Esmeray woke up feeling like she was on fire.

She was in a sort of warehouse, tied to a chair, a gag around her mouth and her wrists bolted down. Her stomach churned and she wanted to throw up. Her arms ached and she could hardly feel her legs. The hybrid felt a burning on her cheeks that let her know her gag had been soaked in wolfsbane, as had the cuffs around her hands.

"Look who's up."

She snapped her head up, her vision still slightly blurred as she beheld the man who had kidnapped her. He came forward and looked at her complacently. "Avoided me for a while, didn't you?" he said. "Even someone as powerful as me couldn't get into where you were staying."

He reached forward to remove the gag, and she snarled, trying to bite him, even though it wouldn't be lethal to him. He easily avoided her, and took the gag in his hands, going to a nearby jar and letting it soak. "Esmeray Poldark," he mused as she stared at him hatefully. "Where are my manners- the name's Maddox."

"Stupid name," she sneered. "Fitting for such an incompetently moronic witch." She thrust her hand out, expecting her emotions would take charge and create a cavern beneath Maddox's feet to send him plunging straight to Hell. But a look of horror came onto her face when nothing happened, not even the slightest cracking of pavement.

"What did you do?" she said darkly, staring at her hands, which were trembling. Was it the wolfsbane? It couldn't be, her magic still ought to be working.

He came back with the gag, and hovered it over her, making her hiss as droplets collided with her skin. "Your Pack was full of a bunch of idiots, back in your day," he said, her pain clearly amusing him. "It was quite easy to take your magic." He held up a small wooden carving of a wolf. "It's in here. You'll get it back for the ritual."

She whimpered as he took the gag back. "What are you talking about?"

"It's been a few days," he told her thoughtfully, beginning to walk around as if he was sightseeing. "The wolfsbane kept you weak enough for me to draw it out without much effort."

"But... but how is that possible..."

"Listen, kid, you know nothing about how magic works nowadays, do you? Not long ago... and by this, I mean maybe four and a half centuries ago... witches found out about how magic could be moved and allocated to different objects and people. In your day, no witch ever rejected their nature, and no one would have dared to take it away from them. Now, many witches choose to give their magic up. They put it in a special little trinket and give it to someone. Sometimes, they take it back when they're ready to embrace it. More often than not... someone else absorbs it. You'd be surprised how many witches and wolves nowadays try to keep themselves from a supernatural life. They don't have the guts to tune into all the power inside of them. You know, certainly, how often wolves try not to trigger their curse."

He held up his hand. "I've taken the power of two witches in the past. So I consider myself an expert when it comes to making a witch give up her magic." He toyed with the little carving, moving the wolf forward so she could see it. "This was handmade quite recently to hold your magic, because you can't be trusted with it. All on Klaus's orders, of course."

She went rigid and leaned away, making Maddox laugh. "Look at you, you're so scared," he taunted. "It's funny, because no one's given a damn about you. It's almost like they all wanted you to be given to Klaus. I've put up a spell so you can't be tracked... but no one's even tried to look. No one's noticed that you're gone. Right now, you're nothing but a wimpy little werewolf. It makes sense why no one cares."

He forced the gag back around her mouth, and she let out a muffled scream, trying to clench her teeth, but he pried her mouth open to push the gag inside and ensure she couldn't talk. That way, the wolfsbane would prick against her sensitive gums, leaving her too weak to try and fight.

Maddox looked down at her as if he felt superior. If she had her magic, he wouldn't be so high and mighty. "Let me explain to you how this is going to work. You're going to suffer and cry like the child you are. I'm going to take your blood for a ritual once we bring you a little friend. Klaus will have a chat with you, and we'll see how useful you're going to be. He doesn't care whether the doppelgänger lives or dies. The spell can be done without you. So if you want to live, I suggest you think long and hard about the respect you're going to show him when he gets here. Well... not here. Today, I'm going to go get the vessel, and the next time you wake up, you'll be in a new location. Isn't that fun?"

She tried to tell him to go to Hell, but her tongue was numbed with pain, and she couldn't speak. He came closer and gripped her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Sleep now," he told her, making her suddenly feel very tired. "When you wake up, you'll feel better."

_

The next time she awoke, she wasn't alone with Maddox.

Beside her, an unconscious Katherine Pierce was tied to a chair in a similar manner, but with a gag of vervain. Across, Alaric Saltzman was in a chair, but not restrained. He, too, was unconscious.

"Morning, sunshine," said Maddox, making her flinch. He came forward, and she became aware of the fact that she no longer had a gag on her.

She was inside of an apartment, and the smell was overwhelmingly familiar. Esmeray's senses had never worked this well. She knew at once that they were in Alaric's home, because the entire place smelled like him.

"What is she doing here?" said Esmeray darkly, looking at Katherine.

Maddox chuckled. "She thought she was safe from Klaus, but she had no idea that Isobel double-crossed her, too."

"What does that mean?" Esmeray demanded. She felt stronger- maybe he'd removed the gag while she'd been asleep, and her burns had since healed. And yet, she was far too weak to try and break out.

"Kathy here lied to you, Esmeray. She told you she was trying to protect Isobel from Klaus, because he was looking for her. That was a lie. Isobel has been helping Klaus get everything he wanted. That meant you, the moonstone, and Katherine. Isn't that wonderful?"

Esmeray glared at Katherine's figure, thinking about how she deserved this. But at the same time, in the back of her mind, her conscience was telling her that no one should go through this. Either way, it didn't matter, because at the moment, Esmeray didn't care.

"Where's Klaus?" she demanded.

"He'll be here soon," said Maddox, going over to where a vase of blood had been set beside Alaric. He got to work lighting several candles, and Esmeray watched as he arranged them in a semi circle around Alaric.

Before beginning the spell, Maddox came forward, extracting a small knife. Esmeray turned away as he cut into her arm, making her cry out, her eyes stinging with tears. He took the blood on the blade and let it drip over the other vase of blood. She dared to look down at the cut, which was rather deep. In her current position, she couldn't put pressure on the wound, and with wolfsbane still coursing through her system, her healing process was even slower than it normally was.

"You know," said Maddox as he went to stand over Alaric, letting his hands hover over either side of his head. "If your parents weren't such idiots, and if they'd just been more advanced, they could have just had you put your magic away. Then, you wouldn't have been put to sleep. Trust me when I say- you missed a thousand years for nothing."

Esmeray gulped, trying to keep herself from breaking down. She was trembling in fear, anger, and pain. She wanted to tear her eyes away from the scene, but she couldn't. She felt Katherine stir beside her, and she refused to even look at her through her peripheral vision.

The vampire and the werewolf were bound tightly, staring as Maddox began to chant, "Somno Ritum Per Dax Ritum, Somno Ritum Per Dax Ritum, Somno Ritum Per Dax Ritum."

Alaric's eyes opened after about the fifth time through the sequence. Maddox went to stand in front of him, and bowed. Alaric got to his feet, casting a wicked smile toward Katherine and Esmeray when he saw them.

Katherine thrashed in her chair, trying to get to the door, but she was bound too tightly. Esmeray was stiff as a board, not daring to move, but not peeling her gaze away from him. She tried not to blink, as if challenging him, but she wasn't even the first one he moved to.

He stopped in front of Katherine, looking at her triumphantly. "Zdravei, Katerina." He removed the vervain gag and tossed it aside before taking her face in his hands. "I have missed you."

Katherine's eyes went wide, and she tried to lean away, but he held her cheeks hard. "Klaus," she gasped, looking at him.

"Very good," he told her, pressing his thumbs over her throat, which made her try even harder to get away. He detained her firmly and looked into her eyes. "Where are your manners, Katerina? Remain still, and be quiet. You're not the most important one in the room, love."

He released her and turned his attention to Esmeray. She stared at him, and he smirked, kneeling in front of her. Her breathing quickened, thinking her was going to just kill her in that moment. Instead, he leaned toward where the blood was leaking from her arm and dragged his tongue across the wound. At this, her head immediately snapped to the side, and she was unable to stop the tears from flowing down her face. She stifled a sob, and he started to laugh.

"You need not fear me, love," he said, reaching his hand up to make her look at him. She tried to kick out, but he caught her thigh, jabbing his fingers against one of her pressure points, making her gasp and nearly blackout. "If I were in my Original body right now," he purred, seeing her slumping back from how dizzy she got, "I'd snap your femur without much effort. Sit still. I need you alive. I can't compel you... but I can hurt you, and I don't want to have to do that. Behave."

He paused for a moment, looking at her as if wondering how else he wanted to torment her. "Maddox," he said. "Leave us alone."

Maddox nodded and flicked his wrist, snapping Katherine's neck before he picked up the vase of blood and walking out the door, shutting it behind him.

Klaus stood up, and tucked his hands behind his back, beginning to walk around. "I would definitely prefer to do this in my real body," he mused. "Alas, we're not at that point yet."

Esmeray watched with a hard expression as he picked up several objects around him, observing them curiously. "I wondered for years, whether the legend could possibly be true," he continued, going to the kitchen and looking into some of the cabinets. "If you ever heard of the sun and moon curse... that was quite fake. My brother and I crafted it... a falsehood to ensure that this ritual would eventually be able to take place. I admit, I'm disappointed by how long it's taken. But alas... even Katerina could not delay the inevitable."

He came back toward her. "It seemed impossible that you actually existed. A single piece of parchment spoke of a wolf-witch who had vanished. Elijah determined that you were the prime candidate to perform the spell. You know..." he chuckled lightly, "the legend called you a 'werewitch.' That terminology is... incorrect. The 'were' part of werewolf means 'man.' Werewitch is redundant, and doesn't actually mean 'wolf-witch.' Alas, witchwolf and wolfwitch sound quite stupid. Thus... you are essentially the Original Werewitch. The only one of your kind. Wolves no longer marry witches. The three factions remain... quite separate."

He stood over her, urging her to look at him. "Tell me your story," he prompted. "Enlighten me on how you came to exist."

She hadn't wanted to, but he had moved over to the kitchen, grabbing a knife, and for the sake of remaining alive, she spilled everything. She didn't know if he could go into her mind while being in Alaric's body. He could compel, and that was concerning enough. If he went into her mind and saw Elijah... she didn't want to know what would happen when he found out his brother was trying to get him killed.

He remained emotionless as she spoke. He sat in a chair across from her, listening and nodding her head every now and then. At last, when she was done, he leaned forward. "You knew the Alphas of the other six packs," he said, narrowing his eyes.

"I did," she said a bit shakily, thinking that he'd kill her now that he had information. "I-I knew... your father."

Klaus didn't react, and she continued to speak. "H-His name was A-Ansel," she stammered. "I... I d-don't know if you k-knew that..." she sniffled, trying not to cry again. "H-He was p-proud of you... I-I know that..." She wanted to add, 'He'd be ashamed of you now,' but she decided that she valued her life too much to be stupid enough to anger him while they were on such a sensitive topic.

"Mikael killed him," said Klaus blandly. "He decimated half of the North East Atlantic Pack."

"A-And some of the P-Poldarks," she noted. "Who... who went to h-help." She gulped. "Mikael killed... my father's best f-friend. He was like an u-uncle to me."

Klaus decided he didn't want to talk about this anymore. He looked down at the still unhealed cut on her arm. "You are weak despite your strengths," he observed. "Wolfsbane affects you more. You heal very slowly. With your magic inside of you, you become a ticking time bomb. And you say that your transformations happen very slowly."

"Y-Yes," she admitted. "I-I've never been able to walk around as a w-wolf."

"Elaborate, love."

Esmeray shuddered slightly. "It... it takes me over seven hours to turn. O-Once I manage... I'm a-always too weak to move. I sleep. I wake, and try to turn back, and I often can't. I sleep again from the exhaustion. I'll u-usually wake up once more... a day or two later, back in my h-human form."

Klaus did not respond, and went into the kitchen, retrieving two glasses. He poured himself some water and drank, before setting the glass beside his chair. He brought over the other glass and extracted the knife, cutting into Katherine's arm and letting some of her blood drip in. She began to heal, and Klaus brought the cup to Esmeray's mouth.

"What are you doing?" she whispered unsteadily.

"Drink, you'll heal," he said, nodding to the cut on her own arm.

He wasn't going to take no for an answer. She parted her lips, staring at him as he tilted the glass to let her drink. She sipped only a bit before he removed the glass and went back to sit down, finishing the rest of the blood, then switching back to the water, as if he was secretly dehydrated from possessing someone else's body but didn't want to admit it.

"I have a question," he said, as though they were having a casual meeting at a coffee shop to perform a sort of interview. "What do you think will happen if I kill you right now?"

Esmeray was stunned. "I-I expect I'd return a vampire," she whispered.

"Close," he said, crossing his arms. "You see, love, I reckon you'll be a hybrid like me. A wolf and a vampire."

"I don't want that," she said honestly, her body beginning to tremble when he stood back up. Was he really intending to kill her now?

"And what do you think would happen if I gave you back your magic before killing you?" He moved to the shelf behind her and plucked up the wooden wolf. "I carved this, by the way, before I sent Maddox to retrieve you."

Esmeray stared down at the floor, her heart thumping hard in her chest. "I'd still be a hybrid like you," she whispered. "A person can't be a vampire and a witch."

"Correct," he told her. "But I assure you... they can be. There just aren't any around anymore. To be a vampire and a witch... a heretic, they're called... you need special circumstances. None of them apply to you. You were born with your magic. So yes... if I ever feed you vampire blood and kill you, you'll lose your magic permanently, and you'll be a vampire and a werewolf. Do you like the sound of that?"

She shook her head, whimpering as he let his fingers graze over her jaw as he walked behind her. "No?" he asked. "Do tell."

"I-I don't w-want to be a v-vampire," she started to sob. At least when she had her magic and she got angry, she could rely on it to bail her out of a bad situation. She didn't exactly hold vampires on a pedestal after knowing that they had made werewolves nearly be extinct.

"Shh, shh," he said, petting her head as though she was actually a dog. "Not to worry, love, I don't want to kill you. I certainly don't want to make you a hybrid like me. You're special. While I will be able to sire my own hybrids once I am free of my curse, you will never be able to make someone like you unless you birth a child with either a wolf or a witch... and even then, there's no guarantee that it would work. I like you the way you are. You're an asset."

He came to stand in front of her, and knelt once more, removing the bindings on her wrists. She gasped, flexing her fingers and rubbing her hands, now seeing that the cut on her arm was gone. He offered her his hand, but she didn't take it. He simply smiled and stepped back. "Go on, stretch your legs," he prompted.

Thinking it was a trap, she remained rooted to the spot. "Fine by me, silly girl, I'll just enjoy all this walking space myself," he said, going to stand by the window. "Let me explain my intentions. You will be given your magic back in order to perform the ritual so that the doppelgänger can live, which would limit any resistance."

"You'd trust me with my magic back?" she scoffed, getting up slowly. Maybe she could snap his neck...

"I wouldn't try anything, if I were you," he said, as if he knew what she was thinking. "If you kill this body, I'll just choose a new one. It'll either be you or Katerina."

She stopped her train of thought, and he continued, "I have a proposition for you, to motivate you to be a good girl." He turned to face her and walked over to her, craning his neck down to look at her. "I can give you what you've always wanted. Control over both your witch and wolf nature."

Esmeray's breath hitched, and he smiled, realizing that he'd struck gold. "Yes, I know of a ritual that will help you," he said. "You will have the ability to be both a wolf and a witch without having to put your magic away. It's what you deserve. You say your witch nature is what suppresses your wolf nature. Perhaps, in the past, your Pack sought to bind your witch nature entirely, but they didn't know how, because nature would not have wanted it to be so. This ritual would place only a slight binding. It would be enough to allow you full control of your wolf nature. That would mean fairly painless and quick transformation. Faster healing. Less sensitivity to wolfsbane- though, of course, this would still be a weakness for you. You'd practically still be just as powerful as you've always been. The temper tantrums wouldn't be a problem. Your magic wouldn't be wrecking every sidewalk you walk on while angry or distressed."

"What's the price?" she asked slowly.

"All I ask is that, on the day of the full moon when I return your magic to you, you do nothing to sabotage the ritual. I will have one of my witches slow down your transformation to allow you to perform it. As soon as you begin to transform, so will I, and my binding will be gone. It will be the last time you ever have to spend nine hours in agony. Perhaps your people thought I would see you as competition, but that is rather foolish, since you cannot make hybrids of your own. You'd merely be a resource. I guarantee you will have free will. I might simply ask you for a favor every now and then."

"You mean... I wouldn't have to work for you?"

"Not at all. Just this one time. Contrary to what you might believe, I don't seek to torture a fellow outcast. The world does not respect those of us that are different, and it will be difficult enough for you to fit into the supernatural world when you can't control yourself. Do me this one major favor and I will help you be free of your torment."

He put one hand under her chin, tilting her to face him. "Do we have a deal, Esmeray?" he asked with a wicked smile.

She gulped, and nodded. "We do," she said softly.

"Good girl," he told her, releasing her and holding the little wooden wolf up for her to see before tucking it into his pocket. "Now, to the couch, rest up. So long as you behave, you needn't feel like a prisoner."

Klaus walked past her, still smirking. "Sweet dreams, my little werewitch."