Esmeray went into the Bayou that weekend.

Klaus had recommended she be away from New Orleans for the day. Apparently, the body Rebekah was inhabiting belonged to an Eva Sinclair, who had committed atrocious crimes against the witch community. Klaus thought it best for Esmeray to be away from any further conflict with the witches, and the werewitch wasn't about to complain.

Additionally, Freya had been invited to brunch, and Klaus, knowing he wasn't about to be very friendly with his long-lost sister, didn't wish for Esmeray to be in the middle of another family squabble.

So she, Hayley, Jackson, Hope, and the other wolves went out to the Crescent encampment. Esmeray got to work right away helping to fix up some of the homes, since her previous mini-house idea hadn't been implemented due to her departure from the state after Hope's birth. She then transitioned into playing with the wolf kids while the two Alphas spent time with Hope and Mary. Afterwards, she'd supervised some games for the older wolves who were still testing out the new abilities that'd been granted to them at the wedding. She had a good time sparring with them, and proving that her strength had increased tenfold.

Her phone rang in the afternoon. "Hello, Rebekah," said Esmeray as she answered. "How are things with Freya?"

"That's the problem," she said nervously. "I don't even know. Something's wrong with me, Esme. I was on my way there, and I just... blacked out. I'm back in the Cemetery with Davina, and she's trying to help me with a spell. I think this Eva woman is trying to take control of her body again."

"I'm on my way," said Esmeray, gathering her things. "Thank goodness for wolf speed, I don't need a car to get there. See you in about five minutes."

She hung up, and five minutes later, was at the entrance of the Claire tomb, where Kol and a previous Claire witch had created a sort of spell laboratory in the 1900s. There were materials in there that Esmeray had only ever seen through Klaus's memories, and a massive stack of spellbooks beside the supply cabinet.

"There you are," said Rebekah in relief. She was sitting nervously on a chair while Davina perused through one of the grimoires.

"What have they told you so far about what Eva did?" asked Esmeray as she went to give Davina a hug.

"Something about harming some children," said Rebekah. "I dunno what the bloody hell that means. They don't appear to be dead, just missing."

"Yikes," said Esmeray, scrunching up her nose. "I need to do a spell to sort through Eva's mind, and if she's hiding these kids, it might hurt a bit when I extract the information."

She came to stand behind her, letting her hands hover over her head. "Quaerer sinnen adskilte," she whispered. "Søg animi mens vivit seorsum."

Rebekah let out a grunt, digging her own nails into her thighs. "LET GO OF ME!" she screeched, her eyes wild as she turned to face Esmeray. "You will not find them!"

"I already did," said Esmeray calmly as Davina moved away, thinking Rebekah had gone feral. "Hello, Eva."

The woman looked like she was about to pounce on her and try to claw her to shreds. "You're bluffing!" she said accusingly. "You know nothing! I am channeling their power, you can't get past the barriers I put up!"

"That's where you're wrong," said the werewitch, crossing her arms as if she was bored. "I know you have them in the warehouse district. And I know you've linked yourself to them. Both are a simple fix." She flicked her wrist, and Eva was slammed back into the chair, unable to move. Esmeray put her hand on the back of the woman's neck. "Falla tankerne captionem mente."

Davina came to catch Rebekah as she careened forward, unconscious. "What did you do?" the girl asked worriedly.

"Shut Eva away, deep in her own subconscious," said Esmeray. "She can't regain control. What we need to do now is unlink her from those kids. Then, we can tell the witches where to find them." She gestured for Davina to help her pick the body up so they could lay her down on one of the empty tables.

"Do we need a big ball of twine to do the unlinking?" asked Davina, clearly recalling when she'd unlinked Hayley from Sophie Deveraux.

"Nah," said Esmeray, grinning to herself in a slight moment of pride. She flexed her own fingers before laughing to herself. "Holy shit, that was a rush. I did that way faster than I normally could." She put both hands over Rebekah's forehead. "Fjerne lanken offren, ta bort koble tilknytning."

Rebekah shot up with a gasp, looking a bit panicked, but otherwise fine. "What the bloody hell was that?!" she said, rubbing her arms as if she was feeling bugs crawling over her.

"I just unlinked the body from the kids Eva kidnapped," Esmeray told her. "Probably felt like a creepy crawling sensation because their power was leaving you." She pulled out her phone. "I'll have Gia tell Josephine where to find the kids. You're good to go and see your sister."

She was surprised to be pulled into a hug by Rebekah. All the same, she hugged back, and watched her leave the tomb.

"So," Esmeray said once she tucked her phone away. "How have you been, Davina?"

The young witch looked to her feet. "Busy, mostly. I've been trying to work on a Resurrection Spell for Kol."

"Be careful with those," Esmeray warned. "He may be in the Ancestral well, but those things take a lot of power. I don't even know if I'd be able to do one of those in one go. Possibly, but it's dark magic, and my body is more resistant than yours. I don't know any Resurrection Spells of my own— that wasn't something we did in my Pack. But I can help you cast the spell once you have it ready, and give input where it's needed. I'm sure, if things go well with Freya, she'll be willing to help. He is her brother, after all, and she'll want to meet him."

Davina offered her a smile. "I'd appreciate that. If you and Freya help me, Kol will be able to come back." She then cocked her head in a curious manner. "How have you been? I've heard... interesting things around the Quarter. Mostly gossip."

"Yeah, I'm guessing everyone is wanting to talk about my powers and what I will or won't do with them."

"Not just that— I heard you're apparently trying to have a baby with Klaus."

"Oh." She turned red. "Yeah, I am. It... hasn't worked."

Davina looked sad. "I'm sorry to hear that. I could try to help out with a spell, if you need it. I don't know if doing a spell on yourself will help."

"I'll let you know if I do try that," Esmeray said, giving her a grateful look.

But there was no reason to try that, at least, not in the near future.

"You want me to bind you again?" she asked Klaus quietly in the evening, once Freya had left. "But... why?"

His hand was shaking as he ran it through his hair. "The things Freya told us about Dahlia. It is too great a risk."

"I was under the impression you still didn't trust her, what with murdering her to test out her immortality claim."

"I do not trust her because she and I are too similar, and I see aspects of myself there that make the paranoia... worse. But she showed me her memories, love, and it... it is horrific. Dahlia performed a Connective Spell on her, similar to what Esther did to you. Except, with Freya, she needn't be in a comatose state while being channeled. She could walk around perfectly fine, and Dahlia would take her power while Freya still had sufficient strength to do what she needed to do. The bit about sleeping for a hundred years was merely to preserve their youth, nothing more. Esther had to keep you asleep and hardly conscious to draw your magic, and she left you incredibly weak afterward."

"Freya and I can take on Dahlia," said Esmeray, her eyes beginning to tear up. "Mikael is getting her the materials we need for that."

"Dahlia is coming, love, and it is not safe. One thing is clear— she is a power-hungry lunatic who unfortunately knows spells that even my own mother did not. I have faith that you can defeat her, given the right materials. But there are many things we do not know about how a pregnancy would work, and that is what I fear. What if a child would diminish your magic? Or what if it amplifies it to a point where you can no longer control it? What if certain spells put you at risk of miscarrying? Dahlia wishes to take Hope, and she will slaughter you if you get in her way. We ought to wait, love. I know it is not what you wish to hear, but I fear for your safety and that of our future child."

She started to sob, and covered her face, knowing he was right. "That's what Finn meant, isn't it?" she whispered, mostly to herself.

"You speak of me being your family," he told her. "You've embedded yourself too deep into the Mikaelson household and it will get you killed. I remember the little girl you once were, the one time I saw you in my youth. I recall that innocence, and it would be blatant neglect if I let you get hurt. I wish to protect you, Esmeray. It's all I've ever wanted for you. You are from my time and you deserve better than what Niklaus can offer you. There are things I cannot tell you, but—"

"Why can't you tell me, Finn?"

"Certain knowledge would only put you in further danger. What you need to understand is that being with Niklaus will put you in harm's way. If you two were to ever have a child of your own, it would only bring chaos."

"What do you mean, love?" asked Klaus, confused.

"He told me if you and I had a child, it would bring chaos. He was talking about Dahlia. If we had a kid, it would be your firstborn with me. Another tribrid, perhaps even more powerful than Hope. Dahlia would want it. He was trying to get me to leave you so that I wouldn't end up pregnant." She wiped her eyes, sniffling as she looked down. "Alright. I'll bind you."

Klaus felt himself wanting to cry at the sight of her so distraught. They'd both gotten their hopes up, thinking they could have a child together, and now, it all felt like it had been for nothing. It didn't seem like the time would ever be right for them.

"I'm sorry, love," he said, pulling her into a hug. "I swear to you, the instant Dahlia is vanquished, we will have a child."

She was miserable for days after she bound him, and it didn't help that he was in a foul mood.

Freya was getting on his nerves. She was so meddlesome, already thinking herself as part of the family. She asked about Hope and Esmeray and Hayley as if she already knew them and wanted to see how they were doing. Klaus wanted to snap at her that it was because of her that Esmeray was feeling so sad. If she hadn't ever existed, Dahlia would not have been a problem.

But instead of telling her, he just took her to see Esther, under the ruse that he wanted Freya to demand for Esther to give them spells that could be useful against Dahlia. In reality, he sought to witness the discord that would happen when mother and daughter reunited. That made him feel better.

Esmeray knew Klaus wasn't annoyed with her, but she still felt very frustrated and hurt that he was making himself scarce. She understood that he thought he'd only hurt her more if he stayed, because his bad mood would lead him to snap at her. She didn't care about that, she just wanted his company.

Instead, she resorted to spending her time with Davina, working on Kol's Resurrection Spell. She'd even gotten to meet Vincent Griffith, the man whose body Finn had been inhabiting. He seemed nice, he was just very adamant about his dislike for vampires.

More time passed, and it was leaving Esmeray increasingly nervous.

She kept thinking Dahlia was behind her whenever she walked out in the streets. It had been a little over a month since the wedding, and now that she was used to her constantly heightened senses, her own paranoia was making her think someone was watching her every time she turned a corner.

At the very least, she was used to her powers, and she was happy to hear that back in Mystic Falls, Damon and Stefan were with their mother, and Alaric was apparently going to get married to a doctor named Jo, who was pregnant. Esmeray and Damon had made several jokes about a shotgun wedding, but Alaric insisted that he had been planning to propose to Jo before they found out she was pregnant.

"I demand a seat next to Damon, that's all I ask," Esmeray had told him on call. "I know he's going to be your best man but he has to sit down somewhere, and I want the seat next to him."

"Done," said Alaric, who apparently, was working on a seating chart. "Would it be too much to ask for you to get there a few days early so that you can help decorate? I think Caroline might prefer you and your magic to me with my... zero powers."

"Ah, I forget that you're not an Original anymore. At least it must be nice, you know, being able to have a kid again."

Alaric could hear the longing in her voice. "You'll have a kid of your own soon, I know it. Just be prepared for playdates with my kid. Damon can be there, too, but we'll have to supervise them, otherwise, their first words will be something vulgar."

Esmeray let out a light laugh. "That's true. I don't want my future kid saying 'fuck you' before it's a year old."

She felt empty, too. Intimacy wasn't the same between her and Klaus anymore. She kept expecting something to come out of it, but that was impossible, because he was bound. They stopped sleeping with one another and resorted to merely sleeping beside each other, mostly with Klaus holding her against his body and whispering reassuring things in her ear. But every morning, he was gone before she woke, trying desperately to fix things quickly so that Dahlia could be defeated, and they could have their child. And waking up without him there was starting to take a toll on her, more so than the constant thought of her body lacking a tiny inhabitant.

"Good morning," she mumbled at the end of the fourth week. One bloody month since the wedding, and Dahlia hadn't shown her face.

"Good morning, love," he said, seeing how unmotivated she looked as she sat down to have her breakfast. She was eating less than usual, that much was obvious. "How about I go and fetch you some beignets to add to your plate?"

"If you want," she said, shrugging.

"Only if you'd like me to."

"You should only go if you want to."

Elijah stepped into the room, clearing his throat. "Good morning to the two of you," he said, nodding at the both of them.

"To what do we owe the pleasure of your presence?" asked Klaus. "Have you finally gotten over Hayley?"

Elijah blinked, as if restraining himself from saying something particularly vile. "Not at all. I simply thought to check on the both of you, because it is stunningly obvious to everyone in the household that you are both miserable."

Klaus scoffed. "Do not tell me you wish to implant yourself as our therapist."

"Niklaus, what you both need is action," said Elijah. "Not therapy. You are both fighters, and weeks of sitting inside, waiting for an enemy that has not arrived, is ruining your morale." He faced Esmeray. "I cannot begin to imagine the pain you feel. I know how badly you wanted a child, and I give you my word that I will do whatever it takes to rid ourselves of Dahlia so that you are free to become a mother without worrying that your child will be taken from you."

Esmeray let out a shaky sigh. "If only she'd show her face," she said, stabbing her fork into her french toast. "I just want to rip her to shreds and be done with it. She knows what she's doing, making us wait. She's trying to destroy us psychologically."

Klaus clenched his fist. "I promise you, love, you will have her head handed to you on a silver platter," he said, and for the first time in weeks, he saw her eyes light up. He moved to sit directly beside her, and Elijah, pleased with himself, took his leave. Klaus took her hand and brought it to his lips. "I apologize for my distance, love. I grow increasingly annoyed with the situation and I only wished to keep myself from hurting you with vile words. I realize now that what you needed was my presence, regardless of my mood. I was a fool for not thinking that my mood would have improved significantly, had I been at your side."

"Please don't leave me again," she whispered, pulling him in for a kiss. "I don't want to be alone all the time. We both want a kid and we're both sad it couldn't happen, and we need to be there for each other. We can't take Dahlia down if we don't work together."

There was a 'woosh,' and Elijah came running back into the room. "Where is Hayley?" he said, looking alarmed. "She is not here, and neither are Hope and Jackson."

Klaus stood up abruptly, and sped out the door, followed by Elijah. Esmeray frowned to herself and went to the wolves that were in the courtyard. Obviously, Elijah hadn't asked them any questions. "Hey," she said, waving at them. "Did Jackson and Hayley tell you where they were going?"

"Oh, yeah," said Jerick. "They were going for a walk."

Esmeray pulled out her phone to text Klaus, but just as she was about to send him a message, Elijah let her know that they'd found them.

"Isn't that the point of a fortress?" said Klaus angrily once they were back. Apparently, the time had come. Dahlia was in New Orleans. "It does a better job of protecting you when you stay within its walls?"

"Okay! We get it," snapped Hayley, looking embarrassed. "Now, let's just figure out what the hell we're gonna do."

Klaus began to shout. "What I would like to do is take a strong leash—"

"Children, please," Elijah interrupted as Esmeray moved to Klaus, rubbing his arm to try and calm him down. "Niklaus, your ire is justified. However, Hayley is quite right. We need to find a new strategy. Freya, if you please?"

The eldest Mikaelson looked around at them, trembling slightly from the realization that her aunt was nearby. "The spell you described... Dahlia calls it 'kenning—' using proxies to watch her enemies from afar. But, I've never seen it done on quite this scale."

"You're saying everyone around you just stared at you?" Esmeray asked the young hybrid, to confirm.

Hayley nodded. "Yep. So, basically every Hurricane-chugging, boob-flashing tourist on Bourbon Street is a potential spy."

Freya clapped her hands together. "The good news is, I know a little about how her magic works." She turned to the table behind her and brought forth a silver tea kettle that had six tea cups full of a murky brown liquid. "This tonic will at least prevent her from using any of us."

Rebekah and Freya were the first to take their cups. "Well, come on!" the youngest Mikaelson encouraged. "This should work like a charm!"

Hayley and Esmeray didn't look too eager, but they took a cup as well, as did Elijah. Klaus, on the other hand, just watched as the five drank their tea.

"Niklaus," said Elijah in annoyance, when he offered the sixth teacup to his brother and he did not take it. "Is there something you wish to contribute?"

Klaus shrugged. "I prefer biscuits with my tea."

Elijah rolled his eyes, setting the cup down. "Of course."

"Besides," said Klaus, "our minds are far too strong to be invaded by kenning spells."

Esmeray shot him a cheeky smile. "That's cute, but can you drink the tea just to be safe? If I have enough power to get into your mind, she will, too."

Klaus couldn't argue with that logic. Like a child, he made a face before taking the teacup and downing it.

"Thank you," Esmeray chirped, and the two Mikaelson sisters refrained from laughing.

"What we experienced was a test," said Klaus, eager to get back to the subject at hand. "Dahlia is watching to see how we respond to aggression. She's preparing for battle. My guess is sooner, rather than later."

"Well," said Hayley, "if she was watching us, she would know that we have our own army."

"No offense to the wolves out there," countered Esmeray, "but that's not the kind of army that Dahlia would be afraid of." She looked at Elijah and Klaus. "Like I said earlier, she's trying to destroy us psychologically. She knows where we are but she's not about to walk through the doors— she wants to play by her rules and lure us out. We don't know what she'll think to do, but we do know that she is wicked and wickedly powerful."

"What we need," mused Elijah, "is to create a new stronghold. Something that Dahlia knows nothing about. A sanctuary from any witchcraft."

"That's a fine strategy," said Freya. "I offer another— we can use Jackson to trace her magic back to its source. Find out exactly where she is."

They all seemed to subconsciously turn to Hayley, who after a moment, gave a sigh. "Fine. Do it."

"Good," said Klaus pleasantly. "Then it's settled. Off you pop to your respective tasks! Me? I've always been of the opinion that the best defense is a good offense. So, I'm going to find a way to murder that godforsaken witch."

He pecked Esmeray on the lips before speeding out of the Compound.