They watched Lucien address Elijah from atop the bar's balcony.

"Such a treat, being in New Orleans this time of year," said Lucien casually. "But, alas, for all today's talent, nothing quite compares with watching Ella and Louis perform live."

"Yes, what a wonderful world that was," said Elijah sarcastically. "Give me my brother before your world becomes significantly less wonderful."

Lucien pursed his lips. "Mmm, I'm afraid I need something from you, first. A brother for a brother, as it were."

"Let me guess," Elijah replied, "your fantasy sweetheart wants her beloved Tristan back?"

"Hmm. Or your death, to relieve his suffering. So, either tell me how to find him, or I'll kill you. Where is Tristan de Martel?"

Elijah did not answer. Behind her, Beatrix sensed the Strix were tittering a bit, likely to see if he'd concede or not.

Lucien got impatient rather quickly. "Elijah, I've asked you a rather important question. Given our current circumstance, you'd be wise not to test my patience. So... Tristan's resting place...?"

Elijah acted as though he hadn't heard him. "You carefully craft yourself into this abomination purely to become... an errand boy to that banshee?"

Beatrix smirked as Lucien chuckled. "Oh, you Mikaelsons. Your arrogance truly knows no bounds. Do I need to remind you the prophecy is on my side? Your family is doomed. So, if you'll give me Tristan's location, at least I could make your death quick."

Elijah shrugged. "I have no idea where he is. But you know, Lucien, the thing is that I suspect you don't even really care."

Lucien mimicked his shrug. "Mmm. I never really liked him. But, at least I can tell Aurora I tried."

He lunged at Elijah, who dodged quickly and attempted to strike, though it was difficult to do so without putting himself in immediate danger of being bitten.

"You give me my brother," Elijah panted as he stepped back. "I won't ask again."

Lucien rolled his eyes. "Please, Elijah. Know when you're beaten." He stood up straighter, and his irises glowed red. Freya tensed, since he was standing near where they'd put the sigil. He strode toward Elijah and stepped right into the hot zone, the burning of the sigil removing its cloaking and keeping him from progressing further. He let out a roar of agony and dropped to his knees, and Freya walked into the room, the Strix and Beatrix still cloaked behind.

"Oh," she said with fake sympathy, "That looks like it hurts. That's what I was going for."

"What... did you do to me?" Lucien groaned as he tried to claw his way out, to no avail.

"The sigil will bind you," she answered simply. "Weaken you. The boiling blood, I added myself. Maybe I can't kill you, but I can make you wish you were dead."

He grunted and tried to push against the invisible borders, but didn' manage to do anything. He chose, instead, to stop fighting it, and got to his feet. "Whew!" he said, apparently not feeling any more pain. "Well, I admit, Freya, this is a truly valiant effort. Inspired, I assume, by your grief over Finn's demise?"

Freya sneered angrily and thrust her hand toward him, making him moan in pain, grabbing his head as he sank back to his knees.

"Pop goes the weasel!" he growled, trying to fight it. "Oh! A rather potent aneurysm spell. You never fail to impress."

"Oh, I have all kinds of tricks," she snarled. "We even brought an audience to enjoy the show!"

The Strix took that to be the signal, since Beatrix stepped in, and they all flooded into the room, surrounding Lucien and sneering menacingly at him.

"Oh, come now, my darling sister," said Elijah nonchalantly. "The Strix are the show. Well... the first act. Act two, Lucien's buried beneath 1,000 tons of cement. Act three? Spoiler alert— you're a parking lot."

Lucien chuckled, looking around to see who had shown face. He fixated his eyes on Beatrix and winked. "Oh, even after a thousand years, you've never managed to curb your hubris, Elijah," he said. "You still wander through a smog of your own self-importance. I can kill anything. Even them. Even you. And, since the Ancestors have made me their champion... They will not allow me to be detained."

Freya and Beatrix shared a concerned look, but it was too late for them to intervene. Lucien suddenly stepped right out of the sigil, holding his hands out as if daring them to challenge him.

The Strix were the first to launch forward. But they had gone into a battle they were already going to lose. Though Lucien didn't bite them, he easily overtook them and snapped their necks easily. Beatrix took the next turn to jump in, but he simply shoved her back, which made Elijah spring forward. With ease, Lucien reached between the Strix and whirled Elijah back against the wall. Two of the Strix tried to redeem him, but Lucien grabbed their arms and seemed to break them out of their sockets.

"Is that the best you've got?" he asked when the only ones who remained conscious were Beatrix, Elijah, and Freya.

Freya thrust her hand forward. "Delphin eoten cor," she chanted. "Delphin eoten cor. Delphin eoten cor!"

Lucien let out a gasp of pain, the front of his shirt growing stained with blood. Freya continued to chant, flicking her fingers toward herself in an attempt to rip his heart out. "Delphin eoten cor. Delphin eoten cor. Delphin eoten cor—"

But suddenly, Lucien wasn't groaning anymore, and the bleeding stopped. Beatrix looked at Elijah from behind Lucien and motioned for him to go. She sped forward and tackled Lucien to the ground. Elijah, albeit hesitantly, grabbed Freya and sped off.

Lucien moved her off with ease and pinned her to the ground. "Well, it seems you're just dying to join Nik at my penthouse for some torture. I'm sure Aurora will react swimmingly when she finds out the two of you are together. Oh wait... I told her already."

He pulled her up. When she tried to punch him, he caught her hand, and Beatrix whimpered in pain as she felt both palms beginning to burn. "My dear Beatrix, it's almost like you forgot that the Ancestors are against you, too. They won't allow me to be detained, but they will help me detain you."

Her wrists slapped themselves together, as though bound with an invisible rope. When she tried to tear them apart, it did nothing, and Lucien chuckled, though he looked furious. "Come, then, witch, let's go see our unfortunate sire."

Beatrix's heart hammered in her chest as he took them back to the penthouse. She knew that he wasn't going to hurt her, but if Aurora was there with Klaus, then there was no telling what she would do. He held her roughly as they went up on the elevator, though there was no way she could defeat him with her hands bound together. Even her legs seemed unwilling to do what she wanted them to. She could feel a heavy veil, like chains, had been placed on her body. Stupid Ancestors.

The elevator dinged as they arrived in the foyer. There was silence emitting from Lucien's living quarters, and they both frowned suspiciously. Lucien knelt and picked up an empty syringe from the floor. Growling, he yanked Beatrix into the penthouse and found that there was an empty vial on the table and no one inside.

Beatrix felt even more scared when he shoved her down onto one of the couches in front of the television. He went toward a mirror near the door and pulled out what seemed to have been a hidden camera.

He plugged it into his computer, and the footage appeared on the television as he sat down angrily beside her, looking as though he might lash out depending on what they saw.

Aurora and Klaus were on the screen, Klaus kneeling on the floor with his arms magically restrained on a thick branch of wood with runes carved into it. Aurora was standing over him in a taunting manner.

"I wonder," the redhead mused, "when you decided to brick me into that dreadful tomb, did it ever occur to you that our roles might one day be reversed?"

Klaus gritted his teeth. "We both know that I buried you alive because I could not bring myself to kill you."

Aurora chuckled. "No doubt, you intended to free me after a suitable period of time."

"In fact," answered the hybrid, "my methods were not unlike Tristan's— after all, did he not hide you away in a mountain monastery? The truth is, I still had hopes for us."

Beatrix felt her chest tighten as Aurora smirked over at him on screen. "Oh... your affections for me must run deep, indeed. Tell me— if I were to kiss you now, would you feel those affections stir? Because I would feel nothing."

"Are you so certain?" Klaus asked. "We are flames in the darkness of each other's worlds. We burn brighter together than we ever did alone. And I would forgive everything if you would only forgive me, my love."

Aurora giggled like a young girl. "Wow, you really are quite desperate, aren't you? I mean, it's quite pathetic, seeing you resort to this failed seduction. I mean, it's comical, even."

"You think me a liar?" inquired Klaus.

"Lucien has told me of that Heretic wench you are with. The plans I have for her once I finish you off... she'll wish she never even looked at you."

Klaus didn't seem fazed. "You mistaken my affections for her to be genuine. I haven't loved her since she betrayed me, and any hurt she went through wouldn't bother me. After all, she's young but used up by my brother. His leftovers. I would never fall for a woman like that again, not when you are another option."

Aurora rolled her eyes. "You really expect me to believe that you'd choose me over her, or over Cami? After bricking me up?"

"My love," he said, looking up at her. "Who could compare to my first true romance? Who did I make art of, you or them? Even you can comprehend that some people are only good for entertainment in bed. You choose not to believe me, and yet, you entertain Lucien's brazen advances?"

Aurora pursed her lips. "Well..."

"Do you think you could ever love that imbecile?" Klaus asked.

"Aw, poor, sweet Lucien," sighed Aurora. "After all this time, he remains such a dedicated suitor. Such a shame I'll never see him as more than a means to an end."

When Aurora turned away from Klaus, he smirked right in the direction of the hidden camera, as though he knew Lucien would be viewing this later.

Lucien shut off the television and swore loudly, slamming his computer shut. His eyes were full of tears, and Beatrix refrained from looking at him. She knew that Klaus had most likely only said what he did to try and get out of his predicament, but his words were ringing in her ears, stinging into her heart and making her let out the quietest of whimpers of shame and pain. She tried to swallow back furious tears as she listened to Lucien throwing things around the room.

He stopped after what felt like an hour and went to the computer, turning it back on to watch the rest of the footage. Beatrix tried to tune out any of Aurora and Klaus's conversation, only paying attention when she heard Cami and Hayley— they had saved Klaus and taken Aurora with them, passed out.

"I've decided," Lucien seethed at last, once he'd trashed up the penthouse some more when he found out how Klaus had been taken. "Aurora will no longer be part of this— she will not cause him any pain. Therefore, I have to."

He looked at Beatrix and she instinctively shrank back. "Not you, silly girl," he snapped. "It's been established that he used you the way she used me. No... hurting you won't hit him as hard. But hurting Camille..."

"No!" shrieked Beatrix immediately. "No— no Lucien, please, hurt me instead, not Cami, please not Cami, she's my friend too—"

"SILENCE!" She shrank back again as he yelled. His eyes flashed red and she thought he might bite her this time, but he didn't. "I will bite Camille, yes... and when she dies..."

"L-Lucien," Beatrix begged. "I'll do a-anything— please don't hurt her, p-please, she's innocent—"

"Innocent?" he spat. "No, darling, you have no idea. Don't fret. When she's dead, it'll be your turn next. You're going to be trapped in here for awhile anyway. The Ancestors won't let you leave. Don't even bother trying."

"Please!" she sobbed, feeling overwhelmed. Klaus was using her... Cami was going to die... Kol needed her help... Aurora needed to be subdued properly...

Lucien growled and came over to her, gripping her by the throat. "No. Nothing you say will stop me. This should silence you."

He snapped her neck.

_

She awoke on the floor, her wrists still bound together.

Panting heavily, she forced herself up, but immediately screamed as sunlight from the windows hit her body. She dropped back to the floor, looking at her hands and seeing her daylight ring was gone.

"Fuck!" she snarled, looking for shaded areas and crawling across them to end up behind the couch, shielded from the sun. She peeked around and saw the windows did have blinds, but it was going to prove excessively difficult to close them on her own, and without magic.

She forced herself to at least try. She crawled as fast as she could behind the other couches to the nearest bundle of shades. The sunlight burned her only three times, very briefly, since she dove to shaded areas intermittently. She managed to stand and begin to drag the blinds, but it was difficult with her wrists placed together, and she tripped, making her cry out in pain as her faced was blasted full of light. She jumped back behind the blind, pulling them with her accidentally and leaving her back where she started in the first place.

"I swear, Lucien," she sneered, looking around for any hidden cameras. "I'm going to disembowel you so slowly you'll feel every ounce of pain..."

She gave it another attempt. Trying to hold herself steady, she tugged at the blinds, slowly and steadily pulling them out. She managed to get them halfway, realizing she'd need to speed to the other side, across the sun, to get the others to shield the room completely. Biting her lip, she jumped, whimpering as her arms burned again, but managing to get behind the other blinds and pull them out and cover the windows completely.

When it was safe, she sped to the door, and tried to twist her fingers to get the handle, but it wouldn't swing open, even when she unlocked it. She growled and slammed her body against it, but it wouldn't budge, as though she was spelled into the room. Two kicks later, all that was there was a dent, and nothing more. She tried to move her hands the best she could to siphon, but when she tried, it sent a sharp pain down her fingertips and to her chest, which made her leap back, unsuccessful.

She screamed out in fury, as loud as she could, but her wrists did not come apart. The windows didn't even break, meaning she couldn't even try to jump, survive, and get back to the compound. Not that she would have been able to— her daylight ring didn't seem to be anywhere in the vicinity, and without her magic, she couldn't summon it to her or bring out one she'd vanished for backup.

The phone began to ring from across the room. It was an older model with a cord, though looking more modern. She didn't try to answer it. When it had rang five times and stopped, the next call came directly to her phone.

It was very difficult to get it out of her pocket. She couldn't twist her arms enough to pull it out, and she had to put herself in a very awkward position against the couch's arm to propel it to fall out of her jeans. By the time she got to it, it wasn't ringing anymore, but she saw the call had come from an unknown number. Probably Lucien, calling to gloat.

The phone chimed after about two minutes, revealing she had a new voicemail. Angrily, she did her best to pick it up and open the message.

"Darling," came Lucien's voice. "Help yourself to any of the food, if you can reach it without burning. You'll be pleased to know that Cami has only a few hours left to live. I made sure to take a nice, good bite. No one will be going to rescue you, I think... they're all very occupied trying to get her a cure. Pity, the little witch Davina seemed to think my blood might help, but alas, it won't. Speaking of Davina... she's dying today, too. Your little friend Kol won't be able to resist the Ancestors much longer. You see, they've tasked him with ripping her throat out. You were next on the Ancestral Hit List, you know, Kol will be out to kill you once he finishes off Davina, though... I think they might hand that task off to me, seeing as I have you trapped there. By the way... your daylight ring is rather lovely, I have it here in my pocket. I think I'm going to keep it. Depends, would you rather die of a bite from me, or burned in the sun, or getting your heart ripped out by Kol? You can choose. Whichever will hurt Nik more is the better choice. Ta-ta!"

The voicemail ended and Beatrix let out another furious scream, punching her bound hands against the couch. "Damn it— damn it!" Her eyes were stinging with fresh tears. She felt helpless and useless. She wasn't going to be able to help Cami or Davina or Kol, and at this rate, she didn't care what would hurt Klaus more— there would be no way to protect him from Lucien because he'd lash out either way.

She didn't know what to believe or what to feel. All that came to mind was despair.

Lucien didn't return until well after nightfall, looking very pleased with himself. "Camille is dead," he announced as he walked through the doors.

Beatrix was all cried out by then, and all she did was stare at the wall. She'd been seated on the floor, glaring at the empty space where he hadn't hung some sort of portrait. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she looked pale. She hadn't eaten anything, even though there were many things she could have consumed, including blood. She didn't feel like it.

"Come now, love, surely you should be celebrating!" he taunted. "Less competition when it comes to Nik..."

She glared at him. "You're going to die miserable because you didn't have the decency to be civil."

"I lost a century to compulsion, love, I don't think that's something anyone could forget. NIklaus Mikaelson will never admit it, but I am his better, and he will see it, one day. Now, have you decided how you want to die?"

She sniffled and just let her head lean back against the couch. "Just fucking tear my heart out, Lucien, I don't want to feel anything. You want to hurt Klaus but he won't be affected by my death. You fucking heard him. I've been tormented enough today, make it quick, that's all I ask. I won't even fight it."

He came to crouch down in front of her, taking her chin and forcing her to look at him. "Do you not understand?" he said. "Your pain, your destruction, it's all rooted in the Mikaelsons. They've forsaken anyone who doesn't bear the same surname, love. All Nik has ever done is use you. I know about you two. He never cared for you. You were his distraction, and he was adamant about your betrayal because to him, it was wrong for his sister to want love. What kind of heartless beast does that? He never tried to understand your breakup, did he, he just cast you aside, never worrying about what was best for you. He used you for your magic and your company. You still have another option. Work with me. Aid the Ancestors in destroying them. What reason have you to be loyal to the Mikaelsons? They will never treat you like one of them."

She stared blankly at him. "Just fucking kill me," she managed weakly. "Hurry up."

He seemed to have another idea. "Hmm... perhaps... I won't."

"What are you waiting for?" she demanded. "Tear my heart out, burn me, bite me, I don't care anymore, Lucien! Get it over with!"

"I was wondering," he said with a wicked smile, "how much of a problem would be created if you went back to Nik... unscathed."

He stood and began to walk around, mulling it over. "Yes... having to be confronted about what he said... about what he's done... he'll even get mad because you weren't there to help save Cami..."

Beatrix began to sob again. "S-Stop— no, I d-don't want—"

"It's not about what you want," he said. "It's about what I want. Clearly, they've left you so hurt that you're begging for release. Let's... stir the pot a bit more."

He pulled her up and held her by the throat once more, his eyes turning red. His fangs came out and he leaned onto her shoulder, letting them graze over her skin, but not sinking them in. "Pity, really, I think your blood would have tasted marvelous," he said as he dropped her. He extracted her daylight right and put it back on her finger. "There. Run along. Back to the Compound." He leaned in to whisper in her ear. "I may not be able to compel you, but if I find out you didn't return, the next person I bite will be Marcel."

Her wrists were unbound, and she was pushed back. She wasn't about to wait for him to change his mind, so she sped out.

When she arrived at the Compound, she found everyone gathered in the courtyard. She staggered in, and they immediately turned to her.

"Beatrix," said Elijah, getting up.

She burst into tears before anyone could reach her.