AT the Mikaelson mansion, the family was preparing for the last minute ball that Esther had planned for that same night. There was playing while Rebekah was having her nails polished by an assistant and Kol was standing before a full-length mirror wearing a black evening suit while a tailor adjusted it for him. Finn and Elijah were also standing around in the room, preparing for the ball.

Ingrid was sitting on one of the leather couches, playing with Elijah's cell phone. "Elijah, why on Earth would you need such a complicated device?" She questioned him in a smooth and elegant voice and held it up between her fingers with a face of confusion.

He turned toward her with an amused smile across his face and chuckled. "It allows for faster communication."

She raised an eyebrow and mused lowly to herself in understanding. "I feel... barbaric and out of touch."

Kol admired himself in the mirror and glanced at his sister with a confident smirk. "Rebekah? Tell me how handsome I am."

"Ah Kol, you know I can't be compelled." Rebekah mocked him with pointed expression as she examined her nails.

Finn looked up from his dress shoes and grinned at their teasing as Kol turned toward the female hybrid. "Ingrid?"

Ingrid shot him a confused expression before making a face of realization. "Oh, you wish for me to lie." She then glasped her hands together and studied him, moving her dark brown eyes up and down. "You are... dressed."

Suddenly, the door opened and Klaus stormed in, heading straight for Rebekah. "You went after Elena? What is wrong with you?!"

Rebekah rolled her shoulders back and smirked up at him in amusement. "Here we go."

"Do you want another dagger in your heart?" Klaus threatened her, narrowing his blue eyes.

Kol turned away from his own reflection to glare at his brother with burning hatred. "Again with the dagger threats? Don't you have any other tricks?"

"Oh, go back to staring at yourself." Klaus snarled at him then turned back to the blonde.

Kol narrowed his eyes and tilited his head to the side. "And who are you, my father?"

"No, Kol, but you're in my house." Klaus reminded him sternly while walking toward him.

"I was under the impression that this house was for all of us." Ingrid remarked with a pointed expression causing Klaus to glare over at her.

Kol stood up and met him halfway with a challenging expression. "Then perhaps we should go outside."

Klaus and Kol stared at each other in a nonverbal battle for the upper hand as the other Mikaelsons stared at them in anticipation.

Esther walked into the room with her hands folded in front of her and put an end to their feuding."Enough!" She yelled sternly causing them all to face her. "Niklaus. Come."

Klaus gave Kol one last look before walking into another room with his mother. The siblings stayed behind and exchanged glances until the sound of Klaus' voice echoed throughout the house. "Ingrid!"

They all turned to look at her with different expressions as her whole demeanor changed from easy-going to guarded.

She pushed herself off the couch and handed Elijah's phone back to him on her way out of the room. Following the sound of his voice, she met him in the den with a deadpanned expression.

He cleared his throat before pushing a stack of books toward her and giving her a sheepish look. "This is everything you'll need to catch up on from the past millennia."

Ingrid approached the books and opened the first one up. She began reading at supernatural speed and read through the whole stack in less than ten minutes. She then set the last book back into the stack and raised an eyebrow at him. "Eventful. I rather enjoyed the continous trend of revolutions amongst human kind against themselves. It pleases me to see that violence in humans has not changed."

A thick, tense silence filled the room around them as Klaus thought about how to approach the situation that needed be addressed. Deciding that she was tired of the avoidance, she rolled her dark eyes and spoke up. "I need to know why."

"To protect you." He answered vaguely in a gruff tone of voice and attempted to grab the books and leave the room.

Ingrid slammed her hand down on the stack, stopping him in his tracks and glaring at her husband. "No. Do not play this off as a nobel attempt. It was never about me. It was and always has been about you, Niklaus. You locked me away so you could play the role of the one and only hybrid without me. You felt threatened. I threatened your ego---"

"I did it to protect you!" Klaus snapped angrily, cutting her off from her angry rant. "I did it to protect you from everything. From the world. From me. From... Mikael.

"I do not fear Mikael nor do I fear the likes of man." She confidently remarked with a stern look. "You locked me away for Mikael?" She questioned him in curiosity to which he nodded in an annoyed manner. "He is dead, no? Were your intentions to keep me boxed away until his demise or until you made the righteous decision to free me at your convenience?"

When he didn't answer, she smirked bitterly and titled her head to the side. "Silence is an answer. And your silence speaks volumes." The Mikaelson wife remarked then turned on her heels to walk away until he stopped her.

"I was trying to save you from Mikael." He argued emotionally and took a step toward her.

She faced him with an angry expression and shook her head. "That is not a good enough reason to keep me locked away for a millennia. You had a plethora of chances to let me out. Yet you didn't. That is a choice you made and a choice that has consequences." Then she scoffed and glanced at him in offense. "Is your opinion of me so skewed that you could not imagine a world where I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself? Or was it so you could feed your own ego long enough until you did not need me anymore?"

He glanced at her in shock while shaking his head vigorously in rejection but she didn't let him respond and continued on. "You daggered me and kept me away for the same sins you had committed."

"Darling, you were uncontrollable and wrathful. You exceeded my sins by hundred fold." Klaus agrued sternly and attempted to take one of her hands. "I did it for you."

Ingrid pulled out of his grip and sneered at him. "How can you stand before me and justify your actions? You were selfish." She harshly commented then paused for a brief moment before speaking up again. "Were you aware that in my state, I could hear everything around me?" She questioned, earning a surprised and guilty look from Klaus. "I heard every time you would move my coffin. I heard everything that was said. Do not play this off as a heartfelt attempt at a husband saving his wife. You were terrified of me. I scared you so far out of your wits end that you felt you had no choice but to subdue me. You feared that I would one day destroy the entire earth. This was never about protection, Niklaus. It was about your need and ability to control everyone around you. You have thousand years to make up for. Life will not just fall back into place. You have to express the effort to fix it."

"Do not mistake my love and devotion for you as weakness." She reminded him with a pointed expression. "Do not attempt to take advantage of that for your own control. I am not your puppet or your toy. We are of the same calibre and we are of equal strength, my love. Do not forget that." Ingrid remarked then turned around and left him alone in the den.

Evening fell quickly and cars were pulling up the driveway in front of the mansion. Inside there were lots of people talking and a live band was playing classical music.

Damon walked over to Carol Lockwood and handed her a glass of champagne. "Hello Carol."

"Hello." She greeted him warmly and they clink their glasses together.

"Hanging out with your new besties?" He questioned bitterly after he sipped his champagne.

Carol looked around at the guests before looking at him. "I'm the mayor, Damon. When the oldest, deadliest, family of vampires moves into your town, you welcome them with a smile."

"Hmm, Well at least you know who you're borrowing that cup of sugar from." He commented with a look on his face.

"I'm trying to protect this town." She whispered to him. "They've assured me they want peace, and I've assured them that I'd enforce it."

Then Kol walked over and kissed Carol's hand as he greeted her. "Mayor Lockwood. We haven't formally met. Kol Mikaelson. I hope your lovely town embraces us just as much as we plan to embrace it."

Damon held out his hand politely to shake Kol's hand. "Damon Salvatore. Have we met?"

Kol didn't shake his hand, only smirked at him with narrowed eyes. "I've met a lot of people. And you don't particularly stand out." The youngest Mikaelson brother walked away from him and approached Ingrid, who was standing by one of the champagne trays. She was wearing an off the shoulder ruby red ball gown with opera length white gloves and her long brunette hair pulled up into an elegant bun.

Damon narrowed his eyes at the brunette, recalling her from the night prior. He didn't have the slightest clue who she was and assumed that she was another Mikaelson sibling. He cleared his throat and excused himself from Carol's company before following Kol's footsteps and approaching Ingrid. He grinned confidently at her and held his hand out for her to take. "Damon Salvatore." He introduced himself smoothly as Kol snickered beside them.

She glanced down at his hand then up at him in an unimpressed manner. "I suppose this is where I shake your hand in formalities, yes?"

Damon furrowed his eyebrows at the manner in which she spoke before covering it up and smiling with a nod. She sighed in reluctance and took ahold of his hand. He grabbed her hand gently and brought it up to his lips, kissing her gloved knuckles. He paused when he felt the small wedding band on her finger graze his lips. He pulled away and let go of her hand as she glanced at him in amusement. "This is the part where you introduce yourself back."

"Hmm." She mused dully and pulled her hand away, fixing her glove and discreetly wiping her hand against Kol's suit jacket. She then turned toward her brother-in-law and proceeded to speak to him in the old Norse dialect they were raised to speak. "Who does this imbecile think he is?"

"Someone of importance. Believe me, he's no one." Kol responded back in the same dialect as Damon watched them, clueless and out of place.

Damon clapped his hands together causing them to turn toward him with amused expressions. Deciding it was best not to cause a scene, she put on an award winning smile and feigned interest in his existence. "Oh, yes. I do apologize. I am... not exactly caught up with this century or what is customary." She explained then took a sip from her champagne.

Damon was about to demand who she was once more when he heard the door open and turned to see which guest had arrived. Realizing that it was Elena, he excused himself abruptly and quickly approached her.

The Mikaelsons glanced at each other in distaste before walking toward their family. Rebekah watched as Stefan offered Elena his arm and she wrapped hers in it then looked at Damon, who did the same, and she took his arm with her other arm. Both Salvatores then escorted her into the party as the blonde Original scoffed in jealousy and bitterness.

"What do you see in him, sister?" Kol questioned with a smirk.

Ingrid turned to see who the commotion was all about then rolled her eyes in aggravation. "She is the spitting image of Tatia."

"Yes, she is the doppelgänger." Elijah remarked in a meaningful tone as he approached them. "She is a descendant of Tatia."

"Oh, that would be the infamous Elena I presume." Ingrid concluded with a blank facial expression.

"Nik said she is off limits." Rebekah snarled in aggravation, folding her arms across her chest.

"For you, maybe." Ingrid commented with a mischevious smirk.

Elijah gestured for his family to follow him and he tapped his champagne glass to get everyone's attention. "Uh, if everyone could gather, please."

All the Originals were standing on the staircase as Elijah addressed the company and Esther walked down the staircase from upstairs. "Welcome, thank you for joining us. You know, whenever my mother brings our family together like this, it's tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance. Tonight's pick is a centuries-old waltz, so if all of you could please find yourselves a partner, please join us in the ballroom." Elijah continued his speech as Esther retreated silently back upstairs.

Ingrid walked down the stairs but was stopped in her place when someone grabbed onto her hand. She turned around with an annoyed expression but it softened for a brief moment when she noticed that it was Klaus then her expression became stern. "Yes, Niklaus?"

"It's tradition. Dance with me." Klaus requested with a small smile and held his hand out for her to take.

She stared up into his eyes for a brief second before taking his hand and gesturing for him to lead the way. When they reached the ballroom, she whispered to him in a low voice so only he could hear. "I am not accustomed to this fashion of dance."

"Well, lucky for you, the men lead the dance." He replied with a confident smirk and she rolled her eyes in disgust in response.

"How chauvinistic." Ingrid mumbled lowly.

Klaus chuckled warmly and helped guide her hand to his shoulder and took the other in his hand. "Like this." He then placed a hand on the small of her back and pulled her close to him. Their chests were pressed closely together as their lips inches away from each other. He heard her breath hitch in her throat as her undead heart began to pick up pace in her chest. This assured him that despite her anger toward him, there was still hope that deep down she still loved him.

The music began and Klaus led them through the dance as she attempted to refrain from eye contact. She wasn't going to admit to herself, especially to him, that she was still in love with her husband despite his cruelty. However, Ingrid had no intentions of giving into him right away. He would need to make up for his wrong doings. She was unsure of her trust toward him and that would not make a healthy marriage.

He glanced down at her in admiration as his heart was sitting on his sleeve for the first time in over a millennia. He wanted nothing more than to express his true feelings for her but he knew that this was not the time nor place.

"I am..." Klaus spoke up and trailed off as he anxiously prepared himself for what he was about to say. However, before he could finish his sentence, it was time for everyone to switch partners. Ingrid was spun out of his arms and was replaced by Caroline Forbes.

Ingrid landed in Elijah's arms and laughed happily. "I hoped I would not land in a Salvatore's arms."

"I am pleased that I did not disappoint you, Ingrid." Elijah remarked in amusement and chuckled along with her.

Once the dance was over, the guests split up to do their mingling once again. Klaus searched the crowds for his wife until he wandered outside to see her admiring the horses in their driveway. When he approached her, he noticed she was speaking in old Norse to them and chuckled in admiration. "I don't think they can understand you, love."

She paused for a moment before she returned to stroking their manes and refused to gaze up at him. "I don't think they mind." She remarked with a small shrug. "What can I help you with, Niklaus?"

"I never got to finish what I was trying to say." He replied vaguely and walked over to stand on the opposite side of the horse. "I wanted to say that I'm... I'm sorry." He said quietly causing her to freeze in her spot and gaze up at him through her thick eyelashes. "I'm sorry that I... tried to control you because you were right."

"Did that taste bitter in your mouth?" She snarkily questioned, rolling her dark eyes.

"No. Because I mean it. You were right. After I watched you massacre that village, I was scared that you would be stronger than me. That you would overpower me and I let my pride take over my choices. I put myself before you and that's not what a husband is supposed to do. I am willing to do what it takes to fix our marriage."

She gaped up at him in surprise and pursed her lips in an impressed manner. It was nice to hear those words but she knew that words meant nothing without actions to back them up. Ingrid's face hardened as she spoke up again. "Our marriage means nothing if I cannot trust you." She then glanced up at him sternly and stopped stroking the horses. "Words do not fix the problem. Actions do. I do not trust you as of this moment so I cannot--"

"Then I'll prove it to you." He replied sternly, cutting her off from finishing her statement, and they stared at each other meaningfully for a long moment. They decided it was best to make their way back inside and he held his arm put to her. She glanced at him curiously before looping her arm through his and allowing him to take her back inside.

They were standing together in silence amongst the crowd when Damon suddenly approached them in aggravation. "We never finished our conversation earlier." The Salvatore remarked to the Original wife.

"Daniel, right?" She purposefully asked the wrong name as a reminder to him that he wasn't significant in her mind.

"Damon." He corrected through gritted teeth as Klaus attempted to hold back a chuckle from beside her. "I never caught your name." The Salvatore said in feigned kindness, pushing the subject once again.

"Ingrid." She introduced herself in a dull tone of voice then raised an eyebrow. "Was there something I could help you with, Damon?"

"What does your mother want with Elena?" Damon demanded in an aggressive manner, glaring at the couple.

She placed a hand on her chest and shook her head. "My mother? Nothing. His mother on the other hand, we do not have the slightest idea nor do we really care."

"Wait, you're not his---?" Damon questioned in confusion, caught off guard by the situation.

"Sister?" She finished for him with a smirk then shook her head. "No."

"This is Ingrid Mikaelson. My wife." Klaus introduced her officially with a large, proud smile.

Damon gaped at them in astonishment, however, before he could question any further, the sound of someone tapping on crystal suddenly rang through the room and everyone stopped talking.

Then Esther addressed the guests from the staircase, holding a glass of red-tinged champagne in her hand. "Good Evening, Ladies and Gentleman. Waiters are coming around with champagne. I invite you all to join me in raising a glass. It provides me with no greater joy then to see my family back together as one. I'd like to thank you all for being part of this spectacular evening. Cheers!"

"Cheers!" Everyone drank from their glasses, including all the Original vampires. Ingrid and Klaus clinked their glasses together in cheers before drinking their champagne.

The Mikaelson couple was walking through a room full of paintings gracing the walls and Ingrid studied them in awe. They stopped when they came across a portrait of a young brunette woman hanging on the wall. She stared at it closely then turned to him in surprise. "Is that me?"

He nodded with a wide smile and gestured to her portrait. "When I began painting, one of the first portraits I did was yours. I have to admit that I missed you everyday. The only way to keep myself from opening that casket was to paint you. You are my muse."

"How virtuous of you." She sarcastically remarked with a smirk.

"One of my landscapes is hanging at the Hermitage, not that anyone would notice." Klaus remarked, slightly embarrassed yet proud. "I could take you."

"I will pretend that I know what you are talking about." Ingrid replied with a laugh causing him to laugh warmly. "As much as I appreciate the efforts, it will take far more than a painting and a spontaneous trip to wherever you mean."

"I know." Klaus responded in an understanding tone. "It won't be something I can do in one day. That I'm aware of."

"Where was this Niklaus a millennia ago?" She questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Your empathy for your family is still lacking, my love."

They then heard a commotion outside and glanced at each other curiously. The made their way outside to see Kol and Damon fighting in the pavement outside the front door. The rest of the Mikaelsons and Elena joined them from the opened door to see what had happened.

Damon snapped Kol's neck as Stefan ran outside with a bewildered expression. "Damon! Are you crazy?"

"Maybe a little." Damon said breathlessly and looked at Elena with a hurt face. "Far be it from me to cause a problem." He snarled and turned his back to them before walking away.

---
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