Astrid woke up, squinting her eyes as the sun shone into her eyes. She opened her green eyes and flinched when she saw Niklaus standing in front of the double bed, watching Astrid and Hayley. Hayley was hugging Astrid tightly in her sleep, resting her head on the tribrid's chest.

Niklaus smirked at his sister, looking into her eyes. "I see you and Hayley became friends" he said in a hushed tone, chuckling.

Astrid exhaled loudly, moving Hayley away gently as she got out of bed. "Mention this to anyone and I'll pour vervain into your eyes" she said and walked away, Nik chuckling as he watched his sister walk away.

Astrid walked into her room and took a quick shower. After washing herself, she put on a short, tight, beige skirt with a matching colour top and some grey knee-long high heels. To that, she added her usual jewellery; a Mikaelson ring, an old engagement ring from the 20s and some other rings she usually wore. She also put on her necklace which was silver and had a black stone.

She then did her make-up and curled her hair before walking out of her room.

"What the bloody hell is a harvest?" Astrid heard Rebekah say as she walked into the living room where she saw a witch called Sophie, Niklaus and Rebekah sitting and talking about something important.

"Good morning, darlings" Astrid smiled and sat between Rebekah and Nik, laying her head on her brother's shoulder. Nik rubbed her shoulder gently, a slight smile forming on his lips. "So... what is the harvest?" Astrid asked.

"It's a ritual our coven does every 3 centuries so that the bond to our ancestrial magic is restored. We appease our ancestors. They keep our ancestral power flowing." Sophie explained, looking at the three originals in front of her.

"And why haven't I heard of this?" Niklaus asked with an annoyed tone, narrowing his eyes at the witch.

"Because the harvest always seemed like a Myth, a story passed down through generations like Noah's ark or the Buddha walking on water, the kind some people take literally and some people don't." Sophie told the vampires. "The harvest is when they sacrifice one of our witches. They've been preparing them for months. 4 would be chosen for the Harvest. They said that it was an honour, that they were special. I thought it was a Myth."

"This is more messed up than the Gemini coven." Astrid muttered and received blank stares. "You know, the coven where the twins of the family have to literally merge together. One of them wins and becomes the coven leader while the other dies." She said and Sophie looked surprised, she clearly have never heard of the coven before.

"That is messed up." Rebekah said, looking at her older sister. "So... was the harvest a Myth?" Rebekah asked Sophie.

Nik's cell phone interrupted the conversation. Nik stood up and answered the phone: "Marcel, bit early in the day for you, isn't it?" He said as he walked walked around the room, the three women staring at him as he spoke.

"I know I make this look easy, but I still have an empire to run." Marcel said over the phone.

"Rather you than me. All that responsibility seems like such a bore." Niklaus answered, playing with Astrid's hair as he stood behind her.

"This might spice things up. I just heard about a bunch of dead witches out in the Bayou, the kind of damage a werewolf might do, only there was no full moon. I have an informat out there I need to meet, and I would love for you to go with me."

"Dead witches in the Bayou." Nik said, Sophie's eyes opened wide as she looked at him in disbelief and concern. "Sounds like less of a problem and more like a cause for celebration." Nik said with a smile and Astrid chuckled.

"Well, something killed them and may still be out there, and with your and your sister's blood being the only cure for a werewolf bite, I would love for one of you to accompany me. You, preferably."

"Well, why not? I haven't been to the Bayou in ages. I'm on my way." He said as he ended the call with Marcel.

"You can't go out there now" Sophie argued as Hayley and Astrid's friends walked into the room. "I need to gather the witches' remains and consecrate them. If I don't get to them before sundown, we lose the link to their magic."

"Those witchy bitches tried to kill Hayley." Astrid said with narrowed eyes, staring at the witch in front of her.

"I prefer for Marcel's informat not to find anything that would lead him back to us," Niklaus spoke "to her, or to, you know, that." He said, pointing at Hayley's stomach.

"You are all class" Hayley said, holding a cup in her hand.

"Stay put and save the rest of your story till I return." Nik said as he walked out of the room.

"Bye, Nikki." Astrid smiled, watching her brother leave the old plantation house.

"Do you guys want to go somewhere?" Astrid asked, looking at her friends. "I'm honestly getting quite sick of this place." Astrid stood up and walked out of the room, her friends immediately following her.

"Are you okay?" Lydia asked as Astrid walked out of the old plantation mansion. The pack followed her outside.

"I'm fine" Astrid replied, taking a deep breath and then breathing out. "I'm just... sick of this family drama. All we do is argue, stab each other - literally - and kill" she said as she groaned, hanging her head in defeat. "How about we go to a bar or a restaurant? You haven't eaten breakfast yet, have you?" She asked and the pack shook their heads, Stiles grabbed his stomach at the mention of breakfast. "Great!" Astrid smiled widely. "There's a great little diner in the French Quarter" she smiled and unlocked her car, getting inside.

The rest of the pack also got into either Astrid's car or Stiles' jeep.

➖➖➖

Astrid sat on a chair around a table that fit the whole group. Soon, the waitress came over and gave each of them the Menu before walking away. "Order whatever you'd like. It's on me" she smiled at the pack and they nodded, smiling back at her.

Soon, the group ordered their food and sat in silence for a while; until Stiles decided to break the comfortable silence. "To be honest, I thought that the witchy powers were peaceful." He stated, looking at his friends, remembering the night before when Astrid turned a vampire's blood into acid. "It was black magic, right?" Stiles asked, shaking his leg as he spoke.

The waitresses then came over and handed each of them a plate of what they ordered. The beautiful aroma making each of them even more hungry. "No, Stiles" Astrid said, watching the waitresses walk away. "That wasn't black magic." She said, the whole pack looking at her as she spoke. "Black magic is a lot worse." She sighed as she drank her hot chocolate.

"Worse than what you did yesterday?" Stiles questioned before taking a bite of his egg. "Wow, this is really good" He said, amazed.

"Yes Stiles, a lot worse than what I did." She answered, rolling her eyes as she watched the energetic boy eat his breakfast. "But you have to understand that I did what I did in order to protect you all. They would've killed you." Astrid told them.

"We get it." Scott smiled warmly as he intertwined his fingers with hers. Kira glared at their hands, jealous as she still felt something for Scott.

"Well, let's change the topic, shall we?" Astrid smiled, looking into Scott's eyes.

"We really should" the strawberry blonde replied, smiling at the couple. After a few minutes of comfortable silence that engulfed the pack as they ate, Astrid's phone rang.

"What is it Nik?" Astrid asked her bother when she answered. She looked at Scott and realised that he was listening to the conversation, making her smirk.

"Would you be willing to do me a favour, sister?" Niklaus asked.

"Depends on what kind of favour it is, brother." Astrid said, the whole pack then looked at her.

"I need you to come to a bar in the Bayou and be a distraction for me." He explained.

"Who am I distracting?" Astrid asked her brother.

"Rebekah scared someone who she believes was Marcel's informat. He's in his mid 30s, white, skinny and looks like he saw a ghost" Niklaus explained. "The place is-"

"You don't need to tell me where it is. I'm positive I'll find it when I hear that terrible music" Astrid said, cringing at the sound of the music at the bar. "I'm on my way" Astrid said as she stood up and ended the call. She opened her wallet and put $100 on the table. "I have to go, darlings. Call me if something happens" Astrid smiled and left the diner.

➖➖➖

Astrid walked towards the old bar which, in her opinion, looked like it was abandoned. Old men in leather jackets sat around the bar, drinking beer. She rolled her eyes when she heard someone wolf whistle. She entered the bar and the disgusting smell of mould, sweat and beer instantly made her want to walk out.

She looked around and began walking when she spotted Niklaus and Marcel sitting on bar stools. "Ah, isn't this like old times?" Astrid asked, touching Marcel's shoulder when he looked at her. She then walked towards Niklaus who let her sit on his knee while he drank some beer. "Just how drunk are you two?" She asked the men.

"Skating on the razor's edge." Nik answered as he drank a shot, his left hand resting on her hip. He patted her leg and she stood up along with Nik. "I'm gonna use the loo. Back in a tick." Nik said as he walked away, Astrid now sitting on the stool he was sat on.

"I haven't seen him this Lushy since the twenties" Astrid chuckled.

"So you came to take him home?" Marcel asked.

"Why else would I be here, Marcel? I obviously didn't come here for you." She said in a bored tone.

After a few minutes, Niklaus came back and Astrid stood up, letting him sit on the stool. "When are you leaving, brother?" Astrid asked her older brother.

"Soon, little wolf" he smiled and kissed her cheek, making her roll her eyes as she left the bar.

She smirked internally when she saw a skinny, old man who looked terrified. She walked towards him and looped her arm with his. "Thomas, I presume?" Astrid said and the man nodded "Marcel asked me to find out what you know about the dead witches." she told the man who was shaking slightly as the two walked.

"I heard they were going after some pregnant werewolf. She was stupid being out there all alone." The man replied, still shaking slightly but he was calming down.

"Yeah. She was, wasn't she?" Astrid chuckled with the man. "It's amazing how gullible some people can be." She smiled and put her hand on his cheek when they were behind a tall, black car.

"Yeah" the man replied and Astrid snapped his neck. She pushed his body and he fell on the ground with a thud.

She sighed and fixed her skirt, walking away from the temporarily dead vampire.

➖➖➖

Astrid walked into a room where her pack sat, resting after an eventful day. "How did your day go, darlings?" Astrid asked, looking at her friends.

"It was great!" Malia said smiling, holding Stiles' hand; Astrid smirked as she watched them.

"We visited the old cathedrals and just used the time to have some fun." Kira said, staring at the vampire.

"That's great" Astrid smiled, staring at her friends. "Did you have any problems with Vampires?" Astrid asked.

"No." Stiles said, Astrid narrowed her eyes when his heart skipped a beat.

"What happened?" She asked, rolling her eyes as she walked towards a cupboard where a bottle of Whiskey stood. She poured herself a glass as the teenagers watched her.

"A vampire wasn't happy that werewolves were in the French Quarter" Lydia answered, staring at the blonde.

"But he didn't do anything. All he did was tell us how much he hated werewolves and how we're a 'waste of space'." Scott added as Astrid sighed loudly.

"God, Marcel's nightwalkers are a pain in the arse. He should be glad I wasn't there" she chuckled.

"That was your last trip to the Bayou." Rebekah said as she entered the room with Hayley, pouring herself a glass of Whiskey as well. "What is it with you and those wolves anyway?" Rebekah asked Hayley as Scott pulled Astrid towards him, making her sit on his lap. Astrid smiled and kissed his cheek.

"I feel like we're connected somehow." Hayley replied, sitting on a chair next to the black piano which stood in the middle of the room. "I don't know. Maybe it's just some pipe dream that I have of finding any real family out there, but sometimes when I feel like it's me against the world, it keeps me going." Astrid frowned, feeling sympathetic for the girl.

Rebekah moved the glass of whiskey towards Hayley, making the pregnant werewolf look at her confused. "Oh, right." Rebekah said as she drank the whiskey. "Well, if you ask me, family is a pain in the behind-"

"Hey!" Astrid said, pretending to be offended as she threw a pencil at Rebekah. The graphite, driving through her skin making Rebekah inhale sharply. She pulled out the pencil and threw it back at Astrid who caught it just in front of her eye.

"- and as for being in it alone, How dare you?" Rebekah asked, wiping the blood off her arm. "I don't ruin a perfectly fabulous pair of boots traipsing through the Bayou for just anyone." Rebekah said, drinking the whiskey again.

"That's a huge sacrifice." Lydia commented. "I wouldn't do that for anyone" she and Rebekah chuckled.

Everyone looked towards the door when Niklaus stormed inside. "Nik, finally. What--" Rebekah stopped speaking when she also saw Elijah enter the mansion.

Everyone stood up and looked at the two Men, Astrid smiled at her older brothers.

Rebekah ran towards him and engulfed him in a hug, happy that she finally got her favourite brother back. "Oh, Elijah..." they pulled away and smiled at each other "you're safe."

Elijah then looked at his other sister, smiling slightly as she also hugged him tightly. "I missed you" she whispered, loud enough for only him to hear.

"I missed you, too" he whispered and pulled away from his sister.

"Now that you're home, is your first plan to kill Niklaus?" Rebekah asked, making Astrid and Nik furrow their eyebrows.

"Excuse me just a moment" Elijah said as he walked away, trying to find Hayley after she left the room.

"Where's he going?" Rebekah asked.

"Looking for Hayley, probably" Astrid replied, waking towards Scott. "He cares about the baby more than anything else in the world right now." Astrid said as Scott wrapped an arm around her waist.

Hayley and Elijah soon came back into the room and Elijah began speaking. "Everything that brought us here to New Orleans was a lie-- this story that Sophie Deveraux fabricated, this struggle for control of the French Quarter, this war between vampires and witches, wasn't over territory at all. This was over Davina." He spoke and everyone looked at him with bewilderment in their eyes. "8 months ago, Sophie Deveraux and her sister Jane-Anne lost everything. Now, 4 months after that, a young, pregnant girl wanders into their restaurant. Suddenly, all hope us renewed. Jane-Anne actually sacrificed her life so that her sister could use you to find Davina." He said, looking at Niklaus. "If Sophie Deveraux is successful in capturing Davina, she can Return Jane-Anne's daughter back to life. We thought we'd come here to wage a war for power. This is about family. In order to return her niece to life, Sophie Deveraux will fight to the death. That makes her more dangerous than anyone."