Rebekah and Matt didn't have a honeymoon, more a brief interlude at the plantation house. When they returned, still glowing with happiness, everyone expected Matt to be a vampire, but he was still very much human.

Once they explained their reasoning - that neither of them wanted to be MIA if and when Dahlia showed up - it made perfect sense. Matt was adding Rebekah's blood to his coffee every morning, just in case; otherwise they would wait until Dahlia was gone and Hope was safe.

For now, however, everyone was on edge, waiting for the next bombshell.

It was a hot July morning when it came. Since Davina had managed to create the map Klaus had asked for, she and Kol had been looking after it, since no one trusted Klaus not to become completely obsessed with the thing.

They both checked it three times a day, or if they happened to be near the dresser where they kept it under a cloaking spell that Davina had found in Esther's grimoire.

It was Kol who saw it, having been searching for a pair of socks, of all things. As he closed the drawer, his eyes fell on the map and he paused. "Davina?"

"Yeah?"

"How many dots were on the map when you looked?"

"Five," Davina said in a muffled voice, probably through toothpaste.

"And when was that?"

"Hang on."

He heard her finish brushing her teeth, and then she emerged. "Just before I went into the bathroom. So, what, ten minutes ago? Why?"

"There are six dots," Kol said, turning back to the map.

"What?" Davina joined him to look for herself, but he was right - there were definitely six black marks on the map.

Three of them were practically on top of each other - Hope, Klaus and Kol were all at the compound - one was a few streets away (probably Rebekah as she and Matt had gone out for breakfast, and that was where her favourite cafe was) and one was over near the city's edge (Elijah had a habit of going for walks in the morning).

The sixth however …

"That's … not possible," Davina said slowly. "That's the Dowager Fauline Cottage. It's a witch prison," she added, when Kol still looked perplexed. "It's where they put the witches who are really, really bad. Only the elders can open the door and … And how would someone just appear inside, anyway?"

"Maybe it's Mother?" Kol suggested.

Davina pulled a face. "I meditated this morning. I think your mother trying to resurrect herself is something the ancestors would have mentioned."

"Well, there's only one thing for it," Kol said.

Davina sighed. "Kol, Kaus will over-react."

"I know, darling," Kol said with a smile. "Which is why you and I are going to take a walk over and find out what's going on. After all, in theory, they should be locked in there."

"Okay, but I'm taking a truth globe," Davina said, retrieving it from the bookcase.

"Why?" Kol asked.

"Because I'm not convinced you can actually smell a lie," Davina answered, slipping it into her pocket. "Okay, let's go."

When they reached the Cottage it was all quiet, and Kol checked the map again. "Still there."

"What's still there?"

Davina jumped. "Maddi, don't sneak up on a vampire."

"I heard her," Kol said, tucking the map away again.

"Then why didn't you tell me?" Davina asked.

Kol grinned at her. "And miss you getting startled?"

Davina sighed. "Why do I put up with you?"

Madeleine cleared her throat. "As adorable as this is, why are you here? And what's still there?"

"There's someone in there who shouldn't be," Davina said. "Don't worry; we're not here to get them out. We're just going to wait here and see if something happens."

Maddi laughed. "Davina, there are three people who are able to open that door. I'm one of them and I can tell you right now that there is no one in there who shouldn't …"

The front door of the cottage creaked open.

Davina turned, just in time to see a young woman step out into the sun. The other inmates lurched towards the door and the escapee raised her hand blasting them backwards, before the door slammed shut behind her.

"Okay," Madeleine whispered. "I was wrong. I have no idea who that is."

Kol took a few steps forward, meeting the young woman at the gate, who stopped dead, but said nothing. "I know you," he said. "You accompanied me to a Christmas party back in 1908 and then just … vanished."

"I got a bit too close," she said quietly.

Davina started and stepped a bit closer. The unknown witch sounded American, but there was a soft lilt in her voice, one that ran through Kol's voice too. She was wearing an old-fashioned evening gown under a raggedy cardigan, as though she had grabbed something to protect her from the cold on a bitter winter's night. And her face …

"You're Freya," she whispered, as though saying it louder would cause something to shatter.

Kol sucked in a breath. "You're sure?"

Davina nodded. "She's a grown-up version of the painting Klaus did … You are, aren't you?"

"I am," Freya answered.

"How?" Kol blurted out. "You're a witch. How can you be an immortal witch?"

"I'm not immortal," Freya said. "At least, not in the way you are. Dahlia wanted to use me to power the spell and then keep using witches through the generations, but I never had children so she had to improvise. We live a year, then sleep for a hundred."

"Okay, but it's 2013," Davina said, frowning. "If you were alive in 1908, you've overslept."

This surprised a laugh out of Freya and Davina relaxed against Kol's side, as the smile finally made his sister look slightly less menacing.

Her smile faded soon enough though. "I try to sleep through if I can. It's better than spending a year running from Dahlia. I thought that place would keep her from finding me, but …" she trailed off. "She didn't find me. There's a new child in the family, isn't there?"

Ice seized Davina's heart and she tightened her grip on Kol's arm, lest he do something he would regret. "How do you know?"

"I can sense it," Freya whispered. "Dahlia will too."

"Kol …" Davina murmured, her entire body trembling.

"I know," Kol said, his hand covering hers on his arm. "I'm not telling you anything."

"Good," Freya said, some of the fire returning to her eyes. "Tell me nothing. Gender, name, appearance, location, nothing. It's safer if I don't know. But … how?"

Davina and Kol shared a glance.

"We think your mother wanted to give the child to Dahlia to get you back," Davina answered finally.

For a second, Freya didn't respond. Her features, a perfect blend of her siblings', seem to close off, her eyes turning cold.

"I would rather die," she said finally, "than allow another child to suffer as I did."

Davina closed her eyes, her free hand touching the truth globe in her pocket as it remained dark and still. She squeezed Kol's arm again, knowing that he would understand the message.

Kol sighed. "I must admit, Freya, that I am in a bit of a quandary here. Nik won't be happy for me to bring you home with us, but …"

"If the child is there," Freya said, "that would be a bad idea anyway. I can assure you that I have ways of keeping myself safe. I can stay …"

"With me," Maddi finished, finally stepping forward. "I'm Madeleine, one of the coven elders," she added for Freya's benefit. "The coven can grant you sanctuary and you are welcome to my spare room until it's safe for you to go home."

"Home," Freya repeated with a sad smile. "It's been a long time since I had one of those."

"You've always had one of those," Kol said firmly. "Just because we didn't know you were still alive that doesn't change - you have always been our sister. You heard how Davina recognised you. Nik included you in the family painting in the nursery. You have always had a home with us. And we're not going to sacrifice you to save the baby any more than we're going to sacrifice the baby to save you, got it?"

Freya faltered, finally meeting her brother's eyes fully. "Thank you."

Kol smiled, taking the last step forwards to embrace his older sister. "We'll fix this, Freya."

Freya clung to him for a few minutes, before pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you, brother. Please tell the others that I love them and that I mean the child no harm."

"I will," Kol murmured, releasing her to Madeleine.

Maddi smiled. "Come on. Let's get you into some fresh clothes. And maybe a shower. That always makes me feel better."

Davina sighed, resting her head on Kol's shoulder as they watched his sister get led away. "I was kind of hoping she'd be the bad guy."

"I know," Kol said, wrapping an arm around her. "Keeping them both safe is not going to be easy."

"She'll find out everything she doesn't want to know," Davina said, tugging him back in the direction of the house. "Hope's not a secret."

"True," Kol said. "Let her have it for now though."

"We'll have to visit her," Davina said. "Someone needs to catch her up on the last century."

"Can't we wait until it's over?" Kol asked. "We've all waited this long. Nik won't want to visit - and we probably don't want him to either."

"We can't wait," Davina said with a sigh. "It could be years before it's over. Besides, someone has to tell her that Finn's dead - he's the only one of you that she actually spent any real time with, Christmas party notwithstanding."

"It gets better," Kol said. "Someone also needs to tell her that the person that killed Finn is now her brother-in-law."

Freya's appearance in New Orleans put everyone back on edge, but still Dahlia did not appear.

In the end, it was Kol who had gone to meet Freya - at the cemetery so Maddi didn't have to give him an invitation - to bring her up to date.

He had half-expected a Niklaus-worthy blow-up when she learned about Finn, but her reaction had been heartbreakingly muted. She had cried, of course, and asked a lot of questions.

At least he could reassure her that Finn was happier on the Other Side, something that he had made clear to Davina - Finn had never taken immortality well, even compared to Kol himself who had continuously struggled with the loss of his magic.

The months passed, the weather got colder, and before anyone knew it, it was nearly Hope's first birthday.

Two days before, Davina was on her way home from the cemetery, having been attending a coven meeting before she noticed the time.

It had been unanimously agreed that a birthday party was a bad idea, but Caroline could not abide the thought of her daughter's first birthday passing with nothing at all, so she had compromised with a nice dinner at home before the day itself, even though her mother would not be able to make it.

Officially, it was nothing more than just dinner, but everyone involved knew what was actually going on, so Davina was hurrying home so she could shower and change beforehand, when a sudden yell caused her to skid to a halt, straining to figure out where it had come from.

Another strangled yell sent her sprinting towards one of the small alleyways that littered this part of town. She had just rounded a corner when she came across a scene that made her let out a scream of pure horror.

Aiden was sprawled on the ground before her, the front of his hoodie bloodstained and his eyes wide and unseeing.

A woman stood over him and Davina met her eyes. The magic swirling around them was suffocating and Davina took a few shaky steps backwards. "Dahlia …"

The woman's mouth curved into cruel smirk and she raised her hand.

Before Davina could run, there was a piercing pain in her throat and she fell to her knees, gasping for breath.

Blood was pooling on the ground and she realised with horror that it was hers. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was Dahlia stepping over her, leaving two bodies behind her.