Klaus took the abattoir back as his home. He had the inner circle and Hayley gathered around a dinner table, clinking his glass, standing, raising his glass. "Let us begin with a toast to our shared gift. Immortality. After a thousand years, one might expect for life to be less keenly felt, for its beauties and its sorrows to diminish with time, but as vampires, we feel more deeply than human could possibly imagine." He beckoned to some of the compelled servants. Each one of them stood around each of the vampires at the table. "Insatiable need, exquisite pain..." Each of the compelled servants pulled back their sleeves of their left arm, cutting their wrists with a blade with the right. They cut the other wrist as well, letting their blood fall into our glasses our bowls. "Our victories, and our defeats."

*

Klaus raised his glass once again. "To my city, my home again. May the blood never cease to flow."

Marcel raised his glass. "And the party never end."

Marcel and I exchanged a knowing look.

*

Flashback - Nightwalker Bar

Marcel and I sat at a table.

"I just don't get it, man," I admitted. "You know we would've stood with you till the end."

"Letting you do that would've been letting you die, and you're still my people," Marcel told me. "They're still our people. We're the ones that built this city and made it ours. You never betrayed me, and you never tried to take what was mine, like I had never done to you. If it hadn't been for you, I never would have made it this far. For now, just follow my lead. Trust me, it ain't over yet."

*

Now

I smirked, raising my glass. "To New Orleans."

Klaus raised his glass toward me. "To New Orleans."

"To New Orleans," everyone repeated.

We all took a drink.

"I understand that some of you have questions regarding the recent change in leadership, and I invited you here tonight to assure you that you are not defeated," Klaus told us. "No. My intentions moving forward are to celebrate what we have, what Marcel and Noah, in fact, took..." He stood at the head of the table between us, placing a hand on either of our shoulders. "And built into this. A true community of vampires."

Diego pointed toward Hayley, who sat across the table from Klaus, at the other head. "What about her? The wolf?"

Klaus walked around the table slowly toward him. "Had you left me finish, Diego, you would know that there is, of course, one further matter I would like to address." He walked past him, standing behind Hayley. "As I assume you know, the girl is carrying my child. Consequently, I trust you will all pay her the appropriate respect. However, I understand that some of you are concerned by this vicious rumor that I intend to use the blood of our child..." He placed a hand on Hayley's shoulder. Hayley's looked at it, unhappy. "To create hybrids. I assure you, I do not."

"Father of the year," Hayley's said sarcastically.

Klaus walked around the table again, toward his own place. "It appears I will have to earn your trust. Very well. We'll eliminate the root of your anxiety. You see, how can I sire any hybrids if there are no more werewolves alive in the bayou to turn?"

"What?" Hayley's asked. "Klaus, no."

Klaus ignored her. "So eat, drink, and be merry, and tomorrow, I suggest you have yourselves a little wolf hunt. Go ahead. Have fun. Kill them all."

Hayley's looked terrified.

*

I walked into the room where Klaus and Marcel were.

"What's up, Noah?" Marcel asked.

"Humans have called a meeting," I answered. "They're not exactly thrilled with the new status quo."

"How unfortunate for them," Klaus told us, looking at a picture.

"Look, it's your show now," Marcel told him. "But do you want to know how we built what we built? Politics. A little diplomacy goes a long way, especially with the Human Faction."

"Duly noted," Klaus told us, leaning forward. "I haven't thought about this night in ages. 1919, the Opera House just before it burned. This was an end of an era. Now, in the interest of New beginnings, I feel there are some things I should confess to the two of you." He stood. "But where to begin?" He walked over to a table, pouring himself a drink. "Thierry was never disloyal to either of you. I set him up in an attempt to locate my brother. He's your friend, and Noah, the man you turned, and, consequently, he can return to the compound at your discretion. Cami's part you just learned, and then there's young Joshua." He turned to face us, walking closer. "I've been compelling him from the beginning, although, I suspect you already knew that, as he was the one who led me into your trap."

Klaus sat down, setting two glasses on the table, taking a drink of his own.

Marcel took the glass. "I may have fed the kid some misinformation."

"Mm, and then there's Davina," Klaus told us. "She's a powerful weapon. At this point, I'd like to keep her close at hand. I think we should have her move into the compound here with us."

"Eh, she can't leave the attic," Marcel told us. "I already tried to move her once."

"Yes, about that..." Klaus trailed off. "Turns out, your little witch is quite the actress. She made a deal with Elijah while he was in captivity, tricked you into letting her stay put in exchange for some spells from our mother's grimoire."

"Good to know," I told him. "Is that all?"

"I do believe it is," Klaus answered.

"Appreciate the honesty," I told him. I stood, placing the drink down. "Meeting is in an hour."

I walked out of the room.

*

In St. Anne's, Marcel and Klaus were up in the attic trying to convince Davina into moving into the compound.

Not like she had a choice.

Downstairs, I stood with the Human Faction, which included Father Kieran, the Sheriff, the Mayor, and a few other town officials.

"Klaus, Marcel, thank you for coming on time," I told them sarcastically.

"Arguing with a teenage witch is harder than it looks," Marcel told me.

"Father K.?" I asked.

Kieran nodded. "We are aware of the change in leadership in your community, and we thought it was time to make the appropriate introductions."

The other men stood, walking toward us.

The mayor looked at Klaus. "We want to be sure you understand how things work around here."

"Is that so?" Klaus asked.

The Mayor nodded.

I chuckled.

"What the Mayor means is that we just want some assurance that this new development isn't going to endanger our city or its inhabitants," Kieran told him.

"Look, you freaks do your thing, and we'll look the other way," the Sheriff told us. Klaus looked at Marcel and me in amusement. "As long as our pockets stay full, we won't have a problem."

"More importantly, there are rules," Kieran told us. "No feeding on the locals. Don't bring any unwanted attention to the city. Now, history has proven that we can coexist peacefully. However, if you cross the line--"

"You answer to us," the Sheriff told us.

Klaus laughed. "I'm sorry. Let me get this straight." He looked at Marcel and me. "I'm to play supplicant to this pompous ass and his ridiculous group of petty thieves?" He walked forward. "Ah, here are my terms. You will take whatever scraps I see fit to leave you, and you will be grateful. If that doesn't suit you, I may decide you've outlived your usefulness."

Klaus walked away.

Marcel and I exchanged a look, walking away.

*

In the bar, everyone was feeding.

Klaus, Marcel and I were sitting at a table, drinking bourbon.

"I think I was far more gracious than they deserved," Klaus told us. "You're disappointed by my lack of diplomacy. Well, you two, above all people, should need no reminder of the human capacity for cruelty." His phone vibrated. He stood, stepping away to answer. "Hello?"

The Sheriff was on the other line. "Mr. Mikaelson. Just wanted to let you know, the Faction has concerned your terms. We've reached a decision."

"Have you?"

The tinted glass windows shattered, allowing the sunlight to stream in, causing some of the nightwalkers to burst into flames, burning to death.

A woman screamed as she caught fire.

I pulled her out of the sunlight

Gunfire ensued, shooting us all, not only me, but Klaus and Marcel.

Wooden bullets.

I looked toward the windows in anger.

*

All of the nightwalkers were dead now, charred, or burnt to dust.

I had gotten the bullet out, but was pacing angrily. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" I pushed a table over onto its side. I looked at Klaus. "Oh, this is on you. Now that you're in charge, those are your guys lying dead, your guys. You're gonna run this city, that better mean something to you. Otherwise, no one worth a damn is gonna follow you. No one."

"I was beginning to worry about you," Klaus told me. "I don't think I could've taken any more of this deferential nonsense. I mean, clearly, I underestimated the Faction. That won't happen again, but tell me, now that we've arrived at this point, now that they have come into our home, visited this onto our people,  how would the two of you counsel me to respond?"

"Let's go kill them all," Marcel told him.

I smirked.

*

Klaus had called for a meeting of the Faction in Rousseau's.

Kieran walked toward the other Faction members. "Why wasn't I consulted on this?"

"You've been gone for over eight months, Kieran," the Mayor told him. "We got used to doing things on our own."

"This Klaus Mikaelson, I don't care who he is or what the rumors say," Sheriff told him. "He needed to be taught a lesson."

"You are gonna start a war," Kieran told him.

"I'd like to see them try," Sheriff told him. "Oh, and, Kieran, this is the last time you call a meeting. Next time you want to criticize our leadership, send a damn email."

"I thought you called this meeting," Kieran told them.

"The hell we did," Sheriff told him.

Klaus walked into view. "Actually, I called it. It appears I made a grave error during our earlier conference. My friends Marcel and Noah offered me wise counsel, and I failed to heed it."

"Hmm, well, I'm glad you've learned your lesson," Sheriff told him.

"Oh, I won't make that mistake again," Klaus told him. "Noah? Marcel?"

I rushed into the room, taking a knife and stabbing it into the neck of the Sheriff, letting him fall.

The blonde woman covered her eyes, screaming.

Klaus smiled.

I laughed.

Marcel walked into the room. "Shall we?"

"After you," I told them.

Klaus smirked.

*

Everyone except for Kieran was dead.

Klaus turned to him. "There he is, our lone survivor. Such a sad day for our city, some of its best and brightest killed in a tragic boating accident on the Mississippi. Rather nasty explosion, I heard." He turned Kieran to face him. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Oh, okay, hold up," I told him. "I've known Kieran for a long time. He's smart, and he's fair. He can do us more good alive than dead."

"Not to mention he's Cami's uncle," Marcel told him. Klaus looked at him. "Don't see you care about much. It's kind of hard not to notice when you do."

"Very," Klaus said. "Use this reprieve to remake your Human Faction."

"And how do you expect me to remake the Mayor?" Kieran asked.

"Well, surely there's a deputy mayor," Klaus told him. "Choose New leaders. Then we reopen negotiations."

We left Kieran alone with the dead bodies.