The Apprentice (The Originals/The Vampire Diaries)

Chapter Thirty-Six

 Of all things, Annette was not expecting to get invited to a wedding.

 Her phone started ringing as she was driving.

 "Can you see who that is?" she asked Mikael.

 "It's Stefan Salvatore," he said, looking at the screen. "Should I answer it?"

 "If it's actually Stefan, then yeah."
 
 Mikael hit 'answer'. "What is it, Salvatore?"

 "Is Annette there?" Stefan asked.

 "Yes, she is, and she can hear you just fine. What do you want?"

 "Well," Stefan said, "I wanted to invite you guys to a wedding."

 "Whose wedding?" Annette asked, raising her voice so he could hear her.

 "Mine. I'm marrying Caroline."

 "I thought you broke up with Caroline."

 "I did, but then I realized what a horrible mistake I made, and convinced Caroline to take me back. We wouldn't normally be getting married so quickly, but it's part of a plan."

 "What plan?" Mikael asked, "And why we being involved in it?"

 "Because we need something to draw out Katherine Pierce."

 "Katherine Pierce? I thought she died," Annette said.

 "She did die," Stefan said, "Years ago. But we killed Cade-long story-and we thought it would destroy Hell. But it didn't. Instead, Katherine is in charge now, and we know she'll be coming after us, so we have to get rid of her."

 "So you're using a wedding to lure her out?" Mikael asked. "Is that really the best you've got?"

 "Oh, we have a plan," said Stefan. "I just thought it would to have as many friends and friendly acquaintances as possible at the wedding, and you guys are also skilled fighters, which never hurts. So, will you come?"

 "I don't know," Mikael said. "We'll see." He quickly hung up and put the phone down.

 "What's wrong?" Annette asked him.

 "Nothing," he said a little too quickly.

 "You know I won't take that for answer."

 "But that's just it, Annette," he said, "I don't know. I just...have a feeling."

 "What kind of feeling?"

 "That something bad is going to happen. Whatever they do, however they're going to try to get rid of Katherine Pierce, something bad will happen." He sighed. "That woman again. We're never going to be rid of her, are we?"

 "We will if Stefan's plan works," Annette said. "He is sort of my friend, and I would like to see him happily married. Mikael, are you sure you feel well?"

 "Yes, I'm all right. Maybe this is that psychic nonsense coming back again." He scoffed. "With my psychic abilities, I can tell something bad could happen at the wedding. It sounds like complete rubbish, but I think it might not be so much rubbish as it is real."

 "Well, we don't have to go," Annette said, "If you don't think it's a good idea."

 "I don't have a good feeling about this, but if you want to go, then we can. I think I'd like to see Caroline; we starting to get along pretty well before we left."

~~~~~~

 Annette and Mikael arrived back in Mystic Falls the night before the wedding. Caroline was a little surprised to see them, but she wasn't unhappy that they had showed up.

 "What's this issue with Katherine Pierce and Cade?" Mikael asked her.

 "Ugh, that woman. Stefan is the one who killed Cade, to save Damon. Kai Parker lied-"

 "Who's Kai Parker?"

 "No one important. He told us that killing Cade would destroy Hell, but it didn't. Instead, it just put Katherine on the throne, which doesn't do us any good. We know she's going to target us, so we have to get rid of her."

 "So, you're luring her out with a wedding."

 "Exactly," Caroline said. "Katherine was totally in love with Stefan when she was still around, but he was totally in love with Elena. Seeing him getting married to me, being so happy, it'll make her angry. Are you okay? You look like you think Katherine's going to end up killing all of us."

 "Do I?" Mikael asked. "Um, I just...have this bad feeling. I've had since Stefan called to tell us about your wedding. I think something's bad is going to happen."

 "What kind of bad thing?" Caroline asked.

 "I don't actually know, but I think you should be careful, Caroline, you and everyone else at the wedding."

 "Well, I don't think Bonnie's coming." Caroline sighed. "Stefan killed the man she loved. I mean, he was in ripper mode, but it was still him. She misses Enzo."

 "Isn't she your best friend?" Mikael asked. "Couldn't she put her anger aside to celebrate your wedding? It's not everyday you get married."

 "Believe me, I wish she would. But I understand, so I'm not going to push it. But Matt will be there, and Alaric and the girls. You and Annette will be there. Why did you come if you have that feeling?"

 "Because there's a chance I'm probably just crazy," Mikael answered. "And it's not like we have anywhere important to be. We mostly just wander around."

 "Well, what about your kids?" Caroline asked. "You haven't forgotten you have children, right?"

 "Of course I didn't forget I'm a father. Things are just...rather complicated....on that end right now."

 "Complicated how?" 

 Mikael was saved from having to give an answer by Damon bursting through the front door with a drunken Stefan in tow.

 "What happened to him?" Mikael said.

 "Turns out humans get drunk much faster than anyone realized," Annette, following behind the brothers. "Damon was the one who gave it to him, of course."

 "I'm sorry," Stefan moaned, now laid out on the couch. 

 "Just sleep it off," Annette said. "Hopefully, you'll be well enough to actually get married tomorrow."

 "You should probably keep an eye on him," Mikael said to Caroline. "We'll just...get out of your way."

 "Why were you with Stefan and Damon?" Mikael asked Annette as they went up the stairs.

 "I was talked into joining them to retrieve the bones of Katherine Pierce. Not very fun. What were you doing?"

 "Talking to Caroline. You actually saved me from having to explain to her where my children have been and I haven't seen them. That probably would have taken the rest of the night."

 Mentioning the other Mikaelsons made them both grow silent and begin to think. It had been so long since the day the prophecy came to be, and they had heard nothing. They knew that they had returned, Freya or Elijah would have tried to get in touch with them, which meant they hadn't been awoken. Annette knew that despite all the time he had spent separated from them and all the fighting wit them he had done, Mikael did miss them a little.

 "Let's cheer up a little," Annette said. "Stefan and Caroline are getting married, and Katherine Pierce will be vanquished once and for all. Those are both worth celebrating, aren't they? And," she held up a bottle, "I managed to snag some of Damon's precious bourbon."

 Mikael smiled. "How did you manage that?"

 "I only had to wait until he was distracted. So, let's enjoy it, because I think he's rather attached to it."

~~~~~~

 Annette had seen weddings on television and in movies before, but had never been to one in real life. It was like something out of a romance movie. Bonnie Bennett showed up after all as Caroline's maid of honor, and Josie and Lizzie walked ahead of the bride, showering flower petals down the aisle. Caroline herself looked beautiful, the picture of happiness.

 But it was also very tense. Being that everyone was expecting Katherine Pierce to make an appearance at any moment, Annette had a difficult time concentrating on the ceremony. But she heard the vows the bride and groom made to each other, and thought it was a beautiful way of expressing their love for each other.

 Annette glanced over at Mikael a few times during the ceremony. He was sitting straight and still, staring straight ahead but occasionally glancing around them. It was one of those times where she couldn't tell what he was thinking. Had he ever considered proposing to her? She had giving marriage a fleeting thought on a few occasions throughout their relationship, but had never given it serious thought. Marriage vows had never seemed necessary for them.

 When the ceremony was over, Annette congratulated the newly married couple, and said hello to Matt Donovan and met his mother. When she had finished talking to them, Mikael said in her ear, "Can we go somewhere more quiet?"

 They walked silently, hand-in-hand, until they were in a forest area and far away from the armory and the wedding party.

 "What's wrong?" Annette asked him.

 "I kept getting this feeling that we were all being watched. I didn't see anyone, but I'm assuming it was Katherine Pierce."

 "Did you say anything to Caroline?"

 "No, of course I didn't," he answered. "She and Stefan have earned a few happy moments together. Katherine can be dealt with later."

 Annette nodded. "Fair enough." She looked around the area. "Do you know where we are?"

 "No idea." They stopped at a clearing. "This is a nice spot. Well, we can't be too far from the armory, can we?"

 "I hope not." Annette looked up at the sky. "The sun's going down. The sunset makes this look sort of romantic, doesn't it?"

 "It does, actually." Mikael turned to stand facing her and held out his hand. "Dance with me." 

 She raised her eyebrows. "You are aware that neither us can dance, and we'll probably just stumble all over each other?"

 "Well, we're alone. There's no one for us to embarrass ourselves in front of, and no one ever has to know what terrible dancers we are."

 She smiled. "All right, all right." She took his hand and let him lead her into a slow dance. "That ceremony was incredible. Television does not do it justice. Just listening to them make their vows to each other was beautiful."

 Mikael nodded. "I suppose it was." After a short pause, he asked, "Have you ever thought about getting married?"

 "Well, I have given it some thought, but never any serious thought. Have you?"

 "Of course I've thought about it a few times. I promise you, I have always been serious about you, about us. I gave you that necklace because there were times when I thought about compelling you to forget about me, and to go have an actual life."

 "What stopped you from doing that?" Annette asked.

 "I was too selfish to let you go. I still am."

 "And that," Annette said, "Just goes to show me how attached to me you really are. Do you think being married would change anything?"

 "I imagine so. That's a huge step in any relationship, Annette, though it is a brave one. We can married someday if you want, but I don't think we need marriage vows to prove that what we have is real. We know it's real, and the people whose opinions actually mean something to either od us know it's real."

 "I know," Annette said. "That's what important. I suppose if we do get married, I'll have to change some things. With the moonstone ring on one hand and my daylight ring on the other, I'll have to find room for a wedding ring. You'll have to get me a small one." 

 "If the time ever comes," Mikael said, "I will get you whatever kind of ring you want."

 "I know." She rested her head underneath his chin. "The thought of marriage, having a domestic life with children and all that, it just seems so...ordinary, doesn't it?"

 "And ordinary is something we are far from. We would have an untraditional marriage, no doubt."

 "Of course we would." Annette looked up at the sky again. "The sun's gone down. Should we get back to the party?"

 "If you like. We can just go back the way we came." 

 Despite being excellent with directions, it took them quite a while to find their way out of the forest and back towards the armory. The armory, however, was practically gone; all they could see was an enormous fire.

 "That's where the wedding party is," Annette said, realizing just how many people could be dead.

 They raced back to the wedding party to find that everyone seemed all right. No one was dead, as far as they could tell.

 "What's going on?" Annette asked Stefan.

 "It's Katherine," he replied. "She's going to burn down Mystic Falls unless we stop her."

~~~~~~

 A/N: First off, I am so sorry it's been a while since the last chapter, given that was really just a filler chapter. I haven't had as much motivation and inspiration for this book recently.

 Which brings me to the other thing: the next two chapters in this book are going to be the last. I have an ending in mind, and I hope it will turn out well.