One of the hardest things in life was to endure the sound of someone you cared about in agonising pain and not being able to do anything to help them through the anguish. Each distressed whimper was the equivalent of a whip lashing your skin. Each desperate cry was parallel to a blow to the stomach. Their screams echoed in your mind for eternity, taunting you for not being able to protect them when they needed you the most.

Imogen was more than used to being on the receiving end of pain but having to listen to her friend screaming in agony was worse than any form of torture she could imagine. It was just over half an hour ago that Josh had walked in on her crying her eyes out in the spare bedroom during a short break and causing her to threaten him with bodily harm if he ever mentioned the incident to Davina, not wanting to provide a reason for her sister to be concerned.

Cami screamed loudly as she curled into a ball on the floor of her apartment and Imogen grimaced sympathetically as she continued to focus her magic on unravelling the complex thread of compulsion that Klaus had embedded in Cami's mind.

"Oh god, it hurts!" Cami cried in a strained voice as she clutched at her head with tears streaming down her cheeks and Davina knelt down in front of her with a sympathetic frown on her lips.

"I'm sorry, Cami. It's the only way to break Klaus' compulsion." Davina informed her softly as she rubbed her hands down the blondes arms comfortingly and Imogen stood up from her positon on the couch as she smiled slightly with pride, impressed with her little sisters compassionate nature.

It was comforting for Imogen to see that their abusive home life hadn't stripped Davina of the sweetness that she was born with. She had tried so hard to keep her sister as innocent as possible, as considerate and soft-hearted as she always was, and it made everything she had been through worth it to know that she had succeeded.

"Believe me, I know what it's like. You're okay." Josh assured her gently from where he stood in the doorway between the two rooms and he held up one of the sticky notes that had the words Don't trust Klaus written in Cami's handwriting. "And hey - all these notes that you made? It's very Momento of you. Nice work."

Cami dropped her hand to the floor with a whimper of pain as she weakly lifted her head to look at the three strangers in her living room and she couldn't help the tears that filled her eyes as her lower lip trembled. "We've been at this all night. I don't understand what's happening to me, I don't understand any of this -"

"But you will. We will unlock every stolen memory, undo every piece of mind control that any vampire has ever done to you. When we're done, you will understand all of it, and you'll be free." Imogen informed her firmly in a kind voice as she knelt down next to her sister in front of the blonde and laid a hand on top of hers with a gentle smile as she caught Cami's gaze empathetically. "We can stop, if you want us to."

"No, don't stop. I want to remember everything."

"Okay. It's going to hurt some more, Cami, but let's me tell you, pain? It makes you stronger. And tears? They make you braver. Trust me on that." the witch said quietly as she gently squeezed the blondes hand to emphasis her point and Cami nodded sagely as she met her friends gaze evenly, her blue eyes filled with unshed tears.

Imogen slipped her hand into Davina's as they both simultaneously raised their free hands in Cami's direction and she felt the familiar stirring of magically energy in her stomach as she concentrated on entering the blonde's subconscious mind. She felt her magic sliver into the creases of Cami's mind, searching for any hidden words left over by Klaus and attacking them into they were exposed like a billboard in Time Square.

Camille's tortured screams echoed through the apartment, making Imogen glance over her shoulder to make sure that the spelled sage that made the room soundproof was still burning.

Davina dropped her sister's hand with a tired sigh as she let go of the hold on her magic and glanced over at Imogen before turning her attention to the blonde whimpering in front of her. "You should start to feel, like, a weight lifting."

"And your cheat sheets are about to make a lot more sense." Josh supplied in a fake cheerful voice as he dropped a file onto the floor next to her but the sunlight streaming through the window caught his hand and his skin immediately started to burn, making him wince in pain as he jerked his hand back into the shadow the curtain provided.

"I promise, as soon as the world stops hunting us, I will find you a lapis lazuli gemstone and perform the daylight ring spell." Imogen told the fledging vampire kindly as she stood up from her spot on the floor and walked over to gently touch his arm with a smile on her lips, making him look at her with smile on his own.

"I know, just... don't worry about that right now."

A frown pulled at the edge of Cami's lips as she slowly reached over to pick up a piece of paper with a sketch of the secret language she had learned from her twin brother and she unsteadily climbed to her feet before stumbling backwards until the back of her knees hit the couch, "I remember why I wrote this. I found a picture of Klaus and Marcel from 1919. Klaus compelled me to tell him about you, Imogen, to spy on you. That's what he said yesterday, before he told me to forget. I'm remembering."

"It's okay. This is good, Cami." The brunette assured her softly as she sat down on the couch next to her with a smile and glanced over at Davina with a questioning frown, making the younger witch nod slightly, before she turned back to Cami. "Let's take you back more."

Cami nodded slightly with a determination expression as Imogen placed her hands on her temples and narrowed her blue eyes in concentration as she felt magic flow from her stomach all the way to her fingertips like electricity passing along a metal wire.

A series of images flashed through Cami's subconscious as she cringed against the pain and she gripped the edge of the couch cushion as she saw Klaus' face appear in her mind, his accented voice recounted the words, 'Leave New Orleans. Forget me. Your brother was ill. You have no reason to stay.'

Imogen watched helplessly as a small drop of scarlet red blood began to leak from Cami's nose and her eyes clouded over as she fell into a trance, remembering every single memory that had been compelled into the dark abyss of her subconscious.

___________________________

"You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to know the obvious. Our secret weapon has escaped." Klaus pronounced in a bored voice laced with irritation as he leaned his elbow on the mantel behind him and Marcel shot him an annoyed glare as he continued pacing in front of the window, flexing his fingers restlessly every few seconds.

"Imogen wouldn't let her just leave, she knows the witches want her back." The former king argued quietly as he crossed his arms over his chest before dropping his hands back to his side instantly. Worry clouded his features as he stared out the window at the backyard of the compound and he gritted his teeth in frustration as he tried to stop himself from going to the worst possible scenario in his mind.

"Unless your pet witch decided to use Davina as a bargaining chip to gain favour from French Quarter coven." The hybrid pondered out loud with a smirk on his lips as he glanced at Marcel from the corner of his eye, trying to get a response from his former protégé.

"Imogen would never do that!" Marcel snapped angrily as he spun around to face Klaus with a thunderous expression, indisputably positive that Imogen would never do anything to put her sister in danger. He had to stop himself from revealing the truth to Klaus because he wanted to defend Imogen but he knew that she wouldn't want her secrets to get out, especially when she trusted him enough to tell him. "She would never do that to Davina and she would never go back to the witches."

There were things about Imogen's past that she hadn't told anyone other than him about, things that she wanted to keep buried and he respected that because he was the same. He was nearly positive that the brunette hadn't planned on having a heart-to-heart with him but one night when she had dropped by the compound, they had ended up talking all night about anything that came to mind and their pasts had inadvertently came to light.

Two things he knew for absolute certain was that Imogen Claire would give her life for her little sister and wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone who put her in danger.

The sound of footsteps echoed from the opened set of doors, making both vampires turned around as Elijah entered the room with a sage expression and he shook his head slightly in defeat as he stopped just inside the office. "Davina's violin is missing. They may have left of their own volition."

Marcel gritted his teeth angrily as he narrowed his dark brown eyes at the oldest Original and he felt rage clenched his stomach as he marched forward until he was standing not a foot away from him, his finger pointed at the middle of his chest. "What did you say to them in the attic? Davina lied to my face so she could stay up there, thinking that you'd help her control her magic. Imogen neglected to tell me. How do we know you didn't take them?"

"I have no idea where Davina is, or why she ran away. And from what I know of Imogen, she wouldn't let herself be taken without causing a raucous. Can I suggest you take a step back?" Elijah said calmly with a hint of amusement in his voice as he met the younger vampires gaze evenly and plastered a small mocking smile on his lips to mask his concern for both of the witches.

"Maybe you don't know her as well as you think you do."

"What is that supposed to insinuate?"

Marcel looked at him sharply as he backed away without answering his question, more than happy to uphold his promise to Imogen and annoy Elijah at the same time. "Nothing."

"'Walked Through Hell With A Smile.' You're aware of the meaning behind her tattoo." Elijah stated with certainty as he watched Marcel falter slightly while turning towards the window and he couldn't help the jealousy building inside of him as he clenched his hands into fists at his side.

Jealousy was tricky, almost as though it was a living thing, always growing no matter what you do to try and stop it. He didn't want to envy the obvious bond between Imogen and Marcel but it was pointless of him to continue denying to himself that he was. It was a foreign sensation for him to experience. There were only a handful of times in his existence that he could remember ever feeling covetous of someone and it frustrated him that Imogen had affected him enough to feel it now.

The overwhelming urge to rip the former king's heart out of his chest with his bare hands was overridden by his desire to ensure both of the young witches were brought back to safety and so he cleared his throat as he straightened his spine with determination. "This isn't about Imogen's past. This is about Davina. And I can assure you I have absolutely no desire to see that child come into harm's way. She's suffered enough with this Harvest ritual nonsense."

"That child, to whom you refer to so affectionately, is the most powerful witch in New Orleans. Her sister is the second. If they've fled, what's to stop them from destroying us? In fact, destroying all we've worked for? No, if they're not friends of this family, then they are our enemy." Klaus reminded them both pointedly as he pushed himself off of the mantel with a slightly incredulous expression and ignored the scolding glare his older brother sent his way as he started strolling towards the exit.

"They are friends, Klaus." Marcel insisted in annoyance as he narrowed his dark brown eyes at his former mentor and crossed his arms over his chest as he watched Klaus make his way to the office door.

"Well, let's hope so. Lucky for you, I know how to get Davina back. And where Davina goes, Imogen will soon follow. Follow my lead." The hybrid ordered casually as he sauntered out of the room with a smirk on his lips and Marcel gritted his teeth, knowing that if he wanted the girls back safely he would have to go along with whatever scheme Klaus was concocting.

There wasn't anything he could do other than follow him out of the office, so he stifled his unease and started walking towards the door reluctantly as he focused on his desire to find both of the witches that he loved like family.

Elijah held out his arm, placing his hand on the middle of Marcel's chest to stop him from continuing and glanced over his shoulder to make sure that his younger brother was out of earshot before turning back to face the dark-skinned vampire in front of him. "You know how Niklaus operates. If he perceives a threat, he can become quite ruthless. This would not bode well for Davina or Imogen."

"I'm not going to let anybody lay a finger on either of them." Marcel declared passionately with a ferocity that made his dark brown eyes flash with determination and he felt rage boiling in his veins at the mere thought of someone harming either of the witches.

"Nor will I."

_________________________________

Imogen stole another wary glance down at the screen of her emergency prepaid cell phone as she exited Cami's apartment, closing the door behind her and strolling down the hallway to the stairwell so that she could have some form of privacy.

Ever since she started sneaking out of the house to attend parties with Sophie when she was a teenager, she made sure that both she and Davina had an untraceable prepaid cell phone on them at all times just in case there was an emergency. They swapped the cell phone every six months, always made cash when buying them, and only gave the number a selected few whom they trusted.

The young witch sucked in a sharp breath as she clicked on the green 'accept' button and held the phone up to her ear as she leaned back against the cold wall of the empty stairwell. There was a soft click on the other end of the phone line as someone answered the call and Imogen pursed her lips together in distaste as she straightened her spine. "Marcel. You have five seconds before I hang up the phone."

"I'm calling for a favour." The former king stated instantly in a hurried tone of voice as she squeezed her eyes shut and remembered that she did indeed owe him for taking care of Davina and delivering the letters she had written her little sister.

Panic engulfed her as she reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose, knowing that she couldn't break her word but also knowing that Marcel was going to ask that she return Davina to the compound. "No. Please, don't ask me to bring her back."

"I'm not, don't worry. Klaus has something planned to lure Davina back. Look, despite what you might think you me, I don't want anything to happen to her or you, Imogen."

There was something in his voice that struck a nerve in Imogen, something so sincere that it made it nearly impossible for her to doubt him. She sighed tiredly as she slumped against the brick wall with a frown and ran a hand through her brunette hair as she pondered her next move. "What's the favour?"

"Do a protection spell for Davina and yourself in case something happens. Please, Imogen." Marcel begged her in a pleading tone of voice as her blue eyes sprung open like someone had electrocuted her and she couldn't believe that she hadn't thought about doing that the moment they left the compound.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll do it now." She informed her softly as she nodded to herself even though he couldn't see her and she heard him sigh in relief on the other side of the phone call as she smiled subtly, happy that he really did seem to care about her and Davina's wellbeing despite their falling out.

"Thank you, Imogen."

"Yeah, don't read anything into it. I'm still pissed at you. I trusted you, Marcel. I told you things I've never told anyone. I trusted you to look after the most important thing in my life. The thing literally holding me together. Why didn't you tell us about Agnes' death? Or at least me?"

"I-I guess I was afraid. You and Davina both mean so much to me, Imogen. If I told you that the last elder was dead, you would've went back to living the life you were before the Harvest. I'm sorry. I am, Imogen, but I couldn't...I don't even know. I didn't want to lose either of you. Davina is like the daughter I never had. And you're my best friend. I didn't know what would happen if I told you and I didn't want to risk it."

Imogen listened to him speak with tears gathering in her eyes, her heart beating furiously in her chest and she found herself nodding along absently as she gripped the phone tighter in her shaky fingers. The anger that she felt directed at the vampire was still there, still settled in the pit of her stomach, but there was also a new feeling of affection that his words brought on. She didn't want to forgive him or believe him when he apologised, but another more prominent part of her wanted to have faith that some people were trustworthy. That some people wouldn't betray her trust like everyone else seemed to do.

"Well, I guess we'll never know what would've happened if you had just told me the truth. I guess I had more faith in you than you did in me if you thought I could just go back to how things were before. Things aren't the same as they were before. My parents are dead. Sophie and I aren't friends anymore. The last remaining Elder is gone. Davina and I don't have to be afraid anymore. Not of our parents. Not of the witches. We deserved to know." she insisted passionately, her voice cracking ever so slightly at the end of her speech and she roughly brushed away a fallen teardrop with the tips of her fingers.

"You're right. You did deserve to know. It wasn't fair of me to let you continue to think you had to look over your shoulder all the time." Marcel relented in a weak voice as she cleared her throat gently and straightened her shoulders with determination, her eyes narrowed at the wall in front of her. "Listen, we can talk about this. Just tell me where you - "

Imogen quickly hung up the phone before he could finish uttering his plea for her to return back to the compound and used all her strength to throw the phone at the cement wall in front of her, making it smash into little pieces as it fell to the floor. She didn't want to risk him trying to call her again later in the day, or Davina accidently answering the phone and getting angry because her powers were slightly unstable when she became overwhelmed.

There was a slightly eerie silence as she tangled her fingers in her brunette hair in frustration and exhaled slowly as she closed her eyes for a moment, the mixture of emotions inside of her struggling to settle on one. Everything was urging her to grab Davina from inside and just run far away, forget everyone and everything. Nothing else mattered as long as she was safe, but there was something holding her back. For some reason she had to know that Cami was safe, that Josh was safe before they left. Somehow they had unintentionally clawed their way into her life and made her care about them.