Sorry it took so long. I had to find the time to write this one and I didn't have a whole lot of it. However, it is the longest of all my chapters so that's something nice for you all. Thanks again for all the reviews. The Ball chapter follows this one, so more Niklaire...lol yes, I have named my couple hehee. ENJOY!
Dinner with the Enemy
Mystic Falls
Claire found herself awakening from a very deep slumber and she quickly took in her surroundings feeling slightly alarmed. When she found herself staring at the very familiar setting of her bedroom, her body relaxed and she pushed herself up to sit.
She rubbed her face with her hand then quickly remembered something. Her eyes darted to shoulder and found it completely healed.
Then it all came back to her.
Klaus had saved her life.
Before she could fully digest the thought, Damon entered with a blood bag. "Good, you're up." He tossed the bag in hands. "Pep up. We have another glorious day ahead of us."
He took a seat at the foot of her bed and eyed her as she drank.
"What?"
"Almost lost you last night," he commented softly.
Her eyes softened. "I'm going to be fine."
"I can't believe that dick actually fed you his blood," he uttered shaking his head. "I mean I get that he has this fascination towards you…"
Claire rolled her eyes and placed the half empty blood bag on her bedside table. "He isn't fascinated. He's just bored and is looking for ways to annoy us." She refused to think that his feelings were actually genuine.
"Perhaps, but I still feel like he wants you and that gives me the creeps."
She chuckled, "Well, I don't want him." With a shake of her head, she continued, "He's taken too much from us and him saving me isn't going to change my opinion of him."
"Good to know," Damon said as he stood up. He took a couple of steps toward where she sat and placed a kiss atop her head. "Don't ever do that to me again, you hear?"
She smiled at him, "Careful. It's showing again."
"What's that?"
She shrugged and teased, "Your humanity."
"Bite me," he threw back before walking out the door.
She merely chuckled and fell back against the pillows and released a content sigh. One of her arms slid under the pillow that her head was resting atop of and it rubbed up against something.
Her brow furrowed as she sat up and let her head reach for the object, pulling it out. In her hand was a rectangular, velvet box. A white ribbon was tied around it and into a bow atop the lid and nestled under the ribbon was small card which read Happy Birthday.
She smiled slightly thinking that it was from Damon or even Stefan maybe, so she plucked up the card and flipped it to see if she was correct. Her smiled quickly went away when the words From Klaus were written on the other side.
"You have got to be kidding me," she whispered in disbelief. She lifted the lid of the box and gasped when she saw what was resting on the black cushion.
In all of her years she had never seen anything quite as beautiful as the bracelet that was before her.
She let her fingers trace over the texture of it before she quickly shook her head and closed the lid with a snort.
Honestly, what was his game anyway? Save her life and then buy her expensive gifts to what? Buy her off so she'll join up on his side?
"Not going to happen you hybrid prick," she growled and tossed the box aside. She stared it a few moments and went to reach for it again, but Damon's voice hollered out from downstairs.
"Let's go, Claire, get a move on!"
She glared at the box, and called back, "I'll meet you later." Then softer, she grumbled. "I have somewhere to go first."
Klaus walked around his newly renovated home. Everything was finally finished and he wanted nothing more but to enjoy it. And yet as he stood leaning against the mantle, and sipping a glass of bourbon, he could not.
Stefan still had his coffins and was not making effort to relinquish them even after his good deed.
His mind immediately went to Claire and wondered if she had found the bracelet. He wasn't expecting some grand thank you from her, but maybe some reaction would fulfill him in some way.
His head lifted from staring at his drink when the doorbell chime filled the house. He placed his glass on the mantle and headed to the front door.
When he opened it, he was not expecting the person to be standing on his front stoop wearing a scowl.
Despite her expression, he was delighted to see her. "Well, Claire, what a pleasant surprise." He moved aside. "Please come in."
She brushed by him and he closed the door behind her. He found her looking around the foyer.
"Like the place? I could give you a tour if you'd like."
She spun around and pulled the velvet box from her jacket. "What the hell is this?"
"A birthday gift," he answered with a bright smile.
"How did you even…" she began before chuckling bitterly. "Never mind that fact probably wasn't hard to find out." She made the move to hand the bracelet back over. When he didn't go to take it, she bit out, "Take it."
"It was a gift. It's never polite to take one's gift back."
"I don't want it," she growled.
That stung a little bit. He would have rather preferred her reaction back in the 20's, but with everything that has happened he shouldn't be surprised by this one.
"Keep it anyway," he said simply as he turned and headed for the study where he had left his drink.
He heard her following him. "Just take it," she pleaded. "I don't want anything from you."
"And why is that," he questioned.
"This doesn't change anything," she points out. "I'm still on the opposing side and I will not be bought into switching. That's not how I operate."
He stared at her in bewilderment. "Is that what you believe is my intention?"
"Of course it is," she fired back. "Why else would do such a thing? You don't care about anybody but yourself." She tossed the velvet box onto a nearby table. "I will not be fooled by you." She spun around and headed for the door leaving him there in dismay.
This Claire was definitely harder to impress. He let a brief smile appear upon his face as he stared at the empty space. He wasn't planning on giving up. He'll just have to try a bit harder.
Claire shut off the water from the shower and stepped out, reaching for a towel and wrapping it around herself.
It had been a few days since her encounter with Klaus at his mansion and she was rather glad that she hadn't had another meeting with that man.
As she dried her hair with another towel, she couldn't help but wonder what he was planning. He obviously wasn't going to give up on finding the coffins or with further pursuing her much to her annoyance.
Shaking her head, she continued to squeeze the access water from her dark hair.
After a few minutes, she headed toward her room, but immediately stopped when she heard a few notes being played from her piano. Knowing fully well that Stefan and Damon were not home, she headed in that direction cautiously.
When she stuck her head in, she growled when she saw a certain Original seated on the bench playing. She stomped into the room. "What are you doing here—in my room?"
As he stopped playing, Klaus looked her way and grinned obviously enjoying her current attire. His obvious approval did not go unnoticed and she was suddenly wishing that she had brought clothes with her to the bathroom to change into.
"What do you want, Klaus?" she asked as she kept a firm hold of the towel that she wore.
He slid off the piano bench, "Pardon my intrusion, but I was hoping to have a word with Stefan."
"I don't know where he is so you can leave now," she said dismissively and headed for her closet.
"I don't mind waiting," he said simply which unnerved her.
She turned and gave him a tight smirk, "Well, I suppose that there is no chance of getting you to leave now is there?"
He shrugged a shoulder innocently.
She rolled her eyes. "You can wait for him in the library downstairs."
He nodded. "Will you be joining me?"
"I hadn't planned on it," she grumbled.
"Well, what if I preferred to wait for your brother up here?" With the words, he sat down on her bed with a challenging grin.
Her nostrils flared slightly, "Give me a few minutes and I will join you downstairs."
He shot to his feet, "Fantastic. I will fix us up a couple of drinks."
She shook her head, "Very well. Make mine a double while you're at it."
When she finally dressed and dried her hair then put it in a ponytail, she reluctantly headed downstairs to the library where Klaus waited. He sat on one end of the couch and his head lifted at her arrival.
He hopped from his seat to fix her a fresh drink, "What's your flavor, love?"
"Scotch," she answered simply then added, "on the rocks."
He nodded and scooped up some ice from the ice bucket, "So, what are your plans for the day?"
She plopped down on the opposite end of the couch he had vacated. At his question, she smirked, "Are you asking if I'm going to be heading off to the location of your coffins?"
He turned around and chuckled, "Always jumping to conclusions, dear Claire." He walked over to hand her the drink. "Can't I just wonder about your day?"
She tilted her head to give him an incredulous look, "No, you can't. You honestly can't tell me that you aren't wondering just how you're going to convince me to tell you where your family is?"
He retook his previous seat. "There's always compulsion for that."
She snorted, "You could try."
He chuckled at this, "Ah, right. You're drinking vervain just like the rest of them."
"You can thank yourself for that," she points out. "We wouldn't have to drink vervain if we didn't have to constantly worry that you would take away our free will." When he just stared at her, she took a quick sip of her drink and spoke, "Forget it. You don't care what I think. Look, we don't have to continue this futile conversation. Let's wait for Stefan in silence."
He smiled solemnly, "As you wish."
It nearly took Stefan an hour before he finally returned home and Claire couldn't have been more relieved.
"What's going on here?" Stefan asked as he entered the library to find Claire sitting on one end of the couch and Klaus on the other.
"Oh, your sister and I were just getting to know one another," Klaus said charmingly looking at Claire who glared.
Stefan gave his sister a curious glance.
"I couldn't get him to leave," she explained in exasperation and then gave him a look. "He was in my room."
"Women and their personal space," Klaus commented with a chuckle. "Rebekah is the same way."
Claire climbed to her feet, "Okay, I gotta get out of here." As she walked past Stefan, she whispered encouragingly. "Good luck."
Klaus called out to her just before she left the room, "It was a pleasure talking to you, darling. Perhaps next time I could hear you play the piano for me. I would be very delighted to hear you play."
She shook her head and quickly left the room, heading to the old witch's house to stand guard over the coffins while Bonnie continued to search for a way to open them.
An hour later, Claire was sitting rather bored and staring at four dusty coffins. She had gotten word from Stefan that Elena and Bonnie had headed off to find Bonnie's mom. Apparently, she was a witch herself and could possibly help to get the spelled coffin open.
So, Stefan was with them and Damon was off to investigate Alaric's new, potentially psycho girlfriend.
As she stared at the coffins, she wondered if just simply hiding the coffins would be enough against Klaus. Her eyes stopped to focus on just one particular coffin, the one in the middle which held Elijah.
She walked over to it and slowly opened it to reveal the gray-faced Original and found herself quickly glancing at the dagger in his chest.
Biting her bottom lip, she lifted a hand up to reach for it.
Her phone suddenly buzzing caused her to jerk back and quickly shut the lid back. With a choked chuckle, she pulled her phone out and pressed it to her ear, "Damon, what's up?"
"Bad news, Klaus found out where the coffins are," he said immediately which caused her to look upward at the ceiling trying to hear any signs of movement.
"What do you need me to do?" she questioned quickly.
"Get as many coffins out of there as you can. I'm on my way." The line ended and she shoved her phone back into her pocket. Her eyes of course went to the locked coffin first.
It seemed more important and more valuable. So, it would be the first to go obviously.
As she stepped forward, she passed by Elijah's coffin and paused. Without another thought, she lifted the lid once more and then reached in. She pulled the dagger from his chest then went over to where her bag sat and pulled out a scrap of paper. She quickly wrote a simple message and then hurried back over to where Elijah laid.
After placing note in his left, front jacket pocket, and then placing the dagger back in her bag, she jogged back over to the locked coffin and heaved it off its platform.
When she returned to the witch's house after compelling some Lockwood gardeners to put the locked coffin in the cave that no vampire can enter, she found herself in the middle of a Damon-Klaus stand-off.
"Sorry to interrupt," she spoke up entering the room fully and seeing the coffins revealed. "Did I miss something fun?"
Klaus glared in her direction, "Your brother and I were just discussing the fourth coffin that appears to be missing." He eyed her curiously.
"Sorry, I'm not going to tell," she said in a sing-song voice as she smirked.
"I saved your life," he growled.
"And I owe you nothing," she retorted. "Remember? You asked for nothing in return and I am just honoring the arrangement."
Damon gave her a proud look before speaking, "Same rules apply. You know leverage and all. I get that you want your family back, but I have a feeling that you want what's in that coffin a lot more."
Klaus glowered in Damon's direction before storming out of the cellar and up the stairs.
When he was sure Klaus was out of earshot, he turned back to Claire. "One coffin, sis, really?"
She gave him an incredulous look, "I got the most important one didn't I? I had very little time, okay? It took me a minute figure out what to do with the damn thing."
"So, where is it?"
"The place that Mason took you," she said rather proudly. "I figured it'd be safe from any vampire and a place Bonnie could continue to work her magic. How'd that end up by the way?"
"Her mother's useless. She has no powers," Damon filled in.
"Fabulous," she deadpanned. "Now what?"
"We think of a new plan," he answered.
"Can I offer a suggestion?" she asked cautiously as she reached into her bag resting against her side.
He raised a questioning brow.
"Hear me out," she requested, "before ripping off my head, okay?"
"Just spit it out already," he told her and crossed his arms.
"Before I took off with the fourth coffin, I made a decision that I believe could help us…" She pulled out the dagger and held it up.
Instead of looking angry, Damon looked in impressed, "Did my little sister un-dagger an Original all on her own?"
"It's not like it took much effort," she replied, disliking his teasing tone.
"Which Original was it? The pirate guy, the pretty boy, or…"
"Elijah of course," Claire answered. "He owes us for his betrayal and he, other than Rebekah, would easier to talk into helping considering that he was daggered more recently than the other two brothers."
"Probably a wise choice or a stupid one," he remarked honestly.
"And there it is," she scoffed. "You think this is a bad idea."
"Oh, a very dangerous one, but hey we needed a new plan and here one is," he said and waved the dagger. "We still need to sell our brother on this plan."
Hours later, they were standing in front of the fireplace when Stefan finally walked in.
"You're both alive, so I assume Klaus didn't get his coffins."
"Not quite," Damon said and nodded his head at Claire. "She was only able to get one coffin out before he showed up."
"The locked one," Claire confirmed.
"Probably the better choice," Stefan commented.
"Yeah, you know if you were banking on Bonnie's mom being able to get the thing opened…you're screwed. She doesn't have any powers."
"I'm surprised," Stefan said in a tight smile. "It's been that kind of night."
"Is Elena okay," Damon questioned.
Before she could blink, Claire watched Stefan spin around and punch Damon in the face.
She flashed over to Damon and questioned, "What the hell was that for?"
Damon groaned, "I take it that you two had a heart-to-heart? And I guess you don't want to talk about it?" He straightened, and muttered, "Noted. Maybe we should talk about this instead." He pulled the dagger from his pants and shows it Stefan.
"What did you do?" he questioned lowly.
"Actually, what did our sister do?" Damon corrected and Stefan's surprised eyes flashed to Claire who shrugged innocently.
The next morning, Claire was making her way across a grassy field and stopped when she sees a lone figure standing there waiting.
A brief smile appears on her face when she recognizes the familiar, suit-wearing, Elijah.
She made her way forward, "Elijah, welcome back to the land of the living."
He smirked, "Claire, I'm surprised it was you that un-daggered me. I would have figured you'd be angry…"
"I understand why you did it," she replied. "I feel like you've been punished enough by being daggered and then stored in a box for a few months, so no grudges on my end." She tilted her head slightly. "So, how was the reunion with your lovely brother?"
"Eventful," he admitted. "Niklaus and I had a few words which might have resulted in some damaging of property."
This caused Claire to grin, "I wished I could have been there."
"Well, well, well," said another voice as some footsteps approach. "Elijah, my favorite Original—back from the dead."
"Damon," Elijah greeted as he glanced at Claire again in question.
"Don't worry," she assured. "He trusts my judgment."
"I'm quite surprised that my sister was so bold to un-dagger you. It's so clever."
Claire rolled her eyes, "Just get on with it Damon."
"Yes, please tell me why we have gathered here."
"We need your help," Claire said immediately. "I really hope that I was right in un-daggering you."
"I'm here, aren't I? Let's talk."
"I'll start with an easy question," Damon spoke up. "Any idea what Klaus killing weapon could be magically sealed in a mystery box?"
Later that night, Claire found herself standing alongside her brothers just outside Klaus' mansion.
"I can't believe that we're standing here about to go have dinner with him," Claire muttered.
"Hey, you got the ball rolling," Damon pointed out which caused her to roll her eyes.
"I'm still all for bailing," Stefan muttered disgruntled.
With a sigh, Claire reached forward and pressed the doorbell. The door opens revealing a smiling Elijah.
"Niklaus, our guests have arrived." When Claire entered first, Elijah immediately took hold of her hand and kissed her knuckles. "Claire, you look beautiful as always."
After he released her hand, she smiled in return and slipped off her jacket. "Why thank you Elijah. You clean up nicely yourself."
Klaus' voice broke in, "I would have to agree with my brother. You look striking as usual." He stepped forward to request her hand to kiss and she stared at it then handed over her jacket instead.
"Thanks," she said in fake sweetness.
He smirked and then addressed her brothers as he handed the jacket to a compelled servant. This made Claire glare at him, but he quickly ignored it. "So, my brother tells me that you seek an audience. That's very bold. Shall we discuss the terms to agreement like civilized individuals?"
He motioned toward a table set up and ready with two leggy blondes serving as waitresses.
"It's better to indulge him," Elijah spoke up and followed his brother to the table.
The three Salvatore's approached the table and Stefan smirked, "I didn't come here to eat, Klaus. In fact, I didn't want to come here at all. But I was told, I had to because you would hear us out."
Klaus took a seat and eyed Stefan. "Well, we can sit and eat or I can reach down your throat and pull out your insides. The choice is yours."
"Honestly, can't we go one evening without the death threats," Claire questioned with an exasperated look.
Klaus tilted his head at her, "I wouldn't have to threat anyone, love, if I didn't feel it was necessary." This earned him a glare, and he returned his attention to Stefan. "Well?"
Clearing his throat, Stefan said, "Fine." He walked over to sit on the opposite side of the table from Klaus and Elijah to the seat to Klaus' right which left two seats across from Elijah.
Claire eyed the seat closer to Stefan and farther away from Klaus, but Damon quickly zipped past her and slipped into the seat before she could blink. She glared down at him and he simply grinned while Klaus stood to pull out the seat closest to his.
He smiled, "Come now, I won't bite."
Releasing a breath, she walked over and sat down. She leaned over to whisper fiercely into Damon's ear. "I hate you."
Minutes later, the five of them were eating with the exception of Stefan who refused.
"You've lost your appetite," Klaus commented.
"Eat," Damon requested. "I thought we were going to leave the grumpy Stefan at home."
Stefan threw him a hard look.
"Isn't this nice," Klaus spoke up eyeing Claire with interest then addressed the rest of the table. "The five us dining together…it's such a treat." He looked at Damon with a smirk. "Was this what you had in mind when you pulled the dagger from my brother?"
"Actually," Claire cut in. "I pulled the dagger out of Elijah." This admission earned her a look of surprise from the man to her right. She snorted. "Why is it that every time I say that statement it is quickly followed by a look of surprise? I can be conniving too you know."
"I didn't think you had it in you," Klaus replied in amazement.
"Well, I had three options," she said smiling conspiringly. "I mean there was that one brother that looked like he had been that coffin for very long time and therefore would have been more pissed at you. Then there was the younger good-looking one…he could have been very interesting." She shrugged a shoulder. "However, it was no contest. Elijah happens to be the one Original I respect." She smiled brightly across the table at Elijah who nodded his head appreciatively. She returned her gaze to Klaus, "I knew how he felt about you so the more the merrier."
"Well, Elijah and I have had our share of quarrels over the century. But we always make it through."
Stefan spoke up, "Kind of like you and Rebekah, right? Where is she by the way? Last I checked she was still daggered because you were too afraid to face her."
Klaus gave him a knowing grin, "If you're referring to the fact that Rebekah knows I killed our mother, I've already come clean to Elijah."
"Hey, Stef," Damon chimed in. "Remember when you killed dad?" He nudged Claire. "And remember when you helped him with that?"
Her jaw dropped indignation and avoided Klaus' amused gaze. "He deserved it," she muttered.
"You both might want to dial down the judgment until dessert."
"We're here to make a deal, Damon." Stefan pointed out with a tight smile, "Doesn't mean we need to kiss his ass for seven courses."
Claire lifted her wine glass in agreement.
"I'm just saying we have a long evening ahead of us. Pace yourself."
After a few minutes of silence, Elijah brought up Elena to Stefan and well that didn't go over too well.
Klaus made snide little comment and Stefan was ready to leave, but then Damon settled things down by suggesting that Elena should be left on the "do not discuss" pile.
However, Klaus wouldn't let it go. "It's just the allure of the Petrova doppelganger, still so strong." He looked over at Elijah. "What do you say, brother? Should we tell them about Tatia?"
Placing his cloth napkin on the table, Elijah chuckled and shook his head, "Now why should we discuss matters long since resolved? "
Klaus dismissed his attempt to avoid the subject. "Well, given their shared affection for both Elena and Katerina, I think our guests might be curious to learn about the originator of the Petrova line."
Damon spoke up, "Well, we're not going anywhere Elijah. Please, do tell." He took a sip of his wine and motioned for him to speak.
Claire found herself intrigued as well.
Elijah cleared his throat, "When our family first settled here, there was a girl named Tatia, she was an exquisite beauty. Every boy of age desired to be her suitor, even though she'd had a child by another man. And none loved her more than Niklaus."
Claire found herself looking right at Klaus when his brother made that comment. She actually saw a look of sadness pass over his features, but then his eyes lifted to meet hers and she quickly looked away and continued to listen.
Klaus spoke up, "I'd say there was one who loved her at least as much." Elijah nodded solemnly.
"Wait a minute, so you both loved the same girl?" Stefan asked, intrigued and slightly amused.
Elijah nodded, "Our mother was a very powerful witch. She sought to end our feud over Tatia and so she took her. Klaus and I would later learn that it was Tatia's blood that we consumed in the wine on the night where our mother performed the spell which turned us into vampires. Tatia wouldn't make a decision between the two of us, so for a time Niklaus and I... grew estranged. Harsh words were traded, and we even came to blows, didn't we, brother?"
With simple nod, Klaus continued, "But in the end we realized the sacred bond of family."
Elijah added, "Family above all."
They both raised their wine glasses and Klaus repeated, "Family above all."
When they clink glasses together, Claire eyed her two brothers sadly. It seems the pattern is happening again and she didn't like it one bit.
Elijah cleared his throat and placed his drink back down. "So, why don't we move this evening along and discuss the terms of this proposal?"
Damon placed his napkin onto his plate, "That's very simple. Klaus gets his coffin back, in exchange, he and the Original extended family leave Mystic Falls forever. And we all live happily ever after. No grudges."
"The deal sounds fair, brother." Elijah said to his brother.
Klaus gave him a snort and shook his head, "I don't think you understand, Elena's doppelganger blood insures that I will always have more hybrids to fight those that oppose me. I will never leave her behind."
"There wouldn't be those that oppose you if you weren't such a power-hungry pri— " She was immediately cut off by Damon.
"Claire," he warned.
With a soft chuckle obviously not letting her comment sway him, Klaus gets up and starts to pace. "Let's say I do leave her here, under your protection, what then? How long before one of you turns her into a vampire? Or worse, how long before she dies caught between your feuding? You see, each one of you gentlemen truly believes that you're the one that can protect her, and that is simply a delusion. Gentlemen, the worst thing for Elena Gilbert is..." He eyed Stefan and Damon and finished, "the two of you."
After an intense thought provoking moment, Damon gets up. "I'm gonna get some air."
Claire pushed back her chair, "I will join you." She followed her brother out and soon they were joined by Elijah outside.
"You are laying it on a bit thick in there," Damon remarked once Elijah stepped out onto the front stoop.
"Klaus doesn't suspect a thing," Claire points out defending Elijah. "He's doing what he's supposed be doing. Lay off."
Damon snorted.
"Have no worries," Elijah clarified. "I'm not going against our arrangement."
"We'll see about that," Damon grumbled and the three headed back inside to prepare for the next phase of their plan.
The three of them re-entered the room where they found Stefan and Klaus staring each other down while one of the blonde servants laid dead at Klaus' feet.
Claire felt her jaw clench as Damon spoke.
"What do you say, Klaus? It's time for you to put something on the table. We've made our offer, now you counter."
He wiped his lips with a napkin before retaking his seat with Elijah standing beside him. "Okay. I offer Elena's future happiness. You see, what she needs right now is to be rid of you lot. And to fall in love with a human, maybe that nice football player, you know the blond one?"
Damon gave him an incredulous look, "Matt Donovan? Really?"
Klaus gave him a wide smile, "Yeah, why not? They'll marry, live a long and fruitful life, and pop out a perfect family."
Stefan snorted and added, "And continuing the Petrova bloodline. Every few hundred years, you'll have a new doppelganger to drain and never run out of hybrids, right Klaus?"
Klaus shrugged a shoulder, "Consider it a small return on my investment in her well being. See after you hand me back the coffin, I'll ensure her safety for the rest of her natural life. You know it's what's best for her." He gets up and walks towards Stefan. "So, what do you say Stefan, do we have a deal?"
Stefan meets him halfway causing Damon to question, "What are you doing?"
"Stefan," Claire warned.
With a grin, Klaus held his hand out to Stefan.
Stefan grabbed his hand and he gave him a tight, non-convinced smirk. "Nice try, Klaus. But no deal."
With a snarl, Klaus swiftly breaks Stefan's arm. He kicks his leg and breaks it as well. Then he shoved Stefan's hand into the fireplace, and Stefan yells out at his hands starts to burn. Damon attempts to rush over to him, but Elijah pushes him against the wall.
Claire stepped forward to help Stefan, but Klaus warned her back. "I wouldn't, sweetheart. I'll shove his whole body in."
"Stop it," she pleaded when he continued his hold on her brother. Hearing Stefan's pained yell was too much for her to handle especially when she watched his arm ignite with flames and burn.
"Stop," Damon finally shouted as he was held back by Elijah.
Pulling Stefan away from the fire, Klaus looked fiercely in his direction, "Now, bring me my coffin before I burn him alive."
With a glower, Damon bit out as he was released, "I'll get it." With a look towards Stefan, he walked out.
Klaus turned his attention to Elijah. "Go with him, brother, you keep him honest. And when you return, I will make good on my promise to you and I will hand over our family." With a fixed stare, Elijah nodded and left the room.
"You go too, Claire," Klaus requested not looking at her.
With a glare, she looked to Stefan who nodded at her and she hurried out.
Minutes later, she follows Elijah and Damon back into the make-shift dining room where Klaus stares at them in question, "Elijah... why haven't you left?"
Elijah smirked at him "Where are you manners, brother? We forgot dessert." He reaches over to where the other blonde servant was standing and uncovered the platter she was holding revealing two daggers.
He stepped away from Stefan and looked wildly at his older brother. "What have you done?"
Elijah glared, "What have you done? You see I've learned not to trust your vulgar promises, Klaus. We're doing this on my terms now."
Behind them, their younger brother Kol enters the room.
Klaus choked out, "Kol." Claire stared in shock when Klaus actually looked frightened.
Kol greeted sadistically, "Long time, brother."
Klaus made a quick move toward the daggers, but a blurred arrival of the second eldest brother Finn suddenly appeared. Finn grabbed the dagger just before Klaus and Klaus pleaded, "Finn, don't." However, it didn't stop his brother from stabbing him through the hand.
When Finn pulled the dagger free from his hand, Klaus rushed away and ran into Rebekah, "Rebekah?
She shoved a dagger in his stomach and growled, "This is for our mother."
With a groan, Klaus falls back into Kol's arms and his restrained.
Elijah looks at the Salvatore siblings, "You're free to go."
Damon nodded over at Stefan who still stood by the fireplace and grabbed Claire by the arm, pulling her toward the exit.
"This is family business." Elijah finished and the three of them left them to it.
Later that evening, Claire was playing a few chords of Beethoven's Für Elise on her piano when she felt a whoosh of wind appear behind her and she felt her breath leave her as she stopped playing.
Spinning around on the bench, she came to find no one behind her. Instead her eyes fell upon the familiar rectangular, velvet shaped box. She eyed it in contempt before noticing a note placed under it.
Standing, she headed over and picked it up and unfolding it. Three simple words were written eloquently on it. I forgive you. With a sigh, she shook her head. He was determined. She couldn't deny him of that.
She picked up the box and opened it to gaze at the bracelet. With a slight frown, she found herself closing the box and heading over to her vanity. She placed in a drawer and went off to get ready for bed.