CHAPTER THIRTEEN | THE FEAST OF ALL SINNERS

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THEY LISTENED CAREFULLY TO THE PLAN THAT VINCENT WAS ABOUT TO PROPOSE, AND RILEY KNEW SHE WOULD HATE IT. She knew that whatever he was about to suggested, it was going to be drastic because, as much as she hated it, that was the position they were currently in. They needed a miracle, a hail mary— anything. And, that's what Vincent's plan would be: The only option. 

"The Hollow has been haunting New Orleans for centuries." Vincent explained as they all stood in the courtyard. "It's an unending evil. Its appetite for power is insatiable, and that's what's attracted it to those little girls." 

"You said there was a way to save them?" Klaus immediately stated. 

"There is. But, I'm gonna tell you right now, you are not going to like my plan." Vincent looked between all of them as they remained silent. "Step one: We pull The Hollow outta' Hope. Step two: We find someplace else to put it. But, with the book gone, I need a place that's both powerful and eternal. And, in order to make the transition work, I'm gonna need something that's connected to Hope through blood."

"You need a vampire." Freya slowly began to put the pieces together in her mind. "You wanna put The Hollow into one of my siblings?"

Vincent shook his head. "One ain't gonna cut it. I'm gonna need four of 'em."

"Four?" Riley echoed in complete disbelief as she narrowed her gaze to Vincent. "Why four?"

"Well, 1500 years ago, when The Hollow was first killed, they divided her remains. Four bones, four volunteers, four different locations. That's how we're gonna beat The Hollow now."

"Transfer The Hollow's power into four immortal vampires, and—"

"—And, then just send us on our way?" Rebekah trailed off from her sister with a look of disgust on her face. She couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. 

Klaus nodded with a look of understanding. "So the evil is drawn, quartered and seperated for all time." 

"And, you have to go your separate ways. And, you have to stay separate for all time." Vincent explained further as Elijah anxiously looked between his siblings. "You can never see each other again. You can never go near each other again. That is the only way that we're gonna beat The Hollow."

"Well, if it will save those little girls, then we will make it so." 

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Riley watched as Elijah made a large slice on his palm to collect the blood that Vincent had requested whilst Rebekah sat beside her, placing her head against Riley's shoulder. Freya, however, remained seated at the desk and desperately looking through grimoires for another way.

Once Elijah had collected his blood in a small vial, he stepped over to Rebekah and held out the knife. Her eyes lingered on it for a moment, then up to him. "Vincent needs our blood."

"Right. All four of us, and Kol isn't answering his bloody phone." Rebekah retorted as a heavy sigh escaped Elijah's lips. "He's finally got a chance at happiness, and we're asking him to come home and play host to a quarter of a demon!"

Freya shook her head. "There has to be another way."

"And, what if there isn't another way?"

"I can't believe this is happening. I'm usually the first one who wants to run off on my own, and— and now I don't have a say in the matter. I'm feeling quite perturbed." Rebekah exclaimed once more, anxiously as Riley placed her hand against her knee. 

"Hope and Avery are all that matters." Elijah spoke with a stern voice toward his sister.

"This is not happening!" The Mikaelson witch lifted herself up from her seat with a frustrated sigh. "I will not let this family be split apart. I'm going to the bell tower, and I'm going to go through more of mother's grimoires."

"Freya." Riley began, only to have the witch ignore her as she left. She understood why Freya was so upset. She had spent her entire life trying to find her family, only to spend less than a handful of years with them before they were forced apart.

"Elijah, you know how it feels to be apart. At first, the freedom is exhilarating, and then one day, inevitably, you wake up with that pit in your stomach. That dull, aching feeling of missing the only people who know you."

He knew exactly what his younger sister was talking about. "Until that very ache threatens to consume you entirely."

"For a thousand years, we have been honouring a vow to stand together. Being forced to separate feels like torture." Rebekah emotionally admitted as her voice broke and her body slumped into Riley's hold again. 

"Well, we still have the problem of Kol." The Evans girl spoke up as she looked to the man she loved. "What if he doesn't come in time? Then, Hayley will have to take his place."

"Kol will come. Niklaus will be with his child." Elijah nodded. "The three of them must remain together."

"And, what about Nik? On his own. No family." As Rebekah raised the point of Klaus, Elijah sighed heavily. "You know very well that without you around, he will go mad!"

"We have no other option, sister."

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Marcel managed to find Hope and bring her back to the compound unconscious and unharmed with anti-magic shackles around her wrists. The shackles prevented Hope from doing magic, which also prevented her from draining Avery, at least for the time being. Whilst the Hollow was still in Hope's body, Avery was still very much at risk. 

But, it turned out that Vincent was keeping a very large chunk of information a secret from them. One The Hollow was placed into Hope, the Mikaelsons had to keep away from each other forever. Klaus would never be able to see his daughter again. And, Elijah would never be able to see Avery. 

Once Riley made sense of what Hayley was telling her, she broke down. The Hollow had made enough of a connection to Avery, that just a part of it near her could manifest the connection again and kill her. Of course, Elijah would never risk that, but it meant it would tear Riley and Elijah apart.

"I— I don't want to think about doing this without you." Riley whispered softly as her forehead pressed against his. Her arms wrapped around his neck whilst his hands fell at her waist. "How the hell do we do this?"

"I hear long distance isn't too bad." Elijah joked, despite the pair were desperately holding back the tears.

"Long distance." Riley sighed in disbelief as she brushed Elijah's tear away from his cheek. "I can't be with you, but I can't be without you. Classic me."

Elijah exhaled and grabbed hold of Riley's hand, stepping back slowly. "Riley, I promise you that we will be together again. I do not know when, but we will." He whispered softly.

"I know." She nodded. "God. This is not how I thought our lives would end up, but I'm so glad I got to spend just a fraction of it with you. I have loved you through everything, and I promise, I will love you through this." Riley passionately pressed her lips against Elijah's, knowing it would be for the last time. It was a feeling the both of them wanted to remember for the rest of their lives, because it would be the only thing that would get Riley through it. "I love you, Elijah Mikaelson."

"I love you, Riley Mikaelson." He mumbled softly against her lips as he brushed her hair behind her ear. He held onto Riley's hand and walked with her down the the courtyard, where they were about to perform the spell. 

"Uh, Kol. If you would, right there." Vincent pointed to one corner of the square he had drawn on the ground. "Rebekah. Perfect, right there."

"What the hell are you doing here?" She venomously muttered once she saw Marcel enter the compound gates. "You come to gloat?"

"No. I came to make sure this works."

"Elijah, I need you right there at the top." At Vincent's request, Elijah took his place at the square. He finally let go of Riley's hand, sparing once final glance for her. "Klaus, right there for me, please. And, we are ready. I just wanna say that what you guys are doing here today is gonna go a long way toward setting things right in this city. The Hollow took everything away from me. It inspired nothing but suffering and torment. It's ruined families. It's gone after little kids. And yet, here and now, despite all of our differences, and there are many— thank you."

"The savage Mikaelson's heroically defeating a terrible evil." Rebekah scoffed quietly as she shook her head. "Maybe this will finally earn us our redemption."

"Do any of us really believe that?" Klaus smirked.

"Not for a second. It's a wonderful sentiment." Elijah softly spoke back, though his eyes lingered on Riley again. 

"Hayley, when I tell you to, I want you to take the manacles off. Hold onto Hope, do not let her ago." Vincent instructed as he and Freya kneeled down at the side of the square whilst Riley sat with Avery, who remained asleep. "Everybody else, when this spell is over you gotta get away from each other and you have to stay away from Hope and Avery."

Rebekah took a deep breath and swallowed thickly. "Always and forever. We had a good run."

"Diviser. Diviser ak konkeri." As Vincent began to chant, the wind inside the compound became supernatural. It began to gust through at incredible speed. "Diviser ak konkeri.  Diviser ak konkeri. Chire apa ak po. Ak konkeri. Ak po." Vincent glanced to Hayley. "Hayley, do it now. Do it now, Hayley!"

Without hesitation, Hayley managed to get the manacles off of her daughters wrist and placed them in the ground. As soon as the manacles were off, The Hollow's spirit shot out of her and remained in the air above them. After a few moments, it divided into four and then split into the Mikaelsons. The force of The Hollow's spirit entering them caused all four to gasp loudly.

"I can hear it... whispering." Rebekah anxiously spoke as she began to catch her breath.

"Okay. You guys need to go." The Griffith witch ordered. The Mikaelson siblings exchanged looks, but were reluctant to move. "Now!" Immediately, Kol disappeared, followed quickly by Rebekah. 

Elijah hesitantly turned on his heels to look at Riley, who held Avery asleep in her arms. "I love you so much." He smiled shortly before he disappeared, too. 

"I need to know she's alright." Klaus told Vincent, desperately to stay until he knew his daughter was okay.

"Klaus, I promise you, she is going to be okay if you go." Vincent told him. Riley saw the look in his eyes— the pain at the thought of leaving everyone he loved. Leaving his daughter.

"It's okay, baby. You're okay." 

Hope regained consciousness and sat up in Hayley's arms, noticing Klaus was stood a short distance away from her. "Daddy? What's happening?" 

"Hope. I love you." And with that, he was gone.

Hope's screaming for her father was what managed to stir Avery awake. Her eyes flickered open as she sat up and looked around the compound. "What happened?" She whispered softy as she noticed Riley's tearstained face. "Where's Dad?"

"Avery, we need to have a little talk, baby."

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A few months had passed since Elijah and Riley were forced apart, and a lot had changed. Hayley and Riley had decided to enrol the girls into the Salvatore School, hoping they would get a chance at some normalcy despite all of the crazy in their life. And, whilst Avery had her classwork to keep up with and friends to play with, Riley would check in on the man she loved.

Marcel had told her that Elijah had asked him to compel away his memories of his family, of Riley— of everything. The Mikaelson was scared that his love for family would put Avery or Hope in danger, and so, like always, he was doing what she thought was right to protect the family. For a while, Riley hated Elijah for getting Marcel to compel away his memories, but then she understood. Because, that was the kind of man he was. 

She had heard Elijah was living in Manosque, the same place he desired to take her and Avery. She knew there was some piece of his subconscious still left, despitely clutching onto his memories.

And, no matter how long it would take, fate would bring them back together.

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