We set off the next day bright and early. I felt exhausted and on edge from my night time walk, it was almost a relief to be in the car where at least I knew I couldn't go anywhere. Finn and I had made a deal not to mention anything to Klaus, if only to make sure he didn't become any more unbearable than he already was.

I kept quiet for the rest of the journey but then again no one really seemed to be in the mood to talk. We'd been on the road for a few hours when I felt Rebekah, who had been slouched in her seat, stiffen beside me and sit up.

"Nik, are you sure we're going the right way…?" I glanced at her, confused. He'd not mentioned where we were actually heading to any of us.

"We are exactly where we are supposed to be."

Elijah also leant forward, peering out the window to work out where we were.

"You can't be serious."

"I am incredibly serious brother."

I craned my neck, trying to work out what was causing them so much distress. I caught sight of a road sign. New Orleans. I still wasn't sure what about this was worrying them, although I dimly remembered someone saying they'd lived there before.

"Wait, for real?" chimed in Kol. "You're going back after what happened to you there?"

"It makes sense. Mikael isn't likely to anticipate us returning there after what happened. Besides this way we don't need to find accommodation."

"I think that this is really stupid," muttered Rebekah.

"Well you can wait till Klaus gets a new protégé and sleep with him to distract yourself," said Kol. I guessed from his tone that he wasn't too happy about the return to the city either. Rebekah let out a quiet noise at his words as though he'd touched a nerve. I gently brushed my fingers against her hand, trying to comfort her without words.

"I don't care what any of you think and I don't want to hear any complaints. Be quiet until we get there and then you can run off into the city and air your grievances where I can't hear them."

I closed my eyes. I'd never been to New Orleans before. Under different circumstances I'd almost feel excited by the trip. I'd always imagined that I'd explore exciting cities with Caroline or Bonnie, Stefan even back when we were still together. But then again, nothing in my life had worked out the way I'd planned.

Klaus pulled into the French quarter and navigated the grid like streets before parking the car in front of a tall building.

"Welcome home."

He got out of the car, both Kol and Finn following him. Elijah and Rebekah lingered, looking reluctant to exit. Elijah broke first, opening his door. He looked over at his sister.

"It'll be okay Rebekah. Come on." He got out and Rebekah followed. I joined them on the pavement as we gathered our bags. Klaus led us to a large iron and pushed it open with a loud creak. We entered a large square courtyard with a balcony overlooking it. I marvelled at the architecture, looking around in an attempt to absorb every details.

"Same rooms as last time," Klaus said. "Finn, Elena, you can take what you want."

"And after all that effort you put into creepily replicating my room at home…" I muttered. "This one won't be half as stalkerish."

He gave me a withering look and I shut up. Rebekah gently took my arm to lead me to the rooms, guiding me up the stairs to the balcony. A figure emerged from a room and we both froze. It was a man, dressed in black and with a messy afro style hair.

"What do we have here?" he snarled, baring fangs as his eyes became red, revealing his vampiric nature. Rebekah snarled, baring her own. The other siblings were at our side in an instant.

"Who are you stranger?" Klaus snapped. "What are you doing in our home?"

"Your home?" laughed the man. "You must be the famous Mikaelsons. This hasn't been your house in a long time. Has it everybody?"

I looked around and saw that the balcony and the courtyard below were filled with people, vampires I assumed, who had emerged silently from the shadows.

"You should warn your people to back off if they value their lives," Elijah warned, clearly hoping to diffuse the situation.

"They're not my people," the stranger said with a smirk.

"Who leads you?"

"I do." Another figure stepped forward, coming to the side of the first man. I heard Rebekah gasp and she threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Marcellus, Tu m'as tellement manqué." He kissed her forehead lightly and carefully detached her.

"Rebekah. Klaus. Elijah…. Kol…" His eyes flickered over Finn and myself. "Well you must be Finn. And I assume she is your road snack?"

"She is not to be harmed," snapped Elijah. The man held his hands up in a sign of peace.

"Relax Elijah, we won't hurt her." He looked around. "Stand down. This is Klaus Mikaelson and his family. The former kings and queen of New Orleans. You are to make them welcome here."

There was a mumble of reluctant agreement from the assembled group who disappeared back to where they had come from. The man beckoned us to follow him and led us into a parlour, where he sprawled on a large red sofa. Klaus seated himself while everyone else stood awkwardly. The first man we'd encountered hovered behind the sofa, clearly on guard.

"I'm surprised to see you back here."

"We're surprised to see you at all." Elijah said. "We thought you were dead."

"Fortunately not, otherwise who would have rebuilt the city?" He smiled and his eyes turned to me. "Forgive me for not introducing myself. I'm Marcel. And you are?"

I glanced at Klaus, hesitant to speak up.

"Relax, he won't bite. This is my city, I make the rules."

"I'm Elena." Marcel sat up and patted the cushion next to him for me to sit. I reluctantly sat down beside him.

"So Elena, how has a nice girl like you got messed up with such bad people as these?"

"They abducted me, had a spell put on me and threatened to kill my brother."

"Ah yes, that's their speciality. Anyway, I'll put the word out to my people that you're not for feeding on while you're staying here." He turned his focus back to Klaus. "How long will you be staying?"

"We're moving back in."

"Oh that doesn't seem like a good idea Klaus."

"Well that's what's happening Marcel. This is still our city, no matter how much you might like to pretend."

"Don't do this Klaus. I'm happy to let you stay but this is my kingdom, my people and they will kill all of you if I give the word."

"They're no match for me," Klaus said confidently.

"Oh yeah? What makes you so great?" the other stranger said. Klaus' eyes changed and her darted forward before any of us could stop him. He sank his fangs into the man's neck and threw him to the floor. Marcel leapt to his feet and Kol grabbed hold of me, pulling me to him in an attempt to keep me out of harm's way.

"You and your people are to leave. And then maybe I'll fix your man's throat before my bite kills him. If you don't leave, I will go round and bite every vampire in the quarter and watch them die slowly." Klaus' voice was perfectly calm and he locked eyes with Marcel. After a minute of silence, he nodded and went to his fallen man, picking him up.

"Not all of my group have daylight rings. They won't be able to leave till nightfall."

"They can take their chances out in the sun or in here with me. It's their choice." Klaus watched as Marcel dragged out his friend and waited until the creak of the gate was heard before turning to us.

"Go get unpacked," was all he said before stalking off. Rebekah led me to a bedroom. As she entered, her eyes widened slightly.

"He kept it all the same…"

"This was your room before?"

"Yes. Back when we first lived here."

"And you and that Marcel guy…?" She smiled slightly and perched on the edge of the bed, fiddling with her top.

"Yes. He was a slave, Nik rescued him as a child and raised him. We developed feelings for each other but…"

"It didn't work out?"

"Nik didn't approve. And when we continued to see each other, he daggered me. At some point during that time, he offered Marcel a choice. Wake me or be turned. Marcel had always wanted to be a vampire."

"So he picked to turn I'm guessing?"

"Yes. I suppose in his mind it made sense. I had all of eternity. Nik wouldn't leave me daggered forever. I wouldn't miss a few years…"

"Did you forgive him?"

"Eventually. But it got… complicated." I looked at her, curious. She sighed. "You remember I told you about my friend Genevieve?"

"The one you killed?"

"Yes. Well, she was a witch. After Marcel and I got back together, we decided that we would never be allowed to be together… that Nik would follow us if we tried to run. So we asked Genevieve to summon Mikael." Her voice dropped to almost a whisper.

"Oh."

"He didn't appear for a while and by the time he had, Nik had declared that we had his blessing."

"Does…. Klaus know?" Rebekah shook her head. "I won't tell him."

"Thank you. But anyway, when Mikael arrived, he took Marcel prisoner. When we fled, we thought he was dead."

"Ahh… that makes sense." Rebekah sighed and got up.

"You know what? I'm going to take Nik's advice."

"In what regard?"

"He told us to go out and air our grievances in the city where he couldn't hear it. So tonight, you and I are going to go out and party."

"Are there even any parties going on tonight?"

"Elena, we are in the party capital. If we can't find a party in this city, we are not doing it right." I smiled.

"Won't Klaus get mad?"

"Who cares? You're a human, you only have one life, even if your face does reappear."

"Just the two of us?"

"Well, Kol can come if he wants. We'll sneak out later."

"Okay, great!" I felt myself getting more excited. I'd not had a chance to act like a person in a while. Going to a party, letting loose and putting all my problems aside would be good for me. "I'm going to go find a bedroom and pick out something to wear."

I left Rebekah's room and headed out into the corridor, wandering around until I found a room that I liked. The furniture was a little dusty but it seemed nice enough so I started unpacking my bags. I went to the wardrobe to hang up some of my clothes, opened the door and let out a cry at what I saw.

Curled up in the bottom was a teenage boy. He looked about sixteen at the oldest, with ragged jeans and a t-shirt displaying a band logo. He looked up at me and his eyes became fearful.

"P… please don't kill me," he whispered. I opened my mouth to speak but was cut off by a knock at the door.

"Elena? Are you alright?" Finn asked.

"I…" The boy looked at me, pleading silently. "I'm fine! There was a spider, it startled me is all!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! I'm fine, don't worry"

I waited until I heard footsteps retreating down the hall before turning back to the boy. I crouched down, chewing my lip nervously. I couldn't tell if he was a human or a vampire.

"Are you alright?" I whispered. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Why are you hiding?"

"That man said he wanted us all out… Marcel left… I don't have a daylight ring… please don't let him kill me…"

"I won't. You can stay in here until it gets dark, I'll make sure they don't find you." He gave me a shy, grateful smile. "You have a name?"

"Toby."

"How long have you been a vampire?"

"About six months."

"Marcel turned you?"

"No, one of his inner circle did it. How about you?"

"I'm not a vampire."

"So why do they keep you around?" I looked away. "I don't mean to be rude, but humans around vampires doesn't seem to go well."

"No, I agree. They keep me around because they need to. That's it." I got up. "You should probably rest. I'll wake you up when it's dark?"

"Thank you." I fetched a blanket from the bed and handed it to him before carefully closing the wardrobe door.

I stayed in my room until it was almost sunset. I'd not heard anything from Klaus or anyone else so I guessed none of them had detected my guest. Kol knocked lightly at the door and opened it without waiting.

"Hey Elena, Rebekah said we're going out? Just wanted to know we're leaving in five because Klaus has gone out, but he won't be gone long." I nodded.

"I just need to change and I'll be ready." He smiled and disappeared. I quickly changed my outfit and, since I still had time, I nipped downstairs to the kitchen area, hoping that no one would be there. I was fortunate that it was empty. I foraged around in the fridge until I found a handful of blood bags that had been stashed in the crisper. I grabbed two and ran back up to my room. I left them where I knew Toby would find them. I picked up my bag and headed into the hall. I locked the room and pushed the key underneath the door so that no one would go in in the meantime.

I joined Rebekah and Kol in the courtyard. They looked excited at the prospect of the evening. We headed out onto the street, which was alive with music and lights. The atmosphere was dizzying, it was like the city had a soul that was singing to us. Rebekah laughed and tossed her hair as she led us towards Bourbon Street. The sun had only just begun to set and I was surprised by how wild things were already becoming. Kol disappeared after a girl who was wandering around with no top on. Rebekah rolled her eyes in mild amusement and guided me into a nearby bar.

"I thought we were going to find a party?"

"The wild parties don't start till after dark. When the creatures of the night come out to play," she said with a grin. "Marcel is having a party tonight and, although he is still royally pissed at Nik's actions, we are invited. Especially since I have a vial of his blood as a peace offering."

"Are you sure it's a good idea for us to go? It might be a trap."

"Marcel has honour. A code of ethics. You and I have nothing done wrong. And he promised his people wouldn't attack you." She left me at a table to get drinks, either by charming or compelling the bartender. Kol returned and sat beside me, looking very pleased with himself.

"Having fun?"

"Oh yes. I forgot how much I loved this city."

Rebekah returned with three glasses and passed them around.

"Down it," said Kol. I picked up my glass, threw back my head and tipped the liquid down my throat as Rebekah started to say 'no Elena, you don't have to'. I coughed and spluttered a little but got it all down. Kol looked impressed and he waved to the bartender to bring us over some more.

We continued in this manner for some time until I was feeling pleasantly buzzed. Rebekah peered out of the window and saw how dark it had gotten.

"We better get moving to the party, make the most of the night," she said. We finished our drinks and headed back onto the street. Rebekah led us to a large building where loud music was playing. The place was crowded and it was impossible to hear anything over the music.

I spotted Marcel sitting on a throne like chair overlooking the party, his friend from earlier slumped at his side. Rebekah tapped my arm and pressed the vial of blood into my hand.

"Go give him this!"

"Why me? He's your boyfriend!"

"This will give him an extra reason not to kill you!" Couldn't fault that logic.

I wound my way through the crowd and over to Marcel. He looked mildly bemused to see me.

"Elena. I'm surprised Klaus let you out of the house."

"He's too busy being crazy and paranoid to put my leash back on." I smiled and held out the vial. "For your friend."

"Thank you." He leant forward. "And thank you for what you did."

I must have looked confused because he turned his head and nodded at a person in the crowd. I followed his gaze and saw Toby sat on the outskirts of the group. I smiled, pleased that he'd made it out alright.

"Anytime." Marcel reached over and handed me a yellow wristband.

"Put this on, it'll keep you safe." I nodded gratefully and fixed it on my wrist before heading back to Rebekah. She was dancing happily with Kol. I joined them, losing myself in the rhythm of the music. Kol wrapped an arm around me, holding me close as we danced.

I wasn't aware of time passing, or anything other than the music. People were laughing, shouting, screaming in excitement.

Screaming.

I didn't realize at first when the screams turned from joy to horror. One minute I was dancing, the next chaos had erupted around us. People were screaming and running for the exits. Vampires swarmed the dance floor, attacking and feeding. I found myself swept up in the crowd, separated from Kol and Rebekah. Someone grabbed my hand and I was pulled forward, helpless to resist.

N/A: I went to New Orleans in September, I couldn't resist putting a little trip there. Also, what do people think of Toby? Should he return?