CHAPTER NINE | THE DEVIL IS DAMNED 

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THANKFULLY, REBEKAH HAD RETURNED TO NEW ORLEANS IN THE BODY OF A WITCH. It was not that body that anyone had anticipated, that being Angelica Barkers, though the Mikaelson family were revealed that the Original was very much alive and well. Once she returned, she had also explained that she was trapped in the Fauline Cottage where a witch had helped her escape. However, Rebekah learned that her accomplice had turned out to be their long lost, older sister, Freya Mikaelson. 

"That is just not my chin, Nik." Riley and Elijah heard Rebekah speak down the phone as they prepared to discuss Freya. "It was much more delicate."

"The only delicate thing about you, sister, is your ego." The Hybrid retorted back in his usual tone of voice that caused Riley's eyes to roll. 

"When placed beside the behemoth size of yours, certainly."

A chuckle escaped Klaus' lips as his sister's remark, though Elijah didn't seem too impressed by the lack of production. "Could we dispense with this fascinating dispute for just a moment and return to the subject of our supposed long-lost sister?"

"Yeah. To be honest, I was rather intrigued. That was until you both started comparing the sizes of your egos." Riley trailed off, her eyes fixed on Elijah's phone which was on loudspeaker and laid on the table in front of them. "Then, I got bored."

"Well, there's not much to discuss. She said she was Freya and then darted off into the night."

Elijah continued to fold up one of Hope's many baby blankets whilst Riley raised an eyebrow. "And, you believe her?"

"I met the girl in a mystical loony bin. She could be anyone telling any lie, but she did seem familiar somehow." Rebekah's voice trailed off.

"Then how is she still alive?" Klaus snapped again. It was clear he hated the idea of family members being impervious to death. "A question as ridiculous as it's possible solutions, given this family's annoying predilection for cheating death."

"I don't know, Nik. I'm just telling you what she said."

Another irritated sigh left Klaus' lips. "Well, did you happen to ask, if by some similar miracle, our Aunt Dahlia lives, as well?"

"I barely had a chance to process—" The Mikaelson girl was quickly cut off by the Hybrid's fury once more.

"—Because on the list of obvious questions, it would be nice to know if the woman who placed a curse on the firstborns of this family is still breathing air!"

"Stop!" Riley snapped before either of the two could continue their argument. "Do you seriously think you two arguing about this is gonna help the situation? What's done, is done. Best thing we can do now is work out a solution."

"Riley is right." Elijah offered the strawberry-blonde a sincere smile before he stepped back over toward his phone. "If she is who she says, we'll find out soon enough. For now, it remains imperative that no one learns of Hope's existence. This has been our salvation thus far."

"Unless Hayley's husband-to-be started flapping his gums. Perhaps I should take preventative measures and separate him from his head."

"Sure. Yeah, go ahead. Because that's the right way to get people on side. Especially if your Aunt Dahlia is alive." Riley scoffed at Klaus' threat whilst Elijah rolled his eyes. 

"Jackson will do nothing to jeopardise that wedding."

"Hayley's getting married?" Rebekah's immediate gasp echoed through the speakerphone. "Well, what in hell else did I miss?"

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"So, let me get this straight. You've met someone?" Riley's mouth hung open in amazement as she sat on the front porch of the house with her phone pressed up against her ear. "Ugh. Am I gonna have to start calling him Grandpa?"

"It's not that serious, sweetheart. Relax." Gwen chuckled softly once she heard Riley sigh in relief. "His name's Gordon, and he makes me happy. That's all."

The witch couldn't help the smile that had drifted across her lips. "You know what, despite me making jokes and stuff, I am actually really happy that you're happy, Grandma. You deserve to be happy." 

"Thank you, Riley. But, enough about me— how are you doing? Are you enjoying New Orleans?"

"I'm, uh— I'm actually doing really good." Riley's eyes flickered into the house where she saw Elijah in the kitchen, preparing what appeared to be, breakfast. 

"What's his name?" Gwen immediately asked, causing the witch to furrow her brows. "Come on, Riley."

A scoff left the witch's lips. "Why does there have to be a guy involved? What if I'm just genuinely happy for once?"

"I didn't say there had to be a guy involved. But, I know my granddaughter, probably a lot better than you think that I do." Gwen admitted in her usual I'm-right-you're-wrong tone of voice. "Now, you don't need to tell me, but at least answer one question."

"Does he make you happy?"   

"Yes."

"Well, then that, my darling, is all I needed to hear you say." Gwen innocently spoke whilst Riley exhaled once more. "I'd better go, Gordon is coming over. I'll call you soon. I love you."

"I love you, too. Bye." Riley ended the call with her grandmother, slipped her phone into her pocket and stood up. She took a deep breath to compose herself before she headed back into the house. As she did, the sound of Hope's cries filled her ears. "Woah. Everything okay?"

Cami held Hope tightly within her arms, cradling the innocent whilst she cried just as Elijah sped into the room. "She yanked the tablecloth, and that knickknack fell on her." Elijah's eyes were drawn to a small cut on Hope's head, which oozed a small amount of blood. "It's just a scratch."

During Hope's crying and the smell of the blood that had swept around him, Elijah began to panic. His breathing became erratic and he began to step back, shakily. 

"Elijah?" Riley whispered, though unable to reach him. "Elijah!"

The Original vampire suddenly snapped back to reality, his eyes flickered up to her with a guilty look. "Yes. Forgive me." 

"It's a trigger." Cami spoke nonchalantly after Riley had found a small, pink band-aid and carefully placed it over Hope's cut. "You pulled yourself back, which is improvement, for sure. But, we can't ignore the fact that your mind clearly went elsewhere. It's very common in traditional PTSD patients."

"Right, so what's the fix?" Riley asked toward the blonde once she set Hope down.

"Well, you've done the work to face your atrocities. The truth is, it's just going to take some time to settle."

"And you believe you have the power to resolve this?" The Mikaelson raised an inquisitive eyebrow toward Cami.

"It's not the easy. There's no—" She snapped her fingers together. "—and you're fixed. In cases like yours, sometimes not dwelling is more productive than examining it through the minutia of therapy, staying mentally busy instead of physically. This house, though charming, is completely falling apart." She handed a list toward Elijah of things that needed fixing.

"So, this is your solution? Mend the home, mend the man." It was clear that as his eyes scanned down the long list Cami had prepared, Elijah was skeptical. 

"It's worth giving it a shot, right?" Riley asked, encouragingly. 

"Or we could go fishing and I could tell you about the summer I lost my virginity."

"I'll mend the home."

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Cami and Riley had chosen to take a trip to the Farmers Market, and the two had spent the day buying groceries. It was a nice time-out, as Riley liked to call it— time away from being prisoners kept in solitary confinement. Cami wandered around the array of Apples, whilst Riley felt her phone vibrating in her back pocket.

As she pulled it out, she slid the bar to the left to accept the call from Klaus. "Hello—"

"—Why the hell haven't you or Elijah been answering your phones?" The Hybrid snapped irritably the moment he heard Riley's voice. 

"Uh, perhaps because I'm in the middle of nowhere and the signal is dreadful." The witch rolled her eyes. "What's wrong?" 

The call began to fade in and out, Riley could barely make a word of what Klaus was trying to tell her. "—I don't know. Where's—"

"I can't hear you." Riley tried walking into a more open stop in an attempt to hear him, but all she heard was static. "Klaus? Klaus, can you—" The three beeps indicated that the call had failed. "Wonderful."

"Did you know Elijah fed Hope his blood to heal the cut on her head?" Cami interrupted Riley's panicking the moment she wandered over with Hope. "It's completely healed."

"We need to get going. I just had the weirdest call from Klaus. I have never heard him that panicked before." Riley and Cami began to hurry toward the SUV, whilst the witch frantically tried to text Klaus again. 

"What's happened?" 

"I— I couldn't hear him. But this damn signal out here makes it nearly impossible to do anything!" The witch irritably grumbled again. She placed her phone up to her ear, but it refused to connect the call. "Damn it!"

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Riley had tried to call Elijah more times that she could even count. Every single time she reached his voicemail, and every time she heard it, she panicked a little more. "Come on, Elijah. Answer your phone." The witch snapped.

"Riley, just try to relax." Cami offered Riley a sympathetic look, but even she knew that the situation was obviously severe. 

"I can't." The witch was quick to snap back as she tapped Elijah's contact once more. Another irritated grunt left her lips as she was returned straight to the Original vampire's voicemail message. 

As they continued to drive up toward the long and never-ending drive toward the safe house, the electrics of the car immediately shut off. Both girls looked at each other, startled by the situation. "Uh—" Cami furrowed her brows once the car came to a halt. "What the hell?"

"What did you do?" Riley asked pointedly as Cami continued to attempt to turn the vehicle back on. 

"It wasn't me. I swear." 

"Well, I don't think—" Before Riley could say anything further, all they saw in the distance was the entire house blow up right before their eyes. Riley had never seen anything like it, and in that moment, she was filled with immense panic. "Oh, my God. No..."

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AN: 
Kind of a short chapter, but I always find it hard writing the chapters were Elijah and Cami are at the safe house. 
Also, can we just appreciate how adorable Gwen is? I love writing her sm