A/N: This is the chapter I posted at the end of July on - , it's been available publicly since August 1st but I suddenly remembered I never posted it on here, probably because I found it too short at the time and thought I'd write more for this chapter, but since I haven't been able to write anything in months, I thought I'd at least post this now. Do not expect an update any time soon. Asking me to update is pointless. Thank you for your patience and I hope you'll like it! Feedback is always appreciated and motivating.

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Elijah woke up in an empty bed, to his concern, yet again. The dim light of the moon poorly lit the bedroom he shared with Mackenzie who barely slept there anymore. Or at least not during the night. He had noticed how she slipped away after midnight when he was asleep, to lock herself in the downstairs office, rummaging through old grimoires she didn't understand.

Elijah sighed, concern running through his veins, before he got out of his bed. He walked across the quiet and dark plantation house, its inhabitants and guests sleeping soundly at this late hour. Every step he took blindly, as the moonlight barely showed him the way. But he knew this house. He had lived there long enough, even if it were centuries ago, he had walked down that path before, countless of times, in complete darkness, helped by his supernatural senses, but mostly by his deep knowledge and connection to the place. When he reached the office, he found Mackenzie sitting on the floor, surrounded by opened grimoires and paper rolls, dictionaries scattered among them.

He could see in her eyes she had wished he wouldn't have found her here, and all he wished was for her to be honest with him. Which she hadn't been, ever, every time he asked her about what she was doing there, in the middle of the night.

"If you show me the book, I'm sure I can translate it for you."

"Heidi says I need to learn for myself."

"I can teach you."

"It's two in the morning, 'lijah, I didn't want to wake you."

"Then ask me tomorrow."

She paused briefly, no doubt looking for another excuse, then, as she found it, looked away.

"I've already asked Olivia to help me."

"With what?"

"I just… I just want to know what kind of power I have here. What kind of world wrecking spells are hidden in my mom's grimoires, in Margo's… in your mother's…"

"Why do you need a world wrecking spell, Mackenzie?"

She scoffs. "With your family… I just want to be prepared. To protect us."

"Us?"

"Hayley, you… me."

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid of anything, 'lijah. I'm just curious."

"Can you be curious once the sun is up? You need sleep."

She sighed, and for a second it seemed like she was going to protest, but instead, she closed the dictionary resting on her lap and as she got up, all the books and parchments made their way from the carpet back to Mackenzie's mother's chest. She dropped the dictionary on Klaus' desk, then turned around and took the hand he was holding out to her. He brought her to his chest and placed a kiss in her hair.

"You know you can tell me anything," he whispered, a hint of sadness in his voice.

"I know, 'lijah. I promise you, everything is fine."

And even though he knew she was hiding something, he believed her all the same.

Klaus was furious. He could never hide it. Mackenzie saw it on his face. His silence was telling enough. Mikaelsons and guests were gathered in the dining room for breakfast, and Hayley, although confused over the unexpected arrival of Mackenzie's friends, welcomed the newly found positive attention that they brought with them. She didn't question it when they mentioned the oracles and their visions about her miracle baby, and when the witch Felicity told her she was carrying a girl, she glanced at Klaus, who seemed happy to hear it. Or perhaps, she thought he did.

But of course, everybody was having too good a time for his taste, and he obviously had to ruin it.

"So, where are you from again?" he asked, uttering his first words of the day.

"Germany," Oliver replied as he cut a piece of pancake with his fork.

"Right, and who's Margo?"

"My mother," Olivia answered.

"Your mother, the Queen of Germany?"

She smirked back at him as she brought her cup of tea to her lips.

"It's a long story, Niklaus."

"Well, I have all day, Elijah."

"Concern yourself with your lost kingdom," Olivia told the wolf, "before you lose it forever."

"Is that a threat?" he hissed, losing all semblance of diplomacy.

"Only advice," she shrugged before she finished her cup of tea. "Mackenzie, shall we?"

The elemental nodded as she stood up from her chair and led the princess to the study.

"What are they plotting?" Klaus asked his brother, who didn't seem too happy.

"Nothing you should be concerned about."

"But something that worries you?" he said in a mocking tone, "trouble in paradise already, brother?"

"Olivia has a lot to teach her."

Klaus scoffed as he got up, throwing his napkin on his untouched plate.

"What can a witch teach an ultimate?"

"The spell you are looking for… is rare. Very few people have found it, even less have managed to do it."

"But Heidi's found it?"

"Heidi said she had a lead. She's been looking for a long time, you know. Centuries. It was Alex' idea."

"I'm sure it was," Mackenzie mumbled. "Look at all those books, those… grimoires. There must be at least one of them that has it!"

"These are only dark spells," Olivia said as she put the grimoires her mother had gifted Mackenzie down on the desk. "Will make you even more dangerous than you already are once you know them."

"I don't want to know them," Mackenzie told her as she kept looking through the old paper rolls, "I'm dangerous enough."

"You can never be too dangerous. Especially when you're supposed to be the strongest creature on earth."

"I wish people would stop reminding me that."

"If it makes you feel better, there's a debate at court about it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, take Pandora for example. I've met her once. And Ambrosia. They're scary. And they're friendly with us. I can't imagine having them as enemies."

"But you can imagine having me as your enemy?"

Olivia chuckled. "You have a good heart, Mackenzie. Therefore, not scary."

"Don't they have a good heart? The sisters?"

The witch paused. "They're old. Like… really old. They've been through… a lot. I don't think they have any heart left at all…"

"Maybe they've just turned their humanity off…"

"Vampires can do that, because they're not, de facto, human."

"Neither are they."

"I suppose you're right."

"Doesn't your mother know that spell?"

"If she did, she'd have told me. She never needed it, so she never looked for it."

"Well then, I'll have to make it myself."

Olivia raised an eyebrow. "You? Make a spell? That spell? You wouldn't know where to begin."

"Would you? Would Lizzie, would Heidi?"

Liv sighed. "If Heidi could, she'd have done it already. Lizzie's never gonna need it… I… I mean… it could be interesting to work on… but…"

"We could at least try."

"You've never made a spell, and you want to start with that?"

"I never needed any other spell. I'm not…" she stopped herself. "I'm an elemental. I use the elements. Witchcraft… is harder for me."

The witch pondered the matter for a few seconds. Mackenzie knew she couldn't do it without help, and Heidi would never stick around New-Orleans to help her even if she wanted to. Olivia was probably her only hope.

"Fine then. I do like a good challenge. And it would be interesting to work on."

Mackenzie sighed in relief as her lips uncontrollably turned into a smile.

"But you do realise… what you're asking for may be impossible."

"You said it's been done before."

"By witches far more powerful and clever than I am."

"Where does all this modesty come from?" Mackenzie asked, sounding amused.

"I just don't want to get your hopes up. I want to help you, I just can not promise you that I can."

Mackenzie nodded, as if she understood, but she was young, and so were her hopes, and her eyes shone with unflinching determination.

The study was probably the coolest room in the house in this hot afternoon of June. Mackenzie's body could never get too hot or too cold, but when Olivia started to complain about the New-Orleans' heat, to which she was not accustomed, the elemental made sure her powers would benefit the witch as well.

They were sitting on the armchairs, the sage still burning on the table between them. Notepad in hand, Olivia took notes as they theorised about the best way to achieve their goal. What kind of ingredients they would need, what were the most powerful symbols, what other spells could they use as model or stepping stone to the one they were trying to create.

As she listened to Olivia carefully, Mackenzie tried to learn as much as possible about how the witch went about creating a new spell. Most things she already knew from Heidi, some of the lessons she had been given in the Forest suddenly becoming crucially useful, as her god-mother had promised.

Olivia went on and on about all of the things that could work, but also all of the reasons why they wouldn't, and the two young women fell into a spiral of confusion that left them both with a migraine.

It didn't help when Klaus stormed into the study, breaking the door open, startling them both.

"Where is she?" he hissed, directing all of his fury towards Olivia who remained impassive.

"You know doors have handles right?" Mackenzie said as she pointed at the door now on its way down to the floor.

"Where is Hayley?!"

"Relax," Olivia sighed without even trying to hide her annoyance, "she's with Olivier and Lizzie. They went for a walk."

"And who gave them permission?" he asked as he took a menacing step towards the witch.

"Permission?" Olivia mocked. "Who needs permission? We're all adults here."

"She's carrying my child!"

"It's also her child, you seem to forget that a lot."

"I invite you into my house…"

"Your brother invited us. It is his house as well, isn't it?"

"Don't worry, Klaus. Lizzie's a powerful witch, Hayley's perfectly safe."

"And where, may I know, did they go?"

"I don't know," Mackenzie shrugged, "don't worry, they'll be back before nightfall."

"If anything happens to her…"

"You'll kill us, we get it," Olivia cut him off as she rose from her seat. "Let's go, Mack. Some fresh air might do us some good as well."

Mackenzie gave a reproving look as she walked pass the hybrid, his anger growing stronger by the second. And as he was left alone to think about the petty and cruel punishment he would most certainly be reserving to them, the New-Orleans' heat finally reached the study.

"This place is not so bad," Olivia said as she fanned herself with a hand, as she walked down the streets of New-Orleans, side by side with the elemental.

Mackenzie chuckled. "Elijah would have a heart attack if he could, if he knew I was in the Quarter without him."

"Well, you're not alone. And you're more than capable of taking care of yourself."

"Well you know that, and I know that… he just… worries."

"Can you blame him though? Can't even imagine what his brother has put him through for the past thousand years."

Mackenzie didn't reply. She had heard enough from Elijah to imagine the worse. Understood why he was so worried to lose her, as he had lost everyone before.

"So where are you taking me, anyway?"

"Lizzie and I felt powerful magic the other day. We've been trying to follow it, but this place has magic all around. That's what happens when you practice Ancestral Magic," she scoffed.

"You don't like it?"

"It's asinine. All for the promise of more power. But in the end, you are trapping yourself and your magic in one place. Such a fragile system. Ends up making the whole coven weaker."

"Well, they can't change it now, can they?"

"Sure, they could, if they wanted to. Most places in Europe have already. The youth overpowered the elders and their silly traditions."

"What kind of traditions?"

"Different places, different names. It's always about getting more power though. You give to the ancestors so they can give back, their magic stronger than ever."

"Does it work?"

"In principle, yes. But when there is tension in the air, it corrupts the magic."

"Corrupts it how?"

"Instead of making the community stronger, it gives the ancestors more power to act from their graves."

"Like… coming back to life?"

"Well maybe if you screw up enough," Liv chuckles. "Here we are."

Mackenzie looked around as they stopped at an intersection and gave her friend a confused look.

"That's the furthest Lizzie and I got. From there it just all fades together."

"And you want me to…?"

"Follow the magic."

Mackenzie breathed out a laugh. Of course. Like a bear going after honey.

"Fine," she sighed before taking a deep breath.

She felt the witches' magic all around, probably exactly what Liv and Lizzie felt, but unlike them, she could take it all apart, like strings, each leading to their own magical source. All she had to do was find the biggest, strongest string among them and follow it to its source. She had to admit, Liv's curiosity amused her and she too wanted to find out where that string led.

"This way."

The path was clear, like a beacon in the darkest of nights, and it wasn't hard for Mackenzie to walk down it. To their surprise, it led them to a small church and the great power emanating from it intimidated Mackenzie.

"I hate witches," she said, shivering at the memory of the abandoned house where Elena and Damon had taken her once.

Olivia raised an eyebrow at her.

"No offence."

"None taken," she said, amused, as she opened the church's doors.

"Don't tell Heidi I said that!" she begged as she followed her inside, and the empty church resonated with the witch's laughter.

The place seemed ordinary. Just a normal church, lacking a priest. It wouldn't raise any suspicions to anyone but those who could feel the abnormal amount of power coming from the attic. Liv found the stairs first. She was as curious as Mackenzie was worried.

"Shall we?" she asked as she showed her new discovery.

"If we must," Mackenzie nodded with a resigned sigh.

She wondered who they were going to find up there. Maybe an old witch, an elder of the French Quarter Coven, hiding from Marcel because too powerful to be allowed to live. Or maybe just a loner, a hermit, someone who wanted nothing to do with either the witches or the vampires. How would she or he react to visitors?

The stairs led to a small hallway, an old and dirty window barely allowed any light to filter through. The floor was covered in dust which showed footsteps, too big to be a woman's. Olivia and Mackenzie shared one last look before the princess knocked on the door. The lack of answer meant whoever was hiding behind it definitely did not want to be disturbed. Not that it would stop the witch, who pushed the door open.

The door squeaked as it slowly opened, giving view to what seemed to be a bedroom. Standing at the end of the small room, before her bed, was a teenage girl who couldn't be older than sixteen. Mackenzie and Olivia looked at her with surprise. The little witch seemed scared and worried, like she had just been caught with a hand in the cookie jar.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Who are you?" Mackenzie echoed.

"You're witches."

"So are you," Liv scoffed.

"If you hurt me, Marcel will kill you!"

Mackenzie raised an eyebrow. She ignored the threat, the implication was more important. She looked up at Olivia who had the same look on her face.

"Well I think we found that secret weapon all the fuss is about."

"She's just a kid," Mackenzie breathed out, speechless. "Why are you helping him?"

"Who are you?"

"Bossy," Liv complained. "And what power… she's way too strong for her age."

"You have no idea."

The girl stretched out her arm and a strong wind appeared, books and paintings fell over as the whole building started to shake.

"Cute," Liv rolled her eyes before she waved a hand and the girl fell unconscious on the floor.

"Well that was weird."

"So much power in such a young and undisciplined body… that's a recipe for catastrophe. Should we take her with us?"

"And what? Bring her home to Klaus? No way."

"We can't leave her here."

"Why not? At least we know where she is."

Olivia thought about it for a second, then shrugged.

"Very well. I'll make her forget we were even here, then. That way she won't tattle to her King."

"We can't tell Klaus about her. He'll want her power for himself. She'll refuse, and she'll end up dead."

"Without a doubt. What do we do, then?"

"I'll tell Elijah. He can do what he wants with the information. Klaus wants to take back New-Orleans from Marcel, he's getting impatient, he's going to become even more unbearable than he already is."

"Can't wait…"

"Honestly, if it weren't for Hayley and the baby, I'd already be out of this place."

"See, I told you you had a good heart."

"You say that like you disapprove."

"If I were you, I'd have taken Hayley to the Forest already and leave the hybrid alone and miserable."

"He'd find us and kill us all."

"Or you could just… get rid of him."

Mackenzie scoffed. "Mmh, and then what? Elijah would hate me for it."

"I'm not certain that he would."

"Well, I'd hate me for it."