𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙏𝙒𝙀𝙉𝙏𝙔 𝙊𝙉𝙀
ミ★ ( reign of wolves, act one ) ★彡

Rhea tracked Hayley's scent to St. Anne's church. They barged in, breaking the doors down to rush to Hayley, looking around frantically until they stopped in their tracks. Elijah was panting and out of breath as a result of the werewolf bites from earlier, and was struggling to focus his vision. Eventually, their eyes focus on Klaus, who was sitting at the sacristy with Hayley's head resting in his lap. He was near tears at the sight of Hayley's dead body in his arms, covered in blood from a slashed throat from a knife and her stomach flattened from after giving birth.

Rhea approached them with a horrified look on her face, "No. No, no. No..." She whispered as she fell to her knees next to Hayley, placing a hand over her hair with tears in her eyes. She had found a friend—a sister—in Hayley. They fought like hell against each other and together, but despite all that, Rhea saw her as family. Why did she keep losing people? What had she done in her past life to deserve how many people she had lost the last few years? Rhea could only think that she must have done something truly heinous to deserve losing her entire family and most of her friends.

"She's gone." Klaus stated numbly and Elijah started to cry at how distraught Rhea looked, feeling the affects of her pain through her bond, which in turn, causes Klaus to cry himself. He then noticed the bite marks on Elijah, "You've been bitten. Here." He says as he bit into his wrist and offered it to Elijah. He was stunned by the display of kindness but accepts the blood that was being offered to him.

Rhea then took Hayley's body from Klaus' arms and laid her gently back on the table while Klaus watched, "How?" She asked in a distraught whisper.

"I was bested." Klaus answered in a whisper also, placing his head in his hands.

Rhea's horrified face turned into an expression of fury, "You were bested?" She repeated before she walked toward Klaus and stared at him furiously, shoving him, "You were BESTED?" She snarled, shoving him again and again, "You!? The invincible Niklaus Mikaelson were bested!?"

Elijah immediately pulled her away from him and Klaus only looked at her in shock before he said, "They took the baby. But, there's still time. We can save her."

     Almost immediately, Rhea disappeared to the cemetery in an attempt to figure out where the witches were holding the baby with Klaus and Elijah following after her.

     She ran around the cemetery almost frantically, trying to use her tracking skills to pinpoint where her niece was, but it seemed like her scent was everywhere and nowhere all at once.

     "The tombs are empty. The grounds are deserted." Elijah realised as they continued to look around, "She's NOT HERE!"

     "This is the only place they can be!" Rhea argued snappily, "It has to be here!"

     "We'll keep searching." Klaus told them in a more calm tone compared to his brother and his soulmate.

     "We're wasting time! They're not here!" Elijah shouted at his brother with frustration.

     "The Harvest was here, Elijah! The Reaping was here! They're about to perform a ritual which will feed their ancestors for centuries—ancestors who are buried HERE!" Rhea shouted, pointing aimlessly around the cemetery for emphasis, "Her scent is here! I know it is!"

     Klaus then froze when he noticed an angel statue on top of one of the tombs and sighed in frustration, "This statue—we've passed by this three times, all whilst going in the same direction." He realised, pointing at that very statue.

Elijah noticed it also. He had been so distracted with trying to find his niece that he had completely ignored the obvious signs that they had been practically walking around in circles. He then got an idea and went into some of the other tombs, examining them to see if he could find any signals or differences that would pinpoint that they were going in the right direction, "They've fabricated some kind of illusion." Elijah spoke out loud.

Klaus sped to the top of the tomb with the angel statue to try and get a better view of the cemetery. When he looked out, there seemed to be an infinite number of identical tombs, stretching out to make the cemetery appear to be endless, and his eyes widened in horror, "That's one word for it." He swallowed thickly.

Rhea sighed as she used a stone like piece of chalk to mark the tomb that they had just passed. They were still continuously walking around in circles trying to find the baby, trying to make their way throughout the maze illusion, "It's ingenious." She admitted, unable to deny that the witches managed to outsmart them at that very moment.

Klaus hummed in agreement, "I can see them, I can feel them, and yet they are not real."

She ran a hand through her hair as Elijah said, "There has to be a way. Even if we could just push through—"

"—What we need to do is focus." Klaus interjected.

"My only focus right now is that child and her safety, do you understand me?" Elijah lost his temper and he glared at Klaus furiously while he and Rhea started at him in shock for his outburst, "This—all of this—this is the world that you created, Niklaus."

"Brother—"

"All of your scheming, the enemies that you have made every single day of your miserable life—what results did you expect? That your child would be born into a happy life? That the mother would be alive to know her daughter? That we could live and thrive as some—as some sort of family?" Elijah ranted as Rhea bit her lip nervously. Elijah's words only reminded her of the fantasy that they had all created in their minds that everything would be alright.

But, the witches managed to find a way to shatter that fantasy and they were left of the pieces that reminded them how broken they truly were. They weren't a family and they would never be able to spend a day truly happy with how many people came knocking on their door to try and kill them. That baby was the only bright thing in a long history of darkness. She was pure, she was yet to commit any heinous acts. That baby deserved to live.

"That was your fantasy, brother, not mine!" Klaus roared at him, pointing at him accusatively.

"Enough! Stop it!" Rhea snapped, having enough of listening to the brothers arguing and wasting time, her voice drastically softened as she spoke, "Just stop it. It's not anyone's fault besides the witches. What's done is done and as much as it pains me to see Hayley gone—that baby is this family's hope and I refuse to see her get hurt. Hayley was family and we owe it to her to protect that baby when we couldn't protect her."

Klaus placed a hand of Rhea's shoulder. He could see how much it hurt her to know that Hayley was gone and how much guilt she felt that they couldn't save her from the witches, "My child will know how much we loved her mother when we save her."

Elijah nodded in agreement. They would not let Hayley's death be in vain. Rhea then let out a deep breath, "Then let's go save that baby."

They eventually reached a room full of candles in one of the tombs that they were trying to break through the illusions. They stopped to catch their breath when Elijah let out a sigh, "We've passed through here twice already. We're running out of time." He realised before he punched through a wall in anger and frustration.

"Then we move faster." Klaus decided which made Rhea want to pull out her hair when he marked the wall with a third tally using a large rock.

"Or smarter." A female voice said from behind them that made them all freeze. They turned to the source of the voice seeing Hayley standing in the doorway , dazed and exhausted-looking.

"Hayley..." Rhea whispered before she rushed over her to hug her, "H—how are you here?" She was almost nervous to ask the question. It was a miracle and she wasn't going to complain—but Klaus had told her that he hadn't fed her any of his blood.

"I woke up in the church. I felt this hunger... I knew what I needed." Hayley answered her dazedly and numbly, "I can feel her. She's here. I can feel my baby."

Elijah only looked confused but Klaus realised what has happened almost immediately, "You died with the baby's blood still in your system." He stated and Rhea soon caught on, remembering how the baby used to heal her when she was still in the womb.

"You're in transition." Rhea whispered sadly.

"Which means she has to drink the blood of the child if she is to survive." Elijah realised, completely horrified.

"To be reborn a hybrid." A wave of overwhelming grief and guilt struck Klaus. It shouldn't of been like this—Hayley didn't deserve this.

Hayley only shook her head, "I don't care about me." She told them before her eyes landed on Klaus, "I'm gonna go find our daughter." She said before leaving the tomb, with Rhea, Elijah and Klaus rushing after her.

They followed after Hayley, who was walking with determination to find her daughter. There was a calling that told her where she was and she knew she had to trust her gut instincts to find her. They turned a corner in time to find Genevieve holding a knife over the baby, about to sacrifice her with Abigail and Monique standing by, watching.

"NO!" Hayley screamed and Elijah picked up an urn and lobbed it at the witches, which slammed against Genevieve's hand and knocked the athame onto the ground.

The four of them ran towards them, and Monique and Abigail held each other's hands to channel the ancestors' power to throw them backwards while Genevieve went to find the athame. Abigail began to chant in French-Creole while Monique sneered, "You fools! To come against us in our place of power in our strongest hour? You don't face three, you face us all!"

Rhea panted, feeling her chest burn when she looked up to see hundreds of dead witches that had come together to protect the Harvest girls for them to complete the sacrifice. Klaus and Hayley each ran in opposite directions while Elijah and Rhea continued to run straight toward them, in hopes of overpowering them and weakening the defence force of the spell continuously until they found the weak link or break it completely.

     When Hayley turned the corner, she found Genevieve had picked up the athame, and rushed at her to fight her to keep her from using it against her daughter. She knocked the knife out of her hand and into the ground with a snarl. She eventually knocked Genevieve down and ran toward her baby, but Genevieve casted a pain infliction spell on her, which made her fall onto her knees.

     Meanwhile, Monique and Abigail were still using their powers combined powers to channel the full strength of the ancestors until Rhea saw a wrought iron fence, and broke off one of the spikes. She used her strength to throw it forcefully toward Abigail, which impaled her through the stomach and killed her, breaking the connection that she and Monique had to the ancestors.

     Monique quickly ran to grab the athame to finish the sacrifice herself but Klaus and Elijah speed toward her, but she held up her hand and used her magic to block them by creating a wall of fire, "No!" Hayley gasped once more and Genevieve continued to use the plain infliction spell to prevent her interference before she found the strength to knock her out.

     Just as Monique is about to sacrifice the baby, she's hit with the Devil's Star, which embedded itself in her stomach. Her body became covered in cuts, and she coughed up blood before falling to the ground.

     Klaus and Elijah turn around to see that Marcel was the one who had thrown it at her but before they could say anything—or thank him, Marcel had already ran over to the newborn baby and sped away with her; Klaus in pursuit within a split second, same with Hayley.

     Rhea quickly grabbed onto the unconscious red-headed witch and dragged her into the tomb to shackle her to the wall while Elijah watched.

     Seconds later, Genevieve's eyes fluttered open and without hesitation, Elijah asked calmly but dangerously, "Why?"

     "The ancestors left me no choice—"

     "You were willing to sacrifice an innocent baby for more power?" Rhea questioned her, appalled by the power grab as her eyebrows raised toward her forehead and she crossed her arms. But, in retrospect, she was a massive hypocrite for just killing Abigail—she wasn't innocent with her trying to murder a newborn baby, but, she was still a child herself, caught up in a world that was way out of her league.

     "No, not just power!" Genevieve shook her head, "It was the ancestors' decree. It was her decree."

     Elijah grabbed Genevieve roughly by the face and forces her to look at him in the eyes, "It was whose decree?" He questioned her furiously, needing to know who it was that ordered the death of his niece so they could descend upon them.

     The witch only smiled weakly, "I'm surprised you have to ask." She laughed darkly, "After all, you were the one who convinced your siblings and soulmate to consecrate her on New Orleans soil."

     Elijah let go of her, visibly disgusted, when he realised who she was talking about. Rhea was stunned as she felt the breath catch in her throat slightly, "Esther..." She whispered.

     Elijah scowled, "So, not even death can stop my mother from seeking the annihilation of her own flesh and blood." He thought out loud and Rhea let out a sigh, remembering the last time she was alive and walking, she tried to kill all of her children—twice.

     "This isn't the end." Genevieve said anxiously, "As long as that child lives, the witches of New Orleans will never stop coming for it." Tears brimmed in her eyes as she started to cry, "Esther will never stop coming for it. It has been decreed—your niece will be consecrated among her ancestors. She will not live." Rhea and Elijah glared at her in response, not finding even a speck of sympathy as she began to bleed from her eyes, "They're coming for me, I can feel it. I failed them. Understand—I just wanted to live. Tell Klaus... I'm sorry."

     Genevieve started to choke up the blood in her system and Rhea watched for a moment before sighing and stabbing her in the stomach with her claws, hearing her gasp and choke on the pain, "You tell anyone that comes for that child; that they will pay for it with their life—Just. Like. You." She growled furiously before she ripped her abdomen open. She pulled her claws out, letting Genevieve flop dead, still restrained by her wrists against the wall. She had no emotion on her face as she only held out her hand for him to take.

     Elijah grabbed onto her hand which made her smile before they walked out of the tomb together.

"We should have felt our mother's hand in this." Klaus shook his head as they all sat in Hayley's room while Hayley sat with baby Hope in the rocking chair in the nursery that was located right beside her bedroom. When they returned from the cemetery, Hayley had told them what they had decided to name the baby—Hope Andrea Mikaelson—and they couldn't agree any more that it was absolutely perfect for her. The baby was their family's hope—Klaus' hope. She was going to be raised as everything that they hoped to be, and she would not end up like them, "We should have known she would not be bound by anything as obvious as death. And now she has control of the witches. They will never stop." Klaus continued.

"No." Elijah sighed in agreement.

"Nor should we expect the Guerrera wolves to just back down." Rhea mumbled as she sat down, resting her head in her hand, "Hayley and the baby are wolf royalty; they're a threat to Francesca's claim to leadership."

"They will never be safe." Klaus stated before he paused for a moment and turned to Elijah, "What was it you said to me earlier? That I have made enemies every day of my miserable life? Well, the worst of them are within these borders, brother." Elijah only sighed in frustration, clearly feeling guilty about the words he said that he didn't mean, "I have brought into the world a weapon they can use against me." He said sadly.

"Then we will arm ourselves!" Elijah stood, "Brother, we have fought every adversary in this town, and we have won. And we'll fight them again, no matter who they are! We will make this home a fortress."

"I will not have her live her life as a prisoner." Klaus lowered his voice.

"Then we leave here, together." Elijah suggested, reaching out for Rhea as he said, "All of us." Rhea's eyes widened at the idea. It was all she ever wanted for a while because she just wanted to be a family—not be at war with everyone that came around them.

"Wherever we go, however far we run, those who seek power and revenge will hunt us! They will hunt her. She has inherited all of our enemies with none of our defenses." Klaus snarled.

"So, whether we stay, or we leave—we condemn her." Rhea realised sadly. They weren't necessarily her enemies, but since Elijah was her soulmate, anyone that wanted to enact revenge on him would go for her first, knowing that she was his weak spot as Hope was for Klaus. But because she loved the Mikaelsons like her own, their enemies became hers.

Hayley suddenly appeared in the doorway with Hope in her arms, "There's a third option." She stated and they all looked at her in surprise, "I grew up in a war zone. My parents thought they could protect me. But, in the end, they were slaughtered, and I spent my childhood alone and unloved." She looked down at her daughter and smiled at her, while trying to hold back tears, "I made a promise to my baby—and to myself—that she would not grow up like I did. That she would grow up safe, and loved. And yet, here she is, on her first day in this world, with a grandmother who is bent on sacrificing her—" She started to stutter as she cried, "—And a—a mother who has to drink the blood of her own baby to survive transitioning into a hybrid. And I'm the one who loves her the most."

They all just looked at her, saddened and devastated by their current situation. Hayley looked wrecked both physically and emotionally while she was still trying to be strong for her child, "I think the only thing to do is... send her away... while we stay behind and clean up the mess that we've made." Hayley finished as she sniffled, trying to calm herself down from her intense wave of emotional mood swings.

"No! That is insane!" Rhea protested, "We're her family—we are the ones that could protect her best and Genevieve said that as long as she lives, Hope will be hunted; separating her from us only leaves her at a disadvantage."

Klaus suddenly stood up as an idea came to mind. He joined Hayley and Hope in the doorway, "Not if no one knows she lives."

Elijah seemed confused, "What is it you intend to do, brother?"

"Whatever it takes to save our family." Klaus answered.

It was a few hours later when Elijah and Rhea were on the balcony, holding each other sadly at the idea of letting their niece leave their arms in order to protect her after fighting for her life for nine months straight. Klaus walked over to them after Cami had left, "Did Marcel play his part?" Elijah asked his brother, keeping his eyes out on the street.

"He managed to locate a stillborn baby in a hospital in upstate Louisiana." Klaus told them.

"I trust he agreed to the terms." Elijah assumed, sighing.

"He has agreed to allow me to compel him to forget what he knows of my child. In exchange, he wants vials of my blood." Klaus answered them.

Rhea only huffed, "I'm surprised it's taken him this long to ask considering how many men he's lost to werewolf bites."

"The witches will have to believe this. Soon, that fourth Harvest girl will resurrect. The coven will rebuild. If they sense that your child lives, they will hunt her." Elijah voiced.

"The witches will buy what we sell. We just have to sell it properly." Klaus stated surely.

They stood in silence and Rhea bit her lip as she then whispered, "I guess all that remains is to say goodbye." She loved her niece so much already and she didn't want to lose her so soon. After all, they were doing everything it took to save their family—but, in what world was separating a child from their family a good thing?