ONE | ALWAYS AND FOREVER

FIVE MONTHS BEFORE

OCTAVIA DALTON GOT off the train and looked around. She just arrived in New Orleans, she hadn't told her mother where she was going, so naturally she had forty seven missed calls and sixty three texts. She had only been gone nine hours. And three of those hours her mother was asleep.

The blonde girl made her way down the streets, she was going to live with an old friend of hers, well not necessarily a friend. She used to babysit Octavia, her name was Cami, she offered her a place to stay when she mentioned that she had run away from home. Cami didn't ask her why, which was wonderful. The seventeen year old girl glanced down at the address she had wrote down the previous day.

It was the address to Cami's apartment. Octavia continued to walk down the street her suitcase following close behind. She had to be careful, she could sense magic, lots of it. Not only from witches, but vampires. Once she got to her blonde friends apartment she knocked on the door twice.

From the inside Cami heard the knock and raced over, she hadn't seen Octavia in six years.  So she was very excited when the young girl gave her a call and asked to stay with her, she needed it. Especially after what happened with Sean. The older blonde opened the door, Octavia stood on the other side.

A suitcase and two bags with her, she dropped one of the bags to give Cami a hug. The two hugged a while before they parted and Octavia entered the apartment.

•

PRESENT DAY

OCTAVIA WALKED DOWN the dark streets of the French Quarter. Over the past five months of staying with Cami things have been different. She ditched her phone and got a new one so her mother couldn't call her, she put a spell on herself so her mother couldn't locate her, she then found out that New Orleans was being run by vampires. One specific vampire, Marcel.

The blonde had an unfortunate run in with Marcel her first few days in the Quarter. She didn't realize that witches were forbidden from doing magic, so when she did some and then go caught, Marcel was called up. Fortunately, he didn't slaughter her and told her the rules, she thought it was ridiculous, but followed them to an extent. He never hurt her though, especially after he found out how powerful she was.

He even took her to see Davina and the two of them became close. He tried to keep her safe with Davina, afraid the witches could do something to her, but she refused to stay in a dusty old attic when she didn't have to. Instead she became Marcel's right hand women, he even set her up with a new apartment closer to where he lived.

The street seemed darker than most nights, the nightwalkers were probably feeding, and Marcel was with them. Her heels hit against the street making clacking sounds. It was quiet, almost to quiet to be the French Quarter. Octavia didn't mind though, Marcel's vampires wouldn't hurt her, they couldn't and wouldn't if they wanted to keep their lives.

The blonde made her way down the street, she could feel something was about to happen. There was a magical essence floating around, she followed it to a street corner. No one was on it, except one. It was a girl, her throats was slashed open and she laid on the floor, dead.

Octavia knew it had to be Marcel's doing, she did magic and got caught. She looked down at the girls face and looked shocked. Jane-Anne Devereux, the blonde girl was very confused. Jane-Anne was never one for being a rebellious witch, she never even talked to vampires, so why did she decide to practice magic now?

The young blonde wondered what it was all about, she then stood up from her spot and started walking towards the cemetery, where she knew Sophie Devereux would be.

Upon entering the sacred ground she instantly felt the power, although it hadn't been used in months it was still strong, but slowly fading away. Davina would be happy to hear about that. Octavia sighed and started walking around the cemetery, she didn't know exactly where the witches hung out, as she wasn't apart of the coven, but she could find them.

"Sophie!" Octavia started to shout, she didn't have all day. Marcel would wonder where she was if she didn't show up to the compound. "Sophie, I know you're here! I'm sorry about Jane-Anne." She blonde turned around when she heard footsteps.

"No you're not, you want something." Sophie answered in reply, that was half true she did want something, but she was also sorry about what happened.

Octavia rolled her eyes and placed one hand inside of her pocket, "You're right, I do want something. I want to know why Jane-Anne practiced magic. She's never been rebellious, so why now?"

Sophie gulped, she knew that Octavia was clever, but she didn't think she was that clever. Her heart sped up and she was thankful that the blonde wasn't a vampire. "I don't know, I would say ask her yourself, but you obviously can't, because Marcel killed her."

The blonde girl knew something was up, Sophie was lying, for whatever reason. She started to walk closer to her, a smile upon her lips. "You know, you are starting to get on my nerves. I could have gotten Marcel out here, but I didn't, it just me. For now, so I suggest you tell me what you know." There was a pregnant pause. "Or I can get someone out here that will give me what I want."

The Devereux witch gulped and sighed, she knew that Octavia would follow up on the threat and she had no reason to be afraid considering she had all the leverage, but the 5'0 could be intimidating. "Why should I tell you anything?" Sophie was pressing the Dalton witches buttons and she knew it.

With her fists clenched and a glare upon her face she looked at Sophie with a menacing look. "I just want to know what and why, is that so much to ask. I think not." Octavia wasn't going to let her power control her, she wasn't going to kill Sophie, even though she wanted to, that's not who she was anymore.

The brunette shrugged and turned sideways, "Fine. Follow me." It was too easy, and she knew it, but she wanted to know what the French Quarter witches were planning. The two witches walked farther into the Lafayette Cemetery, Octavia's boots clacking was the only sound heard. Sophie stopped, and walked into a tomb, the blonde girl reluctantly followed her in. She didn't like cemetery's like the witches in New Orleans did.

Inside she saw a girl, sitting on a stone bench and another witch on the far end of the tomb. "What is this?" The young girl asked confused, this didn't answer any of her questions.

"This is the answer to all the questions you're dying to ask." Sophie shrugged and pointed at the girl on the bench. "This is Hayley." Hayley didn't seem to happy to be there, so Octavia assumed she had been taken against her will. "She's a werewolf."

Sophie was explaining this very slow, and Octavia wasn't having it. "So why the hell is she here then, werewolves were run out of the quarter decades ago. You should know that, and what does she half to do with anything." The Devereux was getting on her nerves and if she didn't start explaining things to her then things were going to catch on fire.

"Everything, she has to do with everything. Jane-Anne had a special gift of telling when a girl is pregnant." The young witch was more confused than ever, what did a pregnant werewolf have to do with anything. "A few months ago, she spent some time with Klaus Mikaelson. My sister a spell to confirm the pregnancy, and to confirm who the father is."

Hayley glared at Sophie and Octavia smirked, she didn't believe any of the lies that came out of her mouth. Her sister just died and she was either delusional or a psychopath. With a chuckle she proceeded, "You actually except me to believe any of that. In case you've forgotten vampires can't procreate, I thought you would have remembered with all the time you and Marcel spent together." That hit a nerve and Octavia knew it. "So, now if you'd excuse me." She turned to walk away.

"I'm not lying." Sophie's voice stopped her. "Why would I, my sister is dead, why would I lie now. And you're right vampires can't have kids, but werewolves can, and he's the hybrid. Half werewolf, I guess it's one of natures loopholes." The sincerity in her voice almost made Octavia believe the crazy brunette. One foot in front of the other and Sophie caught onto her arm pulling her back. "Octavia, if you tell Marcel, I'm dead and so is Hayley. Her baby will die."

Marcel had a thing about kids, you didn't hurt them. It was a rule every vampire, witch and werewolf obeyed. Even though she thought Sophie was lying, was it really worth the risk of hurting an innocent baby if she wasn't. "I can't, I'm sorry." She turned to leave again when she was knocked over the head with something and she passed out.

•

HAYLEY WATCHED AS THE young blonde girl woke up grabbing her head. Dried blood stained it, the witches hit her really hard. "Ow." She groaned and sat up looking around. "Damn you, Sophie." Octavia stood up too fast and started to fall towards before Hayley caught her and dragged her over to the bench. "How long was I out for?"

The werewolf didn't have a watch and she wasn't necessarily counting. "I don't know, an hour or so. She's been gone for a while." The witch in the corner of the room watched them, a new one had joined. "Yeah, you kinda get used to them." She said when she saw the blonde look at the witches.

Octavia stood up, her legs shaking slightly, "I need to leave, get Marcel." She could barley stand up straight, her eyesight was betraying her and her head pounded. She fell over again, Hayley wasn't fast enough to catch her. "Fuck." What was wrong with Sophie? She wondered, what was so bad that she had to do this?

"We're stuck in here, I tried. These witch bitches won't let me out." Hayley glared at them and under different circumstances Octavia thought they might be friends. "They think I'm pregnant with a magical miracle baby."

The seventeen year old laid on the floor her head turned up to the ceiling. "Are you?" It would sound better if it came from her mouth instead of Sophie's.

Hayley shrugged, she didn't know. Many people that she knew told her that when you're pregnant you know, some sort of mothers intuition. "I don't know, they seem to think so. They've been running all sorts of witchy tests on me. If I was though, I don't understand how it could be Klaus's."

Octavia felt like she was going to throw up, but she remained on her spot on the floor. "Yeah, someone should have warned you, New Orleans witches are a bunch of assholes." Hayley laughed at that and agreed, they had been a bunch of assholes.

They paused the laughter when the two witches looked over at them. The blonde rolled her eyes and sat up slowly, her back leaning against the bench. "I can't believe you said that about your own people." The werewolf caught the look of disgust that was Octavia's face, the young girl wasn't their people and was never going to be. "Sorry, I heard them talking about you, they said you were a witch." Hayley apologized not wanting to get on her bad side, she seemed like the only way out of there.

Octavia waved it off, "Its fine and I am a witch. Just not a French Quarter witch, which is why I can practice magic and they can't." She coughed. "Also didn't a I say they were a bunch of assholes." The Dalton girl joked at little at the end and coughed again, this time a little blood came out.

"Are you okay?" Hayley questioned smelling the blood, before she could respond Sophie yelled for her and the two witches took her out. Octavia wondered what they were doing with her, but this was her chance to run. Find Marcel, she would make him understand Hayley's situation.

He wouldn't hurt her whilst she's pregnant, but this was Sophie's d-day. The young blonde stood up and walked out of the tomb, careful not to make to much noise. Her steps were careful and calm, no one would notice her, they couldn't she was too quiet.

Just as she was about to make a run for it two pairs of arms catch her and drag her back into the tomb. "Fuck you!" She yelled and kicked one of the witches in the stomach and ran again, only to be stopped by another witch. Inside the tomb the witches dragged her, Elijah sat with Hayley, he was telling her his family's history. When he saw the blonde he instantly stopped, and stared at her pale complexion. "Who are you?" She asked, Elijah stood up and was about to make her leave, but he didn't.

He didn't know why he stopped, maybe because he saw something in her he hadn't seen in many years. "Elijah, I trust you know who I am." Octavia knew who he was, what person in New Orleans didn't. He and his family ruled the city, him and Klaus. Fuck, was the only thought to come to her head.

With fists clenched she walked to the edge of the tomb and looked for Sophie. "Sophie Devereux you have five seconds to explain this to me or I burn this place to the ground." Not even a second layer Sophie stood in front of her, Octavia couldn't exactly pinpoint the emotion on her face.

"Elijah is here to help, we need his help. That's all you need to know for now." Octavia Dalton felt an extreme need to punch her in that very second, she didn't.

"What, precisely, is it that you want and what does it have to do with these young woman?" The original vampire asked her pointing at Hayley and Octavia.

"We want to run Marcel and his vampires out of town." The seventeen year old scoffed, Marcel wasn't going anywhere and she was going to make sure of that. "Klaus is the key. Everything Marcel knows about being a vampire, he learned from Klaus. Marcel trusts him, looks up to him, and he won't see the betrayal coming." What made Sophie believe that she wouldn't say anything to Marcel, she wondered.

Elijah nodded and walked towards Sophie. "Yes, well, as I'm sure you're aware, my brother Niklaus doesn't like to be told what to do." He didn't seem threatening, but the way he spoke told another story and Octavia was completely drawn in.

"That's why I brought you here. Marcel drove the werewolves out of town decades ago. Do you really think he's going to welcome a hybrid baby to the neighborhood?" It was a good point, but if they would let her go then she could convince Marcel that the baby wasn't a threat. "Convince Klaus to help us, and no one has to know about the newest member of the Original family."

"That sounds remarkably like blackmail." He replied and Sophie shrugged, Octavia was secretly hoping he would end her.

"Like I said, I'm desperate." Why exactly was she desperate? The young girl was annoyed that much anyone could tell, her magic was close to becoming unmanageable, someone needed to start telling her the truth before she accidentally killed anyone.

"Well, then, I have my work cut out for me, don't I?" He asked before speeding off into the night, most likely to speak with Klaus.

•

KLAUS AND ELIJAH ARE at the cemetery. Some more witches, Hayley and Octavia are present. "No. It's impossible." Klaus breathed, Hayley and Octavia were surrounded by witches.

"I said the same thing myself." Elijah replied to his younger brother, she had said the same thing too.

"This is a lie. You are all lying." He pointed is finger around, he assumed the were making accusations, there was no way that she was pregnant. "Vampires cannot procreate."

"But werewolves can. Magic made you a vampire, but you were born a werewolf. You're the Original hybrid, the first of your kind." Sophie explained to him. "And this pregnancy is one of nature's loopholes." On the side Octavia rolled her eyes, Sophie couldn't be more annoying if she tried.

Klaus screamed, to Hayley. "You've been with someone else, admit it!" The blonde was about to give him an aneurism, when Hayley spoke up.

"Hey, I've spent days held captive in a freaking alligator bayou because they think that I'm carrying some magical miracle baby. Don't you think I would've fessed up if it wasn't yours?" It was clear to the young witch that they weren't lovers by any means, it was just a one-night stand deal.

Sophie spoke up again, "My sister gave her life to perform the spell she needed to confirm this pregnancy. Because of Jane-Anne's sacrifice, the lives of this girl and her baby are now controlled by us. We can keep them save. Or we can kill them. If you don't help us take down Marcel, so help me, Hayley won't live long enough to see her first maternity dress." She actually threatened him, and Hayley and the baby she carried. Sophie was annoying and reckless but Octavia didn't think she would be a murder.

"Sophie, are you insane. She's pregnant, you want to kill an innocent child?" Elijah and Klaus looked to the young blonde, it was the first time she had spoken since they returned.

"Enough of this." The older original spoke first breaking his gaze from her. "If you want Marcel dead, he's dead. I'll do it myself." He goes to walk away, with a wave of her hand he could be down, but for some reason Octavia didn't want to hurt him.

"No. We can't, not yet. We have a clear plan that we need to follow, and there are rules." Sophie stopped him, Elijah looked at Klaus, awaiting his reaction.

As assumes he reacted badly, with a sneer on his face he spoke. Glaring at the Devereux witch. "How dare you command me, threaten me, with what you wrongfully perceive to be my weaknesses. This is a pathetic deception. I won't hear any more lies."

Elijah stopped his brother, Klaus's back turned. "Niklaus!... Listen." The hybrid heard the heartbeat of the baby. Octavia wished she had super-hearing, the baby's heartbeat would be a great thing to hear.

He looked at Hayley, then at his brother and the witches. "Kill her and the baby. What do I care?" He then walked away, Elijah looked at the witches.

"Screw this. I'm out of here!" Hayley started walking away when the witches grabbed her. Octavia was about to follow, but Elijah gave her a look and then pointed a finger at the rest of them.

"No one touches the girls. I'll fix this." Sophie nodded and watched him speed off into the night. The blonde girl wondered if this would be over soon.

Before anyone could get a word out Agnes walked in, she was one of the witches that participated in the harvest, she was one of the only ones that lived.

"Marcel and his vampires are out of control. Something had to be done." Sophie defends herself, Agnes could be intimidating, but she wasn't going to apologize for what she thought had to be done.

"And the solution is to bring in more vampires?" The older witch asked, it was a good question. Hayley and Octavia watched the two interact with one another, the blonde was angry and bored and tired.

"These aren't just any vampires, Agnes. They're the Originals." Why should that make a difference? Sophie could have rounded up all the werewolves in the bayou and all the witches and fought the vampires, but she wanted the originals. Why?

"What makes you think you can control the hybrid?" Agnes was just spewing all of the great questions today.

Elijah appeared, leaning on the wall, next to him were the two girls. "She can't. I'm not entirely certain that I can, either. But now that your coven has drawn his ire, I have a question: What prevents my brother from murdering you instead of cooperating?"

Sophie took a needle and showed it to the Original. She stuck the needle into her hand. Both of the girls winced in pain, what the fuck did she do? Elijah looked at them. There are drops of blood on their hands, exactly at the same point where Sophie hurt herself.

"What the fuck did you do?" The blonde yelled, how could have Sophie possibly known that this was going to happen. Her walking into the cemetery today.

"The spell my sister performed, the one that got her killed? It didn't just confirm the pregnancy. It linked me to Hayley, and Hayley and I to Octavia. So anything that happens to me, happens to them, which means their lives are in my hands." Sophie was officially nuts, that was Octavia's official diagnosis. "Klaus may not care about his own child, but it's very clear what it already means to you. If I have to hurt Hayley – or worse – to ensure that I have your attention, I will." Sophie threatened, she had a death wish. As soon as the link between the was broken she was as good as dead.

Elijah is amused. "You would dare threaten an Original?"

Sophie shrugged, she looked defeated. "I have nothing to lose." The grin disappeared from Elijah's face. "You have until midnight to get Klaus to change his mind." Elijah nodded and sped off into the night once again.

No one spoke so an angry Octavia broke the silence. "Why? What the fuck do I have to do with any of this?" Sophie turned towards her and frowned.

"You can't tell Marcel about this, and this is my insurance. If you try to break the link we both die, which means Hayley and the baby die, you attempt to use any magic on me, we die." The blondes blood was boiling by now, Sophie was clever. Was she just supposed to comply with everything Sophie said, that didn't seem like her, but on he other hand she wasn't about to let Hayley or the baby die.

"I'll find a loophole, there's always one, and when I do you are going to wish I could kill you." She sounded like her old self, the self she left behind, at that moment she didn't care. Sophie was going to pay for what she's done. "Hayley and I will be fine and you, let's just say it won't be a quick death."

Agnes walked back into the tomb and watched as Octavia grinned and took her seat next to Hayley. "Enough with the threats Octavia." She then looked at the other witch. "His time is up. What're you gonna do now, Sophie?"

Sophie sighed, she really thought that Elijah would come through. "I'm gonna do what I said was gonna do." She better not be thinking about what Octavia thinks, because for her there wasn't a way to stop Sophie.

Sabine spoke up for the first time. "What, kill the girls? Kill yourself?" Octavia never liked Sabine, there was something about her that didn't sit well with her.

"Klaus does not care about the child, or the girls." Agnes was right, he didn't even know Octavia, but that was besides the point, he didn't care if they died.

Elijah appeared and the blondes hope was restored, he seemed like the better brother. He had to help them, if not she didn't know what she was going to do. "I do." His eyes fell upon her own blue ones, in his arms he carried a body. "And I bring proof of my intent to help you: the body of your fallen friend, which I procured from Marcel himself." He had Jane-Anne, she didn't know what to think.

"Jane-Anne." Sophie breathed, tears welled up in her eyes and for the first time that day Octavia felt something other than hatred for Sophie.

"May she be granted peace. Klaus will agree to your terms. I just need a little more time." Sophie was to wrapped up in Jane-Anne's body to reply to his question. The blonde looked over to Hayley, she was nervous.

"You had your time. It's passed." Agnes answered and Octavia rolled her eyes.

Sabine glared at her elder. "Shut up, Agnes." Sabine took the words right out of her mouth.

"For now, accept the deal. The girls and the child remain unharmed, or Klaus will kill you all." He walked away, but then turned around again at the last minute. "And I will help him."

•

OCTAVIA HAD FINALLY been realized into Elijah's custody, Hayley along with her. He was taking her and the werewolf to a house, even though she specifically told him that she didn't need his protection. She had her own apartment, a better safe house than this. He convinced her and here they were.

Elijah had gotten the girls set up in two bedrooms. The two girls took it upon themselves to go exploring around the house.
Hayley pulled a sheet off of a crib, the two girls coughed because of the dust. The rest of the furniture in that room was also covered in plastic.

"How do you feel? About the whole miracle baby thing?" The young girl didn't know how to start a conversation like that. In her coven when one of the witches was pregnant they were moved to a house until the birth. "About being a mother, I mean." She corrected herself.

"I – I was abandoned when I was born and my adoptive parents kicked me out the second that I turned into a wolf. So... I don't really know how I feel about being a mother because I... I never really had a good one." Hayley explained and it seemed that the two were more alike than they knew.

"My mother tried to kill me, more than once, if that helps at all." Octavia answered, the werewolf though her parents sucked, but they never tried to kill her. "Yeah." She said awkwardly and when Hayley didn't answer she tried to walk away.

"I guess are parents kind of suck." The brunette replied and the witch nodded, Hayley gave her a pat on the shoulder before she walked away and up the stairs to her bedroom.

"Are you alright?" Elijah asked her once he entered the room, the dust particles were giving her a migraine, and the talk she had with Hayley got to her, she never told that to anyone except Marcel. He offered to kill her but Octavia declined.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Dust, it's giving me a headache." It wasn't a complete lie, but she wasn't about to spill her guts to an original vampire.

"Yes, it should serve our purposes. It's a sanctuary from our business in the Quarter." She scoffed and then pressed her lips together, she didn't need or want his protection. "Just so you understand, I will always protect you and Hayley. You have my word on that." Elijah must have heard her conversation with Hayley earlier, or he's super sweet. She hoped it was the latter.

Klaus appeared and looked between the two, "And noble Elijah always keeps his word." He exposed his dimples smile, Octavia had to admit he was attractive, but still a sociopath. A hot sociopath. Klaus noticed the look he was getting from the young blonde and grinned wider.

"Is it done?" Elijah snapped her out of her state, he noticed and a deep part inside of him didn't like it, but it was Elijah and he ignored it.

Klaus nodded, "As a matter of fact, yes. Your underhanded deal worked quite well. Marcel was only too happy to accept my blood even as he accepted my heartfelt apologies." Octavia remembered what this was all about and frowned again, she didn't want Marcel to die. "His man, Thierry, yet lives and I remain a welcome guest in the French Quarter. My only concern now is this coven of impudent witches."

"I believe them to be honorable. They did release Hayley and Octavia to me. Although, they haven't been entirely forthcoming. Marcel obviously has something that they need. They don't want him dead. There must be a reason why." Sudden realization dawned upon her, Sophie wanted Davina. She wanted to complete the Harvest.