189Oh, this took me forever and this isn't even really one of the history chapters... But I have finally written this now, so that's good, right?
I used a legend in here. Vixiana the Witch of Vixen Tor. I modelled it somewhat after her - more than a little actually but I'm not sure whether I hit her character since I only found really vague stories about her. Let's call this... creative leeway.
Also, from your Reviews I have decided to add the chapters with the cameos. We'll see which of the Originals will be in the chapters when they come around.
I'm not sure whether I will update much in the next few weeks since I'm going to Spain for three weeks starting the Sunday after next. I'll do my best to write but I am doing a language course, so I don't know how busy I'll be.
Enjoy,
Nick
In the two weeks after Zara had woken up as an Original, Kol had helped her to adjust to her new abilities. He had taken her out to feed, to get used to humans around and just running around, letting her use her new strength. So far the Gryphons had been the last attack that she had to suffer but even so, both Zara and Kol were ready for anyone who would come at them.
"I was thinking…" Zara murmured, her head resting on Kol's shoulder as her eyes kept drifting shut.
Kol hummed "About what?"
"I want to go back to see your siblings," the demigod said "We haven't been to visit for a while and now that I am… I think we should go back."
"But I don't want to go back to my siblings," Kol pouted "Elijah is such a stick in the mud."
Zara snorted "Come on… I want to see Rebekah again. Also, I promised her that I would take her to meet a deity someday. There is something I have to ask Hecate, so if you want to tag along as well, you're welcome to."
"Did you just say Hecate?" the original Original asked, perking up.
"Yes," Zara yawned "I did. Why? Interested?"
Kol tightened his arms around his girl and hummed "To be honest, I wanted to meet her since finding out that you were a demigod."
"You could have said," the daughter of Hades pointed out with a frown "She does live in the Underworld most of the time."
"I just…" Kol trailed off, shaking his head. He had been slightly apprehensive about meeting the Goddess of Magic. He knew that it was probably stupid but he was scared that she would hate him for losing his magic. Not that it sounded like she did… Hecate gave their mother the spell but a part of him was still afraid of what the Goddess would say "Never mind. Go to sleep for now. We can leave the day after tomorrow."
"Zara," Rebekah exclaimed, seeing the fellow blonde entering the mansion "How have you been?"
Kol looked from his sister to his lover and rolled his eyes "Good to see you too, Bekah."
Zara patted Kol's shoulder and grinned "Face it. She just loves me more."
"Where she's right, she's right," Rebekah shrugged with an amused snort "So, anyone gonna answer me? How have you been?"
The demigod bit her lip "Well," she hedged, glancing up at Kol "I've been feeling rather… dead, you know?"
Rebekah gaped "What? When? How did that happen?"
"Slow down," Kol soothed "Let's get Nik and Elijah first, alright? I doubt Zara wants to tell the story more than necessary."
Zara shuddered at the thought "Yeah… I would appreciate it if I didn't have to."
"Did I just hear the little kitten's voice?" Klaus asked, walking into the room with a grin.
The daughter of Hades huffed in annoyance "Can you please stop calling me that?"
"But you're so cute when you're angry," he smirked.
Kol growled lowly, glaring at his older brother "Back. Off, Nik."
"Would you stop winding up Kol, Niklaus? I don't appreciate having to break up your fight. Again," Elijah pointed out, walking over to draw Zara into a tight hug "What made you two come for a visit? It's been almost a year since we last saw you."
Zara scratched the back of her neck sheepishly "There might have been a little development…"
"Zara is a vampire," Rebekah burst out before the demigod could continue.
"Yes, thank you, Rebekah," the younger blonde rolled her eyes "I was getting to that."
Rebekah shrugged "Not my fault if you're too slow."
"Wait, wait, wait," Klaus cut in "I thought you wanted to wait for another year or two before you turned?"
Zara sighed, leaning her head against Kol's shoulder "Sadly, as a demigod, sometimes things don't quite go as planned."
"What attacked you?" the oldest Mikaelson questioned, leading the way to the living room where he sank down on one of the couches gracefully.
Kol made a noise at the back of his throat "A whole flock of Gryphons, that's what. We fought for a while but…"
"But there were too many," Zara took over "There's something else though…" She paused, debating on how to tell them the other little tidbit that came with her being turned "While I was in the Underworld… Hecate turned me into a special vampire. I'm technically an Original as well." And here she looked at Klaus "A vampire and demigod Hybrid."
Klaus opened and closed his mouth a few times before he recovered "You're a Hybrid?"
"Yes," the daughter of Hades nodded "I am."
He smiled at the demigod and got up, drawing her out of Kol's arms and into his "That's great. I'm glad that you're alright though… You are alright, aren't you?"
"I think I am," Zara shrugged "Kol has been helping me a lot in the past two weeks. It's still hard with the whole vampire thing but… I think I'm getting the hang of it."
"You are," Kol agreed "It will take a while, Zara. I told you that before."
Zara rolled her eyes "I know, I know… But I'm impatient to get back out. Being away from people is surprisingly boring after a while."
"You want to voluntarily go out into public?" Kol gasped over-exaggeratedly.
The younger blonde hit his shoulder "Oh, do be quiet, Kol. I'm not a people person but everything's better than being surrounded by you and only you for weeks."
Rebekah and Klaus started laughing at Kol's expression and even Elijah couldn't quite hold back the smile "Oh, I really do like you, Zara," the female Mikaelson shook her head, still chuckling "And even though I think you're mad for actually liking Kol, I'm glad that we met."
"Is today 'pick on Kol' day or what?" the youngest male Original huffed, crossing his arms. There was a smile on his face though, showing that he really didn't mind. The fact that his girl was getting along with his siblings was more than he could have ever hoped for. While Klaus was being a bit too forward for his taste, Zara didn't seem to care much for his backhanded flirting. Actually, Kol wasn't even sure whether Zara actually noticed. She hadn't noticed that he liked her until they kissed.
"Every day is 'pick on Kol' day," Zara grinned, leaning back against his chest comfortably.
"Wait, what do you mean we can go and meet Hecate?" Rebekah asked, her voice rising in pitch.
Zara looked at her in amusement "Lady Hecate has expressed her wish to meet you," she repeated what she had said earlier "She was never able to get too close to you guys, so now that you're aware, she would like to meet you."
"But why me?" the other blonde frowned "Why don't you just take Kol along? Or Elijah?"
"Because I wanted you along as well," the daughter of Hades pointed out "You're my friend, aren't you?" Zara sent the other Original a small grin "I would take you to meet my stepmother and father but then again… Kol is still a little traumatised from his meeting with my dad."
Kol shivered "It wasn't funny," he exclaimed as the two girls started laughing at him "He's bloody scary."
"He's the Lord of the Underworld, brother," Rebekah shook her head "Of course, he's scary. Also, didn't you meet him before that?"
"Yes," the youngest male Mikaelson nodded "But he wasn't focussing on me back then. He was more angry at Nik… Not that he knew that."
Rebekah tilted her head "Nik or Lord Hades?"
"My father," Zara replied "Nik very well knew that it was because of him." It was still a little weird for the girl to call Klaus 'Nik' but the other Original had insisted a year ago, telling her that since she was as good as family, he didn't mind her calling him that.
"So… When do we get to meet the Goddess of Magic?" Rebekah questioned, tilting her head.
The daughter of Hades smirked, looking over the older blonde's shoulder "Turn around."
The two Mikaelsons bowed – or in Rebekah's case, curtsied – when they saw Lady Hecate approaching. The Goddess waved her hand with a small smile "No need for formalities. I'm not quite as stuck up as the others."
"Not quite," Zara mocked, shaking her head "It's good to see you again, Hecate."
"And you, kid," Lady Hecate smiled, wrapping her arms around Hades' daughter for a short moment "I heard about the incident that you caused with being turned. Zeus called me in for a meeting and demanded that I hand over a way to kill you and everything."
Zara winced "Yes. He did the same thing to my father and Persephone."
"I heard," the Goddess grimaced "His Lordship still isn't happy about you being that powerful but he knows that if he goes overboard, Hades will definitely start a war." With that said, she turned to face the two original Originals "I apologize for ignoring you. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
"The pleasure is mine," Kol inclined his head "I never thought I'd be able to meet…"
Hecate smiled gently "You were a warlock before you were turned, weren't you?"
Kol swallowed heavily "Yes. I was." He looked up at the Goddess with pleading eyes "Is there any way for me to get it back?"
"I'm sorry, Kol. It was Kol, wasn't it?" When Zara nodded and grabbed her lover's hand, she continued "I'm sorry but I'm not sure whether I can do that. There are several things that are out of my hands and sadly, this is one of them." This wasn't necessarily the whole truth but Hecate wasn't sure whether it would be possible… There were a lot of factors that needed to be considered and the Goddess needed another opinion on that before she would give him any hope. Maybe Nyx would be able to help? The Primordial had been around for quite a while longer so it would be worth a shot. Hecate shook the thought out of her head for now but made a mental note to look into it as soon as she could.
"Oh, that's alright," he mumbled, squeezing Zara's hand for comfort "I just wanted to ask."
Zara sighed, huddling closer to him "I'm sorry," she whispered "I know that you were hoping that…"
Kol shook his head "No, it's alright." He gave the girls a painful smile "I expected it."
"Zara, listen," Hecate started, her expression a little sheepish "There's something I wanted to ask of you."
The demigod rolled her eyes "I should have known that there's something else going on here."
"No, no," the Goddess shook her head "I did only come to meet the three of you but now that I have you here… I need something done but I have to go back to Olympus for a while."
Zara raised her eyebrow "So you want me to go on a quest for you?"
Hecate tugged at her braid "Yes?"
"What do you need done?" the daughter of Hades asked. There weren't a lot of Gods or Goddesses she would go on a quest for, simply because she didn't believe in them but she owed Hecate her life and she would do everything to pay her back simply because Zara was so much happier now than she had been in her old life.
Hecate pulled out a small scroll of parchment "I need you to find a witch for me. Her name is Vixiana. You'll find her in the Dartmoor."
"What's so important about her?" Rebekah questioned, her head tilted to the side.
"Vixiana has a bunch of herbs and other ingredients that I need to have restocked," the Goddess explained "They are quite important, so I'm afraid it can't wait. I'm sorry that I have to send you out, Zara but you know I normally wouldn't ask you."
Zara shook her head "You know that I don't mind doing favours for the people I care about and you know that you're in that category." She held out her hand, accepting the list "I'll get it done. I promise."
"Thank you." Hecate was about to leave when she stopped "One more thing. You can't shadow travel to where Vixiana is. She has a restriction around her area. They span around ten to twelve miles but you will be able to enter." She waved her hand, another piece of parchment appearing "Here is a map. This is as much as I can for you…"
The daughter of Hades groaned "This makes it a bit harder but… not impossible. Thank you for the warning."
Once the Goddess was gone, Kol turned to his lover "So, when do we leave?"
"Wait, you wanna come with me?" Zara questioned in surprise. She shouldn't have been but a part of her still expected to be left alone when it mattered… These things would take a long time to leave her but the support she was getting from the Mikaelsons and her… her parents – because it would be wrong not to call Persephone her mother when the woman had done so much more for her than her biological mother – was helping Zara with the issues that she still had. Over the past two years, they had gotten a lot better but she still slid into phases of self-doubt where everything seemed wrong to her.
Rebekah cleared her throat "So would I, actually."
"Then you're welcome to come along," the daughter of Hades grinned, throwing her arms around the older blonde "Thank you, Bekah."
The moment Zara stepped out of the shows with the two Mikaelsons holding onto her, she sighed. She had the feeling that her monster-free days had run out. This area – while not crawling with creatures – seemed to house several of them if her senses could be trusted. Zara could only sense creatures native to the Underworld but normally where they were, there were others as well.
"Are you alright?" Kol questioned, wrapping his arm around the demigod's waist.
Zara sighed "Yes. I just have a bad feeling about this."
The male Original narrowed his eyes "Bad bad or your turning bad?"
"Bad bad," the daughter of Hades gave back, making Kol relax a little.
Rebekah tilted her head "What are you two talking about?"
"Ah, we're just getting ready for whatever is lurking in this moor," Zara explained, grinning at the female vampire sheepishly.
"You think there will be an attack?" the youngest Mikaelson questioned.
Her brother raised his shoulder in a shrug "I don't want there to be one but we have to be ready. Especially since this is a place where Lady Hecate normally comes to. Nothing would dare to attack a Goddess. We're a totally different story… Especially with Zara around."
"It's not my fault that monsters are drawn to me," the demigod huffed, crossing her arms.
"Of course not, darling," Kol rolled his eyes.
Zara shot him a withering glare before looking down to study the map "According to this, we should be around here…" She pointed to the area at the bottom of the map "That means we still have to get here." Vixiana's cave should be around ten miles to the north but with their speed, they should be able to get there within the next hour or two.
"I should have changed my clothes," Rebekah complained, looking down at her dress with distaste.
"I could have told you that, sister," Kol grinned "There's a reason Zara rarely wears dresses anymore."
Zara rolled her eyes "Mostly because we live so far from others and are out in the woods most of the time."
"Let's go before I change my mind," Rebekah muttered, starting to walk forwards.
It took the three vampires and the hellhound until dusk to reach the place Hecate had marked on the map. The way they found the newly named Fluffy was quite unexpected to the whole group but Zara already loved the huge ball of fur just as much as she loved Cerberus.
Flashback
"Shh," Zara hissed when a sound reached her ears. It was quite unnecessary since both Mikaelsons had already quieted down when they heard the exact same sound "Where did that come from?"
Rebekah gripped the demigod's arm tightly, pointing to a shadow between the trees shakily. It wasn't that she was scared of dying but this was a day of firsts for her. She had met her first Goddess today and now there was a monster hiding between the trees, waiting to rip into them? Everyone would be nervous in that situation "Over there."
A flash of golden fur and a hiss was all the warning they got before the creature charged at them. The three vampires shot to the side, Kol and Zara pulling out their weapons "Catch," Zara called out, throwing one of her knives to Rebekah "Stay out of the way if you can." She threw the older blonde a worried look. It had been a bad idea to take her along. Rebekah hadn't had the training both Kol and she had… She just hoped that her friend wouldn't get injured.
"What is that supposed to be?" Kol grimaced, looking at the fur-covered figure.
"Manticore," Zara pointed out. The creature's face was that of a human male, while its body was that of a lion. Before she could even take in the tail, she had to dodge several spikes that had been shot in her direction. As soon as she was back on her feet, she charged from one side, while Kol ran at the Manticore from the other.
The Manticore laughed at their attempt, ducking underneath the swords. He didn't even seem to mind the knick he got from one of the weapons "Is that the best you can do, demigod?"
"Not even close," Zara hissed, charging again. This time, she was met by the scorpion-tail, batting at it with as much strength as she could. Her sword slashed through the Manticore's flesh, almost severing the sting from the rest of the tail.
Before they could continue, Rebekah let out a small scream as a growl sounded from the shadows where she was standing. A dark blur slammed into the Manticore's side, causing it to topple over. Kol wrapped his arm around Zara, pulling her over to where Rebekah was leaning against a tree "Are you alright?" he asked his sister, tilting her head up to have her meet his eyes.
The older blonde let out a shuddering breath before she patted Kol's shoulder "You did change a lot… But I am fine. It appeared out of nowhere."
Zara was staring at the hellhound that had leapt out of the shadows. It was battling the Manticore and quickly winning. With one last bite, the lion-like creature dissolved into golden dust. The threat gone, the hellhound turned to them. Both Kol and Rebekah stepped back in alarm but Zara smiled lightly. There was no danger from the large hound, so she stepped forward.
Kol held onto his girlfriend tightly "What are you doing?"
"It's alright, Kol," Zara smiled "I think he smells Cerberus on me." The hellhound had started sniffing the air, coming closer to the three vampires curiously. It continued until its nose was almost nuzzled in the demigod's hair "Hello, boy," she whispered, holding out her hand for the hellhound to smell.
"Are you sure this is safe?" Rebekah asked, her eyes trained on the huge dog. It was easily as tall as her, if not a little taller.
The daughter of Hades scratched the hellhound's chin, causing its tongue to drop out "It's just a normal dog… Well, maybe a bit bigger and more dangerous but they belong to my father's domain. None of them would dare harm me." She looked up at the hellhound thoughtfully "How about I call you Fluffy?"
Kol stared at his girl with a raised eyebrow, his mouth slightly agape "Fluffy? You name that… that thing Fluffy?"
"I don't know," Rebekah giggled "I think it kind of fits." She took a couple of steps forward, cautiously reaching out for Fluffy's fur. Her hand touched the blackness and she sighed "Oh, it definitely fits. It should be illegal to have a creature like that have fur as soft as this…"
End Flashback
Zara leaned over to the other two "Let me do the talking, alright? We don't know how she's going to act."
As soon as they got close enough, they could see a large rock pile with a woman carelessly lounging on top of it "Well, well, well," the witch grinned "What do we have here?"
"Are you Vixiana?" Zara called up, shielding her eyes from the sun shining directly into her face. The demigod had to withhold the shudder as she saw the state of the woman. Vixiana was quite frankly hideous and looked exactly like one would picture a witch from a fairytale. From what the three vampires could see, she was taller than any of them – even Kol – and as thin as a stick. Her nose was hooked and her eyes sunken deep into her head. The colour was what stood out the most though. Her eyes shone a stunning moss green as she mustered the group with a sneer. As her lip lifted, she revealed two rotten teeth at the front of her mouth.
The witch narrowed her eyes and straightened up, her wrinkled skin almost creaking "Who's asking?"
"My name is Zara. These are Kol and Rebekah. Hecate sent me for her delivery," the daughter of Hades explained.
"That's interesting," Vixiana murmured, jumping down to land in front of the mismatched group gracefully. She eyed the large black hound uncomfortably "A hellhound?" Hades might have lent her help in building her cave but that didn't mean that she was comfortable around the creatures of the Underworld by any means.
Zara waved her hand "Oh, that's just Fluffy. He seemed to like me and decided to come along."
"You're that daughter of Hades," the witch gasped "The one Hecate told me about."
"She told you about me?" the demigod frowned "Why?"
Vixiana raised her shoulder in a dismissive shrug "She and I talk about her experiments on occasion and you were her pet project for quite a while. I see now that it worked? Good for her."
"Pet project?" Kol spat, glaring at the witch in disgust. He was trying desperately not to breath in the woman's vile scent and from the corner of his eye, he could see his sister doing the same.
"Yes," Vixiana hummed, crossing her arms. Her eyes were fixed on the lone male of the group, thinking about whether she should try to separate them. But then again, if they really were sent by Hecate, she wouldn't dare. She snapped her fingers "List."
Zara raised her eyebrow but look at Rebekah "Can you…?" The older blonde handed over the list to the demigod, determined not to go anywhere near the witch "Thanks." Vixiana frowned down at the writing for a moment before she whirled around, her long, greasy hair flying around, almost hitting the daughter of Hades in the face.
"How can anyone…" Rebekah shuddered, keeping her voice low enough so that only the other two vampires would be able to hear.
Kol shook his head "Don't think about it," he mumbled "Just… I need a bath."
Zara watched the two Mikaelsons in amusement "You two are impossible. You've been complaining about needing a bath since you stepped into a puddle, Bekah."
"Yes, well," the girl sniffed, flicking her hair over her shoulder.
"Here." The witch reappeared at the entrance of the cave, holding a small bundle "This should have everything Hecate needs." She glared at the demigod, causing Fluffy to growl threateningly. He didn't like the treat against his mistress and that greasy woman was a threat "Tell her to never send anyone to me or they will be killed."
Zara held up her hands "I'll let her know. Thank you."
"Oh, get lost," the old witch grumbled, scrabbling back up the tor.
As the group was leaving, the could see her in the distance, just sitting and watching. Hoping for another traveller to come along "That was not a witch," Kol grimaced in disgust.
"Sadly," the daughter of Hades sighed "I think she was." She had tied the bag to her belt, wiping her hands on her cloak in disgust "But she could have some better hygiene…"
"Some?" Rebekah let out a strangled shriek "Some? I don't think she'd ever be able to get clean. Not with all the water in the world."
Zara looked over at her and let out a laugh, ruffling through Fluffy's fur as she ran towards the end of the wards which would not take nearly as long as the way to the Vixen Tor.
So, I have a Poll up. It will stay up for quite a while but it has all of my new story ideas. The names and pairings are on my profile page as well as the link to the Poll. Everyone has fifteen votes, so go for it. You can vote for the ones you like the pairing of or wait until I have published them all. Your choice.
Nick
