A/N: Just a quick side note but as you know I've been rewriting Poison & Wine. Generally not much will change, but I am having a huge change coming up soon which will sort of shift the history of what occurred in Mystic Falls. Once I finish with P&W, I intend to rewrite this story as well so everything is consistent but I just thought to give you all a heads up. I may not change things in this story until after P&W is wrapped up again only because I wouldn't want to do anything that would confuse anyone. Anyway, enjoy this chapter! We're getting closer to season 4 slowly but surely.
Beautiful Disaster ~ Chapter LVI
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"The best way of keeping a secret is to pretend there isn't one."
~ The Blind Assassin, Margaret Atwood
"Ah, pray tell, where is your dearest love?" Klaus asked his brother as they returned to the compound. Halloween had come and passed without another incident, but the Mikaelsons were still investigating Lucien and Tristan, trying to decipher what the two men were up to in New Orleans.
"She went to go see Vincent. As you know, with her abilities, she does need some practice," Elijah said, doing his best to keep his patience for Klaus in check. "Not that you particularly care." He was referring to the fact that Klaus had all but ceased contact with her, other than when they were forced into the same room to discuss matters about the prophecy.
"And you are certain she didn't run off to go see Tristan? From what I could tell, she was quite curious him," Klaus said, doing his best to goad his brother. "I heard all of her questions this morning. How old he was, what his parents were like, how you first met him. I suppose it makes sense if she was interested to hear what he had to say about this doppelganger we met in Italy."
Elijah clenched his jaw, knowing Klaus was just trying to get a response. "I told Andrea everything we know about Sofia. She would need to speak to Kol for any further information."
"Tristan mentioned you all knew a doppelganger back in Italy, right after you fled New Orleans from Mikael," Andy said as she and Elijah cuddled on the bed. "Was she a doppelganger in my line or…?"
Elijah had heard Tristan say this to her at the party, but he genuinely did not recall any doppelganger himself. "That was a time when Kol was meddling in that small village nearby and the rest of us were either daggered or couldn't care less. I know there was a woman named Sofia he would receive letters from, but I never met her. By the time Niklaus and I were going to investigate what he was up to, Kol slaughtered the village, so we were once again forced to flee in case Mikael caught wind of it. We then daggered Kol."
"Ah, Kol, ever the destroyer."
"Perhaps we should get back to the matter at hand," Elijah said, opening the door to the compound and walking in.
Klaus smirked in victory but changed the subject nonetheless. "So, my first sired wants to kill you. Yours wants to kill me. Makes you regret turning vampires in the first place."
"Well, the division of labor seems crystal clear—two of them, two of—" Elijah stopped speaking as he and Klaus both came to a stop in the courtyard at the scene before them. A woman laid dead on the floor on a bed made of lavender sprigs. The woman had slashed both of her wrists and had presumably bled out onto the floor. "...us," Elijah said, finishing up his sentence with a stunned expression.
Klaus, horrified, raced toward the girl to examine the body and found a letter in her hand. He picked it up and skimmed it quickly, and it was obvious by the look on his face that it wasn't good. Klaus stood to his feet before silently handing Elijah the letter, not even looking him in the eyes. Elijah curiously read the letter aloud.
"'Roses are red, lavender is blue. Come find me before I find you.'" Elijah looked up at his brother, realizing who the letter was from as well. Aurora. Suddenly, the thought of the redhead brought a memory back from the red door, the one he had tried to forget and had tried to bury deep inside him as well.
Klaus, realizing Aurora was back, was so overwhelmed by this newest development that he couldn't speak for a moment. He took the letter back from Elijah, who turned to see if the woman on the ground was beyond saving. Unfortunately, she was. Klaus, as he was rereading the letter, held a scowl on his face. "I remember her a better poet."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that this is lacking in poetry," Elijah responded, standing back to his feet and turning to face his brother.
"She wants us to find her," Klaus said, throwing the letter back on the body. "So let's."
Klaus clapped Elijah on the shoulder and headed for the front door, but Elijah stopped him. "Are you so eager, Niklaus? Last time you even said her name was a thousand years ago when you told me to never speak it again in your presence."
Klaus turned back to face him, annoyed. "So, am I to wait as she leaves her little calling-cards all over my home?"
Elijah looked uncomfortable, and at first, he was unable to look Klaus in the eyes. "There's something you should know," Klaus' eyes widened in horror at the idea that Elijah had kept a secret from him, and Elijah finally looked up to meet his gaze. "When Mother seized control of my mind, unleashing those monstrosities that lurk behind the red door…" He was so worried that his voice dropped to a whisper, knowing matters of the heart was something his brother didn't take lightly. With Andrea now with him, this information would hurt Klaus even more. Then again, Elijah didn't know how deep Klaus' feelings ever were for Aurora. "I saw something…" Klaus seemed torn between wanting to know the truth and remaining blissfully ignorant as Elijah walked toward him. "Aurora was there."
"If you mean to confess a thousand-year-old secret that will divide us after our hard-won reconciliation, then te absolvo, brother—there is nothing you could have done involving her that would be worse than what she did to me," Klaus said lowly.
"Please do not dismiss this, Niklaus—"
"Whatever it is, it can wait! We have a plate of here-and-now problems, and I mean to clear it," Klaus said, interrupting his brother and clapping Elijah on the shoulder affectionately. "If it makes you feel any better, we can kill Aurora together! Then neither of us need play her little mind-games ever again, hmm?"
Elijah looked as though he still wanted to confess, but after a moment, Klaus turned and walked away, leaving a silent Elijah behind with the body Aurora left them.
There was a huge street fair and festival being held in New Orleans, where people were walking around with drinks and slipping in and out of small shops that have been set up on the curbs. Cami, Andy, and Vincent were standing on the street together and talking while they watched all the people around them and sip their coffees.
"So, there is an active serial killer at large, and the city's response is to throw a serial-killer-themed festival?" Cami questioned, looking over at Vincent.
The witch laughed in response. "Axeman's Jazz Fest is a big deal, Cami! Ain't nobody gonna sit that out because some active, second-tier serial killer is on the loose. And, as far as killers go, Axeman's the best this city's ever had."
"I don't know. From what I heard from back in the Mikaelson's original tenure here, they had quite a good many to compete with," Andy said as they began walking down the street together. "Then again, who can resist a good guy serial killer, huh? We don't really have many of those these days."
"What made him a good guy?" Cami questioned, looking over at Andy skeptically.
Vincent scoffed at her ignorance of the Axeman's history. "What? The year was 1919, and after terrorizing the city for months with an actual ax, he writes a letter to the Times-Picayune. Claims he's a demon. He says he's gonna kill thousands the next night. Only way he wouldn't was if every house in the city threw a party and played jazz as loud as it could. Every single house in the city did. No one died! Haha! Now, some people think it was a vampire. He was actually a witch."
Cami looked at Vincent in disbelief. "How do you know he's a witch?"
"Oh, he's a witch. The day he chose was Fête de Cadeau. That's the day that every witch gives a gift to the city in hopes that the city gives one back. Now, Axeman's 'idea' of a gift was not murdering people for a day, and in return?" Vincent gestured around at all the people and stalled on the streets. "Look! The city threw him the greatest party it has ever seen!"
Cami realized what this meant and stopped in her tracks. "Wait. So, what you're saying is while frat boys celebrate an ax murderer, the witches are having their version of Christmas, which makes them all easy pickings for whoever our killer is."
Andy sighed. "You still think our psychotic playboy vampire is the best lead we got?" She questioned, wondering why Lucien would be killing still if Cami had said she told Klaus about it. She would have at the very least thought Klaus would lay down the law with Lucien.
"My gut's telling me he's involved somehow, which means if he kills again, it's my fault for convincing Klaus not to kill him. So, I want to keep tabs on him," Cami said.
"Nobody convinces Klaus not to do anything," Andy replied with a roll of her eyes. "Trust me, him not carrying out the deed has to do with seeing who Lucien is working with." Before Cami could respond, they spotted Lucien walking down the street, stopping by a stall selling handmade decorations.
Vincent pointed at him and lowered his voice. "Speak of the devil." The three exchanged worried looks before they slowly followed Lucien down the street, trying their best to remain inconspicuous.
"He claimed it was Tristan who killed those people," Andy said after a moment, keeping her voice low in hopes Lucien wasn't listening in. "I should go trail him to be sure."
Cami nodded. "That's a good idea. Just… be careful."
Andy smiled small at the blonde. "I'll try, but no promises."
By the time Andy got to the Strix's headquarters, a part of her was regretting it. Elijah had asked her not to go to Tristan, or at least not alone, but she was beginning to devise a plan that could help save the family if Tristan and Lucien betrayed them as she expected them to. Tristan had baited her on purpose, and she hoped his underestimate of her would prove to be his downfall. Lucien… there was something about him she didn't trust at all.
"Andrea, what a pleasant surprise," Tristan greeted her as a member of the Strix had escorted her into his study, where he was sitting behind his desk with a book in his hands. He closed the book and stood to his feet, eerily reminding her of Elijah. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"
Involuntarily rolling her eyes, she stepped further into the room. "You know why I'm here. Otherwise, you wouldn't have baited me at your little shindig the other night."
Tristan smiled. "Your perceptiveness speaks for your capabilities," He crossed the room to stand a couple feet in front of her. "Curious, though, that Elijah would allow you to come unaccompanied. After all, he seemed quite serious when he told me to never approach you again. I would hate to anger my sire since I am trying to help him."
Andy sighed, closing her eyes for a moment with a sigh. She shouldn't be surprised Elijah had threatened Tristan. He had been more protective ever since she had originally died and everything that had happened with Dahlia. She opened her eyes and steeled herself. "Elijah doesn't own me, Tristan. I am my own person, perfectly able to exist without him or any of the Mikaelsons despite their insistence."
"Believe me, my dear; I do not doubt your independence. Rather, I admire it," Tristan said, a small, coy smile tugging at his lips. "And I don't begrudge your attachment to them. After all, their company was thrust upon you. From the information we have gathered, I heard it pains you to be away from them, and that you can sense where they are."
"A minor inconvenience," Andy said wearily. "Something, unfortunately, that did not change when I was turned."
"You make it sound as if you regret being turned into a vampire," Tristan said, his tone careful and his cold, calculating eyes watching her closely.
"I don't regret being turned into one, though I would be lying to say at times I don't regret who I decided to spend it with," Andy said, her words ringing some truth behind them, though she didn't really mean she regretted being with the Mikaelsons. However, she would see if Tristan would take the bait, to include her into his plans. She acted as if she realized the implications of her words and quickly acted as if she was backpedaling. "I didn't come here to talk about the Mikaelsons. Are you willing to share your information on reincarnations with me or not?"
Tristan watched her for a moment, and she did her best to keep the mask up. She was frustrated at how hard he was to read, and once again the similarity to Elijah gave her chills. Finally, he spoke up. "I was going out to breakfast to admire the splendor of the Fête de Cadeau festival in the city. Perhaps you would like to join me? I believe we have much to discuss."
Hook, line, and sinker, Andy thought as she pretended to be debating it. Her phone vibrated with a text and she saw it was from Elijah saying that he needed to speak to her. She sighed, hoping he hadn't been informed by Cami or Vincent where she had gone.
"Unless you are predisposed?"
Andy looked back up with Tristan, a scowl on her face to pretend something Elijah had sent her had displeased her. "No. It'd be my pleasure, Tristan."
Elijah sighed as he and Klaus searched around the festival for Aurora. "Brother, she could be anywhere. How exactly do you intend to find her?" He questioned his brother.
"She'll leave a mark. That is, after all, her favorite game," Klaus said as a stall caught his eye. He saw a row of fancy bottles full of perfume, the sight of which triggered a flashback in his mind of his time with Aurora.
The two of them laid intertwined in Aurora's bed after just having sex. Klaus was still braced on top of her as he smiled happily down at her.
"Well, that was fun!" He said as he began to kiss up Aurora's arm toward her shoulder as he chuckled happily. "Delightful... delirious... delicious fun." He kissed her on the cheek, and Aurora hummed happily.
"Mmm... And yet, you would appear to want more. I fear I've not satisfied you," Aurora said, smiling up at him.
Klaus smiled and leaned closer to her face. "Your fears are absurd."
He kissed her on the lips and they both giggled as Aurora suddenly flipped them over so Klaus was on his back against the pillows while she straddled him. "I'm not fragile, you know. You do not have to treat me so gently," She said.
"I do not wish to hurt you." He replied, his thoughts going to someone else he had hurt not too long ago.
"Well, then make me like you! Do to me what you did to Lucien." Aurora suggested.
Klaus was stunned by Aurora's request and frowned before quietly replying. "You know not what you ask."
"Well, I know we'd no longer have to hide our love—not from my father, my brother. Not from anyone," She pointed out, gripping his arm. "If I were like you, I would be beholden to no one, and we could be together, truly, with no boundaries."
He sat up so his torso was pressed against Aurora's, and he reached up to card his fingers through her waist-length red curls, which reminded him so much of another brownish-red haired girl he had loved; the two had so many similarities, he was sure that was why he was attracted to this young one in the first place. "You are perfect just the way you are. Take, for example, these lovely long locks, hmm? Now, how did you manage to capture the scent of a summer's day in the tresses of your hair?"
Klaus, who had just picked up a clear bottle of pink perfume with a red squeeze-bulb at the top from the nearby stall, as though he recognized it. When he flipped it upside down, he saw a label which read "de Beaucage No. 9 parfum." After a moment, he sat it back on the counter. Meanwhile, Elijah, who was several feet away, looked around in boredom before calling out to Klaus.
"This mark that you speak of... I see nothing, brother." Elijah turned to look at Klaus and was shocked to see that he has completely vanished. He looked around to try to find him, to no avail.
Meanwhile, Klaus had just arrived at the boutique where they made the perfume in Aurora's clue. He walked slowly through the front door and into the shop, and after a moment, Aurora, having heard him enter, walked out in a short red dress and knee-length boots, smiling widely at him while Klaus scowled in return.
"I knew you would find me," The redhead spoke. "Hello, my sweet love."
Davina, wearing a formal black dress, was being fussed over by several witches in one of the tombs. One of them was twisting her hair into a mature up-do, while others were preparing her for the event. In front of Davina stood Hayley and Jackson, both of whom looked confused as to why they were there. Davina held two different-colored thick ribbons in her hands as she addressed the two Crescent wolves.
"I have to pick one—orange or purple?" She questioned.
Jackson regarded her incredulously. "Did you seriously call us here to play Fashion Police?"
Davina was becoming more overwhelmed by one of the witches, who was holding a round incense ball hanging from a chain so the smoke wafted toward her. "Okay, I know this is sacred oil, but can we please not do that right now?" She said irritably, looking over at the witches. The witches left Davina to conduct her business privately, and she called out to them as they leave. "Thank you," The young witch turned her attention back to Hayley and Jackson as she tied the orange ribbon around her throat. "Sorry. Thank you for coming."
Hayley rolled her eyes. "Like we had a choice, Davina. Either we do your bidding, or you blow out that candle of yours and turn us back into wolves. So, we're pretty much your slaves."
At the sight of how overwhelmed Davina looked, Jackson smiled at Hayley and tried to politely improve the tension in the room. "Now Hayley, come on. This is the deal we made. Let's let her say her piece, hmm?" He turned back to Davina. "What do you want?"
"This is my first Cadeau as Regent," Davina began nervously. "Since I represent the city, the covens have to pay tribute to me, and I throw them a party. I need them to respect me, but this is the first public event since..." Davina, too guilty about her actions to continue, trailed off, and Hayley finished her sentence for her.
"...Since you had me kill those witches in the 9th Ward?"
Davina nodded once, visibly uncomfortable. "I have a feeling it might not go so well, especially since Van Nguyen blames me for what happened to his mom. He vowed to get back at me. Actually, he said he would erase me. I mean, who even talks like that?"
"So, you want us to be your bodyguards?" Hayley questioned. Davina stood to her feet and judging by her increasingly hysterical tone of voice, it was clear that her nerves were fraying from the stress of the Fête de Cadeau festivities.
"Look, I know that you're not exactly thrilled with me right now, but if I die, that candle's magic dies, too. And then there's nothing stopping you from changing back into wolves. And I have no one else I can ask," Davina said reluctantly.
"Andy? Marcel?"
"They're vampires. I can't get their assistance, not with this. And I'm sure I am one of the last people Andy wants to talk to."
Jackson sighed before turning to Hayley, who seemed unhappy with this plan. "Well, why don't you stay with Davina, and I will check out the crowd?" He said before turning to leave.
Davina looked over at Hayley expectantly, and the hybrid sighed in response. "I'll keep you alive," She wrinkled her nose at Davina's outfit. "But, if you wear that awful orange scarf, you'll wish that I hadn't." Davina rolled her eyes and reluctantly removed the blood-orange ribbon from around her throat.
Klaus and Aurora were still standing several feet apart, both staring intensely at the other. "A thousand years. Can it really have been so long? Looking at you now, it feels like yesterday," She said, speaking again before he got the chance.
Klaus, still scowling, replied, "If yesterday were the apocalypse."
Aurora smiled at him. "Are you saying that leaving me felt like the end of the world?"
"Leaving you alive," Klaus said. She snickered at his joke before changing the subject as Klaus walked toward her.
"I notice Elijah's not with you. Was he reluctant to tag along?"
Klaus smiled snidely at her. "On the contrary, he's been calling me incessantly since I ditched him to find you, raving about some ancient secret and the possibility of using your head as a footstool."
They both chuckled weakly as they continued to stare at each other with only a table standing between them. "Well, I'm sure he would rather have his footstool than have me share that little secret," Aurora stated.
As they continued their conversation, they circled around the table full of large bottles of perfume. "Let me guess—in the time between being with me and seeking refuge in the arms of your brother, you slept with mine?"
Aurora rolled her eyes. "Oh, your accusations are so banal. The truth is, I've never been with your brother. At least, not in the way that you think. I am not like your little doppelganger."
Klaus, tired of their game, cut to the point. "Why are you here, Aurora?"
"The witches here, they celebrate Fête de Cadeau—Feast of Gifts. It made me remember that very intimate gift we gave each other so long ago," Aurora said, her blue eyes sparkling at him as they both thought back to that night.
Aurora was sitting on in the chapel, sobbing loudly and sniffling into the sleeves of her dress. After a moment, Klaus walked in with a large bouquet of wildflowers. "I always thought the day of one's birth was an event to be celebrated?" He said, worry in his voice.
Aurora quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks as she sniffled. "And yet, I wish I'd not been born."
Klaus sat down next to her on the bench and looked at her with concern. "What saddens you so?" She continued to cry, which only worried Klaus more. "Aurora, what is it? Tell me."
Aurora tried to catch her breath before speaking. "The day of my birth is no occasion for joy. My mother died giving birth to me. That's my first act on this earth, was to kill the one who gave me life. It makes me cursed and broken, an abomination. I…" She broke into sobs once again, and Klaus, feeling bad for her, leaned forward to comfort her.
"You believe that you are cursed, but you are not alone," He said, then hesitated a moment. "There is a thing that I have done that I never told anybody. It will break Rebekah's heart. Kol would rage, Finn would disown me, and Elijah... would never forgive me." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I killed my mother," She gasped in shock from this confession, and Klaus' voice got quieter and quieter as he continued talking until it became only a whisper. "Not in childbirth, but in a fit of rage. Twice she birthed me—once as a bastard, and then once as this thing I am now. She crippled me from becoming who I was meant to be, and then she turned her back on me in shame... And so, I killed her, and I blamed it on my father, and we've been running ever since. Until now. So, you see, however broken you think you are, you are not as broken as me."
Aurora was stunned by Klaus' confession, but not in the way he thought. "You see? Once again, you seek to repel me with our differences, but all I can see is how you and I are the same," She became excited by the prospect of their shared grief. "Well, then, let us share this gift with each other! You will forever hold my deepest shame, and..." Aurora caressed Klaus' face with her hand, wiping away a tear that had fallen from his eye. "I... I will hold yours. Never again shall we speak them to another soul, and never again will they have any power over us."
Klaus was sincerely touched by Aurora's proclamation, and she paused for a moment before continuing. "Would you think it base of me to ask one more gift on my birthday?"
He stared at her intensely. "I would give you anything."
She smiled weakly. "Oh, then please Niklaus... Make me like you."
Klaus smirked snidely at Aurora, knowing she was doing this simply to get under his skin. "You've had a thousand birthdays since. If I forgot to send a card, it's because I forgot about you. Is that why you're here? To remind me?"
She looked back, the annoyance in her tone. "I am here for the same reason Lucien and Tristan are—to protect my sire. Now, if you'd turned me that night like I'd asked, I would be here to protect you. But, since you didn't, I need to know... Where in the hell is Rebekah?"
"I heard you were fond of this particular place," Tristan commented after they had sat down at Rousseau's. Andy did her best to not appear anxious, but inwardly she was afraid that Elijah would waltz in and freak out at her being alone with Tristan. She knew she had a right to do what she wanted, but she knew that their family's predicament wasn't a joke. Any misstep and it could mean that prophecy would come true.
"You must have gathered a great deal of intel on me then," Andy replied, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. "To be honest, I hadn't heard of your existence until Lucien's arrival."
"Did you know of Lucien?"
Andy cast her eyes down at the table. "I had asked Klaus once about the first person he turned. He didn't say Lucien's name, but I had heard it was accidental," She looked back up at him. "He didn't mention that Lucien was an insufferable prick. At least from what I can tell."
"There is something we agree on."
The waitress came by, and while Andy simply ordered a cup of coffee, Tristan had actually ordered a meal. She raised an eyebrow at him, but he didn't explain to her why he was eating human food. Perhaps he enjoyed the normalcy.
"What else do you know about me?" She asked him, leaning back in the booth and folding her arms across her chest.
"You have a twin sister, whose blood was needed to break Klaus' hybrid curse. She is currently AWOL, as is your younger brother… or cousin should I say? You and Elena were both adopted by your aunt and uncle when you were born to Isobel Flemming. Your adopted parents died in a car crash with Elena being the only survivor when you were sixteen. You spent five months in a rehabilitation center for alcohol and drug abuse after their death. You're close to the Salvatore brothers, which from my understanding had a romantic dispute over your sister, not unlike the eldest Mikaelsons and yourself," Tristan explained, pausing briefly as the waitress brought their drinks over. His blue eyes never left hers once, gauging her reaction. "You caught the attention of the Mikaelsons when they moved to Mystic Falls, and I believe the rest, as they say, is history. There were multiple rumors over the years that you had died, but it seems like Niklaus' child, you rose from the ashes again."
"I never thought someone would be able to summarize my human years so easily," Andy said, bringing the coffee up to her lips and taking a sip before sitting it back down. "It's certainly humbling."
"What has Elijah and Klaus told you about me?"
Andy sighed, shrugging. "Not much, honestly. I know you were turned by Elijah, though he didn't specify why. You hate Lucien. You're the leader of the Strix and have been for some time, presumably since Elijah left the organization. You were the son of a Lord and you have a sister, Aurora."
"I would have thought the Mikaelsons would have informed you of everything," Tristan said, actually looking surprised at her lack of knowledge on him.
"They like to keep me locked up in a tower," Andy replied dryly and letting some bitterness seep into her tone. She thanked her high school advisor for convincing her to take a couple theatre courses or otherwise she probably couldn't have channeled her inner Macbeth. "I'm more on a need-to-know basis. Most of my information comes from Marcel."
She knew she had to play the bitter, scorned lover if she was going to show Tristan she could be trusted by him. Shaking her head, she continued. "I just want this mess to be over. My only concern is Hope and making sure she's safe. If Klaus dies, then I die, and while Hope has Hayley, there still would be one less person to protect her. The Mikaelsons don't have a lack of enemies. They'll attack Hope if given the chance."
"I have heard of your connection with the youngest Mikaelson."
Andy looked at him suspiciously, knowing that she needed to show a degree of hesitation which wouldn't be too difficult on her part. "Why do you know so much about me?" She finally asked.
"Mainly because you are a doppelganger," He admitted. "But also because you're a formidable ally. Even if you are no longer with Niklaus, I saw the way he looked at you at the gala. He was rather bitter, but it wasn't hatred. It was more of a scorned lover look he had going on."
"I don't want to talk about Klaus," Andy said, a scowl on her face.
"Ah, yes. I heard he killed your beloved. A werewolf, no?"
Andy clenched her fists and exhaled. "Sam was a dear friend. I'd rather you not just flippantly mention how Klaus tricked me into taking his life."
Now, it was Tristan's turn to look back at her with surprise on his expression. "I had not been aware of the circumstances, Andrea. I apologize for my wording, and you have my sympathies."
Andy looked at him, her tensed posture relaxing slightly as she nodded in acknowledgment. "Apology accepted, and your sympathies are noted," She looked down at her coffee. "They're rare among the Mikaelsons nowadays, if you can believe it."
"Though it is no consolation, they have never been the ones to be apologetic," Tristan agreed. "But alas, our kind's survival depends on theirs for the moment."
Andy exhaled, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You've distracted me from the reason I came to see you."
"Forgive me, I find it easy to converse with you," Tristan said.
She looked at him a moment, scrutinizing his face before letting out a small sigh. "I can't say I don't agree with you there."
Tristan's mouth quirked into a small smile. Yeah, Andy thought to herself, I've got him. The waitress dropped his food off before leaving. As he began to dig into his food, he began speaking again. "About reincarnation, specifically of doppelgangers. I believe there is much information I have collected that I believe you would benefit from. However, you must understand I cannot simply give this information up for free. I would be more comfortable had we both been from the same sireline or if you were a member of the Strix. We tend to keep information to ourselves unless given an incentive."
Andy regarded him skeptically. "And what incentive do I have to offer?"
Unfortunately for Andy, nothing ever went easy for her. She had been so distracted with Tristan that she hadn't noticed Elijah enter and spot them, his expression going dark as he saw them together. Immediately he headed toward them, setting a mason jar with a bloody heart inside of it in front of Tristan and her. Andy looked up, surprised to see her boyfriend with a heart in a jar. Tristan, too, did not seem to be pleased by the sight of his sire as Elijah slid into the seat next to Andy.
"Elijah. I didn't realize we had a meeting on the books today," Tristan said. "It is rather rude for you to interrupt my current one."
"We don't," Elijah said, looking over at Andy for a brief second before focusing on Tristan. Under the table, Elijah's hand rested on Andy's thigh and gripped it. "Unfortunately, your assistant refused to accommodate me." He continued, pushing the jar toward Tristan as he wiped his face with a cloth napkin.
"What would you like to discuss?" Tristan asked, clearly irritated, and threw his napkin onto the table.
"Recent events would suggest you've been less than forthcoming about threats facing my family," Elijah replied.
Tristan looked back, confused. "A threat to you is a threat to me."
Elijah narrowed his eyes. "Naughty little liar."
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," Tristan said, amusement in his voice.
"Oh, I'm quite certain you do know precisely what I'm talking about, Tristan. I can hear that heart of yours racing away. You see, even as we speak, I suspect Niklaus is with your sister," Elijah revealed, and Andy's head snapped over to look at Elijah. Was Aurora in town? Before she could ask any questions, Elijah had pulled the blood-stained letter Aurora left for Klaus out of his inner jacket pocket and laid it in front of Tristan on the table. "I don't have to tell you what a volatile combination the two of them are."
"And you think I'm hiding her?" Tristan questioned.
"Wherever you go, Aurora follows," Elijah pointed out.
"It's true, on her good days. Years ago, Rory fell into one of her dark periods. It's been a long one and has yet to lift. I saw she got the care she needed," Tristan explained, glancing over at Andy.
"I don't care. Where is she?" Elijah asked as Andy picked up the letter and read what it said. Her expression contorted into confusion as she read over it. Aurora was not a good poet based off of this, but she had to wonder what the redhead would want with Klaus if they had parted ways years ago.
Tristan, meanwhile, smiled at his sire. "Are you that afraid of what my sister might have to say to your brother?"
"Your sister has a habit of cultivating misfortune."
Tristan shrugged. "I can't disagree. And, as it happens, I don't know her current whereabouts, but I know she can't be here. I'm the first person she'd come to."
Elijah narrowed his eyes at Tristan, examining him for any signs that he was lying before standing. "I wouldn't be too sure about that," He looked over at Andy. "I think it is time we spoke."
"Wait," Andy said, sitting the letter down. However, instead of asking Elijah for answers, she looked over at Tristan. She decided to act as if she were clueless to Aurora and Klaus' past. Maybe Elijah would be tipped off. "What would Aurora want from Klaus?"
"Did they not tell you?" She shook her head. "They didn't… I see you were right about being on a need-to-know basis," Tristan commented, the delight in his eyes clear from her asking him rather than Elijah. Elijah tensed slightly, his fists clenching as he watched the two. "Aurora and Niklaus have a history, as it would be. They loved one another long ago."
Andy stared back, doing her best to appear stunned. When she had originally had time to process it, she wasn't sure what to think. She knew he had had many relationships over his lifetime, but it only reminded her of how he had probably tried to move on with Cami after she died. Not that she was jealous, of course, but it still irked her that Klaus had tried rebound so soon.
"Andrea, it is time for us to leave," Elijah said, growing more irritated by the moment.
Andy stood, but she didn't walk away from the table. Instead, she grabbed a napkin and a pen from a passing waitress and quickly jotted her number down before sliding it over to Tristan. "Our discussion isn't over. Let me know the next time you're available. I have many more questions and it seems you're the only one willing to give me answers," She said, pausing a moment. "Thank you, Tristan."
Elijah grabbed her arm to pull her away, but she snatched her arm away from him before she turned and walked away. Tristan looked up at Elijah, doing his best not to smirk but he couldn't help but garner satisfaction at his sire's annoyed look as he turned and left to follow Andy. As they left, Tristan finally turned to read Aurora's letter that had been left.
"Would you care to explain yourself?" Elijah asked as he followed her down the street and further away from Rousseau's.
"What's there to explain?" Andy replied, feeling her guilt slowly growing. She had resolved herself to this route, and that meant playing the role of scorned lover. She couldn't let herself show so much affection to Elijah and knew that these next few months would break her. She couldn't explain it to him aloud in case someone was listening, and hoped later when she fed on him she could tell him her plan without him freaking out. Her only hope was that, at the end of all of this, he'd understand. If he didn't, then she would resign herself to an eternity alone, she decided. If she hurt Elijah in the way Klaus hurt her, she wouldn't want to live with herself.
"Why you promised me to stay away from Tristan and the Strix, only to go the very next day to speak with him?" Elijah demanded, catching her arm to stop her. She sighed as she turned to face him, avoiding his gaze as she looked out among the crowds.
"I wanted answers," She admitted. "Ones that only he could give me."
"Oh? And you couldn't get them from somewhere else?" Elijah questioned.
"I'm not dumb enough to fall under his influence, Elijah," She shot back. "And I'm perfectly able to make my own decisions. Last time I checked, I was twenty-one years old."
"Do you know how old I am?"
Andy sighed, running a frustrated hand through her hair as she exclaimed, "Goddammit, Elijah! Why don't you trust me?" Her brown eyes burned through his, and for a moment he felt as if she were looking right into his soul. "I've been here from the beginning. I've done so much shit for this family and I can't do one thing for myself? All I wanted to know was about what I am. Ever since Dahlia came and then Kai bound me to his will, I have lived in this constant state of anxiety that someone was going to come along and I'd be forced against my will to do something I'd never forgive myself for. So yes, forgive me if I just wanted to prevent that, but I will not apologize for doing what I want to. And this is the last time I'm warning you to back off. I'm not your property or Klaus's. You don't get to tell me what I can and can't do."
Elijah stood there a moment, taken aback. He nodded and went to say something, but she cut him off. She couldn't show that she was regretting her words. The last thing she wanted was to yell at Elijah, but she knew they were still close enough for Tristan to hear them.
"I need to go see Marcel," She decided aloud. "I'll see you back at the compound, okay? I'm sure Klaus and Aurora are having their own fun. Klaus isn't stupid enough to kill civilians. Just… I'll talk to you later, okay?"
With that, she turned and sped off in the direction of Marcel, needing some major comfort right now. She hoped that Elijah wouldn't be too angry with her later as she tried to explain herself.
"You came all this way to protect Rebekah? Bit of a wasted trip, really," Klaus said, moving around the table and heading for the door. "Your sire has moved on to greener pastures."
Aurora, annoyed, shouted after him, and Klaus stopped in the doorway. "My fate is bound to hers! I should be allowed to protect her."
Klaus turned to face her. "You needn't concern yourself with Rebekah. Besides, I doubt she'd make the same mistake twice."
Aurora regarded him curiously. "The first mistake being...?"
"Ever trusting you."
Rebekah had just walked into Aurora's bedroom to find her sprawled across her bed, her wrists and ankles slashed with a knife. She was bleeding out onto her sheets but was not quite dead yet, and Rebekah, panicked, rushed over to her and bit her wrist, groaning in pain for a moment at the pain of her fangs against her own skin. Still, she quickly fed Aurora her blood, and after a moment, Aurora's wounds healed, and she awakened with a gasp. She sat up and scooted backward away from Rebekah, who was gasping from shock and fear and looking at her with wide eyes.
"You stupid girl! Why would you do this to yourself?" Rebekah demanded.
Aurora panted for breath and took a moment before she answered. "It's Tristan. He forbade me from seeing Niklaus. Everything inside of me was screaming. I had to let it out."
Rebekah looked at her sympathetically but was clearly still upset by what she had just witnessed. "To take your own life? Aurora, this pain, it will pass..."
"You do not understand," Aurora said, pained. "My own mind is a demon that haunts me. It tortures me and hunts me. But you? You are not saddled with such disease. You and your family, you're never ill, and if you are wounded..." She looked at the now-vanished wounds on her wrists in wonder. "...You heal, like Lucien after Niklaus fed him blood."
Rebekah sighed in frustration. "We have our own torments, Aurora. None that I would dare wish on another."
"Your torments of hunger and blood do not frighten me! Niklaus once told me he never felt more alive than when he became what he is," Aurora argued.
"And do we seem alive to you? Hiding in your family's manor, pretending to be a class and stature that we are not? We are cursed," Rebekah countered, remaining calm and patient with the girl.
Aurora, however, was still upset by this refusal. "Perhaps, but your curse is nothing compared to mine," Her eyes filled with tears, and Rebekah stared at her for a long moment. When it became clear that Rebekah was not going to turn her, Aurora's voice became emotionless. "Please go. I want to sleep."
Rebekah, not realizing what she was planning, just looked at her sympathetically and rubbed her leg affectionately. "Oh, sweet girl."
Aurora laid back in her bed, and Rebekah eventually left as Aurora asked and closed the door behind her. Once she was gone, Aurora sat back up in bed, looking at the moon overhead through the large window on the other side of the room. She walked toward the window, lifting the skirt of her nightgown as she stepped up onto the window sill and looked down at the ground below. Taking a deep breath, closed her eyes, and allowed herself to fall forward in a swan-dive.
"Your sister smelled of wild berries. It was intoxicating. And the night smelled of lavender. I could see the garden from above," Aurora was smiling as she recounted the memory, spaying some perfume onto her neck. "The last thing I remember as a human was that scent, which clung to me all the way down."
The witches of all nine covens had gathered in front of the Lycée, each with an animal in hand to offer to Davina as Regent. Davina was standing at the top of the steps of the Lycée, looking nervous and uncomfortable with the lavender ribbon around her neck. A man led a goat up to Davina by a leash, while others held animals like chickens and rabbits, all of which were squawking and baaing loudly, and she tried her best to smile through her displeasure.
"Another goat. How lovely," Davina said, before turning to address the rest of the witches, who were joined by Hayley, who smiled at her sympathetically. "I'd like to thank the Gentily Coven for their generous gift on this day of Fête de Cadeau." She blinked suddenly, overwhelmed by the sounds of all of the animals waiting to be given as gifts, and tried her best to remain calm. "I apologize. I need a minute."
The young witch walked away as quickly as she could and took refuge from her duties in between a row of tombs. After a moment, Hayley appeared and smiled weakly at her before sitting down beside her. "Not a fan of goats, huh?" She asked the Regent.
"I love goats. But, do you know how many of them I've had to sacrifice? Just once, I'd like to get a gift card," Davina said with a sigh. "I mean, I know this is all tradition, but it's just not me. And you know what I really hate?"
Hayley chuckled. "That choker-scarf?"
"This choker-scarf! And I only wore it because Josephine did, and I thought that maybe, if I were more like her, then... then maybe, they would respect me," Davina said, her tone growing sad.
Hayley, who had been drinking a bottled beer, handed it to Davina. "Here. You need this more than I do," Davina grabbed it and took a large gulp, though she grimaced at the taste of it, causing Hayley to laugh. After a moment of silence, the hybrid spoke again.
"You know, Davina, I... I wasn't okay with what you had me to do the Versailles Coven," Davina looked hurt by this but continued to listen to Hayley intently. "But, I'm guessing that you're not okay with it, either. So you're running from it, pretending to be someone that you're not. Someone who you think that they want you to be. You know what I've learned? No one is gonna respect you until you show them who you really are. So..." Hayley reached over and untied the ribbon around Davina's neck before handing it to her. "...If you're gonna wear old-lady choker-scarves, you're gonna get old-lady goats."
Davina laughed despite herself and smiled at Hayley before taking another drink of the beer.
Marcel had provided little comfort for Andy's frayed nerves by the time Elijah arrived at the gym to discuss placing a tail on Tristan with Marcel. The two spoke about the conversation with Tristan about Aurora while Andy stood silently next to Marcel and watched vampires spar with one another. She felt Elijah's gaze on her every once and a while, but looked at him. She needed time to find the words to apologize to him.
"Is that all you got? A hunch?" Marcel questioned.
"I don't do hunches. I've known Tristan a thousand years. He's not easily shaken, and yet I heard that little weasel's heart pound when I accused him of working with someone, and, strangely, nothing when I mentioned Aurora. He may be telling the truth about that," Elijah said.
Marcel nodded. "But, he could be hiding something, and now you need my help finding out what."
Andy's phone began ringing as they began speaking, and she walked away to look who was calling. It was an unknown number, and undoubtedly Tristan, but she still headed out of the church to act as if she was going to answer it. As much as she loved Elijah, she needed a moment away from him and was quite curious about this Aurora. So, as soon as she was sure no one had followed her outside, she ignored the call and sped off in Klaus' direction with the intent to meet this old flame of his.
Aurora was in the middle of pricking her index fingertip with a pin while Klaus glared at her unhappily. "You can always catch an insect with the smell of a flower..." She dripped her blood into a bottle of perfume, before dabbing some of the bloody perfume on her neck and holding it out to Klaus' face. "But it's the smell of blood that draws a carnivore."
Klaus roughly grabbed Aurora by the wrist and leaned in close to her. "And what draws a snake?"
"Ooh, how you loathe me, so certain I've come to do you harm. Yet, as I recall, we did plenty of harm to each other. And, if I'm not mistaken, we both rather liked it, didn't we?" Aurora said, leaning closer to him as well. "Do you remember what that first time felt like, to be with someone every bit as powerful, as tormented, and as cursed as you?"
Klaus, who was not completely unaffected by her words, responded quietly. "Yes."
"Look me in the eye and tell me that you haven't thought about what we had every day for the last thousand years," Aurora said. Klaus however, had to admit; that time was not thought of often, and there were a few other women who he had thought about much frequently than her, and more deeply than for her. He opted to stay silent as he watched her. "You want to know why I have come? Because after a thousand years of trying to erase your touch, your smell, the taste of your lips... I'm here for you. For this."
Aurora moved her face closer to Klaus', testing to see how he reacted, and when he didn't move, she slowly and carefully kissed him on the lips. It was a familiar feeling, one that was oddly comforting to him. He had never been certain if he was in love with her, that had been the real thing he had contemplated for the last thousand years if he thought about her. After all, his first love had just killed herself, and Aurora had reminded him of her and had provided welcome comfort in his grief. Moreover, she had understood his demons more than he expected, but now, all his mind could turn to was another brunette, one he knew he loved more than he had ever loved another before.
When the two of them pulled away from the kiss, Klaus suddenly grew angry and frustrated as he recalled their last meeting. While he wasn't sure how much in love he had been with her, but her words had deeply stung him and he might have never had to deal with loosing Andrea Gilbert if he had been devoted to the redhead before him now. Angry, he vamp-sped them over to the nearby doorway and slammed Aurora face-first into it.
"And I am certain you have thought about how we could've been a great love story, didn't you? Perhaps you've forgotten why we weren't," Klaus said, venom in his words.
"Oh, I remember quite well. The night you left without me, you didn't even bother to look back."
"Run away with you? Leave my brother, this house?" Aurora questioned, her brow furrowed. Klaus had asked her to run away with his family before Mikael could track them.
"The world is bigger than this house! Let me show you," Klaus said, not wanting to lose the one person who had helped him cope with his grief. He wasn't certain what tomorrow would bring, but even if in a few years they found their love was not as strong, at least they had some happiness with one another for a time.
The redhead frowned at him. "How? As we hide, fleeing your brute of a father? Always on the run, living like dogs? I think not."
Klaus, stunned and hurt by this reaction, guessed what has changed her mind. "Your brother has turned you from me."
"No. I turned from you because I do not love you! I... I thought I did, but it's as if I see you clearly for the first time, and I find you a cruel, wretched thing. Pathetic, really, and unworthy of anyone's love, let alone mine," Every word Aurora spoke just stung Klaus more until he was gaping at her in shock as tears filled his eyes.
"You don't mean that."
Aurora spoke angrily. "After all, your own mother turned against you. If she who gave you life could come to loathe you and then be snuffed out by your own hand, what hope is there for you?"
Klaus looked at her with tears in his eyes, her words reminding him of others from not that long ago. "You are breaking my heart... And you swore you would never speak of this."
"I owe you nothing. We are not alike, and I could never love you."
Klaus had backed away from her and was scowling at his old lover. "You know, you should count yourself lucky. In a thousand years, only one other has talked to me that way and lived."
"Yes, I was rather cruel, wasn't I? Some might say uncharacteristically so," Aurora said, the bitterness seeping into her words.
Klaus looked back, annoyed and uncertain where this was going. "What are you getting at?"
"I was not the architect of our heartbreak. In the moments before you asked me to flee with you, I saw your brother..."
"Where are you going?" Aurora asked, confused as she approached a frantic Elijah rushing past her. She was barely able to step in his way to grab his attention.
"Father is coming. We have to flee," Elijah answered, going to walk around her, but she turned and followed after him.
"Well, then I will come with you!"
Elijah was quick to shake his head. "No. No, his curse is ours and ours alone to bear."
Aurora looked back, hurt. "But I am like you now."
"You are not our blood," Elijah said firmly, turning around to face her again.
"What difference does blood make? All this talk of your sacred family bond, when I know things about Nik that you never will, even that which weighs heaviest on his heart," Aurora countered, causing Elijah to look back in surprise.
"I told him I wouldn't betray you, and that true love transcends blood, but he wouldn't listen. He just had one question."
"What could you possibly know about my brother that I do not? What, precisely, did my brother say to you?" When a clearly anxious Aurora remained silent, Elijah lunged forward and stared her in the eyes, unknowingly compelling her in the process. "Speak!"
Aurora was so upset by this confession that she started to cry, and turned her back to Klaus. "And so you told him," He realized.
"I couldn't stop the words flying out of my mouth—words I swore I would never tell to another living soul, about how you killed your mother and blamed your father, and you had to lie to them so that they would flee with you."
After Aurora told Klaus' secret, Elijah looked appalled and devastated by what he had just learned. "He... He killed our... mother? Niklaus?"
Aurora, realizing what she had just done, began to cry. "Why did I tell you? I swore I would keep his secret."
Elijah was so distracted by processing this new information that he wasn't paying attention to Aurora. "So, he... he lied to me. He's lied to us all," He muttered, feeling distraught and heartbroken.
"And yet, I love him in spite of it."
Elijah, now furious, once again lunged toward Aurora. "He does not deserve your love!" He stared her in the eyes, this time compelling her on a more conscious level, while Aurora was powerless to stop it. "You listen to me. You must only see him as the wretched, deceitful monster that he truly is."
Aurora, dazed, repeated his statement in a confused voice. "I see him as the monster that he is."
Aurora finished up her story for Klaus, who was horrified by the revelation of Elijah's secret. "When you came to see me not minutes later, begging me to go with you, I could not say yes. I had been compelled otherwise. I believe it was the first time he experienced the ability to compel, and when he understood what he did, he did not come and undo it."
Klaus looked back, stunned. "So, that's it? Elijah's secret?"
"Yes. You made him suffer the loss of a mother, and this was his revenge," Aurora said. Klaus had been unable to help the tears in his eyes. The two of them stared at one another, both contemplating their lost time. He could have missed out on so much had Elijah not compelled Aurora. He would have never had to see Andrea Gilbert fall in love with his brother. Or, if he had, he wouldn't have cared.
"Klaus," He turned, surprised to hear the familiar voice. Andy stood there in the doorway, her gaze on him and looking confused before she looked over at Aurora, whose expression had darkened considerably. "She's trying to turn you against him."
"This doesn't concern you, Andy. Leave," Klaus said thickly, turning his back to her to look back at Aurora.
"No," Andy said firmly. "We don't know who she's working with. For all we know, this could be a trap."
"I have known Klaus far longer than you," Aurora said, her blue eyes filled with venom as she looked over at Andy. "And would sooner hurt myself than him."
"From what I just heard, that's not quite true," Andy shot back.
"Do not presume to know me. Last I checked, I was compelled to leave him, while you did it of your own choice, and ran straight into the arms of the very man who has caused all of this pain," Aurora exclaimed.
Klaus looked at Aurora angrily as he changed the topic back to their original. "You've had a thousand years to tell me of Elijah's betrayal. Why now?"
Aurora looked back to Klaus, though she was still tense "Well, there's never been a prophecy witch spelling all our doom until now."
Klaus regarded her suspiciously. "What do you know of her?"
"I know I killed her," Aurora said, walking past him as she continued, stopping at another table and briefly throwing the doppelganger a scowl. "My brother told me of her prophecy, but I needed to see her for myself. And what did she show me? The clan Mikaelson destroyed, including my sire. And I believed her. But, a dangerous toy in dangerous hands must be removed, so I poisoned her. And now, I'm going to change the future she saw."
Klaus growled. "By turning me against the only brother I have left."
"The prophecy said that you would fall by friend, by foe, and by family. Have you thought of who that family might be? 'Cause it might just be the one closest to you or the one closest to him," Aurora said, turning back to face him as he glared at her angrily. "I've given you much to think about," She walked toward Klaus and tugged on the lapels of his jacket. "I'll leave you to work through—"
Klaus angrily vamp-sped toward Aurora and shoved her against the shelf behind her, pinning her there by the arms. However, Aurora remained calm. "Go to Elijah. Ask him yourself. I suspect you know what you will find..." Aurora ran her hands over Klaus' chest and under his coat. Klaus' eyes widened, and he gulped nervously as he backed away from her touch. He hadn't expected her to touch him like that.
"And, when you do, come find me. See who's really on your side." Aurora vamp-sped away before Klaus could respond, leaving him stunned and confused.
"Klaus," Andy's voice snapped him out of his reverie. He turned to face her, his expression darkening. "I know that expression. Your anger, it's justified, but please, think—"
"Think?! Do you think my brother thought when he separated me from the very person who kept me holding on after Anastasia's death?" Klaus demanded. "Do you know how hard it was? To pretend as if I was the one who killed Anastasia's parents? Elijah spoke to me but it was different. We were all different. Aurora was there when my siblings became distant.
Andy approached him cautiously. "I understand she means a lot to you, but you know now is not the time to be divided. Elijah would never—"
"Never what? Hurt me? After all, he's taken almost every single one of my loves just as I have his," Klaus pointed out. "Had he not taken Aurora, I would have never fallen in love with you, and my life would be much happier right now."
Andy actually looked taken aback for a moment, something he hadn't expected, but appreciated that she was actually showing some emotion other than hate and anger toward him. Still, she sighed and shook her head. "And then you would have never had Hope. Remember that," She said, turning to walk out. However, she looked back at him with a frown. "Elijah didn't take me from you, Klaus. I left because of you."
Jackson and Hayley had brought Van into the tomb to see a still-stressed Davina after he had been found with a few other witches performing a spell to hurt the Regent. Van yanked himself out of their grip and shouted at Davina. "You've already taken everything away from me, so go ahead! Kill me! Get it over with!"
Davina stared at him calmly, though she didn't seem happy about this. "You tried to murder a Regent, by which law you should be hanged."
Van scoffed. "Murder? Is that the first place your mind goes? Do you even know what I was using to attack you?" Jackson, who had the poppet in his hands, walked over and handed it to Davina, who immediately realized what it was and looked ashamed for her mistake.
"This isn't to kill me."
"It's a figure veritas. Stab it in the heart, and the victim must confess their darkest truths," Van explained, a dark expression on his face.
Davina replied sadly, looking back up at him. "You wanted me to admit what I did to your mom so I'd be shunned."
He shrugged. "Maybe I'd rather see you dead, but at least that would be justice."
The Regent sighed. "Look, she's the one who attacked me. She wanted a mutiny, and if that happens, what's next? An all-out witch war to decide the next Regent? How many people will die then?"
Van scoffed once again. "So you think the covens are better off with you?"
"I do. I've seen things done the old way. I've done things the old way. And it doesn't work. If you don't want peace, then fine. Go. You're free. But, I'm asking you... Please stay. We can work together. We can change things." Van stared at her for a long moment before he turned and left the tomb without another word. Davina looked disappointed, but both Jackson and Hayley seemed impressed by Davina's desire to lead the witches in a new, peaceful direction.
Elijah was in the middle of leaving Klaus yet another message as he paces around the hallway outside of the courtyard. "Niklaus, would you kindly return my call?" As he hung up the phone, Marcel walked into the hallway, and Elijah didn't even have to turn around to know he was there. The vampire had spent the last few hours investigating who Tristan was working with. "Marcellus. Talk to me."
Marcel sighed. "Yep. We got a problem," He said. Elijah, bracing for bad news, turned to face Marcel as he continued what he had learned. "My guy stayed on Tristan's tail all day. Followed him to this place called the Candide Royale. He goes in, never comes out. So, he's obviously using it as a way to get to somewhere."
"How and where?"
"The building has hidden passageways leading out the back. Now, bootleggers used them in the '20s to run booze to a secret storehouse on Dauphine, and you'll never guess who just bought that storehouse," Marcel explained. Elijah shook his head once, so Marcel answered his own question. "Kingmaker Land Development, owned by one Lucien Castle. Now, that sure as hell isn't a coincidence." Elijah was stunned by this information as he brainstormed the implications. "Either they're brokering some kind of truce..."
"...Or, they've been working together the whole time."
Hayley was sitting on a bench outside of the tomb when Davina walked out of it with a small, sweet smile. "Happy witch day, or whatever this is..." She said to the young witch as she gestured around with her beer bottle before taking a gulp from it.
Davina giggled in amusement. "Hayley, I wanted to thank you."
"For what? The free fashion advice?" Hayley teased, causing the two women to laugh happily.
"You were right. Since I became Regent, I've tried to control everything and everyone. But, that's not me. I don't want to be that person anymore," Davina said before turning and quickly walking back into the tomb, grabbing the lit candle infused with Hayley's hair and blood before returning to keep talking to her. Hayley looked at her warily but said nothing. "I asked the Ancestors to give me the magic to lift your curse. Since it's Cadeau..." She concentrated on the candle before blowing it out, causing Hayley to gasp in fear for a moment, and a smile curved at Davina's lips. "They granted it."
Hayley looked both surprised and touched by this gift, and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized she wouldn't be forced back into wolf form. "Huh."
"Keeping you a slave seems like something the older generation would do," Davina explained as she sat down next to Hayley and handed her the candle. "I'd rather have you as a friend." Hayley smiled widely, thrilled by this gift, and Davina smiled back at her happily.
"Thank you, Davina," Hayley said. "I hate to dash but…"
Davina smiled. "It's alright. You've helped me enough tonight. Thank you, Hayley."
Hayley was smiling back as well as she turned to leave, but something stopped her. She turned to face the young witch again. "Hey, I don't want to make it sound like I'm overstepping my bounds, but you mentioned earlier you're the last one Andy wants to talk to. I think it's the opposite. Maybe you could give her a call sometime? She'd never turn you away, Davina. You know she wouldn't."
Davina gave a weak nod, her smile faltering. "Thank you, Hayley. Maybe I will."
Klaus had finally returned home after ensuring that Aurora had left the area. As he walked in, he found Elijah was in the courtyard, having a drink at the bar. He took a large gulp of bourbon before he addressed Klaus.
"She told you. How convenient, to voice this ancient grievance in the very moment we need to stand united against our enemies," Elijah said quietly.
"You speak to me of enemies when the greatest traitor of my life stands before me," Klaus said, his voice full of anger and bitterness.
Elijah slid his drink toward the right end of the bar, and as soon as he turned to face Klaus, Klaus vamp-sped toward him, shoving him into the bar and knocking it and all of the bottles and glasses on top of it over. The glass shattered into fragments, and the wooden bar was smashed into pieces as Klaus quickly stood to his feet and kicked Elijah in the chest as he tried to get up. Once Elijah was upright, Klaus punched him hard in the face, but Elijah recovered quickly and grabbed Klaus' shoulders in his hands before head-butting him. Klaus angrily shoved Elijah into one of the balcony's support beams, but Elijah responded by shoving Klaus backward just as hard and punching Klaus in the jaw so hard that he spun and fell to his knees. While Klaus was recovering, Elijah grabbed him by the back of the coat and tossed him into the coffee table, which he smashed as he slid across it. Elijah glared at Klaus as he unbuttoned his jacket in preparation for more fighting. Klaus stood to his feet and scowled at Elijah.
"What you did to Aurora, to me—you set my course!" Klaus yelled.
Elijah pointed at Klaus for emphasis as he argued his side. "I protected you! I protected our family. Aurora was the sister of a lunatic and a powerful lunatic at that! Father was in pursuit. What was I supposed to do, Niklaus? And despite every one of your despicable deeds, I alone have always stood by you."
Klaus scoffed in response. "And why is that? Guilt," Elijah glared at him angrily for this accusation. "You knew that your secret betrayal was the cause of everything I became!"
Klaus furiously lunged for Elijah and punched him in the face, only for Elijah to immediately swing his right leg and kick Klaus so hard in the chest he was pushed backward. When Klaus vamp-sped toward him, Elijah held out his arm, keeping Klaus at arm's length so he could come no closer. However, Klaus simply let his hybrid face and fangs out and bit Elijah on the forearm, causing Elijah to roar in pain.
Elijah let go of Klaus, allowing him to punch him in the face with a right cross before kicking him in the chin and vamp-speeding around to hold Elijah in a head-lock, which Elijah slipped out of with vampire speed before elbowing Klaus in the face and throwing him across the room and into the far wall.
"All this blame!" Elijah shouted furiously. Klaus, scowling, stood to his feet in front of the wall that he dented when his body flew into it. "Will you ever look at yourself? I have carried you for centuries, Niklaus. No more! You want a fight? So be it."
~ * • ° • ° • * ~
