I watched as Will retreated into the distance before turning and entering through the gate.

"Cami, I'm back," I called. The courtyard was quiet. An empty glass was set on the table, but otherwise there was no sign of my friend. "Cami?"

She was probably upstairs. I headed up, humming softly to myself. It had been a pleasant evening and I felt strangely warm all over. Was this what normality felt like? It had been so long I couldn't really remember.

I reached the upper floor, deciding to check in on the girls before I relieved Cami. I had only taken a few steps towards their room when I was struck with an intense feeling of… wrongness. Something wasn't right… I paused, eyes darting across my surroundings. A shoe lay discarded on the floor. The door to the girls' bedroom was slightly ajar. A reddish stain decorated the bottom of the wood.

I sprinted for the room, throwing open the door. A high pitched keening sound broke from me at the sight of their two empty beds. No… no… it was happening again…. It couldn't be. My stomach twisted and I had to fight the urge to throw up. Cami was sprawled on the floor, unconscious and bleeding from a gash on her head. I couldn't even bring myself to go to her. My legs gave way and I collapsed to the ground, burying my head in my hands. Tears poured free, leaving dark smears where my mascara ran. Everything from the past five years came crashing down on me. I had fought so hard to get my girls to safety, to build a life for them and it was all slipping away again.

"How long did you think it could last? You're pathetic Elena. You fall apart without someone to hold your hand,"

I lifted my head. Lucien was watching me with a mocking expression. Of course my hallucinations would come to kick me when I was down. I felt fury spark inside of me.

"No…" I said quietly.

"No?"

"I'm not the same girl I was five years ago. I'm not letting this happen again."

I got to my feet and angrily wiped the tears from my eyes. This was my home. I wasn't going to let anyone take my home or my family from me again. I pulled my phone from my pocket and called Freya.

"Elena?" she slurred, picking up after only a few rings.

"Get back. The girls are gone." I told her, hanging up promptly.

My next task was to take care of Cami. I checked her over and moved her to the living room. She seemed to be mostly okay, with the exception of her head and I hoped she'd be able to tell me exactly who was responsible.

Once she was deposited, I rang Jackson, Marcel and Sophie in turn. My message was simple. Gather your people and bring them to the Mikaelson house.

As I moved, my body seemed to be on a strange kind of autopilot. There was an electricity running through me, manipulating me like a puppet. When it steered me down through the courtyard and to the basement steps, I realised that I hadn't considered just how bad the situation might be.

The coffins were gone.

It took all my strength not to fall apart. Not only had my children been taken, so had the rest of my family. Anger battled with despair inside my head as I paced the basement, looking at the empty space where the siblings had slumbered only hours before.

"Elena?" I heard Freya's voice from upstairs and hurried back up to the courtyard. Marcel was with her.

"What's going on Elena?"

"Someone has taken my daughters," I told them both, tears stinging my eyes at the words. "And I am going to get them back even if I have to tear this city to the ground."

"Right… okay, well I've got my guys heading over here. We can set up patrols with the rest of the family?" Marcel suggested.

"That's not going to be possible…."

"Why?"

"Because she daggered them," Freya said coldly. "And put them in the basement."

"And whoever took the girls, took them as well," I admitted.

"Let me get this straight. In one of the most supernaturally active cities in the world, someone has two exceptionally powerful hybrid children as well as five original vampires who if killed, will end the lives of every other vampire in existence?"

"Yes, that's about right. But I'm going to handle it. Freya, Cami is upstairs. She got hit on the head I'm guessing. Can you make sure she's alright and try to bring her round? She probably saw who was responsible. Marcel, when your people arrive, have them wait down here for instructions. Heads up, I've asked both the witches and the werewolves to come as well so… try and keep the peace."

Freya nodded and hurried upstairs, choosing to set aside her negative feelings about my part in the siblings' removal. Marcel went to the gate to wait for his vampires. I went upstairs to my room to change and to locate as much weaponry as I could find.

I dressed myself in clothes that wouldn't hinder my movement, put Ansel's necklace on and, after a moment's hesitation, I retrieved the knife from underneath my bed. I was going to tear whoever had stolen my family apart.

Freya called me as I was leaving the bedroom. When I headed into the living room, I saw a disorientated looking Cami now sitting up.

"Elena! I'm so sorry!" I rushed to her side and she threw her arms around my neck, tears soaking my collar. "I tried to stop her. But there was nothing I could do!"

"You did what you could. What did she look like?" I already had a suspicion, it had begun to form the moment Cami had said 'her'.

"She was a vampire… she had red hair…"

"Aurora," I growled. "Alright. Cami, you should probably go to the hospital and get checked out. And then I would recommend finding somewhere safe to lay low for a while. This isn't going to be pretty and I don't want to risk you getting hurt."

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

"I'm going to find that bloodsucking bitch and rip her head off," I told her. "Freya, you can either help me or you can go with Cami. It's up to you."

"She took our family. I'm not going anywhere," Freya said firmly. I nodded, grateful to have my sister by my side.

I could hear voices drifting up from the courtyard and I went to the balcony to look down. The vampires were gathered at one side, the werewolves at another. Witches were filtering in, looking at the ground. I caught sight of a flash of fur and a moment later a wolf ran up the stairs to my side.

"Ansel… thank you," I said, reaching down to stroke his fur. He let out a gruff bark. More wolves began to flood into the room. Most made themselves comfortable amongst the werewolves, but a few mingled amongst the witches and vampires. I noted that the vampires looked particularly unsettled by their presence.

"Citizens of New Orleans!" My voice rang clear and strong. Instantly, everyone fell silent and still. "It has been many years since I have been able to call this city home. I know that some of you fought tirelessly to return me to where I belong while some of you sought to abandon your allegiance when it was most needed." My eyes rested on the witches who shifted awkwardly, heads bowed in shame. "But for tonight at least I am not going to address that. Be warned, this is not a pardon, this is merely a stay of execution. However tonight I have a far more pressing matter to deal with. Outsiders have come into the city and have taken people I care about. They will hurt them. They may even kill them. To control me. But they made a mistake. This is my city! THEY ARE MY CHILDREN! AND I WILL NOT LET THEM BE HURT!" I took a deep breath. "I am not asking you to fight for me. This is something I will do myself."

I went to the stairs and descended down to courtyard level, Ansel at my heels.

"Five years ago, you all made an oath. You promised your loyalty to my bloodline. I ask you to honour that pact. Not for me, but for my children. They are innocents. They have barely begun their lives. Each one of you shares some connection with them, be it one of blood, magic or bond. I ask you to use your gifts and bring them home."

For a moment there was silence. Then the wolves began to howl, their cries piercing the skies. The werewolves joined in with a shout of their own, then the vampires and finally the witches. I beckoned to Jackson and Marcel, who came over to me, accompanied by a woman I assumed was the current witch representative.

"What do you want us to do?" Jackson asked.

"Okay," I took a deep breath, rapidly formulating a plan that I hoped would work. "The person who took the twins is called Aurora De Martel. She's a vampire, she's incredibly unstable. I want a group to go to where her brother Tristan was staying. I have the address. The property is spelled so only members of Elijah's sireline can enter, so Marcel you pick a few men, probably a good idea to send some of the wolves and witches just in case. He tends to have a lot of guards. I need a few of the witches to start work on two location spells. The girls were wearing necklaces that should hopefully stop them from being cloaked. One location spell to find them, one to find Aurora if possible. You can use any of the things in the girls' bedroom for the spell but I don't think I have anything you can use for Aurora. Will you be able to work without it?"

"If we can borrow someone who has seen her recently, we can edit the spell to work with that," the witch said.

"Perfect. If Cami's still here, you can try her as she sure Aurora last. If she's gone already then you can use me. Jackson, your werewolves take to the streets. I know that wolves are drawn to Lilah, so make use of them. Marcel, your remaining vampires should set up patrols. I don't want Aurora to be able to set foot on the street without someone reporting it."

"What about the rest of us?" the witch asked.

"I want you to wait. And when Aurora is found, I want you all to channel your power into me. And, I want you to channel Marcel and Jackson as well."

The two men looked startled so I quickly continued.

"You represent your factions. The witches channel you, they channel the strength of the rest of you. That's why I don't want any of you attacking if you can help it. The priority is location. Once that's done, I will take her down. But I need the power of New Orleans behind me. Understand?"

"A spell like that will be immense…" the witch said.

"Do whatever you need to in order to get it done. Go to the cemetery if you need to, fetch what tools you need. Just make it happen," I told her.

I looked over the three of them, wanting to say more, tell them how much I needed their help but I didn't. They nodded slowly and the two men retreated to set up their patrols while the witch summoned a few members of the coven to start work on the locator spell.

Freya came over to me.

"You didn't mention the others…" she said softly.

"Best not to let everyone know about that…" I replied quietly. I could only imagine what would happen if people knew that the Mikaelsons were missing. "That's your job big sister. Find our family."