𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙎𝙀𝙑𝙀𝙉
ミ★ ( perfect prey, act one ) ★彡

A sabbatical was necessary for Cordelia. The drama that was happening in Mystic Falls was beginning to become too much since there was a war brewing in the town between Klaus Mikaelson and Stefan Salvatore. Stefan wants his town back and for the Mikaelsons to leave, but Klaus won't do a thing without his family back in his possession. Both of them were essentially on the same side of things, but were too damn stubborn to see it. It wasn't her fight as much as it was Klaus'. As much as she wanted her family back, it was up to Klaus to do the negotiations with Stefan—since it was him that pissed him off enough to take them in the first place. Cordelia wouldn't be much help, only being a person that would further annoy Stefan with her presence. Klaus also thought it was better for her to leave town for her safety. Since his hybrids were no longer allowed in Mystic Falls, there was no one to protect her whenever Klaus couldn't be by her side.

She didn't really think she needed the protection, but Klaus was too paranoid about Stefan's vendetta to argue.

When she did return to Mystic Falls, she was surprised to see that Elijah had awoken from being daggered. Furthermore, that it was Damon that woke him up, and not Klaus. Whatever the reason may be that he did that, she would never know, but she could sense the tension immensely in between the two brothers; since Klaus had misguided Elijah and daggered him for the betrayal of trying to kill him prior to him breaking his curse.

Cordelia had spent the day organising the dinner—creating a several course dinner to perfection, and picking wines that would suit the meals presented despite knowing that the men invited would much prefer a different liquid to fill their appetite. She had finished helping the staff set up the dining room table before getting ready for the evening, opting for a tight long sleeve black dress for the occasion and simple jewellery.

Once the doorbell rang, she went downstairs and opened the door to Stefan and Damon, still struggling to place the backs of her earring onto the piece of jewellery, "Nik, our guests are here!" She called out to her husband before smiling back to the brothers, "Welcome to our home." She greeted them, stepping to the side to let them in, not missing the way Damon's face skewed up at the way she said 'our', "My husband tells me you seek an audience."

Klaus walked down the steps with Elijah in tow, "Yes, very bold." He comments, leading them into the dining room where the table was set and the food was placed in the centre for dinner, "Let's discuss the terms of our agreement like civilised men, shall we?" He suggested.

Elijah noticed the uncertain looks on both Salvatore men, wondering what Klaus had planned for them, "It's better to indulge him."

"I didn't come here to eat, Klaus." Stefan stated, crossing his arms with an unimpressed glare, "In fact... I didn't want to come here at all. But, I was told I had to because you would hear us out."

"Well, we can sit and eat or I can reach down your throats and pull out your innards." Klaus responds casually while pulling out the chair casually for Cordelia to sit down, "The choice is yours."

The brothers share a look before sitting down and beginning the first course—well, except Stefan who sat there stoically. One of the waiters poured Damon a glass of red one, one that Cordelia specifically picked for him because she knew he'd like it. He thanked her while Stefan remained not touching anything, "You lost your appetite." Klaus noticed.

"Eat." Damon ordered him while chewing on his food, "I thought we agreed that we would leave the grumpy Stefan at home."

Stefan takes a bite of his food spitefully and Klaus smiles, "That's the spirit." He remarked, "Isn't it nice—the five of us dining together? Such a treat." He then turns to look at Damon, "Is this what you had in mind when you pulled the dagger from my brother?"

Damon shrugged, "Well, I know how he felt about you, so I figured the more, the merrier." He smiles before playfully winking at Elijah.

"Well, Elijah and I have had our share of quarrels over the century. But we always make it through." Klaus responds while he watches Cordelia signal for the plates to be removed and for the next course to be brought out.

"Kind of like you and Rebekah, right?" Stefan remarked, "Where is she, by the way? Last I checked she was still daggered because you were afraid to face her."

"If you're referring to the fact that Rebekah knows I killed our mother—I've already come clean to Elijah, and Cordelia is already aware, too." Klaus informs him, understanding his gameplay almost immediately.

"Hey, Stef, remember when you killed dad?" Damon muttered quietly and Cordelia's head tilted to the side, wondering how that situation came to be, "Might want to dial down the judgment until dessert."

"We're here to make a deal, Damon. Doesn't mean we need to kiss his ass for seven courses." Stefan says back.

Damon held up his hands at his brother's hostility, "I'm just saying we have a long evening ahead of us. Pace yourself."

Elijah cleared his throat after taking a sip of his wine, "Stefan, where is the lovely Elena tonight?" He asked, wanting to try and make the conversation lighter than it was before.

"I don't know. Ask Damon." Stefan responds and an awkward silence covers the room at the mention of Damon's relationship with Elena.

Klaus laughs and Cordelia runs a hand over her hair awkwardly. Elijah looks at the couple exasperatedly, "I'm sorry, you've missed so much." Klaus chuckled more, "Ah, trouble in paradise."

"One more word about Elena, and, uh, this dinner's over." Stefan pointed at everyone at the table with his knife and Klaus smiled, putting a finger to his lips as a promise to keep quiet about Elena.

Damon raised his eyebrows and let out a deep exhale, "You know what, probably best just to keep Elena in the do-not-discuss pile."

"Yeah." Cordelia breathed out awkwardly and everyone else let out their mumbles of agreement. It was that moment that she wished she hadn't chosen the amount of courses that she did.

"It's just the allure of the Petrova doppelgänger, is still so strong." Klaus insists and Cordelia sends him a glare. He ignores the look and turns to Elijah, "What do you say, brother? Should we tell them about Tatia?"

"Now why should we discuss matters long since resolved?" Elijah seemed uncomfortable, thinking about his past lover.

Klaus shrugged, "Well, given their shared affection for both Elena and Katerina, I think our guests might be curious to learn about the originator of the Petrova line."

"Well, we're not going anywhere Elijah. Please, do tell." Damon insists as he takes a sip of his wine, enjoying the flavour it gives off.

Elijah shifted in his seat before beginning to tell the story, "When our family first settled here, there was a girl named Tatia. She was an exquisite beauty. Every boy of age desired to be her suitor, even though she'd had a child by another man. And none loved her more than Niklaus."

Cordelia's jaw clenched at the reminder. Tatia was her closest friend, but it still wasn't nice to remember that her husband had feelings for Tatia before herself, "I'd say there was one who loved her at least as much." Cordelia finally spoke, remembering that it wasn't just Klaus that loved her.

Stefan then realised, "Wait a minute. So, you both loved the same girl?" He pointed at the two brothers before his eyebrows furrowed and he pointed at Cordelia, "How did you come into the picture? It's got to suck knowing your husband loved another girl over you."

Cordelia grit her teeth at Stefan. He was right. It did. But before she could respond, Elijah spoke first, "Our mother was a very powerful witch. She sought to end our feud over Tatia and so she married Niklaus to Cordelia, and then she took her. Klaus and I would later learn that it was Tatia's blood that we consumed in the wine on the night where our mother performed the spell which turned us into vampires. When Tatia wouldn't make a decision between the two of us, so for a time Niklaus and I... grew estranged. Harsh words were traded, we even came to blows, didn't we, brother?"

"But after being with Cordelia, I realised that I got the much better end of the bargain, and in the end, we realised the sacred bond of family. Family above all." Klaus spoke as he raised his glass, Elijah clinking his glass with his brother's too.

"Family above all."

Cordelia cleared her throat, "So, why don't we move this evening along and discuss the terms of this proposal?" She suggested, hoping to end the night as quickly as possible so she didn't have to sit there any longer than she needed to.

"That's very simple. Klaus gets his coffin back, in exchange, he and the Original extended family leave Mystic Falls forever." Damon proposed, "Me, Stefan, and Elena live happily ever after. No grudges."

The thought of Damon and Elena felt like poison in her mind but she tried not to show it as Elijah turned to his brother, "The deal sounds fair, brother."

"I don't think you understand." Klaus shook his head in refusal, "Elena's doppelgänger blood insures that I will always have more hybrids to fight those that oppose me and protect my wife against those who wish her harm—for example, you, Stefan. I will never leave her behind." Klaus mentions as he glared at Stefan, telling him he knew that he had a plan to harm her to get back at him.

Klaus then stood up from the table and started to pace, "Let's say I do leave her here, under your protection, what then? How long before one of you turns her into a vampire? Or worse, how long before she dies caught between your feuding?" He rhetorically asked, "You see, each one of you truly believes that you're the one that can protect her, and that is simply a delusion. Gentlemen, the worst thing for Elena Gilbert is... the two of you."

Damon gave a weak smile, one that Cordelia felt sympathetic for because no one would've liked to hear that. He turns to his younger brother, "I'm gonna get some air." He tells him before standing up and walking out of the room.

"Let me deal with this." Elijah gets up and follows Damon, leaving Klaus, Cordelia and Stefan alone.

"All this talk has made me thirsty." Klaus looks at one of the servants and she walks over to him, "What do you say Stefan? Can I interest you in a little after-dinner drink?" He says before biting into her neck and drinking her blood until she dies from blood loss. Once he's finished with her, he drops her dead body to the floor, "Delicious. Aged to perfection."

"Well, I guess the only reason you agreed to this evening, Klaus, is to drive a wedge between me and my brother." Stefan says as he leaned back against the chair.

"Oh, no, you're doing that well enough on your own. Because of Elena, you're gonna lose your brother and you'll only have yourself to blame." Klaus responds and the look on Stefan's face began to make her feel nervous when Damon and Elijah re-entered the room.

"What do you say, Klaus? It's time for you to put something on the table. We've made our offer, now you counter." Damon says.

"Okay." Klaus agreed, "I offer Elena's future happiness. You see, what she needs right now is to be rid of you lot. And to fall in love with a human—maybe that nice football player, you know the blonde one?"

Damon grimaced in disgust, "Matt Donovan? Really?"

"Yeah, why not?" Klaus shrugged, considering he picked the only human male he could think of, "They'll marry, live a long and fruitful life, and pop out a perfect family."

"And continue the Petrova bloodline. Every few hundred years, you'll have a new doppelgänger to drain and never run out of hybrids, right, Klaus?" Stefan pointed out with a fake smile on his face, knowing why he was so insistent on getting her to marry a human.

"Consider it a small return on my investment in her well-being." The original hybrid responds, "See, after you hand me back the coffin, I'll ensure her safety for the rest of her natural life. You know it's what's best for her." He walks towards Stefan, "So, what do you say Stefan, hmm? Do we have a deal?" He asks while holding his hand out to shake on the deal.

Stefan approached Klaus so they met in the middle, a hint of mischief on his face that Damon noticed immediately, "What are you doing?" He asked his younger brother.

"Nice try, Klaus." Stefan started, "I'm surprised you don't want to take our deal. I mean, don't you want Damon far away from Cordelia?" He asked him and everyone blinked at him in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Elijah asked and Cordelia only braced herself, knowing there was nothing she, nor anyone else, could do to stop what was coming next.

"You know... since they were fucking in 1864." Stefan continued and Cordelia dropped her fork in shock while using her hand to cover her mouth that he had actually revealed it to Klaus' face. She really did hope that there was a shred of remorse knowing the death sentence he was putting on her and Damon for what he just said, but that was just wishful thinking. Stefan didn't care anymore.

Elijah looked in between Damon and Cordelia in surprise, seeing the uncomfortable expression on their faces, although deep down he was wondering why they had so much tension. Even though both of them knew it wasn't just fucking, it was a full-blown love affair that they had.

Stefan had a smug smirk on his face while Klaus' remained deathly blank. His eyes hardened and he quickly grabbed onto Stefan's arm to break it before kicking his leg and breaking that too. Everyone jumped at the suddenness of his actions, and Damon was surprised that he didn't attack him instead for what just got revealed to them all.

Klaus pushes Stefan's hand into the fireplace, and it starts to burn. Damon attempts to rush over to him, but Elijah intercepts him and pushes him against a wall, "Oh, my God! Let him go!" Cordelia yelled at both of the brothers.

"What are you doing?" Damon choked out against Elijah's hold while Klaus continues to hold Stefan's arm in the fire, his arm being badly burnt while Stefan cried out, "Stop!"

"Now, bring me my coffin before I burn him alive." Klaus glared at Damon.

"I'll get it!" Damon relents and Elijah lets him go when he thinks that Damon wouldn't try to attack his brother anymore.

Klaus looked at Elijah, "Go with him, brother. You keep him honest." He orders him and Elijah nods in agreement as they both went to talk out of the room, "And when you return, I will make good on my promise to you and I will hand over our family."

Elijah doesn't look back or react as he walked out of the room.

Klaus kept Stefan's arm in the fire, even after they had left the room, while Cordelia and he had a silent conversation with their eyes. Cordelia's were brimmed with tears of embarrassment and remorse that her affair had been exposed, and honestly, she was fearing for her and Damon's lives. She figured he was only keeping him alive until the coffin was returned to him and then he'd kill Damon right in front of her to make her pay for her crimes.

"Go ahead and kill me." Stefan urged Klaus with a grunt, "I know you'll do it when he brings the coffin."

Klaus pulls Stefan out of the fireplace, "You really have given up, haven't you? Where's the fight? Where's the ripper?" He pushes Stefan. Stefan pushes back. Suddenly, Elijah and Damon re-enter the room next to the other female servant who is carrying a tray. Klaus' eyebrows pulled together, "Elijah... why haven't you left?"

"Where are you manners, brother? We forgot dessert." Elijah questioned him before he takes the cover off the tray the blonde woman is carrying. Two silver daggers lie on it and Cordelia's eyes widened in recognition and she let out a gasp.

"What have you done?" Klaus whispered.

"What have you done?" Elijah pointed at him, "You see, I've learned not to trust your vulgar promises, Klaus. We're doing this on my terms now."

As he says that, Kol enters the room and Cordelia covers her mouth in disbelief that she was actually looking at him in that moment.

"Kol—" Klaus gasped as he took a step away from Kol because he could see how angry his youngest brother looked after his betrayal.

"Long time, brother." Kol responds casually as Klaus continued to back away.

Suddenly, Finn suddenly appears, and he grabs a dagger and stabs Klaus through the hand, "Finn, don't!" Klaus yells and Cordelia goes to hug Kol instead of watch her husband be attacked by his siblings. Klaus goes to rush away, but runs into Rebekah, "Rebekah!"

Rebekah only responds by stabbing him with a dagger, "This is for our mother." She seethed and pulls the dagger out slowly, making him fall back into Finn's arms so he could restrain him.

Elijah looks at Damon and Stefan, "You're free to go. This is family business." He tells them and they nod, glad to finally get out of that house before their night got significantly worse.

Damon and Cordelia shared one last look of longing before they left the house, which was not missed by anyone else in that room.

Instead, Rebekah turned her attention back to Klaus, making a mental note to ask Cordelia about what she think she saw later, "I like what you've done with the new place, Nik." She compliments before picking up a vase and throws it into a painting.

Klaus looked down at his feet, "I wanted it to be for all of us. A place we could all call home. A place we could all be a family. None of us would ever have to be alone again."

"Well, you're right, none of us will be." Elijah says and Klaus looks up at him with confusion, wondering what he meant.

"You're staying behind." Finn informs him.

"We're leaving you, Nik." Rebekah elaborated, "Right after I kill that doppelgänger wench, then you will be alone. Always and forever."

"If you run, I will hunt all of you down." Klaus hissed and Cordelia stayed silent, wondering which route she would take. Would she follow her family? Would she stay with Klaus? Or would she try to follow her heart and start again with Damon? There were too many variables in outcomes that made her stay in a point of limbo. She couldn't make a choice.

"Then you'll become everything you hate: our father." Elijah tells him and Cordelia winced at his words because she could tell what reaction would follow from them.

"I'm the hybrid!" Klaus shouts at his siblings with pure rage and betrayal, "I can't be killed! I have nothing to fear from any of you!"

"You will when we have that coffin." Elijah responds but their conversation is cut short when they hear the door open.

They all turn around and gasp when they see Esther Mikaelson walk in.

"Mother?" Rebekah gasped in disbelief that she was actually seeing her. She was a witch, and she died a thousand years ago. It was impossible for her to be able to walking the earth.

She doesn't pay her any mind as she walks towards Klaus, and Cordelia's nervousness is evident as Rebekah stands by her sister-in-law's side to comfort her while Klaus avoids looking at his mother.

"Look at me!" She demands Klaus, and he does what he's told with tears in his eyes, "Do you know why I'm here?"

"You're here to kill me." Klaus says quietly, already accepting his fate.

"Niklaus, you are my son, and I am here to forgive you." She tells him and the entire family looked at her with confusion. She turns to address them all, "I want us to be a family again."

When the shock had worn off, Cordelia was in her room that she shared with Klaus. She was sat on the edge of the bed, still experiencing utter shock at the night's events. The fact that Stefan had revealed her biggest secret in front of everyone played in her mind repeatedly, seeing the looks on everyone's faces that she had a relationship with Damon in the past while still married to Klaus. She felt a mixture of embarrassment and regret—not that she regretted meeting Damon and falling for him, but that Klaus had to find out the way he did.

Then came the rest of the Mikaelson siblings being awoken by Elijah and Damon. She really was ecstatic that Elijah took the initiative to do it himself rather than wait for Klaus' permission to wake them up—it was his family, too. She really did want to be a family again, no matter how broken the pieces were.

Then came the final shock of Esther being awoken. Cordelia didn't even notice that she still had the ability to be woken since she was just a witch rather than a vampire, but she guessed that she had connections in the old world that preserved her body; but she wondered what it was that she needed to be brought into reality from the other side.

Klaus' reaction to everything was surprisingly tame considering he has reacted far worse to far more minuscule news. She had expected to see him kill everyone in the room the minute that Stefan spat out the revelation. She still is waiting for it to happen.

She looked up when she saw Klaus walk into the room, and she dreaded it immediately, accepting her death. He sits down beside her with a deep exhale, as if he was breathing out all of the stress he was holding in throughout the night, and placed his hands on his knees while Cordelia remained frozen beside him, "Well, I must say... I've had worse dinner parties." He begins and she turns to look at him with bewilderment that he was joking with her in that moment.

He awkwardly chuckled and looked down, "Truth be told, Cordelia; I knew." He says to her and her face turned to confusion, "I knew about the affair with Damon—well, I didn't know that it was Damon exactly. But I knew there was someone else." He elaborated, "You weren't the same when I brought you back in 1864. You were withdrawn from me and sad. I couldn't exactly figure out why until I found letters written to you by someone, confessing how much they loved you. Then I put the pieces together."

"I'm sorry." Was all Cordelia could mutter, shaking her head remorsefully, "I'm sorry I betrayed you like that. I was just so angry with you after what happened with Katherine, and I was fearful you'd turn on me. I wanted to forget about England and move on with my life. Damon filled the void that you created between us."

Klaus tried to hide the hurt from what she said, but she was right. He pushed her away. He wanted to be feared by everyone, and didn't realise that was beginning to include his wife.

"I'm sorry, too." Klaus says back, putting his hand on top of hers, seeing her flinch from his touch because she's still scared that he'll hurt her in retaliation. He's had his fair share of affairs himself over the centuries, so he couldn't exactly be too upset either.

Cordelia finally looked up at him, though still not convinced she's entirely forgiven, "So, where do we go from here?"

     "I don't know."