A few short weeks had past and Ophelia was sitting in an armchair in the courtyard, which had been completely made over with Christmas decorations, including a huge tree in the middle of the room that was covered with white light and gold and red baubles. Cami sat beside Ophelia in her own chair, watching with equal parts curiosity, horror, and exasperation as a compelled woman drained blood from a cut on the palm of her hand into a wine glass.

Cami gave the woman a confused look, "Do they, like, pay you?" She questioned, causing Ophelia to quietly laugh.

The blood donor smiled at Cami cheerfully as Klaus waltzed into the room and answered her question, "Handsomely!" He spoke brightly, "And with a generous Christmas bonus."

Klaus looked over at the woman, who handed him the glass of her blood, "Isn't that right?" He questioned and the woman smiled weakly and nodded before she left.

Klaus smirked at Cami in amusement as he sat down on couch beside Ophelia to enjoy his morning meal. He held the glass out to Ophelia, who politely shook her head, "No thanks," She told him quietly, "Not hungry."

Klaus nodded in understanding, taking the glass of blood for himself.

Cami, who was still stumped on the matters regarding the compelled woman, "So, you just compel her to nod and agree with whatever you say?" She asked Klaus curiously.

"I compel her to feed me," Klaus responded, "And to hang the occasional Christmas ornament. She can say whatever the hell she wants." He told the two women, who found themselves laughing, which caused Klaus to smile as he took a sip of his blood, "The two of you seem better."

"Yeah. Thank you for letting me stay here the last couple of days, both of you," Cami thanked Klaus with a small smile on her face, "But why didn't you go with Elijah to help Rebekah?"

"Yes, I was wondering the same thing," Ophelia spoke up, turning to Klaus, "I hope it's not to stay and babysit us."

Klaus looked slightly ashamed for a moment as he glanced sheepishly around the room, "It's not a good idea for he and I to spend hours together in confined spaces, given that the prophecy foretells one family member felled by another."

Cami narrowed her eyes at Klaus, "You don't think he would hurt you?"

"I don't know what to think," Klaus confessed, letting out a sigh before leaning forward and setting his glass down on the table, "The damn fortune-teller's predictions continue to unfold, despite all our efforts..."

Before Cami could respond, she pulled her phone out of her pocket to find that she had a text, "It's Vincent. I have to go."

Looking nervous as Cami left, Ophelia turned to Klaus, who casually drank his glass of blood, "What?" He asked her, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Can you please go after her?" Ophelia pleaded with Klaus, giving her best puppy dogs.

"Fine," Klaus hesitantly responded as he stood up from his seat, "And don't think I'm doing it because of your horrible attempt in giving me those pleading eyes."

Ophelia smiled in satisfaction, "Thank you," She replied, sighing in relief.

"And where, pray tell, will you be while I'm following Camille?" Klaus asked Ophelia, who remained silent.

"I'm going to see Jackson," Ophelia informed Klaus, who sighed in defeat, "What, Klaus? He's my husband. I have to make amends with him. If we're getting technical, the reason this..." She paused, gesturing between the two of them, "Can't happen is because you told me to marry him. You were the only reason I even said yes."

Klaus opened his mouth to speak, but found himself speechless, knowing that she was right.

"I have to go," She replied, just before walking out of the compound.

______

Ophelia was sitting on the picnic table outside of her former shack at the bayou, waiting for Jackson to return.

After a few moments, he appeared from out of the woods, carrying firewood and an ax in his hands. When he saw her, his face immediately went cold, and Ophelia hesitated awkwardly for a moment before she greeted him, "I know you needed space, Jack, from what Hayley said. But I kind of eventually thought you would come home."

"Right. To the apartment Elijah compelled somebody to rent us, and the bedroom that looks into Klaus' study." Jackson explained and Ophelia was a bit taken aback by his bitterness, "Do you love him?"

Ophelia sighed, clearly flustered and overwhelmed by the question, "Jack..." She trailed off.

"Just tell me the truth for once." Jackson demanded angrily.

Ophelia looked even more guilty and ashamed now, and she struggled to find the words to answer his question, "You knew... " She trailed off, walking closer to Jackson, "You knew the answer to that question when you married me."

"It's been a year, Ophelia," Jackson reminded Ophelia, "I have stood by you. I have fought for you. I have loved you, Hayley, and her daughter. And do you know what the worst part is? Coming out of those woods just now, seeing you sitting there...I'll be damned if it wasn't the best thing I had ever seen. Even when I'm pissed as hell, I would rather be near you than anywhere else."

Ophelia looked torn between being touched by his words and feeling guilty about how much pain she was causing him as Jackson sighed in frustration, "Now, what kind of fool does that make me?"

Ophelia took Jackson's hand in her own and squeezed it affectionately, though Jackson looked surprised by the gesture, "My feelings for Klaus are complicated..." She trailed off, letting out a large sigh, "But that doesn't mean that I love you any less, Jack. I chose you, and I choose you again every single day." She paused, looking Jackson in the eyes with a pleading expression, "Can't that be enough?"

There was a moment of silence before Ophelia spoke up, "And Hayley lied to you on Thanksgiving," Ophelia informed Jackson, who gave her a confused look.

"What?" He questioned her concerned.

"I was on my way to get the stuffing," She confessed, "I was never at the Mikaelsons. Hayley just told you that so you wouldn't worry. I was kidnapped."

Jackson's eyes widened in shock and clearly became guilty once hearing the revelation, "She didn't want to tell you that nobody had any idea where I was and how to get my back. I almost died."

"I am so sorry, Ophelia," Jackson quickly apologized to Ophelia, cupping her face with her hands, "I shouldn't have...I should have known something was wrong."

"It's fine," Ophelia assured him quietly, "I don't want to talk about it." She paused, a small smile on her face, "It's our first Christmas together. I haven't had a happy one in quite a while. I was thinking about a quiet night with you. And Hayley and Hope, of course, our family. And I don't care if their house is on fire. For one night, I will let it burn."

Ophelia smiled weakly, clearly relieved to hear that his anger toward her was disappearing, "Just please, please come home."

Jackson took a deep breath, "Okay. I'll meet you there." He replied and Ophelia gave him a shy smile, squeezing his hand once more before letting it drop and walking away to leave Jackson to think about their discussion.

________

After getting the call, Ophelia and Hayley rushed into the compound to find Jackson and Freya in the courtyard.

Freya was weakly laying back on the couch, her broken arm bound up in a makeshift sling with Jackson's button-down shirt while Jackson paced anxiously. The two women immediately walked over to them to find out what was going on, "Hey, we got your text. What the hell happened?" Ophelia asked the duo in concern.

Hayley immediately noticed how badly injured Freya was and walked over to the couch to sit next to her while Jackson explained and Ophelia stood near him, "She got jumped. Three vampires, all dressed like yuppies." Jackson informed the two hybrids.

"The Strix?" Hayley asked, letting out a large sigh.

Jackson nodded his head in confirmation, "Yeah. She needs your blood."

Hayley looked over at Ophelia, waiting for her to give Freya her blood. Ophelia shook her head, which caused Hayley to frown in concern. Hayley sighed, wasting no time biting into her wrist and offering it to Freya to drink to heal her wounds since Ophelia didn't.

After a moment, Freya stopped drinking and sighed in relief as she recovered from the attack, "You okay?" Hayley asked the blonde witch in concern.

Freya nodded, and Ophelia, looking impressed, smiled at Jackson, "Kind of hard to ignore it when someone needs your help, huh?" She sarcastically asked, causing Hayley to snort.

Jackson made a face, but before he could respond, Freya suddenly looked panicked as she started to become aware of what had happened to her, "They took it. The Serratura." Freya groaned in pain and frustration as she pushed herself into a seated position, "I was meeting with a witch from the bloodline who built the lock. I was hoping she could help me destroy it, but it's not possible. She said the only way to get rid of it is to use it. We have to get it back and lock something else away. Anything but my family."

Hayley, realizing how bad their current situation was, groaned in annoyance, "Great. Why don't we pay Tristan a visit and ask him really, really nicely?"

"I'm down with that," Ophelia responded, crossing her arms over her chest.

Suddenly, Elijah walked into the courtyard wearing a very somber expression, "I'm afraid we have a far more urgent problem."

Elijah looked over to the entrance to the courtyard just as Rebekah walked into the room, looking pale and tired, though she smiled at her friends and family at the sight of them, "Well, to be fair, I am the prettiest urgent problem you have ever seen."

A smile formed on Ophelia's face at the sight of Rebekah.

Meanwhile, Freya and Rebekah were sitting side-by-side on the couch in the compound as Freya examined the skull-shaped weal on her wrist, which had only grown larger and more painful looking than it had been before.

Elijah was pacing around beside them while Jackson, Ophelia, and Hayley watch them with worry.

Rebekah sighed in frustration before speaking to Freya, "Give me the bad news, Doc."

"Aya's stake was cursed. It infected you. As this mark grows, you will go mad. Left unchecked, you will become a relentless, unstoppable Ripper." Freya explained and a worried look grew on Ophelia's face once more.

Rebekah sighed and rolled her eyes sarcastically, "Aya always was thorough." She commented.

"The Strix always employ a safeguard. In the event that we were successful at retrieving your body, you were cursed. You see, if one is on a rampage, one is not difficult to hunt." Elijah explained, turning to Freya with a concerned expression, "Can you fix this?"

Freya picked up the stake and examined it, noticing a set of unfamiliar-looking runes carved into the end of it before nodding weakly, "The spell is carved here. I can...I can reverse it." She informed the group, quickly standing to her feet, but it was clear by the dazed look on her face and the quiet tone of her voice that something was wrong with her, "I just...need some time...and a hell of a lot of magic."

Just then, Freya's eyes rolled back into her head as she fainted and collapsed.

Luckily, Elijah was able to catch her before she fell to the ground, but Jackson, Hayley, and Ophelia and rushed over to her to check on her as Elijah placed Freya's unconscious body down on the couch next to Rebekah, who looked panicked.

"She was fine," Jackson told the group worriedly, "Hayley healed her."

Elijah looked down at Freya and noticed a puncture wound on her neck that was still bleeding, "This scratch is not healed," He paused, realizing what was going on, "This is poison. This is an assassination attempt."

The entire group looked around the room at each other in alarm at the news.

After several moments, Ophelia's eyes widened as she became to notice Freya stirring, "She's waking up!"

Elijah quickly held his hand out to Freya, who took it and squeezed it tightly as she sat herself up, "Are you okay?"

Freya panted for breath, "I feel weak."

"Those vampires must have stabbed her with something," Jackson told Elijah, who began to think deeply for a moment.

"So, the Strix are fond of this slow-acting poison. There is an antidote...If I can get my hands on it," Elijah paused, pulling out his phone before walking away to make a call, leaving the others to continue to brainstorm.

Freya reached over and took Rebekah's injured wrist into her hands as she addressed the others, "For this, I'll need a pure silver knife, some white muskroot..."

Ophelia turned around to look at Jackson, "I'll get the knife."

"I'll track down the root." Ophelia responded before Hayley spoke up.

"And I guess I'll stay with Freya..." She jokingly trailed off before turning to Freya with a concerned expression, "Freya, you can barely float a feather right now, let alone save the world..."

Freya, who was still panting and weak from the poison, shook her head, "I'll channel Finn."

Rebekah scoffed, rolling her eyes, "Oh, lovely!" She sarcastically responded, "My fate rests in the hands of our black sheep of a brother that we have trapped in a necklace! I'm sure he's just leaping to help."

Freya sighed before turning to face Rebekah, "Well, he's the only other powerful witch here since Ophelia's magic still hasn't come back yet, and you and I are out of options, sister."

Freya weakly stood to her feet and walked upstairs while, Ophelia, Rebekah, and Hayley watched her worriedly.

___

Meanwhile, Rebekah was sitting on the bed in her old bedroom with Hope, who was whimpering tiredly, as Ophelia walked in to check on them since Hayley was busy with Freya.

"Don't fret! I haven't gone full hellion yet." Rebekah jokingly told Ophelia, who gave her a skeptical look while the blonde vampire shrugged, "No more than usual."

Ophelia walked toward her and smiled, "Well, that's good. I wouldn't want to be forced to kick your sorry ass before I got to hug you." She laughed, reaching out to Rebekah.

She wrapped the blonde original in a tight hug for a long moment. After they pulled away, Rebekah turned back toward the bed and picked up a beige sweater that was laying on the bed. She turned back to Hayley, who chuckled once seeing the questioning look she was giving her, "Oh, that's not mine. That's Cami's. She has been staying here the past few nights." She paused, awkwardly clearing her throat, "Actually, I was meaning to tell you, Jackson and I have our own place now. Hope and Hayley live with us as well Although, it's clear that we still can't manage to stay out of Mikaelson drama."

Suddenly, Rebekah's face grew cold, and it was clear that the darkness from her curse has flared up at the statement, "You know, you don't seem to mind the family drama when you need something from us, Ophelia. Like a decent dress, someone to protect you, or Klaus' love when Jackson's had enough of you..."

Ophelia's smiled immediately fell and she looked hurt by Rebekah's comment, "I beg your pardon?"

"But when you're looking for someone to blame for your unhappiness and ruining all that was good about you, we seem to be the enemy," Rebekah explained to Ophelia, hostility in her tone.

Ophelia soon became flustered and struggled to process Rebekah's sudden mood swing as she stared at her in shock, "Rebekah...You're wrong. This... This isn't you.

"I am wrong," Rebekah responded, "For centuries, I believed we were friends. Sisters, actually. But, the last time we spoke, you betrayed our family when you assisted Hayley and Jackson in taking Hope away from us," She paused, starting to walk closer toward Ophelia, who nervously leaned away from her but otherwise didn't move, "So where do you stand, Ophelia? Are you a friend? Are you family? Or perhaps..."

Suddenly, Rebekah vamp-sped toward Ophelia and pinned her in a choke-hold against the far wall, causing Ophelia to gasp for breath and cough painfully as Rebekah's vampire face flared out, "You've been a foe this entire time."

Rebekah continued to hold Ophelia in a choke-hold as the pregnant tribrid struggled to break out of her grip and gasped for breath, "Be honest--you want us dead, don't you?" She asked, roughly letting go of Ophelia's neck.

Ophelia massaged her throat and gasped several times before recovering enough to answer. She sounded annoyed and hurt despite the fact that she knew it was because of Rebekah's curse, "Bekah, I have been busting my ass trying to fight this prophecy, at the expense of my own family."

"Haha!" Rebekah laughed bitterly, "Oh, you mean that fake husband you've been parading around in front of Klaus? Do you know the agony it causes my dear brother? Perhaps you like it, knowing after all these centuries, you still have the power to break his heart."

Ophelia stared at Rebekah with wide eyes, looking both horrified and offended by her accusation.

Rebekah smirked at Ophelia as the latter tried her best to talk her down, "You're wrong. It kills me to hurt him. More than anything."

"Well, it hasn't yet, love, but it might today." Rebekah threatened Ophelia, "You and the wench Hayley tore my brothers apart. If they turn on each other, as the prophecy suggests..." She trailed off as her face came out, along with her fangs, as she lunged for Ophelia, "It's because of you!"

Rebekah threw Ophelia through the wood and glass doors to the room and out onto the balcony overlooking the courtyard. The force with which they broke through the doors caused them both to lose their balance and tumble over the balcony railing and onto the floor of the courtyard below.

Ophelia groaned as she hit the ground, clutching her stomach in fear. Rebekah opened her eyes after having fallen onto the floor of the courtyard, but when she did, her eyes were completely black like a demon's.

She growled ferociously as she quickly pulled herself to her feet and returned to her fight with Ophelia.

Ophelia, whose hybrid face and fangs were finally out as well, flipped onto her feet and got in a defensive position in preparation for round two with Rebekah, and she roared like a wolf at her.

Rebekah roundhouse kicked Ophelia in the stomach, knowing that it would affect her the most, before backhanding her across the face and causing her to spin away and land in a heap on the floor.

Ophelia tried her best to quickly get back on her feet, but when Rebekah lunged for her at vampire speed, Elijah appeared in front of her and grabbed her roughly by the arms to stop her, "Listen to me. Listen to me!" Elijah raised his voice to Rebekah in a warning.

Rebekah struggled against his hold, her eyes remained pure black, as she growled menacingly at Ophelia, who couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Elijah shook his sister once more to get her attention, "Rebekah, look at me! Rebekah!" He shouted at her and finally, Rebekah reluctantly looked at him, "Control yourself."

Rebekah sighed and closed her eyes, and Ophelia slowly stood up, though she was sure to never take her eyes off of them.

When Rebekah opened her eyes again a moment later, they had returned to their usual white and blue, "Dear brother...I have control."

Elijah sighed in relief, finally letting go of Rebekah, "Good." He responded in a calm tone.

Just then, Rebekah's eyes turned completely black again, and she hit Elijah under the chin with the heel of her hand so hard that it nearly snapped his neck.

He fell to the floor, not expecting such a reaction, which allowed Rebekah to turn her sights back on Ophelia.

Hayley, who had just descended down the stairs and was upset that Rebekah had hurt Elijah, rushed over to the female vampire to fight her, but Rebekah simply vamp-sped toward her and plunged her hand into her chest, squeezing her heart tightly.

Hayley groaned and choked in pain as Rebekah continued to squeeze her heart tightly.

Just then, Klaus had just returned to the compound with Cami, and he immediately yelled at Rebekah when he saw what she was doing, "Rebekah!"

Klaus vamp-sped toward the girls and clenched his hand around Rebekah's wrist to prevent her from ripping out Hayley's heart as Ophelia walked forward, "Not her."

Klaus forced Rebekah to release Hayley's heart, and she gasped in relief as her body started to heal. When Rebekah saw Ophelia trying to check on Hayley, she spun around and tried to lunge for her as well, forcing Klaus to hold onto her arm tightly and pull her away, "Not her either!" He raised his voice in annoyance.

Klaus vamp-sped himself and Rebekah backward until he slammed his sister onto the nearby dinner table, smashing all of the glass plates on top of it. Cami, who had a black briefcase in her hands that she and Klaus stole from Lucien, gave it to Hayley with a nod. Hayley, knowing that Klaus had Rebekah under control, rushed upstairs with it to take it to Jackson. Rebekah, who was still in Klaus' choke-hold, still managed to lash out at Klaus and Ophelia with her words.

Rebekah laughed bitterly, "Oh, dear, sweet Ophelia. You're so afraid that you'll ruin her even more than you already have." The female original used all of her strength to throw herself onto her feet, though Klaus still had his arms on her to hold her back, "After all this time, you still try to keep her behind glass like some breakable object."

Klaus, who was horrified, looked back at Ophelia while he held Rebekah back, and Ophelia looked hurt by Rebekah's words, "But you're wrong. After the centuries she's spent with our family, she's anything but precious, Nik. Over the years, the lot of us have turned her to poison."

Ophelia, equally horrified, turned and ran out of the courtyard and rushed up the stairs, which made Rebekah laugh even more, "She'll keep growing toxic until it leads to the end of her."

AN: Next chapter is my favorite chapter!!!