Guest: Lol, married Hayley and Caroline. I'd go with Cayley just because Haroline sounds like a beauty product.
Klaus pushed Tim along as the boy went to do as bid, and gestured a 'job done' to Davina before putting his hands behind his back.
"And now you owe me a favor." He announced gravely. Davina gasped in a sob as she tried to keep from turning and looking back at Tim. If she did so, that would put him in danger.
Maybe she could ask Marcel for help keeping Tim safe. She couldn't bear the thought of never seeing him again.
She saw the violin Tim 'lost' in the rubble of her magic burst. It was broken, and it was her fault. She gingerly picked it up with two hands. When she picked her head up to address Klaus's request, no one was there. she was left with a messy church, and a broken violin. Was this how she'd spend the rest of her life?
"Davina." Marcel called, rushing to her. "What happened, what are you doing here"
"I live here, remember?" She spat. She turned around and walked up to the attic. The place she'd been confined for months, and hoped she'd catch a glimpse of Tim before he disappeared.
"I was crystal clear." Marcel chided his men in the basement of Diego's house. The yellows lights illuminated them as Marcel accentuated his point with his fingers. "Eyes on my girl at all times."
Diego pushed himself off the wall. "She sneaks away and that's my fault?" Marcel stared back at him. "What now, Marcel you put me in the Garden too?"
Marcel snapped the vampire's neck and let him fall. The other vampires quickly acted as if they hadn't seen anything, sitting at the bar or walking away. Then he took Josh's shoulder and pulled him aside.
"When he wakes up, tell him an apology would have worked better than sass." He said. Josh nodded sympathetically. As the baby vampire walked away, he saw Rebekah coming in.
"Awful what happened in your church. I hear they're calling it a gas leak. Such a pity." Rebekah greeted.
"What are you doing here." Marcel replied.
"I simply want to discuss getting my brother back." She lied.
"You'll get Elijah back. In the meantime, stay out of this bar, and stay away from my guys." He said. Rebekah had to have known that was coming, Diego must've complained to him.
"What, you're jealous?" She challenged.
"Why would I need to worry, you're still stuck on me." He said.
"And you're not, right? That's why you danced with Sophie at the party last night." Rebekah replied. Marcel nodded. She honestly thought that would rattle him, but she wasn't giving up yet. "Don't fool yourself, Marcel. She's just a replacement for the one you really want. Which after all these years you can't deny, because I'm standing right in front of you." She leaned closer to him. "You can let go of the replacement now, Marcel. I'm here."
Marcel's eyes dropped to her mouth, but he clipped her shoulder as he charged past her. She was just trying to get in his head. She didn't really want him back, even if he wanted her. He was just a pawn to her now. If he had succumbed...she would've slipped Elijah and Davina both out from under his nose.
Caroline sat in bed in her room, staring at the wall. Her feet were bare, her skin now completely healed but she still wore the clothes that were ripped. Luckily she'd brought a suitcase of clothes when she came here. She just didn't take into account that she'd need more than one pair of jeans.
Klaus knocked on the door.
She huffed. "What?"
"Such a friendly greeting for the one that saved your life a few hours ago."
"Yeah, then took off again soon as you had the opportunity." She shot back. Klaus grinned.
"Miss me?"
Caroline looked away.
"I noticed earlier that you were holding something back from Rebekah and me." He sat on the foot of her bed. "What is going on in Mystic Falls?"
"Nothing that important." Caroline tried. Klaus wasn't buying it, however, giving her a chiding look. She looked out her window and pursed her lips. "Bonnie isn't picking up her phone. Damon and Elena have tried too, they're getting the same result."
"Perhaps the Bennett witch is merely giving you all the silent treatment for some little transgression."
"Yeah, but she hasn't had a reason to ignore Damon. And Jeremy's being super strange whenever Bonnie's brought up." Caroline replied. Klaus looked her over.
"Call Elena again, love. If your friend Bonnie still hasn't reached out to anyone we'll figure it out."
Caroline snorted. "You only care about Bonnie so that she can help you with some diabolic plan later on."
"That may be, but she's also your friend." Klaus replied. She looked at him. He smiled. "'Friendship: Stage One. Show that you can trust me.'" He quoted. She smiled to herself and shook her head.
"Thanks." She replied. Klaus looked away in embarrassment, then left her room.
Davina hadn't been able to catch a glimpse of Tim. And now, looking at his violin, she was too distraught to try and fix it. She looked at her wind chimes and with the wave of her hand she made it sway with music different from that of tinkling metal. But with the sound of violins.
She heard a 'thunk!' and saw Elijah's coffin door was closed. She walked to it, staring in confusion.
"It's alright, Davina." Elijah's voice sounded behind her. He looked impeccable: not a wrinkle on his suit or a hair out of place. His skin however, was grey as if he was still in the coffin. But with one hand in his pocket and his eyes on her, she set her mouth in worry. "I don't mean you any harm." He assured.
"Like your brother didn't?" She challenged. Elijah clicked his tongue and looked away.
"In this matter I cannot speak for Niklaus's actions. Whatever he has done to you is not my family's stance."
Davina relaxed, and looked him over again, in awe of how well he carried himself.
"I do however, think we should talk." Elijah added.
"You're the one they call honorable." Davina said. He nodded.
"Yes, indeed that's what I'm called. I am here to protect a girl my brother would rather abandon than protect, and follow him around cleaning up what messes I can that he has made. Does that sound honorable to you?"
"You don't look well." She replied, ignoring the reply. He shrugged.
"Merely a side effect from the dagger's power. My complexion will return to normal as soon as I have fed."
"And how much do you usually need to feed on? A village? Two? A couple hundred thousand people?" She replied. Elijah scoffed and smiled, looking away.
"Merely a drop of blood would suffice."
"Well, since I am the only one with unstolen blood in this room..." Davina picked up a knife she knew was normally used to mold canvas to its structured form. She didn't know how to do so, yet that's not what it would be used for now.
She dug the knife's tip hard into one finger, and coated the thin sharp blade in an inch of her blood. Once upon a time, such pain and the amount of blood that came out of her body would've made her pass out. But learning the art of witchcraft makes it necessary to get over those reactions.
Elijah sat down in the chair he'd rested his hand on, and Davina slowly walked to him, ready to use any vampire-downing spell she needed to if he was lying. Elijah was an Old One, an Original, and someone Marcel didn't trust. She therefore, didn't trust him either. At least not yet.
She held the blood mere inches from Elijah's face, his eyes staring back at her. She was sure that any vampire wouldn't be able to resist any blood. In fact, she flicked the knife and the blood splattered onto his face, making him flinch in surprise.
That was the only victory she would get, however. Elijah wiped the blood from his face with one finger, wiping his dirtied finger onto a cloth he took from his pocket, and leaned back in his chair, smiling.
"I will not take your blood unless you explicitly give me the permission."
"Why not? It's not like you haven't ripped people apart when they didn't even see you coming."
"Taking the blood of a child was never something I could stomach." Elijah admitted. Davina's eyebrow twitched, she went to find a cup and poured a small amount of her blood into it, then handed it to him.
"I explicitly give you my permission to drink. Your complexion is creeping me out, anyway."
Elijah grinned at her joke and licked every drop from the cup. Within the first sip he took, he was back to his normal pallor. But ridding any evidence of her kindness towards him would help as well. Marcel surely wouldn't be pleased that he'd woken up this way.
"If we could get down to the matter at hand?" Elijah prompted. She nodded.
"I believe that you and I have the power to end the war between the witches and vampires in the Quarter before it truly begins. I with keeping my brother in line, and you, in behaving as your true self and not as a pawn for Marcel and his vampires."
Instead of biting back at him as she did with Klaus, Davina merely narrowed her eyes.
"And why should I trust you?"
"I give you my word, Davina, that my family will protect you from your enemies while you are able to reach your true potential."
"What good is the word of a vampire?" Davina asked.
"What makes you trust Marcellus?" Elijah asked in return.
"He's my family. He saved my life." She said.
Caroline had spent the morning walking about New Orleans. She took a trolley down to the shops for more clothes, and signed up to take online classes. She texted apologies to everyone and tried to call Bonnie again. Then she texted Elena, asking if she would try to call her as well.
Caroline was nervously biting her nails as she walked back in the manor's front door. There was an argument in the parlor, and no one had bothered to contact her to say anything about it. Mentally she kicked herself for being so openly walked around New Orleans, knowing someone must've followed her around when they realized she was a vampire.
Hopefully no one had followed her here.
She passed Hayley lingering at the closed door of the parlor, giving her a judging look before walking in and closing it again.
"Then who are they?" Rebekah demanded, glancing at Caroline as she breezed in the room. The younger vampire had gathered as much from who was here, that Klaus had kidnapped Sophie to demand an explanation for what had happened last night. He must've forgotten than she and Hayley were linked though, right? Unless he thought Sophie was willing to sacrifice herself so Hayley would die. Sophie looked at her as well.
"They're a faction of extremists. Sabine stupidly told them some vision about the baby." Rebekah and Caroline tensed.
"What kind of vision?" Caroline asked, squirming in her chair and absently clutching the armrests.
"She has them all the time. They're completely open to interpretation. I'd bet money that she's wrong on this one."
"Well how was this particular vision interpreted?" Klaus asked.
"Basically that your baby is the bringer of death to all witches." Sophie sighed, wincing. Klaus smiled brazenly.
"I'm starting to grow fond of this child."
Caroline glared at him but he ignored it.
"How extreme is this faction of witches?" Rebekah asked.
"I'd think a lot of people would have some choice words for that crowd." Sophie replied.
"Do tell." Klaus replied, glancing at Caroline as he leaned back on the couch they both now sat on. Sophie sighed.
"I wasn't always such an advocate for the witches. About eight months ago in fact, I had just come back from a trip to Rio and was just drinking the night away in a bar, when my sister told me they were going to prepare for the Harvest."
"Yes, we've heard of that." Rebekah replied, looking at her brother. "We never saw it happen while we were here, but the witches we talked to dreaded and excited in equal measure for it. Said it wouldn't happen again for another two centuries."
"Yeah, the Harvest is this ritual the witch's Quarter does every three centuries to harness the power of the magic from the ancestors, and to channel that magic through the girls we call the Harvest girls. And back when Jane-Anne told me about it, I didn't believe in any of it."
"You aren't a practicing or competent witch, that's probably why." Rebekah replied. Sophie gave her an annoyed look.
"That, and I never saw the magic firsthand. I knew what would happen, and that whoever would be in that ritual and the main Harvest girls, would be killed. Jane-Anne knew it, and all the elders did as well. The children picked as the most competent of the generation weren't told that however."
"What does that have to do with Davina?" Klaus asked. Sophie bit her lip.
"She was chosen as one of the Harvest girls. The thing is, the Harvest ritual was moved up, in order or us to harness our power and break Marcel's hold on us."
Klaus's phone rang, and he locked eyes with Rebekah and Caroline as he discovered it was the aforementioned Marcellus himself.
"Marcel. Bit early in the day for you, isn't it? You never got up earlier than ten." He greeted, hopefully embarrassing Marcel in front of whatever vampires were around him.
"I know, I make this look easy, but I've got an empire to run." Marcel replied, on the move with one of his assistants. The Filipino woman power-walking beside him was running through pictures of houses beside him. He gestured for the next one.
"Rather you than me. Sounds like such a bore." Klaus said, shaking his head. Marcel ignored him and Caroline rolled her eyes.
"Let's spice things up a bit. I got word there's a bunch of dead witches out in the bayou. The kind of damage a werewolf could do, but there was no full moon. I have an informant out there to meet, thought you might be interested in coming along." Marcel took hold of the next picture the woman showed him. This was the winner.
"Dead witches in the bayou." Klaus replied, staring pointedly at Sophie who looked back at him in a panic. "Sounds like less of a problem and more of a cause for celebration." He said. He smiled at Sophie and she kept her fists from balling up, both angry at his words and unable to do anything about it.
Klaus as leader wouldn't brush off such an interesting problem as dead witches on a non-full moon night, but maybe Marcel would.
"Something killed them, and I need to figure out what. It may still be out there. Your blood being the only cure for a wolf bite, I would love for you to accompany me." Marcel replied, smiling at the picture he held with sarcasm. He had them now.
"Why not? I haven't been out to the bayou in ages. I'm on my way." Klaus said, hoping that lie was more convincing that it had sounded to himself.
"Much obliged."
Marcel held up the picture and nodded after hanging up. This was the house the Mikaelsons were staying in. And he knew it from when he was still human. It had been a plantation house a couple centuries ago.
"You can't go out there yet. I have to gather the witches' bodies and consecrate them. Marcel would just take them to get back at us." Sophie protested as Hayley walked in sipping tea.
Klaus scoffed. "Those witches tried to kill Hayley and Caroline."
"Not to mention your baby." Caroline added in annoyance.
"Yes well, I would rather Marcel's informant didn't find any information leading him back to our plans."
He pointed at Sophie. "Don't leave until I've heard the rest of your story."
Elijah picked up a violin from the table and studied it in one hand.
"Do you play?" He asked, pacing the room. Davina looked at him and started.
"No, that's...not mine." She replied, looking at him to make sure he didn't notice her pause. She remembered what Klaus said. Though she knew Klaus would certainly talk to Elijah about Tim, she didn't want to make it easier for him to learn about those she cared about.
Elijah sat in the chair that was now facing the door and still out in the middle of the room. She had been doing a portrait of Elijah, giving more detail to the curtains behind him as a subtle little barb at him. She was the one who winced however, when Elijah quickly fixed the outer parts of the instrument and set the edge on his shoulder to complete the task. However, footsteps sounded. His attention snapped to them, knowing that it was undoubtedly Marcellus.
Marcel opened the door as he always did; like everyone inside had been waiting for the life of the party to finally arrive.
"Alright, little D. I'm moving you out of this pile of dust." Her heartbeat skipped. Tim had been here, what if he came back again? Though...so had Klaus.
"Are you serious?" Davina replied with a grin of excitement. Marcel chuckled at her reaction. "When?!"
"Tonight." Marcel replied. She fought back a gasp. "I just gotta lock in the arrangements."
There was a spacious apartment with windows high above the city waiting for her. He hoped it would be a beautiful hiding place. He turned to Elijah's coffin.
"How's our Original?" He asked, opening the top door. The body was not the same color as before, and his heart skipped a beat. He knew the dagger must be out, and Elijah must be talking to Davina. But he didn't want to show his reaction. He turned back to Davina, who quickly put her excited face back on.
"I'm making progress." She assured him.
"Pack up, okay? Only what you want to take. I'll buy anything else you need." He said. Davina beamed at him again. Marcel turned and walked out, as Davina pretended to be interested in the blank canvas she'd moved to hide Elijah's portrait.
"He knew that I have awakened, Davina." Elijah said, sitting up in the coffin. Davina turned to him.
"Maybe he trusts that I'm doing something important." Davina countered.
"Quite an amount of trust in him."
"Like I told you. He's my family."
"He takes a great deal of pleasure in hurting the witches, however. Those people, I would think, you would consider family. This doesn't trouble you?" Elijah took up the violin again and hung an arm over the easel. Davina was sat in front of her one high window.
"No. They deserve it." Davina shot back. Elijah blinked at her. He fought back a grin. Even if the witches couldn't be assuaged, Davina was a worthy opponent and perhaps she could continue to keep them at bay.
"Why would you say so?"
"Because they're liars. All of them. They had me and my friends do this harvest ritual without telling us anything about it. Just that whatever ones got to the end of it would be greatly awarded and forever celebrated as saviors of the community. But all they really wanted was more power."
Elijah gestured for her to continue.
Davina stood up. "I left before they could get it. Time is running out for them, because after the Harvest, comes 'the Reaping'", she used air quotations, rolling her eyes. "And if they don't complete the Harvest, they lose their link to the ancestral magic. With no link to the ancestors, they'll start to lose their own power. Eventually, they'll cease to be witches altogether." Davina smiled triumphantly.
"Would you not lose your magic as well?" Elijah asked. He knew about the Harvest vaguely, from things one of his former lovers had told him. But not the extent.
"Maybe. Honestly having magic has ruined a lot of my life. Not having it anymore would be a blessing. And Marcel would protect me no matter what."
"What would it take to complete this ritual?" He asked.
"I have to die." She replied simply. Elijah brought the chair to face her and sat down. He gestured again for her to continue.
Sabine took a few viles from inside holes of the crypt, handing them off to Duong. Dew, for short, who was Sophie's friend that wanted to lend a hand after hearing about the Quarter's problems while living in Tennessee.
Sophie was made to stay in the manor, both to wait for Klaus to return and to protect Hayley who was still in the manor as well per Doctor Caroline's orders.
Sabine turned around with her supplies and Caroline was standing in the doorway. She looked around the place, giving Sabine a quick smile.
"Hi. What's going on, is Hayley alright?" Sabine asked. Caroline noticed the faint glimmer of anger in her eyes before it disappeared as quickly.
"Everything's fine." Caroline assured, putting her hand up. Sabine sighed in relief and closed her eyes, but looked at her in continued confusion. "You're going out to where the wolves and witches attacked Hayley, right?" She asked in return. "I want to come with you."
"Oh God no. No, no no. Do you know what would happen to me if something happened to you?" Sabine replied. It was Caroline's turn to look confused. The witch gave her a 'lemme spell it out for you' look. "The witches talk about Klaus. They know Klaus is only protecting Hayley for you. And therefore, they also know how Klaus feels about you." Her eyebrow twitched. "At least for now."
Caroline smiled in derision. "Me being out here is to protect Hayley. And if Klaus has a problem with me getting hurt, he can take it up with me."
"Could you two be more idiotic?" A British voice sounded behind them. Caroline turned and both she and Sabine laid eyes on the Mikaelson sister.
"Didn't Elijah make you promise to look after Hayley?" Caroline countered.
"Oh please. Hayley couldn't be more safe in that manor, not to mention Klaus's hybrids. Besides I had one of your witches do a barrier spell on the place until we return."
"We?"
Rebekah smiled. "I would not miss seeing you ripped apart by wolves, darling." Caroline glared at her. "And, if Klaus learned that I had let you get hurt, he would dagger me for another few decades most likely. Then I definitely wouldn't be able to keep my word to Elijah."
"At least tell Klaus where you both are. Please." Sabine urged.
"Very well." Rebekah replied as Caroline was about to voice her protest.
After Rebekah had gotten a hold of him, told him everything and stiffened at a few of the threats he sent her way, she relaxed at Caroline's sympathetic face.
"What's the matter Rebekah, are you perturbed at my being out with your ex?" Klaus taunted.
"What is that god-awful hillbilly ruckus in the background?" Rebekah replied, ignoring him.
"According to the in-keeping signage, it's 'Big Auggie's Bayou Bar'." Klaus said, mocking the words. Caroline fought the urge to snort at his saying 'auggie' at all as she followed Sabine on the trek alongside the water of the bayou.
"Well, order a few rounds of moonshine for you and Marcellus and keep away from the dead witches for a bit until we've learned what we need to. Your precious little Caroline needs to do something with the wolves from last night and Sabine is on a burial mission for Sophie. So stall, please." Rebekah said, before hanging up without another word. Klaus was in awe at how fiercely protective Caroline had become of Hayley.
When he came back inside and stood beside Marcel lounging at the bar, he couldn't keep the worry from his face.
"Everything okay?" Marcel asked.
"Just the usual. Temperamental sister." Klaus replied. They both knew he was lying, but Marcel didn't press it. "Where's your informant?"
"Tomas is out sniffing around. We'll drink for a bit then find him later."
"I suppose that gives us a chance to talk things over." Klaus replied, flicking his jacket off his shoulders. Marcel's eyes lit up at the opportunity. A couple drunk women in the corner whistled and catcalled at Klaus and he ignored it. "Like why you haven't given back Elijah." Marcel rolled his eyes and rest his elbows on the bar. "Perhaps your young witch has grown partial to his company."
Wait, how did he know? Did he help Elijah do this? Marcel thought in a panic as Klaus poured a shot from the bottle the bartender handed them.
"You never stop, do you?" Marcel replied with a smile.
"You never answer, do you?" Klaus countered.
"Why are you so interested in Davina?" Marcel asked, already knowing the answer.
"If I had a 16 year old all-powerful witch at my beck and call, you would wonder about her too." Klaus replied, smiling proudly at him. Marcel smiled back. For the first time since he'd some back, he sounded a bit like the father Marcel had lost.
"You're never gonna get her." Marcel laughed.
"Okay, okay." Klaus replied. "I'll ask the harmless questions, then. How did you meet her?"
Marcel laughed uproariously for a moment, going back to the memory. Klaus was sure he already knew a lot, it would be interesting to see if Marcel lied about anything.
"It might surprise you." Marcel said, pouring a drink for himself. "It was eight months ago, before I banned the witches from using magic. But I learned from a...witch friend, that the witches were planning to overthrow me."
"Ah! So Sophie was the one!" Klaus replied, pointing at him and laughing. Marcel blushed.
"Say what you want about the girl, but she's loyal as hell."
And yet she's sided with the witches to overthrow you by putting me on your throne. Klaus thought, grinning with mischief.
"There were eight of us. Shirley, Martha, Anessa, Rily, Monique, Rose, Helena and I. We were supposed to wear these white dresses, during the beginning of it. The elders all wore gray dresses. The elder that chose us Monique, Helena, Anessa and I were the chosen ones. At the harvest, we were led out like princesses. Bastiana, one of the elders, called on the four elements to bind our future and past magic. Called on earth to connect us to the ancestors by dotting our foreheads with mud, called on water to heal the community, wind to carry us to our ancestors and back, and called on the fire to purify. Soon as the mud was on our foreheads, the wind started howling. Bastiana put the tip of a blade into a pit of fire." She scoffed. "We thought she'd cut our hands open with it and that was how we'd be put to sleep. But she went to Anessa and slit her throat. And since the four of us had no idea what was happening, we all started freaking out. Rain started and was in such a downpour after just a minute we could barely see." Davina folded her last dress and put it into a small trunk Marcel had just dropped off for her. "The elders told us we would be put into a state of peaceful limbo as part of the offering. At the reaping, we'd awaken and be reborn. We were told exactly how it should've gone, and even rehearsed it. We were even told we'd be more powerful than ever."
She took her hoodie jacket from her bed's board and put it on.
"Monique's aunt Sophie ran in and tried to protest, but the elders and their lackeys kept her from doing more than that. Sophie and I shouted for someone to help. I begged my mother to help and you know what she did? Nothing. No one did." Davina sniffed and wiped her eyes. "They weren't 'putting us to sleep' peacefully. They were slaughtering us. You should've seen the look in Bastiana's eye. She was crazed, she was enjoying hurting us." Davina stood up and her hands tightened into fists, turning to her vanity and back again.
"No one had questioned the Harvest. Not even my own mother. I haven't tried to contact her since. She's tried to see me though, persuade me to die in order to help the elders." She grinned in triumph. "I broke her leg."
Elijah looked away, hiding his amused smile.
"Before everything happened, I thought she was right, so I didn't question anything either. We had such faith. We were so stupid.
"We thought it would be a spiritual experience. Transcendental. It was certainly an eye-opening one." She turned and sat down on her bed.
"I wasn't ever put into this 'peaceful state of limbo, so the harvest isn't over. The witches are freaked out, because the time of the reaping is coming soon. All I have to do is wait it out, then I'll be free."
"But you survived the harvest. Therefore someone must've intervened."
"Marcel did." Davina smiled. "He told me later that he'd learned about the ritual happening from Sophie, and came just before I was dragged up onto the altar to be killed. He brought a handful of vampires with him, and every one of those lying elders were killed. Except Agnes. She slit Monique's throat at the last second then scurried away. Marcel broke the neck of the man who was holding me hostage. He saw how I was trying to fight to break free. The rain stopped with Agnes slitting Monique's throat, and things were calm.
Everyone was dead. Sophie went to Monique, and pulled her dead body into her lap, her blood was getting all over her. We had to just stop, and stare at the carnage. When we noticed that something was happening to Monique, we all thought that she was somehow still alive. There was light tunneling along her arms. But it disappeared, and without thinking I reached for her. And the light went into me."
"And that is how all the harvest magic transferred into you." Elijah replied. Davina nodded.
"When Helena and Anessa died, their power transferred to Monique. Then to me. I suddenly had all the ancestral magic, this offering that was supposed to appease the ancestors."
"So the harvest was working." Elijah prompted.
"Something was working, yeah. But they lied about how they were killing us. How do I know if they were lying to us about resurrecting us? But I mostly just didn't want to die. So I let Marcel save me. And here in maybe a couple of weeks, or a month or two, I'll be normal."
The light breeze in the sylvan bayou made the noises as overlapping as the night before. Overgrown willows, their branches stirred in the swamp water, and mosquitoes buzzed about them. All three woman slapped at their exposed skin, though Sabine gasped in surprise when one landed on her eyebrow. She groaned in annoyance, and flicked the dead insect away.
They came to the clearing where the carnage from last night was deepest. Pools of blood, decapitated heads and opened chest cavities. Sabine panted hard at the sight.
"Is that a wolf print?" Caroline asked, looking up and seeing deep claw gauges in an adjacent tree. A branch snapped and the women's eyes shot up cautiously.
"Who's there?" Rebekah called. A skinny tall man in a black wife beater and an open plaid shirt flapping in the slight breeze stalked towards them, took in the scene and sped away.
"Shit." She said.
"Why aren't you going after him?" Caroline asked.
"There may be wolves on Marcel's side, that's why." Rebekah chided. "That, and possibly that toothpick may not be the only vampire of his sulking about. Hopefully he'll keep his juicy information to himself until he reaches Marcel.
Rebekah took out her phone and dialed Klaus. After a moment she hung up and turned back to the girls.
"I need to help Klaus get rid of the man quickly. Wait for me here." She said, staring them down with seriousness. Caroline nodded.
Klaus returned to the bar and prodded Marcel to continue his story. When he was finished, Klaus knew he had no way of stealing Davina from him any longer.
"Sounds like you were quite the knight in shining armor. But you must realize you owe Davina as much as she owes you. You wouldn't be able to ban witches from using power without her." Klaus said.
"She's not exactly on good terms with them. The lot of them would love to get their hands on her and kill her to complete the ritual. I'm protecting her from that. It's just fortunate that I won't have to have her under lock and key for much longer."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, the whole 'reaping' part is coming up. When it passes, the New Orleans witches will lose their ancestral connection and their magic along with it. The other harvest girls stay dead."
Marcel began to reach for the nearly empty bottle of tequila.
"Well isn't this just like old times?" Rebekah greeted them. Marcel's hand fell against the bar. "Remember when you had your first drink, Marcellus? You were sick for a week after and swore never to touch the stuff again."
"To be fair, Kol made it." Marcel quipped. Rebekah couldn't help but smile.
"Just how drunk are you two?"
"Skating on the razor's edge." Klaus replied, pretending to slur his words heavily. Marcel rolled his eyes. "Need to use the loo." He said, getting up and stumbling away.
Rebekah stood at the bar, staring at a license plate nailed into the wall across the room, then eyed Marcel.
"You come to take him home?" Marcel asked.
"Why else would I be here?" Rebekah asked in return, slightly worried that somehow the vamp had already come and Klaus was just hiding the fact from her to punish her with it later.
"I don't know, maybe trying to make sure I don't get too drunk and spill secrets better left unspilled."
Rebekah moved closer to him, staring at his mouth.
"I know better."
"Good, because you know you don't want to be on the wrong side of me."
"Sure thing I know. Besides. Anything I could spill about you and me would also get you punished, not just me. And you, do not want to be on my bad side either Rebekah Mikaelson."
The skinny man in plaid came charging with a purpose up to Auggie's, and Klaus stopped him from getting to the porch of the establishment.
"Tomas I presume?" He greeted, hooking a thumb into the man's shoulder and leading him away. "Marcel asked me to find out what you learned about the dead witches." Klaus said. Tomas obviously didn't realize he was being led behind a huge Ford F150 pickup. The man still looked at the hybrid with distrust.
"I'm gonna report to Marcel personally if you don't mind. I saw your sister out in the bayou and I know that can't mean anything good."
Klaus scoffed and broke the vamp's neck before biting into his wrist and dropping him on the lot. He'd had to catch Rebekah before she left so she could drag the man's body back to the bayou for a little frame job.
Elijah plucked at the cords of the violin for a moment, then picked it up, holding it delicately by the top and presented it to Davina whose demeanor changed drastically.
"You can return this to its rightful owner. It's restored."
Davina's hands, now shaky, went to take hold of it. She shook her head as she took it.
"I don't know if I'll ever get the chance." She lied.
"Why not? Once you are 'normal', you'll be able to do anything you wish."
Davina couldn't help but smile at the thought of giving Tim back his violin and seeing the happy look on his face. The candles burned brighter, and the light bulbs all popped. The room shook, the shutters blasted open and natural daylight spilled into the room.
"What on earth was that?" Elijah asked, looking about the place.
"I-I sometimes can't con-control, the magic. Since not all of it is mine." Davina stuttered out.
"Yes, indeed. Such magic requires study and practice." He turned back to her. "My mother was a very powerful witch. She left behind grimoires. A gift of books filled with spells."
"Yeah, I know what grimoires are." Davina snapped.
"My point is that if you free me from here, I can attain a few spells that will help you gain a foothold of control over your magic until you no longer have it. However, if you leave here now with Marcel, we will never see each other again and I won't be able to help you." He lied. He would find a way to get to Davina if he must, but he needed to exploit the girl's emotions.
"The witches manipulated me and my friends. You know how that ended." Davina threatened.
"This is not a manipulation." Elijah replied, smiling cautiously. "This is simply a deal; one thing in exchange for another."
Davina nodded and smiled her consent.
Klaus came back in the bar after texting his message to Rebekah and found Marcel's spot empty. He turned to Rebekah.
"I trust you moved our informant in a timely manner?" He asked.
"Of course."
"So where is Marcel? In there touching up his lipstick?" He teased.
"Oh, give me some credit. It's filthy in the bathroom. Where'd he go?" Rebekah asked.
"He didn't tell you he was leaving?" Klaus asked darkly. She shook her head.
"Do you think he figured out we were stalling him?" She asked. He shook his head.
"Doubtful. But perhaps...he was stalling us." Klaus took his jacket from his chair and charged from the bar.
Marcel burst into Davina's door.
"Okay, now's our shot. You ready to blow this joint?" He asked. Davina sat upright from leaning on her suitcase and nodded.
"Can't wait." Davina replied with a huge grin, the excitement gone from her voice. Marcel didn't notice however, and picked up her suitcase to fast walk out of the room, making sure she followed.
"What about him?" Davina asked, looking at Elijah's coffin with the doors closed.
"Oh, we'll leave him behind as a parting gift to the Mikaelsons." Marcel replied. "Might earn me a little forgiveness for pulling one over on his siblings." He added. Davina gave him a conspiring smile and followed, looking back at the coffin for just long enough that Marcel went out of sight.
"D?" Marcel called. She charged after him.
They got to the main part of the church, and were nearly to the doors when Davina stopped short. She locked eyes with Marcel.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"I don't know, I..." Davina replied, shaking hard as if in the middle of an exorcism. The candles around the church flamed inches higher, wind picking up and pushing leaflets from the pews out of their places. "Something's wrong." She gasped and the church shook as if in an earthquake. Marcel went to Davina's dropping her suitcase.
"Davina!" He yelled over the sudden noise. "The elders did this same thing to me a few years back. I know you're faking. Stop it!"
"Stop what? I'm not in control here!" Davina yelled back.
"Elijah's awake isn't he. He got to you, didn't he?" Marcel demanded back. Davina stopped shaking and things settled. Marcel pursed his lips and crossed his arms. "Young lady, I thought we didn't lie to each other. Now, we are going to go. You're not gonna pretend to wig out again, alright?"
Davina's look softened and Marcel put his arm around her to assure her he wasn't that mad. They walked out of the church together. It didn't matter anyway.
Davina had lifted the barrier spell.
Caroline came back in the house late at night with Rebekah in tow, and Sophie was waiting in the parlour.
"Seriously? Klaus hasn't come back yet?" Caroline asked. Sophie shook her head. "Go ahead and go. I'm sure you want to sleep in your own bed before he shows up at the crack of dawn. I'll cover for you."
"Thanks." Sophie replied.
"Hey," Caroline called as she turned "after what you told us in the bayou about the harvest, the ritual and your niece, were you right? Did the ritual not work?" She asked.
"No. I watched it. It was working."
"So...what if Sabine's vision about the baby is true too?" Caroline asked. Sophie stared at her and turned away without a word. Neither of them wanted this to be true. If it was, then the babies were in danger. Chances are twin babies of the original hybrid would be more deadly to the witch community than just one. Caroline went to her room and changed, then texted Elena that she had something huge to tell her.
No matter what though, those babies were innocent, creepy witch vision or not. She wouldn't let a hair on their heads be hurt. And therefore, Hayley needed extra protection.
Marcel charged angrily into his home after dropping Davina off at the penthouse suite. Elijah must've been pretty persuasive...or there was something about Davina that he didn't know.
"Taking me on a field trip to distract me. Tsk tsk tsk, pathetic. And obvious. I thought I taught you better than that." Klaus greeted.
"Certainly had you fooled." Marcel taunted. "You, taught me to protect what's mine. You will not take Davina from me, end of story." Marcel bluffed. Hopefully he'd figure out Davina's secret before she decided to go live with the Mikaelsons.
"You've been playing king with a bunch of children for too long, Marcellus. Do not mistake me for one of your nightwalker lackeys. I can take Davina anytime I like."
Marcel growled and sped at him, but was quickly knocked to the ground. He lay on the floor, groaning in pain and surprise.
Klaus stared in surprise as Elijah stood over Marcel.
"Do forgive me, Marcel. But if anyone is to teach my brother a lesson, it's me." Elijah greeted.
"Well you certainly make an entrance." Klaus joked without humor, staring at him fearfully. He remembered what Elijah did when Elena had freed him and he fought with Klaus. And the first time he'd taken a dagger out of one of his siblings and Kol was accidentally awakened.
Marcel sat up, panting but smiling triumphantly. With Elijah to make peace with, they won't be as concerned with Davina for right now. He had a little more time.
Caroline went to check on Hayley and insisted on putting her to bed with a glass of hot cocoa she implied had a slug of whiskey in. It of course didn't, but Hayley chugging it to find the taste of alcohol tried the werewolf out quickly and she easily was tucked in. Caroline met Rebekah by the piano where the original was deciding which kind of bourbon to consume.
"I don't care if we have to get you a leash, you're not going galavanting about the city without protection again." Rebekah greeted her, handing her a glass of 1679 bourbon. Caroline sipped at him and mewed approval before downing the glass. Rebekah smiled.
"I had to make sure Hayley would be safe. Those wolves could've been her enemies, if mystic falls is any indication. And the witches are a whole other story now. Thanks for coming with me, though I know you only did it because you were hoping for a different result than what happened.
"Oi." Rebekah chided. Caroline stopped in the middle of pouring herself more bourbon. "I wouldn't ruin a perfectly fabulous pair of boots just to go watch some carnage."
Caroline smiled in surprise and Rebekah mirrored it.
The door opened and Klaus walked in, looking like he was going to be grounded for the rest of eternity. Caroline and Rebekah perked up.
"Nik! Finally, wha-"
Without a word, Elijah stepped through the threshold after his brother. Caroline stiffened and Rebekah grinned. She ran to him and threw her arms around him.
"Oh, Elijah! Thank God you're back. Things have been so dull without you."
Footsteps sounded down the stairs and Caroline realized Hayley must not've stayed asleep. She and Elijah locked eyes, the man turned to his brother in question before noticing Hayley as well.
The werewolf was barely containing a smile. She brushed her fingers through her hair to hide her face and walked out to the back porch.
The blonde vampire from Mystic Falls could wait. He wanted to say hi to Hayley first.
"Now that you're home, what is your first plan to kill Niklaus?" Rebekah teased.
"Excuse me a moment." Elijah replied, giving his little sister a forehead kiss and turning to follow Hayley. Klaus's happy smile faded as he realized where Elijah was going.
Rebekah looked at her other brother.
"Where is he going?" Klaus just looked back at her, with jealous, anger and a little nervousness.
Hayley stood against the windows of the back porch, looking over the backyard. It was dull and lifeless, but she had to go somewhere. Then she heard footsteps.
She didn't look, knowing that if it was Caroline there would've been orders to come back in and go back to bed. This was Elijah.
He stared at her side profile reflected by the moon...Lord, she was even more beautiful than he remembered. He gulped and traced his hand along the side of the house as he stopped a yard away. When her eyes landed on his, he came closer.
He stood beside her and she turned to him.
"So you're back." Hayley greeted with a smile. Elijah looked at her and nodded.
"I'm back." He replied happily. She stared at him a moment, and he thought she'd take his face in her hands and they'd have their first kiss. But without blinking, she slapped him hard across it instead.
He was left in shock, looking at the house. He blinked and looked back at her.
"Don't make promises you can't keep." Hayley stated. She gave him a dubious look. "Welcome home." Then she turned and went back into the house, up to bed before Caroline could find her. Elijah smiled after her and touched his hand to his cheek, the sting still fresh.
Elijah refreshed himself and led Klaus and Rebekah into his study. Caroline came down the stairs, but Klaus gave her a look to stay out of the room. She held the banister tightly and decided to listen in on what Elijah was saying. It wasn't skeevy and undermining, she was on their side. They all wanted to protect Hayley and her babies. So did she.
"Everything that brought us back to this city was a lie. A story that Sophie Deveraux fabricated. This struggle for control of the French Quarter, this war between the witches and vampires. Possibly Katherine is involved as well, we can't know for sure. It isn't over territory at all. It's over one girl. Davina Claire."
"Yes, we know." Rebekah replied. "This all happened 8 months ago. The harvest, the girls getting killed, the ancestral magic link thing."
"Yes, but what you don't know, is that Sophie wants to complete the ritual now. She is planning on resurrecting her niece, therefore killing Davina and the witches keep the link to their power. We help Marcel help Davina safe until the reaping is past us, we no longer have a need to worry over them."
"Sophie Deveraux is willing to fight to the death for her family, which makes her the most dangerous of all our enemies. We need to sever this connection and fast."
Caroline walked shakily back upstairs. She thought she could trust Sophie...at least a little bit. But she was actually using them? She had to go back to her room.
Her phone buzzed. It was Elena.
"Elena, you will not believe the day I had."
"Neither will you." Elena sighed. "Are you sitting?"
"No. Why?" Caroline asked with sudden concern.
"You need to know something about Bonnie."