Hello, long time no see.
Totally my fault. I am very picky about this story so I second guess everything. I always end up rewriting a new chapter more than a dozen times because nothing seems good enough.
I have rewrote this one so many times. It was 20,000 words but I decided to split it because I'm not happy with the second half and I'm currently rewriting it but I figured I post the first half.
If you're still here by some miracle than I hope you enjoy the chapter.
One more thing there is SMUT in this chapter so if you don't like reading about that feel free to skim past it or let me know Smut's not your thing.
1000 YEARS AGO
A storm rages outside as a very young Rebekah lays in her bed, frightened. Young Niklaus walks over to comfort her.
Rebekah sniffles as she cries.
"Hush now." Niklaus soothed. "It's just a storm. Don't be afraid. I won't let it hurt you."
"Nik, don't go." Rebekah protests when Niklaus leaves her side.
Niklaus returned to his little sister's side, something held in his hands. "I carved it for father." He shows her the wooden toy. "It's a brave knight. Now you can be brave, too."
"Will you stay with me 'til the storm ends?" asked Rebekah, holding onto the toy.
"I will always stay with you, Rebekah." Niklaus promised, taking her free hand in his. "No matter what."
Rebekah looked at him with trusting eyes, not letting his hand go.
Zach followed the pull he felt and burst into a room to find Caroline and Klaus wrapped around one another, unmindful of the witch on the floor, pushing back to her feet.
He rushed past them, slamming her into the wall.
Genevieve gave a cry as his hands tightened around her throat.
"Don't," Klaus pulled away from Caroline. "Let her go."
Zach looked over his shoulder, his eyes angry. "She held Caroline captive."
"I'm aware." Klaus' eyes narrowed. "Let her go. I won't repeat myself."
Klaus didn't truly care for the witch, but something inside told him he couldn't let her die.
Zach looked to Caroline, waiting.
"I can help you," Genevieve protested, seeing the wolf's hesitation on Caroline's behalf.
Zach's eyes snapped back to her, his grip tightening. A growl vibrating through his chest. "We don't need your help."
"Caroline does." She looked past him, locking eyes with Caroline.
"You were about to kill one of my children," Caroline snapped, veins spreading down her cheeks with rage.
"And you stopped me with magic." Genevieve argued. "You don't know how you did it, which means you can't control it."
Klaus looked at Caroline, surprised. "You used magic?"
"I'll explain later," she assured him before focusing back on the red-haired witch. "I don't need you to teach me control. I have a witch for that."
"Davina," Genevieve laughs. "She's a child still learning the craft. I would be a far better choice."
Caroline's thoughts briefly drifted to Bonnie, but she banished the thought away. Her friends in Mystic Falls didn't understand her choices or accept them and a part of Caroline felt she couldn't trust them as long as they were against Klaus and they would always be against him.
She wasn't going to get caught in the middle of that or make her life more complicated than it was by involving her friends who couldn't possibly understand the person she had become after being able to flourish here in New Orleans.
"Let her go," Caroline said finally. "We're going to let you go. You are not only going to help me figure out how that is possible, but you are also going to help Davina, or I will let Zach carry whatever punishment he sees fit for you trying to harm a member of his pack."
Confusion washed over Genevieve's eyes. "I didn't attack any wolves. I never touched a member of his pack."
"Caroline is a member of my pack," Zach growled. His hand tightened dangerously on her throat before letting her go and stepping back to stand beside Caroline.
Genevieve's eyes filtered between the three, the way Klaus pulled Caroline into his side, her hand naturally resting over his heart. The way Zach stood slightly in front of Caroline, like he was ready to be her shield, her hand resting lightly on his shoulder, like she was grounding him.
Clearly, Celeste was underestimating Caroline. She wasn't just a pregnant baby vampire. It was clear she was so much more. How else could she have the most feared Mikaelson wrapped around her finger or the loyalty of a wolf, protecting her, claiming she was a pack member?
Caroline was more than what you saw and she wasn't going to make the same mistake as her fellow witch sister. She was not going to underestimate Caroline's power or her influence. To do so would only get her killed.
"Do we have a deal?" Caroline asked.
Genevieve swallowed. "We have a deal, but you won't be able to leave here until the boundary spell is brought down."
"Then you better find Davina and get to work helping her undo what Celeste has done."
Genevieve slowly walked around them.
Caroline waited until she was gone before focusing back on the two men. "Did you come alone?"
"Of course not," Zach said. "You are important to more than just the two of us."
"I'm sure they'll meet up with us, but there are some things I need to take care of before we leave here," said Klaus.
"What?" Caroline looked at him.
Zach took the time quietly to slip away, leaving them alone to talk. He didn't care for the Mikaelson drama. He was here for Caroline's safety and she was safe.
His time would be better spent following the red-haired witch, ensuring that she did exactly as she was told.
Caroline followed Klaus outside, after he told her of Rebekah's and Marcel's betrayal in the 20s.
Caroline didn't know what to say. It was hard to wrap her head around.
Anyone who knew the Mikaelsons knew they were dysfunctional to an insane degree, but she never thought Rebekah was capable of trying to have her own brother killed.
The girl who raged when she thought that Alaric killed him which resulted in Elena becoming a vampire.
Yet she was responsible for the same crime she condemned others for.
The hypocrisy was on another level.
Once stepping outside onto the cemetery grounds, Caroline was reunited with the members of the pack that came, wanting her safe return and Stefan, who didn't hesitate in hugging her.
Davina wasn't there, but she wasn't expecting her to be. Caroline knew she was acting out the rest of their plan.
"Are you hurt?" Stefan asked.
"No," Caroline shook her head, her eyes traveling past him to Rebekah and Elijah, who were watching Klaus.
They were aware that with Caroline free and safe that Klaus would be turning his attention to Rebekah.
Caroline wasn't sure she wanted to involve herself. There was some Mikaelson drama she preferred to steer clear of and right now, was one of those times.
"We're gonna go somewhere else." She pulled on Stefan's arm, forcing him to walk with her.
"Maybe we shouldn't-" Stefan started to protest.
"This is a Mikaelson matter." Caroline said. "Move it. Now."
"There's a boundary spell. We can't leave." Stefan protested.
"We can move from the area. Start walking." Caroline tugged insistently at his arm.
The wolves closed in on them and Stefan was forced to follow, his eyes looking back at Rebekah, not wanting to leave her to the mercy of Klaus.
He took comfort that she wouldn't be alone with him. Surely Elijah would protect Rebekah from Klaus.
Elijah and Rebekah stood across from Klaus. A divide that went deeper than the distance. It didn't help matters that they were trapped in the cemetery, unable to leave or escape in Rebekah's case.
The culmination of betrayal, bad blood and poor decisions were coming to a head in a showdown between the three Mikaelsons.
Klaus slipped the indestructible white oak stake from his coat while Elijah removed Papa Tunde's blade from his suit.
"I expected it would be only until Caroline was safe before you tried to hurt our sister." Elijah declared, moving into a protective stance.
Klaus ignored him, his eyes full of rage. "Rebekah."
"Walk away." Elijah ordered.
"Don't move!" Klaus snapped at Rebekah.
"Leave us now." Elijah told Rebekah.
"I can't," said Rebekah angrily. "I'm stuck here." She stared at Klaus's weapon, fear evident in her gaze. "Elijah, he has the white oak stake."
Klaus points the stake in her direction. "I brought it for you, sister."
"Get out of his sight." Elijah steps in front of Rebekah. "Your presence here only serves to anger him. Leave him to me now."
Rebekah vamp-speeds away.
"I'm asking you, brother to brother-we end this nonsense now." Elijah told him.
"You would side with that traitor," said Klaus.
"I am not choosing sides, but I will not allow you to hurt our sister." Elijah didn't want to have to protect his sister from their own brother, but he would if he had to.
"We cannot leave this cemetery, Elijah. How long do you think you can defend her?" Klaus challenged and vamp-speeds away.
Elijah easily catches up with him and cuts off his path. "As long as it takes, by whatever means necessary."
Rebekah had never seen Nik like this before. He was out of his mind with rage, howling out his anger with one obscenity laced tirade after the next. She feared he might actually kill her this time.
She couldn't run, she was trapped thanks to Celeste. The predator in her had turned into prey 'til moonrise.
Further more Rebekah didn't want to run anymore. She didn't want to run from Nik, like they had Mikael. She had spent centuries looking over her shoulder, ready to run at a moment's notice. That's not the life she wanted for her future.
Running was not living, it was just existing.
She wanted to live.
Caroline was unbelievably bored. It had been hours since being trapped.
And on top of that, she was annoyed.
Stefan wanted to go to Rebekah, but Caroline reminded him again and again that in this instance, he would be more of a burden than a helping hand.
Stefan didn't really appreciate that. "Do you really not care if Klaus kills his own sister?"
"He's not going to kill Rebekah." Caroline dismissed.
"You can't know that," Stefan argued.
"I feel it," Caroline shook her head. "I can't explain to you the connection I share with Klaus. There aren't words, but I feel it in my bones that he will not kill Rebekah."
Stefan watched her closely. Sometimes, he worried about the effect Klaus was having on Caroline.
She was a different person. At times it seemed like it was the best thing for her. She was stronger, confident; she was a leader. She knew who she was and wouldn't apologize for it.
But there were times like now when he felt like Klaus' disregard for people, for life was rubbing off on her. That some days she was colder. Callus.
There were times she wasn't Caroline Forbes' ray of sunshine. No, instead she was Caroline Forbes, Klaus's chosen queen.
Stefan wasn't sure the person she was becoming was who she was meant to be, or maybe he was having a hard time accepting the person she was now to the one he once knew.
"You've been at this for hours. To what end?" Elijah asked. "Niklaus, I know you, and I grew up fighting you. I can't be beaten, nor can I be persuaded. You cannot get past me."
"I could get past you." Klaus shot back. "Although it might have to be over your dead body. You did stab me with that blade, forcing me to endure hours of unspeakable pain."
"Why lash out now? Why not when you first woke up?" Elijah questioned. "You didn't care about Marcel and Rebekah's betrayal, then."
"Caroline was missing. That was all I could see." Klaus ground out. "She was my priority."
"And now," Elijah challenged. "Now that she's fine, that gives you the right to terrorize Rebekah?"
"Yes!" Klaus thundered and points the stake at him. "Perhaps I should direct my rage toward you."
"You should see yourself–" said Elijah in disgust. "the murder expression, the self-righteous posturing. You look like father."
"I'm not him." Klaus denied angrily, the comparison triggering. "Rebekah's betrayal justifies my anger. His was that of a madman. You were never the recipient of his cruelty. None of you were. Not Kol, not Finn. None of you! I think you've forgotten what he was truly like."
"No." said Elijah. "I have not forgotten."
900 AD Mystic Falls
Young Elijah and Niklaus are in the forest, where Elijah is helping Niklaus learn how to shoot a bow and arrow. Niklaus takes his aim at a deer.
"Be still. Deep breath." Elijah instructed. "Hold...NOW!"
Niklaus shoots the arrow, but misses the deer.
"Your aim is improving." Elijah pats Niklaus on the shoulder with a smile. "Next time!"
"You encourage him, Elijah, but he grows more pathetic every day." Mikael sneered.
"I'm not pathetic." Niklaus protested, turning to his father.
"Do not talk back to me," Mikael warned and snatched the bow from Niklaus's hands. "You're not man enough to hold this weapon. If you can't hunt, you're nothing but a burden."
"I'm sorry." Niklaus apologized. It hurt to look at his father and see the disappointment and ridicule in his every expression.
Mikael grabs Niklaus by the front of the shirt. "It's a shame we can't feed on sad-eyed apologies. It's your one and only skill." He backhands Niklaus across the face.
Niklaus crashed into the ground from the impact.
"Father, stop." Elijah protested, stepping forward to interfere.
"Stay back, or you'll be next. The boy needs to be made strong." Mikael kicks Niklaus in the back as he's sprawled on the ground.
Elijah forced to watch as his father beat his little brother.
Klaus stares at Elijah after sharing the memory. Then, abruptly, Klaus vamp-speeds away.
Elijah catches up with him quickly. "Niklaus, I understand your anger, but I implore you, be better than him. Do what he could not; demonstrate the grace of mercy, rather than this petty cruelty."
"You ask me to show mercy to one who has wronged me. You really don't know me at all, do you, brother?" Klaus questioned.
He was never shown mercy, so why should he?
"Enough." said Rebekah, appearing beside Elijah. She was done running. "Whatever I have done wrong, my guilt is nothing compared to yours. You want revenge? Fine. But, before you have it, I will look you in the eye and tell you why it was your cruelty and your spite that led us to this."
"Go on, then," said Klaus, impatiently. "Speak your piece, and when you are finished, I will grant you the punishment you deserve, even if I have to go through Elijah to do so."
Caroline frowned when she looked up and spotted Klaus a good distance away, sitting atop of the tomb. "What is he doing?"
"We could go find out," Stefan suggested hopefully.
"Knowing him, it's something theatrical." Caroline mused. "We can move closer, but we're not interfering."
If there weren't a pack of wolves staying beside Caroline and following her lead, Stefan would have already gone to Rebekah, but he was positive if he tried, Caroline would have the wolves keep him with them.
And he didn't want to be bitten by one of them. He doubts Klaus would be in a giving mood to give him the cure, if he were to be poisoned.
Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah are still in the cemetery, arguing.
Klaus is perched on top of a tomb, acting as a judge, towering over both his siblings. "Let it begin. The trial of Rebekah Mikaelson."
"What a relief. His ego is in check." Rebekah mutters to Elijah.
"Just speak your truth. I'll make certain he behaves himself." Elijah told her, relieved Klaus at least wasn't plunging that stake into either of their hearts at the moment.
"You stand accused of betraying your own blood. How do you plead?" Klaus asked Rebekah.
"I plead you to shut up and listen." Rebekah responded.
"You summoned our father. You brought him to our home. What possible defense could you have?" Klaus questioned.
"I knew he was the only thing that you feared, and I wanted you to run." Rebekah answered.
"Because you hated me." Klaus accused.
"Because you were hateful." Rebekah argued. "You denied me the freedom to love."
"Oh, so that's your defense." Klaus said in annoyance. "You called Mikael, the destroyer, the hunter of vampires, because I detained you from pursuing some dull suitors."
"You were cruel and controlling and manipulative." Rebekah argued.
"I was trying to protect you!" Klaus defended. "From imbeciles and leeches. Not to mention your own poor judgment."
"And what about the one that you loved enough to call friend? Why did you forbid me to love Marcel?" Rebekah challenged.
"Do not mention his name." Klaus told her.
"What has happened to you?" Rebekah questioned. "I remember the sweet boy who made me laugh and gave me gifts, who loved art and music. I wanted to be just like you. How could you have fallen so far?"
"You say you despise Rebekah for her betrayal, and yet no one has stood by your side for so long, not even I myself. Perhaps it's you that's forgotten." Elijah interjected. "I remember the day that father caught you whittling little chess pieces with his hunting knife. He beat you so mercilessly and for so long, I actually feared for your life."
900 AD Mystic Falls
Mikael is brutally beating Niklaus, who is curled in the fetal position on the floor, with a whip.
Elijah rushes into the room to urge him to stop. "Father! Father, please!"
"Stay back!" Mikael ordered.
Rebekah runs into the room with Mikael's sword in her hands, aiming it at her father. "Stop it! Stop it! I will not let you hurt him anymore!"
"You stand against me? For him?!" Mikael angrily grabs the sword from Rebekah's hands and leaves.
"So, you would paint her as a loyal sister, but she betrayed me out of lust for Marcel." said Klaus. "Perhaps that was why you did it..for love. Perhaps I might temper my rage if Rebekah will admit she was a victim of her own idiocy, that her great love, Marcel, used her to oust this family and to take my city."
"Marcel did not manipulate me." Rebekah told him.
"You defend him, and yet you can't help but wonder, what if I'm right?" asked Klaus.
"We loved each other. It was your refusal to respect that that led to your ruin," Rebekah argued.
"Then why didn't he chase after you when you fled New Orleans?" Klaus challenged. "Oh, yes! That's right. He was here stealing what I built!"
"You want me to renounce Marcel, to beg for your forgiveness?" asked Rebekah. "I won't. Marcel is not at fault. I called Mikael."
"Rebekah, you must–" Elijah started but is cut off.
"I was the one who brought him to New Orleans because of your wickedness!" Rebekah angrily screams. "I wanted love and happiness, and you denied me the freedom to have either. Yes, I hated, and I was afraid of our father, but he was a lesser evil than you. My bastard brother who loomed over me, threatening me as you are now. I wanted rid of you, and given the choice, I'd do it again!"
Klaus, furious, lunges at Rebekah and pushes her against a tomb, and is just about to stake her in the heart when Elijah tackles him. When they get back up to their feet, Elijah has both Papa Tunde's blade and the white oak stake.
"Sister, leave us." Elijah ordered.
"I'm not going–" Rebekah started to protest.
"I said, leave us, please." Elijah cut her off. He watches her leave before he turns to face Klaus. "You wouldn't listen to her. So, now, you must deal with me."
Rebekah is in a tomb at the cemetery, talking to Marcel. who is still at St. Anne's.
"What a fool I am. I actually thought Davina would come to the rescue," said Rebekah.
"She's a bit busy and needs more time." Marcel said. "And if she can't, this whole town is full of witches."
"All of whom despise you." Rebekah reminded.
"I'll figure this out." Marcel told her. "Meantime, just don't piss Klaus off any more than he already is. Caroline can only influence him so much."
"It's a little late for that." Rebekah told him. "Caroline is staying out of it, and I may have provoked him further. But then, I didn't much care for his accusations that you seduced me into bringing Mikael."
"Wait a minute. I would never do that." Marcel protested.
"I should have run when he was incapacitated, but I stayed," said Rebekah.
"You stayed to help get Caroline back. That should count for something," Marcel reasoned.
"You would think, but it doesn't. Would've been nice to have a little happiness first before I die."
"He's not gonna kill you. You're his sister." Marcel argued.
"And you're like a son to him, and, believe me, he means to kill you," Rebekah told him. "You know, I've never much thought about dying. One of the perks of being immortal, I guess. What an odd thing it is to be here one minute and gone the next. Rather terrifying."
"Rebekah–" Marcel started to protest.
"You need to run, Marcel." Rebekah told him. "When the moon reaches its apex, Klaus will be free, and he will do to you what he's going to do to me, only worse. He has Caroline back safely. There's nothing holding him back from exacting his revenge. Go now and don't look back."
Rebekah hangs up on Marcel before he could argue with her further.
"Do you really think he's going to kill you?"
Rebekah whirled around to see Stefan standing there with a look of concern.
"Where's Caroline?" she frowned.
"Waiting with the wolves," he answered. "Staying out of it. I tried asking her to talk to Klaus, but she is refusing to do so."
"Can't say I blame her," Rebekah said. "I haven't really given her a reason to care what happens to me,"
"I care." Stefan argued, surprising Rebekah.
Rebekah stepped toward him and reached for his hand. "Don't involve yourself, Salvatore. You'll only get yourself killed."
Stefan squeezed her hand. "I won't sit back when someone I care about is in danger and I can do something about it."
Rebekah wasn't expecting this, but she like the feeling of warmth spreading through her. She only hoped she lived long enough to explore it.
Klaus and Elijah continue to fight.
"So what's it gonna be?" asked Klaus. "You hold both weapons. Tunde's blade would put me down, but the stake could finish me off for good."
"Well, unlike you, brother, I have no taste for fratricide." Elijah holds up the stake. "I only hold this to keep it from you." next he holds up Papa Tunde's blade. "This is just my insurance."
"Why must you defend her?" Klaus questioned. "Rebekah betrayed you, as well, when she brought Mikael here."
"Because she is our sister, and because I like to remember her the way that she was before we became what we became." Elijah answers.
Elijah recalls vividly when they were children, all five of them, as they wrestle and laugh outside.
"She was an innocent girl, quick to laugh, full of life." Elijah recalled.
"My memories serve to make her betrayal more painful." Klaus replies with scorn.
"Can you not then accept some small part of the blame?" asked Elijah. "After all, Niklaus, it was your cruelty that led her to do what she did."
"Do you not see, Elijah?" asked Klaus. "She didn't mean to chase me off. She wanted me dead."
"You're wrong." Elijah disagreed.
"She has always hated me," insisted Klaus. "You know that's true."
"You have no idea, do you?" asked Elijah. "You have no idea what she was prepared to do for you. When our sister sees something that she perceives to be an injustice, she can be stubborn, impetuous, and, at times, downright dangerous, and never was this more apparent than the night she tried to kill our father."
a young Rebekah grabs a knife, and wanders over to where Mikael was sleeping, fully ready to kill him.
"What is this, some melodramatic fiction designed to garner my sympathy?" asked Klaus.
"It is the truth. I was there." Elijah told him. "And she would have done it, all to protect you, had I not stopped her. I often wished that I could revisit that moment, complete the task myself."
Rebekah steels herself to kill Mikael as he slept, but before she could, Elijah discovers what she was about to do, and grabs the Knife from her hand before yanking her back to her bed.
"Why are you telling me this now?" asked Klaus.
"Niklaus, sometimes our sister acts without thinking." Elijah answered. "She's short of temper. She's quick to fall in love, but she loves you. But, your malicious treatment has broken her heart. So, yes, she responded by summoning our father. Yes, that was a mistake. I'm not entirely sure that I can blame her."
"I can." Klaus vamp-speeds to the tomb where Rebekah is hiding. But she is no longer alone. Stefan was there, refusing to go back and leave her to face Klaus alone.
However, that was not going to stop him. He had no qualms about killing a Salvatore.
But Elijah beats him there, defensively holding a weapon in each of his hands. "Niklaus, so help me–"
"Are you really going to stand against me?" Klaus cut him off. "And not with that pathetic blade. You'd just have to pull it out someday, and then I'd hate you as I do her, now. If you want to protect Rebekah, you'll need to use the white oak stake."
"I don't have to listen to this nonsense." Elijah declared.
"Oh, don't pretend you haven't thought about it," said Klaus. "You look at me, and you see everything you abhor in yourself. Sure, you dress it up with your fancy suits and your handkerchiefs. You, with your mask of civility and eloquence, you're every bit the abomination I am. Or worse. Go on, Elijah. Go on. Use the white oak stake."
Elijah throws the white oak stake far away and glares at Klaus. "I'm not so cowardly that I have to kill you, Niklaus, but if I have to make you suffer to protect Rebekah, that is what I will do."
Stefan steps in front of Rebekah, announcing his own desire to protect her from Klaus's wrath.
Klaus smirks. "You see? I knew you couldn't do it. You still cling to the hope that I can be redeemed, and if the bastard can be saved, then maybe there's hope for you." Klaus vamp-speeds over to Elijah, grabs Papa Tunde's blade, and stabs it into Elijah's heart. "There. Now you know how it feels."
Elijah falls to the ground, gasping in agony and glaring at Klaus.
"That was supposed to be my line." Rebekah holds up the white oak stake. "Now, I have this. So I decide who lives and who dies. I'm taking out that blade."
"Rebekah," Stefan cautioned. He didn't want her pushing Klaus when he was so volatile.
"You'll have to kill me first, and now you hold the means to do so," Klaus told her, ignoring Stefan's presence entirely. "Why not finish what you started a century ago?"
"I did not want you dead. I wanted you to run." Rebekah told him.
"Liar! You wanted revenge." Klaus accused her.
"You drove me to betray you, and now you want to twist it and make it worse so you can justify killing me instead of accepting your own fault?" Rebekah argued. "All I did was love your friend! You could've been happy for us, but instead, in your paranoia, you feared losing us both. And, because of that, you did. There is no one else to blame, Nik. Only you."
"Where is Marcel now, hmm?" Klaus challenged. "I thought he loved you, and yet he left you trapped in here with me." His eyes flickered to Stefan. "Yet Stefan, is the one to stand beside you. Marcel, you should never have put your faith in him, just as I should never have trusted you."
Klaus relished in the look of hurt that overcame the anger in Rebekah's eyes.
Marcel has come to Genevieve with the intention to ask for her help in rescueing Rebekah.
He feared he couldn't count on Davina this time.
"The trouble with the witches in this city is they lack direction. Fortunately, our coven has found a new leader. Me." Genevieve told him. "You ask a favor of me, to lower Celeste's boundary spell, but you don't control the witches anymore."
"You want to help your people, you need to broker peace, a treaty with the vampires. I can help." Marcel insisted.
"The last time I arrived for a negotiation, you tried to kill me." Genevieve pointed out.
"I learned my lesson. If you can't beat them, make them an offer." Marcel replied. "So, here's the deal. You help me right now, you have my word, vampires stay out of the Cauldron, no more executions."
"A nice start, but if you want my help lowering that spell, you're going to have to give us Davina Claire." Genevieve told him.
"Haven't your people done enough to that girl?" asked Marcel.
"You must know it's your fault she has been outcasted in her community," Genevieve told him. "The ancestors shunned her because of her alliance with you and Caroline, but all that's over. Now, we can welcome her home. Her people will revere her, and I will teach her how to control her power. Give her a home where she's safe, not surrounded by vampires."
"She has a home," Marcel argued. "She's happy where she is. Caroline has given her all the freedom she wanted, she gave her, her life back. She won't leave her side. There's a bond there."
Genevieve glared. "Bring Davina to us, and I'll find a way to break Celeste's spell. If not, well, let's just say that I won't be the one to mourn Rebekah."
Genevieve pushed down her feelings of anxiety, hoping he wouldn't question her. She already agreed to bring down the spell, but if she could require Davina, at least she wouldn't be walking away from this empty-handed.
She fought the urge to look for the werewolf, Zach. He had left to contact Davina with promises to kill her if she didn't stay exactly where he left her.
She was currently in a rock and a hard place until Caroline called off her dog.
"You against me. It's hardly a fair fight, is it?" Klaus mused. "I mean, perhaps, if Marcel were here, you'd stand a chance, but I expect he's already found another girl. No doubt younger and prettier." He looked at Stefan. "If you were wise, you do the same. If you get in my way, I will kill you."
"What would Caroline say if you did?" Stefan challenged.
"Don't," Klaus warned. "Don't think you can use her against me,"
"I think that's answer enough." Stefan said. "There's only so much she would stand beside you for."
Klaus glared, seething.
"You take joy in other people's pain, and then you wonder why I hate you." Rebekah replied, bringing his attention back to her.
"Yes, and that hatred led you to do what you did. Admit the truth. Admit you wanted me dead." Klaus pressed.
"I wanted you to run. That is all, despite your delusions." Rebekah argued.
"Elijah lies suffering, and I will allow you to help him. All you have to do is admit it." Klaus told her.
"You're insane." said Rebekah.
"Yes! Yes!" Klaus snapped. "I am a vicious, heartless monster, and so you summoned Mikael to kill me. Admit it."
"It's not true." Rebekah denied.
"You know what you did. Admit it." Klaus insisted.
"I didn't." Rebekah protested.
"You wanted me dead!" Klaus snapped. "Admit it."
"Maybe I did." Rebekah confessed. "Nik–"
Klaus, shocked that she actually admitted it, angrily grabs Stefan, tossing him into a crypt and stabs Rebekah with the white oak stake.
"No," Stefan rushed to Rebekah's side after getting back to his feet, then looks up at Klaus in disbelief.
A part of him never thought Klaus was capable of killing Rebekah.
Later, Rebekah wakes up in Stefan's lap to find Klaus sitting, holding the white oak stake. "You missed my heart."
Stefan helped her to her feet, but all she saw was Klaus.
"Perhaps I did," said Klaus. "Or perhaps I never meant to kill you. Perhaps I just wanted you to feel a fraction of the fear I felt when father came for me."
His jaw clenched, his betrayal, anger and pain evident.
Stefan felt like he was intruding on a moment he shouldn't, but he couldn't walk away. He couldn't trust Klaus not to follow through on killing Rebekah. He was too unpredictable. Too volatile.
"Do you yourself know the truth?" asked Rebekah.
"I know this," said Klaus. "You accuse me of being evil, and yet you are the one who conspired to kill your own blood."
"You made our lives a living hell. You tormented us," Rebekah defended.
"I love my family–" he caught himself as he is overcome with emotion. "You, Elijah. I loved all of you." he walks toward Rebekah and looks her in the eyes. "I know I can be difficult, but I did not make myself this way. It was Mikael who ruined me."
"He ruined me, too." Rebekah whispers quietly. "That's what you forget. Centuries later, each of us is broken. You with your anger and paranoia, me with my fear of abandonment. And poor Elijah." She looks over at where he's laying, Papa Tunde's blade still stuck in his chest. "He dedicates himself to everyone but himself. We are the strongest creatures in the world, and yet, we are damaged beyond repair. We live without hope, but we will never die. We are the definition of "cursed." Always and forever."
Stefan was silent, letting Klaus and Rebekah have this moment of honesty and vulnerability to themselves.
Klaus removes Papa Tunde's blade from Elijah's chest. "Now, we're even."
"So we have a deal?" asked Genevieve.
Marcel stood across from her.
"I can't promise anything." Marcel said. "But I will do my best to convince her that she needs you. I'll explain everything to her. Meantime, we need to lower that barrier."
"Celeste cast a powerful spell. Fortunately for you, she's gone. Her power bled back into the earth." Genevieve lights a candle. "Now, I can channel it, manipulate it. It'll take some doing, but then, I'm pretty good at what I do."
"One more thing. I need you to fix the priest." Marcel added.
Genevieve laughs. "Sorry. A hex like that. If it's had time to take root, there's no undoing it."
"Fine." said Marcel. "Just get Rebekah out."
"I'll have to undo the entire spell." Genevieve informed him. "Can't let one Original out without letting them all out."
"It doesn't matter." said Marcel. "And just so you know, even if Klaus is free, if you hurt Davina in any way–"
Genevieve smirks. "Marcel, it's over. You lost. Try and have a little dignity."
Marcel may have lost, but Caroline didn't as Zach stepped back into the room, his eyes zeroing in on her with hatred.
"We're still trapped in here. Whatever you're going to do to me, do it now," said Rebekah.
"You said our father ruined us. And I can't help but wonder, what if his father ruined him?" Klaus questioned.
What if he ruined his children? Caroline would never forgive him, and neither could he.
A powerful gust of wind blows the gate to the cemetery open, indicating the spell has been broken.
"The barrier is down." Klaus stated.
"I know you hate me, but what's done is done," said Rebekah.
Stefan kept close to her side. Waiting to defend her if he had to.
"What's done is never done." Klaus disagreed. "It remains within us, a story we tell ourselves so we know who we are. Vicious father, a bastard son, and the sister who betrayed him. Perhaps it's time for a new story. What is it you want, Rebekah?"
"Same things that I've wanted since I was a child. I want a home. I want a family. I want someone to love me, and I want to live," Rebekah answered. "I want what you have with Caroline."
"Then go." Klaus told her. "Go far away and never come back. We are far too damaged to remain together, less a family now than a volatile mix of ingredients. New Orleans will be mine. I will raise my children here in the city you took from me. No doubt Elijah will choose to stay, but you? Sister, you are free."
"Yes, she is free, but leaving is not the answer."
Klaus and Rebekah turned to see Caroline. Neither knew how long she had been there.
"Caroline, love-"
"No," Caroline cut him off strongly. "My children are being born into this messed up family and I don't care what it takes, but you will work it out. You have both made a lot of mistakes, but running, abandoning one another is not the answer. Face your issues like adults with common sense instead of children in a petty squabble."
"What do you suggest?" Klaus asked, after a moment shocking Rebekah that he was willing to listen and reason with.
Caroline looked at Rebekah and then at Klaus. "The way I see it, you both have attributed to this toxic relationship you have and you both have to be willing to extend an olive branch so you can make up for your mistakes."
Klaus and Rebekah both open their mouths with protest, but Caroline stopped them both with a scathing look. "I wasn't done."
Klaus clenched his jaw, and Rebekah glared.
Caroline looked at Klaus. "You should not have interfered in your sister's love life. It's her life and her choices. You should have let her lived it, instead of being overprotective to an unreasonable controlling degree." Caroline's eyes moved to Rebekah. "And you, you've had no problem standing up to people and yet when it came to your brother, you rather get him killed than take back control of your own life."
Rebekah wanted to look away, but Caroline's eyes on her refused to let her. There was something so strong in them that Rebekah was convinced their family was rubbing off on her.
Or was it that strength was always there? She just never saw it.
"You were too protective," Caroline tells Klaus, "But the punishment didn't fit the crime." She told Rebekah.
"We are going to go home." Caroline said with finality. "All of us, we're going to work through all this fucking drama and we are going to work on having a more healthy dymanic. So help me, I am going to make this family act like a damn family and I won't rest until I do. No more scheming behind each other's back and lashing out for past mistakes. My children will not be born into this toxicity. Is that clear?"
Stefan arches his eyebrows at her demanding tone, demanding things of the Mikaelsons with a certainty that they would not oppose her.
Klaus looked at Caroline with pride. She was coming into the strength he always saw in her and he loved seeing her flourish. "Whatever you want, love,"
Caroline smiled, reaching for his hand. "Now that is what I like to hear."
Shocked, Rebekah slowly joined them, coming to stand next to Caroline. "You're asking for the impossible."
Caroline smiled at her. "It's only impossible if you make it so."
Stefan stepped beside Rebekah. "You're a force of nature when you set your mind to something."
"Yeah, but you already knew that." Caroline smiled. "Now, can we get the hell out of this cemetery?"
Rebekah was sitting in her room with Stefan, sipping a drink, when Elijah finds her.
"Caroline said I find you here," said Elijah.
Stefan quietly excused himself, leaving Elijah and Rebekah alone.
"I'm surprised Caroline got through to our brother," said Rebekah.
"I'm starting to believe there are no limits to the influence she has over Niklaus," Elijah commented with a awkward smile. "We could have used her over the centuries. Our lives would have been easier."
"Maybe," Rebekah agreed. "Klaus wanted me to go. Maybe I should have. I'm not sure we can fix any of this."
"I think we can, but it won't be easy." Elijah said. "If we manage it, maybe you can finally find everything you're looking for."
"Elijah, when I brought Mikael, I never for a second meant to hurt you." Rebekah told him.
"I know." said Elijah.
"I was certain that Klaus meant to kill me," said Rebekah. "Whether he never really did at all, or he changed his mind...maybe somewhere, deep down, he still is the brother we once knew."
"Very deep, but he's still in there." Elijah agreed.
"I believe Caroline can pull him to the surface. Maybe she is the only one who can help him find his way."
Elijah silently agreed with her.
Caroline seemed to be the key to everything Niklaus.
Klaus and Caroline return home to find Marcel and the rest of the vampires congregated in the courtyard.
"Is there a reason why you lot are loitering in my home?" he asked.
"I asked them to be here," said Marcel. "You and I need to settle this out in the open."
"I thought you would've run off by now," said Klaus.
"Yeah. Well, this is my town." Marcel told him. "You may want me to beg forgiveness, but I'm not sorry. I may not be able to beat you, but I came here to face you, to end this in front of my people. If you're gonna kill me for that, get on with it."
Caroline looked at him. "I think you and your people should go."
"Or what?" asked Marcel.
Klaus took a step forward, but Caroline stilled him with a hand on his chest, a silent communication passing between them.
Caroline stepped forward. "I'm not looking for a war, but my people will stand to protect their home,"
"Your people? A bunch of wolves?" Marcel scoffed.
"I am not so single-minded," Caroline argued. "My people aren't united by a single species. They're united by loyalty, respect, equality, and some you may even know well."
As the wolves emerged from the shadows, more than a few of the vampires standing with Marcel crossed the floor to stand beside Caroline, declaring where their allegiance lay, shocking Marcel.
"I will only say it once more," Caroline said to a shocked Marcel. "It's time for you to go,"
Caroline turned and headed for the room she shared with Klaus.
"You heard my queen," was all Klaus said and follows behind Caroline.
Marcel and the remaining vampires are confused, standing across from the wolves and the vampires that chose the opposite side until Elijah walks into the courtyard. He vamp-speeds over to Marcel and throws him against the wall.
"Good evening. I trust I need no introduction. After all, this was once my family home. Tonight I'm taking it back," he said to the crowd. "Your privileges here have been revoked." he looked to Marcel. "Marcellus, out of respect for my sister, I will grant you this one mercy. I will allow you to keep your life," points at him. "However, you're hereby exiled. If I so much as find a trace of you in the French Quarter, it will not end well for you. Do you understand?" he paused. "That is all. Run along."
Klaus watches from the balcony as the vampires start to file out of the compound, Caroline's people following them out, ensuring their departure. "Nicely done, brother. You're beginning to sound like me. I'm impressed."
Rebekah has met Marcel back behind the plantation house, where Esther was buried for the Harvest ritual.
"I was thinking my mother was consecrated and buried here. She is forever bound to this land, but not me." Rebekah smiles. "I'm finally free. And you."
"Your brothers came in this town like they own the place. Like they own me. Took my home, my people, everything. I can't just run away." Marcel told her. "You say you're free, but I don't see you leaving."
"This is my home, too. I'm not going anywhere," Rebekah told him. "I'm not a fool. I see how much you love this city, and I am not the kind of girl who likes to share."
Marcel starts to walk away.
"I do wish you had finished building our home," Rebekah calls out after him. "Even if I'd never set foot inside, it would have been nice if there was something beautiful left standing after all of this."
Marcel grabs Rebekah's arm as she turns to go, and they kiss passionately for a long moment.
Rebekah smiles and pushes at his chest.. "It's time we say goodbye to the past."
"Does that include us?"
Rebekah's mind drifted to Stefan. "Maybe."
Rebekah returns home and finds Caroline in the kitchen.
"I want to thank you," Rebekah said, announcing her presence.
"You want to thank me?" Caroline turned to face her. "Then fight for your family, fix your mistakes. Accept accountability."
"I will," Rebekah said. "But I can't be the only one."
"I'm not asking you to be," said Caroline. "I want the family I bring my children into to be a united one."
Rebekah nodded. "It's a steep task, but I'm willing to try." Rebekah stepped forward. "Listen, about Nik, he is a monster, but not with you. Never with you. You bring out the brother I love. I think you can truly help him. He wants more from life than to just be feared. He's too broken to find it himself, but I do believe there is hope for him in the babies that you carry and his love for you. And speaking of your children, our family has no shortage of enemies. They will inherit all of them. You have to be careful."
"Then it's a good thing they'll have a united family to protect them," Caroline said determined.
"I would do anything to protect them. I'm not perfect none of us are, but I think we can all agree how much we love them."
For once Caroline and Rebekah shared a smile.
Klaus goes to his study and pulls out a wooden box. Inside is the little wooden knight Klaus carved over 1,000 years ago that he gave to Rebekah during the storm, among other things. He remembers back when he and Rebekah were children, and starts to tear up.
Caroline moves behind him, her hand moving over his shoulders. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into his lap.
Caroline wrapped her arm around his neck, tucking herself against him.
Klaus tightened his hold around her, needing the assurance that she was with him. Within his reach. Safe.
Meanwhile, Rebekah returned to her room, finding a new hope within her for a better future.
"Hey,"
She turned and smile at Stefan leaning in her doorway.
Maybe this was her new beginning. If it was, she planned to embrace it fully.
Celeste was sitting in a straight-back chair, her feet bound to the chair legs and her arms tied to the arms. The room was bare and looked like something out of a medieval torture chamber. Sharp instruments lined the walls, and the floor was made out of stone, stained with dried blood.
Davina stood in front of her with Eve and Josh. Eve had a gun aimed at her, while Josh stood by and Dwayne picked up a sharp knife. There were wolves in wolf form, chained to the far back of the room, growling and clawing to get free.
In all honesty, it made Josh wary, but Davina had promised she spelled their shackles and they couldn't break free unless she released her spell. He was safe.
"So what's this? Payback?" asked Celeste, frustrated. "Look, I'm sorry, you got caught up in all this, but my problem isn't with you. I'm not a threat to any of you."
"What, and we were just collateral damage?" asked Eve. "You almost burned Caroline and Jackson alive in that plantation fire."
Celeste struggles against her bound limbs. "What do you care about Caroline? She's not one of you."
"Caroline has promised to help us, furthermore she knows a thing about loyalty and cares about everyone, not just the Mikaelsons or her kind." Eve shot back.
"She doesn't care about you. She is out for herself like everyone else," Celeste laughed.
Davina closed her fist slowly, and it was a steel vice clamping down on Celeste's throat. "Don't talk about Caroline. You don't know her."
"Or what? Are you gonna kill me, honey?" Celeste coughed out.
"No. I'm not a killer. I'm not like you," said Davina. "And there are worse fates than death especially for a witch. See, I know all about you. I know that you like to off yourself and then jump into other people's bodies. Well, that's not gonna happen. Not only have I made sure you can't leave that body, but while you were out Josh here forced vampire blood down your throat. And Dwayne is under orders to kill you on my word, so don't even think of out hexing me. Eve is itching to fill you with bullet holes with one wrong move."
It was a lie about the vampire blood, but Celeste didn't know that and Davina preferred to keep it that way.
"So, what do you want?" asked Celeste.
"Back in the 90's, you inhabited a witch named Brynne Deveraux, remember?" asked Davina. "Marcel had her, you, put a curse on a lot of werewolves, so they'd only turn human on a full moon."
"I see. Yes. That was me," said Celeste. "Let me guess." She looked at Eve. "You want revenge. And you're having Davina help you get it."
"It's not revenge." Eve glared. "It's freedom. We want you to undo the curse."
"Or at least help me undo it." Davina finished.
Celeste smiles smugly.
Klaus looked at New Orleans from the window. He was freshly showered and had yet to put his shirt on.
Hands wrapped around his waist, holding tightly, a body he knew well pressing into his neck.
Lips pressed onto the back of his shoulder. "Thank you for coming for me."
Klaus turned, his arms going around her and tilting her head back. "I will always come for you. It helped that you already had a plan in place."
"I'm sensing a but," Caroline said, hands on his hips.
"You should have never traded yourself for me," Klaus said.
Caroline went to pull away from him, but he tightened his hold on her. "What was I supposed to do? Stand by and have you ripped from me and it wasn't just you in danger, it was Rebe-"
"I don't give a fuck who was in danger. No one, and I mean, no one's life, is more important than yours."
"Kla-"
"No," Klaus shook his head. "I need you to hear me. I will never sacrifice you for anyone. You mean more to me than I can ever put into words. I know what my life was before you. I know I'm not a good man, but if you or anyone thought I was a monster before, you will not want to meet who I would become If I lose you for any reason."
Emotion welled up in Caroline's chest at his words. "Klaus," she shook her head. She had no words. Instead, she curved her hand around the back of his neck, pulling him closer, and kissed him slowly, deeply, like the meeting of two souls.
It was a spark of a slow burning fire. Caroline leaned her forehead against his. "I love you."
Klaus's breath stuttered, and he looked into her eyes in awe, like he was seeing the sun for the first time.
She said it before when they found each other in the heat of the moment and he had secretly feared he wouldn't hear it from her again for a long time and not without difficulty, but she said it so easily. As natural as a heart beating.
"I didn't say it because emotions were on high," Caroline said, reading him like he was her favorite book and could recite every line word for word. "I said it because I do love you. It's okay, if you can't say it back, I know it's not as easy for you to be open and vulnerable, to let your guard down, to believe that you can have something good -"
Klaus tangled his hands in her hair and kissed her again, softly silencing her words. He pulled back and shook his head. "I don't need to protect myself from you, but I don't want to just say I love you because the words aren't enough. You deserve more than just words. I want to show you I love you. I will do anything you ask of me. Name it."
Caroline cupped his face. "Show me how you feel and never hide from me,"
Klaus nodded and moved in slowly, his lips against hers as soft as a feather. His arms banded around her, feeling the press of her growing stomach against him. "Hold onto me,"
The words brushed against her lips.
Caroline gripped his shoulders and when she felt his hands slide down her legs, she jumped, wrapping her legs around him, grateful that she wore nothing more than his shirt.
Klaus carried her to his bed and gently laid her back against the pillows. He licked at the seams of her lips.
Caroline opened her mouth to him, surrendering to the way he kissed her.
She expected something fast and desperate, but it was slow and consuming.
It was like he wanted to savor every little taste of her.
His left hand traced down her neck and cupped her breast.
The touch of his hand on her oversensitive body was like a live wire. Her nipples hardened.
She wanted his hands on her bare skin.
She whimpered in need and pushed at his chest.
He pulled back reluctantly, and she rose up, lips swollen from his kiss.
"Take off your clothes."
Klaus chuckled. Caroline was the only person in the world he loved taking orders from.
"Well, if the Queen has spoken,"
"She has." Caroline pulled at the hem of her shirt, ripping the fabric over her head and tossing it over the side of the bed. "Lose the pants."
Klaus climbed off the bed and locked eyes with her as he pushed the dark sweats off his hips and down his legs.
Caroline's eyes moved over his naked body with appreciative eyes. He felt like one of his art pieces being admired.
Caroline bit her lip and laid back, opening her legs in a confident invitation.
Klaus took it. He moved back onto the bed, crawling toward her like a predator closing in on his prey.
He easily found his place between her legs, his lips found her again, and his hands moved restlessly over her curves.
Caroline moved her hand down his arms and back, urging him on.
Klaus cupped her breast in his hand, pinching and rolling the erect peak between his fingers.
Caroline gasp into his mouth, back arching.
One of her hands slid between them. Reaching for his cock, Klaus caught her hand and brought it to his lips. "No, this is about you. Not me. This is me, showing you how I feel. I promise to give you all the pleasure you desire, but first let me love you."
Caroline's breath hitched. He all but said he loved her just now, but it wasn't enough. He wanted to show her. Who was she to deny him of something they both wanted?
She nodded and bit down on her lip. She moved her hands back to his arms, sliding across his skin encouragingly.
Klaus kissed across her jaw, down her neck, his teeth nipping at her skin but never piercing.
One hand palmed her breast while his lips closed over one hardened pink, alternating between sucking and flicking with his tongue.
She felt every pull of his mouth in every cell of her body, her back arch, one of her hands tangling in his hair and holding him to her chest.
She ground her hips against his and whimpered, feeling his cock drag against her sex.
This was torture. Beautiful, intense torture that she never wanted to end.
He switched to her other breast as his other hand slid between their bodies, and he moved to rub his fingers against her bundle of nerves.
She needed his mouth back on hers before she started begging him for more.
She pulled him back up her body, her lips slamming against his.
He slipped two fingers inside her and she bit down on his lip, drawing blood.
The taste of his blood on her tongue never failed to arouse her, her stomach clenched with need, her core pulsed with the desire to feel him filling her.
She whimpered when Klaus pulled away from her lips.
He shushed her, eyes shining with promise.
He moved deliberately down her body, pushing her legs farther apart. He griped her left leg, pulling it over his shoulder.
"Please," she moved to grip the sheets.
It wasn't the first time Klaus went down on her, but something about this felt different.
It felt like he was intent on worshiping every inch of her he could before claiming her.
His tongue swiped through her folds as he rubbed her clit, her hips raised up, and he held them down as he dove in.
His tongue did things to her that no one else had, demonstrating his years of experience.
She writhed beneath him, pleas pouring from her lips.
"Klaus! Oh fu-" she came with a scream, flooding into his mouth and he sucked it up, humming against her.
He let her leg drop and kissed up her body, his hands following in the wake of his lips.
His mouth found hers and Caroline could taste herself on his tongue, but she didn't care. Her legs hitched high on his hips and she reached between them, guiding him to her entrance.
Klaus broke the kiss to watch her as he stroked slowly inside her.
Caroline's head tilted back, her lips parting on a moan, eyes dark with pleasure.
"Beautiful," he murmured. His lips found her neck, sucking and nipping at her skin, never enough to pierce as his hips moved at a steady pace, in deep, slow strokes.
Caroline's hands stroke up and down his back, her breath forced from her with every thrust.
As she got closer, she fisted her hands in his hair, her soft cries filling Klaus's ears.
Caroline came around him on a sharp cry. Klaus pressed his forehead against hers, helping her ride her orgasm out before finally allowing himself to let go.
Caroline caressed his face, and he brought his mouth to hers, brushing them slowly against hers.
Caroline heard his unspoken words loud and clear again and again, with every thrust as he made love to her, with every kiss he pressed in her skin, with every worshiping touch of his hands upon her skin.
I love you.
And it was enough.
It was more than enough.
AN: I'm sure there are some mistakes in this chapter. I apologize.
And secondly, I want to thank everyone still reading.
The second half of this chapter is mostly written but there are some things I need to work out. Plot holes, things that don't line up the way I want them to, etc. but once that is fixed I will post the second half.