It was morning time and Hayley and Ophelia walked into the courtyard to find a large filled with fresh fruits and breakfast desserts.

Ophelia picked up a single grape and popped it into her mouth, "Mmm," She moaned, closing her eyes, "It feels like I haven't eaten or drunken anything but bourbon, scotch, and blood in months." She commented and Hayley laughed.

"That's because it has," Hayley replied as she picked up a handful of grapes for herself, "Kudos to whoever got this, though."

Footsteps were heard and Ophelia turned her head to see Klaus walking over to them, "Tell me, Klaus. Which nearby restaurant's missing a compelled chef?" She asked him curiously.

"You know better than anyone that it's certainly a card I've played in the past to please you, but I had no hand in this," Klaus admitted, pointing toward the table as he walked over to them.

"Hmm," Hayley hummed in response, "Then I guess we have Elijah to thank."

Ophelia turned her head to see Elijah descending down the stairs, "This wasn't my doing," Elijah informed the group, causing Ophelia to frown.

"Then where the hell did this all come from?" Ophelia questioned confused.

The silver top covering one of the plates rattled, causing Hayley and Ophelia to jump in fright as they moved closer to each other, "Woah!" Hayley exclaimed as the cover continued to move.

Elijah and Klaus shared a glance with each other before Klaus extended his arm out and cautiously lifted it up.

Hayley gasped loudly as three starlings suddenly flew off the plate and up into the air, "The hell was that?" Ophelia exclaimed, looking up at the birds.

The group then looked down at the plate to see a folded piece of paper. Klaus and Ophelia shared a glance with each other before Klaus picked up the note.

Ophelia walked over to Klaus, looking over his shoulder to read the note, "Dinner. Your home. Five PM." She read aloud, "Who's it from?"

"An invitation from my mother," Klaus informed Ophelia, sharing a glance with Elijah.

Meanwhile later, Ophelia and Hayley were lying on Ophelia's bed as Klaus stood on her balcony, rereading the invitation his mother had left him. Klaus then walked back into the room and Hayley was quick to make a comment, "It is times like this I'm really glad my mother disowned me," She commented, causing Hayley to snicker as they both sat up.

"We have enough enemies here," Klaus replied with a sigh, "And now the war for our home is to be fought against my own family."

"Your wretched mother and her disciples tried to put a knife through our baby's heart," Hayley spoke up with an attitude, "I will happily add to the body count."

"I second that," Ophelia added in, causing Klaus' lips to curl upwards.

"You'll do no such thing," Elijah suddenly said as he entered the bedroom, causing everyone to turn to him, "Esther's a master in the art of possession. We know whose body she currently inhabits. We must decipher her intentions before she finds a host."

"Well, her last invitation was an assassination attempt on all her children," Klaus commented, "I think we can assume her intentions are decidedly foul."

Elijah nodded slightly as he checked the time on his watch, "Well then, we have this afternoon to prepare for the worst." He said to the group before leaving.

Klaus rolled his eyes as he walked over to the two females, "Blooms off the rose, I see," He told Hayley before leaving.

"Shut up," Hayley complained, rolling her eyes also.

_______

After getting the call from Oliver, Ophelia walked into the dining room to find him in middle of picking the perfect wine for the dinner with his mother.

"Want to hear my opinion?" Ophelia spoke up, causing Klaus to turn to her, "I say skip all the courses and head straight for dessert, which of course, means ripping your mother's heart out."

Klaus grinned widely as he looked at her, "I like the way you think," He complimented her and Ophelia jokingly bowed, "Now, what is the reason you came here? You and I both know it wasn't to give me a lesson on the proper dinner party. Come to finally say yes to my invitation on joining Elijah and I in our dinner with our mother?"

"Yeah, I'll pass on that," Ophelia replied, "I just wanted to tell you that letting Oliver live has finally paid off. He just informed me that your mother has a partner in crime."

"And who might that be?" Klaus questioned her curiously.

"Another witch," She informed him in a calm tone.

"Building alliances in her quest to destroy us, I imagine," Klaus told her, causing Ophelia to let out a sigh in defeat.

"Why does Esther hate you so much, Klaus?" Ophelia asked him as she walked closer to him, "You told me before that she had seven kids altogether, it's not like the woman didn't have the maternal gene."

"I think she loved us very much once, but as I told you, she lost two of her children. One before I was born and years later, my brother Henrik was killed by the werewolves in our village. The loss of another child pushed my mother over the edge and she used her magic to turn us into immortals. I still believe that's when she loved us the most." He explained, "But there is no need for me to explain the rest. I've already told you the story once before. You know, Ophelia, my siblings used to tell each other that she didn't hate us. She hated herself for what we'd become. I think they believed that even after she tried to kill us all."

Ophelia was quiet for a long moment before finally speaking up, "And what do you believe?" She asked him quietly.

"I don't know," He confessed, "I just knew I wanted her dead."

Just as Ophelia was about to speak up, Klaus suddenly walked away, almost as if he knew something would happen if they talked any longer.

__

"Marcel's witch is being held captive in the Quarter," Hayley informed Klaus and Elijah as she and Ophelia walked over to him.

"Oh, perfect," Klaus commented sarcastically, "Mother's a step ahead of us, as usual."

"Oliver's with her," Ophelia added in, "Hayley and I will get her to do the spell, but I need the starling necklace."

Klaus nodded, about to hand Ophelia the necklace, "I don't like this--" Elijah began to tell the group but Hayley quickly cut him off.

"No," Hayley interrupted him in a stern tone, "You don't get to ignore me for days and suddenly act like you're concerned, Elijah. Just for once, please, will you trust me that I will do something, and it will get done?"

Elijah became silent and Klaus finally handed Ophelia the necklace, "Thank you," She replied, giving him a small smile, "Let's go, Hayley."

With that, Ophelia and Hayley began to walk away, only to have Elijah speak up, "Wait," He spoke up, causing Hayley to turn to him once more.

"I don't want to hear it---" Hayley began to tell him.

"No, there's something else," Elijah informed her, "A disciple of Marcel's was instructed to fetch another ingredient. Ask for Gia."

"Okay," Hayley replied, nodding her head before she left with Ophelia.

______

After obtaining the python, Ophelia and Hayley followed Oliver into the tomb in the cemetery to see Lenore strung up by chains, "They worked her over pretty good," Oliver told the two females.

Ophelia rushed over to Lenore, "We need to get her out of here," She insisted as she quickly ripped the chains holding the witch up.

"Well, then what?" Oliver asked her nervously, "They'll know that I let her go. Look, you asked me to infiltrate Cassie's coven. I'm not going to blow my cover for some has-been hippie witch," He paused, turning to glance at Lenore, "No offense."

Lenore sighed, rolling her eyes at Oliver's comment.

"I guess we could always make it look like you got jumped," Hayley suggested and Ophelia was quick to agree.

"That sounds like a great idea," Ophelia spoke up, agreeing with Hayley as she took a step toward Oliver, "You could tell Cassie that Lenore got rescued by her people."

"Let me guess, You, uh, wanna beat the hell out of me?" He asked Ophelia, who smiled, "Make it look convincing?"

"Well, I'm not going to lie to you and say that I wouldn't enjoy it after all the crap you've pulled," Ophelia replied, mocking lifting her hands up in surrender.

Oliver sighed, hesitant to agree, "Okay. Just--" He paused, sighing out once more, "Just not the face, okay?"

"Can't make any promises," Ophelia told him as she suddenly punched him in the stomach.

Meanwhile, Hayley and Ophelia stood in front of Lenore as Oliver laid unconscious on the group, "It's going to be okay, Lenore, I promise," Ophelia told the female witch as she crouched down next to her.

"What's your dog in this fight?" Lenore asked the two female hybrids, "Neither of you are Mikaelsons."

"We sort of are in spirit," Hayley informed her quietly, "More so, Ophelia."

"Ophelia?" Lenore asked in disbelief, her eyes wide, "You're the Queen of the city," She paused and Ophelia nodded as Lenore turned to Hayley, "That means you must be the werewolf mother."

"Turned witch rescuer alongside Ophelia apparently," Hayley commented, "Listen, can we do the spell or not?"

"After what that bitch and her lackey did to me, I'll do any spell you want," Lenore responded as she walked past Ophelia, causing the girl to smile.

___

Lenore opened up the door to her shop and both Ophelia and Hayley followed her in, "So, will this take long?" Hayley asked her nervously.

Lenore scoffed, "You want me to soul-brand the resurrected spirit of a thousand-year-old witch? It's best I take my time and do it right." She replied as Hayley handed her the snake that was wrapped in a cloth.

Lenore looked up at Hayley, and her face softened into a sympathetic expression, "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. No one should ever have to lose a child." She told Hayley.

"No. No one should." Hayley admitted quietly.

Lenore lit a bundle of sage and wafted the smoke around the room, "You have the talisman?" She asked Ophelia, who immediately nodded.

"Oh," She responded as she quickly dug the necklace out of her pocket and handed it to Lenore, "So, how does this spell work exactly? You brand Esther with the spell, and then what?"

Lenore set the necklace on top of the cauldron so that it laid across the diameter of it while the ends hung over the rim, "The next time she jumps into a body, she'll be marked with a distinctive symbol on the back of her hand," She explained as she pulled the python out of the bag, "This way, you'll always know who she is."

Hayley sighed in defeat, "We still don't know why she's here. When Esther held you captive, did she give you any idea why she's doing all this?"

Lenore placed the python around her neck for a moment and looked at Ophelia and Hayley with a serious expression, "Love!" She answered.

Ophelia rolled her eyes at the response and chuckled, "May I ask how hard they hit you?"

Lenore took the python from around her neck and held it in front of her with one hand, "What besides love can inspire such pain and cruelty? And Esther?" She asked as she took a knife with her free hand and sliced down the length of the snake with it before disemboweling it and squeezing the entrails in her hands, dripping the blood in the cauldron, "Her love is very, very strong."

Ophelia watched Lenore, looking both stressed and worried, as she continued the soul-branding spell.

Suddenly, Ophelia felt the sudden rush of energy enter the room, "What's wrong?" Hayley asked her friend concerned.

"Something...Something's not right," Ophelia admitted quietly as Lenore roughly placed her hands down on the cauldron.

"Are you okay?" Hayley asked Lenore, breaking the silence between the three of them.

Lenore, still leaning against the cauldron, summoned her strength and managed to stand up straight as she looked around the room, "Yes," She replied, looking dazed.

Hayley quickly got to her feet, walking toward Lenore, "You sure--" Hayley began to ask, but Lenore cut her off.

"Just getting my bearings," She told her and Ophelia loudly gasped when Lenore lifted her hand from the rim of the cauldron, revealing a brand on the back of her right hand in the shape of a triskelion.

The sight of the brand, after being told by Lenore that it was part of the soul-branding spell, startled Ophelia so much that she reflexively jumped backwards away from her, pulling Hayley along with her, "Oh, my God." Ophelia muttered and Esther gave her a questioning look, "The mark..."

Hayley gasped, noticing it too. Esther looked down and took in her new body, "It's you, isn't it?" Ophelia asked Esther, "You're Esther."

Esther smirked in amusement at Ophelia's quick thinking. Suddenly, Hayley's phone rang in her pocket and she pulled it out to check it as Esther washed the snake's blood from her hands.

Hayley anxiously looked over at Esther, who nodded in encouragement, "Go ahead," Esther told her, " You can answer it."

Hayley quickly answered the phone and instantly began to speak to Elijah, "Elijah? We're at Lenore's shop--" She began to say, but Esther thrusted her arm forward and used her magic to kill Hayley's phone.

"That'll be enough!"

Ophelia growled, glaring at Esther angrily, "They're gonna come for us." She told her, crossing her arms over her chest.

"My darling, that's been the idea all along," Esther smiled at her, "It's so lovely to finally meet you, Ophelia Rose. You, too, Hayley. Tell me, do my sons ever acknowledge the good the two of you bring into their lives? After all, it was you who gave Niklaus true happiness for the first time in his life," She told Ophelia before gesturing to Hayley, "And it was you who gave them hope."

Hayley and Ophelia, not knowing if she meant 'hope' or 'Hope,' looked at her suspiciously

Esther smiled, "The promise of a child shows us all the possibilities of a future that could be. Children are meant to save us from the worst parts of who we are. A truth that makes my own circumstances all the more tragic, wouldn't you say?" She explained to Hayley, who glared at her.

Hayley rolled her eyes at Esther, "I don't pity you, Esther."

"Neither do I," Ophelia agreed with Hayley, "All of this? You did it to yourself."

Esther looked as though she was offended for a brief moment before shrugging it off, "It's a terrible thing, for a mother to fail her child," She told Ophelia, "I could've sworn you felt that way about your own children in the past, Ophelia." She paused, noticing the starling necklace still laying over the cauldron. She picked it up so she could look at it closely, "My child, you have spent three centuries being corrupted by not just Niklaus, but all of my children. Niklaus, he did what he does best, and ruined the light inside you. You lost your family because of him. And apart of you regrets ever trusting my children. But now, I offer you and your friend here freedom. The gift of a new body. Freedom from being a hybrid. Tribrid, in Ophelia's case."

Ophelia and Hayley shared a glance with each other. The two of them were clearly interested, but tried to hide it as Esther continued her offer, "I have the ability to return to you all that you have lost, girls. To make it so that the two of you could have a family of your own," She paused, beginning to smile, "More children of your own. Wouldn't that be nice? I have a body just for you, Ophelia. One of which that is both werewolf and witch."

Suddenly, Klaus and Elijah entered, interrupting their conversation. Klaus noticed Ophelia standing in front of Lenore alongside Hayley and rushed toward her, "I assume you've had the misfortune of speaking to my mother?" he questioned her and Esther picked up a handful of an unidentified powdery substance and threw it towards Klaus, creating a magical barrier to keep him from coming any closer to her, "You hide behind your spells like a coward!" He shouted angrily.

"I did not come here to wage war!" Esther raised her voice to Klaus, holding her hand outwards. She picked up another handful of the substance and threw it sideways toward Elijah, who had just tried to run toward her from behind to catch her off-guard, preventing him from coming any closer as well.

"Everything you do is an act of war. If you touch either of them, so help me--" Elijah began to threaten her.

Esther was quick to interrupt her son, "Ophelia and Hayley are free to go. I've spoken my piece, they know why I'm here. I have come to heal our family, Elijah." She explained to him.

"Well, that's a grand sentiment, coming from you." Klaus commented before turning to Hayley and Opehlia, "Go. Now. Both of you."

Ophelia nodded, grabbing Hayley by the arm before speeding out of the shop.

_____

Later on, Elijah, Klaus, Ophelia, and Hayley were in the courtyard, processing all that they had all learned that evening from Esther, "Of course she used those damn birds to make her offer!" Klaus complained.

"Besides the offer of rebirth, what else did she say?" Elijah asked Ophelia and Hayley concerned.

"I don't know. She rambled a lot. She blamed the two of you for what happened to Hope, to me...And she blamed Klaus for ruining Ophelia." Hayley explained and Klaus was instantly appalled by her response and stopped his pacing so he could stare Ophelia in the eyes, noticing how she seemed to be in deep thought.

"Well, I hope you're not thinking of taking her offer?" He pleaded with her and Ophelia, looking guilty, couldn't bring herself to look at either of them, "Ophelia! I'm talking to you!"

Finally, overwhelmed and feeling defensive, Ophelia stood up from her seat, both her and Klaus now face to face, their face just inches away from each other, "What do you want me to say, Klaus? I lost nearly everything good in my life when I chose your family three hundred years ago. So, yeah, when your mother offers to wipe the slate clean, excuse me if I'm tempted."

Klaus immediately looked hurt by Ophelia's statement, "You still had me," He admitted quietly and Ophelia decided to ignore the sad look on his face, "Was that not enough?"

"Not after everything that's happened," Ophelia replied, "Look at us. What we had didn't work. And in the end, I lost my family and the children I had at the time. Let's go, Hayley."

Hayley nodded, about to follow Ophelia out of the courtyard. She stopped for a moment, turning to Elijah, "By the way, thanks for your help tonight, Elijah," She told the man sarcastically, "I'm sorry that it takes me being in danger for you to even talk to me."

With that, Ophelia and Hayley stormed off, Klaus and Elijah trying their hardest not to chase after the girl they loved.