Every Mother's Son

There's the possibility that the universe fights for certain souls to find one another and maybe the universe places people in your life to just take them away. Just to teach you the things that beauty cannot. It could be said that the universe fights for heartbreaks, for the missed opportunities and for the bad timing.

Maybe the universe knows in an offhand way that those moments will show you your strength in ways the hope cannot. It is within the loses that you truly find gratitude for all that has stayed. It is through caring for those who make us feel like we are hard to love that we are taught how to embrace those who see us, those who truly protect our souls.

And maybe...just maybe, it is through the darkened journey that we are taught how to appreciate the warmth, how to chase the light. To Klaus Mikaelson, Lola Salvatore was his light. She would be by his side, knowing exactly when he felt like the walls around him were crumbling in and knowing exactly what to do to make him feel at ease. She would play the devil's advocate frequently to guide him into a better direction than his first instinct. Lola was his safe place and it hurt that even when she is near, it felt like she was on the other side of the world.

As Klaus rushes down the stairs leading to the courtyard, a door opening catches his eye. His shoulders tense, eyes darken when he sees Lola closing the door behind herself, wiping her finger against the corner of her mouth, "Where've you been?"

Lola looks across the courtyard to see Klaus storming towards her with a face full of thunder. She raises a brow looking over her shoulder to the room she was in before back to the hybrid, "In the room I just walked out of?"

Fake laughter escapes the hybrid, not bothering to hide his annoyed expression towards Lola. She had been out all night, purposely leaving her phone within the compound. He closes the gap between them both, "Are you going to tell me where you've actually been?"

"Of course!" Lola smiles sweetly for less than a second before her fake posture drops, "I was at 123–none of your fucking business—lane."

She scoffs pushing past Klaus to see a table in the middle of the courtyard, covered in bowls of fruits and pastries, "Don't tell me this is some pathetic attempt at trying to get me to fall in love with you."

Klaus stand behind Lola, lowering himself and brushing his lips against the side of her face, "You don't exactly deserve to be wined and dined right now with your current attitude."

Lola twists around in her spot, their lips are practically touching as she wears a condescending grin, "You say that and yet it was only last night you were on your knees, so easily giving in to this so called attitude."

Klaus hums in fake amusement, taking a step back from Lola as she turns facing the table again. Leaning against the table beside Lola, he wears a smug grin, "Perhaps it was from your biker friend."

The heretic stands up straight, staring in front of her as she clicks her tongue, "Fuck you."

"We already played that game, remember?" Klaus' voice turns low and hoarse, closing the gap between them both, "Several times."

A smirk twitches in the corner of Klaus' lips noticing Lola tense posture, "Is that a small flickering of your humanity coming back, love? The stunned stature?"

"No." Lola wears a cold expression, glaring towards the hybrid, "I'm just trying to figure out if I spent all the years that I have with you because I was bored or just out of pure pity."

In the corner of Klaus' eye, he notices Lola's hand reaching towards a silver knife on the table. Before she can grab it, Klaus takes hold of her hand and pushing her against the brick wall, "Don't even think about it."

A amused ripple of laughs escape Lola in between breaths. With a smirk she brushes her lips against Klaus' before stabbing him in the side of his abdomen with a fork. Klaus' hand harshly hits against the brick wall behind Lola as he attempts to maintain his balance, eyes are dark with rage making Lola laugh even more, "It's so easy to fool you, my love."

"Enough!"

Elijah's abrupt, bellowing voice makes Lola harshly pull the fork out of Klaus. With gritted teeth he inhaled sharply at the impact before stepping away from Lola.

Turning on his heel he sees Elijah stepping towards them, brows are knitted with confusion towards the table covered in food, "What's all this?"

Gesturing towards the table, Klaus scoffs noticing the puzzled look on his brother's face, "I take it by that look on your face this wasn't anything to do with you either?"

"This wasn't my doing..."

"Maybe someone is trying to end us all with poisoned fruit." With pursed lips, Lola stands beside Elijah before holding an apple out in front of her, "Here, Klaus, take an apple. Hopefully you'll choke on it."

Klaus' jaw tightens, hitting the apple out of Lola's grasp. Elijah sighs, about to intervene between them both until the silver cloche on top of a platter begins to rattle. Elijah's first instinct is to reach his arm out as a way of protection towards Lola. He gives Klaus a knowing look with a quick nod making Klaus lift the cloche.

Both of the Mikaelsons take a swift step back, ducking their heads as two starlings fly off the platter. Lola's eyes widen seeing the birds, she winces to herself hand going straight to the side of her head. Her vision becomes blurred, white flashes flood her mind with the screeching sound of birds and a more clearer vision of a flock of starling birds surrounding a crying baby. One of the visions she seen when Thomas managed to get inside her head.

The heretic loses her balance, hands indistinctively go against Elijah's forearm to maintain her balance. The original frowns, hand going against Lola's back to keep her balanced, "Charlotte..."

Lola clears her throat, shaking her head softly as though she is trying to shake the vision out of her mind. She glances up at Elijah whose face is twisted with concern before she pushes away from him.

Elijah sighs softly until he looks over to a tense looking Klaus, holding up a card that was within the cloche, "What is it?"

Klaus' eyes are wide staring down at the card in his hands, "An invitation from our mother."

Lola steps beside Klaus, taking hold of the card to read it herself; Dinner. Your home, 8pm. Lola scoffs, pressing the card against Klaus' chest before rolling her eyes, "So your mother sends an invitation for a dinner at the compound you live in? She's more arrogant than I remember. Count me out."

The younger Mikaelson harshly slams the invitation onto the table, his eyes darken watching as Lola walks towards the staircase, "Where do you think you're going now?"

"I'm going in the shower." Lola deadpans in a dull tone, already half way up the stairs. She stops, twisting around looking down at both brothers, "Is that okay with you? Just because being a dog is in your nature doesn't mean you can just follow me around like a little puppy." She turns on her heel, continuing up the stairs as she shouts back, "Oh, by the way...you may want the maid to start in that room first!"

Knowing exactly which room Lola is talking about, with an annoyed expression Klaus storms towards the room she exited earlier this morning. With a deep sigh, Elijah soon follows. Just as Klaus opens the door leading to the room, both brothers hang back in the doorway, sighing at the sight. 

Several dead bodies are dotted around the room, pools of dark crimson red blood across the floors and splatters up the walls. Klaus slams the door shut, his hand remains on the handle as his eyes close tightly, "She's getting out of control."

"Are you only just realising this, Niklaus?" Elijah quips in a mocking tone, leaning against the wall beside his brother, "Has the infatuation to this version of Charlotte finally worn off? There's something else we need to discuss." He tilts his head to the side, gesturing towards another room, "Come with me."

The hybrid's interest piques, with an arched brow he follows Elijah into a different room. He steps in first, waiting in the middle of the room as Elijah closes the door behind them both. He clears his throat, fastening his suit jacket, "In 1892–"

Klaus raises his hands up, obnoxiously rolling his eyes, "Spare me whatever historical lesson on mine and Lola's past you are attempting to throw at me."

"Let me finish." Elijah snaps in an unamused tone. He watches as Klaus' jaw locks, clearly fighting back whatever insolent response he was about to say. Elijah watches as Klaus takes a seat within the room, waiting for Elijah to continue, "Once it came to light what Charlotte and Kol had planned regarding Thomas Wetherby and the dust had settled, they told me everything."

Growing more interest, Klaus leans forward sitting on the edge of the couch as he narrows his stare towards the elder original, "Told you what exactly?"

"They didn't just start their plan on a whim." Klaus watches Elijah intently as the older Mikaelson begins to pace around the room, "Months prior to their first meeting with that man, they went to see one of the Devereaux witches. They were trying to find ways to release Charlotte from the spell her aunt done. After divulging her family's history, one of the witches gave Charlotte her family's grimoire." Elijah's pacing comes to a stop, one hand buries into his pocket and the other reaching out to his side, "But it was spelled and gave her visions of a man on a horse, a burning house—"

"—The spell gave Lola visions on what was to come." Staring down at the table, Klaus wears a confused stare before looking towards his brother, "Why didn't I know anything about this?"

Elijah wears a tight lipped smile, shrugging nonchalant, "It may seem hard for you to comprehend, brother, but it is possible that there are things in this world you don't know about."

"Her reaction earlier is exactly how she described it over a hundred years ago. I fear that Thomas may have done something similar to her." Elijah pauses, noticing the conflicted stare set upon Klaus' face. The elder Mikaelson rests his hands against the table, leaning closer to where his brother sits, "Think about it, Niklaus. He was working with mother, she is the reason he was able to come back from the dead."

It felt idiotic to Klaus that for a split second he thought anything to do with Thomas Wetherby was out of their lives for good. The main thing was he is dead, and this time there is no possibility that he will be able to come back. That was what Klaus needed to focus on in order to get through whatever his mother has planned for today.

Klaus comes to his feet, heading straight towards the door leading into the courtyard, "We will speak to Lola about these visions if they happen again but for now we need to focus on what mother is planning."

—✤—

There were moments in Klaus' life when he was a boy where his mother would show him true affection. She would teach him how to dance around the village fire, guiding him on how to find the prettiest girl of the village. Esther knew the fear that Klaus felt towards his father when he was a boy and she knew exactly why Mikael would be so harsh towards the young Mikaelson. 

Esther Mikaelson always wanted to protect her children, in anyway she could. Finding Klaus in the midst of the forest one day, scared to go hunting with his father, Esther gifted Klaus with a necklace. But it wasn't just any necklace, if Klaus ever felt scared or threatened all he would have to do it hold onto the necklace and Esther would be there. 

As Klaus stares down at the invitation from Esther, he can't help but wonder if all of the affection he thought his mother would shower him with was affection at all. Instead manipulation and leading him into a false sense of hope. Could this invitation be another one of those moments? The only thing Klaus desired in this very moment is some kind of assurance from Lola that his paranoia may be getting the better of him like it has many times in the past. But there were moments when that felt like it was impossible to ever get back to that stage of their life.

He gets brought out of his thoughts hearing footsteps in his bedroom behind him. Standing on the balcony, he turns to see Lola jumping onto their bed, "Have I ever mentioned how peaceful it is knowing my parents are dead? Or that there's no possibility they'd ever come back?"

Klaus steps back into their bedroom, closing the balcony doors behind himself, "We have enough enemies here." Klaus stands at the foot of the bed, looking down at Lola who is unfazed and staring up at the ceiling. He stands in between her legs, leaning down and taking hold of her hands to force her to sit up, "And now, the war for our home is to be fought against my own family."

Almost instantly, Lola pulls her hands out of Klaus' grip, scoffing to herself. She comes to her feet, pushing past him, "Well I would so thoroughly enjoy adding to the body count, starting with your mother. Emotions or no emotions, I know better than to keep her breathing."

"You will do no such thing."

Both Lola and Klaus' attention go to the double doors within their bedroom to see Elijah stepping in. Lola rolls her eyes before glaring towards the original, "Yes, please enter my bedroom that you just love to bulldoze into. Sorry I'm not naked this time."

Despite the hostility and coldness coming from Lola recently, Klaus still can't help but fight back a small chuckle whenever she quips something to his brother. 

"Esther's a master in the art of possession." Elijah continues, ignoring Lola's previous remark, "We know whose body she currently inhabits. We must decipher her intentions before she finds a new host."

"Well, her last invitation was an assassination attempt on all her children." Hatred seeps through Klaus' words, his eyes have darkened, "I think we can assume her intentions are decidedly foul."

"Well, then. We have..." Elijah drawls out before looking down at his watch wearing a hint of a placid grin, "This afternoon to prepare for the worst."

The couple remain silent as Elijah walks out of their bedroom. Even with no humanity, Lola still pulls the same face when she is up to something and it's an expression Klaus will never not read immediately. He watches her as she purses her lips, pretending he isn't in the same room as her right now as she casually walks to her side of the bed. 

The heretic taps her nails against her nightstand, turning slightly to face Klaus who wears an amused grin watching her every move. She wears a tight lipped grin slowly turning her back on him, he watches as her hand cautiously reaches towards the drawer within the nightstand. 

Just as Lola fully opens up the drawer, Klaus vamp speeds by her side. He grabs hold of her wrist, holding it up to see one of her antique gold forks in her grasp. A small smirk twitches up in the corner of his mouth glancing between the fork and an annoyed looking Lola, "As amusing as it may be...you're not using this on my mother, love."

He attempts to pull the fork out of Lola's hold but her grasp tightens. As he tries to pull it away from her, she pulls back causing their bodies to press against the other. Her expression is hard to read and yet Klaus' smirk has grew even wider. He gives her a knowing stare accompanied with a raised brow which makes Lola rolls her eyes and her grip on the fork loosens.

Shoving the fork into his jacket, Klaus steps away from her and begins to walk out of the room, "You're coming with me where I can keep an eye on you."

Lola groans obnoxiously loud, practically dragging her feet along the floorboards as she follows, "Shall I wear your dog leash while I'm at it?"

—✤—

Lola's face twists with disgust, clutching hold of a bottle of wine, as she walks into the dining room to see several caterers following Klaus' orders for Mikaelson dinner tonight, "Not only has your mother practically demanded you host her fucked up reunion but now you're also organising the catering?" 

As she stands beside Klaus she scoffs seeing two bottles of red in the hands of one of the caterers. She gestures her hand towards the human, making him turn away and stand alongside the others within the room. Klaus is unable to hide his smile as Lola turns to face him, holding out the wine in her hand, "At least use the shit wine. Have you learned nothing?" 

She twists around in her spot, gesturing towards the caterers, "You can all go now."

"And skip the salad course." Klaus calls out to them all as they begin to leave the room, "Let's not make this dreadful evening any longer than it needs to be."

Klaus had hope. He had hope that they were slowly getting Lola back to how she was and there were little hints that it could be heading in that direction. Despite how the day may have started, it seemed as though when it's just the two of them together and no one else is around them, the tension wasn't as thick.

With his hands behind his back, Klaus takes a step closer to where Lola stands reorganising the table settings Klaus had only just approved, "I suppose having the original heretic on our side will make this war end just that little bit faster."

"The original heretic?" Lola echoes in displeasing tone, brows are knitted with confusion turning to her side to face Klaus, "I'm not even—"

"You may not agree in this exact moment but you are part of the original family and you always will be." Klaus shrugs before leaning against the backing of a chair, "Therefore it seems rather fitting."

"Huh." Lola breathes out, looking up towards the ceiling as she hums in thought. With pursed lips she sits on the edge of the dining table before her face turns cold, "So you think you can brand me? Stick a hot poker on my ass and brand me as one of your bitches?"

"So, I guess letting Oliver live paid off." Hayley walks into the room before Klaus is given any chance to respond to Lola's remark. Hayley holds up her phone stepping closer to the couple, "He just informed me your mother has a partner-in-crime...another witch. This guy went to speak to Oliver, claiming that any information has to go through him first."

The hybrid's nostrils flare, anger easily seeping through him, "Building alliances in her quest to destroy us, I imagine."

With a tight lipped grin, Hayley shakes her head, "That's not all. The witch Marcel said he had on his side? Esther's got her, captured in the Quarter somewhere."

"Oh, perfect." Klaus grunts in a mocking tone as he rolls his eyes, "Mother's a step ahead, as usual."

"Oliver's with her." Hayley gestures to the door behind her, stepping backwards, "I'll go, and I'll get her to do the spell. But, I need the necklace. Where is it?"

"I'm coming too."

Lola hops off the table just about to follow Hayley out of the room until Klaus stands in her way wearing a stern stare, "No."

"Well, I'm not staying here when your mother arrives." Lola snaps in a harsh tone as she attempts to push past Klaus, "She'd have barely stepped inside before I'd have ripped her throat out."

As Lola pushes past Klaus, he stops her in her tracks by taking hold of her arm. Lola exhales a frustrated breath coming to a stop. Her face shows nothing but annoyance as she glances between the pleading look in Klaus' eyes and his hand around her arm. 

Klaus sighs looking over Lola's shoulder to an awkward looking brunette hybrid, "Give us a moment, Hayley." With a quick nod, Hayley walks out of the room just as Lola forces herself out of Klaus' hold, "This isn't safe, Lola."

"How isn't it safe?" The sudden change in Lola's tone of voice catches the original by surprise. No longer cold and harsh, instead there's a sense of familiarity to the warmness of her tone. She shifts slightly in her spot, "All we are doing is going on a witch-rescue and getting this witch to make it clear when your mother body jumps again. Just, for once, please, will you trust me that I'll do something and it will get done?"

"I do trust you." Klaus practically whispers, his jaw is slack. He laughs softly, shrugging his shoulders, "Truth be told, even with the current attitude you're still the one I trust most."

"Wow." Lola breathes out, locking eyes with the hopeful hybrid. 

Something was different when she smiled softly at Klaus' remark. Her face smiles but her eyes didn't and yet it drew Klaus in. All it would take would half a step between the two and their parted lips would collide. But all of that was gone in an instant when Lola's eyes turned cold and she laughed maliciously, "Kidding!"

She doesn't hold her her laughter as she leans one hand against the dining table beside her, hitting visibly upset Klaus against his chest, "I don't care if you trust me or not."

"That's where I think you're wrong." Klaus' voice is low and hoarse as he steps closer to the heretic. He brushes his hand against Lola's on the table, leaning closer to the side of her face as he brushes his lips against her skin. He smirks to himself, able to hear Lola's heartbeat starting to increase, "I know you do care."

"Hayley, will you please—"

Elijah's bellowing voice that follows a flustered looking Hayley makes Klaus pulls away from Lola. The conversation between Elijah and Hayley is like white noise, both Lola and Klaus unable to hear anything but each other's hearts beating for the other. Just for one split second, Klaus was able to see what seemed like a light flicker within Lola's eyes. The spark that brightened up her perfect green orbs flashed ever so slightly..her humanity flashes across her eyes ever so slightly. She's still in there.

Hayley loudly clears her throat to catch Lola's attention before gesturing towards the door. Her eyes are wide, full of plea towards the heretic, "We gotta go."

"Well," Lola frowns, swallowing harshly to coat the dryness that suddenly formed against her throat. She stands up straight having her back to Klaus, "Every good story needs a wicked witch. And in a shocking twist, I am not that witch for the day. Maybe put some water on the table at an easy reach so you can melt her."

Lola goes to follow Hayley out of the room but Elijah steps in front of Lola, however, with his back to her. His eyes are full of worry towards Hayley, "I don't like this whatso—"

"No." Hayley harshly cuts Elijah off from continuing as her eyes darken with fury, "You don't get to ignore me for days and then suddenly act like you're concerned, Elijah."

"Woooow.." Lola breathes out, leaning to the side and becoming visible to Hayley due to Elijah blocking her. Her smile is wide and condescending, "This got awkward fast. Shall we go?" She turns to face Klaus, holding her hand out, "Necklace?"

Elijah jaw slacks as though he is about to object to the two women going out and releasing the captured witch, Lenore. Klaus too wishes to say something but was unable to fathom any words. Instead with a heavy sigh he takes the necklace out of his pocket, handing it to Lola.

The older Mikaelson's eyes tightly shut, hearing the two sets of footsteps beginning to walk out of the room. Until he vamp speeds in front of them, blocking their exit, "Wait."

Hayley rolls her eyes, trying to step away from Elijah, "I don't car—"

"No, there's something else." It was now Elijah's turn to cut the young hybrid off, however his tone was more gentle, "A disciple of Marcel's was instructed to fetch another ingredient. Ask for Gia."

With a quick nod, Hayley pushes past Elijah and leaves the room. Lola tilts her head towards the original, pulling his tie out fully from beneath his suit jacket, "That tie doesn't go with your suit. You should change."

Elijah can't help but smile at Lola's whitty remark, he watches as they both walk down the hallway and leave the compound as Klaus stands beside him also watching. Elijah notices a different look on Klaus' face, a look he hasn't seen for a long time; hope, "How is she?"

There's a soft smile against Klaus' lips as he looks down at the ground, "Well she hasn't stabbed me with a fork since this morning." He turns in his spot pointing towards the dining table, "Even with a tray of them right in front of her. I can only hope that's progress." Klaus' eyes soften, eyebrows pull in as his eyes fill with hope, "She's still in there, Elijah. I can see it."

"So can I." Elijah matches the same smile, his hand rests against his brother's shoulder, "She's stronger than she was. That's all that matters right now."

—✤—

Oliver anxiously paces around the crypt where Esther and another witch...Vincent, held Lenore captive. Every noise he hears his paranoia overcomes him, panicking that someone in Esther's circle will see what he is planning.

His entire body turns tense, eyes darken with rage as he sees Hayley walking towards him with a smug looking Lola beside her, "What she doing here?"

Lola doesn't even bother to wipe away her smug grin as she pats Oliver harshly against his cheek, "What's up, mop?"

Hayley rolls her eyes, stepping in between the two strong minded people, "Maybe put to the side how much you both hate each other for at least five minutes, okay? Where's the witch?"

Oliver cocks his head to the side gesturing to the same crypt he was pacing outside of. Lola and Hayley both follow him into it to see the witch, Lenore, chained up against the wall looking exhausted with bruises already forming against her skin, "They worked her over pretty good."

Hayley rushes over to the witch, kneeling by her side as she rips the chains off her with ease, "We need to get her out of here."

"Huh? Then what?" Oliver's tone becomes shaky as he panics even more than he did before, "They'll know that I let her go! Look, you asked me to infiltrate Cassie's coven, I'm not gonna blow my cover for some has-been hippie-witch!" Lenore scoffs in an unwelcomely way making Oliver cringe slightly at his remark, "No offence!"

Hayley looks around the mausoleum while she tries to come up with a plan before her back straightens, eyes light up slightly, "I guess we could always make it look like you got jumped? Tell Cassie that Lenore got rescued by her people?"

"Let me guess, you, uh, wanna beat the hell out of me?" Oliver's tone turns sarcastic as he glares towards the hybrid, "Make it look convincing?"

"Finally.." Lola pushes herself off the wall she was leaning against, eyes darken with mischief as she steps closer to the wolf, "Something interesting is about to happen. Can I go first?"

Oliver laughs weakly, knowing this is what needs to happen. He sighs as his shoulders sink, giving Lola a stern look, "Okay, just...just not the face, okay?"

Lola's smile is faint looking towards Oliver for a moment before she looks away. Within seconds she punches Oliver against his jaw with so much force he gets thrown back, harshly hitting the stone wall behind him before falling to the floor.

Hayley stands in front of Lola, her eyes are wide in shock, "Are you serious?"

"His instructions were unclear..." Lola shrugs nonchalant, flashing a fake innocent smile, "I thought he said to go for the face."

Oliver's rage becomes overpowering, quickly coming to his feet as he holds onto the side of his jaw Lola hit, "You know exactly what I said!"

"No one is going to believe you got jumped if that face of yours doesn't even have a scratch!" Lola raises her voice even louder than Oliver, arms stretch out beside her as she scoffs, "Am I the only one thinking logically?" Lola points towards the entrance to the crypt, "Be useful, Hayley. Go and get whatever we need from whoever this Gia is."

There's a small hint of helplessness flashing across Oliver's face as he watches Hayley hesitate before walking out of the crypt. He shakes his head, hands go against his hips, "I can't believe I'm saying this but I would rather have Hayley beat the crap outta me."

"Yeah well, last time I checked I'm not a genie." Lola shrugs off her jacket, throwing it to the floor before stepping closer to Oliver, "So you're not getting your wish." She brutally kicks Oliver in his stomach, smiling to herself when she can hear one of his ribs cracking when he once against hits the stone wall behind him.

It didn't take long for Oliver to pass out from the several blows Lola threw at him. Lenore is knelt beside his unconscious body before she looks towards a proud looking Lola, "I assume you've been waiting to do that for some time?"

Lola breathes out a long, satisfied breath as she puts her jacket on once more, "You have no idea."

"What's your dog in this fight?" Lenore's brows knit with confusion as she comes to her feet, "You're not a Mikaelson."

"I know," Lola rolls her eyes as she scoffs, "I keep trying to shake them off but they won't leave me alone."

"She is a Mikaelson." Both women turn around to see Hayley walking back into the crypt, holding onto a brown woven bag that has the python within it.

Lenore's eyes widen as everything clicks for her, "The heretic mother?"

"Oh, good. Another nickname." Lola's tone is monotone and dull resisting the urge to roll her eyes before flashing a pained smile to the witch, "Listen, can we do this spell, or not?"

"After what that bitch and her lackey did to me?" The corner of Lenore's lips twitch up into a smirk, "I'll do any spell that you want!"

—✤—

Within Lenore's shop, the witch begins to lay out everything she needs to perform the soul-branding spell. In the corner of her eye she notices Lola walking around the shop, glancing at the different herbs, "Is there a reason you talked your friend into not joining us, dear?"

Lola shrugs her shoulders, picking up a small packet of herbs, "She can resist the urge to kill a lot more than I can. There's someone in our home right now and if I see them, well...I wouldn't be able to resist very easily." She drops the small herbal packet back onto the shelf before flashing a smile towards the witch, "So, will this take long?"

"You want me to soul-brand the resurrected spirit of a thousand-year-old witch?" Lenore scoffs, shaking her head, "It's best I take my time and do it right." Lenore looks up at Lola, she watches as the heretic shift slightly in her spot...how Lola's finger traces against her ring finger. Lenore's expression softens and turns into a sympathetic look, "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. No one should ever have to lose a child."

"No." Lola abruptly responds, looking away from the witch, "No one should."

Lenore lights a bundle of sage and wafts the smoke around the room before holding out her hand, "You have the talisman?"

"So, how does this work?" Lola reaches into her pocket, taking hold of Klaus' necklace and passing it over to her, "You brand Esther with the spell, and then what?"

Lenore sets the necklace on top of the cauldron so that it lays across the diameter of it while the ends hang over the rim, "The next time she jumps into a body, she'll be marked with a distinctive symbol on the back of her hand." She smiles, pulling the python out of the bag, "This way, you'll always know who she is."

"Good to know. We still don't know why she's here." Lola narrows her stare towards Lenore, trying to read her face, "When Esther held you captive, did she give you any idea why she's doing all this?"

Lenore puts the python around her neck for a moment, smiling, "Love!" 

Lola scoffs shaking her head, "Are you a part-time comedian?"

Lenore takes the python from around her neck and holds it in front of her with one hand, "What besides love can inspire such pain and cruelty? And Esther?" Lenore takes a knife with her free hand and slices down the length of the snake with it before disemboweling it and squeezing the entrails in her hands, dripping the blood in the cauldron making Lola twist in discomfort, "Her love is very, very strong."

With her eyes closed, Lenore stretches her hands out in front of the cauldron as she begins to chant the soul-binding spell. A strong gust of wind forces the door to open when Lenore's eyes roll to the back of her head. Lola takes a step back, watching as Lenore's entire body begins to shake before she stop chanting, falling forward and leaning against the cauldron for balance.

In all honesty, Lola's first thought was that the witch Marcel claimed was the best was just as weak as some witches she's came across before, "Was that part of the show, or..? Are you okay..?"

Lenore slowly raises her head, eyes are almost glazed over as she looks around in a dazed state, "Yes.." She practically whispers. Lenore stands up straight as her balance becomes better, "Just getting my bearings..."

When Lenore lifts her hand from the rim of the cauldron, Lola notices a brand on the back of Lenore's right hand in the shape of a triskelion. The heretic's eyes darken, glaring towards the witch, "Oh you have got to be kidding me. Esther."

It was obvious from this moment that Lenore's soul was gone and was replaced with the original witch just from the evil grin that spread across her face, "Hello again."

"At least this is an upgrade." Lola shrugs, looking at Esther up and down, "It's better than being stuck in a body of a teenager."

Lenore smirks in amusement at Lola's initial response. She grabs a rag from the side, wiping away the snake's blood from her hands when Lola's phone begins to ring. She nods in encouragement for Lola to answer, "Go ahead. You can answer it."

Lola doesn't even get chance to speak when she answers the phone before Klaus' panicked voice speaks up, "Lola, where are you?"

"Lenore's—"

Esther gestures her hand in the air, using her magic to abruptly end Lola's phone call with Klaus, "That'll be enough! We have some catching up to do."

The heretic's nostrils flare, flashing an irritated smile towards her, "As annoying as it is, they're gonna come for me."

"My darling," An evil grin once again finds home on Esther's face as she nods, "That's been the idea all along. It's so lovely to see you again, Lola. Tell me, do my sons ever acknowledge the good you bring into their lives? After all, it was you who gave them hope."

Lola can feel her entire body stiffen at Esther's words, not knowing exactly what the witch meant. With a narrowed, suspicious stare, Lola remains silent as Esther continues, "The promise of a child shows us all the possibilities of a future that could be. Children are meant to save us from the worst parts of who we are. A truth that makes my own circumstances all the more tragic, wouldn't you say?"

"Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?" Lola's face shows not one ounce of empathy as she laughs in a vicious way, "I'd rather take hair advice from Oliver than take any form of a motherly speech from the same woman who tried to kill her children. Multiple times."

Esther blinks several times looking away, as though Lola's words offended her. But only for a short moment before she shrugs her shoulders, "It's a terrible thing, for a mother to fail her child." She sees the starling necklace still laying over the cauldron and picks it up so she can look at it closely, "As you well know."

"Do you think that would affect me?" Lola's words sound like venom as she takes a step closer to the original witch, "Saying that I failed my daughter? I should be more offended that you're trying to put me in the same category as yourself."

"Finishing the spell what your aunt done a year ago was to have you become pure again, Lola." Esther attempts to calmly explain, "Us witches have—"

"—Have to stick together, blah blah blah." Lola rolls her eyes turning her back on Esther for a moment, "You've already said this speech to me back in Mystic Falls and it didn't work." As Lola turns on her feel to face her once more, Lola raises an inquisitive brow, "You say we have to stick together and yet you plotted with Thomas to kill my baby and myself. Is that why you brought him back?"

"I brought Thomas back to be a distraction and it worked." She drops the necklace back onto the table before she shrugs, "Between grieving over the last few months, you spent your time trying to find a way to end him for good. All he wanted to do was bring you to an end and vice versa. Truth be told it didn't matter if you killed him. He was a loose end, if you didn't kill him then I would have."

"Well..." Lola drawls out in a dull tone, "You're welcome. Lets rewind a second...you said that you want me to become pure again. If that was the case then why did you spend my entire pregnancy plotting against me and trying to kill me? Klaus' blood ran through our baby's veins so it was inevitable I would come back as a vampire." The corners of Lola's lips twitch up into an amused smile, "So basically...you don't think your plans out well enough. Clearly death didn't do well for you, Esther. You came back even more dumb than before thinking your plans would work."

"Lets discuss a new offer." Esther doesn't even bother to respond to anything Lola is trying to throw at her. She has a plan and that's all she wants to say, "The gift of a new body. Freedom from being a heretic. I have the ability to return to you all that you have lost, Lola. To make it so that you could have a family of your own. More children of your own. Wouldn't that be nice?"

Lola shows no expression at all regarding Esther's offer. Perks of no emotions, Lola thought to herself. She shrugs glancing around the shop, "Debatable...pregnancy wasn't exactly sunshine and roses."

Without any hesitation, Klaus rushes into Lenore's shop, "I assume you've had the misfortune of speaking to my mother?" He pulls Lola back behind himself, his eyes are practically red with rage towards his mother. Esther picks up a handful of a powdery substance and throws it towards Klaus, creating a magical barrier to keep him from coming any closer to her making him laugh slightly, "You hide behind your spells like a coward!"

"I did not come here to wage war!" Esther raises her voice just as she grabs another handful of the power throwing it in a different direction. She turns to the side to see Elijah who attempted to enter the shop in a different way to catch her off-guard but failed.

"Everything you do is an act of war." Elijah snaps towards his mother, his jaw tightens as anger pulsates through him, "If you touch her, so help me—"

"Lola is free to go." Esther looks over Klaus' shoulder towards Lola, smiling at her before turning her attention back to Elijah, "I've spoken my peace, she knows why I'm here. I have come to heal our family, Elijah."

Klaus scoffs as he rolls his eyes, "Well, that's a grand sentiment, coming from you." His eyes soften as he turns back to face Lola, "Go. Now."

—✤—

if you didn't see my announcement on my message board a couple days ago, i've got an insta page for this account. it's the same username as it is on here if you wanna be cute and follow pls do

i'll probably post a lot of updates about chapters on there so if you're one of those who ask when the next chapters are..go follow my instagram xo

..the way i have found any excuse, any distraction, ANYTHING to avoid writing this chapter bc of something in particular..but then didn't even add it in

i've been holding it off for ages and what i am talking about was supposed to be added in chapter 30 but couldn't do it..most likely will be in the next chapter though

so here is your warning for some trauma and it's nothing to do with klola..but klola trauma is also on the horizon..on the plus side we're getting closer to lola's humanity coming back xo