sleeping beauty [the originals]

xli.

 The next night was a festival for the witches. There was a parade through the French Quarter, as the witches of New Orleans were put on display. Isla wasn't planning on attending the parade, but she was going to attend the after party.

She was getting ready for the party in her room when the door opened. She turned around to see Klaus standing in the doorway.

"Where did you put mother's grimoire?" Isla folded her arms, suspicious.

"Why do you want to know?" Klaus chuckled.

"The witches want to get their hands on it." Isla shook her head.

"Nope. Not happening." Klaus held up his hands.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to give it to them. I'm just using it as a way to teach the witches a lesson." Isla sighed, weighing the options. Giving the book to Klaus was risky. It could go wrong and her mother's work would fall into the hands of the witches, or it could work in Klaus's favor. She sighed, dropping her hands.

"Alright. Fine." Klaus smiled as the blonde walked over to her bed. She reached under the bed and pulled the old book out.

"Under your bed? Is that the best hiding place for that?" Isla rolled her eyes.

"As soon as you give it back, I'm changing the hiding spot." She put the book in her brother's hands. "Don't let it get taken by them." Klaus nodded.

"I won't." He turned around and walked down the stairs. Isla sighed, returning to getting ready.

The crowd at the party was impressive. Isla mainly stuck to herself, watching the crowds talk to the three harvest girls. At some point, Elijah and Hayley entered the party, and Klaus had yet to arrive. She knew that he was most likely "teaching a lesson" to the witches, as he put it. Which meant, violence. After a few minutes of socializing, she heard a dinging noise, and she turned her head to see the red-haired witch her brother had been sleeping with.

"Welcome." Genevieve announced. "As is our time-honored tradition, you are all welcome to deliver your offerings. It is our custom that no one should be turned away, no blessing be denied." She looked back at the harvest girls, smiling as she walked away from them. The three girls sat down, awaiting their gifts. Hayley walked up to Davina with a wrapped box in her hand.

Before she got the chance to give it to her, the woman standing next to the three lightly grabbed her arm. She muttered something, pointing to the girl on the right. Hayley raised an eyebrow, then walked over to put the present down in front of the girl. Davina looked confused. The next person came up and put a gift in front of the girl in the middle. The third person with a gift passed Davina and put the present in front of the first girl. Isla folded her arms.

After many gifts for the other two girls but none for Davina, the young witch stood up and walked out of the room, tears in her eyes. Isla frowned, watching Davina walk away. Davina didn't deserve any of this. All of a sudden, she saw Klaus walking over to the main staircase, holding Davina's friend Josh by the neck. Once he got to the stairs, he let Josh go.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please." All eyes turned to the hybrid. "We are gathered here today to pay homage to our beloved witches, but one very special witch has been utterly ignored. That seems a little unfair to me." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small purple box. He then offered the box to Davina, who looked at the box and back up at him.

"No." The teenager shook her head. Isla snorted, watching the expression on Klaus's face drop. "I don't want your gift." Klaus sighed.

"I understand why you would reject me, given our past." He lowered his arm, looking up at the crowd. "In truth, many of us here today have been wronged in the conflict which my brother's treaty ended." He looked back at Davina. "Your friend Josh was involved in a plot to kill me. It would be well within my right to execute him here and now." Josh looked terrified. "But, in the spirit of solidarity, and for your favor, Davina, I hereby pardon him." He put his hand on Josh's shoulder. "Josh. From this day forward, you have nothing to fear from me." He let go of Josh and once again offered the purple box to Davina. "Please." Davina sighed, taking the box from him. Klaus looked over at Genevieve, smirking.

As the music started up again, Klaus walked over to Isla.

"Good news. You'll be happy to know that mother's grimoire is back safe in your room." Isla's eyes widened and she smiled.

"While I don't want to know what you did to whoever tried to steal it..." Klaus chuckled. "thanks." Klaus nodded, moving on to his next conversation, which seemed to be Hayley.

After a few minutes, it looked like his conversation with Hayley was interrupted by a drumming noise. Isla turned her head to see multiple men walking down the stairs playing the drums. They stopped at the bottom of the stairs, halting their playing.

"Happy fete des benedictions." The man in the front boomed. "We have a message for all of you from Marcel Gerard." Isla took a sharp inhale. She knew that what was about to happen was not going to be good. One by one, the men took knives out of their pockets. Then, all at once, they brought the blades to their wrists. A collective gasp could be heard through the room as the vampires started slipping out of control.

"Control yourselves." Elijah warned, stepping forward. "This is a vulgar trick. We do not violate our agreement." He said, raising his voice. Once the words left his mouth, the lights went out and the room went into chaos. Isla felt somebody grab her, and she pushed her arm into them.

"Phasmatos superous em animi." She muttered, and the arm holding her let go. The lights soon turned back on, and Isla looked down at the vampire who had tried to attack her. He was holding his hands up to his head, small trails of blood trailing out of his eyes. He then got up, looking at her in fear, then ran out of the room. Isla looked around at the pile of dead bodies. On the wall, written in blood, were the words

THERE WILL BE NO PEACE.