Original Vampires, Welcome to New Orleans (The Originals Seasons 1 and 2 Fanfic)

Chapter 29: A Hopefully Harmonious Family Brunch

'There you are!' Klaus said cheerfully as Elijah and I walked in. Elijah handed his suit jacket to one of the compelled servants around the house, then took off my coat and handed it as well.

'Well, Lilliana and I were delayed.

'Our guest of honour will be here momentarily,' Klaus said.

'Strange. The house is conspiciously absent of our lupine guests,' I said softly. 'I do hope it wasn't on our account.'

'I sent Hayley and her poorly groomed husband 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.'

'Niklaus, Rebekah's situation has taken a turn. We may need Freya's assistance, so whatever you are planning here, don't,' Elijah urged.

'All I'm planning is a simple chat with a long-lost relative,' Klaus said. 'You yourself said to hear her out.'

'And you yourself said that would be idiocy,' Elijah retorted.

'Did I? Well, that does sound like me. Regardless on the off chance, Freya has some information that could protect my daughter; I prefer she share it on my terms. Ah, I think I hear her now.' He turned. 'Sister! Come in, come in. Make yourself comfortable.' I hadn't met Freya before, but meeting her now, her face looked kind. Tall, blonde hair and a soft smile on her face.

'This witch hoop, it's Danish,' Freya said softly, holding a hoop in her hands as the three of us stood around. 'Is that from when you all lived in Copenhagen in the 1500's?'

'Quite the eye,' Klaus remarked.

'Forgive me, but are we here to discuss family heirlooms, or do we have more pressing concerns?' Elijah said.

'Please excuse my brother's lack of decorum,' Klaus chimed in. 'He's been in a foul mood of late, 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.' The four of us sat down at the table.

'The first thing you should know is that Dahlia's the most powerful witch I have 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 will kill anyone who would defy her.'

'And yet you would defy her,' Elijah said, sitting at the table next to me.

'I don't have a choice. She will never let me be free. My one chance is to align with you and kill her.'

'Well, now that we're all suitably motivated, let's talk specifics,' Klaus said, leaning back in his chair.

'For you to understand, I need to start from the beginning. 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. She killed them all with a wave of her hand. That was my first inkling of the power that Dahlia had. Over the course of a thousand years, she has only grown stronger, and she will bring all her power to bear against you when she comes for your child.' Just then Elijah's phone began to ring, and he spoke.

'Excuse me.' He walked a ways from us at the table and picked up the call. 'Rebekah, how are you feeling?'

'As if I walked straight into a brick wall,' she replied over the line. 'Any luck with Freya?'

'Luck is not the word that I would use,' he quipped, but it was not joking. 'You should be here.'

'Fine. I'm on my way now.' She ended the call and suddenly stopped, letting out a scream of pain. She collapsed, falling unconscious.

Elijah had sat back down and the conversation continued.

'Your stories are fascinating, and Dahlia does indeed sound dreadful, but Elijah and I have killed our fair share of evil witches,' Klaus spoke with a confident smile.

'Not like her.'

'What are her weaknesses?' I asked.

'She's paranoid, obsessed with power. She hungers constantly for what's been denied her, be it love or revenge.'

'Yes, I think I'm familiar with the type,' Elijah remarked, casting a side eye towards Klaus, to which he smiled, catching onto his brother's subtle insult.

'When I was a child, she would tell me tales of her own youth, of 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. And so the burden fell to me. Dahlia demanded 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. So I vowed never to love, never to have a child of my own. Of course, the more I resisted... the harder Dahlia fought to control me... until the day when 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 have suffered for the last ten centuries.' Klaus began to laugh, then leaned forward.

'That's quite the ordeal. But - it does beg the question, why not end it yourself? A high enough bridge, a tight enough noose. You must have considered it.'

'Long ago, I did consider it, but Dahlia would never give me even that freedom,' she replied softly. 'I would later learn the spell made me like her - immortal and impervious to harm.' She wiped a few stray tears away, staring at the candles near her. 'So you see, I am like you, a creature of great power, cursed for all time.'