Chapter Four: Mikealson Ball

3 x 14 – Dangerous Liaison's

With the fact that Cassandra was in Mystic Falls, Calista couldn't help but be worried about the implications that had for the future. While she loved the vampire that raised her, Callie knew that with her arrival things were going to be complication, especially now that she understood the meaning behind Cassie's last name being Mikaelson.

"Morning baby girl" Cassandra greeted the following morning as she drank her coffee at the kitchen table, idly flipping through the paper. "No work today?"

"Not today. Why?" Calista responded as she made her own cup of coffee.

"I'm seeing Kol tonight. I was going to see him sooner but Elijah is being stubborn and not letting me see him until seven tonight."

"Can't you ignore him? You aren't exactly the type to do hat you are told"

"He compelled me, said he had to deal with all the family drama first before I could see Kol. What's a few hours after being apart for a century." Cassie sighed self dericatingly as she took a sip of her coffee, before grimacing slightly "By the way I added vervain to the coffee, with all the vampire's here you can't be too careful."

"Thanks? Why does the fact you are meeting your husband warrant asking me if I am free tonight?"

"Well, I want you too come with"

"You want me to go with you too reunite with you husband and your in-laws?"

"Well it's a ball and you were actually invited too it"

"I am?"

"Box on the counter. You will also be there to stop me from trying to kill my in-laws"

"That's a great idea," Callie muttered as she went to pick up the silver box on by the kitchen counter "Let the human break up the vampire fight"

"Trust me, Elijah shouldn't try and harm you at the ball his family is throwing and Niklaus has a thing for you, so there is only a five percent chance that tonight will end up in a fist fight"

"That makes me feel so much safer:

"Read the invite Callie"

"Fine" as she opened the envelope the brunette opened the envelope to reveal the ball invitation. "Please join the Mikaelson Family, this evening at seven o'clock. For dancing, cocktails and celebration. That explains the time limit on the compulsion your under"

"Elijah may not seem it, but he can be as manipulative as Niklaus. Read the back"

"Save a dance for me, Fondly Klaus. There is no way that I can get out of this is there?"

"Nope"

"I have nothing to wear"

"Open the box" Cassie shrugged as she leant back on her chair after folding the paper and pushing it away from her, her green eyes not leaving Calista as she undone the ribbon around the box before lifting the lid off. Upon seeing the shocked look that formed on her daughter's face, a smirk formed on the vampire's face "As much as it pains me too say it, Nik has a decent sense of fashion"

"I guess I'll come with you?"

"That's my girl" the blonde grinned as she sped to Calista side and hugged the younger woman. "Now I need you to help keep my mind of the ball for the next nine hours and twenty-two minutes"

…

By the time that the compulsion allowed Cassandra get to the Mikaelson Manor Calista was contemplating staking the vampire. It turned out distracting an eight-hundred-year-old woman from counting down the seconds until she could reunite with her husband after a hundred years had been an insanity inducing task.

"Cassie, human without the ability to heal as fast as you. Cool it with the freaky vampire strength" Calista said as she tried to pry the death grip her mother had on her arm.

"Sorry. Just nervous, it's been a while since I saw him"

"Don't be, this will go fine. You'll find each other and things will go back to the way that they used to be."

"The way things were? Let's see we used to rob witches in New Orleans, which was what got Kol daggered in the first place"

"Well go back to your equivalent of normal that doesn't evolve larceny"

"So, various bad decisions, a lot of booze and sex" Cassandra responded as she finally reduced her grip on Calista's arm.

"Great, go back to that without the stealing and daggering."

"Let's get this over with" as the pair walked into the manor "Remember…"

"Stop you from starting anything with Klaus and Elijah, I know Cassie. Once you find Kol though you will be too distracted to fight with anyone"

….

Once they had made their way fully into the foyer of the house, Cassandra had been found by Elijah who had taken her off to the side leaving Calista to mingle with some of the other guests, something that she wasn't completely comfortable with.

"Uh, if everyone could gather, please" Elijah addressed the party, as all attention fell on the second oldest original, Calista noticed that the entire Mikaelson family, including her mother, was standing on the staircase. "Welcome, thank you for joining us. You know, whenever my mother brings our family together like this, it's tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance. Given the fact that it is my brother and his wonderful wife's anniversary, tonight's pick is the dance they picked for their wedding, a centuries-old waltz, so if all of you could please find yourselves a partner, please join us in the ballroom."

Calista couldn't help but smile as she saw Cassandra standing with to the man she assumed was Kol. During Elijah's speech the man had stood on the step behind Cassie with both of his arms wrapped around her waist.

"Now what are you doing here Callie?" Damon asked when he saw the bartender standing inside the Manor without a camera or drink tray, dressed in a ball gown.

"I was invited, what about you?"

"Same here. I'm surprised though, I didn't think that a bartender would have been invited to a ball by the original hybrid, don't seem like his type."

"Ah Calista, I'm glad that you were able to make it here this evening" Klaus said as he came to the side of the bartender, reaching out to take her hand in his before pressing a kiss to the back of it. "May I say that you look ravishing tonight?"

"Well you did choose this dress" Calista responded as she allowed the hybrid to lead her towards the ballroom, completely ignoring Damon, as her gaze fell to the off shoulder dark red ball gown that she was wearing, the same one that Klaus had sent her.

"It merely enhances your natural beauty"

"Well aren't you charming."

"I was surprised that you agreed to the attend tonight" Klaus said, as he placed his hand on his dance partner's waist and held her hand when they got into the ballroom and the music started.

"I'm here to make sure that your sister-in-law doesn't kill anyone tonight"

"You know Cassandra?"

"She raised me, she is still pissed about you daggering her husband though"

"A human raised by a vampire, that must have made for an interesting childhood"

"It did, Cassie has been the one constant in my life since she adopted me. I wouldn't change it for anything though."

"Cassandra always had a soft spot for humans. Is she the reason that you know how to dance?"

"Cassandra's the reason I know how to do a lot of things" Calista teased as Klaus spun her in his arms, before returning his hand to its previous location on the brunette's waist. "But is your sister-in-law what you want to talk about while you dance with me?"

"Of course not love. I want to know everything about you"

…

In order to have a proper conversation with Calista Klaus had taken her away from the rest of the partygoers and his family. Letting the hybrid lead her, Callie couldn't help but focus on the heat around her hand where he held it. Even though Damon had warned her to stay away from Klaus and the way that Cassandra had skittled around the topic of her brother in law, she couldn't see what it was that made the two vampires so on edge regarding the Mikaelson.

"So where are we now?" Callie asked as Klaus pulled her into a room covered with paintings.

"A room full of one of my passions" Klaus explained, as the photographer's gaze fell on to the painting of landscape.

"Impressive. I take it that the curators at the Louvre aren't on vervain"

"Yeah, well, that's their mistake"

"I guess so" the brunette smiled as she moved around the room, taking in the sight of all the other artworks around the room. Moving to a desk off too the centre, she saw sketches of different ages based on the condition of the paper. "Wait, did you do these?"

"Yeah. Um…actually one of my landscapes is hanging at the hermitage, not that anyone would notice. Have you been?"

"No. Being raised by Cassie meant that we spent a lot of time away from people, we could stay in one place for longer if people didn't notice that she hadn't aged. Plus, she had eight hundred years of enemies we had to avoid"

"I'll take you then, wherever you want, Rome, Paris, Tokyo?"

"I might have to take you up on that offer then. It would be good to get away from it all"

"From it all?"

"All the supernatural drama"

"In case that you haven't noticed love, I'm supernatural"

"I think I can handle one vampire-werewolf hybrid. Do you think that you can handle me?"

"I'm looking forward to seeing if I can" Klaus said, picking her hand up and bringing it to his lips, placing a kiss on her knuckles before smirking up at her, taking note of the blush that covered her cheeks at his actions and the increase of her heartbeat.

…

"It's her isn't it?" Klaus asked Cassandra after Calista had left the ball, the blonde choosing to stay with her husband and Callie had to work at the grill the following day so she needed to get home before it got too late.

"Be careful Niklaus" the vampire warned as she stared at the hybrid while she waited for her Kol to wake up from the broken neck at the hands of Damon Salvatore. "She is human still and has had a bad experience with vampires before. I don't want her too get hurt, not by you, any of your enemies or even by your allies."

"Do you truly believe that I would allow any harm to befall Calista? The women that I have been searching for since you told me about her all those years ago."

"No, I don't think that you would purposely let any harm befall Callie but that doesn't mean that tragedy and pain do not follow you"

…

Authors notes:

I apologise for the delay in this chapter, I just had inspiration for other chapters before I was able to finish this one. I have four completed chapters written (2 mid way through the story and the two final ones) and half of six others. I should have a better updating schedule from now on *fingers crossed* but I make no promises.

I'm trying to incorporate my own dialogue into the scenes that were originally Klaroline while trying to stay true to the scene, not sure how it's going but hopefully I can refine the process as the story goes on.