The Apprentice (The Originals/The Vampire Diaries)

Chapter Seventeen

1929

 It took Annette and Mikael quite some time before they caught any sign of Klaus again. Their journey took them further west, through the plains to California. By this time, Hollywood had been built, and movies with sound were beginning to be made. Annette had only been able to convince Mikael once to stop so they could go to a movie theater, and the movie wasn't particularly good, anyway.

 "What on Earth is the point of these film things?" Mikael said after they left the theater. "There is absolutely no point."

 "I think they're merely for people to enjoy," Annette said. "There's doesn't have to be a grand meaning to them. People seem to like them."

 On the day they drove into Los Angeles, all Annette wanted to do was walk around and just take in all the sights and sounds. To her surprise, Mikael agreed.

 "It would be good to explore some of this place," he said, "And see where in it Niklaus might be hiding."

 "What makes you think he's here?"

 "What better place to hide than inside a bursting industry?"

 They spent the next few days walking through the streets and visiting a few different movie studios, just to see if anyone knew the name Niklaus Mikaelson. No one seemed to.

 At one of the studios they visited, Annette was asked by a young director if she was an actress, much to her surprise.

 "No, I have never been an actress," she replied. "Why would you ask?"

 The director shrugged. "You just have the looks and the voice for it."

 Annette couldn't help finding it a little bit flattering, and thought perhaps she would try being an actress someday, perhaps after they had killed Klaus and had no more urgent missions to worry about. 

 On their fourth day in Hollywood, they found themselves in a studio with a man who seemed to know who they were talking about when Mikael described Klaus. 

 "He's been funding this studio for a while now," he told them. "Do you know him?"

 "Indeed, I do," Mikael said, giving a slightly menacing smile. "I'm his father, here to pay him a visit. Tell me, how often does he come here?"

 "Once a week, maybe twice, to see how things are running. Or sometimes there's another one, a dark-haired one."

 "Ah, yes. That would be his brother, my other son, Elijah. Do you happen to know where in the city they live?"

 "No idea. I don't know if he even lives nearby. He just appears."

 "Now what do we do?" Annette asked as they left.

 "The most sensible thing: wait for him to come here. We'll catch him then."

~~~~~~ 

 They hung around the studio for the next few days, waiting for an opportunity. While they were waiting, Annette watched movies scenes being shot with great interest. She knew something extraordinary had been introduced when films first appeared, and that they would be around for a long time. 

 One afternoon, a very shiny automobile pulled up, and out of the car stepped not who they had been waiting for, but Elijah. As he went inside the main building, Mikael said, "I can't hurt Elijah. We can threaten him, surely, but nothing too drastic."

 "If we scare him enough," Annette suggested, "Perhaps he'll tell us how to find Klaus."

 "I doubt it. His unyielding loyalty baffles me, honestly. He's chosen Klaus so many times, and all it seems to bring him is more pain."

 Annette suddenly found herself wondering if there was a special bond between brothers and sisters that she didn't know about. She was an only child, and she thought Mikael must have been as well, because he couldn't understand it at all.

 They waited until Elijah to exit the building, and then Annette tackled him. He was taken by surprise, but began to fight back when he gripped what was happening.

 "Hello, son," Mikael said, standing over him. "Been ten years, hasn't it?" He bent down. "Why don't you just tell me where the boy is so I can kill him once and for all?"

 "I will not tell you," he said as he pushed Annette off of him. "I must have a few centuries over you, miss, given your strength. But you do seem a passionate fighter." 

 "Thank you," said Annette. "Now, would you mind helping us here?"

 "Yes, I would mind." Elijah got to his feet. "I will never tell you where Niklaus is." 

 Mikael sighed. "I didn't want to have to do this again." He pulled a knife out of his jacket and stabbed Elijah in the chest with it, making Elijah cry out in pain.

 "Stay here with him, Annette,"  Mikael said. "Keep him in the car. Bite him, stab him, just keep him occupied until I return."

 "Where are you going?" Annette asked.

 "I am going to search this entire city until I find Niklaus. I don't know how long I'll be."

 So Annette shoved Elijah into the backseat, taking advantage of his wounded state.

 "I'm sorry about this," she said. "Just stay there, please. I didn't think Mikael would leave me with an Original who could overpower me without much difficulty."

 "Why are you doing this?" Elijah asked. "Why would you help him? Do you what he's done to us?"

 "He never did anything to you, Elijah. He has made it clear that all he wants to do is get rid of Klaus, who by now deserves to die, anyway. Would you disagree with me on that?"

 "Oh, I believe that he may deserve it," Elijah replied. "But that does not mean I will let you do it."
 
 As he lunged to get out of the car, Annette jumped on him and bit him on the neck. She held on longer than necessary, making a deeper wound, wanting to get as much venom into him as possible.

 Annette pushed Elijah back down on the backseat. "With that wound, you're not going anywhere."

~~~~~~

 Annette sat quietly in the driver's seat while Elijah was laid out in the back.

 "I'm going to start hallucinating soon, aren't I?" he asked.

 "Probably," she answered.

 "You really are a hybrid, then. But how is it possible without the Petrova doppelganger?"

 "We didn't use a Pretrova doppelganger, we used a young man whom Mikael claimed was one. He was right about that, actually. He knew how I could become a hybrid because of his wife was the one who came up with the ritual."

 "Did it occur that he could very well be using you as a weapon? He is cruel and heartless."

 Annette scoffed. "Yet he's shown me real affection. Mikael saved me once, years ago. I was once a small girl of fifteen who didn't know how to care for herself. He taught me how to be a fighter. When I became a vampire, which neither of us planned, I learned to live with it."

 "What year did you meet?" Elijah asked.

 "1907."

 "That is a mere twenty-two years. He has done-"

 "I don't care what he did before I met him!" Annette shouted. "Our first day together, he told me the story of his life, and I learned everything else about him later on. I was afraid when my parents died, I was afraid when I learned I was a werewolf, I was afraid when I became a vampire and then a hybrid. I was alone, and I was afraid to be alone. But...something about Mikael made me feel safer. He's my friend. By now, he's been entirely honest with me abot himself. And if you really do think he murdered your mother, then you're just plain mad because-" 

 She stopped when she heard Elijah groan, and realized he was no longer listening. His hallucinations were beginning.

 Annette listened to his breathing and moaning. Feeling bad, she placed her hand on his shoulder in what was supposed to be a comforting gesture. Then he began to cry out a name: Rebekah.

 Elijah loved his little sister; that was clear enough. Annette wondered how her daggering had affected him.

 When he finally came to, she asked, "Why do you stay with Klaus after what he's done?"

 "Because I can help him. I can make him better. You said you stayed with Mikael because you feared loneliness. What do the two of you plan to do after kill my bother, if you do succeed?" 

 Annette shrugged. "We haven't talked about it. We'll decide once we do."

 She looked out the window. The sun was nearly finished setting, and there was no sign of Mikael.

 "Do you know that I can compel you?" Elijah asked.

 "You can't. On my birthday last year, Mikael gave me this necklace. It's made with vervain, so I can't be compelled."

 "Of course he would give you such a thing. Can I go?" 

 Annette sighed. "I suppose it has been long enough. I'll let you have your car." She climbed out of the driver's seat. "You know, I think we're similar, you and me."

 Elijah nodded. "I thought the same thing." He drove off, leaving Annette to wait. 

~~~~~~
 
 When Mikael reappeared half an hour later, Annette could tell from one glance at him that there had been no successes.

 "You didn't find him, did you?" she asked.

 He merely shook his head. "Where is Elijah?"

 "I sent him on his way half an hour ago. I did learn that he has a strange loyalty to his half-brother. If we're going to find Klaus, we won't be getting any information from him."

 "As I thought. We'll have to follow the trail, find them as quickly as we can."

 Annette didn't bring up the question, but there was something Elijah said that she now couldn't help thinking about. 

 Once Klaus was dead, what would they do then?