A/N: Thank you so, so much to everyone who has been reading this story and stopping by to drop me a note! Your support means the world to me and it truly does keep me motivated to continue on with this little monster of a story. You guys rock!
And keep 'em coming, please! Your feedback and comments and reviews give me LIFE! So if you do enjoy this, and if you still want me to keep going, please, let me know! :) Depending on how this chapter is received, because it's such short one, I might have a quicker update.
As always, I ask you to apologize me for any mistakes you might find. Keep in mind that this isn't my first language and I'm trying my best.
Klaus doesn't bother with politeness before tearing Sophie Deveraux away from the kitchen at Rousseau's and dragging her back to the plantation house kicking and screaming and begging for forgiveness on the back seat of his car.
"Shut up," he tells her when he can no longer bear to hear her shrill voice. "Save your excuses for when we get to the house. And you better hope they're good ones. I may not be able to hurt you, but I've got half a mind to leave you without a coven."
Whatever Sophie Deveraux may be, she's definitely not stupid. Can certainly read a room - or a car, in this case - and recognize a real threat when she hears one. For the rest of the ride, she remains obediently silent.
If it had been up to him, he would've gone to the Quarter in the middle of the night to find her. This interrogation would've happened long ago. It was Rebekah who stopped him. "Caroline needs to rest," his sister said. "And she should listen to what Sophie has to say. She's the one who got attacked. This can wait until morning."
"What if they escape?" Klaus challenged. "What if Sophie and her merry band of leeches go into hiding? She's still connected to Caroline, lest you forget. We cannot let them out of our sight."
"I don't think Sophie will. But if she does," Rebekah shrugged. "We'll just hunt down every last one of them, lock Sophie up until we figure out a way to end this nonsense and eat the others for lunch. I could use a good game of hide & seek & kill the witches."
Now that was something Klaus could work with. He almost wished he hadn't found Sophie this morning, just so he'd feel justified when witches started dropping like flies around him. But alas, Sophie showed up for work like it was just another day and she had absolutely nothing to hide. It just sparked Klaus' anger further.
She must've felt every one of Caroline's wounds, must've shared her pain. How can she act so casually when she knows very well her own people endangered the mother of his child whom she had promised to protect?
"We had a deal," he snarls as he pushes Sophie into a chair on his living room, Rebekah and Caroline with him. "You protect Caroline and my unborn child, I dismantle Marcel's army. And whilst I've been busy fulfilling my part of the bargain, Caroline was attacked and nearly killed by a gaggle of lunatic witches."
"I had nothing to do with it, I swear," Sophie says, looking at him instead of at Caroline, who she should be apologizing to. "Caroline and I are linked, remember? She dies, I die."
"I told you it wasn't her," Caroline offers.
"Then who were they?" Klaus demands.
"They're a faction of extremists," Sophie explains. "Sabine stupidly told them about some vision she had about the baby."
"I'm sorry - what?" Caroline cuts in. "Sabine never mentioned anything about a vision."
Klaus sits down on the couch opposite Sophie, leaning forward, his voice low and dangerous as he says, "What kind of vision?"
"She has them all the time. It was through one of her visions we were able to locate Caroline. But they're totally open to interpretation."
Caroline sits up straighter, fidgeting a little. "And what did she see?"
"She doesn't always get things right. I'm guessing she's wrong on this one."
"Stop stalling, Sophie. Answer the bloody question," Rebekah demands. "How was this particular vision interpreted?"
The witch takes a deep breath, pursing her lips. "Pretty much that your baby would bring death to all witches."
"What?!" Caroline jumps from her seat, all indignation. "That's absurd!"
Klaus smirks. "Well, I grow fonder of this child by the second."
"I'm a witch," Caroline says, glaring at him. Klaus just shrugs nonchalantly. He's never been a fan of witches. They're hard to negotiate with and always have an ulterior motive. Klaus would say he's learned over the long course of his life to never trust them, but the truth is he's learned that lesson long before he even became a vampire. They can be far more dangerous and deceptive than any vampire or werewolf. Sophie's coven has proved him right yet again.
He does, however, make an exception for Caroline. And only Caroline.
"That is exactly what I told them," Sophie agrees. "Your child is at least part witch as well."
"Just how extreme is this faction, exactly?" Rebekah inquires. "We need to know what we're up against."
"Well... I wasn't always an advocate for the witches. I was away from New Orleans for a long time, didn't really want to have anything to do with the coven. I haven't always agreed with their policies. But things got a lot worse when my sister told me they'd taken a vote and had decided to perform the harvest ritual."
"What the bloody hell is that?"
"It's a ritual our coven does every three centuries so that the bond to our ancestral magic is restored. We appease the ancestors and they keep our ancestral power flowing. It's like renewing a contract so the source of our magic won't dry out."
"I spent two hundred years in this city. Why haven't I heard of this before?" Klaus asks.
"Because the harvest always seemed like a myth, a story passed down through generations like Noah's ark - the kind some people take literally and some people don't. I didn't."
"And what does that ritual entail?" Caroline asks. If she doesn't know, then it can't be a universal ritual for witches. It's something specific to New Orleans and its covens.
Sophie swallows, averting their gazes. "They choose four girls from our community and prepare them for the harvest. They say it's an honor, that they are special... And I thought it was a myth."
"Was it?" Caroline presses when Sophie seems to stutter.
Just as she's about to answer, Klaus' phone rings.
"Marcel," he says, taking the call. "Bit early in the day for you, isn't it?"
"I know I make this look easy, but I've got an empire to run," his former protégé says on the other end. Tosser.
"Rather you than me. All that responsibility seems like such a bore," Klaus says, wounding an affected sigh.
"Well, this might spice things up. I just heard about a bunch of dead witches out in the Bayou. The kind of damage a werewolf might do. I have an informant out there I need to meet and I would love for you to go with me."
Klaus fixes his eyes on Caroline. "Dead witches in the Bayou. Sounds less like a problem and more like cause for celebration." He smirks when she rolls her eyes at him.
"Something killed them and may still be out there, and with your blood the only known cure for werewolf bite, I would love to have you there."
Of course, Klaus thinks. Marcel's invitation is not a show of friendship, just a convenience in case they end up getting attacked by whatever wolf is causing trouble in the countryside.
Klaus hates to be used, but having a chance to prove himself vital to Marcel is not entirely a bad thing. Becoming part of his inner circle takes Klaus one step closer to demolishing his defenses and taking him down for good. Normally, he has no patience for this kind of slow burn revenge. But his current circumstances are extraordinary, he thinks, looking at Caroline again. Some sacrifices are required.
"Why not?" he replies. "I haven't been to the Bayou in ages. I'm on my way."
"Do you really need to talk about witches like that?" Caroline demands when he hangs up, judgement written on every line of her expression.
Klaus resists the automatic urge to twitch the corners of his lips into a sneer. "The less reason to suspect you, love, the better. Don't worry. I make an exception for you."
She scoffs, shaking her head.
"You can't take Marcel out there right now," Sophie says with urgency on her voice. "I need to gather the witches' remains and consecrate them. If I don't get to them before sundown, we lose the link to their magic."
"That sounds terribly like something I couldn't care less about. Those witches tried to kill Caroline, they deserve no less than eternal damnation."
"I know, but -"
"And I would prefer for Marcel's informant not to end up running into anything or anyone that could lead him back to us. To her," he points to Caroline. "Or, you know. To that."
"Wow!" Caroline snorts. "Real classy, Klaus. It's a baby. You can say it. It's not a bad word."
He sends her a pointed look and puts on his jacket. "Stay put, all of you. I'll be back to hear the rest of that story."
Sophie starts whining again, but he doesn't stay to listen, just grabs his car keys and heads off to meet Marcel.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
There was once a time when Marcel used to think Klaus was nothing short of a god.
He was powerful. Cunning. Knew how to bend absolutely everyone to his will, even his most stubborn detractors. And those who refused - well. They never lived to tell the story. There was absolutely nothing Klaus Mikaelson couldn't get. If he wanted to rule the world, he would.
Marcel worshipped the ground he walked on. He loved Klaus. He feared Klaus. And he wanted to be Klaus.
He was the closest thing to a family Marcel ever had. A sirer, a mentor. Sometimes even a father. He had a thing for punishments - no one defied Klaus and walked away freely. Marcel felt the burn of Klaus' hatred many times. But, at the end of the day, all was forgiven. They were family, after all. Until they weren't anymore.
When the Mikaelsons were forced to flee New Orleans, for a while there Marcel didn't know what had happened to them. It didn't seem like anybody could escape Mikael's wrath. The man left a trail of destruction wherever he went and it wasn't different in the Crescent City. He butchered half of Klaus' allies, burned down a crowded theater, killing hundreds of people and ruining a landmark in Bourbon street. The charred skeleton of the Opera House stayed intact for many decades until Marcel decided it was time to erase the stain the Mikaelson family had left in New Orleans and rebuild it in the 60s. It's a hotel now, but to him it'll always be the sight of a tragedy. The place where he almost died. The place where he became a new man.
He laid low for a few years, afraid that Mikael would come back to finish what he'd started if he learned Marcel had walked out alive. He never heard a single word about the siblings. Klaus and Rebekah went radio silent, and Elijah, as far as he knew, had fled to Europe. As time passed and the city's community spiraled out of control, with wars raging left and right between the factions, determined never to trust one another again after Mikael, Marcel decided someone had to take over the helm of the ship. And that's exactly what he did.
He was born in New Orleans. He died in New Orleans. The city was his to take. He learned from the best, after all. But it didn't take long for Marcel to realize that he didn't just want to be Klaus anymore. His ruling had been imperfect, had left an opening for tragedy to strike. What Marcel wanted was to be better.
His New Orleans is nothing like Klaus'. Klaus didn't trust anyone but his own family, and even that was debatable.
He was a tyrant. Marcel is a king.
And now all those years after they left, never bothering to come back to see what had become of the place they now call home, they return expecting Marcel to roll out the red carpet, ready to steal everything Marcel worked so hard to build from the ashes they left behind.
Oh no, they won't.
He knows their ways. Turns out, Klaus is not as smooth as Marcel remembered. Or maybe it's just that Marcel can see more clearly now that he's been freed of the blind loyalty he once had.
His hero is a thief. And not even a good one at that.
Klaus thinks himself so clever, so subtle, that Marcel can't tell that he has his eyes set on Davina. He thinks she's a weapon to be stolen. And that's the difference between him and the Mikaelsons right there; they have no humanity left in them. Selfish to the last strand of Viking hair on their heads.
Yes, Davina has been a huge boost to Marcel's rule over the city. The witches were always causing him trouble here and there, but he knew how to work around them. The failed harvest ritual not only weakened them, but it gave Marcel an unexpected ally. All he has to do now is wait for the deadline to be over and the witches of New Orleans will never have their power back, which means Marcel won't ever, ever have to worry about them again. And neither will Davina, whom he has sworn to protect.
He didn't save her because he wanted a powerful subject. He saved her because she's a kid. Because what those witches were doing to those girls was murder. He's only sorry he didn't get there in time to help the other three. He can still remember the way they screamed as the people they trusted the most in the world, their leaders, their mentors, who were supposed to groom and protect them, slit their throats. Davina was shaking in his arms as he took her away. So young and already she'd seen so much tragedy. Abandoned by her family, almost murdered by her coven and now confined to a glass tower. Marcel never asked her to monitor the witches, she did it out of her own will, because she didn't want to be found. She knew if the witches could do magic, it wouldn't take long before they got to her. And when they did...
The ban on magic was a way to keep Davina safe. She's not a weapon; she's family. He'd rather die than let that girl fall on Mikaelsons' hands to be used as a prop. Except Klaus is determined to find her and he will stop at nothing. Marcel's blind admiration may have died, but he's not stupid to underestimate an Original. Especially one who has been bolstered up.
Klaus was dangerous as a vampire; as a hybrid, he's lethal. The silver daggers don't work on him, the white oak is gone, he now has all the extra strength of a werewolf and a bite that will take down any vampire in a matter of hours. Klaus Mikaelson truly is invincible.
One thing that hasn't changed, though, is his arrogance. Another 100 years on his back since he left the city with his tail between his legs and he's learned absolutely nothing on humility and camaraderie. Being chased out of his city by his own father didn't get him thinking about his own wrong ways for s single minute, it seems. If anything, Klaus is worse than ever, still thinking the whole wide world is there for the taking, and that the city of New Orleans has some kind of debt of honor to him. The ego of that bastard...
What Marcel can't understand is why Klaus has been beating around the bushes when he could simply declare war, attack his vampires, force him to bend the knee and hand over the keys to the compound. He could certainly do it, especially with Elijah and Rebekah by his side. Why would he hand over his own brother as a sign of peace if that's clearly not what he's after? Why pretend to be friends? It doesn't make any sense. It's not in Klaus' nature to stall. The man Marcel knew always cut to the quick, preferably through violence.
But if that's the game he wants to play, Marcel is all in.
First, however, he needs to figure out how to get Davina out of the city.
He was going to do it today. The news about the dead witches was disturbing, but not enough to kill Marcel's plans. It was clearly a dispute with the wolves, and honestly, that's a fight Marcel wants no part in. They can kill each other for all he cares. The one thing the vampires and the witches have always seemed to agree on is their disregard for the werewolves. A nasty bunch, those ones. Salvages.
There were no wolves among the dead, according to the informant, which is a shame. Something's cooking up in the Bayou and he can't really put his finger on it. First a werewolf shows up in the city, the vampires he sends to investigate all disappear, and now this. He's willing to bet money that the Mikaelsons are somehow involved. They show up in town and in a matter of weeks all hell starts to break lose. There is no such thing as coincidences where that family is involved.
There's more to the Mikaelsons' grand return to New Orleans than meets the eye, and Marcel is getting to the bottom of it. But Davina comes first.
While Klaus and Rebekah thought they were distracting him, he was in truth distracting them while his extraction plan was put on course. They were all set to go, with his best men ready to escort them and a car waiting outside to get her to a safe house that belongs to a trusted friend in Tennessee. But when he tried to get Davina out of the church...
Marcel has no idea what was that. The whole building started to shake. For a moment there he thought it was all going to come crashing down over their heads. It made no sense. Davina left the church just the day before to attend the music festival and nothing happened. Maybe the ancestors know that he's trying to get her out of the city, and if that happens, their chances of getting their ritual completed in time become almost null.
So they were forced to abort. Davina felt weak and sick, so he took her back to the attic, put her in bed. But there has to be a way. A bunch of dead spirits can't have that much control over the land of the living. Marcel hasn't given up yet; the plan was just momentarily put on hold.
He knew sooner or later he'd have to deal with a pouting Klaus. He's smart, of course he figured out Marcel had been stalling him. He just didn't expect to find Klaus waiting for him at the compound as soon as he got back. Didn't even give him time to have a drink first.
"Taking me on a field trip to the Bayou to distract me," Klaus says from the second floor railing. Always so dramatic. "Pathetic and obvious. I taught you better than that."
"You taught me to protect what's mine. I'm on to you, Klaus. You'll not take Davina from me, end of story. I saved that girl's life and I promised I'd keep her safe. That's exactly what I'm going to do. Keep her safe from you."
"An immutable law of nature, Marcel, is that the strong always takes from the weak."
"If you were so strong you wouldn't have run away from New Orleans like a little bitch all those years ago."
Marcel sees in Klaus' dark eyes the moment when the blow lands. His lips curl up into a snarl and, before Marcel can even get out of the way, Klaus jumps from the second floor, a fist connecting with his jaw and sending him flying across the courtyard. Marcel sees stars as his face explodes in pain.
Fuck, that hurt...
It had been a while since he'd faced someone strong enough to take him like that. Let alone someone as strong as Klaus.
"You've been playing king with a bunch of children for too long, Marcellus. Don't mistake me for one of your nightwalker lackeys. I can take Davina any time I like," he says, his eyes flashing gold.
Marcel gets back on his feet, tasting blood on his tongue. He might get his ass kicked, but it'll be good to see what exactly he's dealing with here, how strong Klaus has become. This fight has been building up for way too long. They should have it all out in the open, stop pretending to be old pals. At least they'll keep it honest for once.
Just as Marcel prepares to charge, someone rounds him from behind and he gets kicked back down. He's pretty sure one of his ribs just cracked.
"Do forgive me, Marcel." He lifts his head as much as the pain on his torso will allow to have a look at the newcomer. Elijah. How the hell did he get out of the attic? A wave of panic rushes right through him. Davina.
Elijah smiles, fixing his cuffs and looking straight at Klaus. "If anyone is to teach my brother a lesson, it's going to be me."
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Caroline has spaced out forgotten to come back about ten minutes ago. She's staring straight out into nothing, the book she was reading completely abandoned on her lap, tipping dangerously close to falling off her knees.
For lack of anything better to do, Rebekah has been watching her.
Caroline wanted to go against Klaus' orders and return to the Bayou with Sophie - according to her, to find out what really happened the night she got abducted. Her memory is still a bit jagged, but she seems convinced that it was a werewolf that saved her life and killed the witches.
Rebekah had to threaten her with a leash for her to give up and sit still. It's unbelievable that she would be that persistent after what happened. Klaus would kill both of them if he knew she'd gone back to the scene of her near murder knowing that Marcel had informants circling the area. For once, her crazy brother had a point, and a good one at that.
Sophie, obviously, hadn't listened. Called Rebekah all desperate because she was spotted and Marcel was going to find out she had something to do with the massacre and, at the very least, take her in for questioning. And by questioning she meant torture. That's how Marcel gets them to confess to all their so called crimes. And of course anything the vampires did to Sophie, they'd be doing to Caroline. So Sophie's problem was now their problem, too. Those bloody witches...
Rebekah called Klaus to inform him Marcel's guy was heading back to the biker bar to tell on Sophie and her brother asked her to drop by to distract their old friend while he dealt with the problem. Rebekah didn't think it would be an issue; just sit there, flirt a little, unearth some awkward memories... Child's play, honestly. She couldn't have predicted that it would end up messing her up so much. Apparently, said awkward memories affect her much more than she would've liked to believe. And certainly a lot more than they affect Marcel.
He'd been playing both of them, almost like he knew exactly what Klaus would do. Marcel read straight through their cover, turned their plot on its head against the two of them and left them like two idiots at that stupid biker bar while he flashed away to god knows where. Her brother was certain it had something to do with Davina, so he went after Marcel in the French Quarter while she returned home to make sure Caroline wouldn't decide to go on an adventure all by herself again, with Marcel's guys all on the lookout for unusual movement.
A thousand years old and serving as babysitter to a grown up pregnant woman.
The things she won't do for Elijah.
"You're distracted," Rebekah finally says, getting fed up with the silence. It takes Caroline a second too long to register she was spoken to. "What's on your mind?"
"I was thinking about the wolf." Of course, Rebekah thinks, instantly regretting having asked.
"Don't you have anything more interesting to occupy your pretty head with than werewolves?"
"Are you not even the least bit curious? Last night wasn't a full moon, Rebekah."
"Oh." She hadn't thought about that. "Well, I suppose that makes it curious. But still not compelling enough."
"I just can't understand why werewolves would come to my rescue."
"What is there to understand? You're carrying a baby wolf in your tum. They were being protective of their own."
"But that's not how werewolves work. They care for their packs. My baby is not part of their pack. Unless..."
"Unless?" Rebekah prods.
"Do you think it's possible that they're connected? The baby and he werewolves in the Bayou. Through Klaus? Is there any chance of them being related, somehow?"
"Hell if I know," Rebekah shrugs, getting up to pour herself a drink. She's not gonna be dragged into this conversation without an alcoholic incentive.
"Don't you know who his father was?"
"We found out eventually," she says dismissively, sipping from her glass of bourbon. She pours one for Caroline, and then remembers that pregnant women can't drink when the witch arches an eyebrow at her. Rebekah sighs and turns the drink in her own glass. What a torture. "But that was a long time ago and I'm pretty sure he was killed back in our day. I don't think we can determine at this point whether current werewolf packs are related to Nik's father. And it doesn't matter, anyway. If they're willing to protect you, who cares?"
"I care."
"Why?"
"Because they saved my life and I don't even know who to send a thank you card to. I was all on my own out there."
Rebekah chugs back the rest of her drink, putting the glass down with a thud. "Ok, first of all, family is a pain in the behind, if you ask me. So I wouldn't go searching for long lost relatives if I could help it. And as for being alone, how dare you? I don't ruin a perfectly fabulous pair of boots traipsing through the Bayou for just anyone."
When Caroline smiles, she smiles back, realizing that she actually means it. Elijah may have made her promise to protect Caroline, but she would've gone out there anyway.
The front door flies open and Klaus storms in.
"Nik!" Rebekah says. "Well, finally. I was -"
Her whining about Nik's lack of information dies in her lips when Elijah walks in right behind him. Then the thought completely vanishes from her mind; suddenly nothing else matters anymore.
Rebekah's chest explodes with joy. She runs to him, wrapping her arms tight around her brother. "Elijah," she mutters affectionately, pulling away just enough to look him in the eye, to make sure it's really him and not a trick of her mind.
"You're safe," she says around a relieved breath. "I'm so glad."
"I'm glad too," he says with that charming crooked smile she loves so much. His hair is a little messy and his clothes are certainly rougher than his pristine style usually allows, but other than that, her brother looks perfect. Healthy, whole and home.
"Now that you're back, is your first plan to kill Niklaus?" she asks, grinning at her other brother. "I'll help."
Elijah places a tender kiss on her cheek. "Excuse me just a moment," he says, and then walks around her, disappearing down the hall.
"Where's he going?" she asks, a confused crease between her eyebrows.
Klaus' face twists into a grimace. "Do you have to ask?"
Oh.
Caroline was there just a second before, and now she isn't.
And neither is Elijah.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Elijah isn't sure yet what to expect from home. He was taken away before he even had a chance to experience a single day living under the same roof as Niklaus, and now Rebekah is there as well. If their brief reunion in Mystic Falls is anything to go by, this should be interesting.
But he is definitely happy to be out of that deplorable box, breathing something other than the stuffy air of that ancient attic.
Granted, he could've returned a long time ago. He awakened not long after Davina pulled the dagger out of his chest, ending the effect of the white oak ash it'd been dipped in. It was his choice to remain under the little witch's influence, studying her. Learning about her. Her story, her tastes, what she wants from life.
Elijah would have preferred not to be daggered and served as sacrificial lamb to his enemy, but Niklaus' impulsiveness might yet bring them rewards. Not that his brother will ever get a thank you, of course. The thought certainly did not occur his mind when he drove that dagger through Elijah's chest.
The only reason why Elijah hasn't snapped Niklaus' neck and locked him up somewhere to mull over about his actions is precisely because being so close to Davina for such an extended period of time allowed him a glimpse into the girl's mind, and good intelligence on your adversary is everything in a war.
Not that he thinks they're fighting Davina. He doesn't, not anymore. She's just a pawn. Marcel may have had his heart in the right place when he chose to rescue her, but he's been using the girl all this time to his own selfish benefit.
Now that he's managed to come to an agreement of sorts with her, all Elijah needs to do is cement their friendship, prove to her that he can be trusted, and Marcel will no longer have his secret weapon at his disposal. Already she's given a demonstration of her support, fooling Marcel into thinking the spirits refused to let her out of the church. He was going to drive her out of town, but Davina's clever act forced his hand. She'll stay put for now, waiting on Elijah to fulfill his end of the bargain.
Without her, Marcel's power is considerably diminished. For starters, he won't be able to control the witches any longer. And that doesn't just mean Sophie Deveraux and her coven. It means Caroline, too.
Caroline… It feels odd to see her again in person when she occupied so much of his thoughts during the time he spent at the church. He didn't even realize she'd left such an impression on him until he wouldn't stop thinking of her. Wondering how she was. What she was doing. If Niklaus hadn't made her run away scared yet. He hoped not, and had some faith that it wouldn't be the case. She seemed to exert a kind of influence over Niklaus Elijah didn't really have time to unravel before he was put to sleep. And in any case, Caroline didn't strike him as the kind to run away from her problems, even the hybrid-sized ones. So he's not surprised to find her still there, in one piece, seemingly more at home than she was when he left. She's made herself comfortable.
Good, he thinks. Niklaus must have done something right.
Elijah was half expecting her stomach to have grown enormous since the last time he saw her, but she's still barely showing. She looks almost exactly the same. As beautiful as he remembered. And when their eyes meet and she smiles at him before quietly sneaking out, Elijah feels something light up inside. Caroline Forbes seems to have a weird effect on Mikaelson men.
As happy as he is to see Rebekah again, he feels almost like an invisible cord is pulling him when she leaves the room. So he excuses himself and follows, ignoring Niklaus' eyes burning holes on his back as he goes.
He finds her in the kitchen, fixing herself a snack. When she sees him by the door, she grins. "Oops," she says around a mouthful. "Busted."
"What are you doing?" Elijah asks, joining her by the counter.
"Experimenting with cheese and jam. Blueberry, raspberry, strawberry. All berries, really. I've been obsessed with cheese and jam. It's a pregnancy thing, I guess. Would you like some?"
"No, thank you," he declines, smiling. Barely a minute in her presence and he already remembers why he felt so drawn before. There's something so refreshing about her. Where his family always seems so gloomy, crushed under the weight of the darkness that seems to accompany them wherever they go, Caroline is just... Light. Easy. Two things that are so foreign to the Mikaelsons.
"Good," she says, spreading jam over a piece of cheese and taking a bite. "I was being polite but I don't really want you to have any. This is too good." Elijah can feel muscles he hadn't moved in ages on his face twisting as his smile grows. "And I'm also babbling. Those are basically my two favorite things as of late. Eat and talk, both nonstop. How are you, Elijah?"
"Glad to be home," he says with a grin. "Why did you sneak out?"
"I was hungry."
He gives her a pointed look, arching one eyebrow.
She looks away. "Well, I thought you three would like a moment. You know, as family."
"You are family now, Caroline."
"Oh." She smiles at Elijah the exact way he remembered in his long slumber, warm and open and like she really means it, except she seems far less suspicious now than she did all those weeks ago. Like a knot has been untied, or at least softened, while he was away.
"I'm glad you're ok," she says.
"I would like to know all about what I've missed. But first... There's something I need to tell you. All of you. Can you come with me, please?"
Caroline stuffs her mouth with a piece of cheese and nods, following him out of the kitchen.
There will be appropriate time for all the heartfelt greetings. First, he needs to share what he's uncovered from Davina.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Caroline has a strange sensation at the pit of her stomach as she takes a seat in the study room.
It takes her a moment to understand it. They're including her. For the first time, they're not closing the door behind them and leaving her to eavesdrop outside as they decide the future - her future - between themselves. She's been brought into the room, given a seat. Elijah has something important to say, something that can't wait until morning, and he wants her to be there to listen.
Klaus sitting to her left, Rebekah to her right, Elijah standing in front of them, a mask of seriousness descending upon what had been a warm and welcoming expression until about two minutes ago as he spoke to her in the kitchen. This is officially a family reunion.
Family.
The word rings in her mind like a bell.
She wanted to be brought to the table, to have her voice heard, To be consulted about things, informed of developments and action plans; but to actually be a Mikaelson... It's definitely new. She can't help but think about the people in Mystic Falls, what they'd have to say about this. Her mother would certainly be horrified. Life has certainly taken on a crazy turn.
It hadn't really downed on her until this very moment that, aside from being a werewolf and possibly a witch as well, her daughter is also a Mikaelson. Half a Mikaelson, but still. Caroline may have an honorary - likely temporary as well - place in the family, but her daughter has Klaus' blood, which makes her one of them for life. What exactly that entails in the long run...
She's not exactly sure she's excited to find out just yet.
"What is it, Elijah?" Rebekah asks, clearly starting to get impatient.
He seems pensive for a second before he finally starts talking. "Everything that brought us here to New Orleans was a lie. This story that Sophie Deveraux fabricated, this struggle for control of the French Quarter... The war between vampires and witches wasn't over territory at all - it was over Davina."
"How so?" Klaus asks.
"Sophie had a personal involvement with the harvest ritual. She tried to stop it because her niece, Monique Deveraux, Jane-Anne's daughter, was one of the chosen girls and she didn't believe it was real. To satiate the ancestors, the girls had to be sacrificed so their powers would flow to them, before they could be resurrected. She thought her niece was going to die for nothing, so she assembled a rescue plan, with the help of Marcel and his vampires, but she was too late. When they got to the cemetery, three of the girls had already been sacrificed. The only one still alive was Davina. The girls had no idea they were going to be killed in such a violent manner, and they obviously became agitated and scared when the elder witches started slitting their throats unceremoniously. Davina was in panic, screaming. So Marcel saved her, stopped the ritual, but the other girls remained dead. When that happened, all their powers converged into the one surviving girl. Which is how Sophie learned that the harvest ritual was real, and it had worked. Only it was never completed."
"That explains how Davina is so powerful. A single witch would never have that kind of control over all the others on her own," Caroline muses.
"Precisely," Elijah agrees.
"So... What? The girls are dead, Davina lived. That still doesn't explain the part where they kidnap Caroline," Rebekah says.
"Eight months ago, Sophie Deveraux and Jane-Anne lost everything when Monique died. The only way for her to be brought back to life, along with the two other harvest girls, would be for Davina to be sacrificed, so the ritual can be completed. But under Marcel's protection, and as powerful as she became, there was no way they could ever get to her. It was to stop the ritual for good that Marcel instilled the ban on magic, so the witches couldn't locate Davina. That's why he keeps her hidden away in the attic. Now five months after Monique's death, word came to them through a vision about a pregnant girl in Mystic Falls and suddenly all their hope was renewed.
"Jane-Anne actually sacrificed her life so her sister could use you to remove Marcel from their path," Elijah says, looking at his brother. Klaus' lips twist into a scowl. "So they could get Davina. If Sophie is successful in capturing Davina, she can complete the ritual and return Jane-Anne's daughter back to life. If not... Not only will Monique Deveraux stay dead, but the French Quarter witches will have their link to their ancestors severed, and their magic will effectively die. We thought we'd come here to wage a war for power. This is about family."
"Those cunning little bitches," Rebekah mutters, shaking her head lightly. "They manipulated our family to fight for them and didn't even give us a full disclaimer."
"Sophie Deveraux will do whatever it takes to return her niece to life. She'll use every weapon at her disposal. She's willing to fight until death, because she's already lost everything. And that makes her more dangerous than anyone."
Caroline feels as all eyes land on her. Elijah's soft, but concerned; Klaus' burning on her skin, possessive and angry; Rebekah's thoughtful and sympathetic. The greatest weapon at Sophie's disposal, is, of course, her, through that magic link. And if she's willing to die for her cause... Well.
Had she stayed in Mystic Falls, things would probably not be exactly stellar for Caroline, being pregnant and everything. But at least her life, and that of her child, wouldn't be immediately endangered. She'd still have her mother, her friends - her magic.
Given just a little while longer to ponder over the situation, Caroline is going to be fuming as well for being used as a pawn in a game she has nothing to do with. She's been attacked twice already, and the very witches who brought her here to serve as bargaining chip in their attempt to get Klaus on their team have now changed their minds and decided to kill her and her baby.
Oh, Caroline is gonna get very angry. They think Klaus is dangerous? They should see what she'll do to them if they dare to hurt her baby.
Right now, though, she has something else on the forefront of her mind. A question that's been nagging her all day.
If Sophie was wrong about the harvest ritual, and it turned out to be real... Then how does she know Sabine's vision about her daughter bringing the destruction of all witches isn't real too?
TBC
A/N: Yes, I am bringing the werewolves into the mix by making them related to Klaus rather than to Caroline (obviously). I wanted them to be a part of the story because they are a major motor behind a lot of the things that happen later on, and since Caroline isn't one of them, I had to find an alternative. Plus, Caroline used to date a werewolf, so you can say she's sympathetic.
At some point in The Originals they really do find a pack that is related to Klaus, so I'm not going completely off-script here. I'll just completely change the history there and hopefully it'll be better explained when the appropriate time comes.