Interlude

1914-1919 A.D. New Orleans

Ravia stood aside as she watched Kol plot behind Klaus' back, just as her master said would happen. She watched as Kol failed and was once more daggered, once more just as her master had said. There was plenty she could have done, but nothing she would do, not when this was how her Master said things needed to go.

A few short years later she watched as Rebekah and Marcel reconciled and rebuilt their hidden relationship. Things were finally coming to a head as her Master had said and Ravia watched from the shadows as Rebekah and Marcel plotted with one another to summon Mikael with the help of a red haired witch.

She watched as only a short time later Niklaus admitted that he knew Marcel and Rebekah were going behind his back, and then proceeded to legitimize their relationship. She watched as Rebekah tried to undo the spell, only to find out it couldn't be undone. She watched Rebekah kill off the red haired witch to keep it a secret and she still did nothing.

When Mikael finally arrived and burnt the city to the ground in pursuit of his children, Ravia was hidden away until the end of it, waiting for Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah to run and then for Mikael to follow before going to Marcel. He regarded her with suspicion when she approached, eyes narrowed as he accused her. "Where were you tonight? I thought you were oath-bound to serve the Originals, to help them?"

Ravia just smiled and shook her head, "I am oath-bound only to my Master Marcel Gerard. He sees in you, the makings of a King. If you would have me, I would help you rebuild this city, take control, and rule it."

Marcel scoffed at that, frowning severely, "And I suppose all that's asked of me is loyalty to your Master then? Am I to swear my fealty to him in exchange for his help so that he can rule New Orleans from afar?"

Once again Ravia just shakes her head, smile still in place, "My master asks nothing in exchange for his help. One day, he will rule this entire world, but he wants allies and friends who are capable of ruling alongside him, not stooges. He has no need of your fealty and obedience when he already has his disciples. He wants your independence and creativity to blossom and thrive out from under Lord Klaus' thumb. He wants to see what you can turn New Orleans into with his support."

Marcel still seems wary, but eventually he nods, "Fine. Where do we start?"

Ravia's smile widening exponentially, she told him.

Unfortunately for Ravia, her Master was not as omnipotent as he might pretend to be. Earlier in the night, a conversation had taken place between Niklaus and Mikael that had been changed by virtue of Vali's meeting with Klaus in the 16th century.

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1919 A.D. New Orleans Opera House

Klaus felt his presence before he felt the white oak stake against his back, but by that time there was no fleeing as Mikael settled into the chair behind him. He was forced to sit there and listen to Mikael belittle him and threaten him for several minutes. When he finally had a chance to talk he fired back, claiming that he no longer feared death given all he'd achieved in New Orleans.

There was nothing but rage and anger coursing through Klaus' veins as Mikael spoke of destroying every last person who remembered his name, of tearing down everything he built. So he told Mikael exactly how he'd been fooled for so long, "You may kill me here Mikael, you may destroy everything I've built, but no matter what, Vali will remain afterwards."

Mikael actually sounded confused as he responded to that, "Is that supposed to mean something to me boy? You were always the one I wanted dead. The others, including Vali, are my true children after all."

Klaus let out a barking laugh at that shaking his head in mirth, "Even after nine hundred years you still don't know. Vali has had you fooled all this time."

Mikael sneered and pushed the white oak stake's tip a bit harder against Klaus' back, "Speak less in riddles, or I will grow tired of this charade and end you earlier than intended."

Klaus just smiled as he spoke the truth that would hopefully hurt Mikael more than anything else, "Vali is my blood brother, Esther's second indiscretion against you. She betrayed you twice Mikael, and Vali has managed to keep you focused on me for all this time. Imagine what he's managed to build without you nipping at his heels. I am entirely content even if you kill me here and now, knowing that he has bested you at every turn."

Mikael is completely silent, but Klaus knows that he can hear the truth in the words. Klaus has not told a single lie after all. Mikael's shock is so profound that his banter is dead even when the curtain opens to reveal what he's wrought and the audience begins to clap and laugh. Klaus uses Mikael's distraction to get down to the stage and attempt to save Marcel, only for Mikael to regain his senses and stop him. Rebekah intervenes, Klaus fights back, and at the end of it all Elijah shows up and they all escape together.

As they abandon the burning city, Klaus can't help but look back at all the work lost. He considers the fact that Mikael now knows about Vali, and then considers whether he should try to get word to his blood brother about the matter. As he looks at the burning city and realizes that Marcel is probably dead, he clenches his jaw. Nine hundred years of running and hiding. Vali had spoken of finding a way to kill Mikael and Klaus was happy to let him try. But after everything he'd lost, he had no desire to lend a hand to his wayward brother.

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This is how it feels to be Mikael, the one they call the Destroyer, the Vampire who hunts Vampires, right now.

For the first time since your wife's death you feel actual physical pain in your heart. You don't want to believe the abomination's words, but you know in your heart that they are true.

You are furious. You've certainly been angry for a long time, using that anger to hunt your wayward children. But now you find that the one child you didn't think you had to hunt has used you for centuries.

The betrayal is all the more poignant now that you recognize his actions for what they are. He took you like a weapon, like an arrow or a bullet and launched you at his own siblings before turning and walking away.

You are beyond furious by now, to a point of startling calm as you go over every interaction you ever had with the child. Slowly you begin to realize just how much he must have known from far too young an age.

You were used to build up a son who was not your own, teach him and nurture him, make him strong. He played you beautifully even as you strived not to show him an ounce of weakness, of affection.

But now, when such lies have been revealed, now is the time to be brutally honest with oneself. And if you are being honest, you must admit that out of all your children, Vali had earned his place as your favorite.

From a young age he'd treated Esther's lessons, her attention, her love like something to be exasperated with. He'd cozied up to you, gained your attention, and then attacked every task you gave him with a single minded ferocity that reminded you of yourself.

Vali had been everything you could have wanted in a son. You're going to have to kill him for that.

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