I was sitting at the dining room table next to Nik. We'd invited Freya to join us for a family brunch which, of course, just a way for Nik to test her and see if she was truly family. Katherine and Nikolas were with Hayley and Jackson in the Bayou to keep them away from Freya. Elijah joined us, later than he'd planned, and started to remove his coat.

"There you are. Finally," Nik said as Elijah hung his coat before coming to us.

"It's not like you to be late," I commented.

"I was delayed."

"Not much can do that." Elijah just stared at me as I spoke. Nik and I had actually taken strides to be on the same page with his scheming.

"Our guest of honor will be here momentarily," Nik smiled at his eldest brother.

"Strange, our house is conspicuously absent of our lupine guests. I do hope it wasn't on my account," Elijah said bemused and Nik laughed.

"Nicole and I sent Hayley and her poorly groomed husband off to spend the day with their werewolf brethren to test the limits of their new abilities and to keep our children from the witch's hands. Leaving us to deal with family business as we see fit."

"Niklaus, Rebekah's situation has taken a turn. We may need Freya's assistance. So, whatever you are planning here? Don't," Elijah ordered him suspiciously making Nik roll his eyes.

"All I'm planning is a simple chat with a long-lost relative. You yourself said to hear her out."

"And you yourself said that would be idiocy," Elijah pointed out.

"Did I?" Nik asked while feigning struggling to remember the words.

"It does sound like you, doesn't it?" I asked him with a smile of my own.

"It does. Regardless, on the off-chance Freya has some information that could protect my children, I'd prefer she share it on my terms." Nik pointed towards his ear and smiled. "Ah! I think I hear her now!" We all turned to the door just as Freya walked into the dining room, smiling at us. "Sister! Well, come in! Come in! Make yourself comfortable." Freya looked nervous, most likely having heard about her family's famous paranoia, but continued to smile warmly at us.


We all made small talk as we ate before one of the boys showed Freya a small round artifact. She held it in her hands and was examining it carefully.

"This witch-hoop, it's Danish. Is this from when you all lived in Copenhagen in the 1500s?" she asked them curiously.

"Quite the eye!" Nik complimented.

"Forgive me- are we here to discuss family heirlooms, or do we have more pressing concerns?" Elijah asked impatiently.

"Please excuse my brother's lack of decorum. He's been in a foul mood of late." The use of the words 'my brother' were not lost on me, nor Freya it seemed. "But, he is right. I did ask you here in the hopes that you would share some of Dahlia's secrets. So, without further ado, let's get to it!" Freya cleared her throat awkwardly before she began her tale.

"The first thing you should know is that Dahlia is the most powerful witch I've ever seen. She craves more power still. Right now she is like me- limited to one year of life in a century. But, she wants to be free of that restriction. To gain true immortality. And that is why she will come here- drawn by your daughter to take the child's power for herself. And she would kill anyone who would defy her," Freya told us.

"And yet you would defy her?" Elijah asked.

"I don't have a choice. She will never let me be free. My one chance is to align with you and kill her." I shared a look with Nik, who didn't look convinced, before looking at a troubled Elijah.

"Well, now that we're all suitably motivated, let's talk specifics!"

"For you to understand, I need to start from the beginning. After taking me from my family, Dahlia used me to forge a new brand of connective magic, one that augmented my power even as it allowed her to draw from me. Once we were bonded, Dahlia became unstoppable. She wasted no time proving her might. The chief of a nearby village threatened to run us off, accusing Dahlia of witchcraft. She decided to make an example out of the entire encampment- men, women, children. She killed them all with a wave of her hand. That was my first inkling of the power Dahlia had. Over the course of a thousand years, she's only grown stronger." Freya looked from the food in front of her to me and Nik. "And she will bring all her power to bear against you when she comes for your daughter." I gripped Nik's hand tightly in fear at her words. Elijah's phone rang, making me jump slightly. Nik's hand tightened on mine in comfort as Elijah looked at the caller ID.

"Excuse me."


After Elijah's phone call, and his announcement that Bekah would be joining us, he sat back down at the table where our conversation continued.

"Your stories are fascinating, and Dahlia does indeed sound dreadful, but Elijah and I have killed our fair share of evil witches," Nik told Freya, feigning kindness.

"Not like her," Freya countered.

"What are her weaknesses?" Elijah asked sipping his tea.

"She's paranoid. Obsessed with power. She hungers constantly for what's been denied her, be it love, or revenge," Freya told us.

"Yes, I believe I'm familiar with the type." Elijah looked at Nik, giving him a knowing look, but Nik just smirked at him.

"When I was a child, she would tell me tales of her own youth, being victimized by those stronger than her. Dahlia vowed never to be weak again. She bargained for the firstborn of Esther's bloodline, intending to raise us in her own image, forming a coven of her own from which she could draw endless power. That plan was foiled the day she learned that Esther had ended her bloodline by turning her children into vampires." Freya looked at her brothers and kept talking. "And so the burden fell to me. Dahlia demanded that I bear the firstborn that would add to her power, but, I would not allow a child of mine to live as I did- as a slave." Her eyes filled with tears at her memories. "So, I vowed never to love. Never to have a child of my own." She started crying and I looked down at my plate. "Of course, the more I resisted, the harder Dahlia fought to control me. 'Til the day that she took the last of what little freedom I had left. And so we slept, our magic accruing over time. Until we woke, filled with immense power and allowed to live a single year of life. That has been the existence I've suffered for the last ten centuries." Nik laughed fakely and Freya shot him a tear-filled glare.

"Well, that's quite the ordeal, isn't it? But, it does beg the question- why not end it yourself?" Nik asked her and I gave him a look. Not that it stopped him. "A high enough bridge, a tight enough noose? You must have considered it." Freya closed her eyes and sighed in frustration.

"Long ago, I did consider it. But, Dahlia would never give me even that freedom." Nik actually looked surprised by her answer and looked guilty for his words.

"I would later learn that the spell made me like her- immortal and impervious to harm." Freya laughed bitterly as she wiped the tears from her face. "So, you see, I am like you: a creature of great power, cursed for all time."


When Bekah finally made it to the compound I rushed to her side and gave her a tight hug before she told us what had happened to her.

"It was this witch, Eva! The nocturnal cow is inside of me trying to bust her way out!" Bekah said, her voice full of fear and anger. Elijah looked at Nik expectantly.

"Freya is waiting downstairs. Perhaps we shou-"

"Have you lost your mind?" Nik asked Elijah. "Tell me we're not considering opening our sister's head to someone we barely know!"

"Nik, for God's sake, she is our sister!" Bekah said getting frustrated with her brother's paranoia and overprotectiveness. "I've known her since she saved me from the Fauline Cottage."

"An act no doubt meant to secure your trust! Perhaps for this very moment, to strike when we are vulnerable!" Nik shook his head at Bekah's scowl. "No, we've no way of knowing that anything she said today is true."

"Nik, none of us can help Rebekah with this. Freya can. I don't trust her either, but we have no one else who'd be willing to help us with this." Nik looked appalled at my words and looked at Elijah to back him up.

"Either we leave Rebekah to suffer, or we place our faith in the hands of someone I believe to be our blood." Nik just shook his head. "Right now, I'm inclined to give the benefit of the doubt to family."


I waited with Bekah and Nik as Elijah brought Freya to the upstairs living room. Freya immediately walked to Bekah and greeted her with a smile.

"Rebekah!" Bekah stood up from the couch and the two squeezed each other's hands. "It's good to see you again."

"And you! Although I'd prefer better circumstances." The pair sat next to each other on the couch while Elijah stood off to the side. Nik was pouting in a chair in the corner with a drink at being overruled by both Elijah and myself. I was sitting on the arm of the chair watching them with my back to Nik since he'd situated the chair to look away from everyone.

"You needn't worry. Elijah explained the problem, and I can help," Freya told her.

"Rather confident, aren't we?" I hit Nik's arm when his 'muttering' was loud enough for the others to hear. Freya turned to look at him, partly amused and partly confused. When Nik didn't even acknowledge her, she just scoffed and turned back to her sister.

"The spirit of the host body is powerful, but I can cast a spell," Freya told Bekah as she brushed Bekah's cheek with her hand. "Put you in a deep sleep, and then suppress this other essence. You'll be just fine."

"Lovely. When do we start?" Bekah asked nervously.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Nik groaned. "She spouts off some magical diagnosis, and we are all supposed to applaud?"

"Nik, she's trying to help!" Bekah reminded him, but Nik rose to his feet and moved toward them before sitting at the bar in the room.

"Yes, but for the sake of keeping our options open, why not write down your spells and incantations, that way we can have them double-checked by an impartial third party? Say, Davina? She'd love to prove me wrong," Nik reminded us.

"I doubt she'd be able to understand my magic, let alone have the power to execute it," Freya told him, offended by his words.

"Oh, so you're my only hope, then? Seems rather convenient, doesn't it?" Nik asked her and I hit him again. He looked down at me and I gave him another look. Bekah looked appalled at Nik's attitude, but Freya looked both hurt and betrayed at his words.

"I knew it would be difficult to earn your trust, Niklaus. Your reputation precedes you." Nik smiled mockingly at her as she stood and walked towards us. "But, if we are to face Dahlia together, you will have to trust me. Given the peril that Rebekah now faces, are you truly incapable of giving me even a chance to prove myself?" Nik rolled his eyes and turned towards the bar, so Freya tried the rest of us instead. "I know I appear as an outsider, but I have dreamt of you all for a thousand years." The siblings across the room from me shared a look before looking back at Freya. "Elijah- when you were in Esther's womb, she would ask me to sing to you. I would feel her belly as I did. [She laughs] How you would kick. She would say it was as if Thor himself had raised his hammer-"

"-And summoned thunder and lightning," Elijah finished her sentence and the pair smiled at each other. "Mother rarely mentioned you, but when she did, she would say how enchanted you were with the prospect of my birth."

"How I wanted more brothers. And a sister-" Freya smiled at Bekah who returned it affectionately. "-more than anything." I placed my hand on Nik's arm as he continued to stew, upset at being left out. "But between Esther and Dahlia, that wish was taken from me. I was ruined by those who raised me. If nothing else, at least we have that in common." This time Freya looked at Nik before turning back to her other siblings. "There is nothing that can replace what was taken from us. But, I hope we can make something better in its place. All you have to do is trust me." Before anyone could say anything, Nik used to his vampire speed over to her and snapped her neck.

"NIK!" Bekah yelled furiously.

"Well, that's enough of that, don't you think?" Nik asked before dropping Freya's body carelessly onto the ground. "Right. Now we can have a proper family meeting." Bekah moved to her sister's side and checked on her before furiously looked up at Nik who took to pacing one side of the room as Elijah paced the other. I stood next to Freya's body and sighed.

"Did you really have to do that?" I asked him.

"Oh, please, she was insufferable."

"That was ridiculous, even for you!" Elijah said angrily.

"You've only just met her! Let's not get sentimental. Besides, if she was telling the truth about being immortal, she'll awaken shortly. If she was lying, good riddance," Nik pointed out.

"Yes. Of course, if she wakes, she'll be willing to help us with unbridled enthusiasm," Elijah said sarcastically making his younger brother scoff at him.

"She played you all for fools! Can you not see that? She spins a sad yarn about a small child taken by an evil witch, and you both fall over yourselves to mend what's broken!"

"How can you be so certain?" Bekah asked him annoyed.

"Simple- It's exactly what I'd do," Nik pointed out.

"And we need more reason to prove she's family because, why?" I asked him and he just glared at me.

"The real question is, what's in it for her?" Nik asked.

"Well, whatever the truth may be, she's in no position to help us now," Elijah pointed out and Bekah turned her glare on Nik.

"Well, then we should try Marcel. Perhaps he's had luck on his end?" Bekah said looking between her brothers before settling another glare at Nik. "Surely he's put in a better effort." Bekah stormed out of the room and, after a moment, Elijah followed.

"You know I'm right, Elijah!" Elijah stopped and turned to Nik. "We can't have an alliance with someone we can't trust."

"You don't trust her, and that is your choice. I only hope that choice comes from a place of reason... not fear." Elijah left us alone with Freya's dead body and I looked at him.

"Nik, I know you're paranoid about what's going on and protecting our family, but you can't just jump to conclusions about someone who's offering help." He just looked away from me and to the ground. "Why are you pushing away the only person who can help Rebekah?"

"We can't trust her," he told me plainly and I just sighed.

"How do you know?" I asked him. When he couldn't give me an answer I tried again. "We are both cautious with who we trust which is why we sent Katherine and Nikolas out to the Bayou with Hayley and Jackson. When it comes to protecting this family, there's nothing you won't do. Even becoming the villain. So why not trust your siblings or at least allowing Freya to help Rebekah?"

"I won't allow someone to pretend to be someone we can rust only to have them betray us."

"Like I did?" He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. "Let's get her back to the bell tower. Maybe she'll still be willing to help us when she wakes up."

"Nicole..."

"Don't." I picked up Freya's body and left the room with it.


Once we'd made it to the bell tower, I laid her down gently and we didn't have to wait long for her to awaken with a gasp.

"Ah, you're awake. Well, clearly your restorative powers are not renowned for their speed," Nik commented.

"You dare lay your hands on me?" Freya asked him furiously rising to her feet.

"Immortality is a bold play. I had to make sure you're telling the truth." Freya was clearly appalled by his behavior as she tried to catch her breath.

"Why did you bring me here?"

"I couldn't very well have you stay in my home. That honor is something I reserve for those I consider family," Nik told her and I sighed looking down at the floor. I'd thought she'd be comfortable here, that's why I suggested bringing her here.

"So you refuse me as your sister?" She asked him.

"Well, you had a lovely audition. It just didn't seem to be the right fit."

"I think Elijah felt otherwise. Rebekah, too. Even Nicole seems to know what you wish to deny." Nik just looked at me but I said nothing.

"Yes, you did a fine job of convincing them with all your melodramatic tales. However, I suspect you were not entirely forthcoming. The truth is, Elijah, Rebekah, and even Nicole can be a bit naive when it comes to family relations. Case in point, their unending faith in me! I repay that loyalty by guarding them against treachery they cannot see, and I suspect you are very treacherous indeed. You wish to worm your way into my family- I want to know why. So, sister, I'm going to give you one last chance to tell the full truth. I suggest you don't muck it up." Freya moved to light the candles around us to give us more light.

"You want to know why I hate Dahlia?" she asked him and he looked surprised and intrigued by her response. "It goes back to a man. His name was Mathias. We knew each other for one perfect year in the early 1400s. I loved him more than my own life, and Dahlia allowed me to love him."

"Of course. She wanted you to bear her another firstborn daughter," Nik said.

"I broke my vow and gave into love, and that led to the darkest moment of my life," Freya told us in tears once more. "The day when I tried to steal from Dahlia that which she wanted most."

"And what, precisely, was that?" Nik asked her, but I had an inkling.

"A daughter." Freya started to cry and hesitated for a moment.

"We didn't know it at the time, but it wasn't a daughter like she wanted. Mathias and I were to have a son. Mathias only wanted our son to be born free. For that, Dahlia cursed him to death. I knew that I'd never be free of her, that my child would be born a slave. To spare us both the horrors of the life I'd known, I took a bottle of Dahlia's strongest poison. I wanted to die, for only death could give me the release I longed for. But Dahlia knew that my death was never an option. That was the day that I learned I could never die." I pushed back my own tears at the memories she must have been seeing. I had my own memories of nearly losing Nikolas and Katherine to the French Quarter Witches, before losing them for six months to protect them. "It was Dahlia who made me do what I did. She turned me into a monster and I will destroy her for it. Tell me, brother- is that the truth you wanted to hear?" I watch Nik steel himself and force down his emotions before he spoke to her again.

"Whether I believe you or not is no matter. You told that tale in order to garner my sympathy!" Freya just stared at him blankly and I shook my head. "Thinking the shared plight of a child in danger would bond us. But, I will not be manipulated!" Freya rolled her eyes as she walked towards him.

"Whatever you choose, one finale truth remains- Dahlia is coming for us. With me, you have a chance to defeat her. Without me, she will take your daughter and make her a slave. She will suffer as I had, never knowing her mother and father because Dahlia will have rendered you into ash."

"Are you quite finished?" Nik asked her angrily. "If there is to be an alliance between us, it will be one of my design. And if you ever try to control me again, sister, you will spend the rest of your immortal life regretting it."

"Then leave. I already have Elijah and Rebekah's trust, and I am not going anywhere. But, if I were you, brother, I would rethink your alliances as you go forward." Nik sneered at her, but she was intimidated.


I stared at the Quarter below my balcony as I thought about everything from today.

"We need to talk." I turned to see Hayley walking towards me.

"Do we?" I asked her. "Where are Katherine and Nikolas?"

"Asleep, thanks to Jackson." I looked back down at the people below. "Speaking of... you go to talk to Klaus."

"About what now?" I asked her. "There's been a lot of talking today and he hasn't exactly done a lot of listening."

"All this tension between Klaus, Jack, and the wolves- we need to put it behind us," she told me. "Klaus needs to give Jack the space he needs to run the pack as he sees fit. No more orders, no more favors. He's Alpha. Period."

"You think I don't agree with that?" I asked her.

"If it were up to me I'd give him all the power he wants to run the pack," she smiled at my words. "But, they accepted me and my children into the pack last year. Jackson agreed to protect my children on your wedding day. My husband is very opinionated on how that's supposed to be done and I don't argue."

"You and Klaud will show him respect. He is on our side, and he's fighting for your daughter," Hayley reminded me angrily.

"I've spent all day listening to family squabbles. I don't have the patience for you and yours right now." I turned to go back to my room, but Hayley stopped me.

"He's your Alpha. He deserves your respect just based on that face alone." I gave her a look.

"He's been nothing but good to me since I activated my werewolf curse and he's been a wonderful uncle figure to my children, but that won't stop me from doing whatever it takes to protect what's mine," I warned her. "If that happens to agree with Jackson's choices then I'll fight for it. If it doesn't, then I'll fight him tooth and nail. Be sure to tell Jackson that yourself. I'm sure he knows you're going behind his back and threatening me, doesn't he?" I moved her hand from my arm then forced her out of my room.