The raucous sound of voice echoed around the courtyard of the Abattoir as the hordes of vampires congregated in a crowd and they chatted in small groups as drinks of alcohol and blood were passed around on silver trays like shots of tequila at a college bar.

Marcel looked down at the hundreds of vampires that he considered to be his family from over the top of the balcony railings with a smile on his lips and he swept his dark brown gaze over all of the people in attendance as marvelled his own accomplishment. He had done this. He had built the French Quarter back up from the ground after the Mikaelson's had abandoned it 1919, after he survived the massacre of vampire's that took place, after he took initiative to establish a leadership role in the French Quarter.

And now it was all his.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Fight Night!" Marcel announced jovially with a massive grin on his lips as he spread his arms out in greeting. At the sound of the King's voice, all of the vampire's standing beneath him in the courtyard turned their attention to the balcony where he stood and Marcel's grin widened with satisfaction as he held his head up higher with pride. "And, the first rule of Fight Night is: The vampire left standing at the end of the night is one step closer to the inner circle, and one of these," he told them as he held up his hand to show them the vintage ring on his right hand ring finger and the crowded fell into an awed silence as all of the nightwalkers stared longingly at the chance to once again walk in the sunlight, "a daylight ring. If you can impress me with a little ultra-violence, you too can enjoy the warmth of the sun on your face. All you got to do is kick a little ass. Here we go!"

Imogen stepped out of the shadows of the balcony as the vampires erupted with deafening cheers in the courtyard below and she made her way over to the edge of the balcony where Marcel was gazing fondly down at his followers.

"Someone should be a motivational speaker." She said teasingly with a smirk on her lips as sidling up next to him at the railing and tilted her head to the side as she looked down at the vampires currently forming a loose circle in the courtyard. "Look at them, all pumped up and raring to go."

Marcel chuckled lightly as he ducked his head with an amused smile on his lips and subtly peeked at the brunette next to him from the corner of his eye. "Shut up. Do you have it?"

"Do I have it? Please." Imogen scoffed in mock indignation as she gave him an offended pout of her lips and he gave her a pointed look even though his dark brown eyes shined with amusement. The young witch let out a small laugh as she rolled her bluish eyes theatrically and reached into her coat pocket for the metal ring she had been asked to spell earlier that day.

Marcel grinned at her as he inspected the vintage style ring in her delicate fingers and then turned his attention back to the horde of impatient vampire's in the courtyard below him. They had formed a loose circle around the edges of the courtyard as they waited anxiously for their King to announce which two of them were going to get a chance to win a daylight ring.

"Our first two contenders: Felicia and Otto!" Marcel declared loudly with a smirk as he leaned both his hands on the railing in front of him and Imogen stepped forward slightly so that she could easily see the makeshift ring below.

The crowd below erupted to loud cheers as the two vampires stepped into the middle of the courtyard with large grins on their lips and Imogen bit her lower lip as she watched them move at lightning speed towards one another. To the young witch's ordinary sight it looked like a mess of blurred movements that couldn't be distinguished, much like one of Monet's masterpieces.

Marcel watched the end of the brawl with an easy smirk on his lips as he leaned forward over the railing for a clear view of the arena and wolf-whistled loudly through the raucous cheering below as Felicia landed the winning blow on her opponent by snapping his neck.

"Damn, girl! Not bad!" Marcel praised the female vampire with a massive grin on his lips as he clapped his hands together and Imogen smiled politely next to him as she silently handed the spelled daylight ring over to him without waiting to be asked.

Suddenly, two dark coloured blurs flashed into the makeshift arena of the courtyard but no one seemed to notice the new arrivals until they stopped just behind the victor to reveal themselves as Niklaus and Elijah Mikaelson.

Klaus stalked purposely behind Felicia with a sickening smirk etched on his lips and easily snapped her spinal column at the top of her neck with his bare hands, making the whole courtyard fall silent with startled expressions.

"Good evening! I'd like a word." Klaus greeted the self-proclaimed king loudly with a smirk on his lips as he held his arms out to his sides and all the other vampires shuffled backwards away from the Original hybrid as they looked up to their leader.

"What do you think you're doing?" Marcel asked them in a mixture of annoyance and anger as he tried to keep the emotion off his expression because he didn't want his followers to think he was threatened by the Original family.

"It appears that we've interrupted a collection of filthy amateurs! We've come here for the girl." Elijah informed him angrily as he glared up at the dark-skinned vampire through narrowed oak brown eyes and Imogen couldn't help but noticed how attractive he looked when his sculpted jaw was clenched like that.

Those thoughts weren't meant to come at inconvenient times, but her subconscious obviously didn't care that she was in a room full of vampires that could hear her heart rate accelerate whenever she so much as glanced in the Originals direction. She curled her hands around the metal railing hoping that the pain from the pressure would force her to remember where she was and she bit the corner of her lower lip as Elijah pointed at the vampire standing next to her on the balcony. "Give it to us or...we kill everyone here. Starting with you."

"You two got a lot of nerve, coming into my home and making demands."

"Your home, is it?" Klaus asked rhetorically as he narrowed his eyes at his former protégé and clenched his hands into fists at his side to keep himself from lashing out.

"The girl! I will not ask again." Elijah demanded sternly as his oak brown eyes flashed menacingly with anger and he risked a fleeting glance at the young brunette standing next to Marcel on the balcony.

"I assume you're talking about Hayley? Yea high, dark hair, bitchy attitude?" Marcel asked rhetorically with a knowing smirk etched onto his lips, his words seemed surprising them all and he took pride in the fact that he had discovered one of the most secretive people in the world.

Klaus felt his blood start to boil at the superior glint in his former protégé's dark brown eyes as he curled his hands into fist at his side and silently fumed over the loss of advantage in the strategic battle of control over the French Quarter.

When coming here, eldest Mikaelson brother had been wondering how it was that Marcel had found out about Hayley's existence and one thought had continuously plagued his mind: Imogen was the only one besides his family that knew of Hayley and the baby. But looking up at the genuinely startled expression on her features that she tried to keep hidden from the vampire next to her and the accelerated speed of her heartbeat that she couldn't conceal, Elijah knew without a doubt that the young witch had nothing to do with Hayley's disappearance.

Marcel could easily see that his words had distressed the Originals in front of him as his smirk widened with unmistakable pleasure over his upper hand and he tilted his head to the side curiously as a frown overtook his features, " Who is she, anyway?"

"She's an old friend. You know how sentimental I am about old friends." Klaus remarked in a grave voice as his face hardened into a no nonsense mask of impatience and you couldn't deny the underlying bitterness in his voice directed at the self-proclaimed king.

"Well, I ain't got her. And before you start whining, I did pay her a little visit earlier tonight. I was feeling nostalgic, so I took a trip out to the plantation where I used to be a slave. And, imagine my surprise when I realised that the Original family of vampires had taken up residence. Your girl, Hayley, answered the door, we exchanged hellos, that was it. You don't believe me? Look around. Hell, I'll even help you find her. But the question that I'd ask is: if Hayley isn't here, then where is she?"

Imogen glanced down at the Original brother's with a raised eyebrow as they shared a concerned look and she pushed herself off of the metal railing as she started to walk backwards without looking away from Elijah and Klaus.

"Listen, why don't you go wait in the backyard? I'll help you find your runaway." Marcel told the older vampires as he held his hands up in mock surrender with a smirk on his lips and Elijah stared at him impassively as he evaluated whether or not to trust the self-proclaimed king to help retrieve Hayley. After a tense moment of silence, where all the vampires stared at each other gauging the other's intent, the older Mikaelson brother grabbed Klaus' elbow and started guiding his brother outside the courtyard.

Marcel sighed in exasperation at the drama brought forth by the Original family as he watched the brothers disappear into the backyard before he turned towards the brunette witch next to him and gently placed a hand on her elbow to gain her attention as he stepped closer to her side. "Hey, can you give me a hand?"

"Sure. You want me to do a located spell for Little Bo Peep's little lost lamb?" Imogen asked him with a small smirk on her lips as she quirked an eyebrow at him and tilted her head to the side curiously as she let him guide her towards the main set of stairs.

Elijah watched through narrowed oak brown eyes as the dark skinned vampire steered the young witch away from the courtyard and pursed his lips together as annoyance bubbled in his stomach but he shook his head at the irrational thoughts floating through his mind. He had no claim to the brunette in question but something about the way Marcel casually touched her with a comfortable familiarity irked him in a way he couldn't begin to explain even to himself. Of course Imogen was beautiful with her wavy brunette hair, bluish eyes framed with long lashes and unblemished tan skin, except for the fascinating tattoos that had been inked onto her body. There was a part of him that wished he could be the one who touched her delicate skin with such ease but he quickly squashed those thoughts before they could take hold in his mind and focused on the task at hand because he refused to be distracted from his family by another gorgeous brunette.

"Not the most attractive community, are they?" Elijah asked his brother lightly as he sat down elegantly in one of the metal garden chairs next to a small table on the back patio and glanced over at the small crowd of vampires watching them discreetly from the doorway back inside.

"You do realize they can hear you?" Klaus asked him in amusement with a slight genuine smile as he followed his older brother's gaze towards the vampires and Elijah looked over at him with a small upturn of his lips as he quirked an eyebrow dismissively.

"You do realize I don't care?"

Marcel strolled out of the open double doors of the patio with a small group of vampires behind him as he took in the scene in front of him and he instinctively tightened his protective hold on Imogen's hand as he lead her towards the Original brother's. "You know, Elijah, I liked you better in that box."

Elijah turned his head towards the sound of Marcel's voice as he flashed him a tight smile but his oak brown eyes were instantly drawn to the dark skinned vampire's side where his hands was clasped together was Imogen's and he internally scolded himself for the absurd flair of jealousy he felt spike.

"But Klaus, my sire, you I owe the world, and I always show respect to my elders. If your special lady friend is missing, you could benefit from the help of a witch. And, since I control all the witches in this town, I'll grant you one little locator spell." Marcel continued to speak to the hybrid jovially to show that he wasn't affected by their abrupt disturbance in his kingdom and he gestured with his free hand to the beautiful witch next to him with a small smirk on his lips as she looked back at him expectantly, "Imogen is the only witch that I trust and she's lived here in New Orleans her whole life. Need to find someone? I guarantee, she's your girl."

Imogen smiled slightly at the praise given to her but there was a slither of doubt in her mind as she glanced down at the ground and she felt Marcel squeeze her hand gently as he started walking back to the set of double doors.

"Where are you going?" Klaus asked him in annoyance as he tilted his head to the side while watching the younger vampire retreat and Marcel sighed heavily as he spun around to face them with his arms held out to his sides with a quirked eyebrow.

"I hate to cut this short, but the sun's coming up soon. My nightwalkers need to get inside, and I have got a city to run. I'll leave you to track down your lost sheep."

"Are we still on for later?" Imogen asked him curiously as she looked over her shoulder at him with a questioning smile on her lips and Marcel smirked back at her as he closed the distance between them.

"Of course. I'll call you. Don't be afraid to use force if you need to."

"That sounded like concern. Are you worried about me, Marcel?"

"Nah. I know you can take 'em." He told her softly with a wink as he leaned forward to press a lingering kiss on her cheek and she couldn't help the small blush that heated up her cheeks as grinned at him without replying to his compliment.

Marcel cast one more wary glance over his shoulder at the Original brothers as he started walking towards the house and he frowned slightly at the hatred pouring off of both of them in waves as they glared at his retreating back.

Imogen watched the self-proclaimed king leave the backyard with his entourage with him as he exited and then she turned back to the Original's sitting in front of her as she placed her hands on her hips.

"You lost your pregnant werewolf?" she asked them in amusement as she cocked her head to her head to the side curiously with a slightly mocking edge and they stared at her blankly as she let a small smirk spread across her lips, "You know you can hire a fourteen year old to babysit for like $8 an hour plus pizza money."

"Can you find her?" Elijah asked her pointedly with a small amused smile on his lips as he leaned forward in his seat slightly and ignored the burning desire to laugh to the young witch's sense of humour as he straightened the cuff of his jacket.

"I can try." Imogen replied unsurely with a small shrug of one shoulder as she looked at them both apologetically because she didn't have anything that belonged to Hayley to do the locator spell. Imogen pulled a folded map of New Orleans out of the back pocket of her jeans as she bit the corner of her lower lip in between her teeth and she spread paper out on the garden table in front of her so that there were no wrinkles or creases on the map. "I don't have anything of Hayley's to do the spell, but I can use Klaus' blood to track the baby."

"Fine." the hybrid murmured in annoyance as he rolled his sleeve up his forearm with a frown on his lips and let his vampire visage appear as he sunk his teeth into his skin with a sickening crunch. Imogen cringed in disgust as she wrinkled her nose slightly with a scowl and Klaus pulled his arm away from his bloodstained lips as he smirked at her maliciously. "Where do you want me?"

"That's gross. On the map, please."

"Because you asked so politely." he replied easily in a mocking tone as he held his arm out over the corner of the map while standing up from his seat and let the scarlet red blood drip freely onto the paper until the wound had healed completely.

Imogen held her hands over the map as she closed her eyes to block out her surroundings so that she could focus solely on the magic energy encompassing her and she could feel the familiar tugging at her stomach as she let the magic in her veins flowing without restriction onto the map.

Elijah stared at the young witch's beautiful face as she looked almost peaceful while practicing her magic and couldn't help but study her features with a captivated expression, much like an art enthusiast was fascinated by precious works of art.

The magic emanated from deep within her as she slowly blinked open her bluish eyes with a frown of deep concentration and they all watched as the small puddle of blood slowly traced a path from their current location across the map.

"She's in the back country. Way up, past Houma, deep in the bayou." Imogen murmured under her breath as she narrowed her eyes at the blood when it stopped in the middle of the bayou and she let out a perturbed breath as she looked up into Elijah's calm oak brown eyes across the table.

"I don't suppose you could be more precise?" the elder Mikaelson brother asked her softly as he stared into her entrancing blue eyes with a small quirk of his lips and she couldn't help smiling back at him as she ducked her head to avoid getting lost in his eyes.

"What's the matter, Elijah? You're worried a bit of splashing about in the bog might ruin your expensive shoes?" Klaus asked his brother tauntingly as he stopped pacing the patio with a bothered frown and turned to face the pair at the table as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"As a matter of fact, after my recent confinement, I could use a decent stroll through the countryside."

"After 1000 years you still bicker like normal siblings. I'm not sure if that's reassuring or concerning." Imogen stated in amusement with a smirk on her lips as she studied the map in front of her, looking to see if she recognised any of the landmarks in the area surrounding where the spell had led them and she could feel that brother's burning stares on her as she lifted her head to look at them with a quirked eyebrow.

Klaus rolled his light blue eyes at her with a small smirk as he leaned back against the walk impatiently and the corner of Elijah's lips quirked up to convey his amusement as she pointed to a spot on the map with a serious expression, "There are stories of exiled werewolves, encampments. If Hayley went out that far, chances are she went to find them."

"Clearly, she hopes to make the acquaintance of more like herself. I suppose our company wasn't good enough for her." Klaus goaded his brother sardonically as he strolled up to the edge of the table they were using and Elijah ignored his attempts at provoking him as he glanced worriedly at the young witch across the table.

"I'm shocked." The young witch muttered drily under her breath as she concentrated on narrowing down the location on the map and Elijah chuckled slightly as Klaus turned his head to glare at the top of her head.