𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 - the threat

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𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐀 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 much a light sleeper. She found it difficult to fall asleep and any little noise would wake her; perks of a traumatic childhood and having to constantly be on guard. The siphon would sleep in one single position; on her front, one arm under the pillow and one leg raised. Davina however... a completely different story.

The young witch fidgeted like no other, throughout the nights that Ophelia slept over in the attic she would have limbs flying at her and smacking her awake. Which is exactly why the two variants of witch slept with pillows between them. Ophelia was all for battle scars, but getting a bruise from a sixteen-year-old witch because she couldn't sleep like a normal person? Not what she wanted.

Ophelia, as always, was awoken by Davina, the little witch was an early bird, she was awake by seven am, and proceeded to get ready for her day in the attic. Ophelia, try as she might, couldn't fall back to sleep and so, with a grumble she rose from the bed. Her wavy locks were only slightly messy seeing as she didn't toss and turn through the night.

The siphon slowly made her way to Davina's wardrobe that held a few items of clothing that belonged to Ophelia; she picked out a pair of light-wash mom jeans, a black bralette that allowed her locket to be on show, a black knitted cardigan that reached her knees and a pair of chunky black and white lace-up boots. It was a little colder when she had woken up so she covered her legs and arms to account for the weather, leaving her stomach on show, along with the small tattoo that rested on the side left side of her rib; a little cartoon ghost. There was absolutely no reason behind it, other than the fact that it was stupid and adorable.

She brushed through her copious amounts of hair, brushed her teeth, and covered her lips with a strawberry-scented chapstick. When she was finished, she collapsed on the bed with a light groan, wishing she could sleep a little longer.

Davina was already covered in smudges of charcoal as she started yet another drawing whilst Ophelia found the page she had dog-eared the night prior and continued to read the story she had read many times before.

"Do you think Elijah will stick to his end of the deal?" Davina questioned as her hand stilled, a crumble of charcoal falling to the ground.

Ophelia lifted her eyes to meet the back of the young witch's head. She knew that Elijah would keep up his end, he was considered the 'Noble one' for a reason after all. And though he never outright said it when she had walked him out, he definitely confirmed that he had a task that he needed Davina to complete. "He will."

The siphon didn't move her gaze from the young girl, even as she continued on with her drawing, "Hey D?"

"Yeah?"

"Come here for a second."

Davina furrowed her brows but did as instructed. She dusted off her hands and joined the older woman on her bed, "What's up?"

Ophelia knew she was doing nothing wrong, and even if she was, who was to tell her not to? But she still felt the need to tell Davina of her involvement with the Mikaelsons, not just Elijah. "Listen, I've been helping the Mikaelson's out with some things and I--"

"--Wait, what? You've been helping Klaus?!"

"Davina." Ophelia spoke calmingly, noticing the rage burning in the teenager's eyes, "They have someone in their care, somebody that I'm helping. But what I'm doing will not bring you any harm. I can't control them, but I can try to influence them, and I control my own actions. D... you know I don't care much for anything I do, you know that I'll hurt someone if I need to. But you-- I would never hurt you."

Davina sat staring wordlessly as she listened to the siphon. She could see the worry in Ophelia's eyes, something she didn't see all that often. She knew Ophelia wasn't open with her emotions and feelings and yet, there she sat, promising that she would never harm her, no matter which side she was on. "I trust you... you know that, right?" She muttered meekly. "I know you'd never hurt me... it's just... they don't belong here."

"So we'll agree to disagree. I promised them that I'd lend them a hand, and so far, they've done nothing to move against me or you."

"You're smart, I know you don't make decisions unless you think they're best... just, please be careful. I-- I think of you as a big sister, Lia... I don't know what I'd do if they hurt you."

For the first time in a long time, Ophelia felt a genuine spark of happiness. There was somebody who truly cared for her, and she cared for the little witch in return, so much. "I'll be as careful as I can be." She placed a hand on Davina's shoulder as she looked into her eyes, a smile on her face, "I think of you as my little sister too, by the way."

"You do?"

"Of course, we're family D."

The little witch, despite knowing that Ophelia would probably hate it, lurched forward and wrapped her arms around the siphon as tears welled in her sea-green eyes.

Ophelia, despite the small and sharp inhale of breath, gladly wrapped her arms around the witch as a hand stroked her hair. "You're gonna be okay, Davina."

Before Davina could speak, there was a knock at the open door of the attic. The girls separated and whipped their heads towards the visitor; it was Elijah. He stood, suited as usual, with a small smile on his face that had bloomed from watching the two interact. He shouldn't have been lurking, but seeing the more warming side of Ophelia was something he couldn't pass up.

"Good morning." He spoke as he smiled at the pair. He held up the aged papers that were clutched in his hand, waving them just slightly, "I do believe I made a promise."

Ophelia watched as Davina's face lit up with excitement as she jumped off the bed, bouncing on the balls of her feet, "Come in!"

Elijah made his way towards the young witch, his eyes glancing towards the siphon as he nodded his head in greeting, receiving a small smile in return. Ophelia joined the pair as Elijah handed the spell over to Davina, along with a piece of rope that was intricately woven together, looking almost impossible to unfurl.

"It's a spell of unknotting?" Davina questioned, her eyes darting from Ophelia to Elijah before eyeing the rope with skepticism.

Ophelia held out her hand and Elijah handed the knot over, he watched as she twisted it in her hands before meeting his eyes, "Its a sanguinum knot."

Ophelia believed herself to be rather knowledgeable when it came to all things witch. After all, she had been a part of one of the most famous covens to have existed. They were made to study the witch's history, their tests, and anything else.

Elijah nodded, his lips twitching as the young woman displayed her intelligence once again, "The witches use it as representational magic. Davina, if you can unknot this using that spell, you will have taken a step towards learning control. This is one of my mother's later spells. It requires much more power than you realize. Now, if you can perform this, then I shall return with another page."

The original smiled at the pair once more before turning on his heel to walk towards the door. His footsteps paused before he turned to face them, "A spell of your choosing, next time." Davina smiled excitedly, her hands itching to perform magic. The original's attention shifted to Ophelia who rose a brow in response, "I was hoping you'd accompany me; I have an... errand to run."

Ophelia narrowed her eyes at the man before sighing and turning towards Davina, "You good on your own?"

"Yeah, I have to work on this!" The witch babbled with a grin, "You should stay at home tonight... I know I keep you awake; you deserve a good night's sleep."

"If you're sure," The siphon walked towards the desk, moving the heaps of charcoal covered papers to retrieve her phone and the first tin of lip balm she could find, she shoved them into her pockets and walked towards Elijah who stood patiently, his eyes trained on her. Ophelia threw a look over her shoulder, "Good luck, Sabrina."

Before the little witch could retort, Ophelia closed the door behind them, holding up a finger to signal for Elijah to wait. Not even a second passed before something hit the door and Davina's voice yelled out, "That's not my name!"

Elijah chuckled as he placed a hand inside his pocket, "You two are quite the pair."

"She's the only person I've really taken to since..." The siphon never finished the sentence, the following words would have been 'since I got out of the prison world' but she wasn't about to spill that little tidbit of her past. Her eyes met his and she could see the questioning swimming within them. "What exactly do you consider to be an 'errand' because I hardly think my help is needed if you're going out for a pint of milk."

"If Hayley continues to eat cereal at the pace she currently is, I may need your help for that," He commented in response, his lips quirking upwards as she snorted lightly. "We're going to Sophie Deveraux. We need information and I believe she'd be more willing to provide it with you there."

"Are you calling me intimidating?"

"To some."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

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Ophelia and Elijah walked side by side through the quarter, apparently Klaus was to be meeting up with them so they strolled casually towards their destination, Rousseau's, where they were to speak with Sophie Deveraux.

The pair walked whilst sharing a relatively polite conversation, though Ophelia did add her small sprinkle of snark. "Might I ask you a personal question?" Elijah asked, his head tilting to look down at the short woman, who lacked more inches due to the fact that she no longer wore heels.

Ophelia's face visibly cringed, "Depends on what the question is."

"You're a siphon, I've heard them to be considered..."

"Abominations?"

Elijah cleared his throat, he wasn't the biggest fan of using said word to describe another person, he had heard it enough when their vile father used the word to describe Niklaus. "Yes... abominations. Is that correct?"

"Witches hate us. We're seen as abominations of nature because we have no power of our own, because we have to take it from another creature to be able to use it. So, they're usually rejected from their coven."

"Usually?"

"I was allowed to stay... but that wasn't any better."

"Brother, Ophelia." Klaus' voice rang out, drawing the pair's attention to him. He nodded towards the siphon, "Hello, love."

"Klaus. Eat any innocent bystanders today?" Ophelia's voice came out sounding like a genuine question as she shrugged the shoulder of her cardigan back up after it had slipped.

It was quite the cold day and though she was thankful she didn't wear a dress; she was also kicking herself for only wearing a bralette beneath her cardigan. She pulled the article of knitted clothing around her as she rose a brow at Klaus's amused expression

The hybrid shrugged, the smile present on his face as he looked towards his brother, only to see him shake his own head in amusement, "Just the one. I did bring her home as a present for my dearest brother as an apology, but I don't think he accepted."

Elijah rolled his eyes, "Said brother is right here, as I told you, a change in behavior would be preferable."

Ophelia looked between the two, a spark of jealousy igniting in her gut as she thought back to conversations she had with her own brother. She brushed it off as she continued onwards, leaving the boys to follow her, "Well, after being stabbed and placed in a literal coffin, I don't think a dead woman is really the kind of present people look for."

"Well, she wasn't dead at first." Klaus shrugged innocently, though that wolfish smirk was plastered on his plump lips.

"Oh, much better." Her gaze moved from the blond to the brunet Mikaelson as she spoke, sarcasm lacing her words, "I can't believe you didn't forgive him."

Elijah's tone matched her own as he stepped forward to open the door for her, gesturing for the woman to enter, "Astounding, isn't it?"

Klaus narrowed his gaze between the pair, "I don't like that you're ganging up on me."

Ophelia snorted lightly as she made her way inside of the bar she frequented so often and before she knew it, Elijah and Klaus had sped ahead, in the direction of the kitchen. She could only assume that they had found Sophie.

Her assumption was incorrect, as she approached the entrance to the kitchen, she caught the tail end of the conversation. To her surprise, it was Sabine, not Sophie, "If I tell you where Agnes is, you'll just kill her."

"Isn't that obvious?" Klaus shrugged without a care in the world. He would hold no remorse for killing Agnes; witches were just a pain in his ass.

"Look, I know she's a little... coo-coo, but she's our last living Elder. That might not mean a lot to you, but it means plenty to us. The Elders are the only ones who can do important spells."

Ophelia rolled her whiskey-colored eyes as she felt annoyance claw at her throat. She untucked her crossed arms and allowed her cardigan to open, ignoring the cool air that brushed the bare skin of her stomach as she came to stand beside Klaus, "The Harvest ritual, you mean?"

Sabine's eyes widened comically as she stared at the siphon. The originals were no joke to mess with, but the witches were fearful of the siphon because she could steal their magic, she could use their own magic as her own. "You," she whispered.

Elijah turned his head, he met his brother's eyes as they shared a slightly confused look. Of course, they could see why the witches would be afraid, she could take their magic. But the look Sabine gave the petit woman was akin to those Klaus would receive.

Elijah's gaze moved towards the young siphon before settling back on Sabine, "Oh, you'd be astounded by the things I know."

Sabine could tell that Ophelia had obviously told Elijah some of the secrets the witches held, his eyes were knowing, he knew every detail of the Harvest, that much was clear.

"Allow me to entertain you with today's list of priorities." Klaus spoke as he approached the two, relishing in his own power as Sabine took a step backward, "One, unlink your friend Sophie so she no longer controls the fate of the woman carrying my child. Two, convince my brother to accept my heartfelt apologies for some recently dodgy behavior. Three... there is no three."

Ophelia chuckled as she approached the steadily growing conversation, the brothers each stepped to the side to allow the siphon through. After all, who better to scare a witch than somebody who could steal what made her a threat.

"Sabine..." Ophelia drawled out in a tone that sounded too dark to have come from the woman, her dark eyes met those of the witches and she stared intently, "These two can't kill you, because we need information from you, however, the scene playing out in my head--" The siphon tapped a finger on the side of her temple before pointing it towards the cowering witch, "--will make you wish they can. A child's life is in danger, and I know that means little to you and your band of cockroaches, but to me? Well, I will rip your magic from your veins before I let yet another child be harmed by one of you." Her face brightened as if the dark look and threatening words had never existed and she took a step backward, falling in line with the Mikaelson's, "So, what'll it be?"

The brothers shared a look over the top of her head; they were impressed. Klaus had to give it to her, she could certainly be a menacing little thing when she wanted to be. Her voice was low and dangerous but her posture was straight and ridged as she exuded confidence in her ability to make the woman crack.

As for Elijah, he couldn't quite help the small quirk of his lips as he watched the woman stare down the witch that was taller than her. She held herself in a way that he would. Her words were sharp and struck the witch with each syllable. It seemed as if he was seeing all of her sides; he had experienced her taunting and teasing personality first hand, he had the pure pleasure of witnessing her warmer and more vulnerable side that she reserved solely for Davina, and now he saw the side that Marcel was clearly drawn to.

She was a formidable woman. Even without magic of her own to protect her, she stood her ground and threw out words that dug into people like knives. He glanced down at the woman for just a short second, unaware that she could feel his burning gaze before he returned his eye line to Sabine. The siphon had cracked the witch, that much was certain.

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08-09-2020