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chapter ten ━ when the party's over

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❝ i could lie ❞

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ATHENA TOSSED THE lid of the box aside, digging through the dresses with a scowl. Her hate for the attire still had not faded. Klaus had surprisingly apologized to Elijah and told him to invite her and Rebekah back to the Quarter. That was just the thing. She got no apology. Only her noble brother did. And so she was in a worse mood than she already was. In the beginning, she was going to take her stuff and move into Thomas's apartment. Then Rebekah asked her to just give it a chance. She reluctantly agreed even though Klaus did not deserve it. Ever since she had moved into her new bedroom at the Quarter, she had not spoken a word to the hybrid.

Thomas had heard the news and spoke with her over the phone since he was at his place. Perhaps she was just going crazy or overlooking it, but he was hiding something. She didn't pressure him in telling her though. In fact, she didn't even say anything about it. As she ran her hands through the box, a sigh escaped her lips. Her arms felt cold, her body felt cold. Athena didn't realize how much she was already used to him being around. He provided that warmth she needed. Letting out an aggravated groan, she pushed her body away from the container, running a hand through her hair as she turned her body to face the window near her bed.

Rebekah had explained to her that today was the Casket Girls Festival. And because Davina was becoming an important aspect and because she represented the werewolves (not to mention that was an Original) it was crucial for her to attend. But she just didn't want to. Would shifting through boxes and boxes of clothes even help? All she was trying to do was distract herself from all of the drama and the fact her anger at Klaus was strong.

A familiar person appeared in the doorway, standing there and surveying her before tapping on the frame. She turned around to see Thomas smiling shyly. "Hey." She greeted him with the same reply. "Rebekah told me about this festival. I'm guessing you're going?"

"Kinda have to whether I like it or not. Marcel and my brothers are dealing with Davina right now so I stuck myself up here."

He stepped into the room, looking down at the box. "Don't blame you." When he got closer, he saw the stressed look on her face. "I mean it, if he wasn't your brother, I'd kill him." Thomas reached up and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, making her smile contently. "You don't need to be so tense, Ena. Relax." He went behind her and rubbed her shoulders. "Relax."

Athena sighed. "Kinda hard to. Things are crazy. Things are always going to be crazy for us. I'm an Original whose the Queen of wolves, no pressure there at all." Thomas pressed his lips together firmly to keep from laughing. She could tell for some reason. "What?" She turned to look at him. "Don't laugh at me."

"I wasn't." The laughter was getting hard to contain. Athena slapped his arm playfully when she saw. He chuckled and smiled. "You're just so cute when you're stressed."

"That's not nice."

She couldn't but laugh too. They calmed down, silence filling the room. Athena slowly put her hand up, uncertainty and hesitation clouding her vision. She was going to put it on his cheek but then Hayley appeared in the room. "Hey, Athena—" Her hand instantly fell. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"You're fine." She looked over at the wolf with a forced smile. "What is it?"

Hayley pointed out in the hall. "Rebekah brought out some other boxes. I figured you could maybe find a dress in there."

"Of course, thank you." Athena glanced at Thomas who did look happy that they had been interrupted in their moment. She was so close to showing him some affection and then the pregnant woman had to show up. His jaw clenched. "I'll see you later." The redhead looked over at her and then nodded, letting her leave.

Rebekah had a few more boxes on a table in the courtyard, rummaging through them. The males were nowhere to be found oddly but she didn't bother commenting on it as she slid over to one of the boxes, throwing the top onto the floor. "Hayley told me that Davina was missing." The said wolf appeared and started looking through the other box next to them.

The blonde nodded. "Walked right out of the front door, apparently." She knew for a fact that her sister did not know of the witch's whereabouts, but perhaps Hayley did. So she looked over at her. "Know anything about it?"

"No, although I did tell her that the witch Elders were dead," was the reply. Both of the Mikaelson sisters looked up at her with identical expressions. "But I think it was more that Marcel didn't tell her that the one thing preventing her from being free had been eliminated."

Athena pointed at her. "So you are the reason she ran off. If you hadn't told her, she wouldn't have." She brought out a dress, squinting at it before tossing it aside. Just her luck that there wasn't a single vintage dress that seemed to match her at all.

"Hey, I was just telling her the truth," Hayley defended. "She's the one who realized they were just using her to keep their control over the witches."

Rebekah drew out a sigh. " Yeah well, I've never been a fan of the boys club and neither has Ena." Her sister nodded in agreement, throwing another dress to the side. "Except for Thomas. She is quite cozy with him." Athena shot her a look but the blonde waved it off. "Just wait, Elijah will join them and the three of them will be impossible." At the words, the three turned to look at Marcel and Klaus muttering to each other on the balcony. "Used by the witches, lied to by Marcel, manipulated by Elijah, threatened by Klaus. Just like a modern-day Casket Girl."

Athena frowned at her sister, reaching her hand out to hold her's. She squeezed it. "Remember what you told me, Bex. Us girls have got to stick together." The hybrid used her other hand to grab one of Hayley's. "Always."

———

"Screw this," she proclaimed, tossing the entire box behind her and onto the floor. Thomas looked up from his book at her. Athena tapped her foot, spinning to face him. "I'm wearing this to the festival." She gestured to her maroon sweater and black skinny jeans. "Who cares about some stupid fancy antique dress? I'm still beautiful."

He cracked a smile. "You always are."

The wolf blushed, looking away from him, and then crossing her arms over her chest. She finally looked back at him to see him waiting patiently for something. "About what happened earlier I..." Thomas was nearly off his seat with anticipation. He truly wanted her to be open with him and not be afraid of showing affection. But then he was crushed. "Hayley told me about why Davina left."

Forcing a smile, he nodded. "Yeah, I listened in." Disappointment showed on his face and if she noticed it, she didn't show it. Thomas stood up, setting his book down, and crossed the room to reach her. Athena looked up at him when she saw, trying to look innocent. "Why did you stop when Hayley walked in?"

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Even now you still can't lie to me," he replied with a crack of a smile. "You've never been able to lie to me without me catching it."

She stayed with her innocent look, shrugging. "I'm not lying." Thomas quirked an eyebrow and the female sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. "Just forget it okay? It was nothing." The Original turned her back on him, grabbed the box from the floor, and went to exit the room.

He threw out his hand to capture her arm, stopping the woman in her tracks. Before she could say anything, Thomas did. "Talk to me, Ena. I'm willing to be patient but I need to understand what is going on in your head. Are you afraid? Embarrassed? What Athena, tell me, please."

After he finished, she ripped her arm out of his grasp, not looking at him. Unshed tears filled her eyes. "Or maybe, I'm not fit for this Queen role after all. Klaus was right." She exited the room, leaving him there standing there with an expression of pure rage. Niklaus got into her head yet again. He would not stand for that.

Thomas left the room once he was sure his mate was farther away. And once he did, finding the scent of the egocentric hybrid wasn't difficult. He was in one of the many rooms, looking out the window at the festival which was starting, the sun dying down in the background.

"I knew I smelt dog," the Original spoke, smirking as he turned around.

But right as he was, Thomas was already there, pushing him against the wall with his hybrid eyes glowing. "I swear to you Klaus, if you say another word to Athena that in any way makes her doubt herself, I will make sure you never speak again." Klaus went to speak but he cut him off. "Did I say you could speak? No, I don't recall that I did," he growled. Pushing off of him, the wolf glared. "I'm sure my people wouldn't have a problem tearing your throat out for insulting their Queen."

"Is that a threat?" Klaus questioned, the smirk still there. He was clearly amused. Deep down, there was a sliver of fear because he knew just how much devotion went. Thomas would truly do anything for Athena.

The redhead chuckled darkly. "No, Klaus, this your one and only warning. Leave. Athena. Alone." He left with one last flicker of his electric blue eyes, leaving Klaus with that forced smirk. Now, he didn't do so well with threats.

———

Rebekah was leading Athena through the crowd of people, the sun gone so it was dark outside. Hayley was nowhere in sight but neither mentioned anything about it. And surprisingly, the blonde didn't ask her sister about the odd behavior she was displaying. She hadn't seen Thomas since she left him alone so she most certainly was not aware of his moment with Klaus.

The hybrid seemed normal when the two approached him, Marcel, and Elijah who stood in the middle of the road with the other civilians. Klaus threw them a smile of greeting. "Sisters, come to help us find our stray?"

Athena scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Davina isn't a dog. She is a witch that could probably snap your neck with a single blink of an eye." She smiled serenely at him even though she was seething on the inside. He had the audacity as to act as if nothing happened; as if he hadn't done anything to her.

"That theory has yet to be proven correct. Now, we're moments away from retrieving her." There was a certain tone in his voice that they were all familiar with. Seems as though nothing changed even after all these years.

Elijah fixed the cuff of his suit, sighing gently. "I recognize that tone of voice, Niklaus. Clearly, you have some diabolical machination. What is it?" With only a smirk in reply, Klaus left them to go over to Timothy who was walking to his car.

Rebekah shook her head with disbelief. She quickly grabbed her sister's hand and dragged her away from the males, making sure she was out of earshot before she said anything (though it didn't matter because none of them would be able to use their heightened hearing due to all of the noise going on already). "I say we find Davina before they do. Then we help her get away."

"Easier said than done, Rebekah." Athena took her hand back, following after her. "I've never met her so I have no clue what her scent is. But, she shouldn't be far since our brother is planning something disastrous."

"Perhaps we could call Thomas? He could help us." Then she saw the look on the brunette's face. Rebekah became concerned. "What's wrong? Did you two fight?"

She made a face. "I don't know what you would call it honestly. But I'm just...lost at what to do, that's all."

Rebekah nodded, understanding. "Hm, well, if you needed advice, you can always talk to me, you know that. I promise not to tell anyone." Athena thanked her with a soft smile, looking past her to see the said redhead standing off to the side, eyeing Klaus who was heading towards the compound. She noticed that his muscles were tense, a fire in his eyes. He looked absolutely pissed.

"You know what," Athena started, turning to look at her sister. "You go ahead, I'll stay here and see if Davina goes towards the compound." Rebekah just nodded and told her to be careful before walking off into the crowd. The wolf took a deep breath as she jogged over to Thomas. It was almost as if she knew that he was angry. It was like she could feel it in her bones.

He had begun to follow Klaus when she stopped moving. Athena opened her mouth to call out to him but then her words fell short. She took a step back, clenching her jaw, tears filling her eyes again. Every time she felt as if she couldn't do this Queen thing, all it took was one glance at Thomas and she was falling, back to saying that she was ready. Back and forth, that's all it was. And she despised herself for doing that.

Turning on her heel, the hybrid walked in the opposite direction. As if he sensed her, Thomas turned his head to see her. He could feel her pain and instantly changed course. No way was he going to leave her to face the demons alone. And while she might need space, this was not the time for it.

Athena ended up stopping at one of the buildings, using her vampirism to jump onto the roof to sit on the edge and watch the humans celebrate. She was alone for a good fifteen minutes before he arrived. Thomas stood behind her, frowning a bit before he sat beside her. In no way did she react by moving or looking at him. However, she did say something. "You know, it's still odd being alive again. It feels like I was a human yesterday and it has actually been a thousand years. Since then I've killed people, manipulated, got my heart broken...a modern day casket girl who lost her mind."

He hummed at her words. "I think you are forgetting the part where I haven't been alive in this time as long as you have. Esther brought me back when she aged you, remember? It was only a few months ago." She said nothing and he felt a weight on his shoulders. Taking a deep breath, he finally braved up. "I talked to Klaus." She looked over at him, her eyes wide. "Well, more like left him with a warning but hey, I still was in a room with him without getting my neck snapped."

She laughed. "Consider that a gift because my brother would've ripped your heart out. You must have scared him." He shook his head with a small chuckle. "What exactly did you two talk about?"

"You." Athena gave him a look. "I'm serious. He can't keep getting inside your head, it isn't okay and I'm not going to let him bring you down because he's having a bad century. You are your own person, he doesn't own you and that gives him no right to make choices for you or tell you what you can't and can do."

By the time he was done with his mini-rant, she was gaping in shock. Thomas looked over at her and raised an eyebrow in question. Athena was at loss for words so she settled for, "Stop being so cute." He rolled his eyes playfully. "No, I mean it, stop it. My goodness, Thomas, you get me every time with your speeches. You are sent from the angels I swear." She tackled him onto the ground, smiling wide. The redhead laughed in surprise, laying down on his back with her laying on top of him, her chin on his chest. "I don't deserve you."

"And I don't deserve such an amazing, beautiful, and intelligent Queen to rule beside."

———

The two had parted not long after that, settling for some silence as they resumed watching the humans before they said goodnight and went their separate ways. Athena entered the Abattoir, walking into the room where Elijah and Hayley stood over a massive sketch. She felt her smile fall as she took in the scene. "What the hell is going on? What did I miss? Is Davina alright?"

Elijah stood up and turned to look at her, looking quite startled. Hayley exited the room without a word, the same expression on her face. The Original glanced at the sketch again. "Everything is fine, sister. Davina is safe. I will fill you in on the details soon."

"So then why do you look like you saw a ghost, Elijah?" She grabbed his hand, making him look at her. "Hey, tell me." But he was quiet, staring at the woman Davina had drawn in her parchments. It was like a puzzle. The dark lines told a story, a warning. Something sinister was heading their way. Something always did.

———

I'm so sorry it has taken so long for a chapter to arrive! Motivation for this book has been slow but I promise I'll try to get back on track. I recently finished rewriting a book of mine so I should have more time to update this book (let's hope). Anyway, let me know your thoughts! Athena is having doubts again and will be off and on for a while because that is just how she is. I hope you guys have a great day/night! :)

What did you think of Thomas's "warning"? What did you think of his little rant? When do you think Athena will finally accept her role as Queen?

I hope you guys have a great day/night and don't forget to vote on this chapter, comment your thoughts, and follow me for updates!