04

"Aren't we all?" Blair said blankly, her voice void of any emotion. Not saying anything else, Blair turned back to her slightly cooled down food and began eating. Though it didn't taste as nice as it would have done warm, she continued to eat with gusto. Blair completely ignored Chloe, not caring as she left the café.

After having breakfast, Blair decided to reward herself with some retail therapy as she needed to take her mind off this Queen and buying things always made her feel better. She was a fan of fashion and constantly liked to see what the shops had to offer. She needed some new clothes after the Hunter had managed to ruin a few of her outfits over the years when she had let him get too close. Finding the nearest clothing shop, she went inside and grabbed she liked or caught her eye. She grabbed more blouses, dresses and a few jeans. As Blair looked around the shop, she noticed some shoes that she adored and also snatched them so no one could get them before her. Blair looked around when she had something in her hands that she liked, and when she saw no one, she clicked her fingers and all the items she had disappeared – into her room and neatly put away. Blair smirked, walking away from that store, satisfied with the items she had pinched. Blair stole what she got and what she wanted, and that's how she got by. Nearly everything that she had accumulated over time had been procured this way, but some items had also been gifts that Katherine had got for her – also probably stolen through compulsion.

With a skip in her step, Blair walked down a street, intending on heading back to the Rousseau's for another drink – one that hopefully wouldn't get ruined. However, that plan changed as she passed a shop and she stopped to look at it. It was a simple shop, one that usually wouldn't have caught her attention. Blair could sense magic in the shop and this intrigued her. She may have no love for the Witches, but she had noticed there was something strange going on in the French Quarter. She hadn't seen any Witch or Warlock perform any magic and she hadn't sensed any Wolves within the area which she thought to be odd. It seemed as though the Vampires ruled New Orleans. So, seeing a shop that radiated magic was suspicious and made Blair want to look around. Mentally shrugging to herself, Blair decided that there would be no harm in looking. With that in mind, Blair walked over to the door and opened it, listening as the bell chimed. She looked around with guarded eyes – it was dark and the shelves were packed with loads of stuff. Random things, but one thing that stuck out to Blair was the herbs. They were common herbs that were used by Witches and nothing too special to look at.

A petite girl walked out from the back, a polite smile on her face. The girl had curly dark hair and warm brown eyes, "Good morning, is there anything you need help finding?" She asked kindly.

Blair flashed a fake smile, "No, I'm just browsing at the moment," She looked at the girl, noticing her plain-looking clothes and a name badge that said, Katie. Blair could sense magic in the girl and she knew that Katie was a Witch. Not a powerful one but not an amateur either.

Katie stared at Blair for a moment, confusion on her face, "Okay." Katie nodded her head. With that, she turned back around and went into the back, but was still in view so she could see what was happening in her store.

Blair moved around the store, looking at what the shop had to offer. There was nothing in the shop that she wanted nor needed as potions were not her speciality. There hadn't been any need to work at her potions skills so she never sharpened them while on the run. For a moment, Blair considered walking out of the shop because there was obviously nothing there but then she stopped and she wrinkled her nose at the smell, there was sage burning in the air. Katie was trying to cast a privacy spell but it hadn't been done right because Blair could hear Katie talking in the back. Blair moved her hair out of the way and listened in on the conversation, curious to know what Katie had to hide. No one used a privacy spell unless they had something to hide and this caught her attention.

"Thierry, I am telling the truth, I swear," Katie mumbled softly, a phone pressed up against her ear. "Someone came in asking for Aconitum, they said it was to kill a Werewolf,"

This piqued Blair's interest but nothing gave this away as she kept her poker face in check. Aconitum was another name for Wolfsbane, a deadly plant for Werewolves but harmless for everyone else. As far as she knew, there was only one wolf in New Orleans – and that was the one that got knocked up by the Hybrid.

"It was a girl but I didn't catch her name. She didn't tell me too much," Katie said, answering the question from who Blair assumed was Thierry.

Blair continued to browse the shelves, pretending as though she was interested in what they had in stock. Stealthily, she moved around the shop, never getting close so Katie would think she was trying to listen in. Feeling a gaze on her, Blair feigned interest by picking up some herbs and looked at it closely. Only when she felt Katie's gaze leave her did she put the herb back. A shiver went down her spine, could it be possible that Chloe had come in asking for the Wolfsbane? Had the Queen ordered the baby's death? Usually, Wolfsbane could be used to subdue a wolf and it could very painful for them hence why it was used offensively. But, if a pregnant wolf were to ingest some Wolfsbane, it would cause a miscarriage. Whoever had asked for the Wolfsbane was looking to get rid of that baby, that much Blair was certain.

Katie sighed deeply, "No, I don't know who attacked those Vampires. No one in the Coven owned up to it and they all seem surprised by the attack too. Whoever it was, they don't belong to the French Quarter Coven,"

Blair smirked, they were looking for her. She made sure that the Vampires wouldn't remember her at all, keeping her identity a secret. However, she was curious to know why someone wanted to know who attacked the Vampires. Usually, when she came across Vampires and beat them, people never investigated as to why this happened. It was a curious thing and it made Blair wonder if this situation had to do with the fact no Witch was openly performing magic.

"Tell Marcel that I'll be keeping an eye out for anything suspicious," Katie said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I love you, bye."

For a moment, Blair frowned and began to ponder. The name Marcel sounded familiar but she soon dismissed this thought. Not wanting to hear anymore, Blair left the shop as a casual place. She didn't want Katie to get suspicious that she had just left the shop. Katie couldn't know that she had been listening in on the conversation because that would cause more complications than needed.

Now out of the stuffy shop, Blair walked along the street, a bad feeling bubbling in her chest. Her eyes scanned the area – there weren't many people around – most of the people were Vampires. Typically, Vampires didn't walk the streets because the sunlight would burn them. But these Vampires were walking in the sun and acting like normal people. Blair was aware that daylight rings existed – though they were rare because Witches didn't like to help Vampires. Blair knew that something was up with this city, but she didn't realise how bad it was. Vampires ruled this city – and Blair had a feeling that a person called Marcel was the Vampire behind this.

Blair entered a park, needing more time to think about her situation. This was all very confusing and she didn't like being caught unaware. Spotting a nearby bench, Blair sat down and watched as children ran around, with happy smiles on their faces. Everyone in the park was human making Blair relax slightly.

However, this peace didn't last long as Chloe sat down on the far end of the same bench, "You need to get out of here." She said, staring ahead and not looking at Blair.

"What the hell is going on here?" Blair demanded, also not looking in the other Fae's direction. If anyone else had said this to her, she would have perceived this as a threat but she felt inclined to believe Chloe. But she wanted to understand what was going on first.

Chloe frowned and sighed deeply. "A war."

"What the bloody hell does that mean?" Blair asked as she looked to Chloe in annoyance and confusion. She hated it when people spoke cryptically, that's why she hated speaking to other Fae. They liked to speak in riddles because it amused them. She much preferred it when people just spoke bluntly and to the point.

Shaking her head, Chloe looked to Blair. "You don't get it. The Mikaelson's used to rule New Orleans and when they fled, Marcel took over. Now the Mikaelson's have returned and Niklaus wants his throne back and will stop at nothing. This place will become a warzone and if you're not willing to spy for the Queen, then leave before things get ugly." Her voice became pleading towards the end, practically begging her friend to leave New Orleans.

Blair cursed under her breath. "Of course the one place I picked would become a war zone," She cursed her rotten luck. She was certain that the Fae were meant to be lucky, but she wasn't. "I take it Marcel is a Vampire then?" Blair asked, her eyes scanning the park once more. She noticed that the number of people in the park was getting smaller as the children and their families left.

Chloe nodded her head. "Yes. He commands the Vampires and keeps the Witches on leashes. That's why you need to get out before he finds out."

Blair frowned. It all clicked in her brain as to why the name Marcel was so familiar. She had heard all about him chasing out the Wolves of New Orleans, which used to be their territory and had them cursed to stay in their Wolf forms. What he had done had spread through the grapevine quite quickly and it had reached her informants, who passed it onto her – not that Blair had actually been paying attention. Blair mentally cursed her lack of interest and reminded herself to contact her informants again to get more information.

"Attacking those Vampires was reckless, and now Marcel is looking for you," Chloe said, her voice scolding.

Blair looked at her and glared, "They tried to take a bite out of me. They got what was coming."

Chloe shook her head, "It doesn't matter. Just get out before it's too late," With that, Chloe stood up and left the park, not looking back.

Watching her go, Blair sighed deeply. She realised that she couldn't stay in New Orleans if it was going to become a war zone. She had only been in New Orleans for a day and was already having to leave, but this hadn't been the shortest she had stayed in one place – that record belonged to Jamaica. Blair knew that Chloe wouldn't lie to her about this, even after not seeing each other for 400 years. Blair knew that it was never safe for a Fae to be near a war because they always got dragged in – and if a Fae did get involved, they liked to be on the winning side. Knowing that she would need to pack, Blair stood up but then a sudden wave of dizziness and sickness hit her. "Shit," Blair muttered under her breath as bright colours took over her vision – her powers were acting up. A burning pain hit her as her anxiety flew through the roof. She couldn't be getting a vision now, in a public open space. Blair forced herself to stand, stumbling everywhere but that's when her vision went white and she gasped.

Visions of a woman filled her brain and she was beautiful. She had long brown hair, olive skin and stunning green eyes. There was a bump – she was pregnant. Blair could hear whispers of the woman's name, Hayley. Visions of the Witches trying to harm Hayley filled her brain and the screaming echoed loudly. Images swarmed her brain of another person, a sixteen-year-old child, the whispers calling her Davina. Another flash appeared and next, Davina was having her throat slashed. Hayley had her throat flashed, the baby was taken away and all Blair could hear was screaming that belonged to a man. Other images filled her head of different people, people who Blair had never seen before but the whispers gave away the names of each member of the Mikaelson family. The whispers grew louder but the name that rang out the loudest was Niklaus Mikaelson. Then, it all changed when she heard shrill screaming. The Harvest, the Originals and the Wolves.

Eventually, the images faded away and soon her sight came back along with her hearing and sense of touch. Blair gulped in the air, finding herself unable to breathe. She hated it when her powers took over because it left her weak and vulnerable. When she was in a vision, she could not defend herself and all her senses went numb as the visions assaulted her mind. One of the advantages of her visions was how detailed they were and she has them detailed to memory. Blair tried to stand up but she found that she had no strength as her whole body felt like jelly. After a few weak attempts, Blair fell back to the ground and her vision became spotty and soon she saw nothing as exhaustion took over her.

Hours passed and Blair remained unmoved as the world moved around her. Soon, night time came and that's when Blair roused from her state of unconscious. She groaned as she rolled over onto her back and she tried to open her eyes even though they felt extremely heavy. As her vision cleared, the first thing she noticed that it was night time and that made her panic. She was still out in the open where anyone could find her and it appeared as though she had been there for a long time – too long. She didn't know what time it was but she knew that she needed to get back to her room and reapply the perfume before a Vampire made her a snack. Blair stood up with major difficulty – her bones still felt jelly week her vision was doubled.

Blair was so out of it, she didn't notice that a figure appeared behind her until it was too late. When Blair did notice, she turned around, she could barely make out the figure, "Who are you?" Her voice slurred and her eyes unfocused.

The man looked at her and smirked, "Klaus,"

Before Blair could even register what he said, Klaus appeared in behind her and hit her head with such force it felt like her head was cracked open. A loud crunch echoed as Blair fell to the ground limply. Klaus looked at Blair's unconscious body before picking her up and tossing her over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes. Within a blink of the eye, he and Blair where gone.

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