𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙍𝙏𝙔 𝙉𝙄𝙉𝙀
ミ★ ( reign of wolves, act two ) ★彡

The bells of St. Louis cathedral started to ring in the tune of Dahlia's song. The sound echoed through the Quarter and into the compound's courtyard where Freya was staring at Hope's car seat that had the golem inside of it instead of her niece. Upstairs, Rebekah was lighting a white candle on the table, reading the written notes that Freya had given her for the spell. Rhea and Elijah were watching her perform the spell and Elijah was anxiously hitting the handle of Mikael's knife against his hand. The song only let them know that danger was on the way.

     Rebekah raised her arms and began to recite the incantation. Downstairs, Freya picked up the golem and stared at it. Suddenly, the spell kicked in, and the golem suddenly appeared to be Hope. Freya clutched the imitation of her niece in her arms and waited anxiously for the plan to begin.

     Footsteps were heard approaching the compound. Elijah slinked slowly into the hallway so he can watch Dahlia enter the home while Rhea stood on the other side also, where they find a scared Freya clutching Hope in the courtyard as she walked in. Freya was purposely standing right in between all three of Klaus' paintings in an effort to lure Dahlia into the killing ground, but Dahlia stopped right in the doorway into the room, "I come all this way to collect what is owed to me, and whom should I find?" Dahlia thought out loud as she looked at her niece clutching her baby niece.

     "Tante, please, please listen." Freya pleaded with terror, "I betrayed my siblings so I could procure this child." Dahlias started to walk into the courtyard, but once again stops just short of the killing ground, "I offer her to you now, and in exchange, I only ask that you release me from my obligation to you."

     Dahlia tilted her head to the side and took notice of one of Klaus' paintings on the wall behind Freya while she considers her offer. After a moment, she started walking closer to Freya, but still doesn't cross into the killing ground. In the shadows, Elijah braced himself for a fight and gripped Mikael's blade tightly in his hand while Rhea watched on.

     Dahlia's face twisted in amusement, "How curious that you should bargain with me for that which is already mine. But, by all means, make your case for why you should be freed. And then I will decide whether to release you or kill you, once and for all." She says as she walked around the killing ground as if she were testing the boundary, "You surprise me. Betraying the family you meant to coax to your side? How very ruthless of you."

     "I had hoped that they would welcome me as a sister." Freya lied anxiously and Dahlia nodded in understanding, "I was wrong."

     "Of course you were, you poor little fool!" Dahlia scolded after a moment of feigned sympathy, "To think that Esther's wicked little progeny could ever care for you? They are known the world over for obscene acts of violence, and yet, you sought them out instead of staying where you belong. With me." Freya gulped nervously as Dahlia continued to slowly walk toward her, and tried her best to remain still to lure her into the killing ground, "I offered to protect you for all time, and you left me. And now, it is you who is alone! But then who could love a deceitful little wretch?"

     Dahlia steps just outside of the killing ground and stopped where she was, not crossing into past the front edge of the painting. Suddenly, the enchanted golem crumble; into dust in Freya's arms, revealing to Dahlia that it was just a trap. Dahlia's face became enraged, and Freya, who was terrified beyond all measure, gasped and looks at Dahlia with wide, fearful eyes, "What have you done?" Dahlia questioned Freya, appalled.

     Freya, at a loss for options, grabbed Dahlia and pulled her into the killing field, "Elijah, NOW!" She bellowed and Elijah sped into the courtyard with Mikael's knife in his hand, but before he can reach Dahlia, Klaus tackled him and forced him to drop the blade.

     "And so the wheel of betrayal circles 'round once more." Klaus remarked furiously and he pulled Elijah up to his feet and threw him up against the wall, causing Elijah to crack the wall before he fell down on the balcony overlooking the courtyard.

Dahlia and Freya rise to their feet, and Dahlia looked at her niece contemptuously with a sneer, "You treacherous little shrew!" She then used her magic to forcefully shove Freya backwards into the entrance hall.

Klaus, who has jumped up onto the balcony as well, picked up Elijah in a choke-hold and pinned him against the wall before spinning him around and pushing him so that he's half hanging over the balcony, "She's controlling you." Elijah choked out and Klaus squeezed his throat tighter, "You have to fight her."

"The only thing she did is pull out the dagger you stuck in my heart!" Klaus roared furiously and Rhea ran to tackle Klaus to the ground to get him off of Elijah. The two hybrids tumbled on the ground, and Elijah, taking advantage of Rhea's help, ran at Klaus and kicked him in the stomach once he was on top of her that he went flying against the wall. Klaus tried to lunge for Elijah but Rhea intercepted him and kneed him in the stomach and slammed him against another wall, shattering the concrete that covered the bricks behind it in the process.

     Downstairs, Freya was still sprawled out on the floor where Dahlia had thrown her, and desperately crawling backward as Dahlia approached her, "After all I've given you, this is how you repay me? A death trap? Rendered by those elements that compose my sole weakness? And even in this, you fail." Freya looked at Dahlia fearfully, but Dahlia simply stood above her, "What do I sense? Sacred soil? Viking ash? The blood of a witch I loved?" Freya once again tried to crawl away, but stopped when Dahlia crouched in front of her to look her in the eyes, "Not the witch I loved most though." She sighed and feigned sympathy as she propped her chin on her hand, "Oh, Freya. Did you think that your blood was the key to my demise?"

     Freya's eyes filled with tears while horror filled her bones; even if Klaus hadn't ruined their plan, it wouldn't have worked anyway, "I only wanted to be free."

     "You pathetic girl." She scoffed, near tears herself before she rose to her feet and Freya started to whimper in fear in anticipation for what Dahlia will do to her, "How shall I punish you? Oh, I know—I'll send you to bed early."

     Dahlia waved her hand toward Freya, who immediately was knocked unconscious and fell backwards.

     Meanwhile, Klaus was still fighting viscously against Rhea and Elijah on the courtyard's balcony, where the three of them were choking each other. Elijah gasped, "She will take—" Elijah gasped and Klaus began to choke him tighter, "—everything from us."

     "You took everything when you broke our vow!" Klaus choked out against Rhea's hand with narrow eyes, "Perhaps I'll take something from you."

Klaus then knocked Rhea's face, sending her backwards and turning to choke Elijah even tighter before then twisting Elijah's arm backwards, breaking many of his bones, making the older Mikaelson scream out in agony. Rhea rushed back at Klaus, pinning him up against the wall, "Don't do this, Klaus!" She pleaded with a growl, her hybrid eyes appearing as she used all of her strength she had to go up against the Original.

     Without a second's hesitation, both Rhea and Elijah froze up before they started screaming in agony, clutching their heads in pain as Dahlia walked up the steps to join them on the balcony, "I'm afraid your begs won't do anything now." Dahlia pouted at the couple, "You betrayed him, and now, he will enact his revenge."

     Rhea mustered up a glare to Dahlia amidst her pain, "You're manipulating him for your own personal gain."

     "Ah, Rhea." Dahlia turned her attention to her fully, "I will admit I was intrigued by you. It's not everyday you hear that your sister's vermin receive such blessings like a soulmate..." Dahlia said as she walked over to the hybrid to grab her chin forcefully in her hand, feeling her shake from how much pain she was in, "But, this love story is nothing but a tragedy now."

     Dahlia looked over at Klaus, who nodded at her as if they were having a silent conversation between them and the original hybrid walked over to Rhea, pulling out a dagger from his back pocket. Rhea's eyes widened in fear at the dagger, it was Papa Tunde's blade, but darker—like it had been infected with even more dark magic than before, no doubt thanks to Dahlia's doing. She tried to run; to get away and save herself knowing she wouldn't survive another dagger to her chest. When she was killed the last time, it had sucked up all of Matteo's magic in her necklace as any normal hybrid wouldn't of survived it without it. Unfortunately that was only a one-time miracle. Elijah began to grow frantic at the sight of his brother stalking closer to his soulmate with the dagger, even more so when he heard her terrified voice, "Klaus?" She gulped.

     "You might recognise this." Klaus said as he held up the very weapon to admire it, "Papa Tunde's blade. The very one you had imbedded in my chest to subdue me." He said, glaring at Elijah.

"Niklaus, don't." Elijah pleaded, thrashing as hard as he could against the pain to get to Rhea but Dahlia's magic kept him put.

     "See, I was so enraged when you betrayed me. I wanted you to feel my hurt; and I knew the perfect way how." Klaus scowled before his eyes shifted to Rhea, who whimpered, "There were so many options that could've punished you well enough, but this is what's best since you forget our vow. The dagger won't kill her, provided it will be extremely painful—but I couldn't make it easy for you either. You could easily just remove the dagger if it didn't kill her. So, our lovely, Aunt Dahlia, came up with a solution... the dagger will keep her alive and it will be impossible to remove without her or my say so." He explained and they both froze with fear.

     Rhea was to be daggered and tortured again for as long as Klaus and Dahlia saw fit, an end that no one would wish on their worst enemy—except for Klaus. Rhea would've preferred the constant turning she had to endure from Celeste or the deseccation from the dagger instead, but Klaus decided to torture both of them in the worst way possible, "Your bond will affect each other no matter what I choose to do, but I figured this way you won't be able to save each other." He smirked and Rhea's jaw clenched; no longer fearful but angry at him. She had stood by him and defended him and now she was being punished for trying to be his friend. This would be the last time.

"Niklaus, don't." Elijah grunted, "She had no part in it. It's me you should be punishing." He tried.

"And I will." Klaus stated before stabbing the dagger into Rhea's chest, hearing the shrieking scream that came out of her mouth once it pierced her body, causing Elijah to flinch.

"NOO!" Elijah roared as he struggled and trashed around against Dahlia's magic to run to her and remove it himself. Klaus only smirked louder as he pushed the dagger further into her chest, twisting it to cause maximum pain. Rhea only continued to scream as her body felt like she was burning all over, as if he had thrown fire onto her. Elijah continued to bellow frantically, his own body feeling every inch of her pain that flushed over her body, her screams and cries only making it worse, "Stop this, Niklaus! Ahh!" He cried in anguish.

Klaus removed his hand, the dagger staying in Rhea and she fell to her knees before her eyes closed and she slumped over onto the ground, leaving Elijah to watch in devastation as his soulmate laid unconscious—breathing, but barely—and suffering. Elijah started to scream, making Dahlia smirk at her handiwork, as did Klaus; clearly pleased by the outcome he had caused.

Dahlia then snapped Elijah's neck, making the screaming stop and Klaus' smirk dropped as he stared at the couple emotionlessly.