Once again little late for @febuwhump, this is becoming a habit
AU- Frozen Heart -Davina summons a ghost and three of New Orleans dead talk about the death of the city that took thier lives.
Davina took a breath as she lit the candles, alone in the room that had once been her only safety as well as a prison.
It had been clear they had tried to keep her out of it, even after all the years that had passed, Marcel, and Vincent still saw her as a child, as the child they had already failed.
If it wasn’t for the growing tension that Freya and Rebekah had failed to hide from Kol during their weekly calls neither of them would have known something was wrong. Although how long that would have lasted was beginning to become a question now the unusually prolonged storm was starting to gain national news coverage.
They had decided to split up when they returned to the city, Kol was sure Rebkah knew more than she was sharing and Davina had a spell to contact the scattered remaining fragments of the ancestors that hadn’t moved on after the destruction of the ancestral plane.
Something was wrong with the magic within the city and if anyone could explain it would be one of them.
So she was going to summon a ghost for answers and they would tell her, if not out of any loyalty to the city then for the protection of their descendants.
The deaths caused by the weather was going, and it had started to strangely target supernaturals.
A vampire had been struck by lightning, another staked by an exploding tree while a triggered werewolf had been killed by a falling tree.
A car of five had been swept off the road last week, all practicing quarter witches.
New Orleans may not be her home anymore and she was enjoying and making the most of her freedom from the city, a life the city had claimed twice, it was her birthplace and she still resented anything trying to wipe it off the map and if there was anyone best suited for stopping that, it would be the once harvest girl that almost did it herself.
The spirit formed the moment the spell left her lips, making Davina wonder if they had been trying to contact her with the speed of the response.
She was young, twenties perhaps, her modesty hidden by a simple sheet with her black curly hair up in a more traditional updo and for a moment Davina had no idea who she was.
“It’s been awhile Davina Claire.” The woman smiled mischievously and it took Davina a few moments to recognize her, she was far more familiar with her in a stolen body.
The woman who had haunted her dreams, the one she had drawn years ago, who she had reached out to for the cure to the crescent curse.
The woman nodded at her name, frowning at the sheet covering her before it changed into an old fashioned dress.
“Yes,” she smiled, “you called.”
“For answers,” Davina replied, wasting no time with small talk. “you have them.”
“Maybe.” She drawled, clearly trying to play unbothered but Davina didn’t have much patience on the best of days in this city, even less for the one that interfered with the Harvest ritual and left her dead for longer than needed.
“You wouldn’t have appeared if you didn’t,” Davina snapped, flicking a pinch of salt into one of the candles, Celeste hissed as she felt the barrier around them grow heavier for a moment, something that would hurt a spirit but did nothing to Davina. “you don’t want the city destroyed.”
“Why not?” Celeste brushed off the threat, for some reason attempting to keep up the act, Davina narrowed her eyes in suspicion as an idea grew. "I've died in this place enough, maybe the reason I've stayed was to watch it fall.”
“It’s a Mikaelson?” Davina asked, smiling when Celeste reacted, surprise and annoyance crossing her face, smile vanishing.
It made sense given what she had heard of Marcel hearing the piano play, of the paintings in the compound bleeding and Celeste had still held onto her desire for revenge for them the last time they had contact.
“They’re the ones you were after, Klaus and Eli-” a brush on cold on her lips shut her up
“Hush.” Celeste hissed, suddenly in her face making the look of fear in her eyes much clearer.
“What?” she croaked, weariness growing at the sudden change in her.
“He’s rather sensitive to his name, with how little it's spoken,” Celeste warned stepping back, “If you want answers best not to call him, you're lucky he’s rather busy watching your Mikaelson interrogate his sister.”
Davina ignored the warm feeling she got from Kol being referred to as hers and focused back on the woman's words, even after Elijah had killed her, she had never been fearful of him, angered yes, even fond but never scared.
“Perhaps this time she’ll remember she has another brother, then again she’s always held him on a pedestal, I doubt she could ever imagine all of this was from him.” Celeste continued, resentment growing in her tone and she gestured towards the window and storm.
“But then, he’s not really the same anymore.”
“It’s the Hollow.” She offered, it made sense; Klaus, Elijah and the Hollow died together, this much power had to be hers, why wouldn’t it have jumped onto another soul to control and Vincent’s past with it would explain how it managed to interfere with his memories.
“It’s her power but it's all him now.” Celeste shook her head, her expression taken on a sadder expression. “I tried to warn him that no matter what he did for his family, no matter how much he gave, they would never return it. And still he gave it all and they couldn’t even mourn him fully. I would have-” She cut herself off.
“You still love him.” Davina said, the question of how, after all he had killed her, vanishing before she could speak it, Kol had killed her and she still loved him and Celeste died and lived lives just to reach Elijah again
“That never ends.” she sighed, “Those Mikaelson boys crave love and their love carves itself back into you without you noticing.“
Davina refused to let herself compare their lives, Kol had chosen her and she him, that was the difference, she didn’t give into vengeance and start stealing bodies, she forced Celeste back onto topic.
“Why is he doing this? It doesn’t seem like E-” Celeste cut her off with a glare.
“Spirits aren't solid and there’s a reason we had ours kept on the plane, without bodies and anchors we can lose ourselves.” she explained, walking away from her to sit on the sheet covered bed. “It's why the strongest, longer lasting ghosts tend to be witches. We already have an idea of our limits and anchor ourselves to family.”
“And El-him?” she caught herself just in time, annoyed at the need for it, Elijah was the problem, she should deal with him, but she needed to get the most information first.
“He was bound here by her power within him and his love for his family, that kept him from being affected by it, yet as time moved on and he watched as they did so without mourning him his attachments weakened, his heart froze and he reached for the power.”
“So he is being controlled-” she tried, the power had been influencing the Mikaelsons over the years they held it, if all of it was entangled with Elijah then it made sense, this change, Elijah always had a reason for things.
Chaos for the sake of it didn’t fit him.
“No he’s controlling it;” she repeated, slowly, “the storm isn’t just power, it’s a spell one, our people lost centuries ago, Elijah remembers it because one of the elders at the time had shared it with him. He cast it.”
The idea of Elijah casting a spell wasn’t as far-fetched as she would have liked, she knew Kol was a witch and Elijah had made it clear he was familiar with witchcraft from the beginning, from when it was the pair of them alone in this room.
It was still hard to fathom that man was the cause of the thundering storm above them.
“Why?” she pressed, this still wasn’t making sense.
“Our people lost-forget it for a reason, it destroyed the city killing many of their own and led to them being banished, the city has grown in the time since but eventually it will do what it did once.”
“We split him from the power.” Davina wondered, if Elijah was simply using the power to vent his anger, then all they had to do was remove that, then they would work on getting Elijah to move on “that removes the danger.”
She hadn’t forgiven him for all the hurt he caused but if Klaus Mikaelson got to move on then so should Elijah, besides it would help those Davina loved now.
“You’d have to tear his soul apart.” Celeste shrugged, the downturn of her month making her option of that clear.
“It’s only fair.” Davina arched a brow at Celeste, it would be a kind of karma after he threw her to the ancestors to do that, yet even as she said it she wasn’t sure she could.
She had the power but could she face Kol for the rest of their lives with him knowing there would be no reunion with his brother on the other side, because of her, see the rest of the Mikaelsons, her family with that weight on her shoulders.
She ground her teeth at the fact it was once again Elijah causing her trouble, just when she thought it had settled.
“And you’d risk just tearing what remains of his humanity and leaving his intelligence with that power, making a far more dangerous force.” Celeste countered, at least helping give her a reason to set the idea aside.
“You said he’s already lost-”
“No” Celeste sighed. “I said his heart was frozen, he still feels, he’s kept going by his resentments.”
How like a mikaelson to sustain himself by negative emotions alone, she thought maybe some of Klaus’ coping mechanism had moved to Elijah along with the Hollow’s power
“Then how do we ‘unfreeze’ it?” she asked, if he remembered he loved his family he’d stop endangering them at least, control the power and possibly help them deal with it, with him. “get him back to himself so he’ll stop.”
“Find someone who never hurt him, who won't inspire resentment and rage and hunger.” Celeste said humourlessly.
Davina wanted to laugh because it couldn’t be that hard before the full extreme hit her.
Elijah Mikaelson had lived a long time, he must have found someone like that, but lives ends and inspires grief and anger, time with them knowing an end approached would grow even a speck of resentment and that wasn’t considering how many of those relationships and people ended because of his family, or his own hand.
Silence fell over the room other than the rain against glass and rumbling of thunder, much like a hunger god.
It was only broken after several minutes as she had tried to find someone-something that could work when her phone rang.
She answered the moment she saw the name.
“Davina, it's Elijah!” Kol’s voice came frantically, “Rebekah recognizes the storm, it’s a spell and Elijah the only one who would-”
The phone was torn from her hand by a biting cold and she followed it to a smiling Elijah, as the phone hoovered in front of him.
It was wrong, he was standing in front of the window, storm raging outside, dark clouds and freezing rain hitting the glass and yet even lit by the candles around them and the light bulb above them, he was darker-colder than anything else.
She didn’t really need Celeste's warning now she saw him.
Dressed in a suit as always, but without a tie, suit hanging open, top buttons loose, he was like a void in the shape of a person, swallowing the light and returning nothing by cold, froze spread out from his shoes.
“Hello Kol.” Elijah spoke, voice seemingly soft and fond and Davina felt the hairs raise on the back of her neck, it felt heavy and cold.
“Elijah!” Kol’s voice was still audible and she couldn’t help the wince at the mix of grief and relief under the surprise.
Kol had admitted to her plenty that he could accept Klaus death but part of him still thought Elijah would return, he had grown used to the idea that Elijah was off living his life and it had hurt less to hold onto that idea than accept that he was the last of his brothers alive.
Apparently he wasn’t the only one that had avoided grieving him, which had caused their problem.
“I wonder if her death will be permanent this time.” Elijah chuckled, it was a teasing tone and yet the eyes that looked at her held nothing.
“Don't-” was all Kol could say before the phone sparked and dropped to the floor.
“Now did I ever give you my congratulations on your wedding?” Elijah asked as if she hadn’t just threatened her and she refused to play his game
“What do you want?” she demanded, noting Celeste had stood and moved closer to her, watching him with a mix of sadness and wariness, she refused to let her mind switch their places.
“Suffering, pain, destruction, death.” He listed counting them with his fingers, uncaring at her dismissal of his question, moving strangely loosely for Elijah Mikaelson. “all those things I didn't let myself relish while I lived.”
“To stop this?” she glared.
“Oh a deal.” He laughed, and Davina couldn’t help but see Mikael in him for the first time as he paced in front of them, less nervous energy and more waiting predator. “I’ve moved past those. I’ve felt them, every death so far, and I'll feel they rest until there’s nothing left of the city and I can taste the world.”
“So you are just like Inadu.” she accused, “We’ve beaten her before, we can stop you.”
“With my assistance,” he reminded her, smirking. Elijah knew them more than any of them would like to admit and it would seem none of them knew Elijah like this, “but no she wanted to bring herself back, I’m quite happy as I am, untouchable.”
Inadu had lost her life young and long for it back, Elijah had lived and lived until he took his death into his own hands, still Davina saw the similarities.
“You want revenge for being unloved by your family.” She told him. “I don’t see anything different.”
The smirk flickered and vanished from his face and she smiled when she found his weak spot.
“Telling tales, Ma cheri.” Elijah tutted, looking away from her to Celeste.
“Do not say it if you can’t not feel it, my love.” she sighed.
“This is not what you wanted?” he asked, sp[reading his arms open, letting Davina for a spilt second see it, his ice coated core, blue and black veins spreading out and into the air around him, the magic of the city.
“Not this,” Celeste said softly, the heartbreak that had been hidden under the surface since Davina summoned her, appearing clearly “I warned you of their unworthiness and you did not listen.”
“Late but I have learnt it now.”
“Revenge or escape?” Davina questioned, pulling his attention back to her, not blind to the way Celeste relaxed with its loss.
“Originally I simply wished to free myself of this place” Elijah told her “but I’m growing more and more attached to killing them.” he nodded to himself, “I spent a thousand years protecting them, it is only fair that I’m the one to end it, my family.”
“Again congratulations on officially joining the family.” he grinned, she couldn’t remember seeing him with that expression and she crushed the realisation the expression matched Rebekah’s, she didn’t need reminders of his relation to her family.
“So you're going to try to kill me again?” she asked instead, shrugging, what were death threats in this family other than a type of greeting, acceptance.
“Of course, you, Marcel, wouldn’t want to leave him out, Keelin, possibly Vincent.” Elijah listed, “depends on if he’s smart enough to run.”
“What about little Nik and Hope?” she questioned suddenly, Hayley’s and Klaus’ daughter had to cause some reaction and he had never met his nephew, how could he cause any negative emotions.
The reaction she got wasn’t what she wanted, he just looked confused.
“Why wouldn’t I include them?” He asked, “Can’t wipe out a family if you leave the next generation.” He told her, even as a living monster admitting to his worst deeds they had always been some regret under his mask, now there was nothing, until he added with a speck of annoyance. “both Klaus and Kol never learned that.”
As if speaking of the devil the three of them hear the door below them slam.
The door slammed open and the candles died taking Celeste with them, yet Elijah remained, smiling at her over Kol’s shoulder as he appeared in front of her scanning her for any harm.
“He was here?” Rebekah demanded, and Davina wondered how she hadn’t noticed him still standing there.
“Of course he bloody was,” Kol snapped, all concerned anger but Davina couldn't take her eyes off Elijah and Rebekah came to stop right in front of him but failed to notice him. “are you ok D-?”
“He still is.” she answered Rebekah, wanting to tell her all she had to do was raise her hand and she would be touching him.
"Good luck with stopping me, Miss Claire." Elijah grinned at her, unseen by his siblings and ignoring as Rebekah called out to him, before he seemed to slip back into the storm outside.
Kol pulled her into a hug so she hugged him back and pretend to miss his heartbreak or Rebekah’s sobs.
