Bring Me To Life | The Originals (1)

Always Darkest Before the Dawn

"The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned." – Maya Angelou

There was a serenity to sitting alone in the dark, surrounded by the illuminating glow of candlelight Imogen found as she curled up on one end of the couch in her living room. Her back was resting against the arm of the couch as she brought her knees up to her chest with a blanket thrown over her lap and she absently watched Casablanca play on the television as she nursed a large glass of red wine after a long hard day. The sound was nearly muted but she had seen the movie enough times to know it word for word and she was enjoying the mundane activity after such a stressful twenty-four hours.

Imogen breathed out heavily as she lifted her half empty glass to her lips, pausing momentarily before taking a leisurely sip and savouring the taste as she tilted her head back with her eyes closed.

It had only been an hour since she had said goodbye to her sister outside The Lycée but the ache in her heart was painful enough that all she wanted to do was curl into a ball and cry for the next month. They spent at least twenty minutes locked in a tight embrace, neither of them eager to part ways and it wasn't until Genevieve loudly cleared her throat impatiently that they separated.

Saying goodbye to Davina at the gate of the City of the Dead was one of the hardest things she had ever had to do in her life and she couldn't help but wonder if she was making the right decision leaving her there.

After their brutal parting, Marcel offered to accompany her back to her apartment so that she wasn't alone but she denied his offer and decided that a night time stroll in the gentle breeze would be beneficial to clear her mind. The doubt plagued her thoughts constantly on the way back to her apartment building, but she told herself that it was for the best, that Davina would be happier in the long run and this pain wouldn't be for nothing.

Moments after she arrived home from taking the long way home there was a furious knocking on the front door before it had swung open to reveal Marcel standing on the other side and it took her a moment of standing in front of him, gaping in shock before she asked him what the hell he thought he was doing.

The former king was paler than she had ever seen him, his dark eyes glazed over in panic as he stumbled into the apartment without a word and he finally meet her questioning gaze as he mumbled that he confronted the Original brothers but his only punishment was a banishment from the French Quarter issued from Elijah, not Klaus.

They were both shocked by the turn of events, but they knew that it was one of the better outcomes that they could've hoped for and it was one that they were glad to pay if it meant Marcel keeping his life. They had shared a glass of wine, speaking in low tones about what they were going to do now before Marcel had decided to call it a night and he graced her with a kiss on the cheek as he left to go to one of the properties he owned across the river.

A knock on the front door to her apartment broke her out of her introspective mood, her head snapping up in suspicion as a confused frown marred her lips and she quickly stood up from the couch as she placed her wine glass on the coffee table.

"Marcel, I saw you an hour ago! I swear, I'm fine, okay? Can you please – " Imogen started to exclaim impatiently as she made her way to the front door but suddenly stopped in surprise when she opened the door to reveal a blonde Original standing on the other side with her eyebrow raised in bemusement. "Rebekah, hi!"

"Hello. May I?" she asked politely as she gestured with her hand inside the apartment and the witch nodded her acquiescence as she stepped aside to allow the vampire to pass by her. Rebekah eyed the nearly empty glass of wine sitting on the mahogany coffee table before turning around face the brunette and folding her hands in front of herself to stop from fidgeting nervously with her fingers. "I didn't mean to interrupt your evening."