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CHAPTER 56: HOW TO DISAPPEAR IN MODERN AGE

❝ we all do what we have to for the sake of family. ❞

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SOMETIMES ALL IT TOOK WAS ONE PERSON TO INSIST THAT THINGS WERE GOING TO BE OKAY. Even if they knew they weren't. Even if you could feel the fragility of your skin against the knife's edge. Somehow, their confidence was enough to fall into. Their faith in you—in the universe, in other things holding it together—gave you scales and you could feel yourself changing.

And, of course, you always knew it was dangerous. Dangerous to relinquish yourself like that to a non reality—somebody else's reality. But in another way every reality was the same: similarly plausible and implausible, similarly predictable and chaotic, happy and disappointing, devastating and nonchalant. Every reality had its seeker and narrator, its perpetrator and victim, its heroine and sidekick.

So the realization came in stages of escapism; stepping into somebody else's frame. It would be a painting much brighter and more picturesque, with love at its pinnacle. If you stayed long enough you could learn the colors by heart and be stained by them; long enough to bring back to your picture. Love, as an imprint. And hope, not as a last resort, but as a certainty.

Unfortunately, that is not how the world worked. If it did, Enola wouldn't be in the study looking over many of the reasons why Klaus would probably be dead by the end of the week. She had no hope he would survive this considering he had spent the last one thousand years making enemies left and right. It was only a matter of time before all of that caught up to him considering his connection to them was severed the previous night by Miss Davina Claire.

"You collect trophies from all your victims?" Freya scoffed in bewilderment.

"Letters to their loved ones to be specific," Elijah corrected.

"So you would have your victims write goodbye letters?" Enola blinked. "That is just cruel. Even for you, Nik."

"It was a phase," Klaus defended lamely.

"A phase in which we were forced to learn a different kind of stealth," Elijah scoffed. "You see, over time, Niklaus' enemies grew so numerous we had no choice but to artfully withdraw from the world." He paused in thought for a moment. "And then . . . well, I wouldn't exactly describe our presence in this city as discreet, wouldn't you agree Niklaus?"

"We all saw the white oak destroyed," Klaus spoke with finality. "Plus, this city was crawling with vampires—all of whom had no choice but to shield me from potential foes. Were I to die, they would die too, I couldn't have been more safe. And now my sire link is undone and those very foes will come for me like never before."

"It has only been a few days since the link was broken. Must you jump into crippling paranoia already?" Freya sighed.

"That is a default setting," Elijah muttered.

"And with good reason," Klaus snarled.

"Well, Niklaus, if it offers you any solace whatsoever, we have ransacked Aya's belongings, torched Aurora's hunting ground, and obliterated every last splinter of the white oak." Elijah reassured.

"I would be mad to believe that," Klaus glared in thought.

"Perhaps you should see a therapist," Elijah taunted.

Klaus glared at Elijah heatedly before storming out of the room. Enola and Freya share a look of doubt and worry. They seemed to be the only semi sane people left in this house. They could only hope that Klaus would take the advice Elijah had given. Perhaps Cami could fix what they couldn't.

"Every last splinter?" Enola inquired. "Are you sure?"

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"It was him—Gaspar Cortez."

Klaus anxiously paced the lengths of the study while Enola watched along with Elijah and Freya. He had taken his brother's advice to go see a therapist. He had not seen Camille in a while and figured it would help ease his paranoia. What he did not expect was for her to decide that she no longer wished to be his therapist. She had problems of her own now. He left not long after that only to bump into an old friend along the way. Gaspar Cortez.

"I assume this is someone from your box of letters," Freya sighed knowingly.

"The youngest son of a particularly vile family of warlords I dealt with in the seventeenth century," Klaus informed.

"Didn't they burn that philistine pigsty to the ground?" Elijah inquired.

"Pigsty? Belaga was my favorite artist's retreat." Klaus scoffed in disbelief. "Someone had to pay for that so I murdered Gaspar's brute of a father—"

"And?" Enola pushed. Klaus frowned. "What else did you do, Nik?"

"And," Klaus continued. "One or two—"

"Five," Elijah corrected.

"Five of his bloodthirsty brothers," Klaus confessed.

"Don't forget the mistress," Elijah reminded.

"That was an accident!" Klaus defended.

"The point is that Gaspar was but a footnote," Elijah said.

"Until he became a vampire hell-bent on hunting me. He is a cunning deviant, known to compel hordes of the helpless to aid him with his tasks." Klaus explained sharply. "You see, this is exactly what I was concerned about—devils of all kinds, crawling out of their crevices to strike at me." He paused at the sound of someone entering the compound. "Speaking of which . . . " Klaus used enhanced speed to rush down into the courtyard to find Davina Claire. He didn't hesitate to pin her to the far wall with a deep scowl. "Rather foolish of you to come here alone."

Klaus was rendered speechless when an unknown force threw him back. He landed harshly on the other end of the courtyard before jumping back to his feet with wide eyes full of rage. Though that rage disappeared once he realized who he was now facing.

"She didn't come alone, brother." Kol Mikaelson smirked. "Now, Nik, I mean, you did go after my girl."

"It can't be," Klaus breathed as Enola entered the courtyard followed by both Elijah and Freya.

"It is Kol," Davina informed. "When I broke your sire link it created a surge of power."

"You stole the nexus vorti," Freya realized.

"And brought your brother back from the dead," Davina finished.

"You should be thanking her really," Kol stepped up.

"And maybe apologizing," Enola spoke up. "For killing you the first time."

"It is quite alright, love." Kol smirked. "We all do what we have to for the sake of family."

Klaus was silent for a long moment. He took a few short strides forward before pausing in an unsure manner. He took them all by surprise when he pulled his recently resurrected brother into a bone crushing hug. He stepped back silently to allow his next brother to have a turn.

"Hello, Elijah." Kol smiled.

"You haven't aged a day," Elijah joked, cupping Kol's face to get a better look.

"And you," Kol said slowly, turning to face the last person in the room.

"Freya," She introduced.

"Right—the long lost older sister." Kol nodded. "Speaking of twists and turns of our family tree, where might Rebekah be?"

"That is a long story," Klaus answered. "And one reserved for family. Davina can see herself out."

"Are you—" Kol scoffed in disbelief.

"As per usual, our family faces a multitude of threats. The sooner you become acquainted with them, the better." Klaus decided. "I won't have you distracted—"

"By Davina?" Kol laughed. "You know, if you could only pull your head out of your—"

"Kol," Davina spoke up softly. "It's okay. I'll go."

"Davina," Kol frowned softly.

"You can make it up to me," Davina told him.

"And I will," Kol promised, "Dust off that fancy dress because tonight we're going dancing."

"Okay," Davina smiled as he kissed her forehead.

"That was so cute," Enola grinned teasingly. "It makes me wonder if I chose the wrong Mikaelson."

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Klaus gave Enola the cold shoulder. It only lasted about ten minutes before he broke and gave her a lecture on how she had most definitely chosen the correct Mikaelson. There was no way he would lose that conversation. She found his persistence adorable. Of course she knew he was right. He was the one for her. He always would be the one for her. She just liked getting under his skin.

"Mixing the ashes of these letters with your blood, Nik, will show us where your enemies are." Kol explained witchcraft better than most witches.

Enola watched closely as Kol mixed the ashes of letters into the bowl Klaus had willingly bled into. Freya stirred the concoction together before pouring it onto the world map they had spread across the desk in the study. This would pinpoint where most of their enemies were and if they were lucky, there would only be one dot in New Orleans. Of course they wanted there to be none. But if Klaus had truly seen Gaspar then they hoped Gaspar was their only enemy at the moment.

"So I just—?" Freya wondered.

"Yes," Kol nodded reassuringly. "With feeling now."

Freya began to chant the spell Kol supplied. She held her hands over the map and closed her eyes for concentration. At first, nothing happened. The blood continued to spread to the corners of the map. And then, it slowly began to separate into a bunch of really small dots that seemed to stretch across every corner of the map. Thankfully, only one of them was in New Orleans.

"Behold your greatest hits, Klaus." Freya hammed. "All over the world."

"But only one is here," Enola grinned. "Which means the legion of enemies you were worried about is an army of one."

"Now surely this is your Gaspar Cortez," Kol hummed, circling the red dot in New Orleans.

Enola paused when she felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket. She frowned as she dug it out into the open as the Mikaelson siblings discussed how to dispose of Gaspar Cortez. She unlocked the screen to find a single message from an old friend who had decided to take some time away from Mikaelson drama. The message read: PROBLEM AT ROUSSEAUS!

"What is it?" Klaus immediately recognized the look of worry Enola wore.

"It's Cami," Enola informed. "She's in trouble."

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Cami watched with wide eyes as Vincent chanted the foreign words to some spell Gaspar asked for. She gathered it was some sort of locator spell. He was looking for the last of the white oak. The second she realized that, she had messaged someone for help. She had thought they had disposed of the remaining white oak. She supposed that they all did. She needed to warn them before it was too late.

"You're not gonna get what you need if he is dead," Cami warned.

"Shut up," Gaspar groaned. "Vincent, I grow impatient. Where is the white oak?"

Vincent began to violently shake. He must have overexerted himself as blood inaugurated down his face. He stopped chanting when he suddenly collapsed onto the ground. He had swore up and down that he was done taking shit from vampires and here he was; performing a spell for a vampire. He was human and easily threatened. All Gaspar had to do was threaten the patrons of Rousseaus and he was doing whatever was told of him.

"Cortez!"Klaus Mikaelson growled, storming into Rousseaus. "Welcome to New Orleans. Long time no see. You have come all this way, you must be tired." He pulled a regular wooden stake out into the open before taking a threatening step forward. "Please allow me the courtesy of putting you to rest."

"Klaus," Cami warned.

Cami motioned to the pedestrians who silently ate their meals and went about their business as if there had been no interruption. Though there were a few of them who were unable to enjoy their meals with the knives being held to their throats by other compelled strangers. This was how Gaspar kept Cami and Vincent in line.

"Make a move and everyone here will die or you can wait for us all to learn the whereabouts of the white oak. Choice is yours. Either way, I win." Gaspar announced, making both Klaus and Enola tense. "So here's how this works—everyone lives once you let me leave."

"So you expect me to let you live, knowing you seek white oak?" Klaus scoffed in disbelief. "It's a shame how some vampires grow so dim with age. Killing you will be a mercy."

"Kill me and this quaint eatery turns into a slaughterhouse—shining a light on your town's more repulsive activities." Gaspar threatened. "You really should not have come here alone."

"Who said I was alone?" Klaus frowned.

Enola stayed hidden in the shadows until Klaus had spoken those magic words. She used enhanced speed to rush through the room unnoticed. She knocked every human witness unconscious as he threw the wooden stake through the air to subdue his current enemy.

"Do me a favor, little monster, and make sure everyone gets home safe." Klaus smiled softly. "Gaspar and I have got some catching up to do."

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Enola was not surprised to learn the final words Gaspar had spoken. She was even less surprised to learn that their enemies were closing in and no one was safe. She looked down at the map with a deep frown as the drops of blood began to circle around New Orleans. She realized then that they would never be safe. Especially now since the sireline was broken.

"So this might only be a fraction of your potential enemies," Elijah muttered.

"In hindsight, you could have been nicer to people or at least left fewer survivors." Kol quipped. Klaus glared.

"Well, is he wrong?" Enola scoffed. "All of your enemies are a product of what you created. Don't play the victim."

"We don't know all their motives," Klaus argued, pointing an accusatory finger at Elijah. "Half of these people could want to put the last white oak bullet in your heart—end the sire war with the pull of a trigger."

"I have an army devoted to keeping me alive. The only people that care to protect you are standing in this very room." Elijah reminded. Klaus sighed. "As you well know, Niklaus, there is another way."

The room grew thick with silence as everyone traded knowing looks. Freya seemed to be the only one confused. She had only just joined the family a year ago. She was new to deciphering all of these looks. She frowned when she realized just what this particular look meant. She did not like this. Not one bit.

"You are going to run," Freya breathed.

"There was a time when the name Klaus Mikaelson was little more than a rumor. A shadowy figure who cast fear into the very bones of any who hears whispers of him." Klaus muttered in defeat. "I do not run, sister—I disappear."

It was dead silent as everyone weighed their options. But there were none. This was the only way for them all to survive. It sucked and it was unfair but that was the price you pay when you are a Mikaelson. The trick is accepting that before it is too late. Because everything would eventually work itself out if they played their cards right. And that is a big if.

"Where are we going?" Enola inquired.

"What?" Klaus blinked.

"You did promise to take me anywhere I wanted to go," Enola reminded. "I know it has been, like, four years since then, but the offer still stands, right?"

"Always," Klaus smiled softly.

"Perfect," Enola grinned. "Because I have always wanted to visit the Bahamas."

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How to disappear in modern age: practice not saying anything to anyone for one hour a day, stop going to the places you frequent, spend your time in spaces where you are a stranger, leave when people begin to call you by your first name, turn off your phone and deactivate you social media accounts, ignore all plans and sense of time, destroy all clocks and fall into nothingness.

If people know too much about where you live, spread falsified stories about yourself. Let the memory become a muddy legend. Move to where no one knows you. Spin your ideal self with manufactured stories told to your new neighbors.

Enola was not sure where that may be. All she knew is that she had her daughter and husband by her side. She would miss the rest of her family dearly but she knew this was for the best. Though she had her doubts when she struggled to fit the rest of their luggages in the trunk of her 1967 Chevrolet Impala. She refused to take any other vehicle. This was her baby. She couldn't just leave it behind.

"Is it done?" Klaus questioned.

"Yes," Freya nodded. "And now any witch who does a locator spell will believe that the two of you are right here in New Orleans."

"You know, for all of his mischief, Kol truly is a master of his craft." Elijah chuckled wistfully.

"Yes, well, drawing trouble is his forte." Klaus smirked teasingly. "You'll thank him for me?"

Kol had wanted to be here to see Klaus and Enola off, but Davina was waiting in the attic of St. Anne's church with a pretty dress. He couldn't possibly keep a pretty girl like that waiting. He had never felt so strongly for another in his ten lifetimes. He would be a fool to lose a girl like that.

"Don't stop driving until you are absolutely certain that you're safe," Elijah warned.

"You don't have to remind me how precious my cargo is," Klaus smiled softly, giving Enola and Hope a loving look. He was glad they would be joining him on the journey, but he was well aware of the threats lurking around every corner. He made a promise that they would make it out of this alive. He owed them that much.

"Enola," Hayley stepped forward. "I know that things between us have been tense since—"

"You kidnapped me and my child?" Enola quirked a brow.

"Yeah. That." Hayley cringed. "I just want you to know that I am one hundred percent team Mikaelson. I am here for you no matter what. All you have to do is call and I will drop everything. You are my family and I am so sorry that I broke your trust. I will be spending the rest of my life trying to rebuild and repair what I broke."

"Thank you," Enola hummed. "I really needed to hear that."

"Stay safe," Hayley warned. "I love you. Always and forever."

"Always and forever."

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AUTHORS NOTE.
i only have a few more chapters to write until this series is completed. my updates should be a lot more frequent by then. though they are quite frequent now. there are books on wattpad that don't update for months. until next time, my loves!!!