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CHAPTER 08: THE UPSIDE DOWN WORLD

❝ i should have defended you. even though you are far from innocent in other aspects. ❞

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ENOLA WAS THE TYPE OF GIRL WHO KISSED WOLVES. She was the type of girl who trained foxes, hoping she could tame their wild hearts, hoping she could train them not to leave. She was the type of girl who kissed imperfections that could not be salvaged, wishing that their goodness was enough to shed light on the darkest and dirtiest part of a human soul.

Enola was the type of girl who played with fire. She burned her tongue and lungs, hoping that the smoke of their ashes would serve as a sign that even when you turned to dust and ash, your cries would rise up to the heavens, a ghost of smoke rising about the forest, guiding the lost souls in the right direction. She was the type of girl who sang with the wind and danced to a rhythm no one else could hear, who let dangers swirl on their palms, seep in the veins, and swim in the bloodstream. She was the type of girl who wouldn't kiss frogs hoping they would turn into a prince because she is the girl who makes changes to this upside down world with hard work and dedication. Or at least she was trying to.

Enola was currently trapped in the upside down world. Her only guide was an old family tree with information she was yet to decipher. The only name that stuck out to her was Iliya Petrova. It was a name she had read in a different book about a different family. Her family. She wondered how her family was connected to the crescent werewolves. But it was becoming increasingly difficult to find her answers.

"Here. Drink this." Hayley commanded.

Enola looked up from the family tree to find Hayley taking a seat on the stool beside the bed where Elijah laid with a canister of water. She had found it difficult to concentrate with all the coughing and grunting that came from across the room. She tried her best to remain understanding because he was sick, but when he coughed up the water, she huffed in annoyance.

"Alright," Enola grumbled, slamming the book shut.

"Forgive me, please." Elijah begged.

"Are you okay?" Hayley inquired hesitantly.

"Yes," Elijah promised. "I will be."

"Remind me to annihilate Nik once you are healthy," Enola scowled.

"Yes. Remind me to remind you to get in line." Elijah croaked.

"Doesn't help that we decided to shack up in the middle of a swamp either," Hayley muttered, peering out the window with a frown.

"Are you sure you are okay?" Enola questioned.

"Please just return to your reading," Elijah pleaded.

"Well, I went through the whole thing. It's just a regular bible with an entry in the family tree that may or may not be a distant relative of mine." Enola informed. "I found one more thing, however."

"What?" Hayley wondered, making her way over.

"A name," Enola hummed, flipping the book open to the last page. "Andrea Labonair."

"Who is it?" Hayley inquired.

"I think it might be you," Enola informed. "Look at the birthday."

"Oh," Hayley blinked at the realization it was indeed her birthday.

"Yeah," Enola nodded.

"Girls, listen," Elijah drew their attention over to him. "Once these hallucinations begin, I will start to see things and I will start to say things. You must leave me here."

"We're not leaving you here like this," Hayley claimed.

"Speak for yourself," Enola scoffed. "I will finish reading this outside. Where no screams of agony can distract me."

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Enola sat on the porch with the bible book in hand. Her eyes continued to scan the pages over and over again until a pain filled shout sounded from inside the small cabin. She immediately discarded the book before rushing inside to find Hayley struggling to tend to a writhing Elijah. And here she thought she was safe from the screams of agony.

"Hold him down!" Hayley pleaded.

Enola rushed over to Hayley and Elijah. They pushed him flat down against the bed in hopes of stopping his thrashing. They tried to calm him down, but it only seemed to make things worse as he accidentally knocked a tray off of the bedside table. Suddenly their minds were inside his. They saw a beautiful woman with soft bronze skin and a delicate smile sitting in the bathtub with her kinky curls tied up into a messy bun.

"Oh, Celeste." Elijah muttered. Hayley and Enola took a step back. They awkwardly shifted on their feet as he blinked the remnants of the dream away. "I—I am so sorry. I thought I saw someone else."

"Celeste?" Hayley hummed, trying her best not to come off as jealous.

"Yes," Elijah breathed.

"Whoever she was, she was smoking hot." Enola chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

"How—did I let you enter my thoughts?" Elijah frowned in shock.

"Sure did," Hayley hummed bitterly.

"I'm not well. I should go." Elijah announced, attempting to sit up straight. "This is—"

"This is fine," Enola announced. "You are sick and we are taking care of you."

Elijah stilled for a moment. His pasty skin glistened in the sunlight that streamed through the window as his paranoid eyes flickered around the room. For the first time since they had met he seemed scared, human. He had never shown this side of himself before.

"We're being watched," Elijah realized.

Hayley and Enola shared a worried look before rushing over to the window. They peered outside to find the same blonde woman from the previous day peering out from behind a tree. She panicked when they stepped outside to confront her, quickly rushing through the woods.

"Hey!" Hayley shot out, looking between the mystery woman and Enola.

"Go," Enola ushered. "I will look after Elijah."

Hayley hesitated for a moment before rushing after the stranger. Enola waited until Hayley had disappeared to return back into the cabin where Elijah sat up. She ignored his piercing gaze as she drenched a nearby rag in the bowl of water before backing her way back over to his bedside. She lightly pushed him back down before placing the rag onto his forehead in an attempt to cool him down.

"Where is Hayley?" Elijah whispered. Enola was unable to answer when Elijah suddenly bombarded her with another one of his memories.

Celeste sat comfortably in the bathtub when Elijah entered. She wrung the sponge out, smiling at the sight of him. She launched the sponge across the room in a playful manner and he caught it effortlessly with a matching grin. He seemed happy.

"Assistance, please, good sir." Celeste teased with a raging French accent.

"No. I'm much happier taking in such a wondrous view." Elijah smiled softly, leaning against the doorway to stare at Celeste in awe. "It's perfection."

"Your brother is again up to no good," Celeste informed. "He is challenging the gentry to duels as though they have any chance of a fair fight."

"I do grow weary of sacrificing my joy to temper my brother's mischief," Elijah sighed in frustration. He made his way forward before taking a seat at the edge of the tub. He gently took Celeste by the foot, using the sponge in his hand to wash her exposed leg. "Surely you could cast a spell—put him in his place."

"It would take a hundred witches to put him in his place," Celeste chuckled. "Besides, he only ever listens to you."

"Yes. He certainly needs a little discipline." Elijah hummed, giving Celeste a soft kiss on the ankle. "Perhaps a spanking of some kind is in order. I think I shall need some rehearsal. Come."

Enola flinched back into reality as Elijah began to babble incoherently. She removed the cloth from his forehead and turned back towards the bowl. She drenched the piece of cloth in the water before wringing it out and turning back to him. She was gentle as she placed it back on his forehead.

"Enola, please. This fever. My mind is flooded with these torturous memories." Elijah whimpered. "You have to leave."

"What is your deal? You don't like people taking care of you?" Enola groaned.

"There are consequences for those that care," Elijah sighed. "I will not have you pay that price."

"So you're having weird retro sex dreams. Get over it." Enola rolled her eyes. "I'm staying."

"What about our visitor?" Elijah wondered. "What does she want?"

"I'm guessing she is the one who left the mystery bible on the doorstep last night," Enola informed. "Hayley went after her."

"What about you?" Elijah frowned. "She must know something about how you fit into all of this."

"I decided to stay," Enola announced. "Hayley can handle it while I handle you."

"Do I look like someone who needs to be handled?" Elijah frowned.

"At this moment?" Enola began thoughtfully. "Yes."

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Enola sat on the firm bed with Elijah. His head rested on her lap as he allowed her to stroke his damp hair. All color had left the sky as fog settled across the bayou. It was unbearably humid in the small cabin but she refused to move away from him when he needed her most.

"Celeste," Elijah breathed. "Forgive me."

They were suddenly in an open field. The sun was setting in the distance as a crowd stood in the distance. Two men stood in the center of all the drama. Niklaus Mikaelson and Thomas Gold. They stood back to back with a rifle clasped tightly in their hands. One looked almost excited while the other looked more anxious.

"À l'outrance!" Klaus shouted as they began to walk in opposite directions. "Huit, sept, six, cinq, quatre, trois, deux—" Two gunshots sounded. Klaus wore a disgruntled look when Thomas collapsed to the ground obviously dead from the bullet wound between the eyes. "Is that it? Is this the best New Orleans has to offer?"

"Brother, please!" A familiar voice sounded. The crowd turned to find Elijah storming over with a look of disappointment. "This is high folly." He stopped a few feet away from his brother as a squire dragged the dead body over to the pile his brother had left behind. "Is it not enough that you have slaughtered dozens in just these past several weeks?"

"Well—"

"Word of a city littered with bodies will surely travel the oceans," Elijah warned. "Do you want to bring our father upon us?"

"Relax, brother." Klaus rolled his eyes at the dramatics. "I've sent rumors that the bodies are a result of the witches seeking blood sacrifice for their rituals."

"You did what?" Elijah growled angrily. "Have you forgotten Celeste is one of those that you so recklessly pointed your finger at?"

"Who's Celeste?" Klaus frowned in faux confusion. "Oh, yes! The witch you've been knocking around with. Well, fear not. Harlots are like rats in the quarter. You trip over one every step you take—" He cried out in pain when Elijah snatched one of the rifles on display and shot him in the chest. "You care about her. Well, that is unfortunate. I hear they're rounding up the town's witches as we speak."

Elijah shot up with a horrified scream causing Enola to jump away. He heaved a heavy breath as she watched on in concern. She was hesitant as she slowly reached a hand out towards him. The last thing she wanted was to frighten him further. But the moment her hand came in contact with his shoulder, he was harshly slapping it away and peering up at her through demonic eyes.

"Niklaus, I'll kill you, you bastard!" Elijah growled.

"Elijah?" Enola whispered.

Elijah rushed forward with enhanced speed, easily pinning Enola to the nearest wall. She got out a strangled gasp before he cut off her airway completely. This isn't what she meant when she said that she liked choking. Thankfully she was saved by someone stabbing him in the heart with a regular wooden stake that would keep him down for a few hours. Her eyes flickered up to find Hayley standing side by side with their mystery woman.

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"I'm sure you girls have questions,"

"Only a thousand of them,"

Enola sat around a fire with Hayley and the unnamed woman. Not much had been said as they sat together in deep thought. They all had quite a bit on their minds and no clue where to even begin. This was a complicated situation with many questions. They honestly didn't know where to begin.

"Who are you, why are you following us, where the hell is everyone, and if the people in this book are really related to us, then what happened to them?" Enola shot off question after question.

"I'm Eve, I'm following you guys because you brought an original to werewolf country, which is pretty much the same reason why everyone else skedaddled." She explained simply. "If you guys want to know what happened to the people in that family tree, summing it up nice and quick: Marcel happened."

"What did he do?" Hayley inquired.

"He killed most of them," Eve began. "Later the descendants of the ones who dodged death—he strong armed a witch into putting a curse on them."

"What kind of curse?" Hayley wondered.

"Swap nature around, inside out, made it so their natural state was wolves. They only turn human on the full moon." Eve explained. "We get hunted by the marks we carry, that crescent moon birthmark. That's why I got rid of mine. I didn't want to get found out."

"What does any of that have to do with me?" Enola wondered. "My ancestor—Iliya Petrova—is in this book."

"She was a part of our pack," Eve answered.

"What does that mean?" Enola questioned.

"Good evening," They all whipped around to find Elijah standing there with a bloodied stake. His eyes flicker towards the unfamiliar woman skeptically as he holds the weapon up for her to see. "I think I might have something which belongs to you."

"Elijah, we've got this." Hayley was quick to defend.

"Are you okay?" Enola asked the original in concern.

"The wound has healed, the fever has broken—but for some strange reason, I have this sharpened lingering sensation in my back." Elijah glared at Eve.

"We have to get him home, but we will be back." Hayley reassured. "We need to know more."

"Keep that mark covered up," Eve warned before disappearing into the night like a ghost that was never there to begin with.

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Klaus was standing in the study with a silver dagger in hand when Rebekah entered. He didn't acknowledge her at first as he stared out the large window with an unreadable expression. He was less than pleased with her for tag teaming him with Marcel today. He was less than pleased with everyone at the moment. Rebekah. Elijah. Hayley. Enola. They had all made him out to be this horrible monster.

"Elijah is home. There is only one dagger." Rebekah noted. "Which one of us will you be punishing today?"

"I contemplated a game or eeny meeny miny moe," Klaus hummed, using enhanced speed to put Rebekah in a headlock. "You betrayed me, my own sister."

"Niklaus, don't you dare." Elijah growled as he entered the room in a hurry.

"Well, perhaps it should be you, brother." Klaus spat, setting his sights on Elijah. "Stealing my child away with every fawning moment of tenderness you show to Enola."

"This has nothing to do with Enola," Elijah defended.

"This has everything to do with Enola!" Klaus roared. "She has adored you since the day you met and now my child—my blood—will grow up to call you father."

"Is that what this is? You are once again worried that you will be left behind? Has history taught you nothing?" Rebekah questioned. "We don't abandon you, Nik. You drive us away."

"Is that so?" Klaus frowned, slowly lowering the dagger before taking a few steps back. "What have I done lately other than cooperate? I bowed down to you, brother, to make up for daggering you, for the greater good of our plan to reclaim our home. I looked the other way, sister, while you repeat the same cycle with Marcel, falling again from a man you shouldn't be with while he controls the empire that we built, that he took!" He took a deep breath to calm himself down before continuing. "Now I make no excuses for past sins. But in the one moment when you two could have chosen to stand by me, to believe in me and believe my intentions for my own child and for the love of my life were pure, you chose to stand against me, to side with my enemies. I wanted our home back. Now I have it. So I am going to live there and the two of you, you can stay here together and rot."

Klaus surprisingly handed the dagger over to Elijah with no qualms. He wiped the tears from his face as he exited the room. His eyes searched every open doorway for the one person he wanted to see, hearing the familiar voice just outside on the porch. The only thing he actually felt bad for was leaving her behind in the bayou. He should've heard her out. He should've taken her with him regardless. But he wanted to give her the choice. He wanted to give her the choice to love him, to be with him, to choose him.

"Nik—"

"I am not going to force you into joining me at the compound," Klaus interrupted. "But I want you to know that you and our child are the only things on this earth that matter to me."

"I didn't believe it, you know. That you were using me, that you didn't love me." Enola promised. "I should have defended you. Even though you are far from innocent in other aspects."

Klaus looked down regretfully, waiting for the moment Enola left. He was surprised when she made her way over to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug he immediately reciprocated. She should've defended him. She should've known better than to let Tyler Lockwood said go straight to her head. If anyone should be feeling apologetic it was her. She pulled away, placing a soft kiss on his lips before he helped her into the car.

"Wait!" Enola and Klaus froze before turning to find Hayley standing on the porch with stiff shoulders.

"If you plan on stopping her, there will be hell to pay." Klaus threatened.

"I'm coming with you," Hayley declared. Klaus blinked.

"Are you sure?" Enola frowned. "You could be out there searching for your family—"

"Enola," Hayley interrupted softly. "You are my family."

Enola drove off into the sunset with Hayley and Klaus as Elijah and Rebekah watched from a window on the second floor. This was an all new era where they would be taking over the city. They just wished that they could all bask in the glory together instead of as a family divided. They were truly living in the upside down world where water was thicker than blood.

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AUTHORS NOTE.
we got more of the bond between enola and elijah along with some more information about iliya petrova. i hope you enjoyed this chapter even though there wasn't a whole lot of klaus. until next time, my loves!!!