Decades and centuries-old books, stained and crinkled from the age piled up, their pages being shuffled and inspected thoroughly.

Klaus and Caroline were working together, busy searching for the unlinking spell in Esther's book as Hayled needed to be unlinked from Sophie as soon as they could.

A noise of page torn apart boomed in the room and Caroline snapped her attention and found Klaus finally having the needed spell.

She watched him closely as he stepped out of the room. calling Tyler probably to execute the next part of the plan. Caroline whose head was suddenly filled with Valentine's voice gave her hand a monotonous jerk and she was among the pile, looking for as many as things she could look through without even realizing it.

Valentine's voice told her to find something.

Something useful.

Something to hold against Klaus. Something that shows his vulnerability.

And there it was. Among the things inside the box was a small diary with patchy pages filled with withered handwriting. A journal of Klaus. She couldn't miss the handmade bookmarks he drew on every other page.

Keeping the journal tucked under her jacket, she stalked out of the room and found Klaus picking up his car keys. "Can I come with you?"

"No," his voice was stern. "You stay! What I'm going to do is risky. I don't want you to indulge in these activities. Just stay here with Rebekah and Hayley."

"Keep it up on the way!" She said, moving around him and straight for the car. Klaus followed her still unwilling but as she seated herself, and put on the seatbelt, she added. "Let's not waste any more time."
__________

"I assume the time has come." Esther glanced at the sky, peeing for the crescent moon that loomed over their head. "Sacrifice needed to be made," she announced to the other two.

"Let's kill Hayley then," Sophie said, nodding at her niece, Monique.

"The baby has to be born first in order to complete the ritual," the Mikealson mother said. "Get her. Beware of my children. And freya. I can feel her magic in New Orleans."

"Monique & I can handle her."

"I hope you'll make it back here with her."

As instructed, they both left, and shortly after Valentine appeared, too.

"Have you prepared everything?" He sounded paranoid with his constant coming and going, demanding things that needed patience.

"Not yet," she said instead, hiding her detest. "Sophie and Monique are on the way and as soon as Hayley's here, it will be. When that baby is born, I will be able to do what ancestors want."

"I'm more concerned with what I want."

Esther scoffed. "I do not work for you, Vampire," she said. "You should be glad that you're getting to breathe here in this holy place. After what you did to the witches with the help of Davina, they still hold you accountable."

"Marcel was the one that tried to stop the harvest," he said. "My plan was quite the contrary although the end event turned out to be much better."

"Say what you want," she said. "We all know where we stand. This was a negotiation. You give Davina we help you overthrow my children. So while that's happening why don't you stop pestering me and focus on distracting Klaus? He's not an easy target to fool by Sophie or Monique."

"Worry not." He smiled. "I've something that can knock off Klaus anywhere."

........

By midnight, the meadow street was deserted and chills ran down Caroline's spine and she pulled her coat tighter, her hair blowing all over her face. A cat jumped down the nearest wall, across the road, knocking a bin on the way making her almost scream.

As expected Valentine showed up, his hands inside his pocket, looking as savage as ever. "You told me you've found something valuable and important."

"Does a journal sound pretty good?"

He took a moment of consideration. "Hmm. Seems like it."

She handed it over to him and as he flipped over pages after pages, his smile become deeper. "I never doubted you, Caroline. You definitely found a treasure for me."

"Do I have to keep doing that?" She asked. "They're gonna know eventually."

Valentine looked dangerously at her. "That is not my concern right now. Their place is your new home. Enjoy the homestay."

Caroline spoke lowly. "I can't," she said. "In order to meet you, I deliberately had to get into an argument with Klaus and I told him I won't go back in."

The smile was gone. "You should've asked me first before deciding anything by yourself."

Caroline panicked, her feets turning colder.  "I could try—"

"What's done is done." He said. "I'm sure the Mikealson will not leave you behind, especially Klaus. Until then stay at church. That is the easiest place they will try to find you".

________

Caroline angrily shoved the vervain injection in the dustbin and sat on the sofa. Her mind exploded with guilt, for breaking her promise and a little frustrated as Klaus blamed her for sleeping with him just to get a number. That was never how the night and time spent with him meant. Klaus was wrong. So wrong.

Her attention was drawn to the knock on the door. Her mind wandered at the visitor standing to the other side of the door and thinking about a minor possibility that Klaus might be one, she opened the door. Flinching, the color of her face drained at the sight of an injured man with blood on his clothes, a knife stuck near his heart.

"Oh my God?"

"Help me....he is going to kill me," The man groaned in pain, now half lying at her threshold. A human, she thought.

"What?" she peered her head out at the hallway. "There's no one," taking half a step out of her place, she glanced around when something struck her mind.

"That man," he pointed at the elevator but Caroline barely paid any attention as she took a look at the man again, studying his facial features who indeed looked scared out of his mind, a mirror image of her when she first witnessed what kind of creature Klaus was and that she was seconds away from dying.

She retreated her step, not wanting to step out of the protection of her house but the man held her hand and instead of getting in, he pulled her with a jerk, and she bounced out.

"What the hell?" She shouted at the man who now stood between the entrance and her home like a shield. "You're compelled."

A whip of air swooshed in and as the man fell flat on his stomach, the horror in Caroline dreaded.

"Hello Again," Valentine stood, his hand holding the bleeding heart of the man he just ripped out. "I thought I owed you a visit."

"Hello, Caroline". Valentine said with an evil smile on his face.

"You......" She retreated her steps but her steps were futile when Valentine swooshed again behind her, injecting Caroline in the neck and she collapsed.

*********

"I can't find Esther," Freya announced, arriving in the living room where Elijah, Klaus, and Hayley stood, talking about their next move sitting around the table. "She is cloaked brother and it's not only her magic. The ancestors of New Orleans are protecting her, too."

Elijah took a frustrated sigh and looked over at his Klaus. "Then brother I recommend you take Hayley away from here. Once Freya and I are finished taking care of Mother, you both can come back." he said. "Valentine will be like the dust beneath our shoes."

"I think that can't happen right now," Freya said. "Hayley's due on any day now. Staying close and protecting each other is more important. Let's stay united."

"Freya's right," Hayley said, putting away the empty bowl she was eating from. "And I think I know a place where I can be safe. It will be out of witches and vampire territory."

"For god's sake, tell me it's not the bayou," Klaus groaned. "I know Freya with her expertise in ancient spells and magic freed your pack from that curse but you are not leaving my sight."

"Why not," she argued. "They are my pack, my family, and now our daughter, too. Don't forget that she's part of the Crescents.

Klaus was ready to argue when Elijah interrupted.
"Niklaus. I see an opportunity and advantage here. "Right now we need more and more people to help us even if it's Hayley's pack. We have no idea what Esther is up to. What we know right now is that those witches are hell-bent on killing your child. It won't be easy to best werewolves of such large numbers. Hayleys shall be there. For assurance, I'll stay, too."

"Swear to me, Elijah that you'll protect my child no matter what it takes."

"You have my word," Elijah replied and with collective agreement, their departure was quick as if Hayley had been playing with idea of going to stay Bayou for a long time.

"They'll be okay," Freya said after a moment.

He still looked troubled. "Freya, we don't have much time. You have to find something as soon as possible."

She stood closely to her brother. "You all freed me, Klaus. " she said. "And I will do everything in my power to save the family I've dreamt for a thousand years."

Klaus nodded in assurance. "I really feel like murdering a bunch of witches so—"

A clanging noise clatters near their feet. The ceramic bowl Hayley had left was in pieces on the floor. They looked around, their attention particularly drawn to the curtains flowing wildly near the window, the wind picking up pace.

Klaus barely glanced around at any suspicious voice but his phone gave a buzz. A message lightened the screen of his phone.

"I got Caroline. Come and get her. Or she's a bag of blood."

"Freya, do a locator spell." He showed her the phone. "Valentine has Caroline. I need to go. Text me as soon as you find her."

"Brother, it's a trap." Freya said. "He is using Caroline to get you."

"I know," he said. "Don't worry sister. Neither our mother nor Valentine holds a White oak stake to kill me and I'm not leaving Caroline behind. I have to find her anyhow."

Freya looked in the mood to argue further but Klaus swooshed outside so fast that it was dust in the air.
Resigning, she went to the room where Caroline used to stay and fetched a brush.

A large figure appeared and disappeared on the mirror as Freya walked past it. She halted, focusing on the mirror if what she felt was true before inspecting every place of the room. Dashing out of the room, she kept looking sideways but it was a distinct smell that made Freya more concerned.

Holding the blue stone pendent she always wore, she muttered a spell and the mirage woke. "I thought I smelled Mugwort."

Sophie and Monique were now standing a few feet away from her, their cloaking spell dissolved. A faint smoke blew out of the dried mugwort they were using. "It's one of mother's trick. The books mention it too many time."

"We came here to remove an obstacle," Sophie said.

Freya chuckled. "I am an immortal. I can't die but you both will."

Sophie smiled. "About that, we took a lesson from Esther already,"

As soon as those words left out, Freya's ongoing spell  broke and all the air was pulled out of her lungs and felt like they were filled with ash instead. Freya felt the stinging power of the magif from the brush she was holding to the rest of her body.

"We spelled it and now you will be knocked out for hours."

"I will kill you," Freya choked before falling into darkness.

Monique sighed. "So weak for such string words."

"Let her be," her aunt said. " Go and grab something of Hayley's. We need to track her down."

___________

Caroline woke up from her slumber. She was lying in the bed in a highly decorated room. The room is filled with antiques sofa, carpet, painting and so many things.

Caroline keeps her hand in her temple as she feels a bit painful due to the chemical but she hurriedly comes down the bed as she remembered the moment when valentine injected her.

She runs toward the door tries to open it. She bangs it several times calling someone for help but in vain. She finally gave up and spin around back to the room to find a way to run out. She searches Every corner but finds nothing. At last, she started to search for things. She first tries to open the cupboard but it was too locked.

Caroline moves toward the drawers and searches them to find anything and she did find a thing.

Klaus' journal.

____________
Updated on: 17 December 2018

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