"Seriously, what the hell is going on? Who are all these people?" Hayley asked, looking around at all the people gathered in the bayou, "Why are they standing out here all weird and lurky?"
"They've come from all over. All the packs," Eve informed Hayley, who turned to Ophelia.
"Why?" Hayley asked confused, "To see Ophelia?"
Oliver exited the shack to talk with the three girls, "You're absolutely right, Hayley. These freaks, they came here to see Ophelia. For centuries, her mother was known to be the greatest Alpha these packs have ever seen. Maybe these people think she's gonna be our great werewolf savior. Our true Alpha."
"Great. No pressure or anything," Ophelia sighed, "I'm nothing like my mother."
"Didn't you kill your mother?" Hayley asked curiously and Ophelia turned to her with wide eyes.
"That was not my fault!" Ophelia shouted defensively, pointing a finger at Hayley, "I was aiming the arrow at my husband. How was I supposed to know it would hit her in the throat instead?" She paused, letting out a sigh, "I brought her back to life. She just never forgave me."
_____
Later on that day, Elijah met with Ophelia, Jackson, Oliver, and Hayley on behalf of the Crescent wolves, "Your people are uniquely poised to set an example for the rest of the French Quarter. Which is why it's important for the wolves to attend." He explained to the group of four.
"Thanks, but no thanks?" Hayley answered for the werewolves, knowing Ophelia would already be going to the feast because of Davina, not for the faction, meaning Hayley would have to speak for the wolves for her.
Oliver sighed, "Let's hear the man out."
"The witches are the ones that cursed your pack. And they've been nothing but crap to me since I first came to town," Hayley explained before turning to Elijah, "No. We're not going."
"It's a new day in the Quarter, Hayley. I agree with Oliver. If we're gonna coexist, we have to play ball. We'll send a representative with a gift," Jackson told Hayley, who seemed upset that everyone was siding against her.
"And that representative would be me," Ophelia volunenteered, "Hayley will be my plus one though."
As Hayley walked away, Elijah following after, Ophelia watched Jackson and Oliver closely. Something was up between the two. Why would they be so quick to be okay with the witches. It hadn't even been a month since they were still stuck as wolves because of a witch.
Meanwhile later, Ophelia walked out on the porch to join Jackson and Oliver, who immediately stopped talking when she came outside, which made her suspicious, "What's going on here?" She asked them curiously
"Why don't you take the hint and mind your own business, Ophelia?" Oliver suggested with attitude.
Within the blink of an eye, Ophelia had grabbed him by the arm and spun him around. She placed his arm behind his back, pinning him up against the wall, face-first, causing him to groan, "This is my pack. That makes it my business." She told him in a low, threatening tone as she twisted him arm a bit.
"No need to get all riled up, Ophelia. It's not worth it," Jackson warned the girl, who turned to glance at him.
"I have tried to play nice with you, Oliver," She growled at him, "Since I haven't been able to get to the quarter in a few days, I've been stuck on a bunny diet, which doesn't suffice my appetite. And when I'm hungry for blood, I get angry easily, so unless you want me to snap your arm like a twig, I suggest that you tell me what the hell is going on with you and Klaus because you two have something planned with him, I'm not dumb."
"You can go to hell." Oliver argued with an attitude.
"Knock it off. There's no reason to keep it from her. Why would she care anyway?" Jackson told Oliver.
"I can think of a reason," Oliver replied, "Tall and immortal and wears a pocket scarf. Ophelia and Mr. Suit and Tie seem a bit close lately. How do we know she won't go to him and spill the beans?"
Oliver tried to fight against her, but Ophelia forcefully pinned him back down again, causing him to groan in pain, "Ophelia, you're one of us. You deserve to know. Now, come on."
Ophelia sighed before she reluctantly released him and turned to Jackson for an explanation, "We made an alliance that's gonna change everything for the wolves." Jackson informed her.
"An alliance with who exactly? Klaus?" She questioned and Jackson nodded his head in confirmation, "Tell me everything."
__
That night, in the French Quarter, the Feast of Blessings parade began. The witches marched down the street, and the three Harvest girls were hoisted above the crowd on thrones. The girls were each dressed for the element they represented in the Harvest. Monique was in floral earth tones, for earth; Davina was in bright red-orange, for fire; and Abigail was in white, for air. Genevieve joined the Harvest girls on stage to greet the crowd, "Now, in accordance with the Fête des Bénédictions, the witches of New Orleans bless you all!"
The crowd cheered, including Ophelia, who stood at a distance. Genevieve stepped offstage as Monique stepped forward first, creating a mild earthquake that rumbled the ground below them. Then, Abigail stepped forward and raised her arms to create very strong winds that blew around the crowd of tourists. Finally, Davina stepped forward, turned around, and raised her palm to the sign behind her, which immediately ignited with fire and set off dozens of fireworks, which made the crowd cheer again.
Proud of the girl, Ophelia smiled brightly before beginning to clap.
___
At the afterparty, Genevieve held a glance of champagne in her hand as she addressed the guests with a smile on her face, "Welcome. As is our time-honored tradition, you are all welcome to deliver your offerings. It is our custom that no one should be turned away, no blessing be denied."
Guests lined up to bring their offerings to the Harvest girls. First was Hayley, who smiled at Davina and was about to give her gift to her, but was stopped by an attendant. She told Hayley to give the gift to Monique, which she hesitantly did. The next person, Francesca gave their gift to Abigail. Genevieve watched as no one gives their gift to Davina, smiling smugly.
Lastly, Ophelia walked up to the attendant, who told her to give her gift to Monique. Ophelia nodded her head, yet still placed her gift in front of the Davina, "Hey--" The attendant began to say, Ophelia lifted up her hand and balled it into a fist, causing the person to be unable to speak, "Tell me what to do again and I'll rip your jugular, understand?" She told them before opening up her hand, allowing the person to speak.
Davina couldn't help but smile while Monique gave Ophelia a glare. Ophelia smiled innocently, turning to look at Monique, "Got something to say?" She questioned and Monique quickly shook her head, remembering the ancestors telling her to stay clear of Ophelia and not to get on her bad side.
Meanwhile later, Ophelia watched closely as Klaus dragged Josh over to the staircase with Davina following close after. After doing so, Klaus stood on the staircase, "Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please. We are gathered here today to pay homage to our beloved witches, but one very special witch has been utterly ignored. That seems a little unfair to me." Klaus announced to everyone at the party before he handed Davina a small box as his offering.
"No," Davina replied coldly, shaking her head, "I don't want your gift."
Ophelia couldn't help but smile at how Davina stood up to Klaus and how the hybrid's face fell, "I understand why you would reject me, given our past. In truth, many of us here today have been wronged in the conflict which my brother's treaty ended. Your friend Josh was involved in a plot to kill me. It would be well within my right to execute him here and now."
Not wanting the boy to be executed, Ophelia stepped forward and began to speak up, "Klaus, if you so much as think about laying a hand on that boy--" She began to threaten him, but Klaus cut her off.
"But, in the spirit of solidarity, and for your favor, Davina, I hereby pardon him. Josh, from this day forward, you have nothing to fear from me. Please." Before walking off, Klaus handed Davina the box before he left the two of them.
Once the party continued, Ophelia went her own way, drinking her fifth glass of champagne that night. Klaus soon spotted her and approached her. Once catching up to her, Klaus wrapped an arm around her, causing Ophelia to roll her eyes at him, "What do you want, Klaus?" Ophelia asked him annoyed.
"I hear you made quite an impression with the wolves," He told her, " My arrangement with them was supposed to be a secret, and yet you forced it out of them. It's very bold, but it wasn't a surprise. As was your decision to represent them here today, on your own, with Hayley as your plus one. I trust you'll do nothing to harm our cause."
Ophelia raised a brow as she finally looked Klaus directly in the eyes, "Are you really gonna go behind Elijah's back?" She questioned him.
"Come on!" Klaus complained in a hushed tone, "What difference does it make to you as long as your people benefit?"
"If I find out that you are playing some game, trying to manipulate us for one of your schemes, I'll make sure you suffer," Ophelia threatened him in a low tone.
Klaus couldn't help but smile at Ophelia, "You know, you've come a long way since my arrival back in New Orleans, love. You're starting revert back to your old self. The person you were before I was forced to flee town with my family," He paused for a brief moment for dramatic effect, "The one I fell in love with. Cunning, passionate, honest, protective, fierce, fearless, and powerful. A true Queen. Not a woman who lets a man tell them what to do like you allowed Marcel to do with you."
A small smile formed on Ophelia's lip as she heard Klaus' word, causing Klaus to smile also, "There's something we need to talk about. Something important. It has to do with--" Before he could finish his sentence, a large group of drummers marched into the party, walking down the stairs.
"What the hell is this?" Ophelia asked confused.
"Happy Fête des Bénédictions," The lead drummer spoke up loudly, "We have a message for all of you from Marcel Gerard."
Concerned, Klaus and Ophelia turned to look at each other. Everyone started whispering to each other and all of the drummers took out straight razors and sliced their wrists open, bleeding all over the floor. The vampires in the room started to get antsy and vamp-out at the smell of blood, "Control yourselves. This is a vulgar trick," Elijah demanded, "We do not violate our agreement."
The lights suddenly went out, and the vampires started feeding on the drummers, as well as other humans at the party. The crowd dissolved into chaos, everyone screaming. The chaos continued, and when the lights switched back on, there were dozens of dead and injured humans lying on the ground.
On the walls, someone had written, "There will be no peace."
While Hayley, who sat on the ground with her forehead bleeding, called out to Elijah, Klaus turned to Ophelia, who was kneeling on the ground, blood covering around her mouth, her chin, and neck.
Tears welled in her eyes as she looked over at Klaus, looking as if she was scared of herself, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I couldn't control it." She stammered, feeling guilty for breaking the treaty.
Klaus sighed, walking over to Ophelia as he held out his hand, "It's okay. It's not your fault. Let's get you back to the compound and cleaned up."
Ophelia slowly nodded her head, grabbing Klaus' hand before standing up.
______
After Klaus helped her get cleaned up, Ophelia went back to the Bayou, where she paced around outside near the fire while Jackson stood nearby with Oliver, "I've learned my lesson. At first I was against your plan. I thought that we should just live with Elijah's treaty, but after that party, those innocent people dying. There will never be a peace. The weak will always be at the mercy of whoever is calling the shots."
"It's survival of the fittest," Jackson agreed with Hayley and Opehlia, "We need to protect ourselves. And we need to protect each other."
"We need to use Klaus' help while he's still willing to give it," Ophelia spoke up, "But, Jackson, from now on, you have to tell me everything. And no matter what, we do not trust Klaus."