chapter forty-five

the lies you tell

・❥・

    AURORA WAS FED up of the lack of attention on her. She had finally gotten Klaus alone yesterday but he had seemed to be lost in his own mind and it drove her crazy. It didn't matter that he had coaxed this beautiful meal to flatter her — she knew what it was, it was all a trick for him to get into her head, woo her. She believed it at first, played into it, but the more time went on she realised that his mind was somewhere else, stuck on something — or rather, someone.

    It only made the burning hate in her gut for Jordanna Jones rise — she felt like she needed to pay. I mean, how dare she infiltrate everything she had? Why did she get Klaus' full attention and not her? Why did she get the life she wanted with Klaus? It simply wasn't fair.

    So, she deemed to ruin it.

    Silence was the only thing heard in St. Louis Cathedral. The Jones vampire could only stare at the others who surrounded the cramped table in the beaten down Church, or as Marcel preferred, newly reformed Gym. The sizzle of the, barley standing, candle wicks buzzed in her ears as they lit up, a golden amber dusk reflected against the smooth features of her face.

    The New Orleans streets were busy as always, audible laughter and joy from tourists blurred through the thin walls and slightly cracked open windows of the run down building. The atmosphere was tense, nausea pulled at Jordanna's stomach from the mere sound of merry cheers coming from outside the Church. Her arms crossed over her chest whilst she, and the others, watched Freya place down the ingredients for her spell.

    The clearing of a throat seemed to snap shut that feverish feeling floating around the room. "So, where's Klaus?" Hayley asked. Though the question was aimed at no one in particular, everyone's eyes had seemed to find their way to Jordanna, it made her feel sick, the eyes on her, her fingers scraped over the rough jacket that was draped over her body — kindly gifted to her by Marcel as he noted the Goosebumps which arose on her skin.

    Freya's eyes flickered between Jordanna and the rest of them before she leant against the table with a sigh, "When I told him about Rebekah, he said he'd pursue another lead."

     "You mean Aurora?" Jordanna spoke up, eyes flickering up to meet Freya's, she desperately tried to hide the scowl that itched to form on her lips.

    "I'm not sure, but likely, yes." The Mikaelson told her with a deflated look.

     Elijah stepped forward, breaking the look of pity that Jordanna dodged from his older sister and gently grabbed her athame in hand, the steel was cold against his skin as he dragged it across the palm of his hand, a gash of blood soon following after it. He turned his palm flat over the bronze chalice on the table which laid upon a large, pristine map.

    "Forget Niklaus." Elijah dismissed his brother's absence with a careless wave of his hand. In the most sassy, yet elegant, way he grabbed a handkerchief from his suit pocket and wiped his hand clean of the crimson liquid, his free hand reaching forward to Freya as he placed an encouraging hand on her arm. "You will find her."

   Marcel's face morphed into an apprehensive one as he looked between the Mikaelson siblings, his heart sped up just a fraction and a concerned glance was sent Freya's way. "Now, you sure you got enough ju-ju for a world wide locator spell?"

    Freya was not fazed by his doubts, rather, she looked determinedly over at the man, a sheer nod being sent his way. "She's my family, I won't lose her. Besides." The woman paused, head turning to the, unusually quiet, Jones who stood between Marcel and Hayley. "Jordanna is going to help me, aren't you?"

    Upon hearing no answer from the Jones, Hayley side eyed her and nudged her in the ribs earning a small curse being sent her way and an even harsher blow to her own ribs.

    "Sorry, what? I don't remember agreeing to that."

    "You want to find Rebekah, don't you?" Freya rose her brows knowingly.

    "No, I want to leave her out there for the wolves to snack on. Stupida," she rolled her eyes, sarcasm rolling off of her tongue. "Duh. Of course I want to find her, but at the same time I thought asking someone politely for their help was a common courtesy. I know you've been away for, like, a billion years, but manners are still a thing, you know?"

    "Like you have any," Marcel quietly sang to himself, albeit the situation.

     Jordanna shot him a glare and opened her mouth to retort something before Elijah beat her to it. "Children." His voice rose just the slightest, authority behind his words. "We do not have time for this. Jordanna, Freya, find Rebekah, now."

    Jordanna rolled her eyes and stepped forward, squeezing past Elijah she sent him a look. "Guess manners aren't a thing in this family," she muttered. Once she was facing the chalice, both she and Freya took a deep breath and placed their fingertips on the rim of the bronze metal.

    While it had been a while since Jordanna did magic like this, the words seemed to roll off her tongue naturally, like it hadn't been a month. Sure, she did magic, but that was more on the defensive side, she didn't need to use magic, no she simply closed her eyes, or twisted her wrist and bada boom, someone was hurt. But with this magic she had to revel in it, she had to feel it. It was this kind of magic that scared her half to death.

    She wasn't bothered by the fact that Freya didn't ask, actually, scratch that, it annoyed her, but that's not why she was so apprehensive. No, it was what she was doing that made her hesitant — but it was Rebekah, she couldn't say no to Rebekah goddamn Mikaelson.

    It sent a familiar, weird tingling sensation across her body, like it was trying to take over. She endured that feeling for six months during her 'coma', it was like it entrapped her, and for a moment, her breath got caught in her throat until she felt a reassuring hand sit on the perch of her shoulder, she didn't have to turn around to recognise Hayley's presence, but just knowing that she was there was enough for her.

    As much as the two bickered behind closed doors and seemed to be going at one another, Jordanna could not be more grateful for all that Hayley had done for her in the past few months. She made sure that Sebastian was cared for if Klaus was busy and she took Jordanna in when she left the Abattoir — just as she did all those years ago when the two had first met.

Just for a moment, she met Freya's eyes from across the table and the dirty blonde gave her head a small jerk in direction of the chalice, without halting her words, Jordanna grabbed the large cup in hand and began to pour it onto the map, without question Marcel grabbed the chalice from Jordanna's hand and moved it aside, allowing herself and Freya to concentrate on finding Rebekah.

Their voices seemed to rise just the tiniest bit, focusing entirely all of their energy on the youngest Mikaelson sibling, but they came to no avail — the blood merely spread out across the map, covering its entire contents.

"Damn it!" Freya cursed all of a sudden, wiping a hand across her forehead in frustration.

    An alarming look coaxed Elijah's face as he glanced at the others while Marcel and Hayley sighed in disappointment. "Well, so much for witch GPS." The Marshall-Kenner woman spoke light-heartedly, trying to defuse the obvious tension that arose in the building.

    A shaky breath left Freya's lips. "I assumed they cloaked her. I didn't expect a spell this strong," she let out. Running a hand through her dirty blonde locks, she turned to Jordanna. "Was you even trying?"

    Jordanna's eyes narrowed at the Mikaelson and she turned to face her with a scowl. "Oh, I'm sorry if I'm a little rusty, me and my magic aren't exactly best fucking friends at the minute."

   A tired breath left Freya's lips. "Look, I know what you're going through with your magic, but we cannot afford to lose time, Jordanna-"

    "-And arguing about it is wasting even more time," Hayley pointed out, shooting Freya a stern look, to which the original let out a small nod at and took a seat at the very table where the map laid.

    "You should all go. I have my work cut out for me."

    Everyone, except for Jordanna, who ignored her words, nodded in answer and Marcel turned Elijah. "The Strix trust me. If they know where Rebekah is, I can find her."

    Elijah turned on his heals and began leaving, a hand beckoning Jordanna to follow after him. "There's no time. You need to stop Davina from activating Lucian and Tristan's weapon. Jordanna, you come with me, I feel Niklaus may listen to me if I have you by my side."

    The Jones rolled her eyes and followed after him. She didn't know if she obeyed because she wanted to see Klaus or if she wanted to know what it was he had been up to during his time with Aurora — perhaps both.

    "We need to find Rebekah!" Marcel let out in exasperation.

   "Marcel," Elijah stopped in place, turning to face him. "I will not rest until my sister is found."

    The Gerard vampire paused and watched Elijah sceptically, eventually sending him a reluctant nod. "Alright. I'll handle Davina."

    Once Marcel had left, not without a small argument from Jordanna about who got his jacket ( she did, obviously ), Hayley turned to the pair left and rose her brows. "Well, in the meantime, please tell me that we're gonna kill someone?"

    "I vote Aurora," Jordanna offered with a bitter smile on her lips.

    "I second that, actually." Hayley nodded. After all she had heard of Aurora and Klaus' ventures from Jordanna she wanted to rip her hair from her scalp and feed it to Tristan. Klaus on the other hand, she was perfectly fine with a good old fashioned daggering, she knew it wouldn't work, duh, but he'd still feel it.

    A small, light, chuckle bounced from Elijah's lips. "Not quite yet. But to answer your question, Hayley, we're going to kill many someones. First — if we are to start a war, let us determine where allegiances lie."

    Without another word he turned on his heals and began to leave the Church, Jordanna took that as her cue to leave, but before she did, she turned to Hayley, a manicured finger pointed in the Marshall's direction and she sent her a look.

    "Check on Seb for me, will you? Tell him I'll be home as soon as possible and then me, you and Lumberjack-" Hayley sent her a glare. "Jackson, whatever, are going to do my family's thanksgiving traditions."

    "Yeah. Yeah, okay. Hurry before he leaves without you."

・❥・

    It was only a few minutes later when Jordanna and Elijah had made their way back into the Compound, the latter screaming out his brother's name in search of him.

    "Niklaus! Niklaus!"

    "Ears. Bleeding." Jordanna muttered eccentrically, hands covering her ears.

    Elijah dismissed it with a small eyeroll just as Klaus appeared on the balcony in front of the pair, his face looked unamused, but his heart? He was sure it was about to burst out of his chest. 

While everything about her was engraved in his mind; from the tiniest tints of dark brown in her hair, to the lightly dotted freckles on her porcelain cheeks and the red jagged scar on her neck, it was always as though he was seeing her for the first time again. It always amazed him how she just seemed to get prettier and prettier everyday — and it hurt him because he hadn't been there to see it, as stupid as it sounded, but he wanted to be there with her everyday, to comfort her, to be that shoulder she cried on, but most of all he respected her space.

    Klaus dragged his eyes off of Jordanna, ending the obvious staring and blue landed on Elijah, his jaw clenched lightly as he looked down at him. "You shout loud enough to wake the dead," he deadpanned.

    Elijah merely offered him an eyeroll in return, "Can't pick up your phone? Your sister is missing."

    Before Klaus could even get a word out, someone appeared on the balcony besides him, a hand possessively clawed at his arm in a tight vice. As much as he wanted to shove her away, assure Jordanna that it was not what it seemed — he couldn't, otherwise his plan would fall through and he wouldn't find Rebekah.

And he knew what it looked like, Aurora dressed in nothing but one of his button down shirt's, him with the top half of his buttons undone, but it wasn't like that. At the meal he coaxed to get information out of her, Aurora spilt red wine all down her clothes and deemed she needed to change — Klaus was a gentleman enough to not let her wander around the streets with red wine splashed across her shirt. He merely took her back to the Compound and directed her to Rebekah's old room, telling her that she was to change, but instead she changed into nothing but one of his shirts and attempted ( key word: attempted ) to seduce him.

    As Klaus glanced down at the ground floor from the balcony, eyes on Jordanna, her face displayed no sense of reaction. She just stared up at him with a blank expression painted across her features, not the smallest twitch of her brow — showing annoyance — not anything. She just looked empty, void of any physical emotion. While she may look like she felt nothing at the sight in front of her, she thought her dead heart shattered right there and then. Klaus and Aurora? Her Klaus and Aurora?

    While Jordanna wasn't one to jump to assumptions — okay! That was a lie, she does tend to do that . . . a lot. But c'mon! It was right there in black and white, laid out for her, Klaus may as well have written 'I just had sex!' on his forehead. I mean, seriously? He was stood there with that . . . bitch! hanging off of his arm like some side candy, top half unbuttoned while she stood there in nothing but a measly button down. What else was she supposed to think?

    Just as Elijah gave his brother one of his world worthy disappointed stares, Aurora's voice broke Jordanna from her trance-like-state. "Well . . . She's not exactly missing. And, as long as everyone behaves themselves, you can trust me to tell you where she is."

    At the sickly sweet tone to the De Martel's voice, Jordanna wanted to vomit right there and then — or rip Aurora's pretty red hair from her scalp, she couldn't decide. But, thankfully ( or perhaps not ), the redhead dropped her cheerful tone, a more sarcastic, hostile one taking over as her eyes glazed over the pair at the bottom of the Compound.

    "Hello, Elijah." She paused, a smug look etching across her face. " . . . Jordanna."

    At the blank stare the Jones gave her, Aurora's lips curved into an unforgiving smile. It had worked. Her little plan, was nothing but a little plan. It was simple really, spill wine ( check ), steal one of Klaus' gorgeously crisp shirts ( check ), ruffle her hair, ( check ) completing that 'I just had the best sex of my life' look and dishevel Klaus' appearance ( check, check, fucking check! ). She thought it was genius, because in the back of her mind she knew that deep down she and Jordanna were falling short of the same tree, and if she saw what the Jones was seeing before her eyes, she would jump to the same conclusions —  inevitably ruining any slither of hope for their relationship.

    "Please, rip her heart out, I beg," Jordanna muttered lowly to the original stood besides her, who seemed to have moved an inch over, standing protectively in front of her. "I will literally buy you a thousand suits and convince Hayley you're better for her than the Lumberjack."

    A small smile curved at the elder Mikaelson's lips, but he refrained from making a comment as he noticed the narrowed eyes of Aurora shining down at the Jones. "Sorry? Did you say something, darling?" Aurora called out to the Jones, feigning innocence.

    "Yeah," Jordanna lifted a shoulder, holding back a wince as though it physically hurt her to do. "I said that colour drains you out, you look almost dead. Not flattering at all, tu puttana del cazzo."

    "You think? Though, I could say the same—"

    "Enough!" Elijah called out, raising his voice, hands held up. "Give me my sister. Or perhaps I can pay a little visit to your brother, Tristan."

    Klaus let out an exasperated sigh. "Elijah, please. Aurora and I have come to an agreement."

    "Oh?" Jordanna's voice struck Klaus. It was the first time she had addressed him since walking into their home, and there was nothing but hostility behind the single word that had fallen from her mouth.

    A sly smile pulled at Aurora's lips. "Yes, Nik and I find now that Elijah's vile act of compulsion has been revealed, there's really no reason why we can't pick up where we left off a thousand years ago."

    "How sweet!" Jordanna's voice raised a hitch, sarcasm lacing her tone as her eyes drifted from a smug looking Aurora to a frozen Klaus.

    The Mikaelson shallowed roughly, forcing himself to draw his gaze away from the Jones and onto the redhead hanging onto his arm like a leach. "Go on, love. I need to have a word with Jordanna."

    Aurora faltered for a moment, but kept a placid smile on her face, giving him a small jerk of her head in acknowledgment, "I'll be out of your hair, my love, we're just about done."

    Jordanna's tongue ran along her teeth in annoyance — and perhaps a bit of disgust as she watched Aurora lean forward, placing a quick peck on Klaus' cheek, though as she did, her eyes merely remained on Jordanna.

    As she shuffled into Klaus' room, seemingly to get dressed, Klaus' demeanour changed as he glanced down at the raven haired vampire. "We need to talk." Was all he said.

    "You seem busy," Jordanna replied, a bitter tone dripping from her tongue, tight smile held on her lips. "What with your new relationship."

    Klaus let out a small huff, holding back an eyeroll at her words and sped over to her, locking a hand around her forearm and dragging her away — they stopped in one of the empty rooms in the Compound, out of sight and ears as he had already gotten Freya to spell the room, keeping prying ears at ease.

    "What?"

    "Before you —"

    "Ah!" She held a hand up, grimacing. "Don't wanna hear about you and the lei-diavolo, thanks."

    "Jordanna —"

    "No," she shook her head.

    Klaus huffed, clenching his jaw as he did. "Fine, you don't want to talk about it, perhaps we can discuss the fact that you have been lying to me ever since you woke up."

    "Sorry?" Jordanna pulled a face. "Lying to you? About what?"

   "About what happened when you fell into your coma," Klaus retorted, eyebrows raised as he stared at her expectantly.

    "I didn't lie to you! I just . . . never told you." She defended weakly. The reasoning behind why she never told him, was because she didn't want him to feel bad because she feared him . . . of sorts.

    "Because that's any better!" Klaus threw his hands up in exasperation, tone sarcastic. "Instead, I had to hear from Marcel how you are frightened of me!"

"What? Did you want me to tell you that it physically hurts me to be in the same room as you, huh? Is that what you wanna hear, Klaus, that I'm shit scared of the version of you the ancestors planted in my head? Do you want to hear about how every single goddamn day I watched you die — only for a fucked up version of you to pop up out of no where and torture me!? Well there-you-fucking-go! Are you happy now?"

"Happy?" Klaus scoffed after a moment of deafening silence. "You think hearing this makes me happy? No, Jordanna. I only wished that you had come to me instead of Marcel!"

"Okay. You shouldn't have heard it from him, you're right. But that didn't mean I was ready to tell you. I would've told you, if I was ready to tell you!"

"Okay, you don't want to tell me about it. But answer me this, where did that come from?" Klaus gestured to the red jagged scar sitting along her throat. "Don't bother with the 'I don't know, I woke up with it', I knew you were lying. Tell me the truth."

"You want the truth? Fine. Evil-mind-you, whatever or whoever the fuck he was, slit it! Am I done now or do you want to hear about how the only reason I kept the little sanity I had left was because I got to hurt people! Fucked up, right? But it was the only trace of normalcy I had in that place! Have you got your fill yet? What more do you want from me!?"

"I want you trust me enough to tell me!"

"Trust has fuck all to do with it! I did trust you!-"

"Did?" Klaus asked palpably, eyes shifting tersely as he lowered his voice.

Jordanna paused, biting the inside of her cheek. "We have more important things to be doing, like finding Rebekah." She explained hastily, turning to move to the door.

"Jordanna-"

"I've got shit to do, Klaus. I'm not having this conversation with you right now." She simply stated. While she knew that a form of a conversation was needed, she couldn't bring herself to it. Whether that be because in her head she didn't want to hear about how he and Aurora had rekindled their a thousand year old love, or because she felt suffocated being in a room with him for as long as she had.

Especially now that he knew, she felt vulnerable. She felt like now he could read into every part of her, mind, body and soul and she didn't like it. She didn't like being like that with people, she didn't like people knowing her weak spots, how to hurt her — no matter who they were. That's why it was a push for even Marcel to know about it ( who, by the way, will be getting an ass kicking from Jordanna ). The only reason she had told him in the first place was because she felt like she was about to explode into a million pieces, and she couldn't go to Klaus because, as stupid as it sounded, she didn't want to hurt him.

In her mind, she thought that if he had heard what she endured for those excruciating six months it would break him of a sort — because she knew it would her.

Before Klaus even had a chance to call out to her, to tell her that what she thought had happened didn't, she had sped out, leaving the compound in such haste, you wouldn't think she was there at all to begin with.

・❥・

Naomi didn't think there could possibly be a man she encountered that she hated as much as she hated the vile man that was her father, but Lucien Castle? He was a close second.

Yesterday had simply started off great. She dragged Cami out shopping with her ( because the bitch that was Jordanna Jones told her to, and I quote, 'fuck off, it's too early' when she had originally asked the younger vampire to accompany her, but then insisted that the Tate woman buy her some new heels and one of those fancy lighters ), after completing their shop, throwing a few things in there for Cami after she said she didn't want anything, they made their way back into the city — sadly, bumping into a couple of police officers who decided upon themselves, under Lucien's control, to drug up Naomi on a shit-ton of vervain and arrest Camille.

So, here they were, trapped in Lucien Castle's apartment for thanksgiving. Not to mention the agonising headache that Naomi was battling inside her mind grew when she heard the noisy, joyful streets of New Orleans playing music as the tourists and locals danced 'til their hearts condemned.

The Tate vampire sat groggily beside the blonde human who took it upon herself to nurse the brunette back to health — though, the constant vervain fill up's definitely weren't helping! Naomi felt like she did back when she was human and got drunk with Marcel by that stream near her house — absolutely wasted, you know that feeling when you're drunk and you can't hold yourself up, your entire body is floppy and your hands feel too heavy to hold, yeah . . . she felt like that.

Though she appreciated Cami's efforts, the blonde was a sweetheart after all, helping her stay up when needed, helping her put on Lucien's dead witch's god-awful hand-me-down dress! god it was atrocious. Even in the state of mind Naomi was at now, it didn't put the heaps of Goosebumps that ran up her skin to pause as the blonde zipped up her dress, fingers skimming the smooth skin of her back, no if anything, it increased the feeling.

"If we get out of here-"

"When." The blonde optimist insisted, sending the brunette besides her a pointed stare.

Naomi rolled her eyes lightly. "If we get out of here you can't be pissed at me for killing him." She rasped, throat dry from the small portions of blood she consumed over the past twenty-four-hours, she looked up at the O'Connell woman from her place on the armchair, Cami sat on the armrest.

A small, barely there smile pulled at Cami's lips, "I'd help you if I could, but we both know I lack the capability."

An amicable laugh fell from Naomi's lips. "I could give you some pointers if you want. How to kill an ancient asshole one-oh-one."

"I think I'm fine for now, thanks," Cami huffed, smile growing just a tad — only for it to fall the second she heard the footsteps of Lucien trail into the living room, she shifted, stiffening in place while Naomi used what little strength she had in her to push her body up just a tad, in what seemed to be a protective stance.

The man himself held his jacket in hand and a condescending smile pulled at his lips as he eyed the two women sat on the armchair, "Oh, don't you two look lovely!" He exclaimed, gesturing towards the pair only to receive a scowl from each, he placed a hand on his heart, feigning concern. "Something wrong?"

A sarcastic tone fell from Cami's tongue, "Should I make a list? You tortured Detective Kinney, gave him a compulsion lobotomy, not to mention you're holding us against our will and you drugged up Naomi on vervain like she's some drug addict straight out of rehab." She watched in annoyance as he pulled her phone out, seemingly texting somebody. "And using up all my minutes. I mean, we appreciate your dead witch's hand-me-downs and remembering to feed us, but did you really think that we were just going to smile and eat up?"

Lucien sent an exaggerated eyeroll in Naomi's direction, gesturing to Cami as though she was a lunatic before turning his attention back to said blonde, "Well, think of all the poor people who are starving in . . . well, somewhere."

"Real classy," Naomi muttered under her breath.

The man said nothing, only walking over to the mirror and held up two ties against his shirt; a plain black one and one with hideous patterns running along it. "I'd like to join you, but I've been called out to dine with the Mikaelson's and your lovely friend Jordanna."

"Are they going to serve your head on a platter?" Cami's sickly sweet tone held a sarcastic root behind it.

"Or maybe JJ's going to choke him with that repulsive tie," Naomi added on, holding the same tone as Camille as Lucien held up the patterned tie to his shirt, the man pulled a face in slight offence and threw it aside carelessly, moving to wrap the plain black one around his neck.

"Okay, firstly, rude," Lucien pointed a finger in Naomi's direction. "I got that tie in Rome. Second of all, very doubtful, Camille. Niklaus and I are allies, now that the evil Tristan is in town." He picked up Cami's phone once again and began typing. "Um, let me ask — are you more likely to tell Vincent that you're drowning in a tub of bourbon or awash in a sea of chardonnay?"

"Go to hell." Cami spat coldly.

"Bourbon it is!" Lucien exclaimed, putting her phone down before reaching into his pocket, pulling out what Naomi recognised as her own phone. "Oh! Jordanna is not happy with you, you didn't deliver her heels, how rude of you, Naomi! No matter, I'll tell her you simply forgot and that you are drowning yourself in chardonnay . . . you're definitely a chardonnay kind of girl, aren't you?"

Naomi lifted a shoulder, "It's alright, though I do prefer blood . . . especially blood of those who piss me off, it tastes sweeter."

"I feel like that was aimed at me," Lucien feigned concern once again, turning to Cami.

"Do you really think you can trick our friends into thinking we're fine? Someone's gonna notice that we're gone, and when they do, they'll track us here." Cami stated confidently.

Naomi nodded, a sly smile etching onto her paling face, "No doubt it'll be Jordanna. She just lovvvves to annoy me everyday, so when she shows up at my apartment and I'm a no show, she'll do a little thing called magic and find us just like that." She clicked her fingers to emphasise her point.

Lucien gave them a stare, something whirling in his mind before he spoke up, "Well, not within the next few hours, by which time Cami'll be free of vervain, and I'll be able to compel her to forget everything. Including all manner of tortures and punishments I might yet employ, should you continue to prove disrespectful."

Cami sent Lucien a glare. "You can't compel Naomi though," she pointed out, raising her eyebrows.

"No, I cannot," Lucien nodded in agreement. "But I can kill her, who'll notice one less vampire in the world — perhaps she pissed off a witch, or maybe she skipped town, cut her visit to New Orleans short and went back to wherever the hell she arrived from."

Before Naomi or Cami could retort something to the man, a knock on the door reverberated through the room. "That'll be the nanny!" Lucien sauntered over to the door and pulled it open, allowing a large, burly man to walk into the apartment. "This is Anton, a very loyal and very dangerous friend. Tread carefully. Oh, and, uh, Anton?" The Castle vampire turned back to said man. "If you should not hear from me by nightfall, go on and kill them. But, do it quickly. Oh, and for god's sake, don't ask if the blonde has any final words — you'll be here through the weekend."

And with one last single smile from Lucien, he made his exit, leaving Cami and a weak Naomi with the unfamiliar vampire.

・❥・

The Mikaelson Compound was beaming with life, a formal dinner table had been set up in the middle of the courtyard, the bar had been filled with fancy decanters full of various forms of alcohol along with grapes, cheese and bread. The candle lit chandeliers that hung down from the ceiling lit a glow on the guest' faces as they mindlessly chit-chatted, tension running high in the air.

The heat of the burn from the closing end of Jordanna's cigarette felt hot against her skin as she stood outside the Compound, bracing herself for such an evening. When Elijah had made his way over to Hayley and Jackson's apartment to tell her about the evening planned, she had been hesitant. Elijah merely assured her it would be fine and that she did not have to talk to Niklaus if she didn't want to — but alas, she was still reluctant to make an appearance.

It was a last minute decision, she merely threw on an old dress from a few years ago and sorted her hair — leaving Sebastian with Jackson and Hayley, reminding her son of the promise that she would be back in time to show him one of the many traditions she had with her mother when she was young. Of course, the toddler hardly understood a single word she had said, instead he mumbled incoherent words and laughed to himself as he tugged at his Aunt Hayley's hair, almost ripping the brunette locks from her scalp.

She threw the finished cigarette to the ground with a sigh and reached to the small bag she carried with her, pulling out her phone, checking for any sign that Naomi had answered her — but she came to no avail, huffing with irritation she placed her phone back in the bag and internally groaned before she made her way inside.

The click of her heels rang through the Compound as she made her way inside, five heads turning her way, but she paid no mind to two in particular. The burning eyes on her didn't make her want to curl up into a ball and hide in a corner, rather she wanted to laugh — merely finding the stares amusing.

"Sorry I'm late." Her tone was sickly sweet, bubbling with amusement. Walking straight past the dirty blond Mikaelson without so much as a glance, she headed towards Elijah, giving him a quick side hug you would greeting an acquaintance, however, that small gesture was still enough to form a bitter taste in Klaus' mouth, he rolled his eyes at the ideal.

As much as he deemed it petty, he could not find it in himself to remove his eyes from her — especially the blue dress that sat on her body. There were little things from their past he remembered, but their trip to Chicago seemed like it was engraved in his mind — perhaps it was because that was when he had properly met the enigma that was Jordanna Jones, where he had properly gotten to know her. He remembered the trips to many boutiques after Rebekah had awoken from her coffin and he remembered talk of a blue dress — well, here it was.

And he was not disappointed in the wait. She looked well and truly gorgeous, it was the most simple, yet extravagant dress he had laid eyes on. It was as though it was made for her, he had decided right that second that no one could make that dress look the way Jordanna made it.

He watched as Tristan made his way over, eyes twinkling in obvious attraction and he had to fight the urge to rip his eyeballs out and serve them to Jordanna on a silver platter, but his lips merely twitched into a small curve as he watched boredom pass her face, lips pursed and eyebrows pulled together as she listened to the man exclaim about how he was 'delighted' to be in her acquaintance again.

Ew.

Elijah placed a hand on Jordanna's back, hiding a smile at Jordanna and Klaus' behaviour, a slight shake of his head was visible before he held his arm out, gesturing towards the table, "Shall we?"

The six took their seats, after a brief nod between Elijah and Klaus. Jordanna wanted to curse at everyone as the only available seat was across from Tristan, who failed to keep his eyes off of her. She sat next to Lucien and Elijah, the latter being at the head of the table, opposite Klaus, who had a very handsy redhead beside him.

Jordanna internally gagged.

Lucien was the first to speak, breaking the high tension in the room, "It's a bit odd, isn't it? Celebrating an American holiday?"

Elijah glanced his way, narrowing his eyes tersely. "Well, you know, Lucien, I rather enjoy thanksgiving. The turkey, the cranberry sauce . . . " A pause hung in the air, "The lies, the deceit, the betrayal . . . "

"Oh yeah, betrayal is a fickle thing," Jordanna added on, a sarcastic tone to her voice.

Klaus only rolled his eyes at her words. "I couldn't agree more, Jordanna." She turned to meet his eyes, her own narrowing just the tiniest bit as he rose his brows in a dauting stare. Aurora felt the anger bubble up within her, today had been the first time she had seen the two together and she didn't like it — she didn't like how whilst being annoyed with one another, they still couldn't tear their eyes away from each other.

Elijah's eyes flickered between the former couple and he opened his mouth reluctantly, "Perhaps we should begin this evening's proceedings with a little confession? Oh, and do help yourselves."

"Confession?" Jordanna questioned with a scowl. "This isn't church, Elijah." Perhaps confession was exactly what Jordanna needed, besides, she hadn't done one since she was a child and her mother would drag her to church every Sunday, muttering to herself in Italian when Jordanna would stomp her feet and complain.

A pout formed on Aurora's lips, "So, this entire dinner is meant to be some boorish inquisition? How rude."

A false smile pulled at Klaus' lips, "Nonsense, love! My brother merely wishes to make certain we're all on the same page. So, who would like to begin?"

No one peeped a word, or even breathed until Tristan finally bit the bullet and spoke up, "Well, Lucien and I have always loathed each other. Had we arrived as allies with a bleak future you would have doubted us. We sought to remove suspicion by maintaining appearances."

"Well, that makes it even more suspicious if you ask me," Jordanna retorted, moving forward to grab the food seeing as no one else made a move to do so.

"Yes, but no one asked you, Jordanna," Aurora piped up earning a glare from the Jones and a short, sharp pain in her head.

"Hush now, Aurora," Elijah waved her off dismissively, ignoring the pained grimace that accompanied her face. "These pathetic lies promise to be as difficult to swallow as your stuffing this year, Niklaus." An eccentric sigh left his lips as he lowered his voice dramatically, "Walnuts, honestly."

A chuckle dripped from Jordanna's lips like honey as she lifted her glass of wine to her mouth, whilst an obnoxious laugh boomed from Klaus' chest.

"The point is, we came to protect you ourselves. We have never wavered on this point," Lucien countered from besides Jordanna, tone serious.

Jordanna side eyed him as she put her glass down onto the mahogany table, "I don't think I've ever heard bigger bullshit in my life."

Klaus glanced over at Jordanna momentarily before turning back to Lucien, a sceptical brow raised in his direction, "And the bodies on my streets — is that your protection as well?"

The Castle man shrugged, "It's business as usual for The Strix."

"An old tactic, used often and to great success," Tristan jumped in to confirm his words. "Jack the Ripper, Son of Sam . . . a frightened human populace is that much easier to control. If tourism should decline, and the local vampires are deprived of fresh blood? Well, you saw how quickly Marcel joined our ranks."

Klaus merely rolled his eyes, for what felt like the hundredth time that evening, "Pedestrian. I would've expected more from such gaudy theatrics."

"Well, if one wanted to obtain a certain item in, say, a private collection, but one was not invited into the home where said private collection was located, a police investigation could come in handy to remove those items as evidence."

An unamused look crossed Elijah's face, "I take it you are referring to the medallion."

Tristan and Lucien shared a quick, alarmed, look at that, but they recovered hastily, removing any sight of worry from their expressions. "I suppose it was my sister who shared that bit of information?"

"Don't blame Aurora—" Jordanna rolled her eyes at Klaus' words. "You two are hardly conspiratorial geniuses."

At the small dig towards his intelligence, Lucien opened his mouth once again, only for the words that fell from his lips to cause a burning glare to be sent from Jordanna.

"Funny story-"

"Why do I get the feeling that whatever's about to come out of your stupid mouth is the complete opposite of funny?"

Lucien's lips curved upwards, "You may be correct then, darling. Turns out, all along, that the medallion was in the hand's of Jordanna's friend, Camille-"

"-Not my friend."

"I had to get her arrested and that nuisance Naomi drugged up on vervain in order to search Camille's goodies, so to speak. But, I would never allow any harm to come to them, knowing the great affection Jordanna has for Naomi, and Camille, of course."

A scowl pulled at Jordanna's face at the words that had just left his mouth. Klaus sent her a glance, the two sharing a look for a split second in worry of the mutual friend. Aurora's eyes flickered between them, anger growing by the second.

Klaus' finger tips trailed over the rim of his glass as he glared at the man. "A medallion that could lock us away hardly seems like a wise strategy for those come to protect us. Hand it over."

"And release Rebekah." Elijah added.

"Then, how about you get the fuck out of our city?"

Lucien looked around the table, feigning a confused look, "Uh, just a tick — Aurora has Rebekah, hm?"

Aurora sent the man an offended look, "No reason why I shouldn't be trusted with my sire's safety."

    Lucien let out a scoff at her words, "Of course . . . unless you were to have one of your episodes."

    "Easy, Lucien," Tristan spoke in a warning tone, quick to jump to his sister's defence. "My sister sought leverage to protect herself. Who among us would do otherwise?"

    Elijah's fingers drummed against the table in irritation as he began to slowly lose his patients. "Niklaus, will you politely remind me why we shouldn't just compel them to give us what we want?" 

    Suddenly, an obnoxious, deafening sound of laughter bubbled from the depths of Aurora's chest, echoing across the Compound — Klaus turned his head to look at her, giving her an deadpanned stare as he, too, began to grow annoyed, "I'm sorry, did Elijah say something amusing?"

    Aurora sent him a polite smile, hiding the grimace that pulled at her face as she noted the glare in his eyes, "We lost a century to compulsion, my love. And some of us lost a great deal more. Surely, you can't believe we'd allow ourselves to come here vulnerable?"

    She has a point, Jordanna thought to herself — but she would rather simply die then speak those words aloud.

    Elijah sent her a fake smile, "My dearest Aurora, compulsion is not my only party trick."

    "I think my favourite party trick of yours is the one where you whack someone's head off with your hand," Jordanna nodded along to her own words as she brought her fork to her lips. "Maybe you should try that first, see if it'll loosen their lips. You can help me perfect my hand, the swing's a little weak — luckily for us, we have a choice of three practice rats."

    Aurora's smile soon formed into a scowl within seconds, "I do not like these threats."

    Once again, Tristan quickly jumped into the conversation to mediate, "Our continued existence depends on the Mikaelsons." Aurora simply rolled her eyes at her brother's attitude, but Tristan merely continued speaking. "We've known that since Finn and Kol died. Unfortunately, so does every other vampire in the world. Given that the sire lines have declared war against one another, you can imagine how many young upstarts have come to the same conclusion — kill an original, wipe out an entire line of rivals." The oldest De Martel sent a glance to both Klaus and Elijah. "Heavy burden, isn't it? The lives of thousands of sired vampires resting on your shoulders? In a perfect world, you'd allow us to seal you away forever, thus eliminating the threat."

    "Well, the world ain't perfect, is it Tristan?" Jordanna spoke, cold eyes meeting his from across the table.

    As the night went on, tensions grew higher and a silence overcame the table barring the clashing of forks hitting plates. Jordanna had to admit, the food was good. The company she was surrounded with? Not so much.

     It was almost as though Elijah agreed with her internal thoughts as he began speaking once again, snide tone to his voice, "With all the nauseating dinner theatre we've endured throughout the centuries, these performances are, by far, the worst." Both De Martel siblings rolled their eyes at his words, throwing their heads back in exasperation before Elijah diverted his attention to the redhead perched besides his brother. "Aurora, my sister-"

    "Aurora is quite aware of our desires to see Rebekah home, and I'm sure she'll do everything in her power to oblige," Klaus immediately cut him off.

    Jordanna rolled her eyes at him, swirling her champagne around her glass with a bored expression as she angled her head towards Elijah, lowering her voice with false amusement hidden behind her words, "Aw, how sweet! Look at that Elijah, he's speaking for her now!"

    Klaus opened his mouth to retort something but soon shut it after. He knew this was just her reacting to what she had believed happened. With Jordanna it was anger before tears and hurt, he knew she was pissed at him, extremely pissed, even though it was against nothing. But he still couldn't help but feel some form of guilt brew in his stomach — perhaps it was because he hadn't pushed Aurora off of him, instead letting her hold him as if she was the one to do that when she wasn't, Jordanna was.

    Just then, footsteps were heard as Freya waltzed into the courtyard, an appalled expression etched onto her face as she stared at the sight of her brothers' guests. "We're welcoming our enemies to the dinner table now? Convenient, given she's the one who has the answers I want."

     Aurora let out a large scoff as Freya gestured towards her, the De Martel shot to her feet, disgusted expression pulling at her lips, "Oh, for heaven's sake! Now I have to deal with the long lost sister?" Aurora turned to Klaus, looking to him to defend her, though he merely rose a brow as she stared at him expectantly. "Nik, please spare me your family's rage and paranoia. It is exactly this kind of lunacy which led me to steal Rebekah in the first place."

    "Lunacy?" Jordanna let a scoff fall from her lips, face scrunched as she muttered to herself, scowling in direction of the redhead. "Come se si potesse parlare," she rolled her eyes. "I mean, you've literally got crazy written all over you, talking about how you stole a person — yeah, that's normal!"

    Aurora whipped her head in Jordanna's direction, eyes narrowed, "Me? I'm sorry love, but you're delusional if you think I will allow you to talk to me like that — Nik, tell her she can't talk to me like that."

     Klaus let out a sigh, rubbing a hand across his forehead, "Enough, Aurora."

     "Really?" Jordanna pulled a face toward Aurora. "Running to your boyfriend? Real mature considering you're an old grandma."

    "Listen, darling —"

    "Ladies!" Elijah announced, pushing himself up abruptly, the back of his knees hitting the edge of his seat, sending it back at the fast movement. "I will not ask you again. Aurora, sit down."

    Jordanna sent Aurora a smug look and moved comfortably in place, crossing one leg over the other as she glanced over at Freya who was blurring daggers into the redhead's skull.

     "What did you do with her?" Freya questioned, tone cold, voice hard as she stared down at the woman with hostility shining through her green eyes.

     Aurora pursed her lips, glancing up at her impatiently, "Oh, I'm sorry, love, but this prophecy has you all acting as fools. And I've no intention of risking my life to foolishness."

    Everyone's eyes remained on Aurora, who simply had a mirthful smile on her lips at the ordeal. Tristan glanced down, looking at the table, rolling his lips into his mouth as though he was embarrassed by his sister's behaviour, and that action brought a mocking smile to Jordanna's lips as she lifted her wine glass to her mouth, see, even her brother thinks she's crazy.

    "Now, I can't trust Rebekah with any of you," Aurora began, the silence ate at everyone in the room, skin nipping at the slow breeze that flooded through the compound as her words halted eccentrically. "And I certainly can't trust the silly dear to endure on her own, so I decided to put her somewhere safe. Imagine a spot where no harm could come to her. Where, in fact, no one could possibly even track her down."

    The three Mikaelson siblings' faces slowly morphed into horror as she went on, staring at her in bewilderment whilst Jordanna narrowed her eyes, listening on and waiting. But Aurora, yet again, merely smiled.

    "Yes, rest assured, Rebekah is perfectly fine . . . at the bottom of the ocean."

    Jordanna choked on her wine.

    A hand shot out as she covered her mouth before any spilled from her lips and she swallowed roughly, eyes flickering between the two brothers as they froze, no words left their mouths as her revelation sunk in, Klaus narrowed his eyes at the redhead and after a moment, was the first to speak up. "You're bluffing."

    Aurora simply shook her head, sweet smile on her lips but that only made Klaus grow angrier by the second, "Tell me you're bluffing!"

    Aurora scoffed, giving him a look, "Oh, you should all be thanking me. Rebekah's never been safer! She has plenty of company down there. There's all the little crabs, and octopus, and . . . " Aurora made accompanying hand gestures to communicate the crabs and octopi, but Klaus merely slammed his hands down onto the table in anger and shot up.

     Before the Mikaelson could make a move, Tristan vamp-sped towards Freya and held the point of his dinner knife to her throat, "Harm my sister, and I'll be forced to return the favour."

    Jordanna merely shot a hand out, throwing the De Martel off of Freya, sending him reeling, at this, Elijah sped towards him, pulling him further away from his sister, pinning him face first against one of the support beams of the balcony.

    Lucien side eyed the woman besides him, it was a race to see who made the first move, and alas, Jordanna did. The Jones woman balled her hand into a fist, slowly coming to a stand from her seat as Lucien choked on air, his hands coming up to his throat as the air he so desperately needed stopped.

    "If you kill me, your precious Naomi won't see the sundown," he stuttered out, a small smirk itching at his lips as he saw her falter.

    Dammit. This is why Jordanna hated caring for people, it slowed her down. Remind her to not care for anyone after this, these lot were enough.

    "That's it," Lucien assured, nodding his head as her fist slowly opened up, her glare, however, that stuck prominently on his face. He craned his neck aside after removing his hands, reaching forward to grab his drink before taking an awkward sip, "This all escalated very quickly . . . "

    "Shut up, Lucien, or I'll tear your tongue from your head," Klaus spat irritably, glancing his way.

    An eye roll was all he gave back, "Be careful with your threats, Nik. Otherwise I might feel hurt and retort with hurting your darling Jordanna, you don't want me to do that, do you?"

    Klaus thrusted a finger in Lucien's direction, "You touch a hair on her head and you will meet an end so cruel, the devil will weep."

    Aurora's green eyes flashed in anger, along with jealously as they flickered between Klaus and Jordanna. The look they had shared after the words that had just left Klaus' mouth sent her gut a reeling anger. All afternoon she had to endure the longing looks Klaus would give Jordanna when she wasn't looking and the looks Jordanna would give him when he wasn't looking and it pissed her off. This was not how it was supposed to go.

    "Okay! It's bad enough I had to sit and stare at her face for the entirety of this dinner, but can we please stop bringing her up! 'Jordanna this, Jordanna that!'" Aurora exclaimed, all but stomping her foot. Sebastian was more mature than her and he wasn't even two yet. "It's infuriating!"

    "I'm right here, you bitch and you seriously have bigger problems to be worrying about right now." As the words left her lips, Jordanna thrusted her hand out in front of her and flicked her wrist, snapping Aurora's neck and causing her to collapse onto the floor in a heap.

     Klaus let out a mocking tut, sending Jordanna a look, "I wanted to do that, sweetheart."

    Jordanna narrowed her eyes at him and looked away, focusing on Elijah as he dragged Tristan back to the table by the back of his neck, roughly shoving him down onto his seat.

    "Niklaus . . . Which of these two vulgar parasites would you first like to torture?" Elijah asked, sending his brother a calm grin.

    Klaus' eyes flickered between Lucien and Tristan as he gave a shrug. "Well, I'm not fussed, Elijah." He replied, walking over to Lucien and stood behind him, squeezing his shoulders tightly in mock affection before he sent Elijah a dazzling, malicious smile. "Why don't you take the stable boy? Tristan and I are long overdue for a good catch-up." He leant forward, cold smile on his lips as he menacingly whispered into Lucien's ear. "Oh, if anything happens to Jordanna, Naomi or Camille . . . "

     An amused look etched across Elijah's face, "Oh, I'm quite sure Lucien's aware. Devastating error."

    Lucien pursed his lips, not wanting to set either brother off, while Freya smiled coldly down at Aurora's unconscious body, ignoring her brothers' passing by as they each dragged a man away into different rooms of the compound, the click of Jordanna's heels caused her to look up and she met her eye.

    "Do you think she's pretty?" Jordanna tilted her head.

・❥・

    Freya and Jordanna had brought Aurora down to the ballroom, and when I say brought, I mean Jordanna dragged her by her ankles across the floor and down the small set of steps, laughing every time the De Martel's head collided with a step and made a noise.

    Freya also found great amusement in her antics, but that amusement soon flowed away as Jordanna set the redhead's body up against a nearby wall and the severity of the situation rushed back at her.

    The Mikaelson paced up and down, mumbling to herself as she held a lit sage smudge-stick in hand and a handful of dark, crumpled leaves that she was going to use to wake the De Martel, but Jordanna argued against it, deeming she had her own strategies to wake her.

    The sound of a slap echoed across the ballroom and Freya rolled her lips into her mouth as she gave Jordanna a blunt stare, the Jones merely shrugged and turned back to the redhead who was yet to move an inch, urging her to do it again, and again, until finally, Aurora's eyelids began to twitch.

     Jordanna turned back to Freya with a victorious smile on her lips and pushed her body up from the crouching position she was in, moving to the corner of the room where her bag sat on a chair, out of sight from Aurora. She removed her rings from her fingers and placed them in the bag, not wanting them to be tainted with Aurora's blood — ew!

    The De Martel let out a deep breath as she started to come to consciousness, when she finally opened her eyes, she let out a pained groan.

    "Took you long enough," Freya mumbled, stopping her pacing as she looked down at the De Martel.

    Aurora's eyes focused on the sage in Freya's hand and smiled, "Oh, are we going to play a fun game?"

    A malicious smile pulled at Freya's lips, "Actually, yes." The Mikaelson held up the burning sage. "And now that my spell has made it so that no one can hear what happens . . . "

    "We're gonna have a lot of fun," Jordanna announced as if on cue, staring pointedly at Aurora as she sauntered back into the room after removing any valuables she didn't want ruined — including Klaus' necklace she still clung to.

    "Of course you're here," Aurora let out an annoyed sigh at the sight of the Jones. "You know, I always wanted to meet you after I found out about you. Ohhh, and then I did, the night of the initiation and I was thoroughly disappointed. But then I soon realised Nik was only with you out of pity because you birthed his children, but then he broke up with you because you were going crazy," she pouted, a mocking smile on her lips.

    "God, you're obsessed aren't you?" Jordanna rubbed her glossed lips together as a sly smile slowly appeared. "I mean, I understand it, I do. But . . . wow! Have you seriously got nothing better to do than watch his every move, find out every little detail of his life? It's a little sad, don't you think, bella?"

    Aurora let out a frustrated huff and turned her head, looking toward the blonde, "Pray tell, what are we doing here?"

    Jordanna sucked her teeth as she and Freya shared a look, the latter lifted a shoulder and smiled, "You're going to tell us where to find Rebekah, or we're going to kill you."

    "Oh!"

・❥・

    For the first time since she awoke Jordanna was having fun. Real fun. The kind of fun that made adrenaline pump through your body at a high speed, the kind where your heart was beating so fast against your chest you were to believe it could burst from your body at any moment. Like when you're driving your car far too fast, and instead of being paralyzed with fear you feel excited, like when you're at the top of a roller-coaster, just before the drop and you hang there, waiting for it — you can feel the adrenaline flow through you, that's how she felt. And for the first time in a while, it was as though there was no problems in her life.

   She simply had Aurora to thank for that, because without her she wouldn't be feeling like that right now.

    Jordanna's head smacked against Aurora's as she sent her a powerful headbutt, sending the redhead reeling, the De Martel stumbled back with a grunt leaving her lips, hand clawing at her head.

    "And by the way," Jordanna started as she flipped her hair away from her eyes, blood flowed from her nose, staining her teeth dark red as she smiled widely at the woman. "I ended things." As Aurora advanced towards Jordanna, the Jones dodged it, punching her in the face so hard the impact sent her spinning away.

    Aurora let out an agitated scream, doubling over as she recovered from the blows.

    "I'm not gonna ask you again — where is Rebekah?"

    Aurora looked up, wiping a hand across her own bloody nose before she gave Jordanna a slightly impressed glance, "You're quite strong . . . for an infant."

    Jordanna lifted a shoulder, "My father was a vampire hunter, he taught me some things."

    Freya, growing annoyed by the lack of answers, thrust her hand out in front of her, casting a pain infliction spell, causing a high pitched screech to fall from Aurora's lips, the De Martel rose her hands, clutching her head, "Ah!" The Mikaelson merely clenched her hand in a ball, only increasing the agonising pain Aurora was feeling.

    But the De Martel was yet to back down, mustering up all the energy she had in her, she fought through the pain, moving to vamp-speed towards Freya, but Jordanna got there first, sending another punch to her face before she managed to grab a-hold of Freya.

    Aurora turned on her heels, she lunged at Jordanna and backhanded her across the face — merely pissing Jordanna off, causing her to grab Aurora by her hair, ( what can I say? She was a dirty fighter, get over it ), Jordanna tugged at the red locks, pulling against them tighter, using her grip on her hair to smash her head against a concreate pillar.

    Aurora shot her hand out blindly behind her, landing a punch right on Jordanna's chest. The Jones groaned, hands instinctively reaching up to her chest, "Ah, you bitch!"

    Aurora merely laughed before kicking Jordanna in the stomach, sending her stumbling back, using this as a distraction to push her into Freya, but the latter caught the young vampire before she could fall into her.

    Before Aurora could come towards either of the pair, Freya moved in front of Jordanna, casting yet another infliction spell, clutching her hand into an even tighter fist. Aurora clutched her head, groaning in pain, nearly falling to her knees at the force of it. The De Martel's eyes screwed shut in a grimace — and at this, Freya took it as a chance to sneakily pass something to the Jones, the latter hiding it behind her back.

    After a moment, Freya released her from the spell, and Aurora let out a breath of air when suddenly a series of giggles spilled from her lips. Jordanna could only roll her eyes at the sound, "Woo! Ha! That actually hurt! Ha!"

    Jordanna kissed her teeth, craning her neck aside in annoyance as Aurora smiled widely at the pair.

    "Oh! I haven't felt pain like that since the seventeen hundreds! Kind of tickles!" But her smile only lasted so long, rather a cold look fell upon her face. "And for that, I'm going to make you suffer."

    Just as Aurora lunged for the two, Jordanna grabbed her by her hair again, yanking her head back. Aurora let out a surprised yelp.

    "You see this?" Jordanna held up a sharp, long syringe. "Werewolf venom. Wanna give it a try, huh? Might give you that kick you need, you psychotic little bitch."

    Aurora let out a laugh, "By all means! If only I can laugh in your face when Nik heals me!"

    "Gonna be honest with you, bella, I don't think he will. But I guess we'll see, won't we?" Jordanna questioned rhetorically, angling the tip of the needle to the soft skin of Aurora's neck, the Jones looked down at her, face close as she smiled. "And after I'm done with you, I'm gonna go grab another one of these and jam it right into your brother's neck. Now,  I know Klaus won't heal him, and when he doesn't I'll laugh in your face as you watch your creep of a brother die a slow, agonising death."

    Jordanna kneed her in the stomach as the last words left her mouth before shoving her across the room, the redhead hit the wall with a bang causing a gracious grin to fall upon Jordanna's face.

     "Maybe we should call Hales, I bet she'd lovvveee to tear into Tristan," Jordanna turned to Freya, lifting a contemplative shoulder as Aurora faced them. "Hell, I think Jackson wouldn't mind having a bite to eat."

    "Good idea! I'll call her," Freya announced, pulling her phone from her back pocket as she sent Aurora a condescending smile.

    "No one should dare harm my brother . . . seeing as you're all going to need him if you want your precious Rebekah back," Aurora rose her voice, staring at the pair as a smug smile slowly etched across her features. "You see, while I did ensure that Rebekah was dropped in the ocean, I don't know precisely where. I had some old friends do it for me . . . and then I killed them."

    Jordanna's tongue ran along her teeth as she inhaled deeply at the revelation, watching as Aurora circled the two in a menacing fashion.

    "I procured the exact location of Rebekah's watery grave in two sealed envelopes. Mine contained the latitude . . . and Tristan got the longitude. X marks the spot!" She declared as she stopped in front of Jordanna and Freya, sending them an even bigger smile. "So, tell me girls — who has the advantage now?"

    Freya merely rolled her eyes and Jordanna looked as though she wanted to murder Aurora on the spot — though, she would admit, it was a good plan and she felt embarrassed! Christ almighty!

・❥・

    "Longitude and latitude. Lovely," Lucien exclaimed exasperatedly, chin in his hands as he smiled in amusement.

    Everyone had gathered back at the dinner table, animosity bled through the air as the newly learnt information flooded everyone's minds.

    Lucien took a seat besides a very unhappy Freya as she glared at the De Martel siblings who shared a satisfied smile.

    "Well, despite our differences, I believe great strides were made today," Tristan smiled widely, glancing over at his sister.

    Aurora merely hummed in agreement and held up her glass as Tristan brought his to her, tapping it against hers in a cheers for their victory.

    Jordanna rolled her eyes and let the last of her wine hit the back of her throat as she slumped in her seat, watching along as Elijah's jaw clenched, a displeased look falling upon him.

    "Tristan, I can't murder you at this very moment, but I could just as easily tear those eyeballs from your skull and feed them to your sister," Elijah threatened coldly, lip curling in disgust.

     A hum rang from the back of Jordanna's throat in agreement as she gestured towards the Mikaelson with her empty glass, "I would love to be of help, Elijah! Perhaps she'll choke on them."

    "Elijah! Jordanna! These are our guests," Klaus joined in the conversation, holding a mocking hand to his heart as though he was disappointed, for the first time that evening Jordanna made direct eye contact with him as she pulled a face at his words whilst she filled her wine glass, though Klaus merely sent her a smirk in return.

    A smiled pulled at Aurora's mouth, "Nik, it's so sweet of you to defend us."

    Jordanna internally groaned and tilted her head back, letting her drink slide down her throat as another eyeroll formed, "This is actually nauseating."

     "It's probably the jealously," Aurora shrugged innocently.

    "I can promise you, it's not that," Jordanna gave her a tight, wry smile, eyeing her up and down.

    Klaus sighed looking between the two as he stood to his feet, "You know, I doubted my brother's wisdom in bringing us all together today, but he was right."

    Jordanna blinked at those words whilst Aurora stared at him with affection, and Tristan? Tristan had a pleased look painted across his face.

    "We must confront the harsh realities we all face and make difficult choices to ensure our collective survival." The dirty blond Mikaelson lifted his glass in toast, Tristan and Aurora echoing the gesture happily.

    Jordanna, Freya, Elijah and Lucien merely looked irritated by Klaus' words and where he seemed to be going with his speech, only raising their glasses out of politeness, whilst Jordanna sat and stared at him with narrowed eyes, but then she saw it . . . and a small, light smile pulled at her lips as Klaus walked past her, sending her a dimpled grin in response.

    "And I have every confidence that my choice . . . will be the right one."

    He smiled at Tristan for a moment from besides Elijah, and the De Martel was so distracted by the fact that he believed Klaus was on his side he couldn't react when Klaus vamp-sped towards him and grabbed him by the chin before snapping his neck.

     Aurora, appalled by Klaus' actions, shot up to her feet with a gasp and glared at him ferociously, the man only returned her glare.

    "If you didn't have one half of my sister's location, the servants would already be mopping your blood from the floor. If you do not bring my sister home, Tristan will die slowly, and in tremendous pain."

     Aurora sent him a mutinous glare, "You betray me after all your promises of love?"

    Klaus gave her a deadpanned look. "You and I both know that they were mere lies!" Klaus sped towards her, stopping just an inch away from her face as he sneered at her. "Now I have your brother — a sibling for a sibling. I want Rebekah back."

    Aurora glowered up at him, anger shining through her eyes. "You will regret this."

    She turned on her heels, storming away, shoving the dinner table to the side as she did so.

    Jordanna sipped her wine, pulling the glass from her mouth she pursed her lips, "Oh, now she's having a bitch fit. Real mature." The table was now a mess, covered in spilt food, wine and flowers which were all knocked over from Aurora's tantrum. "I bet your maids are gonna have fun cleaning this, dio mio."

    Freya turned to her brother with incredulous anger, "After everything today, you just let her go?"

    Elijah let out a sigh, pinching between his brows, "Aurora should be easy enough to control. We have Tristan now."

    Jordanna sighed, placing her wine glass down on the table as she turned to Lucien with a false smile, "Now, you will tell me where Naomi and Cami are, and give the Mikaelsons the medallion, or I will rip you to shreds."

・❥・

    As Jordanna made her way to Lucien's apartment after a generous Lucien gave up his address, her mind was reeling with thoughts.

    After finally getting some alone time with her mind, she was stuck.  At first, she believed it, that Klaus and Aurora had rekindled their love . . . or whatever, but as the day went on, she didn't know what she believed. It was something that he said, about his 'promises' being lies, and the looks and longing stares he was giving her when he thought she wasn't looking, ( she was ), but nonetheless, it didn't matter at this very moment.

    All that mattered right now was getting Naomi and Cami back safely, retrieving Rebekah's body and getting the medallion away from those against them.

    The elevator let out a ding and her eyebrows shot up at the sight before her. Cami grasped a bloodied knife in her hand whilst Naomi held an unknown man still, her grip on him that tight her hands nearly turned porcelain.

    Jordanna took a step forward, out of the elevator, tilting her head as she rested against the wall, "Is this what you crazy kids get up to when you're left alone? I gotta say . . . it's a bit kinky. Especially coming from you Vanilla Spice, I'm impressed, here I thought you needed my help."

    Naomi let out a breath of relief as she released the man in her hold, letting him fall to the ground with a slump, before the angry man could make an advance towards either she or Camille, Jordanna's wrist jerked left and his neck snapped, sending him to a heap on the floor.

    "I have never been so happy so see you!" Camille let out, being the first of the two women to speak as she sauntered over to Jordanna in joy, a relieved smile sat on her lips as she opened her arms, going to hug the raven haired vampire.

    Jordanna's eyes widened at her gesture and she moved her body, dodging the hug with a grimace, "You're covered in blood Camille, I have worn this dress once, please do not make me regret coming to get you."

    Cami huffed out a short, terse laugh, "Nice to see you too, Jordanna."

    All she got in return was a quick smile as Jordanna focused her attention on the Tate vampire who slumped against the table besides the man on the floor, Naomi ignored his bloodied, chopped off finger and grabbed the decanter of whiskey, filling a glass she had picked up to the brim before she downed the contents.

    "Come on you old hag, we haven't got all day," Jordanna called out to Naomi teasingly earning a glare from the woman.

    "'Hello Naomi,' 'hello Jordanna,' 'how are you doing?' 'Oh, just great!-"

    "See, I was going to avoid the questioning since you look two seconds away from being desiccated, but have it your way. How you doing, Naomi?" Jordanna questioned with a mocking grin as the older vampire weakly made her way over to the pair, Cami reaching out to help her walk.

    "Shit." The Tate mumbled back deadpanned, shooting Jordanna a look.

    "Thought so," Jordanna quipped. "Can we go now? I don't even wanna know what creepy, sex dungeon-y shit Lucien has in his apartment."

    "Yeah, let's go," Cami agreed with a sigh, letting Naomi hold onto her arm as she guided them out.

    Jordanna reached forward, pressing the button to the elevator and a silence enveloped. Jordanna pursed her lips, tapping her heels against the hardwood floor with impatience, she turned back to the pair, eccentric look on her features, "Hey . . . any of you got a lighter?"

    Naomi looked up at her through her lashes before narrowing her eyes, "Really?"

    Jordanna pulled a face and let her eyes mull over the blood staining Cami's dress and the pale exterior Naomi carried with her. "Just asking." She defended with a light shrug. "I lost mine," she mumbled to herself with a pout.

    Just then, the elevator arrived, and the three were about to rush through the open doors before Anton, the unconscious vampire, woke up when suddenly, Jordanna stopped in her tracks, causing the pair to halt as she held her arms out besides her.

     "Per l'amor di Dio." Jordanna all but groaned at the sight of Aurora before her. The redhead merely smiled at the woman, but there was malicious intent behind her eyes that the three didn't miss.

    "Hello again," Aurora simply said to Jordanna before diverting her eyes to the pair behind her. "You must be Cami and Naomi. So lovely to meet you, but I'm going to have to steal Jordanna for a moment."

AUTHOR'S NOTE !
jj and klaus will eventually have a proper heartfelt talk about what happened now that he knows, but ofc they were arguing and it was like the heat of the moment and it wasn't right for them to just drop it there and then and get all deep they ain't wired like that

and yes, ik jj not hearing klaus out about aurora is annoying asf, BUT, you need to remember that this girl is literally in pain to be in the same room as him not bc of the 'break' or anything, but because of what happened and she see's what she see's, cos if I saw that, i'd think the same PLUS we need the drama of her thinking that SO YEAH

*unedited cos it's long and I'm lazy asf ;)*