Hello loves!

Now before I get on with disclaimers, I need to ask a quick question. Like usual, the messages at the beginning of these chapters are usually about moi rather than the story so feel free to skip, but if any of you are reading this. I'd love an answer. So, in one of my recent classes, I've been texting with one of my friends in my group, let's call her Eliza. We're a group of four and one of them is in Isolation leaving three of us at school. Now, the one I'm not texting, let's call her Nina, is suddenly feeling high and mighty so she confronts me two hours later saying she 'knows I've been talking about her behind her back' when all I was saying to Eliza is that Nina is paying zero attention to what we're meant to be doing and is completely contradicting herself as well as discarding any ideas me and Eliza have. So, my question, am I being a bad person? I'm not talking about Nina behind her back, only planning another idea for the next project with my friend Eliza since Nina doesn't like our ideas as she has said repeatedly. I'm having a little crisis right now, so it would help if I could get an answer. I really don't want people to think I'm being a horrible person. Thanks for listening to my rant if you've read this, hopefully I can get an answer or two.

But as always, let's get on with it! I own nothing.

~*•°•*~

The next day, Genevieve led Aria, Davina, Monique and Abigail through a local park as she explained the basics of their teachings,

"New Orleans is full of ghosts. Our dead are always here, hovering. When Supernatural creatures die, they're doomed to spend eternity alone, watching the world go on without them." She explained, unaware of the way Aria scowled at the reminder, "Of course, that's not the case with the ancestral witches. We linger in a different way: consecrated in the earth, replenishing its power." Genevieve explained as Davina looked over to her hopefully.

"What about… humans?"

Genevieve visibly hesitated before speaking, "Some find peace. Some… don't." She waited a moment before speaking again, "I have to make an appearance at the priest's wake. You four head back to the Lycée, take some time to think about those spirits who might still be walking alongside you."

Aria, Davina and Abigail nodded and began to walk away. Aria slowed to a stop as soon as she noticed the lack of footsteps from Monique behind her. Frowning in confusion as she glanced over her shoulder and realised that Monique was instead following after Genevieve, she muttered a quick phrase under her breath to keep them from seeing her before she moved to observe,

"I don't know why we're supposed to care about Kieran O'Connell." Monique said after a moment as Aria narrowed her eyes dangerously.

He's dead, you bitch. Show some respect.

Genevieve sighed, "We care, because when a pillar of our community passes, Monique, you call a cease-fire and pay your respects."

"Or, you just want to see Klaus. You two are getting cosy."

"I need the Mikaelsons to trust me so I can get close enough-"

"To kill their baby like the Ancestors told you to?" Monique interrupted as Genevieve sent her a frustrated glare and Aria's eyes widened.

"To fulfil my obligation to our Ancestors. Go home, Monique." She snapped before leaving the teenager alone.

The Ancestors… wanted Genevieve to kill Klaus' unborn child.

Aria was going to be sick.

~*•°•*~

Aria practically slammed the door open to Rousseau's and ran inside just as the room grew quiet, she looked up to see Marcel opposite her, holding a glass up as he called for quiet, "I know I haven't been around these parts lately. It's a testament to Father Kieran that we could come together and share a drink, and a story or two. Kieran rolled into town on a rusty old cruiser after his daddy died twenty-five years ago. And damnit, that guy could party! That was, of course, before he took his vows. But, even then, he was committed to the Quarter. He knew that this town needed him. And, we still do." He raised his glass, "To Father K!"

Aria took in a deep breath as the audience murmured what her father just had and felt a sudden wave of guilt wash over her for not being here for Kieran or Marcel. She closed her eyes and took a calming breath.

Now isn't the time. She reminded herself.

Her eyes searched the room and spotted Klaus and Elijah sat at a table across the room from her, she took a deep breath and, with a sudden bout of nervousness, she slowly walked up to them.

"Seems rather uncivilized to laugh and dance around the body of a loved one." She heard Klaus murmur as Elijah poured himself a drink, "Yes, far better to practice your process of grief, Niklaus. Denial, rage, and hoarding coffins in basements." He said as Hayley joined them at the table.

Strangely enough, not even Elijah's sense of stale humour managed to calm her. After all, she was the one planning to betray the witches and tell Klaus they wanted to kill his baby.

"I will warn you, Hayley, Niklaus is in a spectacularly foul mood today." Elijah continued.

"Sod off." Klaus murmured.

Hayley turned to Klaus, eyes accusing, "What's the deal with these moonlight rings? Oliver's trying to set a revolution every five seconds. People are scared, angry, and frankly, I'm tired of stalling."

"It's a day of peace, Hayley. Try and enjoy it. And, in the meantime, with all manner of unknown enemies conspiring against our family, you'll move back in with us."

Hayley gave him a sarcastic smile, "Awesome! Then, we can do that thing where you lock me in the tower, I escape, there's drama, and then you two both realize I'm very capable of looking after myself."

"The rings are in progress. I will live up to my word. We will find and punish whoever launched the attack on the Bayou, and you will return to the compound for your own safety!" Klaus pushed as Hayley sighed and rolled her eyes and watched as Klaus picked up a bottle, "But, right now. I'm gonna finish this bottle and the next, in the hopes of drowning the demon who has chosen today to haunt me. Cheers, Mikael! Impeccable, Freudian timing!" He announced, his voice

Elijah's head snapped up and he looked towards his brother, eyes wide, "Elaborate,"

Klaus stayed silent.

"Have you dreamt of our father?" Elijah repeated.

"Go ahead, have a good laugh."

"I can assure you there is no piece of this that I find even remotely amusing, Niklaus. Especially considering I've been dreaming of him, too." He said as Klaus looked up, eyebrows furrowed in confusion and disbelief,

"What?"

"If you are also seeing him…" He trailed off and his eyes met Genevieve's across the room, "Perhaps our elusive, unknown enemy is orchestrating a further attack?"

"Well, then. What better way to punctuate a day of peace than by killing someone?" Klaus murmured, smirking and waving at Genevieve.

"Yeah, peace will have to wait." Aria interrupted, leaning in so that she was looking between Klaus and Elijah, "There's something you need to know and… to say you won't be too happy about it is an understatement."

Not happy at all.

~*•°•*~

Over the next few moments, Aria watched a vast range of emotions flash over Klaus' face. He had left the table and by default, Elijah and Hayley once he'd seen how serious she was and to put it plainly, she would not want to be Genevieve or Monique right now.

Or ever.

Because she had a feeling that he was angrier than… well she'd ever seen him before. The kind of angry that would make a person travel to Hell itself to rip a person to shreds again. Or rather, two persons.

An angry Klaus Mikaelson was a dangerous Klaus Mikaelson and Aria was suddenly feeling slightly nervous about bringing it up at all.

"Why are you telling me this?" He asked, jaw clenched and eyes blazing with anger.

And slight confusion.

Aria hesitated only slightly before she spoke, "I don't like you, Klaus." She said bluntly, "You've taken my home away from me. And ever since your family has come to town, my life has been a mess. But… the witches are trying to kill your daughter. Neither of you deserve that. She's a baby. Just a baby. Heck, she's not even born yet; I have my dad's code about kids too."

Was she aware that she was throwing Genevieve under the bus? Yes, she was. Could she bring herself to care? Unfortunately for the resurrected witch, she couldn't. She was also aware that she had said the complete opposite to Elijah the previous night, but this was Klaus. He didn't need anything sugar coated for him.

Sensing she wouldn't get anything more out of him, she sighed and turned to walk out of the back room they were both in before a hand caught her wrist. She turned back to see Klaus looking at her, eyes showing too many emotions to count, "Thank you, Aria. Truly."

She gave him a small smile, "Just a favour? Don't kill Genevieve. -Not until I know what she and Monique are really planning." She added hastily.

Klaus' expression morphed into an eerie smirk, "Well then, I'd say we have a deal, love."

~*•°•*~

Aria, Davina and Abigail set the ingredients for Davina's séance on the table in the Lycée before Abigail paused and sighed,

"I don't know if the Ancestors would like us messing around in the spirit world." She worried as Davina smiled reassuringly,

"It's just a simple séance."

Monique rolled her eyes and spoke up from across the room, "Phony witches do séance to impress tourists. They're not real!" She scoffed as she walked out of the Lycée.

Aria rolled her eyes as Davina set Tim's violin in the middle of a chalk circle on the table,

"What's that for?" Abigail asked curiously, gesturing to the violin.

"It's her friend Tim's." Aria explained when Davina tensed slightly, "But come on! What's the point of being a witch if we can't use our magic for stuff like this?" She smirked as Abigail smiled and nodded in agreement. Then, Aria, Davina and Abigail each joined their hands to channel each other for the spell as they began to chant, "Elikopte fantomes soliter mouri, vous reveler."

Wind began to blow around the room, softly at first before it began to pick up. Davina took a breath and cut her palm, the blood dripping down onto Tim's violin before, suddenly, the candles scattered around the room blew out,

"Tim?" Davina asked hopefully.

Aria let out a small, surprised breath when the tune Tim had played for Davina months ago began to play softly around the room, the tune seeming to float through the air. The peaceful moment however, was broken when she heard sudden panicked shouts from a corner of the room. She tried to focus in on what, or rather who they were coming from but startled when she felt a hand grip her shoulder from behind her. She spun around and her eyes widened in horror when she saw a man standing behind her.

Davina, apparently hadn't noticed because she was still staring down at the violin hopefully,

The stranger gave her the chills as he spoke, "What a delightful tune."

Before she could speak, the man disappeared and all the windows in the greenhouse suddenly shattered violently, screams filling the room as they all ducked underneath tables.

After yet another moment, the trio stood up, "What the hell was that?" Aria hissed.

~*•°•*~

Aria ran a hand through her hair as she walked down the street of the French Quarter after the failed séance she had just done with Davina. It had all been going just fine until the windows had shattered and honestly, she was terrified. The only time she'd ever seen something like that happen before was when she'd been with Dahlia.

What if… what if she'd also managed to get a foothold in the living world?

"If that's the case, then I'm screwed." She muttered with a bitter laugh.

She frowned in concentration as she listened in on the conversation Hayley was having with Klaus and Elijah, the werewolf wasn't looking very good and she knew that if anything were to happen, Klaus would flip when he found out she was anywhere in the vicinity and had done nothing. Even if she had no part in it.

"Do you think I was the target of those bombings?" Hayley asked as Klaus scoffed.

"Of course you were the target! Were I to wage a war on the wolves, you'd be my first kill!" He said as Hayley glared at him and Aria rolled her eyes, "I would string you up, for all your worshipers to see." Klaus explained as Elijah sighed.

Why did she get the feeling that threatening how to kill each other was a common occurrence in their family?

"I believe that was my brother's way of telling you he'd like you to return home with us," Elijah murmured, turning to Klaus, "Perhaps try a different approach, Niklaus, with fewer references to murder?"

"As much as I would hate to throw you over my shoulder, and drag you kicking and screaming to the compound, we both know I will for the sake of my child."

"One bad dream, and suddenly, you want to be a responsible daddy!" Hayley said sarcastically, her tone awed as Klaus wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer causing Aria to strain her hearing,

"Let me put this into perspective. My father lived to torment me. It is not my intention to become him. This cycle of misery ends with my child."

"Mhm." Hayley hummed as she yanked her arm away from him, "You forgot one thing in your little attempt to plead your case. She's not your child. She's ours." She said as she walked away from them.

"Very heartfelt, Niklaus."

"I bloody hate funerals."

Aria rolled her eyes at their childish bickering, honestly, they were a thousand years old before something caught her attention. In the corner of her eye, she noticed Hayley walk to the side of the street and lean on a light post as she began to cough violently. Aria's eyes widened once more when she noticed that Hayley wasn't just coughing, she was coughing blood.

"Klaus!" She yelled out as both brothers turned, catching sight of Hayley just as she collapsed.

They all ran over to her and Elijah picked her up before they practically ran to the Compound, lying the werewolf on a table.

"I can help." Aria said as she moved closer to Hayley.

Elijah nodded almost instantly, "Just save her."

"There's a spell I can do. Klaus, get… chamomile." She muttered, looking down to Hayley with a sinking heart, "She's trembling. Your jacket, Elijah."

"She's not breathing, I can hear the baby's heartbeat, but not hers." Elijah fretted as he laid the jacket over her.

Aria checked Hayley's pulse, vaguely aware of Genevieve walking into the Compound, acting concerned and Klaus threatening her to stay away before she let out a sigh.

This wasn't good.

She pressed a damp bundle of chamomile against Hayley's forehead tenderly before she began chanting, "Coeur blessé, battre avec mwen. Coeur blessé, battre avec mwen."

She opened her eyes again when she finished chanting and sent a worried look over to Klaus who bit into his wrist and tried to get the blood into Hayley's mouth, hoping it would heal her,

"Come on!"

"She's still not breathing. It's not working!" Elijah yelled.

Aria tried to block out the sounds of Elijah pacing in front of her as she continued to chant, hoping in vain that Hayley would wake up, if for nothing else than to save herself from Klaus' inevitable wrath,

"Coeur blessé, battre avec mwen."

"I'm taking her to a doctor." Elijah announced, moving to pick up Hayley as Aria's eyes snapped open in panic,

"If you move her from here, my spell will break. There won't be enough time to get her to a hospital."

"Will the baby survive if delivered now?" Klaus asked frantically as he lunged for Hayley, Elijah holding him back, "I'll rip it out of her myself!"

"Hayley will bleed to death!" Aria yelled.

"I won't lose that baby."

"I won't lose either of them." Elijah retorted.

"And you won't. But if someone's trying to keep her there, they're trying to interfere with the balance of nature. They know what they're doing."

"I don't speak witch, love." Klaus bit out.

"Too bad," Aria muttered before she closed her eyes again, "Battre avec mwen. Coeur blessé, battre avec mwen."

She let out a sudden gasp as pictures of Monique using a poppet to cast the spell on Hayley flashed through her mind before her eyes snapped back open,

"I know what to do," She murmured before turning to Klaus and Elijah, "Get my bag, the Gris-Gris pouch! Now!"

She spread salt around Hayley on the table and crushed the herbs that Elijah had fetched for her before she spread them over Hayley's body gently as she continued to chant, visions of Monique's spell flashing before her eyes once more.

She scowled darkly and mentally cursed Monique. Was she unbelievably reckless or just plain stupid?

Probably both.

Hayley awoke with a loud and sudden gasp on the table as Elijah helped her sit up and Aria breathed a sigh of relief,

"You're alright, love. You're alright."

"I saw him. He tried to kill me. I saw Mikael."

~*•°•*~

Aria walked up to where Elijah was watching the festivities on the street below him and stood in the doorway, "Hayley and the baby are fine. I'd take her to a doctor once she's gotten some rest just to make sure, but she's in the clear. I'll see myself out."

Before she could move, Elijah spoke, "Miss Gerard, thank you for your help."

Aria smiled slightly, "You're welcome."

"I understand my family has done nothing to deserve it from you."

"I didn't do it for Klaus. I wouldn't." She scoffed.

"All the same, there is nothing I can do to show my thanks. However, I wonder if I may be able to request something of you."

"Shoot." Aria replied curiously.

"When the baby arrives, Hayley will once again transform with the full moon. Now, I would like to create for her a gift. A ring of empowerment, something to control this… curse."

Aria looked at Elijah, both confused and slightly awed, "What kind of spell would-"

"A spell of my mother's, from her Grimoire. Which, as I understand, your Coven have been rather eager to obtain."

"They're not my Coven. And you already know that I don't want anything to do with Esther's things."

"All the same, I trust your judgement. If you believe that luring Genevieve into a false sense of security is a wise decision, we will. If you could bring her here tomorrow… I believe we may both get what we want."

Aria smirked and nodded, "Gladly. I'm not letting her have a third chance at killing that baby."

~*•°•*~

As Aria walked back to the Cemetery, she felt herself suddenly being grabbed and pulled into a side alley way, a hand was placed over her mouth to stop her from screaming but she almost instantly calmed when she heard a familiar voice in her ear, "Shh, shh. Calm down kid, it's only me."

The hand was carefully taken off of her mouth and she spun around, letting out a small squeal as she launched herself onto Marcel, her arms wrapping around his neck tightly.

"I've missed you so much." She murmured into his neck as he pulled her tighter.

"Same here kid."

She pulled back and her smile dropped, hand going up to slap him viciously as her eyes narrowed, "Never and I mean never leave me with those witches again. I've been living an absolute nightmare. I am your daughter not some stray that you can just abandon at some shelter." She growled.

"I wanted you to be safe."

Aria furrowed her eyebrows, "So… you put me with the witches that have been trying to kill me and vice versa since I was a baby? How did that… how did that work in your mind?" She asked.

Marcel's eyes darted down to the ground guiltily, "I wanted you to stay in the Quarter. I'm not allowed here but this is your home. I didn't want to take you away from it or Davina. How are you two?"

"We're coping. I will say… it's kinda nice to be able to practise magic so easily."

"Good, good." He hummed before taking a wary look to his left, "I'm sorry but I-"

"You have to go before Klaus kills you." Aria finished with a sigh.

"I'm sorry, kid."

She forced a smile onto her face, "It's alright. Although, keep Thierry away from the Quarter? I don't want him caught up."

"Sure. Anything." He said instantly.

He knew he wasn't the best father. He didn't really have much to compare himself to in reality. But beneath it all, he did love her. And Aria knew that. It was all that mattered. Aria gave him a small smile before he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and a breeze brushed past her. She opened her eyes and frowned when she saw her father wasn't anywhere in the alley anymore.

Alone again.

~*•°•*~

"What the hell did you do to Hayley?" Genevieve demanded, grabbing Monique roughly by her arm as she stormed into the crypt Monique was in.

"I was trying to do what the ancestors asked!"

"Aria told me what she saw, just think yourself lucky she doesn't know what we're planning! That baby is part witch! The ancestors want her consecrated to the earth so her magic can fuel our community! She has to be born first before she can die!" Genevieve yelled as the look on Monique's face faltered slightly, "If Aria hadn't been there, that would've been the case! Leave. I don't want to look at you." She sneered as Monique glared before stomping away.

Aria smirked widely from behind a pillar as she listened to Monique's aggravated yell as she stormed past her.

"You're welcome, Monique." She murmured, turning away from the gravestone she was leaning against and walking into the Lycée where Davina was. The girl gave her a small smile as she went back to organising the herbs she'd previously had laid out on the table,

Aria smiled to herself and moved closer to Davina and started helping her before the wind began blowing through the broken windows just as it had earlier. Aria looked down at Davina's bandaged hand and frowned when she noticed that it had, once again, began to bleed just as it had in the séance they'd done earlier. The windchimes slowly began ringing and a sob caught in Davina's throat as she recognised it to be the same one Tim had played all those months ago.

"Tim?" Aria asked nervously as Davina whimpered slightly.

"Tim? Is that you?"

The two girls both spun around when wind flickered behind them and were met with the same man Aria had seen earlier,

"Who are you?"

"Your friend Timothy has moved on, Davina. I'm truly sorry for what my son did to him."

"You're Klaus' father." Aria stated, her throat tightening.

Klaus' father. Kol's father. Freya's father. Freya had always spoken of Mikael with such love, such tenderness. It had always been obvious that she held nothing but respect for her father, despite what she thought of her mother, but the man in front of her was different. This man, this Original Vampire, wasn't the man Freya remembered.

"And I'm the only one who can rid you both of him forever. But first, my little witches, I need you."

"Why would we want to help you?"

"What can we do?" Davina asked at the same time as Aria.

Mikael smiled eerily, "You two can bring me back to life."

~*•°•*~

As Always, SecretMidnightRose