A/N: Sorry for the long AN (I hate them), but I want to explain some things. YOU CAN SKIP THIS IF YOU DON'T NEED/WANT A Jörð EXPLANATION!

Ok, so there seems to be some dislike towards the Sigrid/Jörð relationship. This mostly seems to be a problem on FF net, not AO3, probably because the tags on AO3 do a better job of letting people know what they're getting themselves into, lol. I've seen people express that they wish that this story would be solely focused on the Mikaelson family, or that they think Jörð has no purpose, so let me try to explain it the way I see it.

First of all, obviously you are all entitled to your opinions, and can stop and start reading at any time. I promise my feelings won't be hurt. But ultimately, I'm the one putting the effort in to actually write the story. So while I'm happy to take politely-worded suggestions, I'm the one who decides where the plot is going. I will not be editing Jörð out, nor will I stop utilizing her as a character. I have plans for her.

Second of all, the way I see this story is that its main focus is the family dynamics. The main conflict is trying to fix the Mikaelson family. But that can't be the only thing that happens.

Sigrid begins this story already in the place where we want her siblings to end up if things are to improve. She's already capable of forgiveness, she's already emotionally open with her family, she already puts them first. If all I did was teach the rest of the Mikaelsons to be a better family, Sigrid wouldn't change at all as a character.

But Sigrid's siblings also have something Sigrid doesn't. They all have their own individual wants and hopes and dreams outside of "let's be better siblings." And if you think about it, being so solely devoted to that one thing isn't very healthy. As a character, Sigrid needs to learn that. Her family can and will continue to be her first priority, but she needs to have things outside of her family that she wants, and is willing to fight for. That's what Jörð represents. She's something Sigrid wants, but can't have with her current mindset.

Put more simply, Sigrid's siblings are too selfish, to the detriment of their family. But Sigrid is too selfless, to the detriment of herself. If this story is about the Mikaelsons developing, then Sigrid needs to develop too. She's her own individual outside of just being the impetus for change in the family. The sibs need to learn to take care of each other, and Sigrid needs to learn to take care of herself.

So. Jörð is going to continue to "be a thing," as one person put it. She'll become a more active contributor to the plot eventually (as in, meeting other characters, taking action, changing things, etc). If you don't like that, no one's making you read.

Oh, and, to the guest reviewers on FF net whose reviews I deleted: Sorry, but they weren't constructive at all, and were also full of profanity. Normally I wouldn't care, but I don't want the rating of the review section to be higher than the story itself. Also, don't be rude.

END OF EXPLANATION

I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Sigrid opens up negotiations, and enacts an unusual sort of revenge.

"Hello? This is Bonnie Bennett speaking, who is this?" Bonnie's confused voice came over the speaker. Sigrid could hear the faint rumble of a car's engine in the background, and she glanced at the time. Bonnie was probably just leaving school.

"Hello Bonnie," Sigrid greeted cheerfully, and smirked up at her siblings when she heard the witch suck in a sharp breath. "Ah, I wasn't sure you'd recognize my voice over the phone, but evidently you do. I suppose the night we met was rather memorable," she mused, thinking back to how she had rebuffed Bonnie's attempts to kill Niklaus with relative ease. It hadn't been effortless-the Bennett bloodline was strong, especially when backed by 100 dead witches-but it had likely seemed that way to Bonnie, which would work in Sigrid's favor here. "So sorry about how we left things, by the way," she tacked on casually, recalling how she had knocked Bonnie unconscious and flung her clear across the ritual site. "But you were trying to kill my brother, and while I can understand the temptation, I really don't appreciate the attempt."

"What do you want?" Bonnie practically growled. Terrifying.

But just as Sigrid opened her mouth to respond, a new voice chimed in. A familiar voice, though Sigrid had yet to meet this particular version of it. Rebekah shifted abruptly, a harsh scowl spreading across her lips, and Nik smirked. "Bonnie?" Elena Gilbert queried. "Who is it?"

Sigrid grinned sharply, leaning back against the wooden spike still embedded in Stefan's chest. "Why don't you put the phone on speaker, love?" she suggested. "It's not safe to talk on the phone while driving."

"Maybe I should just hang up then!" Bonnie snapped, and Sigrid could hear the doppelganger clamoring for information in the background.

A brief pause. Stefan's blood continued to drip steadily down to the floor, where it pooled. "I wouldn't," Sigrid said mildly.

Bonnie put the phone on speaker, and Elena's sputtering became much more distinct.

"Hello Elena," Sigrid said politely, briefly channeling Elijah. She knew the human doppelganger had responded far better to her mannerly brother than to any of Sigrid's other siblings. "We haven't been properly acquainted, I'm afraid." Her voice remained perfectly cordial, but her lips curled into a vicious smile, one mirrored by both of her siblings. "My name is Sigrid Mikaelson. I believe you've met some of my siblings."

There was a heavy moment of silence. "You're Klaus's sister," Elena said, almost accusingly. As if that were somehow Sigrid's fault.

"Hmm, yes," Sigrid confirmed blandly, stepping away from Stefan's body as the pooling blood threatened to reach her bare feet. Disgusting. "And Rebekah's. But I'm also Elijah, Finn, and Kol's sister, and they're the ones I called to talk about."

But Elena, it seemed, wasn't ready to let the issue of Sigrid and Niklaus's shared blood rest. "Your brother tried to kill mine yesterday!" she shouted, and Sigrid heard the car pull over and to a stop a little bit too quickly.

Sigrid narrowed her eyes, and when she spoke her voice came out rather colder than before. "Well then," she pointed out coolly. "It seems we all have siblings we're trying to protect."

That brought Elena up short. Sigrid could practically hear her blinking in surprise. Had it even occurred to her that she was complicit in holding someone's family hostage? That Niklaus wasn't angry because Stefan had stolen from him (or at least, not only for that reason), but because his brothers were being threatened?

Sensing weakness, Sigrid allowed her voice to soften. "Like I said. That's why I called."

Elena swallowed audibly. Well, maybe not audible to a human, but Sigrid could hear it, and her brother and sister certainly could as well. "I already told Klaus, I don't know where Stefan took them," Elena insisted. Wow, she was a pretty bad liar. She must have only found out where Stefan hid the coffins after Niklaus confronted her yesterday, otherwise he would have been onto her in a flash.

Sigrid hummed, unconvinced. "You know, I really don't believe you," she said plainly, rolling her eyes in unison with both of her blond siblings, who looked equally unimpressed but-luckily-willing to let Sigrid handle the conversation. For now. "But in any case, you'll notice, Elena, that you're not actually the one I called." There was a moment of silent realization-Sigrid could practically see the two teenagers giving each other meaningful glances-before she continued. "Now Bonnie, darling," Sigrid purred, and she sounded enough like Kol that Nik twitched violently in her peripheral vision. "You're the only witch in town, love, and almost certainly the only witch Stefan is on good terms with, charmer that he is in his current state." Sigrid glanced at Stefan's corpse. Heh. His current state. If only they knew. The thought cheered Sigrid slightly, and when she next spoke, her voice was almost disturbingly congenial. "So! Why don't you tell me where my family is, and things won't have to escalate any further," Sigrid offered pleasantly. Bonnie would likely need a little convincing, but Sigrid did so hope she went for it.

Predictably, Bonnie ground out an immediate denial. "Absolutely not," she snarled, and despite herself, Sigrid was impressed by the steel in the young witch's voice. Also by the fact that she didn't even try to deny her involvement. It might have been foolish, but it was undeniably brave. "Your psycho brother-" Sigrid's eyebrows shot up, lips pressing together in mirth as she looked to Niklaus, who stood not three feet away. He wasn't especially affected by Bonnie's words (he'd definitely been called worse), but Sigrid still wondered if the witch would have had the guts to say that had she known he was very much within earshot. "-has been terrorizing us for months. He runs around town like he owns the place, compelling people, threatening people, hurting people! And there hasn't been a damned thing we could do about it!" Bonnie said passionately, and Sigrid thought the girl actually might call Nik a psycho to his face, if given the chance. Hell, maybe she already had. "But we finally have some leverage, and I need to protect my friends," Bonnie finished, resolute.

"Bonnie," Elena whispered, voice soft. She sounded incredibly touched.

Sigrid looked to her siblings. Rebekah's beautiful features were pinched with dislike, and it was clear she found Bonnie's conviction unimpressive. Niklaus on the other hand looked bizarrely contemplative, and Sigrid shot him a warning look. She knew he liked to collect powerful, driven, and loyal people, but she sensed that a sudden interest in Bonnie on his part would not be well-received by anyone in Mystic Falls. Besides, Bonnie's loyalty was so absolute that there wasn't a snowball's chance in Hell he'd be able to sway her. Any attempt would likely just piss her off, which wasn't exactly conducive to Sigrid's plans at the moment. She flicked his arm in reprimand, and danced out of the way when he tried to retaliate.

"I admire your loyalty, Bonnie," Sigrid said after a moment of dodging, and it was the truth. She smiled slightly, batting at Niklaus's hands as they dug mercilessly into her sides. "And I certainly don't begrudge you your desire to protect your loved ones," she added when Bonnie made a disbelieving noise. That was true too. Sigrid halted Nik's attempts at a tickle attack (couldn't he tell that she was in the middle of an important diplomatic mission?!) by pulling at his arms until they were wrapped around her waist in a hugging position, her back to his chest. She curled her free hand around his wrist, pressing her fingers to his slow, steady pulse and leaning into her brother's comforting warmth. A glance at Rebekah found her gazing at them with soft eyes, something undeniably sad in her baby blues. Sigrid smiled at her reassuringly, and maintained eye contact as she spoke, simultaneously giving Nik's arm a squeeze. "That's what we're all trying to do, at this point," she said quietly.

"Maybe, but that's not what Klaus was doing at first," Bonnie said harshly, and her angry voice snapped Sigrid out of the pleasantly soft moment she'd fallen into. Right. Middle of a negotiation. She had to stay sharp. "He came to Mystic Falls-ruined our lives-just to do complete a stupid ritual!" Sigrid stiffened and felt Niklaus do the same. A stupid ritual, she called it, as if Nik's curse hadn't been the nail in the coffin that ruined the Mikaelsons' chances at being a happy family. As if it hadn't defined their existence for 1000 years. As if Sigrid hadn't searched tirelessly for a way to help her brother, only to come up empty again and again. "He possessed Ric, he killed Jenna, he killed Elena, and then as if that wasn't enough he came back and stole her blood! All so he could make a bunch of hybrid slaves!"

Well, Sigrid didn't have the foggiest idea who Ric and Jenna were, but she figured now was not the moment to mention that. More importantly. . . "Yes, he did. And for those offenses, you lot conspired with my father in an attempt to kill my brother," she said tightly. "But you failed. Just as many before you have, and many after you will." Sigrid smirked, eyes undoubtedly still dark with anger and vicious satisfaction. "But we were prepared to leave things there. All's fair in love and war after all, and with the loss of Mikael your greatest weapon was eliminated. There was no reason for our conflict to go any further," Sigrid said civilly. This was only the slightest stretch of the truth. She and Nik hadn't actually discussed what actions they might have taken towards the instigators of the attack, if Stefan hadn't interfered. Damon Salvatore likely wouldn't have been completely safe, but they also probably wouldn't have killed him. . . But there was no need to mention any of that. "Niklaus forgave Stefan for his involvement, released him from both his compulsion and from the decade of service he swore to Niklaus in return for saving Damon earlier this year," Sigrid pointed out, perfectly reasonably in her opinion. "Things could have ended there. But Stefan decided that his desire for revenge was more important than the opportunity to make peace."

"But Klaus still wants my blood," Elena interjected, though Sigrid noted with pleasure that she sounded thoughtful. "So the fight was never really going to end."

Sigrid made a contemplative noise-a false one, considering she would have guided the conversation to this topic herself if they hadn't gotten here naturally. She already knew exactly what she wanted to say on this subject, having discussed it ad nauseum with Jörð last night. If she could get Elena on side. . . "Well, Elena, I'm glad you brought that up," she said honestly, gingerly extracting herself from Nik's arms and crossing towards Rebekah. She tried not to make it too obvious that she was fleeing to her sister's protection. Sigrid didn't think Nik would be too upset about anything she was about to say, but she wished she'd had a chance to go over it with him first, since she was about to speak on his behalf. . . kind of extensively. "You're right, of course. Nik does want your blood. . . but that means he needs you alive. If we work together, rather than remaining at odds, then you have the opportunity to gain the protection of one of the most powerful supernatural creatures on the planet," Sigrid stressed, edging behind Rebekah, who rolled her eyes-clearly not pleased with the prospect of the doppelganger being protected by their family-but dutifully placed herself between Sigrid and Niklaus, who was twitching rather violently. Sigrid glanced at her brother with a helpless "please don't be mad I'm your innocent baby sister" smile plastered on her face, and he sighed, raising a hand to rub at the bridge of his nose before he relented. He'd never resembled Elijah more.

"Protection from what?" Bonnie snorted derisively. "Klaus is the one who's been attacking her!"

Sigrid snorted. "Bonnie, I'm surprised at you!" she scolded mockingly. "Haven't you been reading your grimoires?" she teased, continuing before the witch had a chance to answer. "Doppelganger blood is an extremely powerful magical ingredient. And many of its uses require more blood than a human can safely give," Sigrid added, utterly unconcerned even as someone's breath hitched on the other end of the line. "Now that Elena's existence has been revealed to the rest of the supernatural world, I can guarantee you more people will be after her than your little gang of misfits can handle on their own. I can think of at least five covens off the top of my head-plus a number of very old vampires-who'd all be quite interested in paying Elena a visit. And they won't be willing to negotiate."

She paused, allowing that to sink in. It was the truth, even if Sigrid's reasons for telling it weren't exactly pure. "But I am," she said after a moment. "That's why I called." Sigrid looked up at Nik, and found him staring at her. "We don't have to fight anymore," she said quietly, before wresting her eyes from his. "Bonnie," Sigrid called firmly after taking a deep breath. "If protecting your friends is really the thing that matters most to you-more than revenge, more than doing the so-called 'right thing'-then this is how you do it," Sigrid said, voice sincere. "Tell me where my family is, and I can help you protect yours."

A long pause.

"I-" Bonnie stuttered. "I mean-I have to talk about this. We have to talk about this. That's-that's not a decision I can just make on everyone's behalf!"

Sigrid raised an eyebrow. "Good thing Elena's in the car with you then," she said somewhat dryly, crossing her arms. "Considering it's her life we're discussing, I rather think her opinion is the one that matters most."

"Elena-" Bonnie began, but cut herself off sharply. She huffed irritably. Ah, so Elena had probably given her some sort of signal to be quiet.

After a moment, the Petrova doppelganger spoke. "I want to negotiate," she decided, and she sounded resolute. A satisfied smirk crept across Sigrid's face as she glanced back at Stefan's body. How will you feel, she mused smugly, when you wake up and find your allies have abandoned you.

"Elena!" Bonnie said again, an objection this time, but Elena wasn't having it.

"I know, Bonnie!" she cried. "I know, okay! I hate him too. He killed Jenna!" Elena yelled, voice slightly thick. "But yesterday he tried to kill Jeremy. And it's like she said," Elena sniffled. "Protecting you guys. . . that's more important to me than revenge. I don't mind giving blood every once in a while if it means you'll all be safe," she finished, plaintive.

Remarkably, Sigrid felt a measure of respect for Elena Gilbert welling in her breast. That was a sentiment Sigrid could admire. But still, the show must go on. She pressed forward. "A show of good faith then, until we have time to strike a deal. A ceasefire," Sigrid suggested. "Until we can all meet to properly negotiate, no member of my family will harm anyone in Mystic Falls, save for in self-defense. You have my word," she swore. For the first time, Nik and Rebekah seemed to actually object to what Sigrid had said, but that wasn't going to stop her. She shot them both a warning glare, eyes hard. "I'll see to it myself," Sigrid promised, before returning her attention to the phone call to give her own demands. "But in return, the spell concealing the coffins will be lifted, and I will retrieve my siblings. Today."

Bonnie made an unhappy noise. "So we give up all of our leverage in exchange for you promising to be decent people and not kill us?"

Sigrid paused, sincerely confused. Did that. . . not sound like a good deal to her? "Well, yes," she said slowly. "Would you prefer that we just. . . kill everyone except the two of you and torture you until you release the spell? Because I'm fully capable of that, I was just trying to avoid it by making a deal instead. I figured you wouldn't want to go for that option." Rebekah snorted.

"No," Elena squeaked. She sounded genuinely freaked out. Hmm. Sigrid wondered if Damon had told her about Sigrid summoning lighting out of the sky the other night. "You were right, we don't like that option. Bonnie'll undo the spell."

"Wha-?!" Bonnie cut herself off before her objection was even fully voiced. In the background, Sigrid could hear the noise of someone rummaging around in the glove-compartment, then the crinkle of paper and a pen scoring across the page. Ah, communicating via notepad, were they? "Fine," Bonnie agreed begrudgingly after a moment. "But you're explaining this to Damon," she muttered to Elena. Sigrid suspected she wasn't meant to hear that. "The coffins are in the basement of the Old Witch House, in the woods at the northern edge of town," Bonnie confessed at a regular volume. Sigrid's quiet heartbeat jumped in excitement, and her head snapped up to meet her siblings' wide eyes, which reflected the hope and crushing relief she could feel coursing through her own veins. A location! They had a location! "I can undo the spell on my end," the witch added, "but I had to channel the witches who died there in order to cloak the coffins, and I don't know if they'll be willing to let you take your family. They really hate vampires."

A wicked smirk curled over Sigrid's lips, dimples creasing her cheeks. "Unluckily for them, I'm not a vampire," she said smoothly, voice just the slightest bit dark. "You let me handle the spirits, darling."

Sigrid hung up ten minutes later with the coordinates for the witch house in hand, tentative plans to negotiate with Elena and company scheduled for five days from then, and the sweet buzz of success curling throughout her body. That had gone. . . remarkably according to plan. She whirled towards her brother and sister excitedly, a somewhat manic smile on her face.

Niklaus looked very impressed, if a little irritated with her. "You really are a manipulative little thing, aren't you," he chuckled.

Sigrid shrugged brightly, still a little high on her accomplishment. "When I have to be," she admitted easily. "But I much prefer being straightforward." She bounced over to Rebekah happily, mood dramatically improved from where it had been last night, and wrapped her arms tightly around her sister's waist. Sigrid grinned widely and hefted Bekah off the floor, bending backwards slightly and spinning around. This was a little difficult, because Rebekah was both taller and heavier than Sigrid, who had no super strength to speak of. But at the end of the day, Bekah was still pretty slight, and Sigrid was full of energy.

Rebekah laughed happily as Sigrid whirled her around for a moment, before wrestling back control of the motion and seizing Sigrid beneath the hips to hoist her easily into the air. "Oh Elijah will be proud of you when he hears about this, you little sweet talker," she giggled, before fixing her face into a pout. "Though I'm not best pleased about you saying I can't hurt Elena. She literally stabbed me in the back!" Rebekah complained, setting Sigrid back on the ground. Sigrid figured she would have been more peeved about it if anyone other than Sigrid had laid out the edict. Bekah was probably still trying to get back into her good graces.

"No one's saying you can't scare her a little," Sigrid shrugged. "Or just take out your frustrations towards Elena on Stefan," she suggested merrily. "That way you can hurt both of them." Sigrid pulled back from her sister's embrace, feet sliding soundlessly across the floor. She glanced at Stefan and grimaced. They should probably clean up that blood before it set into the wood, and put down a tarp so he didn't drip all over the place. Gross. But the thought of Stefan's physical pain, as well as the emotional blow she had just dealt him without him even knowing it. . . well it brought a smile to Sigrid's face. "And Elijah might appreciate the letter of that negotiation, but I doubt he'll appreciate its spirit. For whatever reason, he seemed to like some of the people in this town." She smirked. Stefan's face was starting to regain some color. He'd wake up soon, and when he did. . . well. He'd be in for a world of hurt.

Normally Sigrid wasn't this vindictive. But normally people didn't dare to steal her brothers away from her and hold them hostage. She almost preferred people outright trying to kill them.

"Why?" Rebekah asked, confused. Niklaus looked curious as well, but also assessing. He glanced between Sigrid's sharklike smile, the phone still clutched in her hand, and Stefan's helpless form, an expression of dawning comprehension on his face. "What were you trying to accomplish by negotiating?"

"Weeeell," Sigrid drawled out, skipping toward the Stefan-kebab and nimbly darting around the blood smeared across the floor. "I really did want to reach a peaceful solution, here, if possible," she admitted, because she wasn't one to revel in pointless bloodshed. "But what I mostly wanted was to make Stefan miserable in a way that no physical torture could ever accomplish," Sigrid explained, lifting a hand to stroke Stefan's cold, pale cheek with false tenderness. "Think about it," she elaborated, when Rebekah still looked perplexed. "Stefan lost everything because of Nik's compulsion. Or at least he felt that he did, to the point that his very first action once it was lifted was to seek revenge the best way he knew how." Sigrid pulled away from the young vampire, hand trailing down his jaw, then dropping into open air as she stepped further from him and closer to her siblings. "But in truth, he hadn't lost anything at all. True, his Ripper tendencies were reawakened, but his friends and his girlfriend and his brother. . . they were all prepared to help him with that," Sigrid said. "To support him. But he chose revenge over all of them. He decided that getting back at us was his top priority, even though it wasn't anyone else's." Sigrid stepped into Rebekah's side, linking their arms together and turning to look back at Stefan, tilting her head consideringly. "Honestly, we might have done his friends a favor, taking him out of the picture," she observed idly. "Who knows how far he might have gone to get what he wanted."

"The point, sister?" Nik asked impatiently, though a look at the gleeful expression on his face revealed that he'd already realized what Sigrid's game was, and just wanted to hear her say it.

She sighed happily. "The point, dear brother, is that Stefan wanted his revenge more than anything. If I had to bet, I'd say he's already strained his relationships a bit in his search for it." She smiled smugly. "And now, when he wakes up, Stefan will find that the people in this town who he cares the most about-emotionless though he may pretend to be-have decided to make peace with us," Sigrid said, her voice sweet and light as spun-sugar. "To put our differences aside. He'll have no more allies in his quest for revenge, and if he seeks it anyway, then everyone he loves will know beyond a shadow of a doubt that when someone dies, it will be because Stefan Salvatore valued his revenge more than their lives." A horrible, gloating grin spread across Sigrid's face, and she reached out with her free hand to tangle her fingers with Niklaus's and swing their arms through the open air between them. "He can either give up on what he wants most, or he can ruin his closest relationships beyond repair," she said brightly. "Meanwhile we get to make peace, get to bargain for access to Elena's blood, and get to have our family back."

Sigrid inhaled deeply, tossing her head back and smiling widely. The air smelled of wood and blood and success, and she squeezed her siblings' hands. "Victory is sweet."

A/N: Again, so sorry for the long AN. I know I hate reading them.

Anyway, in this chapter, peep Sigrid having more respect for Elena's autonomy than most of her friends do. On that note, how do ya'll feel about Elena? I don't really want to bash her (I didn't really start disliking her until season 4, when she does you know what), but I know a lot of people don't like her. I have some rough plans for her already, but I might be able to change the way Sigrid thinks about her based on you guys' feedback.

As always, thanks for reading, and let me know what you think!

EDIT 08/03/20: Sorry guys but I don't think I'm going to be able to update this week like planned. I have to get my wisdom teeth removed this week and I don't think anyone wants me to write/edit/upload stories while I'm drugged to the gills. If I manage to get something up before my surgery or shortly after it, great! But I wouldn't expect it. I'll try to get back on schedule as soon as possible, and sorry again (especially since I know we're at a juicy part of the story)!