Ch.1: Always and Forever
It was a nebulous night, as a human Kat walked through the Quarter, heading for the cemetery. After the cure had been shoved down her throat, she’d thought about going to Damon, but had decided against it. Instead, she’d found an abandoned car and had driven it to New Orleans. Now, she’d abandoned it and was heading to the cemetery, where she was sure she’d be more welcomed than wherever Elijah and Klaus were staying. It had been ninety-five years since she’d last been here, back when she’d been a vampire, if she didn’t count the 90′s, when she’d returned. When she’d witnessed The Harvest being stopped. The reason why she saw the cemetery as a safe place was because of Sophie Deveraux. Sophie had been one of the few that Katherine had always been open with, and she’d seen as more of a friend than just an ally. She’d never sugar coated or kept secrets from Sophie, and Sophie had never shared anything of her past with anyone else. Kat had also never threatened her, unlike she did with most other witches. She’d been the same way with Davina, but Davina was more like a daughter to her. She’d left for good in the 90′s, because she’d killed Marcel’s vampires, trying to teach Marcel a lesson about trying to control witches. She’d been defending Sophie, because she knew that witches unable to practice magic might as well be just humans. Marcel taking that away from them was something Kat hadn’t liked. She’d been angry at him for it. She and Marcel had once been allies. She’d helped him rebuild the city and bring back tourism shortly after Mikael had laid ruins to it. What Marcel did though, controlling the witches, had been something she hated the most. And so, recently, when she’d gotten the chance, she’d sent Klaus here to deal with him, instead. She knew from experience that a sire could teach the vampire more of a lesson than anyone else.
Kat entered the cemetery, heading for the mausoleum, knowing where witches practiced magic at, and that Sophie most likely would be there. She needed help from the only New Orleans friend that she had.
“Katherine?” Sophie inquired, when Kat entered the mausoleum.
“Hey, Soph,” Kat greeted her.
“What are you doing here?” Sophie questioned.
“The cure got shoved down my throat. I’m human now. I need your help to make sure there aren’t any side effects to this,” she informed her.
“I’d love to help, but as you know, I can’t do magic without Marcel punishing me. It’s a death sentence if any of us use magic.”
“What if someone more powerful were to do a stronger spell? If Davina is still where she was when Marcel first took her, then maybe her magic will be enough to distract Marcel from knowing what you’re doing. Unless you have a better idea,” Kat suggested.
“It could work, but if Marcel finds out that you’re here...You’re not indestructible anymore. You’re just as human as I am now, minus the magic,” she reminded her.
“You’re not my only stop. I’m not staying here with witches, no offense. I won’t risk my life with Marcel or nightwalkers, so I’m going to have to face Elijah. Might as well face him now.”
“He’s on his way here, actually. I asked him and Klaus to meet me here to discuss plans about Marcel. Now that you’re here, maybe you can help. We need Davina back to complete The Harvest. Before our magic runs out. You had a bond with Davina, as I remember. Maybe you can help get her back,” Sophie informed her, as well as suggested.
“What’s this plan to take out Marcel? The sooner there’s a plan to take care of him, the sooner you can help me. If there are any side effects to the cure being shoved down my throat, I want to know sooner rather than later,” Kat replied.
Suddenly, she heard the familiar voice from a distance behind her, and she assumed he’d probably overheard her talking with Sophie.
“Katerina?” Elijah inquired. The last time he’d seen her, not too long ago, she’d been a vampire. Now, the witch wasn’t the only one that wasn’t a vampire or hybrid. Katerina was a part of that now. He then inquired, “What happened?”
*Pennsylvania-Flashback*
It was a beautiful day in Pennsylvania, as Kat stood in an alley with Elijah. Elena was on the ground from Kat snapping her neck. Elena at the time had no emotions on, and had been pretending to be Kat. Because of Elena telling Elijah that she killed her brother, a wedge had been put between them. That’s what had started the fight.
“No! Of course, you’re not a means of survival,” Kat answered him, as she stood in front of him. “You looked out for me when I had no one. You’ve given me a second chance, when no one else will. I love you.” She rested a hand on the side of his face, but after a moment, he turned his face away. “Elijah.” Then, after a moment, she stated, “You don’t believe me.”
“I want to. It’s my disease. I just keep wanting to believe you, but how can I when, at every turn, you give me a reason to doubt you? I don’t know you. I don’t think I ever will.”
He turned around and began to walk away.
She watched him for a moment, before catching up with him, putting a hand on his arm.
He stopped and looked at her.
“Wait,” she stated. “You gave me your word you’d talk to Klaus. I can’t make this deal without you.”
He looked down at her hand that was on his arm in silence.
She took her hand off his arm, getting the hint.
“Goodbye, Katherine.”
She watched, as he walked away.
That night, after picking the cure up from someone that she’d compelled to keep it safe for her, she went looking for Elijah. She eventually found him walking down a sidewalk, and put a hand out in front of him, stopping him.
“Wait.”
“What do you want?” he asked her.
“To tell you that you’re right. I’ve spent so much time running and lying just to survive, I...I’m starting to believe my own lies. I don’t even remember who I was when we first met. And I want to find out.”
She took the cure that was in a little black box out of her purse.
“You have the cure,” he stated.
“Yes. And I can use this to shove it down Klaus’ throat and try to kill him, but even if I managed to do it, I’d lose you. And I don’t want that to happen,” she admitted. She then took his hand and put the cure in his hand, her hand on top of his the cure was on. “I want you to trust me, just as I’m trusting you.” Then she took her hand away, adjusting her purse over her shoulder. “You don’t owe me anything. I’m going to let you decide where we go from here.” She then walked passed him, as he looked down at the cure in his hand.
Kat was at the Mikaelson house later that night, Elijah in front of her.
“Elijah, please. I’ve lost so much of my life to Klaus. So have you. Be smart. Right now, Klaus is stark-raving mad. Not to mention, irredeemable. Let him go on his little adventure, and let, you and I, go on ours,” she offered and reminded him, realizing from his silence that he’d chosen to follow Klaus to New Orleans.
“Katerina,” he stated. Then he kissed her on the forehead. “Goodbye, Katerina.”
Kat stood there alone, a moment later, when he blurred out of sight.
*End of Flashback*
“That’s something that we can discuss later, when we’re not in a cemetery full of witches,” she replied, when she’d turned around to look at him.
Klaus walked in, and immediately wasn’t happy at the all too familiar face.
“What are you doing in MY city, Katerina?” he inquired. Even though he wanted to, he wouldn’t hurt her in front of Elijah, nor in a cemetery full of witches, despite them being powerless because of Marcel, as he’d learned.
“I came for help from an old friend. She didn’t warn me that she was meeting you two here to discuss taking care of Marcel,” she informed Klaus. “I know you and I don’t see eye to eye, but we have something in common. I came to Sophie first, because Marcel has been my enemy for almost 100 years now. If he knew I was here, he’d find a way to punish me for killing some of his vampires. You probably want Marcel punished as much as the rest of us. Maybe more. We can have an alliance. Help each other. When I sent you here, I wanted you to deal with Marcel on your own terms, since I failed to do so.”
“We have a vampire problem. Marcel has a vampire army backing him. The witches have been trying to fight back. We haven’t had much luck. We want to run Marcel and his vampires out of town,” she told both of them. Then she looked at Klaus. “You’re the key. Everything Marcel knows about being a vampire, he learned from you. Marcel trusts you. Looks up to you. He won’t see betrayal coming.” She looked at her now human friend. “You can also be the key. With your knowledge and you working together, we could accomplish this together.”
Elijah finally spoke, before anyone else could say anything.
“Yes, well, I’m sure you’re aware that my brother, Niklaus, doesn’t like to be told what to do.”
“That’s why I invited you here, as well,” she informed him. “Marcel drove the werewolves out of town decades ago. He’ll do anything to stay on top. Murdering my kind for practicing magic is just the tip of the iceberg.”
“Pray tell, what’s keeping me from just killing the lot of you myself, and doing as please with Marcel anyway? As Elijah’s said, I hate being told what to do. Most of all, I hate being manipulated,” Klaus replied, keeping his anger at her as in check as he could.
“Look, forget the manipulation. Just focus on Marcel. Let’s just take him down. You can be King of the Quarter again. We can all get what we want,” Kat reasoned. She knew Sophie didn’t have much to lose, so Sophie didn’t really care if Klaus was angry, but Kat cared. He’d killed her mother, and she’d had to do things she didn’t want to do for the last several hundreds of years to keep people safe she cared about. She didn’t want Sophie to be one of those people that Klaus either killed or got killed.
Klaus gave a growl.
“Fine. You and I have an understanding,” Klaus told Katerina.
“I give you my word, we’ll take care of Marcel,” Elijah told Sophie. Then he looked at Klaus. “I need your word that you won’t hurt Katerina.”
Although he didn’t want to, Klaus didn’t have much of a choice, realizing where this was going.
“Fine. I give you my word.”
“Katerina,” Elijah stated.
Klaus left, as Kat approached her new ex. Despite having been left, she’d always trust Elijah with her life.
Later, they entered the plantation house Marcel had grown up in, and she entered the parlor with Elijah, while Klaus left to earn Marcel’s trust. Klaus had recently bitten one of his guys, so Marcel had accepted him to cure one of his guys from Klaus’ bite.
“So, I’m curious, what happened, Katerina?” Elijah questioned her, as she sat down on the couch, having a shot glass of Bourbon.
“I was angry, and I took out on Elena. Damon must’ve given her the cure, because she shoved it down my throat. I thought about staying in town and just laying low, but decided my best solution was to check in with Sophie. She’s one of the few real friends I have left.”
“You still have me, Katerina. I’ll always protect you. You have my word on that,” he replied.
Klaus leaned in the threshold of the parlor entryway.
“And noble Elijah always keeps his word,” Klaus commented.
Elijah and Kat turned to look at him.
“Is it done?” Elijah inquired.
“Yes. I’ve earned Marcel’s trust. Now, my only concern is this coven of witches.”
“I believe them to be honorable,” Elijah replied. He then approached Klaus. “I believe Marcel has something they need. They don’t want him dead, so there must be a reason why.”
“What about you, Katerina?” Klaus inquired.
She finished having a drink from the shot glass, setting it down on the end table, and looked at him.
“If I tell you, I need you to let me deal with the witch.”
“Fine. What is it?” Klaus replied.
“Years ago, when I came here, The Harvest was happening. Marcel must’ve thought they were just killing their own kind. He heard Davina, and he and his vampires ripped into them, stopping The Harvest. Marcel took Davina Claire with him. I formed a bond with her. Marcel hid her away for safe keeping, but I think with the control over the witches, he’s using Davina as a weapon against them. I believe I know where she is, but it’s not safe in the Quarter for me. I’d need someone to keep Marcel and vampires away, in order for me to talk to Davina. She’d be about 17 now. She’s just a child. I can talk to her, and I can hopefully, eventually, convince her that Marcel is using her for his own personal gain,” she informed him.
“I’ll distract Marcel,” Klaus replied. “We can start tomorrow, but this better work.”
