persephone's orchard : k.m.

they had to learn - chapter 45

Astrid seemed frozen on the spot. Glancing between Davina and Kol in pure shock.
'Kol?' Astrid didn't know how to react. It was almost as if she didn't know Kol anymore.

She hadn't seen him in this body in a century, her once annoying little brother didn't seem familiar to her anymore. Kol smiled at her, a double meaning hit her quickly as Davina clearly didn't think this through and stepped backward away from the hybrids.

'Astrid.' He stated, walking toward her as she stepped back and he held his hands out, 'No no, there's no need to be afraid of me sister.'

Embracing her, he spoke again, 'My anger isn't with you.' He glanced at Klaus over Astrid's shoulder and suddenly Nik had a decision to make.

'Niklaus.' Kol greeted him first, testing the waters as he let Astrid be and moved his attention elsewhere. Klaus seemed uncharacteristically nervous as his little brother approached him, shyly returning the smile he received as they embraced too.

'Well.. we have a lot to catch up on.'

'Not with her here.' Astrid decided she had enough. Making well on the new act she'd given herself, she wasn't making excuses for anyone.

Not even her kid.

'What?' Kol questioned her but she only looked at Davina, 'I'm not drinking with her.'

Davina's heart shattered but she needed to learn the hard way just as everyone else would. Looking at her mother, she grew overwhelmed as Kol went to defend his love but she shook her head, 'Kol it's okay.'

'No-'

'Yes.' Astrid's tone shook some sense into him as she almost ran out of the Compound.

'Did you have to do that?', Kol huffed as he turned to face his sister in law.

'You do realise she's the reason we're in this mess right?' Klaus spoke up and his little brother rose an eyebrow, 'And the power she gained from that is the only reason I'm here.'

'So you'd rather me in mortal danger?' Nik and Kol began to bicker like children as Astrid came between them, 'Alright! Alright! Bloody hell. Can we at least try killing each other after we have a drink?'

As Kol chuckled and made his way to the bar, Astrid turned to her husband, 'Stop picking fights with people.'

He smirked and held her face, 'Only for you, darling.'

Astrid screwed her face up, 'Piss off.'

...

Elijah had joined them eventually, along with Freya. After a lengthy greeting from a grinning eldest Mikaelson brother, the conversation of Nik's sireline was brought up.

'You collect trophies from all your victims?' Freya rose an eyebrow in the study as an oak box with black metal lining was pulled out from one of the cupboards. When Astrid said they should try and at least work out who could possibly be coming for her husband, the witch sister didn't realise she meant this.

'Letters to their loved ones, to be specific.' Elijah commented and Astrid huffed, 'And I used to wonder why people hated us.'

'It was a phase.' Klaus attempted to ignore them as best as possible even though it had proven difficult, he could still feel the ice Astrid had seemed to incase herself in. He had done some thinking of his own, finally realising the grief she must've felt all that time. He always admired her strength, her ability to pick herself up and keep him going whilst the world was falling apart.

Not to mention she always made sure he was okay before looking after herself.

'A phase in which we were forced to learn a different kind of stealth.' Elijah stared his brother down and Astrid watched the interaction. She'd always pondered their relationship and wondered if she should be more like Elijah, she could see his love for her husband yet he still kept a stern hand.
The hybrid couldn't help but wonder if she allowed him to become the tyrant he had become infamous for being.

'Nik and I eventually picked up one too many enemies..' Astrid trailed off as Freya turned to her, simply happy to see her actually speaking as she carried on, 'We ended up having to close our doors for protection.'

Hearing her say his name next to hers provoked a discrete smile that only Astrid noticed and it made her heart yearn to be near him again. This exact reason was why she had frown so frustrated. Every villain has a reason they turned evil, they all had a turning point where they decided being good for the sake of being good simply wasn't good enough. She still saw the innocence in Niklaus, even if no one else did. She still saw the boy who would bring her flowers from the forest or the teenager that would leave paintings in her room of a night time before not being able to help himself and sneaking in anyway.

Then when he did, they always ended up sneaking out anyway to go on an adventure.

They never knew this one would last 1000 years.

'And then...' Elijah turned to his brother, 'Well, I wouldn't exactly describe our presence in this city as discrete. Wouldn't you agree, Niklaus?'

'We all saw the white oak destroyed! Plus, this city is crawling with vampires, all of whom had no choice but to shield me from potential foes! Were I to die, they would die, too. I couldn't have been more safe!' Nik had grown exhausted of the pestering, he sounded stressed and worn out. The paranoia ate away at his brain slowly, 'And now my sire link is undone. Those very foes will come for me... Like never before.'

'It's only been a few days since the link was broken. Must you jump into crippling paranoia already?' Freya's comment got Astrid's back up as Elijah didn't help, 'It's a default setting.''And for good bloody reason.' Astrid snapped as all four in the room turned to her, including Kol who had spent the entire conversation drinking in the corner. Klaus's heart swelled at the first sign of his defence, struggling with feelings of guilt.

'Well, Niklaus, if it offers you any solace whatsoever, you've ransacked Aya's belongings, torched Aurora's hunting ground, and obliterated every last splinter of the white oak.' Elijah ignored her and turned back to Nik, standing up to face his brother.

'I would be mad to believe that.' Nik's tone lowered as Freya frowned, looking between the female hybrid and the brothers before speaking, 'Every last splinter? You're sure?'

This sent the immortals into thought as Elijah couldn't meet her eye, simply excusing himself as Freya followed him. Kol spoke up, downing his fifth drink in the last minute, 'Honestly, I have no clue how to help right now.' He looked between the two, 'So I'll leave you to it whilst I see Freya.'

The husband and wife were left alone once more and Astrid put her guard back up.

'Hayley would know.'

'Know what?"

'She'd know what to do'