By the time morning arrived, Elijah had made up his mind that he would do whatever it took to ensure Frankie, Hayley and his family's safety. Frankie had woken up first for a change, stumbling down the stairs of the compound to find coffee when she'd saw the gift that had been left for the Mikaelsons, immediately rushing back up the stairs.

"Elijah," she said, a sharpness to her tone that made him sit up to face her immediately, "You'll wanna see this."

"What is it?" he asked, already standing from the bed and moving to grab trousers, "Are you alright?"

"Just go see," she told him, "I'll call Klaus."

Elijah sped from the room and just as quickly she tugged her phone to her ear.

"Glad to see we're back to our daily check ins," Klaus mocked down the line, "I'm sure you've been missing me sweetheart but I didn't know it was this much."

"Oh fuck off," she laughed, "You should come home, theres something in the compound that you ought to see."

"Home?" Klaus teased her, "Dear me if I'd known you were moving in I'd-"

"Are you coming or not," she snapped, "lord, I meant what I said about your siblings daggering you longer than Finn if they could."

"You're always welcome to stay," Klaus told her, a moment of almost tenderness before promptly hanging the phone up before she could reply.

Frankie rolled her eyes in annoyance but secretly her chest burned with the kindness Klaus was showing her again and again.

Although she tried not to think about it, without her brother, sometimes she truly felt so alone in the world it hurt. Klaus' kindness and his friendship helped, it made her feel just that little bit more okay. Her relationship with him was different than what she had with Elijah, more brotherly, but it was nice knowing she had more people in her life that cared about her even when she pushed them away.

It took her a moment to gather herself after the call and by the time she arrived downstairs, not only were Klaus and Elijah circling Papa Tunde's corpse, but Marcel and Rebekah were too.

"-But the witches are celebrating like it's some kind of bloody miracle," Rebekah said, the end of her sentence all that Frankie caught as she entered the room.

"Maybe it is," Marcel responded, a glimmer of hope in his eyes now at what Rebekah had told them, "They think that all hope is lost, but now suddenly Monique, a Harvest girl, is resurrected. This is how we're gonna get Davina back, kill the witch who took her place."

Frankie's eyes shot to Elijah at Marcels words as though silently asking him if he thought it were possible. Though his expression was unreadable, it didn't seem as though he was furrowing his face into a frown of scepticism and when his eyes met hers he gave her a short nod telling her it could be true.

"I have a theory about who one of them could be," Hayley said entering the room with her phone in her hand, "Celeste. I mean, it's got to be. Davina was trying to tell us, she was drawing pictures of Celeste. She was warning us that a great evil is coming."

"Who's Celeste?" Frankie asked. She noted how everyone there shifted uncomfortably and she turned to face Elijah directly trying to catch his eye. Hayley's words hadn't shocked anyone and Frankie wondered who it was that they all knew about that she didn't.

"First Papa Tunde returns to settle old scores," Klaus snarled in annoyance as he pointedly turned to Elijah and ignored Frankie's question, "now a witch we killed is back. This isn't witches attacking vampires. They're declaring war on us."

Elijah sighed and it was clear that he was annoyed by Klaus' snark but instead of replying he simply took Frankie by the elbow and led them both from the room. She was sitting on the counter waiting for an answer as she watched Elijah move about the kitchen, pulling a frypan down from the rack.

"Who is she Elijah?" she asked again as he cracked the eggs into the pan, "Why does everyone know her but me?"

Elijah sighed, scrambling the eggs with a fork taking his time to focus on their food whilst he figured out how to explain Celeste's history to her.

"She's a witch I knew in the 19th Century. I struggled a lot in the death of Francesca, blaming myself and my brother for her demise. When we were settled in New Orleans I came upon a coven of witches who had heard whispers of reincarnated soulmates," as he spoke, Elijah plated up the meal, passing it over with a fork, "Celeste was a witch I grew close with who was trying to help me find you."

"Thanks," she mumbled as she began to shovel the food to her mouth, "But why did everyone get so weird about her when I asked."

Elijah was silent for a moment. He was worried if she knew the extent of his despair in Francescas death it would scare her away, that the immensity of the loss he'd felt without his soulmate would overwhelm her.

"Celeste began to see the relationship as more than it was," he said carefully, "I'd promised her that in return for helping me to find you that I'd keep her safe from vampires and Niklaus who she seemed particularly wary of, though it seemed that wasn't payment enough for her"

"I can understand why she'd expect Klaus to off her."

"Most can," he agreed, leaning back against the counter as he slowly ate, "I began to suspect after a time that Celeste was misleading me to prevent our interactions from ending and I discussed my concerns with Niklaus however when I tried to confront her about it, I found her dead. I found out later that when I'd discussed my fears with Niklaus, he'd taken the opportunity to end Celeste, jealous that my attention was focused elsewhere, he had her killed."

"Why must your brother kill everyone," she rolled her eyes, hopping from the counter and taking both of their plates to the sink, "So how come Hayley knew about her? I get Marcel and your siblings obviously, but Hayley's known you guys for less time than I have?"

Elijah's face furrowed at this, "Sophie Deveraux's ancestral line was the one who placed the curse on Hayley's pack that forces them to remain as wolves all but on the full moon, she promised Hayley that were she to aid in locating Celestes remains, then she would help lift the curse. Hayley read my journal to find where I buried Celestes remains and found out what had happened between us in the process."

"Right," Frankie nodded, passing Elijah the clean plates to put away, "God, with a millennium of life experiences, you do seem to wrangle up a lot of familial drama."

"You will too now you're practically related to Nik," Rebekah cut in, walking towards them with a glass of liquor in hand. Her words shocked Frankie who began to choke in surprise as Rebekah barrelled on, "It's not too early for scotch, is it, with all the witchy shenanigans and subterfuge afoot?"

"It is entirely too early if one intends to drive, yes," Elijah responded, noting with amusement as Frankie took the opportunity to tug Rebekah's glass to her lips with a raise of her eyebrows.

"Funny," Rebekah replied taking the glass back, "I don't have any plans to go anywhere."

"She's not safe here," Elijah replied, his eyes flicking over to Frankie before quickly returning to his sister, "Neither of them are. You have to take Hayley and Frankie to the plantation house until this is over."

"Right," Frankie cut in with a sigh as she pressed back her shoulders, "Thank you for the invitation, love you Bex but I'll pass."

"Are you worried about Frankie and Hayley," Rebekah asked obstinately, "Or whether or not you can trust me?"

"It's precisely because I trust you that I'm asking you to do this."

"Here's a novel idea," Rebekah retorted, catching the look of hurt that had flickered across Frankie's face as Elijah refused to even acknowledge her opinion, "Why don't you let them decide for themselves? Why are you dictating their fate?"

"You know why," Elijah said gently.

"Then perhaps you should take them yourself.

"Fuck this," Frankie growled in annoyance, "Good luck with Hayley but I'm not running off to some mansion, I need to go to work. Good to see you Bekah, let's get a drink sometime."

Frankie had almost made it to the gate of the compound by the time Elijah reached her, speeding forwards and blocking her path with just enough space she could stop herself from bumping into him. She didn't say anything but she did cross her arms and look up at him expectantly. Though she knew why Elijah acted as he did and that it was only because he wanted the best for her, he knew the frustration she felt when she couldn't control her life and the anger she had at a loss of her independence and yet here he was doing just that.

"You need to understand," Elijah told her, "I can't lose you. I cannot be responsible for you getting hurt again."

"You didn't even ask," she said, more hurt than angry, "You just told Rebekah to take me and Hayley away its like we're fucking kids. I have to get to work, I know you can compel me out of it but I don't want that, I just want to live a real life."

"Frankie-"

"No," she snapped, "Look Elijah, I promise, I'll check in with you as soon as I get to work and when I get home so you don't need to worry but I'm not going to hide away in some mansion."

"Please consider-"

"Listen to me," she sighed, grabbing his hand and forcing his furrowed face to meet her own, "I'll be alright Elijah. I'll call you if I need you but please don't force me into doing what you want, I spent six months with your brother dictating everywhere I went to keep me safe, I can't stay here if that's what's happening again."

"You'll call even if it's only so you don't need to walk from work alone?" he asked, placing his hand on her cheek gently with his thumb pressing back and forth.

"I promise," she nodded, leaning up on her toes to press a kiss to his cheek, almost surprising herself more than him with the action, "I'll be okay Elijah, thank you."

Elijah was solemn as he stood to the side and watched her leave the compound in concern. He had half a mind to send one of Marcel's daywalker's to tail her and ensure her safety but he knew that would infuriate her to no end. Returning inside he caught sight of Rebekah and Hayley making their way from the compound and he quickly pulled them both aside with promises that they stay safe.

-

"Cami," Frankie spoke into her voicemail, "Call me back when you can I'm just heading to Rousseau's. I don't really know what's going on but Rebekah just told us that Monique Deveraux has just been like resurrected and maybe they might be able to bring Davina back. I'm just gonna get changed then head in because I doubt Sophie will be in anytime soon with her niece back and I wanted you to know."

Unlocking the door to her apartment as she hung up, she switched her phone to text Elijah that no one had tried to kill her yet and that she was fine. She was relieved that he'd listened to her when she'd refused to go with Rebekah and she didn't want him worrying about her whilst he dealt with the witches.

checking in so you don't have an aneurism.

i'm getting changed and then i'll be at work if you need me

hope your brother hasn't murdered anyone yet today, good luck with that though

She texted in spurts with barely a moment between them but Elijah's response came in just as quickly, and as she made her way from her apartment she pulled her buzzing phone back from her pocket to read the reply.

Call me if anything changes. No murders yet but he's been alone for thirty minutes so it's difficult to say with much certainty.

Be safe.

Laughing at Elijah's reply, Frankie began making her way to work. There were few things that Frankie missed about California now it was so marred with poor memories, but the two things she missed the most were the weather and the ocean. Though Louisiana had beaches if you were to travel a little, they were nothing like the Californian ones and Frankie missed the feeling of being by the sea.

Like California, New Orleans had hot summer days too, but where California was met with blue skies and the opportunity for a swim, New Orleans heat bought along a mugginess that made her feel like she could melt on the spot.

Sometimes New Orleans felt more like home though, days like today where she could skate to work with no interruptions, the wind pulling her hair back with no anxiety, she couldn't trade a moment like this just for the sight of an endless blue ocean.

This town wasn't always as easy as she'd hoped, but there was a beauty and a life to it that helped her breathe again. Somedays, days like today she felt more alive than she had in years, freer and more at home than she had for longer than she could remember.

By the time she'd made it to work, any anxiety that had flooded Frankie in the aftermath of viewing Papa Tunde's corpse was gone and she'd almost pushed any worries for her own safety that Elijah had inspired from her mind. As she pulled to a halt outside the bar, she was surprised to see someone waiting and she tried her best not to groan in annoyance that she was going to have to explain that they wouldn't be opening for at least an hour.

"Hey," she greeted, tugging her board to her side as the woman with red hair turned to face her, "Can I help you with something?"

"You can," the woman replied a grin rising to her lips that seemed ominous with how cooly her eyes focused on Frankie.

Frankie paused with her keys to the bar in her hand waiting for the woman to explain herself. When there was another moment of silence she almost moved to motion for the woman to say something when suddenly she raised her hand. Holding her fist to her face, her fingers unfurled as she blew into them, a powder flying towards Frankie's face causing her to screw up her eyes in annoyance and then barely a moment later, for her knees to buckle beneath her.

Frankie didn't know how much time had passed when she felt herself drift into consciousness but her limbs were heavy and her head was throbbing.

With her eyes still shut so as not to give herself away, she tried to figure out what she could about where she was. Her hands were hanging above her head, they were digging into something cold and hard, and they were aching from the pain of supporting the entirety of her body with her legs bent limply at the knees. She heard footsteps approaching her and her body involuntarily tensed, giving away any hope she could successfully hide her consciousness as the chains clinked loudly together.

"Welcome back," the voice of a woman greeted her, "You've been out a long time. Are you going to continue to pretend to sleep or can we have a real conversation?"

Frankie raised her head with a snarl on her face as she surveyed who had taken her. There was the woman with the red hair who was right in front of her who had been speaking but she could see another woman too by the doorway. While the redhead seemed gleeful to have her here, she could see hatred in the face of the woman by the door, her full hair and dark skin quickly turning away to slide from the room.

"What do you want," Frankie snarled in annoyance as she straightened her legs beneath her allowing the pressure to be taken from her aching wrists, "Why am I here?"

"Oh I want very little from you dear," the woman grinned, her hand rising up to allow her finger to gently caress Frankie's face, "However you hold the keys to the hearts of some very powerful-"

"Yes," Frankie cut her off, "You've taken me to threaten Klaus and Elijah, wonderful work, particularly original, now what do you want? They're immortal, you can't lure them here and kill them."

"Immortality," the woman laughed, "What a funny thing. No, I don't want them dead, I simply want a little revenge, we only want them to suffer in the way they've allowed countless others to suffer."

"So you're going to kill me to hurt them?" Frankie asked, pushing her terror away and replacing it with anger. Whatever was to happen was likely inevitable considering her current position and she was furious with her constant use as a pawn to control those around her.

"Not quite my dear," she grinned, tugging Frankie's phone out from her pocket, "Elijah will of course have the chance to stop your death."

Frankie struggled as the woman used her chained hands to grasp her thumb and unlock the phone before finding Elijah's contact. She could see the messages that had been piling up from him in the time since she'd been taken and it was clear by the number of them she'd been unconscious a long time. Her face was pulled into a snarl as the woman held the ringing phone up to Frankie with speaker phone on.

"Frankie," Elijah called quickly into the phone, his voice sounded hoarse as though he was hurt though the desperation was evident, "Are you alright? Hayley was right, Celeste is back. You're in danger."

"It's a trap," Frankie replied, watching the woman's face drop into annoyance, "Don't come for me. You and Klaus and Bekah are in danger, they're trying to make you all suffer. Some witches took me, I don't know what's going on but you need to find your family it's all a trap-"

"Alright Elijah," the woman cut Frankie off, tugging the phone back and switching speaker phone off, "The poor girl thinks she can martyr herself, she really has no idea how dangerous it can be being loved by you. I can assure you that it won't be long until she understands, perhaps you'll be able to see her before then, perhaps not."

Frankie was tugging at her chains in desperation to somehow get to the woman when she let out a shriek of surprise at a pain slicing across her neck. Though the woman was standing across the room she'd raised her hand and with her pointer finger out, swiped it to the side causing a slit to open on Frankie's neck.

Having been put through a lot since her time with the Mikaelsons and before it, Frankie wasn't exactly one to blanch at blood, however as the blood begin to drip and then pour from her neck she was terrified. Whilst she knew if someone healed her in time she'd recover from even a life threatening lack of blood, with how quickly it was streaming from her neck she doubted they'd have the time to make it to her.

Grinning at the silence that enveloped the tomb with Frankie too frightened to speak lest it made the wound worse, the woman placed the phone at Frankie's feet before turning and fleeing the room. Frankie could hear Elijah's panicked questions coming from the phone but she couldn't answer him, terrified any sound or movement would make the blood that was pouring from her neck flow quicker.