Major apologies are in order. I haven't updated this in months and I feel terrible about it! I've had a lot going on and I actually started another fic a few months ago that I intended to write quickly and finish so I put everything else on hold but as you can imagine, it's still a work in progress. And I'll admit that the second half of the last season of the Originals really did nothing for me inspiration-wise. I know that I'm nowhere near the second season but I felt like I needed to go on and start planning for what I'll do when I get there. I guess that's sort of needless. But here is a majorly needed update. I planned to include far more in this chapter but when I started looking at wordcount, I thought it would end up being far too long. So here is this one! I hope you enjoy and as usual, I only own Vivian.

Rebekah's first order of business had been concern over the daggers. Klaus's attempt on Elijah had only been the beginning to her and Rebekah knew she would be next on that list. She and I scoured the plantation house while Elijah and Klaus were out. I found the daggers in a cellar, where Klaus was keeping his siblings' coffins. I thought about hiding them but I settled on just letting Rebekah have them. Easily remedied or not, it was better to take them out of the game now than worry about them later.

Rebekah's second task was figuring out what Marcel's secret weapon for controlling the witches was. Klaus had been trying to find out just that but was no closer to getting it than he was when he first started courting Marcel's favor. Though I stayed in the house while she did the heavy lifting, Rebekah found out what it was in a matter of days; a witch he had in a secret location. She'd met the girl while with Marcel but she'd swiftly wiped Rebekah's memory of the place.

"Speaking of Marcel," Rebekah began after telling me about the powerful teenage witch, "he's throwing a party tomorrow. He wants you to come."

"Marcel has invited me to a party?" I asked. It wasn't a surprise that Marcel knew I was in the city since it seemed to belong to him but I couldn't pretend this hadn't taken me off-guard. It sounded more like a threat than an invitation.

"He thinks that Klaus is hiding you from him so he wants to see you for himself."

"What does he know, Rebekah?"

"Not that you're pregnant, if that's what you're worried about. He'll find that out soon enough though, when you start showing." I nodded. If I had calculated it correctly, I was about three months along so I didn't have much time before a small bump began to show. Maybe I could disguise it for a little while but once it was noticeable, there would be no hiding the fact that I'm pregnant. Everyone in the city would eventually find out what was going on because I can't stay inside this plantation house forever. And I doubt that a supernatural community that's already aware of me and my relationships with Klaus and Elijah would believe I'm pregnant by anyone else. "Marcel's just heard the regular rumors about you and I think he wants to know what's so special."

I took a deep breath. "I wish I had the answer for that but I don't." Rebekah only shrugged.

"Marcel's known my family for a very long time. I doubt anything like my brothers competing for a girl surprises him." That was the first time Rebekah had openly referenced the situation to me. I knew she'd talked about it with Stefan and she's probably spoken about it with Klaus and Elijah themselves. For once, I was genuinely surprised that she'd been friendly with me. "But it's nothing to worry about. He's not interested in killing you, at least not with the three of us there."

"You're not seriously suggesting I go?" I questioned in shock.

"Um, yes, I am. You can't just stay holed up in here for nine months. I won't have it!"

"But Elijah and Klaus told me it's better if I stay inside, at least for now." Klaus actually hadn't said anything at all but I had to assume this was what he wanted.

"Do you always do what you're told?"

"When it's supposedly saving my life, yes."

"Oh, come on, Vivian. Nik and Elijah have been invited too. You don't think the three of us could protect you?"

"No, of course you can but is it smart to parade me in front of Marcel and risk him knowing about the baby?"

"He won't be able to concentrate in there with everything going on. It's a business party of sorts, for him and his associates."

"Oh, that makes it all better! Me, a lone human amongst a sea of vampires, most of which are interested in getting the Originals out of the city."

"You're going to have to face him at some point, Vivian. If you don't show up, he'll see it as a slight from Klaus and that'll jeopardize the witches' plans and in turn, jeopardize you. We'll take care of you. You're officially one of the family now. And Marcel's a bit of a Gatsby. It'll be one hell of a party." The word "Gatsby" is practically my calling card.

"Okay," I responded. She smiled brightly, as though I'd given her everything she wanted.

"What on earth's got you grinning, Rebekah?" Klaus had walked through the front door with Elijah on his heels. I froze.

"We were just talking about the party tomorrow. We didn't want to end up in matching dresses," Rebekah replied.

"Marcel's party?" Elijah questioned, looking between Rebekah and I.

"That's out of the question," Klaus declared. "Vivian's not going." I turned and gave a look to Rebekah. 'See?' I wanted to tell her.

"Yes, she is. Marcel asked me to bring her," Rebekah responded. "He says it's high time he met her and I agree. Vivian isn't some princess in a tower. Everyone knows she's here."

"But they don't know she's pregnant," Elijah asserted.

"And they won't know tomorrow either. She's not showing. He'd have to listen really closely to hear the little thing's heartbeat. She'll be fine."

"It doesn't matter," Klaus said. "She's not going. Marcel may just want to kill her." This is the most worry he's shown for me in months so I took it, told myself to remember this.

"Oh please, he's not you, Nik. Even if he wanted her dead, he wouldn't kill her publically with the three of us watching. And no matter his claim on the Quarter, he wouldn't risk angering you." Elijah seemed to consider Rebekah's words. I think he believed her. "Besides, Marcel isn't a monster."

"He wasn't a monster when you knew him."

"He's not a monster now," Elijah allowed. "He can be reasoned with."

"I don't care what either of you think. I'm not going to let him get close to Vivian."

"Then you risk him seeking her out," Rebekah said. "It wasn't a request. He demanded she be there. He thinks we're hiding her."

"We are!"

"It's all right," I told them, finally speaking. "I'll do it." Klaus and Elijah both shook their heads. "I'm serious. It's okay. He probably just wants to pass judgment on me and walk away. I can handle that if you're all there." Klaus shook his head again and I nodded back. Yes, the idea of doing this was terrifying but Rebekah was right; I was basically a member of their family and I needed to act like one. I would handle Marcel and whatever he wanted to say with dignity and grace and if it went south, one of them could help me.

"I think Vivian's more than capable of handling Marcel's bad manners and Rebekah's correct," Elijah declared. "Either we do this on a public scale, which is much safer for everyone, or we risk offending him further."

"Fine," Klaus spat out, "but don't expect me to be looking over my shoulder for you." He cut his eyes at me.

That effectively settled the matter. Rebekah stole me for the day, taking me into the city. She made me try on every dress that caught her eye. None of them could be considered my style. They were sleek, low cut things all in jewel tones. Only once did I see her make a face of disappointment at my stomach. "Nothing too tight," she said. "We don't need to make the mystery easy to solve." At last, she decided on a burgundy gown that emphasized my chest and draped a healthy amount of fabric in front of my unfortunately pregnant belly. It was rather Grecian, all things considered.

"I appreciate you trying to make me sexy, Rebekah," I started, "but I think you're fighting a losing battle."

"Marcel respects a woman who can hold her own," she responded. I tried to ignore the glance that the store clerk gave us at the mention of his name. "He's heard about pretty, demure Vivian and the games my brothers play but he hasn't heard about elegant, intelligent Vivian and how she holds her own. This dress will give him the impression that you aren't a pawn but are, indeed, an active player. That's what you need to make everyone think at the party tomorrow. Otherwise, you make that target on your back only grow larger."

I nodded. I desperately needed Rebekah's advice if I was to get through this. She was one of the only allies I had in New Orleans and she was well-versed in all things Marcel. So I took the things she said to heart. He would be expecting a mouse enthralled in a game of tug and war. I had to give him a cat.

Once back at the plantation house, Rebekah hung my dress over the door to my bedroom. Elijah eyed it suspiciously but said nothing. I spent the rest of the night looking at that gown, wondering if I would ever pass for the type of girl Rebekah wanted me to be. A wine colored dress with a low neckline didn't seem like the best idea for me to wear when I would be surrounded by vampires. But perhaps, that was the idea. To look like I wasn't afraid of them when I would be. Whatever the case, I had to trust that Rebekah knew what she was doing.

The time for the party arrived quicker than I thought it would. Rebekah swept my dark hair away from my face in a way that "resembles the shieldmaidens" she used to know and helped me get dressed. When she was done working her magic, I had to admit that I looked regal. Rather than pale and pretty, I appeared dark and beautiful. For once, I didn't look like I would be out of place in the company of vampires and if I was to walk into a den of them on the arm of an Original, I had to look the part.

Rebekah declared me a success and then, her clear blue eyes focused on a sight behind me. I turned to see Elijah in the doorframe, dressed to the nines and holding a small box. When he didn't say anything right away, Rebekah said, "Well, my work here is clearly done," and walked past Elijah out of the room. I wished she hadn't left him with me alone. Elijah was more than a touch bewitching. There was something to the way he looked at me, to his elegant hands, to how easily you could be fooled into believing that he meant you no harm. Every small thing he did had some complex meaning.

"Vivian," he began, his eyes running me over. It was a look that made me feel like I was bare in front of him. I felt my pulse quicken and his grip on the box in his hands tightened. "Forgive me," he said, for what indiscretion, I wasn't sure. "You look quite exquisite."

My fingers fumbled with the bracelet at my wrist. "Thank you. So do you. As always, impeccable," I replied. Elijah smiled and I thought about taking his face in my hands and pressing my lips to his. That made my cheeks color and I hoped he didn't notice.

"I have something for you, if you'll accept it." The box he was holding could only house a ring.

"If it is centuries old and worth more than this house, I should probably refuse… but I won't."

"It's both, depending on how you look at it," he allowed. I sat on the edge of my bed beside him, so close that we might touch, and took the box when he offered it. Nervously, I untied the ribbon around it. When I saw the ring, I know I gasped. The shock of what it was truly blew me away.

"Elijah, I don't think I can accept this," I said in disbelief. Staring up at me from the tiny box was a lapis lazuli ring. I'd seen it many times before. Rebekah wore one, Elijah did as well, I'd even seen Klaus with it once. Elijah was giving me their family ring.

"If it makes you uncomfortable, I certainly understand. I don't wish to pressure you." My eyes slid over to him and I honestly believe he was anxious, worried that I'd shove the ring back into his hands without another word. "But you are a member of this family now and I thought the ring would declare that more prominently than Klaus or I could. You do not have to accept it, Vivian. It was just a thought." A thought that he'd obviously mulled over long enough to think that I deserved this honor. People in this city would recognize this emblem and they would know me as more than a tryst, more than the long list of lovers that any of the Originals had ever paraded before them. This ring meant I could be called Mikaelson. It offered me power and protection and I wasn't in a position to turn either of those down.

"I'll wear it," I whispered and slid the ring down the index finger of my left hand. It perfectly mirrored the Gilbert ring. They both told the story of the strange duality of my life.

"It was Kol's." Elijah was tentative about mentioning that and I couldn't be sure whether that was because my brother killed him or because Kol had made his opinions on me plain.

"He's probably turning over in his grave," I replied. I tried to laugh when I said it, play it off like an inside joke, but Elijah only clenched his jaw. Personally, I couldn't have cared less about Kol or whether he liked me, even when he was alive, but I still felt his shadow over the Original family and over me. He had appeared to me when the veil came down, knocked me to the floor, and let his teeth graze my neck. When I screamed, I could have sworn that he liked it.

"Whether he would have chosen you for it or not, it suits you," Elijah declared. He shifted so that his arm touched mine. Something in my chest felt like it was unraveling and I cut my eyes at him. He grabbed my hand in response but let it go just as quickly. "I should offer you some advice regarding what you'll face tonight," he began solemnly. I knew what he was going to tell me. I would have been a fool not to. "You're a clever girl, Vivian, and I'm sure you've heard the many things people have to say about you and my family. Most would never dare say anything to your face but I can assure you that Marcel will. He enjoys playing games of intimidation with what he assumes will be easy targets. Our family may have built this city but Marcel owns it now and he hasn't taken kindly to us moving back in. His goal will be to manipulate you and given the things I'm sure he's heard, he'll know exactly how to approach and unnerve you."

I took a deep breath. "If the most he'll do is insult me, then I can handle it. I've heard that often enough before."

"Deny what you wish… or don't," Elijah told me. When he smiled, I knew that I was so completely caught in his web that there would be no escaping it. So much was contained in that grin. I don't mind, it seemed to say. Encourage the rumors. If you play your cards right, they might just come true.

"I'm more interested in holding my own against him than clearing the air." I decided that that was a safe answer.

"I think you should be fine." But would I? Would I be able to do this? It occurred to me in that moment that I didn't have much to lose. I was carrying a child that could potentially be the death of me and if the child didn't kill me, the witches surely would. Nothing that dangerous was riding on me coming out on top of a conversation with Marcel Gerard. Strangely enough, that made me feel better.

The four of us headed to Marcel's not long after that. Rebekah commandeered the conversation on the way while Elijah and Klaus kept quiet. When we approached his house (really something that verged on a manor), all three Originals became noticeably anxious. When Elijah offered me his arm, I felt how tense he was. Rebekah and Klaus entered ahead of us but Klaus spared a glance over his shoulder at me, doing exactly what he'd told me he wouldn't do. I gave him a solid nod, though none of this made me feel better about the situation.

I wish I could say that the party was much better than I expected, that walking in alleviated my nerves and my nausea, but it didn't. My grip on Elijah's arm tightened and he let me tuck in closer to him. I didn't need to be told that the building was filled with vampires. I would have known by the way they eyed the Mikaelson ring on my finger. Many people looked between that ring and the many "M"s emblazoned on the walls of Marcel's house. This used to be their home, I realized suddenly. I turned to Elijah at that and he gave me a slight nod.

Klaus and Rebekah turned their gaze on who must be Marcel. I took him in. He was good looking but what vampire isn't? He had an enigmatic smile and he was surrounded by a group that clearly adored him. He was obviously in charge and Rebekah was looking at him with something like desire. I could see what had Klaus jealous. Still, I watched as he approached Marcel with confidence.

Elijah leaned into me and whispered, "Relax." He pulled back and gave me a look that said everything he couldn't. Stress is bad for the baby. I made a face.

"And how am I supposed to do that?" I murmured. He appeared amused. "It's not funny." He smiled anyway, just like Damon would have. But where Damon would have left it at that, Elijah leaned closer to me again. I felt his breath on my cheek and my pulse quickened.

"Laugh at something I said," he whispered. I kept close to him and made myself laugh, like Elijah had just told me an inside joke. When I glanced at Marcel and Klaus, I saw that they were staring at us. Good, I thought. Let them think we're talking about them.

Elijah left me with Rebekah not too long after that and I was reluctant to give up my hold on his arm. He had to pay respects to Marcel too, as if Marcel was some king expecting favors from his lords. If he expected me to bend the knee to him, he would be in for a shock. Even meek Vivian Gilbert had her limits.

Rebekah and I lounged at the bar. It was a good place to be to hear what most thought they were quiet about. "She's pretty, sure, but what the hell do the Mikaelsons see in her?" one person wondered. The response he got was, "I've heard that doppelgangers' blood is particularly sweet. She must be willing to tap a vein for them any time they want it." What I heard next was awfully embarrassing because it was said with the intent for me to hear, with a wink and a smirk. "She's got to be good in bed. Maybe she likes them both at the same time." Someone else said, "Obviously the girl is compelled. Otherwise she'd be running scared. Remember Celeste?" Immediately after that, I heard, "I've always been told that one of them killed that first doppelganger, Tatiana or something. Every girl any one of them touches winds up dead."

Tatia, I wanted to say. The poor girl's name was Tatia. But then I realized that I had no proof whether Tatia was someone who should receive my pity. Perhaps she had been manipulative and wanted to tear them apart. Or maybe, she didn't realize what was happening until it was too late. Until Klaus and Elijah had come to blows and her throat was slit over a vat of wine. I shuddered. I was grateful that Esther was dead and that that fate wouldn't be mine.

"I wish those wankers would shut up," Rebekah said to me.

"Yes," I replied. "It's hard to believe that any of them have been out in public before." She smirked and when I heard what sounded like a hiss, I lifted a glass to my mouth, pretending to drink champagne, to show off the Mikaelson ring. Rebekah wanted me to play a particular role and so I did.

Elijah arrived not long after that and kept me between him and Rebekah. He put his hand on my waist, ruffled the fabric of my dress between his fingers. It was an almost possessive gesture. The vampires of Marcel's inner circle took careful notice of it. Elijah pulled away only a moment later. "I apologize," he said to me, as if his touch on my waist was enough to poison me. I tried to tell myself that I was pregnant with a child that wasn't his and that it didn't matter if it had happened under a spell or not. Elijah was kind and a class act and he wanted to help Klaus. At that moment, I didn't.

"It's all right," I told him against my better judgment. "I liked it."

"We shouldn't," he replied, tight-lipped, as if he wasn't entirely in control. Across the room, I saw Klaus's gaze flick over to us.

"Of course, you're right," I responded. But I wanted his hands to frame my waist. I wanted him to ask me to dance. I wanted him to take me back to the plantation house and kiss me like he had the night of the Originals ball. I wanted a great many things that night.

"But I don't always do the things I should," he whispered, so low that I almost couldn't hear him. Then he linked our fingers.

Marcel's attention for most of the night went to a human girl dressed in an angelic white dress. "What do you think she's doing here?" I asked Rebekah. She shrugged in a knowing way.

"I have no earthly idea," she replied, taking my glass of champagne and downing it.

I was grateful for the human company, even if the girl was unaware that she was surrounded by people that eagerly wanted to rip her throat out. She was enjoying Marcel's attention but I saw her eyes go to Klaus. It was strange to me that people were paying attention to anyone other than Elijah. He would always be the most attractive person in the room at any given time but I recognized that Klaus had a unique charm that most didn't pick up on. The woman in the white dress recognized it as well as I did and I felt nauseous at that revelation. I told myself that it was just another joy of pregnancy.

Right when I began to feel like I was off scot-free, Rebekah said, "Get ready."

Marcel and Klaus approached us and I did my best to stay calm. Vampires seemed to like to listen in on pulses. There's a lot they can apparently figure out from them.

I wanted Klaus to come around and do anything to show that I was in his favor but he didn't. He did nothing but watch me with a cool gaze. You wish I was Elijah, don't you? it taunted. He'd wrap his arm around you and kiss your cheek but I won't. You're carrying my wretched child and I can hardly bare to think about it. I was shaken from these thoughts when Marcel finally spoke.

"Miss Vivian Gilbert, what a pleasure it is to finally meet you," Marcel said with the grin that I'm sure won him Rebekah's favor. "Would you care to dance?" I couldn't refuse him. I knew that without even seeing the nod Elijah gave me.

"Yes," I responded and took his hand when he offered it. I hoped he couldn't tell I was nervous, that my heart felt like it was in my throat. But I had a part to play and I convinced myself that I would play it well.

I followed him and let him pull me into a hold that felt foreign yet intimate. We weren't chest to chest but we were close enough. He must've wanted to behold my face, see emotion crack my perfect façade, so he kept me at arm's length. No matter which way I looked over Marcel's shoulder, there was an Original. They'd split up, for what reason I didn't know.

"I must say, the stories are true." I turned my steely gaze on Marcel. He was still smiling, like he was laughing at a joke that I hadn't heard and wouldn't understand if I did. "You do put the doppelganger to shame."

"Not many have called me prettier than my twin," I replied honestly.

"Then many need their vision checked."

I scoffed. "Did the stories also say that I respond well to flattery?" He laughed and I had to admit that I found it charming.

"No, but they did mention that you're uptight so I should have seen that coming." I wanted to narrow my eyes but instead, I looked over his shoulder. "Really, I've heard a great many things about you, Vivian, but I must say I'm having a hard time separating fact from fiction. And if you're taking up residence in my city, I'd like to know the truth."

"Understandable," I said, even as I felt my blood run cold.

"Would you mind clearing a few things up for me?"

"I live to serve," I responded. "What have you heard about me?"

"Oh, I've heard everything from you're a witch to you're a stolen girl. I imagine that blood of yours makes you quite valuable."

"Well, I can assure you that I am neither stolen nor a witch." Though sometimes, I wished I was.

"That much is certain," he responded with a knowing smirk. "In fact, you strike me as rather ordinary. Just a regular girl with a famous sister. But my oh my, how far you've come. You've shut all of your naysayers up by becoming more successfully ambitious than your doppelganger sister."

"Ambitious?" I genuinely questioned. "Is that the kind of girl you take me for? A supernatural ladder-climber?"

He laughed and said, "Not really, no. Your targets would've been too high for even the most accomplished climber. And frankly, that only makes you more of an enigma to me, Vivian. How did you get in with the Original family?" How was I supposed to respond to that? "I don't know?"

"I wish I had the answer to that but I'm just as clueless as you are." I knew this situation required diplomacy but it would also require honesty. This conversation felt more like a test than it did curiosity. Marcel had the answers handy, he had Klaus to talk to, and he would know if I was overplaying my hand. I had to stick to the truth whenever possible.

"Come now, don't be modest. There's got to be something there to fetch admirers like the ones you have. What is it? Does Rebekah enjoy having a life-size doll to play with? This dress has her written all over it. I've got a feeling that you wouldn't so brazenly display your neck to me. You're far more dainty than that." I started to feel like I was sitting in a pot that was beginning to boil. "Or perhaps, you're merely their pet? I don't see any bites on you but it's possible they put them in unnoticeable places. You know, I once saw Elijah and Klaus share a girl and she seemed to enjoy it. Until they killed her." My pulse jumped when he mentioned that and grinned. "Do they bite you or are you too demure for that?"

"Once," I allowed coolly. "And I did not ask for it." I remembered Klaus's mouth on my neck and thick blood trailing down my chest, dripping onto the gymnasium floor. I remembered him healing me, even though he didn't have to.

"That's a pity." I saw Elijah to the side of the room, leering at Klaus. "I've got to wonder why you're so enthralled with them then. I mean, didn't these guys terrorize you and your family? Well, maybe that was just Klaus. He's the one who killed your sister." But Elijah had threatened Elena too. I recalled how he threw her to Rebekah, how I slammed into his chest and begged for her life, saying his name. I had never seen someone so cold. But even with that thought fresh on my mind, I didn't have it in me to dislike him.

"She fared better than my aunt Jenna. Thank goodness, she's resilient," I made myself say. I told myself that Marcel would already know that Klaus had murdered Jenna, that there was no reason to hide anything in my past with either Elijah or Klaus. I could tell he wanted to figure out which brother I favored, who I would be more valuable to, so this was a test. A test to see if I really liked one more than the other.

"Thank goodness that you are so forgiving. Ah, that must be it. Elijah liking you, I understood. He's always had a thing for a damsel in distress and you certainly fit the bill. He loves anyone that he might easily destroy." I looked up at Marcel with dark eyes. He had no idea just how fragile I was. "But Klaus. Klaus, I didn't understand. Now I do. Klaus has been rejected by his parents, his siblings, and everyone he meets. He's got so few friends. Except for you. For once in his long life, he's found someone who's willing to overlook how monstrous he is, somebody who just genuinely likes him. It's a shame that you love his brother too. But he's used to that." My blood ran cold and I looked over Marcel's shoulder for Klaus. He avoided my gaze again.

I had no answer, nothing that wouldn't ring false. I couldn't deny it. I couldn't say that it wasn't true. So I settled on, "You're quite nervy to say all that where they can hear you."

"Am I?" he questioned with a smirk. "It's nothing they haven't heard before and I'm sure you've heard it too. You've been involved with them long enough to know their best stories."

"Then I wonder why I didn't know about you." I saw his eyes narrow and felt his grip on my hand tighten enough to make me grimace.

"All you need to know is that I'm in charge and I assume you're shocked to learn that your loves don't hold court here anymore. They gave it up. They have no power here and you would do well to remember that, Vivian. This city has forgotten them and for the most part, so had I."

"Oh, had you? Then I find it strange that we're having this party in their courtyard. Because I've had the distinct feeling, ever since arriving, that the Ms on these walls stand for Mikaelson, not Marcel." Most of Marcel's vampires turned to glare at me. I made myself take several deep breaths to stay calm but my hands did feel clammy and I had the distinct feeling that I should run.

Marcel chuckled and grinned. That was apparently the sign for everyone to go back to what they were doing. "You know, Vivian, I think I might like you. For someone who is supposedly a meek pushover, you play a very dangerous game." I didn't respond. I just wanted the dance to end. "So who's your favorite?" I looked at him, eyes wide.

"I don't have a favorite," I admitted. I noticed the girl in white staring at me, trying to appraise the situation.

"Oh, I thought you were done playing shy."

"It's not playing," I murmured.

"I'd just like to know. I grew up around them and I could give you some much needed advice."

"People offer their unwanted advice to me all the time and I don't listen to it."

"I'm sure you don't." He paused before arching an eyebrow. "Is it Klaus? He's dangerous but you like that, don't you? You like getting your perfect little feathers ruffled? You like art?" Unwittingly, an image came to me of paint smeared across my cheek and a hungry mouth against mine. My heartbeat jumped and Marcel smirked. "But what about Elijah? He wears all those nice clothes, he's so reserved, he is, in fact, almost just like you. Except for his uncanny ability to rip hearts out. But you like that too, I can tell." I do like that, I realized. I liked everything about them. I liked the way they looked at me, I liked that they were treacherous, I liked that they touched me tenderly with hands they used to kill.

Then Marcel's expression twisted into one of knowing, like he'd finally figured me out. "You want them both," he said. "Do they share you?" I thought about shaking about my head and denying it. I thought about telling the truth, that I should have made a choice but that now I may not have one. The ring was on my finger but it was for the baby, not because they loved me. Klaus had abandoned me and Elijah may eventually stick to his guns and decide the whole thing is inappropriate. But then I remembered Elijah talking to me earlier that night. Deny what you wish… or don't. As those things ran through my mind, I looked up at Marcel and gave him a smile that Damon would have been proud of. It neither confirmed nor denied the question but it was enough to give him an answer. And by the smirk on his face, it was the answer he wanted.

"Well, Vivian, I must say that meeting you has exceeded all of my expectations. It's a shame that you are so fragile." I had been grateful that my incredibly long dance with the king of New Orleans was coming to an end but unfortunately, I saw that Marcel wasn't finished with me yet.

"You don't think that adds to my charm?" I asked.

"You know, you seem oddly like an old soul so I'm sure that you understand what I'm going to say but you remind me so much of girls that I knew when I was young and human. Weak, polite, incessantly worried about dirtying their hands. You would've been nothing special then." I wanted to remark that I was nothing special now. "Klaus and Elijah played their games of attraction with witches and wolves or human girls who broke from the norm. You are a remarkably vintage girl, Vivian Gilbert, skilled in the art of conversation and manners. Just like so many before, girls who thought nothing like death would touch them until they'd been married and had children but who ended with their finery bloodied and their slim necks bitten."

"Believe me, I know death," I told him, tight-lipped. I thought of brushing hair away from the face of my dead baby brother. I thought of screaming as Alaric twisted a knife in my gut. I thought of Kol putting his pretty hands to my neck and twisting.

"Do you? Your lovers don't keep you locked away in case you prick your finger on a spinning wheel? They don't share your bed to protect you from anyone but themselves?"

"I'm curious, Marcel. Do you insult all of your guests or am I a special case?"

He cackled as if I was hilarious. "You think I'm insulting you?"

"Maybe not. Perhaps you're just threatening me." When he began to protest, I said, "I know a threat when I hear one, Marcel. You're not as upfront about it as others but it's a threat all the same. And one thing you should know about me is that I am a very lucky girl from a very lucky family. My siblings and I have dodged death so often that I can't count our tally. Do not mistake a meek girl with the common sense to fear you for a weak one. I have more mettle than you might think." With that, I dropped my hold on him and walked away. When I glanced over my shoulder, Marcel was still looking at me and he was smiling.

When I reached Rebekah, she handed me a glass for appearances and the look on her face all but told me she was proud. "And Klaus thought we'd be offering your head on a platter," she muttered. I searched for him, wanting to see how he was reacting to the whole thing and I was shocked to see him approaching the dance floor. And the human girl who'd come for Marcel. My fingers gripped my champagne glass so tightly that I thought it would shatter. I took a deep breath and wondered if I was genuinely jealous. Don't do this to yourself, I thought. But I made myself watch. "Seems we both have some competition," Rebekah whispered.

I observed with a wild amount of possession as Klaus offered his hand to the blonde girl in white. I wished that I could drink my champagne. I wished for my brother and sister. I wished for Damon to walk in and dance with me in a way that would inspire such intense jealousy that people's heads would roll. I wished that I had the courage to walk over to them and say, "Mind if I cut in?" I wished that Elijah would do more than look at me with dark eyes and put his hand in mine. I wished that I was back at the Originals ball and when Klaus asked me, "Do you want me to give up?" that I'd whispered, "No." I wished that the smile I'd given Marcel had meant an emphatic yes. But the truth of the matter was that I was the fragile pushover that Marcel had taken me for, easily broken and unmistakably delicate, and what I wanted didn't matter.

"Would you like to dance?" I turned to see Elijah beside me, giving me his hand. I wondered if he knew what I was thinking, if the emotions I thought I masked were unfortunately plain upon my face.

"Yes, thank you," I replied breathless. Rebekah eagerly took the champagne glass from my hand and downed it. Marcel was making his way toward her. I cut my eyes at him as I took Elijah's hand and he gave me a crooked grin.

Elijah held me so close that our chests touched. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. "You did well," he murmured.

"Did I?" I whispered steadily even as I felt his lips at my ear. If he bent just a little, he could put them to my neck.

"Yes. Though you are, perhaps, a bit of a stolen girl."

"Damon always did say I had Stockholm Syndrome." He laughed a little.

"He has such a way with words."

"He does," I agreed, though my pulse was rising.

"Maybe he was right."

"Oh, I know he was. I was enchanted with you from the beginning. You're quite bewitching," I admitted. Elijah leaned back from me, as if to get a good look at my face. For a moment, I thought he'd kiss me.

"'Bewitching,'" he whispered. "What a word."

"I thought about 'compelling' but I figured that was a little much." He smiled, a real, genuine smile and I knew that I was well and truly under his spell. Was this what Elena had felt when she was between Stefan and Damon? I couldn't believe I'd ever judged her because that night, I knew exactly what my sister's dilemma had been and it was even more intense than mine. I realized that she might be the only person who would understand, that whatever her opinions were on the Originals, I needed to talk to her anyway.

Elijah danced with me for a long time, until my fingers began to graze the back of his neck. When they touched skin, a shock seemed to go through me. He looked as if he liked it, even if it was only a little. But I was still playing a very dangerous game with very dangerous opponents and I made myself stop. So I told him I was growing tired and he took me home, leaving Rebekah and Klaus to deal with Marcel.

Once back at the plantation house, I sat down at the vanity in my room and thought about calling Elena. She wouldn't judge me because she logically couldn't. She deserved to hear the baby news from me. And even though we'd left things in a weird place, she was still my family. I reached up and pulled a pin from my hair and a curl swung to hit my cheek. Maybe tomorrow.

My fingers found another pin and deftly pulled it free. A swath of dark hair fell down my back. But do I even know how to describe what's going on to Elena? Could I honestly find the words? I felt like using the words "pregnant" and "brothers" in the same sentence would be something that even Elena would balk at. I could see myself now, asking just how different our situations really were. Elena's eyes would widen and she'd explain that she's been in relationships with both Damon and Stefan and neither of them had involved a child. Then she would say that she struggled with moving on from Stefan but knew it was the right decision and thus, whatever decision I might make would be the right one. How could I say that I didn't want to choose? How could I tell her that I had no proof that anything would ever happen with either of them? I took a deep breath and searched for another pin.

I suddenly saw Elijah in the doorway to my room in the mirror and jumped. "I'm sorry," he said coolly. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"Oh no, it's all right," I replied. I wondered if he'd been watching me and if so, why. But I knew why. I couldn't play coy or naïve anymore in regards to that.

"Do you need help?" he asked, walking into my room.

"I would appreciate it," I responded. Some part of me knew that I should have refused him. I didn't feel like an innocent girl unknowingly caught in their web anymore. I felt like someone who knew better and did it anyway.

Elijah pulled a pin from my hair and tossed it onto my vanity. "You're doing well here," he mentioned, like he needed to distract himself from what he was doing. I welcomed that distraction as well.

"I don't know about that." I felt a chill roll down my spine as his hands brushed my neck. "I do feel hopelessly in over my head and I think every word that falls out of my mouth only digs my grave deeper." Normally, I might not have been this upfront with Elijah but my connection with him was the only genuine one I had in New Orleans. I couldn't confide in Rebekah and I could barely look Klaus in the eye.

"You've been plucked out of an old life and placed in a new one. It can be jarring." Another pin hit the vanity and brown hair fell over my collarbone. Elijah quickly pushed it behind my shoulder.

"I talked a big game tonight, like Rebekah told me to, and I'm sure it rang false. I know you all must think me weak."

He paused with his hands in my hair. It felt needlessly erotic and like I'd had a glass of that spelled wine. I caught his eye in the mirror and he shook his head. "Being human doesn't make you weak. Being the way you are doesn't make you weak. There's more to you than just a rapid heartbeat and blood. What you told Marcel is true. You have suffered and my family and I have contributed to it. But you are lovely and kind to overlook it."

"Thank you," I whispered because I could think of nothing else. His fingers began to undo a braid that Rebekah had woven through my hair. He went slowly, so slowly. I thought about apologizing to him, saying I wanted him to know that I'd been involved in a game where I didn't understand the rules and now that I did, I didn't want to stop playing. I wanted him to know that I'd heard often enough that it would cost me my life and my family. I'd seen it played before with different names and monstrous outcomes and still, I couldn't bear to put away the pieces. I was no longer sure if that made me a bad person or a manipulative one but perhaps, they were one and the same.

"What are you thinking?" he asked as he unbraided more of my hair. What could I say? I'm thinking about how your hands in my hair makes me want to kiss you? How whenever I'm around you, my heartbeat skips? How I may not have needed the encouragement of enchanted wine to take a chance with you?

"I was thinking about telling you that I'm sorry that I put you in this position."

"In what position?" He accidentally touched my cheek and his fingers seemed to linger there for an abnormally long amount of time.

"Don't you know?" I whispered, my fingers twisting Jeremy's ring around my finger. Every now and then, I caught a glimpse of the Mikaelson ring. I knew I didn't deserve it.

"It seems to me that you're the one in a most difficult spot." Maybe that was true because the last few months had been nothing but pain and confusion. "I don't think ill of you, Vivian. Maybe you don't believe that but it's true. Perhaps, you've forgotten that I've done this before."

"I know you've done it before," I murmured. My hair finally spilled loosely down my back but Elijah was still messing with it. "And I know how it ended."

"This is different," he said, pulling my hair to the nape of my neck. "You're different. And you are dealing with far too much at the moment to add unnecessary guilt to your plate. I know what I'm doing and you don't. That is… unfairly cruel."

"Maybe that was true once but I think I know what I'm doing now."

"Which is what? Surviving? Having the unfortunate luck to care for two people at the same time? It might be that blood you're cursed with. It's a problem all doppelgangers have." I mustered a laugh at that and his hand rested at my neck.

"Is it odd for you to talk about this with me? I know I should resign it to conversations with Damon but he doesn't exactly give the best advice." In the reflection of the mirror, Elijah smiled.

"It's not as strange as you might believe. It's nice to know what you're thinking." My skin prickled with chills under his touch. "I saw your little smirk at Marcel." I froze, an absolute deer in the headlights.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. "I couldn't think of anything else to do and it occurred to me that he probably thought that anyway." I could see my face redden in the mirror.

"Oh, many people do. I don't think it hurts to encourage those rumors, at least for the time being. It makes it less likely that people will try to harm you."

"So you're not offended?" He shook his head.

"Why would I be?" He traced a line down the back of my neck, making my heart jump.

"I- I don't know," I muttered. "I mean, it's a lie, right? Klaus is at total odds with us… and nobody would consider doing that anyway, would they?" He gave no reaction. Was that telling or not?

"Whatever the case, you were very smart tonight. Once all of this with Marcel and the witches is settled, perhaps we can all be at peace." I realized then, with one of his hands at my throat and the other in my hair, that the Originals would never let me return home. It wouldn't matter what I wanted and it sure as hell wouldn't matter what Damon, Jeremy, and Elena wanted. They would keep me here indefinitely. They would lock me in if need be. Having this child had inexplicably linked me to them and I would never escape, even if I wanted to.

"Yes," I whispered, looking down at the Mikaelson ring. I thought about Kol on the Other Side, probably staring at us right now, fuming. I thought about Klaus, walled off and mean. I thought about Elijah and the way his elegant hands had unraveled my hair the way he'd unraveled my heart.

I turned to look up at him and he pulled away from me, like my skin had suddenly burned him. "Well, I should let you rest. Is there anything else you need?"

"Yes, I think so," I replied when I stood. "Rebekah zipped me in and I don't know if I can reach." I saw his flawless demeanor crack for only a second.

"Of course."

He pulled my hair to the side and unzipped my dress. In the next instant, I felt him press his lips to the skin at the base of my neck. I sucked in a breath and closed my eyes. But when I opened them, he was gone. I let out a long sigh.

My phone began to buzz on my nightstand as I shut my bedroom door. Still crawling out of my party dress, I answered it.

"Viv."

"Jeremy," I whispered breathlessly. I ignored the obvious anger in his voice. "I was literally about to call you and Elena." I heard a whoosh! on the other end of the line and an unmistakable crash. "What was that?"

"That?" he questioned, abnormally calm. "Oh, that was one of Alaric's old crossbows. I'm just checking to see if it's still working."

"Why?" I asked slowly.

"Sorry!" I heard Damon yell behind Jeremy.

"You've got to be kidding me."