The Originals

**Flashback**

"Silence!"

The chaotic long table fell into silence with the booming voice of Louis—the patriarch of the family. They were having a meeting because the plague had been spreading far and wide and thousands of people had been dying.

Louis scanned his children from the head of the long table, his eyes were full of worry that his children would not be spared from the illness that had taken over their town and the other neighboring towns and cities.

"What they are offering is ridiculous! It cost more than the life of my wife!"

The woman sitting in the middle of the long table with cascading yellow hair snickered. "Brother, your wife's life meant nothing. She could not produce you an heir!"

"Shut up!" He hurled the silver cup towards his only sister and he felt another silver cup, hitting the side of his head. He glared in the direction of the cup that hit him and saw his older brother giving him a blank look. He was holding another silver cup in his right hand.

"None of our life matters at this point. We are all old enough to even wish to survive this plague."

"Huh?! We have enough precautions set in place. The healer promised that the medicine that he gave us and our immediate family was the one that would keep the plague out of our door." He looked at their father at the head of the table. "I suggest that we locked out the gate and have the slaves take the same medicine we took. We have enough food to survive the whole winter."

"You're stupid as ever Roch! The plague does not enter doors and windows. It came in the air and the winter is coming. How do you expect the closed gates to keep them away from our family? And father," his eyes darted to the head of the table and said, "we should not trust the powder that the medicine man gave us. I'd heard from one of my slaves that the family next town was also given the same powder but half of their children and old were fallen sick and a lot of them died and dying."

Gasps were heard at the table and another chaos ensued. This time, it was mixed with terror. They all know the family that their second brother was talking about. It was the richest family in the next town. If their family had fallen sick, they could not be sure of their fate as well.

"Karl."

The table fell into another silence and all eyes were shifted to the eldest brother. They all know that their father trusted him the most and if their father sought his counsel, it only means one thing. Their father was desperate!

"Does your first wife still talk to her Covenant?"

A silver platter clang on the marble floor as one of the most trusted family servers dropped them after hearing the word covenant. There is only one covenant and you do not go to them unless you want to pay with the blood of your first son.

They travel in a flock but no one really sees them. However, there are a lot of stories about them. People who swear of their existence. And within the family of Lord Louis, a rumor had been circulating between the walls of the family mansion. A rumor that everyone heard about but no one could confirm its truth for no one dared to cross the Lord Louis's first son.

"No…" Karl lifted his glass and took a sip of his wine. "But in circumstances like this, I could try if you want."

"Want is a privilege that we don't have right now."

All the jaws of the people in that secret room dropped to the ground. The idea of reaching out to the Covenant of Witches is preposterous. Mere talking about them would result in a boil that would grow all over your body and most of the time it has no cure, hence, the talk about the Covenant of Witches is done in hush toned in the dark alleys, never in the open and not after the sun sets on the horizon when they have ears in the shadow.

"Father, you have to think it over," the fifth son said, trying his best to be relevant in the discussion. He nudged his older brother to agree with him but the fourth son had no plan to join the said conversation.

The fourth son had only one thing in mind. And that is to bring the daughter of the head server into his chamber tonight. If he is going to die soon, he wants to have a taste of her. His older brothers can fight for their father's approval and praise and he just does not care.

Louis looked at his two youngest sons, Aznur and Avel. Named strangely by their mother that had taken his liking in one of his travels. He did not expect much from them, just another set of sons that would continue his bloodline.

He turned his eyes to his only daughter—Marcotte. She's a rebellious child but has the brain of a man. He let her sit at the table for discussion because despite being a huge pain in the neck, she has good ideas than her two stupid older brothers, but he did not let any of his sons know of the reason why she was given a seat in the table. Everyone assumed that the reason was that she looked like the golden sun, and he liked anything that's beautiful.

"How soon your first wife could talk to the Covenant?"

"You don't go to the Covenant, Father. The Covenant comes to you. I can ask my first wife to send a request tonight when the moon reaches its high peak."

"Good!" He nodded with satisfaction.

"Talon," he turned to his second son, "bring Roch with you and use him to prepare for the coming cold. Make sure to double everything we have."

"Father, most of the hunters had fallen ill!"

"Yes, Father," Talon bowed slightly in the direction of the head of the table.