Davina

"Is it done?" Elijah asked as Klaus entered the house.

"Yes, Marcel has agreed to 'allow' us to live here without the interference of his vampires and help us with the witch problem," replied Klaus.

He was well satisfied with how the conversation went with Marcel, but would still need to keep an eye on him. After all, he was taught by the greatest bastard manipulator.

Elijah looked at his brother and saw how satisfied he was. It looked like the redemption he wished upon his brother for centuries was closer, yet he was still wary of Marcel.

"Do you trust him?" Elijah asked, carefully observing his brother.

"I trust he is not a fool," Klaus replied. "We both have a common enemy and we both have something to gain by removing the threat of the witches. Besides, he knows more than anyone the consequences of crossing us."

Elijah just nodded, almost relieved to hear his brother speak in such a manner. In the last few hours, he had actually been contemplating whether or not someone had body-swapped with his brother.

"More importantly, has our sister decided to come and join us?" Klaus asked, almost hopeful, while Elijah just sighed at the question.

"She seems pretty adamant about not coming here," Elijah said with concern.

"Well, she can't exactly be blamed. However, I am sure she will come once she gets bored," Klaus said, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder and reassuring him with a smile. "We are a family after all, no matter what, the bond will always bring us together."

Elijah looked at Klaus, but before he could say anything,

"Now get some rest, it's been a rather long few days," Klaus said while heading upstairs.

"Indeed," Elijah replied. "Good night, brother."

"Good night to you as well, brother."

(The next morning)

Klaus looked at the watch showing 5 AM. He had been staying up most of the night, preparing for what is to come. The vampire brain of his was amazing; he could think at such high speed and on multiple tasks at once, like he had several tabs open on a computer, all working independently.

He originally wanted to revisit the original Klaus plan to make a hybrid army, but now, as Elena was a vampire, that was no longer a possibility. Perhaps after she takes the cure, but it was doubtful. Of course, his soon-to-be-born daughter could sire hybrids, but that was too far into the future and their loyalty would not be to him but to his daughter.

He would have to settle for regular ones for the time being. There was plenty of scum in society to go around that no one would miss. A little manipulation to set up a scene where he becomes their savior, flavored with compulsion, will ensure their loyalty.

However, he also had to make sure no one knew before the right time. Maybe he could even form an organization like The Strix, with minor differences; instead of the betterment of humanity, they would follow a far greater cause... him.

Shortly after, Klaus went down to cook some eggs and bacon, knowing Haley would soon wake up hungry. "You have to forgive me for stealing some of your moves, brother," Klaus thought to himself with a chuckle.

As he finished the eggs, he noticed there was no juice in the fridge. "Bloody hell, what do I pay them for?" Klaus said to himself while speeding out of the house to grab some from the store.

He finished shopping quickly, and with shopping, he just dashed in and out without anyone noticing. Once he came back, he could see Haley already awake and looking at the eggs Klaus made.

Her presence immediately made him smile. "They are for you, love," said Klaus, which startled Haley.

"Don't do that," Haley replied, still a bit shaken.

"Forgive me, love," Klaus replied with a smile and took out a chair. "Please," he said, gesturing for her to sit, which she smiled at and happily complied. He then grabbed a glass and poured some juice with ice and put it on the table with the rest of the food he had prepared for her.

"Thank you for doing all this," Haley said, genuinely touched by his actions. "It's my pleasure," replied Klaus with his iconic smirk.

While he had a lot to prepare for the coming enemies, he also had to make sure to spend time with Haley.

He had plans for the pack, and having her on his side would be detrimental, not to mention he would not allow that mutt to put his hands on the queen and princess.

He had also noticed she was less anxious around him since their talk yesterday. "I have good news," Klaus said, getting Haley's attention. "I have found a way to unbind your link to Sophie Devereaux."

"Really, how?" asked Haley, not hiding her joy. She had been constantly worried if something would happen to Sophie, even by accident it would cause harm to the baby or worse.

"Marcel will soon be coming over with a witch that will undo the spell," Klaus replied, noticing Haley's concern.

"You asked for Marcel's help? What did you tell him when he asked why the witches bound me?" Haley asked, stopping eating and staring at him to see if he was joking.

"The truth," Klaus said casually, continuing eating while holding back a laugh, seeing Haley's reaction who stopped eating and stared at him to see if he was joking.

"What makes you think he won't side with the witches instead? He did take the city from you after all," reminded Haley.

Klaus couldn't help but smile at that. One of the things he liked about her is that she is not afraid to speak her mind. Anyone with half of the knowledge she has about him would never dare to speak to him in such a manner.

"Correction, love, he took the city after I left. As far as the witches are concerned, he also knows their plot to remove him, and I assured him I would not make any attempts to take back the city if he complied to help," Klaus explained, meeting a skeptical look from Haley.

"And are you sure you will be able to resist the urge to dethrone him?" said Haley, making Klaus smirk.

"Positive, love," Klaus replied, looking directly into Haley's eyes, making her blush for a second.

She had been feeling strange and like she had butterflies in her stomach since the conversation with Klaus yesterday. Every time she would see him looking passionately at her, she would get nervous and excited, wondering maybe there was a future for both of them together, but quickly shook the thoughts from her head. She knew he was only this kind because of the baby and once she gave birth, he would go back to his true self, no longer caring for her.

"Where is Elijah?" Haley suddenly asked, trying to distract herself.

"Hmm... I am unsure. He was not in his room when I came down, so I imagine he went out," Klaus replied casually but was slightly worried.

It was out of character for Elijah not to be here, given everything that is happening. He would have been hovering over both Haley, to make sure she is safe, and Klaus, to make sure he does not destroy the world.

Klaus did not like this change in Elijah, as his unwavering loyalty towards Klaus was a key factor in his future plans, but he decided not to worry too much yet. After all, he had changed a lot since he woke and had been far less murderous, which could have led to Elijah being more at ease.

(at Rousseau's)

"So, are you going to be ordering or just keep staring at the bottles?" asked the bartender, who looked at the distinguished gentleman in a suit with an intrigued expression.

Elijah quickly realized he had been now sitting at a bar for well over an hour without ordering a drink.

"I apologize, scotch on the rocks, please." Elijah ordered while still deep in his thoughts, as the bartender started to prepare the drink he asked for.

"What got you thinking?" the bartender asked curiously.

"My brother," Elijah replied, half-whispering. "He has always been the person who I needed to rescue, mostly from himself. But recently, he has changed..." Elijah paused, collecting his thoughts before continuing. "He has always been destructive, cunning, but paranoid. Smart yet angry, always believing everyone is after him. But recently, he has become patient, thoughtful... thinking beyond himself.

"It sounds like your brother made quite a turnaround," the bartender commented. "Yet, you don't seem too happy about it," she remarked.

"I assure you, I am," Elijah replied, slightly surprised at her comment. "It's just that I don't understand how it happened so suddenly. I am worried it may be insincere."

"Or maybe you're worried about your place in all this," the bartender said, causing Elijah to look at her. "It sounds to me like you have been at your brother's side for a long time," causing Elijah to let out a small smile.

"Feels like a millennia..."

"Perhaps you should do something that is unrelated to him?" said the bartender as she handed him the glass of scotch on the rocks. "Like meet cute bartenders at a busy city?" Elijah chuckled and then took a sip of his drink. He then extended his hand towards the bartender. "My name is Elijah Mikaelson."

"I am Camille O'Connell, nice to meet you, Elijah," as she shook his hand.

(plantation)

Marcel had arrived with his witch at the house and was knocking on the door. When there was no reply, a sudden chill went down his spine.

Worried that everything Klaus said yesterday might have been a lie and a trap he worked out with the witches to lure him out here.

As these thoughts were going through his head, the door was opened by a woman he had never seen before.

Marcel could sense she was a wolf, and his worries died down a bit.

"You must be Hayley, the one who carries Klaus' child."

"Yup, that's me, but I usually just go by Hayley, otherwise it's quite a mouthful," Hayley said in a sarcastic tone. "You must be Marcel?" Hayley asked, while Marcel gave a nod.

"Come in," Hayley invited Marcel in with the hooded figure that came with him.

"Klaus, they are here," shouted Hayley, as this place was bigger than the last five places she lived in combined.

"No need to shout, love, we all have super hearing here," Klaus replied, coming up behind her.

Hayley just rolled her eyes. "Well, they are here," Hayley said, pointing at them.

"Thank you for coming here, Marcellus," said Klaus genuinely.

"No problem," answered Marcel with a small smile. "This is Davina Claire," he said as the girl removed her hood covering her. "She is my secret weapon against the witches."

Klaus was now the one surprised by all this. He knew the conversation last night would be a strong first step towards earning his trust, but he never imagined Marcel would be this easy to win over.

This would provide new opportunities he didn't think he would have a chance to act on for a few weeks.

"I appreciate the trust, Marcellus, but you know you did not need to reveal her to me, any witch would have been just fine," claimed Klaus.

"Yes, I know, but since you chose to entrust me with an important secret, I didn't want to just tell this to any random witch; not to mention Davina here is extremely powerful and should be able to break this binding with ease," said Marcel with pride.

"Yes, I can unbind it, though I would need a spellbook to be able to use as a reference as I don't really have any training with magic itself," said Davina, causing Klaus to raise an eyebrow and look at Marcel.

He knew how powerful Davina was and what she was capable of, but he needed to play his part.

"You're telling me, your secret weapon, the one who got all the witches shaking in boots, the one who forced them all into a corner, has no formal training with magic?" Klaus asked skeptically.

Marcel just smiled. "Just trust me; I have a grimoire here which has the spell to unbind this spell."

Davina takes the book and reads it. Then looks at the three people before her. "Um... there is a slight issue with this spell."

"What is it?" asked Hayley.

"We require the knot used during the binding."

They all had a worried expression on their faces as they heard that.