Blue ▹ The Originals [2]

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
SPLITTING A SOUL

"You need to give yourself permission to be human."

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

     They found the Hollow in the early hours of the morning, meeting with her followers inside the St. Anne church. Henrik hadn't gone with them, deciding to help Vincent prepare for the spell instead. Splitting the soul into five pieces meant that the symbol had to be in the shape of a polygon. By the time it was done, his siblings were back with Hope's body, though she and the Hollow were unconscious. Hayley had wanted to do the spell immediately, and they had to calm her by explaining that Kol wasn't in New Orleans yet. None of them had the heart to mention that he wasn't answering any of their calls or texts, not at first, but when the hours started dragging by and he still hadn't shown up or responded, they had no choice. It was around that time that all of them started getting anxious. They all broke off to spend time by themselves. Henrik thought about following Freya around, knowing that she was considering turning herself into a vampire if Kol didn't show up soon, but he refrained himself. He didn't want it to happen, but he knew Freya would choose that over Hayley being the fifth vessel and leaving Hope parentless.

He found himself sitting at the bottom of the stairs instead, fiddling with his phone. He knew he needed to call Francis, knew he needed to warn him about what was going to happen. The only reason he hesitated was because Francis was currently on a plane. He couldn't receive any of his calls or texts while he was in the air, but he could have read them when he landed. Henrik kept typing out the message to send, but he always ended up erasing it all and starting over. It was such a serious topic that telling Francis over the phone seemed wrong. There really wasn't a right way to tell him, not really. While he debated over whether he should just wait and tell him face-to-face, he heard footsteps and glanced up. Marcel had been walking by the stairs, but had stopped when he spotted Henrik sitting there. They were alone in the courtyard where the spell would be cast, Vincent off to check on Hope's condition, and the silence didn't seem so deafening until that moment. Henrik pulled his eyes away first.

"I bet this is the greatest day of your life, what's happening to Hope aside," Henrik said calmly. He even sounded casual, but in truth he was just tired and worried. He didn't have the energy to let his anger toward Marcel rise up, so he let it rest in the center of his chest, where it had been festering for five very long years. Letting it out wouldn't have changed anything, and it wouldn't have made him feel better. "The Mikaelson siblings, forever separated. Your dream come true." For a few moments, Marcel didn't have a response to give. He was probably surprised Henrik had spoken to him at all.

"I'm not enjoying any of this," Marcel finally whispered. He didn't walk closer to the staircase, afraid Henrik would lash out if he did. Henrik didn't plan on lashing out at anyone. He just waited for Marcel to continue passing by, since he had clearly been headed somewhere before. Only he didn't move from his spot by the stairs, and he stood there long enough for Henrik to look over at him again. His phone was growing warm in his hand. He locked it and put it away.

"What do you want, Marcel?" Henrik asked. At his question, Marcel finally figured it was safe to get closer. He walked slowly to the stairs and leaned against the railing, looking down at him thoughtfully. Henrik shifted uncomfortably, then climbed to his feet. If the conversation was headed where Henrik thought it was, then he wouldn't want Marcel to be looking down at him.

"I wanted to see how you were—" Marcel started, and a flash of panic swept through Henrik. His jaw clenched.

"Don't," he said, cutting Marcel off. "You don't get to ask me how I'm doing after what you did." It seemed insane to him that Marcel had even tried. He had tried to kill his brothers and had nearly succeeded, had nearly killed Henrik himself because of the weapon he had allowed one of his followers to use. He had locked Francis away to starve and rot for five years. He had done so much, and now he wanted to chat like his hands were clean. Henrik wasn't going to let him.