"Where is she?" Elijah asked Nat as he entered their room. Nat shut her eyes for a moment before turning around and looking at him in confusion.
"Huh?"
"Hayley. Where is she?" Elijah asked her as he walked closer.
"What do you mean? Isn't she in her room?" Nat acted dumb, knowing perfectly well where the werewolf was. He narrowed his eyes and Nat frowned.
"She's gone from her room." Nat's eyes widened slightly and she looked at the door in confusion. "Natalia. Do you know where she is?"
"I don't!" She exclaimed defensively and he raised an eyebrow.
"What happened after we left yesterday?"
"We just talked for a while and then she left for her room. She said she was tired and wanted to sleep, so she left."
"And what did you do?"
"What do you- why am I being questioned?" She asked him defensively and she shrugged.
"You were the last to see her before she disappeared."
"I came here and fell asleep after some time, Elijah. I don't know where she went." She snapped before walking out of the room. She heard him sigh and then she heard footsteps behind her.
"I'm sorry." She ignored him as she headed to Klaus' room, but before she could enter, he grabbed her arm and turned her around. "I'm sorry. I'm not blaming you. I just-"
"I know." Nat cut him off and he looked at her. "You're on edge because of Bekah and Marcel. We'll fix this, okay?" He nodded and let go of her arm. Nat walked inside the room and walked towards the bed, seeing Klaus lying shirtless with his eyes closed and gasping softly in pain. She looked at him sadly and raised a hand, brushing some hair from his forehead.
"This was all him." Elijah said quietly and Nat sighed before turning back to him. "I need to find Monique Deveraux."
"What for?"
"She may know where Celeste is."
"You think she has Hayley?" Nat asked as he tried to keep calm. Celeste didn't have Hayley, it was the other way round.
"It wouldn't surprise me. She is determined to destroy this family and Hayley is the perfect target for that." Elijah muttered and Nat nodded slowly. "Which is why you need to call Camille and tell her to get here as fast as she can."
"What for?"
"She seems to be the only one to keep him at bay." Elijah pointed at his brother. "She may be able to convince him to not go after Rebekah." Nat nodded in realization as she got her phone out.
"On it." She called the blonde human and waited a few seconds until she picked up.
"Nat?"
"Hey, Cami. I, uh... I need you to come to the compound as soon as possible."
"Why? What's going on?" Cami asked in confusion and Nat looked at Elijah, but he shook his head.
"Just come quickly. I'll explain when you get here, okay?" Cami sighed before hanging up. Elijah walked out of the room and Nat followed him as he headed to the study. He started going through the bookshelves, looking for a book presumably. "What are you looking for?"
"Celeste will only keep jumping into different bodies." He told her as he grabbed one of Esther's grimoires and placed it on the desk. "I can't let that happen again, so I'm going to have Monique Deveraux cast a spell to stop her once and for all."
"I can do it. Why do you need Monique?" Nat asked him as he flipped through the grimoire looking for the spell.
"I need her to do it so she can trust me. If you do it, the witches will retaliate, thinking that we murdered one of their own. They have to see it, they have to believe it." Elijah explained and Nat nodded. He finally stopped near the end of the grimoire and ripped out a page before folding it and placing it on his jacket pocket. "Camille is here." Both of them quickly went to the balcony and found the blonde rushing into the compound, the other vampires glancing at her in confusion.
"Cami!" Nat called out ot her and gestured for her to come upstairs. Cami quickly climbed the stairs and looked between Elijah and Nat in concern.
"Why did you call me? Have you found a way to help my uncle?"
"I'm trying, but first, we need your help." Nat told her calmly but Cami frowned.
"I don't have time for games, Nat. The hex on him is getting worse by the day." Nat was about to speak, but Elijah stopped her.
"My brother has a mystical torture device buried in his chest and the mother of his child is inexplicably missing. So, I can assure you, we have no time to play any games, either." Cami's face became serious and she nodded.
"What do you need me to do?" Nat beckoned for her to follow and they led the human towards Klaus' room. Once they were inside, Cami looked at Klaus in shock and then turned to Nat. "The dagger the witch gave me is inside of him?" She asked as Elijah removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeve.
"And every second it remains causes Niklaus untold suffering." Elijah confirmed as he walked closer to the nightstand.
"Who stabbed him?" Cami asked in confusion and Elijah sighed.
"I did, and now I intend to remove it. You might want to take a step back." He instructed and the blonde did as he said. She then looked at Nat with a mixture of shock and confusion.
"Why am I here?"
"Because of all the people that could be here, you're probably the only one he wouldn't immediately slaughter." Elijah replied calmly as he grabbed a scalpel and sliced into Klaus, along the red scar bisecting his chest. He then jammed his fist into the open wound, Klaus grunting in pain as Elijah grabbed the blade. "Also, he speaks of you with what is a rare degree- for him, at least- of respect. I can see you challenge him to see himself and others in a new light." He finally pulled the blade out of Klaus' chest and the latter groaned.
"Agh!" He yelled in agony and Nat looked at him sadly.
"A wonderful skill that I shall be counting on very shortly. You see, Niklaus will be weak as he recovers. So, watch over him and feed him, if you would. But slowly, please, and from your wrist." Elijah instructed as Nat wiped the blood of his hands with a rag.
"Don't you guys have bags of blood in storage?"
"We do, but your blood is laced with vervain. So, it will burn him. He'll ingest it slower. Perhaps you could use the time constructively? Persuade him not to murder his baby sister." Nat rolled her eyes, knowing that not even Cami could persuade him. Elijah turned to Klaus and looked at him with a pained expression. "Niklaus, it was not my desire to bring you pain, but I will not see you hurt Rebekah." He then turned to Cami. "Now, I fear Sabine will be making a final move against us. I intend to find her and end this." Nat bit her lip nervously, hoping that Hayley could get her to break the curse before Elijah found them.
"Elijah. You will pay for this." Klaus whispered weakly. Elijah looked away before leaving the room, Nat and Cami staring at him as he left.
"What now?" Cami asked Nat and she shrugged.
"Keep an eye on him." Nat pointed at Klaus. "I need to make a call." Cami looked at her suspiciously but nodded. Nat smiled at her before rushing to her room, calling Hayley on the way.
"Hey. What's up?" The werewolf asked as soon as she answered.
"Did you get anything out of her?" Nat asked quietly, not wanting anyone to eavesdrop on her conversation. "Elijah is worried about you, he thinks Celeste has you."
"More like I have her." Hayley retorted and Nat rolled her eyes. "But, she said she cursed the pack and..."
"And what?"
"She's making the cure." Nat's brows furrowed at that.
"What? Just like that?"
"Yeah."
"I don't trust her. I'm going there." Nat told her, determination clear in her tone as she grabbed her jacket.
"Nat-"
"No, Hayley. Elijah says that she's way too deep in this whole revenge thing. I won't let anything happen to you." Nat told her before hanging up and walking out of the room.
"Here." Celeste told Hayley as she handed her a jar filled with some mix. "It's herbs ground into paste. It'll act as a conduit for the spell. On the next full moon, your people become human. Feed it to them, the curse will be broken." Celeste explained as Nat walked up to them.
"Great way to poison them all at once." She said out loud and Celeste turned to her, rolling her eyes when she noticed her coming towards them. Nat stood in front of the witch and glared at her.
"Look. I know you have no reason to trust me, but, Natalia, I actually like you and admire you. I was you, caring for Elijah when he cared more for his brother and I ended up dead. So did a lot of others." Nat raised an eyebrow at her words. "That, call it a chance for me to give Hayley what I was too in love to give myself. It's a chance to free yourself from the Originals. And if you're smart, which I know you are, you'll free yourself too."
"Nice try, but I've already been there and I've done that." Celeste frowned at her words. "I've already died for them and I don't regret it." Nat told her before turning to Hayley and Eve.
"You believe her?" Eve asked Hayley and she looked at the jar in her hands. Suddenly, a wolf growled behind them.
"Whatever she's promised you, it's a lie." Elijah said from behind Nat and she shut her eyes for a moment before turning to him. He looked at her in disbelief and she smiled sheepishly.
"Elijah, it's okay. I'm okay." Hayley assured him when she noticed the looks he and Nat exchanged.
"She cannot be trusted." He told the werewolf, referring to Celeste.
"She's the only one that can help my pack."
"Do you have any idea what she has done to our family?"
"I know you want revenge, and come the next full moon, when I'm sure her cure works, she's all yours." Hayley told him and Nat looked between the two, feeling the tension rising over their difference of opinions.
"Are you suggesting that we hold her- her- captive for an entire month? It would take an army." Elijah said loudly and Hayley glared at him.
"And I've got one." The wolves howled in agreement and Nat looked around in amazement. "So help me or get out of my way." Elijah paused only for a moment before grabbing Celeste and rushing to grab the mason jar, vanishing with her. Nat and Hayley gasped as he left, the latter growling in frustration. "Damn it!"
"He'll be back." Nat told her and she sighed.
"What if he threw away the cure, huh?" Hayley asked angrily and Nat remained silent, knowing that it was very possible he had done it.
"We can't think like that." Hayley shut her eyes before sitting down on a log. "And if he really threw it away, I'll make sure Celeste prepares another one, okay?"
"How? Elijah will never trust her."
"Just... trust me." Nat told her softly as she sat down next to her. Eve looked at them for a moment before going back to the encampments.
"I do trust you." The werewolf told her and Nat glanced at her. "I mean, you've done a lot for me ever since you came to New Orleans. When you found out that I was pregnant - with your ex's child, nonetheless - you did everything to protect me." Nat smiled at that. "You've defended me and you've been my friend. You even went as far as risking your life so Jackson could live." Nat looked behind Hayley and found Jackson in his wolf form, looking at her as if saying thank you. "And now, you even risked Elijah getting seriously mad at you to help me and my pack."
"Hayley, if I was in your place, I would love to meet my family too. And right now, you have a chance to do it, so yeah, I'm gonna help you."
"Even if it means going against your boyfriend?" Hayley asked in a small voice and Nat looked down at her fiddling hands.
"It won't come to that." Suddenly, footsteps were heard and both girls looked up, seeing Elijah and Celeste approaching them, the former with the mason jar in his hands.
"You came back." Nat said as they got up from the log.
"I'll always come back." He told her as he left Celeste by the tree and walked towards them. "Take it. It will work." Elijah told Hayley before handing her the jar. She took it and smiled at him thankfully.
"Eve and I will round up as many of our people as we can. Come full moon, I can finally free my family." She said excitedly before turning to Nat. "Thank you." She threw her arms around her and Nat hugged her tightly.
"Go." Hayley turned around to leave, but Elijah stopped her.
"Hayley, I wonder if they have any idea how lucky they are to have you." She smiled at him and glanced at Nat.
"I wonder if you have any idea how lucky you are to have Nat." Is all she said before walking back to the encampments with Jackson. Nat looked at them go before turning to Elijah shyly.
"I'm sorry."
"You lied to me." He told her quietly and she sighed. "But I understand why you did it." She looked up at him in surprise and he grabbed the side of her face before planting a kiss on her forehead.
"Mmm. That was so touching, such a chaste, little kiss." Celeste interrupted their moment and Nat scowled as they turned to her. "The Elijah I knew was never so meek."
"Did it ever occur to you that you never knew him?" Nat asked angrily as she stomped towards her, but Elijah held her back.
"Well, the Celeste I knew was never so cruel." He said once Nat was by his side. "What is it that you want? What's your endgame?"
"Oh, this game never ends, Elijah. We're both immortal, you know."
"Then what's the point if you can't possibly win?" Elijah asked suspiciously and she smirked at him.
"But I have. Your family lies in ruins despite your desperate attempts to save it."
"My family, despite all that you have done, will heal in time." Elijah said confidently and Nat nodded.
"If you had time, maybe. But, do you really think Rebekah ran far and fast from here? I bet she didn't."
"She's long gone." Nat said and Celeste raised an eyebrow.
"Is she? She's with Marcel. Now, Marcel loves Davina. Davina is dead, but she could come back under the right circumstances." Nat paled at those words, knowing that it was very possible.
"They wouldn't dare." Elijah shook his head slowly, refusing to believe the words coming out of Celeste's mouth.
"If you hadn't been so worried about Hayley, you might have figured it out sooner. But, you know who did have the time to think about it? Your brother. I wonder what he'll do." Celeste told him in a taunting voice. Nat grabbed her pendant and raised her hand towards the other witch. Immediately, Celeste groaned loudly as Nat glared at her, but before she could continue, Elijah rushed towards Celeste and grabbed her by the neck, his fangs coming out. "Do it." She dared him and Nat stared at him. Without hesitation, he bit into her neck and viciously fed on her.
"You are jealous." Elijah noted as they drove away from the Bayou, Celeste on the back unconscious still. Nat looked at him and then rolled her eyes.
"I'm not jealous." He glanced at her from the corner of his eye and she noticed his lips twitching. "Fine. I'm a bit jealous."
"Why? I don't love her."
"You once did." Nat said quietly as she looked out the window. "And she still has a hold on you."
"The only reason I'm here, after her, is because she means to destroy my family. Our family." Nat snapped her head towards him and he smiled at her. "I won't let that happen."
"We won't let that happen." Nat assured him and he grabbed her hand, raising it to his lips and kissing it softly. "If she's right about Bekah and Marcel, they must be at the cemetery." Nat said after a moment.
"We were heading there already. I'll have a talk with Celeste and Monique, you look for them, alright?" Nat nodded and exhaled quietly, nervous about how everything would turn out. After a few minutes, they arrived at the cemetery and Nat quickly got out of the car, entering the cemetery and heading towards Davina's family tomb.
"I got you, D. I got you." Nat heard Marcel say and soon, she stood in front of Rebekah and Marcel, the latter holding Davina's body covered in a white cloth.
"You've got to be kidding me." She muttered and their eyes widened at the sight of her. "Get the hell out of here. Klaus is coming straight to you two. He's murderous and unhinged, I don't need to tell you what that means."
"We were just leaving." Rebekah told her and Nat nodded, the three of them heading towards the exit. Marcel walked out, but when Rebekah tried to step outside, she was pushed back. Nat's brows furrowed and she placed one foot outside the cemetery to see if she was trapped too. When she could step out, she realized Celeste must have done a boundary spell to trap Rebekah here.
"It's a trap. Run. Get Davina out of here." Nat told Marcel, but he shook his head, turning to Rebekah.
"I'm not leaving you behind."
"You must." Rebekah told him panicked.
"I will not leave you behind!" He insisted and Nat looked at him sadly.
"I swear I will join you. Go. Get Davina someplace safe."
"I will." Marcel and Rebekah stared at each other for a long moment before he sped away with Davina's body.
"Come on." Nat told Rebekah and started to walk quickly through the cemetery, looking for Elijah. Finally, they found him in front of a crypt.
"Elijah?" Rebekah asked him, clearly surprised to see him.
"Rebekah." He turned around and looked at his sister uneasily. "You should be on the other side of the world by now."
"You and I both know that wouldn't have been far enough." She replied quietly and Nat looked at Elijah worriedly.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Klaus' shout startled Nat and she turned to the hybrid. "She's mine." He said before his eyes turned yellow as veins protruded on his face and his fangs came out. Nat noticed the blade in Elijah's hand shaking as his vampire face came out and he bared his fangs at Klaus. Rebekah quickly did the same, the three of them ready to attack.
"Get out of here, Natalia." Elijah told her, but she shook her head.
"I'm staying." She said determinedly. He glanced at her, veins still crawling from under his eyes. She nodded, trying to assure him that it was okay, and they both turned back to the hybrid, ready to face his wrath and protect Rebekah.
A/N
A bit of a short chapter for this one, but next one is gonna be a bit longer. Now, guys, I have a question. So as I've been writing, I've realized that this book is gonna be longer than the first one by like 20 chapters, and I was thinking of maybe doing another for s3 and s4 of TO but I don't know, what do you guys think? If I end up splitting this book, then it'd be TO S1 and S2 (plus two or more chapters) and the last one would be TO S3 and S4 (plus some more chapters).
Please let me know in the comments if you think I should just leave this book as it is (it'd be at least 70 chapters) or if I should split it and make a third and last one!