KLAUS AND ELLE SAT IN THE SALVATORE LIVING ROOM, ROCK MYSIC BLARING AS THEY AWAITED THE YOUNGER SALVATORE. And finally he entered. He furrowed his eyebrows as he set eyes upon the duo. "What are you doing here?"
Klaus chuckled, taking another sip of the alcohol in his hands. "The question is, what do you want? My hybrids left town as you demanded, so please, tell me what I need to do to get my family back."
"Well, see, Klaus, I'm not negotiating." Stefan said firmly.
"And you understand that holding them indefinitely is the same as dropping them in the ocean?" Klaus asked him, raising a brow.
"No, no." Stefan shook his head. "You leave Mystic Falls and then give me a call in a few years and we'll talk."
Elle laughed loudly. "I do hope you realize there's a whole house going up right now, so the Mikaelson's nor I am going anywhere." she shrugged then looked back up at him. "Let's make a reasonable deal."
"You make one wrong move and I will drop them—" he couldn't finish his sentence before being cut off by Elle.
"Right, you're crazy now." she mused sarcastically. "You make one wrong move I will rip your heart out from your chest and shove it so far down your throat it'll come out your ass. Got it?"
✧✧✧
Klaus had managed to get the coffins from the Salvatores, all except one. The one that no one knew what was inside of it. The locked one. And now, Klaus was throwing a dinner party with both of the Salvatores invited. Elle sat inside of her new room inside of the Mikaelson mansion. She sat before her vanity, applying makeup to her face.
Elijah came in behind her, dipping down and placing a kiss on her cheek. "Are you almost ready? The Salvatores are to be here any minute."
"Yeah." she nodded and then she pushed up to her feet. "All done." she told him with a smile.
He scanned her body up and down with a grin. "You look beautiful, Elle."
"Thank you, Elijah." she responded, then she lightly grabbed his jaw and pulled him in for a quick kiss. And as soon as they parted, a knock sounded on the front door.
Once they made it downstairs, Elijah answered the door and called to Klaus. "Niklaus, our guests have arrived!"
Elle glared at both of the brothers as they made their way into the house. "Fucking disgusting pigs." she mumbled under her breath.
As Stefan sat down at the table, Damon turned to face her. "What was that, Elle? You might wanna talk a little bit louder if you're trying to insult me."
She walked by him, shoving harshly into him. She made sure to dig her elbow into his ribs. "I said, fucking disgusting pigs!"
"Damon, Stefan!" Klaus announced, as the brothers sat down, same for Elle and Elijah. "Elijah tells me, you seek an audience. Very bold. Let's discuss the terms of our agreements like civilized men and women, shall we?"
The table was set and there were two women wearing matching outfits that served them. They had bite marks in their necks, which wasn't much of a surprise to anyone there.
"It's better to indulge him." Elijah told them.
"I didn't come here to eat, Klaus. Fact, I didn't want to come at all." Stefan told the crowd. "But I was told I had to cause you'd hear us out."
"Well, we can sit here and eat, or I can reach down your throats and pull out your insides. The choice is yours." Klaus said, giving them options.
"I mean, I'd prefer if you pulled out their insides, but who am I to talk?" Elle smiled at Klaus, earning a wholehearted laugh.
One of the servants walked towards Damon and poured him some wine. "Thank you, love."
"Ew, what the fuck." Elle stated, her face looking disgusted. "That's Klaus' thing. I don't know why you're calling that bitch love."
Klaus had a ghost of a smile on his face and he carried the conversation. He looked at Stefan who was pushing potatoes around his plate. "You've lost your appetite."
"Eat." Damon said firmly. "I thought that we agreed that we would leave the grumpy Stefan at home."
"That's the spirit!" Klaus mused as Stefan began to eat. "Isn't it nice? Five of us dining together? Such a treat. Is this what you had in mind when you pulled the dagger out of my brother?"
"Wait, what?" Elle asked, eyebrows furrowing. She looked towards Elijah. "You were daggered?"
"For two days, yes." he nodded, eyes narrowing on her.
"I—I just thought you were cleaning up Klaus' mess." she said confused. "Or you went M.I.A or some shit."
"Well, I know how he felt about you after you did that for no apparent reason, so I figured, the more the merrier." Damon said, playfully winking at Elijah.
"Well, Elijah and I have had our fair share of quarrels over the century." Klaus explained the to group. "But we always make it through."
"Kind of like you and Rebekah, right?" Stefan asked, eyebrows furrowed. "Where is she, by the way? Last I checked, she was still daggered cause you're too afraid to face her."
"If you're referring to the fact that Rebekah knows that I killed our mother, Elijah already knows." Klaus told the Salvatore with a duh tone.
"Hey, Stef, remember when you killed dad?" Damon asked his brother, causing Elle to laugh. "Might wanna dial down on the judgement until dessert."
"We're here to make a deal, Damon. Doesn't mean I need to kiss his ass for seven courses." Stefan retorted, annoyance clear in his tone.
"I'm just saying we have a long evening ahead of us." Damon reminded him. "Pace yourself."
✧✧✧
"Stefan. Where is the lovely Elena tonight?" Elijah asked the younger Salvatore, earning a harsh glare from his girlfriend.
"She's not lovely." she mumbled, folding her arms over her chest.
"I don't know. Ask Damon." he shrugged, causing both Klaus and Elle to laugh.
"I'm sorry, you've missed so much in those 2 days." Klaus said, still slightly laughing with Elle. "Ah, trouble in paradise."
"One more word about Elena and this dinner's over." Stefan snapped.
Klaus smiled and put a finger over his lip as Damon spoke. "You know what, probably best to keep Elena in the do not discuss pile."
"You're probably right." Klaus agreed.
"Yeah."
"It's just the allure of the Petrova doppelgangers," Klaus said, briefly glancing at Elle, which didn't go unnoticed by her. "What do you say, Elijah? Shall we tell them about Tatia?"
"Now why should we discuss matters long since resolved?" Elijah asked, sighing dramatically.
"Well, given their shared affection for both Elena and Katerina, and Damon had Elle as well, I think our guests might be curious to learn about the originator of the Petrova line." Klaus mused, hoping to create some drama.
"Yeah, let's hear." Elle gave Elijah a fake smile, wanting to know about at least one of his exes as he was private about his previous lovers.
"Please, do tell." Damon agreed, sipping on his wine.
Elijah sighed, then began speaking. "When our family first settled here, there was a girl named Tatia. She was an exquisite beauty. Every boy of age desired to be her suitor, even though she'd had a child by another man. And none loved her more than Niklaus."
"I'd say there was one who loved her at least as much." Klaus grinned.
"Wait a minute." Stefan interrupted. "So you both loved the same girl?"
"Our mother was a very powerful witch. She sought to end our feud over Tatia and so she took her. Klaus and I would later learn that it was Tatia's blood that we consumed in the wine on the night where our mother performed the spell which turned us into vampires. Tatia wouldn't make a decision between the two of us, so for a time Niklaus and I...grew estranged. Harsh words were traded, we even came to blows, didn't we, brother?" Elijah explained, avoiding Elle's gaze the whole time he spoke.
"But in the end we realized the sacred bond of family." Klaus told them with a grin.
"Family above all." Klaus and Elijah both spoke, clinking their glasses together.
✧✧✧
"So why don't we move this evening along and discuss the terms of the proposal." Elijah suggested, getting a bit bored of the dinner event.
"That's very simple." Damon shrugged. "Klaus gets his coffin back, and in exchange, he and the Original extended family leave Mystic Falls forever. Me, Stefan and Elena live happily ever after. No grudges."
Elijah looked at Klaus. "The deal sounds fair, brother."
"I don't think you understand. Elena's doppelganger blood insures that I will always have more hybrids to fight those that oppose me. I will never leave her behind." Klaus told them, then got up and began to pace. "Let's say I do leave her here, under your protection, what then? How long before one of you turns her into a vampire? Or worse, how long before she dies caught between your feuding? You see, each one of you truly believes that you're the one that can protect her, and that is simply a delusion. Gentlemen, the worst thing for Elena Gilbert is...the two of you."
Damon gave a weak smile, looked to Stefan, then pushed up to his feet. "I'm gonna get some air."
Elijah watched Damon retrieve. "Let me deal with this." he placed a kiss on Elle's forehead, then followed after the eldest Salvatore.
"All this talk has made me thirsty." he walked up to one of the servers. "What do you say Stefan? Can i interest you in a little after dinner drink?" after he finished speaking, he bit into her neck and began drinking her blood. He finished drinking her blood, then dropped her body to the floor. "Delicious. Aged to perfection."
"Well, I guess the only reason you agreed to this evening, Klaus, is to drive a wedge between me and my brother." Stefan pointed out.
"Oh, no. You're doing that well enough on your own." Klaus told him. "Because of Elena, you're gonna loose your brother and you'll only have yourself to blame."
When he finished speaking, Damon and Elijah re-entered and Damon almost instantly began talking. "What do you say, Klaus? It's time for you to put something on the table. We've made our offer. Now your counter."
"Okay. I offer Elena's future happiness. You see, what she needs right now is to be rid of you lot. And to fall in love with a human, maybe that nice football player, you know the blond one?" he said.
"Matt Donovan?" Damon asked with disgust. "Really?"
"Fuck you, don't disrespect Matty." Elle sneered, giving Damon a dirty look.
Klaus shrugged. "Yeah, why not? They'll marry, live a long and fruitful life, and pop out a perfect family."
"And continue the Petrova bloodline. Every few hundred years, you'll have a new doppelgänger to drain and never run out of hybrids, right Klaus?" Stefan said, realizing the plan he had.
"Consider it a small return on my investment in her well-being. See, after you hand me back the coffin, I'll ensure her safety for the rest of her natural life. You know it's what's best for her." Klaus said, getting up and walking towards Stefan. "So, what do you say, Stefan? Hmm? Do we have a deal?"
Stefan began walking towards Klaus as Elle watched with interest. "What are you doing?" Damon asked as he watched his brother link hands with Klaus.
"Nice try, Klaus, but no deal." Stefan said. That response made Klaus mad. Klaus, who still had hold of Stefan's hand, broke his arm. He pushed Stefan's hand into the fireplace and basically began to cook his hand.
Damon attempted to rush over to help his brother, but Elijah intercepted and held the older Salvatore back. "What are you doing?!" Damon shouted. He watched as Klaus continued to burn his brother's arm. "Stop!"
"Now, bring me my coffin before I burn him alive." Klaus demanded.
"I'll get it." Damon nods.
"Go with him, brother. You keep him honest. And when you return, I will make good on my promise to you and I will hand over our family." Klaus spoke to Elijah.
✧✧✧
"Go ahead and kill me. I know you'll do it when he brings the coffin." Stefan said, and then Klaus pulled Stefan out of the fire place.
"You really have given up, haven't you? Where's the fight? Where's the ripper?" he pressed, pushing Stefan and he quickly shoved back. But to everyones surprise, Damon and Elijah enter the room. They stood next to one of the servers as she held a tray.
"Elijah, why haven't you left?" Klaus asked his brother, confusion to his tone.
"Where are your manners, brother? You forgot dessert." Elijah told him, then he pulled the cloth off the tray. It revealed two daggers laying on the silver tray.
Elle's jaw dropped and Klaus immediately fell into a rage. "What have you done?"
"What have you done? You see, I've learned not to trust your vulgar promises, Klaus. We're doing this my way." he then looked to Elle. "My love, come stand here, please."
She slowly nodded, pushing up to her feet and standing next to Elijah. He was quick to snake his arm around her waist.
An unfamiliar face entered the room, just from the way he walked, you could tell he was cocky. He was over six feet tall and had a head full of chocolate colored brown hair. Elijah whispered his name into her ear. "That's Kol."
"Kol." Klaus said, shock all over his face.
"Long time, brother." Kol told his brother, as he began to back up. Another brother appeared, who Elijah told her was Finn. He grabbed a dagger and stabbed Klaus through the hand.
"Finn, don't!" he tried to speed away, but bumped into Rebekah. "Rebekah!" he groaned out in pain as she also stabbed him with a dagger.
"This is for our mother." she removed the dagger from the spot where she stabbed him. Klaus stumbled back and Kol was quick to restrain him.
Elijah turned towards Stefan and Damon. "You're free to go. This is family business."
✧✧✧
"I like what you've done with the new place, Nik." Rebekah stated, grabbing a vase and throwing it at a painting. She looked over at Elle and smiled. "Hello, Elle."
"Hi, Bex." she smiled. And as she spoke, everyones eyes went onto her. The tall one, Kol, narrowed his eyes on her.
"And who are you, darling?" he asked her, narrowing his eyes on her.
"Elijah's girlfriend." she smiled. But before anyone could answer, the sound of a door slamming open could be heard.
Everyone turned to face the door. Esther walked inside. Everyone was shocked. Rebekah had tears in her eyes. "Mother?"
Esther ignored her daughter and walked towards Klaus, who avoided her gaze. "Look at me! Do you know why I am here?"
Klaus was teary eyed as well as he spoke. "You're here to kill me."
"Niklaus, you are my son and I am here to forgive you. I want us to be a family again."