Bring Me To Life | The Originals (1)

If It's Not Okay, Then It's Not Over

"No one can confidently say that he will still be living tomorrow." – Euripides

The smell of smoke still lingered on Imogen's ash covered clothing as she walked down the empty street, an acidic aftertaste in her mouth that left her wanting to wash her mouth out with bleach. The only thing on her mind as she headed towards her apartment building from the parking lot where she left her car was, 'man, I really want a shower'.

The high heels she had worn all day dangled carelessly from her fingers, her arm swinging slightly by her side and she hummed absently to herself with a small smile on her lips. For some people the events that had taken place at the Mikaelson Plantation would send them into a comatose state or cause them to sit on the shower floor rocking back and forth as they clutched their knees to their chest. But Imogen wasn't most people and being caught in an inferno wasn't the worst thing that had ever happened to her.

The full moon had nearly faded from the black canvas above as she tilted her head back to look at the stars with a small smile on her lips. Imogen had always believed that the night time was the perfect metaphor of life: stars can't shine without darkness.

It were those words that she clung to like a security blanket because it feed into her subconscious desire to have hope that everything happened for a reason, that all the pain and suffering she had gone through was for a purpose. She liked to believe it was, she had to believe it was.

Her footsteps were practically silent on the cold asphalt beneath her feet, making it easy for her to detect the approach of footfalls. A feeling of dread swept through her as she stopped walking besides a sedan that was parked on the side of the road and she dropped her shoes to the ground with an audible thud as she looked around the surrounding area.

"Hello, Imogen." a familiar voice greeted her almost friendly from behind her and a small smile spread across her lips in realisation as she slowly turned around to face the reality in front of her.

"Hello, Celeste." Imogen greeted the ancient witch with a respectful nod because while she didn't agree with the witch's perpetual overtaking a fellow witch's body for her own survival, it was certainly an impressive show of magical skill. "I would say it's a pleasure, but I don't like to lie straight to someone's face."

A pleasant smile spread across Celeste's lips, amused by the nerve of the younger witch and she tilted her head to the side in consideration as her gaze raked over every inch of Imogen's body. There was a hint of jealousy burning in her eyes as she took in the appearance of Elijah's newest obsession. In so many ways Imogen was exactly Elijah's type: a mischievous smile, eyes burning bright with intelligence, a heart full of compassion.

"Do you know why I'm here?" Celeste asked curiously with an eyebrow quirked as she slowly started to circle around the younger witch, her lips upturned in mild amusement.

"I'm guessing it's not to chat about the weather." Imogen replied drily as she carefully watched every moment the other woman made, trying to keep her expression impassive so that Celeste couldn't see the fear warring away inside of her.

A small chuckled escaped Celeste's lips as she ducked her head slightly before lifting her gaze to meet Imogen's blue eyes and she smirked slightly as she tilted her head to the side, "No. No, I'm not here for anything so mundane."

A foreboding silence followed her words as the two witches stared at each other in a battle of willpower, neither one of them wanting to be the first one to break. They were experiencing the calm before the storm, the stillness that came before a hurricane swept through and destroyed everything that dared stand in its path.

"You might not believe me, but this is for the best, Imogen. I'm doing you a favour." Celeste informed the younger witch in an almost sympathetic tone of voice and her expression fell into one of pity, like she really believed that she was doing what was best for Imogen. "The Mikaelson family is toxic. They poison everything they touch. Trust me."