Lucien stands at the bar, pouring himself a drink as Tristan arrives with flowers in his hand. "Aw, flowers for me? You shouldn't have." Lucien teases.
Tristan rolls his eyes, putting the flowers down. "The well-mannered bring a gift when invited to dinner. I assume you brought nothing?" Tristan retorts.
"Nothing but my deepest respect for you," Lucien replies sarcastically. "Oh, and a few jokes about your non-existent love life with the youngest Mikaelson."
Before Tristan has a chance to react, Klaus walks in wearing a black velvet suit jacket over his usual attire. "Lovely. We're all getting along," he says.
"Like a fuse and a match," Lucien tells him.
"I take it Aurora is on her way?" Klaus asks before footsteps sound.
"I'm sorry I'm late." Aurora sighs, walking in and wearing a dark purple dress with puffy sleeves. "Just freshening up. I did want to look pretty." She walks straight past Klaus and goes up to Lucien. "Well, well. If it isn't my old friend Lucien."
Lucien recovers from the shock of seeing her, saying, "Hello, Aurora. It's been ages. You look—"
"You look ravishing." Klaus takes her hand and presses his lips against it softly. Aurora's eyes find his as she watches. Tristan clenches his jaw as he looks away.
"Welcome to our home!" Elijah's voice carries across the room as he descends from the second floor. "I do wish it was under better circumstances. We all face a common threat— a prophecy warning that my siblings and I would all fall within a year." He pauses, surveying the sires' faces. "I fear my sister already has."
"Only as a precautionary measure, I assure you," Tristan says after a short pause.
"Interesting. You see, I would have called it an entirely unnecessary measure. We need to unite to prevent the prophecy from coming to pass. And, since any alliance is impossible without honesty." Elijah glances at Klaus before continuing. "Let us begin this evening's proceedings by formally acknowledging your clandestine alliance."
The men both shuffle uncomfortably before Lucien speaks up. "Now, gentlemen, before—"
Elijah is quick to patronizingly shush him. "Lucien, please. Let's not ruin the dinner before it begins."
"And, do try to bear in mind, we expect an honest and productive negotiation this evening!" Klaus expresses as Tristan nods wearily, refusing to look at the hybrid.
"But, there is one of us still missing," Elijah mutters to himself, fully aware that they can all hear.
"I apologize, Elijah." Lexi's voice booms as she walks in with Derek at her side. Tristan clenches his jaw again, looking at her dress.
The red dress accents her figure while also showing off her legs. "We had an unexpected guest as you know from my phone call. I couldn't very well say no to my friend, now could I?"
Cora walks in behind them, strolling in casually. "Remember me?" She asks with a small smirk. Klaus rolls his eyes as Elijah raises his eyebrows, clearly amused. "Yeah, all the Hales are in town. Well, except for our insane, homicidal uncle—"
Derek quickly nudges here, shaking his head. She frowns before glancing at Lexi.
The blonde's expression is distant and hurt. Sadness and anger seem to appear as well as her eyes flicker with emotion. Lexi even looks as if she is going to throw up. But the unusual expression lasts only for a moment before she brightens up.
"Tristan, darling." Lexi lets go of Derek to walk over to her ex, who has gone completely pale. She tauntingly pats his cheek. "You look like you're about to burst into flames." She looks towards Lucien and tilts her head to the side. "It seems as if everyone is caught up. I would like to get this over with as fast as possible, so Nik can go back to leaving us alone."
She goes back to grab Derek's hand and drag him to the table as Aurora settles down. Derek glares at Tristan heatedly before Lexi plants a soft kiss on his cheek. "Forget him," she mutters. She then turns back to the rest of them with an annoyed expression. "Are we going to eat? I'm starving."
—|—|—|—
"It's a bit odd, isn't it?" Lucien asks. "Celebrating an American holiday?"
"Well, you know, Lucien, I rather enjoy American festivities," Lexi states, sharing a glance with Cora. "Especially since she loves them."
"So sweet, Lex." Cora rolls her eyes.
"No, I agree," Elijah says. "The turkey, the cranberry sauce, the lies, the deceit, the betrayal... Perhaps we should begin this evening's proceedings with a little confession?" He motions to the food being set out. "And do help yourselves."
Cora doesn't hesitate as she grabs some turkey. Derek gives her a look. "What?" She hisses. "I just got off of a crappy plane and there's food in front of me. Back off."
"So this entire dinner is meant to be some boorish inquisition?" Aurora whines. "How rude."
"Nonsense, love. My brother merely wishes to make certain we're all on the same page. So, who would like to begin?" Klaus looks around with a smirk.
Lexi, sensing Derek's discomfort, grabs his hand under the table. He glances at her, making sure Tristan's interest is peaked before relaxing in his chair, satisfied.
"Well," Tristan coughs, breaking the silence. "Lucien and I have always loathed each other. Had we arrived as allies with a bleak future, you would have doubted us. We sought to remove suspicion by maintaining appearances."
Elijah rolls his eyes as Derek scoffs. "Yeah, right. I've heard better lies come out of you." He looks down at Lexi. "And you can't lie to me."
"That's not true." She laughs, playfully slapping his arm. "I lied to you about me being a regular teacher, then about not actually knowing you. Oh, and about that text from Kate. I hope Argent has killed her already. I should check on that." After a moment, she looks back at the table sheepishly. "But, yes, Tristan, darling, your pathetic lies promise to be as difficult to swallow as Niklaus' stuffing." She lowers her voice, turning to the other blonde. "Walnuts? Honestly..." She shakes her head as everyone laughs, Tristan and Lucien letting out tense chuckles.
"The bottom line is, we came to protect you ourselves. We have never wavered on this point," Lucien says.
"And the bodies on my streets— is that your protection as well?" Klaus asks skeptically.
"It's business as usual for the Strix, right?" Derek tilts his head to the side, looking at Tristan.
"An old tactic used often and to great success. Jack the Ripper, Son of Sam... A frightened human populace is that much easier to control. If tourism should decline, and the local vampires are deprived of fresh blood? Well, you saw how quickly Marcel joined our ranks."
"Pedestrian. I would've expected more from such gaudy theatrics." Klaus rolls his eyes.
"Well, if one wanted to obtain a certain item in, say, a private collection, but one was not invited into the home where said private collection was located, a police investigation could come in handy to remove those items as evidence," Lucien says. Lexi catches a hidden meaning in his tone but can't figure out exactly what the tone meant.
"I take it you are referring to the Serratura?" Lexi asks casually, taking a sip of wine. Tristan and Lucien become alarmed, both shifting in their seats. "The medallion that could lock away any being?"
"I suppose it was my sister who shared that bit of information?" Tristan responds stiffly.
"Don't blame Aurora," Klaus sighs. "You two are hardly conspiratorial geniuses."
"Funny story," Lucien speaks up, a small smirk on his face. "It turns out, all along, that the medallion was in the hands of Nik's friend Camille, the bartender-slash-therapist. Had to get her arrested in order to search her goodies, so to speak. But, I would never allow any harm to come to her, knowing the great affection you have for her."
Klaus scowls as Aurora glances at him, visibly upset at the prospect of Klaus having another female friend. Klaus' scowl turns into a cold smile as he says, "A medallion that could lock us away hardly seems like a wise strategy for those come to protect us. Hand it over."
"And give us Rebekah," Cora speaks up. Lexi's lips turn up in a small smile as Cora leans forward, casting her famous Hale glare towards the trinity of sires. "When Lexi went AWOL, Rebekah was there. She's my friend, and I would really like to talk to someone other than my aunt-slash-woman who is dating my brother."
"I am offended." Lexi pouts. "I thought you liked me." Cora rolls her eyes before Lexi turns back to the others. "But, I agree. Give me back my sister."
"Uh, just a tick." Lucien leans forward, looking at the redhead. "Aurora has Rebekah? Hmm?"
"No reason why I shouldn't be trusted with my sire's safety." Aurora shrugs.
"Of course...unless you were to have one of your episodes."
"Easy, Lucien." Tristan snaps. "My sister sought leverage to protect herself. Who among us would do otherwise?"
"Niklaus, will you politely remind me why we shouldn't just compel them all to give us what we want?" Elijah asks stubbornly.
Aurora bursts out laughing and everyone turns to her. "I'm sorry, did Elijah say something amusing?" Klaus questions.
"From what I'm told you lost 100 years to their compulsion, right?" Cora looks around, eyeing the three vampires.
"And some of us lost a great deal more," Aurora says pointedly.
"Yeah, they would have found a way to protect themselves against it. They're not stupid," Cora states.
"My dearest Aurora." Lexi laughs darkly, leaning forward. "Compulsion is not my brother's only party trick."
"I do not like these threats." Aurora snaps.
"Your lives depend on the Mikaelsons." Derek points out, making Aurora rolls her eyes. "I'm pretty sure you've known since Finn and Kol died. That also means you know that every other vampire's life depends on them too."
"Given that the sire lines have declared war against one another," Tristan adds. "You can imagine how many young upstarts have come to the same conclusion— kill an Original, wipe out an entire line of rivals." He then turns to Klaus and Elijah. "Heavy burden, isn't it? The lives of thousands of sired vampires resting on your shoulders? In a perfect world, you'd allow us to seal you away forever, thus eliminating the threat."
The Mikaelsons glare at Tristan, appalled by the suggestion. "Fortunately," Lexi speaks up, her expression neutral. "The world is far from perfect."
After a moment of silence, Elijah picks up his glass of wine. "With all the nauseating dinner theater we've endured throughout the centuries, these performances are, by far, the worst." He comments. The de Martel siblings both roll their eyes in response. "Aurora, my sister—"
"Aurora is quite aware of our desire to see Rebekah home." Klaus snaps. "And I'm sure she'll do everything in her power to oblige."
Suddenly, Freya stomps into the compound. "We're welcoming our enemies to the dinner table now? Convenient, given she's the one who has the answers I want," she says pointedly.
"Good, Freya's here." Lexi stands, putting her napkin on the table. "Since she is here, can we leave?" She motions to the Hales. "I have dinner on the stove and—"
"Sit down." Elijah rolls his eyes. "Stay here as a show of goodwill."
Lexi pouts as she sits back down. "Goodwill my ass." She grumbles, leaning her head on the table.
"Oh, for heaven's sake! Now I have to deal with the long-lost sister?" Aurora exclaims, standing. "Nik, please spare me your family's rage and paranoia. It is exactly this kind of lunacy which led me to steal Rebekah in the first place."
Lexi's hold on Derek's hand tightens as she looks back up. He looks over to see her glaring at the redhead. He also notices Tristan watching both girls' movements, specifically Lexi's.
"What did you do with her?" Lexi asks, frighteningly calm. Aurora turns to her, fear flickering in her eyes before rage replaces it.
"Oh, I'm sorry, love, but this prophecy has you all acting like fools. And I've no intention of risking my life to foolishness. Now, I can't trust Rebekah with any of you. And I certainly can't trust the silly dear to endure on her own, so I decided to put her someplace safe. Imagine a spot where no harm could come to her. Where, in fact, no one could possibly even track her down." Lexi slowly stands, her hands resting on the table.
"You didn't," She breathes.
"What? Where's Rebekah?" Cora asks softly.
"Rest assured, Rebekah is perfectly safe..." Aurora trails off, looking at everyone with a small smirk. "At the bottom of the ocean."
"You're bluffing," Klaus growls after coldly examining her smug expression. Aurora shakes her head, leading to more anger. "Tell me you're bluffing!"
"Oh, you should all be thanking me." Aurora scoffs. "Rebekah's never been safer! She has plenty of company down there. There's all the little crabs, and octopus, and..." She gestures around childishly as Klaus slams his hands against the table, standing.
Tristan speeds over to Cora, holding a knife to her throat. "Harm my sister and I'll be forced to hurt the wolf."
Right as he finishes talking, both Lexi and Elijah make a grab for Tristan. Lexi grabs the knife as Elijah pins Tristan to a support beam. Lexi drops the knife with a grunt of pain, seeing as the blade sliced right through her palm. For a second, she sees regret in Tristan's eye but her attention turns to Cora who is glaring at the man. "Are you alright? Did he nick you?" Lexi asks softly, moving Cora's head around to look for wounds.
"Lexi, I'm fine." Cora grunts, jerking away.
"Well, this all escalated very quickly—" Lucien smirks, raising his glass of wine to his lips.
"Shut up, Lucien." Klaus snaps. "Or I'll tear your tongue from your head."
"Be careful with your threats, Nik. Anything should happen to me, I won't be able to protect your precious Cami." Lucien rolls his eyes.
Aurora's expression turns dark. "Okay, that is the second time I've heard her name! Just who is this Cami?"
"You have bigger problems," Derek growls, still upset that Cora could have been hurt. Lexi and Freya both flick their wrists, simultaneously snapping Aurora's neck. She collapses onto the floor as Klaus looks at both of them, appalled and impressed.
"Freya! Lexi!" He scolds.
"Niklaus." Elijah stops Klaus from going further as he brings Tristan back to the table. "Which of these vulgar parasites would you first like to torture?"
Lucien shifts uncomfortably in his chair as Klaus shrugs. "Well, it's half a dozen of one and six of the other, isn't it?" He walks over to Lucien, squeezing his shoulders tightly. "Why don't you take the stable boy? Tristan and I are long overdue for a good catch-up."
"Niklaus," Lexi interrupts, looking uncomfortable. "Just pull it from their heads, no need for torture."
"Oh, but there is a need for torture when he puts a bounty out for you," Klaus states murderously. Cora looks over at Derek with a questioning look. "And we never got to talk about that scheme you were going to pull off a thousand years ago, did we, Tristan?" Tristan gulps, glancing at Lexi.
"Sorry, is that him?" Cora questions, looking from Derek to Lexi to Tristan. "That's him?" Lexi looks down, licking her lips. "I thought he'd be more attractive." Lexi rolls her eyes as Klaus decides to move on with the conversation.
He leans down and whispers in Lucien's ear. "And if anything happens to Camille—"
"Oh, I'm quite sure Lucien's aware," Elijah says. "A devastating error."
"You have fun. I'm leaving." Lexi almost growls.
"You are doing no such thing." Klaus orders.
"Yes, I am. I've had enough of these three to last a thousand more years, not like I'll be able to live that long." Lexi counters. "I will not torture those who were once our friends, even for Rebekah. Torture reminds me a lot of a certain man we all hate very much." Everyone goes silent as Lexi stands up. "You torture them all you want. I'll have no part in it."
Lexi stomps away, her red dress trailing behind her. Cora awkwardly stands and coughs. "I'm gonna see what's up with her. You wanna come or...?" She mutters, looking down at Derek.
"No, I'd rather help Klaus torture the son of a bitch," Derek states, glaring at Tristan.
Cora looks at Tristan, narrowing her eyes. She sends a nod Derek's way before moving towards the exit. Right before she leaves, however, she calls back, "Give him hell."
I love Cora. So much. Hope you enjoyed!