𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐎𝐍𝐄 — the saved

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𝐃𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐀 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍 asleep in Ophelia's arms. The day had been a rough one indeed and it had clearly taken its toll on the poor girl. Rebekah had approached with a soft expression, holding her arms out to take the small witch into her arms and Ophelia let her. She knew she'd be safe.

Timothy had yet to wake and Ophelia could have only chalked it down to the fact that the boy had slammed his head rather harshly upon his decent to the cold ground. Joshua stepped forward with an awkward smile as he copied the actions of the original and heaved the young boy into his arms.

Ophelia walked between the two vampires that carried the unconscious children as they walked through the entrance of the compound. She had to grit her teeth, knowing the moment her eyes caught sight of Klaus, she'd want to siphon the life from him... only to do it again when his irritating immortal curse brought him back

Marcel was the first to rush forward, his eyes made contact with Ophelia before drifting to Timothy, "No..." he breathed. He knew how much his little witch cared for the young boy. His death would destroy her.

"He's alive," Ophelia muttered, fatigue seeping into her soft tone as she addressed the vampire.

"He is?"

"When you texted me, it got me thinking." then her gaze turned sharp, her eyes flooded with an unruly fire that Marcel had never seen before. She snapped her head towards Klaus who eyes her. Her voice was hollow, low and incredibly threatening. "How on earth could Klaus Mikaelson draw Davina out, hm? Me? Marcel? Josh? No, we were all safe." Her steps echoed through the silent compound as she approached the hybrid, "Then the stupid joke I said earlier replayed in my head; 'human sacrifice'... and so I thought of little Timothy... You used a child to draw out another, and then you poisoned them."

"And yet," he spread his arms wide as he gestured to the children, "here they are."

"But you'll wish you were not. Touch a hair on Davina's head and I will burn your city to the ground."

Elijah stepped forward with wide eyes, his hand held up and ready to break up the vocal fight before the siphon riled his brother up. Before he could speak, Ophelia held up her own and silenced him without moving her eye line away from the hybrid who at least had the decency to look the tiniest bit ashamed. 

"Marcel, take Davina to her room. Joshua, place Timothy in mine, wait with him, will you?"

Marcel needed no further instructions; he became a blur as he pulled Davina from Rebekah's arms and sped her to her room. Joshua nodded to himself, his eyes scanning the boy in his arms in sympathy before he too became a blur and sped to Ophelia's bedroom.

Rebekah watched on with curiosity, neither herself nor Elijah could let Klaus so much as touch the siphon, though she supposed he'd be putting himself in harm's way if he did touch her. Elijah, lips still slightly parted, kept a firm gaze on his brother, ready to move whenever he did though he had a feeling that she would most definitely be able to handle herself, even against the original hybrid. 

Ophelia's chest heaved, and the magic that remained from when she had siphoned Joshua practically begged her to cast a spell. Her whiskey-brown eyes and Klaus's cerulean ones held contact and even he could see the fiery rage within them. 

His lips parted, ready to make up whatever silly excuse that she really didn't want to hear, and so, she turned from him, her body facing the direction of the stairs as she spoke, "I don't want to hear a word from you."

She muttered a word beneath her breath and her wrist flicked to the side, Klaus's head following as the magic made his neck snap with a sound that echoed throughout the abattoir, and off she went. Her heavy footsteps slamming on the stairs as Rebekah and Elijah watched her go.

When Ophelia entered her bedroom, Josh's head snapped up, relief filling him when he realized it was her. "You snapped Klaus's neck?"

"He deserved more."

"He does. He's a bit of a dick."

"He is," Ophelia spoke, no humor within her voice. She nodded towards Timothy who was silently resting on the bed with his eyes shut, "How is he?"

"Still hasn't woken up... it's a good job you thought to cast that spell, huh?"

Ophelia smiled slightly as she moved further into the room and sat on the foot of her bed, making sure she didn't disturb the young boy, "Couldn't have done it without you. You helped save him."

"No- no I didn't do anything—"

"—Josh, you helped me save his life."

Ophelia could have laughed at the way Joshua's chest seemed to puff up as he finally acknowledged his good deed. "I did, didn't I?" Josh paused, his hand twitching by his side as he sat on the piano stool, "So, what are you gonna do?"

There was a knock at the door that stopped her from answering. Elijah stood in the doorway, his expression probably looked stoic to Joshua who hadn't been around the suited man all that much, but Ophelia could see the small downwards tug of his lips. "How is he?" he questioned.

"He should wake up soon."

Elijah nodded, the atmosphere was tense and slightly uncomfortable, and it certainly didn't help when Josh started to whistle to himself. Ophelia let the boy continue, knowing he was an awkward one anyway, and whilst Elijah wanted him to stop, he refrained from saying anything as it was Ophelia's room and he didn't want to intrude further. He gestures behind him, "Shall I—"

"—No." Ophelia interrupted, "I need a favor."

"Of course, what can I help you with?"

Ophelia sighed deeply, knowing what she was going to do would be hard for Davina, but it was for the best. "Josh?"

"Hm?" The boy hummed, his whistling ceasing. Thankfully.

"I need you to find Timothy's place... you're going to compel his parents, family, whoever he lives with."

"Uh— why?"

"Timothy needs to leave this city. As long as he's alive he'll be used against Davina. He'll die; it's inevitable. Davina wouldn't be able to cope with that, and I'm sure his family wouldn't either... it's not fair on him—" she shifted, kicked off her shoes and brought one leg onto the bed as she looked over her shoulder at the seemingly peaceful boy, "—he's just a child, he deserves to live his life."

Joshua stared at the woman as he nodded, understanding exactly what she was trying to convey. She was right, he was just a kid, a human kid at that. He would be forever seen as collateral damage, or a pawn to draw Davina into whatever trap Klaus... or whoever decided to cook up. "I'll do that. But Davina—"

"I'll tell her, I'm the one doing it so I'll be the one to tell her. She'll be distraught... but they'll both be alive, if she hates me for sending him off, it'll be worth it nonetheless."

"Okay." the baby vampire breathed, seeing the woman in a new light. Every vampire he had met had described her as the literal wicked witch of the west. She was scary at times, that much was certain, but beneath the ice, she was a warm person, and she cared about Davina. "I'll go do that... uh, tell Tim that... never mind."

Ophelia smiled, she knew the vampire probably wanted to apologize for his involvement, even if he had done nothing wrong. "I'll tell him that you helped save his life, now go." 

With a final sad smile, Josh walked out of the room, squashing himself against the door as he exited, afraid to even brush by Elijah, though the suited man had moved out of his way.

"You'll be the one to compel Timothy."

"Of course."

They were once again plunged into an awkward silence. One that rang in their ears. Elijah carefully took the seat that Joshua had vacated and Ophelia twisted on the bed, her back against the wall as her legs stretched in front of her, across the blanket that she always kept at the bottom of the bed.

Her eyes drifted to the ceiling, tracing the swirling pattern that she hadn't bothered to change when she remodeled the bedroom. They closed for a moment as she thought over everything that had happened, not to her, but to Davina. The poor thing just couldn't catch a break. And whilst she knew it wasn't her fault, Ophelia couldn't help but feel responsible.

She had promised Davina that she would keep her safe, and she broke that promise, and now Ophelia had to send the young girls crush away just to make sure he stayed alive.

"Ophelia?" Elijah's voice called out, as smooth as velvet with worry edging in.

Her eyes slowly opened and she lowered her head, making eye contact with the suited original. It was only when she tried to speak, did she realize that tears had sprung to her eyes. Her throat wouldn't allow the words to escape in anything other than a broken croak.

"Her life shouldn't be like this." she managed, hoarsely, "She's only sixteen and already her family threw her to the witches for more power, she's been locked away for months, she's been poisoned and her friend was almost killed. I promised her that I'd keep her safe." she harshly wiped the tears from her flushed cheeks, already feeling the tightness in her skin.

"You have. She is alive and so is Timothy. Had you not thought of him, he would have died."

"That doesn't make it any better, Elijah."

"It doesn't. But you are doing your best, you're looking after a child that shouldn't be your responsibility. Marcellus should have paid closer attention." his eyes momentarily moved from Ophelia to Tim as he shifted just slightly, "Timothy is waking."

True to Elijah's word, Timothy shot up with a gasp, one hand darting to his neck and the other to the back of his head. His chest heaved as harsh breaths were sucked in and out before his clouded eyes finally adjusted to his surroundings. Immediately he noticed Ophelia, the woman Davina had clung to, the nice one. But as his eyes drew over to Elijah, his breathing increased... Davina had... had made him choke on blood.

His eyes snapped back to Ophelia, his words coming out in short bursts as his breathing escalated, "Where — where am I?"

Ophelia shared a look with Elijah, conveying for him to keep silent as she moved from her position at the foot of the bed. Her light steps were slow and cautious as she approached the boy, sitting at the edge of the bed as she offered him a small smile, "I'm going to explain everything that happened, alright?"

"Yeah — okay."

And so, Ophelia dived into her explanation; she told the boy everything about how Klaus had lured him out and why. She told him everything about what they were. The boy --though shaky and mildly terrified—seemed to catch on fast, his head nodding and bouncing the small curls that rested on his forehead. 

"You saved me?" the young boy questioned, his thumbs twiddling in his lap.

"Yes, I did. Joshua helped me."

"Why? Why'd you save me?"

Ophelia sighed, "You're just a child Timothy, you deserve better. You deserve to live."

They were all silent for a moment. Timothy stared at the brunette, the terror that clawed at him due to being in a room with a vampire and a siphon slowly faded and settled. He felt safe around the siphon, she had saved his life simply because she believed he didn't deserve to die.

"What will happen now? Will — will he come after me?"

Ophelia knew that the 'he' Timothy spoke of was Klaus, she could see the icy fear inside of his eyes as he thought of the possibility of Klaus targeting his life once again. "He won't."

"How can you be sure?"

That was the question. How could she explain to the poor child that the reason Elijah was there was to remove his memories of all of them, including Davina. How they were sending him away from his home. "Tim... as long as you're alive, people will try to use you to gain access to Davina's abilities."

"So... I need to—" his voice broke, "—die?"

"No, Tim, you're not going to die." her hand, though hesitant, reached out to cover the boys, a sad smile dusting her rose-colored lips, "Elijah, as you know, is a vampire. Vampires have a certain ability to... remove memories. Klaus has done it to you before."

Timothy looked to Elijah; the man frightened him; the way he held himself radiated pure power. His stance was solid. "He'd going to take away my memory... isn't he?"

"Yes. I wish he didn't have to, Tim. But with you here, as I said, you'll constantly be used to draw Davina out. If you died... I don't know if Davina could handle that, what would your family think? It's — it's the best thing to do."

"Okay..." His voice was meek, hollow, and small. He understood that it was for the best. He didn't want to die, the thought terrified him. He didn't want Davina to be in danger either, and his family... his poor mother and his baby sister, what would they think? "Okay. I understand."

Ophelia offered a comforting smile, as did Elijah and Ophelia stood, opening the small drawer of the nightstand and pulled out a notebook and a pen. She handed the stationary to Timothy, "Davina's asleep and we need to do this as soon as we can... if you have anything you want to say, a goodbye, I'll give it to her."

His shaky hands reached out, lightly taking the paper and pen into his grasp. "Thank you."

⋆⋆⋆

"Are you ready?"

Timothy inhaled a deep breath as he held out the goodbye letter he had written, Ophelia's manicured fingers plucking it from him with a delicate grip to make sure it reached Davina in its pristine condition. The young boy nodded, "I'm ready... uh, before I forget who you are... thank you, for saving me and Davina. And thank you for uh, for doing this. I wish I didn't have to forget her but... But I know that it's for the best."

Ophelia lightly squeezed his hand with a small smile before looking over to Elijah. His eyes held hers, waiting for her confirmation to go about the task he'd asked him to complete and the moment her eyes turned sad and her head nodded, he stood.

He approached the young boy, kneeling in front of him, "Timothy." he spoke, eyes dilating, a sure sign that the compulsion was working. Timothy's eyes followed swiftly, sending him into an obedient daze.

Elijah's soft and understanding voice drifted through the room as his elegant words weaved their way into Timothy's mind, erasing everything about who and what they were, twisting the truth until it was almost unrecognizable. With each graceful word, Timothy's eyes became clouded. He slowly forgot about vampires, witches, wolves and anything else that crawled around in the dark.

The two faces in the room with him changed from the mildly terrifying suited vampire and the beautiful and caring woman to nothing but strangers. He could no longer think of the blond hybrid and shudder in fear. He could no longer think of the stunning and pink-cheeked witch that had become his muse and had stolen his heart. Life reverted back to a time where he knew nothing, back to when he was just a boy with a passion for the violin.

⋆⋆⋆

Elijah had taken the boy home, and whilst he was gone Ophelia had changed into clothes that were clean and free of dirt. A jumper that almost swallowed her whole, an old pair of black leggings and fuzzy socks, though not before she had a swift shower to rid her knees of mud and specks of blood.

Once she had stepped out, her sore muscles felt slightly less tense; but the weight of having to reveal to Davina that she had sent Timothy away with his family pushed her down.

She mindlessly wandered through the compound, sure to avoid Klaus. But eventually, she poked her head into one of the rooms and caught sight of the mindless scribbles Davina had drawn. She slumped into the comfy couch; her legs tucked beneath her as she rifled through the papers, small smudges of onyx-colored coal dusting her fingers.

With a sigh, she tossed them onto the table, and to her luck, two of the papers landed next to one another and the messy lines seemed to connect in multiple places. Ophelia's brows furrowed as she took the papers back into her hand, leaving the two that seemed to fit like a puzzle on the wooden table. 

She flicked through the papers in her hand, eyes darting between them and the two that were on the table and eventually she plucked one from the stack in her hands and carefully placed it to the left; they lined up. 

Davina had told Ophelia multiple times that the things she was drawing were evil and the siphon had simply brushed it off, after all, how could a bunch of mindless scribbles be evil? But now that she sat there and pieced them together, she could only assume that the picture, as a whole, was what Davina was calling evil.

"Ophelia." A voice behind her spoke and she instantly recognized it to be Elijah's. 

Her eyes didn't stray from her puzzle as she responded, "Did it go okay?"

"Everything went just fine. Timothy and his family are already on their way out of the city."

Her hands paused their mission as she tilted her head to look over her shoulder, "Thank you."

"It was the least I could do." his brows furrowed, eyes alight with intrigue as he watched her return to her task, "Those are the pictures Davina drew, the 'evil ones' correct?"

"Hm. I always ignored that, distracted her from the drawings; they made her nervous. But I never thought they could be 'evil'... thing is, by pure chance, I threw the pile down and two of them lined up... now four of them have. She wasn't drawing multiple things; she was drawing one huge drawing."

Elijah was impressed with her find, he had gone through the messy drawings earlier, after having a short conversation with Marcel, and yet he found nothing. He took a seat next to the siphons whose eyes looked akin to that of a crazy person as they darted back and forth, trying to find a correlation, a connecting line between the pages.

As his suit-clad arm brushed against hers, she looked up at him, her gaze caressing his face momentarily before dropping back to the pages, splitting the stack in half to hand some to the man. He took them without question and joined the woman in her mission to solve the puzzle before them.

They worked in a comfortable silence, the sound of papers rustling and their light breaths filling the space as they continuously shifted the papers around, building the picture piece by piece. 

"I must admit, I looked through these drawings myself and yet, found nothing," Elijah muttered softly causing Ophelia's lips to curve upwards.

"So, I'm smarter than a thousand-year-old vampire? We knew that already."

He chuckled, the sound drawing Ophelia's attention towards him with a small smile. Elijah placed another piece of paper down, the lines slotting into place as the smile remained, "We certainly did. Your wisdom and intellect does catch me off guard sometimes, I have to say."

There it was again. He would always compliment her brains, telling her how she spoke, acted and sounded older than she looked, of course she did. She was older than she seemed, and the thought brought back her conversation with Rebekah... reminding her of how she needed... wanted to tell Elijah everything. "There's a reason for that."

"There is?"

"I want to tell you but—"

"—Ophelia, you have no obligation to divulge anything of your past to me. It's simply an honor to know who you are now."

Ophelia ducked her head, her hair creating a barrier between herself and Elijah as, against everything, her cheeks heated. After her talk with Rebekah and realizing that there was definitely more to the two of them than light joking and flirting, it was difficult to ignore the way he spoke her name, the way his deep oak eyes bore into hers with complete attention.

She sucked in a breath and nodded just slightly, her damp hair jostling as she did, light droplets of water falling to the fabric that covered her thighs and seeping through to touch her skin. "Thank you." her voice came out as a mere whisper but Elijah heard her perfectly well and his lips curled upwards at the soft tone she spoke in. One that she didn't often share with many others.

She stared at the final two pieces of paper in her hands, Elijah held just one, and as she swallowed and rose her head she could immediately see where they belonged. She leaned forward and let the pieces fall in place, looking to Elijah to fill the final gap and as he did. They stilled.

Ophelia's eyes widened as she recognized who the large collection of sketches formed when put together. Tight and beautiful curls, a face that put even Aphrodite to shame... "Celeste." 

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06/01/2021

some of you might not have seen the post on my mb; updates will be slowing down across all of my books, as this year i want to write what i want, when i want. this means that i might spend weeks on end on this book, or perhaps ignore this one whilst i focus on another. I just thought i'd warn you all; but this story WILL NOT BE ABANDONED. this is my pride and joy.

also, I've just posted a will graham fic, hopefully to help make up for the lack of stories for the Hannibal fandom, check it out!