The next day, Lizzie sat opposite Hayley at the table in the dining room, reaching forward for a strawberry on a platter.

Lizzie was wearing a top with a small pant and some boots.

"So, which restaurant's missing a compelled chef?" Hayley smiled sarcastically.

"It's certainly a card I've played in the past, but I had no hand in this..." Klaus told them in confusion.

"Hmm. Well, then, I guess we have Elijah to thank?" Hayley shrugged.

Upon hearing his name, Elijah swiftly entered, shaking his head as he said "This wasn't my doing..."

"Then, where did this all come from?"Lizzie asked.

The silver lid on the platter suddenly begins to rattle, which startles Elijah so much that they jump in fright for a moment. Klaus looks uneasy and lifts the platter, which releases two starlings that fly up toward the ceiling, causing the three to reflexively duck to avoid being hit. They all look puzzled and nervous.

"What the hell was that?" Lizzie asked.

Klaus reaches for the invitation and opens it. It reads, 'Dinner, Your Home, 8PM'.

"An invitation from our mother." Klaus said.

The Mikaelson brothers stared at each other in concern.

The group try to find ways to figure out Esther's intentions on inviting them to dinner tonight and simply how to stop her from whatever she was planning. Right now, Lola stared at the ceiling laying on Klaus and her's bed, hearing Hayley walk in taking a seat at the end.

"It is times like this I'm really glad I never knew my mother." Hayley stated to Klaus who walks in from the balcolny.

"Me too. I mean the bitch abandoned me when I was very young and when Bonnie was two. So I don't have many memories of her."Lizzie added.

"We have enough enemies here. And now, the war for our home is to be fought against my own family." Klaus sighed.

Lizzie sat up as she says "Anyway, your wretched mother and her disciples tried to put a carving knife through our babies hearts. I will happily add to the body count."

"As will I."Hayley says, nodding.

Elijah entered as he said "You will do no such thing. Esther's a master in the art of possession. We know whose body she currently inhabits. We must decipher her intentions before she finds a new host."

"So what? Lizzie could cast a protection spell on us so she wouldn't be able to possess any of us." Hayley asked.

"She's not the only powerful witch in this city." Lizzie agreed.

"Yeah, her last invitation was an assassination attempt on all her children. I think we can assume her intentions are decidedly foul." Klaus stated.

"Well, then. We have this afternoon to prepare for the worst." Elijah said.

Elijah exited the room.

It was a little while later and Lizzie had decided that she would stay Klaus for the entirety of the day. Hayley stayed too.

"So, I guess letting Oliver live paid off. He just informed me your mother has a partner-in-crime... another witch." Hayley commented.

"Building alliances in her quest to destroy us, I imagine."Klaus stated, clearly not so pleased with the alliances his mother has made.

"Why does she hate you so much, Klaus? She had six kids...it's not like she doesn't have the maternal gene."Hayley asked.

"Seven, actually. And, I think at one time, she loved us very much. One died before I was born." Klaus corrected her and holds a stack of table clothes.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know that." Hayley says quietly, feeling slightly guilty.

"Years later, my brother Henrik was killed by the werewolves in our village. The loss of another child pushed my mother over the edge. So, she used her magic to turn us into immortals. I think that's when she loved us the most. But, it was her undoing. It triggered a sequence of events that led to the reveal of her long-held secret. My birth father was the werewolf whose pack killed my little brother. Of course, when Mikael found out, he murdered my real father, and so, my mother lost her lover, too."Klaus explained.

" Wow. No wonder she's crazy."Hayley commented.

Klaus said "You know, my siblings used to tell each other she didn't hate us. She hated herself for hat we've become. I think they believed that even after she tried to kill us all."Klaus spoke after a moment, tears slowly filling his eyes.

At the sight of the teary eyes Lizzie grabbed his hand, placing with his fingers in hopes of distracting him.

She asked "And what did you believe?"

Neither of them taking notice to the fact that Hayley had slipped out the room, leaving them to themselves.

"I don't know. I just knew I wanted her dead." Klaus shrugged.

"Well, every good story's better with a witch, obviously. It'll only make it more fun when we melt the fucker."Lizzie teased, a small smile playing at her lips.

Klaus chuckled, shaking his head as he looked down to the ground before meeting her eye once again "Second times a charm, I say."

"Second times a charm."Lizzie whispered.

That night, Lizzie had found the loophole but she, Klaus, Faye and Luke decided she would go to dinner and tell Esther how it was, while Hayley and Sage got a witch in the Quarter to brand Esther. Hayley hadn't been very happy about being banished from dinner. Luke decided to play the protective brother along with Faye as they didn't trust Esther with their sister.

Lizzie walked into the room to hear Klaus saying "Please tell me why I'm dressed like a bloody lawyer."

"We need every advantage we can get, Niklaus."Elijah replied, lighting a candle.

Lizzie was wearing a short dress with some heels.

Faye was wearing a green dress with some heels.

Lizzie laughed, drawing Klaus attention, as she placed a hand on his shoulder. She whispered in his ear "I think you look handsome."

"You don't look too bad yourself." He muttered, glancing over her suit. He opened his mouth to speak but she laid a finger on his lips.

"Please don't make me regret complimenting you." Lizzie told him.

A chuckle came from the corridor, as Vincent/Finn entered the room.

"You haven't changed a bit! Linens and silk to disguise your pathetic self-loathing." He said, pointing at Elijah before he pointed at Klaus and added "And you. Despite the arrogant facade, you are still the same, paranoid little boy."

"Who the fuck is that?"Luke whispered.

"No bloody idea."Klaus muttered.

Elijah walked down the table, toward him a sceptical look, ever-present on his face as he says "Forgive me, I don't believe I've had the pleasure."

"Oh, you mean you don't recognize me? So much for the unbreakable bonds of family, huh? Always and forever indeed." He said, palcing a hand on his heart, as he thought he was a heart.

"It's been a long time, Finn." Klaus said, his hatred running deep, throughout his voice.

Finn smirks and spreads his arms out wide in the typical 'Mikaelson man' stance "Now that the introductions are out of the way, let's eat!"

Lizzie sat next to Klaus, sipping on the glass of red wine, while the two of them studied Finn. The two looked like they were one of same mind.

"Don't pout, brother. Tonight is meant to be a happy occasion." Finn declared, sitting himself down.

"I'm not pouting." Klaus snapped.

"How could you pout with such a beauty next to you?"Finn commented.

"Watch your tongue, brother."Klaus said in a calm manner.

Lizzie raised her head as she stared at the original brother.

"What exactly are we celebrating? You being a bored?"Faye asked, making Luke laugh.

Finn ignored her and said "Our mother's return of course. Remember, I spent nine hundred years, lying daggered in a box."

"Well that does explain the gender stereotyping."Luke commented.

"He's also a dullard." Faye told him.

The two smirked as Finn's jaw clenched before he said "I'm rather enjoying this new body. Strolling about your lovely city that, uh, you've made your home. But, do tell me what'd I miss? Regale me with your contributions to society! Medicine? Philosophy? Art?"

Klaus went to comment before Finn cut him off.

"Or, have you two merely cut a path of destruction across time?" He declared.

"The last time we met, you were helping our mother try to annihilate the lot of us! Let's not throw stones in glass houses." Klaus retorted.

Lizzie rolled her eyes, holding a hand out, as one of the waiters stood at her side, letting her drink from his wrist, until he crumbled to the ground, passed out on the floor. By the time she was done, her lips were coated with the man's blood.

She smiled at Finn, as one of the other waiters dragged the body away.

"I see you have influenced, another generation, to be as destructive as you." Finn commented, staring at Lizzie.

"Actually your mother did to me. When she tried to kill my children. Or did you forget the slight detail, where she murdered her own grandchildren?" Lizzie said, glaring at him.

"Well, hopefully, tonight, you will understand, my mother's perspective."Finn said.

Lizzie hummed, throwing the glass at him, scraping over his head by inches. She watched his eyes, the fear in them was euphoric.

She spat, shaking her head "She can tell me her perspective in hell. This dinner has got incredibly dull. And may become murderous soon."

"Yes, I agree. I will not ask again, where is our mother?" Elijah added.

"My darling children. I've missed you too." The voice declared, entering the room as Finn rushed to her side.

"Why don't you say what you came here to say, so this wretched night can end?" Klaus asked his mother.

"It pains me, that you and Elijah look at me with such disdain. I wish you could see that my every action has been to protect you!" Esther declared.

" You actually believe that, don't you? I knew you were a liar, but now I see you're utterly delusional." Klaus snapped.

" If you can forget the hatred that you cling to and remember all the times I've mended and healed you." Esther replied as Klaus laughed sarcastically.

"Elijah, do you recall the day Niklaus challenged your father to a duel? Did I leave your brother to die alone? What did I say, when you came to me and asked me to help him?" She then asked Elijah.

Lizzie watched Klaus face drop, and she couldn't stop herself from grabbing his hand.

"That you would rather die than to see any of your children suffer." Elijah said, his voice doubtful.

"The necklace. It wasn't spelled to protect me. It made me weak." Klaus muttered.

"I sought to protect you from yourselves! If you had killed your father in that duel, or anyone else in the course of your life, you would have activated your curses!" Esther replied.

Klaus let go of his mate's hands, slamming his first down on the table.

"You ruined me. You left me to suffer at the hands of a father who valued only strength!" Klaus spat.

"I kept you from becoming beasts for as long as I possibly could!" Esther argued.

"No, you lied to me! To hide your own transgressions because of your own fear!" Klaus screamed, a tear falling down his face, as his voice broke under the weight of his pain, kicking the chair back and standing up with Klaus.

"My whole life, I sought the approval we were denied by the man, I thought was my father! You turned me into the weakling he hated! Look at me!" Klaus screamed, making Esther finally raise her eyes.

"You rant and you rage about the monster I have become but you mother... You are the author of everything I am." He then yelled, pointing a finger at her.

Esther looked at Lizzie for a moment before turning and staring at Finn, taking a deep breath, Elijah ran to her as she suddenly collapsed.

Klaus and Elijah stared at each other, as Elijah said the two words they were all fearing "She's gone."