"I'm back bitches!"I exclaim to the empty compound. As my voice echos through the many floors and rooms, with the addition of supernatural hearing, I receive an almost instant reply, with Klaus speeding before me and taking me into his arms.

"I missed you." He whispers as he buries his head into my hair in a loving manner, I smile at his cuteness.

"So, what did I miss?"I ask as Elijah and Hayley enter the compound, I sigh since Klaus is pointedly refusing to release me.

They each look at each other , exchanging momentary glances before Klaus fills me in, "An invitation from our Mother.... A person, who I ensure will keep their distance from you."

"It is times like this I'm really glad I never knew my mother." Hayley says with a sigh, I smirk at her, knowing for a fact that she doesn't really mean that.

Klaus groans, pulling me closer to him by the waist.... Well, I must admit, he seems more lively today than he has been within the last three months.

" We have enough enemies here. And now, the war for our home is to be fought against my own family."Klaus says... I remember Esther quite clearly, not exactly the maternal type. A real crappy Mother hen.

"Your wretched mother and her disciples tried to put a carving knife through your baby's heart. I will happily add to the body count." Hayley says snappily, I send her a grateful smile.

" You will do no such thing. 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 new host." Elijah says, smiling at me from across the room.

" Well, her last invitation was an assignation attempt on all her children. I think we can assume her intentions are decidedly foul" Klaus says, leaning his head on my shoulder from behind. I don't bother to shrug him off, I've been around Stefan and Enzo for too long...

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"Skip the salad course. Let's not make this dreadful evening any longer than it needs to be" Klaus says, a sour tone taking over his voice.

"So, I guess letting Oliver live paid off. He just informed me your mother has a partner-in-crime... another witch." Hayley says as I search my brain for who Oliver is, I come up blank.

" Building alliances in her quest to destroy us, I imagine."Klaus says with a sigh. Shaking my head at his dramatics, I stand up to wrap my arms lovingly around his waist, he leans into me, holding my hands.

"Why does she hate you so much, Klaus? She had six kids-- it's not like she doesn't have the maternal gene." Hayley asks confused, a smile gracing her lips at the sight of us.

" Seven, actually. And, I think at one time, she loved us very much." Klaus corrects her, moving to stand behind me and hold me by my waist.

"One died before I was born." Klaus finishes, trying to busy himself with, well-me, to take his mind off of the topic at hand.

As Hayley's face grows impossibly confused, he sighs and begins to explain.

"Years later, my brother Henrik was killed by the werewolves in our village. The loss of another child pushed my mother over the edge. So, she used her magic to turn us into immortals." He sighs, knowing that he finds the subject hard, I turn around and place soft, distracting kisses on his neck, myself just as curious as Hayley to know more." I think that's when she loved us the most. But, it was her undoing. It triggered a sequence of events that led to the reveal of her long-held secret. My birth father was the werewolf whose pack killed my little brother. Of course, when Mikael found out, he murdered my real father, and so, my mother lost her lover, too." Klaus says, placing his hand on the back of my head so that I can not stop while the other hand rests on my side.

" You know, my siblings used to tell each other she didn't hate us--" He pauses to release a moan as I place a noticeably large hichy on his neck." she hated herself for what we've become. I think they believed that even after she tried to kill us all."

" What did you believe?" Hayley asks as Klaus moans again. In my mind, I am choking on laughter. Have you ever chocked on laughter? It's like when you fill your mouth with too much spaghetti, or you laugh with a drink in your mouth and it comes out of your nose... Dam that stings. Well, I choke on laughter about how awkward Hayley must now be feeling.

"I don't know. I just knew I wanted her dead."Klaus says bluntly, causing me to smirk against his neck...

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" Let me guess, you need a favour?" Marcel asks as the both of us enter his loft... Last time I was in here I looked like Jupiter, no exaggeration.

Marcel's eyes dart towards the fresh mark on Klaus's neck that Klaus is yet to learn about, he chuckles lightly.

"I'm paying this one, I promise. There was a necklace I gave you a long time ago. It was a leather strap with a metal bird on the end."Klaus says, staring at the two of us as if we have gone insane. One of us have... I promise it's not me.

Marcel turns around, walking towards a wooden shelf, from which, he grabs a wooden box.

"Yeah, you gave it to me when I turned eleven" Marcel says, passively.

"You remember?" Klaus asks, his eyebrows raising and eyes expanding in shock. Marcel shrugs the subject off, clearly not wishing for a walk down memory lane as he holds the necklace up before Klaus and I.

"Mikael's back, Elijah's babbling on about family drama, and you're here looking for antique jewellery."

"Do I even want to know why you're asking for a necklace that your mother gave you?"Marcel asks, smirking once again as his eyes land on Klaus's neck, I send him a sneaky wink.

"Believe me, Marcel-- you want no part in the latest chapter of our sprawling family saga."Klaus says, his hand raising towards his neck where he does not feel anything.

"Is something wrong with my neck?"He asks the two of us as Marcel bights on to his lip to hold back a laugh, I smile innocently at Klaus.

"No baby, nothing's wrong with your neck..." I place a kiss on the mark, to make the ploy seem all the more realistic.

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"Are these outfits really necessary?" Klaus asks in frustration.

" Appearance is a way of showing respect, Niklaus. Mother will be more likely to surrender her true intentions." Elijah pauses, turning to look at me,"Mother would like to invite y-"

"No."Klaus interrupts immediately. "Evie is going no where near our Mother."I smile at his concern, blowing him a kiss as he winks at me.

"Nice mark on your neck there." Elijah says with a smirk as Klaus's hand reaches to the spot, his eyes widening in realisation.

"Evieeeee-" He whines in annoyance.

"You two haven't changed a bit!"A man says, entering the compound." Linens and silk to disguise your pathetic self-loathing."He then turns to Klaus" And you-- despite the arrogant facade, you're still the same paranoid little boy, full of hate and fear."

Elijah turns to look at him in confusion as Klaus's eyes narrow, " Forgive me, I don't believe I've had the pleasure." He says, politely.

"Oh, you mean you don't recognise me? So much for the unbreakable bonds of family, huh? Always and forever indeed." The man says with a sinister chuckle

"It's been a long time, Finn."Klaus says angrily...

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