The next chapter, enjoy!

A Thank you to Senema for her quick beta, especially because I wrote so much in the last weeks. Tell me, what you think or if you like the story. As always, I'm happy about any comment.

Chapter 3

Marcel entered the dungeon where he held Klaus captive. One of his minions, who was responsible for guarding Klaus, had called him down. Marcel had previously ordered the guards to make Klaus's life as prisoner as rough and hard as possible and never to let him sleep unless he gave the permission. But now Klaus had fallen asleep without permission and nobody could wake him up.

The minion reported which brutal methods he had already tried on Klaus and Marcel frowned. The only explanation for Klaus not waking up after this was that someone had cursed him or used magic on him. He looked down at Klaus and noticed the smile on his face and the way, his eyes moved under the eyelids, which meant he was dreaming. But whatever the dream was about, it made him happy, so it couldn't be a curse.

Marcel growled, this couldn't be allowed to continue, Klaus had to suffer. Luckily, he had brought something with him that would ensure that he did. He smirked, took out Papa Tunde's blade and thrust it into Klaus's heart. But Marcel was greatly disappointed, Klaus didn't react in the slightest and continued to smile.

Bewildered, Marcel pulled out the blade, why didn't it work? "Get me Vincent!" He ordered the minion who was still standing next to him. "He has to take a look at this. It has to be a spell that keeps Klaus sleeping."

"I've already tried that, but Vincent refuses to come", the minion replied anxiously. "He says he has other problems right now."

Marcel frowned. "Did you tell him what it's about?"

"No, I didn't. But he was quite absent-minded and curt anyway. When I asked what was going on, he just hung up." The vampire shrugged helplessly.

"I think the witches need another reminder that I'm the ruler of this city and they don't stand a chance against me." Marcel really missed Davina right now, especially her Harvest powers. It had been so much easier to keep control of the witches back then. With a nostalgic smile, he thought of the fear and terror he had spread among them.

"Keep an eye on him!" Marcel commanded before leaving the dungeon. He would speak directly to Vincent and he would make him come with him, whether Vincent wanted to or not.

As he entered Vincent's headquarters in the church, there was a great deal of coming and going. All the witches looked nervous, almost panicked. They held sheets of paper in their hands, which they brought to Vincent. He read them before passing them on to other witches, who scribbled names and places on several school blackboards, which were almost full already.

Marcel could see that Vincent looked very tense. He frowned. It really looked like Vincent had enough problems of his own, but then Marcel shrugged. Who cared about that anyway? His problems always came first. If the witches wanted to live their lives and remain relatively unharmed, they had to serve him.

"Hey, Vincent, you have to come with me right now!" Marcel declared arrogantly.

All the witches stopped what they were doing and looked at him before turning to Vincent. He grimaced as he looked at Marcel. "I've already told your toady I don't have the time."

"Then make the time! Someone put a spell on Klaus that makes him sleep. You have to wake him up", said Marcel impatiently.

Vincent frowned, but then shrugged. "What do I care? Let him sleep."

"I alone decide when Klaus can sleep", said Marcel cruelly. "I used Papa Tunde's blade on him and he didn't react at all. He continued to sleep peacefully and smiled even with the blade in his heart."

Vincent raised an eyebrow, visibly surprised. "That is highly uncommon, the blade is very powerful in the way it causes pain and suffering. But still, I don't have the time and Klaus sleeping peacefully doesn't sound like an emergency to me."

Marcel growled and for a moment, showed his beast face. "What's going on here anyway?"

"Witch business. Nothing that concerns you." Vincent eyed Marcel coldly.

"I am the ruler of this city and I decide what concerns me", Marcel replied just as coldly.

"It's on occasions like this that I really miss the Mikaelsons", Vincent muttered angrily. "They might kill you, but at least they never interfered in witch business as long as it didn't affected them directly."

"Then you shouldn't have helped me." Marcel smirked.

"Believe me, I regret it." Vincent eyed Marcel with disgust. "I shouldn't have let my anger over Davina override my common sense. I should have remembered that you are the catalyst for all the death and tragedy in the last seven years."

"Well, it's too late and you have to live with it." Marcel laughed coldly. "And now I want my answer."

Vincent's mouth twisted. "All seers have hysterical breakdowns, no matter which part of the world they live in. They just keep stammering that she is back and will take her throne again. Moreover, they say that she is angry and will purge the covens to restore the old order.

Perhaps in connection to this troubling prophecy, I got numerous reports about many covens losing their entire magic, also throughout the world. It's interesting to note that it mainly affects covens who practice sacrificial magic like Papa Tunde, but also covens who practice ancestral magic like us." He frowned. "But not every coven is affected and I can't see for now why some are allowed to keep their magic and others aren't."

"And what about the witches of New Orleans, do they still have their magic?" Marcel grinned maliciously.

Vincent narrowed his eyes. "Yes, everything is fine so far."

"Maybe someone is working off a list and whoever is responsible for it will save you for later. I'm just wondering who and why. But I have to admit, the idea of New Orleans without witches is one I really like." Marcel smirked.

Vincent scoffed. "Have you ever thought about someone targeting you too? Your fourth anniversary is just around the corner. What impression would it make if you presented Klaus to them like this? Him sleeping peacefully, you with no way of waking him. Someone wants to embarrass and ridicule you."

Marcel seemed thoughtful now. "An interesting idea and worth thinking about. How powerful does a witch have to be to cast this type of spell on Klaus?"

"To cast this kind of spell on an Original, very powerful. I would say on the same level as Freya", replied Vincent grave.

"The Mikaelsons are incapacitated because of me", Marcel bragged. "There's no way they can be behind this."

"It's not a good idea to underestimate Hayley", Vincent warned. "We both know that she is searching for a way to heal her family and wake them up."

"Maybe it's time to find Hayley and Hope. Having Hope with me allows me to protect her while still keeping Hayley under my control and use her to subjugate the werewolves. And if I have the coffins with Klaus's siblings, I have even more leverage against him." Marcel laughed softly. "Making him afraid, that I will do something to his precious brother Elijah."

"You want to use a six-year-old as leverage against her family?" Vincent asked in disgust.

"I'm not harming her", Marcel replied with a shrug.

"There are different kinds of harm", Vincent said slowly. "But who am I talking about. After all, we're talking about the man who made a sixteen-year-old girl his murder accomplice. Get out of here, Marcel!"

Marcel grabbed Vincent's upper arm. "Not without you!" He whistled loudly through his teeth and suddenly vampires appeared everywhere. "Maybe it's time for me to do a witch rousting again. It's been way too long since my vampires had any fun."

Vincent unwillingly pulled away. "Okay, I will come with you but send your minions away."

With a smug smile Marcel did just that.

Vincent looked at his deputy. "Colette, you continue on here. Find out what you can."

Marcel and Vincent left the church and returned to the dungeon. Vincent knelt down next to Klaus.

After watching Vincent examine Klaus for almost half an hour, Marcel became impatient. "So tell me, how fast can you wake him up?"

Vincent got up and turned to Marcel. There was a very strange expression on his face and if Marcel didn't know any better, he could swear Vincent was scared.

"I cannot do anything." Vincent shook his head in disbelief. "I've never seen anything like this, there is no spell. The only thing I feel is an incredible power I don't stand a chance against."

"Then get some of your witches to help you", Marcel urged.

"You do not understand. I could round up all the witches of New Orleans to help me and it wouldn't make a difference. It's not normal magic," Vincent replied uneasily. "Whoever made Klaus sleep is so far out of my league it isn't even funny."

"Is it possible for you to make a breach for me so that I can make contact with Klaus's mind? To tell him that he has to wake up, otherwise who knows what will happen to him", Marcel said thoughtfully.

Vincent snorted. "I might be able to keep his mind open, but only if Klaus allows it. An Original's mind is protected in ways you can't even imagine. Everything that happens would only be possible with his consent." He sneered. "And I doubt Klaus would believe a word you said. Whoever did this did it with Klaus' full consent."

"Who would Klaus trust so much?" Marcel stared down at Klaus.

"All I can think of is his family", Vincent replied quietly.

"I have to find Hayley." Marcel now looked determined. "Somehow she found an incredibly strong witch or powerful magic. Which means she might well be able find a way to wake up the other Originals."

"Which also means that sooner or later they will come to free Klaus." Vincent smiled finely. "And if whoever helped Hayley is on her side, you're about to have a very big problem. I can't imagine Elijah will be very happy when he sees what you did to his beloved brother. I think in a short while you'll be too busy to play your childish power games. Goodbye Marcel!"

Vincent turned and left. As soon as he left the dungeon, he allowed himself a small grin. This unexpected situation promised certain opportunities for the witches. He doubted Hayley was behind this, but now that he'd redirected Marcel's paranoia onto her, it was only a matter of time before Hayley and Hope was back in New Orleans. A powerful witch like Hope could be very beneficial to the witches. She would need help mastering her magic and Marcel needed him for that.

As Vincent returned to the church, Colette approached him concerned. "We've tried contacting the Ancestors to see if they know more than we do."

"And?" Vincent inquired worriedly.

"They don't answer." Colette hesitated. "We still have access to their power but it feels different than usual, somehow distant and delayed." She frowned. "And Ivy's out of her trance, but she just sits there, staring off into the distance, not responding to any of our questions."

"The Oracle of Jackson Square?" Vincent asked interestedly. He had heard a lot about this witch but never met her.

"You talk to her, maybe she will answer you", Colette suggested.

"I will do that. Is she still up in the attic?" When Colette nodded, Vincent pushed past her.

When he entered the attic, Ivy was sitting on the bed Davina used to sleep in. Vincent, as always, felt the pain of the young witch's death and the indirect complicity he had in it. Ivy had fanned out cards in front of her at which she stared spellbound.

Vincent cleared his throat. "Ivy, can you answer a few questions for me?"

Ivy sighed, lifted her head and stared at him. "Nature is coming to New Orleans, to judge and restore the old order."

"The old order? What do you mean by that?" asked Vincent worriedly.

"We've lost our way, Nature is outraged at how low we've sunk", Ivy said tearfully.

Vincent frowned. "How can nature come to New Orleans? And how would it be able to judge us?"

"Not this kind of nature. I'm talking about the one who commands nature and let's everything grow." Ivy looked wild. "We're about to lose our ancestral magic, Vincent. Nature feels we have squandered and abused her gift. We use it to make others suffer. We don't help people anymore but use them as a means to an end, for political gain, for personal power. We use our dead against their will, we hold them for our benefit so they are unable to find peace. We think we are better than werewolves and vampires, yet Nature looks with favour on those we loathe while we lost her favour."

"I don't understand", said Vincent uneasily.

"I'm not allowed to say more." Ivy chuckled softly. "But you don't have to worry about Marcel. Soon he won't be able to terrorize us anymore. He won't be able to use the loss of our magic against us."

"That's good news, at least", Vincent grumbled. "But who will rule New Orleans?"

Ivy shrugged indifferently. "Not the witches! We will return to our old purpose as servants of Nature."

"Without magic?" said Vincent bitterly. "How can we serve her under these circumstances?"

"We can no longer use ancestral magic but Nature will not take away our ability to cast magic", Ivy explained patiently. "We are luckier than other covens in this regard."

"But we will be weak", Vincent said worriedly. "The witches of New Orleans will be at the mercy of their enemies."

"New Orleans will be protected", assured Ivy seriously. "And Vincent, you can't tell anyone what I told you. This knowledge is only for you. As Regent, it will be your job to absorb the shock and help your people, when the time comes."

Vincent sighed. "I will keep quiet", he promised. "Do you know what happened to Klaus?"

"He's safe." Ivy smiled. "He will wake up soon but will not remember anything that happened to him. Only when Nature comes to New Orleans will he be able to remember everything." She looked at Vincent seriously. "Should Marcel ask you to interrogate Klaus by any means necessary, remember what I just told you."

Vincent nodded respectfully. "Thank you for your answers, Seer, I'll take them to heart."

Vincent left the attic more than a little thoughtful. When asked by Colette, he only said that Ivy hadn't told him anything.

Vincent wanted to think thoroughly about Ivy's words in order to understand the messages they contained. New Orleans and the supernatural community would soon change forever. The only question remained, in what way and who would rule them.