True to her word, Rebekah had delayed her meeting with Klaus to the best of her abilities. Bonnie had not arrived back on their doorstep until a whopping seven days later. Reality hadn't hit her until she was ushered inside the Mikaelson mansion again.

Staring at the grand marble staircase filled her with a sense of dread. Would she have to get used to this mansion? How many more times did she have to see that damned staircase lit up by the chandelier? How long until her feet would no longer have to touch an inch on their property?

When will be the last time she heard a word uttered by any of them? She yearned for it. Wished for it. Yet, her wish has been denied at every turn. She felt stupid for wishing again. She was a fool in that regard. No doubt.

However, there was a finality to this. The tides had changed. So, she clung to that hope. Even if it was all in her head. It kept her sane.

When they reached the middle of the room, Rebekah turned to face her. Her red heels clicked against the marble floor.

"So—"

A male figure came from the hallway. At first, she assumed it was a hybrid or servant walking past until he moved closer.

"My dear sister-in-law," Kol greeted. "It's been a minute, hasn't it?"

His boyish smile was as devious as ever. His brunette hair was slicked back as he wore casual clothing. He looked unassuming but his eyes and smile gave the game away. Bonnie raised an eyebrow at his greeting.

She would never get used to being called that. They were, technically, in-laws... She tried to push the thought away as she feared the stress of reassessing the situation again would cause her to break out into hives.

"I thought Rebekah daggered you?"

"I did," Rebekah grumbled. "I wish he still was."

"That wounds me, Bekah." His eyes flickered back to her. "My brother thought of me as useful in a time like this. You know, we didn't get to speak much before my daggering which is a shame as I am quite a fan of powerful witches."

"Kol," a cold voice warned from the top of the staircase. The reason she was here after all.

Klaus stood close to the wood railing. His pale skin contrasted his black suit. This time he was not painted with blood.

Klaus beckoned Bonnie upstairs. "We need to talk."

Each step was torture. The ascension to Klaus made every bone in her body tense. Dealing with Silas was one thing. Dealing with Klaus was a different type of beast.

When she reached the top level, he escorted her to his office which was only lit by candles. There were windows but they were obscured by velvet curtains.

As she sat down, she scanned the room. The office was unfinished and messy. There were several paintings scattered against the walls yet to be framed and furniture still wrapped in plastic. The desk had stacks of papers and folders as well as a glass and a bottle of whiskey next to an ashtray. Aged, she was sure. They liked the expensive crap after all.

He pushed back his blonde locks before he poured himself a drink. The faint scent of whiskey mixed with the smell of cigar smoke. It felt more like a den than an office.

When he sat in his office chair and leaned back, his icy gaze went back to her. She hadn't noticed last time that his hair had gotten a bit longer and his facial hair was bordering a beard. The darkness of that night had hidden those tiny details. He had to be busy if he couldn't muster his usual cleanliness.

Rugged, the word swooped into her brain. No stubble. No groomed, trimmed hair. Even his typical smugness was gone. He was different from the Klaus that she was used to.

A question that had nagged her since her arrival tugged at her attention even harder. Not to why she was here and what he wanted but why in general. He had been the one to concoct this stupid charade.

"You have been so timid as of late. It's surprising."

She snapped, "what the fuck do you want?"

"There she is." Klaus took a sip of his drink. "The witch who gave me a run for my money."

"Why did you come up with this plan?"

"Because I have a bit of a reputation in the supernatural world."

"So, I'm PR because you couldn't be a decent person?"

Klaus mockingly put his hand over his heart. "I resent that notion, love."

"Doesn't make it less true."

"I am powerful, but I cannot command an army of witches. Trust me, I had gone through many choices. This was the best option to rally enough people in a short amount of time." A somber expression took hold of him. "I did not choose you out of spite. I choose you because your name and your magic are worth something in this fight."

"And you agreed to add Silas?"

"We have set aside our differences since Qetsiyah has been his main focus. Even you must admit with the three of us, we are a force to be reckoned with, no? In terms of brute strength, there is no equal to us. That is why Qetsiyah and Esther are hiding and gathering witches. They can circumvent and trick us, but to take us head-on by themselves would be disastrous for them. So, we must act as one to win this war."

She gnawed on her lower lip. Qetsiyah and Esther were a powerful duo even without them collecting witches. But the three of them working side by side? Klaus was right. They were a force to be reckoned with.

"In public. I won't pretend behind closed doors that I don't fucking despise you. The mention of your name irks me."

"Seems a bit unfair."

"You and your family are the main reason our lives are fucked."

"I would blame some of that on Katherine. Also, let's not pretend some of those fuck ups aren't due to your friends making the worst decisions possible." Klaus's head tilted. "And who can forget old Jeremy? I certainly did not do that. Who was it again that snapped his neck?"

"Fuck you."

"Well, that is not in the agreed upon terms of service in our marriage, however—"

She didn't wait for him to finish. She had rushed to the door and forced it open, but it was then slammed closed. She whipped around and Klaus's arms were extended out on either side of her.

"Wait," Klaus paused. "...I shouldn't have said that."

His troubled eyes disturbed her. Rarely did Klaus's mask slip to reveal him being shaken. It was not easy to petrify a man who had seen and experienced what he had. Yet, at that moment she dared to believe he was as scared as she was. That he too was stumbling into the unknown.

She murmured, "why did you call me here?"

When he exhaled, she could smell caramel and cinnamon on his breath. "I have been able to set up a meeting with a coven tomorrow night." A bitter laugh seeped from his lips. "I know you loath every breath I take, but this is the end of times if we don't prevent it." Klaus's arms lowered. "Rebekah will pick you up tomorrow afternoon. It's a bit of a drive, but we'll eat dinner and then meet them."

They stood there in silence. Her back remained pressed against the door and his body was no more than a few inches from hers. She sucked in a breath.

"And if they don't believe it?"

"They have to." Klaus paused. "We have to make them believe."

When he pulled away, Bonnie eased off the door. Their eyes stayed on each other until she turned to pull the door's handle again. This time he did not stop her. The light from the hallway lit the room momentarily as she stepped out.

A soft breeze pushed against her back as the sound of the door clicked closed.

-X-

However, her visit did not end with Klaus. She had wanted to run out of the mansion, but Rebekah had gotten to her before she made it past the staircase. Rebekah had guided her to the ballroom with Kol tagging along.

The room was cluttered. Cardboard posters were taped to the wall with pictures. In the middle of the room was a huge mobile whiteboard that had bullet points. Books and magazines were thrown everywhere. A nearby table had a few pictures of color schemes alongside destination and travel articles.

When she noticed the theme of the items, her heart rate skyrocketed. "Is this stuff for a wedding?"

"Yes. I've been planning for the past week."

Bonnie fell into a nearby chair. She tried to calm herself as she sat, but it was no use. It hadn't dawned on her before that this was a possibility. The marriage idea and being paraded around as a fiancée already had thrown her in a loop. But now she had to go through with a wedding? With Klaus and Silas?

A dream she had as a kid had become a nightmare. Instead of marrying for love, she was marrying for politics. Her childhood self would weep at the circumstances. Hell, a part of her wanted to grieve as well.

Bonnie shook her head. "I'm not going through a fake wedding."

"I know this must be overwhelming." Rebekah brought a chair over to her and sat beside her. "But we need to make this as believable as possible. Plus it will boost morale, give us possibly more allies, and send a message. If it helps, I can do a majority of the planning alongside the bridesmaids."

Her brows furrowed. "What bridesmaids?"

"I figured Elena and Caroline would be bridesmaids. Why not make them help out? It's the least they can do."

Kol chuckled. "You just want to bark orders at them."

"Piss off." She dismissed him with a swatting hand.

"I am a groomsman so I get to stay."

"Like you give a shit about any of this."

Kol smirked before going up to one of the poster boards. His finger tapped against it. "A summer wedding is too soon. We need more time to gather allies and for the word to get around."

"It would be a late summer wedding but that's just one idea."

Rebekah got up and pointed at a few more boards. Their bickering progressed from critiques to insults. Bonnie knew Kol had to be doing it to get a rise out of his sister, but there was a sliver of his comments that seemed genuine.

A wedding still felt... like too much? Too much. She understood why but she still didn't want to go through with it. The thought of her wearing a wedding dress and going down the aisle to see them at the end made her shiver.

Had the others known about this? It hadn't been brought up so, it was a 50/50 chance of them knowing or not. Did it make it better or worse if they didn't?

"Winter would be best," Kol suggested. "I know you dream of a summer wedding, but this is a political marriage that's for different people."

"A summer or fall wedding would be nicer climate-wise."

"We just go south for the winter wedding then if it is about the weather being nice."

"South..."

"I can see the steam coming from your head, Bekah. Don't think too hard."

"I'll have you daggered by the hour if you keep this up."

"Like you could find where Nik hides them."

Rebekah shook her head before she ripped a few boards from the wall and tossed them on the ground. "Do you like New Orleans, darling?"

Kol said through gritted teeth, "you aren't suggesting—"

"We have an old friend there." Rebekah sent Kol a wicked grin. "Marcel would be delighted to have us host a wedding there."

"Who is he exactly?"

"A wannabe king." Kol huffed before he left the room.

"I knew that would get the bastard to leave." She kicked the boards on the floor away. "I'll wait to go over color schemes and dresses with you after I talk with Marcel."

By how Rebekah talked, the date was to be set soon, but she could delay the wedding at the very least, right?

"A winter wedding would be nice like Kol suggested. I mean..." She gulped. "The winter solstice happens during that time and, you know, word would have spread much further by then."

"A winter solstice wedding? That's an idea." Rebekah raised an eyebrow before going to her whiteboard. She jotted down a few sentences before striking through other bullet points.

Bonnie couldn't help but sigh. She had bought herself some time. Maybe she could figure out a way out of it or postpone it after the date is set.

Or maybe, she was simply delaying the inevitable.