Lover Be | The Originals

Chapter Forty-Three | The First Coven

Though Malia was able to walk around the house, she felt the constant eyes of the witches in the house. They didn't have anything to say to her, except the occasional snide comment from Ellie. The witches came and went as they pleased, but for everyone who left, there was always somebody arriving to take their position. Malia counted at least a dozen, maybe more tucked inside the home offices or roaming the property. 

Malia spent most of the time in her own room, fighting the desire to walk around, play the piano, or read. She wouldn't give Donnie the satisfaction of seeing her consider herself to be anything other than an unwilling captive. It was also the only place that the witches didn't enter unless they were delivering some food or water.

Late at night, she quietly went downstairs. The witch posted outside of her door followed behind, and there were a couple more sitting in the living room. She turned to the kitchen and started rummaging through the fridge.

"I can send someone to the grocery store. What do you want?" Donnie's voice came from behind her and she shut the door, staring at the metallic doors of the refrigerator.

"I want to go home."

"Home to those vile creatures that you're so fond of? I can't let you do that."

Malia turned to face him, anger fueling her.

"I don't get this! The jealous ex-boyfriend is so upset that I've moved on that he joins a cult and kidnaps me?"

"Join it?" Donnie waves a hand and the other witches leave the area. "You're mistaken, Lia. I didn't join it. I started it."

Malia shook her head, confused. She didn't even know the Mikaelson brothers when the murders had apparently started. Donnie saw her confusion, and offered to shed some light on the subject.

"It began in a small village a little more than a thousand years ago. My mother was distraught by these new creatures that were terrorizing our village, creatures that her friend had created of her own children."

"Your village from a thousand years ago?" Malia didn't understand. "You're a vampire?"

Donnie scoffed, shaking his head.

"No, I'm nothing like those things. I was created to destroy them."

-

The witch, Ayana, paced back and forth in their home. Her hands twitched nervously as she considered the part, however small, that she had played in the creation of the vampire species. She tried to convince Esther that that type of magic would have dire consequences, but the woman was unable to deny the request of her cruel husband. Now, the entire village was reaping the consequences. If Ayana didn't do anything, the entire world would as well.

"Mother, please," Donnie placed a hand on her shoulder. "It will do no good to worry like this."

"Adonis," Ayana placed her hand lovingly on her son's cheek. 

Then, an idea sparked.

"It is because of my failures that Esther has turned her children into beasts. Now you must be the one to destroy them."

"Mother?"

- 

"Do you trust me, Adonis?" Ayana had taken the boy out to a clearing far away from the village. Symbols and candles surrounded Adonis, who was in the center of a circle drawn with salt.

"Yes, mother," he nodded, taking in a deep breath.

Ayana put her hand against his cheek again, feeling affection and gratitude toward her child.

"My son," she whispered, moving her thumb gently against his face. She stepped back.

Ayana began a chant. The winds picked up and the candle flames reached toward the sky. The chant grew louder and Adonis roared as the new magic filled his body. It felt like his veins were filled with fire and the air was sucked out of his lungs. Finally, the chanting stopped and Adonis fell to the ground, panting heavily.

"It is done," Ayana said. "Rise, child."

-

"What did she do to you?" Malia asked.

"I was already a witch, like her. The powers she gave me were specific to the abolition of vampires. I created the First Coven, giving other witches the same powers. We have Suggestion, which is similar to compulsion and works on vampires. Our blood is toxic to them. My lifeline was linked to Klaus, but the others draw an extended life and faster healing from our rituals, which we can perform on vampires to seep the magic from their bodies. We can also break the compulsion for people such as yourself. Before you left, I performed a spell to keep you free from compulsion. It seems that you still fell victim to their lies."

Some of this, Malia knew a little bit about based on their experiences with the Coven. 

"So you knew about all of this, all of those years we were together?" 

She felt a pang of betrayal from all of the deception she had endured.

"No," Donnie rushed, shaking his head. "No, of course not, Lia. It's more complicated than that. I'd lost my memories for some time before I met you. For about 800 years, I had no idea what I was, no sense of purpose."

"What happened?"

Donnie smiles tightly, looking down. He didn't want to discuss any dating history with the woman he was in love with, but it was necessary.

"I was chasing the Mikaelsons. They had been on the run for several years as their own father was after them. His hatred for their species rivaled even my own. I was alone, but I had discovered that the Mikaelsons were actually able to turn other people into vampires. I knew I needed help, so I performed the same ritual my mother used on me, starting the Coven. One of the first witches I turned was a girl named Inas. The road was lonely and she and I developed an . . . intimate relationship."

He paused. Malia raised her eyebrows, urging him to continue.

"This lasted for close to 30 years. Over this time, she developed feelings for me which I could not reciprocate. She became resentful and vindictive."

"If I was with somebody for 30 years and they said they didn't like me, I'd honestly be very upset as well."

Donnie grits his teeth.

"She put a curse on me. She took the memories of who I was and why I existed. Believing I wasn't capable of real feelings for another, Inas made it so that the only way I could break the curse was by falling in love with someone, and them falling for me. For hundreds of years, I wandered with no purpose. And then I fell in love with you and you fell in love with me, and suddenly I remembered who I was."

He looked up at Malia, stepping toward her. He reached out to touch Malia's face, but she turned her head. He frowned.

"In a thousand years on this earth, you are the only woman I have ever loved. You made me remember who I am. So you see now why I can't just let you go."