[I] Freedom {Klaus Mikaelson}

XXVII. Lil Witch

• • • •

"You, Salvatore brothers are always in trouble," Faith said. She appeared somewhere in North Carolina after doing a locator spell when Stefan called her in pain. She turned around to see Elena tied up against a wooden pillar and Stefan on the ground with wooden bullets in his body.

Hearing wood chips crunching under weight, her attention went to a male holding a shotgun directed toward her. Her eyes widened and she raised her hands in surrender at the unfamiliar man. "Please tell me I can kill him."

"No!" Elena shouted. "You can't kill anybody, Faith!"

Faith frowned. "Why not? I'm sure his parents if they're alive, will throw him a wonderful funeral."

"Don't!" Elena yelled from behind the man. "He's Abby's son!"

"Who the bloody hell is Abby?" Faith retorted as the man neared her.

"Bonnie's mom," Elena explained.

Faith scoffed. "I don't care about the Bennett's."

"Jamie!" Elena called the man's name, gaining his attention. "Who gave you the gun?"

"A man came by earlier today," Jamie began with teary eyes. "He gave me a wooden buckshot and told me if anyone got in our way, I'm supposed to shoot him."

"What else did he say?"

"If Abby didn't find the location of some coffins, I'm supposed to shoot myself."

"What about me?" Elena asked. "What did he say about me?"

"I'm not supposed to hurt you," Jamie revealed.

"Are you sure?" Elena began to move her hands from behind. "Because these ropes are so tight that it is hurting me."

Reluctantly, Jamie walked toward Elena. Suddenly, the brunette broke free and grabbed the shotgun from Jaime, knocking him out with the end of it. She made sure to glare at Faith before rushing toward Stefan.

"Don't start sulking, Elena," Faith said. "You really shouldn't be judging me when you're the one who kissed Damon."

Stefan and Elena looked up at her in surprise before looking at each other. Stefan looked down as Elena concentrated on getting the wooden bullets out of the vampire. "By the look on your faces, you haven't had the heart to heart talk," Faith shrugged. "Oh, well, now you will. I'm going to check on the coffins, I'm sure you can get home by yourselves."

• • • •

"You gotta stop doing that," Damon said once Faith appeared in the old witch house in a room filled with lit candles.

"Damon," Faith glared at the vampire. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Ah, Faith," Klaus smirked at the sight of the siphoner that betrayed him. "And here I thought the Everly family were loyal to the Mikaelson's."

"They are," Faith said, simply. "Though I'm loyal to Elijah who you kept daggered."

"Right," Klaus smiled, sarcastically. "You love my brother that much?"

"Of course."

Klaus glared and turned his attention to Damon. "What took you so long? Hiding behind your witchy friends and in squalor, no less."

Suddenly the candles lit brighter and Klaus fell to his knees, holding his head in pain and shouting in pain.

"Insulting a bunch of dead witches," Damon trailed off. "Not smart. I made the exact same mistake the first time I came in here."

Klaus spoke in a forced and strained voice. "Well, you know, the funny thing about witches is that living or dead, they care about their own. A hundred dead witches have a thousand living descendants..." The pain seemed to increase as the hybrid clutched his head even tighter and started shouting. "And I have no problem, killing every last one of them if I don't get my coffins back. As we speak, my hybrid friend is prepared to end the Bennett line."

The candles died down a bit and Klaus wasn't in pain anymore as he stood up. "Now...please..show me the coffins."

"Wait," Faith tried to step forward but was held back by Damon. She started to siphon the magic out of him, but he kept a tight grip on her. He had promised her father to protect her and that's what he was trying to do.

"Where's the fourth?" Klaus looked at the two. He glanced around the room. "Show me!"

Damon held the siphoner back tightly even though he was starting to feel drained. "Here's the thing. They can't. It's not here."

Klaus glared at the vampire. "What did you do?"

"Bonnie gave me the heads-up," Damon began to back away with Faith from the hybrid as Klaus followed after them. "I didn't have enough time to get all four, but I did have time to get one."

"I will tear you, limb from limb. And only then, when you're a riving mass of blood and flesh, will I rip your heart from your chest," Klaus stood in front of them. Faith was awkwardly in between the vampire being threatened and the hybrid doing the threatening.

She awkwardly placed her hands against the hybrid's chest causing Klaus to look down at her with furious eyes. "As much as I like tension, this isn't the type of tension and frustration I like."

"Same rules apply," Damon told Klaus. "You know, leverage and all. I know you want your family back. But something tells me, you want what's in that coffin a lot more."

Klaus looked back at the siphoner to which Faith raised an eyebrow, questioningly. "You're going to regret being loyal to my brother, Faith."

"I doubt that," Faith countered. "I love and trust him with my life, Klaus. If you wanted me to be loyal to you, you wouldn't have threatened me with my life. I might not care what happens to me too much, but I still need my life to protect the people I care about. Just like you care for your family in your own way."

• • • •

"Why didn't you let me stop him?" Faith glared at the dark-haired vampire as he drank his bourbon in front of the fireplace in the Salvatore Boarding House.

"Well, your father made me promise to keep you safe and that's what I'm doing," Damon admitted. "Plus don't you have a child to care for?"

Faith frowned, knowing he was right. She looked down at her lap as she sat on a couch in the living room. "How was my father like?"

"Well," Damon thought it over. "You have his eyes and his attitude."

Faith smiled, softly. "That's good."

Damon glanced at the eighteen-year-old, worriedly. Ever since she was attacked by her mother, she's been emotionless and reckless to the point where she betrayed Klaus. Damon took a moment to think if he wanted to tell her. He sighed and walked over to where she sat.

Faith looked up when she sensed him near her. He didn't say anything as he pulled out a silver dagger. She took the dagger in her hand. "What's this?"

"That's the dagger that was used to kill Elijah," Damon told her.

Her blue eyes widened and she smiled. He had never seen the girl smile so happily. It was always sarcastic, mischievous, or when she was amused. Faith jumped out of the couch and embraced the vampire. Her arms were wrapped around his neck and her head laid on his shoulder. "Thank you."

Damon draped his arms around her waist and pulled the siphoner closer toward him. "Your welcome, Lil witch."