𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙍𝙏𝙔 𝙏𝙒𝙊
ミ★ ( reign of wolves, act two ) ★彡

Rhea Lockwood didn't think she'd miss New Orleans as much as she did. It had been too long since she had heard the busy street parties and the ruckus being caused by her family and their enemies. The quietness of Arkansas was welcomed for a time but she didn't think it suited her. New Orleans was home to her now. She understood why Klaus fought so hard to make it that way against Marcel; there was a certain magic about New Orleans that made it home despite everything else happening in it. But then again, being with the Mikaelsons... home could've been anywhere that they were. They were her family.

And that family was expanding with Hayley, and now, Jackson and the Crescent wolves.

She had sat pondering the decision that would change a lot for a while before she walked over toward's Hayley's room with a box in her arms. When she walked inside the bedroom, Hayley was looking through her wardrobe of old dresses, hats, and jewellery, "I brought you something." Rhea said as she walked into the bedroom as the Lockwood hybrid carried the large white box into the room with her, "Every bride deserves to look their best on their wedding day."

     Hayley looked confused for a moment before her eyes widened in shock when Rhea opened the box to reveal a beautiful white gown. The satin material was plain—which was what Hayley liked—and the neckline was a straight cut, "What is this?"

     "My wedding dress." Rhea admitted and Hayley's jaw dropped again, "I was going to wear it when I got married."

     "To Elijah?"

     "No, my other fiancé that's an Original vampire." Rhea said sarcastically before chuckling and Hayley rolled her eyes and playfully shoved her, "Yes, Elijah. But since we won't get married for a while until everything settles down and you are; you deserve to look and feel special."

     "Rhea, I—I can't accept this." Hayley shook her head, "It's too much. It's your wedding dress—"

     "And I'll get another one." Rhea assured her without hesitation, "Hayley, I know we've had a rough past but I love you like my sister. This is your wedding day—I refuse to see you walk down the aisle in a leather jacket and combat boots. Now, put it on before I force it on you."

     Hayley pulled Rhea into a tight hug, "I love you, too." She mumbled into her neck before pulling away and looking at the dress in a soft delight, "Oh, Rhea... thank you." She hummed in gratitude. Rhea only smiled at her as she watched Hayley stand in front of the full-length mirror and hold the dress against her body to see how it looked, thinking she had made the right decision, "It's beautiful." Hayley complimented, looking over at her, "You would've looked beautiful in it."

     "I'll look beautiful in the next dress I buy." Rhea assured her again, "But, I think this dress belongs to another person."

"I don't think I could ever thank you enough for this." Hayley bit her lip as she tried to hold back the tears in her eyes. It was such a small gesture but it meant so much to her that Rhea did this for her. It was a marriage of convenience but she was still getting married. Hayley deserved to look and feel like a bride.

Rhea shrugged and smiled at her affectionately, "Well, I think I can say for everyone that even though you might be marrying Jackson Kenner of the boozy backwater Kenners, but you're still a Mikaelson." She told her, "And I think you always will be."

Hayley smiled happily and laughed, "Gosh, that would be such a nice compliment if it didn't link me to so many homicidal lunatics."

Rhea only smiled and winked at Hayley before she turned to leave the room.

     The ceremony had just begun and the guests, both vampires and werewolves, were seated in the ballroom of the Mikaelson compound. Rhea was by Elijah's side, trying to remain as calm as possible and be on the lookout for anyone that tried to ruin the day.

     Hayley was in the doorway of the ballroom, waiting for Jackson who appeared behind her not a moment later. The two clasp hands and smiled at each other as they walk down the aisle, everyone standing and watching in awe as the soon-to-be married couple made their way down the front with an orchestra playing in the background as they make their ascent.

     When they reached the two staircases, they split apart so they could each walk up the two staircases and meet on the balcony, where Mary—Jackson's grandma—was waiting for them to preside the ceremony. They smiled at each other from across the room until they made it to the altar.

     "Please, be seated." Mary gently ordered and the guests all sat back down in their chairs. Rhea quickly looked up at Elijah beside her and she reached for his hand to entwine their fingers. He smiled gently but kept his focus up front, "We gather together as a community seeking peace, inspired by this couple standing before you."

     Rhea noticed that Hayley sent Klaus a smile, who was standing and watching from the balcony, "There was a time when werewolves saw themselves not as cursed, but blessed with connection to our most pure selves. And tonight, we honor that blessing with the long-awaited unification of the two Crescent bloodlines."

     Mary then performed a hand-fasting by binding Hayley and Jackson's wrists with baby's breath flowers, "In doing so, we choose to embrace Hayley's vampire nature. With this union, Hayley will share her unique gifts with her pack." Mary placed a long lit match into Hayley and Jackson's linked hands to light their ceremonial candle, "And now, your vows." She urged.

     Jackson took in a deep breath and Rhea could hear from the way his heart was racing that he was nervous. He was supposed to marry this woman all his life and he thought she was lost. Now there she stood, as beautiful as ever and he had genuinely fallen for her, "I pledge to honor you and defend you and yours above all others."

     "To share in blessings and burdens. To be your advocate, your champion." Hayley continued and Rhea smiled as she could see that the other hybrid held some feelings for the werewolf also.

     "To be your comfort, your sanctuary, and for as long as we both shall live." Jackson continued also.

     "To be your family." Hayley said.

     "To be your family." Jackson also said and the two smiled at each other and lit their candle together.

     Mary also smiled at them, "You two have endured all the traditional werewolf rituals and trials. There is only one remaining—Jackson, you may kiss your bride."

     Jackson looked almost scared, but Hayley smiled at him encouragingly. He stared at her for a long moment before he cupped her face in his hand and kisses her causing Rhea to let out a cheer.

     When Hayley and Jackson finally pull away, both of their eyes glowed gold, indicating that the Unification Ceremony worked. They smiled at each other happily and turn to look at the crowd. The guests all look at each other curiously and the wolves' eyes all began to glow gold. Everyone began to smile and chatter, all thrilled that the ceremony has empowered their pack.

     After a parade in the streets of New Orleans, they returned to the compound for the reception where there was food and champagne while everyone watched as Hayley and Jackson danced together as husband and wife. Hayley then looked up to see white flower petals raining down on them, and Jackson smiles widely as he spun her around. Rhea really was proud of herself from how well she was holding back her jealousy, wishing it was her and Elijah in that same position; dancing as husband and wife for the first time.

     After a moment, Klaus came down to the courtyard with Hope in his arms and gestured for the band to stop playing so he can make a speech, "Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please? Hayley, if you would join me, I would like to propose a toast." Hayley looked surprised, but she reluctantly joined Klaus at the front of the room and took Hope into her arms, "I want to welcome you all. As you know, last spring, Hayley and I had a daughter. Due to tragic circumstance, she was lost. Now, she has returned home. Her name is Hope."

     The guests gasped and began to murmur amongst themselves about this revelation, "She will live here among you, her pack. Her family. We implore you—protect our daughter. Teach her. Love her, as one of your own." In the crowd, Jackson nodded at Klaus in agreement. Klaus took a glass of champagne from a nearby tray, "Jackson, I invite you and your bride to live here, uniting your proud and noble people in peace. Welcome to the family, mate." Rhea's eyes widened in shock at the gesture, as did Hayley and Elijah's, but Jackson nodded at him again, and Klaus held up his glass, "To Jackson and Hayley!" He cheered to the crowd as everyone cheered back for the married couple and the newly returned daughter.

     "Let's dance." Elijah murmured and Rhea nodded, letting her fiancé take her to the dance floor so they could slow dance as the music returned shortly after Klaus finished his speech.

     The two began to sway from side to side with Rhea's arms around Elijah's shoulders and his hands were resting on her hips. She laid her head on his chest and angled her neck so she could see Hayley and she smiled at how happy and carefree she looked—for once, "I'm happy for her." She said to him, "She looks happy. Jackson will be good for her."

     "He is a good man." Elijah agreed, never really forgetting how he fought to save her from the witches, "Let's just hope that Niklaus doesn't try to ruin it."

     "He won't." Rhea whispered, "He cares too much about what Hayley thinks of him. Even when he won't admit it; but harming Jackson would push her away entirely."

     Elijah was silent as he took in her words. She was right and Klaus was just acting out of paranoia and fear that Jackson would replace him as a father in Hope's eyes. He was simply scheming in hopes of regaining power to protect Hope, "I'm sorry for pushing you away." Elijah said to her.

She only shook her head, "You didn't push me away; it was me pushing you away. It must've been confusing for you." She corrected him, "And it wasn't your fault. It was your mother's."

     He pressed a kiss to Rhea's hair, "I love you so much." He expressed and she smiled at his words, "Which is why I think it's time we focus on us."

Rhea's eyebrows furrowed as she looked up at him, "That's what we're doing, isn't it?" She asked.

"Not entirely, my love." Elijah shook his head, "We've been avoiding each other and our problems by focusing on my family's. And while I love you for how accepting you've been of my family, it's affecting our relationship." He thought out loud and she only sighed at him, "With the wolves united, Hope is safe and I think we should move to Algiers."

"Why Algiers?" She asked, almost a look of disgust on her face because Algiers was closer to Marcel and she didn't necessarily like him that much after all of the shit he was putting them through, "There's so many places we could go to."

"I've called this place my home for a very long time—along with many others—but I believe with the correct instruction and guidance, the community may well prosper, along with us." He explained.

"I don't understand. This is home."

"You are my home." Elijah corrected, "But my family here will destroy you and Algiers is a lesser evil." He elaborated, "I want us to focus on getting beating my mother's magic and we're more likely to be able to do that there than here."

Rhea's heart swelled at the thought of Elijah wanting to put them first. It was a long time coming since they had gotten together that he had done that. The sole reason they moved to New Orleans was because of his family after they were supposed to move away from it all to be together, "Okay." She agreed with a smile, reaching up to touch his face, "We'll get through this. Whatever it takes."

"Whatever it takes." He agreed.

Their conversation was interrupted by a woman, who rushed over to them, "Elijah." She greeted, stress and worry all over her face as she approached them. The couple stopped dancing and Rhea squinted at her, not recognizing her right away, "Don't tell me you don't recognise me. I haven't been gone for that long."

Rhea's eyes widened in recognition, "Rebekah." She realised before running over to her to pull her into a hug, letting out a breath of relief, "You're okay."

"I'm alright." Rebekah assured her before pulling away, "But, Kol is not."

Rhea looked confused, "What do you mean? What's going on?" She asked, the same worry and stress appearing on her face to match Rebekah's.

Rebekah bit her lip nervously, "It was Finn..." She started and dread filled Rhea's body at just those words, "He placed a hex on Kol. He's dying and I couldn't fix it."

"No." Rhea gasped, covering her mouth, "Please tell me this is some sick joke." She pleaded. She had just gotten Kol back; and while they hadn't been able to spend time together, she had enjoyed him being back.

"I'm sorry." Rebekah frowned. She was aware of the strange friendship that Kol and Rhea had formed and it was why she had also fought so hard to keep him alive, "Where's Nik?"

"He's with Hope." Elijah told her as he had seen him walk back upstairs with his daughter to put her to bed, "He should hear this."

He gently grabbed onto Rhea's hand and lead her and Rebekah upstairs to Hope's nursery where Klaus was leaning over Hope's crib, watching her as she fidgeted around. When he hears Elijah, Rhea and Rebekah come into the room, he sighed in annoyance, "Must you intrude on every moment?"

     "I'm not here to quarrel, brother." Elijah stated and Rhea looked up at him with confusion as to what he was referring to.

     "It's Kol. I couldn't help him." Rebekah admitted and Klaus turned to her with a shocked expression on his face, and Rebekah's face turned solemn, "He's not gonna last the night."

     Klaus' eyes shifted to Rhea when Rebekah said that, noticing the distraught expression she had on her face at the added piece of information that Rebekah neglected to tell her beforehand. A flash of sympathy appeared in his expression for her. Rhea and Kol were both the black sheep of their families that they created a friendship that only they would understand. After everyone that she lost, losing Kol again would change her; it would most likely nearly kill her as if she was losing Tyler all over again. He remembered how she sobbed over his dead body the first time and how she nearly didn't recover, but this... this he couldn't tell how she would handle.

     Kol and Davina were slow-dancing outside of the Claire tomb to the sound of an old-fashioned song on the gramophone player. Both of their eyes were red and rimmed with tears as the cried into each others' shoulders. They pulled away so Kol can look her in the eyes, "I know that we're in a cemetery, and I happen to be terminal..." He laughed through his tears, "...but you've got to admit, the stars are lovely."

     Davina shook her head tearfully, "How can you joke right now?" She asked him.

     "I'm not. We're under the same stars. It's some guy, and he's with his girl, and he thinks he's got all the time in the world, and he's right." He laughed again, and Davina started to cry as he leaned his forehead against hers, "And I hate him."

     Suddenly, Kol doubled over in a coughing fit, and Davina looked panicked and lifted his head so she can look at him in the face, "Are you okay?"

     Kol only smiled, "Yeah." Davina took his hand in hers and kissed it, "I think I want to be alone for this bit." He said as he continued to cough and walk away from Davina toward one of the tombs.

     However, he stops when he hears a voice behind him, "I'm afraid that's not an option." Elijah stated and Kol turns and finds him, Rhea, Klaus, and Rebekah standing in the aisle.

     "Always and forever is not something you just weasel out of, brother." Klaus scolded and Kol just stared at his family in surprise and managed a weak smile, which Klaus and Rhea returned.

     Rhea went to help Davina move Kol into the tomb where Esther had once imprisoned her and Elijah in, trying to ignore the images of the torture she endured and the lingering flashbacks she was left with as it was now surrounded by a calm light and candles rather than chains and despair. Davina moved to sit a few feet away, whispering a spell over a necklace that she gripped tightly in her hands. There were lit candles scattered all over the room where Kol was laying on the floor, surrounded by his brothers and sisters.

     Shortly after he laid down, Kol's nose and mouth began to both bleeding and he groaned in pain as he gripped the lapels of Klaus' jacket, "All my life, all I ever wanted was for you lot to care about me."

     Rhea only bit her lip as she began to cry into Elijah's arms and Klaus struggled to hold back his tears of his own; and before Kol can laugh, he's overcome by another coughing fit that startled Rebekah. She sat down on the ground, and she and Rhea went to rub Kol's back as he coughed before leaning him backward so the hybrid could cradle Kol's head in her lap, moving to wipe her tears before they could hit his skin. Kol grabs onto Rhea's hand and squeezed it as he groaned, the hybrid not wincing at all due to his now human strength.

     "You're going to get through this, Kol. You're a cockroach, remember?" Rhea said to him through her tears and Kol began to cry also, "Please, you're my best friend. You're not allowed to die on me."

     Kol only smiled through his own tears as he looked up at her, "You're my best friend too, lovely." He admitted, "Don't let this pack of fools ruin your life, okay? At least wait for me to come back so I can join in."

     Rhea could only laugh, "You're such a dick." She sniffled and Kol laughed at her too before he began to cough again.

     Rebekah was fully crying at this point as she said, "Kol, listen to me. You don't have long. You're going to die." Kol only nodded and gripped onto Rhea's arm tighter, "But, you will die a witch, and we will consecrate your body. You will join the ancestors of the French Quarter, and those spirits can be brought back. And, I promise you, brother, I will not leave this body until I find a way to bring you home."

     Kol smiled at her despite his pain, but quickly began to cough even harder making Rhea's hatred for Finn even deeper for him making Kol have a long and painful death.

     Davina finally finished her spell and crawls toward Kol to give him the necklace, both frantic and in tears, "I tried a different spell."

     Kol only took her hand and squeezed it as tightly as he could manage, "It's okay. I'm not scared."

     Davina tried her best to smile at him through her tears and Kol managed one last laugh that died down before he took his last breath in Rhea's arms, giving her flashbacks from the first time which made her break down in sobs, causing Elijah to cry freely also along with Klaus and Davina. Rhea sniffled as she gently laid Kol down on the ground, fixing his hair slightly and Elijah helped her up and pulled her into a hug.

     "Please don't ever leave me." Rhea sobbed for Elijah quietly into his chest. She had been so distant and feeling so guilty of putting him through that; she had tried to fight Esther's magic but but she just couldn't. With the death of Kol and Rebekah's witch status; it made her worry about the mortality rate of the Mikaelsons. They walked around the ages as if they owned the place; and they did because they were immortal. But with the newer times and a larger influx of enemies, it seemed like the Original family wasn't so immortal after all. That made Rhea nervous.

     "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." He shushed her but it didn't make her feel better one bit knowing that he could be next.

     "I've lost so many people and I just know I wouldn't be able to handle it if I lost you too." She sniffled, her mouth turning into a frown, "I love you so much. I can't lose you too."

     "You won't." Elijah promised as he grabbed onto her face gently and made her look into his eyes.

     In the corner of her eyes, she spotted Davina standing in the background. Her arms were wrapped around her waist as if she were comforting herself as she cried from heartbreak all alone, "Oh, Davina." Rhea exhaled when she saw a distraught Davina standing in front alone and she pulled away from Elijah to walk over to her and pull her into a hug, "I'm so sorry."

     She could feel the tears on her shirt from Davina's crying but she sniffled and pulled away after a few moments, "Kol wanted me to give you this." She told her, holding a vial in her hand with a mysterious looking liquid inside of it, "It's a potion that he and I concocted. It should help stop Esther's magic and the nightmares—for both of you." Rhea looked at the witch in shock that she actually wanted to help Elijah as well, "As much as I don't like him, it was Kol's dying wish for me to give this to you. I won't take that away from him." Davina explained and Rhea's eyes softened at her friend's gesture.

"Thank you, Davina." Rhea smiled at her, "And whatever it takes, you, Rebekah and I will find a way to bring Kol back. No matter what."

Davina could only smile, but Rhea could see the way that it didn't reach her eyes that she didn't really mean it.