They found Marcel with a bottle of whiskey.

Davina's body had been covered with a sheet and left in the ballroom. Yara had only taken a second to confirm her death, containing her grief until she sped up to the study, reaching out to hug Marcel, who, to her surprise, immediately pushed her away.

She flinched as he threw the bottle across the room, letting it shatter against the wall. "I did everything you asked," he said, jabbing a finger toward Elijah, who had walked in with them. "I joined your stupid cult, I left my friends in the dust because that's what you needed."

"Marcel," started Klaus.

"I fought for Hope!" continued Marcel. "I kept white oak from piercing your cold, black heart. I did everything."

"I know, my boy," said Yara weakly.

"No, you don't. You don't!"

"Marcel, he had no choice," Klaus tried to say.

He wouldn't hear it. "Oh they were right about you yeah, Aurora, Tristan, Lucien. Anybody who's not your family, is nothing to you. Nothing."

"Marcellus, you are family," insisted Elijah.

"No I'm not. Not anymore. Never again. I am not your family! Yara is the only one who ever really gave a damn about me. It's too bad she couldn't extend that to Davina."

Yara stared at her feet as he stormed past them. Klaus tried to yell after him, tried to make sure he knew that Yara had fought for Davina's life.

But had she, really?

"I knew someone was going to have to die for us to live," she said, sinking into a chair. "I understand what had to be done and why. I just... I didn't want it to be Davina. If it had to be someone, it should've been someone else's kid, some adult who is awful and... god, none of it makes it any better. We're selfish people. We're horrible. We're monsters."

"Don't say that." Klaus knelt in front of her. "You told them not to. You pleaded."

"We did what had to be done," whispered Elijah behind them.

Yara motioned for Klaus to give her space. "We failed him! We failed Davina. She was just a kid. She never wronged us, she only ever came to our aid and she took care of Hope. I could have left immediately to find an alternative. B-But I chose Rebekah over her, all of us did."

"She's our sister," said Elijah. "Of course we–"

"I know that! I agree, of course we would. I hate to admit it but yes, in that moment, Rebekah was more important to me, Klaus was more important to me. I shiver to think what would have happened to both of them if I hadn't gone. If you hadn't..." she put a hand on her forehead. "You saved us, but at what cost? Was it worth Davina's life? We think so, but Davina was family. And we didn't value her that way today. God, we should have taken a different approach, we should have done something else. Surely there was a way to prioritize them both. If we'd stop to think..."

"There was no time. And it has been done."

"I know. I know, and we have to live with that. But I hate it. I hate what we allowed, I hate that deep down, he's right. We haven't done enough lately to treat him like part of our family. With The Strix there was this divide. I never wanted him in that organization and it... it's torn us apart. Davina was shunned and I should have dragged her here kicking and screaming to keep an eye on her but I only tried to nudge from afar because I prioritized this family. Without realizing I can't pick and choose because Marcel and Davina were our family too. My family."

Their dinner was silent. Kol was in a bad mood; apparently he and Vincent had been knocked out to keep them from interfering. Finn had watched with a grimace on his face and stood idly by when Elijah snapped Marcel's neck before he could hurt Freya.

And it was clear that Elijah and Freya were feeling guilty.

"Our family is safe," said Freya weakly, coming to say goodnight when she found Yara holding Hope and once again failing to get in contact with Marcel.

"Our family is fractured," muttered Klaus from the rocking chair, holding his replacement chess piece. "There is no victory to celebrate today, my demons won."

"Lucien is not your demon. You may have sired him but you did not create that monster."

"Today I fear we may have created a new monster entirely."

Marcel wasn't at his loft when Yara went calling with muffins. He wasn't at the Davilla Estate, either. She made an appearance at Davina's funeral along with Kol (Klaus hadn't been willing to go), but Marcel acted like she wasn't even there.

"This has to stop," said Klaus, following after her when she prepared a lunch for Marcel, intending to walk it over to his loft. "Love, let me go."

"He won't talk to me, he won't even look at me!" she said miserably. "I don't want to just give him his space and let it solidify. Then we won't be close ever again. I need him to know how horrible we feel, Klaus."

"Love, listen to me. He knows. He is upset and he is being cold with the entire family, but Marcel could never stop loving you. Perhaps he pushes you away because you will encourage him to consider his emotions. You will encourage him to let them out, to cry. Right now he may not need or want his mother to console him."

"Then you ought not go either," said Elijah from the door. "Give him time, both of you."

"Time will not bring Davina back," argued Klaus. "The one chance to save her was ruined by us for our ends. Marcel's anger is justified. It's best I reach out to him before that anger hardens into something worse. If he will not see Yara, he will have to speak with me."

Despite his wishes, Yara tagged along, if only to make sure that whatever Klaus's plan was, she ensure Marcel wasn't forced into a chat he wasn't ready to have.

"Missed you at Davina's memorial," Marcel said tightly when he heard Klaus walk in first. "I'm surprised Yara didn't drag you with her."

Klaus frowned. "I thought my presence there would be inappropriate."

"Because you and your family threw her to the wolves? Yeah. You probably made the right call. But at least Yara was brave enough to show her face. At least she advocated for her."

"So did Klaus," whispered Yara. "My boy, I swear to you, we didn't want this. I know how much you loved her, I know what this loss feels like. And I know nothing we say might may this less difficult for you. But you must know we are so, so, so very sorry that this was the outcome. We didn't plan ahead. We made a choice and Davina suffered for it and I... I never would have wished this for her, she was a sweet girl and if there is any way she can be returned even now, I will find it, I swear to you."

"I already had a chance to save her," said Marcel coldly. "To bring her back. But no. The Mikaelsons decided that couldn't happen. Not if it was inconvenient for them. It seems you're always willing to watch the world burn, long as you survive."

"Lucien had to die," said Klaus more aggressively. "He would have destroyed us all."

"Yeah, thanks to his vendetta against you."

"His motive is not the issue. He was a threat. We responded in kind. Had Freya the power to kill Lucien, and save Davina, she would have."

"She could have, it's not like she was the only Mikaelson witch. Even Kol and Finn didn't think it right, you know how frustrating that is? Am I supposed to just nod and accept what happened? We share a bourbon, and I just–" he grabbed the nearest bottle of bourbon and smashed it against the wall, too. "Shrug it off? Davina had to die, what a shame, but there was no other choice."

"There wasn't," said Klaus quietly.

Marcel scoffed. "What am I to you, Klaus? Because I know what I am to Yara. She's always made that clear. But you? Am I your friend? Your sidekick? I mean, at first, I was a charity case. We all know that. How about now? Am I your ally? 'Cause you sure as hell don't treat me like one."

"You and I are bonded by blood. And yes, we quarrel, but that is what family does."

"Oh, okay. So I'm family. No. I don't see it. Once upon a time, you were my mentor, my savior. My sire. But you've never been my brother. And now... now you're nothing to me."

"He's not your brother," whispered Yara. "He's your father just as I am your mother. And we failed you, Marcel, we did. You are family and we didn't do a good enough job of showing you that."

"Yeah, Yara, I see what that means coming from you. I believe it. I see the grief in your eyes, I see that you are sorry. It's why I don't feel like talking– we don't need to. From you, I need space. From him–" he gestured to Klaus, "I want answers. Because all I see is someone making excuses for what his siblings did. A man who doesn't treat me like I'm his son the way you have. So how am I supposed to believe that he sees me as family?"

"Marcellus, just give me one last chance to prove you wrong," pleaded Klaus. "Come with me."

Marcel considered it, and followed after him, the two leaving Yara to stand alone in his loft.

She didn't wish to linger in the Compound. Kol wasn't here; he and Vincent were apparently working with Josh and Aiden to blow up the Ancestral Well and get rid of the Ancestors' influence in New Orleans. Gia had returned and most likely had gone out for a long walk to talk to Elijah about what'd happened. Freya and Finn, she had no idea of, but she suspected something along those same lines; after all, the eldest Mikaelson was clearly feeling the most upset about what she'd done. Or perhaps they were getting rid of Aurora's body; Elijah had ripped her heart out after Freya had extracted the serum. At least, that was what it had sounded like from upstairs.

She took Hope with her back to Marcel's loft, the two playing on the floor while they waited for Klaus to come back. She had no idea where they'd gone or what they intended to talk about, but she knew that alone, it was more likely Klaus could really show Marcel how much he valued him. It was no secret to anyone that Yara had always been more motherly, more committed to her role as a parental figure, while Klaus had quickly transitioned to being far more friendly as soon as Marcel was of age.

She felt she knew why. Klaus had had a horrible example of what a father should be, lasting until only shortly after he turned. He followed Yara's lead when Marcel was a little boy needing guidance and a lot of attention, but as soon as he was independent, he'd stepped back. Thought of him as a son but didn't continue to make it as obvious as Yara did.

She'd had a mother until she was nearly thirty, she'd been a governess to other children before Marcel. And she wasn't shy about expressing emotions the way Klaus was. She didn't feel ashamed of it. She'd never been beaten because she cried, and society had more or less allowed a woman to express her emotions while men were judged. Klaus hated being judged, he hated being seen as weak.

Did he think it was a weakness to keep treating Marcel like a son?

It had grown dark outside, and they still weren't back. No one was responding to her texts. Whatever they were talking about, it was clearly taking awhile. Hope was beginning to fuss, and Yara had no choice but to return to the Compound, having eaten the lunch she'd packed for Marcel.

She heard them arriving, and rushed down after leaving Hope with a maid. She stopped in her tracks when she saw it was Elijah and Klaus arriving, not Marcel and Klaus.

"Where is he?" she asked in a small voice, stopping in her tracks when she saw Elijah's hand covered in blood. Klaus was pale, staring ahead and seeing nothing. "No. No."

"Freya had a vision," said Elijah quietly. "Vincent gave him the serum he extracted from Aurora. He would have become a beast like Lucien..."

"No," Yara continued to whimper, sinking to the floor. "But– but why– but how–"

"He was our friend, our family, but the moment Davina was lost, he became a foe, and a formidable one at that. He was the leader of The Strix, entrusted with all our secrets and then, we betrayed him. I had no choice."

"Do you really believe that?" said Klaus numbly, stopping beside Yara, who was struggling to breathe.

"He wouldn't have taken it," she whispered, putting a hand on her chest, fearing her heart might jump out on its own. "He didn't need to, he– he must have– he wanted to test you and it– you– and even if he had taken it, there is no way he would have hurt us... he wouldn't... oh my god. Oh my god. Where is he? His body..."

"The current took him," said Klaus softly.

A sob tore out. "What did you do?" she croaked to Elijah. "What did you do to my boy?"

"Forgive me," said Elijah, eyes watering when he saw her covering her face. "I took his life."

Klaus fell to the floor, hugging Yara to his chest as she let out a pained scream, muffled against his shirt. "My boy," she cried, failing to claw her way out of his hold as he held back tears of his own. "My baby. Please no, please no. I can't do this again. I can't– I can't–"

He looked up as Freya, Finn, and Kol came to investigate. Yara was inconsolable, cries echoing through the entire Compound despite how hard Klaus was pressing her against him.

No one could contain her screams, no one could rest when she was sobbing on the courtyard floor.

The first time she thought Marcel dead, she was frozen for a while in her grief before the anger burst out. This time, she was too exhausted to move. She cried continuously until there was nothing left to give, and when she had curled up on the floor, hugging herself, she didn't lash out. Klaus carried her up to his room, tending to Hope (who was crying her eyes out, too, at the sound of her mother in pain) then laying her beside Yara.

It was only when she felt her daughter's hand against her face that she seemed to remember where she was. Klaus's heart broke when suddenly, Yara was getting up to wash her face, telling Hope they were each going to have a bubble bath before bed.

She hadn't had to take care of anyone else before. She had been able to run away and lash out at the world because she'd lost her son and she'd lost her partner. She wasn't afforded that luxury now. She had a daughter who depended on her. She couldn't shut down.

Klaus was almost afraid when he realized Yara had halted her misery so abruptly, all to make sure Hope no longer saw her suffering.

"Love?" he asked gently in the morning after she had slept in the rocking chair to hold Hope all night. He offered a mug of coffee. "Would you like to talk?"

"Yes," she said calmly, taking the coffee from him and drawing a sip. "I want to leave New Orleans."

He nodded, having expected this to be her choice. "Why, love?"

"I feel awful. And I don't want to hurt anyone. I want to be alone. I am not ready to understand what Elijah felt he had to do and I need some distance. I..." she started to tear up again, covering Hope's ears, "I failed Marcel. I should have had us leave this place a long time ago. Even when he was a little boy I should have had us raise him elsewhere, somewhere away from all this madness. And I should have encouraged us all to leave after Dahlia. I don't want to live here and be haunted by all the mistakes I made. I'm not ready to confront them. I need time and I need it away from here. There is nothing left for me here. I want to go back to Brazil."

"Then we will, love. I'll have the maids begin packing our things."

The bowl of loquats on the kitchen counter were untouched, as was the note left by Elijah. Yara didn't have more than a blood bag. She packed Hope's things while the maids stuffed hers into a suitcase. Klaus had already acquired a private jet to fly them out.

But New Orleans didn't want them to go.

"Freya's tracking your sirelines now," said Kol urgently, showing his brothers and Yara the weapons he'd laid out for them. "So it won't be long, which works for me. I could use a good fight."

"But why are these vampires coming right now?" asked Yara anxiously. "We have to get Hope out. We have time, the deed is in Freya's name and they can't come in–"

"We can't very well hide in here while the enemies mass at the front gate," said Kol.

"Well, if they are so determined to die at our hands, let them come," urged Klaus, staring worriedly at Yara, who he did not think fit to fight. Or, perhaps, she'd allow her anger to burst out rather than let it mellow while she endured Elijah's presence.

I might lose her today. Or maybe, I've already lost her again.

There was a thump upstairs. The four of them made for the staircase to investigate, startled by the sound of footsteps coming from all around them. The courtyard was filled in seconds, vampires exiting every room and filling the balconies and the space around them, trapping them by the fountain.

"Never thought it would come to this," said a familiar voice. "But as always, the Mikaelsons made my choice for me."

Yara nearly collapsed. "Marcel. How–?"

"How are we in your home? I've friends who can nullify a deed, foreclose on a property like that." He snapped his fingers. "Or did you mean... how am I not a rotting corpse?"

"My boy, please." She moved closer, able to sense a change in him. She knew what'd happened, she knew how he was here. "Please, let us talk alone."

"No," he said firmly. "In fact, I'll give you a minute. Go get your daughter and head out. No one–" he looked around at the other vampires, "touches her. This is between me and them." He glared at the three Mikaelson brothers.

Yara turned to Klaus, but he was already pushing her toward the staircase. "Go, now," he demanded. "Take Hope and leave."

"But–"

"Now, Yara."

"If you don't go," said Marcel behind her, "then I can't protect you."

His words sent chills down her spine.

She sped up to Hope's nursery, grabbing the packed bag and strapping it on, hugging her daughter and heading back for the door, stopping only when she saw Freya gasping on the floor of her study. Beside her was Finn, cold and unmoving.

"What the hell happened?" she shrieked. "Is he–?"

"He'll be in the pendant," said Freya weakly, holding her neck. "As will Kol, it's their default destination if they... if..." she shook her head. "But it won't be the case for Klaus and Elijah."

Yara didn't wait to hear more. She hoisted Freya and Finn up, speeding them out of the house and not stopping until they were in an alley around the corner. "What did they do to you, Freya?"

"Poison, like before," she mumbled. "The Prophecy is coming true. This is the day Lucien said would come."

"Lucien," mumbled Yara. "Hold on tight, he has an antidote, we can go to his penthouse–"

"Wait," said Freya. "Even if I was cured, the power I used to fight Lucien, it's gone. There's nothing that can stop Marcel now."

Yara's heart skipped a beat. "He's my son. I have to try."

By the time she'd returned to the Compound, chaos had already unfolded.

Klaus was fighting Marcel alone. Kol lay dead on the floor and Elijah was off to the side, clutching his neck, a sickening bite oozing over his skin.

"Stop!" she demanded, pushing between them and pressing her body to Klaus's. "If you want to kill him, you'll need to kill me first."

"Yara," warned Marcel.

"No. I am not moving. Klaus, Elijah– take Kol and Rebekah to Freya. Let them go–" she put her arm out to block Marcel's path. "We need to talk."

Marcel seemed embarrassed as he led her up to the study, knowing the vampires there would likely think him weak for having let them go at Yara's command. Yet, he didn't push her away. He didn't bite her. He glared at her, however. "What the hell is there to talk about?"

"I know this is the last thing on your mind right now," said Yara quietly. "But right now, there is a fifty percent that I will die when Elijah does. So let me speak."

His face fell. "Yara, I didn't–"

"I know why you are doing this. You want revenge. For Davina, for you. Because yes, we all fucked up. We have done things that cannot be undone. And we've overstayed our welcome here. Two years ago you were the king of the city and now we've ruined everything you had, didn't we? I see it. And I hate it. You think that killing them fixes any of it. Maybe in your mind it does. But it is not what I taught you. What did I tell you, when I let you know about my past and all the murders?"

"That you didn't want me to be like you," muttered Marcel. "Or to be like Klaus. You wanted me to be better. You said I was the best of the two of you. That I would be a moral man, that I would use justice in the right way."

"Vengeance ruined us, Marcel. It played a big role in the horrible deeds we committed and because of it, we were bitter people. I tried to teach you better, but I failed in that. I failed as a mother. I let you stay here even after the first time Kol was let loose. I should have whisked you away and never looked back. If anyone seeks to point fingers at who is to blame for whatever will happen today... they ought to point them at me. I turned you into what you've become. My sweet boy, I let them draw you into that ridiculous cult, I let them use you, I let Davina be killed and I was here worrying my head off instead of trying to find out, and I let Elijah kill you. If you think they deserve to die, then so do I. If you aim to finish off Klaus, I will stand in your way and you will deliver a blow to me before you do to him. All I ask is that you take care of Hope."

"That's not true," he said immediately. "Yara, I don't want you dead."

"Klaus didn't do anything. It's a rare occurrence, I know it, but he did not wish Davina dead. He didn't wish you dead. You are our son. And we have failed to treat you like one. This... this right here... it's proof that I didn't teach you well enough to be the bigger person, I didn't teach you how to grieve. I am disappointed in the outcome but it's my doing. I hope you're happy with what New Orleans will become when we're all dead. Because you'll be in it alone, Marcel."

She cupped his face. "I love you so, so much, my boy. I have loved you from the moment you were brought home, the first time I saw that handsome little face, eyes filled with wonder looking up at me. But I have not loved you enough. I am sorry. For all of it. For not being the mother you deserved. I ruined you, Marcel. And I'll never forgive myself for it."

His jaw tightened. "Go." When she didn't move, he repeated. "Go. Take Klaus and Hope and leave New Orleans. He will live..." he squeezed his eyes shut, perhaps forcing himself to spit the words out, "because you did teach me better than that. You taught me not to react with anger because that's the reason you lost everything. Klaus did try to save me, he..." his voice broke, "When I was going to take the serum, I said that it would make me his equal, I said he wouldn't be able to handle that. And he told me... he told me that he couldn't ask me not to take it because he knew you wouldn't survive losing me a second time. Elijah was already there but Klaus still said that me taking the serum meant you would have a son who could never die. You would never have to lose me again. He said if I needed it to feel better... that he just wanted me to be happy. He called me his boy. It's the first time I remember him doing it since... I don't even remember when. I must have been eleven."

He stepped away from her. "I can't make the same promise about the others. I know Finn and Kol are dead. Freya will die soon, too. And Elijah... I can't even promise that you will survive this, Yara, because you're right, I didn't think that biting him meant a one half chance that I'd lose you, too. So go. Because I am... I am praying that I didn't just kill you because of my anger. And if I did, if you stay here and I have to watch you die... I have already disappointed you. That'll only make it worse."

"Marcel–"

"Go. Go, please."

No one believed her when she arrived at the penthouse. It didn't matter. Freya had found a way to buy them time to get a cure, and that was all Yara needed to know. All by herself, Freya had linked the lives of herself, Kol, Finn, Elijah, and Rebekah to Klaus. The only one left unscathed. They would sleep while Klaus and Yara looked for an antidote to the poison, a siphon witch, and a cure for Marcel's venom. When they did, when they were cured, Freya would be strong enough to put Finn and Kol back in their bodies. It had to work. It had to.

The city burned behind them as they drove away, their belongings destroyed by the furious sirelings as the five coffins remained nestled in their truck, Hope snug between them, the only two left standing.