Nothing Dark Can Stay, Either

Chapter 57

May 29th, 2019

Beatrix had recovered in the past year.

She had cried profusely after killing Kai. No one had wanted to disturb her, but eventually, she'd been patted on the shoulder by Caroline, who got her to let go of the body and the heart.

She had gotten cleaned up and cried some more. She felt guilt despite having done it to protect the Saltzman twins. Kai was gone for good, and she would really never see him again. It radiated pain all throughout her body, but because the darkness was gone, it caused no damages this time. She had bought herself more time.

Beatrix had only lingered behind a bit to have a serious conversation with Alaric, Caroline, and the Saltzman twins about their powers. It had taken everything in her to not break down as she did her best to explain to them how siphoning worked in younger kids. Alaric had driven her to the airport as a courtesy, watching her write down the spell to bring Elena back, so that he could give it to Bonnie (though she told him to wait until it was safe to bring the poor girl back). Before she boarded the plane, Alaric had thanked her, and told her upfront that he forgave her for what she had helped Kai do to Jo.

And so she had returned to Texas, taking a month off of work to process her loss and simultaneous growth. Hayley had not asked questions, but had deduced that something had taken a toll on her, and for that month, they had followed no leads. Just the two of them and Hope, enjoying movies and food, and reading books before bed. Hayley likely had told Hope to be extra nice to Beatrix, because the Heretic had received an influx of personalized drawings from her niece, which she had hung up in her room. She had placed them around the painting Klaus had made her, which she had vanished last minute before the Compound had been wrecked by his sirelings. She was glad she'd ended up saving it.

When the month was over, Beatrix had coaxed herself into going back to work. She and Hayley had gone back to doing their search, though it had not yielded much, just yet.

Since Beatrix had felt better, she was able to siphon the entirety of Rebekah's hex without it harming her. Therefore, she was the first of the four that got healed. They had already found a cure for Freya, but they could not use it until they were ready to wake her. What they were missing was venom from the Malraux pack, but it seemed the entire pack had been wiped out by Lucien years ago, and they had spent the rest of that year focusing more on Hope.

Beatrix had taught her a bit more magic, all in moderation. She taught her some smaller protective charms and healing spells, since she and Hayley had noticed that Hope could already heal some injured insects in the nearby woods. They were both impressed at her skill, and thus, Hayley had allowed for such spell since they were beneficial in case anyone ever got hurt, especially Hope, though she could heal on her own very well.

Eventually, the five year mark of their departure from New Orleans was approaching. They had been discrete, and Beatrix had not visited Klaus, still out of fear she'd be caught and get him killed. As far as she knew, he was still underground beneath the Mikaelson Compound, but until they found a solution for Kol and Elijah's bites, they could not go free him.

"Mary called," said Hayley one evening after Beatrix had put Hope to sleep following a story about Empress Elizabeth Romanov of Russia, who Beatrix had known from 1741 to 1762. "She has some information, and she's driving over."

"A lead on the Malraux?" asked Beatrix eagerly.

Hayley nodded. "That's what she implied. Maybe you should tell the hospital you'll be off for awhile."

Beatrix bit her lip. "Yeah, maybe I should." She patted her shoulder as she got up and went to her room, pulling out her laptop to email the Head of Obstetrics. She'd compelled the woman to give her time off whenever she asked and not ask questions. She took it without pay, of course, to not be dishonest. She made enough money and didn't need extra accumulating when she wasn't actually doing work.