𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 30

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White. The heretic was met with a white ceiling when she finally opened her eyes. Anna groaned as she felt a lingering pain in her stomach. The brunette's eyes widened as she remembered what had happened.

The girl surveyed her surroundings and relaxed a bit. She was in her room that she occupied in the compound.

She swung her legs around the bed and finally stood up, she placed a hand on her night stand for support.

Shaking her head, the girl opened her bedroom door and walked out into the balcony. She heard Elijah making his way into the compound and quickly went to meet with him.

The heretic watched the original storm into his study with Marcel following closely behind.

"Hey, am I taking orders from you now, or are we in this together?" Marcel raised a brow at the Mikaelson. Elijah grit his teeth in frustration as he took off his shirt making the brunette's eyes widen, "Pen and paper, Marcellus. Now!"

"I want her back just as much as you do, you know... The both of them." Marcel left to get the supplies the vampire had asked for and Anna carefully walked into the room.

"'Lijah?"

The original vampire turned and relief washed over him seeing the young heretic finally awake. He wasted no time in reaching and embracing her in a tight hold. Anna felt her cheeks flush as she realized she was pressed up against his bare chest, slapping away her embarrassment she wrapped her arms around the vampire's waist.

"I was going insane without you by my side." Elijah placed his face into the crook of her neck. Anna tried to suppress the smile spreading onto her lips. She rubbed soothing circles with her hand onto the male's bare back.

The Martin heretic shivered when she felt Elijah's hot breath flush against her skin.

"What's happened?" she softly questioned. Elijah's mood dropped as he pulled away from the girl, "Celeste has taken Rebekah and Niklaus captive."

Anna staggered back, "So that's what Oliver meant." she thought out loud. Elijah furrowed his brows, "Who's Oliver?"

"A werewolf Rebekah was dancing with. He was talking about some deal he supposedly made but I was staked before I could find out anything more." she frowned at herself.

Elijah sucked in a sharp breath as he recalled the girls limp body.

Anna narrowed her eyes as she now realized all the names written upon the vampire's chest. "What the hell." she muttered as she softly ran a hand over his upper chest making sparks erupt by the touch.

"Sabine? What...?" the heretic's eyes went wide with realization, "They represent the names of the women Celeste inhabited for the past two centuries." Elijah told her.

"A Devinette." the girl muttered it's name as Marcel rejoins them handing the heretic a piece of paper and pen while speaking up, "It's old school. Kind of a riddle. Witches use them to teach their kids. Solve it, and it disappears."

"Now why the hell did she cast this upon you?" Anna glanced up at her soulmate.

"Celeste forced me to make a choice between yourself, Hayley and my siblings, and now she means to mock that choice, taunting me with a childish game. The longer the game, the more they suffer. To find Klaus and Rebekah, we need to solve this riddle. The solution lies somewhere in these names."

Anna frowned, she had been used against Elijah. Now, her two best friends were suffering hell knows what.

"The name next to Sabine... Annie La Fleur, she's the witch that was shunned from her coven just over a year ago. Never knew why, but I can find out."

Annalise paced the courtyard as Elijah and Marcel set out to find information on Celeste's past hosts. Hayley walked into the room, "All that pacing can't be good for you."

"Quite frankly, I don't care."

The heretic's phone finally rang and she rushed to answer the call from Elijah. Annalise's lips parted as she heard the vampire's voice explain what he had found.

"She killed herself?" Hayley gaped.

"Yes, drowned herself in the Mississippi, to be precise. Celeste was clearly tired of the body and ready to take Sabine's."

"How do you know?" Anna curiously questioned.

"Because she leaped to her death from the very location Celeste and I had our first kiss."

Anna clenched her jaw, "Ah so she's a poet. Fantastic."

"All these names, these lives, stolen that Celeste might take her revenge. I suppose we have no choice but to see where they take us. Anna, I have to go. I'll call you back."

Hayley quickly called out, "Wait!"

"What is it?" the original impatiently ushered.

"Ask Marcel if he knows anything about a name on that list, Brynne Deveraux. Sophie said that it was her family's bloodline that put the curse on the Crescent wolves, but Celeste said that she was the only one that could break it. If Brynne Deveraux was actually Celeste when she cast the spell, then maybe Celeste can still break it." Hayley hopefully explained.

"I'll see what he knows."

Anna looked down at the ground, "Elijah, I'm really sorry you're going through this. If I had known Celeste made you choose between-" but the vampire cut her off.

"You would have died in that fire, Anna. So would have Hayley and my brother's child. There was no choice. Given the chance again I would make the same one."

Anna made herself freshly brewed coffee before sitting down next to Hayley to find any information about the Clara witch.

The two scrolled through websites and documentaries as Elijah and Marcel reappeared before them.

"You were right about the Deveraux witch." Elijah muttered to the werewolf. Anna tilted her head curiously as Marcel spoke up, "Find anything about Clara, the mystery witch?"

"Well, we did. I'm not sure how helpful it is though. She was a nurse at the Fleur-de-Lis Sanitarium." Anna revealed but she noticed Marcel freeze once it was mentioned.

Hayley clicks on a picture of the witch and shows it to Elijah and Marcel, "Recognize her? Top row, second from the right."

"No, I don't. Marcel?" Elijah turned to face the other vampire and everyone could tell how alarmed he was.

"Marcel? Do I need to remind you that Niklaus and Rebekah are somewhere suffering horribly? If you know something, talk." Elijah narrowed his eyes at him.

Marcel clenched his fists, "The Sanitarium. That's where you'll find them."

Anna furrowed her brows before speaking up, "How do you know?"

"I just know."

Elijah took a step forward, "How do you know?" he repeated Anna's question.

"If I'm right, you need to know exactly what we're walking into. We did something, Rebekah and I... I think the witches are trying to use it against her. It was, uh... something that you're not gonna like."

Elijah went rigid at the mention of his father and the New Orleans fire in 1919. Anna stood from the couch and placed a gentle hand on his forearm in hopes to calm him.

"For the better part of a century, I have wondered how Father found us, what foolish mistake that we had made to destroy our time in the one place that we could finally call home. Did you know, I even blamed myself for a time, Marcellus?" Elijah grit his teeth.

"Elijah-" Hayley tried but the original ignored her.

"Niklaus treated you like a son." Elijah angrily spat at him. The only thing that was keeping him from lunging at the vampire was Anna's comforting hand on his arm.

"Rebekah. I loved her. I still love her. All we ever wanted was to be together, but as long as Klaus was around, that was never gonna happen. But hey, I guess you wouldn't know anything about that, huh?" Marcel sharply retorted with a cold glare.

Elijah shook his head, "When Klaus learns the truth, there will be no end to his rage. I will not let my sister suffer that wrath."

Anna frowned, if Klaus found out there would be no stopping him, and if Anna protected Rebekah he would no doubt see it as betrayal. No, she would not let Klaus rip apart his own sister, she knew in the long run if he ever permanently hurt Rebekah or even killed her he would never forgive himself. Klaus was too driven by his anger in the heat of things.

Marcel pursed his lips, "Then we need to get to them before he learns the truth."

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The three arrived outside the run down Sanitarium, "We should divide the building. Anna and I start at one end, you at the other." Elijah ordered the other vampire before taking off with the heretic by his side.

The two creeped into the eerie hallways that looked like they could collapse at any moment.

"You know this won't end well, 'Lijah." Anna spared a glance towards the original to see worry in his eyes.

Elijah pressed his lips into a firm line, "I know, but I can't let either of them tear each other apart."

Anna softly smiled, she admired Elijah's strength to attempt to keep his family together. Always stood by Klaus no matter what treacherous actions he had committed, and he always protected Rebekah.

Anna didn't know much about Kol's relationship with the three except that the youngest brother seemed to be closer with Rebekah than his older brothers, and best not mention Finn. It was clear as day that the eldest Mikaelson male did not get along with his siblings at all.

"Rebekah!" a loud voice boomed through the Sanitorium. Anna's eyes widened realizing it was Klaus.

"Oh no." Elijah muttered before picking up his pace and making his way to where the voice had come from. Anna ran quickly behind him, the anger in the hybrid's voice said all that needed to be about the situation at hand.

The two soulmates ran into a room where they saw Klaus aiming Papa Tunde's knife at Marcel with a vicious glare in his eyes.

Elijah quickly sped over and plunged the knife into the hybrid's own chest, "Go. Both of you. Run as far and as fast as you can. Run!"

Anna sees Rebekah and Marcel look at each other for a moment, "Get your bloody asses out that door!" the heretic yelled at them.

Within the next second, they were gone.

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a/n:

just wanted to leave a quick thank for all the votes and comments,

I truly appreciate them :)