𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 — the departure

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𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐀𝐋𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐖𝐎 days Ophelia was down and out, her veins burning and her blood boiling as she screamed inside of her own mind at the pain. She had absolutely no idea of the things that had transpired in the French Quarter whilst she stayed trapped within her own mind.

She had been in utter agony; black veins as dark as coal had crept up from her fingers and toes to the very base of her jaw; like vines. She had heard some voices around her; but nothing that was decipherable, it was like she had been underwater.

Thankfully, the second the veins had begun to creep back from wherever they came from, her hearing cleared and her body felt stronger almost immediately

Rebekah had been cornered by a gaggle of werewolves; each flooding her veins with their venom which prompted certain memories to resurface. She had been taken to an old sanitorium where she had once worked, many years ago. Klaus had been taken to the same place, though whilst he wasn't flooded with venom like his sister, he was in a constant state of suffering.

As it seemed, Genevieve; the one who had taken both Rebekah and Klaus to the sanitorium, didn't want to cause Klaus pain, but enlighten him of his little sisters' prior betrayal; a secret that none other than Marcel knew of. Rebekah and Marcel had been sneaking around with one another, despite Klaus's previous warnings, and in their fear of Klaus finding out; they summoned Mikael, the Mikaelsons father.

Genevieve had managed to work her way into their minds, able to make Klaus see exactly what Rebekah was reliving. He saw the betrayal, and Genevieve used her hold on the original hybrid and told the man that his little sister and her secret lover wished to relieve themselves of Niklaus Mikaelson for good.

Elijah had been on a quest of his own; he had confronted Monique and demanded his sibling's location, and as ever, the witch was cryptic. His skin had been marred with names, a puzzle he had to solve in order to find both Klaus and Rebekah. He had also demanded that the young witch tell him what had happened to Ophelia only to find out that she was simply an obstacle and was being kept out of the way for the time being.

Elijah, with the help of Marcel, had cracked the code; all worry for Ophelia being pushed to the back of his mind, despite how hard such a chore proved to be. Marcel, had taken it upon himself to finally spill the plan both he and Rebekah had enacted all of those years ago. He told Elijah exactly who they had brought to the city. Elijah was, of course, overcome with anger, though Marcel managed to quell the emotion, for the time being, stating that they needed to rescue the missing originals and break whatever spell had been placed on Ophelia first and foremost.

Of course, this was all planned by the crafty Celeste who believed that by bringing the deepest and darkest secret that Rebekah held onto into the light, she'd destroy the Mikaelson family's dynamic, destroy their 'always and forever'.

Klaus had come close to getting his paws on Rebekah, but like the dutiful brother he is, Elijah appeared alongside Marcel and stabbed Klaus with Papa Tunde's blade, rendering the hybrid useless as he fell to the ground, head cradled in his big brothers' hands.

Though, like the stubborn vampires they were, Rebekah and Marcel decided that rather than running away, they'd resort to rescuing slaughtering the resurrected witches to bring Davina back in the hopes that the young witch would cast a cloaking spell that would hide them from Klaus's revenge-seeking eyes.

They had succeeded, with the help of Elijah of course, and Davina was brought back. The poor girl was weak and a shell of her former self, and when Marcel told her of what had happened to Ophelia; she was crushed further. She had no idea how to reverse such a spell.

Somehow, the originals that were prone to imminent danger, had gotten themselves trapped in the Lafayette cemetery. Elijah, Rebekah, and a vengeful hybrid who had a white oak stake were all stuck in one place.

The bitterness between the siblings continued through the night; Klaus prattling about his sister's betrayal, Rebekah rolling her eyes and defending her actions, and Elijah trying to play the balanced moderator.

Everything that proceeded after was nothing short of a mess; Klaus stabbed Elijah with Papa Tunde's blade, he then stabbed Rebekah with the white oak stake, narrowly missing her heart... He had wanted his little sister to feel the same fear that he himself had felt when their father came to town, and that it was their father who ruined him, made him into who he was.

Finally, the barrier that kept the three inside the cemetery was dropped; and that was the exact moment the veins had begun to fade. Ophelia's curse and the spell on the cemetery were linked, both ready to break at the exact same time so that whatever would transpire inside Lafayette could not be interrupted by Ophelia siphoning the barrier away.

"Nik offered me a deal," Rebekah muttered softly to the siphon who still looked as if death himself had shaken her hand. She had awoken with a fuzzy head and a weak body, barely even able to lift the top half of her body to lean against her pillows.

Ophelia had been awake for just fifteen minutes before Rebekah arrived, a glum look on her face whilst Elijah stood by the bedroom door. The blonde had gathered whatever remains of her things from the burnt plantation house before making her way to bid her friend farewell.  "I get my freedom, what I've always wanted... but I can never return. I couldn't leave without saying goodbye to you, you've been such a... such a good friend, something I haven't had the fortune of having for a very long time. I do hope we can see each other again, and believe me when I say that if you do not answer my calls, I will return to rain hell upon you, Klaus be damned."

A weak chuckle left Ophelia as she lolled her head against the wall behind her, light ash-colored veins had replaced the earlier onyx black ones, even still, they were slowly fading away. "I don't doubt you for a minute, and I'll always pick up your calls. I'll miss you, you know?"

"You will?"

She sounded like a child. A small and lonely child with a glint of sadness and hope in her eyes as she stared at her friend. Ophelia knew that freedom was exactly what Rebekah had always wanted, but she also knew that the blonde before her loved her home and family, she knew that Rebekah would have wanted to return whenever she could, and now that was out of the equation. "Of course. I don't have many friends, Rebekah, and I value your friendship, a lot."

"You have no idea how much that means to me." The blonde vampire whispered, her cerulean eyes filling with tears that begged to be shed. The original reached forward, her arms reaching for the siphon as she pulled her into a hug, being mindful of her weakened state.

Elijah watched from his position at the door, his eyes full of sorrow as he watched his sister say goodbye to one of the only friends she had ever known. Elijah was used to seeing his baby sister try her hardest to gain friends; though she never changed who she was to satisfy another which was something he admired about Rebekah, that no matter how much she wished to make friends, she would never become somebody she wasn't.

And then she and Ophelia had met and somehow became closer than he could comprehend. Rebekah would talk of Ophelia all the time, gushing about the day they had spent shopping together and when they could have such a day again. Now she had to say goodbye to that chance. Elijah could see how solemn Ophelia was too; she had let Rebekah in, and now she had to leave.

"We'll see each other again, Beks, somewhere outside New Orleans if need be," Ophelia muttered softly; her voice still weak as she gently soothed the blonde who seemed to revert to the age she was turned.

Rebekah pulled back, a stray tear rolling down her puffed cheek as red blossomed beneath the skin, "You promise?"

"I promise."

"Good." the blonde sniffed as she rolled her shoulders back to compose herself. She moved to stand, a quick hand brushing the crystal-like tears from her face as she smiled. 

Before the blonde made a move to exit, her manicured hand drifted to the inside of her jacket, slowly procuring a brown envelope that seemed to contain an item of some sort. 

Rebekah said nothing as she carefully placed it on the nightstand next to Ophelia's bed before a deep sigh escaped her. Her eyes drifted to her elder brother as her quiet steps neared him, her composure breaking just slightly as her smile wobbled.

"I do hope you find everything you're looking for," Elijah spoke with a slight rasp; emotions clogging his throat as he looked over his baby sister who finally had freedom within her grasp.

"Elijah, when I brought Mikael, I never for a second meant to hurt you."

"I know."

"I was certain that Klaus meant to kill me. Whether he never really did at all, or he changed his mind... maybe somewhere, deep down, he still is the brother we once knew."

"Very deep," Elijah sighed, though hope sparked inside his oak-colored eyes, "But he's still in there."

"Help him find his way," Rebekah whispered as she pushed herself up to the tips of her toes, planting a small kiss on her brother's cheek. She turned and sent Ophelia a final parting smile before brushing past Elijah and taking her leave; ready to finally taste the freedom she had been granted.

The room was plunged into silence as Ophelia and Elijah were left in Rebekah's wake; the two hadn't spoken for almost two days. Ophelia had been out for the count, and Elijah had been running around the entirety of New Orleans worrying about what had happened to her and what would happen to his family.

He approached her carefully, his steps barely making a sound against the wooden flooring, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright." a yawn slipped through her lips as Elijah settled onto the bed, his gaze focused on her, "Tired... very tired, but I did have a curse placed on me, so I kind of expected that."

"I'm terribly sorry, Ophelia. All of this... the witches taking you and torturing you, placing this curse upon you, it was all to keep you from saving myself and my family..."

"They were clever to do it. I would have helped you if could have, you know that."

"I do. It's in your nature, no matter how it may harm you."

Ophelia's lips twitched as her eyes became heavier, "What about you? Are you okay?"

"Me? Of course."

"Lying to a sick girl? Shame on you, Mr. Mikaelson."

Elijah chuckled lightly before his gaze lowered, "I — I'm certainly going to miss Rebekah's presence, but I know she'll be happier away from New Orleans. I do hope that I can help my brother, he allowed Rebekah her freedom; there is hope."

"If he has you by his side, then of course there is."

"You give me far too much credit."

"And you sell yourself short. You don't give yourself enough credit, Elijah."

Silence filled the room once again, Ophelia waiting for the man before her to speak whilst Elijah contemplated whether or not he should express his worries. He had been beside himself; seeing the woman before him lying completely still as her veins darkened to the color of the night sky; he thought she was going to die. Blood wouldn't heal her, nothing would.

"When Hayley called to tell me of your curse... I rushed to your side." His stare was forward, locked to the wall, not noticing the way Ophelia's tired eyes softened further. "My blood did nothing to aid you, no concoction of herbs helped your state. I was... I was afraid, Ophelia. I don't often worry for you; I know how strong you are, but seeing you in that state..."

The bed shifted beneath the two of them as Ophelia strained her muscles to bring herself closer to him. She sat by his side, ignoring his look of protest as she moved and placed a hand atop his own, "I'm okay. They just wanted me out of commission for a while."

He could hear in her voice that she was okay, that what had happened hadn't affected her... but it had affected him, "I couldn't help you."

Ophelia sighed. She knew Elijah was a man who wished to fix those he cared about, but it seemed as if he believed it was his purpose, that if he couldn't help somebody, their downfall was on him. "It isn't your job to fix people..." she brought her other hand to cup his own and his eyes snapped to her face; he could see the left-over veins that were still marring the olive skin of her neck, the way she was only slowly regaining color. "But I'm okay. I'm here, and I'm fine. You don't have to worry."

"I'm afraid it's too late for that."

Ophelia ducked her head, a curtain of brunette surrounding her as a bashful smile appeared on her lips at the soft and velvety tone of Elijah's voice; perhaps she needed a long nap, her emotions seemed to be here there and everywhere; she couldn't even control the pale pink that blossomed on her cheekbones but at least her hair skewed Elijah's vision.

Her head snapped up, eyes changing from sharp and bitter whiskey to those of a doe as a hand cupped the side of her head. He was restraining himself, that much was obvious to them both; he couldn't allow himself to divulge in his own desires and fantasies, and Ophelia wasn't certain if she herself could open enough to allow them to occur.

His lips brushed against her forehead, forcing her eyes to flutter shut as he whispered against her warm skin, "Rest."

And then he left. Leaving behind a coldness that replaced where he once sat, leaving behind a siphon who desperately wished that sleep would take her and that she'd wake up with better control over her pesky body and mind.

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10-05-2021

I haven't edited this because i'm lazy, but i hope you enjoyed it nonetheless; don't forget to vote, comment and follow me, my loves <3