It was a beautiful day at the Mikaelson compound, as Klaus sat at one end of the table, Katerina on the right side by him, the vampire army and Marcel and Marcel’s closest friends also seated around the table. Klaus was celebrating his return to leadership over New Orleans and his repossession of the compound from Marcel. Klaus called for everyone’s attention and then began.
“Let us begin with a toast to our shared gift: immortality. After a thousand years, one might expect life to be less keenly felt, for its beauties and its sorrows do diminish in time. But, as vampires, we feel more deeply than humans could possibly imagine.” He gestured toward a group of waiters and waitresses to have them join them at the table, one for each guest. “Insatiable need, exquisite pain…” The servants slit their wrists with knives, filling the cups with blood for the vampires. “Our victories, and our defeats.” He looked at Marcel. He raised his glass in a toast to the others. “To my city, my home again. May the blood never cease to flow.”
Marcel lifted his glass.
“And the party never end!”
Diego raised his glass.
“To New Orleans.”
“To New Orleans,” Klaus repeated.
“To New Orleans,” everyone but Katherine said.
Everyone drank, though Katherine’s obviously wasn’t blood, but wine instead, her being human and all.
“I understand that some of you may have questions regarding the recent change in leadership, and I invited you here tonight to assure you that you are not defeated. No, my intentions moving forward are to celebrate what we have. What Marcel, in fact, took and built for this true community of vampires,” Klaus continued.
“What about her?” Diego questioned him, pointing to Katherine.
“Had you’d let me finish Diego, you would know that there is, of course, one further matter I would like to address.” He got up and stood behind Katerina. “As many of you know, the girl is carrying my child. Consequently, I trust you will all pay her the appropriate respect. However, I understand that some of you are concerned by the vicious rumor that I intend to use the blood of our child to create hybrids. I assure you I do not. It appears I will have to earn your trust. Very well. We’ll eliminate the root of your anxiety. You see, how can I sire any hybrids if there are no more werewolves alive in the Bayou to turn?” Klaus said.
Katherine didn’t like that idea, but it wasn’t because it was wiping out an entire werewolf pack in New Orleans. Wolves had families. She didn’t want that to happen. She knew where boundaries should and shouldn’t be, though she knew Klaus didn’t usually have boundaries at all. She did, though.
“What? Klaus, no!” she exclaimed.
“So---eat, drink, and be merry. And, tomorrow, I suggest you have yourselves a little wolf hunt. Go ahead, have fun. Kill them all!” Klaus said, ignoring her outburst for the moment.
Later, Katherine was walking down the stairs toward the side door of the compound to sneak out into the French Quarter. Before she could leave though, Diego suddenly was in front of her.
“Going somewhere?” he questioned her.
Elijah suddenly appeared and broke his neck by throwing him into the wall.
“Elijah, you shouldn’t be here.”
“Don’t worry about me. Come, we mustn’t linger. We’ll get you some place safe,” he replied.
“No, you don’t have to worry about me. I’m fine. I’ve been deemed under protection by the almighty Klaus. It’s the werewolves who need help. He ordered a wolf hunt as some jacked-up peace offering to Marcel’s crew. You have to help them,” she informed her ex.
“Out in the Bayou? Do we look like a bloody vampire-rescue-squad? I think you should be grateful we came to save you!” Rebekah said once she too appeared.
“Listen, Rebekah. The wolves have saved me left and right. They get killed and who knows what will happen. Besides, it would be wrong to let an entire species be wiped out. Besides, they’ve got families. I’ve never put children in danger and I won’t start now. There are children out there and parents. I don’t know what’s gotten into Klaus offering a wolf hunt to those vampires, but the wolves need saved so do me one favor and save them.”
Meanwhile, Marcel and Klaus were in the courtyard having a talk.
“The humans have called a meeting. They’re not exactly thrilled with the new status quo,” Marcel informed him.
“How unfortunate for them.”
“Look, it’s your show now. But, you wanna know how I built what I built? Politics. A little diplomacy goes a long way, especially with the human faction.”
“Duly noted,” Klaus said. He looked at the newspaper photo that Cami found of them in the 1900’s. “I haven’t thought about this night in ages. 1919, the opera house, just before it burned. This was the end of an era. Now, in the interest of new beginnings, I feel that there are some things I should probably confess to you. But…” He grabbed a glass of alcohol. “Where to begin?” He took a large drink of Bourbon before he began his confession. “Thierry was never disloyal to you. I set him up. He’s your friend, and consequently, he can return to the compound at your discretion. Cami’s part, you just learned. And then, there’s young Joshua. I’ve been compelling him from the beginning, although I suspect you already knew that, as he was the one who led me into your trap.”
Marcel shrugged. “I may have fed the kid some misinformation.”
“And then there’s Davina. She’s a powerful weapon. At this point, I’d like to keep her close at hand. I think we should have her move in to the compound here with us.”
“She can’t leave the attic. I already tried to move her once,” Marcel replied.
“Yes, about that…Turns out, your little witch is quite the actress. She made a deal with Elijah, tricked you into letting her stay put in exchange for some spells from our mother’s grimoire.”
Marcel nodded, clearly not happy about that. “Good to know. Is that all?”
“I do believe it is.”
Marcel sighed. “I appreciate the honesty.”
Klaus drank from his glass.
“Meeting’s in an hour,” Marcel said, before leaving.
Later, Marcel was in Davina’s bedroom in the attic, while she painted.
“You’re gonna love it at the compound. I already got the best room in the place picked out,” Marcel told her.
“I can’t leave! Remember what happened last time?”
“I know about your deal with Elijah. We can’t be lying to each other. I’m trying to protect you. With the witches still looking to kill you for the Harvest, believe me, you’re safest with us,” he tried to convince her.
Klaus arrived, joining them.
“Plus, there’s excellent light in the afternoon.” He noticed Davina’s paintings and went to take a closer look at them. “I see you’re an artist. Wonderful! I look forward to witnessing your many talents!”
“Was this his idea?” she asked Marcel.
“Davina, please. I understand you’re devoted to Marcel, but Marcel is devoted to me. I assume you’ll want what’s best for all of us.” He walked over to Marcel. “We have a meeting to attend downstairs.”
Marcel nodded and Klaus left.
“I’ll get someone to pick up your things. We’ll get you settled in right. Trust me,” Marcel told her, before leaving to join Klaus at the meeting downstairs, leaving Davina whom looked sad, not wanting to depart from the attic.
Soon, the meeting began.
“Klaus, Marcel, thank you for coming. We are aware of the change in the leadership in your community, and we thought it was time to make the appropriate introductions,” Kieran said.
The Mayor and Sheriff stood up to introduce themselves.
“We wanna be sure you understand how things work around here,” the Mayor told Klaus.
“Is that so?”
The mayor nodded confidently.
“What the Mayor means is that we just want some insurance that this new development isn’t going to endanger our city or its inhabitants,” Kieran interjected to keep the peace, knowing what Klaus was capable of.
“Look, you freaks do your thing, and we’ll look the other way,” the Sheriff told Klaus and Marcel. “As long as our pockets stay full, we won’t have a problem.”
“More importantly, there are rules. No feeding on the locals. Don’t bring unwanted attention to the city. History has proven that we can co-exist peacefully. However if you cross the line…” Kieran continued.
“You answer to us,” the sheriff finished for him.
“Okay…I’m sorry, let me get this straight---I’m to play supplicant to this pompous ass and his ridiculous group of petty thieves?” Klaus said loudly. He sighed dramatically, shook his head, and walked towards the sheriff and mayor. “Here are my terms: You will take whatever scraps I see fit to leave you, and you will be grateful. If that doesn’t suit you, I may decide you’ve outlived your usefulness.”
The sheriff looked angry as Klaus walked down the aisles to leave. Marcel followed, annoyed at Klaus’ lack of diplomacy.
That night, the vampires that were sent by Klaus, arrived at the werewolf camp in the Bayou, and were searching around for werewolves to kill. Diego was leading the crew by giving them instructions.
“Hey, they’re obviously here. Fan out, find ‘em, and bring me some heads!” he ordered.
Elijah and Rebekah appeared a couple of meters away from Diego.
“I’d rather you didn’t,” Elijah said.
“The hell are you doing out here?” Diego questioned.
“I’ve come to suggest you seek other hunting grounds.”
Diego shrugged and said, “Suggestion noted,” but instead of backing off, he tried to move past him, but Rebekah approached him.
“Oh, Diego, it would be such a shame to have to rearrange that pretty face,” she said.
She swung her arm to punch him in the face, but Diego stopped her by grabbing her arm.
“What the hell do you care about wolves?”
“Generally, I don’t. However, this particular clan is not to be touched,” Elijah informed him. He paused a beat and faked a smile. “Goodbye.”
Rebekah smiled sweetly and whispered to Diego, “Bye.”
“Nothing here anyway,” Diego said to his fellow vampires. He whistled and the hunting party left.
“Ah, great. I think as well our job here is done,” Rebekah said, ready to leave the Bayou.
Elijah sensed something supernatural in their nearby surroundings. “Not quite.” He then vamp-sped away and found Eve, whom was standing by a tree, waiting for them.
After a moment Rebekah followed behind him.
“We’re not here to harm you. Eve, was it?” Elijah said, having met her before.
“A friend of Katherine’s I presume?” Rebekah questioned.
“Katherine sent you her to protect us, didn’t she? Tell her we appreciate the concern, but we’ve been looking out for ourselves for a while now. Nobody finds us unless we wanna be found,” Eve informed them.
“Well, we found you, so…” Rebekah replied.
Eve gave her a look. “Like is said. There’s something I thought you and your family should know about.” Eve started walking along a path with a stake and a map in her hands and led the way for Elijah and Rebekah.
The next day, Klaus joined Marcel at a table in the bar room, with a bottle of Bourbon in hand.
“I think it was far more gracious than they deserved,” Klaus commented.
Marcel glared at him.
Klaus began pouring them drinks.
“You’re disappointed by my lack of diplomacy. You out of all people should need no reminder of the human capacity for cruelty,” Klaus reminded him.
Marcel remained silent.
Klaus’ phone buzzed and he rose from the chair to answer it.
“Hello?”
“Mr. Mikaelson. I just wanted to let you know that the faction’s considered your terms. We reached a decision,” the sheriff told him over the phone.
“Have you?” Klaus said, amused.
Suddenly, an explosion was heard from outside, and large amounts of automatic gunfire pierced through the walls and windows of the compound, scattering broken glass all over the bar room. Some day walkers were hurt by the gunfire, and many of the nightwalkers went up in flames when they were hit by the sunlight. Someone screamed. Marcel hurried to save one of the burning vampires from exposure, but both himself and Klaus were hit by machine gun shots. Marcel collapsed and fell onto the floor in pain, as Klaus covered him with his body to protect him.
Later, Klaus and Marcel were alone in the compound’s bar after the drive-by shooting. The room was empty and the furniture was disarranged. The burned skeleton of a night walker layed near them.
“Dammit, dammit, dammit!” Marcel cursed. He became so enraged that he flipped a table before angrily pointing at Klaus. “This is on you! Now that you’re in charge, these are your guys laying dead. Your guys. You’re gonna run this city, that better mean something to you, otherwise no one worth a damn is gonna follow you. No one!” Marcel glared at Klaus.
Instead of being angry at him, Klaus smiled as Marcel turned away from him.
“I was beginning to worry about you. I don’t think I could’ve taken any more of this differential nonsense. I mean, clearly I underestimated the faction. That won’t happen again. But, tell me---now that we’ve arrived to this point, now that they have come into our home, visited this upon our people…How would you counsel me to respond?”
Marcel responded by saying, “Let’s go kill them all.”
In the Bayou, Eve, Elijah and Rebekah stopped by the lake, where Eve pointed out sites on her map with her stake.
“Surrounded by 20,000 acres of swamp, the ones born here, who now know it like the backs of our hands, will be fine. But here---“ she pointed at the map with her stake. “newcomers from out of state. Not of my kin. But, word’s spread about that baby of Katherine’s. A lot of werewolves wanna see this miracle pregnancy for themselves. Only now, the vampires are out looking for blood, and all these werewolves new at the Bayou might not know where to hide.”
“You say that like we’re supposed to care,” Rebekah said.
“Believe me, you’re gonna want them kept alive,” Eve informed her.
“And why is that?” Elijah asked.
“See for yourself.”
Davina tip-toed into the garage at the compound, and after a moment, she called out into the room.
“I know you’re in here, Josh. I can sense your fear.”
“I heard you’re moving in,” Josh said from behind a nearby car.
“What are you doing in here?” she asked, but smiled widely.
“You might’ve known,” he replied.
Davina and Josh hugged each other tightly.
“You know, incognito. Gotta run for the hills, but I’m stuck here until it gets dark,” he told her.
“Are you okay?” she asked him.
“Yeah, yeah...” He paused for a minute and shook his head. “No. Not really. I mean, totally led Klaus into a trap that was the most epic fail of all time, so yeah, kinda crapping my pants right now. Figuratively. So far.”
“It’s okay. You can trust Marcel. And if Klaus tries to hurt you---I’ll hurt him,” she told him.
Katherine walked in without them noticing and leaned in the threshold of the entrance.
“I’m pretty sure if you could actually stop Klaus, you would’ve done it already.”
Davina recognized her and said, “You’re Katherine. Klaus’ wife.”
“Definitely no. Never. I’m the pregnant doppelganger ex-vampire. And you’re the all-powerful witch. And let’s not forget Josh, newbie vampire way out of his element, voted “Most Likely to Die Next.”
“Fantastic,” Josh said.
“Hey, I’m on your side. Of course, it would suck if he found out you’re still lurking around. Maybe there’s a world where we can all look out for each other?” she offered.
Meanwhile, Klaus and Marcel had drank from and killed the mayor and sheriff as well as the patrons in the restaurant.
Afterward, Klaus left.
That evening, back in the Bayou, Rebekah and Elijah looked around for the new group of werewolves that Eve told them about.
Rebekah looked in distaste at the makeshift homes.
“All these wolves really travel in style, don’t they?” she commented.
Elijah opened the door to a trailer. “Empty.”
“Behind on their payments, perhaps?” Rebekah questioned.
“So, proceed then,” Elijah replied.
“Let’s not, and tell Katherine that we did. Then, you get to impress the girl, and I can go home. You know how hovels depress me,” she said, bored.
Elijah smiled weakly at her.
“I’m not trying to impress Katerina.”
“I should bloody hope you are, why else are we out here?” Elijah was silent, as she continued. “Come on, Elijah! You’re trying to win her back, admit it! May do wonders for the stick that’s lodged up your enduringly-stoic arse if you were.”
He smiled. “If I admit to you that it’s complicated, would that suffice? Or, are you determined to torment me throughout this endeavor?”
There was a noise and turned to find that the vampire hunting party had returned. One of the vampires was feeding from a male werewolf. Elijah vamp-sped over to Diego and pulled his head backwards by his hair. “Darling, we need to stop meeting like this,” he said sarcastically. “This is how rumors begin!” He released Diego. “You can go now.” No one moved, and Elijah sighed in annoyance. “Perhaps I’m not making myself clear here. This is a threat. In precisely three minutes’ time, your little hunting party will become the prey. Now, based on your recent failure to subdue my baby brother Niklaus, despite a better than a 100-to-1 advantage, I recommend you heed my warning.”
Diego was frustrated and embarrassed, but he reluctantly left with his fellow vampires.
Rebekah smirked.
“Impressive!”
“Well, I thought the situation demanded something a little dramatic,” he replied to his little sister.
The hurt werewolf, Cary, groaned in pain on the ground. He got up and looked at Elijah and Rebekah suspiciously.
“Who are you people?” he inquired.
As Elijah approached Cary, he noticed a distinctive ring that he wore around his neck and was surprised.
“I would say the better question is, who are you?” Elijah said.
Klaus drank from a flask as he and Marcel walked down the streets of the quarter.
“To our united front! This act of yours, the imitation of friendship. Don’t get me wrong, you played the part well enough---I should know, having played it myself. There was a time when the affinity between us was quite real,” Klaus said.
“Sure. And then you got it in your head to take what I created. When I picked up that coin, I swore loyalty, Klaus, not friendship. I’m holding up my end. The other one has to be earned.”
“Fair enough. Then, you should probably know the whole story. My decision was not entirely my own. If I didn’t agree to usurp your power, the witches swore to kill my unborn child. But, at first, the promise of an offspring meant little to me. Then, I recalled my father. How he held me in contempt from the moment I was born, as yours did with you. I will not do to my child what was done to me. To us,” Klaus informed him.
Klaus drank deeply from his flask again.
“All this---the spying, the manipulation---that’s just something you were forced into. Is that it? And what now? You feel kinda bad…”Hey buddy, it’s nothing personal.” Is that it?” Marcel replied.
“I admit, I was jealous. I saw the empire you had created on your own, without me. I saw it, and I wanted it.”
“You’re wrong, you know. I didn’t do it on my own. I stood in the shadow of my father my entire human life, and I never would’ve gotten out from under it, if not for you. You’re the one who taught me that a man can’t be defined by anyone but himself.” He paused awkwardly before he continued. “So, what now?”
“This community that you’ve built----you have their respect. Their love. I could rule them, but I cannot win them, not without you. So, rule with me. Side by side as equals. Friends. Brothers,” Klaus offered.
Klaus offered him his flask, and after a moment, Marcel took it and drank from it.
Klaus smiled cheerfully.
Klaus was later reading a book in the living room, when Katherine walked in.
“Those werewolves you ordered killed, that was a wrong thing to do,” she said.
“These wolves haven’t done much good, have they? If the werewolves are dead, then the vampires have less desire to kill you. I am trying to keep you safe. Not that you appreciate the effort,” he told her.
“And as soon as I have this baby, what happens to me then?” he questioned him, wanting to know.
He didn’t say anything, so she assumed what would probably happen.
“Right…well lucky for me. I have a little while before I find out. And in the meantime, I will find a way to pay you back for this. As long as I’m in the family, you can’t do a damn thing about it.”
He watched her go, as she left.
Davina was upstairs unpacking her things in her new bedroom, when Katherine came to visit her and found her searching through her boxes for something.
“What are you looking for?” she curiously asked.
“My violin. It much be left in the attic.”
“So, just go get it.”
“I can’t. It’s not safe for me out there,” she informed her.
“Funny, I was under the impression everyone was afraid of you,” she said, which made her think back to her vampire days when everyone was afraid of herself.
“The witches are after me,” she informed her.
“You mean that crazy witch, Agnes? Yeah, she tried to kill me, too. The thing is, she’s dead. Elijah killed her.”
Davina shook her head in disbelief. “But…Agnes was the last living elder. If she’s dead, then I’m safe. Marcel would’ve told me.”
“Maybe he didn’t wanna lose his secret weapon against the witches?” Katherine guessed.
“You’re lying,” Davina said suspiciously.
“Why would I lie to you? We’ve only just met. Besides, I’m not who I was when I was a vampire. Not anymore.”
“Because you want something from me. Everyone does.”
“Do I want something from you? Yeah, Davina, actually, I do. Thanks to your friend Marcel, most of the werewolves in the Bayou are cursed. They’re stuck in their wolf form, except on a full moon. Now, I’m smart enough to know that every curse and spell has a loophole. And, well, you’re the most powerful witch I’ve ever heard of or known. But I wouldn’t lie to you to get what I want. I’d ask you. I guess that’s the difference between Marcel and me,” Katherine replied.
Katherine turned and walked away, as Davina watched.
Josh walked in.
“Looking for something?”
Davina smiled when she saw that he brought Tim’s violin.
“I figured with you vacating, the attic would be a safe zone. Found this there,” Josh told her.
“It was dangerous for you to come back, Josh.”
“Yeah, well…What are friends for? Or whatever.”
Davina giggled and looked at her violin.
“Hey, what did Katherine want?” he asked her.
“Do you trust her?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
“She told me about a witch being killed. An elder, but I don’t know if she…”
Josh interrupted her.
“Yeah, crazy Agnes? I heard about that, that Elijah went all berserker on her crew. I guess it was super gross, just like heads and guts…blech!”
Davina looked at him, clearly concerned.
Josh looked confused.
“What? You hate the witches.”
“Katherine was right. Marcel is just using me. Josh, I can’t stay here. I’m not gonna be their puppet. You have to get me out of here.”
“Okay. But where else are you gonna go?” he questioned her.
That night, Klaus was in the parlor of the plantation house, playing the piano all alone while he waited for his siblings to return. After a moment, Rebekah walked into the room, but didn’t notice Klaus right away.
Rebekah called out to Elijah in the next room.
“I stink of the bog!”
“Serves you right, for your pathetic attempt to undermine my rule,” Klaus said.
Elijah joined them when he heard Klaus’ voice.
“Nik, listen,” Rebekah encouraged.
“When I order werewolves to be hunted to extinction, I expect you to stand aside and let the blood flow,” Klaus told her.
Elijah rolled his eye.
“How delightfully democratic of you.” He threw a ring to Klaus, who looked at it. “Do you recognize it? Perhaps you don’t. It has been a thousand years since you last saw it grace the hand of our mother. The ring was in possession of one of the very wolves whose extinction you just ordered. So, naturally, I questioned him. He spoke of a legend. A legend wherein long ago, a chief of theirs had fathered a child to a very powerful witch. Their mythology further states that his child, a son, was later transformed into something this clan had never before seen. Something werewolf and vampire.”
“Nik, we’re trying to make amends. We found remnants of your family. The bloodline of your true father. And we saved them from being slaughtered at the hands of the vampires you command,” Rebekah said.
“Niklaus, your ambitions come before this family for far too long. Niklaus, I beseech you please, come home,” Elijah said.
“What home? The pathetic substitute? You see, despite all your doubts, all your attempts to thwart me, I’ve reclaimed our true home. I took back the entire city,” Klaus said.
“You have the audacity to boast of your victory when Katerina remains as a castoff from you?”
“It all comes down to Katerina, doesn’t it, brother?” Klaus said.
Rebekah was frustrated.
“Stop it, both of you!”
Klaus stood up behind the piano. “Even if this is what you say it is, I have had enough of family to last me a lifetime. Why would I possibly want any more?”
Klaus left Rebekah and Elijah alone in the house.
Later, Katherine was on the balcony by herself, when Elijah appeared next to her.
“Are they…?” she asked.
Elijah smiled.
“They’re safe. All of them.”
Katherine hugged Elijah tightly in appreciation.
“Thank you. What you did, Elijah. It means a lot,” she said, though he’d done many other things for her in the past. This was a new start of friendship though.
Katherine pulled away.
“I should go,” Elijah told her.
It was such a moment for them that they barely managed to keep themselves composed, and instead of giving in, he backed away from her first.
“Right,” she said.
Before she could say anything more, Elijah was gone.
Klaus was about to walk up the stairs when he noticed Elijah nearby.
“Haven’t you had your fill of telling me all the ways I’ve disappointed you, Elijah?” he asked.
“Well, there is something important we neglected to discuss. I accused you of having ulterior motives. I was wrong. I’m sorry,” he apologized.
“I imagine that must have been hard for you to say.”
“You don’t make it easy to love you, brother,” Elijah replied.
“And yet, you’re obstinate in your desire to do so. When you’re ready, should you be so inclined, both you and Rebekah are welcome to join me here. It is, after all, our family home,” Klaus invited.
Klaus smiled and left Elijah there.
Cami was preparing to leave after being compelled to do so by Klaus. She stuffed her things into a bag. There was a knock on the door, so she opened it to find Davina on her front step, though she didn’t remember her.
“Cami, I need your help. Marcel has been lying to me, and I can’t trust him anymore,” Davina stated.
Cami was surprised and confused.
“I’m sorry. Do I know you?”
Davina let herself in and closed the door behind Cami.
“Oh, you’ve been compelled,” she realized.
Cami was puzzled.
“Okay, what are you doing?”
“It’s okay. I can fix you. I’m really sorry, but this is gonna hurt,” Davina said, knowing what she had to do. She held out her hand towards Cami and magically began to undo the compulsion as she focused all her attention on Cami.
Cami screamed in pain as the compulsion was stripped from her mind.
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