[2] Darkest Hour • The Originals ✓

xxxii.

"You know that Matthias will be okay right?" Katherine called out to her, and Rhea turned towards the vampire exiting her room. "He's reckless but he's going to come back to you."

"I know." Rhea told her. "I just wish that there wasn't so many risks involved."

"He's a Mikaelson." Katherine shrugged. "They all come with risks."

"Yes, I suppose they do." Rhea sighed softly. "Come, we've got to go and meet with Davina."

Katherine nodded her head and the two were off doing their own tasks.

⨳ ⨳ ⨳

Matthias walked into the compound and Klaus' entire demeanor changed, something Elijah noticed immediately when Matthias walked into the room.

"You two have made up." Elijah pointed out with a small smile.

Klaus smiled at his twin brother and Matthias returned the smile. "I was simply reminded to pull my head from my ass. You'd do well to do the same Elijah." Klaus joked and Matthias snickered at the sour look on Elijah's face.

"What's the occasion?" Matthias asked Klaus as he sat at the table. "Aside from meeting with Freya."

"You've invited Freya?" Elijah asked Klaus with a frown. "I thought that you didn't trust her."

"We don't." Klaus told Elijah. "Worry not though, I sent Hayley and her poorly groomed husband off to spend the day with their werewolf brethren to test the limits of their new abilities. Leaving us to deal with family business as we see fit." Klaus stated motioning towards himself and Matthias.

Matthias couldn't deny that he had missed his brother, he had missed the scheming that they did all the time together, so this felt nice. Nostalgic.

"Niklaus, Rebekah's situation has taken a turn." Elijah told him and the two could see that he was suspicious. "We may need Freya's assistance. So, whatever you are planning here, don't."

"You don't need Freya." Klaus told him simply. "You could easily ask Matthias for help but since the two of you refuse to apologize, you have to ask someone outside of out family." Elijah opened his mouth but shut it when he noticed Matthias hum in agreement. "Plus, all I'm planning is a simple chat with a long-lost relative. You yourself said to hear her out."

"And you yourself said that would be idiocy." Elijah reminded him. "You both stormed away at the mere mention of father."

"And we have every right to!" Matthias snarled at him. "After what Mikael did to us, how he treated us because we weren't perfect, doesn't mean we have to agree to work with him because she has a sick fantasy of us all being together."

"Regardless, on the off-chance Freya has some information that could protect our children, I'd prefer she share it on my terms." Klaus told Elijah before he pointed to his ear. "Ah! I think I hear her now." Looking at the doorway, Matthias felt nothing when Freya appeared with a smile on her face. "Sister! Well, come in! Come in! Make yourself comfortable."

Hope.

There was a look in Freya's eyes was one that Matthias was familiar with all too well. It was full of hope and longing, something no one has ever held towards their siblings unless they needed something. Matthias knew that Freya was going to learn the hard way just how ruthless Klaus could be when he didn't trust someone and since Matthias didn't trust her either, he didn't care what Klaus did to the witch.

Freya was holding a witch hoop in her hand, why Klaus had it out and about made no sense to Matthias, but he would let Klaus run the show.

"This witch-hoop. It's Danish. Is this from when you lived all in Copenhagen in the 1500s?" She asked while glancing at her brothers.

"Quite the eye!" Klaus pretended to be impressed as he stood in front of her.

Elijah and Matthias shared a look, they were both impatient for different reasons. "Forgive me. Are we here to discuss family heirlooms, or do we have more pressing concerns?"

"Please excuse my brother's lack of decorum, he's been in a foul mood of late. But he is right. I did ask you here in the hopes that you would share some of Dahlia's secrets. So, without further ado, let's get to it!" Klaus said before sitting down at the head of the table.

Matthias sat to his right with Elijah beside him and Freya across from them. Elijah had yet to be seated and Matthias could tell that he was becoming antsy with whatever was happening with Rebekah.

Freya cleared her throat as she sat down. "The first thing you should know is that Dahlia is the most powerful witch I've ever seen. She craves more power still. Right now, she is like me, limited to one year of life in a century. But she wants to be free of that restriction. To gain true immortality. And that is why she will come here, drawn by your daughter," She looked to Matthias, "Your unborn child in order to take the children's power for herself. And she would kill anyone who would defy her."

"And yet you would defy her?" Elijah asked while finally sitting down.

"I don't have a choice." Freya told him. "She will never let me be free. My one chance is to align with you and kill her."

Matthias could tell that Elijah was sympathizing with her, that he genuinely felt bad for the circumstances in which Freya had to face in order to get to this point to where she's asking them for help in freeing herself from Dahlia.

However, Matthias and Klaus weren't all the convinced. "Well, now that we're all suitably motivated, let's talk specifics." Klaus spoke up while leaning back in his seat.

"For you to understand," Freya took a deep breath. "I need to start from the beginning. After taking me from my family, Dahlia used me to forge a new brand of connective magic, one that augmented my power even as it allowed her to draw from me. Once we were bonded, Dahlia became unstoppable. She wasted no time proving her might. The chief of a nearby village threatened to run us off, accusing Dahlia of witchcraft. She decided to make an example out of the entire encampment... Men, women, children. She killed them all with a wave of her hand. That was my first inkling of the power Dahlia had. Over the course of a thousand years, she's only grown stronger." She looked at Klaus and Matthias. "And she will bring all her power to bear against you when she comes for your children."

Matthias can feel Klaus' nerves spiking from Freya's story when suddenly Elijah phone rings and he excuses himself to answer it when he sees that it's Rebekah.