(CHAPTER TWO :
REMEMBER MY NAME)

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SOMETIMES, I EXPECTED MORE. When I rushed through the doors of the small New Orleans bar, I had expected for the doors to fly off their hinges and the fanfare to start up. However, my sudden appearance was an unimportant blip amidst the chaos of the wolves. Time didn't stop, speed or slow for any one person — much less a nobody like Adelina in such a big city. In Mystic Falls, everyone knew everyone, but here, I was a passing face to all — even those that once knew me as Lottie. Truthfully, I found it hard to adjust to nobody looking when I walked into the room. Last week, Esther had questioned how it felt for me to be in a clean body and I fed into what I knew she wanted to hear, insisting I felt rejuvenated, reborn, refreshed — take your pick of an adjective — but in an honest word? Being Adelina Blackwell was lonely.

I cleared my throat, wanting to draw attention to myself. "You know, attitude problems are a bit of a stereotype of werewolves." I mused, several pairs of eyes falling onto me. "If you don't want things to get ugly, I'd highly suggest on cutting back with the Twilight auditions . . . Unless you want to see me angry, that is." I released a low growl, stripping off my leather jacket and discarding it on the ground.

Nobody moved for a moment, all the werewolves exchanging glances of bemusement. In spite of my skill set, I was human in every sense, so my scent was too and the pack had assumed I'd be a quick fight to pick. However, it wasn't their misjudgment I was focusing on, it was the two pairs of brown eyes that were burning into me. First, I built up the courage to meet Davina's warning gaze — she had the kind of brown eyes that had hazel undertones, a sign of all the light beneath her power. Then, I found Kol's — his eyes seemed to tell a new story every time I found them, they were a rich brown, like dark chocolate, on this particular day — and he was confused. Returning his stare, I raked his body with an unexpected confidence, half waiting for him to run up to me and kiss me. Eyes were meant to the window to the soul, so how could he not see who I was beneath the ruse of Adelina Blackwell? I tried not to think about it, my own brown eyes flitting to the couple's intertwined hands and the man's protective stance.

"Game on, sweetheart." One mutt dared, claws elongating from his fingertips and he leaped through the air, posed to attack.

"Games are not fun if I know I'm going to win." I retorted, spinning out of his target line and pulling a pocket knife from the inside of my boot. Although I preferred a crossbow or even a gun, I was grateful in that moment I always carried some smaller weapons on the inside of my boots. "And I don't appreciate being called sweetheart, sweetheart." I patronised, watching how his claws got stuck in the floorboard I had stood on seconds ago. Without hesitation, I launched the knife into the back of trapped wolf.

Kol observed more than anything, relishing in the show. "Do you think you can do that to all of them?" He asked, referring to the pack of werewolves that gathered around their wounded friend and were turning to him for command.

"I'm good but not that good, darling." I replied, not even registering how I had used his own nickname on him. "But you're that good. Davina told me you're Kol Mikaelson — if the rumours are true, their hearts should be scattered across the room by now." I teased, not to an extent that annoyed him, but a part of me wondered where his thirst for blood had gone. From where I was standing, the Original almost seemed docile.

"Adelin—ahhh!" Davina started to scold me for being so rude with her date when the sound of my name mutated into a terrified yell.

On her shout, I rushed to her side and yanked one of the men that had jumped onto her back down by the shirt. I turned away from the fallen wolf in an instant when I spotted another was behind me, throwing punches left and right. When needed, I ducked, his fist only connecting with my jaw on one occasion before I managed to get a strong kick in and threw the blonde a few feet across the room. From behind, I sensed the fallen wolf bounce back up and pull me into a choke hold, I swallowed the bile and blood that was trying to rise in my throat as another pack member came in front of me, a murderous glint in his emerald eyes. Before his killer fantasies could escalate, Davina had him crumbling to his knees with a single spell and Kol ripped the second wolf from behind me, tossing him through the bar's windows.

Eventually, we worked out a system — Davina would have them tumbling to their knees with her magic whilst Kol and I would often work against the wolves to hinder them useless or knock them unconscious. "I'd love nothing more than to make a fur rug out of these mutts, but my brother wants a truce." Kol had informed me, continuing to express how he didn't want to be daggered again and purging the wolves would only give Klaus a reason to. That was why their 'hearts weren't scattered across the room.'

I scoffed in disapproval. "Since when do you follow rules? Especially Klaus' ones." I failed to hide my surprise at the personality change evoked by the move from Mystic Falls.

"Careful, darling." He cautioned, realising he didn't actually know my name. "You're not an endangered species around these parts and I don't mind hurting a pretty face." The Original mentioned, hurling another unconscious body onto the pile. 

Ignoring the subtle flirtation to his threat, I placed a hand on my hip. "Adelina, actually." I introduced. "Your girlfriend's cousin. Speaking of whom, I'd recommend helping her out over there. I can take these last few." I turned my back on Kol, my eyes flickering to check in on the brunette witch that was frantically chanting into her bracelet.

"She's not my girlfriend yet." Kol corrected promptly. "And she definitely wouldn't be if I left her cousin for dead. At least Davina has powers. You said it yourself, there's too many wolves for you to take it on. Take cover, I can finish them off quicker on my own." He urged, anger seeping into the crevices of his tone. Easily, the vampire could have defeated the pack in seconds without the distraction of Davina or I.

"I don't need protecting!" I exhorted, Kol backing me into a corner. "Listen, I know — heard — that you're as stubborn as a mule. If you save Davina, I'll wait behind the bar and can sneak the two of us out when the time is right. That will leave you to deal with the wolves alone." I compromised, catching my slip up before he could think too much into it. Despite not wanting to flee the scene, I knew the safest best was to leave an indestructible Original with the werewolves. There was no White Oak in circulation to my knowledge, so I had no reason to be concerned for the vampire.

He wanted to argue, I could tell by the way his lips parted ever so slightly, the edges turning up to counter my remark — but he didn't. With a huff, the Mikaelson zoomed over to save Davina from some of the wolves that had surrounded her. Just as he was about to snatch the petite girl from her undesirable position on the ground, he froze. Footsteps like thunder rippled through the concrete, sending shock waves through Rousseau's as 'Mikael the Destroyer' revealed himself to the supernatural crowd.

Before us all, the man I had witnessed Klaus Mikaelson murder stood defiantly. "You filthy dogs." Mikael snarled, lunging for one of the beasts that were about to hurt Davina Claire. As strong as she was, there were too many wolves for her to attack at once.

When I first possessed Adelina, I had to relearn a lot of basic things. Her body was foreign to me and it was hard to ignore that every time I looked in the mirror, I didn't see myself, which would cause me to disassociate. Then I would find I could do things that reminded me of who I used to be — like archery — and it solidified that being in another body didn't change who I was. There were two parts to being in another body — skill or instinct, what I had to learn and what I didn't even have to think about. Pulling Kol behind the bar with me was instinct. I sprinted to where he had halted, paralysed with a rare fear, and ensured he was shielded from his father. Together, the two of us took refuge crouched behind the bar as Mikael snapped werewolves' necks. If I had not worried about the trouble it would get Kol in with Klaus, I would've killed the wolves myself.

"I thought I was meant to help Davina." Kol seethed, his vacant, glazed look disappearing as he snapped back to reality.

I held a finger to my lips, signalling for him to quiet down. "No, I'll do it." I changed my mind. "It's my turn to be as stubborn as a mule, Kol. You can't go out there, I know that's your dad and that he's meant to be dead. Mikael will kill you if he sees you." I fretted, not wanting to underestimate how able Mikael was. Perhaps the wolves were no threat to Kol, but Mikael certainly was.

If I blinked, I would have missed it, but I could swear a dazed half-smile passed Kol's lips. It was typical for people to forget about him and leave him in the wreckage, siblings included. "Trust me, it wouldn't be the first time I thought a parent of mine had died when they hadn't." I stiffened at this, believing him to have known about Esther before remembering it wasn't the first time she had played the resurrection card. "And as endearing as it may be you pulled me back here, it means nothing. I'm an Original, Adelina. I'll be fine." Kol lied, the coldness in his voice signifying he didn't want to let me in.

He was preparing to stand up when I pushed him back down. "Stay!" I hissed.

"Well, now," Mikael began, I peered over the bar top to see his attention leave the werewolf he was killing to a panicked Davina. Seemingly, a different werewolf had captured her and she was desperate to find her bracelet that had slipped off in the action. "What an interesting turn of events." He commented, scooping the short girl into his large hands.

"No reason for him to kill both of us, right?" I chirped, grabbing a wine bottle from the shelf to the back of us. Protective over the witch, a spark of ambition surged through me as I creeped closer to the pair. Mikael was so intently focused on the Claire, he registered too late the sound of heavy breathing behind him. Releasing a battle cry, I swung the glass bottle around the vampire's head, glass shards exploding around all of us. "Back . . . Away." I ordered, blood splattered across my face like war paint.

Enraged, Mikael spun around, his frame towering over mine. "Brave, but foolish." He advised, dropping the witch.  "I usually only feed from vampires, maybe I could consider you an exception." He debated, dragging me by the hair to expose my neck to him.

Free from his hold, Davina scrambled to think of a spell. "Eaque doloribus inflictis." She cast, causing Mikael to hunch over in agony whilst I retrieved my pocket knife, pressing the point against his neck.

"Originals can't be killed with a mere knife, but I'm sure it would take a while for your head to grow back . . ." I pondered over the effect of decapitating Kol's Father.

After a millennium, Mikael had garnered quite the pain tolerance. "I'm going to enjoy this, girls." He announced, overpowering Davina's spell and snatching the knife from my hand. Locking Davina in his left arm and me in his right, the two of us were helpless against his iron tight hold. In fact, I could almost feel the bruises on my rib cage forming as time ticked on. Soon enough, my eyes connected with Kol's as he peaked out from around the bar and I shook my head at him, begging for the boy to not show himself. Clearly, he was torn but also not the type to play hero, which convinced him to retreat.

"Father?" Somebody called — it was Elijah. In the doorway to Rousseau's were Elijah and Marcel.

"Hello, son." Mikael greeted, squeezing his arms around us tighter until black spots invaded my vision. "I'd hoped to see your brother first, but we have some unfinished business as well." His father added, the absence of emotion in his voice chilling.

Still, Mikael's word managed to strike a chord in Elijah and provoked him to charge at his elder. Raring for a fight, Mikael released Davina and I to deal with Elijah at the most impulsive I had ever seen him. Taking several large gulps of air, I walked Davina over to Marcel, my hand secured around her lower back. She had lost a lot of energy. Marcel thanked me, prepared to take Davina out of there when she resisted, pleading with the two of us to find her bracelet through frightened tears. Apparently, she could use it control Mikael and I made a mental note of this, it would be good information to bargain with in the future. Scanning the area, I searched for the girl's enchanted bracelet, pausing when I heard low grunting from Elijah — he was struggling.

"Oh my God, he has a White Oak stake . . . I thought they were all gone." I whispered to myself, confused as to how Mikael would have obtained one when the last one went up in flames with my body. Not having much time to consider the logistics of how, I just knew I had to do something before Kol took it upon himself and Mikael had two sons in a vulnerable position.

"I can find the bracelet, do what you can." Marcel instructed, squatting to locate the lost item.

Gulping, I bent down and picked up a shard of glass that was from the smashed the wine bottle. Mikael had took my knife and I didn't carry my larger pieces of hunting equipment unless I was on a job. Forced to get creative with my weapons, I threw the bottle fragment like a ninja star, following how it glided through the air and lodged into the back of Mikael's neck. A thin line of blood dripped down him, causing him to release one hand to pull the object out of his neck. This gave Elijah the opportunity to push back against the stake that Mikael had balancing over his heart. To my disappointment, what I did was a short term distraction and soon an identical stake to that the one that had killed me years ago was being pushed into Elijah Mikaelson's heart.

"Stop!" Davina screamed, fierce. "Go back, now!" The young witch demanded, regaining control of the situation as she slid her bracelet back onto her wrist. Marcel had finally found it.

Reluctantly, Mikael zoomed away. Once we were in the clear, I bolted towards where I had hid Kol, offering him a hand up. He snubbed my hand, standing up and brushing himself off. With a frustrated sigh, I stalked back over to Davina and pulled her into a hug. In such a condensed amount of time, I had learnt to care for the girl — albeit I was always good with people younger than me — and the relief I felt that she survived was overwhelming. As were the stares. Everybody who had remained looked to the both of us — the strange teenage witch that managed to tame an Original Vampire Hunter and the human cousin that willingly ran into certain death.

Elijah's narrowed his eyes at me. "You seem familiar, have we met?" I shook my head, not trusting my voice. "Something to say?" He implored, the inquisitive part of him wanting to know who I was and what business I had in the room.

"Pleasure to meet you all." I acknowledged, knowing I had caused enough damage for the day and exposing my true self would be lethal. Esther would be mad enough about what happened with her wolves. "And I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of more each other. I'm Adelina Blackwell, it would do you well to remember my name."

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A.N: Wow, I feel a lot happened this chapter and I'm not amazing at writing fight scenes or this much action in one chapter, so I hope this was good. I swear my heart sped up when Lottie was hiding Kol from Mikael. Kol isn't eager to trust yet but I feel there was a little spark there? He didn't kill Adelina on sight and that's always good hehe.

Goal for this chapter is one hundred votes and three new comments from three different people