“There’s a guy out front looking for you. Says his name is Stefan Salvatore.”
Freya straightens from where she’s sitting in the kitchen, nursing a drink and flirting with the local chef Josh hired. While their relationship has greatly improved since her siblings took their pieces of the Hollow and headed for the hills, she can tell that he doesn’t like her lurking behind the scenes at Rosseau’s, especially when it comes to being friendly with the help.
“And stop flirting with my chef.”
“Oh, is that what we were doing,” Ivy teases as she reaches for one of the shots Freya brought her. “Because I thought we were just having some drinks.”
Freya points to Ivy at that assessment. “See? Just having drinks. Besides, I know where her heart truly lies, and it’s not with me.” It happens to be with a certain Vincent Griffith, and she and Josh both know it. An amused look flickers across his face, and he crosses his arms in front of his chest.
“Let’s not torture the poor girl. She’ll be waiting a hell of a long time for hell to freeze over.”
Ivy rolls her eyes before tossing one of the nearby dishtowels at him so that it smacks him in the chest. “Don’t be mean.”
Josh holds up his hands with a laugh. “Alright, I’ll stop. But you –” He points to Freya. “—come out here and deal with your human.”
“Human?” Freya’s brow furrows. “That’s not Stefan Salvatore, then.”
Josh frowns. “Are you sure?”
“Stefan Salvatore is definitely a vampire.” Freya knows from experience. She shifts into a standing position and moves closer to the door. “About yay high, strong jawline, perpetually dry tone, but in a charming sort of way?”
“You mean hot? Yeah, that’s the guy.” As she pushes on her toes to see over Josh’s shoulder, she spots the man in question, shoulders hunched over a glass of scotch, still wearing that garish family ring. He even has his hero hair perfectly coifed. That man is undoubtedly Stefan Salvatore. She points to indicate. “That one?”
“That’s the guy.”
“And he’s not a vampire?”
“I mean, I don’t have a werewolf quality nose here, but vampires don’t usually smell that appetizing. Are you sure he was a vampire?”
“He and Klaus were besties in the twenties. He’s a vampire.” Freya pauses, picking up her last drink from the kitchen counter and knocking it back. “Guess I better go find out what’s up.”
Josh catches her arm as she starts to stride out and leans down to whisper in her ear. “Don’t leave the bar.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Worried about me, Josh?”
“More like worried about whatever kind of trouble he’s bringing with him.” Josh nods to one of the empty booths, tucked into a back corner. “Just stay close.”
Freya nods, before making her way out to the man sitting at the bar. He seems a little off, from what she remembers, though it’s been years since she’s seen him. Time could account for many things, as could his newfound humanity. Still, she smiles as she approaches and places a hand down gently on his shoulder.
“Stefan?”
He doesn’t jump when she touches him, letting her hand linger on his shoulders. While it’s there, she can pick up the differences – this man is certainly not a vampire. It doesn’t mean that there isn’t some magic in his blood, though, which makes him even more of a puzzle to solve.
“Hey, Freya. It’s been a long time.”
“It has.” She slides up on the stool next to him. “What brings you to New Orleans?”
Stefan shrugs. “My brother’s dead.”
Freya’s face falls. “I’m sorry.”
“He did it doing the right thing, so … I’m not looking to take that away from him, but I can’t help but feel a little … lost.”
He looks like he’s about to say more, but Freya cuts him off. “Why don’t we take a walk? We have a few … eavesdroppers in here.” He catches on to the fact that she means people with supernatural hearing, not just people who are nosy, and nods, placing some money on the bar for his drink as he stands.
“Yeah. That sounds like a good idea.”
She glances back over her shoulder and sees Josh’s exasperated face at her complete disregard for the plan, but she waves him off as she grabs her jacket from behind the bar, and links her arm into Stefan’s. She’s fairly certain the trouble that Stefan is bringing to her doorstep isn’t going to cause that much trouble.
And if it does? Well, she wasn’t born an incredibly terrifying witch for nothing.
- - - - - - -
As they stroll their way through the French Quarter, Stefan regales her with the entire tale. Katherine, Cade, Hell, his receiving the cure against his will – it’s a high-octane story, to be sure, not dissimilar to the things they struggle with in New Orleans from time to time. Part of that story also happens to be how Damon sacrificed himself to kill Katherine once and for all, and while she knows that someone who’s grieving can tend to wander, she’s also not sure where she fits into all of this.
“As lovely a tale as this is, it still doesn’t quite answer the question of what you’re doing here, Stefan.” She sits on the edge of one of the fountains and gestures for him to sit next to her. He takes a deep breath before doing as requested, sitting on the cement ledge and turning his eyes up to the stars.
“Staying in Mystic Falls without him didn’t feel right.” He looks up at the sky as he speaks, almost as though he’s using them as a focus. “And now I have this human life, this thing that I wanted for so long, but without him, it feels … hollow. I don’t know what to do.”
Freya can’t say she doesn’t understand the feeling. She spent centuries fighting to get to her family and would do unthinkable things to keep them. But what do you do when the person you’ve spent so long fighting for has managed to step out of your reach? There are some lines that even she can’t cross as much as she has tried.
“You could start over.” The advice is hollow, as it’s not what she would do, but it’s what a sane person would do. “Pick a new place, make a new life?”
Stefan nods. “Thing is, I don’t want to be no one again. I think … I think right now, what I need is to be with people who know me for who I was, but … don’t know me too well.” He smirks. “Does that make any sense?”
Freya laughs. “It’s not the worst logic I ever heard.” She shifts to look at him some more. “Are you thinking of making New Orleans that place?”
“I know it’s a lot to put on you.” He tips his head to the side. “I thought more of your siblings would be around, but … I guess not.”
She shakes her head. “Long story we will need far more booze for, but Hayley is still here. I think between the two of us; we can give you enough leeway for both knowing you and not knowing you.”
“That’s true.” He glances over to her. “You sure it’s not too much?”
She shakes her head. “Not at all. Plus, we could use more human allies in New Orleans.”
His brow furrows. “Do I count as a human ally now?”
Freya grins. “Well, if the shoe fits.”
He laughs, then shakes his head. “Alright. So how do people in New Orleans deal with what I’m dealing with?”
“Lots of tequila, some greasy food, and see where the evening takes us?” She leans closer with a smirk. “Riddle me this, Mr. Salvatore – when was the last time you could actually feel the effects all the little things humans do to pretend the world is better than it is?”
He smirks before playing along. “Oh, hundred sixty years or so?”
“Want to go see what they’ve come up with since then?”
“I think I would.” He stands, extending one arm out to her as he does. “Care to join me, Ms. Mikaelson?”
She grins as she takes his arm and nods. “It would be irresponsible of me not to.”
Freya has a feeling they both may regret this course of action in the morning, but for now, it certainly seems like a very engaging evening.
the morning light disarms you ~ tvdverse ~ 1,437
Freya straightens from where she’s sitting in the kitchen, nursing a drink and flirting with the local chef Josh hired. While their relationship has greatly improved since her siblings took their pieces of the Hollow and headed for the hills, she can tell that he doesn’t like her lurking behind the scenes at Rosseau’s, especially when it comes to being friendly with the help.
“And stop flirting with my chef.”
“Oh, is that what we were doing,” Ivy teases as she reaches for one of the shots Freya brought her. “Because I thought we were just having some drinks.”
Freya points to Ivy at that assessment. “See? Just having drinks. Besides, I know where her heart truly lies, and it’s not with me.” It happens to be with a certain Vincent Griffith, and she and Josh both know it. An amused look flickers across his face, and he crosses his arms in front of his chest.
“Let’s not torture the poor girl. She’ll be waiting a hell of a long time for hell to freeze over.”
Ivy rolls her eyes before tossing one of the nearby dishtowels at him so that it smacks him in the chest. “Don’t be mean.”
Josh holds up his hands with a laugh. “Alright, I’ll stop. But you –” He points to Freya. “—come out here and deal with your human.”
“Human?” Freya’s brow furrows. “That’s not Stefan Salvatore, then.”
Josh frowns. “Are you sure?”
“Stefan Salvatore is definitely a vampire.” Freya knows from experience. She shifts into a standing position and moves closer to the door. “About yay high, strong jawline, perpetually dry tone, but in a charming sort of way?”
“You mean hot? Yeah, that’s the guy.” As she pushes on her toes to see over Josh’s shoulder, she spots the man in question, shoulders hunched over a glass of scotch, still wearing that garish family ring. He even has his hero hair perfectly coifed. That man is undoubtedly Stefan Salvatore. She points to indicate. “That one?”
“That’s the guy.”
“And he’s not a vampire?”
“I mean, I don’t have a werewolf quality nose here, but vampires don’t usually smell that appetizing. Are you sure he was a vampire?”
“He and Klaus were besties in the twenties. He’s a vampire.” Freya pauses, picking up her last drink from the kitchen counter and knocking it back. “Guess I better go find out what’s up.”
Josh catches her arm as she starts to stride out and leans down to whisper in her ear. “Don’t leave the bar.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Worried about me, Josh?”
“More like worried about whatever kind of trouble he’s bringing with him.” Josh nods to one of the empty booths, tucked into a back corner. “Just stay close.”
Freya nods, before making her way out to the man sitting at the bar. He seems a little off, from what she remembers, though it’s been years since she’s seen him. Time could account for many things, as could his newfound humanity. Still, she smiles as she approaches and places a hand down gently on his shoulder.
“Stefan?”
He doesn’t jump when she touches him, letting her hand linger on his shoulders. While it’s there, she can pick up the differences – this man is certainly not a vampire. It doesn’t mean that there isn’t some magic in his blood, though, which makes him even more of a puzzle to solve.
“Hey, Freya. It’s been a long time.”
“It has.” She slides up on the stool next to him. “What brings you to New Orleans?”
Stefan shrugs. “My brother’s dead.”
Freya’s face falls. “I’m sorry.”
“He did it doing the right thing, so … I’m not looking to take that away from him, but I can’t help but feel a little … lost.”
He looks like he’s about to say more, but Freya cuts him off. “Why don’t we take a walk? We have a few … eavesdroppers in here.” He catches on to the fact that she means people with supernatural hearing, not just people who are nosy, and nods, placing some money on the bar for his drink as he stands.
“Yeah. That sounds like a good idea.”
She glances back over her shoulder and sees Josh’s exasperated face at her complete disregard for the plan, but she waves him off as she grabs her jacket from behind the bar, and links her arm into Stefan’s. She’s fairly certain the trouble that Stefan is bringing to her doorstep isn’t going to cause that much trouble.
And if it does? Well, she wasn’t born an incredibly terrifying witch for nothing.
As they stroll their way through the French Quarter, Stefan regales her with the entire tale. Katherine, Cade, Hell, his receiving the cure against his will – it’s a high-octane story, to be sure, not dissimilar to the things they struggle with in New Orleans from time to time. Part of that story also happens to be how Damon sacrificed himself to kill Katherine once and for all, and while she knows that someone who’s grieving can tend to wander, she’s also not sure where she fits into all of this.
“As lovely a tale as this is, it still doesn’t quite answer the question of what you’re doing here, Stefan.” She sits on the edge of one of the fountains and gestures for him to sit next to her. He takes a deep breath before doing as requested, sitting on the cement ledge and turning his eyes up to the stars.
“Staying in Mystic Falls without him didn’t feel right.” He looks up at the sky as he speaks, almost as though he’s using them as a focus. “And now I have this human life, this thing that I wanted for so long, but without him, it feels … hollow. I don’t know what to do.”
Freya can’t say she doesn’t understand the feeling. She spent centuries fighting to get to her family and would do unthinkable things to keep them. But what do you do when the person you’ve spent so long fighting for has managed to step out of your reach? There are some lines that even she can’t cross as much as she has tried.
“You could start over.” The advice is hollow, as it’s not what she would do, but it’s what a sane person would do. “Pick a new place, make a new life?”
Stefan nods. “Thing is, I don’t want to be no one again. I think … I think right now, what I need is to be with people who know me for who I was, but … don’t know me too well.” He smirks. “Does that make any sense?”
Freya laughs. “It’s not the worst logic I ever heard.” She shifts to look at him some more. “Are you thinking of making New Orleans that place?”
“I know it’s a lot to put on you.” He tips his head to the side. “I thought more of your siblings would be around, but … I guess not.”
She shakes her head. “Long story we will need far more booze for, but Hayley is still here. I think between the two of us; we can give you enough leeway for both knowing you and not knowing you.”
“That’s true.” He glances over to her. “You sure it’s not too much?”
She shakes her head. “Not at all. Plus, we could use more human allies in New Orleans.”
His brow furrows. “Do I count as a human ally now?”
Freya grins. “Well, if the shoe fits.”
He laughs, then shakes his head. “Alright. So how do people in New Orleans deal with what I’m dealing with?”
“Lots of tequila, some greasy food, and see where the evening takes us?” She leans closer with a smirk. “Riddle me this, Mr. Salvatore – when was the last time you could actually feel the effects all the little things humans do to pretend the world is better than it is?”
He smirks before playing along. “Oh, hundred sixty years or so?”
“Want to go see what they’ve come up with since then?”
“I think I would.” He stands, extending one arm out to her as he does. “Care to join me, Ms. Mikaelson?”
She grins as she takes his arm and nods. “It would be irresponsible of me not to.”
Freya has a feeling they both may regret this course of action in the morning, but for now, it certainly seems like a very engaging evening.