(Peeks in) Hello there! I know it's been a long ass time and I apologize for the delay. I'll explain more at the bottom but here's the next chapter.

Thank you HannahPerry85 for her awesome pre-reading skills.

Thank you readers for your patience.

I don't own anything—except maybe Aria.

Onward~

When Aria arrived at the address Rebekah had given her, she took a deep breath and whispered a prayer to the gods of her ancient ancestors. She hoped they would provide her with the strength and knowledge to solve the mystery of New Orleans while keeping herself safe. She got out of the car and pulled her dark cloak around her, as protection from the cold, evening air. She found the entrance to the old building and quietly walked up the stairs, noticing a light at the large doorway. She could hear muffled voices and hoped her soft footsteps would not be detected so she could quietly observe the group for a few moments before she made her appearance. The gods were on her side as she huddled against the stairwell and peered into the open door. She knew she shouldn't be eavesdropping, but she wanted to get an idea the type of vampire Rebekah Mikaelson was before the meeting actually started.

She saw Bonnie staring at a blonde woman, and immediately guessed was she was Rebekah. She reminded her of the stories of the mythological valkyrie the way she stood tall, glaring at the brunette. What fascinated her, however were the two other people in the room. Aria looked at the man and Caroline as they closed in on each other—their fingers twitching ever so slightly as though they longed for each other's touch. At least, that was what Aria believed she saw. There was a softness in the man's eyes as he stared at the young, blonde vampire and she, while attempting to hide her gaze, returned the same look to him.

The atmosphere changed as the blonde began accusing the two women about being part of a scheme and mentioned other people. Aria was quickly able to deduce that Bonnie had been part of a plan or plans to harm the Original vampires at some point and Rebekah was not pleased to see her, but couldn't tell if Caroline had a role or not. Aria continued to watch the four people in the room—she now realized there was a trust issue that she must resolve soon—especially after the man began to verbally threaten Bonnie. Feeling it was now the right time to make an appearance. She pasted a smile on her face and moved to the doorway.

"Knock, knock," she called out before stepping inside. She smiled even bigger as she glanced at each one who had stopped to face the entrance. "It's Aria, I'm a little early but was wondering if we could get started." She waited for some response and after a minute without one, she set her satchel on the floor and walked up to the tall blonde, before extending her hand. "You must be Rebekah? I'm pleased to meet you."

Rebekah looked at the witch and then her hand before extending her's out. "This is my brother Nik… Niklaus Mikaelson," she said walking towards her brother.

Aria turned and looked at the man, letting out a gasp when she realized who he was. "You're known as Klaus. You're the hybrid."

Klaus gave a curt nod of acknowledgement. He detected the slight increase in the witch's heart, satisfied that the mere knowledge of his existence had frightened her. He watched as Aria looked at him and then at Rebekah before closing her eyes, giving them a small bow.

"It is an honor to meet both of you," Aria said and looked up again at them. Aria was acting more brave than she really felt but tried not to let it show. She felt more determined than ever to help them, at the very least, find the answers they were looking for. "Should we get down to business and discuss what's going on in New Orleans?"

Klaus was about to speak but Rebekah beat him to it. "How do we know we can trust you? Especially since you've partnered with the Bennett witch."

"Look I didn't want to bring this up earlier," Bonnie began as she moved towards Aria. "There's something you need to know about me."

As soon as Caroline heard Bonnie, she knew Bonnie was about to reveal to the siblings something huge. She moved closer towards her friend as a sign of solidarity, knowing this was going to be difficult for Bonnie and reached out, giving her shoulder a friendly squeeze.

"When the veil was put back up the night of graduation, I died." Bonnie looked over at the two Original siblings hoping they could see the truth in her eyes. "I no longer have magic. I'm only here because I struck a deal with Qetsiyah to become the Anchor to the Other Side. So basically, whenever a supernatural dies, their soul passes through me."

"That doesn't sound pleasant," Klaus remarked as he glowered at Bonnie Bennett. He wasn't completely convinced the former witch was entirely trustworthy at this moment but was willing to hear them out. Besides, with only one witch, it would take a lot out of her to disable a couple Original vampires with the brain aneurysm spell. He looked over at Rebekah and motioned for her to move towards the table. "Let's all have a seat but before we start, Aria, why don't you explain to me and my sister your skills. We're both aware of what your colleague was able to do, before, but we're not familiar with you."

Aria and Bonnie sat down with their backs facing the kitchen area while Klaus and Rebekah sat across from them. Caroline, who had been lingering in the background, grabbed a chair and set it on the corner right next to Bonnie. She wanted to see and learn everything, but at the same time, not get in the way since she was merely an observer.

Klaus noticed that Caroline was diagonally from him and while he would have enjoyed sitting right next to her, breathing in her scent, he knew now wasn't the time, nor the place. He listened as Aria first talked about her mother's side of the family and how they were related to a young witch burned during the 17th century. Then she described her father's Egyptian ancestry and how they were related to a priestess that served under Ptolemy's rule.

Meanwhile, Caroline, having heard the story just hours before, took the opportunity to remove her scarf and unbutton her blazer, setting it behind her chair. Her movements caught Klaus' attention and she could almost feel his eyes burning into her skin even though she wasn't looking at him. She felt momentarily short of breath and unconsciously ran her fingertips over the exact spot he had bitten her the afternoon in the woods. The motion was soothing and helped calm her nerves as she looked over at Aria and tried to look interested in her story.

Klaus continued to listen, but could see every movement she made out the corner of his eye. It was clear she was nervous being there as she fidgeted with her jacket. He tried desperately not to react when he caught her touching her neck—the same area he bit after she practically pleaded him to bite her that afternoon. His body stiffened and he stopped breathing—not that he needed to—for a brief moment. Did she realize what she was doing? It didn't appear so, but he could see the action seemed to calm her nerves as her body visibly relaxed. At least, that was what he imagined as it often helped him.

Rebekah was engrossed in Aria's ancestry and was hoping she wasn't going to double-cross them in any way. Just like her brother, she didn't trust Bonnie Bennett though the fact she no longer had use of magic was a bit of a relief. She was grateful Nik hadn't done anything rash—something she had expected from him. She began to wonder if Caroline Forbes had anything to do with that. The looks they were giving each other was different than before. She couldn't place her finger on it, but they both acted differently. What exactly happened that day when they visited Mystic Falls?

"... and then I received a call from Rebekah asking if I'd be willing to help. I told her I needed some time before giving my answer," Aria continued with her story. "I immediately thought I should talk to someone who might be able to offer me guidance. I remembered my grand-mère and her Grams were friends and learned many skills together so I contacted Bonnie. She verified what I had known—there was a new Anchor to the Other Side and she was it. I wanted her help because her role in the supernatural world could strengthen my own skills. We can go over that later—it's usually easier to show you than to explain." She waved her hands dismissively and looked relieved when neither sibling asked her to elaborate.

"How much do you know of this unbalance, as you call it?" Klaus asked. After Caroline purposely started to pay attention to Aria, in what he surmised was a weak attempt at avoiding eye contact with him, he pushed his chair away from the table and stretched his legs out, giving him the look of boredom but he was anything but bored.

"I have heard things about New Orleans and their witches," Aria explained. "I knew they were different in that their magic is contained within their ancestors and therefore they're stuck within their confines. I've also heard over the years, they weren't able to use their magic—partly because they don't have the ability to and also because they can be put to death. Then Rebekah contacted me about your older brother behaving strangely. She said while it didn't seem like a spell, something about him was different."

"Yes, something is different," Rebekah began.

"Wait," Aria said, interrupting the blonde's thoughts. "Let me grab a few things out of my bag and then you can tell me everything." She got up and hurried over to her bag, bringing it with her back to the chair.

She pulled a roll of paper out and set it on the table before reaching into her bag once more. She brought out a metal legged bowl with a tray underneath. Everybody watched her with fascination as she grabbed a small velvet bag, pulling what looked like a few rocks and placed them into the bowl. She lit the tray and a musky perfume began to scent the air.

"It's just some frankincense, that's all, it helps me channel the Egyptian side so I can record our conversation," she explained as she began unrolling the paper. "I am going to scribe your story onto the papyrus scroll so please start from the beginning."

Klaus sat up slightly and looked over at his sister, motioning with a slight tilt of his head towards the kitchen. Understanding his signal, she got up and returned with some bottled water just as he began talking about how he arrived in New Orleans months ago. "...I discovered my protégé, Marcel, was now calling himself King of New Orleans—a title he had usurped during my absence. He also had some means of controlling witches and it appeared they were no longer allowed to conduct magic." He watched as the witch wrote down his words, impressed that it wasn't in typical Latin or English, she appeared to be writing in a form of Hieroglyph. "I witnessed a confrontation with a witch—though he called it more of a 'trial' of sorts. The witch, Jane Anne, was accused of using magic and he promptly killed her on the streets, in front of his followers."

Aria and Bonnie gasped at the news. Aria looked over at Bonnie as if to ask if she had felt it.

Bonnie understood the silent question and shook her head. "That was before graduation, right? I was still practicing Expression at the time so I wouldn't have felt her pass as I would now." She looked over at Klaus and cleared her throat. "Was it ever mentioned what specifically she did, other than use magic?"

Klaus shook his head and turned to stare out the window for a second. "No, it wasn't revealed at the time but I found out soon after. The witch's sister, Sophie, insisted that I meet her one night. That's when it was revealed a werewolf was carrying my child. Jane Anne apparently was able to detect the pregnancy by use of magic. She was the one that also linked her sister's life with the unborn child." He let out a breath he was holding and avoided looking at Caroline at that very moment. Even though he had talked about the Hayley situation with her, the subject wasn't something he was entirely proud of.

Caroline was watching Klaus as he talked about how this Sophie witch announced that Hayley was pregnant—the child being Klaus' due to the so-called 'nature's loophole'. She could see he was looking almost everywhere but her direction. Given their telephone conversation a week ago and now seeing with her own eyes, she could tell just how much it bothered him.

Aria paused her writing and looked at Klaus. "There were never any tests or medical evidence?"

Klaus shook his head. "My brother, Elijah, pointed out the fact that he could hear a rapid heartbeat that didn't belong to anybody visibly present. I was to take that news as fact and accept the consequences."

Aria nodded. "I'll let you continue and I'll try to save my questions for the end from now on."

Klaus nodded. "It's alright, if you can help us get to the bottom of the situation, then by all means, ask away." He continued his story of how he didn't care for the prospect of an heir but Elijah persisted, citing family and honor. "It wasn't long before his priorities became all about the girl and less about his existing family."

Rebekah nodded and looked to her brother who gave her a small nod. "I hadn't made it to New Orleans when Nik received the news. If truth be known, we were in a bit of a spat but Elijah persisted that I be there. 'Always and forever' he would say when I gave my excuses—I just wasn't ready. Finally, I did arrive but Elijah had gone missing." She gave Nik a half-hearted glare and he returned the gesture with a shrug. "Without airing our family laundry, I eventually found him daggered. He was in a room with a girl named Davina. We had a bit of a confrontation and she… she basically spelled me to forget the location."

"Davina? Do you know anything about this girl? Is she a witch?" Aria asked.

Rebekah shrugged. "Only what I could find in newspapers. There was a girl name Davina Claire that went missing during Hurricane Katrina. Weeks later they changed her status from missing to presumed dead. The picture of her from the article could be her from nearly a decade ago. She has to be somehow involved."

Aria continued to write everything down, only pausing once to drop another piece of frankincense into the metal bowl. Once Rebekah had finished, she looked up at both Rebekah and Klaus. "Is there anything else unusual before I begin my questions?"

"Do you think they're all related?" Rebekah asked.

"It's too soon to say," Aria admitted. "I don't see a connection yet, but perhaps after my questions we can see. If not, we'll look to other means to find answers," she added and looked over at Klaus. "You mentioned Marcel who calls himself king. Who is he, exactly?"

"He was once someone we considered family." Klaus recanted how he found the young slave—the illegitimate son of the governor. "He was being whipped and I rescued him. He didn't have a name so I called him Marcellus—named after the Roman god of war. He was like a son to me and as such, I found it hard to swallow when he started having feelings for my little sister."

Rebekah rolled her eyes but it finally made sense to her, why he didn't want them to be together. "Despite my brother's wishes, Marcel and I did have a bit of a fling in the early 1900s before Mikael found us and we escaped to Chicago."

"Mikael?" Aria asked.

"Mikael Mikaelson, he was our father… or more specifically, he was the father of my brothers and sister. I was a product of our mother's infidelity," Klaus explained. "After we were turned to vampires, he became a hunter—his sole mission to destroy us all, but he took extra pleasure in the idea of destroying me, I suppose."

"I see," Aria said and scribbled some more Hieroglyphs onto the scroll. "So when you and your siblings escaped Mikael, Marcel stayed in New Orleans where he declared himself king of the city?"

"In a nutshell, yes," Rebekah replied. "When we escaped, we thought Marcel had perished otherwise he would have gone with us, being he was family. Elijah had left us before Mikael, for reasons only known to him—my brother and I believe was to chase after his lover. Our other siblings were safely ensconced in their coffins, daggered. We had been running from him for centuries so it didn't take long to pack everything we felt was essential and leave."

This entire time, Caroline sat silently as she learned more of both Klaus and Rebekah. Even though they both remained stoic, she could see very brief glimpses of Klaus' emotions coming through. It made him seem more human as he talked about Marcel as a young boy. She could see the fondness coming through in his words just as easily as she noticed his contempt as Marcel grew up, became a vampire and eventually turned. She tried to piece the stories together in her head, trying to find some sort of connection but so far, nothing seemed fit.

Just as Caroline was assessing the original siblings, Bonnie was as well. She wasn't sure what to make of it and why Grams had advised her to help the Mikaelsons. None of it seemed to tie nicely together to form a connection, but she had a feeling once it was all vetted, any association, however remote would be found. At least, that was her hope. Her initial instinct was to blame this Marcel vampire, but she knew, from her experiences in Mystic Falls, nothing was ever as simple as they appeared.

"The daggering is nothing unusual?" Aria asked and both Klaus and Rebekah shook their heads. She nodded and decided not to press the issue—clearly it was a family situation that was none of her business. "Very well. Shall we go into more delicate matters regarding this child?"

"If we must," Klaus muttered and moved his chair closer to the the table. He brought his hands up to the table and gave a menacing glare at both Aria and Bonnie, as if to remind them just how powerful he was, before he clapped his hands together. "Ask away," he said. Although he appeared confident, he was internally dreading this interrogation and he had no doubt it would be one. While he could easily walk away from the factory, right at this moment, there was that part of him that wanted to be vindicated—that this child was not his without question.

"I feel like I need to preface the questions beforehand. It's imperative that we separate what is mythology and what is the truth," Aria began and began writing on her scroll once more. "You're a hybrid, that is to say, you're not just a vampire but you're a werewolf, correct?" Klaus nodded. "When exactly did you discover you were a werewolf? Did you phase while you were still human?"

"As you know, in order to trigger the werewolf gene, one must kill a human," Klaus began, appearing blasé with the initial question. "While I was considered adept at using a sword and was a decent hunter, it wasn't until I turned—having fed off a human, draining them of their life, that I triggered the gene. It led to the realization my mother had been unfaithful to Mikael and the father was a werewolf; not Mikael. As a means to control me, I was cursed—my werewolf side suppressed until I returned to Mystic Falls a couple years ago."

Aria muttered something in an ancient language, slightly blushing as she took a breath. "I'm afraid I need to ask another, rather sensitive question." Klaus motioned her to continue, already growing impatient. Aria tried not to be intimidated by Klaus' actions and took another breath before continuing. "Prior to your… liaison with this werewolf, have you been intimate before? More specifically with other werewolves?"

Klaus scrubbed his face with his hands, clearly not expecting her question. He could see from the corner of his eye, Caroline was now looking either at the floor or her lap. Her face was flushed and he could see the slight tightening of her jaw as though she was bracing herself to hear sordid details. If it weren't for the enormity of the situation, he probably would have been thrilled she was showing some sort of emotion that indicated she felt something for him.

"Yes," he replied, as he focused on the task at hand. "When I was seeking werewolves to turn into hybrids, there were a couple females that submitted themselves to me as they recognized me as their alpha."

"And they didn't conceive?" Aria continued her interrogation.

"They didn't. They didn't manage to survive long after they transitioned to being hybrids. About a month into their change, I forced them to change at will and they barely survived," Klaus responded curtly. "A few weeks later, just before the next full moon, a member of their pack shared with me a secret they had kept to themselves. Generations of inbreeding had taken a toll on them and as a result, they avoided killing humans until they were mature and strong enough to withstand the monthly phasing." Klaus shook his head as he remembered that remote pack. He had thought he struck gold the day he found them but they were nothing more than a cursed bunch and he had no choice but to destroy them all once he learned of their defect. "I would have known by then if one of them was with child."

"So after you learned of the child that's allegedly yours, was she taken to a physician or a clinic?"

Klaus shook his head. "Not unless you count those who are related to, or allied with witches."

"The witch, Sophie is linked to the girl, like my brother said," Rebekah added. "I don't know if that's the reason why they haven't gone to an actual medical professional, instead of a so-called midwife who dabbles with the non-magical aspects of witchcraft."

"Like herbs?" Bonnie asked.

Rebekah nodded. "And tisanes. Perhaps some small, seemingly meager spells that fall under the radar of whatever detection device Marcel has."

"That's a good segue," Aria commented. "I think we're done with questions regarding the child. What is this about a detection device?"

"I believe Davina is somehow connected based on what I mentioned earlier," Rebekah said as she looked at Aria, hoping there was a way to validate her theory. "I'm convinced of it, though I don't have any proof. When I was confounded to forget where she was, it didn't feel like typical magic. I can't explain it but it wasn't something that Bonnie had done or any of the witches over the years."

Aria nodded and finished writing on the scroll. "Anything else that you can think of?" Rebekah and Klaus shook their heads. "As I mentioned, we need to see if there's a connection. I believe your brother's not acting himself and could possibly be spelled. However, because the witches aren't allowed to use that type of magic, there is something else that is causing it."

She looked over at her scroll before turning her attention to Klaus. "Again, I apologize for my line of questions. I needed to know some facts before I was able to draw the conclusion that this child cannot possibly be yours. Whether or not the girl is actually pregnant, remains to be seen—unless she can somehow see a physician. The whole idea of a loophole is a farce, do you agree, Bonnie?"

Bonnie nodded. "I agree. If you were a werewolf first and a vampire second, the loophole makes more sense, but even then, it's a long shot. Once you turned, your body is basically dead—cells shouldn't be viable especially after a thousand years of leading a non-celibate life. Even if you had been celibate all these centuries, the chances are improbable. Though you can function like a human, it's just not plausible and therefore it's the work of magic."

Klaus closed his eyes and thanked the ancient gods as he exhaled a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. While he didn't care for the girl or the child, the fact that a witch and a former witch have concluded he had no ties with the girl was a relief. "What's next?" he inquired.

Aria pulled her phone out and checked the time. "We've been here for over three hours now. Can we resume in the morning? I definitely will contact the ancient gods for their assistance but I want to peruse grand-mére's grimoires tonight and have some dinner."

"I'll help, I brought a few of my own," Bonnie offered.

"Can I help?" Rebekah asked, dropping her usual standoffish pretenses. She felt a sense of optimism, believing somehow, all of them would be able to find answers and she was willing to help. More importantly, she was willing to set aside differences and work towards a common goal. "I have a couple of Esther's grimoires at the hotel. Nik got us a place at the Mandarin Oriental if you don't mind meeting there."

Aria smiled and nodded. "I don't mind, I have a condo at the Mandarin but since it's my father's, I wouldn't be able to invite you in. Bonnie, are you okay if Rebekah joins us?"

Bonnie nodded, realizing they were going to have to work together at some point. In order to do so, they all had to learn to trust each other. "I'm okay," she said and gave Rebekah a smile. "Care, are you going to join us?"

"Um—" Caroline began. As much as she wanted to help Bonnie out, she wasn't sure if she wanted to spend the evening looking through books.

"Actually, I was wondering if she would accompany me for dinner," Klaus said, having read the hesitation on Caroline's face.

"I could join you, if you want," Caroline said to Bonnie, ignoring Klaus for a moment. She didn't want to seem too eager and immediately agree to his offer. "I don't think I'd be of any help though." If her friend wanted her to be there for moral support, Caroline would do it.

"No," Bonnie replied, shaking her head. "It's okay, you go and we'll touch base, yeah?"

Caroline nodded and pulled Bonnie over towards the windows. "You're okay with this? I meant what I said, I could go with you."

"I'm okay, Care. You go and have fun," Bonnie said and gave Caroline a small hug. "You be careful," she whispered to Caroline even though she knew both Rebekah and Klaus could hear.

"You too," Caroline replied and reached into her purse to fish out her keys.

"We'll take your car," Klaus offered and tossed the keys to his rental car over to Rebekah. He gave her look, basically telling her to behave. If there was any chance to get to the bottom of the whole mess that was New Orleans, they had to put their differences aside. He knew he had to with Bonnie Bennett, eventually.

Rebekah nodded and motioned for Aria and Bonnie to follow her out the room.

Klaus walked towards Caroline as soon as they were alone. "Hello, Caroline," he murmured. As much as he wanted to move closer to her, he stayed an arm's length away.

"Hello, Klaus," she whispered and gave him a smile—the same one she had given him after they kissed.

Feeling more confident, he reached over and grabbed her jacket, helping her put it on. Once he saw she was ready, he held out his arm and she quickly linked her's with his. "So sweetheart, where would you like to go for dinner?"

"Seeing how we're casually dressed, probably somewhere not too fancy. Is there a place here in Atlanta that you like going to?"

"I think I know of a place," he said with a smile as he led them out of the room and down the stairs.

Did you all like that? Let me know your thoughts.

So I'm going through a HUGE writer's block right now. I know how the story will end as well as some major points of the story and when they will take place. I just can't get to the point where I can sit and write it down. It's absolutely frustrating but the good thing is my creative side is still there—I'm just channelling it differently with home DIY projects and stuff.

That being said, I do have a reserve of chapters—up to 17 but I don't want to blow them all right away just in case this takes longer to shake than anticipated.

Updates will be sporadic and slow but once I break out of this, you'll be getting more regular chapters. I WILL finish this—it's just a matter of when.

I thank you all ahead of time for your support. I really appreciate it.

XO ~sushi