WARNINGS: BLOOD, VIOLENCE, RACISM, TRAUMA, PTSD

a/n: keep commenting and voting guys <3

┌─────── •✦• ───────┐

Wednesday, December 21st, 1917:

KLAUS reached for Adrienne, his fingertips were inches away from her.  He watched as she slipped further into the fire that threatened to engulf her in its inferno.

Klaus tried to scream and let out a feral growl as his eyes fueled with anger, even flickering gold but no sound came out.

Nothing could come out.

He tried running and yelling but all his efforts were futile. He drifted further and further away from his sweetheart.

He couldn't save her, he felt powerless, like everything was mocking his entire being.

The burning fire glowed, spitting its ash all around, attacking his flesh when reached out his hand to get Adrienne.

Tears flowed down his face when she fell into the flames. Her cries grew louder as she screamed for him and him only.

Her last words were his name.

....The name of a man who couldn't save her.

Klaus woke up panting as he tried steadying his breathing. Sweat dripped from his face and stuck to his body like a second layer of skin.

He continued gasping for air, but his mind did not waver from his surreal nightmare.

Horrific images kept flashing past his eyes, causing him to blink away the distortion, he needed to differentiate the nightmare from reality. Adrienne's demise imprinted in his mind and made it impossible to steady the beating of his own heart.

Klaus reached for the clock on his bedside; the time showed that it was five in the morning. But time was merely a weak concept compared to Adrienne's life.

The very life that could be in danger.

He rushed out of his bed and picked up various items of clothing, stumbling to get his shoes, shirt and coat.

"Rebekah." He yelled erratically, "Elijah," he banged on their doors, "Kol."

He kept banging until they all emerged from their rooms, half-dressed, blinking back the sleep that threatened to take over.

"Must you wake us up? I need my beauty sleep." Rebekah sighed and rubbed her eyes.

"Somethings wrong." he stressed pacing up and down the landing. "something's wrong."

Kol groaned, "Well perhaps if you could spit it out-"

"Something's wrong and I need you to help me." Klaus raised his voice, making them stiffen, "It's Adrienne."

Rebekah was the first to shut her door, grabbing her clothes and untying her curlers.

Elijah flashed in and out of his room in seconds.

Leaving Kol, who begrudgingly followed their actions, whilst Klaus mumbled under his breath, blinking harshly, trying to remove the images from his nightmares out of his mind.

A feeling of dread gripped his subconscious and he couldn't yank it off.

His bottom lip quivered at the thought of her being hurt. Which meant that he couldn't protect her. The big bad wolf, couldn't protect someone he is completely in love with.

Elijah appeared behind him, his brown hair was tangled, but he didn't have time to think about that now. He softly placed a hand on the hybrid's trembling shoulder. "Brother."

Klaus shrugged him off, he was rapidly breathing, "we need to go now."

"Where my I ask?" Kol asked, sauntering out of his room. Only an overcoat and trousers concealed him from the cold weather.

Rebekah stood near him, waiting for the hybrid's answer, sharing his feeling of dread about the witch in question.

"Adrienne's house."

─────── •✦• ───────

"Adrienne," Klaus yelled as he aggressively opened the Lumière's door. Disrupting the peace of her family wasn't a priority to him.

He only cared about making sure she was safe.

As soon as he stepped over the threshold, he was met by the Tate girl, who immediately shushed him, "will you be quiet, they are trying to locate her." She nodded behind her, making the Mikaelsons snap their gazes towards the father-son duo.

Hadeon and Erebus mirrored their messy attire. They were kneeling on the hallway floor, chanting lowly, surrounded by candles.

"Well she's a feisty one," Kol huffed out, receiving glares from his siblings and the human.

"Kol, be quiet," Rebakah snapped, then stepped over the threshold, as did Elijah.

But the youngest Mikaelson man remained outside, "For gods sakes," he pounded at the invisible force, "will someone let me in!"

"Silence," Elijah held his hand up, stopping his insistent noise. "Let them focus."

"I could help," Kol hissed at his older brother.

"I thought you were a vampire?" Mira asked quietly, uncomfortable by the unfamiliar face.

She was only wearing her robe, which was very thin and lacy, she wished she grabbed something else, but Hadeon had woken her up an hour before. The couple had searched his sister's bedroom, finding the bed untouched, meaning she had not come home last night from her witch meeting. So they quickly concluded they had been taken.

"Darling I am much more than meets the eye."

Mira's cheeks heated up under his darkened gaze.

Hadeon sensed the originals presence. His eyes flickered back to their natural colour, before he dropped his father's hands and turned towards the Mikaelson siblings.

"We've tried different tracking spells, but nothing works," he said lowly, trying to not let his voice shake in front of them. He was utterly scared for his sister.

"I dreamt that something was wrong," Klaus admitted, looking into the flames that surrounded the Lumière men.

He nervously played with the rings that encircled his fingers. They were the only things keeping his inner beast at bay. He recalled how Adrienne frequently wore them. Her touch and scent still clung to the material.

Elijah noticed his fear and edged closer, resting a hand on his shoulder and this time he didn't shrug it off.

"Me too," Hadeon gulped, then turned to Kol, who stood outside, "come in."

"Nice to see you again Deon," The youngest Mikaelson brother strolled in, eyeing up the Tate girl before turning to the younger witch.

"It would be nicer if you didn't look at my woman."

"Yes well-"

"Will you two just bloody focus?" Rebekah snapped at them, "just find Adrienne." She exclaimed, annoyed that it even had to be said to begin with.

Kol raised his hands in mock surrender, causing him to receive more scowls from his siblings.

Klaus on the other hand was unnervingly calm. There had only been a few occasions in his life where he had felt so scared, one of them was now, but he tried to not show it.

"I'm trying." Hadeon shot her a look then turned to his father, "Dad."

Erebus stopped chanting and then wiped the sweat off his forehead. He stared up at his child, ignoring the presence of the other in the room, "they must've taken her to a dark place, a terrible place."

"Meaning what exactly?" Klaus questioned with clenched fists, eyes darting between the two witches, he let out a shaky breath, trying to convince himself not to paint the town red.

And potentially burn it all to the ground.

Erebus resentfully stared up at the hybrid, "That it will take much more than normal
magic to find Adrienne and her witches." He informed, feeling defeated and rather scared that he might lose his daughter if they didn't act fast enough.

A look of realization overtook Kol's face, "Something else could work." He spoke up, everyone turned to him.

"What?"

"Voodoo."

─────── •✦• ───────

"Wakey wakey little witches."

Adrienne slowly regained conciseness, staring around at the horrific sight in front of her.

Each one of her closest friends were tied against a pilar of a cold and abandoned house, dirtied and bruised.

The culprits laughed maniacally when they tried to escape.

"Your efforts are adorable, I would applaud but I don't want to," one of the men spoke aloud, holding a shotgun.

The witch queen slowly looked up, to come face to face with Nekane Crawford, leader of one of the biggest witch hunter organisations in the city.

He stood alongside Helmer Bateman.

The cruellest man, more known for abusing and slicing up his victims. Also known as Nekane's superior.

The witches were surrounded by a few more of their hunters, all armed with various weapons, ready to be used.

The rest of the Équilbre witches kept trying to rid themselves of their binds, as they were too weak to use their magic.

"Stop," Nekane gripped Adrienne's neck, making her gasp for breath, "I heard this is what Ren did to you before slapping that pretty little face of yours."

Tears streamed down the witch's faces as they stared at their queen.

"You killed him," Nekane raged, his grip tightened around her neck, Adrienne's eyes bulged out of her head, "now we get to do whatever we want to you."

"And even have some fun," Helmer added darkly and the men around him chuckled loudly, making the foundation of the rotten building shift.

"Why?" Adrienne choked out, "leave them alone." She kept trying to tug at the binds but they were too strong, "they had nothing to do with Ren's-" she was cut off by a harsh slap coming down on her face, scaring her witches.

Nekane smiled wickedly down at her, her bottom lip split and started to bleed, "you don't get to speak his name you negress bitch. They will get blamed for your actions." He used his gun to point at each witch, "they are just as guilty as you. But we need to educate your race on something."

All the hunters started nodding in agreement, cocking their guns and pointing at the witch's.

More tears spilt from their eyes.

Helmer stepped forward, grinning and enjoying the fear on their faces, "We're goin' to tell you a little history lesson. True history and not what they're teaching in those little schools."

"True American history," a witch hunter added.

Helmer stood in front of the witch Queen, "I'll start."

─────── •✦• ───────

The Lumière men returned to the hallway, with four dolls, that replicated, Adrienne, Clementine, Valerie and Kali.

Kol helped for witches lay them across the ground near each candle.

The rest of the Mikaelsons and Mira stood cautiously around them, wondering what they were doing.

Mira shifted uncomfortably and cleared her throat, ready to ask no one in particular, "Why do those dolls look like-"

"The witches?" Hadeon turned to her, she nodded, "each doll represents each witch, the appearance is just a minor detail. They were made for protection and guardianship. Many confuse the dolls as evil spirits but in this case it's the opposite."

Erebus continued and the others listened in curiosity, "The doll is not only able to ward off evil, but at the same time, it can also attack evil if instructed. Some believe that the dolls represent pain and curses, but it depends on how you use them. Many choose to show their doll being impaled with pins or knives, which will, in turn, cause significant discomfort to one's enemies."

"How does this help Adrienne?" Klaus asked snappily, his nostrils flared at the idea of anything happening to his witch. He tried to not think about his nightmare but that was all that swarmed his thoughts.

"Young Deon is going to project himself into his sister's doll, seeing where she is and where the others are, presuming they all are in the same place," Kol informed them.

The Lumières were unfazed by his knowledge, understanding that many of their ancestors were aware that he ran with witches throughout his lifetime.

On the other hand, his siblings knew that he had tapped into his witch side before they had turned into vampires but they failed to realise how passionate he was about it.

"Vodou is a religion practised in Haiti and other places in the Caribbean. When I used to visit I would see these dolls everywhere," Hadeon explained, whilst his father eyed him nervously and Erebus didn't notice Kol's gaze, "Vodou practitioners do make dolls, but they use them for completely different purposes than revenge."

"Vodou dolls are used to help people with healing and as a way to communicate with deceased loved ones," Kol added, making the two witches nod in agreement.

"I didn't realise you were so knowledgeable about Vodou brother," Elijah said in slight shock, he was still very tired, but his concern for the missing Équilbre witches outweighed his lack of sleep.

He caught his sister moving to the small sofa in the corner of the room, along with Mira through his peripheral.

Klaus scoffed bitterly, not taking his eyes off the eerie-looking dolls, "I'm guessing he found time between betraying and conspiring against me." He jabbed, making his younger brother roll his eyes.

"Not everything's about you Niklaus." Kol quipped, moving more candles to sit by the feet of the dolls.

Taking part in something as simple as this calmed him.

He hadn't been around many witches since his return but he knew he still had to find Mary-Alice Claire and her friend Astrid, aware that his brother hadn't caught them or killed them... yet.

"Well, it is when your anger is wrongfully targeting me."

Kol snapped his head towards him, a glare took over his face, "Wrongfully? You put a dagger in my heart."

Klaus took a step forward, not caring about the fire that stood at his feet, "And you-"

"Will you two just bloody be quiet?" Rebekah snapped in a hushed tone, "My friends are missing, one of which is the girl you're in love wi-" she slapped her hand over her mouth, everyone halted their movements and turned to her with widened eyes.

But instead of turning to her. Klaus looked directly at his older brother, betrayal flashed through his blue eyes. He didn't need the whole bloody world knowing about his feelings towards Adrienne yet, especially if he couldn't say them aloud.

"Elijah you said you wouldn't say anything." He hissed at him.

Elijah raised his hands in defence, "I promise I didn't..."

Hadeon sighed, "It's really obvious."

"Very obvious," Erebus spoke up, anger lacing his tone at the mere thought.

Neither of the two witches took their eyes off the dolls, feeling the magic pour off them. Hadeon needed to be calm and collected to start projecting but it was hard to do, because all he could think were negative thoughts about whether or not his sister was dead.

"Very loud too brother," a smirk spread across Kol's face, as he referenced the night he and his siblings overheard Adrienne moaning in Klaus' room.

He wasn't an idiot, he knew his brother was making a show of it all. Kol was irritated by it, Elijah chose to leave the house and Rebekah blocked out the noise as she sorted through her closet.

Klaus shot his brother an aggravated look, "shut up."

He didn't have time to deal with Kol, especially when he was thinking of ways to kill the vampires he has sent to protect Adrienne at all times because they had clearly failed.

Therefore they would meet their end, by his hands... of course.

Then he could start thinking about the methods he would use to vanquish every witch hunter in the city and then the country and then the world.

"So there's a wedding in Adrienne's future," Mira said excitedly, ready to start clapping at the thought, Rebekah's face lit up as well.

"No." Klaus and Erebus said quickly, then turned to each other in disdain.

But before either could speak, realisation dawned on Rebekah's face, "Wait, you told Elijah before you told me?" she asked, mouthing gaping, her anxiety and curiosity were the only things keeping her awake.

She already knew about her brother's feelings before he did, but she still felt annoyed.

The nobleman shook his head, "Well-"

"I didn't tell him a bloody thing." Klaus interrupted, then turned to the witches, "Can we just get back to what matters?"

He didn't want to keep getting sidetracked. It had already been forty-five minutes and he feared that his nightmare would come true.

Mira then spoke up again, "So, are you and Adrienne get-"

"We are not getting married Mira," Klaus raised his voice at her, gaining her lover's attention.

"Don't yell at her," Hadeon and Rebekah said in unison, the latter comforting the now sullen-looking teenager.

A scowling Klaus was pulled back by a cool-headed Elijah.

"Don't lash out, due to your overwhelming fear that she won't love you back," Kol murmured, making the youngest Lumière man snicker.

"Not now, Kol." Elijah chastised his grinning brother.

Klaus forced his shut eyes and pictured his psychotic brother's head hanging off a spike.

"Enough!" Erebus yelled, voicing breaking, causing silence to engulf them all, "My child is missing and possibly hurt. Nikolai," he turned to the youngest Mikaelson brother who was immediately disgusted at the use of his name, "please assist my son."

Kol eyed the man before helping Hadeon, who had calmed significantly.

"We will find her dad." Hadeon sent his father a reassuring look and it was quickly returned.

"Or there will be hell to pay." Klaus mumbled in distress.

─────── •✦• ───────

"The great Madame Delphine LaLaurie blessed our city, by torturing the dirtied pieces of shit and bled them dry," Helmer spoke with conviction, joy glistened in his eyes as he droned on.

His men as well as Nekane listened in anticipation and excitement.

They had already hit the witches many times, making them even more bloody.

"She was doing God's work," he added, strolling around each pillar, waving his gun around like it was a toy, "even though she had a mean old face, she somehow managed to be a socialite."

"But that's not all, is it Helmer?" Nekane asked with an evil smirk, the older man shook his head and mirrored his expression, "the first thing I heard about her is that she drove slaves to hang themselves."

"One of them even jumped from the roof to avoid a whip-yielding," one of his men chuckled as he spoke, resulting in more laughs to bounce off the fragile foundation of the house, "Now that one was clever."

"But she was slave," Helmer said, shutting down any idea that the man thought up, "I bet she looked like you," he said pointing his gun to the young witch Queen, her tears were coated with blood, "stupid and black," he cackled, "but and least she had the decency to kill herself," he said mockingly, pushing the butt of the gun to her head, "but you couldn't do that could you?"

"Your mama should've killed you whilst you were inside of her," Nekane screamed in her face.

Adrienne's lips quivered, "Why..."

"What bitch?" he slapped her across the face, she groaned in pain, "speak a little louder."

"Why are we here? In this house," she croaked out.

"Why?" Nekane asked, mimicking her voice, all of the men in the room laughed along, as they continued to slap the other witch's faces, "All of those great things happened in this great house."

The witches exchanged painfilled looks. They were in Madame Delphine Lalauire's house.

The hunters personally raided The Euphoria, during one of their witch meetings, emerging from the secret backdoor, that someone must've told them about.

Adrienne could've sworn that no one but the witches knew about it, so she concluded that one of their customers must've snitched.

"So this is where you will meet your end," Nekane continued, "The end our brother Ren should've seen."

Adrienne spat out the blood that filled her mouth, "Too bad I killed him." she laughed darkly before he grabbed her jaw.

"So I will kill you," he raged, "but not before, we put some holes in you." he motioned his men to put the guns at the witches legs.

A gunshot rang through the room, followed by screams and cries.

─────── •✦• ───────

Hadeon's chocolate brown eyes faded and flickered to black, he muttered a chant under his breath, focusing on each doll, then looked at his sister's.

The candles that surrounded him flashed, causing a cool breeze to spread through the house.

Erebus and Kol held back his shoulders as he began to shake, making his lover squirm uncomfortably in her seat.

Mira hated seeing people in pain, but she also had no clue what was going on. Rebekah grabbed her hand, noticing her discomfort.

"Is it working?" Klaus asked impatiently, feeling antsy to go out and kill whatever or whoever if he didn't get Adrienne back in the next ten minutes.

It had only been an hour since he had woken up in distress and he honestly believed that they were running out of time.

"It's only started," Kol snapped, then turned back to Hadeon, whose body had finally relaxed.

"What do you see son?" Erebus asked calmly, his voice was oddly soothing.

"It's dark," Hadeon spoke as if he were in a trance, making everyone very uncomfortable, "men are everywhere."

"White men?"

"No they're blue," Hadeon scoffed. Kol forced himself not to laugh.

"Focus," Erebus advised.

"White men with guns," Hadeon continued, Klaus felt his stomach drop, "Kali, Valerie, Clementine," he spoke up and Elijah and Klaus shuffled closer, "Adrienne."

Suddenly the dolls lifted off of the ground, thriving and cracking as they moved.

"What does this mean?" Klaus demanded and his blue eyes darkened in anger.

"It cannot be good," Elijah muttered.

"Oh, my-" Mira covered her mouth, stopping herself from shrieking.

Red patches of liquid began to seep through the dolls as they started to cry out.

"What the bloody hell is happening Hadeon." Klaus clenched his fists, his chest heaved up and down and tears threatened to spill from his eyes, "Hadeo-"

Suddenly the youngest Lumière man cried out in pain, as blood oozed out of his thigh, startling and scaring everyone.

A hole tore open his flesh, "they've been shot." he grunted and attempted to ignore the spreading pain.

"Where son, where are they?" Erebus asked pleadingly.

Hadeon gasped, his eyes faded back to the brown pools that swam inside the whites circles.

"They're at Madame Delphine Lalaurie's old home," he blurted out.

Klaus sped out of the house, Elijah shot his sister a look, before she replied, "I'll stay here with Mira, go now." she instructed, while Kol quickly grabbed a glass from the kitchen, bit into his wrist, and bleed into it. Then gave it to Hadeon, who accepted the gesture, his wound healed in seconds, "we'll be fine, but all of you need to leave now."

And with that, the Mikaelson and Lumière men left the house, in rage, fury and anger.

─────── •✦• ───────

Each witch had been shot, Adrienne and Valerie in their thighs, Clementine in the lower abdomen, meaning she was bleeding out fast.

Kali had only been grazed.

"I want you to look into the eyes of each of these girls and see the life drain from them." Helmer grabbed the young queen's face, ensuring she could see the carnage that was happening around her.

She struggled to keep her eyes open, "I won't have to." she rasped, having faith that the witch hunters will meet their ends before the witches ever will.

Valerie and Clementine mustered up a smile before they were unbound, along with Kali.

"Never-mind, change of plans. I will make sure you can hear their screams," he promised darkly, then turned to his friend, "Nekane I think it's time we separate them."

The two leaders laughed manically as Nekane and the rest of the men dragged the witches away.

"No!" Adrienne screamed as her friends were taken away from her.

She heard Valerie and Clementine wail, "Adrienne!"

"No Adrienne," Helmer mocked, "bye-bye little witches." he waved at them as the rest of the men left, leaving a blood trail in their wake. He then turned back to the young Queen, who was bruised to his pleasure, "now it's about time we are alone, just me and you."

She coughed, "Not for long."

"And why is that?" he asked, grinning as he tilted his head with his breath hitting her face.

"Because your head won't be attached to your body for long," she laughed before a coughing fit overtook her.

Helmer shook his head, "And that's another thing I hate about you bitches," he snapped, "always so cocky." he sneered, but a grin still was evident on his face, "Your mother had that same cockiness."

She snapped her head up and glared at the man, "Don't talk about my mother." she kept fighting against the pain that had already spread through her body.

She hoped that she didn't succumb to her wounds before she had a chance to kill the man in front of her.

"Oh it's because she's dead right?" he chuckled to himself, "would love to meet the person who did that." he sighed annoyedly, "I would buy them a drink from your family club before we find a way to burn that to the ground."

Destroying the black business's in town were not enough for him, he needed to see them burn and turn into nothing but ruin and rubble. The fact that he and his men couldn't do much more than that frustrated and caused them physical pain.

"But don't you get it?" she stared directly into his dark brown eyes.

"Get what?" he egged her on, "go on tell me." he wanted to hear her last words before he gouged out her eyes or even stabbed her to death.

He wasn't quite sure how to end her reign as well as the rest of the witches in New Orleans.
The night before he had already beheaded a few french quarter coven witches, but that didn't quench his homicidal thirst.

He wanted the already successful young Queen. She symbolised so much to the new people that decided to live in his city. If he slaughtered her in the house of Lalaurie, it would send a message. That there is no hope for a new America and everyone would go back to the old ways.

Adrienne wheezed, "You keep trying to kill, torture and even enslave us but doesn't work."

"Lies," he hissed and picked up his gun, gripping it tightly.

He couldn't kill her just yet, he needed her to pay for her sins. Being alive and well was her biggest sin in his eyes.

"You keep using all of your energy to keep us down," she continued, her head was beginning to feel heavy on her shoulders, "but it doesn't work."

"Good thing I'm going to kill you all." he cocked the gun again, eying her body, deciding where he would shoot her next.

"You sure about that?" she asked, chuckling slightly.

He went to speak, but suddenly manly screams and cries engulfed the house. The house shook and sounds of bones breaking spread throughout the foundation.

"What the fuck is goin' on?" he raged and pointed his gun at her face.

"Justice," she gasped, taking in a deep breath, before gaining the strength to break the though the binds and fall to the floor. Her pain turned into adrenaline, her eyes faded black and she held out her hand, sending him against the pilar opposite her.

Her chanting grew louder.

His gun dropped to the ground as he was now pinned against the pilar where Valerie was once held.

"Stop," he said angrily, gritting his teeth.

Small shards of wood scraped against his back, he winced and bled.

She shook her head and began laughing maniacally, sending fear to his core, "When I cry and scream you never want to stop, you just keep killing, torturing, flaying us all. And for what?" she staggered closer, basking in his screams, "Because you hate change, you can't stand equality? Well if you can't handle the new world, then I guess you aren't cut out for it."

"No!" he wailed, she tilted her head to the side and his bones cracked and shook, "ahh!"

Her chants came to a halt and then she spoke her newly created spell.

"Cerebrum praemium"

A gut-wrenching scream left his lips, and the blood vessels throughout his body began to rupture.

Helmer's skin turned a dark shade of vermillion, he tried reaching for his head, but he couldn't.

Blood seeped through the gashes that she inflicted on his skin.

"I'm a Lumière, show some respect." she rasped as his head exploded and his body dropped on the floor.

His blood latched onto the walls of the room.

Chunks of his flesh dropped from the ceiling.

That was all before she collapsed on the floor. Exhausted and tired, she groaned when she turned to see her opened wound.

She shed more tears at the thought of her witches dying.

She might never see them again, all because of her.

She would forever blame herself if they didn't survive.

"Fuck," she ripped part of her wrap and tried to cover her wounds, but her eyes started fluttering again.

Her head started feeling heavy, but she couldn't fight against the impending unconsciousness.

She was going to die and she had barely even lived.

Damn the all.

"Bloody hell darling."

A familiar voice rang throughout the room, before her mind could swarm with thoughts about leaving the ones she loves.

Adrienne felt someone appear next to her.

"Kol?" she managed to speak, but her throat was sore and bruised.

"That's my name," he tried lightening the mood, but the state she was in was fuelled the anger that bubbled inside of him.

For once he had no clue what to say, the smell of her sweet blood was taunting him.

He might've been manic, however the hairs at the back of his neck stood to attention, due to the dark events that each wall witnessed, from this morning and in the past.

"Where are my friends?"

"You needn't worry, they're fine, they killed a few of the men downstairs."

The moment he and his brothers arrived, they saw the Équilbre witches slaughter many witch hunters with their magic despite the awful wounds and bruises that were inflicted on them.

The Mikaelson men were not only shocked but slightly afraid of the powerful women, but they would ever admit that.

Elijah aided Clementine and Kali, leaving Klaus to annoyingly aid Valerie, he couldn't leave her, especially when he hadn't found Adrienne yet and if he left her friend to die, she would potentially kill him.

Hadeon and Erebus performed healing spells on them before they managed to capture Nekane Crawford, tying him down before he got away.

Kol had left to find the missing Queen and kill a few injured witch hunters along the way.

"And?" Adrienne asked, almost afraid to know the response.

"just slightly passed out."

She left out a sigh of relief before she snapped her head toward him, "What?"

He bit into his wrist and held it up to her lips, "Drink."

She gulped down the bitter blood, feeling her wounds heal, only leaving her bloodied and in shock as he pulled his wrist away.

Kol was amazed by the power she displayed even though she was minutes away from bleeding out.

Adrienne Lumière was truly an enigma in his eyes, a beautiful enigma.

She went to thank him, but Klaus appeared next to her, shoving his brother away before, kneeling and pulling her to his chest, "Ria my love."

She could hear the anger in his tone, despite trying to not let it slip, knowing she needed comfort and not his inner beast.

His eyes darted rapidly around her blood-covered features. A large amount belonged to another but that didn't matter to him as of now. Her distressed-filled state made his primitive facade crumble and fade.

She had been tortured and attacked by witch hunters.

Hunters that he should have found a way to kill and maim before they laid a hand on her.

He wished that it was an illusion, something his mind had conjured up, but now, reality had played a cruel trick on her, only because of the harsh truth that she was a black woman.

"I'm safe," she muttered hoping it would reassure him, but it only did the opposite. Her voice was broken and sore, further antagonizing his soul, he hated that he wasn't there again. But the icing on the already bitter cake was when he caught the blood decorating her mouth causing his eyes to darken more, "Kol fed me his blood." She confirmed his suspicions.

Klaus's body shook when he looked at his smirking brother, "You did what?"

Blood sharing was almost as intimate as sex and he knew his brother was aware of this. But he tried to not let his anger get the best of him, especially because Adrienne is his priority.

"Relax Nik. The least you can do is thank me for saving your girl," Kol motioned to the recently healed witch.

"You're lucky I don't ram a stake into your heart," He hissed and scooped up Adrienne, keeping her close to him.

The nightmare that plagued his mind was slipping from his subconscious now that she was in his arms.

He wanted to know everything that happened but for now, her safety was enough for him.

"Calm down boys, I'm fine, can we go home?" she weakly spoke.

"Sadly not yet, we have to deal with those ghastly man downstairs."

She nodded weakly then turned to the Kol, who seemed disturbed by the house which shocked them both, "Thank you Kol."

"Anytime darling."

─────── •✦• ───────

Elijah had already taken the Équilbre witches to their homes, whilst the Lumière men had been taking care of a tied-up Nekane.

And by 'taking care' it referred to Hadeon standing by and watching while his father used the butt of a gun to viciously hit against the head of the Crawford man.

Nekane groaned and grunted whilst he took a well-deserved beating.

A storm raged and roared around the city, being heavily influenced by the Lumière men, feeling their pain and hurt.

Erebus was blinded by his wrath, he didn't even notice his daughter appear outside, in the arms of Klaus, whilst Kol strolled out of the house, covered in the blood of more witch hunters.

The hybrid settled her down on the floor, but kept her close, wrapping his arms around her, noting that she was succumbing to her exhaustion.

She was the only thing that was keeping him from not contributing to the bruises that made their way onto Nekane's face.

"Dad," Hadeon tried getting his attention, but Erebus continued beating the man.

Erebus couldn't stop, he was a grieving man. He had experienced more pain in the last four months than he had in his entire lifetime.

His wife was gone, his family was broken, his daughter was beaten and his son was more of a drunkard than him.

What more could go wrong?

Nekane wheezed and coughed, "beating me won't change that you will never be pure," he spat out once Erebus pulled away.

"But it will put an end to your bloodline," Erebus snapped, "just like the witches did to your confidants."

"Your daughter, your whore of a daughter," he snorted, then was punched across the jaw, Kol had to pull Hadeon back, noticing the sullen expression on Adrienne's face, but shared the same look as his older brother which was vexation, "she would be prettier if she wasn't a witch. A black witch."

"Enough!" Hadeon yelled and tried to pull out of the original's arms, but his efforts were futile, "Kill him now."

Erebus ignored his son, grabbing the witch hunter by his collar, with his bloodied hands as he shed a single tear, "Tell me what you did to my wife."

His pain was so evident, his voice showed it, even Kol felt for him.

Confusion flashed past Nekane's face, "I didn-"

"Tell me!"

He needed to know what happened to his wife, he needed closure, something that would piece his broken heart back together, if that was possible.

"I didn't kill her." Nekane coughed out his words, "none of my men did," he exclaimed weakly.

Erebus swung on him again, "Don't lie."

Kol and Klaus exchanged a look after hearing the man's heartbeat. He knew that he wasn't lying, but they didn't get involved.

"Someone just wanted that bitch dead more than us, I will be forever grateful that she is no longer here, I can die in peace knowing that," Nekane mumbled, his head dropped back due to his head injuries.

"There will be no peace for you," Adrienne said lowly, however the storm bounced over her words, emphasising each syllable.

Nekane ignored her and stared up at the Lumière patriarch, "Your wife wasn't shot, you know that she was burned at those stakes in the middle of the french quarter, but I did see some figures leaving and her-" his speech was cut of with a slicing sound.

A knife was plunged into his back, piercing his heart and killing him instantly.

Hadeon grinned as he pulled the weapon out of the man's back. Kol was too curious to even realise that he had loosened his grip on him.

Adrienne's mouth gaped, even Klaus was shocked.

"Hadeon!" Erebus yelled, grabbing his son by his overcoat.

Hadeon's grin felled once he saw his father's defeated expression, "He was only traumatising my sister even more than he did this morning." he defended his actions, staring past the patriarch and then at Adrienne.

"Bu-"

"Dad, look." Hadeon pulled away from him and motioned him to turn around.

Erebus snapped his head to his daughter, he sobbed when he saw her appearance, "Adri," he ran over and took her from the arms of the hybrid, who he struggled to let go, but did nevertheless, "my beautiful girl." he embraced her, before he traced his thumbs of her tearstained cheeks, "I'm so sorry."

She knew he was apologising for how he acted, not only from today but all the days before then.

He hadn't been as present in her life like he wanted to. His pain from losing his wife prevented him from doing so.

"I'm sorry too," she replied tiredly, he didn't understand why she was apologising, but before he could ask she continued, "I'm fine dad," she weakly reassured him, "can we go now?"

He nodded slowly, letting his tears fall, he spared a glance at a deceased Nekane, wondering what he would've said if his son hadn't killed him.

He only wished to know what happened to his wife but his children were his priority.

And will always be his priority.

"Wait," Klaus called out, the father-daughter duo turned around, "let me take care of her." he stared directly into Adrienne's eyes.

He wasn't comfortable with her not being in his eye-line.

Erebus shook his head, with a clenched jaw, "No-"

"I'll be fine for an hour," Adrienne stated, knowing that Klaus wouldn't leave her.

Erebus snapped his eyes shut and let out a sigh, trying to ignore the thunder cracking above him.

"One hour." he gritted, before turning to the Mikaleson's "Thank you for today," his eyes darted between Kol and Klaus.

"You don't need to thank us, Mr Lumière," Klaus would do anything to keep Adrienne safe.

Kol went to disagree but a stern look from his older brother shut him up, "yes, no need to thank us."

"An hour," Hadeon pressed a kiss to his sister's forehead, "you were amazing," he mumbled.

She mustered up a smile, "I'll see you in an hour, Deon," then caught the mischievous glint in his eyes, "are you-"

"I'm going to burn this place to the ground." he found gasoline few bottles lying around the house, presumably the hunters were going to use them on his sister and his closest friends.

Then he tried to remove his morbid thoughts, however only alcohol could do that.

"Can I help?" Kol asked, everyone turned to him, his excitement was far too extreme but expected.

Hadeon shrugged, "Sure."

─────── •✦• ───────

Adrienne submerged into the massive bathtub in Klaus' ensuite and closed her eyes.

She had managed to tie her kinky locks up, so the water didn't hit them.

The hydrotherapy had already taken its effect on her body. Kol's blood might've helped any external injuries, but everything that lead up to that meeting; her and the witches being taken and bound kept replaying in her head.

But she was knocked out of her thoughts once she felt Klaus enter the room, she heard him discard his clothes. She moved forward as he submerged behind her, then drew against his chest.

She ignored the poking against her back, even though it was very hard to do.

"What were you painting?" she asked, sighing as he gently scrubbed the blood stains off her body.

She recalled seeing a wolf silhouette on his canvas when she walked into his room but didn't bother to focus her eyes on it then walked into the bathroom.

"Fenrir." He whispered in her ear, his cleanly shaven face grazed her shoulder.

The blood that once clung to their forms had fallen from their skin and mixed into the clear hot water.

"Self-portrait?" she tried lightening the mood, but he didn't crack a smile.

"Funny," he muttered, seemingly lost in his thoughts.

"Why are you in a foul mood?" she pulled away from him despite his tightening grip, she came face to face with his hardened expression, before it contorted into disbelief.

"Do I need to state the obvious?" he spoke through clenched teeth.

"I was the one who got attacked, not you." and she didn't want to think about that right now. She just wanted to be with him.

She needed him to distract her or she would break down. After the many times, she had been attacked, hurt, scarred and burned she continued to persevere. Despite the odds.

She just wanted to be held, by the hands she knew could never do any harm to her. Resilience took a lot, but it helped when she had others to help pull her through.

"And it's taking everything in me not to gut every living thing that lives outside this home." his voice was dangerously low, quaking with something between sorrow and rage.

He tensed when she straddled his lap, suppressing a groan when she moved and the water sloshed, She placed her hands on his face, "Nik-"

"Do you not know the pain I feel every time I hear something has happened to you!?"

He didn't mean to shout but he couldn't contain his emotions.

His mind was working on overdrive just to catch up with the rhythmic beating of his undead heart.

"I feel like I'm failing to protect you." he looked away from her, not wanting her to see the pain flashing through his eyes.

But it was already too late for that.

She shook her head, "You're not and besides it's not your job-"

"Yes, it is." He yelled, voice cracking and throat drying. He blinked rapidly, struggling to swallow before finishing the sentence, "it's my job to protect the ones I-I lo-" he cut himself off and bowed his head.

She stared at him, startled by his tone and even more alarmed by his vulnerability.

She watched as he inhaled sharply, "I need to keep you safe, I don't care if I have to lock you in here, I just need to know that you're okay."

The sky was still dark, reminding them both that it was still very early in the morning. He had only been awake for less than two hours.

"You can't." She shook her head, tears threatening to spill again. She was surprised that she still had some left to cry, "I'm the teen queen," she mockingly said, bowing her head, "I'm always going to be on the chopping block, whether or not it's because of my position or worse..." she whispered trailing off.

"I can't just accept that. I won't," he said stubbornly.

He turned away and wiped away his tears.

The mere thought of someone laying a hand on Adrienne felt equivalent to having his heart ripped out.

"Nik."

"No."

"Listen," she placed her hands on his face, and he bite down on his lip, stopping the sobs that threatened to escape his mouth, "I am who I am and I'm not ashamed of that. A witch, a Queen, a woman and most importantly a black woman. I'll be targeted for all of them and you can't stop that."

"I can try." his bottom lip quivered.

She nodded. a small smile pulled at her lips, "You can try but-"

"I will try." he corrected the both of them.

"Okay."

"Okay."

They exchanged a tearful smile.

"You don't know what I was going through when I couldn't find you." he inhaled sharply.

"You don't need to tell me."

"I will because I want to know everything that happened to you," he said softly, "So I want to tell you everything."

"Go ahead," she said, before waiting in anticipation.

"I would go to hell to keep you warm," he confessed, her breath hitched and her heart rate accelerated.

His mouth ran before his brain could stop it. That was not what he wasn't going to say, but her gaze transfixed him.

"I thought you were the devil in disguise?" she asked, referring to the conversation they had on their first date.

"Then I guess you're the Angel that I want to atone for."

"I'm too tortured to be an Angel Nik, you know that."

He opposed, "Doesn't matter, the wings of angels bring hope and faith. And your presence brings that and much more."

She bit down on her lip to stop it from quivering, "Do you want to make me cry?"

He frowned and tugged her close, both attempting to not focus on their sexes grounded against the other, "No, I want to make you happy."

"And you do. You can protect me, but I'll do the same with you okay?"

"You have nothing to protect me from."

"Are you forgetting this?" she pointed to his head, his eye shone with amusement.

He pressed his forehead against hers, both breathing heavily. Exhaustion was taking over their bodies and sadly their minds.

She could sleep, she didn't want to and most importantly, she was scared to, as was he.

So they didn't.

─────── •✦• ───────

The moment Adrienne arrived home, within the hour and with the help of Klaus' driving, she was escorted upstairs by an antsy Hadeon.

He seemed jumpy and not because he and Kol had burned historical house to the ground or because he had killed one of their enemies, with a knife that his sister didn't even realise he had, but because of something else.

Hadeon had quickly pulled his sister into his room and toward his chest of draws.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing, apart from the fact you along with my close friends were kidnapped almost killed, burned alive-"

She tried calming him, "I told you I'm-"

He only carried on, "Or the fact that Kol and I might've killed some family members who were related to the witch hunters," he shrugged innocently, her eyes widened.

"You did what?" she raised her hands, trying to handle the information coming at her.

"Or the fact that dad is asking questions about that stupid fucking broach." he whispered-yelled.

She stiffened, "What did you say?"

"You know the hideous red broach that your mother used to wear," he aggressively dragged his hands down his face.

"Keep your voice down."

"The rooms are spelled idiot." he waved her off and paced around his neatly kept room, "don't worry Mira is with Rebekah at the Abattoir and Dad is drinking himself to death upstairs."

"Hadeon." she scolded.

"I'm being dramatic, he's not that drunk..." he stopped momentarily, "I think."

Adrienne clenched her fists, she honestly believed that all the stress she felt dissipated as she bathed had just returned to her body.

"What did he say about the broach?"

She senselessly touched the burn scar on her covered arm, an action Hadeon caught and scowled at.

"He he kept saying he wanted it and needed it back and that Marie Laveau couldn't help him," he stepped closer to his sister, "why is he asking about it now?"

"He's still grieving brother," she reminded him and he rolled his eyes in response.

"I know that, you know that, the whole city knows it," he dramatised in a hushed tone,

Hadeon felt bad for his father, but he also knew the real Keyara and she wasn't the right person to grieve for.

"So where is this broach then?" she asked and he kissed his teeth.

"Good news or-"

"Both."

"Good news, The unappealing piece of shi- jewellery, can't be found," he fake cheered, not being successful in concealing his nerves, which made hers skyrocket.

"As well as it also not being able to be destroyed right?" she gritted out as her eye twitched, causing Hadeon to take a step back and nod stiffly, "so where is it this indestructible object?"

She was in no ways religious but she prayed it wasn't in his room.

He smiled sheepishly and pulled open his sock drawer, then pulled out the broach, her mouth fell agape as her eyes narrowed onto the red object.

"Why?" she cocked her to the side, "is it-" he slapped a hand over her mouth, despite the rooms being silent to anyone on the other side, he started to realise how much trouble they would be in if anyone but them discovered that the broach was in his room.

"Because it's better in..." he motioned to this room, "than anywhere else."

"How?" her voice was incredibly muffled.

"It's spelled if it's with..." he gestured between them, "we can only see it no one else."

"Then why not throw it away?" she whispered angrily.

"Because the spell will wear off genius," he hissed and tossed the broach back into his draw and shut it with his magic.

"That broach haunts me more than Keyara herself," she stressed and he was quick to pull her in for a hug, she exhaled into his chest, neither wanted to think of the woman.

"Listen," he pulled her closer, she wrapped her hands around his waist,  "I will always protect you," he promised, "wherever I am, whoever am I with, you will always be my priority," he murmured again her head.

"And you will always be my priority."

"What happened that night is behind us," he said sternly, they both tensed, images of that night flashed through their minds. Adrienne stared up at him, "remember what I used to say when we were younger?"

She nodded, "Above all, your sins are my sins." she recited their maxim, one that branded their brain, having said it throughout the years.

Even a few months ago.

He smiled, letting out a sigh of relief, she did the same, "Your sins are my sins."

Yes, they shared the same sins.

But unfortunately, neither of them knew that the door was left ajar and intoxicated Erebus was standing on the other side.

└─────── •✦• ───────┘

a/n:

christian bale 𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻
chris hemsworth 𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗸𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱

the witch hunters are finally vanquished. I apologise if the chapter was so violent and extreme. but they are also racist so what they did was toned down compared to what someone like them would've done during the early 1900s or even today.

i wanted the final battle to be in the lalaurie estate because it was the primary source of pain for many slaves during in new orleans.  personally, i would never want to visit the south.

i'm british btw, if it wasn't obvious.

i needed to incorporate, vodou a bit more into the story, for certain reasons. hopefully, you caught onto why. (but if you haven't it will be mentioned during the final chapter of this act.)

also, i wanted to show kol's knowledge about various ways to practice magic and why he was so willing to help the Lumière's because magic is his speciality and he loves seeing people practice it. Kol is such a little shit I can't. he knew what he was doing when he shared his blood with adrienne and this will be brought up in the next chapter.

so many different groups were in this chapter, what have been your favourite duos/ trios so far?

anyone like the Lumière slogan, "above all, your sins are my sins." I really wanted them to have something that they shared, because you know the mikaelsons have "always and forever"
but that flopped because that didn't last.

lol, Rebekah has a big mouth, so of course, she would be the one to blurt out that her brother loves Adrienne, even though everyone knows.

klaus really be channelling his inner joseph morgan with #blm.

any clue who snitched to the witch hunters about the witches and the secret door?