▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

CHAPTER 17: THE RISE OF THE MIKAELSONS

❝ everything i do is for them. ❞

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

IT HAS BEEN FIVE YEARS SINCE THE FALL OF THE MIKAELSONS. Enola saw Klaus around every corner. She remembered how he made her heart flutter and how she didn't think she deserved his attention and how she was so afraid of losing him that she swore she would never get attached. But she was already in too deep to save herself. She knew drowning was imminent and resistance was futile. At that time, she believed he was the only person that could ever love her. She thought that once he was gone, she was gone.

It has been five years since the fall of the Mikaelsons and Enola was still here. Alive. Without Klaus. But she learned that there were at least two more people that could love her, and more importantly, never leave. Her daughters. Her daughters gave her the strength to keep her head above water. Her daughters gave her the strength to pass all the places she used to haunt without fear. She is strong now, she is a force to be reckoned with, she is happy.

Should Enola hate Klaus for leaving? For making her miss him? For making her fall in love with him? Perhaps. That is what she wanted at first. To be bitter. To be angry. But she realized that it was not his fault. He left her in an effort to save her. So she let go of that anger only for it to be quickly replaced by determination. In his absence, it stormed like the world was ending. And she emerged a hurricane.

Enola could not say that Klaus left completely. She saw him every day in her daughters. In her daughters who sat across from one another at the kitchen table with a tray of watercolor paint and a blank piece of paper. She could not help but smile as she finished scrambling the eggs and cooking the bacon before dividing them on two plates. Though she paused when she heard the distinct sound of crunching gravel out front.

"Is that her?" Hope immediately perked up.

"Let me check," Enola hummed. "Stay put."

Enola set the two plates on the table along with a glass of apple juice for Hope and a glass of orange juice for Finn. The seven and five year old thanked her and she gave them a soft smile before wiping her hands on her jeans before making her way out onto the porch. She squinted her eyes at the approaching vehicle before stepping down the stairs with a bounce in her step.

Bonnie climbed out of the car before meeting Enola in the middle for a bone crushing hug. Elena was finishing up med school and Caroline was running a school. Bonnie made it a point to stop by at least once a month to teach Hope and Finn one new spell. They were not afraid to admit that she was their favorite aunt.

"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes." Bonnie teased.

"Hi, Bonnie." Enola grinned.

"How are the little gremlins?" Bonnie hummed.

"They are growing up so fast," Enola sighed.

"Seven and five," Bonnie nodded. "They will be moody teenagers in no time."

"Don't remind me," Enola groaned.

"Were you followed?" Enola and Bonnie turned towards the new voice to find Hayley standing on the porch. Hayley did not like Bonnie. It was not a secret. She was very territorial over the people she loved and when she felt as if she was being replaced, she would act out no matter how much she was reassured that she was irreplaceable. And the feeling was definitely mutual.

"I know how to stay out of trouble. Can you really say the same?" Bonnie scoffed.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Hayley scowled.

"Did you not kidnap Enola and Hope at some point?" Bonnie blinked.

"I—"

"Did you find it?" Enola interrupted smoothly. "After all this time, we are so close to getting them back. You concocted a cure for Freya's poison, the twins siphoned Rebhekah's hex, all we need is—"

"The cure for whatever bit Elijah and Kol," Bonnie finished with a nod. "You told me that you needed to find all seven werewolf packs and you only found six. The missing one is Malraux. I asked around and learned that they might be extinct." She pulled a slip of paper out of her back pocket before Hayley and Enola could deflate. "Then I found this." She pulled back when Hayley made a reach for the paper. "You two have looked for five years. You found nothing. Then I suddenly got word of a lead. What if someone else found it too? What if it is a trap?"

"Then we will cross that bridge when we get there," Hayley decided. She finally snatched the slip of paper. "And for the record, I apologized for my attempted kidnapping and we all made amends."

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

"Do you have to go?"

Enola and Hayley had just finished loading the last of the coffins into the trailer before heading back towards the porch where Hope and waited with Bonnie. She has not been away from them for more than a couple hours. She knew this trip was going to be hard on all of them. But she also knew it would be worth it. Especially when she returned with the rest of their family.

"I do," Enola smiled sadly. "But I will be back."

"You promised you would never leave us again," Finn reminded.

"I know," Enola sighed apologetically. "But when I return, I will not be alone."

Hope and Finn did not hesitate to jump on Enola. They hugged her as if this would be the last time they would see her. And who knows. It just might be the last time. Especially given the amount of funerals they have had to attend before they were even ten. They just hoped that their mother would not be one of them.

"I love you, mommy." Finn muttered.

"You are five now," Hope scoffed. "You are too old to be saying mommy."

"I am not!" Finn argued.

"I started saying mom when I was four," Hope boasted.

"Regardless of how old you are, you will always be my little girls." Enola smiled, eyes tearing up slightly.

"Are you crying?" Hope frowned.

"No. I just got dust in my eye." Enola sniffled.

"Don't cry, mommy!" Finn begged, wrapping Enola in another hug around the waist. "I will stop growing just for you!"

"Not if I stop growing first!" Hope decided.

"You two have no idea how much I love you," Enola smiled softly. "I will call every night before bed. But you will listen to Aunt Bonnie in the meantime. Deal?"

"Deal," Hope and Finn agreed.

"Alright, munchkins!" Hayley hummed. "Come give Aunt Hayley a hug and kiss goodbye!"

Hope and Finn rushed over towards Hayley as Bonnie walked over to Enola. They were silent for a long moment as they watched from afar with small smiles. They adored this peaceful life they had created for themselves. Though they knew it was about to come to an end.

"Keep your guard up and stay moving. Run at the first sign of trouble." Bonnie warned. "Stay alive for your daughters."

"You don't need to worry about that," Enola hummed, watching Hope and Finn bid Hayley goodbye. "Everything I do is for them."

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

Keelin Williams.

Hayley watched the target down a shot with unbridled ease. She twirled a strand of her chestnut brown hair between her fingers. She had recently gotten blonde highlights which somehow made her feel more confident in herself. She was ready to take on the world the moment she spotted the werewolf. She did not make a move as she simply observed from her spot on the barstool. It was only when the target willingly skipped over to the bar with a lazy grin as she flagged down the bartender.

"Another round please!" Keelin hummed.

"You look like you are having fun," Hayley noted smoothly. "What is the occasion?"

"I just finished my residency," Keelin answered, eyes Hayley in interest. "Which makes me an official ER doctor."

"Congratulations," Hayley nodded in appraisal before shifting the conversation completely. "Does it help with the guilt given what you are?"

"What did you say? Keelin questioned, smile slipping away immediately.

"Keelin, you need to listen to me." Hayley began lowly as to not arouse suspicion.

"How do you know my name?" Keelin frowned, taking a cautious step back.

"Got it from a friend," Hayley said, spitting the word friend out like venom. "She said your grandma's maiden name was Malraux."

Keelin scoffed at the audacity before turning to leave. But Hayley immediately shut that down by blocking the way. Keelin turned back to Hayley with eyes that took on an amber hue. It appeared that Keelin was done with this no good conversation.

"You better back off. Right now." Keelin growled.

"I wish I could," Hayley spat, eyes turning a shade of gold in warning. "I need a favor. Five minutes. Outside. I can explain."

"Fine," Keelin gritted out.

Hayley took the obvious hesitance as a yes and began leading Keelin towards the back exit. She was too preoccupied trying to think of a good enough reason to earn the help required. Though she knew if plan a did not work, there was always plan b. And it was a lot less pleasant. Either way she turned to address the target once they stepped out into the scorching sun.

"So—" Hayley was interrupted by a swift elbow to the face.

Keelin did not hesitate to take off running in the opposite direction. She climbed on top of the dumpster before jumping over the fence with unnatural strength. She turned to run only to find another person—woman—blocking her path. She froze in place before turning away only for this woman to block the other side with supernatural speed.

"You with the bitch from the bar?" Keelin questioned in hostility.

"Unfortunately," Enola sighed, slightly embarrassed at how easy Hayley had been taken out. "And I would not try that shit with me. I will kill you."

"I thought you needed me," Keelin shot back.

"I said we needed a favor," Hayley spoke up, finally catching up. "And I never said alive."

"I am not going down without a fight," Keelin growled.

"Would you relax? We are not here to fight you. We are not actually going to kill you." Enola said.

"Unless you try something like that again," Hayley warned.

"You are the last of your pack. That makes you special for reasons that are too complicated to explain." Enola continued.

"I do not care about your problems," Keelin scoffed.

"You should," Hayley shot back. "Because there are others who know how important you are and they will come for you."

"Look—I have a life, a career, relationships." Keelin said in exhaustion. "Someone tries to take that, they are going to have to kill me."

"Well, I hope it won't come to that." Enola shrugged. She paused when she heard it. Gravel crunching under shoes. And it would be okay if they did not reek of vampirism. She swore under her breath. "I am so sorry."

"For what—" Keelin began. She was interrupted by her head coming into contact with the rough brick wall of the building. She fell unconscious in a matter of seconds. And seconds was all it took for her to be dragged into Mikaelson drama.

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

Enola felt the moment Keelin awoke. Her eyes briefly flickered up at the sound of a train horn blowing in the distance before she focused back on the matter at hand. She had to make sure everything was in order before she pulled any of the Mikaelson siblings out of their five year slumber. Though she was unable to with the panicked gasps and huffs behind her.

"Relax. I am not your enemy." Enola muttered. "If I left you where you were, you would be dead already."

"Let me guess," Keelin began. "We are on the run from vampires? You and your little friend have the same stink they do."

"That is because we are hybrids," Enola explained. "Got a little bit of werewolf and a little bit of vampire in us."

"That is impossible," Keelin denied.

"Nothing is impossible. Especially where the supernatural is concerned." Enola hummed, finally turning around to address Keelin. "And considering that I saved your ass, you should show me some respect."

"How do I know you weren't the one who led them to me?" Keelin tested.

"Does it matter? They know who you are and they want you dead." Enola muttered. She turned back to the table and began rifling around. "The only way to survive is to do exactly what I tell you."

"It's not like I have a choice," Keelin scoffed, eyes flaring as Enola pulled some sort of gas mask. "Look—I do not know what kind of pervy stuff you are into, but I am not that kind of girl."

"Oh, relax. This is a device to extract your venom." Enola huffed with an eye roll. "Now hold still so I can put it on."

But of course Keelin had no plans of holding still which made it a lot more difficult on Enola who was trying to painlessly put the device on. She had paid a lot of money for the damned thing. She could only hope that it would do the required job. Though she knew it probably wouldn't be pleasant. In any case, she decided to keep that piece of information to herself as she secured the device onto the unfortunate victim with a little bit of a struggle.

"And before you ask," Hayley began, voice carrying across the abandoned warehouse as she returned from scoping out the perimeter. "Yes. It will hurt."

"Anything?" Enola questioned, going to secure the mask on Keelin.

"Nope," Hayley answered. "But we should probably hurry before that changes."

"Why are you doing this to me?" Keeling questioned before Enola could secure the mask completely.

"We are trying to save our family," Enola explained. "The people in those coffins are dying. The only thing keeping them alive is a sleeping spell. One of them is a witch and she left us clear instructions on how to wake her up early. The only thing that is missing is your venom. Once she is on her feet, she will use your venom to cure the others and no one will have to die."

"So if I give you what you want, you will let me go?" Keelin asked hopefully.

"Yeah, yeah—whatever." Hayley huffs. "We really do not have time for this."

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

Enola carefully removed the mask from Keelin. She briskly made her way back over towards the table. She emptied the venom into a small vial that matched the rest before tucking the mask away. Her eyes scanned the ingredients to make sure everything was in order before she grabbed a specific serum and made her way towards the coffin on the far right. Her heart swelled when she carefully opened said coffin to reveal her sister in law.

"You have my venom," Keelin said. "When do I get to go?"

"As soon as we know it works," Hayley answered.

"And when will that be?" Keelin demanded to know.

"You will know when you see it," Hayley shrugged.

"So you have to wake sleeping beauty, right?" Keelin wondered, nodding to the coffin Enola hovered over. "How do you do that?"

"You know," Enola began, flicking the needle full of a strange green liquid before searching for the perfect vein to inject. "You ask a lot of questions."

"And you dodge them," Keelin shot back. "Or ignore them."

Enola gave Keelin a sarcastic smile before carefully injecting Freya with the serum. Her eyes shot open as she gasped awake like she had just been resurrected. Which was not too far from the truth seeing as she spent the last five years in a magical induced coma. By choice.

"Freya," Enola breathed in relief, pulling Freya into a bone crushing hug. "You okay?"

"Considering," Freya shrugged, pulling back to get a good look at Enola. "Did you get the ingredients?"

"Over here," Hayley called out.

"Good. I need to begin." Freya announced. "Because if I can't turn all of that into a cure, Elijah and Kol are going to die."

Enola helped Freya out of the coffin with ease. She did not stop to admire her surroundings despite the fact she had not seen anything but a house behind a picket white fence for the past five years. She immediately set the candles out and began to draw a pentagram on the floor of the warehouse.

"How much longer do we have?" Hayley questioned.

"Maybe an hour," Freya responded as Enola brought the seven vials of venom over. "Assuming they live that long."

"Do you have everything we need?" Enola wondered.

"Venom from the seven packs along with some Klaus blood infused with my magic and magnified by the Dark Objects." Freya answered as she continued to prepare for the spell. "It's going to take all of my strength and more than a little luck, but it should be enough to fashion a cure to save my brothers."

"Should?" Hayley echoed. "What do you mean should?"

"We have company," Enola hummed, picking up on the sound of heavy footfalls near the entrance of the warehouse.

"Enola, let me go." Keelin pleaded. "If it is vampires, they are going to kill me."

"They must be tracking her," Freya muttered, sparing Keelin a quick glance. "I need more time."

Enola gave Freya a quick salute before taking off with enhanced speed. She trusted Hayley enough to protect Freya and Keelin from anyone that somehow managed to get past her. She stepped out into the open with eyes wide in alert. She found cars lined near the entrance with headlights that would have blinded her if she was not a hybrid. She thought the vampires had run off before she had arrived, but the smell of arrogance hit her like a freight train.

"Took a long time, but we finally caught you." Enola recognized the voice as Lionel immediately. She openly rolled her eyes as she turned to face him. She wore an unimpressed look at the revelation that he did not come alone. She was surrounded on every side by his gang of vampires who were ready to rip her head off.

"Or maybe," Enola began. "I just stopped running."

Enola used enhanced speed to rush one of the vampires as if to prove a point. She reached a hand into his chest before pulling his heart out with ease. She lifted the heart to her mouth and took a hungry bite. She smiled at the disgusted and horrified gasps that rung out across the room before another fool angrily stormed forward to have a turn. She easily kicked his head clean off his body while she continued to devour the heart in her hand.

"You are one vicious bitch," Lionel cringed.

"Thank you," Enola grinned.

Lionel nodded towards a group of vampires on the right. Enola was less than surprised that they were all men. She rolled her eyes as she dropped the remainder of the heart onto the pavement before taking them out one by one. She thought they might actually have a chance if they decided to work together. But vampires were prideful beings. They all wanted a chance to prove themselves in a fight against her. And it would be their downfall.

Enola dodged a hit to the face with ease before grabbing the closest vampire. She tilted his head to the side before sinking her fangs into the soft flesh of his neck. She did not bother being delicate about it as she tore his jugular out and dropped his limp body on the ground. If that didn't kill him, the venom of her bite certainly would do it.

"Damn. Your bite is nasty." Lionel whistled. "Too bad you are outnumbered. Give up now and we will end this quickly."

"I have a better idea," Enola smirked.

Lionel was flabbergasted when Enola suddenly began to strip. He attempted to look away but his eyes seemed to gravitate towards her. He decided that she looked good for a mother. She decided that he looked good for a midnight snack. He seemed to realize her thought process a bit too late. Her bones began to break and rearrange like second nature. Only then did he snap out of his disgusting thoughts.

"What the hell?" Lionel blinked.

Enola snarled at Lionel in warning. He scrambled back in an attempt to run away from her. Attempt. She caught him by the ankle and began to tear him limb from limb. She turned her vicious snarl on the rest of the vampires before going in for the kill. It rained blood as she tore right through them until there was nothing left. Her eyes zeroed in on a vampire determined to escape this bloodbath but she dragged him back and devoured him whole.

Enola shifted back into a human. Blood splatter her face and crusted underneath her fingernails as she stood there basking in her art work. Her ears perked up at the sound of footsteps and she turned to find two more beaten and battered vampires ready for another fight as if she hadn't already won.

"You want more?" Enola taunted.

Enola went to finish the men off. But she never got the chance because they were gone in an instant. Her lips pulled into a frown as she listened to the familiar sound of a body being dismembered. She smiled at the familiar scent that filled the air. Aside from the blood, she caught a hint of power lingering in the air. The kind of power that could only belong to an original.

Enola did not turn around when Elijah stepped out into the open. She listened as his footsteps grew closer until he was standing directly behind her. He removed the suit jacket from his shoulders and wrapped it around her naked and blood covered form. She slid her arms through the sleeves before buttoning it close as she finally turned around to pull him into a warm hug that they both probably needed.

"There she is," Kol stepped out into the open. "My hero."

"You actually did it," Rebekah noted. "Though I should not be shocked. You are the most tenacious person I know."

"I missed you guys too," Enola quipped.

Enola tackled Kol and Rebekah into a tight hug. The force she ran into them was almost enough to knock them down. But they stood firm as they reciprocated the action. It did not matter that she was half naked or covered in blood. All that mattered was that they were together again. Now there was only one thing left to do; rescue Klaus.

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

AUTHORS NOTE.
here is the very first chapter of act two. i hope you all enjoyed it. i will try to update the rest of this story as regularly as possible. stay tuned. until next time, my loves!!!