The Apprentice (The Originals/The Vampire Diaries)

Chapter Eight

 For the next year, the pair found themselves wandering through Ireland, killing vampires as they went. When the 1916 uprising began in Dublin, Mikael suggested they leave the country.

 "Niklaus is clearly not here," he said, "And this country is not a safe place to be now."

 So they went north and travelled across the water to Scotland, where they stayed for a few months before moving downwards to Wales and back to England again. London seemed much drearier now than it had been the last time they had visited.

 "It's this ridiculous war," Mikael grumbled. "Probably about something stupid, anyway."

 But when Annette had suggested they go to America, away from the battlefields, Mikael outright refused to go without giving any reason why. So she quietly suggested they stay in London for a little longer.

~~~~~~

 "Annette, what day is your birthday?" Mikael asked one morning.

 "In a few weeks, on the twenty-sixth. Why?"

 "Because you have never told me when your birthday is, and I was curious."

 "You've never told me when your birthday is," Annette pointed out.

 "That's because you've never asked me. I think it's in February, but I must try to remember what day. It has been centuries, you know."

 On the day of birthday, Annette woke on a cold November morning. Shivering, she wrapped the blanket around herself and got up to get dressed.

 "Mikael?" she called. "Are you here?"

 "Here." He carried a breakfast tray to the table in the sitting room. "You should get dressed and then come eat. And...I have something for you."

 What could he have for her? Annette wondered as she got dressed. He must have remembered her birthday when she told it to him a few weeks before. 

 Once she was dressed, she sat at the table and quickly ate. Mikael, as was usual for him ,barely touched his plate.

 "I remembered your birthday," he said. "I got you something. Well, I didn't actually buy it. I went out for a walk a few nights ago, after you'd gone to bed. I saw something on the ground, and picked it up. It looked like a ring. After I brought it home and washed it off, I realized it was quite a ring. So," he handed her a little box, "Here. Um, for you."

 Annette silently took the box and opened it. And let out a little gasp when she saw the ring inside. "Mikael, it's...it's beautiful. That's a moonstone, isn't it? And you really just found this?"

 "Yes, I did. And I thought I'd give it to you. I mean, I would have gotten you something anyway if I hadn't found it, but...well, I did." 

 Annette smiled and reached across the table to give his hand a gentle squeeze. "Thank you, Mikael."

 During that time, even though there was a war raging in Europe, everything felt perfectly peaceful to Annette. But she didn't know then what sort of people they would be crossing paths with.

~~~~~~

 A few moths after that birthday, in the winter of 1918, Mikael went out hunting alone one night. Annette wanted to go with him, but he insisted that it was too cold.

 "This time of year, it is far too cold for you to be out at night," he said. "I promise you, Annette, I am only thinking of your well-being."

 So Annette sat in the parlor and looked through all the papers that Mikael brought in that morning. When he said he'd bought the paper that morning, she asked which one, to which he had replied, "All of them." It would make sense, as he was continually on the lookout for news about Klaus Mikaelson. She had wondered if perhaps Klaus was travelling incognito under another name, but Mikael didn't seem to think so. He had once showed her an old drawing he'd kept of Klaus, but Annette never saw anyone who looked like that in the papers. She wondered if perhaps Niklaus was dead, but hadn't brought the matter up with Mikael, thinking he would think she'd lost her mind. 

 She pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of two pairs of footsteps coming up the stairs. Had Mikael brought someone back with him?

 "Ah, Annette, you're still awake," Mikael said as he burst into the parlor. "Look what I've found. Now, are you going to answer my questions or not? I know you were watching these rooms for a reason."

 The person he had dragged in was a young, red-haired lady who looked to be only a few years younger than Annette now was.

 "Please, sir," she said with a slight French accent, "I don't mean you any harm. I am Aurora de Martel. My brother Tristan let me come here to find you. He's curious about you. He and the rest of the Strix."

 "Who are the Strix?" Annette asked.

 "They know who you are," Aurora continued, "And they believe they can help you on your great quest."

 "And why should I want anything to do with these Strix people?" Mikael asked. "Do they not know that I kill vampires?"

 "They are well aware of your reputation. That is why they want you to join them. We all have a common goal."

 "And what goal would that be?"

 "Why, destroy Klaus Mikaelson, of course. And his rotten siblings. Tristan and I, we have a past with them."

 "A past?" Annette asked. "Do you have any idea where they are now? That is what we have been trying to find out for years."

 "No, we don't. But Tristan seems to believe an alliance with you is what both you and the Strix need. Do come and hear what Tristan has to say. You can put your trust in him."

 "I do not put trust in people," Mikael said coldly.

 "Oh, really? Then why is the wolf here?"

 "Annette is my one exception. What is your past with my children, Miss de Martel? Go on, you may as well tell me if you want me to trust you."

 "Very well." Aurora seated herself in the chair by the fireplace. "I am the first of Rebekah Mikaelson's sire line. My brother Tristan is the first of Elijah's, and our friend Lucien is the first of Klaus'. I once had a sweet romance with Klaus, ages ago. But then they fled, when you were coming to get them. Elijah compelled me to hate Klaus, to think he was a monster. And then Elijah did something even worse. He compelled I, Tristan, and Lucien into thinking we were your children. We spent an entire century, living in fear, running from you. So we vowed that we would one day get our revenge."

 Annette watched as Mikael's face changed from cold indifference to disbelief.

 "That can't be," he said. "It couldn't have been him. Not my Elijah. It sounds nothing like him."

 "I assure you, it was him," Aurora said.

 "I'd like to think I know my own son," Mikael snapped.

 "And when was the last time you saw any of your children?" Aurora shot back. "They're all cold and cruel. They need to be stopped. Please, consider the offer."

 "Where are the Strix now?" Annette asked.

 "At the Teleborg Castle, in southern Sweden. The Strix are currently occupying it."

 Mikael was silent. His face had turned back to its usual neutral look, so Annette had no idea what was happening in his mind.

 Finally, he said, "Annette, we will need to discuss this privately." He pulled the syringe out of his coat. "I am sorry about this, Miss de Martel." He plunged the syringe into her neck, and she soon collapsed.

 "What do you make of all this, Annette?" Mikael asked.

 "At the moment, we know nothing about the Strix. But they sound dangerous. I don't know if we should go. It would be a long boat ride, from here to Sweden, wouldn't it. Mikael, do you want to go?"

 "I think I might like to, just to satisfy my own curiosity. I have no idea where Teleborg Castle is, but I suppose we will find out soon enough. Do you want to go, Annette? I won't go if you don't want to."

 "Well, we aren't getting much done here, are we?" Annette pointed out. "Sitting in these stuffy rooms all day, reading through all these newspapers. The Strix may know things we don't."

 "I suppose you're right. Very well. Tomorrow, we shall go, then. You should get some sleep, Annette. I will watch our visitor. We need her alive if she's going to take us to our destination, after all."


__________

 The ring Mikael gave Annette:

 I imagined their stuffy London rooms to look something like 221b Baker Street in the 1980s/90s Sherlock Holmes series starring Jeremy Brett. This is the best picture I could find of it: