CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:

KLAUS P.O.V.

"Is it okay if I stay here tonight?" Caroline asked, snuggling in closer to me with her head in the crook of my neck. We had been sitting and discussing some boundaries that I felt needed to be set now that there was a threat of an attack. Nothing too controlling, just basic 'stay safe' guidelines so that she wouldn't get hurt.

"Of course, Sweetheart. Any time you want to stay, you can stay." I said, wrapping my arm around her and pulling her even closer into the side. Well, as close as our sitting position would allow.

"Okay, thanks. It's just that Katherine is staying here too, and I don't really want to drive all the way to Nadia's when I'll just be back here early in the morning anyway."

"You don't have to explain yourself to me Caroline."

"I know I don't have to explain myself to you Nik, but it doesn't mean that I don't want to explain myself." She said, pulling back to smile up at me.

I smiled down at her and leant down to press my lips gently to hers. She wrapped her arm around my neck and pulled me closer. "You're beautiful."

She let out a small laugh. "I know."

#

KATHERINE P.O.V.

(The next day)

"I've tracked Ysabeau down. She's staying at a hotel across town." I said, stepping into the room to interrupt whatever Klaus and Caroline had been discussing. They pulled apart and both glared across at me. "Don't look at me like that. We have more pressing matters to discuss than you guys sticking your tongues down each other's throats. I mean, you spend two nights together and BAM you're all over each other."

Klaus rolled his eyes and wrapped his arm around Caroline's shoulder. "Just get on with it Katherine."

"I'm going to go and see her late tonight. It shouldn't be too hard for me to sneak into the hotel where she's staying. I can sneak in, ask her the questions that we've discussed, and then I can be back here before you even know I'm gone."

Caroline pulled away from Klaus' arm and reached forward for a glass of water that sat on the coffee table. She sat back up and smiled at me. "Are you sure you'll be okay going alone?"

"Of course. I've done this a million times. It'll be a piece of cake."

#

I easily stole the spare key to Ysabeau's room from the main office, sneaking unseen up the stairs and to her door. I could hear her moving around inside, the TV playing quietly in the background. I inserted the key into the door, silently turning it and then opened the door.

Ysabeau spun around and shot a burst of fire in my direction, which I simply dodged. Shock filled her eyes as she saw me standing in the doorway. She got out of her offensive stance and looked around the room, trying to figure out what to do.

"You look scared Ysabeau. Why would I want to hurt you?" I said, stepping into the room and pushing the door shut behind me. "It's not like you've, I don't know, blown up a building or anything?"

He face dropped and she ran her fingers through her platinum hair. "I knew you saw me the other night. I knew you would put the pieces together. I told Andre that his plan was stupid, but he wouldn't let it go."

"So you did help him blow up the club." I growled, stepping even closer towards her. "You do realise the innocent people died in that explosion?"

She looked sad, sitting down on the edge of the bed and resting her face in her hand. "I wasn't a part of the actual explosion. Andre told us that there wouldn't be that many people there, and the people who were there were killers. But I knew as soon as I saw how many people were there, that it was wrong."

"I've known you and your coven for centuries. I'm well aware of your moral code, but that doesn't change you're history of guns for hire. In fact, you've never needlessly attacked anyone. Ever. Why start now?" I said, still standing several feet in front of her, not moving any closer as she spoke. "And why help Andre? What was he trying to achieve by attacking Marcel?"

She looked confused for a moment, straightening up and inching closer to the edge of the bed, her bum barely sitting on the mattress. "Who's Marcel? We were attacking a party thrown by Klaus Mikaelson. And he's definitely not innocent."

I raised one eyebrow at her, crossing my arms over my chest. "Klaus wasn't even at the party. That party was a celebration for the vampires of New Orleans, thrown by the person currently running the city…Marcel Gerard."

Ysabeau shook her head, tears springing to her eyes. "That's not what Andre told us. He told us that Klaus was throwing a party with all of the vampires living under him. We were attacking them because they were all in one place, and it would be easier than attacking them all separately."

"But why? I understand that Klaus is an evil son of a bitch, but why would you travel halfway across the world just to attack a party? Klaus can't be killed. And from what Klaus has said, Andre is one of his friends not an enemy."

Ysabeau pulled at the bottom of her shirt, looking down at her lap. "Andre came to our village last year, introduced himself and told us that he needed a place to lay low for a while. Igor let him stay and they grew close. Andre told us this whole story of how he had had enough of Klaus' 'evil ways' and he didn't want to be a part of it anymore. He told us that because of that disagreement, he was on the run."

"Well, that was a lie. Andre was in Klaus home last week, acting as if they were friends." I snickered. "If Andre and Klaus had a disagreement, Klaus isn't aware of it."

"That's not all. He told us that after all he and Klaus had been through, he couldn't sit by and let him ruin anyone else's lives."

"What does that mean?"

She sighed, wiping tears that leaked out of her eyes. "He told us that Klaus had murdered his one true love. A witch in 1492, called Elizabeth. She worked for Klaus, and then went against his word. He slaughtered her like an animal, and Andre stayed loyal to Klaus that whole time."

My mind raced. That story didn't sound as much like a lie as the other story he had spun. And the name Elizabeth sounded familiar, and not just because it was a really common name. Thinking back to my time in London back in 1492 I remembered a witch that was working for the Mikaelson family. She was the one who was supposed to perform the sacrifice on me. The one who had gotten so guilty that she had ended up telling me there was going to be a sacrifice.

I let a smile pull at my lips. We got him.

"Thank you for your help, Ysabeau." I said, turning around and heading towards the door.

"What?" She called, stopping me in my tracks. "You don't want to know anything else?"

"I now know why Andre attacked Marcel, as well as how. That's all I needed to know. Unless there was something else you wanted to say?"

She shook her head, still looking troubled.

I took a deep breath in and gave her an encouraging smile. "It's not your fault that those people are dead. You didn't know that Andre was setting you up. I mean, if it wasn't for me seeing Andre talking to Igor outside the club, Marcel probably would have slaughtered your whole coven by now."

I left it at that, turning back around and walking easily out of the hotel and back to my car.

My mind continued to race on the way back to the house. Andre had been with the witch that had saved my life. Sometimes life was just too funny. It made sense though. If Andre had been with the witch at the time she had betrayed Klaus, I doubted that Klaus wouldn't have cared, or even known. And I had no doubt that Klaus would have slaughtered her the moment he discovered her betrayal.

And now, hundreds of years later, Andre was ready for revenge. Of course, it didn't make sense that he would wait this long, but I suppose the saying is 'revenge is a dish best served cold'. Klaus wouldn't expect Andre to attack five hundred years later.

I pulled up next to Klaus' car at the house, strutting into the house with a smile on my face. I wasn't surprised to find everyone, including Marcel, sitting in the front lounge room, the room where we all naturally gathered.

Everyone looked up as I entered, and a smile matching my own made its way onto Klaus' face. "I'm guessing from the look on your face, that you were successful?"

"Did you doubt me?" I said, leaning against the doorway. "Does the name Elizabeth Parson ring a bell?"

Klaus drew his brows together, looking confused for a moment before he shook his head. "No. Why?"

"Well, it should. It's the reason that Andre wants your head on a stick."

"Who is she?" Elijah said, sitting straighter in his usual chair, placing his current book down on the arm of the chair.

"The witch that Andre was fucking 500 years ago. She also happens to be the witch that warned me that you were planning on killing me in the sacrifice." I pushed off of the wall and walked further into the room, stopping by the window that looked out onto the city. You could see all of the lights off into the distance. "Apparently Andre was quite attached. And now he wants to get revenge for you killing the witch."

Klaus looked thoughtful for a second before he let out a small laugh. He pulled himself away from Caroline and pushed himself up from the couch. He didn't speak as he ran from the room. I looked at Elijah questioningly.

A moment later, Klaus reappeared with a bundle of papers and envelopes in his hand. "He threw them through the air to my ready hands. I looked down at the papers, untying them and looking at the name on the front of one of the Envelopes…Elizabeth Parson. Opening the first letter, I read over the neat handwriting. A love letter from Andre to Elizabeth.

"Where did you get these?" I asked, flicking through the pile.

"Her bedrooms. Back then I didn't always remember all of the people I killed. So, with the women, I liked to take their love letters. It kept a nice record. Kind of like how Stefan kept a log of names written on a wall in the 20's when he was in full ripper mode."

"That's disgusting." Caroline muttered, standing up from the couch and snatching the letters from me. "These are peoples personal thoughts and feelings, and you just took them like some sort of trophy."

"Sweetheart, I'm fairly certain I've never hidden how much of an evil bastard I am. Yes, I used to keep the letters of my old victims, but I stopped doing that centuries ago."

Caroline still kept holding the letters, glaring down at Klaus. "So what, you plan to use these against Andre?"

"These letters," I started, stepping forward to snatch them back, "are going to give us some insight into Elizabeth and Andre's relationship, as well as a point of leverage against him. He wants the whole Mikaelson family dead, and it's clear that he doesn't care who he kills on the way. In fact, Ysabeau told me that their coven didn't even know that they were attacking Marcel the other day. Andre told them that it was going to be a small party hosted the Mikaelson family, just for their most inner circle."

Klaus looked at me with wide eyes. "He tricked the whole coven into attacking the party."

"If I had to guess, I'd say that he wanted them to take the fall for it happening. He doesn't know that we know he's the one behind it. He probably expects Marcel to get rid of the coven before anyone knows of his involvement."

"So what's the plan?" Marcel says, leaning back in his chair to look me in the eye.

"The plan?" I say, letting a smirk pull at my lips. "Andre has been wanting to catch up since he knew I was here. I'll just play on that. And I'll get amusement out of watching his face fall as he realises that he's not as smart of he thinks he is."