Bekah, Klaus, and I are in the foyer discussing recent events.
I pout as I look out the window. "I cannot believe you disposed of those vampires without me. You know how I love to set things on fire."
"Was I supposed to leave them in the front yard to rot?" Nik smirks. "Besides, I would not let my pregnant little sister play with fire."
Bekah chuckles. "Good choice she might use it to burn you next."
Jackson shows up in the doorway smiling slightly at me.
"Alright, I would like to know what the plan is," I state.
Klaus grins. "Well, that depends what plan you mean, dear sister, my plan for global domination, or Rebekah's plan to find love in a cruel, cruel world?"
Bekah takes a pencil from the desk beside her and throws it in Nik's direction. Nik catches it easily a few centimeters from his face.
I laugh lightly. "The plan to rescue Elijah. You know, our good brother? The one who is now in the possession of your mortal enemy after you stabbed him in the back?"
Nik smirks. "In the front, if we're being specific."
"You two said that you would get him back. So is there a plan, or what?" Jackson asks.
Jackson barely knows Elijah and yet he cares. I would guess it's so he can start dealing with Elijah again instead of Klaus.Elijah has always been the brother people respect, the brother people enjoyed having a conversation with. Conversations that didn't end in injury or death.
"Okay. Well, firstly, Marcel is not my mortal enemy, he's my friend. Albeit one who is unaware that I'm trying to sabotage his hold over the supernatural community of the French Quarter, but a friend nonetheless. And secondly, I daggered Elijah in order to gain Marcel's trust. If I had known he would place my brother in the hands of a particularly nasty teenage witch, I certainly would have weighed my options a bit differently. And thirdly." Nik turns to Bekah. "Sister, please."
"And thirdly, the plan, as you have demanded, is for Niklaus to simply ask Marcel for Elijah back," Bekah informs me.
"Nik, that cannot be your whole plan," I insist.
Bekah scoffs. "Please. Klaus may be a miserable excuse for a sibling, but you know there is none more diabolical."
"And that's only Plan A, love! There's always a Plan B," Klaus states.
"Dare I ask what Plan B is?" I question.
Klaus smiles. "War."
Apparently Jackson is not to be trusted in the plan, because he was instructed by Nik to not leave the house. Thankfully I don't have the same problem. Now that Marcel knows I am back in town it would be suspicious for him to not see me around. But Jackson is still a werewolf and still banned from the city, so he has to stay inside if he wants to stay out of Marcel's way and stay alive.
Bekah and I head into the Quarter.
I have Nik on the phone as we walk. "Niklaus, for the love of Mary Magdalene, how long does it take to ask a simple question?"
"Much longer than you'd think, considering the answer was, as expected, 'No.' Marcel's man, Thierry, is suspicious. He thinks one of you killed ten nightwalkers," Nik explains.
Bekah feigns offense. "Well, that's a lie! I only killed eight. Should I make Thierry the ninth?"
"Marcel is playing friendly. We can't kill the favorite son, or he'll catch onto us," Nik tells us.
"So, war it is, then?" I ask.
"Indeed. Do you know what to do with the witch?" Nik questions.
Bekah smiles. "I believe we do."
"Good. You and Else manage Sophie Deveraux. I'll take care of the next step," Klaus instructs before hanging up.
I smile at Bekah. "It's nice to be plotting revenge as a family once again."
We wait outside the Jardin Gris Voodoo shop. When we hear Sophie walking towards us Bekah turns to greet her. "Oh, so glad you could make it. Elijah only lies daggered and rotting whilst you dilly-dally."
"You're lucky I came at all. What do you want?" Sophie asks.
"I was attacked last night by Marcel's crew because somebody told him there was a werewolf in the Quarter. I only made one stop. Whoever saw me here ratted me out. Watch and learn," I tell Sophie.
I walk into the shop, Bekah, and Sophie following behind. Bekah and I are behind a rack of jewelry when the girl from last night walks out from the back room. "Hey, Soph."
"Hey, Katie." The girl sees Bekah looking at a necklace. "That's filled with marigold great for attracting the opposite sex. It would look awesome on you!"
I watch Katie walk back to the counter.
"I very seriously doubt that. Do you have any others, one with, say, I don't know.... wolfsbane, perhaps?" Bekah asks.
Katie turns around confused. "Wolfsbane? Why would you want that?"
Katie doesn't even see me before I grab her by the neck and hold her up off the ground. "Please do not play dumb with me." I slam her flat onto her back against a table.
Sophie is horrified by what I've done. "Else!"
Katie gasps. "All I did was sell you some herbs. That's all."
"Are you lying to us, Katie? I suggest you answer our question honestly," Bekah advises.
Katie keeps coughing. "Sophie..."
Sophie sighs. "Just answer the question, Katie. Please."
"Yes. I told someone, but you don't understand. I... I love him," Katie admits.
I throw Katie onto the floor.
Bekah holds the heel of her stiletto dangerously close to Katie's throat. "And tell me, who is this vampire Romeo of yours? Shall I count to three?"
Bekah and I get what we need from Katie and head outside to call Nik.
"Well?" Nik asks.
"You were right about the traitor. Luckily, she's just a kid and she doesn't know anything about us and what we're up to. Do you want to hear the part that's gonna please you the most?" Bekah asks.
"Oh, do tell!" Klaus says.
"She's in love with someone in Marcel's inner circle. Guess who it is?" I tell him.
Nik sounds pleased. "Right-hand-man type, favors silly caps?"
I grin. "Two points for you. Thierry is fraternizing with the enemy."
"Well, that means he just unwittingly became the key to our entire plan," Klaus states.
"I told you you'd be pleased," Bekah says.
"Oh, to be young and in love in a city where witches and vampires are at war. How very tragic," Klaus taunts.
Bekah and I head back to the house with Sophie in tow. Klaus meets us in the living room.
"Are you out of your mind?" Sophie remarks. "No way."
I pass in front of her as she sits on the couch. "It's very simple. We need you to perform a teeny, tiny locator spell to help us find our brother."
Sophie scoffs. "Witches who practice magic in this town get caught, and then they get killed."
"Yes, about that." Klaus moves to sit in the chair across from Sophie. "It seems you left out a crucial detail when we made our deal: Marcel's secret weapon, the way he knows when a witch is using magic..."
Bekah lifts her arm up. "Girl about yea high, cute as a button, anger issues?"
Sophie looks shocked. "Davina? Where have you seen her?"
"I don't know. The little brat erased my memory right after she threw me out a window with her bloody mind," Bekah tells her.
"Let me cut to the chase. Davina has Elijah. You witches, I assume, want to get Davina away from Marcel. We don't know where she is. So, we need magic," I tell Sophie.
"Davina would sense it," Sophie protests.
"Unless, of course, another witch, say, a traitor to the cause, Katie for example, was to perform much more powerful magic at the same time. That would create a smokescreen, concealing your very small spell from Davina," Bekah explains.
"Katie doesn't deserve to die," Sophie argues.
Nik angrily slams his hands on the table before he gets up to face Sophie. "Sophie Deveraux!" Nik sits down on the coffee table. "You're in no position to be so principled. You can't win a war without a few strategic losses, no matter how regrettable they may be. How many times have the vampires been one step ahead, known something they shouldn't? Your sister, executed in the public square for practicing magic, who knew she'd be caught? Did she even attempt to flee?"
Sophie looks stunned. "...She was caught hiding in a cargo hold of a freighter before it set sail down the Mississippi."
"And who, pray tell, of Marcel's valued inner circle manages his business at the docks?" Klaus asks.
Sophie sighs. "Katie's boyfriend, Thierry."
Nik leaves to talk to Marcel.
Bekah turns to me. "Marcel is having a party tonight. I think this is the best time to let New Orleans know that yet another Original is back in town."
I smirk. "Oh you know I always like an excuse to wear a nice dress."
"One thing before we go. I need some assurance that Marcel will be distracted tonight. I think it's time you get to meet Cami," Bekah tells me.
We head to Rousseau's. I turn to Bekah before we head inside. "This is where I met Jackson."
"Now you can meet the girl that Marcel has traded me in for," Bekah remarks.
Bekah and I sit at the bar in front of Cami.
"And so then, I moved back here to be closer to my sister and our brothers because, let's face it, family's important. Right, Camille?" Bekah asks.
"Cami. I have to change this name tag. Drunk guys keep hitting on me in French." She pauses for a moment and looks at Rebekah curiously. "You sure you haven't been in here before? Your face looks so familiar."
Bekah has been here before. She crashed the date that Cami and Marcel were on the other night. She put Cami in a choke hold but Marcel compelled Cami to forget. I don't think Cami is the girl for Marcel anyway. To human.
Bekah shakes her head. "You must have seen me out and about. Aren't you dating Marcel Gerard? He's a pal of mine... sort of. I heard he had a crush on the blonde bartender at Rousseau's."
"I would hardly call it dating. He's wooing me... sort of. I don't know. I mean, he's very charming, which probably means I should run for the hills," Cami explains.
"I'm kind of in an on-again/off-again thing myself at the moment," Bekah tells her.
I know she is referring to Marcel.
"Those are the worst, aren't they? The ones you can't shake, even though you know better, and you always know better?" Cami says.
I smile at Cami. "I like you, Cami. Most girls have the unfortunate tendency of being whiny little twits."
Cami smiles. "Thanks... I think."
"Hey, we're supposed to go to this posh charity thing thrown by this philanthropist tonight. He's a bit of a Gatsby, throws a mean party. Any interest?" I ask her.
Cami smiles, shrugging.
I call Nik. "Little sister."
"Well, brother, I believe I've made certain Marcel will be properly distracted tonight," I tell him.
"Dare I ask?" Nik questions.
"Let's just say his attention will not be on us. I did my bit. What are you doing to ensure Elijah's safe return?" I ask.
"Currently, I'm preparing insurance against the tenderhearted," Nik tells me.
"Meaning?" I ask.
"We need proper motivation for Katie to cast a powerful spell tonight. I'm creating that motivation. Marcel has ordered a rousting of the witches. And I, in turn, have arranged for things to go tragically wrong. Marcel may not be concerned with Thierry's romantic entanglements, but there are other crimes which he'll be less inclined to so easily forgive. Killing a vampire, for example. That would be unforgivable. If Katie hopes to save her one true love from Marcel's punishment? Well, a rescue mission like that will require something positively magical. But then... what's worth dying for, if not love?" Klaus tells me.
Bekah, Nik, and I arrive arm in arm at our old home in the Quarter. Marcel has taken up residence since we left. The compound is filled with people sporting masquerade masks. Acrobats perform, dancers handle exotic animals, and confetti falls from the ceiling.
Klaus smiles at us. "Well, this certainly is a fitting backdrop for tonight's events, I must say."
I smile when I see Cami enter the room. She's wearing a white dress with angel wings. A vampire would never be seen wearing that.
Nik seems displeased. "What's she doing here?"
"What better way to distract Marcel than to put his very human new girl in a room chock full of vampires?" Bekah tells him.
Bekah and I head towards Cami to say hi. I hear Nik sigh as we walk away.
"Hello, darling," I say to Cami with a smile.
"You look precious," Bekah tells her.
Cami smiles at us. "This party is ridiculous, but I think I went a bit splashy with this dress."
"Is he the infamous on-again/off-again?" Cami asks, while looking at Nik.
Nik smiles as he joins us. "He's the brother, actually, and my sisters are right. You do look stunning."
"You clean up pretty well yourself," Cami tells Klaus.
Nik smiles smugly. "Well, don't be fooled, love. I'm the devil in disguise."
"You two chit-chat. We need booze," I tell Nik.
I drag Bekah away by the hand, and we make our way to the bar. "It's times like these I really wish I could drink," I whisper to Bekah.
"Scotch, please," Bekah tells the bartender.
Marcel walks over and stands next to Bekah. "You two trying to be cute, inviting her here?"
"I think she's darling," I state.
"I can tell you fancy her pure heart. Perhaps I'll feed it to you?" Bekah remarks.
"Hmm. Jealousy looks good on you, Bekah," Marcel states.
Cami watches Bekah as Marcel watches Cami. This is going to be a beautiful disaster.
"I'm gonna go talk to Cami," Marcel states. He turns to leave but stops. "Oh, and welcome back to the Quarter Else."
Bekah, Nik, and I watch as Marcel dances with Cami. I have to admit the two do look happy together.
"You really are a hideously evil little thing, aren't you, Rebekah?" Klaus teases.
Bekah smiles. "Nonsense. They're perfect for each other! You wanted Marcel distracted? Voilà."
Diego enters the courtyard and heads straight for Marcel. He looks anxious as he interrupts Cami and Marcel whispering in Marcel's ear.
"My cue to leave," Bekah states.
"I'll be heading out as well. I don't want to be anywhere near this house when things start to head south," I tell them.
I head back to the house. I see Jackson sitting on the front steps. I smile at him as I walk towards him. "You're not supposed to be out here."
Jackson smiles a little. "Yeah. I'm just so used to being a wolf that I'm crawling in my skin, being stuck inside all day."
I sit down next to him. "Thank you for sticking it out. I really don't want to go through this alone."
When I hear a twig snap I look away from Jackson. A woman is standing in front of us.
Jackson stands up in front of me. "Who are you?"
"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm Sabine. We met. I'm one of Sophie's friends," the woman tells us.
"You're one of the witches," I state.
"Sophie just asked me to come keep you two company while everyone's out," Sabine tells us. I look at her curiously. "The child you're carrying is part vampire, part werewolf. You and Jackson made something special."
"You sound like Elijah. He thinks this baby is going to make us one big, happy family, but now he's gone and I don't even know what... 'it' is," I tell her truthfully.
"You know, I can do something about that, if you want. I mean, find out if it's a boy or girl," Sabine tells me.
"I thought you couldn't do witchy stuff around here," I state.
"It's not magic, just an old trick my grandmother taught me. Come on. You have to be a little curious," Sabine says.
I look towards Jackson. This isn't just my baby if he doesn't want to know then I can live without knowing. I don't want to upset him anymore than I already have. Jackson smiles at me slightly and nods his head.
"Alright, let's go inside," I tell Sabine.
She has me lie down on the kitchen counter. Jackson watches weary. I don't know if he is buying into this witchy stuff. Sabine holds a crystal hanging on a chain over my stomach.
Sabine smiles down at me. "I think it's a girl." The crystal starts to swing in the other direction, and she frowns. "No... wait."
"Wait what?" Jackson questions.
The crystal suddenly glows with a bright light, which causes Sabine to drop it. All of a sudden, her eyes roll back in her head, and she begins to chant in a low voice. "Hoc est infantima malom. Nos omnia perditu el eam." Sabine snaps out of the trance. She looks from me to Jackson. "I have to go."
Jackson and I watch as she hurries out of the kitchen. I sit up and Jackson stands next to me.
"What was that about?" Jackson asks.
I shrug my shoulders. "If I had to guess a vision of something."
"Should I assume since she left in a hurry it wasn't a vision of us living as one big happy family?" Jackson jokes.
I laugh a little. "If you're going to be a part of this family you're going to learn fast that no matter what comes our way," I grab Jackson's hand, "We fight together."
"I want to know what she said, what those words mean," Jackson tells me. He goes to leave the kitchen.
I sit for a moment contemplating what has just happened. I'm excited that Jackson and I are having a little girl. Part of me is worried about what Sabine said, but part of me thinks it's just a witch being dramatic like they always are.
When I hear the front door open I head to the living room. Bekah is sitting at the piano, lazily playing a scattering of notes.
"So I take it the plan didn't go well," I say. Bekah shakes her head. I sit down next to her on the stool. "We will get Elijah back, don't worry."
Nik walks in the room and Bekah sits up. "Well, tonight was an epic failure."
"On the contrary, sister. Tonight was a masterpiece," Klaus states.
"Are you mad? Katie died before Sophie could complete the spell," Bekah says.
Klaus smirks. "Oh, I'm well aware. I killed Katie."
"You what?" I question.
"There's no way our little suicide witch wasn't gonna try and take out Marcel with her. I saved his life, and in doing so, I now have him exactly where I want him," Nik explains.
Bekah stands up and walks towards Nik. "Sophie trusted you. I trusted you! Against all my better instincts," Bekah states.
Klaus looks offended. "Wake up, Rebekah the witches are on no one's side but their own. This girl, Davina? That's all they want, and when they have her, what do you think happens then, a truce? Of course not. They will use Davina's power against all of us."
"Even if you're right, the plan was to find Elijah, and you've failed us," I remind him.
"You always did lack faith. By protecting Marcel, I've cemented his trust, so much so that he's agreed to return Elijah to us. And when the time is right, when he has told me everything I need to know about Davina, I will have her for myself," Klaus informs us.
"I have all the faith in the world that you'll get what you want, Nik. You always do, no matter what it costs the rest of us. You disgust me," Bekah remarks. She walks out of the room.
Nik looks towards me.
"Don't think that I'm going to defend you. You are as selfish as you've always been. Right now I just want to keep myself and my daughter out of harm's way," I tell Nik.
I walk away from the pissed off Nik. I head upstairs looking for Jackson. I find him sitting in the study. He is surrounded by books with a laptop on his lap.
I smile softly. "Still trying to figure out what Sabine said?"
Jackson nods. "No luck. I can't figure out what language she was speaking in."
I walk towards him. "We will figure it out, but until then don't tell my brothers. I don't want to worry them. Especially considering Elijah is coming back to us." Jackson smiles at me. "Don't stay up too late."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N Else's dress for the party