chapter forty nine

bad blood

・❥・

JORDANNA WALKED THROUGH Jackson Square Market besides Josh, Sebastian was held in the man's arms as Jordanna picked at every little item she passed.

"So, Cami's a vampire now, huh?" Josh asked, dodging Seb as his hands flailed about near his head.

"Sadly," Jordanna drawled earning a hard look from Josh. "Kidding! Yeah, she's a vampire now."

Josh sighed. "I wonder how she's doing ... I should check on her, right? Yeah, I'll check on her."

Jordanna shrugged, picking at a voodoo doll on a rack, "Do what you want, I don't care."

Josh side eyed her. "You know, I don't get why I hang out with you. You say, like, three words and two of them are always bitchy."

Jordanna spun on her feet and grinned at him. "That's the reason we're friends, Josh."

"Hardly friends," Josh rolled his eyes.

"We're friends," Jordanna ignored his words and nodded to herself. "If I didn't like you I would've already killed you by now."

Josh sarcastically patted her shoulder, "I feel honoured."

    "Good. Besides, if you wasn't my friend you wouldn't have held my child for the last hour," she pointed out. "And I wouldn't have let you."

    "Okay, but-"

    "Shh." Jordanna quietened him, holding her pointer finger up in his face. "Over there."

    Josh turned his head in the same direction Jordanna was gesturing towards and his gaze found Davina. The young Claire woman was stood in front of one of the stalls, fingers nervously dancing together as she addressed the other witch.

    "Hi. Do you have any angelica flower?" She asked to which she received no answer. The woman behind the stall merely glanced up at her before looking back down.

    Davina sighed in dismay, face flaring up in embarrassment. "Okay, I know I've been shunned, but you can at least look at me."

    Jordanna and Josh watched as the woman continued to ignore Davina until finally, near tears, the Claire girl walked away.

    "Fucking cunt," Jordanna spat and strode forward towards the stall. Josh fumbled behind her to catch up.

    "Hellllooo?" Josh waved his free hand in the woman's face. "We're in the market for some angelica."

    Davina turned back with a hopeful expression on her face as she watched Josh talk to the woman, only for her to ignore him as well.

    "Perhaps you've heard of it? No? Okay. Follow up question, do you happen to have any kind of comment box or complaint hotline? Because we've got a few thoughts about your customer service that, trust me, you do not want to end up on Yelp."

    But when the woman only glanced up to roll her eyes, Jordanna stepped in. The Jones' eyes scanned across the stall until she finally set her sights on the item she was looking for. Without a word Jordanna snatched the packet of angelica flower and looked over at the woman with a dry smile.

    "Asshole." Jordanna snapped, shoving the angelica in her bag before her eyes flickered between her bag and the counter of the stall. All of a sudden her arm flailed out and she dragged random items from the counter and let them fall into her bag.

    The woman's eyes widened as she watched Jordanna, Josh smiled snidely in her direction. Davina, however, grew more embarrassed by the minute and she strode over to them and gently grabbed Josh by the elbow.

    "Let's just go," she said softly, before her eyes flitted to Jordanna. "Okay?"

    "Okay, fine." Josh sighed reluctantly before he turned and faced the woman. "And we're not paying for them!"

    Jordanna could've laughed at the look on the woman's face when the stall lit up in flames and the smug expression that painted across Josh's features turned into wide, shocked eyes, but Davina yanked her arm and dragged her away before she could react.

・❥・

    Once Jordanna had arrived back at the Compound, after walking around the city with Josh and Davina, she sauntered into Elijah's study finding an annoyed Klaus and an exhausted Elijah.

    The Jones, however, didn't care for their moods, rather, she held her shopping bags full of shoes in her left hand whilst Sebastian sat comfortably in her right arm, her face held a gleeful smile as she dropped the bags to the ground.

    She looked between the two Mikaelsons before rolling her eyes. "What crawled up your asses?"

    "Naomi has been hammering Niklaus with questions all afternoon on Camille's whereabouts, hence the rather joyful mood," Elijah spoke, continuing to look down at the piece of parchment in his hand. "And now, he is bothering me with said mood."

    Klaus sighed in annoyance as Jordanna's eyes flitted over to him. "You're the one who gave Naomi the daylight ring for Cami-"

"She wouldn't stop asking, Jordanna, what else was I supposed to do?"

"Not give it to her?" The raven-haired woman retaliated. "Besides, she isn't ready for it. If it's pissing you off that much why don't you go find her?"

"Yes ... " Elijah trailed off. "And while you do that, Niklaus, I shall deal with the growing nightmare of our family's potential extinction."

"Always the diligent defender," Klaus rolled his eyes at his brother. "Despite the fact that the danger has somewhat subsided, what, with Tristan de Martel now literally sleeping with the fishes?"

"A darker threat remains. Now, if something out there is capable of killing us," Elijah's words came to a halt as he lowered his voice to a mocking whisper. "We should probably find it."

"I'd love to. However, Naomi-"

Just then an exhausted and overwhelmed Hayley appeared in the doorway. Her face was pale and her dark, droopy eyes locked onto Jordanna's as she sent her and the baby balanced on her hip a small smile.

"Cami left around sunrise." At the sound of Hayley's voice, Elijah spun on his feet, staring at her sudden arrival in surprise. "My guess is that she needed some air?"

"More like she needed time to annoy the locals," Jordanna grumbled under her breath, shooting Klaus a brief eyeroll as his elbow harshly jammed into her ribs.

Turning his gaze to Hayley, Klaus' eyes landed on her in concern. While, when first introduced so many years back, Klaus hadn't a care for Hayley, he didn't not like her, but he didn't like her, either. But over the past year or so, mostly during those six agonising months without Jordanna, he drew closer to the Marshall, as well as Naomi.

He found it hard not to form some sort of friendship with her as she was too Goddamn kind. The way she'd always take care of Sebastian, the way she'd check up on him on Jordanna's birthday.

He had gained a friend along the way, and for the first time, he would happily call her family. So, seeing her now, drained, tired and grieving, it did concern him.

"I couldn't sleep," Hayley shrugged, bringing Klaus back to reality. "I saw her leaving from my balcony."

Jordanna softly narrowed her eyes down on the woman as she watched Hayley fidget in place, nervously chewing the inside of her cheek. "You wanna ask us something," Jordanna pointed out with raised eyebrows.

A small, sheepish smile pulled delicately at Hayley's lips. "Yeah, uh, I was wondering if maybe it was okay ... if I stay here for a few days?"

A surprised Elijah rose his eyebrows before he nodded at her with a weak smile. "Of course you may." An appreciative look crossed Hayley's features, but before any more could be said, Elijah's phone buzzed noticeably in his pocket. He reluctantly pulled it out to check, and after seeing what it was, he gave her an apologetic smile. "Forgive me."

Once Elijah had left the room to deal with his call, Klaus cautiously approached the brunette with a comforting smile. "Hayley, this family comes with many, many hardships, but there is at least one benefit — you will always have a home here."

In Klaus fashion, he left the second the words slipped from his lips, leaving the two women and the infant alone. Jordanna slowly approached her friend. "You can stay with me in Rebekah's old room," Jordanna nudged Hayley's shoulder as she approached her. "All the other rooms are full ... my shoes take up a lot of space."

Hayley arched a brow in Jordanna's direction dryly. "You not staying with Klaus?"

"No, Hayley, we're on a break ... remember?"

Hayley just sighed and looked down at the small boy in the Jones' arms. "To say your mom is a manipulative bitch, she isn't the best liar, is she?"

Jordanna scoffed in offense and watched as Hayley walked off, heading towards Rebekah's old room. "One, I'm not lying, you cunt and two, I'm a good liar, thank you!"

"You're even lying about lying! Really?"

・❥・

Klaus and Jordanna strolled down the busy streets of the French Quarter. The streets were littered with twinkling lights as the sun began to set. Jordanna merely rolled her eyes at the sight.

"Why is everything so ... cheery?" She asked with a frown, her face scrunched up in disgust.

"This is probably the most content moment we've had in months and yet you're complaining ... of course," Klaus smiled teasingly in her direction.

Jordanna shrugged in defence. "I'm just saying, this isn't time to be cheery."

"So, you expect everyone else to live in dejection just because our lives aren't going so well?"

"Uh, yeah," Jordanna rolled her eyes. "It's inconsiderate if not."

"You're a confusing woman, Jordanna Jones." Klaus rolled his eyes.

"Well, you're the idiot who decided to love me," she lifted her shoulders into a shrug. Just as they went to turn the corner of the street Jordanna slammed her hand against Klaus' chest, abruptly stopping him in place.

"You really need to stop hitting me. How many times do I have to tell you-"

"Grow up, I barely touched you," she rolled her eyes before lifting her hand. "Look who it is."

Klaus followed what she was pointing at and his eyes landed on Naomi and Camille stood in an alley way off main street. The two incoherently spoke to one another before Cami strode off towards a young couple; who were making out.

Cami grabbed the man by the hair and pulled him away from, what she assumed, his girlfriend. "Don't move, and don't make a sound." She compelled.

Cami wordlessly shoved him away before she turned to face the girl, whose shoulders she squeezed gently with her hands while the girl's boyfriend watched in confusion. Cami looked the girl straight in the eye.

"No one can help you. Do you understand?"

Jordanna pulled a face as she and Klaus watched from a distance. "Bit creepy, but I get the idea."

"A tad unsophisticated, but not bad," he commented, nodding his head in agreement to her words.

Jordanna pushed her hair behind her ears as she noticed Naomi's mouth open and words fell from her lips. "... Listen to the heartbeat. It'll tell you when to stop." Naomi told Cami as the blonde sunk her teeth into her neck.

Cami continued to feed off of the girl, listening to her heartbeat as did Naomi ... and Klaus ... and Jordanna. They were nosy, sue them. The heartbeat was fast due to the fear and confusion that pumped through the young girl's veins before it quickly dropped, slowing down.

"Cami-"

Cami ignored Naomi's call out and kept feeding, Naomi ran her fingers through her hair in frustration and looked around cautiously to make sure no one was watching them, spotting Jordanna and Klaus she let her head drop aside and she gave them a blank stare; they merely waved before heading over to her.

"Cami!" Naomi turned back to the blonde, waiting on her to stop.

Jordanna sauntered forward and ripped Cami away from the young girl, throwing the blonde into Naomi's arms she took it as her chance to feed on the woman. Klaus huffed out a laugh as Cami scoffed.

Jordanna ripped her teeth from the woman's neck and let her fall to the ground carelessly. Turning, with a bloodied smile, she faced the three.

"I'm sorry, you have to restrain me, but you let her steal my meal?"

"Yeah, because I'm me, you're you. She's trying to preserve your sweet, innocent, murder-less heart," Jordanna shrugged, wiping her mouth clean of blood with her thumb. "Besides, when I choose to, I have control — you need to learn it."

"Right, I'm sorry, I forgot you were a psychotic bitch even before you turned," Cami scoffed in annoyance.

Jordanna spun on her feet, turning to the young man who stood in a daze. "Leave. Remember my face as the insanely hot girl who rejected you and definitely did not kill your girlfriend. Oh, also forget the mouthy blonde who went psycho on your girlfriend."

Naomi rolled her eyes as the man went to walk away. "Really?" She deadpanned before turning to Cami. "We should go."

"I'm not finished." Cami shook her head before she looked between the three. "I resent the critique! I spent the last two years listening to every malicious thing Klaus has ever done, God knows what Jordanna's done. How many people have you killed, Jordanna?"

"Well, roughly, I wanna say ... over a thousand? Maybe, like, fifteen hundred."

"Definitely higher, remember, you and Caroline had that odd little competition going on and you went mad-"

Jordanna clicked her fingers at Klaus words, pointing at him as she nodded her head. "Yes! Oh, I forgot about that."

"See!" Cami pointed over at the pair. "You don't get it, Naomi, this is me now! I'm just like you."

Cami cupped Naomi's face in her hands. Jordanna and Klaus glanced at one another in curiosity before they turned back to the pair. It was like their very own TV show.

"I don't want you to be like me, Cami. It's not you."

Cami's face morphed into one of disappointment as she cupped Naomi's chin in her hand. "You're right-" But she stopped herself as she took advantage of Naomi's lowered guard and flicked her wrist, snapping her neck and allowing her body to crumple to the ground.

"It's better."

Just as Cami went to speed off, Jordanna sped over to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "That was very rude, Camille." The Jones pushed Cami's shoulders forward uncomfortably, inevitably popping her shoulders out of place before she snapped her neck.

Jordanna dropped Cami's body to the floor and stepped over her, making her way over to Naomi she grabbed her temporarily dead body and dragged her over to lean against the wall. "I mean ... where are the manners? You know? It's just rude. Jesus." Leaving Naomi leant against the wall, she sauntered back over to Klaus, linking her arm in his.

"You wanna get some food?"

・❥・

Jordanna clenched her jaw as she stood in the moving elevator. Her heel clicked against the floor incessantly, impatience ran through her blood as she turned to give Naomi a blank stare.

"Remember when I said you could eat her?" Jordanna asked rhetorically, referring to Camille. Naomi only sighed and shook her head in answer. "I wish you did it."

Just as Jordanna had sat down to get something to eat, Naomi, who had shortly woken from her ( temporary ) death, had rang Jordanna, asking her to do a locator spell — to find Camille ... Because she ran off ... again.

Jordanna was starting to think her toddler was better behaved than her.

The Jones vampire ran her tongue along her teeth in irritation just as the elevator dinged. She surged forward, stopping Camille in her tracks. A gracious grin fell upon her glossed lips as she watched Cami's face fall; a more agitated look painted across her face.

"Cami!" Jordanna grinned, widening her arms before she tilted her head and pointed a finger at her. "You just don't know how to stay in one place, do you?"

"You killed me." Cami scoffed, rolling her eyes as she nonchalantly tossed the dark object in her hand, but Jordanna snatched it out of her hand before she could do it once more.

"Oh, get over it, you pissed me off," Jordanna retorted before she glanced back at the, strangely, silent Naomi stood besides her. "Besides, you killed Nai first ... You're a very difficult person, do you know that?"

"Says it's a new outlook on life," Naomi spoke up, muttering her words as she spoke, dead eyes set of the blonde. "Goes on about free will and yet ..."

"What can I say?" Cami smirked, eyes flitting over to Naomi. "I've changed."

Cami turned to face Kinney, who instinctively backed away from her, but Naomi sped around to block her from getting any closer to the man.

"You're a fast learner, Cami, but don't test my patience."

Jordanna rolled her eyes as she watched the pair silently stare at one another, the tension was thick, so thick that Jordanna was suddenly praying for an earthquake to happen right that second so the large, overly expensive chandelier would fall on her head and knock her out, putting an end to her suffering.

Because she was near violently throwing up if she had to be in the same room as them for much longer.

Yikes.

Feeling a nauseating feeling brush over her, she rolled her eyes and turned, pressing the button on the elevator. Cami snapped out of her daze as the ding enveloped the room and she stepped away from Naomi, rushing toward the elevator as Jordanna stepped inside.

Jordanna smiled sweetly and wiggled her fingers in goodbye as Cami's angered face slowly disappeared from view.

"Jordanna!"

・❥・

Jordanna rubbed her temples as Cami chased after her into the compound. "You have no right! Those dark objects are my family's legacy."

"I'm pretty sure Kol made them, so, technically, they belong to the Mikaelsons," Jordanna snapped in frustration, stopping to face her.

"Give them back, or I will take them back, and I swear you will regret this moment," Cami threatened, sneering at Jordanna coldly.

Jordanna couldn't help but laugh in her face at her words. "Try me, Cami," she responded, tilting her head as she watched a line of crimson trickle from the O'Connell's nose. "You know, I'm all for women empowerment and shit, and I'm glad you have the strength to fight for yourself now, really, I am. But that strength in there," Jordanna's finger prodded Cami's chest. "Means shit to me. You seem to forget I'm stronger than you, do not piss me off, because you won't always have Naomi there to protect you and I'll kill you without thinking. Threaten me again and I will make you relive that pain you felt when you died, over and over again."

Cami scoffed, shaking her head at her words. "You're honestly deluded. You really believe you're better than me, don't you? Admit it."

"I am," Jordanna nodded. "Not to-"

"Can we not?" Naomi asked, tiredly shoving herself between the two just as Klaus' foot steps were heard down the stairs.

"Pray tell, what is it you are all doing? My son is trying to sleep, but he can't because of the very loud threats leaving his mother's mouth."

Jordanna rolled her eyes, "Have you fed him? He'll cry if you haven't fed him."

"Of course I fed him, Jordanna," Klaus rolled his own eyes before his gaze flitted back to Naomi and he rose his eyebrows in question.

"We're just leaving," Naomi sighed, moving to grab Cami's arm before the blonde shrugged her off.

"Let go of me! I am not going anywhere until I get my dark objects!"

"Yours? That's funny, I remember my brother Kol making them-"

"We've already been over that," Jordanna lowered her voice into a whisper.

"Right then." Klaus rolled his lips into his mouth. "Well, off you pop," he smirked amusedly and gestured them towards the door.

"Lets just go, okay?" Naomi tried once again to get Camille to budge, but she wasn't having any of it.

"You can't just force her to follow you around, Naomi." An exhausted and weary looking Hayley appeared behind them.

Naomi turned around, narrowing her eyes at the Marshall in annoyance.

"Finally! Someone who's on my side!"

Hayley gave Cami a look. "Oh, don't get me wrong — I remember when I turned, and you for sure shouldn't have a box of witch crap." She turned her attention to Naomi and gave her a small smile. "But you can't drag her around like a child, either. Let me talk to her."

Klaus huffed and leant against the wall as he turned his attention towards Jordanna, lowering his voice he spoke. "Great, now our house is hosting a women's empowerment meeting."

A small crack of a smile pulled at her lips.

"She died, Naomi, because she got caught up in the Mikaelson world." Jordanna's eyes involuntarily rolled and her jaw clenched at Hayley's words, but she kept her mouth clamped shut because she didn't want to snap at her. After all she did only just lose her husband. "Just like me. Just like Jackson. So yeah, she and I have a few things to talk about."

Naomi reluctantly nodded and watched as the blonde went off with Hayley, she turned as she felt a hand perch on her shoulders.

"Maybe talking to Hayley'll do her some good," Jordanna offered with a small shrug. "Hayley turned more recently, it's different if she talks to her about it than you."

"I guess," Naomi sighed before she faced the Jones and rose a brow in her direction. "Also, stop threatening her, Jordanna."

Jordanna held her hands up in surrender. "She threatened me first, Nai."

"You do know how childish that is, right?" She asked, watching as Jordanna started to walk off. "Do you hear how childish that is?"

Jordanna merely replied with a careless shrug as she sauntered away to tend to her son.

・❥・

"Okay, he literally won't stop crying, what have you done to him, Elijah?" Jordanna asked with a crying toddler in her arms as she entered the study.

She stopped herself short as Klaus drew her attention.

"What the Hell are you doing?" Jordanna voiced, watching as he frantically searched through the shelves and boxes in the study. "What is he doing? Has he lost his mind, or something?" She asked, leaning in towards Hayley.

"I haven't got a clue ..." Hayley trailed off in a confused daze as she watched him.

"All my efforts to protect and provide comfort for my family," Klaus muttered to himself ferociously, continuing his frantic actions.

"What the fuck?" Jordanna mouthed over to Hayley with wide eyes.

"Klaus, you're not making any sense," Elijah said worriedly, rubbing a hand across his forehead.

"The pale horse!" Klaus announced in frustration, turning to face the three.

"Right," Jordanna pursed her lips and nodded slowly. "Have you taken something? Did you pick up my witchy herbs? They're very strong, you know. They don't mix well with weak minded people-"

"Jordanna, please," Elijah held a hand out, silencing her.

Jordanna grumbled curse words under her breath and moved to take a seat behind Klaus' desk, she shushed and bounced the child on her lap in attempt to stop the tears.

"It isn't a constellation, nor is it a Biblical verse. It's a ... a trinket I made when we were children. A toy carved from kindling which I gave to Rebekah in hopes of easing her fears."

"English please," Jordanna chimed in. "What you're saying is literally going in one ear." She paused to do the hand gestures. "And out the other."

Elijah's face twisted in confusion. "I collected the firewood myself. It was fallen branches from everywhere, and ... the horse was made of the white oak."

Klaus, Hayley and Elijah all looked horrified at the revelation.

"The weapon is here."

"What weapon? What horse? What the actual fuck are you all on about? Hellooo? Can someone fill me in, please?"

・❥・

Jordanna had finally put Sebastian to bed, ensuring that Freya was watching over him as they searched through Jordanna's room. The Jones sighed in frustration as she popped her head up from behind the bed.

"I swear to God it was in here earlier," she said as she rose to her feet, brushing her knees clean of dust.

"No, she's right, I saw it," Hayley chimed in. "Seb had it. He tried to throw it at me ... I'm starting to think he hates me."

Jordanna huffed a laugh, "He's got good aim, that kid."

"When? When did you see it?"

"This afternoon. I swear."

Klaus sighed deeply. "Oh, I believe you. We're just here a little too late."

"What?" Jordanna asked as she picked up another toy from the floor and placed it on the cabinet.

"There's only one other person capable of deciphering the witch's riddle, the very same person whom I shared my memories of that night ..."

"No, no, no," Jordanna muttered ferociously under her breath. "Seriously!? This is why we don't have therapists, people! They're not trusted!"

・❥・

It was a little while later and Jordanna pushed open the door to Hayley's apartment, grumbling under her breath and cursing out Camille.

But her mumbles came to a stop as she caught the sight of Hayley, sobbing in the corner of the kitchen. Tears streamed down her face as she clutched one of Jackson's flannels in her hands.

"Oh, Hayley ..."

A deep breath left Hayley's lips before she opened her mouth to speak. "I've spent the last twenty-four hours being so angry at Tristan, at the Mikaelsons ... At Jackson, even, for always being so brave."

Jordanna said nothing, only slowly, yet silently, she made her way over to her.

"But then, I realised that I'm not angry. I'm not mad ... I'm just guilty." Hayley stated as tears brimmed her eyes. "I wanted to blame you, blame anyone ... but the truth is that my husband died because he loved me." She continued as she finally turned her attention from the floor to Jordanna, looking her directly in the eyes.

"Loving any of us is a death sentence ... Isn't it?" Hayley concluded as she began to silently cry again, tears streaking down her face. Like a broken angel. Jordanna stared at her in sympathy, not knowing what she could say to comfort the woman who had wormed her way into her heart since she was fifteen.

Jordanna silently stared at Hayley as she lowered herself to the floor besides her, Hayley quietly dropped her head onto Jordanna's shoulder, clutching Jackson's flannel tightly in her arms.

"I promise you, Hayley, I won't let anymore people you love get hurt." Was all Jordanna could say. Because, truth be told, she did feel guilty. While Hayley was planning on coming to New Orleans anyway, Jordanna had joined her and with that, all of Jordanna's problems became Hayley's. Something inside the younger vampire broke at the mere thought of it being her fault.

Author's Note!
JJ threatning to kill cami wasn't an empty threat it was fr, she would kill her but im not gonna allow it bc i need her to die a sad death so naomi gets sad xo

this season is so boring to write it's killing me

unedited because I don't want to put myself through reading this chapter again 😃