Chapter 1.30
Who's he?" Bonnie asked.
"Oh, he's Elijah Mikaelson," Orion replied casually.
Bonnie looked at him, stupefied. "You brought an original Vampire into our house?"
"Don't worry," Orion reassured her. "He wasn't invited in. He'll be kicked out once he regains consciousness, which won't be for a few hours." His tone remained nonchalant despite the unusual situation.
"By the way," Orion said, his tone brooking no argument, "I have somewhere to be right now. I need you to do me a favor and keep an eye on him. Give me a call or shoot me a text when he wakes up." With that, he left the house, leaving Bonnie with an unexpected responsibility.
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Orion made his way over to the tomb. Upon entering, he was greeted with the sight of Katherine, dressed in a cocktail dress, appearing tired, hungry, and disheveled.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen, isn't that right, Katerina?" Orion remarked, gazing at the weary vampire before him.
Katherine mustered a tired smirk and replied in a snarky tone, "Well, well, Orion. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? Come to mock me in my misery?"
Hmm..." Orion gave her a once-over and replied, "Quite the opposite. I'm here to help."
Katherine seemed surprised but regarded Orion suspiciously. "And why do you want to help me after I attacked your friends?"
"Oh, please, Katherine," Orion responded, "those people are not my friends, and you know what they say – the enemy of my enemy is my friend."
"It's time to get down to business," Orion declared. "I've discovered something interesting about you. The night when we first met, and you attacked me, I took some of your blood for personal reasons. When I tried to track you down, it pointed in a different direction, away from Mystic Falls."
"Okay, and?" Katherine responded with a calm tone.
"Well, this means you have a direct descendant," Orion stated. "I believe that when you were still human, you had a daughter born out of wedlock, who was given up before you were banished." Orion kept his gaze fixed on Katherine, waiting for her reaction.
"Big whoop, you did your research about me. What's it got to do with why you're here?" Katherine said with a slightly hostile tone, old buried memories resurfacing.
"Patience, Katerina, I'm getting there," Orion responded calmly. "When a witch does a tracking spell, the blood used will track down the person they are looking for and their direct descendants. So, what do I find when I perform the spell? Dear old Nadia, alive and well with the travelers. And don't doubt me on this; I did my research." Orion took a manila envelope from his backpack and revealed pictures of Nadia, a summary of her life, and how she became a vampire searching for her.
"Your daughter is alive, well, undead, as she is a vampire now, but all the same, she's been looking for you for about 400 years of life. But you were always on the run, never staying in one place for too long, killing those who got in your way. So when she thought she finally found you, you were already gone," Orion explained, his gaze fixed on Katherine's eyes, searching for any flicker of emotion. He noticed hope and, strangely enough, love in her eyes.
"You're a survivor, Katherine. I admire that about you," he added, acknowledging her.
Katherine's expression remained guarded, but Orion could sense the complexity of emotions swirling within her. She cleared her throat and finally spoke, her voice tinged with vulnerability, "You have no idea what it's like, Orion, to live for centuries, constantly running, always fearing for your life. Nadia... she deserves better."
Orion nodded empathetically, understanding the weight of her words. "I'm not here to judge, Katherine. I'm here to offer you a choice. Nadia is out there, searching for her mother. You can decide whether to reconnect with her or continue down your path. But remember, the world is changing, and you might not always be able to run."
Orion tossed a flip phone onto the table, already programmed with his number, alongside a blood bag. "The phone's got my number in it. Call when you're ready to make a deal," he instructed, his voice firm.
As Orion left, he received an SOS text from Bonnie, alerting him that his guest had woken up. He quickly checked the message and sighed, realizing he had to deal with the situation at home before pursuing his next move with Katherine.
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Hello, Mr. Mikaelson," Orion greeted as he spotted Elijah in his backyard.
Elijah turned to face Orion, his demeanor calm and collected despite the unexpected encounter. "Orion," he acknowledged.
"Let's get to it," Orion said. "How are the siblings?"
Elijah replied, "Still as lively as ever, but they weren't at the bottom of the ocean floor. It was a ploy by Klaus to get under my skin. After a few scuffles and fights, we ended up resolving things. Klaus should also be here in a few days."
Orion looked surprised but not entirely caught off guard. "Well, I expected that," he admitted, a sense of readiness in his demeanor. He knew that dealing with the Mikaelsons always came with a degree of unpredictability,
Elijah regarded Orion with a measured expression. "You always seem to be one step ahead, Orion," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Did you perhaps envision this?"
"No," Orion replied, shaking his head. "I know your character well enough to guess what you would do."
"Interesting," Elijah said
"I fulfilled my part of the deal, so I expect you to do so as well, or else you'll suffer the consequences," Orion warned, his gaze unwavering.
Elijah met his stare and replied, "Don't worry, Orion, I'm a man of my word, and you'll get the grimoire soon enough."
Elijah nodded in acknowledgment and stood up, ready to depart.
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Orion prepared to settle in for the night when his phone suddenly rang.
"Hello?" Orion answered.
Katherine's voice came through, unwavering, as she said, "Let's seal the deal," and then hung up.
Orion realized it was time to move forward with his plan, and he couldn't help but ponder how this alliance would play out in the end.
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1020 words
What if Matt had become a vampire at some point in the series?