Sophia
November 2025
Pulsating set of footsteps. Muffled cries. The door burst open, and Laura burst through, wiping her blotchy and tear stained face. She had been wiping them so much, her eyes and face were red and swollen. Throwing herself at me and locking me in her hold, she sobbed. "I poured-poured my heart out to him, and he betrayed me. I love him and he denied me." The words tore through her chest, gasping as she let them free. "He doesn't love me...he loves someone el-else even though he slept with me."
"Who Laura?" I asked softly, pulling her away to get a better look at her.
She snivelled, but the onslaught of sobs wracked her body. "It doesn't matter...please-please promise you'll never betray me. Please don't betray me..."
Cupping her face, wiping away the fast-flowing tears, I peered into her green eyes. "I will never betray you."
"Am I not good enough? He said I wasn't pretty enough. What's wrong-wrong with me?" Her eyes were the hue of the new spring growth, bright and soft all at once. There were flecks of strength and sincerity. How ageless they were; to me, so was she.
"I'll never hurt you or let anyone else. I promise."
She crashed into me again, gripping me so tight, her hold pinning down my arms to my side. Worming my hands up, I stroked the back of her head with my fingers running through her tangled hair. When the sobs softened to little hiccups and slow tears, I took her hand and began a silly dance. I knew it would make her feel better, it always did. Bursting with laughter and a smile that spread across her face, so vibrant and alive that it replaced the grief she wore not too long ago.
Present
I was hot. My heart rate increased drastically; I was a shaking mess. I was beyond hurt. I was done feeling sorry for myself and I was done sitting idle. "I'm coming for you Jameela!" I muttered to myself. I would find her regardless. She could hide all she wanted but I would hunt her down and that was final. Closing my eyes, I focused. I didn't need anything else. I needed to visualise her, focus my energy and emotions into one thing. Into one person. Jameela. I did just that. I could see her. See her surroundings. Blonde hair. Dark red lips. Headstones. The fallen angels. Opening my eyes, I smirked. "I found you."
She knew I found her. She could feel me around her, hence her futile efforts to block me out but I chipped away at her shields. My phone rang and knowing it was her, I answered. "Eager to die, are you?" I menaced.
"I could say the same for you, but you won't kill me, not today at least." How glib.
I scoffed. "Right, what makes you say that?"
She chuckled then paused before continuing. "I have your brothers. If you want them alive, you know where to find me." The line disconnected. Just like that, she gained the upper hand. Somehow, she always was one step ahead of me. No, not one, but several steps ahead.
1923, St Paul's Cathedral
She couldn't have her think she was a monster who terrified her young one. Stricken with calamity and sheer panic, she stumbled around the city in search of them. Sophia didn't go home so where had she taken her little girl? How far could she have gone from the square? The witch was right, Sophia would only betray them. Halting outside the cathedral, she listened out. It was their safe place she once overheard Dhanika say. They must be in there, she thought to herself. Positive they were, she tried for the wooden doors but nothing. They were locked. Tears raced down her cheeks and she could no longer hold in the heartbreak. She crashed to the floor, outside the door and let out her grief in a flood.
"Please Sophia, I know you're in there. I'm s-sorry...I do not know what came over me. Please let me in and see my baby." Footsteps on the other side came to a stop. "Please, I never meant to hurt her-I would never hurt her."
The doors unlocked and opened a crack, Sophia peeking out. "How can I be sure? Why did you react in such a manner?"
"She's my child..." she wanted to lash out and scratch out the heretic's eyes and feed them to the pigeons. Knowing she had to swallow her blind rage and hate, she cried instead. "I was stressed, and the witches got inside my head...I'm so sorry-please I beg you."
The door opened a little bit more, revealing her entire body but not what waited on the other side of it. "You really frightened her. Jameela what's gotten into you?" That concern in her eyes, she hated to see it.
"With the warnings of the witches, I've been a mess-but...but I will never let it happen again. Please." She pleaded, folding her hands before Sophia. Stepping to the side, she let the door fully open and Jameela made her entrance, mad eyes scouting the church. There she was, her one and only daughter, sat on the pew. Opening up her arms, she expected Dhanika to run into them, but the little girl didn't. Instead, she ran to Sophia and hid behind her legs.
"It's okay angel, she won't hurt you. She loves you so." She ushered her forward towards her mother. Dhanika looked to her with big, brown frightened eyes. "It's okay." She reassured. Taking meagre steps, counting as she did, poor little girl greeted her mother. Tears flowing out, Jameela scooped her up in her arms to kiss and hug her. You betrayed me. Went round and round in her head. It's all she thought and all she chanted.
Sophia
I raced through the cemetery, pushing through that burning sensation in my lungs. Frantically spinning around, looking in all directions for them. She had them somewhere. The fear and panic antagonised me. Their names echoed as I called out desperately. There was no response. I continued down the pathway, sticks and twigs snapping beneath my feet. Crunch. A distant howl. Low groaning sounds. Two sets of arms latched around me, dragging me back and restraining me. I struggled but they were far too strong. The two bulky men snarled and held me back, one digging his nails into my skin. I continued to kick and lash out. The other man struck me hard across the face. Instantly my cheek sizzled. Pushing through the agony, I lifted my head, catching glimpse of the flash of blonde hair. At first her face seemed blurred.
She stepped into peripheral view. Jameela under the guise of someone else. Pathetic it was. Hiding behind another face. It only proved how weak and terrified she was. Her old face had been gentler...her new form was stone cold. Perhaps, it suited her nature well. "Where are they?!" I snapped. The two vampires released me from their hold and sped to the opposite end. I rolled my eyes. She needed protection, she had to buy it because she couldn't do it herself. Depp down she feared me and rightly so.
"They're not here that's for sure." The words blunt and unbothered.
"Where are they?" I repeated, inching closer and preparing to strike.
"Make any sudden movements and I'll have my witch kill both your idiot brothers.... just for proof here they are." She yanked out her phone and pushed it to my face. Damon and Stefan on their knees, heads bowed, and eyes closed. The caramel skin witch was in control of them. They were surrounded by a ring of fire that roared through the video. She removed the phone before I could look any further. "Refuse me and she'll have our men stake them right through the heart. But i suppose a stake won't be necessary cause the state they're in, is excruciating enough to cause death." Her sneer turned into an insolent smirk.
"What do you want?" I snapped. She gestured to the circle of dead witches before her. I hadn't taken notice of them before. Twelve bodies wrapped in white cloth were placed in a perfectly round circle around another circle that formed the star pentagram.
"Start the spell. You don't require anything else after all, you are Qetsiyah's descendant." She threw my pendant at me. All this time she possessed it.
Blazing with resentment I glared at her. "Why are you doing this? Your own daughter you hurt, and I thought you cared? I loved you oh so much! When did you turn so bitter!"
She groaned. "Have you not joined the dots by now? I orchestrated everything. And by everything, I mean EVERYTHING. It all goes back to 1923," her tone softened when she uttered the next words. "I did love you. I loved you so much that words can't do that love justice."
"Then what changed?"
She stared at me with a dead look. "A witch came to me about a prophecy of you and the destruction you will cause and everything I would lose. She prophesied you standing against me and that too with my own daughter! I saw my own daughter standing by you! Imagine how that felt for me? Seeing my own daughter with you! She loved you so much that she would abandon her own mother for you! That's when I began my plan. The attack on us, faking Dhanika's death...I plotted everything," she shrugged.
I stared at her, unblinking but she continued. "At first, I had the witches of Ireland. I made them believe you were the real threat and the real reason we lost everything. They believed you would join the Mikaelsons and bring ruin. It was later that they learnt I was the true evil, so I had to make you believe they acted against us and then you killed them." She scoffed with laughter. "That was pure entertainment. Then my sister acted against me and killed me. It was easy to make her believe I forgave her and have her on my side once again. Everything that happened in your life, I made happen. Do you want to know what else I did?"
"It can't be worse than this!"
She scoffed. "You'll be surprised. Now, where was I, oh right. Even from the other side I was in control. I summoned the werewolf pack and I sent them your way. They failed in 1950 but then I called for them again. It's a shame they failed once again. You see, because of you a lot of good people have lost their lives. Had you died then none of this would have happened. I rallied the Weatherfords and the Belfast witches. Poor Valerie had to suffer the consequences. How sad-"
I lunged at her, coiling my hands around her throat. "I'll kill you!"
She pried me off and cast me back. "Then your brothers die! I'm not done telling my story. Amelia, Rose and even Theo. I was behind it all. The Weatherfords and my sister like to believe they were behind all of this, but I manipulated them. I had them wrapped around my finger. It was so easy pitting Ethan and Laura against you. You didn't even see the Henry chapter coming..." she paused for a moment to laugh and breathe. "For me it wasn't just the survival of my clan or protecting this earth. It was about stripping you off everything! I wanted to reduce you to nothing. The curse placed on you, gosh that was hilarious watching Genevieve think she did it. I planted those little seeds in their minds, and I won. I wanted you to stand with me but in no world was that possible."
"Don't you see! You didn't win. You lost everything! It wasn't the prophecy! It was you that turned everything and everyone against you. You let one witch scare you into a monster. So no, you didn't win. You lost. Raising your dead witches means nothing." I cried. My pain was real. The betrayal cut deep. Everything fit and I had all the answers to make sense of my entire life and where it all fell down. I cried at her feet helplessly. "Had you asked me, I would have stood by you! I would have chosen you because you meant the world to me...you and Dhanika!"
"Really? Would you really be stupid enough to tell me you would have stood by me, chosen me?" Her voice faltered and I could tell she believed me or at least wanted to.
"I would have believed anything you said to me just as I've always done! You wanted me to kill witches for standing against you, I did! You wanted me to go after the Irish witches I did! You wanted me to help you master dark magic! I DID IT ALL! And Henry? Why would he help you?"
She shrugged. "He wanted revenge on your family, and I wanted to destroy you, so we joined hands."
"You sound a lot like your sister! Claiming to hate her and her ways, you're just as bad if not worse!" I spewed.
"Enough of the theatrics!" She interjected. "Don't forget, your brothers are hanging in the air and at any point I will end their lives. Now start the spell!"
I swallowed hard. I had no other option but to comply. I couldn't lose my brothers. I had to do right by them, by everyone. If it meant brining back twelve dead witches, then so be it. I couldn't care less how she managed to save those bodies or bones. All I cared about were my brothers. I ambled to her and stepped in the circle, sitting myself down on my knees. Sealing my eyes shut and beginning the resurrection spell. The stronger the spell, the more power it required—the more lethal it became for me. The wind grew impassioned as it swirled around us, and its shrieks grew louder. Sounds of crunching and tearing came from all sides mimicking the sounds of the battleground. Disregarding them, I dove further into the spell, raising my voice as I chanted. Arms gripped me from behind, pulling me up and dragging me backwards. My eyes snapped open.
"Shhhh..." He hushed. It was Marcel. Gently, he helped me to my feet, holding me to him. My frantic eyes darted around. Klaus stood with the limp body of Jameela strung over his arm.
"NO!" I shrilled. Breaking free from Marcel I darted towards him and shoved him back. "No....no Klaus why did you! Damon and Stefan-"
The body flopped to the ground, and he pulled me to his chest, stroking my cheek and soothing me. "It's alright Luv, Caroline and Bonnie are on their way to get them...I'm sure they'll be fine."
"No! We need to go now!"
He lifted my chin up, forcing me to look at him. "Love, listen to me. They're going to be fine, but we need to go and look for Kol-"
"Kol? Where is he? He was with Laura...is he okay?!"
"I don't know, he's not answering his calls and let's say I don't have much tolerance for siblings who refuse to pick up my calls."
"Just try him one last time please! I lost my phone somewhere...Klaus I have this bad feeling in my gut and I- and I..."
He held me tight. "Rebekah love, give our brother another try." She complied and we waited. She frowned indicating the call went straight through to voicemail. I jumped in his arms to the sudden and harsh ringing of his phone. He whipped it out and pressed it to his ear, still clutching me to his chest. I watched as his face dropped and then I looked to Rebekah and Marcel. They too bore the same expression as him.
"What?" I whispered, but there was no response from either of them. They stood with their heads hanging low, pushing back what I knew were tears. I stepped even closer to him, grabbing his jacket, and rattling him as I screamed in his face. "What is it Klaus! What is it! Answer me dammait! What is it? Why are you so quiet? ANSWER ME! Why won't you both say something!" I shook him violently.
"Tell her Nik!" Tears flooded her. Turning from her, back to him, he looked at me helpless.
"Damon and Stefan...."
"What about them? Don't be so cryptic. Where are my brothers?"
"She killed them." He roared through his burning tears! His words sliced through me, physically sending me stumbling back. No, he was lying it wasn't true. Rebekah attempted to hold me back, but I shook and kicked around as the pain flooded me and my insides twisted and burned. Klaus pulled me back into his arms, holding my head to his chest, allowing me no freedom to move. Siphoning what I could, I shoved him back.
"Take me to them! Now!" When no one moved and no one listened I turned on my heels and ran as fast as I could, as fast and as far as my legs would carry me with tears pouring down. My body burned and my legs burned but I did not care for myself. I needed to get to them. It's all that mattered. Arms wrapped themselves around me and I felt as though I was being carried by the wind, flashing through the city.
I stumbled down when he released me. It was Kol and he was okay. I picked myself back up and tried for the door, but he held me back, trying to speak but I wouldn't listen. He tried to hold me still, but I fought him off and thundered into the house—met by a deadly silence that sent shivers down my spine. Shaking, I took light steps towards the glowing room. A faint chanting travelled through my ears as I edged closer to the open doorway. Bonnie and Freya were hunched over something, not quite sure what it was, I moved in closer. I couldn't understand why Caroline was sobbing hard or why everyone was silent. They had no reason to cry. It didn't make sense. Elijah snapped his head up, hearing me enter. His face contorted and I noticed he had difficulty swallowing. I moved past him, closer to Freya. That's when I drew in a sharp breath as their faces came into view. But it was okay, Freya was bringing them back, she had already started the spell. There's no need to fret.
I fell between them placing my hands on their chest. Waiting for them to wake up. I knew it wouldn't take long. I wasn't upset, so no one else needed to be. I turned my head back smiling. "it's okay guys we don't need to worry...Care, don't cry it's okay...Bon and Freya are bringing them back. It's going to be fine. See." I gestured. It only made them cry harder.
"Sophia..." Caroline began but she buried her face in her hands again, too overwhelmed to speak. Bonnie gasped for air, blood dripping down her nose.
"I can't connect to him, it's too strong." She cried out in her hands again, too overwhelmed to speak.
Freya shuddered as she took gasping breaths. "I've tried! I can't pull Stefan back-"
Running my hands through my hair I thought for a final second. Making up my mind, i pushed them back. "If you can't do it then I will!"
They protested with me, but I overpowered them to their dismay. Channelling magic from Freya, I placed my palms down on their chests, beginning the spell.
Damon
I shot up forcing the breath from my lungs. Sitting up straight, with eyes darting around. I was alive. My eyes did one more lap around the room before they landed on Sophia sat with her hands pressed firmly on Stefan's chest. He was still dead. Blood rushed down her nose as she chanted louder and faster. I shook her violently, but she hurled me back, throwing me into the fireplace. Shooting back to my feet, I groaned, rubbing the back of my neck. "Someone stop her!" Kol bellowed. "She's pregnant!" He scrambled back to his feet, cut through the air trying to pry her off Stefan but she was too strong. The magic was too strong. Pregnant. He said pregnant. She was carrying. I cocked my head to the side, drowning out the excess noise and focusing on her. Thud Thud. My eyes grew wide to that faint beating inside her.
"She's pregnant." I repeated. But we were powerless. No matter how hard we tried she heard nothing. She couldn't hear us. Her body bent back unnaturally as she chanted furiously, the magic taking a monstrous shape.
~
She searched around the white, plain land. There was nothing but this thick blanket of white. "Stefan?" She called out as she wondered around in search of him. She looked everywhere in the spinning plane. "Stefan, can you hear me? Please come back."
"Sophia?" A muffled voice called out in response.
She jogged in the direction of the voice, the world spinning around. "Where are you?"
"Here." He croaked, materialising into view. Seeing her brother, she sprinted and pulled him into a hug. She was real. Giving her a squeeze, he let the tears slide down. "Are you really here?"
"Yes!" She smiled, pulling away. "And we need to go back."
He shook his head. "You have to go back without me. I don't deserve it. I don't deserve you saving me."
"I'm not going back without you! You can't leave Damon, he needs you!"
"You've not forgiven me..." his forest eyes lost their brightness.
She grabbed his hand and held it to her heart. "I forgave you long ago Stefan. I am so sorry I didn't say anything about it or said it out loud, but I forgive you brother! I love you, please come back!"
"You mean it?" He quavered.
"I forgive you." Closing her hands over his and shutting her eyes, she pulled him back to life.
Damon
She shuddered. His rasping breaths ripped through the air as he sat up straight, clutching at his chest, frantically feeling around for the hole. Slowly she rose to her feet with breathy giggles. "I did it-" The words were cut short. Taking a step towards her, her body twisted yet again, and she dropped to the floor with a sickening crack.
"NO!" I charged at them. Stefan scrambled to his knees, desperately lifting her head to his lap, and shaking her face, trembling as he begged her to wake up. I flailed to their side, taking her hand, and rubbing it. "Sophia, wake up! Wake up!"
With one arm I shoved Kol back as he tugged at her. He growled. "Stay away!" I snarled through gritted teeth. I called her name again, eyes wildly scouring over her face for any sign of life. I could no longer hear the tiny heartbeat. Both heartbeats were silent. Studying her cold features, I felt my brows knit in defeat. The lump in my throat was now larger and more painful as if the pointed end of a knife had been held to it. Quickly and desperately, I took her from Stefan, pulling her limp figure to my chest. Tears slid down my face onto her dampened head. "No, you're not dead. You're not dead, no-" I gasped through the painful breaths.
"Bring her back Freya!" Kol bellowed. "BRING HER BACK! She's pregnant!" He broke down completely, unleashing his harrowing cries.
"I can't!" Freya wailed. "She's gone!" Then she fell silent. Not a second later Freya began to wheeze as Klaus pinned her against the wall, his hands clasped around her throat. "Nik...let me go."
"Let her go Nik!" Rebekah shrilled, yanking him off of her.
"Why?" He shook.
Freya clutched at her throat, heaving for air with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry but it's your fault Nik! The day you killed that boy you signed her death certificate! The witches knew we will fight back so they had an insurance plan and that was her! It's our fault! We should have known." She fell apart, her own emotions tormenting her. "We should have known that there's always a price to pay and now we have."
"Sister please." Kol beseeched. A boulder of guilt hit me. Pain and brokenness. It was my fault. I did this. I looked to Stefan pleading and apologising.
"Then bring her back, please sister...my child, my wife!"
I heard her climb to her feet. "We've been looking for weeks now-"
"We?" Klaus stuck out a finger. "Who is we?"
Rebekah stepped forward. "Freya, Elijah and I have known for some time now."
"You knew and withheld it from us!" Kol rampaged.
"That doesn't matter anymore does it Kol?! We have looked through mother's grimoires, and I've got Qetsiyah's books to get through and there's not a thing we found yet! There's nothing. She was cursed the moment we brought her back. Not a single loophole! She wasn't supposed to die yet. But the magic was too much!" She raged. That was it. We were in a gutter with nothing but our own crippling guilt and grief. Stefan and I refused to let anyone near her, keeping her concealed away from them. She remained on the floor in our arms.
Stefan
It had happened so quickly, yet time slowed down and each moment was dragged and each second was as painful as the last. She was here one minute and the next she was gone. Both of them. I listened for their heart beats but when nothing came the tears rolled down. Only thing I could hear was ragged breathing. We held her figure tight. I screwed my eyes shut but the tears continued to spill over. I didn't want to move—I didn't want to think. I was angry! I told them repeatedly not to do anything that would result in severe unforeseen consequences. Yet they chose to ignore my pleas and here we were hunched over her. I held myself responsible. Had I not died then she wouldn't have any reason to bring me back and she would still be alive. I should have fought harder when she came to bring me back. There would be no use for magic, and it wouldn't speed up the curse. I sat, unmistakably knowing that she was gone, and it was the last I knew I would ever get to hold my little sister in my arms. I sat silently. Kol knelt down begging to hold her. A thin sheet of sweat coated her flesh. We barely budged but her face was visible, and it was reachable.
Tempestuous footsteps came from the hallway. The three of them floundered in, covered in sweat and blood. Harlow, Noah, and Ben froze, aghast. It finally hit them, and they broke down. Harlow was the first to crumple to her knees. They were just kids. I wished in that moment I could mute out their annihilating cries. Everyone was in a state of mourning, and I wanted to shut down.
Kol reached out and with trembling hands, brushed her face. "Darling please..." He choked out. Biting into his wrist—holding it to her mouth in an attempt to heal her; to wake her up. "Come on!" His voice desperate and mournful. He pulled his wrist away and the blood dribbled down her chin. Useless. Eventually they peeled us off her and restrained the both of us back, while Kol lifted her lifeless body in his arms and hurried over to Freya. I struggled to escape as he lowered her back down. Bonnie and Freya joined hands and worked another spell. The minutes stretched out and it felt like an eternity. They broke out of the trance and dropped to their knees in tears, physically pained by the failure of the spell. We had no other choice but to accept that she was gone and there was no way we could bring her back. Ever.
~
"Keep going darling, you're almost there." He beamed, squeezing her hand, and planting a kiss to her forehead. He brushed the hairs from her sweaty face as she heaved and let out heavy, rigid breaths. She tried to breathe through the pain, but it was excruciating. She was almost there, and he grinned. "Almost there darling, one last push..."
She pushed harder, crying out and at last a cry filled up the delivery room. The pain stopped and she lay back into the pillows. "It's a girl." He announced, gleaming.
"Kol..." she breathed out. "We're parents..." Freya swaddled the baby before handing her over to rest in Sophia's arms. "She's beautiful." She cooed. He leaned in closer, in awe of his child. His daughter. He reached down, his hand brushing his daughter's tiny fingers. A fond smile crossed his lips and tears brimmed his eyes when she wrapped her tiny fingers around his finger.
"Little princess." He smiled. Joy filled him up as he looked down at his daughter and then to his wife. The two most beautiful and important beings in his life. He never imagined he would love another being so purely and so deeply. He never thought he'd be a father. He couldn't fathom what it felt like until now. He gazed at his daughter again, just like her mother she was. Radiant. She looked up at him with big brown eyes. She was the sweetest little thing who seemed to know he was her father, and that she was safe with him.
"Kol! Kol....Kol!" Came from somewhere in the distance. The voice grew closer and louder. Freya. He continued holding his wife and daughter, paying no mind to the voice calling out to him. "KOL!"
He shot up, letting out a sharp breath. He glanced around. "No!" He hissed. "Send me back! Please send me back! We had a daughter..." wild eyes searched the room. He wasn't in the delivery room anymore. He was back at home, on the sofa with Freya peering down at him, taking his hand in hers.
"It's not real Kol."
"No...no sister, I want them back!" Being hit with the truth snapped him in half. He came apart all over again. The one shred of hope he had left was trampled on. "I want them back!" He repeated madly.
"You can't! What you saw is not real! Kol, I will try my best to find a way to bring her back, but you can't lose yourself!"
Pushing her off he vamped away, in a fit of rage not knowing what he wanted to do or how he wanted to feel. Nothing worked. Without her, he was lost and defeated.