Disclaimer: Don't own anything you recognise!

Thank you for all of your reviews!

Ashes2Dust18: Thank you! I really wanted the friendship she had with Kol to be very different from her other relationships, she rescued Enzo, freed Damon from his obsession with Katherine and gives Caroline the confidence she needs to be the best she can be. But Maya's relationship with Kol is very different because she's not the one in control, she's learning from him, he's her mentor, and I really wanted that to come across. I'll try to give you guys more Klaus/Maya, because I love their relationship too!

Guest16: Glad you liked it, Marcel is one of those characters I sometimes love and sometimes hate, it all depends on what he's doing at the time.

sam: Maybe, but it really depends on Damon and his relationship with Stefan, because Damon doesn't like Lexi in this story, but he deep down he does love his brother. So Damon will be the deciding factor on if Lexi gets to live, and gets a ring.

Felinegreat: You get a little bit of the Mikaelson clan in this chapter!

Enileve: Thank you!

TikiKiki: Thanks, hope you enjoy this one!

CloudZzFluffyBedsOfWhite: Sorry to say that Kol isn't getting magic from this link, for a few reasons, one of which will be explained later on when we get more information on Siphoners and their abilities. But the main reason is that Kol is a vampire now, a creature belonging to Death, he doesn't belong to Mother Nature anymore and doesn't have that connection which gave him magic in the first place. Kol's link to Freya is so that he has a level of control over her to ensure that she won't screw any of them over, which was something that she tried to do when she first entered TO.

xotinkerbella: I'm feeling out the idea of Rebekah/Mason because now that Klaus has the moonstone, I don't think Mason needs to die, especially not because Damon knows about werewolves this time around and will know that the Lockwoods are a werewolf family. I'm definitely having Maya handle most of the interactions with Davina, I think that if Davina has someone outside of the French Quarter that she can trust things will turn out better for her. Also Maya's not going to let Klaus kill Davina's crush, she wants Davina to like Klaus, or at the very least tolerate his presence instead of always looking for ways to kill him. OMG I hated Stefan so much for killing Enzo that second time round, I loved Bonenzo and there was no reason to kill him off, Bonnie should have been able to have her happily ever after, after all the crap that she went through!

NotRob: Finn is a miserable little shit! Both on the show and in my head, he likes to make things so difficult for me to write! And he should never have killed Kol, there was absolutely no reason to it other than 'Kol's not doing what mother wants'. Finn is such a mama's boy, so he's only going to get limited 'screen' time, the only reason I'm keeping him alive is because of the sirelines.

Klaus and Kol were waiting for them when the plane arrived, Maya rushed down the stairs and threw herself at Klaus, wrapping her arms around his neck, surprisingly he caught her. "Thank god!" Maya said, still in his arms, "Damon bet that you wouldn't catch me if I threw myself at you!"

"Ah," Klaus smirked, tightening his grip on her, "How much did you win?"

"500 bucks!"

"At least I know I'm worth something," Klaus mused.

"Awe man, seriously!" Damon whined, seeing Maya in Klaus's arms, "You just lost me 500 bucks Nik!"

"Am I not allowed to greet my favourite witch any way I see fit?" Klaus asked.

"Yeah Damon, can't he greet me any way he sees fit?" Maya asked, resting her head on Klaus's shoulder, shooting him a smug grin.

Damon scowled, pulled out his wallet and handed over the money to her, "I'm getting that back!"

"You wish," Maya scoffed, finally being released from Klaus's hold, her feet hit the ground, but she didn't move too far away from him.

"Where's my enthusiastic greeting darling?" Kol asked.

"In your dreams Kol."

"Every night darling," he replied lasciviously.

"Ugh!" Maya wrinkled her nose, "I walked into that didn't I?"

"Most definitely," Klaus agreed.

She looked up at Klaus, "Hi."

"Hello love," he smirked, "Did you enjoy New Orleans?"

"You mean besides the kidnapping? I spent most of my time in the Cauldron," she shrugged, "I didn't get a chance to really explore."

"Something that I'd be happy to rectify in the future," Klaus offered, he found that he'd like to give her a personalised tour of one of his favourite places in the world.

"In the future, sure. But we should focus on the present for now," they looked over at the plane and watched as Enzo and Damon brought out the glass coffin containing his sister. Kol was at the coffin instantly, examining it as they moved. "Have you got a place for Kol and I to work? The spell-work I have to do is going to take a lot of time and no offence, but I don't really want your sister at the apartment."

"There's Brownstone that I've purchased within walking distance of the apartment, it's in your name love, so you'll have to invite Kol and I in."

"Wait, you bought me a house?"

"Well, I want you to be able to keep the rest of my siblings out," Klaus said, "Finn will no doubt be on the way back here shortly and I don't want him anywhere near Freya until you and Kol have woken her. The bedrooms have also been set up for you to rest in, I'd rather you don't go out without either Kol or myself to escort you, just to be safe."

Maya tilted her head thoughtfully, this Klaus was different from the one that she'd seen in her visions, different from the one in her memories, she assumed that Klaus would demand that she do as he says, demand that she'd spend all her time working for him, and no one else. But he wasn't like that with her, this wasn't Klaus, this was Nik, her friend, the man that she could talk to when she couldn't talk to anyone else, the man that laughed at her jokes and sent her trinkets filled with magic so she could keep up with her training. "Okay," she agreed.

Klaus raised a brow, "I was expecting a little more fight from you."

"I know my limits Nik, I only got away from your brother and Sage because I took them by surprise, I won't be able to do that again, and I'm pretty sure that both of them want me dead after what I said so I'm not going to argue. Don't get used to it though!"

"Perish the thought love."

"NIKLAUS! KOL!" Finn yelled as he burst into the Penthouse.

Klaus looked up at Elijah, the two were enjoying some quiet time in the elder Mikaelson's library, rolling his eyes he shut his book and stood, "That took longer than expected," he muttered, whooshing from the library. He was not about to get into a fight in there and face a lecture from Elijah about endangering his precious books. "Finn!" he said cheerily, entering the foyer, "I thought you and Sage were off enjoying your time together as a couple."

Finn charged forward and threw Klaus across the room, "WHERE IS SHE?!" he yelled.

Klaus punched him the face and shoved Finn away from him, but his older brother kept coming, the two of them smashed into one of the walls and fell through into the living room, "What the-" Rebekah jumped back from her brothers, she'd just been reading a magazine in her favourite arm chair when the two of them fell through the wall.

"TELL ME!" Finn yelled, grabbing one of Elijah's vases and hurling at his younger brother.

Elijah whooshed into the room, just in time to see it smash against the wall and growled, "That was 400 years-old!" he exclaimed, and grabbed the next priceless piece that Finn threw out of the air, not wanting anything else damaged. "ENOUGH!" he yelled, when they wouldn't stop, he slammed Klaus up against one wall while Rebekah pushed Finn against another. When he was certain that the two weren't going to attack one another he let go of Klaus and turned to look at his older brother, "What is going on?!" Elijah looked between the two of them and waited for an answer. "Well?"

Rebekah stepped back from Finn, eying him warily, "I'd like to know that as well, you just ruined a perfectly good antique!"

"Where is she Niklaus?!"

"Who?" Klaus asked, unwilling to reveal anything.

"Yes who are you talking about brother, Sage?" Elijah asked, "Is Sage missing?"

Finn's eyes narrowed, unsure as whether to believe that Elijah didn't know what was going on, "I am talking about our sister."

"What?" Rebekah asked, "I'm right here."

"I am speaking of Freya."

"Finn, Freya's dead," Elijah said gently, wondering if all that time his brother spent daggered had actually damaged his brain.

Finn scoffed, "You didn't tell him?" he looked over at Klaus, "You didn't tell your big brother what you and Kol are up to?"

"Niklaus what is he talking about?"

Klaus scowled, looking between his three siblings, "Our older sister Freya, she's alive."

"What?" Rebekah gasped, "What are you talking about?"

"She's been cursed by a witch, spends a hundred years asleep for one year awake. I sent someone to retrieve her."

"Your red-headed little witch," Finn spat, "Where. Is. My. Sister?"

Elijah looked up at that, a red head? Perhaps the young woman that he and Kol had seen in that video outside of the hospital? "Niklaus what did you do?"

Klaus clenched his jaw, of course, he was always the one that did something, "I didn't do anything, except send someone to retrieve our long lost sibling!"

Finn scoffed, "Your witch left me trapped in a house for a week! All so she could abscond with my sister at your behest!"

Klaus scowled, "YOU KIDNAPPED HER! STOLE HER OFF THE STREET AND TIED HER DOWN! Did you think that she would just let that go?! When she has a job to do, she gets it done, and you, chose to interfere. All she did was get you out of the way. And point of fact, Freya is our sister."

"Oh please, she's only your sister because you want something from her!"

"As a matter of fact I do! You see it occurred to me, and to Kol, that a witch of mother's bloodline may actually be able to remove my curse without the need for a doppelgänger!"

"If you think that I would allow Freya to be used by you-"

"Oh come off it Finn! Freya is in plenty of trouble herself! A curse that she has not been able to break for a thousand years! A witch who has been hunting her for just as long! How would you help her Finn? Who do you know that could help her, hmm?" Klaus moved away from Elijah and in close to his eldest brother, "What could you possibly do to save her?"

Finn snarled and made to attack Klaus, only to be slammed back into the wall by Rebekah, "That is enough!" she said, and turned to look at Klaus, "If Finn's been locked up for a week, where's Freya?"

Klaus looked down at his sister, he had to get over his anger with her, Mikael was dead now, he couldn't hurt him anymore, "The spell keeping her asleep is a strong one, Kol is helping my witch break it as we speak, he seems to think that it will take more than a few days to wake her."

"I want to see her," Rebekah demanded.

"You will, when she's awake."

"Now Nik!"

"Freya is with my witch, I am not letting you, Elijah or Finn, anywhere near my witch!"

"Nik-"

"I said no! Finn has already threatened her once, I'm not taking the chance of anything happening to her."

"But you'll let Kol near her?" Rebekah scoffed.

"Kol likes her, and as the one out of all of us that knows the most about magic, he is necessary. You will see Freya when she wakes and not a moment sooner. And you," he glared at Finn, "If you try to interfere in the breaking of my curse, I will ensure that my witch's threat is carried out to the letter."

Klaus shoved away from Finn and whooshed into his studio, Elijah closely followed, "Niklaus-"

"Not now Elijah."

"Niklaus why didn't you tell me about this?"

"I wasn't going to tell anyone until it was done! The only bloody reason Kol knows is because he was listening in to one of my phone calls!"

"Niklaus if you had told me about Freya I would have helped you! She is our sister!"

"Yes, maybe you would have, or perhaps you would have been more inclined to agree with Finn and decide that she was to be kept as far from me as possible! It's no secret that you no longer want me to break the curse!"

"Niklaus."

"Or will you deny that you have been searching for ways to kill me?"

"I thought you had dropped our family in the ocean!"

"And you believed me?! For a thousand years I have done nothing but keep you close! I have never claimed to be the bastion of temperance but the fact that you would actually believe that I would dump our siblings in the ocean! After everything I have done to protect them, TO PROTECT YOU! I should stick you back in your bloody coffin for it!" Klaus was furious, his siblings had always questioned him, always hated him for the use of the daggers against them, he understood that, in fact he probably would have thought less of them if they didn't hate him for it. But the fact that Elijah of all people could actually believe him capable of abandoning his family like that, it hurt him, in a way he didn't think possible anymore. He had to get away, before he did actually dagger one of his siblings, he didn't think that that would endear him to Freya, and he needed her on side. He whooshed out of the Penthouse before Elijah could stop him.

"Elijah," Rebekah said, making herself known, "You were trying to kill Nik?" she asked brokenly, "Why?"

"I was in a dark place Rebekah, Niklaus told me that he'd dropped your coffins into the ocean and I believed him, I thought I'd lost our family for good."

"Oh Elijah," Rebekah whispered, coming up to hug her brother, she often resented the fact that Elijah spent the least amount of time in a coffin than the rest of them, she never took into account how it must have felt for him when he was awake, unable to rouse his siblings for fear that Niklaus would lock him back in his coffin too.

"Kol," Maya started, as they prepared the first ingredients to the spell, "I- there's something that I need to talk to Nik about, something I remembered, but I'm not sure how well he'd take it."

"My brother's managed to keep his head with all these revelations that you've given him so far darling, what could possibly be so bad that you're worried about him now?"

"Its…Marcel."

Kol looked up at that, "That snivelling little street rat?" Kol really hated Marcel, "What did he do?"

"It's more about what he didn't do…and then what he did."

"Maya…"

"He didn't die in that fire at the Opera House!" she rushed out.

"What?!"

"He's still alive, and he didn't come looking for Nik and Rebekah."

"Bloody hell," he may have hated Marcel but he knew that Nik and Rebekah loved him, not coming after them when they fled New Orleans, that was a betrayal of the highest order, "You said he did something."

"Nik's gonna be really mad, and he's gonna wanna do things that he can't do, at least until he's broken his curse."

"Maya, what did Marcell do?"

"He stayed in New Orleans, he took over, the vampires and the witches call him King of the Quarter now."

For the first time in his life Kol was speechless, Marcel had gone and done what?! Taken New Orleans when he should have been with Rebekah and Nik? He didn't know what to say.

Maya closed her eyes as she blurted out the rest, "And he's living in the Abattoir, pretending like all the 'M's' stamped everywhere stand for Marcel and Nik already knows this next part, but when coupled with this new information I'm afraid it's going to send Nik into a tailspin that's going to end with the very, very brutal decimation of New Orleans and that cannot happen right now!"

"What are you talking about Maya?" Kol asked, whatever it was sounded worse than what she'd already told him.

"He and Rebekah called Mikael to New Orleans in 1919, they're the reason that the city burned, that Nik had to run."

Kol launched a table across the room in anger and Maya jumped in surprise, "I'm gonna pull his spine out through his nose!" He'd tried to put Klaus down once or twice before, even attempted to create a dagger that could do to his brother, what it did to him. But he'd never, never, thought of setting Mikael loose on his brother. That Rebekah had done it, and Marcel, his baby sister, and Nik's self-proclaimed son! He didn't even know how to contemplate what Maya had just told him.

"Kol!"

"I'm going to go to New Orleans and tear everything apart brick by brick!"

"Kol stop!" Maya froze him on the spot, "I didn't tell you so that you could go and destroy your home! I told you, because I don't know how I'm supposed to keep Nik calm."

"You think I can keep Nik bloody calm?!"

"I know you don't have any experience in being the voice of reason Kol, but Nik's going to need someone on his side that isn't me! When Elijah finds this out he's going to do everything in his power to keep Rebekah safe and Finn couldn't give two shits about anyone in your family apart from Freya! Nik's gonna go ballistic, you're gonna have to be there for him, and neither one of you can go to New Orleans, not now!"

"Why not?!" Kol asked, he could barely settle himself, it was good thing that Maya still had her spell in place, even if it infuriated him.

"BECAUSE ALL I SEE IS DEATH!" She yelled, finally releasing the spell and collapsing into a chair, "Every night, since I saw Marcel, I dream of it, I see it when I wake, if you go there too early, Mikaelsons will die." She'd been having the visions for days, Mikaelson deaths that she knew she'd never seen before, she could feel it in her bones, these were new versions of the Mikaelsons' ending. Death was truly persistent in his need to keep vampires alive. "You have to help me keep him calm Kol.

Kol allowed himself to drop heavily back into his seat, "Your friends aren't going to be able to help?"

"With the anger I know is coming, I don't really want them anywhere near him to be honest."

"Smart thinking," Kol conceded.

"Well I'm not stupid," Maya replied, "He's going to destroy the house isn't he?"

"Probably."

"Damn it!" she complained, "This is prime New York real estate, and I only just got it!"

"One thing that you have to get used to if you're going to remain at Nik's side darling, is destruction." He heard the front door to the Brownstone open and then slam, "Speak of the devil!"

"Shit!"

Damon opened the door to his apartment and let Caroline inside, Maya had asked him and Enzo to look after her best friend whilst she dealt with the Freya situation, and while he hated being treated like a babysitter, he had to admit, she did save his arse in New Orleans, if not for the spell she'd put on his ring, he'd have burst into flames in the middle of the day, so he owed her one. And Enzo, well Enzo would do pretty much anything for Maya, no questions asked.

"How long is Maya going to be?" Caroline asked, she'd come to New York, not just to get away from her mother's obsessive work habits, but to spend time with her best friend.

"Little Red said that it'll probably take about two weeks to get everything sorted for Freya," Damon replied. He knew that some spells took longer than others, but he hadn't realised that there were spells that needed to be stretched out over time to function.

"Two weeks!" Caroline complained, "What am I supposed to do until then?"

"Well, you're in luck love," Enzo said, coming out of his room, freshly dressed, "Damon and I are going to give you a tour of New York. Besides," he crossed his arms, "It gives us a chance to get to know one another without Maya, don't you think?"

Caroline narrowed her eyes at Enzo, there was a challenge hidden behind all that charm, and she came to the realisation that maybe Enzo didn't like the fact that he had to compete with her for the title of best friend, not that Maya had ever given them any indication that there was a competition. Either way, Caroline Forbes did not back down from a challenge, "I think that'd be great!" she replied cheerily, "Maybe I'll finally understand what Maya sees in you, besides your pretty face," she was feeling catty today, she turned to Damon, "Show me to my room?"

"Right this way," Damon said, motioning for her to head down the hallway, he turned to Enzo, mirth dancing in his eyes, "I like this girl! She's feisty!"

Klaus was furious, he was raging, he was livid, fuming, incensed, and…he couldn't move, "Maya!" he growled.

"Don't you growl at me!" she replied, concentrating on keeping him still, his rage was indescribable, so it was taking a lot out of her to keep him still, "I'm not letting you go until you calm down!"

"HE TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!" Klaus yelled, "HE TOLD MY FATHER WHERE I WAS AND HE STOLE MY CITY!"

"I KNOW!" Maya yelled back, Kol had been zero help to her, the younger Mikaelson bouncing between being enraged at the thought that Marcel had bested his family, and amused at the fact that Klaus was very literally locked down. "But you cannot charge off and kill him, not now!"

"Maya the moment you lose your concentration, I'll bloody run to New Orleans if I have to! No one gets away with what Marcel has done, no one!"

"God Nik!" she moved in close to him, taking his face between her hands, "Look okay, just look at what I've seen if you go to New Orleans for your revenge now!"

Klaus growled, but his eyes locked with hers and he fell into her memories, he witnessed Kol's death, and Finn's, he saw Rebekah trapped by witches, unable to flee, he saw himself burst into flames as he was killed. Witnessed Elijah's anguish at the loss of his family and then his own inevitable end. Pulling back, he panted with exertion, his heart beat slowing slightly as he tried to force himself to calm down. "Let me go," he said.

"Are you…calmer?" Maya asked and he nodded, "And you're not going to do anything irrational, and by that I mean hunt down Marcel, torture him, murder him, steal his kingdom and piss off a city full of witches?"

"Maya!"

"Promises are important Nik, I need you to promise me that you won't do anything like that, at least not until you've broken your curse and have your hybrids at your side. Please Nik, I need you to promise me." Her hands slid down to his chest, over his heart, "Please Nik."

Klaus clenched his jaw, what she was asking, it was a lot, he wanted to say that it was too much to ask of him, he'd never tempered his rage at another's request, even Elijah could not stop him when he really got going. But Maya wasn't asking for her own sake, she was asking for him, for the sake of his family. He realised that he had to agree, if what she saw was correct, then he really didn't have a choice, but that didn't mean that he couldn't plan. If Marcel was playing at being King, Klaus could send in his own spies, human and vampire, and come up with a plan to destroy Marcel and take back his city, without breaking his word to Maya. "I promise." He finally said, and felt the spell that Maya had cast lift almost immediately.

The relief that Maya felt at his words was palpable, he was telling her the truth, she knew it, "You're mad that I spelled you to stay still, aren't you?" she looked up at him with wide eyes, her hands grasped in his.

"You're going to owe me," he said, less angry, more annoyed that he'd been caught in her spell when he'd seen it used before, it was one of her favourites.

"Tell me something I don't know," Maya shrugged, giving him a small smile.

Dropping her hands, Klaus pulled back, straightening up, "I'll be staying here for the next few nights." He was in no mood to deal with his siblings, especially when the chances were he'd actually try to murder Rebekah.

"Why are you telling me?"

"Technically it's your house," Klaus replied.

"Well then, I guess you could take one of the guest rooms on the second floor," Maya responded, "They're small, but comfortable."

Klaus's lips quirked with a hint of a smile, "And where have you been staying?"

"Like you said it's my house, so the master bedroom is the only place really appropriate." She shrugged, giving him an impish grin.

"Of course."

Maya was sat at the breakfast table the next morning, sipping her tea and going over the notes that she'd made when she was in New Orleans. Kol across from her, reading through one of his grimoires that focused on Voodoo, and sketching out possible rituals that could be used to wake Freya. It was this position that Klaus found them in when he came downstairs. Maya raised her head, almost as though she could sense him, the moment he entered, "Finally!" she said, moving to the sink to deposit her empty cup, "I thought you'd never wake up!"

"You were waiting for me?" Klaus asked, ignoring the amused smile that had taken over his little brother's face.

"You're taking me out for the day!" she smiled.

Klaus noted that she was indeed dressed for an outdoor excursion, finding that when she wanted to stay inside, she'd favour baggy t-shirts and sweats, instead she was in a pretty hunter green top that complemented her eyes, black jeans, heeled boots and had applied a simple layer of makeup, "And when did we agree to this?" he asked.

"We didn't, but you clearly need a distraction, and I've been in a magic bubble for weeks, I need a break. I can't do anything else for Freya until these ingredients distil and that's going to take 48 hours. Besides I'm your favourite witch, why wouldn't you want to spend the day with me?"

"You are aware that I'm a busy man," Klaus replied, "I can't just drop everything to spend the day with you."

"Come on Nik," she cajoled, widening her eyes and putting on a pleading affect, "There's a new exhibit at the 'Met' and I have it on good authority that you're a bit of an art history buff."

"Go on Nik, give the poor girl a break," Kol cut in, using that voice that Klaus could hardly refuse, "After all, she is doing all of this just for you, she deserves a break."

Klaus narrowed his eyes, he could already feel himself giving in, damn Kol and his stupid wheedling voice, coupled with Maya's puppy dog expression it was dangerous, "I don't like it when the two of you get along." He muttered.

"Come on Nik, please."

Cursing in Old Norse, Klaus let out a frustrated huff "Fine," he said, "Be ready to go in five minutes." he whooshed from the room.

"Yes!" Maya cheered, giving Kol a high five.

"I heard that!" Klaus called from upstairs and Maya grinned at the younger Mikaelson.

/ / / / / / /

Klaus and Maya were walking out of the 'Met' he wasn't going to admit it to her, but it had been a good idea, Maya was fascinated by art, and hung onto his every word as he told her stories about the artists that had painted or sculpted the works in the museum. And he'd relished the opportunity to talk to someone about art without dealing with his siblings' incessant eye rolling, "Where to next?" he asked.

"I could use a snack," she replied, "Still a lowly mortal here."

Smirking, Klaus guided her to food truck that wasn't far away, Maya's idea for a 'human day' where neither one of them had to be what they were, was rather relaxing. He'd had days when he was out with Damon and Enzo, where their pleasure didn't come from being vampires, they'd relaxed in human atmospheres, listening to music, drinking, and sight-seeing (that one for Enzo), and they'd been some of his most satisfying times in recent memory. He was having a rather enjoyable day with the little witch, "Come on," he said, "According to 'Yelp' that particular food truck has four stars."

Maya laughed, "I can't believe you just said that," she threaded her arm through his.

"What?"

"Yelp, like you're just some tourist in the city, it's weird to think about."

"Well food trucks are a recent invention, and I can't run the risk of you getting food poisoning, like you said, you are mortal." He replied, the smile on his face genuine as the two of them reached the front of the truck's queue.

Klaus purchased Maya's food at her insistence, "The guy works in a food truck Nik, it's not even his, compulsion is not ok in this situation!"

"Hurry up and finish, there's plenty we can do today." New York may be Maya's favourite place, but she'd only spent a few weeks each summer there, there was a lot that she had yet to see, so Klaus would in fact be her tour guide.

Finishing up, she threw the rubbish away and gripped his arm again, "Are we walking?" at his answering nod, she smiled, they could talk for a little while then, "So…"

"So?"

"Tell me about your wolf pack, have you found them yet?"

Klaus nodded, "They're staying in one of the state forests in Massachusetts, I've been conversing with a few of their Elders over email."

"That's great!" Maya replied, "They're only a few hours away! Are you going to see them?"

"They move around every few months, and they are still weary of having a vampire near them. The current Alpha and the Elders want to meet away from the pack before they let me anywhere near the rest of them."

"Well it makes sense that they'd be cautious, I mean don't people refer to you as 'Klaus the Mad'? I'm just saying, you're supposed to be very scary."

"What do you mean 'supposed to be'?"

"You're right, my mistake," Maya conceded, holding her hands up, "You're downright terrifying, anyone would quake in fear at just being in your presence."

"You don't look terrified," Klaus pointed out.

"It…passed," she shrugged, and laughed when it elicited a growl from the Original. "My point, is that you need to let these wolves get to know you, and maybe keep 'Psycho Klaus' from sabotaging you."

"Psycho Klaus?"

"Oh," Maya shot him a cheeky grin, "There are many different facets to your personality, I gave them names."

"Such as?" Klaus asked, he didn't think anyone had ever spoke to him like this before, so freely, so unafraid of consequence.

"Ok so there's 'Psycho Klaus' of course , 'Vengeful Klaus' don't act like you're not already plotting against Marcel, I know you are, 'Bored Klaus', 'Evil Klaus', and 'Murderous Klaus', just to name a few, granted most of them are very similar and its hard to distinguish between them, but they're all different. None of them are my favourite version of you, but they all have their uses."

Klaus raised an eyebrow, "And which version of me is your favourite?"

"Well that's easy," Maya replied, wondering how he didn't get it yet, "Nik's my favourite, he's the guy that tells me to 'get over' the fact that I've hurt people, because I need to be selfish, the guy that takes the time out of his week to talk to me, even when I know he's busy. The guy that spends the day with me in New York, just because I want him to, the guy that protects his friends for no other reason than they're his friends. And all those versions of Klaus, they're right there in Nik, that's what makes him so special." She shrugged, "Turns out I kind of dig the crazy."

Klaus didn't know what to say, the only other person who'd ever even come close to speaking their mind to him was Stefan Salvatore back in the 20's, and he'd been an emotionless ripper at the time, so didn't really have any self-preservation instincts. But Maya, she'd just been so open and honest with him, unafraid to answer his questions, and completely willing to let him get a glimpse of what she saw in him that had her so willing to face off against his enemies.

"You know what else I like about Nik?" she asked.

"What?"

"I like the fact that he's willing to help me out to win a bet with Damon…"

"You have another bet with Damon?" he had a feeling she was only talking now so that he didn't have to, it was like she knew that he didn't know how to respond to her revelation.

"Yep."

"And you want my help to win."

"Yep."

"What is it?" he asked cautiously, the last time she'd just thrown herself at him.

"Turn around," Maya said, gesturing for him to turn when he didn't move.

Rolling his eyes, Klaus did as she asked and let out a surprised "Oof," when he felt her jump on his back. "Absolutely not, no way, get down." He said, he was the Original Hybrid, (or at least he would be soon) he did not give piggyback rides.

"Please Nik," she said, tightening her grip on him.

"No way! Off now!"

"But it's for another 500 bucks! Damon's trying to get his money back!"

"I don't care."

"I'll split it with you!"

"I don't need $500."

"Neither do I, but it's Damon's money, if I win the bet then it will irritate the shit out of him! Don't you want to do that Nik? Don't you want to bug Damon?"

Klaus frowned, Damon may have been his best friend, but he was also, without a doubt, a little shit, and causing him annoyance was always an excellent pass time, "Bloody hell, fine!" he ground out, "How long do we have to stay like this?"

"15 minutes minimum," Maya replied, (okay so it was really only 5, but they'd been walking for ages and her feet hurt!) "And I need a picture as proof!"

Klaus fought the urge to groan, if any of his siblings got a hold of a picture of him giving his little witch a piggyback ride they'd never let it go. "One picture, you will not send it Damon, you can take one photo, show it to Damon and then you must delete it from your phone. I have a reputation to uphold."

"Great!" Maya chirped.

In the end she got seven photos out of him, and she'd delete them off her phone, just as soon as she'd uploaded them to her laptop, they'd be great blackmail for the future.

Ok this chapter had a few revelations, along with some a little bonding, I felt like Nik needed it and there was no way Finn wasn't going to reveal what Klaus had been up to, so no Freya yet, but she'll probably be in the next chapter!

Thanks for reading, if you have time, please leave a review as the feedback really helps me!