The Apprentice (The Originals/The Vampire Diaries)

Chapter Thirteen

 Mikael had been pacing in the entrance hallway, waiting for Annette. He wondered if he should have let her go off alone with that Aya woman.

 "You look nervous." 

 Mikael turned to see Lucien approaching. He pushed down his annoyance and said, "Good evening, Lucien. You look happy."

 "And you don't. I take it social gatherings are not something you're used to."

 "You seem to know quite a bit about me and my reputation. What do you think? I am waiting for Annette, if the Strix have not killed her." 

 "Oh, them." Lucien scoffed. "They're not as great as they think they are, you know. I'd say you're much more frightening than Tristan. You and Mademoiselle Chevalier."

 "What is your interest in Annette?" Mikael asked, feeling the desperate need to know. "You have been hanging around her for some reason. If you value your life, I would suggest you leave her alone."

 Lucien laughed. "Look at you. I told Annette that it seemed to me that you thought of her as another child, to replace the ones you lost. Well, I know the truth. You're in love with her, aren't you? It's the perfect explanation for your behavior. You're in love with her, but you believe acknowledging those feelings will render your ongoing mission pointless. And you're afraid she'll reject you, aren't you? I'm right, aren't I?"

 Mikael gave Lucien a cold, hard stare, not giving away any feelings.

 "I would watch that mouth of yours," he said coldly. "It could get you into quite a lot of trouble."

 "Mikael?"

 He turned to see Annette standing on the stairs. She looked...different. Different, but beautiful.

 Annette watched as Mikael stared at her, eyes widening.

 "What have they done to you?" he finally asked. "You look more like a dolled-up princess than a warrior."

 Annette laughed. "I knew you would say just that sort of thing. Hello, Lucien." 

 "Mademoiselle." Lucien bowed. "You look absolutely beautiful. Might I have the honor of showing you both to the ballroom?"

 He offered Annette his arm, and she took it, giving him a smile as she did so. They walked to the ballroom, Mikael walking behind them, silently fuming.

~~~~~~  

 That night, Mikael decided he hated balls and dancing. 

 He had asked Annette to dance once, but neither of them were good with dancing and mostly fumbled through it. Lucien, however, turned out to be a superb dancer. He and Annette seemed to be enjoying themselves. 

 Mikael found the ball to be extremely boring, so he had taken to standing quietly in a corner and counting in his head all the ways he could brutally murder Lucien Castle. Sure, Annette would be a little upset, but she would get past it. He was no one important to them.

 Annette. How dare Lucien tell her that he thought Mikael saw her as a replacement child, and then make these wild accusations about Mikael being in love with her? He couldn't have Annette thinking these things: she would never trust him again. For so long, he had been alone and had no one to trust. Annette had changed all of that. He couldn't drive her away now. He wanted her to share in his triumph when they finally rid the earth of Niklaus.

 "Ah, Mikael." To his even greater annoyance, Tristan de Martel had made his way over. "Are you enjoying the ball?"

 "No," Mikael said flatly. "I have discovered I am not the social type, I am a horrible dancer, and I want to rip Lucien Castle apart, limb by limb."

 Tristan chuckled. "Don't we all. He's incredibly annoying, you know. I suppose you will be leaving after the ball."

 "Thankfully, yes. I am aware that my refusal may be insulting to you, Monsieur de Martel, but I am better working alone, and with Annette. But don't worry: I will kill Niklaus for you."

 Tristan glanced around the room. "I don't see Lucien anywhere, or your apprentice."

 Mikael looked around. True, there was no sign of Annette or Lucien. He walked around the entire ballroom twice just to be sure. They were gone.

 Then where had his apprentice gone?

~~~~~~

 "Would you like to join me for a walk on the grounds?" Lucien had asked. "It's awfully boring in here."

 "I suppose so," Annette replied. "I'll just tell Mikael-"

 "Oh, don't worry about him. We won't be long."

 Annette glanced at Mikael. He was talking to Tristan, and she couldn't catch his eye.

 "Oh, all right. As long as it isn't a very long walk."

 As they walked along the grounds, Annette asked, "Why did you put vampire blood in my drink?"

 Lucien sighed. "You caught me. I wanted you to have a speedy recovery. I didn't like the idea of you laid up in bed. I would have given it to you outright, but I thought your master might find it insulting. Come this way." He led her back inside. "There's plenty of rooms you haven't seen yet. Let me show you some things before you leave."

 Annette followed Lucien down a dark corridor. At one point he suddenly stopped, his back turned to her.

 "It's his fault, you know," he said. "Mikael started it all."

 "What do you mean?"

 "It was because of his hunting down his children that caused it to begin. If you go back, it all leads to him. He hurt all of us. And now," he turned to face her, his expression cold, "I am going to hurt him in the best way I can think of."

 Before Annette had a chance to scream or run, Lucien snapped her neck, and the world quickly faded away.

~~~~~~

 Mikael sped through the castle, calling Annette's name. He received no reply. He looked everywhere until he came to a dark corridor where he saw a figure lying motionless on the ground.

 "Annette!" He ran to her and examined her. Her neck was broken. She wasn't breathing. She had no heartbeat.

 She was dead.

 "Shame, isn't it?"

 Mikael stood to see Lucien step out of the shadows.

 "You murdered her," he growled. "I knew you were plotting something. Was this it? You befriend her, and then kill her?" He grabbed Lucien and slammed him against the wall. "I have had enough of you. You killed my only friend, and now I'm going to kill you."

 "I didn't just kill her," Lucien said, laughing. "Annette Chevalier is going to become to very thing you both loathe: a vampire."

 At that moment, Annette awoke, gasping for breath. "Mikael."

 "Annette." Mikael dropped Lucien and lifted her into his arms, thinking quickly. There was no way to reverse this. She would have to become a vampire or die. 

 Unless...Mikael thought of something. Something he knew of that would let Annette keep her werewolf side.

 "Don't worry, Annette," he whispered as he carried her away. "I know what to do."