This follows on from Treachery - if you haven't read that, you will be lost! You don't necessarily need to have read the fics before if you don't want to, but you may have noticed that this is AU as of the end of Season 3 of TVD - there are elements of the later seasons and of TO but don't come here expecting canon.

Hope's first Christmas was not the magical experience Caroline had been hoping for her daughter. She had done her best, putting up a tree, and decorations, and a little stocking for all members of the family, but the stifling fear of Dahlia seemed to be suffocating them.

The fact that no one knew if Dahlia looked like, or even if she was still alive, was not helping with the overall tension in the house.

Having returned to Virginia, Bonnie and the others were carrying out their own research, but they had not managed to get any further forward.

The tension in the house meant that Sophie found the hectic lunch and dinner rushes at Rousseau's a welcome break.

One particularly busy evening in January, she had just delivered a plate to the hatch and was about to ring the bell for service when Cami beat her to it.

"There's a woman called Madeleine who's looking for you," she said brusquely. "What do you want me to say?"

"I'm on break in five minutes," Sophie answered, a little taken aback. "I'll meet her in the alleyway."

Cami nodded, disappearing into the crowd again with the next order.

Distracted, Sophie only just managed to get through the next five minutes without causing any accidents. She and Davina had been welcomed back into the coven since Esther had been exposed - although Davina was still skittish and would not go anywhere near the cemetery without Sophie - but it was still unlikely for one of the elders to seek her out.

Even if this elder wasn't much older than Sophie herself.

In fact, Madeleine and Sophie had grown up together, learnt magic together - and absolutely hated each other when they were children.

Now they were adults, as so often is the case, they had come to realise that their reasons for disliking each other were so petty that neither could remember what they were.

So when Sophie stepped out of the back door into the alleyway to see Madeleine waiting for her, she greeted her with a smile and a brief hug.

"What's wrong?"

Madeleine gave her a strained smile. "Clearly we need to socialise more often so you don't immediately think of a catastrophe when you see me."

Sophie frowned. "Even if we did, you turning up like this would be unusual. And I can tell by your expression that something's wrong."

"Do we know why Esther did what she did?" Madeleine asked.

Sophie hesitated. "Hasn't Caroline told you?"

"No," Madeleine answered. "Then again, I haven't asked."

"I think she's hoping the less times she says it, the less true it will be," Sophie said with a sigh. "To cut a long story short, Esther once bargained her first born and the first born of every subsequent generation to her sister in exchange for a spell. And now she wants her first-born back."

"But that would …" Madeleine shook her head. "Surely both the sister and the daughter would be dead by now."

"Yes," Sophie agreed. "But, as Matt said, so should Esther."

Madeleine opened her mouth, possibly to argue the point, and then paused. "He may have a point."

Sophie hummed in agreement, brushing her hand over the flowers that sat on the little memorial she had created for her sister. They shivered and the blossoms slowly bloomed again. "How's Monique?"

Madeleine sighed. "No change, I'm afraid. We're having to keep all three of them under constant watch; they're still like zombies created to do Esther's bidding."

Sophie shuddered at the thought. "But they're not, are they? I mean, Davina woke up properly."

"Oh, no, they're definitely alive," Madeleine said hastily. "Just not … themselves."

Sophie nodded, taking a deep breath to settle herself. "So what was the other reason?"

"Other reason?"

Sophie smiled. "Maddi, you could have waited for the next coven meeting to ask me if we knew what Esther was up to. What was so urgent that you needed to meet me now?"

Madeleine sighed. "Madame LaRue wants to meet Hope."

"Who is Madame LaRue?"

Sophie pinched the bridge of her nose. She had only been home for a few minutes and she already had a headache.

Klaus's immediate reaction to Madeleine's request was a resounding no; Caroline had only just asked the somewhat important question.

"She's the Elder of the Elders," she answered tiredly. "The Regent of the Nine Covens. She doesn't get involved in the day-to-day running of any of the covens - she's like a hundred or something so she just stays at home and meditates - she didn't know about Esther or the Harvest or anything like that. She's only just found out now that the ancestors are back online so to speak, and she summoned the elders to explain themselves."

"And now she wants to meet Hope," Caroline clarified.

Sophie nodded. "It's tradition that she meets new members of the coven."

"Absolutely not," Klaus said immediately.

Sophie grimaced. "I completely get why you're reluctant. But she's going to take it as an insult."

"Can she come here?" Caroline asked.

"I don't think so," Sophie said. "I haven't seen her in several years, but I don't think she's strong enough to leave the house like that."

"I suppose she's not going to be happy if Klaus or I come along," Caroline said, shifting Hope to her shoulder as she started fussing.

"Probably not," Davina said from the doorway. "But I've had my own summons, so I'm about to go and see her. I'll see if I can find out what she wants and how far we can push it."

"Thank you, Davina," Klaus said. "If we can come to some sort of compromise, that will probably be best."

Caroline blinked. "Okay, who are you and what have you done with Klaus Mikaelson?"

"Politics, love," Klaus said. "It never changes."

The closer Davina got to the cottage, the less confident she felt. She hadn't met with any member of the coven without Sophie and this was an important meeting; however that was how this worked.

If Madame LaRue summoned you, you went alone.

The door was opened by a woman not much older than Davina herself, presumably Madame LaRue's nurse.

"Good afternoon," Davina said, trying to remember the wording she had been taught as a child. "Davina Claire to see Madame LaRue as per her summons this afternoon."

The woman smiled. "Not quite but close enough - I won't tell anyone. Come in. I should warn you," she added, closing the door behind Davina, "your mother's here."

Davina froze, blood roaring in her ears. She hadn't seen her mother since the day she died, and she hadn't been intending on doing so any time soon.

Hands grasped her shoulders and she forced herself to meet the nurse's eyes.

"Deep breaths, Davina," she said soothingly. "She was not invited, and Madame is not happy. She told me to tell you that she is happy for you to be as rude to your mother as you wish to be."

Davina managed a small smile as she slipped her jacket off. She was willing to bet that Joanna Claire had not been happy about that.

Madame Josephine LaRue was not quite as old as Sophie claimed - at least, she didn't look it. The only real sign of her age was her hands, which were curled and swollen with arthritis.

Coven legend held that she had wanted to become a violinist and travel the world, so her mother had cursed her so she could never play again.

Currently, she was seated in an armchair like it was a throne, glaring at Joanna Claire as she stood before her.

"You come here uninvited to beg for my help to restore your daughter to you, and yet you still refuse to admit that your own actions drove her away. Exactly what do you expect me to be able to do?"

The nurse cleared her throat. "Sorry for interrupting, Madame, but Davina Claire is here."

Madame LaRue's eyes softened. "Thank you, Charlotte. Please come in, Davina, and take a seat."

Davina stepped into the room, receiving a squeeze to her hand from Charlotte as she passed, and took the gestured-to armchair beside the Regent. "Good evening, Madame LaRue."

"Davina …" her mother began.

Davina flinched, recognising the tone from childhood scoldings. "I have nothing to say to you, and to have this argument now would be a waste of Madame LaRue's time. I'm sure she has better things to do."

The old lady's eyes twinkled at her, and she relaxed. This was not the terrifying dragon she had heard stories of when she was little. "Well said, my dear. Charlotte, would you please show Ms Claire out?"

Charlotte reappeared at Joanna's side, taking her arm. "Let me help you with your coat."

Joanna didn't move, glaring at her daughter. "Davina, you have chosen vampires over your own mother!"

Davina sighed. "I apologise, Madame, but this needs to be said."

Madame LaRue waved a hand. "Go ahead, my dear."

"I died," Davina said, meeting her mother's eyes. "You let me die. You watched as I died. Okay, you thought I was going to wake up. You believed it was the ancestors you were listening to - I'm prepared to accept that as an excuse. But we didn't wake up. For a few weeks, you all thought something had gone horribly wrong. I was buried away from the plantation house; you knew damn well where the Mikaelsons were, and you didn't once turn up and demand to know where I was or visit. For that matter, Esther tricked you into murdering your own daughter - doesn't that bother you?"

Joanna looked a little taken aback. "Davina … we believed it was the ancestors talking to us. You don't argue."

"But you do show a little common sense and empathy," Madame LaRue said sharply. "Neither of which you seem to have. Charlotte?"

Charlotte tightened her grip on Joanna's arm and escorted her out of the room. A few minutes later, the front door opened and closed.

Davina took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Madame."

"Quite alright, Davina," Madame LaRue said graciously. "I think you handled yourself with great composure, given the circumstances. Now, first and foremost, please allow me to extend my apologies for your ordeal."

Davina bit back her impulse to reassure and dismiss the apology. "Thank you, Madame LaRue. I appreciate that."

"Had I been consulted, I would have of course counselled against the course of action suggested," Madame LaRue continued, accepting a cup of tea from Charlotte. "Can I offer you some refreshments, my dear?"

"Tea would be lovely, thank you," Davina said to Charlotte with a smile. "Milk and one sugar please."

"It is refreshing to see a young person appreciate a proper cup of tea," Madame LaRue said.

Davina smiled a little sheepishly. "Well, it might sound a bit off, Madame, but Elijah Mikaelson has this thing about afternoon tea. He rounds everyone up every Saturday afternoon. I think he'd do it every day if his siblings didn't put their feet down. So I've learnt to appreciate it."

"While we're on the subject," Madame LaRue said, setting her cup down, "let's talk about the child."