"It was their mother Esther who was sealed in that coffin." Elena tells the Salvatore brothers as were all standing in my kitchen. "As in the Original Witch?" Stefan questions, putting the puzzle pieces together in his head.

"What? How is she even alive? Thought her hybrid freak show of a son ripped her heart out a thousand years ago." Damon says and I shrug, "We don't know. That's what I thought too."

"I don't know. I'm guessing she has a couple connections in the witching community. Elijah said that she wants to live in peace with her family, including Klaus." Elena explains.

"She was supposed to be the weapon to help us kill Klaus." Stefan responds, furrowing his eyebrows. "Well, not anymore... at least not according to Elijah." I reply.

"That coffin was the only thing stopping Klaus from tearing us to shreds." Stefan says.

"Anyone else feeling a little used right now?" Damon asks. "Look, Elijah promised me that his family wouldn't hurt any of us." Elena says.

All heads turn to the door when someone hits the doorbell. "I believe him," Elena continues on and I make my way over to the foyer.

When I open the door, there was nobody in sight. I almost shut the door until I spot two envelopes with mine and Elena's name on it, except mine came conjoined with a box.

My fingers pick up the two cards and the box before spinning back around into the house. I hand Elena her card and we both open them up as the Salvatore brothers stare us down.

"What is it?" Damon inquires, stepping near me. "It's an invitation. 'Please join the Mikaelson Family, this evening at seven o'clock. For dancing, cocktails and celebration.'" I answer him while reading off of the card.

"Who the hell are the Mikaelsons?" Stefan asks, furrowing his eyebrows. "The Original Family." I reply, remembering when Klaus mentioned his last name the night I deliberately agreed to have a drink with him.

"It's not bad enough they're moving into town, now they want a housewarming gift?" Damon rolls his eyes and I let out a small chuckle.

"Wait, there's a note on the back. 'Elena, I think it's time that we finally meet, Esther.'" Elena reads her card out loud.

When I turned mine around, I wasn't expecting a written note engraved in it that says, 'Save me a dance. Fondly, Klaus.'

I shove the card to Damon so he can read it himself. I was growing tired of being Damon's puppet to get inside Klaus' head. "What's in the box?" Damon whispers in my ear and I shrug.

Elena and Stefan seem to be curious as well considering they were staring at the box. I take a deep breath, opening the box which revealed a gorgeous elegant dress.

A gasp escapes my lips as I stare at the dress in awe. "That dress is... wow. Who gave it to you?" Elena widens her eyes, looking back at me for an answer.

"Nobody! I think it was sent to the wrong house." I lie, placing the top back on the box. "I know when you're lying, Maya. Who sent it?" Elena asks again and I didn't get the chance to reply when she rips the card out of Damon's hand and reads the message out loud.

"What? Why would Klaus send you a dress?" Elena crosses her arms. My lips form into a straight line, not knowing how to explain this to her.

"Alright! I forced your sister to pretend to show interest in the big bad wolf. And surprisingly, it's going pretty well." Damon states, shrugging in the process.

"You can't be serious... do you understand how dangerous that is, Damon?!" Stefan raises his voice, glaring at his brother.

"Yeah! Maya, how could you agree to this? Do you want to get yourself killed if Klaus finds out about this?" Elena unfolds her arms and puts them on her hips.

"Relax, he won't find out. I've trained her to play hard to get." Damon grins and I roll my eyes at his comment. "It's fine, guys. I know what I'm doing and I don't plan on doing this forever." I tell them and I watch as they both sigh in disappointment.

"Well, if you two are attending the ball, then I'm going. I have to make sure Klaus doesn't end up killing Maya when he gets angry that she looked at him the wrong way." Stefan says, sarcasm laced in his voice.

I shoot him a glare once those words spill out of his mouth. "I'm just going to dance with him and that's it. You'll be right next to me when it happens."

"Yeah, that's not happening." Damon says and I give him a questionable look, "Why not? If Elena's going then I'm going."

Elena nods, "If Esther wants to talk to me, maybe I should find out why."

"Well that's a dumb idea, she already tried to kill you once." Damon states, making a point.

"No, Elena is right. Bonnie was led to open that coffin for a reason. I think there is more to this than just some family reunion." Stefan says and Damon raises his eyebrows.

"Can we go back in time where the old Stefan cared if Elena lived or died?" Damon sarcastically questions. "What for? It's your job now." Stefan tells Damon and I widen my eyes in surprise.

"Enough! Stefan, you can go with Elena and Damon can come with me, that way you both can watch over us." I come up with a plan at the top of my head and they end up agreeing to it.

§

"It's all so weird. The Originals are throwing a ball. Like an actual ball." Elena sighs, her head resting on her palm as she rants to Caroline and I. I take a sip of my coffee, looking around my scenery because we're currently sitting at The Grill.

"It's some twisted Cinderella fetish is what it is. And why does the Evil Witch want an audience with you?" Caroline remarks.

Elena shrugs, "I have no idea. There's only one way to find out."

Rebekah walks up to us out of the blue. "Careful, Caroline. It's all well and good until she stabs you in the back."

She then looks at me, giving me a smile and I furrow my eyebrows but don't question it. "What are you doing here? I know your mom's rules; no hurting the locals." Elena says.

"Get over yourself, Elena. It's not all about you." Rebekah tells her, grinning in the process. "She never said it was." I narrow my eyes at the blonde above us.

"Oh, Maya. You're so cute when you defend your sister. I can see why Klaus won't stop talking about you." Rebekah then turns around after giving me a wink and wanders off.

"What is she talking about?" Caroline asks, her face full of surprise. "Yeah, Maya. Why don't you tell Caroline what you and Damon have been doing behind our backs." Elena purses her lips at me, raising an eyebrow as she waits for my response.

I didn't want to say anything, feeling paranoid that Rebekah is using her ears to eavesdrop on our conversation and risk ruining the entire plan.

Caroline groans, "Why am I left out? I'm supposed to be the third twin!"

"We'll talk about it later... why is she inviting Matt to the ball?" I quickly change the subject and my eyes widen at the sight in front of me.

"Oh, my god. She is totally not doing that right now." Caroline scoffs. Elena sighs and turns to the both of us, "She's probably trying to get this reaction from us."

Caroline rolls her eyes, "What time is this stupid dance?"

§

My heels step foot into the mansion where the ball was currently being located. My arm connected with Damon and we fully enter the party, which was already crowded.

"Do you think they compelled locals to come here?" I hear Damon whisper besides my ear and I laugh at his joke, wondering the same thing.

The entrance was massive along with the elegant staircase in front of our view. I can already tell every single of of the original family will try to make their dramatic entrance down it at some point during this evening. Various paintings were coating the walls and I almost felt drawn to them.

"By the way, you look stunning tonight." Damon tells me with a warm smile. I look down at my dress that Klaus gave me, thanking Damon and complimenting him as well.

I was worried I was losing my grip on Klaus, so I forced myself to put this dress on... along with the bracelet he gave me weeks ago, and make myself look presentable for this over the top ball.

Damon lets go of my arm and raises his eyebrows at me, "I'm gonna go get us some drinks... you okay here by yourself?" he asks and I nod my head, "Yes. I'll survive."

I lose sight of the back of his head as more people come inside. My eyes spot Klaus, who's in the middle of a conversation with a woman until he stops and locks his eyes with mine. His usual smirk appears on his lips and he gradually makes his way over to me after excusing himself.

"Good evening, Maya." he tells me, grabbing my hand and placing a small kiss to my knuckles. I feel myself take a deep breath in, smiling in return, and he lets go of my hand.

"Are you here by yourself?" he inquires, his eyes searching around me. "Nope." Damon inserts himself next to me, handing me my newly glass of champagne. "She's with me." he smiles wide to the hybrid in front of us.

Klaus' facial expression drops, but proceeds to form a tight smile on his lips. His eyes turn back to mine, "I trust our dance is still on?"

"Of course." I clarify, taking a sip of my drink. "I look forward to it." he tells me once more before wandering off to greet more guests.

"Man, you got him whipped." Damon says and takes a chug from his champagne glass. I smack his chest and glare at him, "Don't mess this up for me."

"Relax! My lips are sealed." Damon pretends to lock his lips with a key and stuff it in his pocket. I roll my eyes and look at the top of the staircase as Elijah's voice quiets down the chatter among the guests.

"Uh, If everyone could gather, please." Elijah's voice was loud and clear. My eyes avert to the rest of his siblings and his mother, who were also standing on the staircase smiling proudly above us.

"Welcome! Thank you for joining us... you know, whenever my mother brings our family together like this, it's a tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance." Elijah announces.

"Tonight's pick is a centuries-old waltz, so if all of you could please find yourselves a partner, please join us in the ball room." Elijah calls out and the rest of us follow his instructions.

The music starts playing in the ball room and everyone goes to their positions. Klaus' hand moves to my lower back while his other hand holds on to mine. I rest my opposite hand on his shoulder and we slowly move to music.

"I'm glad you came." he states, his eyes never leaving mine. "Well, thank you for inviting me." I give him a smile and he returns one.

"You look ravishing in that dress." Klaus' eyes look up and down at my body. "Thank you... you clean up pretty well yourself."

If I'm being completely honest, he did look good tonight. My hatred for him can't deny the fact that he's extremely good looking, but I try my best to not let that faze me.

"You know, you're quite a dancer." he states as we continue to move along the song. "My mother had forced me to take dancing lessons for Miss Mystic Falls years ago. Obviously I didn't win, but I guess the routine stuck with me."

We get moved and our partners switched. I had lost Klaus in the crowd of people dancing and another hand touches mine, pulling me into the correct position for dancing.

"Your attempt at flirting sucks by the way." Damon tells me, holding onto me as we danced. "Yeah, Damon, I know." I roll my eyes at him.

I wouldn't even count my small interaction with Klaus as flirting, but I didn't expect Damon to not make a comment about it.

§

I step away from the crowded area to try and find the bathroom. I ended up being in the same large hallway I was in last time I came here. And I still don't know which door contains the bathroom... again.

"Lost again, I presume?"

"No." I reply, lying as I did before. I turn around and come face-to-face with no other than Klaus Mikaelson himself.

His smile returns to his lips. I glance around and realize it's just the two of us and the only thing to ear distant is the sound of chatter among the guests.

"Well, I suppose now is the right time to come clean... I fancy you."

His words were bold, like no matter what I would say, wouldn't take back his confession. Of course I knew his feelings for me were true, but hearing him say it out loud hit differently and I almost found myself lost for words.

"Klaus-"

"What's holding you back?" he cuts me off, his eyes showing a hint of amusement and curiosity in them.

"What do you mean?" I ask, genuinely confused at his question. "You know what I mean... is it Damon?" he asks once more.

My lips ajar for a moment, once again not knowing how to respond to his words. "Damon? If I had feelings for him, I wouldn't have came here and taken your offer on a dance."

"He's your date, is he not?" he questions and I began to wonder if he's pestering me to get the truth out.

"No, he just wanted an excuse to watch over Elena." I give him a half-lie, hoping it'll persuade him somehow. I don't know why but I don't want whatever I'm doing with him to go away completely.

"Maya, they don't always have to depend on you. I believe you're worth much more than that."

§

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Waiters are coming around with champagne. I invite you all to join me in a raising a glass." Esther announces from the top of the staircase.

"It provides me with no greater joy than to see my family back together as one. I'd like to thank you all for being part of this spectacular evening." Esther smiles from above.

"Cheers." She raises her glass and everyone in the room, including me mimics her action. "Cheers." I took a sip of the drink like everyone else.

I begin to chug the rest of the drink, grabbing another one from a nearby tray being held by a waiter and replacing my empty one.

As I was almost done with my second glass, someone stops me. "Hey, what's got you all worked up?" Stefan asks besides me, his voice low and full of concern.

"I don't know what I'm doing, Stefan." I respond, referring to my situation with Klaus and he seems to understand right away.

"You can always back out, Maya. My brother can't force you to do anything you don't want to do." he says, placing his hand in my shoulder.

I nod, finishing the rest of my champagne. "That's the thing, Stefan. I don't want to back out."

§

Klaus leads me away from everyone, pulling me into a studio full of gorgeous paintings and drawings. "What is this?"

"One of my passions." Klaus answers with a small smile. I take a few steps forward and admire the detailed sketches among me.

"Did you do these?" I ask, shocked at his pure talent, but also not at the same time since he's had a thousand years of practice.

"Yes. In fact, one of my landscapes is hanging at the hermitage, not that anyone would notice."

"I did," I reply, picking up some drawings and observing them more. "Have you been?" he asks me and I shake my head, "No, I've stayed here all my life."

"I'll take you."

I give him a look and scoff lightly, not believing him. "Wherever you want. Rome. Paris. Tokyo?" he smiles and I laugh at his choice of places.

"Maybe I'll take you up on that offer," I tell him with a smile, then realized what I had just said, but I shrug it off.

He opens his mouth to say something but a loud agonizing scream comes from outside this room. "Stay here." Klaus says and runs out. I obviously didn't listen, and follow behind him.

"What's going on?" I question, picking up the ends of my gown and running toward the crowded area. Matt lays on the floor, holding his hand in pain.

Kol stands over him with a smirk on his lips. "Easy on the hand. Guy's a quarterback." Damon rushes at Kol, pushing him off the balcony and jumps after him.

I gasp and run to the railing of the balcony to watch Damon beat the lifeless out of Kol, and eventually snap his neck.

"Damon!" I yell as an instinct, not knowing a clue what ticked him off to start war with the Mikaelsons.

"Damon! Are you crazy?" Stefan yells at his brother. I look down below and watch as the rest of the original family and my sister step outside.

"Maybe a little. Far be it for me to cause a problem." he responds and turns his back to walk away from the scene he caused.

I ran downstairs and pull Elena to the side. "What just happened?" I push strands of my hair behind my ear and listen to what she has to say.

"I don't know. He went looking for you and then I went in an argument with him... then he went full-on Matt bodyguard on Kol."

"Maybe I should talk to him?" I suggest, wanting to calm this situation before he makes it worse for all of us. "I think it's best if we let him cool off on his own." she replies.