Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun.

Chapter Song:

Everclear – Father of Mine

Scene: Kol's return

Maroon 5 – She Will Be Loved

Scene: Elijah and Maggie talking before the ball & Damon and Klaus talking

Within Temptation – All I Need

Scene: Opening dance – this song is selected for a specific purpose

Chapter Fifty-four

Elena actually got two messages, but the second one from Elijah she wasn't going to read aloud to the others. Instead she focused on the swooping cursive of the invitation. It was obvious their hostess wasn't the one that wrote it, but it was definitely intriguing.

Elena cleared her throat and read aloud what her message said:

Ms. Elena Gilbert,

A meeting of Mystics Falls' supernatural creatures will occur after the first dance, I hope you will attend.

Your hostess, Ms. Margaret Greene


Evening was beginning to settle in that day when Maggie slipped into the back service door of the Grill. There was only the one Gilbert vehicle left in the parking lot after the day. Maggie scrunched up her nose at some of the dirt left on the handle of the door. She rubbed her hands together, trying to get rid of some of it while she walked through to the kitchen, hearing shuffling around within. Her jeans were stained dark brown with smear marks all over the rest of the denim fabric. She had dirt almost up to her elbows.

Matt looked up and his eyebrows rose at her appearance. "What happened to you?" He asked, setting down the last box of the end of the day meal service. Maggie had the cleanup for the evening and he was on his way out.

"Party planning with Rebekah," Maggie sighed and shook her head while she went over to the sink, setting about to wash off the dirt from her arms. She was seriously beginning to wonder if vampires could develop allergies from the afternoon she spent with the Original.

Matt snorted lightly, but didn't say anything. He mostly smirked from Maggie's demeanor and tried not to dwell too much on the source of it.

"I swear, she could dictate a small country," Maggie muttered while she tried to get some of the smudge out from underneath her fingernails.

"She probably has," Matt replied, finishing what he was doing and moving to stand next to Maggie. He leaned against the counter lightly while watching her.

The vampire didn't look up until she was determined her hands were clean. She smirked at his comment, it could be true and she would believe it.

"I don't suppose you'll tell me what this party is all about?" Matt not so subtly changed the subject, folding his arms casually over his chest.

Maggie continued to smirk, at least with Matt he wasn't necessarily confrontational or harsh. He certainly didn't intimidate her in the slightest bit. "Did you get the invite?" Maggie countered with a question while she shut off the water and grabbed a towel to dry her hands.

"Yeah," Matt admitted a little begrudgingly, still not entirely thrilled with the whole idea.

"Well if I survive Rebekah this week, you'll find out then," Maggie retorted cheekily while Matt followed her out to the front of the house. He shot the back of her head a sour look before she turned on her feet.

"But seriously," Maggie added, furrowing her brows thoughtfully, "I'll try to keep Kol off your back this time."


Maggie's hand ran lightly along the wooden railing of the stairs as she hiked up to the floor of her apartment. The building was quiet and a little stuffy from the low functioning air conditioning in the few occupied apartments. She sighed, it reminded her just how empty the building was and therefore her apartment would be too.

It was another day ticked away that she would have to curl under the covers of her bed alone. It wasn't that she couldn't handle sleeping alone, she did when she broke up with Glenn and staying at Carol's. But she didn't like knowing she was alone, away from Kol, purposely for something she had done.

With that thought in mind, Maggie dug her keys out of Kol's jacket while gold number nine of the apartment door stared back at her. After turning the key in the lock, Maggie flicked on the light as she stepped inside. She barely shut the door before the light was cut off from her vision and her back was pressed up against the door.

"Do you have a death wish?!" A voice snarled at her angrily, but Maggie barely comprehended it. She was gasping from the hand wrapped tightly around her throat. She dropped the keys with a clatter to the floor as she grasped at the wrist. The hand forced her head up at an angle, causing her eyes to clench shut instinctively.

"I turn my back for one moment and you're baiting my brother?" Kol snapped out while he towered over her. Maggie forced her eyes open, trying to get a breath of air through her crushed throat.

"It's all, part of… the plan," Maggie gasped, having to force each word out once she got over her initial shock of seeing Kol. It wasn't exactly heartwarming to see the way his dark eyes blazed and the tension in his jaw.

At that, Kol's eyes narrowed dangerously, but he jerked his head back in confusion. The hand loosened on her throat, "What plan?"

Maggie pulled his hand away from her neck completely. Her head hunched as she sucked in the unnecessary deep breath. She was hardly listening to his two words though. She felt a flare of emotion swell up from her chest. Frustration was the first one, from being left alone for the past five days and him taking off without giving her a chance.

"Turn your back?" Maggie repeated incredulously. "You ran, Kol! You ran like a fucking coward," Maggie cried out and raised her hands to shove against his chest, not really focused enough to use supernatural strength.

His nostrils flared from the strike, but he didn't back away from her. He placed his hands against the wood of the door, trapping her with his body. "What more do you want from me? You're the very thing I've wanted to destroy for five hundred years, Margaret," He growled out in aggravation, unable to properly express how much of a head trip this was for him. This woman was completely infuriating and maddening.

"I know and I didn't have any choice in that," Maggie tried to keep her voice from rising further while she got up in his face, almost nose to nose. "But I'm stuck with it and you ran when I needed you, Kol. I needed you… and I need you with me now," Her voice dropped as she ran out of breath, particularly at her last statement.

Tentatively, Maggie reached her hands up towards his face. Kol remained unnervingly still while those words hung in the air between them. Her fingers brushed against his cheeks, only breaking his stare to take in each feature of his face delicately. Despite the flare of emotion, which passed like the igniting of a flare, there was still the raw desire left behind and the need to she had to recognize.

Why did she always have to push and force when he wanted to look away and run?

"I need you, Kol," Maggie whispered sincerely, putting the emotion into that one word while her fingertips touched along his jawline. She didn't bring her eyes quite back up to his, she could feel the way they were boring into her. It made her feel exposed and she had nowhere to hide, literally and metaphorically.

Their eyes didn't meet and Maggie's head was pushed back against the wood of the door. This time it was from the force of the lips upon hers. They were hurried and demanding, almost bruising against hers, but they soothed the burning in her chest.

The kiss was as quick as it came though. Maggie barely processed it and started to move her lips in return before Kol was pulling away hesitantly. The tension in his features slipped into careful anticipation when he opened his eyes once more.

It was then Maggie really understood what she was seeing in him. His shoulders literally shook with the emotions coursing through him, more than he's had to deal with in decades or even centuries, but in his eyes she saw someone who was purely lost. He was trying to navigate through these waves after only recently letting in his humanity and here she was challenging it even further. Even on his best days, expressing himself with words didn't always work so he did with actions.

So Maggie answered that reserved look in his eyes in a way that he could understand. Her hands slipped down to his neck, gently wrapping her fingers around the back to keep him close. She wasn't going to let him slip away.

Licking her lower lip briefly, Maggie stroked her thumbs along his jawline while she collected her thoughts. She felt the subtle way he leaned into the touch, the whiteness in his knuckles easing up on the door. "Where did you go?" Maggie asked softly.

"North Carolina," Kol answered her in an equally quiet tone, becoming much more subdued after the outburst. "To check on the daggers," He clarified vaguely while he leaned in and inhaled the scent of the woman who had singlehandedly been his undoing.

Maggie's brow furrowed at that. To check on the daggers? That didn't seem like a very plausible response to finding out he did and a bit of an odd instinct. "You didn't go to Charlotte to just check on the daggers…" Maggie shook her head slowly, not buying it.

Kol's expression froze and for a long while she thought he wasn't going to answer her.

"No," He sighed out gently and a grimace passed over his features. "I went to Mikael's tomb," He corrected with the truth this time.

Maggie's eyes widened at that. She vaguely remembered Kol dropping a comment earlier that Klaus and all his Daddy issues would never dare go near Mikael's tomb. She hadn't realized it was in Charlotte or there was more to it than that.

Kol dropped one arm from the door. Maggie could step away if she wanted to, but she didn't. His head hung while his lips twisted and pulled with indecision of each word he uttered. "My father… he hunted us, me and Niklaus especially," He explained. He knew Mikael's resentment stemmed from Niklaus not being his son and the amount of death Kol left in his wake.

"He was never there. He never gave us a chance," Kol couldn't shake the memories of their first days after turning. Mikael didn't look after his family. He let them massacre their village and then scatter to different ends of the earth after that. He was supposed to be the patriarch of the family, to look after them and guide them. He could still remember being human and what his father was like. But he was also too young to bear the brunt of his aggression, Niklaus did mostly.

"He stopped seeing as his children, his family… and he saw us only as monsters to be destroy," The bitterness was laced with hurt, an emotion that Maggie was used to seeing expressed from Kol. But it made her heart break just a little bit more for him. Kol's eyes snapped back up to Maggie with new conviction, "And I realized I can't become him."

To her surprise, he leaned forward and his hands dropped to her waist. Maggie felt him bury his face in the crook of her neck and shoulder while embracing in her closely. "I don't want to turn into him. I can't be that person," Kol murmured into her shoulder, squeezing his eyes shut. He couldn't sacrifice his family loyalty and he didn't want to start getting close to it.

Maggie gasped, thrown how quickly she had gone from being held against the door to holding up Kol. She didn't hesitate to return the gesture. She was struck by the tone in his voice. If anything, it was fearful of becoming that person passed judgment so easily on what someone had become than who they were.

"Kol," Maggie said his name soothingly for both of their sakes. "You are nothing like him," She never met Mikael, but she doubted he was anything like this. "I know you would do anything for your siblings, even if it means pissing off one to protect the other," Maggie recognized what he was really trying to do by interfering with Rosemarie's ritual. No matter how big the dispute they got into, they were still siblings at the end of the day and he wouldn't kill or standby and watch one get killed.

Maggie felt his fingers squeeze on her hips, but Kol didn't respond. She could tell he was listening with how still he remained in her arms. His breath falling on her skin drew a shiver. "You are nothing like him," Maggie repeated in a whisper, staring over his shoulder aimlessly.

Maggie wasn't sure how long she stood there holding him, but she didn't care. She was unwillingly to go where anywhere else. Finally, Kol pulled his face away from her shoulder and looked her in the eyes. While she spoke about his siblings, she knew that left out the obvious question of just how far he would go for her. And Maggie didn't need a direct answer, she took consolation with the devoted glint in his eyes and the fact he was here right now.

He leaned down to kiss her again. This kiss was softer, his lips barely brushing against hers before gaining confidence. It was sweet, expressing the pure appreciation from him. That was what caused her toes to curl and Maggie rose up on her feet to prolong the kiss.

The short peck turned into a second longer one. A spark of a match went off within her, awakening her senses with the reality that he was here to stay and the need grew to a flame. The heat rose between them as she looped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a third and more sensual kiss.

It broke a levee with him as he parted his lips to plunge his tongue into her mouth. A guttural growl rose from his throat at feeling her fingers digging tauntingly into his scalp. A zipper sounded in the air from Kol opening up Maggie's jacket and grabbing the fabric at her hips to pull her away from the door. He turned her body around before prompting her by stepping forward, really forcing Maggie to back pedal slowly into the apartment.

Maggie loosened her hands from his neck, running down the front of his shirt and feeling the cotton of the brown long sleeve shirt he wore. A moment later the jacket dropped to the ground and Maggie accidentally bumped up against the sectional wall between the bedroom area and the rest of the apartment.

Kol broke away from the kiss to plant another one at the corner of her mouth before slowly working his way along her jawline. "You're going to tell me this plan," He murmured while his lips brushed against her skin. Maggie ran one hand through his hair as he did, the other reacquainting itself with the feel of his shoulders as he held her.

"Everything," Maggie agreed breathlessly as she felt a shiver from his teeth on her ear.

"I'm going to keep training you to fight and you're staying on my blood," Kol demanded between kisses just underneath her ear, feeling fiercely protective of her and wanting her at her strongest. His hands ran over her hips, slipping underneath the fabric of her shirt.

Maggie's eyes rolled open at that, not really staring at anything in particular over his shoulder. She realized then he really was choosing her over the curse. When she took too long to respond, she gasped out a moan from feeling his teeth nip at her neck. "Of course," She nearly whimpered.

She shivered at the way his lips worked down along her pulse point to the base of her throat. Maggie leaned her head back as far as she could to let him. Her shoulder blades pressed back against the wall for support when his hands slide around to her rear, grasping firmly through the jeans. "And I'm moving in," Kol declared officially.

The hand buried in his hair halted briefly while Maggie considered those words. At least, she tried to think about them, but it was hard with the way his hands slide up from her rear to her lower back, underneath the shirt and leaving a burning wake on her flesh. She felt and heard every demanding breath, hot and heady from him.

"Okay," Maggie gasped out. Realization came next, he was really moving in and staying with her on this. They would deal with this together. "Okay," Maggie repeated the word, a smile starting to grow on her face. One of his hands slide out from underneath her shirt and before she could wonder where it went, she felt the button loosen on her jeans.

"Kol?" The question came out a little shaky from the feeling of his lips sucking on her skin. This was getting to that invisible boundary he had set between them. Her hands shook with the excitement thrumming through her body, but also indecision on how far to take it. He didn't answer her, instead she felt his hand slip inside her jeans and between her legs.

"Kol!" Maggie's gasp slipped into a moan and she arched her back a bit. She felt Kol groan into her neck a moment, feeling her heat and how wet she was on his fingers.

It was then he pulled away from her neck to look her directly in the eyes. The hungry gaze was mirrored by an emerald one of a similar nature. "One exception," Kol decided, the last bits of his restraint being torn to pieces.

Maggie just nodded eagerly, not entirely sure what he meant until after his lips crashed on hers. One exception to the rule he declared earlier. She realized then she hadn't told him yet that she talked to Damon, but she wasn't going to bring it up now. Coherent thought went out the window with the permission to pull up and take off of his shirt.

Kol pulled Maggie off the wall and pushed her back towards the bed. In a blur of movement, her back was pressed down against the top layer of comforters. Her hands went immediately to his belt, forcing the shake out of them long enough to pull it off and loosen up his jeans. He wasn't as neat and gentle as last time and neither was she. Maggie flipped him over onto his back so she was straddling his waist and only paused to help him shed the rest of her clothing.

Her chest heaved and their heavy breathing filled the air before becoming dominated by her moans. Maggie gasped when she felt him slip inside of her and a low groan came from his chest. Her touches were firmer and more demanding, wanting to sate the need she felt for him in the past five days. It was about letting herself get intoxicated by his touch and presence once more after being deprived of it.

His roughness spoke to the surge of emotions going through him lately and the lack of release. But he contrasted it with the caresses and kisses, feeling the assurance he made the right decision and basking in the pleasure from her he was slowly becoming addicted to.

When it was over, Kol wordlessly put the out the lights and pulled the covers around them. Maggie didn't need to say anything more because Kol said it with the way he pulled her body against his. Maggie tucked her head against his chest, letting one arm sprawl next to while he held her around the waist. His other hand rested lightly on top of her forearm, the thumb stroking idly while they settled into the darkness.

Maggie gradually let her thumping heart recover to a normal rate, feeling exhausted but more content than she had in days. Eventually, she felt the thumb stroking her skin lightly cease moving and the natural rise and fall of Kol's chest graduated. She figured he fell asleep at that point.

The silence of the apartment emphasized the one word that had been playing on repeat in her mind, itching at the corner of her lips to spill. "I love you, Kol," Maggie whispered faintly aloud, mostly to herself, just to hear what it would sound like.

She let her eyes close after that without lifting her head. She didn't see the way his lips pulled into a small smirk.


"Kol… wake up," Maggie murmured while trying to fight a smile off her face. The morning light filtered through the semi-shear curtains of the apartment. It was the day of the ball and it was admittedly hard to fight the urge to continue lying in bed. Normally she wasn't the first one awake, but the nerves of the day made for a restless night.

She lay on her side with a pair of strong arms wrapped around her tightly. What set her senses on edge more was feeling his breath falling on her shoulder and the warmth from his body. She felt a rumble from his chest and a negative nudging against her shoulder, the closest thing to an answer.

Maggie snorted lightly and moved her hands down to his wrists locked around her waist. She tried to pry one up, but Kol just tightened his grip instead. "Kol," Maggie tried to drop her voice into a warning tone, but failed miserably. "Let me up." He knew she had to get up to go meet the witches.

"Nuh-uh," Kol mumbled stubbornly against her, refusing to open his eyes.

Maggie laughed, but still tried to get up anyway. She squirmed against his body and shifted, at least until she felt something else. "And good morning to you too, Mr. Mikaelson!" Maggie's eyes widened, feeling what would have been a blush on her cheeks.

Kol let out a groan, but didn't relent. He still didn't bother opening his eyes as he murmured, "Maggie, I'm an immortal… a vampire," He adjusted his shoulders as he began to stir before adding on dryly, "But above all else, I am a man and it's the morning."

"I could help you with that, you know," Maggie smirked teasingly.

"Minx," Kol growled out half-heartedly before finally giving in and loosening up his arms. He rolled over onto his back while Maggie snickered at him. He tiredly rubbed his eyes and ruffled up his hair a bit while she climbed out of the covers. While they had the one exception, she didn't tell him about Damon since they were focused on the ball throughout the week.

Maggie paused before going to the dresser to look back at Kol with a grin. He remained sprawled out on his back while she got changed, stretching his arms lightly and slowly waking up. True to his word, more of his clothes and possessions showed up the next day after their talk. They went back to the daily training sessions, which could only be held in the beginning of the week in the ballroom. During Maggie's spare time, she got roped into ball preparation with Rebekah, which was mostly moving furniture and prepping the mansion.

One of the afternoons, Maggie showed up at the mansion after a shift at the Grill. Just as she cut the engine of her SUV, she heard a rumbling come from within the home. Frowning in alarm, Maggie got out the car and went inside the house. She was in the foyer when she heard another impact and she followed the noise into the ballroom.

She stopped short at the sight of two hybrids, one getting tackled by the other. The pigskin in their hands caused Maggie to sigh and shake her head. She folded her arms over her chest while the two blurred and she quickly did a head count of all the men in the room. There was a half a dozen, the four hybrids she was somewhat familiar with from supply runs and recently being roped into ball preparation. What surprised her more was the other two, especially the one catching the football on the end closest to her.

"Stefan?" Maggie cocked her head in confusion at the younger Salvatore. He was the only Salvatore to approach her, trying to ask about the ball like Jeremy and Matt. She deflected from him answering directly that time too.

"Hey," He barely grunted out, giving Maggie a nod while the two hybrids broke out from him and he threw the football at almost a blinding speed. Neither hybrid caught it though, they were beat by a cheeky smirking Original on the other end.

"Hello darling," Kol called from the other end, groaning slightly from the force of the ball against his chest, but keeping a hold on it anyway. The players slowed down to a gradual stop at the doppelganger's arrival.

Maggie jerked her head back slightly, trying to wrap her mind around what she was seeing. "I didn't know you two were… friends," Maggie statement came out more as a careful question, looking to Stefan for a rational explanation.

"Oh, we're not pals," Kol piped up and denied quickly. Stefan turned his head barely to catch a return pass roughly in his hands. He flashed a tight lipped grin that Maggie wasn't sure if it was actually a grimace from the force.

"Yeah, like not even remotely close," Stefan agreed dryly, flashing the dark-haired Mikaelson a careful glance. Before Maggie could form the obvious why question, Stefan tossed the ball lightly off to one of the hybrids, who were slinking out one by one now that the game was clearly interrupted. "But right now I don't want to be anywhere near Elena or Damon…"

Stefan stuffed his hands casually into his jean pockets before shrugging with a smug look, "And I know Klaus hates when we play football in the ballroom…" It seemed like a win-win to him, piss off Klaus and take out some of his frustrations.

Just over Stefan's shoulder, Maggie could see a dent in the drywall that was in the impression of a shoulder. Briefly, she was actually more concerned about Ball-tator Rebekah would say than Klaus. But Stefan's first claim confused her even more. "What do you mean - ?" Maggie began to ask before her words were cut off by a gasp.

A pair of arms wrapped around her waist pulled Maggie off her feet and spun her around. "Kol!" Maggie nearly screeched, mentally cursing the advantage his height brought before he set her back down on her feet. His hands slid on her hips, spinning her to face him and being greeted by his broad grin.

"Enough jibber jabber, if we go now we could still make an escape," Kol interrupted in a conspiratorial tone, effectively cutting Stefan off from her direct field of visage.

Maggie snorted and shook her head at his attempt to get out of dance instruction with Rebekah. Apparently it was tradition to have an opening dance and she didn't want anyone to make a fool of the family in front of everyone. "No thanks, I've seen what she can do with a hair straightener," Maggie retorted in mock horror, but not actually doubting the blonde vengeance.

"You should have seen her in the Dark Ages," Kol replied tauntingly, stepping closer to her and not pulling his hands away from her hips. Maggie bit her lip at the way it felt so natural when he held her like that, but she reminded herself they weren't alone.

"We're staying," Maggie reaffirmed, raising her eyebrows slightly to emphasize the we part.

During this, Stefan's forehead tightened with thought as he watched the two vampires interact. He couldn't quite put his finger on how to describe it, but he definitely noticed the difference when Maggie looked at Kol than anyone else. There was less hesitation in her words and expressions.

"I do believe that's your cue to leave, Salvatore," Kol growled out in a low tone, breaking Stefan's thoughts without actually looking up at the adolescent vampire.

Maggie shot Kol a warning glare for the rudeness, not that she really expected anything less from him. But she made a point of looking to Stefan, who rolled his eyes at the Original's attitude, and mouthed a quick "Sorry" to him.

It was three days before the ball when she noticed a message in her book from Tyler. It simply read "Found AB". She replied shortly to prepare for a return trip, but wait for her mark.

Two days before the ball, she stopped going over to the mansion. More of the hybrids showed up to help out and Kol informed her that Klaus had return. For good reason, she didn't feel the urge to hang around the house until the event. Kol remained by her side the entire time from that point on, except for when she went to the Grill and once while she went to the Greene house.

Living with Kol didn't actually turn out to be much different than the nights he had stayed over before, except Maggie didn't have to wonder if he was staying each night. With his clothes and belongings, the book shelves were now full. Some more electronics were placed next to the television with an assortment of DVDs for them to go through later. After making up, Kol seemed to be more of his normal self. If anything though, he seemed more confident than usual, always wearing that knowing smirk. Maggie figured it had more to do with the ball and the plan than anything else.

After meeting with the witches at the Grill, Maggie spent the rest of the day at the mansion in the company of Kol and Rebekah. It was mostly with the blonde to take care of last minute preparations and then Maggie was dragging into Rebekah's room to get ready. At first Maggie had been worried about running into Klaus, but Rebekah prattled something on about him chasing after the Forbes girl before the ball.

When Maggie emerged from Rebekah's bedroom, she felt rather liberated to be free from Rebekah's fussing. The blonde was taking a few more minutes to perfect her hair, leaving Maggie a chance to walk around the house and take in the final product.

Maggie wore a strapless mermaid style dress of a rich navy fabric with ruching around the torso. It flared out just below the hip to trail lightly just above the floor. Rebekah straightened her hair and tucked it with a side part, finishing off her makeup with a smoky look to accent the color of her dress.

She walked out from the bedroom wing of the second floor to where the hallway opened up into the front foyer. Maggie stopped and held her breath as she gazed down at the sight below her. An arrangement of flowers and plants had been moved into the house, ranging from hues of blues, purples, and greens. The lights had been tinted a soft blue color and fabrics of iridescent shades were draped along the walls.

"Rebekah's abilities are impressive, no?" Elijah's voice interrupted Maggie's contemplation as he emerged from the bedroom wing. He was dressed in an immaculate black suit, Maggie knew his brothers would be wearing a similar one, with a white undershirt. His eyes passed over Maggie's figure appreciatively as he approached her. The doppelganger didn't tear her eyes away from the scene before her, one of the hybrids were propping the front doors open for the guests that would be arriving soon.

Maggie's lips pulled up into a small grin and nodded in response. "It's very a Midnight Summer's Dream," Maggie agreed, noting the way vines were woven among the spindles of the grand staircase. Some lights were laced with the flowers, giving the whimsical appearance of fairies dancing along the pedals.

Elijah stopped next to Maggie and placed a hand lightly on the railing with his other in his pocket. "Indeed," Elijah thought he overheard Rebekah throwing that concept around as a theme. "Does that make you Hermia or Helena?" The Original smirked at her classic reference.

"Neither, I hope," Maggie chuckled quickly, vaguely recalling studying the piece during her school. It was a rather complicated love affair, she recalled. As she thought about it, Maggie turned her head to look at Elijah properly, "Though, you strike me as a Lysander."

Elijah cocked his head slightly at that. "How do you see that?" He questioned curiously.

"You try to distance yourself from others," Maggie commented, thinking of his impersonal appearance. She took her hands off the railing to turn and face him fully. It was then she realized he was standing rather close, but she didn't back away. Instead she met his gaze with her next careful words, "But because of your compassion and hope for humanity… you fall under love's spell easily, even when it's masquerading with the same face."

The lingering of a smirk fell off the Original's face at those words. She felt how his eyes bore into her and noticed the way his Adam's apple moved with a reserved swallow. After she said, she realized that was crossing the line of their usual conversations. He offered guidance on matters of being a vampire, but it wasn't personal, especially about him.

"And do you find that to be a fault?" Elijah turned it around on her, to Maggie's surprise wasn't hostile or insulted. He didn't deny her claim though. "To have that hope," He clarified gently. After all, what would be left of him if he had abandoned that hope centuries ago?

Maggie inhaled sharply before answering honestly in one simple word, "No."

Elijah inclined his head slightly, studying her like a puzzle to be solved. One that he wasn't finding to be unpleasant either. He watched the way her lower lip rolled into her mouth, biting on it anxiously. He also noticed the way her fingers fidgeted nervously at her side before Maggie took a step back away from him, to an appropriate distance.

Maggie was thrown that he had listened to her and even wanted to know her opinion on the matter. Whatever it was that passed, she had to step away from it. Maggie dropped her gaze and moved around Elijah to head for the staircase, to find Kol downstairs.

"Maggie," Elijah called to her, turning around to match her movements.

Maggie stopped, mostly because he actually remembered to use her first name this time. She turned back to him, seeing he recovered his composure quicker than she did.

"I want to apologize for the other day, when you told me about Kol…" He cleared his throat and stepped back up to Maggie. At the mention of Kol's name, Maggie's brow furrowed slightly and she kept rooted to her spot for that reason.

"After you said, I've seen the differences in him and it's because of you," Elijah continued on gently. He reached forward to Maggie and took one hand in his. Maggie felt a lump in her throat, unable to form any words while he lifted that hand to his face.

"Thank you for bringing my brother back," Elijah murmured sincerely before pressing a kiss along her knuckles without taking his eyes off her.

Maggie only nodded numbly in response to that, taken back by the genuine expression from the eldest Original. It was rare, and she wasn't sure how she felt about the fact it was directed at her.

"Margaret?" Kol called her name from the bottom of the staircase.

Elijah quietly dropped her hand and Maggie turned her head in his direction. The sight of Kol quickly dispelled the nervous knot in her stomach. He stood on the last step, dressed formally and clean cut. His hair still had the slightly windswept look to it. The lines of the suit emphasized his angular facial features. Of which, were giving Elijah a harsh glare.

How much of that conversation he had heard, Maggie didn't bother to stop and consider. She moved swiftly down the stairs to join Kol, a smile lighting up on her face at him. The harshness in his eyes eased up immediately with each step she took closer to him, leaving Elijah at the balcony level to watch the couple.

"Don't wander too far, Ms. Greene," Elijah reminded, choosing to go with her formal name now they were in the company of others. The doppelganger glanced over her shoulder at him, momentarily perplexed. "You have to greet the guests with me, you are the hostess," Elijah smirked slightly, this was her party after all.

Maggie looked to Kol, as if searching for a way out. He just raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders. His brother had a point. From that look, Maggie sighed and had to keep herself from pouting.


Elijah held her to that. Shortly after, guests started to arrive and Maggie had to remain by Elijah's side in the foyer, a few steps away from the front door to greet the guests. As the eldest of the family, Elijah led the introductions and did most of the talking. After a few guests, Maggie figured out she could just repeat the same phrase in three different ways and basically get away with that.

Maggie didn't really care for the pleasantries and found her eyes wandering constantly. She noticed the way most of the men wore suits, as instructed by the invitations. The women mostly wore various summer dresses and semi-formal styles. No doubt Rebekah had selected their dresses with the intention that they could not be out done.

The only time she paid attention was introductions to a couple of Council members and greeting Carol Lockwood. Maggie refrained from asking how Tyler was doing, knowing how taunting that would be. Every now and then she would catch a glimpse of Kol and Rebekah. Once she caught a sight of Klaus passing through rooms. He flashed her a predatory smirk that sent a chill up her arms and Maggie subconsciously took a step closer to Elijah at that.

Maggie wasn't entirely surprised when the Salvatores showed up with Elena and they didn't bother to greet them. They just showed themselves inside the house, much like every other party they've gone to. Yes, it was a bit of a snub, but she wasn't going to pretend to be nice in that case anyway. The only difference was the sad glance towards Damon that she gave. She picked up on the way his eyes zeroed in on her and he kept that mask on his face to hide how he really felt.

The house quickly began to fill up as did the driveway of various vehicles and even one of the school buses that opted to pick people up from downtown. The amount of time and effort that went into the event was astounding, but Maggie never doubted Rebekah's tenacity.

The blonde Original in question was slipping from her bedroom with a CD case in her hand, when she spotted someone out of place on the second story of the home. She wore a vibrant red dress, in a similar but asymmetrical style to Maggie's. She frowned at the clearly invited guest, who was walking down the hallway towards a different part of the house.

"Daryl?" She called out, causing the hunter to stop in his tracks momentarily, a little surprised to hear her calling him by his name for a change. "What are you doing here?" She questioned sharply while stepping up to his side.

The redneck had one thumb tucked under the strap to his crossbow while he glanced Rebekah up and down without hiding it. "What are you doing here?" He grunted the question back at her.

"I live here," She scoffed, clearly looking at him for a real answer.

"Huh," Daryl glanced around him purposely before smirking, "How about that." He continued walking down the hallway at that.

But Rebekah didn't let up that easily, she picked up the hem of her dress and moved to follow after him, keeping pace with his strides. Clearly, she wasn't going to get a straight answer that way. "So what? You thought to bring a crossbow but not… sleeves," She commented on his clothing, worn out jeans and an equally torn shirt.

Daryl snorted and shot back quickly, "Well I sure as hell ain't going to wear no monkey suit and stand around sipping champagne."

"We aren't having champagne," Rebekah defended stubbornly. The one thing she had agreed to easily with Kol and Elijah was the fact there would be no toast, especially given what happened last time. Daryl looked to her while biting the inside of his cheek, amusement in his eyes, but indecisive on what he wanted to say next.

Before he could, a voice behind them interrupted. "Sister," Kol called out with his hands tucked behind his back. His normally snarky attitude was low and possibly cautious. "'Lijah wants us on the staircase."

Rebekah turned with a sigh towards her brother. When she glanced back at Daryl, he was already moving down the hallway again. Shaking her head, she followed after her older sibling, who began to smirk at the way she was clearly following after the human.

"I hope you're not fancying another hunter," Kol taunted her once she was close enough, earning him an elbow thrown into his side.


Kol stood next to Rebekah at the second level balcony, looking down at the people gathering in the front of the house. They were still waiting for Klaus to join the rest of the family. No doubt he was off in search of that Forbes girl, Kol figured. He couldn't help but notice the smug look on Rebekah's expression when she momentarily disappeared, the CD case no longer in hand.

"What are you up to, sister?" Kol questioned her in a low tone between the two of them, hoping it would be something interesting. The parties weren't exactly his taste, but he had to respect the dramatic flair that Maggie was going for.

"Nothing murderous, if that's what you're thinking," Rebekah warned him, having kept a quiet eye on Matt Donovan as soon as he arrived. "But," Her voice picked up in devious pride. "I was going through some of the town archives, looking for music when I found the entries for the Miss Mystic Falls pageant…"

"Okay," Kol's furrowed slightly, he wasn't really sure where this was going and he didn't think the word pageant sounded promising.

"Well, I found the music from when Elena Gilbert entered… and her escort was Stefan Salvatore," Rebekah grinned, knowing Elena would be dancing with Elijah instead. She just about lit up when she found the escort list, unwilling to pass up the opportunity to make the Gilbert just a little more miserable and ruin what was likely a precious memory between them.

Kol didn't really react though, not particularly impressed or really understanding of that flavor of vengeance. He was more distracted by spotted the fair hair of Klaus moving through the crowd and towards the staircase. "Your pettiness is impressive, Bekah," Kol muttered sarcastically, dismissing and shrugging it off his shoulders in favor of joining Elijah and Maggie on the stairs.

Meanwhile, Maggie's stomach was in a twisted mess of a knot as she stood next to Elijah on the staircase while he gathered the crowd together. Being the hostess of this event, she was obligated to stand next to the current patriarch figure of the family on her right side. Just off to her left a few steps up were Kol, followed by Rebekah and lastly Klaus. He walked by her without saying a word, but still with that unnerving smirk. Clearly he wasn't going to try anything with all of his siblings standing right there.

Maggie did her best to just ignore him while Elijah quieted down the chatter amongst the crowd. She took a deep breath, realizing there was no backing out of anything now. All of this had occurred because of her doing and she had to see it through now.

She barely listened to the first words of Elijah's address, which commented something on the importance of family and appreciating what they have. Her eyes were scanning the crowd. They settled on Damon and Stefan, who surprisingly weren't standing with Elena immediately at their side. Granted, she was only a few feet away, but it wasn't like she had them on either arm in that moment. Her eyes locked with Damon's briefly, but she couldn't read anything by it from their distance. She saw Stefan lean towards Damon to whisper something, but she didn't catch it.

"Is this as weird to you, too?" Stefan asked, thinking how odd it was to see Maggie up there with the Original family, almost like she belonged there the entire time. There was an obvious divide in the way that they stood with Klaus being the furthest away from the other three siblings and Maggie having the other males protectively on either side.

Damon clenched his jaw and scrunched his nose slightly in irritation. "You have no idea," He muttered in response, thinking it would almost prefer to see Esther up there again instead of having Maggie so close to the Originals.

"And I would like to thank you all for coming tonight," Maggie chimed into Elijah's speech at the appropriate moment, not wanting to say much more than that. She didn't like the feeling of having so many eyes upon them. She looked back to Elijah, who wore a perfected polite expression.

"Now, if everyone would like to move into the ballroom and find a partner, it is tradition to open with a dance. You are welcome to join us," Elijah concluded the opening speech while gesturing a hand towards the ballroom. The chatter in the room picked up once more.

With a sigh of relief, Maggie looked over her shoulder up at Kol while the rest of the people moved about to gather their partner. The Original smirked at her and stepped down to her level before placing a hand on her lower back to guide her towards the ballroom with the others. It took a couple of minutes for everyone to filter into the room.

Maggie noticed the way that Elijah gravitated towards Elena and it was too crowded for her to pick up on their words exchanged. She didn't care much for the purple dress that Elena wore, looking like something from a beauty pageant. Somehow Rebekah had managed to find Matt, who still looked nervous to be there, but he was trying to be a good sport about it.

The Originals went to the middle of the room to open the dance. Maggie stood across from Kol and casted a glance down the line at the other pairs. She noticed Klaus on the far end with a begrudging Caroline standing across from him. She looked radiant in a yellow floor length dress. Among the crowd gathered along the walls, she noticed the Salvatore brothers, Alaric, the Council members, and even Sheriff Forbes, who was still in uniform despite the event. She caught a glimpse of Jeremy with Beth, which she made a mental note to say something about later.

As the first instrument sounds began to carry into the air, Maggie snapped her eyes back to Kol and stepped forward to him. The confident smirk remained on his face as his eyes passed over her, taking in each detail. Her hand met his with each, feeling the soothing feeling of the touch while the other went to his shoulder. The hand placed on her waist was light, but commanding in belonging there.

"You are quite the little temptress this evening, love," Kol murmured quietly into her ear, pulling her a little closer than Rebekah would have wanted them to be.

"Why, thank you," Maggie tried to keep her tone light and teasing, but struggling with the way her cheeks felt like they were on fire from his words and his presence. She tried to keep her wits about her by not looking him in the eye, choosing to look over his shoulder and focus on the deliberate and precise steps of the dance.

At the other end of the dance, Caroline's back went just about ramrod straight when she heard the first notes of the song, recognizing it immediately. Her eyes darted around briefly to Elena and then the Salvatores before zipping back to Klaus. "Seriously?" She hissed in a low incredulous tone to him.

Klaus' eyebrows just rose at her outburst. Before he could get a word in, Caroline snapped out, "This song?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, sweetheart," Klaus said innocently, but a little irritated to be on the resulting end of the sudden attitude. Any hint of a grin disappeared, "Rebekah picked the music."

Caroline huffed and shot a death glare down the line to the back of Rebekah's head.

Elena's eyes grew wide in the meantime as she danced with Elijah, feeling like she took a sucker punch to the stomach. She didn't accuse her dance partner like Caroline, she took it quietly with a sharp inhale and rigid movements.

"Are you okay?" Elijah asked out of concern at the sudden shift in Elena's demeanor, keeping his voice low between them.

"Fine," Elena clipped out while shaking her head in the obvious sign that she wasn't okay. She looked past Elijah towards Rebekah, to catch a caddy smirk from the Original. Of course, she would try to get under her skin.

"Just Rebekah trying to get to me," She muttered more confidently than she felt, glaring daggers at the blonde. Her stomach clenched, thinking back to the memory of the last time she heard this song and how much more it hurt given how things had been going lately.

Stefan watched the scene unfold before him with a mask of indifference. The slightly bored expression in his eyes threw Rebekah off, who's head was darting about to gage Elena's reaction and Stefan's reaction. What confused her particularly was how unaffected Stefan seemed to be, but his brother standing next to him had a twisted grimace.

She hadn't been there to know that while Stefan was off munching on Amber, Damon had actually been the one dancing with Elena.

Maggie and Kol were oblivious to the chatter of the dance partners, especially as more people began to join in. Inevitably, Maggie couldn't keep her eyes away and found them meeting Kol's dark gaze. It trapped her there from that moment on as she listened to each words of the female's singing and moved with his lead. The movements around them and the watchful gazes of the others began to slip from her mind as she watched the way Kol's smirk slipped into a genuine smile, barely aware of her own.

She marveled in the way his presence could make her forget about her anxieties, whether it was the outcome of this evening or even down to the little things. He made the bloodlust seem to be only a distant worry. The overwhelming anger and misery she experienced since coming to Mystic Falls and turning seemed only to be a hollow memory. He made her feel secure with the hand on her waist and the way his fingers laced with her hand. He set the butterflies flying in her stomach with each smile and smirk.

"Tell me, darling," Kol demanded in a quiet voice, seeing the way she was looking at him and knowing what he wasn't supposed to hear that night. "Have I won over your heart?" He smirked.

Maggie's eyes widened with a fleeting moment of panic and alarm. She didn't expect such a direct question. And now he wanted to ask about that? With everyone and who knows how many listening?

"I… I thought I wasn't a prize to be had," Maggie scrambled to deflect, drawing on Kol's earlier declaration that she wasn't some possession to be objectified.

"And you're not," Kol agreed easily, but wasn't going to let her get away. "But to hold the affections of your heart is a privilege, one I intend to hold solely."

Maggie opened her mouth to respond, but couldn't up with anything. She was still stunned by the open declaration. Granted, he had said he wanted to claim her, but that was when it was just them. Now they were being seen together and in a rather intimate way in front of everyone she knew.

On the edge of the room, Damon stood with stiff shoulders while he watched the couples move about the dance floor. His blood ran like acid through his veins and he faintly tasted bile at the back of his throat. There were no proper words of the awful sickening feeling of being forced to watch the two women he loved recently dancing with two other men. Granted, one was because of his own choice, but that didn't make any better.

It caused a stab in his chest hearing the song from the Miss Mystic Falls competition, only because it was one of the few untarnished moments he had with Elena. And now, he was being reduced to watching the eldest Original channel his Petrova affection on the most recent doppelganger.

Also, he hated seeing the way Maggie looked at Kol with such affection she never shared for him. She didn't even look over once. She was absorbed by him and the quiet conversation they were having between the two.

"I need a drink," He grumbled out halfhearted to his brother before disappearing from the ballroom. He didn't want to watch anymore of this. Even Damon Salvatore had his limit for self-punishment.

As the song was winding down to an end, Kol didn't receive an answer to his question, but that didn't mean he would let it go. At the end, the partners were supposed to step back with a parting kiss placed upon the female's hand. Maggie let out a deep breath and stepped away from Kol as they were supposed to, letting him grasp her hand.

However, instead of doing what his dear sister wanted, Kol gave the hand a firm tug to pull Maggie back towards him. His other arm wrapped around her waist lowly as she crashed into his chest and he boldly caught her lips with his.

Maggie gasped in surprise at how quickly it happened, unable to pull away from his hold. But at the same time, she didn't want to. She lost her thoughts to the soft feeling of his lips and the gentle, but confident way they moved against hers, coaxing her. Despite herself, Maggie rolled her weight onto her toes and leaned up into the kiss. The hands that caught herself on his shoulders smoothed out and relaxed.

Kol ignored the scoff he heard from his sister about showing some class, more consumed by the woman melting against him. He didn't see the knowing smirk Klaus was sending his way, despite having Caroline stomped away from him after Elena. Rebekah's neat line of a proper finish was completely defenestrated with the Petrova doppelganger fleeing at the end of the song, followed by Caroline and then Kol kissing Maggie.

Maggie felt her undead heart pounding furiously when Kol slowly eased away from the kiss. She let out a shaky breath and opened her eyes to meet his. He stared down at her a long moment as a smile slowly broke out across his flushed lips. It was triumphant and devious, in his signature way, but the lightness in his eyes almost gave them a dark brown hue.

"I believe this is the part where you're supposed to slap me," He whispered teasingly, breaking her out of her revelry.

Reality hit her like a wave of cold water through her body. Maggie's eyes widened and darted around her quickly, suddenly realizing he had kissed her openly in front of everyone. Other couples were moving on the dance floor with the new song now. She noticed some eyes were casted there way and the murmuring of comments. But it wasn't like the entire room stopped and stared at them. Klaus and Elijah were already slipping away from the dance floor.

Maggie didn't slap him.


Damon knocked back his drink and deposited the empty glass carelessly on a waiter's tray as he walked back towards the ballroom. He had disappeared outside for a few moments, but then had to give Elena the slip when she tried to follow after him. No doubt she would want to talk about feelings and what happened, but he just didn't want to deal with it right now.

Some would call it cowardice, but he preferred to think of it as avoiding the issue and it's unnecessary conversation. He gravitated back towards the ballroom, knowing the meeting would take place soon and wanting to keep tabs on everyone else. At least, he tried to distract himself from the hurt by focusing on the matters at hand. In the end, this wasn't a social party and he still wanted to figure out what exactly was going on.

He stopped at the edge of the dance floor when he spotted Maggie and Kol still dancing. Apparently the Original had coaxed another dance out of her. Damon couldn't suppress the slight up curl of his lip as he watched the couple, mostly glaring daggers at Kol, wishing he had one to dagger him with.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" A British voice taunted next to him.

Damon suppressed the urge to audible groan at the Original hybrid standing next to him. His hands were tucked behind his back with that leering stare as he watched the couple on the dance floor. He had kept half an eye on Caroline, but knew she was outside trying to comfort Elena at the moment.

"Sorry, Klaus, my schedule for evil villain bonding time is full," Damon clipped out dryly, not even bothering to turn his head to look at him, "But the next available appointment is after my self-lobotomy." He really wasn't in the mood for this now.

Klaus smirked and didn't rise to the attitude, having learned to take it with a grain of salt. Instead, he was going to rub the salt into the wound. "You know, Damon, I used to admire you," Klaus commented, undeterred.

That caused Damon's brow to furrow in his confusion and he turned his head a little, not fully in his direction.

"Especially your ability to get sweet Elena to forgive every horrific thing you've ever done," Klaus drew out the words almost mockingly. "I wondered what your secret was… Was it compulsion? Manipulation? What it is that you say to her…" His voice trailed while staring aimlessly at the silhouette of Maggie being spun around in Kol's arms.

Damon clenched his jaw and his eyes narrowed, but Klaus' last statement caught his attention. He turned to really look at the hybrid that time, there was an imploring touch in his eyes behind the sneer. "Something tells me this about a certain blonde vampire," Damon pointed out in an almost sing-song tone, pushing the focus away from himself.

The smirk fell from Klaus' face momentarily while he glared at the Salvatore, but he wasn't going to indulge him. The Salvatore wasn't going to get under his skin that easily. He chose to ignore his comment and continued on, "Yes well, but then I realized it must just be something pathological with Elena because I'm left wondering what happened with Maggie…" The sympathetic tone in his voice was completely insincere.

The smugness in Damon's expression faded and he just shrugged his shoulders, trying to act nonchalant. "Some people don't take well to being kidnapped, who knew," He muttered indifferently, trying to hide the emotional reaction behind his eyes while he glanced back out towards the couple.

Klaus stepped closer to twist the knife further in a low tone, "Then it must burn to know she won't forgive you for one little act, while Kol has singlehandedly murdered most of her ancestors." He saw the way Damon's shoulders stiffened immediately and his eyes widened.

He turned back to Klaus, a mixture of shock and confusion, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Klaus just smirked and stepped away from Damon, leaving the stunned vampire in his spot. Damon wasn't keen on following after the hybrid to provoke him further and he was more preoccupied by those words repeating in his mind. Numbly, he digested that information, wondering how much of it to take for truth while looking back to catch a glimpse of Maggie smiling over Kol's shoulder.


Caroline folded her arms over her chest as she leaned her hip against the armrest of the sofa of the living room. She had to resist the urge to tap her foot impatiently, knowing how many vampires in the room would be irritated by it. "I don't get it, what's the point of this meeting, Klaus?" She snapped out at the hybrid on the other side of the room, figuring he was the one behind it.

On her side of the room were Elena, Damon and Stefan. They mostly stood in silence, flanking each side of the doppelganger. Though their interest perked up at Caroline's words, obviously having been thinking the same thing.

On the other side of the room was most of the Originals. Klaus was pacing back and forth in front of his two siblings, Elijah and Rebekah. Elijah kept his thoughts hidden behind a careful mask. Rebekah looked mostly bored as she studied her manicure.

"I wouldn't know, Caroline," Klaus' tone was tight. "I didn't call this meeting." There was an edge from being called away from New Orleans.

Stefan and Damon exchanged a look at that.

Before anymore could be said, Maggie sauntered into the living room through the entryway that was being watched by two hybrids. They kept the rest of the party away from the gathering. Followed closely behind her was Kol with his ever present smirk. His eyes passed over his siblings briefly before watching Maggie stride through the center of the room.

"Oh, good everyone is here," Maggie announced almost cheerily. "Despite the invitation, the Bennett witches have decided not to come," She informed no one in particular, knowing they were really on watch at the witch house with the other half of the linking spell.

She glanced around the room to see every supernatural creature of Mystic Falls being represented, aside from Tyler for the obvious reason.

"And why exactly are we here, Maggie?" Stefan was the one to speak up in diplomatic tone, asking the question on everyone's mind.

Kol remained on the opposite end from Maggie as she stopped in front of the fireplace, turning to face everyone.

"I want to put a deal on the table," Maggie declared, opting to get straight to the point as she responded to Stefan before looking to Klaus pointed. "For Klaus that'll involve everyone's cooperation." No more secrets or hidden agendas for this one, as far as she was concerned.

The idea of cooperation caused Damon to balk and Maggie heard Rebekah let out a scoff with an eye roll. Like she would ever be willing to cooperate with the golden Elena.

"Just what sort of deal?" Even Klaus expressed his misgivings, but was intrigued enough to ask.

Maggie squared her shoulders in his direction, taking a moment for everyone to get over their initial reactions before answering him. "I want you to leave Mystic Falls and never return," Maggie demanded with an unflinching cold stare. "But more importantly, I want you to leave its residences alone to live peacefully."

Caroline and Elena who were looking at Maggie with a moderate level of contempt eased up as they stood up straighter. Naturally, Elena perked up at the possibility of Klaus being out her of life permanently. Caroline didn't need to say who she was thinking that was technically a resident of Mystic Falls.

Klaus let out a breathless bark of a laugh at that. The idea was completely ridiculous and far too demanding in his eyes. It was almost humorous. Maggie's expression didn't change at his mocking amusement. The silence in the room only stifled his laughter quickly as it faded into a dark serious glare.

"That's a pretty lofty demand, sweetheart," Klaus warned lowly. His tone caused Kol to take a step forward, the amusement disappearing from his eyes, not liking the threatening expression of his brother. The hybrid didn't pay him any attention and Maggie didn't back down from the stare. "What could you have that would cause me to even consider that for a moment?"

Maggie was grateful for not having a heart rate that could be heard by the eight pair of eyes on her. She also hated the pet names from Klaus. They made her want to claw her skin to get rid of the memory of them. But she held onto her composure for her next words, "There's a cure."

Klaus froze, almost thinking he misheard her. While he had dabbled with the idea of a cure with the Salvatores, he admittedly hadn't had much progress over the last couple of months. Traveling and research was exceedingly difficult given the obvious reasons of the circumstances.

"A cure for what?" Rebekah was the first to pipe up. Her normally condescending attitude was drawn in thoughtfully.

"Vampirism," Maggie replied simply without looking away from Klaus, showing how serious she was being.

She felt the way the younger vampires in the room shifted on their feet. Three pairs of eyes went to Elena immediately and she knew the gears were turning in their minds immediately.

Maggie tore her eyes from Klaus to look at Kol. She gave him a pointed nod. The Original returned it briefly before slipping from the room in a blur.

Rebekah followed his movements, her head whipping back and forth trying to wrap her mind around the fact he would be in on this of all things.

Elijah remained unnervingly quiet, standing in his corner of the room and Maggie avoided looking at him.

"And where is this cure?" Klaus questioned her while Kol was out of the room, barely bothering to be polite about it.

"You're looking at it," Maggie stated frankly.

Before he could ask what exactly she meant, Kol entered in the room again. This time he was followed by two others. Rebekah cocked her head slightly at the sight of Daryl, who had his crossbow drawn in front of him, not leveled with aim though. If anything, the idea of him shooting a vampire before it would kill him seemed laughable. He took consolation in the weapon and the fact he's already shot two of the vampires in the room.

What drew everyone's attention behind him was Carol. She wore a simple sundress and fidgeted with her fingers anxiously in front of her. The normal confident attitude of the woman was greatly subdued and replaced by a hammering heart rate that pounded away like a drum beat for everyone in the room, except Daryl, to hear.

Rebekah was the first to step forward, in a blur that stopped short a few feet away from the woman. The sudden movement startled the two humans, who took a half step back. Daryl relaxed though when it was just Rebekah and not Klaus coming forward.

"Human," Rebekah muttered, her eyes passing over Carol in disbelief as she took in the clear scent and felt the urge of the blood through her veins. "How is this possible?"

"How indeed," Elijah spoke up in a controlled even tone, while actually looking at Kol. The youngest male Original just kept a masked smirk on his face as he watched everyone's reactions, choosing to ignore Elijah. Maggie could tell the eldest was piecing things together and she was briefly worried about the formidable expression.

"Regardless of how, there's your proof," Maggie commanded the attention of the room again, not wanting to get into the specifics of that history lesson. She gave a nod towards Daryl and Carol, "Thank you, Carol." She tried not to let it show just how quickly she wanted to get Carol away from Klaus, fearful of how the hybrid would react.

Daryl nodded in return and gestured for Carol to follow his lead out of the room. The older woman didn't need to be told twice and Daryl kept his eye on the room carefully before backing out himself. Kol just smirked at the precautious nature of the human.

Klaus let them go because he was more stunned than anything else. A cure of vampirism opened an endless realm of possibilities, some good and many bad.

"So the deal is I'll give you your hybrid blood bag in exchange for leaving Mystic Falls," Maggie offered shortly with a hand on her hip, snapping Klaus' attention back to her.

"Excuse me?" Caroline's voice shot up at the reckless regard for her friend.

"No way!" Elena gasped in offensive, taking a step forward.

Maggie felt the circle of the room get a little smaller from the way the Originals were drawn in by Carol, with the exception of Kol taking a protective step forward towards Maggie, and now the younger vampires balking at her proposal.

Klaus chuckled, glancing over at the Salvatores, which neither seemed particularly pleased. "And just how do you expect the Salvatores and Elena's little friends to agree to this arrangement?" He questioned tauntingly, remembering how ill received it was the last time he talked about taking his doppelganger away.

This time it was Maggie's turn to pull out a smug smile before retorting, "Oh, I have no intentions of curing Elena."

Klaus' eyes narrowed on her and watched the way Maggie turned to actually look at Elena fully for the first time since the meeting started. Her eyes passed over Elena unimpressed before sneering in her direction, "I quite frankly don't owe her the kindness."

It would be a waste in her eyes too, Maggie thought. With the Salvatores in her life, how long would it be before there would be another unfortunate accident or one of them turned her?

Elena jerked her head back as if she had just been slapped. She had been dangled the idea of being human again literally in front of her and now Maggie's poisonous emerald stare was slamming it shut on her. "And who are you to decide who deserves it?" Elena huffed.

Maggie chose to ignore her with one more dismissive glance before looking back to Klaus. She could tell that his patience was being to wear thin. "Kol tells me that you're an artist, are you not?" She asked of him pointedly with a smirk, ignoring the way the Damon was whispering something in Elena's ear, no doubt trying to get her to calm down.

"I like to believe so," Klaus replied shortly while Maggie stepped up to him, putting her back to the younger vampires in the room.

"Then I think you would appreciate the poetic justice," or karma as Maggie liked to think of it. "Of getting the one that got away… say, five hundred years ago," Maggie grinned at the way she saw his blue eyes lit up.

The slight scowl on his face morphed into something wicked as he murmured the name, "Katerina Petrova."

Maggie stepped away from Klaus to look about the room. There wasn't a single person that hadn't been crossed by the first doppelganger in one form or another. Caroline, killed in a hospital beneath a pillow by her. Stefan and Damon, manipulated and turned. Elena, the reasons being obvious. Elijah, manipulated and betrayed to spare her own life. Klaus, deceived and escaped. Kol and Rebekah, witnesses to their family being torn apart by the Petrova line.

"Find Katherine and I'll cure her… I doubt there is any love lost for her here," Maggie smirked before looking back to Klaus finally. "Do what you want with her, compel her, kill her, bled her dry… I really don't care, but that's the deal."

The lack of immediate protest from anyone attested to hatred for the doppelganger. Maggie could see the serious consideration of the generations, for different personal reasons. Damon and Stefan exchanged a few quiet words between them while the Originals rolled around the gravity of the proposition.

In the end, Klaus certainly wasn't going to turn down his hybrids and the idea of organizing a hunt to finally get Katherine he found highly appealing.

"Well, we all know of Katerina's elusive abilities," Klaus drawled out and turned to his oldest brother pointedly with the question in his tone. He wouldn't be able to track her down on his own, as time as proven. The eldest Original didn't say anything. He just gave him a cool stare and a simple nod to let him know he was with him.

Klaus grinned triumphantly and then turned to Kol, knowing he would need his tracking abilities. "And how about a little brotherly bonding, Kol? Just like old times," Klaus inquired, struggling to remember much time the three brothers spent together since the 12th century. His words were borderline mocking from the nature of his personality.

Kol stared back at him with an impassive gaze before responding slowly, "No thanks, brother." He looked towards Maggie, his gaze shifting into one of hungry admiration with his smirk. "You have your beloved doppelganger to chase after and I have mine."

Maggie bit her lower lip to suppress the smile and her eyes dropped, feeling the heat rising to her cheeks.

Behind her, Damon's face scrunched in tight distaste, but he held his tongue. He didn't like the way Kol looked at Maggie, but he couldn't see how she was reacting directly to it.

"I'll go," Stefan blurted out, causing several heads to turn in his direction.

"Seriously?" Even Damon was surprised as he regarded his brother incredulously.

"Stefan…" Elena protested, simply using his name with the weight of her concern in it. She reached out to touch his arm, but he stepped forward before he could, keeping his eyes trained on Klaus and the Originals.

"Let's be honest, if Katherine even catches the scent of you two," Stefan's eyes darted between Elijah and Klaus. "She'll take off… You're going to need me."


Author's Note: Grab the pitchforks and torches for the witchhunt! I mean, Katherine hunt.

There's the meeting, I hope I did it justice! It's hard writing a scene with eight characters and considering all their reactions. The next chapter will have the second half of the ball!

So yay for make-up sex, right? I hope the scene really captured how all over the place Kol's emotions were (going from angry to sad to horny basically). OH! And let me know what you think of Rebekah, especially with the dance, and Klaus' talk with Damon (Yes, I purposely made it similar to the one in 4x12 as my own take on that scene). And a pretty important Malijah scene (I think that's my second favorite ship name, it sounds like something from Aladdin) that'll be one of many, which will carry over into the sequel.

Anyway, there wasn't very many reviews last chapter, so PLEASE PLEASE take the time to review this chapter. They really do brighten my day and make spending the hours on the chapters worth it.

Review responses –

Eby Mikaelson: You got it, but she's going to be turning Abby human for more reason than that. (Hinthint, think of Abby's storyline in the show.)

Guest: Thank you! I hope the party (so far) is living up to those expectations. xD;

M: So was this what you were expecting? ;D And of course Kol came around! I'm curious what you think about the mentions of Mikael. (I always wondered why they never explored the impact of Mikael on the other siblings on the show, especially for Elijah and Kol) Let me know if your suspicions were correct! Thank you.

Nynaeve55: Thank you for the amazing review! I've reread it probably more than I should, but it was truly awesome to read! It really touches me that I can portray the emotions that I'm trying to channel into these characters.

I'm glad you like the Kolie dynamic. It's fun to write because it's a little dark and twisted, they don't try to be good, so they could crash and burn the things/people around them brilliantly. And when I wrote the airport scene, I thought of all the times I've been just chatting on a cell phone and ignoring the people around me… it just seemed really simple, normal and human, which made it perfect for that moment I thought.

And yeah, Damon isn't catching a break. I think of anyone doesn't feel bad for him after this chapter, it's hopeless haha. The dance scene basically tears his heart out and serves it up on a silver platter.

Oh Rebekah in the last couple of episodes… don't even get me started. I'm greatly disappointed in all the Originals for how callous they are about the deaths of their family members. (Finn's I could almost excuse because the guy tried to kill them and he was locked up for 900 years) But Kol's death, the complete lack of action, promises of vengeance and everything accumulating to nothing is just ridiculous. The writers really are making these characters hypocritical and I wanted to bash Rebekah's head against the table when she claimed that Klaus hated Kol. So yeah, I'm greatly against her in cahoots with Elena.

L: Thank you! And you're not the only one, I think! Haha