Chapter Text
Morgana rubbed Sophie’s back. Jane-Anne was dead; the witches were getting ready to move the body. Morgana knew something about this was all wrong. Something was coming, and it wasn’t good.
She was holding a lit candle, like the rest of the witches circled around them. The only difference was she was quietly calling on the four elements to help Sophie.
A loud whistle came from behind them, followed by laughter. She winced. Marcel.
The dickhead vampire and his buddies strutted up as everyone turned to face them.
“Well, well, well,” he began. “What have we here? I gotta tell you, Soph, this street corner is not the luckiest spot for your family tonight. Not half an hour ago we had to teach your sister a little lesson.”
“We’re putting her to rest, Marcel,” Sophie replied. “Leave us alone.”
“I never said you could move the body. Matter of fact, I left her here for a reason: send a message. If anyone is thinking of joining a rebellion—” Marcel looked pointedly at Morgana, clearly acknowledging her distaste for him. “My rules state that witches can’t practice magic in the Quarter and yet a little birdie told me Jane-Anne was cooking up something magically delicious.”
Oh, how Morgana wished she could just slap the arrogant grin off his face.
“Oh, while I have you, quick Q&A,” he continued. “My old friend—the hybrid, Klaus—he just showed up out of the blue asking for, of all people, Jane-Anne. Any idea why?”
Morgana froze. Klaus was back? After all this time?
“I don’t know,” Sophie grit out. “Witches don’t get involved in vampire business.”
Marcel didn’t seem to believe her. “That would be pretty stupid, that’s for sure.”
He walked around behind her and Morgana and leaned in. Morgana closed her eyes, willing herself not to snap, to just breathe, don’t hit him, hit Marcel and all hell breaks loose.
“Tell you what. Go back to the restaurant, cook up some of that famous gumbo, and keep those tourists happy.”
He turned to his guys. “Take the body.”
“What?!” Sophie shrieked. “No! Stop!”
She grabbed one of the vampires trying to take Jane-Anne, but he grabbed her and held her back.
“Stop! Marcel!”
But he was already walking away. “I’m gonna hold on to your sister’s body in case maybe you remember why Klaus is here.”
“Marcel, please,” Morgana called. “Just this once, don’t be an ass!”
“Her body won’t be at peace!” Sophie added.
“Not my problem!” he sang.
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Morgana walked down the empty street. She’d left Sophie to mourn alone. She needed the walk to clear her head anyway.
She hated Marcel. She hated what he’d done tonight. She hated what he’d been doing to the witches, to her, but keeping—no, stealing Jane-Anne’s body was a new low, even for him.
She turned the corner and ran right into someone’s chest.
“I’m so sorry,” she quickly apologized. “I wasn’t paying—Elijah?”
“Morgana Carter?”
“It’s been a while.”
“Quite.”
They hugged and began walking in the direction she came.
“So what brings you back into town?” she asked.
“My brother,” he explained.
“Ah. I heard he was back.”
“Have you seen him?”
“No. Didn’t even know he was back until tonight. So what has he gotten himself into now?”
“He believes someone is conspiring against him.”
“Who?”
“Jane-Anne Deveraux.”
Morgana stopped. “Elijah, Jane-Anne was killed tonight.”
“I know. I watched as Marcel took her body.”
She raised an eyebrow. “And now I suppose you’d like to talk to Sophie?”
“Do you know her?”
“Sophie Deveraux is a good friend of mine, so please go easy on the thinly-veiled threats.”
He smiled.
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Morgana slammed the door open and saw a body hanging from a long piece of metal on the wall.
“I’m Elijah.”
He turned his head to look at Sophie. “You heard of me?”
Sophie nodded. “Yes.”
Morgana sighed. “Way to make an entrance. Hey, Soph.”
Sophie raised her eyebrows at her.
“So, why don’t you tell me what business your family has with my brother?” Elijah asked.
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Sophie led both of them to Lafayette Cemetery and opened the horribly squeaky gates. The girls went in, but Elijah stopped. They turned around.
“Sacred ground,” Morgana explained. “Vampires have to be invited in.”
“But since I’m desperate,” Sophie added. “Come on in. We can talk freely here.”
“Maybe it’s a good idea to start then,” Morgana said.
“What did your sister want with Niklaus?” Elijah asked.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Sophie replied. “We have a vampire problem and we need help. Marcel has an army backing him.”
Elijah looked at Morgana.
“I can do some pretty cool, intense stuff, but nothing I’ve done has worked out long term,” she said. “Us witches haven’t had much luck.”
“Until my sister Jane-Anne met a girl,” Sophie added. “A werewolf passing through the Quarter from a small town in Virginia. She had a special connection to your brother.”
Morgana frowned, not sure where her friend was going with this.
“What kind of connection?” Elijah asked.
“Apparently they spent some ‘time’ together. One thing led to another, and now this special werewolf girl—”
“She’s pregnant with his baby, isn’t she?” Morgana interrupted. Sophie nodded.
“That’s impossible,” Elijah argued. Morgana turned to him.
“Think about it, Elijah,” she said. “They call him the hybrid.”
Sophie turned her head. “Bring her out!”
A group of witches came out with who Morgana assumed was the werewolf. She didn’t look happy; in fact, she looked about 100% done. Morgana couldn’t say she was particularly thrilled either.
“Who the hell are you?” the girl demanded.
“Give us a moment, please,” Elijah said.
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“You kidnapped her?!” Morgana hissed.
“Yes, we did,” Sophie hissed back.
“What were you thinking?! Sophie, I love you, but seriously?!”
“I will explain everything if you shut up and follow me! Are you gonna help me or not, Morgana?”
Morgana growled. “Fine.”
They entered the mausoleum.
“I wonder if perhaps this baby might be a way for my brother to find happiness,” Elijah was saying. “A way to save him from himself.”
“I’m glad you feel that way because we need your help,” Sophie interrupted.
“What, precisely, is it that you want and what does it have to do with this young woman?” he asked.
“We want to run Marcel and his vampires out of town. Klaus is the key. Everything Marcel learned about being a vampire, he learned from Klaus. Marcel trusts him, looks up to him, and he won’t see the betrayal coming.”
“Yes, well, as I’m sure you’re aware, my brother Niklaus doesn’t like to be told what to do.”
“That’s why I brought you here. Marcel drove the werewolves out of town decades ago. Do you really think he’s going to welcome a hybrid baby to the neighborhood?”
Morgana winced. She had a point.
“Convince Klaus to help us,” she continued. “And no one has to know about the newest member of the Original family.”
Elijah narrowed his eyes. “That sounds remarkably like blackmail.”
Morgana looked back and forth between them as they stared at each other.
“Well then,” Elijah finally said. “I have my work cut out for me, don’t I?”
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“Blackmailing the Original family, Sophie, really?” Morgana sighed.
“Jane-Anne is dead, Morgana, and Marcel is still tormenting us,” Sophie replied.
“I hope you know what you’re doing. Klaus is not someone you wanna piss off, so please, for the love of all that is holy, watch how you phrase things.”
“What is it with you two?”
“It’s…complicated.”
“Morgana?”
She turned. “Hello, Klaus.”
“Are you behind all this?” he demanded.
She made a face. “I only just found out myself, thank you very much. I don’t go around kidnapping pregnant women.”
She looked pointedly at Sophie as she said this, but was ignored. The rest of the witches entered with the werewolf. She didn’t look pleased to see Klaus.
“And what is this?” he asked.
“She’s pregnant, Klaus,” Morgana whispered. “It’s yours.”
“No,” he replied. “It’s impossible.”
“I said the same thing myself,” Elijah said.
“This is a lie.” He pointed his finger at the werewolf, then looked around at everyone. “You are all lying! Vampires cannot procreate!”
“But werewolves can,” Morgana cut in. He turned to her.
“You’re the Original Hybrid, Klaus,” she continued. “Born a werewolf, made a vampire. This pregnancy is one of Mother Nature’s many loopholes.”
Klaus rounded on the werewolf. “You’ve been with someone else, admit it!”
Morgana threw her hand up, making Klaus hit an invisible wall as she finally spoke.
“Hey, I’ve spent days held captive in a freaking alligator bayou because they think I’m carrying some magical miracle baby. Don’t you think I would’ve fessed up if it wasn’t yours?”
“My sister gave her life to perform the spell she needed to confirm this pregnancy,” Sophie said.
He turned to her.
“Because of Jane-Anne’s sacrifice,” she continued. “The lives of this girl and her baby are now controlled by us. We can keep them safe.”
Her expression hardened and she slowly stalked past him. “Or we can kill them. If you don’t help us take down Marcel, so help me, Hayley won’t live long enough to see her first maternity dress.”
“Wait, what?” the werewolf—Hayley—said.
“The hell, Sophie?!” Morgana shouted.
“Enough of this,” Elijah interrupted. “If you want Marcel dead, he’s dead. I’ll do it myself.”
“No, we can’t, not yet,” Sophie insisted. “We have a clear plan we need to follow, and there are rules.”
Morgana winced, knowing this wasn’t going to end well.
Klaus turned around. “How dare you command me, threaten me, with what you wrongfully perceive to be my weaknesses! This is a pathetic deception! I won’t hear any more lies!”
He stalked past Elijah.
“Niklaus!” Elijah stopped him. Klaus turned.
“Listen,” Elijah whispered.
Klaus faced Hayley, watching as she rubbed her stomach.
Morgana watched his face as he listened to the baby’s heartbeat. She watched as his expression changed from one of anger to shock and awe and…joy? Was that a trace of joy?
Whatever it was, it left as quick as it came. His face hardened as he looked around at everyone.
“Kill her and the baby,” he growled. “What do I care?”
And he was gone. Morgana pinched the bridge of her nose.
Hayley panicked. “Screw this, I’m out of here.”
She tried to leave, but the witches blocked her. Morgana stepped forward, ready to attack.
“No one touches the girl,” Elijah said. “I’ll fix this.”
Sophie nodded, and he was gone.
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“Sophie Deveraux, are you out of your mind?!” Morgana shouted. “You kidnapped a pregnant girl and now you’re threatening to kill both her and the baby?!”
“Marcel and his vampires are out of control,” Sophie replied. “Something had to be done.”
“And the solution is to bring in more vampires?” Agnes asked.
“These aren’t just any vampires, Agnes. They’re the Originals.”
“What makes you think you can control the hybrid?”
“No one can control Klaus,” Morgana said, glaring at Sophie. “Not even the mighty Sophie Deveraux.”
“Morgana is correct.” Elijah had come back.
“Frankly,” he continued, walking into the mausoleum. “I’m not entirely certain I can either. But now that your coven has drawn his ire, I have a question: what prevents my brother from murdering you instead of cooperating?”
Sophie grabbed a needle from a doll on the wall, showed it off, and pricked her hand.
“Ow! What the hell?!” Hayley yelped. Her hand was bleeding.
Morgana looked at Sophie, then at Hayley, realization dawning on her.
“The spell my sister performed, the one that got her killed?” Sophie began. “It didn’t just confirm the pregnancy.”
“You’re linked,” Morgana whispered.
“Yes. So anything that happens to me, happens to her, which means her life is in my hands. Klaus may not care about his own child, but it’s very clear what it already means to you. If I have to hurt Hayley, or worse, to ensure that I have your attention, I will.”
Elijah smirked. “You would dare threaten an Original?”
“I have nothing to lose.”
Elijah stopped smirking, realizing she was serious.
“You have until midnight to get Klaus to change his mind,” Sophie declared.
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The bell tolled, signaling it was midnight. Morgana was glaring hard at Sophie.
“His time is up,” Agnes announced.
“Thank you Sherlock,” Morgana muttered.
“What’re you gonna do now, Sophie?” Agnes ignored her.
Sophie stood. “I’m gonna do what I said I was gonna do.”
“What, kill the girl?” Morgana snapped. “Kill yourself, Sophie? Is that what you’re gonna do? Because so help me, Sophie Deveraux, if you even try hurting that poor girl—the girl you kidnapped--or the baby I will personally unleash Hell on you.”
She took a deep breath as Sophie glanced away.
“Klaus does not care about the child,” Agnes added.
“I do.”
“And he’s back,” Morgana muttered. “Took you long enough.”
Elijah was carrying something looking suspiciously like a wrapped body. He laid it down.
“And I bring proof of my intent to help you,” he said. “The body of your fallen friend, which I procured from Marcel himself.”
“Jane-Anne,” Sophie breathed, kneeling next to her sister.
“May she be granted peace,” Elijah continued, standing. “Klaus will agree to your terms. I just need a little more time.”
“You had your time,” Agnes replied. “It’s passed.”
“Shut up, Agnes,” Sabine snapped.
“For now, accept the deal,” he insisted. “The girl and child remain unharmed, or Klaus will kill you all.”
He walked away. Then he paused and turned around.
“And I will help him.”
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Klaus did, indeed, agree.
Morgana stood next to Hayley while the rest of the witches performed the ritual needed to put Jane-Anne to rest. She nudged her.
“If you need anything,” she whispered. “Or you feel threatened, or you just need to talk, call me.”
She handed her a piece of paper.
“And I’m Morgana, by the way.”
“Hayley. Thank you.”
They shook hands, and went back to observing the ceremony.
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Morgana led Hayley out of the mausoleum.
“If you don’t mind me asking, what kind of name is Morgana?” Hayley asked.
Morgana smiled. “At the time, it was a less unusual name. I think it makes me sound like a mysterious badass, to be honest. ‘Come see Morgana, she’ll tell you your future.’”
They chuckled as they came to the gate of the cemetery, where Elijah was waiting.
“Good luck,” she said. “I think you’re gonna need all you can get.”
“Stay out of trouble,” he replied.
“Only if you follow suit.”
She kissed his cheek and began walking away.
“See you around. Come visit Rousseau’s some time.”
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Morgana entered her apartment. She was so ready to go to bed. Grendel was waiting for her.
“Hey bud,” she greeted. “Guess what? The Originals are back in town.”
He blinked at her, and she felt his mild surprise. She sat on her bed and took her shoes off.
“I know, right? Marcel is not going to be happy. Hopefully he doesn’t take it out on the witches, but I don’t think I’ll be holding my breath.”
He jumped on the bed next to her and she scratched his chin. His purrs sent a wave a calmness over her.
“It’s been a while since I’ve gotten caught up in Mikaelson drama. This should be fun.”