AH… GOOD OLD NEW ORLEANS… I thought to myself as I inhaled the crisp night air deeply. The smell of cigarette smoke, alcohol, fried food, and vomit filled my nostrils and I smiled. How I've missed you. It's been… A century… It also doesn't seem as though much has changed. I walked along Bourbon Street silently observing as I went along. Humans walking, talking, coexisting side-by-side with vampires, unbeknownst to them in the blink of an eye their lives could be ended if any of us wished it to be so. Hell, they were completely unaware that there was an entire world of their deepest, darkest, fears of supernatural… Of ghosts, witches, werewolves, and vampires that existed right in their city. Some of us were their neighbors, their friends, or maybe even their bartender.

I continued on my way as men offered me beads in exchange for a glimpse of my secrets. Me, being who I was didn't have to worry much about that. I could be rather persuasive when I wanted to be. I passed women throwing up in the streets after drinking too much with their men holding their hair out of their faces, people getting arrested, and men fist fighting in the streets to prove their manliness. No, nothing has changed at all. I don't know why I ever left this place to begin with, I reminisced with a smile. I turned off onto a much less crowed street en route to my hotel.

"Well, well, well… Look who's returned."

The voice stopped me dead in my tracks. I didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

"Elijah…"

"How nice to see you Patricia," he offered with a smile. "It's been… What? A century now? I see immortality has treated you well."

I sighed. "Trish," I corrected him. "It's nice to see you as well Elijah."

"Have you returned permanently?" he continued, the normal polite yet curt and coldness in in voice.

"No… Just passing through…"

"Pity. It would be nice to see your face around here again." The smile on Elijah's lips curled up even further.

"My apologies. I just have some business to take care of here and then I'm gone… Anyway, as nice as it was to see you again Elijah, I don't have much time and I must be going," I offered with a smile before turning to walk away.

"Niklaus will be very interested to know you've returned, Trish," Elijah called after me sarcastically, overly annunciating my name.

I stopped and spun around. "Please Elijah, don't tell him I'm here."

He frowned at me. "Do you really think I wouldn't tell him?"

"Please don't Elijah," I begged. "It will just be better that way."

"Better for who? You or my brother?" Elijah snapped.

I frowned. "For the both of us."

"Hmmm… I disagree," Elijah decided as he stroked his chin in thought. "Niklaus has only been scouring every corner of the earth for you for the last hundred plus years. To this day he still hasn't given up on his desire to find you. You two didn't part ways on the best of terms after all. Hell, you didn't even tell him you were leaving."

I winced mentally at the truth behind Elijah's revelation. "That's what I was afraid of. I'm begging you Elijah, please don't tell him. I'll be in and out of New Orleans before you know it. I promise. Klaus won't know I'm here and you don't have to tell him."

"Do you have any idea what you've done to him?" he demanded, his angry voice echoing off the buildings lining the empty street. "You do know he'll never stop looking for you."

"Don't you think I know that Elijah?" I snapped through gritted teeth.

"Do you?" he spat.

"I've spent the last century running from him Elijah. Every time I thought I had gained a little bit of distance, there was Klaus this close to finding me again!"

"Don't you think there's a reason for this?" he posed.

I frowned. "Freya I'm sure… He probably has her constantly keeping tabs on me, doing locater spells for him."

"He's different now you know?" he asked suddenly changing the conversation.

I scoffed at his question. "He's different? No. He's Klaus… He'll always be Klaus."

"You always calmed him," Elijah continued. "He always listened to you. You were the only one able to quell his rage. You were able to draw out a side of him that on one else ever was. You're the only person he ever loved more than he loves himself."

"That's why I had to leave…"

"I don't understand."

I sighed. "Klaus and I just aren't… Good together… We just aren't good for each other."

"I believe my brother saw it differently. He…"

"He is the reason I am what I am!" I snapped, cutting him off. "Because he was selfish. Because he wanted to decide my life. I was happy just living my simple ordinary little life completely unaware these sort of creatures and monsters we read about in books even existed! And now I am one!"

"In his defense, you were a werewolf and a witch before him…"

"I didn't know. My werewolf curse hadn't been activated yet and my parents never told me what I was or that any of this even existed! I would have been just fine living my normal human life, but I couldn't because of his selfishness," I continued.

Elijah frowned. "Oh sure! He was so selfish that he did the only thing he knew he could do to protect you… To keep you safe! And all for a woman who made a life of hurting him no matter what he did! No matter how hard he tried to be whatever it was that you wanted! Sure, it may not be the life you would have envisioned for yourself but making you the second most powerful hybrid, second only to him so he knew you'd survive… So he knew you'd be safe… No matter where you ran, no matter how many times you hurt him… Yeah, that's extremely selfish of him! If it weren't for him, you would have been dead centuries ago. You would have been someone's dinner!"

I had no response for that. "But how long do you think it would have been before he grew to resent me? Resent me for constantly causing him to suppress the person he believes he really is. The dark side of him. He believes he's pure evil and nothing more," I shouted angrily.

"He did go on quite the rampage when you first left," he confessed as though he was reminiscing about it. "It really hurt him you know?"

Elijah's words hurt. They hurt more than I wanted to admit they hurt. It hurt me to know I hurt Klaus. No matter what had gone on between he and I, I had never intended to hurt him. "I'm sure he's just fine now. Living free… Happy… The way he wanted to, being the person he believes he really is. I'm sure I'm nothing more than a passing thought now. That's why he doesn't need to know I'm here. There's no need to open old wounds."

"You're far from a passing thought and you damn well know that! He won't be happy until he finds you," Elijah answered, much softer this time. "So you want me to lie to my brother?" he asked, suddenly changing the conversation.

I shook my head. "I'm not asking you to lie, I'm simply asking you not to say anything. Just act as though you never even saw me tonight."

Elijah shrugged disinterested now. "If I were you I'd make it quick… Good news travels fast in this city." With that he disappeared into the night.

"Well, that went better than I expected…"


I PUSHED OPEN THE door to my hotel room and the hot, musty, stagnant air was the first thing that hit me. I closed the door behind me with my foot and dropped my bag on the floor. I made my way over to the white painted, French doors that led to the balcony outside my room. The paint was very chipped. You could tell it had been a long time since that room had gotten some love and attention. I pushed both doors open to allow the room to breathe and a rush of fresh, night air hit me in the face. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, I scanned the room. The room décor was old and outdated, the light on the bed side table flickered every now and then, the wall paper was peeling, there were brownish stains on the ceiling where you could see water had damaged the ceiling from above, and the carpet was heavily stained throughout the room. There was a simple wooden dresser that the TV sat on top of. As I continued along I noticed a small, round, wooden table with two matching chairs in the far corner of the room closest to the doors to the balcony. On top of the table was a clear, crystal vase with a very intricate pattern carved into the glass, filled with roses and a bottle of wine on ice with two glasses in front of it. Very flashy, very expensive looking taste. A stark contrast to the dumpy looking room.

Flowers and wine? I didn't order flowers or wine for myself, I thought skeptically. I stood up and slowly made my way to the table. The vase contained eleven red roses and a single white rose. It was then it hit me. That's what Klaus always sent me. The red roses represented his love for me and the single white rose represented me and the purity he saw in me. "He knows…"

"He does."

I jumped in surprise before spinning around, not that I needed to; I already knew that voice far too well. "Klaus…"

"Well hello love." He smiled devilishly. "Oh come now, I'm not that big and scary; am I?"

"I see good news travels fast around here? Be sure and give Elijah my thanks."

He chuckled softly… Arrogantly… In a way only Klaus could. "Did you really think I wouldn't find out you'd returned to my city?"

I frowned. "I hoped not but I guess that wasn't the case. I'm sure Freya saw me coming from a mile away."

With vampire speed, Klaus crossed the room until he was inches from me. "You look marvelous," he remarked as his eyes scanned my body slowly and deliberately, ignoring my snide comment. "Just as beautiful if not more beautiful, if that's even possible, since the last time I saw you."

I took two steps back, hoping to gain some distance from him but I'd only managed to back myself against the wall.

He stepped closer to me; slowly, deliberately, making me squirm against the wall. "You know I'd never hurt you," he whispered, his lips dangerously close to mine.

"No?"

He frowned. "Do you think that low of me?" His position never wavering.

I couldn't comprehend anything. I couldn't get my brain nor my mouth to work. All I could do is shake my head. A mixture of feelings churned deep within me and all I wanted was to escape them… Escape him. Why the hell did I come back?

He chuckled revealing his devilish grin again. "You could have at least said goodbye," he whispered as he traced his index finger up and down my arm, pouting exaggeratedly; his eyes searching mine.

"Would you have let me leave?"

Klaus' face twisted into a scowl. He quickly spun on his heels and walked over to the table and sat down. "May I?" he asked, gesturing towards the bottle of wine and the glasses on the table. I always hated how we never had to talk about things he didn't want to talk about but when he wanted answers… There was no debate.

"Go ahead."

He poured himself a glass before filling the second glass as well. He pushed it in front of the chair next to him. I guess that was his way of asking me to sit down with him without actually asking me. I reluctantly gave in and took the seat next to him.

"Well what do you say we catch up a bit? It has been a century since I've last seen you," he suggested nonchalantly as he took a sip from his glass.

I nodded. "Oh sure… What would you like to talk about?" I questioned, trying to curb my sarcasm.

"I see you've left your blonde hair long. I always loved your hair long. How've you been? Where did you go? What have you been up to? Why did you leave without a word? Without a goodbye?"

I took a large mouthful of my wine. I wasn't quite ready for the rapid fire questions. "I'm sure you already know where I've been and I've been okay. How about yourself?"

His eyes flashed from his cup to mine. "Why did you leave?"

I frowned. "Klaus…"

"Tell me," he snapped, the expression on his face hard and cold. "Please," he quickly added, trying to sound gentler this time.

"You know why," I whispered.

He reached over and pulled my chair close to him before leaning in close to me. "Tell me," he nearly pleaded as his blue eyes searched mine.

"We aren't good for each other… You know that…"

"I think we are," he disagreed with a shrug.

"I know what you're trying to do you clever little fox but you know you can't compel me. I'm one of you," I answered with a sly grin. "I was also taught by the best…"

He traced his finger up and down my arm. "Yes but I do have my ways," he answered, looking up at me with those beautiful blue eyes of his.

I sighed. "And I quote, 'Do you know how incredibly exhausting you are? How incredibly exhausting it is to constantly pretend you're something you're not'?"

Klaus winced at my words… Well his own words coming back at him. "That was a long time ago," he whispered.

"But it's still true," I whispered back.

"I'm different now, you know?"

I couldn't help but to chuckle.

"And this amuses you?"

"Your brother tried to tell me the same thing… That you're different now… That you've changed but that's not the case. This is who you are. You've been this way for centuries. You're no different now than you were then. You're not going to change. You don't want to change."

His lips curled into a scowl. "How can you say that when you haven't even given me the chance to show you?"

"I know the things you've been up to Klaus. You know very well that your reputation precedes you. I know you haven't changed. Besides, don't you remember telling me I bring you too close to the light? To the good? And that's not you… That's not who you are and you're not going to change now?"

He rolled his eyes and sighed loudly. "That was a hundred years ago! Let it go!"

"Truth hurts doesn't it?"

"Maybe that's just what you're using as your excuse… To make you feel better about it. Maybe it's that you know there are dark parts deep within you; dark parts that you long to release, and when you're with me; I bring them out and you feel free, and that scares you?"

I pushed back my chair and stood up. "You know what? I really don't need this! I think you should go," I decided as I walked out to the balcony.

"Is that really what you want?"

He was now behind me, his hands firmly gripping my hips tightly, pulling me back into him. He used his nose to make me tilt my head back and to the side, exposing my neck to him. My body betrayed me and gave him no resistance.

"Do you?"

My brain was screaming 'Yes! I want you to leave!' but my body was aching for him to stay even after all these years. I couldn't get my head and my mouth to agree. He had my head spinning from all of the sensations coursing through my body. Things I hadn't felt in so long… Things that I'd never felt with any other man I'd ever been with… Things only he could make me feel. Before I knew it, his lips were on my collar bone and he was placing a line of soft, wet, kisses up my neck. He continued his sweet torture up my neck, lightly grazing my skin with his teeth, all the way up to my ear. I hated that even after all these years… After everything he'd done… Everything that happened between us… He still had this power over me.

"I don't think you do," he whispered seductively into my ear, his fingers gripping my hips tighter.

I shuddered against him and I could feel him smile at my reaction as he nuzzled my neck. Finally I couldn't take any more of his torture, quickly I spun around and pushed him up against the frame of the door roughly; both of my fists full of his shirt. I looked up into his blue eyes and they were gleaming with delight; a grin across his lips. My body was on fire and begging for him, he knew it. He knew I wanted him right then and there. I leaned in, inches from his lips. That's when I caught myself. I slowly released his shirt and backed away from him. The twinkle in his eyes faded and along with his smile.

"I'm sorry… I… Can't…"

"Perhaps you're right and it is time for me to go," he decided coldly as he straightened out his shirt.

"Klaus…"

"Good night."

And with that he was gone. I sighed loudly as I flopped onto the bed. I stared up at the ceiling trying to make sense of what just happened. My lips were still tingling from his kiss. I could still feel his hands on me, his lips on my neck. His scent filled my nostrils. I guess part of me hoped he'd come back if I left the doors open but deep down I knew he wouldn't. After what felt like forever, I gave up and closed the doors to the balcony. I crawled back into bed and turned out the light. I knew trying to sleep was useless but it's all I wanted to do.


The sun peering through the curtains woke me up. I looked at the clock and frowned. Nine-thirty it read. So much for sleeping in. I noticed a piece of paper folded and left on the bedside table. I reached for it and opened it up.

Darkness cannot exist without light

and light cannot exist without

darkness just like I cannot exist

without you nor you without me.

Klaus

I shook my head and tossed the paper back onto the table. Him and his damn perfect handwriting… I scowled before I slid out of bed and trudged my way to the bathroom. Maybe a long, hot, shower will make me feel better. Maybe I'll come up with a good idea to take care of the business came for to begin with. After showering and getting dressed, I headed out the door.


** Disclaimer: I do not own the Originals**

Author's Note:

Enjoy and thank you so much for reading!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on my writing.

Please leave me some feedback so I can gauge how I'm doing and if I should continue the story!