The Apprentice (The Originals/The Vampire Diaries)

Chapter Twenty-Six

 Annette opened her eyes and began to evaluate.

 She was tied to a chair. Vervain ropes. She was in a dark warehouse. Was she still in New Orleans? Maybe, maybe not. Mikael was nowhere in sight. Escaped? No, he would have come for her. Their kidnappers must have done something to him.

 Their kidnappers. The ones from the dark, silent street. Now, the question was, who had kidnapped them? And why?

 Annette froze when she heard a door creak open, and the sound of footsteps on the hard floor. 

 "Well, this is quite the sight. The Destroyer's little lackey tied up, helpless." The gag was pulled off of her mouth. "And he can't even come rescue you."

 "I would not say I am helpless, Monsieur de Martel," she said. "You merely took us by surprise. Would you mind telling me why I'm here, and what you've done with Mikael?"

 "You are here because I think you could prove to be very useful to the Strix," Tristan replied. "To have the two of you under my control would be an extraordinary feat, indeed."

 "Under your control?" Annette repeated. "And just how do you think you're going to do that? Mikael is a very stubborn man, you know."

 Tristan chuckled. "You really don't know anything about magic, do you? Surely Mikael told you he was brought back from the Other Side by a little witch named Davina Claire. For some time, she successfully used her magic to keep him under her control with it until the bond was broken. As you learned, the Strix has a very powerful clan of witches at hand. I am sure they could find a way to put you and Mikael under our control."

 "That's your plan?" Annette let out a strangled laugh. "Do you know how stupid that is? No matter how many spells you put on us, Mikael and I will fight them."

 "Oh, of course. I'm sure it was because of his fighting spirit that Mikael was locked up in a church attic by a little girl. Davina Claire is powerful, but our witches are even better. The Mikaelsons will be defeated, and I will have the most feared vampire and the first hybrid under my command."

 "You still haven't told me what you did with Mikael. You obviously haven't killed him, so where is he?"

 "I promise you, he is perfectly safe, though I'm sure he must be in some sort of pain. You'll see him again. But first, I have other business to take care of." 

 "Is that it?" Annette asked as he walked away. "You're just going to leave me here?"

 "Only for now, my dear," he called. "Believe me, I'll be back. Oh, one more thing." He came back and placed the gag over her mouth again. "In case you didn't realize, it has vervain in it. Just to keep you from getting too wild."

~~~~~~

 Annette wasn't sure how long she waited for. It didn't seem like it was very long, but it still felt like forever.

 Eventually, she heard the sound of running footsteps.

 "Oh, Annette." She felt someone pulling at the ropes. "Hold still, I'll get these off."

 "Freya." Her voice was still muffled by the gag. "Mikael. Where is he?"

 "Hold on." Freya pulled the gag off. "We know Tristan did this to you. Don't worry, he's been taken care of. Where he's going, I don't think he'll be coming back anytime soon."

 "But, Freya, I don't what he did to your father. He was telling me these stupid plans to use witch magic to control us, make us some sort of mindless soldiers. Freya, please tell me you found Mikael."

 "We have him here."

 Elijah and Marcel came into the room, carrying a coffin.

 "It's been sealed with magic," said Elijah. "We need you to open it, Freya. Annette, we know all about Tristan's plans. I assure you, he will not be kidnapping anyone anymore." 

 "I certainly hope so." Annette looked over at Marcel. "Hello, Monsieur Gerard. I heard you survived Mikael's mad spectacle back in 1919." 

 "And I remember you trying to help me," Marcel replied. "I've decided since then that maybe sending for Mikael wasn't such a good idea, after all." 

 Freya finished performing her spell and lifted the lid of the coffin. Mikael lay inside, barely conscious, his face and hands covered with burns.

 "We have to get him out." Elijah gently lifted him out of the coffin. "They locked him in a vervain-filled coffin. He's very weak. Father? It's Elijah. We'll get you out of here."

 He moaned weakly in response. "Annette..."

 "Yes, I'm here." She wrapped her arm around him. "We're fine now."

 "Let us take you back to the compound," Freya said gently. "I'll take care of those burns, and you could probably use some rest."

~~~~~~

 Annette sat quietly on the stairs, waiting for Freya to be done healing Mikael's burns. What were they thinking, she wondered, coming back to New Orleans? Look at all the mad drama they were getting themselves into.

 "Well, you certainly look like you need a drink." 

 She looked up to see Klaus himself, two glasses in hand.

 "How do I know you're not trying to poison me?" she asked him.

 "I'm not in the habit of poisoning my guests. I prefer a more direct approach. If I wanted to kill you, your heart would already be torn from your chest." He handed her the glass. "It's only bourbon."

 She took the glass from him and quickly drained it.

 "Seems I was right about that. Shall I get you another?"

 She shook her head. "One's enough."

 "Suit yourself." He sat down next to her on the stair. "You know, you seem like a decent sort to me. How on Earth did you end up with Mikael, of all people?"

 "Fate caused our paths to cross. I needed saving from a vampire, he knew how to kill them. Then he taught me how, and I travelled with him in search of you. Along the way, we had one Strix encounter, one Lucien Castle, one vampire turn, one hybrid ritual, weeks and months of travelling from place to place, two kisses, two years apart, and seventeen years desiccated in a mausoleum."

 Klaus raised his eyebrows. "That's quite the adventure. It would seem you are part of my sire line, then. I assume you did not realize that by killing me, you would die yourself."

 "No, I didn't know. I happened to meet Rebekah in a restaurant once, and she told me. How is she, by the way?"

 "Somewhere safe, I hope. Tristan is gone, by the way. I don't think he'll be bothering you anymore. We had one casualty, however."

 "Who?"

 "Jackson Kenner, Hayley's husband. They were both kidnapped by the Strix as well, but that is an extremely long story I do not feel like telling."

 "You're going through personal troubles, aren't you?" she asked. 

 "Why would you say that?"
 
 "You just seem like you are. Mikael taught me how to tell things about people. Whatever it is, I hope you can figure it out without killing too many people."

 He smiled a little. "I'll try."

 "Good." She stood. "Now, I'm going to check in on Mikael. We'll probably be leaving New Orleans, but we won't go too far away just yet, just in case you need any help."

 "And what would I need Mikael's help with?" 

 She shrugged. "Dunno. He is good at vampire killing. Well, if you do need help, Elijah has my contact information." She paused before going up the stairs. "You know, Elijah believes in you, even after everything you've done. It's inspiring how much he believes you can change. I've believed in Mikael in sort of the same way." 

 Klaus scoffed. "You sound like Elijah." He took another sip of bourbon. "Well, keep believing, I suppose. If there's hope for me, perhaps there's hope for Mikael."