-•-•-

Couturie Forest was nearly sixty miles away from the abattoir in the heart of New Orleans, which meant they were forced to take a car instead of using speed, their usual method of transportatoin. Elijah sat in the drivers seat, Hayley in the passenger seat, and Rebekah, Freya, and Remi piled into the back seats. 

During the drive, Remi found it hard to keep her eyes open so she quickly drifted off into sleep as the Mikaelsons talked amongst themselves. 

"Couturie Forest seems like an awfully public place to be hiding an entire werewolf pack, don't you think?" Rebekah asked, slightly skeptical as to what they should be prepared for.

"I agree, I suppose we'll have to wait and see what awaits us. I only hope the boy is ok, for Remi's sake," Elijah answered.

It took them almost two hours to finally arrive at the forest. They pulled into the public parking lot, driving further off the path and concealing their car in a deeply wooded bog.

"Remi, we're here. Time to wake up, love," Rebekah whispered, nudging Remi awake.

Remi slowly sat up from her seat and stretched as she stepped out of the car. "We're here already?" she asked, looking around at the trees they were surrounded by. 

"Come on, let's go look around," Hayley chuckled, guiding the four others. 

They walked around for what felt like miles, searching every crevice in the general area. 

Remi yawned. "Are we sure that this is the right place? Maybe I messed up the tracking spell or the DNA or something," she offered guiltily. 

"Of course not, you did everything perfectly. We just need to look a little deeper, don't give up just yet," Freya responded.

Nothing seemed to stand out until they reached an open area on the edge of a small lake. At first glance, nothing stood out in particular about it. However, once they walked closer, there seemed to be a magical current in the air. No one, not even the originals, were able to pass through it. 

"What is this?" Remi asked, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. Since she had only just recently discovered the vast possibilities of magic, she still had much to cover in the lessons with Freya. 

"It seems to be some sort of a protection and barrier spell combined. Whatever is on the other side, someone dedicated months of time to concealing it. If we're going to break this spell, I need to channel someone again. Well... actually more like all of you," Freya explained.

"All of us?" Hayley asked, stunned.

"Yes. I'll channel one person at a time until our magic overpowers theirs. If we're lucky, I think I'll only need to tap into each of you once," Freya replied.

"Here, I'll go first," Elijah said, offering his hand and walking up next to Freya.

"Alright. Remi, you should rest up. I've already channeled you once today and I don't want to exhaust you," Freya said, taking ahold of Elijah's hand while looking back at Remi. 

Remi nodded and leaned up against a tree, Hayley and Rebekah moving to sit down next to her. Freya began to channel Elijah, quietly chanting a spell under her breath while placing one hand on the impenetrable barrier. 

Once Freya used up a significant portion of Elijah's power, she let go of his hand. Rebekah stood up and walked into his place, Freya then continuing where she left off, and eventually doing the same with Hayley. Remi woke up once again in the middle of the spell, watching as the barrier seemed to dim in power. 

Hayley returned to her previous seat once she was done, Remi then walking up to fill her place. 

"Are you sure you want to do this, sweetie? You don't seem like yourself," Freya said as the girl stood next to her.

"I'm fine, I think I'm just really tired. But I have to do this; for my best friend," Remi replied, taking ahold of Freya's hand.

Freya pondered a few moments before nodding, then finally beginning the last of the spell. Remi seemed to grow paler as the spell advanced, but she never once complained. She was determined to save Sawyer.

When the barrier finally broke, everyone's eyes darted up to see an entrance to a cave, one that had been completely transparent and unnoticeable before. The five supernatural creatures ventured into the cave, listening intently for any signs of other presences. 

At the end of the long, dark, damp passageway, there was a faint outline of a door. Everyone walked closer and soon realized that there was in fact a boarded-off entrance there. Elijah quickly sped into the door, causing it to break and allow access to a whole new room. In the room, it contained dozens of emaciated people, ranging from preteens to middle-aged  adults. Elijah, Rebekah, Freya, Hayley, and Remi stared in horror at the sheer amount of people held in captivity. 

Elijah and Rebekah went around the room helping the children find their way out, while Hayley, Freya, and Remi collected everyone else. To Remi's amazement, at the very back of the room stood Sawyer. The two stared at each other in utter awe for a moment, but then instantly ran towards each other at full speed. The four others smiled as they watched the two hug for almost five undisturbed minutes. 

"You're ok?," Remi asked, not believing that she was awake at that current moment. 

"I am, I'm ok," he responded, not wanting to let go.

"Oh, um, Sawyer I want you to meet some people. This is Freya, Rebekah, Elijah, and well, you already know Hayley. I've been staying with them ever since... some stuff happened," Remi said pointed over to the others.

"Hi, nice to meet you guys. Thanks for, you know, getting us out of here," Sawyer said and smiled.

"Don't thank us, thank Remi. She was the one who found you," Hayley replied, smiling, and gestured towards Remi who just stared at the ground awkwardly. 

"Come on, let's get out of this cave," Remi giggled and led Sawyer out, the four others following as well, happy to finally see the girl smiling. 

They all eventually returned to the car, Sawyer, Remi, and Freya getting into the back while Rebekah sat in the passenger seat. 

"Hayley, you aren't coming?" Elijah asked.

"No, I have to guide the rest of the pack back to someplace safe," she replied. "But thank you though, for helping to save them. It really means a lot."

Elijah nodded, pulling Hayley into a final hug before getting into the car as well, driving off into the far distance.

-•-•-

When they arrived back at the abattoir, Remi led Sawyer around on a tour, while the three originals stayed behind in the courtyard. 

"I'm glad she finally has a chance to start over. She needed it," Rebekah said.

"Absolutely, I just pray it lasts this time," Elijah agreed.

"That's all we really can do," Freya replied.

-•-•-

i'm so sorry, you all probably hate me for updating so late. but... there it is; the official tenth chapter. I never thought I would reach 6.1k reads so quickly, wtf. You guys really are amazing and I hope you enjoy my writing. If you like books somewhat like this one, check out my reading list on my profile page titled 'the originals' if you want idc. But anyways... just wanted to say thanks again for the constant support. Love you all tremendously <3 OH! One more thing, I have SO many books in progress. If you like stories like these (ones with kids, not love stories) then you're all in for a HUGE treat. Stay tuned, check my profile for updates? Release dates will be on my 'about/bio' section soon! 

-charlie