Chapter 22

                                    

                                          
May 19, 2013
Andra's life felt stagnant.
To a great extent, it was just the way she wanted it to be.
But nobody was truly happy, and she hated it.
Ryan had settled in Seattle and hadn't come to visit. He called her every day and video chatted each night to talk to Landon, who had recently turned a year old and was now babbling more or less coherently. 
Andra could see that he was healing, little by little, and she wanted the best for him, but it didn't stop her from feeling lonely. Still, it pleased her to hear about how well piloting lessons were going for him. He promised that in time, he'd fly a plane personally to see his siblings. 
But at the end of the day she knew if he wasn't coming back yet, it was because he still ached inside and neither she nor Landon could fill that void.
Physically, she'd needed to fix that.
Davina had moved in when Ryan left. As the Regent, she didn't wish to be living alone in a musty attic; she'd outgrown it. It helped Andra more than she cared to admit. Not coming back to an empty apartment was a pleasure, and Davina was a great roommate who Landon loved to death. 
This also meant Josh came by often, which allowed Andra to get to know him and give him a shoulder to lean on as he learned to live without Aiden. She couldn't help her brother as hard as she tried; Ryan wasn't keen on talking about what happened. Josh was different and it made her feel useful each time she hugged him after a lengthy conversation about his feelings.
Sometimes a person really just needed a hug.
There wasn't much going on in New Orleans, which they considered a good sign. After Dahlia's defeat, Marcel had taken his remaining vampires and opened up a fight gym at St. Anne's, beginning a formal training center where Andra helped him teach in the afternoons after she closed up the Jardin Gris for the day. 
He walked her home every night and got to see Davina, who was a little less communicative due to her fears that she'd be seen as a vampire sympathizer. It was hard enough convincing the witches she was loyal when everyone and their mother knew that Kol was her boyfriend. 
Though, it seemed the witches were growing accustomed to all the benefits that came with a direct alliance with the Original that knew the most about magic (save for Freya). Kol was always offering new spells and bringing ideas to the table for improvement that were working to strengthen the community. In time, Andra hoped, the witches would see how much better they had it now that Davina was Regent. 
At least they weren't causing any trouble.
Elijah was a regular at the gym, furious to no end with Klaus. Many months had passed and no one seemed to be able to figure out how to cure the Crescent Wolves. Rebekah was traveling, more or less for pleasure and back in her witch body, but with the goal of figuring out how to undo Dahlia's curse. Kol and Freya were working on the same thing within New Orleans (and the Compound, which was a hostile area practically every day).
Sometimes it was nice for Elijah to be there. He liked teaching the vampires, too. But mostly, he used up their equipment and left Marcel needing to purchase new punching bags constantly. Most days, Elijah wasn't talkative and seemed like a ghost who haunted the gym, searching for his lost love.
Beating things up there seemed to be the only way his fist wouldn't land on Klaus's jaw.
Andra hadn't spoken to Klaus since the day Dahlia was killed. He clearly knew the compulsion had been removed and that she was roaming around. There was no way he was okay with it, but he hadn't come after her. It was enough to her that he wasn't actively trying to harm her. Maybe some part of him realized that she had still helped despite his actions and was letting things settle (not that it in any way made up for what he'd tried to do). Andra was just happy to have some peace. For the sake of her brother and Davina, she'd do anything.