𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐕𝐄 - the pop-tarts

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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐀'𝐒 head had hit her plush pillow, she passed out. For once she had actually managed to fall into a deep sleep without tossing and turning for an hour or two first. She had been completely drained; her body ached and she could barely keep her eyes open. The warmth of her bed was inviting and without a second thought, she wrapped herself into a burrito like state and she was out like a light.

She had no idea how long she had been asleep before she was, once again, rudely awakened. A loud groan left her lips as she flipped onto her side, blankets and pillows tumbling to the floor in a heap. Her sweater-clad arm stretched out and smacked the surface of her nightstand as she blindly searched for her phone before snatching it and bringing it to her ear as she answered the call, her eyes still shut.

"Hello?" She spoke groggily into the device, her voice much deeper and huskier than she thought it'd be, causing her to clear her throat and repeat the word.

"Ophelia?" Hayley's voice responded, "Did I wake you up? Sorry."

The siphon inhaled deeply as she forced herself to rise into a sitting position, the sound of her neck and back clicking echoed into the phone and caused Hayley to cringe on the other end. With a voice that sounded a lot less manly, and more herself, Ophelia lightly laughed, "Don't worry about it, are you okay?"

"I'm fine... but..."

"Hayley? What is it?"

A heavy sigh was emitted from the pregnant wolf as she chewed on her nails, "Klaus, he uh, he bit Elijah, we're stuck in the Bayou and I know that you've already done so much for us but... would you..."

"That family is a nightmare," Ophelia muttered to herself as she rubbed at her eyes with the back of a hand, causing colors and black dots to dance in her vision. "I'll be there, don't worry. Listen, if he runs a fever make sure he stays hydrated and try to keep him as cool as possible. I'll be as fast as I can."

"Thank you!"

"Oh, and hey, if he takes a turn for the worst, get out of there, got it?"

"Got it, see you soon."

With a quick goodbye of her own, Ophelia ended the call and threw the plain white covers off herself with a huff. At this point, she was counting down the days until she'd finally get a full night's worth of uninterrupted sleep. It wasn't looking like it would happen, ever.

The siphon made her way towards her wardrobe, shivering as her feet met the cold wooden floor. Her hands reached out towards the golden handles of the ornate wardrobe and pulled them open, her vast array of bright clothes on display. Her still readjusting eyes skimmed over the materials and colors before she reminded herself that she was going to a swamp, so no heels, she was not dealing with that again.

So instead she settled for a safer option, a pair of light-wash mom jeans, a baby-pink lace bodysuit, a black cropped leather jacket that she was certain she had never worn before and she picked out a pair of black leather boots that had small scuffs on, shoes that she didn't mind getting covered in mud.

Ophelia raced around the room to get herself ready and she managed to brush her teeth, wash her face, and throw on her clothes within nine minutes, a high score for the high maintenance woman. She slumped onto the bed as she quickly pulled on her boots and brushed out her long mass of hair before leaving it to flow over her shoulders.

The siphon snatched her phone from where she had left it, grabbed the set of car keys for the Mini that she didn't often drive, and grabbed a pastel pink rucksack from where it hung on the back of her bedroom door before proceeding out. Her steps were fast as she practically jumped down the staircase and rushed into the kitchen.

She pulled out a box of strawberry Poptart's, knowing that she'd be able to pack the entire box into her stomach within minutes and grabbed another for Hayley, along with a couple of bottles of cold, crisp water and shoved everything into the rucksack before making her way outside to where she had left the small car on one of her previous adventures around the vast city.

The siphon threw the rucksack into the passenger seat as she climbed inside the cherry-scented car, she was a fan of strong smells so you better believe that she had three car fresheners in the shape of cherries hung up. She slammed the door shut and slid in the key and the second the little red car rumbled to life, one direction filtered out of the speakers.

From what she'd heard, thier music was often considered to be catered towards teenagers... but she enjoyed it, very much, to the point where she was willing to kick somebody out of the vehicle if they complained... which she had done to Marcel on more than one occasion.

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The journey out to the Bayou didn't take all that long, especially since the moment Ophelia was out of the city and closer to the swampland... well, she wasn't exactly abiding by the speed limit. The scenery was a welcomed change, mostly due to the fact that Ophelia loved the outdoors, but hated the mud.

Her car rumbled to a stop as she caught sight of the brunette werewolf with a baby bump leaning against a pillar that held up part of the rickety shack that Hayley and Elijah had taken to occupying. The siphon slipped the key out and back into her jacket pocket, swiftly zipping it closed before she grabbed ahold of the backpack full of supplies.

The car door swung open and the second Hayley caught sight of the car's occupant, her shoulders relaxed, her arms uncrossed and a relieved smile pulled at her lips as she made her way over, "Thank God you're here!"

Ophelia chuckled lightly as she slammed the car door shut and readjusted the strap of the rucksack on her shoulder before turning back to the wolf, "Well, it's nice to be needed. How are you?"

"I'm okay, but Elijah's not doing great. I did everything you said to try and keep the fever down, but it's not working."

"No, I didn't think so. It's a werewolf bite, I guess he's just gonna have to tough it out." Ophelia muttered as she and Hayley walked side by side towards the shack. Her boots were already sinking into the mud and mosquitoes flew about in the warm air, in that moment, she was incredibly happy that a majority of her skin was covered, even if she was sweating buckets.

The second the door to the shack was opened, Elijah was on his feet and Ophelia had to dart forward to stop the man from falling and faceplanting the floor. Her hands were firmly grasping his biceps that were, for once, not covered by his suit jacket, but rather a thin and dark grey T-shirt.

"Ophelia?" His breathless voice spoke, "What are you doing here?"

"Hayley called me, now I'm here, the usual." The siphon responded as she helped the original back towards the bed. She could see the sweat dripping down his skin and could hear his harsh breaths as she sat him down. "Forever saving the Mikaelson's."

"You shouldn't be here, I'm not in my right mind, I could hurt you."

"You can't even stand up straight, Elijah. So, shut up and lay down."

From behind the bickering pair, Hayley rose a brow. A small chuckle escaped the wolf at Ophelia's attitude, she was the only person outside of the Mikaelson family that she had seen stand up to them and boss them around. When both the siphon and the original vampire faced her, she shrugged, "I'd listen to her if I were you."

"Thank you, Hayley." Ophelia smiled, the expression turning mildly smug as she once again looked at Elijah and rose a brow. It was almost inaudible, but the man let out a small huff and followed her orders. His limbs ached and his skin burned as he shifted and pulled his legs onto the bed before laying down. "By the way, I brought some food and water, help yourself." She spoke towards the wolf.

Hayley's hazel eyes lit up and just at the bare mention of food, her stomach grumbled. She swiftly picked up the rucksack Ophelia had dropped upon catching the unstable vampire and unzipped it, her hands sifted through its contents and she let out a laugh as she pulled one of the boxes out, "Poptart's?"

"You don't like them?"

"Oh, no, I love them. But why two whole boxes?"

"You'd be surprised at how much I can eat. You might be eating for two but I could happily eat for eight."

The wolf shook her head in amusement as she gathered up a box and a bottle of water as well as the bible that had been left by God knows who. "I'm gonna wait outside, It's way too hot."

Ophelia hummed in acknowledgment and the sound of the door opening and shutting signaled Hayley taking her leave to sit out by the glistening lake. The siphon grabbed a bottle of the cool water herself and quickly twisted off the lid as she ran her eyes over Elijah's panting form.

His eyes snapped open upon feeling the woman press the back of her hand against his forehead, retracting it with a small grimace; he was boiling. She had absolutely no idea what she could do for the man, he was an original vampire so she assumed the bite would give him the fever before finally healing, he couldn't die. But she had come out upon Hayley's call nonetheless because better her deal with a sick vampire than a pregnant woman.

"Here," She spoke softly as she held out the bottle of water. Elijah reached out, his hand encompassing her own as he pulled the bottle towards his parched mouth. The second the cool water hit his lips he felt some relief but that immediately vanished as he began to cough and splutter, the water spilling from his mouth and to the ground.

His face lifted, pale and sweaty as he apologized to the siphon, "Forgive me, please."

"You want to tell me how you got yourself in this mess?"

A breath of hot air left his lips as the guilt from the things he had accused his baby brother of came back to him. Of all the times to believe the worst of Klaus and he chose to do so when he had been telling the truth, the time where he truly had good intentions.

"Hayley was taken by an old... acquaintance of Klaus's, a boy named Tyler Lockwood, a hybrid that Niklaus sired. He came to test a theory of his; that the child could sire hybrids, he told us that Niklaus knew this and was to use this information to sire an army of hybrids. I have always given my brother the benefit of the doubt, yet this time, I did not. He has committed numerous vile acts throughout our years together but this time, it seems that he truly had the best intentions, and I, his brother..." The man closed his eyes, shame encased him entirely, "I chose to believe the worst of him."

Ophelia nodded slowly, processing the information she had been handed. She could see why Hayley may have perhaps come to the conclusion that Klaus's intentions were not pure, after all, she didn't know him the way his family did. On the outside, he seemed to be a harsh and cruel man. Though even Ophelia could see through that; he cared for the child and he cared for his family. You could see it in his eyes.

Elijah however. It did surprise her that he too had been willing to condemn his brother. Though he had spent a thousand years with the hybrid, he knew of the things he could do. He could slaughter a village without blinking, he could smile so wickedly when he inflicted pain. The Mikaelson family had seen him do atrocious things and perhaps they had given him the benefit of the doubt far too many times; they weren't willing to take the risk this time, not for the child. They had never dealt with a situation such as this before.

The siphon let out a breath as she tried to formulate her sentence, her back met the back of the chair as she leaned back and clasped her hands together, allowing them to rest on her knee, "You know him better than anyone, so you know that he can, and will do bad things if it benefits him. It may seem harsh for me to say, but I'm positive that you'd happily strike down anyone who opposed him, whether your brother was in the right or the wrong. But this time, it's a child's life on the line, you were trying to protect the child. Yes, you probably hurt Klaus more than you know, and you have that to apologize for but if he truly cares for his child then he'll be able to see that you had the best intentions for her, you were simply making sure she was being brought into a world where she would be safe and able to be a child, not an object of war."

And once again, Elijah found himself stunned by the words of absolute wisdom that left the young women's mouth. She had captured the situation almost perfectly. He wanted nothing more than for the child to be brought into a safe environment, he didn't want to have the child be used or live in fear. But nonetheless, guilt shrouded him and squeezed at his heart. How could he have ever thought such things about his brother?

Ophelia knew the man wouldn't reply. He was drowning in his own guilt but she hoped that perhaps her words had given him another perspective, a better one. She couldn't tell him to excuse his accusation against his brother, no, he needed to apologize for that, but she could help him see that he had good intentions, whether he wanted to admit it or not. But Klaus, he too had to apologize; for the bite. They were a mess, honestly.

"Ah, well give me the word and I'll siphon your brother for a little entertainment."

Elijah chuckled lightly, a small fit of coughs following, "My brother doesn't intimidate you at all, does he?"

"None of you do."

"Why is that? You're a smart woman Ophelia, you should know just how dangerous we are."

How could she respond? That she didn't fear them because she didn't fear death? Because that was exactly it, she didn't fear death. It was a means to an end; her life served no purpose. Growing up she had been surrounded by a loving and caring family and when that was ripped out from under her, she had Kai. Then there was the prison world, the place that had sucked away all of her hope. When she had finally been brought back to the real world, she had felt relieved, but then it set in. She was alone. Sure, she had Davina but the girl wanted a normal life, and Ophelia didn't fit into her normal world. She was associated with the Mikaelson's, with Marcel and she was a siphon. Witches would never leave her be, they all wanted her dead.

She had herself. Perhaps that's why she was drawn to the Mikaelson family because they reminded her of Kai. They were troubled and broken, but they were family and no matter their hardships, they stuck together.

Thankfully for her, and unfortunately for Elijah; he was sent into another fit of deep and grueling coughs, one's that shook his entire body and burned at his throat. His chest heaved up and down as he sucked in harsh and deep breaths, "Ophelia, please. This fever will make me unstable. And once the hallucinations begin, I'll start to see things. You must leave me here."

Her dark eyes rolled as she scoffed, "Ask me to leave again and I might just slap you."

Elijah blinked at her bluntness; he should have been used to it by now, really. Despite the burning feeling that was settled beneath his skin as the wolf venom spread throughout his body, his lips curled into an amused smile and both of his brows raised, "You'd slap a sick man?"

Her eyes trailed over his face and slowly a smile crept to her lips as she rose a teasing brow, "I'd avoid your face."

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14-10-2020

Also, I just want to quickly get this off my chest; I know some of you guys really want Kai in this story, but PLEASE refrain from commenting that. It's disheartening when the only comments I get are about a character who isn't even in the story rather than my own oc and the story I'm building.

n e ways... hope you all enjoyed!