There were few ways that Frankie preferred to spend her time than skating, she always loved feeling the world spin by on her four wheels as fast as she could make them run. Much to her delight, with her day free until the evening she did just that, half her day at the skate park, watching others and then working on a trick that had been plaguing her for weeks, and then riding until she felt her calves burn and her limbs loosen.

An entire day had passed before she finally made it home, collapsing onto her couch with takeaway. She lay in silence until her phone beeped with Elijah's message that reluctantly pulled her from her seat to the shower.

She didn't end up going until later, though she wanted to see Davina and knew it would be honouring her, she couldn't force herself to attend the festival itself knowing how much it would delight the witch Genevive. No, instead she decided she'd attend the party afterwards, she'd come a little way in the middle so she could avoid the awkward part at the beginning where everyone mingled, she'd snag a little booze which was always free flowing at a New Orleans supernatural party, and then she'd talk to Davina before returning home to bed by midnight.

What a delightful little plan she'd thought up in her head, how smoothly she hoped, and truly believed, the evening would go.

When she arrived, she was surprised to see Josh there conspiring in the corner with Davina where she rounded on them both, tugging each of them into hugs of relief. She'd barely spoken to either in weeks and though she was nearly the same age as Josh and only a little older than Davina she felt like she needed to take care of them and had been worrying.

"Ow," Josh mumbled when Frankie pulled away from the hug and promptly punched him on the shoulder, "Missed you too, not like I'm risking life and limb to be here or anything."

"Why haven't you called me?" she snapped, "I've been worried sick about you, both of you!"

"All good Mama bear," Josh grinned at her, "Didn't want you getting in trouble with-"

"With me, Joshua?" Klaus' voice cut in and Frankie watched as both Davina and Josh's faces fell, focusing on the voice coming from behind her that she was sure by their expressions meant he was approaching,

"What a fortunate coincidence, finding you here. We have unfinished business."

"You need to leave," Davina snapped, stepping towards Klaus with a furious look on her face, "Right now."

"Klaus," Frankie had spun to face him too by this point and she was glowering at him with just as much rage as Davina, "Are you fucking kidding me right now?"

"Patience, Francesca," he grinned, speeding around her to grab Josh by the neck, "Come along, lad."

"Frankie," Davina's face was furious but Frankie could see the terror bubbling beneath the surface as Klaus dragged Josh to the centre of the room, "What do I do, I'm not strong like before and the other witches won't help -"

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please," Klaus called, his voice booming loudly and cutting off Davina's words. Both girls followed after him to where he'd at least released Josh from his grip though he clearly couldn't stray far. Klaus continued speaking a moment later and as he did Frankie felt an arm circle her waist. She stiffened for a moment at the contact before recognising the touch and the smell of the person, leaning back ever so slightly once she realised it was Elijah, "We are gathered here today to pay homage to our beloved witches, but one very special witch has been utterly ignored. That seems a little unfair to me."

Klaus paused here, throwing a grin to Frankie's furious frown before turning to Davina and holding out a box.

Frankie felt her body moving to step between Davina and Klaus but before she could, Elijah's grip tightened ever so slightly on her waist and he leaned in to murmur softly in her ear, "Wait, trust me. I don't believe he's about to hurt them, just wait."

"No," Davina snapped, as furious with Klaus as Frankie was at that point, her hand pushing the box back at him, "I don't want your gift."

"I understand why you would reject me, given our past," Klaus conceded, still performatively loud making it clear his words weren't only for Frankie and Davina but the other witches too, "In truth, many of us here today have been wronged in the conflict which my brother's treaty ended. Your friend Josh was involved in a plot to kill me. It would be well within my right to execute him here and now."

"Klaus I swear to god," Frankie mumbled, quietly enough that if he hadn't had his vampire hearing he certainly would've missed it but instead she saw him falter and throw another grin to her, "if you break your promise the day after you made it."

"But," Klaus continued loudly, "in the spirit of solidarity, and for your favour, Davina, I hereby pardon him. Josh, from this day forward, you have nothing to fear from me. Please."

Klaus held out the small box to Davina once again who this time reluctantly pulled it from his grip, crossing her arms and frowning at him until he turned, walking away with a grin to where Hayley stood to the side.

"You good D?" Frankie asked, stepping from Elijah who'd turned away to watch Klaus and to give them privacy. Frankie moved closer to Davina, reaching an arm out to knock her from her stupor, "Sorry he's still a major asshole."

"Are you gonna open it," Josh pressed, eyeing the box in her hands curiously, "Let's see it."

Frankie wasn't sure if Josh and Davina felt their hearts race in anticipation but she knew hers did, leaning forwards a little to catch sight of the contents inside the box. A piece of paper fell from the box as she opened it and Frankie's hand shot out to catch it, her eyes widening as she saw a little ring with a stone she'd recognised on most every vampire she knew.

"What," Josh looked between the two, "What is it?"

Frankie handed Davina the paper, excitement filling her as she unfolded it to reveal a mess of words and illustration, "It's the spell," she confirmed, looking between the two hopefully, "The spell that makes daylight rings."

"Oh my god," Frankie murmured, looking to see Davina with a grin on her face, one of the first true smiles she'd really ever seen on the teenager since the first night they'd met in the bar, "Oh D, I'm so happy for you guys."

"Josh," Davina grinned, tugging him into a hug, "You'll finally be able to go outside again."

It was clear Josh and Davina had grown close in there ostracism because the two seemed more excited for the other than themselves. With a grin, Frankie squeezed Davina's hand quickly before sliding away with a smile. She was turning away to give them a little privacy when a row of drummers entered the party, banging loudly and in unison and drawing attention to them all. Her eyes slipped across the crowd until she found Elijah, catching him watching with concern on his face that put her on edge.

"Happy, Fête des Bénédictions," the lead drummer called when they all halted, a final thrum on their drums silencing the room, "We have a message for all of you from Marcel Gerard."

It was clear that any message from Marcel wasn't going to be good if it was sent to the Mikaelsons and to the witches with whispers filled the room as they watched the procession. Each drummer now reached into their pockets, pulling razors out and slicing their wrists open before she could blink. Frankie felt her stomach turn as the blood slowly began to seep to the floor and then pool beneath them.

"Control yourselves," Elijah called, stepping forwards between the two groups as though he himself could keep the crowd of vampires who were struggling to hold themselves from the men, "This is a vulgar trick. We do not violate our agreement."

The vampires seemed to hold themselves back, however reluctantly, thanks to Elijah's words but a moment later the lights switched off around them and the world seemed to descend into chaos. Davina and Josh were gone, she was almost certain of that since she'd tried to reach out for them and couldn't find them but she couldn't find anyone else either.

She could hear screams around her, the darkness had never felt so encompassing and then she was knocked to the ground, a body colliding against her with such force that she tumbled into a ball. Her head was throbbing where it had smashed against the floor and when her hand reached up to touch the place that stung it felt damp and her breath caught in her throat. Whether she'd landed in blood or it was seeping from a wound of her own there was no denying that she'd be more than a target to the rapidly spiralling vampires now.

"Elijah," she called, her voice shaky as her heart raced and her hand clutched her head, "Eli-"

"I'm here," he said a moment later, his arms wrapping around her and pulling her to her feet. She collapsed against him in relief, still shaking when his arms tightened and the lights returned allowing the chaos to be seen.

There were blood and bodies everywhere, not just with the line of drummers who were now more than dead, but people too were torn apart on the floor. When Frankie finally pulled away from Elijah to truly survey the chaos after just a little too long, her breath caught in her throat as she saw the walls, 'THERE WILL BE NO PEACE' scrawled across the walls.

"Davina," she murmured to Elijah anxiously, her voice coming out quickly with her worry, "Where are Davina and Josh. And Cami was going to come-"

"I can't see any of them," he soothed, "Cami didn't stay long, she left a little before you arrived, and I can't see Davina or Josh anywhere, we must presume Joshua helped her leave."

"What about Hayley," she said, her eyes flitting frantically around, remembering suddenly that she'd been here too and then remembering the baby as well and how terrible trauma could be for pregnancy, "Oh my god is Hayley okay-"

"Niklaus has her," he pressed her hair from her face, tucking it gently behind her ear while his thumb caressed her face, "Everyone's alright or not here. Let me take you home."

Frankie could hear her heart pounding with what felt like a surprising amount of anxiety, she knew she should ask if Elijah was alright but she couldn't allow her thoughts to focus themselves enough for that. It was as if the words tumbling from her lips weren't even her own, her limbs moment pulled by someone else, like she was watching herself from above at that very moment. The panic that was engulfing her was entirely unwelcome but not something she had any way of pushing back down and away.

"Am I bleeding?" she asked, her hand unconsciously returning to the place there the pain was throbbing from, "Please tell me it's my blood not someone else's."

"It's yours," he told her with displeasure, "I'll take you home and I'll heal you there if you can wait. I think it's best to take you from here sooner rather than later, Niklaus can deal with stragglers."

"Your home, right?" she said softly, shutting her eyes and leaning against him again, "I don't want to be alone in my apartment right now I feel sick."

"Oh course," he quickly pressed a kiss to her forehead before speeding them from the party, arriving to the compound within minutes where he took her to his room once more. Elijah's wrist quickly came to his lips and then was held up to hers, "Here, take this my love."

There it was again, my love.

This time Frankie didn't falter, her fingers gently clutching his arm as she drank a sickening mouthful before pulling back, feeling her wound stitch itself up with relief as the throbbing in her head died away.

She felt surprisingly clingy as she stepped back towards him for a second hug, watching the blood pool beneath the drummers had reminded her of the way hers had pooled beneath her and in her shoes the night she'd been kidnapped and could feel her chest clenching with its familiar tug of anxiety again. With the way her evening had ended the night she'd been taken, she'd almost thought she'd been able to brush it away, the pain of her near death lighter than she'd expected. Now Frankie had been reminded of the terror, she felt it was as though she was there again, chained up and bleeding out alone. She'd wanted to come to his place not hers, because she couldn't bear to be alone again this evening, not when she knew the images of tonight and that night would be racing through her mind.

"I have to go," he told her. Elijah didn't want to leave, not when it was clear her thoughts were so deep she was practically drowning in them, as her heart raced desperately trying to keep her afloat, but he couldn't allow such an atrocity to go unpunished and certainly not one that had put her in harms way quite so soon after the last time, "You can shower, I'll be back by the time you're out."

"Where are you going," she crossed her arms across her chest as he pressed a quick kiss to her temple and turned away.

"I won't be long," he promised, flitting away before she could question him again.

Frankie felt ever so slightly resentful he was leaving like this but she knew what his treaty and the peace meant to him and she knew that he'd do almost anything to ensure it. Reluctantly she bit her tongue, tugging her clothes off and tossing them in the hamper before entering the bathroom.

It was strange how commonplace this seemed to be she mused as she walked from the bathroom in her towel. How not once, but twice, she was raiding Elijah's closet after being soaked in blood and then left as he followed the perpetrators. She heard the door open and close just as she found the shirt she liked, a little too large and much softer than anything she knew she owned, and she pressed the drawer shut to turn to face him.

"You good?" she asked, stepping towards him and then halting as she caught sight of his hand, still twinged with blood despite the handkerchief she had no doubt he'd tried to use to clean it off, "Tell me that's not Marcel's."

"It's not," he confirmed, turning the tap in the bathroom on as he began to scrub, "It's Theirry's."

"Oh."

Frankie had followed him into the room. She felt a little surprised, relieved at least that he hadn't hurt Marcel though shocked too by what he'd done. She knew what he meant to their family however much they pretended to hate him right now and she didn't want him hurt, especially knowing who he was to Davina.

"Do you want me to help?"

"I've got it," he smiled, "How's your head?"

"All good now," she pulled the shirt over her head as she spoke, then sliding a pair of Elijah's underwear up her legs. When her clothes were on she tugged the towel out from underneath them, eyeing Elijah once more before handing him the towel to dry his hands.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes Elijah," she rolled her eyes, grinning as he trailed after her and sat beside her on the bed, "I promise you I'm all good, just fucking tired. I swear it's like I do nothing all day and then I'm constantly exhausted."

If Elijah had been more in the mood for a debate with her he'd have pointed out that all the counselling she did for those around her took more of a mental toll than she'd allow herself to realise. That and the fact that life threatening situations that caused her body to freeze and then panic in terror too would drain her energy. But, he wasn't in the mood to argue. Instead he pulled her towards him for a quick kiss, his lips quirking up as he heard her heart race, and then he stood from the bed.

"Stay here, I'll only be a moment," he said gently. Frankie almost immediately opened her mouth to protest and he stopped her, "I'm only going downstairs, I will barely be five minutes."

She rolled her eyes, flopping back on the bed as she pulled her phone off the side table to send messages to Davina, Josh, Cami and Hayley to check on them. While Hayley and Cami replied quickly, it took longer for Josh and Davina to reply, only for them to send a photo of Josh wearing his new ring just as Elijah returned to the room.

"I brought you dinner," he told her, kicking the door open and then closed behind him with his foot as he held two plates of food with glasses and a bottle of wine tucked under the crook of his arm, "Seeing as you didn't quite get all the free booze and hor d'oeuvres you'd hoped for.

"Do I really sound that gluttonous when I talk?" she asked with a laugh, leaning up to pull the wine away from him and then the food so he could change into a more comfortable outfit before humouring her and eating in bed because he knew how delighted it made her.

"Well..." he mused, chuckling to himself when she pulled the pillow from behind her and tossed it to his head, "My apologies," he conceded, sitting beside her on the bed and taking the bottle of wine she was holding out to him, "You're the farthest thing from a glutton I've ever known."

"Thank you," she said matter of factly, presenting the two glasses for him to pour for them both, "I appreciate your candour."

"I appreciate you," he told her leaning forwards and pressing a kiss to her cheek. As he leant forwards he felt her lips twitch up into a smile and her eyelids flutter shut, lashes just brushing against his cheek and he moved to press a second kiss against her lips.

"Take it easy," her foot had untangled itself from where she sat cross legged and she nudged him with it, leaning away and passing him his glass so she had a free hand to eat her food, "Mr Mikaelson you wouldn't want our food to get cold. I know you survive off the souls of small children but I survive off dinner and if I don't eat soon my stomach's going to turn in on itself."

Elijah laughed at that, leaning back against the headboard in concession and pulling his own plate to his lap. He spent more of the meal watching her eat and talk than doing either himself. It was no secret that he didn't need nor necessarily want real food most of the time, but once after several glasses of wine she'd told him how she sometimes felt so weird eating when no one else was and since that night he often tried to bring enough for both of them so she didn't feel that way.

Her plate was cleared more quickly than someone that small should've been able to, Elijah thought, but he gathered them both up and placed them on the side table before refilling their glasses, eventually flitting away when she went to the bathroom to fetch a second bottle.

By the time they were on their final glasses, Frankie could feel her cheeks were warm with her happiness and with the wine whose alcohol ran through her veins. She'd somehow ended up leaning against Elijah's chest while he sat against the headboard and she was listening with her eyes shut to him telling her of a story of Kol, the brother she'd barely known but who'd been killed in Mystic Falls after she left.