Elijah walked though the courtyard of the Mikaelson home, immediately being greeted with the sounds of his younger brother's rage.

"Ah, brother," he said sarcastically and with attitude. "It's lovely for you to finally join us. It isn't like we have a crisis on our hands or anything!"

"Well, my apologies, brother, if I was late because of cleaning up your messes." Elijah lied, taking off his blazer and placing it neatly on a nearby chair. "Making amends isn't as easy as one would think, considering your astounding reputation."

"Well my reputation won't matter for much longer if this 'coven-less queen' is out there, trying to take over my city."

"What?"

"She's just waged war against Marcel and his vampires. She's claiming her throne upon the witches, brother - she isn't going to let her witch comrades fall under Marcel's rule for much longer. She is going to try and take over the quarter." Klaus elaborated, running a hand through his hair. "She is a threat, and she must be taken care of at once."

"If I heard correctly, she is deeming us 'off limits'," Elijah said with a creased brow. "Isn't she the opposite of a threat in that particular sense?"

"It is all apart of her plot, 'Lijah!"

"Niklaus, she said it herself, she is pro-vampire. She has no desire to take the quarter, only the birth given rights of her and her kind to practice magic. She wants to take Marcel Gerard down, much like you, no?" The elder Mikaelson tried to reason. "It is all the witches in the quarter speak of currently."

"Funny, because two bloody days ago everyone wanted her dead."

"Then she has proven herself worthy of being trusted."

"Or she has proven herself as an ally for the impending war against the vampire race." Klaus hissed. "And how do you seem so sure of her intentions? Oh, do tell me, brother, do you believe in what this... girl is doing?"

Elijah stiffened and looked at his brother with a plain look of seriousness.

"I do." He responded. "Because if you had been paying attention to the whispers on the streets, you would know that she has a personal vendetta against Marcel Gerard. He came into her home and threatened her life, saying that he was going to be the one that would hand her over to the witches if..."

"'If' what, brother?"

"If... she didn't help her find a way to put you away without killing you. For good." Elijah lied.

He knew that he would have ended up in a coffin again if he didn't come up with some lie to protect the realities of him spending time with his brother's most ultimate threat yet. So, he lied.

"And why would she do that, hm?" Klaus questioned. "After all, she has probably heard all about me from her witch comrades - and we all know how much they despise my very existence."

This time, Elijah told the truth.

"She believes that since witches are the ones who created vampires and brought them into this world, they should have to live with them. That we didn't choose to be what we are, but forced to under the hands of witches themselves." Elijah said briskly, waving a hand through the air. "She capped it off with saying that they couldn't restore the balance of nature, because for a thousand years, vampires have been a part of nature. The point is, brother, that she is not against us at all. She only wants Marcel."

Klaus took a minute to process all the information before walking over to his brother and smirking.

"Maybe this 'coven-less queen' will be to our benefit after all, brother."

"Then what do you suppose we do about it now?"

Truth be told, Elijah was terrified. He cared for his sweet Ophelia more than he had cared for a lot of things in his thousand years, and he didn't want her to be killed at the hands of his own brother. He loved her. And just as she vowed to protect him and his family, he vowed to protect her.

"Well, we let her have her fun, of course," Klaus smiled. "If she wants to fulfill her prophecy as queen of the witches, so be it. As long as she keeps her witches tame and doesn't get greedy."

"And if she does?" Elijah asked, keeping his nerves under wraps.

"Then she burns."

And with one last twisted smile, he left the room, hands behind his back like they always were when his inner fox came out. Elijah had always hated it when that happened. Why? Because nothing good ever came out of Niklaus Mikaelson wearing a smile and holding his hands behind his back. And that was just a fact.