A month passed since Rebekah's departure. Things were different without her.

Hayley stuck to the bayou with her people who were now human, Klaus rarely left his home and Elijah was trying to broker a peace between the factions. The mighty Mikaelson family was falling apart.

I thought that with Rebekah' absence, the Originals would stop calling me up. That proved to be incorrect when Elijah sat down next to me at the bar.

"I'm a little busy, Elijah." I said.

Various books surrounded me as I marked anything related to hexes. The topic was vast and yet there didn't seem to be enough information.

"You haven't been returning my calls."

"Well, I've been ignoring you."

He glanced at what I was writing into my notebook. Anything that could be a potential cure for Kieran's hex. There was no substantial solution after a month of research.

I told Cami that there wasn't a cure and I meant it. That's precisely why I didn't tell her I was looking into it. I didn't want to give her false hope.

"I'm hosting a party between the factions tonight. I'd like you to be there." he said.

I sighed before turning my attention to him. He ordered a drink from the bartender while I closed my books.

"The only thing I'm planning on doing is finding a way to help my friend." I retorted.

I couldn't help Davina and she ended up joining the witches again. Mostly so that the ancestors would leave her alone but it still bothered me that she was pulled into the same coven that wanted her dead not long ago.

"The peace treaty between factions needs you, Olivia. You are living proof that we can all live together in harmony."

Elijah was referring to my connection with every faction. Davina, a witch, Cami, a human, Hayley, a werewolf, and the Originals, vampires. I had managed to make friends in each faction.

I took a deep breath. "You do realize that every single one of those factions hate me? And with good reason, I've acted against all of them."

"You don't need to befriend them, simply represent all that New Orleans could be." he explained.

No pressure or anything. Since when did I become the role model? Only a month ago, Elijah looked me in the eye and told me I couldn't be trusted.

Not directly but the message was clear. I don't see how I'm supposed to be the bridge to anything.

"What do I get from this? Other than a headache?" I asked.

I've given a lot of favors to the Mikaelsons and I've gotten nothing in return. Not that I ever asked for anything. A good night's sleep might be kind of nice.

"Davina will be there, along with the other Harvest girls. I'd say that's a pretty good reason to come."

Talking to her was difficult these days. We both knew that she shouldn't be talking to me because I'm not a part of a coven. The fact that I'm working with vampires wasn't helping.

But I suppose I could keep an eye on her while I'm there. If things get out of hand, I'll at least be there to protect her.

I sighed. "Will there at least be alcohol?"

----

The Mikaelson compound had transformed itself into a night club within hours. As promised, there was alcohol, music and beaming lights.

Elijah threw one hell of a party. Despite its shimmery effect, tensions were running high. A lot of untrusting eyes everywhere.

"Here, at least one of us gets to drink."

Hayley handed me a glass of champagne. I nodded in thanks before downing the whole thing. It's going to be a long night without it.

"Are you alright," Hayley frowned, "you're starting off kind of strong."

I shrugged as I got another glass from a waiter. Parties were usually my scene. However, a party thrown by an Original always did the opposite of relaxing me.

"Almost every single person in this room dislikes me. Witches resent me because I refuse to help them, humans find me unpleasant and rude, I've given aneurysms to most of the vampires here and I've definitely referred to werewolves as wet dogs."

I was only able to get one more sip of champagne before she took the glass away from me. She didn't seem insulted by the wet dog comment which was a good sign.

"Well, if anyone tries to come at you, they'll have one hormonal werewolf to go through." she reassured me.

I smiled as she nudged me with her arm. Even without Rebekah, the dream team was still going strong.

"Calm down, wolf momma. No one's kicking anyone's ass tonight. Unfortunately." I mumbled.

She hummed in agreement as she looked around the room. Not a lot of friendly faces. Every person in here was a possible ticking time bomb.

Hayley sighed. "That's assuming everything goes according to Elijah's plan."

"We're talking about Elijah Mikaelson here. I'm sure he'll make it go according to his plan." I said.

She nodded before spotting her pack hanging out by the drinks table. Probably not a good idea for them to drink. She excused herself as she went over there to keep an eye on them.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Klaus standing at the balcony. He seemed to be surveying the party instead of enjoying it.

As a waiter passed by, I grabbed two glasses and headed up the stairs. It was more peaceful upstairs. Klaus glanced at me as I joined him.

I handed him a glass. "Having fun or are you as miserable as I am?"

He took it and I sipped at my own drink. The balcony offered an excellent overview of the party and its guests. It allowed you to see what everyone was up to.

"One can never be miserable in your company."

"Many here would disagree."

The corners of his mouth turned up as he glanced at me. Suits looked good on him, emphasized his power. Made him look as the king he claimed to be.

"Well, I'm just grateful for the chance to see you." he said.

The tone of his voice, soft and quiet, made me look away. His crooked smirks never affected me the way his honesty did.

I cleared my throat. "You have your brother to thank for that."

His eyes narrowed at the mention of Elijah. Judging by his reaction, the brothers weren't exactly forthcoming with their endeavors to each other.

"First Rebekah, now Elijah. You're winning over the entire Mikaelson clan." he said.

Well, I wouldn't say that. Elijah does not consider me a friend. An ally, perhaps.

I don't know whether he trusts me or not but I don't think they trust their own blood. So what difference does it make?

I smirked. "Have I not won you over yet?"

Klaus let out a chuckle at my words. If I am forced by fate to continue my interactions with the Mikaelsons, might as well win them all over.

"I hope I'm not interrupting." said the redheaded witch.

I turned my head to see her place herself beside Klaus. And here I hoped the rumors of him fraternizing with the witch that tortured his sister weren't true.

"I'm Genevieve. I gotta say, it's a pleasure to finally meet the witch I've heard so much about."

She smiled at me in hopes of establishing some kind of friendliness between us. Yet as I looked at her, all I saw was the person responsible for Rebekah's torment.

I faked a smile. "I'm afraid I can't say the same."

The smile on her face faded at my words. I glanced at Klaus before making my exit. The nerve of that poisonous snake.

If hadn't promised Elijah that I'd help with the peace treaty, I would've slapped that phoney smile off her face. After everything she's done, she doesn't get to speak to me like we're friends.

I had a friend and she ran her out of town. Though she had hoped for worse, I'm sure. She was just as bad as Celeste.

Once I reached the party, I saw Davina leaving it. A part of me wanted to chase after her but I knew there was nothing I could do. The ancestors would never approve of me.

I looked around and spotted Elijah standing on his lonesome. Hayley and Jackson were dancing nearby and it didn't take a genius to figure out he was listening in to their conversation.

I rolled my eyes before coming up to him. "Dance with me, lover boy. I can't stand looking at your sad face all night."

He looked at my outstretched hand. A flicker of hesitation went over his eyes but he still took my hand. I pulled him to the dance floor and he got close to me.

"Any particular reason you've asked me to dance, Olivia?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Do I have to have a reason? Is the pained look on your face while we dance not enough?"

His mouth curved into a smile as we swayed back and forward. It's a party, dancing is kind of the point. That and alcohol.

"I must admit you are not a bad dancing partner." he said.

He wasn't terrible himself. A thousand years spent dancing is a thousand years spent well. Though I guess things weren't that simple for his family.

"Not a bad dancing partner," I smirked, "I think that must be the biggest compliment you've ever given me."

He twirled me before pulling me back to him. I was about to comment on how he should twirl too when we heard the crash.

Oliver and Diego had gotten into a fight. Werewolves and vampires never got along so this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. So much about a party bringing everyone together.

Elijah grabbed Oliver and slammed his head against a desk. As he warned him that this fight was over, Jackson came up to Diego and held a stake to his heart.

A sigh of left my lips as I pinched the bridge of my nose. Men really are morons. They couldn't go one night without arguing or harming each other. It was sad, really.

"What's stopping you? Kill him."

Hayley's voice spread through the room. I looked for her only to see her standing on the stairs. I gotta say, I didn't expect that kind of response from her tonight.

She climbed down the stairs. "Go ahead, Elijah. Do it. I mean, it's not like he doesn't deserve to die."

He distracted Rebekah and led her to the wolves that attacked her. Only to end up in Celeste's and Genevieve's hands. He definitely deserved to die.

"I mean, it was Oliver that handed Rebekah over to the witches so they could torture her. But then again wasn't it Diego who lead a werewolf massacre last month," Hayley looked around the room, "and the witches cursed the wolves while the humans laid back and let it happen. So when you think about it, everyone here deserves to die."

I smirked as she held her speech. Hayley Marshall is coming for their asses and I'm here for it. All of these factions were responsible for terrible deeds.

None of them are innocent. Even if they pretend to be.

"Are you approaching a point?" Elijah asked.

I took a glass of champagne to sip on while Hayley breaks up the fight. This whole peace treaty is never going to work. Tonight proved that. But not all hope is lost.

It lives on in Hayley and her daughter. I have faith that she'll make this city a better place. Just not with this treaty.

"My point, Elijah, is this. If we can't all learn to get along, if our families can't create some sort of community, then what's the point? Kill each other and get it all over with." Hayley argued.

Elijah released Oliver. As soon as Jackson saw that, he removed the stake that was aimed at Diego's heart. And just like that, the peace was restored.

For a while anyway.