OUTCASTS
— 14. Crescent City

At Saint Anne's Church, Cadence sat beside Cami near the front of the church as Kieran held the first mass since the massacre that occurred nearly a year ago.

"Thank you all for coming, it means more than I call tell you," Kieran addressed the crowd in a calm tone, "We gather today for the first public service of our newly reopened church. St. Anne's can finally once again be the heart of our community, where we can congregate as a people united."

As Kieran continued on, Cadence turned her head, finding Klaus' eyes to be on her. She sent him a soft smile and Klaus returned the favor.

Slowly, she turned away and looked in another direction. She frowned, locking eyes on her mother. She sighed and looked away. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, forcing herself to remember that her mother was dead and she was probably just imagining it.

_____

After mass, Cadence joined Marcel and Klaus outside in greeting Kieran. Klaus was the first to make his way to Kieran and he wasted no time shaking the man's hand. "Lovely sermon, this morning, Father. Quite inspirational."

"Oh, come on, we both know you weren't even paying attention, Klaus," Cadence commented, earning a smirk from Klaus.

"I wasn't expecting you to join us," Kieran commented, glancing between the trio.

"Oh, we were hoping for some word from your human sources on the recent Haitian invasion," Klaus replied in a calm tone.

"My guys have their ears to the ground," Kieran informed him, "And no one has seen or heard any sign of whatever his names is."

"He's called Papa Tunde," Marcel spoke up as he finally added into the conversation, "And right now, he's wandering around the quarter with the power he absorbed from every soul I had buried in the Garden and he's after Cade, so you might want to put your ear a little closer to the ground."

"Or I could steer clear of whatever war is brewing between your kind and his before I find myself in—"

"I wanted to congratulate you on getting the church up and running," Cami suddenly spoke up as she walked over to Kieran and shook his hand, "I can see this is a bad time. Nice to see you, Marcel. I'll see you later on at work, Cadence."

With that, Cami walked up, not before shooting Klaus a glare. "Cami," Cadence called after Cami, who continued to walk away.

Klaus turned his head, noticing the judgemental look he was getting from Kieran. "Well, don't look at me. I tried to send her away."

Klaus ended up getting a call from Diego, which he was quick to answer. Once he was finished, he turned to Marcel and Cadence, gesturing for them to leave with him, which they ended up doing.

As they walked away, Kieran continued to bid goodbye to everyone who walked past him, thanking them for coming.

"Thank you. God be with yo—" He began to say, only to cut himself off when he saw Amelia, Cadence's mother, standing before him. She was supposed to be dead.

"Oh, I highly doubt that, Kieran, but I appreciate the thought," She told him in a calm tone.

"Amelia!" Kieran exclaimed, his eyes widening in alarm at the sight of her.

Holding the rosaries of madness, Amelia tightly gripped onto his hand. "Toursion fou, mort de l'esprit," She spoke in a venomous tone before twisting his hand, "Give your nephew Sean my regards when you see him in hell. My daughter will soon join you."

Amelia glared at Kieran hatefully as she formed an 'x' mark on his hand before she walked away.

______

  At the compound, Elijah was crouching down to examine Papa Tunde's corpse, while Marcel, Cadence, and Klaus stood beside him as they watched him closely.

"Can I get you anything, brother?" Klaus asked Elijah in a sarcastic tone, "A magnifying glass, a pipe perhaps?"

"You have a theory that you'd like to share with us, Niklaus?" Elijah asked as he looked up at his brother.

"Back in the day, the witches wanted to send a threat, they'd just kill a chicken and leave it on your doorstep," Marcel informed the group, causing Cadence to turn to look at him with a weird look on her face.

"Well, this is a pretty big chicken, don't you think?" Cadence commented as she turned to glance at Marcel.

"Papa Tunde defeated Rebekah with ease,  almost got the two of us as well. There was so much power in him that when Cadence tried to siphon his power, it nearly killed her as well," Klaus explained to the group in a calm tone, "If he was supposed to be their prizefighter, why leave him for dead in our front yard?"

Cadence turned her head, watching as Rebekah arrived. "Well, don't you look cheery. Listen to this," She smiled sarcastically, glancing around at the group, "A girl literally exploded from a grave today as Sabine was giving a tour of the city of the dead. It was Monique Deveraux."

"What?" Klaus and Cadence asked in unison, both of them looking shocked.

  "The tourists thought it was part of the show, but the witches are celebrating like it's some kind of bloody miracle," Rebekah continued to explain.

"Well, maybe it is. They think that all hope is lost, but now suddenly a Harvest girl is resurrected. This is how we're gonna get Davina back," He explained, smiling at the thought, "kill the witch who took her place."

"I have a theory about who one of them could be," Hayley suddenly spoke up as she appeared to be standing on the stairs, holding up the drawing of Celeste, "Celeste. I mean, it's got to be. Davina was trying to tell us, she was drawing pictures of Celeste. She was warning us that a great evil is coming."

"First, Papa Tunde returns to settle old scores, now your murdered lover is back. This isn't witches attacking vampires," Klaus replied, an uneasy look on his face, "They're declaring war on us."

____

  That afternoon, Cadence walked into the living room where Elijah stood in front of the large drawing of Celeste. "You wanted to see me," Cadence stated calmly as she gave Elijah a questioning look.

"There's a favor I must ask of you," Elijah informed Cadence, who frowned in confusion, "I might not trust you as much as my brother and sister do, but I do understand that you are a useful ally and someone we can trust with protecting Hayley. She's not safe here," He explained,  letting out a large sigh, "I would like for you to join Rebekah and Hayley at the Plantation House until this is all over."

Cadence narrowed her eyes at Elijah, knowing she was missing something. "You're not just worried about Hayley, you're suspicious of Rebekah and that's why you want me to go," She spoke up and Elijah remained silent, giving her the answer, "Okay. I'll go."

"In truth, I didn't expect you to agree so easily," Elijah commented and Cadence smiled in response.

"It gives me a reason to stay out of this witch trouble. It's the last thing I want for myself. My sons have a babysitter and there's a spell on my apartment making it so that no supernatural may enter without my permission, even witches," Cadence explained and Elijah nodded in understanding.

_____

  Soon enough, Hayley, Rebekah, and Cadence arrived at the plantation. However, Rebekah and Cadence found themselves surprised about how willing Hayley was to go.

"I thought I was gonna have to drag you to the plantation kicking and screaming," Rebekah commented as they got out of the car.

"Yeah, well, we all just wanna protect me and the baby, right?" Hayley replied in a sarcastic tone.

"Hey, I'm on your side, remember? As is Cadence," Rebekah reminded her in a sincere tone, "So, what gives?"

"Tonight's a full moon, guys," She told the duo, sighing as she glanced between them.

"So what? You're preggers, you can't turn," Rebekah replied, a confused look on her face.

"Yes, but I wanted to invite a few people over..." She trailed off and Cadence scoffed loudly.

"Of course you do," Cadence muttered under her breath and rolled her eyes.

"Of course. Every red-blooded American werewolf will be a bundle of fur and sharp teeth tonight, whilst your cursed Crescent Clan will be..." Rebekah trailed off, smiling forming on her lips.

"Human, but only for a few hours, and won't be again until the next full moon, so..." Hayley began to explain as she sighed deeply, "I asked Josh to get a message out to Eve in the Bayou."

"You what?!" Cadence exclaimed, her eyes wide in disbelief.

"Josh isn't dead yet?" Rebekah asked, smiling in utter amusement, "Well good on him. I love a nice survival story."

Just then, Cadence turned her head, noticing an unknown man wheeling a dolly out of the house. "Who the hell is that?" She asked, a deeply confused look on her face.

"Kegs out back, alright?" She asked and the man immediately told her that he had before leaving.

  Hayley cleared her throat awkwardly, turning to look back at Rebekah and Cadence.

"Right. It appears you weren't gonna wait for me to grant you permission to throw a kegger," Rebekah commented, giving Hayley a scolding look as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"Listen, you all want me safe? Fine. I'll do as I'm told. I'll play damsel in the glass tower. But tonight's the one night a month that I can meet my family," Hayley explained, beginning to smile, "Now, you could rat me out and send me to my room, or the two of you could help me to throw one hell of a party. "

Rebekah was quick to agree. However, they turned her head to watch as Cadence shook her head in disapproval. "I-I..." She stammered, a deeply nervous look on her face, "I can't be  here."

Cadence turned, on the verge of walking away when Hayley spoke up. "Why not? You deserve some time to party."

Cadence immediately whipped herself around to face Hayley, a terrified look on her face. "Do you understand what you've roped me into, Hayley?" She asked loudly, tears beginning to form in her eyes, "I'm going to have to face what I've been avoiding for five years now. The father of my child who only triggered his curse because of me. I can't be here."

Hayley sighed as she moved closer to Cadence. "Please stay. I need you here," She pleaded with the woman, "And think about it...If you don't do it now, you never will."

Cadence noticed the pleading look on Hayley's face. She sighed in defeat, just before she finally nodded her head.

_____

Nighttime soon came around and Cadence was standing outside. She was hanging up some clothes for the Crescent werewolves to put on when they turned into humans during the full moon. As she was about to leave, she locked eyes on Jackson in wolf form, causing her to smile nervously. "I guess we'll see each other once and for all again tonight, Jackson," She admitted softly, trying to hide her uneasiness.

An hour had passed and soon enough, the wolves began to turn into their human forms.

Cadence was sitting down near the pool with a cup of beer in her hands when she felt eyes on her. She stood up and turned, gasping as her eyes locked on Jackson standing before her, fully dressed.

He smiled at her and Cadence's lips parted. She was frozen for a long moment, unable to overcome her shock. After a moment. she began to smile and she wasted no time rushing to hug him.

Slowly, she pulled away and Jackson smiled as he looked down at her. He laughed softly, cupping her face in his hands. She began to smile happily as tears formed in her eyes and the duo hugged once more.

____

That night, music was blasting through the speakers Hayley had set up. Numerous people danced, including Cadence. She felt like she was sixteen again, hanging in the bayou with Jackson, despite knowing she shouldn't have. It was just old times.

However, it was clear to Jackson that Cadence wasn't all that into dancing as she used to be. She still felt uneasy about the whole ordeal, that was obvious.

"Oh, come on, Cadence! You can do better than that. I know you can," Jackson encouraged her, a large smile forming on his lips.

"Sorry. I've got a lot on my mind right now," Cadence confessed and it was true. She hadn't gotten any calls from Klaus or Marcel about the current problem at hand. Uneasiness was consuming her. She should have been there helping them.

"No, no, no," Jackson smiled as he spun her, "Tonight is a night for clear minds. It's a night to celebrate. It's a night for us to enjoy life for the few hours that we get to spend together."

"Alright, alright," Cadence began to laugh as she finally began to smile while dancing with him.

Hayley stood close by, watching the duo with a smile on her face. Rebekah walked over, her eyes locking on Jackson and Cadence as well. "I find myself thinking about Klaus when I look at them," Rebekah stated, earning a curious look from Hayley, "What? Isn't it obvious? Klaus is head over heels for Cadence. If the Crescent Curse is ever broken, Klaus might just find himself with some competition."

Hayley laughed softly at Rebekah's words and shook her head.

As she danced with Jackson, Cadence's phone suddenly rang, causing her to stop what she was doing. She quickly took out her phone, sighing in relief when she saw it was a call from Klaus.

She turned to Jackson, an apologetic look on her face. "I'll be right back," She told him before walking in the direction of the house.

Once inside, she answered the phone and placed the phone to her ear. "Any news?" She asked Klaus curiously.

"There's something you must know, Cadence," Klaus informed Cadence, but by the tone of his voice, she knew it must not have been good.

"What is it?" Cadence asked Klaus in concern.

"Your mother is alive," Klaus suddenly replied, much to Cadence's horror.

"What?"

"She's hexed Kieran, just like she hexed Sean. We're still trying to figure out how to save him," Klaus explained, causing tears to form in Cadence's eyes.

"I should be there," She admitted, consumed with uneasiness and fear.

"No, stay with the werewolves. You'll be safer there anyway. I'll fill you in tomorrow," Klaus insisted, but once hearing the silence on the other end of the phone, he sighed, "Cadence, stop being stubborn just this once and listen to me. It's for your own good."

"Fine. Alright, alright," Cadence sighed in defeat and with that, she hung up.

She took a deep breath, turning to walk back outside before she found Jackson standing there. "So it's true. You're Klaus Mikaelson's personal witch," Jackson commented, a disappointed look on his face.

"It's not like that. I help him and the rest of his family. Not just him. They keep me protected. Along with our sons," Cadence explained and the smallest of smiles suddenly appeared on Jackson's face.

"That's the first time all night you've mentioned them," He confessed in a whisper.

"Well, you haven't asked about them," Cadence replied as she shrugged her shoulders.

"I want to meet them," Jackson decided in a determined as he moved closer to Cadence, "The twins. Hunter and Hayden. They're my sons, after all. I thought you would've brought them on full moons to see me. I wanted you to, but you never came."

"I wanted to, but I didn't want them to—" Cadence began to say, only to be cut off by Jackson.

"We both know it had nothing to do with them, but more with you not wanting to face me," Jackson confessed, but seemed calm about the whole ordeal.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't face you knowing I was the reason you were stuck a wolf," Cadence confessed, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"It was my own decision to kill that person to protect you. It wasn't your fault," Jackson assured her.

"It still feels like my fault," Cadence admitted in a whisper as she stared down at the ground in shame.

"It's not," He whispered softly as he cupped her face, "Alright? It's not."

"The next full moon, I promise. I'll take them to see you," She told him as she nodded her head confidently.

___

   At Lafayette Cemetery, Sabine, who was actually Celeste, stood with Genevieve and Amelia, the three of them chanting a spell together.

  At the plantation, Cadence was standing outside alone when she suddenly turned to see the house erupting into flames.

She ran toward the door, becoming alarmed since she knew Hayley and Jackson were inside. She ran toward the front door, only to have it magically close before flames appeared in front of it.

At Lafayette Cemetery, Celeste glanced between Genevieve and Amelia, smiling. "You know what to do."

At the Plantation, Cadence moved closer to the door and placed her hand against it, despite it being burning hot. She winced in pain, but continued to siphon the spell.

Soon enough, the spell was completely siphoned away and Elijah suddenly appeared. He exchanged a look with Cadence, just before jumping through the glass.

He grabbed ahold of Hayley before speeding out with her.

Due to siphoning the spell, Cadence began to mutter an incantation underneath her breath that allowed her a path toward Jackson without getting burnt. She grabbed ahold of him before rushing out of the home with him.

She collapsed onto the ground with him, beginning to cough.

Several moments later, Elijah had fled with Hayley, leaving Cadence with Jackson. They were both standing upright and Cadence found herself staring at the plantation, which was now up in flames.

"I have to go," He suddenly spoke up, causing Cadence to turn to face him, "The moon."

"Listen, Jack, I want to thank you for protecting me all these years, even while being stuck a wolf," She confessed to him as she walked closer to him.

"I loved you since I was a kid. You're the mother of my children, you think I wasn't going to protect you?" Jackson replied as he smiled down at her.

He smiled, moving closer until he was standing directly in front of her. He leaned forward to kiss her, only to have Cadence purposely turn her head, which led to him kissing her cheek.

"I never thought seeing you again would go like this," Jackson confessed quietly, a part of him feeling embarrassed.

He sighed in defeat as Cadence gave him an apologetic look. He turned on his heel, on the verge of walking away when Cadence grabbed his arm. "Wait," She demanded and Jackson turned to give her a curious look, "I won't stop until I find a way to break this curse. And you'll get to see your children once and for all. I promise."

Jackson smiled slightly, nodding his head before walking off into the woods.

Once Jackson walked away, Cadence's phone suddenly rang, much to her confusion. She didn't recognize the number, but decided to answer it anyway. "Hello?"

"We have your sons," Amelia suddenly informed Cadence, whose eyes widened in alarm.

"Mom?"

"The witches and I have your sons and if you don't obey my orders, we will kill them," Amelia replied in a venomous tone.

Cadence was about to call her mother's bluff, only to hear Hunter screaming in the background while Hayden was shouting at someone in anger. "If you hurt them, I will kill you myself. I promise you that."

"Oh, I won't hurt him as long as you drive Papa Tunde's blade through Klaus Mikaelson's chest," Amelia informed Cadence, whose eyes widened in disbelief.

"What did you just say?" Cadence asked, fear in her eyes.

"Who will you choose, Cadence?" Amelia asked Cadence in a calm tone, "The evil hybrid you've grown to care about or your beloved children? The choice is yours and you must make it quick or you might just run out of time."

Cadence quickly hung up the phone. She took a deep breath, but unable to calm herself down, she screamed at the top of her lungs in anger as she threw her phone to the ground.

____

In the French Quarter, Klaus was walking through the streets with Monique Deveraux in tow after he had kidnapped her from Rousseau's.

He had a tight grip on Monique with one hand while he held Papa Tunde's blade with the other.

"Witches of the French Quarter!" Klaus called out loudly, wanting to be heard, "I have with me Monique Deveraux. What a shame it would be were I forced to sent her back to the death she's just escaped! Should you wish to prevent this, bring me the witch Amelia Delacroix!"

"The hell you think you're doing?" Marcel suddenly asked as he appeared before Klaus.

"I'm opening negotiations," Klaus replied without a care in the world.

"You know my rules," Marcel reminded Klaus in a stern tone, "We do not hurt kids."

"Spare me the hypocrisy of your moral code," Klaus snapped at Marcel coldly as he pointed the blade at him, "It didn't stop you from killing Monique's mother."

Klaus turned, beginning to yell toward the buildings once more. "Amelia! I know you're close," He called out, his eyes lips curling upwards, "The stench of witches hangs in the air. Mark my words! I will end this girl with the very blade you meant for me."

"I'm not saying it again," Marcel repeated once more, earning an angered look from Klaus, "We do not kill kids."

Just then, Klaus placed the blade near Monique's throat, causing her to gasp in fear.

Having had enough, Marcel vamp-sped toward him and the duo began to fight.

As they fought, Klaus ended up losing hold of the blade and it ended up falling to the ground. Klaus finally gained the upper hand and snapped Marcel's neck, dropping his body unceremoniously to the ground.

"I decide who lives and dies here, Marcellus," Klaus spoke up calmly as he stared down at Marcel's body.

Just then, as Klaus turned, only to suddenly have Cadence appear in front of him. Before he could react, she placed one hand on his shoulder while using the other to drive Papa Tunde's blade straight through his chest.

Klaus yelled out in agony. He glanced down at the blade before looking up at Cadence, his eyes filling with betrayal.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Cadence cried out as tears filled her eyes, "They have my sons. They made me do it. But I'll get you back. I promise."

Klaus gasped in pain, unable to claw out the blade before he dropped to his knees. He yelled out at the top of his lungs, exchanging a look with Cadence before he fell down to the ground.

Just then, Amelia walked up to Cadence, staring down at Klaus' body with a satisfied smile on her face. "I'll take it from here."

"You're not going anywhere near Klaus until you give me my children," Cadence ordered in a stern tone. She turned to her mother, a threatening look on her face, "You will bring them back to me or I'll make this entire city rain with the blood of you and every other witch I set my eyes on."

"Mommy?" A voice suddenly called out, causing Cadence's eyes to widen.

She whipped herself around, watching as Hunter and Hayden ran over to her. She rushed to hug them, crying as she did so.

Hayden glanced down at Klaus and Marcel's bodies, his eyes widening in shock yet he didn't say anything.

   "Just because you got them back this time, it doesn't mean we won't get their hands on them again," Amelia spoke up, smiling as she moved toward Cadence, "Your sons may be a threat, but they're young enough to become one of us. We can groom them to be New Orleans witches, unlike you. They will flourish and bring us more power than we could ever imagine."

Suddenly coming to a realization, Cadence turned to her with wide eyes. "It all makes sense..." She trailed off, beginning to smile, "You didn't whore around with my biological father for the hell of it, you did it to purposely have me. He was a coven leader. A powerful one, at that. Of the infamous Gemini Coven. I was supposed to be some all-powerful witch that you could raise into being a New Orleans witch that would overthrow Marcel once and for all, but I ended up being a siphon witch. An abomination. You want to use my sons instead. To overthrow Klaus and keep the witches in power. You know that not only because they're from the Gemini Coven and the French Quarter coven does it make them powerful, but they're even more powerful because of the heightened emotions that come with being a werewolf. It makes them more powerful than any other witch in New Orleans."

Amelia remained silent after hearing Cadence's words and began to glare at her. "I could kill you right here and right now as I should."

Cadence stood up and moved closer to her mother in a threatening manner. "I killed you once. What makes you think I won't kill again?"

Amelia lifted her hand to perform a spell on Cadence when Hunter suddenly appeared beside his mother. "Don't hurt my mommy!"

Amelia ended flying backward several feet and Monique attempted to grab ahold of Hayden before he could attack her as well. She wrapped her arms around him to subdue him, only to have Hayden suddenly scream at the top of his lungs.

As he did so, it caused Monique to go flying as well. The entire street suddenly shook, causing car alarms to go off and the street lights to explode.

Cadence turned, looking horrified. She quickly rushed over to Hunter and Hayden, siphoning some of their magic. "Invisique," She spoke softly.

"No!" Amelia shouted, on the verge of stopping them when Cadence and the twins became invisible.

Amelia and Monique turned to each other, their eyes wide in horror.