Maeve sat at the edge of her bed shaking with rage, tapping her feet as the events burned like wildfire inside her head. There was a phantom sting of the slap on her cheek where Elena had slapped her. She rubbed her hands together to get a hold of her body. It seemed as if she had lost all control over her own body. She was watching and feeling herself break apart again and again in rage but nothing seemed to calm her.

David Bowie sang through the stereo speakers but did nothing like he could before. Maeve remained on edge through the night.

She didn't sleep at all, wrapped into her own trail of grave thoughts. All of which ended up at the same point; save face. All she could think about was how she would never help Elena Gilbert ever again.

The insult that she felt didn't go away. Morning sun arose but Maeve did nothing. She just stood up and walked into the shower. She stood underneath the flowing of the water, hoping it would wash away her anger. It must have been an hour long shower when Maeve started to feel better. She sat numbly at the kitchen table eating the cold pizza leftover from yesterday's lunch. A cup of coffee sat beside the plate untouched.

Maeve flinched startled from the sudden ringing of the ringtone. She picked up the phone from the sink where she had thrown the previous night in a fit of rage. The screen was cracked but she could still see what the caller id said. Maeve looked away from the screen up at the wall before she declined the call. Maeve got back to her pizza ignoring the constant ringing of the phone.

After the third ring, Maeve picked up the phone and pressed it to her ear. "Not picking the call the first time should have been your clue, I don't want to talk to you. You have some nerve calling me."

"Maeve please. I called you because..."

"Because what? You want my help? You want me to come save you? What is it? I am done Elena! Let Klaus come and take you. See if I give a shit."

"Hold on──" there was a bit of silence on the call before she heard another voice, "Maeve? This is Elijah. I was wondering if it would be possible for you to join me and Elena at the Lockwood mansion. We are headed that way."

Maeve thought over it for a few seconds before she nodded aimlessly, "sure. Be there in about ten minutes."

"See you then, Maeve." Elijah ended the call. Maeve slammed the phone on the table. She finished the pizza and coffee before making her way out the door.

Maeve parked her bike outside the mansion front steps and climbed up. She threw open the door and sauntered inside looking around to find the original.

"Maeve." she heard the voice she hoped to avoid. Maeve walked inside the Parlor to find Elena standing by a sofa in the room while Elijah sat in front of the fire place facing her on an arm chair. She noticed the new suit he had worn firts before the cup of tea in hand.

"Elijah. It's good to see you out of the sleep." Maeve offered him a smile to which he responded with a smile as well.

"It's good to see you as well. Thank you for coming."

"Call it good faith in you." Elijah, although not showing it, was taken aback by her choice of words and tone. He decided to ignore it when he saw how cautiously Elena approached her.

"Maeve I just wanted to say..." Maeve lifted up her hand putting a stop to anymore words from Elena.

"I know...you're sorry for what you did and you shouldn't have said what you said or did what you did." Maeve's sharp tone stung Elena making her lower her head. "Save it. Save your crocodile tears for your two boyfriends and that best friend of yours who finds you worthy of self sacrifice. I, on the other hand am not going to be affected by those. The only reason I am here right now is because he asked me to be here."

"Look, I cannot take back what I said. I can only apologise. Please help me. You saw how dangerous he is."

Maeve shifted her weight and faced Elena completely, "you think I don't know? You looked him in the eye for ten seconds. I stood next to Bonnie, casted the protection charm that protected her all the while you did nothing but simply shook your head and muttered a half hearted 'you can't do this, I won't let you'. I faced Klaus, looked him in the eye, challenged him, as she put herself in a deadly situation for you. Don't stand there and say it like I don't see the obvious." Maeve took in a deep breath and chose to divert and maintain her complete attention on Elijah.

"Can you please tell me why is it that you asked me to be here?"

Elijah set his now empty cup on the table and looked up at the Hybrid. "I asked for you to come because I thought you would like to know our back story as well as the story behind the sacrifice."

Maeve took a seat at the end of the sofa facing Elijah. Elena reluctantly sat at the other hand of the sofa waiting for Elijah to continue. Elijah poured another cup of tea for himself and for Maeve.

"As I was saying that I have my own reasons for wanting Katerina to pay." He began from where he had stopped before Maeve came, "There was a time... I'd have done anything for Klaus." Elijah narrated a story of the time he and his brother met Katherine Pierce. "Klaus is my brother." he repeated for Elena who sat flabbergasted.

"I heard that...I am still processing it." Elena said shocked at the new information.

"Yes I am a little behind on the times but I believe the term you're searching for is OMG." muttering it, he took a sip of his tea. Maeve snorted at his response making even Elijah crack a smile.

"Wait, there's a whole family of Originals?" asked Elena. Maeve sat looking incredulously at her tea cup in hand, already having knowledge of it.

Elijah stood up and walked to the mirror in the room. He looked at his reflection and continued, "Yes my father was a wealthy land owner in a village in Eastern Europe. Our mother bore seven children."

"So your parents were human?" Elena asked walking to him.

"Our whole family was. Our origin as Vampires is a very long story, Elena. Just know, we're the Oldest vampires in the world."

"I think it is obvious considering you are called Original. It means the first." Maeve said craning her neck to look at Elijah.

"Like Maeve pointed out, we are the original family and from us, all vampires were created."

"Right, but Klaus is your Brother. And you want him dead?" Elena replied.

"I need some air... Still feeling a tad...Dead. Come." Elijah said. He offered a hand to Maeve who took it and led her outside into the garden.

The three walked out in the garden as Elijah continued. "As you have seen, nothing can kill an original. Not sun, not fire, not even a werewolf bite. Only the wood from one tree. A tree my family made sure burned."

"That's where the white ash for the dagger comes from." Elena concluded. 

'That's the dagger they struck in his heart.'  Maeve thought.

"Yes."

"Pesky witches. Servants of the nature. Immortality is a sin never to walk this earth." Maeve mumbled grumpily.

Elijah grinned having heard her words, and decided to add, "True. Every creature needs to have a weakness in order to maintain balance."

"So if sun can't kill an Original why is Klaus so obsessed with breaking the sun and moon curse?" Elena asked confused.

"The curse of the Sun and the Moon. It's all so biblical sounding, don't you think?" Elijah smiled.

"Hold on, the sketches aren't true, are they?" Maeve asked

"The Aztec sketches, Roman scrolls, African tribal etchings and any other continent or culture we felt like planting it in." 

"Why?" asked Elena.

"Easiest way to discover the existence of a Doppelganger or to get your hands on some long-distance Moonstone is to have every member of two warring species on a lookout for it." 

"So it's not Aztec at all?"

"The curse is bullshit, isn't it?" pointed out Maeve curtly.

"Correct, Maeve. The Curse of the Sun and the Moon is fake. It doesn't exist." 

"Klaus and I faked the sun and moon curse dating back over a thousand years."

"If there's no curse..." 

Elijah cut her off, "there is a curse. Just not that one. The real one is much worse. It's a curse placed on Klaus."

"What are you saying?"

"Klaus has been trying to break it the last thousand years and you are his hope."

"What's the curse, then?" Maeve asked.

He pulled out Elena's phone from his jacket's pocket and handed it to her "Your phone will not stop it's incessant buzzing, answer it, please" 

"Stefan, what's wrong? No. No. Okay, I'll be right there." She ended the call.

"Klaus went after Jenna. I have to go to her."

"I am afraid that's not part of today's arrangement."

"She's my family Elijah. I have to go. I'll be back. You have my word." She replied.

"That doesn't mean anything until you live up to it." 

"Thank you." Maeve turned away from Elena admiring the view around. Elena walked away knowing well she wouldn't get any response from Maeve.

Elijah chose to break the silence as soon as he noticed Elena disappear into the house. "Did something happen between you and Elena?"

Maeve shot him a narrowed look, "what gave it away? Was it the rude comment or sharp choice of tone?"

"You called coming here to meet me a sign of good faith." enunciated Elijah.

"Here's what you need to know. I am not going to help you or her save her. She is an ungrateful little twig who can die at the hands of your brother for all I care. What I am going to do it save myself and my friend Damon." Elijah saw something flicker on Maeve's face that drew more curiosity about the previous night.

"Tell me exactly what happened." demanded Elijah.

"Why do you care? Huh? Why the sudden interest anyway?" Maeve countered ragingly. "Listen, you have Bonnie to help you with protecting Elena which clearly is your agenda here other than killing your own brother for whatever reason you are doing that. I am not going to help you with this."

"Is that why you think I asked you to come here?"

"Why else would you?" Elijah drew a confused look at Maeve's words. Taking it as a sign she carried on,

"You showed interest in me the second you found out how powerful I am. Helped me find a way to control this disaster I call my hybrid-ness. Why? I know, this way I owe you one and you can cash it in whenever you need it. And now, your witch is dead and you need one to help you go through with this Cain and Abel plan of yours. Who else then the one belonging to the all-powerful royal witch bloodline." Elijah was taken aback by the idea she had about him.

"Who convinced you as that being my only motive of helping you?" Maeve scoffed before she let out a short dark chuckle.

"It's true then, isn't it? Damon was right. It is all because of my powers. You didn't pity me, Elijah you saw a golden egg laying chicken." Maeve turned to walk away but Elijah grabbed her by her elbow and spun her around to face him. Maeve barely got a hold of her balance when he did it, causing her to close a bit of the gap between them. Elijah ignored his own racing heart and focused entirely on Maeve. He noticed her brown eyes that looked a shade lighter in the sun. It was a shade he had never noticed before in anyone. He found himself being hypnotised by them. Maeve, on the other hand, looked up into his eyes and gulped unsure of what would happen next.

The closeness of the position in which they were in didn't bother either of the two. "I don't know what Damon has told you but my intention for helping you was not to exploit you like any other resource. I helped you because I saw someone who was scared of her own self. When Dr Martin came that night and told me of what happened, he elaborated quite a bit about how scared you got of what you had done. He mentioned how terrified you were of your own actions. I chose to help you not because you could be a way for me to succeed in my plans but because a woman of your caliber must not fear."

Maeve was stunned to hear his confession. "I didn't think that you would..."

Elijah removed his hand that held her by the elbow but didn't put distance between. A part of his froze his legs from moving away, "I promised you then Maeve that your truth is a secret that is save with me. It still is. Believe me. You owe me nothing."

"I am sorry for accusing you Elijah. It was wrong of me." apologised Maeve still keeping eye contact with the original.

"You needn't apologize, Maeve. The small conversations we have held, doesn't validate immediate trust."

"Even if so. You went out of your way to help me and I acted like a jerk."

"More like a cautious person if you ask me." Elijah countered with a lopsided grin.

Maeve smiled along with him. She gestured to the door and began walking to the house with Elijah walking alongside her. "What happened since I was daggered?" Maeve sighed before beginning to narrate everything that happened since that day. From the unexpected visit by Dr Martin to Damon's words and ended it to the previous night of the sixties dance, all while not leaving out how Damon acted like a proper best friend by being there with her for when her grandfather passed away to being with her every step of the way.

"It's just...ever since you got daggered, I feel like I cannot trust anyone. Only one I seem to even believe to trust is Damon." she ended the long narration just as the two ended up at mansion.

Elijah paused a step and let Maeve walk ahead and inside the mansion just so he could hide the sudden onset of anger that which he couldn't hide. He could decipher the truth behind Damon's actions just from the story and it pained more that Maeve chose to ignore it. All the signs were right in front of her and yet she chose to not see them or she didn't interpreted them as signs of what they truly were and instead believed them to be his genuineness of being friends.

He stormed inside the place to find Maeve sitting on the couch with her legs crossed and fingers drumming on her knees. "Maeve may I be a little honest with you? I don't think you would appreciate my words but I must say it." he impulsively let out without thinking.

Maeve was a bright light he had come across not once in his entire lifetime as a vampire. She was sharp witted, powerful, enigmatic. He noticed every single detail about her. The dark hair that curtained the sides of her face especially the way she would style a single strand to fall over her left eye. Her bright brown eyes that shone in the light like Earth on a rainy day. The way she carried herself with her shoulders dropped, neck tall and back straightened. Only once did he notice her slump, it was the day after the werewolf attack.

"Whatever you have to say, say it Elijah. I was insulted last night by Elena with a slap for doing something good. I don't think you can top that." Maeve bit back half heartedly. Anyone could see she was being sassy about the whole situation but Elijah noticed the flicker of her eyes and how she avoided his gaze. He noticed the gentle quiver of her lower lip.

"I cannot help but believe that perhaps Damon is not being a friend but rather someone manipulating you for his own benefits." Maeve stayed silent but she felt her heart tug at his words. It was the one thing she couldn't bring herself to even accept.

"You're wrong. He has been my friend. Yes, he acted wrongfully when he found out about it, but he apologized for it and acted accordingly."

"Wouldn't you agree that it was indeed a calculated move." Maeve pursued her lips thinking over his words.

"I don't know, okay? If that is the case then why come all the way in Georgia just because I called in the morning? Why defend me and stand by me when I was unsure of facing Klaus? Why do anything genuine and nice when all he wanted from me was the weapons I have for lineage?" countered Maeve strongly wording her argument.

Elijah licked his lips before beginning again, "because betrayal does not come from the one you hate the most but rather from the one you trust." he enunciated sounding as if he spoke from a personal experience.

Maeve sat stunned and unsure of her own words following Elijah's. "I refuse to believe that he has ulterior motives to being friends. He couldn't have them." Maeve stumbled with her words shaking her head, a sign of showing she didn't want to believe his words however truthful they sounded.

"I am sorry to have offended you in anyway, Maeve, I just think you should be cautious. I am the last person to tell you anything about this since we don't know each other that well but believe me, there is a reason I am saying this and it's because I have been in your position before and I have been hurt immensely." revealed Elijah with a cold voice.

"It's something to do with Klaus, isn't it? He did something he shouldn't have and you want to get revenge."

"Something like that."

"What did he do?" Elijah stayed silent debating whether to tell her the truth or not. "Elijah, you know my whole story. More than anyone else does. Let me in." Maeve pleaded.

"I still don't know why you are so afraid of your own self." Elijah countered.

"I──I asked you first."

"You are aware of the fact that I have siblings. Other than Klaus. He buried my family at sea." Maeve's jaw dropped open at Elijah's confession. She was at complete loss of words.

"Yeah I get your point about murder now." she managed to speak. "That's heavy. I'm sorry."

"Thank you." Elijah took a seat on the couch next to her.

"Have you considered asking a witch to locate them?" quizzed Maeve turning her head to look at the original.

"I have. They've been cloaked I'm afraid."

Maeve considered her next words for a few seconds before speaking up, "I could help you. Powerful witch...can break through spells."

"You just accused me of helping you for that very reason."

Maeve chuckled at Elijah pointing out the irony. "I am well aware of my words. May I remind you there is a difference between asking for help and being offered help. I──am offering help."

"I appreciate it, Maeve. Once I have punished my brother, I would gladly take you up on that offer." Elijah informed her, "something tells me you and my sister Rebekah would get along well."

"Is she sassy and doesn't take shit from anyone?" Maeve asked making Elijah smile as a response, "well if that smile is a yes than I cannot wait to meet her. I hope she got the looks in the family."

"You're saying I don't have them?" teased Elijah making blush creep up Maeve's cheeks. Her eyes widened as a foolish grin spread across her face.

"I...uh, I──you are handsome. Definitely...I just you know...said it" Maeve began to get flustered trailing off. Elijah laughed looking away from Maeve. Maeve scoffed hiding her face in her palms before she playfully hit his shoulder.

"You're evil!"

"But I got your mind off of the rage you feel towards Elena." he countered. Maeve's smile faltered as she realised it was true. The last ten minutes had already put her in a better mood than anything else. The anger layed beneath her skin but it wasn't the burning fire that consumed her conscious but rather a feeling at the back of her mind.

"Thank you." Elijah smiled seeing hers, something about it made him better and worse at the same time. He smiled because he was the reason Maeve was no longer sabotaging herself in anger and worse because Damon still had a hold on her thoughts under the false pretences of being friends. If only he could show her the truth. If only he could make her realise that no one in the gang of friends actually cared about her other than being someone they could use as a way to defeat Klaus and save Elena.