Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah were still trapped in the cemetery and in the middle of a standoff still. Klaus had the White Oak stake, while Elijah still held Papa Tunde’s blade.
“Rebekah!” Klaus yelled at her.
“Walk away,” Elijah told him.
“Don’t move!” Klaus yelled.
“Leave us now,” Elijah told Rebekah.
Rebekah was both scared and angry.
“I can’t. I’m stuck here. Elijah, he has the White Oak stake.”
Klaus pointed to the stake. “I brought it for you, sister.”
“Get out of sight. Your presence here only serves to anger him. Leave him to me now.”
Rebekah vamp-sped away and Elijah turned to Klaus.
“I’m asking you, brother to brother—we end this nonsense now.”
“You would side with that traitor,” Klaus accused.
“I am not choosing sides, but I will not allow you to hurt our sister.”
“We cannot leave this cemetery, Elijah. How long do you think you can defend her?”
Klaus vamp-sped away, but Elijah easily caught up with him and blocked him.
“As long as it takes, by whatever means necessary.”
On the other side of the cemetery, Rebekah was on the phone with Marcel, updating him on what had happened.
“Do whatever it takes. Just stay alive. I promise you, I'll get you out of there,” Marcel said.
“I've never seen him like this before. He's out of his mind with rage, up all night howling one obscenity-laced tirade after the next. He's gonna kill me,” she informed him.
“Alright, stay as far away from him as you can,” Marcel instructed.
“That’s a brilliant strategy. But, given that that dead bitch Celeste has trapped us in here ‘til moonrise, my options are somewhat limited,” she reminded him.
“I’m not leaving you in there. Davina will find a loophole, get you out early. Then, we can all go together. If Klaus comes after us, we will take him on one hell of a ride.”
“I lived for centuries looking over my shoulder, ready to run at a moment’s notice. Am I to go back to that?” she replied.
“Worry about that later. Right now, just buy me some time. I promise you, I’ll get you out of there,” he replied.
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At the church, Marcel entered Davina’s attic room with a bag. Davina looked very pale, and looked extremely sad as she sat quietly on her bed.
“Hey, D, how you feelin'? Got you some stuff-- organic soap, and scented candles, some incense... Just trying to help you get back to feeling, you know, yourself.” He waited a beat, before saying, “Word on the street is the witches are celebrating. Three out of the four girls sacrificed in the Harvest have come back. First, it was your friend, Monique, and then another girl, now you. What I hear, the others are saying that the ancestors were with them while they were, uh, dead. You know, talking to them, teaching them. They say they're stronger than ever. Was it like that for you?”
Davina shook her head. “There was nothing. It was cold, empty, and dark. And it went on forever,” she replied.
Marcel frowned and sat next to her on the bed.
“I’m sorry, D.”
“I don’t want to talk about it. Please, Marcel, don’t make me,” she pleaded.
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Elijah and Klaus were still pacing outside one of the tombs in the cemetery while Elijah tried to hold Klaus off from killing Rebekah.
“You’ve been at this for hours. To what end? Niklaus, I know you, and I grew up fighting you. I can’t be beaten, nor can I be persuaded. You cannot get past me,” Elijah said.
“I could get past you. Although, it might have to be over your dead body. You did stab me with that blade, forcing me to endure hours of unspeakable pain. Perhaps I should direct my rage toward you,” Klaus threatened him.
“You should see yourself—the murderous expression, the self-righteous posturing. You look like Father,” Elijah replied.
Klaus was angry and upset at that.
“I’m not him. Rebekah’s betrayal justifies my anger. He was that of a madman. You were never the recipient of his cruelty. None of you were—not Kol, not Finn, none of you! I think you’ve forgotten what he was truly like.”
“No. I have not forgotten,” Elijah assured him.
Klaus was silent, before vamp-speeding away, but Elijah caught up with him quickly.
“Niklaus, I understand your anger, but I implore you, be better than him. Do what he could not-- demonstrate the grace of mercy, rather than this petty cruelty,” he said.
“You ask me to show mercy to one who has wronged me. You really don't know me at all, do you, brother?” Klaus replied.
“Enough. Whatever I have done wrong, my guilt is nothing compared to yours. You want revenge? Fine. But, before you have it, I will look you in the eye and tell you why it was your cruelty and your spite that led us to this,” Rebekah said.
“Go on, then. Speak your piece, and when you are finished, I will grant you the punishment you deserve, even if I have to go through Elijah to do so,” Klaus replied. He perched on top of a tomb in order to pretend to be a judge. “Let it begin. The trial of Rebekah Mikaelson.”
Rebekah muttered to Elijah. “What a relief. His ego is in check.”
“Just speak your truth. I’ll make certain he behaves himself,” Elijah replied.
“You stand accused of betraying your own blood. How do you plead?” Klaus asked.
“I plead you to shut up and listen,” Rebekah replied.
“You summoned our father. You brought him to our home. What possible defense could you have?”
“I knew he was the only thing that you feared, and I wanted you to run,” she replied.
“Because you hated me,” he commented.
“Because you were hateful. You denied me the freedom to love.”
“Oh, so that's your defense? You called Mikael-- the Destroyer, the Hunter of Vampires-- because I detained you from pursuing some dull suitors.”
“You were cruel, and controlling, and manipulative,” she reminded him.
“I was trying to protect you! From imbeciles, and leeches. Not to mention your own poor judgment,” he defended.
“And what about the one that you loved enough to call friend? Why did you forbid me to love Marcel?” she countered.
“Do not mention his name,” he warned.
“What has happened to you? I remember the sweet boy who made me laugh and gave me gifts, who loved art and music. I wanted to be just like you. How could you have fallen so far?”
“You say you despise Rebekah for her betrayal, and yet no one has stood by your side for so long, not even I myself. Perhaps it's you that's forgotten. I remember the day that Father caught you whittling little chess pieces with his hunting knife. He beat you so mercilessly and for so long, I actually feared for your life,” Elijah interjected.
“So, you would paint her as a loyal sister, but she betrayed me out of lust for Marcel. Perhaps that was why you did it-- for love. Perhaps I might temper my rage if Rebekah will admit she was a victim of her own idiocy. That her great love, Marcel, used her to oust this family and to take my city,” Klaus replied.
“Marcel did not manipulate me,” Rebekah told him.
“You defend him, and yet you can’t help but wonder, what if I’m right?” he replied.
“We loved each other. It was your refusal to respect that that led to your ruin,” Rebekah informed him.
“Then why didn’t he chase after you when you fled New Orleans? Oh, yes! That’s right. He was here stealing what I built!” Klaus fumed.
“You want me to renounce Marcel, to beg for your forgiveness? I won’t. Marcel is not at fault. I called Mikael,” she shared with him.
“Rebekah, you must--,” Elijah tried to intercede.
Rebekah angrily yelled, “I was the one who brought him to New Orleans because of your wickedness! I wanted love and happiness, and you denied me the freedom to have either. Yes, I hated and I was afraid of our father, but he was a lesser evil than you. My bastard brother who loomed over me, threatening me as you are now. I wanted rid of you, and given the choice, I'd do it again!”
Klaus, furious, lunged at Rebekah and pushed her against a tomb, and was just about to stake her in the heart when Elijah tackled him. When they got back up to their feet, Elijah had both Papa Tunde’s blade and the White Oak stake.
“Sister, leave us,” Elijah said.
“I’m not going,” she insisted.
“I said, leave us, please,” Elijah insisted. He watched her leave, before he turned to face Klaus. “You wouldn’t listen to her. So, now, you must deal with me.”
“So what's it gonna be? You hold both weapons. Tunde's blade would put me down, but the stake could finish me off for good,” Klaus said to him.
“Well-- unlike you, brother-- I have no taste for fratricide.” He held up the stake. “I only hold this to keep it from you.” He held up the blade. “This is just my insurance.”
“Why must you defend her? Rebekah betrayed you, as well, when she brought Mikael here.”
“Because she is our sister, and because I like to remember her the way she was before we became what we became. She was an innocent girl, quick to laugh, full of life.”
“My memories serve to make her betrayal more painful,” Klaus replied.
“Can you not then accept some small part of the blame? After all, Niklaus, it was your cruelty that led her to do what she did,” Elijah reasoned.
“Do you not see, Elijah? She didn’t mean to chase me off. She wanted me dead.”
“You’re wrong,” Elijah said.
“She has always hated me. You know that’s true,” Klaus tried to make him see.
“You have no idea, do you? You have no idea what she was prepared to do for you. When our sister sees something that she perceives to be an injustice, she can be stubborn, impetuous, and, at times, downright dangerous. And never was this more apparent than the night she tried to kill our father.”
“What is this, some melodramatic fiction designed to garner my sympathy?”
“It is the truth. I was there. And she would have done it, all to protect you, had I not stopped her. I often wished that I could revisit that moment, complete the task myself.”
“Why are you telling me this now?” Klaus questioned.
“Niklaus, sometimes our sister acts without thinking. She's short of temper, she's quick to fall in love, but she loves you. But, your malicious treatment has broken her heart. So, yes, she responded by summoning our father. Yes, that was a mistake. I'm not entirely sure that I can blame her.”
“I can,” Klaus said, before vamp-speeding to the tomb where Rebekah was hiding, but Elijah beat him there, defensively holding a weapon in each of his hands.
“Niklaus, so help me—“
“Are you really going to stand against me? And not with that pathetic blade. You’d have to pull it out someday, and then I’d hate you as I do her, now. If you want to protect Rebekah, you’ll need to use the White Oak stake.”
“I don’t have to listen to this nonsense,” Elijah replied.
“Oh, don’t pretend you haven’t thought about it. You look at me, and you see everything you abhor in yourself. Sure, you dress it up with your fancy suits and your handkerchiefs. You, with your mask of civility and eloquence, you’re every bit the abomination I am. Or worse. Go on, Elijah. Go on. Use the White Oak stake.”
Elijah threw the White Oak stake far away and glared at Klaus. “I’m not so cowardly that I have to kill you, Niklaus, but if I have to make you suffer to protect Rebekah, that is what I will do.”
Klaus smiled. “You see? I knew you couldn’t do it. You still cling to the hope that I can be redeemed, and if the bastard can be saved, then maybe there’s hope for you.”
Katherine, having found out where they were at, entered. She walked over to the scene.
Klaus vamp-sped to Elijah and grabbed Papa Tunde’s blade from him, ready to stab him with it.
Katherine went to stand between them, facing Klaus, a hand on his wrist.
“Don’t, Klaus,” she pleaded gently. “They’re your family and family should stick together, no matter what. Don’t do this. I know you’re out for vengeance, but I can’t let you do that. You want to kill Rebekah and harm Elijah, you’ll have to kill me too. And we both know that if you do that, you’ll be killing your own child. That, I know you don’t want to do.”
“Get out of the way, Katerina,” he warned her.
“I’m not picking sides, but I’m trying to keep you from doing something you’ll regret later. God knows, I wish I had someone to do the same for me over the centuries. You ripped my family away from me. Don’t do it to yourself. That pain will never go away; especially, when you know that it’s your fault. You’re ripping this family apart. Pretty soon, you’re not going to have one. If you do anything to jeopardize this family, if you kill Rebekah or harm Elijah, you will end up alone, because I will be gone and you once again, will not be able to find me. So get a grip on your emotions. I will never forgive you if you do anything to kill Elijah or Rebekah,” she informed him, trying to make him see that killing Rebekah and harming Elijah would do nothing but make him regret his actions.
He let the blade go and stepped away from her, but was hurt and upset at her now.
“You dare threaten me, Katerina?” he inquired with some hint of anger.
“It’s not a threat. It’s a promise,” she corrected him.
She stepped away from Elijah and stood a distance away from Klaus as a precaution, in case he harmed or tried to harm her.
“Fine. See it your way, Katerina,” he replied. He looked at his siblings. “I love my family—You, Elijah. I loved all of you. I know I can be difficult, but I did not make myself this way. It was Mikael who ruined me.”
“He ruined me, too. That’s why you forget. Centuries later, each of us is broken. You with your anger and paranoia, me with my fear of abandonment. And poor Elijah. He dedicates himself to everyone but himself. We are the strongest creatures in the world, and yet, we are damaged beyond repair. We live without hope, but we will never die. We are the definition of “cursed.” Always and forever,” Rebekah replied to him, standing not far from him, now that she was sure that he wasn’t angry enough to kill her now.
“You said our father ruined us. And I can’t help but wonder, what if his father ruined him?” Klaus questioned.
A strong gust of wind blew the gate to the cemetery open, indicating the spell had been broken. Unbeknownst to them, it was Genevieve who had broken it due to Marcel making her a deal.
They all left the tomb, including Katherine.
“The barrier is down,” Klaus stated.
“I know you hate me, but what’s done is done,” Rebekah told him.
“What's done is never done. It remains within us, a story we tell ourselves so we know who we are. Vicious father, a bastard son, and the sister who betrayed him. Perhaps it's time for a new story. What is it you want, Rebekah?” Klaus offered her.
“Same things that I've wanted since I was a child. I want a home. I want a family. I want someone to love me, and I want to live.”
“Then go. Go far away and never come back. We are far too damaged to remain together, less a family now than a volatile mix of ingredients. New Orleans will be mine. I will raise my child here in the city you took from me. No doubt, Elijah will choose to stay, but you? Sister, you are free,” he told her.
Rebekah was shocked, but silently walked out of the cemetery, in which Klaus watched her do.
After packing everything up, Rebekah soon left town after letting Marcel know that she was free and after saying goodbye to Katherine, telling Katherine to be careful.
Klaus soon returned home to find Marcel and the rest of the vampires congregated in the courtyard.
“Is there a reason why you lot are loitering in my home?” Klaus asked.
“I asked them to be here. You and I need to settle this out in the open,” Marcel replied.
“I thought you would’ve run off by now.”
“Yeah. Well, this is my town. You may want me to beg forgiveness, but I'm not sorry. I may not be able to beat you, but I came here to face you, to end this in front of my people. If you're gonna kill me for that, get on with it,” Marcel told him.
Klaus was about to say something, but didn’t. Instead, he silently went to his room upstairs, which left Marcel and the vampires confused, until Elijah walked into the courtyard. Elijah vamp-sped over to Marcel and threw him against the wall.
“Good evening. I trust I need no introduction. After all, this was once my family home. Tonight I'm taking it back.” He looked at the crowd. “Your privileges have been revoked.” He turned to Marcel again. “Marcellus, out of respect for my sister, I will grant you this one mercy. I will allow you to keep your life.” He pointed to him. “However, you’re hereby exiled. If I so much as find a trace of you in the French Quarter, it will not end well for you. Do you understand?” He waited a beat, before turning back to the crowd. “That is all. Run along.”
Klaus watched from the balcony, as the vampires started to file out of the compound.
“Nicely done, brother. You’re beginning to sound like me. I’m impressed.”
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Klaus went to the study and pulled out a wooden box, where there was a little wooden knight Klaus had carved for her 1,000 years ago that he’d given to Rebekah during a terrible storm. He took it out, filled with the memory of that one night. He’d promised that he’d always stay with her. Little did Rebekah know, that was what had brought him to do everything to protect her, or at least try to. That, and because he did love her, despite what he’d always done. He knew now though, that it was wrong for him to do what he had; take away every love she ever found, whether or not he did it for the right reasons. By trying to protect her, he’d driven her away and made her hate him.
Katherine silently leaned in the threshold, watching him, knowing how much he hated to let his sister go. She also knew how hard it was for him to do so after watching out for her for 1,000 years, in his own way.
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