A/N: Just a heads up, this is going to be the last chapter! I made the executive decision to avoid a great deal of angst that while interesting, would realistically not have worked out for Marcel and Andra.

_

Marcel nearly broke her back.

"I think there is such a thing as too tight of a hug," she gasped, barely able to breathe as he held the back of her head. "It's okay, I'm okay."

"You are freaking crazy sometimes," said Marcel, drawing back to cup her face. "You know that, Andra? You scare me."

She grinned. "Do I? You like it though, don't you?"

"Sometimes," he said, kissing the top of her head, then her cheek, then her lips. "Don't ever do something like that again, I mean it."

"Oh, you mean, don't defeat The Strix?" she cooed, brushing her shoulders dramatically. "Well, I just did. I'm sure there are still more members out there but the order has fallen. Either it collapses completely because there's no leader and not enough followers, or you take up the mantle. We win both ways."

He took her hand, twirling her and pulling her closer. "Well, if you're intending to make me The Strix King, I think I'll need a Queen to rule by my side."

"Would you look at that," said Andra. "I went from hunting them down to taking over. Sounds like we went full circle. Unfortunately... there are still some things we have left to do."

They met at the Compound to discuss next steps.

"Ryan is with Aurora now," said Andra, pointing at the map of New Orleans to show the Mikaelsons where the dead Strix were. "I didn't intend for Tristan to die, genuinely, because I anticipated striking a deal to get him to leave. I didn't mean to rob Aurora of her brother. Obviously, she's never going to want anything to do with me again. Ryan's going to try and explain everything, and he knows what he risks... she might never like him again."

She pointed at another part of the map. "We still have some lingering problems. Namely, Lucien, who none of us trust and who could also have had an ulterior motive just like Tristan. Now, Tristan did tell me about some other prophecy from one of The Strix witches detailing the real weapon. My recommendation is that we take advantage of their freedom. Last I knew, The Strix forced those poor girls to do awful things then made it so the Coven was the only place they felt could be home. They're now free. They may be willing to strike a deal: the prophecy in exchange for some resources they could need to start over."

"To that end, I believe Kol and I will be able to bargain," offered Elijah. "Surely there is something we can offer that will suit them."

"I've got loads of spells and magical items they may enjoy," said Kol. "For the small price of them telling us yet another riddle we need to solve ourselves."

"Once we know what the weapon is, we will destroy it," said Klaus firmly. "And then, once the danger is off the table, Aurora will have no choice but to return Rebekah's true body. As soon as that debt is settled, there is nothing more than needs be done aside from either ridding ourselves of Lucien by running him out of the city, or killing him off."

"My vote is on killing him," said Rebekah. "After Tristan's death, the opportunity for him to come back guns blazing opened. He could recruit Aurora to locate that weapon before we do, and Aurora may know the current Strix witches better and they may be more likely to tell her."

"Then we will head off immediately," said Kol. "Elijah and I will beat her there and get that prophecy."

They sped off without waiting for the rest of the plan to be solidified.

Freya tapped her fingers against the edge of the table. "Rebekah and I can get started on finding her original body. If we locate it, we could ensure we have a way to get it back even if Aurora isn't cooperative."

"Good idea," said Andra. "Then that leaves Klaus, Marcel, and I to deal with Lucien."

"What, pray tell, do you propose there?" muttered the hybrid. "You'll lop of his head and crisis will be averted?"

Andra smiled. "Not quite. You see, talking to Tristan gave me the opportunity to learn that the Serratura was not the main weapon on the table. We should assume Lucien knows this fact, too, and may even be aware of the prophecy without need for Aurora to talk to The Strix Coven. I say we get into his mind and find out what he knows before we dispose of him. Though, of course, if this is not something you wish to do–"

"After what Lucien dared to do to Camille," said Klaus darkly, "wishes ceased to matter."

"Good. Then we ought to get to work."

Ryan confirmed he was still keeping Aurora company, consoling her, really, after being completely transparent about what'd transpired. Andra wasn't sure it would matter to Aurora that neither of them had planned to kill Tristan, and she doubted Ryan would choose to bring up that Aurora could now be free, something they'd long since desired for her.

The one comfort she had was knowing that no matter how Aurora might lash out, she and her brothers were safe. Landon was currently enjoying a mini pool day with Cami, Hayley, and Hope in the courtyard fountain. Ryan and Andra couldn't be killed. And, despite how much Ryan cared for Aurora, he knew how to set aside feelings to get business done.

It was a sacrifice they'd both made many times. It always hurt but it was always for a reason.

"Ah, Nik!" said Lucien, opening the door to his penthouse to greet him. "And you've brought... guests."

"I'm sure you've heard by now that The Strix are no more," said Klaus, barging into the apartment. "Behind me lies the culprit of that."

"Of course," said Lucien, a tight smile on his face at the sight of Andra. "You, I've already heard a great deal about. Though, I'm not sure why that merits a visit, unless of course you mean to tell me that my stay here has run its course. The Serratura gone and used, the crown prince," he gestured to Marcel, "free of the burden of being a double agent. Almost worthy of celebration. Though I sense you are not in a celebratory mood."

Klaus grabbed Lucien's shoulder, beckoning him to sit down. "We're here for a bit of a chat, really. You see, that crown prince–" he pointed at Marcel, "practically commands The Strix now. And his queen," he motioned to Andra, smirking, "is demanding a renovation of the gardens. Including pulling out all the weeds."

"Aren't you all fast friends?" said Lucien a tad snidely, clearly well-aware that Andra and Klaus weren't exactly besties. "I take it in this allusion I am meant to be a weed?"

"A rather large one, actually," said Andra. "We'd like a little Q&A before we decide where exactly this weed will go. This trash... or a comfortable jet to another land where it can grow freely away from New Orleans soil."

"Nik, is this really necessary?" muttered Lucien.

"She said we're doing it," said Marcel. "So we are. Do you want to fess up to what you know or will we need to do this the hard way?"

"A father and son rekindling their relationship just for it to amount to this," said Lucien. "How unfortunate for me."

"It won't have to end badly if you've nothing to hide," said Andra. "But to find that out... we need you to be completely honest. What do you know about a prophecy from one of The Strix witches?"

"As if those little brats could amount to Alexis. If Tristan claimed there was a prophecy, he bluffed."

"So convincing," said Klaus sarcastically. "In fact, I nearly believe you. Were it not for your heart skipping a beat. Same as it did when I asked you where Camille was, don't you recall?"

"Now, Nik, you know I needed to get your attenti–"

He grabbed him by the throat. "Well, I can smell the vervain on you, which leads me to believe it may be awhile before you're able to be fully truthful. No matter. We can wait."

Much to Lucien's dismay, his carpet was soon drenched in blood. Andra had wedged her knives into every major artery and vein in his legs, leaving him to bleed out while Klaus and Marcel stood watch.

"How far you've come, Monslayer," observed Klaus as Andra paced back and forth in front of Lucien. "From a mercenary entering this city on a job she did not wish to complete, to a co-ruler of the most powerful organization of vampires along with those that remain in this city, from my sireline. A peasant... becoming a queen. It's almost comical."

"Easy," warned Marcel. "She's helped you a lot when she didn't have to."

"Indeed she has. Though, has she really been helping me or has she been helping herself all along?"

"I already told you, if I wanted power, if I wanted control, I would have had it ages ago," said Andra, lips curling up. "Look at how easily The Strix were rendered to ash. Imagine what I could have done to you."

There it was, that sadistic look that Marcel adored. Loved. He used to feel it wrong that he admired it so much, he used to wonder how far Andra could take things if she wanted to.

And in that time he'd realized how much he admired her strength, her wit, her cunning. With him she could be this bubbly ball of light and she would be so sweet, cooking for him and making his favorite cookie just to see the smile on his face when he ate it.

The other side of the coin was someone just like him, someone he could relate to. Arrogant and vicious, but still precise, level-headed, and with the ability to shoot and kill. It had always bothered him that he wasn't treated like an equal by those around him. Klaus hadn't ruled with him as an equal, so he'd chosen to be better at him, to rebuild New Orleans. Rebekah hadn't treated him as an equal when they'd been together, so he'd broken things off permanently to build himself up.

Andra lifted him up, but never forgot to ground him when he needed to be told he was making a mistake. She would stare at him with the cutest puppy dog eyes when he was talking about some of his passions, and she'd remember little things from each date. He helped her, she helped him. When he told her the city mattered, she made it matter to her, too.

She got rid of The Strix to protect me, Davina, and her brothers.

She made sure I could be King because I wanted to be. Not because she had any desire to be a Queen.

I used to think I was screwed because I liked this girl, because I thought I was putting her in danger. And she used to think the same thing, she swore she'd hurt anyone who laid a hand on me.

And she did.

I don't think I only 'like' this girl anymore. I want more than this, I want more than the city. When she found out The Strix wanted to recruit me, she supported me because it's what I wanted.

I don't know what comes next but I want her.

"Now now," said Klaus, "don't get too cocky now, love."

"Weren't you the first one to think of me as a queen?" Andra said sweetly. "It's flattering, you know, but deep down, I've never considered myself one. I don't want to be one. I've never had any interest in ruling over any population and I'm not going to start now."

"That's really it, then? You did this because you cared, not because you wanted power?"

"Is that so surprising to you? Believe it or not, Hope matters to me and I wanted to make sure she had a family. Because I didn't have anyone but my brother. And we both lacked a good father. You are an awful man, Klaus Mikaelson, but you do care for that little girl and that's what matters to me. This alliance we have, it matters to me, and not just because Hope could help me defeat Malivore in a distant future. Hayley, Rebekah, and Freya are my friends, practically like sisters to me. Elijah and Kol have been civil to me, and your younger brother is dating Davina, who I remind you, lives with me and is like the daughter I never will have."

Marcel couldn't help but smile. He still remembered his skepticism about even introducing Andra to Davina. Yet from the moment they met, Andra proved that it was safe to bring her into Davina's life.

"Not to mention," Andra continued, "All of them have helped me take care of Landon. That's something I value. And despite the past animosity between us, I see how Marcel is with all of you. He cares about you. You are his family. Which means, by association, you are my family. So I will protect you, if and when I can. Is it so hard for you to believe that I don't want power at all? All I have ever wanted since I set foot in this city is to be... normal. To have people to come home to, people who care for me? I just wanted to be loved and I got that. That is the victory for me, Klaus. And if it means Marcel gets the city he cherishes, if it means your little girl has two good parents and a village that will care not only for her but for my brothers and I... hell, I'm in it for the long run. This is my home and I will always protect it."

Marcel took her hand, kissing the back of it and making her stop pacing immediately, a tiny blush rising in her cheeks.

I remember thinking he was just another pompous ass who I'd have to kill just to be safe. Hell, his first impression was kidnapping me.

And yet every second I spent with him after that, I was laughing or smiling. Does he know that I didn't use to do that? Does he know that even when Ryan and I joked around other people to keep the mood light, we didn't laugh unless we were with each other? Does Marcel know that when he first made me laugh, it had been two hundred years since I'd felt that kind of joy?

He is the reason I got to keep Landon. He's the reason I have a home here. He welcomed me, he gave me everything I needed, and he respected me. I wonder if he realizes how little experience I had with that. How often I was written off as a drama queen. He took me seriously and he helped me become better. He kept me safe. He listened.

I don't think I only 'like' this guy anymore. After so many centuries, I think it's safe again. I think I can take this risk. Hell, if I took a risk and brought down The Strix, it is okay, right?

I want to remember what this kind of love feels like again.

"I think he's ready," said Klaus hastily, seeing Lucien's head lolling as he struggled to remain upright. "The vervain is gone."

"Well, this is about to get fun now, isn't it?" said Andra, taking back her knives, eliciting a huff from Lucien, made more anguished when she wiped the knives clean on his couch cushions.

Klaus leaned over him, forcing him to look in his eyes. "Now, what do you know of the other weapon? The truth now." He seemed to glare into his soul.

Try as he might, Lucien couldn't resist. "The witch," he said, voice strained as he was trying to hold his answer back, "She spoke of a lone figure, a pale horse, a flame that would burn you all."

"Is that all?"

"That is all... I know. Tristan suspected it was white oak. Another piece."

"The white oak is gone. Dahlia destroyed the last of it."

"Not according to that prophecy."

"Do you know where it is?"

"No."

"Ask him what the rest of his plan is," asked Marcel. "Now that the Serratura is gone."

Lucien shook his head, but Klaus said, "Tell us what you planned and what you intend to do now."

"Find the weapon," whispered Lucien. "Take a piece of the white oak. Combined with the blood of a Mikaelson witch and the spell to make Originals, the venom of the seven wolf Packs... I could be a creature far greater than you. I could be rid of you. Become what I deserve to be. When I found the prophecy foretelling your family's end, I knew it was true, and that I was its living embodiment. My rise would be your downfall. With The Strix out of the way... I would take the weapon, I would use it to kill you all."

Marcel and Andra shared a look, both unable to quantify the rage visible in Klaus. He plucked the knife from the golem, holding it to Lucien's mouth and sneering, "I've heard about a thousand years too much from you. For a century you lived with my name and you never did quite recover from losing it, did you? You became a man of wealth and stature but you never could crawl from my shadow, and in the end, despite the gift of immortality, you have always known what you truly are." He carved a smile on his face, just like the bodies that'd been left on the Quarter streets. "You are nothing. And for what you would have done to my family, you will die and be forgotten. Because Andra here... she is the daughter of darkness, born of the pit where nothing escapes. That is where you will rot until my child destroys Malivore."

He ripped out Lucien's heart, leaving him to flop back on the couch.

_

Aurora left New Orleans.

"She needs time, and that's okay," said Ryan, filled with sorrow as he bounced Landon in his arms. "It... it went better than expected. She gave Rebekah's body back. Cami helped Kol and Elijah figure out the riddle. The white oak is gone. When she's ready, she told me she would like for us to talk again. Somewhere else, though. France is nice most of the year."

"I'm so sorry, Ry," said Andra quietly. "I never meant to ruin what you had with her."

"You didn't, Malia. It's okay." He offered Landon to her. "So, have you given it some thought?"

She stared at the little boy in her arms, giggling and asking to be put down so he could run. "I have. That offer, to have him attend the school with other supernatural children... it is one I don't want to refuse. Once Hope is old enough, they could both go. It would be wonderful for the two of them. But... are you sure about the offer made to you?"

"Hey," said Ryan, "I can manage two jobs. I can fly anywhere now. And I think, like you, I'm ready to retire from the mercenary life. If I could teach at that school, a general history of the supernatural... I think I could come to like it. I like New Orleans, but home to me has always been where you are, or where Landon is. When you're here, you can keep an eye on him. When I'm there, I'll make sure he and Hope don't get in trouble. And eventually, if I choose to travel, we... can really see if Aurora will like me. If she doesn't, that's okay. And you know why? 'Cause it's safe for us to find out. I just want you to promise me something before I go, okay, Malia?"

"What is it?"

"Take that leap. I think, if one can judge by how things went today, Klaus approves of you being with Marcel. And you know I've supported it from day one. Be happy, and so will I. We've earned it. When the time comes for Hope to be a full tribrid... we will defeat Malivore once and for all. Until then..." he squeezed Landon's cheek, causing his little brother to whine and swat his hand away, "both of you, be good. You don't want your big brother coming to scold you, do you?"

"Miss you, Ryan," said Landon, blowing him a kiss.

"Look at you, so smart," said Andra, leaning her head against his. "We'll see him again, won't we? Now, let's get you buckled up to take Ryan to the airport. Then, we'll head to the Compound. You're having a sleepover with Auntie Hayley and Hope so Marcel and I can go on a date."

Marcel met her at her apartment, wearing a suit despite her insisting it would be something casual.

"Hey, it's an important day," he said. "The Mikaelsons are safe, the prophecy will probably turn out to be something a lot more mild like, Elijah being betrayed in a card game. We've got a lot to talk about."

"We do," said Andra. "We kept holding ourselves back, waiting for there to be peace before we could really... sit down and talk through everything. I just... want to make sure we are honest with each other about what we want."

"That's simple," said Marcel, reaching over the table to take her hand. "I want you. I want... to see just how far this can go. In my mind, it's forever. I run this city again, and I basically run The Strix, too. We have everything we could want at our fingertips. And I want you to share that with me."

"I want all that, too," whispered Andra. "I want to explore and I want to finally feel like I can let my guard down. I'm ready, Marcel. I'm taking this leap. I want to be with you and I want to build this and know what it's like to be loved by you. If you'll have me."

He smiled. "Of course. The battle is won. We get our peace now."

"We won it together," she said, holding up her glass. "Because of family, and because we had valor. To the King of New Orleans."

"And to his Queen," added Marcel. "And to the chess match we both won."

Instead of toasting, she leaned over to kiss him.

-

A/N: Keep reading for the Final Author's Note!