ELIJAH arrived to the compound to find Ingrid and Klaus waiting for him in the dining room in anticipation for their family brunch. Klaus looked up at his brother and grinned happily. "There you are. Finally."

Elijah stripped off his coat and hung it up before heading toward the table. "I was delayed." He vaguely explained his late arrival causing Ingrid to chuckle under her breath while sipping on her mimosa.

"Oh, yes. Delayed." She commented in a knowing tone of voice, smirking to herself. "What was the name of this delay?" She questioned curiously in amusement and raised an eyebrow. Narrowing her eyes, she glanced at her brother-in-law for a moment before laughing again. "That little protégé of yours perhaps?" She pressed further then turned to look at her husband. "What was her name again, Niklaus?"

"Gina." Klaus answered with an amused smirk.

"Oh, right. Gina." Ingrid whispered with a wide smirk.

"Gia." Elijah corrected with an eyeroll. "Enough." Elijah spoke in a warning tone, guarding his private life from them.

Klaus chuckled to himself before sobering up and spoke to Elijah again. "Our guest of honor will be here momentarily."

"Strange, our house is conspicuously absent of our lupine guests." Elijah remarked, bemused, and sat down next to the hyrbids. "I do hope it wasn't on my account."

Klaus looked down at his lap and laughed for a moment. Licking his lips, he looked back up at them. "I sent Hayley and her poorly groomed husband off to spend the day with their werewolf brethren to test the limits of their new abilities. Leaving me to deal with family business as I see fit."

Elijah glanced at him suspiciously and shifted in his seat. "Niklaus, Rebekah's situation has taken a turn. We may need Freya's assistance. So, whatever you are planning here? Don't." He advised sternly, shooting them both warning glares.

Ingrid set her glass down and shot Elijah an unimpressed look. "Please." She scoffed with an eye roll. "I was unaware that we were inviting strangers to have a seat at the table." She grumbled in a bitter manner and gave him a patronizing smile. "My apologies."

Klaus rolled his blue eyes and jeered at his accusation. "All I'm planning is a simple chat with a long-lost relative. You yourself said to hear her out."

Elijah narrowed his eyes and looked at his younger brother in suspicion. "And you yourself said that would be idiocy."

Klaus glanced at Ingrid, sharing an amused look with her. "Did I?" He feigned as though he was straining to remember when he had said this. "Well, it does sound like me." He mused with a shrug as Ingrid laughed lowly. "Regardless, on the off-chance Freya has some information that could protect my daughter, I'd prefer she share it on my terms." He remarked then paused and held a finger up, pointing toward his ear. "Ah! I think I hear her now!"

He turned to the door just as Freya walked into the dining room, smiling at her family. "Sister! Well, come in! Come in! Make yourself comfortable." He held his hand out to an empty seat with a wide smile causing Freya to look slightly nervous but she smiled warmly at them regardless.

For a bit of time, the four Mikaelsons sat around the table making awkward, small talk. Freya held a small round artifact in her hands and was examining it carefully. "This witch-hoop, it's Danish. Is this from when you all lived in Copenhagen in the 1500s?"

"Quite the eye!" Klaus praised condescendingly causing Ingrid to roll her dark eyes. She was sitting in her chair with her elbow resting on the table and a finger rubbing her temple.

Elijah glanced at his siblings impatiently and set his napkin on the table. "Forgive me-- are we here to discuss family heirlooms, or do we have more pressing concerns?"

"Yes. Must we continue this dreadful conversation?" Ingrid questioned in boredom.

Klaus shot her a scolding look before turning back to Freya and smiling bitterly. "Please excuse my brother's lack of decorum. He's been in a foul mood of late." He explained earning himself an unimpressed look from Elijah. Klaus sighed as he tapped his fingers against the table. "But, he is right. I did ask you here in the hopes that you would share some of Dahlia's secrets. So, without further ado, let's get to it!"

Freya cleared her throat awkwardly before she began to speak. "The first thing you should know is that Dahlia is the most powerful witch I've ever seen. She craves more power still. Right now she is like me-- limited to one year of life in a century. But, she wants to be free of that restriction. To gain true immortality. And that is why she will come here-- drawn by your daughter to take the child's power for herself." She explained seriously, glancing between Klaus and Ingrid. "And she would kill anyone who would defy her."

"And yet you would defy her?" Elijah questioned in confusion and caution.

Freya looked at him with a painful expression and shook her head, looking down at her hands. "I don't have a choice. She will never let me be free. My one chance is to align with you and kill her."

Elijah seemed troubled by this revelation while Ingrid was intrigued and Klaus wasn't convinced.

"Well, now that we're all suitably motivated, let's talk specifics!" Klaus pressed on as he leaned forward in his seat, narrowing his eyes at her.

Freya took a deep, shaky breath and licked her lips nervously. "For you to understand, I need to start from the beginning." She paused for a moment before telling the story about Dahlia's hold over her. "After taking me from my family, Dahlia used me to forge a new brand of connective magic, one that augmented my power even as it allowed her to draw from me. Once we were bonded, Dahlia became unstoppable. She wasted no time proving her might. The chief of a nearby village threatened to run us off, accusing Dahlia of witchcraft. She decided to make an example out of the entire encampment-- men, women, children."

"Now that sounds impeccably like Ingrid." Elijah commented in a snarky tone and Ingrid gave him a condescending smile then held a finger to her lips. Her middle finger to be exact.

Freya shook her head in rejection. "No. Not like this. She killed them all with a wave of her hand. That was my first inkling of the power Dahlia had. Over the course of a thousand years, she's only grown stronger." She said in fear and turned toward Klaus. "And she will bring all her power to bear against you when she comes for your child."

Klaus looked terrified by this revelation and met Ingrid's eyes, sharing this look with his wife. She gave him a curt nod, motioning that she understood what he was signaling to her and felt the same. She rubbed his lower leg with her foot in a soothing motion and discreetly grabbed his hand.

Freya's story was interrupted when Elijah's phone rang. Elijah gave them an apologetic smile and held a finger up. He looked at his phone to see that it was Rebekah and immediately turned toward them. "Excuse me." He said as he stood to his feet and stepped out into the hall to answer it.

The hybrids glanced at Freya curiously and she felt small under their gaze. An unsettling silence surrounded them until Elijah returned and they continued to discuss Dahlia over brunch, though none of them were eating the large amount of food spread out on the table.

Ingrid had always hated large meals like this because a majority of the food went to waste. Plus the whole scene was extremely unnecessary and drawn out for her taste.

Klaus smiled at his sister and feigned kindness. "Your stories are fascinating, and Dahlia does indeed sound dreadful, but Elijah, Ingrid, and I have killed our fair share of evil witches."

Freya shook her head again with a stern look. "Not like her."

Elijah raised an eyebrow and sipped on his tea before questioning her. "What are her weaknesses?"

"She's paranoid. Obsessed with power. She hungers constantly for what's been denied her, be it love, or revenge." Freya explained to them.

Elijah licked his lips and smirked down at his cup before giving Klaus a knowing look. "Yes, I believe I'm familiar with the type."

Ingrid bit her thumbnail as an attempt to keep herself from laughing while Klaus smirked back at him, amused.

"When I was a child, she would tell me tales of her own youth, being victimized by those stronger than her. Dahlia vowed never to be weak again. She bargained for the firstborn of Esther's bloodline, intending to raise us in her own image, forming a coven of her own from which she could draw endless power. That plan was foiled the day she learned that Esther had ended her bloodline by turning her children into vampires." Freya looked at Klaus, who looked as though he had something to say, but she kept talking. "And so the burden fell to me. Dahlia demanded that I bear the firstborn that would add to her power, but I would not allow a child of mine to live as I did-- as a slave." She explained, her eyes filling with tears. "So, I vowed never to love. Never to have a child of my own."

Ingrid stared down at the table in front of her, a distant look in her dark brown eyes. She could sympathize with the witch sitting before her but that did not mean she trusted her in the slightest.

Freya started to cry and Elijah looked troubled. She continued on with her story as though she wasn't on the verge of breaking down. "Of course, the more I resisted, the harder Dahlia fought to control me. 'Til the day that she took the last of what little freedom I had left. And so we slept, our magic accruing over time. Until we woke, filled with immense power and allowed to live a single year of life. That has been the existence I've suffered for the last ten centuries."

Klaus began to laugh in a fake manner and Freya shot him an angry glare. "Well, that's quite the ordeal, isn't it? But, it does beg the question-- why not end it yourself?" He questioned her with narrowed eyes. Elijah shook his head in disgust at Klaus' words and tried to stop him from talking but the hybrid continued on. "A high enough bridge, a tight enough noose? You must have considered it."

Elijah turned to Ingrid, looking to her for help, but she simply shrugged her shoulders and held a hand up. Elijah gaped at her in shock but Ingrid knew her husband had a point. When you lived as long as they did and you thought all hope was lost, why not end your misery?

Freya closed her eyes and sighed in frustration before answering him. "Long ago, I did consider it. But, Dahlia would never give me even that freedom." She explained honestly and Klaus was surprised by this answer, and almost looked guilty for what he said. However, she didn't react and continued on. "I would later learn that the spell made me like her-- immortal and impervious to harm." She laughed bitterly and wiped the tears from her face. "So, you see, I am like you: a creature of great power, cursed for all time."

Later on, Rebekah had made it back to the compound and began to update them on what has happened. "It was this witch, Eva! The nocturnal cow is inside of me trying to bust her way out!" She said in frustration while pacing the floor.

Ingrid was sitting in an arm chair with a glass in her hand while Elijah stood with his arms crossed over his chest and Klaus leaned against the back of Ingrid's chair. The trio listened to what she was saying and Elijah looked at Klaus expectantly. "Freya is waiting downstairs. Perhaps we shou--"

Klaus cut him off and gave him a bewildered look. "Have you lost your mind? Tell me we're not considering opening our sister's head to someone we barely know!"

Rebekah turned toward him, frustrated. "Nik, for God's sake, she is our sister! I've known her since she saved me from the Fauline Cottage."

"Trust is earned. And from what I remember, I still don't trust you. Don't make proclamations about family when you, yourself, have been on several paths to destroy it." Ingrid remarked dully and glanced at her with a pointed look.

"Ingrid--" Elijah began to scold her but was cut off.

She held a finger up to him and smiled patronizingly. "Hold that for a moment. I'm speaking and I'm not finished. Have we learned nothing? Honestly, how stupid are we?" She questioned harshly then sat forward in her seat and sighed heavily. "Look, we have a history of making the same choices over and over so for once can we think this through and not repeat the dumbassery?"

Klaus pointed at her and nodded in agreement. "Exactly! An act no doubt meant to secure your trust! Perhaps for this very moment, to strike when we are vulnerable!" He assumed and Rebekah scowled at him but he shook his head and wagged a finger. "No, we've no way of knowing that anything she said today is true."

Elijah sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Niklaus, I understand your concern. Both of us are powerless to help our sister. Now, either we leave Rebekah to suffer, or we place our faith in the hands of someone I believe to be our blood." Klaus looked appalled but Elijah maintained his position. "Right now, I'm inclined to give the benefit of the doubt to family."

"And the cycle continues." Ingrid grumbled in annoyance and rubbed her temples again. "You are more than welcome to do so Elijah but Niklaus and I will refrain from giving in so easily. We have trusted the wrong people and it has lead to nothing but death and destruction. I will not do that again." She remarked sternly and sipped on her drink.

Elijah rolled his eyes and walked out of the room. After a minute, he brought Freya upstairs to them. Freya immediately walked toward Rebekah to greet her with a happy smile. "Rebekah!" Freya grabbed her hand and the two squeeze each other's hands. "It's good to see you again."

Rebekah smiled widely and nodded. "And you! Although I'd prefer better circumstances." The two sat next to each other on the couch while Elijah stood off to the side.

Klaus was sitting in the corner with a drink, his back turned to them, and obviously pouting due to being overruled by Elijah. Ingrid was still in her armchair and appeared unimpressed about the whole situation. She sat with her ankles crossed and an awaiting expression.

"You needn't worry. Elijah explained the problem, and I can help." Freya strongly reassured her sister.

Klaus muttered loudly, making no attempt to hide his snide attitude. "Rather confident, aren't we?"

Freya turned to look at him, partly amused and partly confused, but when Klaus didn't even acknowledge her, she just scoffed and turned back to Rebekah. Ingrid snickered to herself from her seat and shook her head. Elijah shot her a warning look but she ignored him.

"The spirit of the host body is powerful, but I can cast a spell." Freya explained and brushed Rebekah's cheek with her hand. "Put you in a deep sleep, and then suppress this other essence. You'll be just fine." She said with a wide, kind smile.

Rebekah smiled and laughed nervously. "Lovely. When do we start?"

Klaus groaned loudly and slammed his hand down in frustration. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me. She spouts off some magical diagnosis, and we are all supposed to applaud?"

Rebekah rolled her eyes and sneered at him, annoyed. "Nik, she's trying to help!"

Klaus stood to his feet and walked toward them with an angry look. "Yes, but for the sake of keeping our options open, why not write down your spells and incantations, that way we can have them double-checked by an impartial third party? Say, Davina? She'd love to prove me wrong."

"Davina is impartial?" Ingrid asked with a smirk then blew a raspberry with her lips and laughed. "Please. She would hardly be what I would call impartial."

"I doubt she'd be able to understand my magic, let alone have the power to execute it." Freya remarked, offended by his comments.

"Oh, so you're my only hope, then? Seems rather convenient, doesn't it?" Klaus replied in sarcasm with a raised eyebrow and Ingrid pointed at him in agreement.

Rebekah looked appalled at Klaus' attitude and rolled her eyes dramatically while Freya was both hurt and betrayed. "I knew it would be difficult to earn your trust, Niklaus. Your reputation precedes you."

"Good. It should." Ingrid stated in snarky tone and gave the witch a deadpanned expression.

Klaus beamed at her happily then smiled mockingly at Freya as she stood to her feet and walked toward him. "But, if we are to face Dahlia together, you will have to trust me. Given the peril that Rebekah now faces, are you truly incapable of giving me even a chance to prove myself?"

Klaus rolled his eyes and turned back toward the bar, so Freya addressed Elijah, Ingrid, and Rebekah instead. "I know I appear as an outsider, but I have dreamt of you all for a thousand years." Rebekah and Elijah spared look at each other before turning back to Freya, who glanced at her brother with a soft look. "Elijah-- when you were in Esther's womb, she would ask me to sing to you. I would feel her belly as I did." She laughed happily. "How you would kick. She would say it was as if Thor himself had raised his hammer--"

Elijah finished her sentence in a nostalgic tone. "--And summoned thunder and lightning." They smiled at each other, and Elijah was visibly touched that she would remember this memory. "Mother rarely mentioned you, but when she did, she would say how enchanted you were with the prospect of my birth."

"How I wanted more brothers. And a sister--" Freya looked over at Rebekah, who smiled at her affectionately. "-- more than anything. But between Esther and Dahlia, that wish was taken from me. I was ruined by those who raised me. If nothing else, at least we have that in common."

"Yeah?" Ingrid snarled furiously and stood to her feet, walking toward Freya and getting in close proximity. "Do you think you are the only one who was wrong by Esther? That you are the only one she has taken from?"

Elijah walked toward them and prepared to grab Ingrid by the elbow but she held a finger up to him, not looking away from her eldest sister-in-law.

"You are not the only one who has been wronged by the disease that is Esther Mikaelson. So please, spare me your tales. You will gain no pity from me. Save that for therapy." The female hybrid growled furiously and jabbed a finger at her. "I do not trust you and no, I do not want to waste my time for you to earn it. So if you have a way to stop Dahlia, you tell us now." Ingrid took a step closer, her eyes slowly turning golden-amber as she grew angrier. "Because I will not play this game with you. My only priority right now is protecting my daughter so I suggest you either talk or get the hell out of my way because I will run you down. No more stories about how you've been wronged or hurt or whatever else because I do not care." Freya opened her mouth to speak but Ingrid shook her head and smirked mischeviously. "I don't care."

Freya blinked repeatedly and took a step back, looking over at Klaus, who continued scowling silently across the room, before turning back to Elijah. "There is nothing that can replace what was taken from us. But, I hope we can make something better in its place. All you have to do is trust me."

Before anyone could say anything, Klaus sped over to her and broke her neck in a swift motion.

Rebekah tried to intervene but wasn't fast enough with her human speed. She watched her sister fall dead to the floor and gaped at Klaus furiously. "NIK!"

Klaus smirked proudly at his family. "Well, that's enough of that, don't you think?" Rebekah and Elijah both swarmed around him, livid at what he had just done, but he remained unfazed. "Right. Now we can have a proper family meeting."

Rebekah began checking on Freya and was furious as she looked over at Klaus, who was pacing along one side of the room while Elijah paced along the other. "Was that absolutely necessary?"

Klaus paused and threw his hands up in exasperation. "Oh, please, she was insufferable."

"Agreed." Ingrid commented dully.

Elijah pointed at Klaus in fury. "That was ridiculous, even for you!"

"You've only just met her! Let's not get sentimental." Klaus advised with an eye roll. "Besides, if she was telling the truth about being immortal, she'll awaken shortly. If she was lying, good riddance."

Ingrid stared over at him with a small smile but her eyes told it all. She was gazing up at him affectionately, pleased that they thought the same way and always seemed to be on the same page. Ingrid snapped out of her trance and smirked happily. "Also, if she was lying then Dahlia has lost her witch battery."

"Yes. Of course, if she wakes, she'll be willing to help us with unbridled enthusiasm." Elijah replied sarcastically, staring at them in disbelief.

Klaus scoffed at him and looked between his siblings. "She played you both for fools! Can you not see that? She spins a sad yarn about a small child taken by an evil witch, and you both fall over yourselves to mend what's broken!"

"How can you be so certain?" Rebekah asked in annoyance, glaring at him.

Klaus shrugged his shoulders and smirked widely. "Simple-- It's exactly what I'd do."

Elijah rolled his eyes in annoyance and knelt down to check on Freya while Klaus continued on with his thought process. "My only question now is, what's in it for her?"

"Freedom from Dahlia." Ingrid answered simply.

"Well, whatever the truth may be, she's in no position to help us now." Elijah stressfully added and ran a hand down his face.

Rebekah glared furiously at Klaus and stood to her feet. "Well, then we should try Marcel. Perhaps he's had luck on his end?" She turned to Klaus and shot him another glare. "Surely he's put in a better effort." She stormed out of the room to leave for Marcel's apartment, and after a moment, Elijah followed after her.

"You know I'm right, Elijah!" Klaus shouted loudly at him causing Elijah stopped and turned back to Klaus, fed up with his attitude. "We can't have an alliance with someone we can't trust."

"You don't trust her, and that is your choice. I only hope that choice comes from a place of reason... not fear." Elijah said, unamused, before turning on his heels and leaving the compound.

Klaus and Ingrid shared a look then equally rolled their eyes.

A few hours had passed and Freya was laying on the floor of the bell tower when she suddenly woke with a gasp. She looked around, confused and tried to figure out where she was. When she saw Klaus sitting nearby, she remembered what happened and became angry and frustrated.

"Ah, you're awake. Well, clearly your restorative powers are not renowned for their speed." Klaus mocked with a smirk.

"You dare lay your hands on me?" She snarled at him furiously and stumbled to her feet.

"Oh, my apologies, are you royalty or something? I must have missed that detail." Ingrid snarled in aggravation from behind her causing Freya to turn quickly on her heels to face her.

"Immortality is a bold play. I had to make sure you're telling the truth." Klaus informed his sister in a nonchalant manner.

Freya was clearly appalled as she tried to catch her breath. "Why did you bring me here?"

"I couldn't very well have you stay in my home. That honor is something I reserve for those I consider family." Klaus answered, practically rubbing in her face that he did not trust her.

"So you refuse me as your sister?" Freya questioned in offense and heartbreak.

"No." Ingrid answered honestly and pursed her lips with a small shrug. "I just don't believe you have good intentions. We've been betrayed by family too many times to allow it again."

Freya turned to Klaus to see his response and he looked at her with a tight lipped look and stood to his feet. "Well, you had a lovely audition. It just didn't seem to be the right fit."

"I think Elijah felt otherwise. Rebekah, too." Freya argued sternly causing Ingrid to laugh wildly.

"Rebekah falls for anything. I love her but she will fall for anything because she is too trusting. Elijah wants nothing more that unity and peace." Ingrid commented with an amused smirk. "So, I'm not surprised at all that they have given in immediately."

"Yes, you did a fine job of convincing them with all your melodramatic tales." Klaus added with a small laugh. "However, I suspect you were not entirely forthcoming. The truth is, Elijah and Rebekah can be a bit naive when it comes to family relations. Case in point, their unending faith in me! I repay that loyalty by guarding them against treachery they cannot see, and I suspect you are very treacherous indeed. You wish to worm your way into my family-- I want to know why. So, sister, I'm going to give you one last chance to tell the full truth. I suggest you don't muck it up."

Freya began to light dozens of candles around the room to give them light while thinking of a way to convince the hybrids of her intentions. "You want to know why I hate Dahlia?" She asked aloud causing Klaus to look surprised and intrigued by this response. Ingrid paused then motioned with her hand for the witch to continue. "It goes back to a man. His name was Mathias. We knew each other for one perfect year in the early 1400s. I loved him more than my own life, and Dahlia allowed me to love him."

Klaus nodded as he recalled part of her story from earlier. "Of course. She wanted you to bear her another firstborn."

Freya was near tears but continued on regardless. "I broke my vow and gave into love, and that led to the darkest moment of my life. The day when I tried to steal from Dahlia that which she wanted most."

Klaus folded his hands and questioned further. "And what, precisely, was that?"

Freya started to cry and hesitated for a moment, her voice breaking when she eventually spoke. "My son. Mathias only wanted our son to be born free. For that, Dahlia cursed him to death.To spare us both the horrors of the life I'd known, I took a bottle of Dahlia's strongest poison. I wanted to die, for only death could give me the release I longed for. But Dahlia knew that my death was never an option. That was the day that I learned I could never die." Freya's eyes pooled with tears again and she looked at them angrily.

The hybrids knew exactly what she was feeling in that moment and sympathized. Ingrid knew better than anyone what it was like to want a child only to lose them.

"It was Dahlia who made me do what I did. She turned me into a monster and I will destroy her for it. Tell me, brother-- is that the truth you wanted to hear?" Freya questioned him, anger lacing her voice.

Klaus, not expecting this response, steeled himself and forced down his emotions before he addressed her. "Whether I believe you or not is no matter. You told that tale in order to garner my sympathy..." Freya just stared at him blankly, as though she knew he would react this way but was still exhausted by it. "...thinking the shared plight of a child in danger would bond us. But, I will not be manipulated!"

Freya rolled her eyes as she walked toward him. "Whatever you choose, one finale truth remains-- Dahlia is coming for us. With me, you have a chance to defeat her. Without me, she will take your daughter and make her a slave. She will suffer as I had, never knowing her mother and father because Dahlia will have rendered you both into ash."

Klaus gave her a blank face and spoke in a dry tone. "Are you quite finished? If there is to be an alliance between us, it will be one of my design. And if you ever try to control me again, sister, you will spend the rest of your immortal life regretting it."

"Then leave." Freya replied, unimpressed, and they both growled at her. "I already have Elijah and Rebekah's trust, and I am not going anywhere. But, if I were you, brother, I would rethink your alliances as you go forward."

Ingrid laughed loudly and threw her head back. "We are not intimidated by you. You may have their trust but you will not stay in our home. You will stay away from our daughter. You may not be going anywhere but you will stay away from us. If you so much as step a toe out of line or cross a boundary, I will not hesitate to kill you and bury your ass ten feet under ground covered in concrete." She threatened harshly then made her way toward the exit. "Word of warning, I do not offer second chances."

---
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