AN: Much love to RealHuntress18 and VampireJacinta! More crazy things going down here. Oh boy. Get ready.

Part Thirty-six: The Gold Cup

The ring of a bell echoed throughout the manor. Somehow, Rin had thought that Maya would let herself in, and as she sat miserably on the counter while Kol got the door, she fought back the urge to believe that maybe it was someone else. Could Kol have been mistaken? Did Kol even know what Maya looked like?

Her heart skipped a beat when she heard a familiar voice come from the foyer.

"I need to talk to Rin." Klaus heard it as well and quickly finished up the omelet before turning off the stove. Rin bounced to her feet and rushed into the foyer with Klaus at her heels.

"Bonnie?! Kol, it's Bonnie. Oh my god…" Bonnie flashed a short smile at Rin and pulled her into a hug, which she awkwardly returned. "What are you doing here? Kol, did you seriously not know Bonnie?" Kol only shrugged and sighed.

"How am I supposed to know who she works for?" he argued. The sound of someone clearing their throat floated in through the doorway.

"Oh right, I brought—" Bonnie was interrupted.

"Damon. Good to see you again, Kol," he said, smiling in his usual, cold way. Rin couldn't help herself – her heart sank. Suddenly, picturing Klaus and Damon in the same room seemed like something out of a nightmare. But she plastered on a smile. "Uh… I can't exactly…" He gestured to the doorway and Rin realized he needed to be invited in since a human lived in the manor now.

"Do not invite him in. The longer I can keep him out of my house the better," said Klaus from behind her. She was right – Klaus and Damon definitely wouldn't mix well.

"We can't really leave him on the porch," she said under her breath, wanting to contain the situation. This was no time for petty arguments.

"Yeah, Klaus, you can't leave me out here on the porch," parroted Damon with a grin.

"Klaus, don't be a baby," added Bonnie, rolling her eyes. Rin sighed and turned to Damon.

"Come in, Damon," she said, feeling strange inviting him into someone else's house. According to nature, she supposed, it was her house now. But that just felt wrong to think. Damon grinned and stepped through the doorway and Klaus shot him a glare before they made their way into the kitchen.

"So what brings you two to the Mikaelson Estate?" asked Klaus as they gathered around the table.

"Damon told me about the mess you got Rin involved in and we think it's better if she moves out and stays with the Salvatores now." It took a moment for Klaus to understand what he'd just been told, and he turned to Rin.

"Do you need to tell him everything?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Please. You know I don't tell him everything," she said pointedly. Damon either didn't notice what her remark implied or chose not to respond to it. There were more important things at hand. If I told him everything, he wouldn't be standing here, she added in her mind. Klaus took the hint and let it go, as well.

"She's not going to live with the Salvatores," he said evenly.

"Yes, she is, because you obviously suck at watching out for her," replied Damon. Rin had finally spilled all the information she'd gathered last night via text message, and although she figured he'd be worried, she wasn't expecting him to come crusading for her safety. It was flattering, but she wasn't sure if living with the Salvatores would be any safer than living here, with Klaus.

"And you'd do any better?" challenged the hybrid, his relentless glare fixated on Damon.

"I wouldn't be bargaining with her life, that's for sure."

"I'm looking for a way out of the situation."

"There would be no situation if you'd stayed out of her life."

"I can reason with Maya."

"So can I," added Bonnie. She may be one of the younger witches from a different bloodline than Maya, but she was still a witch, and that had to count for something.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure no one can reason with Maya, but we have a better shot with the girls at my place than with Rin trapped here at Castle Klaus," said Damon.

"I'm not trapped," said Rin. The three of them were arguing as if she wasn't in the room, and it was irritating her. "In case you guys didn't notice, I'm still here, and I can make my own decisions." She paused, eyeing all three of them. "Bonnie, what can you do to reason with Maya?"

"Before we go into that, I think Klaus might know what she wants," she said pointedly, turning to the hybrid. "Witches are usually chasing some magical item or other." Bonnie already knew what Maya was after – when Damon had told her the details, she'd done some research. And she was fairly certain that Klaus already had what she wanted. He wouldn't have made the deal in the first place without having at least some of the things required to complete it. Now, she would give him a chance to surrender whatever it was and put Rin out of danger.

Klaus sighed, glaring daggers at Bonnie.

"I'm not going to give that up," he said. "I spent years chasing the thing down and I'm not going to give it up now," he said, avoiding Rin's eyes. Her jaw dropped and she stared at him incredulously, shocked.

"Are you kidding me? What the hell is your problem, Klaus? You're going to be alive longer than any of us," started Rin.

"Not me," mumbled Damon under his breath, thrilled at Klaus' selfishness. Even if he did have a thing for Rin, it apparently wasn't enough to change him.

"Just take it back when she's dead!" finished the telepath, horrified. She'd thought he might eventually come around and give away whatever it was he was protecting with her life, but apparently that was out of the question. Once again, she had to stomach his betrayal. "God, what the fuck did I expect?" She paused, running a hand through her hair. "What is it, anyway?"

The rhythmic click of Rebekah's heels echoed throughout the kitchen as she joined the group, slowly making her way to the table. It was impossible to miss the smug grin on her face – she obviously knew something.

"The Judas Chalice," she started. Klaus' eyes widened.

"Rebekah, what—" He was interrupted immediately.

"It's a giant gold cup and Maya initially lent it to Klaus, so it isn't rightfully his, actually, and now he doesn't want to give it back because he's afraid he won't be able to get his hands on it again, and he's going to wait for the next telepath to come along and slaughter whoever that is instead of Rin. Congratulations, Rin, he's in love with you." Rebekah was obviously quite proud of herself for uncovering this information. "Little does he know, however, it's no longer in his possession." She flashed a sugary smile at her younger brother, who was struggling more than ever to resist the urge to physically harm her. He made it a point never to go to unarmed combat with her, but this was seriously testing his limits.

"Where is it?" he demanded through clenched teeth.

"Calm down, Nik, it's safe. But it's mine now, and I'm going to give it back to Maya and end this madness so you can learn to surrender something you want for something you need." Rin drew in a slow breath.

"Look, can everyone please stop acting like we're a thing? Thanks, Rebekah, for taking care of this, but seriously. It isn't like that." Klaus winced a little. Not only did he have to deal with his sister interfering in his affairs again, but Rin had just stated to a group of people that she didn't care about him. It was more than he'd wanted to deal with today. He plastered a smile onto his face and turned to her.

"Rin, love, why don't you go have your breakfast while I sort this out with my meddlesome sister?" She didn't even look at him.

"Why don't you go polish your chalice? Oh wait, that's right, you don't have one." She exchanged a quick smile with Rebekah across the table.

Bonnie still wasn't convinced. They hadn't been able to trust Rebekah on very many occasions in the past, and it seemed like there was a high potential she might screw this up. What if Klaus found the chalice? What if Rebekah had a change of heart?

"Bonnie, Damon, before you start doubting me – This isn't about you. I have no reason to betray Rin, and I'd prefer if she stayed here and alive." She sighed, giving them both her most earnest look. "You can trust me on this one."

Still, they exchanged a dubious look, but it was hard to argue with that. Rebekah didn't have any reason to mess this up.

"I'd consider Rebekah and I friends, come to think of it," added Rin, going over their relationship to herself. Although Rebekah had a weird tendency to root on her non-relationship with Klaus, she had been a good friend. They'd shared some good times over lunch, usually laughing at her brothers.

Bonnie nodded slowly, taking this in. A few moments passed as she thought about it and then she spoke.

"Alright. Rin can stay here, as long as Rebekah has the chalice and Maya gets it as soon as possible."

"What?!" Damon exaggeratedly rolled his eyes. "You're kidding me. God, I can't stand witches."

"I mean I already switched rooms; it would be a pain in the ass to move completely. Maya will find me no matter where I am, right?" asked Rin, ignoring Damon's protests. As soon as the words left her mouth, she had to question herself. Why did she want to stay here? She had the option to actually stay with Damon. Klaus crossed her mind and she pushed the thoughts out of her mind. This was something to be pondered later.

"Yeah, she will," said Bonnie, who apparently did not notice Rin's desire to stay at the Mikaelson Estate. Damon sighed and grabbed Rin's wrist, pulling her to the foyer. Klaus wondered idly if he was actually planning to drag Rin away, but took solace in the fact that he could listen to their conversation from where he was.

"Rin, what the hell. You've been miserable here. Just leave. Come with me." Rin sighed, looking at the floor. This was exactly the uncomfortable situation she'd wanted to avoid.

"What's the point? I'm screwed no matter where I go until Rebekah gets Maya that stupid cup. I might as well stay." Damon tilted her head up to look at him, frowning.

"Why do you want to stay here? You can leave. I'm not sure if you're understanding this. You can actually leave." Rin could see that Damon was more than shocked – he was obviously expecting her to come back with him. She sighed again and looked up at him.

"Look, I'm tired. I don't want to deal with moving around right now. I just want this bullshit over with so I can live my life again," she said. It wasn't a lie, but it didn't really answer her question. However, Damon seemed to accept it.

"Alright, fine. Do whatever, but as soon as it's taken care of I want to talk to you." He took her hands in his, looking her in the eye.

"About what?" asked Rin, her heart racing. This was bad. As much as she hated to admit it, Klaus was now in the picture. So whatever Damon wanted to talk about… if it involved a relationship, there was no way right now. She couldn't be with anyone. Her options were Klaus, a psychotic murderer, and Damon, who was basically in love with someone else no matter what he tried to tell her. It would take longer than a couple of weeks for him to move on from that.

"Don't worry about that right now," he said, pulling her close to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a deep kiss, his lips lingering on hers for a moment longer than she would have liked. Though the kiss was a bit much, Rin craved the safety of his familiar embrace and immediately put her arms around him, burying her face in his chest for a while. Like this, she could see Damon how she wanted to – as a close friend who she could rely on. When she took a step back, she jumped. Out of the corner of her eye, Klaus was standing in the hallway, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

"Are you two leaving, then?" he asked, still angry with Rebekah and Rin, and now angry at Damon as well. This was really not his day.

"You're more of a jerk than I remember," said Damon, giving Klaus a once-over as Bonnie joined him in the foyer. The two of them said their goodbyes and Damon planted another short kiss on Rin's lips before leaving. As soon as the door was shut behind them, Klaus stormed back into the kitchen, but Rebekah was gone. He stood there for a while, wracking his mind for possible locations of the chalice, and was so focused on his thoughts that he didn't notice when Rin walked into the room to heat up the omelet he'd left on the frying pan. Reminded of the trouble she'd caused him, he glared at her until she turned around.

"What?" she asked casually as she waited for the microwave to finish its countdown. "Mad because Rebekah stole your cup?"

"I can't believe you just kissed him again. Again! In my house!" Rin couldn't believe him. He was a brat, plain and simple. Was he seriously angry that Damon had kissed her?

"Excuse me? You have no right. Damon is a very close friend of mine. You, on the other hand, are more concerned about the loss of a gold cup than my life."

"I'm trying to salvage as much of this as I can!"

"Yeah, you're trying to have it all. You don't want to give up a single thing for me. I should have just left with Damon. What the fuck am I doing here, Klaus? When are you going to realize that if it wasn't for your sister, I would die because of YOU?!" It was the first time she'd really raised her voice at him. "You're selfish. No, you're self-obsessed. No one in the world matters to you. It's a goddamn miracle you decided not to kill me yourself, you asshole!" She took the plate out of the microwave and flipped it over, letting the omelet fall to the floor. "In case it isn't clear, I fucking hate you." With that, she swept past him and went back up the stairs, skipping breakfast entirely to go back to bed. If Rebekah could keep the chalice hidden, she might not be living out her last few days, so now was as fine a time as any to sleep her anger away for the rest of the day.

Klaus stood in the kitchen, seething with rage. He didn't know what he was more angry at – himself, for making Rin so upset, Rin, for getting so upset, Damon, for acting couple-y with Rin in his foyer, or Rebekah and Kol, for singlehandedly destroying his plans. It was a nightmare.

"Well, you handled that poorly," said Kol, sullen. He was leaning on the door frame of the kitchen, staring at the floor. The meltdown had been painful to listen to.

Without thinking, Klaus whipped around and delivered a swift punch to Kol's face.