The Apprentice (The Originals/The Vampire Diaries)

Chapter Twenty-Two

 It had been over two years since Mikael died, and Annette still hadn't quite moved on. The fact that she would have died if they had succeeded in killing Klaus was a hard blow. She spent another year travelling throughout the world, still killing vampires, wondering what to do next.

 Eventually, she decided to return to New Orleans, out of mere curiosity more than anything else. What sort of kingdom had Mikael's children built for themselves? She thought it would be interesting just to see how they were, though she doubted she would receive any kind greetings from them.

 It was upon her arrival that she heard the whispers, the rumors of the great hunter's return. Annette was instantly interested, knowing it had to be Mikael. After enough threatening, she learned the truth: Mikael was alive. He had gotten a witch to bring him back from the Other Side before it collapsed.

 Annette was overjoyed at the thought of Mikael being alive. They could be reunited. They could truly be together.

~~~~~~

 It took some convincing, but Annette had gotten a local witch to do a locator spell for her. She used an old scarf that had been Mikael's, something she always kept with her when she travelled. It led her to a cemetery, of all places. After some walking around, she heard a voice say, "It's you."

 Annette turned to her left, and saw a young blond woman watching her.

 "Who are you?" she asked.

 "If you are who I think you are, my father might have told you about me," the girl replied. "I heard that he had an apprentice, a girl with red hair. You're her, aren't you?"

 Annette warily stepped back. "Who are you?"

 "My name is Freya Mikaelson. Mikael is my father." 

 "You're Freya?" Annette shook her head. "No, that can't be. He said you died as a child. It was one of the first things he told me about his family."

 The girl shook her head. "That was merely what my mother told him. When they first married, my mother realized she could not have children. She went to her sister Dahlia for help. Dahlia is a very powerful witch. In return for helping my mother, she wanted the firstborn child of every generation of our family for her own. I was only five when she took me away. When my father returned from battle, my mother just told him I died."

 She was telling the truth, Annette realized. She bore a strong resemblance to her father. Mikael had never mentioned a sister-in-law named Dahlia, but it sounded believable.

 "Where is he?" she asked. "Where's Mikael? I want to see him."

 "I am here, Annette."

 Mikael stepped up from behind the tombstones, looking rather dirty and bloody. But Annette didn't care. She ran to him and threw her arms around him, hugging him tight. He returned the embrace, and whispered in her ear, "I have missed having you around."

 Annette held him at arm's length and looked up at his now-smiling face. "I have missed you more than I can say, Mikael."

 "And I you. I watched over you while I was on the Other Side, but when I returned, I had no idea how to get in contact with you, no idea how to find you. This entire time, nothing felt right without you. I-I almost killed Niklaus, but Davina-that's the witch that brought me back-stopped me. There are friends of hers that are part of his sire line." 

 "The sire line." Annette remembered what Rebekah had told her. "Mikael, I once met Rebekah in a café in Europe. She told that when Finn and Kol died, their sire lines died with them. Since I was turned by Lucien, who was turned by Klaus..."

 Mikael's eyes widened as he grasped what she was saying. "No. Then-I could have killed you, too? If-if I had killed him-"

 "No, don't," Annette shushed him. "Don't think about it now. We're together again. It's you and me again."

 Not caring how dirty he was, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He gladly returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist. 

 "What do you suppose we do now?" Mikael asked softly into her ear.

 "You can help me stop Dahlia."

 Both turned to look at Freya.

 "Us?" Annette asked. "What can we do?" 

~~~~~~ 

 Annette stepped out of the taxi and onto the sidewalk. She and Mikael had agreed to split up and each look for one of whatever it was they needed. Keeping the bag of Viking ash safe in her jacket, she walked up to the compound, the newest Mikaelson home, where Freya said they would all meet up.

 As she approached, she could hear Klaus' voice talking angrily to someone, and somehow knew who it was. She burst in to see Mikael being pinned up against the wall by Klaus, who held a white oak stake in his hand.

 "Mikael!" she cried.

 Everyone in the room turned to look at her.

 "Annette, get out of here!" Mikael called to her. "He has the white oak stake!"

 "It's you," Elijah said, staring at her.

 "Let him go, Klaus," Annette said to the other hybrid. "I have what you need to stop Dahlia." She tossed the bag of Viking ash of Freya. "I purposefully sought out another. There's no need to kill your father."

 "Oh, but that's the point." Klaus pulled Mikael away from the wall and held him firmly, pressing the stake into his back. "He isn't my father. What do you have to say about any of it?" He looked between the two. "Ah. I see. She's your little girlfriend, isn't she, Father? You hypocrite. All those years you spent attempting to avenge Mother, blaming me for everything, and you had this little redhead in your bed the entire time, didn't you? You helped her become a hybrid, but forced my mother to put a curse on me!"
 
 "No, Niklaus, that isn't it," Elijah said.

 "And what would you know about any of it, Elijah?" Klaus snapped at him.

 "Quite a bit, actually," the older brother replied calmly. "Annette and I met in Los Angeles in 1929. There wasn't anything romantic between them at the time. She believed in Father the same way I believe in you now. I think we should just let them go, Niklaus." 

 Annette took advantage of Klaus' momentary distraction to rush forward and grab the stake from his hand, then grabbed Mikael and began to back toward the exit.

 "Everyone, just stay away," she said, holding the stake in her hand. "No one has to get hurt. We'll be leaving now. For the record, Klaus, we're not romantically involved. Not yet, at least. But we're getting there."

 "And you're just going to run off with your mistress like a coward?" Klaus growled.

 "She's part of you sire line, Niklaus," Mikael said. "Why do you think I agreed to your alliance this morning? Because of her. I didn't know that she would die if I killed you. But I know now. Thank you, Elijah, for providing that distraction. Freya, I'm so sorry this is all happening. I love you." 

 With that, they left.