Hello loves!

Happy Saturday! Now, I would like to quickly point something out before I continue with any disclaimers, and it's about Aria in the next few chapters. Whilst writing, I kind of realised that she's been a little... boring recently. And by boring, I mean that she hasn't exactly done much outside of the plot or even in the plot that is very Aria-like. I promise, that will change as soon as Freya is introduced because she'll start working on the Gilbert Compass and figure out what the necklace from Freya and Kol actually is. Well done if anyone's already figured it out. But as always, let's get on with it! I own nothing.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

We arrive into this world as innocents. Wide-eyed. Vulnerable. It is the job of our parents to nurture and protect us. Unfortunately, the Mikaelson's own parents failed miserably at even the most basic of parental tasks. But, The Originals are not beholden to the past their parents created for them.

~*•°•*~

"Today, a new future awaits. Forget your animosity toward Elijah and myself. Instead, join us against she who truly deserves your ire. Our mother." Klaus announced, standing at the head of a table in the dining room as he addressed his two brothers still sitting in their shackles as Elijah observed them with narrowed eyes.

Kol rolled his eyes as Klaus continued, "Do this, and we will welcome you with open arms!"

"Well-" Kol reached for a plate of pastries with his shackled hands, but Klaus pulled it out of his way. Kol sighed in annoyance and rolled his eyes again.

Klaus smiled non-threateningly, "But, if you continue to oppose us, a denial of pastries will be the least of your concerns."

Kol sighed again, "If all you wanted was my allegiance against Mother Dearest, you should have said so! Save me a night shackled to the wall."

"Yes, this was Niklaus." Elijah sighed, "My recommendation was to remove your limbs. One by one. Until you comply."

Klaus laughed at the slightly paling faces of his resurrected brothers and stood up, "We've-we have no desire to torture you. -Provided you vow to stand beside us as brothers." Klaus quickly added, moving to stand behind Kol and Finn.

Finn scoffed, looking at Klaus with scepticism, "Brothers... Does that word even apply to us? After all these centuries of betrayal? And, has loyalty to you ever rewarded? If so, tell me, Niklaus. Where is our sister, Rebekah?" Elijah glared at Finn as he continued speaking, "She was blindly loyal to you for a thousand years, and now? Nowhere to be found. Where did our sister go? And, how did she escape your vile machinations?"

Klaus laughed, part to cover up his nerves at the sudden questioning and part in ironic amusement, "You think me vile? What, then, do you make of the one who cursed us?"

Finn was frustrated, "She was trying to make you mortal again! And, you both refused her." He laughed darkly, "It only proves how far you've fallen. But, I expect Rebekah will have a different response to her proposal. See, unlike the two of you, she always did cling to her humanity."

Elijah pointed a fork to Finn angrily, "Rebekah is off-limits to you. You pursue her, and you will suffer."

"Do not let him goad you, Elijah." Klaus warned, catching the surprised looks of his brothers, the look surely reflecting on his own face, "Neither he, nor Esther, will find Rebekah unless she wants to be found. And she does not." He added, turning to Finn for clarification.

"Esther is quite determined." Finn shrugged, "She's been searching for Rebekah since the day she returned. I imagine it's only a matter of time."

Elijah, in a fit of rage, grabbed Finn by the collar and slammed him onto the table, fangs piercing his brother's neck seconds later.

It was safe to say Kol Mikaelson was concerned about his brother.

~*•°•*~

Pain.

Blinding pain.

Agonising pain.

Every step felt like she was walking on hot coals, every breath felt like she was inhaling razor blades, every other movement felt as though she was being pulled apart over, and over, and over again.

And yet, as she stood beside Davina in the middle of Marcel's living room, in front of Marcel, Evanna, Thierry and Josh, all she could feel was fear and shame. Because the White Oak stake was missing.

"I screwed up." Aria admitted boldly, "I was with Kaleb last night, and he took the White Oak stake when I was asleep… I'm sorry. I never should have left it out where he could get it."

Rather than looks of horror, fear, or even disappointment, the witches received silent glances. Josh then sighed and closed his eyes before giving Marcel a knowing look. Evanna and Thierry's expressions on the other hand, stayed neutral.

"Kaleb doesn't have the stake." Marcel said softly, "Klaus does. Matter of fact, Klaus has him, too. Or should I say he has Kol."

Aria's eyes widened somewhat, "You know."

"Yeah, I know. 'Cause I'm the one who took him. I saw an opportunity, and I wasn't gonna pass it up. Trust me, kid, we are all safer this way."

"Not Kol! Klaus will kill him!" Aria protested.

"Klaus has had a thousand years to kill him, and he hasn't. So, worry less about him and more about yourself, alright?"

"Aria, this guy is not your friend. He wants to use you to get his own way." Thierry added.

"He's an Original, he cares for his own gain, nothing more." Evanna said.

"You don't know him like I do." Aria insisted.

"I know him better than you do."

Marcel stood up from his chair and walked towards his two charges as Josh leant further back in his chair, guilt written all over his expression, "Now look, I'm sorry I had to go behind your backs. And I hate lying to you two, I really do, but believe me, this is for your own good." Marcel paused slightly, "I gotta take care of some business, alright? Evanna's coming with me. But stick with Josh and Thierry. Everything's gonna be okay."

Marcel grabbed his coat off of a nearby chair and left the loft and his friends, Evanna following behind him, the duo talking in hushed tones.

Aria's eyes narrowed.

What the hell are they trying to do? Force me to chose between them and Kol? They can't do that, they can't make me chose just because they think they know best. Or are they trying to make me lose my mind?

Well, it's working.

~*•°•*~

"Elijah is off his bloody rocker." Kol murmured, rattling his chains in annoyance, "We need to get out of here." He looked over to Finn who was holding a towel to his neck where Elijah bit him, "Are you gonna help me, or what?"

Finn sighed, "If you were a little more clever, you would recognise that there is opportunity in our current circumstances."

"Opportunity to what?" Kol scoffed, "Get a beating?"

Suddenly, the doors swung open and Klaus walked into the room, joining them, "Gentleman! I apologize for keeping you waiting. Good news is, I've returned with an old friend. One who wants to say hello."

Behind Klaus, Marcel walked into the room, a wide grin on his face, "Hello!" Finn rolled his eyes and sighed, "How's it going, fellas?"

Kol groaned, "You again. You ever get bored of getting bullied by my brother?"

"Oh, I volunteered for this." Marcel chuckled, taking off his jacket and rolling up his sleeves.

"Did ya?"

"Yeah, the way I see it, you have it coming." He shoved Kol in the chest, "First, you messed with my daughter. Then Davina. And now, I hear you wanna drag Rebekah into all this. Uh-uh. Not happening." He practically growled.

Klaus smirked in amusement, "Well, I'd prefer you both to join me against our mother. But, I'll happily settle for one or the other. Either way, if you continue to defy me, your lives will be reduced to an unending sequence of agonizing torture!" His voice dropped, "So, which is it to be?"

~*•°•*~

Marcel dragged Kol by the chains into a room upstairs before violently shoving him down into a chair.

"I gotta say, I'm gonna enjoy this! Out of the whole, twisted family-" As Kol tried to stand up, Marcel shoved him back down, "Sit down! -You were the one I liked the least." His head turned to the door slightly before he swore underneath his breath, "Stay here." He warned before leaving the room, appearing a second later with Evanna trailing him.

"You're back and-oh. You brought a guest." Kol commented, eyes flickering over to Evanna before mild recognition shone in his eyes, "You. I know you."

Evanna's eyes narrowed and Marcel sighed, "Now, where were we? Oh yeah. Out of your whole twisted family, you were the one I liked the least."

Kol despite his clear anxiousness, smirked, "Yeah, well, there's a pretty young lady who's disagreed with that opinion for quite a while now."

Evanna growled, "Then let us make ourselves perfectly clear. You go near Aria again, I'll cut off parts of you that you'd rather keep."

Kol whistled, "Well, now I know where Aria gets her thirst from vengeance from." Evanna's eyes narrowed, "But unlike you clearly, she knows when to stop. Because whilst the threats are bloody inventive." You could hear the sarcasm in his voice, "The thing is, Klaus needs me. So, that backs you into a bit of a corner, doesn't it? Not to mention Aria would be quite angry with you two." He smirked, turning to Marcel, "Tell me, what did she do when you locked your friend up in that Garden of yours?"

Marcel's smirk dropped and his jaw clenched, "I'll ignore how you know that and just remind you what's waiting for you when we get rid of your mama. I wonder what happens then?"

"Well, Klaus might not need me if my mother's gone, but you might! Come on, Marcel, you were king of the city once. Do you really think he's just gonna give it back to you?" He turned to Evanna, "And surely you want to feel that connection to nature again? I can help. I know forms of magic you don't. They'll allow you to access magic without using it yourself."

Marcel laughed patronisingly as Evanna shook away the appeal of his words, "You always got an angle, don't you?"

Kol ignored his words, "You see, individually, we can't do anything. But, together?" He whistled, "Wow. Klaus wouldn't stand a chance."

Marcel sighed, "Probably not." He picked up a scalpel off of a table in front of him and looked at it, twirling it around in the light, "But then, I'd have to trust you, and I don't. At least with Klaus, I know exactly what I'm getting."

Kol shrugged, "Well, I thought you had more fortitude, Marcellus. You disappoint me."

Marcel scoffed and leant forwards to look Kol in the eye, "Nobody cares for your opinion. Klaus just wants to know what you're up to. Tell me everything. Maybe you get to live." Kol seemed uninterested, "If not?"

Marcel handed the knife to Evanna who held it up in the light herself before pinning it down into the arm of the chair, through the middle of the back of Kol's hand as he screamed in pain.

"Stay away from my daughter."

~*•°•*~

"For the record, yes, I knew what Marcel was up to…" Josh began nervously, wringing his hands together in Marcel's Loft, "And you two can hate me if you want to, but-"

Aria sighed, "We don't hate you, Josh. We're just sick of worrying about you. And dad. And Thierry." She added, turning to look at her uncle in annoyance. Thierry, eyes closed and hands placed behind his head in relaxation, smirked.

Was he enjoying this? She rolled her eyes. Of course he was. He never took anything seriously.

Davina took over, "But most of all, we are tired of Klaus always being in the middle of it!" She growled, throwing a dart at the board on the wall, Aria doing the same and getting it in a perfect bullseye as Josh gulped slightly nervously, eyes darting between the board and Aria.

"You are a scary hit." He murmured as Aria's lip twitched up slightly before she frowned irritably again, "You know, every time we try to stand up to him-"

Josh interrupted her, "It… hasn't worked out so well?"

Davina shrugged in annoyance and Josh chuckled humourlessly in understanding, "Yeah. Failure, a party of four?" Thierry's eyes opened and he glared over at Josh, "Three? Three. Failure party of three?"

Aria rolled her eyes at Thierry and Josh as Davina smiled weakly, "You seem to be doing all right."

"Uh, yeah. Except that every werewolf in town is trying to kill me." He paused a beat, "Well, except for the super-hot one that I'm sort of dating. But, that's got its own problems, though."

Aria and Davina shared a look and a smirk, mischief shining in their eyes as Josh continued, "It's kind of a… Romeo and Romeo thing." He explained.

"And how hot is this Romeo?" Aria asked in amusement.

She turned around in confusion when Davina smothered a laugh, looking behind her before she realised why. The colour had drained from Thierry's face and he grimaced, "Do you have to talk about this with me here?"

Aria smirked, sent him a wide smile over her shoulder before turning around again, "I say again, how hot is this Romeo?" She waited a beat as her smirk grew, "And does he happen yo have any friends?"

She glanced behind her, watching as Thierry promptly stood, murmuring a goodbye before walking out of the loft, muttering things about 'little girl that plays with dolls' and 'would rather eat snails'.

Aria laughed, only trailing off as she turned back to Josh, eyebrow raised, "I'm waiting."

"Well..." Josh rolled his eyes jokingly and pulled out his phone, getting up a picture of Aiden before turning his phone around to show the duo. Davina laughed, "Pretty hot! Definitely worth the drama."

"Yeah…" Josh smiled.

Aria's eyes lit up as a plan formed in her mind, "Invite him over!"

Josh looked at her in confusion, "Yeah, I wanna meet him! I'm sure Davina does, too. I need to see how he's managed to steal your heart. Come on, do it."

Josh, after a moment, smiled at Aria and dialled the number.

Davina shifted over to Aria slightly and they entwined hands, Davina squeezing in approval of Aria's plan behind their backs. Aria smirked.

Thierry was gone, now all they had to do was sneak away from Josh. And she'd just created the perfect distraction.

Aria, 1 Marcel, 0.

~*•°•*~

"Nice music! Girl's got taste!" Aiden commented as he walked into the loft beside Josh. Aria smiled as she and Davina walked over to the duo to greet them. Yes, she was using Aiden as a distraction, but she did want to meet him too. Josh was her friend.

Josh scoffed, "Oh, please! That was my call. She wanted Puccini."

Aiden made a face and groaned jokingly at his boyfriends' words and Davina laughed shamelessly, holding out her hand to shake his and introduce herself and Aria.

"I'm Davina. This is Aria. You must be Aiden! Super-cool, super-handsome-"

"Werewolf traitor?" Aiden finished as Davina's face fell, unsure how to respond.

Aiden grimaced, "I'm sorry, that was a dumb joke."

Aria laughed, "It's fine. Hey, we were gonna go order some food. Do you like Thai?"

Aiden and Josh glanced at each other, "Uh, sure."

"Great!" Aria and Davina walked out of the main loft room and up to another, making sure they were out of sight.

"What do we do now?" Davina asked in a whisper as Aria's eyes darted around the room, landing on one of the windows as a grin lit up her face.

We could climb out of the window, climb down the pipes on the side of the building - assuming they're sturdy enough to hold us... then we could take Thierry's car and go back to the Cemetery. If he left the keys in that is. Then again, I can't exactly drive yet. But... surely it's just like go-karts, right? How different are they really?

Davina's eyes widened and she groaned, "Oh no. No, no, no. Not again."

Aria smirked, "Yes again. Come on. You won't fall, I got you."

With some difficulty, the girls managed to climb out of the window, thanking the fact that there was some piping on the side of the building that was relatively sturdy. Aria slid down it like she would a fireman's pole whilst Davina carefully shuffled down it. Aria looked back up at the window, not the highest distance away from them before she grinned, running over to the spot she knew Thierry kept his car. Finding it and mentally noting to apologise to her uncle, they climbed into it and started the engine, thanking that Thierry had forgotten to take the keys out of the car.

They drove away the second Josh realised they were gone.

~*•°•*~

After sneaking into Kol's playhouse tomb in the Lafayette Cemetery, Davina placed Esther's Grimoire on a table and flipped through it before gathering the needed herbs and supplies for the spell as Aria watched her curiously, heading over to the Grimoire after a moment as Davina came back to the table with several vials, a large metal bowl and some dried herbs. Davina crushed the herbs in her fingers and sprinkled them in the bowl with a white liquid.

"Remember, I have a truce with the Mikaelsons, D. I can't physically do anything to harm them." Aria pointed out, sending a risky look over to her friend.

"You're helping Kol." Davina pointed out, looking up from the bowl.

Aria's eyes widened, "Well… that's different. I-He's a Mikaelson too. Technically I'm not doing anything wrong." She stuttered, "Besides, he just wants a victory against Klaus. Just like you. Just… remember my truce."

Davina suppressed a grin and nodded understandingly, "You might have one, but I don't. Besides, don't worry, if I can just get a little victory over Klaus, like you say Kaleb… Kol wants, then I'll be happy. Esther is dangerous. Dahlia more so. And I don't want either of them coming after you. You're powerful, but they're both a thousand years old. If we need Klaus to protect you, then so be it. I just need this one victory."

Aria nodded understandingly, "Alright."

Davina took a deep breath and began to chant, "A verte insiguinae, a tor a ver."

The bowl slowly began to spin itself getting faster and faster as Davina's chanting increased until the contents of the bowl were thoroughly mixed into a black, sludge-like potion. With a small grimace to Aria, she lifted the bowl, hesitating for a moment, before drinking the potion.

~*•°•*~

"Now, we can keep doing this as long as you want." Marcel said calmly, yanking the scalpel out of Kol's hand as the latter groaned in pain, "Or-" Evanna took over, biting into her wrist and forcing Kol to drink her blood, "We can kill you now, and turn you into a brand-new baby vampire."

Kol's hand slowly began to heal as Marcel held the knife up to his throat threateningly. Kol gulped, "Go on, do it. My mother's got plans for me, whether I like it or not. If I die, she'll just pop me into another body." His tone dropped, "Not that my family will care that much if the death was permanent."

Marcel stared at him for a moment before letting Kol go and removing the knife, walking around the chair so he could face him, Evanna crouching down to Kol's eye level.

"What are you really up to? And what has it got to do with Aria?" She demanded.

Kol chuckled humourlessly, "Heh, you two think I'm gonna break her little heart? That's downright maternal of you, Evanna, considering you've already left her once."

Evanna's face clouded over in rage and she grabbed the knife from Marcel with surprising speed, ready to stab Kol before Klaus quickly intervened, entering the room.

"Easy, now!" Klaus warned, "Easy. Let's give Kol a little longer to decide before we lop off his head, hmm?"

Evanna lowered the blade, narrowed eyes still directed at Kol as Marcel smirked, "Comments like that? He already thinks that you don't care." He said, pointing to Kol with his own knife.

Klaus looked intrigued, "Is that so, brother?"

"You only daggered me a dozen times. You always cared more for Marcel than you did for me." Kol replied quietly.

"Well, I didn't realise I had hurt your feelings."

"Yeah, well, that's the thing, isn't it, Nik?" Kol challenged unhappily, "You don't know squat about me."

"Thanks to Marcel and Evanna, I know all I need to." Klaus replied as Kol rolled his eyes in frustration, "You're desperate to be part of this family, aren't you?" Kol remained silent, confirming Klaus' suspicions, "All of your mischief was just attempts for attention. You know, the truth is, Kol, you're right to feel slighted. I mean that, you're right. But, perhaps there's still time to make it up to you."

Kol looked up to his brother, surprised.

~*•°•*~

"This isn't me." Evanna sighed, sitting down in a chair and placing her head in her hands as Marcel walked over to her curiously, "What isn't you?"

"I just… tortured Kol Mikaelson because I'm worried about him hurting Aria. He hasn't even done anything yet."

"It's natural. Believe me. Besides, you've spent almost two decades… suppressing your vampirism. I honestly have no clue how you survived. But now that you're suddenly back in the world and have people to care for, well, the heightened emotions will do the rest for you."

"Why?" Evanna asked randomly after a moment.

"Why what?"

"Why did Aria… seek me out?"

Marcel sighed and furrowed his eyebrows in thought, "Well, uh, she always wanted a mother, I guess." A fond smile tugged at his mouth, "When she found out about you… she spent months looking until she and Davina found you. Aria tends to do that, she's headstrong. She'll be able to handle Kol, especially now that he's human."

"You think?"

"I do. She's taken on Mikaelsons before, she could do it again. Although, if he did do anything, there wouldn't be anything for Aria to hurt."

Evanna sent him a grateful smile before their attention turned to the door leading downstairs, hearing arguing. They got up and left the room, walking down the stairs to see Davina facing Klaus in the courtyard.

"I was wondering whether you would show up. I'm afraid I'm not done torturing Aria's darling Kol. You best run along while you still can." Klaus said.

"I'm not going anywhere, Klaus." Davina replied.

Marcel sighed, "Whoa, D, today is not the day."

"Actually, I think it is." Davina held her hands out and twisted her wrists, snapping Marcel and Evanna's necks as they fell down the rest of the stairs. Klaus turned back to Davina, now slightly unsure.

"Looks like it's just you and me now." Davina smirked.

"You forget yourself. You're not as powerful as you once were, Harvest girl." Klaus mocked.

Davina smirked, "Doesn't mean I can't still kick your ass!" She thrust her hand in front of her and threw Klaus across the room, he flew through the closed double doors behind him and shattered them into pieces of wood and glass. Davina stopped and walked towards him confidently, only to realise that he wasn't there anymore. She frowned in confusion before she herself was thrown down the hall. She screamed as she made impact with the floor, forehead beginning to bleed before she rolled over and got to her feet.

"Such hubris! And from one who bleeds so easily."

"You talk such a big game, but you couldn't even kill Mikael when you had the chance!" Davina laughed darkly, "He was right about you, you know? You're weak."

Klaus snarled and moved the remaining distance towards her, grabbing her by the hair and pulling her head back to bite her neck. She screamed in pain but after a moment, Klaus pulled back and began to choke and gasp before eventually falling unconscious. Davina smirked in triumph.

"Come out now, 'Ari." She sighed as Aria did as she was told, walking into the small hallway.

"You alright? I almost came out when you screamed." Aria said, voice laced with concern.

Davina nodded, "I'll be fine. It doesn't hurt much." She looked back down to Klaus and smirked again, "Right. Now I've got my victory." She smiled, letting out a long breath as Aria laughed at the triumphant expression.

"Are we gonna wake him up? Or wait until someone forces us to?" Aria asked as Davina tilted her head to the side in contemplation, staring at Klaus' prone form on the floor.

"Nah. Let's leave him." She decided on at last as a small smile graced Aria's face.

"Why the hell not?"

After another moment, they heard footsteps behind them and turned around to see Kol walking up to them, a pleased smile on his face to see them there as his eyes darted to his unconscious brother on the floor.

"It's impressive. What exactly did you do to him?" Kol wondered curiously.

"I channelled dark objects. Turned my blood to poison." Davina explained simply as Kol nodded.

"How did you get free?" Aria asked, noticing the lack of shackles on Kol, "I heard shackles."

"Oh, it's a long story. Better question is, if he's not dead, then what are you two gonna do when he recovers?"

"We have an hour, maybe less. Enough time to chain him, bleed him, dump him in the river." Davina explained as Aria supressed a fond smile, knowing that Davina had no such desire to do so. Well, desire maybe, but she wouldn't.

Kol's eyes widened, "That's a bit harsh, isn't it?" He said, voice raising slightly in surprise.

"Since when do you care what happens to Klaus?" Davina challenged, amusement at Klaus' fate disappearing and being replaced by confusion. She arched her eyebrow before Marcel and Evanna suddenly woke up from their snapped necks with audible gasps as they pulled themselves to their feet.

"Kol is with us now." Marcel explained, "We're going to be going up against Esther, assuming Klaus is… upright."

"Look, Nik is a pain in the arse, but, well… she's a problem for us all, as you well know." Kol said.

Davina rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest grumpily. Aria laughed, "Davina has no intention of dumping Klaus in the river. A desire to do so? Definitely. But she won't. She just wanted a victory."

Marcel looked to Davina, confused and Davina sighed in annoyance, eyes widening as if it should have been obvious, "Aria's in danger. Plus she made a truce with you all. Like she just said, I only wanted a victory."

"Good to know." Cami said, walking into the Compound and joining them, "Because I sure give a damn what happens with Esther." Her eyes strayed to Klaus' body and widened, "Should I even ask?" She asked incredulously.

"Cami, you should go. It's not safe." Davina murmured as Cami scoffed.

"No kidding! I woke up with puncture wounds all up and down my spine and no idea how they got there. According to my uncle's files, they're part of this ancient spell, and I don't know about you guys, but when I see 'ancient' and 'spell' in the same sentence, I think Esther."

~*•°•*~

Kol nodded to himself, looking at the puncture wounds on Cami's back as she sat on a small sofa, drinking a glass of water, "That's Mum's work, all right. She must have wiped your memory." He muttered.

Cami scoffed quietly, "Not the first time that's been done by a member of this family. What does it mean?"

Evanna hummed in thought, "It's a by-product of a preparation spell."

"Preparation for what?" Davina asked, voice raising.

"To make her a vessel." Evanna said quietly. Marcel's eyes widened as did Davina's in horror whilst Cami looked both confused and scared.

"Esther prepared your body for someone to jump into." She continued.

"Likely herself. I mean, knowing Mother." Kol added when Marcel looked at him suspiciously.

"Where's Vincent?" Cami demanded before leaving the room with Marcel, Aria's eyes trailing her worriedly.

"How long do I have?" Cami asked quietly after having come back from talking with Finn.

All eyes turned to Kol for an answer, "Well, now that Esther knows where Rebekah hiding... not long. The only way to stop it is to stop her."

Cami took a deep breath, "Then, let's do this. Marcel's a vampire." She turned to Kol, Aria and Davina, "You three are powerful witches..."

"Cami… she can't." Davina said quietly, "If Esther traces Aria's magical signature on you, she'll come after her. We have no idea why she wants her but we can't risk it."

"No, Davina!" Aria protested.

"I'll agree with Davina, Aria." Kol said solemnly, "Mother knows how to hold a grudge and… let's just say her sister seems to be at the top of her list. I can't imagine where you are."

"Esther's stronger than anything I've ever seen." Marcel said anxiously, "We go up against her..." He risked a glance towards Davina, "We're going to need Klaus."

Davina scoffed, "No, we can do this without him!"

"Uh, I'm never gonna say this again, but Marcel's right. We do need the bastard." Kol said as Davina sighed unhappily.

"Davina, I know this is asking a lot, but please." Cami begged. Groaning loudly, the witch practically stomped over to Klaus and knelt down by his head before she placed her fingertips on his temple, murmuring a spell underneath her breath. Klaus woke up with a loud gasp as he rolled onto his side before pulling himself up to his feet, "What did she do to me?" He demanded as Davina smirked behind him.

"All you need to know is that I beat you. Again."

"And yet, you relented. You need me, don't you?" Davina rolled her eyes and sighed as he smirked, "Did I really lose?"

~*•°•*~

"Quite nice of your little friend coming to my rescue like that. Quite honestly, I thought she hated me." Kol commented after a moment, leaning over to a side table and grabbing a pastry as he talked to Aria; Davina, Marcel and Evanna still being downstairs with Cami.

"Davina knows I like you. But you know, it's a good thing you didn't actually steal the stake from me. Or I would have been the one torturing you." Aria replied.

Kol smiled, "Does that mean you finally trust me again, Little witch?"

Aria just smiled and shrugged as she thought about it teasingly, "Well, I suppose you have saved my life more than once…" Kol smirked, "Yeah, I guess I trust you again. I mean, having an Original in my corner. That's some pretty big leverage." She grinned as Kol laughed.

"I'm glad."

Aria smiled slightly before her eyes moved behind him and widened, "I remember those!" She murmured, Kol turning in his chair to see that Aria was looking at the chains that had held him mere hours ago. He turned back to Aria questioningly, "Alright, so a hundred years ago, the Human Faction waged a war against the Voodoo Queens. They had a traitor spell the manacles for them. Slap 'em on a witch, they can't do magic as long as they're on." She explained simply before grinning even wider, "You were strung up by the Handcuffs of Doom. I remember them being used on me when I was younger and couldn't control my magic. Hurt like hell don't they?"

Kol nodded and grimaced slightly, hands going to his wrists as if he could feel the chains again, "Yeah, it'll feel like they're still on for a few days afterwards while your magic comes back to you. It wears away within a week or so."

"Well then, I suppose I'll just have to find something to do in the meantime." Kol grinned, waggling his eyebrows suggestively as Aria laughed loudly.

After a moment, Kol chuckled too. Aria's laughter was contagious. As her laughter trailed off, Klaus walked into the room, "Provided you're not busy concocting a new paralytic to use against me, I'd like a word with my brother."

"Well, to be honest, I can't particularly stand being around you anyway." Aria shrugged, smiling sweetly before leaving the duo alone, noticing the smile of amusement on Klaus' face.

She left the room and walked out into the hallway, taking a glance either side as she thought of where to go before deciding to leave all together. Walking out of the Compound, she smiled as the cool night air brushed up against her face. She didn't even realise where her feet were taking her before she found herself back home. Walking into the apartment, she sighed and took her shoes off.

As she stared up at the ceiling, a small smile graced her mouth. She was finally on good terms with Kol again.

However, the second sleep claimed her, the smile fell.

She began screaming.

~*•°•*~

As Always, SecretMidnightRose