Annalise’s eyes shot wide, still trying to process the sheer absurdity of the statement as Nik casually stood from the couch. Stefan sprang up, following behind Nik desperately – desperate for it to be true, most likely. “There is no cure for vampirism.”

Rebekah sighed dropping her head into her left hand braced on the arm of the couch. “He’s telling the truth, Stefan.”

Lis spoke up. “I believe you guys – I do. Why doesn’t everyone know about this though?” She was still trying to sort through the implications of a cure for a supernatural condition – did it work on anyone? What constituted as the default? Mortality? Would it just start your body clock from where it froze?

Nik poured himself a glass of blood from a nearby decanter. “Because, Lissie, when the hunters drew their final breath that night, the marks disappeared from their body; the map was gone, the Brotherhood of the Five – extinct. For nine hundred years, there was not a whisper of another hunter, until our friend in there showed up in town.”

Rebekah crossed her legs, leaning back. Well, now we have the map, what do we do next?” Nik hesitated for a moment – that was all the time Rebekah needed to come to her own conclusion. “You don’t trust me, do you? After everything I’ve done, after everything we’ve been through!” Her voice got progressively louder near the end, more anguished. “I’ve stayed with you, and I’ve let you leech every moment of happiness from my life!” She stood angrily. “You know, at least I fared better than Finn, Klaus left him daggered because he was tired of his judgment.”

For some reason, Nik’s eyes had searched for Lis’s instead of staying trained on his angry sister. She gave him no reaction, and instead looked to Rebekah. Annalise heard him chuckle lowly. “Finn was a dullard. He was more interesting lying in a box.”

Rebekah’s face showed a greater anger before a look of comprehension filled it. “You want the cure for Elena, don’t you?” She moved closer, confronting Nik. “So you can go back to mass producing your hybrids. That’s why you let Stefan stay here, because you knew that he’d help you even though he hates your guts!”

Rebekah took a step backwards as Nik’s smirk remained unmoved on his face – his eyes, however, were oddly solemn as Rebekah said her parting words. “You know what? You can shove your cure.”

With that, Rebekah stormed out of the room in a huff, slamming the library door behind her. Annalise chewed on her lip, thinking; it wasn't like Nik to just set Rebekah off, especially if he needed something from her. Stefan filled the silence, moving towards the door, motioning to Nik. “Well, I hope you got what you wanted out of her before you chased her off.”

“That’s the point, wasn’t it, Nik?" Lis stood up slowly too, drawing their attention. "You know she’s made up her mind – there’s no way Bekah’s ever letting Elena get her human life back. So, you planned ahead; making her turn against you means there’s only two allies she could turn to. Stefan and me – you controlled all your variables like- like a giant game of chess.” 

There was no way around it; Nik was always ten steps ahead of everyone; he was a goddamned paranoid genius, and Lis couldn’t deny that she wasn’t at least the smallest bit impressed.

Nik smirked at her before turning to a stunned Stefan. “The map is useless without the tool to decipher it; the sword.” Stefan seemed to move to object but Nik just talked over him. “She knows where it is. And you’re gonna get her to tell you. You have a chance to save Elena from the very thing that’s gonna destroy her. You can call it a deal with the devil, if you’d like, but you know you won’t walk away from it.”

Stefan stared at him for a long moment as if he was about to prove each of Nik’s assumptions wrong, but he didn’t. He simple nodded at Lis, and vamp-sped out of the Mansion.

Nik moved towards the window, looking outside at the greenery – it was bright, the afternoon sun filtered through the tall study window in long straight rays. He sighed. “You manage to keep surprising me Lissie. You’re smart.”

Lis shrugged and moved closer to him. “No, it’s just logic, and I like to think I know you well enough by now.”

Nik studied her for a long moment before grinning slightly. “Maybe.”

She smirked lightly and nudged him; “I’m taking that as a compliment, prick.” Her smile dropped slowly. “I don’t appreciate what you said to Bekah, how you manipulated her. Even how you managed to manipulate Stefan into doing what you want by throwing the idea of a cure at him, it all rubbed me wrong.”

Nik smirked callously. “Your emotions have been taken into consideration, Lissie, thank you.”

Annalise joined him in leaning against the windowsill, looking out at the grand water feature in the middle of the round driveway. “There is one thing I don’t understand though.” She turned to Nik with a frown, trying to talk through her thoughts. “It’s been running through my mind ever since you mentioned the cure – sure, I get it – using it for Elena is the obvious choice for you, but I know you. You’re paranoid to the extreme; and you’re a genius at that, there’s no way you want the cure to exist; not if you want your enemies to grab a hold of it. Your list of weaknesses end at the one and only white oak stake remaining in existence and I’d bet everything I own that you want the list to stay that way; chance to get more hybrids or not.”

Nik sipped at his drink a while longer. “You really do know me, Lissie. Too well.” His expression was the most serious she’d ever seen, it was even tainted with resignation, and loss for a split second – like he’d made a decision he didn’t agree with. All of a sudden his familiar smirk was back, throwing Lis off balance. “Speaking of the stake; you said you had it this morning. Where? Is it safe?”

“Oh- uh…yeah. It’s just up in my room. Under my beanbag.” Her phone buzzed – Rebekah was telling her to come to the Salvatore Boarding House. She flashed the message at Nik, then walked over to the door, still speaking. “It’s the safest place on earth, Nik. Only you, Bekah and Kol are allowed access into my room. Speaking of…” She looked over her shoulder smiling slightly at a still solemn Nik. “I’m gonna tell Kol about this – maybe he could help us fill in some blanks.”

Nik nodded before looking away outside again. Lis just shrugged and teleported to the front of the Salvatores’ - after sending a quick message to Kol about coming across The Brotherhood of the Five, she helped herself indoors.

She entered the parlour and faced Stefan and Rebekah in conversation – Stefan was classically pouring himself and Rebekah a glass of bourbon each. At the sound of her entering the room, Stefan looked at her and gestured at the bourbon – wordlessly asking if she wanted some. She looked away from his eyes – his blood thirsty eyes, fangs snarling- and focused on the intricate stitching of the expensive looking Persian rugs at her feet as she came to stand next to Rebekah while Stefan gave the blonde a glass. “I wanted it back then, you know? The cure. I was willing to leave behind my family for it.”

Lis tilted her head, looking at Rebekah in a new light – it made sense though; she was far too loving. She smiled warmly at Rebekah who reciprocated, before turning back to Stefan. “Would you take it if you had the chance? Or is it just for Elena?”

Stefan frowned at the glass in his hand, swirling it. “A part of me wishes that she and I could have an eternity together. But Damon’s right; there’s not a single vampire who hasn’t killed a human. Elena will kill and then there will be the pain, the guilt, and then…”

“You’re afraid she’ll lose her humanity; that she’ll flip the switch.” Annalise offered. Stefan smiled at her lightly, and for the first time since she’d nearly been killed by him, she managed a small understanding smile back. His phone buzzed – she was too far away to read what the message said, but she saw his face fall lightly, then recover. When he looked back up at her, he seemed sad, resigned and hesitant; but he answered her anyway.

“Yeah, Lis. Elena’s driven by love; by compassion. If she turns off her humanity, then I don’t think we’ll ever get her back. So, I’d do anything to save her.”

Rebekah was also smiling sadly listening to Stefan speak. “I envy that. You and Elena. I envy the love that you have. I really did believe Alex when he said he loved me. He promised we’d be married.” Lis saw her friend tear up, and hugged her side in silent support. “We even picked out a church. San Vittore in Brienno. I know you want my help, Stefan. But I can’t do anything that lets my brother get what he wants.”

Lis sighed. “Bekah-” She was ignored as Rebekah moved out of her hold stubbornly, setting her glass on the table before turning around to walk back towards the front door.

Stefan’s spoke up at Rebekah’s retreating back. “I didn’t answer your question.” The Original turned around curiously, Lis paused as well, waiting to hear what he had to say.

“If it meant that I got to be with her, have children, grow old with her. If it meant that we’d die together, be buried together, then yes. I’d take the cure.”

Rebekah was visibly moved by his statement, she spoke up, reluctantly. “I buried him. Even after everything. I laid him to rest under the place we were to be married. What kind of hopeless fool does that?”

Lis’s heart felt like it dropped to her feet – Rebekah noticed Lis’s sad smile drop too; the pieces came together in her mind. “Oh, but that’s what you wanted to know, wasn’t it? Because I buried him with his sword?”

Lis shut her eyes at the raw pain on Rebekah’s face, unable to look at it any longer. It was when she shut her eyes that she noticed a large familiar energy shining in the doorway. Nik.

Her eyes flew open at the sound of his low voice. “I’m sorry little sister, but you’re right.”

Annalise noticed a flash of silver in his hand – no-

She flashed in front of Rebekah – shielding her body with hers. “No, Nik, no.”

She was pulled to the side, pulled into Stefan’s arms the next second and she froze just barely hearing the apologies murmured in her ears – flashbacks of blood, lightning, glass, fangs, blood, so much blood but not enough in her-

She watched unresponsively as Nik daggered Rebekah in a flash before she could get away – her friend’s body fell to the floor with a muted thump. She watched, but she didn’t react, didn’t relate, it was as if she was watching through detached eyes as Nik walked closer. A chilled tear ran unbidden down her cheek as she tried to find her words while she remained petrified in Stefan’s hold.

“Nik – I, this isn’t right-”

A slow hand petted her head slowly, familiarly. Annalise felt herself relax minutely as the killer-ripper hands left her shoulders and she was safely deposited into a hug in Nik’s warm arms.

“Shh, shh. Lissie. You were right, you know? You know me. You said I would never risk my list of weaknesses grow any further. You’re right.” Annalise stilled in his grip, listening closer – this was odd, wasn’t it? Why did he sound apologetic? Maybe it was because he was sorry about Rebekah…yeah, that must be it, why else-

Something cold slipped over her neck, she startled backwards – but she heard Nik mutter the words she dreaded next. “Pomeno.”

Searing pain ripped through her once more in vengeance as the Vasanistirío Medallion burned at her chest. She fell to her knees with a whimper trying to keep back her screams of agony. The tears that fell down her face no longer felt cold, instead they were warm, thick, oozing. She distantly heard Nik yell at Stefan to get out, but she couldn’t concentrate – choke, another choke, a cough next – something coppery escaped her mouth, dripped onto the lovely wooden panelling on the floor.

She felt someone crouch next to her. A wave of agony wracked her body once more as she flinched, she lost her balance, fell, gasping, writhing. Instead of the hard wood greeting her, arms cradled her gently, doing nothing to the pain of knives carving out her insides, her soul-

Nik’s face blurred into view – everything had taken on a red tinge, she gasped in pain. “I’m sorry, my dear friend, I truly am. Although you’d be incredibly useful in the coming days, I can’t have you interfering in this. I know you’ll understand, won’t you? I called a witch – had this necklace modified so you won’t wake early like last time. I truly am sorry.”

Annalise writhed, her eyes shut, she felt more blood leak and she felt pain, then anger, then sadness and the world started to fall away. She blinked her eyes desperately, trying to call on her magic her magic but oh- it hurt.

As her eyes slid slowly shut, she saw the dim light of her dropped phone turn on – Kol’s name flashed serenely in the caller ID.

Chapter Text

The darkness, the pain – neither seemed so penetrative anymore, in fact, she could feel something different than pain for the first time in what felt like decades of torture. She was waking up.

She was slightly aware of her limbs being moved, a wet cloth running down her face. She was being dressed. A faint voice – “You stopped bleeding out today, I don’t know whether I should be thankful or horrified…At least you don’t have to sleep in crusty blood anymore, now that I’ve cleaned you. Sorry I can’t do more.” The solemn voice faded away, was that Kim?

She couldn’t concentrate; she was being carried now, familiar arms – she felt herself being carried through a familiar barrier of energy…her room? Her bed welcomed her when she was laid gently under the covers – it was too tiring to stay conscious. She surrendered to the darkness willingly.

-

Another few eons passed; figuratively, probably. She wandered close to the surface of consciousness a couple times – it allowed for a few stray thoughts to breach her languid mind. How was the necklace hurting less? How was she even close to conscious as she was? She came to the realisation a few moments later…she had put up a plethora of spells and charms in her room – long ago she had described it as a checkpoint in a video game – that meant it had healing properties too.

Strangely, time seemed to pass quicker after she realised it, it was easier to float up, drift in a soft haze. She felt safely detached from her sore human body; Lis had tried to reconnect but the second she had tried, the pain set in. She wasn’t too eager for a repeat. The agony that used to be soul-deep was now muted – almost unnoticeable; as if something was shielding her soul from it. Lis appreciated it to say the least.

Then one day, it all changed. What felt like a huge weight, was lifted off her chest, and Annalise inhaled deeply, taking in a lungful of fresh air as if breathing for the very first time. But then it transformed into a gasp of pain as it felt like her soul had crash-landed in her painful shell of a body violently – the force with which she woke was enough to send her gasping as she sat up straight. Her eyes snapped open wildly, taking in the gentle stars that blinked at her through the large window in her room, the armchair next to her bed that had been over by her dresser before, and a shifting silhouette on the other side of her bed, his face cast into shadows by the dim moonlight filtering in.

Annalise panicked, scrambling backwards; reaching painfully, instinctually into herself to draw forth her magic to defend herself before snapping back away as if scalded by her blistering pain, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood to stop a whimper from escaping through her chapped lips – she would not appear weak.

The silhouette held their hands up, the medallion hanging off one hand caught the light of the moon, she glared at the shadow.

“Relax, darling. It’s me.” Kol’s face moved into a beam of moonlight, smiling at her – a sheer contrast to the anger his dark eyes carried. Annalise tried to smile back, but her gaze flitted back to the medallion threateningly staring at her. That thing made her recoil, as if she was nothing but a wounded animal.  Kol traced her eyeline before comprehension dawned – he set it down on her bedside table gently. Annalise felt herself relax immediately, her fingers felt sore from clutching at the bedsheets too tight, it was quickly overpowered from how uncomfortably tender and raw her body felt. Curling in on herself, she let out a small groan.

Kol was at her side in an instant, supporting her back, holding her up. He held out a pair of familiar glass frames – giving him a thankful nod, she pushed them on. His arms curled around her supportively once more. Annalise couldn’t help but collapse in his hold as he spoke.

“What on earth happened, Lissa? You text me about the Five then you drop off the face of the planet for the next week and a half? Why did I find you with one of the darkest cursed objects to ever exist on your neck?”

Annalise tried to breathe through the pain, she curled up further into Kol’s hold, facing his chest. His arms tightened reflexively around her; his leather jacket felt cold under her cheek as she managed a strained chuckle. “Why, did you worry about poor little me? How touching.”

She looked up at Kol to see a grin appear on his face at her parroting his words back from Denver. A small amount of amusement danced in his black eyes, overshadowed by a great deal more of something that she never thought she’d see; concern. “Well. It appears I had a right to worry.”

Lis’s smile dropped slowly. She looked away, before she pushed away a small amount, groaning while levering herself off the bed into a standing position. Kol’s hand’s hovered around her waist as she did, she passed him a small smile backwards before unsteadily walking towards the door. Despite the fact she felt as though her limbs were about to fall off, she had to leave...it had been nearly two weeks, two weeks of that fucking necklace. All she had to do, was put one sore leg in front of the other, then balance. Small steps. 

“Where’s Nik? Lissa, what on earth happened?”

“Nik happened, Kol." Annalise paused and turned to face him as he unsurely stepped closer to her, her eyes had grown moist. "We found this hunter – he was one of the Five. Rebekah was trying to sabotage Nik getting the cure – he tried to retaliate, then I was just in the way.” She sighed and winced as she grabbed a warm jumper and pulled it gently over the pyjama shirt and sweats that she’d been dressed in. “Nik daggered Bekah, then used the Medallion on me – said he didn’t want me interfering.”

A dark expression crossed Kol’s face, instead of focusing on how that made her feel worse than she already did, Annalise spotted her phone lying on the dresser and checked it quickly – someone had kept it fully charged.

Was this the same person who had moved her armchair and sat at her bedside for who knows how long? He was guilty then. Annalise’s eyes narrowed in anger – his guilt didn’t mean shit to her if he thought he could get away with this with a light slap on his wrist.

A strong shudder ran through her already weak body, and that feeling of sheer unnaturalness settled in her bones once more – she would’ve collapsed had it not been for Kol steadying her gently again, his arm was tightly curled around her shoulder. His gaze was still confused, questioning and dark – she wished she knew what that meant. She beat back the heat rising to her cheeks at his proximity, and instead Lis grit her teeth trying to stand straighter; she didn’t like feeling this helpless, dammit. “I have to give a while for my magic to come back, but I can still sense things in nature – it seems someone’s practicing dark magic near the Lockwood Estate – a lot of it.”

Kol hummed and steadied her as she limped down the stairs as fast as could. “You think it’s Nik.”

Lis nodded. “That’s what I’m counting on – that spot’s a favourite of his.”

He grabbed her elbow gently, making her pause “And if he is there? What are you going to do? You said it yourself, you don’t have your magic right now.” His tone was angry, but it still held caution; she understood. This was his brother they were talking about.

“Look, I get it. I’m not gonna go postal at Nik for quite literally torturing me. I’m better than that.” She ran a hand through her hair, wincing as it got caught on a few tangles. “I’m just gonna tell him that I kindly quit from his fuckin’ tyranny. Reckon he’ll accept a punch as my letter of resignation?”

Kol smirked as his eyes twinkled with amusement. “Oh, I’m sure he’ll be more than inclined to, darling.”

-

They had reached the town square a few minutes later – Kol had offered to vamp-speed them there and Lis had reluctantly agreed; her heart had been pounding in her chest as she’d held on for dear life, she must have been more scared than usual. They had been halfway to the Lockwood Estate before she had felt Nik's familiar magic brush her senses. They’d reached the abandoned looking party –  plastic chairs and balloons decorated the space, beautiful Christmas lights twinkled serenely on the decorated trees and a snow machine was still showering the cold ground with flakes of white. 

The tranquil silence was disrupted abruptly by a sudden scream that cut off almost immediately. Without a second thought, Lis had pushed the pain of moving her stiff limbs into a dead sprint to the back of her mind, and focused on reaching where the scream had originated from. A plethora of reasons as to why a woman was screaming at this time of the night ran through her mind – none of them were good; especially considering she felt Nik there as well.

Annalise could never have predicted the sight she saw when she arrived at the stone fountain in the middle of the town square, however. Amidst the scattered and empty chairs and the cheerful decorations, Nik was kneeled next to the fountain – one hand holding a long real-looking sword stained dark with what she hoped wasn’t blood; his other hand was forcing a struggling woman’s head under the water of the fountain, drowning her.

Annalise froze in horror as the woman fell limp – no.

Nik stood up, he must have sensed them behind him – he froze as well. Annalise could care less about the confusion, horror then empty acceptance that flitted through his eyes, no, she was already hauling the woman, Mayor Lockwood?!? out of the fountain and starting chest compressions and CPR. She pushed hard on the thin woman’s chest, pacing her breaths and keeping her rhythm.

“1, 2, 3, 4, Come on, come on, come on!”

This wasn’t working, she needed her magic, she needed to warm Carol’s cold unnatural clammy skin-

The Mayor’s body convulsed; Lis turned helped her onto her side with a relieved laugh, patting her back to help her expel more of the water inside her lungs. “Oh my god, Mayor Lockwood. That’s it, deep breaths. You gave us quite the scare.” 

Lis kept patting her back as Carol took in choking lungful’s of air, wheezing hard, before turning to her and coughing heavily. Once it subsided, she looked around in terror – Lis hadn’t realised Nik was gone – only Kol remained, standing a fair distance away. Lis gave him a quick nod before turning back to the mayor who was looking at her in fear. She smiled shakily back. “I suggest you get home quickly Madam Mayor. Do you have a ride home?”

Carol nodded distractedly looking along the ground and locating her discarded phone. “Ye- Yes. My son’s coming.” Her voice croaked. Lis shot her a sympathetic smile, helping her stand up slowly, supporting her weight.

-

The mayor had been staring at the fountain where she’d almost lost her life detachedly when Tyler finally arrived.

“Mom! Mom, thank god!” Carol rushed and captured her son in a strong hug, finally sobbing. Annalise smiled sadly at the pair, taking a couple unsure steps backwards and turning towards Kol. A shout from behind her had her turning back around – Tyler engulfed her with a grateful hug.

“I can’t even begin to thank you for this. I won’t ever forget it.”

Lis grinned lightly at him. “No worries, kid. You’re good. Go home and stay safe.” She frowned, remembering something. “Hey, unrelated. Do you know about anything related to dark magic that happened just before, near the Lockwood cellar? I felt something big happen.”

Tyler’s face fell as he choked up. Clearing his throat, Tyler replied. “Uh- yeah. They’re all gone Lis, the hybrids. Klaus killed every last one of them.”

Lis staggered back in shock, lifting a hand to her chest. “Nik wouldn’t…Why?!”

Anger flashed in his eyes as he looked away. “It was Hayley – she tricked us into breaking the sire bond – hell, she even used you to convince them; they liked having you around, y’know? Apparently it had all been to convince Klaus into killing 12 hybrids.”

Her breath stuttered as she tried to work through why, she barely felt Kol come up to her side – she only noticed after she saw Tyler grow stiff in fear or anger. His glare at Kol softened as it settled back on Annalise as she spoke, trying to get her thoughts to make sense. “12, like- like the mass murder at the farm? That can’t be a coincidence, I-”

“You,” Kol touched her shoulder softly, directing her startled gaze at him, “can figure this out later. Right now, you need to rest, darling. You’re dead on your feet.”

As she shook her head, she noticed a considering look flicker in Tyler’s eyes as he watched them carefully; she frowned at him – but he also nodded; looking as surprised as she did that he agreed with Kol. “He’s right, Lis, you need rest. Nik kept you up in your room, none of us could get in. We freaked when you finally stopped bleeding; we thought you died. How are you even on your feet right now?”

His words reminded her of the ache in her bones that she had pushed into the back of her mind – she winced slightly as it returned full-force. Annalise still managed a sad grin at Tyler, though. “Turns out Nik didn’t also know that I had a healing spell set up in my room – it must’ve helped. Go on home, kid. Stay safe. Call me, if you need anything.”

Tyler shot one last unsure glance between the pair before nodding, taking his weak mother by the arm and turning her away.

Kol and Lis turned away too. “The mansion?”

Lis nodded, the next second they were blurring through the small town, stopping at the doorstep of the huge white house. It was quiet – too quiet. Lis detangled from Kol’s lingering grip on her waist while exchanging a cautious glance with him, before walking in.

Nik was lounging on his favourite armchair in the study – chilling, for the lack of a better word – with a glass of bourbon in one hand and a sword balanced casually in the other, laid across his lap. He had splatters of blood on his person – Lis inhaled lightly – how much of blood was Kim’s? Alex’s? Tom’s? His disinterested gaze landed on her, making her stiffen.

“I see you’re up – and I see I’ve got my dearest little brother to thank for that fact.”

Lis exhaled sharply, not rising to the bait. “A fucking sword, Nik?”

Annalise was as surprised at herself as Nik and Kol was at her; of all the questions she could’ve asked – ranging from ‘why would you hurt me?’ to ‘Why would you try to murder an innocent woman?’; what she asked wasn’t even on the list.

Nik recovered quickly and smirked at her. “You remember Alexander – Rebekah’s little crush, don’t you Lissie. This is his.”

Right. “The sword that decodes the map that leads to the cure, of course.” She hissed out the last few words in anger. “I was clearly wrong – I don’t know shit about you. You probably wanted the cure so you could wipe out all your hybrids and have a new batch of all-obedient fuckin’ slaves.”

Nik’s face stuttered blank, he stood threateningly. Lis felt Kol move closer to the pair to stand defensively against Nik. “I wouldn’t come any closer, brother.”

Nik scowled at his little brother heavily before focusing back on Lis. “They betrayed me.”

“They broke their sire connection to you, Nik! They wanted free will!” Lis’s voice was raised. Nik strode closer; Kol stopped him with a hand on his chest, pushing him back slightly as Annalise continued speaking. “That’s not betrayal.”

“They were going to leave; they had no loyalty to me-”

“Maybe that’s because they saw how you treated people who are loyal to you.” Lis finally let out the hollow laugh that had built in her chest. 

Nik paused with narrowed eyes but stopped trying to actively get past Kol. It looked as though the fight had drained out of him. Annalise smirked dully. “You know, a long time ago – you said you wanted the hybrids because you wanted family. You treated them like workers, Nik. Servants. Family doesn’t mean unquestioning loyalty; it means betrayal, it means disappointment, and arguments; because at the end of the day, despite everything we go through – we go through it together, because we choose to be there for each other. Without choice, it’s all fucking meaningless.”

Silence permeated the air for a long moment – Nik was focused on the floor, dully considering her words; Lis just sighed, feeling pity linger for the socially-inept man in front of her. 

She ran a stressful hand through her probably wild-looking hair, avoiding Kol’s unreadable gaze. “Look. I was going to leave tonight after finding Bekah -” Nik looked at her in what looked like dull acceptance, before his eyes flicked to something over her shoulder in shock.

“No need, dear Lissie.” On hearing a lilting feminine British accent behind her, she whipped around in delight, capturing Rebekah in a tight hug. Her friend chuckled as she patted Lis’s back.

“How are you even here? You were daggered.” She mumbled into the hug, before releasing Rebekah and stepping back slightly.

“Thank April Young.” Rebekah shrugged. Annalise felt her brows raise.

“Wait, she knows about the supernatural?”

“Appears so. She certainly does now.” Rebekah shrugged joining Lis’s side and facing her two brothers, tilting her head while trying to decipher the situation in front of her. “Kol, you’re here. What’s going on?”

Kol threw a smirk at Nik, looking absurdly gleeful that everyone in the room stood against Nik. Lis rolled her eyes as he spoke up immaturely; but frowned when she realised that Kol’s eyes looked livid in contrast to his deceptively light tone. “Shortly after you were daggered, it appears our lovely brother incapacitated Lissa using a cursed necklace – one of the darkest magical objects possibly to ever exist – it’s said that it eats your magical soul away. I’m surprised she’s still standing.”

“What?” Rebekah exclaimed while Lis inhaled in quiet alarm – Esther certainly hadn’t shared that little morsel with her. Her eyes involuntarily flicked towards Nik, who happened to already be looking at her in regret.

“I didn’t-”

 Unable to meet his guilt-ridden gaze any longer, she spoke over him soflty. “Kol, do you think my magic’s gone?”

Kol tilted his head at her in thought before shaking it, walking closer. “No, no I don’t think so Lissa, you were able to sense the magic around you earlier – witches who’ve lost their power, they can’t feel anything.”

Annalise passed him a brief thankful grin while Rebekah sighed, turning to her.

“So let me get this straight.” She pointed at Nik. “He, put you in a temporary torture limbo, because you didn’t agree with his choices, huh?” Rebekah shook her head in disappointment before shrugging and turning to Annalise with a slight smile. “It appears Nik’s found your equivalent of daggering; consider that your official welcome into the family, Lissie.” 

She couldn’t help it, Annalise rolled her eyes at her friend; shoving her hard. “Shut up, Bekah.”

-

It had been almost a week since Annalise had woken; and to be honest, it hadn’t been eventful at all. Kol and Annalise had holed up in her room, practicing her slowly returning magic through her pain; Bekah had been away with April Young, planning a nefarious scheme to get back at Elena, and by extension Nik. And Nik, well, he’d been flat-out ignoring her – the few times that he was home, he’d spend it hidden away in his drawing room.

Annalise still hadn’t forgiven him for the hybrids; sure, she hadn’t known most of them well. In fact, she’d only known them in passing despite the fact that technically she’d spent a relatively long time with them. It’s just, after Mindy, Lis really couldn’t be bothered putting in the emotional effort to become good friends with any of them; that, and Nik took up too much of her time. But Kim, Tom, Alex…she was starting to get tired of losing so many damn friends. Annalise hadn’t forgiven Nik for nearly killing Mayor Lockwood for that matter either, so maybe he was never around because she glares at him each meagre time she manages to cross paths with the suddenly elusive Hybrid.

Kol had a different theory; he thinks Nik’s avoiding her because he still feels guilty about what he’d done to Lis.

She’d honestly done a whole lot of soul-searching while staying up late into the nights, letting the moon’s energy wash over her as she meditated. It’s not that she hated Nik, not fully, anyway. But Annalise had known what she was getting into; she’d just gotten too close, too familiar. This was her fault. Lis would be fooling herself if she ever thought that she’d ever mean as much to them as they did to her. Rebekah's words were just words to make her feel better at the end of the day. 

Mother had always told her that she was too clingy;  she had always complained when little Lissie had begged to hold her hand in like she’d seen other kids’ parents do. 

This was pathetic, she was pathetic.

But the in the lazy hours of Saturday afternoon lounging in the warm sun, she hadn’t felt pathetic as she’d talked Kol’s ears off about bubbles, and how forming them excited her so much because it required acute skill in manipulating both air and water gently and simultaneously – he had just looked on with a permanent smirk, relaxed in her beanbag with her journaling grimoire spread open on his lap, and recommended she form a little flame in the bubbles and try to balance three elements simultaneously instead.

Annalise was currently rolling her eyes at Kol chuckling at her demise; she had accidentally increased the oxygen concentration inside the soapy water just a bit too much, and the small flame she had conjured exploded in the extra gas, covering her in small suds. 

Her phone vibrated suddenly on her dresser; Rebekah was calling. Lis accepted the call as Kol kept chuckling in the background.

“What’s up Bekah?”

“Is that Kol laughing? I take it you aren’t in blinding pain every time you practice magic anymore?” Her friend was smirking, she could just tell.

Annalise faced her floor length mirror in the corner of her room next to her dresser, and reached up to wipe off small amounts of foam gathered in her hair, huffing as she replied. “Nah, I’m practically fine now, and Kol’s just being a brat. But hey, what did you need from me?”

“Not you, you still need your rest, Lissie. Kol’s not picking up his phone.” Rebekah sighed, Kol stood up to join Lissie curiously. “I need him to run an errand for me,”

Kol raised an interested eyebrow as Lis put the phone on speaker out of polite habit, despite knowing both siblings could hear each other perfectly because of their super-hearing.

Annalise paused looking at him quizzically when he stood closer than he needed to, nearly toe-to-toe, and leaned in to lift his hand, gently brushing at her hair. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at him with wide eyes, very unsure of what was happening.

He just smirked at the blush that had darkened her cheeks before showing her the foam he’d removed from her hair casually. “What’s in it for me, dear sister?”

“Carol Lockwood’s stood down as Mayor this morning, there’s was a speech at the school. I managed to get my hands on a few slippery do-gooders as a result. Interested in raising a little bit of general mayhem, brother?”

Kol immediately grinned wide mischievously; Annalise just sighed. She should’ve known the lazy days wouldn’t last. Here’s to hoping this wouldn’t end too badly.

-

Annalise was currently bored, humming along to a soft pop song drifting lowly from the radio, her head was leaning against the window of the brand-new Lexus that Kol offhandedly remarked that he’d compelled for himself. Figures, that little arse, but Lis honestly couldn’t bring herself to care enough.

She sighed when she heard an excited squeal of a group of girls echo in the parking lot of the Whitmore Campus carpark – Rebekah had sent the pair to the college to pick up an occult professor named Atticus Shane – apparently he was the wealth of information that everyone was drawing upon for the cure.

Kol had made her stay in the car as Rebekah had told them that Bonnie was on campus; they didn’t want anyone catching on to the conniving plan they’d hatched. Annalise honestly couldn’t be bothered with it anyway – as long as they didn’t try to kill and maim anyone, they could have their fun and terrorise people.

Huh...so that’s where she still drew the line? Hurting kids and innocents? Maybe she hadn’t lost herself just yet. 

The car’s back door behind her opened suddenly as Kol pushed an utterly average looking professor in; well, averagely-dressed. He looked a bit too good and bit too young to be a college professor. She raised an eyebrow as he looked panicked in the backseat and tried the handle of the door that Kol had managed to put the child-lock on – he caught on her gaze as Kol climbed into the driver’s seat with a smirk and started driving away.

Annalise passed the jittery professor a sympathetic look; his curly black hair messed up from being dragged into the car and the whole cute-scruffy thing he had going on was making her feel bad for him.

“Hey, uh…welcome to being our kidnap-ee for the day. I’m Lis.”

Kol passed her an amused smile. “Are you seriously giving our captive information about yourself?’

Lis pouted at him before turning back to the confused looking professor. “Ignore him Professor Shane. He’s a jerk.”

He nodded at her uncertainly. “Okay...”

Annalise smiled brightly at him as Kol just scoffed. The drive to the Mystic Falls Highschool was otherwise silent.

-

Lis was half a step behind Kol as he hauled Shane through the large double doors leading to the library – they had walked in on a strange sight. Elena, Caroline, and Stefan were all sitting around a small table in the middle of the library – Rebekah was standing over them, arms crossed. She turned as they entered. “Ah, Kol. Perfectly on time. You must be Shane.” She addressed the ruffled man. As Shane was pushed further towards Rebekah, the table saw her behind Kol - Annalise froze visibly as Stefan’s sorry -but cold, bloody- gaze fixed on her. 

Bekah was the one who drew attention to her ashen face. “Lis? What’s wrong?”

Kol immediately looked back at her, followed her petrified gaze to Stefan before scowling and grabbing her wrist, pulling them into a large maintenance/cleaning room to the side of the Library. Rebekah pushed Shane in behind them – sending him careening into an empty mop bucket. Annalise winced, but stayed put leaning against the door as the two siblings approached the cowering man.

Despite the looming threat over his head – Shane was staring at the siblings in awe. “Kol? As in Kol and Rebekah Mikaelson…two members of the Original family. This is such a trip.”

Annalise frowned at his knowledge before shrugging to herself. The names of the Originals was pretty common knowledge amongst the witch community – after all, that was how she’d known who Nik was when she’d first met him.

Rebekah grabbed his shoulder and looked him directly in the eye to compel him, not in the mood to entertain their captive. “Where’s the cure?”

The professor smiled shakily. “Compulsion won’t work. It’s a little trick I picked up in Tibet.” Annalise’s eyebrows flew up her forehead – why on earth wasn’t this common knowledge, like vervain was?

Rebekah dismissed the statement as Kol’s smile grew worryingly larger. “Well. We’ll just have to do this the old-fashioned way.” She grabbed a broom leaning against the wall near her and chucked it to a smirking Kol. “Beat him until he tells you where to find it.”

That had Annalise standing up straighter and approaching the pair. “Jeez, Bekah. You know I know a truth spell.”

Kol rolled his eyes. “Ugh, you don’t have to take the fun out of everything Lissa.” But he still moved to the side and allowed her to crouch down to the professor’s level.

“I don’t care how you do it, as long as I have an answer by the end of the hour.” Rebekah sighed and left the room impatiently. Whatever was going on in the other room must be way more entertaining.

Lis smiled pityingly at Shane as she reached out and laid her palm flat against his chest, ignoring Kol threateningly point the broom at Shane as he went to move away. “Veritas.”

She felt her eyes burn a familiar silver, and saw Shane’s eyes grew wide. “You’re-”

“She’s what?” Kol had threateningly pressed the broom into Shane’s chest as the professor had suddenly grabbed Annalise’s hand still spread flat on his chest, holding it tighter against him.

Shane’s eyes hadn’t left Annalise’s confused gaze, staring at her in utter admiration. “She’s here. You’re here. You’re amazing.” He breathlessly mumbled to himself.

Lis cleared her throat and detached her hand from the professor’s chest – unsurely standing up and backing away, blushing. Kol frowned harder before tossing the broom aside and pulling Shane to his feet with his collar. “How do you know her?”

“The same way anyone knows about anyone.” Shane chuckled to himself, eyes still trained on Annalise. “I’ve heard of her.”

Lis hugged herself unsurely and approached Kol’s side. “Where did you hear about me?”

Shane shrugged, grinning. “On a trip. Silver eyes as beautiful as the stars; he wasn’t lying. He knew you’d be around.”

Kol’s grip tightened on Shane’s collar as he pulled him over to a sink – he clogged it and turned the tap on. “Who told you about her?”

Lis reached out to touch Kol’s shoulder unsurely. “Kol?”

He shrugged her off and brought a smiling Shane closer to his face. “Who told you about her?”

Shane’s unsettling grin never moved from his face – Kol plunged the professor’s head into the sink full of water, holding it there. Lis gasped in shock before pulling Shane free of Kol’s grip in a panic and positioning the spluttering and gasping professor behind her, facing Kol’s livid gaze.

He scowled at her. “Darling, we’ve been through this before. Don’t keep trying to rescue people I’m trying to maim.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Yeah, I remember, and I also remember what I said to you afterwards. You try hurt me again, I’ll make you regret it. There’s no reason for you to torture him, Kol.”

She turned around to Shane once more – he was still smiling at her. “That was amazing – the way you used magic to push an Original away-”

Annalise had recovered from her shock at being treated like royalty; and she just wasn’t feeling it. It was creepy. She crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. “No, I don’t wanna hear anymore, I don’t care. Where’s the cure?”

Shane grimaced, clearly trying to keep something in. “It’s in a place – beautiful.”

“Where?”

“You have to hike to get there.”

“Where exactly is the cure?”

“It’s in his hands!” Shane paused; eyes wide – he had let something out that he wasn’t supposed to. Kol and Lis exchanged a glance.

Kol stepped closer to Shane threateningly. “Who’s hands, Shane?”

Shane’s mouth opened and closed wordlessly just as Rebekah entered loudly through the door. “What’s taking so long?”

Kol smirked at his sister. “Seems Shane’s found a way around Lissa’s truth spell. He’s being a bit too specific. Be a darling and take her outside so I can finish torturing him in peace, would you?”

Lis scowled at him as Rebekah walked to approach Shane, curiously. “You’re human. Why do you want it anyway?”

This time, it seemed that Shane couldn’t find a way around answering – in fact, it seemed like he was almost glad to. “That’s the beauty of this. You can have it.” He grinned in a gleeful manner that seemed out-of-place on his youthful face. “I just want Silas.” He looked towards Annalise as if he was sharing a secret – one that she was in on.

Her heart thudded in her chest and her breath seized. She almost missed Kol seize Shane and hold him up by his shirt again. “No. What do you know about Silas?”

Shane’s wild eyes never left Lis’s shell-shocked ones. “He’s the world’s first immortal being, who just happens to be imprisoned with the cure…and I want to free him.”

Annalise stumbled back; Rebekah was steadying her as Kol was too busy shoving Shane's head once more in the water. It took her a moment to feel the unsettling weight of dark magic settle across her shoulders originating from Shane – connecting him to someone – he was currently struggling for his life in Kol’s grip.

Lis held her hand up and used her magic to push Kol off Shane again, allowing him to fall backwards, choking in large lungful’s of air. The dark magic in the air lifted. Kol’s scowl towards her faltered at the empty expression on her face. Rebekah looked between the pair and sighed, running a hand through her hair, turning to Kol.

“He’s no use to us dead.”

Kol gestured at Shane on the ground angrily. “Did you not hear what he just said? Silas will kill us all, sister.”

Rebekah shook her head, ignoring the way that Lis leaned against the nearby wall for support. “Silas does not exist. He’s a-a fairy-tale made up to scare children into eating their vegetables.”

Shane chuckled lowly from the ground. “Silas is very real, ask your friend – she seems to know.” Both Kol and Rebekah looked to a shell-shocked Lis staring unresponsively at the ground before turning back to the professor. “I know where he’s buried, and soon, I will have the spell that wakes him.”

Kol shook his head in denial. “Wait a second, you’re lying. You can’t get to him.”

Shane’s eyes sparkled victoriously. “Without his tombstone? Dozens to die in a blood sacrifice?” Lis’s heart stuttered; the farm mass murder, her hybrid friends, standing in front of her scowling coven leaders- “Believe me, I know. I’ve done it. Those massacres are a pain to engineer.”

Rebekah seemed to reach the same conclusion. “You’re the one who got the council blown up.”

“And the one who made Hayley manipulate Nik into killing his hybrids.” Lis faintly whispered.

Professor Shane grinned, standing up slowly. “It was a noble sacrifice…and temporary, because once I raise Silas, Silas will raise the dead. He will bring back every last soul who died on his account.”

Lis exhaled shakily as her eyes filled with tears. “You- you lost someone.”

Shane looked at her as if the words she’d uttered filled the world with hope. “You understand. He was right. You are all-loving.” He approached her as Rebekah and Kol watched on – Lis felt tears escape her eyes as Shane kept talking. “You lost people too, haven’t you? When Silas rises again – he will raise anyone you’ve lost, he will raise everyone.”

“No!” Annalise was jarred from the Shane’s intense gaze as Kol violently buried a metal pipe deep into the professor with a yell.

It was quiet for a moment, only Annalise’s heavy breathing filled the air. Rebekah was glaring heavily at her brother, Annalise’s gaze was trained on Shane’s body – the feeling of dark magic had permeated the air once more, most concentrated around still body spread on the floor.

Kol broke the silence first. “You should be thanking me.”

Rebekah glared harder at him. “You killed my only chance at finding the cure.”

Lis inhaled sharply. “Uh…no. Bekah, I think he’s still alive,” Kol looked at her incredulously. She gulped, wetting her dry throat. “I mean, he’s dead, right now. But something’s keeping him tethered and connected to this side using dark magic. He’s going to wake up again.”

Kol sighed before leaning down to grab Shane’s feet. Rebekah stopped him. “What are you doing now?”

“Clearly, he can’t be killed right now, so I’m putting him someplace safe. I can’t have him completing his bloody mission. Silas on the loose would be hell on earth.” Kol straightened up and pulled the indestructible white oak stake from inside his jacket pocket as if he were trying to prove a point. “Frankly sister, I don’t think you could handle it.”

Annalise looked at him, feeling slightly betrayed. “You got that from my room? Is that why you’ve been helping me the last few days?”

His dark eyes flicked to her before he wordlessly stashed the stake back in his jacket, moving to lift Shane onto his shoulder. Annalise spoke up quickly, trying to get over the pang in her chest at his dismissal. “Wait. He can’t be working alone. People will realise he’s missing. I say we make him think we think he's dead – let him lead us to everyone he’s working with, then we take care of it.”

­

Kol and Rebekah both looked at her in slight shock. Rebekah voiced her uncertainty. “Lissie. Is everything okay? You don’t usually suggest killing people.”

Lis rubbed a hand tiredly down her face. “No, no- I’m not suggesting we kill them. But, Silas – I-It’s bad news Bekah. I’m scared.”

Kol walked closer and gripped her shoulder in support at her admission, before nodding. “Fine, we do it your way. Come on. We can talk at home.”

“No, no. Uh…you guys go home. Go home before Shane wakes up.” Lis grabbed Kol’s hand from her shoulder and dropped it after a small squeeze, still feeling a bit stung about being used. It had tarnished her few peaceful memories of the last few days. He stepped back, something like hurt flickered in his eyes. Rebekah approached her unsurely. “Lissie? What’s happening? What do you know?”

Annalise ran a hand through her hair before she realised how hard her hands were shaking. She clenched them tightly. “I think I know-” She cut herself off. “I need to uh…I need to check something out. I’ll be back soon.”

Rebekah stepped closer to her. “We’ll come with you, Lissie. Where do you need to go?”

Lis shook her head and stepped away from the siblings watching her with concern. “No, I think I need to go alone. I need to go back to Australia.”

The next second, Kol and Rebekah stared at the empty space where Annalise once stood – they were quiet for a second, they exchanged an uncertain glance, then blurred out of the cleaning room just as Professor Atticus Shane took in a shuddering breath and returned to the land of the living.

Chapter Text

Annalise found herself staring at her old run-down home detachedly; the garden was overgrown to the point where the grass had browned and tangled together in a mess, and the flowers on the usually trimmed bushes grew everywhere in abandon. Parts of the roof of the old house was caved in, revealing the rotted timber skeleton underneath bared open to the world. It was desolately beautiful, like an old cottage from a fairy tale...or more likely a horror story evidenced by the eerie manner the light of the moon hit the peeling white walls. Yikes. 

Lis sighed. No, she wouldn’t find answers here.

Annalise wasn’t surprised to see an old ‘Condemned’ sign hanging from the garden gate in all honesty - as she made her way up the craggy driveway, she understood why her parent’s coven didn’t bother with the general up-keep of the house. After all, who'd want to go near a home that once housed the so-called demon-child?

Plus, she doubted anyone even lived in the general vicinity anymore. Her home hadn’t been the first destination on her little impromptu trip – Lis had first visited the small deserted town hall, the rest of the houses on her block, the dusty community playground – it was as if the whole witch community had never existed here. Cleaned out, like ghosts.

A rustle sounded behind her, making her heart leap to her throat.

Annalise whipped around, promptly freezing in her tracks when she faced an old Indigenous lady, hunched over a cane and giving her the cruellest scowl she’d ever had directed at her – the lady’s narrowed eyes stared at her in pure hatred and disgust, like she’d stepped in a pile of poop that she couldn’t wait to shake off. Lis smiled nervously at the crone, choosing to look past how the woman was gripping onto her cane with white knuckles, mouth still twisted into a hateful sneer. “Uh…hi. I uh…I used to live here. There was also a small community nearby – it also seems to be pretty deserted. I was um…wondering what happened here.”

The woman scowled harder, contorting her lips in disgust before she spoke. “You are certainly brave coming back here.”

Annalise stepped back at the sheer amount of malice in the lady’s tone, before it registered in her mind. She frowned, trying to remember why it seemed so familiar. “Wait, Elder Rosaline?”

Rosaline stood as straight as her hunched back would allow – her head of white hair pulled back into a tight bun at the nape of her neck was distinct...it was the way she used to have it tied nearly 13 years ago. 

Lis sighed and reached up to tighten her own ponytail self-consciously in the sweltering heat of the bush, despite the fact that it was late into the night, trying to occupy her hands as Rosaline kept glaring at her. “I uh- I know I’m not welcome here, I promise, I’ll leave. Just- I just wanna know what happened.”

Rosaline stared at her for a moment longer before she sniffed, then nodded to herself. She twisted around and started walking, quite a bit more agilely than her posture would suggest. Lis remained still for a moment longer before she realised that the elder had given her a cue to follow her – she scrambled to jog up the cracked pavement, slowing once she was at a safe distance. Rosaline led her to a house; one that wasn’t as dilapidated as all the rest in the small neighbourhood – Lis was surprised at herself for not noticing it being in obviously better condition than the rest before. She must have been pretty out of it. 

Rosaline opened the door then stood to the side, eyeing her as Lis stepped in slowly with caution, before closing the door behind her noiselessly. Annalise was sure her nerves showed by the speed at which her eyes darted all over the hallway, lingering on old vases of flowers and slightly wonky picture frames. She followed the Elder as she lead her down the small hallway into a dim kitchen lit only by the dull glow of a small lamp in the corner of the room. The house smelled of musty dried herbs – a vase on the small dining table held a jar of dry pink proteas and wildflowers wilting in the heat. 

The Elder witch bustled into the kitchen, filling an old kettle up with water from a loud screaming tap, and setting it on the stove. Annalise stood uncertainly until Rosaline gestured to the small table with a sharp jerk on her head; Lis complied awkwardly, clasping her fidgety hands together in her lap. While the kettle began to boil and squeal, Rosaline disappeared into a nearby room before she emerged once more carrying a small book – yellowing and crinkly, showing off it’s age. She set it down on the table and went around the kitchen counter again, pouring out the boiling water into two teacups from the steaming kettle, before gracefully walking back over and sitting at the table, placing a teacup in front of her.

All these movements were measured...pristine. Annalise felt her nerves increase. 

In order to focus her anxious mind, her gaze trained on the small, ancient book in front of her that looked as though it would crumble to dust any second – she hadn’t realised that an aged and faded picture of a forest and a starry night delicately decorated the old leather cover of the book. 

Rosaline’s hand closing over the book jerked Lis out of the temporary distraction, she looked at the elder cluelessly. 

The elder scowled at her. “I expected you to come, dark child. But not this soon.”

Lis felt her lips thin defensively as she shook her head. “Look, I don’t know what I am, but I’m not dark, I swear. I’ve studied it – it’s nothing like dark magic. It feels natural. Good.”

The elder looked at her for a long unnerving second, before nodding to herself. “I see. It’s certainly not natural, but I may agree with your assessment.”

Annalise felt herself relax infinitesimally – that...was easier than she expected. Not strangely worrying...right? “So, what happened? To everyone? To the coven?”

Lis fiddled with the handle of her teacup as Rosaline’s gaze drilled into her. “The coven was weak, child. You were supposed to be our saviour, to be powerful enough to re-strengthen our bond with nature. You were supposed to help us survive.” Annalise looked away, feeling a large amount of guilt fill her. Rosaline continued talking with little to no emotion showing in her cold voice. “But then, we saw what you could do – we realised that you weren’t like us, that you’ll never be like us. We perished soon after-”

“Perished?!” Lis echoed shakily, feeling faint.

The elder scowled at her. “Don’t interrupt me when I’m speaking.” Annalise closed her mouth and nodded wordlessly. Rosaline continued. “The coven’s magic perished, faded away, no one died. Everyone split up in search of other covens, or to enjoy their now mundane lives.”

“Oh.” She sipped at her tea, unsure of what to feel. The ginger of the tea stayed strong on her tongue. “I’m sorry.”

Rosaline stayed quiet for a moment, as if scrutinising her. “You really are.”

“What?”

“You really are sorry.” Rosaline sipped at her own tea, leaning back in her chair. “Why?”

Annalise shrugged, unable to meet the elder’s eyes. “I dunno. My parents – they lasted for four years after they gave into dark magic. They weren’t themselves after they lost it, y’know? I guess I’m sorry I made everyone else go through that too.”

Rosaline’s eyes had taken a sharp edge. “Your parents turned to dark magic?”

Lis cleared her throat, nodding. “Um…yeah. They started sacrificing people; vampires. They tried to sacrifice me too, but someone saved me. My parents died as a result.”

Rosaline nodded, but her eyes held more anger if it were possible. “They tried to sacrifice their own child?” She smirked lightly to herself. “It sounds as though the magic snapped back at them. They paid their price as they deserved.”

“They didn’t deserve to die.” Annalise clenched her teacup hard in her anger. “They were good people-”

“Who tried to kill you, and instead presumably left you to fend for yourself on an entirely different continent-”

“For a good reason.” Annalise didn’t realise how loud she was until silence permeated the air. She took a deep breath. “They tried to kill me to get their magic back, because they realised I didn’t deserve to live while they suffered. I deserved everything they did to me.”

Rosaline’s lips had flattened into a displeased line, and her brow was furrowed. “You were a mere child. The blame should not lie on your shoulders.”

“But it does.” Lis's voice cracked in confusion. Why was Rosaline defending her? “It always did. Don’t you remember? You were the head Elder and you kicked my parents, me, out of the coven because you blamed my powers. The blame for what happened to them lies with me, and only me. Why can’t you understand?”

Rosaline stared for a long moment as Annalise heaved trying to catch her breath after her desperate exclamation, and then kept staring as Lis discovered that she’d started crying somewhere along the discussion and quickly wiped at her face. When Rosaline spoke next, her voice wasn’t as cold, and her black eyes didn’t seem as hard. “Child, turning you and your family away in your time of need has haunted me since – it has, to this day, remained to be one of my greatest mistakes, overshadowed by only one other. I apologise for making you bear this burden.”

Despite the fact that it felt no longer like her and Rosaline was talking about the same thing, Lis sniffled and managed to shoot a shaky smile at the elder. “Thanks, I guess. That means something to me.” She sipped at her tea and cleared her throat. “But, um…I actually came to ask you about that day.” Annalise traced shapes into the tablecloth distractedly, “I don’t remember much, but I do remember you saying something. Something about someone called Silas.”

From her periphery, she noticed Rosaline stiffen. Annalise looked towards her inquiringly. “What did you mean when you said, and I'm just paraphrasing here; ‘It is written this girl would grow to become Silas’s right hand – this coven refuses to be associated with the likes of such dark magic’?”

The next time Rosaline lifted her cup to her lips, a tremor shook her limb. It took a few minutes for the elder to gather back her countenance once more. “When I look at you, I feel anger, hatred and disgust.”

Annalise swallowed back a lump in her throat and nodded, before Rosaline’s next words had her pausing. “I feel all of that, towards myself. Child, this guilt has taken up a large amount of my life, and I think it’s time to set myself free of this burden.” Rosaline drained her tea in one large gulp. “I mentioned before, that turning your family away was the second biggest mistake I’d ever made.” Her knuckles tightened around the fragile looking teacup. “You are the biggest.”

Lis turned that sentence over and over in her head...no, it wasn’t just her – it didn’t make sense. “What do you mean I was the biggest mistake you’d ever made?”

Rosaline sighed, and it seemed as though her steel spine caved, and she lost her strength. But her voice was still unrelentingly strong. “The coven has been dying out for a long time now, child. We have known about it for decades before you were born.” Rosaline’s wrinkled and weathered hands tapped out an unclear rhythm vaguely on the old journal. “As leader, you are sometimes forced to resort to...unsavoury measures to save everyone. This was one such instance.”

Rosaline pushed the old journal over to Annalise, staring at her with her head tilted. Her cold voice held little to no inflection as if she were disconnected from what she was talking about. “Your mother was of this coven; your father had journeyed from America. When he married into this coven, he handed over some of his family’s old possessions. This is one of them.”

Lis looked at the beautiful drawing on the front of the journal in new light, and touched it gently. She wasn’t surprised to feel magic permeate from the book into her fingertips as Rosaline continued. “This book was clearly powerful – but it is written in ancient Greek. Another elder and I, we translated a single page – to the best of our ability. What we found, was immeasurably valuable.”

“What did you find?” Lis whispered lowly, watching the dull lamp to their side flicker the tiniest amount, casting them in darkness for a split second.

“A spell; to grant a child of the family line access to an insurmountable amount of magic. Old magic. The magic of a deity.”

A choked gasp escaped her. “What?”

Rosaline chuckled humourlessly. “It was as if the gods were smiling down on us – your parents announced their pregnancy a few months later, and we knew the time was right, we would never get another opportunity like this. Imagine that – a powerful child would contribute so much to our coven, to our collective magic, and become our salvation. It’s a pity your mother refused to undergo the ritual.”

What?

A pressure was building up behind Annalise’s eyes and she clenched her fingers together tightly. Dully, she noticed the wind outside was unnaturally battering at the windows of the old house, disturbing the once tranquil quiet of the night. She didn't want to disturb the quiet any further, so she found herself whispering. “What did you do?” 

Rosaline’s mouth set grimly. “I did what I thought was best for my coven, my people. We drugged her, performed the ritual, and put her back in bed, as if nothing had ever happened. Your parents were none the wiser.”

The wilted flowers in the vase next to her straightened, blossomed and grew, and shadows grew larger across the floor. Rosaline watched on, looking only faintly interested as Lis felt herself growl. “You performed a ritual on a pregnant woman without her consent?”

The elder smirked dully and shrugged one shoulder. “We’ve done worse.”

The teacup in Annalise’s hand cracked; the ceramic splinters dug into her palm as she clenched them tighter, trying to keep her surge of magic down.

Fuck, she was losing control. Annalise breathed through her emotion as Kol had suggested one afternoon – letting it flow through her, forcing the tsunami of emotions to dull and weaken into a pliable stream; concentrating on imaging herself in her room with him coaching her softly next to her. She swore she heard wind chimes as she remembered. 

When she opened her eyes once more, Elder Rosaline’s lips lifted at the corners, just for a second before falling flat into a line. “Seems you have control. Maybe turning you away was my biggest mistake after all. You would’ve been a wonderful addition to the coven.” Annalise glared at the old witch, the with just lifted an eyebrow at her before gesturing to the book gripped in Lis’s hands.

“We did believe we did the right thing for a while after you were born. You held a great deal of promise – but when you healed that poor girl with the broken spine – we knew we were too far out of our depth, that we’d meddled with forces we knew too little about.” 

Rosaline gestured to the journal. “We managed to get another few paragraphs of the book translated – it talked about the child’s connection to Silas. The more we read, the more our horror grew, and in our panic, we believed that we’d trapped a dark demon in a child. My fear and guilt at what we’d done to your family stuck with me that day as we exiled them." Annalise felt her nails dig into her palms as Rosaline continued detachedly once more. "You’re right. They were good people – we were the bad. It took a long time after the coven fell apart and I was left magic-less to realise that. So...I do apologise, child, for the suffering my decisions have caused.”

No. No, it doesn't make sense. This had to be some lie, some bullshit trick. Annalise furrowed her brow in anger. “Well, why would you tell me now? How do I know that-that you’re not lying?”

Rosaline let out a weary sigh before straightening back into her strict posture. “What need would I have to fabricate such a complex lie? Anymore answers you seek about your condition are in that journal. As for right now,” She gingerly swivelled her cup in her saucer. “I’m dying, child. I have been dying for a long time. I had resorted to dying with the guilt that has stayed with me for the last thirteen years, but seeing you today, the hatred and disgust I hold towards myself increased tenfold. You now know my truth, and I have now found my peace.”

As Annalise stared at the Elder with tears of disbelief brimming her eyes, Rosaline hummed under her breath in a pleased manner and stared back at Annalise with her cold eyes once more. “I believe this visit has come to an end. Please, let yourself out.”

Annalise sniffed once, then flipped her the bird before blinking out of existence in a flash of light.

Rosaline raised an eyebrow and smirked. Maybe the girl would survive after all.

-

The stars shone at her comfortingly as she trudged along the familiar footpath of her university; the lawns were pristine and manicured, looking beautiful and deserted in the moonlight. She approached the sliding door and teleported inside the library familiarly like it was second nature. It kind of was, at this point. She’d memorised where all the security cameras were, scoped out the darkest corners of each room; this had once been her second home.

There were a few people in the library, hunched over tables under lamp lights, clearly working hard for exams. Low murmurs filled the silence, along with the relatively loud sounds of flipping pages. 

Annalise walked past the familiar environment almost catatonically; approaching a computer in the corner then logging on to the magic forum online. There was a feature on it she had once used quite often in her degree – a translator. So many old texts had been written in Latin, old Czech, and sometimes Ancient Greek, so it had been a inexplicably handy tool. Lis didn't appreciate it as much as she normally would as she gingerly spread open the journal and started typing the words written on its fragile pages – she had a basic understanding of the language, so she was able to type what the symbols represented. All the algorithm had to do was decipher the sounds that the words made, then translate that into English.

She typed continuously for the next hour – it was a small book, but the words had aged, and some weren’t very legible. Lis then had to wait until the program deciphered everything. Her eyelids fluttered in exhaustion. 

Annalise hadn’t realised that she’d fallen asleep until the computer beeped to signal that the translations were complete. She tiredly clicked print and squinted at the first rays of sunlight just peeking over the horizon. It would still be night-time in America.

She walked wearily over to the printer, pushing her glasses up on the top of her head and rubbing the grit away from the corners of her eyes, before collecting the small pile of papers and casually logged out of everything systematically by habit, before moving her glasses back down and scanning the first few pages of the 5 double page document, mumbling to herself. “Huh, ‘Thrylos tis Gaia’…the 'Legend of Gaia'.” She let out a small bark of laughter and rolled her eyes. “Ominous.”

Her laughter however, disappeared from her face the next instant, she straightened as her eyes wildly swept from side-to-side, taking in the loosely translated book.

“No fucking way…” The next instant, she had grabbed the original journal and disappeared from existence, leaving nothing behind but a wildly swivelling office chair.

-

Annalise appeared in the kitchen of the Mansion, not expecting to find Rebekah and Kol paired off in a strange stalemate – Rebekah pressing a silver dagger to Kol’s chest, and Kol hovering the indestructible white oak stake threateningly over his sister.

Her sudden arrival had made both of them pause and look towards her, allowing her time to push the two siblings away from each other with an annoyed scowl. “What the hell are you two doing?”

Both Kol and Bekah glowered at each other – “Ask her, she was just about to dagger me for ensuring that Silas won’t be raised.”

Rebekah used the ashed silver dagger in her hand to gesture threateningly at Kol. “Me? I wasn’t the one who nearly ruined our one chance at getting the cure – and you’re one to talk. Kol, you were about to stake me.”

Nik blurred into the room opposite Lis, clearly having heard the commotion and looking as annoyed as she was feeling. “Enough of this foolishness, everyone, weapons down.”

Lis didn’t miss the blank look Nik passed her as she ran a hand through her hair in frustration, watching the two siblings slowly stand down from pointing dangerous weapons at each other. She offhandedly realised it was the first time that they’d been in a room together since the whole incident with the medallion – only this time they were united in their annoyance towards his siblings.

Annalise huffed tiredly. “What? I leave for a couple hours, and you’re at each other’s throats? What happened?”

Nik reached, pulling the dagger out of Rebekah’s hand forcefully before trying to do the same with Kol – only Kol secured the stake inside his jacket before Nik could grab it. Nik glared at him, before turning to Annalise, looking very much like he was tattling on his little brother. “What you missed, Lissie, was Kol compelling Damon to kill my hunter, after killing all the vampires I turned for the sole reason of completing the map.”

Lis looked between the two of them in disbelief, her voice cracked. “What? Killed? How many- I-”

Rebekah seemed to take pity on her as she stuttered. “Nik killed and turned an entire bar of humans – Kol killed them after their transition. Family always disappoints, Lissie, best learn that now, and join my team.”

Annalise exhaled shakily and shut her eyes in frustration. “Team? That’s what this is to you? A giant game, where the prize is the big cure?! That’s what you’re all killing people for? Destroying yourselves over?!"

 Nik scoffed at her, smirking. “Well, I happen to have my reasons-”

“I know, okay? You have your bullshit reasons, and you won’t tell them to me, that sunk in when you tortured me for a week." Annalise hissed straight back in retaliation. She felt Kol shift closer to her, brushing his arm against hers in silent support. Nik looked away as if in shame, but Lis didn’t feel guilty, not this time. Her voice turned sad. 

“Nik, you need to tell us what’s going on, work with us. Turning to strangers, turning more fucking hybrids and making deals with shady-ass people won’t help you. Accepting us, and not pushing us away, will.”  

“And you,” She turned raising a finger at Rebekah. “I know that you want the cure for yourself, I really do, Bekah. I wish you all the happiness in the world; but this isn’t the way to go about it. I’ll help, just please, don’t turn on each other.”

Her head pounded, as she finally turned to Kol. “Strangely enough, the only thing I have to say to you, is pretty standard at this point. Stop going on fucking murder sprees. Please.”

Kol shook his head, “No, you don’t understand. I told you before, I killed them because I needed to stop Silas-”

“From rising - yeah, I know. I heard you the first time. Despite how you went about it, Silas not rising is the one thing I agree with right now.”

Nik immediately protested, gesturing wildly. “Lissie, you can’t tell me you trust a bad bedtime story and a few theories from Kol.”

“I do. I have proof.”

The room was engulfed in a sudden silence, and Lis swayed on her feet lightly from utter exhaustion. It seemed all three siblings noticed the bundle of papers and the book clutched in her hand tightly, and how pale she looked. Kol looked at her worriedly, steadying her by her arm gently. “Darling? What exactly did you find in Australia?”

She rubbed her eyes as they filled with tears. “I found answers, Kol; and everything is fucking connected.”

Nik moved closer to her; he softly spoke as if she were about to break. “Tell us what you know, Lissie.”

Sighing she gestured to the chairs at the table. “You might wanna sit down for this.”

As soon as the Mikaelson family was seated, Lis started explaining in a dull tone.

“It was when that Shane guy said Silas, the name, it- it felt so familiar. Then Kol confirmed it – he said 'when Silas rises, so will the dead'. I just couldn’t place where I’d heard it before...until it just clicked. I'd heard it as a child in the coven that kicked my family out. I avoided that place like a plague when I was doing my degree – they were shit people, and I wanted nothing more to do with them.” 

Kol’s jaw ticked, but he restrained himself from speaking.

“When I visited this time, I learnt that only one elder – this old woman called Rosaline – was still left at the community. Everyone else was gone. Turns out that my coven’s magic died out, so they’d just spread out everywhere. But they’d always known they were gonna die out; so as their last attempt to grow powerful, twenty years ago, they decided they were gonna do something about it – they created me.” 

Rebekah frowned, and voiced the question all three siblings seemed to want to ask. “Created you? What do you mean?”

Lis chuckled dully and rubbed at her forehead. “I mean exactly that, Bekah. As it turned out, they performed a ritual on my unknowing pregnant mother – a ritual that was said to bless an unborn child of my family line with the powers of a deity.”

All three Originals straightened – Lis could see visibly how Nik’s brain was kicked into override, thinking of all the consequences of her power. She sighed.

“At first, the elders thought they had saved the coven, but when they saw me use my powers? They thought they’d made the worst mistake of their lives. In order to cover up the fact that they messed with my mother’s pregnancy and gave them what everyone thought was an unintentionally dark magic child, my family was kicked out.”

Rebekah moved closer and held Annalise’s hand in silent support. She smiled briefly at her friend. “That’s all Rosaline explained – she said she wanted to die with a clear conscience; but she did give me the old grimoire they got the spell from – the one that made me the way I am. I had to spend a couple hours translating it – it was only a few pages, but it was in Ancient Greek – ‘Thrylos tis Gaia’.”

Nik leaned closer. “That’s what Finn called you, when you died. He called you Gaia.” As Lis nodded slightly in his direction, she saw Kol frown to himself. She gave it little thought, but continued.

“It had a story of warning, one that my coven Elders ignored in favour of getting more powerful via me. It talked about two sisters. The elder sister; Gaia, she was a witch at one with nature. She was receptive towards it in a way no one before her was; she was considered incredibly outgoing, gifted, but she hated using her magic – the book said that she felt almost guilty; drawing on the energy of nature that wasn’t her own.”

“Gaia’s younger sister was similar, but also different. She had her head in the clouds – and she loved to daydream. It was said that she was in fact a powerful seer – but no one believed she was, because she, unlike her sister, kept to herself, and didn’t use her powers much at all. She was a recluse.”

“The story then went on to mention Gaia’s friends, Silas and Qetsiyah. They had all been incredibly powerful sorcerers – roughly 2000 years ago; the coven they belonged to - it used magic without limits. Gaia had been starting to pull away from practicing this magic. Her best friend, Silas, didn’t mind – he’d long since accepted her as an oddity. From what I could translate from a variation of ancient Greek, Qetsiyah was deep in love with Silas; the two were engaged to be married. But neither Gaia nor Qetsiyah knew that Silas was secretly in love with Qetsiyah’s handmaid, Amara.”

Kol smirked, leaning backwards in his chair. “Scandalous.”

Annalise couldn’t help but smirk fondly as she rolled her eyes at him. “Sure, Kol. Anyway, apparently Silas lied, and manipulated Qetsiyah. He said he wanted to be with Qetsiyah forever and that he wanted her help to make them a potion of Immortality that they would drink on their wedding day. When the day came, however, Gaia and Qetsiyah found that Silas and Amara had taken the potion together and had become the world’s first Immortal Beings. As nature always need something to balance it out – the mortal shadow selves of Amara and Silas were created to balance out their immortality; doppelgangers.”

Nik’s eyebrows were raised high – “The first doppelgangers? So Amara was the Original Katerina Petrova.”

Annalise nodded slowly. “I think so. But that’s not all. Qetsiyah was livid, so naturally she created the cure for immortality, forced Amara to take it, and killed her, sending her to the mortal Afterlife. I think. The translations were a little cryptic around that part.” Lis shrugged, moving on. “Gaia, despite feeling deceived at Silas’s secret, still came to his aid against Qetsiyah – and Qetsiyah in turn felt further betrayed by the one person that she thought was on her side in all this; so in a fit of anger, she threw Gaia back...buried her alive. Her last words to her bound her fate – ‘Die protecting your precious Immortals.’”

“Silas was understandably devastated; he’d lost both his true love and his best friend to Qetsiyah. So, he hunted her, not knowing she was luring him into a trap. Qetsiyah eventually entombed him with the cure, and gave him a choice – take the cure and be with her, or suffer for eternity.”

“Talk about a woman scorned.” Nik crossed his arms smugly.

As Rebekah rolled her eyes at Nik; Lis continued as if there hadn't been an interruption.

“Out of spite for Qetsiyah for killing his loved ones, he refused – so Qetsiyah created The Other Side – a purgatory for supernaturals, separate to the Afterlife for mortals. This way, even if Silas eventually takes the cure and dies, he’d be sent to the Other Side to be with Qetsiyah, not to the Afterlife where Amara waits for him because she died a mortal death. Apparently Silas still lays desiccated to this day in that tomb clutching that cure – when the time is right he would rise, and he’d enlist Gaia’s help to destroy the Veil separating the worlds, merging them together, so when he finally does die, he’d be reunited with Amara in the Afterlife once more.”

Annalise sighed and sagged back tiredly in her chair. “The script ended saying that the story had been recounted by Gaia’s little recluse sister; named Caelesti. She had watched Gaia defend Silas with her life; and as her sister lay dying, suffocating in the dirt – she had wanted her sacrifice to mean something. So Caelesti performed a ritual – she didn’t want her beloved sister to be in the Other Side purgatory forever, so she fulfilled Gaia’s dying wish; to give back, and to be returned to the same earth she took from – bound to it. Her soul bound to nature, just as nature bound to her.”

“What does that mean?” Kol frowned.

Lis handed him the journal and the papers tiredly, then spoke, watching him shuffle through the papers gingerly. “Well, if I’m reading everything right, it means that just as it’s Qetsiyah who bound the magic to something that holds the Other Side open, it’s Gaia’s sacrifice that expanded nature in a weird way – enabled the supernatural to occupy it – hell, enabled Silas to occupy it, then...I guess eventually you guys too. It's Gaia's sacrifice that Esther tapped in to make you Immortals. Caelesti ended the story by saying that they will all rise again; all but Gaia. Instead, a descendant, chosen to bear Gaia’s burden instead would be granted her power; her sacrifice.”

“Lissie, how does this involve you?” Rebekah sounded utterly terrified for her.

Annalise reached for the last piece of paper and thrust it exhaustedly in Rebekah’s direction. “My last name, Caelis, is a derivative of Caelesti. I’m a true descendent – and somehow I met Nik, who just happened to bring me to Mystic Falls where I’m scripted by fate to be, alongside the descendent of Qetsiyah; Bonnie Bennett, and the doppelganger of Amara – Elena who just can’t seem to catch a break, and whoever the fuck Silas's doppelganger is. Fuck, guys. This is what I meant. Everything’s fucking connected.”

Chapter Text

The chiming of the decorative grandfather clock standing in the hallway just outside the kitchen echoed in the silence left behind after Annalise’s admission. 

Unsure, she peered between three of the oldest beings in the world, the incredulity that marked their faces, and felt guilt rise to her throat. She swallowed heavily. This wasn’t their mess. Annalise couldn't do anything other than sigh. “I’m sorry. This is my problem and I’m just dragging you guys along with me. I understand if you want me to leave.”

Nik was stoic, face firm and unyielding like stone, before he exhaled. His lips tugged into his usual charming smirk, one that was warm and fond and brought her no small amount of relief. His head dipped consideringly, as if reassuring her. “Not at all, Lissie. If anything, I’d say that I did the dragging, didn’t I?”  

Her lips lifted gently in reflex at the fond and laughable reminder of the day they first met; and for the first time since that torture bullshit he pulled on her, it was easier to look him in the eyes. Despite the casual air he wore, Annalise knew that his mind was working a mile a minute trying to figure out how this was going to affect him and his family. It was a survival instinct built on a literal millennia of being hunted. She couldn’t fault him for it. 

Rebekah was outwardly skeptical. "So Silas is an immortal buried with the cure, and he plans to merge this world and the Other Side together, so he can die in peace and be reunited with his long-lost love?" She looked between her brothers and Lis with doubt and a small touch of disbelief. It wasn't hard to see where she was coming from, but that didn’t stop Annalise from feeling disheartened, especially when she had received acceptance from Nik of all people. "Am I missing anything?”

Kol lifted his hand up in the air as if he were at school,  and smiled sarcastically wide with derision. “Just the parts where Silas enlists Lis’s help to do so, and that she’s to be involved in a sacrifice somewhere along the way. Now more than ever, sister, you must see that you can’t let him rise.” 

Lis laid a hand on his shoulder gently before turning to Rebekah. “Bekah, does this change anything for you? Does it make you want the cure any less?”

Her friend looked away with a frown, but her silence was answer enough. Kol’s shoulder stiffened under her hand in anger. “So that’s it? You’d place your selfish, baseless desires before your friend, and the entire world , sister.”

Annalise subconsciously squeezed his fist on the table; Kol's hand was bigger than hers, even clenched as it was, and his white knuckles peeked between her spread fingers. Whether the action was as calming as she'd hoped was debatable. She didn’t let herself linger too long, her head heavy with thoughts of the grim days ahead. 

To Rebekah, she shrugged in understanding. “It’s okay, Bekah. If your choice remains unchanged in the light of all this new information, that means Elena and her friends won’t stop looking, and Shane won’t either. All we can do is damage control at this point. We can make sure there’s a safe way to grab the cure without waking Silas.”

The compromise was clearly favourable to Rebekah, who's smile was pleased and more than what Annalise could have hoped for. Now it was just Nik that was left. Lis turned to him. “I know by now you’ve probably got a thousand things planned, but this is bigger than us. Please – promise me that we’ll all work together to get to the cure carefully in light of all this new information?”

Nik looked at his siblings before relaxing backwards in his chair with an easy grin, arm thrown over the back of the vacant kitchen chair beside him. “That’s fine by me, it’s them you need to consider.”

Lis glared at him lightly before looking at both Rebekah and Kol. “Well? Can you guys play nice and not try to kill each other for the time being because we’re all on the same page now?”

Rebekah and Kol exchanged a sour glance before Kol grinned sardonically. It was that familiar, menacing type of grin that he was most known for. “I’m still against Silas rising, but now you know that he is real, I’m sure we can eventually reach the conclusion that the cure isn’t worth it.”

Lis put her head in her hands tiredly. “Well, at least that isn’t a downright no. Good enough for me. Bekah?”

The girl pursed her lips, before acquiescing. “I’m still going after the cure, but I’ll be careful, and keep everyone involved. Promise me you won’t take this away from me.”

Annalise passed a small smile towards her. “We won’t Beks. Promise. Just, keep us in the loop, yeah?”

“Done. Now we’re all agreed. I’m going to go back home for the night.” With one last fleeting smile, Rebekah stood up. Lis waved her goodbye, but Rebekah merely passed a short glance to both brothers before vamp-speeding out of the house .  

Well...that was a bit abrupt.  

As Annalise looked questioningly in the direction Rebekah had gone, Nik prudently updated her. “Rebekah has gotten awfully cosy with Stefan; I believe they were the team she was talking about earlier. No doubt she’s gone to tell my former ripper everything that’s just transpired.” Lis stiffened at Nik’s casual statement. 

Nik's eyes widened when he realised his mistake, made even clearer by a dark glare from Kol. Nik sat up straighter, bringing his arms down to rest on the table as he leant forward, his gaze sincere . “Lissie.” His hands clasped together as he inhaled sharply. “ I should take this opportunity to say I took advantage of your trauma and used him to immobilise you. I-” 

He was trying, wasn’t he. That meant more to her than just words. Annalise softened at Nik’s almost awkwardly formal posture, interrupting him. “No, you just needed to exercise control over all your little variables – I understand. But that doesn’t excuse the fact that you hurt me, Nik.” Okay, no. Her tone, which had started understanding and pleasant enough, had become increasingly exasperated the more she spoke about it. Nik's subtle earnest expression began to shutter closed . She had meant to forgive Nik, not go off at him, so she awkwardly reached out to pat his clasped hands lightly before retreating. “ I accept your apology, I do. Thank you. But you’re gonna have to continue to work towards becoming my best friend again.”

Nik nodded, first as if just for the sake of nodding, and then again like he meant it. His relieved smile was a small thing, but when he stood up and took his leave, his eyes were brighter than they'd once been . Kol and Lis were left sitting at the table in silence. Annalise strangely couldn’t think of anything to say to fill the silence despite seeing the inner turmoil that clung to Kol’s still stiff shoulders. 

It wasn’t long until they both stood as if by unspoken agreement, but even then, the silence lingered as the pair made their way up to Annalise’s room. There was a lot on his mind, she could tell. She liked to think that she knew him enough by now to understand his silences, and easily assumed he would tell her when would under the privacy spells in her room. She was proven right, for once they entered, Kol spoke up quietly from behind her. “Do you believe it? That it was fate that brought you here, to Mystic Falls? To die?”

Annalise thought about it for a long moment as she made herself comfortable at the end of her bed. Kol sat quietly next to her. The bed dipped, making her lean slightly towards him. Kol didn't look at her, instead he stared resolutely forward, awaiting her answer . She looked down instead, noticing how her feet just barely skimmed the floor below her, and how Kol’s were planted firmly on the ground, sunk comfortably into the plush carpet.

She huffed, picking at a thread on her sweater. “People hate it, don’t they, when sometimes it doesn’t matter what you choose to do, because all roads lead to the same destination anyway?” Annailse felt a bone-deep weariness hit her from her emotional rollercoaster of the day, and found herself flat on her back on the bed, with her legs still hanging off the side, and her hair splaying  around her head. Annalise frowned as she stared at her ceiling.

 “People think fate is this unbending path that you’re set to be on for eternity. They think of it as a- a prison ; being bound to a destiny you have no say in. But,” she sighed as Kol lay down silently next to her, making the bed dip once more, drawing their shoulders together like magnets. “I don’t think I mind too much. I’d like to think I’ve always made my own decisions – done what I thought was best.  Even if those choices were pre-determined, it’s still me who made them. And I’d make the same choices again if I had to. If my fate is a construction of the results of my decisions, then it's just the future isn’t it? No point finding something else to blame. It’s all on me, and I’ll deal with what follows.” 

Kol shifted toward her, and when she turned her head to look at him, as he was already staring at her with furrowed brows and contradictory quirk to his lips, like he wasn't quite sure whether he was amused, or rather bemused by her rambling spie l . His eyes were still annoyingly, impossibly, dark. It was the kind of dark that warned fishermen of deadly deep seas ahead. The kind that people drowned in. 

“Shane was right.”

She chuckled slightly, feeling strangely out of breath and displaced. “Of course that lunatic was right, he was under the effects of the truth spell – he had to reveal Silas existed.”

Kol stared at her for a moment longer, the expression on his face was one she couldn't decipher. She felt, oddly, as if maybe she'd misunderstood him. Suddenly curious, she frowned back. Kol shook his head and his faint smile dimmed. “Why didn’t you ever tell me that Finn found out what you were? That you were this...‘ Gaia ’?”