Dark Moon | Klaus Mikaelson

Chapter 80

March 26, 2019

Being twenty-eight felt strange.

Esmeray didn't really find that she enjoyed her birthday anymore. For the past five years, it was simply a reminder of the events that had taken place in the Compound. She'd see Klaus's pained face as Marcel stabbed him with Papa Tunde's blade. She'd remember the way her cherished items burned in a pile off to the side.

She twirled the glass of orange juice in her hand, observing how the liquid glided along the cup's surface. Across from her, Hayley was making breakfast while they waited for Mary to arrive, apparently with news on a lead.

Esmeray had been in charge of that. She genuinely thought she'd be able to free Klaus in less than a year, because she had the contact information for the other pure wolves whose venom she needed.

She'd collected a supply of her own venom, at first. Hayley had been beside her, holding her hand to keep her from flying into a panic attack. Next, Hayley had allowed her to extract her venom. That knocked Poldark and Crescent off the list.

Aaron Campbell had been more than happy to give his venom. Elvis was not comfortable putting on the mask again, and Esmeray understood that. She'd spent several weeks in Portland, trying to find a sense of normality in her life again after Klaus was taken from her. She got to spend time with Aaron and Nat's two daughters, Lyla and Anya, who were sweet, and reminded Esmeray of her beloved friend.

She'd traveled further north to acquire venom from a BasRoq wolf and Deep Water wolf, relatives of one of the captives that had been in Lucien's lab. Then, she'd come closer to New Orleans to see one of Klaus's relatives for North East Atlantic venom.

It was the Malraux that brought her progress to a screeching halt.

"Damn it," whispered Esmeray after another failed Locator Spell. "Lucien bragged that he'd wiped their line out. "But I swear... someone had to be left... Keelin, she was young when I helped her out, around my age. She left the Pack, she has to be around somewhere. But I can't get any trace of her..."

So her travels had stopped. Those first six months of moving around had yielded only six supplies of venom, and they were in need of a seventh. Distraught, she'd transitioned to looking for a cure for Freya and Rebekah, which had been a bit easier, yet had still taken her some time.

The second anniversary came, and Esmeray was at least able to spend some time in Mystic Falls. They were lucky that Enzo had been able to gain control of the Armory before those previously in charge made a stupid decision to open some mysterious vault. Esmeray had learned by now that some doors really never needed to be open.

While she was happy to be with her friends, she didn't feel like she could relax. She'd had Bonnie help her write the Resurrection Spell for Davina. She'd begged Caroline and Alaric to let her do their grocery shopping for them. She didn't want to rest, because she felt as though she wasn't actually accomplishing anything. To ease this feeling, she started to travel again.

She'd done what she said she'd do to honor Anya. She had enough information about wolves, vampires, and witches who were over eighteen and wanted her to perform her spell on them. State by state, she'd gone to help them, remaining at their side for a few days to help them change their legal documents and get settled into a healthy diet to ensure they didn't have any negative side effects.

The majority of those who took her up on her offer were quite young, and nervous about asking her. But with her contacts in place, each of them had been able to first tell someone they knew, before that person contacted Esmeray. She'd even helped several of them get their own place and become financially independent, since their parents were not supportive of them. She'd taken time to help them on college and financial aid applications, as well, to help them get ahead in life even if their families were horrid to them.