Chapter thirty eight

Stefan

Bonnie continued probing and prodding his mind, desperate for a clue. Small or big we needed something to latch onto. Though he was in excruciating pain he continued to mock us. I glanced at a scowling Damon with fists clenched tight.

"Damon..." I began but he lunged forward and rammed his hand through Ethan's chest. I leapt forward, wrapped my arms around him, urging him to calm down. He grunted.

"Damon!" Bonnie snarled fixing her sight on him. "Let him go or we'll lose it all! DAMON!"

He released his hold on him and stumbled back wiping at his mouth. Ethan chuckled darkly, setting Damon off again and he charged. I yanked him back. "That's enough Damon! We need him alive!"

"Get him out of here!" Bonnie instructed, raising her voice. I placed a firm hand on his shoulder and directed him out. He grunted under his breath, mumbling insults. The basement was a wide and vast underground space. There were several rooms and barred cells, all old and haunted. In silence we meandered down the winding hallways, our footsteps bouncing off the walls, echoing until it was a slight murmur the further we walked away. We reached the stairs and zipped up, finally back in the light of the large parlour. The room was empty. I glanced around searching for the Mikaelsons. Far off in the corner Elijah was sat in his wooden chair with his head buried in a thick book. Without looking up he greeted the both of us.

"Rebekah and Marcel have flown off to follow a lead, they'll return shortly. Theo and Laura couldn't stand the torture so they went off for a walk upon my suggestion and just as our luck would have it, there's a human council that is aware of the supernatural so to say." He closed the book and smiled.

Damon shrugged and flopped back into an armchair, lifting his legs on the carefully crafted coffee table. I followed in after him. "Not another blasted council. What do they know?"

"I assume everything there is to know. Though, I suspect they are far more equipped than what used to be of Mystic Falls."

"Do you think they know of us?" I asked.

"Possibly." He deduced. He opened his mouth to speak but shortly closed it at the arrival of Noah. He took his seat on the windowsill as always. He said he enjoyed the view and it reminded him of how free he was. "Hello Noah, we're discussing the council."

"I spoke to Ben, apparently they're doing some sort of experimentation thing."

"What do you mean?" Damon queried.

"I'm not sure but it has to do with removing all vampires and werewolves from existence. Ben doesn't know much cause apparently Jayden hasn't earned the full right to know their secrets."

"Jayden?" I arched a brow.

"Some idiot from the wolf pack and he's working undercover to find out what they know."

"Looks like I'll be joining this council." Damon remarked. Noah looked out the window and froze. "What is it?"

He stammered, "she's here...Sophia-she-she's here. What do we do?!"

"Okay relax. We're going to stick to the plan, okay?"

I turned my attention to where he stared out. Movement from outside. Suitcases being dragged. Damon sensing the same thing jumped to his feet and zipped across the room.

I ran out the living room with him, hurrying to the front door. "They're not meant to return till tomorrow."

"Well brother, looks like they're early!" He swung the door open just as she was in the process of pressing the bell. "You're back!" He exclaimed like a little child, face full of light. She looked back and forth between us and smiled wide.

"I wanted to surprise you." Releasing the jacket in her hand she threw her arms around us.

"Glad you're back! We missed you." I effused, holding her a little tighter. Glancing over her shoulder, I passed Kol a warm smile. Patting our shoulders, he gave a gentle nod before passing us by and entering the living room with the luggage.

"What did I miss?" She said finally pulling away, wiping a little droplet from her right eye. Damon's hesitation alarmed her. She moved closer to the open living room, but he backed away, aiming to block her way. "Damon move out the way!"

He held up his hands. "Okay but before you go in there you should know something..."

"Oh, spit it out!" She snapped pushing him out her way.

"Klaus kidnapped a child and has been holding him hostage!" He yammered running after her.

"He did what?!" She raged barging into the room. Noah cowered in the corner, afraid she was going to hurt him. Her face slumped when she saw the boy. She turned back to us. "Why did you let him do that? Why did he?"

"To give the witches an incentive to work harder in finding Jameela. Duh!"

"Damon! Seriously!" She shot back. Ignoring his further comments, she stepped closer to the boy. "I am so sorry for what they did to you. You're going home today! I promise."

"Are you Sophia?" He asked in a small voice.

"Yes, I am and what's your name?"

"I'm I-I'm Noah." He fiddled with his sleeves.

"Noah I'm really sorry for what they did! I'll take you home today." She smiled and I watched how her smile disarmed him. He knew he could trust her, and she would stick to her words. "Where's Klaus?" She questioned turning back to me.

"He's in the basement...with Ethan-"

"Unbelievable!"

"Someone had to get the work done!" Damon replied in a haughty manner. "But listen, about Noah-"

Her fists balled up and she rocked back and forth on her heels, biting her lips. They opened then closed wanting to form words, but she had none to express what she thought and felt.

"Sophia, I assure you Klaus meant no harm to the child but indeed we will return him today." Elijah stepped forward. She ran her fingers through her hair and puffed out.

"Elijah...I'm sorry I didn't even see you there." She uncrossed her legs and strode over to him, pulling him into a hug.

"Good to have you back. There'll be order in this household at last." He chuckled.

"Yes, right after I beat your brother's behind for doing this!"

"There's no need for that love." Came his humorous voice.

She spun around. "Klaus! Don't you dare use a child as a pawn! Doesn't matter who you seek revenge from, never use a child! He's innocent! I'm taking him back to his family! I can't believe you did this again! The family should have stopped you!"

"Fine!" He said through gritted teeth. "I'll go with you."

She shook her head. "No, you will not. No one will. Frankly, I don't think he trusts you or his family. I'll take him!"

"You can't be serious!" Damon protested. "I'm sure that's what they want, for you to go alone."

"I don't care. I'm taking him home and that's final!"

"Take someone with you at least." Klaus pleaded, crossing the space between them, and taking her hands in his.

"I'll go darling." Kol offered. She turned her head to where he stood.

"No, it's fine. I'll take Freya. I'm going to change and then I'm taking him straight home and I will deal with this later. Whatever this is!" She retracted her hands from Klaus and marched out.

Sophia

Dropping my things on the floor, I slumped down on the bed and buried my face in my hands. Previously they killed a child, and I was paying the price. The harrowing thought of what was to come next disturbed me. Blowing out a couple of breaths I glanced around our room. Over a month and it was still left clean. I ran my fingers over the satin sheets. How I missed them, I thought to myself. I looked to my left where the A5 frame of Kol and I on our wedding day stood. The door opened and in popped Freya's head.

"Hey." I whispered.

Smiling, she floated in. Standing on my feet I hugged her tight. "I missed you." She murmured.

"Me too. I missed you all. They're not back, are they?" I asked, referring to Rebekah and Marcel.

"They'll be back before you know it! We need to leave if we want to beat traffic."

"Right. We need to get a move on." Grabbing my side bag, we walked out the room, closing the door behind me. Double checking I had my necessities I jogged down the stairs after Freya. Noah waited by the last step. On reaching the last step he side stepped and gave way. "Ready?" I asked with a smile. He nodded but remained silent. Freya grabbed her keys and led the way. I kept my eyes on Noah. If I was seeing right, he didn't want to go, his expression and the way he kept glancing back the family was proof.

He climbed into the back of the rover while I took the passenger seat. Strapping myself in, Freya started the engine and adjusted the rear-view mirror. The car rolled out the driveway and we began our journey.

"I called your mum Noah; she wasn't too happy with me." I stated.

"She doesn't like the Mikaelsons."

I gave a short chuckle. "Understandable. I really am sorry for what my family did. They're just protective and well, Jameela is not a good woman. Anyways, you're going home now so that's all that matters."

"I don't want to go back!" He blurted.

I turned my body as much as I could to get a view of him. "What?"

He huffed. "Look, at first Klaus kidnapped me but then he realised I actually want to help you guys because my family is insane! Your family have been so good to me, and I don't want to leave but we have a plan which involves me going home. Freya, I don't want to go back."

She frowned. "I know. I promise once this is all over, we'll take you back and you'll be free of them."

"Excuse me!" I interrupted their lovely conversation. "What exactly is going on? Answer truthfully!"

Noah took lead in answering instead of Freya. "Jameela is my gran, I've not really seen what body she's in now but she's working with the original pack to destroy you and your family. My mum for some reason hates you so I don't know what or why! I need to sell myself to them and their cause so I can find out the deeper reasons for why Jameela is doing this! It's so complicated but it-"

"It has to be done." Freya frowned again.

"It's dangerous and I'm sure we have bigger enemies than Jameela? By the looks of it, I can't deter you, can I?"

He shook his head.

I expressed a heavy sigh. "Fine. Just please keep us updated and don't keep anything away from me! Is there anything I need to know?"

He grinned. "Harlow and Ben are in on it too."

"Unbelievable!"

Freya laughed lightly.

"I leave for a month or so and this is what happens?" I turned back to face the road ahead. "I never expected this!"

"You and me both." She expressed.

"Where are we meeting her again?" I turned to face Freya.

Keeping her eyes on the road she passed me her phone. "Check the message. It's Earl's Court."

I scrolled down the messages. "Ah...costa. What did Klaus do that she can't trust us at all."

She scoffed. "It's Nik. He just needs to exist for people to despise him but whatever he-we did and do is for you."

I groaned. "I really wish you didn't."

"Well, you don't have a choice." She clucked, reversing into a parking bay. The seatbelts came undone, and we stepped out into the warm air. The light breeze brushed my cheeks as I slammed the car door shut. I glanced around. Unlike other days there were fewer civilians roaming around. "Okay, this is it people. Noah, keep safe!" Costa wasn't too busy like usual. Customers were spread around, engrossed in their own activities. I wasn't sure who I was on the lookout for. I didn't need to. Noah ran to his mother the moment he saw her. She wrapped her arms around him and sobbed hard.

"My baby my baby..." she weeped, holding his face in her hands. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay mum." He chuckled lightly. "I'm back and that's all that matters." He sold it well. He played the lost boy returned to his mother exceptionally. Something about his mother hit home. I felt like I knew her. A sudden sense of darkness gripped me. I turned to Freya who wore a strained smile. She too felt the same. We edged closer but the mother and son pulled away. Wiping away her tears, Tina turned her body towards Freya and I. Tina? Who was she? When did Jameela have another daughter?

"Thank you for bringing him back. I apologise for how I handled things, but you know my anger was justified. They took my son."

I shifted ever so slightly in my spot. "I understand and I am so sorry again." She shrugged off the apology, took Noah's hand and started to walk away. "Wait!" I called out. She turned and looked back at me and those eyes. Those big, earnest eyes hurt my heart. "Do we know each other?"

She shook her head, grabbed Noah, and departed.

Freya's shoulders slumped and she ran her hand over her head. "That could have gone worse...something's off or maybe I'm being paranoid as typically as can be."

I puffed out cold air. "Let's just get out of here. Suddenly I'm in no mood for a hot chocolate." She followed me out the shop. On my way out I collided with an enthralling, blonde haired woman. "I'm so sorry."

She had a hand on my arm. "It's okay." Letting her slip by and into the coffee shop, I walked on.

"Something's wrong. I can feel it." Freya was fidgety, eyes darting left to right.

"It's that woman, isn't it?" I asked fiddling with my ring.

"I don't know." Closing her eyes, she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Whatever it is we have to find out. Better safe than sorry."

I chewed at my bottom lip lost in thought. I had a tiny inclination. I opened my mouth to speak but I erupted into a coughing fit. I cleared my throat several times in an attempt to redeem myself, but the coughing wouldn't stop. Unexpectedly, I began gasping for air, clawing at my throat. It was as though my airways were blocked. I tried to hack up whatever it was that obstructed my airway. Freya placed her hand firmly on my back as I bent over continuing to gag, rubbing my back in and upwards and downwards motion but to no avail. The coughs grew heftier and more gurgled. Hot tears leaked out my eyes.

"Sophia what's-what's happening...." her words were barely registrable. Thick chunks of dark, gooey blood spluttered out and dripped down my mouth. The pain was so intense, all-consuming, I no longer knew where I was. She pulled me to one side and sat me down, stopping the loud screams. She fumbled around in her bag in search of something, tears flooding. Through the blurry vision I could make out the tiny beads of sweat that decorated her forehead. I could see her opening her mouth and I knew she was speaking but I couldn't make out a single word. She pressed my back against the bench and wiped at my mouth with a handkerchief.

"Sophia!" Her voice brittle. My senses snapped back into focus. Her words became clear and sharp. "What's happening?" Her fear and panic was distressing. The coughing fit settled, and I lolled my head back, steadying my breathing.

"I'm dying." I finally managed in a raspy voice.

There was a great incredulity in her wide stare. As if she couldn't grasp the severity of what I declared. Her eyes were riveted. "I'm dying Freya and there's nothing you or anyone can do..."

She shook her head. "No. We can fix you. We'll fix you." she whipped out her phone but before she could do anything I whacked it out her hand.

"You don't understand Freya! You can't fix this...Qetsiyah already tired and the best she could do was give me a year."

"I don't understand?" She creased a brow.

"When my brother and your brother killed...k-killed that child it sealed my fate. Genevieve knew you'll react in such a way so she-call it a curse or what you wish, she ensured that no matter who you killed, I die as a result indefinitely. Nothing can save me, there's no spell on this earth that can save me..." that's when I broke down and fell apart. "I don't want to die...at first I- I was ready and I accepted it, but now all I can think about is how much I want to survive! I have everything! Everything I've ever wanted. A love, a family and friendship and I thought what I built-it could not break and that there's nothing that could break it up but...it all fell down..." I wiped furiously at my unending tears.

"We'll find a way!" She said through gritted teeth. I looked up at her with sad eyes. Tears stained her face, but she refused to accept my fate and our defeat. "I won't let them have their way!" She sneered. "We will find a way!"

Slowly I rose to my feet and reached for her. "I'm sorry. There isn't and I wish so bad that there was."

She took my hands and gave them a squeeze. She was a trembling mess. "We have to tell them."

I shook my head side to side. "No please Freya, we can't. I beg of you, please don't utter a single word."

She stood still with tears in her eyes that now lacked the brightness she always adorned. Yet she refused to accept defeat. In silence she turned and walked to the car, opened the door, and slid in. In slow, laboured steps I followed, slipping into the passenger seat. I glanced at her, terrified. She gripped the steering wheel and fell apart. Her sobs cut through me. Resting my hand atop hers stirred her movements and she turned her head to face me, biting at her lips while she trembled and silent cries left her. "Freya..."

"I'm sorry but I refuse to accept this! I will find a way, I promise."

I let out a long heartfelt sigh then spoke. "You can't worry about that now. Let's focus on Ethan first."

"I can do both!" She snapped but soon after regretted it. "I'm sorry...I'll get you something to help ease the pain." She attempted a brave smile, but she was enormously rueful. "Have the nightmares and visions stopped?"

Wiping away the tears, I gave her a smile. "They're gone."

                                 •

Our journey home was brutally silent. I could only assume what was going through her mind. No doubt she was drawing up several plans and ways to save me. Once she parked the car, feeling stronger I jumped out and hurried for the house. Before reaching the steps, the wide doors opened and Kol stood before me. "Hey." I whispered, wrapping my arms around his neck as he pulled me into his chest.

"What took so long?" He questioned, his breath warming me and sending pleasant feelings all through me.

"We got carried away talking." Freya replied as she joined his side.

"Hello sister." He greeted with a smile. "I see things went swimmingly with returning the child."

She turned her attention to me. I could feel my heart thunder against my ribcage, threatening to expose me. "That's one way to put it." She forced a smile. Calming myself down, I tugged Kol back into the house, occasionally glancing back at Freya and pleading her to keep quiet.

"You're back!" Damon exclaimed as we entered the living room.

"Missing me already big brother?" I rolled my eyes at him but hugged him tight once he approached me. "I know of your plans and how the boy actually means something to you." I teased. He pulled away and I peeked over his shoulder at Stefan. "What's got you boys in a sour mood?"

"Ethan." Stefan grunted. Stepping away from Damon I crossed the floor and hugged him tightly. I knew I needed my brothers and to be comforted by them. It haunted me to know I'll leave them knowing it'll destroy them. I held onto Stefan. The shrill whispers were still there, still hanging over him, but it was okay. They did not have power over me anymore. They continued to berate me the longer I held my brother.

"What's Ethan saying?" I asked, pulling away and turning my body to face everyone else present in the room.

"He's working with Jameela and as far as we know it was a man that turned him. The rest is blocked. Bonnie can't get through his mind."

I scoffed. "Classic Jameela. Using the spell, I taught her. Don't worry I can break him."

Damon stepped back into view. "You see that's the thing! That's what he wants. He wants you and only then will he speak."

"Done. Let's get down there-" I began to swagger out only to be yanked back in a twirl. "Kol!"

"You're not listening darling; we don't want you down there with him."

I shrugged his hands off me. "I don't care. I can take care of myself. He'll speak to me and if he doesn't, I'll just use my magic. Besides, whatever it is I'll siphon it away."

Damon and Stefan glared at me. Elijah cleared his throat and side-stepped. "I do agree with them on this one Sophia. He is not to be trusted."

"I see and understand all your concerns, but you just have to trust me on this one. The sooner we find out what Jameela has planned, the better. We can put her to an end and get on with our lives!" I turned on my heels and marched out.