The Parlor inside the Abbatoir at the centre of the French Quarter was silent. The silence was unlike any it had witnessed before. This silence was an ominous silence, a terrifying one. It was a silence of absence. It was an emptiness of its own making. Elijah stood by the window, staring at the empty street, watching a grey morning unfold. It had been like this for days now, a stagnant, gloomy haze that clung to the atmosphere, suffocating him.

"Elijah..." soft voice of Caroline beckoned him but he didn't turn. He kept staring at the streets. "We'll find her." She whispered, gently. But, even she knew it was a futile effort. Hopeless, hollow words that carried no weight. 

Her words pierced him like a knife. Elijah turned and looked at her. "Really? How certain are you of your own words?" he interrogated her. "It has been days now. Days. And there is no sign of her. No trace of her. And you say we'll find her? Caroline, we have got an army of Lycans, vampires, witches and now, even humans searching for her. Yet, after seven long days, we have found nothing. I...I don't even know if she's──"

"Don't." Caroline stopped him before he could continue his sentence, "You can't just give up. We'll find her." She said with finality. But Elijah knew her heart wasn't in it. Her shoulders were slumped, her eyes tired. Even she looked exhausted.

It had been seven long days since Maeve went missing. After just a day, Klaus and Rebekah returned to the French Quarter, but Maeve had still been nowhere to be found. Caroline stayed longer than she was expected to. All to see it for herself that Maeve was safe and sound and still herself. 

The day she arrived, Elijah had immediately, much to her failed protests and dismay, appointed her as a babysitter for Klaus.

"You think I want to stay here and babysit you?" shouted an enraged Caroline at a weak Klaus who laid in his bed. "I came here for Maeve and instead of looking for her...I am here stuck babysitting the whiny hybrid who needs to be looked after."

"Then leave. I don't think you are tied down." snapped Klaus in a dull tone.

"Look at yourself. You can't even shout and throw a classic tantrum. You think I'm going to leave you alone?"

Klaus sighed and averted his eyes away from Caroline. "For someone who insisted on never wanting to meet again, you are persistant to not leave me alone." Caroline narrowed her eyes on him catching a ghost of a small smirk on the corner of his lips.

"Hmm, funny. Just because we slept together doesn't mean you get to be like that."

"So it meant something to you." smirked Klaus as much as he could, his eyes still set on the ceiling. Caroline blushed at his reply. She cleared her throat and looked away.

"Just...shut up and sleep. Better for both of us this way."

"Caroline I need blood. Non-Vervain blood." said Klaus. 

"Yeah and I want to go out and look for my friend. I guess we both aren't getting what we want." Klaus, with grunts and moans sat up on the bed. He glared at her. "Don't look at me like that. I'm not giving in."

"Why do you care what I do to my sister? You hate all of us."

Caroline grunted in frustration. "Urgh! I just...like to keep our lives separate. I don't hate any of you." 

"Not even me?"

"Don't...don't start now. Don't bring out that dirty laundry."

"You didn't say you hate me." Klaus noted glancing her way with a single raised brow. "Should I consider that progress?"

"Screw you!" she cursed loudly. "I came here to find Maeve. That's it. You can do whatever you want."

Klaus's look changed immediately. The room fell silent for a long time. Neither were looking at each other, nor speaking.

"What happened to Maeve?"

Caroline straightened her shoulders. "You don't know?"

"I was tied down learning the truth about why I was forced to leave my home, Caroline, I didn't have time to look at anything else."

Caroline rolled her eyes. She walked around the large bed and sat down at the other end. "I was on the phone with her. When she started talking to someone else. I don't know who, but all I heard was her saying Celeste and Agnes and then the call disconnected."

"Have you found her?"

"No. Being stuck here with you is putting a big damper on that plan."

Klaus thought for a few minutes. "Call her brother. He might be of help."

"Already did. He and his mother are already on their way here. Maverick is coming with them. Hopefully they can find her."

"For her sake I hope we do, Caroline. Neither of those two witches are exactly going to be gentle about Maeve."

Caroline shook her head. "Maybe Maverick found something."

"All he is saying is that she is in a place where neither of the royal covens can reach...and to make things even more complicated, there are numerous places just in Virginia where she could be. And no one has the address to any of these places." Elijah had grown more angsty and frustrated in the last seventy-two hours than ever before.

Caroline fell silent. She sat down on a chair in the room, thinking and trying to find another way. "There has to be someone who knows witches. Someone who's been with them or is one."

As if on cue, Elijah stood up straighter. His eyes suddenly brightened with hope. "Why didn't I think of this before?" he spoke out loud.

"What?"

Elijah looked at Caroline, "my brother Kol, Caroline. He has always been fascinated with witchcraft. Befriended many witches over the centuries even the ones in the French quarter coven."

"The coven might have told him about the place near New Orleans! That is brilliant."

Hope. a fickle thing, isn't it?

There was no sense at all; of time, of the world──even herself. She didn't know how long it had been since she was gone. For Maeve after many sessions of torture and being belittled, she was losing everything──piece by piece. Every passing day she looked less and less like herself.

The stone chamber is all that Maeve had seen and known for──she couldn't make sense of the time, but it was all she knew. The candles lit on the stands around the walls were the only source of light.

Somewhere along the long days, Lily decided to get innovative. Maeve was forced out of the wooden chair and forcibly chained to the stone wall. The spiked collar around her neck had left the vilest of marks. Blackened bruises marred every possible inch of her skin. Her lower lip was broken, cuts on her cheek and chin. Her eyes were hollowed and void of anything, looking sunken in the sockets. Her arms were frail and covered in dirt tied together in silver bands with a long chain attached to the stone wall.

Maeve was barely living at that point in existence inside the stoned walls. Her mind was constantly under surge from the memories of death. Of everyone she knew.

Lily had succeeded in making Maeve wish only one thing for herself; death.

Maeve strained her eyes, titling her head back. The slightest movement caused immense pain that struck as if being stabbed by several daggers throughout her body.

"Well well well. Look at the bitch tied up the way she deserves." Lily's voice echoed inside the room. Maeve, biting through her pain, sat up immediately growing scared at just the sound of the witch's voice.

Lily strolled into the room holding a tote bag in hand. Her face glowed gold in the golden flickering ambers of the candle. A sight Maeve was familiar with now and loathed. That glow on the face meant she was here with something new. Possibly a new whip, or knives she wanted to check for their sharpness. Or it could be a spell book containing a spell she hadn't used before. There were immense possibilities. Maeve was not too thrilled to find out.

Lily knelt in front of Maeve. She set the bag down and looked at Maeve curiously. She placed two fingers under Maeve's chin and forced her neck up. Lily tutted mockingly.

"Do you know why I am doing this?" asked Lily.

"Because I deserve it." answered Maeve, in a frail whimpering voice.

"You know what you are. You are a burden. A cruel, vindictive, existence that murders everyone around."

Maeve whimpered with a sniffle at her words. Tears streamed down the corner of her eyes, the cuts on her cheek burning as the teardrop trickled down the face. "I am the Abomination. I get it!" she cried out. "Just kill me. Please. I just want to die."

Lily roared in laughter. The high tone of her laugh bounced off the stone walls and reverbed back. "What is the fun in that?" she said with condescension. Lily's smile disappeared and an evil look glassed her features.

"I want you to feel the pain that your victims suffered. The pain of separation, the battle they fought that wasn't theirs, the pain of slowly dying. I want you to feel, what we feel──us, who have to grief their loved ones every single day."

Lily reached into the bag she brought with her and pulled out a long dagger; just like many others she had brought with her previously. "I wanted to use this dagger for so long." she confessed. "But...tsk tsk tsk, had to wait for the right time."

"Just kill me plea──please." Maeve croaked and begged. She just wanted it to end.

"I'm going to, don't worry." promised Lily. "Look at this dagger. Look at it!" she yelled strictly. Maeve forced herself to look at the dagger. Her entire body was trembling.

"Your beloved original family has sent out every possible person willing to help to find you. So, I have to go. No choice...so, I'm going to chain you up with a collar, like a good little dog and then I'm going to leave you with this stuck inside your gut." Lily explained her plan to Maeve.

"No...no, please not the collar. Please." Maeve begged desperately but it only made Lily gloat and pride herself more.

"This dagger is special, you know." said Lily twirling it in front of Maeve. "It's the same one, Agnes used to kill your mother. Oh what a funny thing irony is."

Lily stood up on her feet and walked to a table she had set in a corner. On top of it laid every single device she used to break through Maeve. She picked up the collar with spikes on the inside of the fold, sowed into the leather. The pure silver spikes were covered in Maeve's blood. Lily dipped the collar into a granite bowl of wolfsbane water. She soaked it completely and lifted it up.

Lily attached it around Maeve's neck yet again. The wolfbane and silver sizzled Maeve's skin making her crane her neck up in a failed attempt to get away. The tips of the spikes broke through her skin forcing the wolfbane into her blood stream. Maeve screamed out loud in a cracked and hoarse voice feeling the familiar burn throughout her body.

"See you in the afterlife." Lily stabbed Maeve in the gut with the special dagger. Lily gloated at the sight of a tortured Maeve, enjoying her squirm and yell out in pain for a good few minutes before she picked up all of her belongings and left.

Maeve was left alone with her new friend, pain waiting for her longtime companion death to arrive and this time help her out of this life for good.

Inside the compound, Klaus and Caroline sat at the table across from each other. Caroline took a quick glance at Klaus. Neither of the two had any clue, nor were they any closer to a potential lead.

Elijah was growing restless with each passing minute. With each minute that passed with no further information about Maeve, he couldn't help but start to lose hope of ever finding Maeve──alive.

As if on cue, Kol sped into the compound. "I know a place." he announced declaratively.

"I'll drive." said Elijah not even bothering to ask the right address.

"Before we go marching on a probability, how about we consider it first." Klaus suggested leaping up to his feet.

"There's a tomb about an hour drive from here. It was first for the werewolves to shift in," Kol explained. "Later the French coven used spells and rituals to turn it into a tomb for uncontrollable witches. Some witch in the 1830s realised it was also for Serene witches. Used during the first three centuries to trap Serene witches."

"There isn't any other place she would be." said Elijah. "We have to go."

"I'll come with you." Caroline was on her feet immediately.

Elijah shook his head, "no, Caroline. You go and find her brother. Tell him that we have a lead and we'll be in touch."

"Elijah...I came here to find her. I am coming with you two." Caroline was determined to join them.

Kol stepped forth, closer to Caroline. "Maeve told me a month or so back that she taught you some herbs and basic potions." Caroline nodded her head. "Excellent. She might need them now. Can I trust you to do them right?"

Caroline reluctantly nodded her head. "I saw witch workshops in the city. I'll get everything I need from there."

"Let's leave then." Elijah stated rudely and with a loud voice. He didn't glance at anyone but immediately darted towards the front door.

It was a race against time. Both, Elijah and Kol were restless, their minds consumed by the worst outcomes possible. Maybe she wouldn't be there, or they might be wasting their time. What if she's there but they were too late?

The drive, only an hour long, felt even longer. Elijah sped over the highway, unbothered with the traffic rules or whatever.

"Elijah you should slow down. We'll have to park the car here──to the left and walk a little." said Kol. Elijah carefully pulled the car to the left side of the road and drove it slowly along the way.

Kol pointed his finger toward a denser part of the forest ahead, "there. The tomb is right through there." he informed Elijah.

Elijah carefully drove the car off the road and parked it by a tree that fenced the road. The Mikaelson brothers got out of the car and began a strong march toward the cave. "So what is our plan?" asked Kol, as he walked beside Elijah, eyes wandering around the surroundings. "The kidnapper might still be there." 

Elijah considered his words. "I hope they are." his voice was cold, flat and emotionless. Kol kept looking at him, a mix of confusion and worry. "I'll like to deal with this in my own way." he said, his eyes staring straight ahead. Kol nodded, and turned away, his head bowed. 

"How much further?" asked Elijah, navigating a path through the forest. Kol looked straight, his eyes straining to look past the tree line. The ground beneath his feet grew even more uneven, making it difficult to keep his footing. He looked back at Elijah, "the ground is not levelled here. We are close." said Kol. "The magic casted here has distorted the ground. We are close." 

It wasn't long before they saw a small silhouette of stone wall. Both Mikaelson brothers looked at one another and sped ahead. When they were close enough they halted, eyes scanning the area, then the tomb.

The wind howled as Elijah and Kol, cautiously approached the entrance of the tomb.

As they stepped into the darkness of the tomb, their eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light filtering through the cracks in the ceiling. The walls around them were adorned with ritualistic symbols and cryptic inscriptions. A trap door ahead of them was barely visible in the minimum light coming in through the cracks in the ceiling.

Kol walked ahead and kicked the door down. Both brothers stepped inside entering into a stone walled room with candles lit up around, burning away in the last of the wax. In the minimal light of the embers of candle, their breaths hitched and cold dead chill rushed down their spines.

Both stared at the scene of a woman kneeling down on the dirty floor of the secret room, her arms forced up by chains. "Maeve!" bellowed Elijah rushing to her immediately. He lifted up her head and pushed her hair out of the way. Elijah's heart clenched at this sight while rage began to simmer beneath his taut features. His hands shook violently as they snapped the chains off Maeve's wrists and removed the collar from around her neck. He cradled her limp body gently in his arms, fighting to suppress the tears stinging his eyes.

Maeve's body had a canvas of battle scars. Her neck was adorned with scars and puncture wounds with blood coating the lining, that glistened in the glow of the candle nearby. The bruises on her arms had turned black and barely any of her real skin was visibly underneath the dried blood and blackened bruises and marks.

Maeve was hardly breathing at this point.

Elijah's hand shook violently as he ran a hand over the side of her face. He couldn't pull his eyes away from the devastating sight of Maeve.

"Maeve," he whispered desperately, regretting he didn't find her sooner, "please wake up." he begged. Elijah bit into his wrist and pressed it to her dried lips forcing his blood into her mouth.

"Maeve? Please..." while Elijah attempted to wake Maeve up, Kol had turned away. He avoided staring at Maeve any longer. The sight of Maeve churned his stomach, and boiled his blood.

For a brief moment, it seemed as if Maeve's eyelids fluttered open weakly. A ghostly dull and tired smile curled on her lips.

"Elijah..." her voice was barely in a whisper. "You came for me." she said before her eyes began to droop down.

"Maeve...yes, it's me──I'm right here. Stay awake for me please...we'll get you help soon. Stay awake, my dear." he begged her. Elijah gently tapped her cheek to keep her awake.

"Can't be awake." she moaned softly. Kol appeared by her head and knelt down. Both brothers had their complete attention to her words.

"Shouldn't be alive." she mindlessly repeated. "Vermin. Abomination. Must die." she moaned monotonously before she fell lethargically into Elijah's hold. Elijah wrapped his arms protectively around Maeve holding her close to him.

Kol placed a hand on his older brother's shoulder and said, "We should go home."

"Yes. Yes, we should." said Elijah. He carefully lifted Maeve up in his arms and stood up.

Elijah sped out of the tomb and to the car immediately. Kol followed right behind her. Kol opened the back door of the car and helped Elijah get Maeve into the car.

"I'll call Nik first and then we can leave." Elijah sat Maeve down gently on the seat and he sat himself next to her. Elijah took off his jacket and wrapped it over her. Maeve seemed distance away from him with the state she was in. Her heartbeat was dangerously low which only increased his fright. Carefully he re-examined the scars on her body.

Anger, fear, worry clouded his senses to the point he couldn't think straight. Not a single one of her bruises or scars had healed even by an inch. Elijah knew at that moment that whoever took Maeve had done severe damage.

He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before he whispered to her in a cold, determined voice. "I will avenge every scar on you Maeve. You have my word."