𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙁𝙊𝙐𝙍𝙏𝙀𝙀𝙉
ミ★ ( reign of wolves, act one ) ★彡

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned... and Celeste Dubois had been well and truly scorned. When she was simply Celeste, she would attend parties thrown by the governor for the Mikaelson family, knowing well and truly that the Mikaelsons were vampires; more so, the Original family. She could sense it and told herself to stay away from trouble—because wherever the Original family went, trouble followed, especially for the witches. However, she found herself falling for the Original vampire known for being the noble one of the bunch. He stood up to his reputation and Celeste even felt bad for her previous thoughts on the family just because of how good of a man Elijah Mikaelson was. They spoke in depth about literature and music. Elijah would read to her and she would fall for the way his velvety voice would speak such beautiful words.

     Celeste knew it was wrong. That he was promised to another—a soulmate. But, she couldn't help it. The way his eyes bore into hers made her weak at the knees, and the way he kissed her made the whole world fade away around them.

     She didn't stand a chance.

     She was still weary of Niklaus, because he was out of control and was constantly on killing sprees for his own entertainment. Klaus Mikaelson has always been a conniving and evil man. He would challenge the gentry to duels as though they have any chance of a fair fight just for his own entertainment.

     She was right to trust his gut.

     On the last night of her life as Celeste Dubois, Elijah wet with his brother who was challenging men to duels. By the time he arrived, Klaus shot the other man in the head with no regard. Elijah had tried to rein him in; warn him of the consequences of his actions. Klaus had slaughtered dozens in just the past several weeks, and a word of a city littered with bodies will surely travel the oceans—specifically to their father. However, Klaus already had a plan to cover his tracks. One that sent a chill down Elijah's spine.

     Klaus had sent a rumour that the bodies are the result of the witches seeking blood sacrifice for their rituals, causing a witch hunt towards any and all witches known in the Quarter. The town was rounding up the witches as they spoke. Celeste being one of those known witches. By the time Elijah found Celeste, hoping to stop the inevitable—save his love—she was found lying in the bathtub, dead.

     But, what Elijah didn't know, was that Celeste had saved herself from death. She had conducted a spell, just in case, to protect herself; a spell that meant if she were to die, she would be sent to another body so she would get to live.

     Jumping from body to body, she had hoped to one day reunite with Elijah Mikaelson—her one true love—causing chaos in the Quarter to reign him and his family back into town to stop it. Rumours had fluttered through the grapevine within the supernatural community that he had found his soulmate, a werewolf turned hybrid in the town of Mystic Falls. It was ironic that she was found in the same town he was turned into a vampire a millennium ago.

     Instead of her plan to reunite herself with Elijah, her plan turned sour with hatred and with a desire for revenge. She wanted him to feel her pain, and his little soulmate was her perfect way to get it.

     Rhea Lockwood woke up with a groan. She was groggy and her head was pounding like she had been run over by a truck. Her sight slowly came to and she could see that she was in an abandoned building that looked as if it hadn't been inhabited for a while. Her grogginess didn't help conceal the burning feeling around her wrists—the feeling that could only be associated with vervain and wolfsbane soaked ropes. She was being held hostage as a result of having Elijah save Jackson instead of her.

The sound of heeled footsteps drew her attention as a woman entered the room. She recognised her instantly, remembering the first time that she had met her.

"Sabine." Rhea whispered weakly.

Sabine rolled her eyes, "I prefer Celeste, actually." She said and her eyes widened. Celeste was among one of the witches that rose, only she had been under their noses after all that time, "All these names I've had over the years, and I still prefer the first. Perhaps it was the way it sounded on Elijah's lips, like it was a declaration of love." She said with a smirk and Rhea's eyes darkened at the way she spoke about him, "Oh, he was a good liar."

"Say what you want, but Elijah is a good man. It's not his fault that you got burned because of some shitty luck." Rhea coughed before she let out a scream of pain when she used her magic to burst the blood vessels in her brain.

Celeste smirked again, "You would be defending him, even until the end. I guess your soulmate bond really is that strong." She tilted her head to the side, "Good. I'm counting on that bond. It'll be the ruin of you."

Rhea only held her head up high, "You will pay for this, believe me." She growled before she let out another scream when she felt a bone in her arm break.

"I doubt it. I have Genevieve telling Klaus what Rebekah did in the 1920's, showing him the truth of how Mikael came to find them in the first place. And now that Klaus knows what she did, he'll never stop until he's had his revenge. He'll kill Marcel. Do something horrible to Rebekah. Genevieve will then tell him that Elijah knew of the plan. Then, I'll frame your death on Klaus, saying he killed you as revenge, just like how I died, and Elijah will never forgive him. Your death will ultimately pit brother against brother, and the fabled Mikaelson bond will crumble."

Rhea shook her head, her chest heaving up and down heavily as her arm burned from having it broken, feeling it healing incorrectly as it stayed broken and dislocated. "He'll never believe that Klaus could be behind something like this." She and Klaus were friends. Granted, they had their problems in the past, but she believed that Klaus would have enough respect for her to not kill her.

Celeste pouted at her sarcastically and booped her nose, the act making her back break and another scream escaped her lips as she let out another bloodcurdling scream, her body flailing back as much as it could despite being tied up. "Elijah will believe anything when it comes to you. He'll be so weakened and distraught by your death that his mind won't even be able to connect the dots. He'll just see the information given to him; that Klaus killed you out of revenge, and he will try to avenge you in any way he can—including trying to kill his own brother."

Rhea refused to cry. She didn't want to give Celeste the satisfaction or the amusement of it despite the pain causing through her body. She looked down at her hands, seeing the fur that was protruding from her skin before she turned back to Celeste blankly, "But, before that happens, I want to have a little fun with you." She says as she pressed her hand onto Rhea's forehead, transporting her into a memory.

Celeste was relaxing in a bathtub when Elijah entered the room. The bathtub was in the middle of a marbled bathroom, the same that looked as if it was part of one of the compound before he became run down. He was dressed in 19th century clothing and he smiled upon seeing her. Celeste playfully threw her sponge at him, but he catches it deftly, and she giggled at him, "Assister-moi, please, good sir."

His smile turned into a smirk, "No, I'm much happier taking in such a wondrous view. It's perfection." He said as he walked towards the bathtub.

"Your brother is again up to no good." She informed her lover, "He's challenging the gentry to duels—as though they have any chance of a fair fight."

"I do grow weary of sacrificing my joy to temper my brother's mischief. Surely, you can cast a spell to put him in his place." Elijah suggested to her as he gently began to wash her body with the soapy sponge.

"It would take a hundred witches to put him in his place." She pointed out before reminding him, "Besides, he only ever listens to you."

Elijah grabbed onto her leg, pressing kisses against her soft skin, "Yes. He certainly needs a little discipline. Spanking of some kind is in order." He smirked, an idea coming to mind as he grabbed onto her more, "I think I shall need some rehearsal. Come." He says, leaning down to kiss her passionately while she squealed when she felt his hand smack down on her backside.

When Celeste released her from a memory, Rhea let out a gasp of relief, "Really? You're going to torture me with gross vintage sex memories of you and my fiancé? That is so pathetic."

"Oh, this is just the beginning."

"Are we really going to play jealous ex right now?" She questioned Celeste, realising what was happening, "I get it, you know, I'm prettier than you, cooler than you, physically stronger than you—with or without the supernatural abilities—I would be jealous of me too if my ex started to date someone like me after you." She watched as Celeste's eyes hardened and she decided to push her buttons just a little bit more, "And we all know that he'll love me more than he ever loved you." She said cockily before letting out a blood curdling scream due to the aneurysm that Celeste gave her for her comment.

Rhea's smirk grew on her face, "I knew that one would would do it." She clicked her tongue, "Truth hurts, Celeste." She added, her eyes darkening as she says, "So, let's stop dicking around and just get right to it."

The witches of New Orleans were gathered to say goodbye to Sophie Deveraux, who, unbeknownst to most, was killed by her niece Monique. Monique stood emotionlessly outside the Deveraux tomb with a candle as a man laid bricks over Sophie's grave. Elijah appeared and quickly took out three people, Monique was not phased while the other witches gasped.

"My siblings have been taken." He informed them stiffly, "Where are they?"

"You're interrupting my Aunt Sophie's consecration." Monique glared at him.

Elijah seemed confused, wondering how Sophie, out of all people, died, "How did this happen?"

Monique smiled, a smile that would chill anyone to their core, "Aunt Sophie was a casualty of war."

"Monique, I recommend you give me what I want. Unless, of course, you'd like me to level this place and everything in it unless you help me get my soulmate and my family back." Elijah warned.

"That won't be necessary. I have a message for you from Celeste." Monique responded and raised her hand toward Elijah and started casting a spell on him. Elijah suddenly felt an uncomfortable sensation on his skin and pulled at the collar of his shirt. When he ripped open the top button of his shirt, he sees the name Theresa tattooed on his chest. Monique continued the spell and many more names appear on his body, including Sabine's, "To find what you're looking for, follow the path she left behind."

Klaus and another man are standing back to back with revolvers in their hands as they prepare for a duel. Klaus gave orders in French, and they began to walk away from each other as Klaus counts them down, "Huit, sept, six, cinq, quatre, trois, deux." They each turned around and shot at each other. Klaus remained unharmed, while the man fell down and died from a headshot, "Is that it? Is this the best New Orleans has to offer?" Klaus asked, completely unimpressed by his opponent.

Another man dragged the duelist's corpse over to a pile of bodies several feet away right as Elijah arrived to the field, looking furious, "Brother! Please, this is high folly." He scolded, "Is it not enough you have slaughtered dozens in just these past several weeks? Word of a city littered with bodies will surely travel the oceans. Do you want to bring our father upon us?"

Klaus didn't look concerned, "Relax, brother. I've sent rumor that the bodies are result of the witches seeking blood sacrifice for their rituals."

Elijah felt his breath catch in his throat, thinking of his lover, "You did what?" He asks, "Have you forgotten Celeste is one of those that you recklessly point your finger at?"

Klaus feigned ignorance, "Who's Celeste? Wait..." He smirked when Elijah glared at him angrily, "Oh, yes! The witch you've been knocking around with. Well, fear not. Harlots are like rats in the Quarter. You'll trip over one every step you take until you eventually find the soulmate you've been searching for all these years. I'm doing you a favour, brother!"

Elijah snatched a revolver from a nearby man and shot Klaus in the chest with it. He looked down at his bullet wound and sighed in annoyance about it, "You still care about her despite knowing your soulmate is out there." He realised before shrugging, "Well, that is unfortunate. I hear they're rounding up the towns witches as we speak."

The older Mikaelson brother then rushes to the bathroom where he last saw her, where he finds Celeste underwater, sunk down to the bottom of the tub. Elijah desperately tried to save her by pulling her out of the water, but it's too late—she was dead.

Elijah then began to sob over her lifeless body.

Another scream ripped through Rhea's throat, feeling her bones break, over and over again as Celeste magically forced her to turn into her werewolf self.

"As you can see, the Mikaelson vow of 'always and forever' came crashing down around him that day. He was furious and their bond broke slightly, but not enough for him to try and kill him. Not like yours will." Celeste says, "It's a myth I died for—and one you will, too."

"And yet, here you stand alive... for now, until I rip your fucking head off." Rhea snarled.

"Is that a threat?" Celeste said with amusement as she waved her hand and her bones broke once again, "Unbeknownst to Elijah, I had already body jumped before the townspeople came for me. But, you won't get that same luck." She said and Rhea felt a burning sensation on her chest, looking down to see a mark of a wolf being imprinted on her skin.

"What is this?" Rhea asked her.

"There's always another pretty, young body for me to jump into, but, there's only one fate left in store for you when I'm done." Celeste told her, "It's such a shame though, I really did expect him to come for you and save you when I gave him the ultimatum. It was a shock to see him save Hayley instead."

"What, do you want me to lie and say I'm disappointed?" Rhea spat, the blood coming out of her mouth. "You want me to say that I wanted Elijah to come help and damn an innocent child—my niece—because of my own selfishness? I don't blame him for what he did and I'm okay with that because all we've ever wanted is to protect that child. You trying to turn me against him is pointless, so, I suggest you get this over and done with already. I'm bored."

Elijah entered the courtyard to find Marcel sending out more troops to search the city, "Anything?" He asked the Gerard man.

"They're putting eyes and ears out everywhere. Daywalkers are working every contact we've got. Cops, dock workers, guys in the Treme... word is out: anyone trying to earn favor with me gets a lifetime of it if they find them." Marcel answered the Original.

"Good. I need a pen and paper." He then walked away, Marcel paused for a moment and rolled his eyes.

He followed behind him anyway, "Hey, am I taking orders from you now, or are we in this together?"

Elijah started removing his jacket, "Pen and paper, Marcellus. Now!" He demanded with frustration.

Marcel sighed, "I know you want Rhea back. But, we need to work together, not have you order me around."

Marcel then left to get the supplies, Elijah began stripping off his shirt as he called out for Hayley to come into the study. "You're back. Did you find any..." Hayley stopped when she realises that Elijah is both shirtless and covered in tattooed names and gapes awkwardly, "...thing?" She stared at him in confusion, "What is happening?"

"I need you to make a list of these names." Elijah explained.

She began to examine the names tattooed across Elijahs shoulders, arms, back, and abdomen, "Sabine?" She read aloud, "Elijah, what is this?"

"I believe they represent the names of the women Celeste inhabited for the past two centuries. If I follow the path and solve this silly little riddle, it'll help me get Rhea back."

Marcel then rejoined them and handed the paper and pen to Hayley, "It's called a Devinette. It's old school—kind of a riddle. Witches use them to teach their kids. Solve it, and it disappears." He explained.

"Why? What's the point?" Hayley asked.

"Celeste forced me to make a choice between yourself, Rhea, and my siblings, and now she means to mock that choice, taunting me with a childish game. The longer the game, the more they suffer. To find Rhea, Klaus and Rebekah, we need to solve this riddle. The solution lies somewhere in these names." Elijah explained further and Hayley looked down at her hands guilty at the reminder that he saved her over them.

Marcel looked at the tattoos, "The name next to Sabine... Annie La Fleur, she's the witch that was shunned from her coven just over a year ago. Never knew why, but, I can find out."

"You don't get it, do you?" Celeste asked the hybrid as they spoke meanwhile, "You really don't understand how dangerous it is to be loved by him."

Despite the situation with Klaus turning her into a hybrid and the situation with her brother, she had always been safe with Elijah. She's never felt as if she was in any danger because he would die before he let anything happen to her. Klaus only killed her to turn her because he was sure that she would return—so, even then, she was safe with the Mikaelsons.

Rhea only laughed when she realised, "Because you weren't never meant to be loved by him." She tells her, "It is an honour—a gift—to be loved by him, but, he was never yours. He had given up on finding me centuries ago, so, he went off and tried to find love on his own—fate doesn't work that way, and it refused to let anyone get close to him knowing I was on the way." She smirked before it dropped, "You're just the one that didn't get the memo, and you should've moved on knowing he did, too."

Celeste's smug smirk disappeared into an angry glare before it came back, "You know, I had a plan to just kill you but I think I have some other plans first instead." She said and flicked her wrist and Rhea let out another scream, feeling all of her bones break at once and her werewolf fur coming out of her skin, among with her fangs.

Elijah let out a groan of pain and Marcel looked over at him in confusion, "What's going on?" He asked the original.

"It's Rhea." He said, strained, "She's being tortured and it's showing itself through the bond. It's letting me know she's in danger and it's manifesting itself on me." He explained and Marcel looked concerned, "Which is why we need to hurry. I won't lose her."

"We won't." Marcel assured him just as they arrived at the neighborhood where Annie lived after she was shunned.

Once there, they are able to speak to someone who knew her from the coven.

Marcel asked the man about her and once he realised they weren't there to cause harm or shun her name further, he spoke, "Annie was a good girl. The witches did her wrong, shunning her like that—claiming she was doing dark magic. There's no way. But, they had proof. So, she just quit, and I can't really blame her for that. Because once you've been shunned, what's the point in going on, you know?" He said.

"Thank you for your time." Elijah stated, a small pattern forming in his head as he left with Marcel and back to the busy streets of the Quarter. He then called Hayley and explained to her what he was told.

"She killed herself?" The werewolf asked.

"Yes, drowned herself in the Mississippi, to be precise. Celeste was clearly tired of the body and ready to take Sabine's." Elijah elaborated.

"How do you know that?" Hayley asked.

"Because she leaped to her death from the very location Celeste and I had our first kiss." Elijah realised.

"Poetic, I guess... in a creepy-vendetta sort of way." Hayley commented.

Elijah then sighed, "All these names, these lives, stolen that Celeste might take her revenge. I suppose we have no choice but to see where they take us. Hayley, I have to go. I'll call you back."

"Elijah, wait!"

"What is it?" Elijah asked her.

"Ask Marcel if he knows anything about a name on that list—Brynne Deveraux. Sophie said that it was her family's bloodline that put the curse on the Crescent wolves, but, Celeste said that she was the only one that could break it. If Brynne Deveraux was actually Celeste when she cast the spell, then maybe Celeste can still break it." Hayley told him.

"I'll see what he knows."

"Elijah, I'm really sorry that you're going through this. If I had known that Celeste made you choose who to help—"

"You were going to die in that fire Hayley along with my brother's child. There was no choice." Elijah responded and Hayley was silent, "Rhea will forgive."

He then hung up before Hayley can say anything more.

Elijah and Marcel were in the rectory of the church, searching through all of the documents on the supernatural community, "Marcel, here's another name from our list: Brynne Deveraux. Says here she drowned herself some twenty years ago. Do you recognise the name?" The Original asked him.

Marcel recognised the name almost instantly, "Brynne? Yeah, yeah, we used to hang out." He smirked, "Knock around a bit."

Elijah grimaced, "You can spare me the details, please."

"She used to do some spells for me now and then. Girl had power. Cursed a whole pack of werewolves just because they were pissing me off." He explained before he then realised, "Speaking of, what do you think Klaus is gonna do when he finds out that you left him to suffer while you saved Hayley and her wolf friends? Or what will Rhea do when she realises the same thing?"

"Let's avoid discussing matters that are not your concern, shall we, Marcellus?" Elijah tried to deflect.

"Oh, come on, Elijah. I got guys all over this city. You honestly think that I don't know that the Crescent wolves had a little family reunion out at the plantation last night?" Marcel asked him, "Thanks for letting the house burn, by the way. Good riddance! But, my question is, what's Hayley doing with that bunch?"

"Marcel, I'm aware of your history with the city's wolves, and I assume you understand that if you lay a finger upon Hayley, it will be the last thing you do on this earth." The Mikaelson vampire threatened.

Marcel smirked in amusement, "I see I hit a nerve. And just when we were getting along." He remarked sarcastically.

Elijah just finished skimming the records and changed the subject, "We were right! Every name upon my flesh signifies a witch who died by her own hand. All but one. Clara Summerlin."

Marcel recognised the name but said, "Ring any bells?"

"None."

"Okay, well, if she didn't off herself, then how did she die?" Marcel asked.

"Influenza Epidemic of 1919." Elijah answered and suddenly, the names tattooed on Elijah's body vanish, and both he and Marcel looked shocked. Marcel's shock then looked as though he was feeling anxious and guilty about where the investigation seemed to be heading, "I suppose we have our answer, though, I have no idea what it means."

Elijah then told Hayley the name as he and Marcel went back to the compound. When they entered the study, Hayley was typing on the laptop, "Hey, look, I found–"

Elijah stopped her with a gesture to indicate he had news, "You were right about the Deveraux witch."

Before they could say anything more, Marcel joined them, "Find anything about Clara, the mystery witch?"

Hayley shook her head, "Not much. She was a nurse at the Fleur-de-Lis Sanitarium." Marcel froze and visibly began to panic, even more so when she showed them a picture and pointed to her so they could see what she looked like, "Recognise her?"

She was stood on the top row, second from the right and Elijah racked his brain to see if he could remember her. He then shook his head, "No, I don't. Marcel?" Elijah turned to look at Marcel to hear what he has to say, and noticed how alarmed and worried he looks, "Marcel? Do I need to remind you that Niklaus and Rebekah are somewhere suffering horribly? Mind you, my soulmate is suffering that same fate. So, if you know something, talk."

Marcel sighed in defeat, "The Sanitarium. That's where you'll find them."

"Are you sure? How do you know?" Hayley asked.

"I just know." Marcel answered.

"How do you know?" Elijah persisted.

"If I'm right, you need to know exactly what we're walking into. We did something, Rebekah and I... I think the witches are trying to use it against her. It was, uh... something that you're not gonna like." Marcel responded, "It was us who called Mikael to New Orleans. We used Genevieve to call him because we wanted to be together."

Elijah was silent as he processed the information and betrayal, "For the better part of a century, I have wondered how father found us, what foolish mistake that we had made to destroy our time in the one place that we could finally call home." He spoke before he looked back at Marcel, "Did you know, I even blamed myself for a time, Marcellus?"

"Elijah—" Hayley tried to intervene.

"Niklaus treated you like a son." Elijah ignored her.

"I loved her. I still love her. All we ever wanted was to be together, but, as long as Klaus was around, that was never gonna happen. But hey, I guess you wouldn't know anything about that, huh?" He remarked.

Elijah pointed at him, "When Klaus learns the truth, there will be no end to his rage. I will not let my sister suffer that wrath and I will not let Rhea be stuck in the middle of it all either."

"Then we need to get to them before he learns the truth." Marcel decided.