A/N: Really looking forward to a break from the day job for the holidays. Here's hoping all of you get a break too and enjoy the holiday season, no matter what you believe or don't believe. Be happy! Thank you for all of your support on this story so far. I started this in September, my first leap into writing fan fiction, and you guys have meant the world to me. I'll still be writing this for a few more chapters yet into 2014. I just wanted to tell you that you guys were one of the high points of 2013 for me. Thank you for the follows, favorites and reviews: CMT1992, Laby Anne Boleyn, An Amber Pen, DevilJolie, PLL and Victorious RULE, Ellavm18, bmo016, foureyedgirl01, souzap, ilyreid, lltulgestke, bridgetzombie, Iansarmy, SarahCullen4, Kaylabeth21, spongee09, MJTE, jessnicole, Lou, Nikki707, beverlie4055, elisabethjj, Hopelessromanticatheart26, lilcupcake03, nightingale243, lateVMlover, Kjsama, SONY and all my guests!

PerfectlyGoodHeart - I won't tell you what I'm up to but some of the MF gang is coming to town soon. Stay tuned!

Okay, here we go...

Just like that, Klaus left me in the spelled room with Clarice's daughters. They turned to stare at me as I fumed just inside the door.

"What an a—"I caught myself, not wanting to swear in front of the girls.

"Asshole?" Anya offered.

"Anya!" Clarice shouted from the next room.

Christine giggled.

Anya rolled her eyes. "Sorry!"

"He is," I mouthed to the girls who both laughed.

"Caroline?" Clarice stopped just outside the door, heading for the confrontation with Marcel. The tiny blonde woman met my gaze, her expression one of sympathy. "I'm so sorry about this. I didn't know he intended to put you in here with my girls. But if it helps, you'll be completely safe."

"Yeah, I assumed I would be," I said with snark. "This isn't your fault, Clarice."

The witch nodded. "If things get… I don't know, gory out there… can you keep them from watching that?"

"Sure," I told her. It wasn't like I could do anything else. Right?

Oh, Klaus was going to pay for this. He was really going to pay for this.

Anya had wandered back to the window facing the front lawn and whistled loudly. "He's hot!"

"Who?" Christine dashed back to it to join her, following the direction of Anya's pointing finger. "Oh, wow, he is hot."

With no other options, I walked over to the window to see what was going on outside. And yes, I did see what they were talking about. There was a group facing off against Klaus and Elijah below our window. At the group's center was a very hot guy. Tall, muscular with mocha- colored skin and a killer smile, he greeted the original vampires with a tiny brunette girl wearing a strappy summer dress at his side. There was a group of youngish men and women behind him. Whether they were vampires or hybrids, I couldn't tell.

Immediately I grabbed the window trying to open it so I could at least hear what was going on. The window wouldn't budge.

"Damn it!" I yelled in frustration.

"I got this," Anya said, saying some chant under her breath and then lifting the window as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

That gave me an idea.

"Can you unspell the door?" I asked the older girl.

"That we can't do," Christine said. "Sorry."

It was worth a try and at least I could hear what was going on now.

"What rule is that?" Elijah asked below in a deceptively calm voice.

"No magic is allowed in the quarter," the hot guy who had to be Marcel answered, smiling as if he were here to have a friendly discussion. "And I happen to know that you've got a witch here."

"And if we do, Mate?" Klaus asked, stepping closer to his old protégé. "What will you do then?"

Marcel held up his hands. "I don't plan to do anything," he explained. "But this lovely young lady here will indeed take care of it."

I leaned out of the window a little and now I could see Klaus smirking at his opponent. The girl was Davina and if she was as powerful as Elijah claimed, things could get very interesting, very quickly.

"Is she a witch?" Christine asked.

"Duh." Anya grinned. "Mom's gonna kick her ass."

"But she's just a kid," Christine argued. "Like us."

Davina did look young. She couldn't be my age.

Glancing behind him, Klaus signaled to someone. "Come here, sweetheart."

"Klaus –" Kol's voice broke in but he stopped when his older brother shot him a look.

Klaus would have words with him later. He was supposed to be in the mansion, guarding us, as if my situation needed to be more ridiculous.

Marcel's gaze slid to Kol and he shook his head. "More Mikaelsons. Are there more coming?"

And then there she was, leaving Marcel's question unanswered. Clarice walked out to stand between Klaus and Elijah, looking so small between the two vampires. Marcel's grin widened.

"Is this the beautiful Caroline?" he asked.

One of the vampires behind him, a guy who reminded me of Corbin Bleu, tapped Marcel on the shoulder and shook his head, pointing up at the window where we watched. The girls hit the floor so hard and so fast, you would have thought someone was shooting at them. I stayed where I was.

The smile I was treated to was dazzling. "Caroline or Rapunzel? Though I doubt Rapunzel was as beautiful as you with that golden hair."

I swore I could hear Klaus growl. I shook my head at Marcel and his fake flattery.

"Jackass," I whispered, knowing he probably heard me.

Davina tugged on Marcel's sleeve, speaking softly into his ear. I couldn't make out her words.

"She's special, isn't she Klaus?" Marcel turned his attention back to the hybrid, motioning in my direction with his hand. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have her tucked away in a magically sealed room. What other treasures do you have up there?"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with." Klaus wasn't even pretending to be civil now. Holding out his arms, he glared at the vampire. "Everyone you wish to deal with is right here."

Davina's gaze nervously flitted back and forth between the window and Clarice. Her concerned gaze met Marcel's and she gave the slightest shake of her head.

"Don't be rude then," Marcel told him, tipping his head in Clarice's direction. "I believe introductions are in order. There's another beautiful woman I haven't met yet."

Clarice didn't seem concerned at all by anything. She smiled at him. "I'm Clarice."

"Were you the one doing magic in my quarter?" Marcel said as if teasing a naughty child.

"I was," she answered simply. "And that's a problem?"

Marcel's expression became more serious. "It is. This is my quarter and I don't allow magic here. Davina told me my rule was broken and unfortunately, we're here to address that."

"And the penalty of breaking this rule is what?" Clarice asked him. "You'll set this child against me?"

Davina's eyes were wide on Clarice. She looked a little afraid. Marcel seemed to be confident in the belief that his witch was superior though, disregarding the signs Davina was trying to send him. He moved closer to Clarice, so much taller than she was, in a move meant to intimidate. Both Kol and Elijah stepped forward to as if to protect her. Klaus remained where he was, watching in fascination.

"Davina is not exactly what she seems," Marcel's tone held a note of warning.

Clarice shrugged. "She looks like a normal girl to me. Beautiful, young. What's her life like? Is she living in an attic? Does she see any of her friends or family? Does she go to school?"

Clarice was scolding him now, sounding every bit like the mother she was. Christine chuckled next to me.

"Here we go," Anya said.

Davina's expression softened as she looked at Clarice, the other witch showing a care for her and her situation. I'll bet she didn't expect that.

"You're feisty," Marcel told her. "I like your spirit, I do. It's a shame you have to die."

Clarice regarded him calmly. "You think you've got what it takes to kill me?"

Marcel didn't react to her laughter. He was staring her down. "Yeah, I do."

"Marcel wait!"

Rebekah ran up behind the group facing off against her siblings and Clarice. She was frantic, her blonde hair trailing behind her. Marching up to Marcel, she grabbed his arm. "Stop this. Now!"

"And so our sister finally makes an appearance," Klaus said, glaring at her.

Rebekah chose to ignore her brother. "Please don't do this," she implored Marcel. "Let it go."

"You know I can't do that," Marcel told her. "Otherwise, I lose credibility."

"Think about what you're doing, Marcel," Rebekah was pleading now. I don't think Marcel realized that it wasn't her family she was worried about. "My family-"

"I'm not going after your family, Rebekah," Marcel explained, pointing at Clarice. "I just want her."

Kol tried to vamp speed at Marcel, Elijah catching him and holding on to his snarling younger brother.

Clarice glanced at their struggle before turning to Klaus, looking as if she were waiting for his permission to take action. Like the royalty he considered himself to be, he nodded. Silently, I applauded Clarice for presenting the situation that way, realizing they had to be a united front.

Holding out her arms, she just said, "Come and get me."

Davina shot one last worried look up at me in the window. Somehow I didn't think I was what she was worried about. Could she sense the girls and their power?

Marcel motioned to Davina and to give her credit, she looked very determined as she leveled her magic at Clarice and the originals. It was a spectacular display of power that sent Klaus and his brothers hurling backwards on the lawn. A great rush of wind, power, magic lashed against the house like a great storm that came out of nowhere. Only Clarice remained standing where she was and for once, she seemed to be struggling to do so.

It had me a little panicked. "Why isn't she fighting back?"

The girls jumped up to join me at the window to watch.

"It's okay," Christine told me. "She's okay."

"How do you know?" I asked her.

"Watch," she told me.

Clarice slowly raised her outstretched arms higher, bringing her hands before her and pushing them forward as if she were pushing Davina's magic back at her. And in that moment, all hell broke loose. The vampires, or hybrids, Marcel brought with him began to scream and try to run. Corbin Bleu and another vampire used vamp speed to get away but they were the only ones. The rest of them began to contort, to bleed. Huge gashes appeared all over them, their bodies twisting in ways that weren't natural. Their screams were so loud I thought they might shatter the windows.

"Cool!" Anya yelled.

"You're not supposed to be watching this!" I grabbed each of them, trying to cover their eyes. It was like trying to fight two drunken monkeys and my attention was divided anyway as I couldn't help but watch the action in horrified fascination.

Rebekah was affected too since she was in Clarice's path. She'd thrown herself over a shaking Marcel, trying to protect him. Still, I could see he was bleeding.

"Please stop!" Rebekah screamed at her. "Don't hurt him! He didn't know!"

I couldn't see Clarice's reaction to that as she was focused on Davina now. The younger witch was hanging in there, her gaze locked with Clarice's.

As I watched, Anya and Christine's struggles against me ceased. Anya stared at me then with wide, scared eyes. Christine slumped to the floor, unconscious, slipping through my arms. I bent down to check for her pulse. It was steady and strong, but I couldn't wake her. After a couple of moments, Anya dropped to the floor too. Like her sister, still alive, but out cold.

I panicked, not knowing what to do and with that weird magicky feeling in the air, wondering if their mother was drawing on their power in some way. Even unintentionally. I couldn't exactly yell at her to come and help at the moment, she was closing in on Davina. The younger witch's body was trembling, her expression one of pain. Finally with an ear-piercing shriek, she dropped to her knees, forced down by Clarice.

All at once, the great storm had ceased. Davina, her torment over, looked weakly up at Clarice before dropping to the ground in an unconscious heap. Clarice herself bent down to check and make sure the girl was okay as Rebekah helped Marcel weakly climb to his feet. The vampires on the ground around them fared the worst, but they'd heal. Each of them were vamp speeding away as soon as they were able.

Clarice glared at Marcel, rising to round on him. He actually took a step back in something like fear.

"How dare you use a child this way!" she shouted at him. "How dare you!"

Oh, she was a Mikaelson alright.

Rebekah placed herself in front of her lover. Klaus was at Clarice's side in an instant, furious.

"I'd like to know why you, sister, sided against your family," he growled at her. "Marcel is aiding Tyler, creating the hybrids that attacked us. That attacked you."

I could tell by the shock on my friend's pretty face that she didn't know that little detail. Rebekah slowly turned to face her lover. Marcel took another step backwards.

"You lied to me?" she asked quietly.

"Let's talk about this," Marcel began.

Christine began shaking on the floor at my feet. That wasn't good. I panicked, yelling out the window. "Clarice!"

Everyone's attention turned to me. I jumped when Klaus reached the doorway, having used his vampire speed to get there. I kneeled in the floor between the girls and concern was etched in his features as he looked over the scene before him.

"Caroline?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I snapped at him. When Christine twitched again, the movement caught his eye. "Where's Clarice?"

Kol used vampire speed to get Clarice there the next moment. Clarice shrieked, dashing through the door. Klaus and Kol both rushed at the entrance only to be repelled.

"Are they okay?" Kol was panicked as Clarice kneeled in front of me, frantically moving from one of her daughters to the other. "I channeled them. Oh, I can't believe I did that. Damn it! I'm a terrible mother."

"Knock down the spell, Clarice," Kol pleaded with her. "Please."

Rising from her feet and dashing to the door, she grabbed Kol's wrist and pulled him through. She left Klaus on the other side of the barrier, which was a good thing in my opinion, and I did my best to completely avoid meeting his gaze. I focused my attention on the girls, hoping that Clarice hadn't inadvertently caused them harm in defending the original family against Marcel.

"They'll be okay?" Kol wanted Clarice to assure him.

Clarice had checked their pulse as I had, pulled back eyelids to look at their eyes. Finally, she blew out an exhale and nodded.

"They will but I was so careless," she admitted. "How could I not have realized that I was channeling them?"

"Davina was very strong," I defended her.

"That she was," Clarice told me.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"Elijah brought her in our house," Kol explained.

"Will Marcel leave without her?" I wondered aloud.

"He'll have no choice, love," Klaus answered from where he watched in the doorway. Was that concern on his face for the two youngest members of his family? Whatever emotion showed on his face was gone in a flash as he turned his attention back to Kol, Clarice and I. "I think, for the time being, it would be best if Davina remained with us. Elijah is concerned for her welfare."

"I am too," Clarice agreed with him. "Good. She has a truckload of power but minimal control over it. I could help her with that. She could do school with my girls. Until we can find her family or something."

"I don't think you'll find anyone," Klaus told us.

"Well, then, she'll have us." Clarice was a mom and it was clear she had her mind made up.

"Agreed," Klaus said, his gaze on me.

"Besides," I threw in, "that takes away Marcel's secret weapon, right? Just one step closer to taking control of the city."

Oh, that earned me a look from him. Hey, he had it coming after the stunt he pulled.

Our relationship was so new and I'd been happy because I finally found someone who put me first, who gave love back and didn't just take. But having been pushed into a magically sealed room without having a say left me doubting what we'd started. I didn't really feel that his quest to reclaim New Orleans was more important to him than I was. Deep down, I knew better than that.

I even understood his need for control. In that, we weren't so different. Granted my own need for control, for myself I preferred terms like detail-oriented and proactive, was not as strong as his.

But any relationship needed trust to survive. Trust would be letting me help out or, if I really was in jeopardy, trusting me to be able to keep myself safe. To know what to do. Maybe I hadn't been alive for a thousand years as he had, but I'd been through quite a bit in my short life. I wasn't a hopeless case.

How could what we'd started survive when he took away my choices?

"We need to talk, Caroline," he said meaningfully, staring me down with those amazing blue eyes.

"Maybe later," I told him flippantly. "We'll see."

Having had his own words thrown back at him and having no way into the room, Klaus stormed off down the hallway. It was a small victory, I realized, but not enough to make him understand my side of this.

Kol's expression was sympathetic as he picked Christine up from the floor to place her in the bed at the room's center.

"You've one-upped him for the moment," Kol told me. "But you'll have to leave the room sometime."

"I know."

Clarice sat on the edge of bed by Christine while Kol bent to pick up her sister and also placed her there.

"You should make good on your threats, Caroline," Clarice advised me. "What was it you said earlier? If he thought he was sleeping in your room tonight…?"

It didn't take me long to pick up on what she was thinking.

"Can you help me with that?" I asked her with a grin.

The witch smiled back at me. "Of course I can."

Kol glanced from her to me and chuckled. "Spelling Nik out of his own bedroom," he whispered. "Caroline you can have all sorts of fun with that."

"Yes," I assured him. "Yes, I can."