A/N: I know! Two updates in one day! :) Hope you enjoy, please R&R! :)

Chapter Six

Esther clasped her hands together and sighed. Such bloodshed always came from her children. The past century had not been kind to them, stripping away much of their humanity and leaving behind monsters. Although, in this case it had been necessary, much like the blood of the doppelganger, blood of the Seer was a powerful ingredient in most spells. However, unlike the doppelganger, the Seer was immortal, a fact unknown to Elijah.

Thèrese coughed as she felt a new heart regenerating in her chest. Unfortunately it was not the first such occasion. Her father had a penchant for ripping out hearts, and her first regeneration had been some hours after her birth. Upon viewing the mangled monstrous form of his only daughter, who was a disappointment after having expected a son, he had angrily attempted to sweep his spawn from the Mortal Realm. Only he and her mother knew of her immortality. Like a phoenix, when she died, she experienced all the pain and suffering of death and the excruciating rebirth.

This death, however, was voluntary. Shortly before Elijah's arrival, Esther had pulled her deeper in the Other Side and spun her tale of woe should Rebekah and Elijah remain the sovereigns of New Orleans. There were calls for a Revolution from both the aristocracy and the peasants within Rebekah's Court. Misery and oppression for hundreds of years from first Marcel, then Klaus, and finally Rebekah with her twisted games had the supernatural within the city ready to take what they rightfully thought was theirs, and gather allies along the way. Some thought it was time that the creatures of legend take their rightful place as the Kings and Queens of Humanity, allowed to kill and feed as they pleased.

Although far from ideal, Klaus, it seemed, was the solution to the problem. Klaus alongside his Queen could restore balance to the City of New Orleans and keep the malcontent from boiling over into the human world outside of the Kingdom. And so, foes became allies, as blood and magic connected them to serve a greater purpose, as unsavory as all involved might find that purpose, each had something to gain.

Caroline would find life, love, and power.

Klaus would retain both his kingdom and his lady love.

Esther would right the wrongs her love had wrought among the world.

And Thèrese? She would finally be given a full body.

But what were the stakes in this deadly game? The fate of humanity.