The only sound in the Mikaelson Mansion was the soothing tune of Bach's Concerto for Violin in E Major echoing throughout the cavernous house as Rebekah Mikaelson walked down the stairs from the second floor and her stiletto heels tapped loudly on the tiled flooring in contrast to the calming melody of the violin.

Back in the early 19th century, the mansion the Original's now resided in had been called home to the governor of New Orleans with whom the Mikaelson family had an understanding regarding their presence in the Louisianan city. The Governor had often thrown lavish parties in honour of the Mikaelson's in the ballroom of the mansion and had kept their true nature a secret from the general population in exchange for gold.

The blonde Original female froze in her steps at the bottom of the staircase with a frown etched on her pretty face as she looked at the slightly domestic scene in front of her and walked a few paces forward to stand in the doorway of the downstairs sitting room.

Niklaus sat on a red armchair at one side of the living room with an old book in his hands as he rested one elbow on the arm of the chair with his knuckles under his chin and Elijah relaxed on the couch opposite his younger brother while reading through one of the Original witch's ancient grimoires.

In the middle of the living on the vintage coffee table was the corpse of a young woman with pale skin, ink black hair and her eyes closed almost peacefully with her hands folded gently over her stomach much like how bodies were posed at a funeral parlour.

"So, this is what you do the first time we're back together as a family? Vampire book club?" Rebekah asked her older brother's mockingly as she placed her hands on her hips and quirked a pale eyebrow at them as she stopped to stare at them incredulously.

"Reading edifies the mind, sister." Niklaus replied to her absently without looking up from the poetry book in his hands and glanced up at his older brother with a smirk on his lips as his light blue eyes twinkled with mirth. "Isn't that right, Elijah?"

"Yes, that's quite right, Niklaus." Elijah agreed smoothly as he lifted his head from the grimoire he was reading to look at his younger sister with a faint smile on his lips and Klaus hid a small smile as he heard his sister grumble in the back of her throat at his answer.

"And what's this business?" Rebekah asked them haughtily as she wrinkled her nose slightly in disgust and gestured with her hand at the dead girl lying lifeless on the coffee table in the middle of the room.

"This is a..." the eldest Mikaelson began to explain to her as he looked at the corpse and used one hand to motion to the girl as he searched for the right word to describe the situation before them. "...peace offering."

"I presumed, after so much time desiccating in a coffin, that my big brother might be a bit peckish." Klaus explained in a false innocent voice as he shrugged his shoulders slightly at the accusation behind his older brother's words and Elijah internally rolled his eyes at the statement as he looked back down at the grimoire in his hands.

"And I explained to my little brother, that forgiveness cannot be bought. I'd simply prefer to see a change in behaviour that indicates contrition, and personal growth." He bit out in a mock politeness as he tightened his grip on the ancient book to keep himself from taking his annoyance out on his younger brother and Klaus rolled his light blue eyes guilty as Elijah gestured with one hand dismissively at the corpse. "Not this nonsense."

"Well, I couldn't very well let her go to waste, could I?"

"Well, I suppose I'll go fetch the rubbish bin, because she's staining a two hundred-year-old carpet." Rebekah snapped at her brother's with an annoyed frown as she waved an arm wildly at the corpse lying on the coffee table over the vintage rug and Elijah furrowed his eyebrows as he looked up from the grimoire before following his sister's gesture to see scarlet red blood dripping carelessly on the floor.

"Ah, yes." He muttered in acknowledgement to her comment as he frowned at the puddle of scarlet red blood leaking onto the carpet and went back to reading the grimoire in his hands as Rebekah sighed heavily before stalking out of the living room in a huff.

Klaus glanced at his younger sister's retreating back as she entered the kitchen and bit back a grin at her agitation as he shared a quick look with Elijah before going back to reading his poetry book without saying a word. As much as it pained him to admit to himself let alone out loud to another person, he was enjoying the peaceful moment with his older brother even though he could practically see the waves of bitter distress coming from Elijah. His older brother did have some right to feel dismayed by the fact that Niklaus had once again plunged a dagger into his heart when all he was trying to do was strengthen their bond as a family and even Klaus could admit that it was a bit dramatic of him to dagger Elijah all those months ago.

The soft sound of footsteps approaching the living room from the staircase made Elijah glanced up from his grimoire in his hands just as Hayley strolled into the room with her hand resting gently on her barely visible pregnant stomach.

Hayley Marshall was a beautiful werewolf with light olive toned skin, memorizing hazel green eyes and dark brown hair with fell wildly to her shoulders. The last three months, she had been living in New Orleans under the protection of the Original family based solely on the fact that she was carrying Niklaus' hybrid child. The pregnancy was not something Hayley had planned by any means and even though she wasn't very enthusiastic about the prospect at first, once she had learned via a witch that she was carrying a little girl something changed for her. Family wasn't something that she had much, or any of, and the thought of being a mother gave her a sense of stability, eagerness and affection just at the mere thought of her future daughter.

After Hayley triggered the werewolf gene at thirteen when she was drunk on a boating trip by accidently killing a friend of a friend, she transformed for the first time in her adoptive parent's living room and after wreaking havoc in their house they kicked her out onto the street. She had been living on her own since then and had occasionally joined up with wolf packs all over the country but she never stayed long in one place.

As she passed through the room, Hayley glanced subtly over to where the older Mikaelson was sitting as she ignored the fluttering in her stomach when she saw his dark brown gaze already on her and she quickly ducked her to hide the shy smile that crossed her lips. The werewolf hated that with one smouldering look Elijah Mikaelson could turn her into one of those snivelling teenage girls that giggle and melt at the sight of their crush but still she couldn't help the silly butterflies that he caused her.

Elijah watched from the corner of his eye as Hayley strolled casually into the kitchen adjoining the living room and marvelled silently at how well she seemed to be adjusting to her current position. He knew that spending time with his sibling was a challenge to begin with so the fact that Hayley had survived the three months he had been indisposed was a miracle in and of itself. It wasn't a secret that Niklaus was often short tempered and volatile while Rebekah was erratic and spiteful but nonetheless, Elijah loved his siblings more than anything or anyone else on the planet and had always placed them above his own happiness which had often left him with the choice between family and romantic partners.

Klaus glanced up from his book when he heard the soft thump of something hitting the table and saw Elijah carefully placing the ancient grimoire down as he stood up from his armchair gracefully. Elijah's gaze was focused on something across the room as he straightened his suits sleeves and Klaus narrowed his light blue eyes warily as he followed his older brother's line of sight over to the she-wolf passing through the living room. He pursed his lips in slight annoyance as he watched Elijah pathetically follow the werewolf out of the room and tried to ignore the growing suspicion that something was going on between the two of them because he simply wasn't ready to face the obvious fact.

Standing in the doorway to the spacious kitchen, Elijah watched in amusement as Hayley rifled through the refrigerator with growing agitation when she couldn't find what she was looking for. She was shaking her head slightly as she furrowed her eyebrows in frustration and muttered under her breath so quietly that he couldn't hear the words even with his superior Original vampire hearing.

"Good morning." Elijah greeted the beautiful werewolf with a small smile playing on his lips as he leaned his shoulder on the doorframe and Hayley jumped slightly in surprise at the sudden interruption as she slowly stood up straighter in front of the fridge. The eldest Mikaelson frowned in concern when he heard to her heartbeat increase because he was worried that stress wouldn't be good for the baby and he made a note not to scare her anymore just in case.

Hayley closed her eyes tightly as she mentally scolded herself when her heart rate picked up slightly at just the sound of his voice and took a deep breath to calm herself down before plastering a smile on her lips. She slowly turned around to face Elijah as she closed the fridge room and walked over to kitchen counter as she subtly took in his handsome form.

"Hey." she replied with a small smile on her lips as she placed her hands on the bench and Elijah pushed himself off of the doorframe as he strolled further into the kitchen with his hands in his suit pants pockets.

Rebekah entered the kitchen through the back door as she dragged a trashcan behind her with a scowl etched on her pretty face and she glanced up to glare at her older brother accusingly as he hid a sheepish smile. "Listen, I know I'm the only one in this house that actually drinks milk, but would it kill any of you to make sure it's on the grocery list?"

"Speaking of, add bleach." Rebekah spat out venomously as she threw one last look at her brother before stomping through the kitchen towards the living room and Hayley bit back an amusement smile at her retreating back.

Elijah smile faintly at his little sister's temper as he moved over to the kitchen cabinets behind the counter and glanced back over at the werewolf watching him curiously as he searching through the overhead cabinet. "You know, I do hope my siblings were hospitable to you, in my absence."

"In your absence, as you like to call it, which is a way-too-polite way of saying that your brother put a dagger in your heart..." Hayley answered him with a slight bitter note in her voice as she looked up at him through hazel green eyes and saw him fighting a smile at her words as he brought a bowl, spoon and box of cereal to the counter. "I have been attacked by French Quarter vampires, I've had to live in a house with a secret dungeon full of coffins, and I was nearly murdered by witches who are convinced my baby is Lucifer."

Listening to her rant about what had happened while he was daggered brought a sympathetic smile to Elijah's lips as he placed the item's he was carrying down on the bench and turned to the fridge to pull out the orange juice and milk that was hidden behind some blood bags. He walked back over to the counter as Hayley poured some cereal into the bowl and he lifted the milk carton to pour some into her bowl as she looked up at him in shock. "Oh...milk. They've been fine. Your siblings are weirdly protective, I know I have you to thank for that."

"I'm just happy to see that you're in one piece." He told her sincerely with a smile as he stepped back to give her room to eat without feeling crowded and she ducked her head to hide the slight blush on her cheeks as she smiled back at him. "So, back to the murderous witches. I have some concerns."

"They're evil. And, my life is still magically linked to Sophie Deveraux, which is not comforting." She muttered with a slight roll of her eyes as he handed her the bowl of cereal and she looked up at him with a small smile as she took the bowl from his hands.

"Yes, I think it's time we took care of that little problem."

"I am all for it. As soon as they're unlinked, we get to leave this crap town." Rebekah announced as she came back into the kitchen dragged the corpse from the living room behind her making a trail of blood on the floor and smiled gleefully with anticipation flashing in her cerulean blue eyes as she looked at her older brother. "Who do we have to kill?"

".... Probably no one." Elijah said hesitantly after a moment of thought as he calculated the best course of action and Hayley looked at him with obvious scepticism as she continued to eat her breakfast. "Alright, potentially everyone."

Rebekah grinned manically at her older brother with bloodlust in her eyes as she strolled back through the kitchen just in time to the last of his sentence and Elijah smirked back at her as she walked into the living to clean up the mess left on the carpet by the dead human girl.

The music in the living room was still playing softly as the only Original female walked in with a bucket of water and other cleaning supplies as she cast a withering look at her older brother who was still sitting reading in the same armchair. Rebekah set the bucket down with a sigh as she climbed down to her knees on the carpet and started scrubbing at the bloodstains with vigour as she glanced at Klaus from the corner of her eye to see him reading 'A Poison Tree' by William Blake.

"Poetry about poisoned apples from dead trees. Looks like someone's worried about impending daddyhood." She taunted him with a mocking smirk on her lips as she ignore the jealous in her stomach over the fact that the brother that never then contemplated children was getting the one thing she wanted more anything else in the world.

"Nonsense. Elijah's back. In his presence, all problems turn to pixie-dust and float away!" Klaus replied nonchalantly without looking up from his book as he kept his face blank and disregarded the bitterness he could detect in his little sister's voice. He glanced up at Rebekah from the book with a grin as she looked up at him with a matching smile and he was instantly reminded of a time when the two of them were nearly inseparable.

"Strange, I don't recall any pixie-dust from the darkness of the coffin I was recently forced to endure." Elijah said loudly as he entered the living room from the parlour and Rebekah grimaced guiltily as she quickly stifled her smile like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

Elijah ignored the mock-innocent expressions on his younger siblings face as he strolled into the room and bit back a smile of his own at the familial scene before him as he picked up his mother's old grimoire before flipping through it for the right page.

"What are you doing with Mother's spell book?" Rebekah asked suddenly as she pushed herself up onto her knees with a confused frown and looked over at Elijah almost accusingly as she thought about her lost mother.

"Well, in exchange for my freedom, I promised the witch Davina that I would share a few pages from Mother's grimoire. To help her learn to control her magic. Plus, I'm sure the lovely Imogen might like the chance to practice some magic since she's removed herself from the local coven." Elijah replied absently as he continued to flip through the grimoire without looking up and he paused for a moment when he mentioned the fiercely protective witch he had met the day before.

"Imogen? How do you know Imogen?"

"I met her yesterday when I was talking to Davina."

"Davina?" the youngest Original asked questioningly as she stood up from the carpet gracefully and placed her hands on her hips as she quirked an eyebrow at her older brother.

"Really, Rebekah? You didn't catch the similarities between the two young witches?" Klaus asked teasingly as he closed his own book with a mocking smirk on his lips and Rebekah turned her head around to glare at him through narrowed eyes as she waved a hand for him to continue. "They're sisters."

"Hm. That's correct. From my understanding, Imogen has strayed from the local coven because of their interest in Davina and she intends to do whatever in her power to keep her sister safe from harm." Elijah informed them softly as he thought of the blue eyes brunette that had intrigued him with her passionate determination and unwavering loyalty to her younger sister in the face of danger. He could still see her bright blue eyes flashing with heated dedication as she spoke to him on the stairwell the previous day about her younger sister and the devotion that she presented without hesitation was something he could easily empathise with.

"That bitch. Although, she did say when we met that she would do anything to protect her family." Rebekah murmured thoughtfully to herself as she came to terms with the fact that her new friend was more a part of the supernatural community then she previously thought.

"If Imogen's loyalty isn't with Marcel, it may another chance to form a powerful alliance." Klaus uttered pensively as he leaned his chin on his hand with a considering expression on his face and Elijah glanced up with a scolded look as he came to a stop on the right page of the grimoire.

"Yes, well, I think Imogen's loyalty is solely with Davina." Elijah told his younger brother pointedly as he quirked an eyebrow at him but Klaus just waved a hand dismissively in the air as though that little detail was insignificant in his plans. "Anyway, I thought we'd begin with a little unlinking spell."

"Wait, you want to use her to unlink Hayley from Sophie Deveraux?" Rebekah asked in a stunned voice as she shared a confused look with the hybrid and then turned back to her oldest brother with a shocked expression.

"Sophie brought us here under false pretences! She doesn't just want us to take down Marcel and his minions, she wants to take Davina back. So, she yolked her own cause to ours, with magic threats and half-truths! Well, no more. As of now, our deal with Sophie Deveraux is null and void." Elijah declared passionately as he ripped the page he wanted out of the ancient grimoire carefully so that he didn't tear the paper and pursed his lips in annoyance as he looked up at his younger siblings.

Elijah Mikaelson may have been known as the moral one of the Original family and he prided himself on being a man of his word but he was also proficient at finding loopholes in the deals that he made. Every negotiation he proposed was carefully worded in a way that made it clear that is hasn't promised to do anything and he only broke his word when he came to the realisation that he had been lied to by the opposing party.

Klaus grinned manically at his older brother's words as he leaned forward in anticipation with bloodlust shining in his eyes and he looked up at his little sister to see the same expression on her pretty face as her eyes gleamed with maliciously.