Esmeray had not been ready to rule the French Quarter.

She had watched the vampires bow down and just sort of gulped and said "Okay" before telling them to do whatever they wished to pay respects to their dead. She and Klaus returned to the mansion, with Esmeray trembling in shock.

"Love, talk to me," coaxed Klaus as he brought her to her room. "What are you feeling?"

"I'm not even a vampire," she mumbled, furrowing her eyebrows. "What was Marcel thinking? Is— is he trying to turn us against each other by giving me the leadership you wanted? He's a fool if he thinks that'll work— you would wholeheartedly support me even if I wasn't your Alpha."

She shuffled around her room, grabbing at random things and moving them around because she was too anxious to do anything else. Klaus could see her hands were unsteady, and the room seemed to be doing its own bit of quaking beneath their feet. "Or is it because he would just rather bow down to me than to you and I was there and it happened?"

The hybrid put her hands on either side of her head, still trying to understand, and attempting to stop herself from causing any damage to the house. "Or was it because I told him that it wasn't his city and he thought it was the right thing to do? Giving it back to the wolves, through me?"

"Or perhaps," said Klaus, stopping her before she could start to rummage through her desk. He put his arms around her to keep her from grabbing anything, hugging her and resting his head on her shoulder. "He preferred an intelligent and very capable hybrid who can make rational decisions despite her temper, and who won't be as violent as her boyfriend, who put on a very pitiful performance today?"

Esmeray scowled, though she started to calm down slightly. "Your performance wasn't pitiful. You were outnumbered."

"As were you. You tore through them like they were puppets. How? Does this mean you've unlocked your hybrid side without a ritual?"

"No... I feel normal again. Or at least— not energized with my hybrid powers. I was just talking to Hayley about how ancient wolves talked to their inner wolves to turn at will without being hybrids. It had to do with emotion and spiritual energy. But I don't know how it's possible. I was angry, but I've been angry before. I was scared, but I've been scared before."

Klaus pursed his lips. "Well, love, you seem to have been scared in a different way."

"What do you mean?"

"Normally, you fear for your own life. You've never feared this much for another's life. With Anya, you never saw it coming. The attackers were gone before you had a chance to retaliate. This time, you knew I was going to be harmed."

"And I was afraid they'd find a way to put you down with the dagger," she murmured. "That might be it. My inner wolf listened because of how desperate I was to save the life of someone I cared about. But what if it's just because I've been doing it wrong? This time, I had no choice but to contact my inner wolf— I was restrained and weak. In the Bayou, Hayley was in danger and I just acted with magic, I didn't try to tap into my wolf side because I just didn't think it would work. Still... I've begged my inner wolf to help me before when I've really needed it, and nothing. It has to do with emotion, but..."

Klaus seemed to have an idea what it could be. "The bloody mate bond," he sighed. "It must be that. You know, a person will feel as though they fight a lot harder when they're fighting to protect someone they love. If you're fighting to save your soulmate... the connection could have been strong enough to give a temporary burst..."

"It just doesn't fully make sense in my head. I didn't hear my inner wolf speak to me, Klaus. Why would it give me power without saying anything? I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to hear something."

"You're going to lose your mind if you keep thinking about it tonight, love," he told her, coaxing her to her bed. "How about you rest, and I ensure that a marvelous breakfast awaits you in the morning?"

"I can't rest!" she said, getting back up as soon as he planted her down. "I have to plan! I'm in charge of New Orleans now, I can't just relax. I need to start getting contact information and arranging a meeting to talk about everything."

She brushed past him and went to her desk to get a notebook, plucking up a pen before frantically beginning to scribble. "First things first— getting everyone to calm the hell down and get along. The witches, as much as I dislike them, need to stop being restricted. The vampires need to learn to stop hurting them and the wolves. And the Crescent Curse needs to be broken. The humans need to have a say, too, that's how Marcel did it and that's a good plan. I think that Father Kieran guy is a good person to contact— I don't want any politicians there, they don't know how to be unbiased. I don't care about the city's leaders. The Mayor doesn't seem to be very competent, but I know that a priest like Kieran O'Connell will think of what's best for the people without worrying about economics, which I know nothing about. But will they even listen? What if they hate me?"

Klaus caught her hand just before she accidentally stabbed her arm with the pen. "Love, you're in some state of shock and you aren't writing any of what you're saying. How about you speak, and I write? I can use my vampire speed to keep up with that quick little tongue."

Esmeray let out a deep breath. "Fine. Write what I said before and then when you're ready, tell me. Write things word for word, even filler words if I use them."

The next several weeks saw the implementation of her many ideas.

Her first plan had been for her, Klaus, Rebekah, Elijah, and Hayley to move into the Abattoir, but without displacing anyone. This had been simple, because several vampires had moved out, not wanting to stay under the same roof as Klaus. Marcel had accepted Esmeray's personal offer to reside there, because she knew he and Rebekah were rekindling their past relationship, and the last thing Esmeray wanted was to drive a wedge between herself and Rebekah especially now that she knew that Rebekah resented her.

"Why'd you do it, Marcel?" the werewitch asked, leaning into his doorway when she'd come to tell him that he could stay. "Why bow down to me?"

"Would you have preferred me to bow down to your psycho boyfriend?" he asked her. "At least you'll try to be fair. I won't have problems with the wolves if they're listening to you. There's no way in hell they would ever follow a command Klaus gave. You? Wolves who haven't even met you speak of you becoming their Alpha. Let's see if they're right about you being capable of enacting peace between species."

That gave Esmeray her starting point— the vampires. For one, they'd been the first ones to bow down to her, and they currently felt themselves to be the greatest inhabitants of New Orleans.

She gathered them together and told them of her plans to help the werewolves, vampires, and witches all be able to live in peace within the borders of New Orleans.

"This is one of the few places that each supernatural community has tried to settle down in at one point in time," she told them, standing in the courtyard while they sat in prepared chairs, as if she was the principal at their high school and they were having an assembly. "I've told this to Marcel— the wolves were here before anyone, centuries ago. Then, the witches took root to practice Ancestral Magic. The vampires were the last ones to arrive, and since then, the three communities haven't been able to live in peace. The humans have suffered as casualties of the battles that took place on this land. I don't want that to happen anymore. You all decided to accept me as the leader, knowing that I am both a witch and a wolf, yet not a vampire. Thus, I want to help each community I am kin with, but I don't want to forsake any of you, either."

She held up a plain ring that had not been spelled for any reason. "Daylight rings. Marcel had you earning them. Only his inner circle got rings. I don't want that. I want everyone to have rings."

The vampires immediately grew excited. In the back of the crowd, Klaus and Elijah tensed, not sure what she was planning.

"But," she said, tucking the ring up, "how would I ensure that these rings remain only for those that have good intentions? Simple. I'm going to add a few extra spells. However, I will tell you about them, because I want honesty."

She started to walk between the rows of vampires. "You've all been trained to eat and erase when it comes to humans. I trust you will not be reckless with that, and thus, this ring does nothing about that. Because my future plans involve bringing the wolves back into the Quarter while not pushing the witches aside, I need to ensure that the vampires won't hurt either community. When it is the witches' turn to have this conversation, and when it is the wolves' turn, I will be giving them a similar talk so that they don't hurt any of you.

"Obviously, not all of you are going to be pleased to hear that these rings will be spelled in a way that will make it impossible for you to hurt a witch or a wolf while you have it on. You won't be pleased to know that these rings will have a spell that will alert me if you have bad intentions. You won't be pleased to know that if you try to take the ring off to be able to hurt a witch or wolf, you will have a hard time removing it."

She pointed at the entrance of the Compound, listening to the vampires whispering indignantly among themselves. "If anyone doesn't want to abide by those rules, there's the door. The French Quarter will not be a warzone any longer. Leave if you don't want a daylight ring simply because it's going to force you to behave. That spell will only wear off if the ring analyzes you and thinks you're going to be an asset and productive member of this community. So if you know you're not going to stop feeling hatred for the other factions, then leave New Orleans entirely and settle down somewhere where you don't have to follow these rules."

Diego, one of Marcel's vampires, raised his hand. "It sounds to me like we're going to have more down sides than benefits."

"Is that what you think?" she asked. "You would be allowed to feed as you have been. You can lead the life you want to lead, in the sunlight. All I'm asking is that you don't hurt the wolves and witches. If you listen, the spells on those rings won't kick in. Is this your way of telling me that you won't be able to set aside your resentment for my people?"

"The wolves killed my family. Why are we paying for the sins of the vampires that existed centuries ago, who were the first ones to attack the wolves in the first place?"

"You're not paying for their sins. You're being civil to other supernaturals who didn't choose to be born with the powers they were granted— they just were. You're doing what they should have done in the first place. You're being the bigger person. Witches and wolves lived in peace far before the vampires came along. We're going to work to fix things, even if it's only in the French Quarter. No one can bring back those of our loved ones that have been killed by other species. I can't bring back my Pack, who was lost over time to vampires. Do I hold resentment against all of you for having wiped out nearly all the werewolves? No. We are trying to heal together. Will it be difficult to accept them as your neighbors given your history? Yes. But consider that they feel the same way about you. We have to try to create peace so that we never have to suffer those kinds of losses again. So if you don't want to aim for peace, leave. Because I will be working on breaking the Crescent Curse. I will be working to get the witches the resources they need to practice magic freely.

"You are the first ones I've spoken to, but you certainly won't be the last. The wolves will be made to understand that they should not hurt any of you or the witches, either. The witches will be told the same thing about vampires and wolves. And I will be implementing a way of getting justice if those rules aren't followed. In my time, we had a system where if we heard of a crime, our witches would perform a very tricky spell that would find who was responsible. That person would be placed in front of the entire community, and a Mind Spell would be done to force them to tell the truth. They would be asked questions about the crime, and together, as a community, we would decide their punishment, depending on the severity. Most times, it was exile. Once, it was death. I do not wish for violence to persist within the French Quarter or anywhere else in New Orleans. But right now, our focus is here, on the French Quarter Coven and the Crescent Wolf Pack, as well as all of you. If you have concerns, talk to me about it. That is all, you're free to go."

To her surprise, nearly all the vampires stayed. There were several who refused to listen to her, and took their leave the next morning. But many had come to talk to her about their concerns, and once they were satisfied, had put their names on a list for her to make them daylight rings.

"Was that wise?" asked Elijah later in the week when he, Klaus, Hayley, and Esmeray were having dinner.

"Yes," the werewitch said simply. "They will be inclined to be loyal to me if I give them something they want. They know the price and they fully understand that nothing bad will happen to them if they have good intentions. I think we have a lot of good ones. Marcel has told me that he thinks the ones who have remained in the city are going to abide by my terms without complaints."

She looked over at the empty seat that Rebekah has elected not to inhabit, due to the persisting tension between her and her brothers. "I'm going to speak to Father Kieran next."

She had set up a meeting at St. Anne's Church to talk about the part of the human faction in this arrangement. She told Father Kieran everything she had planned, without holding back any of the future ideas she hadn't yet told anyone other than Klaus.

"You're definitely trying to be nicer about it than Marcel was," said the priest, leaning back in the pew and looking up at the sacristy. "Do you genuinely think this will work? Or will I have to be prepared for the humans to be collateral damage?"

"I am trying to make it work as best as I can. I know it's not going to be easy, but I'm going to be talking to the wolves briefly, and then, speaking in more detail with the witches about their Harvest ritual. I have a feeling we will need to go through with it. I have already spoken to Sophie Deveraux, and she's been doing research for me. I think the four girls will all resurrect if the ritual is done right."

"You said that you are moving Davina into the Abattoir with you. Why not turn her over yet?"

"I want her to practice some magic first, because I intend to break the Crescent Curse before the witches get their Harvest. Davina will be encouraged to teach herself spells that I will prepare for her. She needs my help to control her powers at least until it's time to get the Harvest underway. Please, Father, let me know of anything you need me to do for the human faction specifically. Otherwise, I will be doing my best to ensure the supernaturals don't cause them any grief."

Father Kieran reached over to shake her hand. "I appreciate it. However, I think the wolves will need more of your help, first."

This was true. Esmeray had a lot of work to get done with the wolves if she wanted to break the Crescent Curse before moving on to the witches and completing the Harvest.

It was hard to know how to help when they were all still wolves, but thankfully, Hayley had recently met one of her Pack members, an untriggered wolf named Eve, who was able to pass along the message to the wolves that there was work in progress to undo the Crescent Curse, and that the wolves would hopefully be welcomed back into the Quarter soon enough, if they wished to live there instead of the Bayou. Jackson had been most pleased, and he had made sure to come and thank Esmeray when, on the next full moon, Klaus brought her out to turn.

"You've got to rest, love," the Original hybrid said, certain she was going to work herself to death. "You woke up mere hours ago, you still need to replenish yourself."

"I've been out for three days— I need to catch up," she said, getting back to her notebooks. "I've been so busy managing vampire living arrangements and getting them all daylight rings and talking to Eve about how to support the wolves that I haven't spoken to any witch aside from Sophie Deveraux, who I keep leaving hanging when I'm not asking her to do research for me. And I can't even begin to provide the right resources for the wolves in the first place until I break the curse so that I know where they want to settle and allocate funds to that. Speaking of which, I don't know if it's illegal to have multiplied all the money that I did, but I have about a trillion dollars in my bank account and I've been doing way too many Mind Spells to not get the IRS after me..."

"Don't you think you're being too generous?" asked Klaus, motioning for her to slow herself down before she died of exhaustion. Sometimes, she talked so fast he thought her lungs would burst. "You moved Davina in just days before the full moon, you've been writing spell after spell to have her practice on her own while you spend your days writing down ideas and making daylight rings— do those vampires even deserve that? Does Davina even deserve your help?"

"Of course she does! She's a kid, Klaus, I'm not going to leave her hanging. Marcel wanted her nearby and safe from the witches and I granted that. I need Davina's help to break the Crescent Curse and I need that done before the Harvest ritual happens. It's stressful but can't you see how much has already improved? The vampires are behaving, the witches aren't causing problems, and the wolves are on their path to a better life, without any humans suffering from it. Yes, the improvements have been subtle but nevertheless, they are present."

Klaus sighed and motioned for her to sit down. "Love, stop and think for a moment. Yes, you have done many great things, but even you need a break. You've piled so much onto your plate. I wonder if I need to be worrying more about you, who's here trying to do everything justly, or Hayley, who's out in the Bayou with her wolves playing house." He put his hands on her shoulders. "You are far too stressed. Take a break for one day. For me, please."

Esmeray looked up at him almost in confusion. She knew she was stressed but she didn't think it could be bad enough that he was this worried about her. "Is there something that you're seeing that I'm not?"

Klaus bit his lip and gestured at her shirt. "For one, you're wearing that backwards. Two, I know you have hardly been sleeping and eating. Three, your eyes look positively wild. And four— you didn't go into heat this past month."

Esmeray frowned. "Crap. I... I didn't go into heat. But, I wasn't angry or sad. It must be all the cortisol... I'm not fit to be reproducing this month with all that streaming through my blood."

"Relax, love," he said, kneeling in front of her. "How about this. I'll draw you a bath, give you a nice massage, and tomorrow, you can do anything you want."

The hybrid shook her head. "But I don't want to be pampered. I want to be consistent with my giving."

There was suddenly a mischievous glint in her eyes that made Klaus raise an eyebrow.

"Suit up," she told him as she got to her feet. "I'm taking you on a date tonight."