were always the ones that seemed to become reality. In the face of danger you'd never witness your enemy pull out a rose and ask you to dinner, no, it would always get worse. The world didn't finally make sense after childhood, you didn't finally understand pain.

Your just finally forced to handle it on your own.

"Once upon a time, I heard my father speak to my elder brothers of just what it took to make a warrior."

Elena Gilbert yawned tiredly to herself, rubbing her eyes as she aimlessly reached out to the side Table on her left. Wrapping her fingers around the cord of her phone, she tugged on it, forcing it to fall onto the mattress with her.

Turning her head, she lazily opened the screen while squeezing her eyes as a cure to the brightness. Ignoring all the messages from her friends, the brunette immediately went to a certain blonde Mikaelson's contact.

Like she did every morning.

And just like every morning, all messages remained seen yet un responded. Everyday forced the time stamp to move back, reminding her that she was being ignored.

"It took courage, and resilience, but above all it took a strength. One that he believed none of them had. It was a strength of the mind, not just the body."

Hayley Marshall sat on one of the logs set up in her packs camp, talking with Eve as they both spoke of preparations for the next full moon. The day she was supposed to have everything she ever wanted. Her family.

However something looked over the back of her mind, plaguing the joyful moments that should have been spent with excitement with loneliness. Reaching down, she rested her hand on her extended stomach, nervous at the new feeling.

Hayley couldn't help but recall her dreams from the previous nights, all the same. She played perfect little family every time, Mazeki was her wife, and they had a sweet little girl. They had family dinners, and watched tv like normal families.

And once their daughter went to bed, they'd share a glass of wine and dance to some romantic Latin song in the living room. The Heretic would whisper beautiful words in Hayley's ear, and she'd look at her with so much love.

It's what made it hurt so bad when she woke up, knowing so well it wasn't real. It couldn't. Because in her dreams, Mazeki was a werewolf, and their was no other Mikaelson's there to bother them, they were safe.

"You had to know when to hold your tears, when to hold in your screams despite the pain you were suffering. Being a warrior was being barbaric but knowing when to smile dauntingly at your opponent."

Mazeki Mikaelson laid beneath the water unable to breathe, her fingers grasped onto the white linoleum of her bathtub as she tried to not let herself float away. The memory of her fingers plunging into someone chest, their heart being her dessert.

The blood dripping past her lips, the taste of them on her lips, their screams dying in her ears. The beast inside her, the monster that she had spoke of, it had pushed through. Taking three innocent souls the night she found out Klaus' betrayal.

She feared for the day Hayley would witness her in that element, the day Her little minx would see what hid behind it all. She had to stay away. And yet she also knew, she'd never be able to escape Hayley.

"I'd always known better then my family, I knew since the day I was coherent to understand who my brothers were, that neither were warriors at heart. To much occupied their minds, their brains could never become silent enough to fight without doubt."

Elijah Mikaelson smiled at clever witted Barista, who shamelessly flirted with him as he ordered himself a coffee. She smiled coyly at him, unaware of what laid beneath the exterior of a well dressed man.

Taking out his wallet, Elijah slipped out a twenty dollar bill and handed it to the barista while making it clear he didn't desire any change. However just as the shameless barista went to ask him for his number, a sudden collision happened right in view.

Elijah felt someone slam directly into his side, catching him off guard as he tripped and caught himself with the counter. However the next thing he noticed with his wallet slipping from him and right into the hands of the culprit.

A child it seemed from their size. However he didn't quite get a good look as they ran off before anyone could even catch a glimpse.

"It was never said but my father and I on some level had an understanding, he knew what I wanted and I knew he didn't agree. Girls weren't warriors, they weren't to even hold blades."

Arthur stood in the deep Bayou, a wide familiar grin to him as he looked around himself in amazement. RVs, cars, tents. A community, being built in front of his eyes.

Feeling something briefly touch his shoulder, he turned around confused. However he was fortunate to mearly find Hayley, a pleasant smile pulled at her lips.

"How happy I am to confidently say, my father never knew better then me."

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

was a part of life, it what made for people to enjoy the little moments of joy. Of comfort within the premise of those you cared for.

Mazeki and Elijah walked symmetrical to one another, both admiring the sights of the bayou at this time of day as they spoke to each other in a gentle manner. You'd never catch the Mikaelson's speaking to eachother like this on a usual day, however today wasn't the same as usual.

No today Mazeki wasn't a Mikaelson, and neither was Elijah. Today the heretic followed back to her routes, an her brother followed her in tail.

"So you were over taken- by a child? My brother, the saint, was mugged by some orphan in a coffee shop. What a tale." She laughed to herself, as the image of her brothers short mugging played through her mind on loop.

He shook his head, bumping shoulders with his sister in a joking manner. "Oh enough with your ridiculous jesting, there was nearly four hundred dollars in that wallet. All taken by some child."

"Rather amusing though, isn't it?" She grinned, looking over at him with a special look of amusement to her."I mean you have liven ten life times, and yet someone who hasn't even lived a quarter of one was able to rob you blind, with no witnesses."

"I find it to be a nuisance rather then amusing, but I suppose we teach our own." He grumbled these words, his expensive shoes leaving holes in the unstable ground of the bayou."Might I ask where Davina is, I had thought she'd be joining us?"

Lifting her chin, Mazeki shut her eyes as she let the sun bathe her face in its glow."Barricaded in her room. I very well thought she had left me to be with Marcel, only to find out he very well gave her to the witches in trade for Rebekah's freedom."

Elijah's brows knitted together, taken aback at the new information that had been spotted out so lazily. Turning he quickly blocked her path, forcing her to a halt. "He what?"

"Yes, he handed her off thinking that her delusions were something of the witches doing. Killing two pigeons with one bullet." She grunted out, making a clicking sound with her mouth as she shook her head in a almost disappointed nature."I can not believe I had begun to like that man, only an imbecile would hand off a traitor to those she was a traitor to."

"Well Marcel seemed far smarter when we first welcomed him in our home." Elijah sighed, using her fingers to rub his brows."She been suffering delusions?"

"Not just delusions, the delusions. The ones I suffered from after I brought you back, the only difference is I did not understand that the person I saw was dead, I simply thought I had a childhood bully. Davina is old enough to understand that the boy she is seeing is the one that died for her."

"Have you spoken to her about this?"

She sighed, tucking her hair behind her ears as she made a sound of disagreement before her words. "Vaguely, she was rather hysterical when she first returned. I did not wish to rattle her. Since then she's hidden herself from me."

"And what of Hayley?"

"What of her?" Her exterior quickly switched to that of defensive, the worry in her shifting to standoffish as she met her brothers knowing eyes.

"Do not play dumb with me Mazeki, I'm well aware of the feeling you shed for her. You've never quite mastered hiding your relations like you have everything else." Elijah chastised in normal older brother fashion, his mind recollecting a period of time where he had to defend her from multiple men that hoped to wed her.

One even being his friend, Tristan, back over nine hundred years ago

Mazeki scoffed, deterring her eyes from her brother as she looked up above at a bird the flew solo amongst the sky."I've not seen her since the day I met with Arthur, I left her with him once I realized the he hadn't been lying. Since then I've not stepped a foot near here."

"Perhaps we should stop, see to it she is safe."

"Believe me that girls only concern would be us micromanaging her." Mazeki scoffed, passing her brother as she took long strides to get away from the potentially awkward conversation.

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

wasn't simple in any version, it's what made it so utterly desirable. The messiness, the craziness of loving someone in entirety was so desirable some would kill for it.

Hayley was one of those people, she desired the type of love that was all consuming, that type that took her breath away with just a little touch of the lips. A type of love that made the room fall silent. The type that promises were made and broken for.

However Hayley also knew that it was unlikely, that type of love came around only once if any and she didn't think she had exactly what it took. She didn't choose the people to give that to her.

And Mazeki was the only thing that she could define as love, and Mazeki was also the person she feared loving. She was terrifying, scarily calm, scarily sweet worded, she was scary.

So she ignored her dreams, ignored the feelings of wishing for even a little touch. Hayley would never say it, but somewhere deep inside she feared the way she felt for the Blonde.

"So, this is your family?" Hayley wondered looking around at the once absent clearing that now possessed many tents and at least two RVs. "Mazeki had other siblings to then?"

Arthur chuckled lightly, smiling at the brunette werewolf beside him that had come to keep him company. "No, I have no other children. My wife, she was unfortunately barren. Mazeki was my only off spring. However these are all descendants from my brothers children."

"Oh." Hayley nodded, attempting to keep her judgements to herself as she occupied her eyes with watching this community slowly come together.

Gently knocking her shoulder, he earned her attention as his smile never wavered. "It is fine to have your judgments, however I do appreciate you holding your tongue." Looking down for a moment reflectively, he turned fully to her. "My affair with Esther was one of terrible judgment making, it had been made right after getting word of my wife's condition and I had felt alone, isolated. So I acted without thought."

"So you sleep with a married woman?" Hayley slipped, immediately regretting her word choice the moment it was spoken.

However Arthur continued to smile, unfazed. "You remind me of my daughter, a similar attitude. However I hope you'll understand quicker then her, the type of regret one feels after doing something they didn't think through." Meeting her doubt filled eyes, he sighed while looking at her understandably."You may not understand our relationship Hayley, but I do love her, just as she loves me."

"I'm starting to get the impression that she doesn't know how to love, just how to hate." The werewolf gritted, looking down at the ground as her heart clenched at the familiar unsettling feeling as she though of the Mikaelson woman.

"She's been broken, for a very long time Dear. But much like the rest of their family, I think you may be just the person to help her heal."

Enjoy the extra long chapter to make up for the recent bad and short ones!

But if there's any cute scene ideas or questions you have, feel free to comment them. Nothing will be shut down.

Bye bye lovelies.