Always and Forever

The Casket Girls

'For centuries, people have come to New Orleans looking for a fresh start. Looking to find adventure, fortune, and even love. Young society women imported from France with the promise of marrying a proper New Orleans gentleman like the legendary Casket Girls.'

The time period was the eighteenth century, Louisiana. Three French women are travelling by horse and carriage. "Excuse me sir, how long before we arrive at the Governor's House?"

'Little did they know that the men who awaited them were far from proper, and not at all gentle.'

The carriage carrying the three women stops as they approach a group of men with torches and alcohol in the middle of the road, blocking their path. The men approach the carriage and start shaking it, while shouting. The three women scream, when suddenly the shaking stops, and soon the air is replaced by blood curdling screams from the men. The three women look around at each other confused and frightened.

The man sitting in the carriage slowly opens the door, only to be greeted by dead, bloody bodies scattering the ground. He looks ahead and tries to get back inside the carriage. But an invisible force pulls him out, his screams soon quiet.

Rebekah appears in the door with blood on her lips, scaring the girls. "There, there little lambs, all the bad men have gone away. Vous êtes en sécurité ici, veuillez pardonner le désordre." She smiles at the three girls. "Us girls have got to stick together. Now, is there anything you want to take with you?"

The women run with Rebekah towards the city, throwing their clothes as they go.

New Orleans is abuzz with mills of people in town for the annual Casket Girls Festival. Horses and carriages can be seen along all the streets, people out and about drunk, and all dressed up in old wedding dresses and other costumes. Rebekah walks down some of the streets, a smile on her face as she watches everyone having fun.

'The Casket Girls legend lives on, now celebrated in a typical New Orleans fashion with stylish costumes and supernatural flair. It's a yearly reminder of how women can be oppressed by selfish men and how they can triumph when brave enough to fight for themselves.'

Cami sits on her floor, screaming in agony as Davina continues to work her magic trying to remove the compulsion, while Josh stands in the background. "Oh god, it hurts!"

Davina stops and kneels down in front of her. "I'm sorry, Cami. It's the only way to break Klaus' compulsion."

Josh steps forward, a sympathetic look on his face. "Believe me, I know what it's like. You're okay. And hey-- all these notes that you made." He holds up one of them. "It's very memento of you. Nice work."

Cami shakes her head, tears and sweat covering her face. "We've been at this all night. I don't understand what's happening to me, I don't understand any of this--"

"But you will. I will unlock every stolen memory, undo every piece of mind control that any vampire has ever done to you. When I'm done, you will understand all of it, and you'll be free." She pauses, looking down. She doesn't want to keep hurting Cami. She had been kind to Davina and was someone she could trust. But she also didn't want Cami leaving. "I can stop, if you want me to."

Cami sits up on her hand a little, her voice catching in her throat. "No, don't stop. I want to remember everything."

In her room at the Abattoir, Hayley is standing in front of a mirror, trying to fasten the zipper on her dress.

Elijah appears at the door behind her. He smiles an amused smile. "Would you like some help?"

Hayley looks at him in the mirror and smiles back. "You might need to use all your supernatural strength."