𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙏𝙒𝙀𝙉𝙏𝙔 𝙎𝙀𝙑𝙀𝙉
ミ★ ( reign of wolves, act two ) ★彡

     Rhea couldn't help but watch with worry as Elijah laid asleep in front of her. He hadn't opened his eyes at all since they were rescued; but she could see how overwhelmed his body was. He was breathing erratically, covered in a thin sheen of sweat, and his muscles were tense.

     She chewed on her bottom lip nervously as she watch Klaus stand over him and talk to him, "I know you are locked in battle, however deep in your mind our mother has set the stage. Hear my voice." He spoke and Elijah twitched anxiously in his sleep, "Our mother thinks she will win because she has left you alone, but you are not alone. Let me in." Klaus then put one hand on his head, and one hand on his chest, hoping to gain entry into Elijah's mind. Elijah's body went rigid as though he's been shocked and Elijah's muscles begin to seize and spasm painfully, Rhea having half the heart to rip Klaus' hands off of him to make it stop, "Let me help end whatever torment she has forced upon you."

     Klaus' nose began to bleed, and he groaned in pain as he continues to try to break through, but he's quickly ripped off of Elijah by Rhea, "This isn't working. You're hurting yourself. Just stop."

     Hayley then walked into the room, "What's going on?"

     Klaus only panted in an attempt to catch his breath as he wiped the blood from his nose, "I'm trying to enter Elijah's thoughts to wake him." He gestured to Elijah, who was still sleeping fitfully, "Esther's locked us out."

     "We've tried everything so far, but nothing." Rhea sighed as she plunked herself down on the chair beside the bed.

     Hayley then walked over to Elijah, noticing a flower petal-shaped wound on his neck, "Is this rash a side effect of the witchy acid trip he's on?"

     Klaus frowned and Rhea immediately was by Elijah's side to examine the wound more carefully, having not noticed it before as she was too distracted by his unconscious state and trying to wake him up, "I haven't seen this since I was a child. Mikael would return home from battle more blindly temperamental than usual, and our mother would use the petals of a rare merlock orchid to put him to sleep. She would mend his mind with a spell, and then wake him with the roots of the same plant." Klaus explained and looked up at Rhea, seeming hopeful, "If she has access to it now, then maybe it also grows in the Bayou."

     "Perfect. We get the plant, wake up Elijah and then rip your mother's head off." Rhea planned.

     "Stay clear of her." Klaus pointed at Rhea with a serious expression on his face. She only sent him a deadpanned look, "I mean it, Rhea. She already got to you once. What would happen if Elijah were to wake and find you a victim of her madness?"

     "Oh, please, Klaus. I'm not stupid enough to go after her alone." Rhea scoffed, "But, that doesn't make me any less pissed off that she came for me and him—look at him! He's in pain and I can't do a fucking thing about it!"

     "Just promise me you'll stay away from her, Rhea!" Klaus snapped at her, "When we wake him up, we'll get our revenge, but until then, stay put. Like I said before, if Elijah is to wake and find you dead, he would lose his mind—I would lose my mind."

     Both Hayley and Rhea looked shocked at his confession but Klaus remained still like he hadn't just admitted that he cared about her after two years of knowing one another and being at each other's throats half the time. Rhea cleared her throat awkwardly as she reluctantly said, "I promise I won't go after her." Klaus looked at her for a moment before turning and leaving. Rhea let out a sigh before she turned back toward Elijah and approached the bed to talk to him, "I love you, Elijah. Please wake up."

     "He's strong." Hayley assured her, "He'll get through this—you both will."

     "I know." Rhea whispered as she reached for the washcloth again to dab his forehead with it from the sweat that had built up on it, "Doesn't make seeing him like this any less painful."

     "Because you love him." Hayley stated, "It hurts to see someone you love in pain."

     "It's much deeper than that." Rhea stated, "My head hurts, telling me that his mind is lost and he's trapped. My heart hurts because I know what he's seeing is tearing him up inside. My body aches because I know he's tired of running and fighting. My soul is telling me that if he doesn't wake up soon... I'll lose him." She choked up.

     "Hey." Hayley said as she sat down beside her while Rhea only placed a hand over her mouth hold back a sob. Hayley put a hand on her shoulder, "You and Elijah are some of the strongest people I know. He's fighting; that's all you need to focus on. He wants to come back to you because he loves you but Esther has clearly done something that's weakening his will. You being here will help him."

     "I—I need to do more than just sit here!" Rhea snapped, "I need to be out there, finding that stupid herb so I can wake him up. I don't know what Esther is showing him, but I know if it's anything like what she did to me... I know he'll blame himself later on for it. I need to stop it before he sees anything more."

     Hayley's eyebrows furrowed, "What did she do to you?" She asked hesitantly, like she didn't want to know the answer out of fear, she shook her head in disbelief, "What did she show you?"

     Rhea took in a deep breath in an attempt to calm down, "She wants me to fear him. She wants to make me a victim like the others he's killed." Hayley gasped and Rhea pursed her lips, "She put me in the shoes of every victim he's ever killed as if it were me, over and over again. She wants me to be so afraid of his bloodlust that we take her deal and become mortals again."

     Hayley bit her lip nervously, "Do you...?" She trailed, "Do you want to become mortal again?"

     "No." Rhea shook her head, "I wouldn't want that unless he did, and I'm sure it's vice versa. All I know is that I want to be with him. Being mortal would shorten our time together and I don't want that. I don't care about anything else, and that includes his bloodlust."

     "And I'm sure Elijah feels the same way." Hayley assured her again, "Which will make you stronger and help you beat this. Esther won't win. I promise you that."

     It was hours before Klaus returned, the sun had set and the party on the streets of New Orleans continued. When he did, he came straight to Elijah's room where he was still sleeping and where Rhea was still tending to him, in hopes that he would wake up. She had tried entering his mind a couple of times, hoping that their bond would be strong enough to break through Esther's spell, but it seemed she had placed several countermeasures to stop it her from breaking through.

     "Still nothing?" Klaus asked the Lockwood hybrid.

     Rhea only shook her head and wiped the blood that had dropped from her nose after she had tried to enter his mind for an extended period of time, "No change." She told him with a frown, "And he's burning up."

     Klaus takes out a handkerchief from his pocket and starts to smear a type of poultice onto Elijah's neck, "We were innocent once, Elijah." Klaus said quietly to his older brother while he continued to treat him and his wounds, "This bloodlust was forced upon us by our parents, turning us from prey to predator. We're the demons lurking in shadow. We are the savage villains in fairy tales taught to children. But, not for my child. Not for Hope. In her stories, we are knights in shining armor. Without you by my side, I don't think I can survive my own love for my daughter. Without you, Rhea will perish. She needs you. I need you, brother. The monster in me can only be challenged by the monster in you. Only together can we fight our demons and save our family."

     Rhea watched nervously as Klaus closed his eyes, placing another hand on Elijah's chest to try and penetrate his mind again. The two stayed there momentarily until Elijah sat up with a gasp.

     They're both shocked to see him awake, but after a moment, Rhea launched herself into Elijah's arms and Klaus smiles at them, "I'll give you two a moment." Klaus tells them before walking out of the room once he heard a sniffle come from Rhea's nose, who hadn't let him go and only continued to hold him tight.

     Elijah sent him an appreciative nod before pressing a kiss to Rhea's head, "I'm so glad you're okay, my love." He whispered, "I thought I had lost you."

     "I thought I lost you." Rhea's eyes clenched shut, "You weren't awake when I was and I thought—I didn't know what to think. I don't think I could handle..."

     "Stop." Elijah stopped her, "You kept me going, you should know that. I fought because I knew you were fighting for me. She was hurting your mind and I was just trying to get you out of there but I couldn't."

     "What happened wasn't your fault so don't blame yourself. Blame Esther. She did this to us but she couldn't break us; so we need to be ready that she'll strike again." Rhea told Elijah who only offered her a smile as she pulled away from the embrace.

     "I don't doubt that she will." Elijah agreed, "All I know is that my need to protect you has been heightened by a tenfold." He said and Rhea smiled at him adoringly while he placed a hand on her cheek, "Normally this doesn't happen unless something has happened to you, so I'll ask; what did she show you?"

     "Nothing that you'll need to know. You'll hate yourself." Rhea shook her head as she pulled his hand away from her face into her own, "All you need to know is that I know you would never hurt me and I love you. Everything else is irrelevant."

     Elijah sent her a look and she sighed at him, "Elijah, don't wear yourself down trying to fix this. There's nothing to be fixed and I'm okay." She assured him, "Let's just get you cleaned up, okay?"

     "Okay." The Original sighed reluctantly.

Klaus entered Elijah's bedroom where the eldest Mikaelson was getting dressed in his usual suit and tie and his soulmate was sitting on the bed, keeping her eyes on him like a hawk in case anything changed. She didn't want to take her eyes off of him at all and she was sure that he felt the same way about her. Elijah noticed that Klaus was holding a leather-bound notebook in his hands through the mirror, and looked as though he wanted to say something. After a moment, Elijah turned toward him, "What is it?"

Klaus hesitated for a moment, his eyes shifting to Rhea who sighed, "I can go if you want?" She offered, "Give you guys a moment?"

"No." Klaus shook his head, "You're part of this family—I want you to know as well." He told her before he let out a reluctant and shaky breath, "I spent the day with my father. My real father."

Rhea let out a gasp at the mention of Klaus' real father. She knew he was alive again because of the conversation between him and Esther in the crypt, but to know that he had finally met him and spoke to him, he was with him and could finally be in touch with his true self. Elijah was stunned speechless also, and could only sit down on his bed beside Rhea.

"Esther brought him back from the dead, believing he could convince me to renounce vampirism." Klaus looked torn as he approached his brother and his soulmate, "The thought of what I could be, had I been raised by him. Had I been nurtured. This was his." He handed Elijah the notebook and he opened it to find a sketch of a much younger Klaus inside, while Rhea saw it also looking over his shoulder.

"He knew about Hope." Klaus admitted and Rhea's head snapped up to meet his while Elijah immediately shut the notebook and rose to his feet, shocked again, "I wanted to trust him more than anything in the world. I—I wanted to, but..." He trailed off, unable to put into words what he did and what he felt, "I couldn't be sure. And, I would never forgive myself if something happened to her because of my selfish desire for a father. So, I killed him. Without hesitation. I killed him."

"Oh, Klaus." Rhea whispered sympathetically as she stood up from the bed and walked over to him, placing a hand on his arm, "Are you okay?"

Klaus only shook his head, causing Rhea to pull him into a hug and Elijah paused for a moment to choose his words carefully before speaking, "You killed him for Hope." He realised and he walked over toward them and handed Klaus the notebook, "And whatever innocence remains, we must protect at any cost." Elijah puts a hand on the back of Klaus' head comfortingly, and Klaus starts to cry while in the arms of Rhea and Elijah.

     They let go once Klaus calmed down and Elijah went back to finishing getting dressed, putting the finishing touches on his tie while he looked at himself in the mirror. As he buttoned up his jacket, he notices that his hands are shaking, as did Rhea as her eyes narrowed onto his hands on the mirror. He took in a deep breath to steady himself and leaned against his dresser and wipes his brow as he gets a flashback.

     "Are you okay?" Rhea asked and he didn't respond, "Talk to me Elijah."

     Klaus' eyebrow raised as he also wanted to know what his brother was going through as he leaned against a chair, "Rhea is right, brother. Talk to us. How do you feel?"

     Elijah let out a sigh, "The worst has past. Though, I suspect the nightmares are far from over." He said and Rhea's eyes softened at the thought of him being afraid of sleeping.

     "Well, gather your strength. After the message I sent mother tonight, I expect hell-fire to rain upon us imminently." Klaus told him and Rhea looked over at him.

     "What did you do?" Rhea asked her sire.

     Elijah approached him, "Whatever it is, we need to make a move before she strikes."

     Suddenly, Marcel and Hayley appear in the doorway, "Well, actually, moves were made while you were sleeping." Marcel told them.

     Hayley offered him a smile, "It's good to see you vertical. Rhea was really worried about you." She informed him and Elijah smiled at Rhea, feeling his love for her grow because of how much she loved him, "Marcel and I each left a gift for you in the ballroom." Klaus looked at them curiously, "You're welcome?"

     Klaus looked at Elijah, who gestured toward the door. As they pass Marcel on their way out, he whispered to them under his breath, "You're welcome."

     Downstairs, they arrived in the ballroom, where Klaus, Rhea and Elijah find both Finn and an unfamiliar male—who Rhea assumed was Kol, each wearing the enchanted manacles, which were suspending them from the balcony by their wrists. Klaus and Elijah looked very pleased while Rhea just looked shocked, "What the hell is this?" Rhea asked.

     "Kidnapping?" Kol questioned incredulously, "That's a rather unpleasant way to begin a family reunion!"

     Klaus only grinned, "Well, wait until you see how we end it!"