Elena and Elijah went downstairs to join their siblings, she noticed everything had been cleaned up and there was no evidence remaining of the spell performed earlier; just as Elena was about to walk in the living room, Kol intercepted her and stopped her in her tracks.
"Fair warning, Nik is fur-,"
"You," Klaus growled loudly at Elena from the living room, she looked between Elijah and Kol before emerging from the corridor; he sped in front of her, ready to unleash his rage on her but instead, something happened, he looked into her eyes and instantly felt a wave of relief wash over him.
"I'm sorry for snapping your neck, I didn,-"
Her sentence was cut short by him wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a tight embrace, "i'm relieved you're alive, little warrior."
She smiled on his shoulder and returned his hug tenfold, she too was relieved to have survived the spell, her heart would break if she never got to see her family again, "me too."
"Now that's over with, I'm still extremely frustrated that you snapped my neck and excluded me from the spell, I could have protected you," he was oddly calm when mentioning her betrayal, something neither of them had seen coming.
"You would have stopped me to protect me, Klaus and I'm not the type of person to abandon the people I care about, I would do the same for all of you, this is just something about me you're going to have to accept," she placed her hand on his arm before walking into the living room and sitting down on the sofa with Rebekah.
"I'm quite shocked at how tame you're being, brother, I expected you and Elena to be wrestling at this point," Kol mused, smirking, "you were furious."
"Oh god," Elena muttered under her breath as she pressed her hand to her forehead.
"What is it?" Klaus sounded almost tired of the consistent problems that surrounded him and his family.
"Oh right, the whole 'Elena's an empath' thing," Kol smirked, finding enjoyment in his siblings further torment.
"What?"
"We have quite a lot to tell you, Niklaus," Elijah said as he patted his brother's shoulder and returned to Elena's side, sitting on the arm of the chair beside her.
Elena and Elijah spent a couple of hours relaying the information of the nights events to Klaus and Rebekah, including the warlocks attacking, Cami receiving her soul back, how they nearly lost Elena, the discovery of her Empath gift, the unification with the witches tomorrow and finally, the most important of them all, the ability to kill a Soul Eater.
"We can kill them?" Rebekah reiterated, her lips parting slightly at the revelation.
"I projected all of my emotions into him with the Empath gift and he turned to stone, just like the victims In Rousseau's," she explained, filled with hope.
"It makes sense, if you think about it," Kol stood from the chair and headed to the liquor cabinet, pouring himself a drink, "Soul Eaters are empty, when they reap a soul, there victims become empty, frozen in an emotionless black abyss, like stone; if you make them feel, you'll throw a light into that abyss and it would consume them."
"This would explain why they have feared Elena and tried to stop the awakening ritual, she has the power and the gift to truly stop them," Rebekah theorised.
"It won't be easy, in fact, it'll be almost impossible to project onto them all at once," Elena started to voice her concerns.
"And here is where our problem lies, we wouldn't be able to fend them off long enough for Elena to channel them, we would all be vulnerable to their reaping and could perish," Elijah said.
"But if we do nothing and wait for their attack, then we will die anyway," Rebekah stated, bringing her glass to her lips and knocking back the bourbon, "the attack will come, they're lying in wait, plotting our demise and when it comes, we will be unprepared."
"What are they waiting for?" Elena mumbled to herself under her breath, her brow furrowed as she tried to find the answer within her mind at what there true purpose was; she stood from the sofa and began pacing up and down the floor in front of the fireplace.
"What is it, Elena?" Rebekah asked as she watched the doppelgänger pace.
Elena racked her brain but she was becoming increasingly frustrated by all the unanswered questions, "why are they even here? I know they came to this plane because of the imbalance but why have they stayed here in New Orleans? Now we know how to kill them, they should have fled, there's a whole world of souls for the reaping yet they only attack a group of drunk partiers in a tiny bar? No, there must be something we're missing."
"An ulterior motive beyond their feeding of souls," Klaus broke his silence, trying to voice his thoughts in attempt to try and fit the pieces together, "what could be in New Orleans that they need?"
"We don't know enough about them to answer these questions and it's not like we can go to the local library and check out a book, there's nothing out there about them," Rebekah sighed, seeing no end to constant influx of battles and enemies within their lives.
"We have the unification meeting with the witches tomorrow, all 9 covens will be at the compound, at least one of them should know something, we'll just have to start there, we're not gonna figure it out tonight," Elena said before walking out of the living room and heading for the stairs, "get some rest, guys, big day tomorrow."
Elena climbed the stairs and walked across the hallway and into her room as if she was in a fugue state, she was that exhausted, she didn't know where she was or where she was going; once she reached her bed, she just dropped onto it, grabbing at her pillow and nestling her head in it.
She felt Elijah speed in behind her as subtly as he could and he lay down beside her, pulling the covers over her and stroking her hair in comfort.
"Goodnight, sweetheart," he placed a soft kiss on her cheek and wrapped her safely within his arms.
"I love you," she spoke softly before she nestled further into him, feeling safe and ready for the deep slumber that would soon take her.
"I love you too."
The next morning, Elena awoke like a new person, she had slept soundly the entire night and she was completely rejuvenated; she had showered, brushed her teeth and dressed in her usual jeans and t shirt with a pair of pumps to match.
She grabbed her jacket and phone and exited her room, she practically sprinted down the stairs and joined the others in the kitchen, a smile instantly appearing on her lips as she looked upon her family, "good morning, everyone."
"Oh, someone's in a good mood," Rebekah observed, a small smile curling up on her lips, "what happened?"
"Is it that unlikely that one of us can be in a good mood without something happening?" Klaus peered his eyes over his newspaper and she could feel the smirk on his lips; Elena was oddly enjoying there torment and she couldn't help but grin at them as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
"Do you even have to ask, brother?" Kol quipped.
"Does anyone ever just say 'good morning' in this family?" She said playfully as she brought her mug to her lips and swigged at her coffee; Kol had appeared beside her and put his arm around her shoulders, much to her disgust.
"Good morning, darlin'," he grinned playfully, taunting her endlessly but nothing would spoil her mood, not today; she shrugged his arm off her shoulders and rolled her eyes, smirking the entire time,
"Must you all be so insufferable?" Elijah appeared in the doorway of the kitchen and she had a instant smile at his appearance; all she wanted to do was be with him, to be able to stand beside him and hold his hand, to touch him and kiss him whenever she could without fear of being persecuted and to be able to fall asleep and wake up with him everyday.
The siblings shot Elijah a look filled with amusement before he grabbed a mug from the cabinet and went to the coffee machine; he slowly poured himself a mug and refilled Elena's, brushing his fingers subtly against her hand.
"So, what are you doing today, little warrior?" Klaus' voice broke there quick and fleeting moment and their fingers separated; they both joined the others at the kitchen table and Elena picked up a newspaper.
"Before we attend the unification meeting, I want to go and see the wolves and see if they have settled, there's a full moon in a few days and I'm going to remind them they must return to the bayou," Elena responded, engaging in the usual morning family meeting.
"Kol will go with you to keep an eye on you, I still don't trust them and would prefer you have back up," Klaus spoke, much to her dismay.
"Why am I always the babysitter?" He quipped, before placing his newspaper down on the table, "besides, I promised to meet with Davina this morning before the meeting, so I can't go."
Elena rolled her eyes at the term 'babysitter' and shot Klaus a look of disapproval, "no-one is going with me, Nik, I'll be perfectly safe."
"Rebekah?" Klaus turned his attention on to his sister with a hopeful smirk.
"No can do, brother, I'm going with Marcel to finish the memorial planning for the victims of the Soul Eaters," she looked down at her watch and stood from her chair, "which I'm late for, besides Elena is perfectly capable of taking care of herself, loosen up."
Elena peered her head over the paper and smiled smugly at Klaus, which was met with a look of annoyance and impatience; a sharp breath exhaled from him out of frustration, "Elijah?"
"Apologies, brother, I have errands to tend too, regardless Elena can handle the wolves, time to start trusting her, Niklaus," he said with a smirk, catching Elena's gaze and lingering for a moment.
"Thank you," she mouthed the words towards him and offered a kind smile.
"I don't like this but I suppose I don't have much choice, Elena, just be careful and call us if you run into trouble," he ordered, which was met with an eye roll and a small sigh.
Elena placed her hand on his arm and he lowered his paper slightly to look at her, she was radiating calm and it seemed to wash over him, "you needn't worry, Nik, I can handle the wolves, I have the barrier spell and figured out the teleportation spell, I'll get out of there if anything happens."
"You can't keep using your Empath gift to tame me, little warrior," he said with a soft voice before pulling his arm away from her, "it's just rude."
Kol and Elena had a small outburst of laughter before she stood from the chair and placed her mug in the sink, heading for the door, "you're perfectly right, I shall remember not to use it against you when you're being demanding again."
"Your sarcasm is quite unnecessary," she chuckled at his words and approached him, leaning down and giving him a peck on the cheek.
"Stop worrying, I'll be fine," she stood back up and walked towards Elijah, tilting her head towards the door and urging him to follow her out, "I have to go, I've got my cell so call if you need me, I'll see you all at the unification meeting."
They said their goodbyes and Elena jolted for the door, she slipped her leather jacket on and slid her phone into her pocket; once she reached the front porch, Elijah had appeared behind her and she instantly wrapped her arms around his neck, embracing and kissing him with a desperate passion.
"We need to be careful, Elena," Elijah spoke softly on her lips, his arm slipping around her waist and his free hand tracing the skin on her face.
"I know, it's just impossible for me not to touch you when I see you," she expressed, her emotion seeped into her voice and she rested her forehead on his chin, "I wish we didn't have to sneak around."
"As do I," he placed a soft kiss on her forehead and smoothed his hand to the back of her neck, his gaze locking with hers, "I will tell Niklaus but for now, it's best he not be distracted, we have far too many enemies in the French Quarter and I can't leave him vulnerable."
"I understand, of course, doesn't mean I have to like it."
"Can I take you to dinner tonight? I'll make it up to you for all the sneaking around," A wide grin appeared on her lips and she nodded her head at his words.
"I'd love too."
"I look forward to it," his crooked smile made her heart melt and she was too excited for their date, it gave her something to get her through this day.
"I'll see you later, then?" She said as she held his hand and he walked her to the car.
Elijah nodded his head and placed a soft kiss on her hand, "are you certain you wouldn't like me to go with you to the wolves?"
"I'll be fine," she pulled him into a deep and passionate kiss, indulging in him for a few long moments before she had to inevitably leave and she whispered on his lips, "I love you."
"I love you too," they kissed for one more long moment before they said their goodbyes and he held the car door open for her, she slid in and drove off.
Elena was nearly at her destination across the river, she was excited to see the progress the wolves have made in rejoining the city and she only hoped they were happy, she couldn't imagine being exiled from the Quarter and forced to live in the woods.
She pulled up at the houses and parked, exiting her car, she walked across the edge of the dock when she heard a familiar voice call out to her, "Elena, hey."
"Hey, Alexander," she spoke happily as he gave her a quick hug, "it looks great over here, you have all done a good job."
Elena looked around some more, noticing they had done some of there own home improvements to make the houses sturdier and more liveable, there was a newly built playground in the corner for the kids and there was a large space behind the houses that had a bonfire area, "this is amazing."
"We couldn't have done it without you," Alexander smiled kindly at her, "come, every morning the alphas come to my house for a meeting and my wife would love to meet you."
"Sure, I'd love that," Elena smiled before following him further down the dock and into his house; she looked around slightly, they had it decorated lovely and cosy with colours of orange and brown and the odd werewolf token on the walls; she was suddenly brought back to reality by his wife pulling her into a hug.
"It's great to finally meet you, the guys have told me lots about you," she pointed her thumb at the table to the alphas behind her, "I'm Skylar."
"It's nice to meet you too," she smiled before accepting her invitation for coffee and joined with the others at the table; Skylar had one of them faves that appeared to nice and compassionate but the emotions within her told Elena that she was strong, she had long brown hair and it curled nicely down her shoulders, her eyes where blue and she had a slim figure.
"How is everything, guys?" She asked, as Skylar handed her a coffee and she thanked her; bringing her cup to her lips, her gaze flickered between them and she could see a moment between them that was filled with concern, "what is it?"
"It's probably nothing," Gregory responded, placing his hand on the table and tapping his fingers lightly, "but there's been an influx of dead animals in the woods surrounding our new homes over the past few weeks, we thought it could be a wild animal attacking but when Hunter went to investigate, he said they where just dead, not a mark on there bodies."
Elena's brow furrowed and she knew exactly what it was, "were they frozen, like statues?"
"Exactly," Hunter responded, his line of sight shifting to her, "what's happening to them?"
"It's the Soul Eaters, they must be watching you from the woods," Elena's expression changed and she knew she had to do something.
"You think they mean to attack us?" Brendan spoke up, breaking his silence.
"I can't be sure," Elena responded, looking amongst the elders, "I'll see what I can find out, in the mean time, I'll charm some objects with my barrier protection spell and if you place them in your house, it'll protect everyone it, no-one will be able to pass through it, I'll have them delivered before night fall."
"Thank you, Elena," Gregory spoke, full of gratitude.
"Yeah, thanks, Queen," Hunter smirked, trying to keep his big bad wolf persona.
"Damn," Alexander exclaimed, a small chuckle escaping his lips at how friendly Hunter was being, it was much unlike him.
"It's no problems, guys, I swore to keep you safe and I'll do everything I can to live up to that," they all nodded their heads at her words and smiled.
"What about the full moon approaching?" Brendan asked, concern creeping on his facial features.
"Way ahead of you, I'll spell a talisman for each of you to wear during the lunar cycle, I'll channel that and as long as you wear them in wolf form, your entire packs will be protected," she said, finishing her coffee, "if you venture deeper into the bayou, then they shouldn't attack and with permission, I'll send a group of trusted vampires to keep watch of the houses and protect your families in case of an attack."
"We can't thank you enough, Elena, the wolves are forever indebted to you, nothing means more to us than family," Gregory said with a deep voice, his relief apparent.
"Of course," she smiled kindly at them all before standing to leave, "There's going to be a memorial in the Quarter for the victims from the attack on Rousseau's in a few days, you should all come, there's going to be a parade in there honour and you know how vampires like to make everything big, there will be drinks and music and celebration of their lives."
"We'll be there," Gregory agreed, extending his hand towards her and she shook it; she said her goodbyes and returned to her car, pulling out her phone and sending a text in the Mikaelson group chat, which still made her laugh everytime she opened it, she never thought the oldest vampires in the world would have one.
"Meet me at the compound early, we need to talk," she hit send and tossed her phone onto the passenger seat beside her before driving off and back into the city.
Arriving back at the compound, she peered her head through the gates and saw all of the Mikaelson siblings; she walked inside and joined them, relaying all of the information from her venture out to the wolves, they where all equally surprised by the Soul Eaters stalking them.
"They're probably trying to stir up a war with the wolves, the balance is in the process of being completely restored and once that happens, they'll be powerless here," Klaus theorised.
"We've all been living in peace, the notion must terrify them," Kol interjected, a small smirk on his lips.
"Well, I stopped by the witch store on the way here and picked up like 50 of these moon crystals, do you think we'd be able to spell these with my barrier protection by tonight, Davina?" she spoke as the young witch picked one up and inspected it.
"Piece of cake, we can do it now and be done in 15 minutes," she reassured Elena, before standing from her chair and heading into the building, "I'll prepare the spell."
"And lastly, I invited them to memorial in a few days, they wanted to pay there respects and it gives us a chance to live in peace together, see if there's still any bad blood there," Elena finished.
"Should be a fun filled night," Klaus quipped, which was met with a look of disapproval from Elena.
"Everyone is going to be on their best behaviour, Nik, don't make me snap your neck again, please?" She mused, flashing him a wink before heading to the staircase.
"I'm finding I like you less and less with each day, little warrior," he smirked playfully, before taking a sip of the bourbon Marcel had poured for him.
Elena grinned as she exited the foyer and went to join Davina in her room; she had the spell prepared, Elena saw the moon crystals in a bowl in the centre of a table with two white candles either side of it, she was placing the last of the herbs in it when she entered.
"It's all ready, just need some of your blood to bind your barrier spell to the crystals," Davina said as she picked up a dagger and handed it to her; she obliged and sliced it across her palm slightly, allowing the blood to drip into the bowl, "as long as you're alive, the spell will remain bound to them."
"Thank you so much, Davina, I couldn't do it without you," she placed her unsliced hand on her arm and offered her a kind smile.
"Of course, ever since the treaty, we've been at peace and besides, I owe you my life, if it wasn't for you, the witches would still hate me."
"You don't owe me anything, 'Vina," she reassured and Davina just nodded her head once but in reality, she would do anything for Elena, she changed her life for the better and she was a true friend.
After a few minutes of prep, Elena and Davina joined hands and began channelling, the flames on the candles lit and the ancestors had joined them; she pictured the barrier spell in her mind and started chanting, the bowl began to levitate in the air and spin slightly.
Their chanting grew more intense and the bowl started to lower itself onto the table; the candles went out and the spell was complete, Elena picked up one of the crystals and inspected it, she saw a shine to it that wasn't there before, "Thanks again, Davina."
The young witch nodded her head as she started putting all the crystals into a black satchel and handing them to Elena, "of course."
Elena exited her room and rejoined the others in the foyer, she took a crystal out of the bag and handed it to Marcel, "hang it in the centre of the house and it'll protect you from anyone trying to enter with evil intent."
"Thanks, E," he smiled and took the took the crystal, placing it on the table in front of him.
"We should test these crystals," Klaus spoke, before exiting the compound and standing outside the gate; he picked up a large rock that lay beside the road and hurled it towards the entrance to the compound but it bounced of the barrier.
"It works," Elena exclaimed happily, a wave of relief washing over her; as she approached Rebekah, she took one more the crystals from the bag and slid it into her pocket for the plantation; Bekah was sitting in the corner with Kol and having a drink, she tended to avoid the boring meetings and she couldn't blame her, "can I ask you a huge favour, Bex?"
"Of course," she turned her attention on to Elena fully and saw her offer her the satchel.
"Would you take these to the wolves across the river? I can't trust anyone else with them."
"I'll do it now before the meeting," Rebekah said as she stood from the chair and took the satchel from her.
"Thank you," she gave her a quick hug before she sped from the compound; Elena pulled out her phone and sent a text to Alexander.
"Just to warn you, Rebekah is coming to deliver the crystals now, she means you no harm. Hang the crystal in the centre of your house and nothing will pass through, call me if there's any problems," she hit send and awaited a response.
She sat down on the sofa at that back of the room, phone in hand and thinking about the meeting; it was to start in less than 15 minutes and she felt completely unprepared, she knew the witches were coming with the intent of peace but what if they couldn't reach an agreement? There was a lot of bad blood there, especially with Marcel and she could only hope they could see past it all.
Her phone vibrated in her hand and she opened the text from Alexander, "Rebekah's just delivered them and I've already started handing them out to the wolves, thank you again, Elena."
She felt a wave of relief wash over her now that she knew the wolves were protected, it was her job to uphold the unity between factions and it wasn't easy but she had to do it.
"You're doing incredible, Elena," Elijah appeared beside her on the sofa, his arm resting on the back of it behind her and giving her that crooked smile that made her melt, "you're a natural leader."
"Thanks," her heart began racing slightly at his sudden appearance, she craved him all the time and it was a struggle for her that they can't be together properly.
"Is there something on your mind, sweetheart?"
"I guess it's just a lot, you know? I feel responsible for everyone, I have to keep everyone safe and it's exhausting, if anything would have happened to the wolves and I could have stopped it with something as easy as a barrier charm, then the guilt would have eaten me up," she explained, confiding in him and seeking comfort.
"Your compassion knows no bounds, Elena and it truly is an incredible gift to have but you must remember to take care of yourself too, if you allow all of this to consume you, you'll wind up miserable and regretful," he offered his advice, talking low and softly as to avoid any listening ears, "and myself and our family will always assist you with anything you require in your leadership of the unification, you're not alone and you will never be alone again."
She smiled kindly towards him and rested her head on the arm that cradled the back of the sofa for a long moment, craving his touch immensely, before she had to stop, "thank you, Elijah, you've been of great help."
They couldn't help but laugh at the formality of their conversation, they were so desperately in love but they had to sneak around like teenagers, it was heartbreaking but if she didn't laugh, she would cry.
"Hey, what's going on with them two?" Klaus asked Kol quietly, watching from the other side of the room as he saw Elijah and Elena laugh and bond.
"It would appear to be talking, Nik, you should try it some time," Kol quipped with a smirk, trying his best to cover for his brother and Elena.
"They seem to be talking quite a lot lately, inseparable, it would seem," his suspicions were creeping in and he couldn't help but doubt them.
"She is constantly talking with Rebekah too and me, humans tend to do that, you're being weird, Nik," Kol placed his hand on his shoulder and squeezed slightly before joining Marcel at the table; he couldn't help but be wary of the couple, his eyes lingering for a long moment on them before turning his attention to the blast of wind beside him.
Rebekah had returned to the compound and sped next to Klaus, the others all stood from their chairs and turned their attention to her, "they're here."
A few minutes later, the leaders of the 9 covens had entered the compound along with several other witches that belonged to them, including Kimberly and Anna; Elena walked towards them and stood in front of them, a smile gracing her lips at their appearance but she felt all the vampires in the room instantly stood behind her, they really didn't trust the witches.
"Elena, thank you for inviting us here today, shall we begin?" Kimberly spoke before Elena nodded her head and gestured her hand towards the table.
"Of course, I'm eager too," she felt the tension in the room as they all began to take a seat, the originals, Marcel and a few of his inner circle vampires, Elena and the leader witches all took a seat.
There was Kimberly, Alana, Sophia, Kendra, Hanna, Arianna, Victoria, Kya and Stephanie, each of them were the leaders of one of the 9 covens of New Orleans; they had some of there most trusted witches in attendance including Anna and they hovered around the room keeping guard.
"They passed through the crystal," Rebekah whispered into Elena's ear, "so that means they have good intentions, right?"
Elena nodded her head.
"We're here today to discuss peace within our factions, as you are very much aware, there has been a significant issue with the balance and the dark magic that has originated from it and the only way to battle it is if we all come together, live in harmony and forget past conflicts," Klaus said, spearheading the meeting by Elena's request, she was good at keeping the peace but the politics still baffled her.
"It is hard to forget a history of bloodshed, most of which came from your families hand," Arianna directed her statement at the siblings; she was young, looked to be in her 30s and was a beautiful brunette with dark brown eyes and curly hair that swooped around her shoulders.
"There have been many instances throughout the entire history of New Orleans where witches have solicited the use of dark magic and violence to meet their own ends, we are not just to blame," Elijah interjected, speaking up for his family.
"We wouldn't have too if vampires didn't run the French Quarter and kill whomever they see fit, we have lost many of our sisters to this plight and it was all by the hand of Marcel and his inner circle," Kimberly offered her concerns to the table, "as long as Marcel tries to keep us under control and prevent us from practicing magic, there will be no peace."
Elena stood from the chair and walked to the table at the back of the room, on it was a large candle sitting on a holder made of crystal; she brought it back to the table and set it in the centre, the flame instantly lit and the ancestors wanted to make there attendance known.
"I don't think this meeting would be happening unless the ancestors agreed to it, they are here now with us, they want the peace we are offering and reliving old battles isn't going to get us there, we need to move past it and think about now," Elena said her piece before returning to her chair, "we've all lost loved ones to this war and it's about time it ended."
"Very well said," Stephanie spoke up, she was a lot older, looked to be in her 50's, she had pale grey hair, aging skin and she wore clothes that looked to be from another time, "we're listening to your terms."
It went on for hours, Elena tried to be involved and seem interested but the same issues kept coming up and it all revolved around Marcel and his self proclaimed royalty over the quarter; she could see that everyone was becoming frustrated, the meeting was going nowhere and if it continued, they would leave and there would be no peace.
"I saved the Quarter from rogue vampires, werewolf attacks and dark magic that killed 3 innocent girls," Marcel snapped back, with Klaus at his side.
"And when we were here 300 years ago, we built this city from the ground up, made it somewhere worth living and gave you a place to practice your magic," Klaus teamed up with Marcel against them.
"But at what cost?" Alana fought back, she seemed to be the youngest, she looked no older than 25 and Elena couldn't help but wonder how she became a leader so young, "many of us have died during this war to accommodate your idea of a vampire haven and it stops today."
"Exactly, it stops today," Elena finally spoke up, the peace in the meeting was effected and it was time for her to bring it all back together, "here's my terms, open to discussion, of course but we're not getting anywhere arguing amongst ourselves."
The witches all looked at each other in contemplation before nodding their heads, "continue," spoke Alana.
"As per the basic terms set with the werewolves, each faction would be in control of how they want to live, you needn't concern yourselves with the issues of vampires, all that is asked is that you step up and help us when the city and everything we know comes under attack, we work together to stop it, vampires will leave you alone and the witches will leave us alone, you can practice your magic in peace, and yes, Marcel does run the city but if it wasn't for him, it wouldn't be thriving, there's family run businesses across Main Street, an influx of tourists daily to pump money into the economy, he refuses to allow corporations to come in here and take what this city has fought for so long for, a home. We've all made mistakes, both witches and vampires, but if it wasn't for him, this city would look a lot different, you would be forced to hide your true power as there would be governments trying to force there way in here, CEOs, and other leaders who would try and take our way of life."
Silence befell the room at her speech, everyone looked amongst each other with a deeper understanding.
"And Marcel only done what he thought to be right when he heard of the harvest, he was drawn in by Sophie Deveraux and she manipulated him into attacking that night and saving Davina, and sure, they feed, not their fault either, that's just nature but the locals are left alone and the tourists are healed and compelled, the best that can be done given the situation, I believe Marcel only has the best interests of the French Quarter at heart and with the help of our family, this place could thrive."
"Thanks, E," Marcel said, straight from the heart.
"So, my terms are Marcel continues to deal with the affairs of the French Quarter, you can practice magic knowing you'll be safe, the vampires will stay out of the cemetery and will leave you alone, providing you don't use dark magic without good reason, we will protect you against forces of evil but we will not become involved in the problems within the coven, attacks on each other is punishable by death and breaking of these terms will void the treaty."
"Damn, Elena," Marcel grinned in awe, "and you say you're no good at politics, really? Well, the vampires agree to your terms and welcome the witches into our time of peace."
She grinned sheepishly at his excitement and compliments before turning her attention to Klaus and his siblings, "agreed."
Kimberly stood from her chair after a long while of contemplation and nodded her head, "we agree to your terms, Elena, with this treaty, the time of war is over."
The flame in the centre of the table soared higher and that indicated the ancestors were happy with the treaty.
"And with Elena at the head of the unification treaty, I know the witches will be safe and their voices heard," Kimberly continued, a wide smile on her lips directed at her, "we shall sign the treaty today and during the full moon in a few days, we shall complete the unification ritual."
Elena took a deep breath, her relief washing over her in waves as she watched Marcel write out the treaty on an old parchment paper; she picked up the pen from the table and signed it, before passing it along and waiting for the signatures to be complete.
Once Kimberly had signed, Elena approached her and asked her for a moment of privacy; she took her to the other end of the room, throwing her barrier up and protecting them from listening ears, "the Soul Eaters are planning their attack, I need your help."
"How can I help?" She asked, her brow furrowed with confusion.
"They've been stalking the wolves across the river, animals have been dying by the dozens in the frozen statue like state and I don't know why," she explained, her frustration apparent in her tone of voice, "it made me realise that I don't actually know much about them, what they're end goal is and why that involves us and New Orleans and how they plan on attacking us."
"You need information?" Kimberly surmised.
"Yes, if anyone within the covens has any information about them, I could really use it."
"Of course, I'll ask around, if anyone is going to know anything, it's Stephanie, do not let her age fool you, she's very powerful and knowledgable of the ancient ways, I will deliver any information I may have to the plantation," she reassured, a kind smile on her lips.
"Thank you so much."
"No, thank you, Elena, if the treaty works and we are able to have peace, then you have saved the French Quarter and the witches within it," She smiled at her words before dropping the barrier and returning to the others.
"Everybody signed?" Elena asked, her eyes glancing over the treaty and seeing the signatures of all the coven leaders, vampires and Mikaelson's.
Everyone was at peace.