Klaus was pleased with how the night went on.

Esmeray, with her sneakily accumulated wealth, had made a reservation at one of the finer restaurants in the French Quarter that she'd been wanting to try. Putting on one of her nicest dresses, she'd gone to Klaus's room, announcing that a cab would be waiting to take them to the restaurant.

"You've certainly outdone yourself," he said when he found the staff at the restaurant had given them the outdoor pavilion all to themselves. He was even more pleased when a large cart of different wines was brought out for him to choose one he liked. He smirked at the woman across from him, who grinned back and tucked her hands under her chin.

"Don't say I don't spoil you," she chirped.

Klaus made a big show of holding up the fancy looking forks that were set out for them. He then poured himself a glass of wine and offered it for her to taste, but she shook her head, which made him shrug. "I rather enjoy the perks of being the boyfriend of the Queen of the Quarter, even if she herself won't indulge in all the finer things life has to offer."

Esmeray blushed. "'Queen of the Quarter' has a decent ring to it. As for the wine— you enjoy. I still don't see the fun in drinking."

"Whatever shall we do when St. Anne's Church opens up once more?" asked Klaus curiously.

"I won't be taking communion, I'm not Catholic. I can attend a service for the sake of supporting the community, but I won't pretend to be a holy child when I'm not. No wine for me."

"Do you still fear that your drinks will be poisoned?"

"Not so much anymore. It's no secret why you always drink from my beverages before I do."

"Oh?"

"You've been doing it since we saw each other again, at the plantation house. Anytime we sit at dinner, you'll be next to me and you'll drink from my glass as soon as it's poured for me, to check if it's poisoned. No one would dare poison me with you at my side."

This time, Klaus was the one that blushed. "It's been an increasing concern now that you rule the Quarter. Someone might get it in their head to try and execute the queen."

"It's still so bizarre. I ended up in this position after residing in New Orleans for over a year, without making any meaningful contributions. Suddenly, everyone trusts me to be their leader. A lot has changed since I first landed in the airport with Anya. It's been... awhile, since everything transpired. Hayley's moving along in her pregnancy, the baby is growing strong, and there's a semblance of peace, even though there's still chaos to be managed on the witch end."

"Well, from an insider's perspective, I think it's becoming true peace, not merely a semblance. You've done a phenomenal job at keeping the vampires from rousting the witches anymore. Davina tells you they've been practicing magic and you haven't restricted them."

"As much as I dislike them, they are also vital members of the community. We can't cast them aside. I want it to be like... like it should have been a thousand years ago." She shifted awkwardly in her seat. "I don't even know if I can vividly imagine having this kind of peace in that time. But it's a nice thing to dream of."

He took her hand from across the table. "You are brokering a peace that would not have been possible when we were in our youth. You, my little werewitch, have succeeded at something that your parents never dreamed of, because it did not seem plausible. You are becoming the leader you were born to be."

She cast him a grateful smile, squeezing his hand in return. "I just wish they were here to see it, Klaus. I wish my mother could see me among other witches. I wish my father could have witnessed what I did at the Compound. All they ever wanted was for me to control both sides of myself and be happy. I won't ever see them again, unless it's in memories. They were but a regular wolf and witch. Even if they were on the Other Side, they have since found peace."

Klaus bit his lip. "Well then, love, I think it's time to show you something that I've been working on while you've been busy."

As soon as they had finished their wonderful dinner and returned home, Klaus had taken her into his art room, to a canvas that was covered with a sheet. He removed the covering, revealing a painting with a scenery of Esmeray's village.

The dark moon was the only source of light over the hut that the werewitch recognized to have been her home. Five figures sat around a fire in front of the entrance. One, her mother, wrapped in a shawl and extending her palm toward the flames as if she were the one controlling it. The other, her father, sharpening a knife while his wolf form was curled up beside him, the gray hairs lining his dark fur. In the center was Esmeray, leaning back and looking up at the moon, while her wolf lay at her feet, so dark she could hardly see its outline, but she knew it was her because its eyes were open, and matched hers exactly. They were staring up at the night sky, the embers from the fire rising up and nearly touching the clouds that Klaus had painted above them.

Her lips were on his before he could ask if she'd liked it. He caught her as her body collided with his, hands roaming over every inch of him that she could grab onto. Words were useless to explain how much she adored the painting, how much it meant to her, and how much she loved him.

Klaus knew that she didn't intend for him to have any control this time, because now, he was the one that was going to be receiving everything. She'd been the one in charge of what pieces of clothing came off, which meant he didn't get to rip her dress off this time. She'd been in charge of where he stood while she stimulated him, eliciting several breathy grunts as he grabbed a fistful of her hair, subconsciously pushing her further down. She'd been in charge of where he lay when she pinned him down and kissed his neck, doing her best work to keep up a good pace with her hips as she listened to him groaning in response to her work.

"Bloody fucking hell," he panted when she moved his arms aside after he attempted to roll them over so that he could be the one on top. "Love... I can't just sit back..."

"You made me sit back last time, now it's your turn," she replied, putting her hands on his chest to keep him from getting up.

Klaus arched his neck back as she hooked her legs around his. "Love..."

She giggled. "Is the Big Bad Wolf feeling frustrated?"

"Can I at least touch you?"

"Sure." She grabbed his hands and put them over her breasts. "Touch all you want."

He wasn't about to give up. This felt wrong to him. He felt his duty was to do anything and everything for his Alpha. It didn't feel right for him to be just laying back and letting her do all the work. The point was that he wanted her to relax, and here she was, overexerting herself again. He knew that it tired her out immensely— she didn't have the same endurance that he did. Her movements were growing sloppy from how speedy she was trying to be in an attempt to make him feel good. And it felt amazing to Klaus, but not to his inner wolf.

Meanwhile, she preferred it like this. She didn't necessarily want to be the one in charge, but she did want to do most, if not all, of the work. She wanted him to enjoy it, and he certainly was. He'd relented after a bit, putting his hands behind his head and looking up at her hungrily, licking his lips repeatedly at the sight of her using him like a toy. While she was obviously focused on his pleasure, he knew that the specificity of her movements were intended to bring herself a certain feeling as well.

That satisfied his inner wolf quite a bit, but it wasn't enough. He could tolerate it if he knew that she was reaping the benefits, but even so, he knew he could bring her more pleasure if he put the work in instead. At one point, he heard a change in her heartbeat, and her movements abruptly slowed down as she started to grow weaker, unable to keep up her pace. She looked dazed, and he'd smirked, realizing this was his opening. He'd gripped her hips, massaging them gently as he brought them down and slammed his own up to meet hers, causing her to let out a squeak as her eyes rolled back. She'd tried to protest as he started bouncing her roughly over him, but she'd soon realized she preferred it this way, and had leaned herself forward to kiss him, letting him dictate the pace.

A knock on the door made them both groan in annoyance once morning came, because they weren't exactly finished yet.

"Go away!" Klaus snapped, returning to the way he'd been kissing Esmeray's stomach just seconds before.

"Silencing Spell," said Esmeray, trying to wiggle out from under him. "Whoever it is, they can't hear us."

Klaus tried to keep her in place. "Let them sod off, I'm not done here."

"I think if we go for another round, I will perish instantly." She pulled the blanket up to cover her chest before putting her hand on the wall. "Ausculto. Who is it?"

"No wonder we couldn't hear anything," said Hayley from the other side. "I thought you were both dead, but I guess you were just having... fun. Sophie Deveraux is here to see you, Esme."

"Hayley," said Esmeray in surprise, getting up and putting her clothes on. "I thought you were still in the Bayou."

"I came into town for the day because Eve went deeper into the Bayou to run an errand. I didn't want to be alone. I'll be heading back tonight. But just so you know, Sophie is waiting."

Klaus tried to stop Esmeray from leaving, but the werewitch had to get back to her duties. "Stop it," she whined as he came behind her, still naked, and tried to stop her from braiding her hair. "I have to go."

"Sophie Deveraux should know better than to come barging in when she hasn't been invited," he muttered, kissing her neck. "She can listen, if she wants..."

"Klaus, no. I'll go into heat soon, we can have fun that day. I need to talk to her about the Harvest. I assume she might because she's bringing something useful to the table."

It was Klaus's turn to whine, and he purposely nibbled on her ear as if this would make her stay. "The bed will be lonely without you, love."

"This is my bed, you'll be fine, you sleep in it every other night anyway."

"Is it alright if I bring the painting and hang it up?"

"Yes, please, I'd appreciate that." She turned around and pecked his lips. "Now put some clothes on. I don't want Sophie seeing you this bare."

Klaus grinned. "Is my little werewitch jealous?"

"Of Sophie Deveraux seeing my boyfriend naked? Of course."

As it turned out, Sophie did in fact bring something useful to the table.

"I know you have Davina here," said Sophie. "And I know you want her to break the Crescent Curse. But you need to know that she can't do it, and therefore, the Harvest needs to proceed."

Esmeray raised a brow. "Why can't she do it?"

"I was doing research about the Harvest, and because of that, I stumbled upon a lot of Deveraux family history. An ancestor of mine, Brynne Deveraux, was the one who performed the spell to place the Crescent Curse on the wolves in the first place. I'm the witch that needs to do the spell, not Davina. I will help you break it, if you talk to Davina today about doing the Harvest ritual. I've done what you've asked. I've given you all the research and I've communed with the Ancestors to ensure she won't die in vain. Please, help us. You've done so much for the vampires, and we know the next ones on your list are the wolves, but I promise you that as soon as the Harvest is done, I will undo the Crescent Curse, and everything can proceed from there."

The werewitch gave a sigh. "Well, that does change things. I initially wanted Davina to help because she could tap into the Ancestral Magic. But if the bloodline is the issue, then, well, we do need to rethink things. What else do you need for the Harvest?"

"Well, Elijah killed Agnes," said Sophie dejectedly. "We have no elders. At first, I thought maybe you could do it, because you're older than all of us. But you don't practice Ancestral Magic and you weren't born in this city, therefore, it can't happen. The only way for it to work with you would be if you were dead, and obviously, no one living in this city wants you dead, because they respect you. Therefore, I need to become an elder."

"How does one become an elder?"

"I would need to essentially absorb the magic of an old witch who was never consecrated."

"Hold on, I thought your Coven was meticulous about consecrations. Who will you find that hasn't been consecrated?"

"That's another piece of history I uncovered," Sophie replied. "There's a witch— Celeste Dubois— she was never consecrated in the Lafayette Cemetery. Her remains were never found. I know she was an old flame of Elijah's, and I know that you're good at Mind Spells, so I was wondering if—"

"Absolutely not," said Esmeray. She had seen who Celeste was, through Klaus's memories, and she knew how much she meant to Elijah. "No. Hell no. There was a reason she wasn't buried in a place that your witches would find her. She wanted to be somewhere else. Let her rest in peace, Sophie. Find another way, and I will prioritize the witches over the wolves."

"The Harvest needs to happen now!" said Sophie, standing up. "My niece, Monique, has been dead long enough. She's going to wake up to find out that her mother is dead. This can't keep being delayed. You can't claim to want peace in this city if you're leaving the witches for last when we're the only ones who have a major event on our agenda. Davina needs to come with us today, she needs to die today, and the girls need to be resurrected today. Don't make us angry, Esmeray."

The werewitch got right up in Sophie's face, growling and glaring at her from mere inches away. "I said find another way that doesn't involve disturbing the body of someone who did not want to be found. If this peace is going to work, I need Elijah's support, too. He is my family, Sophie. Just because I'm dating his brother and they have problems between them, doesn't mean I'm going to invade his privacy and do the one thing that he would hate. Find another fucking way if you want my help that badly."

Sophie knew she had only one other shot, and she went for it. As soon as Esmeray had gone off to the Bayou to find Jackson and talk over some of her plans with him, Sophie had gone straight to Hayley, who had been reading Elijah's journals since before he'd been returned from his captivity with Davina. The wolf had not thought too much about what she was doing, and had granted Sophie the knowledge she needed all too easily.

Then there was Davina. The young girl had been so eager to be properly coached by Esmeray that she'd come downstairs inopportunely. Interpreting the conversation between Sophie and Esmeray the wrong way, she fled, seeking out Camille O'Connell and Josh's help. In trying to solve this problem before Esmeray returned, Klaus ended up making it worse by killing Tim, Davina's friend, for the sake of keeping the girl under control.

"You did what?" snapped Esmeray when she returned in the evening.

"He died quickly, it isn't anything to be concerned about!" said Klaus, trying to brush away the guilt. He knew he'd done something wrong.

"Klaus, she's never going to want to help us now!"

"She knows it was I that killed the boy, not you!"

"And you know who she associates me with? You! It doesn't matter that I wasn't the one who killed him. While I could care less about that kid, I'm trying so fucking hard to keep things under control. This isn't how you go about things. I need to go talk to her. Don't show your face to her until you find it in your heart to give her a genuine apology."

Klaus looked down in shame. "Is that it, then?" he whispered, thinking Esmeray was done with him.

"Is that all I have to say? Yes, because I need to go see how I can comfort her. Is that the end of this relationship? No. Just because we argue doesn't mean I'm over it. We may fight, Klaus, but I'm not giving up on you or on this. It's going to take a lot more than this to steer me away from you after everything we've already been through. I just want you to think about why you thought it was a good idea and think of how you would feel if someone else killed one of your daughter's friends in the future and left her feeling this distraught. You are going to be a father. You're going to be a shoulder for her to cry on when she's sad. Don't be bringing pain to other parents like this. Tim was a kid. He didn't need to die."

Obviously, Davina didn't want to see Esmeray.

"Get out!" she hissed, looking furious. "Get away from me!"

Esmeray was able to remain standing as a wave of magic blasted her way. "I'm here to talk to you, Davina. I'm here to say that I'm sorry for what Klaus did, and I'm sorry that you had to lose a friend. I know how you feel."

"You don't know anything!" she spat. "You don't know what it's like to be helpless and watching someone you care about die right in front of you at the hands of a monster like that."

Esmeray came to sit at the foot of her bed. "I do know what it's like, Davina. Marcel sent vampires to attack me months ago, in the Bayou, and I lost my friend Anya. I didn't have my magic in that moment, otherwise, I could have saved her. She was killed brutally and all I could do was cry for a long time. It wasn't fair. It shouldn't have happened. People like Tim and Anya, they're innocent and they don't deserve all this. It will bring you no comfort even if I tell you that I'm certain they both found peace. It doesn't change the fact that that person is gone and not coming back. I am here to support you in whatever you need to heal."

"I don't want to do this stupid Harvest," Davina said numbly, unable to snap back anything now that she knew that Esmeray had actually gone through something very similar. "I just want to be a normal witch but I will never be a normal witch. Nothing makes sense and I c-can't concentrate on any of the spells you've given me, and all I feel is that evil is coming and I'm stuck in this house with the monster who killed my friend."

Esmeray tried to remain patient. "How about we talk about the evil that's coming? Is there any place where you've written down what you've sensed about this evil?"

"There's nothing to show. I just get a feeling, I draw, and make all these random lines on different pieces of paper. It doesn't mean anything. And besides, Marcel showed the pictures to Elijah and he took them."

That was good— Esmeray expected someone like Elijah could figure out what this impending evil was. "We're not going to abandon you, Davina," said Esmeray. "I'm doing my very best to make sure this Harvest ritual is going to work and bring you back. This evil— we will tackle it together. All of us. I want to unite us all so that we're not left suffering alone. I know that you're scared. I admit, so am I. But I will make this right. I know I can't bring Tim back but I can help you and the witches so that the Harvest can be put behind all of you."

Davina started to tear up. "I'm not scared, I'm terrified. How do you know they won't leave me dead? And even if I come back, it doesn't matter. My parents are gone, Tim is gone, Cami and Josh are both in danger, and I'm stuck here with someone who used me and the person who killed my friend! I don't have anyone anymore."

Esmeray came closer, taking her hand. "You have me, Davina, if that means anything to you. I promise, I am going to do my best to fix everything. You won't have to be terrified anymore."