Mrs Mikaelson

Chapter 64

Isa had had a nice morning. She'd woken up from using Nik's shoulder as a pillow to find him asleep on his back, their daughter clutched to his chest as she slept wrapped in yellow blankets. The family had slept in a little before they got up and got ready for the family brunch Nik was hosting because he had invited Freya to the compound. Not only was it to extract information from her but it also gave them home court advantage, literally.

And the only reason Isa and Nik even agreed to let Kol watch Hope was that Davina was going to be there. The Claire witch wanted to be closer to their family as she grew closer to Kol, not to mention the fact that she wanted to see the extent of the magic that Hope possessed. Kol had elected to abstain from family brunch in favour of spending time with his girlfriend and his niece because he wasn't too keen on meeting his so-called long, lost sister when they weren't even completely sure if she was their sister.

So, she allowed it to happen but her good mood immediately soured when Elijah returned from his outing to report that Marcel had called him for help when a group of witches led by Josephine La Rue had converged on his home. They were looking for Rebekah - or Eva, rather - since two more witch children had been attacked that night and the only one the witches could think to blame was Eva. Elijah had intervened and Josephine had given them 24 hours to locate the true killer of the children or else they would come for Eva, regardless of whether or not Rebekah occupied her body.

Irrespective of that, Isa still had to put on a smile when they welcomed Freya into their home and into the very same dining room they'd sat at with Finn and Esther months ago. "Welcome Freya, " Isa greeted and the girl nodded in response.

"You have a beautiful home."

"Thank you," she returned before she gestured to Katherine. "This is Katerina Petrova, Katherine. Now a Mikaelson and your new sister-in-law as of two days ago," Isa introduced as the two of them shook hands.

"A pleasure. I can tell that my brother chose his wife well," Freya smiled and Katherine gave a laugh, partly forced and partly genuine.

"I'm biased, but I can't help but agree," Katherine joked.

"Likewise," Elijah played along before Nik spoke up.

"Please come in. Make yourself comfortable," Nik said as he moved to guide his sister to a chair at the head of the table, the couples taking seats on either side of her, the men closest to the witch. "I'll be honest with you, Freya," Nik began as the food was served. "We didn't just invite you here to get to know you, we were hoping you'd share some of Dahlia's secrets."

"Very well," Freya agreed as she stared at a beignet before taking a cautious bite, surprised at the delicious taste. "The first thing you should know," she said after swallowing, "is that Dahlia is the most powerful witch I've ever seen. She craves more power still. Right now, she's like me. She lives one year out of a century, but she wants to be free of that restriction, to gain true immortality." Her next sentence though made all four of them stiffen, Isa reaching for Nik's hand that rested on the table. "And that is why she will come here, drawn by the power of your child and she will take that power for herself. She would kill anyone that would defy her."

"And yet, you defied her," Katherine spoke up.

"I didn't have a choice," Freya addressed her. "She will never let me be free. My one chance is to align with you and kill her."

"Now that we're all suitably motivated, let's talk specifics," Nik said as he leaned back in his chair, hand still holding Isa's and their food long forgotten. None of them would have much of an appetite with this conversation.

Freya looked down at her food, sadness in her eyes as she said, "For you to understand, I need to start from the beginning."

Freya then told the tale of how Dahlia bonded the two together using a new brand of connective magic. One that allowed Freya's power to grow but still allowed Dahlia to draw from it. Once they were bonded, Dahlia became unstoppable. She'd slaughtered an entire village after the chief threatened to run them off and accused her of witchcraft. An example, the older witch had called it, killing off men, women, and children with the simple wave of her hand. How sleeping for a century only allowed her magic to grow stronger, and she'd bring the full force of her power to face them when she came for Hope.